Hey everyone, let me tell you a bit about me and wrestling before i begin. I am from Europe and have been a pro wrestling fan from as long as i can remember, I am passionate about pro wrestling. I enjoy watching WWE and ROH. I don’t like watching TNA, I think you know why; it’s boring.
Anyway, let’s move onto my column.
As i have mentioned in my introduction on this column, I have been watching pro wrestling as long as i can remember. Let me say that none of my friends i socialize with know about this. I guess you can say it’s a secret that i watch it. I am not embarrassed by wrestling one bit, just the fact that it is not popular in my country. It is known as fake. Problem is, they don’t understand it, and this drives me crazy!
So, as I have kept this secret i have always wonder ”Why do I watch pro wrestling?” Considering none of my friends watch it. Let me say i love the mix between art and fiction, that really is what got me into wrestling. It was the day Austin first stunned his boss Vince McMahon with the famous Stone Cold Stunner. That is what got me glued to it, been watching it ever since. This showed in fiction what everyone want’s to do their boss (Hey MR.Bennett, how you doing?) but because we can’t, we loved watching Austin going on rampages and raising hell. That got me into it, but i never said why I watch it, really, why I watch it. It can be broke down into various different reasons. I will ramble on and list them out.
What Else is on TV?
Now, i’m not saying that there is no other good shows. But how many shows can you find that is sport, soap opera and scripted all in one? Answer is not many at all. Especially when realism is involved, it is really hard to turn away when it’s as good as the attitude era or at how good it’s been the last few months. Then, you have characters facing different characters in storylines telling a story, who wouldn’t find that entertaining? Also, there athletes. They are professional and highly skilled athletes putting their bodies on the line, literally, just to entertain us. Okay, the top guys like Punk, Cena etc get well payed, but that’s the reward they get. And, just because they get a lot of money doesn’t mean they could be paralyzed today or tomorrow. What good is money when your crippled?
The Creativity used
Now yes, WWE creative and TNA creative have been awful at some points. But pro wrestling is like a spoke on a wheel, it will keep turning and turning. It may be good or bad, but that wheel is going to turn and turn. So when pro wrestling is entertaining or boring, I will sit through it, watch it, write about it until the wheel is back in a good position. That’s how pro wrestling and creativity in pro wrestling works. Pro wrestling wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for creative storylines and a creative team. I always love waiting to see ”What happens next!” If you don’t know what is happening next, then you know they are selling that storyline good to you. It is amazing that a group of people can provide 52 weeks of original ideas to entertain us.
The Spoke on that Wheel Turned recently, thanks to CM Punk!
This is where I want to back my point up. I’m sure by now any pro wrestling fan will now know that awesome shoot promo Punk did. If you didn’t know what happened, here it is in full written recap.
On the June 27th addition of Raw, the show ended with very powerful words from CM Punk that drove the Internet Wrestling Community and old attitude era fans crazy. CM Punk came out on that Raw with a Stone Cold T-Shirt on him; he interrupted John Cena vs R-Truth in their tables match causing Truth to defeat Cena by putting him through a table. Punk, at ringside grabbed a microphone and walked up to the centre of the stage. He started talking, he stated that he doesn’t dislike or hate John Cena, Punk then said he likes John Cena more than a helluva lot people in the back. Punk then rambles on that he is the best in the world, and hates the fact that Cena is built by WWE as the best. Then Punk calls Cena an ass kisser, Punk claims he is as good as Hulk Hogan was at kissing Vince’s ass, then says he is unsure whether or not he is as good as Dwayne. Punk them looked at the camera and says ‘’oops, I’m breaking the fourth wall’’ and waves at the camera. Then, Punk says he was the best ever since day one since he came to WWE, he claims he was villain filed because Paul Heyman saw something in him than no-one else wanted to admit. Then he says that ‘’yes, I’m a Paul Heyman guy’’ and says Brock Lesnor was a Paul Heyman guy, but the difference between him and Lesnor is that Punk claims he will be splitting from WWE with the WWE title. Punk continued to ramble on and says that he has grabbed so many of Vince’s imaginary braced rings that it just dawned on him that they are completely imaginary. Punk then says that he has been the best in WWE since he made his debut six years ago and nobody can touch him whether he is on the microphone, on commentary or in the ring and complains that it’s unfair that he is not on covers of magazines, on programs, on Jimmy Fallon etc. Punk then states it makes him sick that Dwayne is apart of the Main event for Wrestlemaina next year. Then, as the crowd is cheering Punk because of the awesome job he is doing in that promo, Punk says that they are the biggest reason why he is leaving, ‘Because they are the ones who are buying everything which Punk is not on. Then Punk grasps with the microphone in his hand that he is sick of fans coming up to him when he is in the airport for him to sign the programme cover that he isn’t on. Then, surprisingly Punk mentions other wrestling promotions like New Japan pro wrestling and ROH and claims after July 17th at Money in the Bank that he would be taking the WWE Championship to another company. Then, waves at the camera and says ‘’Hey Colt Cabana, how you doing!?’’. Then Punk states that he knows the wheel of WWE will keep turning, as he is just a spoke on the wheel. Punk says Vince will make money despite himself. Punk calls Vince a millionaire who should be a billionaire but he’s not because he surrounds himself with people like John Laurinaitis. Punk says WWE could be better once Vince is dead but it will be ran by his idiotic daughter Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. Punk then rambles on until his microphone is cut off.
Before then, pro wrestling has been dull and boring. Now, it has been amazingly great. The whole product has changed. We’re witnessing a new era, an era is dubbed as the ”Reality Era”. We’re watching the best feud in the last few years, watching the best wrestling matches, watching one great storyline developing into a new storyline. That realism we watched during the attitude era is back. Okay, we as internet community wrestling fans know most or a lot of things that causal fans don’t, but we still appreciate what they are doing. So, i like to refer to pro wrestling as real entertainment, meaning good, proper etc.
So, that’s my column for the week. But, the column is not fully completed. Why is that you may ask? Because writing a column, it needs feedback, whether its good/bad, short/long etc. I will read ALL feedback and reply to most of them. I would love to know why you watch pro wrestling!
Thanks for reading.
You can follow me Twitter.
Or, if you want to have a conversation privately, you can always email me raytherambler@gmail.com
Thanks again.
It seems no matter what WWE does, I cant stop watching, I’ve been watching since 1993. My grandpa was a big WWF & WCW fan, so me & my cousin use to watch it with him during the summer. Most of my family are wrestling fans, had to do something that involved it. I wrestle matches down here at Boaz Wrestling.
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Yea, I feel that way too.
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I have probably a lot of reasons why I watch it. I enjoy the storylines but there are two big reasons why I watch:
1. I’m a sports fan and it is similar to sports. But unlike sports, the matches are predetermined so each event is usually enjoyable unlike real sports where games can be boring and the teams/athletes you like don’t always have a good game.
2. All sports have an off-season and all TV shows have seasons that don’t run throughout the entire year without interruption. I love that every single week, the WWE has a new, never before seen episode. No other Sports Entertainment program can offer that other than sports news shows.
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Exactly, it’s unlike UFC or Boxing when a match could be over in 2 minutes!
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My dad watched it, so I watched it from pretty much the time I was born. I don’t know what it’s like not to watch wrestling, and now, it’s become an addiction.
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That’s the same way I am wit Football (Soccer), Wrestling iv’e been a fan since I was about 6-7 i’d say. But I am glued to both sports.
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My friends all know I watch wrestling, and a few of them also watch it. I got back into wrestling just before the Nexus storyline started last year, but I used to watch it frequently; in fact, Kane’s debut is one of my earliest memories. I watch wrestling because it’s fun; they are impressive athletes but ultimately it’s all about it being fun for me.
Which is why I don’t watch TNA, which is awful and serious; and is why I watch less and less WWE. I don’t care about this new era, and I don’t care about the new characters WWE bring in, and that makes me care less about the whole show. New guys aren’t given time to prove themselves; too much time is given to the likes Cena, Punk and Orton. The two big companies don’t produce a product that is fun anymore. CM Punk mentioned this in his latest promo, and he’s right. They take themselves too seriously and it’s not the show I loved as a child. This is why I watch Chikara.
Chikara is one of the best indy wrestling companies in the world. It’s a unique mix of pro wrestling and comic books. They have comical gimmicks like Los Ice Creams, but also have brilliant wrestlers like Hallowicked, Mike Quackenbush, Claudio Castagnoli and Ophidian. Honestly though, it’s hard to keep up with a small company based in a different country. But for Chikara, I’m willing to spend $15 per DVD to watch a brilliant company do what I always loved about wrestling: have fun. Whereas, I’m not willing to ever buy a WWE PPV or go to WWE live events, but I am considering going abroad to Chikara’s King of Trios event next year, something I’d never do for WWE. Quack is the best booker in the business; Chikara has storylines that have lasted over a year, but even over that length of time it’s never boring. Honestly, the only reason I watch any wrestling anymore is because of Chikara. Yeah, it has it’s issues, but the fan base seems more like a little family than that of WWE’s, and they try hard to make it, whilst the actual wrestlers frequently talk to fans on social messaging sites, or the companies forum, emphasising the family feel of the company.
Both Chikara and WWE are PG, but only one of these companies does it right. Some of those on the WWE and roster have wrestled in Chikara; CM Punk, Ricardo Rodriguez, Hunicara, Glacier, The 123 Kid, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, Amazing Red, Bryan Danielson and many more. When Danielson was temporarily fired last year, the first indy he went back to was Chikara, and that was his choice, and at that show he said that they put out a much better PG product, which is true, and it shows because the fans aren’t mostly children and none have an issue with it being PG, unlike many WWE fans.
Sorry about the huge semi-rant, but I always like to try and bring Chikara to new people.
tl:dr – I watch wrestling because it’s supposed to be fun
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Really interesting to read. What I left out i suppose, that really i’m a fan of sports entertainment, that aspect got me into liking wrestling, you know, hyping up great feuds like Austin and Rock then having epic matches at the the PPV or whatever.
Don’t get me wrong, I do love watching wrestling, example would be I watch ROH when I can. So, I suppose I like that mixture of sports entertainment and wrestling together.
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I watch it for the watch happens next factor. For the who will come out on top factor and to see wrestlers do what it says in their name, wrestle. To me I may be a part of the internet community but I’m also a mark out fan. I love proper wrestling matches that make chant holy shit at the TV. I watch it for matches that are well planned, well versed and very exciting. I watch it cos I love it
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There is nothing wrong with being an internet fan if your not a follower in FANBOYISM!
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I cant explain why I watch, but the only way I know of is my grandpa and family were big WWF/WCW fans along with a few family being involved with wrestling. Back when I was little I use to help set up the ring at Huntsville Von Bron Center here in Alabama
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Your such a piece of shit Ray. I went ahead and emailed everyone at TJR all the shit you’ve been talking about them. Way to make friends in the wrong places.
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