Does your age play a role in what you want to see from WWE?

[shitsngiggles]

I was just thinking of this, if it should go in another section please feel free to move it, but I would like a view from WWE fans on my question:

Does your age play a role in what you want to see from WWE?

What I mean by this is, when I first watched WWF around '93/4 probably, I used to enjoy the action of it, the wrestling, used to hate the promos and wished they would just get in with the action. Didn't seem to matter who, or what the storyline was, I used to want the action. Used to watch it with my cousins so average age was about 9years old. We all wanted to see the action.

Fast forward to WCW/WWF going head to head, growing up a bit all of us now in our teens, and I started wanting to see promos and storylines but was still interested in the action when the matches were action packed. I used to enjoy DX, HHH, Stone Cold, Mankind, Sting, Hogan, Nash all the usual guys. The feuds and Storylines seemed to be more interesting I can't remember all of them. But anyway I started enjoying all aspects of the wrestling.
Gimmick matches were my favourite and still are these days I must confess. Cage, Cell, Last Man Standing, No DQ whatever, it adds more to match.

Now I took a hiatus after WCW/WWF/ECW all became WWE. I got bored of it all, gave up on it totally. Didn't really see Brock Lesnar or Cena or Orton come to the top. Wasn't interested, still not all that interested in Orton to be honest.

Anway, I came back to it around 2008 (I think). Was this the year of the Orton Vs HHH and the McMahons feud? Legacy etc? If not that is when I came back to it anway. Perhaps it was 2009. It was also the year of HBK Vs Undertaker part 1.
So now, I don't know whether it was the HHH feud or HBK/Undertaker (3 of my favourites) or what but I started watching again, the Orton and Legacy feud I thought was excellent, and HBK and Undertaker was also interesting.

Since then I've tuned in again weekly to RAW, don't watch Smackdown.
Now, I notice a pattern forming in my 20's. I want interesting storylines, I want to be challenged a little to figure out what might happen next, next week, next month etc.

I really don't care for most matches these days (is that wierd?) I mean I enjoy a good match still, but they only click if there is some story behind them. PG works for me if the people in the ring look like they are really going for it, them strong matches where it looks like some real energy is coming out of the guys in the ring.

I'm more interested in seeing a good story these days basically.

So my question is, does your age play a role in what you want to see?

And also for a bonus question, is there an area you think WWE is lacking that is perhaps making you lose interest that could be because of your age?

For example you're young and you think the matches are boring for a certain reason, or like me you're a little older and still think it is good but the storylines aren't good enough.

Please post your comments up, would like to hear some different views

 

[Jack-Hammer]

All in all, I don't think age plays a huge difference when you're talking about adults. Despite the crap you'll hear haters spew, the vast majority of WWE's audience consists of adult males. For some strange reason, there are a lot of internet fans that seem to think that if you're an adult, then you have to like something very specific. For instance, they think that you're automatically supposed to want guys swearing all over the place, women reduced to nothing more than mostly naked & brainless bimbos and blood flying all over the place if you're grown up.

At the end of the day, what ultimately draws adult fans to wrestling is what's drawn them forever: wrestlers that are able to make them care about their character & whatever they're involved in, storylines that you find appealing, watching those stories play out in both interesting promos & good wrestling matches.

When it comes to younger fans, a lot of them just like to see their favorite wrestlers regardless of what the storyline is. It was very much the same thing with me when I was a kid.

 

[theBec2101]

I would say yes but I am older now and still want to see more of an attitude era style and when I was younger I wanted to see it then. I think it’s more of ok when I was 15 or so I would have this and now that I am much older I can’t have it. It was to be watered down product. First of all they are not doing this for Family Entertainment strictly political only. It’s weird because they want to do everything to make it kid friendly but kids can’t vote, The person that has been watching your product for decades can though so you give them steak then take it away and give them bread and water. I would vote against Linda just on that cause. No seriously I wouldn’t vote for her either way.

 

[Redemption-2012]

Well I watched in 2003 and 2004, stopped in 2005 and then came back in 2006. 2007, I only watched half. In 2008, like the person who asked this, I came back half way through. Ever since 08, i've been a full time fan.

I am now 17, and I guess there has to be a compromise, I wouldn't say that age has to do with what we all wanna see, but rather how we understand it.

 

[DAMAN2000]

when people say that the kids are into cena and adults hate him that isn't true. It's more like people who only know todays cena are into him and people who know the edgeier cena hate who he is now. So in that case it;s not so much age but knowledge of the previous character.

In a more general view i think that age has a varied effect. In most cases kids are easily influenced (i am one) and whoever the older generation cheer or boo they cheer or boo. John Cena isn't included beacause he is heavily shoved down our throats as the number one babyface.

So in conclusion, in my opinion the age dosen't effect what we want as in the WWE universe there is a monkey see monkey do sort of thing going on.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

As I got older I definitely appreciate the inring action more. Now I know who can work, and who can't. So I think I'm opposite to you OP. I only really used to care about the characters and storylines when I was younger.

Being older I like storylines to not be completely stupid, and to be consistent with previous events. Also like more mature storylines, and that has drove me away from WWE pretty much.

 

[Slash-LN]

My mom used to sit me down in front of the tv when I was 3 to watch. I don't know what drew my attention then but she said I would hardly move at all. I'd just sit there and watch it.
Let's fast forward a few years into the early '90s when I thought wrestling was real. I always liked watching the confrontations that led to matches. It was entertaining to me to see that and then when there was finally a match between guys that had been going back and forth I was super into it. So I guess I was exactly what the WWF was looking for. I stayed that way for a long time.
Now I appreciate the build up but the payoff for me is still the match. I'd rather see a great match than watch a 20 minute promo even if it is a great promo. I just have more interest in the matches.

A friend of mine who is a year older than me is the other way. He likes the promos more and doesn't really get that much into the matches anymore. He said he hasn't watched WWE since June because he hasn't been interested in the storylines.

I have 4 nephews who watch (8,9,11,13) and they all like the matches. They get really restless when they have to sit and watch one of those 20 minute opening segments of people talking on Raw.

I don't know really if it's an age thing or just one of those things where everyone is just drawn to different things. We can't always control what our interests are.

 

[Wald]

Honestly the only time I have ever felt that it has was during the whole 'I hate PG Era' thing (it seems to have lessened off now. Now don't get me wrong, I hated every second of DX going to little people court and Cena making poop jokes, but I understood that the WWE were targetting an age group that I belonged to back in the late 80s/early 90s when they targetted me and my friends in a similar fashion.

The people who didn't seem to get it were people who came in during the Attitude Era and seemed to think that wrestling would always be like that. Those of us who witnessed Duke The Dumpster Droeseand co. in the New Generation knew differently.

It's the only time where I have felt a generation gap in wrestling fans. Go to a live show and you'll see that we all just want to boo the bad guy and cheer the good guy, even the ultimate smarks lose themselves at live shows. We're simply people wrestling fans, we really do just want to be entertained.

 

[shitsngiggles]

All in all, I don't think age plays a huge difference when you're talking about adults. Despite the crap you'll hear haters spew, the vast majority of WWE's audience consists of adult males. For some strange reason, there are a lot of internet fans that seem to think that if you're an adult, then you have to like something very specific. For instance, they think that you're automatically supposed to want guys swearing all over the place, women reduced to nothing more than mostly naked & brainless bimbos and blood flying all over the place if you're grown up.

At the end of the day, what ultimately draws adult fans to wrestling is what's drawn them forever: wrestlers that are able to make them care about their character & whatever they're involved in, storylines that you find appealing, watching those stories play out in both interesting promos & good wrestling matches.

When it comes to younger fans, a lot of them just like to see their favorite wrestlers regardless of what the storyline is. It was very much the same thing with me when I was a kid.

Ok so I think we've got kind of the same view on the product in general.

I used to prefer the Divas when I was about 12, girls in Bikinis don't do much for me these days blood used to be ok in certain matches, but I used to prefer the big moments, like Mankind off the top of the Cell, Shane McMahon off the Titantron, Jeff Hardy's various huge spots. All them kind of things, can't remember the last time I have seen one of them on RAW.

Your last paragraph is pretty true aswell, when I was young and didn't care about the storylines like I said, I liked characters no matter what and just wanted to see them people. Unless they were really annoying characters then it would be the opposite.

I didn't really care about good guy/bad guy. In some cases today I still don't.

I would say yes but I am older now and still want to see more of an attitude era style and when I was younger I wanted to see it then. I think it’s more of ok when I was 15 or so I would have this and now that I am much older I can’t have it. It was to be watered down product. First of all they are not doing this for Family Entertainment strictly political only. It’s weird because they want to do everything to make it kid friendly but kids can’t vote, The person that has been watching your product for decades can though so you give them steak then take it away and give them bread and water. I would vote against Linda just on that cause. No seriously I wouldn’t vote for her either way.

Yeah you're true there, I think putting on a pg show is stupid no matter what. Not many kids up at 10/11/12pm on the east coast.

Did you know RAW isn't even live in Canada anymore?

Well I watched in 2003 and 2004, stopped in 2005 and then came back in 2006. 2007, I only watched half. In 2008, like the person who asked this, I came back half way through. Ever since 08, i've been a full time fan.

I am now 17, and I guess there has to be a compromise, I wouldn't say that age has to do with what we all wanna see, but rather how we understand it.

Ok so, at 17 What would you say you enjoy most? The Matches, The Storyline? Or both?

I think everyone wants both! Obviously that is the whole product.

when people say that the kids are into cena and adults hate him that isn't true. It's more like people who only know todays cena are into him and people who know the edgeier cena hate who he is now. So in that case it;s not so much age but knowledge of the previous character.

In a more general view i think that age has a varied effect. In most cases kids are easily influenced (i am one) and whoever the older generation cheer or boo they cheer or boo. John Cena isn't included beacause he is heavily shoved down our throats as the number one babyface.

So in conclusion, in my opinion the age dosen't effect what we want as in the WWE universe there is a monkey see monkey do sort of thing going on.

Well people learn socially so that makes perfect sense.

I kind of know what you mean about Cena, I don't like him that much and I didn't watch the first Cena with his thugonomics? gimmick. I've seen some video of it though.

I think he could still be an babyface with some more edge, he needs something.

As I got older I definitely appreciate the inring action more. Now I know who can work, and who can't. So I think I'm opposite to you OP. I only really used to care about the characters and storylines when I was younger.

Being older I like storylines to not be completely stupid, and to be consistent with previous events. Also like more mature storylines, and that has drove me away from WWE pretty much.

Ok bit weird lol, wasn't expecting that but it makes perfect sense.

I think the matches lost some meaning for me when you get the "santa claus" part of wrestling and found out it isn't "real" lol.

That happened for me when I watched a few botched matches in the attitude era, there was also the fingerpoke of doom, and a few other things like that. When you're young I think you believe the action is more real, and don't really know it is scripted (I didn't). Maybe it is just me I've always like real action but you don't get much storyline with Boxing and Martial Arts.

Then growing up in school, Don't Try This At Home meant; Try it in the Garage, At School, and In the Park. So I once put a friend in a figure 4 for about 10 minutes and it didn't do anything. He wasn't even aching.

We also discovered the boston crab doesn't hurt if you're flexible enough. Single leg crab is pathetic.

We used to try pin eachover and found out if you got it right you could pin someone for a really long time! Without having to beat them up first lol

Not such a let down but funny anyway: Arm bar don't work if you're "double jointed" haha.

Then there was a match where I noticed for the first time Ric Flair (as now is to be expected or a given) Bladed himself. Kind of spoilt the blood aspect.

All these little things and many more, the santa claus of wrestling of wrestling I like to call it.

I still like good matches and moves though but storylines are my main "thing" these days.

 

[shitsngiggles]

My mom used to sit me down in front of the tv when I was 3 to watch. I don't know what drew my attention then but she said I would hardly move at all. I'd just sit there and watch it.
Let's fast forward a few years into the early '90s when I thought wrestling was real. I always liked watching the confrontations that led to matches. It was entertaining to me to see that and then when there was finally a match between guys that had been going back and forth I was super into it. So I guess I was exactly what the WWF was looking for. I stayed that way for a long time.
Now I appreciate the build up but the payoff for me is still the match. I'd rather see a great match than watch a 20 minute promo even if it is a great promo. I just have more interest in the matches.

A friend of mine who is a year older than me is the other way. He likes the promos more and doesn't really get that much into the matches anymore. He said he hasn't watched WWE since June because he hasn't been interested in the storylines.

I have 4 nephews who watch (8,9,11,13) and they all like the matches. They get really restless when they have to sit and watch one of those 20 minute opening segments of people talking on Raw.

I don't know really if it's an age thing or just one of those things where everyone is just drawn to different things. We can't always control what our interests are.

Ok so it can't be a total age thing then, so that answers my question It can't be because of when people started watching either because we've already got different ages and start times with different views.

I used to HATE! promos, now if a promo sucks or the person doing a promo is annoying, it just puts me off so I know what your nephews are going through lol.

Honestly the only time I have ever felt that it has was during the whole 'I hate PG Era' thing (it seems to have lessened off now. Now don't get me wrong, I hated every second of DX going to little people court and Cena making poop jokes, but I understood that the WWE were targetting an age group that I belonged to back in the late 80s/early 90s when they targetted me and my friends in a similar fashion.

The people who didn't seem to get it were people who came in during the Attitude Era and seemed to think that wrestling would always be like that. Those of us who witnessed Duke The Dumpster Droeseand co. in the New Generation knew differently.

It's the only time where I have felt a generation gap in wrestling fans. Go to a live show and you'll see that we all just want to boo the bad guy and cheer the good guy, even the ultimate smarks lose themselves at live shows. We're simply people wrestling fans, we really do just want to be entertained.

Sounds like you started watching before me. When I was young it was all Jake the Snake, Ric Flair, Hogan, Andre, Yokozuna (got to see him before he passed away), Macho Man, Mr Perfect etc. People like that. What I "think" of as the original WWF, which it isn't really, but was to me.

I think the last 4 years there has been some attitude era slowly coming back, then they seem to water it down again. But it seems fairly good at the moment in that respect. I'd like to see a bit more edge back in the product in general though.

 

[EastCoastFan]

I think when you became a wrestling fan has as much to do with it. Someone who became a fan in the 80's (like me) when wrestling shows were basically teasers to get people to come to the live shows and storylines played out slowly over months (and sometimes years) will look at wrestling differently than someone who became a fan during the Monday Night Wars when the Big Two did everything they could to get ratings points, and they will look at it differently than someone who became a fan only within the last few years.

 

[HBKperfect23]

I think age does matter simply because most people want to see the product resemble what it was when they enjoyed it most.

I think the WWE missed a huge oppurtunity with the Brand Extensions. Completely separate RAW/Smackdown, pretty much two different companys under Vince. One product could resemble the attitude era and one could be designed for PG /old school wrestling. You have something for everyone. If there is a dream match, its in your hands to send a guy to the other company.
I would have even liked to see WCW Nitro take over Smackdowns time slot and have never shut down. Maybe have a WWF vs WCW ppv once a year.

 

[rickyc]

I think when you became a wrestling fan has as much to do with it. Someone who became a fan in the 80's (like me) when wrestling shows were basically teasers to get people to come to the live shows and storylines played out slowly over months (and sometimes years) will look at wrestling differently than someone who became a fan during the Monday Night Wars when the Big Two did everything they could to get ratings points, and they will look at it differently than someone who became a fan only within the last few years.

Absolutely took the words right out of my mouth. Someone who began watching in the 80's will probably look at the constant title changes and quick story lines with more disgust than someone who just started watching a few years ago, and hasn't ever known about year long title reigns. Perhaps they will learn to appreciate them with this recent run from CM Punk though?

Secondly, age absolutely plays a part in what people enjoy in wrestling. In general, and there are always exceptions, younger kids are going to be much more enthralled by colorful characters and the action than an older crowd who will be more interested in ingenious, thought provoking, non-dumb story lines, and well, still the action. I myself would put myself in the exception category because story lines have never really interested me. I learned at a very young age that the thing I enjoyed most about wrestling was the actual artform of putting on a match. I have always enjoyed wrestlers who are able to tell a compelling story in the ring rather than those who could cut amazing promos. Hence, I have always enjoyed wrestlers such as Ricky Steamboat, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and my all time favorite, HBK, more than Hogan, Rock, and Austin. I know, based on ratings and how much those three made money, that I am in the minority, but I guess that is just the way it goes.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I agree with the theory that the day & age in which you become a fan plays a big roll. I also subscribe to the theory that wrestling is cyclical & therefore at whatever point you "entered the cycle" is probably the point you revere the most. I think whatever got the persons attention in the first place is probably what they prefer & most likely what they compare the rest of the product to.

While I would have to think age definately plays a part in preferences, people can always learn more about the past or evolve with the future & change their minds about something at any given time.

I think another thing that plays a big roll in a fans preference is what organization or company they grow up on or become a fan of first. Each different company from WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA, ROH, or any around the world have a specific style, production, & roster of performers. And becoming familiar with a specific company, style, performer, etc. can all play parts in what you expect from the product.

So while I think age will always play a factor, it is only one of a few factors IMO. And I think there are many people like myself that even when they see a segment or match they don't enjoy all that much, they find something out of it to gain or be entertained by.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

I would explain it from the angle of human psychology...

When you are younger you don't expect much. You want Hogan/Austin/Cena to win all the times, you want them to kick some bad guy asses and thats it. You don't care if it's scripted, you just want simple action movie storyline: good guy kick some bad guys asses. You want your top guy to win and thats all...

As you get older you want more. You know it's scripted but your expectations are bigger now. Now you just don't want your hero to win all the times, you want him to have good storylines and good match in which he would express all his qualities. Your expectations are changed and it's much more difficult to live through them.

In explanation to this: When you are younger it's much more easier to be happy with the product, you just need top guy win and thats it. When you get older, it's not that easy to be happy with the product because you expect more. So, age does mather because expectations are different and more harder to satisfy as you get older.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I guess if you are older there's a tendency to be more critical of a product then when you were much younger. But overall the answer is no. I started become a big wrestling fan at 1997 when I was 14 or 15.

Nothing really changed to be honest in terms of the guys I wanted to cheer for, it never mattered to me who was the heel or the face all I want was to see the guy I liked win. Bret Hart (97 Heel), Austin (Face), Triple H (Heel), Jericho (Face), Angle (Heel then Face), and to today CM Punk (Heel). I never really cared who was the heel or the face as long as that person was fun to watch on TV.

Also what I always like consistency. Story lines that pushed through and respectable/long title reigns. It does seem that everytime there's an era when title reigns are passed like a hot potato I lose interest. 1999 and 2008 - 2010 are examples when I didn't invest too much on the WWE because the World Title reigns were being passed on too much.

 

[Wald]

I think age does matter simply because most people want to see the product resemble what it was when they enjoyed it most.

I think the WWE missed a huge oppurtunity with the Brand Extensions. Completely separate RAW/Smackdown, pretty much two different companys under Vince. One product could resemble the attitude era and one could be designed for PG /old school wrestling. You have something for everyone. If there is a dream match, its in your hands to send a guy to the other company.
I would have even liked to see WCW Nitro take over Smackdowns time slot and have never shut down. Maybe have a WWF vs WCW ppv once a year.

I believe that was the initial idea with the Invasion angle, for WCW to eventually take over Monday Nights (weirdly enough, but maybe Vince thought the Thursday night prime time slot fitted WWE better). That obviously got derailed

 

[SmattyG]

I think age matters, but only as much as the years you have been watching the product. When I was a kid I didn't get to see much WWWF until Hulkamania era, but I was really into the larger than life characters like Andre, Bulldog Brower and Ox Baker. As a young teen I cheered for Hogan like everybody else. Wrestlemania III was very weird for me, coz I'd been watching Andre since I was 5 and really wanted him to win. In Australia we didn't get much of the back story at the time either, so didn't know why Andre was playing the heel.

In my 20s I just loved the whole damn thing - every character was interesting in the Attitude Era - watching Crash Holly was just as much fun as watching The Rock. Well, kinda...but you get the idea...

Now I'm nearly 42 - I like cohesive storylines. I still like the big guys that can actually tell a story like Kane, Sheamus, Barrett and Big Show (a remnant from my love of larger than life guys as a kid I'm Sure).

But what I love most is just the technical athleticism of some of the matches. This week my favourite match was Cesaro V Tyson Kidd on NXT for the US Title. Just a fantastic match from start to finish, and with a title on the line.

One more thing, since 1976, for me, it's ALWAYS been about the titles. I wish they didn't give them away so cheaply, but I think they're improving again.

Great thread by the way - I like the ones that get me thinkin'

 

[silrock316]

All in all, I don't think age plays a huge difference when you're talking about adults. Despite the crap you'll hear haters spew, the vast majority of WWE's audience consists of adult males. For some strange reason, there are a lot of internet fans that seem to think that if you're an adult, then you have to like something very specific. For instance, they think that you're automatically supposed to want guys swearing all over the place, women reduced to nothing more than mostly naked & brainless bimbos and blood flying all over the place if you're grown up.

At the end of the day, what ultimately draws adult fans to wrestling is what's drawn them forever: wrestlers that are able to make them care about their character & whatever they're involved in, storylines that you find appealing, watching those stories play out in both interesting promos & good wrestling matches.

When it comes to younger fans, a lot of them just like to see their favorite wrestlers regardless of what the storyline is. It was very much the same thing with me when I was a kid.

While I agree with what you said about adult fans caring about which wrestlers are able to make them care but because of MY AGE(32) I tend to like wrestlers differently now. I like the CM Punks and Orton when he was a heel, the more edgy characters and I have ZERO need to see the likes of Cena(his character), Kofi. Guys like those two are tailor-made for the younger audience. So because of my age and majority, I just dont enjoy them. I don't need to see naked women or curse words but I do like seeing edgier things like when Austin went after Pillman at his house. That is something I would LOVE to see again.

 

[Wolver]

Yeah, I guess. The thing is nowadays I dont watch WWE because its WWE as much as before. Now I watch it for one or two guys, because the product they give sucks and I just cant follow the rest. Not sure what others believe but the current product is driving me away, if they did a big mistake of pushing or depushing a guy who isnt better than the other guy, I will have to stop watching.

 

[Xkimo]

I only started watching WWE in 2010, and I'm 22 at this moment. I think age demographics might mean less than the amount of time you've spent watching and really absorbing the product. For the past year or so I've tried not to miss Raw or Smackdown as much as possible and I make sure I watch the PPVs whenever there are some.

I would say my favourite thing to see since I really got into it are the very convoluted skits that sometimes occur at the beginning of a show when they have many main event players all stating their case for why the fans should care about them. One that came to mind was back when they were trying to determine who should challenge CM Punk for the WWE championship back at TLC 2011, Miz, ADR, Dolph and Cena were all out in the ring to state their case and then John Laurinaitis came out and gave them all a shot to get the title. The more people involved in a story to complicate things, whether it be factions or multiple angles, the better and more intriguing it can become. When its just 1 guy feuding with another I tend to become bored if the two feud for too long, but with other people inserted (like Kane between Bryan and Punk over the late spring/early summer) it changes it up and reignites the story. Alliances and hostilities between multiple parties will always be my favourite aspect, I may have started watching it late, but that's my two cents as a "newcomer" I guess.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Yes, your age absolutely has to do with what you want to see from the WWE. If you grew up watching the product during the Hogan era, you are going to have a strong sense of nostalgia about that era and you will most likely want to see something similar from the WWE. If you grew up during the Attitude Era you are likely going to want the product to have the same kind of feel as it did then.

Of course this doesn't apply to every fan, as some fans realize the need for the product to undergo radical changes from time to time, but most people want wrestling to be similar to when they initially became a fan, because the qualities that wrestling had when they became a fan are what caused them to become a fan in the first place, so those tend to be the qualities they like. This is why you always see people calling for wrestling to return to what is was like when they were a kid, because that's when most people first become fans and they have a fondness for the era that hooked them.

I'm 20 years old now, and I started watching around 1999-2000 so I have a bit of a nostalgic bias towards the Attitude Era. A lot of 80s wrestling fans think the Attitude Era is a shit stain on the history of the professional wrestling business, because its so different then the type of wrestling they know and love, which I completely understand.

It's important that we put our fandom in perspective.

 

[TripleCrown]

I'm 56 and started watching years ago but I didn't really mind some of the changes. While I grew up with Hogan, Savage, etc. - and have a partiality to that era - I actually liked the Attitude stuff, too. It brought SCSA and anybody in theri right mind had to love the chance to "live vicariously' through a character who talked to his boss and did things to his boss that I would venture to say most of us at least fantasized about doing to whoever we work for. The only thing I could never stomach - and the one instance where I think WWE went to far - was the katie vick thing. Even in profressional wrestling there are some lines that are just no okay to cross and that whole idea crossed all lines.

In a way I kind of dont' get the PG thing, though, and I'd be interested in hearing anyone else's thoughts on this. When I think about it, it doesn't make sense to me to try to tone this down so much because the premise of the programming is still people beating the holy h_ll out of each other. Even after they've taken all the blood out there is no way to make wrestling "soft and gentle" without making the product unmarketable and looking completely ridiculous. It seems that Linda is about to lose in another election and I kind of wonder if the programming wll change some after Nov.6.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Of course age plays a role. I liked different things when I was a young douche back in the early 80's then I do now. Obviously younger kids today will like different stuff too. I was a Hogan mark until I was 13. So things change.

I don't mind wrestling having an Edge because I was an ECW fan and liked some of the AE stuff. I just don't like to see them doing stuff for shock value alone. Kind of like Russo booking.

But I don't get the PG thing. Wrestling has been PG for most of the time I have been watching. I don't care about the rating I care about the story lines and the in-ring action. Hell WCW was PG but it didn't matter because the nWo was hot and the mid carders were ripping shit up. You can still be PG and edgy at the same time. But not when your wife is in politics I guess.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I don't know really if it's an age thing or just one of those things where everyone is just drawn to different things. We can't always control what our interests are.

I agree with this.
I myself started watching in the late attitude era and really got into it during the Ruthless Aggression Era I took a year off in 04 but came back right after the draft when John Cena was the champion feuding with Chris Jericho. I personally love every bit of WWE and always have from the promos to matches to video packages everything. There are some people who I may not like (Cena not being one of them but Orton is) but overall I love it and am excited to see where it will go in the future.

But to answer the question, age does matter to a certain extent because young people who only watched post 2007 may not want blood because of the lack of it I however being a huge Ruthless Aggression want blood back in the WWE that made matches seem that much more brutal.

But in short, age matters to a certain extent but if you really love you'll stay with it or at least come back to it. There has been many a time where I just wanted to give it up and never watch again but I damn sure tuned in that next Raw or Smackdown or what have you to see if it'd get better and it often did. Sorry if that's sorta roundabout.