{"id":59904,"date":"2018-05-13T21:42:38","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T02:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=59904"},"modified":"2018-05-14T12:47:48","modified_gmt":"2018-05-14T17:47:48","slug":"artistry-of-wrestling-roman-reigns-destroys-fundamental-artistic-pillars-of-pro-wrestling-in-post-wrestlemania-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/05\/13\/artistry-of-wrestling-roman-reigns-destroys-fundamental-artistic-pillars-of-pro-wrestling-in-post-wrestlemania-push\/","title":{"rendered":"ARTISTRY OF WRESTLING: Roman Reigns destroys fundamental artistic pillars of pro wrestling in post-WrestleMania push"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2070828023\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><em>Art is the creation of something from nothing that elicits a reaction. Pro wrestling embodies that definition. In wrestling, men and women step inside the squared circle and create with their actions, expressions, words, and bodies to garner a specific and distinct reaction from their audience. In turn, the audience responds to, engages with, and affects the work. No other art form in the world carries that uniqueness. In this column, we explore that art form inside real and relevant examples. Enjoy.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Well, it appears that we\u2019re not quite at rock bottom yet as we\u2019ve hit a brand new low in the saga that is Roman Reigns. If you missed Monday Night Raw this week, his rejection is now so lethal that failed acts like Jinder Mahal are cheered instead of him. That\u2019s right, it\u2019s so bad with Reigns that fans have openly accepted a character who portrays a gimmick straight out of the 80&#8217;s and is borderline racist in 2018 over a man whose main-evented WrestleMania four times in a row. After Mahal, maybe Reigns will be up for rebuilding Curt Hawkins next? It would be funny if it wasn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n<p>The Reigns story has been told to death. He was over pushed and lacked the time to get his character organically over with the audience. That coupled with the fact that the audience already made their pick for \u201ctop star\u201d in the form of Daniel Bryan and the result was immediate Reigns backlash. That blood is on the hands of the WWE. Rushing to get Reigns to where they wanted him to be hurt his chances at actually getting there. Roman hasn\u2019t helped himself in this process either. He regularly comes off as arrogant, too cool, and above the business he\u2019s at the head of. This has led to audiences feeling even less inclined to accept him as he has prioritized being a corporate yes man over having a money making connection and openness with the fans.<\/p>\n<p>Even with intense push-back and without a viable top babyface reaction, a calculated mix of smoke, mirrors, and pulling the curtain back on backstage politics was deployed by Vince McMahon throughout all of 2017 to pigeon hole Reigns into the main event of WrestleMania 34. In it, he\u2019d finally take down Brock Lesnar and get his official crowning moment as the company\u2019s top babyface. In classic fashion, fans revolted during the match and dismissed it with apathy. WWE capped off their year with Reigns\u2019s flame burning out with the world watching. In the end, loyal fans who spend big money on the WWE product saw through their trickery and said enough was enough.<\/p>\n<p>Reigns\u2019s push continuing the way it has since WrestleMania 34 simply isn\u2019t what pro wrestling is about. Within the insidiously bad promo segments and matches recently, Reigns is acting as a mechanism to fight the fan\u2019s artistic involvement when he should be catering to them and using them to achieve success. Imagine Stone Cold Steve Austin driving a beer truck out to a chorus of thunderous boos or Hulk Hogan slamming Andre The Giant to an audience batting beach balls through the air. Those moments needed the artistry of the audience\u2019s reaction to become as iconic as they are today. Their absence within Roman Reigns destroys fundamental artistic principals that the wrestling business is built on.<\/p>\n<p>Roman Reigns has never been a great promo, but his work since WrestleMania has been particularly bad and has stunted storyline progression on Raw. The reaction that his push is eliciting from the crowd makes it impossible for him to do his job in getting the audience to react for him and the story he\u2019s trying to tell. Anything that Reigns does falls on deaf ears which makes his artistic choices superfluous. Artistic elements like tone of voice, volume, expression, and body language can\u2019t work for him like they do for others. Plus, his words are ignored because the audience rejects him outright. In his promo segments with Samoa Joe, he appeared bully-like and smug when he was written to come off as confident, witty, and intense. Why? Because the audience\u2019s role in that segment and the art behind it was missing. Had the correct response been there for him and had Reigns been able to react to that and cultivate it in his favor, he would have been seen in a different light. The art in the audience allows for that proper reaction to happen and for a logical story to take place.<\/p>\n<p>Same thing with Reigns matches. Because he can\u2019t effectively get his story over on the microphone, he can\u2019t execute that story in the ring via a good match. A good match needs a crowd reaction. Reigns and his opponent can work in pristine psychology that rivals Flair vs. Steamboat, but if the reaction isn\u2019t there, it\u2019s done in vain. What makes pro wrestling a unique art form is the fact that the reaction of the artist\u2019s subject affects the art itself. Reigns and his opponent need the crowd reaction to mirror the writing so they can help tell the story well. At Backlash, Reigns and Joe mistakenly constructed their match based on getting the correct reaction, but the reaction was nowhere to be found. Joe dominating Reigns for the entirety of the match was artistically designed to drum up sympathy for Reigns. Because the crowd cheered Joe throughout, the story of the match made no sense and therefore the art within the match was lost. Reigns\u2019s facial expressions meant nothing, his selling was worthless, and the match sputtered in first gear for nearly 20 minutes. The Money In The Bank qualifier match on Raw this week highlighted that same fact. In the match, Reigns was mauled by both of his opponents in an effort to setup a heroic comeback and again, the reaction wasn\u2019t there and all art that followed it was rendered useless. When the comeback hit, fans didn\u2019t care, and regardless of how great the in-ring action was, the match fell flat because the biggest moment in it didn\u2019t click properly.<\/p>\n<p>Roman\u2019s push as WWE\u2019s top babyface should have ended in New Orleans on April 8th. Even to the casual wrestling viewer, it was painfully obvious that a natural artistic connection was missing between him and the fans that are supposed to cheer him on. In the weeks after WrestleMania and this week on Raw, the audience continued to get more of the same and they\u2019ve responded with an even more vicious and passionate rejection than before. Yes, that backlash manifests itself in a negative response, but it also roots itself in the audience happily abandoning their artistic responsibilities in the wrestling product. The result is a show that\u2019s unfocused and nonsensical. With Roman Reigns, the WWE has created an environment in which its competing with its own audience. Not only has that strategy gotten Reigns to where he is today, but it ruins the art of the business.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2354904423\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The art in wrestling is what makes watching wrestling fun. The art triggers the story and reaction. In return, the reaction feeds the story and the art. That\u2019s the formula. What\u2019s happening with Roman Reigns contradicts that on all fronts and makes watching less enjoyable. He\u2019s at the point where he can\u2019t cut a promo and can\u2019t have a successful match because he can\u2019t capitalize on the art or reaction involved in those endeavors. The artistic capability of WWE\u2019s biggest star has been fully neutralized. In a business that is tied to the art within it, that\u2019s a problem. That failure resonates through the entire WWE system and at the top of their biggest and most important show stands an act that runs counter to everything that the show is supposed to be about.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK&#8217;S COLUMN:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/05\/06\/artistry-of-wrestling-seth-rollins-shakes-montreal-by-utilizing-beautiful-spontaneity-to-magnify-a-raucous-reaction\/\">ARTISTRY OF WRESTLING: Seth Rollins shakes Montreal by utilizing beautiful spontaneity to magnify a raucous reaction<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1763077271\"><div id=\"pwtor-3329326549\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Art is the creation of something from nothing that elicits a reaction. Pro wrestling embodies that definition. In wrestling, men and women step inside the squared circle and create with their actions, expressions, words, and <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/05\/13\/artistry-of-wrestling-roman-reigns-destroys-fundamental-artistic-pillars-of-pro-wrestling-in-post-wrestlemania-push\/\" title=\"ARTISTRY OF WRESTLING: Roman Reigns destroys fundamental artistic pillars of pro wrestling in post-WrestleMania push\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":19521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,5892,52,27],"tags":[240,96,74,71],"class_list":["post-59904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlightarticles","category-artistry-of-wrestling","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists","tag-monday-night-raw","tag-raw","tag-roman-reigns","tag-wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Reignsbelt_3x2Lunn.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59904"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59906,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59904\/revisions\/59906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}