Wrestling is so horrible now. Will it ever rebound?

[Heelus Ultimus]

I was at one time an avid wrestling fan, especially during ECW's golden era and the WWF era of Attitude, as well as the years leading up and into that era of attitude. Shortly after the "Monday Night Wars" concluded with the total triumph of Vince McMahon I lost complete interest.

I'm not sure if that makes me a 'flash in the pan' fan or if wrestling has just become outright unbearable to watch.

A friend informed me that WM25 will feature the Undertaker versus HBK. I admittedly grabbed my interest and i've been DVR'ing RAW for the last few weeks. Each time I sit down to watch it it's a disappointment. I find myself fast forwarding through everything to get to the Michaels/Taker build ups and even those aren't leaving any lasting impression (although, I have to admit, the 90s fan in my is very curious as to which of them will job).

I've been digging around on youtube to see what i've missed over the last 7 or 8 years and aside from a few bright spots, like HBK's return to the ring and a few good Rock heel promos, it doesn't look like i've missed a whole lot.
Honestly, I just don't understand the booking.

Batista, Cena, etc etc... Can anyone explain to me what is so worth pushing about these people? Were I the promoter none of these men would even have jobs, nevermind titles.

And what qualities Randy Orton has are diminished in the fact that him and a hundred others are just Triple H personality clones.

Where's the originality? Is there no Roddy Pipers, HBKs, or Chris Jerichos to be found at all among the latest generation of pro wrestlers?

The roster seems to be way over packed. I prefer the smaller roster of the Bret Hart / Michaels era and the attitude era, where there were a handful of main event personalities, and that was that. It made for a more clearly defined wrestling hierarchy. Now it's just one big WCW-style mess.

Oh, and of course, WHY HAVE PEOPLE STILL BEEN JOBBING TO HULK HOGAN!?
Shawn Michaels having to lay down for his leg drop is outrageous.

Personally, I think wrestling is dead. It's a mockery of what it once was. The arenas are too flashy and glitzy now which means the wrestlers have to all be covered in flash and glitz to compete with their surroundings or look bland. The booking is horrible. The direction is horrible. The wrestlers are largely uninteresting.

I think the only thing that can possibly have a hope in saving Wrestling is for Vince, when the day comes that he's on his death bed, to intentionally destroy his monopoly as a favor to the fans so that the strongest and most creative federation can emerge in the same way he did years prior.

P.S. I saw a fake MMA match on TNA. Worst thing i've ever seen in my life.

P.P.S. Long live 1997 Shawn Michaels.

[Gerard]

[James Steele]

Kurt Angle needs to return to WWE, and that will begin the road to recovery.

[Xero]

Guys like Batista and Cena are pushed for different reasons (Batista more because he's buddy buddy with higher-ups) but it all comes down to one thing: Marketing. Cena, Batista, Rey etc are marketable to the "buy everything" crowd. That's why everything has been streamlined with the glitz and flash. It looks better from an outsiders' perspective.

I wouldn't say wrestling is "dead". WWE is still selling out arenas. People are saying that fans are down, and it's true, but it's not as bad as they make it out to be. They're still constantly bringing in solid ratings every week. Not like they used to, but in today's world to top the Cable charts is still something, considering how much is out there.

I would say that the Attitude Era is dead, and I would say that this is just a natural progression of the mainstream wrestling industry. It's constantly evolving, right now in "family friendly" mode because it's the easier crowd to sell to and satisfy.

Are there problems? Abso-fucking-lutely. As you say, booking is God-awful. But in the whole scheme of things I seriously doubt this is going to kill wrestling. If anything, once Vince leaves anyone who takes over, Triple H included, will be booking a better product, I have no doubt.

Vince never really knew how to book wrestling. He knew the sports entertainment aspect well and could promote it like no other, but he always lacked the heart and soul of wrestling. The Attitude Era only happened because Vince was forced to change. And barring his retirement, the only way he'll change now is if the company starts to catastrophically fail, whether because of competition or general lack of interest.

[Heelus Ultimus]

Well, that about says it all. What's killed (or diminished) wrestling is the rise of mob rule.

BBL.

[Fignuts]

I have almost completely lost interest in wrestling. The only thing I watch now, is a match from japan here or there, and the dvd documentaries.

[Chavo Classic]

Ever thought maybe it's not wrestling? It's us - getting older and realising that there's better stuff to do.

Or is that just me?

[mike adamle]

roh isn't too bad, watch that instead

[Fignuts]

Originally Posted by Chavo Classic Ever thought maybe it's not wrestling? It's us - getting older and realising that there's better stuff to do. Or is that just me?

Dunno, if it was just due to maturing, I would have stopped watching much earlier than now.

[Xero]

Originally Posted by Chavo Classic Ever thought maybe it's not wrestling? It's us - getting older and realising that there's better stuff to do. Or is that just me?

It's partially that, yeah, but wrestling can be entertaining to people of all ages.

Wrestling isn't flavor of the month anymore, either. Most people straying away from it either got into it only because it was popular at the time or expect every era to be like their favorite era.

It's just like any other hobby, really. Some watch it because it's something to watch and some have a very strong passion for it. And others, like myself, fall somewhere in between.

[Londoner]

Its sad that until recently things seemed to be going in the right direction, now I agree, it just seems rubbish. Feuds look like they are too over thought or rushed together and even most of the matches are nowhere near as good these days either. Its too predictable.

[DaVe]

I disagree on matches not being anywhere near as good as they used to be. Attitude Era matches on TV were 5-10 mins long - including main event matches. It was the characters and stories that made it so awesome.

I feel wrestling is doing OK atm, better than 2007 into last year, but not as good as it had been some years before then.

And I don't know why the opening post feels like the Taker/HBK stuff hasn't been better than meh... it's been tremendous so far.

[Krimzon7]

Wrestling isnt horrible. there are new stars emerging, and a new promotion that totally entertains me. ROH is great from what I've seen, WWE is seriously improving their project. I think there is room for improvement, but I quite like what's going down atm.

[Destor]

Originally Posted by Chavo Classic Ever thought maybe it's not wrestling? It's us - getting older and realising that there's better stuff to do. Or is that just me?

I'd consider this if it wasn't for the fact that pre-1984 wrestling wasn't for anyone under the age of 35...

[Destor]

Originally Posted by TL Its sad that until recently things seemed to be going in the right direction, now I agree, it just seems rubbish. Feuds look like they are too over thought or rushed together and even most of the matches are nowhere near as good these days either. Its too predictable.

YOu shouldn't watch wrestling to be shocked. If you do stop now.Wrestling is and always has been about the ride. If you dislike that give up the wrestling, you're wasting your time.

[Juan]

"Wrestling sucks now, the Attitude era was better" post #4564561654

[Mooияakeя™]

I don't think WWE product has been so bad lately, TNA however, fuck me, can't believe how bored I've got with that. I'm still blaming the 6-sided ring. It's the evil in Wrasslin'.

[Dave Youell]

Why do people continue to forget ‘The HHH Show’ after the brand split

For over a year, when HHH was given the title by Bisch, Raw was frankly the worst it’s been since 1995 on a consistent basis, with HHH literally rolling over everyone in 1 month programmes, it was even worse than the original McMahon/Helmsley era, which was bearable as guys like The Rock were still about and entertaining.

The past 12 months have been great for Smart Marks really, heck CM Punk and Jeff Hardy have had title runs! I wouldn’t of believed that was possible, ever. Now I know that we will NEVER be 100% happy with the way in which any product is produced as we all have individual expectations, but overall, I think the past 2 years generally have been more solid, they are starting to take chances on smaller, talented guys, we have Benoit to thank for that, and it’s made me more interested in the product to be honest.

Heck, right now, I’m even finding HHH good to watch, this feud with Orton is great, Taker/HBK has been outstanding thus far, and they have barely touched each other, I’m really looking forward to this Sunday just for that one match.

Cena isn’t doing poop jokes and although he’ll never be a god in the ring, everything he does is, for my money entertaining enough, it’s just his past exploits and people thinking it’s cool to bash on him. He’s improved in all departments over his career.

So, overall, wrestling right now isn’t the worst it’s ever been IMO, it’s not the best, but it’s not the worst. Right now, the ratings appears to be slowly turning better, which happens in line with whenever Democrats are in power, you are hearing less and less about arena’s been tapered off, and they are boasting about Raw being a sell out again, which can only be considered a good thing

[KayfabeMan]

I can tell you almost certainly that wrestling will never return to the greatest state that it existed in. That is based on the facts that the current people in charge of it lack the direction and ability to tell any type of story with their 'longest running weekly episodic TV' yadda, yadda, yadda - and mainly based on the fact that there is no territorial system to allow wrestlers to perfect a craft.

Back in the day, you made money strictly working as a professional wrestler. That would be one of the reasons to call it professional. Anyhow, the guys were able to travel and work with experienced talents in front of different types of crowds, etc. You learned A LOT. That is why those guys were so talented.

Today, a lot of guys may have potential - but they are never given enough time to look good BEFORE being put on TV, as McMahon and Co. are so desperate that they throw anything at a wall to see if it will stick. These guys are called up WAY too early, some of whom should never be called up at all.

At a point it was an honor to work for WWE, or to win a Title there, etc. Nowadays a good percentage of the guys on the indy scene have been given their 'best in all future endeavors' speech already, have an action figure, wrestled on TV and possibly won one of the 26 different titles that exist.

Nothing will ever kill professional wrestling. I believe it will always be on TV in some way, shape or form - as long as television exists. It has been since the beginning. However, I can safely say that the most entertaining and better yet, the days of the most talented performers in the industry, are behind us now.

[Dave Youell]

KayfabeMan!!!!!

Where the fuck have you been? Never leave again!

[Dave Youell]

You do raise some good points though.

Look at Punk, who was a seasoned Indy guy and worked for loads of companies across the world, so understood those kind of things (IMO) and is the last of a dying breed. As WWE are hiring less and less indy guys and just trying to grow them from scratch in their own vision. Which is probably why most of the guys brought up in only the WWE hardly get work anywhere else.

This can be blamed on the development style though, I know that they are control freaks, but it might be good to send out all the guys they have to go and get whatever work they can, get experience and then report back to FCW for 2 days of every week to make sure they are still on the right path etc, it won’t happen, as there’s no way Vince would allow that to happen to his own property. But still, it’s a nice idea

[KayfabeMan]

Originally Posted by Dave Youell KayfabeMan!!!!! Where the fuck have you been? Never leave again!

Thanks for the welcoming love.

Welcoming love. It's the best kind.

Other than angry, angry love.

[KayfabeMan]

Originally Posted by Dave Youell You do raise some good points though. Look at Punk, who was a seasoned Indy guy and worked for loads of companies across the world, so understood those kind of things (IMO) and is the last of a dying breed. As WWE are hiring less and less indy guys and just trying to grow them from scratch in their own vision. Which is probably why most of the guys brought up in only the WWE hardly get work anywhere else. This can be blamed on the development style though, I know that they are control freaks, but it might be good to send out all the guys they have to go and get whatever work they can, get experience and then report back to FCW for 2 days of every week to make sure they are still on the right path etc, it won’t happen, as there’s no way Vince would allow that to happen to his own property. But still, it’s a nice idea

Yeah.

When you're stuck in a place working against other guys who are just as inexperienced as you are, and then you are called up [in a relatively short time] to the 'main roster' - you definitely do not have the experience to hang with anyone who is experienced, and working on TV with others who are just as inexperienced comes off looking like crap.

[Zeeboe]

Wrestling to me has been dead since 2003. That was the last time I was really into wrestling. My whole life I loved WWE wrestling, but after Hogan and Piper got fired in 2003, I stopped watching it. I was barely hanging onto as it was, but as soon as those two were let go, I had no reason to watch wrestling anymore, and my heart has not been into it since. I rarely watch it now.

[Rock582]

Originally Posted by DaVe I disagree on matches not being anywhere near as good as they used to be. Attitude Era matches on TV were 5-10 mins long - including main event matches. It was the characters and stories that made it so awesome. I feel wrestling is doing OK atm, better than 2007 into last year, but not as good as it had been some years before then. And I don't know why the opening post feels like the Taker/HBK stuff hasn't been better than meh... it's been tremendous so far.

i agree fully.