Against the grain wrestling opinions

[gmoney]

I didn't suggest he wasn't over, I said it helped cement him as an icon.

[RedTwoster]

I think this is against the grain, but maybe I'm wrong. I'd have disagreed with myself on this one just a few months ago, but I've changed my mind. 

AEW should not go head-to-head with Wrestlemania, or plan a big event designed to rival it. They should continue to build up All In, but run it at the usual time, in the States or Canada with an open and public invite to indies to piggyback onto it. Maybe they do something WWE does not and would not, by plugging some of these indie shows - or at least the ones featuring AEW talent - on Dynamite and Collision, really making the event feel like a festival of wrestling. 

According to Fightful, WWE is delaying the announcement of the Wrestlemania dates to make it harder for AEW to do something simultaneously. Let them play chicken with themselves, and hype All In - at its usual time - as being the biggest wrestling event in North America of 2027 and do everything you can to make that a reality. 

[BomberPat]

the thing about Triple H is that his best performances - against Daniel Bryan, against Ronda Rousey, and against Cactus Jack - are when he recognises that his role is to bump and sell and back off and generally be a heel, knowing he's out of his depth and can't win a fair fight. In the build to the Daniel Bryan match, he takes a bump off a baseball slide from Brie Bella that's bigger than anything he ever gave Cena or Orton! A bad wrestler is one thing, but there's nothing more frustrating than seeing the evidence that a wrestler can get it, and constantly chooses not to. Even as a semi-retired authority figure, he still had to make sure everyone knew he was the toughest, coolest, funniest guy in the room.

[garynysmon]

- I suspect this will be very against the grain, but I honestly cringe at wrestling fans who are a little too open about their fandom. From my POV it was always meant to be this pretty embarrassing hobby we had that you were cautious with who you opened up about it.

Granted there have been occasions where its been just about socially acceptable to wear wrestling t-shirts in public when people like Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold etc were borderline genuine celebrities. But at this moment in time, none of your work colleagues are going to be impressed hearing about how good a wrestler they've never heard of is, or how you were up until 4am the night before watching a Pay Per View that cost £30.

 

- I cannot for the life of me understand why, in this day and age when everyone has the attention span of a goldfish due to doomscrolling, why are most wrestling matches so bloody long?

I get it, I'm not a 'wrestling' guy in terms of the in-ring stuff ever being my favourite part of a show, but surely there were aspects of the Attitude Era that were bang on and didn't have to be jettisoned en-masse? You could easily have a fast paced show, everyone being involved in some kind of storyline with a few 2-3 minute matches. In fact, it would be perfect in terms of packaging for social media.

It seems to me that while proper sports are trying to tighten up (see Cricket with the Hundred for example), American wrestling has gone in the opposite direction and hunkered down to appeal to a smaller base of hardcore fans.

But genuinely, if I was a kid now, I can't imagine that any current wrestling would appeal to me at all. 

Edited 3 hours ago by garynysmon

[Chili]

1 hour ago, garynysmon said:

- I suspect this will be very against the grain, but I honestly cringe at wrestling fans who are a little too open about their fandom. From my POV it was always meant to be this pretty embarrassing hobby we had that you were cautious with who you opened up about it.

Granted there have been occasions where its been just about socially acceptable to wear wrestling t-shirts in public when people like Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold etc were borderline genuine celebrities. But at this moment in time, none of your work colleagues are going to be impressed hearing about how good a wrestler they've never heard of is, or how you were up until 4am the night before watching a Pay Per View that cost £30.

 

- I cannot for the life of me understand why, in this day and age when everyone has the attention span of a goldfish due to doomscrolling, why are most wrestling matches so bloody long?

I get it, I'm not a 'wrestling' guy in terms of the in-ring stuff ever being my favourite part of a show, but surely there were aspects of the Attitude Era that were bang on and didn't have to be jettisoned en-masse? You could easily have a fast paced show, everyone being involved in some kind of storyline with a few 2-3 minute matches. In fact, it would be perfect in terms of packaging for social media.

It seems to me that while proper sports are trying to tighten up (see Cricket with the Hundred for example), American wrestling has gone in the opposite direction and hunkered down to appeal to a smaller base of hardcore fans.

But genuinely, if I was a kid now, I can't imagine that any current wrestling would appeal to me at all. 

People walking round replica belts.

[Lorne Malvo]

2 minutes ago, Chili said:

People walking round replica belts.

You bloody have to with the size of some of them!

[CavemanLynn]

2 hours ago, garynysmon said:

- I cannot for the life of me understand why, in this day and age when everyone has the attention span of a goldfish due to doomscrolling, why are most wrestling matches so bloody long?

I'd have said this, until I realised most of my favourite matches were 30+ minutes but far less happened. Sure, my faves are guys like Bret, Steamboat and Windham, and there's a lot to be said for being swept away by rabid crowds who really give a shit, but still, they capture my attention for ages without exhausting me. The new guys at the top definitely know to stop, let a moment breath, then speed up again, but after 15 minutes, I just feel kind of burned out and bored.