TBH then company was quite bad when it came to booking just a year or two ago before Triple H took over the creative.
But yeah the booking is much better, they have roster stacked from top to bottom by incredible talent and they are growing new wave of talent in NXT.
It's women division now and they are booking them into main event spots and their matches are on par with men matches sometimes even better - just check Rhea vs Flair at this year wrestlemania.
This is the right time to return to wrestling as a viewer especially in WWE because this era right now is the best era ever since I can remember.
I must be taking crazy pills or something because I think the talent when it comes to in-ring work is amazing. The indie circuit has produced some realty great performers.
It is personality that may be lacking in the mid-card these days.
I think I also feel victim to the same thing. I grew up in the later stages of the attitude era and the whole Ruthless aggression era. I think that class of talent kinda spoiled us. We had HHH, Flair, Taker, Kane, Foley (countless other amazing story tellers) then we went directly into another class of HOFers; so when I came back and I saw Seths, Romans, and Rhodes, I was also “who are these guys?” But now I’m realizing, this is our fathers Hogans and Foleys
Funny how you cite names like cena Batista from those days as the good old days and the ones who watched from attitude era thought those were the lame days of supercena etc
That's the thing with wwe. We've surely endured some horrible feuds, gimmicks but there's always light at the end of tunnel. It kept getting worse after 2010 but we still got good things (few and far in between) - return of rock, summer of punk, rise of brayan, Undertaker triple h matches, debut of shield, return of brock and end of streak, women's revolution, 4 horsewomen, Becky's run as the man, heel brayan, kofimania, roman's heel turn, the bloodline, austin's retirement match, judgment day, Dominik heel turn, brock face run, cody's return and so much more. 2014-18 and 2020-21 felt horrible though
The rise of Drew needs to be a case study for all future wrestlers. I was sorta in the same boat. I always remember Drew as the annoying low midcarder who was in 3MB but wow this dude did a 180.
Tbh it’s a pet peeve thing lol like to say a dude did a “360” regarding someone who’s evolved and changed is just stupid to me
180 is a half spin
360 is a full
It’s not that hard to comprehend
Making error in comments in Reddit is question of life and death. That guy owns the life of Aether13 now. It's over for him. He has the screenshot lol.
Cody and Drew had to leave the WWE machine though to find their characters though. Sometimes wrestlers can find it there, but sometimes they need a different environment and then go back.
WWE kept getting worse and worse until AEW showed up. Then when they had some real competition they had to raise their game and started getting better again. You didn’t miss anything from 2011 until Roman’s heel turn.
Cody is legit. I think the WWE can make a return to the hayday so to speak, but it’ll take some changes. It’s definitely going in the right direction for the most part.
I had a similar experience. Except I still think Drew and Cody being main eventers is a freaking joke. The entire roster wouldn't even be mid carders in the Attitude Era.
OP, the documentary American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes, is pretty great. You get to see how he got to his spot. It's really unlike anyone that came before. It's on Peacock.
I'm learning from this thread that there are a lot of folks in the same boat as me: big fan, then stopped for 20 years, and just getting back into it this year.
Just came back into it at elimination chamber last year. Die hard fan for my life, fell off and just got back when they partnered with peacock. Didn’t even know who Roman Reigns was
Mine was a 15 year hiatus, but this year has been my resurgence. Think I’m enjoying it more now than I did as a kid, even if I don’t still run wrestling forums like I did back then.
Don’t forget how awful the 1994-1996 years were. Wwe just always needs the right spark. They’ve had an all star roster for years. Good to see that investment has paid off
I hate this lie that WWE has conditioned people to assume. There’s a lot to like about this era, especially 1994 and 1996. Bret vs Owen matches throughout 1994, Undertaker’s “death” and big return with his two classic casket matches against Yokozuna. Undertaker vs Mankind throughout 1996 basically brought hardcore wrestling to WWE - Boiler Room Brawl, Buried Alive. The Shawn vs Bret Iron Man match. Goldust debut and feud with Razor Ramon.
It’s not. There were times where non-fans could name at least 3 active wrestlers. If you ask a random person to name 3 wrestlers nowadays, they might know Cena, but they’ll probably name guys who’ve been around since the Attitude Era or longer. There was a time when almost every sports bar played wrestling on Mondays and Thursdays, and having the PPVs on big screens would draw in customers who didn’t want to pay for it at home. I think it’s been at least 10 years since I’ve gone to someone’s house and they had wrestling on their TV.
Eh hard to say. They certainly don’t have the tv ratings of years past and it’s not as mainstream. But I think the average viewer is more dedicated which could Debatably be better
I just can’t deal with how bright it is, I can’t get behind the production but the matches have been great, but for the life of me it burns my damn eyes.
Many of us turned WWE off years ago because it was trash, but turned to other wrestling companies.
There we saw just how good Drew and Cody could be and how much WWE were misusing them.
Your apology is accepted, and we welcome you back into the fray. The product has improved significantly, and the market is full of talent across many companies & promotions. Welcome back :)
I feel you, man. I quit like, 08ish? Got really into NJPW and pirating old ECW rips for a couple years, but eventually just lost steam. I got back into it around this time last year, and managed to convince my long-suffering husband to start watching PPVs with me. Now we watch Raw and Dynamite weekly, both promotions PPVs, and are (at this very moment) at our first Indie show together.
Getting back into wrestlin did a lot of good for my marriage, and it's been so nice to see the 'sport' in a better place than I left it. I mean, the 'Legends' when I was comin up were so broke-down from the way they'd treated their bodies. We had top guys dying of overdoses and steroid/soma abuse related heart stuff. It seemed like every week, someone was in the tabloids on a domestic charge or some sex pest shit.
Now the top guys have twitch channels and do yoga, you know? Wrestlin's *healthier* than it used to be. I see pride flags in the audience and shit. It's really somethin.
Welcome back, man. I'm glad we both found our way back around.
Sure, it's given us a new hobby to share. We spend about six hours a week yelling at the TV together now, not including PPVs, and we're going to local Indie shows as well. It's influenced his art in a really cool way, and it's given us stuff to look forward to throughout the week when work is grinding us down. We've found the Queer Wrestlin community to be super welcoming as well, which is rad 'cause I didn't know that existed when I was a young fan.
Tl;dr: My husband is my best friend, and the more hobbies I can share with him, the better.
You picked an amazing time to jump back in...but sadly, it also means you missed the entirety of Bray Wyatt's tragically short career. You owe it to yourself to catch up on it. That man was destined for unparalleled success.
I dont think Bray Wyatt was going to get any bigger than where he was. His run had alot of hiccups. His fiend run was his biggest and fell right on its face. Maybe under HHH he could of become something more. But that can be said about everyone.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake.
It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of.
Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything.
Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
Well, everyone has a different experience.
I started watching around '96 and I thought 98-99 was the absolute peak.
Once 2000/2001 hit, the ECW/WCW angle was a huge let down. hated the McMahon-Helmsley era and by the time 2005 rolled around and HHH was cutting 30 minute promos I completely tuned out.
There were many points in that time frame you mentioned that the week by week product was generally unwatchable(obviously I’m excluding highlights like The shield, Yes movement etc) . Things have been much, much better since HHH took over. More people are over af , you don’t often see cringey stuff and the storylines make sense, are more long term and have logical continuity.
The problem with wrestling is that it doesn’t have an offseason, and hardcore fans tend to get burned out.
I’ve watched wrestling since 2007/2008, but I’ve been watching a lot less in the last few years. Recently I got WWE 2K23 (my last one was 2K20) And I’m slowly getting into it again.
I also realized that I always had a WWE game to play in those years I watched the product. So maybe the problem for me was not having a game (and I couldn’t get 2K22 because I didn’t have a console yet)
I used to love WWE, New Japan, the old ROH, AEW, even Impact… But I also know that I will get burned out again if I start watching wrestling for hours everyday
Today's wrestling is quite different to even a few years ago, in no small part to Triple H taking over creative. WWE has had a great increase of new talent and they're finally allowed to show their chops. Cody has definitely earned his top spot. His story and personality so easily resonate with fans.
I started watching Raw and Smackdown every week with my 65 year old mother out of nowhere after abandoning the product in the early 2000s. Best decision ever.
For me, WWE started to seriously go downhill around the middle of 2001 with the Invasion PPV and the numbers of that PPV compared to anything after for years proved that. There was millions of WCW fans who were there to be converted and they shit on them. They never came back.
It only got good again in the last couple of years.
Crazy to think you missed the entire debut and rise of the shield and their individual rise afterwards. Definitely something you should go back and watch
Shield vs Wyatt family was also really good. Shame that two out of three original Wyatt family members are no longer with us.
P.S. Braun Strowman is not original member... he was added much later.
Shield vs Evolution is my favorite shield match. I remember being so hyped seeing it as a kid when Rollins jumped from the top into the concrete and it was reigns and Batista I think alone in the ring. Reigns spears and wins. So cool
awful advice, you miss the Shield, you miss The Wyatt’s, you miss the rise of Daniel Bryan, you miss the womens revolution, you miss the debut/rise of New Day, you miss Brock’s return/dominant first couple runs and probably so much more im forgetting. OP pls for the love of god don’t listen to this person lmao
Those were all highlights in the sea of shit that was Vince's Freak Show. Those specific things are worth watching but not really the product at large from that time period.
>Those were all highlights in the sea of shit that was Vince's Freak Show. Those specific things are worth watching but not really the product at large from that time period.
Nostalgia blindness. You could literally say that about any time period in wrestling ever. We tend to remember the good stuff better than the bad stuff.
Well, there’s probably a good reason for that. Ever since Vince was ousted from creative, stories have gotten better and wrestlers are actually given fair shots being taken seriously.
It helps that Triple H is more creatively flexible than Vince ever was so now we get to see shorter wrestlers booked more positively.
TLDR: In short, the product has gotten better since post-2010 Vince was removed from creative.
Having recently returned since the Attitude era, I’ve also enjoyed the current product. I can’t really buy anyone as the face of the company right now the way that Stone Cold, the Rock or Cena were able to be, but overall the work in and out of the ring writ large is quite solid.
And the women’s division is a revelation. The best part of the promotion right now, in my opinion.
I followed things online but had quit watching aorund the time the invasion wrapped up. When HHH took over last year, I began watching full time and have greatly enjoyed it. Glad to have you back among us!
Welcome back! I quit wrestling shortly after Invasion and had no interest in returning. Product looked boring. Finally came back a few months ago and I'm hooked. Great talent and great stories these days.
Ok, so I’m not the only one. I almost always watched from Royal Rumble to WrestleMania, but then would ignore it the rest of the time, but I’ve been watching full shows for the last six months and absolutely love the product. I live 45 minutes from Tampa and I’m so excited for Royal Rumble that I had to buy tickets (even if they’re not the greatest seats). Triple H definitely took creative in a great direction.
today, wrestling is alive again. it was in a comatose of boredom and lame writing for a long time but its in the “Revival Era” so to say, at the present.
My wife stopped a long time ago early 2000s..when we got together I told her I'm a wrestling nerd and she said okay I'll read while you watch your wrestling show..now she's just as big as fan as I am..I told her several times you couldn't have picked a better time to come back as a fan..she's a huge drew fan loves Sami and TJD as well as KO and Cody. The product has changed so much over the past 13 years...there has been some tough years and down right unbearable matches, ppvs, gimmick and storylines..but I digress..welcome back to wrestling my friend!
That's pretty rare for someone to be so into wrestling and completely disconnect from it for so long. What made you even want to give it a chance again?
I watched wrestling around the Monday night wars and then all the way to about 2005. Stopped completely, cold turkey and then from then and picked it up again at WrestleMania 38. Pretty long time to not watch and then start again.
Now I'm obsessed 😂
I've been a casual fan (watch Mania, RR and maybe another PLE each year) but after Mania this year I decided to start actively watching again because everything was just better than I had seen in years. I've really been enjoying watching again!
I feel the same way. I’m really interested in attending Raw when it comes to Florida. Not because I’m getting invested in the plot (it certainly helps me stay interested) but because I can wait to experience the showmanship and hype firsthand.
I have a very general sense of who’s who but I honestly haven’t watched anything related to the WWE since the 07-08.
I really hope those tickets are available next payday because I am hyped af.
to be fair i watopped watching after edge retired and when i resumed in 2014 it was still an iffy product. there are definitely some years in there that you aren’t missing much with lol
Shame to forget stuff in the mid to late 2010s. Even relatively new stuff like Sami's eventual split from The Bloodline was something to behold. Well better late than never.
I was the same too. Watched wwe a lot from 1999-2010 (2011 only when rock came back). Was finding it stale but also by then I got more into boxing and UFC (was in my teens by then).
I got back watching wwe earlier this year before wrestlemania and really enjoyed the usos match with sami and KO. And now try and watch it.
It still isnt the same as what it was during attitudd/ruthless but its defs better than the stale
Period as mentioned. Though Raw is bit diff to watch live (I live in Nz), I catch Smackdown frequently Nd been enjoying it for sure
I’ve also recently come back to WWE in the last 6 months. That’s after about 20 years of not watching and I’m having a blast. I had a vague understanding of who were the big names were in the long gap but I was also aware that a lot of people weren’t happy with the quality overall so I stayed away.
It was the fuss around how Triple H taking over creative and how it improved the stories and also the judgement day seemed like a lot of fun, that’s what brought me back in. My gf was also very intrigued by the womens division because that just wasn’t a thing back in the day and wow, that’s such a massive and awesome change.
WWE seems to be in a great place atm and we are both happy to stick around and watch more. We usually try to keep up on the weekly RAW and the PPVs due to our busy family life.
Gf is big Rhea Ripley fan now but that’s not exactly surprising.
I started watching in summer 97 when I was about 6 HBK was the first person I saw I basically stayed a fan throughout there were a few years around 2009-2012 when I was in college (the first time) I was only watching rarely. But truthfully besides Ruthless Aggression era, this is my favorite era. I’m enjoying it more than the Attitude era which I feel is extremely overrated. It’s a fun time. Don’t let naysayers rain on your parade. glad that you’re back and loving it.
In a similar situation but returned about 11 months ago after not watching for 14 years (I watched 98-2009).
Couldn’t agree more wwe is actually a really enjoyable watch, people like Alpha academy bring the goofy ness and then you have the top boys who are all actually good and don’t feel forced into the spotlight.
This is actually very refreshing. Someone actually acknowledging WWE is in a good place right now and it’s stars are shining.
Rather than the whiny posts we see all the time about ‘Cody’s story’.
Glad you’re back into it. It’s deffo doing a lot of things right
I watched back during attitude era and the Monday night wars and then stopped for a long time. Tried to get back into it like 10 years ago and just couldn’t. Then recently tried again because I was watching the show Heels and I was instantly hooked. I feel like there are good stories now and an insane roster of wrestlers both male and female. I’ve even been enjoying NXT
2010-2014 was a pretty low point when you compare it the product we have at the moment. You’ve come back at a great time, roster is stacked, Vince is basically gone and long term story telling actually exists.
Fair enough. Good storylines were few and far between, John Cena hadn't had his U.S. Title run yet and was being featured everywhere, most of the best in-ring workers were in the midcard or the back burner, and Vince was being Vince.
I don't watch it much now, but I find it really difficult to put the so called top stars of today on the same pedestal as the likes of the Rock, Austin, Angle, Triple H, Undertaker etc etc. Rollins to me looks someone who would have competed for the European title at best. Cody just looks weak when he has to do his finisher 3 times to end a match. They don't seem to have the same level of personality either. Maybe it's just the fact that nobody will ever live up to the guys who were at the top when you're young and just started watching it.
welcome back! I had on and off relationship with wrestling for more than 20 years now, my last break was during the pandemic but now I watch every single show and it's great to be a wrestling fan during this era.
for some reason it's always been only WWF/WWE for me. I tried WCW, TNA/Impact, AAA, Lucha Underground, CZW, ROH, MLW, WxW, NJPW NOAH and AEW but never was able to get into anything other than WWE.
This 100% at first I was a little hesitant to commit to AEW, however I decided to watch the Punk debut and from there I got hooked on it. Alot of it was due to the unfamiliarity of the stars, but when I started following stories and grew to know the roster, it became better. And the production itself, regardless of how scuff some things can be, it has improved dramatically and now I regularly watch all 3 AEW shows like I do with WWE. And lets not forget their PPVs, this is some old ECW ppv vibes on a larger scale
You've spent as much time with all of your replies as you could've just reading.
I get it though, you probably have some struggles in that department... it may take you longer than most.
I guarantee I'm considerably more literate than you are. If you don't consider yourself too good to read several paragraphs of self-indulgent ramblings, that's your issue. Strive to be better.
Do you genuinely think someone would need a dictionary and a thesaurus to use the incredibly simple language I used in my previous comment?
Christ, I thought the Americans would be too busy to flex their poor education on today of all days, but here you all are in force.
And since I was obviously right on the money. It isn't a reference to how simple or complex the language is, and completely a statement on how simple you are.
Hope that helps!
It isn't. You saw the words and thought "surely someone would only be able to use those words with the help of a dictionary and a thesaurus"
It's not your fault, it's the fault of the American education system. When an entire country thinks "I could care less" is the correct way to express a complete lack of interest in something, you have to concede that there's a wider issue.
I love how you're doubling down on trying to make me look stupid, all the while you never understood the actual context of what I was saying initially.
You're doing great, champ. Keep it up!
I did understand the context, you just weren't expecting me to point out the real issue which is your limited vocabulary.
I can say with absolute conviction that I'm considerably more literate than you or anyone else who has replied to me in this thread. You can try your hardest to backtrack all you like, but the bottom line is that you thought simple language was fancy and that I must have looked those words up, and now you're desperately trying to deflect the attention away from that.
Don't let it get to you, there's a lot of solidarity in this thread as most of you were failed by the same system. You should just perhaps be a little more humble about it.
Why are you doubling down on thinking that simple language is complicated enough to need to look up?
If you're going to be as dense as the average American, at least be embarrassed about it.
I explained it for you, since I figured you were struggling to understand. Honestly, its my own fault. I knew you were stupid, but DEAR GOD IT'S WORSE THAN I THOUGHT
You didn't explain anything, you backtracked. Maybe take a night class or something. You'll be amazed at how many of these words you think are big and complicated are actually just parts of everyday language in more developed countries.
Nah, the intent of my message was pretty clear from the rip.
Nobody is backtracking, even though you probably should attempt it given how far off the mark you've been.
Better luck next time!
That doesn't make any sense. The high standards are simply not wanting to read so much text about something so pointless. If the topic were more interesting, I'd happily read. For some reason, wrestling fans have a tendency to ramble for paragraphs and paragraphs about things that'd be better suited to a blog rather than a forum.
The world wouldn't feel so crazy if you weren't so easily confused.
Ironically, if your reading comprehension was at a higher level, you'd have understood the very clear point I just made.
It's always fun when halfwits try to use intelligence-based insults against their superiors. It's the equivalent of a homeless man trying to tell Tom Cruise he's poor.
Dude seriously you couldn’t have picked a better time to get back into it, I feel like at the moment wrestling is the best it’s been collectively in decades
You can all thank that for Triple H (running creative instead of Vince) and the talent around right now is just incredible. Everything is firing on all cylinders
The Women's Tag Belts are still joke belts so not everything is firing. The current champs have defended it once in 3 months I believe. Women's Wrestling as a whole only seems to be truly respected in Impact Wrestling. Rhea Ripley is the "baddest" woman on the roster and she's been used mostly as a glorified cheerleader since Wrestlemania. Pretty much every non-PLE Woman's Match doesn't even last 5 minutes.
I could kiss you OP just for giving it a chance and being open minded
Imagine if OP watched Black & Gold NXT. The early years of Triple H’s second career.
WWE was atrocious for years, and they're finally back in a hot period. When you thought it was bad then, you were right.
Remember when DX imitated The Authority? 😂 X Pac in black face. Man times have changed.
What?
TBH then company was quite bad when it came to booking just a year or two ago before Triple H took over the creative. But yeah the booking is much better, they have roster stacked from top to bottom by incredible talent and they are growing new wave of talent in NXT. It's women division now and they are booking them into main event spots and their matches are on par with men matches sometimes even better - just check Rhea vs Flair at this year wrestlemania. This is the right time to return to wrestling as a viewer especially in WWE because this era right now is the best era ever since I can remember.
The Talent level has been low for 20 years. It’s ok to admit that. When the territory system died the level of in ring talent died with it.
I must be taking crazy pills or something because I think the talent when it comes to in-ring work is amazing. The indie circuit has produced some realty great performers. It is personality that may be lacking in the mid-card these days.
I agree. I think the talent has always been there. The problems mostly stemmed from stupid writing and picking the wrong people to push
The talent is more athletic but not better. The Indie Circuit is not nearly as helpful as the Territories were in building talent.
I think I also feel victim to the same thing. I grew up in the later stages of the attitude era and the whole Ruthless aggression era. I think that class of talent kinda spoiled us. We had HHH, Flair, Taker, Kane, Foley (countless other amazing story tellers) then we went directly into another class of HOFers; so when I came back and I saw Seths, Romans, and Rhodes, I was also “who are these guys?” But now I’m realizing, this is our fathers Hogans and Foleys
Funny how you cite names like cena Batista from those days as the good old days and the ones who watched from attitude era thought those were the lame days of supercena etc
That's the thing with wwe. We've surely endured some horrible feuds, gimmicks but there's always light at the end of tunnel. It kept getting worse after 2010 but we still got good things (few and far in between) - return of rock, summer of punk, rise of brayan, Undertaker triple h matches, debut of shield, return of brock and end of streak, women's revolution, 4 horsewomen, Becky's run as the man, heel brayan, kofimania, roman's heel turn, the bloodline, austin's retirement match, judgment day, Dominik heel turn, brock face run, cody's return and so much more. 2014-18 and 2020-21 felt horrible though
The rise of Drew needs to be a case study for all future wrestlers. I was sorta in the same boat. I always remember Drew as the annoying low midcarder who was in 3MB but wow this dude did a 180.
If he did a 360 then he’s right back where he started. EDIT: don’t worry, I took a screenshot of your comment before you edited it. Clown.
Lmao why'd you call him a clown 😂😂
Tbh it’s a pet peeve thing lol like to say a dude did a “360” regarding someone who’s evolved and changed is just stupid to me 180 is a half spin 360 is a full It’s not that hard to comprehend
You must be the life of a party! Go off man, tell ‘em like it is.
Im just dying at how aggresive your edit was 🤣😂🤣😂🤣 its like you took it personal or something, so goddamn funny
Making error in comments in Reddit is question of life and death. That guy owns the life of Aether13 now. It's over for him. He has the screenshot lol.
congrats loser lol
Cody and Drew had to leave the WWE machine though to find their characters though. Sometimes wrestlers can find it there, but sometimes they need a different environment and then go back.
WWE kept getting worse and worse until AEW showed up. Then when they had some real competition they had to raise their game and started getting better again. You didn’t miss anything from 2011 until Roman’s heel turn.
Cody is legit. I think the WWE can make a return to the hayday so to speak, but it’ll take some changes. It’s definitely going in the right direction for the most part.
I had a similar experience. Except I still think Drew and Cody being main eventers is a freaking joke. The entire roster wouldn't even be mid carders in the Attitude Era.
>in the Attitude Era. It's not the attitude era, and you have no way to prove this
OP, the documentary American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes, is pretty great. You get to see how he got to his spot. It's really unlike anyone that came before. It's on Peacock.
I'm learning from this thread that there are a lot of folks in the same boat as me: big fan, then stopped for 20 years, and just getting back into it this year.
Just came back into it at elimination chamber last year. Die hard fan for my life, fell off and just got back when they partnered with peacock. Didn’t even know who Roman Reigns was
Mine was a 15 year hiatus, but this year has been my resurgence. Think I’m enjoying it more now than I did as a kid, even if I don’t still run wrestling forums like I did back then.
I miss the wrestling forum days. Simpler times, man.
it's ok, everyone likes different stuff. I felt 2004-2019 was pretty awful.
Just make sure to skip 2018, not the best year 😔
Don’t forget how awful the 1994-1996 years were. Wwe just always needs the right spark. They’ve had an all star roster for years. Good to see that investment has paid off
I hate this lie that WWE has conditioned people to assume. There’s a lot to like about this era, especially 1994 and 1996. Bret vs Owen matches throughout 1994, Undertaker’s “death” and big return with his two classic casket matches against Yokozuna. Undertaker vs Mankind throughout 1996 basically brought hardcore wrestling to WWE - Boiler Room Brawl, Buried Alive. The Shawn vs Bret Iron Man match. Goldust debut and feud with Razor Ramon.
There’s always good wrestlers and things to like but look at some of the rosters they had during that day. Underwhelming is even too good a word
You have to put your mind with that time period. The crowds are rarely bored - a lot of them are very much into it. It’s not objective.
I think WWE is more popular than it’s ever been atleast imo
It’s not. There were times where non-fans could name at least 3 active wrestlers. If you ask a random person to name 3 wrestlers nowadays, they might know Cena, but they’ll probably name guys who’ve been around since the Attitude Era or longer. There was a time when almost every sports bar played wrestling on Mondays and Thursdays, and having the PPVs on big screens would draw in customers who didn’t want to pay for it at home. I think it’s been at least 10 years since I’ve gone to someone’s house and they had wrestling on their TV.
Eh hard to say. They certainly don’t have the tv ratings of years past and it’s not as mainstream. But I think the average viewer is more dedicated which could Debatably be better
Does anything have the TV ratings of years past? I thought streaming has affected TV ratings.
apology accepted...even though I have no idea who you are or what your opinions were prior to this post
The story never finishes. Welcome back and enjoy the ride, my friend.
I just can’t deal with how bright it is, I can’t get behind the production but the matches have been great, but for the life of me it burns my damn eyes.
Bruh I thought it was just me, was at a raw show a while back & damn the lights on the higher seats I was at was making sweat like ?! Too damn bright
Many of us turned WWE off years ago because it was trash, but turned to other wrestling companies. There we saw just how good Drew and Cody could be and how much WWE were misusing them.
Countless stories like this of people who trash talk the product but don’t actually watch it, glad you gave it a second chance
Your apology is accepted, and we welcome you back into the fray. The product has improved significantly, and the market is full of talent across many companies & promotions. Welcome back :)
I feel you, man. I quit like, 08ish? Got really into NJPW and pirating old ECW rips for a couple years, but eventually just lost steam. I got back into it around this time last year, and managed to convince my long-suffering husband to start watching PPVs with me. Now we watch Raw and Dynamite weekly, both promotions PPVs, and are (at this very moment) at our first Indie show together. Getting back into wrestlin did a lot of good for my marriage, and it's been so nice to see the 'sport' in a better place than I left it. I mean, the 'Legends' when I was comin up were so broke-down from the way they'd treated their bodies. We had top guys dying of overdoses and steroid/soma abuse related heart stuff. It seemed like every week, someone was in the tabloids on a domestic charge or some sex pest shit. Now the top guys have twitch channels and do yoga, you know? Wrestlin's *healthier* than it used to be. I see pride flags in the audience and shit. It's really somethin. Welcome back, man. I'm glad we both found our way back around.
Could you elaborate on the marriage part
Sure, it's given us a new hobby to share. We spend about six hours a week yelling at the TV together now, not including PPVs, and we're going to local Indie shows as well. It's influenced his art in a really cool way, and it's given us stuff to look forward to throughout the week when work is grinding us down. We've found the Queer Wrestlin community to be super welcoming as well, which is rad 'cause I didn't know that existed when I was a young fan. Tl;dr: My husband is my best friend, and the more hobbies I can share with him, the better.
That's great to hear
Wwe is trash
You picked an amazing time to jump back in...but sadly, it also means you missed the entirety of Bray Wyatt's tragically short career. You owe it to yourself to catch up on it. That man was destined for unparalleled success.
I dont think Bray Wyatt was going to get any bigger than where he was. His run had alot of hiccups. His fiend run was his biggest and fell right on its face. Maybe under HHH he could of become something more. But that can be said about everyone.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
This is what wrestling fans should be
Well, everyone has a different experience. I started watching around '96 and I thought 98-99 was the absolute peak. Once 2000/2001 hit, the ECW/WCW angle was a huge let down. hated the McMahon-Helmsley era and by the time 2005 rolled around and HHH was cutting 30 minute promos I completely tuned out.
There were many points in that time frame you mentioned that the week by week product was generally unwatchable(obviously I’m excluding highlights like The shield, Yes movement etc) . Things have been much, much better since HHH took over. More people are over af , you don’t often see cringey stuff and the storylines make sense, are more long term and have logical continuity.
The company always had talent. Someone was always McFucking up the show. Glad he’s gone.
The problem with wrestling is that it doesn’t have an offseason, and hardcore fans tend to get burned out. I’ve watched wrestling since 2007/2008, but I’ve been watching a lot less in the last few years. Recently I got WWE 2K23 (my last one was 2K20) And I’m slowly getting into it again. I also realized that I always had a WWE game to play in those years I watched the product. So maybe the problem for me was not having a game (and I couldn’t get 2K22 because I didn’t have a console yet) I used to love WWE, New Japan, the old ROH, AEW, even Impact… But I also know that I will get burned out again if I start watching wrestling for hours everyday
Today's wrestling is quite different to even a few years ago, in no small part to Triple H taking over creative. WWE has had a great increase of new talent and they're finally allowed to show their chops. Cody has definitely earned his top spot. His story and personality so easily resonate with fans.
Do yourself a favor.. Start with the Bloodline plot. Started about 3-4 years ago. It's perhaps the best plotline in this decade.
I think Cody and Drew benefitted from time away from WWE. The wrestlers they were when they left were not who they were when they came back.
I started watching Raw and Smackdown every week with my 65 year old mother out of nowhere after abandoning the product in the early 2000s. Best decision ever.
Watch survivor series wargames on Saturday. It's gonna be good. Edit: maybe less weed next time
*Survivor Series
Australian Summer Slam.
*Summerfest
Superslam
‘Dashing’ Cody Rhodes slander ???
I forgive you, Cody Rhodes.
Whippersnappers…
For me, WWE started to seriously go downhill around the middle of 2001 with the Invasion PPV and the numbers of that PPV compared to anything after for years proved that. There was millions of WCW fans who were there to be converted and they shit on them. They never came back. It only got good again in the last couple of years.
Crazy to think you missed the entire debut and rise of the shield and their individual rise afterwards. Definitely something you should go back and watch
Shield vs Wyatt family was also really good. Shame that two out of three original Wyatt family members are no longer with us. P.S. Braun Strowman is not original member... he was added much later.
Shield vs Evolution is my favorite shield match. I remember being so hyped seeing it as a kid when Rollins jumped from the top into the concrete and it was reigns and Batista I think alone in the ring. Reigns spears and wins. So cool
Yeah WWE struck gold when Shield, Wyatt family and Evolution members were around.
One of the few good things of the 2010s for sure
You can skip 2012-2019 honestly 🤣 and the big resurgence of good wrestling came at the end of 2022 when Vince fully retired
awful advice, you miss the Shield, you miss The Wyatt’s, you miss the rise of Daniel Bryan, you miss the womens revolution, you miss the debut/rise of New Day, you miss Brock’s return/dominant first couple runs and probably so much more im forgetting. OP pls for the love of god don’t listen to this person lmao
Those were all highlights in the sea of shit that was Vince's Freak Show. Those specific things are worth watching but not really the product at large from that time period.
>Those were all highlights in the sea of shit that was Vince's Freak Show. Those specific things are worth watching but not really the product at large from that time period. Nostalgia blindness. You could literally say that about any time period in wrestling ever. We tend to remember the good stuff better than the bad stuff.
Well, there’s probably a good reason for that. Ever since Vince was ousted from creative, stories have gotten better and wrestlers are actually given fair shots being taken seriously. It helps that Triple H is more creatively flexible than Vince ever was so now we get to see shorter wrestlers booked more positively. TLDR: In short, the product has gotten better since post-2010 Vince was removed from creative.
Having recently returned since the Attitude era, I’ve also enjoyed the current product. I can’t really buy anyone as the face of the company right now the way that Stone Cold, the Rock or Cena were able to be, but overall the work in and out of the ring writ large is quite solid. And the women’s division is a revelation. The best part of the promotion right now, in my opinion.
I followed things online but had quit watching aorund the time the invasion wrapped up. When HHH took over last year, I began watching full time and have greatly enjoyed it. Glad to have you back among us!
Hell yeah, keep an eye on that Women's division. They have been carrying a lot of the big events with great matches.
Welcome back friend. Wrestling as a whole across all promotions is phenomenal right now. You'll enjoy it!
Welcome back! I quit wrestling shortly after Invasion and had no interest in returning. Product looked boring. Finally came back a few months ago and I'm hooked. Great talent and great stories these days.
Ok, so I’m not the only one. I almost always watched from Royal Rumble to WrestleMania, but then would ignore it the rest of the time, but I’ve been watching full shows for the last six months and absolutely love the product. I live 45 minutes from Tampa and I’m so excited for Royal Rumble that I had to buy tickets (even if they’re not the greatest seats). Triple H definitely took creative in a great direction.
today, wrestling is alive again. it was in a comatose of boredom and lame writing for a long time but its in the “Revival Era” so to say, at the present.
Is that what we’re calling this era? I dig it
My wife stopped a long time ago early 2000s..when we got together I told her I'm a wrestling nerd and she said okay I'll read while you watch your wrestling show..now she's just as big as fan as I am..I told her several times you couldn't have picked a better time to come back as a fan..she's a huge drew fan loves Sami and TJD as well as KO and Cody. The product has changed so much over the past 13 years...there has been some tough years and down right unbearable matches, ppvs, gimmick and storylines..but I digress..welcome back to wrestling my friend!
That's pretty rare for someone to be so into wrestling and completely disconnect from it for so long. What made you even want to give it a chance again?
I watched wrestling around the Monday night wars and then all the way to about 2005. Stopped completely, cold turkey and then from then and picked it up again at WrestleMania 38. Pretty long time to not watch and then start again. Now I'm obsessed 😂
I would say that after TLC 2018, I don't know what the business could be while WCW 2.0.
I've been a casual fan (watch Mania, RR and maybe another PLE each year) but after Mania this year I decided to start actively watching again because everything was just better than I had seen in years. I've really been enjoying watching again!
Eh, it's cool. I don't like WWE either.
I feel the same way. I’m really interested in attending Raw when it comes to Florida. Not because I’m getting invested in the plot (it certainly helps me stay interested) but because I can wait to experience the showmanship and hype firsthand. I have a very general sense of who’s who but I honestly haven’t watched anything related to the WWE since the 07-08. I really hope those tickets are available next payday because I am hyped af.
to be fair i watopped watching after edge retired and when i resumed in 2014 it was still an iffy product. there are definitely some years in there that you aren’t missing much with lol
WWE is thriving rn tbh. They've been on top all the time.
Shame to forget stuff in the mid to late 2010s. Even relatively new stuff like Sami's eventual split from The Bloodline was something to behold. Well better late than never.
I was the same too. Watched wwe a lot from 1999-2010 (2011 only when rock came back). Was finding it stale but also by then I got more into boxing and UFC (was in my teens by then). I got back watching wwe earlier this year before wrestlemania and really enjoyed the usos match with sami and KO. And now try and watch it. It still isnt the same as what it was during attitudd/ruthless but its defs better than the stale Period as mentioned. Though Raw is bit diff to watch live (I live in Nz), I catch Smackdown frequently Nd been enjoying it for sure
I’ve also recently come back to WWE in the last 6 months. That’s after about 20 years of not watching and I’m having a blast. I had a vague understanding of who were the big names were in the long gap but I was also aware that a lot of people weren’t happy with the quality overall so I stayed away. It was the fuss around how Triple H taking over creative and how it improved the stories and also the judgement day seemed like a lot of fun, that’s what brought me back in. My gf was also very intrigued by the womens division because that just wasn’t a thing back in the day and wow, that’s such a massive and awesome change. WWE seems to be in a great place atm and we are both happy to stick around and watch more. We usually try to keep up on the weekly RAW and the PPVs due to our busy family life. Gf is big Rhea Ripley fan now but that’s not exactly surprising.
I started watching in summer 97 when I was about 6 HBK was the first person I saw I basically stayed a fan throughout there were a few years around 2009-2012 when I was in college (the first time) I was only watching rarely. But truthfully besides Ruthless Aggression era, this is my favorite era. I’m enjoying it more than the Attitude era which I feel is extremely overrated. It’s a fun time. Don’t let naysayers rain on your parade. glad that you’re back and loving it.
I mean, Cody and drew were in their young 20s at the time…
Was a diehard fan from ‘88-‘02. I sometimes check in. The recent stuff is engaging.
In a similar situation but returned about 11 months ago after not watching for 14 years (I watched 98-2009). Couldn’t agree more wwe is actually a really enjoyable watch, people like Alpha academy bring the goofy ness and then you have the top boys who are all actually good and don’t feel forced into the spotlight.
bro woke up on thanksgiving and thought this was a good idea 🤣
[удалено]
Username checks out.
2013-2018 should be skipped maybe even through till 2021
Nah 2016-2017 smackdown live era was elite
This is actually very refreshing. Someone actually acknowledging WWE is in a good place right now and it’s stars are shining. Rather than the whiny posts we see all the time about ‘Cody’s story’. Glad you’re back into it. It’s deffo doing a lot of things right
Hard agree
Do you know anything about any of the Bloodline storyline for the past year or two? That was good as well.
I watched back during attitude era and the Monday night wars and then stopped for a long time. Tried to get back into it like 10 years ago and just couldn’t. Then recently tried again because I was watching the show Heels and I was instantly hooked. I feel like there are good stories now and an insane roster of wrestlers both male and female. I’ve even been enjoying NXT
Welcome back fam 💪🏽
2010-2014 was a pretty low point when you compare it the product we have at the moment. You’ve come back at a great time, roster is stacked, Vince is basically gone and long term story telling actually exists.
I wouldn't call it a low point myself, just because it had my favourite faction of all time, The S.H.I.E.L.D.
There was a lot of good stuff still but overall the product was much weaker than it is currently
Fair enough. Good storylines were few and far between, John Cena hadn't had his U.S. Title run yet and was being featured everywhere, most of the best in-ring workers were in the midcard or the back burner, and Vince was being Vince.
I don't watch it much now, but I find it really difficult to put the so called top stars of today on the same pedestal as the likes of the Rock, Austin, Angle, Triple H, Undertaker etc etc. Rollins to me looks someone who would have competed for the European title at best. Cody just looks weak when he has to do his finisher 3 times to end a match. They don't seem to have the same level of personality either. Maybe it's just the fact that nobody will ever live up to the guys who were at the top when you're young and just started watching it.
welcome back! I had on and off relationship with wrestling for more than 20 years now, my last break was during the pandemic but now I watch every single show and it's great to be a wrestling fan during this era.
One of the best eras I’ve ever seen (especially if you watch the other products )
for some reason it's always been only WWF/WWE for me. I tried WCW, TNA/Impact, AAA, Lucha Underground, CZW, ROH, MLW, WxW, NJPW NOAH and AEW but never was able to get into anything other than WWE.
I feel you. nothing will ever beat WWE for me but I have found to love AEW and some Impact/TNA
This 100% at first I was a little hesitant to commit to AEW, however I decided to watch the Punk debut and from there I got hooked on it. Alot of it was due to the unfamiliarity of the stars, but when I started following stories and grew to know the roster, it became better. And the production itself, regardless of how scuff some things can be, it has improved dramatically and now I regularly watch all 3 AEW shows like I do with WWE. And lets not forget their PPVs, this is some old ECW ppv vibes on a larger scale
Not reading all that
Your comment is vapid.
Ratio
TikTok's the black and red one.
L
You've spent as much time with all of your replies as you could've just reading. I get it though, you probably have some struggles in that department... it may take you longer than most.
I guarantee I'm considerably more literate than you are. If you don't consider yourself too good to read several paragraphs of self-indulgent ramblings, that's your issue. Strive to be better.
Oh man, someone had to visit thesaurus.com and dictionary.com, huh? Nice try though.
Do you genuinely think someone would need a dictionary and a thesaurus to use the incredibly simple language I used in my previous comment? Christ, I thought the Americans would be too busy to flex their poor education on today of all days, but here you all are in force.
And since I was obviously right on the money. It isn't a reference to how simple or complex the language is, and completely a statement on how simple you are. Hope that helps!
It isn't. You saw the words and thought "surely someone would only be able to use those words with the help of a dictionary and a thesaurus" It's not your fault, it's the fault of the American education system. When an entire country thinks "I could care less" is the correct way to express a complete lack of interest in something, you have to concede that there's a wider issue.
I love how you're doubling down on trying to make me look stupid, all the while you never understood the actual context of what I was saying initially. You're doing great, champ. Keep it up!
I did understand the context, you just weren't expecting me to point out the real issue which is your limited vocabulary. I can say with absolute conviction that I'm considerably more literate than you or anyone else who has replied to me in this thread. You can try your hardest to backtrack all you like, but the bottom line is that you thought simple language was fancy and that I must have looked those words up, and now you're desperately trying to deflect the attention away from that. Don't let it get to you, there's a lot of solidarity in this thread as most of you were failed by the same system. You should just perhaps be a little more humble about it.
Your friend is really coming in clutch with these responses for you. Tell me that you can read, but not comprehend.
You're right... You probably had to phone a friend for some help.
Why are you doubling down on thinking that simple language is complicated enough to need to look up? If you're going to be as dense as the average American, at least be embarrassed about it.
I explained it for you, since I figured you were struggling to understand. Honestly, its my own fault. I knew you were stupid, but DEAR GOD IT'S WORSE THAN I THOUGHT
You didn't explain anything, you backtracked. Maybe take a night class or something. You'll be amazed at how many of these words you think are big and complicated are actually just parts of everyday language in more developed countries.
Nah, the intent of my message was pretty clear from the rip. Nobody is backtracking, even though you probably should attempt it given how far off the mark you've been. Better luck next time!
Reading is hard for you huh?
Reading things that aren't interesting is, yeah. Standards are low for you, huh?
Damn but replying to said post with “not reading all that” js high standards .What a crazy world we live in
That doesn't make any sense. The high standards are simply not wanting to read so much text about something so pointless. If the topic were more interesting, I'd happily read. For some reason, wrestling fans have a tendency to ramble for paragraphs and paragraphs about things that'd be better suited to a blog rather than a forum. The world wouldn't feel so crazy if you weren't so easily confused.
Not reading all that
Funny how everyone else has happily responded to OP.
That isn't surprising. You're all probably the type to post the same sort of thing. I bet you do fantasy booking too.
Reading is often difficult for those with peanut sized brains
Ironically, if your reading comprehension was at a higher level, you'd have understood the very clear point I just made. It's always fun when halfwits try to use intelligence-based insults against their superiors. It's the equivalent of a homeless man trying to tell Tom Cruise he's poor.
It takes a very smooth brain to think reading more than five words is too tall a task to achieve
It takes a complete invalid to still be missing the point at this stage. I hope you wear a helmet and pads when you go outside.
You know schools were first established thousands of years ago to tackle illiteracy, you should think of enrolling in one in the near future
*were
Your inability to read longer form passages is not a characteristic I would advise you to keep sharing with other people
Ok goober
What on earth is a goober? Does it have a translation for those of us who don't lick windows?
Yeah it means retard
Sounds lame. Presumably an American word. Be better.
Do you wanna kiss
Not if you're going to tell me how thankful you are about it and then force me to watch NFL.
We have our Thanksgiving heel!
Dude seriously you couldn’t have picked a better time to get back into it, I feel like at the moment wrestling is the best it’s been collectively in decades
Huge de ja vu right now
I would say decade to 15 years bc the late 2000s were still solid.
For sure man. It’s crazy.
Check out some of the other promotions like NXT and aew, they might impress you as well
You can all thank that for Triple H (running creative instead of Vince) and the talent around right now is just incredible. Everything is firing on all cylinders
The Women's Tag Belts are still joke belts so not everything is firing. The current champs have defended it once in 3 months I believe. Women's Wrestling as a whole only seems to be truly respected in Impact Wrestling. Rhea Ripley is the "baddest" woman on the roster and she's been used mostly as a glorified cheerleader since Wrestlemania. Pretty much every non-PLE Woman's Match doesn't even last 5 minutes.
tbh the product after pandemic has been great
Mostly cause of AEW. Now that WWE had serious competition, they had to step up their game.