WWE in the Modern Era: Why WWE Fans Ruin the Experience for Themselves

"

“Technology is a way of organizing the universe so that man does not have to experience it"    

             ~ Max Frisch

"

Wrestling is at its best when the product is ______.

Let me take you back to a time when wrestling was cool. When wrestling was hip. When wrestling was at the pinnacle of its success. When wrestling was at the epicenter of pop culture.

Let me take you back to a time that would be forever engrained as the "bar" that each subsequent era would be compared to. An era that not only oozed creativity, grittiness, machismo and panache, but an era that contained the one magical ingredient that makes wrestling the most electrifying theater in the world...

This one ingredient, an adjective, brings with it an atmosphere that swirls the hearts, minds and spirits of every fan into the perfect storm of emotions. This storm takes a hold of everything and everyone creating a whirlwind of electricity, passion and suspense.

A storm that no other sport, movie, play or medium of entertainment can create. A storm that makes those watching cry out, gasp or maybe just "mark out" at the scene they see playing out in front of them.

Within the eye of this storm are two storytellers who not only hold the power of the storm, but the collective breath of each and every person in the palm of their hands.

This ingredient? This magical adjective that has captured generations of wrestling fans? This lone remedy that shook the foundation of the "Golden Age" and crammed "Attitude" down the windpipe of the wrestling world? The one particle of hope that seems to missing from this new, "image conscious" product?

Wrestling is at its best when the product is unpredictable.  

What makes wrestling unpredictable? What makes unpredictable possible? In an age where someone jumping of a roof gets the attention of 150,000 people, where the Internet has become a large habitat used to house an array of information, spoilers, "inside" sources, critics and commentators posing as media (like myself); where and how can the WWE recapture their lost art of being unpredictable? 

That time period where wrestling was cool? Where wrestling was hip? Where wrestling was unpredictable? That was over a decade ago when the Internet and its many "sources" weren't widely available for everyday fans to consume.

As a kid who thought the Internet was strictly for homework research, games and the occasional website browsing only suitable when the parents weren't looking; I would never have thought to read, research and participate in an online wrestling community that basically presented me the ending to the wrestling "stories" I loved to watch every week. 

Now,  whether I want to know or not, I'm bombarded with articles, tweets, Facebook postings, blogs and numerous other social media creations that spoil any chance of wrestling being unpredictable. When the Rock made his epic return last year to build up WrestleMania 27 as a guest host, I stumbled upon this well before I got a chance to watch it.

When Brock Lesnar returned, I had inadvertently spoiled the surprise for myself by reading "dirt sheets" that hinted at a return and found out he did in fact return when I was blindsided by a tweet. I've now learned to avoid all forms of social media, which is inherently hard to do in the year 2012, whenever I haven't gotten around to watching Raw.

"Well, just watch it live" I've been told. Easier said than done and here in lies the reason why Raw ratings continue to decline. It's not the product that people don't care about, the superstars that have the current spotlight or the company's new found "PG" image.

It's because modern technology has allowed wrestling to be viewed, recorded and streamed through multiple avenues. I haven't, like many others, watched a live Raw in years. DVR has become my best friend allowing me freedom from being prisoner to a television set.

The Internet has become my ally by informing me on world news, pop culture updates and friend connections, but the Internet has become my greatest enemy when it comes to the world of professional wrestling.   

Within the past decade the Internet has ballooned 528 percent in users. It's estimated that well over half the world now uses the Internet and continues to trend upwards in user rates.

How the hell can any form of media be unpredictable with so many eyes, spies and "know it all's" continually digging and searching for every piece of information available? Especially when it's then plastered across numerous platforms that any wandering, unsuspecting eye can gaze over. 

Why do we, as fans, do this to ourselves? Have we become so conceited with the lust of being the "first to know"? Have we lost all patience with mediums of entertainment that this generation;s "instant gratification" no longer allows us to wait patiently for the ending and surprises, but instead seek them out the before the complete story is told?

How can wrestling be the once fun, chaotic, mesmerizing event it was as a child if its not allowed to contain any secrets, plots, returns and build up that all led to it being the most unpredictable form of entertainment?

Whenever something happens on screen millions rush to the Internet to get not only their fill of reviews, highlights and comments about the show, but are then subjected to "rumors", inside information and spoilers.

Are these the same people that then complain about how the product has lost its luster, its fun... its unpredictable nature? Are these not the same people who then moan and groan about how wrestling was infinitely better "back in the day"?

WWE fans (those who use the Internet as a way to gain WWE knowledge) have now become more concerned with how the company gets to an already widely known ending rather then allowing the story to be told with the ending a surprise.

While the ending might not pay off in the end (like it happens in movies all the time) at least the journey there is considered an adventure. If the ending is already known, along with many of the surprises along the way, the story is subject to critical analysis and debate on the multiple roads it could have taken to get to the end. 

With all of our hunger and lust for information, has anyone thought to think that perhaps we are the ones destroying the product for ourselves? The WWE knows that they can no longer keep secrets so they now resort to "trolling" their own fan base with fake information that spreads like wild fire across the Internet rumor boards and "dirt sheets."

They change plans last minute in order to "swerve" the all-knowing audience which usually results in storyline problems, continuity issues and sometimes just doesn't make a lick of sense in the context of telling a story. 

Are we to blame for these new tricks the WWE has learned to play on us? Does this not directly contribute to having a lesser product being displayed? The WWE is better off following their own script rather than playing a never-ending game of cat-and-mouse with its fans.

Let those who want to spoil the illusion, grandeur and surprises do it. The product is much more rewarding to those who stay patient and in the so called "dark".

Like my good friend, Mike, who refuses to look, read or even browse across social media and the Internet in search of professional wrestling rumors, articles or previews.

He lives with his passion for professional wrestling completely oblivious to the outside world free from anything that will ruin a surprise from him. He gasp, feels the electricity of a match outcome, and loudly "marks out" whenever something unpredictable happens. I want that back. I need that back.

My newfound passion for the art of professional wrestling drove me into the online community of wrestling. I found myself once again feeling like a little kid lost amongst a sea of new superstars, shows, announcers and stories. I became a writer in order to unleash my thoughts, comments and observations of this passion, but I lost something along the way...

I lost the feeling of excitement, the illusion of a fake reality, the "mark out" moments that seemed to flow through me as a wide eyed kid. These same feelings that I had rediscovered in my 20s were now gone within a year.

Because I had immersed myself within the world, I now knew everything about it. Everything from what was happening behind the scenes, what was going to happen not only next, but months from now and all the surprises along the way.

Wrestling had become something to analyze, debate and closely observe through the eyes of a now-always critical eye. I no longer watched to enjoy it, but to see which direction the company "thought" was the right path to reach an ending I already knew. 

Is this how others view the product? Wrestling needs to keep its secrets in order to be successful. I have chosen to allow them to keep them...at least in my eyes anyways.

I briefly stopped writing. I stopped searching for answers, stopped engaging or lusting after rumors in order to stay ahead of everyone else. I had ruined something I deeply enjoyed, but now I have that one magical adjective back in my wrestling life.

I am now once again in possession of the secret ingredient that I hastily and blindly threw away. I now feel the raw passion, emotion, electricity and suspense that was missing for years. I am now apart of that perfect storm again.

And while the product may not be everything it can be or once was in my eyes (How can anything compare to anything through the eyes of a child?); I once again enjoy professional wrestling.