The Lord's Lowdown II

[priest]

Firstly, let me say, thank you for the welcome I have received off of everybody so far. It has been appreciated. I have taken on board the feedback everybody gave me, and hope this is an improved effort. And, obviously, you enjoy it of course. With this column, I’m going to try and introduce myself a bit more, whilst talking about a topic Fenixx brought up recently and giving my own take on it.

I am 21 years of age and am a student. Well, technically, not anymore. I completed my Business Management with Marketing degree a few weeks ago. I enjoyed my final year much more than I did the previous two, mainly because it focused on international marketing, which I found quite interesting. One of the principles of the topic was that for most international company’s, there is an emphasis on market segmentation. This, basically, would be categorising consumers into segments based on their traits and characteristics, before deciding on which would be most lucrative for their business. This would become their target market. This is because it is much cheaper to try and satisfy one segment than satisfy them all; as all segments have different tastes and wants. Whilst bearing this in mind, it has made me conclude the following, to which I’m sure some of you agree, and some of you disagree:

The WWE TVPG era is not coming to an end.

Some of you may look at that and say ‘no shit’, given Daniel Bryan was released for the ‘crime’ of choking someone for a few seconds with a tie. But at this moment in time, we are still not 100% it is not a work. Even if it isn’t, the WWE are supposedly looking to bring him back in the near future anyway once the heat has died down. Many of us, me included, are hoping the current NXT angle was the beginning of the end for the PG era. But I do not see this happening, and this is why.

We are all big wrestling fans. We wouldn’t be here otherwise. But what do we do when a wrestler becomes our favourite? We write a column on them. We tell our friends we ‘digged’ their promo. The current target market for the WWE is kids. What do the kids do when they love a wrestler? They beg their parents for their shirts. They want the lunchboxes. They want the DVD’s. See the difference? Only one of the groups is generating any real revenue for the WWE.

So why now? Why has the WWE waited until now to make it PG? One of the reasons could be the dominance they have in the market right now. Previously, WWE was a growing product. After the success of Wrestlemania, the growth accelerated at a rapid pace. The market was soon in the palm of their hand. That was until WCW came along. WCW paved the way forward with an edgier product, with more realistic and ‘adult’ storylines. The WWE was replaced as number 1, for the time being at least. WWE modified their product to fit in with the times with The Attitude Era, and WWE soon became top dogs again. Since then, WWE have experienced dominance once again. Today, the market is basically a monopoly, or at best an oligopoly if you want to include UFC. This basically means WWE can take risks with their product. They can do what they want, within reason, because the consumer has little alternatives. Without WWE, what would we do? Watch TNA? With Hogan and his belief that he is still a draw and we actually give a shit about him? The truth is if we want to watch wrestling that contains booking in a logical way, we have little alternatives past the WWE.

The WWE know this. They know, by and large, the older generation will remain loyal. I don’t follow the ratings of RAW and Smackdown!, but I can guess since the PG era began, the ratings haven’t dropped that much. PPV buys may be down slightly, but with the constant plugs of wweshop and DX, Cena, Rey Mysterio and even Santino merchandise being given exposure, the WWE know what they are trying to do. Kids want to wear the orange t-shirt with a mask on and two green glow sticks in the air. And the WWE are happy for them to do this.

Obviously, one day the PG era will come to an end. That day could be close for all I know. I’m not Vince McMahon or any of the directors. But I don’t see it. Not when I look at the crowd at any WWE show. Not when the WWE has no real competition. I have given up hope of TNA making WWE think twice about their product, but I do have hope that perhaps one day UFC can do so. I was recently given the new UFC video game for my birthday (my stepdads attempt perhaps at making me follow something more ‘manly’). Could some of the teenage and young adult generation be swayed by UFC’s more ‘real’ product? I can certainly see it. With UFC becoming more mainstream, and guys like Rampage Jackson given more exposure, I don’t see why not. If this was to happen and the ratings were to drop, maybe WWE would think again about their current product and whether the time was right for us to see steel chairs, blood and, dare I say it, perhaps even the odd tie choke now and again.

Several wrestlers, including the likes of John Cena, Triple H and Kane, have come out and voiced their support for the PG era. They say that the previous product wasn’t suitable for their kids, whereas they are now proud of the way it has become a family entertainment business. It is a fair assessment, as storylines containing issues such as necrophilia probably aren’t the best lessons or kids. But the kids can’t go the arenas by themselves. They can’t buy the t-shirts with their own money. They can’t even order the pay-per-views. They need their parents to do this. The WWE knows this. By trying to create a ‘family’ product, they are getting the best of both worlds. But this carries a dangerous problem, as explained in my international marketing module. Targeting too many segments leads to a confused product. It’s a bit similar to the ‘too many cooks spoilt the broth’ saying. WWE needs to be, at worst, tolerable for the parents. But it is the kids who are the ones that are going to be excited by the product when they see Horny and his Tadpole Splash.

We are not the current target market. We are not the current market segment that the WWE is looking to satisfy. The WWE seems content with their position at the moment. I don’t see it changing, as much as I’d like it to. I hope I’m wrong, but, for the foreseeable future at least, I think a car reversing into another car whilst the passenger hasn’t securely fastened their seatbelt is about as extreme as it’s going to get.

So, The Lord has spoken. What do you think? Do you think the WWE product is changing? Let me know what you guys think, and any criticisms are of course welcome, I am still a baby when it comes to column writing after all.

[fenixx]

Haha, sorry for bumping your column down, I posted mine literally two minutes after yours.

I think you hit the nail right on the head here. The WWE identified that the older generations are the true fans that'll stick by them while the younger generation is the cash cow. The amount of youth and kids merchandise on the WWE's shop website is just incredible and just proves the point you made here. Realising that we are not the target market helps with understanding why the WWE does certain things, but still won't stop the older generation from being pissed off. It's just something that we have to deal with I guess. Vince is running a business here, not just producing a show that relies on ratings. I'm also not sure if you were implying if steel chairs and blood equals ratings, but if you were, I kinda have to disagree with you. In this day and age, people would rather see a guy get legitimately busted open on UFC than watch a guy blade in a wrestling match, in my opinion.

Great effort, priest. I had a good feeling that your second column wouldn't be a letdown and you really impressed me here. Hopefully you can keep this run going.

[Roadkill]

Well, with your college degree, you seem to know what your talking about, so I'm gonna go ahead and agree with everything you said in this column. lol

Really, though, congrats on finishing up college and congrats on a HUGE improvement from your already good debut column. You have a very bright future, priest.

[ChrisBear]

Good work again here Danny boy.

I think the PG era and the UFC boom go hand in hand, one for adults and one for kiddies....Hopefull they'll scrap PG and go happy medium.

Bot much to say, no glaring errors, you have taken on feedback well so keep 'em coming .

[priest]

Fenixx - ha it's ok i was only joking. But I wouldn't necessarily say it's as simple as steel chairs = ratings. I still think, when used sporadically and correctly, there can be a place for them. But i agree people who generally want to see that sort of thing can easily tune into UFC. Thanks for stopping by though mate.

Roadkill - ha well I wouldn't call myself an expert or anything. I was kinda worried this column might've made it sound like I was trying to seem this educated cock, so I hope it didn't come across that way. Thanks for your compliments though.

ChrisBear - yeah I think this NXT angle is a sort of happy medium, I just hope it isn't the end of them. Thanks for your feedback though.

[Savior4Hire]

I agree about the NXT being a happy medium. It gives the smarks something to be happy about, but is a clear heat magnet for their target audience. You hit the nail on the head when you said we are not the target market. Right now that target market is kids for one simple reason, they pay money for the product. The IWC may be loyal, but we are notoriously cheap, whereas kids will plunk down money for anything. It all comes down to the cash.

I enjoyed this tremendously.

['Plan]

Hey there priest! So what, do I call Father or something? ;) I didn't catch your first effort unfortunately due to having dropped off the face of the feedbacking earth for a couple of months so apologies. Incidentally, it was because I too was finishing up my Degree too! But mine's in history. Yawn. Anyyyyyyyyyyywho....

If this is your second effort I'm actually most impressed. It was interesting, it was logical and you didn't take on more than you could handle. (That sounds awfully patronising. My bad!) That said, it lacked a bit of fluidity. That is to say, at times the discourse of it, the progression from intro to argument and so forth often felt a little...not forced, but awkward. It was bread and butter and I think you've clearly got enough to turn bread and butter into...um...a relevantly more impressive metaphor. The way to tackle it would to get rid of out-and-out "I'm going to do this now" statements, so things like, "With this column I'm going to try..." and, "But I do not see this happening, and this is why." You should work on trying to replace those types of sentences with something showing a bit more flair and personality. It'll put more of a stamp on your writing where the reader can automatically recognise who wrote it without needing to know while at the same time making it read more professionally and a little easier to boot! Another example would be the introduction, in which you told us about your degree and so forth. It read like one of those annoying things the fucking idiotic tutors make you do where you all go round the table and say something about yourself. It's another example of how it felt a bit awkward at times and I think maybe if you'd replaced it with an anecdote (even if it's made up!) that would've allowed the reader to discover the same info a little more naturally would have made it feel like it was done by one of the more accomplished writers.

But that's not to say I thought it was bad! Far from it, I'm impressed. I think once you work on putting some more personality and a little more fluidity, which in fairness will come in time anyway as you grow more comfortable with this place and your own style, then you could potentially become one of the better writers around here. Your attitude is a very productive one and your talent holds a bright future my friend. Keep writing and I'll keep reading!

[Pringle]

Not too sound to generic here, but I really like your writing. You've picked a topic where you know exactly what you're talking about. Your writing flows nicely, in my opinion.

I totally agree; PG WWE is not going away any time soon. As you said, we are not the target market at the minute - the kids are. There is no real competition for the adult market at the minute. But sooner or later there will be. And I see the competition coming from UFC as well. I only started watching UFC last year, but I really enjoy it and I make time for it. I like wrestling to much to stop watching it to opt for UFC instead, but others may be different.

After only two columns, I am rapidly becoming a big fan of yours. Nice work, man.

[priest]

Savior4Hire - Yeah it's a shame, because this NXT angle is really showing us what the WWE can do. It's not exactly hard choosing whether you want to see this NXT angle or Hornswoggle VS Chavo in a Tuxedo match. Thanks for your words though mate.

'Plan - Ha, no you can just call me priest. I'll probably explain the whole priest thing in a future column, but I'll warn you now, it's not a hilarious story. As for your feedback, it's appreciated. I'm always going to try and improve as a writer so your criticisms will help me become one. Thanks for your praise aswell though, cheers for stopping by :)

Pringle - Wow. Thanks alot. It really does mean alot to me that some of the more accomplished and experienced writers here can see some promise in me. And yeah, I think TNA have too many problems and their product seems too confused and ''so 1990's''. UFC offer a different product to a different demographic, so could build their fanbase this way. Thanks for dropping by though mate.

[Viking Rage]

another solid effort here. I definately like the way you're progressing. Well done, friend.