In this day and age, the WWE has focused more on shorter, action packed matches, and it’s not always a good thing.
Wrestling is a visual storyteller. Their art is in the ring, matching wits and strength with their opponent to put on the best show possible, like dance. Each superstar has their own style. Some prefer the subtleties of their actions to tell their story while others want to explode and give us a high-flying, exciting five to ten minutes.
Here’s the thing, the magic number for a great match is roughly twenty minutes. Wrestlers sometimes need time to find their groove and what works with the crowd. It’s not an exact science. Considering the best matches in history are the marathons — from Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels’ WrestleMania 12 Iron Man Match to Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior’s WrestleMania 6 match — and the shorter ones are “message” matches, why the shift?
They need to live up to the male soap opera claim
The main reason is the shift from brief promos and matches to more drawn out in ring narration. We spend roughly half to three quarters of an episode listening to banter, promises, and threats from the superstars in the ring. It makes sense, given the shift in dynamic. It also puts more emphasis on the superstars’ microphone ability to sell their character.
Because of this, it’s rare to see a match last more than ten minutes. Superstars have always relied on a handful of moves, but it’s even more prevalent now as they focus more on high impact attacks to shorten the match and entertain the fans.
But when everyone dives through the ropes, or uses the ropes as springboards for a moonsault or other maneuver, it gets tiresome and loses its excitement. It’s one thing to pick out what a particular superstar is going to do, it’s a whole other when the playbook matches a majority of the superstars.
It’s in the presentation
And that’s what the longer matches off. For many, it’s far more entertaining to see superstars grappling and working over their opponents in a slower-paced match as that allows us to see the superstar’s abilities more. It also demonstrates which ones put more thought into their matches or can come up with routines on the fly to keep the fans entertained. We get to see different moves, different approaches, and a buildup to each superstar’s finisher rather than a couple of hits, a springboard off the ropes and/or suicide dive, then the finisher.
The extra length also allows the superstars to build anticipation instead of kicking out of each other’s finisher a handful of times. There’s a difference to the surprise level when someone perseveres and kicks out after being methodically worked over surviving a finisher three minutes in.
While the WWE looks to find ways to reconnect with fans, maybe going back to longer matches more often instead of rushing through every one could be the key?
