One thing wrestling always needs (and never has enough of) is objective critics who point out when the emperor has no clothes, people without agendas who don’t perform whitewash for perks/employment.
So when I say fake wrestling stinks, it’s only because it stinks. One company is run by a twitchy, unnaturally muscled megalomaniac that uses his monopoly to settle scores and is so obnoxious he chased away his son. The other is run by a money mark that doesn’t have a clue. WWE does good business by the standards of the day, but nowhere near its peak. TNA has had zero financial success, and nothing good is on the horizon.
I grew up watching Sammartino-Zbyszko. I didn’t like Hulkamania, but respected why it worked. I wallowed in the glory of Flair-Steamboat and Flair-Funk. I was there when the nWo invaded. I watched Paul Heyman take things to the extreme. I saw WWE use superior resources to take ECW’s concepts to a new level and recapture top spot from WCW.
So why would I think the crap we watch now is any good?
Fake wrestling needs critics, not sheep. If nobody points out the low quality of today’s product, that low quality is more likely to be perpetuated.
When Roller Derby and Roller Games stumbled, skating fans never thought it would go under. “These things run in cycles,” they said. “Don’t worry.” But the genre did disappear and failed in several comebacks, too. Paying customers – especially the casual fans that are the financial lifeblood of any entertainment industry – don’t tolerate bad indefinitely. MMA is miles ahead of fake wrestling, and the gap widens every day.
But don’t worry. These things run in cycles.
Mark Madden can be reached at wzmarkmadden@hotmail.com.
