zing
Don Corleone
Talk about him more!
Posts: 1,545
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Post by zing on Dec 26, 2011 10:49:55 GMT -5
I didn't watch for most of the last decade and was actually fine when I came back. I'd somehow picked up a vague understanding of who Cena was, and heard of Punk and DBD from the indies and there were just enough familiar faces for me to cope.
The one time it was really strange was when I started watching WCW in 1996. Hogan as a bad guy was a big shock but I did immediately get on board with it. Tbh, I don't think I registered the difference between early 90s WWF and mid 90s WCW as being two separate companies because of the huge number of familiar faces.
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Post by FailedGimmick on Dec 26, 2011 10:51:39 GMT -5
I stopped shortly after Eddie's death in late '05 and didn't start again until I saw an ad for Venture guest hosting RAW.
Needless to say, Randy Orton's arms being swallowed by tattoos was a bit of a shock for me.
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The Ichi
Patti Mayonnaise
AGGRESSIVE Executive Janitor of the Third Floor Manager's Bathroom
Posts: 37,286
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Post by The Ichi on Dec 26, 2011 11:06:14 GMT -5
Took a break in mid-2003, when I came back in 2004, Bradshaw was Champion.
Confused would be an understatement.
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Post by FailedGimmick on Dec 26, 2011 11:22:37 GMT -5
Took a break in mid-2003, when I came back in 2004, Bradshaw was Champion. Confused would be an understatement. I'll be honest. Finding out Bradshaw was WWE Champion was what made me start watching again after Triple H's Reign Of Terror.
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CH Punk
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Advice: Noted
Stuck in the Retro Zone
Posts: 15,570
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Post by CH Punk on Dec 26, 2011 11:39:08 GMT -5
Stopped watching when Sheamus won the WWE championship the first time and came back the week before The Rock returned (pure coincidence) and was puzzled to find out that The Miz was WWE champion and the tag titles had turned into giant pennies.
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Hawk Hart
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Sold his organs.
The Best There Is, the Best There Was, and the Best That There Ever Will Be
Posts: 15,296
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Post by Hawk Hart on Dec 26, 2011 11:48:35 GMT -5
I took a few month break following Judgment Day 2004 and I came back right before Summerslam, JBL being champ confused me as well.
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Post by flatsdomino on Dec 26, 2011 14:23:03 GMT -5
One point I would like to make is these days, it's almost impossible to be lost. WWE are very good at talking to the viewers like it was the first time they've seen the show. Something you can argue TNA doesn't do at all. If I watch TNA I have no idea what's going on because they don't give backstory, or even show that many replays. Which is good. In comic books, that's called a "Jumping-On Point". I always feel that WWE AND TNA could do more of those, primarily because the ones they do aren't all that impressive. ANYTIME something big happens, the next night/week should be a jumping-on point for new viewers or returning old ones. And it's my belief that EVERY post-Mania episode should be a jumping-on point for new fans, the start of a new "season" and an indicator of the direction the show will be taking for the next year. The night after WM 14 is a PERFECT example of this. When I say they're "not impressive", what I mean is that when you have a jumping-on point to introduce new viewers, you have to WOW them. Sensory overload, a million crazy storylines with things ACTUALLY HAPPENING throughout the show that you'll keep talking about, and tons of new crazy characters to catch your attention. The last real time WWE or TNA tried to do this was the Jan. 4th, 2010 Raw/Impact head-to-head, with WWE realizing Bret's return would bring in a lot of people who hadn't been watching, and TNA knowing the same of Hogan's debut. TNA, bless their hearts, TRIED to put on a roller-coaster thrill ride of an episode of Impact that would showcase all aspects of their new direction, even though it kind of bombed. The WWE, however, pretty much put on a ho-hum Raw barring Bret's segments. Hell, John Cena wasn't even ON the show, and the new WWE champion went up against...Evan Bourne, who he'd been squashing for months already. If I was a new fan, why would I stay around? That's one aspect of Russo's style of writing (more broadly, NWO/Attitude-Era style TV) that never gets enough credit - EVERY EPISODE shit was just popping off all over the place, to the point where it WAS must-see TV for the people who were already viewers; but the new viewers would tune in and say "holy shit, I have to see more of this." There weren't many ho-hum throwaway episodes. That's a big reason why so many new fans got into wrestling - because you could tell someone "man, you've gotta watch this" and they would and they'd be blown away, tell someone else, and the next week, the same thing would happen. Now? I don't know if I'd be so confident showing someone an episode of WWE or TNA without some dumb shit going on that makes them go "why are you watching this?" Hell, some of it is so shitty that it makes ME go "Why am I watching this?" To bring it back around to what you said and to Comic Books, I like that WWE does take the time to introduce new viewers. Stan Lee has a quote - "every comic is somebody's first." so you'd BETTER knock them out on that first impression. WWE doesn't really even try much nowadays to give RAWs and Smackdowns (ESPECIALLY Smackdowns) a big-time feel. And Raws and Smackdowns are what will bring in the new fans, not the .com or PPVs. They should be used as such. Last monday was a great example - Three New Champions, the start of a new era, all that - THAT should have been a jumping-on point for new viewers. And at times, it seemed like that's what they were trying to do, but it was remarkably tame for an episode that SHOULD have been as balls-to-the-wall as possible. That air danger and unpredictability, that excitement, is what's been missing from wrestling for a while. Again, bless their hearts, TNA does try to bring that back, albeit with a LOT of misfires. But that's what's missing. And, on a mark note, that's why CM Punk SHOULD be the "new face" of the WWE - because that's EXACTLY what he brings to the table when he's given something good to work with. He gets people talking. He reels them in. And he SHOULD be used as a party-crashing loose cannon, just like Austin was back in the day. The sooner WWE realizes this is what's missing from their product and start putting on consistently THRILLING episodes of Raw AND Smackdown, the sooner there WILL be new fans coming in in droves. That's the secret to a boom period - you keep reeling them in and KEEPING them there.
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Post by Joe Galt on Dec 26, 2011 15:19:20 GMT -5
I took a hiatus after Wrestlemania 8 in 1992 through early 1993. I couldn`t believe that they made Bret Hart the champ. He was my favorite wrestler in late 90-92.
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skulldouggory
Unicron
Needs More Shirtless Barry Windham
Posts: 2,535
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Post by skulldouggory on Dec 26, 2011 15:59:34 GMT -5
when i got into wrestling in early 1997 i only had access to older material via VHS, so i was watching alot of WWF 1992-1995. Then by the end of 97 i had cable so i could watch nitro and raw, and it took awhile to adjust to the product at the time. I had a hard time figuring out why the 123 kid, Diesel and Razor Ramon were not in wwf and were going by different names on nitro.
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Post by whatamaneuver on Dec 26, 2011 16:04:41 GMT -5
I quit watching after Wrestlemania 12 (March 1996) and returned when a friend ordered Summerslam 1998.
Couldn't believe how much had changed! Cheesy commentator Vince McMahon was the main heel, Taker had a crazy brother, the women were hot as hell and The Ringmaster was in the main event! But the most over-riding thing was how fun everything was now.
Sadly, such a change would not be obvious if someone took a two year break in 2009. :-(
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Post by flatsdomino on Dec 26, 2011 17:33:23 GMT -5
when i got into wrestling in early 1997 i only had access to older material via VHS, so i was watching alot of WWF 1992-1995. Then by the end of 97 i had cable so i could watch nitro and raw, and it took awhile to adjust to the product at the time. I had a hard time figuring out why the 123 kid, Diesel and Razor Ramon were not in wwf and were going by different names on nitro. my first experiences with wrestling were something like this; it was getting popular in '97, and my cousin had a load of tapes of it from like 88-90, and I ate them up. When I started watching though, which was almost immediately, there was no real drop-off. I find that weird especially that accepting that Hogan was Hogan in 1998 and not the Hogan of 1990 wasn't a big deal for me. And I was SO hype as a kid when Warrior showed up in WCW. 1998 was really the big year that kicked off my fandom, what with SummerSlam in MSG and wrestling generally being EVERYWHERE.
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OzzyMandez
Mephisto
Layla's Legion Representin'
Posts: 671
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Post by OzzyMandez on Dec 26, 2011 17:44:20 GMT -5
Took a hiatus in 2005, came back in 2009. First thoughts-
"They're cheering Hunter? Oh...alright then...wait, why is Orton crazy? And Skinny? And...bald? I thought he was a cocky young upstart taking out legends? Oh, well there's Cena. Come on then, let's hear his latest rap about nuts...wait...hang on. Where's the rapping? This is crap!"
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