Pro Wrestling is Sports Entertainment

['Sweet n' Sour' A. A. Estrada]

I thought 'Sports Entertainment' was just a label so WWE wouldn't have to pay fees and follow rules set out by various legitimate athletic commissions that have wrestling, boxing and MMA under their umbrella?

[EvilMasterBetty, Esq.]

vanvader said:

I thought 'Sports Entertainment' was just so WWE wouldn't have to pay fees and follow rules set out by various legitimate athletic commissions that have wrestling, boxing and MMA under their umbrella?

Thats probably the case.

And I think that too many people blow this out of proportion. It never bothers me when they call it "sports entertainment".

['Sweet n' Sour' A. A. Estrada]

evilmasterbetty said:

vanvader said:

I thought 'Sports Entertainment' was just so WWE wouldn't have to pay fees and follow rules set out by various legitimate athletic commissions that have wrestling, boxing and MMA under their umbrella?

Thats probably the case.

And I think that too many people blow this out of proportion. It never bothers me when they call it "sports entertainment".

As far as I know, they don't seem to book storylines any differently than when they were called the 'World Wrestling Federation'. In fact, they had a Vampire/Zombie feud during that time (which I would have enjoyed, but still).

Really, I don't think the whole issue goes anywhere beyond that.

[repomanfan]

sport is entertainment. the thing is that vince's brand of entertainment is pathetic and appeals to the lowest common denominator. vince does not even try to make his product believable, its all about getting cheap laughs and ratings ala the jerry springer show. im not sure if the storylines are less believable or that i have just become older and see wrestling in a different light? im not sure....but all i know is that vince's product is becoming less and less foucsed on wrestling and characters and more on bikini contests. in the 80s and early 90s, some of the storylines may have been silly, but they always felt like it was about wrestling and know when i watch raw it's like watching jerry springer, wrestling, a soap opera and reality show rolled into one.

[algertman]

kkliqj4l said:

algertman said:

Because when they owner and employees constantly refer to it as sports entertainment you break the 4th wall.

So? Deadpool breaks the 4th wall, and he's awesome.

So? he;s deadpool. Him, Ambush Bug, and Mr. Mxypltk. All part of thier charector. i wouldn't ming having a wrestler with that gimmick though. You know, someone who doesn't ignore the inviasible backstage camera

[nisi]

madhatter2k said:

nisi said:

The issue isn't that it is sports entertainment, we know what it is. But Vince calling it that has changed the illusion.

Agreed. It's like a character in a movie refering to the film as a movie.

You are a genius sir. This is one of the finest examples ever given on these boards. I salute you.

[Corporate H]

Sports Entertainment. That pretty much sums it up.

[Big DSR Energy]

I just thought it was funny when someone once posted this, in regards to Chris Benoit vs. Kennedy:

"I love when these two wrestle sports entertain each other."

Sports entertainment is a ridiculous term.

[Kerry Von Erich is my hero]

I hate the term sports entertainment too, but it isn't a new term. Vince has been calling it that since the 80's

[Deleted]

evilmasterbetty said:

vanvader said:

I thought 'Sports Entertainment' was just so WWE wouldn't have to pay fees and follow rules set out by various legitimate athletic commissions that have wrestling, boxing and MMA under their umbrella?

Thats probably the case.

And I think that too many people blow this out of proportion. It never bothers me when they call it "sports entertainment".

I completely agree, when people say they want "wrestling," instead of "sports entertainment," I always assume that their vision of wrestling is just random selections of good wrestlers wrestling each other for the sake of wrestling, which I suppose isn't a problem but like, why not just watch UFC or something if that's your thing? IMO sports entertainment or pro wrestling, no matter what you wanna call it need storylines to set it apart from other sports, create situations that wouldn't be possible if they took away everyone's personality and character so we could give people this "wrestling" that everyone is convinced is missing.

[The Boss]

The major part of the "entertainment" is focusing on the sport. That's what the fans tune in to see. Yet the WWF seems to do all that it can to focus away from the sport side of it. They've even gone so far as to restrict the words wrestlers an announcers can use to talk about it. They are no longer allowed to use the words "belt", "strap", or "gold" when referring to a title. They are supposed to say "business" instead of "sport". Even the very words "professional wrestling" are slowly being phased out. Doesn't it make you sick when someone makes a challenge and says "I'm the greatest sports entertainer in the business."?

I want my professional wrestling back!

[The Boss]

leemir said:

I just feel that by calling it Sports Entertainment they're basically telling us it's a work & thats something you just shouldn't say on TV.

Exactly. When you go to a movie you don't see them men being shot at saying, "Watch out for the special effects that will be added later!" or Lois Lane saying "Look, up on the wires! It's some actor playing the fictional character Superman!"

[Alawishous Simmons]

For me calling Pro Wrestling "Sports Entertainment" is like calling Football "Soccer".

Same thing, different name.

[Rick Mad]

nichotine said:

evilmasterbetty said:

Thats probably the case.

And I think that too many people blow this out of proportion. It never bothers me when they call it "sports entertainment".

I completely agree, when people say they want "wrestling," instead of "sports entertainment," I always assume that their vision of wrestling is just random selections of good wrestlers wrestling each other for the sake of wrestling, which I suppose isn't a problem but like, why not just watch UFC or something if that's your thing? IMO sports entertainment or pro wrestling, no matter what you wanna call it need storylines to set it apart from other sports, create situations that wouldn't be possible if they took away everyone's personality and character so we could give people this "wrestling" that everyone is convinced is missing.

When people say they want wrestling instead of sports entertainment, they probably mean minimal storylines, or at least realistic ones, not Kiss My Ass sketches and blah blah, all that WWE stuff we always complain about. People that say they want wrestling probably don't watch UFC because it isn't pro wrestling and isn't at all what they're talking about.

[Deleted]

rickmad said:

nichotine said:

I completely agree, when people say they want "wrestling," instead of "sports entertainment," I always assume that their vision of wrestling is just random selections of good wrestlers wrestling each other for the sake of wrestling, which I suppose isn't a problem but like, why not just watch UFC or something if that's your thing? IMO sports entertainment or pro wrestling, no matter what you wanna call it need storylines to set it apart from other sports, create situations that wouldn't be possible if they took away everyone's personality and character so we could give people this "wrestling" that everyone is convinced is missing.

When people say they want wrestling instead of sports entertainment, they probably mean minimal storylines, or at least realistic ones, not Kiss My Ass sketches and blah blah, all that WWE stuff we always complain about. People that say they want wrestling probably don't watch UFC because it isn't pro wrestling and isn't at all what they're talking about.

But the thing that gets me about that argument is when has WWE ever been like that anyways? Closest they ever were was when Bret Hart was champ, but even then they had some wacky gimmicks and things of that nature. A lot of the time it seems like an ROH fan wishes WWE would be more like ROH(which basically IS more wrestling than story), and then there's people who don't like ROH because they wish ROH were more like WWE, having more storylines.

But the main point here is that sports entertainment is just another name for pro wrestling, it's never really bothered me, and for those it does bother there ARE alternatives, instead of wishing WWE would change the way they've basically done things since the days of Hulkamania why not just seek out alternatives which provide everything some people who've made those complaints are looking for?

[Rick Mad]

nichotine said:

rickmad said:

When people say they want wrestling instead of sports entertainment, they probably mean minimal storylines, or at least realistic ones, not Kiss My Ass sketches and blah blah, all that WWE stuff we always complain about. People that say they want wrestling probably don't watch UFC because it isn't pro wrestling and isn't at all what they're talking about.

But the thing that gets me about that argument is when has WWE ever been like that anyways? Closest they ever were was when Bret Hart was champ, but even then they had some wacky gimmicks and things of that nature. A lot of the time it seems like an ROH fan wishes WWE would be more like ROH(which basically IS more wrestling than story), and then there's people who don't like ROH because they wish ROH were more like WWE, having more storylines.

But the main point here is that sports entertainment is just another name for pro wrestling, it's never really bothered me, and for those it does bother there ARE alternatives, instead of wishing WWE would change the way they've basically done things since the days of Hulkamania why not just seek out alternatives which provide everything some people who've made those complaints are looking for?

Correct, WWE never was about the wrestling exactly, but there have been times when they at least had great quality wrestling that made the stupid sports entertainment parts worth it. In addition, I suppose, its easier to overlook the Attitude era sports entertainment stuff because it was significantly better than the post Invasion era crap. Either way, WWE focuses less on wrestling now than they have in the past, IMO, and its a problem.

Sadly, no, there aren't real alternatives to WWE right now. Not on television, at least. TNA used to count, I guess, but their weekly shows are more sports entertainment than anything now too.