WrestleMania 31: 8 Reasons Interest Is At An All-Time Low
8. The Company Has Turned Heel On Its Fans
Ever since the Steve Austin/Vince McMahon angle took the entire industry by storm in 1998, WWE has spent the time since trying to recreate the same dynamic with various combinations of authority figures and wrestlers, and it hasnt worked. At all. The problem is, its not going to because the players, and more importantly the times, have changed. What WWE fails to realize about the Austin/McMahon story is that the people didnt get behind Stone Cold because they hated Vince; they hated Vince because they were behind Stone Cold. All theyve managed to successfully do is get the fans to detest the authority figures, essentially presenting whoever serves as the figurehead of the company as a despicable person. The problem with this philosophy is that its carried over into real life, with the lines between the on-and-off screen heel authority being blurred something that WWE has done on purpose. Never mind the fact that theyve taken an almost Gestapo-like stance with live crowds, with the recent story of the 10 fans dressed up as WWE legends who were forced to change or vacate their front row seats. The WWE live event experience is all about having fun, provided its corporate-approved fun, that is. When you go out of your way to make your fans view you as the evil empire, you reap what you sow when it they actually begin to think of you as the real life bad guys.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
