ANDY WARHOL ON WRESTLING: IT'S EXCITEMENT, IT'S SHOW BUSINESS, IT'S CHIC"

Warren is precisely the kind of paying customer McMahon is eager to satisfy. With mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting attracting an older and rougher crowd, WWE is taking aim at kids and families to shore up its bottom line. While the occasional chair might still get thrown, the violence is "very Wile E. Coyote-ish," according to Hunter Hearst Helmsley, better known to wrestling fans as Triple H.(Playing up the family ties, Helmsley happens to be married to McMahon's daughter Stephanie, a WWE executive.)"It's less of 'The Jerry Springer Show' now," added John Cena, arguably the WWE's biggest star, who takes some of the credit for pushing McMahon to make the entertainment less edgy.Other events might have pushed him in that direction as well. In 2007, wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and son and then himself, an incident that cast a dark cloud over wrestling and pushed the WWE to further toughen its existing drug-testing policies."That has a lot to do with how WWE operates now," said Cena. Another wrestler, Ted DiBiase Jr., said it is not uncommon to be tested more than once a month.The wrestling attire for the ladies has become more conservative as well. Maria Kanellis, one of the WWE's "diva" wrestlers, used to perform in lingerie but these days tries to dress "a little more sophisticated" for her matches.

L.A Times
August 24 2009