10 Ways WWE Treats Its Fans Like Idiots
2. Contrived Ref Bumps
If celebrities are as naturally powerful as seasoned wrestlers, maybe they should be officiating matches. Where are WWE hiring their referees? Are they deliberately seeking men whose bones are made of glass?
What makes this so downright confusing is how exactly you gauge the physical strength of a referee compared to a celebrity. Both are untrained in the art of pro wrestling, so why is there such a difference between a celeb no-selling and knocking out a wrestler, and a referee who crumbles into sand when someone looks at them funny?
Whenever a referee bump happens on TV, you just know that it’s the default answer to a “how do we get out of this situation?” booking issue. With no authority around to call the match, WWE writers are able to book themselves out of a corner with this easy-to-do, catch-all skin saver.
Does this particular gimmick happen in other wrestling promotions? Of course it does, but not nearly at the rate or level of absurdity as World Wrestling Entertainment. Watching WWE referees that have been knocked out by a simple shove for fifteen minutes count in slow motion very rarely adds to the drama, as the writers intend.
It's downright bland and, at the worst of times, completely illogicla.