Why WWE Should Blur The Lines More

When WWE blur the lines, breaking the norm, it can be thrilling television. And that’s why I think they should do it more often.

Since re-watching the now famous John Cena and Roman Reigns promo on the August 28th edition of Raw, one question comes to mind: why do the WWE not do more in terms of blurring the lines of entertainment and real life?

In an age where kayfabe is dead, and fans are forced to suspense their disbelief to the max, the WWE needs to ‘push the envelope’ more. One of the main reasons older viewers got into wrestling, including myself, was because we all believed – at one point or another – the sport was real. Being young, naive and all. In wrestling terms, we thought it was a shoot, not a work.

It was, and still is, one of the biggest reasons fans get invested in storylines. And we need more. Blurring the lines in sure fire way to build a fiery feud, that leaves fans wanting more. As I just touched on, realism and wrestling should go hand-in-hand. And when done correctly, it can make for some very intriguing television.

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Look no further than the aforementioned promo between Cena and Reigns. The jury’s still out on if the whole thing was scripted, however, who really cares? The two fired comeback, after comeback, hitting on relevant, and more importantly, real insults – that have never been spoken of in the WWE before. Roman Reigns, a protected babyface, seemed vulnerable – for the first time in, well, ever?! It was a breathe of fresh air.

Another great example, recently, is The Miz’s promo against Daniel Bryan, on Talking Smack. Again, maybe it was scripted, however, it still hit home the message of blurring the lines. And guess what? Fans ate it up. The WWE need to realise that real insults, in a promo, hit harder than any made up storyline. And they should use that to their advantage. In terms of The Miz, it helped in gaining back some real credibility – especially on the microphone.

Now, I’m not trying to say that every feud or segment should include a breaking the fourth wall moment, however, I do think the WWE should do a lot more in regards to adding in more realism. The fans crave it. You can tell the real emotion in a promo, which adds a sense of integrity to the narrative. Furthermore, it makes the show seem unpredictable, and when the WWE’s unpredictable, it’s at it’s best.