Random thoughts thread v2 *NO NEWS ITEMS*

[Jackpot]

I resent that last remark

[AshC]

Is the style of wrestling that is increasingly prevalent going to wind itself in any time soon or are we waiting for a big injury to happen?

[Lenin]

I don't know how it could change without something bad happening. However I suspect over the next 5 years the ratings will plummet further and they'll go back to proper gimmicks a la 92-95.

[Your Fight Site]

Is the style of wrestling that is increasingly prevalent going to wind itself in any time soon or are we waiting for a big injury to happen?

So long as WWE keep pushing those apron bumps, yes.

 

Wrestlers also seem to be getting leaner but taking higher-impact bumps, so it's going to be interesting to see how performers are in 20–30 years’ time.

[Guest]

Is it possible that the increase in apron bumps has come about after someone's realised they could just put an extra layer of padding along that bit and keep playing up its reputation as The Hardest Part of the Ring ?

[tiger_rick]

Have there been any injuries as a result, aside from the kayfabe ones? Seems a very odd thing to complain about otherwise. Most injuries these days seem to be sporting injuries. Tendons and muscles. Not like 15 years ago when everyone had a fucked up neck or back. Because the style is different.

[WeeAl]

Have there been any injuries as a result, aside from the kayfabe ones? Seems a very odd thing to complain about otherwise. Most injuries these days seem to be sporting injuries. Tendons and muscles. Not like 15 years ago when everyone had a fucked up neck or back. Because the style is different.

I guess the style involves more bumps per match these days but then the ring is softer than the 80's and 90's, and weapons shots to the head don't happen any more either which probably didn't help neck issues. Maybe they each cancel each other out. There seems to be a high rate of people being out with sporting injuries like you say, compared to those that took time off for injuries in previous generations. However the chemical help kept those guys going every night even when they were fucked up which the rosters of today don't have the use of.

[ColinBollocks]

WWE, at least publicly, are taking better care of their roster than previously. Getting rid of chair shots to the head, no blood, stopping matches because of injuries etc. They're doing a much better job covering their arses should someone get injured.

 

Granted, the 'big move, kick out' style is maybe a bit more physical, but I imagine, as always, it comes down to the safety of the workers involved to keep each other safe. Doing big moves you can control is key, I guess.

[King Pitcos]

Granted, the 'big move, kick out' style is maybe a bit more physical, but I imagine, as always, it comes down to the safety of the workers involved to keep each other safe.

 

[FLips]

Why was Wargames so popular when aside from 2 or 3 of them they were entirely shit? We watched a bunch of them back to back and it peaks in 1992.
Also why is taking your shoe off as a weapon and dangling the opponent head-first between the rings used in nearly all of them. Did the faces ever win the coin flip?

[WyattSheepMask]

Heels winning the coin flip was how it should always have been. Faces should be in the underdog position so that the crowd gets behind them as they're fighting against the odds.

Naturally, TNA didn't understand that logic and booked the faces to have the upper hand on more than one occasion

Edited September 19, 2016 by WyattSheepMask

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Faces always won the coin flip in TNA. Its funny with War Games, I've never seen a more easy match to book, and they rarely got it right after 1992. All you need to do is have two hot teams and then do the heels having the advantage until the big babyface comes in at the end. But WCW (and later TNA) always fucked this up. TNA always used to have the heels lose the coin toss and then have the babyfaces get beat up 1 on 2 by the sole heel.

 

Like every match, though, if the people in it dont have any issue against each other, its probably going to be pointles shit. I bet if they'd have done the Shield vs the Wyatts 2 years ago, it would have been electric.

Edited September 19, 2016 by IANdrewDiceClay

[Powerful_Fox]

I was thinking about the wrestling industry this morning and how it is widely accepted that is goes through peak and trough cycles but kept coming to the conclusion that it's not right.

There were 2 peaks which I know of in my lifetime, the golden era of the late 80,s to early 90's and the attitude era or the late 90's to early 00's. There were also the troughs of the mid 90's and post attitude era.

Since then there has only really been a constant or even decline if viewer ratings are anything to go by (though with other viewing formats and patterns it might not be a accurate representation).

 

It seems that people have been saying for years that "it's the way the business is... its cycles... peaks and troughs" etc. The peaks however can be explained with a massively superhero like figure like Hogan directing the first boom period and the alternative product that turned people's heads with the massively charismatic Austin as the figurehead, the edginess made it cool and relevant.

 

I suppose my point is the boom periods appear more result of circumstance than because of some cycle. It makes me fearful that there might not ever be another major boom period unless the stars align right again and the right guy is in the right place at the right time.

[tiger_rick]

People have trashed the idea of cycles for years. It does make sense though. Going back to the territory days there was a lot of crossover in talent, heels would turn up in different territories for a run and such. So it kind of makes sense that if you take the rough, there'll be smooth around the corner.

 

Since then, we've seen the boom of the mid-late 80s which was built on the WWF forming an array of talent never seen, taking to prime time TV, major celebrity cross over and Hulk Hogan becoming an internationally known name. Then things declined before booming again in the second half of the 90s off the back of WCW revitalising the stars of the 80s and the WWF becoming cool with the now grown up audience.

 

We're now generations past that. We're 20 years, minimum, past anyone believing wrestling was real. There is a "real" version of it for those that way inclined in UFC. To be honest, I'm almost amazed that wrestling exists at all on such a big platform these days, let alone that WWE still make big money of it. Their model of appealing to kids for as long as they stick with it while clinging on to the sad bastards who've never grown out of it is the only way to go.

[The Clint]

To be fair If you were over 18 and still watched wrestling even during the Attitude Era you were classed as a sad bastard in the eyes of the non wrestling fans. The haters didn't realise that it was a period aimed at an adult audience. To them it was still fake shitty wrestling.