ZAH
Why Even Bother Watching Anymore?
By ZAH
Oct 14, 2005, 17:56

Why even bother watching anymore?

By Zah

Being a wrestling fan is hard to do these days. Being an online wrestling fan is even harder. I won’t even try to begin to discuss how hard it is to write a column about wrestling.

Why?

It seems that we all hate it. We hate everything about it. This sucks. That sucks. He sucks. She sucks. Okay…she probably does suck but that’s not the point, kids! The point is that we, as fans, watch wrestling every week and all that seems to come out of it is complaining and bitching and whining.

This guy is a waste of space. That guy has no talent. Why don’t they push this guy? Why are they making that guy do that? Every week it’s the same thing. Is it everybody?

No, of course it’s not actually everybody. For one, both TNA and WWE are getting very good ratings so that means they’re doing something right. Yeah, nay-sayers can tear the numbers apart but the bottom line is that WWE’s ratings are higher now than they had recently been with Spike. TNA’s ratings not only grew higher in week two but they also are blowing away the numbers of WWE’s former show, Velocity. While the arenas are not filled with 20,000 fans every single night, the house shows are certainly not hurting like they were a year or two ago.

Okay, so people are watching wrestling again…that’s a good sign. So does that mean that all online fans hate the product? No, not necessarily. I mean, what’s the point of reading news and columns and interviews on wrestling websites if you don’t like it anymore? It just seems that people want to complain louder than those who want to applaud. And you know what? That’s fine…that’s what the WorldWrestlingInsanity.com message board is all about…speaking your opinion on wrestling whether good or bad. Do some online fans get carried away a bit in their disdain for the product? Sure. Some can even claim peer pressure as a reason for complaining. But certainly not everybody complains. It’s just the ones that do, do it a lot.

But you know what? Not everybody was bored to tears watching Stephanie last Monday night. I know…surprising, no? Y’know what else? Chris Masters actually has some die-hard fans out there that see him as a work-in-progress instead of a muscle-bound moron. It’s true, Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash doesn’t sound appealing to hard-core online wrestling fans as a main event for TNA’s Bound for Glory PPV. However, to casual fans who don’t know many TNA names, those are possibly (and I stress possibly) two names that they will recognize and tune in for. That’s certainly not the match-up that will keep fans coming back for more and I understand the frustration of online fans who want the X Division to be in the spotlight. The thing is, is that it’s not a terrible, horrendous mistake to promote it as the first PPV main event since debuting on Spike. I am very confident that those very fans who buy the PPV to see Jarrett/Nash will keep coming back to TNA because of the action of great wrestlers like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Samoa Joe.

Okay…none of the things just mentioned are really as bad as they are portrayed to be by the Internet. That’s another myth/complaint put to rest. So at the end of the day, what in the world makes it so bloody hard to be an online wrestling columnist?

The answer? Ourselves. We end up being overly critical in order to sound intelligent. We end up mocking wrestlers in order to sound amusing. We want to entertain and educate. We can’t do that when things are going well, can we? I mean, people don’t want to read about the GOOD in wrestling, for heaven’s sake. It’s not like that’s gonna sell papers (okay, it’s a website…but you know what I mean).

The thing is I believe that we sometimes take our passion too far as writers. We want to be really funny and sometimes end up mocking those who work very hard to entertain us on a weekly basis.

It certainly isn’t the intention, but that’s how it turns out.

We want to be really critical so that we can come across as a “deep thinker” and be praised for our analytical analysis and sometimes we end up being critical for the sake of being critical, hence we end up looking like complaining “know-it-alls”.

It certainly isn’t the intention, but that’s how it turns out.

What does it boil down to? Have we become “Internet bookers” that cannot look at any wrestling programs without making alternative suggestions? Maybe it’s really that wrestling is that bad and it’s the casual viewers that are to blame for cheering John Cena. Maybe it’s the readers of the columns that are to blame as they are misinterpreting the writers’ intentions.

I’ll tell you what I think. I think that having X-Division matches at the beginning of TNA’s Impact show and the “heavyweights” close out the show is a smart business decision. I think that Stephanie McMahon is fantastic in small doses and can work a live crowd almost as well as her father can. I think that Jarrett vs. Nash being advertised as the main event at Bound for Glory is a good move. I think that both Chris Masters and Rob Conway have long futures ahead of them and are both credible wrestlers right now. I love fifteen minute Triple H promos. I still believe the Dudley Boyz have much to contribute to the wrestling industry and should do quite well in TNA. Hell, I even think Team 3-D isn’t that bad of a name!

Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m not a mark so high on the crack that is having my own Internet website wrestling column that I love everything about everything that is wrestling. But I just don’t feel comfortable sitting down and thinking about what I’m going to bitch about today. That’s not what I do. That’s not what the writers on this site do…at least not purposely.

I love wrestling and I’m not afraid to tell the world. I may not be the funniest or the most analytical writer but I’ll be damned if you won’t read the passion in my words. This website has helped fuel the fire that is my total dedication to this industry. How? It has made me want to become a better writer (maybe not evident in this column but it will come). I want to be able to look at both sides of the coin. I want to be the “devil’s advocate” not just to argue with somebody, but because I will learn more about the business if I try to look at every side of every angle.

That, friends, is why I bother to watch.

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Pillar to Post

Each and every week I’ll ask two posters from the WorldWrestlingInsanity.com message board three questions on the hot topics du jour and ask for their thoughts and insight. Ladies and gentlemen, this week I give you two of the most entertaining individuals to be found in the entire board…The Royal Dutch of Dukes and NidiaFan!!

1. Agree or Disagree
The Internet is over-reacting at the JR firing angle from Monday night.  It will be great to have the McMahon's back on TV because McMahons = money.

NidiaFan: First off, let me say that my experience has been that a lot of writers and Internet fans underestimate the popularity of the McMahon family with "casual" fans. The McMahon’s do get overexposed but they also get a lot of pops from fans when they are used correctly.

The angle was predictable, illogical, and way too long. First off, it was pretty obvious that Linda was going to turn heel. Why was Vince upset at the announce team but none of the wrestlers in the back? The writers could have fixed this gap by implying that Vince felt an announcer was an easier target (or more expendable) than a wrestler or by implying Vince went after J.R. because he's Austin's friend and Austin is untouchable. Finally, the segment went on way too long (and Stephanie's opening segment was way too long).

I like to see the McMahon family on TV from time to time. An explanation for why Vince went from choking Stephanie out at Survivor Series to taking her back would have been nice though. And where was Shane? The WWE just does so much stuff half-assed that it's not even a question of being tired of the McMahon family as it is not wanting to see another poorly planned segment no matter who is involved.

The Royal Dutch of Dukes: Agree on the overreaction, disagree on the McMahon’s = money.  I never thought I wouldn't give a shit about the on-air firing or demotion of the greatest wrestling announcer since Gordon Solie, but the WWE Creative team has managed to make everything I could possibly get interested in so utterly boring.  I don't care to see McMahon vs. Austin for the umpteenth time, and they've managed to not even sustain my interest in the budding Flair vs. Triple H feud. 

2. Agree or Disagree
ROH fans should be concerned that DVD sales will start to decrease now that the best wrestlers on the roster (i.e. Austin Aries, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley, etc.) are being displayed on free TV on TNA Impact.

The Royal Dutch of Dukes: Disagree, if anything, ROH fans should be happy, because if you know about Impact and watch it and see these guys but you don't know ROH, this is a good exposure to those guys and the ROH product.  I think we'll see DVD sales increase if anything.

NidiaFan: ROH's unique business plan makes it imperative that fans feel the need to purchase the DVD's. However ROH needs to recognize that 1) they can't expect their workers to remain in ROH out of loyalty to the company and 2) like any company, they should be creating new stars on a regular basis. In some respects, ROH should work on a promotional partnership with TNA as TNA fans who never saw Joe or Shelley might want to see them in ROH. Because ROH and TNA's business plans are so different, I don't see one stealing customers from the other which means that a collaboration would be in both companies' best interests.

3. Agree or Disagree
WWE is pushing the wrong wrestlers on Raw (i.e. Rob Conway, Carlito) and pushing the right wrestlers too soon on Smackdown (i.e. Bobby Lashley, Ken Kennedy).

NidiaFan: I really don't have a problem with the wrestlers the WWE are pushing on either show. I'm actually pretty happy to see the WWE giving guys a chance to break out on their own. There may be guys who are being pushed too soon but that didn't stop Batista or John Cena from becoming big stars. While the WWE makes a lot of questionable decisions, I am happy to see them giving guys a chance besides the usual suspects.

The Royal Dutch of Dukes: Agree on the Conway point, disagree on the rest. Carlito's shit in the ring, admittedly, but he could still be a big deal someday, it's just too soon to push him this hard. As for Lashley and Kennedy, aside from Eddie G. and Cowboy Bob Orton they're the only thing on Smackdown really worth watching. I think Lashley's ready, and it seems they're not pushing him too hard too fast at the moment (though I haven't read this weeks Smackdown spoilers, so I don't know what they're doing with him now), and Kennedy is just money. I think Smackdown is poised to start building some momentum, whereas Raw seems to keep missing every other hurdle, metaphorically speaking.

Thanks guys! I appreciate your input! I’m looking forward to seeing who gets to join me next week.

***

Blah blah blah. I’m done now. I’ve talked WAAAY too much. Folks, I really appreciate you taking the time to click the link that brought you here. As always, I want to hear from you and know what you’re thinking. Drop me a line at Zah@WorldWrestlingInsanity.com or drop on by The Pit at the very bottom of the message board and give me a shout. Take care and we’ll talk early on Sunday morning when I give my TNA Impact review.

L8R