I’m just going to come out and say it: I watch professional wrestling. No, I don’t live in my mom’s basement. Yes, I know it’s not all entirely real. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had these conversations and rolled my eyes at the ignorance of the person on the other side.
Sure, professional wrestling is scripted, it isn’t the most popular thing in the world, and it’s often associated with little kids or immature adults. However, there is a lot to like about the world of “sports entertainment,” as Vince McMahon would prefer we call it. Here are some of the reasons why I watch:
Good vs. Evil
In wrestling, there are good guys and bad guys. The good guys smile. The bad guys don’t. The good guys appeal to the fans. The bad guys insult them. This is obviously a very basic concept, but necessary to maintain the interest of fans over a long period of time.
Heel Kevin Owens (rollingstone.com)
The good guys are called babyfaces and the bad guys are called heels. The main characteristic of a babyface wrestler is that he or she never cheats to win a match. This means no outside interference from an ally, no intentionally distracting referees to get away with cheap shots, and no sucking up to management in order to get put into a big match. Heels, on the other hand, will do whatever they can to put themselves in big matches and win those matches, even if it means cutting corners.
A feud might go on for a month or two, with the heel having the upper hand in every exchange, and maybe even winning the first match. Over time, the fans get fed up and tired of the heel winning, whether it be because they don’t like the wrestler cheating or just because of the predictability of the situation. Regardless, fans have a reaction to the heel winning and grow more and more in favor of the babyface. The final match of the feud usually features the babyface overcoming the heel, good overcoming evil, and everyone going home happy. Predictable as it seems, this never gets old if the story is told well.
Character Personalities
There’s a favorite wrestler for everyone. It doesn’t matter what you’re looking for. Are you a fan of the guys who look like they could eat their opponent after destroying them in a match? Let me introduce you to Braun Strowman… Would you rather listen to a guy run his opponent down on the microphone? The Rock and Steve Austin were known for that. Even if you prefer someone who doesn’t look like a monster and lets their wrestling do the talking, there’s a bunch of guys you’d probably like – Adrian Neville, Cesaro, AJ Styles, etc.
Bayley and her wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube men (voicesofwrestling.com)
But talking and in-ring ability are only part of what makes a character entertaining. A character’s personality can also be shown in their entrance when they come out for their match or in their move set. Bayley comes to mind in this regard. She’s a hugger. Her entrance music is bubbly, and when she walks down the ramp to the ring, inflatable tube-like creatures surround her. Her move set is priceless. She will tighten up her side ponytail before jumping off the top rope, and she delivers the Bayley-to-Belly suplex for the win – a move that essentially looks like a hug before slamming her opponent to the mat.
Character Development
Here’s one you weren’t expecting. When professional wrestling tells a good story, it hooks you, and it usually begins when you get invested in a certain wrestler. My favorite story is the Neville/Zayn feud from NXT a few years back. NXT is a developmental system for WWE, which means almost everyone on the roster is an up-and-coming talent and the competition for call-ups to the main roster is high. This leaves us with a product where everyone is trying to make an impression with every match or segment.
Neville getting in Zayn’s head after another loss (aminoapps.com)
Adrian Neville was the NXT champion for the better part of a year. If you’ve never heard of him (and you probably haven’t…), he’s jacked, and he’s one of the most agile wrestlers you’ll ever see. As his title reign went on, he got progressively cockier, but never went so far as to break any rules to keep his championship.
Sami Zayn, on the other hand, is a normal looking guy with good morals and the majority of the population can identify with him. During his ongoing attempts to the win the championship from Neville, his luck grew worse. He’d always end up in unfavorable situations that weren’t his fault, and not necessarily the wrongdoing of Neville either.
Seeing Neville evolve into a more cocky champion and seeing Zayn become desperate to win the title he so badly desired made this the most compelling story NXT has ever done. Culminating in a final championship match at the NXT Takeover: R-Evolution special, it definitely delivered on the build up over the previous few months.
The Effects of Real Life Events on Storylines
Possibly the most interesting aspect of professional wrestling is how writers are forced to change storylines based on real life issues involving wrestlers. There are tons of professional wrestling rumor sites on the Internet, and a lot of the time what they report is true.
One week, a guy like Rusev will be a dominant force that nobody can beat. The next week, he loses relatively easily to someone who has no momentum whatsoever. Why does this happen? Well, a week later, a website will publish a post that Rusev fell out of favor with management in real-life and they have punished him for it onscreen.
Jericho after an “attack” from Kevin Owens (sportskeeda.com)
Chris Jericho is a guy that frequently gets written off of shows because he tours with his band on a part-time basis. Right before he goes on tour, the writers will have another wrestler savagely beat him on TV to the point where he is announced “out indefinitely” with an injury. They can then use this to justify his extended absence, as opposed to saying he’s touring. This also helps make the guy who beat him up look stronger, so it serves a couple of purposes.
In extreme cases, the WWE has gone so far as to take someone’s championship away because of backstage events. The most well-documented case of this was the “Montreal Screwjob,” but I’ll just let you click the link if you want to read more.
It’s easy to get lost in the scripted nature of professional wrestling shows and forget that wrestlers are people, too. Gaining an awareness of the events that happen behind the scenes is fascinating and serves as a reminder that life happens to them as it does to you or me.
I’ve already rambled enough so I’ll force myself to stop here. As you can tell, I find enjoyment in watching wrestling, despite its often ridiculous nature. I could write a whole other post on its stupidity, and I may very well do that at some point. You just have to learn to accept the nonsense that comes along with the pretty awesome storylines and characters.
