[Darth Krawlie]

Why is this such a terrible thing? All over the internet and even in here sometimes, we pan wrestlers with kid friendly gimmicks and silly segments and Hornswoggle simply because they're geared to kids. Well, what's so terrible about that? If it sells and gets a pop, then why not do it? I know it can be easily argued that ratings are low, buy rates are low, and over all revenue is down, and a lot of that may (may, not is) attributable to the PG rating, but for the sake of argument let's say it doesn't or at least has a negligible effect..

I was just thinking about this when making a post about R-Truth in the weekly thread a minute ago. Part of why smarks now dislike him (after loving him in TNA) is because he raps to the ring and plays to the kids in the audience. So what if he does? Why is that so terrible? Especially considering he's currently feuding with a guy like CM Punk, who is very obviously NOT marketed to kids. Not everything needs, or even should, be edgy and violent and adult.

What do you guys think?

[Exodus]

I think Cena should no longer call his oppoents names like captain poopy pants.

In all seriousness, I think there should be more diversity. Some kid friendly stuff, but not all. Don't entirely do away with blood, but save it for the once a year or so super angle on pay per view maybe. But can you sprinkle in these types of things without displeasing people when you have to have a blanket rating for marketing? Would a single Hornswoggle angle ruin a show with a TV-MA rating? In contrast, does one blood angle on one of the 12 PPV's per year or on one segment on one of the 208 programs aired on free TV per year ruin your PG viability? The answer should be no, but it's tough when you have advertisers and consumers hanging in the balance - especially in todays unstable economic atmosphere. There's a whole lot more to lose.

In a nutshell, they should try harder to stick to basics and only garnish them with kid friendly marketability. Longer matches, more decisive finishes, and more variety in terms of talent matchups. Focus there. Then take a step back and decide where the kid friendly stuff fits best instead of prominently featuring it all over the place.

I think I'm making sense. If not, okay...I've had a long day.

[Darth Krawlie]

Great post and I agree. Unfortunately, it seems as if the WWE has always been more interested in producing one all-encompassing product and not different types that cater to different demographics. I'm sure we'd all love one edgy show, one family oriented show, and one neutral show for the up and comers, but that doesn't seem to be something the company has any interest in.

[Exodus]

And that's a good idea too. I can live (to an extent) with the entertainment, developemental, and in-ring savy show. But instead of having a variety of program types, each program should consist of a variety of segment types. Raw is getting better at this, thank God. I couldn't imagine them pushing Kofi like this as recently as a few months ago, say around Summerslam when his match was entirely scratched from the card.

[Tex]

Make no mistake about it, Vince it targeting the kids. That's how he built his empire. The only time he's swayed from that strategy was during the attitude era, and the only reason why he did that is because the Monday Night Wars forced him to. Once that was out of the way he went right back to the kiddies.

You guys are all going through what I went through ten years ago, which is the painful realization that you're no longer a part of the target market. I imagine it's a bit harder for you guys because as much as I prefered wrestling in 1989 I could still stomach 1999 wrestling. 2009 wrestling, however, is just plain awful.

You can argue all you want about what you think the WWE SHOULD do, but doing so would be like complaining about Hollywood remaking movies. In each case you have a bunch of people complaining because times aren't as good as they once were, while at the same time failing to acknowledge the fact that that they have become part of an irrelevant audience. The WWE will always target the young crowd, which means that anyone over 25 who persists on watching wrestling will have to lower their expectations for the current product.

Unfortunately lamenting the "good ol days" is something that all wrestling fans have to do sooner than later.