WWE often talks about how it's fans are the life and soul of the product. This is very true but the fans don't do everything because if they did WWE wouldn't continuously remove signs from paying patrons or edit out chants from certain events such as Smackdown. I find it a very unusual situation that WWE are trying their best to almost censor fans in specific ways. Its almost perverse.
They tell the fans on a weekly basis;
"THE WWE UNIVERSE SPEAKS ITS MIND AND WE PROVIDE THE ENTERTAINMENT." Now don't get me wrong I understand the idea behind this but where in the small print does it say,
"ok but only when we decide you can and we reserve the right to remove any signs that may look bad on television"?
WWE need to understand that the more they try and mute fans the more they will end up with people trying to "Hijack" shows. Remember the early 2000s where if you didnt bring a sign it was weird? I sometimes look at the crowd and wonder how many signs would be there if WWE didn't remove them.
And the crowd chants, yes we know we chant some profound things but that doesn't mean that if the show is pre-recorded they should be edited out. For example, WWE recently cut out a loud CM Punk chant from the London Raw taping. While it should be noted that these chants are annoying WWE shoudl not feel the need to remove them from broadcast. Seeing Stephanie McMahon 3 times in a night is annoying. Do they remove her from TV?
The problem WWE currently have is that they have lead the fans to believe that they have so much influence on the product. The fans, however, do not realize that while they are influential on the product the stock holders and the corporate sponsors are the ones with the real power. WWE removes signs from fans in fear that stock holders or sponsors may find specific signs bad for business. Some examples of this might be signs involving Chris Benoit or more recently CM Punk. While signs can have crude messages or sometimes hilarious images would it not be better let the fans say what they think and give the stock holders an idea as to how the fan mind works?
Another issue WWE have is that they have left John Cena at the top for so long that they are running out of people to stand by him. With all the main event caliber talent being involved with non-title feuds and Bryan on the injured list WWE will see Cena as the escape route. However this leads to larger issues. Fans no longer want to see Cena holding a belt. They want new, edgy products and characters who haven't grown stale. This is no fault of Cena's might I add, this is completely down to WWE not taking the chance on other stars to let them shine. If guys such as Ziggler, Punk, Cesaro and Barrett had all been pushed at the right time they could have all grown organically within the fan base and been main eventing along side Cena.
WWE need to see that there is time for change and that time is now. Use NXT to build stars, create gripping rivalries that we can connect with, stop taking fans signs from them and most of all if you claim that the fans build the product don't try and hush them when they argue with what you say.
And the crowd chants, yes we know we chant some profound things but that doesn't mean that if the show is pre-recorded they should be edited out. For example, WWE recently cut out a loud CM Punk chant from the London Raw taping. While it should be noted that these chants are annoying WWE shoudl not feel the need to remove them from broadcast. Seeing Stephanie McMahon 3 times in a night is annoying. Do they remove her from TV?
The problem WWE currently have is that they have lead the fans to believe that they have so much influence on the product. The fans, however, do not realize that while they are influential on the product the stock holders and the corporate sponsors are the ones with the real power. WWE removes signs from fans in fear that stock holders or sponsors may find specific signs bad for business. Some examples of this might be signs involving Chris Benoit or more recently CM Punk. While signs can have crude messages or sometimes hilarious images would it not be better let the fans say what they think and give the stock holders an idea as to how the fan mind works?
Another issue WWE have is that they have left John Cena at the top for so long that they are running out of people to stand by him. With all the main event caliber talent being involved with non-title feuds and Bryan on the injured list WWE will see Cena as the escape route. However this leads to larger issues. Fans no longer want to see Cena holding a belt. They want new, edgy products and characters who haven't grown stale. This is no fault of Cena's might I add, this is completely down to WWE not taking the chance on other stars to let them shine. If guys such as Ziggler, Punk, Cesaro and Barrett had all been pushed at the right time they could have all grown organically within the fan base and been main eventing along side Cena.
WWE need to see that there is time for change and that time is now. Use NXT to build stars, create gripping rivalries that we can connect with, stop taking fans signs from them and most of all if you claim that the fans build the product don't try and hush them when they argue with what you say.
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