I cant do WHAT anymore?

The BBQ Pit
61

I am sickened at the outlash against ‘professional wrestling’ based on this one, or various angles.

Remember, beneath it all, there is actually some sport underlying it (in some matches… WWE’s continual degradation of wrestling is another subject for another topic)…

What particularly irked me though, was the comment about the parent who refused to let their child watch professional wrestling OVERSEAS.

Now, let’s get this into our minds. WWE = Sports Entertainment, Puroresu/Lucha-Libre = professional wrestling. The former is just a watered down version of the latter, with storylines to keep the average person entertained. Sure, it pretty much sucks, but it’s all we got in the US.

If you didn’t act so irrationally on an ignorant perspective, you might have actually learned that the wrestling in most other foreign countries is based on actually that, the wrestling. Hardly any cumbersome storylines to get in the way (Although, even if they are, I don’t understand them, not being able to speak Spanish/Japanese…), the focus is primarily on the wrestling. Great wrestling it is, too. The high quality of these can hardly be compared to the Sports Entertainment of the US.

Indeed, back in the early 90s, the WWF(E) could put on a great show. However, now, it is a cesspool of lumbering heavyweights no-selling everything left and right and beating each other with sticks. Although, to it’s credit, there is some talent showed in the current shows… (Benoit/Angle, Eddy/Chavo, and Rey/Edge come to mind… an almost guaranteed good match)

I feel I have ranted enough. And, I am 14, and I’m glad my parents don’t pull that kinda shit. I guess they can see past the face value of things, and realize that an pixelated image on a piece of glass won’t hurt me if they instill the right values into me.

And that segment was one of the most hilarious things I’ve seen in the WWE for years.

62

That segment was a 12 minute snuff film of Triple H molesting a mock-corpse.

And I am quite aware of the different cultures in wrestling. I am quite fond of technical wrestling, highspots and even the occasional TLC match.

What I do not find at all entertaining is tuning in to a supposed wrestling show, were the talent has to take a back seat because the writing department has decided to alienate its core audience in hopes of slightly raising its ratings with new finds.

I would also like to point out that the core audience is now in its late twenties and early thirties. Many of them are parents. Many of them were disturbed at what Raw has become.

Reference Benoit and Angle if you like. Eddy and Chavo, Rey Mysterio and Edge? They are not on Raw. They are on the show that is actually doing its best to showcase wrestling talent, though they have the habit of throwing in a lummox or two.

Now, perhaps in your parents views everything that you’ve seen is acceptable as comedy. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. I found the matter disgusting as hell, and agree with the decision that the OP’s parents made.

Thank god I have the Funkin’ Conservatory to visit when WWE finally kills itself.

63

Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Kennel in the Cell was funny. The Hardcore Evening Gown match was funny. This was just a trainwreck. When the creator of Wrestlecrap.com is so digusted he can’t sit through it, that’s saying something.

64

I’m with your mother, Lou.

It takes a lot to disgust a coyote, but that original vignette did it.

65

Kennel from Hell was funny? That hurt to watch…

I mean, when you center the entire gimmick match around something that hardly ever comes into play, it’s a pretty lame match.

Now, Kurt Angle and the milk truck… oh yeah…

66

This just in, the Triple H/Kane necrophiliac angle WILL continue this Monday on RAW.

I dont think they can stoop any lower though…

Unless someone visits the cemetery?

67

I noticed one thing in this thread. A lot of people watched wrestling until about 2 years ago. Well, 2-5 years ago, wrestling was a trend, it was cool. Austin 3:16 shirts, NWO shirts, sold out arenas for the two major and one semi-major companies in the US. When this was going on, WWF was riding high with these shock angles. Now that the trend is over, Vince is trying to do what got him popular the last time. Only now, the shock value is old. Just like when the trend peaked in the 80’s, it was cartoon characters. By the early 90’s, the trend was burned out. Wrestling had to build up all over in the mid-late 90’s with a new gimmick, the anti-hero. Austin, Rock, NWO, Goldberg all built up that way, and wrestling peaked again in 98-2000. Well, the trend fans are gone, but Vince, who by now swallowed up the only rivals he had, is trying to regain the run he was on by doing what worked. But it won’t work, cause the trendy fans are gone, and they aren’t coming back. They are on to something new. Which is fine, thats how trends work.

The biggest problem now is not gaining them back, its keeping the core audience. The people who followed wrestling for 20-30 years, with little break in watching. Those are the people getting lost now, and that is what is going to hurt WWE. When WCW lost its core base, it was just a matter of time before they went under. WWE needs to cater to that base right now, which they seem to be doing on Smackdown.

Most of the internet fans who are set on watching the quarter hour rankings don’t realize, the true impact of what happens is usually found a few weeks or months down the road. So the ratings for the HHH segment last week are said to be high, but will they stay high, or drop off. I’m guessing drop off. Smackdown, with its higher rate of matches, is slowly going up, and will probably continue to rise, if thats what the fans really want.

The gay angle a few weeks ago was nothing new. Georgeous George, Adrian Street, Adrian Adonis, Lenny & Lodi all did similar gimmicks, and were successful for a time with them. The wedding ended the way almost all wrestling weddings end - a suprise twist and no wedding. (too bad there was no cake) The necrophelia angle seems similar to Kane digging up his parents and slamming Undertaker into the caskets, or the Big Boss Man crashing Big Show’s dads (storyline) funeral. Those were panned and the angles crashed.

Finally, if the guy from The Torch won’t review Raw, and WWE is the only thing going right now, why bother going there, unless Hardygrrl is the guest editorial of the week (cheap plug).

68

Well, WWE is the only option on a global level right now. Jerry Jarrett’s NWA Franchise is gaining momentum, and I enjoy reading reviews of the shows. And let’s not forget about reading the multiple ways XPW can get themselves in trouble with Peta…

But, back to the point, blur you’ve pretty much hit it.

69

Exactly. It’s a bad sign when I can’t miss Smackdown but only watch Raw for Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam.

That reminds me, I need to submit another piece. Not about Raw because that would be boring. Maybe about Rey Mysterio’s comeback from WCW human lawn dart to WWE’s lucha master. Thanks :slight_smile:

70

I think my sig says everything I could bring to this …

71

[hijack]

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The “all wrestling fans are uneducated imbeciles” stereotype is not only old, it’s not true. It’s the same tired stereotype being brought up in the Jackass thread and I’m sick of it. Guess the fact I’m a senior fraud analyst who’s cracked some major cases means diddlysquat. Since I enjoy professional wrestling, I must also enjoy shiny objects as well.:rolleyes:

[/hijack]

72

I’ll assume that was directed at me.

There’s nothing in my sig about wrestling fans, hardygrrl. The portion of my sig I meant to be applicable to this discussion was the following:

The point I was intending to make was that the OP seems to be enjoying a surfeit of one and would benefit from some of the other.

Sorry if that was unclear or if I have misunderstood your response to it.

73

Sorry for snipping, KneadToKnow. It’s a sore subject with me.

74

I can accept that Lou re-thought what he had said, and rectified it by explaining himself better here. But Sympatha, do you have children? At 14, I should hope not. And to bash a parent’s comment that they didn’t want their kids watching wrestling, which could be considered violent when you’re too young to understand that it’s fake and dangerous to try if you don’t know what you’re doing, well, that’s just wrong. If you don’t know the responsibilty of raising a child yourself, then you aren’t qualified to make judgements. I hope you grow up before having your own kid(s).

75

KneadToKnow, what is your problem?

You have no idea who i really am and have no way to judge me like that.

I was upset at the fact that my mum didnt want me to watch a 2 hour, weekly program indefinately all due to one 5-10 minute segment.
I know the angle has gone on (and WILL go on) longer than that, but that is all she saw.
I Know the difference between fact and fiction, i know whats real and fake in movies, tv and yes, wrestling.

What exactly are you basing your comments on me on?

76

Hate to break your bubble, but wrestling has been under the same attack since the early 1900’s. What Flair did in the 80’s was a show, what the Briscos and Funks did was a show, and what Lou Thesz did was a show. Honest pro wrestling died when the public got sick of 4 1/2 hour matches with no winner.

I’m one of the biggest wrestling fans I know, you don’t need to educate me on the various forms of wrestling, but my child isn’t watching any of the forms. And BTW, if you ask older wrestling fans about Lucha or Puro, you’ll get the answer that its just a bunch of interchangable guys in masks doing flips.

You realize the NWO storyline was directly stolen from Japan, and just last week the former Chyna lost a match to Masa Chono and got a spanking at the end. Baba bought US title reigns for both Tsuruta and Hanson because the American titles were more prestigious over there. Japan is also where the latest trend of junk wrestling started. Tacks, glass, barbed wire, exploding ring crap. Its not the holy land of wrestling.

Yes, good thing there was no lumbering no-talent no-selling guys like Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Big Bossman, Hercules, Lex Luger, Yokozuna plus such classic characters like Doink the Clown, Gobbldygooker, Skinner and IRS.

I’m not trying to flame you, but this isn’t the smark/411/dvd all things WWE are evil board. If you are going to argue the points, then know what you are talking about. I’m sure your parents installed the right values in you, and at 14 you should know the difference between staged and real violence.

To each their own I guess. Its crap like that segment that makes people look down on wrestling, including long time fans.

77

That was certainly… different… I never have, and never WILL watch any kind of WWF. thats jsut wrong.