>>13701854Yes, I mostly agree. The magic can still be there, but only when the fans put in that extra effort to suspend their disbelief and buy into the show at face value, which is precisely what we all do when we watch a movie or show. Action scenes in a good movie are elevated because of the story and context. If you're watching only to see cool stunts, then you're missing the forest for the trees and you're robbing yourself of that emotional connection that can make stories so enduring and impactful.
The problem is that modern wrestling promotions, include AEW and WWE, go out of their way to expose the business, consistently. From the backstage skits without an interviewer, where the wrestlers involved pretend not to see the camera. To the matches that lack any psychology and have OBVIOUS cooperation and OBVIOUS spot setup that just looks ridiculous to anyone trying to take it seriously. To the social media messages that immediately expose their character as a fraud (see: Rock or Rhea recent posts).
This problem has gotten a lot worse since 2002 when this interview occurred. Bobby only saw the cracks as they formed and made a prediction. It has been a gradual decline, not instantaneous. But Bobby was right to say that the damage had already been done and it would kill wrestling, which it pretty much has today aside from a small handful of wrestlers from the past, or the small handful of modern guys that get it.
In my view, you're either a Heenan guy, or a Meltzer guy. And the Meltzer guys are the ones that won't let the magic come back (if that is even possible).
