Can we only have 1 "Internet Darling" at a time?

[ian_d]

I have thought that since the rise of the IWC, there has always been one guy in WWE who peaked the interest of the internet at any given time. People like this a few years ago were I believe The Miz, Christian and Randy Orton.
But recently, there seems to always be an individual who stands head and shoulders clear as an internet poster boy. My memory is fairly small, so i can only think back to June last year, but at that time Punk became top dog, and then roughly November it became Zack Ryder, and now since March/April it's been Daniel Bryan.

My questions are these:

Do you agree that there is such a trend amongst the internet community?

If you agree, can you think of a particular reason why the IWC has recently been focusing its attention on one guy at a time?

Do you see this trend continuing? and if so, who can you see as the next chosen one? Ziggler? Barrett? Ambrose?

P.S. I'm sorry, I used a term coined by Michael Cole in the title.

 

[2Sweet_4Life]

I don't quite understand the question. Simply i just think the IWC likes the up and coming young guys who are great technical wrestlers guys like... Ziggler,Punk,Bryan. My favourite wrestler is Ziggler because he is a great wrestler, a great seller, his ring attire looks good, he has charisma and i love the show off gimmick.

 

[ian_d]

Sorry, my point is that recently, one guy comes to the fore and is heralded by the internet community then another guy comes and replaces him as the one favourite in just a matter of months. Now there are those on here who now do not like CM Punk and Zack Ryder simply because they were so popular before. The current favourite is Daniel Bryan and i feel that the way it's been recently, he will gain a few more haters, fall back in to the mix and another wrestler will suddenly be propelled to be the next internet darling. My question was if anyone else noticed that trend, and if anyone else can explain why there is only one particular favourite at a time.

 

[Uncle Sam]

P.S. I'm sorry, I used a term coined by Michael Cole in the title.

If it makes you feel better, I'm sure "internet darling" was used extensively before Michael Cole started ranting and raving about Daniel Bryan and Kaval.

To answer your question, I don't think this phenomena is unique to the wrestling community, or even the internet wrestling community. People are fickle and forgetful.

It is a phenomena I've noticed though, you're not alone. Most notably, everybody seemed to forget about how much they loved Daniel Bryan when he was languishing in the midcard and jumped aboard the Zack Ryder bandwagon. Now the shoe's on the other foot. WWE wants Zack to fade back into obscurity and the fans are too busy "Yes! Yes! Yes!"ing to put a stop to it.

Let's call it Hermit Crab Syndrome.

 

[punchline]

Do you agree that there is such a trend amongst the internet community?

If you agree, can you think of a particular reason why the IWC has recently been focusing its attention on one guy at a time?

Do you see this trend continuing? and if so, who can you see as the next chosen one? Ziggler? Barrett? Ambrose?

1. Of course there is. There will always be differing opinions on who should be pushed to the top, and more often than not, the IWC has a different opinion than the casual fans and even Vince himself. That's why internet darlings exist.

2. I can't say i fully agree, as it's rarely 1 guy at a time (though inevitably one will always outshine the rest, it's never completely even). When Zack Ryder was 'the guy', he had many detractors in the IWC, and even some competition as Ziggler and Bryan also had a sudden fanbase online as well.

3. As long as the internet exists, the trend will continue. From what i can see, Dean Ambrose seems to be next in line for a spot as an IWC favorite.

 

[DarkFlame]

Do you agree that there is such a trend amongst the internet community?

Yes, the IWC is part of the audience and as such we're entitled to our opinions and to engage in discussion with fellow fans. I think the IWC attracts particular attention because of the 'smark' or 'smart mark' tag a lot of us have been given or adopted. Ultimately though, if you break down the WWE demographic (I'm using WWE as an example, not the standard of all wrestling fans) you'll find that each section has it's own waves & trends of support. The under 10's will love all the face characters & most likely the over-gimmicked guys, the teens will be more angsty & probably prefer edgier, grittier characters, women will like whoever has the best body/tattoos during a given time frame.

The trend is simply magnified due to the sheer volume of like-minded people who are part of the IWC....... IMHO

If you agree, can you think of a particular reason why the IWC has recently been focusing its attention on one guy at a time?

That's just the way it is! I remember in 2005 that Samoa Joe was being touted all over the IWC as being the next big thing and EVERY Christopher Daniels match was being shared along with everything involving Jay Briscoe.

Do you see this trend continuing? and if so, who can you see as the next chosen one? Ziggler? Barrett? Ambrose?

Yes, for all the reasons mentioned above and the next chosen one will definitely NOT be Wade Barrett, lol! Don't know who it will be but it's more likely to be Alex Riley

 

[MCMG]

I don't think there is only 1 at a time. There are so many people on these fourms that so many wrestlers are championed. Obviously 2/3 are particularly talked about at a particular time and personally i take a while to be won over by these "darlings". Bryan and Ryder didn't appeal to me originally but they both won me over eventually, but that was not because of what i read but what they did as individuals.