Booking in the Real World

Pro wrestling fans know that it's worked.

NBA fans think that it's real.

Those are two obvious facts, but their repercussions are less than obvious to many.  The NBA can draw from angles that evoke old time wrestling; modern pro wrestling can't.

The NBA and its broadcast partners learned the value of old time wrestling booking today.  The Cleveland Cavaliers were subject to something akin to a "Loser Leaves the Playoffs" heading in to Game 5 of the NBA Finals last night.  They needed to win three straight times to avoid elimination.

Due to fans believing that the NBA isn't predetermined (which I don't think it is, for the record), the "needs to win out" angle worked.  The 18-49 demographic (demo) rating was 7.6, up a whopping 27% from a shockingly low Game 4 demo rating.  People tuned because there was suspense in whether the season could end.

Due to pro wrestling fans believing that New Japan is predetermined (which it is, for the record), the "needs to win out" angle didn't work for Will Ospreay at Best of the Super Juniors.  New Japan drew about 1,500 fans for a Friday night show that traditionally sells out a 2,000 seat venue, plus standing room.

The simple fact is that fans of pro wrestling can see traditional angles coming.

Fans of New Japan knew that Will Ospreay had to win his Best of the Super Juniors match against Ricochet -- and his next two matches -- in order to stay in contention for the title.  Fans could see the comeback angle coming and they stayed away in numbers.

Booking 'jeopardy' for Will Ospreay had the exact opposite effect that jeopardy is supposed to have.  Jeopardy is supposed to add suspense.  Teetering a contender on the brink of championship elimination has the opposite effect in pro wrestling because there is absolutely no suspense in the result: fans know that the contender has to win in order for the angle to progress.

New Japan drew a sellout crowd (in advance, no less) once true pro wrestling jeopardy kicked in.

Will Ospreay's Best of the Super Junior finals match vs. Ryusuke Taguchi featured traditional pro wrestling suspense ("who will win the title?"), but it also featured advanced suspense for fans who follow the work.  After getting criticized for doing a "synchronized gymnastics routine" earlier in the tournament, Ospreay was destined to attempt a more grounded, traditional match in the finale.  Many knew this, and the "can he do a grounded match?" question added suspense for those fans.

Game 5 of the NBA Finals had enough real suspense to send Raw's demo ratings "fractional" (below a 1.0) in its last hour and Game 6, coming up Thursday, will likely cause Smackdown to hit record lows as well.  Hopefully WWE Creative -- along with pro wrestling bookers everywhere -- will learn how wrestling fans follow angles and avoid booking angles that only work in the real world.

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