When we review a WWE show negatively, no matter the quality of that show or the generally accepted viewpoint of said show, we typically end up getting plenty of comments that look a lot like this:
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There seems to be this idea among quite a few folks that being negative in any way, shape, or form is unacceptable. I do not agree with this, because I cannot agree with this, because it invalidates my entire fandom.
It’s the cost of being invested, essentially, and that goes for any fandom, not just professional wrestling. When you’re invested, all the feelings you get out of it reside in the same place. It’s why I laugh when Titus O’Neil trips trying to enter the Greatest Royal Rumble, and why I cry when Daniel Bryan is forced to retire, and why I cry again when he comes back, and why I’m so happy when Braun Strowman runs people over, and why I’m so upset when Vince McMahon makes the majority of the decisions he makes.
It’s the bargain you make for that investment. I cannot feel one without also feeling the other without also feeling the other. With that being the case, I need to be able to vent my frustration when it comes, just like I need to be able to cry when I feel sad and smile when I feel happy.
That’s how I stay invested.
That’s the whole point of all of this.
So if you ever wonder what the negativity is all about or where it comes from, well, there you go.