What attracts the fans of today?

[MOExecution]

So I just got done reading Kevin Kelly's response to Kevin Nash burying the WWE and The Miz for crowning The Miz as the WWE Champion this Monday Night on RAW. There was a part in his article that he said that caught my attention on how The Miz fits this generation in 2010 of the PG Era in WWE. And he then went on to explain how the business is more athletic now and how guys like Matt Morgan have to work harder to get over.

That made me begin to think what exactly do the fans look for in this day and age? Do they look forward to the bigger guys like The Big Show and The Great Khali? Do they look forward to guys with physiques like John Cena and Sheamus? Or they do they look for guys like Evan Bourne and Daniel Bryan who are smaller high flying/technicians? What do the fans look for today in professional wrestling?

I will say this much. This past Monday Night on RAW I was at first very disappointed to see The Miz cashing in, but once he won I got a huge smile on my face and couldn't help, but to clap for him. The reason I was so happy is because of how he worked his way to the top from a reality tv star, to being nothing, but a jobber, dominating the tag division, dominating the mid-card, how he evolved his character made the right adjustments, and now is the WWE Champion. The Miz worked hard for his position and I am proud of him. But I think another reason I was so happy is because it's a new face in the title picture it's not your guys like; John Cena, Sheamus, or Randy Orton. It's a smaller wrestler who people thought would fall off the map.

So I would have to go with the smaller highflying/technicians. You have had plenty of people like; Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, Bret Hart, The Miz, Edge, Chris Jericho, and more who worked their asses off to get to the top and are some of the most celebrated champions because of it. The smaller highflying/technical wrestlers put on some of the best matches each night (Evan Bourne vs Chris Jericho, CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan vs anybody, and etc), but they are hardly recognized. So when they win the title it is always a magical moment in history.

So what attracts you in Professional Wrestling today?

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

I've been a long time viewer, but recently I've had a chance to watch John Cena and Wade Barrett's work with some people who never heard of either guy before.


I wrote this on another board last month:

But more importantly, I can actually watch a WWE show with my niece (11) and not be embarrassed. We watched the end of SD last night, which included the Raw Recall and the Del Rio/Mysterio stuff. My niece does NOT watch wrestling. She didn't know any of the guys in the segments. She didn't know who the bad guy was, she didn't know who she should be cheering for.

Here are some things that the child psychology major in me notice:

She first walked in the living because of Woi Barrah's voice. How do I know? She asked "Who is that?" She took a sit out of curiosity.

Enter John Cena. About 20 seconds into the segment, she mildly shouted "He really isn't going to join them?" Keep in mind that the recall was a very basic recap of the segment. It didn't go into what the Nexus did to Cena or why Cena had to join them outside of what Barrett said. And she got it. A kid who doesn't watch wrestling GOT it.

She gasped loudly when he put the Nexus armband on.

After I explained what a battle royal was, she was watching intently to see what Cena would do. She could not believe that Cena was helping Barrett. When Barrett won, she said "That was messed up!"

My mom also watched the Piper's Pit segment with me. She wanted Cena to "pop" Wade so hard, she was yelling at the TV even though she knows the show is fake.



The John Cena vs Wade Barrett stuff is easily the best storyline the WWE has came up with in years. It is very, very easy to get into because both guys are f'n awesome in their roles.. And their roles aren't needlessly complicated. Wade is the bad guy using Cena to get what he wants and Cena is the good guy that stands by his word because dammit, when Cena says he is going to do something, it will happened. Wade doesn't care if Cena's feelings are hurt and Cena isn't going to stop doing what is right if he is given the chance. They reinforced that by having Wade verbally and psychologically abuse Cena. Then Cena made the 'ultimate' sacrifice because giving the title to Wade would be the wrong thing to do. I would consider this angle the first big angle they have done in the PG Era, and they are completely knocking it out of the park, getting touchdowns, goals, [insert sport point name here].


Bottom line for me, as a wrestling fan, the show is just easy to get into because there's that element of drama that has been missing for so long. Viewers want to see what will happen next in the main storyline (Cena vs Barrett). Their quarter hour segments have been consistently in the 3.3 range, even though the shows on a whole haven't been.

 

[Ferbian]

There's a lot of various things that attracts me to wrestling today. Generally I just enjoy watching the product that WWE and occasionally TNA puts on (I rarely watch TNA mind you).

Wrestling is and always will be sports entertainment. It's like one big television show that produces more or less everything for anybody. You can have action, drama, comedy all mixed into one. This to me is what makes professional wrestling so great, because there's something for everybody.

The various wrestlers all have their part of offering. Something that I'm sure a lot of people could either all relate to, or would aspire to become. A guy like John Cena is quite the role model for many people. The same can be said for some of the looks presented by both John, Triple H, Undertaker etc. which can easily prove as some sort of motivation to get going to achieve the same body (If that's what you're into).

To put it simple, professional wrestling today provides every thinkable thing with exception of food, water and payment.

 

[Undertaker the 5th]

What I look for in wrestling is a good storyline, and good drama with some good wrestling. I don't really like to watch for the smaller guys like Bryan or Mysterio, Kidd, Evan, Just Gabriel and all those smaller guys. I don't put guys like CM Punk and Jericho in the same category because they are actually bigger than the other guys mentioned above even though they are smaller compared to other guys.I don't really like big guys either. I mean big as in Khali or Big Show big. Those guys don't really make me want to watch them. Neither did guys like Rikishi or Umaga and to a certain extent Samoa Joe. I mostly like the guys who are in shape, but are not big or small. I also like some of the comedy segments like Santino's. Not all of them though.