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What on earth is wrong with the modern day fan?

7K views 107 replies 67 participants last post by  RebelArch86 
#1 ·
15 years ago when I was growing up watching the WWF, there was rarely any kind of the booing seen in the last two Royal Rumbles. Love them or hate them, we watched the superstars of that time entertain us and we went along for the ride, boo the 'heels', chant for the 'faces'. We ignored the smartarses who constantly told us wrestling was fake and there was an element of realness to it. Compare and contrast any RAW crowd from 1999 to now and the difference is quite astonishing.

I don't follow the shows anywhere near as much anymore, but I do take a thinly veiled interest as it was part of my childhood, and what's become an increasing concern is the fans now think they're the creative team. Rather than be entertained and take it for what it is, each show and PPV has essentially become a real life e-Fed.

Once upon a time the Royal Rumble was 30 superstars and each having a 1 in 30 chance of winning, it was unpredictable and the winner wasn't booed out the building if there favorite wasn't standing tall at the end.

Perhaps the internet is to blame, and perhaps the WWE need to be more discrete in their creative direction, but the most important change needs to happen with fan mentality. It's a show to entertain, the guys there put their bodies on the line each night for your viewing pleasure, whining and booing at every arena does nobody any favours. It's sad to see.

On another note, if the WWE had any sense they should be handing Brock Lesnar a blank cheque to stay with the company. He was a huge loss back in 2004 and his return has only served as a reminder just how immensely talented he is. Last night was no exception. Finding another superstar who's as quick, athletic, technically gifted and freakishly powerful as him is impossible - he's unique and the current state the WWE is in, he needs to be part of its future if they're to rediscover their glory days again.
 
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#17 ·
It's something that's happening in society across the board, apparently. People these days are much likely to call out something they don't like, and much more likely to expect to be listened to when that happens because now everyone has twitter on their phones and can tell some hundred-odd people that [insert restaurant, or what have you] is terrible and they should never go there.

WWE fans have also gotten hypersensitive to people who are booked like John Cena. It was never a problem 15 years ago because Austin, Rock etc received the fans' approval before getting their huge pushes. Being deprived of big name starpower these days means they're extremely cart before horse in the sense that they'll book a guy like a huge fan favourite before it's actually been demonstrated that that's the case. Audience have gotten smart, not like Vince & co assume as in everyone only cares about workrate or whatever, just smart to the fact that as fans, they dictate who the fan favourites are. It only makes sense, but the company's audience-be-damned mentality is only making more and more people aware of the fact. None of this would be a problem if they knew how to book talent. Hell, their biggest babyface in a decade got his popularity largely unintentionally.

or tl;dr Modern fans are sick of being told who to like.



Exactly. The whole Universe era, giving crowds awards nonsense (like the post WM29 crowd) certainly didn't help matters.
 
#3 ·
Well 15 years ago, this (internet) wasn't in every home in the Western world and swaying the minds of people, what it has given us is an inside look at the business and how people like Vince McMahon think which is something hardly any of us knew back in the 90s or even late 90s.

On top of that, it has let us know a mile off who the next manufactured "product" is going to be, and this is why the fans react the way they do these days, it's because everybody can see it coming a mile off and everybody can see they are being forcefed and this is why they respond in kind, it's as simple as that my friend.
 
#10 ·
Oh boy, another "hurr the fans should just shut up and eat shit" thread
Not at all, all I'm saying is the fan mentality has ruined the company just as much as the WWE has with their creative team. Probably about time there was a fan committee to sit down and discuss the issues with the WWE, because the booing of certain superstars and anything that doesn't satisfy them throughout your average show isn't good for the company, is insulting to the performers who turn up and give their all for us to watch week in week out and it reflects badly on the fans.
 
#5 ·
In the attitude era, it was universally enjoyed & each week was fresh & you could spend a week talking about the last show & the upcoming next Monday night.

Nowadays, it's crap & people want answers as to why; with the internet they can find these answers or dirtsheets & form an opinion and get involved; instead of enjoying the show & looking forward to the next one (because it isn't an enjoyable 3 hours) .. on people's minds it's more like ..

"Where the hell is this crap going?, are they doing this because .. yada yada, next PPV"

When RAWs became commercials for the next PPV after the PPV that hasn't even been shown then the discussion, the mocking becomes the incentive, not the enjoyment of wasting 3 hours of your life watching an old man playout an outdated pantomime that everyone can guess for the next 3 months.

It's been so long that we got consecutive RAWs that were good that there's no flip-flopping as to whether to read spoilers, it's a safe bet that you're not missing much.
 
#6 ·
Idk but it seems that many wrestling fans today are contrarian hipsters and maybe some of the younger negative fans are just spoiled and don't know how good they have it with the current product.

Whatever the reason, there is no group i can think of that complains and nitpicks more than modern pro wrestling fans. It's not supposed to be that serious.
 
#7 · (Edited)
15 years ago when I was growing up watching the WWF, there was rarely any kind of the booing seen in the last two Royal Rumbles. Love them or hate them, we watched the superstars of that time entertain us and we went along for the ride, boo the 'heels', chant for the 'faces'. We ignored the smartarses who constantly told us wrestling was fake and there was an element of realness to it. Compare and contrast any RAW crowd from 1999 to now and the difference is quite astonishing.

I don't follow the shows anywhere near as much anymore, but I do take a thinly veiled interest as it was part of my childhood, and what's become an increasing concern is the fans now think they're the creative team. Rather than be entertained and take it for what it is, each show and PPV has essentially become a real life e-Fed.

Once upon a time the Royal Rumble was 30 superstars and each having a 1 in 30 chance of winning, it was unpredictable and the winner wasn't booed out the building if there favorite wasn't standing tall at the end.

Perhaps the internet is to blame, and perhaps the WWE need to be more discrete in their creative direction, but the most important change needs to happen with fan mentality. It's a show to entertain, the guys there put their bodies on the line each night for your viewing pleasure, whining and booing at every arena does nobody any favours. It's sad to see.
That crowd was all ROH/ECW/Attitude Era. They're the most harsh smarks and they don't reflect the current majority fanbase. Cesaro got boisterous chants, so that speaks for itself. However, we need crowds like this to put a foot up Vince's ass and remind him what kept him out of business. Hopefully this inspires him to stop the corny 1995 gimmicks and stop burying his roster for the sake of 2 people. They have every right to voice their displeasure, but when they go as far as assaulting wrestlers' vehicles or blocking them in, they need to be promptly knocked the fuck out.

On another note, if the WWE had any sense they should be handing Brock Lesnar a blank cheque to stay with the company. He was a huge loss back in 2004 and his return has only served as a reminder just how immensely talented he is. Last night was no exception. Finding another superstar who's as quick, athletic, technically gifted and freakishly powerful as him is impossible - he's unique and the current state the WWE is in, he needs to be part of its future if they're to rediscover their glory days again.
Hell no they shouldn't. Brock's title reign has been one of the biggest disasters this company has ever seen. His PPVs get mediocre buys, ratings drop when he shows up on television, his moveset is complete shit now, and we have to be constantly reminded that there's a champion. In 2003, Brock was at his peak. He was a monster with an impressive mat wrestling ability and a powerfully explosive moveset. Now, all he does is German Suplexes and knee strikes. He needs to get out after Mania and stay gone :eek:ut
 
#14 ·
Fans realized how easy it is to influence some of WWE's decisions by repeating smark-ish chants every night for the entertainers. If the right chant is given to a superstar in all their matches for a short period of time, it can easily bury them. I'm not necessarily speaking of a "Cena Sucks" chant, that's a little different.

I don't know at what point this stuff really caught on, but there's really no way to police a whole live audience.
 
#23 ·
Times change it was bound to happen. Complain all you want about smarks, liberals, conservatives, foreigners etc ruining the show. The fact is the universe pays the bills for WWE and wants to see what it wants to see. Really what caused this was the whole "Top Guy" thing. John Cena pretty much turned the WWE into a one man show, before that you had several stars at the top. You could be a fan of a midcarder and see him get as big of reactions as ME players and getting pushes and looking good.

The problem now is that WWE pushes one guy, buries the rest then brings up a guy, forces them on us and when rejected buries him and does this over.. and over. It's a cycle with the wwe. They simply don't get that we want more than one guy at top. WWE instead tries to force feed us guys like Reigns, what makes it worse is they don't give Reigns time to develop, they give him stupid ass promos and then make him look like an idiot and then suddenly with bad booking we're supposed to buy him as a mega star. A guy that hasn't had many great singles feuds or even a title.

This is like if you were in Boxing's greatest heydays and and tried to push a guy without facing any competition to the top. Nobody would buy it. WWE made their own mess now they got to deal with. You WWE white knights are just mind boggling.

Smarks pay for tickets and boo, they're bad.
Casuals pay for tickets and boo, oh they must be smarks!
Casuals cheer for an indy guy, they must also be smarks!
Kids cheer for an indy guy, nope only kids like Cena.. they don't like cool stuff
Fans protest shit booking, man fans are so ungrateful!
Fans can see someone isn't ready, well them fans know nothing!
Fans talk about older examples of guys being ready, LOL you old fans need to grow up!
Fans voice concerns online, LOL FUCK U IWC just enjy teh show!
Fans try to find solutions, LOL don't watch or buy stuff!
Fans stop watching and stop buying, HAY GUYS PEEPS GUNNA LOSE DER JOBS
Fans see some improvement and come back to watch, LOL NEW U BE BCK FGGTS

Sorry but the crowds rejecting or praising who they want isn't the problem and no matter what OP, people like you will never be happy even if we all thought like you and liked what you did. You'd just go against the grain and start booing, something you're whining about now.

If you were truly happy with everything you wouldn't be trying to convince us how great it was. You wouldn't need to, you don't need our approval and people booing doesn't affect you in any shape or form. Do you get upset when the home team boos the visiting team that you're a fan of? Maybe you just want to try and convince us because you just want to delude yourself and feed your fantasy that everything is okay. We're not you're therapist, shoulder to cry on or lover. Save your convincing and if you're truly happy not one of us can do a damn thing about it or ruin your day.
 
#25 ·
the problem to me is that pro wrestling in the us is dying as a mainstream form of entertainment.

wwe-family run and nepotistic. think they know what you want more than you do. arrogant. no long term planning except for the top guy. nothing feels special, they had reigns v rollins throwaway, rowan v wyatt throwaway. intercontinental champion becomes a jobber. intentional baiting of fans and last but not least the matches all feel the same, due to limited movesets and pg programming for kids.

tna- too many to count, how they're still around is a mystery

roh-piss poor awful lighting, looks like dog shit, too much flippy crap going on. only an hour show, so you only get to see the top stars every other week.
 
#31 ·
Yes everyone who wants change is entitled, that's all it is. ENTITLEMENT GOD SAVE US! Hey guys, these entitled guys who pay for things want something a little better, well hol-eeee shiiiit, these guys think they something special, fuck them entitled bitches.

I remember sitting down and some guy asked for a refill on his drink, I took his glass and tossed it against wall with a huge shatter and told him, "SON, you think becuz u paid for this drink u entitled to a refill or change if that there soder is flat? FUCK YOU."

Dem entitled peeeps, i tell you right now, i hate them all HATE. Take what you have and you love it, LOVE it! Am I rite? I bet you never complain or feel like you deserve more from something u luv and pay for, mhmm.
 
#29 ·
Except back in the day ratings were as high as the 8s with competition while WWE struggles do get anything over 3s without competition.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Well, 15 years ago they were pushing the most popular guys on the roster like The Rock and Steve Austin. If they push guys to the top like Daniel Bryan or Dolph Ziggler, the fans wouldn't boo.

Though to say that fans back then didn't boo the faces, you are completely wrong. Bret Hart was getting booed as a face while Steve Austin was on his rise. Hulk Hogan was getting booed by huge majority of fans before they turned him heel and aligned him with the nWo. Even back during the early 90's fans were cheering Undertaker while he was a heel, because he had a fun and interesting gimmick, and that was way before the internet was introduced into the public.

People keep throwing around this word "Entitlement". I don't think you understand what that means. If you pay for something, you are entitled to give your opinion on it. If I go to an expensive restaurant and the food is prepared terribly, and it tastes like dog shit, I'm going to say something. It's the same thing with a wrestling event. If I pay some form of money, and it's absolutley terrible, I'm going to say something. So if you get your ticket to a WWE event, boo or cheer as loud as you want. That's what makes pro wrestling fun. It's the freedom to like or not like the stuff they produce. It's not like any other form on entertainment. And You know what, they may be booing but at least the fans aren't silent. The worst thing about wrestling, even just watching it on TV, is when fans are absolutely silent and miserable.
 
#55 ·
Though to say that fans back then didn't boo the faces, you are completely wrong. Bret Hart was getting booed as a face while Steve Austin was on his rise. Hulk Hogan was getting booed by huge majority of fans before they turned him heel and aligned him with the nWo. Even back during the early 90's fans were cheering Undertaker while he was a heel, because he had a fun and interesting gimmick, and that was way before the internet was introduced into the public.
shhh, you can't bring this up, it will write off half of the piss poor arguments in this thread about the modern day fan
 
#39 · (Edited)
Internet ruined wrestling. Element of surprise is gone. When a backstage decision is made you know about it ten minutes later. You can follow the betting sites and get a good indication of the results prior to the event. This has led to the "predictability" I see people complain about. But when hasn't that existed in wrestling? You didn't think Austin would win the Rumble in 98? Or go on to beat HBK for the title at WM in 98?

Problem is now you know about it ahead of time. So what feels like "predictability" is actually you being spoiled ahead of time. That's my opinion at least. Internet and the ability to access info with the snap of a finger hurt it. There is no "behind the curtain" anymore. Everyone knows everything.
 
#57 ·
Internet ruined wrestling. Element of surprise is gone. When a backstage decision is made you know about it ten minutes later. You can follow the betting sites and get a good indication of the results prior to the event. This has led to the "predictability" I see people complain about. But when hasn't that existed in wrestling? You didn't think Austin would win the Rumble in 98? Or go on to beat HBK for the title at WM in 98?

Problem is now you know about it ahead of time. So what feels like "predictability" is actually you being spoiled ahead of time. That's my opinion at least. Internet and the ability to access info with the snap of a finger hurt it. There is no "behind the curtain" anymore. Everyone knows everything.
The difference is that unlike Reigns, Austin actually earned the love and admiration of the fans before he was ever put in that spot. You believed in Austin. You believed he was the toughest SOB in the WWF and you believed he could win the rumble and beat Shawn for the championship.

It's not that the fans didn't want Roman to win the rumble, it's that don't buy him in the role WWE has currently cast him in and it feels artificial.
 
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