WW/TNA/Indys: What Kind of Pro Wrestling Fan Are You?

Pro Wrestling is different from any other sport in that fans tend to be much more divided than simply which superstar they root for.

Whether you like WWE, TNA, indy wrestling or all three, you fall into one or more of these six categories.

There are different kinds of wrestling fans and they all like different things for different reasons. So what kind of fan are you?

I am going to go through what I feel are the six different types of wrestling fans and you can feel free to leave a comment letting everyone know what kind of fan you are and why.

I don't want people to think I am generalizing, so feel free to list yourself as a combination of different fan types.

Hardcore Fan

When I say "hardcore," I do not mean the level at which one devotes themselves; I am talking about hardcore wrestling.

Hardcore fans are the ones who root for blood and violence, even though they know it is pre-planned. These fans are part of what made ECW popular and were a major force in the Attitude Era in WWE.

Whether these fans wish to see people getting hurt is not the point, it is their desire to see it done in a wrestling ring. If you want to see someone get hurt, then you can go search YouTube.

These are also the fans who make backyard wrestling popular. There are would-be wrestlers who want to perform, so they have to go to lengths most pros wouldn't have to, like the guys featured in the documentary The Backyard.

It doesn't matter if it is Necro Butcher or Mick Foley, hardcore wrestlers have their loyal fans who make what they do seem worth while, even if it isn't.

Old-School Fans

Old-School fans may not always be older fans, but more likely they are just fans of wrestling from before the current generation.

Often times you will hear people saying that no one can compare to Dusty Rhodes or Ric Flair; these are the old-school fans.

The ones who think it was the best back when they first started watching, or just fans who have been jilted by the current product in some way.

Old-School fans are often critical of today's wrestlers, but they still watch them to see if anything can compare to the glory days of their youth.

These fans will likely give you a speech about Buddy Rogers before watching a John Cena match.

Pure Wrestling Fans

Another type of fan is the pure wrestling fan. These are the people who want to see the best in-ring action all the time.

These fans typically watch the matches and not the interviews or backstage segments, and they prefer to see a match with no weapons or interference, just two athletes putting on the best show they can.

Guys like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins are fan favorites to the fans of pure wrestling because they work hard to put on the best show possible.

Pure wrestling fans also don't care for blood in matches unless it happens naturally. Blading has become less common these days because it is not only bad to cut yourself, but it is not good for the longevity of someone's career.

Pure wrestling fans would probably rather watch ROH matches on Youtube than a full episode of Raw.

Casual Fans

Some people like wrestling, but they don't love it or even make an effort to keep up with the week-to-week storylines and angles.

This might be the largest portion of the audience because most people don't even like to admit they watch wrestling, let alone love it.

Casual fans won't buy merchandise to wear or DVDs to watch again and again. They will simply tune in if there is nothing else on or they happen to see a good match as they flip past the channel.

Paying $50 for WrestleMania is not something these people budget for ahead of time.

The Entertainment Fan

The Entertainment fan is someone who loves characters like Santino, Doink the Clown and The Bushwackers the most.

They watch wrestling for its absurdity and its extravagance. This might be mostly the child fans, but there are plenty of adults who would cheer for Santino over Triple H. OK, maybe not plenty, but a few.

These are the fans who love WWE the most because of their effort to make things as entertaining and fun as possible. Having colorful characters has always been a trademark of WWE, and these fans love them for it.

These fans are often times criticized by the next group of fans in the list.

The Smark Fans

In wrestling lingo, a "mark" is someone who the product is being sold to, often times in the case of kids this means that they think it is real.

The term "mark" is used in movies by grifters as well to describe their victim, but in wrestling there is another term which describes the fans who know about all of the backstage happenings as well as being able to tell the real from the fake.

I would say the IWC would be lumped into this group by many because after all, we all think and act as one unit that was designed to serve WWE, at least it seems that is how we are perceived.

Smarks like to be knowledgeable in the real life behind the fiction. Knowing the real names of wrestlers, who they are really married to, how they feel about their co-workers and which wrestlers are in trouble are the kinds of things these fans like to know.

Seeking out information from wrestling news sites, reading spoilers and books are commonplace among these fans.

So What Kind of Fan Are You?

Before you answer, please consider the possibility that you are a combination of a couple different types.

You could be a pure smark, a hardcore entertainment fan or a casual old-school fan. Maybe you are a combination of three, who knows?

So please consider how you watch wrestling and then leave a comment telling everyone what kind of fan you are and why.