is there such a thing?

add in NJPW and Strong, AAA and CMLL, ROW (Booker T) and other indy shows, dark side of the ring and tales from the territories,  ect. . . 

There's been too much wrestling for a while.

There's two much everything in 2023.

25 years ago, there were 20 bands, 10 shows on TV to watch, and maybe 4 movies a year to get excited about. That's it, and you fucking loved it.

Feb 28, 2023 8:07:41 GMT NATH45 said:

There's two much everything in 2023.

100%.

We live in the content era. There will always be an over-abundance of content with the channels we have available now. All you can do is give a show a chance and if it doesn’t do it for you, don’t watch again. I watch WWE and AEW PPVs and Raw and SmackDown highlights and never been happier watching wrestling. It’s enough for me.

I watch

RAW,SD,NXT,Dynamite,Impact,Smackdown,Rampge,Powerrr and USA every week. Because of the time difference they are on around lunch time for me so works out well for something to watch while I eat.
Tried to watch some of AEW Dark/Elevation but it isn’t great.

I wish there was just women’s only shows that say the fans that are super into the division can enjoy it, though after the failures of evolution and empowerrr it’s probably never going to happen.

I'm following Raw, Smackdown, WWE events, Dynamite and AEW PPVs. But a lot of picking and choosing, maybe 25% at the most.

I still follow NJPW pretty closely but not as much as I used to. It does have a lot of filler content. For big tournaments like the G1 and the New Japan Cup I'll watch pretty much everything.

No such thing.

Of course you shouldn't watch it all but one of the best parts of the industry is how international it is. There's always something happening somewhere, a new young talent making a name for themselves so there's always something to engage with.

Every now and then I can't help myself, but I find if you just accept the show for what it is and you don't try to think about what it can be, it's a solid 90 minute escape. (one of the perks of not watching live)

I do wish I lived over in the States and could interact more during the party threads but even then when I've had those opportunities I feel like one of those obnoxious Youtube reactors.

"OMG Dude...Pride Rock!"

End me. :lol:

Got to love people complaining about too much free wrestling when individual wrestling shows would sell for $15 bucks back in the day.

If it is too much for people, do not watch it.

The less I'm a fan the more they make out of spite.

I watch Smackdown and RAW. I usually fast forward through RAW because it's recorded at lunch time Tuesday here and if I'm home on Saturday, I try to watch Smackdown live.

I also, as of a few weeks ago stream AEW Dynamite and Rampage, but fast forwarding through most of it.

I have my favourites in both companies and people I don't like and rather than sit through the rubbish I choose to ignore it.

I haven't been all that interested in NXT for some time, and only watch it if I happen to be channel surfing and it's on. With the WWE channel, and Fox8 dedicating so much to WWE, it's rare you don't come across it.

AEW is pretty skippable every other week. I do not know why, but for over a year like clockwork there is one week with a solid card, then one week with a card like last week that is skippable. Rampage is almost always skippable outside of when the girls are allowed to do bloodbaths on it.

This Dynamite should be an on week, next week, despite being after a PPV, most likely will be skippable.

Interesting thing about dynamite last week, Dustin produced the Orange match. Pat Buck produced the MJF vs Dragon promo stuff. Tony produced the tag battle royale, with Buck helping. Malenko produced the Uno vs Mox bloodbath. Whitmore, Lynn and QT produced the other shit. This is where things get interesting though. Lynn, Dustin, Malenko and Buck were all WWE trained as producers.  Only things not touched by a WWE guy was the Women's match and the Jericho promo.  So about 10 minutes of a two hour show.

411mania.com/wrestling/producers-for-this-weeks-aew-dynamite/

Not at all. I don't watch everything at once. I try to allocate what I watch for certain times so I don't get burnt out.

I don't think there is too much, especially since you're not obligated to watch everything. The one thing I like about the WWE is you can easily watch clips via the results page on the site and you don't have to spend three hours watching Monday Night Raw. Also, as Ed said, I try and allocate when I watch stuff, usually, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, which is easy enough when you record shows (or do the NXT shows and PLE's via WWE Network) and can skip through everything you don't want to see.

If I don't watch shows live, I'll usually do something like...

Tuesdays - Raw
Thursdays - Dynamite, NXT
Saturdays - Smackdown, Impact, Rampage, NXT Lvl Up (although Lvl Up honestly depends on the matches)

Then there is occasionally Major League Wrestling and Ring Of Honor whenever something catches my interest.

I know this is a "me" problem, but when I'm really into watching wrestling, I get absolutely obsessed with it and feel the need to watch as much of it as I can.

It wasn't as bad in say, 2006 when there wasn't as much of it - but now there's so much readily available, it just takes over everything and then I get burned out on it.

So for WWE, I end up watching Raw (too long), SD, NXT (too long), Level Up and PPVs. I didn't watch NXT UK, because it was absolutely awful. Maybe I'll watch some documentaries or old shows or whatever.

I'll watch Dynamite, Rampage, Dark, Elevation (even though the last three are all useless) - not the PPVs though, because I don't think paying for PPVs in this day and age is a good use of my money.

Impact creeps in too (no PPVs though).

Then I renew the Stardom World subscription. And get some PWG shows out of my pile.

After a few months of this, I just hate wrestling. I know it's my own fault, but I kinda wish there was less wrestling in general!

It's definitely not a "you" problem @papaya. It's pretty common for people to get obsessive about our passions and interests. Seem to be an introvert trait. I'm the same. When I get invested in something, I want to throw everything into it and explore every last nook and cranny. It's an urge I have to resist or limit to avoid burnout.

As far as wrestling goes, this hit me the most in the mid-late 2000s, when I was watching every single piece of WWE programming, even the jobber shows like Main Event and Superstars. It took me many years to realise that I was doing it out of a personal compulsion or obligation rather than for pure enjoyment. Then I started realised I wasn't enjoying at least half of what I was watching. So much time being wasted. Even then it took a long time to wean myself off.

Right now I'm in a good place pick and choose what I want to watch in WWE, which is two hours a week at most, excluding PPVs. NJPW is my current pro-wrestling obsession but even then I'm nowhere near watching everything. NJPW has a lot of filler content. I like to think of a typical New Japan show as a house show but with one or two high stakes matches. I'll breeze through the undercard, or skip it entirely, and watch the matches that matter. I haven't watched any AEW for at least a month outside of a handful of cherry picked segments.

Unfortunately the problem gets more difficult the more content is available, but the solution must come from within. Self-control and discipline. I suppose the first question to ask is: do you genuinely enjoy all the wrestling you consume?

My fandom has gone through phases and each phase has me wanting to watch a ton of it, adjusted for current ADD levels.

Got into it via the Attitude Era I couldn't get enough of "real" WWE shows. Games, talks, IWC... straight into my veins.

Was losing interested ~07-08 but then I got into the indies for needs WWE wasn't fulfilling. I was watching a shit ton and even downloading random ass GARBAGE with fixed cams just to see certain cuties like Rain. I bonded with djm over it and we even had a wrestling podcast for a time.

2012 I was starting to lose interest again, but then NXT via all those guys I watched GROW on the indies were putting on these supershows (again excitement HELPS) and it got me invested heavily again. Maybe only in NXT and a few hanger ons elsewhere... but it was the last great wrestling renaissance in my life.

These days I keep tabs, mostly via PW as a proxy... but otherwise I really don't care. For instance if Emperor and sometimes RT stopped posting new japan, Big Pete stopped tagging me in those pick ems he prob knows I'll never do... I might be REALLY clueless about the wrestling landscape. I like reading and knowing but I don't have the energy for matches and events no mo. There's only ever been so much space for attention.

I think my wrestling fandom is also balanced via me watching other stuff. End of Tude Era I got into anime, so wrestling was more of a chore. Anime was becoming less fun and so indy wrestling took over. When I started getting bored of that I started discovering "real" shows like Breaking Bad and other serial dramas along with Ness Bait shows like Arrow and the expanding superhero genre. Once a new "generation" of NXT emerged as guys like Owens and Balor were main roster'd... yeah I tapped out of wrestling and just dove into "the list" and consuming other media.

Will I ever go back? For one-shot matches maybe. Last current thing I watched was Omega/Danielson to give you an idea of how much I follow. I've watched a few matches of old stuff occasionally, but rarely.

My fandom currently is simply discussing old stuff on PW. "Hey member when? You member."

I don't know, man. I try to talk about other things with people IRL, but most discussions end up annoying me. Oh, you like team X? let's have the same old tired sports debates where we go in circles. I don't care about C-Span. Talking about music with a group of people turns into an elitist circle jerk. I only truly enjoy talking about things here.

Mar 19, 2023 22:40:15 GMT Ed said:

I don't know, man. I try to talk about other things with people IRL, but most discussions end up annoying me. Oh, you like team X? let's have the same old tired sports debates where we go in circles. I don't care about C-Span. Talking about music with a group of people turns into an elitist circle jerk. I only truly enjoy talking about things here.

I’m with you. You would think that my wrestling fandom is what drives me to PW. I actually think the inverse is true. It’s my enjoyment of this community that drives me to stay interested in wrestling.

Mar 19, 2023 23:48:26 GMT Todd said:

Mar 19, 2023 22:40:15 GMT Ed said:

I don't know, man. I try to talk about other things with people IRL, but most discussions end up annoying me. Oh, you like team X? let's have the same old tired sports debates where we go in circles. I don't care about C-Span. Talking about music with a group of people turns into an elitist circle jerk. I only truly enjoy talking about things here.

I’m with you. You would think that my wrestling fandom is what drives me to PW. I actually think the inverse is true. It’s my enjoyment of this community that drives me to stay interested in wrestling.

For WWE and AEW this is definitely the case. The Bloodline is absolutely my favourite thing going in any wrestling promotion, and I wouldn't have had a clue it existed if I didn't browse PW.

Wrestling section will never get the credit it deserves. It is the unsung journeyman of PW. Thank you soldier, you deserve it.

Mar 19, 2023 20:56:55 GMT @papaya said:

I know this is a "me" problem, but when I'm really into watching wrestling, I get absolutely obsessed with it and feel the need to watch as much of it as I can.

It wasn't as bad in say, 2006 when there wasn't as much of it - but now there's so much readily available, it just takes over everything and then I get burned out on it.

So for WWE, I end up watching Raw (too long), SD, NXT (too long), Level Up and PPVs. I didn't watch NXT UK, because it was absolutely awful. Maybe I'll watch some documentaries or old shows or whatever.

I'll watch Dynamite, Rampage, Dark, Elevation (even though the last three are all useless) - not the PPVs though, because I don't think paying for PPVs in this day and age is a good use of my money.

Impact creeps in too (no PPVs though).

Then I renew the Stardom World subscription. And get some PWG shows out of my pile.

After a few months of this, I just hate wrestling. I know it's my own fault, but I kinda wish there was less wrestling in general!

Are you emotionally invested when you watch these shows or do you just watch it out of a sense of completion?

Big Pete I think it’s more towards the completion/FOMO side of things tbh.

One of the main problems is that I don’t actually really like many wrestlers in this day and age. So I watch shows just to see a few people and everyone else just ends up annoying me and then I start not liking wrestling again 😅😅

By watching every show, do you get more out of it?Or is it just an indulgence and you'd be better off just watching the odd episode of RAW or Dynamite here and there?

It's a love/hate thing for me.

I love that there are so many options and that the wrestling world is stronger than ever. I love that if I'm out of town and bored in my hotel room with nothing to do, I can pull up an episode of AEW Dark to entertain me for an hour. I love that all this added exposure is elevating wrestlers from outside North America and women wrestlers that wouldn't otherwise get the time of day. I love that there are companies not shying away from working together to have a never-ending list of potential dream matches and feuds that could happen at any time.

But I hate that there's so much to keep up with. I hate that I have to work to understand little nuances in feuds that I would miss if I didn't read up on wrestling every single day because I simply don't have the time to ingest all this content. I hate that Wrestler A can call out Wrestler B to get my hopes up and if something falls through, we never hear about it, we never get the match, and it is never mentioned again. I hate that tribalism exists and there is infighting amongst wrestling fans that we have never seen the likes of before. I hate that even with a company that has a half dozen weekly shows that involve character work or wrestling, MIRO STILL ISN'T ANYWHERE TO BE SEEN.

Miro running out his contract. He is done with AEW I assume.

I don’t think tribalism is exclusive to wrestling. Tribalism is unfortunately human nature, and the internet exposes and facilitates that on a scale that we haven’t seen before. I agree it sucks though.

I remember when I was living at home. Most times, I used to wait until Smackdown was over & then watch WWE stuff. Then, I'd watch Lucha Underground & Impact Wrestling in some order. Some weeks, I'd be invested in WWE, some weeks, I'd watch 4 matches/segments & skip the rest. Nobody should have the same level of investment for everything. Make time for as little or as much wrestling as you like to consume.

Ed , what does your typical weekly wrestling watching schedule look like?

I want to know how a master operates.

Well, Big Pete these days, I sometimes watch all WWE stuff weekly at 1 time. Or sometimes, I'll watch Raw or Smackdown the morning after. I've started binge-watching AEW since they don't have a PPV every month. I can binge or watch Impact Wrestling weekly depending on my mood. Indy wrestling is pretty cut & dry. I like GCW but I'm not invested in it. So I can watch an entire show if it catches my attention or skip most of the card & focus on 1 -3 matches. I try to find other matches or interviews on Youtube, save them, & watch them when I'm ready. I've been a fan of a U.S.-based promotion called AIW since 2013. I used to buy VODs at the end of the year. Since they have a partnership with Fite.TV now, I can watch it at a great price.

I'll be honest, this is what killed it for me. It was fine when it was once or twice a week, but then it started to be every night and I found I just didn't have that amount of time to devote to it anymore and honestly was being overwhelmed by it all. This and the cost. For me to have all the channels to watch what I wanted was $30 a month and then they wanted more. Nope.

I think it's great there are so many options. I will always love it, and I loosely follow it still, but I just can't have overrunning the rest of my life.