Something that definitely was not on my 2023 bingo card was getting into watching WWE wrestling with The Centurion. But after watching Netflix’s The Main Event (which is also way better than it had any right to be) he decided he wanted to actually watch some of the shows. It only took a couple episodes of Raw and NXT for both of us to be hooked.
Here’s what’s fun about WWE: all the plotline problems get resolved in the ring, with violence. Big, tremendously talented dudes throw each other around a ring in ways that shouldn’t be physically possible. Pretty girls provide nice eye candy, and then throw each other around the ring. More than that, the shows are absolutely unapologetic about what they are.
Watch a show and look at the audience. It’s probably 80% male. Lots of dudes, lots of sons there with their dads. Not to say women don’t enjoy the show (and seriously, WWE is absolutely equal opportunity with the eye candy. Every time Randy Orton gets in the ring, I feel the need to be hitting the gym harder).
Yes, the match outcomes are pre-determined. So what? Seriously, watch this highlight of a tag team match between the Creed Brothers (who were NCAA champion wrestlers before going to the WWE), and the duo from The Judgement Day (current villains on Monday Night Raw). These are not small men, and they’re launching each other around the ring. Julius Creed is 6’3”, 228lbs according to Wikipedia, and he’s body-slamming these other dudes and then doing a kip-up to immediately get back on his feet!
It’s also worth mentioning that WWE’s ratings are currently doing fantastic. In a world where a lot of other entertainment outlets have completely lost the plot of what their audiences enjoy (I’m talking about you, Disney and BBC) WWE knows who their audience is, knows what they want, and is happy to give it to them three nights a week!
It really is a simple, uncomplicated formula. Give us likable heroes. Give us unlikable villains. Let them solve their problems with reasonably applied violence. Don’t preach and tell us that we’re stupid and backwards for liking what we like. It’s simple. At least it used to be.