The Right To Spoiler-Free Wrestling: An Open Letter To Dave Meltzer

**SPOILER ALERT! You may not like what you’re about to read**

Dave,

Don’t be mad.

As much fun as I was having with our discussion on Twitter Thursday, it’s clear 140 characters is not enough to clearly express my position. I’m hoping this will be a more coherent and effective way for me to offer what I feel is a valid piece of constructive criticism. I don’t want you to think I’m picking on you. This certainly applies to a number of other professional wrestling news websites, but I don’t subscribe to them. I subscribe to yours.

I was listening to the March 3 episode of Wrestling Observer Radio this morning, and something rubbed me the wrong way.

So @davemeltzerWON can casually spoil #LuchaUnderground and #SmackDown, but if he misses #WWENXT, he and @bryanalvarez can't talk about it?

— Mainstream Mat (@MainstreamMat) March 3, 2016

Yes, I was frustrated. While discussing Wednesday night’s episode of Lucha Underground, you said…

“[redacted] and [redacted] debut…in [redacted] more weeks.”

This isn’t the first time you’ve casually revealed, without warning, key plot points which have yet to air on Lucha Underground. In a recent issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, you detailed the outcomes of matches filmed for Ultima Lucha.

We talk about NXT as soon as it's taped if there is news. Come to think of it, we report news. Weird concept. https://t.co/PFlAH6NQGA

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) March 3, 2016

As a fan of Lucha Underground, I make every effort to avoid spoilers. I shut myself off from social media starting at 8 p.m. every Wednesday night, and don’t revisit it until I’ve watched the latest episode. Alas, I’ve surrendered to the reality that spoilers for SmackDown, NXT and Ring Of Honor television are far more difficult to avoid.

What’s upsetting to me is the fact that if I were to visit a major entertainment news website, and it was reporting storylines that have yet to air on a television show such as The Walking Dead or Game Of Thrones, it would be made very clear to the reader that spoilers are part of the article. I’ve frequently listened to movie podcasts that literally sound an alarm before beginning a spoiler discussion on a new movie.

I run a news site, not an entertainment site. https://t.co/s0lOrnLHPC

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) March 3, 2016

Pro wrestling is entertainment. Storylines matter. For a lot of us on the outside, being taken along for the ride and not knowing what will happen next is still an essential part of the joy of being a fan. We want to be surprised. Look no further than the reactions to Shane McMahon’s return for proof of that.

As a fellow journalist, I don’t want to suggest you stop reporting results for events that have yet to air on television. What you do has worked for a long time, but I would strongly encourage you to be respectful to your subscribers who want their pro wrestling spoiler-free. They shouldn’t feel like they must stop listening to your podcasts or reading your newsletters altogether out of fear of inadvertantly reading something they don’t want to know. I certainly don’t want to. I enjoy the insight you, Bryan Alvarez and others share.

It takes just a few extra seconds to alert a reader or a listener to spoiler-filled content. If it means better serving a portion of your subscribers, it’s time well spent.

Thanks for your time.