Children liking WWE

[Radical Canadian Goose]

I have always worried that kids these days don't care about wrestling like I used to in the late 80s/early 90s. Today, I went to the live show in Oshawa, and all of my fears became unfounded. The kids were rocking it, loving every move, cheering everything, and were just adorable. Two instances were my brother in law asking me a question and the young girl (8-10) in front of us looking back and totally giving a "smark" answer. I am not trying to use the term negatively as it was quite cute. The second instance was when I yelled "Heath Slater Sucks". The little guy behind me yelled "Heath Slater is awesome." I laughed but knew I got owned by a 10 year old.

Also, when Sami Zayn and Charlotte came to the ring, the children were popping hard, which shows the success of NXT.

Anyways, my fears are unfounded, and I can sleep easy tonight.

Sorry for the rant. Thoughts, on children liking todays current product

 

[Prince Vee]

Its nothing surprising to be honest and It's pretty cool that there are lots of kids I've seen who really wants to be professional wrestlers. Didn't we start watching WWE since we were kids? Anyhow I became so much into the WWE during Summerslam 2002 so it's not really surprising at all. The kids love the product that's the reason why WWE is earing tons and tons from Merchandise!

Cheers!!

 

[d_henderson1810]

I thought that "Attitude" fans resented WWE catering to children, and wanted the WWE to cater to them, and not to the PG crowd, and to show material which you couldn't show children.

 

[rbv13]

I thought that "Attitude" fans resented WWE catering to children, and wanted the WWE to cater to them, and not to the PG crowd, and to show material which you couldn't show children.

I think a lot of "Attitude Marks" were thirteen or older. It brings back a memory of true emotion. The era was a testament to the times. What we forget is a lot of it sucked but oh the big moments and stars created emotions that will live forever.

Today I am happy with the rating. I enjoy sharing wrestling/sports entertainment with my younger family members. It is cool to see them feel what I felt during the '80s. I would be embarrassed to watch the AE with them.

Much like the days of prison guards, Elvis wannabes & clowns wanting to wrestle for some reason have gone the wayside so have the raunchy antics.

 

[SoulTrain4]

I was 14 in 1998. The product grew as I grew. I think that's the issue a lot of people have with WWE. Around 2009 the product decided to recycle and now new kids are able to latch on and watch the product more.

WWE always was for families except during that 4 years they call "Attitude" where the product was more geared towards teenagers and Young adults. That stuff lingered for a little while longer slowly vein scaled back to the PG product we have now

 

[rbv13]

@SoulTrain. You said you were 14 in '98. Can I ask what year you began watching? The drastic change in the product at a turn in life for you could be very telling of the product. For example I was 14 around WM IX. This is when I first lost interest in WWF/E. I would check in and follow at times but the product no longer held my heart.

 

[SoulTrain4]

I started watching wrestling full time in 1990. The change in the product in 1997-1998 was kind of interesting. It coincided with a lot of the other media I was taking in at the time. As a teen I liked more mature content in my music, movies etc and it just so happened wrestling' s content got mature at the same time, so I thought it was great.

Wrestling jumped the shark with me and many people in my age group around 2001-2002, it just didn't seem "cool" anymore so I stopped watching weekly.

Around 2005 I started back because I missed it and I had forgotten how fun wrestling can be. When they decided to cut out blood and sexualized storylines later on i thought I would lose interest...but I haven't. It's still fun to me.

I think every fan should take a break, if you come back to it then it's because you love it

 

[rbv13]

@SoulTrain. Thank you for sharing. Very insightful stuff. It is always cool to hear how fans evolve. In a lot of ways its not about the product but where we are in life. You hit a cool stage were it just moved so drastically.

Thinking about my own history it seems like a girl(s) moved me away. The power of the P. Now days I feel like I'm getting way to old for this shit.

 

[SoulTrain4]

I been through that. I feel that sometimes wrestling fans are too sensitive to what other people think. I never went dealt with people trying to discourage me from watching it and when I did I always found that the person trying to discourage me watches stuff I thought was sleazier than wrestling is.

Ultimately it's all about whether it's still interesting and fun to YOU not what the mainstream thinks. Sometimes younger fans are worried about the image of the wrestling fan and not whether they actually enjoy the show.

Being a graduate student I have heard people openly dismiss being a wrestling fan but when Stone Cold Steve Austin and Edge get name dropped in a graduate school class it reminds me that the fan base is wider than we think.

 

[FromGlasgow]

All the fans I know all started watching as kids and I first started watching in the 80s and I have great memories as a child watching back in the day, If it were all kids I don't think it would be any fun but overall I guess the more fans and more popular the better.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Kids are just different in general now, and that's reflected in WWE. 30 years ago, you played ball in the park, or endured whatever was on TV. Today kids flit between their TV, PC, mobile, PS4, X Box and god knows whatever else, getting bored after 10 minutes of each.

Children simply aren't capable of watching a Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith anymore.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Kids are just different in general now, and that's reflected in WWE. 30 years ago, you played ball in the park, or endured whatever was on TV. Today kids flit between their TV, PC, mobile, PS4, X Box and god knows whatever else, getting bored after 10 minutes of each.

Children simply aren't capable of watching a Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith anymore.

And that wasn't true 30 years ago....when most WWE matches in their heyday pitted guys like Hercules Hernandez and Zeus in matches that rarely lasted 10 minutes and consisted only of basic power moves ?

There has always been a market for "great" wrestling.....kids watched Flair-Steamboat but it was appreciated much more by older fans who enjoyed the showmanship and athleticism....that hasn't changed.

Book a 60 minute Iron Man Match on RAW and watch your ratings slide through the basement....you might pop a big buyrate on PPV though.

Children never were going to sit through long, athletic, classic matches on TV....Flair-Sting was an exception but generally those matches never drew good ratings....that's not new....it's old news

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I was 14 in 1998. The product grew as I grew. I think that's the issue a lot of people have with WWE. Around 2009 the product decided to recycle and now new kids are able to latch on and watch the product more.

I was around that age but what really made me a huge fan was 1997 (age 13) when Austin was bleeding and Bret Hart turning heel. It's also the same year when Bret Hart declared war against USA and created a really emotional USA vs. Canada rivalry. There was a ton of emotion and made me a WWE fan at the time. When I see the product now, it's not so much that it's targeted to kids its more because WWE has this preconceived notion on what kids like and at times it's pretty lifeless.

 

[FromGlasgow]

And that wasn't true 30 years ago....when most WWE matches in their heyday pitted guys like Hercules Hernandez and Zeus in matches that rarely lasted 10 minutes and consisted only of basic power moves ?

Hercules Hernandez and Zeus pretty much the epitome of 80s wrestling?
You believe those are the main 2 wrestlers or best examples to use of that era?
I can't recall those 2 guys in particular completely dominating wwe tv during this time? I wasn't even aware Zeus even wrestled more than about 4 or 5 times ever.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Hercules Hernandez and Zeus pretty much the epitome of 80s wrestling?
You believe those are the main 2 wrestlers or best examples to use of that era?
I can't recall those 2 guys in particular completely dominating wwe tv during this time? I wasn't even aware Zeus even wrestled more than about 4 or 5 times ever.

Well Hulk Hogan epitomized the era....if you were to discern TWO wrestlers who epitomized the era in Pro Wrestling it would Hogan & Flair, but that was in part because there were multiple companies that had large fan bases and nation wide promotion, therefore the difference in ring styles (and character presentation) of the two performers.

Look at Hogan's opponent list as Champ....King Kong Bundy, Zeus, Hercules, Kamala, Earthquake....all of those guys had long main event tenures as Hogan's antagonists. The performers who could put on high end quality matches usually were not booked against Hogan or in the Main Event Scene, the exception being Randy Savage. When more talented performers like Henning or Jake Roberts were paired with Hogan they had to tone down their performances significantly. Only Savage & later Flair were allowed "to push" Hogan to longer, more compelling and challenging matches. Even Andre, when he faced Hogan, was a shell of his former self and no more than an over sized monster type character with limited skill.

That was 80s wrestling WWE style.....short matches, light on athleticism and heavy on power wrestling, populated by muscle heads with limited in ring ability. There were exceptions, and the year that Hogan left and Savage was main eventing we got much better matches on the top of the card but that was it.

Even during the failed "New Generation" era where WWE pushed much better match quality on the main events the characters were often cartoonish and the storylines fairly simple.

Bottom line, kids buy toys, action figures, posters, they are the ones who want to attend the arena shows, order the PPVs, etc and buy the T-Shirts, in short they are the MONEY. Yes, there are instances where more "adult" themed characters got over with the entire audience, older fans & kids, but the product in general has been pretty much geared to kids for 30 some years because that is where the money is.

 

[FromGlasgow]

Well Hulk Hogan epitomized the era....if you were to discern TWO wrestlers who epitomized the era in Pro Wrestling it would Hogan & Flair, but that was in part because there were multiple companies that had large fan bases and nation wide promotion, therefore the difference in ring styles (and character presentation) of the two performers.

Look at Hogan's opponent list as Champ....King Kong Bundy, Zeus, Hercules, Kamala, Earthquake....all of those guys had long main event tenures as Hogan's antagonists. The performers who could put on high end quality matches usually were not booked against Hogan or in the Main Event Scene, the exception being Randy Savage. When more talented performers like Henning or Jake Roberts were paired with Hogan they had to tone down their performances significantly. Only Savage & later Flair were allowed "to push" Hogan to longer, more compelling and challenging matches. Even Andre, when he faced Hogan, was a shell of his former self and no more than an over sized monster type character with limited skill.

That was 80s wrestling WWE style.....short matches, light on athleticism and heavy on power wrestling, populated by muscle heads with limited in ring ability. There were exceptions, and the year that Hogan left and Savage was main eventing we got much better matches on the top of the card but that was it.

Even during the failed "New Generation" era where WWE pushed much better match quality on the main events the characters were often cartoonish and the storylines fairly simple.

Bottom line, kids buy toys, action figures, posters, they are the ones who want to attend the arena shows, order the PPVs, etc and buy the T-Shirts, in short they are the MONEY. Yes, there are instances where more "adult" themed characters got over with the entire audience, older fans & kids, but the product in general has been pretty much geared to kids for 30 some years because that is where the money is.

I agree with some of what you said but not all of it, Mainly the original part about most matches as I think there was plenty of guys on the roster who could have 5 star matches back in the day, My favourite to watch the Dynamite Kid and others like Steamboat, Savage with tag teams like Hart Foundation, The Rockers maybe I have a biased opinion but I think their all way better and in a different league than anyone that is out now, Which I think having a good combination of both power wrestlers and wrestlers who could go gave the WWE I felt a perfect mix.
Which I personally prefer a mix on cards rather than the one style I think I would find it difficult to sit through 8 similar matches with one generic style on the same wrestling card. As for the shorter matches as difficult to compare as the tv show back in the day was only an hour long so there must have been time constraints compared to several hours per week they have now but was always a different matter at house shows and ppvs I did see great matches at both.

 

[pipebomber]

well Im 25 now. I cant tell you when I started watching cause I did off and on with my dad when I was really little. I remember bits and pieces of the tail end of hulkamania and macho mans slim jim commercials. I was 6 when the nWo came around but was still just kinda watching whenever dad decided to tune in (1 TV, dad ruled the remote) It wasn't until Goldberg came around that I began to take notice (somewhere between the ages of 7 and 8) I was a WCW fan as a kid. I waved the WCW banner till it died. mostly cause Goldberg was my favorite. When WCW went under I tuned out, I heard some friends talk about the invasion and stuff, and saw a little but I didn't really care.

it wasn't until early 2002 (I was 11 nearly 12) when I was talkin to this cute girl at school who had been watching it with her dad (I think) and she told me that the nWo were coming back...That was what drew me back in but that wasn't what kept me. It's how good the rest of the product was then.

I seriously think that the Ruthless Aggression era was the best era in wrestling. The attitude era was great but it was built almost solely on shock value. The biggest issue I see in WWE today is not just bad storylines, its NO story lines. half the time the mid card titles have nothing going on. Never during that time would they have the intercontinental champion out with injury without someone on the mic running them down for not being worthy of the intercontinental title with the injury. You didn't have an episode of raw or smackdown where the championships, all of them, were not featured in an angle that at least incorporated the importance of them being champion. Today you could have a us champ like ambrose who doesn't defend the title more than 6 times the whole time he had it (or so it seemed, Im not a stat guy) and an IC champion that nobody is gunning for.

to what you said yes I think it is great that they are into it as kids, that doesn't worry me, do you know how many people I meet that say "yea I watched it as a kid but I grew out of it when I got older" Of Coarse kids are into it. Kids are into anything. just check out Netflix and watch some of the shows you loved as a kid. I still don't get what I saw in VR Troopers and Big Bad Beatleborgs. I am worried that kids wont keep watching into adulthood.

 

[Blade]

Children understand how to enjoy wrestling one hundred times better than we do. We bitch and complain. We overanalyse and fantasy book. We care more about what's behind the scenes than what's in the ring. And that sucks.

I remember in 2003, my favourite wrestler was Kane. He was absolutely red hot at the time, if you'll excuse the pun. He was in a 6 month long feud with Triple H over the World Title that culiminated in a Title vs Mask match. Man, when that match was announced, I lost my shit. I literally ran around my house freaking out. THAT's what wrestling is all about.

I really miss that kind of emotional engagement... Don't get me wrong, I still love wrestling. But it was on a whole other level when I was 12 years old. And while part of me is delighted that there's a new generation of kids getting involved, another part of me is dreading the time when these kids become the next generation of jaded IWC assholes.

Also, that reminds me, those adult men in who mock children for liking John Cena? Absolute scum of the Earth.

 

[kadroan]

I have always worried that kids these days don't care about wrestling like I used to in the late 80s/early 90s. Today, I went to the live show in Oshawa, and all of my fears became unfounded. The kids were rocking it, loving every move, cheering everything, and were just adorable. Two instances were my brother in law asking me a question and the young girl (8-10) in front of us looking back and totally giving a "smark" answer. I am not trying to use the term negatively as it was quite cute. The second instance was when I yelled "Heath Slater Sucks". The little guy behind me yelled "Heath Slater is awesome." I laughed but knew I got owned by a 10 year old.

Also, when Sami Zayn and Charlotte came to the ring, the children were popping hard, which shows the success of NXT.

Anyways, my fears are unfounded, and I can sleep easy tonight.

Sorry for the rant. Thoughts, on children liking todays current product

Yeah WWE is universal. I wonder how kids responded to ECW, the original ECW not the WWE version. I know adults liked the show.

 

[SoulTrain4]

Yeah WWE is universal. I wonder how kids responded to ECW, the original ECW not the WWE version. I know adults liked the show.

Mixed impression on me. I didn't care for it at first, just watched it because it was wrestling on my TV. By the time I was a teenager I was all in on ECW.

 

[Radical]

Yeah kids still like WWE and pro wrestling but it's all at different levels of interest, just like everything else they are into.

There is that 'golden age' for a kid who watches wrestling where they can just enjoy it like any other TV show because they aren't analyzing like some adults about "Why did WWE Creative do this to the guy? Why did that guy get buried? Why didn't they push this guy?" where the kids will just watch like they were watching an episode of X-Men or Justice League by enjoying the action, rooting for the cool faces and booing the evil bad guys.

That age is about 5-12. While that age some kids will enjoy wrestling but still not watch it that often and others will really enjoy it and watch it religiously and discuss it at school with friends and such. Those are the kids who WWE is catering to. The ones who maybe do know pro wrestling is fake/scripted but still just enjoying the drama and action. It will be interesting to see if those kids once they 'really know' about the backstage workings if they still like it or they lose interest.

It's funny, why do you think John Cena is still popular? Well, because I've noticed kids like to root for the guy or the team that often wins. When I ask kids what their favorite NHL team are they often say Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings or Chicago Blackhawks. Hmmm, I wonder why? Perhaps its because in their young life they've seen/heard that the Penguins, Kings and Blackhawks have won Stanley Cups and they do pretty well every season. No one wants to be a fan of the Arizona Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets or Florida Panthers.

That's part of why Cena is still so popular. You see the kids in the audience with his gear on? A lot of them are like 5-8 years old. So that means as long as they've been watching WWE they've seen Cena be awesome. Winning often and winning championships and working hard every match. So if some of us are tired of 10+ years of the "same old crap" from Cena, a lot of his fans have only seen 3 or 4 years of his stuff so it's new enough to them.

That's why WWE continues to cater to young audiences because if they lose older audiences that's one thing but there are always new young kids who could get hooked and they have the time to watch all this WWE programming and probably ask and beg their parents to buy them merchandise, tickets and such.

I think Vince does pretty good at understanding programming WWE for kids but I think he's been actually pretty lucky keeping as many adults as he has because of his stubbornness to make WWE more engaging to adults by adding more stakes to matches and more logical storylines.

I hope to see the day where every Raw or SmackDown they clearly answer the questions: Who are the Champions? Why are they important? Who is gunning for them? Why? How are they going to get their match? Does anyone else have a compelling feud with someone else for a reason I could care about?

That's what adults probably care about more and is often lost in WWE.

Kids don't seem to care about that as much they seem to just care about the characters themselves, if they see them, if they have a good match and win and if they are beating up someone else they don't like.