View Full Version : Wrestlers no longer Superstars. Wrestling no longer 'Sports' Entertainment.
From PWInsider:
World Wrestling Entertainment informed all of their announcers this week to refer to their talent as "entertainers" as opposed to wrestlers or even Superstars, effective immediately.
According to numerous sources, the decision is part of a organized plan of attack towards getting WWE as a company re-classified as an entertainment touring event, as posed to a legitimate sporting event.
The internal hope within WWE management is that by doing this, they will take power away from the Athletic Commissions in certain States and keep the company from having to pay taxes on their events.
Obviously, this would also have the company benefit of preventing WWE from being held to the letter of the law in States like Georgia, who's Athletic Commission is looking at putting stricter restrictions on the professional wrestling industry following the Chris Benoit incident.
We'll have to see what comes of this and whether the strategy could even work, but that's why the change was made.
Destor
10-22-2008, 07:30 PM
gay
FourFifty
10-22-2008, 07:32 PM
Well, it's still real to someone, damn it.
Destor
10-22-2008, 07:33 PM
Saying "entertainer" during the match kills kayfabe. When you hear someone say "he's world class entertainer" (or whatever ever Matt Striker said last night) you immediatly killed all cradibility of the match. completely gay.
Destor
10-22-2008, 07:33 PM
Suspension of disbelief is key to wrestling.
Well, it's still real to someone, damn it.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g122/sandman3g/Wrestling/stillrealipod.gif
El Fangel
10-22-2008, 07:35 PM
Suspension of disbelief is key to wrestling.
Exactly. We have been believing for 7 years now that the industry will get better.
FourFifty
10-22-2008, 07:36 PM
And in five years therse "Entertainers" will be called "Actors."
I'm not faulting WWE for doing this. It's about money and getting around some rules. However, it's still pretty gay, and some groups take wrestlng too seriously. Until the NFL has a script, wrestling should not be considered a sport.
thedamndest
10-22-2008, 07:37 PM
As long as the Divas are still Divas.
And in five years therse "Entertainers" will be called "Actors."
It's sad, but that's where it's headed.
As long as the Divas are still Divas.
Well Vince sure as hell isn't going to call them "Exotic Entertainers". That would open a whole new can of worms regarding rules, regulations and touching.
Tazz Dan
10-22-2008, 07:38 PM
TPEW
Tazz Dan
10-22-2008, 07:39 PM
Well Vince sure as hell isn't going to call them "Exotic Entertainers". That would open a whole new can of worms regarding rules, regulations and touching.
Unless Ashley returns :shifty:
Jeritron
10-22-2008, 07:41 PM
So Wrestlemania is going to become Entertainia?
FourFifty
10-22-2008, 07:44 PM
I bet Vince Sr. is rolling in his grave.
HeartBreakMan2k
10-22-2008, 08:31 PM
And Paul E.'s worked shoot from the invasion slowly becomes more and more of a reality.
Vince can call them what he likes but as far as the "law" is concerned it must surely be an irrelevance.
It would be like beer companies calling their product "hop beverages" as a way of avoiding government excises - it just wouldn't work.
Simply changing the name of something can't possibly exclude it from governing laws - or can it?
Destor
10-22-2008, 08:38 PM
Them calling entertainment is more accurate then them calling it wrestling though.
Jeritron
10-22-2008, 08:55 PM
I can think of a few things they can call it that would be more appropriate than either
I can just see the braintrust at work on this one.
SOAP WRITER: Vince, I really think that part of improving the shows is to improve the image of the people ON the shows.
VINCE: Hmm... go on.
SOAP WRITER: Well, first of all, this is World Wrestling ENTERTAINMENT, right? So instead of calling the guys something lame like "superstars" we should call them what they are: Entertainers. This is World Wrestling Entertainment, and these are the Entertainers!
JR: That is terrible.
VINCE: I love it. Let's do it.
Theo Dious
10-22-2008, 11:39 PM
Don't entertainers wear suits?
--Dana Carvey
I can just see the braintrust at work on this one.
SOAP WRITER: Vince, I really think that part of improving the shows is to improve the image of the people ON the shows.
VINCE: Hmm... go on.
SOAP WRITER: Well, first of all, this is World Wrestling ENTERTAINMENT, right? So instead of calling the guys something lame like "superstars" we should call them what they are: Entertainers. This is World Wrestling Entertainment, and these are the Entertainers!
JR: That is terrible.
VINCE: I love it. Let's do it.
I object to your parody on the grounds that it makes it look like JR is a sensible individual.
Loose Cannon
10-22-2008, 11:46 PM
I am going to become the greatest wrestling entertainer this world has ever seen :mad:
I object to your parody on the grounds that it makes it look like JR is a sensible individual.
Eh? I don't get the joke, or point, or whatever. JR is one of the biggest advocates of the WWE being more wrestling oriented, instead of 2 hours of a poor second-rate entertainment show.
Kane Knight
10-23-2008, 01:06 AM
Them calling entertainment is more accurate then them calling it wrestling though.
Though neither is really accurate these days.
The more important point is KYR is right. This is putting lipstick on a pig. No offense to Sarah Palin. Changing the name isn't going to let them dodge the bullets they want to dodge.
Destor
10-23-2008, 01:09 AM
Totally disagree. Wrestling should in no way be governed by state athletic commissions. Whatever governs the circus should govern wrestling, the WWE is completely right in trying to change it.
Hate them calling their wrestlers anything else though. Be like calling actors by their real names during movies. Kills the expirience.
Oh god, seriously the worst move in history... for now.
Totally disagree. Wrestling should in no way be governed by state athletic commissions. Whatever governs the circus should govern wrestling, the WWE is completely right in trying to change it.
Hate them calling their wrestlers anything else though. Be like calling actors by their real names during movies. Kills the expirience.
I wasn't (and I don't believe KK was implying) that wrestling should be governed by the athletic commissions.
We were merely making the point that whatever the WWE decides to call "wrestling/wrestlers" will not change the fact that they would still come under those state jurisdictions.
Destor
10-23-2008, 01:26 AM
I hope you weren't.
Oh and I love the Sarah Palin/Lipstick on a pig analogy :lol:
Shadow
10-23-2008, 01:45 AM
gay
Bout sums it up.
The Mackem
10-23-2008, 06:27 AM
I fail to see where 'Superstar' is considered directly related to sport. If it is, then 'entertainer' can certainly fall under the same banner. I agree with what some of you were implying, WWE's arguments shouldn't be based on the wording of their business but proving that the business is not technically a sport regardless of the wording.
Afterlife
10-23-2008, 06:59 AM
This is all so silly.
Lord-Of-Darkness
10-23-2008, 10:35 AM
"Tune in tonight to see these two top class entertainers lock up!"
It sounds more like an ad for Celebrity Death Match or something.
I wasn't all for superstar, but in comparison it at least sounded like it belonged in a 'sport' environment. This is just terrible.
Fabien Barthez
10-23-2008, 01:23 PM
Could all this have any bearings on the stringency or even function of TWP? It's not like you have to be piss tested to work on The Young and the Restless...
KingofOldSchool
10-23-2008, 01:29 PM
Can parents hire them to appear at their kid's birthday parties now?
They'd rather have He-Man.
KingofOldSchool
10-23-2008, 02:09 PM
They'd rather have He-Man.
Why He-Man when they can have SuperCena?
Savio
10-23-2008, 02:10 PM
I think they should be able to call them superstars
Fabien Barthez
10-23-2008, 02:45 PM
They'd rather have He-Man.
You know, my Dad says you guys are full of crap...
:D
parkmania
10-23-2008, 03:04 PM
They'd rather have Barney.
Fixed.
Afterlife
10-23-2008, 03:19 PM
You know, my Dad says you guys are full of crap...
:D
Some people have a hard time believing in the paranormal.
Blue Demon
10-23-2008, 05:11 PM
Do you just know?
Theo Dious
10-24-2008, 04:17 AM
You know, my Dad says you guys are full of crap...
:D
Song.
Kalyx triaD
10-24-2008, 05:18 AM
Just read this.
Fucking gay. You ignore, mock even, the athletic aspect of pro wrestling with this change. If I was an Angle, RVD, Orton, Y2J, a wrestler with a skill set; I'd walk. Seriously. They could've went to broadway if they wanted to be labeled entertainers. Whatever, I haven't watched Raw, SmackDown!, or WWECW in a while and my apathy is further warranted.
D Mac
10-24-2008, 04:17 PM
gay
RVDmark
10-24-2008, 05:55 PM
And in five years therse "Entertainers" will be called "Actors."
If we get The Rock back, its worth it :shifty:
94 SVT Cobra
10-24-2008, 06:07 PM
I stopped watching WWE on jan 26th 2007. I couldnt have picked a better time.
You could have stopped three years before then.
Mr. Nerfect
10-24-2008, 11:35 PM
This is pretty stupid. Very stupid, in fact. Regardless of what the WWE calls themselves, they'll always be seen as "professional wrestling." They'll always be painted as "fake," and by shying away from "wrestling" (which is, as watered down and crappy the product is, what they generally are) they're not fooling anyone. I mean, what the WWE hopes to erase by calling themselves "entertainment" is the very phrase "wrestling" itself. If wrestling isn't wrestling, then what is wrestling? Vince can control a lot, but he cannot control the English language.
It's so undermining to the talent, as well. They trained to be "wrestlers." It's just generally very silly.
Londoner
10-25-2008, 04:18 AM
This is so fucking stupid.
owenbrown
10-25-2008, 05:21 AM
They'd rather have He-Man.
Is that a Ghostbusters 2 reference I am detecting? :lol:
Mr. Nerfect
10-25-2008, 07:43 AM
Hey, it's Xero. It's not like he thought of a joke himself...
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.