The pretzel logic of Vince McMahon continues to defy belief.

The art form he promotes, once called professional wrestling, now called Sports Entertainment, has its roots cut off, with the derogatory term “Rasslin” being used to remove certain staples from the concept. Those historical aspects of the craft include managers, threatening promos and tag team matches.

Yet the puzzling aspect is simply this: Sports Entertainment?

Vince McMahon has proven over time, projects and mega-multi-million dollar efforts (in Bodybuilding, Football and Feature Films) to have little or no success in either Sports or Entertainment.

Vince’s pet project, the WBF, failed miserably, and in hindsight, maybe that was a good thing, considering the steroids issue. Funny how no one brings that up too much in the mainstream.

The XFL was a debacle of immense proportions, and arguably rooted in Vince’s complete disdain and impatience with rules. While there were interesting aspects, the lack of a preseason doomed the league to look laughable by changes things IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON, and Vince was able to alienate legit names associated with the league in record time.

Movies? That’s ENTERTAINMENT! But not for the WWE Film projects. John Cena’s ability to not attract an audience, while arguably due to Vince’s use, abuse and editing of his screen writers (hmm….) and a lack of vision and a lack of direction, shows that the TITLE BELT, one of professional wrestling’s (read “RASSLIN‘S”) most cherished icons, has no inherent value.

Champion figures endure to this day, because of RASSLIN’S ability to engage the audience in emotional ways, to create a long term association between fans and talent, and to cement buying , viewing and attendance habits over the long haul.

Ironically, SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT has added PPVs and Merchandise to the mix. One on hand, this greatly enhanced the profitability of the company, and of the talent. On the other hand, it has completely divorced professional wrestling from RASSLIN’S roots…. Engaging the fan with long term participation.

Back then, to respect and follow (if not adore) a wrestler meant to watch him live and in person on a regular basis. Today, it means watching them on TV, buying dolls and paying for PPVs.

Passivity.

Passive fans who shell out money are Vince’s target audience. Unfortunately, the track record has proven that sitting on the couch doesn’t quite compel lasting allegiances. While WrestleMania numbers continue to be impressive, they are on the decline. Attendance is on the decline. Ratings are on the decline.

Two important figures in the industry have commented recently, and various others have done so over the past twenty years or so that I’ve counted myself among the smart mark crowd. Irv Muchnick recently called Vince McMahon and his operation “soulless” and Jim Cornette expressed his disgust for the nature of Hollywood-like (light?) writers and their dissociation from the industry and what it stood for.

Both are saying the same thing, and likely know it.

But let me put my spin on it: Vince McMahon has no direction. He has no focus. He has no great comprehension of his own fan base. (Actually, it’s worse, because I believe Vince has spent the past decade destroying his own fan base, and trying to recreate it.)

His empire is built upon the foundation of professional wrestling, and his success has always, not-so-coincidentally, been based upon superlative examples of professional wrestlers.

Generation gaps divide the biggest of names, but whether your love of wrestling was for Bruno Sammartino, or Ric Flair, or Hulk Hogan, or for Stone Cold Steve Austin, you likely adored the man at the top, because of that man’s ability within the Squared Circle, and within the confines of RASSLIN.

Talent, charisma, psychology or workrate, these guys knew the business. And these guys, plus numerous other stars, aren’t exactly going to run around calling themselves SPORTS ENTERTAINERS.

But to keep myself on track, my point is this. Take away Bruno, Hulk or Stone Cold, and what did the promoter named Vince McMahon have?

Not much.

Bruno’s reign could never be replicated, not with ethnic heroes, over-the-top heels or All-American talent. Neither could Hogan’s (a weak shadow of Bruno’s) with a guy more muscular and more younger. Neither could Stone Cold’s dominance (although I’d admit to any argument that The Rock was an equal, and could have likely been running roughshod for a few more years) be equaled by the Son-in-Law.

The most hilarious thing about Vince McMahon is that he has a keen, but negative, vision of his own product. It’s not a vision of what he can do, but one of what he doesn’t want.

Call me crazy, and I’ll admit that Vince is a Billionaire, and I’m not, but that doesn’t seem to be a trait of making money.

Now, every major Sport has tweaked the expectations and rules. Football: Two point conversions (and a myriad of minor technicalities.) Basketball: Three point shots (not to mention relaxing the traveling violations.) Baseball: Designated Hitter. Hockey: Shootouts.

But all those sports are still those sports. No one has changed the size of the ball, or the regulation periods or the scoring systems --- beyond comprehension.

Fans of these sports are fans for long stretches, even for life.

While I’ve heard (and say so myself) that Major League Baseball just isn’t the same, but it’s not for a meddling of the owners (err, well) or a lack of passion in the talent. Professional wrestling, on the other hand, has multiple avenues for dissatisfaction:

Vulgarity

Lack of Passion

Lack of Creativity

Loss of Tradition

Now, I’m sure Vince would argue the first three, and there are wide swathes of fans who love the Vulgarity. But lifelong fans left in droves. The biggest myth of the industry is that Vince left the smoky arenas into the big time. The reality is that the smoky arenas, across the country, held far more attendance than the mainstream could tout,

Admittedly, this is because of a complete change in technology and revenue focus, but the reality is that there were more people attending wrestling shows in 1980 than there were in 1990, and if I’m not mistaken, in 2000.

Fans in the seats is a long term establishment of a habit. Fans watching on TV changes the notion of fandom to a fad. We all know what happens to fads. They burst on the scene, and fade away pretty rapidly. For example, having 11 million viewers, and then having 3 million or so within a decade.

And it’s not just that these fans walked away, it’s that they hate the industry. Numerous studies over the years have shown that sports minded people hate professional wrestling. That’s not the hate of indifference or snobbishly turning one’s nose up at the concept.

It’s the hate brewed by a one time passion, that was stomped out by an owner’s callous disregard for what make him money in the first place.

When did the era of Sports Entertainment truly begin?

Was it back before 1990, when the McMahons decided that a few percentage points of tax savings?

Was it at the height of the Cable TV wars, when Vince was fighting for his corporate life?

Was it when the era of Stone Cold, The Rock, Mick Foley and others began to fade?

To me, Sports Entertainment, the real implementation, had roots in lots of things, but mostly it began when the title was Unified, and then after Brock Lesnar could have been The Man, they cut out his momentum. Not that I’m saying it was all about Brock, but it seems to me that the eras of the big draw were over in Vince’s mindset and his business practices.

Bruno was always able to dictate his participation.

Hogan sold out, taking Vince’s fans to WCW.

Stone Cold proved his stubborn streak was more than just a TV character.

Vince won the war. He dominated the industry. He controlled the game.

He also had his family in control of everything.

Everything since then was all about control. The WWE brand surpasses all names these days. Sure, anyone can name a number of Superstars (TM, WWE) but no one stands above the rest ... well, except for those three letters.

But what has control wrought?

HHH and Randy Orton, with Randy Orton last year rapidly and dangerously approaching “bigger than the business” status, was so screwed up that all the Old School-like input and actions taken couldn’t reconnect the fans to the story.

And so, at Backlash (and wow, what a suitable name there!) HHH bows out of the picture for a while. Ostentatiously to regain some footing, get a better story, and inevitably get one more title win off of RKO.

But observant eyes can see that the fans have bored of HHH. That the fans have either bought into the WWE Brand trumping all. Or that the stable stable of main event talents, playing a yearly exchange of chairs, has finally reached its limit.

That, plus we’re watching a promotion that plays by its own rules. Not the focus of a historically educated business plan; not the focus of a creative madman; not the vision of a once powerful and influential businessman.

Nope, today the rules are.... no RASSLING.

And the fans? Are they buying it?

Well.... that’s the most important question. And it’s a question that needs to be revisited, because the declining numbers are proving that while PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING endured for a hundred plus years, SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT, in its present form, may not last another decade, whether we date it back five, ten or twenty years.

Joe Babinsack can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The Territory? Idols Don’t Exist? DVD up for review soon, but I’m not so sure it was sold with an honest face.