The fact that I've been watching wrestling literally, since I was born. I got tired of the garbage that was getting invested in something that Vince McMahon created, then threw away. The late Bray Wyatt's run as the Fiend? My favorite part about WWE TV, until they made him job out to Goldberg in less than five minutes. I decided then and there, that I was done. Much to the sheer delight from my brothers. Then we just watched PPVs, up until Vince being fired, and now I want to see what Triple H can do without Vince vetoing everything under the sun. Been enjoying it more, especially NXT, and Chad Gable. So glad that Vince stopped calling him "Shorty G". God, I hated that name!
I asked the same question some months ago. For me, I watched wrestling from 2010-2013. I occasionally watched wrestling videos on YouTube after that. Then in December 2021, I saw a random YouTube video saying "CM Punk has arrived in All Elite Wrestling" and I was like "what wrestling show is this?"
So I started watching AEW in January 2022 and automatically started watching WWE again. So basically, it's CM Punk's return to wrestling that brought me back.
WWE 2k22. Bought it on a whim, started learning the new people, and within my first few months of starting to watch it on tv, I went to my first live event(SummerSlam).
Up until then, I had not watched it since I was a kid when Stone Cold and the Rock were on top.
Bray Wyatt, once I heard about The Fiend it immediately caught my attention, I stopped watching when Brock and Roman were main eventing WrestleMania after WrestleMania with the Universal championship, dark times...
I’m a WWE fan who considered stopping watching in the spring of 2022. WWE was just so boring, lifeless and at their lowest point creatively I just didn’t see a point in watching anymore. I decided to keep watching though when Vince McMahon stepped down and The Bloodline storyline gained tons of steam due to the involvement of Sami Zayn. That was peak Bloodline.
So I stopped watching because I got too busy. This was in 2008. It wasn't until this last Royal Rumble that I just decided to check it out (I had Peacock, so why not) and I loved it. Even though there were so many new faces, it felt so nostalgic and nice. Since then, I've been watching each Raw/Smackdown/NXT.
And actually watching Royal Rumble with absolutely no context for current storylines and knowing like 3 people made it so much more fun for me. I was judging these wrestlers based on the vibe I got. Nothing else.
Cody's return and Vince leaving in the summer of 2022 sparked my interest. Watched just a bit but didn't time in regularly. Hearing what was happening later that he in the Autumn with Sami and the Bloodline got me interested again. Loved what I was seeing with that story, and the stuff happening around it was enough to get me slowly hooked again. I've been a goner ever since haha
I stopped watching after Cena won the title at WrestleMania 29. I stopped because it seemed like they were going back to formula with Cena and Punk who just lost to the Undertaker was seemingly going back down the card. I just really didn't care too much. I also remember the Shield was starting to get bigger at that time. I started watching again when I was on vacation in London. It was the only thing that I actually knew over there, so I watched it before going to bed. Now all of these Shield members were big and they were on their own, the ironic thing, was that this was the night they came back together as enemies to face the Wyatt Family. Seth was the evil champion at the time so the story of them vs Seth Rollins is what got me back into it.
Heard Stone Cold was going to have a match at Wrestlemania against KO. I kinda tapped out after the Attitude Era, so when I heard my favorite from my childhood was going to be wrestling, I tuned it.
Had a lot of fun watching it. Decided to tune into more PPVs (PLE) since I already had peacock. That slowly turned into me not missing a Raw or Smackdown. I’ve even been to a few live shows now! It’s just fun.
I obsessed over it in high school, but kind of steered away from it for a while because most people around me didn't like it or thought differently of me because of it. I got back into watching it a bit in 2016 because a coworker at the time liked it and he told me how much better the women's matches were. I after awhile I stopped watching it because I couldn't afford live TV, but kept up to date on stuff through WhatCulture and other YouTube channels
My husband - who also was a fan that stopped watching - and I had started watching on and off since the 2022 Rumble. Then we started watching it weekly sometime after Wrestlemania, mainly because of the Seth Rollins/Cody Rhodes feud.
One day I decided I wanted to try and rewatch the entire attitude era from start to end. As I was doing this I decided to watch a single episode of smack down. They said the royal rumble was coming up and next week Cody Rhodes is meeting cm punk on raw. Then the “we want Cody” movement started it’s been incredible ever since. Ironic bc I stopped watching in 2014 right before the yes movement.
Left in 2002. Came back in 2015 after I had to watch Wrestlemania for work. Saw the Heist of the Century, and then a few months later I believe when Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha debuted is kind of what hooked me.
Started watching before last Mania, around the Rumble. Rhodes was fun to follow coming back from his injury and feuding with bloodline. Storylines seem more realistic/grounded in the last year or so which I prefer.
Becky vs Tiffany Stratton at nxt no mercy. Always liked becky and when I heard she was in nxt I had to take a look. Been watching whenever my schedule allows ever since
Got a big hit of nostalgia from the Billy Strings Halloween concert where they all dressed as wrestlers and played a bunch of covers themed around it. Show had a ring announcer, commentators between sets, pre-shot promos, and introductions for all the musicians with their faces spliced over footage of the wrestlers they were dressed as. They even did a kayfabe feud between Billy and his stage manager that culminated in Billy dressed as Hulk Hogan breaking a guitar over the heel's back.
Soon, I found all the old archives on Peacock and began watching the Attitude Era and NWA. After that, Smackdown came to town the day after we had a giant snowstorm which resulted in a ticket dump on Stubhub. Scored some decent seats for cheap, saw a great show, and have been hooked ever since.
It was about this time last year I heard WrestleMania was coming up and just decided to give it a watch. I loved it so I stuck around. The end of night one was amazing.
Stopped shortly after Invasion, after being a diehard fan of both WCW and WWE. Not by choice; I just didn't have cable. I checked in on the PG era and it did nothing for me.
I watched Arrow and knew who Stardust was. So when I started seeing Lesnar giving Cody daps at SummerSlam (apparently unscripted) I was intrigued. I had been seeing blonde Stardust EVERYWHERE and thought he was in AEW. I had to know more.
Plus Rhea was popping up everywhere once I had watched some wrestling videos. She just seemed the total package of women's wrestling. I used to change the channel for lingerie matches. This woman looks like a legitimate threat and plays the part.
I've now watched every Monday, Friday, every PPV, own three T-shirts, a bunch of figures and the full sized RAW ring. It just brings me this joy that has been missing for a long time.
NXT, particularly when KO was champ. I followed the main roster at that point half heatedly, but NXT was weekly must-see viewing for me. It really gave me that foothold I needed to stick out until Trips took over.
Got Peacock and access to the library. I started watching all the top classic matches. Then I got 2k23. Then I thought I'd start watching RAW, and there you go.
In 2022 I was thinking about getting back into wrestling. I’d been watching lots of wrestling YouTube. I could decide between AEW and WWE. I was leaning to AEW but then I saw Vince was gone and hhh was taking over. Then I heard about clash at the castle. Then I heard about brawl out. The stars were converging. But the actual thing that made me go “yeah I’m watching wwe again” was Braun strowman returning. I stoped watching in late 2017 but he was the only thing I really liked on the show at the time.
I quit watching in 2002 or early 2003 and just started watching again a few months back. In the first few episodes of Raw and Smackdown I watched I saw Cody Rhodes do some great promos, R-Truth with Judgement Day, Rhea Ripley, and Randy Orton’s return (I never saw his first run so he was new to me). All of that was enough for me to see that it doesn’t suck like it was starting to when I quit watching.
NXT black and gold in general brought me back. Brought me back and kept me while the main roster shit the bed. When that was taken away I stopped again for a bit, until HHH got main roster creative. Now him and Shawn kick ass with their shows and I’m enjoying WWE more than I have in a very long time.
I hadn't watched wrestling since 2001, but last year i got a job as an opening act and now on production of an indie wrestling organization. Being part of the show changed my life. Now I host our podcast and get sponsors for us.
With the podcast I felt like i had to watch wrestling to not sound like a dipshit and it really pulled me back in
I stopped watching once Stone Cold left. And only had passing interest on social media since about 2015, but it's Romans heel turn, linking up with Heyman and initial feud with Jey. I know a lot of fans hate that he doesn't defend regularly and I do think it's time for a new champ, but despite The Rock calling himself the final boss, Roman is the final boss. From the music to his presentation, promos, and the dirty work done by his lackeys in the bloodline, it's just been so good. He's elevated the business and made it more popular than ever (with the help of the rest of the roster of course).
Just wish we got him more regularly the last 18 months. I understand why we don't, though, and think he may not be long for wrestling between Hollywood calling and his health. Really hope Triple H doesn't fumble this final chapter but I have faith!
I started watching this year royal rumble PLE and the only reason is, is Bc of the clips I would see on social media of the bloodline and the return of cm punk and Randy orton. Also LA Knight… YEAH!!
Also heard that Triple H was taking over as creative so I figured why not start now.
For me it was 2 things. 1. My son discovering Rey Mysterio and my shock that Rey was still wrestling. 2. I saw a promo for Drew vs Roman at Clash at the Castle and looked badass so I had to check it out.
We have been watching ever since
I watched a video on YouTube explaining how everyone hated "big dawg" Roman reigns but after overcoming lukemia and a character change he actually became an interesting character
So this hour long video by supereyepatchwolf that touched on the history or the shield, the bloodline and even El generico made me interested enough to start back rewatching
I started watching around 2002 and stopped around 2008ish?
I came back once Brock Lesnar came back in 2014 as he was my favorite as a kid and watched a few years then stopped.
Came back again once Matt Riddle started doing good and was excited to watch him as I loved him in the UFC when he was a young prospect then I soon got bored with Roman Reigns and bloodline.
Then Started back at the royal rumble just wanted to get back into it again lets see how long it last this time
So I stopped watching around 2014 and I kinda like knew and saw some things but never got back into it. I've been playing 2k19 so I was still in the sphere but wasn't until the rumble was on I watched it and fell in love again. Tho it was hard to get all the storylines down and watch all the matches I missed. Last year was a bad one to miss cause it was all good
When those A&E documentaries started a year or 2 ago got me curious about what’s going g on currently. Watched new generation, attitude and fell off during ruthless aggression.
Well let's see I watched wrestling when it was mainly local stuff on Black and White tv.
And for 20 years I didn't watch it at all.
I did catch some of the Rock the giant The undertaker and macho man.
Now it's starting to get boring again but I watch SmackDown on Friday night because it's really nothing else much on TV till something else comes on after it.
I don't get wrapped up in it cuz I know it's all scripted it's entertainment but if they don't do something to juice it up somehow I can't see myself watching it much longer.
Turned it on a few months ago just for shits and giggles and the first match I seen was Rhea ripley and she was fucking amazing! Haven't watched since 2005
RR in 2023, me and my son watched it. Saw the Ricochet/Paul spot and were like “WTFFF”. Then Cody clutched it and I’ve been watching since. That was after 12ish years of not watching
For me, it has been all the better booking under Triple H. A lot of the stuff that Vince was doing before the and was pretty much incomprehensible. That Bray Wyatt shit, the stuff with LA knight as that maximum male models thing or whatever, that stuff was atrocious. But then Cody and knight and the booking in general just got a lot better. They made the guys who are supposed to look like they're on top behave like top guys. The Judgment Day and Rhea Ripley didn't hurt either
Same. I stopped watching early ruthless aggression. Saw some clips of this match on YouTube, I had a job a lot of downtime so decided to watch the entire match. I was blown away. After that I discovered NXT black n gold, and just like that I was hooked again.
I stopped watching everything due to roh/rfvideo scandal gave me the ick. I think I saw a highlight of either Bayley hitting the hop up to second rope b2b to win a match or maybe the avalanche poison rana. Had to find out who those NXT gals were and catch up what I was missing.
Originally I was attitude era kid and watched every show until about 2006. Kind of left and checked in once in awhile. Until about 2014-2015. Since then, Ive always had a couple toes in since royal rumble 2015, I think. The one with Aj styles debuted and the cameras just stared at Romans reaction. Maybe somewhat before with the “Yes” movement. From there, I always was aware of storylines and would watch occasionally. Since then, with the bloodline arc post covid/performance center, I have been pretty much checking in every show. #commasplice
Watched as a teen (Rock, Steve Austin era). Stumbled upon a Smackdown a couple years ago with my daughter (now 10) and she was immediately hooked. Been watching with her for a couple years now
Almost 50 yo. I stopped watching twice and came back.
First time was 94-ish. College happened. Got busy and none of my friends were into it. Transferred colleges, found out about Hogan’s heel turn and started watching again. New friends who were wrestling fans.
Second time was just a few years ago. The product was starting to get stale in my opinion. Vince made the product boring. There was so much talent but everybody got 5-10 minutes on a 3 hour show and then you didn’t see them again until next week. Story lines were hard to follow and if you got invested in a character, it didn’t last because you got them for a short time and then nothing. Also, Brock was shoved as unbeatable and you never felt that anybody could beat him no matter who they had in the match with him. Then he left and Triple H took over the booking. While he hasn’t been perfect, the story telling is much better. More attention to little details, the way the teased Bray’s return, main players get more than one segment. And the people I’m invested in, I actually get to see for more than 5 minutes in a 3 hour show.
The fiend. I tuned out around late 2016 because of some things going on in my life. I would pop in online every now and then and see a clip or a news headline somewhere.
It wasn't until one day I was on YouTube and saw The Fiend's debut on YouTube and I was instantly hooked!
I was actually legitimately scared by the mask for a little while. And I obviously knew Bray from before and I was so curious what this character was that I started binge watching and catching up on his lore and backstory, it was very compelling.
So I slowly got back into it, and now I'm even more hardcore of a wrestling fan than I ever was before.
R.I.P Bray Waytt, you were truly on of a kind.
The bloodline vs Cody storyline add that with Rhea Ripley’s rise as not only a pretty face but as an actual interesting character/talented wrestler and finally CM Punks return were what brought me back tbh.
Started watching in about 98 as a kid, stopped in probably 2005. Came back when The Rock was hosting mania for the Cena Miz main event and then got hooked by CM Punk and stayed. Have stopped watching the tv at several times since then but always keep up to date. Wrestling fans will always be wrestling fans.
Grew up watching 80s and 90s, stopped after the attitude era. WWE being on peacock helped a lot. Started watching 97 KOTR and fell down a rabbit hole of rewatching all the attitude era then I saw Cody was making this run and being a fan of his Dads back when I was younger pulled me back in. In all honesty the women are alot of what's keeping me in. Their matches are better than the rest of the card 9 times out of 10. They've really stepped their game up since I stopped watching.
I've been watching WWE since the brand split in 02, then at one point I simply stopped or at least I don't remember that period of time between 05, 06 and a little bit of 07. I started watching WWE again in 08 because my mom bought me the SmackDown vs. Raw Ft. ECW video game.
When I was choosing to play with a wrestler I came across CM Punk, and I really liked his whole presentation, his tattoos, his moveset, the long hair, the beard, the song (This Fire Burns is a banger), everything about him was great. And well, I never looked back, not even when he left.
Maybe sometimes I chose to skip episodes, weeks or even months, the episodes were horrible, Vince ruined a lot in 18 until his last day.
Clash at the Castle.
I'd stopped somewhere around 2004/2005, but when I heard about the show being announced 40 miles down the road, I knew I wanted go. So figured I needed to get back into it, to know who the heck I'd be watching.
The 18 months since has been kind of weird. Not really watching the shows, but just watch social media clips of the big moments and then sub to the network for Rumble to Mania season, and perhaps additionally Money in the Bank 2022 since it was a rare event I could watch live without staying up all night.
I stopped around 2009 (honestly mostly because Smackdown left free TV. We didn’t have cable) came back in late 2015 when I was in college. Late 2015, I was watching occasionally, but then Royal Rumble 2016 AJ Styles walked in and I was in. I didn’t watch TNA growing up but had heard about AJ, so I knew this was my chance and his rookie year delivered.
I quit in the early 2000’s but came back in the pandemic era just because I wanted some happiness that reminded me of simpler times. I was stuck at a job that left me hours of boredom in the middle night and started watching old clips and people streaming past PPVs on Twitch.
Update- much better job now and my wife and I went to a Raw taping last year and had an absolute blast!
I came back in 2021. Bloodline and the hope of eventually seeing a Rock return brought me back and I’m happier than a pig in shit right now that not only is he back, he’s back in a way I never imagined he would be. We’ve got the Hollywood Rock theme and strut back. I’m 9 years old again.
Cody brought me back but after his loss I’ve been paying attn more sporadically. Like I watched Rhea and Nia. The loss of Bray made me want to watch less too. Even when his matches were a miss at least it was an attempt to be super creative. Roman bores me to no end. And his historic run with the titles is a joke. Miss the days where you were stripped of the title if you didn’t defend it
Bray Wyatt at first after that i lost interest in WWE again, but i am honest: Tiffany Stratton (NXT) brought me back again after that came The Rock (my favorite wrestler of all time) and now i am following everything again. Not everything is great to be honest, but it is enough for me to watch and follow everything again.
About a month before WM39 last year, a friend of mine got me to watch a video summarising The Bloodline story so far. That and the CM Punk feud with MJF in AEW. Both of those got me back into watching Wrestling as a whole after stopping back in 2006ish
Short answer - CM Punk
Long answer - I stopped when I went to uni, I just didn't have time follow, than forgot about it. It was in late 2014. Than I forgot about wrestling since I live in a place where it's not as popular and had not much reminders and also back in a day watching it not so soon after airing live in US was a hustle, the only legal way to watch it was with month delay with annoying commentary and voiced-over promos on the niche, not easily available channel. 7 years later, around the rumors of Punk signing to AEW turned out AEW weeklies were available on demand on a streaming I already had. Watched for a moment but still was busy and had no time to watch. In the beginning of the year I switched jobs, now I have plenty of time, my favorite was back in WWE, also, I've got a pay raise so everything aligned to splurge on the Network before my favorite event of the year. And while watching Royal Rumble live nostalgia hit hard
GUNTHER. That's pretty much it.
I'm paying attention to the bloodline stuff tangentially, but I don't watch these 45 min promos or 30 minute instas, hell I don't even watch smackdown
Cody’s story…
Stopped watching around 2005 when I was 17. Recently started re-watching some classics, from there heard about Undertaker’s run of classic WM matches so checked that out, so I was now more open to hearing about what’s going on now, even though Randy (and Brock?) is the only active wrestler from when I was watching.
I never knew Cody Rhodes, but when I heard about how he’d left WWE for six years and what he achieved only to come back, tear a pec, win rumble, lose to Roman, beat Brock … I got invested.
Subscribed to WWE Network and this years Royal Rumble was the first PPV (I’m stuck in 2005 sorry) that I’ve seen in close to 20 years.
The way cody returned. I grew up on wwf/nwa/wcw. Was a dusty rhodes fan. Would very loosely follow what was going on in wrestling through youtube videos sometimes.
That just got my interest. I didn’t start watching regularly until cm punk returned. I hadn’t watched regularly since 2000. Now i do. And while that just got my interest, a lot of the other stuff they are doing kept it. (Bloodline, rhea ripley, damage control, drew, etc).
The girl I started dating almost 4 years ago mentioned she watched it . I hadn't watched it since about 2002, and I was always more of a WCW fan (Sting!), so I was wondering what changes there had been. I've been hooked since
I was telling my kids about how cool it was back in the 90s and they seemed interested so we watched Wrestlemania one year. They were mesmerized and I remembered why I liked it so much. We all watch it together now. Family bonding time.
For me it was when Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank (1st time) I stopped after mid 2002 (watched it all back again with the network on what I missed out on) I still read online what was going on but started to really drift away from watching, I struggled to get used to the likes of Rock and Austin not a main feature, lots of mid/lower card guys gone from my time watching and newer guys coming in and not really clicking with them right away, since before you had WCW or ECW guys crossover very rarely did you have fresh new talent at times, once I heard Edge cashed in and was WWE champion I tuned back in, and not stopped again since.
Back after 15 years due to the behind the scenes stuff. Hearing the Rock was on the board of TKO and trying to self insert himself into matches was too juicy to ignore.
I left the nite sheamus had first appeared on raw against cena back in the day, and got hooked years later before pandemic after seeing bray wyatt promo and was like who tf is this guy rip
I got back in 2019 I can't remember the exact reason but it was during kofi's reign so more then likely that but as you know it didn't last very long then dark times
Stopped watching around 2014 not long after they unified the belts because it just didn't really interest me, kept up tangentially since then so I sorta knew about some of the bigger stuff that went on, got hooked back in by the bloodline story last summer when the Usos betrayed Roman and been watching pretty much every show since.
Smackdown being back on free TV in 2004.
I had started watching old clips on YT for nostalgia's sake (it wasn't a good time in my life and 1987-1994 wrestling was a safe spot to go back to) and when I stumbled across the new product on TV I decided to give it a go.
Despite the awful local commentary, I slowly got back into it and started to get familiar with the new faces, and by 2005 I was back for good.
Too bad I've been again gradually losing interest and I haven't been watching weekly shows since like 2012, and nowadays I can barely bring myself to watch PLEs, and half of them as background noise while doing other stuff. I guess I need something to bring me back again for real.
But honestly I'm just jaded with the whole concept of wrestling after so many years.
I stopped watching around 2010 or 11. I’s still check in once in a while if friends were getting together for a PPV, but I never saw anything that pulled me back in. But then I started see so much stuff online about how funny the Zami + Bloodline storyline was. I started watching just for that, but after a couple of weeks I realized that I was hooked on everything else that was going on
For me, it was Vince’s first departure, and seeing what Trips was doing. Loved it. I got a bit disheartened when he came back, probably like most. And was so damn happy when he finally gave in with the newest allegations. Glad to be back after a 15 year hiatus.
Vince leaving. I was tired, as an adult fan, of the direction wwe was going. Felt very mid-90s kid friendly and campy at some points and the pushes were predictable, the cards were always the same, and the matches were easy to determine winner. Not to mention for several years getting drafted from NXT meant you were fired in 1yr because Vince would change character and sometimes even change names and every idea he had failed. (Look at LA knight 2yrs ago).
This new triple era speaks to me. It's like he and his team know what fans like me want. It feels like pre-2020 nxt when he was running the show with dusty and Billy down in Florida and it was a better product than raw/SD.
Also Cody coming back. I've been following him since him and goldust won tag team titles and I was disappointed like he was with his exit. He helped me discover indies and I was surprised how popular they got and not just where ever he went but in my state indie shows were selling out. Mr. Zack Ryder himself has also been fun to watch on the indie circuit.
I made a break at the end of 2017 but the rumbles always brought me back. The 2022 rumble was the moment I got stuck again with the product but I didn’t watch weekly episodes. I started following everything since Punks return
A PPV event coming to the building next to where I work a couple of months after STONE COLD had his first match in 19 years... that was a double-whammy I couldn't ignore.
LA KNIGHT.
The last time I was interested in wrestling was 2008. We have cable channel that has WWE in it. Batista is my idol back then but then that cable company cut WWE from their lineup and I never looked back.
Then by around June 2023, LA Knight popped in my Tiktok and youtube feed and never looked back and made me the biggest mark for LA and his apparent rise.
Hoping he will have gold one day.
I stopped in 2001 (which I regret because I missed Austin’s final years amongst other great things, like Brock’s intro, Cena’s intro etc) and I returned mid 2005- mid 2007. Returning a few weeks before Eddie’s death (I loved his run with Batista) and stopping when Benoit happened. I just couldn’t watch after that.
I’ve never returned, as such, but have always kept up to date with what’s going on.
I went to Mania in 15 and HoF in 2015 without watching any build up and still enjoyed the event and the occasion. Angle doing his milk thing at HoF was great. I’d also been to the HoF where Austin was inducted, so to see Angle, too, was amazing for me.
There seems no better time than today to get back in to it. And I *had* planned to subscribe to Network for Rumble through to Mania, but life just gets in the way and I knew I wouldn’t have time to watch so much wrasslin’, but I do plan to give it another go.
The Rock.
Kids won't get it, but 25 years ago he was bigger than Hulk Hogan ever was.....and every boy, teen,Dad and Grandpa gravitated to him. Was must see TV. No one has come close to his presence ever since.
Iv left and come back a few times - most recent return was someone describing Gunther vs Sheamus at CatC and giving it a go. His and Reigns title reigns have kept me around.
I stopped watching around 2013 because I was 16 then and it was cool to hate on wrestling. I came back in 2022 because of Drew. I just love the Scottish warrior look and gimmick. Really glad I did and have caught up on what I missed, lots of good things, but a whole lot of ugly stuff too.
It's 2€ (2,18 USD) deal a month for live SmackDown, NXT and Raw.
I never knew I could watch it in Germany for such a low price.
Didn't know the wrestlers at first. Still knew The Rock, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Rollins, Rhodes, Mcintyre, Lashley, Dominik Mysterio etc but from 10+ years ago.
I discovered it like 2 months ago.
It's like a dream came true. And I immediately got myself WWE Network too.
Saw my first live Elimination Chamber from Australia.
It made me very emotional to be honest. Back then when I was a teen this was out of the question. Now it's possible and easy access all of a sudden.
One of the best things is that somehow I brought my Fiance to watch it with me and like it. We can goggle at stuff Tiffy, Asuka etc are doing. It's very entertaining and on the network there are all the old matches I remember and can show for reference.
It's great to be back.
PS. Also very nice to see Imperium. Austrian, German and Italian (all German speaking guys) together in WWE.
Many great new talents in the WWE.
Honestly? Ronda Rousey getting signed.
That said, I stayed because of Finn Balor, specifically his Wrestlemania entrance that year. (I *treasure* that fuckin' t-shirt.)
Religiously watched throughout my entire life. '80s '90s spent thousands of dollars to get ringside seats and they used to have a ramp from ramp side seats and for my children and they would make posters. It was a family affair. Stopped really being involved in it in the late 2000s but kind of was drawn back with curiosity mostly.. haven't been disappointed
Loved going to live events and being able to yell and call people names at the top of your lungs and get away with it. It was cathartic! Plus had a complete investment in a lot of wrestlers that were very revered. Also went to a very very small warehouse show of NWA with sting lex Lugar the four horseman road warriors etc.. in the late 80's
Takers streak being broken. Simple as that. I watched it religiously as a kid between WM18-22. Then one day, I just stopped. Heard his streak was broken so I tuned into the Raw after Mania to see the outcome and then never stopped watching again.
The New Day during their heel run. Flipping through channels on a random Monday. Those guys were on TV and I got sucked back in after probably 10 years out. Those guys are probably my favorite all time.
Bloodline storyline. Started watching around the time Sami was becoming the honorary uce. Only paid attention to that for a while and PLEs but now watch through most of each show. Skipping some low card matches I don't care for
Personally, Roman's title reign. Around the time I stopped watching, I last saw him getting booed like crazy and then hearing that he held on to a title for 1000+ days made me wonder what the hell is WWE doing and started watching. I saw the whole BL thing and was hooked from the get go.
It was clicking through the guide listing to see what was on one night in 06 and seeing 'ECW' on Sci Fi, chuckling at the thought of original ECW being shown on Sci Fi for no reason. Then clicking and realizing it was a new ECW and being both horrified and intrigued.
For reference it was the episode the week after the RVD v. Hardcore Holly match where Holly's back got sliced up.
The Fiend then the Bloodline
What made me leave: James Ellsworth being the hooded figure in the corner of the ring and the burying of Asuka.
Also the dream match of AJ and Shinsuke being ruined by gratuitous crotch shots.They were both faces btw.
I've come and gone a bit because of reasons that involve WWE and other that involve......personal issues.
I was invited to a friend's house to watch the Royal Rumble one year. I knew who some were but not everyone. Then this music hit and no one knew who it was. But I saw a guy in a hood come out and I marked the fuck out. AJ STYLES.
I've done my best to keep up with it since then. I was a huge Styles fan when he was in TNA.
Edit most of the people there were only WWE fans so they didn't know who he was.. so my reaction was given a wtf?
Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns - Clash at the Castle 2022
I'm a massive fan of Drew and I'd be a very in and out watcher having grown up in the 10's, when wrestling was, patchy at best.
Came back because I was hoping to see Drew win, but then got into NXT, enjoying guys like Pretty Deadly, Grayson Waller and Tony D'Angelo. Stuck around and eventually got fully back into it.
I’m an elder millennial, i stopped in 98/99 because I just got into other stuff as a teen. I kept vaguely aware of names and major moves but hadn’t watched a raw or smack down or PPV all that time.
I got back in because i realized I could watch PPVs on peacock (which I only had to watch the premier league). Now I’ve watched all the Monday night wars up to 2003 and counting, and I follow current stories via YouTube highlights and watching live PPVs..
I missed a lot of good stuff! No one in particular got me back in just the access.
Fell off just after the bray wyatt john Cena feud.
Saw an add for elimination chamber and have been hooked again since, been watching old raw/smackdown and PLE's on peacock for the nostalgia
Roman Reigns - I was interested in someone who was holding a title this long in the new era & wanted to see what that was all about
Also, I enjoyed watching it with my uncle & when he died, no one would watch it with me, so I stopped, but watching it again brings nostalgia & gives me something to look forward to watching every week.
Bloodline storyline with Sami Zayn. Also Cody’s return. I started watching just before Sami betrayed Roman at the Royal Rumble.
Before that I originally started watching in 1999. I found out about WWE through WWF Smackdown on the PS1 with my brother. And then we consistently started watching late 2004.
So we grew up with Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression but only fully started watching during the RA Era. Stopped watching around 2014-15 because we lost interest. I think wrestling has that 2004-2005 feel again. It’s pretty fun to watch now
The only time that I ever stopped watching was during the pandemic because I couldn’t stand watching the shows without a live audience. I got my wrestling fix during that time by rewatching old shows from the Attitude era, and then I came back when the crowds came back.
Went to watch a lucha Libre show when I was in Mexico. Had a really good time. Decided to see what was going on in WWE. Also the Behind the Bastards episodes on Vince got me thinking about it again.
I caught 'Fighting With My Family' randomly, then started watching stuff on YouTube, loved what they were doing with the women's division. It had really been the bra and panties matches and that weird shit with Edge and Lita that got me to turn off the first time. It just started feeling really sleazy. And slowly started getting sucked back in. The Bloodline Story, Judgement Day, and damage control.just so much better storytelling, better athletes, and just a fun show.
I stopped watching when the nexus became a thing. And I just happened to be in California at a friends place and they are big wrestling fans, I watched wrestlemania 35 with them. The one where Becky beat Ronda. Then I was on TikTok and saw videos of Rhea ripley. And Mami caught my attention when she was called to the main roster. I follow the promos and the storylines but I can’t watch raw and smackdown but I do watch the PLEs and I’m super excited for wrestlemania this year
I fell off gradually around 2019 when I went back to get my masters. I came back right before the royal rumble because my brother (who I unwittingly turned into the most massive wrestling fan I’ve ever known) joined the Navy and has been at basic for the last couple months. I originally planned on giving him weekly updates but I’ve fallen right into being a fan again. He graduates this week and I can’t wait to go into more detail about what’s going on!
WrestleMania 39 season. The Bloodline had me completely hooked. I hadn’t been invested in a storyline that complex and compelling since Seth’s betrayal of the Shield.
I stopped watching when they brought Hulk Hogan back. Though some people I liked have moved on, I jumped back in at WrestleMania 39 after hearing about several good things.
Bloodline storyline -
Kept seeing tik toks of the story which led me to check WWE out again.
first show I watched was Royal rumble 2023 and was hooked after the Sami pop
Haven’t missed a raw or smackdown since and watching NXT a fair bit as well
I started getting TikTok’s on my feed from Santizap. That led me to deciding to check out WM 38. What ended up making me a weekly viewer was Cody’s HIAC performance.
Stopped due to Punks cringey shoot stuff and AJ being just as awful.
Came back around 2015 as the company started to focus on unique entertainment, but stopped again last year because they've fallen back to their old habits.
When Scott Hall died, I’d see posts about it on Facebook and like/sad face react to them. Then Facebook’s algorithm kept suggesting wrestling-related posts to me until I decided to start tuning in with Wrestlemania 38 coming up.
I got into it on the day that Kane shot lightning out of his hand. I said screw that and changed it to WCW. Then I bought WCW nitro. Tried wwf again about a year later or so when Warzone came out.
I got out of wrestling when WWF turned Taz into a clown.
I just bought wwe2k22 on a whim. Still have not watched another episode yet.
Left in 2020 during the pandemic era. And wasn't really watching in 2019 because Roman was missing(yes I was and am a Roman fan)
Randomly it popped in my head that it's WrestleMania season and I have the subscription that came with my wifi. Why not check it out.
Starred with the Seth Rollins vs Logan Paul match and I was hooked.
Now I'm deeper into wrestling than I ever was
I hadnt watched in more than 10 years. I was stuck in a hotel with limited channels and raw happened to be on. Sure, why not. It was the episode where edge was kicked out of the judgement day and gunther started the title reign. The judgment day spot piqued my interest but the bloodline story (and rhea...) kept me tuned in
I got into wrestling in 2011, and I had given up on the product about midway through 2017 and didn’t look back. There were times I’d pop my head in, but would be scared away by Jinder Mahal or Sami Zayn being a comedy jobber.
The reason I got back into wrestling was that I heard CM Punk had returned, and that there was an alternative to the iron will of Vince. So I watched AEW.
But then in 2022 when Triple H took over creative, I started to become a legit fan again. I remembered NXT and was interested and excited to see what a Triple H main roster would look like, and I’m still watching lol
I found the wrestling wrap up in class. Was really funny but had no interest in watching the product as it was mostly a blog about how bad it is. Except for NXT. I started watching NXT during KO regin and lost my shit when KO power bomb cena and stepped on the us title
I stopped watching around 2008ish. I went to the royal rumble, I think a sophomore at that time. Then WM20 was coming at the garden and now I was a senior I think or a junior I don’t remember the year, but I relapsed so there went that 🤷♂️
To this day one of my biggest regrets (other than becoming an addict obviously, celebrating 8 years in October sober!) was missing WM20. I’ve always been a DX, HHH and HBK fan, plus I always admired Benoit for his technical ability. Loved Eddie as well, it would’ve been so cool to see WM20 live. I stopped watching around that same time. Like I remember evolution, when shield first showed up, I was at raw when Kane was unmasked, I also was at Raw when Kane returned (all at the garden)
I started watching again honestly because of Darkside of the Ring on Hulu. It gave me the bug so I downloaded 2k23. Then the whole Vince shit went down, I learned more about the story line, and now I’m really invested in the Cody/roman story. Seeing heel rock that I remember brings back fun memories, especially in the shirts he’s rocking 😂
I’m also really impressed with the women’s division these days. I miss the attitude era / ruthless aggression era but I’m enjoying the current storyline and curious to see where it goes!
LA Knight, Bloodline, full removal of Vince, Cody returning and then Punk, Rhea, Drew, Seth, The Rock...Triple H has been cooking and im enjoying WWE these days for first time since the black and gold brand was at its peak.
I was a kid and shows on late night tv the golden days era, from HH, UW, rookie Undertaker, Bret, Yokozuna etc even its delayed by 3 months then they stopped broadcasting it. A decade later PG era has been shown again on a different local free tv channel and we decided to subscribe to cable tv so we can watch regularly. This was the start of Cena/Orton rivalry it went on for years and last thing I remember is before or after I got married and saw Survivor Series in the company pantry exactly tag team of Cena/Rock vs MizTruth. Then life happened. I restarted again during rookie SHIELD and Daniel Bryan build up from every PPV to winning both belts in WMXXX, never looked back since.
I left watching WWE when corona was at full force back in March, i beleive I saw stone cold returning on 3:16 or something in the thunderdome, then life happened and i forgot about wwe
And 1 day I opened youtube and saw John Cena returning on money in the bank to challenge Roman Reigns was recommended to me, but they did John Cena very dirty in the match at summer slam and I stopped watching again, returned watching back fulltime in day 1 when brock won
But since then wwe has truly been interesting, first they brought max dupri and then Vince left and triple h become boss and then wrestling became awesome again, max became la knight, damage ctrl formed, karian cross returned, drew vs Roman was 🔥, Sheamus vs Gunter vs McIntyre was 🔥, Brock vs Roman SummerSlam was🔥, uso vs Zayn & Owens 🔥🔥,bloodline story since Zayn joined untill now was 🔥🔥🔥, Cody vs Rollins and lesnar both were awesome aswell, Judgement day and Rhea Ripley is at its peak, them backstabbing edge on the very beginning was a shocker
I can go on and on lol but this were fav moments
Hon mentions, Rock, CM Punk, Bray Wyatt, Stone Cold, John Cena( although they did him dirty), & Randy returning,
I wish matt riddle didn't mess up, would had loved rk bro return, their theme mashup was so catchy
As much as I hate to admit it now, the rock…
From 2007 to 2011 I wasn’t watching at all. Then when the rock came back to host WM27 I fell for it and have been watching semi regularly and at least always keeping up with what’s going on ever since
The fact that I've been watching wrestling literally, since I was born. I got tired of the garbage that was getting invested in something that Vince McMahon created, then threw away. The late Bray Wyatt's run as the Fiend? My favorite part about WWE TV, until they made him job out to Goldberg in less than five minutes. I decided then and there, that I was done. Much to the sheer delight from my brothers. Then we just watched PPVs, up until Vince being fired, and now I want to see what Triple H can do without Vince vetoing everything under the sun. Been enjoying it more, especially NXT, and Chad Gable. So glad that Vince stopped calling him "Shorty G". God, I hated that name!
I asked the same question some months ago. For me, I watched wrestling from 2010-2013. I occasionally watched wrestling videos on YouTube after that. Then in December 2021, I saw a random YouTube video saying "CM Punk has arrived in All Elite Wrestling" and I was like "what wrestling show is this?" So I started watching AEW in January 2022 and automatically started watching WWE again. So basically, it's CM Punk's return to wrestling that brought me back.
bloodline tiktoks
WWE 2k22. Bought it on a whim, started learning the new people, and within my first few months of starting to watch it on tv, I went to my first live event(SummerSlam). Up until then, I had not watched it since I was a kid when Stone Cold and the Rock were on top.
The Rock and Cm punk tbh. But thanks to them I could watch some WWE in the last couple of weeks and realized how much I missed it.
Bray Wyatt, once I heard about The Fiend it immediately caught my attention, I stopped watching when Brock and Roman were main eventing WrestleMania after WrestleMania with the Universal championship, dark times...
I’m a WWE fan who considered stopping watching in the spring of 2022. WWE was just so boring, lifeless and at their lowest point creatively I just didn’t see a point in watching anymore. I decided to keep watching though when Vince McMahon stepped down and The Bloodline storyline gained tons of steam due to the involvement of Sami Zayn. That was peak Bloodline.
Bought tickets to wrestlemania 39 and Rhea ripley!
When I found out Sting was still active, some near 2 years back. Saw him live some months ago, the six-man when he teamed with Edge. Was amazing!
So I stopped watching because I got too busy. This was in 2008. It wasn't until this last Royal Rumble that I just decided to check it out (I had Peacock, so why not) and I loved it. Even though there were so many new faces, it felt so nostalgic and nice. Since then, I've been watching each Raw/Smackdown/NXT. And actually watching Royal Rumble with absolutely no context for current storylines and knowing like 3 people made it so much more fun for me. I was judging these wrestlers based on the vibe I got. Nothing else.
Cody Rhodes
Cody's return and Vince leaving in the summer of 2022 sparked my interest. Watched just a bit but didn't time in regularly. Hearing what was happening later that he in the Autumn with Sami and the Bloodline got me interested again. Loved what I was seeing with that story, and the stuff happening around it was enough to get me slowly hooked again. I've been a goner ever since haha
Hadn't watched it since Eddie Guerrero died and was watching a lot of wwe documentary and then I saw the 30th anniversary of Raw
I stopped watching after Cena won the title at WrestleMania 29. I stopped because it seemed like they were going back to formula with Cena and Punk who just lost to the Undertaker was seemingly going back down the card. I just really didn't care too much. I also remember the Shield was starting to get bigger at that time. I started watching again when I was on vacation in London. It was the only thing that I actually knew over there, so I watched it before going to bed. Now all of these Shield members were big and they were on their own, the ironic thing, was that this was the night they came back together as enemies to face the Wyatt Family. Seth was the evil champion at the time so the story of them vs Seth Rollins is what got me back into it.
Heard Stone Cold was going to have a match at Wrestlemania against KO. I kinda tapped out after the Attitude Era, so when I heard my favorite from my childhood was going to be wrestling, I tuned it. Had a lot of fun watching it. Decided to tune into more PPVs (PLE) since I already had peacock. That slowly turned into me not missing a Raw or Smackdown. I’ve even been to a few live shows now! It’s just fun.
I obsessed over it in high school, but kind of steered away from it for a while because most people around me didn't like it or thought differently of me because of it. I got back into watching it a bit in 2016 because a coworker at the time liked it and he told me how much better the women's matches were. I after awhile I stopped watching it because I couldn't afford live TV, but kept up to date on stuff through WhatCulture and other YouTube channels My husband - who also was a fan that stopped watching - and I had started watching on and off since the 2022 Rumble. Then we started watching it weekly sometime after Wrestlemania, mainly because of the Seth Rollins/Cody Rhodes feud.
PPVs on Peacock
The bloodline and Roman that was it now the roster is getting amazing and it’s starting really feel like a revival
Two words Rhea Bloody Ripley
WM 39 buildup and Cody Rhodes
I stopped when CM Punk left. Came back because of Cody Rhodes.
Peacock airing live PPVs for free.
Cm punk
Cody got me interested again, but I still only watch occasionally. Once the belt is off Roman I'll watch more regularly.
CM Punk
One day I decided I wanted to try and rewatch the entire attitude era from start to end. As I was doing this I decided to watch a single episode of smack down. They said the royal rumble was coming up and next week Cody Rhodes is meeting cm punk on raw. Then the “we want Cody” movement started it’s been incredible ever since. Ironic bc I stopped watching in 2014 right before the yes movement.
Left in 2002. Came back in 2015 after I had to watch Wrestlemania for work. Saw the Heist of the Century, and then a few months later I believe when Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha debuted is kind of what hooked me.
I left when Punk first left. I came back when Cody came back.
Honestly…this is gonna sound dumb…i stopped watching around the time the goat umaga passed….i started back because of wwe2k22 😭😭😭 so random
Started watching before last Mania, around the Rumble. Rhodes was fun to follow coming back from his injury and feuding with bloodline. Storylines seem more realistic/grounded in the last year or so which I prefer.
Honestly AEW brought me back to wrestling, and just being into the scene again I started watching WWE
Becky vs Tiffany Stratton at nxt no mercy. Always liked becky and when I heard she was in nxt I had to take a look. Been watching whenever my schedule allows ever since
Got a big hit of nostalgia from the Billy Strings Halloween concert where they all dressed as wrestlers and played a bunch of covers themed around it. Show had a ring announcer, commentators between sets, pre-shot promos, and introductions for all the musicians with their faces spliced over footage of the wrestlers they were dressed as. They even did a kayfabe feud between Billy and his stage manager that culminated in Billy dressed as Hulk Hogan breaking a guitar over the heel's back. Soon, I found all the old archives on Peacock and began watching the Attitude Era and NWA. After that, Smackdown came to town the day after we had a giant snowstorm which resulted in a ticket dump on Stubhub. Scored some decent seats for cheap, saw a great show, and have been hooked ever since.
It was about this time last year I heard WrestleMania was coming up and just decided to give it a watch. I loved it so I stuck around. The end of night one was amazing.
Stopped shortly after Invasion, after being a diehard fan of both WCW and WWE. Not by choice; I just didn't have cable. I checked in on the PG era and it did nothing for me. I watched Arrow and knew who Stardust was. So when I started seeing Lesnar giving Cody daps at SummerSlam (apparently unscripted) I was intrigued. I had been seeing blonde Stardust EVERYWHERE and thought he was in AEW. I had to know more. Plus Rhea was popping up everywhere once I had watched some wrestling videos. She just seemed the total package of women's wrestling. I used to change the channel for lingerie matches. This woman looks like a legitimate threat and plays the part. I've now watched every Monday, Friday, every PPV, own three T-shirts, a bunch of figures and the full sized RAW ring. It just brings me this joy that has been missing for a long time.
NXT, particularly when KO was champ. I followed the main roster at that point half heatedly, but NXT was weekly must-see viewing for me. It really gave me that foothold I needed to stick out until Trips took over.
Got Peacock and access to the library. I started watching all the top classic matches. Then I got 2k23. Then I thought I'd start watching RAW, and there you go.
In 2022 I was thinking about getting back into wrestling. I’d been watching lots of wrestling YouTube. I could decide between AEW and WWE. I was leaning to AEW but then I saw Vince was gone and hhh was taking over. Then I heard about clash at the castle. Then I heard about brawl out. The stars were converging. But the actual thing that made me go “yeah I’m watching wwe again” was Braun strowman returning. I stoped watching in late 2017 but he was the only thing I really liked on the show at the time.
I quit watching in 2002 or early 2003 and just started watching again a few months back. In the first few episodes of Raw and Smackdown I watched I saw Cody Rhodes do some great promos, R-Truth with Judgement Day, Rhea Ripley, and Randy Orton’s return (I never saw his first run so he was new to me). All of that was enough for me to see that it doesn’t suck like it was starting to when I quit watching.
The Rock
Ngl, it was my buddy telling me about the fallout of the 2015 rumble.
NXT black and gold in general brought me back. Brought me back and kept me while the main roster shit the bed. When that was taken away I stopped again for a bit, until HHH got main roster creative. Now him and Shawn kick ass with their shows and I’m enjoying WWE more than I have in a very long time.
I hadn't watched wrestling since 2001, but last year i got a job as an opening act and now on production of an indie wrestling organization. Being part of the show changed my life. Now I host our podcast and get sponsors for us. With the podcast I felt like i had to watch wrestling to not sound like a dipshit and it really pulled me back in
Rhea Ripley
I stopped watching once Stone Cold left. And only had passing interest on social media since about 2015, but it's Romans heel turn, linking up with Heyman and initial feud with Jey. I know a lot of fans hate that he doesn't defend regularly and I do think it's time for a new champ, but despite The Rock calling himself the final boss, Roman is the final boss. From the music to his presentation, promos, and the dirty work done by his lackeys in the bloodline, it's just been so good. He's elevated the business and made it more popular than ever (with the help of the rest of the roster of course). Just wish we got him more regularly the last 18 months. I understand why we don't, though, and think he may not be long for wrestling between Hollywood calling and his health. Really hope Triple H doesn't fumble this final chapter but I have faith!
Cody. That’s what got me to tune in the rumors he’d switch over
I started watching this year royal rumble PLE and the only reason is, is Bc of the clips I would see on social media of the bloodline and the return of cm punk and Randy orton. Also LA Knight… YEAH!! Also heard that Triple H was taking over as creative so I figured why not start now.
Before this I watched from 2007-2017 just lost interest in the story lines and wasn’t really feeling the “Big Dog” at the time
For me it was 2 things. 1. My son discovering Rey Mysterio and my shock that Rey was still wrestling. 2. I saw a promo for Drew vs Roman at Clash at the Castle and looked badass so I had to check it out. We have been watching ever since
I watched a video on YouTube explaining how everyone hated "big dawg" Roman reigns but after overcoming lukemia and a character change he actually became an interesting character So this hour long video by supereyepatchwolf that touched on the history or the shield, the bloodline and even El generico made me interested enough to start back rewatching
I started watching around 2002 and stopped around 2008ish? I came back once Brock Lesnar came back in 2014 as he was my favorite as a kid and watched a few years then stopped. Came back again once Matt Riddle started doing good and was excited to watch him as I loved him in the UFC when he was a young prospect then I soon got bored with Roman Reigns and bloodline. Then Started back at the royal rumble just wanted to get back into it again lets see how long it last this time
So I stopped watching around 2014 and I kinda like knew and saw some things but never got back into it. I've been playing 2k19 so I was still in the sphere but wasn't until the rumble was on I watched it and fell in love again. Tho it was hard to get all the storylines down and watch all the matches I missed. Last year was a bad one to miss cause it was all good
When those A&E documentaries started a year or 2 ago got me curious about what’s going g on currently. Watched new generation, attitude and fell off during ruthless aggression.
Well let's see I watched wrestling when it was mainly local stuff on Black and White tv. And for 20 years I didn't watch it at all. I did catch some of the Rock the giant The undertaker and macho man. Now it's starting to get boring again but I watch SmackDown on Friday night because it's really nothing else much on TV till something else comes on after it. I don't get wrapped up in it cuz I know it's all scripted it's entertainment but if they don't do something to juice it up somehow I can't see myself watching it much longer.
I stopped watching around 2002’s draft and resumed when The Rock returned in 2011
To be honest, it was the whole bloodline storyline.
Turned it on a few months ago just for shits and giggles and the first match I seen was Rhea ripley and she was fucking amazing! Haven't watched since 2005
Bray Wyatt (Rip), Rhea Ripley and Cathy Kelly, CM Punk, R-truth, and Bianca Belair
RR in 2023, me and my son watched it. Saw the Ricochet/Paul spot and were like “WTFFF”. Then Cody clutched it and I’ve been watching since. That was after 12ish years of not watching
Roman Reigns and the bloodline
For me, it has been all the better booking under Triple H. A lot of the stuff that Vince was doing before the and was pretty much incomprehensible. That Bray Wyatt shit, the stuff with LA knight as that maximum male models thing or whatever, that stuff was atrocious. But then Cody and knight and the booking in general just got a lot better. They made the guys who are supposed to look like they're on top behave like top guys. The Judgment Day and Rhea Ripley didn't hurt either
Summer of Punk 2011
Bayley v Sasha NXT Takeover era feud. Can't remember which match I saw first, maybe the Ironwoman match. Those girls raised the bar.
Same. I stopped watching early ruthless aggression. Saw some clips of this match on YouTube, I had a job a lot of downtime so decided to watch the entire match. I was blown away. After that I discovered NXT black n gold, and just like that I was hooked again.
I stopped watching everything due to roh/rfvideo scandal gave me the ick. I think I saw a highlight of either Bayley hitting the hop up to second rope b2b to win a match or maybe the avalanche poison rana. Had to find out who those NXT gals were and catch up what I was missing.
Originally I was attitude era kid and watched every show until about 2006. Kind of left and checked in once in awhile. Until about 2014-2015. Since then, Ive always had a couple toes in since royal rumble 2015, I think. The one with Aj styles debuted and the cameras just stared at Romans reaction. Maybe somewhat before with the “Yes” movement. From there, I always was aware of storylines and would watch occasionally. Since then, with the bloodline arc post covid/performance center, I have been pretty much checking in every show. #commasplice
The Dudesy podshow. Hearing Will do his wrestler impersonations and how often he talks about wrestling during the show, I had to start watching again.
Watched as a teen (Rock, Steve Austin era). Stumbled upon a Smackdown a couple years ago with my daughter (now 10) and she was immediately hooked. Been watching with her for a couple years now
Almost 50 yo. I stopped watching twice and came back. First time was 94-ish. College happened. Got busy and none of my friends were into it. Transferred colleges, found out about Hogan’s heel turn and started watching again. New friends who were wrestling fans. Second time was just a few years ago. The product was starting to get stale in my opinion. Vince made the product boring. There was so much talent but everybody got 5-10 minutes on a 3 hour show and then you didn’t see them again until next week. Story lines were hard to follow and if you got invested in a character, it didn’t last because you got them for a short time and then nothing. Also, Brock was shoved as unbeatable and you never felt that anybody could beat him no matter who they had in the match with him. Then he left and Triple H took over the booking. While he hasn’t been perfect, the story telling is much better. More attention to little details, the way the teased Bray’s return, main players get more than one segment. And the people I’m invested in, I actually get to see for more than 5 minutes in a 3 hour show.
The fiend. I tuned out around late 2016 because of some things going on in my life. I would pop in online every now and then and see a clip or a news headline somewhere. It wasn't until one day I was on YouTube and saw The Fiend's debut on YouTube and I was instantly hooked! I was actually legitimately scared by the mask for a little while. And I obviously knew Bray from before and I was so curious what this character was that I started binge watching and catching up on his lore and backstory, it was very compelling. So I slowly got back into it, and now I'm even more hardcore of a wrestling fan than I ever was before. R.I.P Bray Waytt, you were truly on of a kind.
The bloodline vs Cody storyline add that with Rhea Ripley’s rise as not only a pretty face but as an actual interesting character/talented wrestler and finally CM Punks return were what brought me back tbh.
Started watching in about 98 as a kid, stopped in probably 2005. Came back when The Rock was hosting mania for the Cena Miz main event and then got hooked by CM Punk and stayed. Have stopped watching the tv at several times since then but always keep up to date. Wrestling fans will always be wrestling fans.
Becky Lynch in 2018.
Grew up watching 80s and 90s, stopped after the attitude era. WWE being on peacock helped a lot. Started watching 97 KOTR and fell down a rabbit hole of rewatching all the attitude era then I saw Cody was making this run and being a fan of his Dads back when I was younger pulled me back in. In all honesty the women are alot of what's keeping me in. Their matches are better than the rest of the card 9 times out of 10. They've really stepped their game up since I stopped watching.
I've been watching WWE since the brand split in 02, then at one point I simply stopped or at least I don't remember that period of time between 05, 06 and a little bit of 07. I started watching WWE again in 08 because my mom bought me the SmackDown vs. Raw Ft. ECW video game. When I was choosing to play with a wrestler I came across CM Punk, and I really liked his whole presentation, his tattoos, his moveset, the long hair, the beard, the song (This Fire Burns is a banger), everything about him was great. And well, I never looked back, not even when he left. Maybe sometimes I chose to skip episodes, weeks or even months, the episodes were horrible, Vince ruined a lot in 18 until his last day.
Clash at the Castle. I'd stopped somewhere around 2004/2005, but when I heard about the show being announced 40 miles down the road, I knew I wanted go. So figured I needed to get back into it, to know who the heck I'd be watching. The 18 months since has been kind of weird. Not really watching the shows, but just watch social media clips of the big moments and then sub to the network for Rumble to Mania season, and perhaps additionally Money in the Bank 2022 since it was a rare event I could watch live without staying up all night.
I stopped around 2009 (honestly mostly because Smackdown left free TV. We didn’t have cable) came back in late 2015 when I was in college. Late 2015, I was watching occasionally, but then Royal Rumble 2016 AJ Styles walked in and I was in. I didn’t watch TNA growing up but had heard about AJ, so I knew this was my chance and his rookie year delivered.
I quit in the early 2000’s but came back in the pandemic era just because I wanted some happiness that reminded me of simpler times. I was stuck at a job that left me hours of boredom in the middle night and started watching old clips and people streaming past PPVs on Twitch. Update- much better job now and my wife and I went to a Raw taping last year and had an absolute blast!
the time i heard HHH has taken over. i immediately had a feeling that HHH is going to make WWE great again and he did exactly that
I came back in 2021. Bloodline and the hope of eventually seeing a Rock return brought me back and I’m happier than a pig in shit right now that not only is he back, he’s back in a way I never imagined he would be. We’ve got the Hollywood Rock theme and strut back. I’m 9 years old again.
Having to get Peacock for the Chiefs/Dolphins game brought me back
I came back for the Rock and Punk but I’m staying for Cody.
The Bloodline & Dominik/Finn Balor
Cody brought me back but after his loss I’ve been paying attn more sporadically. Like I watched Rhea and Nia. The loss of Bray made me want to watch less too. Even when his matches were a miss at least it was an attempt to be super creative. Roman bores me to no end. And his historic run with the titles is a joke. Miss the days where you were stripped of the title if you didn’t defend it
Bray Wyatt at first after that i lost interest in WWE again, but i am honest: Tiffany Stratton (NXT) brought me back again after that came The Rock (my favorite wrestler of all time) and now i am following everything again. Not everything is great to be honest, but it is enough for me to watch and follow everything again.
About a month before WM39 last year, a friend of mine got me to watch a video summarising The Bloodline story so far. That and the CM Punk feud with MJF in AEW. Both of those got me back into watching Wrestling as a whole after stopping back in 2006ish
Left around 2006ish and came back during the bloodline at the start of the Sami portion. That got me back into watching weekly.
For me, I'm not going back, I feel like since they re-established another rival company, it wouldn't make sense for the superstars of NXT.
The rock
Short answer - CM Punk Long answer - I stopped when I went to uni, I just didn't have time follow, than forgot about it. It was in late 2014. Than I forgot about wrestling since I live in a place where it's not as popular and had not much reminders and also back in a day watching it not so soon after airing live in US was a hustle, the only legal way to watch it was with month delay with annoying commentary and voiced-over promos on the niche, not easily available channel. 7 years later, around the rumors of Punk signing to AEW turned out AEW weeklies were available on demand on a streaming I already had. Watched for a moment but still was busy and had no time to watch. In the beginning of the year I switched jobs, now I have plenty of time, my favorite was back in WWE, also, I've got a pay raise so everything aligned to splurge on the Network before my favorite event of the year. And while watching Royal Rumble live nostalgia hit hard
GUNTHER. That's pretty much it. I'm paying attention to the bloodline stuff tangentially, but I don't watch these 45 min promos or 30 minute instas, hell I don't even watch smackdown
Used to watch him live in Progress.
Cody’s story… Stopped watching around 2005 when I was 17. Recently started re-watching some classics, from there heard about Undertaker’s run of classic WM matches so checked that out, so I was now more open to hearing about what’s going on now, even though Randy (and Brock?) is the only active wrestler from when I was watching. I never knew Cody Rhodes, but when I heard about how he’d left WWE for six years and what he achieved only to come back, tear a pec, win rumble, lose to Roman, beat Brock … I got invested. Subscribed to WWE Network and this years Royal Rumble was the first PPV (I’m stuck in 2005 sorry) that I’ve seen in close to 20 years.
The way cody returned. I grew up on wwf/nwa/wcw. Was a dusty rhodes fan. Would very loosely follow what was going on in wrestling through youtube videos sometimes. That just got my interest. I didn’t start watching regularly until cm punk returned. I hadn’t watched regularly since 2000. Now i do. And while that just got my interest, a lot of the other stuff they are doing kept it. (Bloodline, rhea ripley, damage control, drew, etc).
Two words: Rhea Ripley
Cody Rhodes
The girl I started dating almost 4 years ago mentioned she watched it . I hadn't watched it since about 2002, and I was always more of a WCW fan (Sting!), so I was wondering what changes there had been. I've been hooked since
I started training to go pro in the wwe. The wrestling bug hit me
I was telling my kids about how cool it was back in the 90s and they seemed interested so we watched Wrestlemania one year. They were mesmerized and I remembered why I liked it so much. We all watch it together now. Family bonding time.
The Tribal Chief
Well I moved to a new city and had no friends. So I had time and filled it with wrestling.
Cody Rhodes/the rock and aew putting out incredible matches
Logan Paul
Finding out that not all wrestling fans are stupid chuds.
Saw some shit about Rhea Ripley just after she joined Judgment Day and something tingled in my pants
For me it was when Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank (1st time) I stopped after mid 2002 (watched it all back again with the network on what I missed out on) I still read online what was going on but started to really drift away from watching, I struggled to get used to the likes of Rock and Austin not a main feature, lots of mid/lower card guys gone from my time watching and newer guys coming in and not really clicking with them right away, since before you had WCW or ECW guys crossover very rarely did you have fresh new talent at times, once I heard Edge cashed in and was WWE champion I tuned back in, and not stopped again since.
Brock Lesnar's return.
Back after 15 years due to the behind the scenes stuff. Hearing the Rock was on the board of TKO and trying to self insert himself into matches was too juicy to ignore.
Cody Rhodes story and Royal rumble this year brought me back. Now the rock nostalgia trip has me hooked. Can’t wait until WM
I left the nite sheamus had first appeared on raw against cena back in the day, and got hooked years later before pandemic after seeing bray wyatt promo and was like who tf is this guy rip
Stopped watching wwe around 2009 but recently started watching Smackdown again and got hooked on the Bloodline feud, been tuning in every week now
I got back in 2019 I can't remember the exact reason but it was during kofi's reign so more then likely that but as you know it didn't last very long then dark times
Stopped watching around 2014 not long after they unified the belts because it just didn't really interest me, kept up tangentially since then so I sorta knew about some of the bigger stuff that went on, got hooked back in by the bloodline story last summer when the Usos betrayed Roman and been watching pretty much every show since.
Pat McAfee
The Rock
Smackdown being back on free TV in 2004. I had started watching old clips on YT for nostalgia's sake (it wasn't a good time in my life and 1987-1994 wrestling was a safe spot to go back to) and when I stumbled across the new product on TV I decided to give it a go. Despite the awful local commentary, I slowly got back into it and started to get familiar with the new faces, and by 2005 I was back for good. Too bad I've been again gradually losing interest and I haven't been watching weekly shows since like 2012, and nowadays I can barely bring myself to watch PLEs, and half of them as background noise while doing other stuff. I guess I need something to bring me back again for real. But honestly I'm just jaded with the whole concept of wrestling after so many years.
I stopped watching around 2010 or 11. I’s still check in once in a while if friends were getting together for a PPV, but I never saw anything that pulled me back in. But then I started see so much stuff online about how funny the Zami + Bloodline storyline was. I started watching just for that, but after a couple of weeks I realized that I was hooked on everything else that was going on
For me, it was Vince’s first departure, and seeing what Trips was doing. Loved it. I got a bit disheartened when he came back, probably like most. And was so damn happy when he finally gave in with the newest allegations. Glad to be back after a 15 year hiatus.
I just grew out of it for a while in about 2016-17 but in 2020 I saw Drew was champ and was curious and have watched every PLE since
The Fiend
Vince leaving. I was tired, as an adult fan, of the direction wwe was going. Felt very mid-90s kid friendly and campy at some points and the pushes were predictable, the cards were always the same, and the matches were easy to determine winner. Not to mention for several years getting drafted from NXT meant you were fired in 1yr because Vince would change character and sometimes even change names and every idea he had failed. (Look at LA knight 2yrs ago). This new triple era speaks to me. It's like he and his team know what fans like me want. It feels like pre-2020 nxt when he was running the show with dusty and Billy down in Florida and it was a better product than raw/SD. Also Cody coming back. I've been following him since him and goldust won tag team titles and I was disappointed like he was with his exit. He helped me discover indies and I was surprised how popular they got and not just where ever he went but in my state indie shows were selling out. Mr. Zack Ryder himself has also been fun to watch on the indie circuit.
Sasha Banks around the time she was in NXT and before the women’s evolution started.
I saw that the smackdown before and raw after wrestlemania 39 was near me so I decided to go. I've watched every episode since
Super Eyepatch Wolf the unreality of pro wrestling
I made a break at the end of 2017 but the rumbles always brought me back. The 2022 rumble was the moment I got stuck again with the product but I didn’t watch weekly episodes. I started following everything since Punks return
I just watch highlights
A PPV event coming to the building next to where I work a couple of months after STONE COLD had his first match in 19 years... that was a double-whammy I couldn't ignore.
LA knight and the rock
LA KNIGHT. The last time I was interested in wrestling was 2008. We have cable channel that has WWE in it. Batista is my idol back then but then that cable company cut WWE from their lineup and I never looked back. Then by around June 2023, LA Knight popped in my Tiktok and youtube feed and never looked back and made me the biggest mark for LA and his apparent rise. Hoping he will have gold one day.
Bloodline storyline!
Same, I heard about it after Mania last year and I've been hooked since.
I stopped in 2001 (which I regret because I missed Austin’s final years amongst other great things, like Brock’s intro, Cena’s intro etc) and I returned mid 2005- mid 2007. Returning a few weeks before Eddie’s death (I loved his run with Batista) and stopping when Benoit happened. I just couldn’t watch after that. I’ve never returned, as such, but have always kept up to date with what’s going on. I went to Mania in 15 and HoF in 2015 without watching any build up and still enjoyed the event and the occasion. Angle doing his milk thing at HoF was great. I’d also been to the HoF where Austin was inducted, so to see Angle, too, was amazing for me. There seems no better time than today to get back in to it. And I *had* planned to subscribe to Network for Rumble through to Mania, but life just gets in the way and I knew I wouldn’t have time to watch so much wrasslin’, but I do plan to give it another go.
I stopped in 2008 and came back in 2012 when Aj Lee was having the Punk, Kane and Daniel feud where she was playing with all their heads lol
The Rock. Kids won't get it, but 25 years ago he was bigger than Hulk Hogan ever was.....and every boy, teen,Dad and Grandpa gravitated to him. Was must see TV. No one has come close to his presence ever since.
Started watching with the royal rumble in 23 got super invested in the bloodline stuff and elimination chamber and been watching ever since
When someone was McFired
Steve Austin returning for a match at WM 38
Iv left and come back a few times - most recent return was someone describing Gunther vs Sheamus at CatC and giving it a go. His and Reigns title reigns have kept me around.
Cody's return
I never really left, but I decided to watch RAW and SD through socials and only tune in for the PLE's.
I stopped watching around 2013 because I was 16 then and it was cool to hate on wrestling. I came back in 2022 because of Drew. I just love the Scottish warrior look and gimmick. Really glad I did and have caught up on what I missed, lots of good things, but a whole lot of ugly stuff too.
It's 2€ (2,18 USD) deal a month for live SmackDown, NXT and Raw. I never knew I could watch it in Germany for such a low price. Didn't know the wrestlers at first. Still knew The Rock, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Rollins, Rhodes, Mcintyre, Lashley, Dominik Mysterio etc but from 10+ years ago. I discovered it like 2 months ago. It's like a dream came true. And I immediately got myself WWE Network too. Saw my first live Elimination Chamber from Australia. It made me very emotional to be honest. Back then when I was a teen this was out of the question. Now it's possible and easy access all of a sudden. One of the best things is that somehow I brought my Fiance to watch it with me and like it. We can goggle at stuff Tiffy, Asuka etc are doing. It's very entertaining and on the network there are all the old matches I remember and can show for reference. It's great to be back. PS. Also very nice to see Imperium. Austrian, German and Italian (all German speaking guys) together in WWE. Many great new talents in the WWE.
Ladies and gentleman. Please welcome, the host of Wrestlemania 27…
Honestly? Ronda Rousey getting signed. That said, I stayed because of Finn Balor, specifically his Wrestlemania entrance that year. (I *treasure* that fuckin' t-shirt.)
Religiously watched throughout my entire life. '80s '90s spent thousands of dollars to get ringside seats and they used to have a ramp from ramp side seats and for my children and they would make posters. It was a family affair. Stopped really being involved in it in the late 2000s but kind of was drawn back with curiosity mostly.. haven't been disappointed Loved going to live events and being able to yell and call people names at the top of your lungs and get away with it. It was cathartic! Plus had a complete investment in a lot of wrestlers that were very revered. Also went to a very very small warehouse show of NWA with sting lex Lugar the four horseman road warriors etc.. in the late 80's
Takers streak being broken. Simple as that. I watched it religiously as a kid between WM18-22. Then one day, I just stopped. Heard his streak was broken so I tuned into the Raw after Mania to see the outcome and then never stopped watching again.
The New Day during their heel run. Flipping through channels on a random Monday. Those guys were on TV and I got sucked back in after probably 10 years out. Those guys are probably my favorite all time.
Bloodline storyline. Started watching around the time Sami was becoming the honorary uce. Only paid attention to that for a while and PLEs but now watch through most of each show. Skipping some low card matches I don't care for
Personally, Roman's title reign. Around the time I stopped watching, I last saw him getting booed like crazy and then hearing that he held on to a title for 1000+ days made me wonder what the hell is WWE doing and started watching. I saw the whole BL thing and was hooked from the get go.
It was clicking through the guide listing to see what was on one night in 06 and seeing 'ECW' on Sci Fi, chuckling at the thought of original ECW being shown on Sci Fi for no reason. Then clicking and realizing it was a new ECW and being both horrified and intrigued. For reference it was the episode the week after the RVD v. Hardcore Holly match where Holly's back got sliced up.
The Fiend then the Bloodline What made me leave: James Ellsworth being the hooded figure in the corner of the ring and the burying of Asuka. Also the dream match of AJ and Shinsuke being ruined by gratuitous crotch shots.They were both faces btw.
I've come and gone a bit because of reasons that involve WWE and other that involve......personal issues. I was invited to a friend's house to watch the Royal Rumble one year. I knew who some were but not everyone. Then this music hit and no one knew who it was. But I saw a guy in a hood come out and I marked the fuck out. AJ STYLES. I've done my best to keep up with it since then. I was a huge Styles fan when he was in TNA. Edit most of the people there were only WWE fans so they didn't know who he was.. so my reaction was given a wtf?
Cody comeback. He then lost o Bloodline interference and I switched to watching just some highlights.
Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns - Clash at the Castle 2022 I'm a massive fan of Drew and I'd be a very in and out watcher having grown up in the 10's, when wrestling was, patchy at best. Came back because I was hoping to see Drew win, but then got into NXT, enjoying guys like Pretty Deadly, Grayson Waller and Tony D'Angelo. Stuck around and eventually got fully back into it.
I’m an elder millennial, i stopped in 98/99 because I just got into other stuff as a teen. I kept vaguely aware of names and major moves but hadn’t watched a raw or smack down or PPV all that time. I got back in because i realized I could watch PPVs on peacock (which I only had to watch the premier league). Now I’ve watched all the Monday night wars up to 2003 and counting, and I follow current stories via YouTube highlights and watching live PPVs.. I missed a lot of good stuff! No one in particular got me back in just the access.
The feeling Ucey clip actually. The first show I watched on return was WM 39
Fell off just after the bray wyatt john Cena feud. Saw an add for elimination chamber and have been hooked again since, been watching old raw/smackdown and PLE's on peacock for the nostalgia
The SHIELD! Those bad boys were good!!!
Roman Reigns - I was interested in someone who was holding a title this long in the new era & wanted to see what that was all about Also, I enjoyed watching it with my uncle & when he died, no one would watch it with me, so I stopped, but watching it again brings nostalgia & gives me something to look forward to watching every week.
Bloodline storyline with Sami Zayn. Also Cody’s return. I started watching just before Sami betrayed Roman at the Royal Rumble. Before that I originally started watching in 1999. I found out about WWE through WWF Smackdown on the PS1 with my brother. And then we consistently started watching late 2004. So we grew up with Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression but only fully started watching during the RA Era. Stopped watching around 2014-15 because we lost interest. I think wrestling has that 2004-2005 feel again. It’s pretty fun to watch now
Sami Zayn and the bloodline. And wrestling tiktok
The only time that I ever stopped watching was during the pandemic because I couldn’t stand watching the shows without a live audience. I got my wrestling fix during that time by rewatching old shows from the Attitude era, and then I came back when the crowds came back.
Went to watch a lucha Libre show when I was in Mexico. Had a really good time. Decided to see what was going on in WWE. Also the Behind the Bastards episodes on Vince got me thinking about it again.
I caught 'Fighting With My Family' randomly, then started watching stuff on YouTube, loved what they were doing with the women's division. It had really been the bra and panties matches and that weird shit with Edge and Lita that got me to turn off the first time. It just started feeling really sleazy. And slowly started getting sucked back in. The Bloodline Story, Judgement Day, and damage control.just so much better storytelling, better athletes, and just a fun show.
I stopped watching when the nexus became a thing. And I just happened to be in California at a friends place and they are big wrestling fans, I watched wrestlemania 35 with them. The one where Becky beat Ronda. Then I was on TikTok and saw videos of Rhea ripley. And Mami caught my attention when she was called to the main roster. I follow the promos and the storylines but I can’t watch raw and smackdown but I do watch the PLEs and I’m super excited for wrestlemania this year
I fell off gradually around 2019 when I went back to get my masters. I came back right before the royal rumble because my brother (who I unwittingly turned into the most massive wrestling fan I’ve ever known) joined the Navy and has been at basic for the last couple months. I originally planned on giving him weekly updates but I’ve fallen right into being a fan again. He graduates this week and I can’t wait to go into more detail about what’s going on!
WrestleMania 39 season. The Bloodline had me completely hooked. I hadn’t been invested in a storyline that complex and compelling since Seth’s betrayal of the Shield.
I stopped watching when they brought Hulk Hogan back. Though some people I liked have moved on, I jumped back in at WrestleMania 39 after hearing about several good things.
Bloodline storyline - Kept seeing tik toks of the story which led me to check WWE out again. first show I watched was Royal rumble 2023 and was hooked after the Sami pop Haven’t missed a raw or smackdown since and watching NXT a fair bit as well
my boyfriend being interested in it/keeping up to date with it all got me into it again after not paying attention for years
I started getting TikTok’s on my feed from Santizap. That led me to deciding to check out WM 38. What ended up making me a weekly viewer was Cody’s HIAC performance.
Oh yeah, Tik Tok was huge factor too, but for me I started to get a lot of Rhea edits
Stopped due to Punks cringey shoot stuff and AJ being just as awful. Came back around 2015 as the company started to focus on unique entertainment, but stopped again last year because they've fallen back to their old habits.
When Scott Hall died, I’d see posts about it on Facebook and like/sad face react to them. Then Facebook’s algorithm kept suggesting wrestling-related posts to me until I decided to start tuning in with Wrestlemania 38 coming up.
I got into it on the day that Kane shot lightning out of his hand. I said screw that and changed it to WCW. Then I bought WCW nitro. Tried wwf again about a year later or so when Warzone came out. I got out of wrestling when WWF turned Taz into a clown. I just bought wwe2k22 on a whim. Still have not watched another episode yet.
Left in 2020 during the pandemic era. And wasn't really watching in 2019 because Roman was missing(yes I was and am a Roman fan) Randomly it popped in my head that it's WrestleMania season and I have the subscription that came with my wifi. Why not check it out. Starred with the Seth Rollins vs Logan Paul match and I was hooked. Now I'm deeper into wrestling than I ever was
Cody Rhodes
I hadnt watched in more than 10 years. I was stuck in a hotel with limited channels and raw happened to be on. Sure, why not. It was the episode where edge was kicked out of the judgement day and gunther started the title reign. The judgment day spot piqued my interest but the bloodline story (and rhea...) kept me tuned in
I got into wrestling in 2011, and I had given up on the product about midway through 2017 and didn’t look back. There were times I’d pop my head in, but would be scared away by Jinder Mahal or Sami Zayn being a comedy jobber. The reason I got back into wrestling was that I heard CM Punk had returned, and that there was an alternative to the iron will of Vince. So I watched AEW. But then in 2022 when Triple H took over creative, I started to become a legit fan again. I remembered NXT and was interested and excited to see what a Triple H main roster would look like, and I’m still watching lol
I found the wrestling wrap up in class. Was really funny but had no interest in watching the product as it was mostly a blog about how bad it is. Except for NXT. I started watching NXT during KO regin and lost my shit when KO power bomb cena and stepped on the us title
I stopped watching around 2008ish. I went to the royal rumble, I think a sophomore at that time. Then WM20 was coming at the garden and now I was a senior I think or a junior I don’t remember the year, but I relapsed so there went that 🤷♂️ To this day one of my biggest regrets (other than becoming an addict obviously, celebrating 8 years in October sober!) was missing WM20. I’ve always been a DX, HHH and HBK fan, plus I always admired Benoit for his technical ability. Loved Eddie as well, it would’ve been so cool to see WM20 live. I stopped watching around that same time. Like I remember evolution, when shield first showed up, I was at raw when Kane was unmasked, I also was at Raw when Kane returned (all at the garden) I started watching again honestly because of Darkside of the Ring on Hulu. It gave me the bug so I downloaded 2k23. Then the whole Vince shit went down, I learned more about the story line, and now I’m really invested in the Cody/roman story. Seeing heel rock that I remember brings back fun memories, especially in the shirts he’s rocking 😂 I’m also really impressed with the women’s division these days. I miss the attitude era / ruthless aggression era but I’m enjoying the current storyline and curious to see where it goes!
Covid shut down everything but wrestling was still there so I started watching again.
Same here.
Drew McIntyre s Babyface push in 2020.
Randy’s return last year
LA Knight, Bloodline, full removal of Vince, Cody returning and then Punk, Rhea, Drew, Seth, The Rock...Triple H has been cooking and im enjoying WWE these days for first time since the black and gold brand was at its peak.
I was a kid and shows on late night tv the golden days era, from HH, UW, rookie Undertaker, Bret, Yokozuna etc even its delayed by 3 months then they stopped broadcasting it. A decade later PG era has been shown again on a different local free tv channel and we decided to subscribe to cable tv so we can watch regularly. This was the start of Cena/Orton rivalry it went on for years and last thing I remember is before or after I got married and saw Survivor Series in the company pantry exactly tag team of Cena/Rock vs MizTruth. Then life happened. I restarted again during rookie SHIELD and Daniel Bryan build up from every PPV to winning both belts in WMXXX, never looked back since.
Ric and Charlotte's book brought me back. I left at the end of the attitude era.
I left watching WWE when corona was at full force back in March, i beleive I saw stone cold returning on 3:16 or something in the thunderdome, then life happened and i forgot about wwe And 1 day I opened youtube and saw John Cena returning on money in the bank to challenge Roman Reigns was recommended to me, but they did John Cena very dirty in the match at summer slam and I stopped watching again, returned watching back fulltime in day 1 when brock won But since then wwe has truly been interesting, first they brought max dupri and then Vince left and triple h become boss and then wrestling became awesome again, max became la knight, damage ctrl formed, karian cross returned, drew vs Roman was 🔥, Sheamus vs Gunter vs McIntyre was 🔥, Brock vs Roman SummerSlam was🔥, uso vs Zayn & Owens 🔥🔥,bloodline story since Zayn joined untill now was 🔥🔥🔥, Cody vs Rollins and lesnar both were awesome aswell, Judgement day and Rhea Ripley is at its peak, them backstabbing edge on the very beginning was a shocker I can go on and on lol but this were fav moments Hon mentions, Rock, CM Punk, Bray Wyatt, Stone Cold, John Cena( although they did him dirty), & Randy returning, I wish matt riddle didn't mess up, would had loved rk bro return, their theme mashup was so catchy
I’d heard of this dude named AJ Styles who was supposed to be bad ass, mixed with a bit of curiosity as to where wrestling was at.
As much as I hate to admit it now, the rock… From 2007 to 2011 I wasn’t watching at all. Then when the rock came back to host WM27 I fell for it and have been watching semi regularly and at least always keeping up with what’s going on ever since
Sami Zayne in the bloodline was gold, I ate it up. And then I realized I was comfy as shit realizing I was a 35 year old wrestling fan.