WWE TV 04/22 - 04/26: Institutionalized Insanity

[SomethingSavage]

On 4/27/2019 at 4:22 PM, C.S. said:

The "childhood dream" approach works in small doses when presented with the right character - Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, etc.

It does not work for everyone, should not be used for everyone, and ceases being special when that becomes everyone's storyline. 

 

It's the only babyface gimmick they use anymore. Just like championship reigns & record-breaking firsts are the only angles they promote.

On 4/27/2019 at 11:24 AM, Coffey said:

I have thoughts like this all the time. Not just due to the constant breaking of kayfabe but as much as a lot of various internet corners want to pretend that size doesn't matter, it absolutely does. Look matters in pro-wrestling. It always has, it always will. Going from Hogan Vs. Andre when I was kid to Kofi Vs. Owens when I'm an adult is... man. 

No one seems to have a gimmick anymore either. It's a bunch of First Name / Last Name individuals, sorry, SUPERSTARS, that just "want to have fun" (as Michael Cole would say) or some bullshit "chasing their childhood dream!" angle. 

Superstar Billy Graham said shit about Kofi recently, which Booker T. stuck up for Kofi. Now, I don't think we should be in the era of steroids & everyone looking like the Warlord still, but I get Graham's point. It's hard to get behind a guy that's 5'8" & 200 lbs, especially when they're supposed to be the top guy. 

The size doesn't matter, let's focus on workrate & giving star ratings to matches shit is exactly why wrestling is in the situation it's in right now. Wrestlers should not look like everyday people you could run into during your daily life.

I'm not as hung up on the aesthetics & bodies, but yeah. You're absolutely right about the matches & workrate obsession. This line of thinking needs to die a thousand deaths in a dozen dirty dumpster fires. In a hurry.

Stories. Anticipation. Suspense. Build up two personalities. Put them in an interesting package. Promote them. Position them against one another. Push & plug the date. And have them fake fight. That should literally be the focus of all their creative energies.

This obsession over movez and kickouts and melodramatic theater speaking in matches is just the dirt worst. It doesn't contribute a single bit to anything worthwhile.

The people who will tune in for a "dream match" are the exact same people who were already going to be there anyway. They're the exact same people who were watching last week. And they're the exact same people who will watch next week - regardless.

A "dream match" means nothing to outside viewers. They aren't going to get hooked or drawn in by a great match. Or an athletic spot. Or a new counter to a submission.

It's going to take a story with some suspense. Characters that connect. A quest that reaches folks on a raw level.

Jake Roberts has exactly zero five-star matches on his WWF resume, but people will remember him before they remember a single spectacular match.

Ted DiBiase is a timeless character. Seth Rollins can bust out a baker's dozen dives every night for the rest of his life and won't even be in the same stratosphere.

Warrior-Savage was a classic, but the Liz reunion is better remembered and received than anything in the actual match itself. For. Good. Reason.

They're chasing five star matches and shit like it makes the slightest difference. It doesn't. They should be placing so much more emphasis & effort into the other stuff.

And I get it. This whole great match strategy is an overcompensation effort from the Attitude Era hangover. We suffered through so many short, shitty matches that they overcorrected the issue and adopted the independent workrate-oriented, All Japan aping strong style.

But now the pendulum has swung WAY too far in the other direction. Another course correction feels long overdue.

Bring back characters. Bring back meaningful stories WITH RESOLUTIONS. Engaging rivalries. Stakes. Consequences. Fuck me running. It ain't rocket science.

Casual viewers aren't going to give the slightest shit about a "dream match" or a five star match between ANYBODY in a situation where the outcome is planned and decided ahead of time.

However, casual viewers can be convinced to tune in IF THE STORY IS GOOD ENOUGH. If they're convinced there's a reason to care about these individuals. If the outcome feels significant and substantial to the journey. If the outcome feels like it could actually change the course of the story itself.

Otherwise, what's the point of all this? Otherwise, it's literally just dudes in speedos - pretending to fight it out to a fake finish. Like it or not, that's how outsiders see it.

And when it's so lazily presented - when it's just guys going through routine motions and killing time with moves - then nobody can really blame them.

[C.S.]

Agreed with everything you said, @SomethingSavage. I see so many "great matches" hyped here and elsewhere that mean diddly shit to me because there are no stakes and/or I don't care about one or both of the characters. If I don't care about those things, I don't care about the match.

A "great match" with no context only works during those magical first few weeks you're going into a promotion cold, with no prior knowledge (NXT when the Network was launched, TNA's early days or even one of the many second chances they've gotten over the years, random indy shows or live events, etc.). After that honeymoon period is over, the characters and story better be there.