By Rick Gardner, PWTorch Specialist

It's not easy being a wrestling fan. Wrestling polarises opinion, with non-fans failing to understand why anyone would follow such a low brow, "fake" form of entertainment. As a result, pro-wrestling fans are the subject of ridicule by friends who have never heard of Samoa Joe, never seen a sixty minute Ric Flair broadway, and could not tell you what number Wrestlemania will take place next year.

As well as non-fans, there are also ex- wrestling fans. Ex-wrestling fans understand why you watch pro wrestling, but don't watch it themselves because "it's not as good as it used to be." They may be willing to come round for a pay-per-view once a year or enter into a conversation about the Foley/Taker Hell in a Cell match after a few drinks, but defending the honour of pro-wrestling is no longer their battle.

There is one aspect of pro-wrestling that unites wrestling fans, ex-wrestling fans and non-fans alike; bad pro-wrestling. If you didn't watch Smackdown (and if last week's 1.9 rating is any indicator, then a fair few of you didn't) R-Truth featured in one of the worst skits on any wrestling show this year, in which Funaki revealed to the rapper that his real name was Kung Fu Naki. This prompted R-Truth to launch into a terrible rendition of Kung Fu Fighting with some truly idiotic lyrics involving "sake," "hockey" and a "Kawasaki."

Quite how referencing a song that was released thirty four years ago fits in with the WWE's strategy of marketing to children is unknown. One thing is for sure though; this was a far cry from the original vision of R-Truth being a controversial character who would talk about taboo subjects on air. Instead of hearing home truths about the McMahon family we learned that Fuanki's parents were big Carl Douglas fans. The only true revelation to come out of this segment was the fact that somehow R-Truth's singing is even worse than his dancing.

R-Truth was geeky, annoying and out of touch all in one segment. Being presented in this way killed any chances of the R-Truth character being perceived as cutting-edge. It was the kind of television that supports non-fans' indictment of pro-wrestling being only for the lowest common denominator. Comedy is a vital part of any wrestling show, but the WWE needs to be careful when using their wrestlers in the kind of underwritten skits that appear regularly on WWE TV.

Over on Raw, Santino Marella remains the gold standard for perfectly executed wrestling comedy. His combination genuinely funny lines, up to date pop culture references and perfect delivery makes him one of the best characters in wrestling. But aside from Marella, the WWE seems to be missing the mark more often than not with its comedy segments. Charlie Haas's Mr Perfect impersonation was amusing, but his portrayal of J.R. was not only mean-spirited, it wasn't funny.       

There is a movie in the cinemas at the moment called Righteous Kill, where Robert Deniro and Al Pacino team up as two aging cops trying to solve a string of murders. Normally a movie featuring the two greatest actors of the modern era would be a sure-fire success, but major deficiencies with the script and direction rendered Righteous Kill unsuccessful. By the same token, the underwritten comedy skits that feature on Raw and Smackdown are not only painful to watch, they also damage the momentum of the wrestlers involved.

Smackdown has a team of writers, none of whom had the balls to point out how stupid the R-Truth skit was before it was made. The fact that a segment that bad made it on air says a lot about the quality control process at the WWE. It also says a lot about how out of touch the WWE creative team are, and how irrelevant the WWE product has become.

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