10 Totally Dumb Booking Tropes Wrestling Is OBSESSED With

2. Inconsistent Safeguarding

Finn Balor
WWE.com

The pull-apart brawl is a great device on its own terms.

This happens because a booker, early into a programme and particularly one that is highly anticipated, wants you to wish the characters could rip one another into shreds there and then. This doesn't happen because it is a means of building the anticipation. You have to watch next week - or ideally shell out for the pay-per-view! - to see the big show-down.

WWE is particularly fond of this trope when Brock Lesnar begins a rivalry with his next opponent. The idea is that he is capable of inflicting serious harm and therefore must be separated from his target, but as the weeks progress, he'll simply beat the hell out of him. The entire roster is conspicuous by their absence at this point because it's time for the beat-down heat angle.

The implication is funny - that the booker stops giving a damn about the wellbeing of their talent after about a week. There are tickets to be sold, after all!

While fundamentally a bit stupid, this is the sort of dumb wrestling trope that even the most cynical and pedantic fans don't complain about too much. They accept that a grudge must escalate, and that the booker can't give everything away immediately.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!