Approaching 15th anniversary of when WWE stopped being really great (WM19)

[Guest]

I've got a different perspective as I started watching in 2004 just as it was getting less fashionable, and the death of my fav Eddie Guerrero and most importantly the aftermath of that turned me off WWE a fair bit - even at a young age I could tell what they were doing with Mysterio was tasteless, it would've been fine if they'd used a degree of subtlety but *shakes fist at sky* "oh, Eddie!* and "Eddie's in hell" really stuck in my throat and I gravitated much more to TNA and ROH which were actually more accessible with the Wrestling Channel than the edited Smackdown product on Sky 1 and keeping up with Raw on wwe.com or Heat as I didn't have the sports subscription. Then later on it was another death that made me bounce entirely for the time being, Benoit's of course, that and other assorted stuff I'd read about "the biz" convinced me it was too seedy for me to want anything to do with, I'd been devoting more and more time to footy and figured it was time to "grow out" of wrestling.

Come 2014, I watched Wrestlemania on a whim after hearing about the streak being broken (Taker's HBK matches and CM Punk's promo were the only two things that I really heard about wrestling once I was out of it) and I saw Bryan win the title like "fucking hell, that's American Dragon". Network comes along shortly after, or it might've already just been launched and I figured I had to fill the gaps of what I'd missed. I only really watch youtube highlights of Raw and Smackdown now but I'll watch every PPV and with the internet like it is now, am constantly trying to expand my horizons into US & UK indies, Japan stuff old and new and whatever else takes my interest. It's safe to say I'm hooked for good this time

[El Mistique]

I’ve been a fan since I can remember but in terms of turning off watching it every week was after the end of the WWF Vs. Alliance storyline in late 2001. It’s no coincidence it was around the same time as me being able to get served in pubs which was a lot more fun at the time (and still is) and a few months later when ROH started and I really got into US indies, All the major Japanese promotions and FWA as it was something I could get delivered and watch at my pace via tape trading.

Somethings have made me tune back in for weeks at a time since then, mainly from word of mouth or reading bits on here - 

1. Eddie Guerrero winning the title. 

2. Chris Benoit murder/suicide situation. 

3. CM Punk pipe bomb promo. 

4. Shield Vs Wyatt 6 mans. 

5. The U.K. Title tournament. 

Ive always kept a health interest in the U.K. scene since not bothering with WWF/E and will try and catch NXT if the brits are on it but these days I’m only really fussed about Progress and the big New Japan shows. 

[Undefeated Steak]

Some good posts in here and I'd have to say WM17. That's the night wrestling changed forever, in my eyes. A culmination of everything up until that point ended with Rock vs Austin. It'll never be as good as it was in the years and decades leading up to that. I honestly think the world's changed too much for any wrestling product, no matter how well booked and produced it may be, to recapture that magic. The internet has a big part to do with it, and when you watch WWF, WCW, or ECW from the 90's, it's like looking back on a time capsule that'll never be replicated. 

However, on a personal level I'm going with Wrestlemania 30. The Streak ending and Bryan's title win capped off my time as a wrestling fan perfectly. I've dipped in and out since, but never had any real stretch of watching, and I've definitely not felt the same way about wrestling since. I followed Bryan's career up through RoH and into the WWE, and I never in a million years thought he'd main event a Wrestlemania and win the big one. Undertaker's streak in the years leading up to the loss against Lesnar was one of my all-time favourite running stories, and I've never felt the way I did as when he was beat. The opening Hogan/Austin/Rock promo was ace as well.

As much as I love the likes of Samoa Joe and Naka etc. I don't have the time or passion to devote to wrestling anymore. Cena's run has been a joy to watch but his career's in its twilight. I don't have the hours and hours of spare time each week to be able to grow attached to the characters, and see the next generation of stars develop. I'm happy that I got to have so many years of enjoyment as a fan of WWE, but Wrestlemania 30 was the last great wrestling night for me.