Toxic Fandom

What great time it is to be a professional wrestling fan. There’s so many different promotions available to watch on TV and online that there’s literally a style, or flavor… if you will… for everyone. As a Gen Xer, (A person born in the 70’s and growing up in the 80’s) it reminds me of the days of old territorial wrestling. I was lucky to live in an area that got to watch the NWA, AWA, WWF (now WWE), and World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in their heyday. My friends and I would talk about which promotion was our favorite, which guys from promotion A could beat the top guys from promotion B and vice versa. We could get heated, but we’d eventually move on to something else like comic books or football. It was never disrespectful.

Not today. Some fans in this era, for some reason, are hyper defensive of their preferred promotion. So defensive in fact, any legitimate criticism draws vitriolic responses to the point that makes discussion on any promotion break down to juvenile name calling, and threats. All over wrestling.

It’s okay to love your favorite wrestler and preferred promotion. It’s okay to criticize what you like and don’t like of other promotions. What’s not okay is the superiority complex that these fans feel they have over others, and the viciousness of their responses. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s just wrestling. Be happy that there’s so many promotions to choose from. If the WWE is too scripted for you, that’s fine. Watch something else. If AEW is too flippy for you that’s fine. Watch something else. Don’t torture yourself by watching something you don’t like. Enjoy the products you like regardless of what it is. Can you imagine if we argued over soda companies like we do wrestling? It’s absurd, but the vehemence between fans over promotions is exactly that. Enjoy your preferred promotion with your preferred beverage without being a jerk.

I have been guilty of pushing the buttons of fanboys to trigger responses. I did so to see what kind of responses I would get, and boy was I not disappointed!! I do want to apologize for pushing those buttons, and I hope we can all just get along. We enjoy the fact that we’ve got such a bountiful plate, and acknowledge the fact that NWA Powerrr is the best wrestling show. Period. 😉

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