Why do you read spoilers?
 

What's the point? Doesn't that take all of the fun out of it for you? Do you think that maybe you would enjoy some things more if you didn't know what was going to happen?

I know people say they are sick of stupid things happening so they want to make sure the show sounds good on paper before actually watching. I think that's pretty silly. I couldn't imagine hearing about a movie that I think may be good, so I wait until I hear about the ending to decide whether I want to see it. There's also a chance that something comes off much better on screen than can be described in text.

If you don't trust the show to entertain you to that extent, it's probably best to just find other entertainment avenues.

Discuss. No spoilers, though.

Agreed, although I usually read the spoilers when I know I'm not gonna be able to watch the show.

Well that makes sense.

I read them so I can get an early idea of how I'm doing in the WWE Pool

I think I've read them over the years out of habit/curiosity. In wrestling, it seems that a lot of people really just care about results. I used to be that way.
As I've gotten older, I've learned to appreciate the show way more and the matches, etc.

I can see where the market is for spoiler though. There's definitely a large portion of the audience that just wants to know "what happens"

I usually end up watching Smackdown when possible anyways, so I don't really have a good answer for why I read them other than habit/curiosity.
It's strange though, because I don't do that for movies or tv shows that I like. I would never do that, and I get pissed when I accidentally get spoiled for them.

I never read the spoilers....I think that if you're the kind of fan that wrestling wants to have, you won't do it.

Usually habit

and also because I don't like surprises

I actually don't know. I think I have a problem.

Well I read Smackdown because I never see it during the school year and I like to know what is going on.

:y:

I hate when things get spoiled for me. I am actually less likely to watch the show because I "already know what happens."

It'd be fun to see some charts or something comparing "Percentage of show spoiled for viewer" to "Percentage of show enjoyed by viewer" or something along those lines. Who wants to do some research?

aren't you winning by like 800 points in the wwe pool

I know Jeritron has a stronghold on sa's TNA Pool, even though nobody knows who his picks are.

I had Don West and Mike Tenay and sa shattered my dreams

I have been kicked out of said pool, but I will have my revenge

MUAHAHAHAHAHA

Jeritron had a great draft in the TNA Pool. A thing of beauty, really.

I had a great draft in Juan's WWE Pool. I almost took Swagger instead of MVP. At the time, I think I made the right pick but if I picked Swagger I would be off the chain. Fuck

I want to get into one of those. Maybe I should just start my own?

I think it's really curiosity more than anything. Though usually I'll only skim results, not read them in-depth.

It never affects me negatively. If it's a shit show on paper I'll still catch it if I can. I've been skipping SmackDown! over the past few years for some reason but have been watching it regularly again lately. My spoilers habit has not changed, so it's not a matter of show quality or being spoiled.

If anything, it'll make me want to watch it more. The Swagger title win spoiler made me more interested in the show, not less.

I love wrestling. I don't care if I know the results or have seen it before. I'll watch it because I enjoy it.

It's a lot harder to buy into a match when you already know the finish, though. I think you'd like it more if you didn't know.

Also, I was pretty upset that dickmouth RP spoiled the Swagger win. I was excited about it, as I am a big Swagger mark, but if I hadn't known that was coming, I would have probably gone ballistic. Instead, I was just watching the show, waiting for Swagger to pop out.

I get the feeling that some people think they're "cool" for knowing what's going to happen before it does. I'm not basing that on TPWW, but when I watch PPVs at bars or whatever, people seem to take pride in being right about the outcomes. Spoilers seem like they may be in that same vein.

I only read the spoilers half of the time. When I do, it isn't really because I plan on it. I'm just bored and they are there.

I'll agree to an extent. For example, Eve winning the Vagina belt on RAW. I did skim the spoilers but didn't notice that she won. Had I known, I wouldn't have cared at all. Since I didn't read the spoiler, I was surprised when she actually won it.

Spoilers definitely take out that "oh shit, nice" factor. However, it almost seems like when I know the finish I can focus more on the match at hand. With me, it's almost like watching a match you've seen before. You know what's going to happen, so you can focus on the more minute details.

It's definitely a different feeling not knowing what's going to happen, but there's enjoyment to be had on another level with that knowledge.

Yeah, that's the only thing on the internet there is to read. Come on, bro.

I get what you're saying, but I don't know why you'd want the feeling upon the first viewing of a match. If a match is going to be worth watching again, I doubt not knowing the finish the first time you watched it had any adverse effect. I don't see how not knowing the outcome doesn't let you focus on minute details, either. All it does it add a sense of excitement to false finishes, really.

Same here...

Let's just admit it. Most of us read them because it's hard to resist and we're on these forums, and they're on here for 3 days. It's really a stretch to come up with some other reason or justification other than pure curiosity/habit

I'd buy that, but I know there are some people here who say they only watch if the spoilers sound good. I'd like to hear from those silly geese.

Also, I feel I do pretty well about avoiding spoilers (besides when they're posted in thread titles, of course). I'll generally try and stay out of any Smackdown related thread from Tuesday through Friday (or whenever I get around to watching it), and I have had pretty good success with it. It can be done. You guys can be just like me! :y:

I want to be like Anybody Thrilla.

STEP ONE:

Avoid spoilers

STEP TWO:

....

STEP THREE:

Profit

I usually wait til Fridays. If I'm obligated elsewhere, I'll check them Fri. Afternoon. If not, no spoilers for me. I love watching Smackdown. I prefer it to Raw, and don't want to know what's gonna happen in advance. I guess it goes back to the Live vs. Taped thing Xero talked about awhile back.

Tony Schiavone texts me results every once in a while, sarcastically commenting on how it will put butts in seats, but it just makese me want to watch even more.

Smackdown is definitely better than Raw. I should train myself to avoid the spoilers. It's probably part of the reason I would like it to be live, other than the live event atmosphere which would be the primary reason.
It's really a matter of self control. I should try it next week

I think I'll try it next week as well.

If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. If you guys want to play some Yahoo Grafitti or something to pass the time, I can do that.

:lol:

This. I just mostly read the match card. I don't read into the results of each match b/c I still like to be surprised.

More like

More like

Good thing I don't read spoilers or my feelings might be hurt right now. :cool:

You can just skim them

If Sheamus moves to Smackdown he will be skim milk

When smackdown moves to SyFy he will be 2% milk

I read spoilers for the hell of it. I usually skim results, if it sounds good I'll want to watch that episode more than usual. I usually end up forgetting most of what I read by Thursday anyway.

Honestly I really don't care that much about watching Smackdown 7 out of 10 times. Maybe it's the 8 o' clock time. I hate that it goes on so early. I sometimes put it on as backround noise as I browse the web after coming home from work. And there's been times where I just remember the main details and forget the rest, so there's still some surprises.

I'm only going to say this once...

WHO DEY

<font color=goldenrod>I'm rarely around on Fridays to watch SmackDown, and I don't have much time on the weekend to catch up. So what I'll normally do is read the spoilers and then watch the matches/segments that sound good on YouTube. Knowing the results going in doesn't bother me, I care more about the overall body of work.

Case in point, I read the Raw spoilers since it was taped early...then proceeded to not watch most of it cause it sounded shit and not worth 2 hours.</font>

You should be saying it every Sunday during football season for the rest of your life.

Another question...how many of you have DVR/Tivo?

I do not have DVR. I have never really wanted it either, but recently I've begun to have a need for it. That's mainly because I watch a bit more TV now.

Still, I get on without it since the only shows I really watch are either on demand or online afterwards.
I can watch Lost on ABC.com if I miss it, as well as Smackdown on Hulu.
The Office goes on demand about 2 hours after it airs.

That's close to all I watch on TV

Who gives a shit what kind of fan "wrestling" wants to have?

Anyway, I don't read spoilers as a rule. I don't care one way or another. i used to want the experience to be "pure," but I don't really even care when the shows are spoiled for me anymore.

Mostly because if I were a cat I'd have been killed by now.

.

I am a faithful and Longsuffering Bengals fan. From the Silverdome, to John Fucking Taylor. From The Ickey Shuffle to the Riverdance, I fucks with the NASTY NATTI!

Me.

I usually watch everything on a delay except RAW and the first hour of Impact. At the very least I time it to skip a few commercial breaks.

Was without a proper DVR since last August or so and missed out on a lot of shows this season because of it. Just got a new one and am watching more TV now. I realize that I really can't live without my DVR because I usually don't like watching things that are important to me on the computer.

because i don't need to spend time watching it. live is exciting because it's live, taped is boring.

To add to this thread, what about spoilers for, say, a PPV match that hasn't happened? I mean, yeah, it's technically speculation, but do you read threads/news stories which warn of a "Big Spoiler for Tonight"?

yep, i like to know what's going to happen and see it play out.

I don't. And it pissed me off when somebody on this board posted a random topic as the title of the thread, and then when I open it up it says "Jack Swagger is new World Champion". I don't wanna read spoilers. It's hard to read certain discussions cause I don't wanna know any of the current spoilers. Another reason why Smackdown needs to be live, and TNA needs to be live every week.

I read the spoilers so that I will know how much I can plan on being disappointed by Smackdown each week. I don't even bother to watch Superstars anymore. Now you may ask, "Well why don't you just stop watching" to which I would reply, I keep on watching for some reason I can't really explain. Maybe I keep watching out of love for the business. I can't bring myself to not watch wrestling, even though it's sad how watered down it is now.

And besides, by the time the show airs I usually have forgotten the results of the show because I have better things to remember during the week then keep track of the results of an R-Truth, or a Michelle McCool match.

Thought you lived in Atlanta or am I completely wrong?

I read spoilers to see if the show is worth watching.

I read spoilers for Smackdown! because it is not live. I like to watch live stuff. I read backstage spoilers because I can't resist. Then I regret it. Its like a drug

Reading spoilers have never affected me in watching. If anything I want to watch it more.

When Swagger won the belt, I made sure I saw it on SD.

I try to avoid those too, even though they aren't even true many times.

Well that's a little depressing. Chin up, boss.

Moreover, I figure even if I didn't remember a spoiler off the top of my head, there's a good chance it would come back to me as soon as the match started. I'd rather just not risk it at all.

So you don't think there's a chance that a show can play out better on television than it read on paper? That just seems like putting a lot of stock in the opinion of others, which I feel is shakey ground in the wrestling community.

But don't you feel your reaction would have been different if you didn't know it was coming?

I guess it would be different, but I don't watch Smackdown every week, so it actually makes me watch because I know it will happen. If that makes any sense.

It does. I guess I'm operating under the assumption that we all watch everything every week. I'm in the minority on that one, it would appear.

For me, it's like "I'll be watching regardless, so bring on the surprises".

I read Smackdown Spoilers because it has a crappy time slot.

I read spoilers because I don't watch Smackdown usually and I like to know whats going on.

When I am home I will DVR every show and then watch it the next day, but when I am at school, we have no way of recording it, so I have to read the spoilers.

Since I am graduating in May, I will be watching Smackdown every week.

I read it because I am too curious not to.

Actually, while that's fine, it kind of makes me happy more people don't watch regardless, and most people seem to prefer not to follow the product blindly. Wrestling's had so much shit over the last few years, it's probably smarter just to not throw blind support behind it.

I still find a lot about all of the shows that I enjoy. I haven't been bored/irritated to the point where I don't feel I want to watch the next week. Sure there have been bad episodes, but what show doesn't have those?

Either way, spoilers wouldn't help.

Neverrrr read spoilers. Can't see how it wouldn't ruin the show. Couldn't avoid the Swagger spoilers so like ABT, I just watched SD waiting for Swagger to come out.

Fair enough reading spoilers if you're gonna miss the show, but reading otherwise generally suggests to me either lazyness or massive geek. If you just skim through like some have said AND have a DVR then you can just skim through the actual show itself.

Spoilers, of shows, signings, injuries etc surely play a massive part in the lesser enjoyment of the actual shows. I bet if we avoided the Internet for like 5 months wrestling would be more enjoyable. This isn't realistic, so do what you can, avoid spoilers, be like Anybody Thrilla.

Dunno. This is a good question, although I have to say, with the move to a network I don't have (SyFy) on the horizon for this summer or fall, I feel like I'll be at least slightly more justified in that I'll be satisfying my curiosity as to what I'll miss until I can hop on YT the following Saturday AM/afternoon and watch it there.

But why do you read them now, DAMN iNATOR? WHY???

Actually, I have another question for you personally, Mr. iNATOR. I tend to remember an incident where you posted a spoilers thread (allegedly just to spite Juan, who liked to post those threads, but that's neither here nor there), but then you said that you didn't even read the very spoilers that you posted. Why would you go as far as to post spoilers that you didn't even read when spoilers are so easily accesible to anybody looking for them?

Yeah but sometimes the spoilers will say CM Punk/Rey Mysterio had a good match. Or even Undertaker and Angle have some classic match or some shit like that

A lot of times I'm only watching for 1 or 2 segments anyway so spoilers work for me.

If you hear that something is going to be really good, you're going to go into it with high expectations, which could end up making it not as good for you. If you go in expecting a normal match and it turns out to be Morrison/Evan Bourne, it's going to feel much better.

WHERE'S THE PASSION, GUYS???

I do live in Atlanta, I was born in South Carolina, but I am a Bengals Fan... When I was growing up, there weren't the Panthers, the Falcons sucked, and most people loved the Redskins. All I remember was one day looking at TV and seeeing Ken Anderson hurl a bomb to Collinsworth I was hooked.

I was born in October, which holiday is Halloween, The Bengals colors are Black and Orange, voila! in a 4 year olds mind, a marriage was made.

Theddy you are just Completely awesome!