Read Online Controversy Creates Cash by Eric Bischoff - Free Book Online

was the right thing to do. I’ve matured enough, and am comfortable enough, that I can separate the real person and the character. You’d be surprised 52
    CONTROVERSY CREATES CASH
    how many performers have a hard time separating their self-image from the character they are asked to play.
    A lot of wrestlers who are supposed to be bad guys don’t have that ability. Sometimes I see it in guys who are really experienced—
    they don’t want to be the bad guy. They don’t want to be booed.
    But for a story to be successful, there has to be a villain. You have to have the characteristics that people truly hate. You have to be a liar, a cheat, a sneak, a coward—and the fans need to believe it.
    Most performers are uncomfortable with that.
    And sometimes it’s not just ego. In today’s environment, much of your income is determined by your ability to sell merchandise.
    This is a vulnerability in the WWE formula. If the crowd doesn’t like you—in other words, if you’re an effective villain or heel, to use the wrestling expression—fans generally don’t buy your T-shirts and other merchandise. That translates into less money in your pocket.
    But if no one really wants to be the villain, no one really gets to be the good guy. People start to feel ambivalent about the storylines and characters. They may come to enjoy the action and the communal experience of being in an arena with 15,000 other people. They will react the way they know they are supposed to, but will they really care about the outcome of the match?
    In my opinion, probably not. At least not as much as they should. That’s the difference between what I refer to as “Pavlovian heat”—an automatic reaction that’s not deeply felt—and real heat—loathing that comes from the heart.
    I have a hard time today pointing to one person who is really a babyface or a good guy. I can’t even point to one guy that the audience believes is a villain.
    Look at a guy like Triple H, and how people react to him when he comes out. He goes into that Incredible Hulk–like stance. He scowls and spits water straight up into the air like he owns the arena. They dim the lights, and he has a spotlight on him like Elvis Presley as he makes his way to the ring, growling for the camera.
    What guy doesn’t want to be him?

    KEN DOLL
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    I don’t want to pick on Triple H, but unfortunately his character is an example of what I’m talking about. He’s one of the best modern heels out there, but his entrance is a hero’s entrance. If you give someone a hero’s entrance week in and week out, and he gets a hero’s response, the audience doesn’t hate that guy. They can’t—
    they wish they were him.
    Guess what? Once that happens, you’re not a heel. You cannot achieve heel status with the audience when, consciously or subconsciously, they wish they were you. It’s absolutely impossible.
    Its like: Yeah, I’ll play the role of a bad guy, but I want people to think I’m cool. I want people to buy my merchandise.
    You have to establish a heel character the second you walk through the curtain. You have to want people to hate you. They should be throwing shit at you. Then when you step in the ring and the good guy across from you hits you and knocks you on your ass, the roof blows off. And that good guy, that babyface, is truly a good guy And they buy his merchandise. The audience is living vicariously through him.
    Verne Gagne told me it doesn’t matter if people love you or hate you, as long as they feel strongly one way or the other. The worst place you can be is in the middle.
    The Road Gets
    Rockier and Rockier
    Superclash
    Maybe because we were a struggling company, there were never any really standout moments—times when you stand back and say, Holy shit, this is an event, this is big time. But one that came close was a Pay-Per-View in 1989 dubbed Superclash III.
    The show was held in Chicago. Verne joined forces with some of the other regional promoters still