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Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of Sportskeeda
The Internet Wrestling Community, or the IWC, is a vocal part of the wrestling world. Despite my disdain for them, they are also an integral part of the fan base and the industry, Just as much as wrestlers, promoters, and casual fans are. They make up the industry and consume the most amount of wrestling and wrestling media. They generally don't stop at WWE often investing in promotions like AEW and NJPW.
These fans may have invested money in buying wrestling merchandise or tickets but they have certainly invested time into wrestling, through watching content, going to shows, or by commenting and contributing to the various online forums available to wrestling fans these days. This is not an attempt to "bury" the IWC but is an acknowledgment that they don't always know what they are talking about.
Many in the community have growing issues with WWE's product and by extension Vince McMahon, both legitimate and illegitimate concerns. This section of the fan base has started calling for Vince McMahon to retire. Many fans online believe that the chairman is bringing about the demise of the company he purchased from his father in 1982. Even worse are those that are calling for the death of a man that controlled the wrestling world for 20 years and presided over wrestling's most popular era. It's fair to air grievances, but to call for someone's death is a step too far.
While those outside of the "wrestling business", such as fans, are more than entitled to have their opinions on the industry and their preferred story-lines, there are certain things that no matter how much wrestling you watch, or how many wrestling articles you read, you won't necessarily pick up about the business. So here are three things that some online wrestling fans don't necessarily understand about wrestling.
#3 WWE is still the place to wrestle
WWE is the place to wrestle for anyone that aspires to make a living from Professional Wrestling. WWE hosts regular events which draw large numbers, and events like WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Summerslam attract global attendances.
No other promotion in the world can provide the opportunities that WWE provides. Outside of the big central PPVs, WWE has several shows which are routinely televised. Raw and Smackdown are regularly viewed by over 2 million viewers.
Outside of their in-ring shows, WWE also has the Performance Centre. The Performance Centre is one of the best wrestling complexes in the world with state of the art facilities. The Performance Centre also grants WWE Superstars access to the best wrestling teachers, including WWE legends and Hall of Famers. Some of the teachers and trainers have included Shawn Michaels, Dusty Rhodes, and Paul Heyman.
After establishing the first Performance Centre in Orlando, Florida, WWE opened the second Performance Centre in London. The WWE opened the center in January 2019, a few short months after the debut of NXT UK on the WWE Network.
#2 Having a title isn't the only goal for wrestlers
Professional Wrestling is incredibly unique. It's half-sport, half-entertainment. Wrestlers compete for titles to define who is the best wrestler. However, the person who wins the title isn't necessarily the best wrestler, and a wrestler doesn't need a title for validation.
A title reign in WWE is a nice validation, and can potentially put a Superstar in the spotlight. Certainly, the main title usually means a great spotlight and the main event spot, which comes with a nice pay bump.
However, many wrestlers can survive without the validation of a title. When a wrestler seeks to make a professional wrestling career, validation, and rewards like a title come secondary to financial security.
Many fans forget that wrestlers face situations similar to themselves in their day-to-day jobs. If you asked wrestling fans what they would rather do, a job with great pay and a stable job, or the promise of rewards but a pay cut and less job stability, they would predominantly take the first option.
This is the risk when wrestling fans become adamant that their favorite WWE wrestlers leave to try their hand on the Independent wrestling scene. While wrestlers like David Starr will explain that they are looking to improve conditions for wrestling outside the big promotions, many wrestlers can give a litany of nightmare stories while traveling from promotion to promotion without stable booking.
#1 Wins and Losses don't really matter
Cody Rhodes and All Elite Wrestling announced something that drew cheers from many in the online wrestling community. Cody stated "Wins and losses will matter" to cheers from many in online forums. On a surface level, it makes sense, ideally if a wrestler wins they should be a title contender and if they lose they should slide down the card. This mimics how we know sports should work. We know that winners are better and losers are worse.
However, the beauty in wrestling is that we are able to script and pre-determine these results. In professional wrestling, a fight can end in a screwy finish were heels cheat to win. Or we can have a Dusty finish, named after Cody's own father Dusty Rhodes, due to his penchant to using this tactic as a booker. We have time limit draws. How can you factor all these different things into a ranking system?
Many wrestlers don't mind losing, because it is possible to lose a match in wrestling and come out looking amazing. WWE's Buddy Murphy is a great example of this recently. He faced and lost a great fight to Roman Reigns, did it matter? No. Will he be all the better for the fight, absolutely.
