Thanks to Corvin Carlton and Jeff Wilen for both sending this in:

New York Times
Between Body Slams, WWF Softens Tone
By Richard Sandomir

Ten years ago, with the Persian Gulf War just ended, the main event of the World Wrestling Federation’s Wrestlemania show in Los Angeles featured Hulk Hogan, the blond and bronzed hero of kiddies, against Sgt. Slaughter , a turncoat Iraqi sympathizer. In Slaughter’s corner stood his muse, General Adnon, a Baghdad-born Saddam Hussein stand-in. Hogan beat Slaughter and exultantly draped himself in the American flag.

But the WWF — that bastion of sweaty, scripted entertainment — insists it will not capitalize on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 by creating a terrorist character as a surrogate for fan anger. Not known for Iron John sensitivity, the WWF wants to be seen as patriotic without being politically bellicose, as it was in the early 1980s when it featured the malevolent Iron Sheik to capitalize on the Iranian hostage crisis.

"After the war, we pared that back, because it wasn’t where we wanted to be," Linda McMahon, the chief executive officer of WWF Entertainment, said Monday. "We’re not going to do anything to connect to the attacks. We want to be perceived as conscientious programmers."

An immediate manifestation of the approach was the emergence of Kurt Angle as the new WWF champion. He defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin — who presents no discernible political ideologies other than "Do Unto Others" and "Give Me A Hell Yeah" — at Sunday night’s "Unforgiven" pay-per-view extravaganza. Angle won the freestyle wrestling gold medal in the 220-pound class at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

"I think the attacks played a factor," said Dave Meltzer, editor and publisher of the Wrestling Observer, a newsletter. Although Angle was being developed as a character deserving of a chance at the championship, Meltzer said, "A month ago, it didn’t seem giving him the title was the right thing to do."

McMahon would not specifically say that the WWF’s response to the terrorism of Sept. 11 was to install an Olympic champion as the champion. But she said: "There was some discussion, that continued through yesterday, about whether he or Stone Cold Steve Austin would win. It was determined that winning was a good move for Kurt. It was thought-provoking to be a good hero for the time, and he was in line."

The WWF has made additional moves since the attacks.

-Renaming its longtime Monday night TNN program "Raw is War." Now the first hour is called "Raw I," the second ‘Raw II."

-Scratching "Armageddon" as the name one of its pay-per-view programs, replacing it with "Payback."

-Ending the playing of the song "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" at live events.

"We are part of the American fabric," McMahon said, "and we want to be sensitive."

The WWF remains outrageous and outlandish, in its costumes, story lines, humor and sexual innuendoes. Feuds, jealousies and pectorals predominate.

But it seems to be smart business to refrain from playing off the horror of the attacks, which were far worse in every measure than the hostage crisis or the gulf war.

"There’s no reason to step things up and bring criticism on themselves," said Breck Wheeler, an analyst for Legg Mason Wood Walker. "They’re based in Stamford, so they’re close to New York and they know how sensitive things are. They shouldn’t capitalize on the loss of lives and the sheer horror."

Meltzer recalled how the WWF was criticized for the story lines played out by the Iron Sheik, General Adnon and Sgt. Slaughter.

"They exploited the gulf war; I don’t see them doing that again," he said. "It shows how the WWF has grown up."

But the wrestling company’s business is not as robust as it was a year ago, when anticipation was high for the XFL, the football league it created with NBC. The XFL expired earlier this year, leading to a $46.9 million loss for the WWF.

For the three months ended July 27, advertising and sponsorship revenues were down $4 million; revenues from live events fell $3.7 million. Pay-per-view revenues slipped by $3.6 million. And sales of merchandise tumbled by $8.4 million. The company also canceled or moved seven arena shows, largely because of slow ticket sales. Since then, an Oct. 7 show in Fairfax, Va., was moved to Valparaiso, Ind.

The ratings for "Raw is War" have gyrated through the year, but it is still the strongest regularly scheduled basic cable program. The Sept. 17 edition produced a 4.8 cable rating. (Each cable rating for TNN equals 810,000 television households.)

The WWF’s net income for the quarter fell 21 percent to $11.9 million. Its stock, as high as 15.28 in July, closed at $11.70 Tuesday, up 25 cents.

Like many other entertainment companies, the WWF is suffering from a broad-based slump in advertising and the fears of consumers about spending discretionary income in a backpedaling economy.

"The WWF is not as expensive as pro sports like the NFL or NASCAR, but if times get tough, people cut back," Wheeler said.

McMahon said the company was hurt by the absence of its eyebrow-wiggling superstar, The Rock, who was off making a movie, and injuries to Triple H and Chris Benoit.

"When you have three or four stars out, you have to adjust story lines," McMahon said. "And arena and merchandise sales went down."

The Rock has since returned.

She added that shows this month, including one in Houston two days after the terrorist attacks, sold out.

"We’ve been in a cycle," she said. "We’ve had our highs and lows."

One low the WWF will not plumb is an Osama bin Laden character.

[Credit to: NYTimes.com]