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Pimpstress' Post - 'E For Economics
Date Added: January 28, 2009
Story By: Lana Cooper
Last Monday night, Vince McMahon made his long awaited return to WWE programming. As always, it was with an agenda. And as always, it came at almost the end of the broadcast. The agenda this time? Subversion from a corporate standpoint, perhaps?
This week, that theme continued on Monday night's RAW, albeit from a different angle
The closing moments of last week's broadcast featured the the former Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla wearing a suit -- a suit for chrissakes! -- on his knees in the middle of the ring, begging to keep his job. For those of you keeping score at home, Chris Jericho has been cast in the role of heel for several months now and has been involved in an on-screen beef with Stephanie McMahon, filling in for her father in the wake of Vinnie Mac's absence thanks to a faulty lighting rig.
Jericho's character attempted to appeal to a higher power with Vince, yet the Chairman seemed to relish making him beg to keep his job. As Jericho headed to the back with his tail between his legs, enter Randy Orton. Orton, also on the outs with the Billionaire Princess, reported to the ring for a second round of humiliation at the hands the McMahons.
It would seem that Vince had cast himself in the role of the sympathetic corporate hero, slyly getting crowds to cheer for The Chairman by threatening to fire heels like Jericho and Orton.
Initially, the crowd was in Vince's corner, booing the heel Jericho who had taken to insulting the crowd in recent months. With the fans goading the Chairman on, it wasn't until Randy Orton followed the penitent Chris Jericho down the ramp and was threatened with walking papers himself, that the crowd turned, cheering for Orton to nail Vinnie Mac with the RKO and a boot to the head.
The scene closed out with Stephanie McMahon crying over her father's prone, post-punt body, laying in the middle of the ring as EMTs loaded him onto a stretcher.
Initially, it seemed that Orton was poised to become the new Stone Cold. Ironic, considering Stone Cold Steve Austin is at the head of the class of 2009's Hall of Fame inductees. Perhaps this is WWE passing the torch to someone new to carry the Everyman banner of discontent?
That idea was squarely squashed Monday night when Orton, accompanied by an entourage of lawyers and the other members of his newly-minted Legacy squad, explained his actions were caused by a medical condition. Claiming to have a malady known as I.E.D. (Intermittent Explosive Disorder – insert your own joke here), he was unfairly provoked by his boss into unleashing the fury on Mr. McMahon's noggin.
Orton's prolonged temper tantrum later became main event material for the night, ending the show with Orton, lawyers in tow, verbally having it out with Stephanie McMahon and begging to be fired so that he could sue and become The Grinch that Stole Wrestlemania.. The closing minutes of RAW featured Shane McMahon running down the ramp to"Yo! Bum rush the show!" on Randy Orton. Shane O-Mac went purely lethal on Orton, requiring the RAW roster to hold him back after a solid pounding. Not even Legacy stablemates Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Jr. could hold back Shane as he went uptown on Orton who barely made it to the back intact.
So, what is the message being sent here? Other than the fact that the boss's middle-aged son can kick a 20-something main eventer's ass? There's the message sent from a corporate standpoint that acts of insubordination by employees will be dealt with swiftly and violently by those at the top. While it looked for a split second that Orton would be the next Stone Cold, this storyline being put forth is actually the very antithesis of the Attitude Era. It doesn't exactly ring in "The Age of Orton" on a high note.
WWE and Vince McMahon have long been fans of incorporating current events into storylines in order to stay relevant. Some angles have worked better than others, but the era where they had the most success and stayed at the top of the heap was during the mid-'90s "Attitude Era" -- perhaps the last "Golden Age" of professional wrestling.
What made Stone Cold Steve Austin so successful during the Attitude Era was that he was the anti-corporate anti-hero. While the McMahon-ism of "Don't Cross the Boss" stirred the ire of every red-blooded American who despises corporate authority, the Attitude Era took place during a time of relative prosperity with a stable economy.
Contrast that epoch with today's market. Companies both large and small have been steadily laying off workers for months. Sprint, Wal-Mart, Clear Channel, Microsoft, Circuit City and others are among the many corporations who have let go a large chunk of their work force. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of December 2008, the national unemployment rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent with approximately 11 million people unemployed across the country and rising steadily.
When you consider these numbers for a moment, chances are that there are likely several unemployed persons in the crowd at a live show, having purchased tickets at a time when they had more of a disposable income. Or provided they can keep their cable on, perhaps some of the 11 million unemployed persons in the United States are watching RAW at home.
The WWE facts that flash on the screen tout the company's success with facts and figures splashed up on the RAW broadcast at home. If these facts were any indicator of how fabulously WWE is doing, then why have there been so many job cuts at Titan Towers? With the WWE's stock currently at a 10.18 share, it's much closer to its 52-week low of 8.76 than it is to its 52-week high of 19.86. Cutting costs, cutting talent, and cutting workforce looks better for their bottom line and is more of an incentive for potential investors to get on board in addition to a not-so-silent plea for current shareholders not to cash out.
With on-screen wrestlers begging to keep their jobs and having their asses physically handed to them by management (or management's kids)….Is this what passes for escapism? Some of this storyline may hit a little too close to home. While I'm not petitioning for "sensitivity" in the world of sports entertainment, in terms of WWE's bottom line, how will this serve to hold the attention and dollars of its fanbase with a potentially shrinking disposable income? Moreover, why is there a seeming need to take a jab at a portion of the audience's dignity? Is this Vince McMahon's version of "tough love" in a down-sliding economy?
I'm all for Orton getting a well-deserved push and staying a heel, however, the angle this is being played from is quite the reverse of what made Stone Cold Steve Austin such a superstar. Austin's character fleshed out the fantasy of beating down The Man and clocking the boss. This time around, the subtle implication is that the corporation always wins and no matter how young, strong, or powerful -- you can be beaten down and have a chunk taken out of you by corporate America… Or at least its on-screen representatives in the WWE microcosm.
On a side note, the family of late, great Hall of Famer "Sensational" Sherri Martel is selling some rather unique pieces of wrestling memorabilia. Up for grabs are several of Ms. Martel's ring outfits and accompanying photos to verify their authenticity. Any fans interested in owning a piece of wrestling history may contact Vickie and/or Dana at either Spitfire35111@aol.com or danamarie7241@yahoo.com for more information.
