5 Reasons I Chose To Watch WWE SummerSlam 91 Instead Of TNA Slammiversary 2016
3. Nostalgia
Nostalgia, defined as a 'sentimental longing for a period in the past', it comes from the Greek words nostos (return home) and algia (longing). It was coined in the 17th century in order to describe anxieties felt by Swiss mercenaries, and was treated as a serious mental condition until the late 19th century.
The United States tried to treat it by shaming it out of sufferers, where as in the 18th century the Russian army threatened to bury alive anyone with it. Needless to say, that wasn't an empty threat.
No longer an illness, nostalgia is something that we actively encourage and cultivate, and it is particularly true in professional wrestling. WWE is also extremely guilty of this, bringing out legendary names for nostalgia pops all too frequently.
As a viewer, the WWE Network also allows this feeling to be stroked all too easily. Six-year-old John was big Bret Hart fan, a fan who loved the Big Boss Man and hated The Mountie. Watching SummerSlam 1991 gave me a chance to indulge this nostalgia, to see Bret win his first title and Boss Man put Mountie in the slammer for a night.
The safety of nostalgia and ease of finding it for a wrestling fans means watching an old show on the WWE Network is often more desirable than taking a punt and staying up to watch something that could be a washout.