This is What a Money Promo Looks Like in 2016
How do you know you're addicted to pro wrestling? Because you care about WWE Extreme Rules, that's how.
And, it's the low form of addiction. The ugly form. Not the 'addiction' of passion and focus. The addiction of need; the loss of control. The addiction that public service announcements warn you about.
There is no other rational cause for an adult to care about the current WWE product. All that makes the art form of pro wrestling is absent from Extreme Rules. Suspense, empathetic characters, irreconcilable conflict; all absent. In their place are false drama, cartoonish caricatures and easy choices.
To rebuild WWE will take a massive effort and it is not clear when that will come; or If. The promotion has been in decline for nearly a decade and a half. Spurts of creative power -- as with Nexus or Daniel Bryan -- have provided false hope. Nostalgia acts like The Rock have delivered fleeting peaks of interest. Yet the core continues to erode.
And what is the core of pro wrestling, exactly? Storytelling, yes. Of course. But the type of story told by successful pro wrestling promotions is specific.
Internal conflict does not work in pro wrestling; conflict must be external.
The quest (which, ultimately, is what every great story is about) must pluck at traditional male emotions. (Sorry, ladies. You have other story forms where your tales can be told.)
And most of all -- the rule among pro wrestling rules -- is that the story must fit within the prism of athletic competition.
All of the emotions that draw men (and many women) to sports are at pro wrestling's disposal. But only those. When the emotion of sport is removed from pro wrestling, it ceases to make an emotional connection with the audience and the result is the product we will watch at Extreme Rules: for addicts only.
There are modern examples of great pro wrestling. UFC fighter Conor McGregor delivers them regularly. Witness his "Sunday Conversation" interview on ESPN:
That is better than anything WWE does. Conor is real. He is divisive. He builds suspense.
Who wouldn't want to watch his return match?
To his followers, he kept an heroic position. He conceded frailty while maintaining strength.
And to those that view him as a heel -- Floyd Mayweather fans, UFC brand sycophants, et. al. -- he reinforces their emotions. He's bigger than he thinks he is. A better fighter than he thinks he is. Just another cocky loudmouth athlete trying to make his own rules.
The blame falls beyond the pack of WWE creative executives. There is no wrestler like Conor.
The WWE roster is a crew of Zack Ryders, or worse. Interviews and social media offering are all centered on a caricature, not a character. Full credit to Ryder for getting himself over. At least he tried. But Zack Ryder is a What, not a Who. He is a YouTube distraction when you're bored at work. Real money is drawn by characters.
We know Conor McGregor. We know him because he offers his true self and he makes choices. Defend a Championship or fight for money? Conor will choose the latter. Go up in weight or pursue Featherweight records? We know the answer.
Known characters with concealed plots. That's what draws. That's what's always drawn.
Who is Roman Reigns or AJ Styles? Would they take a risk like Conor, or would they choose the safe path of 'records' like Demetrius Johnson? They want the WWE Championship and they can (barely) deliver a scripted promo. That's not enough.
It's not enough to have a Championship be the plot.
Does it matter whether the winner is Styles or Reigns? Certainly not like it mattered when CM Punk faced Cena after the 'pipe bomb' promo, or even when Ryback carried his winning streak into the program with Punk. In those cases there was irreconcilable conflict. Punk should win, but he might be leaving. Ryback needs to keep his streak, but Punk is chasing Bruno Sammartino.
It takes a special talent to draw big money, and it is harder than ever to get those talents into pro wrestling. Large athletes can make millions playing football. Competitive wrestlers have an outlet for their talent in UFC. Who chooses the pro wrestling route? Fanboys. Scions. Guys who can't stick on the practice squad. You try finding a Conor McGregor in that group.
This is not a screed against WWE creative. It is not meant to demonize wrestlers. Both groups work hard, and that is admirable.
This is a recognition that examples exist, and pro wrestling isn't listening to them. We love pro wrestling and want to give you money. Instead, we're waiting to spend it on Conor McGregor.
And, it's the low form of addiction. The ugly form. Not the 'addiction' of passion and focus. The addiction of need; the loss of control. The addiction that public service announcements warn you about.
There is no other rational cause for an adult to care about the current WWE product. All that makes the art form of pro wrestling is absent from Extreme Rules. Suspense, empathetic characters, irreconcilable conflict; all absent. In their place are false drama, cartoonish caricatures and easy choices.
To rebuild WWE will take a massive effort and it is not clear when that will come; or If. The promotion has been in decline for nearly a decade and a half. Spurts of creative power -- as with Nexus or Daniel Bryan -- have provided false hope. Nostalgia acts like The Rock have delivered fleeting peaks of interest. Yet the core continues to erode.
And what is the core of pro wrestling, exactly? Storytelling, yes. Of course. But the type of story told by successful pro wrestling promotions is specific.
Internal conflict does not work in pro wrestling; conflict must be external.
The quest (which, ultimately, is what every great story is about) must pluck at traditional male emotions. (Sorry, ladies. You have other story forms where your tales can be told.)
And most of all -- the rule among pro wrestling rules -- is that the story must fit within the prism of athletic competition.
All of the emotions that draw men (and many women) to sports are at pro wrestling's disposal. But only those. When the emotion of sport is removed from pro wrestling, it ceases to make an emotional connection with the audience and the result is the product we will watch at Extreme Rules: for addicts only.
There are modern examples of great pro wrestling. UFC fighter Conor McGregor delivers them regularly. Witness his "Sunday Conversation" interview on ESPN:
That is better than anything WWE does. Conor is real. He is divisive. He builds suspense.
Who wouldn't want to watch his return match?
To his followers, he kept an heroic position. He conceded frailty while maintaining strength.
And to those that view him as a heel -- Floyd Mayweather fans, UFC brand sycophants, et. al. -- he reinforces their emotions. He's bigger than he thinks he is. A better fighter than he thinks he is. Just another cocky loudmouth athlete trying to make his own rules.
The blame falls beyond the pack of WWE creative executives. There is no wrestler like Conor.
The WWE roster is a crew of Zack Ryders, or worse. Interviews and social media offering are all centered on a caricature, not a character. Full credit to Ryder for getting himself over. At least he tried. But Zack Ryder is a What, not a Who. He is a YouTube distraction when you're bored at work. Real money is drawn by characters.
We know Conor McGregor. We know him because he offers his true self and he makes choices. Defend a Championship or fight for money? Conor will choose the latter. Go up in weight or pursue Featherweight records? We know the answer.
Known characters with concealed plots. That's what draws. That's what's always drawn.
Who is Roman Reigns or AJ Styles? Would they take a risk like Conor, or would they choose the safe path of 'records' like Demetrius Johnson? They want the WWE Championship and they can (barely) deliver a scripted promo. That's not enough.
It's not enough to have a Championship be the plot.
Does it matter whether the winner is Styles or Reigns? Certainly not like it mattered when CM Punk faced Cena after the 'pipe bomb' promo, or even when Ryback carried his winning streak into the program with Punk. In those cases there was irreconcilable conflict. Punk should win, but he might be leaving. Ryback needs to keep his streak, but Punk is chasing Bruno Sammartino.
It takes a special talent to draw big money, and it is harder than ever to get those talents into pro wrestling. Large athletes can make millions playing football. Competitive wrestlers have an outlet for their talent in UFC. Who chooses the pro wrestling route? Fanboys. Scions. Guys who can't stick on the practice squad. You try finding a Conor McGregor in that group.
This is not a screed against WWE creative. It is not meant to demonize wrestlers. Both groups work hard, and that is admirable.
This is a recognition that examples exist, and pro wrestling isn't listening to them. We love pro wrestling and want to give you money. Instead, we're waiting to spend it on Conor McGregor.
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