Do You Appreciate?

[Grievous 3D]

For my 900th post I decided to ask you...my fellow members...a simple question...

Do you appreciate?

Now the WWE is far from perfect...and there is plenty to complain about...I'll
give you a few examples:

~ The reliance on Part Timers...
~ Cesaro being wasted in a tag team with an unlikable prick...
~ The RAW booking is the same roundabout of repetitive insanity every week...
~ The directionless and stalled face turn of Seth Rollins...
~ The delayed debut of Emmalina...
And I could honestly go on for an entire page...but I won't...as much as I
enjoy making lists.

Now while there is a lot to complain about...there is also a lot to like...
Examples of which being:

~ The development of the women's division...
~ Kevin Owens & A.J Styles being the respective brand champions...
~ The pushing of younger talent such as American Alpha, Baron Corbin and Alexa Bliss...
~ The commentary work of Mauro Ranallo...
~ The Great Match Factory that is NXT...
And again...honestly I could also go on for an entire page...but I won't.

The point I'm trying to get at is no matter how much we may hate or love the WWE
product...we cannot ignore the effort the actual wrestlers put in week in, week out
to (try an) entertain us.

Here is my own personal example: Sheamus

Now I don't like Sheamus...I don't know why...I just don't. Its not because he's Irish
because Finn Balor is great and Becky Lynch is just adorable (The puns really get to me)
I just can't handle Sheamus.

But...

The guy is an amazing in-ring performer as his 7 (or was it 9 in total) matches with
Cesaro proved. Now I may not like Sheamus...but I appreciate what he does every week
to (try an) entertain us.

And that's what I think a lot of wrestling fans forget...

Its easy for all of us to sit in front of our TVs and computers and spout out negative
and positive opinions. Most of us are outsiders looking in...not insiders looking out.

We haven't lived that life...and honestly 9 times out of 10...its the booking not
the performer we have a gripe we.

I point to Roman Reigns as the main example of this. The guy is honestly (IMO)
great at what he does. He has the look, the skills and the overall "presence" needed
to be a big star. Now his mic skills may-be lacking...but its WWE's fault for booking
him in a way that exposes this weakness for all to see. The guy is boring...like
painfully so. So say what you want about the Attitude Era...but if it didn't work...WWE
pulled the plug quickly and looked for another option...I point to the Rock as the
main example of this.

It also would have helped if Roman had worked his way up the card organically like say
Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels did "back in the day" but what is Roman going to say...
"No Thanks Vince/Hunter/Whoever...I don't want to be World Champion"

People may question my somewhat cult-like devotion to Charlotte. Well...its not just
the fact she is a beautiful, hard hitting in-ring Amazon with a toothpaste commercial
worthy smile. Its her work ethic. The woman is everywhere...doing everything she can
for the WWE and its fans. This is probably why she was chosen to win at Wrestlemania
32 and still carries the title at the time of me posting this. Charlotte works hard
for the company...and her career benefits from that.

Would/Will Sasha or Bayley be-able to do the same? Well...I guess only time will tell.

Her famous father aside...Charlotte is working hard for herself and the company to
create her own legacy and she gets nothing but respect...and...well...love from me for
doing that.

Many may also question my dislike of Brock Lesnar...and for all the problems I could
list...my main gripe is that he is an over-hyped part timer. He's not getting "down and
dirty" like the full time performers. He simply shows up when it suits him, does a few
suplexes and leaves.

It drives me fucking insane because Lesnar is taking away a big match spot from a
full time performer who deserves it. Guys like Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and even
Roman Reigns deserve that top spot...because they are there 365 days a year working
hard every show to entertain the fans and make the product as good as it can be.

I have to be honest...guys like Lesnar, Goldberg, Shane McMahon, The Rock, John Cena
and even the Undertaker* are holding back the next generation and stalling the development
of the new stars that are so important for the future of the company.

I'm still fucking annoyed that Shane McMahon was on the Survivor Series team for
SmackDown. Baron Corbin or Luke Harper would have benefited from being in that
match...Hell...Dolph Ziggler wasn't even on the pay per view card. It just eats away
at me...like I have an itch in my brain I can't actually scratch.

I understand that these part timers are a "Big Draw" but frankly...I don't care about
that...what's important is developing and pushing new talent so the company has a future...
and if the WWE actually wrote some good story lines...may-be the viewers would be
invested in the full time roster and not just waiting for the next "Fantasy Match"
involving one or two part timers.

Yes...I loved the Survivor Series Squash...but that was more for how it was booked
rather than who was actually in the match.

That's another reason I love the women's division so much. There are no "Big Name"
part timers stealing the spotlight from the current superstars. Hell...Mickie James
just returned...but she signed a 3 year full time contract...so I'm all for her being
back in the mix. Also the women's division can only benefit from having an experienced
campaigner like Mickie around...and in that regard...I love the fact she seems to have
teamed up with my favorite "rookie" Alexa Bliss.

The part timers are slowly killing the WWE...and...well..I don't want to see the
WWE fail and fall to pieces. Not now that I have actually found my way back to the
world of pro-wrestling.

Wow...I think I wandered off my own topic there slightly...where was I? Oh yeah...

I think we all (wrestling fans worldwide) need to sometimes take a step back and just
appreciate what all wrestling performers do and go through to try an entertain us.

So again...I ask all of you...Do you appreciate?

(*Please note I have nothing but respect for the Undertaker...but...I honestly think it
is time for him to retire)

 

[Closed]

yeah, of course I do. Wrestling is the one sport I can go to and watch without getting bored. I mean, other than WWE I watch UFC and that's only big matches with Conor and Ronda. I can watch a 3 hour WWE PPV without leaving it or even thinking about leaving it too much. I always want to see who will win and shit (Maybe they'll turn him heel? What if someone returns?) Wrestling has great moments. I remember me jumping out of my chair when I was watching the Raw when the Rock returned for Wrestlemania 27, and watching Wrestlemania 28 live was great. So yeah, I love WWE and always will. They made me happy when I was a kid, and now I can advance to more wrestling style shows like NJPW and ROH. WWE will always have that special place in my heart.

 

[Closed]

Also getting Sky TV back in 2009 to just watch Raw each week was great for me. I loved it

 

[Gman003]

I appreciate everything they do.

I am part of that statistic that dislikes booking so much at times that it affects my.liking the character

 

[Mr. Roman Empire]

The thing with part times is that they paid their dues like all the guys we see every week on the main roster. They used to be those guys. And not having them around all the time makes their presence feel special and also brings back former viewers to watch them which exposes the new talent to old audiences.

For example, I watched WWE(F) from 1998-2004. I stopped watching in 2005 cuz I wasnt a fan of John Cena back then and that's kind of when he became "the guy." Stone Cold and The Rock were long gone. I was also way tired of seeing JBL and HHH with the titles every week.

Anyways I started watching again in 2014. I began re-watching old stuff on the WWE Network cuz it was 10 years since I seen the stuff and it was great childhood nostalgia. One day I was on the network and saw the Royal Rumble was on and Brock Lesnar was Champion on the card. I was a huge Lesnar fan back in the day so I tuned into the show. The triple threat match with Rollins, Lesnar, and Cena blew me away. I became super interested in who this Rollins dude was cuz he stole the show. Then the Royal Rumble happened and Roman won (lol) but the controversy it stirred made me wanna keep watching. I watched that PPV quite a few times and learned all the new superstars cuz of everyone was in the Royal Rumble.

So basically, if it wasnt for a Part Timer, I probably wouldn't of started watching WWE on the regular again. So I believe part timers are a crucial way for WWE to bring back those old audiences that they once had cuz a lot of them stopped watching.

 

[Gman003]

The thing with part times is that they paid their dues like all the guys we see every week on the main roster. They used to be those guys. And not having them around all the time makes their presence feel special and also brings back former viewers to watch them which exposes the new talent to old audiences.

For example, I watched WWE(F) from 1998-2004. I stopped watching in 2005 cuz I wasnt a fan of John Cena back then and that's kind of when he became "the guy." Stone Cold and The Rock were long gone. I was also way tired of seeing JBL and HHH with the titles every week.

Anyways I started watching again in 2014. I began re-watching old stuff on the WWE Network cuz it was 10 years since I seen the stuff and it was great childhood nostalgia. One day I was on the network and saw the Royal Rumble was on and Brock Lesnar was Champion on the card. I was a huge Lesnar fan back in the day so I tuned into the show. The triple threat match with Rollins, Lesnar, and Cena blew me away. I became super interested in who this Rollins dude was cuz he stole the show. Then the Royal Rumble happened and Roman won (lol) but the controversy it stirred made me wanna keep watching. I watched that PPV quite a few times and learned all the new superstars cuz of everyone was in the Royal Rumble.

So basically, if it wasnt for a Part Timer, I probably wouldn't of started watching WWE on the regular again. So I believe part timers are a crucial way for WWE to bring back those old audiences that they once had cuz a lot of them stopped watching.

Wow my story is rather similar.

97/98 - mid 05. Basically for all the same reasons. I think I had maybe caught the odd episode (and I mean very odd episode) if smackdown until sometime in 06. I'm not even sure. I just remember seeing a commercial for kurt angle going to tna which I'd never seen before.

I rediscovered wwe in 2015 for wrestlemania. Actually, truth be told, I stumbled upon wwe unintentionally. Won't go into too many details, other than I saw a clip about the mega powers vs twin towers. And then it linked into another video titled new wwe tag team has symbolism in video (the ascension).
And 3 days later was wrestlemania 31 and I thought eh what the heck I'll give it a try... they keep saying for $9.99 a month I can have this network and cancel at any time. I'll watch wm for 10 bucks then probably cancel it. (They lied. Damn Americans lol its 12 bucks for me in canada...still though, a great deal)

I saw Brock Lesnar had a match. And like you, I was a huge Lesnar fan before.
And I saw cena's name, but I could pass on him. Different story now though, I respect the hell out of his longevity and dedication.
Then I also saw randy orton was on the card. And the undertaker. Then HHH vs fucking Sting! And after that I was a fan again. Especially when nwo and Dx came down. Then Shawn Michaels sweet chin music! I felt like I was 10 years old again.

Then I decided to start looking at ppvs from back in the day. I never used to get to watch the ppv.

And well, here I am nearly 2 years later. So glad I revisited this fine form of entertainment. And I can not stand to hear people say "it's so fake. It's stupid. Etc" because we know as adults it's fake... you just have to suspend reality a bit and enjoy it.

I don't know how many times I've re told my story of how I came to start watching again. Lol

 

[Snowman1]

Ironically, this was a big part of why I had that big ol' knowledge dump in the Ryback thread. That was fun! :yay:

It was fun going back just a few years and seeing how much things have changed. We have WWE trying to push not only Cena/Orton, but push different guys with somewhat-different styles and looks (hehe Styles, get it?). They're signing quality talents and laying off the bodybuilders. They're listening to the audience when we yell to give divas a chance, and gave us a brand extension so they can try a new creative formula on Smackdown which has worked wonders. They're trying their best (trying too hard sometimes, aye Big Dog?) to understand the wrestling audience in 2017. Also they gave us the wonderfulness of Rusev and Lana and THANK GOODNESS Sheamus and Dorito can go to the midcards and stay there. Also, nine ninety nine.

So yeah, after griping about WWE booking a dumb ass dusty finish to get heels over as babyfaces and Roman Reigns still cutting scripted promos after you moronic twats saw all the evidence you need in 2014 to... *deep breath*
Yeah when you look at it they've done SO MUCH to improve things. We should appreciate it more than they oh for CRYING OUT LOUD WHY IS KEVIN OWENS LOOKING grrrrrr why are you.... :tough:


BRING BACK THE DAMN CURBST... oh right. Thanks for so much WWE!

 

[Prince Bálor]

SmackDown is all I appreciate as far as the main roster goes. :bodallas:

 

[Loonatik]

WWE will have its rough patches and fair share of unwatchability (if that's even a word?) but ever since becoming a wrestling fan at 7/8 years old, I have always been and always will be a WWE guy. Any wrestling company that's all about putting on a great show but with fewer storylines and in-depth character development through storytelling just doesn't appeal to me. WWE may have the most outlandish and corny storylines and feuds at times, but it's what I grew up with and wouldn't really bother with a promotion that puts flashy wrestling ability before those qualities.

In short, I'm just a sucker for the sports entertainment aspect of it, and WWE does it better than any other company. Nothing against having fantastic wrestling matches or other promotions but WWE's format has just always appealed to me personally.

 

[Zardnaar]

Its still better than 1995.

I don't mid them using part timers its the way they book them. Rock crushing Rowan at WM 32 is just lame.

Also says something about their lack of developing a new "it guy" Bret/HBK/Goldberg/HHH/ equivilent (a Rock/Austin equivalent would be really really hard).

Why is Ziggler not main event level and plan B if Bryan got injured. I suppose thats the downside of feeding Cena for 10 years. He has an absurd win ration (79% or something) its around 59/60 for Austin/Rock. Win ratios in theory do not matter but if you are not putting over new talent.......

 

[Snowman1]

One thing to note about the part-timers...

This year they have the potential at Wrestlemania to really do something good with them. Again, Wrestlemania is the only show per year that random people will watch...
Yeah Triple H will get a great chance to do that vs Seth Rollins, where Seth can showcase his athleticism and show us how tremendous watching these guys can be.
There's also going to be 2 title matches and HOPEFULLY AJ Styles still has the "WWE Champion" moniker and they can show people something fun, while Roman gets the old-school push against Strowman.
Hell if Finn Balor's returning why not throw him at Undertaker? Just bringing up the comparison alone makes the guy a draw to some level?
Tune in for Lesnar vs Goldberg and Undertaker vs who gives a shit, stick around for those four. And the best damn women's division ever - including Sasha killing Stephanie PLEASE

Or, you know, tell a story of AJ Styles finally reaching the big stage after being this world-travelled veteran and then watch him lose to a 47 year old Chris Jericho. That works too I guess.

Then again Wrestlemania 30 happened where it was Bryan's big night with a wink and a nod to Cesaro, and that didn't do too much long-term (largely due to Bryan's injury and the inexplicably Blue Paul Heyman Guy run of Cesaro and his awful theme)
Sure it made Lesnar a god amongst men and quelled a toxic fanbase, but when Lesnar wasn't around, what fans were sticking around?

And speaking of fans sticking around WHY IS RAW STILL THREE FUCKING HOURS

 

[Zardnaar]

One thing to note about the part-timers...

This year they have the potential at Wrestlemania to really do something good with them. Again, Wrestlemania is the only show per year that random people will watch...
Yeah Triple H will get a great chance to do that vs Seth Rollins, where Seth can showcase his athleticism and show us how tremendous watching these guys can be.
There's also going to be 2 title matches and HOPEFULLY AJ Styles still has the "WWE Champion" moniker and they can show people something fun, while Roman gets the old-school push against Strowman.
Hell if Finn Balor's returning why not throw him at Undertaker? Just bringing up the comparison alone makes the guy a draw to some level?
Tune in for Lesnar vs Goldberg and Undertaker vs who gives a shit, stick around for those four. And the best damn women's division ever - including Sasha killing Stephanie PLEASE

Or, you know, tell a story of AJ Styles finally reaching the big stage after being this world-travelled veteran and then watch him lose to a 47 year old Chris Jericho. That works too I guess.

Then again Wrestlemania 30 happened where it was Bryan's big night with a wink and a nod to Cesaro, and that didn't do too much long-term (largely due to Bryan's injury and the inexplicably Blue Paul Heyman Guy run of Cesaro and his awful theme)
Sure it made Lesnar a god amongst men and quelled a toxic fanbase, but when Lesnar wasn't around, what fans were sticking around?

And speaking of fans sticking around WHY IS RAW STILL THREE FUCKING HOURS

The can't afford to cut RAW even if they wanted to. That extra hour is worth 25 million a year apparently and IDK how much profit the WWE is making these days.

 

[Snowman1]

The can't afford to cut RAW even if they wanted to. That extra hour is worth 25 million a year apparently and IDK how much profit the WWE is making these days.

Yeah no kidding man, we aren't backstage. At the end of the day we simply don't know the financials and what all is affected.
I'd love to go straight at the usual arguments of "Look at the massive ratings decline! When their TV deal is back up in 2019 they're going to be screwed!"...

Possibly, but I don't know how much the three hours has to do with that, hell look at Smackdown. Two hours, only when they promote a PPV-level card + the return of Cena + Raw goes against the last MNF game + the day after Christmas, then they beat Raw in the ratings. Despite a happy fanbase who really enjoy SD and many more proven stars on the show. Not one person enjoys Raw and it always beats SD lol.

I mentioned it at the end of that post because it is a huge deterrent to new fans + new potential Network subscribers as asking them to turn into the 3 hour show every week is crazy talk (though I can... and have... went into so much detail) but I'm not sure exactly how to fix the problem. Or how to get SO MUCH Network revenue that it offsets a $25 million loss.

Maybe it's good we aren't backstage...

ANYWAY BACK ON TOPIC! YAY WRESTLING AND STUFF! :yay:

 

[Zardnaar]

Yeah no kidding man, we aren't backstage. At the end of the day we simply don't know the financials and what all is affected.
I'd love to go straight at the usual arguments of "Look at the massive ratings decline! When their TV deal is back up in 2019 they're going to be screwed!"...

Possibly, but I don't know how much the three hours has to do with that, hell look at Smackdown. Two hours, only when they promote a PPV-level card + the return of Cena + Raw goes against the last MNF game + the day after Christmas, then they beat Raw in the ratings. Despite a happy fanbase who really enjoy SD and many more proven stars on the show. Not one person enjoys Raw and it always beats SD lol.

I mentioned it at the end of that post because it is a huge deterrent to new fans + new potential Network subscribers as asking them to turn into the 3 hour show every week is crazy talk (though I can... and have... went into so much detail) but I'm not sure exactly how to fix the problem. Or how to get SO MUCH Network revenue that it offsets a $25 million loss.

Maybe it's good we aren't backstage...

ANYWAY BACK ON TOPIC! YAY WRESTLING AND STUFF! :yay:

I have been on holiday, the last week I have watched

RAW
SD
205 Live
1999 Attitude Era (RAW+ Survivor Series))
NXT Takeover Brooklyn
UK Belt event

2015 I think they made something like 15-25 million profit so they can't actually afford to cut RAW. Its a lot easier wathcing 2-6, SD and AE eras RAW due to that extra hour.