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Post by kittylimits on Jan 2, 2008 18:21:41 GMT -5
I "stopped" right before the invasion, because that's right after I started high school. I was VERY embarrassed of being a wrestling fan, because the Attitude Era was ending and I was a female, so it was even more "unattractive" for me.
Then my friends and I heard Eddie died, and all of us were Attitude Era fans, so we checked the tribute show out...Lots of nostalgia... It made me remember my younger days...
But it wasn't until right before Wrestle Mania 22 where I overheard someone say that Wrestle Mania was coming to Detroit the year later. I had always wanted to go, so I decided to start checking out WWE programming so if I did end up going to Mania, I'd know who was who. (Like, who the heck is that John Cena character???)
My then boyfriend was in Europe for 4 months, so it was nice to feel nostalgia while feeling lonely. Little did any of us know, that when he came home, he had been replaced by professional wrestling, because I fell back in love.
After years and years you just get addicted; You get hooked to the older guys because you grow to get to know them, and you want to follow the progress of the younger prospects. It's just a cycle that flows and being an internet fan where there's a "community" of like minded people doesn't help.
But most of all it's nostalgia.
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Post by rubber johnny on Jan 2, 2008 18:28:55 GMT -5
i stopped watching sometime in the middle of 2001, the invasion angle really just bored the hell out of me, and so i went on hiatus after five or so solid years watching it
i started again in 2006, and nearly stopped watching again in late 06/ early 07, but i think the product has improved a lot since then
also there's the dvds they're releasing of the old stuff, which is keeping me interested in wrestling
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Post by Twinkies Rule! (so does Tacos) on Jan 2, 2008 19:03:06 GMT -5
My dad bought videosof the stuff in the early 90s and I was like 5 but I thought it was cool but that was it but at 1998 we got SKY but at first I never noticed then I got the videos of the 2 top PPVs of 1998, KOTR and Summerslam and that was it for me and I was hooked. Also god bless Youtube and SKY plus.
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BHB
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 5,778
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Post by BHB on Jan 2, 2008 19:06:36 GMT -5
I never stopped liking it.
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mattperiolat
King Koopa
Thank you, Brodie... for everything.
Posts: 11,445
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Post by mattperiolat on Jan 2, 2008 19:17:04 GMT -5
But most of all it's nostalgia. Couldn't say it better myself. Also, nice to see a female fan who enjoys this business. I must admit, as long as I've been watching, it's almost always been with a male fan base. I know the girls are out there, just nice to get a reminder once in a while that it does cross the gender line. It's actually interesting reading all these points of view. Wrestling seems to consistently have touchstone moments that either bring fans in or drive them out. As was said, very cyclical business and one I'm honestly at times proud to say I am a fan of... then I see crap like Katie Vick and I want to just hold my classic DVD collection in my arms and cry myself to sleep.
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Post by Shy Guy on Jan 2, 2008 19:20:03 GMT -5
edge.
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Post by perpetualn00b on Jan 2, 2008 19:22:21 GMT -5
I didn't. I watched a little as a kid (around the early New Generation), then never gave it much thought. A friend of mine got me back into it about a year and a half ago.
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Post by ghettooverlord on Jan 2, 2008 19:25:13 GMT -5
It's completely and utterly ridiculous. <3
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404error
Mephisto
GO LEAFS GO
Posts: 719
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Post by 404error on Jan 2, 2008 19:35:33 GMT -5
I stopped watching wrestling during the early-to-mid 90s, around the time the nWo was starting.
When I moved down to California in late 1997, about two years out of watching wrestling, a friend's mother asked me, "So what really happened with Bret Hart?"
I had no idea what she was talking about. All I remember about Hart was a snippet of a RAW show (when I was staying at a Salvation Army home) where he was outside a steel cage and swearing, calling somebody a bastard and SOB. I didn't know what it was in relevance to... just thought he'd finally lost it.
So because of that, I started watching wrestling with my friend and her parents. The first PPV I remember seeing (after not watching one in years) involved Mankind coming off the steel cage. That hooked me, and I've been watching ever since.
So what happened to Bret Hart? That's when I discovered the wrestling website dirtsheets and started reading about what happened to Bret.
And look at me now! Woo!
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Post by wrestlecrapcrap on Jan 2, 2008 19:41:55 GMT -5
I think I stopped just after Wrestlemania 19 - which I actually thought was a very good Wrestlemania. I can't remember the exact time, but I remember accidently missing one Raw, and then realising I didn't care enough about it to start again. I think it was The Rock leaving again at the same time as Stone Cold which on some level stopped me caring although I didn't realise it at the time. Not even Goldberg starting kept me in.
Then at No Way Out this year I caught my little brother watching it. My curiosity began to grow. Then I noticed he has SVR 07 which got me in touch with the current roster. I remember thinking 'Bradshaw? As in Bradshaw from the APA? HE was a 10 month reigning WWE champion and was part of a Wrestlemania main event?!?!?!? Jesus christ!' Similar thoughts included 'Batista is main eventing? I could barely remember him as a deacon' and 'My god they are basing their company around that guy with the white rapper gimmick? How the hell does that work??'
Anyway I continued sort of watching when I was flicking through channels while reminiscing with friends about how great we thought the attitude era was. 'Damn HHH was awesome!' we thought. I saw Wrestlemania and from then on haven't missed an episode. I absolutely love it now. I see the value of JBL. I know why they base the company around Cena. I also think the produce is largely better than what it was when I left the first time. I'm also excited about the future with guys like Kennedy, Punk and MVP.
I think another reason why I left was Batista and Orton getting injured around that time. I was so excited they was starting a stable again as I love them, but when I heard they was injured, along with Stone Cold and The Rock leaving I just lost a lot of enthusiasm for the product as I would have had to wait ages to see them get in full swing.
I am now gutted I missed out on the Evolution story, and I think that's what fans need to remember. There will always be some redeeming factor that draws you in. When your enthusiasm is dampened then you need to think about the parts of the show you enjoy. Now I love Raw for Kennedy, Jericho and JBL. I love Smackdown because of Edge and MVP. I love ECW for Morrison - god knows why but I do. It's those things that keep me watching and I think if everyone remembered that there will be something about the WWE that they enjoy then they will appreciate it more.
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Dean-o
Grimlock
Haha we're having fun Maggle!
Posts: 13,865
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Post by Dean-o on Jan 2, 2008 19:49:14 GMT -5
Because I grew up watching it, I have tremendous respect for everybody involved, and hell, it just entertains me.
Either you hate it or you love it. I love it and will always love it.
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Post by Ishmeal Loves Kaseyhausen on Jan 2, 2008 19:57:37 GMT -5
The opening voiceover to Beyond the Mat says it best: Idon't know why I like it. I just always have.
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longdogga
Don Corleone
All australian look like this ^^^
Posts: 1,425
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Post by longdogga on Jan 2, 2008 20:14:41 GMT -5
for the escape from life it gives me
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franchisedavis
Unicron
Called it.
Enter your message here...
Posts: 2,581
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Post by franchisedavis on Jan 2, 2008 20:20:19 GMT -5
when I was young it almost gave me a real hero sense with Hogan.
And always wondering what will happen next. Its like a movie or TV show that never ends
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Post by ultimatekennedy on Jan 2, 2008 21:52:45 GMT -5
I haven't watched much wrestling. I get it through WCR
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Reverend BTY
Hank Scorpio
Christian Troy: God's Gift
Posts: 7,206
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Post by Reverend BTY on Jan 2, 2008 21:54:09 GMT -5
I enjoy watching fighting and showmanship. Best of both worlds in the pro grapplin world.
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Post by krazysane on Jan 2, 2008 22:06:19 GMT -5
Watched as a kid and will when I am old and grey. I Just Love It.
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Post by thesam07 on Jan 2, 2008 22:09:53 GMT -5
For the past year i have been on the downslope, i don't watch WWE as much as i use to. I'm not sure why. I'll watch if there is something that catches my interest (ie: Santino skits, MVP/Hardy feud, ECW) but i generally just read the reports. But i watched nearly every show during 2003, so i think i will survive.
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H-Fist
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,485
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Post by H-Fist on Jan 2, 2008 23:24:12 GMT -5
The first matches I remember seeing must've been in 1993. I was 8 or 9. And they involved Cactus Jack on WCW, and Owen Hart and the Undertaker on WWF. I loved the Owen/Bret angle and the Undertaker/Million Dollar Corporation angle. My local Blockbuster had this huge collection of WWF and WCW payperview tapes. So I got to know that history from the beginning. We only had broadcast, never cable, so I got the jobber shows and the tapes.
I went off and on over junior high (95-98), and started watching again in 98-99 and played WWF Attitude on my new Playstation religiously. I'd go to friends' houses for Raw and PPVs whenever I could.
By the end of high school/start of college, I tuned it out some again. This'd be 2001-2003. I'd try to catch SD, but I wouldn't get PPVs or anything. I think finding the Crap site itself allowed me to remember stuff from the decade before.
Once I got cable senior year, I watched as much as possible. And in the year following (late 2006), I found ROH. My friend told me about this guy, CM Punk, who he really liked. So I searched out ROH and got to see something totally different.
Basically, wrestling always offers something different, something new. The times I've tuned out seem to be the times of transition for WWE, when what they offer might be new but seems derivative. Now, I don't watch much because I don't have cable and I' m not working professionally, as I'd hoped to be doing by now. At this point, I' m living off of what's on Youtube.
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SAJ Forth
Wade Wilson
Jamaican WCF Crazy!
Half Man-Half Amazing
Posts: 27,214
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Post by SAJ Forth on Jan 3, 2008 0:30:35 GMT -5
nothing really made me 'stay', i have just never stopped loving wrestling. Thank you rko.
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