Rose Tinted Glasses?

[Moon Bird]

So I've just sat down to watch ECW Anarchy Rulz '99 and already I'm grinning like a maniac and the first match hasn't even started yet. Judge Jeff Jones bit in the open was well done and Joey Styles intro was grade A.

Am I just feeling this way because of nostalgia or is it this damn good?

Maybe one of the young people out there can give some old ECW a watch and let me know. Because I'm convinced this is awesome just because it's awesome. I'm curious to know if it holds up for the modern day wrestling fan...

(Also opening match Jerry Lynn vs Lance Storm...how the hell did ECW ever fail??? This is wrestling at its finest!)

 

[Deezy]

If you're marking for Judge Jeff Jones, it may just be nostalgia.

 

[Chris]

It depends. Workrate wasn't as good outside of the usual suspects, and it could be ridiculously chaotic and botchy at any point. But it's the same reason people watch low budget indies nowadays, stuff just feels more raw and intimate. I was born in 96 and love most of ECW and the Attitude Era. Sure, some overrate and act like nothing was bad during the time but I still think it was the hottest time in wrestling and almost every company in the fuckin' world was fun to watch during the time.

 

[Hoss]

Wrestling is at its best when it feels raw, to me. I like the fast chaotic action, true emotion coming through in the promos, characters that you aren't likely to find together in any other medium and a product that overall is a little rough around the edges. That's why I have a pretty hard time still enjoying WWE with how overly polished it has become, and also why I'll always be entertaining by wrestling from the 90s and early 2000s, regardless of how "cringe" (as the kids say) it might be at times.

 

[GARBAGE]

Entirely dependant on how you personally feel about the talent, set up, memories, etc involved; no one can decide for you. "Nostalgia goggles", "rose-tinted glasses", "recency bias", these terms are useful when describing your own opinion for something, but utterly worthless when describing someone else's. I can't tell anybody why they feel a certain way about something like that, and they can't tell me. In fact I find it really pompous and shallow when somebody does tell others they have these things.

I'm nostalgic for 2007 WWE so I could probably watch a lot of it right now and go "aw yeh I remember that!" "awhh my brother and I loved this" "this was so cool to look up on wwe.com," so I'd have a good time. I'd also think it mostly sucks....because most of it sucked. Nobody else can get into my brain to make that opinion for me.

edit - as far as ECW goes, I wasn't a wrestling fan when it was around but watching a lot of it the past 15 years, I can tell you there's something very badass and confident and passionate about the whole thing. And despite what people say some of the matches/brawls are just really that awesome. I watched Sandman vs. Sabu at House Party not long ago and the unco-operative, chaotic violence in it made it feel more like a legit contest than several tens of thousands of matches I've seen ever could.

 

[Chris]

I can't tell anybody why they feel a certain way about something like that, and they can't tell me.

wise, wise words

 

[Lady Redfield]

I sometimes fall back on things and think holy shit, this is amazing, but then wonder myself if it's just nostalgia or not.

Times change, wrestling evolves, the fans evolve, I have found the younger generation (not all, but, many) do not like old school wrestling, they prefer the faster, high flying wrestling, as opposed to back when there was a lot more grappling and slower moving matches.

I enjoyed ECW, I have found some younger fans don't even like that and have said it was overrated. I kindly disagree, maybe I just wasn't exposed to other extreme wrestling at the time, but, the level of violence was something I didn't see much in wrestling, so, it stood out for me.

 

[Moon Bird]

Another day, another ECW PPV. This time it's Anarchy Rulz 2000. And once again I've been entertained as hell all the way through. I'm pretty sure if I was watching this for the first time in my life I'd be just as entertained as I am right now.

Speaking of ECW I was taking a look at the Wrestling Inc comments on Tony Khans ECW Tribute he did after Rampage. And most of those cry babies were complaining that Malenko and Jericho shouldn't have been in the ring. That's 2 time ECW World Television Champion and ECW World Tag Team Champion Dean Malenko. And Former ECW World Television Champion Chris Jericho.

Not to mention that Malenko was a forming member of the Triple Threat. And lets not forget his amazing fued he had with Eddie Guerrero.

So f**k Wrestling Inc. Specifically the morons that post comments there. Because they really don't have a clue about anything that doesn't come out of Stamford, Connecticut...

 

[Chris]

Eddy vs Dean

 

[Lady Redfield]

Another day, another ECW PPV. This time it's Anarchy Rulz 2000. And once again I've been entertained as hell all the way through. I'm pretty sure if I was watching this for the first time in my life I'd be just as entertained as I am right now.

Speaking of ECW I was taking a look at the Wrestling Inc comments on Tony Khans ECW Tribute he did after Rampage. And most of those cry babies were complaining that Malenko and Jericho shouldn't have been in the ring. That's 2 time ECW World Television Champion and ECW World Tag Team Champion Dean Malenko. And Former ECW World Television Champion Chris Jericho.

Not to mention that Malenko was a forming member of the Triple Threat. And lets not forget his amazing fued he had with Eddie Guerrero.

So f**k Wrestling Inc. Specifically the morons that post comments there. Because they really don't have a clue about anything that doesn't come out of Stamford, Connecticut...

This generation has a problem with certain old wrestlers still putting on a show, yet, they cream their pants at the mere sight of Stone Cold or The Rock in the ring, even Hogan still gets a big pop and people still were hype for Ric Flair being 1000 years old and still wrestling.

Those two can still put on a good enough show.

 

[Alexa]

If you go back and watch a lot of older wrestling you did as a kid or a teenager then you will always look at through Rose Glasses because it reminded you of a time when things were different and not like how they are now. Nostalgia is the greatest drug ever made because once you a get a little taste of it then you get hooked and never let go. It is the reason why people like the attitude era or ruthless aggression era so much or the territorial days if you want to go back father.

It is also not just wrestling, but in any media from anime to video games to anything between. You wear rose tinted glasses not because of the game or anime itself, but because it takes you back in time. I never understood the meaning of the song Pastime Paradise by Stevie Wonder, but now it makes sense given how I have went back and watched old wrestling shows on tape.

I could ramble on about nostalgia and the power it holds onto people because it truly is an interesting subject to talk about since it is a very psychological thing that you are both aware of and not aware of at the same time. So keep watching older wrestling and enjoying and having fun with it, but just don't get lost in it.

 

[Comrade Khan]

^ so true. nostalgia is great but don't let the past stop you from enjoying the present. much like don't worry about the future to the point you also can't enjoy the now