10 Problems EVERY Wrestling Company Has In Common
5. Control, And The Management Of It
To make this abundantly, crystal, perfectly clear: expression is fundamental to professional wrestling. The death of expression is the death of professional wrestling. The professional wrestler does not recite a promo in their mirror in the hope that, one day, a hack dipsh*t with no life experience can put the words "You see..." in front of it.
WWE has killed expression.
In WWE, if you don't have what they perceive to be a telegenic body, you will be made to cover it up with a t-shirt or a lycra tank top. Every word you speak is written on your behalf, and those words are often gloopy soliloquies powered by a laughable synonym swap generator. You're not even allowed to play video games and raise money foe charity on the process. You are, as designated on a t-shirt, literally their f*cking property.
AEW, and this is slight criticism because their approach is far, far preferable, does need to somewhat regulate itself. Can you remember the emotive sight of the blood river that poured from the face of Dustin Rhodes and onto the mat at Double Or Nothing last year?
No blade-job since has resonated with the same heft because it's overdone - sometimes, as in the All out go-home, on the same show. Jim Ross needs to be told to get his head out of his a*se and into the game through that headset more often than he is. Tony Khan is a prodigy of a booker, and it's so crucial that he is as receptive to ideas as he is - but some of those ideas aren't great. He could do with rediscovering the ruthless side he flashed between December 18 and January 1.
New Japan needs to chill the f*ck out with with the ref bumps, count-out teases and main event durations, too. Nobody needs to watch EVIL go 35 minutes.