MeeThinks 3.07.06: The Fickle Finger of Fandom, Part II of II (Page 1 of 2)

Posted by John Meehan on 03.07.2006

The IWC Shocks the Wrestling World...

MeeThinks: The Fickle Finger of Fandom, Part II of II
The IWC Shocks the Wrestling World

"This is strange: methinks
My favour here begins to warp…"
- Polixenes, The Winter's Tale
Act I, scene ii

Hey everyone, and welcome back to The Most Positive Column in the IWC!

Did you see Mee last week on RAW? Of COURSE NOT – I was camera-side, which meant that while I was right up close with Johnny Cameraman (yup, we totally snuck down from the 400 level to get up close and personal in section 109 one level away from the floor seats), I was (sadly) not going to be seen on WWE television.

No worries, though!

Thanks to 411 all star columnist Jeff Small, I was able to pass my signs amongst the crowd and get them on WWE television. Did anybody here happen to spot my oh-so-pun-tastic "U Can't See Meehan" neon green poster on last week's RAW (hint: it was right during the Cena/Trips promo)? It was awesome.

Screenshots are forthcoming on those, btw…
(JT, I'm holdin' you to that promise of a DVR!!!)

In the meantime –

This week we're tackling Part II of the "Fickle Finger of Fandom" debate – same line of inquiry as last week's column, this time with a focus on the uber-importance of the IWC.

Should be good times.

Also -

(While I'm plugging "good times" here)…

If you haven't yet read my Countdown to WrestleMania 22 article from last Monday, I'd seriously suggest checking that bad boy out. Some classic quotes from WrestleManias gone by in there (and plenty of hours of painstaking transcription, might I add) – definitely good for a nostalgia rush should you feel so inclined.

Finally (before we get to this week's debate) -

Do kindly check out my Second, More Detailed Smackdown Spoilers for the episode that aired this past Friday. Since they taped the show before RAW on Monday (Feb. 27), I sent my thoughts along to Boss Man Larry and he plugged them onto the main page right away. So yeah, even though the show has already aired, see what the DC Crowd thought of the Supershow taping and check those out!

Now then, let's do this thing in our regularly scheduled format, yes?

Rock & roll.

Part II of the "Fickle Finger of Fandom" follows (say THAT ten times fast), and your weekly dose of glossary entries and reader mail below!


MeeThinks: The Fickle Finger of Fandom, Part II of II
The IWC Shocks the Wrestling World

Breaking down the wrestling fanbase is never an easy task. From rednecks to ‘net nerds, former governors to screaming fifteen-year-old girlss, inner-city youths to twenty-something graduate students, this demographic definitely runs the gamut.

This week, we're looking at one of the biggest unifying and shaping forces that really helps bring all of these various (and often fickle) fans together on a daily basis.

We call it the "Internet Wrestling Community."


Our Story So Far...

Can be found in it's entirety right here in last week's column.

To summarize (and transition into Part II of this debate)

The evolution of the monthly PPV calendar has helped to decrease fan attention spans while increasing their expectations for consistent, high-quality wrestling, storylines, and characters. A double-edged sword, really – but not entirely the worst thing in the world, as this month-by-month calendar style has also provided solid and consistent fuel to some of pro wrestling's hottest and longest running angles.

True, overexposure of these things can make them go stale in a hurry – but that's where the fans come in, and we get our chance to voice our opinion and "know when to say when" to let company's know that they've gone to the well a few too many times.

We do it by tuning out of broadcasts.

We do it by refusing to buy pay per view events with little to no hype.

We do it by booing characters that the company wants us to cheer (and cheering those we're expected to boo).

And we do it all across the blogs, boards, columns and chat rooms that span the international airwaves of the world wide web in a little thing called the "Internet Wrestling Community," or the "IWC" for short.

Now it's no secret that fan response has played a vital role in shaping the fates of some of the industry's greatest characters and storylines for generations (Hulkamania's ten-year run at the top, the birth of the "anti-hero" Steve Austin, the unprecedented popularity of the new World order are all great examples)… but perhaps now, more than ever, the instantaneousness and constancy of fan interaction has taken the "unified front" of fan sentiment to a whole new level.

Take Washington D.C.'s reaction to John Cena last week, for example (and I would know – I was THERE, baby!). Despite the fact that the guy was supposed to be playing the "babyface" to Triple H's "perpetual main-event heel" persona (ironically – a role that the IWC was rather down on for the better part of five years until quite recently) – Cena was practically booed out of the building.

Now true, it could be because Triple H completely owned him on the microphone ("You're not a very good wrestler" was money, and "A guy who's biggest move is pumping up his Reeboks" was the proverbial nail in the "haha, I exposed you for what you are" coffin)…

It could be because absolutely nobody was looking forward to seeing these two collide (of course, that wouldn't quite explain the pro-Triple H reaction, now would it?)…

Heck, it *might* even be a result of the fact that Cena tries to pass himself off as a legit hip-hop superstar (a traditionally "urban"-dominated industry), and the DC crowd (a likewise *urban* audience) simply wasn't buying the guy's act of "real recognizin' real, homeys" – because most of them were more "urban" and "real" than a wannabe white boy from the suburbs of New England could ever be…

But if you ask the average fan in attendance (or web columnist, for that matter)…

They'll tell you that the guy was simply booed because he's lost his edge (no pun intended) and that he's "gone stale" over the past few months.

Now what, exactly, has "gone stale" about the guy is somewhat of a mystery. Keeping in mind the fact that Hulk Hogan donned THE EXACT SAME SHTICK for TEN YEARS – students of wrestling history can't help but wonder why crowds are turning on Cena for working the same shtick for just ten months.

Simple answer?

"It's not 1986 anymore, Toto."

Yup. And while the impact of the evolution of a monthly pay per view calendar and the increased regular television exposure of today's wrestling world should most certainly not be discounted in explaining such a change in fan attitude, there's one other noteworthy culprit that lies at the heart of just how wrestling fans receive their information and exactly in which manner said information is presented to them.

Namely?

The birth of the World Wide Web.

So yes, most fans would tell you that Cena's "gone stale" (and the cheers of the DC crowd were pretty clear evidence that at least *many* fans are pretty well over the guy)… but does it stand to reason that EVERY single person out there booing John Cena was doing so because he or she had personally grown tired of seeing the guy winning with the "Hip Hop Superman" gimmick week after week?

Doubtful.

Quite on the contrary, then –

I'd wager that a number of these fans might have felt that the gimmick was, in fact, getting kind of tired. But thanks to the support of their fellow fans (and discussion platforms such as the IWC) – it became much easier to join right in with the "boos" as fan after fan quickly realized that his dissatisfaction with ‘Da Champ actually put them in the majority.

It's often said that wrestling fans are "fickle," and clearly the IWC (and the monthly ppv calendar) certainly doesn't help matters here. But I might contend that fans are far less "fickle" than they are prone to "group-mindedness" (alternatively, "gang mentality" or "sheepishness") – meaning, of course, that once the ball starts rolling on a character or an angle, if enough fans (or promoters' booking efforts) were behind it in the first place – eventually the thing is going to "get over."

Look at The Masterlock, for example. Most fans absolutely detested the move – and the man behind it – for months on end. They dismissed it as "completely unbelievable" and hardly as effective or devastating as the company would like us to believe. Yet now – just a few short months later – thanks to repeated booking efforts (and a boatload of superstars willing to sell their little asses off), fans are actually popping like crazy the second the hold is applied, and the men on the receiving end of the maneuver are instantly earning some of the hottest face cheers of the night. Sure, many might be rooting for them to break the thing just so we can be rid of it altogether (and Chris Masters to boot!), but I'd say that the more logical explanation here is that WWE has simply done a remarkable job of getting us to believe that the hold is unbreakable (in true "heelish" fashion, of course).

We didn't want to buy it, but thanks to Shawn, Flair, Cena, Marty and the rest – we've actually come around to accepting the thing as legit in spite of ourselves. A few commentators, columnists and web reporters' remarks to the same effect later – and all of the sudden you've got the bulk of the wrestling world actually believing that the hold is somehow more "legit" than it was just one short year ago.

A perfect example of group mentality at its finest.

(Save your hate-mail, please – we'll talk more on Chris Masters in a future column.)

But getting back to "group-mindedness" here for a second…

It's not just what happens week after week on television that helps to sway our opinions of ongoing angles, characters and storylines. With the Internet being as popular (and informative) as it is, wrestling fans all over the world have turned to shaping their opinions about the industry not only based on the grounds of what they see on camera, but also by the combination of that and the reports they read about angles, performers, commentaries and characters on the ‘web.

Here's why –

Prior to the dawn of the double-you-double-you-double-you, "insider" fans ("smarks") had to rely on the Apter mags (well – not really), tape trading and the elusive "shoot" interview to get their fix on the inside scoop on the pro-wrestling biz. Company secrets were much easier to keep, and the business was far less exposed than it is today as kayfabe was still in full effect. Fans had to depend on spotty and infrequent tricklings of "insider" tidbits as they came down the pike in a very sporadic fashion, and wrestling promotions had little trouble disguising or concealing newly signed talent, storylines and match announcements.

That all changed when the IWC was born.

Suddenly, wrestling fans everywhere assembled in a virtual meeting place and were able to trade rumors, gossip, innuendo and spoilers at a moment's notice. Attended a live show that was being taped for broadcast a week or so later? Results on the ‘net in a matter of minutes. Heard rumors that a current star was looking to jump ship to a rival promotion? Boom – right onto the web it went. Your local radio station or PPV provider is broadcasting a card or promotional material for a show scheduled for after a major PPV? Presto – onto the ‘net it went and sport-savvy fans could quickly deduce the likeliest booking schedule that might lead up to said match.

Yes, the information age was indeed a powerful tool… but the full potential of this new technology had barely even begun to be tapped.

Out of the woodwork – ‘net pundits and "Tuesday morning quarterbacks" began blogging and column-ing away. Just like fans of other professional sports have allowed ESPN and related sports analysts change the way that they personally might evaluate games and performers, wrestling fans have turned to the IWC at large to see if they could find a sympathetic ear when they personally picked up on a gripe, gaffe, shortcoming or sour note tucked among the wacky and wild world of professional wresting.

Not only were they logging their reactions to the product and its performers, but they'd also begun to let other fans know when they weren't particularly thrilled with the fare that the companies were presenting. And once one person points out the crack in the dam, it doesn't take much for a number of like-minded fans to begin fixating on the same problem.

For sake of example – here's a few you might have heard on the ‘net in the past 10 years that you (as an individual fan) probably wouldn't have been able to pick up on without the help of the Internet Wrestling Community.

"Ric Flair is backstage tonight and is expected to be announced as the new figurehead co-owner of the WWF."

"WrestleMania XX will be Goldberg and Brock Lesnar's last match for WWE because they're quitting the business."

"Edge stole Lita from Matt Hardy, who was fired as a result of the whole thing."

"The plan for right now is for Randy Orton to defeat Rey Mysterio at No Way Out and go on to main event WrestleMania."

Ok, sure some of these things would have become pretty apparent sooner or later even if there were no internet to be had ("Hey, that's Ric Flair!" or "Hey, where's Goldberg? I guess he must have quit…"), but the bottom line is that fans were privy to said information before it actually took place on their television screens. Since many of us had time to prepare ourselves for these things, it undoubtedly affected the way in which we received them.

Think of it this way…

You're a kid just before Christmas. You head up to Mom and Dad's room to grab your laundry (let's say mom still folds your stuff for ya, ok?) and you happen to notice what appears to be the corner of a Playstation game sticking out from underneath a pile of papers on Mom's bureau. You, being a "good kid" – don't want to go right out and spoil the entire surprise for yourself by actually peeking under the pile to see exactly what game it might be… but you've got a pretty good idea that it's the one you've been asking for all month long.

So –

When you see it on Christmas morning – do you:

a) get super-excited because you had absolutely no idea in a million years that you'd ever be getting such a wonderful present?

or do you

b) open it with a thankful (but knowing) grin and do your best to make it look like you had absolutely no idea what it was. Yes, you're totally thankful that it *really* is what you thought it would be and that you *really* did get the surprise you were hoping for – but at the same time, you can't help but be at least a little bit bummed that ya' kinda spoiled it for yourself a while before you actually got to see the surprise.

Answer?

Obviously, the latter.

The fact that the IWC has made wrestling fans privy to so much of the industry's inside workings is much the same. Sure, we mark out when we see a new or familiar face making a debut or surprise return on our television sets – but it a way, we also tend to know too much about the biz, thus spoiling any chance for it to really "surprise" us down the way.

Furthermore, fans get spoiled by a slew of web reports that (often) point out the negatives over the positives. If they see a wrestler with a particular shortcoming (e.g. – John Cena polarizes the fans), they'll be quick to point it out and the cycle will continue (because we web fans are the ones booing the guy in the first place, ya know). Likewise, if the ‘net sours on a particular performer or angle, such a recipient instantly finds itself fighting an uphill battle to win the fans' approval, and they often can't for the life of them wrap their brain around the fact that they are just so damned hated no matter what.

Heck – look at Triple H. Rumors have it that the poor guy just recently discovered the Internet (huh?!), and the fact that internet fans spent the bulk of five years absolutely crapping on the guy for everything that he did, both onstage and off. Now true, much of that is his own fault – (ya can't win ALL the time, ya know…) – but the fact remains that the dude has every right to feel caught off-guard when he first becomes privy to the same "dirty little secret" that everyone BUT him had been sharing for the better part of a decade.

So the question remains –

With all of this (often "negative" or "fickle") IWC backlash to the current state of the wrestling business, are "positive-minded" wrestling fans simply doomed to watch the most vocal critics of this pseudo sport destroy it from within?

Quite on the contrary, actually – outside of the "Monday Night Wars" (my sentimental favorite) I think that this could very well be the single most exciting age in which to be a wrestling fan.

The professional wrestling business is "smartening" up, folks – and they're becoming more and more in tune with the pulse of their internet fanbase. Looking at a number of recent cases, we'll see how fans' attention spans and expectations have played a monumental role in dictating the fates of a number of programs, character directions and match outcomes.

And if this trend keeps up, we might just even see the average wrestling fan wielding more authority in determining the shape of the industry than ever before.

"How," you ask?

Well I'll tell you right now, in a little column I likes ta' call


MeeThinks?

Let's break this thing down to it's simplest terms, folks -

"IWC'ers" like to think of themselves as "smart" fans. And since they think of themselves (ourselves?) as the "smart" ones, they – by default – assume that the rest of the wrestling fanbase is made up of "non-smart" fans, which in wrestling jargon we'd call "marks" – or (in plainspeak) "people not as smart as us." In other words, by terming one's self a "smart" – that person is instantly classifying themselves as somehow more "with it" or intellectually aware than their contemporaries.

True or not -

This means that the IWC will always seek to distinguish themselves from said group of contemporaries. Maybe it's because the IWC is just so desperate to distinguish themselves from the "hoi polloi" of wrestling fans, which are often viewed as unintelligent, inarticulate and barely literate pariahs from the dregs of society. I mean, let's be honest here – the "average wrestling fan" – thanks to the mainstream media – is usually perceived as one of the four main "wrasslin' fan" stereotypes:

1) A white trash redneck from trailer park, U.S.A. ("Yuhuh, it's Stown Cowld Steve Awwstin!")
2) A meathead, possibly with mental or developmental impairment ("It's still real to me!")
3) A poor urban youth with limited schooling ("Yo, ‘dat blinged out spinner belt mah shit, dawg!!")
4) An overweight, socially awkward teenage girl ("eXist 2 Inspire! I luv U 4ever Jeff Hardy!")

A rash overgeneralization, to be sure – but hardly an "elite group" to say the least.

Needless to say, the "IWC fans" have made it their mission to establish a fifth, more "well informed" persona. You'll note that the quintessential components of ‘net fan's entire demeanor (the jadedness, the "smark" attitude, etc.) are each formed in direct opposition to the four above categories. For example – the IWC (tends to) view group…

1) Too "markish," too in love with brawling and "garbage wrasslin." These fans are just about the blood and violence, but *WE* appreciate the craft and "artfulness" of the industry, which is why we mark for Puro, TNA and lucha libre.

2) Too in love with the "big guys" and muscle-heads. These fans just mark for anybody with a set of muscles, but *WE* like the smaller, faster and more talented "technical" wrestlers, which is why we dig guys like Benoit, Daniels, and Eddie (to name a few).

3) Too "commercial." These fans just mark for whoever the company is pushing to be "popular" at any given time. *WE* pick our favorites from day one (usually guys who are NOT receiving pushes) and champion them (and/or gripe when they aren't pushed) until they become popular (at which point we reserve the right to root against them for "selling out").

4) Too "impressionable" and too "fawning." These fans obsess over their favorites and mark out for every last thing that these guys do. *WE* don't mind marking out for OUR favorites, (sparingly and when appropriate), but in the meantime we'll stick to our perpetual "I DARE you to try and impress me" jaded default mode.

Again, somewhat overstated – but for all intents and purposes, you're looking at the heart of how the IWC attitude was formed.

So –
What does this mean for pro wrestling today, then? How does this IWC attitude "shape" and affect the business as a whole, and why in the world should we expect such a (traditionally) negative and jaded outlook to actually work in FAVOR of improving the product as a whole?

Well –

It's no secret that WWE is becoming more and more aware of it's web-savvy clientele. As if Taboo Tuesday (or "Cyber Sunday," as it has become) or "WWE Unlimited" (airing between RAW's commercial breaks) wasn't enough of a tip off of this fact – recent developments in WWE are clear indicators that the ‘E has really developed a new way of dealing with this "new fan." (Though we're hardly "new," here – but if Trips just discovered us, then we *obviously* didn't exist before then!).

So how has WWE taken to dealing with this new fan?

They give us a WrestleMania showdown between Cena vs. Triple H – the guy we were supposed to love versus the guy that we are supposed to hate.

"But Meehan," you say – "nobody in the world wanted to see that match. Especially at WrestleMania! Wouldn't WWE's decision to book a program between these two guys be pretty clear evidence that they simply DON'T CARE what we want to see?"

Quite on the contrary, sez I.

I think what we're looking at here is the ‘E's clear response to the recent web-fueled trend towards unadulterated hate for John Cena. Sure, in an ideal world the company would *like* it if we all were good little sheep and cheered for the "good guys" and booed for the" bad guys" – but I think that they're capable enough to realize that we fans simply don't plan on behaving like that – and that they can either a) fight us, or b) accept that and try as best they can to roll with the punches.

Look at Triple H's promo on RAW last week – Cena was getting jeered left and right, and so The Game made a quick switch and began playing to the crowd for some solid "face" heat. Rather than beating fans over the head with a usual "grrr! I'm the bad guy / yay I'm the good guy!" dynamic, Triple H and Cena went out there and flat-out told the fans that they too were in on our recent change in attitude. Instead of blindly playing for fan cheers when he wasn't getting any, Cena flat-out-told Trips (and the crowd) that he could obviously tell that we didn't respect him, rolled with the punches, and went from there.

Now sure, you could argue that WWE is still forcing the match down our throats when we clearly have no interest in seeing it, but I'd kindly point out that fans might actually have more of an interest in this match than you might thing.

Cena's gone stale (so says the IWC), but Trips doesn't deserve another run with the strap (the "Triple H Invitational" was bunk, decry the IWC'ers). So we actually hate BOTH guys going into the match (for different reasons, of course) – and we're in no way looking forward to watch them go head to head.

… or are we?

We've been saying for months that Cena needs to regain his "edginess," and if fans keep booing the guy out of the building, there seems little reason to believe that he won't try to step up his game both on the mic and in the ring in order to win back the naysayers. If he succeeds, fans ease up a bit (like we eventually did with The Rock) and the guy proves himself to us once more. If he fails, he fails – but then it's presto-change-o and a heel turn in short order to "stick it" to the same fans who'd "stuck it" to him for so long. Either way, the guy becomes more entertaining in the long run.

We call that the "win-win."

And as far as Triple H goes –
We're supposed to hate the guy, but we're simply *not* booing him so long as he squares off against Cena. Combine that with the fact that many fans are legit miffed at the man for "booking himself into a main event that nobody wants to see," and you've got a Pandora's Box of negative fan emotion just waiting to explode in the guy's face. (Heck – if we hate HHHim AND Cena, then maybe fans will just boo their entire WrestleMania matchup altogether – ala Goldberg/Brock from WrestleMania XX?!)

But here's the thing –
Even if we boo the everlovin' crap out of their program, it will still be awesome to keep tuning in all the way through WrestleMania just to see how strongly fans will piss all over the two guys in the meantime. Sure, it'll be like watching a car wreck unfold in slow motion – but there's something perversely entertaining about watching a program absolutely fall to pieces before our very eyes, and if we're just loud (and disapproving) enough – we're bound to force WWE's hand and make them rethink their long-term plans after the Big Dance.

(Remember how the fans made short work of Randy Orton, Babyface Champion?)

So –
If Trips walks out of ‘Mania without the belt, then ‘web fans will (at least) lay off the guy for not making himself champion for the eleventh time. If he *does* happen to beat Cena at the Big One, then we'll be able to ease up on Cena and focus our energy on whomever the next logical contender is (because if the anti-Cena vitriol keeps up like this, then there's just *no* way he can remain a babyface champion). This means that new faces get pushed (hi, RVD, Carlito), the main-event picture gets a much-needed shaking up, and everybody wins.

And that's just in reference to the program that's been booked "against" the IWC's protest!

Look at what wonders the interwebs can do when the ‘E actually *listens* to our outcry.

Rey Mysterio –

Longshot Royal Rumble Winner, sympathetic babyface, underdog challenger for the World Tile, right?

Not if the ‘E had its druthers, for almost immediately after little Rey Rey won this year's Rumble, the ‘webs were flooded with reports that "the plan as it stands now is NOT to have Mysterio challenge for the World Title at WrestleMania, but rather to have Randy Orton compete in the main event in Mysterio's place."

Aghast that the ‘E would have the audacity to strip such a fan-favorite of his well-earned title shot, the IWC instantly launched into an "Anti-Randy" outcry – absolutely slamming the company for their poor taste in handling the Orton/Mysterio/"Eddie" storyline, and just decimating any hopes that the ‘E might have had of pulling off a successful Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle WrestleMania main event. Clearly, the fans had simply had enough – and we were going to let the company know just how strongly we felt here.

So what happens?

Web fans fly into a tizzy, "group mentality" kicks in and suddenly everybody is petitioning for Rey Mysterio to be put back into the WrestleMania main event (even though many of those folks didn't quite buy old Rey Rey as "a credible threat" in the first place, mind you).

And lo and behold -

Rey Mysterio is BACK in the World Title match for this year's "Big Time" showcase.

Looks like the IWC can influence WWE's booking decisions for the better after all.


Agree? Disagree?

"Methinks it sounds a parley to provocation!"
- Iago, Othello
Act II, scene iii

Shoot me YourThinks and I'll post your thoughts next week!

In the meantime…

Hop on over to page two of this monster for more Glossary Entries and "YourThinks" reader mail than you can shake a stick at!