ThinkSoJoE’s Thoughts: How to get over…
By thinksojoe · · 4 CommentsI haven’t done an original column here on bWf in a while, but with it being my (and JT’s) birthday today, I thought I’d write a column I’d thought up yesterday afternoon, entitled “How to get over…”
Now, this isn’t an article about how to get over with the fans as a professional wrestler. I am not a professional wrestler, I don’t work for any professional wrestling organizations, and I wouldn’t have the first clue what to do if I were a pro wrestler. No, the title of this article is more a play on words, because there are some things that people just can’t seem to get over, and I’m here to help.
How to get over… The WWE Tag Team Title redesign.
I’ll admit, the first time I laid eyes on the new WWE Tag Team Championship belts when Bret Hart handed them to the Hart Dynasty, I said “those look like they glued pennies to a piece of leather!” Each and every week, I’d see those belts and I would absolutely hate them. A lot of people feel the same way I did about them, but I’m here to tell you to get over it! Over the last couple of weeks, these belts have grown on me. Likely because the bronze shade matches Heath Slater’s hair color. Admittedly, the belts look great on Slater and Justin Gabriel, but that’s not the only reason I’ve gotten over my distaste for them. It was inevitable that WWE would eventually roll out a new set of belts to replace the RAW and SmackDown tag team titles after they were unified, and it always takes a while for people to accept new Championship belts no matter the case. The “Attitude Era” belt that replaced the old “Winged Eagle” WWE Championship? Hated it at first, but it’s now one of my favorite belts of all time. The “Phoenix” belt that replaced the “Steel Cage” ECW Championship? Hated it – especially because it was “Platinum” – but grew to love it by time it was retired. The point is, WWE likes to experiment with different metals and designs for their titles when it’s time to come up with new belts. Sometimes, it’s love at first sight (as in the United States Championship belt), and other times they’re an acquired taste (the current Intercontinental Championship, for example), but there’s nothing you can do about it either way, so GET OVER IT!
How to get over… Immortal.
TNA’s problem isn’t the Immortal storyline. It’s not Eric Bischoff. It’s not Hulk Hogan. It’s Spike TV. There, I said it. Look, before they jumped on this Spike TV deal, TNA Wrestling had an identity of their own. They were the new wrestling company, the one that was wrestling, according to their tagline. After all, they were Total Nonstop Action. Then they went to WWE’s old network. The same network, albeit with a different name, that wanted ECW to be just like WWE and WCW back in the day. And we’re all going to turn a blind eye to this and blame whoever’s in charge at TNA without thinking twice about the fact that every little thing TNA does is to try and pop a rating, much like WCW in the late 90s. If you’re Dixie Carter, and the network is breathing down your neck looking for a product that they used to have when they broadcast RAW and can bring in that kind of ratings, you’re going to get Bischoff and Hogan too, because they brought in higher ratings than WWE at one point. Don’t let it bother you. When the ratings continue to stay put, this angle will die a sudden death like every other WCW angle that TNA has tried since they got to Spike. GET OVER IT!
How to get over… Stand up for WWE.
I did an article a couple of weeks back called “Standing up for WWE.” One of the comments I got on the article was from our dear friend RYTMAN, who asked “Will you please explain why a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PRODUCTION COMPANY NEEDS SOMEONE TO ‘STAND UP’ FOR THEM?” Look, everybody who is reading this right now, I presume, is a wrestling fan. We all know how wrestling – not just WWE, but wrestling in general – is portrayed in the media and viewed by non-fans. Don’t look at this as WWE wanting us to tell them we love them and stroke their ego. Look at this as a chance to say “this is why I love professional wrestling.” This is a chance to help WWE show that they’re not the evil, steroid abusing, chair swinging, sex drugs and rock and roll show that the media often portrays them as. This is good, clean, family entertainment that has taken strides toward making the work environment safer for the independent contractors who bust their asses every night as part of this sports-entertainment spectacle. Speaking of which…
How to get over… WWE TV-PG.
Grow up. The company did. A lot of people were thinking that this change had to do with Linda McMahon’s Senate bid, and that we’d instantly go back to another Attitude Era when it was over. Well guess what people, Linda failed, and the company still has a TV-PG rating. It never had anything to do with Linda McMahon. It had more to do with Mattel, actually, but don’t hold that against them either. The WWE, prior to the Attitude Era, had been a family company for years since Vincent Kennedy McMahon started to expand it out of New York. With Superstars like Rey Mysterio and John Cena on the roster, more kids are tuning in these days, particularly since the generation that grew up on the company in the 80s and 90s are starting to have their own children. The move to a more family friendly show makes perfect sense. If you want blood, guts, strong language, and women wrestlers tearing each other’s clothes off, switch to TNA. Since RAW and SmackDown kill iMPACT! in the ratings every week, I’d venture to say that the majority would rather watch the toned down but still entertaining WWE product. GET OVER IT!
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4 Comments
Gee Hall
Title belts – I didn't have this problem with the new tag titles, in this case, but completely relate to other titles being changed. On the same token, it's going to take me a while to get over the belt change that went down on iMPACT this week…. the Strongbad heavy weight title looks like the Diva Butterfly belt held by LayCool.
Immortal – I can't agree more. The way that TNA books is frightening in a lot of ways, as it doesn't come across as building towards PPV's, rather stirring the pot for quick ratings. Spike clearly has stake in that, afterall, and honestly Spike doesn't care about buy-rates of PPV's. Why should they? It doesn't impact Spike, just TNA. Immortal is like the weather in Calgary, if you don't like it… wait 15 minutes and it will change.
PG TV – I understand (and respect, in principle) the business model the WWE is leaning towards here. It worked for them in the Eighties, and as the fans grew up, the program evolved with them. Of course this is within the competition from WCW and ECW being a catalyst to move away from Rock and Roll wrestling, I digress. Now with the incredibly shrinking fanbase, the WWE is going back to growing a new generation of fans. I have no problem with that, even if it leaves some of us old smarks on the outside looking in.
However, what I do have a problem with the PG TV focus, is when they are clearly not putting a PG product on television. I have to call them on it when I see it, or what I perceive as non-PG programming. Granted, this is a bit subjective as to what precisely qualifies as PG afterall. But I love nitpicking…. I tend to enjoy the non-PG stuff that sneaks through the internal booking/writing anyways. It's amusing the WWE doesn't always consider this business model they are openly soliciting and what they actually put on television.
Good article TSJ, and I hope your birthday treated you most excellently!
Joe Kent
Don't even get me started on Jeff Hardy's "Let's give Jakks an excuse to put out a new belt" title. I can only defend a title makeover so much before even I have to sit back and say, "ok, that's just fucking ridiculous." I like the concept, but I sound off the Price Is Right fail horns at the execution.
And thank you for the birthday wishes!
Jamie Kennedy
Great article and great comments.
It's nice to know that so many other wrestling fans aren't completely turned off by WWE switching back to a more "kid-friendly" model. So many of our peers seem to forget that WWE existed way, way before Steve Austin was flipping the bird or drinking beer and Sable was prancing around with only hand-print shaped blobs of paint to cover her breasts. It's insane to think that the company has been through several changes such as this now and will likely change again – many more times!
One thing which really strikes me is that there are so many fans who…just don't like pro wrestling as much as they used to when they were kids. This seems to annoy them as they really want to like it but weren't grabbed the same way Jana described the rest of us were. These folks spend the majority of their time bashing the product and watching it EVEN THOUGH THEY DON'T ENJOY IT ANYMORE. Many of them would probably be happier just buying a load of "Tagged Classics" DVD's of events from yesteryear and burying themselves in a time when they were happy watching wrestling. Of course, they are perfectly entitled to their opinion and the above may/may not be true but there are a ot of people needlessly giving the current product a relentlessly hard time for no apparent reason other than they're not so into it anymore.
As for TNA, the can of worms opened by even mentioning that company is enough to give us all a collective headache! I find myself to be pretty easy-going about wrestling and enjoy it for what it is. I've managed to find a cool balance between being interested in the business model and the actual lives of the men and women who perform while still losing myself in the magic of it all. However, in saying that I oftentimes struggle when it comes to TNA wrestling. The stories are convoluted and confusing, sometimes go nowhere and the pacing of their shows is akin to a rollercoaster on a constant loop-to-loop! Always, I find myself not tuning in for a few weeks before treading back to find out what is happening and try again. This is because I love wrestling and really do want to like what TNA put out. They have a lot of talent I'm heavily interested in, can give me things the current WWE doesn't wish to touch and strike me as more of an old-school "territory" in some respects. As I write this comment, I'm not currently watching TNA TV or PPV's, not out of any protest – simply for the reasons mentioned above. I know that sooner or later I'll tune in again however, only to be disappointed for the millionth time! Fingers crossed I'm wrong this time!
Jamie Kennedy
Oh! And it's worth mentioning that the only TNA-ness I get these days is from Jana and her excellent writing. I've actually tuned out and then tuned back in to see certain things all because of that writing!