What Would It Take You To Stop Watching WWE Programming

[Nate 0]

ok i know there is a thread about what it would take to get you to watch WWE again, i pose the question what would it take to get you to stop watching altogether

 

they would have to go back to levels in 2003-2004, that was a bad period of time very few bright spots from that time, feel free to share your thoughts guys

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Having five guys in hoods come out and choke a wrestler with a piano wire.

 

I didn't watch WWE for 18 months after that.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

I'm not sure, but after the Benoit incident my interest in wrestling has kinda wained, at least for the last month or so. It's started to slowly come back now, in that I can watch short blasts of ROH or TNA.

 

I stopped watching in 2001 when the invasion angle faded away leaving a bad taste in my mouth, so I guess if WWE destroyed any really amazing promising angles with their bad booking I might stop watching them again.

[Timmy8271 0]

HHH circa 2003. I didn't watch Raw for about 8 months in 2003/2004.

 

The only way I would stop watching WWE would probably if I didn't have cable or a TV. Possibly if Chris masters and Bobby Lashley were the only two main eventers.

[cabbageboy 0]

That was a goofy Taker angle, never even made an impression on me.

 

I'm not sure what it would take, but I think it would have to include a complete lack of interesting stuff on the horizon. I stopped watching in late 1989 (resumed watching in early 1992) and I think I stopped because it looked like Hogan had the title and there were no real challengers on the horizon, Demolition had the tag belts with nothing more to do, Warrior had the IC title and no serious threats on the horizon. Of course I stopped before they could put Hogan vs. Warrior at WM 6, but the thought of them doing that never occurred to me.

[chaosrage 0]

ok i know there is a thread about what it would take to get you to watch WWE again, i pose the question what would it take to get you to stop watching altogether

 

they would have to go back to levels in 2003-2004, that was a bad period of time very few bright spots from that time, feel free to share your thoughts guys

 

You have to be kidding. 2003 was not good by any means, but at least we had Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Guerrero, Benoit, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Christian, and The Rock's excellent heel turn. Today, we have nothing.

 

December to Dismember was what the final straw was for me to stop watching.

[Nate 0]

ok i know there is a thread about what it would take to get you to watch WWE again, i pose the question what would it take to get you to stop watching altogether

 

they would have to go back to levels in 2003-2004, that was a bad period of time very few bright spots from that time, feel free to share your thoughts guys

 

You have to be kidding. 2003 was not good by any means, but at least we had Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Guerrero, Benoit, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Christian, and The Rock's excellent heel turn. Today, we have nothing.

 

December to Dismember was what the final straw was for me to stop watching.

 

i think December to Dismember was actually a turning point to improve the product, i know we dont have alot of those names anymore, but we got guys like Cena, Lashley, Punk, Nitro, Batista, Taker, HHH, HBK and many others, in terms of top stars today compared to then is not as good, but i think the talent pool overall is better now then it was a few years back

[Steviekick 0]

I think the only thing that would get me to stop would be seeing that some worker that I knew personally either die or get seriously hurt would be the only thing to make me stop watching WWE.

 

Every now and then my interest does change. Currently I only watch ECW, maybe an hour of Raw tops and never get to see Smackdown.

[Guest Timmer]

No matter how bad wrestling has been, I have always chosen to watch the product in some degree. I'm 33 and I have watched wrestling for as long as I can remember.

Even earliar this year, I would at least record the shows and watch some and fast forward some.

 

However the aftermath of the Vince death angle, (not him being killed, the 10 bell salutes and such), along with the Chris Benoit situation has turned me off the the sport as a whole. I haven't watched/recorded any wrestling in 3 weeks and quite frankly, I don't miss it at all. I still check out the sites from time to time and it only reinforces the fact that I'm not missing anything.

 

Will I come back and watch it? Not any time soon.

 

 

 

[TheFranchise 0]

I feel like a lemming now with what I was about to say, given everybody's responses, but i'll say it none the less.

 

I'll probably get labeled a mark or be ridiculed, but I'll probably never, ever stop watching. I'm 23 years old, I'm a former wrestler myself, I grew up idolising everybody I watched in the old WWF, back in my teenage years i'd watch Raw and tape Nitro, and always stay up til 4am to watch the PPV's.

 

Hell, if WCW were around today, i'd probably still be doing exactly that. Things might not be as exciting as the late ninetines, but it'll never always be great, will it? If you don't have the leaner and bad times like the last few years, you'll never appreciate the great times we've had and will have again.

 

I'm on a board for 'smart marks', I never proclaim to be smart to anybody, but I do like posting here anyway.

 

But at the end of the day, I might not be a mark, a smark, or even a wrestler myself any longer, but i'll always be a fan.

[chaosrage 0]

i know we dont have alot of those names anymore, but we got guys like Cena, Lashley, Punk, Nitro, Batista, Taker, HHH, HBK

 

And except for Taker and HBK, who aren't currently wrestling and probably won't be back for a while, doesn't that just make you want to cry?

[ISportsFan 0]

I'll probably get labeled a mark or be ridiculed, but I'll probably never, ever stop watching. I'm 23 years old, I'm a former wrestler myself, I grew up idolising everybody I watched in the old WWF, back in my teenage years i'd watch Raw and tape Nitro, and always stay up til 4am to watch the PPV's.

 

Hell, if WCW were around today, i'd probably still be doing exactly that. Things might not be as exciting as the late ninetines, but it'll never always be great, will it? If you don't have the leaner and bad times like the last few years, you'll never appreciate the great times we've had and will have again.

 

I'm on a board for 'smart marks', I never proclaim to be smart to anybody, but I do like posting here anyway.

 

But at the end of the day, I might not be a mark, a smark, or even a wrestler myself any longer, but i'll always be a fan.

 

I used to think that I will always keep watching. I used to tape every single hour of television of professional wrestling and still have thousands of tapes in my house. The demands of my job, hours-wise and effort-wise, have caused me to stop, along with the fact that I just think other entertainment is more worth my time at this point in my life. I still keep up with everything, but I thought that I would never stop and I already have at age 22.

 

[Nate 0]

i know we dont have alot of those names anymore, but we got guys like Cena, Lashley, Punk, Nitro, Batista, Taker, HHH, HBK

 

And except for Taker and HBK, who aren't currently wrestling and probably won't be back for a while, doesn't that just make you want to cry?

 

it does to be honest, but Cena and Lashley have grown on me, not my favorite guys in the world but their matches are always solid

[Ravenbomb 0]

From December 2 Dismember to the Draft Special I didn't watch any WWE television. Then from the draft special to the Benoit memorial I didn't watch anything, but now I'm kinda watching it here and there, although I slept through it the past couple weeks cause I was tired.

 

But that's generally what it takes to get me to conciously stop watching; either a gradual decline in product quality punctuated with a dismal show (ESPECIALLY if I waste $40 on it) or something as over the top as Vince's limo blowing up. The last time I stopped watching for a while wasn't a "I'm gonna stop watching for now" thing so much as I missed half of a Raw, then I missed a couple shows in a row, and then just kinda got out of the habit and wasn't really motivated to get back into it.

[razazteca 0]

1. Vince McMahon, Champion or if any member of the family decide it is a good idea to be on tv in every segment every week.

2. Two hours of nothing but dick jokes i.e. DX HHH vs Spirit Squad.

3. Great Khali having the longest title reign in the history of the company.

4. Nick Hogan vs David Flair in a never ending feud.

5. Steve-O, ECW Champion.

[Blue Bacchus 0]

They gave Paul Heyman the boot. That did it for me.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

I didn't really watch Raw last week and I haven't watched Smackdown in a long time.

It's hard to watch after Benoit's death.

[Mecca 0]

i know we dont have alot of those names anymore, but we got guys like Cena, Lashley, Punk, Nitro, Batista, Taker, HHH, HBK

 

And except for Taker and HBK, who aren't currently wrestling and probably won't be back for a while, doesn't that just make you want to cry?

 

Not really.......I'd rather see some new guys get a chance than see someone be pushed as a maineventer for 20 years....I get more tired of watching a guy mainevent forever like Hogan in WCW than seeing a new guy be given a shot to see if he can do it or not.

[Nate 0]

I didn't really watch Raw last week and I haven't watched Smackdown in a long time.

It's hard to watch after Benoit's death.

 

thats very understandable, i've been through alot as a wrestling fan like many others, but i stand strong and support wrestling as much as i can, honestly i can say if something happened that i would "stop watching" i probably wouldnt stop watching, i'll probably watch wrestling till the day i die or the business dies

[Scroby 0]

The only thing that prevents me from watching TNA or Smackdown is that I forget to record it or think I'm going to be home by that time one of those shows come on only to find out that I won't be home in time for it to start.

 

To be honest, no matter how bad the WWE or TNA product will get, I won't stop watching either company just because I fear I miss something really good, like a match or a angle or a surprise return of someone. I really think that no matter how bad either WWE or TNA gets, I just won't stop watching. Piper was right, wrestling is a sickness.

[Karc 0]

The Invasion angle ruined my general interest in WWE, it showed how things were really going to work around there, and I didn't care to see it.

 

But Trish leaving did it for me. I've never looked back.

[Mecca 0]

A female leaving the wrestling world really did it for you........that's a bit bizarre.

[Dips 0]

I will always watch it or follow it in some sort of way. Right now I just fast forward through Raw and watch whatever segment looks decent. I don't bother with Smackdown. I watch PPVs when they are free over here in the UK and download the big ones which aren't free.

[Longdogger_Pete 0]

Kevin Federline.

 

[cabbageboy 0]

I'll elaborate on the 2003-04 product. Yes, those guys that were mentioned were in fact there, but really some of them like Jericho and RVD were buried as hell during that time period. Christian was treading water as well, maybe got an IC run out of it. I've let my apathy for Lesnar/Angle be known on here in the past, mainly because in the initial part of the feud I never found Angle and Co. to be serious enough as heels and Lesnar didn't exactly inspire me to rally behind him. Then they shift roles and Lesnar worked better as a vicious heel, but Angle was too smarmy to work as the inspirational face.

 

What did Benoit do in 2003? After his stellar match with Angle at the Rumble he really didn't do anything that I recall until very late in the year when he feuded briefly with Lesnar. The one guy during that time period that was booked well and captivated me as a viewer was Eddie.

[chaosrage 0]

I'll elaborate on the 2003-04 product. Yes, those guys that were mentioned were in fact there, but really some of them like Jericho and RVD were buried as hell during that time period. Christian was treading water as well, maybe got an IC run out of it. I've let my apathy for Lesnar/Angle be known on here in the past, mainly because in the initial part of the feud I never found Angle and Co. to be serious enough as heels and Lesnar didn't exactly inspire me to rally behind him. Then they shift roles and Lesnar worked better as a vicious heel, but Angle was too smarmy to work as the inspirational face.

 

What did Benoit do in 2003? After his stellar match with Angle at the Rumble he really didn't do anything that I recall until very late in the year when he feuded briefly with Lesnar. The one guy during that time period that was booked well and captivated me as a viewer was Eddie.

 

This is all true, but at least I had those guys to look forward to seeing. There was a chance I might see something good. Off the top of my head I remember Jericho vs Shawn, the Highlight Reel every week, RVD vs Christian's ladder match on Raw, Rock's heel turn, and the Jericho/Trish/Christian storyline at the end of the year.

 

There's not a single person on the roster that I have the slightest interest in anymore. HBK, RVD, and Benoit were the last.

[garfieldsnose 0]

In response to the topic at hand, I won't ever stop watching wrestling on free TV (not really free, but for all intents and purposes, I'll use it) unless it is taken off free TV. I've been watching since I was 5 or 6, can't remember, and I've been watching ever since. Doesn't matter which promotion it is. Since WWE is obviously the leader of mainstream professional wrestling, I won't stop watching it any time soon. I don't ever feel like my intelligence is insulted because I don't take it as seriously as other people, and I enjoy it for what it's worth. I don't let my knowing of backstage politics get in the way of being entertained, which a lot of people have.

[Guest Smues]

Having five guys in hoods come out and choke a wrestler with a piano wire.

 

I didn't watch WWE for 18 months after that.

 

My memory is drawing a blank. Who/what was that?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Having five guys in hoods come out and choke a wrestler with a piano wire.

 

I didn't watch WWE for 18 months after that.

 

My memory is drawing a blank. Who/what was that?

Undertaker/Muhammad Hassan angle.

[mysterious_w 0]

I've missed a lot of the really distasteful angles, but the ones I have seen (Such as the Chavo/Rey/Vickie angle last year) I simply avoid watching.

 

To make me stop watching now would be a high proportion of shows where there is not one passable wrestling match on the card.