Professional wrestling has always been about the show, the larger than life personas that dominate the landscape and draw us in with their words and in-ring action. We know it’s scripted, that the outcomes are predetermined, and we don’t care. We want to be entertained, we want a show. For most of us, professional wrestling is about the characters.
And that’s where the disconnect is.
Characters draw
It’s a fact that characters sell. They draw us in because we want to see what shenanigans they’re up to, what are they going to do next, what aren’t they going to do.
We love to see some good old fashioned imagination gone wild. A perfect example is the runaway popularity of Bray Wyatt’s The Fiend character. His merchandise wouldn’t be flying off the shelves (pre-pandemic, at any rate) and fans wouldn’t hate to see him lose to anyone that doesn’t capture out imagination.
We want someone or something to believe it. Like Bret Hart said (paraphrasing), as long as we believe in the characters we don’t care that the moves aren’t real. We want to believe in the characters.
In short, it’s like watching a movie. The bigger and more exciting the star and story, the more we’re drawn in. If this wasn’t true, Disney wouldn’t be cranking out a couple hundred super hero movies a year.
Sadly, this approach doesn’t seem to be the way to go in the WWE, according to Roman Reigns in a recent interview.
(Special thanks to fightful.com)
“It’s a different product. We’re not these outlandish characters. I love and respect every era of wrestling, we’re just in more of a reality-based, competitive based product. We don’t have it to where everybody has a mascot or manager or animal theme. It’s about putting all eyes on the championship. Who is going to be the winner? Who can get to the top of the mountain? It’s very important that you’re able to keep up with the times. It’s awesome to look good, but it has to translate within your movement, action, storytelling. We want to have the biggest guys possible, but you’ve got to be able to move. You want to be athletic, you’ve got to be able to sell. There’s a lot of things you have to do to create that atmosphere to make them explode.”
Competition and pre-determined endings don’t mix
I understand what Reigns is saying, but the thing is, from a fan’s point of view, having a competition based on pre-determined endings isn’t exciting. There’s little to no mystery who will win and where if we watch a promotion long enough.
The love of sports comes from not knowing who’s going to win. That’s why many hate the New England Patriots. They never seem to lose for twenty years. We love the underdog.
In professional wrestling, we know no one would ever hulk up like Hulk Hogan or the Ultimate Warrior. We know no one’s going to get up after being beaten half to death or dropped on their head, but we believe they will because of the character, because we want the character to succeed.
Now, we’re not as invested.
It’s a line that’s been blurred to the point many are tuning out the WWE and embracing the edgier, over the top performances of other promotions.
This could be a huge reason for the WWE’s falling popularity, and as fate would have it, it’s a self-inflicted wound.
There’s obviously more to it than just this, but it does explain a lo, doesn’t it?
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get TheOvertimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
