WWE Says Don't Call Them A Wrestling Company!

A publicist for World Wrestling Entertainment demanded last week that a television industry news website not refer to them as a wrestling company.

The website in question, TVWeek.com, ran a story on Drew Carey's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame last week with the headline "Drew Carey Inducted Into Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. Huh? Drew Carey??!!" The headline drew the ire of WWE publicist Kellie Baldyga, who sent a stern e-mail to the author demanding that the headline be 'corrected'.

Baldyga wrote in her email, “We are no longer a wrestling company but rather a global entertainment company with a movie studio, international licensing deals, publisher of three magazines, consumer good distributor and more.”

During a subsequent phone conversation, the publicist stated, "No, we don't do wrestling events. They're entertainments. And we don't call them wrestlers. They're superstars and divas."

Rather than change the headline, the article was removed from the website altogether. Baldyga sent a follow-up e-mail, reading, "I know the perception is that we are a wrestling company but we are actually much more than that--we are a global media company which is how our Chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon, positions us."

Source: Lords of Pain
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Thoughts?

this is like saying a resturant isnt in the hospitality industry, its marketing lol

This shit makes me sick to my stomach, but it's not news to me. It's bad enough that they don't call it "professional wrestling", but guess what? They've stopped calling it "sports entertainment!" Now it's just "entertainment."

It's like growing up in your hometown with your family and friends, and then one day you move away and decide that you're better than they are, and you claim that you never lived there before in your life, because you're too good for the place that made you.

It's all damn disgusting.

Fuck 'em, I'm a wrestling fan and since they're no longer a wrestling company; I guess I'll take my business elsewhere.

Well, thanks Captain Obvious! Who doesn't know this?! I mean, for years, they've addressed the company as a sports-entertainment entity. The product has increasingly become more entertainment, in a non-wrestling format.

So again, thanks for stating the obvious, WWE.

I feel sorry for the WWE fans...excuse me, the WWE Universe who stood by them for years and took a ton of crap from people for being pro-wrestling fans.

After all those years of loyalty, the WWE pretty much changes their name and won't even acknowledge that it's a Wrestling company even though they have Wrestling in the middle of their freakin' name.

its amazing how you guys are complaining that they did this. theyve been saying theyre an entertainment company for YEARS and you guys wanna be in a uproar over it?

I would quote my entire post, but this part is more of a direct answer to you.

WarGreymon77 wrote:

...it's not news to me. It's bad enough that they don't call it "professional wrestling", but guess what? They've stopped even calling it "sports entertainment!" Now it's just "entertainment."

And yes, I would like WWE to not be ashamed of wrestling fans. God forbid they recognize their original supporters.

i wasnt referring to just you, everyone whos in an uproar is where i was headed

The thing is, if they aren't a wrestling company, they shouldn't have wrestling in their name whatsoever.

I blame World Wildelife federation, they fucked it up/

Meh. Before that happened the company's name was World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, but they only acknowledged WWF because they were promoting their company as an actual wrestling company. The Benoiit murder/suicide took place (and Eddie's death in 05) some five years after the exclusion of F. In coming years they gradually reduced the story-lines that were geared toward the 18-35 demographic. There's no correlation between the name change and the product that we see on a weekly basis nowadays. WWE just coincides with this stuff only because people always go back to the WWF days and see the difference in quality; as if the name itself would make a difference.