This column is about the New Breed. No, not ECW’s attempt to start a war (although more entertaining than Hardcore Holly, Snitsky, and Lashley) between the old and new, but the New Breed of fans. I began watching wrestling at about the time Stone Cold dethroned Shawn Michaels and became the WWF champion. I watched the Attitude Era, then watched it die. I watched the InVasion, the roster split, the rise and fall of Brock Lesnar, the end of Austin, Rock, & Foley’s careers. I have also enjoyed watching the future of the WWE begin their rise, such as Orton, Edge, Cena, & Batista. Within about a decades time, I became a full fledged fan.
Unfortunately, I was only part of a smaller portion of fans that stuck around following the “transition” from the WWF to the WWE. Somehow, it lost a lot of people for a variety of reasons. Despite the change of attitude people had towards wrestling, I stuck it out. We are now several years from the time I roughly estimate the majority of people stopped watching weekly. It was no big deal for me when I moved to college. I watched Raw every week and endured the comments from roommates and their pals. I also watched Smackdown while getting ready for thirsty Thursdays. But when I moved back home a year and a half ago, I had to start the tradition all over again. But this time, I wanted to include my friends. I got sick of watching wrestling alone.
So began the year of 2006. It was probably the best year to try and get has-been fans to watch wrestling again. We had the rebirth of DX & ECW, as well as a mix of old school versus new school. My perceptions of wrestling were put to the test because here we had two of my friends (I shall call them Jason & Eric) try and pick up wrestling about 6 years removed from the last time they really watched it. It was a hard task to say the least. The idea of wrestling as “fake, mindless, crap” was hard pressed in their minds, but they still held an open mind despite this. In case we might forget, let’s compare No Way Out 2006 with No Way Out 2000 so people know the roster transitions:
Kurt Angle vs Chris Jericho for the IC Title
The Dudleys vs The New Age Outlaws for the Tag Titles
Mark Henry vs Viscera
Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boys
Tazz vs Bossman
X-Pac vs Kane
Too Cool & Rikishi vs Benoit, Malenko, & Saturn
Big Show vs Rock
Mick Foley vs Triple H in a Hell in a Cell for the Title
9 Matches for the 2000 No Way Out. 6 Years later, we had:
Gregory Helms in a Crusierweight Gauntlet
Matt Hardy & Tatanka vs Nitro & Mercury
J.B.L. vs Bobby Lashley
Chris Benoit vs Booker T for the US Title
Randy Orton vs Rey Mysterio
The Undertaker vs Kurt Angle for the Title
6 Matches for 2006 No Way Out.
Now include the Raw roster & feuds at the time: (using NY Revolution)
Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera
Jerry The King Lawler vs Gregory Helms
Ric Flair vs Edge
Big Show vs Triple H
John Cena vs Kurt Angle vs HBK vs Kane vs Chris Masters vs Carlito
Combined, they give you a good idea of what was going on at the start of 2006. For my two friends, this is the jump in times they had to adjust too.
Gone were the days that two tag team matches (not including main eventers) were seen on a PPV. Gone were the uber names like The Rock & Stone Cold. Some, like Big Show & Kane, maintained their mid-card spot. Others, like Edge, Angle, & Benoit, all improved. To me, the change has been slow and gradual. To my friends, it was hard to grasp.
The Attitude Era was definitely dead. They had to merely accept who was on top at the time. Also, the concept of what defines a good wrestler had yet to formalize within their minds. My friend Eric gets excited when he hears Cena’s music hit, and then loves how he emerges from the back all crazy-like. To him, John Cena was the modern day Stone Cold. He was constantly the champ and battled all of the roster’s top names. But where did these guys come from? This was their question and this was what my job has been.
I collect the PPV DVDs. Me and the guys will meet up and watch them. We began around the time of the roster split in 2002 and are currently at Survivor Series 2003. They want to watch them all because they are curious as to how the main eventers got to where they are. And in essence, this is what wrestling has always been to me, an evolutionary history. Unlike watching boring America go through the changes over the decades like I am taught in class, I watch the evolution of wrestlers from my generation. It captures the magic of wrestling when you watch from a removed perspective. Seeing the process of how Cena & Batista got to their spots is part of what makes wrestling so dynamic. Each PPV is a snap shot of where that the roster was at the time.
For Eric & Jason, they hate Randy Orton. They see him as a cocky ass who has been like a heterosexual life partner to Edge. They are right now learning about who Orton is, and are seeing that he made his mark over the years. As we watched Orton join Evolution, and begin his Legend Killing ways, they perspective on him have changed. The same can be said for people like John Cena, Batista, and others. They are learning why Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas were held in such high regard by me for the last few years. It’s a treat for me as a wrestling fan to watch the new breed of fans witness the same ups and downs as I have. Case & point: Jason just asked me how the WWE can just throw together matches and feuds. He gets annoyed at it. It makes me laugh because I have grown accustomed to it. But for him, he still lives in the days that feuds stretched for months to years and stories had meaning. But is that world non-existent? Only time will tell.
As far as my friends are concerned, they are learning about the world of wrestling all over again. They are learning about good in-ring work ethic (Finlay, Benoit) and about laziness (Batista, Carlito). As they are learning about the recent past, their understanding of the business and how its evolved also grows. Like a proud father to his kids, I take pride in defending the sport and supporting it through the good and the bad. For every Katie Vick storyline, there has been a Foley vs Orton story to counter it. I choose to be proud of wrestling where others may choose to bash it all the time. I can hate some people, change my mind on others, or sometimes forget all of it and travel back in time.
For those who may be entering into pro-wrestling once again from their hiatus, I can only offer this piece of advice. Forget the days of the old, and keep an open mind. Wrestling is entertainment now, not a predetermined sport. But don’t ever give up what lured you to it. If its HBK’s Sweet Chin Music that made you scream for joy, then so be it. I went nuts when Undertaker won the Royal Rumble because it was my past meeting the future. The New Breed of fans are much like the Ortons and Cenas of the past, without them, wrestling will die in the future.
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