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RADICAN'S TAKE
TALES FROM THE PULPIT 7/15: A modern conundrum for pro wrestling fans that’s unlikely to change anytime soon Jul 15, 2008 - 6:50:43 PM
I remember 1998 like it was yesterday. I was a teenager and wrestling just wasn’t cool. Suddenly people in my age group started buzzing about Stone Cold Steve Austin. Things snowballed from there and wrestling suddenly was accepted by the general public at a level I had never seen before and haven’t seen repeated since.
People wore their DX, Rock, NWO, and Stone Cold t-shirts proudly. They weren’t ridiculed by non-fans for enjoying wrestling. Things have sure changed and part of the reason is simply because nothing in wrestling right now resonates with mainstream society.
If you’re a non-fan and happen to come upon some wrestling program, you’re likely to see arguably the most popular face in the WWE talking about going number 2, a crazed bald man putting a hit out on his wife, babyface female wrestlers booked like sluts, the guy with face paint whose career climaxed and plummeted to the earth all in one night still involved in main event program, and man on woman violence.
There isn’t much wrestling programming available on television that’s edgy and resonates with the mainstream public. It’s considered by most an embarrassment to be associated with wrestling and it’s damn near impossible to justify being a pro wrestling fan these day to inquiring non-fans who just want to know why the hell you waste your time with that crap.
Until wrestling undergoes a creative renaissance, this pattern is like to be continued for years to come.
Email Sean Radican.
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