How WWE Is About To Expose Its Biggest Myth
The shows are so odd. They completely betray the core tenet of professional wrestling because they are impossible to believe in. So few concessions are made to this new context. WWE is largely no-selling it like Road Warrior Hawk jumping back up after a piledriver. Paul Heyman alluded to the global uncertainty and used it to put over Brock Lesnar, and production panned to the empty seats for an absurdist punchline last week, but beyond that, WWE have promoted these shows like WWE shows with precious little in the way of creativity. They are worse than uninspiring; that these shows are more or less just WWE shows brings into focus just how over-produced they are. You never want to use the word fake, because it's disrespectful, but that sh*t looks so fake.
It's a matter of cold routine; the matches happen as they ordinarily would with no acknowledgement of the situation. It's like they are obligated to get in and get out, to pose to nobody, to work strictly within the hope spot/cut-off rhythms dictated by a crowd reaction that is not there. Everything feels like a rehearsal. In the face of such a transformative, pressurised situation, WWE has not tapped in to the old spirit that we are told, ad nauseam, is what defines them. They are the sleeping giant, apparently, and it's quite something for a company built on libertarian ideals to spin: we only suck most of the time because nobody else is picking up the slack!
If ever there was a time for levity, it's now. Isn't why this is even still happening? Isn't that what Triple H said? We were to sit back, relax, try to forget about the world around us, and allow WWE to put a smile on our face.
This didn't work.
CONT'D...(4 of 6)