I think with the “casual fan” there’s just a concern that what if a story is so dependent on having a degree in wrestling history (and behind the scenes drama) just to begin to understand what’s going on. Any episode of Raw or Dynamite etc. could potentially be someone’s first so there’s just an idea of not wanting to needlessly create barriers to entry for growing the audience. But at the same time people in charge of various forms of entertainment and IP can also at times grossly under estimate a persons desire to want to explore that history as part of the fun of getting into it. So I think it’s where you’re trying to find a balance between making something accessible to new people who will be potential fans while also not insulting the intelligence of people who have kept up with a thing for years upon decades. Which is kinda of a tall order but not an impossible one.
As a casual fan, I'm wildly offended that what I may or may not like the couple times a year I watch wrestling isn't your top priority. Simon, it hurts me all the way down to my tum tum.
I genuinely haven’t WATCHED Wrestling in years I keep up with it, I watch clips and reviews of shows but literally I don’t have cable I only watch shows like ups and downs or podcast on wrestling.
Lol, I was worried. I am very causal, in fact I watch more Simon Miller than I watch wrestling these days. Not cause I am a hater, but there is only so many hours in a day and I dont have access to the channels its on. Anyways,, glad you still care about me as a person, it is appreciated and reciprocated. Also, I think they should cater to the hardcore fans in a way that doesn't isolate casuals entirely.. cause many casual fans could become hardxore fans, and sometimes hardcore fans become causal for a bit. Love ya Simon, keep bringing the positivity when you can. And telll us if you are down, I think you have a lot of love and support from your fanbase. And if you do want a causal opinion, I would be delighted to chat even if just in the comments.
I know a lot of casual fans but the hardcore marks are so embarrassing to the industry. They act like gatekeepers and talk shit if you like Goldberg, as if they’re somehow better for liking indie wrestlers. Name another industry that has a derogatory term for its fans, who somehow sadly deserve the stigma
I agree lol they all give us their health for our entertainment I do like alot of younger and more indy guys than guys like Goldberg but I won't ever say he's trash lol he's a legend, but yeah I totally agree wrestling fans are the worst
As someone who considers herself a casual fan... I just like wrestling. As someone who doesn't watch anything direct (having crappy/limited internet will do that) I like big spots, I like storylines, I love goofy wrestling. The definition of "catering to a casual fan" should just be making good wrestling with a diversity on a show that grabs attention. If it entertains and there's a buzz about it, we'll see it and interact.
Lol my son is the casual fan, personified. He used to watch with me all the time when he was little. But, as an adult, he doesn't really watch it anymore. He knows who the major players are still, but he will only watch if one of his favorites was on, like John Cena or something.
As fans, we don't necessarily know for sure what other, more "casual" fans like, but wrestling companies and TV stations do. There's been some weekly wrestling program on national TV in the US for nearly 40 years, maybe 30-35 on some international markets and less in others. It's not hard to know what things do well statistically when you have between 2 and 7 hours of TV per week per company in many countries all over the world every week for 40 years. We know how many people watched, we know what clips do well on social media. The information is there if you want. The sample is more than big enough for the data to be absolutely reliable. Anyone can find out when people watch and when they don't and make educated guesses to why that happens. It's not hard to see the trends and the patterns and compare them to otter forms of entertainmentn a Venn diagram to see what gets more views more often.
I completely agree. We don't ask this in other mediums. If you turn on a sporting event, do they dumb everything down for you? Or is it your responsibility to figure out what's happening? I'd say the latter. It's the same with Marvel right now. Everyone's like "ugh I gotta do homework to watch this?" Um, yeah! If they did an exposition dump at the start of every movie, you'd complain about that too 🙄
I think i might be a casual fan these days. I used to watch wrestling all the time up until 2022, but since my son was born i watch every upload from Maven Huffman, Simon's ups and downs when they show up on autoplay, and Royal Rumble and WrestleMania at my dad's house every year which is like 10% because the rumble is awesome, 10% to see some of my favorites like Cody, Rollins and Orton, and 80% because it's several hours one on one with my dad. Usually the stuff i like to see are big names returning, factions forming, and comedy hardcore matches. Maybe I'll get into it again when my son gets a little older. Love your videos Simon! Goofy wrestling for life.
Here, here! I'll never get why anyone who isn't professionally involved in a company would base their opinion on its product on how their TV ratings are holding up, especially given how antiquated the medium of TV is now
It’s funny that people who claim to care about the casual fan are arguing about flippy spot fests. Big action is what attracts eyes. A non wrestling fan would think “I can’t believe they jumped off that” and “I can’t believe they just kept kicking him”. If a so called casual fan wants drama and storyline, they’d go watch a movie.
Totally agree with you. The whole casual fan thing is oversimplified. The part I understand is that us loyal fans, for the most part, watch NO MATTER WHAT. Vince McMahon could take a shit in the middle of the ring every week for 3 months and the hardcore fans, granted they’d hate it, would still tune in every single time. Hardcore fans have proven time and time again that will watch no matter what. They’ll just complain about it. I think the most important fans are whatever you’d call the ones in between being casual and being hardcore. That middle ground. Those are the people that actually tune out when the product is shitty and tune in and buy merchandise and tickets when the product is good. I feel like a have a ton more clarifying to do on what my opinion here actually is but I’m inarticulate and sick of typing. I also feel I’ve typed so much already that I don’t wanna delete it. Cya.
Because every single fan once was a casual fan and that casual fan got hooked Because of a storyline turning them into the fan they are today buying the junk they sell.. it's called business sense
A casual fan moment happened earlier this year at the Rumble. My homie was like "Yooo, I saw that Logan Paul mid air collision. It was cool af." And I was like "Yeah that was a cool spot, but the real highlight was Gunther battering everyone from 1-30." He didn't know what that meant 🤷♂️
@marlojimenezmd wtf are you talking about gatekeeping for? Telling him about the whole show vs. just 1 clip he saw online is the opposite of gatekeeping dummy.
That really does sound like gate keeping, like that’s not the first time something like that has happened so how is something that multiple other people have done the “Real” highlight?
@deshaundelain2113 then you don't know the definition of gatekeeping. Gatekeeping would be saying you didn't watch the whole thing so you don't count. I said did he also see the Gunther spots, the tease of Gunther v Cody, and the WHOLE Bloodline segment. Meaning, giving him MORE to watch the exact opposite of saying not to watch dummy
“Yeah that was a cool spot, but the real…” stop that’s the worse thing you can do when someone is giving you their opinion, and no what you were doing wasn’t a opinionated take, you were sawing it as a fact. If your calling him casual then I take it you watch wrestling more then he does, which is why he is bringing it up to you, so why anti- what he found cool and interesting?
TY for this Simon!! I’m a massive UFC fan and hv been for years and years!! I absolutely hate the term casual and hardcore fan!! It’s the most annoying term in the world!! Like people aren’t worthy of an opinion if they hvnt consumed as much as of the product as I have!!!🙄🙄. It’s just ridiculous!!
I'm casual enough that I had no idea that Punk had a massive fallout with whatsisface, the other fella, in the aftermath of the court case. But I also love anything that reminds me of William Regal and have got a lot of wrestling recommendations on youtube since rewatching loads of Royal Rumbles when I was off work ill.
Yeah for some reason the businesses of sports/entertainment in particular have lots of folks who really enjoy speculating on what they think is best for those businesses.
The casual fan in any aspect of entertainment be it movies or TV shows are important and it's no different for pro wrestling. A great product figures out how to cater to both at the same time because at one point in time every hardcore fan was a casual finding a new thing they might like. Let's not lose sight of this as fan base.
I am a casual fan in the very sense you mentioned am not watching every week or month. But I am keeping up to date from people like your self and social media. But I agree with you. They'll be stuff I see or hear about and I competley don't understand it in wrestling. But it's for people like your self who love wrestling. Like a mega dbz fan so I understand competley what you mean in this video, when I hear the casual dbz fan talking about dbz. Love what you do Simon and you always enatain me thank you sir. I give you a gold up always
Casual fans are now the ones who often pay the bills. 2 of the top 5 merch sellers for the year for WWE are Stone Cold Steve Austin and the NWO. Why did WWE back up a Brink$ truck to get Steve Austin to do one more match at Wrestlemania? Why did WWE just sign CM Punk? So casual fans will watch. I used to be a hardcore wrestling fan for a LONG time, Orndorff turning on Hogan is the first wrestling program I watched as a kid and then I stopped watching after the Benoit double murder tragedy (F_ck him forever, See Paul Heyman's opinion). I still watch segments now and again with the "old guys", Rock, Cena, HBK, Lesnar, Edge, CM Punk etc. Paul Heyman is always great. I'll watch a couple of the "Big PPV's"/year (Used to be PPV's. WM, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble.) I'll fire up Smackdown: Here comes the pain and play it at 4K on my pc every once in a while. (The 2k games are absolute sh*t in my opinion.). I suspect many casual fans like myself listen to more podcasts about the "good ol' days" than watch the new stuff. I just don't find short people with abs doing constant flips & dives and couldn't cut a decent promo to save their life to be entertaining enough to watch on a regular basis. "Smart Marks" like Simon will always watch anything. Good for him.
My younger brother is a someone I would consider even less than a casual fan, like he watches it here and there, but it’s pretty far in between, but I got him to go to survivor series with me, because he heard the rumors cm punk might be there and that Randy might be there, but I could tell he had a good time.
As a casual fan myself - i just want a reason to come back. I loved WWE 2003 - 2010. After that it was a hard watch. Lately I am drawn back in - ever since the Bloodline story. AEW - i have tried really hard to follow but find its just trash
I agree Simon. Everyone is a fan. The engaged follower/viewer will have a different view, but they will eventually be rewarded for being an adamant follower with callbacks.
If the casual fan makes up the majority of the viewers then naturally you want to to appeal to them…for example AEW appeals to the fan that enjoys Meltzer lol
I used to be a casual fan. Like I was once a FANatic when i was young, then by the end of the Stone Cold era, I found the weekly show(s) pretty boring, so by the time I was super pumped for Kofi-mania purely because I’m a black American person, I had no idea about any of the story that led to his title shot, excuse me, championship opportunity, but I was aware they were putting the belt on a black guy and I plunked down my $60 to watch. Slept through almost the entire event, and then danced in my living room with the New Day after the Main Event. Like a casual fan… I didn’t become a fan again (which I undoubtedly am now) for several more years, largely because I like watching women fight (hello Amanda Nunes) but MMA is a little to violent and NXT Ruby Riot was a decent stand-in for Rose Namajunas. Really. Lol
In any business or form of entertainment, if you want the casual buyer, they dont spend money, they dont feel feelings. The ones that are alreafy spending money... you want to keep them.
Casual fan here. Thank you for this. I like Vince Russo more than the average person, but I'm sick of him talking about what the causal fans want. Wrestling is a niche sport, the major companies just happen to have a grip on the mainstream zeitgeist. Wrestling fans want what they want, and seeing them happy brings me genuine joy. I have more fun watching wrestling today than as a kid because it's more pure to the core fanbase. CM Punk pulling up to say hi got as much of a pop as Austin running out to help Foley win the title, because of decades of history I'm not privy to. It's difficult for me today to rewatch Godfather matches I used to stare attentively at for non wrestling reasons, but that one Iyo Sky garbage can spot will live forever rent free in my head.
Rory McIlroy? Lol, to expound on my own thoughts. First of all, love the set up Simon, I think you'll flourish with it, has a Bobby Heenan on Saturday Night Main Event feel. The sad truth Simon and maybe it will set you free lol is that most people are actually really dull. Here we are with the most ludicrously daft but lovable for that reason type of entertainment and people are fretting and arguing over it, like shareholders. They are bringing their work mentality/or ideal work mentality into wrestling and looking at everything like it belongs on AND SHOULD ABIDE THE RULES OF ESPECIALLY, a spreadsheet. People analyse wrestling like it should just be easy to make things happen. They've been booking Vince McMahon's wwe wrong for years. He has always set his show up to revolve around MOMENTS. His goal, since he began creating, is to create moments. People will say he was a madman who wouldn't let go of power long past it, but who gave Cody Rhodes the super push? Who made Ezekiel work? Hey, not every gimmick has to be forever, it's about provoking interest out of the audience. The Ezekiel gimmick had people chuckling for 6 months and let's not leave Kevin Owens out of this he was the standout performer of the whole angle. Fact is, Vince booked for moments. He wasn't worried about making sense being the most important thing, he was about making something happen every so often that made it all worthwhile. If you don't want to be sucked in that much by wrestling that's fine but don't blame the promoter people for doing what you want him to do but just doing it in a way you don't want it to be done. Lol, wrestling fans are pillow princesses I've just realised.
0:36 if the company wants to make money and grow yes you should. that's why ppl say if wwe is doing good other wrestling companies are doing good coz they bring the causal fans but some how aew is doing the opposite
First of all, the casual wrestling fan doesn’t exist in AEW. Most of that audience are knee deep into every type of niche wrestling product. Unfortunately for AEW, that’s not a large group of people. No wonder AEW attendance has gone down and Dynamite viewership has stayed at 800,000 for almost a year. Secondly, the casual fan is the 75-80 percent of people who stopped watching wrestling over the last 20+ years. So yeah, maybe you should care what the casual wrestling fan thinks because they have represented a large chunk of your audience from the 50s all the way to the late 90s. But no, let’s appeal to this niche audience that want to see 10 false finishes and 20 super kicks per match, hepatitis spots, wrestlers mutilating themselves, no selling and gymnastics routines.
Casual fan? What is your definition? Most marks, the ones who make these dumb claims, assume a casual fan is anyone who does not live, breathe, and die wrestling. As for why AEW is not growing, has to do with a lack of storytelling, bad matches, toxic fanbase, and all the extra drama that keeps happening. Look at how they treated Flair for being Flair, I'm not hanging around people that pretentious.
I've watched pro wrestling for some 10 years now, on and off, with my husband. When I'm into it, I voraciously watch the news videos and follow the rumors independent of him and then we talk about it. Even for the promotions I don't watch. I'm telling him about New Japan or RoH and he's like "what?" When I'm not into any wrestling storylines, I don't watch and I don't think about it. I did not watch as a child so I think that in the minds of other fans I will always be "casual." Sorry, but when old men who cannot move any more show up, I don't pop, I get sad. When the Rock rambles on and does nothing but one move, I yawn. Maybe in another 20 years when I see Roman Reigns come in with his cane I'll pop, because as far as I've been watching, he's always been the top guy. 🤷♀ So, am I just a casuy? (Regardless of the answer, I don't like wrestling that insults my intelligence, so the idea that people want that if they are anything other than mega fans is just nonsense).
We keep being told that ‘a rising tide raises all boats’, but that tide only rises if the audience grows. So the ‘casual fan’ archetype is shorthand for ‘that’s not going to grow their business’. Not to mention things that just make pro wrestling look even stupider than it is.
Casual fan here. All respect to them and to hardcore fans, AEW can be hard to engage with (as an example) because, to fully understand the payoffs or big moments, you have to be familiar with every bit of their content across multiple platforms. In some cases, you have to be familiar with the history and present day of companies whose content isn’t as easy to find. In their defense, that’s not a crime. Those payoffs are great rewards for dedicated fans. That’s cool. Hardcore fans deserve that consideration. It’s just a bit alienating for fans who don’t give all their time to wrestling. No one is obligated to care about that, necessarily. But, a company probably should be thinking about ways to draw and keep new fans as well as rewarding the patronage of dedicated fans.
Been watching wwe since the late 70's, but stopped watching regularly when the undertaker retired. Now i just watch ups and downs and the occasional ppv. Does that make me a casual fan?
I personally think the casual fan plastic fan fair weather fan tag is given to others by snobs who spend all their time and money on a thing and need to feel superior to those who don't it's the same with pretty much everything.
"Casual Wrestling Fans" are still wrestling fans. If they don't like it or get it. They'll move on to the next match, or segment. Just like the rest of us. And that's also how you get "Casual Fans" to ask questions, hence making them less "Casual".
Lapsed fan is what everyone should be trying to hook. WWE is doing it. I’ve started watching again after over 3 years of not. AEW didn’t hook me at the start.
"danhausen is one of the few people my girlfriend will watch when it comes to grappling, that's the whole point" - Simon miller 2022 So wait, are you saying we're supposed to encourage the casual fan or are we not? I'm so confused.
This attitude is why there are fewer people watching wrestling now than ever. When you cater to the niche, your only audience will be the niche. I mean, only every booker and promoter who has drawn any real money in wrestling will say so. But what do they know over......*checks notes*.......Simon Miller?
@@aaronhurst4379 How much money has he drawn? Does he even know how to draw money? Has he ever booked for a promotion before? Has he ever promoted? Has he ever run a business as a promoter? Any monkey can go to wrestling school and become a wrestler. That doesn't mean they know jack shit about how to make money in the business. And I don't mean indy wrestler money. I mean John Cena money. Real money. Significant money. Not Impact money. Or losing money like AEW. Because the only company that knows how to do that is the WWE and they are ALL about catering to the casual fan.
@@Bls-of1ld its like football fans who armchair quarterback, anyone can talk shit, if you actually try it, and are in it. Congrats you're a pro wrestler.
Dude a casual fan moment is a moment a fan who didn’t watch last Raw or Smackdown can enjoy without all the context. Recaps help and fuck peacock for making people pay for them now
People want the things they like to be successful and not just appeal to marks pointing at the screen saying "i understood that refernce" like captain america? Like, when Maki Itoh or whatever her fucking name was appeared on my tv, i turned it off. When luigi the pizza guy appeared i turned it off. When OC or Danhausen appear, i turn it off.
Honestly most casuals are just as bad as hardcore fans. Some of my friends always hate wrestling because they don't know anybody or they're always asking about where's Cena, Orton, Taker, HHH, Brock, Goldberg, etc
Hardcore marks are a true embarrassment. I used to be a hardcore fan but stopped watching it. Now I would be considered a casual and without a logical reason something needs to happen then I lose my interest for a bunch of cold matches. Gunther is a wrestler who has no character, gimmick, can't cut a promo, is boring in the sports and sports entertainment departments. His IC title reign ia awful. He had beaten no one if true star power or significance.
The casual fan matters when it comes to the WWE generating business, but as for the overall experience I could care less about how a casual fan feels about the product. I know a lot of people in my real life who are the definition of casuals, and whenever we've watched a PLE they've enjoyed it but would always ask questions whenever they weren't sure of things, and I don't mind explaining it to them.
Wrong and business wise Tony K needs to expand or his company will be another TNA. Tony's dad billion's can't make ppl watch. Storylines, Star's good booking does that.
@@ChrisLTthink he’s talking about Marvel specifically. Which he is only partly correct. Disney really issue is that they got a) slightly repetitive and b) attempted to create too much at once. Like watching a 9 hours Wrestlemania.
A few things catered to the hard-core fan is absolutely necessary. But a whole show focused on it will not grow as fast and will actively turn people off (see AEWs ROH integration into Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision. And also the forbidden door builds)
I remember when casual fans were very close to the majority of people in America and and they loved all the crazy shit and felt good when offensive things were said and things were controversial. Now young people act like people from the 1920 and are offended by everything but at the same time like people of today that do things that would offend themselves. It’s stupid. So much of American culture today is stupid and soft and has som many double standards for all these different groups of people. It’s dumb
What has made me laugh is getting back into the Wrestling lately my wife had started sitting there having her coffee and then one day it clicked in her head - it's a giant soap opera for boys. Now - a few months later - if there's someone she doesn't know I have to give backstories, or for example point her at the Stieners after she decided she liked Bron Breaker. In fact half the time she's more up with the latest news and gossip than I am through Social Media. She's stolen my sitting on the couch shouting hobby! We HAVE to watch Ups & Downs when she gets home from work. In Australia it's usually out the next day and it's all turned very odd... We're both 58 and suddenly a Casual drinking her coffee fan has gone nuts. If there's nothing else on telly she turns on the WWE Network and watches old matches and wrestlers to figure out who some of the people they talk about were. I tell you - it's flubbing great.
These days I am a Casual Fan. Mostly due to limited income. I tuned back in because of Asuka joining Damage Control. Also, one heck of a Women's War Games match. I've also tuned in for Chad Gable's technical skills & Charlotte Flair. I also like the holiday-themed Street Fights. They are cheesy but they are like a seasonal thing for me lately. However after 1-3 months. I will probably be tired of spending my limited income. Or UFC will get my attention and I will tune out. By our definition? It is not worth appealing to us the Casual fans. Limited disposable income & limited time has literally prevented our full-time fandom. I'm the kind of person who was glued to the screen during Ronda Rousey's run with the Raw Women's title. Then largely tuned out after Becky Lynch won both the straps at Wrestlemania. Nothing personal because I don't dislike Becky. It just wasn't why I was there. As a 30-year-old homosexual man, it is difficult to spend all my time on Pro-wrestling.
Because any wrestler has only 2 threats in the match. They are not a threat to themselves. If there are 4 wrestlers in a ring each wrestler has 3 threats to their victory. I’m not even wearing a chain mail hat!
People care because they care about the health of the business. I find that since WWE has gotten better the crowds are bigger and louder and that gives a better atmosphere and it makes the stars seem bigger. AEW has been suffering and they have small crowds that chant "this is awesome" to stuff that my friends and I think is overdone and stupid. I'm not an AEW hater I've been rooting for them since the beginning but the AEW hardcores encourage things that make AEW less enjoyable for me.
Well i cant watch wwe to me is sterile corporate and to much talkin in ring product is mid most of the time. but you dont see me in every wwe video or content shitting on them i just mostly dont watch it.i wish those so called fans will stop it just makes me want to watch wwe even less.
And it goes both ways i seen wwe crowds chant this is awesome to some bland boring match in wwe show.but i dont care it doesn't bother me enjoy what you enjoy let others enjoy what they enjoy.in the end wrestling is doing great and wwe would have become better if aews competition wasnt there just like in the past when wcw made wwe get better.
To THE MOST ELECTRIFYING SPORTS ENTERTAINER IN ALLLLL OF RUclips- respectfully, I disagree with you - but only to a certain extent. I think there should be SOME content geared towards casual fans. But like you, in not going to lose sleep over it - thank you for NOT calling yourself a Bald Asshole- you are not - you're a fine young gentleman😊
Jean Luc Godard never cared about casual fans. Frank Zappa never cared about casual fans. Alan Moore never cared about casual fans. As a musician, I despise the term 'appealing to casual fans' not specifically because satisfying the causal fan is a bad thing but forcing everything to the casual fan can make an artform extremely stale and kinda making art lose it's purpose outside other than a commercial product. This also applies to Professional Wrestling since I fell in love with Pro Wrestling because of it's unique sense of artistic value that no other form of art shares. You can enjoy your casually enjoyable MCU movies, Drake singles, League Of Legends, Roman Reigns match and etc all you want since I don't have the rights to stop you from enjoying something just because I don't like it. However, you can't really call something like a Noise Rock or Experimental Hip Hop album, or a David Lynch movie, or a game like Hotline Miami 2 or a Katsuyori Shibata match bad just because it doesn't appeal to the masses. Not every single piece of media in this world is made for everyone to enjoy.
I’m gonna sound like a hater but I can explain it with AEW. AEW and Marvel have a lot in common right now. Used to be great, now not so much. Both put out some things that are so bad that you know the people who say they like it are only pretending to because they love the brand. Now here’s why if you’re in that position you need to worry about the casual fan and box office numbers - the brand will die without those. That’s why valid criticism is not “toxic.”
Aew and Marvel have nothing in common at all,Marvel was the undisputed #1 brand in movies, aew has never been #1 at anything and has always been a 2nd rate amateur show
I love the wrestling but i dont have the chance to see it I dont know if you can caill me a casual fan but i do enjoy the goings on and without you giving commontary i think i would be lost
I view myself as a casual fan. That is because I do not worry about making sure I watch everything that is on and find out more of what happened on a show because of ups and downs or WrestleTalk reviews.
The fact you on on here listening to content like this immediately makes you not a casual fan a casual is someone who watches a wrestling show once or twice a week probably less then not watching or listening to any news or reviews then catching PLEs or PPVs that they like not even every one of them. Casuals arent gonna give a F about wrestling content on youtube or any social platform that would not be "casual"
The fact that you’re on here means you are not a causal fan. You’re a hardcore fan who doesn’t keep up with the product anymore. That’s fair. The casual fan does not know who who Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, Wresltetalk, Solomonster, Cultcaholic, whatculture is. The casual fan does not go in dirt sheets and look up spoilers. The casual fan has no idea why Punk and The Elite were suspended after Brawl Out last year or why Steve Austin left before his KOTR match with Brock Lesnar. Their week begins and ends with the wrestling show of their choice and then they don’t care again till the next episode.
@@Lambzythat’s my definition of casual too. The casual fan does not know who Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, Solomonster, or Simon Miller are. They don’t pay attention to that. I remember Brawl Out last year, I knew a few causal AEW fans (yes they do exist, though few and far between lol) who had no idea why The Elite and Punk were suspended all of a sudden and off tv. They didn’t watch the scrum, casuals don’t care about those. They didn’t listen to Meltzer or any podcasts so they had no clue what happened until I finally filled them in on it. There are fans to this day who have no clue why CM Punk left WWE a decade ago.
I showed my wife and cousin hangman vs swerve and both told me to turn it off ASAP... you know what they liked? Michaels vs flair at mania and macho man Elizabeth at mania 7...... The more and more you do outlandish things that only serve a niche audience the more you alienate people like my cousin who was a diehard during the Golden and attitude era's and the more you turn people like myself into causal then non watching fans..... AEW is on a decline weekly on ratings and only the diehard are left... If a jobber blades on a show Noone watches then does it matter?
From what I’ve noticed, many wrestling fans just aren’t very in touch with reality. Nature of the attraction I suppose. They really ruin the viewing experience for those of us with some semblance of normalcy in our sensibilities. I mean just look at an AEW crowd
Hardcore fan here. No one in my social circle is a fan of wrestling. I won tickets to a Raw tapings twice and could find no one to go with. So yeah, I'm with you Simon.
In my personal opinion people worry too much abt everyone else’s opinions like if you enjoyed it that should be enough
I love coming here for Simon's sanity and logical reasoning.. It's soothing.
I think with the “casual fan” there’s just a concern that what if a story is so dependent on having a degree in wrestling history (and behind the scenes drama) just to begin to understand what’s going on. Any episode of Raw or Dynamite etc. could potentially be someone’s first so there’s just an idea of not wanting to needlessly create barriers to entry for growing the audience. But at the same time people in charge of various forms of entertainment and IP can also at times grossly under estimate a persons desire to want to explore that history as part of the fun of getting into it.
So I think it’s where you’re trying to find a balance between making something accessible to new people who will be potential fans while also not insulting the intelligence of people who have kept up with a thing for years upon decades. Which is kinda of a tall order but not an impossible one.
As a casual fan, I'm wildly offended that what I may or may not like the couple times a year I watch wrestling isn't your top priority. Simon, it hurts me all the way down to my tum tum.
I genuinely haven’t WATCHED Wrestling in years I keep up with it, I watch clips and reviews of shows but literally I don’t have cable I only watch shows like ups and downs or podcast on wrestling.
Lol, I was worried. I am very causal, in fact I watch more Simon Miller than I watch wrestling these days. Not cause I am a hater, but there is only so many hours in a day and I dont have access to the channels its on.
Anyways,, glad you still care about me as a person, it is appreciated and reciprocated. Also, I think they should cater to the hardcore fans in a way that doesn't isolate casuals entirely.. cause many casual fans could become hardxore fans, and sometimes hardcore fans become causal for a bit.
Love ya Simon, keep bringing the positivity when you can. And telll us if you are down, I think you have a lot of love and support from your fanbase.
And if you do want a causal opinion, I would be delighted to chat even if just in the comments.
I know a lot of casual fans but the hardcore marks are so embarrassing to the industry. They act like gatekeepers and talk shit if you like Goldberg, as if they’re somehow better for liking indie wrestlers. Name another industry that has a derogatory term for its fans, who somehow sadly deserve the stigma
I agree lol they all give us their health for our entertainment I do like alot of younger and more indy guys than guys like Goldberg but I won't ever say he's trash lol he's a legend, but yeah I totally agree wrestling fans are the worst
Tabletop wargaming, Warhammer etc. Proud grognard here.
All of gaming
Fr, I got attacked for saying I want Goldberg to have a retirement match😭😭
I interact with a few different fanbases and wrestling fans are honestly the most toxic 😂 you know there will always be spice in the comments
As someone who considers herself a casual fan... I just like wrestling. As someone who doesn't watch anything direct (having crappy/limited internet will do that) I like big spots, I like storylines, I love goofy wrestling. The definition of "catering to a casual fan" should just be making good wrestling with a diversity on a show that grabs attention. If it entertains and there's a buzz about it, we'll see it and interact.
Lol my son is the casual fan, personified. He used to watch with me all the time when he was little. But, as an adult, he doesn't really watch it anymore. He knows who the major players are still, but he will only watch if one of his favorites was on, like John Cena or something.
As fans, we don't necessarily know for sure what other, more "casual" fans like, but wrestling companies and TV stations do. There's been some weekly wrestling program on national TV in the US for nearly 40 years, maybe 30-35 on some international markets and less in others. It's not hard to know what things do well statistically when you have between 2 and 7 hours of TV per week per company in many countries all over the world every week for 40 years. We know how many people watched, we know what clips do well on social media. The information is there if you want. The sample is more than big enough for the data to be absolutely reliable. Anyone can find out when people watch and when they don't and make educated guesses to why that happens. It's not hard to see the trends and the patterns and compare them to otter forms of entertainmentn a Venn diagram to see what gets more views more often.
CRAIG DAVID reference! This deserves a GOLDEN UP!
I second this. That reference shot me back 20 years.
I've never heard of Craig David but I'm usually 80 percent wrong so I'll choose Craig David
I completely agree. We don't ask this in other mediums. If you turn on a sporting event, do they dumb everything down for you? Or is it your responsibility to figure out what's happening? I'd say the latter. It's the same with Marvel right now. Everyone's like "ugh I gotta do homework to watch this?" Um, yeah! If they did an exposition dump at the start of every movie, you'd complain about that too 🙄
I think i might be a casual fan these days.
I used to watch wrestling all the time up until 2022, but since my son was born i watch every upload from Maven Huffman, Simon's ups and downs when they show up on autoplay, and Royal Rumble and WrestleMania at my dad's house every year which is like 10% because the rumble is awesome, 10% to see some of my favorites like Cody, Rollins and Orton, and 80% because it's several hours one on one with my dad. Usually the stuff i like to see are big names returning, factions forming, and comedy hardcore matches. Maybe I'll get into it again when my son gets a little older.
Love your videos Simon! Goofy wrestling for life.
Here, here! I'll never get why anyone who isn't professionally involved in a company would base their opinion on its product on how their TV ratings are holding up, especially given how antiquated the medium of TV is now
It’s funny that people who claim to care about the casual fan are arguing about flippy spot fests. Big action is what attracts eyes. A non wrestling fan would think “I can’t believe they jumped off that” and “I can’t believe they just kept kicking him”.
If a so called casual fan wants drama and storyline, they’d go watch a movie.
Simon, this is a really good video idea! Interview a “casual fan” and let’s get a clear idea about what their viewing experience is like.
Totally agree with you. The whole casual fan thing is oversimplified.
The part I understand is that us loyal fans, for the most part, watch NO MATTER WHAT.
Vince McMahon could take a shit in the middle of the ring every week for 3 months and the hardcore fans, granted they’d hate it, would still tune in every single time.
Hardcore fans have proven time and time again that will watch no matter what. They’ll just complain about it.
I think the most important fans are whatever you’d call the ones in between being casual and being hardcore. That middle ground. Those are the people that actually tune out when the product is shitty and tune in and buy merchandise and tickets when the product is good. I feel like a have a ton more clarifying to do on what my opinion here actually is but I’m inarticulate and sick of typing. I also feel I’ve typed so much already that I don’t wanna delete it. Cya.
Because every single fan once was a casual fan and that casual fan got hooked Because of a storyline turning them into the fan they are today buying the junk they sell.. it's called business sense
A casual fan moment happened earlier this year at the Rumble. My homie was like "Yooo, I saw that Logan Paul mid air collision. It was cool af." And I was like "Yeah that was a cool spot, but the real highlight was Gunther battering everyone from 1-30." He didn't know what that meant 🤷♂️
Stop gatekeeping and enjoy the show
@marlojimenezmd wtf are you talking about gatekeeping for? Telling him about the whole show vs. just 1 clip he saw online is the opposite of gatekeeping dummy.
That really does sound like gate keeping, like that’s not the first time something like that has happened so how is something that multiple other people have done the “Real” highlight?
@deshaundelain2113 then you don't know the definition of gatekeeping. Gatekeeping would be saying you didn't watch the whole thing so you don't count. I said did he also see the Gunther spots, the tease of Gunther v Cody, and the WHOLE Bloodline segment. Meaning, giving him MORE to watch the exact opposite of saying not to watch dummy
“Yeah that was a cool spot, but the real…” stop that’s the worse thing you can do when someone is giving you their opinion, and no what you were doing wasn’t a opinionated take, you were sawing it as a fact. If your calling him casual then I take it you watch wrestling more then he does, which is why he is bringing it up to you, so why anti- what he found cool and interesting?
Like what you like and all that jazz. Worrying about what others think about what you like is a waste of mental energy for sure
The only time I really hear about casual fans is when it comes to the ratings
How will you define a "casual" wrestling fan? I don't watch wrestling too much because, time.
This was a great video bro. You deserve a golden up. Also 2 + 2 = potatoe is definitely my favorite saying from you
TY for this Simon!! I’m a massive UFC fan and hv been for years and years!! I absolutely hate the term casual and hardcore fan!! It’s the most annoying term in the world!! Like people aren’t worthy of an opinion if they hvnt consumed as much as of the product as I have!!!🙄🙄. It’s just ridiculous!!
I'm casual enough that I had no idea that Punk had a massive fallout with whatsisface, the other fella, in the aftermath of the court case. But I also love anything that reminds me of William Regal and have got a lot of wrestling recommendations on youtube since rewatching loads of Royal Rumbles when I was off work ill.
Pete down the road says “really hope you care what I think….helps me sleep at night lol”
Yeah for some reason the businesses of sports/entertainment in particular have lots of folks who really enjoy speculating on what they think is best for those businesses.
The casual fan in any aspect of entertainment be it movies or TV shows are important and it's no different for pro wrestling. A great product figures out how to cater to both at the same time because at one point in time every hardcore fan was a casual finding a new thing they might like. Let's not lose sight of this as fan base.
I am a casual fan in the very sense you mentioned am not watching every week or month. But I am keeping up to date from people like your self and social media. But I agree with you. They'll be stuff I see or hear about and I competley don't understand it in wrestling. But it's for people like your self who love wrestling. Like a mega dbz fan so I understand competley what you mean in this video, when I hear the casual dbz fan talking about dbz. Love what you do Simon and you always enatain me thank you sir. I give you a gold up always
Casual fans are now the ones who often pay the bills. 2 of the top 5 merch sellers for the year for WWE are Stone Cold Steve Austin and the NWO. Why did WWE back up a Brink$ truck to get Steve Austin to do one more match at Wrestlemania? Why did WWE just sign CM Punk? So casual fans will watch. I used to be a hardcore wrestling fan for a LONG time, Orndorff turning on Hogan is the first wrestling program I watched as a kid and then I stopped watching after the Benoit double murder tragedy (F_ck him forever, See Paul Heyman's opinion). I still watch segments now and again with the "old guys", Rock, Cena, HBK, Lesnar, Edge, CM Punk etc. Paul Heyman is always great. I'll watch a couple of the "Big PPV's"/year (Used to be PPV's. WM, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble.) I'll fire up Smackdown: Here comes the pain and play it at 4K on my pc every once in a while. (The 2k games are absolute sh*t in my opinion.).
I suspect many casual fans like myself listen to more podcasts about the "good ol' days" than watch the new stuff. I just don't find short people with abs doing constant flips & dives and couldn't cut a decent promo to save their life to be entertaining enough to watch on a regular basis. "Smart Marks" like Simon will always watch anything. Good for him.
Miller! Great Craig David reference! I'm getting an up. I enjoy your perspective quite often.
Keep growing that excellent beard Sir! Nice! Thanks for all you do Sir, and continued success!
It doesn't matter what affects Peat, it's the lowest quality of coal anyways.
Brilliant comment 😂
My younger brother is a someone I would consider even less than a casual fan, like he watches it here and there, but it’s pretty far in between, but I got him to go to survivor series with me, because he heard the rumors cm punk might be there and that Randy might be there, but I could tell he had a good time.
As a casual fan myself - i just want a reason to come back. I loved WWE 2003 - 2010. After that it was a hard watch. Lately I am drawn back in - ever since the Bloodline story. AEW - i have tried really hard to follow but find its just trash
I agree Simon. Everyone is a fan. The engaged follower/viewer will have a different view, but they will eventually be rewarded for being an adamant follower with callbacks.
If the casual fan makes up the majority of the viewers then naturally you want to to appeal to them…for example AEW appeals to the fan that enjoys Meltzer lol
Spot on Simon 👍 the fact that it’s even a thought to somebody is strange
I think of the casual wrestling fan like an outdoor cat.
I’m ngl I’m gulty of it but I’m also weird and enjoy looking at ratings and stuff
I used to be a casual fan. Like I was once a FANatic when i was young, then by the end of the Stone Cold era, I found the weekly show(s) pretty boring, so by the time I was super pumped for Kofi-mania purely because I’m a black American person, I had no idea about any of the story that led to his title shot, excuse me, championship opportunity, but I was aware they were putting the belt on a black guy and I plunked down my $60 to watch. Slept through almost the entire event, and then danced in my living room with the New Day after the Main Event. Like a casual fan…
I didn’t become a fan again (which I undoubtedly am now) for several more years, largely because I like watching women fight (hello Amanda Nunes) but MMA is a little to violent and NXT Ruby Riot was a decent stand-in for Rose Namajunas. Really. Lol
In any business or form of entertainment, if you want the casual buyer, they dont spend money, they dont feel feelings.
The ones that are alreafy spending money... you want to keep them.
Casual fan here. Thank you for this. I like Vince Russo more than the average person, but I'm sick of him talking about what the causal fans want. Wrestling is a niche sport, the major companies just happen to have a grip on the mainstream zeitgeist. Wrestling fans want what they want, and seeing them happy brings me genuine joy. I have more fun watching wrestling today than as a kid because it's more pure to the core fanbase. CM Punk pulling up to say hi got as much of a pop as Austin running out to help Foley win the title, because of decades of history I'm not privy to. It's difficult for me today to rewatch Godfather matches I used to stare attentively at for non wrestling reasons, but that one Iyo Sky garbage can spot will live forever rent free in my head.
Good wrestling is like good “adult entertainment”. Fans know it when they see it and different people will like different things.
Rory McIlroy?
Lol, to expound on my own thoughts. First of all, love the set up Simon, I think you'll flourish with it, has a Bobby Heenan on Saturday Night Main Event feel.
The sad truth Simon and maybe it will set you free lol is that most people are actually really dull. Here we are with the most ludicrously daft but lovable for that reason type of entertainment and people are fretting and arguing over it, like shareholders. They are bringing their work mentality/or ideal work mentality into wrestling and looking at everything like it belongs on AND SHOULD ABIDE THE RULES OF ESPECIALLY, a spreadsheet. People analyse wrestling like it should just be easy to make things happen. They've been booking Vince McMahon's wwe wrong for years. He has always set his show up to revolve around MOMENTS. His goal, since he began creating, is to create moments. People will say he was a madman who wouldn't let go of power long past it, but who gave Cody Rhodes the super push? Who made Ezekiel work? Hey, not every gimmick has to be forever, it's about provoking interest out of the audience. The Ezekiel gimmick had people chuckling for 6 months and let's not leave Kevin Owens out of this he was the standout performer of the whole angle. Fact is, Vince booked for moments. He wasn't worried about making sense being the most important thing, he was about making something happen every so often that made it all worthwhile.
If you don't want to be sucked in that much by wrestling that's fine but don't blame the promoter people for doing what you want him to do but just doing it in a way you don't want it to be done. Lol, wrestling fans are pillow princesses I've just realised.
0:36 if the company wants to make money and grow yes you should. that's why ppl say if wwe is doing good other wrestling companies are doing good coz they bring the causal fans but some how aew is doing the opposite
*Watches one episode of Coronation Street:
“They didn’t explain who Gail Platt’s first husband was, I’m never watching again…”
First of all, the casual wrestling fan doesn’t exist in AEW. Most of that audience are knee deep into every type of niche wrestling product. Unfortunately for AEW, that’s not a large group of people. No wonder AEW attendance has gone down and Dynamite viewership has stayed at 800,000 for almost a year.
Secondly, the casual fan is the 75-80 percent of people who stopped watching wrestling over the last 20+ years. So yeah, maybe you should care what the casual wrestling fan thinks because they have represented a large chunk of your audience from the 50s all the way to the late 90s.
But no, let’s appeal to this niche audience that want to see 10 false finishes and 20 super kicks per match, hepatitis spots, wrestlers mutilating themselves, no selling and gymnastics routines.
Omg bro. Simon just mentioned Craig David. 7 days. Ahhhhh the memories. #IYKYK
Casual fan? What is your definition? Most marks, the ones who make these dumb claims, assume a casual fan is anyone who does not live, breathe, and die wrestling. As for why AEW is not growing, has to do with a lack of storytelling, bad matches, toxic fanbase, and all the extra drama that keeps happening. Look at how they treated Flair for being Flair, I'm not hanging around people that pretentious.
I am a casual Simon Miller RUclips channel watcher and I like this video
I've watched pro wrestling for some 10 years now, on and off, with my husband. When I'm into it, I voraciously watch the news videos and follow the rumors independent of him and then we talk about it. Even for the promotions I don't watch. I'm telling him about New Japan or RoH and he's like "what?" When I'm not into any wrestling storylines, I don't watch and I don't think about it. I did not watch as a child so I think that in the minds of other fans I will always be "casual." Sorry, but when old men who cannot move any more show up, I don't pop, I get sad. When the Rock rambles on and does nothing but one move, I yawn. Maybe in another 20 years when I see Roman Reigns come in with his cane I'll pop, because as far as I've been watching, he's always been the top guy. 🤷♀ So, am I just a casuy? (Regardless of the answer, I don't like wrestling that insults my intelligence, so the idea that people want that if they are anything other than mega fans is just nonsense).
Cheers is my favorite show of all time. Nice call out, Simon.
As casual fans, who only watch wrestling because my favorite youtuber makes hour long videos about wrestling. I can confirm Simon didn't care
We keep being told that ‘a rising tide raises all boats’, but that tide only rises if the audience grows. So the ‘casual fan’ archetype is shorthand for ‘that’s not going to grow their business’. Not to mention things that just make pro wrestling look even stupider than it is.
3:25 lol
Casual fan here. All respect to them and to hardcore fans, AEW can be hard to engage with (as an example) because, to fully understand the payoffs or big moments, you have to be familiar with every bit of their content across multiple platforms. In some cases, you have to be familiar with the history and present day of companies whose content isn’t as easy to find. In their defense, that’s not a crime. Those payoffs are great rewards for dedicated fans. That’s cool. Hardcore fans deserve that consideration. It’s just a bit alienating for fans who don’t give all their time to wrestling. No one is obligated to care about that, necessarily. But, a company probably should be thinking about ways to draw and keep new fans as well as rewarding the patronage of dedicated fans.
Been watching wwe since the late 70's, but stopped watching regularly when the undertaker retired. Now i just watch ups and downs and the occasional ppv. Does that make me a casual fan?
Aew needs the casual fans... everyone needs the casual fan if you dont have casuals your company will die but idc about them
Casual fans will still watch casually no matter what. Take care of the constant fans.😊
I personally think the casual fan plastic fan fair weather fan tag is given to others by snobs who spend all their time and money on a thing and need to feel superior to those who don't it's the same with pretty much everything.
"Casual Wrestling Fans" are still wrestling fans. If they don't like it or get it. They'll move on to the next match, or segment. Just like the rest of us. And that's also how you get "Casual Fans" to ask questions, hence making them less "Casual".
Wrestling is pandemonium and we love it, hardcore fans, casual fans it doesn’t matter
Yes, John Travolta. I aggre
Lapsed fan is what everyone should be trying to hook. WWE is doing it. I’ve started watching again after over 3 years of not. AEW didn’t hook me at the start.
"danhausen is one of the few people my girlfriend will watch when it comes to grappling, that's the whole point" - Simon miller 2022
So wait, are you saying we're supposed to encourage the casual fan or are we not? I'm so confused.
solution: have a variety of everything on the show.
This attitude is why there are fewer people watching wrestling now than ever. When you cater to the niche, your only audience will be the niche. I mean, only every booker and promoter who has drawn any real money in wrestling will say so. But what do they know over......*checks notes*.......Simon Miller?
You know Simon's a wrestler in his own right?
@@aaronhurst4379 How much money has he drawn? Does he even know how to draw money? Has he ever booked for a promotion before? Has he ever promoted? Has he ever run a business as a promoter?
Any monkey can go to wrestling school and become a wrestler. That doesn't mean they know jack shit about how to make money in the business. And I don't mean indy wrestler money. I mean John Cena money. Real money. Significant money. Not Impact money. Or losing money like AEW. Because the only company that knows how to do that is the WWE and they are ALL about catering to the casual fan.
@@aaronhurst4379having a few matches doesnt mean your a wrestler
@@Bls-of1ld its like football fans who armchair quarterback, anyone can talk shit, if you actually try it, and are in it. Congrats you're a pro wrestler.
@@darrelsapp1232 You clearly don't like the guy just admit it,
Yea, I don't think this video works for the casual fan.
Dude a casual fan moment is a moment a fan who didn’t watch last Raw or Smackdown can enjoy without all the context. Recaps help and fuck peacock for making people pay for them now
People want the things they like to be successful and not just appeal to marks pointing at the screen saying "i understood that refernce" like captain america?
Like, when Maki Itoh or whatever her fucking name was appeared on my tv, i turned it off.
When luigi the pizza guy appeared i turned it off.
When OC or Danhausen appear, i turn it off.
Honestly most casuals are just as bad as hardcore fans. Some of my friends always hate wrestling because they don't know anybody or they're always asking about where's Cena, Orton, Taker, HHH, Brock, Goldberg, etc
Hardcore marks are a true embarrassment. I used to be a hardcore fan but stopped watching it. Now I would be considered a casual and without a logical reason something needs to happen then I lose my interest for a bunch of cold matches. Gunther is a wrestler who has no character, gimmick, can't cut a promo, is boring in the sports and sports entertainment departments. His IC title reign ia awful. He had beaten no one if true star power or significance.
The casual fan matters when it comes to the WWE generating business, but as for the overall experience I could care less about how a casual fan feels about the product. I know a lot of people in my real life who are the definition of casuals, and whenever we've watched a PLE they've enjoyed it but would always ask questions whenever they weren't sure of things, and I don't mind explaining it to them.
Disney is a great example of how "catering to a casual fan" waters down the product.
How so? Disney has always been about reaching as many people as possible, it's how they got to be Disney.
I disagree. Vehemently.
Wrong and business wise Tony K needs to expand or his company will be another TNA. Tony's dad billion's can't make ppl watch. Storylines, Star's good booking does that.
Disney is a great example of catering to the Tourist who doesn't buy your product even when you alienate your core customers to pander.
@@ChrisLTthink he’s talking about Marvel specifically. Which he is only partly correct. Disney really issue is that they got a) slightly repetitive and b) attempted to create too much at once. Like watching a 9 hours Wrestlemania.
At the end of the day, we are all fans who love pro wrestling 💯
A few things catered to the hard-core fan is absolutely necessary. But a whole show focused on it will not grow as fast and will actively turn people off (see AEWs ROH integration into Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision. And also the forbidden door builds)
I remember when casual fans were very close to the majority of people in America and and they loved all the crazy shit and felt good when offensive things were said and things were controversial. Now young people act like people from the 1920 and are offended by everything but at the same time like people of today that do things that would offend themselves. It’s stupid. So much of American culture today is stupid and soft and has som many double standards for all these different groups of people. It’s dumb
This has nothing to do with the video but KEEP THE BEARD
What has made me laugh is getting back into the Wrestling lately my wife had started sitting there having her coffee and then one day it clicked in her head - it's a giant soap opera for boys. Now - a few months later - if there's someone she doesn't know I have to give backstories, or for example point her at the Stieners after she decided she liked Bron Breaker. In fact half the time she's more up with the latest news and gossip than I am through Social Media. She's stolen my sitting on the couch shouting hobby! We HAVE to watch Ups & Downs when she gets home from work. In Australia it's usually out the next day and it's all turned very odd... We're both 58 and suddenly a Casual drinking her coffee fan has gone nuts. If there's nothing else on telly she turns on the WWE Network and watches old matches and wrestlers to figure out who some of the people they talk about were. I tell you - it's flubbing great.
These days I am a Casual Fan. Mostly due to limited income. I tuned back in because of Asuka joining Damage Control. Also, one heck of a Women's War Games match. I've also tuned in for Chad Gable's technical skills & Charlotte Flair. I also like the holiday-themed Street Fights. They are cheesy but they are like a seasonal thing for me lately.
However after 1-3 months. I will probably be tired of spending my limited income. Or UFC will get my attention and I will tune out. By our definition? It is not worth appealing to us the Casual fans. Limited disposable income & limited time has literally prevented our full-time fandom. I'm the kind of person who was glued to the screen during Ronda Rousey's run with the Raw Women's title. Then largely tuned out after Becky Lynch won both the straps at Wrestlemania. Nothing personal because I don't dislike Becky. It just wasn't why I was there. As a 30-year-old homosexual man, it is difficult to spend all my time on Pro-wrestling.
Maybe I'm too casual but I think we should call it a triple threat match and not a three-way with the men :)
Because any wrestler has only 2 threats in the match. They are not a threat to themselves. If there are 4 wrestlers in a ring each wrestler has 3 threats to their victory. I’m not even wearing a chain mail hat!
People care because they care about the health of the business. I find that since WWE has gotten better the crowds are bigger and louder and that gives a better atmosphere and it makes the stars seem bigger. AEW has been suffering and they have small crowds that chant "this is awesome" to stuff that my friends and I think is overdone and stupid. I'm not an AEW hater I've been rooting for them since the beginning but the AEW hardcores encourage things that make AEW less enjoyable for me.
Caring about the health of the buisness and actively wishing death on AEW that SO MANY WWE FANS DO is the exact opposite of caring
Well i cant watch wwe to me is sterile corporate and to much talkin in ring product is mid most of the time. but you dont see me in every wwe video or content shitting on them i just mostly dont watch it.i wish those so called fans will stop it just makes me want to watch wwe even less.
And it goes both ways i seen wwe crowds chant this is awesome to some bland boring match in wwe show.but i dont care it doesn't bother me enjoy what you enjoy let others enjoy what they enjoy.in the end wrestling is doing great and wwe would have become better if aews competition wasnt there just like in the past when wcw made wwe get better.
To THE MOST ELECTRIFYING SPORTS ENTERTAINER IN ALLLLL OF RUclips- respectfully, I disagree with you - but only to a certain extent. I think there should be SOME content geared towards casual fans. But like you, in not going to lose sleep over it - thank you for NOT calling yourself a Bald Asshole- you are not - you're a fine young gentleman😊
You wanna know how to tell if casual fans are enjoying the shows? Check the ratings. :)
P.s. Love the T- shirt!
Jean Luc Godard never cared about casual fans. Frank Zappa never cared about casual fans. Alan Moore never cared about casual fans. As a musician, I despise the term 'appealing to casual fans' not specifically because satisfying the causal fan is a bad thing but forcing everything to the casual fan can make an artform extremely stale and kinda making art lose it's purpose outside other than a commercial product. This also applies to Professional Wrestling since I fell in love with Pro Wrestling because of it's unique sense of artistic value that no other form of art shares. You can enjoy your casually enjoyable MCU movies, Drake singles, League Of Legends, Roman Reigns match and etc all you want since I don't have the rights to stop you from enjoying something just because I don't like it. However, you can't really call something like a Noise Rock or Experimental Hip Hop album, or a David Lynch movie, or a game like Hotline Miami 2 or a Katsuyori Shibata match bad just because it doesn't appeal to the masses. Not every single piece of media in this world is made for everyone to enjoy.
I’m gonna sound like a hater but I can explain it with AEW. AEW and Marvel have a lot in common right now. Used to be great, now not so much. Both put out some things that are so bad that you know the people who say they like it are only pretending to because they love the brand. Now here’s why if you’re in that position you need to worry about the casual fan and box office numbers - the brand will die without those. That’s why valid criticism is not “toxic.”
Aew and Marvel have nothing in common at all,Marvel was the undisputed #1 brand in movies, aew has never been #1 at anything and has always been a 2nd rate amateur show
I love the wrestling but i dont have the chance to see it I dont know if you can caill me a casual fan but i do enjoy the goings on and without you giving commontary i think i would be lost
Just make dope shit
I'm note sure a casual fan would like this video. But I did.
poor pete...
I view myself as a casual fan. That is because I do not worry about making sure I watch everything that is on and find out more of what happened on a show because of ups and downs or WrestleTalk reviews.
The fact you on on here listening to content like this immediately makes you not a casual fan a casual is someone who watches a wrestling show once or twice a week probably less then not watching or listening to any news or reviews then catching PLEs or PPVs that they like not even every one of them. Casuals arent gonna give a F about wrestling content on youtube or any social platform that would not be "casual"
The fact that you’re on here means you are not a causal fan. You’re a hardcore fan who doesn’t keep up with the product anymore. That’s fair. The casual fan does not know who who Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, Wresltetalk, Solomonster, Cultcaholic, whatculture is. The casual fan does not go in dirt sheets and look up spoilers. The casual fan has no idea why Punk and The Elite were suspended after Brawl Out last year or why Steve Austin left before his KOTR match with Brock Lesnar. Their week begins and ends with the wrestling show of their choice and then they don’t care again till the next episode.
@@Lambzythat’s my definition of casual too. The casual fan does not know who Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, Solomonster, or Simon Miller are. They don’t pay attention to that. I remember Brawl Out last year, I knew a few causal AEW fans (yes they do exist, though few and far between lol) who had no idea why The Elite and Punk were suspended all of a sudden and off tv. They didn’t watch the scrum, casuals don’t care about those. They didn’t listen to Meltzer or any podcasts so they had no clue what happened until I finally filled them in on it. There are fans to this day who have no clue why CM Punk left WWE a decade ago.
@@Linklex7 yes true true I'm friends with one I drag him along and tell him updates because he is a super casual.
Wrestling fans are a weird lot...
I showed my wife and cousin hangman vs swerve and both told me to turn it off ASAP... you know what they liked? Michaels vs flair at mania and macho man Elizabeth at mania 7...... The more and more you do outlandish things that only serve a niche audience the more you alienate people like my cousin who was a diehard during the Golden and attitude era's and the more you turn people like myself into causal then non watching fans..... AEW is on a decline weekly on ratings and only the diehard are left... If a jobber blades on a show Noone watches then does it matter?
From what I’ve noticed, many wrestling fans just aren’t very in touch with reality. Nature of the attraction I suppose. They really ruin the viewing experience for those of us with some semblance of normalcy in our sensibilities. I mean just look at an AEW crowd
Dont know if i agree with this but he's entitled to his opinion i guess 🤷🏿♂️
Hardcore fan here. No one in my social circle is a fan of wrestling. I won tickets to a Raw tapings twice and could find no one to go with. So yeah, I'm with you Simon.
Casual fans are annoying, but any business not looking to grow their customer base is crazy.
Hey I'm Pete 😃
Screw Pete from down the road!