How do we take Female Wrestling and Combat
to the Mainstream?
to the Mainstream?
Article by Johnny Ringo
This is a question I have asked myself every since I put my very first post on the Catfight Report. I have even lamented in various message boards that my goal is to help take our love of female fighting to a higher level.
Why? To fulfill my selfish fantasies? Perhaps. However, the most stark reason is because I am a businessman. The job of a business person is to provide value.
Value, in and of itself, is usually a subjective matter. To provide value, there must be a market for that value.
I believe there is a heavily untapped market in this genre.
Therefore, I want to see this go to the next level. Pretty simple right? However, what form will it take? The current mainstream exposure we have to female wrestling, female fighting, and female catfights, generally encompasses 3 arenas in my view.
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1. WWE/TNA Wrestling
2. Movies and TV shows
3. MMA/UFC/Boxing type events
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I will be the first to admit, "my side" of the genre has fans of all types.
Some like the scripted wrestling that Double Trouble Wrestling offers. Some like the real action that Danube Women's Wrestling provides. And some like it down and dirty, like Ultimate Surrender, where they wrestle for real, and the winner actually fucks the loser!
All of the companies above have nudity in a large portion of their matches. Like any red blooded male, I love nudity. I love the female body. Most red blooded males love naked females.
Therefore, the market is there.
Who will take advantage of this? Who will push the envelope? Who will bring this to the next level?
If we look at the "mainstream" options available it becomes very clear that you will probably never see NUDE wrestling on NBC, ABC, FOX, or any of the other major networks. This is understandable. They have a large, diverse audience, and it would not be a good business move to jump into this realm. And, they run the risk of advertisers jumping ship.
That's fine. No argument there.
But, with the explosion of reality television, I see no reason that the women could not be clothed, but still have real matches. Fox aired Celebrity Boxing at one time and we just saw Kim Kardashian participate in a real boxing match.
Or, if big companies want to use a script, why not make things a bit more exciting?
I do not expect nudity to hit the mainstream in that way. The best we could probably do mainstream (with nudity involved) would probably be something on Cinemax, Showtime, HBO, or a PPV event.
Therefore, nudity will probably not work at the mainstream level. However, I have some suggestions that I think could hit big with the right amount of promotion and good producers running the product.
Let's review the current mainstream offerings for this genre:
1. WWE and TNA
Absolutely beautiful and talented women inhabit these promotions. I read somewhere that Marsye of the WWE is actually a black belt in real life. She is 5'10", beautiful, and I love her "character" on WWE TV. However, I think most would agree with me that the storylines that the writers come up with for the females are simply not very entertaining at all. (Maryse included)
In fact, if you are an educated fan....the storylines are down right insulting.
Rarely, if ever, do the girls get a big storyline like the men do.
You almost get the feeling that the current writers must have contempt for these beautiful females, because rarely, if ever, are they part of anything worthwhile or overly noteworthy.
Most of the criticism that comes from the current crop of WWE/TNA fans that I have witnessed, is that they are not recruiting the "right" girls. The girls should all be super athletic in these people's view, much like a Lisa Marie Varon or Beth Phoenix.
I disagree. Both ladies have gotten runs at the Female World Title and I just don't think they are overly marketable with the character sets that are chosen for them. If they were very marketable, and if mass amounts of people were coming to the shows to see them, I could understand better.
(Think, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin. People would come specifically to see these people in action and they generated massive mainstream buzz.)
Now, that's not to say that Beth Phoenix and Lisa Marie Varon don't "have what it takes". In fact, they do. But, I would bet a large sum of money, that Lisa Marie Varon will create much more buzz than ever once she enters the realm of MMA.
She can thank the WWE and TNA for this big exposure going in. However, Lisa is a strong, beautiful female, and it's something the MMA is sorely lacking.
Back to female "mainstream" wrestling.
The biggest thing I think is missing is the female element. I have mentioned before that I feel like the women are modeled too much after the men, and well, that is simply un-natural. The female is a very sexual and cunning creature. A creature generally ran much more by emotion than logic.
They need something............a bit different. More on that soon.
2. Movies and TV Shows
Boy, how many catfight fans out there have watched HUNDREDS of TV and Movies just to be completely and totally disappointed? I know I am not alone here. It's almost as if the producers just like to tease us into watching their show, KNOWING, that if they advertise a catfight that the ratings will most certainly go up!
Take for example the recent flick with Beyonce Knowles called "Obsessed".
The whole advertising surrounding the movie had to do with the catfight that takes place between her and Ali Larter. The movie's whole theme centered around these two going at it at the end of the film!
Am I alone in thinking that this was an absolutely piss poor pathetic effort? Ali plunges to her death. Boy, never seen that before! Of course, so are all of the other catfights for the most part. Take 2 Days in the Valley for example. It made a lot of news at the time because of the catfight between Teri Hatcher and Charlize Theron.
It was a great fight! Up until the point where they wrestle on the bed for a second, and then a gunshot is heard, and WHOOPS, the fight is over.
I would love for someone to explain this psychology to me.
It's the same psychology in almost every movie or tv show.
The fights are either broken up, do not end with a clear winner, and there is always some lazy, unthoughtful, lame ass ending.
Bare Knuckles, by Eric Etebari, is going to be the latest effort.
The promos are not bad. The action seems to be hard hitting and has an element of sex appeal involved as some of the women are dressed in sexy attire. Will he give us something to remember? We shall see.
3. MMA/UFC/Boxing
For fans of real competition, that is unscripted, this is about as good as it gets in the current mainstream. However, watching women in long shorts, with their hair tied up in dred locks, is totally unappealing to most males.
Again, in my sole opinion, we have another situation where the females are again trying to model the men.
And I will take some flack for my next comment...........but boy do they do a fine job!
Not only are some of the women that participate in these sports "act" about manly as you can get, but many of the women dress in a very unappealing sexual fashion, and if you are not looking closely, you might even mistake some of these women for being men!
Now, let the criticism fly!
I'm sure it's coming.
But, someone has to step up to the plate and mention this.
There are some sexy female fighters out there. Gina Carano, Felice Herrig, LaTasha Marzolla, Mia St John and others. They are out there. Of course, they dress like boys, and that does ruin their chance of attracting a larger fan base in my view.
Even those who might not be attractive as these females could do a better job.
It's not always so much about attraction as it is simple personality. Perhaps having a "persona" rather than a nickname, would do the sport some good.
(and, don't forget a better and sexier wardrobe!)
Of course, I will get the standard..........."we are not sluts........this is competition........and we are not here for the perverts!".
Yea, yea, yea, and yea.
No disrespect ladies...........but sex sells.
And any women that gives me a version of the line above.......... I just don't believe will ever get into marketing, advertising, or promotion of any kind.
Nor, will you be the one that takes this to the next level.
In this writer's opinion.
In Closing:
So what exactly am I trying to say here?
It's easy to criticize, but what is the solution?
First off, when two women go toe to toe, most people, male and female alike, want to see a clear winner!
This is not rocket science. It's simple human nature.
The WWE and TNA are very loath on this concept. The Beautiful People.....Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Lacey Von Erich, and Madison Rayne............RARELY.........IF EVER........win a match clean.
However, if you listen to the crowd when they come out, the crowd seems to be pretty excited. They get a very good response, because they are very sexual acting and they are indeed beautiful people.
So you would think that a lightbulb would go off at TNA.
Hey, we have something here!
No such luck. The very few matches these ladies do win is via interference or a run-in. However, when the Beautiful People are on the losing end, it's usually because they got defeated fair and square. Sorry, but I must be one of the few that get zero pleasure watching Awesome Kong destroy Velvet Sky. (Doubtful)
Ask yourself.
Which of these two scenarios would garner more fan attention and ratings?
Version 1. Lacey Von Erich vs Christy Hemme
Back and forth matchup. Lacey wins the match with help of Velvet Sky, who trips Christy up, and then Lacey rolls her up and uses the ropes for the cheap victory.
Version 2. Lacey Von Erich vs Christy Hemme
Loser has to be a slave match. Back and forth matchup. Lacey finally wins the match, in the center of the ring, by making Christy submit to a long and sexy reverse headscissors that has the crowd absolutely rolling. After Lacey's decisive and "fair and square" win, Velvet and Madison then force Christy to kiss Lacey's ass, as Christy is the latest victim of Lacey's brand new "Kiss my Ass Club".
Segments are shown for the next few shows where Christy, and other defeated women, are forced to be slaves of the Beautiful People after being defeated cleanly in the ring.
Which version would you choose?
Not only does this re-invigorate the fan base, but when a "Face" female actually defeats Lacey Von Erich..........it will have much more meaning..........and could be done at a PPV which would most certainly drive up the buy rates.
This is one example of a possible thousand examples.
All examples don't have to be exactly like this.
However, do you notice how the psychology is much better in my scenario rather than the worthless scenario that we see played out, virtually EVERY SINGLE WEEK, on option 1?
My final diagnosis for the 3 above mainstream genres:
1. Unpredictability.
Example: Yes, the bad girl can beat the good girl. And, they should be able to win cleanly without outside help. Movies, TV, WWE, TNA, and so on: Yes, the small girl can beat the big girl. While rarer in nature, anyone who has watched real female fighting for any length of time knows this can and does happen! When we already know who is going to win a catfight or female wrestling match, whether it be on a TV show, or on mainstream female wrestling, it greatly ruins any real excitement that the fight or wrestling match could potentially bring. I think anyone should be able to beat anyone, especially, when dealing with a script, and knowing beforehand that it is INDEED fantasy. And we really hate it when we know the fight is going to be broken up. STOP DOING THIS! Which leads to.......
2. A Clean Winner.
Goodness gracious please! Give us a clean winner! Stop with the run-ins, and the interrupts, and all the grade school bullshit. Having a fight being broke up in lieu of a bigger clash down the road is understandable. There are some situations where having a run-in makes sense. However, when a run-in or interrupt is the STANDARD, it is a very crappy standard indeed. A run-in or interrupt should always be an EXCEPTION and not a rule!
And if the girls have so much ego that they do not want to lose to "so and so" in a movie, tv show, or on a wrestling promotion.............get rid of their sorry asses because there are millions of beautiful females ready and willing to take their place.
3. Sex Sells.
I hate to break it to all of you purists out there. Any promoter with any knowledge whatsoever of human psychology knows this simple truth. This doesn't mean that the women have to be nude in every match. But, the women should generally dress in very sexy attire, and should use their female sexual appeal to their advantage.
Melina doing the splits before entering the ring is an example of this.
The Beautiful People do something similar before they enter the ring. It illicits a strong crowd reaction and it certainly illicits a reaction in those who watch.
(Sometimes positive, sometimes negative, but like Howard Stern, you have their attention!).
However, the sexual showmanship often lacks very much when the action begins.
I think if MMA had the promotion ability of mainstream scripted wrestling, with the characters, the entrances, and the sex appeal, it might just surpass the men.
The second part of "Sex Sells" is the very moves themselves.
What's sexy about a DDT as a finisher? Or a Pedigree? There is very little that is sexy about that. Women love to perform moves like a moonsault or a hurrahcanrana to show they are on par with the men.
Quit modeling the men!
Quit putting yourself in dangerous situations. What's sexier? A moonsault as a finisher or a tight breastsmother? A DDT or a headscissors with the opponents face angled into your private parts? A "mandible claw" or a bronco buster? A reverse headscissors or a legdrop off the top rope? A full body press pin or your legs hooked to the rope in yet another cheap ass, worthless win?
There is a huge community out there of fetish lovers.
They love domination and humiliation. They love when another female forces another female to kiss her feet. They love when a woman with superior breasts uses her breasts to dominate a lesser endowed female. They love when one woman takes the other one out with multiple blows to the crotch.
Again, as I stated at the beginning of this article, there are a wide variety of tastes out there.
I cannot and will not attempt to cover them all.
But why not incorporate some of these elements so that you can increase your fan base? It's not like every movie, tv show, mainstream wrestling match, or MMA match has to have these elements in every single serving.
However, variety is the spice of life. And this is a genre where the ability exists to be creative and to try new things.
And, if you think I'm crazy, wrong, or just totally off base. It's ok. There is a medium called the internet, and it's probably going to be bigger than any network, movie, tv show, or wrestling promotion will ever be.
Like in all industries.........if you keep dropping the ball...........someone else is going to pick the ball up and run with it.
The good thing?
This industry is still a free market. Let the best ideas win!
Feel free to voice your comments and opinions at the end of this article.
(All opinions expressed above are solely those of Johnny Ringo. You have every right to agree, disagree, refute these claims, or come up with better conclusions. If anything, I hope to get the debate re-ignited and thoughtful debate is encouraged.)
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1 comments:
well it is great idea to go cable all you need one producer but will cable station buy in to it and the money to air it i think thats why its not on any tv as of yet
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