Modern wrestling annoyances (rational or not)

[simonworden]

Couldn't find the old annoyances thread related to wrestling and thought I would add the word "modern" to the title to ensure we're not all retreading annoyances about hot tags or whatever was mentioned last time. 

I was motivated to start the thread as I find angry old me boiling out over the behavior of wrestling influencers/ presenter types during Mania weekend. Before I go further, anyone saying just don't look is totally right, but I do have to encounter these bollocks in some capacity with what I do. Plus this is a place for non-sensical ranting rather than logic so please try not to discredit one person's irrational annoyances. 

Anyway, it really became noticeable recently that a lot of these types have got even worse with the main character syndrome. Flexing their VIP packages and the like online and all spouting the same tired opinions on mostly the same one company. Posting reaction videos etc. There's a million ruddy podcast with two or more tits sitting in front of big microphones, again all spouting the same thing.

Then you have the more "professional" (a term I use lightly) wrestling journalists/ presenters who are the absolute worst for the main character syndrome behaviors. Busted open being a particular stomach curdling group of plebs. Between the old bugger with a mid-life crisis greeting wrestlers like they're long-lost friends to them all actively talking down/ patronizing any wrestler who isn't mid-card WWE or above it's the simple fact they've made themselves out to be just as if not more important than what they are supposed to be covering.

I'm no Meltzer fan but at least he and the older generation had the respect to actually let the Wrestling be the most important thing being covered. I really don't want to see Sean Ross Sapp jumping in the ring and mugging at a VIP pool party or Denise Salecedo's avocado toast lunch. 

[air_raid]

I can’t think of a more “modern” gripe of mine than the gradual dilution of WWEs wrestling content. And I don’t just mean the house show model being abandoned, domestically. We went from a PPV looking bare with fewer than 8 matches and most titles being defended every month, with unspoken reverence to the old “30 day mandatory title defence” to PLEs having five matches, Lyra Valkyria being made to wait 42 days to make her first defence of a brand new title, one of the World Champions not even having to appear on the Rumble card, need I go on? Cody Rhodes wrestled 5 matches in the last 3 calendar months. Thats 12 weeks of TV and two PLEs. As a consequence, feuds go nowhere, wrestlers stagnate, and are thus easier to cut as the roster gets smaller and smaller. Sad.

[westlondonmist]

I find that so many titles means so many feuds (not all obviously) are basically I want the title so give me a title shot or because someone win a number one contenders match. Why does nobody say "Seth Rollins, you've got the face of a twat, the hair of a twat and you walk like a twat. You're a twat and I'm gonna give you a hiding purely because you're existence annoys me". 

Also feel like there are too many titles. But that's purely a vehicle to feuds because of the lack of creativity. 

[The King Of Swing]

Feels like every backstage segment in AEW starts with 'thank you for agreeing to no physicality'. 

Immediately kills my interest in the segment. 

Also security breaking up one fight but being absent for pretty much every other beat down or brawl on the same show. 

[RedTwoster]

AEW advertising the entire line-up to every show. Sometimes it’s nice not to know what’s coming, and sometimes knowing a certain match is appearing on a show makes the show feel less appealing. 

[2Xtreme_lives]

Advert breaks during PLEs. I understand they are no longer PPVs for WWE but I wish they used the same model

Having a broken up PPV with breaks just kills the flow. Only benefit is that the piss break match can happen whenever you need to go now

 

[Merzbow]

The whole modern attempt at shoot-style that Josh Barnett was pushing, I get that it's his love but 90% of the guys and girls booked just didn't have that style in them and it looked awful compared to the classics. It was a very specific style with a deep history that splintered off into even more specific styles but I felt like almost no one got it. 

I think Josh even understood it wasn't working like he visioned, he's since cancelled the Bloodsport shows.

Edited May 4 by Merzbow

[TheScarlettChad]

WWE leeching off it didn't help. 

[Dr. Alan Grant]

It’s certainly not a modern issue and has been around for many a year, but I don’t like wrestlers performing for the hard cam. There are cameras all around the ring and arenas, surely whoever’s directing backstage can choose whichever shot looks best. Cena, Brock etc having to position around to face the cam before delivering their finisher has always annoyed me. Even worse is when someone manoeuvres themselves when pinning so they’re facing a certain way. 

Also, insulting the local sports team, “this town is dirty, you people are ugly and poor” generic heel promos need to die a death. 

[DavidB6937]

13 minutes ago, Dr. Alan Grant said:

Also, insulting the local sports team, “this town is dirty, you people are ugly and poor” generic heel promos need to die a death. 

Only because they'll never reach the greatness of this again.

 

[Supremo]

Backstage segments where people enter and leave the shot like a 2D South Park character, with the frame seemingly existing as its own pocket universe, everyone always surprised when people enter it to attack or interrupt, despite the fact they’d have seen them coming a mile off.

[BarryOVega]

2 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Backstage segments where people enter and leave the shot like a 2D South Park character, with the frame seemingly existing as its own pocket universe, everyone always surprised when people enter it to attack or interrupt, despite the fact they’d have seen them coming a mile off.

The one time I remember WWE not doing this was Bischoff’s debut, Booker in the middle of a promo then, like any person with working eyes, noticing Bischoff walking up to him off camera, funnily enough it was a great moment too

Nowadays (and for most of the last 20 odd years) they’d have had Booker stood talking to Coach both with their backs to the walls rather than looking at each other then the camera panning over to Bischoff 3 feet away where they hadn’t noticed him

[SuperBacon]

Seth Rollins.

[HarmonicGenerator]

1 hour ago, Dr. Alan Grant said:

It’s certainly not a modern issue and has been around for many a year, but I don’t like wrestlers performing for the hard cam. There are cameras all around the ring and arenas, surely whoever’s directing backstage can choose whichever shot looks best. Cena, Brock etc having to position around to face the cam before delivering their finisher has always annoyed me. Even worse is when someone manoeuvres themselves when pinning so they’re facing a certain way. 

Similar note, but over-choreographed entrances that are designed solely for the camera. I could get away with it a bit in NXT Black & Gold (even if the best Nakamura entrance was one where he didn’t quite hit all his marks) but from what I’ve seen these days it just feels so rehearsed.

And I know that’s because it’s a TV show not a live event, and I know that’s because it has been rehearsed, but I watch the Oba Femi walk, which I do love as a screen viewer, and sometimes wonder how weird it must look watching from the crowd with the camera crew huddled in front of him slowly shuffling backwards as he struts to make sure they get the exact right angle at the exact right time to make it look like every other entrance he’s ever done. It’s just all very aware of itself as TV production.

[Egg Shen]

On 5/4/2026 at 9:11 AM, RedTwoster said:

AEW advertising the entire line-up to every show. Sometimes it’s nice not to know what’s coming, and sometimes knowing a certain match is appearing on a show makes the show feel less appealing. 

Agree with this 100% back in the day when I was watching regular TV you went in every week knowing perhaps knowing 1-2 matches, the rest were made or just thrown at you on the night. Love the spontaneity of that.

I see AEW graphics every week and it just looks like endless mix n' match wrestling every week to me, I don't need that from a TV show.

Edited May 5 by Egg Shen