The Internet: Good or Bad for Pro-Wrestling?

[D-Man]

Whether we like it or not, by reading exerpts from this forum, we are all a part of the IWC; The Internet Wrestling Community.

To fans, we are the smart people that probably take the business too seriously. To Matt Hardy, we are a sea of ears to lend to him when he feels like running his mouth over Twitter. To pro-wrestlers and promoters, we are the scourge of society... the smarks.

In a lot of ways, the internet made pro-wrestling more popular than it has ever been. But in many other ways, we've ruined the art of professional wrestling completely.

I've created threads in the past that tears the IWC to shreds. I've claimed that we are the reasons behind the elimination of surprises in pro-wrestling, good storylines, secrets, and the loss of many fans. But I also believe that I wouldn't be anywhere NEAR the fan that I am today without the internet.

What do you guys think? Has the internet been ultimately good or bad for the business?

(Please remember this is a Non-Spam forum. All replies must be on-topic and backed up with reasoning. If you are unsure of the definitions of Spam, please read the rules before posting, otherwise risk infraction.)

 

[It's Damn Real!]

The IWC has destroyed far much more of the business than it's helped, if you ask me. For every "this is awesome" chant, there are twice the number of spoilers posted days before a taped program. For every face properly cheered and every heel properly booed, there's far too many major debuts or surprises being exposed before they have a chance to actually catch anyone off their guard. For every ticket bought and PPV purchased there are far too many story lines leaked and critiqued to no repair before they're even given a chance to come full circle (see TNA right now for a prime example of this).

Al Snow recently did a shoot interview with PWR in which he gave an analogy I thought was as simplistically telling as could be made without failing to provide a conduit to reason when he asked both show hosts if either had any experience as doctors or in medical studies, period. When both promptly responded with "no", he then asked them with that in mind how ludicrous it would be for either self-admitted non-expert to tell his/her doctor how they should perform their practice. The same applies (although not as dire) to the IWC's relationship with the actual actors, writers and bookers who provide the product we so tirelessly rip apart on a daily basis.

So you want my answer? Ultimately speaking, the internet IMO has been one of the leading additions to the seeming death of pro-wrestling.

Great thread topic, D-Man, but would this benefit from a poll?

Moderator's Note: Unfortunately, I thought of that AFTER I created this thread. But, I'm currently trying to figure out how to add one. Thanks!

 

[CH David]

The internet is a tricky subject in any facet that you think of it as. I'll do my best to articulate this and keep it on topic. As some people know, I am currently in broadcasting school, and we have been going over the progression of radio, and learning how to use internet and technology to our benefits. Part of the technology was the progression of radio, from being used just for ships coming to land, to AM radio, FM, and now digital radio. But with those comes other technology, cassettes, CDs, satellite radio, ipods, zunes, etc. Those were seen as the death of radio, but lo and behold, radio is still alive and kicking my friends. Now when it comes to internet, people can stream radio shows, or even listen on itunes and podcasts. Radio is using the internet towards their benefit.

I tell that to get to this. D-Man is asking whether the internet is good or bad, not the IWC. If it were the IWC, then I would say for the most part our intentions are good, such as our suggestions to make the WWE or TNA or something more entertaining, but we just suck because we cheer who we want because we want to be cool and different from the "simple marks". The IWC likes to think we all have the answers. To be honest we don't. We are really just marks that know what happens backstage.

The internet however, I think has been a good thing. Sure, there are websites where spoilers are listed, the IWC lies, and all that stuff. But just like you yourself said D-Man, you would not be the fan you are now if not for the internet. I am the same way. The internet has its good and its bad. What has an upside that doesn't have a downside. But the way I look at it, the internet causes more good than bad for me. I can go to youtube or any other video website, and look up old school CM Punk matches from IWA or ROH. Without the internet, I would just be a Punk mark without any knowledge of how hard he has worked to make it to the WWE. I wouldn't have seen his awesome ladder or TLC match with Chris Hero in IWA-MS. Hell, without the internet, I doubt I would even know about ROH, or wrestling in Japan or Mexico. I was never ventured by a friend or relative into those fine arts of wrestling.

I'd say the internet is a good thing. If wrestling companies are able to use the internet to their benefit, it can only help everyone. Of course there are the goods and the bads, but come on, that is expected. We make it seem like the internet is killing wrestling, no it isn't. We are evolving with life and technology, and if companies can use this to their advantage, it is a winning situation. The IWC and all of the spoilers that come with wanting to be a part of it are only a part of the internet itself. There are so many other places to go to learn about different companies, histories of wrestlers, whatever, that to me it outweighs the smarkiness of the IWC.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

This really depends on who's eyes you are viewing this from.

If you are viewing it from the eyes of the pro wrestling companies themselves, the Internet is a very, very bad thing and has created far more headaches for the companies than it has helped.

Let's take a look at some of the things that has resulted from it:

- Illegal Streaming

- Spoilers from those attending the tapings

- News sites that report on all the dirt that isn't supposed to be privy to the fans, thus resulting in fans being spoiled

- A place for fans to air their grievances about the companies, and actually come together with their thoughts .... which these negative thoughts can reach and influence a vast audience and persuade them to adopt the same negative thoughts


Everyone the Internet touches, turns them into a more impatient person. Since the internet, we have turned into a society that doesn't like to wait, and have generally become far more impatient with such things as even our Internet connection speed, right down to being impatient, even with our wrestling. We want things new, we want them now, and we don't want to wait for it.


Vince Russo knew the power of the Internet and was ahead of his time in trying to do smarky things for the fans on his broadcasts. When he tried that stuff, fans weren't ready for it. Now, they seem to be, though.


On the plus side, it serves as a means of further sales outlets for WWE products such as merchandise on WWE.com and TNAwrestling.com.

It also assists the companies in selling tickets through Ticketmaster, so fans no longer have to call for tickets.

It can also provide a forum on their website to make fans aware of upcoming shows, and provide previews to those shows.



For the fans, the Internet has been a good tool on the surface, because it provides us with news we crave (that the companies probably don't want us to hear), along with some gossip, and Spoilers for those that want to see them.

It also provides us with forums like Wrestlezone where we can talk wrestling 24/7 ... which is great for us, no matter if we are being positive or negative. We get to get excited if we are happy over something or vent if we are angry over something.


On the negative side for fans, the internet has become a very, very addictive drug, and can be our own worst enemy. We spoil ourselves because we can't help it. But then we turn around and say that "WWE is predictable" ... when we spoiled ourselves.

Plus, the negativity we see online can impede our interest in the product.


And obviously the big one, kayfabe has been destroyed. So the companies no longer try to pretend that their shows are real, but rather present it as a TV show, while admitting in public what they do is a work.

I just question whether or not that would still happen in this day and age regardless if the Internet existed or not.


All in all, and taking a look at the lists, I would say the Internet has done far more harm to the wrestling business then it has helped it. But at the same time, it's here and it isn't going away. So you can only look forward and try to find ways and strategies to deal with it, since it isn't going away.

 

[BladeRunner]

The internet can be good for the wrestling business. It's all about how you harness it.

We are now at a point where people can vote on whatever they really want from a wrestling federation. For instance both WWE and TNA put up polls to see how people really feel about stuff. That's giving you the power to tell them what you like best.

You're even able to talk to various wrestlers online to tell them what you like and dislike.

Sure there's a bunch of assholes on the internet. But that's just like life. And of course some sites, like this one, will be smart and put the real assholes in virtual prison

To me, the internet's a good thing because it gives the consumer more power to get what they want. And it's worth all the BS that occurs from the stupid drama.

The only thing I think is truly bad about the internet for wrestling is spoilers. Spoilers potentially can destroy wrestling by making people not want to watch something they already know about. That's why its so important to have live wrestling nowadays.

 

[Blade]

Like most things to do with the internet, it's always going to be a double edged sword. There's a long list of good things and a long list of bad things. I think for each individual promotions, it's a bad thing. But for the general industry it's a good thing.

The individual promotions suffer because people find ways around paying. There's streams for both TV shows and for PPVs. Not to mention torrents which people can download DVDs and events off. And sites like Youtube that have whole matches that you can watch. Not to mention websites that have results and spoilers. Before the internet, people had to tune in to see if it was a show worth seeing. But now they can read about it, see if it sounds like a good show, then choose to watch it or not.

But for the whole industry, it's a good thing. It allows people to see all different types of wrestling from around the world to expand their horizons. And the honest, non downloading people, will be able to buy wrestling DVDs they can't find in shops from Amazon or whereever and other merch. It can also help people who want to become wrestlers. If you wanted to start training to become a wrestler or just get into the industry, the first thing you'd do is look for schools or research on the internet.

So yeah, like I said, there's a lot of ways the internet helps wrestling and alot of ways it hurts it.

 

[Aramis]

While many people complain about the internet’s impact on the wrestling industry I think that it has had a positive impact on wrestling fans themselves. Wrestling is not nearly as popular as it once was, which means that it has lost many fans who allow the status quo to influence what they watch and support. Internet forums such as this allow wrestling fans to get together all over the world and discuss their views, providing them with an outlet that they may not have in real life. Access to news and dissenting viewpoints gives wrestling fans greater knowledge and a greater understanding of the wrestling business, which is an important acquisition for long term fans. While there are often complaints of spoilers and the like on these sites, more often than not they are clearly tagged as such so it is up to the individual whether they want to view them.

For me the internet has been a larger factor than any other in my development as a wrestling fan. I do not have access to the channels that show any of the weekly shows that I may wish to watch, but live streams and result listings on the internet allow me to keep up to date with developments as they arise. Most of my friends in real life are also not wrestling fans, and going onto internet wrestling sites allows me interaction that I am often denied in my everyday life. I would imagine that many others here feel this way too, which is a testament to the internet for bringing together those with similar interests, in this case wrestling fans. While the IWC may take the business too seriously, while we may often be know it alls or overly negative about certain aspects of the business we are still the most dedicated fans, the ones who use the internet as our way of feeding our addiction to the wrestling business.

The internet has spoiled some things, due to fans familiar with online news ruining it in the context of a show. This can be seen with chants during a show in which a superstar is supposed to have a surprise return, such as Jericho’s return a couple of years ago. This is down to the carelessness of fans not worrying about whether other people would want to be privy to this information however, and is only indirectly the fault of the internet. The success of the WWE website and the fact that TNA put up matches online show that the companies acknowledge the importance of the internet to wrestling, as it has now become an integral part of the business. I think that the internet in wrestling is a good thing, because it feeds the fans need to keep current with wrestling info. It also allows us to catch up with any shows that we may miss, as well as giving insights into the workings of the business for those of us with an interest in this. While it has flaws like everything else, it is hard to find serious fault with something that has allowed a worldwide “community” to form around its member’s love of wrestling.