SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The cinematic segment featuring Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns at the Georgia Tech football stadium checked a lot of boxes in terms of being a new vehicle for WWE to use to push their major programs on TV.
It featured slick production, it presented Reigns and Rhodes as major stars, it was dramatic, it was compelling, but in the end it wasn’t pro wrestling and that’s why when the segment ended, I was left with an empty feeling.
Pro Wrestling as a genre seems to want to continually run away from its roots in an attempt to evolve and attract new fans. We’ve seen other major promotions attempt cinematic segments to varying results, although none were nearly as good as the one between Reigns and Rhodes attempting to hash out their issues ahead of their upcoming tag match against the new Bloodline at Bad Blood next month.
There’s nothing in any form of entertainment quite like the interaction between the wrestlers and fans. Wrestling is the only form of entertainment that features a never ending interactive live play that airs weekly on TV.
Fans give the performers and the creators behind the scenes instant feedback to what they’re seeing. They cheer, they boo, they gasp, they clap, they cry, they laugh, they smile based on what plays out in front of them during in-ring segments and promos.
The problem with the segment is what makes pro wrestling so great is the interaction live between the performers and the crowd and a segment like the one featuring Reigns and Rhodes needed the crowd reacting to their words and actions.
Instead of dramatic music playing as Rhodes and Reigns talked, the segment needed the fans gasping in reaction to Rhodes telling Reigns he’s the one people used to call Roman Reigns. Nothing beats watching a segment unfold in real time.
Remember the NWO laying out people backstage on Nitro in 1996 and Rey Mysterio got launched into a trailer outside of the arena? That segment felt authentic because it was produced as a one take shot of something unfolding in real time and you could hear the fans in the arena reacting to what they were seeing outside the building. What if that had been shot as a cinematic segment? Would we remember it as fondly as we do now almost 30 years later? I doubt it.
The best part about watching pro wrestling live is you can suspend your disbelief and pretend what you’re watching is actually happening in real time in front of your eyes whether you’re watching on TV or live in an arena.
The way the segment between Rhodes and Reigns was produced took me out of the moment because it was clearly edited together from multiple angles and takes. The segment was clearly pre-taped and not taking place in real time during Smackdown last week. That’s why it was lacking for me. It didn’t allow fans to fully escape and fully engage with it as they can with other compelling segments that are clearly taking place in virtual time inside a ring or backstage.
When Roman turned to leave the Stadium and Rhodes cut him off, can you imagine the gasp and buzz in the crowd had they set the same scene in an arena, but instead of walking off a football field, Reigns was leaving the ring? It would have been electric and felt right.
As major wrestling companies try to find a new way to introduce content to fans going forward, they should remember they have the greatest advantage of all when it comes to presenting their content live. They get immediate interaction and feedback from fans and if the content is compelling enough, there should never be a need to try to deviate and use other mediums that don’t harness the things that make pro wrestling so good to experience live.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X @SR_Torch
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