So I lurk around and I came across 2 threads this week that really upset me. The first was over at TSM and is a bunch of people bashing Trevor Murdoch because of his body. The second was over at DVDVR and it's a bunch of people calling AJ Styles a pussy because he cancelled his RoH appearance due to his lip.

It made me realize that we as fans are just as responsible for every wrestling death as the companies that hire them. We just don't fucking get it. People mourn someone like Eddie's loss and ask why this happened but they never learn anything. They constantly show they haven't by the threads I listed in the first paragraph. These same people will of course mourn and ask why this happened when the next wrestler dies.

We as smarks should be better than this. If anyone should understand that body type doesn't matter it should be us. But I sadly realized we're a very big part of the problem.

That's a really intelligent post, and I applaud you for saying it. It's the same thing with most athletes, where we as fans help to put expectations on their shoulders that they meet with steroids or by pushing themselves past reasonable means. Then we're stunned when we find them doing steroids, angry when they're hurt, crushed when they die. It's just foolish to criticize wrestlers for not being superhuman.

It just amazes me that people don't see the irony in what they say sometimes. It's like there's a universal reset button in their minds that erases everything after a week.

I saw the AJ thread, and I gotta say, I would be a little pissed if AJ was the reason I was going. As it is, he was in a throwaway (although potentially awesome) match with Cabana, which has very little to do with current storylines, so I don't care.

As far as Murdoch goes.... shit man. I dig his look.

What, exactly, is wrong with Trevor Rhodes' body? He's an ornery texan. Name ONE guy from Texas who is like that and has the body of an adonis?

Some people will bitch about anything. I'm not at all surprised it's from TSM, since topics from there include "Orlando Jordan wipes nose" and "OMG! LOOK AT THISSS!"

I don't know what TSM is, and I don't want to. Thats why I like this messageboard here. No one is a douchebag. Even though we all express our opinions, and sometimes even get a little heated and silly about things, we all do it in a respectable mannager, and I genuinely believe that we all believe in whatever we're talking about.

I like it here cause their aren't any douchebags that are just out to stir up trouble, or who will take any discussion and trash it just to be a prick.

Okay, we can shut off the sappy Full-House "we just had a moment" music and go back to our regularly scheduled shit. And uhhh, Scrooge is dumb.

I think as wrestling fans, we're not only assumed to have forgotten a lot after a week, but we tend to do it. We all know Eddie's death was partly caused by steroids and drugs, and yet just a couple weeks later someone's complaining about Murdoch's body. It's pathetic.

Speaking of Full House, wow, that show really sucks now. I used to love it when I was a young lass.

Back on topic... you're right in not wanting to know what TSM is. It's like all the cancers of wrestling fans rolled up into one shithole.

It's ok to be a little upset but a reasonable person would take a deep breath and go "well he's hurt so I understand not coming to the show." You become an ass when you go onto a messageboard and start calling him out for not working hurt.

Well, I agree with MD on this one although I can't personally take responsibility on this. I'd much rather a guy not wrestle when he's hurt so that we can see him saved to wrestle another day anytime. It is ignorance by these people considering that they don't know what it's like to be in the ring (Believe me, I know what it's like) and what it is to have to be able to take care of a family too. Sometimes, wrestling isn't priority #1 and it shouldn't be.

That's word. I think it's a good point that Gabe made on the ROH board, saying that AJ's lip was re-injured at the Impact tapings, and that if something happened Saturday he could need plastic surgery. Back out of the show, TNA is off for three weeks for now, ROH doesn't run again till the 14th..... things should be good by then.

I forget where I saw it, but people really do need to realize that not everyone in wrestling has the mindset of Mick Foley.

It should also be noted that AJ's loyalty in wrestling SHOULD be TNA. They are paying the bills and he basically has to do what is good for them. He stands to make a lot more money with TNA than he does in the long run ANYWHERE else.

I also think that people taking time off is better for their characters. This is my biggest problem with Batista working through a lat tear. Take a few weeks off. Have them announce the title vacated due to injury. You get sympathy, and it only helps the face. It also allows other people camera time. You shouldn't have to break your neck or tear a quad to get some time off

I couldn't agree more. In today's style of pro wrestling there are WAY too many PPV's and generally overexposure for everyone on the rosters. Compare no to the way it was in the 80's for example. When people are kept off TV it actually makes the company use it's ENTIRE roster showcasing different talents at different times. So never understood their thinking of working everyone to death.

In my day, we were lucky to see the main event wrestlers on free TV. These days, that's all we get. Over-exposure is what is hurting wrestling. If fans see it all the time on T.V., why go to the arena shows? That was the selling point of the old WWF. Hype the hell out of arena shows, promise the main eventers, and voila! Fans care.

Good post Scrooge. That's exactly the problem these days.

I honestly think it would be smart for anyone to use the TV time they have to hype House shows. Right now, no one wants to go to a house show because you won't see anything important. Everyone wants to go to TV tapings because you know that's when you'll actually see something

You're on to something, there. My philosophy for the past 10 years or so has been "why should I even worry about getting a PPV when there's enough stuff on the weekly show to keep me entertained?"

Big difference from, ahem, "my day"...when Tito Santana vs. Pork Chop Cash was the biggest match on the weekly show.

It's not like I think that they would have to totally go back to job matches either. They had the formula correct IMO back in around 92/93 when RAW first started. They had job matches, low card matches, and the occasion decent main event. At the time, it blew my mind considering the only other valued TV wrestling because of match quality was SNME and Clash of the Champions.

Just something random I remember from 1993 Monday Night Raw: I think the World Champion wrestled maybe 4 times that year (not counting the PPV Specials). The only ones I actually can remember were Bret Hart defending against Fatu in March, and Yokozuna against Crush in July, so maybe less than 4.

I don't think they'd have to go back to jobber matches at all. If they created some sort of TV rotation, where a guy would be on TV for 3 months, then off for 1, everyone could stay fresh. You could keep the guys on the house show circuit, and that'd be a draw to the house shows. You could keep the rotation to where you'd never have too many stars out at once, and each wrestler woud get 3 months with less travel. Basically the same type thing that happened with the territory system.