3. How Not To Be Afraid To Deviate From The Script
Pro wrestling lives and dies on the opinions of the crowd - those in attendance, and those at home. Now, WWE dont really listen to that crowd too much these days. True, they famously changed their plans for the main event Wrestlemania XXX in 2014 based on the horrible, horrible reaction to the outcome of the Royal Rumble two months earlier. Theres also a good case to make that they felt forced to do likewise with the main event of Wrestlemania Play Button this year based on the horrible, horrible reaction to the outcome of the Royal Rumble two months earlier. However, even casual fans are likely to acknowledge that WWEs forward planning can suck worse than a broken Hoover... but back in the olden days it was creatives job to gauge the crowds reactions to pushes and angles and go back to the drawing board if something wasnt working. Perhaps its a function of the increased size of the brand and their position as unassailable top dogs in the business, but reading the crowd, listening to the fans, isnt something that WWE does very well anymore. Its a lesson the companys had to be forced to learn before: after successfully emerging from the 1980s as a national wrestling promotion, the WWF rested on its laurels a little, making themselves easy targets for the new hatchetman in town when Eric Bischoff took over running rivals World Championship Wrestling. It took them years to realise that the crowd had moved on past them, years to catch up creatively to what Bischoff was doing... and considering the pasting he was giving them, that lag time is remarkable. Its a testament to Eric Bischoff that for fifteen years, Monday Night RAW has taken on the form and format of Nitro. In adapting Game Of Thrones, HBO and the shows producers had to trim and edit the original story and characters a little, by necessity: but it remained a remarkably faithful production. When they saw what a hit they had on their hands, they recognised that the show would probably run straight through to the conclusion of the story without a hitch - which meant theyd need to look at adapting the later novels, including books that hadnt been written yet. Game Of Thrones has been confidently, cheerfully striking out on its own for some time now, crafting new scenes that arent in the books, truncating and altering storylines to suit their show. Opinions vary as to how successful these changes have been, and as to whether fans of the books arent better off sticking with them but the point is that this phenomenally successful show isnt afraid to try its own thing, to deviate from the plotlines it inherited and go a different way. WWE could learn a thing or two from that attitude: after all, thats how they eventually stumbled upon an Attitude of their own, after all.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
