"We Want Wrestling!" *clap clap clapclapclap*

Who'd-a thunk that one of the prospective future Divas would have been the ones to stand up for 'rasslin?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

The most notable thing to happen on last week's NXT wasn't anything said by any one of the three announcers. It took place during the Talk the Talk Challenge. Naomi, one of the only two competitors in this crop who actually doesn't look lost in the context of a wrestling match, announced that she didn't want to cut a promo about the non-contextual word she was given by Matt Striker. Instead, she claimed she came to the party to wrestle. That proclamation drew the loudest pop of the night from the live crowd in the arena.

To fans of the actual in-ring product, this was music to our ears. I know I was pleasantly surprised when the crowd assented to wanting to see the women wrestle rather than pratter on about teeth or rainbows or whatever happy horseshit that was so compelling that I forgot most of the topics given. To the Vince Russo crowd... well, fuck, they probably weren't watching the show to begin with. Still, they'd probably find some way to spin it into an interpretation of "People don't care about wrestling anymore". However, I'd like to think that maybe it opened their eyes a little bit.

That being said, it is an awfully small sample size, but it's still a reaction that shows people like to see men in spandex underwear hug each other in an attempt to pretend-fight. There wouldn't be a market for wrestling if people didn't want to see guys grapple it out in the ring. If people wanted to watch guys give soliloquys or get into sitcom situations, they'd watch regular TV.

Even if people do like to see the spectacle, the gaudiness and the characters, there still remains the reason why the thing exists. Wrestling can't flourish without star power, charismatic wrestlers and guys or girls who have a ton of personality. But the reason why wrestling still has fans and still can be viable is that the action in the ring is still unique. Even as MMA leeches popularity from pro wrestling, it can't script action or display it like pro wrestling can.

Of course, this isn't a license to the "pro wrestling as sport" crowd to go crazy and demand that we go to a more ROH-styled product in all facets of the game. The fans popped for "wrestling", not more technical wrestling. However, that can only be a good thing, as once you give two (or three, or four, or six, or however many) guys a blank canvas to work with, you give them license to create. I happen to be a fan of all styles of matches, from the kind you find on your average WWE TV card to the big-time puroresu main events, from what you find in your average indie bingo hall to the main event at WrestleMania. I'm just happy that people want to see action in the ring.

And just think, I thought that nothing good could come of this season of NXT in the ring, and that the only worth was in hearing Michael Cole, Josh Matthews and whoever else decided to drop by to tear the product down. Thank you Naomi if that was really you, or thanks to whomever scripted that for you.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!