Pro wrestling is to be enjoyed, and discussed (September 27, 2021)
On my mind this week:
I was recently having a conversation with a friend when I repeated something I believe I read in the Penguin Encyclopedia Of Pop: that pop music should not be analysed because it’s not designed for that purpose.
Rather than pop music, however, the topic of our chat was pro wrestling, and I was making the suggestion that perhaps much of it today cannot be analysed due to its absurdity. The thought has stuck with me for a few days, and has led me to a few conclusions.
The first is in the difference between what I said from what was written in Donald Clarke’s book. The type of wrestling television that I’m referring to - let’s give the obvious example of Alexa Bliss’ recent characterisation - can of course be analysed because it is a story, and all stories should be observed for logic and believability and the ability to draw interest in the next chapter. To my point though, the Bliss angle, and others like it, should not be analysed because it’s a waste of everyone’s time and effort, when all WWE seems to be concerned about is social media engagement.
To continue the pop music analogy, that’s the equivalent of Beyoncé celebrating millions of people saying her new single is rubbish while only thousands actually buy it.
Alongside the fact that WWE doesn’t care about credible storytelling or characterisation is that analysing these tall tales only serves to drag the reviewer down, too. Getting into the weeds of why Bliss’ doll has hypnotic powers one week but not the next only makes the reviewer look foolish, and although a rant or two on the subject might initially be humorous, there’s no entertainment in a prolonged discussion about nonsense.
Actually, there’s no entertainment in prolonged discussion about important but repetitious points, either. If you have a product to sell - such as a wrestling podcast - it is not in your best interests to drag it down twice a week with complaints about something like WWE’s production, which hides so much of the ring action. Thus, deal-breaking objections such as being able to see each move clearly are all too rarely discussed.
Pro wrestling is certainly like pop music in that it is predominantly meant to be enjoyed, not broken down by literary devices, but it is wrong to say that it either should not or cannot be analysed. Even a track as apparently hollow as Aqua’s Barbie Girl or No Doubt’s Just A Girl have substance, and anyway, the definition of pop does not preclude songs like Neil Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World or Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA, both furious takes on American society that still have contemporary meaning.
In pro wrestling, there is much to consider above and below the surface.
The more curious you are, the more you will learn.