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Jaded Hope
Email: al.laiman.lop@gmail.com

Before I begin today, I would like to announce the release of my new book: Taking Bumps: How I Made 49 Bucks in Pro Wrestling. It's the story of my time in indy wrestling, as well as a few of the columns I've written for this site. Mizfan on the forums wrote the foreword, and it's the project that got me writing columns again in the first place. It's only 9.95, so I hope at least a few of you will support my endeavor.

Click here to purchase my new book!

IN LAIMAN'S TERMS: Does it Go in Cycles?

By request.

One of my best friends and my former roommate Tom Hackett was talking to me about the state of professional wrestling today when he asked the question that I know is on the tips of everyone's tongue... Who was not impressed with Kim Kardashian's marriage? I'll tell you who was not impressed. CM Punk Is Not Impressed:

www.facebook.com/CMPunkIsNotImpressed

Being a native of Minnesota, Tom thought the greatest endorsement for the state was that Kim Kardashian hated it. As someone who lived there and wished I had longer, I would have to agree. However, after some mutual agreement on that twuntwaffle and her famous-for-no-reason exploits known as the "Meh Around the World", he then decided to pose a question about the current direction of the product.

When WWF/E started getting huge in the 80's, it was PG programming. Say your prayers, drink your milk, stay in school. Shit like that. Then as the 80's fans got a little bit older, the Attitude Era came along. Suddenly the show was a lot darker, a lot more intense.

Well sadly, most of the fans from the Attitude Era have outgrown wrestling. The fans that are coming in now are the little kids, the ones that will grow with the company. So it's back to the PG product. Hook the little kids in with it, then as they grow, grow the product to be more intense and more appropriate for an older audience.

I've always been a firm believer that wrestling goes in cycles. The feeling of apathy toward a good bit of the product today I believe was the same thing a lot of 80s fans felt during the down period of 1994-95. Sure, there were some wrestlers still around that people liked, but the overall quality of the shows seemed to suffer, as did the business.

Here in 2011, most of the fans from the Attitude Era have grown out of wrestling, and a good chunk of the holdover fans are on sites like these clamoring for the better times. The PG product is obviously marketed toward the families and kids, but those kids are going to get older. Is it possible that this could lead toward the resurrection of an edgy product that would draw us back in?

On one hand, not likely. With the Internet Wrestling Community, dirt sheets, spoilers, and insider leaks, it would be very hard to pull off a lot of "shocking" angles that made the Attitude Era famous. Plus, as I've written before, I'm under the impression that a lot of the reason people thought the Attitude Era was awesome is because most of us were younger kids at the time. Much like those who loved the golden 80s of wrestling became bored with the different marketing scheme in the late 90s, it's possible that even being given exactly what we want wouldn't click our heels and send us back to our black and white home in Kansas.

TNA hasn't lost the edginess that made ECW famous over a decade ago, and it's pretty safe to say that the current TNA audience is set with whatever they do, and JBL bless them for that, because I can't subject myself to that kind of torture, and I watch the Cleveland Browns on Sundays! Edginess can sell, but it doesn't sell alone. And TNA sells like a finisher in indy wrestling, so clearly that is not the only road to glory for professional wrestling.

Part of this as well can be attributed to ridiculously high standards. A lot of the hype around WrestleMania 27 had us expecting the greatest show in history. Going in expecting the world led a lot of us to disappointment, as I heard it called the worst WrestleMania ever, which is hyperbole at its best. It was a painfully mediocre event that got labeled as a disaster due to high expectations. With this in mind, I think a good section of the community would be no more impressed than CM Punk, even if they got exactly what they wanted.

Now I know that's shocking all of you as much as a believable Mark Henry title reign would've a year ago, but there is another hand to this. Once these kids that are infatuated with the current product grow a bit older and have to put down their XBox 720 controllers while taking a break from Modern Warfare 5: Ramirez, Do Everything Again!, they could be inclined to expect a more adult product as many of us did in the late 90s. If this is the case, wrestling will need to adapt, die, or go after the younger kids once again.

Part of this relies on Linda McMahon, as the current climate will definitely maintain if she runs for the Senate in 2012. Although that's like trying to fix the Titanic with a band-aid, the status quo will likely remain as long as a McMahon is involved in politics.

But we could be on the cusp of the next big wrestling boom. With a roster full of new faces and an immense amount of talent just waiting to break through, we could be seeing a 1997-like emergence of new names and growing ratings. CM Punk could be a trendsetter, as many of us who are less than enamored with John Cena and Randy Orton either holding the titles or being after them nearly all the time nearly fell out of love with the product suddenly have a spark of interest again. Some say that Punk has already been buried, but remember that Austin 3:16 had to wrestle Bret Hart nearly a year after King of the Ring 1996 before his star really began to grow to main event levels.

CM Punk may be the closest thing to edgy the WWE has, and his surge in popularity is a sign that the fans approve of it. In these times, a new name catching fire is the best thing for which business can hope. With heels like Dolph Ziggler and The Miz proving to be good foils for the good guys of the business, the pieces are being set for the next big explosion of wrestling popularity. It doesn't necessarily mean it will happen, but at least the chance for it to do so could be emerging. Survivor Series this year could be a 1996-like shocker that brings back some of the lost fans and gets them paying attention again. Money in the Bank earlier this year did some of that, now it's time to build on that.

Some on the internet would have you believe that the momentum is already killed, but even in today's "do it right now" market, sometimes a long-term plan can come to fruition and surprised even the most jaded of fans. For the sake of your sanity as well as my own, let's hope that's the case.

LAIMAN'S SHIRT OF DOOM

Joining the list of Kane, The Miz, John Morrison, Ric Flair, Bruno Sammartino, Delirious, Low-ki, Buff Bagwell, Tracy Smothers, Jimmy Snuka, Shiima Xion, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Chris Sabin, Sara Del Ray, Greg Valentine, Jerry Lynn, Larry Sweeney, Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero, and Raven...

Hall-of-Famer Tito Santana! And yes, feel free to be jealous of my awesome hat.

The most important links for this week are at the top of the page, and I hope you will continue to support my writing endeavors. I'm sorry I missed last week, but maintaining a 4.0 comes first. Hoping to keep it through the end of the semester. Until next time, as always, this has been In Laiman's Terms.

Source: lordsofpain.net