WWE: Does Nostalgia Cause Rose Tinted Memories of the Attitude Era?

So why do older fans still watch in 2012? If the Attitude Era was so much better, why watch an inferior product now? Despite the gripes and the 'it was much better in my day' disposition, there must be a reason fans still tune in to WWE TV week in, week out even if only to air their grievances with particular aspects of the product. It could be down to habit. Fans know exactly what they will be doing every Monday in normal circumstances and it would take something extremely offensive on WWE programming to cause them to switch off from that. Even if a show is missed, there's a likelihood a given fan would be reading a report to catch up on proceedings the following day. Or couldn't just be that, in spite of all the vocal complaints via Twitter et al. in real time during the show, that there is simply still a lot of entertainment to be had from a WWE broadcast in 2012. PG TV rating or not, surely if there weren't things that older fans enjoyed on a weekly basis they would be able to break the aforementioned habit? WWE seems to also be catering to the fan who reminisces about the perceived glory days of the Attitude Era, particularly with the return of The Rock to WWE television. With the Wrestlemania 28 PPV buyrate breaking so many records, does this show that fans from the Attitude Era returned or did WWE just cash in on current fans nostalgic views? With the upcoming WWE13 video game having a focus around the Attitude Era Superstars and storylines, older fans will be able to have their nostalgia fix and relive the moments they remember so fondly in a virtual form. In 14 years time, will fans of a current teenage age be playing the moment the Nexus invaded in WWE27 with the same fondness? Will fans now in their late 20s be playing it in their mid 40s whilst commenting how things were better in 2012 than they are in 2027? Perhaps it will just be the case that fans will always appreciate the moments in the WWE more in later years.
 
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A watcher of Professional Wrestling since 1989, in that time has filled up too much of his mind with knowledge of the subject. Tries to see Wrestling from the viewpoint of all types of fan, once refereed an event during his teenage years and got a grazed chin from a Superkick to the face. Follow his daily musings on Twitter - @lmheir