“The Internet killed professional wrestling.”
That one bold statement fueled intense arguments over what caused the ratings to crash once the Attitude Era went belly up a decade ago.
“Dirt sheets have become too commonplace!”
“Fans don’t need to know the inner workings of the business; it’s killing profits!”
Boy, have we come a long way.
A while back, I posted a column on the relevance of the IWC and what it means to be one of Eric Bischoff’s “10%ers.” You know, the people who don’t really have much say in this business because we’re “voiceless.”
In the last month, courtesy of one CM Punk, we suddenly had a voice in a man who, arguably, finally became the next true megastar of professional wrestling. The man who called out Vince McMahon for questionable decisions regarding the hiring and firing of wrestlers who clearly deserved a shot in the WWE. The radical who, through one simple demand, launched an effort to revive a long-dead milk-based product on a stick.
Ladies and gentlemen, CM Punk has validated the 10%ers.
Not too long ago, kayfabe demanded that the fans ignore illogical storyline and character development; that we suspend disbelief and just accept that Paul Bearer slept with Undertaker’s mother to produce Kane, Eddie Guerrero helped sire young Dominick, Papa Shango used voodoo to make the Ultimate Warrior throw up, and David Arquette could become WCW Champion. The more the IWC learned about the biz, the less likely we were to accept such terrible storylines. But did the companies give a damn what we thought? Hell no. The belief was that we weren’t the ones going to live shows paying good money to see wrestling. We were the ones naysaying the product, refusing to watch or spend our cash.
It wasn’t even until the past year that the WWE acknowledged the mere existence of the Internet. Now all the announcers care about is what wrestlers say on Twitter or Facebook to further storylines. Fan interaction has also stepped up through the ‘Net. As recently as Money in the Bank, fans were able to earn a free streaming of the PPV if they tweeted during Raw (or something to that effect).
And now, we have the CM Punk worked-shoot wherein he forced Johnny Ace out of hiding and made damn sure that the world knew how the company operates. It’s no mere coincidence. Triple H on Raw admitted to his status in the company live to the audience. It’s the first time I can recall (since the Edge/Matt Hardy feud) that behind-the-scenes workings were integrated into the live entertainment.
Folks, we are in the midst of a changing of the guard. Daniel Bryan winning Money in the Bank?! Really?! Not that I mind, but DB is an Internet darling, is he not? CM Punk actually left with the gold and is posting pics of it in his refrigerator, almost guaranteeing more followers on Twitter. Vince McMahon was forced to step down on TV, but there is an air of legitimacy about the situation as it’s been rumored for some time he wanted to end the Mr. McMahon character and lighten his workload.
I firmly believe that this new era we are being ushered into is a combination of viral marketing and worked-shoot style wrestling angles. It’s sure to be an interesting time.
Of course, I could be COMPLETELY WRONG and this will go nowhere in a matter of weeks. Such is the nature of the beast.
On a side note, if I’m right and this is a renaissance of sorts, let me bring your attention to one Eric Bischoff. About twelve or so years ago, Bischoff forced Tony Schiavone to give away Mick Foley’s title victory in an attempt to boost his own ratings. That obviously backfired and turned the tide of the Monday Night War in favor of the WWE. Here we are again, with Bischoff opening his big mouth about how “irrelevant and inconsequential” the IWC is and…BOOM…the CM Punk angle hits the airwaves.
Kind of makes you think, eh?
Random Thoughts
Yes, I saw Money in the Bank. Or should I say, Money in the Botch? AMIRITE? Nah, but seriously, it was a fun PPV. The Chicago crowd was amazing; it reminded me of Hogan/Rock at Wrestlemania XVIII and Undertaker/Michaels at Wrestlemania XXV.
I just don’t get why they keep putting so many accolades on del Rio only to start/stop his pushes. The briefcase all but guarantees a title victory in the near future, and I fully expected a cash-in at the end of Monday’s tournament (which I guessed at the start of the show, despite Glazer’s claim that Wheeler beat me to it!).
Am I the only one who would like to see Rey Mysterio face John Cena at SummerSlam?
I don’t get the direction of the Divas division. Kelly Kelly is NOT the ideal champion in any way. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Gail Kim are being completely wasted and it’s a shame. You’d think that, with Kharma gone, the company would use their best assets (HI OH!) to keep the division interesting until mommy comes back.
Did anyone actually think Sin Cara would be more than a flash-in-the-pan spotfest? He’s a younger, flashier Mysterio who can’t talk on the mic. How long did you think that would last?
Kudos to the WWE for actually following through with the stipulation in Christian’s title match. Since I haven’t heard anything from the Smackdown taping, I’m assuming he’ll actually hold the gold for five days this time.
I kept hoping the company would stop playing it safe once and for all with their tournament on Monday but it looks like they took the easy way out with two former champions in the finals.
Cheap Plugs
Great googly moogly, there was a hell of a lot of traffic on this site on Monday! Over 41,000 hits alone! Special thanks to the readers and my colleagues for making history here at Pulse Wrestling!
Check out the latest from all our regulars, including:
Pulse Glazer
Andrew Wheeler
Blair Douglas
Chris Biscuitti
MC Brown
Rhett Davis
Jake Ziegler
Paul Marshall
Jonah Kue
Kelly Floyd
Joe Violet
Penny Sautereau-Fife
James Alsop
Patrick Spohr
Matt Harrak
Chris Sanders
Joel Leonard
Steven Gepp
David Ditch
…and all the other contributors I’ve failed to mention from memory.
As for myself, Mike Gojira, so long…and thanks for all the fish.
