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How can WWE be a PG show?

5K views 70 replies 38 participants last post by  World's Best 
#1 ·
I've been thinking about this for a while and honestly, I don't get it. Firstly, WWE is simulated violence. In the eyes of children, it is 2 men fighting because they have a problem with eachother. How then can that be targeted towards children? If anything, it is teaching kids to sort out their problems by fighting.

Also, if you watch the show, I think you'd agree there is plenty of swearing and cussing in it. For one, just watch any Brock Lesnar pre-taped promo and he uses an array of profanity. Even John Cena, Mr. PG himself, has swore on dozens of occasions. So the question remains, how then can WWE be a PG show?

IMO, WWE and wrestling's main audience cannot be kids. It's illogical that you are promoting violence to kids yet calling yourself kid-friendly. I understand that all (sane) adults know that it's pre-determined and scripted but similarly, as is any other movie and TV show. I've always been under the belief that WWE should be targeted at the 18-35 year old demographic which is the largest demographic out there. When it was previously ala AE and RA eras, more kids were watching the product than they are now.

I want to know some of your thoughts on it and whether it's just me. And if you disagree with anything I've said, please respond accordingly. I hope to see some other thoughts on the matter.​
 
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#5 ·
Thanks for the response but I think there is a difference between cartoon fighting and actual people fighting in the eyes of children.
 
#10 ·
But WWE pride themselves on being kid friendly when really, they're not.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the response and I get that but WWE is still kid-orientated. That's where the disconnect is with me.
 
#6 · (Edited)
PG doesn't mean kid friendly. Smackdown was TV-PG DLV every week from 2000. WCW was PG when they were winning the war. WWF was TVPG in 97. There are some shows out there that are TVPG yet not kid friendly (Duck Dynasty, Monk, Seinfeld, Matlock, etc.). Problem is WWE's version of PG is ass-backwards. But I agree with the fact that you can't put on a "kid-friendly" show that airs on a school night in prime time that ends after 11pm on the east coast. Just stupid.
 
#11 ·
We're still basically kids, and we are watching it more than adults because we always like to go step above, watch what older guys like (violence and everything above TV-14), mostly teens, that's how our perception of "coolness" varies. I was a biggest wrestling fan when I was 10, and as we get older and learn that it's fake, we grow disinterested in it because it's a scripted fight with characters, instead of a real fights. It's like horror movies with a PG rating, they're possible, and they exist. There's even a horror cartoon for kids I used to watch. You know, there's always those 'edgy', 'cool' kids that think they're adults by looking up to above TV-14 stuff. And wrestling evolved by those rules. Because let's face it, the concept of today's WWE isn't working for adults as much as it works for kids. The adults will rather watch UFC, while kids are gonna watch the stuff they think is 'hardcore', but in reality just another TV show with 'ass' and 'bitch' in it.
 
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#14 ·
Kids should sort out their problems by fighting.. WWE is sending the right message. Don't take shit from anybody.

That's how you solve problems nowadays. Enough with the talking shit, kick their fucking ass.

Fighting is PG, as long as it's not too violent.. Do you see blood very often, nobody's head get's blown off. They fake fight which makes it PG.

PG is better for WWE overall. It doesn't matter if some of you don't like it.. It's better for WWE and it will be more successful of a company when it's PG.. TV-14 was not good or business, not anymore.. It's a public company now, not private. That changes everything.
 
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#21 ·
Considering WWE used to be all about drugs, sex and violence, I think you can consider the current product 'PG'.

PG doesn't necessary mean everything has to super kid friendly, I mean could you imagine if they weren't even allowed minor swearing? The promos would be awful "(insert opponents name) you are a stupid idiot and you smell bad"
fpalm

There has gotta some things allowed, as J.R has often said "this ain't ballet".
 
#36 ·
That show WWE has about the Monday Night wars is great. Watch episode 2 where WWE almost goes out of business from sticking with corny PG stuff for too long, and then episode 3 where they finally figure out people don't like that garbage. I watched that before Smackdown and was SOOOOO bored by the PG show after seeing that. Hopefully somebody in creative realizes how much money they're losing with this PG thing.

I'm on here because I don't know any other adults who really watch WWE any more, even though I have tons of friends who used to watch it and love it and wish it were still entertaining. Most of us watched the attitude era as kids and we're somehow still alive, and if it was like that still it wouldn't just be me watching now (and I stopped watching for like a decade too by the way). I think PG is a TERRIBLE business decision that alienates more fans than it brings in.
 
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#37 ·
I think PG is a TERRIBLE business decision that alienates more fans than it brings in.
I disagree. As you've said, your friends watched wrestling as kids and now they think it's lame, but that's NOT related to the current product. If I showed my friends a Rock-Austin match, they would have the same reaction as for a Punk or Sheamus match.
 
#46 ·
A lot of people seem to think because a show is PG it is therefore deemed acceptable for kids of all ages.

That is incorrect. It means Parental Guidance which is a way of warning parents that they MAY not want to allow their children to watch the show as it MAY contain adult themes and violence.

PG does not mean the show has to be ''kid friendly''.
 
#13 ·
Agreed. I used to think about this years ago, but I realized I'm just overanalyzing. And that's never good.
 
#16 ·
WWE are PG in name only to attract TV money and sponsors and allow them to have TV and tour in lucrative markets like Saudi Arabia and the UAE

In the past week we have seen one wrestler curbstomp another wrestlers head into cinderblocks, sure they were fake but would an 8 year old know that..
 
#18 ·
Ever since the Benoit incident and all the other scandals, soccer moms and others have pressured WWE to minimize their promotion of violence, and that includes bleeding. But like you said, the 18-34 year demographic is the biggest, and if any group should be catered to, it's them. Soccer moms should stop expecting everything in the world to be "family-friendly". A show about violence can never be completely family-friendly insofar as violence itself isn't family-friendly.

Furthermore, enduring pain is part of the wrestlers' job. Stuntsmanship is one of their principal talents. Just as there are many who do not realize that wrestling is 'scripted', not fake, there are many who think you can get rid of all the risks. You can't, and if the risk is only pain and not real injury, you shouldn't.
 
#20 ·
the 18-34 year demographic is the biggest, and if any group should be catered to, it's them
It's funny because no matter if WWE is catering to under 18 demographic, 18+ year olds are still gonna watch it. WWE fans stay WWE fans, and the biggest proof is the whole WF bitching about Cena, while still watching the product.
 
#23 ·
PG is wonderful, I just wish they would make the switch to TV-Y already! Yay you cant shee me
 
#26 ·
PG isn't as bad as you think it is...the only things that were not PG were excess cursing, weapons, blood (debatable), and that's pretty much it. Fighting can be PG. And I think an extreme rules match can be debatable.
 
#27 ·
#28 ·
Correct, but these "smarks" who claimed to have been fans since the 90s don't understand this. Also the WWE's version of PG and how the show is presented doesn't help.
 
#32 ·
They hit people with chairs, and have recently thrown bricks and people and slammed Ambrose face into "cement" bricks. I wrote a response to a forum about if a TV-MA show would be successful right now about how theres no way that that is PG television. If this were on a drama it would be 14-A at least its ridiculous that parental discretion is advised in instances that would kill someone in real life when the characters have no repercussions. If thats PG then so is porn, Suns of Anarchy and the Sopranos because in those shows when this stuff happens its considered brutal.
 
#33 ·
I think that's because WWE is fake (or scripted). UFC will NEVER be for kids. They may have fans, but it's not a scripted TV show. And that's what sets it apart.
 
#40 ·
It depends on the show that you're watching, WWE often have Saturday morning shows watered down to cater to these audiences more so, however it is still PG when you're watching the live Raw and the PPV's, it's just parental guidance for the reasons that you mentioned.

The WWE have often pushed the boundaries on this as much as they can, think of the Punk/Jericho storyline fairly recently, with the whole alcohol angle and smashing bottles of beer over each other is far from PG, but they managed to get around it some way, which was great ... it's more so the middle men (IE The TV companies) who demand this kind of rating over it, because at the end of the day if the WWE don't please them they won't air the product and the TV companies don't want to lose ratings either on their channel ... so this is basically where it comes in, the fact we have the WWE Network now does allow us to be able to drift away from this but it won't be on the main TV shows that are aired on the channels and that's pretty much why really.

But as others have explained, it's parental guidance ... so it makes sense really, they also have the pre-show notice that says something about them being story lines and containing flashing lights etc ... which they have to do to protect themselves as well as the audience watching.

Apart from the tons of merchandise you see, WWE don't actually cater for kids all that much ... the only reason you see so much merchandise aimed at kids is cause it's the easiest market to sell to which creates this misconception in regards to WWE, in fact their audience is only made up of 24% of kids, the rest are adults as noted on their corporate website :

WWE is watched by 15 million fans each week in the United State alone. Our diverse audience spans generations of fans. Approximately 35% of WWE's audience is female and 24% are under the age of 18.
Source : http://corporate.wwe.com/company/faq.jsp
 
#50 ·
Look at this:

A lot of people seem to think because a show is PG it is therefore deemed acceptable for kids of all ages.

That is incorrect. It means Parental Guidance which is a way of warning parents that they MAY not want to allow their children to watch the show as it MAY contain adult themes and violence.

PG does not mean the show has to be ''kid friendly''.
I'm fine with PG.
 
#52 ·
I'm fine with PG and the WWE now. They have crap, but they're "clean" and "safe", in a way. And I personally don't mind, I'm fine with that. I don't want a Benoit no.2, it's enough that Bryan ended up with a neck surgery.
 
#53 ·
To me at times WWE is a G rated actually better yet a TV-Y product with a PG label on it.
 
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