WWE: 10 Reasons Why I Haven't Yet Turned Away from Watching Wrestling

As a wrestling fan of over 15 years, I'm sad to say that my interest in the product has waned in the last year or so.  Maybe its because my generation has retired, maybe its simply not the same as before, maybe standards have slipped. And yet, week after week, WWE and TNA still appear on my television screen.

One of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, whilst expecting different results. Maybe that is it, maybe I am a little crazy? But as a loyal wrestling fan who has spent considerable amounts of money enjoying this pastime, I still cling onto a belief that things will change.

The Internet Wrestling Community is not one group. It does not have one voice. It is an umbrella organization of the weird and wonderful.

And so in preparing this slideshow on 10 reasons why I still watch wrestling, I am acutely aware that in response, members will criticise and suggest alternatives. By all means suggest but the reasons contained in this list are my own.

The hopes of one fan lie in the following 10 reasons.........

Enjoy!

1: The Eventual Return of the Phenom, the Undertaker

There is no greater character wrestler in history than the Undertaker. You may argue, you may dispute but I shall not be for turning. Many Undertaker marks will feel the same. The Undertaker has been the creative force of wrestling for over two decades.

His presence still hangs over arenas, and while he will remain on the disability list for some time, we all await his eventual return; to hear the gong of the graveyard symphony, to see the blue light and to smell the faint odour of formaldehyde.

Somewhere in a wrestling arena in the next few months, that moment will happen, and when it does, the creatures of the night will welcome back their hero.

2: The Phenomenon That Is CM Punk

Up until a few months ago, wrestling was stale. It was the same product delivered in almost predictable fashion with no creative angles or explanation.

Kofi Kingston seemed to be eternally fighting Jack Swagger, the Divas were continuously fighting tag team matches with no purpose, and John Cena was coming back from a near-impossible situation to beat some guy that never had a chance of winning in the first place.

Wrestling was stale.

However with a hint of Montreal in the air, the imminent departure of CM Punk created something new. Suddenly wrestling fans were paying attention. We still fast forward the divas match but that's only because we wanted to get to the Punk angle.

Honesty, truth and close to the bone comments were now in play. In scenes reminiscent of the Hall and Nash invasion of 1996, wrestling was edgy. Some had begun to burn effigies of the PG era, heralding a new generation, new impetus and ultimately, new hope.

However it turns out, wrestling fans liked what they saw, and suddenly Punk stands on the brink of superstardom. How it is managed will keep us tuning to our screens. Mess it up, P. Levesque, and we may simply turn off for good.

3: The Stinger, Steve Borden

One was a phenom, two was a phenomenon, so on the third you might have expected AJ Styles. Like you thinking, and although I am a fan of the TNA stalwart, at three, I have chosen Sting. I am curious to know what others think but I can not help but like this new character of Sting.

Add Jim Carrey and Heath Ledger together, add a little Crow and you get current Sting. And with a little bit of Undertaker magic of the 1990s and dodgy lights that seemingly go out at will, you have a strong, watchable character.

What TNA has, that the WWE doesn't, or didn't until Punk got going, was unpredictability. The current Sting is unpredictable and because of that, he is always worth watching.

4: JR: Jim Ross with Jerry Lawler

Is it too much to hope that JR might be staying? Fans have demanded it for years and to see and hear from the legendary Hall of Famer livens up even a boring divas match.

For anyone who is new to wrestling or simply wants to hear wrestling commentary as it ought to be, simply watch WrestleMania XXV and the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels match.

There is simply no one better. He is the best in the world at what he does.

5: The Birth of a New Sensation or Generation

Wrestling fans of a certain age have been waiting for years for the first cracks in the PG era. They long for their kind of wrestling, where matches were hellacious and language was blue. They want carnage, mayhem and madness. Quite simply, they want something that is entertaining.

Not all of the Attitude Era was watchable, some of it was terrible, but wrestling fans love to be at the birth of something new. How many remember a fresh faced Rocky Maivia, or an obedient Ringmaster?

Who was at the 1990 Survivor Series to see the surprise entrant? Who watched Shawn Michaels as a Rocker and wondered if he was good enough for singles competition?

To be part of history stays with you for a lifetime and so as wrestling undergoes a period of transition, we desperately seek a new face or direction.

6: The Occasional Art of Comedy

Comedy is a difficult skill to perfect. We can all tell a joke but few of us are natural jokers. When comedy is attempted by those who are not skilled, and in front of thousands, it is a recipe for disaster. Or put it another way, it takes the form of a WWE straight to video movie.

Wrestlers like Santino Marella can do comedy, as can the likes of Bill Regal, Vladimir Kozlov, Ken Anderson and Sting. Their art form can produce moments of pure magic and as the above video attests, it can produce a strong reaction from a crowd.

When these moments occur, sometimes even for a few seconds, wrestling successfully laughs at itself and we can enjoy a little light moment before two more competitors begin once again to knock seven shades out of each other.

Comedy is the Oreo's filling.

7: Nostalgia

Do we yearn for the past? Do we see the past as constantly sunny days where nothing was wrong with the world? Perhaps so. However the occasional trip back in history can reignite a few fond memories.

I do not want to see my heroes wrestling again. Their time has been but to see their involvement in wrestling once more, is something that I find most welcoming.

Few can do better promos than Roddy Piper, few can do energy like Steve Austin, few have the gravitas of Bret Hart and few can do charisma like Shawn Michaels, and yet their reappearance adds so much to the product.

I will continuously argue that wrestling needs these legends behind the scenes directing what happens in the ring and to care for the up-and-coming talent.

Too many are directionless and in need of advice and guidance in their careers. Legends will be able to do this, and many would be only too happy to get involved.

8: The Returning Hero

One of the most unexplainable events of the wrestling year, occurred at the 2011 Royal Rumble. As the wrestling world waited for the next entrant, the noise of a Diesel truck roaring, sent the fans into raptures. Big Daddy Cool was back.

And yet for months wrestling fans had lampooned his work in TNA as part of a lazy angle involving yet another lazy, revamped nWo angle. Fast forward a few months and put him in a WWE ring, and suddenly fans are on their feet cheering.

As wrestling fans, especially those of a certain age, we love change. To see Chris Jericho in a WWE ring, or Ric Flair in a TNA one, was something radically different to what we had previously known. Something new was guaranteed and we were only too happy to watch.

However, wrestling fans still have a preference of where they see their favourites. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall belong in the WWE. Their departure for WCW sent shockwaves across the wrestling world but many WWE fans were counting the days until they returned.

They had to wait five years, and when it happened, even as heels, they got a great reception.

It happens less nowadays as the WWE dominates the market but a change of personal still has the potential to excite the wrestling universe.

9: That One Special Match

Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker, WrestleMania XXV. CM Punk vs. John Cena at Money in the Bank. British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart, Summerslam 1992.

There are hundreds more, but every now and again there is a match of such high quality and drama that we as fans feel vindicated for spending so much time watching this cartoon art. Matches that show wrestling in its greatest light.

They are however rare and often to be found at pay-per-views, however these matches remain long in the memory and can often ensure that we remain loyal to the federation for the remainder of the year.

Perhaps we are taken for granted and when we threaten rebellion, someone in creative dreams up a match of the highest quality to appease us.

We need more of these moments. We need more quality. We need more memories.

10: The Hope for Better

The last refuge of the disillusioned wrestling fan is hope. A hope that something will change and that things will improve. Loyalty to the product will ensure that we will not simply turn off, but we must at least see signs of hope.

Wrestling does have periods of transition. We cannot have golden era after golden era. We need change, experiments and different target audiences.

Wrestling in the mid-1990s was in dire need of change. Rocked by the steroids trials, wrestling had lost its innocence. Gone was red and yellow, and in its place something all the more edgy. And it worked.

Wrestling needs to challenge its fans. If it fails in this, it will lose its lifeblood and with ratings and income down, this is something they can least afford.

And So......

These were the rambles of one wrestling fan. They were my reasons for staying loyal but as the final slide suggested, change is needed to ignite a new revolution, or simply to keep the older fans from walking away from wrestling.

I hope you enjoyed it and by all means leave a comment suggesting why you choose to watch wrestling.

Until the next time, this was CVG.