10 Reasons Why WWE Fans Are Sick Of Nostalgia
4. Wrestling Dates More Than Any Other Art Form
Watching a Golden Age WWF presentation, provided you were of an age to enjoy it in the first place, is a thing of pure joy. The commentary of the avuncular Gorilla Monsoon lent the action an air of authority; meanwhile, co-commentator Bobby Heenan, with whom he shared inimitable, organic chemistry, injected proceedings with a never-bettered wit.
As the minutes drag on, the temptation to skip ahead increases. The sheer star power on show at say, WrestleMania V, can only sustain interest for so long. The basic, plodding action, framed with the most black and white heel and babyface alignments possible, grows more static and more homogenised. Brutus Beefcake spends more time sucking up to the audience than he does focusing on his weakened opponent - and wrestling is supposedly less strategically realistic now than it was back then.
Old school wrestling, at its very best, is often more rewarding than it is today - but even at its most average, the relative lack of athleticism and exaggerated theatrics becomes cloying, even tedious. Outside of the cartoonish WWF, the wider product is still very much of its time. Though perfect in patches, the evolution experienced in wrestling isn't a focused attempt to "kill the business"; it was necessitated by how stagnant it becomes with age.
This is true of any sport, which suggests that wrestling is closer to that than entertainment - and a brief dip in shallow waters is far more preferable than a deep dive.