Pro Wrestling, Entertaining or Nah?

[lion paw]

I watched it around 98-99 and got hooked on it. Around 2004, I slowly stopped watching.

 

[ModernMatt]

Never really got into it growing up like my brothers but I was watching the Montreal Screwjob vids on youtube yesterday and you go down a rabbit hole of different takes from wrestlers who were there. Fascinating.

There’s a show called The Dark Side of the Ring and some wild stuff in some of the episodes

 

[BayAreaGuy]

I was hooked late 90s and early 2000's. I stopped watching when it became PG. But now I love watching old clips on youtube. Both the past stuff and some of the new stuff.

It's guaranteed entertainment. Big drama, big characters, chaos, and the technique/respectable is amazing.

How do you not like this?



Or this?

 

[Kingz]

Loved it when i was a kid

“Hulk Hogan, you can go straight to hell”

 

[Oxycodone]

The death of kayfabe has soured a lot of older fans, like myself. Still plenty of matches worth watching even if you have no idea why they're fighting, though.

 

[Iron Skin]

It's entertaining but seems like every WWE character is boring nowadays.

 

[TheMaster]

I never got into pro wrestling as a kid, but a lot of my friends in adulthood like to be nostalgic about it.

Is it worth watching some of the older eras? Or is it mostly just childhood nostalgia?

In the late 80s and late 90's it was the best thing, since it still had 'kayfabe' which is what they called keeping the secret that wrestling was scripted and you believed it since you were a kid.

If it was going to survive with any legitimacy it needed to have bought up the UFC when they had the chance since UFC is real and makes pro wrestling look like a joke.

Now they missed that chance, so it is a joke.

Still, the popularity of some guys brought alot of pro wrestling fans to MMA, myself included.
Nice bio they did for Ken back in the day


In that way they helped keep UFC alive when Ken was on to fight Tito it was the biggest event ever when MMA was almost going out.

As Goldie intro'd Ken at UFC 40; "He is as powerful as the sport itself" which he was at that time.

Severn was also around but never had the same impact altho he was carrying the NWA pro wrestling belt when he won UFC 4



Tank also had a nice run in the late 90's


Also if you never saw this documentary do yourself a favour and watch it even if you never liked pro wrestling.

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

This was the shit! Flair & the Horseman made men out of us wwf watching boys.

 

[Iroh]

I watched a little whrn I was young and enjoyed it, but not enough to say I was a fan. Now Iit's not appealing at all to me.

 

[loyalyolayal]

It's entertaining but seems like every WWE character is boring nowadays.

They need antifa characters and a black republican conservative uncle tom. Groups called deep state and qanon.

 

[Jose Beehive]

You'd be better off watching one of the cooler promotions that aren't WWE currently, the ones like NJPW or AEW or something( I don't currently follow them so I can't say what current state they are in though).. if you're not a fan already going back into the past is probably not gonna grip you, but becoming a new fan might give you impetus to go look back for research purposes.

I dip in and out, when i'm in i'm HARD in and then go off for a year and usually accidentally catch Wrestlemania which draws me back in and I go back and watch loads of shit i've seen hundreds of times already. One of the best things i've seen in recent memory is the Nakamura entrance, that got me on board with current WWE a little bit, the dude in general is an absolute legend.

 

[StoneColdSteveAustin]

The gimmicks in the WWE suck now. None of the guys gimmicks are good.

classic eras of wrestling were great though. The 80s and early 90s and the Stone Cold/Monday Night Wars era were the best.

 

[Slick_36]

They need antifa characters and a black republican conservative uncle tom. Groups called deep state and qanon.

MLW has this faction called Injustice. They use the social justice shit as a cover, but they're cheating lying assholes. Fucking hilarious, these guys are exactly what the War Room right wing sees the left as. They were harassing the people in line when I saw it live, good stuff.

 

[loyalyolayal]

MLW has this faction called Injustice. They use the social justice shit as a cover, but they're cheating lying assholes. Fucking hilarious, these guys are exactly what the War Room right wing sees the left as. They were harassing the people in line when I saw it live, good stuff.

Vince should invite Trump back. Have these SJW themed wrestlers harrass him then Diego Sanchez vampire slayer chase them away with his cross.

 

[Slick_36]

Wrestling is a huge genre, there's all different kinds of flavors out there and there probably is one you'd like.

New Japan Pro Wrestling is my personal favorite at the moment. It takes wrestling matches as an art form to the highest level. It has some funny stuff with guys like Toru Yano, the smaller Junior guys are like adrenaline personified, and the top matches are spectacles of human will and endurance.

I'd say it's a bit of a Westernized successor to All Japan Pro Wrestling's legacy. Pure wrestling and little fluff outside of the matches. The company is still going but peaked in the 90's and had a lot to offer in the 80's with some legendary American names like Terry Funk and Andre the Giant. New Japan was around then as well and is actually where Hulkamania first took off, brother. 90's All Japan. Guys like Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi took wrestling to the highest levels that were possible, Misawa would ultimately die in the ring due to the toll his neck took.

The best America has to offer these days is NXT which is technically WWE's developmental brand but has been absolutely stellar. They cut the fat and have some of the best wrestling talent in the world come in refine their work. It reminds me of a modern mix of the NWA and ROH.

ECW of the 90's was the Grunge of wrestling, angsty, destructive, but surprisingly soulful at times. Most known for its hardcore "garbage" wrestling, but actually paved the way for pure talent with guys like Jerry Lynn, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and many more.

ROH picked up the torch of ECW after it closed and probably was the peak of American wrestling in terms of ringwork. It ditched the attitude and edge of ECW but took the idea of wrestling as an art form to the limit.

 

[Slick_36]

DDT is a bizarre Japanese promotion that is mostly comedy based but isn't afraid to have moments of pure brilliant wrestling. It's not meant to be taken seriously at all, but it's a group that loves wrestling.

You have promotions like Josh Barnett's Bloodsport and RINGS that are basically predetermined MMA fights. Takes out the need for suspension of disbelief and plays it as straight as possible. Not my style but I respect it and it's an option for those who can't get past the "fakeness".

Stardom is a womens promotion in Japan. It's a mix of New Japan and pop idol culture. Some pretty damn good stuff out there, the girls start crazy young and have a chip on their shoulder. They can easily put the men to shame, holding nothing back at times.

Stardom is like a modernized version of All Japan Women's Wrestling. Those girls were fucking crazy, I can't overstate their ability and toughness. Groundbreaking shit in terms of inring work.

CZW is the total opposite, took the garbage style of ECW and smoked it like a fat bowl of crack cocaine. Nothing fake about that shit, those sadists slice eachother open with glass and razors. Not my cup of tea, but if you want a pure dose of violence like you're at a freak show in WWI, CZW is your place.

AAA and CMLL of Mexico are fun. Think of comic book characters mixed with acrobats. These guys got no safety concerns and do some real stupid shit sometimes but the aerial stuff is a sight to behold and the masks and characters are a lot of fun.

 

[Slick_36]

I'll probably post an example of each promotion tonight or tomorrow. Might do a few more.

 

[Slick_36]

Vince should invite Trump back. Have these SJW themed wrestlers harrass him then Diego Sanchez vampire slayer chase them away with his cross.

You know the damned thing is I can't tell if they're satirizing the boogeyman the right sees the left as, or if it's what some right wing dude sees as the perfect group of bad guys.

Best part of it is it doesn't matter, both political sides can come together and agree these guys suck. One of the things I love about pro wrestling.

 

[loyalyolayal]

You know the damned thing is I can't tell if they're satirizing the boogeyman the right sees the left as, or if it's what some right wing dude sees as the perfect group of bad guys.

Best part of it is it doesn't matter, both political sides can come together and agree these guys suck. One of the things I love about pro wrestling.

Bring in nazi themed and kkk wrestlers and I might tune in. Maybe an AOC looking female wrestler as well.

 

[Slick_36]

Bring in nazi themed and kkk wrestlers and I might tune in. Maybe an AOC looking female wrestler as well.

This is pro wrestling, not the acclaimed television series the Boys.