The lifespan of the typical fan's fandom?

[Xero]

Most of us here aren't "typical fans". The large majority have been following wrestling in one way or another (watching, reading results, etc) for at least ten years, and likely see that not stopping anytime soon. But what about your typical fan? How long is their fandom lifespan? Are they destined to grow out of it permanently, or is there that chance that, if it becomes "cool" again, that they'd go back to it?

Discuss typical fans in general in here.

[dronepool]

I consider myself a casual fan. I'd say the life span depends on the lifestyle and eating habits. Some people can live to 90 and some may get a heart attack at 50. I don't really think you can narrow it down that easily.

As for growing out of it, it isn't too hard. If someone has interesting things going on in their lives and they aren't super long term hardcore fans, it's just a matter of getting distracted by more interesting events, if whenever they happen.

[MoFo]

The amount of people I know (none of which watch anymore/never did) who watched Raw lately just to see The Rock is ridiculous. If one man can make ppl watch after yrs, I'd say the lifespan could be a lifetime. All you need is that next huge star to keep people watching.

dont think that made sense at all tho.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Once you get bitten by the bug, it never truly goes away.

[Mjdiesel]

I think it varies. For a generation x'er I'd say he or she was into wrestling but then got tired of it and someone like a Steve Austin or some other figure that took the company by storm somewhat brought them back.

I grew up loving WWF, Rowdy Roddy, Hogan fan, all that.....around 16-17 years old, 96-97 I grew tired of it and made fun of my younger brother for watching "lowlife trash". I hated Road Dogg Jesse James...Mind you this was the Attitude era of the promotion, then around 2000 I got back into it.

What peaked my interest back to watching it full time. VINCE BUYING WCW.

I been watching and talking about ppvs with my brother and his friends ever since.

In an opposite turn, the Benoit thing was very fucked up. I feel for the guy, but that whole thing was a horrid, grim tragedy. It did make me turn away from WWE for a while, like a year. Seriously.

Even when the company was distancing himself and all that stuff, the sordid details of the Benoit family tragedy left a really bad taste in my mouth.

I moved on from that and got back into it again, about 6 months to a year later.

So yeah i think it depends on if something peaks your interest or not.

[Lara Emily]

It comes down to quality of the object of the fandom. I'm sure post attitude era alot of casuals left because the product was becoming absolutely terrible.

[dronepool]

The Benoit murders actually reminded me that WWE was still around, I've been oblivious to it for years before he did what he did.

[Mjdiesel]

The Benoit murders actually reminded me that WWE was still around, I've been oblivious to it for years before he did what he did.

No question the incident gave WWE a ton of publicity. Albeit bad, I hear what you're saying---im sure many people who would never have given their shows a look caught on and gave it a chance.

[dronepool]

No question the incident gave WWE a ton of publicity. Albeit bad, I hear what you're saying---im sure many people who would never have given their shows a look caught on and gave it a chance.

Yeah, I had no idea who any of the new guys were or anything- all I knew were the guys who were already established. Actually on another board somebody posted that "Vince got blown up" in the wrestling thread of that board and that made me curious to, but it was around the same time I believe.

[ooTin]

19 years and counting

[Aguakate]

I used to be REALLY into wrestling back in the day...my "fandom" began in 1994 and ended in, like...I don't know...maybe 2003, when I graduated High School. I used to buy t-shirts, I was subscribed to WWF Magazine as well as RAW Magazine, have my parents buy me the PPV's...

...but not anymore. And I can't even say that it was because "the quality of the product changed" or anything like that...I just kinda grew up, started working, later going to College, and you know...I've watched all these years, and still do, but whereas before I COULD NOT miss a RAW, now if I can't watch, I don't sweat it.

I think the internet has changed the "fandom" phenomenon...because you can miss a show, or PPV, and watch it later on YouTube as well as other pages, and you can read results, fans don't develop that same sense of "loyalty" they used to. Maybe that's what happened to me.

[Emperor Smeat]

It definetly depends on which era or time period someone becomes a fan and if wrestling is popular due to the majority of the audience being children or as a "fad".

As popular as the Attitude Era was in the mainstream, once that ended a lot of the newer fans gained during that era went on to new things to like (ex. ECW/WCW fans who didn't become WWF fans). On the other hand, Hogan's boom during the 1980s carried over due to having children as his main fan base and those same people kept watching during the 1990s as teenagers or adults.

Since wrestling has a huge turnover with its fanbase once every few years, I'd say anywhere between 4-5 years to 10 years for the typical fan. I forgot who said it about old storylines can be redone years later because the audience is almost completely new by then.

[Xero]

It definetly depends on which era or time period someone becomes a fan and if wrestling is popular due to the majority of the audience being children or as a "fad".

As popular as the Attitude Era was in the mainstream, once that ended a lot of the newer fans gained during that era went on to new things to like (ex. ECW/WCW fans who didn't become WWF fans). On the other hand, Hogan's boom during the 1980s carried over due to having children as his main fan base and those same people kept watching during the 1990s as teenagers or adults.

Since wrestling has a huge turnover with its fanbase once every few years, I'd say anywhere between 4-5 years to 10 years for the typical fan. I forgot who said it about old storylines can be redone years later because the audience is almost completely new by then.
I think it was Hayes, Terry Taylor or possibly Cornette who said that the business is in a seven year cycle.

[James Steele]

Cornette's 7-Year Rule

Seven Year Rule
A gimmick or storyline may be reused freely and safely after seven years of dormancy. Coined by Professional Wrestling (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ProfessionalWrestling) promoter, writer, on-air personality, and general jack-of-all-trades Jim Cornette, the Seven Year Rule is the unwritten pro wrestling rule that, after seven years, there has been enough turnover in the fanbase that a writer can re-use the same gimmicks and storylines with impunity. As the theory goes, any wait shorter than seven years may result in fans noticing the rehashing, and calling the promotion on the re-use. After that, a few diehard longtime fans may notice and become upset, but almost everybody will accept the product as new. This is because of a relatively Fleeting Demographic (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FleetingDemographic). The average wrestling federation tends to get heavy turnover in its fanbase — new fans discover the product, and old fans get fed up or move on. That makes this possible. The general principle applies to any work that is enough of a Long Runner (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LongRunner) to outlast most of its initial fanbase. During the Silver Age (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SilverAge) of comics, the writers assumed that there would be enough turnover in their readership over a number of years that they could reuse plots and storylines indefinitely. This is particularly noticeable in the old Superman family books; Jimmy Olsen, for instance, became a wolfman several timeshttp://www.mediatropes.info/pmwiki/pub/external_link.gif (http://superdickery.com/index.php?view=article&catid=29%3Aconfounding-comic-covers-index&id=1009%3Ajimmy-the-wolfman&option=com_content&Itemid=24). The turnover often took significantly less then seven years, and sometimes as little as one year, because the editors and publishers believed that their demographic was kids ages 9-11 — which would make a two-year turnover safe — and that their demographic rarely read comics frequently enough to notice the repetition. They also believed that even if they did read them often, they wouldn't notice (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ViewersAreMorons)). This has been turned away from in recent times because comics are now written by people Running The Asylum (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RunningTheAsylum), people who love (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ContinuityPorn) continuity (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Continuity); if they make events repeat, then they'll eventually come up with a metaplot to explain it. The seven-year rule also happen in long-running (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LongRunners) TV shows, especially Soap Operas (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoapOpera) (see Recycled Script (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RecycledScript)). Since Professional Wrestling (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ProfessionalWrestling) is a soap opera with steel chairs (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/XMeetsY), it shouldn't surprise you.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SevenYearRule

[El Fangel]

Depends on the timeframe of when they did an angle and when they are doing it again.

Or in short, the above post.

[James Steele]

I got the perfect angle to recycle after 7+ years...

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac27/thedirtsheethd/Wrestlemania-18-Triple-H_2069750.jpg

[JimmyMess]

I'd say probably 3-4 years. Using my group of friends as an example. Two of us were major follows from 98-2002 roughly, three from 96-2000 roughly, and myself who followed from 98-2003ish, and then got back into watching regularly around 2009. Now we are all the same age, which puts us around ten years old in 1996, you do the math.

- Granted I would occasionally, check places such as TPWW and see what was going on in between the years I didn't watch.

- Aside from my close friends.... People I work with or who are casual friends pick an era, "Oh I watched Hogan and Macho in the 90's" or "I watched when it was Austin"

From personal experience, it seems the average person watches for 3 or 4 years before "outgrowing" it, or the content of the show changes to the point that they don't enjoy it.

[James Steele]

Thankfully, Triple H being in involved with WWE for the rest of his life means that...

http://cdn.bleacherreport.com/images_root/image_pictures/0366/2972/ric-flair-never-retire-wallpape_crop_340x234.jpg

[dronepool]

I started getting into it around 1997/1998 and I lost interest in about mid 2004- since the last WWE game I bought before was Bring The Pain before I got bored and remembered RAW was still on one Monday night in 2008.

I stopped around -I think it was the time someone's limo blew up a limo or something (before Vince)- unless I'm way off. I remember reading the Vince limo thing and thinking "again?".

[Droford]

Ive been watching since 1989 when I was taken to my first NWA show at the civic center here when I was 7. I dont remember it but through the magic of the internet..

<small><small>NWA @ Salisbury, MD - Wicomico Youth Center - June 29, 1989
Brian Pillman pinned Jack Victory
Scott Hall pinned Rip Morgan
Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Ron Simmons & Al Greene
NWA Tag Team Champions Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin defeated Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace
Sting won a battle royal; after the match, Sting was attacked by Terry Funk
The Great Muta defeated Eddie Gilbert via count-out in a Dragon Shi match
Steve Williams & the Road Warriors fought Terry Gordy & the Samoan Swat Team to a double count-out
NWA US Champion Lex Luger pinned Ricky Steamboat </small></small>

OOF..Scott Steiner and sting...still wrestling..in TNA..22 years later..

[RiX1024]

since I was 11 now I'm 23, so yes 12 years and still counting.

[RaginRonic]

Been a weekly fan of this thing since end Feb. 1991....UnderTaker fan since he said 'Not Yours.' to Jake 'The Snake' Roberts on the Funeral Parlor in I think end Feb. 1992.

[XL]

Did someone change the thread title to "How long have you been watching?".

[GD]

I missed the entire Attitude Era and the Invasion storyline as I had stopped watching the WWF in 1995. I was reborn a fan when I saw the Brock Lesnar - Big Show stretcher match back in 2003. Due to my academics, I haven't really watched any of the weekly programming since 2005 but I do try to keep up with PPVs and all the other special events. Hence the lifespan varies from fan to fan.

[Theo Dious]

I've been watching since 1990 (20+ years, wow.) As far as getting out and back in, I never totally stopped watching, though my attention did wane a in the 90s and it was really the nWo that got me paying attention again, and I got back in to watching regularly starting with SummerSlam 2000. There was never a point where I was like "ahh wrestling, fuck that," just some times where I wasn't paying meticulous attention.

[Steveviscious89]

Alright so I'm going to discuss the actual question at hand since everyone else seemed to turn it into their own personal interview. My brother and a cousin I have about his age I think sum up the typical fan. They both got into it around the time just after the attitude era, and now neither of them are really watching anymore. I have observed that a lot of fans who were not part of the late 90's deal have not stuck with it for more than about 6 years. So I guess this makes Cornette's 7-year theory pretty accurate. I think the rest of us know what a big spectacle wrestling can be when it's at its best, so we hang in there for those great shows that seem to only happen about five times a year now. Heck even I got sick of wrestling after the attitude era fizzled out, but I came back because TNA got its deal with Spike TV and offered something different...although not necessarily better at all, just different.

[CSL]

I have been a pro wrestling fan for 217 years.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

I don't think there is a general lifespan. People will stop watching when it's shit and not keep watching to complain like some of you sadists.

[Robodiv]

I usually keep quiet on this forum, but I like the subject of this thread.

Been a fan since probably around 88ish going into the 90's. All my mates are the same, and the drummer in my band get asked 80's and 90's trivia all the time for shits n giggles when we're drunk. So aye, me, my mates, and even my girlfriend have been watching it for "decades" dare I say.

Last year we toured with Limp Bizkit, and when I was out stayin in L.A at FD's house, he was telling me also that even though they were booked to play Mania, the main reason they did it was because they love wrestling too. (Hes a massive Flair and Dusty Rhodes fan). Also it turns out, when they first started out they got to play an ECW show and said it was fucking amazing.

We're doing the same in 3/4 weeks (?). Recording our first music video at the scottish fed who used to be NXT, in release for Download Festival/Sonisphere etc. Should be cool. Complete rip off of the stuck mojo video for Rising (which featured them in the ring with the WCW wrestlers) but we're going for us playing with carnage going on inside and outside the ring (tables, barb wire etc)

It must seem like I'm babbling (and I'll probably get ripped for it), but I think being a wrestling fan for so long has definetly had an influence on the people I hang around with, some of the options we choose as a band etc, and to be honest. Its great, and probably one of the reasons why I come on this forum because its full of like minded people who are not your "typical wrestling fans".


I sometimes feel that the "typical" wrestling fan lifespan lasts as long as they are into/get bored with storylines. I would go as far to say it aint about the art of wrestlings for most of them, which shows with the constant cycles of fans.

I could have worded this a bit better if I had took the time, but I have stuff to do.

Cool thread btw, and it's cool to see how long people have been fans for.

[Sixx]

Last year we toured with Limp Bizkit)



Yo, I wouldn't brag about it.

[Robodiv]

Yo, I wouldn't brag about it.

Yo, ok. I'll just sit and look at pictures of playing to a few thousand people per night and cry myself a river instead.

[Sixx]

Yo, what's your band called?

Yo, I'd google it.

[Robodiv]

Yo, I'll send you a PM yo.

[Sixx]

Yo, thanks.

[Robodiv]

"You wouldn't be able to talk to a typical fan about how mental the Iron Sheik is."


IRRRRROONN SHEEEEEEK NAAAMBER WAAAAAAN!

[seapig4]

Lets see, I'm 27 now, remember watching Wrestlemania 8 then not really caring until I was in a video store and saw In Your House: Bad Blood and was amazed cus it had an 18 rating, that got me hooked into it but I've been drifting in and out of it for a past few years.

[Hitman84]

I usually keep quiet on this forum, but I like the subject of this thread.

Been a fan since probably around 88ish going into the 90's. All my mates are the same, and the drummer in my band get asked 80's and 90's trivia all the time for shits n giggles when we're drunk. So aye, me, my mates, and even my girlfriend have been watching it for "decades" dare I say.

Last year we toured with Limp Bizkit, and when I was out stayin in L.A at FD's house, he was telling me also that even though they were booked to play Mania, the main reason they did it was because they love wrestling too. (Hes a massive Flair and Dusty Rhodes fan). Also it turns out, when they first started out they got to play an ECW show and said it was fucking amazing.

We're doing the same in 3/4 weeks (?). Recording our first music video at the scottish fed who used to be NXT, in release for Download Festival/Sonisphere etc. Should be cool. Complete rip off of the stuck mojo video for Rising (which featured them in the ring with the WCW wrestlers) but we're going for us playing with carnage going on inside and outside the ring (tables, barb wire etc)

It must seem like I'm babbling (and I'll probably get ripped for it), but I think being a wrestling fan for so long has definetly had an influence on the people I hang around with, some of the options we choose as a band etc, and to be honest. Its great, and probably one of the reasons why I come on this forum because its full of like minded people who are not your "typical wrestling fans".


I sometimes feel that the "typical" wrestling fan lifespan lasts as long as they are into/get bored with storylines. I would go as far to say it aint about the art of wrestlings for most of them, which shows with the constant cycles of fans.

I could have worded this a bit better if I had took the time, but I have stuff to do.

Cool thread btw, and it's cool to see how long people have been fans for.

I too only post rarely here now, but here is my tuppence worth as this thread seems really cool.

I was an avid mark from the age of 8 (1992) up until early 1998, when I was able to delve deeper into what happened at Montréal, and then we cancelled our cable TV contract, so we didn't have Sky Sports any more. I never watched WCW, and the ECW era completely bypassed me. The only old-school ECW I have seen is on the likes of youtube since it folded.

I was only drawn back into wrestling because my friend had the game WCW vs nWo: Revenge on N64. Thought it was cool, mainly because Bret Hart and most of the other guys from 1980s WWF that I grew up following were in WCW at the time. I still didn't watch wrestling at all, I just liked the game.

Then I got Wrestlemania 2000 on N64 for Christmas and the following January (2000, I think) Channel 4 in the UK acquired the rights to four PPVs per year, so I could watch on terrestrial TV. I watched that year's Royal Rumble on Channel 4 and really enjoyed the InVasion angle. I followed only casually while I was at university and on my various jaunts in Europe because I didn't have the time.

I got back into it full time last year and have rarely missed an episode of RAW, SmackDown, NXT and Vintage Collection. Really liking CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Drew McIntyre, Edge and Alberto del Rio right now, and I can't wait for Christian to return to wrestling full time. Though, I think my current favourite has to be Santino Marella. Completely underrated. His segments are funny, but he is talented enough, I feel, to maintain the comedy and be a credible singles champion.

So, that's me and wrestling. :wave:

[DLVH84]

I've followed pro wrestling since 1988, when I was a little kid in Frankfurt, West Germany (my father was in the U.S. Army at the time, so my family was stationed there). So, I got to see an international flavor of wrestling early on in life, with Otto Wanz' Catch Wrestling Association, as it was a home promotion that featured wrestlers from America, Canada, Austria, Germany, United Kingdom, and Japan. It was very unique. I believe that is why I love bringing up different countries and flavors of pro wrestling.

[CSL]

Hardly 217 years though is it bruh

[DLVH84]

Hardly 217 years though is it bruh

I don't know, CSL. When you learn the history of the sport, it seems likes a lifetime.

[CSL]

Yo 217 years is like 3 lifetimes bruh

[Mjdiesel]

"Alright so I'm going to discuss the actual question at hand since everyone else seemed to turn it into their own personal interview. "


Who the fuck are you??

[Rock Bottom]

It's on and off for me. I turn it on every now and then and it holds my attention for a while until I realize I get pretty bored with it. I don't have a problem with wrestling itself I'm just not really into the way shit is done anymore. The people I actually think can even hold the jocks of the last generation either get 5 second pushes or win titles and then two weeks later are in jobber fueds while the people that make me just stare at my screen get so much airtime I just wanna turn it off.

CM Punk, John Morrison, Orton, Del Rio, pretty damn awesome I hope they continue to do well.

Daniels can be OK if they manage to find what to do with him. I mean I guess it's kind of safe right now to just have him carry a whatever belt, maybe get some personality going but you're going to have to make him a bit meaner. Look what they did with Benoit. Guy never said shit and eventually he got over really well. He has a big following on the net so I hope he finds a better spot in the thick of things.

edit: disclaimer: if you go there that's cool with me but I don't want Daniels to kill his family and die.

There are a lot of guys now that are pretty talented but the booking and storylines just seem so dumb and everything seems so irrelevant next to the main events even the WWE title itself hasn't meant shit to me for a while. Start there and fix that and I'd watch more.