The Pro Wrasslin' Thread (WWE, WWF, WCW, TNA, ROH, NWA, NJPW, etc)

[Runa216]

BasilZero said:

Runa216 said:

I started watching in 1998 or something, watched until 2004, then sorta slipped away. Kept away until 2011 when Edge retired and CM Punk did his pipe bomb. Stayed with it until 2018 or something, but then gave up again (Seriously WWE is so bad...I don't know how anyone can defend their creative decisions. It's almost like they actively chose the worst option for every booking decision, or actively resist the fans for some absurd reason.) 

But then AEW came out in 2019 and I've been hooked ever since. IT's a blend of sports entertainment/goofiness and actual good wrestling. It has some dumb shit, for sure, but at least they don't actively resist the fans or disrespect their talent to put over dudes from 1996 coming back to steal the spotlight all the time. It's just more compelling and it's the most I've been into Pro Wrestling, maybe ever. 

I honestly didnt start watching WWF/WWE until 2002 or 2003.

I was a WCW fan lol - mainly due to Goldberg, NWO and Sting.


But ya WWE for the most part is bad but it has its good moments every now and then.

I do still watch the WWE PPVs but that's about it. Because they push so many video packages you can get the entirety of the story compressed in 3-5 minutes without missing anything. their repeat shows, their 50/50 booking, their repetition of matches and story beats...it's all quite redundant. You really only need to watch the PPV matches and the pre-show hype. 

And I confess, I actually liked this year's Wrestlemania. it still wasn't AEW quality in terms of matches or storytelling, but I thought they did a lot more good than bad, I didn't hate any of the matches (not even that godawful Vince/Pat match, which was only there for story reasons, not for the actual match), and while I disagree with Ronda losing after everything (Seriously, Charlotte's good but she's not THAT good), I actually thought most of the booking decisions were correct this time. If nothing else, I'm just glad Brock didn't win. I know he's supposed to be the face in that exchange but Roman going over was absolutely the right decision. I've always felt Roman was great at what he did, it was just the booking/writing that let him down. 

I just wish they'd make him ACTUALLY dominant instead of the same old 'the heel can't win without cheating or getting outside help' trope they fall back on every goddamn time. Ironically, except Brock Lesnar. Reigns should be running through fools without help like Brock Lesnar. no shitty Paul Heyman distractions, no Uso protection club. Just Reigns standing tall, being dominant, and actually EARNING his place. 

So yeah, I don't HATE WWE entirely, I just think that, between the terrible writing and the poor booking and the falling back on the same tired tropes, it's gotten boring. I know I really shouldn't be constantly comparing WWE and AEW since they're playing to different audiences, but it's such a stark difference between them. 

Like, you're potentially going to get classic, 5-star matches on AEW Dynamite because they actually try to do something interesting every week. WWE has so much programming that they gotta repeat stuff and it leaves little room for creativity. the wrestlers in WWE are generally pretty damn good, but the booking and writing regularly ruin them. 

Oh, and as an aside, it upsets me to an irrational level that Cody is back in WWE. it genuinely pisses me off, and I know it shouldn't. I didn't even like him all that much in AEW but I still feel betrayed unless this is VERY clever long-term booking where he uses this to come back to AEW in a year or two or something. Either way, it just pisses me off and I lost a lot of respect for him.