Nick Perkins introduces himself to the Wrestlezone readers, and talks about focusing on what we LIKE about professional wrestling.
I apologize, dear readers, that it has been a few weeks since my last article. Between friends getting married, school, work, being good looking, and sleeping, there simply was not enough time to give my article the time, devotion, and love that it needs. But now I’m able to. It’s about an hour before the 3/02 edition of Raw starts, and as always, my TV is set, my traditional cheeseburger and French fries are about to be ordered, and my children’s WWE Championship is right by my side (Don’t judge me. You do it too.).
I realize that my first article was a bit negative. Perhaps “a bit” is a bit of an understatement. I pretty much gave the impression that I hate every wrestling fan that ever lived. Luckily, judging by the feedback I got (which I’ll post later in the article), most of you do too. So that’s a weight off my conscience. The fact is, however, I do not hate wrestling fans. I love wrestling fans. We’re a strange breed. The old saying goes that “for those who know no explanation is needed, and for those that don’t, no explanation will ever be good enough.” Or something. I’m not actually sure. That was close enough though. The point is; I like wrestling fans. And I like wrestling. Plain and simple, I enjoy professional wrestling. I have for 12 years. And I will probably never stop loving professional wrestling.
My very first memory of professional wrestling is extremely vivid. I remember sitting in my parent’s bedroom, flipping through channels. I stopped when I saw two men arguing in a wrestling ring. One of the men was standing, the other was in a wheelchair. Suddenly, the man that was standing kicked the poor guy in the wheelchair in the face. My mama always said I was a sensitive guy, and I almost started to cry when I saw this poor handicapped man fall out of his chair. Then the show ended.
For devoted fans, they of course know I’m talking about an infamous incident right before Survivor Series ’97. The two men were Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. From that moment on, I was hooked. I lived through most of the NWO era, the entire Attitude Era, the highs, the lows, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’ve bought the action figures, the Pay Per Views, the blankets, the t-shirts, the DVD’s, and any other type of merchandise and memorabilia that was and is available to me. On a sidenote, the very first action figure I ever bought was a Rocky Maivia one. I think I had to have him fight my Batman and Ninja Turtle figures until I bought some other ones. Now I have a pretty extensive collection. And yeah, sometimes I still play WrestleMania with them. I write down the matches and results and all of that. Don’t judge me. I have a girlfriend and everything!
Wrestling has always been there for me. There is nothing I look forward to more than a good Raw episode, or a WrestleMania. I pray that when I marry my girlfriend, and she gives birth to our child, he or she is not born on a Monday, ‘cause Daddy won’t be there.
I think, as wrestling fans, sometimes we get too caught up in what we don’t like about professional wrestling. Eric whatshisname has an article up right now detailing what he doesn’t like about wrestling currently. I think most of us can agree with much of what he said. Eric says that we love to complain. That is undeniably true. If you were to look at any wrestling forum (wrestlezone has one that you should totally register for if you haven’t already), there seems to be more complaints than anything else. Which is fine. We’re allowed to talk about what we don’t like. That’s part of loving wrestling. But my challenge to you, dear reader, is to take a break from all the hatin’, and focus a little bit of your attention on what you LIKE about professional wrestling. Yes, the current Main Event Mafia/Young Lions feud seems a bit silly at times, but the wrestlers in TNA are some of the greatest in the world. Yes, Shane looks like Super McMahon when fighting the legacy, but I believe he is a very good performer, and he does it for the same reason that we watch it- because we love the wrestling business. Next week, I’m going to write on what I like about professional wrestling. Hopefully you’ll agree.
So, focus on the good of wrestling for a little while. And if you can remember your very first wrestling memory, or maybe your favorite wrestling memory, email it to me at WesternRebellion@live.com, and maybe I’ll post it for us all to reminisce.
In my last article, I talked about the Jericho/fan situation in which some knucklehead fans decided they wanted to take on Chris Jericho. I asked the question, was Jericho Y2Justified in retaliating? Here’s what you said:
Nick, I totally agree with your point. From what I saw in the video of
the incident Chris Jericho seemed to be provoked by the fans. And,
anyway i hardly imagine Jericho would have done that for completely no
reason. The stereotypical view of a wrestling fan is ruining it for
the rest of us. In fact, I am even judged by certain members of my
family because of this.
I’d also love to hear your oppinion on the idiotic fans who believe
getting involved in a match is a good idea. Ever think about writing
about that? One particular event that I remember was during an Eddie
Guerrero ladder match a fan attempted to push him off the ladder.
Luckily Eddie landed on his feet, but fans like this just ruin it for
all of us. I would love to hear your oppinion.
Danial Johnson.
the incident Chris Jericho seemed to be provoked by the fans. And,
anyway i hardly imagine Jericho would have done that for completely no
reason. The stereotypical view of a wrestling fan is ruining it for
the rest of us. In fact, I am even judged by certain members of my
family because of this.
I’d also love to hear your oppinion on the idiotic fans who believe
getting involved in a match is a good idea. Ever think about writing
about that? One particular event that I remember was during an Eddie
Guerrero ladder match a fan attempted to push him off the ladder.
Luckily Eddie landed on his feet, but fans like this just ruin it for
all of us. I would love to hear your oppinion.
Danial Johnson.
Hey Danial!,
I’m sorry to hear about your family bub. But the next time they make a crack about your love of wrestling, just hit them with an RKO and a punt to the head. That’ll shut em up. I love how most “outsiders” judge us for liking professional wrestling, when they’re the ones standing outside in below temperature weather with their shirts off proclaiming their love of a professional football team. Judge not lest ye be judged, I always say.
As for my opinion on fans getting involved in matches, I think they’re dumb. Plain and simple. Either you’re trying to get your 15 minutes of fame, or you’re too drunk to even know what you’re doing. Either way, you’re an idiot and I hope Eddy Guerrero punches you in the head like he did with the fan that interfered in said ladder match.
Mr. Perkins,
My name is Kurtis Allen, and I read your editorial after it was posted on the Chris Jericho message board. I’ll try to keep this brief because I’m sure you have several emails to read through.
Everyone can agree that the situation with Jericho was unfortunate, whether or not we can agree in his justification of striking the woman. I’m emailing you because I was a little confused by a couple of your statements. I don’t really sway one way or the other with your opinion, but mostly looking for some clarification.
First of all, you speak about being embarrassed to be a wrestling fan given the recent incident with Jericho. Understandable. You also speak about the stereotypes of wrestling fans essentially being stupid. Unfortunately, the fact is that most stereotypes develop out of some truth.
You call the two fans a "couple of morons" and then call for them to "use some common sense and intelligence." What’s the point if these people are stupid? Obviously they fit the stereotype.
Later in the editorial you ask that people "intelligently voice their opinions" and "not live up to the stereotype of the typical wrestling fan." When I initially read that I thought, ‘he is sort of admitting concerns that most wrestling fans couldn’t write an intelligent response.’ Is that a fair thought for me to have? Because, in all honesty that sentiment might be correct. Maybe most wrestling fans can’t express themselves in an intelligent manner? I mean, did you see the Matt Hardy Myspace comments after he "turned" on Jeff? But then, does all of this revolve around stereotyping or is this truth?
The target audience of wrestling will never be the Ivy League crew. In fact, Vince McMahon has admitted this and panders to his lower and middle class audience every time he has a contest or does an interview with a major sports reporter. He told his audience during his Million Dollar give-away that, "The media doesn’t understand you the way that I do" and always refers to the "intellects" as "elitists." I guess where I’m going with this is, if the audience being pandered to are lower class (where there is a direct correlation to lack of education) then maybe the behavior of these two fans shouldn’t be that shocking or surprising.
You talked about being a OK-looking guy. But honestly, have you ever really looked around at a live event and thought, "What a beautiful,and sexy audience?!" I know I haven’t. If anything, wrestling events are the perfect setting for the hobby of people-watching!
I don’t know. Maybe the stereotypes are far more true in this situation than some folks would like to admit. Maybe the idiots outnumber the "smart marks" in wrestling. Do they?
Thanks for your time,
Kurtis Allen
Mr. Allen
Um. You’re a lot smarter than me. To answer your question, about idiots outnumbering “smart marks” in wrestling, let me answer your question with another question- Does it matter? Normally, I read what wrestling fans write, or hear what they say, and just laugh to myself. They can feel free to be as dumb or silly as they want to, as long as it doesn’t affect the product. The two idiots that messed with Jericho, in my opinion, affected the product. But, at the end of the day, even with dummies like that, all we can do is laugh it off and try to be the best people we can be. One of my favorite things that I’ve ever said( get that?) is “to see the change, be the change.” So if you want to see the media portray wrestling fans as more intelligent than peanut butter, be that fan. That’s all we can do.
the bottom line :
wwe’s contracts’ with venue’s state security must be provided at the exit area where performers are leaving the grounds of said venue.
that failed to occur, according to police report, atleast too late.
so even if hitting a woman is wrong, or hitting a wrestler is a no-no…
in the end of this feud..the arena is to blame.
but i would like to over ride your so called rule
yea hitting a wrestler is a no-no. and you will see, feel, and sometimes taste what you deserve if you dare to attempt to layeth the smacketh downeth on a trained professional..
but as a man.. the old never hit a woman over rides that..for me atleast!
if a girl touches me..(hmm) i mean hits me in a provoking manner, then her boyfriend if he is in sight will feel the wrath and get the paycheck for not keeping his dog on the collar~!!
now defense for one’s own safe protection when he fears for his life.. that’s a whole nother gimmick
i sure hope y2j wasnt scurred of the girl who dreamed of main eventing you tube.
best of luck in all your future typing endeavors buddy
Have a healthy day!
Rick Molinia
Rick Molinia
Dear, Dear Ricky.
Did you just compare women to dogs? LOL. Did you use wrestling jargon, such as lay the smackdown, gimmick, and best of luck in all your future endeavors? No, no wait. Did you honestly say scurred? Oh Ricky. God bless you my child. God bless you.
Hey Nick,
I must say that I 100% agree with your take on the fact that fans shouldn’t touch superstars.
Some fans aren’t smart enough to realize that theres a line,
between fact and fiction and once they see a superstar outside the ring they feel it’s their duty
to avenge one of their fallen heros.
But then again what can you do?
These fans wont change. All that will happen is some red neck fan will see the video on there interwebz
and once they see Jericho in public they will be all " hey guyz datz duh man who hit dat women lets get em."
Nothing will ever change their will always be that fan that takes it one step to far.
But thank you for pointing this out to most of the WZ members who feel that Jericho was totally in the wrong.
I must say that I 100% agree with your take on the fact that fans shouldn’t touch superstars.
Some fans aren’t smart enough to realize that theres a line,
between fact and fiction and once they see a superstar outside the ring they feel it’s their duty
to avenge one of their fallen heros.
But then again what can you do?
These fans wont change. All that will happen is some red neck fan will see the video on there interwebz
and once they see Jericho in public they will be all " hey guyz datz duh man who hit dat women lets get em."
Nothing will ever change their will always be that fan that takes it one step to far.
But thank you for pointing this out to most of the WZ members who feel that Jericho was totally in the wrong.
Sincerely,
That 14 year old kid on his parents computer.
Well, 14 year old kid,
All I can say is that you’re a lot more literate than I was at your age. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll become a writer for wrestlezone.com and you can make fun of fans just like me!
Well, that’s it fans. If I didn’t get to your email, I apologize. Keep writing in. Sooner or later I’m sure I’ll use it. Of course, as with every article, I’m just sayin…
