What would WWE have to do, for you to switch off?

[DavidB6937]

40 minutes ago, MPDTT said:

I reached my tipping point a long time ago. For me it was a combination of bad booking, hating Vince McMahon and finding an alternative I really liked. I really soured on WWF after they royally fucked up the Invasion angle, failed to re-launch the WCW brand, made a mockery of ECW and then buried their respective rosters. Then the following summer NWA-TNA started and I would download and watch each of their weekly PPVs from there. I basically watched TNA only from that point on until I became a lapsed fan around 2010...only to get back into wrestling in 2018 when I stumbled upon ROH / NJPW in 2018. 

You should try AEW.

[Guest]

Just to clarify with those who currently watch WWE and have only mentioned the product in their replies: Are you saying there's nothing the company could do that would turn you off on ethical grounds? Or did you only read the thread title before replying?

[BomberPat]

As much as it pains me to say it, I'm really not sure what ethical concerns could be worse than what they've already done. I don't want to spend my time speculating about horrible things that WWE could hypothetically do that would be beyond the pale, because that's needlessly morbid and a waste of time, and because plenty of what they've already done should be beyond the pale already. 

I can't really justify my continuing to give them any money whatsoever, when there are smaller promotions and companies I have/would boycott for far less. My only real justification is that I firmly believe that anyone working in wrestling in any capacity should have a solid understanding of what WWE are doing at any given time, because everyone else follows their lead to some extent, and because you don't want to be on a show and less informed about what's going in wrestling in general than your audience.

In terms of actually following it, product-wise - I haven't watched RAW or Smackdown in years; the last time I tried to watch RAW was the night Shane McMahon came back, because there was so much hype about an incredible surprise. I tuned out after that first segment, and even that was a struggle to get through. I stopped watching NXT weekly when it stopped being live on the Network - I used to put it on when I got home from work on Thursday, and once it wasn't there any more and I broke that habit, I fell out of the pattern. I did try and keep up watching every PPV, but for most of this year I've skipped either entire shows, or all but one or two matches, unless I'm watching it with other people.

I use the Network for archive stuff, though even then less than I used to, so I have started to consider whether I could just do without it. I'm probably watching less wrestling now than I have in 10+ years anyway. 

[cobra_gordo]

I think the last WWE show I watched the whole way through was the Greatest Royal Rumble, mainly because of a drop in the quality of the product. I then dropped down to just watching NXT which I was still enjoying. It got to a point where I slowed down on that so I cancelled my newtwork subscription because it just didn't feel worth the money anymore and I just started watching highlights and the odd full PPV match on Youtube but they had to really have got my interest.

The shit with them abandoning a load of guys in Saudi (Crown Jewel last year?) was the moral last straw. The Saudi deal always felt dirty but I justified it like a lot of folk because hey, I can watch live wrestling whilst eating my tea instead of having to stay awake until 4am. The big wigs fucking off and leaving folk to fend for themselves was the stinkiest of bullshit though. Then you remember that they covered up for a murderer, generally treat their staff like shit and are corrupt as fuck and you wonder why i's taken so long to pack this shit in. Probably because it's cool to watch Braun Strowman throw people off things.

I watched The Last Ride the other month via nefarious sources and then had to watch the Boneyard match on Youtube to understand the context, other than that I can't remember the last WWE content I watched. I don't even read the results anymore and I can't say I miss it.

[Pinc]

Perversely I think their unsavoury practices actually keep me coming back, rather than the other way around. I'm only in one WhatsApp group that ever discusses wrestling, and these days we discuss crazy Vince stories, the insane Saudi deal or Taker turning out to be an All Lives Matter twonk far more often than we discuss the actual product. I'm not sure any of us could give two shiney shites about Drew McIntyre, but Vince being a lunatic is always good conversation fodder.

In the same way a lot of people are avid Trump-watchers despite (or in fact partly because of) thinking him a terrible human being, I'm more of a Vince-watcher than an actual consumer of his product these days.

[Michael_3165]

3 hours ago, Uncle Zeb said:

Just to clarify with those who currently watch WWE and have only mentioned the product in their replies: Are you saying there's nothing the company could do that would turn you off on ethical grounds? Or did you only read the thread title before replying?

Erm. Genocide is probably the only real ethical consideration for me. Or mass rape/paedo culture. Other than that not really. 

[DavidB6937]

3 hours ago, Uncle Zeb said:

Just to clarify with those who currently watch WWE and have only mentioned the product in their replies: Are you saying there's nothing the company could do that would turn you off on ethical grounds? Or did you only read the thread title before replying?

It's not really an easy question to answer, because there's so much that's happened already over the years that if I'm still watching it now, I'm not exactly sure what would cause me to get to that breaking point. They've had loads of questionable behaviour - racists, murderers, and plenty of unethical behaviour as a company. Yet here I am.

I suppose it's a tough call because say Vince was outed as a massive paedo or something - would I completely stop watching because of it? Or would I rationalise that if they got rid of him, I'm watching for the other people and supporting them? It's an interesting conversation for sure.

[Chris B]

It's been a while since I stopped watching now. The Saudi shows were the last straw, so it's coming up for two years now.

I struggled for a while because of wanting to support those I liked. There were plenty of talents that I absolutely loved. But that's where genuine alternatives were important. I'd started getting into NJPW and then AEW was perfect timing. There are plenty of other wrestlers that I love that I can support elsewhere. And, frankly, the wrestlers I'm a fan of now have choices about where they work. If a Daniel Bryan is in WWE, it's where he chooses to be. That's fine. He doesn't need my support, and I have more choice about where to support now.

In the year I stopped watching, I probably spent a few hundred pounds on WWE stuff (between the network and live shows). That's money I don't want to go to that company any more. And considering how many people they fired during a pandemic, supporting WWE doesn't mean supporting the wrestlers that work for them.

I'm not going to find a wrestling company that totally aligns with my views, but I don't need to support the one furthest away from them.

[King Coconut]

I switched off for the last time when they wheeled Hogan the racist out at wrestlemania a few years ago. 

[air_raid]

The last times I even glanced at the product were Crown Jewel to see exactly what happened when the lauded “Fiend” reinvention of Bray Wyatt (which had largely passed me by) finally won the belt, and a mate sent me a short clip of Undertaker flattening AJ at Super Showdown. The first was the same show as real life combat sport guys being thrown in with the two tanks for the sake of the marquee, and the second coincided with Goldberg relieving the Fiend to set up the rumoured match with Reigns for Mania. In essence these were the peak of a cumulative feeling of “this doesn’t do it for me any more.”

On the one hand, this is mostly to do with the product and nothing ethical. But when I think of my most recent memories of the product, apart from Rollins putting Lesnar down at Mania 30something, I recall Shawn Michaels ruining his perfect retirement for Saudi money to take part in a total calamity, what I saw of Undertaker and Goldberg fighting to keep each other upright, and Shane McMahon being declared The Best In The World. In essence the company put Saudi paydays ahead of shows that are enjoyable, routinely fucking over their normal storyline for some shite that makes no sense.

Maybe I’m just too old to care about wrestling beyond nostalgia.

[DavidB6937]

3 minutes ago, air_raid said:

Maybe I’m just too old to care about wrestling beyond nostalgia.

That's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Nostalgia is a damn hard thing to fight with. So many of us have such fond memories of wrestling when we were younger that it's tough for the more recent stuff to compete in any way. That's not to say we don't find moments to enjoy along the way, and wrestlers to get behind, but it definitely changes as you get older. Little me with my Hogan wrestle buddy vs older more cynical me over-analysing everything. The Internet is the best and worst thing to ever happen to wrestling really.

[patiirc]

I'm nearly done with wrestling I think. There's stuff I still enjoy from the past, stories, feuds, actual matches that make sense but as my network renewal has gone on for another month, I ll drag out some retro hits and that's pretty much that. 

I tried AEW and will try once more and with WWE as it is at the moment then things arent great. I'm not bothered about going to a Britwres show again, because of #speakingout and the lack of variety. Aside from Trav and Lionheart shows I havent really regularly attended since 2015/6ish anyway. 

LU and Glow have been the last things barring, Delete Matt Hardy and Firefly Fun House that have held any attention and now they're done or nearly done. 

Ethically, I've always known it's a shitshow but I guess then, entertainers entertained when out front. These days they don't. I cant get fired up for a feud where i give no shits about either person, and care even less who wins especially knowing they are scumbags behind the, scenes as well. The whole thing at that point becomes utterly pointless. 

So in terms of doing things to make me stop, i think we're just about there already. 

 

[Keith Houchen]

On 8/3/2020 at 12:06 PM, Michael_3165 said:

Or mass rape/paedo culture

When does it become mass rape?  Do you have a number in mind?  I can't remember if there was an exact moment that made me stop watching/giving them money but the Ashley Massaro incident ensured I'd never give them another penny.

[DEF]

I'm not sure I'll ever stop watching unless they are all outted as mass nonces/rapists but like Keith I haven't given them a penny since the Ashley Massaro rape went public. I still can't believe how they handled that. I will reevaluate once Vince carks it because I actually like paying for things I enjoy.

As for the product, it being shit most of the time won't stop me. If 2000 era Nitro and Thunder marathons didn't break me nothing will.

[LWOLeN]

Make Adam Cole Or Johnny Gargano the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and I will quit WWE instantly....

My kids (un)fortunately don’t have the wrestling bug. They really don’t bother to look at the TV while I’m watching in the living room. My fandom is slowly dying.

I redecorated and set up a pseudo ‘home cinema room’ at my attic and used to watch all the shows fully focused. However in the last few months I usually watch WWE in fast forward mode on the toilet while taking a ‘superhero in training’.

I’ve tried to ‘reignite the flame’ by doing some occasional WWE bets, but I’ve grown bored with that also due to the low stakes.

I’m still in limbo on whether I should continue watching wrestling. I have been doing it for 25 years but I really feel like I have already seen every show 32 times before.

Edited August 4, 2020 by LWOLeN