The Little Things That Made Wrestling Fun

[Spidey Revivey]

You don't know how good something is until you miss it. We all have those little moments tucked away in our minds, where the novelty of something doesn't seem all that great until you look back on it. That's how nostalgia works. There are things about wrestling that made it fun for us who may be disillusioned with the current production. This thread is meant to bring up those touches that, skimming through old videos, makes the show better than what you remembered it to be.

One of my favorite things about watching old matches are the camera flashes. I know it seems pretty trivial in regards to spectacles in wrestling, but there's just something about hundreds of lights going off when a big moment like someone flying through a table or climbing a ladder that seems awfully amiss to me in these modern times. It showed not only that the fans were paying complete attention, but they also wanted in on the action and to have a piece of it after the show ended. That bit of old culture probably isn't coming back any time soon, and it's a damn shame because the camera flashes really did give everything more of a star quality.

If you noticed something from "back in the day" that you'd like to mention, drop a line. Maybe some of us just haven't noticed yet and when you bring it up, we can collectively say "Ohhh yeah! That was cool."

 

[Lowdown]

This will sound like revisionist history, but I miss the build up to classic steel cage matches. I'm talking about way before the debit of Hell in the Cell and Elimination Chamber. For example, I used to look forward to the steel cage matches that used to be on Saturday Night's Main Event. It had the feel of a PPV, but was out on regular TV.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I miss Pyro.

Two things I really miss though.1) I miss the Spanish announce table being the table that always got broken. It was a fun running gag.

2) I miss the old rule that you can't headbutt a Samoan. It was pretty much phased out by the late 90s, but there was an instance where Undertaker tried to headbutt Rikishi, I think it might have been in a Royal Rumble, and Undertaker was visibly shaken while Rikishi just stood there.

 

[OYDK]

Chair shots to the head. Yeah, I know how stupid they were and I don't think they should ever come back, but screw me if seeing somebody almost get their head taken off by a steel chair didn't get some type of reaction out of you.

Two I still remember vividly. JBL hitting Eddie with probably the sickest shot you'll ever see or hear and Eddie crumpling to the floor with blood streaming down his face. Ken Shamrock on his knees telling The Rock to hit him and Rocky taking a full swing to Ken's unprotected dome. That shit was fun while it lasted.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I miss blading. I get why it stopped and that it's ultimately a good thing, I just think it needs to be brought back occasionally for some matches. HIAC doesn't have as much impact without a little blood and there are a few feuds that would be enhanced by it, such as what's going on with Samoa Joe & AJ Styles, Bryan & Miz and Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa down in NXT, or possibly even Orton & Hardy. There are some feuds that are so personal and/or have gone to high levels of physicality that the only thing missing is a little blood.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I miss time limit for a match. What was fun was when you had like 2 or 3 minutes left in the match and you saw the wrestlers trying anything to get the win before the time limit expired.

I also miss Vince McMahon as a commentator. Like him or not, when he was calling a match especially when he wax teaming with Jesse Ventura, he made all the matches fun. His over the top calling of the match was just awesome and fun. The best part about is commenting was all his little catchphrase he had when he didn't know what to say. How many time did we heard stuff like "what a maneuver" and "one, two, he got him, no only 2". For me this type of commentary was what made wrestling fun.

 

[relentless1]

I actually miss the simplicity of the sets, cameras etc. Nowadays its just too polished and it really ties into the blasé atmosphere that wrestling produces these days

 

[Hyorinmaru]

Kayfabe.

Back when i thought it was real there was real weight to the feuds and matches i was watching. I thought A really hated B and when B nailed A in the head with OYDK's steel chair I thought that A was going to the hospital.

I still enjoy it but man was it a lot more fun when I thought it was real.

 

[KonoSetsu]

When LOD returned in 97 they would do that thing where the arena lights would flash after Hawk and Animal had got in the ring. I really liked watching that at night with the lights off. Undertaker got the same effect for his whole entrance. I guess LOD's could have been a problem for anyone with epilepsy though.

As a previous post said - blading. Used every now and then it could make a difference to a feud or Hell In A Cell or Elimination Chamber. Blading was a problem when HBK and Triple H went too far by doing it in nearly every match. They did it so much it added nothing.

 

[Very Average]

Chair shots to the head. Yeah, I know how stupid they were and I don't think they should ever come back, but screw me if seeing somebody almost get their head taken off by a steel chair didn't get some type of reaction out of you.

Two I still remember vividly. JBL hitting Eddie with probably the sickest shot you'll ever see or hear and Eddie crumpling to the floor with blood streaming down his face. Ken Shamrock on his knees telling The Rock to hit him and Rocky taking a full swing to Ken's unprotected dome. That shit was fun while it lasted.

They could still bring it back but A) have the recipient take the shot with a hand up (watch Rock, Austin, Taker, HHH in the attitude era, they all did that) and B) Use a gimmicked chair. All i want is the illusion of someone getting twatted in the head with a chair, dont need it to 'really happen'.

Some other things i miss, some have been mentioned already:

Pyro (at start of shows especially)
TV14
Decent looking title belts
Blood
King of the Ring PPV
Normal ring posts
Decent PPV sets
Normal size hell in a cell
Good commentary
One set of titles (fuck the brand extension)
Not having LED lighting EVERYFUCKINGWHERE
The days where backstage segments werent as dumb as today (why do they only happen now as soon as a match is done and who in their right mind lets a camera crew set up in their office/ locker room)
Normal PPVs like No Mercy, Armageddon as opposed to TLC, Extreme Rules, Hell In A Cell, Elimination Chamber which have ruined the aforementioned matches

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Couple of you do bring up great points about simplicity. One thing that has turned me away from enjoying Raw lately is how vapid things feel, and I think part of that is on how glossy everything is presented now. I miss wrestling (obviously we're leaning on WWE here as the standard) going the bare bones, gritty approach to presentation, and instead of them blowing their budget on reality shows, LEDs, etc they'd blow shit up. This not only allowed for some kick ass moments, but characters could shine much more as their scripts didn't feel as micromanaged. There was more for the imagination.

I think this is mostly due to WWE not wanting to look low-brow as it has in the past, and the other companies copying their model. Thing is, I don't believe for a moment wrestling will ever be seen as anything other than low brow and this transition is a losing battle. But at least they have an aesthetic for the times I suppose.

 

[jpickens]

The good old days when everything wasn't scripted and predictable wrestlers who looked and acted like men brawls that resembled actual fights not a girly slapfest.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

I miss crowds who would just enjoy the show and not try to be part of it. "This is awesome!" just means they thought the match was ending right then and someone kicked out. Ever see the faces of the crowd when something "known" doesn't actually happened? They laughably look like their best friend lied to them. For example, when Sheamus eliminated Jericho to end the 2012 Rumble, they stood there with their belt replicas in the front row stunned like a real tragedy had just occurred. "But me and my friends online and thought Jericho was gonna win!"

 

[enviousdominous]

Back in mah day, we used to see more promotional cross-over matches.

Apparently the WWWF wasn't nearly as strict about denying that other promotions exist. Bob Backlund as the WWWF Champion fought NWA Champion Ric Flair, Bruno Sammartino as the WWWF Champion fought NWA Champion Harley Race. Fans would occasionally be treated to a supershow of sorts where impossible to imagine match-ups would occur.

It didn't feel right when Ric came to the WWF with the Big Gold Belt, as that belt really didn't have much prestige at that time, and he apparently forgot that he had it after winning the WWF Championship. The Invasion angle was absolute garbage with the WWF burying WCW, and absolutely no viable representation for the WCW side.

I get that the WWE is on a kick right now where they're making tons of money on things that have nothing to do with buy rates, and if they shared the spot-light with TNA or AAA with something as low-key as NXT, it would be like allowing them to put their hand in the WWE's pockets. I would prefer that the WWE remain content with the integrity of their RAW and Smackdown continuity, and that they allow NXT to be challenged by any of the other companies out there. I'd like that the WWE look at the glass as being half full for once, and acknowledge that even though having something like the TNA champion versus the NXT champion would seem like free advertising for TNA, it would also create a surge in buy-rates for the Network.

 

[jpickens]

I miss actual wrestling that weren't hurried up quickies to make room for long winded promos backstage segments and hyping things not related to what was currently going on.

 

[Bernkastel]

I really don't like today's commentary. I feel like the commentators, in WWE particularly, no longer do an effective job at putting over the story of the matches and the persona of the characters. They either ignore the match for long periods of time and talk about unrelated nonsense, or just ignore the emotion in the match and call each spot move for move, which is kinda boring. Now for big matches and marquee performers this is different, but Jim Ross used to make every match feel special. I recall hearing Cole and Taz when I used to watch SD, and every match seemed interesting, even if I didn't like the performers, because they made me feel like I could invest in the story taking place. Now it's like they don't even care half the time, and that's frustrating.

 

[JoeMallard]

Freedom of creativity, everything is so micromanaged now. Remember when WWE promos weren't scripted word for word? Good times.

 

[CharBroiled]

WCW's weekly Top 10 wrestlers ranked. Number 1 was always the world champ, with the Number 2 as the US title holder and designated number one contender. It seemed to put an emphasis on each match as wrestlers were trying to work their way into the title picture.

Of course, that's when the title meant something too.

 

[Goldie]

I miss the long build up to a fued.
Up to say the late 90s a fued between wrestlers would build up for months and then have a final blow off at a major PPV.
At the big PPV where the fued would reach its finale...there would often be a vide recap of how the fued started, the stroylines involved and how it progressed to the big match

Now with car crash TV fueds are settled quickly, often finishing on a television episode and 5 minutes later they are fueding with someone else.

If a tag tam split up in the 80s or 90s (say the Rockers) it was a major deal after the team had been together for years. These days you can of expect a team to be together a few months and then they break up and fued.
Its expected now.... no longer abig deal.

 

[Lee]

When shit goes down at the end of the match and the bell keeps ringing and ringing. Rarely used now but that little thing was brilliant.

 

[FromGlasgowScotland]

I miss all the variety of characters we used to have with the wrestlers dedication to stay in character, Nowadays wrestlers seem too much like regular people we see everyday and less like the superheroes and supervillian type characters we used to have.
I miss seeing reasonable competition of wrestling companies when wrestlers from WCW, ECW or AWA for example would show up in the WWE and getting excited for all the potential dream matches which could take place and wonder who would show up where next but today all we have is the same stale talent and mostly only come from NXT to show up on the main shows.
Also this I have never heard anyone mention that they miss but I miss all the old 2 or 3 minutes squash matches the superstars used to have with some unknown local wrestlers who rarely had any offense.
The less scripted feel of the shows is something I also miss just to name a few off of the top of my head.

 

[jpickens]

Now everything feels More like a TV show rather than a wrestling show.

 

[mjg1987]

They could still bring it back but A) have the recipient take the shot with a hand up (watch Rock, Austin, Taker, HHH in the attitude era, they all did that) and B) Use a gimmicked chair. All i want is the illusion of someone getting twatted in the head with a chair, dont need it to 'really happen'.

Some other things i miss, some have been mentioned already:

Pyro (at start of shows especially)
TV14
Decent looking title belts
Blood
King of the Ring PPV
Normal ring posts
Decent PPV sets
Normal size hell in a cell
Good commentary
One set of titles (fuck the brand extension)
Not having LED lighting EVERYFUCKINGWHERE
The days where backstage segments werent as dumb as today (why do they only happen now as soon as a match is done and who in their right mind lets a camera crew set up in their office/ locker room)
Normal PPVs like No Mercy, Armageddon as opposed to TLC, Extreme Rules, Hell In A Cell, Elimination Chamber which have ruined the aforementioned matches

Agree about normal ppvs, It was a lot better when you didn't know when a hell in a cell, elimination chamber, tlc, ladder match was going to happen, I also think the money in the bank concept has run its course