I get mocked for being a wrestling fan, but the storytelling is no different to your favourite HBO series

Some of this might be because of the storylines that are being presented in wrestling companies; gone are the days of a character based on an occupation or voodoo curses affecting wrestlers (these are both true, by the way) and instead we have some nuance in our storylines that are almost akin to television shows celebrated like ‘Game of Thones’ or ‘The Sopranos.’ No longer is the case of ‘you stole my title, now I am going to beat you up,’ and instead gaslighting, manipulation and family dramas take centre stage.

Take for a recent example the WWE’s handling of their marquee entertainer, Roman Reigns. A character that for a number of years ‘die hard’ wrestling fans (or smarks if you want to call us that) loathed as the company actively pushed the underdog down many throats. An underdog who, for those that are familiar with behind-the-scenes news, was fed corny lines and basically every bit your ‘white meat babyface’ (a super-duper good guy in wrestling) - in an era where fans gravitate towards edgier, three-dimensional characters. And that doesn’t have the weight of the corporate machine driving them.

His major story arc since returning in 2020 was that he demanded the fans (known in the WWE as the ‘WWE Universe’) acknowledge his greatness. We finally got the bad-guy character many wished Roman Reigns to become, but little did we know how long-term the storytelling around Roman Reigns and his family would be.

For three years, Reigns has managed to keep his title through not only his brutal strength but through manipulation and controlling behaviour. He demanded his cousin Jey Uso fall in line, going as far as to brutalize not only Uso, but his twin brother Jimmy in the process. Jey, gaslight and finally ‘understanding’ what Roman was doing, fell in line. Followed closely by his brother Jimmy (who understandably did not want to see his twin brother feel the wrath of Reigns), then Jimmy and Jey’s younger brother Solo Sikoa (the enforcer of the elders of the Samoan Tribe the family ‘belong’ to), and finally an honorary member Sami Zayn.

We, the viewers, of course, knew what Reigns was up to with backstage segments allowing us to see what the characters involved in the storyline didn’t. In the ring, we saw that same storytelling occur - the hesitation between Sami Zayn attacking his longtime friend Kevin Owens, only for him to pull the trigger and turn his back on his friendship for the sake of Roman Reigns' approval.

At this point in the storyline, the cracks have well and truly shown, and ‘Roman’s Empire’ is falling apart. Jey Uso finally realized Roman Reigns’ manipulative behaviour, Sami Zayn refused to mame his friend Kevin Owens, leading him to strike the “big bad” of Roman Reigns and now all eyes are focusing on what Solo Sikoa plans to do - will he be the next to leave Reigns, leaving a champion all alone on an “island of relevancy”? 

That’s for the next few chapters of the book to answer ahead of Wrestlemania - often regarded as the “season finale” of the WWE’s weekly programming.

Wrestling storytelling is now every bit as intriguing as television series

Admittedly I’ve breezed through some of the more nuanced moments of The Bloodline storyline, but it is three years of storytelling rooted to the logical conclusion - the good guy Cody Rhodes fulfilling his destiny and winning the championship Roman Reigns has long held, a championship his late father Dusty Rhodes never managed to capture during his storied career. 

If that kind of story was in an HBO or Showtime series and was not struck with the stigma of what some people still believe wrestling is (and I know it’s fake. So’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what’s your point?), it would be water cooler conversation. But that’s exactly the place we are at right now with professional wrestling: nuanced storytelling that isn’t condescending to fans in the know while also not alienating the ‘archetype’ wrestling fan who still believes it’s real to them. 

The only difference in my opinion is the presentation of that storytelling, but what’s so bad about ‘lycra-ladened big men slapping each other’ when compared to ‘brother and sister don’t know they’re brother and sister, sleep with each other and then both have rights to the Iron Throne?’ It’s this generalisation that wrestling is stupid, dumb, goofy and not a real sport.

But here’s the thing: wrestling fans know that wrestling can be stupid, dumb, goofy and is pre-determined. That doesn’t make it any less interesting than a superhero movie that has been the genre du jour for so many years. If you’re looking for a weekly two or three-hour event that has all the storytelling, many a time multiple storylines taking place, that has the action you would expect from a superhero movie - why are you not giving sports entertainment or pro wrestling a second chance?