WWE and Cinema: Forget Hollywood and Just Put on Some Wrestling Shows!

When WWE announced to the world that it was making another film, few thought it likely to be on par with Schindler's List or The Godfather Part II.

It's not that the WWE movies are necessarily bad, but when your whole model of success is based on the logic that at least the DVDs will sell, they are hardly producing quality.

The days of Mr. McMahon collecting that elusive Oscar, are far, far away.

If we look back, film making is not Vince McMahon's only attempt to 'legitimise' his businesses. There have been American Football franchises (XFL), Ice-hockey (Cape Cod) and Bodybuilding. When you have so much success in one field, a little diversity is not a bad thing.

However, for someone who has prided himself on making WWE the very best in the business, an internationally renowned organisation, McMahon's little passions tend not to succeed.

At a time when many are criticising the creative product of WWE, films as well as political ambitions seem to be more of a distraction than anything else.

If there is a definitive link between the PG era and the Senatorial Race, then McMahon is putting wealth and ambition above the desires of his fans. He continues to make money of course, but wrestling is losing its support.

Last week's rating of 3.0 was low, granted it came against tough competition from Monday Night Football, but it was also beaten by the History Channel.

The key demographics show that the Attitude Era fans may be beginning to desert, if there is something worth watching on the other channels.

The image of John Cena will ensure that people will have an interest in the films that WWE produce, but if they continuously bomb at the Box Office, it will begin to test the patience of the fans.

Not having yet seen 'Legendary', I actually had high hopes for its success. Limited cinema release however has seen it lambasted as a failure.

Constant promotion on WWE programming, media interviews, mainstream Hollywood stars, did not stop this from being a cinematic failure. What success they will have is down to Cena.

Just as the fans buy a Laker's version of the orange Cena shirt they once wore, so too they buy a DVD because of their support.

And yet this model of success is flawed. If McMahon truly wants to break out of wrestling with a film franchise, surely the means of doing it involves non-wrestling storylines, using only Hollywood stars, investing more money into it, and ultimately doing it properly and releasing nationwide.

By having wrestlers including Triple H and Kane star in movies, the model simply will not work. They may play very effective wrestling characters but this does not translate into cinematic success. 

Profit might come from DVDs, but the constant box office failures cannot be continuously rectified by WWE fans buying DVDs.

Film success must come at the Box Office. Wrestling will sell its Arenas, WWE Films must get its own audience.

We can all excuse a billionaire, the chance to dream of standing alongside the cinematic greats. Who honesty would say they would not mind a crack at Hollywood themselves?

But if that enterprise comes at the expense of the WWE product that ultimately made him his empire, the question has to be asked,

Is Vince McMahon threatening the livelihood of the company? 

Diversify too much and soon the image of the wrestling world becomes seedy.

Its image is not great as it is, but failing movie ventures, steroid abuse claims, questionable creative, deaths of wrestlers together with political campaigns, will present the WWE not as respectable international company but as some unlicensed carnival act.

A night out at the cinema is a great thing, but its a field that WWE needs to step away from, unless they are going to do it properly.

And the Oscar for Best Feature Film goes to...ultimately someone else.