Marty Scurll Sums Up Wrestling in One Tweet

"The Villain" Marty Scurll generated quite a bit of conversation with a tweet he sent out asking "If fans moan about selling & lack of psychology today can wrestlers moan of 10 chants and fans acting like numpties in general?" I had to Google what a numpty is, but after finding a definition, I realized that this is the perfect summation of the current state of the wrestling industry. In a time of unparalleled access through a combination of dirt sheets and social media, it has become more and more difficult for the modern fan to understand or perform their role in modern wrestling without disturbing the show.

When Hogan joined the NWO, the ring began to fill with trash thrown from the audience. Viewed as an impressive visual, WCW began to encourage the fans to continue with this act. ECW included the crowd filling the squared circle with steel chairs in the opening video for their weekly television series. At times, they would have matches where fans were encouraged to bring weapons from home. Slowly but surely, we would see the crowd become a bigger and bigger part of the show. While fans would often finish the catchphrases of their favorite wrestlers, things seemed to be all in good fun until Stone Cold Steve Austin introduced his "what" catchphrase. To this day, you will still see some talent become noticeably thrown off by the fans answering every sentence of a promo with "what?" It was starting to become questionable whether the audience was at the event to have fun or to get themselves over on television.

Why do we, as fans, try to damage the thing that we've paid to enjoy? These fans spend so much time and effort to get themselves over, that they can't see the irony of what they're doing to the performers. For me, one of the most drastic examples of fans damaging the ability of someone to get over is a character that actually overcame the chants. Leading up to the debut of the Wyatt Family (which I discuss in the following entry: http://figurefourwritersblock.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-curious-case-of-bray-wyatt.html), the vignettes were unlike any we had seen in quite some time. They built intrigue, they developed character, and they made the Wyatts seem downright creepy. When the Wyatts finally hit the ring, a small portion of the crowd insists on chanting "Husky Harris," a reference to Bray's character prior to being repackaged who never got over with the crowd. This adds nothing to the show, and only assists in taking people out of the moment. It is something that only happened once to my memory, which is probably why it did no true harm to the character, but had it been louder or more frequent, the chant could have caused irreparable damage.

To the point of fans and critics citing a lack of psychology, I would argue they are watching the product incorrectly. The world of professional wrestling is a world of super human feats. Competitors no longer pretend that they were incapacitated by a shoulder tackle because later in the match they will be taking dives off the top rope and suplexes that throw them clear across the ring. As the moves have become more complex, I accept the kayfabe-based argument that these performers are expected to be more resilient and have a stronger fighting spirit to keep up. Kicking out of the Attitude Adjustment doesn't make John Cena or his finisher look weak, it just shows how badly his opponent needs the victory. Those same modern conveniences mentioned above make it so the average fan has seen everything before. This means the performers need to go even bigger to get a reaction. While I'm certainly concerned for the health of the athletes in the ring, I absolutely enjoy the higher risk style and enjoy how wrestling has evolved.

At the end of the day, the world of professional wrestling is as wide as you want it to be. If you long for the days where a sleeper hold was seen as one of the most legitimate and deadly finishers in the game, you can easily seek that out on YouTube or the WWE Network. If you like the way wrestling seems to be moving, you can find that through many on demand streaming options, or at many wrestling shows throughout the country. Attend one in person, it's a great time. Just be mindful of the rest of the crowd, and respect the talent putting their body on the line each and every night for your enjoyment.