WWE: ‘Cancel culture’ shouldn’t be to blame for boundary-pushing content

“Cancel culture” shouldn’t be to blame for an inability to create content enjoyable and relevant to today’s viewers.

Entertainment during the age of the Internet has its positives and negatives. The same can be said for professional wrestling as the viewing public has more access to wrestling, but also more insight and access to those that make the industry go. The presence of social media can immediately spark or stop a movement when something goes left. WWE Legend, Triple H, spoke about the challenge of managing gimmicks and storylines in today’s age, but made references to “cancel culture” in a way that leaves much to be desired.

HHH and Bill Simmons conversed during a recent edition of the Bill Simmons Podcast. During the session they talked about everything from COVID-19’s impact on the WWE, Vince McMahon’s vitality and much more. But there was one segment of the interview where they touched on WWE’s ability to tap into the craziness of the world. Simmons wondered why WWE does not dive into those matters as much and if it is safer to just stay away.

“The uniqueness of this world right now is this cancel culture. No matter what you do, if you stray too far you run the risk of alienating half of the people,” HHH said. “You have to be much more calculate than you could be with something in the past.”

This is the first portion of HHH’s quote that deserves unpacking on its own, but the second portion brings up a second issue that needs discussion as well.

“You have to be much more calculated than you could be with something in the past,” HHH continued. “You could do an angle in the past, try to maintain a line and go too far with that line, get some backlash and pull it and it goes away. Now today, it is different. I think you must be careful with all of that. You see that every single day. It’s very easy to put yourself in a position where people go ‘that’s it, I’m done.’”

First, let us unpack the idea of cancel culture. Cancel culture at a high level is about holding people accountable for their actions. There are too many examples of individuals who are not held accountable for their misdeeds, often being able to turn their head away from the victims or those that feel the brunt of their misdeeds. The narrative that “cancellation” comes because a loud segment of people are offended is an oversimplification of the conversation and used to try to denigrate the need to hold people accountable.

Are there issues with the excessively quick nature that some individuals are handled in the public space? Yes. Is “cancel culture” applied in the same fashion to everyone? Absolutely not. But to use “cancel culture” as a challenge to creating compelling content is a lazy excuse that insults the intelligence of the viewers.

Fans what realistic storylines, but that doesn’t mean be offensive for offense sake

The other piece of the conversation tackles the need to be careful when creating storylines, characters, and angles in the WWE. To be frank, this should be an aspect of their creative process to begin with. It is a clear example of why there is a need for diversity in the creative room, because without it the ease to put a questionable piece of content out that causes backlash is much more likely to occur.

Remember when DX did a segment in blackface posing as the Nation of Domination? Remember Muhammed Hassan? Remember “Piggy James?” The list of disturbing angles the WWE has put in front of fans is quite long. What were they for? To tell a compelling story, or to create cheap laughs meant to highlight the othering of minority groups in an industry where they are claimed to be welcome.

The calculation he described in story creation should be present in the writing room, regardless if “cancel culture” is a thing or not. A group of creatives should be careful about the content they are putting out, rather than throwing out junk under the guise of being “edgy,” when they are downright being offensive. Many aspects of entertainment are facing a similar reckoning where the public is forcing those in front and behind of cameras to be more calculated in their messaging and delivery. Those that claim they are being censored or silenced are just too lazy to come up with content that touches on what they want to say in a way that is fulfilling for those viewing.

WWE is struggling to make compelling content. Ratings and critical response prove that point. With the right, diverse writing team in place, WWE could tackle topics that are more relevant to the viewers watching each night. Unfortunately, they do not have the depth of know how in their creative circle and it shows. Imagine what fans would see each week if “cancel culture” was not a thing.