Tag Archive: Fellow Fans

  1. Why Do YOU Watch Wrestling?

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    Why do you watch professional wrestling? Is it the excitement of the crowd, the larger than life personalities of the performers or the tough, in-ring action which draws you back for more each week? Perhaps it’s the entertainment aspect of WWE which you like, with slick presentation and cartoon-like performers who both captivate and thrill you each and every week. Maybe you’re one of those fans who have turned your back on Vince McMahon’s promotion and prefer to get your mat-based kicks from divisions such as Ring of Honor, where the focus is on actual grappling and the matches themselves. Whatever the case, wrestling is unique in its ability to have such a diverse audience of fans – who each take their own opinions from the show.

    So many wrestling fans nowadays do nothing, NOTHING but whine about what’s presented to them on their TV screens. Be it WWE constantly pushing John Cena to the forefront, TNA with yet another series of brain-bending and confusing storylines or the whack production values of various independent leagues out there – it seems there’s a lot which grinds the gears of your average fan of wrestling. Much has been written (a lot of that by myself) regarding this and how truly irritating it can be to listen to fellow fans take no joy at all out of the product before them.

    Apparently, within wrestling fan circles, there’s a few distinct types of fan. There’s the “casual” fan who takes the show for what it is; entertainment, and overlooks plot holes and doesn’t care if the same few men remain in the main event scene. Infact, these happy-go-lucky types probably don’t even refer to the headliners as the “main event scene”. This writer would like to state right here and now that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Why so many other fans (and we’ll get to them, they also have their plus points), feel the need to look down on the “casuals” is really beyond me. Let them enjoy the show and take from it what they wish to take. Are they really doing any harm by just enjoying the show?

    Perhaps the most apparent ‘other’ type of fan group is referred to as the “smart” fan base. These folks usually seem to be those who are interested in what goes on behind the scenes at your typical wrestling show, whilst still being capable (for the most part) of suspending their disbelief and having fun whilst watching the show unfold. Of course, there are those who seem to take no pleasure from RAW, Smackdown, NXT, Superstars, iMPACT and the like. Why these guys and gals even bother watching is beyond me, although they are entitled to watch whatever they wish.

    In closing for this brief article, isn’t there room for both sets of fans in the wrestling kingdom?

    It’d be interesting to see what the readers and writers here at Bored Wrestling Fan.com think of pro wrestling in general and hear some of the reasons why you all keep watching. I’ve written at length in the past regarding my own reasons and will happily post up an old article of mine which explains why in great length. For now though, what do YOU think? Why do YOU watch?

    Please comment below or get in touch at jamiekennedy@live.com ! Take it home!

  2. ThinkSoJoE’s Thoughts – RAW 2/28/11 edition

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    So, as I often do when RAW rolls into Buffalo, I went to last night’s show and planned to write about it afterward, complete with any media that I managed to capture via my camera.  Unfortunately, my computer doesn’t like the memory card I have in there and I cannot find the USB cable at the moment, so we’re going to have to go without it – which absolutely sucks because I have a video on there of Cena trashing The Rock again after the show.

    The dark match last night was Tyson Kidd taking on former NXT rookie Percy Watson.  Surprisingly, Watson picked up the win.  He looked a little different than I remember him, but of course I was in the very last row of the 300 level, so my vision might have been off a bit.

    SPOILER ALERT: If you watch “Superstars” on Thursday and wish to not be spoiled, please skip the next two paragraphs…

    Superstars kicked off with a match between R-Truth and William Regal, in which Truth picked up the victory.

    That was followed by a tag team match pitting Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov (with Tamina) against Zack Ryder and Primo.  Of course you know, Santino pinned Ryder after hitting the Cobra.  Fellow fans on the bus were discussing the effectiveness of The Cobra on the way back home from the show.

    We love Triple H here in Buffalo.  We knew better than to expect The Undertaker, so at least where I was sitting, nobody was terribly upset that he hadn’t shown up.  We were all surprised by the immediate beat-down of Sheamus, who incidentally made his RAW debut in the HSBC Arena.

    We also love Evan Bourne – great to see him back and looking in top form!

    Michael Cole headed down to the ring, and what you guys didn’t see was that the crew came back out to set the announce table back up and Cole actually walked to the back.  Probably to generate a little more heat coming back from the break.  My attempts at starting an “AND I QUOTE” chant were futile.

    Yours truly now owns a New Nexus t-shirt.  I was debating whether to get this one or The Miz’s “Hello, I’m Awesome” t-shirt but ultimately settled for this, as I’m a huge Punk mark.  I think I’m the only one though – it was a decidedly pro-Orton crowd.  Aly didn’t use this one in her review, but I tweeted “Why doesn’t the GM do something?  The damned match was over!” after Orton kicked McGuillicutty in the head.  Guess we won’t be seeing him for a while.

    I absolutely love the fact that people can’t stand The Miz.  This is not “X-Pac heat” he’s getting, this is legit heel heat.  The man is doing his job, and everything he said during his promo about how he’s the WWE Champion and should be the focus of the company, not Cena and The Rock, is absolutely true.  Of course, then John Cena came out and ruined it by making poop and pee jokes – not to mention spewing enough homophobic rhetoric that I’m surprised GLAAD isn’t all over him today.  I’m surprised he didn’t finish up with the old Seinfeld line, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”  Of course, this was all to set up the main event – a cage match between Cena and Alex Riley.  Yes, Alex Riley main evented RAW last night.

    So then we got a Divas Battle Royal.  All of the participants and guest commentator Eve made it to the ring with about 30 seconds left before the commercial break ended.  That’s how much they care about the Divas on RAW.  And of course, the Bellas won with predictable ending number 37: Twin Magic.

    Now, the next segment.  The next segment is going to be the subject of this week’s “A Minute With ThinkSoJoE,”   so I’m only going to touch on it briefly – Screw The Rock.

    At least Shawn Michaels wasn’t publicized to be a part of the show beforehand, and his segment was kept short.  I still say I could’ve stayed home and watched RAW on TV for free instead of paying $70 for two tickets and watching it on TV at the HSBC Arena.

    Daniel Bryan, thanks for coming.  You, Sheamus, and Michael McGuillicutty please enjoy your kayfabe stay at Mercy Hospital here in Buffalo.

    Of course John Cena was going to win that cage match.  You really didn’t think so?  Still, The Miz got the last word in again as he left Cena lying on the floor following another Skull Crushing Finale.  By the way, The Miz sent a twitpic, or whatever you call them these days, during the match.  Here it is:

     

    @MikeTheMiz Say cheese!

    Cena also tweeted from Miz’s phone during the match.  He sent the same picture with the tweet, Hey cenation, come look how good I look!

    After RAW went off the air, we still got our advertised dark main event – John Cena and Randy Orton vs. The Miz and CM Punk.  The heels took turns wailing away on Cena before Orton got the hot tag and cleaned house.  He hit RKOs on both opponents but Cole refused to count, instead running away.  Another referee came out and Orton and Cena picked up the win, pinning CM Punk.

    Following the match – and this is the important part right here – John Cena had this to say:

    “I got something to say to you.  I got something to say to all ‘yall.  First things first.  Randy Orton, thank you.  Thank you.  After filming RAW television, flying 15 hours to South America to perform four times for sold out shows below the Equator, then flying 15 hours back here to be in Buffalo, New York.  To physically be here to stand here in this ring, thank you.  Thank you, Randy Orton, for showing up.  Now then.  People as far as I can see, totally sold out here in Buffalo.  I’d just like to make a point that it’s not 14,000, it’s 16,700 people here tonight, and a certain individual would know that – if he showed up.  Ladies and gentlemen, I want to end this night with a most important message to all of you:  Thank you.  Thank you all for the same sacrifices Randy Orton made, thank you for making this program what it is, thank you for being excited to see WrestleMania, but most of all, thank you for showing up.”

  4. Retro Post – Top 5 Theme Songs

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    Hello to all you lovely men, women and children of the Bored Wrestling Fan community! I thought it might be fun to post an article straight out of the “Jamie Kennedy Experiment” vaults for your perusal and this is something I’d quite like to do over the next couple of months! Of course, my writing style has really changed since some of these articles made it online and I’ve DEFINITELY become a better…ahem…broadcast journalist in the meantime.. I hope you enjoy!

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    A number of merry months ago, I put together a piece of writing which I felt did justice my love and appreciation for what we as modern wrestling fans have come to take for granted; an entrance theme which accompanies each superstar down the aisle-way and into the ring. It wasn’t always this way, entrance music was reserved for the very top stars in the professional wrestling industry and even some of them didn’t get their own theme!

    Themes or “feemz”, as the ever-witty internet wrestling community has dubbed them (due to the genuinely fascinating subject of some of our fellow fans dropping out of school.. Go figure, do all some of us have nothing better to do than bashing the product we watch and the people who view it alongside us!?), have become as much a part of the wrestling world as a referee who gets knocked out with even the slightest stray glance of a performers boot/elbow/hair/wind. There are people out there who collect theme music from each different promotion and for each wrestler and diva, which in my opinion is kinda cool. Yeah sure it’s geeky but it’s no more or less geeky than your film fanatic friend who downloads movie soundtracks every weekend. CD albums have been produced by several of the big player promotions in the business in a rather successful attempt to cash in on their fans obsession with the tunes and songs which signal the arrival of a particular grappler. Yours truly has purchased several of these and would now like to take the time to discuss and name his top 5 favourite entrance themes. Some of these you will agree with, some of these you will detest. Either way, I’m anticipating some heavy emailage from a bunch of you channeling the spirit of YOUR United States Heavyweight champion “The Miz” and asking me – “Really? REALLY!?”

    As always, in absolutely no particular order.. (Simply because this writer is really rather rubbish at deciding which things he likes better than others when it comes to wrestling. Seriously, you should see me trying to decide what VHS or DVD to watch. It’d probably irritate the hell out of several of you less nerdy than myself! However, to hell with you! And gimme my damn lunch money back!)

    “ I Won’t Do What You Tell Me” – Stone Cold Steve Austin

    This one, for me at least, is a no brainer. I’m far from ashamed to say I still mark out with my mark out whenever I hear this song. This is perhaps THE song for entering any room full of strangers. Of course I would never be quite that pathetic but I can dream nonetheless about being immediately surrounded by babes upon walking through the door. The glass breaking has been the cause of many a huge pop from live WWF/WWE audiences throughout the years. You need look no further than effectively any episode of RAW, Smackdown or indeed any Pay-Per-View event which Steve Austin has headlined or appeared at while using this music. Wailing sirens, dangerous sounding guitar chords and a menacing tone all make this a strong contender for one of the best pieces of wrestling theme music ever written. Go on, go to YouTube, look up the song, listen and just tell me you don’t feel like a genuine bad ass who could stand up to your evil billionaire boss and make him even richer through PPV revenue, merchandise and live attendance. In the late 90’s, Stone Cold was the man and a lot of credit must go to the music which told us he was in the house. What a performer. What a tune.

    “ Schizophrenic” and “Ode To Freud” – Mankind

    It’s hard to explain just how awesome a gimmick the original Mankind character was upon his arrival into the then World Wrestling Federation. Clearly, upon reading Mick Foley’s very first book, the gimmick would never have met the success it experienced had the WWF writers had their way. “Mason The Mutilator” indeed guys and gals.. Mick Foley would enter arenas up and down the US and abroad to a sinister, slow dirge of strings which would never fail to make people pay attention. The true success of any character in the wrestling industry can be based on how the people react when they see the man or woman portraying it. Make no mistake about it, fans had a mixture of intrigue and sheer horror as they watched “Mrs. Foley’s Baby Boy” stumble down to ringside ready to put his body through hell. And after the massacre? Well it’s only logical to have a beautifully haunting piece of piano music signal the exit of Mankind right? That Foley, he sure did have some exciting and damn good ideas in his head. One thing’s for sure though, the quick one and two punch of these musical pieces have to be on my list of favourite wrestling theme songs.


    “ Bad Guy” – Razor Ramon

    Here we have the first one of this here list which may surprise some folks. I know I have at least one wrestling-loving fiend of a buddy who is not entirely fond of the music which aided Scott Hall’s passage down to the squared circle during his highly successful first run in the WWF as “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon. The screeching tire sound may have made its home more famously in a future theme of the previously mentioned Mick Foley but it is here that I prefer it. Suspiciously based on music from gang-related films such as “Scarface”, this song will forever hold a special place in my heart. The synth’s permeated through the track only add to the cool 80’s vibe which is given off here. The babyface-era Razor was one of my childhood favourites and this tune just rocked my Hulk Hogan/WWF brick logo socks right off.


    “ Next Big Thing” – Brock Lesnar

    It’s quite scary to think how far Mr. Lesnar has come since his departure from World Wrestling Entertainment in order to pursue a career in professional American football. Now one of the biggest names in the ultimate fighting world, there are a lot of wrestling fans who barely remember his forced-down-your-god-damn-throat dominance in the earlier part of this decade. Simply put, Lesnar was what John Cena is now. I.e, the man the WWE want you to accept as the “Next Big Thing” in wrestling. Brock actually went some way to achieving acceptance with the audiences of wrestling due to his rapidly improved performances both in-ring and from a verbal standpoint. No doubts about it, the crunching guitar riff and opening animalistic wail which open the theme song up let each and every fan know who was coming through that curtain. Personally, I’ve always been a fan of theme songs which perfectly accompany the character and can paint a picture of what they will look and act like. This one exactly captures Brock Lesnar as a WWE superstar in my mind. Oh how I long for the days of his never-coming return!


    “ Break Down The Walls” – Chris Jericho

    Another one which may shock some folks, this just has to be included. In order for it to work however, we have to stick the outrageous “Y2K” countdown in at the very beginning. This is wrestling theatre at it’s finest. What better way to announce that a certain superstar is coming out than to have his very own countdown clock and forthcoming explosion?! The song itself is none too shabby and features lyrics which can be grabbed and stuck into the fans collective skulls. If ever Chris Jericho needed a theme song which would help him mark his passage from World Championship Wrestling and into the World Wrestling Federation, this was it. The drama which was created and the buzz which floated in the air when Jericho made his entrance was only enhanced by this terrific wrestling theme tune.


    So there you have it. Obviously, as always with these top 5’s, I had to pick and choose here. There are many, many, MANY other theme songs which I am very, very, VERY fond of. Bret Hart, Goldust, John Cena, D’Lo Brown, Sid, Ted DiBiase Sr. The list could quite literally go on and on forever with no end in sight. This writer had to simply pick the 5 which have stood out most to him in his experience of watching pro wrestling. The 5 themes which have made goosebumps appear all over my body in place you don’t want to hear about. What I do want to hear about however is what you think. I want to know which wrestling themes have inspired, entertained and downright made you excited to be a follower of the wonderful world of wrestling. Emails can be directed towards – jamiekennedy@live.com and we can discuss together like the real nerds we are. And we’re damn proud of it. TAKE IT HOME!

  5. Captain Lou Albano passes at age 76

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    We here at BoredWrestlingFan.com are saddened to hear of the passing of Captain Lou Albano.

    Lou’s feud with Cindy Lauper was a huge part of the growth of the World Wrestling Federation into a global organization in the early 1980’s, and over his career he’s managed over 50 wrestlers, two dozen of whom won championships.

    We’d like to send our condolences to the family, friends, and fellow fans of Captain Lou’s.  He’s a legend who will truly be missed.