Weve recently had the 'is darts a sport?' conversations. Well I've just seen Sky are charging £20 pay per view for this soon? I've never got this whole WWF, WWE really which amounts to nothing more than legalised match fixing?!? Anyone care to enlighten me on its attraction? Or is it just me?
They've been charging for about three or four PPVs a year for at least five years, probably longer. It might be totally fixed, but then so is Coronation Street. It's just a soap opera, but live and in front of an audience. I'm not a fan by the way, I can just see what people (especially kids) enjoy it. Big personalities, big live events, twist and turns, fan favourites, enemies, etc. etc.
This is all you need these days which is basically Netflix for wrestling........ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Network From last sunday anyone who signs up gets a two week free trial www.wwe.com/wwenetwork where if you cancel before a week on monday you don't get billed and you can cancel through your online account so don't have to ring up anywhere to cancel it. For 9.99 a month it includes live coverage of all the PPVs. But if you just sign up for the trial you get Royal Rumble for free rather than twenty quid through Sky Box Office. You also get 24/7 access to old DVDs, PPVs, documentaries, tv shows etc. Absolute bargain for 2.50 a week. Really set up well in that if you leave halfway through watching something you can return later and the video will be ready to play from exactly where you left. If you watch old PPVs they tell you along the stream where each match starts so they are easy to find. Anyone who's not a fan I would still recommend they sign up and watch for nothing for the next ten days or so. Matches on there like these would make people respect what they do more...... Wrestlemania 24: Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels. Wrestlemania 25: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels. Wrestlemania 26: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels.
Loved it as a kid, and through to my late teens, early 20's. Still go back and watch old matches from the attitude era especially. Stone Cold was something else. I saw a bit of the modern day version the other day, and it seems watered down, not as bloody/violent/risky and the 'wrestlers' all look the same (physically at least). Give me The Undertaker vs Mankind any day of the week. Proper worth PPV coin matches like that were.
What you saying, Dreamy? [video=youtube;P35Y_3fLht0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P35Y_3fLht0[/video]
The product is watered down as it brings in millions of dollars extra revenue a year from companies who want to advertise and be assoicated with a family friendly show. I don't particularly miss the blood and violence because purposely blading was just stupid. If they get cut hardway (genuinely) fair enough. Also it means guys have to be better wrestlers without relying on stunts and props. Mick Foley as good as he was for battering his body he wouldn't have made it in this era.
So let me get this right! You pay a fortune for monthly subscriptions just to get SKY, then extra for film/sports/F1 etc channels and THEN 'Box-Office' for special events like Boxing. On top of that - endless repeats and hours of advert breaks. Wow! I'd rather eat my own liver. Are these people who complain about BBC licence fees at £12 pm no adverts and who produce original drama?? Unbelievable Jeff!
I'd rather watch Foley than any of the current roster. It's *****, mate. But I saw WWF/WWE during it's glory era, I'll always have the memories.
Sign up for the free trial you've nothing to lose. Royal Rumble on sunday will be worth it for the annual 30 man match and the Cena/Lesnar/Rollins triple threat (rest of the card not so much). Brock Lesnar is rumoured to be going back to UFC when his contract expires in April so he might only have one or two matches left after sunday. Plenty of good matches last year. Daniel Bryan vs HHH at Wrestlemania 30 and later that night Daniel Bryan vs Batista (who's left again to be a baddie in the new Bond movie) vs Randy Orton. Brock Lesnar vs Undertaker on the same show. Even the opening segment having the three biggest ever names Hulk Hogan, The Rock and Stone Cold in the ring talking. Outside of the biggest show of the year The Shield vs Wyatt Family six man at Elimination Chamber 2014 was match of the year for alot of people.
Glory era to you maybe, but surely it's in it's glory era now? Has the whole of the market (as in only opposition is TNT rather than WCW), more regular shows than ever before, more shows in Europe than ever before, record ticket sales for the main events, etc. I used to watch it as a teenager and loved it, but the success story continued long after I stopped watching.
As someone has pointed out, it's scripted, in the same way any other entertainment programme is. I occasionally watch TNA on challenge TV but only occasionally. Not anywhere near on the same scale as I used to love it when I was 9, 10, 11 etc. Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels in the first ever hell in a cell, is still my all time favourite match, that was in 1997 I believe. A load of lads from work are planning on going to watch WWE at Leeds arena soon, I wouldn't pay money to watch it anymore. Might have wanted to when I was younger (but we never had sky) but not anymore.
Never mentioned the success of the company. I'm talking era's. And I think I watched it through its best period from mid 80's to early noughties. Stick to boxing. Whilst thar here, what did you think of Wilder/Stiverne, and what do you make of Fury's next opponent? Seems overly bigged up this Hammer to me.
The names from our 'eras' will be more memorable, but there were less wrestles then. Brock Lesnar with his move to UFC and winning the heavyweight title there is one of the biggest names in the history of the 'sport'. Thought Wilder looked really, really good. Boxed Stiverne's ears off, and hurt him a fair few times as well. Proved a lot of people wrong, but still a long way to go. This Hammer is a joke, but who knows in boxing and who knows with Tyson Fury! At least he's won ten in a row and can punch, but Frank Warren isn't daft - when you're potentially one fight from a world title you don't take a risk, they're just trying to keep Fury's mind on track and the ring rust off. Smart move unless Tyson loses it mid fight.
You might say that but Mick Foley is probably one of the healthier wrestlers by virtue of not doing industrial amounts of steroids.
Yeah I call it scripted sports entertainment. Negative bashers genuinely call it fake wrestling. Nothing fake about the injuries like Daniel Bryan who last week came back from eight months out with a broken neck. Had surgery in May, due back in two months, first surgery didn't go as planned and so only just back. He's had two matches already since returning and hasn't watered down his style at all so will probably be forced to retire within five years. Should be protecting his neck and not doing his usual dangerous moves like landing head first on his opponents from a great height. I'd never go to an house show. Vince Mcmahon thinks the fans go just for the babyfaces so it ends up being predictable with sometimes every house show match won by the babyface and heels having to do the jobbing. I do love watching Brock Lesnar wrestle. Loved it when he joined UFC and became their heavyweight champion, slagged off the fans and stuck fingers up to the UFC marks in the crowd who thought someone from 'fake wrestling' could never beat their guys. Only guy to ever to do the triple crown of UFC Champion, NCAA Amateur Champion and WWE Champion. Nobody else as even done two of the three.