How the Internet Killed and Then Tried to Save Professional Wrestling

There was once a magical time where cars transformed into robots, "Real American Heroes" used laser guns and a hulking man urged us to say our prayers and take our vitamins.

Yep, that magical time was the 1980's, and if you're like me (a mid-20 something or in your early 30's) you remember this time fondly.

It was in this time frame I began a love affair with Professional Wrestling.  The plot-hole infested story lines and larger than life characters was all that was need to hook me in.

At this moment in my life wrestling was "REAL," and I sat in front of my television ever Saturday morning hoping that Hulk Hogan would pull out a victory against the Iron Sheik, or whichever top heel he was up against. 

There was the drama and suspense when it looked like Hogan would go down for the count.  Then, out of no where, he'd seemingly kick out of the pin and begin to "Hulk Up." 

He'd shake his balding bleached-blonde head and then point at his foe.  Of course the heel would try and stop this by throwing a punch or two, but there was no stopping the Hulk at this point.  This would all be followed with a big boot, the leg drop, and then the 1-2-3 for the win.

This was pure escapism for me, but I didn't know it was escapism, I thought it was real.  I thought the crisis in the Middle East or the Cold-War could be ending with a Hogan Leg Drop.

Lo and behold, these problems weren't that simple and the "bad guys" whom Hogan beat weren't really "bad guys," but men playing a role for a paycheck.

Years later, I'd learned there was no Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, and that Professional Wrestling was just as fake.  This was heartbreaking at first but would bring on a whole new enjoyment of my favorite entertainment. 

Now I wasn't just watching the match wondering if my favorite would come out on top, I was watching to see how these two men would tell a story.  For those of you who don't watch wrestling, I'll clue you in, each move is there to push the story line on. 

Randy Orton doesn't hit John Cena with a chair just because Orton is a heel, he does it so the audience believes that Cena is now in great peril and could lose the match.

Wrestling wasn't "REAL" anymore, but it was no less fun to watch.  Then in the 1990's Ted Turner brought forth the WCW and began buying up the WWF's established talent.

The WWF would later fire back and start buying up WCW rising talent, guys who were good but because of the high-priced stars Ted was bringing in didn't get a chance to shine. 

This added one more layer of excitement to the viewer.  What new wrestler would show up at the tapings?  It was great to see.  Hogan going to WCW, Ric Flair to the WWF, it changed the game altogether.  Stories quickly changed and everything felt fresh again.

Then the Internet took off and wrestling "Insiders" used this new medium to report on the behind-the-scenes stuff.  At first it was nice to see behind the curtain, but then it began to change the game. 

We were now learning way in advance who was not re-signing their contracts and who was moving on to the other side. 

We also learned that certain guys weren't really hurt, but on vacation or suspended for violations.  Then the most horrid of acts, we were given away match endings before the match.

This was going too far, the surprise was gone.  The only thing left to watch was the match.  However, knowing the outcome prior to the performance hindered the enjoyment of that match.  The internet started to make wrestling feel stale and predictable.

Vince McMahon would not take this lying down, he could see the Pay-Per-View sales dropping and he knew part of it was because of these insider wrestling sites. 

He did his best to throw them off by changing endings at the last minute or throwing a new wrestler into the ring instead of what was on the card.  Sadly this didn't work, it simply created awkward matches and stupid endings.

Vince was in a reaction mode, and to the kids out there they didn't really know the difference, but to those of us who grew up with wrestling, we could see it plain as day.  The WWF (now the WWE) as we knew it was gone for good. 

Vince wanted to prove to world he was smarter and better than these fools on the Internet.  This would have been something I could have gotten on board with if it were just the ones spoiling outcomes Vince was after.  Alas, he seemed to be after the whole Internet community. 

Some bloggers and sites truly love wrestling and report on it and give predictions (not give away endings, but what they think will happen) and try to get buzz for wrestlers they feel are the most talented and deserve a fair shot at headlining. 

Sadly, it seems Vince saw these sites as a threat as well.  It was as if he was saying "Who are these guys to tell me how to run my company?  I was putting on matches before they were born."

And who are we to tell him how to run his company?  The viewing and paying public, that's who!

Vince felt he knew better and pushed guys like John Cena down our throats.  He overlooked great performers like Chris Jericho and MVP, who seemed to be relegated to "putting people over." 

Vince told us want we wanted, despite the ringing of boos for John Cena, the supposed "fan favorite", and not the other way around.

Us older viewers began tuning out in droves.  We didn't want to be told who the top guy in the company was anymore. 

We longed for the days when the promoter looked at the fans' reaction to someone and pushed the guys who got the most cheers and the most heat.

Sadly, the Internet was originally seen as something that was being used against professional wrestling, and in all fairness it was at first. 

However, the Internet evolved and was eager to help make wrestling better.  It seems in Vince's eyes, the line had already been drawn and the Internet (with the exception of WWE.com) and all its bloggers were the enemy.

Now we have a watered down and gimmicky RAW, TNA makes no damn sense anymore, and it looks like wrestling maybe in for some hard times for a while.

But fear not, loyal reader, with talented young guys like Randy Orton and his group Legacy getting a pretty big push, the WWE may redeem itself.