Wrestling: Disposable entertainment or not?

[Kane Knight]

Let's hear your thoughts.

[Dave Youell]

What do you mean by disposable?

To different types of fans it means different things

To me it’s my number 1 choice of entertainment, I don’t enjoy watching the WWE product as much as I used to, but with regards to wrestling as a whole I want to watch at least a few hours each week, regardless of what it actually is.

I think I treat it the same way I do with football, I’ll watch a few hours of football each week regardless of who’s playing, what league or how bad it is, I watch it because I love it.

Wrestling is something I’ve been involved in since I was 12, I watch it on TV, go to the shows, get the merch and do it myself. So to me it’s not something that I can pass on.

To the casual fan now though, as in the guy sat at home on a Monday who likes Cena because he’s pushed that way, yeah I think now it’s disposable, in the 98/99 years, it wasn’t it was proper soap opera ‘OMG I have to see what happens next week’ type stuff, it was shocking tactics to keep people hot about the product and it worked for a while, but we are not there now and I don’t think we ever will be, there probably will be another boom period, but not in the same way as the attitude era or the original Hogan are.

So to answer, it’s disposable to some and not to others.

[Kane Knight]

So you think the casuals now are different than the casuals in 99?

Anyway, rephrase: Is it disposable for you?

[Dave Youell]

So you think the casuals now are different than the casuals in 99?

Anyway, rephrase: Is it disposable for you?

To me no?

I think that casuals had more of a reason to tune in next week in 99 than they do now. As it was more compelling TV then.

[Fox]

I get what he's saying because I'm the same way. To me, wrestling itself will never be a disposable form of entertainment. Even if I absolutely loathe the current product, I still read the reports online for almost every show, I still check rajah.com for news every morning, I still post on this fucking forum nearly every week. I've seen too many great matches and moments for me to just dispose of them all like they never happened. When shit gets rough, I sometimes read portions of "Have of a Nice Day" because, as a teenager, I idolized Mick Foley's passion and will, and the result of it, even up to this very day.

I can't dispose of wrestling the same way a Trekkie could never dispose of Star Trek, or Kevin Smith disposing of Star Wars. Never.

Now, to other types of fans, wrestling is completely disposable. These are the fans that watch a RAW or an ECW because there's nothing else on TV; the fans that go see TNA tapings at Universal Studios because they mistakingly thought it was going to be a strip show, but who then stay for the live experience and the violence of pro wrestling.

And that's fine. Wrestling needs those types of fans, just like Star Trek: First Contact needed me to shill out $5 for their flick. I'm not a Trekkie by any means, and it was a good movie. But I didn't buy it the day it came out or anything. Not the way I still watch Jericho vs. Michaels and Cactus Jack vs. Triple H today and still love them.

That's the difference between disposable entertainment and not.

[BigDaddyCool]

Wrestling has always been on tv, and it is colorful enough to always be their.

[Xero]

No.

[Theo Dious]

I gave this a thought and this is the only thing I could come up with.

If WWE went away tomorrow, I would start watching TNA constantly.

If TNA went away the day after that, I would start watching ROH constantly.

If ROH went away the day after that, I would probably start watching UFC and talking about how much less cool it is than wrestling.

So, to answer the question, no.

[Kane Knight]

I think that casuals had more of a reason to tune in next week in 99 than they do now. As it was more compelling TV then.

Disposable entertainment doesn't mean that you don't turn in every week.

A decent example of what's frequently considered disposable entertainment is porn: People tend to buy it (Or I guess, nowadays download it) and view it once or twice before discarding. There may be some people out there who buy it every day, there may be some that buy it once a decade, but the general issue is that it has limited uses, effectively. There may be some people for which that is not the case, but the primary issue isn't really frequency.

Soap Operas are disposable entertainment too.

[Slow]

Never, even when sky+ isn't working and i actually have to watch the wrestling, i'll still sit through the entire show, though i cry if i have to watch lashley for more than a minute.

Some advice: listen to the commentary and look up when something interesting happens, all the while playing on a psp or ds. two birds with one stone as they say.

[Xero]

Disposable entertainment doesn't mean that you don't turn in every week.

A decent example of what's frequently considered disposable entertainment is porn: People tend to buy it (Or I guess, nowadays download it) and view it once or twice before discarding. There may be some people out there who buy it every day, there may be some that buy it once a decade, but the general issue is that it has limited uses, effectively. There may be some people for which that is not the case, but the primary issue isn't really frequency.

Soap Operas are disposable entertainment too.

Aside from possibly sports, that can be said about just about every show on television and movie.

[Indifferent Clox]

Such a great topic, I'm at school I'll post my opinions later.

[IC Champion]

Yes, very much so. I watched RAW every week for the last year up until 2 months ago, could care less now really.

[.44 Magdalene]

I feel obligated to keep up with it, since I'm trying to break into the business.

[Stickman]

I still don't understand what disposable entertainment is. You could say any form of entertainment is disposable.

[Dave Youell]

I still don't understand what disposable entertainment is. You could say any form of entertainment is disposable.

Yeah I’m still not sure,

When you say disposable, I think what I as a viewer am willing to spend my energy on it.

Say right now Heroes season 1 is going to finish next week in the UK, now I’ve made sure to watch every episode of that show, then watch the same ep the following week before watching the following episode, I’m watching the behind the scene’s stuff and chatting with my friends about scenario’s and where I think it’s going to go, I only get this involved in a few shows or movies.

Star Wars, The Matrix and lost are pretty much the only other things I’ve bothered to keep up with in a TV/Film capacity, so for me, I don’t consider that disposable as I feel I have to watch it as I want to know what happens. I’ll add Scrubs to that list as well

I feel the same way about wrestling, and I feel that Casuals from 99 (or a larger proportion of Casuals) felt the same, they didn’t know wrestling inside out or know it was even a work in some cases, but each show was left on such a cliffhanger that you felt you had to see the next show, I don’t think we have that in wrestling today, so I think to a casual fan it’s more disposable than it was.

[Jeritron]

I can dispose of it for months at a time, in some cases even years at a time, if I'm not interested. But it's never truly disposeable like a fad or a one shot intest.

Like most forms of entertainment I have ever loved, it seems to come back every once in a while and I get into the old and current stuff.
I'm the same way with certain movies, music, and video games and such. Also, when a sports season ends I lose interest until it starts up again, naturally.

Sometimes I got on a tear where I'm really into the Simpsons or X files or something, and watch dozens of episodes over a couple weeks. Then I lose interest for a year or something.

Sometimes I'm really into Star Wars for a little while, especially when the new movies came out, and then I don't think about it for a year.

Sometimes I'm really into rap, or someone like Kanye or Tupac and then I get sick of it until a year later a new album comes out or I have an urge to get back into an album.
Sometimes I don't want to listen to metal for months, and then I got on a splurge.

Just like sometimes I couldn't care less about wrestling. Then something catches my interest or I just flat out have an urge to watch some and I'm back into it.

It's always there, it's just not always active because I have so many different interests and I tend to focus on certain ones at different times and put others on hold since theres not enough hours in the day to be a huge fan of everything I'm a huge fan of.

[.44 Magdalene]

Your mom is disposable entertainment

[Kane Knight]

Aside from possibly sports, that can be said about just about every show on television and movie.

I disagree. A lot of other shows will go into syndication, to be watched again. Even before the invention of DVD, and the surge in season sets, there was a huge video market.

Wrestling's done okay for itself on DVD, mind.

[Chavo Classic]

My interest in wrestling can be likened to an addiction.

It's a dirty secret that I want no-one to know. I checked rajah during my break in work this past week, and my colleague asked what was on the website. I bullshitted and claimed it was a UFC interest site as it might be perceived as 'cooler'.

However, during the very same break when I was slightly embarrassed as I was caught out visiting a wrestling site, I decided to spend my lunch looking at other sites. Within five minutes I was bored and goddammit, I needed to know the Smackdown spoilers regardless of not having watched the show in months and only having an interest in one or two of the performers.

Simply, I can't do without it. It's become more than a hobby, and when I'm waiting for my train or standing in a queue I'm imagining in my head Mike Awesome powerbombing Tanaka from the nearest ledge or through an adjacent table.

So, as long as I'm breathing air, I'm going to have an interest. Unless they have detox clinics for headlocks and lariats.

[Kane Knight]

So, as long as I'm breathing air, I'm going to have an interest. Unless they have detox clinics for headlocks and lariats.


Actually, I have one. So far, my only clients are court ordered, though.

[YOUR Hero]

All forms of entertainment are disposable. I'm not too sure what more I can add. I can take or leave absolutely everything and anything that serves to entertain me. It becomes uninteresting and therefore not entertaining if it fails to serve it's purpose.

[Kane Knight]

All forms of entertainment are disposable.


No. Really, trust me on this one.

[Jordan]

To me? Absolutely, yes. I have been a fan since I was a little kid, but it doesn't define me. And its not needed to make my life happy, and it rarely does anyway. Up until I was 14 or so it was indisposable, no doubt, I had to watch it. But now, well I'm not a dumb kid anymore and I don't need a TV show to make me happy.

[FourFifty]

Anyway, rephrase: Is it disposable for you?


I have an autographed picture of Ric Flair on my wall.
At least a third of my dvds are wrestling dvds.
At least a fourth of my video games are wrestling games.
My little sister gave me a toy hardcore title for Hanakuah (the pack with Mick Foley and Edge).
I've been told that I act like it's christmas during WrestleMania.
I've spent countless hours with friends and family watching and talking about wrestling. Hell, let me cut and paste something I put on my myspace a while ago.

Years and years ago I was able to get an insight about how wrestling used to be, and how wrestling fans were, by talking to my late Great Uncle Herb. Hearing him bring up names I've only read about… It might not be much but I hope he knows how much that conversation means to me today.

I'm only a fan, someone who has faithfully sat on the sidelines for years no matter how much crap I've had to bear. But during this 20 year saga a form of enterrainment became part of who I am.
Is it disposable for me? Only if I'm willing to get rid of part of who I am.

[Jordan]

You sir, are gaaaaay.

[KYR]

I have an autographed picture of Ric Flair on my wall.
At least a third of my dvds are wrestling dvds.
At least a fourth of my video games are wrestling games.
My little sister gave me a toy hardcore title for Hanakuah (the pack with Mick Foley and Edge).
I've been told that I act like it's christmas during WrestleMania.
I've spent countless hours with friends and family watching and talking about wrestling.

Please don't tell me you have your own entrance music and refuse to come downstairs for dinner unless it's played?