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Things That Made You Stop Watching

Scott,

Are there any instances where you just got so made at the product you stopped watching for an extended period of time? Thought it'd make some great blog discussion as well! My personally reason from lapsing from 03-06 was the HHH overkill.

Mike


Well obviously speaking from personal experience I had a bit of a meltdown in the summer of 2006 and basically couldn't watch or especially recap the product anymore due to Cena overkill and a general feeling that the product was passing me by as a fan, but then I had WWE 24/7 to fall back on anyway.  Thank god I did or I probably wouldn't have come back and likely would have just switched over to UFC full-time.  

Comments

  1. Satan, formerly WankerMay 1, 2013 at 12:40 AM

    One word: John Cena.

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  2. watching Classics on Demand as I read this.

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  3. There have been a few times when this happened. General badness in 2006, Benoit killing his family in 2007, John Cena in 2010, and 3 Hour Raw in 2012.


    On the flipside, things that made me come back were...well usually WrestleMania. I started watching again with WrestleMania 23. Quit after Benoit and started watching again at WrestleMania 24. Quit after WrestleMania 26 and came back for WrestleMania 27. Quit after 3 Hour Raw and came back because I'm a glutton for punishment.

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  4. Same. It's the gift that keeps on giving to an insomniac.

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  5. Quit after Brock did. Tuned in to see the first two One Night Stands but didn't stick around, tried out the new ECW for a bit. Started watching again after hearing about Benoit, again nothing kept me watching. Finally came back for good when Punk won the title and the awesome HBK/Jericho feud.

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  6. The times I've stopped for several months at a time: The inVasion, the horrible product in 2006-2007, and HHH/Nash stealing Punk's spotlight.

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  7. Without being a drama queen I feel like I'm nearing that point. I watched about an hour of raw this week and just read the recap for the rest. I used to DVR it but I haven't for a couple months and if I miss it, I just miss it...and I've missed it for 3 of the last 5 weeks. I watch smackdown once every 2 months or so.


    With NBA and NHL playoffs I'll probably only watch wrestling on Monday nights if there isn't a late game. I just don't care a lot about most of what's on TV. It's not even Cena, when Cena has a good feud with a well defined antagonist, his boy scout character really shines and MEANS something and he tends to bring the goods in the ring with all the other established main eventers. It's just so much garbage every week that I don't care enough about. At this point I feel like I'm less of a wrestling fan and more of a fan of a few characters which is always the first sign of someone on the way out.

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  8. I quit as a full-time watcher relatively soon after the introduction of Smackdown. I didn't have the time or inclination to commit to two nights a week of appointment TV, and knowing that I was going to miss half of the main weekly shows made it pretty easy to stop watching the other half, too.

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  9. My loss of interest in wrestling was a personal, selfish reason at best: my favorite wrestler turned out to be a monster. But my situation was a bit different due to personal circumstances. In the eleven months preceding June 2007, I'd lost both parents, my best friend and my last living grandparent, each one unexpectedly. Along with a slew of other, minor things here and there, life was... unpleasant. Wrestling was a personal escape, just as baseball and writing were at the time. So when my favorite wrestler and proverbial idol killed his family before committing suicide, wrestling ceased to be what it once was.

    I find temporary pleasure in certain wrestlers and certain angles, but it doesn't kill me to miss a pay per view or go months without watching a lick of Raw. 1998 me would've revolted had he known that 2008-2013 me just quit caring.

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  10. I can honestly say that while the product was bad, that was never the reason I stopped watching wrestling.


    Dont get me wrong, it has been terrible. (especially reading the reviews and reading the blog discussions.)


    LIke I stopped watching in 93 cuz Hogan left and I was getting into girls.


    I stopped watching in 2000 cuz I joined the military.


    I stopped watching cuz i was stationed overseas.


    It just became not appointment TV. I would have watched it had I stayed in one place long enough. LIke from 2006-2011 RAW was still something to watch... but then it became background noise.. then we got a DVR... then id delete the eps... then i just stopped recording it altogether.


    I cant point to one thing or instances and say "that there made me stop watching wrestling for this amount of time"


    OTOH, i can tell you what brought me back.


    Nitro debut
    Invasion angle
    Benoit winning the title
    Summer of Punk II



    for example.

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  11. I've watched damn near 94% of every Nitro or every Raw since the Night of the Finale of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air all the way up thru this very Monday!


    I'll never stop. But I second the poser from before who was Shaken up by ??? goin' nuts.

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  12. I started watching in 1998. Watched religiously until 2000 when we lost UPN, so I could only watch Raw. Watched Raw religiously until the 2003 HHH Reign of Terror when Raw became "background television". Lost complete emotional investment around Wrestlemania 23, the first Wrestlemania I had no interest in watching, and also the first where nothing about the show sounded intriguing to me. Stopped watching in Fall 2007 when I entered college. Came back in early 2008 and watched til Wrestlemania 25 when I was just bored. I've watched the occasional Raw since then.

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  13. Words have spaces?

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  14. I watched from 88ish-93, stopped because of being disillusioned as a kid by the 'roid trial ("it's even faker than I thought") and the fact that Ric Flair was going back to WCW and I didn't get TBS any more.


    Started watching again in early 96 because I liked Shawn Michaels despite his somewhat homoerotic gimmick. (He wrestled his *ass* off even in my shitty, po-dunk hometown. This greatly impressed me.) Stopped watching WCW in 98 right after Warrior showed up. Stopped watching totally late 2000... 'Attitude' started getting stale, and Monday Night Football was actually good back then (no Thursday Night Football and such).


    Didn't start watching again regularly till Macho Man died. Watched classic Macho Man shit for two weeks before deciding I would give the new product another whirl. CM Punk won me over pretty hard.


    Now I'm tuning in pretty much to hear Paul Heyman say "burr-RAHWK LES-nurrrr". And see what funny faces Dean Ambrose is gonna pull this week.

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  15. Hooked from the early 80s (Mid-South, WCCW, JCP) and didn't take a break until joining the Navy in mid-94, although I would have given WCW a break anyway with Hogan taking over the promotion, but would have continued watching WWF. Once I got stationed in Japan by mid-95, I found the station that carried Raw, although it was 2 weeks late, edited, and aired on Wed or Thurs night. Sadly, the only WCW program that aired on base during my time out there was a shitty syndicated show (with the rotating ring) that would feature a match from Nitro, and it only ran for about 6 months in '97. Did catch the occasional NJPW card on some Saturday nights. Full throttle once I was back home, with WWF, WCW, and ECW. Pretty much gave up on Raw and was only watching Smackdown during the Lesnar/Smackdown Six era, but got back into it full time during the Benoit run of '04. The next break I took was after WrestleMania 21. Too much HHH and was already bored with Cena the year before. Got back into WWE for Flair's retirement run, and haven't taken a break since.

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  16. I stopped watching the first time in late 1992. I think it was mostly because all of the kids on my block kept hurting each other in our little neighborhood wrestling league and all of our parents laid down the law lol. My dad always hated wrestling anyway and thought it was entertainment for idiots, so that didn't make it any easier. In early summer 1995, a few friends and I went to the video store and wandered through the sports section, rented a few tapes and we were all hooked again. I think I devoured all of the available 1993/1994 events and tapes over two weekends. Once and the MNW started, it was on and I was tuned in every week.

    I quit watching both pretty much during the Summer of 1999 because of the WWF's Crash-TV and lack of good matches and WCW's "it doesn't need to make sense, as long as it's a swerve" booking style, plus my own personal life was changing a lot.

    I still followed the wrestling news at that point, so once Russo jumped to WCW, I watched WCW again until the Radicals jumped to the WWF and then I was pretty much done with WCW, outside of the PPVs I'd check out on a black box at a friends house.

    I watched the WWF regularly between 2000 and 2003 and have mostly been a part-time fan ever since I'd say.




    It's weird, as awesome as the WWF was in 2000/2001 -- especially the PPVs -- I think I miss WCW at less than their best more than I miss the WWF at their best. They were the kind of dorky, tame, and a little bit lame little brother of the WWE in a lot of ways during that period, but I think now maybe that was part of their charm, the "B-movie" quality was sort of endearing.

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  17. Can't say I blame you at all about the Benoit thing after all of that. I know I have found the ugly wrestler deaths have impacted my ability to enjoy it too, wrestling is at it's best as pure escapism, a sort of believable fantasy. That stuff makes me feel sort of bad for supporting it in the first place.

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  18. RH_Electric_0927May 1, 2013 at 3:22 AM

    I started watching WWF around the fall of 1990 as an impressionable 12 year old. Was all into it until around '95 or so as I was generally busy finishing up high school and starting college, and just couldn't keep up the level of interest. Then came Attitude and Bret's heel turn, and I was hooked again. Sometime around '03 I wasn't watching as much, but I kept tabs here and there. I actually didn't hate John Cena's ascension... at first, before he became the odds-overcoming monster that he is.


    I think the common thread for the times I stopped watching was just a feeling of tedium, which the E is great at perpetuating (3hr RAW, anyone?). Once I kicked the cable habit, I was happy to just come here and keep tabs that way.

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  19. 3 hour Raw's and relentless John Cena. I've watched non stop for 23 years until now, Super Cena overcoming the odds again at Wrestlemania and CM Punk on the shelf were the final straw. When Punk returns I'll watch again. I still watch Impact though, getting my weekly dose of Bad Influence is good enough for now.

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  20. "I was getting into girls." Now now Fuj don't lie.

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  21. I don't know how some fans kept up with all of the wrestling back in the late 1990s.


    I was a teenager with no life then like a lot of us, but even I couldn't keep up with the pace -- at one point, there were like 12 hours of first run wrestling programming on every week.


    The 1980s and early 1990s model was pretty sweet for the WWF -- you only had to watch 1hr of Superstars a week to get totally caught up with all the major angles, everything else was superfluous and just more wrestling if you had the time or inclination. WCW was a little bit harder because they l liked to spread their big angles out across shows more.

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  22. Now all blog titles are being ripped out of a game of $100,000 Pyramid?

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  23. MadDogJoeDeCursoMay 1, 2013 at 3:50 AM

    Pedro Morales month.. niice..

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  24. You right... You are absolutely right...


    Forgive me... your mother is a grown ass woman. I shouldn't have played her like that.


    Suck dick like a champ!


    CUZ IMMA PLAYA......... FROM THE HIMALAYAS!!!

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  25. The Triple-H Era basically killed off my permanent fandom for good. I used to be so obsessed I would be PISSED if I missed a show, and I went over five years without missing ONE. But the reign of terror came, and I was done right around the time HHH had FINALLY started losing to the up & comers like Batista & Cena.

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  26. Ironically, Jericho winning the title at Vengeance 01, turning heel and the subsequent terrible storylines and JOB to HHH turned me off until the fall of 04. Evolution feuding with Benoit, Jericho and Orton. intrigued me and brought me back.
    And if you want to go way back, HBK beating Hitman at WM12 turned me off until the rise of Stone Cold at Rumble 98.

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  27. I stopped watching for about 10 years after WWF bought WCW/ECW. As a wrestling fan I'd always dreamed about inter promotional matches and it was the craziest thing that it was actually about to happen... and the disappointment of what it turned out to be was such a fucking turnoff that I stopped watching, threw away all my wrestling mags, VHS, DVDs, etc. I started watching again after hearing about CM Punk!

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  28. Shawn Michaels not staying heel after Summerslam 05.

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  29. I don't think I missed a Monday night the entire time the MNW was going on.

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  30. I'm actually surprised he's still doing it, he must be making some nice little side revenue.

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  31. "Dick, I'll take "Counted Out"


    "Counted Out. These are wrestlers who have passed away. Ready, Go."

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  32. From around the time I was 5, I watched whatever wrestling I could catch down here. I was one of those (rare?) ones who liked BOTH WWF and NWA/WCW, and had no desire to choose either. I had no issues with channel swapping during the Monday Night Wars, and didn't abandon WCW until Arquette won the title.


    I did have a little "hiatus" during the early 2000's, but it didn't last more than a few months. I really quit watching WWE right after Benoit's death, basically in the fucked-up aftermath of "He's a tragic legend/wait, HE killed them." Since his death, I'm pretty sure I've averaged no more than 1-2 episodes per year.


    TNA might have gotten me to watch one of their early PPVs, and even in the early TV era I was barely watching them. Their first Monday Night attempt turned me off FAST, and it wasn't until about a year ago I found myself getting drawn in. They're still not MUST-WATCH to me, but I'll at least try to keep those two hours open for the time being.

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  33. I started watching WWF in 1985, when my grandfather brought home a video of WrestleMania he had acquired from his Knights of Columbus group. I was 5 and I was hooked. I watched - religiously - for more than a decade, taping as much as I could, WWF, WCW/NWA, ECW, every WWF pay per view from Survivor Series 1987 all the way to Canadian Stampede, the last PPV I ordered before I left for college (I went to Summer Slam live).

    Not having a TV at college was what took me out of things the first time, I discovered the Internet and kept up with what was happening that way, but I started to lose my connection with the product.

    Over the course of the last 10 years, I've had a lot of stops and starts with wrestling, but no matter what, I find something to connect with and come back to. Although, after months of regularly watching TNA, I seem to have given that up. I haven't watched an episode in a few weeks. I still watch Raw - fast forwarding through my DVR Tuesday mornings. But that's it, no Smackdown, Main Event or anything else. I think I may finally be growing out of it.

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  34. YankeesHoganTripleHFanMay 1, 2013 at 6:19 AM

    I started losing interest when Batista went to Smackdown, (didn't watch Smackdown at that point due to work,) but I had Michaels vs Hogan to get me through the summer. Lost more interest when that feud ended. Stopped watching from 05-12 when Eddie died.

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  35. I stopped for a year in the '90s when Shawn won the title. I had dug him as an IC guy but I thought that him as world champ was disgraceful, and I couldn't stand Nash at all either, so the two of them on top pushed me away. I came back when Bret did to face Austin.
    I stopped for about another year in 2001-2002 because I was living in a cabin in the Rockies with no plumbing, and heated by a wood stove. I had no TV.
    Other than that I've been pretty consistent since '87. I did lose the emotional investment after Benoit died. He was pretty much the last one that I really cared about. Now it's mainly just habit, and in fact I haven't actually watched any WWE since WM, so maybe this is the beginning of another break?

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  36. I started watching the WWF in 1990 and my earliest memory is of Earthquake crushing Hulk Hogan's ribs on the Brother Love Show. From the first momement I saw it I was hooked. From there my true love of wrestling really happened in 1992 with Ric Flair winning the Royal Rumble, the return of the Ultimate Warrior, and the rise of cocky heel Shawn Michaels.

    I was a faithful WWF fan, mainly rooting for the heels and I followed Shawn Michaels most. I occasionally dabbled in WCW, but they just didn't hook me quite like the WWF had. It wasn't until I rented a Best of Hulk Hogan video in mid 1996 that I decided I'd try and give WCW a chance because for some reason I was suddenly into Hulk Hogan. Much to my delight I came into WCW right at the birth of the nWo. From 1996 to about the summer of 1998 WCW was my promotion of choice. I of course followed Shawn Michaels in WWF because he was still my favorte, but I enjoyed the fast pace of the cruiserweights and the uniqueness of the nWo.

    In the summer of 1998 I just lost interest in WCW with the same old same old stuff going on. Same finishes to all the main events all the same old guys on top, etc. So I moved back to the WWF full time for the peak of the Attitude Era. I stuck through until about the time that Russo and Jarrett jumped ship to WCW. That's when I started watching WCW again and boy was it rough, but I stuck with them rooting for the underdog.
    When WCW went out of business in 2001, that's when a part of me as a wrestling fan died. I've never watched faithfully since then. I ocassionally watched mainly 2003-2006 Smackdown. I went to Royal Rumble 2004 and I was getting back into it for a time. I think once Eddie lost the title to JBL was the last time I faithfully watched. After that I moved to reading results on the internet, following this blog, etc for all of my wrestling fix.
    Today I'll ocassionally watch some of an Impact, Smackdown, or Raw, but never any of them all the way through. I spend most of my time now watching old tapes of WCW and WWE from my nostalgia days.

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  37. I haven't been actively watching for a few years now. I was almost back when Summer of Punk 2.0 happened but then WWE mishandled it so badly it killed it again for me.


    I would watch TNA but that Thursday time slot makes it a non-starter for me. My DVR can only do so much.

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  38. I think my wrestling experience sounds pretty similar to yours. Its the WCW of 1992-1994 that I really miss for the reasons you describe. I also miss the craziness of the Monday Night Wars and not knowing what was going to happen on either show and flipping back and forth hoping I was catching the best of both shows.

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  39. I'm not sure any of those count as "An extended period of time"

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  40. I gradually faded out somewhere in 02 or 03 during the HHH RoT. I don't really firmly remember what I watched when, because some stuff I don't remember being around for (I thought I missed HBK/Jericho but I remember watching when Brock/Angle was happening so I must've been). Somewhere around the end of that year I moved and didn't get cable, so Raw was out, and I didn't really dedicate too much time to Smackdown. Pretty soon I dropped out totally. I think I caught an episode here and there when I wasn't working nights but I probably went a solid year without watching a second of wrestling at some point. Oddly enough Eddie's death was what brought me back, I felt bad about missing the final years and title run of someone who had been one of my favorites for so long. So I started checking in now and then, and for a few years I was sometimes a hardcore watcher and sometimes a casual watcher of both WWE and TNA. Probably '08 was when I fully rededicated and caught up on a lot of indie stuff.

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  41. From 97-02 I didn't miss an episode. Since then I usually watch from January to April, just to see the road to Wrestlemania. Plus the Raw after has become must see too.

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  42. Oh he talked about yo mamma!

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  43. Started watching in 94. Became a HARDCORE FAN in 98. The Invasion Angle sort of turned me off as I thought it was handled so piss poorly. Got sick of HHH in 02 and 03 and pretty much stuck with Smackdown. I pretty much do not watch RAW at all anymore since I find it so unbearable to watch. Has nothing to do with Cena(though his character needs a freshening) and more so with the fact that I'm tired of the 50/50 booking, titles meaning jack shit and not getting guy over and the z grade soap opera angles. Please give me WRESTLING ANGLES on the WRESTLING SHOW.



    I've pretty much been sticking with WCW from 96-97 right now and it's pretty much the only thing keeping my wrestling interest alive.

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  44. Austin retiring. Watched part-time for a little after that but completely tuned out in very short order.

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  45. Ah, yes... the White Castle of Fear.

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  46. My first tangible live wrestling memory is Royal Rumble 92. I remember watching at my cousin's house because they had one of those illegal boxes or something which allowed them to get PPV channels for free. I was shocked that my Hulk Hogan didn't win. So that would mean that I probably started watching sometime in 1991, which would make me 3 or 4. I started early.


    I watched religiously until around 2006. I graduated high school in 2005, started college, working and all that stuff pretty much meant I couldn't watch all that much. I subscribed to the WON and still visited message boards so I kinda kept up on the show, at least the big stuff, but I really wasn't watching Raw.


    I actually watch more now that I don't work nights and finished college, but since WrestleMania's done with, it'll probably just be tuning in for a couple of minutes and that's it. I mainly watched the NBA playoffs this past Monday. For the most part, I'd rather just watch 24/7.

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  47. That category would be a pretty easy one if you only had to name one of them.

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  48. "Oooh, yeah!"
    "If you ever take a trip down to Cobb County Georgia..."
    "Viva la raza!"
    "Enough is enough, and it's time for a change!"
    "Dadadada DA dadadada DA!"
    "Who better than..."
    "This is a tes..." BZZZT!


    Dammit...

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  49. I gave up during late 2001, tried to come back when Jericho unified the belts, left when the promotion revolved around Triple H. I came back in 2005 because I initially liked Cena, then left after WrestleMania 22.

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  50. The brand split is the main thing that made me stop watching. Even at its dumbest one thing you can always say about the Attitude era and even the New Generation era is that the titles were treated with respect and wrestling was treated with respect. Ever since 2003 titles became a joke and wrestling became an afterthought to "entertainment." Product has suffered ever since.

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  51. HEY HEY! Look at this cool guy getting a question answered. Spelling mistakes and all!

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  52. Scream09_HartKillerMay 1, 2013 at 9:02 AM

    John Cena.


    I know that's the same old answer, but hear me out.


    I just didn't get the appeal. I thought the rapper character was cool, but I also thought 8 Mile and wearing throwback jerseys was cool back then to. But then they changed the character into someone who I'd want to punch in the face if I had to interact with them on a regular basis. The jean shorts, t-shirts down to his knees, retarded things he said, "you can't see me", the visor, the spinner, the "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect" stuff.....I just didn't get the appeal of the character at all. I thought it was lame - like the guy in the Pretty Fly for a White Guy video.....I was pretty excited when crowds started to boo him, as it validated my belief he was a goofy idiot, but here we are, 7 years later and he's still there. I always keep up to date on what's happening but he's the main reason I stopped being a regular, passionate viewer....although the fact that it's going on 10 years since significant shit happened on a week to week basis doesn't help either.

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  53. I've recently acquired every WCW PPV and Clash of the Champions event and am working my way through these since I hadn't seen a lot of the earlier stuff. Next is Halloween Havoc 1993. I've seen it before, but I'm going in order.

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  54. The Title was treated with respect in the Attitude Era? 1999 says hello.

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  55. Titles bouncing between Main Eventers who could conceivably beat each other on "any given night" is NOT "devaluing the titles", until the titles are treated as no more than props. Austin didn't throw Rock's IC title off a bridge because he thought it was worthless... he did it because he wanted to really piss off Rocky.

    Austin, Rock, Mankind, HHH, UT, Michaels, Hart... the title was THE REASON they fought in the end, even if a feud or two derailed them temporarily. Unlike today, in a LOT of cases.

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  56. The D-X reunion tour did me in as a regular fan. Two established main eventers who put themselves over everybody. And HHH is STILL not gone.

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  57. Austin even joined Vince's side just to win the belt, he wanted it that badly.

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  58. No shit, the endless DX reunions were insane. These guys had more comeback tours than Cher.

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  59. Just a thought because I don't know you, but you sound a lot like myself in that we are both lifelong fans who are still searching for something to watch and interest us but continually fail. I think there is some truth to "growing out of it," as most adults do to varying degrees with their hobbies. We will never be into things like video games or wrestling the way we were when we were young.


    But despite that, I think there is still something there that will never go away. The problem isn't so much us (despite being pickier and harder to please, yes) but the business for not really giving us anything to sink our teeth into or give a shit about. I desperately WANT to be a fan, but it seems like Vince just keeps kicking me in the balls for my trouble. It's actually one of the biggest reasons why I slowly gravitated toward UFC, and now I consider myself an MMA junkie. I think it filled that hole left by the wrestling business.

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  60. I can't watch WWE anymore. It's just so bad. The 50/50 booking. The absolutely dull midcard with no one allowed to move up in the rankings. The shaky camera during the Shield matches. The US/IC/Divas titles being irrelevant. I could go on and on. I'll stick with TNA and NJPW. At least their booking makes sense and doesn't focus 1 hour of airtime on ordering pizzas, tug of wars, and dance contests.

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  61. Stopped watching for the first time in my life in 2002. I was still in college, and the combination of moving on to a new phase in my life and the rapid decline in quality of WWE made it a lot easier than I thought it would be to stop. I still followed the biz to a degree, but regular viewing ceased for the first time since I was a little kid.


    I came back during the John Cena/Batista rise in 2005, around Wrestlemania 21 to be more specific. It was the first PPV I ordered since 2001. It seemed like we were FINALLY getting some new blood in the company and the shows were better. I haven't been shy in the past about saying that Cena was a big reason I came back. He was a fresh face, I thought he could work and cut promos, and I generally found him entertaining.


    Fast forward to 2007 when the Cena craze was getting beyond stale, and even a fan like me started tuning out (Note: that was over 5 YEARS AGO). My last show I have since attended/purchased was WM23, which I enjoyed, but by that summer it was game over. The Cena overload, bad writing, bland characters, and the creative shift to lazy, safe, repetitive programming loaded with bad skits, scripted promos, short matches and an overall tired formula was more than enough to get to me to stop. In my opinion it's gotten worse every year.

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  62. Essentially..
    Except replace "white" with "log", "castle" with "cabin", and "fear" with "introspective isolation".

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  63. I NEVER REALLY STOPPED BUT MAN, LATE 2008-2009 WAS REALLY BLUR AND I TUNED OUT A LOT WHEN CENA AND ORTON WERE FEUDING FOR WHAT SEEMS LIKE FOREVER.

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  64. PERFECT blog question. I can't stand the company anymore (too much politics, blandness, and corporate BS that is oozing onto our screens every week). But, my first bit of total contempt for the company was after they decided to make the WCW storyline invasion into a Stephanie and Shane vs. Vince plot. HOW??!!! Everyone I knew basically stopped watching after they saw they weren't getting what was expected and I never really saw the product the same way again. They put themselves over the sake of making money and amazing storylines--and it hasn't changed much since. BTW, isn't it wonderful that Stephanie is creating more press for herself by posting fitness photos on twitter from her next magazine feature. It'd be nice if some of the actual wrestlers got some new exposure....Not unless your name is Cena, Johnson, or Levesque.

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  65. Don't understand the hate on Cena anymore. The guy can wrestle and put on great matches. His promos are shorter now and seem more passionate. Plus, he has a nice butt!

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  66. Oh man, you are so gonna get shit on for this.

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  67. Ever since I started College and actually having a Social life, I've been watching less and less(only reason I know what's going on is because of the Rants and Open Threads). Plus having better things on TV whether it's playoffs or something like How I Met Your Mother or Community on the same nights have I higher priority to me than Wrestling.
    If they don't care about booking decisions and the general quality of the product, why should I care?

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  68. I've watched wrestling weekly since 1988 but had to stop when HUNTOR got his own title and took over raw. I still followed wrestling online but never watched outside of wrestlemania. In fact I didn't even know what Batista looked like until wm20. I came back in during the build to hbk/cena. Hhh is the only thing that can turn me off of wrestling

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  69. It was less HHH for me, more JBL's feud with Guerrero, which always bugged for it's playing up of its innate racism.

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  70. I could do without another DX reunion. That's for sure.

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  71. I think the closest I have come to just completely giving up on the WWE was when they had Christian drop the World Title to Orton two days after he finally won the damn thing for the first time in his career. Edge had just retired as well, and I think this was the most frustrated I have ever been as a wrestling fan. Thankfully, they elevated Punk shortly after this and my interest returned.

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  72. I agree. The brand split completely destroyed my interest. It bothers me that there is not on World champion in the company. I followed the product intensely until the brand split and after that become a casual viewer.

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  73. I first saw pro wrestling sometime before Wrestlemania 2, when my brother started watching for whatever reason. He fell by the wayside quickly, but Orndorff turning on Hogan and then the WM3 build hooked me seemingly for life. Watched religiously until about 1996, when I graduated from high school/started college/worked a lot/ had girls around me. Then when I did watch it was Nitro (and I do wish I watched more of the early nWo stuff). Got solidly back into both feds in late-97 when my friends in the dorm would always watch, then fell out as a weekly watcher in 08 after Summerslam. There wasn't one main reason; I think I just didn't care as much, hadn't truly liked the product in years, loved MMA, and I think Benoit had kind of killed things for me. I'll come back here and there (and have watched the last few Impacts and been disappointed), but they've lost me as a full-time fan. I hate what WWE has become, with the atrocious writing/booking and all the social media and "look at how relevant we are!" shit.

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  74. Watched WWF/E on a very regular basis from when I was 4 years old (1989-ish) to 2006. I still watched on a semi-regular basis at that point, but so many little things: the lack of new stars, the lack of tag teams, Smackdown being completely second rate and unnecessary to watch... but the nail in the coffin was Benoit. I stopped, cold turkey, until last spring/summer. Doesn't look like I missed much, except Cena is STILL on top.

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  75. 2000 or so I found a new friend called regular alcohol consumption. I've only started watching again sine TNA improved last year.

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  76. Christopher HirschMay 1, 2013 at 1:36 PM

    Started watching around WrestleMania 5, watched consistently until college, then saw very little from 2001-2005, but still followed online, then have been watching regularly from 2006 to now. Friends and family still are amazed that I watch it, thought it would be just a phase and I'd lose interest.

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  77. Christopher HirschMay 1, 2013 at 1:37 PM

    Check out the lineage of the IC title during the Attitude era. That is when that belt died.

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  78. Scream09_HartKillerMay 1, 2013 at 1:52 PM

    He just doesn't appeal to me. It's nothing about his talent, or what he does in the ring, I just didn't care for his character. The characters I got into the most were guys I'd want to be like - or at least had characteristics I wish I had or related to, etc. I've never wanted to be or relate to John Cena.

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  79. Scream09_HartKillerMay 1, 2013 at 1:55 PM

    JBL finished Smackdown for me, I gave up on that all together.

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  80. Yes because it was the one thing everyone wanted and it wasn't given to just anyone. It was the driving force behind anyone's motivations. Yeah the title was devalued somewhat in 99 but compared to today it was like the holy grail. At least there was only ONE world champion.

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  81. I've never 100% quit cold turkey but pretty much from 2007 to Summer of Punk I wasn't even watching my DVR'd Raws. I seem to have 3 levels of interest.


    1. Record but don't care enough to watch
    2. Record and start watching an hour late Fast Forwarding through the crap.
    3. Interested enough to watch live.

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  82. That is pretty much when all my friends that got into wrestling in 1997-99 stopped.

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  83. Yeah. I stopped at Katie Vick and came back around Rumble 2004.

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  84. If it wasn't for DVR I wouldn't watch wrestling at all anymore. I'd still follow the product online though

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  85. Shawn Michaels zip-lining to the ring in a WrestleMania XII recap on Superstars in 1996 hooked me in.

    Seeing Brock Lesnar and Vince so obviously turn on Kurt Angle in 2003 was the last straw for me. It was getting wayyy to predictable for my taste. Plus I hated the brand split at the time (although in hindsight I appreciate it a lot more).

    The elevation of Jeff Hardy in late-2008 brought me back in.

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  86. I started in the late 80's/early 90's, stopped after (and I shit you not) Austin won the Rumble. Didn't start watching again until 2000, the night after Rock won the Rumble. The street fight was definitely what gave me the "holy shit I need to see what happens next!" feeling.


    I became a sporadic watcher during the Guest Host Era, that shit was so unbearable. Started watching full time again when Rock came back to guest host Mania.


    To make up for the episodes I missed in 1997 through 2000, I've been watching them all over the past year and a half. Holy shit did I miss some good stuff.

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  87. That whole feud was in bad taste. Racism, fake heart attacks (which is how Eddie died eventually), bladejobs, rushed push of JBL being rammed down our throats. The matches themselves (only three that I've seen: JD, GAB, SD Cage) were good, but I just can't buy Acolyte Bradshaw as a threat to the title let along WWE Champion after only given a two month push. That would be like Brodus Clay winning the title in the next two months.

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  88. I've been a fan since 1987, when I saw Wrestlemania III in elementary school. I have the feeling that my answer is, basically, "right now." Cena's return to the top of the card, after already having beaten the entire roster, is honestly unwatchable. What's the plan with this guy? Have him high five kids for another 8 years? Beat everyone and say "I've never faced someone as tough as you!" again? To another guy?

    For me, I don't mind the silly clownish stuff...that's always been there. What's truly turning me off is that I've stopped caring about the matches. The wrestlers all look the same and work the same matches now - you can move for move replace a Miz vs. R-Truth match with a Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston match, down to the "believable near-falls" and the chin locks. And I'm talking about the "good" matches! Only a few workers seem to try harder than that. Even The American Dragon is now a guy that does basically five high spots and tags in Kane.

    What's there to care about? Who wins the IC title? Who wins the US title? Who wins the World title? Who wins the WWE title? Does any of that matter to anyone these days?

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  89. Started watching WWE around 1990 but lost interest just after Wrestlemania XII when Bret lost the title to Shawn. I didn't mind Shawn, just lost interest when Bret went on hiatus.

    After that I would dip in and out every now and then and watch only Royal Rumbles and Wrestlemanias. I regret this since I missed the Attitude era.

    I got back to watching WWE regularly after catching Wrestlemania X-Seven. That lasted until mid-2006 or something when Cena was all over the place. Now I'm back to just watching Royal Rumbles and Wrestlemanias.

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  90. The whole King Mabel period. Ugh. Didn't get back into watching until about late 1996 - Survivor Series '96 was the first PPV I ordered after over a year of ignoring the product.

    Later, Triple H going over EVERYBODY to the point it was boring beyond absurdity, and programs like the Booker feud turning me off entirely. Slowly got back late in 2003, and with the Benoit push started watching a lot more.

    Took another break after Benoit's murder/suicide.

    And now haven't watched a bit in the couple of weeks since CM Punk walked out, as I'm just not interested in the product, despite the several (too few) minutes of brilliance the Shield adds.



    Have I missed anything particularly good?

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  91. You're right, Punk's ass is way nicer than Cena's.

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  92. quit in 1999. hated the crash booking and was done when I realized that after WrestleMania (and the match that I assumed was going to be the "blowoff") the McMahon/Austin feud still wasn't over.

    came back in 2004 when I read about Guerrero being champion and Benoit getting a title shot and kept watching until last summer (although with varying degrees of intensity. for example, I watched a lot less when the WWE started their guest host garbage). the last full episode that I watched was Raw 1000.

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  93. I kind of fell off the product in 1995, probably around the summer. But I was back by Survivor Series 1996. Also was mostly gone from the Katie Vick angle in 2002 until Royal Rumble 2004.



    I still saw the major shows during those gaps, it's just that it's those times that I didn't watch Raw on a weekly basis.

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  94. I wouldn't know anything about that.

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  95. I don't think I've ever paid for John Cena v. Randy Orton.

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  96. Out now, and didnt watch a minute of the Mania build for the first time ever. Between the Punk/Lawler, Punk/Taker "Real life shoot" stuff, and this habit of the same feuds dragging on forever, I had to move on.


    Probably the biggest reason though, is that RAW is just turning into some 3 hour marketing/twitter commercial, and what wrestling they have is chopped up by commercials. Its beyond unwatchable.

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  97. I'm kind of in the same boat. I watched as a kid in the early 90s, then stopped, came back a little during the Attitude Era but being 10 years old, I wasn't able to watch a whole lot — especially PPVs — so now I've been re-watching the Attitude Era from the start of 1997 and I'm up to the end of 1999 right now. Also tossing in some WCW PPVs during the era, though not watching Nitro.

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  98. I hated the brand split, but like you, really appreciate it now. Just combine the comparable titles and I'd be good.

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  99. I stopped during the awful 2006ish time. Too much Cena, too much Orton, too many other guys coming up I just didn't care for. I can't say I stopped watching right after Eddie died, and it wasn't a catalyst, but I know that I rarely watched after the tribute show and hadn't watched in awhile when the whole Benoit thing went down. I've probably watched 4 or 5 complete Raws since. When Bret came back, I watched that one. Watched the episode with the world title tourney after Punk vacated. Not much else. the wrestlers promos, ringwork (which I do see quite a bit on various DVD sets I buy), and storylines just don't grab me enough to watch for more than a few minutes before I wander off to watch something else.

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  100. yeah I don't know either. I was living with later to be wife and working full time but I watched Raw every single week and SD and Nitro and for awhile, Thunder. I did occasionally use a VCR (remember those?) or watch the replay of Nitro, but I can count on one hand the number of Nitros I missed in 97 and 98 and the number of Raws I missed in 2000 and 2001. After that work changed a bit and I wasn't quite as consistent but I still saw 95% of the Raws and SDs. Around 2003, I became more casual and didn't always watch the entire show (depending on work, social stuff, MNF) and I especially missed my share of SDs. I didnt' even watch SD in the middle of the decade not because of quality but because of work (I generally had to work friday night at Blockbuster as Manager).

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  101. A lot of the reason that I still make an effort to watch is that I grew up watching WWF with my grandfather, who would tell me stories about going to the old MSG and watching wrestling back in the day (He was at MSG the day Pedro Morales won the strap, he described how insane the place went). He passed away about 10 years ago now, and I use watching wrestling as my connection to him.



    I know the WWE would be unrecognizable to him as it is today, he was already starting to get frustrated with it in the late 80s and early 90s,



    Maybe I should give UFC a try...

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  102. I'm a long time fan, still watch my classic material from the 80s and 90s, and basically everything up till Wrestlemania X7. Although I'm still aware of what's going on, once Raw went to three hours, that was it for me. I honestly can't recall the last time I watched a full episode of Raw, or Smackdown for that matter.

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  103. I know what you mean, when I first started watching again in 1995, I was trying to tape all the B and C-Level shows too (WCW Pro, Worldwide, WWF Mania, Superstars etc) and catch up on them through the week, but things got out of control quickly.

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  104. Cena turned me off, along with the constant burial of talented wrestlers. Each time someone I love gets close to the top... *bonk* they hit their head on the glass ceiling. I had so much rage after Sheamus vs. Bryan at WM28 that I actually crusaded in public that WWE was fucking horrible. The thought of Triple H's weightlifting buddy beating one of the greatest wrestlers in the world, in 18 seconds, for the World Championship, at Wrestlemania, made something inside snap. I didn't even care about the pro-Bryan chants that instantly broke out afterward and at RAW because I knew WWE would fuck it up, just like they did with Ryder.

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  105. Are you Justin Vernon from Bon Iver?

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  106. I stopped watching after I found the product predictable to the point where I felt I could anticipate storyline outcomes in advance. When Cena won MITB last summer and everyone was saying he was going to do a successful cash-in, I was the only one in my community pointing out that Big Show hadn't had any chance to get revenge on Cena from the PPV and a couple other things. Everyone was all, "No, no, no, it's RAW 1000, Cena's beating Punk for the title!", and sure enough, Show does the run-in. I was already becoming disenchanted with the WWE product for reasons already brought up by most other people, mainly the 3-hour RAW, but this reason in particular was the last straw. That, and Hornswoggle's inexplicable continued employment is a minor reason. Thankfully Edmonton has plenty of local organizations around these days, so in a way, I still get my weekly wrestling fix! And WWE has nothing to do with it! Bite on that Vince!

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  107. No. Mister_E_Mahn from Blog of Doom.
    Don't know this Justin chap.

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  108. I started watching as a young buck in '89, watched religiously until 2002. Came back in 2005 for a spat, went to WM23 in '07, then stopped watching. It was as if I had fulfilled my goals of fandom.

    I still follow, but by reading rants. I haven't watched an episode of Raw in its entirety since 2008. Too much Cena, too much awkward booking, not enough new stars. I watched parts of the Raw after WM this year, and they almost got me back with Ziggler's cash in....until he lost to Swagger the following week.

    At this rate, I'm fairly certain I'll never be a regular viewer again unless my kids get into it.

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  109. It was a lot of things for me. I almost started to stop watching after they turned Eddie's death into an angle. I was so close to being a pluralist, post-modernist at the time that I just shrugged my shoulders and hoped that Hogan would come back. Then Hogan got in trouble with Vince for the Ann Russo stuff, and I knew Hogan would never be back - although he did show up for like the special episode of Raw or something in 2007-2008.


    Shawn's retirement clinched it for me. He was one of the only guys I still liked.


    It was just boring to watch after 2008-09. I don't think I fully stopped watching until 2010 - but football was cooler back then, and I just couldn't watch it.


    I may tune back in someday, but I'd rather watch SNME re-runs.

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  110. If I was booking the WWE - I would just go in their and say - okay its 1985 - Cena, put on this yellow wig and these tights and start saying brother in your promos.


    Randy, here is a black wig and a cowboy hat, and don't forget the cast.


    Cody, here is a skirt - uh kilt, and a white t-shirt.


    Koffi- Here is your bird.


    Ted, grow out the hair.


    Dolph - Your name is Dolph "The Hammer" Valentine from now on


    Ryback - grow some hair, use the tombstone as your finisher and wear blue trunks with a lightening bolt on them.


    Now who can we get to play Randy Savage?


    Yes WWE - book the WWE like the WWF of 1985 for six months and people will come back. Big Show can play Uncle Elmer.

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  111. Triple H should be Harley Race.
    Kane can take off the mask and be John Studd.
    Punk would be Randy Savage
    Not sure about Pedro

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  112. OK, that's two words, BUT I BET YOU WERE SURPRISED!-Scott Keith

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  113. EVERY response you put no matter what is "retard". Are your the "retard" Pokémon or something??
    RETARD! RETARD! RETARD!
    Loser!

    ReplyDelete

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