Masks, Mats & Mayhem

I work for WWE but watch a lot of wrestling worldwide. This goes for all wrestlers in all companies. I have worked in Wrestling for 42 years. An observation. We are portraying trained pro fighters with instincts ( even comedy bouts). If you don’t win you would make less money in the story we’re telling. Every TV bout , if there’s a pin, the cameras focus in. Please pin and kick out like your life and career depend on it. In story, it does. I’ve also been a part of knowing most talent since the 2000’s in many companies. As time goes by younger talent copy their favourite of film. I recently watch AJ Styles v Amazing Red from the early 2000’s. I see how many people copied them. What I saw was every pin was aggressively applied and shoulders covered and stacked. Every kick out they kicked out like their life depended on it. Something has been lost in the last 20 + years. Let’s not insult the intelligence of our audience who are giving us their precious time. In a fight scene in a movie ( which is what wrestling is) we know the punches don’t really hit but if we saw that we would eventually stop watching it. Your audience and fans deserve better. If you can’t be uncomfortable for a few seconds being stacked up in a pin, maybe this isn’t for you.