Vince McMahon Interviews Owen Hart
WWF RAW - WarZone
Filmed on December 9, 1997
Aired on December 15, 1997
Whittemore Center Arena
Durham, New Hampshire
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jim Cornette
Vince McMahon Speaks Directly to the WWF Television Audience
"THE CURE FOR THE COMMON SHOW"
WWF RAW
Aired December 15, 1997
Vince McMahon: "It has been said that anything can happen here in the World Wrestling Federation, but now more than ever truer words have never been spoken. This is a conscious effort on our part to open the creative envelope, so to speak, in order to entertain you in a more contemporary manner. Even though we call ourselves "Sports Entertainment" because of the athleticism involved, the keyword in that phrase is "Entertainment." The WWF extends far beyond the strict confines of sports presentation into the wide open environment of broad-based entertainment. We borrow from such programs niches like soap operas like The Days Of Our Lives or music videos such as those on MTV, Daytime talk shows like Jerry Springer and others, cartoons like The King Of The Hill on FOX, Sitcoms like Seinfeld and other widely accepted forms of television entertainment.
We in the WWF think that you, the audience, are quite frankly tired of having your intelligence insulted. We also think that you're tired of the same old simplistic theory of "Good Guys vs. Bad Guys". Surely the era of the superhero urge you to say your prayers and take your vitamins is definitely passé. Therefore, we've embarked on a far more innovative and contemporary creative campaign, that is far more invigorating and extemporaneous than ever before. However, due to the live nature of RAW and the WarZone, we encourage some degree of parental discretion, as relates to the younger audience allowed to stay up late. Other WWF programs on USA, such as the Saturday Morning Live Wire and Sunday Morning Superstars, where there's a 40% increase in the younger audience obviously, however, need no such discretion.
We are responsible television producers who work hard to bring you this outrageous, wacky, wonderful world known as the WWF. Through some 50 years, the World Wrestling Federation has been an entertainment mainstay here in North America and all over the world. One of the reasons for that longevity is: As the times have changed, so have we. I'm happy to say that this new vibrate, creative direction has resulted in a huge increase in television viewership, for which we thank the USA Network and TSN for allowing us to have the creative freedom, but most especially, we would like to thank you for watching. RAW and the WarZone are definitely the cure for the common show."
