9 Guilty Pleasures That Wrestling Fans Secretly Love

5. Pretending Wrestling Was Better In Our Day

Nostalgia is a very powerful thing (hence the forty dollar magazine). We have all watched a movie as a child and thought it was the greatest thing ever, only to realise as an adult that it was as exciting as a feud between Randy Orton and Sheamus. Nostalgia colours how we see every piece of pop culture we encounter, and is the reason that pointless rehashes of properties like Full House and Point Break are inevitable. What we saw when we were young was better, and that€™s just fact. But of course, it€™s also not. Pretending that we were privileged enough to see the halcyon days of wrestling is one of the most enjoyable parts about being a wrestling fan. Wrestling meant the most to me between the periods of 1998-1999 and 2003-2006. I think 1998 was the best year in wrestling because TO ME PERSONALLY it was incredible. Similarly, 2003 was non stop entertainment and fun, and featured some of the most gripping storylines ever. I feel lucky to have seen wrestling then, and feel condescendingly sorry for people who never got to experience those wonderful eras first hand. But here€™s the thing €“ 1998 was the year that WCW hit the skids. Other than Goldberg and maybe Kidman, WCW sucked. For goodness sake they had a main event at a PPV that featured JAY LENO in a match. Likewise, 2003 was also a dumpster fire. It was the start of Triple H€™s reign of terror where we would bury everything in his path. If you didn€™t see these eras first hand though, you don€™t need to know all those details. You just have to take my word for it that they were the best eras. That€™s part of being a wrestling fan, and when I talk about wrestling with my Dad he€™ll inevitably talk about Peter Maivia and whoever else was wrestling when he was younger, and remember his era as being the best. It€™s weird, but it€™s unique and fun too. Just don€™t go actually believing that your era was perfect otherwise you€™ll lose all sense of perspective and you€™ll be like those people who just can€™t shut up about the Attitude Era (I saw the Attitude era €“ there was a whole lot of suck during that time, believe me).