Definition by the great landscape of wrestling dictates changes, both in tide with life around you and your most valued fan-base. For example, the rise of Hulk Hogan happened in a climatic family-dominated landscape, thinking of the fact that the majority of the fans stemmed from household families that enjoyed the product together. Of course the rise of Hogan can be linked to the rise of wrestling on both the national and international stage, and its climate and landscape in general can be seen as similar to the one WWE is operating in today.
But for great entertainment to stay relevant and not be "forced off the bridge", it needs to change in tide with time and spot out the defining factors dictating its failure or success. Such as WWE was forced to change its climate from a family-friendly product to a more edgier and unpredictable product in order to beat out their rival at the time WCW.
This has been the inept ability of Vince McMahon and his powerful company. No matter the challenge, they always find ways to beat the odds and destroy the so called "barriers" of what should be expected from them. Just look at how their flagship show Wrestlemania changed the projected "maximum" barriers of what one could expect a wrestling show to generate in mainstream attention and income.
But everyone and everything has a limit, as no one can never be able to "develop" for eternity. One could say WWE peaked in popularity at the late 90th's or early 2000's, in terms of viewership and so forth. But in terms of generated income, one could say WWE reached their potential just a couple of years ago, which prompted the motivation for me to write this article. I am of course thinking about the WWE network. In terms of potential income, WWE had to reinvent themselves again, also to gain more stable PPV numbers. In steps the WWE network, which has changed the landscape of this wonderful promotion once again.
The idea of WWE creating their own network was based on the development and expectations of their fans. No longer are the fans (mainly the hardcore followers) satisfied with just watching the scripted shows and their planned results. No, the hardcore fans and a big chunk of the "general" fans wanted more. They wanted the inside stories, they wanted to know how the wrestlers "acts" out of character, and how the promotion works in general. The WWE network was the best way for WWE to invite their fans to get a closer view of their wrestlers behind the scenes. And such came the rise of what I like to call the "reality-based" product of WWE. Yes, it is still a family-friendly show, with a few exceptions per year, but the whole "promotion-formula" has been changed radically. As of right now, WWE are still in the middle of the transition from the "good guy vs bad guy" formula that has dominated the company for years, in to the "pick your favorite good or bad" kind of era that we are ushering in now.
Iv'e got plenty of examples to show you;
1. Owens vs Cena
Originally you could say that Owens works as the classical "heel" in terms of some of his heelish actions against John Cena. But no, they are not going by that formula anymore. Instead of just making Owens a classical "bad guy", WWE has instead focused on the actual traits of the actual man portraying Kevin Owens, yes I am talking about the man behind the man, Mr Kevin Steen. Everything from heartfelt interviews, to backstage videos, and to incredible personal promos, WWE has in fact allowed us to get a personal look of the man behind the man, giving us the option to in fact judge him for who he is for ourselves. Of course, we will never truly know how Kevin Steen actually is behind the scenes for real, but we get a pretty good glimpse into his actual life, which makes it so much more compelling for us fans. By feeling like we actually know this person for real, we are left with the decision of cheering or booing his action, whatever they might be. It will be up to us to judge weather or not we in fact approve everything he does on screen. As Vince said in one of his interviews back in the days, he would actually prefer a half full arena of fans chanting and booing on the guys WWE wanted them to chant and boo on, instead of a full arena of split fans chanting and booing on who they felt like chanting or booing on.
2. The story of Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson, a true underdog by definition. An amazing performer, with heart and love for this business, but with the look of regular "average Joe", and not a larger than life superstar. We all know the story that happened on screen. But not all know the story that happened behind the screen. The officials within WWE was incredible split in judgement of Bryan. Some felt like no matter how hard fans chanted for him, he was in no way the guy who could carry the company on his back, because of "lacking personality" and "no looks". But Bryan just kept doing what he was told to do, and for two years one after one kept jumping on the "Bryan-train". For a long while even before his match against John Cena, WWE kept helding Bryan down, hoping that fans would let him go. But no the sympathy and love for Bryan just kept growing, and in the end WWE had no choice but to give him his due. But WWE chose wisely and made "the on screen" life a living hell for Bryan, which felt so real for the fans that their love for this underdog just kept growing. The big pay off came at Wrestlemania 30, where Bryan had one of the best feel good moments in the history of wrestling. But what happened afterwords is what defines this amazing story. Bryan got injured, and the injury might have ruined his wrestling career. This on-screen underdog actually became a real-life underdog as well, which got to fans in ways that can't be described. When Bryan returned this year, he got another feel good moment in the opening match of Wrestlemania 31, but in fact this might have been his last moment of glory, as he still struggles with the injury. His promo after extreme rules and the "thank you Bryan" chants just tells you how the actual real life struggles of these perfomers has a much bigger impact than anything else. Bryan and Punk both had a huge part of changing the landscape of wrestling, in terms of changing the formula from "scripted" to "scripted by reality".
3. Brock Lesnar
When Lesnar returned after Wrestlemania 28, WWE was still going by a simular formula that they had been following for 5-6 years. Brock became a part of that formula for his first year, suffering losses against Cena and Triple H both in grand matches. But after Wrestlemania 29, WWE knew they had to incorporate more of the actual real life beast Lesnar is. This became the start of the incredible run Lesnar is on now. He ended the streak, he demolished John Cena, he demolished Roman Reigns, albeit suffering a loss when Rollins inserted himself. Lesnar doesn't go by any particular scripts, he doesn't pander to the fans, he just comes in and does his job, giving ass-kicking's left and right. WWE intended him to be a heel, but everyone knew by now how the actual Lesnar is in real life, and fans just kept falling for his massiveness, which is something WWE has built on now, yet again incorporating reality to the screen-stories.
Recapping
My point is quite simple. WWE knew they had to please more than just their younger fan-base, as about 35% of the fan-base are people at the age between 16-40, and a lot of these fans simply wouldn't be satisfied with the on screen stories anymore. By launching the network, and giving us more insight to the actual real life stories of the performers, we are given the insight that will impact our feelings of a wrestler on a much higher level than any of these on-screen stories can do to us (there are a few exceptions, for example: Mick Foley).
In conclusion one could say that WWE has changed the formula, and once again adapted to the actual needs of their fans. How this will end, only time can tell.
