I wanted to share this in a topic of discussion (Please keep it respectable) because I've mentioned in a couple of threads here recently about it during discussion but it's kind of been lost in the midst and I did want to share this with you guys.
I met Ric Flair recently and spent about 4 hours with him about 4 - 5 weeks ago which was very cool, he was talking to us about the whole PG era we're in now and surprisingly he said that the main reason why they can't go back to the Attitude Era is simple .... it's social media.
This surprised me a little because it wasn't something I expected as such, you kind of expect answers to never really give you anything solid but this has never been said before and was always speculation of various types as to why they won't go back to that edginess we all loved, Flair has had conversations with Vince and backstage and this is the reason why they can't do this, which I know people throw around different answers round here as to why they can't do this.
We live in such a politically correct world now where people will complain at anything if given the chance and will take things way too seriously, as well as twist things into being something way much more than what it is, take Cena for example making some kids night at an event, probably nothing more than him just doing this for that kid (an example only, let's not debate this), yet people will start calling him disgusting for using a cancer kid and things like that, which no doubt, it's not even anything like that in his mind or any deeper than making that kids night, however I really don't want this to go into that kind of conversation, it's just an example of what is thrown out there, whichever side of the coin you are on (there is a thread here somewhere if you want to discuss that, but it's just an example of how social media really effects the product).
Flair was saying how we'd all love to see a Stone Cold Steve Austin again flipping off his boss, but in this era they cannot do that now, because there would be an out cry on social media which would spoil the fun.
Again, people say it's all different reasons and we can argue this as much as we like, but from a genuine experience I was lucky enough to have this is the reason why Vince can't go back to the more edgy viewing, they want to do it at times, such as when they did the Jericho/Punk storyline with the alcoholism and Punk having the bottle smashed over his head but guess what .... they got complaints and had to tone it down quick.
So this is why, there is just way too much complaining and outbursts on social media now with trends and things that they can't win and have to be really careful, even when they are doing something genuinely innocent without expecting any chance of a backlash or anything being said, it often gets twisted and people find a way to do this, we've seen it, so we know ourselves but this is a true genuine reason as to why we'll never see the WWE go back to that edgy product again, unless of course there was a change in public and social media, which isn't going to happen that fast so we're kind of stuck really, it's not because they don't want to at all ... it's because they can't, which I think many of us know anyway.
The WWE just need to put on the best product they can and I know this is often debated but it's getting harder and harder for them to do things and they have to continue to play it safe every time, they have a reputation and they have sponsors which generates a huge part of their income to keep them on top and deliver the production costs and what not of the product that is very important to them and without them, the financial change would be pretty substantial, and anyone with half a brain can understand how important revenue is to a business, no matter how big or small.
It's very hard for the WWE right now and they do want to push the boundaries a bit more, but every time they do they get criticised for it or someone always has something to say, back in the day a complaint could be ignored or didn't get much attention, but now with social media people see something and then jump on the bandwagon and it's this what spoils the product and waters it down in that sense.
We are our own down fall believe it or not, and it's not too difficult to take responsibility for that, even if it's not us as the individual it's the reason why the WWE can't go back to what we once had in that era and it's a shame, it doesn't matter how much we argue it, this is pretty much what it is.
Here is a little clip I recorded of Flair talking about this, he went into more depth, however this is the clip I have here which pretty much confirms what I've mentioned above, and Flair knows, because he's there.
0:55 - 2:15 he's talking about it in regards to talents having creative freedom and the Steve Austin thing and how that's gone now, it's a shame and Flair even says himself he doesn't think it's any worse than the internet, but it's not his choice and this is the reason it is.
Thoughts, again, I'm not saying the WWE are perfect, they're absolutely not and we all have different opinions on different things that they are doing, however this is something that really needs to be taken on board now, there was more than this but that's pretty much what it is and I did want to share this with you guys as I felt it was quite informative and something that you might be interested in
There are more topics of interest here, however in regards to what I've mentioned above, it's in the audio clip so enjoy
I hope this has added a little insight for some people, as it surely did me, sure we had an idea in regards to this but we never had it confirmed, we always assumed or made various assumptions around here, as so many different things you hear people banging on about ... but many of them aren't the case, however enjoy and please keep it respectable also in discussion here as that's all that this is here for, for us to to have a nice genuine discussion in regards to things here, that's all, so enjoy