Anyone else watching WWE?
sazboom
White Lake MI Icrontian
Like so many other things in my life, I just said 'ta hell' with something I had been told was lame and childish and just for kids. Recently it was the 'wrassling is fake' chestnut I heard over and over enough that I repeated it myself as a reason not to try it. So I sat down and watched a WWE pay per view, and it was AMAZING.
Sure, its all still fake. But who cares! They were flying around, throwing each other off the top rope, flipping around, landing hard (sometimes on tables or outside the ring). These are 250+lb guys doing back flips off turnbuckles and onto each other. The first match I saw had a guy jump from the top of a cage match (Shane McMahon) onto a table 20 feet down, narrowly avoiding a guy laying on it (Undertaker). Insane.
Then there was the comedy for laughs of New Day and the Vaudvillans and Enzo Amori that I didn't understand as a kid but now totally get - its actually fairly complex story telling wrapped in some solidly funny antics. It really worked for me. Not to mention the truly unique characters all playing their roles like a melodrama.
Anyway, I don't know if Icrontic is a wrestling crowd, but since this is a geek forum, I figured I'd try to see if anyone else here was watching. I did the same a couple years ago when I decided I liked D&D and it turned out I wasn't the only one. So, as I said - Ta hell with it, I like Wrestling. Anyone else?
Comments
And cuing @UPSLynx in 3... 2...
Here comes the UPS crew + Church.
I love pro wrestling so much.
Wrestling isn't fake. It's fixed, and pre-determined, but it ain't fake.
I went through the same thing - watched WWF heavily during the early Attitude Era, loved the Rock, Stone Cold, Mankind, etc. Then I hit a point, around college, when I just decided I was too old for that stuff.
Then I got a job at THQ, who was making the WWE games at the time, and decided it was dumb to think I was too "grown up" for something I loved and got back into it. Now I love it all over again and watch RAW every week, and rarely miss PPVs. I went to Wrestlemania 31 when it was in my backyard last year in San Jose. In addition, I watch NXT like crazy, and I never miss shows at our local indie promotion Hoodslam. Wrestling rules.
People still try to point out to me that wrestling is fake, as if they're hoping they'll just ruin this whole thing for me and that I'll just drop it for good. Guess what? Game of Thrones is fake too. Wrestling is more real than a fire breathing dragon and mythical sword fights for a kingdom that never actually existed, yet nobody ever has a problem with that. It's really interesting to me.
Wrestling is drama, it's competition, it's revenge and triumph, it's comedy, it's athleticism, and it's awesome. It's pure entertainment no matter how you shake it. Boo the bad guys, cheer the good guys, and enjoy the feats of strength and athleticism. Wrestling rules.
I don't watch with great regularity but I'd say I'm a fan of that brand of entertainment. I appreciate it. For anyone that has never gone to a live pro wrestling match and sat on the floor somewhere close to the action, that should be an immediate bucket list item.
Is it a sort of childish fascination? Sure... but so many great things in life are.
I was talking with my son over the weekend. He used to enjoy it then stopped following it. We talked about our personal greatest matches lists. You think about some of the stuff you can just re watch on Youtube, and for $10 a month all that content on the WWE network. A great match is truly timeless.
At the Baltimore arena as a kid I saw the Hart Foundation take on the British Bulldogs and Jake the Snake Roberts take on Ricky the Dragon Steamboat on the same card. Hogan wrestled Adonis but I barely remember that beyond Hogan posing at the end, those other two, almost recall the matches shot for shot.
I saw Flair from the second row one time, really early WCW show right after he returned from his first WWF run. Flair was an incredible performer, the audience was putty in his hand.
I think it's kind of like a cool magic trick. If you know how it's done, it really isn't less cool. In a way you feel more in tune with the art, the craft of making it all happen. It's a performance art, and those guys are damn good athletes. Some of the best in the world.
You leave me out of this. Rassling.
TBH, only got into this early last year but I've since become hooked. I really enjoy the storytelling and the characters are awesome. Sure, they plan the wins and losses, but in the heat of a match it feels like anything could happen.
I just like giving them all nicknames.
I remember watching VHS tapes of WCW pay per view events my uncle gave me. This was way back when Jimmy Super Fly Snuka and Jushin Thunder Liger were big names. Lex Luger and Sting had a big rivalry, and Big Van Vader was champ I believe. I remember the Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior match and when both of them body slammed Andre the Giant. I watched the Nitro and Raw years with the rise of NWO and the fall of WCW. I stopped watching shortly after the merger and WWE became a thing. For me, wrestling got to far away from the athleticism and too much into the story.
Man I still remember watching the Montreal Screwjob go down in person that dark day in '97. I don't think I ever truly got over it. It kinda ruined wrestling for me, to be honest.
The #Realtalk reason @UPSLynx watches.
If you would force me to choose the greatest match ever... This is it.
This. You have NO IDEA how much fun live wrestling matches are. For one thing, it gives you perspective on how hard the hits and moves are that doesn't translate well over TV. Wrestlers beat the CRAP out of each other, and you feel it live. Makes it very exciting.
Also, the crowd interaction is another amazing part that doesn't translate into TV. The chanting, the booing of the heels, the cheering for the faces, the reactions to hits and slams... it's just intoxicating and so much fun when you're there a few feet from the ring. Plus, you just can't beat getting yelled at by a heel wrestler that doesn't like you cheering for the good guys. Here are a few good examples:
Oddly enough my parents got me into watching wrestling when I was young. Grew up watching Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man Randy Savage, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Ricky the Dragon Steamboat, Bret Hart, ect. I loved the character and was excited when it was on TV. Even my parents would sit and watch and get all excited because I was. I lost interest in the mid 90's when it wasn't as exciting anymore. As the attitude era started to heat up, that was when I got back into watching professional wrestling again. Especially when ECW was the brand name that everyone at my high school that was a wrestling fan was talking about. When the "Monday Night Wars" was happening between WWE and WCW was when I was back on.
I started my "professional wrestling" career during the time of the "Monday Night Wars". I loved every moment of being in the Ring and entertaining those who were there. The ladder matches, the triple-threats, the title matches were a-mei-zing to be a part of. Sure the matches are pre-determined and to many eyes, fake. But after countless injuries and about....4 to 5 concussions. I can say that it is not fake. Today I still enjoy watching wrestling ranging from WWE RAW to New Pro Japan to WWE NXT to local promotions or watching high lights from other promotions like Hood Slam that @UPSLynx watches monthly.
Does watching wrestling want me to get back into the ring?? Hell yeah I do. Does the injuries prevent me from doing so? Yes, it does.
Side note:
Within the past couple of years my parents would see me watching WWE and they would ask "You still watch?" "Is Stone Cold still around?" "How about The Rock?" The fact that my parents still remember who they are surprises me.
"I know... we'll call you... The Kamikaze Warrior"
"But.... I'm Vietnamese...."
"Shhhh they won't know..."
The convo was really similar to that
@Church4252 that is an amazing promo man, I had no idea you were a wrestler in the day. That is super impressive. Could have been the Pho Warrior given your mad skills in the kitchen. I hope the new baby gets to watch wrestling with her father the way your parents did with you.
@UPSLynx I going to try to see a live event, get the full experience. I know RAW is coming to Detroit next week at the Cobo. See if I can get a ticket.
@Linc I read about the screwjob. I can see why that might put you off sport entirely, especially if you were a Bret Hart fan, or I guess anyone from Canada.
That flying leap is pretty impressive.
I went like 4 clicks deep on Wikipedia before I ran into the "Montreal Screwjob" and decided the least I should do is use my new and extremely esoteric knowledge to hardcore troll this discussion, and I get zero reaction except for a sincere reply.
I was like 13 in 1997. I definitely wasn't in Montreal closely following pro wrestling. 
@linc and this is why no one from my generation takes anyone from your generation seriously
It was exactly 20 years ago today, greatest heel turn ever...
Agreed. This was the best thing ever. NWO 4 Life! I was a fan of WWF when I was a kid and loved watching Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, Andre the Giant, etc. I stopped watching around Junior High or so, but then my roommate in college was into it so I started getting back into WCW around this time.