The Last "Real" Surprise

[ztwhite]

I don't read spoilers for entire show tapings or ppv's (since I usually watch ppv's on Monday's) - never have, never will. But I do read the spoilers for possible title changes, who's backstage at certain events & general leaked creative angles.

But after reading about Bret Hart making his "possible" comeback to the WWE, I may have to avoid the forums and WZ main site for the next month or so :(

Is seeing a Bret Hart return truly the last great surprise angle that's left ? I know the Rock is never going to burst out of the gorrilla position on Raw or Smackdown. Stone Cold already said he's done at his HOF induction speech and thanked the fans immensely on Raw the next night. Hogan has made more comebacks than Brett Favre and Ric Flair or DX simply doesn't do it for me.

Should I... or anyone else for that matter... avoid the forums and news site for a period of time in order to truly experience that last "great" mark out moment if Bret Hart does come back to he WWE ?

[Suneeboy]

Good thread, as I feel the same way. Many times I purposefully avoid WZ news and forums because I think I would get a better viewing experience if I didn't read the news, and hear the rants and opinions of other wrestling fans, which sometimes taints the show (to no fault of the WZ community of course).

With that said, would now avoiding the site for a month or so really help? You are already conscious of a possible return so any hints given on air would lead you to Bret right away. Unless he does a run in at a PPV on HBK would you really mark out when he comes on screen? Probably not. I've already marked out enough at the possibility. Seeing him only seems inevitable for me (even though its not guaranteed he's coming)

[JBK2008]

The spoilers do suck to read sometimes, but I usually check them just in case theres a sure chance I'm not going to get a chance to see it that week. I'm not going to read into anymore Bret Hart news because this is one surprise I def want to see. I know he want s to join the creative staff but c'mon you know you want to see him help the Hart Dynasty somewhere down the road and that would be amazing to see!

[Midnite Express 2009]

I couldn't agree more. I certainly want to see Bret back in the WWE but I do NOT want to know when or where or how his comeback is going to happen. Somethings are better left unsaid, this is one of those things. And I agree, this could certainly be the last great "surprise" in wrestling, as basically everything the WWE does leaves the majority of fans saying, "yeah I knew that was going to happen", i.e. Batista coming out pretending to be hurt only to attack Orton.

Like someone previously said, Rock is NOT going to come back (probably ever, as evident that he "taped" his segment for the Smackdown! 10 year anniversary show---BTW: can someone let me know when this is coming on? I really wanna watch it), and Austin is all but done. There's nothing left to do, which is sad because we should always be fed from time to time, compelling surprises.

[Chadmw]

Last time I was really surprised about anything was years ago, the time Austin "Took his ball and went home" because he didn't like the storyline they were going to put him in. No that did not surprise me as I had read about it on these boards.

What surprised me on the Monday night Raw when the Rock came out. I had not heard or read about it anywhere so it was truly an surprise and good moment for me as a fan

[shafe_41]

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here for a minute. Yes, it is true that every single Bret Hart fan, wrestling fan, etc... would mtfo for a surprise return in the WWE. But wouldn't it almost be smarter for the E to advertise his return? Do you know what kind of ratings that would draw? Especially if they were to advertise it in such a way that it doesn't give away what he will be doing... but give the impression that he will be around for more than a 1 time thing. Maybe a year or so. Maybe more, maybe less. Who knows? But if Bret really does return, I think the E needs to advertise or foreshadow it in some way so it builds hype. This would be a huge draw for them obviously. Sure I would love a random Bret Hart surprise, but as far as a business decision goes... the E needs to put it out there and make it known.

But the last time I was truly surprised HAD to be the 08 Rumble when Cena was the 30th entry. I was watching it with my 2 friends and we were trying to figure out who 30 was. I said Cena but we knew of his injury and how long they said he would be out so Cena was written off just as fast as I thought of it. None of us 3 are huge Cena "marks" but holy eff did all 3 of us mtfo when his music hit. To me, that was the last true surprise I've seen in the E.

[Y2J420RKO420]

im not a big bret hart fan but i do think he is on the top 10 list of best wrestlers ever. i do think he would make an excellent booker on sd cause he knows the ins and outs of wrestling. if he were to come back to be a gm i think it would draw for awhile and then people would get bored. my third and favorite thing he could do is be the mentor of the hart dynasty (like rick flair of evolution) but they would have to put over dh alot more or they would need another male in the group that was trained with bret and have him come out as a maineventer.
wrestling sucks these days maybe its cause i come here atleast 4-10 times a day and read a few spoilers. but there is no shock value the last time i was truly shocked was matt turning on jeff me and my friend was sitting there and i was like i cant wait for christan to come my friend was like he aint coming i was like ya he is then here comes matt and im like wtf. i heard it leaked but luckly i did not get on the net before that match.

[Xedus]

Its not just the spoilers that ruin viewer experience, but nowadays when their is a wrestler who is returning from an injry they usually announce they are coming back instead of surprising us. It is sad that we already have an indication he might come back. if and when the moment happens it just won't be the same. and there will probably be a fan with a sign in the crowd that says WELCOME BACK BRET that you will see before he even comes out.

[AJAnder]

Its not just the spoilers that ruin viewer experience, but nowadays when their is a wrestler who is returning from an injry they usually announce they are coming back instead of surprising us. It is sad that we already have an indication he might come back. if and when the moment happens it just won't be the same. and there will probably be a fan with a sign in the crowd that says WELCOME BACK BRET that you will see before he even comes out.

I have said this before that WZ & all the other sites out there SHOULD NOT post any spoilers what so ever and just stick to wrestling news and not so much things that could ruin surprises for true WWE fans. News is fine like contracts, colums, show results, etc., If I was the owner of WZ I would seriously listen to your visitors.

On a side note: If WZ ruins any huge surprise for me again I am not visiting ever again.

[Art Offical]

I really don't know if it will make a difference. Chances are they will keep it a real tight secret until it happens.

If it ever does.

[SuperCrazy]

I read spoilers and such because I can't always get around to watching Raw or Smackdown or ECW. Reading the spoilers gets me what I need to know in a few minutes and takes up little of my time.

Spoilers are great for fans who are like me and can't get around to watching it. If you don't like the fact that spoilers/rumors are on the main page just don't read them. From now on don't read what catches your eye. Just stare at the little ads on the sides/tops of the page.

[samboisdead]

Eh honestly I am not all that excited about it. If he was able to wrestle it would be a big deal but thats not happening so I would say he will be in a manager role helping the new Harts get over. I wouldnt doubt that we will get a DX vs Harts feud before it is over. I am glad that Brett is finally over all his hate toward the buisness he has seemed to have lately, but honestly while his work in the ring is as good as any I have ever seen, I was pretty bored by his promos except when he had Owen or Pillman with him. If I am right and they use him to build the Harts I think Jimmy Hart would be a better choice. Anyone no why The Mouth of the South gets no love from the WWE? Anyway I like the spoilers posted that way I dont miss the good stuff. No one forces us to read spoilers and WZ does a good job because their is always a spoiler alert on post like this for that very reason you are talking about.

[CH David]

I have said this before that WZ & all the other sites out there SHOULD NOT post any spoilers what so ever and just stick to wrestling news and not so much things that could ruin surprises for true WWE fans. News is fine like contracts, colums, show results, etc., If I was the owner of WZ I would seriously listen to your visitors.

On a side note: If WZ ruins any huge surprise for me again I am not visiting ever again.

Well then I guess you shouldn't look at the articles on the main site then should ya? It isn't up to us what they put on the main site. Besides, you know, they say SPOILERS for fucks sake. So you personally don't have to look at what is going to happen. I read the spoilers for Smackdown because I won't be home, and I want to know if it is worth recording on DVR or not. Plus you know, there is a rule against posting spoilers on the forums. So you know.

Now that I have cleared that up, onto Bret Hart.

Personally, I wouldn't avoid the forums or main site. If you know it will happen, but don't know when, or when during a show, that is still a surprise, perhaps not to the best extent, but it is. Plus you already know he is open to coming back, so that already takes away from your last great mark out moment a little bit.

I know for me, if I see when the Hitman is coming back, I am plopping my ass on the couch and watching that event, unless it is PPV since I have to work during them. Any time I hear his music, no matter if he is there or not I get excited and I will admit that. So if you want to go through the extremes of avoiding the site and forums, more power to you. But who knows, it could all be for naught (not? I don't know). There is no confirmation that he is coming back, only that he is open to it. Either way, do what you must, if you want to wait for his return by avoiding WZ so you can truly mark out, go for it. If you want to confirm him coming back but not know when, I'm sure the main site will tell you that if and when it happens.

[The Gribbler]

I just don't read anything title "Insert superstar here, to return to ______" If if has the word return in it I don't read it anymore, I don't want to know about it.

I must admit, I am not a big Cena fan, I respect him, and I appreciate his talents but he isn't my cup of tea, However I had no idea he was coming for the RR when he returned last year and I marked the F' out.

Returns really feel good to me when I don't see them coming.

[spiketbear]

Some people were commenting about how they just read the spoilers for Smackdown, since they don't know when it will be on, or they don't have the channel, etc. I am never home on Fridays, so I always just watch it on Hulu.com. They post the new Smackdown episode 1-5 days after it airs, so I NEVER read the spoilers for it.