WCW Flashback: Will WWE Branding Cause the Demise of the Wrestling Empire?

With all of the talk of the WWE taking "wrestling" out of their name and focusing on being an entertainment company, it got me thinking about the final days of WCW.

Every wrestling fan likes to focus on WCW's demise being due to poor management by Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff. However, we as fans often forget that WCW started having problems after the company's owner, Time-Warner, merged with AOL.

This merger caused a huge problem for the company as Ted Turner lost a lot of control over his companies decisions. Turner was a huge fan of wrestling and did everything he could to help WCW succeed. On the flip-side, AOL wanted nothing to do with being in the wrestling business.

While under Turner's control, WCW was run as a separate company. They had their main bosses and decision makers and Turner had little to do with the day-to-day operations of the company. After the merger, WCW higher-ups went from being wrestling guys making decisions that would be good for the company to a committee of people who knew nothing about the business.

Looking at the WWE's newest business model, one has to wonder if they are getting too politically correct and dare I say corporate. This is the same company that once allowed a story-line featuring a senior citizen giving birth to a hand.

There was also a point when the WWE was able to say and do as they please without any real consequences. Fast-forward to the state we are in now, it seems WWE has to apologize and change policies after any negative feedback.

In the past month we have seen John Cena apologize for remarks believed to be homophobic, and now R-Truth is under fire for smoking on air.

Has anyone forgotten about Sandman?

I don't smoke, nor do I condone smoking, but this was a grown man smoking, not an underaged kid. I am sure the WWE will have to once again apologize and change its policies.

This is the same problem WCW ran into after the AOL/Time-Warner merger. They were so worried about being politically correct and not offending anyone that most risque storylines never saw the light of day, while the WWE is independently run and has no one but Vince McMahon to answer to.

Let's face it, wrestling has always been looked at as a traveling sideshow act. Whether we as fans wish to accept that or not, it is what it is.

So why fix something that isn't broken? Many people feel it's the times we live in today, while others don't see the changes as a bad thing.

The fact is, the changes are intended to make the WWE brand mainstream and to span out their other brands, such as WWE studios and WWE Shop merchandise. WWE studios has allowed wrestlers to try their hand at acting and has started to draw some heavy hitters from Hollywood to act in these films.

If the WWE continues to focus on entertainment and not wrestling, they very well could go the way of WCW. Not that they would be bought out by TNA, but they could be bought out by a bigger media entity and faze out wrestling completely.

I know most fans are thinking Vince McMahon would never let that happen. However, what happens after Vince is gone and some of the McMahon heirs don't care to follow in great/grandpa's footsteps?

Ultimately, a company would be interested in the WWE as they turn an amazing profit. Anything is possible; hopefully we will never see that happen, but there is always that what-if factor.

Let me know what you think: is WWE's re-branding move a good one? Or are they sealing their fate and imminent doom?