In the last several months I've noticed an epidemic in the wrestling world. The "This is Awesome" chant, which used to be reserved for only the most undeniably "awesome" matches during the year has been ruined.
I don't remember exactly when the chant first started to break out, but I believe it was somewhere in the early-mid 2000's. For a little more than a decade it would be something that you would only hear 4-5 times a year when a real-life match of the year candidate was taking place, reserved for only the truly spectacular. It was almost that last bit of icing on the cake for one of those classic matches, the final seal of approval that this was one to remember. Sadly since late summer 2013 I feel like it's starting to get overused, and now so far in 2014 it's been all but beaten to death.
I say it started in summer because I was that the MITB ppv match in Philadelphia, and there were quite a few that broke out, including the Shield vs Uso's pre-show match for the tag titles (which was honestly a really great match and maybe the match of the night). It struck me as odd, it didn't feel right. It peaked my interest and I started paying attention. I didn't really do any in depth research on this, but going off of just my memory I can come up with a few.
- Shield vs Wyatt face off on RAW - what a cool and interesting rivalry but 6 guys standing on opposite sides of the ring before backing away from each other is not awesome.
- Adam Rose's entrance - I am a huge fan of Adam Rose and even more specifically his entrance, but the NXT crowd doing the chant every time the guy dances down the aisle? Not up to my standards
- John Cena vs Cesaro on RAW - Don't turn on me here, this match was absolutely perfect, and absolutely deserving of the most prestigious chant in wrestling. In fact I think it could be match of the year. BUT, the "This is Awesome" broke out relatively early in the match to the point where it was repeated 2 or 3 more times throughout because the crowd realized it jumped in a bit impatiently.
Last night on RAW was the final nail in the coffin for me. Barrett vs Ziggler was good. It was great. But it was not awesome. It will not be remembered next year, next month, and if it wasn't for the continued tournament it wouldn't even be remembered next week. The two guys went out and stole the show, they put on a great match that had a good amount of time and seriously entertained me. But there weren't any moves I've never seen before, there weren't any near-falls on either guys true finishing move, there wasn't even a stage dive off the ring apron.
This might be the most trivial thing in pro wrestling to many of you, but to me the "This is awesome" chant meant something. Maybe it's just run it's course, or is just a phase the crowds are going through. Whatever the reason, the chant has been misused and even abused. I wonder how many feel the same way I do.
I don't remember exactly when the chant first started to break out, but I believe it was somewhere in the early-mid 2000's. For a little more than a decade it would be something that you would only hear 4-5 times a year when a real-life match of the year candidate was taking place, reserved for only the truly spectacular. It was almost that last bit of icing on the cake for one of those classic matches, the final seal of approval that this was one to remember. Sadly since late summer 2013 I feel like it's starting to get overused, and now so far in 2014 it's been all but beaten to death.
I say it started in summer because I was that the MITB ppv match in Philadelphia, and there were quite a few that broke out, including the Shield vs Uso's pre-show match for the tag titles (which was honestly a really great match and maybe the match of the night). It struck me as odd, it didn't feel right. It peaked my interest and I started paying attention. I didn't really do any in depth research on this, but going off of just my memory I can come up with a few.
- Shield vs Wyatt face off on RAW - what a cool and interesting rivalry but 6 guys standing on opposite sides of the ring before backing away from each other is not awesome.
- Adam Rose's entrance - I am a huge fan of Adam Rose and even more specifically his entrance, but the NXT crowd doing the chant every time the guy dances down the aisle? Not up to my standards
- John Cena vs Cesaro on RAW - Don't turn on me here, this match was absolutely perfect, and absolutely deserving of the most prestigious chant in wrestling. In fact I think it could be match of the year. BUT, the "This is Awesome" broke out relatively early in the match to the point where it was repeated 2 or 3 more times throughout because the crowd realized it jumped in a bit impatiently.
Last night on RAW was the final nail in the coffin for me. Barrett vs Ziggler was good. It was great. But it was not awesome. It will not be remembered next year, next month, and if it wasn't for the continued tournament it wouldn't even be remembered next week. The two guys went out and stole the show, they put on a great match that had a good amount of time and seriously entertained me. But there weren't any moves I've never seen before, there weren't any near-falls on either guys true finishing move, there wasn't even a stage dive off the ring apron.
This might be the most trivial thing in pro wrestling to many of you, but to me the "This is awesome" chant meant something. Maybe it's just run it's course, or is just a phase the crowds are going through. Whatever the reason, the chant has been misused and even abused. I wonder how many feel the same way I do.
