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.

gay

that's so lame.

Well, it's still real to someone, damn it.

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.

Suspension of disbelief is key to wrestling.

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.

As long as the Divas are still Divas.

It's sad, but that's where it's headed.

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.

TPEW

Unless Ashley returns :shifty:

So Wrestlemania is going to become Entertainia?

WEE
ECE
WCE
AEA

I bet Vince Sr. is rolling in his grave.

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?

Them calling entertainment is more accurate then them calling it wrestling though.

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.

Don't entertainers wear suits?
--Dana Carvey

I object to your parody on the grounds that it makes it look like JR is a sensible individual.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I hope you weren't.

Oh and I love the Sarah Palin/Lipstick on a pig analogy :lol:

Bout sums it up.

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.

"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.

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...

Can parents hire them to appear at their kid's birthday parties now?

They'd rather have He-Man.

Why He-Man when they can have SuperCena?

I think they should be able to call them superstars

You know, my Dad says you guys are full of crap...

:D

Fixed.

Do you just know?

Song.

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.

If we get The Rock back, its worth it :shifty:

I stopped watching WWE on jan 26th 2007. I couldnt have picked a better time.

You could have stopped three years before then.

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.

This is so fucking stupid.

Is that a Ghostbusters 2 reference I am detecting? :lol:

Hey, it's Xero. It's not like he thought of a joke himself...