How Internet Trolling Has Affected WWE and Why It Needs to End

Do you remember America Online? Do you remember how excited the entire world was, especially the younger generation, when the Internet was first introduced? The simple fact that we could communicate with another person through a computer from ANYWHERE around the world was something unheard of.

At that time, the WWE was skyrocketing to new heights of attitude. Fans were overly elated every Monday night without a care in the world, and especially without hateful negativity being spread on a social media platform. It seemed like every person was completely satisfied with the superstars in the ring and their performances each and every week. Not only that, fans at that time weren’t critiquing every decision being made behind the scenes, and they weren’t expressing their agitation that led to defaming the product constantly.

It was a simpler time then...

It was a simpler time where “Stone Cold” Steve Austin started his path of raising hell and stomping mudholes, where D-Generation X was creating comedic memories with their outlandish antics, where Kai En Tai attempted to choppy choppy Val Venis' pee-pee (Okay--maybe it wasn't ALWAYS a simpler time then--haha), and where The Great One would kick off his career to then transform into one of the greatest movie stars in Hollywood today.

When you think back and remember those awesome times with a smile across your face, you unfortunately then have to reinsert yourself back into today’s landscape. Right now, we have the greatest collection of talented WWE superstars entertaining us each week and with all the communication services possible under our fingertips. The whole world had presumably become a better place with all the technology that had arrived for us.

However, there's a whole lot of human beings out there who unfortunately decided that they wanted to start taking FULL advantage of the world-changing technology...

Online trolling has become somewhat of an epidemic nowadays, especially when it comes to WWE. Fans have become “smarter” and understand the ins and outs of what makes a good storyline in the wrestling business work. Vince McMahon and his creative team have to come up with even more unpredictable and out-of-the-box ideas so that the WWE Universe can be provided with a certain shock value. No matter what the company decides to do, an incredible amount of backlash and attacks go flying their way. A sense of entitlement within some fans has sadly occurred over the past few years and now not everyone is getting what they "want", making it seemingly impossible to please all of them at the same time.

Knowing now that they're able to spread their negative emotions all over their social media platforms, more and more people feel the need to spit out insults, not only towards the WWE, but towards other users who have a different opinion than they do. It seems as if an abundance of people enjoy the online arguing and the putting down of others just to receive the satisfaction of getting the "upper hand" on them.

When you think about America Online and how it all started, was that the objective of the majority of people when it was first introduced? I don't think so.

Those negative people who are completely desperate to have their opinions heard for attention are the ones that personally attack the actual superstars, especially superstars who enjoy using social media to connect with their fans, friends, and family.

Amazing superstars like Paige, Nia Jax, Carmella, Corey Graves, Mike Kanellis, Alexa Bliss, and Ali are just a few that I've personally seen get attacked online for different reasons. I'm not here to dive into those reasons why, but I AM going to comment on how these strong individuals react to the hate they receive. Regardless of being in the public eye, these men and women are human beings with feelings, emotions, and different levels of mental health. Therefore, it's simply human nature for any of them to be affected by disparaging remarks being tossed their way. However, these superstars are the perfect example for others on how to deflect those insults, how to not let them affect their mood, and how to swiftly move on from them.

For all the things that are said about these men and women on a daily basis nowadays, it takes a strong-willed personality to overcome those negative feelings. I commend every single one of them for not only having to put up with such nonsense every day, but for being role models for others by showing the younger generation how to not let those criticisms control their life. It's a shame that such senseless comments and tweets have to be written by a person, but they CAN be used as fuel to make the recipient of those insults an even stronger human being.

There needs to be a way to spark a light bulb into the brains of those who feel that it's "cool" to insult others online, especially towards others that they don't even know personally. There needs to be a way to stop hating one another, stop arguing about things on the internet that aren't even important, and stop obsessing over social media to the point where all certain individuals want to do is harass and insult those in the public eye ONLY for attention.

We all as a society need to stick a fork in trolling, somehow, someway, once and for all.

I understand that these are just words on a page and I understand that I’m not particularly somebody who is under the public eye, but as a living, breathing human being, it’s my right to attempt to somehow change the perspective of the pessimistic people in the world. It’s my right as a human being to have the option of writing a piece like this and to voice my opinion on a subject that NEEDS to be discussed more. It's my OBLIGATION as a human being to care for others, help others, and make sure others are enjoying their lives without having to succumb to another person's insults.

Many of those online trolls out there have something inside of them that makes them not care about the harm they’re committing to others. However, there are some of those people who WANT guidance, who WANT to be helped, who WANT the pain in their own lives to end.

To those people I say: My email address is attached to this article—find it and reach out to me.

That’s what this life should be all about—lifting each other up and helping one another as human beings when one of them is in need. We’re all in this life together, and it won’t last forever.

Make your time on this earth something for you to be proud of once you leave it. Change your perspective, open your eyes and heart to new things and new people, and let go of all the anger and jealousy that you have inside of you. I know that it’s easier said than done, but once the battle is over, there will be a hypothetical referee standing next to you, raising your hand in victory.

I know that this article will not be able to reach every single person in the world, but if my words can help just ONE person understand that they need to change their perspective around and fix their negative outlook on life, then my words have done their job.

Stop the hate. Start to enjoy.

#EndBullying