10 Mistakes All Wrestling Fans Make
You're not awesome.
Wrestling fans have become fairly irritating in recent times.
I count myself among that number. The polarity between NXT and WWE makes the oft-frustrating main roster product difficult to reconcile. The no-frills, streamlined approach of the former brand, with its fluid roster and deemphasis on frivolity, renders the bloated and banal RAW and SmackDown a chore to sit through. As a consequence, I'm quick to moan about the state of modern mainstream wrestling. In short, I won't be satisfied unless NXT becomes the norm. And then I'd complain that my beloved NXT has lost its lustre.
What follows is an indictment of the modern wrestling fan - or at least a pocket of the collective. The fans who chant "We are awesome!", as if they bought a ticket to hear themselves speak. The fans who refuse to acknowledge the hard work and enterprise of companies which exist outside of WWE's bubble. The fans who are too quick to excuse the lazy booking that company puts forth.
Wrestling is often an incredibly fascinating subject to discuss - and the insight of some fellow fans has gone a long way towards shaping my own reception of the product. But this isn't an article bestowing them with praise. Some of them are happy to do that themselves...
10. "WWE Should Bring Back [Insert Old-School PPV Name]
Not that I'm afraid of receiving an absolute battering in the comments section or anything, but wrestling fans really are a mostly sound bunch. Honest. This article is more a cleansing of pet hates than holier-than-thou holistic indictment.
Forever divided, in keeping with the industry's territorial origins, there's little we can unanimously agree on - except that the concept (and often, the execution) of gimmick Pay Per View events is dire. It inhibits organic storytelling. It breeds lazy and rote storytelling. Grudge stipulations are imposed on feuds which don't warrant them. Those feuds which serendipitously do justify a Hell In A Cell or Tables, Ladders and Chairs bouts lose their singular appeal when midcarders get to play with the toys first.
The answer, however, is not to resurrect the names of PPV yore. As gimmick season starts anew, message boards awaken like trees in spring. "Bro, Fully Loaded was LIT back in the day! Bring it back!" The thing is, if WWE were to reinstate Fully Loaded, you're not going to see Lana's t*ts covered in hand prints. It would just be called Fully Loaded.
The answer to creative malaise is not devolution.