commentaries IS APATHY TOWARDS WRESTLING AVOIDABLE?

Ask anyone who has watched WWE for at least a few years and they will likely give you a response similar to "it's not as good as it used to be." Continue talking and you will quickly find that they have likely become quite cynical of the WWE product. "HHH wins all the time" they might say.

It definitely seems as though wrestling is not as fun as it once was. I know I personally don't give a second thought to missing an episode of Raw or Smackdown if I have other plans. A couple of years ago I would considered missing an episode of wrestling absolute blasphemy. Likewise, for several years I watched each and every WWE pay per view, without missing a single one. Now I maybe only see a handful each year. And I don't seem to mind at all.

Is the program really that bad? No, not at all. In fact, it really is just as good as it ever has been. Yes, the characters can be dumb and fairly useless (ie. The Boogeyman or the amazingly stupid Dicks tag team) and the storylines are a little uninspired (didn't Benoit and Booker T have a best of seven for the US Title once before? Heck, didn't Booker and John Cena do the exact same thing just two years ago?), but overall the show is fairly solid.

We must keep in mind that wrestling, as Mick Foley would say, is like a three-ring circus; there is something for everyone. As such, you will never be able to please everyone 100% of the time. For example, I don't generally care for the big man style of wrestler like Kane or Snitsky, but there are people who do. Similarly, there are people who really don't care at all for the technical side of, say, a Chris Benoit. But the great thing about wrestling is that, theoretically, there is something there for all of us to enjoy. Thus, you may not like a given individual they are pushing, but there will be someone there you do enjoy. It's always been that way and that aspect of the business will never change.

As I have mentioned before...I think that, too often in life we allow our memories of certain things to become greater than they ever were. For example, you might remember a movie or television show from your youth as being amazing, but go back today and try watching it and you may discover that it is not as good as you remember. Therefore, when we remember "the glory days of wrestling" (and for everyone those days will be different, because it will depend on when you first really fell in love in wrestling) we are perhaps only remembering the best of that era and ignoring the worst.

I personally loved the Attitude era of WWE (around 1998-2001), but although I remember loving it at the time, there was a lot there I hated as well. When Austin was beginning his ascent to the top of the industry, wrestling was a really hot business. But there was a lot of other stuff on the program then that wasn't so entertaining or memorable. Remember, in the midst of those classic Austin-Rock or Rock-HHH confrontations, we also got "Sexual Chocolate" Mark Henry and the birth of (geriatric) Mae Young's child, Big Show feeding Al Snow his dog Pepper, the attempted castration of Val Venis, and so on. Hardly compelling television really; there's a lot of stuff there that I'm sure we'd all like to forget. Go back and watch some wrestling tapes from whatever era you loved in wrestling and you'll instantly remember all that awful junk you were forcefed by Vince at the same time. Suddenly, your memories of that timeframe will be slightly tarnished.

I'm not trying to make you completely hate wrestling, I'm just trying to remind you that no matter how bad things may seem today, WWE's product has NEVER (nor will it ever be) entirely perfect. In fact, I think I probably hate fewer wrestlers on the roster today than during the so-called "glory days" of the very Attitude era that I so loved.

So, if we can't claim the overall quality of the product is that much worse than it once was, what is the cause(s) of this cynicism then?

Perhaps the problem is that we expose ourselves to too much of a good thing. In a sense, if we watch enough wrestling then we will eventually become accustomed to the little quirks, cliches, and conventions of the industry. For instance, why do the referees always chide the face for trying to enter a tag match, but never seems to figure out that the heel team is just double-teaming the other face? Have you ever noticed that (9 times out of 10) a commercial break will always occur immediately after the face dumps the heel over the top rope? And that, more often than not, when the show returns from the break, the heel is in charge of the match? Or why does the heel never notice the crowd's reaction when the face is about to jump him from behind? I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.

Basically, it's like figuring out how a magician performs his tricks - they lose their magic if you know the truth. In a sense then, we almost become desensitized to wrestling's surprise element. We all know that a best-of-seven or a 2/3 falls match will always go to the very end because that is the way it always works. Don't even get me started on how a HBK match ends (flying forearm, kickup, Manhatten Drop, clothesline, clothesline, body slam, elbow drop, Sweet Chin Music and pin). Granted, we could blame bookers for being lazy and, really, they are. Although I would argue that because this is, first and foremost, entertainment, the writers rely on cliches and conventions we come to expect, just as Hollywood writers do. Whatever the case, there is no denying the truth; anyone who watches enough wrestling will figure it all out.

That is why someone who doesn't normally watch wrestling can become so intrigued by it right away...no matter the actual quality of a storyline or in-ring work. It's because they don't know any better. Like us, they get caught up in the glory of wrestling right away. The only difference is that few stick with it and those that do become jaded from over-exposure.

What to do? How to become a fan again? Well the simple answer is quit watching for a while and come back again. I did when I was younger and I love wrestling now ten times more than I did as a kid during Hogan's run. I would suggest you don't give up on it though (I hate people who abandon ship too early - yes I know I'm a hypocrite) because if you do, you'll miss out on some great stuff. Yes, believe it or not, there is some great stuff out there. People who gave up watching in the Alliance days would never have seen Benoit vs. Angle at Royal Rumble 2003, which I think is one of the greatest matches I've ever seen.

Or you could always jump to TNA, right? I'm sorry folks, but TNA is not much better than the old WCW was and look at how bad that used to be. Yeah, there's some great performers and some solid matches...but the same can be said for WWE too. Don't kid yourself either. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but TNA has just as many negatives going against it as WWE does because that is the very nature of wrestling - you can't love all of it all of the time.

Instead of just quitting, I'd suggest just watching a bit less than you used to. If you can, watch only the superstars that interest you and maybe one day you'll find yourself liking more and more of what you see. Or, better yet, try watching some local indy stuff. These are the guys that broke into wrestling because they really, really want to do it. These guys practically kill themselves for the appreciation of a couple dozen fans, getting paid next to nothing, all for the faintest possibility that one day they too can get the call from Stamford or Orlando. You'll get to see some great matches and it will be fresh to you, rather than being forced to watch HHH or John Cena week in and week out, over and over. But, most importantly, it should help you re-discover why you fell in love with wrestling in the first place.

If their passion for this business can't rekindle yours, your love of wrestling is definitely lost for good.

Scott "Choppy Choppy Your Pee-Pee" Hellings

February 10, 2006

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