4 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Saturday Night's Main Event (12 July - Results & Review)

5. In-Ring Narration

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event Goldberg Gunther
WWE

Whoever in the creative process thinks the wrestlers are doing Hamlet in the ring needs to be stopped at all costs.

WWE matches have become stages for its superstars to deliver their best middle school theater performances – and we don’t mean the actual wrestling. Rather, superstars have increasingly taken the time to narrate during the match, talking loudly to their opponent. And not like John Cena calling spots; these are meant to be heard.

Drew McIntyre berated Randy Orton in the corner, yelling, “What happened to you?” over and over. Seth Rollins protested to LA Knight that the fans were still singing his song. Gunther taunted Goldberg and then jawed with his son, Gage, at ringside.

Chatter is natural in competitive sports, but WWE has decided that, in addition to show-opening 15-minute promos, backstage segments, and interviews, they also need to cram more talking between the actual wrestling moves. Sure, there’s a time and place for it, but when it happens in every other match each week, it becomes yet another WWE trope to add to the pile.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.