Define “variety show”.
A variety show in pro wrestling includes:
- great athletic contests or “pure wrestling matches”
- sketches designed for comedy or to enhance a character while not embarrassing talent
- promo segments designed to build anticipation to matches or to build intrigue / mystery
- comedy wrestling which should be different from “pure wrestling matches”
- interviews that present characters in a serious light
- a straight man on commentary with a heel on commentary to provide counter points or argue points made by the straight man
- character building segments that evolve a character or make you more invested in the character or story they are trying to tell that does not take place in ring
- more athletic/choreographed matches or what we call “cruiserweights” or Lucha Libre matches that are different from typical big strong man wrestling
- long matches that make both talents look great and short matches (or “squash matches”) used to make a talent long dominant in a given setting
of course all of these things should be designed to tell and enhance stories, be logical, not embarrass talent but showcase their ability to perform either in ring or on a microphone or in a skit, and they should always build to payoffs or finishes that give a viewer the feeling that they didn’t waste their time investing in something that ultimately was pointless in the context of the show or promotion.
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So are you arguing that if a programme contains any of the above then it can be classified as a variety show?
I’d add variety in the wrestling itself too. Guys are allowed to wrestle the style that works best for them, not be pigeonholed into a system.
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I’m seeing a lot of “if WWE did this, you’d hate it” on social media. Thata when I’m reminded of the song that Bray Wyatt did. Dancing, singing, playing with puppets; and the praise that segment got. Or all that The New Day stuff. Don’t be blinded by your prejudice, just enjoy things for what they are.
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I’m taking a position that a Weekly Cable Wrestling Show is designed to be full of a variety of things. Ideally week to week it should contain a bunch of things on my list and probably things I didn’t even include. Point being, it’s convenient to ignore what a weekly pro wrestling show is intended to be comprised of because a segment doesn’t fit a paticular taste pallet. It’s just washing the entire program while ignoring the purpose of the program to begin with
Yeah personally I actually liked the Elias stuff from RAW this week - not sure how he’s a heel but it was entertaining.
Also usually like the Firefly Funhouse segments and loved the Cena/Wyatt stuff at Mania because it’s different.
Maybe it’s because I grew up with guys like the Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and Repo Man but wrestling has always been goofy sometimes. It can’t all just be two guys underwear sweating on each other and grunting.
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Georgia Championship Wrestling and JCP/WCW until 98. There are plenty more examples. I’m not saying there was never a comedic element to an angle but trying to equate cinematic scenes or shit like that musical thing with anything from those promotions is at best disingenuous and at worst plain stupid.
Wrestling has never tried to pretend it is high brow entertainment but it certainly never used to parody itself and so blatantly position itself as a joke.
That WCW statement is ridiculous.
The entire Dungeon of Doom, Uncensored 96 (the whole card), Savage dropping an elbow off the top rope to “revive” Hogan, monster trucks and the Yet-Ay would like a word with you.
Unintentional comedy is still comedy
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FFS. Read posts before responding. I specifically stated I wasn’t stating there was never a comedic angle. I never said there was never a bad/fn stupid angle (which all if those were). Remind me when there was a musical number?
You wouldn’t consider the Dungeon of Doom scenes cinematic?
If you’re talking cinematic what about all of those WCW mini-movies in 93? Can’t get much more “cinematic” than that
No. That is a false equivalency. They weren’t trying to pass them off as matches.
Was the musical number being passed off as a match?
I love WCW but don’t try and make it seem like some bastion of pure wrestling. There was a ton of crap, including a lot before the 98 date you suggested
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I’m not. But nothing they did was as staged as the cinematic matches or as deliberately awful as the musical number.
Come again my friend.
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Why don’t you come again and before doing so read what I have said.
Dude, for somebody who can’t stand AEW, you sure feel the need to comment on literally every AEW related post.
We all get it, you don’t enjoy the product.
That’s great you like what you like… But don’t feel the need to shit on many of us who are enjoying what many of us feel is a refreshing take on American “Television” wrestling.
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You’re right. I don’t know why I’m wasting my time discussing this shit. Enjoy.
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So would the mini movies '92-'93 WCW made not fall into the same category?
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I’m sure your insights will be missed.
Enjoy lamenting that everything can’t be exactly how you remember it through nostalgia for the good ol’ days.
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