WWE Ethnography: Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is the largest and most popular professional wrestling company in the world. WWE programming introduces story-driven sports matches with predetermined outcomes and fighting maneuvers that are worked, all promoted as legitimate bouts. During this entertaining talk, Tomer will present an ethnographic analysis of the cultural phenomenon that is WWE. He will take apart this phenomenon from the point of view of a hardcore WWE fan and introduce key aspects of professional wrestling. Through video and images, Tomer will demonstrate what is ethnography and how it can explain the social life of humans and express a credible reality.

Transcript

1. View Slide

2. WWE
   ETHNOGRAPHY
   LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!
   @tsharon
   

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3. THE STUDY OF GROUPS AND PEOPLE
   AS THEY GO ABOUT THEIR DAILY LIVES
   

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4. A WAY TO UNDERSTAND AND
   DESCRIBE SOCIAL WORLDS
   

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5. A WAY TO DESCRIBE THE
   ESSENCE OF A SOCIAL
   PHENOMENON @tsharon
   

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6. HOW?
   WHO?
   WHEN?
   WHAT?
   WHERE?
   WHICH?
   WHY?
   

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7. REPORT
   

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8. WINNING THAT
   ELUSIVE BUY-IN
   FOR UX RESEARCH
   TOMER SHARON | GOOGLE | @tsharon
   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY WWE
   

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9. WHAT IS THE #1
   THING YOU NEED
   TO KNOW ABOUT
   WWE?
   

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10. View Slide

11. Founded in
    1952
    

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12. 320
    shows per year
    

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13. 35,000,000
    worldwide weekly TV viewers
    

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14. 150
    countries
    

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16. 1981
    admitted it’s scripted
    

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17. IF ETHNOGRAPHY IS
    THE SCIENCE OF
    CONTECTUALIZATION,
    LET’S GET READY TO
    RUMBLE!
    

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18. READY TO RUMBLE
    8 FACETS OF WWE
    

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19. THE ENTRANCE
    

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20. THE INTRODUCTION OF A WWE
    PERFORMER INTO THE ARENA
    

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21. A COMBINATION
    OF MUSIC,
    LIGHTING,
    PYROTECHNICS,
    SIGNATURE
    GESTURES, AND
    AUDIENCE
    PARTICIPATION
    

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22. SET THE
    STAGE.
    INTIMIDATE
    OPPONENT.
    ENRAGE/
    EXCITE THE
    AUDIENCE.
    

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23. WHAT IS THE
    MOST FAMOUS
    WWE
    ENTRANCE?
    

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25. THE STORYLINE
    

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26. TWO GUYS
    IN SPANDEX
    BEATING
    EACH
    OTHER
    

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27. RESPECT
    REVENGE
    BELTS
    

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28. WWE IS
    SOAP OPERA
    FOR MEN
    @tsharon
    

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29. THE STORYLINE IS EXPRESSED
    THROUGH PROMOS, TWEETS,
    INTERVIEWS, & INTERFERENCES
    

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30. BUILD-UP
    MATCHES.
    CREATE
    INTEREST.
    MAKE THE
    AUDIENCE
    CARE.
    

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31. STORYLINE:
    PROGRAM/FEUD
    IN-MATCH
    OVER DECADES
    

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42. SPOTS & PATTERNS
    

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43. PATTERNS ARE COMMON ELEMENTS.
    SPOTS ARE PREDEFINED, PRACTICED MOVES
    

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44. ROLE OF
    PATTERNS
    DEVELOP
    THE WAY
    MATCHES
    ARE PUT
    TOGETHER
    

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45. ROLE OF
    SPOTS
    PEAK POINT
    OF A
    MATCH TO
    GET CROWD
    REACTION
    

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46. FALSE FINISH
    

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47. ROLE OF A
    FALSE FINISH
    CREATE
    SUSPENSE
    

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48. THE TURN
    

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49. GOOD
    GUY
    TURNS
    BAD, OR
    VICE
    VERSA
    

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50. ROLE OF
    TURN
    SHOCK,
    AWE,
    TWIST IN
    THE PLOT
    

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51. OCASIONALLY, THE
    AUDIENCE, NOT WWE,
    TURNS A PERFORMER
    

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52. CATCHPHRASE
    

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53. 1. CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE
    ROCK IS COOKING
    2. THAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE
    BECAUSE THE ROCK SAID SO
    3. I’M THE ROCK AND I’M
    AWESOME
    

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54. ROLE OF A
    CATCHPHRASE
    ENGAGE,
    IDENTIFY,
    ENTERTAIN
    

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55. JOHN CENA
    

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57. HE NEVER
    GIVES UP
    

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58. YOU CAN’T
    SEE HIM
    

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59. HE IS THE
    LEADER OF
    CENATION
    

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60. HE ALMOST
    NEVER
    LOSES
    

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61. HE IS A
    CASH COW
    

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62. HE WILL
    NEVER TURN
    BAD
    

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63. HE IS THE FACE
    OF WWE FOR
    10 YEARS NOW
    

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64. WOMEN
    LOVE HIM
    

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65. KIDS
    LOVE HIM
    

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66. TROOPS
    LOVE HIM
    

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67. GUYS HATE
    HIS GUTS
    

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69. THEY CALL
    HIM ‘SUPER
    CENA’
    

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71. WWE UNIVERSE
    

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72. WWE FANS IN ARENAS,
    HOME, SOCIAL MEDIA
    

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73. HARDCORE, CASUAL, KIDS,
    TROOPS, WRESTLING CITIES
    

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74. ROLE OF UNIVERSE
    CHEER GOOD GUYS
    BOO BAD GUYS
    ENGAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
    BUY MERCHENDISE
    BUY PAY-PER-VIEWS
    SUBSCRIBE TO WWE NETWORK
    

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75. #YESmovement
    

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76. A WAY TO DESCRIBE
    THE ESSENCE OF A
    SOCIAL PHENOMENON
    

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77. WINNING THAT
    ELUSIVE BUY-IN
    FOR UX RESEARCH
    TOMER SHARON | GOOGLE | @tsharon
    ENTRANCE
    STORYLINE
    SPOTS & PATTERNS
    FALSE FINISHES
    TURN
    CATCHPHRASE
    JOHN CENA
    UNIVERSE
    

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78. View Slide

79. View Slide

80. THINKING ABOUT
    YOUR PRODUCT,
    WEBSITE, APP, OR
    SERVICE…
    

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81. WHAT IS THE SOCIAL
    WORLD YOU TRY TO
    UNDERSTAND?
    @tsharon
    

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82. HOW DO DAILY LIVES
    OF YOUR USERS
    LOOK LIKE?
    

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83. WHAT IS THE
    PHENOMENON YOU
    ARE INTERESTED IN?
    

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84. WHAT ARE ITS
    FACETS, THEIR
    ROLES AND
    MEANING?
    

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85. DO YOU
    KNOW?
    

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86. ARE YOU
    SURE?
    

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87. DO YOU
    CARE?
    

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88. I GOT TWO WORDS FOR YA
    THANK YOU
    @tsharon
    Google.com/+itsourresearch
    Facebook.com/itsourresearch
    

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