We cover a lot of nerdclinations here at TheChristianNerd. There is a lot of Star Wars, Star Trek, LOTR, Marvel, video game, Firefly and Doctor Who talk. I consider myself well versed in a lot of different nerdclinations, though have turned a blind eye to anime and The Walking Dead. There is another nerdclination that doesn’t get a lot of attention even though it is very close to my heart.
Professional Wrestling.
The WWE.
World Wrestling Entertainment.
Some might argue that the WWE doesn’t really count as a nerdclination. They might say that the WWE isn’t that nerdy, it’s just a bunch of meatheads in spandex throwing each other around. As someone who was very invested in the WWE for years, I can attest that it definitely is a nerdclination. Wrestling fans are some of the most committed and most obsessed.
Being a Star Wars nerd means watching some movies, reading some books and taking in a few episodes of The Clone Wars. Being a WWE nerd means watching at least four hours of television a week, staying up on myriad storylines, paying $70 a month for pay per views and buying a ticket for any live event within driving distance of your home.
Being a WWE nerd takes a lot of time and dedication, which I was more than happy to offer from 1999-2006.
Over the course of those seven years I watched thousands of hours of WWE programming. Every Monday night my friends and I would gather to cheer on our favorite wrestlers and dissect each of the soap operatic storylines. We would pop when a wrestler leapt from the top of the cage and cringe when another wrestler stumbled through his interview. We knew it was fake but the friendships I formed because of wrestling were and still are very real.
I never watched wrestling alone; it was always a communal event. There was often a group of at least five or six for Monday Night Raw and upwards of 15 people for the pay per view events. I don’t remember all of the conversations my friends and I had while watching matches. But, like most good friendships, how we spent the time wasn’t as important as the fact that we were spending time together.
I know professional wrestling is violent, sensual and misogynistic. But for all its negatives, I also know that it was the backdrop for some of my best friendships. The two best men at my wedding became my best men, in part, because of professional wrestling. Hours spent in front of the TV led to hours of meaningful conversations. Countless live wrestling events led to being there for each other through countless life events.
The WWE may not be the most edifying entertainment choice but I’ll never discredit the friendships it helped produce in my life.
And that’s the bottom line because Stone Cold said so.
Did you go through a professional wrestling phase? If so, how was it?
I went through a phase like that with Avatar: The Last Airbender. Except there’s not many live events to attend (aside from conventions, and I still do attend those). I researched, watched, and read anything that had to do with the show. I was hardcore into shipping (and still am if I happen to cross paths with anyone else who is). I can’t really attest to the friendships I made, as most of listen are online and once the phase passed, we only talk rarely when I decide to login to my deviantART and reply to our never-ending comment threads. Life though, y’know?
I love Gangrel!
Some of my best bonding experiences have been and continue to be from shared pro-wrestling experiences! My uncle took my brother, cousin and me to Wrestlemania 2000, I watch some indy wrestling events and TV with my staff partner, I even had a TIMania event for my birthday where all my friends gathered to watch Wrestlemania XXVI.
My pro-wrestling phases have been 1998 to 2002 during the Attitude Era and it re-ignited once I was done with college from 2009 to present.
P.S. I was also born on the first Wrestlemania!
Started my WWE phase when I was 5. Still going through my professional wrestling phase 22 years later. Some of my favorite memories and strongest friendships have come through Monday nights watching Raw as well. Great insight.