"The Reality Era"

[Spedizzo]

Don't know if there is a thread on this, but I read somewhere that the PG Era is over and we are in "The Reality Era"

but then I looked online on wiki's History of WWE, and Triple H dubbed the 2014-2016 period "The Reality Era" when everyone knows that was the PG era in full force. Wiki has 2016-present as "The New Era" what the fuck is that???

I bring this thread up because I saw someone comment the other day that we are now in "The Reality Era" and things would be breaking away from the typical PG bullshit. I was curious about this because every week on RAW they are increasing the amount of dropped swear words, the odd blade job is a lot more frequent, all the interaction with Roman/Cena, Lesnar/Braun, Jinder Mahal is making fun of Nakamura telling him to go get his Pikachu or whatever (lol).

That isn't exactly Nick JR/Cartoon network PG Entertainment

so what era are we in? Maybe because Trump is president and Vince and Trump are boys, Vince is going to say fuck it to the politically correct shit of the Obama era???? we could only hope!

food for thought!

[Nash Diesel]

I have always hated the term "PG Era". We can't define an era in wrestling by the tv rating. Nobody says "Man I loved the TV-14 era of WWE". I mean, technically some would consider a feud like Jericho v. Shawn 2 during the PG Era or Jeff hardy v. CM Punk or Punk v. Jericho as part of the "PG era" and I think those 3 feuds fit in any era no matter the restrictions.

The main page has an article about a survey the WWE sent out about what fans would think about more mature content. I mean in this day and age, PG is a broad category. You can get away with more than you think, this isn't Disney Junior Raw.

[Peter Griffin]

I'm not sure if Vince could just say 'fuck it' he wouldn't have already done it in the same way he would have kept Raw at 2 hours, He might be the big boss in WWE but he still has people to answer to.

[Sasori]

I think we're past the Reality Era and firmly in the Declining Viewership Era.

[Morrison]

2014-2016 were not the PG era at all.

[soxfanatic]

We might be in the apathy era.

[Cewsh]

I think calling this The Network Era is the best encapsulation of how the product has changed and why.

[Sasori]

That's a good point.

[Rancid_Planet]

I think calling this The Network Era is the best encapsulation of how the product has changed and why.

I'd pretty much agree with that.

When it comes to the issues regarding today's product, very little of it has anything at all to do with WWE programming being rated TVPG. I don't like getting caught up in that debate at all.

When it comes to what we call these eras it is a little lame that WWE feel the need to brand them as if you can tell when they begin or end without hindsight. Everyone felt like the attitude era and edgy WWE product was over after WM 17 at the time. But look back. How long after 17 were we still watching "Hot lesbian action" and bra and panties matches? Fucking years.

We don't know what era we are in right now exactly. The best I can say is that WWE have been in a transitional phase for a few years and it still doesn't feel like they know what the hell they want to do.

[Spedizzo]

I feel like the WWE has been in a transitional phase since 2003-4

maybe we are in the transitional era?

[Donald]

It's not everyday you see a word that you've never seen before. encapsulation

[mth]

PG rating is a scapegoat of sorts. Lots of shitty stuff is blamed on it that really has next to nothing to do with it and a lot of "non-PG" stuff has happened during it but is conveniently ignored because folks need somewhere to aim their frustrations. Obviously I'm not saying that's everyone, seems like mostly idiots in youtube comments, but it seems like the solution to everything to certain folks is the over-simplified and misguided "Kill PG/go back to TV-14!".

I'm not really sure why there needs to be Eras and it's increasingly harder to pin them down when the changes aren't as obvious as killing off bra and panty matches and middle fingers and blood every goddamn night. I think Cewsh is pretty on point with The Network era as that really is a pretty significant turning point/landmark thing, more so than them just pushing Twitter like a motherfucker and get people into Tout for a couple months.

[VHS]

I always thought of the PG Era as the No Competition Era.

I think Cewsh is pretty on point with The Network era as that really is a pretty significant turning point/landmark thing, more so than them just pushing Twitter like a motherfucker and get people into Tout for a couple months.

My god, I'd totally forgotten about Tout. That was around for no time at all. It is pretty interesting seeing how social media has really changed the game in the last 2 years.

[mth]

The Monopoly Era

[BigAl]

It seemed like 20 years ago they were focused more on the 18-30 demographic, whereas now they're focused on a younger demographic. A younger demographic who they expect to will badger their parents to spend their disposable income.

I have absolutely no facts to back this up, however. Just an observation.

[Spedizzo]

The Network Era in theory would be more crap than any other era in the aspect that WWE does not have to worry about building PPVs as much, as long as they have a consistent flow of average PPVs and solid material to keep subscribers

whereas the model before, the WWE was banking on people purchasing expensive PPVs. The product HAD to be good, and the RAWs and SDs HAD to be good to generate profits (in theory). I remember during the Attitude Era, on the go-home RAW before a PPV, all hell would usually break loose at the end of an episode, and I remember JR giving a one-liner essentially saying, "WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN THIS SUNDAY AT SUMMERSLAM! MY GOD ALMIGHTY!" and it gave me chills making me so excited to watch it

whereas now, they will could and do have Carmella vs Natalya on the go-home episode of SD before a big PPV and not bat an eye

[Spedizzo]

It seemed like 20 years ago they were focused more on the 18-30 demographic, whereas now they're focused on a younger demographic. A younger demographic who they expect to will badger their parents to spend their disposable income.

I have absolutely no facts to back this up, however. Just an observation.

you dont need facts when its pretty much been flat out said by Triple H and brass over the last few years that they are targeting a different demographic now... i.e the kids of the former Attitude Era fans and whatnot

[Rancid_Planet]

It seemed like 20 years ago they were focused more on the 18-30 demographic, whereas now they're focused on a younger demographic. A younger demographic who they expect to will badger their parents to spend their disposable income.

I have absolutely no facts to back this up, however. Just an observation.

They need way more kids to watch. Whenever you see a current charting of demographics it always seems as though kids just don't care about wrestling like they used to.

That's terrible for the business going forward. I may be a full grown wrestling nerd now but I started as a little Hulkamaniac.

[Stocky]

Kids today dont watch shows catered to them as kids they watch cool shows targeted to Teens/adults. e.g Rick and morty, CW comic book shows, Law and order.

I have no facts to back this up.

[Cewsh]

That is not any more true now than it has ever been.

[The Law]

As a kid the thing that was most appealing to me was what I wasn't supposed to be watching. South Park, MTV, R-Rated movies. I think that's how it has always been and how it always will be.

When WWE talks about targeting their product to kids I feel like what they really mean is targeting the product to the parents of kids.

[Tainted Eclipse]

yeah in reality the attitude era programming was pretty much the perfect product to target say 8-13 year old boys.

[virms]

Yet, their biggest demographic of viewers was men 35 and older.

[Badger]

The attitude era was like underage drinking. It wasn't really meant for kids, but the thrill of it appealed to kids nonetheless.

[Mark Hammer]

I have always hated the term "PG Era". We can't define an era in wrestling by the tv rating. Nobody says "Man I loved the TV-14 era of WWE". I mean, technically some would consider a feud like Jericho v. Shawn 2 during the PG Era or Jeff hardy v. CM Punk or Punk v. Jericho as part of the "PG era" and I think those 3 feuds fit in any era no matter the restrictions.

There is soooooo much more to it than that. Not only was the rating literally PG but the product was substantially different with none of the edge or appeal that would bring in an older crowd. You could ignore the PG label at the top of the hour and still notice the kid-friendly approach that was not there just a few years prior. "PG Era" fit like a glove, as much so as "Attitude Era" fit back in it's time.

[The Law]

I think scripted promos are far more harmful to the product than the PG rating, or anything else. Watching old shows, the matches are for the most part better than they are now, but the promos are so much worse. It's like we get a few good promos a year now whereas we used to get multiple good ones every week. Guys are chained to the script, aren't allowed to react naturally to things, improvise, read the crowd.

[Badger]

This is the one point I felt sorry for Jinder, he had to follow that racist script an someone on Twitter is threatening to write an article about racist promos. As much as I don't like Jinder being at the top, the blame should not be directed at him, more the people who wrote it and Vince greenlighting it.

[Andy]

I was thinking the other day, do you think we will look back on the so-called Reality Era fondly? I don't know where people draw the line but to me there's a real significant period of time between the Pipe Bomb and Mania 31.

The rise of Punk, the rise of Bryan, a lot of younger supposed IWC favourites getting a chance. The Shield were awesome. Also had some great stuff from Miz, Usos and New Day starting to flourish. US Open challenge was great. Plus this was the peak of NXT IMO.

There was an awful lot of shite in there and the Punk and Bryan runs in particular had so much awful booking within them but considering how much worse things are now I've started looking back on it even more fondly.

[Tainted Eclipse]

from about early summer 2013 to wrestlemania 30 when the company was, whether they liked it or not, built around daniel bryan's meteoric rise in popularity was much better and much more exciting to watch than anything that's happened since.

[Bill Casey]

PG rating is a scapegoat of sorts. Lots of shitty stuff is blamed on it that really has next to nothing to do with it and a lot of "non-PG" stuff has happened during it but is conveniently ignored because folks need somewhere to aim their frustrations. Obviously I'm not saying that's everyone, seems like mostly idiots in youtube comments, but it seems like the solution to everything to certain folks is the over-simplified and misguided "Kill PG/go back to TV-14!".

I'm of the opinion that PG prevents a lot of dumb embarrassing storylines from happening...
Including Katie Vick, Snitsky killing Lita's baby, Dr Heiny, Tim White's suicide, Big Dick Johnson, HLA and anything involving feces...

[mth]

I'm of the opinion that PG prevents a lot of dumb embarrassing storylines from happening...
Including Katie Vick, Snitsky killing Lita's baby, Dr Heiny, Tim White's suicide, Big Dick Johnson, HLA and anything involving feces...

Absolutely share that opinion. For all the pluses of the pre-PG Era, it also had a tremendous amount of god-awful shit.

[Mark Hammer]

It wasn't the PG era that put an end to 2002 Monday Night Raw. Which was still better than anything from the PG era.

[Mark Hammer]

Also "wrestling was dumb before the PG era" isn't the best argument; it has always been dumb but it used to be entertaining too.

[Badger]

They have probably the most talented and sizable roster of any era today. Although there is less than they get away with today, it's the predictability, overproduction and 50/50 booking that's killing it. You can set your watch to when a commercial break is coming up, there's little spontaneity these days. Also so much filler and rematches.