Reality Era: Is WWE suspending the suspension of disbelief?
by BennyProfane on Dec 8, 2011 4:17 PM EST
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I prefer watching Monday Night Raw on Tuesday or Wednesday. Watching it on the DVR affords me advantages catching it live does not, such as the ability to go in depth with the program.
I've just started watching this past Monday night's episode and I have yet to get all the way through it. In fact, I've only watched the first 10 minutes. Because within those first 10 minutes, one thing seemed to become evident:
WWE superstars are consciously suspending the suspension of disbelief.
Let me explain:
The suspension of disbelief is a literary term meaning roughly the following: If you write a good story, the audience will refrain from judging its plausibility. Which basically means if the story is good, people don't care if it could or could not happen in real life. In reality, Andre the Giant probably could have killed any wrestler he wanted with one punch, but the fans loved the story and the characters so much, they didn't care how implausible it seemed.
Good fiction does this.
Bad fiction is noticeable. Think Snakes on a Plane. People didn't want to see Snakes because it was a cinematic masterpiece; they wanted to see it because it was a horrible movie. The reason it was so horrible was because both the plot and the actor's reactions were so implausible, the suspension of disbelief was impossible.
In summary: it doesn't matter if it appears fake, it matters if it's good enough to make the audience not care if it appears fake.
Which brings me to this week's Monday Night Raw.
On the show, John Cena ridiculed Michael Cole for overselling the name of Dolph Ziggler's new character. He said, "I know you're the Show-off, because Michael Cole said it a million times. Way to force feed 'em."
John Cena didn't call Cole a weasel, an idiot, or an evil puppet. He made fun of his ability to make fiction seem real, or natural. There were two really bad things about Cena's comment: 1) The audience either didn't think it was funny or didn't get it, and 2) He made the bad fiction noticable.
If it wasn't bad enough the first time, Cena actually had the gumption to say it twice. In the past few weeks, superstars have called Michael Cole, "Raw's worst announcer." They didn't call him bad because he picks on the innocent, they made fun of him because he's a bad announcer.
Could you imagine if Ronald McDonald said the following in a McDonald's commercial: "We have apples in our Happy Meals now! We don't actually care about your health, we're just covering up that our food leads to obesity!
Breaking the fourth wall seems to be the hottest trend with WWE's top two stars, John Cena and CM Punk. Weeks ago, Cena also made a side comment about how The Rock gave crappy promos via satellite. Punk blasts Del Rio for being boring, kills John Lauranitis for being a horrible speaker, says people change the channel when Nash appears on screen, and constantly reminds us that pro wrestling isn't interesting anymore. However true these comments are, it makes the bad fiction noticeable.
Why sh*t where you sleep?
If wrestlers are going to break the fourth wall, they need to do it in style. It has to be a monumental event that is worthy of making the fiction seem noticeable. CM Punk's worked shoot is one of the best examples I can think of in the modern wrestling period. If it's not noticeable, keep it to an extreme minimum.
One of the most famous examples of breaking the fourth wall in fiction is at the end of William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Briefly, the play is about a series of strange events experienced by characters--so strange that they determine the events were a dream. Some of the characters intentionally put on a bad play, to play on the theme of reality vs. fiction. After the "play" has "ended," Puck is left on the stage alone to address the audience.
Puck says:
"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding, but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend;
If you pardon, we will mend."
In the WWE lately, the "shadows have offended." Wrestlers need to stop making fun of what's real (backstage politics, creative, writing, or bad characters) in a fictional environment (the ring). Otherwise, there will be no way the shadows can mend. No matter how hard they "act," they cannot convince us that what we have seen was a dream. We cannot pardon that.
Because when fictional characters point out how bad the show is, it's definitely believable.
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I didn't read the whole article
In fact, I only read the first paragraph. But I have to ask, are fan posts becoming more inane? opinion
I think...
This is a perfectly valid concern.
It’s part of a bigger problem of WWE seeing something that works within a very specific set of circumstances — Punk’s “pipebomb promo” and trying to retread it over and over.
by Sergio Hernandez on Dec 8, 2011 12:51 AM EST up reply actions
That's an entirely different argument
There is certainly something to be said about the rehashing of what was once an original idea. But this isn’t that. Wrestling is, in fact, fake. We all know it’s fake. Kayfabe doesn’t mean what it used to. Yes, it is fiction. But it isn’t Oscar worthy stuff. The WWE is exactly “Snakes on a Plane”. It is over the top insanity with a touch of self awareness. It is talked about on the Internet, not necessarily for what it is but for what we think it could be.
The fact that wrestlers are talking about the obvious is letting us know that they are aware of the short comings. I’m not saying they are doing it the right way, I’m just saying they are doing it. To see it as a work of “bad fiction” misses the point. We are aware of how we feel. Punk and co calling it to our attention is meant to hide the obvious in broad daylight. Again, not saying it is working. Just saying wrestling isn’t so fragile that a little self awareness will push away its audience.
Also, as for keeping breaking the fourth wall to a minimum? Punk *literally said “I’m breaking the fourth wall”. It was as obvious and blatent as possible. That is why it was great.
by C. J. Bradford on Dec 8, 2011 1:25 AM EST up reply actions
I can see your point here
but I think this post really hits the nail on the head with what the problem is with WWE’s reality direction. It’s gotten so blatantly over the top that the suspension of disbelief is becoming impossible. It would be like a movie that tries to take itself seriously occasionally threw jokes in that broke the fourth wall and made fun of the movie they were doing within the very same movie. The audience would put up with it once, twice at most, but any more than that and it’s suddenly a shit movie.
Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
But does wrestling take itself seriously?
That’s the central question here, right? The Undertaker is a zombie wrestler. Cena’s original gimmick was a white from the ‘burbs of Boston rapper. Orton hears voices in his head sometimes and they they understand and talk to him. Thee list foes on. I understand the idea is that these are so compleatly far in one direction, and the ’reality era’ takes things to the polar opposite. But there is a difference from something beging annoying to something destroying the product. Are you really thinking “hey, these guys aren’t actually fighting each other! And I bet Cena can’t actually survive some of these spots”? Suspension of belief in wrestling shouldn’t be that fragile. We know what we are gonna get.
by C. J. Bradford on Dec 8, 2011 9:56 AM EST up reply actions
Why is wrestling special?
Everyone knows superheroes don’t exist, but they want to suspend their belief so they can enjoy the movie. Even if you’re watching a cartoon, they would never call the cartoon crappy kid’s stuff with no literary merit. Why shit where you sleep?
When Al Bundy would make fun of Fox it was tongue-in-cheek.
The wrestlers actually seem to enjoy calling out the WWE’s shortcomings.
by BennyProfane on Dec 8, 2011 10:11 AM EST up reply actions
Condensing the two streams here
One, The Buke is right. The phrase is suspension of disbelief. So there’s that.
Two, I’ve seen plenty of cartoons do it. Family Guy commonly makes a habit of attacking cartoons and those who watch. In Spiderman, there’s the line “you’re not Superman you know” and Toby looks almost directly into the camera. Hell, Midsummer’s entire subplot is ‘look how stupid actors are’. Self awarness in and of itself doesn’t hurt the product
Tres, the parts they comment on kinda do suck. I was thinking it before they said it. The idea is that if the characters call attention to it, they will show the audience that they understand the problems. Again, they arn’t doing it well necessarily, but the intent is good. Do you really think Punk and Cena hate wrestling? No of course not. Punk does not really hate ADR. Or maybe he does, but it’s irrelevant. When he attacks him for being boring, he is attacking the character. A character who is really boring. Maybe it’s not the best attack out there, but it’s better than the casual racism that was being used.
Four, I came back to the WWE because of that promo, so I understand how influential it was. But I understand why it was great. It demolished the fourth wall, but at the same time built a new one. It extended the boundaries of what is considered fair game. These comments are consequences of that. Unfortunate ones, yes, but directly related. The are coming from the same place.
Five, Are you not entertained? Is this not fun for you? Are small one liners destroying two hours of show? WWE is not perfect by any stretch. But there is so much more to the show that if these small things are pulling you out if it, maybe you weren’t all the invested in the first place
by C. J. Bradford on Dec 8, 2011 10:50 AM EST up reply actions
Everything you sad is valid
The reason I wasn’t invested in wrestling for the past few years is because the product was stale and inferior. I watch wrestilng because it’s entertaining, fun, and I love the science behind a good match. If the wreslters themselves bash certain aspects of the product, and it’s never going to be changed, it makes watching it less enjoyable.
If breaking the fourth wall was 100% beneficial, why not let every wrestler do it? Why is Punk and Cena the ones with no leash? Why not let Jack Swagger go off on how many jobs he has to do? Why not Del Rio go off on how stereotypical his character is? Why not let Kofi Kingston complain that he’s getting buried because someone smoked fake pot?
by BennyProfane on Dec 8, 2011 12:52 PM EST up reply actions
Because its Punk's gimmick
And Cena has attached himself to it. I’m certainly not opposed to more people doing it, as long as it makes sense. Kofi doesn’t because he is not a shoot promo guy, he’s a jump around and smile for the children type of guy. ADR is a call back to an old type of heel, so it doesn’t necessarily work. The problem with the fourth wall is that you are combining this new character with old characters. Punk’s promo was great cause it was just himself, and him and Cena works cause they are both moving in the same direction. Problems arise when you mix old and new. If the WWE is going to continue this, they need more guys who are doing the same thing.
by C. J. Bradford on Dec 8, 2011 3:39 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
The difference when Punk did it
When Punk broke the fourth wall it was to generate huge reactions from the fans. The worked shoot is infamous.
When he bags on other guys, and when Cena does it, it’s done as some snarky side comment that does nothing to elevate the product. It just reinforces my beef with how shit is being run.
Plus,
When Cena broke the fourth wall on Raw this past monday, no one gave a shit. Not one audience member cheered or laughed. It fell dead.
Michael Cole then said, “He’s force feeding them Ryder!”
How did it make the show more fun or interesting?
It made me more aware of how much the wrestlers hate part of their job. Not good.
The ends don't justify the means
Punk was not trying to elevate the product in the Pipe Bomb Promo. He was shitting on everything and everyone. His whole thesis was based on backstage politics. The crowd loved it because it was great, not that it was great because the crowd loved it. This meta-wrestling has shown that it can work if done correctly. Cena openly admitting to “showing his ‘heel personal’” and his “five moves of doom”. Punk and Trips calling each other by their first names, yeah not so much. I will agree with the idea that it is annoying. But don’t tell me that you want to believe wrestling is real and this is keeping you from that.
by C. J. Bradford on Dec 8, 2011 10:04 AM EST up reply actions
I don't want to believe wrestling is real.
I want to believe that when I’m watching entertainment, I’m actually having fun. I don’t want to be told by the actors that what I’m watching sucks.
Besides, the Pipe Bomb Promo did elevate the product. Do you know how many fans were brought back to wrestling (myself included)? It was also a monumental event in wrestling (in hindsight). In a speech it’s effective. Not in side-comments.
by BennyProfane on Dec 8, 2011 10:13 AM EST up reply actions
Also along that line this was the second week in a row they simmed a match in WWE ’12 that was put together “spur of the moment” live.
by mariobatalivsmarkhenry on Dec 7, 2011 11:48 PM EST reply actions
Haha, I had the same thought when they showed that. They seem very short-sighted when they go on these marketing barrages. If the overall product is popular enough, people will buy the junk, see the movies, play the games. I don’t think it works the other way around. But they’re the ones making tens of millions every year, so what do I know.
Is WWE playing mind games or are they just lazy?
All the comments purposely breaking the fourth wall shows WWE is aware of what many people are thinking. These thoughts are not causing people to boo, but to change the channel. So if WWE is aware of this, why aren’t they trying to fix it? Instead, they seem to be content to put out crap.
That was an interesting post. Good work. I look forward to seeing the comments and discussion.
by Manolo Has Pizzazz on Dec 8, 2011 12:22 AM EST reply actions
This is just nitpicking
but doesn’t the mere fact that you wrote it make it your opinion? You don’t need to write Opinion in the title.
I wrote opinion because
I didn’t want it to seem like I was asking a question like on a forum. I wanted users to know it was a written piece rather than just a concern. Thanks for the comment
Suspension of DISbelief
You do not suspend you belief. That would mean that you believe wrestling is real, but watch it as if it was fake because that’s the way to enjoy it.
You suspend your disbelief. You know that wrestling isn’t real, but watch it as though it is because that’s how you’re meant to enjoy it, but joining in and having fun.
Great article
Great to see an article with a bit of literary flair. I wouldn’t say Shakespeare is worlds away from the spectacle of pro wrestling either – much of his audience were the same people that watched bear fights and pugilism. I wouldn’t even put it past the Attitude Era to work some of the darker elements of Titus Andronicus (feeding someone their children) into one of its story lines. We did see Triple H have sex with a dead mannequin afterall.
I’ve only recently started following wrestling again, but is Cena following CM Punk’s example or is this something he’s done before? I kind of cringed when I saw it, I think Punk overuses it enough for everyone as it is.
I find that these tactics tend to bring that nagging thought at the back of my head (this is dumb or this is boring) to the forefront.
One of the reasons Zach Ryder is one of my favourite wrestlers at the moment is because he fits the bill of a certain type of wrestler a la Ultimate Warrior or Scotty too Hotty – stays in character, way over the top, funny, great catchphrase (i don’t care what anyone says – even my girlfriend will come watch when she hears Woo Woo Woo!) I dig Del Rio too, I love his serious Mexican schtick. It might get a bit repetitive but its fun and you suspend your disbelief and believe that this business is important to him and it’s his destiny.
Punk.. what is his character? ‘The company doesn’t take risks, the crowd is dumb, no ones got any mic skills…’ So what, your the champion of a joke promotion cheered on by idiots?
Loved your response
When they do the side comments it brings the nagging to the forefront of my head as well. Thanks for the excellent comment.
Breaking the 4th Wall is good.
Just ask Deadpool and his huge following.
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Sarcasm doesn't always translate on the internet...
..but you’re joking, right?
WWE may be considered fringe programming, but it’s miles more popular and profitable than Deadpool comics. Deadpool appeals to a niche audience; looking to it for guidance as to what will be appealing to the casual fan would be an extremely bad idea.
Moreover, to the extent that Deadpool is one of the more popular comic book characters right now (if you measure comic book issue sales only — I’m sure Deadpool sells better than Wonder Woman, but the latter is a far more profitable property overall), it’s because he’s unique. You wouldn’t want every comic character to be written just like Deadpool, just like you wouldn’t want every WWE wrestler to act like CM Punk.
The WWE is not more entertaining than Deadpool
Just saying.
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by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Dec 10, 2011 1:31 AM EST up reply actions
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by Thats It For you! on Dec 9, 2011 4:19 PM EST up reply actions
Meh, Jericho got no heat for correctly [at the time] breaking the 4th wall on his reurn and calling out Orton for being boring
why am I worrying about it now…if anything the wrestlers pointing out the system is flawed makes it just easier to relate to them. They know just like I do that some of this is bullshit and should be changed. Vince stopped listening to the fans a long tiome ago so I’m not going to sweat it now.
Burying your own product when you’re trying to promote to an audience and take their dollars is counter-productive to business.
However entertaining to us it might be (we may laugh along) WWE remains a business. If they are not convincing their audience to spend dollars they are going in the wrong direction.
Punk’s summer promo was a well-crafted worked-promo designed to further the feud and sell himself and the match at the MITB PPV. He wasn’t truly breaking the 4th wall even though the promo was wrapped up in the style of a shoot. Nothing within that promo undermined their foundation whereas pointing out the shortcomings of wrestlers does weaken their promoting objective.
If they’re going to sprinkle promos with truths they’d better advantageous or innocuous. Don’t highlight the deficiencies.
by Mr. Sunny Days on Dec 8, 2011 5:50 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I don't think that the self-aware stuff is bad because it sends a negative message about the product.
I think it’s bad because it isn’t funny. I blame CM Punk and the pessimistic male fanbase that he is courting for the proliferation of this crap.
CHIKARA, for example, often trades on being self-aware about the sillier aspects of professional wrestling, but those guys are clever as hell, unlike Punk, so it ends up being funny and engaging.
I don't really like Punk..
He reminds me of a guy who works in a bar or a supermarket and thinks he’s so much more intelligent than anyone else and if he was running the business he’d do that and he’d do this…
If there’s one thing greats like Stone Cold and The Rock taught us it’s that you change the business with actions not cheap words. He’s gotta bring it every night. He’s gotta be the change he wants to see. To be honest, I think he’s more content at the moment just to slate the product like he expects someone else is gonna come along and change it for him. If he can gain the right kind of momentum McMahon himself would have to let him run with it.
Punk needs to remember that he may be more intelligent than the average musclehead in the locker room, but he’s not a genius and it kind of bugs me how he tries to flaunt it.
I find Punk to be unwatchable largely for this reason.
Punk being the smartest dumbass in the room (and proud of it!) + Punk’s shitty offense and weak looking Muay Thai kicks that make me think a regular dude off the street could kick his ass = NO THANKS.
Maybe because I got back into wrestling recently
But one thing I’ve noticed is that he constantly criticizes Lauranitis for being predictable and non-creative, when I think Punk himself is pretty predictable when it comes to what he says.
by The Name is Dalton on Dec 9, 2011 10:54 AM EST up reply actions
I mean
Whether it is good or bad that he is consistent, it sort of contradicts what I think his intent is (to make things interesting and unpredictable) . But, just an opinion of course.
by The Name is Dalton on Dec 9, 2011 10:59 AM EST up reply actions
i agree wwe could stop with the breaking of the 4th wall
or at least do it occasionally not every second.
i agree
i cringe everytime cena and punk go out and start cuting those, taco bell, you are boring promos on del rio, its so stupid, specially on a guy like del rio who needs as much heat as he can get right now because he has lost it all, punk is already as over as he can be, why would you let him go out and rip one of your top heels apart, its insane and stupid, i guess in some idiots mind its just a way to get punk fans to hate del rio and get him heat, but its obviously not working
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