Impressionable Fans

by Jack Windham
September 9, 2008

There are just certain fans out there that will believe whatever WWE wants them to believe.

Cult Following

One of the big reasons why Vince McMahon continues to make millions of dollars each year is because of his powers to lead a cult.

No, his cult isn't down in a compound somewhere doing something religious or malicious.

The closest that this cult comes to doing anything religious is when the commentators scream "Oh my God!" after an incredible move.

No, this cult consists of wrestling fans who will believe every single thing about his product that Vince McMahon wants them to believe.

Next Rey Mysterio

One of the things that sparked this article was the tag team match on Monday Night Raw featuring Rey Mysterio and Evan Bourne.

With just that little trick, WWE managed to convince a handful of fans that Evan Bourne was going to be pushed like the next Rey Mysterio.

In an instant, his skills and reputation tripled.

It wasn't a coincidence that WWE decided to put Evan Bourne with one of the most popular wrestlers in the company on the company's flagship show.

They did it knowing that the cult followers will read too much into it.

Next Trish Stratus

Another example of Vince McMahon's cult like powers is Candice Michelle.

For months, former Raw announcer Jim Ross kept telling fans that Candice Michelle was so improved that he reminded her of Trish Stratus.

Nothing against Candice Michelle, but she wasn't anywhere near that level. She's improved, but not to that extent.

However, if you read around the message boards and various wrestling websites, you'll find plenty of fans who believed it completely.

Even though most weren't able to explain the actual improvements, they were dead set that what Jim Ross had stated was true.

Backfire

Sometimes, this style of promoting does backfire on WWE.

There's a lot of wrestling fans out there that have turned on Candice Michelle. Unfortunately, the hate has spread.

In fact, Candice Michelle briefly even mentions the fact, so that proves that she is aware of the negative criticism.

Closing Thoughts

I've been seeing this for years, but it still never fails to amaze just how much power WWE holds over certain fans.