Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Wrestling defends its leap to UPN prime time
BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PASADENA, Calif. — In this corner, at 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, is Vince “King of the Ring” McMahon, the world champion of TV wrestling. His tag team partner: “Desperate Dean” Valentine, president of the basement-dwelling UPN network, hoping that WWF Smackdown! will punch up his ratings.
In the other corner, weighing in with their criticism about the WWF's violence, sexism and bad acting, are more than 100 TV critics attending the summer press tour in picturesque Pasadena.
Let's get rrready to rrruummble!
The Critics quickly go for the pin: How can you call this theater of the absurd wrestling?
“It's not wrestling,” slips away King McMahon. “We're in the entertainment business, not the wrestling business.
“It (WWF) is soap opera. It's action-adventure. It's talk show, a little rock opera and some humor.
“It's the only variety show on TV. It's a hybrid of everything that's successful on television — in one show. That's what sets us apart from everything else.”
King McMahon stuns the critics with candor: Like most popular prime-time programs, his WWF matches are scripted. Each performer has “a storyline” reflecting what's hot in pop culture.
“Sometimes because of the writing, we'll have more wrestling elements involved. Sometimes there is more soap opera, more action-adventure. It changes each week,” he says.
Young, male viewers
Then the critics take a swipe at Desperate Dean, whose network, the nation's sixth, was knocked below the USA Network — a cable channel! — in the Nielsen power rankings for spring quarter prime-time TV. Of course, USA's top shows are Monday's WWF Raw and WWF War Zone.
“We made a commitment to go after young men. What young men are watching is the WWF,” Desperate Dean says.
He considers the WWF a performance-enhancing additive. Advertising Age predicts Smackdown! will boost UPN ratings by 21 percent this fall, the five other broadcasters losing 4-7 percent.
With such schlock?
“First of all, I don't think it's schlock,” Desperate Dean says, sidestepping the blow. “Wrestling has gone much more to the mainstream; it's becoming much more upscale.”
The critics grunt and groan. What about the cleavage, the blood, the indecent hand gesture Stone Cold Steve Austin flips to fans?
“We do not believe that there is anything sexist, or violent, about the WWF,” Desperate Dean declares.
“Were it not for the fact that there is occasional blood-letting, it wouldn't even be (rated) TV-14. We'd probably make it TV-G,” he says.
His tag-team partner jumps in: “Compared to action-adventure shows out there, we have no murders. No shotgun blasts. No pistols.... No rape or robbery,” King McMahon boasts.
Desperate Dean pounces on the point: “None of the real causes and issues of crime in this country are part of that (WWF) franchise. There are so many shows, and so many different movies, and so many different social problems that really do contribute to violence in this country.”
The crafty critics change their strategy. Being the enforcer doesn't work, so they stall with a friendlier question: How will Smackdown! contrast with cable?
“The set and design of the arena will be different,” King McMahon decrees. “Some segments will be unique to UPN. But story lines will develop episodically from Monday (on cable) to Thursday (on UPN).”
Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Undertaker, Chyna, the Rock and all the other WWF stars will be climbing into UPN's ring, he says.
Wrestling goes country
In a preliminary match over the weekend, the critics grappled with executives of TNN (formerly the Nashville Network), about the weekly Extreme Championship Wrestling show premiering Aug. 27. It joins RollerJam on Fridays in a youth-oriented strategy which distances TNN from the country music arena.
TNN claims a stanglehold on good old-fashioned rasslin', which the Critics deem more violent than the WWF.
“Our alleged violence is going to be based on the competition in the ring. If that's considered violence, yeah,” says TNN's partner, former wrestler Paul E. Dangerously, now known as ECW owner Paul Heyman.
Team TNN says the EWC promises 35 minutes of athletic competition per hour, compared to 30 minutes on a two-hour WWF cable show.
Promotin' Paul then slams the WWF for the critics, calling it “a semi-pornographic, pseudo-hard-core, non-athletic soap opera, instead of being an in-the-ring product where the story lines are based around the alleged competition.”
The Critics can't wait to toss those words at Mighty McMahon, who eagerly defends his kingdom.
“We're going to do what we want to do for our audience,” he says. “But we're responsible broadcasters, and we have been for years ... although we enjoy being known as the Bad Boys of Television.”
Then he slaps the critics: “People like you will write — "Oh, my God! They're coming to prime-time TV!' Which is fine for us quite frankly. At the same time, we'll not be able to do the same thing (on at 8 p.m. on UPN) that we do 10-11 p.m. on USA cable.”
The Pounding in Pasadena ends like every TV wrestling match — with a boast.
“In six months time, we'll be the No. 3 show on Thursday night!” King McMahon brags. That would put a WWF smack down behind NBC's ER and Friends.
“In a year's time, we'll be at least No. 2, and knocking on the door of No. 1!”
OK, but here's my question: If WWF Smackdown! becomes a huge hit, will it be nominated for an Emmy award as best comedy? Best drama? Or best screenplay?
Enquirer TV critic John Kiesewetter is reporting from the TV critics summer press tour this month.
John Kiesewetter is Enquirer TV/radio critic. Write him at 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, 45202.
