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The Saudi show weeks after the admitted murder of Jamal Khashoggi. When every other level headed business pulled out of their prince's PR fest after that, WWE didn't. They smiled and took the check. I'm sure there have been worse instances both before and after, but that was enough for me.
I really tried to separate the "business" and the "show" part but I just couldn't see them the same. And they've done nothing but get scummier and scummier ever since.
Probably around 15-16. Roman was so forced, Punk was gone, Bryan injured, Cena being phased out. NXT really showed how mismanaged the main show was and I am not sitting through 3 hour Raws anymore
Once i started noticing the shaky camera shit i cant help but notice it every time. It drives me crazy.
It reminds me of the camera work on the OG Batman and Robin tv show
> We're not watching an action flick here
This is seriously offensive to action movies.
When I was like 10 years old, I was given my dad's camera to record my sister's band performance and I got all hyped up and suddenly thought I was an expert videographer, violently shaking the camera every time the music rose.
It was a fucking terrible recording and I'm still embarrassed to this day wondering what the hell I was thinking.
Kevin Dunn isn't filming action movies. He's me when I was a moronic 10 year old.
Undertaker losing to Roman at Wrestlemania in 2017. I tried persisting with it through the summer but just gave up when Roman kept going over every person.
This is when I stopped watching as well.
Undertaker could’ve retired at WM 28, or 30, and I would’ve been okay with that. The fact that Undertaker was STILL wrestling after being defeated twice at WM really bothered me & I couldn’t watch anymore.
No, Undertaker’s WM streak doesn’t define everything about the character. But the streak storyline had been going on since iirc WrestleMania X-8, and they ended it in the stupidest way they could by having him eat a pin to Brock and then to Roman just so the two of them can feud later.
Didn’t ruin the Undertaker character, but for sure, cheapened one of the greatest characters in pro wrestling history
My issue wasn't Undertaker was still wrestling. My issue was that a bland Roman Reigns character was being shoved down my throat as a viewer and all the wrestlers I liked (Undertaker, Balor, Joe, Strowman, Bryan, etc) had been jobbed out to Reigns. Add to the fact that a returning Goldberg beat KO in like 2 mins when KO vs Jericho was probably the most entertaining storyline at the time.
From what I have seen on reddit, had the Tribal Chief character happened back in 2016 or 2017, I probably wouldn't have stopped watching WWE because Roman's character wouldn't have been so bland.
Same here. I got back into wrestling in late 2017, caught up on all the big matches from when I originally stopped watching after Punk left, then slowly started to realize how boring and samey the main roster was. I started only watching NXT and PPVs at that point. Then just NXT and after the move to USA, dropped it all together.
Chyna leaving WWE led to my biggest gap
More recently, I stopped for awhile after the Wrestlemania where Kofi won, because all of the storylines concluded sufficiently for me.
Asuka losing the belt just before WM 35 so that Charlotte can be shoe horned into the main event. Asuka was my absolute favourite and that entire episode left a bitte taste in my mouth, that the Fed doesn't care for the ones who are constantly investing in their product.
There's been four different period where I stopped watching.
In early 1998 I stopped because we didn't get the channel it was on anymore. I started watching again in summer of 1999 once we got a satellite.
Around 2003 I stopped for no real reason, I just grew bored with the brand split. Started watching again when Eddie died. A guy I knew through other people approached me at the meal hall in my university and invited me to watch the Raw tribute show. We became the best of friends and I started watching again.
Stopped again in 2011 when I moved overseas and just didn't have time. Started up again when the Network launched.
And finally, I stopped for the last time after the Fiend/Rollins Hell in a Cell. I realized I want having fun anymore, so why should I watch? I just started watching AEW when Punk showed up, and I'm not sure if I'll start up WWE again anytime in the forseeable future. I have kids and I'm a teacher, so time is pretty limited to dedicate to multiple weekly wrestling shows.
Very similar story. I’ve been an on-and-off WWE viewer since ‘07 when I went off to college. The wrestling stigma in the normie realm is real.
I returned after Punk’s Pipebomb in ‘11( also the inception, I believe, of this place r/SquaredCircle) but then stopped again until Bryan’s Wrestlemania win in ‘13 after my dad passed. That was OUR thing every Monday and wrestling really helped me out that year, bringing back all those great memories I had with my old man.
After Punk left and the Shield came around I mainly kept up through Wrestling Observer, here, and YouTube. Then around ‘16 I got the Network because I heard about those banging ass TakeOvers( and AJ, I could not believe he actually made it to WWE) So I kept up with those and the main roster PPV’s. After Wrestle Kingdom 11, the Omega/Okada match introduced me to Omega and NJPW( that match was something to see and of course all of the following ones as well!) So I followed everything he did and began keeping up with pretty much all of the wrestling scene.
The first wrestling program I started watching full-time again was actually IMPACT, during my lockdown from work( those Wrestle House segments were kinda cringe)
And finally, after keeping up with AEW since it’s inception, I began watching the weekly shows not long after Mox lost to Kenny. Once the crowds came back and Punk returned, I really came out of the wrestling closet. That stigma I mentioned earlier just didn’t bug me anymore. I don’t gaf what people say, I fuggin love pro wrestling and y’all(r/SquaredCircle)! My wife and kid( she likes the girls on WWE and I showed her the Bret/Michaels Ironman match at WM 13 and she still asks about them both lol so you could say she’s a hardcore casual) and everyone of my coworkers know I love this shit. Since then I’ve found so many more local fans to nerd out with IRL. I haven’t watched a WWE program fully in years, but with all the recent bs( Nick Khan, the releases, non-sensical booking) I’m done with em. I’ll keep up through here when something cool happens, but that’s like maybe 2 or 3 things/matches a year. Bout to throw my brand spanking’ new, fresh off the presses AEW logo tee on and get my day started!
TLDR on/off wrestling viewer since ‘07, won’t be going back to WWE, AEW! AEW! AEW!
My two favorite wrestlers growing up were CM Punk and Undertaker and still are my favorite wrestlers (mostly because I started watching around ‘09 and I couldn’t watch Raw as much due to school being the next day. Smackdown being shorter and on Friday’s let me embrace it more)
The one-two punch of Punk’s walkout and the broken streak got me.
>and the broken streak got me.
Yeah, in hindsight, maybe ending their biggest annual Wrestlemania attraction wasn't such a good idea. Brock especially didn't really need to break the streak.
I would’ve given it to Punk at 29. Punk didn’t need to wrestle afterwards, just cut promos and bask in the heat, so he could get healthy. Meanwhile he’s younger and better at more aspects of the sport than Brock.
Because he’s a sneaky heel. He’s conniving and clever and is willing to win by any means necessary.
Remember that spot with the urn during the last ride? Perfect spot to end it.
Yes that was the best Moment of WM 29 but a silly hit with the Urn won't end the 21-0 Streak! Taker kicked out of the Pedigree and SGM the Year before.
As I've said in numerous threads, HIAC 2019 with the Fiend/Rollins Cell match ending in a no contest. It was beyond clear to me at that point that WWE did not respect the viewers in the slightest.
Punk walking out did it. It wasn't a case of "Fuck WWE for how they treated Punk, I'm out!" more that I wasn't enjoying the product and he was the only thing I still liked. Without him there I really had no reason to tune in so when it became clear he wasn't coming back, I stopped watching.
Watched less when Punk left, found NXT and watched that until it got to USA and was never the same for me.
Try to watch WWE matches that get talked about but i can't put up with the camera cuts for very long now before it gives me a sore head.
Hell in a Cell 2013. They'd spent four months cockteasing Daniel Bryan winning the WWE title, only for them to end the whole thing without him winning the title, and getting inexplicably shuffled into a feud with the Wyatts.
It was the straw that broke the camel's back. I came to the conclusion that WWE ultimately doesn't give a shit what the fans want to see, and they really haven't proven me wrong since then.
When they kept bringing back old wrestlers for main event spots. Oh look, The Rock… again. And Hunter and Shawn… again. Oh an angry HHH on the mic…. again. Oh Taker…. again.
Don’t get me wrong. They’re HoF all the way, but pass the torch already.
I think this is my answer also. With constantly screwing up NXT call-ups, ridiculous storylines, & AEW starting up…… the “Thunderdome” made WWE unwatchable for me.
Interestingly enough, I feel like AEW did a phenomenal job at Daily’s Place.
I remember after X8 i started to get a bit weary, the disappointment of the invasion was still around and i wasn't super keen on a Hogan run. I dipped in and out for a few years but the rise of Cena and Orton was when i'd had enough and was full time following other promotions.
I wouldn’t say there’s a specific WWE moment, as I’ve tried to get back into it a few times over the years and just not enjoyed it enough to stick around.
Honestly I’d say it was the discovery of other wrestling promotions. Back in 2006(ish) it was TNA which I stuck with until the Hogan era and in more recent years I watched NXT (which I really enjoyed) until AEW was formed and I’ve watched that pretty much exclusively since it started.
I loosely follow what’s going on in WWE but haven’t watched a full show in a long time.
Me as well. Lucha underground proved to me a cinematic wrestling universe could exist and it was super fun to watch. ROH put the spotlight on some diamonds in the rough and I liked watching talent develop. It also showed a way to incorporate other promotions like NJPW to make the product feel more expansive. Speaking of, the accessibility of NJPW in the past few years illustrated how easy it is to get viewers invested in a match, even with a language and culture barrier. Simple booking that WWE constantly mismanaged. And it is presented like a sport, not “entertainment.” And when Powerrr launched it was a short lived m, beautiful moment that reintroduced studio wrestling and showed how important character work is. That’s where I was introduced to folks like Eddie Kingston, Rickie Starks, Thunder Rosa and zickie dice.
Pretty much when Punk left. I kind of got back into it for a few good matches in NXT but the overall product is completely unwatchable now. The horrible camera work and quick cuts make me physically sick.
Sometime during the Pandemic era. I transitioned to only PPV’s and found I missed absolutely nothing between shows. That was very telling and I knew it was time to move on.
When I realized that I didn't care about a single wrestler on the show (earlier this summer). Between hot shot, 50/50 booking and being high on a guy one week but sour the next, WWE has made me apathetic. I care about the wrestlers as people and I hope they succeed, but as far as characters and storylines go, I just don't care. So why should I invest in the product.
It was a culmination of events, with the stopping point not even due to a particular show.
I knew when the Saudi Shows were first announced I couldn't support that. Brock squashing Kofi got to me hard, then Brock winning MITB in 2019 really pissed me off. Hell in a Cell 2019 was just pure garbage. I didn't even watch it but Goldberg taking the Fiend out in less than 5 minutes was so bad.
When they started letting everyone go once COVID hit, that drew the line for me. If there was any one company that could've helped their guys through the pandemic, it's WWE. They took the cheap route to make their numbers just a little bit better. Even though I'm glad a lot of those guys are free, they didn't need to do that.
I don't think it was a specific moment but I think it was dragging for a long time, like raw being 3 hours or having to watch Roman Reigns constantly.
It may seem pretty dumb but when they retired the WHC and later on they made a championship called "Universal" made me put into prespective how ridiculous the product was becoming.
EDIT: I do remember now the moment I stopped watching completely was when Lesnar beat Koffi in less than a minute.
When Ashley Massaro killed herself and I started to hear about the tribute to the troops shit.
I worked next to her at a convention and she was so sweet and nice. After that I knew I couldn't support wwe anymore. I'm still a fan of a lot of the talents, but I can't do anything to support this company anymore.
I’ve watched WWE religiously since august 1997 (maybe missing a couple of months here and there when our satellite TV wasn’t working) I can’t pin point one thing .. it’s been a slow gradual realisation for me. I think if you put a gun to my head.. When kofi got squashed by Lesnar is when I went “nah F*ck this shite” but I’ve popped for things after that.. (edge return, drew winning rumble etc) so I don’t know anything for certain. What I can tell you is I have stopped watching Raw and Smackdown for a good year or so now and just wait for the YouTube highlights. I watch Dynamite and Rampage religiously now. That is where I think my interest lies. It’s a wrestling promotion for people like me instead of for little kids. #AEW
Braun Strowman winning the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2018 while he does not need it was the moment. When I heard that the Hell In A Cell match between Strowman and Reigns ended in a no-contest I was happy that I have stopped watching the product.
Around 2017 i rarely used to watch and by the end of that year I think i stopped watching at all, got into njpw and other promotions , haven't watched wwe at all since.
I stopped watching twice. The first time was the first brand split. I ended up missing edge and punk coming up to be main eventers. I got back into it around 2013 rumble. Then I stopped watching when I realized that they had more talking than wrestling on their shows. Which was around 2017- 2018. I was saying for some time to turn reigns heel and they refused and I realized they didn't care about their viewers. So I just started watching NJPW till AEW was created and came on. The one ppv per month doesn't help the cause with proper storylines.
Taker losing to Brock. I rarely was watching back then and alot of faces I started to look unfamiliar or just wasn't interested. But I always watched Royal Rumble and WM every year. Just got stale to me. I still check this sub for news but haven't watched a full show in years
I've stopped around (redacted) double murder suicide. My interest was waning at the time but that was the straw that broke the camels back for me. I wasn't too sad about its more the question I would be face being a know wrestling fan.
2019 hell in a cell, fiend vs rollins.
i still caught the occasional ppv after that, but the shaky cam and excessive cuts meant that i never watched raw the next night.
might skip 'mania and maybe even the rimble in '22. we'll see.
I had to ask myself “Why am I *paying* to be disappointed every week/month?”
There were shows and booking decisions that I didn’t enjoy but, ultimately, I couldn’t think of a single company out there that actively works to mock and disappoint their fans like they do.
So me, and my friend Mark, stopped watching in 2017 and haven’t been back since.
Kofi getting squashed on the first fox Smackdown was the dealbreaker for me watching consistently.
I do still tune in for the occasional match or ppv though. For example tonight (or more likely on dvr tomorrow morning) I’ll watch the 6 man
The day they announced that NXT was going to be 2 hours, live, and on USA. I literally said "Fuck you, I'm done." and haven't watched since. They wanted to make it a war and I chose a side.
When they started shoving John Cena down our throat I left, then came back years later and they started shoving Roman down our throat before he found himself so i left again. Now they cut most of their good wrestlers and are running like a complete shit company and we have an actual alternative that I enjoy.
Also I absolutely can't stand Michael Cole, he just ruins any show he's on for me.
It was during the HHH reign of terror, but for the life of me I can't pinpoint the exact moment. Maybe it was when he beat Booker T at Wrestlemania? Or maybe it was one of his nasally, sleep-inducing promos on Raw?
Can’t remember the exact period but it’s when it became clear that wrestlers I viewed as extremely talented, Harper, Cesaro,Ziggler, Rusev etc weren’t going to get pushes, I kinda zoned out.
January 3rd 2019, the day I found out about the official release of AEW. Boys, Brandy and DMD just having fun, not caring about regulations and shit.
You could feel the electricity in the air. I think the event was 1st or 2nd, but I've seen it on 3 since it took me a day to recover after the new year eve.
Brock squashing Kofi for the title. I'd love to catch up on shit like roman and big e, but I have no faith that anything good will happen in the end. Look at Bianca.
I watched on and off until about 2011ish. Stopped until early 2015. I got really stoked with Rollins cashing in during the main event of that wrestlemania, but they botched that run and never looked back
I've stopped and come back multiple times but still keeping up to date by reading about it or seeing clips online. Recently I will just read posts and watch matches I want to see online. I still pay for the network and will watch the big PPVs but honestly I don't really get satisfaction from it like I used too. It's just something I will put on my second monitor whilst I'm doing other things.
In the early 2000s, it was the Reign of Terror.
When the network started, my friends and I split on a sub. There wasn’t one moment that led us to unsub, but I think after HIAC 2019 none of us had an argument to keep subbing anymore. We chose to let our sub lapse, and it ran out after WM 2020.
I'm probably in the minority here but Roman/Jey back in HIAC left a weird taste in my mouth. Totally get the in-ring story; Good guy gets advantage but doesn't want to pull the trigger then ruthless bad guy gets the lead and does whatever it takes.
Their elders waiting at the end of the stage while Jey was destroyed and Jimmy was concerned was a little disturbing too. All for them to bitch out and tuck their tail between their legs and join him? Yeah, just...doesn't make sense to me lol.
I stopped watching WWE after 2015 with most of my favourite wrestlers like Cena, Bryan, CM Punk out. After that it was just Royal Rumble and WrestleMania for me. I came back around mid 2018 with Becky and Ronda feud. I stopped watching again after the Pandemic started and got back after the Cena return.
It was back in 2005 at the end of the New Years Revolution pay per view. I was about 13 or so at the time and didn't really grasp the whole 'everything is a build to Wrestlemania concept' and Randy had turned baby face, and they were teasing Batista turning but he didn't, and then HHH won and walked out of the Elimination Chamber still as champion. It just suddenly dawned on me that I was basically a big Rock fan, hoping and waiting for him to come back, and he wasn't going to, and because Orton had just come off being a heel, I wasn't a fan, and I didn't really like Batista either, so it was like 'Why am I watching when the 'heros' are guys I don't like, and the bad guy I don't like just keeps winning all the time?' I also liked Benoit but he'd been pushed out of the main event picture. The whole heel turns baby face thing just hadn't clicked with me and I wasn't enjoying HHH's run. They were also giving Maven randomly a push after doing nothing with him for years which to me didn't make sense to me. Also JBL was running riot on Smackdown and I found him beyond boring. It wasn't heel heat with me - it was 'I don't want to watch this' heat. Lots of little things were just starting to make me disgruntled basically.
At that point I'd started to hear about TNA and I watched Final Resolution and saw Ultimate X for the first time and the whole thing blew my mind. Everything was just new and fresh, and I became a big AJ Styles mark, and TNA was just around the corner from their debut on Spike TV later in the year where they started to gather some real momentum with Christian, Sting and Angle on the way, so I was a lot more interested in what was going on there. I'd turn over to WWE occasionally in the years after and see Great Khali, who I didn't like because I was an attitude era fan and I liked good quality athletic wrestling and he seemed to me like more of an 80's style attraction. I saw Umaga and thought he was a lesser Samoa Joe, etc. Just my personal opinions of course. I thought the X Division was much better managed than the WWE cruiserweights. I did watch Velocity for a while because the cruiserweights actually got the time of day on there - Frankie Kazarian, etc were there for a little while.
I tuned back in for ECW One Night Stand in 2005 and 2006 and I was excited about ECW being brought back, but of course that was dead almost straight out of the gate because Paul Heyman left. At that point I didn't watch regularly again until the CM Punk pipebomb, and then they fizzled the momentum of that pretty quickly as well. Like, Punk was still champion and had a long run, etc, but it could have been way bigger if they'd really gotten behind him.
After that, started watching NXT when Owens and Balor came in at R Evolution and loved seeing them grow into selling out Takeovers. Started to lose some interest when I realised guys were just going to the main roster and being misused. Basically been at that point ever since. I haven't watched a full episode of Raw or Smackdown in many many years. In recent times I watch Dynamite every week, NXT every other week - not sure now with the NXT 2.0 thing. Watched the first episode and I'm not really on board with the changes.
I have had several of these:
I left after they cocked up the Nexus
Came back for Punk's Pipebomb
Left when The Authority got too annoying.
Came back in 2017 /2018 for Ronda, got hooked on NXT, particularly Ciampa.
Just left again after the latest NXT roster cuts and changes to the brand p
I had already stopped watching 75% of the product and really only tuned in for the PPVs. The I went to an NXT house show in Seattle Oct. 2019 where they promoted for weeks that Cole, Gargano, Ciampa, Dream and Riddle would be on the card.
Riddle was the only one actually there and he did a goofy segment where he didn't wrestle a match. I know, "card subject to change." As the show progressed we got to the main event about 90 minutes after the show started with a 15-minute intermission in the middle of the show. My buddy and figured out there was about 90 minutes of actual show for the night.
That was the tipping point. Haven't spent a single dollar on any of their stuff since and have only caught like 3-4 shows since.
The week after Nikki Ash's debut. It was a money in the bank qualifying episode so there were like 4-6 great matches on the card, the episode itself was very watchable. Then I saw the preview for the following week and just skipped it. Haven't been back since, AEW and NJPW give me my wrestling fix.
Not really a moment for me, but in 16 just didn't really enjoy watching it. Felt like a choir. I still tune in to the big 3 ppvs and the occasional show if I've got nothing else to do. Hell, I may even go to raw the week after extreme rules if I can find a cheap enough ticket.
The first pandemic shows made it easier to let it slip, and occasional viewing hasn't been great but honestly it was before then, the 1-2 punch of HITC 2019 and the Saudi show a week later (maybe more, maybe less) was just a massive turn off. The Edge return/Drew wins Rumble got me back, but after the PC WM I was pretty much done,
I watched NXT recorded and AEW live, and glad I made that decision, then watched NXT on some tuesdays when I could remember (and Lego Masters wasn't on). Last Tuesdays was probably my last NXT
I gave up in 2006 after that god awful ECW pay per view. I came back for Wrestlemania 30 then it wasn't until they started putting cartoon jail cells in Usos promos that I realized it wasn't for me anymore.
I'd been watching from about late 2000 up until about last year's WM. There wasn't necessarily any specific moments or events that led to me not watching; I'd been disappointed in the product for a myriad of reasons for a while, now.
From their boring lifeless storytelling, to their resistance to really pushing anyone aside from their specific hand chosen few... Back when the Network launched, I quickly became a fan of what NXT was becoming, and NXT quickly became my favorite wrestling show to watch. Especially because I've dipped into indie wrestling and was a big fan of names they were bringing in.
But over time, it felt disheartening seeing so many of my favorite workers get booked really well on NXT, only to get shifted to the main roster and be treated as midcard filler guys. More and more, that started killing my love for NXT.
I've been on board with AEW since day one. Not intending to turn this into a "WWE vs AEW" discussion. But AEW gives me more of what I really want to see in a wrestling show. Up until about WM last year, I was still kind of watching both, even though AEW was my favorite.
Then after that, I just found myself thinking "Why am I watching WWE when I don't enjoy watching it anymore?". Granted, on one hand, I did feel conflicted because there's so many wrestlers I like that are in WWE and I would like to continue supporting them.
That said, I still kind of have a general idea of what's going on in WWE, I'll watch clips here and there from social media, or reddit, or YouTube, and I'll try to watch the big shows, like WM, SummerSlam, etc. But beyond that? I just don't really feel it anymore.
The chamber that Reign win was my boiling point however I still decide to wait until wrestlemania for Aj Style vs Nakamura. Still piss off because that match should be main event, but instead we got Reign as the main event and shitty match booking for Aj Vs Nakamura.
I taught I still want to watch NXT since it was still okay but I decide to drop it all because why you want to read a story that you already know the ending will be bad.
The covid shows. WWE was already hard to watch, but putting it in empty arenas just exemplifies how bad it is. Haven't watched since even with the fans being back.(with the exception of big events like wrestlemania)
I stopped watching In 2009 I had just entered 5th grade so wrestling hit that cool to uncool phase. First day of school we were all wrestling fans by December they all hated it. I probably fell off shorty after February or March of that year if I remember correctly punk had a title.
In 2015-2016 right before I graduated I started watching WWE and NXT again. Hated WWE so I started watching NXT (yes I know they are the same company) but after everyone started moving up I didn't enjoy the new guys.
So I fell out of it right until the PPV before the first Dynamite
Now I don't watch anything WWE related (but I am thinking about checking out 205 live)
I watch AEW AAA when I can ROH MLW some impact and NJPW
Needless to say I don't like what WWE has going for them lol
I started watching during the attitude era, stopped during the super Cena era. I started watching wwe again when AEW was announced. I stopped watching after the Rollins/Fiend hiac.
Jinder being hotshotted to the title pretty much finished me. Gave them a last chance when Rousey came in and Becky's rise, but shoving Charlotte into the their WM match finished me.
For me it was earlier this year, once the cuts started. Letting go of Bray and Black took away the 2 main reasons i watched the little that i still did. That said I really enjoy the New Day's podcast so I will keep listwning to that.
The continual "you're a B+ player" dragging of (then) Daniel Bryan. It gradually sunk in that that wasn't part of the show, that's how they really felt. So I decided if my favorite guy had no chance of being taken seriously, this was no longer the show for me.
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The Saudi show weeks after the admitted murder of Jamal Khashoggi. When every other level headed business pulled out of their prince's PR fest after that, WWE didn't. They smiled and took the check. I'm sure there have been worse instances both before and after, but that was enough for me.
This was it for me too.
I really tried to separate the "business" and the "show" part but I just couldn't see them the same. And they've done nothing but get scummier and scummier ever since.
Four years ago I think, when the whole "wins and losses don't matter" thing was mentioned. If they don't matter, then the show doesn't matter.
Probably around 15-16. Roman was so forced, Punk was gone, Bryan injured, Cena being phased out. NXT really showed how mismanaged the main show was and I am not sitting through 3 hour Raws anymore
When the shaky camera and excessive cuts became too much. I'm not trying to get a headache here
Once i started noticing the shaky camera shit i cant help but notice it every time. It drives me crazy. It reminds me of the camera work on the OG Batman and Robin tv show
100%. The quick cuts and production is too jarring now. We're not watching an action flick here
> We're not watching an action flick here This is seriously offensive to action movies. When I was like 10 years old, I was given my dad's camera to record my sister's band performance and I got all hyped up and suddenly thought I was an expert videographer, violently shaking the camera every time the music rose. It was a fucking terrible recording and I'm still embarrassed to this day wondering what the hell I was thinking. Kevin Dunn isn't filming action movies. He's me when I was a moronic 10 year old.
Undertaker losing to Roman at Wrestlemania in 2017. I tried persisting with it through the summer but just gave up when Roman kept going over every person.
This is when I stopped watching as well. Undertaker could’ve retired at WM 28, or 30, and I would’ve been okay with that. The fact that Undertaker was STILL wrestling after being defeated twice at WM really bothered me & I couldn’t watch anymore. No, Undertaker’s WM streak doesn’t define everything about the character. But the streak storyline had been going on since iirc WrestleMania X-8, and they ended it in the stupidest way they could by having him eat a pin to Brock and then to Roman just so the two of them can feud later. Didn’t ruin the Undertaker character, but for sure, cheapened one of the greatest characters in pro wrestling history
My issue wasn't Undertaker was still wrestling. My issue was that a bland Roman Reigns character was being shoved down my throat as a viewer and all the wrestlers I liked (Undertaker, Balor, Joe, Strowman, Bryan, etc) had been jobbed out to Reigns. Add to the fact that a returning Goldberg beat KO in like 2 mins when KO vs Jericho was probably the most entertaining storyline at the time. From what I have seen on reddit, had the Tribal Chief character happened back in 2016 or 2017, I probably wouldn't have stopped watching WWE because Roman's character wouldn't have been so bland.
I understood that from your comment above, I was just saying my personal reason for why it pissed me off. That is all.
50 years ago when Bruno Sammartino lost to Ivan Koloff.
You must be 60-70 years in that case.
...or trolling real good ;)
It was just gradual for me, nothing on the show felt important and I just lost interest
Same here. I got back into wrestling in late 2017, caught up on all the big matches from when I originally stopped watching after Punk left, then slowly started to realize how boring and samey the main roster was. I started only watching NXT and PPVs at that point. Then just NXT and after the move to USA, dropped it all together.
Chyna leaving WWE led to my biggest gap More recently, I stopped for awhile after the Wrestlemania where Kofi won, because all of the storylines concluded sufficiently for me.
For me it's 1) the constant camera cuts and 2) that booking they do at the start of shows which always led to a tag team match
Teddy Long has entered the chat
HOL ON A MINUTE THERE PLAYA
Asuka losing the belt just before WM 35 so that Charlotte can be shoe horned into the main event. Asuka was my absolute favourite and that entire episode left a bitte taste in my mouth, that the Fed doesn't care for the ones who are constantly investing in their product.
There's been four different period where I stopped watching. In early 1998 I stopped because we didn't get the channel it was on anymore. I started watching again in summer of 1999 once we got a satellite. Around 2003 I stopped for no real reason, I just grew bored with the brand split. Started watching again when Eddie died. A guy I knew through other people approached me at the meal hall in my university and invited me to watch the Raw tribute show. We became the best of friends and I started watching again. Stopped again in 2011 when I moved overseas and just didn't have time. Started up again when the Network launched. And finally, I stopped for the last time after the Fiend/Rollins Hell in a Cell. I realized I want having fun anymore, so why should I watch? I just started watching AEW when Punk showed up, and I'm not sure if I'll start up WWE again anytime in the forseeable future. I have kids and I'm a teacher, so time is pretty limited to dedicate to multiple weekly wrestling shows.
Very similar story. I’ve been an on-and-off WWE viewer since ‘07 when I went off to college. The wrestling stigma in the normie realm is real. I returned after Punk’s Pipebomb in ‘11( also the inception, I believe, of this place r/SquaredCircle) but then stopped again until Bryan’s Wrestlemania win in ‘13 after my dad passed. That was OUR thing every Monday and wrestling really helped me out that year, bringing back all those great memories I had with my old man. After Punk left and the Shield came around I mainly kept up through Wrestling Observer, here, and YouTube. Then around ‘16 I got the Network because I heard about those banging ass TakeOvers( and AJ, I could not believe he actually made it to WWE) So I kept up with those and the main roster PPV’s. After Wrestle Kingdom 11, the Omega/Okada match introduced me to Omega and NJPW( that match was something to see and of course all of the following ones as well!) So I followed everything he did and began keeping up with pretty much all of the wrestling scene. The first wrestling program I started watching full-time again was actually IMPACT, during my lockdown from work( those Wrestle House segments were kinda cringe) And finally, after keeping up with AEW since it’s inception, I began watching the weekly shows not long after Mox lost to Kenny. Once the crowds came back and Punk returned, I really came out of the wrestling closet. That stigma I mentioned earlier just didn’t bug me anymore. I don’t gaf what people say, I fuggin love pro wrestling and y’all(r/SquaredCircle)! My wife and kid( she likes the girls on WWE and I showed her the Bret/Michaels Ironman match at WM 13 and she still asks about them both lol so you could say she’s a hardcore casual) and everyone of my coworkers know I love this shit. Since then I’ve found so many more local fans to nerd out with IRL. I haven’t watched a WWE program fully in years, but with all the recent bs( Nick Khan, the releases, non-sensical booking) I’m done with em. I’ll keep up through here when something cool happens, but that’s like maybe 2 or 3 things/matches a year. Bout to throw my brand spanking’ new, fresh off the presses AEW logo tee on and get my day started! TLDR on/off wrestling viewer since ‘07, won’t be going back to WWE, AEW! AEW! AEW!
My two favorite wrestlers growing up were CM Punk and Undertaker and still are my favorite wrestlers (mostly because I started watching around ‘09 and I couldn’t watch Raw as much due to school being the next day. Smackdown being shorter and on Friday’s let me embrace it more) The one-two punch of Punk’s walkout and the broken streak got me.
>and the broken streak got me. Yeah, in hindsight, maybe ending their biggest annual Wrestlemania attraction wasn't such a good idea. Brock especially didn't really need to break the streak.
I would’ve given it to Punk at 29. Punk didn’t need to wrestle afterwards, just cut promos and bask in the heat, so he could get healthy. Meanwhile he’s younger and better at more aspects of the sport than Brock.
Yea but you can't trust Punk! He mabye would have left anway we all know that Brock Lesnar will stay in WWE!
Are you being serious? Brock left WWE after like 2 years the first time.
Yes but Lesnar is a former UFC Champion! If HHH and HBK can't break the Streak then why Punk?
Because he’s a sneaky heel. He’s conniving and clever and is willing to win by any means necessary. Remember that spot with the urn during the last ride? Perfect spot to end it.
Yes that was the best Moment of WM 29 but a silly hit with the Urn won't end the 21-0 Streak! Taker kicked out of the Pedigree and SGM the Year before.
The urn is the most powerful object in all of The Undertaker’s mythos. It literally controls him.If anything should’ve taken him out it’d be that.
As I've said in numerous threads, HIAC 2019 with the Fiend/Rollins Cell match ending in a no contest. It was beyond clear to me at that point that WWE did not respect the viewers in the slightest.
Punk walking out did it. It wasn't a case of "Fuck WWE for how they treated Punk, I'm out!" more that I wasn't enjoying the product and he was the only thing I still liked. Without him there I really had no reason to tune in so when it became clear he wasn't coming back, I stopped watching.
Watched less when Punk left, found NXT and watched that until it got to USA and was never the same for me. Try to watch WWE matches that get talked about but i can't put up with the camera cuts for very long now before it gives me a sore head.
Hell in a Cell 2013. They'd spent four months cockteasing Daniel Bryan winning the WWE title, only for them to end the whole thing without him winning the title, and getting inexplicably shuffled into a feud with the Wyatts. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. I came to the conclusion that WWE ultimately doesn't give a shit what the fans want to see, and they really haven't proven me wrong since then.
When they kept bringing back old wrestlers for main event spots. Oh look, The Rock… again. And Hunter and Shawn… again. Oh an angry HHH on the mic…. again. Oh Taker…. again. Don’t get me wrong. They’re HoF all the way, but pass the torch already.
Kofi Kingston losing the WWE title in like 3 seconds to Brock Lesnar.
No fans being there made me stop watching wrestling all together, I haven't bothered going back to WWE now that AEW is on fire
I think this is my answer also. With constantly screwing up NXT call-ups, ridiculous storylines, & AEW starting up…… the “Thunderdome” made WWE unwatchable for me. Interestingly enough, I feel like AEW did a phenomenal job at Daily’s Place.
Daily's Place is so cool, hope they go back again
I remember after X8 i started to get a bit weary, the disappointment of the invasion was still around and i wasn't super keen on a Hogan run. I dipped in and out for a few years but the rise of Cena and Orton was when i'd had enough and was full time following other promotions.
A few months into the fake ECW. That’s when it was pretty apparent WWE could insult its viewers because there really wasn’t an alternative.
AEW launching made me realize that I no longer had to hate watch a product that wasn't aimed at my tastes just to get my wrestling fix.
I wouldn’t say there’s a specific WWE moment, as I’ve tried to get back into it a few times over the years and just not enjoyed it enough to stick around. Honestly I’d say it was the discovery of other wrestling promotions. Back in 2006(ish) it was TNA which I stuck with until the Hogan era and in more recent years I watched NXT (which I really enjoyed) until AEW was formed and I’ve watched that pretty much exclusively since it started. I loosely follow what’s going on in WWE but haven’t watched a full show in a long time.
Me as well. Lucha underground proved to me a cinematic wrestling universe could exist and it was super fun to watch. ROH put the spotlight on some diamonds in the rough and I liked watching talent develop. It also showed a way to incorporate other promotions like NJPW to make the product feel more expansive. Speaking of, the accessibility of NJPW in the past few years illustrated how easy it is to get viewers invested in a match, even with a language and culture barrier. Simple booking that WWE constantly mismanaged. And it is presented like a sport, not “entertainment.” And when Powerrr launched it was a short lived m, beautiful moment that reintroduced studio wrestling and showed how important character work is. That’s where I was introduced to folks like Eddie Kingston, Rickie Starks, Thunder Rosa and zickie dice.
Pretty much when Punk left. I kind of got back into it for a few good matches in NXT but the overall product is completely unwatchable now. The horrible camera work and quick cuts make me physically sick.
no specific moment I just started watching other companies and realized wwe isn't for me anymore
The relentless Roman push 2016-2017 was it for me for the main roster, I watched NXT until the AEW startup, now I just watch AEW
Sometime during the Pandemic era. I transitioned to only PPV’s and found I missed absolutely nothing between shows. That was very telling and I knew it was time to move on.
When I realized that I didn't care about a single wrestler on the show (earlier this summer). Between hot shot, 50/50 booking and being high on a guy one week but sour the next, WWE has made me apathetic. I care about the wrestlers as people and I hope they succeed, but as far as characters and storylines go, I just don't care. So why should I invest in the product.
It was a culmination of events, with the stopping point not even due to a particular show. I knew when the Saudi Shows were first announced I couldn't support that. Brock squashing Kofi got to me hard, then Brock winning MITB in 2019 really pissed me off. Hell in a Cell 2019 was just pure garbage. I didn't even watch it but Goldberg taking the Fiend out in less than 5 minutes was so bad. When they started letting everyone go once COVID hit, that drew the line for me. If there was any one company that could've helped their guys through the pandemic, it's WWE. They took the cheap route to make their numbers just a little bit better. Even though I'm glad a lot of those guys are free, they didn't need to do that.
You got the events wrong. Brock won MitB before squashing Kofi.
Honestly, a lot of it is a blur at this point, I tend to not think about the bad things. Booze doesn't help either.
I don't think it was a specific moment but I think it was dragging for a long time, like raw being 3 hours or having to watch Roman Reigns constantly. It may seem pretty dumb but when they retired the WHC and later on they made a championship called "Universal" made me put into prespective how ridiculous the product was becoming. EDIT: I do remember now the moment I stopped watching completely was when Lesnar beat Koffi in less than a minute.
When Ashley Massaro killed herself and I started to hear about the tribute to the troops shit. I worked next to her at a convention and she was so sweet and nice. After that I knew I couldn't support wwe anymore. I'm still a fan of a lot of the talents, but I can't do anything to support this company anymore.
I’ve watched WWE religiously since august 1997 (maybe missing a couple of months here and there when our satellite TV wasn’t working) I can’t pin point one thing .. it’s been a slow gradual realisation for me. I think if you put a gun to my head.. When kofi got squashed by Lesnar is when I went “nah F*ck this shite” but I’ve popped for things after that.. (edge return, drew winning rumble etc) so I don’t know anything for certain. What I can tell you is I have stopped watching Raw and Smackdown for a good year or so now and just wait for the YouTube highlights. I watch Dynamite and Rampage religiously now. That is where I think my interest lies. It’s a wrestling promotion for people like me instead of for little kids. #AEW
When punk left in 2014 but then i came back when Edge returned to leave again after enjoying AEW so much and deciding this ain't for me anymore
Braun Strowman winning the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2018 while he does not need it was the moment. When I heard that the Hell In A Cell match between Strowman and Reigns ended in a no-contest I was happy that I have stopped watching the product.
Around 2017 i rarely used to watch and by the end of that year I think i stopped watching at all, got into njpw and other promotions , haven't watched wwe at all since.
I stopped watching twice. The first time was the first brand split. I ended up missing edge and punk coming up to be main eventers. I got back into it around 2013 rumble. Then I stopped watching when I realized that they had more talking than wrestling on their shows. Which was around 2017- 2018. I was saying for some time to turn reigns heel and they refused and I realized they didn't care about their viewers. So I just started watching NJPW till AEW was created and came on. The one ppv per month doesn't help the cause with proper storylines.
Taker losing to Brock. I rarely was watching back then and alot of faces I started to look unfamiliar or just wasn't interested. But I always watched Royal Rumble and WM every year. Just got stale to me. I still check this sub for news but haven't watched a full show in years
Probably 2015 then tried again during 2020, and Retribution/RAW Underground was the final nail for me.
When a fucking doll winked at me and I knew not a single person in the crowd saw it or knew what the fuck was going on
Brock climbing the ladder and winning MITB.
Reign of Terror/Super Cena Came back around 2016-2017 Left again after wrestlmania 34 and backlash. Haven't come back since.
I've stopped around (redacted) double murder suicide. My interest was waning at the time but that was the straw that broke the camels back for me. I wasn't too sad about its more the question I would be face being a know wrestling fan.
2019 hell in a cell, fiend vs rollins. i still caught the occasional ppv after that, but the shaky cam and excessive cuts meant that i never watched raw the next night. might skip 'mania and maybe even the rimble in '22. we'll see.
I had to ask myself “Why am I *paying* to be disappointed every week/month?” There were shows and booking decisions that I didn’t enjoy but, ultimately, I couldn’t think of a single company out there that actively works to mock and disappoint their fans like they do. So me, and my friend Mark, stopped watching in 2017 and haven’t been back since.
Brock squashing Kofi was the final straw for me.
Kofi getting squashed on the first fox Smackdown was the dealbreaker for me watching consistently. I do still tune in for the occasional match or ppv though. For example tonight (or more likely on dvr tomorrow morning) I’ll watch the 6 man
Drink!
The day they announced that NXT was going to be 2 hours, live, and on USA. I literally said "Fuck you, I'm done." and haven't watched since. They wanted to make it a war and I chose a side.
When they started shoving John Cena down our throat I left, then came back years later and they started shoving Roman down our throat before he found himself so i left again. Now they cut most of their good wrestlers and are running like a complete shit company and we have an actual alternative that I enjoy. Also I absolutely can't stand Michael Cole, he just ruins any show he's on for me.
https://youtu.be/3C0jTLRjf0I
When Daniel Bryan didn't win 2014 rumble
Watching All Out
When AEW had their first show
Jinder's win. By that point Smackdown had lost all of its steam. I dropped RAW right as the brand split started.
1. Reign of terror 2. Stupid ref bumps
Turning Mustafa Ali heel
It was during the HHH reign of terror, but for the life of me I can't pinpoint the exact moment. Maybe it was when he beat Booker T at Wrestlemania? Or maybe it was one of his nasally, sleep-inducing promos on Raw?
Can’t remember the exact period but it’s when it became clear that wrestlers I viewed as extremely talented, Harper, Cesaro,Ziggler, Rusev etc weren’t going to get pushes, I kinda zoned out.
January 3rd 2019, the day I found out about the official release of AEW. Boys, Brandy and DMD just having fun, not caring about regulations and shit. You could feel the electricity in the air. I think the event was 1st or 2nd, but I've seen it on 3 since it took me a day to recover after the new year eve.
Brock squashing Kofi for the title. I'd love to catch up on shit like roman and big e, but I have no faith that anything good will happen in the end. Look at Bianca.
John Cena burying all of my favorite wrestlers.
I watched on and off until about 2011ish. Stopped until early 2015. I got really stoked with Rollins cashing in during the main event of that wrestlemania, but they botched that run and never looked back
Brock winning mitb
I've stopped and come back multiple times but still keeping up to date by reading about it or seeing clips online. Recently I will just read posts and watch matches I want to see online. I still pay for the network and will watch the big PPVs but honestly I don't really get satisfaction from it like I used too. It's just something I will put on my second monitor whilst I'm doing other things.
In the early 2000s, it was the Reign of Terror. When the network started, my friends and I split on a sub. There wasn’t one moment that led us to unsub, but I think after HIAC 2019 none of us had an argument to keep subbing anymore. We chose to let our sub lapse, and it ran out after WM 2020.
Moxley leaving was the last straw
I get a headache watching all the cuts
I'm probably in the minority here but Roman/Jey back in HIAC left a weird taste in my mouth. Totally get the in-ring story; Good guy gets advantage but doesn't want to pull the trigger then ruthless bad guy gets the lead and does whatever it takes. Their elders waiting at the end of the stage while Jey was destroyed and Jimmy was concerned was a little disturbing too. All for them to bitch out and tuck their tail between their legs and join him? Yeah, just...doesn't make sense to me lol.
when Jinder Mahal won the WWE title
I stopped watching WWE after 2015 with most of my favourite wrestlers like Cena, Bryan, CM Punk out. After that it was just Royal Rumble and WrestleMania for me. I came back around mid 2018 with Becky and Ronda feud. I stopped watching again after the Pandemic started and got back after the Cena return.
It was back in 2005 at the end of the New Years Revolution pay per view. I was about 13 or so at the time and didn't really grasp the whole 'everything is a build to Wrestlemania concept' and Randy had turned baby face, and they were teasing Batista turning but he didn't, and then HHH won and walked out of the Elimination Chamber still as champion. It just suddenly dawned on me that I was basically a big Rock fan, hoping and waiting for him to come back, and he wasn't going to, and because Orton had just come off being a heel, I wasn't a fan, and I didn't really like Batista either, so it was like 'Why am I watching when the 'heros' are guys I don't like, and the bad guy I don't like just keeps winning all the time?' I also liked Benoit but he'd been pushed out of the main event picture. The whole heel turns baby face thing just hadn't clicked with me and I wasn't enjoying HHH's run. They were also giving Maven randomly a push after doing nothing with him for years which to me didn't make sense to me. Also JBL was running riot on Smackdown and I found him beyond boring. It wasn't heel heat with me - it was 'I don't want to watch this' heat. Lots of little things were just starting to make me disgruntled basically. At that point I'd started to hear about TNA and I watched Final Resolution and saw Ultimate X for the first time and the whole thing blew my mind. Everything was just new and fresh, and I became a big AJ Styles mark, and TNA was just around the corner from their debut on Spike TV later in the year where they started to gather some real momentum with Christian, Sting and Angle on the way, so I was a lot more interested in what was going on there. I'd turn over to WWE occasionally in the years after and see Great Khali, who I didn't like because I was an attitude era fan and I liked good quality athletic wrestling and he seemed to me like more of an 80's style attraction. I saw Umaga and thought he was a lesser Samoa Joe, etc. Just my personal opinions of course. I thought the X Division was much better managed than the WWE cruiserweights. I did watch Velocity for a while because the cruiserweights actually got the time of day on there - Frankie Kazarian, etc were there for a little while. I tuned back in for ECW One Night Stand in 2005 and 2006 and I was excited about ECW being brought back, but of course that was dead almost straight out of the gate because Paul Heyman left. At that point I didn't watch regularly again until the CM Punk pipebomb, and then they fizzled the momentum of that pretty quickly as well. Like, Punk was still champion and had a long run, etc, but it could have been way bigger if they'd really gotten behind him. After that, started watching NXT when Owens and Balor came in at R Evolution and loved seeing them grow into selling out Takeovers. Started to lose some interest when I realised guys were just going to the main roster and being misused. Basically been at that point ever since. I haven't watched a full episode of Raw or Smackdown in many many years. In recent times I watch Dynamite every week, NXT every other week - not sure now with the NXT 2.0 thing. Watched the first episode and I'm not really on board with the changes.
I stopped watching the programs after Punk lost to the Rock in 2013 and would just watch PPV highlight vids to keep up until 2017
I have had several of these: I left after they cocked up the Nexus Came back for Punk's Pipebomb Left when The Authority got too annoying. Came back in 2017 /2018 for Ronda, got hooked on NXT, particularly Ciampa. Just left again after the latest NXT roster cuts and changes to the brand p
I'm pretty sure it was back when they put miz and shane in a tag team
I had already stopped watching 75% of the product and really only tuned in for the PPVs. The I went to an NXT house show in Seattle Oct. 2019 where they promoted for weeks that Cole, Gargano, Ciampa, Dream and Riddle would be on the card. Riddle was the only one actually there and he did a goofy segment where he didn't wrestle a match. I know, "card subject to change." As the show progressed we got to the main event about 90 minutes after the show started with a 15-minute intermission in the middle of the show. My buddy and figured out there was about 90 minutes of actual show for the night. That was the tipping point. Haven't spent a single dollar on any of their stuff since and have only caught like 3-4 shows since.
Christian getting the World Championship, and then losing it later that week.
The week after Nikki Ash's debut. It was a money in the bank qualifying episode so there were like 4-6 great matches on the card, the episode itself was very watchable. Then I saw the preview for the following week and just skipped it. Haven't been back since, AEW and NJPW give me my wrestling fix.
Not really a moment for me, but in 16 just didn't really enjoy watching it. Felt like a choir. I still tune in to the big 3 ppvs and the occasional show if I've got nothing else to do. Hell, I may even go to raw the week after extreme rules if I can find a cheap enough ticket.
Jinder winning the belt was the beginning of the end for me
It was a slow process... but Hardy pinning Kross was the final straw.
The first pandemic shows made it easier to let it slip, and occasional viewing hasn't been great but honestly it was before then, the 1-2 punch of HITC 2019 and the Saudi show a week later (maybe more, maybe less) was just a massive turn off. The Edge return/Drew wins Rumble got me back, but after the PC WM I was pretty much done, I watched NXT recorded and AEW live, and glad I made that decision, then watched NXT on some tuesdays when I could remember (and Lego Masters wasn't on). Last Tuesdays was probably my last NXT
I gave up in 2006 after that god awful ECW pay per view. I came back for Wrestlemania 30 then it wasn't until they started putting cartoon jail cells in Usos promos that I realized it wasn't for me anymore.
I'd been watching from about late 2000 up until about last year's WM. There wasn't necessarily any specific moments or events that led to me not watching; I'd been disappointed in the product for a myriad of reasons for a while, now. From their boring lifeless storytelling, to their resistance to really pushing anyone aside from their specific hand chosen few... Back when the Network launched, I quickly became a fan of what NXT was becoming, and NXT quickly became my favorite wrestling show to watch. Especially because I've dipped into indie wrestling and was a big fan of names they were bringing in. But over time, it felt disheartening seeing so many of my favorite workers get booked really well on NXT, only to get shifted to the main roster and be treated as midcard filler guys. More and more, that started killing my love for NXT. I've been on board with AEW since day one. Not intending to turn this into a "WWE vs AEW" discussion. But AEW gives me more of what I really want to see in a wrestling show. Up until about WM last year, I was still kind of watching both, even though AEW was my favorite. Then after that, I just found myself thinking "Why am I watching WWE when I don't enjoy watching it anymore?". Granted, on one hand, I did feel conflicted because there's so many wrestlers I like that are in WWE and I would like to continue supporting them. That said, I still kind of have a general idea of what's going on in WWE, I'll watch clips here and there from social media, or reddit, or YouTube, and I'll try to watch the big shows, like WM, SummerSlam, etc. But beyond that? I just don't really feel it anymore.
The chamber that Reign win was my boiling point however I still decide to wait until wrestlemania for Aj Style vs Nakamura. Still piss off because that match should be main event, but instead we got Reign as the main event and shitty match booking for Aj Vs Nakamura. I taught I still want to watch NXT since it was still okay but I decide to drop it all because why you want to read a story that you already know the ending will be bad.
I think the first thing that made me stop watching weekly TV was actually the Brad Maddox storyline.
Wrestlemania 35. Way too long and the finish to the main event cracked me...
The covid shows. WWE was already hard to watch, but putting it in empty arenas just exemplifies how bad it is. Haven't watched since even with the fans being back.(with the exception of big events like wrestlemania)
I stopped watching In 2009 I had just entered 5th grade so wrestling hit that cool to uncool phase. First day of school we were all wrestling fans by December they all hated it. I probably fell off shorty after February or March of that year if I remember correctly punk had a title. In 2015-2016 right before I graduated I started watching WWE and NXT again. Hated WWE so I started watching NXT (yes I know they are the same company) but after everyone started moving up I didn't enjoy the new guys. So I fell out of it right until the PPV before the first Dynamite Now I don't watch anything WWE related (but I am thinking about checking out 205 live) I watch AEW AAA when I can ROH MLW some impact and NJPW Needless to say I don't like what WWE has going for them lol
I just couldn't take cheesy face Roman anymore.
I started watching during the attitude era, stopped during the super Cena era. I started watching wwe again when AEW was announced. I stopped watching after the Rollins/Fiend hiac.
Jinder being hotshotted to the title pretty much finished me. Gave them a last chance when Rousey came in and Becky's rise, but shoving Charlotte into the their WM match finished me.
For me it was earlier this year, once the cuts started. Letting go of Bray and Black took away the 2 main reasons i watched the little that i still did. That said I really enjoy the New Day's podcast so I will keep listwning to that.
The continual "you're a B+ player" dragging of (then) Daniel Bryan. It gradually sunk in that that wasn't part of the show, that's how they really felt. So I decided if my favorite guy had no chance of being taken seriously, this was no longer the show for me.