Disclaimer: This article was conceived while watching WWE Summerslam and the aftermath on RAW. However, the overall point can be applied to almost any independent wrestling show.
“Nothing is wrong with honest emotion.” – Tony Goldwyn
Upon watching WWE Summerslam, I, along with hundreds of people online, celebrated Daniel Bryan's triumphant victory over John Cena. Watching him hold the WWE title up was a moment that brought tears to my eyes. Like other WWE fans, I only learned about Bryan's history after he debuted on my television screen. This tied neatly into the time period in which I started to discover the independent wrestling scene. As I delved into it, I learned about the years Bryan Danielson spent toiling away in front of crowds that consisted of less than thirty people; the time spent in various places across the globe; and the dedication he has to his craft. So watching him as he climbed to the top of the totem pole at one of the biggest WWE pay-per-views of the year, it was sweet vindication for all of us who knew and appreciated his story. It was also inspiration for those in the independent scene that hoped to follow in his footsteps.
It made the subsequent cash in by Randy Orton, and the backstabbing by Triple H, all that much worse. In an instant, the victory was gone and I exploded in my chair. Like other fans, I voiced my rage on Twitter, putting into words the emotions I was feeling. I was utterly bewildered and completely volcanic.
However, then I noticed tweets from others on my timeline. Some of them applauded the turn in the story, remarking on how well those in creative had neatly pulled the strings of the fans, causing the reaction they wanted. Others, I noted, remarked on people who were “jumping the gun” and not letting the story play out before seeing where it went. A few even seemed amused or showed contempt towards those who were angry. Quite honestly, I was surprised. The next night on RAW, after viewing Bryan left laying, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Orton and Triple H standing triumphantly over him, I once again expressed my anger. I was furious at the fact that one of my favorites had been beaten down. This time, I was told by two separate people, “That means it's working.”
Once again, I was baffled at the response. I wondered, and not for the first time, if I was missing something. I went back and over the next few days pondered the varying reactions of people I know and follow online. I thought about my own reaction, not only to this story, but to others in the past. And I took a look at myself to draw a few conclusions.
Stepping “outside the box,” I know full well that mine is the reaction that WWE (and wrestling in general) wants to evoke. It's been said many times in many ways that if you feel something, positive or negative, about a wrestler or a story, that is a good thing. The worst thing is to be completely indifferent to what or who is being presented. They know that if a fan feels angered by some injustice being done to their favorite, or a villain is finally getting what is coming to them, then they will keep following along to see what happens and how the story plays out. With my anger at what is happening to Daniel, The Powers That Be know I will keep tuning in in the hopes of seeing him triumph over the array of forces set against him. It's classic storytelling 101.
Logic dictates that, for a good story to have a compelling and satisfying ending, that Bryan will defeat Orton to become WWE Champion for a longer title run. I've had several people tell me that the money is in the chase. That may or may not be true, but I feel that the draw is in the emotion. The majority of fans identify with the underdog – often, in life, we feel powerless and held down by factors that may or may not be real. In the best known example, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was never planned to be a babyface or the ultimate face of the company – once he started to speak out and be what seemed to be a regular guy bucking the system, fans rallied behind him. His feud against Bret Hart made him a star – and as was pointed out to me, the fact that he lost to Hart at Wrestlemania 13 was ultimately inconsequential. Hardly anyone remembers that now. What they remember is a man who refused to give up and chose to pass out in the sharpshooter, blood pouring from his head. No one knows what would have happened to Austin if Vince McMahon had not become so hated after Montreal, but in the end it was a boon – the McMahon/Austin feud shot the latter into super-stardom as the ultimate anti-hero/underdog.
There have been many people wondering if Bryan Daniel will become the next Steve Austin, but while there are many similarities, this is unlikely. For one, the Attitude Era is over and part of what made Austin so appealing was his decidedly un-PG persona. For two, Bryan isn't an anti-hero – he is firmly in the mold of a heroic underdog who has worked too hard to be denied what he deserves forever. The emotion I, as well as other fans, feel at the injustice of his treatment is the ultimate draw. For a lot of fans, the outcome is so obvious that to feel or express any anger or disappointment seems strange to them – to become emotional over any of this is to be a “mark.”
I know that, in the end, Bryan will win. He will get his run with the WWE title. At least, I hope so, because there are past examples of what seemed to be the obvious outcome not happening and falling by the wayside. But, if all goes as it should, we will be rewarded with Daniel overcoming all the odds. My brain tells me this…but, when it comes to wrestling, my heart overrides logic and reasoning. I get swept up in the moment. I don't want to sit and analyze what I am seeing. I don't want to take myself out of the moment and think, “I'm getting angry over this. This is exactly what they want me to feel, so what they are doing is working.” I don't go to the movies and, when the plot has a twist or a major character dies, while still watching it think, “This is so upsetting! Wow, what a powerful movie this is! I'm feeling exactly what the creators wanted me to.” I don't want to temper my reaction or stifle my feelings, despite the fact I may look ridiculous. I know there are fans whose first reaction is to appreciate the storytelling and analyze what has happened, and I respect that. I do wonder why there has to be a distinction between the two groups, why one is considered “smart” and the other are considered “marks”.
I can watch a match and dissect it with friends afterwards. I like to watch a show and appreciate the things I didn't notice before. However, when watching something live, I get too carried away, lost in the moment to do so. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I am an emotional creature. There is nothing wrong with that. How I react online when I'm watching wrestling is the same way I react offline. Often times, when watching RAW, I'm at work and have the TV on it when no one is in the waiting room. I react the same whether I am watching it alone on tv or in the crowd at a show. There is no filter, no difference. The fact that I am angry at Daniel losing isn't me not seeing the forest for the trees, or not waiting for the story to play out. It is me reacting to what I am seeing as it plays out in the moment.
An example I can give on the independent level is the story between Madison Eagles, Cheerleader Melissa and Saraya Knight. In April 2010, Eagles cheated in a number one contender's match against Melissa. She wound up defeating MsChif (cleanly) to become the third SHIMMER Women Athletes Champion. Melissa got the first shot at the belt in September of the same year and was defeated, cleanly. We watched as Melissa had to climb back up the contender's ladder to earn another title shot. As fans of hers, we felt the frustration she felt at being mocked by Eagles at every turn, having to face women of various caliber who were in her way. It took a year, but in October of 2011 Melissa bested Eagles to become the fourth SHIMMER Champion. However, she did not have long to enjoy her reign. Saraya Knight (a long time enemy of hers, stemming from an incident in 2007) paid Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez to attack and try to take the title from her in March of 2012. When they failed, Knight then intimidated Jessie McKay (who had legitimately earned a title shot) to do her dirty work. McKay also failed to win the belt, and by this time Melissa was angry enough to want Saraya one on one. Knight attacked her prior to the match with a wrench to the knee, and using that injury to her advantage made the Cheerleader tap out in only her fourth defense.
Fans were stunned and upset. We had watched Melissa battle through setback after setback only to see a vengeful demon from her past come back to haunt her and steal her victory away. Using various tricks and dirty tactics, Saraya held onto the belt until April of 2013, where she was defeated by Melissa in a steel cage match. The Cheerleader was the ultimate victor and I, along with other fans, were elated. Now, from the vantage point of several months later, I can look back at the story that promoter Dave Prazak wove to keep fans coming back, waiting to see if Melissa would gain her redemption. Whereas, back in the moment, the path wasn't so clear. Emotions ran high and it wasn't obvious to see what would happen. The money may have been in Melissa's chase, but the emotion was the draw at the heart of it all.
A more recent example is the last two Dreamwave Wrestling shows I attended. Each featured a main event pitting the “Unbreakable” Prince Mustafa Ali against the “Undefeated” Christian Rose. The first match was no disqualification, and the second was a lumberjack match, both of which were more obstacles that (now former) CEO J.C. Costilli had put in Rose's way as he attempted to get back into title contention. For those who had been long time Dreamwave fans, it may have seemed obvious that the undefeated streak would continue, but I was fairly new to the promotion when I attended the Summer Spectacular and Adversity shows. Both Ali and Rose are tremendous wrestlers as well as performers, and in each match both men weaved a story within the larger story. Each pinfall had me on the edge of my seat, and during the no DQ match, after Ali pinned Rose following a reverse 450 splash onto a ladder, I thought it was over. When the latter kicked out, I almost jumped out of my seat – and during the second match, when Christian had to overcome the hand-picked lumberjacks that sought to keep him from winning, when he managed to pin Ali, I did jump out of my seat, exuberant. I had the same reaction in April, when, on SHIMMER Volume 57, Kellie Skater and Tomoka Nakagawa finally won the SHIMMER Tag Team Championships from Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews. The joy and excitement of being there for their victories was overwhelming, and honestly brought me to tears.
Wrestling is emotion. Wrestling is fire and passion and heart and determination. Wrestling is weaving a story that pulls you in and refuses to let go. Wrestling is a roller coaster that will take you on twists and turns that makes your hair stand on end, your heart jump into your throat and brings tears to your eyes. So many things in life are required to be clinical, analyzed and dissected. Wrestling is one of the few that offers an escape, to be a fan, a mark, whatever you want to label it. To cheer, to boo, to get angry, to erupt in celebration. For those of us who proudly claim to be fans of it, those outside will never understand our love for it. And that's fine – love can never fully be explained to those who don't feel it.
This quote from Brian Eno is fitting to end with. He's a musician, and was speaking about music, but I think this can equally apply to wrestling, film or any other type of art that has the power to evoke emotion. Let go and allow yourself to be swept away.
“If you want to make someone feel emotion, you have to make them let go. Listening to something is an act of surrender.”
