Wrestling Sites: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

[estazor]

So, we all use wrestling sites. Either for news, opinions, connecting, etc. I'm curious to hear your opinion on these sites. What do you think is good about them? What do you think is bad? And of course what do you think is just plain ugly about them?

This can and I hope go beyond the impactwrestling but to dirtsheets, blogs, video sites, official wrestling sites, etc.

I'm asking this because I'm trying to do research on people's opinions on wrestling sites.

 

[Lady Redfield]

Wrestling sites are full of elitist marks.

 

[estazor]

There are some very great answers here.

 

[estazor]

heh no wonder you guys have a topic talking about trying to get more activity here. You alienate people with your own sense of elitism. You're no better than the dirtsheets that you hate so much.

 

[estazor]

So.... what you're saying is you want to stay and become a part of this community!? Finally a place where I belong.

 

[Montana]

I think this is actually an interesting thread, because to an certain extent WWE "listens" to forums/blogs/sites and the IWC. A good example of this is the outpouring/crying over the firing of Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) Certainly the WWE took notice, as they inserted him into the SummerSlam main event, teaming with the guy he kicked his head in (cena). So in that respect, I think that is the good about these wrestling sites. It gives casual fans a voice, and almost like an online survey to the wrestling world on what they like/dislike. But here's the f'd up thing about it. With wrestling companys having all this information at their fingertips, has it helped the product any??? I'd say no, which is unexplainable in my opinion. A good example is TNA. They have all the talent in the world a company could want. They have the fans telling them what they want to see. It's not rocket science. No One was screaming back back the Nasty Boys, i promise you that. So maybe it's TNA trying to hard for trying to shock fans, but TNA gets an F in my book righit now. F for Failure.


The BAD...Spoilers. I think Spoilers help, and they can suck sometimes too. It hurts the product because it forces WWE creative to be creative. So they tried to be creative and were like screw it, this is what they are getting. So sometimes to shock the fans, you have to do something off the wall that doesn't make sense. I do like how most threads say spoilers in the title. But still it's not the same as it used to be in the early 90's and 80's. And they did have magazines/newspapers which had stories on potential plans, but not to the extent with the internet.


The Ugly. I think you have some people on the internet that talk like they know the business. And with so many news sites out there, it gives them the feeling that they are entitled to an opinion, which is true, however if anyone disagree's they are wrong, and then it turns into a bitch fest. (see above, no disrespect to anyone) So you have sites, going off into non-wrestling tangents, and hurts the site as a whole. I'll be the first to admit i am quick to disagree, however i almost never trash another member. Me and Enzo disagree on some subjects, but i think we both respect each others opinion. Nothing wrong with a good debate. But yeah, for the bad, i'd say its the fact it gives people a big head, like they know everything. It hurts the site, members, and the companies taking the IWC seriosusly.

 

[estazor]

Great, great post Montana.

I agree completely that the WWE and other companies do listen to what the fans say. Do they always follow through with what fans want? Of course not. No one really knows what they want until it's sitting in their lap... or on their tv in this case. I like that you mention it gives fans a voice. Look at how huge the WWE Universe has become throughout the years for example.

As for what you said about spoilers. It's too true. It's what made me stop visiting news sites completely. In the end, it started to ruin my enjoyment of the product.

Finally, about the big headedness... it's true. Fans are so enthralled into how easy it is to get the inside scoop that sure they can feel above all. It's something that has been documented in many wrestling books about the diehard fans.

Again, great post. Glad to see someone post something critical and thought provoking.

 

[Italian Outsider]

Ignore sex-power, we already took care of him.

 

[1chiban]

There is a range of sites on the 'net. Forums always have their mix of nice chaps and chapettes and arrogant idiots who think that having 'status' online means anything. It doesn't. Same goes for 'dirtsheets' - I am a big fan of the free Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online podcasts so imagine their paid content is good.Their boards sound like good fun as well. However, WO/FFOnline has the benefit of having well-respected experts running it unlike some other sites.

Here's a bit of a quick list of my loves and hates surrounding wrestling sites:

LIKES:
- Top-quality analysis on the good sites
- Content produced by people that love the business as much as I do
- Communicating with different people who love the business as much as I do -something which you can't always do with your 'real-life' friends if they don't like wrestling!!!
- Entertainment when the wrestling shows aren't that entertaining!!!

HATES:
- Spoilers - although these can be avoided if you want to, so it's your fault if you haven't seen a show and then go on a dirtsheet.
- Rumours/News stories which give away returns and storyline twists etc. I'm a glutton for looking at these stories, however, which does ruin the element of surprise at times. I tend to go on sites less now so as to avoid this problem. I always use the example of the Undertaker returning at Judgement Day about a decade or so ago - had the internet wrestling community been anywhere near as big then/had I had the internet as a 10/11 year old child then the surprise would not have been a surprise, which would've ruined the whole thing.
- Arrogant jerks.

Hope that adds to the discussion in some way!

 

[Lady Redfield]

I personally think Raw has been great as of late with the Punk and Nexus angle but, let's face it, wrestling hasn't been amazing for a long time....they've used and abused wrestlers, made stupid decisions, dragged things out forever (Raw GM)....it makes people complain more. People whine when things are recycled but when something new is thrown at them (like Sheamus winning the championship), people STILL complain. It's so easy for us to sit here and say 'well, the WWE should have done this and this and this' and pretend we are the writers but, at the end of the day, we're still just fans and we should know that the WWE will do what they think is good for the company. People are argue to the death that their opinion is the right one and to hell with anyone who thinks otherwise. Great example that Montana brought up about Bryan. People complained, they brought him back, but what good did it do? They haven't done anything spectacular with him and it isn't as if he is the center of the WWE universe right now. He's like a pimp with the Bella twins on each arm....and thats all they could come up with? Team him up with two of the most useless Divas? Wow, great idea /sarcasm.


This goes for any wrestling promotion but I <3 WWE the most so I am going to use it for my posts.

 

[1chiban]

People complain too much. I am stunned by the hate for The Miz on here - it's something new, his mini feud with Lawler has been really entertaining, and it's great to see someone other than Orton or Cena holding the strap for a while. What's a real shame is that The Miz still isn't really the main feature of the shows - Punk and Cena are at the moment. Still, at least it's something good keeping Miz from having all the limelight!

 

[monkeystyle]

People complain too much. I am stunned by the hate for The Miz on here!

There's a lot of hate but the funny part is it's all coming from the same two people. Mostly just one pig headed polack who thinks he's right all the time. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE OF US, PAL.

 

[Veritas]

I am a big fan of the free Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online podcasts so imagine their paid content is good.Their boards sound like good fun as well.

Yeah, it's most certainly worth the $10 or $11 they charge for the interviews they do alone. The newsletters are almost like a bonus.

I hate the board though. Most wrestling forums have a couple of douchebags on them but that one seems to have a hundred or so. I asked in the Radio Shows forum one time if there was an Interview Request thread anywhere and you'd have thought I asked where the toilet was for all the dumb shit replies I got. Alvarez posts occassionaly but it's basically not policed at all, which is extremely annoying to me. I hate having to sort through 50 pages of drivel to read 1 or 2 good comments.

I also hate pages taking forever to load because image and sig sizes are unlimited but that's just me. I have a fast connection but it's still annoying as hell.