May 5, 2002. For a lot of fans that is the day wrestling died. That is the day that WWE launched their “Get the ‘F’ out” campaign. That is the day the WWF switched their name to WWE. Now I know some people may roll their eyes at the notion that is the day “wrestling died” but those people have no idea about the power of a brand. Coca-Cola, Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, are all brands. Yes they provide specific services to their consumers but all maintain their hold in the marketplace due to their strong brand. Having a strong brand is not enough in itself; you definitely need to provide positive results so your consumers will continue to use the product. But history has shown us that people will stay loyal to a particular brand even if they can get the same, if not better services elsewhere. Without going too far into the psychology, it basically all boils down to the fact that we all share similar characteristics that advertisers have figured out and use to their advantage. They know people do not like change once they are comfortable with something. They know how to use certain words and images/logos to promote a positive response in the brain, creating the strength of their brand. You might be thinking, what does this have to do with wrestling? Well, a lot actually.
People didn’t grow up watching WWE. People didn’t go to wrestling matches with their Dad’s, brothers, friends, etc… to watch WWE. People didn’t grow up watching Hulk Hogan win the WWE Title. Kids didn’t dream about growing up to one day work for World Wrestling Entertainment. They dreamed about working for the World Wrestling Federation. They went to WWF shows with their Dad’s and they watched Hulk Hogan win the WWF Title. Even though it’s the same company, changing the name killed their brand. For 23 years they had been building and strengthening the WWF brand and in one day it was all gone. Trust me, if any of the companies I mentioned in the first paragraph completely changed their name it would have a negative impact on their product. Especially the ones that have been around for many years and have fought hard to keep their brand strong. If Coca-Cola decided the name had run it’s course and changed it to something else, there would be outrage and sales would drop. The product would be exactly the same, just the brand name would be different and yet you would find people opposing it with more passion than they show for their own fate. It’s because we tie these brands and products into our legacy as people. Some people hold their head higher because they grew up in the same era as Mohammed Ali, because they watched Michael Jordan play, because they watched something when it was different, when there was more respect, etc… People need to have stability and knowing there is a specific person or product that is “the best” puts a lot of people at ease. The people and products put on a pedestal in life reflect the people that put and keep them there. The greatness of Ali is a reflection on me, if I supported Ali that makes me feel better about myself because I recognized and supported such greatness. The fans that followed the Steelers dominating defences in the 70’s look at themselves in a better light than today’s fans because they believed they cheered for the greatest team and players. Just like people might remember sharing a cold, Coca-Cola at Christmas with their Grandpa when they were kids so that person would not embrace a brand change. The whole reason Coca-Cola uses Santa Claus in their winter promotions is because of the positive response the Christmas colours and image of Santa promotes. Subconsciously we think that if people or products are taken off their pedestals then it also devalues our lives. We put so much energy and time into a certain thing only to have it change that we think we also aren’t/weren’t good enough and need to change. Obviously some rational thought would show us that is ridiculous but we don’t always have time or the knowledge for rational thought so we revert back to our natural instincts. Our survival instinct always prepares us for the worst case scenario to ensure survival but some times the worst case scenario is so far from reality that it negatively affects our lives. Then it goes back to people not liking change so they hold onto a brand with all they got. But I’m starting to go too deep into the psychology so back to wrestling haha
I’m sure a lot of people have major life moments bookmarked by WWF events and superstars. I know I do. The reaction to WWF changing to WWE was not good. People were very angry and felt betrayed. I know I did. I also know that Vince had no choice, he made a gamble that he was too powerful for the world wildlife fund to succeed against him but he was wrong. And it cost him his brand. They spent money to make people aware of the change but they needed to spend it on a major re-branding marketing strategy. They made 2 huge mistakes that cost them a good chunk of their fan base. “Get the F Out” was a huge mistake. That statement speaks defiantly to the people that loved the WWF so right off the bat they split their fan base. The people that loved the WWF did not want to “get the F out”, they liked the ‘F’ exactly where it was. And I’m sure Vince did too, hell WWF was the name that he changed it too only when he did it, he changed the entire wrestling industry at the same time so the negative impact would have only shown in the old industry. The WWF was what ushered in a new era in pro wrestling, effectively killing the territorial business model that had existed since the beginning of wrestling. So not only were they not negatively affected but also they tied themselves into the heart of the new culture they created and that is why the change from WWF to WWE has an astronomical impact compared to the WWWF to WWF. And even if it were under similar circumstances, they only dropped a letter to make it easier to say not changed a letter, which is a huge difference. WWWF to WWF is more like addition by subtraction, which is much easier for people to digest, whereas WWF to WWE is a complete change and would promote resistance to it. They also had to change when they were at the height of their popularity and that is a major factor in the resistance to the new name.
The 2nd big mistake was underestimating the power of the WWF brand. The fact that they thought they could just put out some name change marketing campaign and all would be fine speaks to the arrogance that put them in this position to begin with. With the name change they needed a massive push to re-establish all the old superstars and moments under the WWE name, even though they happened under the WWF name. I mean it’s a weird situation, do you refer to pre-2002 moments as WWF and WWE after, or WWE all the time, or… you can’t just leave things like that hanging in the air. WWE needed to roll out all their history under the WWE name, obviously the history of the WWF could never be erased but it could be re-imagined for new fans using the WWE name. None of that ever happened. They forced the name change on us and assumed people would just accept it. Well they have spent the last 9 years wondering where their wrestling audience went. Bad writing, bad decisions, and bad workers have contributed to the downtrend of wrestling but a huge chunk of the audience will probably never come back because they don’t want to watch WWE, they want WWF. The company they grew up with and established a legacy with. And no matter how good the product gets, when the real WWF died so did the interest of some wrestling fans. There is still a chance to get a majority of those people back but they need to re-establish a legacy with them.
Right from the beginning they should have taken an, us against the world stance with their rhetoric and their marketing. “The world wildlife fund stole our name from us and our fans but they can’t steal our memories. They can’t steal 23 years of great wrestling. They can’t steal those moments we shared with our families and friends. We might have to call ourselves WWE but the foundation that the WWF was built on still lives through all of us. And we will not go away but will establish a new legacy through WWE that will honour the past and thrive in the future. WWF is our past and we will cherish it forever but our present and future is WWE and it is shining as bright as ever.” But they did none of that. They re-branded and ignored the impact it might have. They just figured people would accept it, and some did but a lot didn’t. I still haven’t and I don’t think I ever will. I still say WWF whenever I can and my stomach turns when I think about it. Positive feelings hit me when I see the old WWF logo and it is still hard to say WWE all the time now. But I’ve come to terms with it, not with any help from WWE but I have. I know nothing short of a miracle would get the name back and even then I don’t know that Vince would go back. He has committed to WWE and even started to establish a legacy with new fans.
But they need to do more. When they switched from Attitude to PG they lost another HUGE chunk of their fans that didn’t want to see the cartoon kid crap. But in losing those fans they lost the fans that were familiar with the long history of the WWF/WWE. They had seen all the great superstars, events, and angles from the 80’s and 90’s but now they were replaced with new fans who did not see all that. They started watching after the name change so they have no ties to the WWF name. They were not Hulkamaniacs. They did not live and die with Bret Hart in the ring every night. They did not throw up a middle finger to Stone Cold Steve Austin. They know their names but they don’t know who they are and what they are about. They haven’t felt the electricity of The Rock in his prime. Wrestling fans are a rare breed. We live, breathe, eat, and sleep wrestling. But that passion doesn’t just pop up overnight. It has to be built and nurtured. The reason wrestling is so popular is because the greatest wrestlers connected with the audience in ways nobody else could. So knowing their names and what they did isn’t enough. They need to see it, to feel it. That’s why NFL Films is so fucking brilliant. Through their amazing documentaries they bring the past to the present and make it bigger and better than anyone has ever seen. That’s what wrestling needs. These new fans need to see the rich history of wrestling and it’s many great superstars. Through these documentaries they establish a relationship with the new fans and strengthen the one they have with the old fans. And through the old footage they strengthen their current product by changing the way people think and feel. The positive emotions from the old product will transfer over to the current product if done right. But putting out half assed DVD releases and sitting on their goldmine of footage is just hurting their current business. Spending money on this would make them so much more money in the future. They would just have to be patient and ready to accept short term struggles to build the foundation but once built there is no where to go but up.
WWE has a lot of positive momentum going and now is the perfect time to start re-establishing their legacy. But if they want to get back to the level they were and even go higher they must do it. In my blog before this one I outlined what they need to do to re-establish a legacy, use their video library. Use all the footage that Vince has acquired and turn that into something to build the WWE brand. I get that the video library is a valuable asset Vince does not want to “lose” but releasing the footage isn’t losing it. He owns it so he makes money off it. And if you have confidence that your current product will make new memories to add to DVD collections, there shouldn’t be an issue using old footage. If Vince does not put in the effort to re-build the brand then he could be in big trouble. When the Rock’s, Jericho’s, Edge’s, HHH’s, Undertaker’s, etc… are all too old to make an impact anymore what will they have? A lot of talent with nowhere to work and a fan base that will move on to the next thing because there is no connection to WWE. It’s a really easy problem to fix and I hope they address it sooner rather than later. I want to see WWE beat the NFL on Monday Nights. I want to be able to someday take my kids and grandkids to watch the current WWE superstars. I want to see the superstars and events that shaped my childhood and the man I am today but on the screen bigger and better than ever before. I want to see superstars far removed from their spotlight become immortalized and put up on that pedestal one more time and get the respect they deserve from today’s wrestling fan. I just want to watch some wrestling.
Cheers and thanks for reading!