In the 90's, ECW carved out a niche among a fanbase who was tired of cartoon wrestling an wanted to see something different. What they saw was a promotion that used weapons, fire, big dives and hard bumps to get over. It made them different and it got them a loyal fanbase. In ECW's demise, several copycat groups rose up and filled that niche, some to even more extreme and barbaric levels. This style was also copycatted by backyard wrestlers who disregarded the ebb-and-flow of a match and basic moves for stunt-wrestling. With WWE's desire to be more corporate and health-conscious, barbaric wrestling has all-but been erased from the main-stage. This infuriates some fans. A vocal-but-small minority of them don't want superplexes. They want superplexes into a pile of chairs, or even better, a pile of glass shards. This group is unfortunate. They don't care about the health of the wrestlers. They want unprotected chair-shots to the head because it looks good. Carving up someone's arm with a knife is more desirable than a head-scissors takeover. They can't imagine wrestling without blood. There's a bit of this fan in everyone. It's why table spots and kendo sticks get big reactions. In the end, most people understand why extreme violence needs to be curtailed and potentially eliminated from wrestling.
