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I noticed that they're crybabies when the story/booking doesn't go as they thought it would/should.
People who've been in the IWC for a long time - ever noticed any recurring patterns?
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I've been around these forums for over a decade, and counting the time I've been on similar forums, I've been around the IWC for nearly 20 years. Though I've taken a ton of breaks from wrestling and wrestling forums during that period, I always find myself coming back for some stretches.
Anyways: from my long tenure, I have been able to pick up on two general patterns by the IWC. Has anyone picked up on anything similar?
1). From the time I've joined this site to now, there has always been a fascination with heels. If Wrestler A is a babyface, the general criticism on this site will always be that "Wrestler A should turn heel." Likewise - if Wrestler A is a face who recently turned heel, the argument is always "Wrestler A is so dull now. he was so much better as a heel." No one on this site ever, ever, ever says that "Wrestler A should turn face" or "Wrestler A should stay face" .... I have often joked that most people on this site feel that an ideal wrestling roster would be filled with nothing but heels. My supposition is that the fascination with heels comes from the desire to feel edgy and rebellious, the thinking that "we're not going to cheer for who Vince / Dixie / HHH / Tony Khan wants us to cheer for; we're going to cheer for the bad guys!!!"
2). This site has always supported the underdogs, the ones who they feel are getting held back (e.g. Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Edge 2006-2010; Chris Jericho 2001-2010); and accordingly, this site has always hated the successful wrestlers at the very top (e.g. Triple H, John Cena, Roman Reigns). When I first joined this site, the most popular wrestler on here for several years was Chris Jericho. People felt that he was a main-event talent who got held back from the #1 spot by Triple H and the WWE machine. Now, Chris Jericho is "the man" in AEW, so he's no longer the underdog getting held back by the machine. As a result, the same people who loved him on this site have turned on him, simply because he's now the #1 guy in a wrestling promotion instead of the underdog. I feel this IWC tendency comes from the desire to feel smarter than the booker: the goal is to make the booker feel they've pushed the wrong guy (e.g. Cena) over the alternatives (e.g. CM Punk, Edge, Daniel Bryan etc)
Anyways: from my long tenure, I have been able to pick up on two general patterns by the IWC. Has anyone picked up on anything similar?
1). From the time I've joined this site to now, there has always been a fascination with heels. If Wrestler A is a babyface, the general criticism on this site will always be that "Wrestler A should turn heel." Likewise - if Wrestler A is a face who recently turned heel, the argument is always "Wrestler A is so dull now. he was so much better as a heel." No one on this site ever, ever, ever says that "Wrestler A should turn face" or "Wrestler A should stay face" .... I have often joked that most people on this site feel that an ideal wrestling roster would be filled with nothing but heels. My supposition is that the fascination with heels comes from the desire to feel edgy and rebellious, the thinking that "we're not going to cheer for who Vince / Dixie / HHH / Tony Khan wants us to cheer for; we're going to cheer for the bad guys!!!"
2). This site has always supported the underdogs, the ones who they feel are getting held back (e.g. Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Edge 2006-2010; Chris Jericho 2001-2010); and accordingly, this site has always hated the successful wrestlers at the very top (e.g. Triple H, John Cena, Roman Reigns). When I first joined this site, the most popular wrestler on here for several years was Chris Jericho. People felt that he was a main-event talent who got held back from the #1 spot by Triple H and the WWE machine. Now, Chris Jericho is "the man" in AEW, so he's no longer the underdog getting held back by the machine. As a result, the same people who loved him on this site have turned on him, simply because he's now the #1 guy in a wrestling promotion instead of the underdog. I feel this IWC tendency comes from the desire to feel smarter than the booker: the goal is to make the booker feel they've pushed the wrong guy (e.g. Cena) over the alternatives (e.g. CM Punk, Edge, Daniel Bryan etc)
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510 Posts
There's always marks who try to convince the rest of us that we should give a fuck about technical wrestlers who look like shit and can't talk. I don't want pro wrestling for the matches. I watch UFC for the matches. When I tune into pro wrestling, I'm trying to watch a fun soap opera geared towards a male audience. So I could give a fuck who wrestles the best. I want to be entertained.
Good thread.
I feel there has been a cancel culture/censorship from circa 2016 from people who prefer in ring, to shut down people who like larger than life characters and stories.
I remember when Seth had that pointless 1 hour gauntlet in 2018/19. People would say there was no story. They would be shut down as people who don't anything about wrestling, because wrestling in their eyes is all about in-ring.
Those same in-ring fans kept saying 2016 was a hot year for wrestling. But it wasn't, it was black and gold NXT being hot, ROH having momentum and a lot of indy wrestlers being signed by Triple H. As well as the Cruiserweight Classic. If you said that it's not hot because there's no larger than life characters and stories - you are shut down as someone who knows nothing about wrestling.
The latest one was NXT 2.0. I felt that the sports entertainment/larger than life characters/stories fans were reclaiming their place on the wrestling spectrum again. But those fans were shut down as people who don't know anything about wrestling - because we preferred that to black and gold NXT with indy matches.
Everyone has their own taste, but the hardcore in ring fans have used the departure of older fans to censor any sports entertainment fans, and supplant their taste as the "correct way", and the way wrestling "should be".
It makes people who like larger than life characters and stories feel they have no place in the IWC, because of the way their views are censored. So the hardcore fans can Trojan horse their view that wrestling should be about in ring, as the only "correct way" wrestling should be.
I feel there has been a cancel culture/censorship from circa 2016 from people who prefer in ring, to shut down people who like larger than life characters and stories.
I remember when Seth had that pointless 1 hour gauntlet in 2018/19. People would say there was no story. They would be shut down as people who don't anything about wrestling, because wrestling in their eyes is all about in-ring.
Those same in-ring fans kept saying 2016 was a hot year for wrestling. But it wasn't, it was black and gold NXT being hot, ROH having momentum and a lot of indy wrestlers being signed by Triple H. As well as the Cruiserweight Classic. If you said that it's not hot because there's no larger than life characters and stories - you are shut down as someone who knows nothing about wrestling.
The latest one was NXT 2.0. I felt that the sports entertainment/larger than life characters/stories fans were reclaiming their place on the wrestling spectrum again. But those fans were shut down as people who don't know anything about wrestling - because we preferred that to black and gold NXT with indy matches.
Everyone has their own taste, but the hardcore in ring fans have used the departure of older fans to censor any sports entertainment fans, and supplant their taste as the "correct way", and the way wrestling "should be".
It makes people who like larger than life characters and stories feel they have no place in the IWC, because of the way their views are censored. So the hardcore fans can Trojan horse their view that wrestling should be about in ring, as the only "correct way" wrestling should be.
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16,395 Posts
People who forever whinge about smarks fail to have the brainpower to realise they’re the biggest smarks around.
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12,452 Posts
The IWC feel like one of the only fanbases that have a decently sized subset that legitimately don't like wrestling itself, but only the non-wrestling elements. It would be like NBA fans who don't like basketball but do enjoy the drama surrounding it.
IWC as a whole also generally has always leaned towards having a pessimistic attitude about basically any storyline, match, or any aspect of wrestling itself, and are hard-pressed to call something great without comparing it to the very tippy top of wrestling history.
IWC as a whole also generally has always leaned towards having a pessimistic attitude about basically any storyline, match, or any aspect of wrestling itself, and are hard-pressed to call something great without comparing it to the very tippy top of wrestling history.
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6,029 Posts
"If you don't fit my hyper specifiic 1980's cartoon steroid beefcake look in my subdued homoerotic mindset they're a vanilla midget and should go to catering."
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4,671 Posts
Everyone should turn heel and grow a beard.
A weird obsession with creating a new Nation of Domination.
A weird obsession with creating a new Nation of Domination.
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10,420 Posts
Yeah, we stopped drinking the kool aid and realize that the Miz has been a joke his whole career.
Complete lack of patience / attention span, writing wrestlers off too quickly, rampant hyperbole, always looking for the next big thing/ shiny toy then hating them when they do make it and general cynicism and pessimism. A fun bunch aren't we. 
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5,710 Posts
This is the only site/board I’ve ever joined, but I distinctly remember it feeling like some kind of alternate universe with regard to wrestling opinions. I remember thinking everyone was joking when they’d say stuff like “Christian and Alberto Del Rio are the best wrestlers in the world right now” because I GENUINELY had absolutely no clue anyone gave a FUCK about them. I also was shocked to learn that so many people hated Cena, HHH, etc.
The opinions were polar opposite from the majority of fans you’d meet in the streets or at a wrestling event. Eventually, it appeared as though the points of view of the IWC became the majority, which I guess was a result of casual fans tuning out, leaving only the hardcore fans to watch.
Nowadays I see a lot of “small guys vs. big guys” debate on here, which is wild because There was a time where it felt like you wore a Scarlett letter if you dared enjoy watching a Ryback squash match.
Edit: I also noticed a trend of actively seeking out the direction and angle was going to go, reading spoilers, then being mad/surprised that it actually went that direction and not some other way. That, and spoilers on big returns at/after PPV, then complaining that the show was boring (because they literally ruined the big surprise for themselves)
The opinions were polar opposite from the majority of fans you’d meet in the streets or at a wrestling event. Eventually, it appeared as though the points of view of the IWC became the majority, which I guess was a result of casual fans tuning out, leaving only the hardcore fans to watch.
Nowadays I see a lot of “small guys vs. big guys” debate on here, which is wild because There was a time where it felt like you wore a Scarlett letter if you dared enjoy watching a Ryback squash match.
Edit: I also noticed a trend of actively seeking out the direction and angle was going to go, reading spoilers, then being mad/surprised that it actually went that direction and not some other way. That, and spoilers on big returns at/after PPV, then complaining that the show was boring (because they literally ruined the big surprise for themselves)
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15,717 Posts
Cena and Reigns were on top in their 30s and bringing in far more money than their contracts were costing WWE so that situation outside maybe 2012 when we didn't need Cena vs Kane/Big Show/Johnn Ace maineventing ppvs the arguments the IWC had against both were complete bollocks.
Jericho is 52, out of shape, can barely work these days and certainly not a draw (at least on level of Cena 05-16 or Reigns 2020-22) so him being on top is not wise no. I don't even hear much negativity towards Jericho among the IWC anyway...
Jericho is 52, out of shape, can barely work these days and certainly not a draw (at least on level of Cena 05-16 or Reigns 2020-22) so him being on top is not wise no. I don't even hear much negativity towards Jericho among the IWC anyway...
he hasn't been out of shape for over a year. he's actually in excellent shape
the pic on the right is how he looks now
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23288457/JerichoBT.jpeg)
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The IWC is rarely happy with WWE for extended periods of time.
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Do you think it the best idea to have a 52 year old as top guy in a company with national TV deal.he hasn't been out of shape for over a year. he's actually in excellent shape
the pic on the right is how he looks now
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WWE were buried by the IWC when Taker and Goldberg were working one or two matches a year, not on TV every week opening and closing shows..
'Taker and Goldberg looked and moved like old men. Jericho still looks and moves like a young man; his in-ring skills are still there. He is the biggest star on the AEW roster
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20,961 Posts
Have been around the IWC off and on since around 2003 [Took a hiatus for 2 years around 2004 until I joined this forum]. Here's just a few:
1. Every solution to a failed babyface talent usually involves a heel turn [But rarely ever the opposite].
2. Any young good looking guy should be an "arrogant cocky heel."
3. Any guy who can't cut promos or exhibit sufficient charisma should be given a manager instead of actually improving. Case in point, Andrade.
4. Any criticism of a promotion outside of WWE in the U.S. [IE: ROH/TNA/AEW] means you are cheering for a WWE monopoly.
5. IWC cares way more about workrate than the average casual fan does.
6. The countless people we were told that would have become stars if WWE hadn't held them down who end up going to other promotions and continue to not become relevant stars. It doesn't mean they necessarily sucked but people like Chris Masters, Damien Sandow, Rene Dupree, ECIII, Ken Kennedy [Who had short-term success in TNA], etc didn't exactly blow the roof off the wrestling industry after their WWE runs. Not to mention the multitude of releases that went to AEW and got lost in the mix. Remember when Ruby Soho was supposed to finally show us how big of a star she can be without that evil Vincent MacMah0n holding her down? Lulz.
1. Every solution to a failed babyface talent usually involves a heel turn [But rarely ever the opposite].
2. Any young good looking guy should be an "arrogant cocky heel."
3. Any guy who can't cut promos or exhibit sufficient charisma should be given a manager instead of actually improving. Case in point, Andrade.
4. Any criticism of a promotion outside of WWE in the U.S. [IE: ROH/TNA/AEW] means you are cheering for a WWE monopoly.
5. IWC cares way more about workrate than the average casual fan does.
6. The countless people we were told that would have become stars if WWE hadn't held them down who end up going to other promotions and continue to not become relevant stars. It doesn't mean they necessarily sucked but people like Chris Masters, Damien Sandow, Rene Dupree, ECIII, Ken Kennedy [Who had short-term success in TNA], etc didn't exactly blow the roof off the wrestling industry after their WWE runs. Not to mention the multitude of releases that went to AEW and got lost in the mix. Remember when Ruby Soho was supposed to finally show us how big of a star she can be without that evil Vincent MacMah0n holding her down? Lulz.
Soul
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33,237 Posts
Fans don't know whatever they want and it still happens today in IWC. They say they support this one wrestler but the moment he or she gets successful then they decided to turn on them.
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