Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Wrestling fans must all go to the jail that has been created for them. They have no say so and no extra options. Prison inmates must sleep in the jail cell they are assigned, sleep on the cot they are provided, eat the food they are served, wear the clothes they are provided, and do what they are told. That is how wrestling fans feel about the sport they love so much, professional wrestling. As fans, they are not given any other alternative then to watch what Vince McMahon puts on television every week. Fans could always choose not to watch it at all. To many, that is not an option. Fans need the wrestling entertainment they have grown to love. The only problem is they don’t have much of a choice.

  Vince’s purchase of WCW was the worst thing that could happen to professional wrestling. When he first purchased WCW, many fans were excited about the potential storylines and wrestler crossovers. Fans believed Vince would pump life back into the WCW product and make wrestling more entertaining, giving them competitive variety again. Instead, Vince threw WCW in the trash and made fans settle for what he wanted to provide. Of course everyone knew Vince purchased WCW to rid himself of competition, but a lot of fans still believed he would keep it alive so they could see entertaining variety.

  Many felt the WCW name was too important to just throw away. It appears it was not as important as people thought. The question is; what happens to wrestling now? Do fans continue to support the WWF and settle for what they are given? Do the wrestling fans begin to turn their interest to another wrestling federation and hope that someone emerges as a competitor to the WWF? Or worse, does wrestling lose its fan base due to frustrated and bored fans that decide they have had enough of the lack of variety and excitement?

  Vince has been determined to rid the wrestling industry of competition to his WWF product. For years, he had to contend with the NWA, WCW, and other federations. He worried in the back of his mind whether or not they would develop steam and make a charge at his company. In the mid to late 90’s, that scary thought came true when WCW emerged as the #1 wrestling company in the world for well over a year. The WWF was a marketing nightmare and they produced a product that was second best. In the end, Vince’s marketing skills and business knowledge helped WWF regain the top spot in the industry and overthrow its competitor.

  What Vince must now realize is that competition will help his company and this industry stay alive. Imagine if there were only one sitcom on television. People would get bored if they could only watch Friends and nothing else. After a while their interest will turn elsewhere. Imagine if there was only one sport to watch on television on only a selected amount of teams playing. Fans would lose interest and want more. What if Oprah was the only talk show for people to watch? People would scream for different formats and new and interesting hosts.

  Professional wrestling is no different. Fans need something else to turn to when they want. Competition keeps the creative juices flowing. Without competition, a company begins to become lazy and settle for things of lesser importance or value. No one wants to see the WWF die. They just want to see something else they can turn the channel to when the WWF has a dry spell. Who knows, that other federation on the other channel may even become better than the WWF one day and turn the wrestling industry upside down. If not, at least fans will always have the “other” wrestling show they can watch when their favorite brand is not on television or not stepping up to the plate and delivering.

  It is time for fans to flip over the monopoly board and scream, “I’m tried of this game. I want something different”. There are other games to play besides monopoly. How much longer can Vince continue to play the game?

  Please feel free to send your comments and feedback to Chairshots2head@yahoo.com. Your feedback is always welcomed.

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