It's a new day (yes it is!).
Now that we've got a bit of positivity out there, let me get into today's string of thoughts:
(Deep breath, LFG!)
It's hard being a wrestling fan in 2023. Maybe that's a hot take, maybe it's not, but I can tell you that it was quite a bit easier when I was a kid. Hell, it was easier when I was a younger man. The major difference that I can ascertain is the amount of access to every single little thing (re: the internet/social media) has absolutely murdered the mystique of this thing that I've loved for the better part of 40 years.
The most egregious offense I've personally perpetrated against my own fandom has been to actually get involved in the wrestling business. I found my way into a gig doing Color Commentary for a local independent promotion and I thought I was about to start living the dream. Boy howdy, was I ever misinformed. Now, don't let me bullshit you, it's been fun and I've checked off a couple of bucket list boxes...
It's like watching the sausage get made, though.
It was disappointing in a way that I can't really articulate without burying people who are working hard at something they believe in. Is it my fault that I don't believe in their product? Well, in a word yes. In a few words, I can't help having high standards and I can't help calling bullshit when I see bullshit. Apparently, those two qualities aren't in high demand on the independent wrestling circuit.
It's fine. I got on TV. I got paid to work in the business. I got to Interview the promoter in front of a hot crowd. Hell, I even got to break a rib rolling out of the ring once!
I didn't enjoy it, though. The stress was monumental, and I'm not even sure why.
When I can say is that I learned from the experience. For better or for worse I am better informed now about how and why certain things happen in certain ways. Not to say that I was all the way smartened up, but I'm smart enough to assimilate the information that presents itself, yanno? A major takeaway is that most of the people from the vaunted Internet Wrestling Community think that watching a bunch of shoot videos and every piece of tape on the internet somehow gives them an educated opinion on the insides of the wrestling business.
Ha! It is to laugh.
I say all of that to say this: There is an endless supply of pontification on every platform imaginable. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen, but I can tell you that the overload of the "same ol', same ol'" has been the latest thing to make it hard for me to be a fan. Well, it's been said that one should be the change that one wishes to see.
So I said to myself, "Self! Maybe it's time to be that change!"
And maybe, just maybe it is.