The following piece was taken from The Bite edition 06/30/2002 in a subject called “Chris Jericho’s Bashing of the Internet Marks”
“I am browsing through the wrestling webpages and I find this link which contains Chris Jericho’s comments about the dirtsheets and critics (or as he calls them, “marks”) who gave his match with Rob Van Dam negative reviews. If that was the case, then explain to me why this match was the second most-enjoyed match in the King of the Ring (according to a WWE.com poll on June 26th 2002 – 7:49 AM Eastern Time, for those who want to be technical). Explain to me why I actually enjoyed watching this match… It seems to me lately people are more interested in picking out the bad points of a product (in this case, the WWE) than to be entertained by it. They want to check for low ratings of the product and figure out what’s wrong with the product.
“On one of the dirtsheets Tuesday morning, I saw this article agreeing with Chris Jericho’s comments. He thought the June 24th episode of Monday Night Raw was one of the best he’s seen, despite the low rating. Sounds like this guy’s been entertained pretty well. He also says the people who claim that “without big guys like Austin, Rock, or Triple H, WWE is going nowhere” are also the same people who a year ago have said that “WWF (F the Panda) needs to get the limelight off Austin/Rock/HHH, WWF needs to create new stars.” These people are contradicting their own words by saying stuff like this now. If you’re going to review a card, review both its positive and negative attributes. To claim that the crowd was pretty much dead is a joke. I thought the crowd was into it, especially during the RVD/Jericho and Lesnar/Test matches, both of which I felt were highlights of the card.
“The ratings do not dictate whether the card was good or bad. It dictates how many people were watching the show with interest. You can have the absolute best quality television program that night and still manage to score a pathetic 2.9. That simply means in order to attract a larger audience, the writers have to do better than what they are providing.”
That pretty much sums up how I felt about the whole thing at the time. Two months later, I purchase a copy of Pro Wrestling Illustrated (referred to commonly as PWI) in which one of the magazine’s columnists (once again) agree with Chris Jericho’s internet tirade. (All the more interesting is the fact that Chris is true to his word about being done with wrestling on the Internet, as I have yet to see a new commentary posted… nor do I expect one.) The wrestling “newswires” and dirtsheets are nothing more than a source of negativity and bullshit rumors that may or may not happen. It seems that 10% of what’s out there actually holds some merit (mainly Smackdown spoilers – which is the only reason I go to these sheets in the first place), while the rest is “speculation” or “rumor.” I opt for the third option: bullshit.
These days, there is no true way to be entertained by wrestling because we are often tempted to go to these dirtsheets and check out the latest “backstage heat” or “potential future storylines.” And when they do happen in a wrestling card, we shrug it off and pass it as “predictable.” Of course, before you went on to the dirtsheet, you probably didn’t have a clue as to what happened.
On the other hand, though, wrestling hasn’t really changed much during the time it’s been around. Maybe some of the stuff is semi-predictable, maybe some of the stuff is the same shit, and maybe we’re getting the same match ups over and over again. You can call it whatever you want (wrestling, sports-entertainment, male soap opera, the fake sport), dress it up in any way you like, but it is the same product. It is the same basic principle.
Bottom line… who gives a fuck, really? I mean, if you are tired of the same old thing happening over and over again, THEN DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND STOP WATCHING THE FUCKING SHOW! Is there anything that is tempting you to watch something you don’t like in a negative light? If there is something I don’t like on TV or in the movies, I don’t watch it. It’s as simple as that. Find something you do like and go watch that. It seems as though there are people will just about bash anything and may very well like anything… that is something Chris Jericho has stated in his commentary. In some sense, that is true. Also in some sense, I don’t think there is such a thing as a true fan. In fact, I think these days, the definition of being a fan has changed to the point where the original meaning is lost.
A fan used to be someone who enjoyed the show… but now I think a fan has evolved into a mark… if you’re a fan, you will enjoy the product you’re a fan of. It’s alright to criticize, but enjoy the show too.
