Hello my name is Joe and I’m an addict. I love pro wrestling, always have and probably always will. But I’m addicted to WWEs brand of wrestling.
“Oh wait, you mean you really really enjoy watching WWE, thus you’re a WWE fan, right?” Well partially, I do tune in week in week out to WWE Raw and I do own a WWE Network subscription, so I suppose I’m a fan. But I’m actually hooked on WWE programming and have been for years, no matter how bad or good I find what Vince and his team produces, I still watch even if I’ve been unsatisfied the week previous.
I’m nearly 31 years young and I watch WWE brand wrestling each week. I’m a fan since I was five years old and that means I’ve been watching WWE programming for a quarter of a century. I’ve been there for it all folks:
Mick Foley winning his first WWF Championship, I was there.
Chris Jericho debuting and duelling with The Rock of all people on the mic, I was there.
Dolph Ziggler’s Money In the Bank cash in again Del Rio, I was there.
The WCW Radicals turning up on Monday Night Raw, I was there.
Shelton Benjamin’s Momma arrived to back up her baby boy, I was there
Mae Young giving birth to a hand, yes I was there.
Chaz Warrington, the former Mosh of the Headbangers tag team calling himself Beaver Cleavage. Yes I was there
What I’m trying to say is I’ve been a viewer no matter what. I’ve been there for the helter shelter highs and the rock bottom lows. And as I’ve gotten older, there seems to be more lows than highs and I’m still here watching each week. I will never blindly defend the bad, far from it. If Khali gets pushed again Ill complain and vent to high heaven. But I’ll Still watch.
But why do I keep watching? I literally think I’ve a problem.
When any other show I’ve watched goes south and gets so bad that I don’t want to watch, I do simply that and tune out. From Scrubs to Dexter, when I feel the quality of the show has declined, eventually I lose interest and tune out yet with WWF I keep watching. I don’t think I’ve been truly happy with WWE in a while. I will sit down every week and watch WWE Raw, most weeks it’s taped cause its on at 1am here in Dublin, and I’m usually left unsatisfied when the show ends.
With WWE these days you don’t know what you’re going to get. Sure some shows suck, but most are passable and even some are great. Some periods of WWE programming can excruciating to watch and make you just want to bury your head in your hands. But they are capable of having a purple patch too when they can have better than normal shows. Even a bad show can have a great moment on it or a fantastic match.
However, I can’t remember the last time I’ve watched a full Raw without hating part of it or fast forwarding a good few segments. I usually take a 3 hour show and turn it into 50/60mintues through skipping segments. Are my standards too high? Am I being overly critical? Am I expecting too much? Perhaps I am.
So let’s say the answer is yes to the above questions, fact remains I’m watching a show each week that I don’t fully enjoy. So, why don’t I give WWE Raw the heave ho? Why can’t I tune out for good after a succession of bad shows?
One reason is WWE is engrained in me, I need to watch it. Ever since I began to watch as a 5 year old watching Wrestling Challenge, I’ve been emotionally invested and I have a love for WWF brand. WWF/E is pro wrestling for me and even though there are loads of alternatives available now, I still have time for Vince and his wacky wrestling show.
Characters and personalities have come and gone, yet I always have the need to find out what happens. It’s like my soap opera, and no matter how bad it gets, I will always have the need to know what’s happening. Many people I talk to about it simply tell me to watch Lucha Underground, or ROH instead. I try watch as much WWE alternative as I can but as much as I appreciate the Wrestle Kingdoms of this world or BITH, they will never replace WWE in my eyes and the need to watch.
When WWE does it right, which they are more than capable of doing when they want, they can’t make me mark out. The have proved this year that they are capable of creating exciting matches, feuds and segments.
Fear is another, when WWE want to, they can put on a great show. And because I know they are capable of putting on a fantastic show, full of great wrestling, surprises and entertainment, I fear if I miss one show then that show will be awesome. So I tune in out of fear of missing the next Pipe-bomb Promo or the next Shawn v Cena Ironman match.
But for the most part of their shows, overall I feel unsatisfied and that’s the problem. When I due tune in, I’m usually left regretting watching it with hope. Why Do I feel unsatisfied? Well there are a few reasons. Booking of certain angles, segments, feuds and superstars would be the main one. It’s like the WWE creative team can only handle 1/2 feuds at a time and we will wing it on the rest. When this kind of approach is taken to their weekly show, while they may get some parts right, they will get some parts so wrong it makes viewing hard, thus the fast forwarding of certain segments. Even when they have what looks to be a certain money angle, they can easily drop the ball in execution of said angle.
Plus it’s a lot of little things. The Commentary team, who actually make me dislike the product more rather than enhance it. Awful product placement and shilling can make me hate a show, especially depending on who’s involved. Short matches which can be missed in a blink of an eye. Lack of storyline progression in some feuds is another thing, which could be easily achieved with a bit of thought. These are all things that could be easily changed but they will always be there.
Basically, to summarise, I’m Vince McMahons Bitch. Ill tune in week after week to his show, and no matter how bad it is Ill still tune in next week. I’m weak and in need of his brand of wrestling like drug and no matter how much I don’t want to watch, Ill come crawling back each week. Thankfully for me, I’ve enjoyed the last 4/5 weeks of programming and I don’t feel so dirty.
Follow Beaker Joe at @awesomeojoe
