Post by thelonedrinker on May 10, 2005 4:26:23 GMT -5
I am one of the biggest WWE fans you will ever meet.
Although the difference between me and some of you guys is that I am a fan of ENTERTAINMENT. Not "actual wrestling."
I love pro wrestling, but at the same time, wrestling is not a sport. It's entertainment. Why do you think it's called "World Wrestling ENTERTAINMENT?"
WWE Wrestling is NOT a legit sport. Maybe other feds like in Japan, wrestling is a sport....but not in the U.S.A.
Don't like it? Don't watch it.
WWE Wrestling is entertainment and a form of theater. It's like a live action cartoon, a live action comic book, a male soap opera, theatrical athletics, etc. But a sport? I think not.
If wrestling were real and a legit sport, I doubt I would watch it. I don't think anyone would watch and I don't think there would be a lot of people in the sport of wrestling. I am sure some people would watch wrestling and there would be some guys that wrestle but it would not be as big as it is today and many careers would be ended soon.
Now I know they got the UFC which is big, but the only time the UFC was really getting hype was when Shamrock and Ortiz were feuding with each other, and talking trash about each other in their interviews.
People loved the drama, thus the fight drew big money.
People wanna see the fighters aruging and yelling at each other. It's entertaining. Even in the real sports world, people don't wanna just see guys playing sports.
They wanna see the kinda stuff you see on WWE TV with guys yelling in each other's faces and WWE provides that, and wrestling at the same time...but the wrestling should never outweigh the entertainment.
Also, if the WWE was a REAL sport, how come no one keeps score?
ALL REAL sports have score keepers that keep score. Boxing, basketball, baseball, football, etc. If WWE wrestling is a legit sport....how come no one keeps score during the matches like they do with boxing?
How come you don't read the results in the newspaper or hear about them on the local news?
Sports also have rules. And when a rule is broken, action is taken. Rules are broken all the time in WWE wrestling. Chair shots, outside interference, ref's getting punched, etc.....yet action is never taken. And if it is taken......most of the time, that guy gets hurt...Example...Vince McMahon got the Stone Cold stunner by Stone Cold whenever he tried to control him.....but since it was all fake, and not a sport....there was nothing to worry about.
The WWE is an entertainment fed. Even Vince says that about his WWE product. It is entertaiment. If you want real wrestling, go to some boring local Indy show in hickvile U.S.A. or that NWA-TNA crap. But stop whining about the WWE. Cause if you are a wrestling fan, I can promise you will not ever be happy with the WWE.
Non-wrestling fans always tell us wrestling is fake....yes it is, and we wouldn't have it any other way. As I said above, if wrestling was real, I would not watch it, because I would be bored with it. They do have real wrestling on ESPN, and it's not as big as WWE wrestling.
Professional wrestling always has been and always will be sports-ENTERTAINMENT. The athleticism seen in the ring is only half of what makes this business as unique and successful as it has become.
And while the overall direction of the business has changed a great deal in the past decade, one philosophy remains steadfast: Give the fans what they want. Take a look at the last major boom period in our industry beginning about 1997. It was during that time that some our most memorable moments came to fruition.
Skits like D-Generation X dressing up like the Nation of Domination and the Corporation or using a tank to invade WCW headquarters amidst the Monday night ratings wars were segments that will undoubtedly live in our minds for eternity.
Where would the Austin/McMahon feud have gone if it relied simply on in-ring action? The answer is not very far. It was the back and forth promos between those two rivals that made for months worth of great television.
Do you think that The Rock would be making movies in Hollywood if he were never allowed to cut promos and show the audience his quick wit and unique sense of humor?
If a show like “The Sopranos” were to only have nonsensical violence without any storyline, it never would have made it past a first season.
If “ER” were only about tales from the operating room and never dwelled on the lives of it’s physicians, they probably never would have won an award.
If "The Contender" was just about boxing and only boxing and didn't share with us that went on with the lives of the boxers, I doubt the show would have made it past the first episode.
Some people will not admit this but, most people prefer the entertainment over actual wrestling. No matter how cool the in-ring action may be, storylines are the real backbone of professional wrestling. Promo's, interesting vignettes - they're what keep the shows fresh from week to week.
Take Smackdown 3 for example. That game had a terrible story mode to it. If people preferred wrestling over entertainment, than why did so many people complain about Smackdown 3?
The wrestling in it was great, and yet everyone did not see that because of the lack of entertainment that was in it...or lack there of I should say.
And now they have Smackdown 4 and Smackdown vs. Raw and everyone is saying how cool it is because there are more storylines. Heck, some people hate Smackdown vs. Raw because of LACK of storylines.
Like it or not, it's the entertainment that people watch pro wrestling for. Not just the actual wrestling.
So why some people just judge wrestlers ONLY on their wrestling skills is beyond me. Because there is a lot more to it than that. Hulk Hogan is an icon and a great entertainer, yet smarks hate him ALL because he's not some great wrestler.
I could never just cheer for a wrestler soley based on his wrestling skill. Which is why I have never liked Chris Beniot or Lance Storm. I have to know and care about a wrestler in order for me to cheer for him.
And a wrestler has to have mic skills to get my cheers, because mic skills overshadow everything else in the WWE.
Sure, wrestling is an important part of sports entertainment, but if we go to a pure wrestling type product, we're stuck with Frank Gotch laying on the ground for two hours.
The matches are the pay off, but the real intrigue comes from the segments and angles that we love....
Hogan getting crushed by Earthquake, the late Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage cowering as Jake Roberts threatened them with with a snake, Shawn Michaels kicking Marty Jannetty through the window of the Barber Shop, Austin Pillmanizing the late Brian Pillman, This is Your Life Rock, Austin Appreciation Night, Jericho breaking Chyna's thumb.
They kicked off and fanned the flames that made us want to watch wrestling to see what was going to happen next.
You guys are also talking about pushing younger wrestlers all the time too...but how can you create new stars if you don't have those guys doing promos and segments to get people to see them?
I mean, would you really care about Tajiri and Funaki if they just went up against Show and Train?
Or wasn't it so much better to see the tentative Funaki be reassured by the confident Tajiri that despite the odds of being put up against two of the baddest men in the WWE, they could do it?
And do you think people cared about John Cena when he debuted? The guy almost beat Angle and beat Jericho and still no one cared.
They made him a rapper and had him dis Rikishi and Los Guerrerros and BOOM, we have a potential main eventer!
In closing.....
Two guys can bust their ass for 30 minutes in the ring and I and a lot of fans couldn't give two drops of monkey piss if there isn't any build.
In 2003, Eddie and Benoit put on a good wrestling match at a PPV and I didn't care because I wasn't given a reason to care. I was more into "tripe" like Hogan/McMahon or Rey/Big Show because there were segments and angles set up to make me want to watch and see how it turned out in the end.
Giving everyone good segments, angles, interviews, and gimmicks are the best service the WWE could give their talent.
The entertainment aspect makes the sports part seem epic. Without the entertainment, you're left with something that no one would watch.
Although the difference between me and some of you guys is that I am a fan of ENTERTAINMENT. Not "actual wrestling."
I love pro wrestling, but at the same time, wrestling is not a sport. It's entertainment. Why do you think it's called "World Wrestling ENTERTAINMENT?"
WWE Wrestling is NOT a legit sport. Maybe other feds like in Japan, wrestling is a sport....but not in the U.S.A.
Don't like it? Don't watch it.
WWE Wrestling is entertainment and a form of theater. It's like a live action cartoon, a live action comic book, a male soap opera, theatrical athletics, etc. But a sport? I think not.
If wrestling were real and a legit sport, I doubt I would watch it. I don't think anyone would watch and I don't think there would be a lot of people in the sport of wrestling. I am sure some people would watch wrestling and there would be some guys that wrestle but it would not be as big as it is today and many careers would be ended soon.
Now I know they got the UFC which is big, but the only time the UFC was really getting hype was when Shamrock and Ortiz were feuding with each other, and talking trash about each other in their interviews.
People loved the drama, thus the fight drew big money.
People wanna see the fighters aruging and yelling at each other. It's entertaining. Even in the real sports world, people don't wanna just see guys playing sports.
They wanna see the kinda stuff you see on WWE TV with guys yelling in each other's faces and WWE provides that, and wrestling at the same time...but the wrestling should never outweigh the entertainment.
Also, if the WWE was a REAL sport, how come no one keeps score?
ALL REAL sports have score keepers that keep score. Boxing, basketball, baseball, football, etc. If WWE wrestling is a legit sport....how come no one keeps score during the matches like they do with boxing?
How come you don't read the results in the newspaper or hear about them on the local news?
Sports also have rules. And when a rule is broken, action is taken. Rules are broken all the time in WWE wrestling. Chair shots, outside interference, ref's getting punched, etc.....yet action is never taken. And if it is taken......most of the time, that guy gets hurt...Example...Vince McMahon got the Stone Cold stunner by Stone Cold whenever he tried to control him.....but since it was all fake, and not a sport....there was nothing to worry about.
The WWE is an entertainment fed. Even Vince says that about his WWE product. It is entertaiment. If you want real wrestling, go to some boring local Indy show in hickvile U.S.A. or that NWA-TNA crap. But stop whining about the WWE. Cause if you are a wrestling fan, I can promise you will not ever be happy with the WWE.
Non-wrestling fans always tell us wrestling is fake....yes it is, and we wouldn't have it any other way. As I said above, if wrestling was real, I would not watch it, because I would be bored with it. They do have real wrestling on ESPN, and it's not as big as WWE wrestling.
Professional wrestling always has been and always will be sports-ENTERTAINMENT. The athleticism seen in the ring is only half of what makes this business as unique and successful as it has become.
And while the overall direction of the business has changed a great deal in the past decade, one philosophy remains steadfast: Give the fans what they want. Take a look at the last major boom period in our industry beginning about 1997. It was during that time that some our most memorable moments came to fruition.
Skits like D-Generation X dressing up like the Nation of Domination and the Corporation or using a tank to invade WCW headquarters amidst the Monday night ratings wars were segments that will undoubtedly live in our minds for eternity.
Where would the Austin/McMahon feud have gone if it relied simply on in-ring action? The answer is not very far. It was the back and forth promos between those two rivals that made for months worth of great television.
Do you think that The Rock would be making movies in Hollywood if he were never allowed to cut promos and show the audience his quick wit and unique sense of humor?
If a show like “The Sopranos” were to only have nonsensical violence without any storyline, it never would have made it past a first season.
If “ER” were only about tales from the operating room and never dwelled on the lives of it’s physicians, they probably never would have won an award.
If "The Contender" was just about boxing and only boxing and didn't share with us that went on with the lives of the boxers, I doubt the show would have made it past the first episode.
Some people will not admit this but, most people prefer the entertainment over actual wrestling. No matter how cool the in-ring action may be, storylines are the real backbone of professional wrestling. Promo's, interesting vignettes - they're what keep the shows fresh from week to week.
Take Smackdown 3 for example. That game had a terrible story mode to it. If people preferred wrestling over entertainment, than why did so many people complain about Smackdown 3?
The wrestling in it was great, and yet everyone did not see that because of the lack of entertainment that was in it...or lack there of I should say.
And now they have Smackdown 4 and Smackdown vs. Raw and everyone is saying how cool it is because there are more storylines. Heck, some people hate Smackdown vs. Raw because of LACK of storylines.
Like it or not, it's the entertainment that people watch pro wrestling for. Not just the actual wrestling.
So why some people just judge wrestlers ONLY on their wrestling skills is beyond me. Because there is a lot more to it than that. Hulk Hogan is an icon and a great entertainer, yet smarks hate him ALL because he's not some great wrestler.
I could never just cheer for a wrestler soley based on his wrestling skill. Which is why I have never liked Chris Beniot or Lance Storm. I have to know and care about a wrestler in order for me to cheer for him.
And a wrestler has to have mic skills to get my cheers, because mic skills overshadow everything else in the WWE.
Sure, wrestling is an important part of sports entertainment, but if we go to a pure wrestling type product, we're stuck with Frank Gotch laying on the ground for two hours.
The matches are the pay off, but the real intrigue comes from the segments and angles that we love....
Hogan getting crushed by Earthquake, the late Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage cowering as Jake Roberts threatened them with with a snake, Shawn Michaels kicking Marty Jannetty through the window of the Barber Shop, Austin Pillmanizing the late Brian Pillman, This is Your Life Rock, Austin Appreciation Night, Jericho breaking Chyna's thumb.
They kicked off and fanned the flames that made us want to watch wrestling to see what was going to happen next.
You guys are also talking about pushing younger wrestlers all the time too...but how can you create new stars if you don't have those guys doing promos and segments to get people to see them?
I mean, would you really care about Tajiri and Funaki if they just went up against Show and Train?
Or wasn't it so much better to see the tentative Funaki be reassured by the confident Tajiri that despite the odds of being put up against two of the baddest men in the WWE, they could do it?
And do you think people cared about John Cena when he debuted? The guy almost beat Angle and beat Jericho and still no one cared.
They made him a rapper and had him dis Rikishi and Los Guerrerros and BOOM, we have a potential main eventer!
In closing.....
Two guys can bust their ass for 30 minutes in the ring and I and a lot of fans couldn't give two drops of monkey piss if there isn't any build.
In 2003, Eddie and Benoit put on a good wrestling match at a PPV and I didn't care because I wasn't given a reason to care. I was more into "tripe" like Hogan/McMahon or Rey/Big Show because there were segments and angles set up to make me want to watch and see how it turned out in the end.
Giving everyone good segments, angles, interviews, and gimmicks are the best service the WWE could give their talent.
The entertainment aspect makes the sports part seem epic. Without the entertainment, you're left with something that no one would watch.