I was a huge wrestling fan as a kid in the 80's, all the way thru the Attitude era. I stopped watching regularly in the early part of the 2000's as all the attitude stars were retiring (Rock, Austin, Foley, Lesnar), and the 80's stars began dying, or getting too old to perform well (Hogan, Nash, Sting, Flair ...Foley).
I still enjoy the "sport" of wrestling. A well done match is fun whether it's a story driven WWE style bout, full of psychology and character; a lucha style acrobatics display; or even an ECW style garbage fest. Few matches are given more then 5-10 minutes now, though, so good "Wrasslin" matches are almost non-existent nowadays. That leaves drama and character to sell the product... Problem is (and The Rock's appearance just drove this home for me), the current WWE has literally no true main eventers. Honestly, none. HHH is an upper-midcard talent at best, who has risen up thru the ranks by longetivity, backstabbing, and humping the bosses daughter. The Undertaker is OK, but is a niche performer at best. Ratings, buyrates, etc have always suffered when he is made the focus of the company and this dates back all the way to the 90's. I acknowledge that kids love John Cena, and he is the closest thing they have to a star, but I just do not see it. I am not impressed by his in-ring work, his character, his look, his mic-skills. none of it. Who else? Randy Orton? Seamus? The Miz? CM Punk? None of them are terrible, but none of them has the "It Factor" like Hogan/Flair/Savage/Andre in the 80's, or Austin/Rock/Foley in the Attitude era. Seeing The Rock just drove this home for me. It was nice to see him back, but it just made me depressed at the current state of the product, that I have no reason to watch right now if Rocky isn't on the screen.
For the record, I have never watched a whole TNA broadcast, but from what I can tell from the recaps online, their booking is about as nonsensical as the dying days of WCW, with much of the same roster. I have seen some Samoa Joe matches, and was intrigued, but not overwhelmed.
I will close on one point. I acknowledge the possibility that a genuine star is on the WWE roster, and has not been booked to his potential. I fully remember that all of my examples of the it factor (Rock - Rocky Maivia, Austin - The Ringleader, etc) toiled in the midcard for months, even years before they were given the ball and they ran with it. And this is why I still follow the product, albeit casually, because I would be first in line to come back when there's a good reason to watch,
I still enjoy the "sport" of wrestling. A well done match is fun whether it's a story driven WWE style bout, full of psychology and character; a lucha style acrobatics display; or even an ECW style garbage fest. Few matches are given more then 5-10 minutes now, though, so good "Wrasslin" matches are almost non-existent nowadays. That leaves drama and character to sell the product... Problem is (and The Rock's appearance just drove this home for me), the current WWE has literally no true main eventers. Honestly, none. HHH is an upper-midcard talent at best, who has risen up thru the ranks by longetivity, backstabbing, and humping the bosses daughter. The Undertaker is OK, but is a niche performer at best. Ratings, buyrates, etc have always suffered when he is made the focus of the company and this dates back all the way to the 90's. I acknowledge that kids love John Cena, and he is the closest thing they have to a star, but I just do not see it. I am not impressed by his in-ring work, his character, his look, his mic-skills. none of it. Who else? Randy Orton? Seamus? The Miz? CM Punk? None of them are terrible, but none of them has the "It Factor" like Hogan/Flair/Savage/Andre in the 80's, or Austin/Rock/Foley in the Attitude era. Seeing The Rock just drove this home for me. It was nice to see him back, but it just made me depressed at the current state of the product, that I have no reason to watch right now if Rocky isn't on the screen.
For the record, I have never watched a whole TNA broadcast, but from what I can tell from the recaps online, their booking is about as nonsensical as the dying days of WCW, with much of the same roster. I have seen some Samoa Joe matches, and was intrigued, but not overwhelmed.
I will close on one point. I acknowledge the possibility that a genuine star is on the WWE roster, and has not been booked to his potential. I fully remember that all of my examples of the it factor (Rock - Rocky Maivia, Austin - The Ringleader, etc) toiled in the midcard for months, even years before they were given the ball and they ran with it. And this is why I still follow the product, albeit casually, because I would be first in line to come back when there's a good reason to watch,
. TNA is often incredibly stupid and nonsensical (even by wrestling bizarro-world standards) but it has the advantage of not taking itself too seriously and being much faster-paced. The Kurt/Karen/Jeff stuff recently has been (often hilarious) fun. Ray and Devon's feud has been enjoyable too. It's on in the background rather than watched intently.
