Last night I spent about an hour and a half watching the 2012 edition of WWE Summer Slam. I wish I could say this is the first time I had watched wrestling in a while, but that would be a lie.
I began watching wrestling in the third grade, which I think is about the same time most boys start watching it. I grew up watching stars like The Rock, Triple H, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, not to mention amazing tag teams like the Hardy Boys and Too Cool. It was also when WWE became available on network TV for the first time with the premiere of WWE Smackdown.
I watched for a few years because it was something my cousin and I enjoyed, and it was entertaining. The plot lines were easy to follow and the action was always exciting.
Then as I grew a little older, I became a little wiser. I started to see the phoniness and cheesiness that really defined each episode.
But in college my friend started to get me back into it a little. This was around the same time The Rock came back and began his feud with John Cena. I always liked The Rock, and I have a lot of respect for people, especially actors, who don't abandon their roots. The Rock coming back to the WWE is like George Clooney coming back during the final season of "ER." They don't need to come back. They have established careers beyond where they started out, but they show loyalty to the fans who made them who they are by coming back.
As I started watching again I began to set aside the pompous attitude I had towards wrestling: the idea that I was too good to be watching this kind of television. I see my watching wrestling in three stages:
1. I watched as a kid for the action and violence.
2. I stopped watching in middle school and high school because I thought it was childish and ridiculous.
3. I started watching again in college because I can acknowledge that yes, it is ridiculous, but that doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable.
What I discovered is, that while the stars had changed, and while I didn't watch wrestling the same way I did as a child, it can still be a lot of fun to watch.
The fights are blatantly staged, but I still never know the outcome. The surprise is still there; I never know when someone's entrance music might come on to signal someone is coming to disrupt the match.
Plus, like I said, I watch it now more because of how terrible/amazing it is. The line reading and pontificating are just as terrible as they ever were. The insults are grade school level at best, but the mock outrage that exists between two opponents is none the less fun to watch. And despite what anyone says, these guys are still athletes. They are flying around the ring and throwing each other in ways I just don't see in other sports.
Wrestling isn't on my regular viewing schedule. I don't go out of my way to watch it the way I do with other shows, but if there isn't anything else on, and I'm with a couple buddies, nothing really beats the theatricality of a good WWE match.
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