WWE too big?

[BigCrippyZ]

This is something I was thinking about as I watched some old Attitude era DVDs tonight before I head off to bed. I love the idea that there's a large entity to keep track of all of the history of the business, (i.e., hall of fame, video library, etc.), but have they neglected their most important product?

Creativity, writing, character development, feud development, etc, all used to get a lot more emphasis it seems. I remember hearing stories about guys like Rock, Austin, Foley, Taker getting a lot of creative input (not control) on their characters and sometimes storylines.

I understand that they're a huge international company that always have had, and always will need to have sponsorships and partnerships, ala Mattel, etc. It seems to me though, they are more concerned with how many t-shirts, hats, action figures, replica titles, DVD's, etc, they sell as opposed to worrying about the actual live product, tv shows and PPV's.

I'm not saying they haven't done anything good at all recently, and the Daniel Bryan, work/not a work and NXT thing could be a great sign of change, but IMO it's slowly declined. So, are they too focused on their sponsorships and partnerships products (the wrong products) as opposed to their own product? Your guys thoughts...

[M-A-G]

I think they're just more concerned with looking cool than anything else. I mean, if you can convince people your company is cool, those people might be willing to spend money on whatever you're offering them, which in turn leads to happy shareholders and network executives. One way they've tried looking cool is by saying, "Hey, look! We do more than just wrestling! We've got movies and celebrities and tons of stuff that would look good in your room!"

[Shadrick]

They make the bulk of their money (now at least) off of merchandise. The product can be lackluster because:

1. They don't have REAL competition.

2. The core of their demographic (kids) aren't that interested in the storyline as much as an older crowd would be (especially an older crowd that remembers the Attitude Era).

If Vince REALLY thought there was competition of some sort, it'd light a fire under his ass (Road To Wrestlemania) to crank out interesting storylines to appease EVERYONE.

[DAMN iNATOR]

2. The core of their demographic (kids) aren't that interested in the storyline as much as an older crown would be (especially an older crowd that remembers the Attitude Era).

Just give 'em their weekly doses of Rey, Cena and occasionally Hornswoggle and the under-12 crowd could care less what else goes on at most live events, I'm guessing. But still, that does count for at least trying to make sure crowds go home happy, I guess, if nothing else.

[Rammsteinmad]

I came into this thread expecting some kinda complex system that'll show how WWE is becoming too big for itself and will end up falling apart under it's own success.

Never mind.

[Jordan]

I know what you mean. WWE is huge, decisions are no longer in the hands of the superstars. The reason? For years Vince was taking "pro wrestling" out of WWE and now finally it is bigger than any pro wrestling company could possibly be and their not going back. At least right now.

[Steveviscious89]

Yeah, I actually began to notice this about 6 years ago, when no one would have agreed with me at the time, but I knew it was headed down this road. In the 90's I'll admit I was a huge WCW mark, but even I recognized how good the WWF product was around '98 and '99 and watched both shows regularly. I got pretty tired of the product in 2004 and quit watching it almost totally. Now I just keep up with what's going on. And I do apologize if I don't seem like a good fan, but I do watch TNA for what it's worth....mainly for nostalgic reasons.

[BigCrippyZ]

I know what you mean. WWE is huge, decisions are no longer in the hands of the superstars. The reason? For years Vince was taking "pro wrestling" out of WWE and now finally it is bigger than any pro wrestling company could possibly be and their not going back. At least right now.

Their primary focus is no longer on their own product. They no longer focus on the "sports" or the "entertainment". Now IMO it seems their focus is on how much $ their sponsors and partners can make them, especially if this Mattel/Bryan thing is accurate. They used to be a "sports entertainment" company that happened to have sponsorships and partnerships and their merch sales were just an extension of their live product. Now it's the other way around.

[Kane Knight]

WWE is too big to fail.

[BigCrippyZ]

WWE is too big to fail.

Agreed, they'll never go under, way too big. I just don't like their decision making.

[Mooияakeя™]

All the posts about their target demo are the answer. Really a kid only wants his favourite to win. We here are not kids (though some in here would really challenge that statement). When we see something happen the first thing we say is 'where is this going' and things like 'he sold that well' etc. A kid would just be happy Cena won. Which is why all u see on TV doesn't have the depth of that why it used to and what we are used to from growing up.

[Droford]

WWE is too big to fail.

Somehow I dont see the government bailing out a company in the Professional Wrestling industry. Especially if Linda gets elected to the US Senate.