As a fan, will watching WWE ever be the same when your childhood favourite's retire?

[The Rob]

Okay first of all, this isn't designed to be a WWE bashing thread. Not one bit.

Right, we all know that every wrestlers time runs out and they call it a day and retire from the ring. And soon, two of the biggest stars in the history of the company will no doubt hang up their boots too. Those two being The Undertaker and Triple H. It's only a matter of time. To be honest, I'm surprised Triple H hasn't retired already. I was thinking back over the past year in the WWE, and in that year Edge and Shawn Michaels have retired. Edge being someone I grew up watching and saw him rise to the top, and Shawn being my favourite wrestler of all time. I knew it was coming but when Shawn retired it hit me, personally, a lot harder than I expected. It actually made me question whether watching WWE would be the same again. And Edge's retirement has pretty tough too (however no-where near as taxing as Shawn's retirement). And now doubt Undertaker and Triple H's retirements will no doubt question my overall desire to watch the product.

This is not down to whether the product is good or not. Lets take that completely out of the equation. But when people you've watched for a huge chunk of your life every week, without fail aren't there anymore, surely it makes you think whether the thing you once loved because of them will be the same.

So what I'm asking is, when someone you've watched wrestle all of your childhood and even into adulthood aren't around anymore, and if their one of the main reasons why you watch to start with, will you continue to watch the product with the same love and enthusiasm as before? Speaking personally, yes I have been able to... but only just. I refer you back to Shawn's retirement last year. As I have said it hit me really hard and I'm unshamed to say I cried like a little kid come the end of his thank you speech on Raw the night after WrestleMania XXVI. But what made me continue to watch the WWE with the same love I did before, was because two weeks after my favourite wrestler retired, I got to go to watch the WWE live and in person. I was so excited, like you wouldn't believe. And come the end of the night, I knew that I simply couldn't stop loving wrestling. It's a big part of my life, something I live for every week and even though Shawn wasn't there all the time, thats just life and life must go on.

So, what about you guys and gals?

 

[Sinister Shadows]

My interest has definately declined as time went on, all of the people that hooked me into wrestling has retired/not near what they once where.

Nash, Hall, Hogan, Sting, Rock, HHH, Austin, Raven. These are the core that got me addicted to wrestling during the monday night wars. i'm still a fan of wrestling, but I can't get myself excited to watch it/most of today's new "stars".

 

[krazyd]

My childhood favorite (stone cold) already retired...and im not calling anyone here a fair weathered fan or anything like that...but Im a die hard fan and i will continue to watch the product bcuz I love it. Just cuz ur childhood fav is gone doesnt mean u cant find some one else to trully appreciate..austin was one of a kind..but i also LOVED edge cm punk n christian...i think its about changing with the times..they wont always be there ...so u gotta find someone new to root for!

 

[LegendKiller716]

I always seem to find a new favorite.

I started out with Stone Cold and The Hardy Boys, I moved on to Edge and Jericho, and now I like Morrison and Barrett.

As long as your favorites are around long enough for you to find new ones it will be good.

(plus I still have hope Y2J will return to the ring and Edge will return to the air)

 

[thegreekhero]

I totally agree with you, man.

Ric Flair is my all-time favorite legend. His farewell address had me tearing all throughout. (Even though he is in TNA, I still respect and love him as much as I used to. The man was born to wrestle, and if he wants to perform then let him damn well perform.)

I can't even imagine John Cena retiring. Its going to happen. SuperCena is just a character he portrays, he cannot wrestle forever. But his farewell address is going to be one hell of an event, I can tell you that.

Other than that, I still love wrestling even without the things I grew up with, which were the things going during 2001-2003. I watch Raw, Smackdown, Superstars, and... TNA... every week, with no complaints (excusing all of the improper booking and wasting time on horrible promos)
So dont worry, if you grew up a die-hard wrestling fan, its most likely that it would be hard to quit.

 

[Brahma Bull]

when the rock left, i did stop watching for awhile. but i think that even when your childhood favorite leaves, you realize that you still like the rest of the roster, and still want to watch them. not to mention, the rock coming back was the highlight of my month at that time. i was so damn excited and it made me feel like a kid again. i felt almost the same way when jericho came back. while those are still rare occassions, they are part of the reason that i still watch.
also, once you get older and join the notorious iwc, you look at it differently and gain new favorites. cody rhodes is the guy that keeps me watching smackdown, along with sheamus and barrett. new guys come in that you like and so they make the blow of your favorites leaving softer, because they fill that void.

 

[silrock316]

I made a comment on another thread about there being a santa claus factor when it comes to wrestling. When you are younger and believe in santa, christmas is the greatest thing ever. You stay up on christmas eve so excited that you can't sleep. After you find out that santa is fake you still love christmas but it has a way different feel to it. You get excited for the holidays but that "edge" is gone bc the reality took over and to me that's when wreslting changed for me. When I figured out "the other side" of wrestling. I was emotionally attached to Macho Man then Stone Cold. I would legitimately get upset when they'd lose but once the internet set in and I figured out a few things it changed the game emotionally for me. While I still love wrestling the "edge" is gone that I eluded to above. So when Savage and Austin retired my love for wrestling was unwavored because at that time the edge I had, the realism of the product had faded for me before Austin officially stopped wrestling. Now I just watch and hope its a good show without pulling for a certain wrestler except for cases like Christian when you want a hard working, good performer to finally win and get noticed for their efforts put forth to entertain us.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

I started watching wrestling when I was very young, and all of my initial favorites retired many years ago for the most part. Wrestling is a cyclical business though, so you either get invested in new wrestlers or you stop watching. I don't ever intend to stop watching, not unlike any other sport the athletes only have so much to give, but if you love watching the sport wrestling is wrestling. Plus no wrestler ever "really" retires, they all make one-off appearances come back as GMs, managers, on-air legends, etc. and now we are seeing a lot of their 2nd and 3rd generation kids debut, so I don't think I'll ever really loose interest, but that's just me.

 

[byrnside]

This is a very interesting topic to say the least. I too have been considering the same sentiments over the last few weeks. It should have started for me in 1998 when HBK was forced to retire the first time, but at the time I was still pretty young and wrestling was wrestling and it was in my blood. The show went on. The same could be said for Bret Hart only a year or so later. There was still The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Stone Cold, Chris Benoit, The Rock and Triple H amongst several others, but like I said, at the time I was young and the show went on.

When Flair and HBK came back around 2002, more specifically HBK, I couldn't have been more excited for the product. Yes I still appreciated Flair no matter his age. I still believe he is one of the best of all time.

Edge, HBK, and for all intensive purposes The Undertaker and Triple H are gone. By no means was Edge ever my favorite wrestler, but he got the job done and I respected the hell out of him. I fear that when The Undertaker and Triple H are officially gone there aren't or won't be too many men to take the ball and run with it. Sure from a business standpoint, there's John Cena, but Cena has never really done anything for me personally. I can only hope that someone will either step up or come along to entertain me. For now, I'm sticking with the C.M. Punk's, the Randy Orton's and possibly The Miz's of the business. All I can do is hope that they have formidable opponents to come along over the next few years.

Over the last 20 years, I have been a huge wrestling fan. As I've gotten older it's come and gone almost in stages. With the Royal Rumble coming to my hometown of Atlanta last year and this year with Wrestlemania, there's been a resurgence, but mostly because I crave the matches from the talents that I've loved growing up, not necessarily those of today.

Until then I'll stick to occasionally watching the product but mostly reading the results online and watching old DVDs [which I am very into at the moment.] Amazon has been pretty good to me recently actually.

 

[akrassikauda]

I made a comment on another thread about there being a santa claus factor when it comes to wrestling. When you are younger and believe in santa, christmas is the greatest thing ever. You stay up on christmas eve so excited that you can't sleep. After you find out that santa is fake you still love christmas but it has a way different feel to it. You get excited for the holidays but that "edge" is gone bc the reality took over and to me that's when wreslting changed for me.

My Santa Clause was Hogan, to me he could do no wrong until the very mention of him and steroids came up. That's when I learned never put too much stock into people they're human just like you. But When Austin retired even though he wasn't in my childhood I felt a little down because the Stone Cold/Mr. McMahon rivalry brought me and others in how many people ever wanted to kick there boss's ass and overcome every obstacle the SOB put in front of us.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

For me personally? Absolutely not. I am first and foremost a fan of the business. The characters enshrined within are the cherry on the top but the cake itself is more wholesome. See I'd always say The Undertaker is my personal favourite wrestler and I know I'm going to miss him immensely when he finally goes, and will celebrate his legacy vivaciously. He'll have one of the best retirements/HOF inductions of anyone due to his credentials which rank him above all others in my book.

But when he goes I'll keep watching because somewhere down the line I'll get a new favourite, someone else to back. The wrestlers aren't the end, the business continues to go on. See I could have never returned to wrestling after I stopped in about '02 but I did out of curiosity and have found guys like John Morrison and AJ Styles and others who I place my admiration with. And had I not returned I never would of known those guys. The wrestling world keeps turning even when your not looking.

When HBK retired I could hardly raise an eye for caring. Edge even less so. I guess that's because for me personally I watch things to see the logistics of them most of the time ie did this guy wrestle a good match? Did that guy cut a good promo? Where is this story headed etc. I view things more as a booker. That's why I am personally most vested in the younger guys that are coming through and trying to make a name for themselves, I like to see the business prosper with strong character at the helm.

So honestly for me it isn't important. I am more concerned with how they go out. Besides there is always....... WWE CLASSICS!

 

[Calderownz]

To an extent, when my favorites aren't around as much, I lose a bit of interest. However, it's like any other form of entertainment. I continue to watch and get hooked into the other "story lines."

Even with basketball, for example, the Lakers are my favorite team. I've lost a bit of interest now that their season has come to an end. However, watching Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant play is quite interesting. Plus, Dirk going in for perhaps his final chance at a title is also interesting.

With wrestling, it's much the same. For a while, Smackdown! was only worth watching for me when Alberto del Rio was on the show. It was brief, but it was there. Then, once I started watching it a bit more, and was hooked on the other aspects of the show. At the end of the day, I watch sports and/or entertainment for the product in general. I get hooked on all the aspects of it.

 

[tripleddd]

we all loose our favourites and sometimes others come along i just think that we dont love the replacements as much or perhaps we dont love the storylines as much or may be we just dont buy into it as much - i got into it in the attitude era so as every one of them goes my love for it dies just a little more

 

[MinistryofDeath89]

I have been a die heart WWE fan since 1996. And my fav wrestler is the undertaker I grew up watch the Phenom ever since i was 6 years old and im now 21 years old, I have seen all his tranceformation's he has gone threw ( Ministry Undertaker, American Bad Ass, and the current phenom today) And to answer your question yes I will be unbelieveable sad when he goes because he was a part of my childhood and that goes for the rest of the WWE superstar's I watched ( HHH, Stone Cold, The Rock, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Taker, Kane, Kurt Angle Eddie Guerrero, Y2J, Edge etc) But will I continue to watch the WWE I don't know really because I don't get that excitement I once had when I got up late at night to watch a WWF PPV or staying up late to watch RAW IS WAR to find out who won the main event that night. I don't get the same excitement I once had with all the WWE superstar 's I use to love and I use to boo for. If the WWE was still TV 14. I would straight off the bat say to you Yes I woulld still be watching the WWE in the future because that 's what i grew up watching and thats what im use to is TV 14 deadly storylines & wrestlers, bra & pantie matches, blood, weapons etc. That's what I loved and grew up watching, Im not use to the PG I hate it.

 

[Charismatic enigma 21]

I kan honestly say tht once edge wus forced to retire so suddenly it hit me pretty hard as i grew up watchin edge's transformation frum a glorified tag team wrestler to quite possibly the greatest world champion in history

 

[S.J. Maximus]

If you're truly a fan of the business (and the business continues to roll) then there will always be a way to be entertained. My favorite childhood star (and favorite of all-time) is Bret Hart, who we all know left abruptly in 1997 but then I was introduced to the Rock and he helped me get over the loss of Bret. With the Rock gone every now and then with movies, HHH, Y2J, and Austin kept me entertained until I stopped watching WWE from 2002-2004.

In 2004 I see briefly saw the Rock (he returned for WM XX and a few other times that year) but I was really intrigued by the new stars Orton, Lesnar, and Rey Mysterio. Ever since then I've been a huge fan of Orton and when he retires I bet I'll find someone else. It won't be the same when he retires, but I trust they'll be someone else to entertain me just like the many before him who replaced Bret Hart, then Rock, then so on.

 

[Brother Love]

I grew up watching Hulk Hogan, Andre, Sheak & Volkolf, Piper, JYD, Jesse Ventura, Tony Atlas, Superfly Snuka, The Wild Samoans, Moon Dog Spot & Rex (and King), Paul Ordorph, Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, as well as NWA stars such as Hands of Stone Ronny Garvin, Nikita Koloff, the Four Horseman (with Ole Anderson), Dusty Rhodes, Sting, The Road Warriors, etc.., I'm sure if I sat here long enough I could probably name dozens of people than many people on here have never even heard of.

Well I can honestly say that after watching wrestling for 30 + years, I'm beginning to lose interest. They say everything has been done before and for the most part it's true, but I have SEEN it all done before first hand. I've seen many gimmick rehashed, I've seen every type of match they've had to offer, I've seen countless story lines played out over and over again. Quite honestly, I don't know if Wrestling has anything left to offer me.

The stars of today just don't seem to have the same flare as they used to have. The matches of today (while much more fast paced then the ones of yesteryear) just don't seem as thrilling, and the storylines are just plain non exsistant. Yes there are a few Wrestlers that keep me interest, and there are still a few matches that make me yell (cue Joey Styles) OH MY GOD, but for the mostpart, I have to say that I'm really losing interest.

Maybe I've become synical over the years, maybe the golden age of the internet with all the spoilers and backstage politices have jaded my opinion of the sport (yes wrestling is a sport Vince), or maybe, just maybe, Wrestling just isn't good anymore. I still watch wrestling, but not as religiously as I used to. I have not watched smackdown for months now, I still DVR Raw, but I fast forward throuh most of it (although I love Kharma/Kong), and as for TNA, I watch it like I would a train wreck (I want to look away but I don't want to miss anything). It's sad I find Tough Enough more entertaining than I do any of the above wrestling shows.

Is this because of my childhood stars have or will be retiring. probably not. But on the other hand, you might be on to something.

 

[bbenefi2]

I have found this very question to be something I have been dealing with since this year's Royal Rumble. All my heroes are retired (Taker and HHH are retired as far as I am concerned) and it has become increasingly difficult to watch WWE programming lately. Largely in part to the fact that I just don't care about most of the roster. There are a number of younger talents that I want to see develop, but its going to take years of wrestling (re: practice) for them to develop into the next generation of Superstar. A five star match today is like a 3 star match from 10 years ago. It is just a shame.

I think the fact of the matter is that once you are in this position to have seen your wrestling idols retire means that you are no longer the target demographic to Vince. Thus, he doesn't really care about me anymore.

 

[H33LTurn]

Undertaker's always been my favorite, and seeing that he probably has one more year in him is killing me. I'm glad that hes accomplished so much and is feeling comfortable with taking some extended time off so close to the end but the whole WWE experience is different without him. Wrestlemania hasnt been the same with his limited ring ability and Smackdown has suffered greatly without him. I just cant force myself to care about the blue brand as much as I did when Taker was there and if WWE keeps going in the direction its heading in, the streak matches will be the only things that keep me buying Wrestlemania. I think his departure will be greatly felt, by both fans and non fans. Hes been there for so long that his absence will close a chapter in that old school way of doing things. It wouldnt be the same for me but it will be interesting to see how hes remembered over the years and who, if anybody, will step up to take his place.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think that when a favorite of yours retires you do go through that phase when wrestling does not seem all that great anymore but like most other phases, it goes away after a while. Once you become a fan of wrestling, you become one for life. Plenty of shitty things happen that make you want to quit watching wrestling, but the business is just too good, once you have become a fan, to be kept distance from for a long period of time. People have quit watching after the Montreal Screwjob, the Benoit murders vowing to never watch the shit ever again but they have all come back.

But, I guess I am deviating from the topic. My childhood favorite was Austin and I pretty much understood that WrestleMania 19 was going to be his last match. For a few months I did not feel like watching wrestling was the same but then the product in those few months was a bit shitty to be honest. The product became better towards the end of the year with Angle, Brock, HBK all producing stellar matches, Guerrero getting pushed to the top slowly and Cena pwning opponents on the mic. The product became interesting once again and I started following it just as religiously as I followed it when Austin was around.

 

[dylandude316]

I started watching wrestling when i was around 6 so late 2001 to early 2002, i was young didn't know much of anything at all about it just that guys were beating each other up and it looked awesome. i grew up watching HHH, Undertaker, Rey, Booker, Kurt, RVD, Hardyz, Big Show, Kane, and many others who i don't remember because they've been retired or changed organizations. on that list all of them except Show and Kane have changed brands, retired, or aren't wrestling, but we all know Show and Kane's time in the WWE is coming to an end very soon. the answer to your question is YES, it has changed because i stopped watching around 2 years ago then i got back into it last year and all of my old favorites are gone or leaving and i don't really like many of our current wrestlers(i am not a Cena fan) and they aren't as entertaining as i remembered

 

[Xemmy]

The answer is obviously "No".

If you're lucky, you may find a star that you like better than your childhood favorite. For some, that's just too hard. It depends one which Era your childhood favorite was in, for starters.

I grew up to the Monday Night Wars. It's safe to say that no superstars today hold a candle to The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Stone Cold and The Rock are another two that come to everyone's mind. Can that magic be re-created? Of course it can. Anything is possible. Doesn't mean that it's likely. Hell No.

For twenty long years, my favorite superstar has cast a dark shadow on the entire WWE. Even when he's not ring active, I still feel like he's there. But once The Undertaker finally retires, I know that something will be missing. And I know that I'll never be able to enjoy wrestling like I once did.

 

[itssoeasy123]

I'm saying yes, becuase most of my childhood favorite's are already retired. And, I started watching in 2003, so I'm pretty much stuck with the future era's of WWE.

Goldberg, my first favorite wrestler, has been gone since 2004, Triple H is barely on television anymore, Undertaker is as part-time as they came and is also on the brink's on retirement.

Guy's like Stone Cold and The Rock pop up from time to time and it's alway's awesome, but that's why it's cool. Even seeing Bret Hart for the first time last year was cool.

I've watched the rise of guy's like Cena, Batista, The Miz, Randy Orton. WWE has signed Mexican legend's like Del Rio and Sin Cara, and Kharma is a great addition to the Diva's division. Triple H has done a great job at bringing in talent so far.

Yes, I will enjoy the future of WWE without the older star's there. Even though I'm a mark for guy's like Undertaker and Triple H, them guy's not being in-ring competitior's leaves room for other guy's to shine and up their game.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Definetly not, i'm not saying it wont be good but having my heros retire is going to be sad. I've already had a hard enough time seeing SCSA and HBK retire, and with HHH and Taker rapidly approaching it really does suck. But a positive way to look at it is you get to see new younger superstars evolve and grow from mid carders to world champions and that is a very cool expierience. I remember watching Randy Orton debut and now today he's one of my favorites and i've gotten to see him win multiple titles. A few weeks ago when he won his second World Heavyweight Championship I thought to myself, man I remember when this guy was the cocky young 3rd generation superstar from Evolution and he had just won his first world title at SummerSlam against Chris Benoit.....and now he's the face of Smackdown and he & Cena are the biggest stars in the WWE. So I hate the idea of seeing old favs and heros go, but look forward to watching the next generation grow

 

[iwinulose]

-wow, i never actually thought of it like this, but i agree. once guys like undertaker, triple hhh, kane, big show, rey mysterio, and a few other guys retire (since everyone else has retired), once they leave, ill prob stop watching the wwe, unless they pull up their socks and start using talent that deserve to be used. i get that the older guys arent going to be huge anymore (in the sence that they will mainly put over new talent). however guys like orton and cena killing talent makes me wonder, once the new breed of guys get an opportunity, they will be done with half their career and the 40's is when most wrestlers leave (and then join tna for whatever reason X_X).
-if guys like chris masters, sin cara, gabriel, slater, big zeke, sheffield, daniel bryans, whoever wins tough enough (i imagine that that wrestler will be good cause he/she is being trained by the rattlesnake) and maybe a few other guys that i missed, start getting used properly then ill keep watching but if they just gonna go entirely bleak ill stop all together.