WWE's Fans and Why They'll Never Be Happy with the Product

Regardless of what WWE does or how they book or who they sign, a good number of WWE fans will never be happy. 

So many of us are overcritical and cling too tightly to the past. 

If you were to believe wrestling message boards and the comment section of YouTube videos, then wrestling is dead. 

Some fans tend to ignore or dismiss WWE's most recent high points and focus on the negative instead.

If wrestling is such an inferior product now, why was WrestleMania 28 so great?

Why are we seeing matches like the five-star beauty from John Cena and CM Punk at Money in the Bank 2011 or Daniel Bryan and Sheamus' most recent masterpiece?

If all the greats are already in our rear-view, then are Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, CM Punk and Randy Orton just mirages, ghosts wandering in a long-dead world?

It's the nature of wrestling itself that often creates this defeatist attitude.

What about my guy?

Even with as many titles as WWE has, not everyone's favorite wrestler can be champion, at least not simultaneously. 

Inevitably, a wrestler one fan likes will get a spot in the limelight over someone that some fans don't like.

There are few superstars on the roster that somebody somewhere isn't wishing would win the WWE title tomorrow.

An avid David Otunga supporter will be unhappy in that regard for the duration of his career.

Not everyone can be champion, just as not everyone can be pushed.

In order to build up a wrestler, others have to lose. 

Too many fans are too quick to a call a loss a burial.  Wrestling is unique in that losing doesn't have to be such a bad thing.

Shawn Michaels made an art of being the star despite losing.

Michaels lost that famous ladder match at WrestleMania X.  Still, he came out being the one we talked about.

True wrestling fans don't care who wins anyway, they just want to be entertained.

We can either choose to sit back and enjoy the show or gripe.

Just when were the good old days?

It's not just the PG Era suffering from comparisons to the Attitude Era; every new wave of wrestling gets clobbered with its own faction of cynics.

There are those that will tell you that wrestling went into a downward spiral when Lou Thesz retired. 

There are those who swear that the Hulk Hogan-heavy '80s was wrestling's pinnacle and that everything after that is worthless. 

Wrestling was great when ____ was around.  Insert wrestler of your choice into the blank; NWO, Four Horsemen, Stone Cold, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, Randy Savage.

I'm not going to say that the current era is on par with the Attitude Era. 

This season's Chicago Bears in all likelihood won't be as good as the 1985 team, but fans will support them and will enjoy watching them play.

The past always seems rosier than it was anyway.

All the filler and blunders WWE made during its greatest periods are largely washed away by the tide of nostalgia. 

Armchair Booking

One reason some fans will never fully appreciate the WWE is that they believe they could do a better job booking the shows.

I won't deny that a few well-educated, obsessed fans out there could probably make good bookers, but it is far easier to pick apart someone else's work than to create yourself.

Like any fan, I won't pretend to love every or even most of WWE's decisions. 

Analyzing WWE's storylines and use of wrestlers can be healthy part of fandom.  Wondering what could have been is part of the fun.

Second-guessing every move WWE makes detracts from the enjoyment of watching it.

I'm not suggesting stifling your own opinion, but fans have to find the balance of being critical and being accepting. 

Otherwise while we're busy bemoaning one of WWE's perceived missteps, we may miss out on their home runs.