Hi, my name is Rudo, and....

[dubq 0]

There are different stages in losing your WWEligion. The people who say they watch out of habit, believe me, I did too.  I'm pretty sure the majority of folk here who have stopped watching did.  You don't just STOP at one point and never go back - it's more of a progression.  Soon enough you'll find yourself missing a show or two here, a show or two there, and realize that it doesn't matter if you miss a show, nothing ever really happens and you can always turn back to it and get caught up easily.  So then you start missing more and more shows.  The habit breaks. And without that "habit", there is no interest at all.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I taped the show (RAW only) religiously from September 1993 until I lost complete interest in August 2002. I actually lost interest way before that, but I think I was just going through the motions, out of habit - much like lots of other ppl here. It almost felt like a burden to continue to watch..

 

Now, I tune in every once in a while when there's a commercial break on another show or something. I rarely, if ever, watch an entire episode of RAW (and I don't get SportsNet, so I don't get Smackdown).

 

EDIT: Put 1991 by accident. Meant 1993.

[Vyce 0]

In a somewhat related note, I find myself growing increasingly apathetic towards the WWE folder of TSM. There isn't much of quality here anymore.

[SteakGrowsOnUecker 0]

In a somewhat related note, I find myself growing increasingly apathetic towards the WWE folder of TSM.  There isn't much of quality here anymore.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Pretty much. Other then threads like this one and any news bit threads, this folder really is pathetic. I visit maybe once or twice a day for a few minutes and that is it.

[alfdogg 0]

In a somewhat related note, I find myself growing increasingly apathetic towards the WWE folder of TSM.  There isn't much of quality here anymore.

I've been here since the dying days of the banana board (for those who don't get the reference, before moving to this forum system, we were on EZBoard and had a yellow color theme), and I've always found this folder to be pretty bad. I'm sure my reasons are different than most people's, though.

[Guest Fook_Theta]

It flucuates depending on what is going on in the business. When it's hot, it's hot. When it's not, it's not.

[razazteca 0]

Well after getting fired by Mr. McMahon I have considered the alternatives and decided to venture back to Spike tv for the 3 hour block of TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION! It has everything that USA does and more I get to see one hour of UFC hyping up its stars in best of highlight shows, then in the 2nd hour its the reality tv goodness of TUF with the fighters getting drunk and running wild in the house, and when I am in need for the wrestling style interview/promo there is TNA for Jeff Jarrett "I'm King of the Mountain.....blah blah blah" and for the figurehead jibberish there is always Larry Zybrisko's insight on how everything relates to chess.

 

I can't watch WWE anymore with the promotion of character over substance. I guess I am just spoiled from all of the years of watching Beniot, Guerrero, Angle having MOTY almost everytime they entered the ring. I have no interest in watching the same character being used to promote every single new "superstar".......yeah I get it nice body, same hand gesture taunt, ohhhh he's is a blue chipper, ohhhh the rastling business is in his blood. Too bad none of them know more than the basic big boot, lariat, powerbomb, spinebuster.

 

And it gets worse now that the "Homecoming" means that the McMahon family is the main event of the show. Yeah its great to see Vince say YOU'RE FIRED once every 6 months but that does not mean I want to see how bad Stephanie fried her hair this year or Shane kill "superstars" heat by beating them in pointless matches or worse case scenario having Linda take bumps that would make Moolah look like olympic champion.

 

WWF is sports entertainment and I have grown indifferent to it.

[AndrewTS 0]

My interest in WWE has been waning for a long time. The entertainment I get for is derived less from the product and more in mocking it in the Raw threads. So I'd usually catch Raw, and see if SD spoilers look interesting.

 

However, now I have a fulltime job, one that keeps me on shift until after SD is over and results in me missing hour 1 of Raw.

 

Raw threads have been losing posts for a long time, but without live Raw and the thread to go with it, I barely pay attention.

 

I could still tape the shows if they look good, but setting up a tape to record is too much trouble. And when you work full time (and occasionally have overtime on top of that), you value your free time more and more. When I had tons of free time, sure, why not?

 

However, I have better things to do now, and that 2 hours could be better spent with friends, gaming, or watching DVDs.

 

The non-wrestling folders are the only reasons I visit/post here anymore, and I know I'm not alone on that.

[notJames 0]

I have been a wrestling fan since I first saw Orndorff turn on Hogan with the big clothesline. I stopped watching around 1992-ish when college actually gave me a big enough social calendar to avoid TV altogether. I started up again around 1996-ish with the widespread explosion of the IntraWeb. Reading about the changing wrestling landscape got me interested again in the WWF (but only slightly in wCw, considering all the WWF castaways they had). By then my parents had cable, so every Monday I'd leave my apartment and watch RAW at their place. By the time I moved in with my future wife, I got my own cable hook up and started watching RAW and ordering PPVs every time they were on. By mid '97, I hooked up with an old college buddy of mine who hosted PPV parties every month, and we watched them religiously, as there were a multitude of our friends who were interested in wrestling at the time.

 

Now it's 2005. I have been quite apathetic about WW_ for a long time, still watching out of habit, but yearning for something to spark my interest again. My hopes were built around Benoit and Eddy's simultaneous championship runs, but silly me, those hopes were dasHHHed quite quickly. Now I watch MNF without fail (thanks to my induction into my friend's Fantasy Football league), with RAW on picture-in-picture, only changing when an interesting match is on, which is becoming very few and far between. SD! gets taped and fast-forwarded through, although the show seems to be a little bit more interesting than RAW. The death of Velocity has pretty much killed any hopes of regaining my diehard interest in WW_, unless those "lesser" stars start showing up more on SD! What really sucks is for some reason I can't even watch the web shows.

 

As for the PPV parties, our wrestling fan friends have slowly crawled away, and now we're a small ragtag crew of diehards who only show up for a few WW_ PPVs. I've even got my buddy (a long time WWF fan) to order the Bound For Glory PPV, hoping that the alternative wrestling action will downplay the presence of all those lousy WW_ castoffs.

 

If/when my interest in WW_ completely fades away, I will say goodbye without a single thought. I have been down that road before, and I don't mind the view.

[Slickster 0]

I sat through 1989, I sat through 1995, and I sat through 1999, the stuff on RAW now looks like EMLL in comparison to the shit cranked out in those years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Amen, man. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's thinking this way. I'm not giving current WWE a free pass (not by any means), but I really feel like this company has been continuously improving since 2002-03 and I'm hopeful for the future.

[alfdogg 0]

The SD side was great from late '02 until the time JBL won the belt, it was the RAW side of things that drug the overall product down. That's not necessarily saying it's JBL's fault, that's just the time I noticed SD starting to fall off. Perhaps a more appropriate description would be when Brock left.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I still try to watch Smackdown most weeks, although I'm not upset anymore if I happen to miss it because I'm doing something. It helps that all of my favourite wrestlers (save Angle & Benjamin, and they are being buried) are on that show, and that I find JBL to be perhaps the most entertaining wrestler in the company in the past couple of years. And even though feuds like Batista/Eddy aren't very good, I am at least happy that they are doing something different. Smackdown also seems to be starting to build a somewhat interesting tag division with LOD, MNM, the Blue Bloods, Mexicools & FBI.

 

I've pretty much given up on RAW. There is just no depth on that roster at all. The lowcard is awful (whereas guys like London & Spanky populate the Smackdown opening acts) and the midcard isn't any better, with guys like Carlito & Masters being pushed at the same level that guys like Benoit & Christian are at on Smackdown, almost out of necessity. Ric Flair is being pushed as a credible threat against HHH, when everyone knows that HHH (rightfully) should beat him into the ground in about 30 seconds. The best new guy in the last year, Kennedy, is on Smackdown. The booking is bad on both shows, but there is really nobody on RAW besides Michaels, HHH, Angle & Shelton that is even worth bothering with. I even like Batista better than I do Cena. Even if the booking was great, I would have a hard job watching a show with the roster that RAW has. It just isn't talented enough.

[KingPK 0]

You all know my story by now. I saw Steph lead off RAW last night and just shook my head. I don't even watch SD anymore because I'm usually doing something else on Fridays, which is a shame because they actually seem to have the better workers and are introducing some new guys nowadays.

 

Impact and UFC Unleashed satiates my thirst for action more than RAW has in months (maybe years).

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I probably wouldn't watch Smackdown on Fridays either, but fortunately it is still on Thursday here.

[Guest Brian]

I come here for the movies and sports. Eh.

[razazteca 0]

There are different stages in losing your WWEligion.

In the year 2000 I used to spend every dollar I had on various WWE videos, magazines, etc., then 2002 came around and I found myself only buying the big 4 PPVs of the year. Eventually I stopped buying new videos all together and decided to only buy whatever I could find used.

 

Today I am looking into the Intelligent Design of MMA, the Evolution of NWA, and idealogy of the fringe wrestling groups.

[Guest JMA]

The McMahons just came back and I'm already tired of them...again.

 

I've watched wrestling pretty much since I discovered it. One of my very first memories is of watching a match between The Twins Towers and The Mega-Powers. I've stuck by the WWF through the horrible angles of the early nineties, and the horrible angles of today. The only times that I've stopped watching were right before Triple H was awarded the World Heavyweight Championship up to the Brock vs. Angle feud that led up to their WrestleMania match and I stopped watching SmackDown! after JBL won the WWE Championship. In the case of the latter, it wasn't because I didn't like the JBL character (I did--I even suggested it before it was done), I just didn't like the fact that he became champion. Anyway, I try to watch SmackDown! more now, but I miss it frequently.

 

As for Raw, the "Nu Clique" (Triple H, HBK, and Flair) dominating the show doesn't really thrill me.

[haVoc 0]

My lack of interest/anger at the product came about the same time as Brock Lesnar's.

 

The Bob Holly feud. Everyone wanted Brock/Benoit and they dumped it quickly for Bob Holly.

 

I still watch/tape Raw but I skip SD! most weeks.

[Guest Zarock]

I was a big fan of the WWE during the mid-90s, then pretty much stopped watching about the same time Mick Foley lost that HiaC match against HHH (During that time, he was the only wrestler who I really cared about. If I had gone back to that time, I'd probably have paid more attention to Ultimo, Benoit, and Jericho, among others) and have only recently gotten back into it. I keep watching RAW on Monday's because I keep thinking they're going to pull something AMA-ZING out of their asses (Like the Michaels/Benjamin match that I only caught the cool SCM spot of), and then I'll be left in the cold while everybody is talking about cool it was. Problem is, there's very little they could to do to get that result with the roster/current storylines they have.

 

I only watch the parts of SmackDown! that sound good in the spoilers. Right now, TNA has presented an hour of programming that for my money was better then the four hours of RAW/Smackdown combined. I'm being completely objective about this, and not just saying it because OMG WWE IS THE GOLIATH AND OMG TNA IS THE DAVEY BOY!!!111 nor am I saying it to play a "Hey I dislike WWE programming more then you do!" pissing contest that this thread may seem like. Sad to say, but the best thing I can say about the good workers on WWE is that they'll be fired and subsequently hired by TNA to get booked properly.

[Gary Floyd 0]

I started to watch wrestling when I was twelve, back in 1995. Granted, it wasn't the best time to start watching, though at least then I got my first exposure to it. Ironically, the first show I ever watched was "WCW Pro." The first WWF show I watched was "Superstars". I've watched with varying states over time, sometimes with boredom (thats one of the reasons I started.), sometimes with interest and fascination, sometimes with excitement, sometimes feeling apathetic over it (which is how I feel about the WWE right now, even though I still watch it, mostly out of boredom), and sometimes feeling disgusted or pissed off (WCW in 1999 and 2000, WWE in 2000 and 2002.)

 

I still watch it, even WWE, to this day, even though I feel apathetic about the McMahon empire. Why? Because as bad as things are, there will usually be something in a show that keeps me interested. I'm still apathetic for the most part, but I still watch.

[Guest JericholicEdgeHead]

As I posted in the RAW thread.. once I saw Stephanie pick up the mic I knew it was time for me to take another break from WWe.

Who knows maybe it will be a REALLY long break.

 

I have been a WWF/wrestling fan since late 1983...before some of the guys who post on here were probably born. Not trying to be sarcastic..but it's the truth.

I remember when WWF TV back then was just Championship Wrestling on Saturday nights and MSG & Cap Centre shows on the USA network. I grew up on the WWF. And yes as the 80's went on the WWF became this mixture of cartoon and wrestling but the thing was the focus was still WRESTLING. And the focus stayed on wrestling until around late 1997. Until a guy named Vince Russo came in and made it a circus/skit comedy show. So around late 1998 I took a year break from WWF because it was so far gone from what I grew up with as a kid and loved.

 

BUT...I started to slowly get interested again after Benoit, Saturn, Malenko & Eddie jumped ship to the WWF in early 2000 and because of guys like Jericho, Edge & Christian. Plus the wrestling aspect was starting to come back because they had some great talent. And thus the matches were really worth tuning in to see. So over the past 5 years I have tried to be a "fan" of the now WWE again. And believe me it's not easy trying to sit through the soap opera/comedy shit to see some actual pro wrestling. But I did it.

 

But heres the thing..unfortunately Vince & Stephanie still live in the Vince Russo version of the WWE, and I don't they will ever turn back. They are still stuck in the "shock TV" do anything to pop a ratings point mindframe. And with doing this they think they should be on-screen talent. And it looks like this is going to kick into high gear again.

 

But this time I'm not going for it. Yep it's time to take another break. But hey.. this a good thing for WWE to have a fan like me turn away from their product though... since they don't want any "old school" fans who actually likes the "wrasslin" aspect of their circus anyway.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I held off on an immediate reaction so as not to fuel the "Rudo and Curry always agree with each other" comments.

 

But I totally agree.

 

It's not like I'm growing smarter, well, not all that much smarter. I still enjoys me a good pro wrestling match. Social life hasn't seen any major upswings. But I cannot for the life of me watch WWE product any more. I guess I'm in the 12-Step program because there were times (like last night) when I felt like tuning into RAW just to see what's going on. I saw nothing that has led me to believe that things will get better and I saw every sign that things will get worse. I'll probably dl the RAW vs Smackdown SS match and that'll be all she wrote.

 

With all due respect to domestic abuse cases I feel like I've got Battered Wife Syndrome. For the longest time I kept teling myself, like so many of you do to this day, that things will get better. That things will change. That the WWE will step up and realize that their fans want (and deserve) an intelligent, compelling product. I don't think there was a specific breaking point for me like Katy Vick for example was for so many others that made them say "Fuck this, I'm out." I held on much longer then it was advisable to.

 

I'm tired of this shit. If I feel like good wrestling I've got a shitload of tapes and DVD's. Mixed Martial Arts is at a peak right now and is going to be huge in no time flat.

 

I'm out.

[Guest Fook]

Is it just me or do Rudo and Curry always seem to agree with each other?

 

[jester 0]

There are different stages in losing your WWEligion. The people who say they watch out of habit, believe me, I did too.  I'm pretty sure the majority of folk here who have stopped watching did.  You don't just STOP at one point and never go back - it's more of a progression.  Soon enough you'll find yourself missing a show or two here, a show or two there, and realize that it doesn't matter if you miss a show, nothing ever really happens and you can always turn back to it and get caught up easily.  So then you start missing more and more shows.  The habit breaks. And without that "habit", there is no interest at all.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I taped the show (RAW only) religiously from September 1991 until I lost complete interest in August 2002. I actually lost interest way before that, but I think I was just going through the motions, out of habit - much like lots of other ppl here. It almost felt like a burden to continue to watch..

 

Now, I tune in every once in a while when there's a commercial break on another show or something. I rarely, if ever, watch an entire episode of RAW (and I don't get SportsNet, so I don't get Smackdown).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I've said it before and I will say it again: WWE shouldn't be worried about smarks who throw a temper tantrum and loudly declare they are done with WWE for good.

 

They should be worrried about guys like Vivisect and RRR who quietly and almost without noticing find other things to do when wrestling is on, and slowly stop being a fan.

 

I find myself in the same boat.

[Guest jumpingbombangel]

Hiiiiii. My name is Tiffany. I'm 26. I've been watching wrestling since I was 5. I started in the rock'n'wrestling boom and have called myself a fan since. There have never really been any down times in my viewing. For a little bit in 87-88 I was a little on the casual fan side (only watching a little on weekends, not really reading the Apter magazines yet) but when we got cable (in particular USA network) I was hooked for life; pissed whenever I missed anything on TV or pay per view. What was ritual became habitual, though. Raw's still on my other TV on Mondays. I'm really watching UFC Unleashed or just surfing the web.

 

I don't watch Smackdown on Fridays. I usually just read the spoilers and leave it at that.

 

I'll never stop being a wrestling fan but I never thought I'd long for those Monday nights spent away from home, dying to get near a TV just to watch a little Prime Time or Raw.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I can't fathom how people can still be interested, much less enthusiastic about the product that's being put on today. For examples see home, Down. He's not the only one but his bulls-eye is by far the largest.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

I've been watching wrestling since the earlier 1980's (pre-WMI, I believe). Took a break in the early 90's, only to get back into the scene in 1996-ish from stumbling across ECW (aired at whatever ungodly post-midnight hour) & WCW. Watched everything from WWF, NWA, whatever ESPN aired in the 80's (World Class?), ECW, WCW, CZW, ROH (when they had a TV show), TNA, GLOW. Basically, any free-TV wrestling product. I watched WCW up to the very end, and I'd kill to have the promotion back (which tells you I can stomach a lot of crap).

 

Obviously, with only TNA & WWE being on free TV, it doesn't leave me w/ much variety. I don't want to pay for my wrestling, which means I'm not going to be buying tapes from overseas. I don't order PPV's, never have. I'll pick up a DVD if the show looks good, but the last show I purchased was WMXX (I have purchased a bunch of the "special" DVD's, i.e. the Flair set, Benoit disc, Rey disc, Monday Night Wars, etc.).

 

I'm very much a "casual" smark. I'll follow the rumors/news, but if you were to name a PPV, I most likely wouldn't be able to even name the ME match without looking it up (save for some of the bigger PPV's in the last couple years).

 

I'm fully aware that the current WWE product is crap. That really doesn't effect my viewing habits, since I pretty much only watch to catch the guys I like in action (which gets increasingly hard to do as they continually seem release those guys, or bury them). I play basketball on Monday's, so I tape Raw, which makes it easier to watch (Steph? FFWD! HHH promo? FFWWD! Kane match? FFWD!). I'll watch/tape SD, depending on my social plans. Internet Velocity is becoming quite the enjoyable show.

 

Brock not coming back is a disappointment, but Jamie Noble should be back soon, which is something that I'm looking forward to.

 

So, um, yeah, that's a bunch of rambling.

[Tawren 0]

I just got tired of it. They're never going to do something that will entertain me, so why bother watching? I have better things to do.

 

I can't even be bothered to write out a good explanation. It sucks, I got tired of being disappointed, I stopped watching, and I moved on.

 

Their loss.

[Guest]

I can't even be bothered to watch RAW anymore. The show is just a steaming piece of shit. Prison Break is on at the same time, and it's at the end of the MNF game. There's just so many other things that I can do, so I just don't care. I don't think this is a break for me, I think it's the end of watching WWE. I'd rather watch TNA to get my fix but I'm sure that after a few months of that, I'll be sick and tired of wrestling and I won't watch it again.

[Guest *KNK*]

If you were looking for WWE to offer you a fix of quality wrestling and top-notch entertainment then you deserve to be disapointed and dis-interested in this shoddy product.

 

I don't look @ WWE as a wrestling promotion, haven't since Austin's hand was raised in Houston, TX on that April night. That's when the promotion died. Slowly it crept into a dark abyss that it hasn't begun to budge a inch towards remote quality.

 

Finding positive entertainment from this promotion is non-existant, it's low grade soap opera. It's below soap opera.

 

I can find comfort in seeking my quality wrestling fix in this country by only one promotion that consistantly offers it on a high level. My entertainment needs are statisfied by the real quality writing that other networks have.

 

WWE is a circus act in never negative way imaginable. It's a joke to even it's closet fans.

 

The return of the McMahon's only throws more dirt on the buried grave of the WWE.

[Eclipse 0]

I have stopped watching Smackdown...only reading the results.

 

First of all, in a BAD MOVE by the WWE, they move the show to Friday Nights. Friday, a DAY that I am never home. At first, I was pissed that I would miss Smackdown. I ended up missing the first Smackdown, and I read the card that night, and the spoilers: I would have been pissed staying home for the show.

 

Ever since Batista moved to Smackdown, the title scene has been GARBAGE, with his crappy feud with JBL, to that stupid friend thing he has with Eddie. Also, the Orton/Taker feud, which has been running SINCE FOREVER, finally "ended" last night, with Bob and Randy Orton burning the casket. Seriously, what a waste of time. Plus, Taker's return since that return at WM20 has been CRAP. He returns as "Cowboy" Taker, it's the BadAss taker with eyeliner, trench coat, and a NEW HAT! He needed to return as gothic Taker to make sense. Then, the ON AIR KILLING of Paul Bearer at a SHITTY PPV. Oh man, that was the last time I was interested in Taker. He needs to retire before the WWE makes his legacy a JOKE.

 

I only care about RAW now. I hadn't seen RAW in a month, since I was busy, but I downloaded the videos off of the WWE site, and read results to keep up. Now, I only watch RAW. Until Smackdown picks up, I will not be watching that.

 

It's funny, nearly 5 years ago, if I missed a RAW or Smackdown, I would be INSANELY pissed, or I would need a tape. Now, Smackdown is an annoyance, and I can live with reading the results for RAW. Same goes for PPV.