[Fignuts]

Originally Posted by Noid This is a great post. I agree with your first bit. I don't think it's actively going to chase people away. But I think for any attention it stirs up, the people you probably want to get in are going to say "This is dumb. How do people watch this?" That's all. Like, do we really need more fans with that ironic "appreciation" of wrestling but really don't get emotionally invested, because it's hokey and dumb. It gets really hard to have a good atmosphere when everyone just wants to come and laugh at the weird man. They are only my personal ideals of wrestling, but I think there's a big problem with fandom in wrestling at the moment. They've chased away most of the casuals, and now they have a hardcore audience that wants to both dictate what they want, and when they get it, they want something else. It's just depressing being a fan in that environment. You want to go and enjoy some good live music, because you like some of the bands, but then there is this person screeching and people throwing up onto your shoes. Maybe I'm just too old for this shit?

What if they come for the whacky Matt Randomness, and end up staying for the really meaningful stuff?

I have quite a few friends who became fans for the superficial stuff, or for one angle that appealed to them at the time, but quickly learned and came to understand how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Now I talk to those same friends about okada's storytelling or lucha undergrounds long term booking. Topics that may as well have been a foreign language to them when they came in for whatever nonsense attracted them at the time.