A Call to Arms: Where are the Fanatics?

My name’s Dino, and I’m a fan of professional wrestling.

I should state that when I say I’m a “fan,” I don’t mean that I casually watch wrestling. I don’t only watch WWE, or only TNA, or only any one company, because I’m a fan of wrestling more than any brand name.

I also don’t refer to myself as a “fan” and mean that I watch all the programs but never get invested in them. I don’t sit and watch “actors playing roles,” because if I wanted to do that, I’d go watch a dress rehearsal of a play.

Finally, when I say I’m a “fan,” I don’t mean that I actually hate everything that it currently is, but I still hang out in the community so that I can wax nostalgic on shit that’s 15, 20, 30 years old. I don’t do that, either.

See, when I call myself a “fan,” I literally mean that I am, as the origin states, a fanatic of wrestling. And, as I’ve said many times here, I’ve always been a fanatic of wrestling. From birth to this very second, I’ve always loved wrestling in every form, from all companies in all countries. I love lucha and puro, I love catch wrestling and American high spots. I enjoy the show of it, and I loved the implied sport of it all.

To me, I see nothing wrong- absolutely nothing– with actually enjoying the program of which one claims to be a fan. I see nothing wrong with losing yourself in the program, or in getting invested into a character (or many characters), even if you know exactly how everything is put together.

For some of us- those that consider ourselves to be fans of professional wrestling- this is too much. For some of us, we’ve been browbeaten by the non-fans for daring to give a crap about the shows that we watch. They’ve been shamed for liking “that fake shit,” and as I watched in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, they’ve been led to repeat the same boring lines about “soap operas for men” and “appreciating the effort,” but simply admitting to getting lost in wrestling has, for many people, become something you just don’t do.

Frankly, that’s probably what I hold dearest about my place here at 411 – I’m one of the few unapologetic fanatics. That’s not to say I’m the only one, but I think it’s fair to say that you won’t see me breaking down ratings, or calling out stock numbers, or any of that stuff because I care about what happens in the ring. Or, if you want to split hairs, I care about what happens in the show. I care about who is in the show.

And I care, because the wrestlers (male or female) make me care. Knowing how many people tuned into a particular show doesn’t cause me to enjoy it any more or less. Knowing how a company’s stock is moving doesn’t increase or decrease my enjoyment, either.

That’s why I’ve never allowed myself to stop admitting that I love pro wrestling. I’m not afraid to say that I still, to this day, get angry when I watch certain matches, or that I still get sad at others. It’s also why I was able to write about Bret Hart, and just how important he is to me, both as a fan, and as a man. It’s also why I felt a little bad for those that wanted to make fun, or point out how sad the whole thing was.

I mean, I get it. The column was a dude in his 30s going on and on about how some grown man that pretends to wrestle people is such an important person. Sure, that’s funny. But at the same time, that’s what wrestling is supposed to be! We’re supposed to glom onto these characters, and we’re supposed to get invested in them, and we’re supposed to support them! I feel bad for the “fan” who no longer feels this. I feel bad for the “fan” who wants to simply sit and watch a bunch of actors put on this stunt show exhibition, and takes absolutely nothing else from the entire program.

I also know that, in the comments, the biggest thing to do is put yourself over. Be the coolest kid in the room. Someone said Shawn Michaels was the best wrestler ever? Well, time to bust out some 9 paragraph comment about how fucking stupid and illogical it must be, right?

But this goes beyond just a snarky comment. It really feels like a lot of people who would consider themselves fans of wrestling, just aren’t fanatical about it anymore. Doesn’t that make you sad?

We have people who hate watch shows just so they can talk shit about it afterwards. You know, because the “If you didn’t see it, you can’t comment on it” crew just had to keep repeating that ridiculous line, to the point that even if someone hates a company, they’ll watch, just to earn that “right” of complaining about it.

There’s fans who’ll watch other shows, but not like it. However, they stay with it because it’s “better than” WWE, or TNA, or whoever. Again, it’s not that they love what they’re watching, it’s that they can tolerate it better than programming from someone else.

Which, to me at least, proves that somewhere, even in the snarkiest guy who can’t even consider talking about wrestling in markish ways, that fanatic is still alive. To keep trying to find wrestling to watch, even when you’ve decided that much of it is absolute garbage… why else would one do that, if not to feed the inner-fanatic?

It’s that need to be cool, right? It’s gotta be. Well, I have some bad news. We’re wrestling fans. We’re not cool. We watch people pretending to get beat up, and we enjoy it. We freak out about looks, music changes, movesets, and mic skills. We’re complete losers, okay? There’s no need to keep up the façade that only the wrestling fans that do it differently than you are dorks. We’re ALL dorks.

I don’t run from that. I don’t think I’m any better than any of you. That’s why I don’t write columns simply to troll you. That’s why I don’t write stuff that I don’t believe in, just to get a reaction. It’s why, for the most part, my columns are usually like an easy walk in the park, with some wrestling talk thrown in. Because I realize two things: 1) this isn’t the most important stuff in the world and 2) we are literally the only people who care about this stuff.

The second thing is something I’ve said before, but I always feel it bears repeating. Wrestling isn’t like other sports or shows, where people may not really follow, but still keep a peripheral eye on. You’re either in or you’re out. We’ve all had that significant other that tries to be nice and watch with us, right? And they either get fully invested, or they never do. And when they never do, it doesn’t matter how many weeks in a row they sit down and watch Raw, there’s never going to be a part where you can talk to that person about someone’s sick match. They just aren’t going to get to that level. Same thing with trying to describe why your favorite guy is your favorite. Non-fans just don’t get it, and they don’t want to, and hey, good on them.

I’ve always hoped that we could all embrace the fact that we’re fanatics. That even if someone is going on and on about some wrestler that you hate being the absolute best, you could at least see yourself in that person. Sure, you still argue that person’s choice, but you do it with the knowledge that you’re that same dork, only for a different wrestler.

Do I have some weird feeling for someone that tells me that Grado is their favorite wrestler? Of course I do. Do I consider it sad that he’s that invested into Grado? Of course not! That’s the point! If wrestling didn’t want you to get invested, we wouldn’t hear things like “any reaction is the right reaction.” Watching and not caring? Watching and having no reaction? What’s even the point of that?

So yeah, I’m a giant loser that loves wrestling, wrestlers, and loves getting invested into the show, even though I know what goes on behind the curtain. I’m a fanatic. I have no problem with that. And I have no problem with any other fanatic, either. That’s what we’re here for. That’s what we’re supposed to be here for, at least.

It’s the cool kids that have problems admitting that they liked anything that I worry for. That can’t admit that wrestling can still get them the way it did years ago. That stick around simply to shout down everyone else that’s still enjoying it.

Go watch your documentaries; I have fake shit to get lost in.

PUT SLICK IN THE HALL OF FAME!!

It’s All Wrestling. It’s All Silly. We All Love It