Nerd Rage can be triggered by a number of things, most commonly through helplessness in the face of bullying, internet fights, or seeing their favorite film/show/anime/etc degraded or insulted in some way.
This is the definition of Nerd Rage is both fitting and apt when applied to a certain portion of the sports entertainment audience.
You know someone who suffers from Nerd Rage regularly. They don’t even wait for a wrestling show to be over before they whip out their cell phones and post angrily on social media, making sure the whole world knows they are not satisfied.
It happened when hundreds of misogynistic fans review bombed Captain Marvel before they had actually even seen the film, it happened when Ben Affleck was cast as Batman–justifiably in that case–and it happens every time a Netflix adaptation of Anime doesn’t look the way some fans hoped it would.
In pro wrestling, Nerd Rage happens all the time. Here are seven things that will incite members of the Internet Wrestling Community to a state of the purest Nerd Rage.
Incites Nerd Rage #1 Calling a clothesline a lariat, and vice versa
In the world of pro wrestling, attacking an opponent with an out thrust arm is known as a clothesline.
But it’s also known as a lariat. While some may quibble and criticize every nuance of difference that separates the two moves, at the end of the day they both involve hitting an opponent in the neck or chest with the arm.
Why, exactly, this incites nerd rage isn’t clear. It all seemed to start around the early 2000s, when the Internet Wrestling Community really got rolling. Pro Wrestling aficionados will point out that the lariat uses a slightly different delivery than the clothesline, but the terms were used interchangeably by fans and announcers for years before the internet tried to make them separate moves.
Incites Nerd Rage #2 Saying anything negative about the wrestling they grew up with
Nostalgia is a double edged sword. On the one had, it can wistfully remind us of earlier days when things were less complicated.
On the other hand, it can make us blind to the flaws in things that we wistfully recall from our youth. Nostalgia may have had an impact on the failure of the recent Ghostbusters reboot, and it certainly still plays a role in wrestling today, such as when stars of past eras like Batista and Beth Phoenix wind up in a ring again.
For many wrestling fans, their particular favorite period of wrestling was most likely the same one they watched when they were young. For some, this might mean that the WWE Classic era was the best, citing legends like Roddy Piper and Macho Man Randy Savage–while discounting the fact that you rarely, if ever, saw competitive matches on free television in that time.
For others, they will claim the Attitude Era was the best–despite it being a low point for technical wrestling, and the rampant sexism and homophobia that defined that era.
The point is, talking bad about someone’s favorite wrestling era is likely to incite nerd rage–so beware!
Incites Nerd Rage #3 Saying nice things about John Cena
John Cena is a pro wrestling legend, a man who has dominated WWE for over two decades and won the World Championship sixteen times, tying the equally iconic Nature Boy Ric Flair in total reigns.
He has sold truckloads of merchandise, has granted more wishes for the Make A Wish foundation–a charity that tries to grant the wishes of terminally ill children–than anyone has ever, or likely will ever, grant. He has also spilled his fame outside the wrestling ring, appearing in films and authoring a popular rap album.
However, there are certain pro wrestling fans who are incited to nerd rage by any positive things said about Cena whatsoever. In their mind, he was ‘shoved down the fan’s throats’ by Vince McMahon, and he ‘only knows three moves,’ and ‘he gets to beat everybody’ and he ‘ruined’ wrestling.
To them, John Cena will always be the subject of derision, and even the mere suggestion that he might not deserve such treatment will instantly trigger nerd rage.
Incites Nerd Rage #4 Saying negative things about their favorite wrestling company
One of the great things about the pro wrestling industry is that there are a variety of different flavors to choose from.
If a fan loves the pure pro wrestling on a technical level, they can enjoy the promotion Ring of Honor, which as a strong emphasis on in ring competition and a more sports oriented presentation.
If, on the other hand, they prefer hard hitting strong style wrestling, they can enjoy the New Japan Pro Wrestling organization. And if they like drama mixed in with their in ring action, they love what the WWE has to offer.
However, some wrestling fans take things a bit personally, and even the mere suggestion that there might be another wrestling organization deserving of success other than their favorite will lead to unmitigated Nerd Rage on an epic scale.
Incites Nerd Rage #5 Liking a wrestler who weighs 300 pounds or more
For some members of the Internet Wrestling Community, ‘real’ pro wrestlers are all under two hundred pounds, execute a ton of high flying flips and high risk moves, and wrestle for sixty minutes every time they go out of the curtain.
To these people, liking a wrestler who doesn’t fit the above mold is likely to incite them to Nerd Rage. For example, take Kane, or Mayor Glen Jacobs if you prefer. Kane has been wrestling for the WWE for over twenty years, sometimes masked and sometimes not.
He is a former world champion, he appeared in the first ever Hell in a Cell match, and his iconic mask and entrance theme have found their way into memes and the everyday lexicon of the English language.
However, because he doesn’t execute a 450 splash or weigh under 200 pounds, admitting to liking Kane can cause some of the IWC to lose their minds in a fit of Nerd Rage!
Incites Nerd Rage #6 Calling Kenny Omega’s moves the wrong names
Canadian born pro wrestler extraordinaire Kenny Omega has never been ashamed of his otaku roots. An Otaku is a person who is very much interested in anime, manga, and video games from the land of the rising sun.
Thus, Kenny Omega has renamed many pro wrestling moves after the Japanese animation and video game characters he loves. A running knee smash has been standard wrestling offense even before Harley Race made it a signature thirty years ago, but for heaven’s sakes DO NOT call it that when Kenny Omega does it; it’s a V trigger or you’ll incite nerd rage!
Likewise, Kenny uses a gutwrench sitout powerbomb but renames it the Dr. Wiley Bomb. Yes, Kenny Omega is quite creative with his move names but is nerd rage really necessary?
Incites Nerd Rage #7 Talking about wrestling in kayfabe terms
Kayfabe is the ‘admitted fakery’ that allows pro wrestling to occupy its unique niche in the world of sports.
Kayfabe is, for example, Braun Strowman being crushed in the back of a garbage truck one week, then showing up unharmed the next week coming out of the same garbage truck. How did he not get crushed? Why did the garbage truck not empty its load at the landfill? These questions are meaningless, because in the world of pro wrestling kayfabe Strowman is an unstoppable monster who can’t be killed by conventional means.
But then there are the members of the IWC who can’t stand these type of stories, or even talking about them. Tell one of these people that “Johnny Gargano hates Tommaso Ciampa,” and you will incite their nerd rage. They will angrily–and condescendingly–explain that the two are friends in ‘real life’ and that you are a ‘stupid mark’ for buying into the story line.
The same people won’t bat an eye saying ‘Thanos hates Captain America’ even if Chris Evans and Josh Brolin are friends in ‘real life.’ It just goes to show that Nerd Rage knows not logic or reason!
There you have it; Seven things that will trigger Nerd Rage in certain members of the Internet Wrestling Community. What triggers your nerd rage?
Please comment and let us know, and as always thanks for reading!
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