"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."

[Danger Burger]

We all watch wrestling. Its good. Soothes the soul. Its cathartic.
But what happens if the wrestling isnt good enough anymore??

Brothers and sisters, I am a wrestling fan. I gladly tune in everyweek to watch this overhyped game of twister and am likely to do so for atleast a short while longer. As are you. But should we? Should we fearlessly hand ourselves over to the powers that be of wrestling each week in the hopes of... finding a deeper meaning, or whyever we choose to do so??

I'v been watching the 1976 movie Network and found the true meaning of the film to be about the submissive demeanour of the WWE Universe as we are so lovingly known.

Using quotes taken liberally from IMDB, I urge you to turn of your televisions next monday night. As Howard Beale put it: I want you to go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."

Did you watch RAW this week? Thats a rhetorical question. We already know the answer. Yes we did watch RAW this week. And will we watch it next week? Yes we will. And Money in the Bank? Why the hell not, I am paying for it.

Louise Schumacher: Do you love her?
Max Schumacher: I don't know how I feel. I'm grateful I can feel anything.
[his wife flinches]
Max Schumacher: I know I'm obsessed with her.

That is our relationship with wrestling in a nutshell. Were obsessed. We love it. Or, atleast, we wish we loved it. The sad thing is, we dont. Nowhere near it. We're simply obsessed. We're grateful to have any sort of wrestling at all. And they know it. We'll be back.

'They' refers to the WWE, i'm not much on conspiracy theories yet. They know that every week we'll be back. The old glory days of the war are long over. Granted, we still have a few terrorist cells in TNA and... No wait, thats the lot of them, but its hardly enough to put a dent in the smoothly run military state of the WWE universe.

If youve watched TNA lately, you may have noticed a steady increase, at the very least, in effort atleast. Those bearded folk hiding in their cave with however miniscule amounts of people watching have found themselves sitting on a nuclear warhead. Their product is good, getting better, and well above the standard of what their veiwership reflects. They could destroy the world, the universe, but they have nothing to shoot with.

Whilst watching WWE lately,you must have noticed a mild 'haze' falling over what once a beautiful and glorious product. There are high points, you know them well. But the show its self has become, at best; average, and at worst; an insult to itself and its closest companions, the ever faithful universe. WWE is not mediocre. It is not average. And it certainly is not sub-par. We know this, we have watched for years. We know the talent, we know the production crew, we know the money, the drive and the potential. So why is it coming to us weekly as a shell of itself??

Diana Christensen: The time has come to re-evaluate our relationship, Max.

We need to remember who is in control. We are. They depend on us.

Max Schumacher: You need me. You need me badly. Because I'm your last contact with human reality. I love you. And that painful, decaying love is the only thing between you and the shrieking nothingness you live the rest of the day.

It is truly a labour of love for us, but we must abandon the WWE. Not permanantly, not even short term. Just one night at a time. We have the power in our remotes to dismantle a universe.

We all know how easy it is to not pay for the WWE. There are hundred of website that i wont name here where you can watch live, you can watch later and you can download anything they put out. We can still watch our loved ones twist again like they did last summer. They just dont need to know were watching. They need our lving act to get them to stand in line, tuck their guts in, shine their shoes and entertain.

I watched RAW live this week. Indirectly they earned a few cents from my participation. We dont need to go into detail as to how RAW was regarded this week. And its not the first week this has been the case. Nor will it be the last until we act. I will not be tuning in next week. I will not order and pay for Money in the Bank. I will watch them, but i will not pay. If they are good, i will tune in next week. If they are not, i will steal, gladly. I will tune in to TNA and do the very same. If I am entertained, they will get my money. Infact, i will have my own personal war. Only one company will get my cheque at the end of the month. And they will have to earn it.

"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."

This was never meant for the spam sections... But i respect the forums here, and feel i may have crossed a line.

The questions:

Why do you continue watching after an abysmal week?

Why not stand up and be counted?

Do the WWE or TNA deserve to have their products purchased, if it is not sold with any merit or honour?

Are you not mad as hell??

 

[Slyfox696]

Phenomenal movie. And just as relevant today as it was 35 years ago.

 

[The Talon]

So, see you next week?

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Why do you continue watching after an abysmal week?

Because wrestling has bad weeks, it has good weeks. This was more of a good than bad week. TNA delivered with Destination X, Impact Wrestling just finished and was a pretty good show, Raw was pretty hit and miss, won't go too much into it but the good certainly outweighs the bad. Every sport and television series has good matches, good episodes, bad matches, bad episodes. Not everything can be to everybody's standard all the time.

Why not stand up and be counted?

I'm not too sure what this means but, WWE don't cater solely to me as a fan. I enjoy wrestling. I watch three promotions consistently and throw in some others when I can. Sometimes if I didn't like what I saw on Raw, may like what I see on Impact, don't like what I saw on Impact, may like what I see on Smackdown, don't like that I got Ring of Honor. Four shows, maybe even a pay-per-view over the weekend, at least one has to produce something I'm going to enjoy.

And hell, some weeks all of them hit the nail on the head. Sometimes as a fan, you need to just stop complaining and go with the flow.

Do the WWE or TNA deserve to have their products purchased, if it is not sold with any merit or honour?

They're companies. They decide to place some events for purchase. It's not a case of they deserve to have the pay-per-views booked, it's a case of, I want to purchase them because I feel a satisfaction from watching wrestling. Helps me relax, gets me excited at times, lets me laugh, I purchase the majority of WWE and ROH pay-per-views because I want to, whether they deserve it or not is irrelevant, not when I enjoy what I'm purchasing.

Are you not mad as hell??

Can't say I am, no.

 

[Danger Burger]

I'll be in the crowd holding a sign that reads: "NO MORE".

Thanks for read atleast!

 

[FlexAmerican Dynamite]

When I feel as angry about wrestling as this guy I know I need to either stop watching wrestling, or watch other enjoyable wrestling. Nobody is being forced to watch RAW and you will most likely be watching MITB and then the RAW afterwards.

 

[The Brain]

Why do you continue watching after an abysmal week?

I enjoy watching wrestling. Despite how some people (such as yourself) talk about it there is zero effort put into watching wrestling. It's a tv show. There are plenty of other things you can do if you don't like the show. You are not forced to watch. Don't make it sound like you are sacrificing something by watching tv for free. Treat it like any other show. If you don't like it just change the channel.

Why not stand up and be counted?

For what? If I don't watch Raw next week what will the consequences be? Nothing.

Do the WWE or TNA deserve to have their products purchased, if it is not sold with any merit or honour?

Sure they deserve to have their products purchased if someone enjoys them enough that they are willing to pay for them. If some people feel it is worth paying $55 for MITB then they will spend the money. I will be at a local bar watching the show for free. I don't usually complain about stuff I get for free. I used to order every ppv but started watching them at the bar in 2007. WWE stopped getting my $55 every month. I did not take a stand. Even if this was the greatest era ever in wrestling I still wouldn't buy the shows simply because I can watch them for free elsewhere.

Are you not mad as hell??

No

 

[Danger Burger]

I'm not too sure what this means

I know there are good and bad weeks, but i never before have let that be reflected in my actions. I'm tired of complaining, and reading complaints. I know TNA have been doing a stellar job lately, so i focused on the WWE product here.

The stand up and be counted was in reference to the idea of not tuning in. Raw is just as good the next day on a laptop. I just wish that after a crud week, WWE would not get the same darn ratings as every other week. It is a problem with Live tv that the results cant be shown direct, and only the week after... Sure we could change the channel, but the show could turn around at any moment. But if i say "if this is the stndard of the show, then i wont watch" and say... two million others do likewise... Tune in after a good week, out after a bad... Its pointless i know.

I agree alot more with what you said than what i said (which i must admit was 40% in jest)... But im doing it anyway, because i'm too ignorant to do otherwise!

 

[JGlass]

Network is one of my all time favorite movies. And it may sound crazy, but I always thought it was a commentary on the professional wrestling industry.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Love Network and was brilliant on so many levels. It truly is a timeless classic.

Why do you continue watching after an abysmal week?

Everyone has a bad week, doesn't mean next week will be. If its a long string of bad weeks I may take a break though.

Why not stand up and be counted?

Who says I don't?

Do the WWE or TNA deserve to have their products purchased, if it is not sold with any merit or honour?

Most certainly. They have their niche of fans who enjoy the shit out of their products.

Are you not mad as hell??

Not anymore. Even 2-3 years ago I was but not anymore. Although I don't enjoy it as much as I used to I still enjoy it. Besides, if you compare anything to its best periods it will look like shit. NFL was more enjoyable in the 80's if you ask me, doesn't mean today's NFL isn't awesome as well.

 

[Miko]

Because I am an addict, and wrestling is the drug. I was tricked, hooked on by the proper stuff, given free doses by friendly gentlemen with big smiles until I required a need. "Oh" they'd say, "just have some on us," they'd say, "why not?" I'd say, its not like its hurting anyone is it? Just a bit of fun, you know, at parties, makes me more confident, I finally have something to discuss with everybody else around the water cooler. I am no longer a social outcast.

Then it all went south, one cartel smashed the other out of business, no more competition, the top ingredients became impossible to obtain, but by then its too late, there is only one supplier and they can supply whatever they want to the drug frenzied masses. I am already hooked, watching years and years of a sub-par product during which HHH is the best quality available, crap storylines, no one worth watching, but still you do. You know its cheap, tacky, cut with flour and sugar, and anything else they can lay their hands on. Too late you realise that the grinning gentlemen werent grinning like friends, but like sharks, no more free samples, now I am paying over the odds for stuff that barely gives me a fix anymore, not after the quality of what went before, so you need more and more adequate stuff to soothe it, more PPV's, more weekly shows, anything to give me a wrestling fix the likes of which went before.

If I was capable, I'd lean out of the window and shout what you told me too, but by next monday I'll be crawling back, after having sold my Mum's jewellry and my own little brother in order to pay for Sky Sports, so I can get my wrestling fix again.

If you are not going to help us, please dont judge us.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Why do you continue watching after an abysmal week?

Well... I don't lol haven't watched raw live since around the time Miz had the title, it was just getting too crap for me and I hear now it's got even worse. I do watch the odd PPV now and then but that's about it for WWE. TNA I watch regularly though because I enjoy it.

Why not stand up and be counted?

Hey, what more can I do?

Do the WWE or TNA deserve to have their products purchased, if it is not sold with any merit or honour?


Depends on the card, usually no.

Are you not mad as hell??

Nah I'm really enjoying TNA and I always have old matches to watch so I get my wrestling fix just fine.

 

[Coco]

I'll be in the crowd holding a sign that reads: "NO MORE".

Did you pay for a seat in the crowd?

 

[DirtyD79]

Do the WWE or TNA deserve to have their products purchased, if it is not sold with any merit or honour?

No which is why if you hate them so much you should watch something else like ROH, CZW, Dragon Gate, Chikara, or your local indy feds. They're out there. If you feel wrestling needs saving or whatever then it's up to you to do the work, find and watch those feds. That's the only way Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter will get the message. If all you're gonna do is grouse on the netterwebs sorry but you're just preaching the choir. As long as you're being an enabler nothing will change. They won't bother doing anything to fix their product until the ratings are so far in the basement they have no choice. If you're truly mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore, then don't take it anymore. Watch something else.