I finally experienced some weird wrestling fandom in person

[Mecca]

I generally always think the serious tribalism and company support stuff is just online. Most people watching wrestling now are just hardcore wrestling fans etc.
I work with a lady who her and her husband are big wrestling fans. I asked her if they were going to the AEW show that's coming in June. She basically told me they have no interest in going because her husband is a "WWE guy" and then she told me how "upset he was that CM Punk didn't go back to WWE". And I was just kinda like oh..then I remembered he's younger than me and was 13 when WWF became the only game in town so I was like ohh I get it..

It caught me off guard for sure.

[Cyno]

So I take it you didn't experience the Nintendo vs. Sega fanboy wars during recess? That sort of fan tribalism's always been around in geek/nerd culture. Online just took it to another level.

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

I’ve experienced it quite a bit. It’s a real gamble with wrestling fans lol

My bud and I struck up conversation with a fan at this convention place but quickly realized he legit believed in kayfabe. I just made my way out while my friend, god bless him, continued to placate him. And at the Los Angeles NJPW show me and my other bud happened to be next in line with this cat who was soapboxing to his group about how “wrestling fans need to come together” while talking about how “WWE and their fans sux ass”and needing to “beat some fans asses sometimes”. We just no-sold him.

[Mecca]

Apr 21, 2022 13:09:04 GMT -5 Cyno said:

So I take it you didn't experience the Nintendo vs. Sega fanboy wars during recess? That sort of fan tribalism's always been around in geek/nerd culture. Online just took it to another level.

Nah I liked both so I didn't get into that, I thought both systems were great.

[nihilismizhawt]

When I wear an AEW shirt, or whatever, I always have this happen. Sometimes I get an "Yeah AEW!" positive comment. Sometimes I get a "Oh you like professional wrestling. I don't watch AEW, I'm a WWE fan." I always say, oh ok, thats cool. Like what do you want me to say? You see I'm wearing a shirt, you want to debate me in real life or something? I'm just here to get groceries bro.

[Cyno]

What you do is you confuse them by wearing old WWE shirts of current AEW wrestlers. Like I still have Daniel Bryan and Dean Ambrose t-shirts I wear.

I also have a Bullet Club bone soldier logo t-shirt. But I only wear that to AEW or NJPW-related things. I'm worried someone's going to think I'm some gun nut if I just wear that out in public while shopping for groceries or something lol.

[Deleted]

Always a toss up with fans. Was at an Indy event with a guy who had one of those really nice replica WWE title belts (was the newer WWE Title when it was introduced around 2013). He was belittling everything and just nitpicking saying “these guys will never make big time.”

But I’ve met way more good fans who are just happy someone else gets wrestling and doesn’t call it fake. Always a funny moment to me when people realize “oh you like it too!”

[Mecca]

Apr 21, 2022 15:10:15 GMT -5 nihilismizhawt said:

When I wear an AEW shirt, or whatever, I always have this happen. Sometimes I get an "Yeah AEW!" positive comment. Sometimes I get a "Oh you like professional wrestling. I don't watch AEW, I'm a WWE fan." I always say, oh ok, thats cool. Like what do you want me to say? You see I'm wearing a shirt, you want to debate me in real life or something? I'm just here to get groceries bro.

I wore my AEW Adam Cole shirt to Costco and the cashiers face lit up..it was great.

[1 Free Moon-Down with Burger]

I’ll never forget when I walked into a Mania weekend ROH shirt in the purple Cena shirt and got dirty looks from just about everyone.

My dude. I just wanna see the WGTT!

[Deleted]

The only bad wrestling fan experience I've ever had was at a collectible show (toys, trading cards, etc.) back in 2016. This was after Summerslam 2016 where Balor won and then immediately vacated the Universal Title - it was the weekend before the Raw that had the Fatal 4-Way for the vacant title. I'm walking through the convention grounds and see a dude in a Kevin Owens shirt.

"Nice shirt," I tell him.

"You know he's going over on Monday, right?" he says with a sneer as he walks off.

Beyond that pretty much all my interactions have been cool. Of particular note was the time I was in Walgreens wearing my Kenny Omega hoodie, and a big burly metalhead-looking guy in a Bullet Club hoodie comes up, two sweets me, and then bellows "FOR LIFE!" as he walks out the door.

[Cyno]

The only weird fandom moment I experienced with other wrestling fans is when I went to see a WWE PPV broadcast that my college was hosting. And one guy there like, hated John Cena so much that I thought he ran over his dog or something. This was back in 2005.

[Lizuka #BLM]

The only wrestling interactions I can really ever recall happening out in the wild are a brief discussion when I went to see Iron Man 3 with a guy wearing a Punk shirt while I was wearing a Triple H one and people commenting on my Rick Rude Hall of Fame shirt here and there.

[Non Banjoble Tokens]

I've had a few people tell me that they like my Blue Pants shirt when I wear it out in public, but I don't if its because they like wrestling or just the sheer weirdness of the shirt itself.

[Starshine]

I was at Disney Land wearing a New Day shirt, and ran into another dude in a different New Day shirt. I yelled "Booty-O's" at him, and we both acknowledged each other and went on our way.