PWTorch.com - SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE: Cena tweets his defense of Triple H endorsement (w/Analysis)

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SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE: Cena tweets his defense of Triple H endorsement (w/Analysis)

Jan 10, 2015 - 2:28:21 PM

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By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

CALDWELL REPORT: WWE's social media conundrum - why a top face congratulating a TV enemy is not best for business

Update: John Cena posted a new tweet Saturday defending his endorsement of Triple H's Sports Hall of Fame induction.

"It is never out of context to recognize the accomplishments of a rival. There is passion, there is also respect. Understand the difference," Cena tweeted.

This came the same week that Hunter's TV character "fired" three of Cena's babyface friends on Raw and "stacked the deck" against Cena by adding Seth Rollins to a WWE Title match at the Royal Rumble, eliminating a one-on-one match against Brock Lesnar.

Caldwell's Analysis: This makes the original post even worse. The storyline is that Hunter is heelishly trying to use his power to eliminate Cena's allies and reduce a threat, Cena. A "rival" implies fair, balanced competition. Hunter's character has attempted to cut off Cena from the title over the past year and this week tried to turn Cena's allies against him by blaming Cena for bringing back The Authority. That's not a "rival" in the storyline context. It's unfathomable that a top babyface would associate "respect" with the top heel when the entire feud is built on an abuse of power and position. It captures the issue below of WWE needing to protect the storyline environment that Twitter exists in as an extension of WWE TV.

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WWE often stresses their "cross-platform" or "multi-platform" marketing reach, whether it's promoting a WWE Studios movie, a Raw guest host's latest TV project, or any other project.

However, this has not consistently translated to social media's role as an extension of TV storylines. And, with WWE pushing social media so much in recent years, the two have become one and the same.

This week, Dolph Ziggler used Twitter to promote his TV storyline by posting a fictional good-bye letter after being "fired" on Raw. Imagine if Ziggler took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to tell the audience that he'll return in a few weeks after WWE figures out the storyline direction.

Essentially, that's what Triple H and John Cena did in the days after Raw. First, Hunter replied to a Twitter follower by noting he plays a bad guy on TV. This coming the same week that The Authority returned to TV in an important heel role setting up storylines heading to the biggest business day of the year, WrestleMania.

Then, top babyface John Cena congratulated Hunter on his 2015 International Sports Hall of Fame induction. This contradiction coming the same week that Hunter's character fired three of Cena's babyface friends on TV and has been trying to keep Cena away from the WWE World Title for the past year.

In the past, there have been isolated instances of talent "breaking character," such as Stephanie McMahon saying on Twitter that she "plays a bad guy" on TV. Or, on the TV side, when WWE runs video packages that show heels doing nice things at "outside the ring" B.A. Star rallies or book-reading challenges.

WWE's inconsistent approach to how to use social media - either wrestlers stay true to their TV character/storyline or they use Twitter as a real person - has muddied the waters, softening the general audience's already soft connection to the product. It takes fans out of the experience of suspending disbelief in the characters and storylines they see on Raw, Smackdown, and PPV, leading to less emotional connection to the product. Less emotion means less money and time spent on the product.

The situation was compounded by the incorporation of "Total Divas" into the TV product and on Twitter. It led to situations like top babyface Daniel Bryan returning to TV shortly after his wife, Brie Bella, turned heel without reason to re-join Nikki. How can WWE reconcile the two situations? Or, top star Cena dating/not dating/dating heel Divas champion Nikki Bella on "Total Divas" and acknowledging their relationship on Twitter while it's not acknowledged on TV.

Because, at least WWE knows not to have Cena and Nikki's character associate on TV, hurting Cena's on-screen reputation as the do-good babyface who would never willingly associate with a character of questionable virtue. Which would hurt business.

The overall situation points to a need for a policy. The argument that "well, the audience (or a good portion of the audience) knows it's fictional, so it's not a big deal" doesn't fly. If WWE is in the business of doing "what's best for business," they should do everything they can to protect storylines/characters they're asking consumers to buy into and eventually spend money and time on the product.

It seems restrictive, especially if Cena genuinely does want to publicly congratulate his colleague on a Hall of Fame induction. But, it also has to be understood that the trade-off of being a public wrestler, especially when WWE's TV product is built on presenting a pre-determined show as real events, is a loss of some personal freedom.

Chris Jericho often makes the argument for why he does not want to just be known as "Chris Jericho, the wrestler," as pointing to playing a role on TV. He is Chris Jericho on TV, but he is not "Chris Jericho" when he's walking on the streets to a local restaurant or performing with "Fozzy." After all, "Breaking Bad" lead actor Bryan Cranston isn't introduced at award shows as "Walter White."

The issue is the two personas are interchangeable after becoming a public figure in the wrestling business. Specific to Jericho, Fozzy's marketing does not list "Chris Irvine" as the lead singer of the band. What sells tickets and albums - a band led by Chris Jericho or Chris Irvine?

Even C.M. Punk, who wants to distance himself from wrestling after how things ended with WWE, said on Colt Cabana's podcast that he's not sure what he wants to be called yet. C.M. Punk? Phil Brooks? Phil "C.M. Punk" Brooks? His identity, for better or worse, is tied to his wrestling persona.

Several years ago, Dwayne Johnson tried to just be Dwayne Johnson. The movies didn't sell, he went to a different talent agency, and he re-incorporated "The Rock" into his name.

The John Cena on Twitter is also the John Cena who plays a lead protagonist character on a television show whose friends just got "fired" by the lead villain played by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. It comes with the territory of the wrestling business.

And, a loose application of TV storylines extending to Twitter/social media hurts the audience's connection. Looking at how crowds are reacting to the product right now, especially sitting on their hands during a laborious final segment on Monday's Raw, WWE needs to do everything they can to protect the product, use their platforms to enhance storylines, like Ziggler did, and "build audience engagement." Especially on social media.

[ READ MORE: PWTorch editor Wade Keller's Twitter Timeline on this subject @TheWadeKeller ]

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