I grew up with the nWo

Comparison between the best time in professional wrestling and the best wrestlers in professional wrestling.

NWO RockHouse hits and the television screen flashes the black and white letters with the matching screen display. Hollywood Hogan and the gang were on their way out to the ring to thrash whoever opposed their dominance. You were either with the NWO or against them, and if you were NWO you were NWO 4 Life. How the saying holds true today is something spectacular. No matter if it was a reincarnation, a branch off, or an utter new team of elites that still coin the phrases "Too Sweet" and "Suck It", the NWO stuck with us all for life. But this is not a piece about the NWO but to talk yet again about the era that they came from. This is the era I grew up watching, this is my introduction to pro wrestling and what an introduction it was.

To start, I would probably draw the line at anyone born around '87 and before may have their fondest memories of wrestling before the hostile takeover that was the NWO, Attitude Era, and Monday Night Wars. Most of those people were probably very aware of how colorful and gimmicky wrestlers were back in the day but can still pinpoint a few favorites that changed the business forever. Anyone born '88 and after will have a different thought about how wrestling seemed super real and characters were bad-a*s,  raw and uncut. They never knew sat through Hogan with the red and yellow, American Made. They were introduced to Hollywood Hogan, the leader of the NWO. They never knew "Stunning" or even "Ring Master" Steve Austin, only Stone Cold.  At least that's where I came in.

1998, at 8 years old, I saw Stone Cold Steve Austin defeat Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania XIV. And although, not as prominent to watch WCW PPVs, I was flipping the television back and forth between RAW and NITRO. The point being the Monday Night Wars between the two wrestling shows was the IT thing back then. Professional wrestling experienced such a large boom in popularity and fame. Superstars began to be known outside of the ring by their personas as well in Hollywood and other entertainment venues. It was cool to be a fan of wrestling because even famous people were fans. Compared to now, it probably has today's wrestling beat in popularity but the question I ask isn't which is more popular but which is better?

I challenge you whenever you have free time to go back and watch episodes in the Monday Night War and pay attention to key wrestling details (matches, promos, character development, etc.). Matches aren't nearly a spectacle of athletic ability that they are now but are instead a much slower paced, brawling style that rivalred MMA bouts. Maybe that's a stretch, but you get what I mean and maybe not so much a stretch as Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock each wrestled for WWF for a time. The promos were expletive and raunchy, which as a kid you're completely fine with but now can be a little cringeworthy even for the most "expletive" person we know, whether or not we are that person. To be perfectly honest, it is nice to look back at and watch but I'd be lying if I said I'd replace all that with today's wrestling style.

I get it. We are older fans now and what we want is what we want. We do not concern ourselves with the youth because when we were that age, our wrestling was edgy. I mean, it's all in good fun but when your son/daughter gets suspended for delivering DX Chops and a "suck it" to a female classmate, I can see why there has been more of an oversight on what makes tv and what doesn't. Much like, I wouldn't want my future son or daughter jumping around yelling "puppies" while pointing at breasts! Doesn't mean that they have to do with the attitude entirely like they've shown to break the rules every now and again, but make it subtle and it will be felt. But honestly, it is a testament to these new wrestlers that cannot rely on any of that stuff to get them over. Or they do, but go the innuendo route that only adults or the "smarkest" of teenagers will understand. At the same time, it makes for children and adults to be invested in the product. Did I mention the matches are better? They are. I miss hardcore and ladder matches as much as the last guy and the frequency of them but they did do a lot of damage to the talent. Certain people still wrestle to this day are lucky while others had to end careers early due to built up injuries. But, matches nowadays are just as exciting without all that stuff. With all that said, where did the fans and popularity go?

Well naturally, when you grow up you tend to cut a few things out and some people were lost that way. Some are turned off to how wrestling is now. Some are turned off by the fact that their favorite wrestler isn't wresting anymore which is dumb because it's like saying you don't like your favorite team anymore because the player you admired retired or left. To each their own. But maybe a real reason is because the industry is different now. There isn't another 2nd biggest competing against the 1st. There are a lot more indy wrestling promotions that have legions of fans attached to them that do not wish for the WWE Style of wrestling and boycott that way. Those hardcore PWG, ROH, NJPW fans that like wrestling how they like it and not the way WWE does it. TNA was supposed to be the next best thing and it flopped due to poor management and direction. There's a lot more different outlets for entertainment and wrestling makes itself compete against all of them. 

But what I am starting to realize is that given the chance, old fans will come back. They may not be into it at first but they will come back around. Fresh faces and stories will always do that whether people agree or not. I tell some of my buddies that haven't watched in a while just to watch and pay attention, you will always find something or someone you will like. YES, it's not like the old but that may be a good thing. People will be around longer, people will have better matches and promos. People will pull off more spectacular moves to differentiate themselves from each other. People will fight to be your favorite wrestler and outsell others in merchandise. And by people, of course I mean the wrestlers. While, we the people(had to get that out), will have the pleasure to watch what we loved growing up and find a second run. I mean to be honest with you there was a time 6-7 years ago where I wasn't much into WWE either and I ventured elsewhere for a while as well. It brought me to favorites like ROH, TNA, and NJPW which I can say to a degree was good because it validated my love for the sport as well as letting me know there were always going to be alternatives and change coming. 

Now, I'm a self-professed expert in wrestling with my finger in everything. I've seen people grow in smaller companies and now take the WWE by storm. It is an interesting and wonderful time to be alive. Maybe, the popularity isn't what it once was but so what? You know what is? The caliber and the flair(WOO!), and the feeling of being a young fan of 8 years old watching wrestling for the first time again. Like I said, I like to relive the glory days every once in a while but I would be lying if I said I'd trade it for today's wrestling.