Are you ashamed/proud to watch pro-wrestling?

[D-Man]

First, there's Football, basketball, hockey, soccer, etc...

Then there's Lost, 24, American Idol, etc...

All of these are television programs. Some are sports-related, some are just forms of entertainment.

At times, we feel slightly embarrassed to watch some of them, since they become more of a guilty pleasure to all of us.

Other times, we're proud that we know everything about them. We're proud that we can name the home run leaders of every team in the MLB or who won the third season of American Idol.

But for some really fucked up reason, professional wrestling is one of the most shameful programs to watch on television. We keep it a secret from friends and co-workers. We're ashamed to tell women that we date about it. Yet, we know every stat, every championship reign, every time a wrestler changes their hair styles, and every time they don't show up on a weekly program.

So, if we're so passionate about it, why keep it such a secret from the public? Are any of you ashamed of your passion for professional wrestling? Are you proud of it? Tell us about it here.

(Please note: This is not a WWE bashing thread. Do not turn this into a CENAZ KNOWZ 5 MOVZ thread, otherwise it will be considered to be off-topic and you will risk infraction.)

 

[Theo Mays]

Great thread D-Man. About a year ago I rarely talked about wrestling around most of my friends. I have one buddy who watches on occasion, so I can talk to him. Everyone else though I rarely mentioned it. Lately though I talk about it. If they are my friends they can deal with the fact that I like wrestling. I don't give them a fit if they watch The Real World or other TV shows. It is a matter of opinion.

So I'll pretty much tell anyone that I love professional wrestling and I'm passionate about it. Just like I'm passionate towards my sports teams. I've been a wrestling fan all my life and I went 2 years without it and somehow I got drawn back into it and I'll probably never leave again. If people want to throw a fit and harass me because I like wrestling they can. I don't care if they don't approve of it. I do and that is all that matters to me.

I can understand those that keep it a secret. Wrestling is frowned upon in public because it is fake and scripted. I doesn't have the realness that the UFC has. It is actors/actresses fighting. That is how the public views wrestling. They think it is childish. And of course there is the tragic deaths that seem to occur so often in pro wrestling. The media has a field day with those and drives pro wrestling into the ground and tries to bury it. The media can hate it all they want, but wrestling is still pretty popular. While it may not be as popular as it once was, it still has a pretty big fan base.

 

[SSJPhenom]

To be completely honest about it. I feel neither shame nor pride because of my passion for professional wrestling.

I don't hide the fact that I watch it, however, I don't go around going, "Did you watch Raw last night man?" to my friends. If asked, "What do you like to watch on television?" Then I have no problems saying that Raw, ECW, and Smackdown are at the top of my list. All of my friends who know me well enough to come to my home know that I love wrestling and people that I am still getting to know, will know eventually.

There's no reason to be ashamed about being a wrestling fan. It's a weekly variety show really. We get action, dialogue, drama, suspense, comedy, singing, acting, etc etc. What's not to love about wrestling?

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I am neither ashamed nor proud. It is what it is, like anything else in my life.

Professional wrestling has been great for me. As I mentioned in an earlier bar room thread, by love for pro wrestling incited me to try out amateur wrestling in Middle and High School, and as a result of amateur wrestling, I went from 235-lb fat Sophomre C-average student to 160-lb slim Junior with straight A's. I was in a position in college to do a lot of public speaking, and so many of my speeches and addresses were in someway patterned after some of the things Chris Jericho did.

Many close friends I attribute to professional wrestling, D-Man cheif among them. I still think he and I would be friends either way, but we connected because of pro wrestling, and for that I'm thankful. And of course, I wouldn't even know NorCal had it not been for pro wrestling, and he's become a good friend too.

When someone gives me crap for being a wrestling fan, I ask them what the last movie they saw was. I ask them which sitcoms they watch. Then I ask them what the difference is. Yes, it's a trap. Yes, they look ridiculous as a result.

I am also not a "stereotype" wrestling fan, much the way many people on these forums are not. I am a relatively successful 28-year old homeowner with a wife (also a wrestling fan), good job, and a college degree. I am not, as ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd claims wrestling fans are, "a mouth breather and a booger eater." As a result, when I say I am a pro wrestling fan, people say "really?" And when I nod my head yes, they often just say "that's cool" and then try to connect with me over the 8 months they watched wrestling in the Austin / Rock era.

But I don't go out advertising being a pro wrestling fan. It's an aspect of my life. Sure, I take a lot of pride in these forums, but at the end of the day, it's just part of my life - not the whole thing. That's how it should be.

 

[rkofromhell]

I am not ashamed of watching wrestling a lot of my friends watch it and gives us something to talk about i guess. I dont really understand why it is so frowned upon i think it depends on the age of the person becuase atleast with me everyone i know use to watch wrestling they just dont anymore becuase they feel like its a childrens show almost and once your old enough to realized its scripted you quit watching but i disagree. How is the WWE or TNA any different than any other show out there today. Yes it is scripted but besides sporting events (which some are debateable wether they are or not) what isnt scripted? To me Wrestling is just like any other show out there on TV now a days.

 

[Ferbian]

quite honestly i'm far from ashamed when it comes to watching wrestling.. i got some theme songs on my iphone, i got theme songs, titantrons and segments as favourites on my youtube and i got a few wrestling related links as boomarks on my firefox.

i'm mostly proud of watching it, because its a great entertainment, i must admit i've taken my time to stand up for pro wrestling when some idiot screams "oh but its all fake".. then you show them one of the ladder matches like extreme rules jeff and edge where the ladder breaks "oh they probably made that effect before they even landed on it, so it easily broke".. then i simply roll my eyes cause i know i've lost em...

only place where i draw a line is buying wrestling t-shirts and such that cleanly shows off a wrestlers name or something associated with the guy, besides i live in denmark, do they even deliver mercs on wweshop to denmark?

 

[Mr. TM]

I'm not sure, everyone of my friends knows I watch wrestling, and I even tell them things about wresting, these are the people that can name only the wrestlers I have told them about, if that. I think there are people that do hide it, in fact, I have been in a discussion, and Ill talk about wrestling and some will A.) Oh yeah, Stone Cold was awesome, of B.) Will begin talking about wrestling with me. Im not sure if the B category is ashamed, I just have never known they watched wrestling. So I don't hide it at all, so I would stick to the proud side of the argument.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

I've discussed this a lot.

I'm not in anyway ashamed of my love for sports-enter*cough* er....pro-wrestling. Sorry, had something stuck in my throat. I tell it to girls on first dates. I tell my colleagues and professors at grad school. I often tell the story of my one day pursuit of wrestling glory. When I lived in MI, I would mass-invite people to come over to watch Raw via Facebook. Heck...I've asked out waitresses while watching PPVs at Blast Areas...amidst fans such as "Cena Guy" (for those of you who want to know about Cena Guy...make the demand great, and I shall make an official thread about him).

I wear my Madness nWo shirt with pride.

 

[gd]

I guess I'm ashamed. I don't really talk about it with anyone. Actually, I do have one friend who watches, but it's far from a important topic of conversation. I'm not really sure why though. I don't see how it's any stupider than Jersey Shore or something like that. I guess it's the whole thing about it being "fake", but if you know it's not legit, why is it wrong to watch it? I don't know. What I do know is that I'm not telling any girl that I watch wrestling to try and impress here.

I was actually watching wrestling with one of my friends sometime this summer. It was the episode when Trump bought Raw. During the Christian/Dreamer match, he asked me why I watched this stuff. I didn't really know. Anyway, I mostly just watch alone, sometimes with my brother.

Also, make the thread, Ricky.

 

[Jonnie Walker]

I'm not ashamed of it, but I'm definitely not proud. I mean, if it was the Attitude Era I'd have some more pride in it than shame, but now watching wrestling gives me a feeling that I just watched porn. Yeah I like it, but I'm not gonna talk about it like I'm proud.

 

[TwistofRKO]

Ashamed. Completely ashamed.

Like this dude above me, I used to be proud, when it was cool. I still watch it and enjoy parts of it, and I don't want to de-rail the thread, but would I really tell my friends, risk them tuning in and watch Hornswoggle and an intentionally horrid pop-diva? No.

I was way more open about it when you had the Rock, Goldberg, and Kurt Angle, but not now.

I however, never have and never will treat it like a major sport and gloat about it with pride like I would about the Eagles or the Gators or something.

 

[D-Man]

I used to be ashamed, but along with growing up comes maturity. And when you know you're mature, you realize there is no reason to be embarrassed about loving something.

Wrestling has been a part of my life for the past 25 years. I've been blessed to have lived through four eras of professional wrestling. I've seen its ups, downs, and plateaus. And I also know that whenever I mention to someone with confidence and conviction that I love wrestling, they can't help but respect me for it. Sure, they may think it's a litte odd. But I could give two shits about how people portray me.

The ones that respect me will say things like, "Yeah, I really liked wrestling back when Hulk Hogan was around." Or things like, "I really liked wrestling when The Rock and Stone Cold were a part of it all." So does it make me less of a man because I continued to watch while they gave up on it? I could easily make fun of them for watching shows (already mentioned) like the Real World, Jersey Shore, American Idol, or Project Runway.

For some reason, pro-wrestling has become the scourge of society. And everyone that is embarrassed to watch stays that way because they're too afraid to crawl out of their shell and freely say they enjoy watching. People feed off the fact that most of us feel ashamed to watch the program. As a result, the critics follow in stride. Not until we all publicly begin to show pride in profession wrestling will we ever begin to shut those critics up.

Be proud of what you love. Don't hide the fact that you enjoy something, no matter what everyone else thinks.

 

[Miko]

Neither, I dont tell people I watch wrestling, unless they ask, then I tell them I watch wrestling. I am really proud once I get drunk though, I went to a shit party once, a friend of a friend was an old school wrestling fan, we both get trashed and provided the parties only entertainment by talking about how awesome Ultimate Warrior was, doing Randy Savage impressions and making peadophile jokes.

So pretty much all my friends now know I am a wrestling fan, this makes me neither proud nor ashamed.

 

[Hacksaw Highway]

It's sort of a nonissue for me. Everyone in my grade knows I like wrestling, hell, I wore my Beer Money t-shirt to school today, so I'm not reall worried about it. I don't run around shouting about Kurt Angle or anything like that, but I don't hide the fact that I watch it.

 

[G3]

If I had to pick I would say ashamed.

Well its hard to say that because I do not watch WWE or TNA but on occasion.( can't take it) I would however not be ashamed if someone asked me if I watch Ring of Honor or an actual pro wrestling company but that probably would never go down. How exactly could you be proud of WWE with all of it silliness. eg Little Bastard, Big Dick Johnson , Festus.

 

[Cookie]

I'm not really ashamed or proud, I guess. I grew up watching it with my dad and he's pretty much the only person I really talk to about it, which is perfect for me. It's a great connection I have with him. My friends are aware I watch it, though I'm sure they're not aware that I watch it religiously every week, have Classics on Demand and order PPVs, but it's not like I purposely hide it. If someone asked me if I was a fan, I'd say yes. Most of them don't watch so it never really gets brought up or discussed.

When people first meet me they would never be able to guess I'm a wrestling fan in any capacity so it's nice to surprise someone once in awhile when they mention it and I'm able to carry on a conversation about the topic.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I am NOT ashamed to admit to anyone that I'm a fan of both WWE and TNA. One of the first things that people often ask when they make a new friend is "so what are you into?" or something similar, to find out what your hobbies are. Wrestling is always either the first or second thing I mention in my response.

I never miss an episode of Raw, ECW, Impact, or Smackdown for ANYTHING. EVER. Unless I have a date, then I tape it and watch it later that night. It reached the point where my immediate friends know that if wrestling is either on tv or about to start, they know ahead of time to not bug me at that point unless its an emergency because I'm not missing it.

I'm not ashamed of being a wrestling fan. Not in the least bit. When my friends see commercials for WWE's shows or PPV's they often say "oh I bet Dagger's gonna be watching that".... (Yes, I go by Dagger in real life) and I'm rather proud of that. I have something that my buddies associate me with.

Whether it be putting something wrestling related as my facebook status (which I often do if I agree/disagree with a title change after a PPV) or talking to friends about what happened on Raw/Smackdown/Impact.... I'm not ashamed because being a wrestling fan is a big part of my life that I'm not afraid to admit to anyone.

 

[Poseidon]

Really good thread idea. I find myself similar to some other posters, in that I don’t try to force feed my love of wrestling to people but I would never hide it. We all know that there is a huge stigma attached to being a wrestling fan, and many of us have experienced it first hand. A lot of people have this idea of a wrestling fan as being either highly overweight or drastically thin, having no social skills and being generally an example of a pure social outcast. I resent this and try to refute it wherever possible. I try to hold myself as an example of wrestling fans not all sticking to this stereotype, I am a normal enough guy, I have a lot of friends and a very active social life, I am in college and doing very well on all cases there, I have had past girlfriends and I am in good shape due to working out and living an active lifestyle. People find this hard to comprehend because they cannot believe that someone likes wrestling who does not fit the general profile that the media has formulated.

Not many of my friends are wrestling fans, but I have argued with them enough and have a strong enough opinion on the subject that they respect my love of wrestling, and are perhaps more tolerant of the industry as a result. I have a couple of wrestling t-shirts that I wear regularly, and a good half of the Facebook statuses that I have ever published have probably been related to wrestling. If people don’t accept this then they are not worth the time, because wrestling fans in my experience tend to be quite open minded, and it should not be too much to ask for to expect the same courtesy from others. I feel that having websites such as this where people can meet other wrestling fans is a great benefit to wrestling fans these days, especially those who might not have the confidence to openly admit to being fans. I have been tempted to flaunt my passion for wrestling in the past, but only after something happens in which someone attempts to ostracise me for it. I liken wrestling to drunken friends sometimes, I was at a party a while ago in which a couple of my friends were severely drunk and messing the place up, a girl turned around to me and said “oh my God, what a pair of idiots?” This reminds me now and reminded me then of someone bringing up wrestling, in an “oh my God I can’t believe he likes wrestling, he is like 25” type manner. I would never deny being friends with someone in any situation, just as I will never deny being a wrestling fan.

There was an incident in which I almost came to blows with my ex’s mother’s boyfriend, because he attempted to mock me after I told him that I was a big wrestling fan. After this I was even more determined never to hide that I am a wrestling fan, and it has become a big part of how I define myself, because I don’t want to be the type of person who changes to try and fit the status quo. I would never judge someone for denying that they are a wrestling fan, but it makes me sad that it has fallen so far in the eyes of so many of the public. I think that any closet wrestling fans should consider being more open about it, as it may help with the general image of wrestling, and maybe even give you more confidence in the long run. I see some people on here expressing confidence and I approve of this greatly, as you can become role models to young people you have never met, just as wrestlers themselves have been to us for all these years.

Current Facebook status: “Check your calendars, it’s almost Royal Rumble time!!”

 

[dmacizdman]

in the attitude era, i was in my 20's and it was semi-hip to watch wrestling. even guys who you thought wouldn't did. we would always do stone cold's and rock's signature sayings. going to night clubs and bars, people would know what you were talking about.

i used to watch it religiously, only flipping around the channels during commercials. now i flip to it when there are commercials from other shows.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

It's hard to say one way or another, because objectively speaking, I never really though about it in terms of being ashamed or embarrassed, or proud for watching something I just generally enjoyed since a very young age.

What I can say is that from time-to-time I do have to justify the fact I still watch wrestling "because it's fake", but once people put aside their social guilts, they tend to understand (and often empathize) with me about it.

If I were put on the spot, I'd say I'm proud to watch it still, but not because it's pro-wrestling, and not because people think "childish" things should be left for children, but instead because I had to endure a lot of what I felt were dark years for the business over the last decade with only one company running things. Needless to say, TNA's emergence really rejuvenated my passion for the sport.

 

[ted sheckler]

Yes sadly now I am ashamed to watch wrestling. I would liken it to what gay guys must feel like coming out of the closet... but thats not fair to compare the two because coming out of the wrestling closet is much harder. It was much easier to admit back in the attitude days because it had gotten cool. But having a a couple buddies who used to watch back in the day and seeing the once rebellious DX crotch chopping with a midget leprachaun can be just plain embarrising.

 

[zozman]

Well I live in Egypt where wwe is pretty popular but the problem is that a lot of people (old men like my dad and cousins) still think its all real and when I watch it with them they curse the heels and praise the faces while I cheer for whoever I like not based on heel or face so I get bashed for being evil. I don't hide the fact that I love it among my friends as it is not frowned upon here as in the USA. I only get embarrassed when I watch it with someone old (dad etc) and the awful skits take place or when as in the old days we get to witness HLA.

 

[BladeRunner]

I watched wrestling as a kid with my dad.

But I really didn't watch it growing up. But then one day, as an adult, I met this guy who really loved wrestling. And I was wondering, how could he possibly like wrestling that much?

So I gave it a shot and I was surprised to see that this was kick ass. This is what modern mythology is like. Like comic books, or sci fi. This is modern theatre. This is stunt guys doing insane shit. It's got all kinds of good stuff to it.

And I respect the wrestlers for everything they do to entertain us.

I wear wrestling t-shirts, and talk about wrestling sometimes, and I'll defend it if necessary.

These wrestlers put their lives on the line to entertain. It just pisses me off when people talk shit about it and say these guys aren't real. As Kurt Angle said, it's real, it's damn real.

Tell Edge that it's fake, after he couldn't walk for a year.

And yet, he still gets back in the ring after all that, coming back to kick some ass.

 

[Tainted Meat]

In mixed company, I'll definitely preface something that I'm about to say which might be wrestling-related as being just that, but I'm proud to consider watching wrestling and being a fan of it as a hobby of mine. I know that others occasionally think that it's dumb or base, but I typically have a good response for them to retort their position...'cause I'm, like, smart and stuff.

I love being a wrestling fan. It's something that's been with me for over 25 years of my life and entertained me when many other things didn't. Through Gorilla Monsoon and Vince McMahon, I learned words that had me thumb through a dictionary, which gave me an appreciation for the English language that I might not have otherwise had. So I pursued a degree in it. And now, I use a fine-tuned skill of the mechanics and psychology of language in my career...and on some level, I credit pro wrestling for the roots of that.

Some of the stuff is dumb, but no more idiotic than any other episodic programming on any other channel. Plus, I get a bit of comfort in knowing that, for the most part, these guys don't legitimately have to go to the hospital after each of their fights.

And like I mentioned, I've had it in my life for over 25 years. Pro wrestling is like a security blanket, or spiritual soul food for me. So "no," I'm definitely not ashamed of it. I know how others feel about the business, but that doesn't affect how I feel about it. I'll watch it, and love it, for life.

 

[HBK-aholic]

I'm not ashamed of it. 'Proud' is probably a little strong, it's just something I enjoy in the same way Rugby, Eastenders and Sociology are, and I'm not ashamed of any of them. I go out in HBK shirts all the time. Although I dress them up, huge sized shirts with tights and a belt around the middle; I have to make it look pretty! From that alone, people can see I'm not a 'stereotypical' wrestling fan. To be honest, I don't even know a stereotypical fan, either on here or in real life.

I talk about wrestling with the family and boyfriend, because they're the main people in my life who also enjoy it. I don't generally bring it up with others, not because I'm ashamed of it, but because they wouldn't have a clue what I'm talking about. I've had the 'it's fake' argument with some of them. Because, you know, their favourite films are real and all that.