Who Will Stop Watching After Mania?

[Richard Blonoff]

One of the things I think people sometimes miss is they talk about how the attitude era was better and now its all appealing to 12yr old kids. Well during the attitude era I was 12. Cut to be now in my 20s and the guys I used to watch are getting older, and new stars are coming in and many people aren;t giving them a chance.

Plus with the advancements in the internet and technology kayfabe has basically be broken and is dying and it makes it harder to be surprised. You just have to suspend disbelief a bit.

 

[TheRealDeal]

Oh please, if anything you are making it sound like you're a soccer player and you're going to retire cause your manager is an ass.. Well it's not, WWE is WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT. If there's a product out there that delivers more entertainment based on wrestling other than WWE then go for it.. Like THE BRAIN said, it's a TV show, if you don't watch it then change to another channel, go watch BBC or something.. I haven't been a Wrestling Fan all that long, I watched Wrestling back in 2010 and honestly I think I have been spending more time reading about wrestling than playing video games. It's just something that you have to do in your past time. If you don't like the entertainment, then go find something else that's entertaining, simple as that. Please don't make it sound like is in a bad spot with you out of the picture as an audience, because believe or not there are tons of other fans, outside WrestleZone, outside the United States that are actually fans and appreciate the WWE. That being me, who comes from SouthEast Asia and has to find WWE every morning via Internet Streaming..

 

[H33LTurn]

You certainly do pose some credible points like the last list of stars that have no crowd appeal, but that doesnt mean I'm marking a date on my calender. Things have the potential to change for the better or worse from now to April. The day things dont interest me anymore I'll just stop watching. I think I did it in 2010 but I eventually came back because I do care about what goes on in the show.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

Am I going to stop watching after Wrestlemania 28? HELL NO. I know the WWE is not perfect all the time but its not as bad as some paint it to be. I think the Attitude Era spoiled alot of people into thinking thats what Wrestling should be all the time. Im sorry but while that Era overall was good and like CM Punk said recently its not needed anymore.

Like my Sig says Ive watched the WWF/E since 1990 through the good times & bad times. Whats going on right now is not that terrible and is still watchable. I still enjoy it and if your that upset with it then go watch the dumbass Kardashians make fools of themselves or whatever.

 

[Lion's Sacrifice]

I will not stop watching after Wrestlemania. If you look back over the past couple of weeks the storylines have began to pick up. Causing me to be interested. On Raw, you have the Johnny Ace/Punk storyline going which has been entertaining to watch. You also have an interesting angle between Cena and Kane. We just finished the Ryder/Ziggler story and now Ziggler is entering a mini feud with Punk. He did just steal Punk's belt. On Smackdown there is a good feud going on between Booker T and Cody Rhodes. Not to mention what's going to happen with the world title. Are we going to see if Bryan can actually handle being champion. There was a great feud between Barrett and Orton but that was cut short due to Orton's injury. I don't think they are lacking on storylines they just haven't followed through on a lot of in the way we were use to in the Attitude era. Also there is this whole Jericho return going on and the Deadman should be back soon. I'm looking forward to what happens after mania. Will I be disappointed in something's that happen? Yes, but I believe I will be able to sit through most of it and enjoy it.

 

[Arsenal]

I believe that most of those who are saying they dislike the current product and will stop watching, etc, are people who grew up with the WWE and have now found themselves caught in a transitional period.

Back when you were a rabid fan, loving everything they did (I'm assuming Attitude Era), I was in my Mid 20's, with a family, young children and didn't find the product entertaining or appropriate for my kids to witness. There's nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't what I liked at the time. I grew up with Wrestlemania I being a huge deal, I grew up with Hogan, Piper, Junkyard Dog, George The Animal Steele, Macho Man, Ricky Steamboat, et. al. and I would argue that I had the best version of the product when I was growing up.

You would dispute that, you long for the Attitude Era. The same era that drove me away from it. I had no problem with that, it wasn't my flavor. But the thing is, I was willing to accept that fact. They were doing things I didn't agree with at the time. I love the Rock and Austin, and the rest, but I didn't care for the show. I was able to realize it, and move on. I only recently tuned back into WWE, about 3 or 4 years ago. They mellowed out with the language and story lines, and it's more appropriate for my kids to watch.

BTW: My kids love it. We watch every RAW and Smackdown and many PPV's together. It's fun, they get a huge kick out of it (only one of the three likes Cena) and we share some time together. It's closer to the 1980's product I grew up with. It's silly, it's stupid and it's fun. And, I pay for the tickets, PPV's, T-shirts, toys, etc, so the WWE loves me. If my kids enjoy it, I'll get it for them.

All of you hating it right now, maybe you just need to take a break. Wait a few years and come back. We'll all be here, hell, you might even pass me leaving on your way back in. It's all good.

Disagree 100%. I'm about as old as you, and my favorite years watching were 1986-1992, the "Golden Era" with Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, Ultimate Warrior, Andre the Giant, etc. That was an era with amazing characters and great storylines. Then the Attitude Era came along and again, you had interesting characters and interesting storylines, even if they also threw in foul language, semi-nudity, etc.

The common denominator? Interesting characters and interesting storylines, both of which are sorely lacking in today's WWE. Just because it's PG doesn't mean they need to have a bland roster full of uncharismatic clones, and a lack of storylines except for the top of the card, which even then are boring "I want the title, you have it, I challenge you".

 

[thadarksandman]

Once again, this thread begs the question: Will anyone pat me on the back for nitpicking about a TV show?

I'm sorry but the complaining about how bad WWE is, and the attitude era comparisons seemare out of control on the net. The attitude era was great for its time, The golden era defined my childhood, AE defined my teens, but it is not that bad nowadays.

Even the few that defend modern WWE seem to backhandedly diss it. I personally enjoy it every week. The AE and GE could be picked apart too as foul language and crude jokes or a bunch of steroid freaks with 5 moves, but if you enjoyed it who cares? If you don't enjoy it, then tune out.

Making a thread about you not enjoying it and your not gonna watch anymore is a cry for attention. Nothing anyone says is going to change how you feel about the product, WWE doesn't care about you as 1 viewer lost and there are millions who tune in every week to both Shows. So your just looking for people to agree with you and stomp your feet and huff and sigh about how bad things are........

 

[JohnJohnson]

It's abundantly clear that the product sucks. Hell the people that are defending it are calling it "watchable" and saying that they can sit through it. That alone is enough evidence that the product sucks.
CM Punk cut a promo using a bit of reality and complaints about the company. The fact that this turned out to be a huge deal and is one of the most memorable moments of the year is evidence that the product is garbage. In the good days of wrestling, this would have been an average part of the show and easily overshadowed by other things going on.
The most exciting things that happened were the return of The Rock, the return of Nash, the return of HHH, the return of Taker, the return of Jericho, the return of Kane's mask, the return of Booker T. See where I'm going with this? The return of someone from the attitude era was necessary to entertain us. Back in the attitude era, if someone returned it wasn't the highlight of the year, or even the night.
Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Jack Swagger, Miz, and Zack Ryder are the new young up and coming superstars. Out of those Ryder is the only one that has a gimmick, and it sucks. He says "woo woo woo" every night and wears bright orange/purple. Nuff said. Rhodes gimmick- I have a belt. Zigglers gimmick- I like myself. Bryan's gimmick- I have no gimmick. Swagger's gimmick- I have a manager? Miz's gimmick- I like myself. Wow creative good job. You guy's really put in a full day's worth. Oh wait we have our champ CM Punk- he doesn't drink and points out wrestling being fake. Genius!!!
Let's take a look at the feuds...
Kane vs Cena: Kane accepts himself as the monster he is and tries to get Cena to accept that half the fans hate him. This has a story to it. It's not a great one but it's decent and actually interesting. Creative? Not really. They brought back an old gimmick and acknowledge that the crowd hate's Cena. But still it's a story so I'll give them props.

Ziggler vs Punk: Ziggler wants the belt and has beaten Punk twice. OMG!!! I can't believe the guy who's obsessed with himself wants to be the champ. What a surprise. Good writing.

Rhodes vs Booker T- commentator doesn't think wrestler is good. Wrestler gets upset and challenges him. Amazing! Oh wait we have a twist. Each wrestler won a match so now there's a tie breaker.The only thing that makes it interesting is seeing Booker T back in action.

Miz vs Truth- Guy attacks his partner(of only a couple months). Partner comes back and does the same. Holy shit! So much emotion, so much excitement! What's going to happen next?!

Ryder vs....Oh yea no one. Let's just throw him into the Cena vs Kane angle because he's a good guy.

Daniel Bryan vs Big Show?- Bryan cashed in his money in the bank contract and Big Show wants the belt back. Oh but wait there's a shocking twist. Bryan is little and Big Show is huge. They really put a lot of thought into this.

Big Show vs Mark Henry- Wrestler a injured wrestler b. Wrestler b returns and attacks wrestler a. But wait! Both of them are huge! Creative did a great job. The most exciting thing was the ring collapse after a superplex. The creative team really had to do a lot of thinking here. That or just look at the footage of the last time someone superplexed the Big Show.(Lesnar vs Show:ring collapsed)

There are no stories, no emotions, no creativity. Generic heel vs Generic face both with generic trunks and generic names. That's what we have now. Will I stop after WM? Not entirely. Will I be excited to watch Raw? No. Like many others I will watch it out of habbit in hopes that something will happen.

 

[Bizarre_Blue]

Well my first ever post and it's going to be on a topic that has become quite relevant to me recently.

I just turned 30 and have a 3 year old daughter who loves watching the show. To her all she sees is pretty women and muscley men doing acrobatics in the ring. She's too young to understand the storylines, but she does find some of the stuff funny (like Santino - actions and accient). So why is this relevant?

I was in my mid-teens when the attitude era started. It was awesome. My mates and I all used to watch it and were into wrestling games on the SNES, N64 etc and used to have a good laugh watching whilst also trying to follow the reality behind the product (real injuries, company politics etc). I was hooked then and I'm still a huge fan now. Living in the UK I often get up at 2am to watch the live RAW broadcasts and check on the IWC for the latest news/spoilers/behind the scenes etc. But would I take the product in a new "edgy" direction if I was in charge? NO.

Right now kids are going through a "cool" period when they hit their early teens. Wrestling is seen as fake and the older kids know it and get turned off the product because of it as they don't want to look dorky to their mates (who probably watch it too!). I've seen this in the older kids of many of my friends. It's like a cycle where the very young kids love the action and spectacle (wwE!), the younger kids like the childish humour, but as they get older the kids move away from that humour and this is what drives them away from the product.

I've read these boards for about 5 years and my general impression is that the people here WANT to be entertained. They want a product that will give them a hook to tune in the following week. They want excitement and enticement and something to raise the heartrate and to genuinely mark out for spots and storylines. The big problem is that the mark out moments of a forum poster are not the same mark out moments for a pre-teen child who are the current target market of the product.

I am now the paying demographic. I am the parent who will buy the PPV and the merch for my kids (and myself!). If I saw the blood and gore that there once was then I'd turn off the TV until my daughter was older. If I saw any adult orientated storylines then I'd turn off until my daughter was older. But here's the catch.... the older my daughter has to be before watching the product then the less of a window exists before she will turn away as it's not a cool enough thing to be seen to watch. Someone on one of the earlier posts said "how many normal people watch the product"? That's just it. People in general DON'T watch. Adults know that the program is scripted. They know that it's fake. They know that they are watching a soap-opera crossed with an acrobatics show. Those who still watch do so because they are entertained by what they see or because their families are entertained and as adults/parents they want to be a part of that.

If you're the type of person who no longer finds this product entertaining (which is perfectly understandable) then this might not be the type of thing you will continue to watch regularly in the future. But if you have other reasons for watching (like younger fmaily members / kids) and can still find the occasional moment to enjoy, then you will keep watching. Either way there's no right or wrong in this matter. You might think the product is crap. You might think it's childish and bland. You might think that the storylines are too simple. On the other hand you might find some of the in-jokes funny. The inter-mixing of locker-room politics and storylines interesting.

You might just like to see the look of amazment on the faces of your own kids as they watch. And that's the reason while I will continue to watch, right until the point where my daughter get's bored and moves on to something else (God forbid some crappy soap opera!!)

 

[mrfantastic111]

My best mate came over to watch survivor series at the end of last year. He used to watch wrestling during the attitude era but has since stopped watching. He watched the ppv with me for about 30 minutes half way through and said "It's okay, but every character is exactly the same: angry, cocky and without individualism."

Remember when you had a deadman, an olympic hero, a black supremacist, a beer guzzling rebel. Where have the characters gone??

It's like WWE looked at the Rock, Y2J etc and thought "Oh, these guys are cocky and full of themselves, but have an angry side... Lets just give those traits to everyone, except water it down lots and lots until everyone is just cocky and generic."

I don't find Barrett, Swagger etc interesting in the slightest, and I usually fast forward through all of their matches. Maybe for the Americans the mysterious foreign appeal of Barrett and Sheamus is appealing, but I'm not American so to me the promos they shoot don't really have the same appeal.

I enjoyed Cody Rhodes up until he dropped the Phantom of the Opera gimmick, however I do enjoy some of his promos from time to time. Likewise with Ziggler, he has a real jock kind of promo style at the moment which elevates him abit from the rest of the pack.

That all kept in mind, I do enjoy the WWE, I just can't stand the lack of interesting characters, as well as some of the stupid angles they do, such as Y2J's disappointing return (Call it inventive, call it whatever you want, if he doesn't do something interesting next week, he is soooooo being dropped from mah fav five!)

You don't need swearing, you don't need 'shoot' promos, you don't even need the constant return of legends, no matter how entertaining they may be. All you need is good delivery and diversity in characters. They have all of the tool in front of them to make a kick-ass roster, they just need to utilise them properly!

I enjoy the characters of...

- Zack Ryder (You may call him overrated but his broskii gimmick isn't so bad! He's trying, so give him a break! By the looks of things on RAW this past week, it's him or Swagger at the moment. Would you really want Swagger with the strap? Mr Anti-pop? The heat machine Vicki can't even get him a reaction!)

- Jinder Mahal. Yes, I know, I've dissed him before. I never thought that he shouldn't be on tv, I was just pissed off that he was on tv and was getting pushed but only against jobbers. Huge waste of tv time. Now he's working matches better, and he's been having decent matches with Ted Jr. What I love about him though is his gimmick. IT'S AN ACTUAL GIMMICK! AND IT'S NOT HALF BAD!

- Jonny Ace and David Otunga. Yep. I said it. Evil Boss meets Evil Lawyer? Love em or hate em, they're the only thing that keeps Punk rolling. I love Punk, I always have, but he's not exactly the rebel anymore. However, due to Jonny and David, he's become the victim. It's not the best, but they've helping his character stay alive. From the words of CM Punk this past week - "I'm going to beat you like a bitch!". If you didn't enjoy an angry CM Punk in the of Jonny Ace and calling him a bitch, then just give up, because judging from the off-screen crowd reaction, lots of people enjoyed it!

 

[shafe_41]

Seriously people, stop making it seem like you're doing the WWE a favor by giving your time to their product. You aren't that important. If you don't like it, then don't watch. Big deal.

Right now is the first time I have EVER been interested in Kane since about 1998. I've never liked Kane. Yes, he can move for a big man. Yes, he puts a lot of people over. Yes, taking off the mask was a terrible idea. But what's done is done. But Raw on Monday was fantastic in getting me interested in Kane. Last week was good too, but this was amazing.

As for the young talent, it's the best its ever been. From the moment Dolph Ziggler was first seen on tv, I've like that guy. His whole "Hi, I'm Dolph Ziggler" line was simple, effective, and brilliant. I knew he was interesting from the get-go. But I'm not that smarky fan that knows what's good and not good right away. I think Cody Rhodes has surprised a lot of people, me included. I expected DiBiase to be the bigger star out of that duo. Punk, Ryder, Bryan... all fantastic in their own way whether it's all around talent, a gimmick, or second to none ring skills. It can only get better.

So go ahead and stop watching. I don't care. Nor will anyone on these boards care. But you're only going to kick yourself when something epic happens and you miss it because you think you're doing the WWE a favor.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I haven't missed a single episode of Raw since 2003, so no I don't think I will be tuning out after WrestleMania is over. I love wrestling, through and through, and the state of the product isn't going to change that. I prefer certain changes and I look forward to an all-around better show, but I'm not going to stop watching. Plus, the fact that I kinda, sorta prefer to continue writing for Wrestlezone and working toward's higher goals within the industry.

 

[The streak]

Lets face it, everyone is going to have their favourite period of WWE. I must admit I loved the age of the manager and the Heenan stable. Wrestlemania 6 was just awesome for me. Warrior versus Hogan was just a supermatch I never thought would happen, Demolition took the belts from Haku and Andre, Beefcake somehow managed to beat Mr Perfect "the bump on my head is from the post", it was too, huge great bump! Lol, brilliant...and I have real sympathy for the idea that gimmicks and characters made the show...Beefcake cuts your hair if he wins, Jake the Snake throws Damien on you if he wins, Dangerous Danny Davis....oh yeah, he never won

So, in them days we had real Survivor Series matches too...not the token match we have now, but real matches full of individual characters and feuds...and I know I go on about it but when the Undertaker turned up in that match as the Million Dollar team, they hyped the mystery man for weeks before it happened and when it did..jees I almost died with excitement...he was awesome...look how that compares with what they did with Jericho recently....such a poor ending (or beginning - whichever) to 'It begins'.

Now we have the odd character..much as some people like to berate him, I like Randy Orton, I preferred it when he was clearly nuts and just went too far...he has calmed down again now which is a shame...I like the idea of someone with voices in their head acting like bit of a crazy...shame he is injured for a while, but when he comes back, it will be fresh again...the rub of it is that he's gonna end up working with Barret again I expect. Now I'm English, but Barret epitomises boring...I'm sorry but he has limited ability and limited mic ability.

I'll always remember Edge (one of my most recent favourites) stood in the ring taunting the fans because he managed to hold on to his title when the odds where stacked against him simply shouting 'you were wrong...wrong...wrong...wrong...' moving outside the ring to look a small child in the eye and bellow 'WRONG' at him with a brilliant grin on his face. priceless...that was entertainement, real character.

So I watch each week both RAW and Smackdown and will continue to do so, because it reminds me of my childhood if nothing else, but I must admit to being disappointed with the lack of characters now...lets face it, Del Rios has been one of the better Heels in the last year and he really is dull. I liked the idea of Punk not being face, it would have worked much better, but he isnt controversial anymore, he relies on cheap gags and stating the obvious...to be fair I didnt much like him disrespecting Stephanie Mc in his feud with HHH, but thats probably a moral value thing.

I like Ziggler. When he first turned up he had a match with Batista and he was like a nat, he wouldnt leave Batista alone and I thought then, this guy could be good. I quite like his character, but he needs to get 'clever' so he doesnt lose...put him up against Punk and you think, well, Ziggler is good, but is he ready for that...well he could be, if they added a cerebal element to his character...one that does NOT rely on Vicky...but a bit like Edge when he fought Taker...

Those type of Heels are always the best, you know they shouldnt really win, but they somehow get the job done...Honkey Tonk Man was once the longest reigning IC champ ever...he was awesome as a character, because he was soooooo annoying, and so rubbish...yet he managed to win...until Warrior ran in the ring and gorilla pressed him in about 30 seconds for the championship after HTM challenged anyone in the arena to take him on for the title...that was hilarious..

So, now we have Kane back...I love the Kane character..Im not cool with him talking...id prefer Paul Bearer back to do it for him, but Kane needs to be a monster...I'm nervous of this Cena feud, cos thats only ever going one way ahead of Mania and Im not happy with that at all...

Rhodes has promise...if he gets to take on Golddust and beat him, I'll be very cool with that, but again..as someone said before, they have removed quite an interesting gimmick with Rhodes and the mask...

Daniel Bryan...wow...there's a thing...it's not that I dont like small wrestlers..although I cant stand Rey Mysterio, however much I like some of his in ring moves...he is still annoying....but DB is just something else...never has a champion been so devoid of character...never has it been so easy for Cole to bury someone! The sooner the World Heavyweight Championship moves on the better, but please...not to Big Show. They did such a great job making Mark Henry an unbeatable force as world champ, then almost overnight he started to walk off from the Show and he became weaker...that was pants....

So, I guess I'm saying, no I wont stop watching the shows, they are a staple tv diet and I like the rumours and stuff that circulate on forums like these..it's an escape that is fun...I didnt really like the attitude era, it was uncomfortable viewing at times...I have to say though two of the greatest matches I ever saw were Undertaker versus Mankind, where Mankind got thrown off the steel cage onto the announce desk and Mankind versus Edge for the hardcore championship when Edge put Mankind through a table on fire....but generally I cant stand Mick Foley. God that segment with Cena was painful in November...

I think WWE have a chance to try and reinvent some of their stars this year...ok, so we are in the reality era...but that doesnt mean you cant have characters, hell I know a few in real life! I agree with the chap earlier who said all characters seem to be this cocky arrogant persona who is a bit angry...thats true...and there is no bigger cocky arrogant, little bit angry persona than The Rock...I am totally underwhelmed by his return...he is tight in the ring, he gets the crowd worked up (I have no idea why) but he isnt funny with his insults...in fact Cena out funnied him in the confrontation with The Miz and Truth before Survivor Series (and thats saying something) and he has the same invincible appearance Hogan used to have where the match was the same every time he went out there (yeah i didnt like Hogan either - much to my friends disgust - but I was sooo happy when Warrior won at WM6..and I know Warrior was hardly a great ring technician, but boy he entertained)

Ok, this has turned into more of a monlogue than answer to the question...but in summary...no, I will be watching WWE whatever, i just hope the storylines allow for some more characters to emerge and some intrigue to build rather than these pathetic one month fueds...I mean the HHH vs Kevin Nash feud was terrible...although they put on a decent match at TLC to be fair...

Well that's what I think anyway!

 

[Marv95]

I'll stop watching after Mania if:
a)Cena beats Rock, then remains babyface or
b)Rock beats Cena, Cena remains babyface.

That will prove to me the WWE is content with remaining status quo and is oblivious to how stale their product is because alot of their problems revolve around Cena as a goody-two-shoes whether it's his fault or not. Not only that but with the 2nd option you're basically admitting to your audience that the present can't hold a candle to the past.

So yeah, I'll take another hiatus from the product because there's nothing else worth watching. Yeah you got Kane but how long till they screw that up like they've done with other things in the past? The roster is arguably at its worst so what's the point? Nothing about the roster is worth investing into and the few that do have talent will be booked to either not be taken seriously(Danielson) or make me not care about them as much as I did before(Punk). Basically the only way I'll stick around and watch with either of those 2 things above happening at Mania is if there's a major roster change or there's a major change in direction for the product--meaning no sugarcoated comedy, no Hornswoggle, no Twitter, no guest hosts, no WWE Universe crap, chair shots and bleeding are brought back, the overall presentation of the show does a 180, more serious, intense storylines, etc. Just because its PG doesn't mean you have to be sterile, bland and predictable.

 

[Why Always Me]

If you aren't enjoying the product then it's best you stop watching. So many people act as though they are making some sort of sacrifice by watching WWE. It's just a tv show. If you like the show then watch it. If you don't like it then don't watch it. It's as simple as that. I will continue to watch because it's been a part of my life for 25 years and while I don't enjoy it quite as much as I did in the past I do still enjoy it. I commit two hours to WWE every Monday night and have for years. It's just routine. I usually record Smackdown and watch it in pieces throughout the weekend. Once a month I head to the bar with some friends and we have a good time hanging out and watching the ppv. It's not like this is a chore. It's what we do to occupy ourselves during our free time. I still think it's better than most things on tv and it's not like I'm in the habit of going out on Monday nights. If you have something better to do for two hours on a Monday good for you. I'm sticking with Raw.

If everybody heeded the above there could be a few less fans.

Without wanting to spoil Smackdown, something happened this week with Hornswoggle that sums up the WWE at times, it's just stupid at times and not as entertaining.

However, I personally won't stop watching after Mania because its still quite enjoyable, however I don't enjoy it nearly as much as I did ten years ago and judging by the majority of people I talk to/that post on here/that post in the Internet in general I am not alone.

It's too easy to say 'if you don't like it don't watch it', we are all allowed to have opinions and through many factors the WWE isn't nearly as good as it used to be.

 

[Jaystrong322]

Well the product has gotten very bad but I doubt I will stop watching..call it self abuse I guess. I have been watching a lot more Impact lately. I call it like I see it and ROH and Impact have a lot of what the WWE is lacking right now, which is edginess, meaningful feuds, and some great in ring work.