Tuesday, February 14, 2017

World Wrestling Entertainment: The Live Experience

Those of you followed me on the old blog know I've written about World Wrestling Entertainment (W.W.E.). Yeah, I wrote about W.W.E. a lot. But I did something last year that I actually never got around to writing about. I went to a live W.W.E. event and took some pictures for a post. The events I went to took place at Madison Square Garden (M.S.G.) and The Theater at M.S.G. I didn't photograph everything because I wanted to enjoy the show without worrying about a camera. I've been going to W.W.E. live events and wrestling show in general for a long time but what I saw last year was very different.

My father told me that when I was a baby that he use to take me and my mother to M.S.G. to see W.W.E. live. Back than it was the 'F' (Federation) not the 'E' (Entertainment) just before the start of Hulkamania. I'm dating myself I know. The thing is I don't remember any of it so I have no proof of what his saying being true. What is true was that one of my earliest memories is watching Hulk Hogan defeat the Iron Sheik to become World Champion om television. The other early memory can be summed up in one phrase, WOOOO!!!! So when you read my posts about wrestling understand that I've been watching it, reading about it and experiencing it for a long time.

There's some of pics to highlight what I've seen over the years. One example was the start of C.M. Punks 434 day run as W.W.E. Champion and The Rocks first match since WrestleMania 20.


There you go. Now what made going to the W.W.E. live events last year different? It certainly wasn't the matches I'll tell you that. What happens in the ring is no different than what you see on television every week. It's was what happening around all of it that made me reconsider going to see more W.W.E. shows when they come to my area.



There was a period where when W.W.E. came to town it didn't draw my attention. They'd come and they'd go but so what. There wasn't anything going on at a W.W.E. show that was so different from what was on television that I just had to go see a W.W.E. show live. The only reasons I wanted to go to see the live show at M.S.G. was two reason. First it wasn't expensive. That's one thing W.W.E. has always been great at. You can see a show and know that you'll get a ticket at a good price so you can have money to buy merchandise at the show. The second reason was A.J. Styles. This was the first match that A.J. Styles would have at M.S.G.. Add that his opponent was John Cena now I definitely wanted to see this show. This was in the period was The Club was going what they love to do best, "beat up John Cena". This was also before their SummerSlam match so this match would hopefully be great treat for everyone who went to see it.

The last time I was at a live W.W.E. show at M.S.G. was just before WrestleMania 27. The main reason was seeing the World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan defend his title at M.S.G. This was the period were Triple H was going to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania for the second time. It was a good show overall. It was also around the time when they changed how the entrances looked. It was an interesting show to see at the time. But afterward I didn't feel the need to go see W.W.E. live. It wasn't until The Phenomenal One was going to be making his M.S.G. debut that I considered going to see W.W.E..


The difference was the pre-show and in between match stuff kept me engaged in the show. Usually before the show and in between matches I could talk to someone or pay attention to something besides the show. Well Triple H made sure to change that by have videos from W.W.E. Network play on the screens. Then the ringside announcers would get the audience to play along to trivia. There was also the fact that there was lots of filming of the matches going on. I never saw them ever filming the house show matches. It makes sense to have stuff for the W.W.E. Network so I was glad to see it.


Now fast forward to just before Survivor Series and now I'm going to an NXT show with some friends. There are no bad seats at the Theater, we got seats that faced the entrance way. It is not a huge venue but the place felt packed. This was the night that Shane McMahon was in the front row and did a shake with No Way Jose. It was a fun show but it got me thinking about how long its been since I enjoyed seeing W.W.E. live. Now when they come to town I really consider getting a ticket to go to the live show. They were going backstage segments at a house show for crying out loud.

On my way to the show I passed by the new Tapout Gym down the block from M.S.G. I don't know if Tapout has a discount for W.W.E. Superstars on the road but they should. I wondered if there were W.W.E. Superstars working out in the Tapout Gym before a M.S.G. or Barclays Center show. Interacting with W.W.E. Superstars experience outside of the wrestling matches is something I think they will work on next. I've only seen and met some Superstars and former Superstars outside the ring at a comic book convention. They've been scattered throughout the show. It's not even a full W.W.E. presentation just some folks here, some on the other side of the floor. I'm looking forward to booths like they do at the Axxess shows before the big Pay-Per-Views.


One of the reasons seeing W.W.E. improving its live experience is so important is because of the competition. While the W.W.E. is the largest touring wrestling show in the world, it's not the only one. It's not the only one that tours in the United States. As my pictures below from New Japan Pro Wrestlings (N.J.P.W.) Invasion Attack 2011 show their not the only one that tours outside their own country either. You'll notice that some of these faces have done some big things in pro wrestling since 2011. Yes, that is Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, Giant Bernard, Finn Balor formerly known as Prince Devitt and Hiroshi Tanahashi,. Yes, it took place in what was a large garage by the docks. But things are going to get better when they come over to the U.S. in July 2017.




There was news of a recent conference call by W.W.E. with the house show business being said to be down. That was sad to hear but I think W.W.E. will start promoting the Live Experience more on their television shows. But from my perspective their live show is much better now than at any time I've seen in my years of seeing W.W.E. live. We'll all find out in time but for now if W.W.E. happens to be coming to your area check it out for yourself. It really is the best value in entertainment in my opinion.

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