You can ask a hundred different people what makes a great wrestling match and you’ll probably get a hundred different answers.
For some it’s the video game like angle of a spot fest where they’re trying to get fans and promotors’ attention. For others, it’s the story and struggle to overcome the odds and so on.
Great matches can draw us in and make us care about the struggle, not just the end result. It’s a journey for us and for the wrestlers as they tell their stories.
Triple H and Jim Cornette Agree Wrestling’s About the Story, Not the Moves
The argument between spot fest and storytelling being the most important part has reached a fever pitch in recent years with AEW becoming the second biggest promotion in the United States.
They introduced many from the Indie scene and they brought their exciting but largely one dimensional style to the big stage and they have since grown to incorporate more of the standard storytelling into their matches.
The WWE has seen it’s fair share of spot fests as well, and it often felt that was a shift the company had made. But over the last two weeks since Triple H took over, the matches has slowed down some and the storytelling has come to the fore once again.
Like a movie
During a recent appearance on the Impaulsive podcast wit Logan Paul, Triple H explained how the story telling is more important to him than the spots. Special thanks to Itrwrestling.com for the following transcripts.
“I like that’s the gap that people have right? Even our talent that have been doing this a really long time. It’s not the moves. It’s like watching a movie. How many movies have you seen with crazy budgets and special effects and CGI that visually you go ‘Holy sh*t that’s amazing’ and no one cares. The movie bombs, there’s no story, no one really fully cares.
It’s not about the moves, what we do. It’s about what you do in-between. The characters, the story.”
Hunter’s thoughts caused a slight stir among wrestling fans that disagree, and we’re sure more heat will be coming his way with Jim Cornette agreeing with him.
Corny agrees
On his own podcast, Cornette went into greater detail in why he agreed with Hunter.
“If you are in the wrestling business and are smart to the wrestling business, then you kind of understand what he’s saying in that that is what’s happened to independent wrestling over the last 15 or 20 years. And we’ve talked about it, the guys that have gotten into the wrestling business weren’t recruited by the old-time territory promoters, or by the biggest billion-dollar company in the business today.
“They got into the business on an independent level because they were the diehard fans of the work rate, that was a term that was coined, maybe by [Dave Meltzer], I don’t know, it wasn’t a wrestling term.
“But they think that the moves and the stunts are the determining factors and whether a match is good or not. So I agree with Triple H that it’s not about the moves. It’s about like MJF says, I’m the guy that makes you feel so he doesn’t have to do that stupid crazy sh*t that just blends in with everybody else, and it’s all you see now and most people who liked wrestling are sick of it.
“The small audience who wants to see constant trampolining moves you know is kind of stagnant and is what it is. And that’s the AEW core audience. But they’ve still got a few more that would like to become involved.
“And with the WWE, they’re unfortunately, their problem is they’ve made the matches so boring and meaningless that even good talent can’t hook the people because they’ve been accustomed to, trained, or educated to that it’s all the drama and the horsesh*t and the soap opera-y and the entrance and the pageantry and not the actual act itself.”
To be honest, I agree with Triple H and Cornette. AEW relies on athleticism and the WWE on micromanaging dramatic effects instead of allowing them to happen organically.
There’s a middle ground that can be had, and with Triple H reportedly moving the WWE from sports entertainment to wrestling, we’re going to see more of what made wrestling great over the decades.
What do you think is the better type of match? Let us know in the comments below.
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