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Post by Malibu Stacy on May 1, 2020 1:16:46 GMT -5
I started watching during the Attitude Era when I was in middle school/high school, and even then, it wasn't particularly popular in my area. But I've always had a knack for making friends who later turned out to be fellow fans. I took a break from watching around 2001 until summer 2009 when I started dating a huge WWE fan. I kept my fandom on the down low at first, especially with my now boyfriend, who at the time was a friend I discussed topics such as philosophy, literature, and theater with. Then one night, I accidentally let slip I was watching NXT Redemption on YouTube. It ended up reigniting his childhood interest, and when we started dating, he was the first person to take me to shows.
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Post by David-Arquette was in WCW 2000 on May 1, 2020 1:42:23 GMT -5
When I was in school here in the UK it was never really cool in the mainstream sense. It hit a peak of popularity in '99 where half the kids in my class were watching it, and we'd all wrestle during break times, but that was it. It seemed pretty niche beyond that. After 2001? Shit, I knew about three people in total that still watched it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2020 1:48:31 GMT -5
Define "cool"
It's just a made up word at the end of the day.
People have different interests and people will always buy into the hype and jump on the bandwagon of the latest hyped up thing because they are so desperate to "fit in".
If somebody told me wrestling wasn't cool, then I'd just brush it off. I have no interest in engaging in a conversation with somebody that hasn't got a mind of their own and likes things based on how other people think about them.
If you don't like something, that's more than fine. But if you don't like something because other people don't like it, then that's stupid.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2020 7:19:05 GMT -5
My mum says it’s cool
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Bub (BLM)
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advocates duck on rodent violence
Fed. Up.
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Post by Bub (BLM) on May 1, 2020 11:34:18 GMT -5
I think it was when I got old enough to realize that most wrestling characters are middle-aged adults trying desperately to be teenagers.
ie: nWo/DX
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The Blue Nova
Don Corleone
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Post by The Blue Nova on May 1, 2020 11:38:25 GMT -5
Watching the first episode of smackdown on fox and them doing a segment in the news room Im like ugh this is embarassing lol
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Post by Viking Hall on May 1, 2020 11:45:02 GMT -5
When I was in school here in the UK it was never really cool in the mainstream sense. It hit a peak of popularity in '99 where half the kids in my class were watching it, and we'd all wrestle during break times, but that was it. It seemed pretty niche beyond that. After 2001? Shit, I knew about three people in total that still watched it. Basically my entire experience of it too in the UK. As you say, after about 2001 there were only really the hardcore fans left and even then you sort of spoke about it hushed tones. Now, as a man in my thirties I'm quite open about my love of wrestling, yet still quite often pre-empt it by saying I don't watch WWE like it gives it a bit of underground kudos. It doesn't, really.
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Post by David-Arquette was in WCW 2000 on May 1, 2020 12:59:34 GMT -5
When I was in school here in the UK it was never really cool in the mainstream sense. It hit a peak of popularity in '99 where half the kids in my class were watching it, and we'd all wrestle during break times, but that was it. It seemed pretty niche beyond that. After 2001? Shit, I knew about three people in total that still watched it. Basically my entire experience of it too in the UK. As you say, after about 2001 there were only really the hardcore fans left and even then you sort of spoke about it hushed tones. Now, as a man in my thirties I'm quite open about my love of wrestling, yet still quite often pre-empt it by saying I don't watch WWE like it gives it a bit of underground kudos. It doesn't, really. Haha I pre-empt with "nothing modern". It's strange though, I thought after 23 years of watching wrestling I would avoid the "it's fake, right? Why do you watch it?" remarks by now.
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Post by Jaws the Shark on May 1, 2020 13:02:03 GMT -5
After the Invasion when most of my friends at school stopped watching or really talking about it. It went from almost all of my friends from different friendship groups being excited about it, and big conversations about what was going on, to no one discussing it ever. It fell away very fast too, I remember people being surprised about the WCW purchase in early 2001, but by late 2001 I don't think anyone really cared what the payoff to the Invasion angle was.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on May 1, 2020 13:05:41 GMT -5
I feel like 03 or 04 was that time for me. People wore John Cena, Eddie Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio merchandise but, they weren't nearly as prominent at school as NWO and Austin 3:16.
By the time I was in high school, I saw maybe one person wear a wrestling shirt around proudly.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2020 13:13:35 GMT -5
Summer of 2001.
The Invasion angle, creatively, was straight trash, and it ruined a lot of momentum the company had. Nothing felt the same after the Invasion angle truly began.
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Post by A Platypus Rave on May 1, 2020 13:31:12 GMT -5
I will say the strangest shirt I saw outside of wrestling was someone wearing hte Baby Carlito shirt near Penn station on my way to work... but that was way after Wrestling was considered "mainstream" (obviously) so...
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Cranjis McBasketball
Crow T. Robot
Knew what the hell that thing was supposed to be
Peace Love and Nothing But
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Post by Cranjis McBasketball on May 1, 2020 18:18:53 GMT -5
I never did or cared to notice.
It’s what I watch. I really didn’t care much if people thought it was cool.
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fw91
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by fw91 on May 1, 2020 18:22:55 GMT -5
probably late 2002-early 2003. Totally different feel than attitude era, and people stopped talking about wrestling.
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Post by Cvslfc123 on May 1, 2020 18:34:46 GMT -5
When I was in primary school everyone would talk about it and it felt huge. There were times where all the "cool" kids were spending lunchtimes creating their own Championship belts. In my final year in 2003 I could see that other kids interest in it was starting to fade.
At some point in high school in 2004 I had two other kids ask me what had happened in WWE recently and then looking at each other while I was telling them and trying not to laugh. I realised they were making fun of me and it made me embarrassed to be a fan so a couple of years later I went on a hiatus until I was 18 years old.
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Zutroy
Don Corleone
That's preposterous. Zutroy here is as American as apple pie.
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Post by Zutroy on May 1, 2020 20:24:00 GMT -5
When Vince discovered Twitter. It was just endless hashtags and trending stuff throughout all the shows. Cringeworthy at the time.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2020 21:09:46 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2020 21:48:47 GMT -5
I'd say around the mid 2000s. Here in the South it stayed "being cool to a degree" a little longer than everywhere else. In high school sure, it wasn't like in the Attitude Era days but until Cena and Batista's title wins it wasn't completely out of the loop. Once that shift hit and I got out of school things changed. I remember when I was working at Target when the Benoit stuff came out. Me and some of us talked about it at work so it wasn't uncommon but Benoit had been known. Still, today? Most people would be out of the loop. The furthest people go's usually that "Cena/Orton/Batista/Lesnar" era. Anything beyond that, anything post-Kofi interestingly enough they won't know.
These days nobody gives a damn about wrestling and as each day goes on the industry does more to explain why given the industry's just out of touch and too old school for most people. It's less about it being "cool" but more about a lot of the ideologies and methods being primitive which is why it's not "cool." Had wrestling stayed up to date with everything else it would still be loop in the loop. Sure, I could go to an event and say "hey I saw this" but the main thing that sticks out the most are the bad things about it compared to the good things.
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Post by Instant Classic on May 1, 2020 22:28:48 GMT -5
6th grade for me so 2007.
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Post by Toilet Paper Roll on May 1, 2020 23:01:28 GMT -5
When i was early in high school 94-96 people laughed at the guys who were still wrestling fans.
Senior year in 1997 even non fans knew a thing or two about wrestling.
in college 97-00 We could go in just about any dorm room on a Monday and someone would have wrestling on. Guys with the "boxes" had us watching the PPVs.
I had fifteen kids come back to my parents house 80 miles from college to watch Wrestlemania 2000
Around the time WCW was bought out by WWF nobody really seemed to care but the long term fans
I think that ended its run as far as being a legit pop culture phenomenon
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