Dustin Rhodes On Why Social Media Is Ruining Wrestling

[@InsideTheRopes]

In this clip "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes talks candidly about why he thinks social media is ruining the wrestling business and what he thinks could be done better to help the industry and storyline progression. Subscribe to the channel for more clips of our live shows and interviews and don't forget to like and comment too!

[@dale9675]

Social media is ruining a lot more than just wrestling.

[@Bale4Bond]

Life in general

[@dixonbutts800]

At least some of us can see it. Not that it will make a difference. This is the ONLY social media platform I use.

[@jeffrlasley]

Truth.

[@FerretJohn]

I can't disagree. On paper Social Media is a great thing, people around the world all sharing their thoughts and ideas and beliefs, problem with that is so many of those people are frikkin morons and assholes. You got this group being self-entitled and holier than thou, you got that group being casually offended by everything, and anyone with access to Wikipedia and Google suddenly fancies themselves a master at any subject known to man.

[@tylertravis2081]

Social media is good at times but the bad their is so much more bad that tbh with you one of the apps i stopped using was twitter its self explanatory why i stopped using it

[@mwescapists7097]

Yeah, I agree. It sucks when you can no longer get lost in JUST the show without someone talking about who just renewed their contract, who’s got heat, who’s unhappy, blah blah blah. The need to know EVERYTHING has taken a huge toll on pro wrestling as a whole.

[@austin31697]

JDfromNY206 sounds like him

[@zeek3580]

Another problem is the ppvs are just like the weekly show.

[@Hugh_Morris]

Yep, takes away their significance greatly

[@crangel8623]

And the best part is,it's only 9.99 per month,and aew is 59.99 for the same product over and over again. Wwe reigns supreme.

[@westnile21]

Cesar Angel - Nobody even mentioned AEW. You CAN like both companies. See it’s people like you that give us WRESTLING fans a bad name. Always gotta try to stir some shit up.

[@crangel8623]

@@westnile21 too bad,deal with it.

[@Hugh_Morris]

Cesar Angel not exactly the same product tho is it

[@evolvedcopper2205]

I gotta agree with Goldy, kayfabe can't exist strongly in parallel with social media.

[@michaelallanrubin2376]

Wrestlers hanging out on social media is bad because when there is real heat nobody will believe it

[@christokristoff2252]

Which is why kayfabe needs to be considered just like we do with movies. It's a fiction. We all know it's fiction. Kayfabe is fine in the promotion and if it's so sacred to someone, you can just not follow the real people online. Kayfabe protected. Boom. Kayfabe should be an opt-in choice.

[@TheOreo2008]

Unless you're MJF lol

[@The_Real_DCT]

@Matthew Alkman stop using all caps and Kayfabe died years ago it technically died a few times once when a journalist exposed the buissness during Toots Mondt's day/the Booking office era, then again when a tell all book was published in the 1940's and again when Vince under testimony admitted it was fake. Besides Kayfabe as it was can't work in this era. You can't go doing a loop, doing the same matches with the same finishes or have a guy lose the belt in one part of the territory and still have them champ in another (Vince Sr and Jr both did that multiple times) because people know, shit people have always known it was a work by the 80's I mean how could you not with Vince's hookey sports entertainment shit? Even I knew it was a work by time I was ten or eleven in the 80's. So fuck off and go listen to old out of touch carnie Cornette or something

[@laupjumpangi672]

But shouldn't wrestling just adjust to that?

[@TheAutistWhisperer]

Social Media can help wrestling, but it can be misused.

[@BrotherNero777]

a good point is with Becky and Kevin owens and how they use twitter to expand their characters

[@Zebojr2kool]

Social media helps nothing.

[@BrotherNero777]

@@Zebojr2kool care to go deeper on that point.

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

@@BrotherNero777 expanding character doesn't if it doesn't delivers on camera or show. You too know Becky and Kevin has great potential they can deliver more than they could

[@The_Real_DCT]

@@Zebojr2kool tell that to MJF, no seriously go tell him that. I need the laugh

[@Jqkus]

He is so right. The Internet ruined so many things about professional wrestling. It's depressing to think about.

[@RemyKBartels]

It really has ruined wrestling everybody being critics and always being so nitpicky that even if wwe made a perfect match with the best storyline people would complain and people want everything to be quick and amazing things take time

[@Kingwwescott]

I agree with you

[@jeffreybirman7281]

What about people who want to see several storylines that slowly burn over time? It seems to me, with a PPV event every month, that that's not enough time for storylines to build. If WWE used the entire roster (that's old school because I remember being a kid and wondering who was going to be on the show every Saturday morning) then we could have multiple storylines that payoff at different times. That seems better than the same 6 people being in the title picture all the time. I'm not sure it's social media by itself.

[@davidboniface858]

Who complains about NXT tho?

[@jeffreybirman7281]

@@davidboniface858 , not me. My issues are with how the main roster gets booked. The top is so crowded that Seth Rollins is champ and a tag champ. It's like Gallows is still looked at like Festus rather than a guy who put in the work and dominated the tag scene (with Machine Gun Karl) internationally.

[@RemyKBartels]

@@jeffreybirman7281 I'm not saying that wwe is perfect and they do everything right. I'm saying that there will always be people who are going to complain no matter how good it is

[@andrewjohnson1447]

I'd be creeped out if the Undertaker was in character on Social Media to be honest. LOL!

[@selectman6352]

I know your comment is a year old, but this doesn't make sense. A zombie texting on social media? That would destroy his character lol

[@bpowers6689]

Check out abadon, idk how to spell her name

[@donaldb93]

@@selectman6352lmao makes no sense at all for his character to do that

[@Biffo316]

It's coincidence that the two most successful eras were all character based and story driven. See hogan v Andre or the explosion of the mega powers. Fast forward 7ish years to when Bret and Shawn are on top putting on much better quality matches but business was terrible. Then hogan goes to wcw and forms the nwo with hall Nash which forces Vince to create new characters like Austin the rock mankind kane dx the corporation the ministry etc etc you had a decent mid card with guys like shamrock boss man val venis dlo brown the memphis mid card piece of crap Jeff fucking jarrett and the hardcore division was always entertaining with guys like Al snow and hardcore Holly hitting each other including but not limited to the kitchen sink. Story telling is way more important than in ring flips and kicks and all this other bs.

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

Great point but it applies to wwe only. Except wwf all territory had wrestling and story balanced.

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

@Joe Greene well they're correct at some point. Wrestler doesn't have great character show their wrestling style. But now aew slowly is focusing on character too like shawn spears, darby allin,jimmy havoc, jungle boy and luchasaurus, cody Rhodes, kenny omega,jon moxely many more I could name

[@SomePotato]

@Joe Greene AEW does both. The characters and the spotfests.

[@truonggiangvu8078]

you can kinda get both if you hit the balance just right, njpw does that almost perfectly, storytelling with the flippy stuff, that is the shit man

[@MurfsYT13]

I’m currently watching this on Social Media haha

[@davidboniface858]

MURFS!!!

[@davidboniface858]

@CountryfiedLinux yes... yes it is

[@coon-toons_]

plot twist

[@clemarmclean9443]

I respect the wisdom of Mr. Rhodes, naturally (pun intended). Same time...fan commitment to kayfabe began declining long before social media.

[@Rodshark75]

Yeah, pretty much when McMahon called people who wanted to believe in Kayfabe "childish"

[@Nightowl333]

Ugh social media ruined everything, INCLUDING wrestling. Worst thing in the world. But I agree at least stay in character on social media.

[@kennyboyle700]

I agree with Dustin. Social media exposes too much... But AEW started from social media promotions. So in a way it's given back to the wrestling.

[@tonyperez330]

K Boyle that’s a good point

[@FloridaManRacer]

I'm glad to see most comments agreeing with Dustin. Perhaps AEW should set a Kayfabe posts only policy on social media to set themselves apart from WWE?

[@user-cx9gq2ud6t]

John Douglas Racing Video lol AEW is ruining it with social media as much as everybody else is and is full of flippy crap with no selling just like Dustin is talking about

[@MansMan42069]

@@user-cx9gq2ud6t Those indy darlings try to substitute character with flippy dippy shit. Problem is, everyone has no character and so everyone does the flippy dippy shit.

[@Zebojr2kool]

Social media is ruining everything.

[@Tiny67]

I totally agree! Social media is a disaster for wrestling!

[@ProjectMopar6]

Social Media spoils any surprise in wrestling “insiders” need to learn to keep in inside or we’ll skip the show and just come to KZbin to get the scoop

[@TruBlue357]

Social Media/Internet Has Ruined Entertainment In General From Wrestling, Music & Movies.

[@tonyperez330]

TruBlue82 I remember when my space was real big back in 2007-2008. Everyone was a rock star everyone was dropping tunes. And albums and you didn’t even need a record deal lol. It was then I realized. Number one this is too easy. Number two, social media is going to be a big problem for entertainment in the coming years.

[@nicopillay4059]

Man. He hit the nail on the head and through the wood.

[@immaculateprince]

What he's confirmed about the wrestling sport i've been saying for quite some time now. Too much of the business has been exposed to the point where it is very damaged beyond repair. Vince among others helped ruin the business

[@DatGamingLxwd]

They’ll blame everything and everyone but the creative team 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@javier77th]

Dustin has always been one of my favorites. THE NATURAL has always been a stand-up guy.

[@SuperBoomshack]

Everybody in wrestling are friends, no more true heat, no air of mystery

[@aleiterful]

Although I agree unfortunately social media has become a valuable revenue stream for the company... so grateful for being around during the Monday night wars

[@tjonlee7363]

Social media is ruining everything

[@robertcullen7042]

The day i really knew fayfabe was dead, when I saw the bludgeon brother eating ice cream on Instagram last year.

[@sayfoster3562]

It's sad 😔 but true. Way too many spoilers these days

[@REEDFEEDZ]

Agreeing on everything he said, it’s weird to see undertaker on twitter, I think more wrestlers should stay in character in social media. MJF, Ciampa, Dream are prime examples.

[@ImmanuelPatton]

I already agree with this ! Just from the title, cause for the Fiend for example some people who go in person who be recording the Fiend come from the under the ring and showing a television underneath the ring and stuff , it’s just stuff you wish you didn’t see because it’s take a piece away from the action

[@AlMoSiCe210]

That Velveteen Dream comment was the ONLY line that aged like milk. Everything else, finest of wines.

[@jefflarson3693]

I agree with him about Velveteen Dream.

[@wolfcola3401]

I think this applies to everything. Not just wrestling. Social media is ruining everything. Everything offends everyone.

[@platform4entertainmenttv]

Spot on Dusty! Back in the old Wrestling days there was no Social media community, just word of mouth/gossip which made Wrestling have a exciting mystery to want to watch. You couldn’t miss a Raw back then unless you taped the event or had a friend tape it then you missed out! Wrestling is an art and tells a story, today too much is going on at once. When is the last match you vividly remember the match from beginning to end?

[@smoochydatrhino5793]

It's true. Like what ever happened to just laughing from wrestling being ridiculous. We don't have the attitude era Icons anymore. That stuff gave us laughs and that gut rush win because your favorite won.t That stuff was just pure comedy. I'm grateful I grew up watching wrestling it's like home and there's nothing else like it.

[@trotskii7941]

Kayfabe was dead long before social media. Wrestling With Shadows/Montreal, Beyond The Mat, ECW, "the curtain call"... That boat sailed a long time ago.

[@kevinsousa3370]

I can understand social media can hurt wrestling in some ways. However, the entire story of the Cody vs Goldust was on social media. If it wasn't for social media the match wouldn't as great as it was without social media

[@andreabryant2857]

Really great hearing Goldust co-sign the Velveteen Dream. He partially reminds me of what Goldust could've been.

[@Astro_Guy_1]

This aged very, very badly 🥶

[@mattjones5531]

The reason why Kayfabe "died" is because one person said it did and we all accepted it, we accepted that everything had to be more "realistic" in turn losing one of the things that arguably made wrestling great, the larger than life characters.

[@Rodshark75]

Well when that "One Person" is the owner and face of the company.... yeah, kinda has a major impact.

[@maniachaelchallenges]

Spot on. I hope he and Cody can get the rest of their roster in line.

[@angiemelts2158]

Social media for the most part has made Keyfabe impossible. Wrestlers Like Rosemary that is in character 24/7 on camera and on Twitter. If there is a a wrestler that can use Twitter to advance their character deserves kudos.

[@thesupervisor3270]

I agree 1000% I hate social media

[@quazihomelessemperor7137]

me too. don't use it

[@crou8040]

Social media isn't just running wrestling, it's the ruination of the world.

[@thecake6635]

Goldust: take social media away from wrestling Cody: *books a match using social media*

[@Gabe_Lopez]

Marks had no say so in decision making or deciding who got over until social media gave them the platform to constantly complain about absolutely everything which is why nobody is truly over like they were in The Attitude Era or in the eighties

[@jasonmayton6482]

I think they should bring back the territories but in a global sense..and every promoter should recognize a world champion and tag champions. Much like how Harley Race was recognized in the 70's. And spread the ppv's out.

[@benmac7552]

Social media can be a benefit. Look what AEW did with building to their ppvs and generating hype purely online.

[@TheIrishny]

People cant get invested with whats going on in the ring anymore. Wrestling fans are more worried about what "creative" is doing, or who the back office are trying to "push". When people watch something like GOT, they talk about the characters like they're real people, but wrestling fans worry more about whats behind the curtain than whats on in the ring.

[@RealSayef]

3:57 well...

[@MilMaska]

Dustin Rhodes my new favorite

[@sportsnewz5608]

What I like about Bray Wyatt with his new and improved gimmick he always stays in character whether he in WWE or doing an interview or being invited in a podcast he always stay in character

[@pedrogarcia9159]

Social media ruines everything marriages friends jobs just be careful out there

[@HIGHCLASSVILLAIN]

Dustin is 10,000% right on all of this. I always believed this.

[@always_serpico]

Man, I’m hoping the fact that Dream is home grown will keep him from becoming a joke on the main roster. But I don’t know, Vince tends to drop the ball HARD with flamboyant personalities.

[@trevorfeelgood]

Wrestlers should talk in character on Twitter...but i dont do it...um

[@lk7923]

Because if no one else does it why should he

[@tanerismailoglu9789]

@@lk7923 just because kayfabe is dead doesn't mean his character has to be

[@lk7923]

@@tanerismailoglu9789 at this stage in his career he wouldnt do that

[@shaqyardie8105]

There are hardly any characters anymore, just boring personalities.

[@tanerismailoglu9789]

@@shaqyardie8105 you want repo man?

[@scottlawson1800]

Have been waiting for this! Wrestling changed with social media, as did many things, not bad but different and in many ways good

[@jerryjerri2936]

Social media isnt going anywhere. So the best thing to do is it to your advantage. I think real reason wrestling is suffering right now is because everyone knows its fake. And because everyone knows it's fake, WWE is treating wrestling like it's fake. Wrestling will never be what it was 20 years ago, but that doesn't mean wrestling cant become great again. When people talk to their friends, or family or co workers about wrestling, they shouldn't say, "Yeah it's fake, but it's really good." They should say, "Honestly I'm not sure if it's fake or not." Once you've done that, youve made wrestling great again.

[@khuntington]

A lot of people hate on her cause she’s a bad guy or whatever, but man Lacey Evans has a character and her Twitter is basically 95% in character. She’s all about that kayfabe :)

[@PJownsyoursoul]

This is perfect. The WWE stars are basically KZbin / IG stars that wrestle on the side.

[@thecake6635]

_what is BTE?_

[@ImmanuelPatton]

The main thing what can kill wrestling is social media mainly.

[@onkar5]

Is there the full interview somewhere?

[@purplegill10]

In the same vein though, if it wasn't for social media we would have never had the women's revolution in both impact and wwe, we would have never had people call out all the abuses behind the scenes, we would have never had a movement towards better working conditions and actually make progress in getting better pay and better opportunities for wrestlers that never got the chance. To just cover up all the good that social media has done by calling things "too sensitive" or that it's ruining the story seems like it's going backwards in wrestling rather than actually making things for everyone from the fans to the workers themselves.

[@QAZ-OMEN]

I disagree Goldie it's not all the fans ruining wrestling by comments. It's the fact everyone is to easily offended. Ppl need to b able to vent there frustrations freely Without fear of offending the ppl out there

[@TheThing2011]

I would have to agree, it's become so much less...authentic. We know it's scripted and the performers aren't so much fighters as they are actors but the social media aspect removes any sense of character when you can so easily identify their actual lives. You really had to seek them out in the early 2000s internet, even if they had one website dedicated to their characters you didn't instantly see who they were and what they were doing in real life. It paints such a different picture for their theater now, much more than it does for Hollywood actors.

[@feezmizaro]

Not even Rock or Austin would survive in today's "Social Media Era"...

[@ChristianRamosTheKingSlater]

Actually The Rock and Stone Cold use social media to their advantage and that's how the Rock sells movie tickets and Stone Cold is selling his podcast and merch and now beer because of it it's only evil if you dont know how to use it right

[@shaqyardie8105]

@@ChristianRamosTheKingSlater He's referring to if they were wrestling today....

[@Rodshark75]

@@shaqyardie8105 They are smart, capable, adaptable performers and athletes, they probably would have been even bigger if they had the freedom to reach more people using social media... I can imagine Austin 3:16 and "What?!" becoming viral memes.

[@brycelowe7744]

That velveteen dream comment didnt age well, no pun intended

[@LoganProductions54]

He talks about how back in the day they'd have three month long builds. For the main event For the world title. 30 years ago, in the 90's, it was CRASH TV, there were ten heel/face turns in a night, a hundred betrayals, storylines just began and ended out of nowhere, was it entertaining? Sure, but outside of Rock/Austin/Taker/Kane/Mankind/Triple H, there were no real "3 month long builds" to stuff.

[@JCD1078]

Social media didn't kill wrestling. Bad wrestling and oversaturation killed wrestling.

[@nonexistenceisbliss9528]

Goldust is right, social media has DESTROYED wrestling! Along with humanity as a whole! 😡

[@AhmedMahmoud-sq7xg]

The roster is freaking filled to the max

[@tonyperez330]

TooDaMaaaaxxx

[@AhmedMahmoud-sq7xg]

@@tonyperez330 yeah lol

[@BOOM.SHOPPERS]

Dustin aka goldust is absolutely correct.

[@Tahu33446]

Sadly it's true. I mean sure you want to believe everyone you watch on tv isnt the greatest evil or the best person they seem to be. But the fact that we have access to that part of a wrestlers lives means it can be hard to take them seriously. Brawn and big e look like monsters but when I see a regular photo of them they look like they are having the time of their lives. Like you could walk past them and feel better because they look so happy.

[@mariahanover9335]

Is the company out of touch? No, it's the fans....I'm sure in 1980 someone said weekly television was killing wrestling, then someone said PPV's are killing wrestling, then the internet was killing wrestling, then the Network was killing wrestling. Too many boomers with total control over the product blaming changing times on the quality of shows. You have the best workers in history and the worst product since 1995, that's on you.

[@ryanpotter9152]

yea i totally agree about the taker on twitter. its weird have split personalities. maybe thats why punk is popular cos he is the same inside and out the ring

[@rellchannell]

He’s right It’s ruining something we love!

[@jnulpi]

one of the best worker and minds in the business.

[@LadyMorgue0240]

I agree, but at the same time, we're not going to evolve without communication. There are people out there who will learn astrology to take down someone's social movement in one day. Kayfabe is a dinosaur, but you can evolve it into a bird. Everyone knows that this a storytelling business. We need to make it known WHEN kayfabe is active and when it isn't. We need a personal account, and we need a kayfabe account. Anything done in the kayfabe account is known to be kayfabe. Personal accounts can PROMOTE a show and make personal commentary, but the people need to know what is being said by the worker and what is being said by the wrestler. One of the ideas I had was to treat Kayfabe like a roleplay session. Wrestlers can say hi to the fans, but once the bell rings that summons them because the doors are opening, hard kayfabe happens. Unless you can make a legit continuity excuse as to why you are watching the show around the audience, you don't belong there. Even during intermission, your interactions with the crowd must stay kayfabe because you are still in the bell time. Once the final bell signaling that the show is over, though... kayfabe ends and people can talk to the workers and not their gimmicks. They kind of do this with Walking Dead because they have that post-show to show that "HEY! We really didn't just kill off your favorite character!". Because the show is that immersive, you need a period where you zone them out of the story.

[@RossiLCFC1993]

The problem is that everything leaks out now, So back in the day of a wrestler returned it’s like HOLY SHIT HE’S BACK Now when a wrestler returns it’s like we knew cause of fucking Twitter, be like jon Moxley and not use social media at all or tweet once a month in your character

[@acehole4514]

Goldie is seriously in my top 5. True stand up fella, I have an entire spot in my apartment with his memorabilia filling it up. His opinion is so justified

[@dadiswatching7841]

Selling, story telling... all have forgotten what that is. Still better than any sport. All are fake, least they entertain. Well, they use to. Talking against social media while literally making a podcast for social media says it all. You literally are killing it. Daddy would be proud...

[@jeremyjames3633]

Wrestling back when I was growing up was a mystery u didn't know what was gonna happen or when a certain person was coming back Social Media turned me off from wrestling I watch but I only watch very sparingly

[@kingcnm3496]

Yep he right and it be these fans. We are in this I want it now era

[@Venemofthe888]

There's way too many ppvs like it feels like there's 15 each year

[@itchyisvegeta]

I don't think it's the social media. I think it's the lack of basic logical story telling combined with selling injuries and in ring psychology. When Dean Ambrose takes a full on power bomb from in side the ring, to over the ropes and onto a ladder outside the ring and breaks the ladder, where is the suspension of disbelief when he accepts the US Championship Open Challenge the next night on Raw and wrestles a full match? He should not have been on TV for at least 2 weeks for "on medical leave", or at the very very least, can't continue the match cause of medical complications and gets taken out on a stretcher for falsifying medical papers, or some story crap like that. My point is, social media showing how fake pro wrestling is now a days doesn't matter when the actual TV shows make it look fake as shit.

[@barbaraswingle5114]

HE IS DAMN RIGHT!!!! HOWEVER SERIOUSLY COMMENTS DESTROYING WRESTLING MORE THAN VINCE DUSTIN???? VINCE IS WORST BUT THANK GOD YOU BROTHER WILL SAVE IT

[@obsidianthe7th]

My friend had to shut off notifications from Twitter because Goldy would not stop tweeting back in the day.

[@ZambieCrew]

when was this filmed?

[@aayusht5033]

that velveteen part didnt age well.😬

[@16THESAINT]

It’s really a simple fix. Have the wrestlers have their own private Twitter separate from the fans and have a public one in character

[@Draw_Four]

Social media has done a ton for women’s wrestling and its visibility but beyond that I’d agree.

[@ReeseMan]

So true the era of social media has killed pro wrestling im from a pro wrestling non social media internet base now its so pc

[@TheMJKnight]

I have to agree with all the points he made.

[@mindiorenstein663]

Totally agree with what Dustin said

[@abcsin6526]

Although Vince storyline isn't doing good but social media is literally destroying wrestling.if you just don't follow social media and watch it like in old times.u would realise it's interesting to watch!!!!

[@davidboniface858]

But the characters these days are pretty bad

[@KeymoEmbryo]

IF WE DIDN"T HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA!!!! ** posts video on his Twitter account telling ppl to ReTweet the video **

[@StephenThe3rd]

Watching this again and the problem is you can look up who won the rumble or who returned at the Ppv. Back in the day you had to watch the raw after the show to know what happened that’s why I think numbers are lower now. I will put my hand up and say I can’t watch every raw so I do go on KZbin to see what happened I try and watch most ppv the big four especially but what’s the point I watched when Goldberg beat lesnar in 90 seconds but the next day it's littered all over the KZbin,Facebook or Twitter pages it definitely has changed the landscape.

[@TheMan750]

Ironically enough, it’s social media that helped and promote and market the company that he’s in, I agree, it has ruined a part of wrestling but without it, AEW wouldn’t be as successful through word of mouth

[@TyG2k9]

Social media AND spoiler sites/channels are also destroying wrestlers

[@jimmyju76]

I remember Stroman and Reing going at it tooth and nail, violent and aggressive.....you see a Tweet of them two touring Paris seeing the sights 😕

[@TheKagedReview]

I love how everyone is trashing social media... on social media!

[@jenller]

Where else can it be trashed?

[@TheKagedReview]

@@jenller anywhere people have the ability to write or speak... and probably more places than that if people are intuitive enough!

[@jenller]

@@TheKagedReview like the bathroom stalls and public expression boards?