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How to get back into wrestling...


Michael_3165

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So... I gave had a dry spell watching wrestling... Haven't religiously watched since 2004. I used to love it! Every week on Friday night, sat in front of the tv glued to see what the latest twist in the wwe saga was!

 

I fell out of wrestling when they started charging for ppvs. I'd continued to watch for a few more years but eventually ( when u couldn't see the blow off match to the build) I stopped completely. Now I watch the occasional raw and flip through ppvs to decent matches.

 

Just wondering three things really...

 

1) how long have you been a fan?

2) have you ever stopped watching? If so why?

3) how can I get back into it? Anything people would suggest?

 

I love wrestling I really do! Recently I tried watching raw but with the absolute chaos that was the AJ storyline ( I walked in mid storyline) and anything ranging from hornswaggle to the whole GM saga I couldn't follow what was happening and kinda gave up! Where did basic, simple wrestling go? Wrestler a hates wrestler b = series of matches for the feud winner! Now it's all mental story lines, stop/ start pushes and dancing fat blokes!

 

Don't get me wrong I "get " where wrestling has evolved to and don't mind done but I need advice on how to get back to watching weekly!! Why is it such a struggle?!

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I wouldn't worry too much about how much you watch. If you're watching weekly and it becomes a chore then you're not going to enjoy it as much. Some people will watch more regularly than others. Also you might just find that you like watching re-runs of the older stuff that you used to like rather than newer stuff.

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I've been a fan for 22 years and fell out of love with wrestling between 2007 and 2009, partly because of personal circumstances, partly because the product was boring me and I didn't agree with their booking direction etc.

 

I got back into it thanks to the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels putting on what I think is the greatest match of all-time at WrestleMania 25.

 

Last year they nearly had me back in an even bigger way with the Punk storyline but then they blew it and my interest is starting to wane again. Tonight is a massive litmus test for me. I could be gone again if RAW1000 is an absolute blow out.

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22 years as a fan also, I'm in with the 1990 WWF wave that lots seem to be part of.

 

To be honest, I struggle to suggest what would get you back "into" wrestling, because I've never really stopped watching. I go through stages where I heavily favour one particular area of it (eg, TNA and Raw at the moment, Smackdown in 2003 when I was a thick cunt), but there's probably not a day goes by that I don't watch something, especially with how easy it can be accessed on the internet, the telly or the DVD collection. The avenues are way bigger than they used to be.

 

For as long as I can remember, I've always had some old stuff on the go too. As a kid it was 80s/early 90s Coliseum Videos from car boot sales, as a teenager I was amassing a massive collection of taped-off-the-telly stuff that I would constantly rewatch, then WWE got into the DVD boxsets and now YouTube and the easily available season sets are there.

 

Strangely, I find posting here tends tends to keep me in touch with what current stuff I want to watch too. If the posters I like are talking about something that's doing alright at the moment, I'll invariably take a look and give it much more of a chance than I would otherwise.

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I had a similar thing, I found I was trying to keep up with WWE by just watching PPVs, but found that I wasn't really bothered about the results as I didn't really know any of the build up.

 

The thing to remember is that most people watch wrestling for the storylines and characters so it is important to follow these. Yes the good matches help but would they be as good if you didn't know why they were fighting and what was at stake?

 

So my advise is to do what I did,

 

Try not to watch too much, but watch raw each week and try not to skip through. (it has all the main feuds on there meaning there is no real reason to watch Smack Down),

Don't read any spoilers

Don't read anyone elses opinions / reviews on it, just make a decision yourself whether you are enjoying it or not, if you are, then continue watching, if not try something else.

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Been a fance ever since I went to some of the old World of Sport shows with my Gran back in the early - mid 80's. She was no stunt granny but she sure loved her wrestling which then got me into it so I guess ive been a fan for around 26 years or so. I really dont remember much, if anything about those shows though being so young :)

 

The late 80's was a huge period of wrestling for me, I had loads of friends back then who were also big fans and we would always be talking about it and also doing moves on each other, thankfully no one ever got hurt from it (dont try this at home kids!). I was a huge Ultimate Warrior fan back then (sorry) whilst the others were Hogan fans, watching Wrestlemania 6 and seeing Warrior win was a surreal moment ill never forget.

 

I guess I stopped watching, mainly due to not really having access to it in the mid 90's, probably around 94-95 and didnt really follow it at all. Then in January 2000 channel 4 started showing Sunday Night Heat and few PPV's. I didnt really take any notice of it and thought it was still a thing for kids as it was back when I watched it originally but I watched the 2000 Royal Rumble out of interest and by god that show sure as hell was NOT for kids. I had no idea about this Attitude Area kicking off and was hooked again. Bought loads of PPV's on VHS and DVD to catch back up with it and im as interested in the actual business itself as the product in the ring and on TV.

 

Been a fance ever since, follow it closely on the net and watch what I can. Not having sky (not wanting to pay so much for it after I moved house) makes it harder to follow but theres always a way (wrestling sites, youtube, streams etc). Im also very fortunate to have a fantastic indy promotion (Preston City Wrestling) in my home town and go to some of their shows too. Going to Mania 29 will also be a massive highlight. Also followed even more closely since Wade Barrett arrived with him being a fellow Prestonian.

 

To the OP, if you dont enjoy it, dont watch it. However remember that wrestling isnt just WWE and what they put out there. If you have a local indy promotion go and watch a show, if you like it, go back and support them. TNA also seems to be turning a corner in the quality of its product too which of course is available to everyone on free to air TV.

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Its weird is wrestling. Literally everytime my interest wanes something happens to make me tune into Raw everyweek again, this process is repeating itself over and over. I watch 6 hours of wrestling programming a week with Raw, Smackdown and Impact Wrestling.

 

A fan since childhood, my brother got me into wrestling as he was a fan, and now he isnt. Occasionally he'll ask me a thing or too and he was shocked to find out Hogan is still going but thats it. Its strange to me, out of him and all my friends when they were young were all fans, but im the one that stuck with it.

 

I love wrestling, dont see myself ever turning off. Im going travelling at the start of next year so this upcoming year without it will be a test to my fandom. Although I hope to make it to a PPV if im in the States! I imagine I'll always be a fan.

 

I'd suggest just watching the stuff that got you into it in the first place and if you dont feel anything its maybe time to stop! Try and sit through a Raw or an Impact and see what happens!

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Been a fan since about 1996, In about 2005 i completely lost interest as the product was getting boring and didn't like how all my favourites from back in the day were all gone. Became a fan again in about 2009. I'd never seen TNA before then, After that i started watching indies which really got my love for wrestling back. Find what you enjoy, And don't watch what you don't. Wrestling shouldn't be a chore to watch, It should be fun.

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I would say that you're probably on your way to reaching the optimum state for a lapsed wrestling fan, because it can take ages to ween yourself off that awful thing of sittting habitually through hours of shite for weeks on end just because you're terrified you'll miss something great. I certainly wouldn't try and force yourself to get back to watching weekly, because there so many hours in a week of wrestling TV and so many better things you could be doing with those hours.

 

Nowadays, I find the best way is to just dip in and out of it, and concentrate on watching only the things you enjoy about it. I spent years watching RAW every week, seizing on every slightly edgy angle as evidence that another boom period or return to the Attitude era was just around the corner, and arguing passionately on here about why that should happen. Over the last couple of years, I finally just gave up watching regularly, and as a result I've probably enjoyed what I do watch more than I have for ages.

 

I still watch TNA fairly regularly, because over the last 5 years or so I've generally found their style of TV more suitable to my tastes in wrestling. I've realised that, as much as I want it to be, WWE just isn't geared towards fans like me anymore - so I just ignore it for most of the year, other than taking the 30 seconds or so a week it takes to read spoilers on here. Around Wrestlemania time, however, they really seem to both up their game generally and go all out to appeal to lapsed fans, so during that time, I check in on angles and storylines on youtube as often as I can. It's great, because you can still see all the bits you enjoy without having to wade through all the shite. Really (and I realise I'm probably contravening this by typing out 3 paragraphs on it), I think viewing of wrestling shouldn't really be taken much more seriously than a soap opera. Sometimes Coronation Street will have a great storyline involving pantomime serial killers or Dev's acting, but just because I've guffawed my way through those doesn't mean I'm morally bound to sit through the next 6 months of teenybopper romances and adoption storylines.

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Started watching it in spring/summer 1991. I've been a fan since, there's never been a time I've completely stopped following it. Before torrents and Youtube and the like, there were Skyless periods where i wasn't watching as much but kept up via Powerslam/websites. Of course, keeping up with wrestlings via mongs who hate it tends to leave you with a negative opinion on it so this was also the time I slipped into being one of Dem Wans and trying to get into indie wrestling because it was meant to be better than the proper wrestling. Fortunately, I had presence of mind to not be fully taken in once the smalltime stuff turned out to be a bit shite. Since about 2007, I've been watching pretty much every Raw and PPV. I've really been enjoying it more since about the time Sheamus won his first title. I avoid spoilers and i don't let some spyware-ridden agendacunt who wants to see iron man matches in leisure centres dictate what I'm allowed to enjoy.

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I've been a wrestling fan since i was 11-years-old, back in 1977. Was brought up on World of Sport, Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks.

 

I'm 46 now. My love of our great sport has been reinvigorated by new TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries

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I found variety is key to keeping me interested. I stopped watching for a few years back around 2003. ECW was dead. WCW was dead. Not having the internet, WWE was the only wrestling I could see, and eventually that (like any TV show) got boring. So I stopped watching. At the time, I thought I'd grown out of it. Looking back, I was just tired of the same flavour of wrestling.

 

Eventually I was convinced to start watching again, and I found WWE fresh and exciting. New again... for a time. But when boredom with that product began to set in I could turn to the internet. I discovered different flavours of wrestling. TNA. Indies. British stuff. Japanese stuff. Old stuff. Now, I'm spoilt for choice. If I get bored of one thing, I'll switch to another. Variety is the spice of life.

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