The Wrestling Fan Situation

[Max Headroom]

As we all know, pro-wrestling isn't exactly at its peak in terms of fan interest. It could be doing a hell of a lot better, both in terms of the WWE and the lesser companies. A lot of this does have to do with some people just generally not liking it, and also the fact that the product put out can be a little eye-rolling at times. But I also feel that, even with the current product, it could be doing a lot better than what it currently is. This is going to be mostly WWE based, as that's mostly what I watch, but feel free to chime in with other companies and examples too. There are a lot of closet-wrestling-fans, whom are afraid to admit they enjoy it because of the whole "ew that's fake" crap lots of people spit out. These people should stop being afraid to admit their excitement towards the product, and should instead try to bring it up and get others interested. There should be emphasis on how hard they work, how much they actually get hurt, and the fact that it's more than just two people pretending to fight, it's about telling a story, just like any other action show/movie.

But that's not entirely what I'm getting at here. The real big problem here when it comes to getting new people into the product isn't the closet-fans, it isn't the product (the product is fine. Could be better, but it's fine), it isn't mainstream pop-culture. It's the hardcore fans. They're what's hindering the product. Why? All they do is complain. About everything, no matter what.

Let's say a new person decides to go to a live WWE show to check it out, and when they're enjoying the product in the ring between two wrestlers, they hear "CM PUNK!" chants, or other random names, to which they go "who is that? They're not here. These people are acting like morons." and it kind of spoils the time for them. Same with all the kids who go to enjoy it, whom actually think it's real, only to hear the hardcore fans talking about all the insider stuff. Cena talks to Wyatt outside the ring in a friendly manner? What? That could instantly ruin it all for them.

Now let's say this new fan, or kid, decides to go on the internet to find other people whom actually enjoy this stuff, instead of people whom enjoy complaining. Uh-oh. Now complaining is essentially all they see. "Ugh this guy should be winning", "This guy doesn't deserve to be champ", "That was shit", etc. How is that any fun? It isn't, it further ruins the experience. I understand voicing displeasure to something if you do not fancy a particular part, but if everything you say is down-putting, then you're not a wrestling fan, your a fan of complaining about things. People see this, and it pushes them away, possibly never to come back. It's really irritating for the people like myself whom actually wants to see this stuff get more popular. The exact same problem is what keeps metal music from gaining more fans, a good portion of the current fans just ruins it for the newcomers. But that's for another time.

Now, I'm not saying everyone is like this, but there is a big portion of people who are. This was a little lengthy, but I feel this is a big problem that hinders the growth of the wrestling fan base. Do you agree? Disagree? Do you have any other ideas that could help produce new wrestling fans? Or any other reasons as to why the fan-base is completely static? Chime in and get some talk going.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

For the most part, your "average" fan is the one who tends to enjoy things the most. Pertaining to WWE, if the "average" fan was as disheartened as the typical "hardcore" fan likes to think, I don't see how WWE didn't go out of business 10 years ago. There's nothing wrong with being a "hardcore" fan all in all, I'm a "hardcore" fan myself and have been since I wasn't even old enough to really know what wrestling was, it's the "hardcore" fans who can't be pleased, who somehow convinced themselves they know more about wrestling than people who've been in it all their lives, who somehow see themselves as visionaries who feel companies should do EXACTLY what they think, who feel that wrestling companies should be run like fantasy football leagues, etc. that ruin the product for themselves a good deal of the time.

That's not to say that the companies don't make some world class fuck ups sometimes, because we all know they do. WWE almost had the Daniel Bryan situation blow up in their faces because, for some strange reason, Vince genuinely thought that fans would somehow embrace Batista instead. But, a good deal of the time, even when WWE does "get it right", there are always some fans ready to nitpick at something that could've made it even better. For instance, Bryan won the title at WrestleMania XXX, had great matches, gave the fans the WM moment they were expecting, yet not 24 hours after winning the title, a few fans on the site started to turn on Bryan or they just suddenly appeared out of nowhere criticizing him, some griped because his first feud was against Kane, etc. Guys like Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, Harper & Rowan, Daniel Bryan, The Shield and Cesaro have been/are being elevated, put into interesting feuds and are delivering great matches night after night yet it's still just not enough for some "hardcore" fans. A "good show" is viewed by them as a waste of time, a "solid match" is looked at as a failure, etc. because every friggin' thing that goes on is supposed to be this earth shattering epic that sets the wrestling business on its ear.

If you're willing to suspend disbelief to a moderate degree, don't expect pro wrestling companies to somehow cater to your every whim and watch with the hope of being entertained by the overall show; there's a solid chance that you'll succeed. You may not always get everything you want in a show, some shows will be better than others, you may not enjoy every feud, every character, every storyline, you may prefer to see certain wrestlers get pushed instead of others, etc. That's all perfectly NORMAL, it's the way it always was and always has been. But if you make up your mind to hate on everything and are determined to do so, you will no matter what. And if you've gotten to that point then, in all honesty, I don't see why you continue watching. If the product of any company, in your eyes, has gotten so bad that you can't think of anything positive to say or that you even wanna say, then it's time to leave it behind and move onto something else. Just my opinion.

 

[Trill Co$by]

WWE almost had the Daniel Bryan situation blow up in their faces because, for some strange reason, Vince genuinely thought that fans would somehow embrace Batista instead.

For the love of all that is sanity, let that go... just stop. Batista had a huge pull of interest coming into his return, in fact the crowd cheered him when he did show up on Raw. The IWC went ballistic when a spoiled poster popped up for a house show. Vince didn't think people were interested... people WERE interested, far more interested than they were in Daniel Bryan and CM Punk both. And not only that, but how in the hell did Daniel Bryan fit into the scenario at all? He was locked up into a feud with Bray Wyatt, where he lost CLEAN to Bray Wyatt. Yet nobody ever complains that Bray Wyatt, who won the damn match wasn't able to advance to the Royal Rumble. Seriously, let it go.

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As for the topic at hand, I can't stand when people try to define what a true fan is and what isn't. To me, if you support it then you support it... I don't care when you came along, I don't care when you leave. The point is you're a fan. Some people are fans because of the things that happened in an era such as Hogan dropping his Leg on Andre or Stone Cold stunning Vince McMahon. Others stick around because they like that it's somewhat unpredictable, though not entirely. And others like it just because it's the best thing to watch on a Monday night during the Summer when Football, American Football, Basketball, and Hockey have all come to an end.

And why does following only one company disqualify people from being fans? How do you know that they haven't tried to watch other products, just didn't like them? Klunker himself attempts to watch TNA, but to my knowledge doesn't like it. Yet if you asked him a question about wrestling, he's one of the wisest people that could ever give out an answer. And no, I'm not in his inner circle of friends. It's just a valid example. And there are many more just like him. Hell, my uncle doesn't watch today's product but he can tell you every single match Jerry Lawler wrestled... does that not make him a wrestling fan?

 

[~Heup©~]

I am a fan that has complaints, I am or at least would consider myself a "hardcore" fan. Yes as I said I do complain from time to time but still I love wrestling and I would never steer someone else away from any wrestling program and/or product. I don't exactly agree that the complaining fans are ruining wrestling. I do however believe that the brands themselves down play their own products. I'm not saying all brands do this, just to clarify. I feel that there is a lack of competition between organizations. We need another Monday night war, maybe that would make everyone kick it up a notch.