WWE: 5 Ways Sports Entertainment Has Influenced Sports & TV

3. Embracing The Villain

Pop culture has long had the anti-hero. The dark brooding figure whose actions are for the right reasons or accomplish righteous goals, but the person is not a good person. Marvel Comics' "The Punisher" is a prime example as are any number of Clint Eastwood's characters from his Western roles. Professional wrestling was able to take this idea one further, even if inadvertently, when the villains started getting the hero's cheers. While the phenomenon was first discovered with Gorgeous George in wrestling (though he was not getting many cheers) it really gained momentum in the late-1970s with the smattering of popularity the fans had given 'Superstar' Billy Graham during his nine months as WWE Champion. Superstar was a new type of professional wrestler, eventually becoming the prototype for all professional wrestlers today and an obvious precursor of Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura and others. The embrace of the villain really took hold however in 1996 with the debut of the New World Order. When the nWo first started running roughshod over the WCW roster, fans immediately began to take note and instead of despising the dark strangers riding into town, they instead rooted on the invaders and their every move, and don't let all the trash being thrown into the ring fool you. The nWo was the first of many from that point on at one time or another such as D-Generation X, The Rock (and the Nation of Domination), The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness, John Cena, Kane, The Big Show, Brock Lesnar, Dolph Ziggler, The Shield, The Wyatt Family and others would enjoy a hero's welcome while being decidedly villainous. Personalities like The Rock, Lesnar, Mr. Anderson and others would further prove audiences respond well to brash, pompous, and sometimes self-centered individuals. The sports world has plenty of personalities that fit that bill. Personalities like Metta World Peace (formerly known as I can't remember his name haha), Dennis Rodman (who had several appearances with WCW), Floyd Mayweather, Jr., (who also made an appearance inside a wrestling ring), Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders and others. While most people will say they didn't agree with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman's actions after his team's recent victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Sherman's jersey sales immediately skyrocketed. A huge number of MMA athletes embrace this personality as well and have gained a legion of followers. While a number of people point to Muhammad Ali doing similar things in the late-1960s, he was reviled for it at the time, only receiving praise for it long after he had shown he was able to back his mouth up, but even Ali admits to mimicking it from Gorgeous George.