WOW - EP147 - Survivor Series 2017 Review

This year's Survivor Series fluctuated between "fine" and "fun". Nothing was terrible, but nothing was too memorable, and in-between existed a lot of legitimately good fun.

The basic conceit of Raw and SmackDown facing off in competition would resonate more if the stakes were clearly outlined and involved more than "bragging rights".

We might know the motivations of the characters when they're outside the squared circle (i.e. Kurt Angle wants to keep his job, Shane McMahon wants SDLive to be more than the B-show), but we don't know what an actual win in the wrestling match itself signifies. The concept of "why" any of this is happening doesn't have an instantly accessible answer beyond, "Because!"

"But is it good?" The Only Worthwhile Debate In Modern Pro-Wrestling

Watch pro-wrestling long enough, and you begin to recognize the patterns of wrestling matches and the tropes of the medium: the heel cheats, the babyface "comes back", groups and teams inevitably betray each other, veterans "pass the torch", and on and on it goes in an endless merry-go-round of (hopefully) joy and wonder.

Eventually, you may even want to see some of these patterns and tropes at work because they provide a sense of comfort, a return to your once simplistic, romanticized view of right & wrong.

Is WWE Too Smart For Its Own Good? What The Women's Money in the Bank Controversy Reveals

"Too smart for their own good" is a criticism that doesn't just apply to pro-wrestling fans, though.

It's a criticism that also applies to the WWE.

How exactly?

We needn't look further than the way the WWE booked the first ever women's Money in the Bank ladder match to see "too smart for their own good" on unapologetic display.

The Women's Evolution In Wrestling: Breaking The Cycle of Sexism

On April 1st, WWE Announced they will air a Global Women’s Tournament this summer with 32 competitors from 17 different countries. The Cruiserweight Classic and United Kingdom Championship Tournament were both critical successes for WWE Network. The single elimination tournament format created stakes based in reality for those involved and was portrayed as legitimate sport, real people with backstories all vying for a championship and the opportunity to be seen by the WWE Universe.

My Message To the Pro-Wrestling Journalists & Podcasters Of The Future

At the end of 2016 my weekly podcast, The Work of Wrestling, will go on hiatus. During that hiatus I plan on restructuring the show so that, in the future, it will be distributed in a highly focused, seasonal format. I do not yet know how long that hiatus will be and I do not yet know how long those seasons will be, but I am excited about the prospect of reinvention and return.

While I still plan to continue writing about wrestling whenever the mood strikes, it feels like a good time to offer a "see you later" (rather than a goodbye) to The Pro-Wrestling Community, particularly to the younger writers & podcasters currently honing their crafts. You are the ones who will take up this mantle, push it into the 21st Century and beyond, and change the way people think about professional wrestling (for the better). Your passion, your ingenuity, and your progressive perspectives will be needed for our Community to ever grow up.

WORK OF WRESTLING PODCAST - EP77 - THE WOMAN

On the latest episode of The Work of Wrestling I go into detail about why Charlotte is one of my favorite wrestlers. Inspired by her stellar heel promo from the May 25, 2016 episode of RAW where she renounced her father Ric Flair, I go into detail about why she's such a great heel Champion, why The Four Horsewomen are the best performers in the entire WWE organization, and I also break down that promo line by line.

The Art Of Sasha Banks

A true star in entertainment is very rare.

Much like the celestial bodies they're named for, a star's talent, charisma, ingenuity, or personality burns so brightly and distinctly that they're impossible to ignore. They shine through the impenetrable dark of sameness that defines the vast majority of our existence. Their reach is seemingly infinite, easily comprehend and appreciated upon first glance.

THE RAW REVIEW

“Was RAW good?” my wife asked when she noticed RAW fade to black on my laptop. I could hear the hope in her voice, the earnest desire of any good spouse to know their partner is happy.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. She laughed in reply, accustomed to the sometimes indescribable angst any episode of Monday Night Raw inspires in me.

THE RAW REVIEW

Since the summer of 2014, I have been watching a particular class of professional wrestlers ascend through the ranks of the WWE; Adrian Neville, Tyler Breeze, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Ms. Charlotte, Bayley, and Sasha Banks. It has been the most rewarding pro-wrestling viewing-experience of my life to “come up” with this group, to chronicle their exploits in The Raw Review, the former NXT Report, The Work of Wrestling podcast, and the occasional editorial dedicated to their excellence.

As I’ve staked my claim on developing a new form of pro-wrestling journalism, a form that aims to prove that professional wrestling is an art worthy of more than dirt-sheets, rumors, and top ten lists, so too have these pro-wrestlers staked their claim on the WWE, fostering incremental change.

THE RAW REVIEW

Following the 2014 Hell in a Cell pay-per-view where a “Ghost” interfered in the main event (bringing Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose’s career-defining feud to an unceremonious close) the WWE’s flagship series gradually devolved into a predictable variety show that served rote promos, frayed story-lines, a disjointed tone, incoherent “comedic” segments, unimportant matches, and inconsistent characterization. These issues led to increased viewer-discontent, the stunted growth of a variety of talents, and stalled Superstar-ascents that were, during the Spring & Summer of 2014, nothing short of meteoric.

These issues persisted all the way through to the final episode of 2015.

BE SMARTER: A MESSAGE TO NXT FANS

#WomensWrestling: Trust & Time

While it’s exciting that pro-wrestling fans have made their voices heard with the #GiveDivasAChance movement, since this trend caught on the WWE has done little more than pay lip service to the fact that there’s an obvious problem with the way women are represented in the company. The “WWE Divas” on the main roster still get less than five minutes on a three hour prime-time television show - a television show that, by the company’s own admission, is difficult to program for due to a massive time-slot.

The Writings