Are you or have you ever been a fan of wrestling?

[OmniscientOstrich]

I used to be a big fan as a kid, up until I was about 13/14 or so and I can still go back and appreciate the athleticism, campy drama and 'HOLYSHITDOYOUJUSTSEETHAT?!!!WTFBBQ?!1?1!!?!' moments in certain matches even if I can't really stomach the soap opera bullshit. I think the death knell for my interest in following wrestling came when I had fallen behind about a month or two and while channel surfing I noticed Raw was on and decided I should catch up. So I hit select and the first thing that comes onto my screen is Eugene...

Spoiler

I didn't know at the time whether it was an actor pretending to be mentally disabled or they had literally thrown a developmentally challenged dude into the ring or which eventuality was worse, but all I could do was look on with mouth agape and wonder aloud to myself 'why am I watching this?' Wrestling was something I always felt kind of embarrassed about watching if one of my parents was in the room and this character was something that really compounded that feeling. It was a moment that felt so tasteless, offensive, insulting, uncomfortable and cheap that I changed the channel and never looked back. So I have no idea what's been happening in wrestling since then outside of the odd Spoony vlog on the subject. That said, I do have something of a nostalgic soft spot for the older matches and it's something of a staple in my childhood that made watching The Wrestler all the more potent.

 

[Andy Shandy]

I still find it...entertaining, although probably not for the same sort of reasons I did when I was a kid. I find more fun in the wrestling games, in all honesty.

On that note, actually, I should bring up that VGCW (Video Game Championship Wrestling) is probably my favourite wrestling "show" at the moment. Everything about it is magical, from the stories to the Twitch chat. Highly recommend it.

 

[EyeReaper]

Like others, I was more back when I was younger, and even then, It mostly was just with the Smackdown vs. Raw series, where I would create my own character and make up my own story as I went along of why my robot-samurai with a tophat was suplexing anyone. good times

 

[Artina89]

I was never into it, but my brother still loves it. As a result, I can't really ever escape from it. I do remember watching WCW and WWF with my brother when we were very young and he was ridiculously into it. Even then I worked out that it was scripted, but I must admit that I do admire the athleticism that they display.

 

[Mister K]

I don't think I like watching wrestling, but wrestling videogames are fun (well, at least used to be, don't know about newer ones). Plus, they always had one of the better character creation modes.

 

[krazykidd]

I was . In my teenage years. I knew it was fake and treated it like a soap opera. I it was entertaining , epecially the girl wrestlers .

And even though it's fake , it takes a lot to do those manuvers , these guys have to be in physical shape. People forget that.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

I used to watch some, when I was much younger (like, 6 or something), and it made me cringe like mad at seeing how violent it was until my dad pointed out it's fake and boxing is much, much more violent. Now, I don't care about it.

 

[Godhead]

I still watch wrestling, but only the ones in the '80s and '90s. Back then it was all just good fun, and today it's all drama. It'll need to go back to the fun for me to watch it again.

Spoiler: And the coked up interviews

 

[BiscuitWheels]

I've been a pretty major wrestling fan for about 30 or so now. I live in a pretty good place for watching it on TV. I was northern enough to get WWF on the major Canadian networks, but far enough west in New York state to pick up AWA from the Mid-West region on the rabbit ears, and we got cable fairly early on, so I could watch TBS and see NWA wrestling and catch the occasional WCCW match on ESPN.
Wrestling these days isn't as much fun as it used to be. The lack of really strong competition to Vince McMahon and his WWE has homogenized the product too much.

 

[Angelous Wang]

I'm not a fan per say, but I do still watch it (WWE).

I normally record the shows every week, then I sort of half-watch it when there is nothing else on TV and I'm doing whatever on my PC.

 

[trollnystan]

Well, I was made to watch it by my cousins when I went to visit family in Ireland as a kid, does that count? I pretended to like it, but I never got the charm of it. That was back in the early to mid-nineties BTW.

 

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

I was back in the 90's and up through maybe 2003. My interest started to wane at the end of the "Attitude Era" of WWF and WCW and I just stopped watching around '03. I try watching a few matches every now and then but it just isn't the same as the older ones.
I still watch old matches though and I love them. So I'm a fan of old school wrestling but not the new stuff.

Favorite wrestler will forever be Mick Foley and his various personas. I love that ugly, crazy bastard

 

[deserteagleeye]

Pride, Honor, Family, and DONUTS!

I'll always be a fan of this wrestling at least.

 

[TakerFoxx]

...

You know what? Fuck it. Even though it's the minority here, fuck it.

I love pro wrestling. I've been a fan since 2002-2003ish, and have followed it ever since. Unfortunately my job means I can't watch it much, but I still keep up with it the best I can, and go out to shows whenever they're in town. Granted, the PG era doesn't have the same magic as the Attitude era or even the Ruthless Aggression era, but there's still a ton of stuff to love: CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, the Shield, etc. Hell, I'll even admit to liking John Cena, even if he is in desperate need of a character change.

So yeah, put me down as a fan.

 

[Summerstorm]

Hm, i haven't been following it for years now. But when i was younger i loved it. (Only watched it on television and played videogames related to it though - i am european - it wasn't this big here)

But yeah, of course i half knew it wasn't that "serious business" and that they are mixed actors/athletes. But of course there is a lot of control/speed/strength neccesary which was very appealing. Also i loved the "quasi - superpowers" the wrestlers had.

Tatanka was invulnerable while he was circling his enemy in his wardance. Lex Luger had his titanium-enhance forarm to elbow-check everything and superhuman strength (Enough to lift Yokozuna - who was thought to be unliftable).
and of course: You can not knock out or stop the Undertaker - you can only slow him down... maybe enough to get him pinned through some trick

I loved that. Every young boy does.

Also relevant:

 

[Varrdy]

I have been getting back into it in the past year or so. I met Mick Foley earlier this year (serious fanboy moment!) and I would encourage you to catch one of his live shows if you can - well worth it, of only for the classic DDP and the cookies story!

Loving the current angle RE: Orton, Shield & Daniel Bryan! The Shield are getting to show what they can do when not randomly stomping people and Bryan is making the most of his push and then some - he's been awesome to watch!

On the subject of "fake", I urge you to read Mick Foley's book "Have a Nice Day!"

It's not fake so much as scripted. In order for it to be believable, contact has to be made and just because someone stomps during a forearm, doesn't mean it don't hurt! It's all about managing it and taking a "bump" in a way that it looks realistic, might hurt like fuck, but doesn't do any real damage. In Foley's first televised match, the Dynamite Kid hit him with "a clothesline so hard he couldn't chew food for a week".

I'm not saying it's all like that and sometimes a blow doesn't actually land but "fake" really is the wrong word to use but try convincing the average punter of that.

I just wish I had SKY so I didn't have to catch up by reading WWE's Facebook Feed and hoping they put highlight videos up!

 

[SpAc3man]

Only some types of wrestling.
My favourite is nude grown-up wrestling with my girlfriend. Although it seems we both win every time so it isn't a very competitive sport.

 

[Abomination]

I find it difficult to get excited about an entirely staged event that attempts to convince everyone it isn't.

Musclebound brutes running at each other on a wooden trampoline. Good for a few funny .gifs, I guess.

It also resulted in us getting Dwayne Johnson so I guess it's good in a sort of spillover effect.

Sort of like a coal mine, it's not a place I'd like to work and most of what they produce is garbage but on occasion a rare gem is uncovered.

 

[TeamDei]

Back when I was younger, when The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Goldberg, Hardy Boyz, Kirk Angle (I still don't like him for some reason), Triple H, Booker T, Rey, Eddie, Mankind...yeah, back during those days, I'd look forward to watching them on television.

Now that I look back, Wrestling Entertainment seemed like a drama show targeted towards a male demographic.