[Chrissy Benny Wah]

If you search a site such as Google groups, which has archives of posts going back ten, twenty, even thirty years, you can gain fabulous insights into the mindset of the internet over the years. For example, one can find reviews of events such as Wrestlemania X7 which shit all over the 'current product'.

Now, I was around in 1996/7 when the shift towards 'crash booking' began to occur. This was about the time discussion forums were just being popularized; perhaps slightly after. It's pretty interesting that fans these days refer to the attitude era as a time of perfection. . .a 'golden era' that cannot be touched.

What people don't realise is that if you came online in say, 1998, people hated The Rock. People hated Stone Cold Steve Austin. Not long before that in 1995/6/7, people HATED Shawn Michaels. People saw the company's shift towards a more soap-opera style show as a definite negative.

The only reason I make this thread is because of comments such as this:

Prove it. Adults never hated Rock.

So many fans these days pine for a decade ago like it was something universally adulated. That's nostalgia right there, and not the case at all. Those fans you see going crazy on a circa-1999 Raw is War episode are the equivilant of John Cena fans at a 2011 RAW. They were the 'uncool, non clued up fans of yesteryear. Sure, they are younger now- but as a rule of thumb, fans are more clued up now.

I'm not passing judgement on any of this. This thread is merely here to say: don't think wrestling fans have ever been happy. They pretty much haven't.

 

[LariatSavage]

Haters gonna hate... I've watched some stuff during that era recently, and a lot of it was garbaggio...

WWF was main event heavy at the time, while WCW had the best opening/mid-card probably ever. It was good for when you had to pick which one to watch while they both aired.

 

[jonoaries]

Yes!!
Exactly...its the same with music, books, tv shows etc.
Your always going to believe what you grew up on is better than what's going on now.

 

[nukeinyourhair]

If you search a site such as Google groups, which has archives of posts going back ten, twenty, even thirty years, you can gain fabulous insights into the mindset of the internet over the years. For example, one can find reviews of events such as Wrestlemania X7 which shit all over the 'current product'.

Now, I was around in 1996/7 when the shift towards 'crash booking' began to occur. This was about the time discussion forums were just being popularized; perhaps slightly after. It's pretty interesting that fans these days refer to the attitude era as a time of perfection. . .a 'golden era' that cannot be touched.

What people don't realise is that if you came online in say, 1998, people hated The Rock. People hated Stone Cold Steve Austin. Not long before that in 1995/6/7, people HATED Shawn Michaels. People saw the company's shift towards a more soap-opera style show as a definite negative.

The only reason I make this thread is because of comments such as this:



So many fans these days pine for a decade ago like it was something universally adulated. That's nostalgia right there, and not the case at all. Those fans you see going crazy on a circa-1999 Raw is War episode are the equivilant of John Cena fans at a 2011 RAW. They were the 'uncool, non clued up fans of yesteryear. Sure, they are younger now- but as a rule of thumb, fans are more clued up now.

I'm not passing judgement on any of this. This thread is merely here to say: don't think wrestling fans have ever been happy. They pretty much haven't.

Yeah I remember those days between 1981-1991 when people would post on a yet to be invented Internet.

 

[Spinferno]

Yeah I remember those days between 1981-1991 when people would post on a yet to be invented Internet.

Cha-ching

 

[Nasi]

Twenty, thirty years, heh. How old is the OP, just out of curiosity?

 

[soxfan93]

Yeah I remember those days between 1981-1991 when people would post on a yet to be invented Internet.

The origins of the Internet reach back to research of the 1960s, commissioned by the United States government in collaboration with private commercial interests to build robust, fault-tolerant, and distributed computer networks.

 

[mcc4374]

Never was an Attitude Era boy but I figured as much. Everyone has a right to bitch and moan though.

 

[Chrissy Benny Wah]

Yeah I remember those days between 1981-1991 when people would post on a yet to be invented Internet.

I'm not talking about the internet as we know it when I refer to 20, 30 years ago. I merely state that on websites which hold archives, you can go back and view electronic writings from a long, long time ago.

For example, here is a column which includes analysis of Wrestlemania 6, written by Herb Kunze in January, 1990.

http://rspw.org/tidbits/tidbits.900118

 

[Nasi]

The origins of the Internet reach back to research of the 1960s, commissioned by the United States government in collaboration with private commercial interests to build robust, fault-tolerant, and distributed computer networks.

Where the private commercial interests communicated with their government liaisons on Google groups about how tired they were of Bruno Sammartino burying all the young guys....

I've got oceanfront property in Arizona for ya, as George Strait might say.

 

[nukeinyourhair]

The origins of the Internet reach back to research of the 1960s, commissioned by the United States government in collaboration with private commercial interests to build robust, fault-tolerant, and distributed computer networks.

Exactly, not available to the public....unless you think there were thousands of rabid wrestling fans in the government and military bitching at each other over a prototype Internet?

 

[SHIRLEY]

What does the Attitude Era have to do with John Cena killing Atlanta?

 

[Cynic]

Clearly everyone loves the era they grew up in and shits all over whatever present they live in as adults because we can never duplicate the feelings we had as total marks. The generation after this will feel the same way about this era as we do about Attitude. It's all based on perspective.

 

[TJTheGr81]

Thank for you bringing to light a little known fact: people on the Internet like complaining :side:

 

[Henry Hill]

Apparently HBK was very much unloved by the IWC circa 2005 which is amazing when you think about how adored he is now.

 

[Striker Texas Ranger]

Yes!!
Exactly...its the same with music, books, tv shows etc.
Your always going to believe what you grew up on is better than what's going on now.

This.

I grew up with the Attitude Era, and I'm absolutely nauseated every time somebody who stopped watching in the early 2000's tries to tell me that everything about the current product sucks when they haven't even given it a chance.

I give everything a chance before I determine whether I like it or not. For example, I really did not care for the Miz much until recently. I never bashed him, I just wasn't interested in him as a performer. However, he's come a long way, and I've become a fan.

Seriously though, some of those old Attitude Era shows are hard to sit through these days. But of course, we all tend to omit the bad memories and remember the great ones. It's only natural.

 

[soxfan93]

Exactly, not available to the public....unless you think there were thousands of rabid wrestling fans in the government and military bitching at each other over a prototype Internet?

No, I'm just saying, the internet wasn't invented in 1981-1991, as you said.

 

[Jatt Kidd]

The masses never lie. I didn't see back then The Rock getting booed out of the building or Austin getting booed out of the building (unless for exceptional circumstances i.e. Rock against Hogan in Toronto, but that's not even the time period I'm referring to which is 1999-2000 ish.

When they were faces, I didn't see the amount of heat that Cena gets week in and week out.

 

[Chrissy Benny Wah]

What does the Attitude Era have to do with John Cena killing Atlanta?

What does your comment have to do with this thread?

 

[Henry Hill]

Attitude eras had great crowds and there was a greater depth of main event talent. In regards to actual wrestling however it did more damage to the business than anything else helping to promote matches that appeal to the instant gratification mindset of the audience.