What type of viewer / fan are you?

[Nick James]

I've often thought about this topic when reading the on topic threads about how there must be a whole array of people across this board that range from used to be fans to dedicated hardcore fans and it'd be quite interesting to see where people fall. If you were a former hardcore viewer who no longer watch, what drove you away? If you are a hardcore viewer, what keeps your interest?

I am definitely the definition of casual fan these days and read a heck of a lot more about wrestling than I do watch it. I mainly watch via clips on Twitter or check out segments and can't remember the last time I sat down and watched something live without spoilers. I barely keep.up with WWE these days and watch full AEW shows from time to time, but it's mainly down to time constraints with having two children and my attention span being a lot lower than it used to be.

I like AEW as a whole, but the hardcore elements leave me a little lost, such as the whole NJPW stuff. I have never watched New Japan, so a lot of it goes over my head when new folk appear. WWE is what it is, I'll check out matches from PPVs, but I have no interest whatsoever in watching their weekly programming.

So where is your interest levels in wrestling? What keeps your interest? What lost your attention?

[Matthew]

My level of interest I think is fairly low at the moment.

Considering I was at wrestlemania twice within the last 5/6yrs, and now barely watch WWE. If I do it’s in passing, or to watch what Roman/latest temporary attraction’s upto.

AEW has really piqued my interest, and gets me excited. It gets a lot of shit, but I don’t see the reason for it getting the stick it does, besides people going out of their way to find faults, instead of just accepting their wrestling TV for what it is; and then turning off.

I do think if more enjoyed wrestling in that way, more would get more enjoyment out of it.

[DavidB6937]

I think I'm still as interested in wrestling as I ever have been. Do I watch as much? No but that's probably down to family life etc as anything. I'd love to watch more.

I really enjoy following the news and the discussions on here. This is one of my most visited places on a daily basis. I think there are some great people and a wealth of knowledge and varying opinions. So that definitely keeps me interested too.

I wish I had time to watch more or go to more shows etc. I'd say I've not fallen out of love with wrestling. Just developed and changed over the years much like the business itself.

[LSM]

I'm probably at my lowest interest and don't think I'm likely to change.

I went to Wrestlemania 35 which was the only Mania I've been too but Mania wasn't the main draw for me. It was the combination of Mania, Wrestlecon, G1 at MSG and the novelty of being on New York as a whole package that got me there as my interest in wrestling was pretty low even then. I actually treated that trip as a "final farewell" to a hobby I used to love. The fact I fell asleep in the arena during the live Raw speaks volumes.

Since then I've only seen a couple of recent Mania matches and ironically the Cody / Seth match from the past weekend but the last one was out of morbid curiosity.

I used to be an avid New Japan watcher as well but that has dropped way off as well. If I am watching anything nowadays it's AEW and I'm picking and choosing who I see now.

I used to go to quite a few live shows as well but the last live event I went to was December 2019 and since the pandemic I've had absolutely no desire of going to go to another live event. I've had live wrestling in my own town as well but the interest just isn't there.

Its a shame that it's got to this point but there you go.

[HarmonicGenerator]

I can see my fandom mostly as a timeline:

1991-1993: Hasbros and the Ultimate Warrior colouring book

1994-1997: Wrestling not found

1998-1999: Hearing people talk about Stone Cold and Attitude at school

2000-2004: SmackDown and Metal on Sky One, many hours playing the PS1/PS2 games

2004-2007: The Wrestling Channel introducing me to wrestling beyond WWE, devouring as much wrestling as I could

2008-2014: Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, keeping track of the main WWE shows, lose track of everything else

2015-2019: WWE Network comes along, and it’s NXT every week and classic PPVs whenever I fancy

2019-now: AEW on ITV Hub and then on Fite, Dynamite, Rampage and most of the PPVs. Network cancelled, barely keep track of WWE.

[Jesse]

I was a fan as a teen, from Wrestlemania 17 onwards, to the point I trained at FutureShock, XWA, and the Progress Dojo in London and did work as a ring announcer and commentator loads of places.

Then I got a real job and dropped it, but stayed a fan as my wife got into it and we'd travel to shows together but then all the stuff came out during Speaking Out and it just killed any interest and enthusiasm dead. Haven't been back to a live show since, briefly got into AEW through the Hangman Page stuff but bringing in Jay Lethal was the moment I stopped watching and I haven't turned it back on since.

If I didn't read about wrestling on here and catch clips from old friends on Twitter I don't think I'd even know what was happening.

[Guest]

From being obsessed since the age of nine, I haven't watched any new wrestling in years.

Swore off WWE after the White House photo with Trump, and that decision was later cemented by the Saudi deal and reading Ashley Massaro's affidavit.

Gave the new NWA a try and rather liked it. Then learnt of Billy Corgan appearing on Alex Jones' show (not The One Show), and lost all affection for his pet project.

AEW arrived, and despite its stupid name and annoying clique of figureheads, I gave it a chance and liked the Cody/Dustin match. Then it being financed by a Trump donor soured me before it could reel me in, and any thoughts that I was perhaps being unfair have been routinely pissed on by its spoilt brat owner beclowning himself on social media.

I happened upon MLW on some obscure Freesat channel and was enjoying that, till I heard about them being mixed up in some dodgy shit or other, so when the pandemic halted their programming I stopped giving a toss.

So basically, approaching 40, I've found that while I still love pro wrestling as a genre, it's almost impossible to find a corner of the industry that's not repellent to those who feel there are things more important than their own entertainment.

At least I've got my DVDs, whose cases stack neatly should my soap box ever break.

[Devon Malcolm]

Bleacher Report results and @IANdrewDiceClay's Twitter.

[garynysmon]

Other than podcasts or the odd clip, I don't think I've watched a single wrestling show in 6 weeks. My consumption is almost solely via audio means or on social media.

I consider myself an Impact Wrestling watcher and will probably watch Slammiversary this month, but the weekly TV of every company just passes me by other than reading the occasional spoilers/results.

I've recently changed jobs and now work more anti-social hours than I did, so the lesser time I have to watch TV will be on something both the Mrs and I want to watch, or football games if my team is playing. 

The novelty of the brand new WCW Nitro (AEW) with its superb announce team has also worn off by now and I find the WWE/AEW fans back and forth about everything to be a bit tiresome on Twitter etc. Turns me off both of them in truth.

While I will always make a point of catching anything relating to the 80's or 90's, be it a documentary or what have you, I can't say I'm much of a fan of anything Wrestling related post-2000 (which is a scary thought given its a 20 year period by now).

Edited June 10, 2022 by garynysmon

[sukhy]

Have been a fan ever since I can remember, my first memories are of me watching Mania 7 at my cousins house, and going through his tape collection.

Stuck with WWE during those awful years of 2010-2013, but my interest in their product just waned from then on.

The Shield got me back into it for a while, was really into Daniel Bryan winning the title, but then saw that every single storyline just dropped off a cliff. The Authority (shudders) is what really killed my interest in WWE. The same boring promo every single week, never getting their comeuppance, a dismal product. 

I'd catch Rumbles and Manias, but I think I drew the line at Mania 32, headlined by Roman Reigns vs Triple H, in a match that may still be going on as we speak. 

Got into New Japan a bit, when Omega vs Okada 1 happened, and was hooked for each of their matches. 

I've been watching AEW since it started, I feel like it's actually brought back my love for wrestling, yes there are some issues with it (Undisputed Era) but it's just so much better than the crap that was served up to us by WWE for the last 15 years. 

I checked out the last few Royal Rumble matches, wasn't impressed, WWE's product isn't for me, plus, the camera cuts give me a headache, so it's unwatchable. 

[RedRooster]

3 hours ago, Matthew said:

AEW has really piqued my interest, and gets me excited. It gets a lot of shit, but I don’t see the reason for it getting the stick it does, besides people going out of their way to find faults, instead of just accepting their wrestling TV for what it is; and then turning off.

I do think if more enjoyed wrestling in that way, more would get more enjoyment out of it.

I’m not entirely sure what you mean by ‘accept it for what it is’, do people typically consume any form of entertainment in that way? Like, when Dexter got bad, or people crapped all over the Game of Thrones finale, was the attitude ever ‘just accept it for what it is’?

It’s a slightly nebulous phrase that’s pretty much only ever applied to wrestling.

Edited June 10, 2022 by RedRooster

[DavidB6937]

Yeah that's just bollocks. Wrestling is as valid as anything for being critiqued. There's great and good and average and shit. And people are entitled to call out the shit just like they do with everything else.

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

I’ve gone from watching everything WWE and Impact in full a decade ago including PPV, to Raw/SD highlights, NXT/all AEW/NWA/nothing Impact and PPV a couple of years ago to now only watching Dynamite, Rampage and SD in full, clipping Raw and NXT and skimming PPVs these days

 

[DCW]

Watch very little of current stuff. I enjoy living in the past instead through podcasts and the likes of OSW Review. I used to watch everything WWE from 1999 up until Mania 24 ish. Only show I'll defintely watch these days is Mania really, whichever the good night is. Current stuff annoys me too much, so no point watching it really.

I'll dip in for the good bits of AEW too, though now they've employed that twat Cole in a prominent position I'd imagine I'll be dipping in a lot less!

[Chili]

Watch some of AEW, catch up pn the rest somehow. I don't hate WWE because I wouldn't like wrestling otherwise. But I just can't be arsed with it. Just passed on from it other than if something breaks here. I like that at my age ha.