Del Rio says WWE aren't focused on Mexico now

[héad.casé]

Alberto Del Rio recently did an interview with Yahoo! Deportes and explained that WWE's turned their attention away from Mexico.

He says WWE once looked at Mexico as being a market they wanted to get heavily involved in but have changed their minds since their most recent tour there was considered a flop. There has been a decline in attendance, economy, ratings and even piracy of the product. The last tour WWE had in Mexico the merchandise sales weren't good among other disappointing numbers. Del Rio says WWE realizes the product isn't hot anymore in Mexico. He talked about being appreciative of WWE giving him the opportunity to work with them and says they are family. He also spoke on wanting to be a road agent when he retires from being active.

[Deleted]

Probably because they're relying on people just being popular for being mexican, rather than actually engaging them.

That's been obvious for a while now. That might be good for some but it sure isn't going to hold for any sort of increase in popularity.

[vanboxmeer]

It's because they saw Cain Velasquez's UFC title match PPV number against Dos Santos that drew far greater than expected and changed their plans. Same type of push with Cain constantly being called a Mexican and the whole image of being a "Mexican Heavyweight Champion" now with Del Rio where the whole Mexican thing is now in overdrive.

[Tarik Dee]

It was a flop because the people are too poor and they rather buy cheap pirated products.

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2013 19:48:55 GMT -5 Tarik Dee said:

It was a flop because the people are too poor and they rather buy cheap pirated products.

That doesn't explain why AAA and CMLL are allegedly flourishing.

Jan 30, 2013 17:42:04 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

Probably because they're relying on people just being popular for being mexican, rather than actually engaging them.

That's been obvious for a while now. That might be good for some but it sure isn't going to hold for any sort of increase in popularity.

This however does. Guys like Del Rio and Sin Cara are good enough talents but their characters are overly simplified. Look at Del Rio's scuffle with Big Show and the whole "He's Hispanic blah blah blah." It's not about who Del Rio is, but what he is.

That sells well in the US but in Mexico, racial and ethnic boundaries among Mexicans are much more clear. There's no Criollo/Mestizo/Indio trichotomy in the United States but it's been going on in Mexico for centuries. Mexican-American fans are pretty much united into one singular group by virtue of being a minority and so they're going to rally around a Mexican wrestler pretty handily when he's being pushed on the grounds of being Mexican.

I'm not really knowledgeable on lucha libre in Mexico but there's way more character depth than "He/She is a Mexican" going on. Why? Because Mexico is not a homogenous country and simply being Mexican is not going to make everyone like you, especially when everybody who lives in the country is already Mexican to begin with. If WWE wants to tap into the Mexican market correctly, they need to have characters who are Mexican but aren't defined solely by that. Rey Mysterio is a good example for men and Melina is a good example for women. Earlier in his career, Rey got over for being a David-esque everyman who compensated for his lack of size with his heart and his insanely athletic moves. It's not true so much now (he has been overly Mexified recently) but when he was in his prime, there were a ton of reasons to cheer for the little guy. Melina got over for her wrestling and the character that she played, and WWE only made a big deal about her background in early 2007 and mid-2010 when she came back.

If WWE drew upon those two as models for the parameters of pushing their Mexican talents, they could make people who get over universally instead of primarily with minority audiences. They don't have to be megastars, just be able to get over with people from all backgrounds. If they do that, then there should be no issue.

[Tarik Dee]

Jan 30, 2013 21:07:40 GMT -5 @mightykretzler said:

Jan 30, 2013 19:48:55 GMT -5 Tarik Dee said:

It was a flop because the people are too poor and they rather buy cheap pirated products.

That doesn't explain why AAA and CMLL are allegedly flourishing

Because both the tickets and merchandise isn't as expensive like the WWE's; also, Lucha Libre shows are an activity so common as going to the movies.

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2013 21:12:35 GMT -5 Tarik Dee said:

Jan 30, 2013 21:07:40 GMT -5 @mightykretzler said:

That doesn't explain why AAA and CMLL are allegedly flourishing

Because both the tickets and merchandise isn't as expensive like the WWE's; also, Lucha Libre shows are an activity so common as going to the movies.

The article mentions that even piracy is declining. That doesn't sound like a financial issue. Usually, a high price increases piracy, not reduce it. I think interest in the product and characters has a lot more to do with it. And I think what Bootytime said is absolutely correct. Their new Mexican stars don't really have characters except for being Mexican.

[________ has left the building]

No need to focus on a market that's not a money maker.

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2013 21:07:40 GMT -5 @mightykretzler said:

Jan 30, 2013 19:48:55 GMT -5 Tarik Dee said:

It was a flop because the people are too poor and they rather buy cheap pirated products.

That doesn't explain why AAA and CMLL are allegedly flourishing.

Jan 30, 2013 17:42:04 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

Probably because they're relying on people just being popular for being mexican, rather than actually engaging them.

That's been obvious for a while now. That might be good for some but it sure isn't going to hold for any sort of increase in popularity.

This however does. Guys like Del Rio and Sin Cara are good enough talents but their characters are overly simplified. Look at Del Rio's scuffle with Big Show and the whole "He's Hispanic blah blah blah." It's not about who Del Rio is, but what he is.

That sells well in the US but in Mexico, racial and ethnic boundaries among Mexicans are much more clear. There's no Criollo/Mestizo/Indio trichotomy in the United States but it's been going on in Mexico for centuries. Mexican-American fans are pretty much united into one singular group by virtue of being a minority and so they're going to rally around a Mexican wrestler pretty handily when he's being pushed on the grounds of being Mexican.

I'm not really knowledgeable on lucha libre in Mexico but there's way more character depth than "He/She is a Mexican" going on. Why? Because Mexico is not a homogenous country and simply being Mexican is not going to make everyone like you, especially when everybody who lives in the country is already Mexican to begin with. If WWE wants to tap into the Mexican market correctly, they need to have characters who are Mexican but aren't defined solely by that. Rey Mysterio is a good example for men and Melina is a good example for women. Earlier in his career, Rey got over for being a David-esque everyman who compensated for his lack of size with his heart and his insanely athletic moves. It's not true so much now (he has been overly Mexified recently) but when he was in his prime, there were a ton of reasons to cheer for the little guy. Melina got over for her wrestling and the character that she played, and WWE only made a big deal about her background in early 2007 and mid-2010 when she came back.

If WWE drew upon those two as models for the parameters of pushing their Mexican talents, they could make people who get over universally instead of primarily with minority audiences. They don't have to be megastars, just be able to get over with people from all backgrounds. If they do that, then there should be no issue.

Absolutely.

Some of their canadian stars in the past have been a better point to work with. Take Bret Hart. Popular in Canada to be sure. But people in canada didn't JUST like him because he was canadian. He did well, had a good character people could relate to, the type of character that could be popular anywhere. Other than certain points in his career for storylines, that Bret Hart was canadian wasn't a focal point in his character.

People being of x ethnicity just to get people in the door is fine, but it's going to take more than that to keep them from walking back out the same door.