10 Ways To Make WWE WrestleMania 36 NOT Totally Weird

9. De-Programme The Robots

Edge WWE
WWE

The wrestlers cannot appeal to a crowd that isn't there, people, I cannot stress that enough. It's here that the guts unspool.

Professional wrestling is a performance art that requires the crowd to function. Pro wrestling is an inherent, paradoxical farce that requires incredible will from that crowd, that crowd that isn't f*cking there, to suspend disbelief. What we're seeing in that Performance Center right now is a numbing series of That Awkward Moment Whens, and the people waving at people they don't know in the street are the men and women we ordinarily receive as inspirational stars. The crowd appeals must go. The exaggerated performance element must go, because whatever this is now is not a performance.

Either get meta, cute or absurd with it, or get the f*ck out. Morph the performance into a fight. Don't do the signature pose. Shadow box. Warm up. Crack knuckles. Exhale. Psych yourself up. Do something to convey a remote sense of realism.

This is a fight, now, not a performance. Immerse the people at home, because they are the only people, and immerse them by not involuntarily performing as a programmed robot.

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!