The Watering Down of Pro Wrestling

Before I start I just want to say that I know that pro wrestling is a entertainment based sport. So, this post is for people who are interested in pro wrestling, like it, and what to discuss the topic I bring up.


I`ve liked pro wrestling since I was 4 years old(I`m 37 now). It was always about tough men and women being larger than life superstars doing things that amaze me. That`s what I got hooked on. When I was a teenager it only got better. The story lines became edger and wrestlers held back less on what they said and how they acted. Stuff like WCW NWO, ECW, Attitude Era WWE, Strong Style out of Japan, and the amazing technical style out of the UK. I loved it all and would watch any wrestling I could get my hands on. Yet, something changed in the world of wrestling. And it seems to be coming mostly from the huge monster of the company what is the WWE.

Granted, if you watch or attend any WWE event you will still be entertained. It not total garbage. It`s a quality experience overall. Yet, when I watch wrestling from Japan or the UK I clearly see a difference. Japan still has some of the edge that was normal to see in the 90`s; but be warned if you watch a Japanese hardcore match because it can get really bloody. Every time I watch anything from the UK the wrestlers totally tear the house down with great story telling inside the ring throughout each match. The UK wrestlers make it a point to connect each move with a purpose connected to why they are fighting each other in the first place.

And then there is the WWE

Like I said before, a WWE event is still entertaining but the edge is just not there anymore. It`s harder to get emotionally involved in most of the matches. Story lines can often be not clear, not follow up on past history, and are hard to follow. The characters the wrestlers play seem to be held back and clearly not fully being allowed to developed. It`s become far too scripted and paranoid about offending anyone. In the past a WWE wrestler would go out in from of crowd with just a basic direction of what should happen and simply did their thing(that method is know as `working` in the world of pro wrestling). There was of course a planned ending and certain things were planned ahead of time but the wrestlers had to get `heat` on their own and usually `called` the match in the ring and on the fly. Now, when I watch a WWE even the wrestlers hardly ever react to the mood or response of the audience. It doesn`t matter how the audience is responding the wrestlers will not `work` the crowd and are clearly following a strict planned out performance. I can go on WWE network and watch match from the 90`s, 80`s and even 70`s and see the wrestlers `working` ever aspect of the event. They react and change what they are doing based on the audience often. They will sometimes even play the audience a bit in order to get the response they want. You just don`t see that anymore in the modern WWE. You still see wrestlers `work` in Japan and certainly in the UK but WWE boils to down to a 100 percent performance with nothing happening outside of what was planned before hand.

I`ve thought about why WWE does this many times in my head. The only thing I can come up with is due to the company being so huge now they want to carter to the largest audience as they can and attract as many advertisers as they can. They dare not push the boundaries too much or allow the wrestlers too much freedom creatively over fear that something might happen which they cannot control and cause even the slightest bit of controversy. Overall, it`s not a bad product but it could be so much better.

So, to all of you you like pro wrestling what is your take on all of this? It seems to me that WWE is out of step with other wrestling in the world due to money and cratering to the lowest common denominator.

Wrestling is fake. It has been for decades. "Gorgeous George" used to keep rooms at my father's hotel in Denver in the forties. He would leave the hotel and remark, "It's my turn to lose tonight." and sure enough, he would lose. It's been the same ever since. Yes, it's entertainment. If you can't get worked up over it, meh? Who cares? It's fake anyway.

a reply to: schuyler

I already stated what your comment pretty much says. This post is for people who like wrestling and want to discuss the topic I bring up. You didn`t really add anything to the discussion.

a reply to: freedomwv

My dad still watches pro wrestling.
He calls it a 'soap opera for men'

I agree that it's not what it used to be. The problem, IMO, is that it's all marketing.
The WWE wants one or two mega stars that they can use for movies and other things outside of wrestling.
The rest of the talent is there to assist the stars.

Side note:
Papa Shango is the most underrated Pro wrestler of all time.

a reply to: o0oTOPCATo0o

You know, that`s a good point. They`ve marketed out many of the elements that make pro wrestling what it is meant to be in the first place. I remember John Cena talking about what you brought up in an interview once. He said something like, `The problem is when there is just one main guy the fans are confused as to how to react. So, they end up cheering and booing the same guy at the same time. There needs to be more top stars.`

It's a different era , that is for sure...

I was lucky as I literally lived 2 blocks from the ECW Arena during it's prime so I got to see many of those memories live.
I find a big difference between what ECW did and what the CZWz of the world do..Violence for violence sake doesnt really tell a story..

I was also a fan during the Monday Night Wars which was as good an era as it gets I think.

With the WWE I think the influx of talent from NXT or the independents have made a difference over hte past 2 years. It's still enjoyable but its not going to ever be as good as it was during the Attitude Era.

a reply to: o0oTOPCATo0o

And for the record Papa Shango was pretty amazing. That same guy went on to do the Godfather gimmick which was pretty much a pimp that wrestled.

originally posted by: freedomwv
a reply to: schuyler

I already stated what your comment pretty much says. This post is for people who like wrestling and want to discuss the topic I bring up. You didn`t really add anything to the discussion.

So what? I simply emphasized one of your points and added some historical, personal information that you did not know. Did you know that vignette about Gorgeous George? Did anyone else here? I doubt it. I call that "adding to the discussion." This is a public forum. Even if you are the thread starter that does not give you rights over the entire thread. I doubt you even read what I wrote. You just fixated on "Its fake" and zoned out on the rest of what I said.

a reply to: freedomwv


Pro wrestling died when it lost the illusion of reality.
You need to have the feeling that these guys are really trying to beat the hell out of each other.
You know deep down that it's predetermined of course but we know superman can't really fly and the globetrotters are not going to lose.

a reply to: freedomwv

I think the point is that no matter how you qualify and clarify, the spectacle has no value. It would do if it were acted well, but the truth of the matter is that there are no great actors in the WWE, never have been, even when it had its proper, and original name. To cut a long story short, its bad acting, followed by, actually, quite badly done stunt work. If Jackie Chan was running that show, those fellows would all have absolutely no ego about what they do, would accept their total inferiority and lack of talent.

Realistically speaking, if you are in a ring but there is no contest, you simply do not belong in that space, no matter how well you learned your lines, or your moves, or your loss/win reaction. Spaces which look like a combat space, should BE a combat space, not a performance space, not an amateur dramatics space, but a place to LEGITIMATELY beat hell out of an opponent in a genuine sporting event.

The hell with the WWE and every one of its misbegotten spawn, world wide.

a reply to: opethPA

It`s amazing that you for to see ECW live. I had to often rely on getting tapes as ECW was not shown on my local TV channels; but I did get to see ECW on the usa network. It`s disappointing that a lot of those indie `hardcore` companies forget what ECW was doing with the increase in violence. It was violent but it fit in well with the stories they were telling.

Yeah, indies and NXT is pushing WWE a bit in recent years. I mean, it`s hard to water down a heel like Kevin Owens. Also. NXT is bringing over some wrestlers from Japan. I live in Tokyo and the wrestlers here have a totally different style compared to the US. Japanese wrestlers prefer to actually hit each other and have no problem with blood during a match. That`s something WWE really avoids in most cases these days.

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: freedomwv
a reply to: schuyler

I already stated what your comment pretty much says. This post is for people who like wrestling and want to discuss the topic I bring up. You didn`t really add anything to the discussion.

So what? I simply emphasized one of your points and added some historical, personal information that you did not know. Did you know that vignette about Gorgeous George? Did anyone else here? I doubt it. I call that "adding to the discussion." This is a public forum. Even if you are the thread starter that does not give you rights over the entire thread. I doubt you even read what I wrote. You just fixated on "Its fake" and zoned out on the rest of what I said.

Wow Schuyler you are so clever, you called wrestling fake, how astute of you
You must be one of the smartest people on earth, pointing out wrestling isn't mma cage fighting
They look so much alike don't they, how did you pick it
Schuyler, did you notice in the ops comments he said it was entertainment, entertainment, bit silly coming in and stating the BLOODY obvious like you know a well hidden secret
Except EVERYBODY ALREADY KNOWS
Thanks


As for wrestling, the wwe is to tightly scripted, good to see so many indie wrestlers in the wwe ring (thanks Schuyler I know it's not round)
Give it time, it will change again as new money comes in

The PG era as they say has taken over, maybe another ECW organisation will rise, but bashing people on the scone with a steel chair, those days are long gone, thankfully.
Really do we want to see mankind go through what he went through for entertainment Sake

Yeah, poor storyline, scriptwriting and everybody has to stick to the script, no colour left where individuals can rise above their character

a reply to: freedomwv

I used to love wrestling and like you I started since I was really young some 38 years or more ago.


Then I saw this....




And I thought... WTF is wrong with wrestling today?!!!

Sure... It was always tacticaly fake though still very enjoyable. But now... It deserves the title of 'stupid fake'. How can one enjoy this now? I'll never look at it the same again. I never cared that it wasn't real. I enjoyed the whole this guy vs that guy, this group vs that group. It's a spectical but one I used to enjoy.

It's like going from watching a really good movie to watching Gilligan's Island!

a reply to: TrueBrit

Except it been popular for a very long time, even after it outed itself as entertainment
So I guess it's not your thing, don't watch, why bitch about it
Why rant, how does it cause you any concern?

a reply to: StallionDuck

Well clearly you look for more than the entertainment factor
Granted that's a bit silly but wrestling isn't supposed to be one persons package

I don't know any people who take it seriously, I can laugh at the failures

It's better than watching people singing, cooking or renovating in my opinion

a reply to: Raggedyman

It causes me concern, because people accepting lies is bad enough when we are dealing with politics. But calling these jumped up clowns, these wanna be big top performers Champions? It ruins the meaning of the word entirely.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: Raggedyman

It causes me concern, because people accepting lies is bad enough when we are dealing with politics. But calling these jumped up clowns, these wanna be big top performers Champions? It ruins the meaning of the word entirely.

And yet as I believe based on other posts you have no problem going to watch bands with corpse paint and call that entertainment?

Their isnt a person anywhere above the age of 10 that doesnt know wrestling is fake. It's not about real for the fans..It's no different then watching a TV show, movies, whatever..It's entertainment to some people and it is just as valid as any other form of entertainment.

a reply to: TrueBrit

So what about rocky balboa, batman, tom hanks in war movies, ratchet and clank
True Brit, it's pretend, pretend champions, it's not real, it's like the movies
Suspend belief, enjoy, go home

Disconnect

a reply to: opethPA

Yeah, I knew it was fake when I was younger than 10 and thought it was crap then. The only difference back in those days it was like the sacred cow that nobody called out for being fake lol.
How can it be any more crap today than it always was?
...and yep, I chuckle at grown men who watch it and pretend to themselves it's real or good acting.

a reply to: opethPA

Thats a flawed as hell comparison.

None of the bands I like to see lip synch on stage. "Pro" Wrestling is lip synching for those suffering roid rage. Its absolute bunkum.