Longtime WWE fans who don't enjoy the company's programming the way they used to often point to the fact that WWE has adopted a PG product - and pushed John Cena as the face of this new branding - as the reason why things aren't as much fun as they used to be. Newer fans are susceptible to thinking that a return to Attitude Era-style programming is a panacea for all of WWE's woes. The truth is, there's nothing wrong with a TVPG product, only immature storylines and angles - and those were around long before the rating change in 2008. Segments with Hornswoggle and Little People's Court may be geared toward eight-year-olds, but HLA and Dr. Hiney weren't amusing to anybody who was much older. In both ratings "eras", WWE's writers have made a habit of either underestimating the intelligence of the audience or exposing their own lack of sophistication.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
