Anyone watching this? I’m very into pro wrestling, and I know there’s a lot of criticism that this series is catered toward non-fans and just rehashes a lot of stuff that knowledgeable fans already knew. I think that’s accurate, but I also think these stories don’t get old no matter how many times I hear them. It does seem like a major limitation that it was mostly filmed before all the sex trafficking stuff came out - just a giant elephant in the background that it’s not possible for the series to address…but then again, I haven’t made it to the last episode yet, so will be interesting to see how it gets handled there.
Some other random observations, based on this plus the million other wrestling documentaries I’ve seen:
*Eric Bischoff seems legit retarded. I know he fancies himself this genius who outcompeted McMahon for 83 weeks, but honestly he sounds like an idiot, and he himself tells story after story where he basically gets taken advantage of by other people (Brian Pillman, the North Korean government, etc.) because he’s kind of a gullible rube. The disconnect between that and how he perceives himself is kind of shocking.
*Bret Hart - great wrestler, total mark for himself. He’d benefit from taking himself a little less seriously, and maybe being reminded that wrestling is scripted.
*Tony Atlas - comic genius. This guy pops up in various docs and is consistently hilarious. Pat Patterson “grabbed mah peckah”. Dying. His iron sheik impersonation is also fantastic.
*Triple H - I think he’s an opportunistic douche and was overrated in the ring and on the mic, but he comes across as if he has more than two brain cells to rub together, which is a feather in his cap.
I’m sure I’ll think of more hot takes, but interested to hear if other people have been watching.
Life long wrestling fan but cancelled Netflix so haven’t seen it. I still watch the current product but my favorite time as a fan was 80s through ruthless aggression and I happily watch stuff from that timeframe over and over. Is the documentary any good? Vince did some nasty stuff but it sounds like his accuser was ok with it until she stopped getting paid.
I think the current product is definitely better than pg era stuff. I do love how endless articles about how the attitude era wasn’t as good as you thought or another article whining about how offensive past wrestling was written by 20 year olds constantly pop up
Agreed. Attitude era Raw was on another level. The Rock’s heel turn and rise to the top, Austin vs Vince, random goofy shit like Val Venis almost getting his dick chopped off…holy shit it was amazing. That and the era in the mid ‘80s where everyone was coked and roided out of their minds, leading to some of the greatest promos in recorded history, were magic. I don’t think that magic can ever be recreated.
Being a kid in the 80s and a teen/early 20s for attitude/ruthless aggression was awesome. Promos were amazing. “Waiting in the back with Mean Gene”. Also loved Monsoon and Jessie the Body or Heenan.
It's hard to separate the Golden Era of WWF from my childhood nostalgia. I feel like as a wrestling fan we are always chasing that high of marking out when we thought wrestling was real as kids.
Man, this analogy is perfect. Due to age and due to the evolution of the product, I will never again experience the emotions wrestling made me experience as a kid…but you still keep watching, hoping something somehow magically makes you mark out the way you did as a kid.
Watching savage and steamboat blow off their feud at wrestlemania iii when I was 10 years old was easily the highlight of my year. Heart was pounding, adrenaline was pumping. If I watched it now, I’d probably appreciate the athleticism but be too jaded to enjoy it beyond that. And in any case, that angle and that match, or anything like it, would never happen today.