Post by eDemento2099 on Dec 30, 2007 17:51:48 GMT -5
Up to this point, from the year 2000 AD to 2007 AD, which year do yo feel represents the best overall year for wrestling in the 21st century? And which would you say represents the worst?
Compared to the 1990s - ESPECIALLY the late 1990s - I'd say that wrestling in general has been consistently weak in the 21st century, no matter how WWE tries to spin its monopoly status in a positive light. The best year would probably be 2000, if for no other reason than the fact that there were three popular, nationally-televised promotions that big-shot wrestlers could turn to (the WWF, WCW, and ECW). There was actual competition, which was conducive to innovation and an effort to 'one-up' the competing promotions so as to secure ratings.
The worst year? Easily 2007. There's still only one major promotion, and rather than pushing the X-Division to offer a unique alternative to WWE (which never has - and probably never will - properly promote cruiserweights so long as VKM is in charge), TNA has tried to become WWE - and succeeding terribly (deliberate oxymoron) in terms of celebrating bad booking. But what especially makes 2007 bad were all the deaths: Mike Awesome, Kronus, Bam Bam Bigelow, the Benoit family... Yeah. Just that last one struck a major blow to the industry, given the circumstances of what supposedly occurred according to official police reports.
But my answers aren't set in stone, and I'm contemplating exceptions. For instance, as far as 2007 being the worst year, at least we got WSX, which was excellent for what it was. It may have been a short-lived glimmer in the darkness, but oh, how bright it did shine!
As far as the best for wrestling in the 21st century, everyone who's consistently enjoyed CZW since its inception insists that it reached its prime circa 2003-2004. I more or less stopped watching wrestling at that time, given that WWE was the only accessible promotion (which had turned me away from modern wrestling with the InVasion blunder), so unfortunately, I missed out on CZW as its glory years unfolded. However, the videos that I have seen from that era do seem to confirm that outlook. As much as I enjoy CZW today, I can't deny that the booking pales in comparison to the promotion's earlier years (a major exception being the recent Cage of Death 9 event, and Necro Butcher's supposedly kayfabed response in the aftermath of the event). So perhaps that was pro wrestling's best period in the 21st century, if you were lucky enough to be privy to indy wrestling and hadn't been turned away from the industry as a whole after the InVasion debacle.
Compared to the 1990s - ESPECIALLY the late 1990s - I'd say that wrestling in general has been consistently weak in the 21st century, no matter how WWE tries to spin its monopoly status in a positive light. The best year would probably be 2000, if for no other reason than the fact that there were three popular, nationally-televised promotions that big-shot wrestlers could turn to (the WWF, WCW, and ECW). There was actual competition, which was conducive to innovation and an effort to 'one-up' the competing promotions so as to secure ratings.
The worst year? Easily 2007. There's still only one major promotion, and rather than pushing the X-Division to offer a unique alternative to WWE (which never has - and probably never will - properly promote cruiserweights so long as VKM is in charge), TNA has tried to become WWE - and succeeding terribly (deliberate oxymoron) in terms of celebrating bad booking. But what especially makes 2007 bad were all the deaths: Mike Awesome, Kronus, Bam Bam Bigelow, the Benoit family... Yeah. Just that last one struck a major blow to the industry, given the circumstances of what supposedly occurred according to official police reports.
But my answers aren't set in stone, and I'm contemplating exceptions. For instance, as far as 2007 being the worst year, at least we got WSX, which was excellent for what it was. It may have been a short-lived glimmer in the darkness, but oh, how bright it did shine!
As far as the best for wrestling in the 21st century, everyone who's consistently enjoyed CZW since its inception insists that it reached its prime circa 2003-2004. I more or less stopped watching wrestling at that time, given that WWE was the only accessible promotion (which had turned me away from modern wrestling with the InVasion blunder), so unfortunately, I missed out on CZW as its glory years unfolded. However, the videos that I have seen from that era do seem to confirm that outlook. As much as I enjoy CZW today, I can't deny that the booking pales in comparison to the promotion's earlier years (a major exception being the recent Cage of Death 9 event, and Necro Butcher's supposedly kayfabed response in the aftermath of the event). So perhaps that was pro wrestling's best period in the 21st century, if you were lucky enough to be privy to indy wrestling and hadn't been turned away from the industry as a whole after the InVasion debacle.
