The Wrestler's Motif

Every wrestler is a motif. The more well-thought out and well-executed the motif, the easier it is for that wrestler to connect with an audience.

(Before going any further, it’s useful for you to know that a motif is a recurring theme in narrative. It’s an idea like “what is justice?” examined by characters in a story or the author of a novel or the director of a film, etc.)

The wrestler has many tools at their disposal for articulating their recurring theme. Let’s focus on six: the wrestler’s name, the wrestler’s attire, the wrestler’s entrance music, the names of their signature and finishing moves, the wrestler’s gestures, and the wrestler’s catchphrases.

There is perhaps no motif more consistent than The Undertaker’s.

Tim KailDecember 12, 2022wwe, motif, the undertaker, wardlow, aew, vince mcmahon, Tony khan, wrestlemania, promo, entrance, catchphrase

The McMahon Behind The Curtain

The opening segment of this week's Monday Night Raw is a light shining at us from the future, illuminating what the WWE could (and hopefully will) become one day.

In it, Roman Reigns, yet again irate at the absence of his WrestleMania opponent, Brock Lesnar, took to the microphone to air his grievances.

Brock, in Roman's words, "Didn't show up to work".

This has been the essence of his problem with Lesnar, and the basis of their WrestleMania rematch. Roman, regardless of the crowd's perpetually mixed-to-negative reaction to him, always shows up to work. He "busts his ass" for the business that's "in his blood", and, just like the fans, he's sick and tired of Brock Lesnar only showing up to work "when the money is right or the city is right". He believes The Universal Champion should be a full-time member of the WWE roster; an unconditional leader of the locker-room and the company.

Hey, WWE, Please Hire Women Writers

Last night's Raw ended with Stephanie McMahon announcing the inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble match at the forthcoming annual pay-per-view.

This is a welcome announcement that instantaneously makes next year’s Rumble more interesting and essential-viewing. Over the next six weeks, fans will watch this match take shape, and discuss who it should bolster, how it will be structured, and what surprises may be in store. This is all good, and it’s reassuring to see the WWE do the obviously right thing.

Fans should definitely be happy, but fans should also be asking, “What happens after?”

Tim Kail's Raw Review

There are times when the WWE strikes that perfect balance between heavy-handed schmaltz and sincere, logical storytelling.

That elusive sweet spot may just be the purest representation of the WWE's perspective on professional wrestling; an over-the-top family saga wrapped in spandex, fireworks, and an assortment of colorful heroes & villains that occasionally results in genuine expressions of pain, joy, surprise, and psychosis.

One such moment occurred on the November 13th, 2017 episode of Monday Night Raw when Kurt Angle and his tearful "son", Jason Jordan, were interrupted by a grim & determined Triple H.

The Demise of the American Babyface

A prone Dolph Ziggler lay flat on his face in the middle of the ring. He struggled to regain his bearings as Baron Corbin approached with a steel chair in hand. Having just earned a nefarious victory over ‘The Showoff’ wasn’t enough; the vitriolic fire in Corbin’s heart would continue to rage until the satisfactory pound of flesh was properly extricated from Ziggler’s battered physique. Luckily Kalisto, a previous victim of Corbin’s post-match antics, raced down the entrance ramp just in time to chase the cowardly heel away and save his friend from further violence.

This familiar pro wrestling scene took place on the first SmackDown Live of 2017 and came on the heels of a satisfying resurgence of Ziggler’s babyface character thanks to a compelling program with The Miz in the later stages of the previous year.

WrestleMania: Why Indie Wrestlers Don’t Star in Summer Blockbusters

WrestleMania 33 is this weekend, and we will witness the annual convergence of casual wrestling fans and the hardcore internet wrestling community who are prepared to watch, dissect, and critique Vince McMahon’s latest blockbuster.

As WWE’s biggest showcase, Vince McMahon spares no expense. The main event matches are filled with remnants of the Attitude & Ruthless Aggression Eras (Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Triple H, Chris Jericho, and Shane McMahon) all involved in the highest profile matches.

We may also see cameos from The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, and Mick Foley.

How Virtual Reality Will Change The Way We Watch Pro-Wrestling

Pro-wrestling has changed dramatically in the past twenty years. Wrestlers are leaner, faster, and seemingly less tethered to gravity. There is no "top guy" in the industry, but "brand identity" is stronger than ever. In WWE, promos and segments are highly controlled, heavily scripted bits of theater rather than loose, improvisational workshops. There are no Monday Night Wars, but there is a vast and interconnected independent wrestling circuit that's more accessible than ever thanks to the internet. Wrestling isn't drawing ten million viewers every Monday, but how many scripted television shows are in this Era of Niche?

Pro-Wrestling, like the whole of entertainment, has fragmented into an increasingly specific subset of ever-evolving tastes. Gone are the rigidly defined days of your average "18-35 year old male demo" showing up to RAW & Nitro in their tank tops to drink beer and scream obscenities into the camera. Today's wrestling is about gathering together with fellow "smart" wrestling fans (whatever their age, gender-identity, race, or sexuality), and then evaluating themselves or their particular group against other individuals and other groups, all while existing under the larger umbrella of "modern pro-wrestling fandom".

Millions of Us Have Stopped Watching Wrestling - Can The Era of Wyatt Bring Us Back?

There are millions of us out there who have lost faith in the world of professional wrestling. It was a world we used to love. But since the end of the Attitude Era, so many of us walked away.

Is now the time for us to come back?

And is Bray Wyatt the man to bring us back?

You Will Keep Booing Roman Reigns And It Will Change Nothing

If you still boo Roman Reigns, nothing will convince you to stop booing Roman Reigns.

It doesn't matter if the WWE books Roman Reigns in a manner that "emphasizes his strengths and hides his weaknesses", it doesn't matter if Roman Reigns adds fifty death-defying moves to his repertoire, it doesn't matter if Roman Reigns journeys back in time and works the indies for fifteen years before coming to the WWE, and it doesn't matter if Roman Reigns starts cutting promos with the eloquence and depth of a classically trained Shakespearean actor.

No matter the objective improvements in Roman Reigns' performance or the improvements in the way WWE books him, and no matter how well-reasoned an argument in Roman's favor may be, you will go on booing.

And that's fine. I've accepted this. Keep booing.

No energy should be expended by anyone (least of all Roman Reigns fans) in an effort to convince you to change your mind. You are entrenched in your perspective and you're just going to keep digging in.

The Art Of The Brand Split

The WWE announced on Wednesday morning, May 25th that in addition to broadcasting SmackDown live, Tuesdays on the USA Network, that a brand split will once again take effect in its fictional universe. Raw & SmackDown will feature *insert press-release quote* "unique storylines with unique casts, writing teams etc".

There are a lot of obvious benefits to this creative direction. Not only does a switch to live presentation help revitalize the WWE's stagnant B-Show, a definitive split in an over-crowded roster means less repeat match-ups, less over-exposed, over-worked talent, and more creative focus (hopefully) committed to improving the quality of these proposed unique storylines. With each roster able to focus on one live television show a week (rather than two where wins and loses cancel each other out) there could be more room for the performers to establish their characters via backstage interviews, in-ring promos, and main event matches that represent the culmination of consistently promoted throughlines rather than last-minute, contrived hero/villain pairings.

THE RAW REVIEW

For the first time in two years, I had fun watching Monday Night Raw. And although it was the “Raw after Mania”, which is often a good episode, the fun I had wasn’t related to what the audience was doing (quite the opposite, in fact). The audience is usually the main attraction of the post-Mania RAW, but this week the crowd only managed to get in the way of the show. RAW was better than the crowd this week and that’s the way it should always be because the crowd is the crowd…they’re not performers risking their lives to tell stories. For too long the WWE has permitted the crowd to be “more important” or “better than” the show itself, and that stems from a modern booking philosophy designed to make money from the internet fans rather than tell good stories for a general, television audience.

THE RAW REVIEW

This year’s WrestleMania card is fairly well-rounded, promising several potentially satisfying bouts designed to appeal to a wide range of wrestling fans. From The Divas Title match to Shane’s war for control over RAW (and several narratives in-between) the stakes are appropriately high and fans will likely be treated to some pop-worthy, memorable moments. Even the lackluster main event fight for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between Roman Reigns and Triple H may overcome expectations (and biases) to deliver, at the very least, a good professional wrestling match. On paper, this is one of the more solid cards in years despite how inconsistent and, at times, unexciting the build has been.

The Writings