By now, you must be asking yourself: what should I watch on the WWE Network? Well, below are a few of my recommendations. These assume little to no wrestling knowledge and are meant to give you a background of what has made professional mainstream so great, past and present, both in and out of the ring.
I would recommend that new viewers begin with the first three episodes of the Monday Night War. MNR is an ongoing series documenting the "Monday Night War," a period in which the top two wrestling companies of the late 1990s -- the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling -- duked it out for ratings supremacy. You've probably heard about "Hulk Hogan," "The Rock," "Stone Cold," "Goldberg," and "Vince McMahon." Now you can get a quick primer on the period of time (~1996-2002) that made them and the companies for which they worked household names. Even though the series is biased in favor of the WWF, I recommend it to just about anyone curious about the sport. Episodes four and on are wrestler-specific, but the first three episodes give a decent overview of the time period:
http://network.wwe.com/video/v36133921 ("The War Begins")
http://network.wwe.com/video/v36719349 ("The Rise of NWO")
http://network.wwe.com/video/v36133965 ("Embracing Attitude")
Now, there are even more episodes of the Monday Night War, focusing on crucial people such as The Undertaker and Sting, as well as important real-life groups such as The Kliq!
Are you not into the athletic aspect of the sport, but more into the stellar acting and general bizarre comedic nature of pro wrestling? Then I recommend Countdown, another ongoing series exclusive to the WWE Network. Countdown features the top ten moments in various categories, as voted by viewers. These give you a great window into the past (sometimes the far past) and present of the industry. By the way, before I link the shows, in this update, I want to thank you for reading this far and give you a chance to receive a free PC copy of either Battlefield 4 on Origin or Dishonored on Steam. If you would like one of these games, please respond to this thread within 24 hours immediately after my post in this thread indicating that the thread has been updated. Please choose only one game. As always, rules subject to change. For now, though, I will only recommend episodes that have less to do with the athletic component of pro wrestling and more with the comedic aspect:
The show page: http://network.wwe.com/shows/original/wwe-countdown.
http://network.wwe.com/video/v31616471 ("Biggest Blunders") (ie Comedy)
http://network.wwe.com/video/v31799335 ("Infamous Gimmicks")
http://network.wwe.com/video/v33571507 ("Biggest Trash Talkers")
http://network.wwe.com/video/v34401339 ("Celebrity Twists") (ie Bob Barker invades WWE)
Well, now you have stuff to watch, but let's say your partner or roommate doesn't want you to hog the TV or the computer watching that "dumb WWF stuff. It's all fake anyways." How do you convince he/she that there is more to the current world of professional wrestling than meets the eye? Sure, the above lists may work for someone who has some interest, but for someone who has no interest, I recommend you start with either Total Divas or Slam City.
Total Divas is a reality show featuring the "Divas" (female wrestlers) of the WWE as they try to balance their careers and personal lives. The show premiered a couple of years ago on the E! Network and was a TOTAL hit. Currently it's in its third season, and the WWE Network has Season 1 uploaded. The show is funny, emotional, and does feature plenty of wrestling. Male wrestlers such as John Cena and Daniel Bryan make frequent appearances. Here is the link: http://network.wwe.com/shows/original/total-divas
Slam City is a cartoon that will convince that nagging person that WWE can also be kid-oriented. The show takes place in a world where a villain has fired all the WWE Superstars, and these wrestlers now have to take other jobs. The show has been so successful online that NICKELODEON has picked it up and will broadcast the episodes soon. They are short, but sweet: http://network.wwe.com/shows/original/slam-city
