What Do Adults See In WWE?

DrPhilG

I must admit, it does irritate me when WWE is shown on Sky Sports or BT Sports.

Liked it when I was a teen when ultimate warrior and the bushwackers were around. Wouldn't know the current crop.

Alejandro68

6 wrote: »

Liked it when I was a teen when ultimate warrior and the bushwackers were around. Wouldn't know the current crop.

I am the same. My favorites were Junkyard Dog and Sting.

DrPhilG

I remember the Steiner brothers back at the start, think they were in the WCW.

Before Scott ate ALL the steroids.

riclad

It's scripted in advance, each wrestler has a role,
good guy hero and there's storylines like a soap opera.
To be in the wwe it takes alot of training, skill and you
need to be fit and strong.
It's a spectacle , even when the rock was a wrestler
He was playing a role. John cena and the rock are now actors

It takes alot of skill to get in a ring fight someone and follow a script at the same time
And the Wwe employs female wrestlers as well

Dtp1979

riclad wrote: »

It's scripted in advance, each wrestler has a role,
good guy hero and there's storylines like a soap opera.
To be in the wwe it takes alot of training, skill and you
need to be fit and strong.
It's a spectacle , even when the rock was a wrestler
He was playing a role. John cena and the rock are now actors

It takes alot of skill to get in a ring fight someone and follow a script at the same time
And the Wwe employs female wrestlers as well

1. They’re not wrestlers.
2. They’re not fighting

OneEightSeven

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Never said it was a sport. I inferred it was more entertaining than soccer. Which it is. Because soccer is terribly painful to watch.

Also, there's plenty of scripting in soccer. It happens when someone suffers a life altering injury but is magically perfect again a few seconds after the ref has given a free and a card. They act better than those in Fair City in fairness.

If football was that painful to watch, then why is it the most popular sport in the world? Wrestling shows can be boring too. The WWE for the last 19 years is a perfect example of that and it's getting worse as Vince gets older.

764dak

Strumms wrote: »

It’s advertises itself as ‘Sports Entertainment’

https://www.wwe.com/article/the-wwe-encyclopedia-of-sport-entertainment-is-available-now?sf39711411=1

Always pretty much has. Absolutely nothing is objectionable about that. It’s pretty much as it is. Scripted entertainment is a physical and sporting arena.

John Cena can identify as an entertainer, no problem. But he’s a wrestler, superstar probably is used to give more scope of talent or ability to their value.

Sports entertainment and superstar are WWE's names for professional wrestling and professional wrestler.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_entertainment

Billy Mays

Attitude era was a buzz when it was a product aimed at grown ups

Any adult that still watches wrestling needs their hard drive checked

Pawwed Rig

Billy Mays wrote: »

Attitude era was a buzz when it was a product aimed at grown ups

Any adult that still watches wrestling needs their hard drive checked

I watched 101 Dalmatians last weekend and enjoyed it. Adults can like things aimed at kids too

weldoninhio

Billy Mays wrote: »

Attitude era was a buzz when it was a product aimed at grown ups

Any adult that still watches wrestling needs their hard drive checked

100% agree with first sentence.

0% agree with second sentence, even though I don’t find it entertaining at all myself anymore. Watched ten minutes of it last night after reading this thread. They don’t even show when someone is body slammed into the announce table now. What’s the point in that??

Nunu

I hate the term ‘fake’ in relation to professional wrestling. Fair enough the fist to the face and stomping foot to make it sound like there’s real contact happens but like when Mankind jumped off a steel cage from quite a height and landed on the undertaker that really happened. I prefer the term ‘fixed’.

They’re actually incredible stunt men and supreme athletes.

weldoninhio

Nunu wrote: »

I hate the term ‘fake’ in relation to professional wrestling. Fair enough the fist to the face and stomping foot to make it sound like there’s real contact happens but like when Mankind jumped off a steel cage from quite a height and landed on the undertaker that really happened. I prefer the term ‘fixed’.

They’re actually incredible stunt men and supreme athletes.

When did Mankind jump off a steel cage and land on the Undertaker? I think your memories are fake.

Relikk

Nunu wrote: »

like when Mankind jumped off a steel cage from quite a height and landed on the undertaker that really happened.

Not quite, Undertaker "threw" him off the cell.

Large GIF of what happened: https://i.imgur.com/OQL12eh.gif

Lewis_Benson

Zak Flaps wrote: »

I assume they know it's fake....so what's the appeal?

Its entertainment, no different than adults watching big brother, x factor, the voice, glebroe, eastenders... Etc.

weldoninhio

Relikk wrote: »

Not quite, Undertaker "threw" him off the cell.

Large GIF of what happened: https://i.imgur.com/OQL12eh.gif

Listened to a brilliant podcast about that match. https://pca.st/episode/4a709e79-465e-41a1-bd3a-32ceb9f6bf0c



They’d never rehearsed, or even seen the size of the steel cage before the match. Terry Funk was the first person to get to Mick when he went through the table because Vince had realised how big the structure was once the match began and had sent him out to tell them to pull the “throw off the top”.

When Mick was being wheeled out on the stretcher the match was supposed to be over, because they weren’t sure how much internal damage he’d done to himself, but he refused to quit and got off and went back of his own volition. Then when the Undertaker choke slammed him, he wasn’t meant to go through the cage. Undertaker thought he’d killed him because of the way he landed. Foley said afterwards that by some fluke he landed perfectly, not to die and that when he felt the cage go, he thought he was dead too. Then as the Undertaker got down through the broken gap in the cage, he landed awkwardly and broke his ankle too.

Relikk

You can tell from JR and Lawler's reactions on commentary that they didn't know it was coming.

I always loved watching Shane McMahon's matches as he always seemed to be up for anything, like his match with Steve Blackman at Summerslam.

B.A._Baracus

I've been a life long wrestling fan and have heard the line of ' it's fake so it's Shi*e" many times before.... And you know what? Only a complete moron would say that line.

Don't get me wrong, periods of wrestling have been down right boring at times. But saying how it's fake? .. I guess Arnold Schwarzenegger really became a machine for his role in the terminator...

DrPhilG

I still wouldn't mind it if it hadn't got so bland and feckin boring. They banned any sign of blood didn't they? Its gone from the sports entertainment version of something like The Shield, to the sports entertainment version of Hollyoaks.

Relikk

DrPhilG wrote: »

I still wouldn't mind it if it hadn't got so bland and feckin boring. They banned any sign of blood didn't they?

As soon as Linda McMahon ran for the U.S. Senate in 2009 that was the end of any kind of adult edge it had left as they tried their best to make it as family friendly as possible, but by that time it was nearly stamped out because of the success of John Cena's character anyway. I've barely watched it since then. I flick through WrestleMania every year and that's about it. It's boring watching them try to push charisma vacuums like Roman Reigns.

Strumms

weldoninhio wrote: »

100% agree with first sentence.

0% agree with second sentence, even though I don’t find it entertaining at all myself anymore. Watched ten minutes of it last night after reading this thread. They don’t even show when someone is body slammed into the announce table now. What’s the point in that??

Yeah, I noticed that too, they show a cutaway shot to an empty ring, you can hear the slamming of somebody onto the announce table, gasp of the crowd, then it cuts back to the wrestler in a heap with a monitor jammed into his face and a collapsed announce table......he didn’t trip over a packet of Oreos just to end up like that...

paleoperson

I used to think until quite recently that it was mostly kids and a fraction of adults, perhaps with their own kids who are interested, but apparently the main demographic is more like the Fox News (over 50s) than the Disney audience. In fact it's a major headache in WWE for the past two decades on why younger audiences aren't coming in and watching:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1040312-wwe-news-breakdown-of-ages-of-wwe-audience-shows-interesting-trend#:~:text=When%20you%20think%20of%20a,certain%20image%20comes%20to%20mind.&text=The%20current%20WWE%20audience%20by,is%20age%2050%20or%20older.

Honestly I started watching a bit of it casually after hearing this but as before I just couldn't get into it

So you have a situation where people 50+ years old are watching gleefully and getting excited over fake attacks - chairs being flung, chainsaws, piledrivers, clotheslines, flying kicks and so on. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy the odd gratuitous OTT violence as much as the next guy, but jesus... you're not 8 years old.

No different in a way to a lot of the Trump phenomenon and the SJWs are no better a lot of the time. Where have all the adults of the world gone is what I want to know.

764dak

Strumms wrote: »

Yeah, I noticed that too, they show a cutaway shot to an empty ring, you can hear the slamming of somebody onto the announce table, gasp of the crowd, then it cuts back to the wrestler in a heap with a monitor jammed into his face and a collapsed announce table......he didn’t trip over a packet of Oreos just to end up like that...

It was probably an error from the guys controlling the camera angles.
Announce table slams are uncensored.

Strumms

764dak wrote: »

It was probably an error from the guys controlling the camera angles.
Announce table slams are uncensored.

I’m guessing it might be the shows that are broadcast late afternoon or early evening... because yeah I’ve seen the cutaway camera thing, for sure.

Coybig_

DrPhilG wrote: »

I still wouldn't mind it if it hadn't got so bland and feckin boring. They banned any sign of blood didn't they? Its gone from the sports entertainment version of something like The Shield, to the sports entertainment version of Hollyoaks.

If you want any of that, look up Moxley vs Omega in AEW this year. That was as hardcore as a mainstream wrestling match has been in a very long time. AEW in general is trying to take up the void of what old WWE used to be.

Some things they have to be careful with - guys were taking unprotected chair shots to the head which can cause huge damage to a fella. I watched Mankind v The Rock I Quit match a few weeks ago and I forgot how bad it was, it's one of the most disgusting things I've ever watched. Barbaric.

cena

injuries are not fake. Many have broken necks for the moves that do.
It takes good training to learn to take the moves, how to land safely etc

ceegee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15YhTA8i25E

The recent WALTER vs Ilja Dragunov match was one of the most brutal matches WWE have ever had

ceegee

Relikk wrote: »

As soon as Linda McMahon ran for the U.S. Senate in 2009 that was the end of any kind of adult edge it had left as they tried their best to make it as family friendly as possible, but by that time it was nearly stamped out because of the success of John Cena's character anyway. I've barely watched it since then. I flick through WrestleMania every year and that's about it. It's boring watching them try to push charisma vacuums like Roman Reigns.

Reigns has always had charisma, its the lame writing which has always crippled him. He's been great since his recent heel turn.

El_Duderino 09

Mellor wrote: »

What Do Adults See In Coronation st? I assume they know it's fake....so what's the appeal?


You do realise that most popular TV shows are fake. It's entertainment, that's all.

That’s the analogy of use. It’s a soap opera for some people. I think there’s a big overlap with people with autistic traits and wrestling. The acting is really obvious and they are explicit about the emotions they’re trying to express. So to really suits someone who doesn’t get subtlety and nuance in normal conversation.

Some people might also enjoy the athleticism, the costumes, the fighting, the good guys vs bad guys storylines. The athleticism is real and undeniable.

I’ve always seen it as an easy-read soap opera for people who don’t get normal subtle social interactions.

paleoperson

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

That’s the analogy of use. It’s a soap opera for some people. I think there’s a big overlap with people with autistic traits and wrestling. The acting is really obvious and they are explicit about the emotions they’re trying to express. So to really suits someone who doesn’t get subtlety and nuance in normal conversation.

Some people might also enjoy the athleticism, the costumes, the fighting, the good guys vs bad guys storylines. The athleticism is real and undeniable.

I’ve always seen it as an easy-read soap opera for people who don’t get normal subtle social interactions.

None of that makes any sense. I hugely doubt WWE fans have more "autism" incidence than any other.

"So to really suits someone who doesn’t get subtlety and nuance in normal conversation." - does that really sound like a reasonable theory to you?

No way.

DrPhilG

Coybig_ wrote: »

If you want any of that, look up Moxley vs Omega in AEW this year. That was as hardcore as a mainstream wrestling match has been in a very long time.

Aye... Just watched it.

Reminds me of that time Mankind went after Kane with... some mouse traps.....

joeguevara

Man with broke phone wrote: »

Amazing as well that people watch reality tv even though they know its not real. Its just people doing what the producers tell them, then doing a vt about them doing what the producers told them.

Then having an interview with some davina type about doing what the producer told them. Then having a row with your new boyfriend in pictures with prodyct placement. Then buying an engagement ring with your boyfriend in pictures with product placement. Then splitting up with your boyfriend in pictures with product placement.

If this is true, the most worrying part for me would be finding out I had a boyfriend.

This is a very vague post, as I can't recall all the details (it was a while ago, 2012 probably), but I believe during an episode of ECW (WWE's version of it) Kevin Dunne (producer) could be heard throughout the show, calling camera angles, prompting the commentators, etc. it was really interesting. Can't seem to find it now, though.

(might not have been Dunne, but I think it was).

dvcireland

Hard Times

TheIrishGrover

I NEVER got it. However I can see how people get entertainment out of it. I mean, you will always get people who believe it's real, but you also have people who believe the Earth is flat but these would be edge cases and would more than likely be suffering from unfortunate conditions. Obviously they are extremely talented athletes/choreographers etc.

So yeah, I never got into it as a kid but I can see how people would find it humorously OTT.

I certainty find the likes of WWE much more "honest" than the likes of every single "Reality" show out there. WWE is not trying to deceive anyone unlike the likes of Made in Chelsea or TOWIE or any of C4's output in general really.

rossie1977

Pro wrestling is unlike anything else in entertainment. People like it for different reasons.

Its often easy to get emotionally attached to the characters. Take someone like Bryan Danielson, 5'7 170lb, he toiled for years in small feds for little money destroying his body while WWE told him he was too small and ugly to be on national TV. Eventually he signed in 2009 but they pretty much embarrassed him on TV having him lose to guys just out of wrestling school and commentary team call him a virgin, nerd, goatface every night.

Eventually something clicked and fans of all ages got behind him big time however WWE picked other guys before him which led to massive fan backlash. By the time Wrestlemania 30 rolled around Bryan's popularity could no longer be ignored and pretty much entire show was built around him first qualifying then winning mainevent. It was the culmination of a fantastic 4 year journey in WWE (more than 15 years overall) where entertainment mixed with real life.

The WWE produced video shows some of the journey. I can say I was lucky enough to be in the Superdome in New Orleans the night he became champion

Dtp1979

Christ, it’s talked about like it’s a real sport.

ceegee

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Christ, it’s talked about like it’s a real sport.

Literally nobody in this thread is under the impression its a real sport