KOTR Round 1 4th Matchup.

Ok here we go this is the 4th matchup on the card.

Below will be the answers from PM's i got off each person and i wan't you to use the poll's to vote for your favourite, i have set the poll to last 1 day.

The question i asked was:

Is the internet good for Wrestling? (Dirtsheets for example)

Person A.

Is the Internet good for Wrestling?

Personally, I find it hard to distinguish whether the internet is good for wrestling, as there seems to be evidence supporting both sides of the argument. However, if I was to stick my neck out and make a judgement call, I’d say that ultimately, the internet has been good for Wrestling.

Granted, not everyone may share that view, claiming that the likes of spoilers hamper their viewing of wrestling as they essentially know what’s going to happen before even watching the show but I’m of the opinion that if these people wish to watch Smackdown, Impact or whatever show it is, then it is their responsibility to keep away from the spoiler sites and the dirt sheets until they’ve watched it. At the end of the day, it isn’t hard.

In a way, the internet has aided the rise of spoilers and the discontentment that follows, an example being me finding out about The Rock returning before Wrestlemania from going on 606 before watching the Raw where it happened. I was furious that it had been published on there without a spoiler warning but it was my own fault for going on there.

But that’s the beauty of what the internet has created for the wrestling industry and it’s legions of fans. It’s created the facility for us to band together and debate, argue and sometimes abuse one another about something we’re clearly passionate about. It’s given those who are truly fascinated by the intricacies and backstage politics of WWE, TNA, ROH etc. the facility to create the dirt sheets that are heavily frequented and checked to see if the next big star is set to join one of the big promotions.

Through the vice of youtube and other sites that serve the same purpose, we are able to relive our favourite moments at our own discretion, I personally have spent hours at times just watching matches that captivated me whilst I was growing up and am grateful that I can relive my childhood and watch my favourite wrestlers of all time and also check out recommended talent that is bought to my attention through these forums and dirt sheets. Upon hearing of Sin Cara’s signing to the WWE, through the internet I was able to see what the fuss was all about!

Furthermore, the internet has allowed smaller, indie federations the exposure that has allowed their star performers the opportunity to step up to the big time and allowed the purists the chance to watch wrestling without the gimmicks and elaborately put together productions seen today.

Overall, I feel that the internet has contributed to the rise of the wrestling industry and whilst it’s impacts may not be viewed in the same way by all, it’s enablement of people to share and debate and keep up to date with the industry has helped for greater interaction in the relationship between wrestling companies and their customers.

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Person B.

I am going to examine the question ‘Is the Internet Good for wrestling’. There are many positives and negatives on either side, I shall start by examining the negatives.

NEGATIVES

One of the major complaints that is usually bandied about when it comes to the subject of the internet in wrestling is that it has ruined the surprise factor for fans who read things on the internet. It is undoubtedly true that many fans no developments in the wrestling world before they even happen nowadays, A famous case happened when every man and his dog predicted that Christian would return as Jeff Hardy’s mystery attacker, the knowledge was so commonplace it even got back to Mr McMahon who ,almost as a middle finger to those of us who knew what was going on, relegated Christian back to ECW. That said it is also possible for the opposite effect to happen, The Undertakers return promos of 2-21-11 prompted the entire ICW to become awash with rumours of Sting’s imminent signing for the WWE, I was originally surprised when it later promos WWE more or less confirmed that it was the Undertaker returning, why squander all that hype?, but looking back I guess they thought so many people had got there hopes up for Sting that it might detract from the Undertaker/HHH angle that was to unfold that night. Sometimes it is possible to totally surprise those who follow the internet with these things e.g. John Cena’s return at the 2008 Royal Rumble, but by in large the internet allows the fans who wish to know what’s going to happen, exactly what they need to know. A lot of fans complain that knowing what is going to happen before it does spoils their enjoyment, in this case though the admittedly rather simplistic argument of ‘you don’t want to know don’t look then’ is probably the most effective. As for the wrestling promotions themselves many , particularly the WWE, seem undecided as to whether they should fight the lack of surprise factor in their product or not, I believe the should not, kayfabe died long before the internet came along and when it did it was inevitable that the element of surprise would go the same way, I believe that wrestling promotions would be best served pulling towards their vision rather that looking over their shoulder to see the internet fans one step ahead of them.

The next negative is one held in the eyes of many within the wrestling world, is Smarks. These creatures, also known as smart marks, hang about in the darkest recesses of their mother’s basement, can tell you the exact number of near falls in the Misawa/Kobashi 1993 classic, have a picture of John Cena pinned up on their dartboard and believe that if it isn’t an hour long 6 man Dragon Gate 5 star match it isn’t worth watching and it is their sworn duty to go on the internet and tell everyone exactly how rubbish everything else is. UK wrestling legend Alex Shane wrote an article in FSM magazine about 6 months ago, during it he makes several references to how ‘smarks’ refuse to appreciate the art of storytelling and only get off on highspots. I’m not going to deny that these sort of people exist, and it is my belief that wrestling is all the poorer for these people who have become so twisted by their own highbrow tastes that they probably fail to identify with what made them enjoy wrestling in the first place, but I believe the majority of internet wrestling fans are people simply through months/years of sampling everything of what wrestling has to offer and have formed their own opinions on what they do or do not like, it is the choice of the wrestler/company to either a) admit that what they are doing isn’t to their audiences liking and change or b) keep the belief in what they are doing and man up through the criticism, not throwing their toys out the pram and labelling all of those who have independent thought ‘smarks’ who hate everything anyway.

The final negative I am going to focus on is the illegal download/streaming of wrestling shows, this is something that is unashamedly wrong, it is theft. For the WWE a few illegal streams of PPV’s here and there may not make a huge about of difference but for smaller companies people who choose to watch the wrestling for free online rather than order a PPV/iPPV, buy the DVD or pay to see it live at the gate, can really hit them in the pocket. It would be hypocritical of me at this moment in time not to say that I do regularly download matches/stream PPV’s in the same way I illegally download music but deep down I know that in terms of how it effects the wrestling industry there is nothing positive about what I am doing.

POSITIVES

While companies like the WWE is still resisting hard against the internet revolution (can you really even call it a revolution anymore?) a lot of smaller companies have begun using the internet to their advantage. Ring of Honour in particular, for years they have successfully used its website to pedal their dvds and how do you get your TV show more exposure when it is only shown on a small American network? Simple put it on YouTube. Most recently ROH have branched out into iPPV’s, this is their second project with PPV (they tried the conventional method a few years back) but from what I’ve heard the relatively cheap cost of iPPV’s have made this project much more successful. Hopefully using internet savvy ROH will continue to grow and we will see other indies follow suite.

Right hands up, who here can say hand on heart if it were not for the internet they would have watched any wrestling outside WWE? I probably would not have, maybe I might have caught a bit of TNA but otherwise it’s unlikely and what a world of delights I would have missed. It is unlikely that I would have heard of Davey Richards, The Briscoes, KENTA, Daniel Bryan would only ever be known as Daniel Bryan, and many more things I wouldn’t even want to think about. Also as a slightly younger gentleman I would have missed Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, The Rise of Austin oh and Ultimate Warrior no selling the Pedigree of course. The point I am trying to get at here is that the internet is a beacon for those of us who wish to sample a life outside WWE, as in how this can be a benefit to the industry well of course lesser known independent or foreign can build up a fanbase they are not even aware of thanks to the internet, for example Pro Wrestling NOAH is on course to sell thousands of tickets for its British tour, just as Dragon Gate did a few months ago, would this have been possible if not for the internet?

My final point relates to exactly what we are doing just now, I would most likely have been lost to wrestling if I didn’t have somewhere to come a discuss it. Part of the fun of nearly all spectator sports is discussing them, usually with your mates down the pub, some fans of niece sports may share the problems of wrestling fans but trying to discuss these sports in the real world is unlikely to lead to mocking of the same kind that wrestling attracts. As wrestling popularity boom ended (and this point relates more to the country than the likes of the US or Japan) and wrestling became more and more of a guilty pleasure, I believe forums like these are imperative for people who want to discuss something they are passionate about but find themselves isolated

CONCLUSION
To sum up it is my belief that the internet is good for wrestling from the point of view of the wrestling fan, it has opened doors to other worlds that were previously the recluse of only the most hardcore tape traders, while looking at the backstage elements of things, particularly in WWE and TNA, has become almost a form of entertainment in its own right. In the eyes of independent, non-US companies and to a lesser extent TNA, the internet has been a positive, it has allowed them a platform to get noticed and extend their output beyond conventional geographical or financial borders. The only people I really see in wrestling who would consider the internet a negative is the WWE, they have globe spanning television deals which means that they don’t need people trawling YouTube or WWE.com to get themselves noticed and they have no need for more widely experienced fans who are capable of posting independent free thinking criticisms of the product on a public forum, some of them in regards to things WWE hasn’t even done yet, all the while praising wrestlers who perform in a county they have never visited and never appeared on TV. In short I believe the internet is all that is standing between WWE’s 99% domination of the wrestling world and the total 100%, which means surly the internet is good for wrestling.

Thank you for reading

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Ok so just to remind you, you can vote on the following guidelines:

1). You enjoyed reading the reply.
2). You thought the argument was explained thoroughly
3). You just liked the reply!
4). You thought it was informative and well written.

Oh and please try not to vote for yourselves!

Let the voting commence!

Both excellently written, but went with Person A as they said pretty much the same thing as Person B, but in a shorter version.

lol, snap

I went for B for the following reasons:

1) It had more content and had more of an article feel to it
2) It came across as showing greater knowledge

That said both were informative and very well written

Both are absolutely quality pieces of writing.
jeez thought I'd got past the degree pieces with Josh, now I'll probably get one of these two in the next round!

Any guesses who these 2 lovely people are Hero?

Brady12 and Gaffer?

I can't tell you really but it isn't them. Brady12 didn't even sign up mate.

I meant Crips instead of Brady but typed the wrong one! Oops my bad.

Angelinaloveissobeautifuliwishshewasmywife and Royboy?

now that would be a battle of the wits!!

Hero wrote:Brady12 and Gaffer?

LOL fair play Maccs even I thought i wrote B

Gone for B, since it's a clearly structured article which made solid points and the quote added a nice touch. Probably a student! Wouldn't get a pass at school though with the 'no' instead of 'know' and 'niece sports' which I can only assume was meant as 'niche sports'. But, still went for B anyway!

Guess I'm too late to vote but my opinion is that A gave the better answer. I thought B's answer was too long and went totally off on a tangent about smarks, and I didn't think the description of the smark stereotpe was even particularly accurate (I realise how ironic this sounds).

Neither answer really kept my attention all the way through but A's was more coherently written and to the point.

In fairness, I think this was the most difficult question so far, so credit to both of them for coming up with thoughtful answers.

Hero wrote:I meant Crips instead of Brady but typed the wrong one! Oops my bad.

Not me! I'm not in the tournament.

Firstly I just want to say congratulations to Sainty and secondly Im swearing a horrible revenge on all those who voted against me

MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!