Melodrama in Wrestling

[Tenese Sarwieh]

Regarding the usage of the bloodline angle and melodrama in wrestling, opinions can vary greatly. Some people appreciate the emotional depth and storytelling it adds to the matches, while others may find it excessive or distracting. It all boils down to how people view melodrama, wheater the usage is good or bad. 

An example that demonstrates the effectiveness of melodrama in wrestling is the match between Masahiro Chono and Daichi Hashimoto on 3/6/11. Toward the end of the match, Chono is on the verge of defeating Hashimoto with the STF submission hold. However, he hesitates and wears a sad expression, almost on the verge of tears, as he locks in the hold. This moment of hesitation and visible emotional struggle adds depth to the narrative of the match. It creates tension and makes the audience question Chono's motivations and emotions, elevating the overall dramatic impact of the encounter base on Chono's history with Shinya. 

Please sure examples of melodrama you loved or hated.

[KawadaSmile]

Drama is as essential to professional wrestling as body slams. Shit, Terry Funk is possibly the greatest of all time because he's the most melodramatic wrestler out there. Kobashi is also another great whose emotions and exaggerated expressions are all over his work and enhance his matches.

So far, The Bloodline arc hasn't crossed that "I'm sorry, I love you" line where it just becomes bad theatrics, mostly because Roman and Jey are better actors than most in the WWE setting. However, there were instances where the melodrama crossed that line and actually made a feud/match worse, the most telling one being the Gargano/Ciampa feud. It even became somewhat of a meme with the "Why am I so violent" line.

Another good example I can think of is Ultimate Warrior vs Macho Man at WMVII. I believe @strobogohad a pretty nifty review on his website, mentioning how Warrior was having a crisis of faith in the middle of a match. It was done very well and that match still holds up.

[strobogo]

It's all melodrama, my dudes

[Ma Stump Puller]

Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali doing the "Heart/Soul!" screeching at WM34 is peak melodrama bullocks in wrestling, nothing else comes close as of present

 

 

[sek69]

The whole Hogan/Savage/Liz yearlong drama was probably WWF/E's best storyline before the Bloodline, and it's even more amazing considering Randy and Hulk were probably two of the most over the top dudes in wrestling history. 

Macho and Liz reuniting after the Warrior match might be the greatest emotional moment in history just for how it was the perfect ending to their story. It began with Macho bullying her around and ended with Liz coming out of the crowd to save him when he was emotionally devastated after losing his career and getting stomped on by his (female) manager. 

Also the Cody/Dustin match is right up there too and probably still the best melodrama moment AEW has had in its brief history. 

[MLB]

Really great call, @sek69. What a beautiful moment, it's like a dream. I'm almost tearing up thinking about it. 

[sek69]

Lookin back, it really is shocking to realize the in-ring was probably the weakest part of Savage's game. That sumbitch could EMOTE. 

[MLB]

Everyone involved was sublime; Liz, Sherri, Warrior. WWF 87-92 transcends pro wrestling, it will never recapture that magic for me. 

[NintendoLogic]

All the stuff with Savage and Elizabeth doesn't hold up nearly as well now that we all know what an abusive psychopath Savage was.

My favorite example of melodrama in wrestling is Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee for the Taker/HHH HIAC match at WM28. I watched that Mania at a bar, and the other patrons were literally laughing at Shawn's attempts to act dramatic and conflicted. So yeah, I only go for pro wrestling melodrama when it crosses the line into unintentional comedy. If wrestlers could act, they'd be in Hollywood. Leave the acting to the professionals.

[TheDuke]

The Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn drama is a lot more interesting if you choose to believe there is a subtext behind it that they are lovers outside of the ring. It also brings new dimensions if you think what new shades of grey that could bring to the storyline when Sami was in the Bloodline and what could have really been going on there in storyline.

[Robert S]

Melodrama in wrestling works when it is done "with the crowd" instead of "in front of the audience". Negative examples for the second thing would be the obvious "I am sorry, I love you" but also the stuff that kicked-off the whole Bloodline angle between Roman and Jey. That empty arena matches had me shout "for the love of it, please shut up and wrestle". Doing multi-minute mono- or dialogues during the match without any direct crowd response was hard to endure for me.

EDIT: thinking about it, the Funk vs. Lawler empty arena match might be an exception to my rule, but that is because Terry Funk is one of (if not) the greatest of all time.

[ohtani's jacket]

Melodrama is one facet of wrestling. It can be done well or done poorly just like any other facet. It generally has a negative connotation, but I don't buy into that. The WWE is generally good at melodrama. Joshi workers have been traditionally good at melodrama. Lucha workers are good at working melodrama into their big matches, but generally not very good at the pre-match build side of things. A lot of the older territories had great melodrama. Indy promotions are often terrible at producing it (in my view.) It's not necessary to have melodrama in a match, however. Often you can appreciate wrestling for wrestling's sake or simple character work.