IWC's Criticism Of WWE: It's Not You, It's Me

[Tha Wolfpac]

What everybody is forgetting is that first and foremost the WWE and TNA are busniesses, million dollar corporations, the WWE might even be billions but the point is they are a business. In the business department of things WWE trumps TNA by far, the facts prove it, facts do not lie.

In the end it all comes down to personal choice and liking, in this current age i don't really have a problem with either promotion, but that is not saying from time to time they both put on a shitty angle or shitty match, that is just wrestling you can't always have amazing matches their has to be a downtime. There is very few ideas in wrestling we havent seen so that plays a major factor. But in the end it all comes down to personal liking.

 

[eezy1]

Ive said this a million times "wrestling" needs devolution right now. WWE has taken it too far away from what made it the product that entertained and sucked millions and millions of us into it. Bring back the unbelievable OTT characters/personalties, stick them in far fetched storylines with a little more depth. They have tried to put too much reality into the product and make it a fcuking soap opera for tv. Its all rushed and bland and just piss poor for the most part these days. It can be devolved but the fact is most of the workers arent what they once were both in and out of the ring. Back in the days there was alot more strength in depth in the roster and even the jobbers had a gimmick that they could pull off well. Fuck looking for a new approach, take it back and start again.

 

[Nada]

Well written article even if i disagree

I want everyone to do 1 thing here, look at the crowd at WWE Raw (or Smackdown) in 2010, watch the crowd, listen to what they are cheering.

Then watch the crowd in 1998, just watch and listen


You see, that crowd in 1998 and in 2010 barely has 5% of the so called "IWC", most of those people are casual wrestling fans, they dont follow anything other than the shows.


Forget IWC and just look at the crowd, look at them go crazy over midcarders like Road Dogg and "Bad Ass" Billy Gun, look at them today?

The casual fans are right on your TV guys, just notice the reactions of the people when promos happen, watch a Mr McMahon promo then a Sheamus promo or any heel in WWE atm.

My Point: The declining ratings, PPV buys, attedance, the recent RAW was reported right here on WZ to have around 5-6.000 people that is absolutely absurd, they once could pull in 40.000 just to watch Austin chuck a few beers down.

That is the casual, non IWC fans right there, Casual fans of anything will not go on the internet to complain about something, whether it be a wrestling show, videogame, movie etc, they will just not invest time or money and that will be that.

When you only have 5-6 thousand people for a premier WWE Raw show, that tells me that perhaps casual fans arent happy either.

 

[shattered dreams]

I'd almost bought your argument until I thought about it some more. The issue of the fanbase simply growing up has always been around. If it was that simple then why wasn't it such an issue during the attitude era that people hooked in the 80s had grown up? In fact for almost every generation until this one the audiences steadily increased (when looked at in larger samples) to the height of the attitude era. Then something happened. I do not claim to know exactly what started it but it sure seems like when the competition disappeared it did not take things long to go downhill. The issue is not that people have grown up, it is that WWE has failed to retain the grownup fans. Part of it probably goes back to the nipplegate and how somehow or another the R rated movie etc died in the name of the almighty dollar. Edgy became much more of a niche audience and WWE gambled that opposed to retaining their audience that might not be as large as they would like, they could attract a new larger audience to the product.

The reasons fans of some previous generations get on WWE is that WWE pretty much abandoned them. That combined with a stale in-ring product, which came from a combination of lack of competition and relevant safety issues, have really dwindled the audience. It might pay dividends later but right now it leaves a gap. It is not nostalgia that causes older fans to dislike many elements of WWE, it is the fact that the product is not intended for them. To me, that gives them every right to say they do not like the product. It is supposed to not be good in their eyes presently. Until the WWE actually does attract the new fanbase it seems fair to question their methods, even if there is a certain amount of business sense behind them.

 

[Twiztid Rodimus]

We all know the IWC can be very critical of WWE. It’s almost like they’re not happy if they’re not complaining. If it’s not PG it’s Cena and his “5 moves of doom.” If it’s not that it’s about their favorites not getting pushed. They crave the good old days when wrestling was great. The funny thing is the good old days are different to different people. Some say the good old days were when Hulkamania was running wild. Others say it was when Bret and Shawn were putting on great match after great match. Most will tell you it was when Austin was raising hell and The Rock was electrifying sold out arenas throughout the world during the attitude era. Whatever you consider the good old days to be a lot of people seem to agree we are not living in them now. All the typical complaints can be cast aside because I know the main reason why so many in the IWC are not happy with today’s WWE and it has nothing to do with the product.

It’s because we’ve grown up. We crave the good old days because it takes us back to a simpler more fun time in life. Everything is more fun when you’re a kid. Everything is a bigger deal and everything seems larger than life. I’m sure everyone has a certain movie or cartoon show from their youth that will always hold a special place in their heart. Nothing beats nostalgia. In 1989 the feud between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage seemed like the biggest thing in the world. What else did I have going on in my life? Now I have a job to go to, bills to pay, family issues, and the real world to deal with. As we gain experience we lose imagination. With all the knowledge I’ve gained about wrestling over the years I highly doubt even the most brilliant storyline will capture my imagination as they did during my youth. I can still find entertainment in wrestling but regardless of how good a storyline is I doubt I’ll go to bed with it on my mind awaiting the next ppv like it’s the main thing in my life. I used to live for a WWF ppv. Now sometimes I forget there is a ppv until the day of the show. When I was a kid Hulk Hogan was a superhero. I cheered for him. I wore his t shirt. I hung his poster on my wall. I didn’t know and didn’t care about backstage politics or his somewhat limited repertoire. I was a kid and I looked up to him the way kids look up to Cena today. I respect and accept Cena as the face of the company today, but I am not going to cheer him like I did Hogan. It’s not because I don’t like him because I do. It’s because I’m an adult and although I still enjoy the product I’m not going to be hanging a poster of someone close to my own age on my wall. The ten year olds who have the Cena posters on their wall right now will be here in 15 years complaining about whoever the main event guy is and telling everyone about the good old days when John Cena was on top. I guarantee it.

I think I’m older than most on this forum. As life goes on you can keep wrestling in your life and while it can always be enjoyable it will become less and less important. The older you get the further away those good old days become. I wish I could be a kid all over again but those days are gone forever. It’s just something we all have to accept in life. Leave those days where they belong; in the past and in your memories. If all you do is wish for the good old days you won’t be able to enjoy today.

Believe me I’m just as guilty as anybody of yearning for the good old days and quite frankly a lot of us do it just for the sake of conversation. If we just accepted and agreed with everything we saw the forums wouldn’t be much fun. I guess my point is despite all the complaints WWE isn’t as bas as it’s made out to be. Are there some things I’d like to change? Sure there are, but I’m going to stick with it as long as I find entertainment in it. When it stops entertaining me I’ll say thanks for the good times and move on.

This has to be one of the most, well written and heartfelt posts I have read on this site, and I commend you highly for this.

I myself, am 27 years old. The times you speak of I remember just as fondly, and I have spoken many times to my fiance on how fickle and sometimes spoiled the IWC acts most of the time.

I have many, MANY memories, but the one that resembles what you speak of. Seeing Hogan lose to the Warrior, I cried on that day. Warrior was a ''Face'',but to me that term didnt exist, It was hogan or nothing in my opinion. I didnt care about Warriors backstage work ethic, Or hogans lack of moves as you stated as well, It was the belief.

And in time, I grew, and became more mature, as did my interests in favorite character/Storylines. In came Ecw and Japanese wrestling in 1994,tape trading and such to see Muta, Liger, Hayabusa etc. And I found different appreciation for outside the box wrestling, yet still loved Wwe/Wcw.

When did all this change? It wasn't wcw folding,Ecw folding,Wwe changing to Pg or anything, It was exactly what you said, I got older, Yet I still watch

We rob the younger kids the great experiences that we had when we came up. We, as jaded as we are, Boo Cena, Though he does NOTHING as a character to deserve this. We use our ''Knowledge'' to cast hate towards him and its unfair to the kids.

Imagine this, Hogan in his PRIME,Austin in his PRIME, BOOED by everyone, The ''good ol days'' would have been soured, so I completely agree that its US, that ruined wrestling for ourselves.

The matches of the past 10-15 years FAR dwarf many of the late 80s besides a few exceptions, Yet people go on and on about how horrible it is now, And I never understood it.

Wrestling to me, is still entertaining, and I will continue to watch until it isn't, as you said. I have my favorites, if they dont get pushed, I don't whine about it, I have bills, MUCH more important things to worry about. Punk/Danielson are my two favorites of WWE, if it were up to me, They'd be the big two of the company, if that doesnt happen, Will I stop watching wwe, No.

Once again, GREAT post. Keep this up, it would make me enjoy being on this forum more often.