How Ridiculous Can Wrestling Get?

KenTheKiller · 03-10-2009, 12:19 AM

Before I continue, this may contain some minor WWE spoilers and may include current storylines however is more so about a broad view on the business as a whole.

Now to the point of the thread... WWE, WCW, ECW, etc. has had plenty of ridiculous angles/segments. Whether it's Pillman holding a gun to Austin in his home, HHH being dropped from a truck inside his car yet being okay a week later, Vince's limo blowing up, the illegitimate son storyline, and more recently the events from RAW. The attitude era seemingly pushed this ridiculous (not necessarily good or bad, mind you) form of crash TV where realism is pushed out the window and more soap operic/movie style angles occur. How ridiculous can some of these angles get before pulling you out of the product/sucking you away? Does it prevent you from being "bought in"? Do you prefer this style of TV?

And besides that, what are some of your favorite/least favorite types of ridiculousness that has occurred?

horrorfan_1986 · 03-10-2009, 01:08 AM

The Pillman has a gun segment stands out above all others. Unlike Vince dying or Trips crashing in his car, the Pillman one actually felt real. If there's one problem about the gun incident, it's that it felt too real. With how beautifully acted it was, you couldn't help but be sucked into the story. Guns are outside of what should be accepted in pro wrestling, but it at least had you talking.

For some of the other more well known shocks, they come off as extremely cheesy and can ruin a match. It's true that Hunter crashing had me talking, but it was at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. After May 23, these type of segments should have stopped happening altogether.

King Steventon · 03-10-2009, 08:10 AM

I agree with Jim's first paragraph, it's all about realism. As long as it remains within the realms of reality and seems feasable, it's fine by me. Something like Vince dying on national TV or Samoa Joe bringing a machete to the ring is just too far-fetched and ludicrous.

John Smith · 03-10-2009, 11:39 AM

Most storylines are silly, if it's anything more than just abit of tension between 2 people, then it's OTT.

Tommy Platinum · 03-10-2009, 03:30 PM

I tend to enjoy the more over the top angles we see in wrestling. I guess you could argue that is why I watch mainstream wrestling. If I wanted the best technical wrestling I would only watch indys, but I want to see over the top characters and angles. As long as I am not thinking about how unrealistic it is AS I am watching it, I don't mind. Now it may be the case that others just think about the realism of an angle more than I do, but I have no problem with what we saw last night. I even enjoyed Vince's limo exploding. It was shocking and thats what I want to see.

Rob Franklin · 03-10-2009, 03:49 PM

I think there are two sides of the coin for me.

Ridiculous as in the WWF, circa 1996, with likes of an evil clown, a dancing chicken hatching out of an egg on PPV, midgets, etc, doesn't really entertain me all that much.

However, ridiculous circa WCW 1998, WWF 2000, etc, is something I find very entertaining, and I don't think it takes away from the wrestling at all, and in some cases, can add to it.

But TNA circa 2009 is an example of going too far with soap-opera storylines.

And I liked the end of Raw last night. It felt pretty Attitude era-y to me, and that's a good thing.

God · 03-10-2009, 04:11 PM

This is exactly why wrestling is nowhere near as popular as it used to be. Companies cant do anything outside of "These two dont like each other so they are going to fight" without it being critized way too much.

If you want realism your watching the wrong show. Wrestling hasent been realistic since the early-mid 1900's. More people will watch something out of the ordinary simply because its out of the ordinary. Its entertainment, nothing more and nothing less. Do you watch TV shows like Lost and complain about the storylines being unrealistic? Probably not, because its entertainment, the same as wrestling.

Rob Franklin · 03-10-2009, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by God
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This is exactly why wrestling is nowhere near as popular as it used to be. Companies cant do anything outside of "These two dont like each other so they are going to fight" without it being critized way too much.

If you want realism your watching the wrong show. Wrestling hasent been realistic since the early-mid 1900's. More people will watch something out of the ordinary simply because its out of the ordinary. Its entertainment, nothing more and nothing less. Do you watch TV shows like Lost and complain about the storylines being unrealistic? Probably not, because its entertainment, the same as wrestling.

I actually do. Lost has gotten friggin nuts over the years tbh.

But as to your point, I'm not going to subscribe to the idea that the only reason wrestling isn't as popular is because the storylines are too believable. The reason it isn't as popular, is because it focuses too much on actually wrestling compared to ten years ago. Face it, as long as wrestling matches last 20 mins on SmackDown, wrestling won't be popular, unless those matches are TLC flmaing cage deathmatches of horror.

King Steventon · 03-10-2009, 04:22 PM

You mean the mid-1990's, surely?

Comparing something like the WWE and Lost is odd. On the one hand, Lost does actually stay within the realms of reality in the sense that everything is explained logically to the point where the events are feasable in their context. That is sort of what wrestlng should be like, realistic in the sense that it doesn't defy logic. I thought the segment ending last night's RAW was good. No real reason why HHH wouldn't have been able to break into Orton's home and everything seemed realistic enough to me. Aother example would be the Homicide/Cabana fued where Homicide tried to cut out Cabana's tongue and poured Drain-O down his throat, it was all pretty realistic. On the other hand, examples already used in this thread like HHH being crushed in a car then being able to appear on the next RAW, or the police arresting AJ styles while Joe holds a machete to Steiner's throat are just ridiculous.

It is possible to be entertaining and over the top but within the realms of reality.

BDK · 03-10-2009, 04:42 PM

How ridiculous can wrestling get?
Sir, I watch CHIKARA.

It all depends on what you're into, which is why I totally get a lot of people not digging Chikara. Some want their serious puro stuff, and some people just like it to be fun. I really don't think there's much of a line for how wacky it can get, as demonstrated by HUSTLE.

How Ridiculous Can Wrestling Get?

This is a discussion on How Ridiculous Can Wrestling Get? within the General Pro Wrestling : Classic & General forums, part of the Wrestling Forums category; Before I continue, this may contain some minor WWE spoilers and may include current storylines however is more so about ...