(continued)
Personally I think the last few years have been leaps and bounds ahead of anything the WWE have ever put out. Sure, the whole Roman Reigns deal is a bit annoying, and John Cena still has a tendency to dominate now and again, but the consistent quality of the in-ring wrestling is through the roof. It reminds me of 2001, my favourite year. Sure, the InVasion was bad as an angle, but I would contend that the actual in ring wrestling was the best the WWE had seen to date.
The Golden Age of wrestling (before my time as a fan) in the 1980s was and still is the best period in wrestling of all time. I’d say The Attitude Era is the only other period that comes close. But yes, the FCW/NXT inspired product that we have been seeing for the past couple of years is quite enjoyable, albeit Roman Reigns and the old guard I’m not interested in, like Randy Orton and John Cena (although, I’m totally stoked for his developing feud with AJ Styles).
Another difference between me and the new fans is that I understand why Vince pushed Cena and is now pushing Reigns. In order to acquire a younger audience, Vince needs to push superhero-like individuals and Cena and Reigns fit that bill. I don’t like it, but I accept it and look for other areas of the product to enjoy like The New Day, AJ Styles, The Club, Enzo and Cass, The Dudley Boyz, Cesaro, Becky Lynch, Sami Zayn, etc. The incessant complaints about the current product needs to end. Enjoy what you can or move on. WE’RE NOT ON THE CREATIVE TEAM! I asked Adam of Whatculture why he feels he was ever qualified to re-book the Invasion storyline. He never responded. My take is that the angle wasn’t great, but it happened and that’s that. I look at the positives and say, “Hey, the Invasion stunk, but at least we got the World Title, Cruiserweight Title, Booker T, RVD, some other new faces, and more technical wrestling out of it.” Why does the past need to be re-booked and why does the current product need to be re-booked by unqualified fans?
And your perception of wrestling isn't just affected by when you became a fan, it's also affected by what you like about it. If you like Jerry Springer crap, you'll love the Attitude Era; if you love classic comic books, you'll love the 80s; if you love technical ring work, you'll love NXT.
Right, The Attitude Era had the Crash TV entertainment factor while The Ruthless Aggression Era exceled at displaying more technical-based wrestling. I’m not debating that. But the influence each period and its niche has cannot be denied as fans post biased and closed-minded submissions when discussing that a particular period in hindsight. The Ruthless Aggression Era fans are doing it, The Attitude Era fans did it before, the New Generation fans before that, the Golden Era fans before that, the Superstar Billy Graham fans before that, the Bruno Sammartino fans before that, eventually until we’re talking about the fans of the product under Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt. In a couple of years, The PG Era fans will do the same and someone should be there to put them in their place. if need be.
If you want to debate the pros and cons of eras go ahead, but looking down on people because they were born at the wrong time, or like wrestling for a different reason than you, is just arrogant and imbecilic.
Other than you misinterpreting my intent and tough love as imbecile-like, I’ve appreciated the fact that you took the time to provide a well-thought-out response to my argument. In turn, it has influenced me to retort back. I enjoy using as much evidence and knowledge as needed, so if you want to continue this, I’m game. Based on the info you’ve provided, I can infer that you are around my age, so I respect you defending The Ruthless Aggression Era as one who saw it with a similar cognition. So a nod of the head your way for speaking up. I noticed no young fan bothered to respond intelligently to what I said. Just logged in to a bunch of downvotes, which doesn’t really matter if people don’t explain themselves.
But back to the issue. Up until recently, I’m sure Wreddit was filled with Attitude Era circlejerking, of which I missed because I only recently joined. In fact, I joined in order to add an opinion (usually with evidence) against the grain of Ruthless Aggression Era circlejerking and current day fantasy booking. I don’t have a problem with people reminiscing about the “good ol’ days,” but when the attitude is of constant hyperbole after exaggeration after embellishment (e.g. SmackDown Six), then something needs to be said. When young fans vehemently state that RAW intros by Papa Roach and Nickelback are the best, there’s something wrong. When The Ruthless Aggression Era is touted (no pun intended) as the best of all time despite dwindling ticket sales, TV ratings, Pay-Per-View buyrates, few created and long-lasting stars and even fewer characters who were over, then I’m going to say something to remind those fans to take off their rose-colored glasses. This post was really about posting something intended to be cool without doing research. That’s what I’m asking for: fans to do their research. Let’s have less fantasy booking and less rose-tinted nostalgic posts and let’s do some research. If what one discovers is of a major aspect of a person (e.g. The Rock being a former wrestler), place, or thing, don’t post it. It’s probably well-know and the announcement of your discovery isn’t necessary. Do the research and keep things in perspective, that my overall message. Done.