Former WWE Creative Writer Andrew Goldstein has published a new column at PWMania.com. Goldstein reacts to WWE’s groundbreaking announcement of the WWE Network and how he thinks that that the Network, “is the end” and “the final nail in the coffin for wrestling of our youth.”
Here is an excerpt from his article:
“So here goes: Call me a curmudgeon and tell me I’m living in the past all you want but as I watched the WWE’s grandiose Power Point presentation from CES – complete with charts, graphs, corporate suits speaking in analytics, and more DX shtick than you can shake a neon green glowstick at… all I could think was, “This is the end.”
“The point I’m trying to make is how crucial a role “mystique” played in my wrestling origin story. Wrestlers had backstories. They had lore. They had unconfirmed tall tales about their misdeeds in far away lands. For crying out loud, Ox Baker once killed a man in the ring with his dreaded “heart punch”!!! Did you hear????? – Ok, look, I know those days are long dead and buried, and they were pushing up daisies long before the announcement of the WWE Network. What I’m saying is, as I watched the McMahons roll out their plan for a total and complete a la carte wrestling viewing experience (aka world domination), I couldn’t help but see it as the final nail in the coffin for the pro wrestling of my youth. Look at it this way. It’s like if one day all your favorite restaurants closed down and your town opened one, giant, communal casino buffet that serves all your favorite dishes from all of those restaurants, ALL THE TIME. It sounds amazing, right? So amazing that the second the doors opened, there’s no doubt you’d be first in line to gorge yourself on all the wings and pizza and General Tso’s chicken you could shove down your throat. Problem is after about a week, or maybe a month… besides the “itis” setting in, you’d start missing the wonderment that went along with how you used to dine. How you used to follow word of mouth to a new restaurant. How you’d sit at work all day sometimes dreaming about that chicken parm sandwich three towns over. You’d miss reading a review of a new burger joint in the New York Times and promising yourself next time you’re in the big city, you’re gonna try that patty! Bottom line: You’d miss discovering all your favorite foods on your own.”
You can read Andrew Goldstein’s column, “Goldstein on Rasslin” in its entirety at this link.