How can I get back into WWE?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Maluco You see these last three posts are the two mindsets I go between. I watch RAW for a bit and I think to myself.....This just isn't good...But then I think to myself, is it me? Am I just older and have "grown out of wrestling" I watched one of the rivalries show on the network recently, the Hardy/Edge one...It wasn't remembered as a classic rivalry at all...But I loved it. I loved the lines being blurred, the whole edge (excuse the pun) around the product and the intensity of the rivalries. Edge is not a GOAT in my mind, but I look at someone like him, who I wasn't even a big fan of...And I think, he is streaks ahead of anyone I see on TV right now as an all round character and performer...In my head anyway. Maybe it is nostalgia and I am old and cynical, but when I do watch, I just can't shake the feeling that what I am watching is a shadow of what wrestling was. I guess that's the debate, is it me, or has WWE lost what made it great. Is it really the direction? Because when I watch, I don't see a direction...I just see Reigns/Jericho/Rollins/Owens fighting in pointless combinations every week. Surely if it were just me, ratings would be higher? Are all the new fans watching on Hulu? I have my doubts...

I can completely relate to this. Look at the energy Goldberg brought with him when he returned. It was obviously he was going to be a success, even in this era where "workrate" is valued so highly, simply because he is a genuine star with real charisma. He knows how to project himself like a real man. Besides Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe, no one else under WWE contract really knows how to do that. Or if they do, they agree not to for the purposes of their job, which actually psychically buries them.

The back-and-forth talking segments are weak as piss, and I actually blame the writers for that. Sure, Vince gets the final say, but you can feel that the lines are coming from someone that has never insulting someone to their face in their lives, and there's a smug geek in a backroom feel to the lines. They say that the product is for families, but they make the mistake of thinking that child-appropriate means condescending. I guarantee you most kids won't like this shit, because it's borderline pantomime at this point, only without the boos.

You also see the writers' machinations behind a lot of the angles. Randy Orton returning and re-joining The Authority instead of just trying to kick Seth Rollins' ass for example. Sure, maybe Vince wanted to bring Orton back as a heel and then changed his mind or whatever, but it reeked of trying to be "too cute" and be a piece of theater.

But still, you go back to the Attitude era for WWF and they really only had a few legit guys on top. Austin and Rock were basically the stars while Foley, Undertaker, Kane and HBK, for a while, played supporting roles. Everyone else was kind of there to be not as good and make the guys who looked great look greater. So there is hope that someone could come along and really light a fire that puts everybody else on notice and turns things around. You don't need the whole product to be good, just one thing to stand out and the rest to logically follow. But when the only guy with the balls to be an organic personality is Goldberg, that's when you're running into problems, because as refreshing as he is, he's not exactly fresh.

I'm really looking forward to the call-ups of Nakamura, Joe and The Revival for that very reason. Do I think it's going to instantly change the fate of the WWE? No. But I do think that those men have got the talent and, potentially, the willingness to kick ass and do things like stars. When they are presented as "just other guys" that go 50/50, maybe the wind will be out of my sails again, but maybe by then there will be someone else I sort of have hopes for.

Wrestling has become the chase of hope for me.