Tiffany: So, You Want To Give Up WWE.

Why still watch if you hate the product? Tiffany gives you some WWE alternatives that you may enjoy.

So you’re sick of WWE and want to stop watching? I don’t blame you, it does get hard to watch something and not be enthusiastic about what you’re watching, especially when you remember and long for the days when scantily clad women, and questionable storytelling were the norm. No, I’m not making fun of you or your nostalgia. Far from it, I want to help you, I feel your pain.

Or maybe you want WWE to make some changes, maybe give the talent more creative freedom or control. I can TOTALLY get behind that, let’s let Lars Sullivan let out all the questionable things that are in his nasty little heart. Or don’t. From what I’ve heard, that’s not a can of worms we want to open.

So, what do you do? Well, you gotta give up RAW and SmackDown. No big deal, right? God knows all of us have shows that we record on Monday and Tuesday that would probably be more interesting than some of the RAWs and SmackDowns that have been put on lately.

If you’re really serious about giving up WWE, the first thing you need to do is cancel the WWE Network subscription. Oh, I know, there’s so much content that you love that ISN’T the current stuff you watch every week, but if you’re really serious about giving up WWE, the Network’s got to go. You can spend the $9.99 on some lunch or something.

Next thing that you need to give up is the T-shirts. As someone whose off time wardrobe primarily consists of wrestling t-shirts and comfy pants or shorts, this is really tough. Sell them on E-Bay, you might make a packet if you’ve got some old ones in great shape. Maybe invest in some cool band shirts from Hot Topic. No, you don’t have to recognize the band, or like their songs, it’s important to look cool, right?

‘But, Tiffany,’ I hear you saying, ‘I still LOVE wrestling! What am I going to do if I give all this up?’. Don’t worry, crickets, I wouldn’t leave you hanging, there are a couple of great options that will fill your wrestling needs.

1. New Japan Pro Wrestling: Hear me out. If you really want to see some serious wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling is for you. It’s one of the two or three top wrestling promotions in Japan. They have a somewhat lighter schedule than WWE, but the shows are fantastic. Don’t want to get up at 3am to watch wrestling? New Japan has their own version of the WWE Network called New Japan Pro Wrestling World. It is $9.99, just like WWE Network and offers some similar content. Don’t understand a word of Japanese outside of the menu in a sushi restaurant? New Japan Pro Wrestling World offers English commentary on many of its programs, including a guy who translates the Japanese promos into English. Plus, they’ve signed this new kid, Jon Moxley, and he’s been tearing it up.

2. AEW: Okay, don’t roll your eyes at me. Yeah, it would be easy to write off AEW as a lot of over-hyped crap, but they did put on a really good show over Memorial Day and that Jon Moxley kid has signed a full-time contract with them as well. They’ve got good ol’ JR for you nostalgia guys, and they have no problem with their guys spilling blood, if Dustin Rhodes being covered in his own blood is anything to go by. No, a lot of their guys aren’t well known yet, and they’ve got someone named ‘Jungle Boy’ who is actually the late Luke Perry’s son, but everyone starts somewhere, right?

3. Impact: No, you’re still not allowed to roll your eyes at me. Okay, so Impact hasn’t been setting the world on fire for a long time, but they’ve become the phoenix of the wrestling world…or like the movie monsters, just when you think they’re done, they keep coming back. If you’re willing to subscribe to Twitch, you can actually watch Impact on Sundays…I think. They also have their own version of the WWE Network called Impact Plus, but they’ve been having some bugs with their subscription payment system.

4. Ring of Honor: This is the third US based promotion but it’s one I don’t really know a lot about. However, a lot of current and past WWE superstars have come from Ring of Honor and they have a working relationship with New Japan, so you can get a taste of both styles of wrestling. They too have their own subscription video service, Honor Club, that’s a little cheaper than the Network, but you will still have to pay for PPVs separately, whereas with New Japan and Impact, the PPVs are either free or uploaded to the subscription service within a week.

So, there you have it, four Non-WWE options for your viewing pleasure. Realizing that you’re really not ready to give up WWE? That’s fine, but don’t be surprised when nothing changes because you’re not giving them a reason to change. If you are serious about giving up WWE, or just want to explore what else is out there, you’ve got several great options and lots of people who would be willing to help you learn about the different promotions and it’s a lot of fun to see how other promotions work. Broaden your horizons without leaving the couch.