Smark Rebellion Or Higher Appreciation

[Loveless]

I've been meaning to bring this up for some time but as a man of few words, writing out the long-assed posts required for creating a thread doesn't come easy to me. I will try and stretch this out though.

There seems to be an eternal struggle for the soul of wrestling on this forum. It's between the hardcore smarks who are critical of the product (whether WWE, TNA or other) and the other hardcore group who try to suspend disbelief and just go along with show. There is a 3rd group, kids, innocents, casuals but they by their definition are not here on this forum so I'll disregard them for the purposes of this post.
I myself probably fall into the first catergory of the fan who "knows" too much about the business and it's a regrettable situation because I can imagine it's certainly easier to enjoy the magic trick if you don't know how it works. What I want to address though is this eternal struggle between the fans.
Routinely on this forum (and others) I see tremendous criticism of the "Smarks" for being contrary. Whether it's the PG argument, the Heel Cena argument or for loving the heels, the smarks get it in the neck for seemingly always taking the other side and are criticised for being rebellious for the sake of it. But is that really the truth?

The Death of Kayfabe and The Rise of The Legitimate Talent

The age of the internet was a knife to the heart of kayfabe. The much heralded Attitude era did massive damage as it tore down the curtain but it was the internet that pulled the final blow and so, a decade on, there are no more secrets. Punk isn't necessarily a bad guy, Cena isn't necessarily a good guy, these are just performers, men playing a role. So knowing this, why cheer or boo either?

Legitimate talent

CM Punk is (on here at least) probably the most popular/respected person in the WWE right now. The fact that he's a heel is almost a total irrelevance, he get's cheered because of his talent. In contrast, John Cena get's booed because of the perception that he can't wrestle. Whose is the failure here?

Why can't Cena or anyone become the universally loved face?
When your top heel is more respected than your top face, is this not a problem?
Have the WWE failed to adapt to the age of enlightment?
Are the smarks contrary or are they actually the genuine evolved fans that are being ignored?
Is this purely a problem for the "10%" (a number I feel is misleading btw)

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

I agree the whole 10%er thing annoys me, I disagree with the whole ethos behind it, just because people on the internet are rather opinionated about the business doesn't mean we are smart marks, the internet is a tool and due to the fact that celebrities in all forms use it it has become a tool of communication and a way to express or likes and dislikes about the business just as bischoff has expressed his political opinion against barak obama time and time again, it frustrates me that he can be so ignorant yet so hypocritical at the same time.

CM Punk is (on here at least) probably the most popular/respected person in the WWE right now. The fact that he's a heel is almost a total irrelevance, he get's cheered because of his talent. In contrast, John Cena get's booed because of the perception that he can't wrestle. Whose is the failure here?

the fact is Cena is boo'd by the minority, CM Punk is cheered by the minority, we as fans tend to delve too much into the whole ignorance of the situation, the fact is the internet has braught a new layer to the wrestling world and the entertainment industry as a whole, but it has also destroyed kayfab, with wrestlers like melina using twitter as a way to fight against kayfab it really destroys her heel persona and does nothing to elevate her character.

Now Punk unlike most WWE superstars knows what a hinderance the internet can be to the wrestling community and as with his previous company he has used it as a tool to further his storyline and respects the fans long term memories rather than sees us as a bunch of short term idiots who have no idea what a proper wrestling match or storyline is supposed to do.

with that being said Cena is the complete opposite, he attempts to use twitter as a way of furthering his WWE character and communicate with the fans, but he only allows us to see what the WWE paints him as rather than what he is as a person, thats what infuriates the internet community, because he plays the hero way too often, every character whether in books, film, television or any other medium needs layers, with cena its the same bland character similar to why the internet community hated batista until he finally got interesting and left the company.

Why can't Cena or anyone become the universally loved face?

Bland character, same storylines followed all the time, you can't justify it, if WWE was a prime time soap or television show it would have been cancelled, John is not a lead character and is lacking in regards to interest, look at characters like the rock, stone cold, eddie for example, they have had layers, punk is interesting because despite what wwe throws at him he remains relevant, he remains interesting.

When your top heel is more respected than your top face, is this not a problem?

Yes, because the writers aren't doing their job's properly.

Have the WWE failed to adapt to the age of enlightment?

No they have failed to understand what the term scripted television or teleplay means, if they wanted to bring hollywood or tv writers in to their show's they need to use the strengths they had that were transferrable from the small screen, they needed to bring about the age of the antagonist, the protagonist and all the intecracies that make storytelling great and add the many layers of the wrestling industry to that in order to allow the audience to empathise with cena's character, that's why he does not transition well to either the big screen or the small screen in terms of characters, he cannot variate.

Are the smarks contrary or are they actually the genuine evolved fans that are being ignored?

Partially, i believe that smart marks do feel that their is something wrong with the product but have yet to understand what the product is that they are trying to save, we want wrestling but when the internet gets wrestling they get annoyed because it is not the kind of wrestling they want, they want characters like zack ryder but hate eric young, in the end its all abouthow we percieve the product and the fact is each individual perception of the industry is flawed because no fan truly understands the ins and outs of the business.

Is this purely a problem for the "10%" (a number I feel is misleading btw)

no it's not, its more so about an industry that is unwilling to change and the fan which is unwilling to accept the more corporate side of the industry in general, the reason for PG is the advertisers, we all torment TNA but fail to understand that the company has expanded beyond its former glory days and has become a bigger entity and is making quite a profit with other revenues such as T shirt sales, figures, magazines, advertisers and the way they market their top tier talent.

Wrestling in the end like other mediums is a business and a business we can either accept, or move on to another show such as what is done with all mainstreeam television.

 

[GrandSword]

I think there is a lot of people in the IWC that just don't seem to get what TNA and WWE are actually doing.

Many complain about how there isn't enough wrestling on tv or how Hornswoggle jumps through a tunnel, or how Cena beats up the entire Nexus by himself. Or how he gets booed by half the audience in the same match he seems to put on every night...

Some people do get it.. one of them is Vince McMahon.

Now let me just introduce you to the Transformers. In the 1980's this cartoon was designed for really one reason. To sell toys. It was a 30 minute saturday morning toy advertisement. That's what it was built for. Now look at them today. It's almost virtually the same, but it's not just about toys, it's also about computer games, lunch boxes, bed sets, t shirts, clothing lines, posters, dvds etc etc etc etc etc...

In today's modern world. What is Vince actually doing? Does he really want to put on an amazing critcially acclaimed storyline and fast paced action, or does he want to make millions of dollars by creating a brand name that people will pay money to see, watch, and buy all the merch that goes along with it?

Today's wrestling is not what it was back in the day. Its about ratings for their advertising sponsors, for selling their brand in all its different forms. For exaample, I wont even use the most obvious in Cena, let's look at Rey Mysterio.

Does it matter if he wins anymore titles? If the young fans go home happy from the shows or on tv, he'll keep winning his matches and he'll keep selling his masks, t-shirts, action figures etc etc etc. WWE have built Rey up to be a product of the WWE an fans will invest in him. He is still selling heaps of shirts, why would he ever change? Why woudl he turn heel? Why would he doing anyting this late in career then hit his 5 moves and send everyone home happy. The same goes for Cena.

Look at some of the cartoons from our child hood. Whe the hero would callout their attack, it would win the battle. Kids tuned in to watch them do that move every episode. Same with wrestlers same with Rey, same with Cena. The kids get their parents to pay big money to see their heroes win the day. Cena is going to stay face as long as his merch continues to be eaten up by the massess just like back in the 80s with Hulk Hogan.

The show is irrelevant. The matches are irrelevant. RAW is one big advertisinment for what they are really trying to do and that's sell merch. DVDs, tshirts, toys, computer games.. just about everything.

It's all about building up these brands for the WWE company. And if the "smart marks" haven't figured this out yet and still complain about the Miz sucking in the ring, CM Punk not getting his rightful run with the title and Cena not turning heel. Well then I'm sorry but they aren't that "smart" on exactly what is going on.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's an interesting question. There are practically no universal truths in wrestling anymore and I think that has primarily to do with the influence the internet has had over the familiarity with the ins and outs that it's been able to provide to fans. Twenty years ago, the vast majority of fans didn't have a clue how wrestling ultimately worked behind the scenes. I'm kind of reminded of the scene in the old Wizard of Oz movie in which Dorothy pulls back the curtain to reveal that the all powerful Wizard of Oz was basically just an old man using a lot of smoke and tricks. I think that's what's happened to wrestling to some degree: the curtain has been pulled back and we've been able to see what lies behind it and become familiar with it. As a result, we simply don't have the same level of awe because the mystique factor has been obliterated.

I think that a lot of internet fans would like to see that mystique and sense of unpredictability to return to wrestling. The problem is that you can't unring the bell in this particular instance. The genie is out of the bottle, Pandora's Box has been opened.

For me, I'm mostly just someone that tries to just sit back and enjoy the show. I'm able to suspend my disbelief because I don't try to analyze every little thing that happens. I want to be entertained and I always watch either WWE or TNA in the hopes of that happening. When ROH starts appearing on television again in September, I'll be able to see it for the first time and I'll watch it for the same reasons. If you're unwilling to suspend disbelief then I don't really understand the reason of watching professional wrestling. Oh sure I'll comment on what I like and what I don't like as most other people do and I see nothing wrong with that at all. However, one thing I've noticed about a lot of posters is that they seem to have this notion that wrestling ought to cater to the ideas that they have. They want to see certain things happen or take place and if they don't, they generally tend to become very unhappy and crap all over everything. For instance, how many posts have you read in which someone complains about how they want to see John Cena go heel? Over the course of this year, I've kind of lost count. A lot of them flat out hate John Cena's character and want him to turn heel just because they personally want to see it. It doesn't matter whether or not it makes sense, it's just something they want. Another example involves Zack Ryder where posters have tried to assert that his popularity rivals that of John Cena, yet Ryder rarely makes appearances on television these days. Some have even come out and said that he should be in the WWE Championship picture even as we speak. In actuality, Zack Ryder's popularity doesn't even come close to that of John Cena's, they're not even in the same hemisphere, but it's an example of some fans simply wanting what they want regardless of whether or not it makes realistic sense. There are so many armchair bookers among the IWC and the vast, vast, vast majority of them don't have the slightest clue about how wrestling is.

The reason why John Cena is the classic, All American babyface hero right now is because it's a natural fit for him and, most importantly for the WWE, he draws a lot of money. Whether fans boo Cena or cheer for him, he always gets a hell of a response and gets people interested in whatever he's involved in. He brings in fans, he brings in ratings. The reason WWE doesn't change him is because it doesn't make sense to change him from a financial point of view.

It's fun to talk about wrestling and what matches we'd like to see, feuds that we think would be fun, storylines that we believe could make for interesting television, etc. That's all well and good. We're just fantasizing and there's no harm in that. However, pro wrestling isn't a fantasy league nor can promoters run their companies as if it was. Some of us do come up with what sound like fun, compelling ideas and some of them that pop up now and again would probably work. But, talking about our ideas and what we want to happen is completely free of consequences. We don't have to put our money where our mouths, or our fingers, are so we have nothing to risk. It's not the same with WWE, TNA and others. They have to do what they think will work. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're not and that's just life. There's no getting around that. Some people might think that, for example, Evan Bourne facing Zack Ryder in a best of 7 series to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Championship is a good idea. But what about the other 5 to 5.5 million people that watch Raw on a regular basis? Will the majority of them agree or will they possibly change the channel to something else? Little questions like that are what too many smarks want to conveniently ignore because they don't look at things from a realistic perspective.