Retroactive Upkeep of Changed Standard(s): The WWE's New Logo as a (Simple) Case Study

Although I didn't want to begin this course with my usual cheeky articles, towing the line between academic discussion and tumblr rants, I was excited to see a correlation between one of my passions and this course: the WWE, or more specifically, its logo.

Founded in 1980, the WWE (then WWF) took the territorial dynamic of professional wrestling and drove it headfirst into the mat, becoming the largest professional wrestling company (and first successful one) to broadcast its product across the United States on syndicated television. To make an extraordinarily long story short, the WWE began to monopolize professional wrestling, becoming so large that no other professional wrestling company could possibly compete; and that is still true today.

However, professional wrestling history-related diatribes aside, the WWE recently changed a vital component of its public image — a visual standard that demarcates its properties from the rest —its logo.

F in.

F out.

From 1997 until less than a month ago, the WWE used what is referred to as a "scratch" logo, its name seemingly scratched on paper to create a logo. The grungy nature of this logo was a result of the shift in image that the WWE endured during 1997 and 2002. Called the "Attitude Era," this period of time in what was still the WWF was represented by blood, sex, and violence, all in an attempt to (successfully) bolster ratings against competing professional wrestling promotion, WCW. To make yet another long story short, the WWE "got the 'F out" in 2002, its name shifting from World Wrestling Federation to World Wrestling Entertainment. The product was becoming tamer, somewhat more family-oriented, but the grungy scratch logo still existed (minus the "F").

Now, this month the WWE unveiled its newest logo, a shift in image that hasn't occurred in over 17 years. This logo is sleeker, simpler, and is a part of the flat-style revolution that has taken over icon and logo design in recent years. So, where do standards fit in all of this? Follow me.

Interestingly enough, the WWE had actually been using this "new" logo for sometime, as its on-demand video service (i.e. Netflix) used this logo to acclimate fans to the impending change. However, anything non-WWE Network used the old scratch logo. Technically, this was okay, as they were two different logos for two different products. However, when the change became official, there was no longer a need for the old logo; the new one would reign supreme. Unfortunately, the debut of the logo saw an interesting (and annoying and ugly) period of retroactive replacement of the old logo with the new one.

The purveyor of mismatched branding chaos.

With news breaking of the newest WWE video game, WWE 2K15, the cover art for the game boasted the new logo. The upcoming pay-per-view, SummerSlam, had its advertising emblazoned... with the new logo. Yet, on the official broadcast, the stage design used the old logo, as did the ring dressings. But if you went on the WWE Network, you would see what would be the new logo.

It was a mess.

The decision to change a standard is not easy, but is often necessary. For WWE, this was an important shift in direction for the company, as the newest logo reflected the current product more than the '90s-laden old one. However, with so many other products and events needing to be advertised for the future, the mix of old and new logos became annoying to view.

When the logo was officially revealed on August 18, it was a relieving but odd experience. The introduction to Monday Night Raw had a new logo; the watermarks on T.V. had a new logo; the ring apron, turnbuckle pads, and announcers' tables had new logos; the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was reintroduced with a new logo. Yet, thousands of fans in the arenas wore t-shirts and other merchandise that was marked by the old logo.

The shift in standards produces a mess that is unavoidable. Suddenly one standard becomes irrelevant and useless, and the new standard has to be adopted, or else the future will leave those who use the old one behind. In a year from now, all things WWE that use the old logo will have been filtered out and this article will be as irrelevant as that old logo from way back in 2014. The adoption of new standards is inevitable and causes a great deal of disorder in whatever field it is associated with.

The only option is to adapt, or perish. Period.