How to Become a Better Wrestling Fan: Part #4 Submitted by Damn Fine Wrestling on 03/22/2021 at 12:59 PM
Wrestling fans are hurting the wrestling industry.
This is PART 4 in a series of calling out the toxic nature of many wrestling fans, how to spot it, and how to (hopefully) become a better fan overall. For this article, we will be looking at one better-known individual who has indirectly created a lot of the toxic culture we see in the fanbase today: Jim Cornette.
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"Hate is a hell of a motivator." - Jim Cornette
I haven't listened to nu-metal pioneers Korn since high school, which was many many years ago, during the late 90s. Nowadays, you'll find me listening to newer bands of the metal genre the likes of Shadow of Intent, Spiritbox, or Knocked Loose -- to name a few. There is nothing inherently wrong with Korn, or many other bands from that era that still produce new music, but it's simply no longer my cup of tea -- and I won't judge anyone for listening to bands like this. You like what you like. Music evolves, and much like my tastes in metal evolved, so did professional wrestling.
Contrary to Motorhead's belief, evolution ISN'T a mystery, and from music to TV and movies, everything will change according to the many factors that play into the zeitgeist of current times. This includes how we communicate, how we consume popular media, and how easily information is attained and spread. When you account for these factors, especially for professional wrestling, it's not hard to see how and why wrestling in 2021 looks much different from wrestling in 1991.
It seems that Jim Cornette didn't get the f***ing memo.
There is a difference between criticizing something you don't like because of legitimate structural and logical reasons, and simply because you have failed to keep up with the zeitgeist of current professional wrestling. As great of a wrestling mind as Cornette is, he has failed to fully understand and embrace where professional wrestling is in the current day, and why it is the way it is.
Not long after the Montreal Screwjob, Kayfabe slowly started to take its last breaths. While there was a definite 'boom' period in the sport, the veil was lifted on the inner-workings of the industry. The internet only sped this process up, as the more information became available on the business, the more it was reported in dirt-sheets and consumed by fans. The more matches from promotions around the country and the world made it to home computers, the more styles and types of wrestling psychology were exposed to the fanbase.
Somewhere between the late 90s and current day, professional wresting became sort of Meta. Fans are fully aware that a production of fiction is taking place in front of them, and ring psychology, workrate, and story is just as important to them as the match quality and spectacle itself. In fact, from C.M. Punk's "pipebomb" promo to Samoa Joe's 2007 TNA Turning Point promo, to Talking Smack and AEW Unrestricted -- the wrestling industry is aware that fans are aware that this entire professional wrestling business has become more self-aware than ever.
It seems that Jim Cornette, again, didn't get the f***ing memo.
Professional wrestling is simply different than it was 30-50 years ago. This difference comes in all areas, from booking styles, psychology, workrate, you name it. It's all different now. Even the fundamental "heel vs. babyface" staple has been challenged in many ways. In the mainstream (not counting ECW), it started with the likes of the nWo and the Attitude era, where playing a "traditional" heel would get wrestlers over. In current times, respecting the character is now more important than this heel/face dynamic. Think of Roman Reigns or Britt Baker -- whose newer heel personas are simply so refreshing and entertaining that they become fan favorites -- but still as heels.
Note: This self-awareness has led to a lot of the wonderful comedy gimmicks that old schoolers seem to hate. Orange Cassidy would never get over 20 years ago, and that's neither a good or bad thing. It just is what it is.
Now some wrestling fans may not agree with the idea that the sport should become so dissected that many will applaud how well one plays a villain or a hero as opposed to taking it at face value that they are a villain or a hero without further insight. But that's simply what the business has turned into, and it's not going away anytime soon.
Do you have to like it? Of course not. But do you need to criticize it every chance you get simply because it's different than past eras? No. No you don't.
Don't be like Jim Cornette, because he does this all of the time.
There is no wrestling bible on how the sport is supposed to function until the end of time. Everything has changed and evolved 10 times over since the days of Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, and Terry Funk. Hell, even Terry kept up with the times in his ECW run.
The only ideology of professional wrestling to remain since the days of Toots Mondt and the original NWA has been to MAKE MONEY -- and that comes in a many different forms.
So to conclude, don't be a Jim Cornette -- a washed up former wrestling promoter who can't see past his own bullshit to clearly see what the the current wrestling product is and isn't. It's okay to be "old school" and not like current AEW or WWE -- but to publicly condemn the product for some half-witted assumption that professional wresting needs to be a "certain way" is just plain amateur. Being 'different' doesn't necessarily mean for better or worse, but refusing to understand WHY the business is different, and instead complaining about it on the internet, is about as effective as slamming your head into a brick wall.
Thank you for reading and if you haven't voted in the Wrestling March Madness tournament yet, we're down to the ELITE 8 for the men's and women's brackets. Vote now below!
