Do Better Fans

Resistance to change is very average. Some reasons for this resistance are how one’s brain is hardwired (neuronal reason), the needs of one’s psychological perspective, our sociological needs, and lastly, we may not like the practical effect a change might have on us. The latter part is what I want to focus on regarding fans' view of the wrestling world. We all have things we do not like in life, but the toxicity that has become of the wrestling fan is something for a psychologist to study. We all have an emotional investment in the storylines, characters, or format of how matches go. When something does not go as we, the fans, think, various emotions will be evoked, and we are either excited, disappointed, surprised, or angered at what we have just seen. While our feelings are justified, the lack of respect given by fans to other fans is infallible. Social media has allowed fans to speak whatever is on their minds with few repercussions. This is not just prevalent in the world of wrestling but in any topic today. It seems the cool thing to do is hate one wrestling company while praising the other. Both WWE and AEW have their faults when it comes to many things. We, as fans, need to look at each company's concept to understand better why they do what they do.

WWE has been around for over forty years and has gone from the wrestling business to the “sports entertainment” business. That is great for their business model as they wanted to become more mainstream and attract a newer audience. They now cater to children and offer more entertainment than wrestling in the ring. They have invested in their talent to be better actors and orators than wrestlers, which is fine if that is your cup of tea. It is unacceptable to tell someone they do not know anything about wrestling if they decide to watch another wrestling company. The stranglehold WWE has on wrestling fans is another aspect that needs to be studied psychologically. These same fans wanted an alternative to the WWE, as many fans felt the product was getting stale in its presentation. When that alternative came along, these same fans were bashing other wrestling fans who had stepped away from watching wrestling and began watching the alternative.

The alternative is that AEW is roughly five years into their wrestling business career. Their business model focused more on in-ring wrestling than “sports entertainment.” Again, if that is what they want, great, we, as fans, now have a choice to suit our wrestling needs. AEW is more of a let-us-give-the-fans-great match with fewer promos, and it's what I like to call filler stuff. I do not need a storyline for every match on my television. Sometimes, just two random wrestlers beating the hell out of each other is fantastic. AEW provides that for their fans, which many seem to enjoy. However, if you, as a fan, prefer one company over the other, you are not a “true” wrestling fan. Who is to say what a “true” wrestling fan is?

Everything is not one-size-fits-all, which is excellent. If the powers that created humans wanted us to all be the same, we would be. If you do not like how something is being done, guess what? Get investors to back you and become the alternative to the current wrestling landscape. Wrestling fans should not degrade one another because of the product we choose to like. More wrestling is better for everyone because it allows everyone who loves this sport something to watch.