It May Always Suck!
by Tim Wronka
When it comes to wrestling, we hear the same question over and over again: “When will wrestling be good again?” For the longest time, I asked myself this simple question many times yet have never found the answer. In fact the closest thing I found to a conclusion is that many wrestling fans come to the point, where in their eyes, wrestling may never be good again.
Let’s face it: we all have our own unique likes and dislikes. For instance, some people like Triple H, while others can’t stand him. Some fans love TNA, while other fans wish it never existed. Some people may like a certain event while others will hate it. It’s all about our own personal views. Buyrates, ratings, public opinion and other things of that nature are never enough to sway your personal views on wrestling. It’s about what we like and dislike. It’s our decisions, and no one else’s.
So do we really want wrestling to be good again? Or does the future not hold well for our own points of view? I have come to the conclusion that no one really does want wrestling to be good again, but rather, they want it to return to a time when they were engrossed by the sport in every way. They want wrestling to be a great show every time they turn it on, with every minute being worth the viewing time, much like it had been during the period where they loved it. They want to ‘mark out’ like crazy for their favorite wrestlers and moves. So it’s not so much that fans want to see the future be great, but they want to see wrestling go back in time to when they personally thought it was phenomenal!
Whenever I see the question of what years fans liked the most, the responses are always different. While a lot of people put down the late nineties as their favorite for obvious reasons, I have found many fans who feel otherwise. Some fans preferred the eighties as their favorite, while others liked the early nineties. In fact, I’ve come across several fans who feel that the last few years have been their favorite years.
The most common trend I see when I ask this question is that the favorite eras of most people occurred during their childhood! I would have to say the same for myself. Let’s face it, if we were fans as kids, then that is most likely the time we enjoyed wrestling the most. This makes sense, since most adults yearn to be innocent and young again with little worries. In the cases of fans who weren’t kids when they watched the sport, they enjoyed their first years of wrestling as their favorites, since that is the excitement that initially drew them in.
This is why I feel wrestling will never be good enough for us anymore. We will never be children or new fans ever again. Instead we will forever hope for a time that will take us back and give us that sense of nostalgia once more. Most likely, that won’t happen. Sure there will be another ‘boom period,’ but who’s to say our personal likes and dislikes will be appealed to during that time?
In order for these types of fans such as me to break this habit of always overlooking wrestling, they must not lose sight on what’s going now. For instance, most wresting cynics say that all they see is crap on wrestling television nowadays. While it may be true, I’m sure there was just as much crap on television during their favorite era, but their perspectives were much different then and they took in everything they saw as being great. They must search now for the moments that will make them ‘mark out’ and enjoy wrestling again. They may never love it as much as they once did, but they can at least enjoy just a bit more.
I’m not touting that wrestling is for kids. Sure a large part of the audience are kids, but the true wrestling fans are the ones who stick with it even when the going gets tough in terms of enjoying it. While it is ok to look back and reminisce on our favorite era, we shouldn’t waste so much time on that where we look over everything going on now. Hoping for the past to reinvent itself is not an option in an industry that consistently evolves. I urge you all to enjoy what we have now, because who knows if we may look back on it years from now and change the opinion on our favorite era!
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To my faithful readers (if I have any): I must apologize for the lack of columns I had over the past few weeks. I got thrown off by the holidays, but now that I’m back in the unfortunate groove of real life, I’ll be able to get these out on a regular basis. Thanks for your patience!
To anyone who downloads my podcast: I don’t have one this time around, due to various constraints. But next week, expect a new column with a podcast. I even hope to have a guest to argue with!
Finally, feedback is much appreciated, so please send all comments you may have to me. Email or AIM are both equally efficient, so don’t hesitate to contact me!
Here’s to hoping you all have a safe and happy New Year!
Until next time, this has been From the Eye of the Dragon…
Feedback:
Email: timothywronka@yahoo.com
AIM: Last Ride 417
