I would bet a large sum of money that I will be the only person to post the following reason.
Its because my wife is a habitual viewer.
If it wasn't for her, I would happily watch RAW later in the week on my computer while fast forwarding through 75% of it like I do when I am out traveling on business or before I was married.
I did and still would watch the PPVs for the possibility of good matches or major angle advancements, but that would be it.
I hope it is not THAT large. Would not want to see you homeless and hungry. My wife WORSHIPS Roman Reigns, and not only watches Raw, but she DVRs it for later watching. I had to drag her, kicking and screaming in Tagalog, to a PWS show. And, she got a nice picture with PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) and PWS regular, Craig Steele. While Raw and SD are on, I am on the internet, looking for good matches while the crap promos and matches are on.
That said, I think the problem is that those of us who are fans of pro wrestling are finding that we finding other promotions, and are comparing WWE to those promotions. We are finding that WWE has ONLY the peripherals that are superior: Sets, lighting, production value, glitz and glamour. But, when it comes to ACTION and general FUN factor, your average Indy promotion, Japan, Mexico and RoH towers above. That is because WWE tries to be all things to all people. When you do that, you become nothing to nobody. This is what we are seeing now. They are trying to serve so many masters that WWE has become almost incoherent. They have Western Unioned storylines that even Helen Keller could see right through. Tommy Dreamer showing up at Raw was a breath of fresh air in what was a massive sewage chamber of a Raw.
So, why do we watch? We watch to hope that someone, anyone, can make this interesting. We watch so that if our favorites do get Future Endeavored, we can go out of our way to support them in the Indies. We watch so we got something to compare it to. And, some of us watch because we are just to damn lazy to search for good pro wrestling elsewhere. As for some on this board? Some of them are Sports Entertainment fans and not pro wrestling fans. If you put WWE in a PWS set, how many of them WOULD stop watching? If you took PWS, and declared it another branch of WWE, how many on this board would demand that Starman, The Drunken Swashbuckler, and Habib from the Car Wash get pushed right to the Main Event at Wrestlemania? You would be surprised how powerful those three letters, WWE, are in the eyes of those who watch TV of wrestling.
D_Henderson, you say we should be praising McMahon for all he has done. If anything, he has made it better for the PERFORMERS who are at the top of the business. There was a time when wrestlers were horrifically abused and taken advantage of. MVP once mentioned on Impact about the "hot dog and a handshake". Well, that was reality back in the days of the territories. Capt. Lou Albano once talked about going to Washington D.C. for a match, and getting paid $5, just enough for gas and a six pack. Look at former WWF stars like Bob Backlind and Tito Santana? Tito is teaching in New Jersey, and is 6 years from collecting a pension from it. What does he have from WWF? Bupkis. Backlund had to go back in the 90's to make money, period. Look at Kamala? Has no legs and in f-ing poverty. Iron Sheik needs a hip replacement and is has never shaken his demons. If those four broke into the business today, they would be rich beyond belief. Do you think Adam Rose, Sandow, Ryback, Zack Ryder and Heath Slater would be making money in the Territorial Era? The hell they would. If I give McMahon any credit at all, it was to make conditions better for performers.
Ad for the actual PRODUCT? McMahon has hurt the industry in ways that most here could not fathom. The Territories allowed for a greater distribution of talent. You guys cry about Ryback not getting a push. He would be getting it in California. Daniel Bryan would be at Don Owen's hip in Portland. Adam Rose would have had his matches called by Gordon Solie in Florida. CM Punk and Nick Bockwinkel (May he rest in Peace) would be dropping pipe bombs on each other in the AWA. Jerry Lawler would be ruling Memphis, and Afa and Sika would be introducing Roman Reigns, and he would be under the tutelage of Capt. Lou Albano (May he Rest in Peace). What I am saying? They would ALL have had a chance in the Territorial Era because the talent was far more spread out than it is now. Every federation got TV time. Did not matter if it was WWWF, CWF, CWA, Mid-Atlantic, Portland Wrestling. You saw a TV Guide, and in it would be some listing for the weekly showing of XYZ Wrestling.
What the territories also did was give a new jack what he needed: ring time and reps. Today, you are lucky to get a match a month. Maybe 4 matches a month. But, in the Territorial Era, you were a new jack, you wrestled every goddamned night. And, you had to get yourself there in your old, broken down, jalopy of a car. You bathed in rest rooms. You slept in your car. Your meals included cold baked beans, sardines, Spam, and maybe a soggy hot dog. You had to travel 4-500 miles in a single night from this one horse town to another. Performing in gyms before 100-200 fans in towns that are usually passed through on the Interstate. It was a hard and brutal life. It also instilled a love for the business. Because only those who loved the business could survive. The business that was pro wrestling was a calling.
Today, most see it as a job and not a calling. You see that on Raw, SD, and to a lesser extent on Impact. And, we as fans see it. We see many times wrestlers phoning in matches and promos. Take a look at the promos cut in the Territorial Era? You'd think that if they screwed up the promo, the World would open up and swallow them whole. Promos were brilliantly thought out. Delivered from the heart. They felt it. You felt it. You wanted to go to wherever that match was, come hell or high water. Forget Dusty Rhodes (May he Rest in Peace), Ric Flair and Bockwinkel. Even a lower mid-carder like Bobby Jaggers could cut a promo that would put the entire WWE roster to shame. Nobody on today's roster could cut a heart-felt promo that would make you buy a ticket. Why? they are getting $8K a week whether they cut one or not. So?
Sorry for the rant, but in closing, VKM only deserves credit in making PERFORMERS lives better. Nothing else. As for why we still watch and post on this board? Because we want to see the product get better, with the hope that it actually will. And, we wish to share that experience with each other on this board. That is, in the end, our choice.
