The reason why the current WWE direction (breaking kayfabe) will ultimately end them as a business

Flywin Lannister

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-The HHH "forget HHH... Dave.. fight me.. the man in front of you"
-This Ronda Rousey nonsense



This is why this will ultimately end WWE as a viable business:

Imagine being 8 years old again.

Wrestlemania III is about to go down in a few weeks.

You are stressed because Andre The Giant is WAY bigger than the strongest man in the world except your dad: Hulk Hogan.

You ask your parents: mom.. dad.. what if Hulk Hogan loses and really gets hurt when he has to face Andre The Giant. He's HUGE. Did you see them at the press conference.. I mean.. he's HUGE!!"

Your parents play along and say: "Well.. anything, really anything can happen out there. BUT.. Hulk Hogan is one special wrestler"

And then a week before the actual Main Event.. they show video of Hulk Hogan backstage and he says "Well good thing brother that this whole thing.. is SCRIPTED and it's NOT EVEN REAL brother. You little vitamin kids out there actually think there's a problem with me and Andre The Giant? We're stuffing our pockets you dumb kids!!! Wrestling's not real brother! Hahaha"

You'd be fukking destroyed and your parents would be scrambling to explain that away.

That's what it's like to be an 8-year old watching WWE today. And this is why, 32 years from now (WMIII was in ' 87, 32 years ago) WWE will be in HUGE trouble and their fanbase will be WAY smaller. Look in the crowd: most fans are around 30-35. So they became fans during the Hulkamania 'it's real to me' era.

Ronda - besides being a terrible sport in real life and being the ONLY UFC fighter EVER getting the OK from Dana White to not do A N Y press before or after the Amanda Nunes fight and the rare champion who refused to do an interview after losing the title (Tyron Woodley just say there and gave Usman props after losing his title like a real champion) - should not be the person telling 8-year olds wrestling is fake. And if kids find out now because of internet and friends etc. fine - you can't stop that. But WWE can stop screwing the future of their own company by not letting writers "break kayfabe" as an angle.

All of us who were lucky enough to witness the rise of professional wrestling, Hulkamania, the Ultimate Warrior vs Hulk Hogan match and all the (too many to name) amazing Superstars from that era... The Undertaker's debut that had kids scared for real.. the WCW era.. Nash and Hall going on WWE invading WCW to the point we thought it was real.. we should really be thankful for that. Because being an 8-year old kid now.. man it sucks.

Wrestling is entertainment. And the fueds need to look real. The Brock Lesnar flipping out and attacking EVERYBODY thing made people doubt whether or not this was real.. the pipe bomb with CM Punk made people think "whoa.. I think it's real" now THAT is a good way of 'breaking character'. Outright saying "It's fake" is the WORST and MOST HORRIBLE way. And it will kill the WWE if they keep that up.
 

Berniewood Hogan

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And then a week before the actual Main Event.. they show video of Hulk Hogan backstage and he says "Well good thing brother that this whole thing.. is SCRIPTED and it's NOT EVEN REAL brother. You little vitamin kids out there actually think there's a problem with me and Andre The Giant? We're stuffing our pockets you dumb kids!!! Wrestling's not real brother! Hahaha"
 

stro

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There have been angles like this going back 30 years at this point. It is what it is. It really only works with an outside talent like Ronda that everyone knows could demolish anyone she's put in the ring with, and get some media attention from outsiders while making insiders think maybe some shyt might go down. You can't do it regularly but once in a while is fine. :yeshrug: It's not like there are people in 2019 over the age of 6 that don't realize wrestling is a work. WWE puts up kayfabe shattering docs every few weeks on the Network and promotes it and similar kayfabe shattering reality shows (which, ironically, have their own form of kayfabe) on a weekly basis.

Kayfabe is so dead and buried that the easiest way to get heat from the remaining audience (which are smarks by default at this point) is to point it out to "outsiders". That's just the state of the industry in America.
 

NYChase718

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Im watching YES network michael kay show

And the mark which is peter rosenberg ...brings ronda rousey topic up and how hes upset ronda rousey disrespecting wrestling and he plays the youtube clip of her rant

Michael kay simply says "uhhh its part of the script isnt it"

And rosenberg is just ....its still real.to him dammit


:mjlol:
 

JerseyBoy23

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It's Vince's fault :yeshrug:. Prior to 1989, everyone over like 14 knew it was fake but the wrestlers and promoters played along with it. Then he tried to get out of paying taxes to Jersey and admitted in public that wrestling was fake.

I actually think that Netflix, Fortnite and Disney+ are bigger obstacles in keeping young fans than killing kayfabe.
 

Slystallion

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I'm curious at what age average kayfabe ends now. I'm assuming as soon as a kid begins to know how to use the internet.

In the old days you would still see 15yr olds still being real to them

As a 9 yr old it was an awesome feeling...when you got nervous for your favorite wrestlers during a match you thought was a real athletic contest
 

Flywin Lannister

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nah cause they'll always be those who grow up, kno it's fake, have known it's fake for decades and still watch cause they like it.
you typing this like you just found out it was fake last week :heh:
Learn to read bozo.

I'm curious at what age average kayfabe ends now. I'm assuming as soon as a kid begins to know how to use the internet.

In the old days you would still see 15yr olds still being real to them

As a 9 yr old it was an awesome feeling...when you got nervous for your favorite wrestlers during a match you thought was a real athletic contest
This is why I think so many people got hooked: they genuinely believed it was real and were IN and hooked. Then when they realized it wasn't the choice was simple: stop watching (which was not a real option, they were hooked already) or see it like a movie (scripted entertainment).

Sure - for those who watch WWE Network and reality shows and WWE 24 etc. then you'll definitely know it's fake of course and WWE can get away with that yes - but for young kids (the future consumers and buyers of tickets, merchandise and subscriptions) it's still going to be crucial that they think "that was real!!" in my opinion. The status quo now is "people will keep watching". But again: those people are mainly people who got hooked as kids.
 

FromStLouis

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It's lazy, it's cheap and I have no respect for it.

Truly creative booking doesn't need it.

And whenever WWE does it they beat you over the head with it.

Just no subtlety to it whatsoever.
 
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