FanPost

Moving on: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Stop Watching the WWE

A few months ago, I read a very long email from The Motley Fool about how television viewership and cable subscription rates is about to embark on a irreversible decline. While it was a long prelude to basically saying that I should invest in Netflix, there was a key part about that newsletter that stuck with me as I prepared to write this post. I can't quote it verbatim, but it's general premise I can:

Broadcast television broke its promise to produce great television.

In the WWE's case, the WWE has broken its promise to consistently produce a great product. While there have been some notable comments made by stars such as Triple H, Mark Henry, and The Miz, whom all believe that fans should blame themselves for their discontentment with the WWE product, I will have to say that they're right and they're wrong.

Where they are wrong is in the sense that fans are not really asking for too much -- just action that justifies having 5 hours of fresh programming per week and storylines that have a meaningful beginning, middle, and end. Oh yeah -- and to stop forcing fans to accept superstars in certain positions that they are not ready to accept them in (see: Roman Reigns main event push).

Where they are right -- and by no means by what they meant by it -- is that fans will continue to watch WWE. Fans will continue to critique WWE. Fans will still fantasy book WWE. Still wish for this guy or that guy to get that push. Still wish for anything -- and I mean anything -- that would finally give way to a redeeming product. That's where the disconnect lies: company brass believes that their current product is redeeming enough; fans say otherwise.

So after years of writing, giving opinions, and thinking about the WWE (including up to this post), I made a decision late last year: I would simply stop watching it.

Of course, old habits die hard, but I would say that I am making progress. I haven't watched WWE programming on a regular basis since last fall. I generally blow off most of the WWE's pay per views. I only remotely keep up with WWE programming based upon what's presented here.

The hardest part of course is that natural emotional investment. I have been watching the WWE since 1999! That's 14 years! Hard to walk away from all of that!

I check out the indies. I follow up with Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Family Wrestling Entertainment, and House of Hardcore. You've already seen me become a major convert to Lucha Underground. I still try to tune into TNA whenever I can.

Waiting for the WWE to become more of the product that I look for in a professional wrestling promotion and/or show is similar to waiting for that one person to come around, even though it's clearly not in them to do so. In short, as much as one would like to believe, what we think is in the WWE is clearly not in the company. I'm well aware there's NXT, and while NXT is great from what I've seen of it, it's only a matter of time before NXT begins to follow the formula set by the WWE's main level of programming.

But in truth, there's so much professional wrestling out there that I don't really need the WWE anymore. If I want compelling storytelling? Lucha Underground. If I want well choreographed, action packed matches? PWG and ROH. If I want over-the-top, yet simple, and cohesive, storytelling? TNA.

Granted, while I will poke my head into the WWE world from time to time (I mean I post regularly on here, so I guess I would have to so that I would not look like a idiot), I'm done with the WWE in regards to being a regular viewer and supporter of the product. There's other promotions out there that's worth more of my time, money, and consideration. It's not a knock on any of the hard working performers of the WWE or the company's most ardent fans. It's all about finding fulfilling entertainment, and I think it's better to go focus on what's fulfilling instead of writing, bitching, and hoping for a day that's never going to come in the WWE.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.