I was just sitting there, on the net, posting on multiple forums when I stumbled upon a post. It was about how great wrestlers, before the time of internet wrestling fans, were adored, and then, thanks to the birth of the smart mark (Smark/Internet Fan), they were hated and they sank down to the all time low. And then, while reading through it, I asked myself the question: HAS THE INTERNET DESTROYED WRESTLING"

Before I first accessed the Internet, I loved any wrestler I saw. I loved people like Triple H, Goldberg, and others. But then I logged onto the Internet for the first time in my life and then noticed that wrestlers like them, and them, were so greatly hated. And I couldn't understand it.

That was almost three years ago.

At first I wondered why they were hated. They put on good, exciting matches to me. They were very entertaining. I didn't get it, why were they so despised that people said they deserved nothing but to have their legs broken. But I didn't listen, I continued liking what I liked. Goldberg was so fucking amazing to me, the streak, the Jackhammer, the Spear, he was great.

But... I stayed on the Internet, I shared my views and got laughed at, I got called things from the technical term, Mark, and the basic term, Stupid F*cking Idiot. Then I started holding back my views because I couldn't defend against these arguments, they were too strong. That was the first sign of my transformation from Mark to Smark.

I began reading these arguments about how they are sh*t wrestlers. Then I noticed one guy who was practically a preacher of old school technical wrestling, I read his posts and arguments which made me stumble down memory lane. I remembered the first time I really was entertained by pure technical wrestling WITHOUT the internet ordering me to like it. WCW, Bret Hart Vs Chris Benoit. Probably the first time I was actually stuck to the screen. I gave the match five stars without even thinking about it. That's about the point the internet stuff started making sense.

I compared people like Goldberg, and Triple H to Bret Hart and Chris Benoit.

I realised that the stuff I liked then, was different to what I like now. Goldberg wasn't a good wrestler, he was no longer entertaining to me. I found his streak a boring storyline for WCW to use, I found the spear sucked compared to most others, and above all else, I realised that he was one of the sh*test wrestlers I have ever seen. Stage Two.

I started paying attention to something I never even knew existed, Indy Wrestling. I got hooked on people like AJ Styles, Low Ki, Christopher Daniels and many others. That was followed by the brief time I started getting interested in the Japan and Mexico wrestling scene. I was impressed. I no longer enjoyed watching people like Big Show throw his opponents around. I was attracted to the sporting side, no longer the entertainment side. Stage Three.

I am not yet a Smark, I am merely a fan of technical wrestling. But then, I read more stuff around the net. Stuff like "The WWE Should Push Their Young Talent More." And "I Wonder What The Writers Were Thinking When They Decided On That Storyline." And then one thing led to another, pretty much the same way as before, but this time I never found the thing I knew before no longer entertaining, I simply looked at it in a different way. I became aware of the smart and not so smart business decisions the WWE goes through. The smart and the bad signings of new talent. The politics of the backstage were now understandable to me. And thus the end of my journey from Mark to Smark.

I became a Smark less than a year ago. Actually, less than six months ago. I look at Angle and say "He is a great wrestler, and he is entertaining", I look at people like Benoit and say, "He is a great wrestler, but he needs to put on a better show", at John Cena, "He is a crappy wrestler, but at least he is entertaining" and I look at people like Goldberg, the one who I once looked at like the greatest in the world, and I say, "Not only is he a shit wrestler, but he is a shit entertainer to."

So, Has The Internet Destroyed Wrestling" The answer for me is, NO! It has simple shown me a new side of wrestling. But... I can't speak for you all. You have your own answer for the question.

by Danny Walker ..