10 Times WWE Had Their Head Up Their Ass

5. Stand Up For WWE

Vince McMahon Big Show
WWE.com

"You do it, goddamn it!"

Those weren't quite the words of Vince McMahon, but that was the subtext of a marketing campaign so pathetic that it could only achieve the opposite of the intended effect. Linda McMahon made a play for public office in 2010. The media did some digging, not that they needed a shovel to lap up the foam on a coffee cup overspilling with so much awfulness, and Vince got pissed when the things he had done or authorised were brought to the attention of the public.

This led to the Stand Up For WWE campaign in which Vince asked his fans to defend Linda's worker's rights record and suitability to serve the public. As part of the marketing strategy, WWE released a video entitled 'Employees Stand Up For WWE'.

Brilliantly, literally one word develops an amazing irony. A black and white title card reads "On October 18, 2010, the employees of World Wrestling Entertainment voluntarily gathered to Stand Up For WWE".

Jesus Christ. Maybe don't capitalise the slogan if you want that to be convincing. The effect of this aesthetic choice made it look like the opening credits of a found footage horror film.

Nobody stood up for WWE. Seth Rollins did, but he was nine years too late.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!