7 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (Oct 25)

5. A Big Spin On A WWE Trope

Big E
WWE.com

We’ve repeatedly tore apart WWE for its stupid and overdone tropes, so we need to quickly acknowledge the “big” smackdown of one here.

While the ladder match was going on, the cameras cut to the back to show Big E watching the bout on a big-screen TV. This is a constant trope that gets used every week to show a champion, friend or future opponent watching the match intently. The problem is, it never looks natural. They typically shoot it angled like a “V,” with the TV angled back and the wrestler(s) standing there at an odd angle, not directly facing the TV, but standing slightly toward the camera and turning their head to watch the screen.

However, Big E went a different route and turned his body entirely away from the TV and then turned his head to look over his shoulder at the screen. It was so weird, but it was so obvious that he was mocking the trope, showing that if he can’t make it look natural, he’ll make it comical, which fit his personality perfectly.

Bravo, E. Don’t let them change you.

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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.