Nothing says fake like reality TV. Youd think a medium that blurs lines between real life and fantasy would be the perfect accompaniment to pro-wrestling. Sadly, the problem lies, as with most WWE products, in the application. Total Divas has been used to set up feuds between wrestlers based on the events of the show and by citing the show itself as a feud catalyst. The problem with this is that the products do not operate within the same reality. When this happens, both shows are damaged. American reality TV is a distant, vapid and uneventful cousin of that mutated, serial killing hillbilly named kayfabe. They can exist independently, but they should NEVER bump uglies. When a feud on RAW is said to have started on Total Divas, sure, you flip over. But when you watch these ladies hug or snipe over pedicures while bewildered main eventers scramble to get out of shot so they can work on their match, youre left wondering why you would watch RAW when its nothing more than a bottle reality inside a less appealing kayfabe canon. If Total Divas switched to documentary, itd be perfect to promote reality era wrestlers. Until then were stuck with confusing, reductive pap.
Eddie is a writer, cinephile, TV fan and wrestling abuse victim from Newcastle. After receiving his film degree in London he returned home to lift boxes in the vein of an 80s montage... It's not as fun as it looks in the films.
