10 Greatest Wrestling Logic Fails

Wrestling is built around suspension of disbelief. Contrary to what some non-fans like to assert, everyone who watches wrestling is fully aware that the outcome is predetermined, that performers are working towards the same outcome, that there’s a degree of thigh slapping going on. When it’s done well, you can overlook that. Physicality and storytelling elevate the fake fight to an art form.

There’s a line, though. Trust is a two way street, and if you want us to go along with your simulated combat sport, you need to make sure your internal logic is as close to watertight as possible. There are elements of wrestling that just don’t make sense. These aren’t logical fallacies that need unpicking to be exposed - they’re glaringly obvious curiosities that take away any kind of “real sport feel” promoters are trying to achieve.

These aren’t necessarily bad things - indeed the silliest aspects of wrestling are often a lot of fun. They don’t devalue the product at all, and all fans are fully aware and accepting of these ludicrous parts of the business. But they fan the flames of the “wrestling’s fake” brigade - and these people must be stopped.

The wrestling monster is, in and of itself, pretty silly. Even the most successful examples of the form, like Kane, come straight out of bargain bin horror movies, and it can be jarring to see them pitted against some of the more straight laced or at least believable wrestlers of the era. We can accept this, though - this is part of wrestling, we want to see these larger than life characters.

What makes less sense, however, is their follow up career aspirations. Kane coming to WWE to settle a score with his half brother The Undertaker, or to generally satisfy his inhuman bloodlust? That’s fine. That all adds up.

Kane subsequently chasing the Intercontinental championship, though? That’s harder to swallow. What does the big red monster want with the company’s secondary belt?

WWE has a similar issue at the moment with The Fiend. Bray Wyatt is a great creative mind and has done a brilliant job of selling one of the wilder characters in recent years. It falls apart in his pursuit of the Universal Championship, though. It’s tough to simultaneously portray a deranged monster and a dedicated careerist.