A Jaded Fan: Ain't Nobody Got No Time For That

It's dawned on me just lately that maybe I'm watching a little too much wrestling. I've said in the past how I watch the majority of WWE programming and also how each show appeals to me. Unfortunately, time constraints and priorities in my life have changed, not to mention my attention span when watching television. I feel a little jaded with the amount that I'm watching. I think that enough is enough and it's time for a change!

Going back a few months, I attempted to watch WWE Raw, Smackdown, Main Event, NXT and ROH's weekly episodes. This lasted about three weeks before something had to give. Despite ROH being something different - especially a fine match between Michael Elgin and Silas Young really hooking me - my strong loyalty to WWE took over and I dropped the lesser-known show in favour of continuing to watch the four offerings of WWE TV that I was already watching.

In the months that followed, the WWE seemed to find a new star. Maybe someone that could take them into a new era? Daniel Bryan emerged from Team Hell No to become the newest breakout star, but with a difference. The fans really wanted this unlike anything I'd seen in years (even more than CM Punk's rise and solidification to bona fide main-eventer a couple of years ago). Unlike the anti-hero that Punk portrayed, Bryan felt more like a traditional babyface; abiding by the rules, smiling, and with a lot less attitude than Punk.

Daniel Bryan: The people's choice

So, with the last few months of WWE television resulting in it being 'must see TV', surely I should be lapping up every minute that I can get? The problem I have is that I can feel my enjoyment of it dipping and decreasing; almost to the point where I'm watching each offering but I'm not taking it in; I'm almost numb and a little distracted while watching my favourite shows from WWE. This has become very apparent to me in the last few weeks.

I used to rave about WWE Main Event, but if I'm honest I haven't watched it for a few weeks now. It doesn't have the same appeal it once had; it's gone from promoting mid-carders/champions (the best example of this was Antonio Cesaro's US title run earlier this year) to having 'Superstars' (TV show) quality competitors like 3MB and Khali. I don't want to see these guys on my screen - especially when the show has just three matches to impress and draw the audience in week-to-week.

I've found that I had to sacrifice Smackdown, too. Despite this being a show I could take or leave, it still feels like the crappy 'B' show; the ginger-haired step-child that the WWE constantly puts down. Admittedly, things have changed since around Summerslam. The appearance of Randy Orton - the then WWE Champion - and his number one adversary Daniel Bryan was something I couldn't remember happening in a very long time.

For what seems like years, Smackdown has been the domain of the World Heavyweight Championship and its contenders. Monday Night Raw has been the WWE Championship's exclusive home since about 2005. Maybe under Triple H's guidance things are slowly changing to give Smackdown more relevance again.

This leaves my WWE viewing down to two shows - the two most important shows in my opinion - Raw and NXT.

Raw is WWE's flagship show and has always taken priority over the years. When the World Heavyweight Championship and champion was on Raw these were the most important factors in the WWE. Now, the WWE Championship has had that claim for over eight years. This show is where all major developments happen (with the odd surprise occurring on Smackdown). As a fan, you can more-than get away with watching Raw and know what is going on in the WWE Universe - it even has recaps of important moments from Smackdown!

NXT is the breeding ground of the future WWE superstars. It's picked up wrestlers from the American indies, the UK and various other countries to bring a breathe of fresh air to WWE programming. It has a different feel to other WWE shows; I read somewhere this week that Raw, Smackdown etc is 'written' whereas NXT is 'booked' and I feel that this is a huge positive in its favour.

On NXT, the faces are likable and the heels are hated as should be the case in all wrestling shows. The gimmicks are fresh and entertaining, too; Tyler Breeze, Enzo Amore and newcomer Aiden English are all talented and make me want to pay attention to their week-to-week progressions.

So, to sum up; I'm optimistic about my future viewing habits. I've trimmed five-and-a-quarter hours of WWE programming down to around three hours (not including commercials). I now feel that I have time and enough attention to commit to Raw and NXT, thus getting my weekly 'fix' of wrestling. If I see or hear that Smackdown has something of worth to see then I'll give it some time, but until then I'm more than happy to limit myself to the two WWE offerings that I have mentioned!

And don't get me started on the amount of British wrestling I'm attending!...

@jimmosangle