There are two kinds of promotions I believe would stand a chance (but not much of one, I must note): One is an HBO-style, R-rated promotion. FCC rules wouldn’t apply. Velvet Sky’s nipples and Lacey Von Erich’s pubic region would certainly be an attraction. But never mind adult storylines, you’d need QUALITY storylines to keep viewers once you reeled them in. (As far as dropping F-bombs goes, the best way to deal with being able to do that is to NEVER do it.) “The Sopranos” was excellent TV, period. Being R-rated was only a small part of it. Being R-rated would be a clear separation from WWE and its PG-13 philosophy. But you’d have to be serious, not juvenile.
The other is an old-fashioned rasslin’ promotion like Bill Watts’ Mid-South. Bruce Mitchell of ProWrestlingTorch.com wrote an interesting column about TNA once, substituting TNA stars into old Mid-South storylines. It was AWESOME. Again, it would be DIFFERENT than WWE.
But could you get championships to matter again? Could you get match results to matter again? It’s kind of tough to do when MMA is offering REAL championships determined by REAL fights, especially now that fighters like Brock Lesnar (aided and abetted by his close friend, Paul Heyman) are adding a needed touch of pro wrestling showmanship.
I know one thing for sure: Pro wrestling needs a viable second company, and soon. If pro wrestling is a monopoly for too long, bad things might occur.
What happens if WWE ever hits the skids like it did in the mid-‘90s, the era of Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, The Goon and T.L. Hopper? At that time, WCW picked up the slack, benefited from the perfect timing of the nWo angle, and the fallout was a wrestling war that not only caused the business to boom, it forced WWE to rethink its creative philosophy. Toss in the influence of ECW, and the result was “Attitude.”
The result was big money.
Now, if WWE would really suck – and some say WWE isn’t too far from that – what would force WWE to change? Vince McMahon only believes he’s wrong when he’s FORCED to believe it. What could force him to believe that now?
Nothing could.
Could WWE disappear? WCW did. ECW did. All the territories did. Could pro wrestling disappear from the North American entertainment landscape? Roller derby did.
But roller derby is slowly but surely regenerating through small, regional leagues. That’s right, territories. Believe it or not, some of it seems to be a shoot.
If it is, just wait. They’ll learn.
Point is, if WWE ever died, wrestling would regenerate. Instead of hoping for TNA or Wilpon’s new company to succeed, let’s hope for THAT. Sounds interesting.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM, Pittsburgh. Check out the Mark Madden page at WXDX.com. Contact Mark via wzmarkmadden@hotmail.com.
