Suspension of Disbelief

[Helmut Spargel]

For those of us who have fallen from the ranks of "it's still real to me, dammit" WWE fans, the suspension of disbelief when it comes to WWE is a fine line. Since the mid-90's the WWF/E has presented its product as scripted entertainment, as opposed to an athletic event. That's all fine and dandy, I watch to be entertained, not because I believe that a person can only kick out of an AA when I've paid $60 to see them wrestle.

Still, there are moments where the writers really screw up the suspension of disbelief that all fans have to possess to some degree. One of those occurred tonight. I can buy that Kane is some horrific demon spawn who fights to avenge his murdered mother. I can buy that the decidedly unathletic Paul Bearer managed to father two children who are twice his height (though probably of a comparable weight.) All of these events are set in WWE World, where craziness prevails and the rules of society are held at bay by contracts and writers.

What I cannot buy is the fact that the event manager and employees of Joe Lewis Arena would allow a man to be kept in a freezer for any length of time, especially when the location of said freezer was broadcast on the Jumbotron (and presumably on the tv sets scattered throughout the arena.) Furthermore, we know members of Detroit's Finest were present at the arena. Apparently Detroit-area cops aren't that popular if the amount of booing is any indication, but I can't believe that the police force possesses such incompetence that a man can potentially freeze to death while the police force focuses on a mundane sobriety test. Police officers respond to potential homicides with greater celerity than to sobriety tests.

The main point of this post is that the WWE has to be careful when vignettes occur in the world at large, because the non-WWE world operates based on a different ruleset. When actions are taken outside of the "stage" (for lack of a better term,) a failure by authorities to act makes the product look shoddy. This problem is the inverse of bring ambulance crews/medical personnel to the ring for "injuries."

What have people had a suspension of disbelief problem with recently and is there any way for the creative team to avoid such problems or will situations that stretch plausibility to the limit always be with us?

 

[Psyclone]

you're looking way to deeply into it if that is your only "suspension of disbelief" problem with wrestling in general... Look you have to look past the logic behind that stuff just as you have to look past the logic of a "private convorsation" between 2 people with a cameraman in the room... or watching someone plan an ambush, or some dastardly deed with a cameraman there to broadcast it...

there are numerous things in pro wrestling that you just have to know are ignored... otherwise all of the times in the past where superstars broke into rivals homes and attacked them, or assaulted them in the back would be "arrested"... You can't have too much realism (Ie real life rules)... its wrestling damnit, and even pre-determined, and even scripted to an extent you can't expect real world rules

 

[DirtyD79]

I guess it comes down to some can suspend their disbelief differently than others. Yeah I know perfectly well wrestling works best when you're willing to turn your brain off. Hell turning my brain off and unwinding is the reason I give when any of my non-wrestlingfan friends, co-workers, or relatives ask me "Why do you still watch this shit."

But some things it just doesn't work for me. I mean I can watch a CZW style hardcore match where two wrestlers are whacking the hell outta each other with everything but the kitchen sink and putting each other through light tubes or flaming tables and into piles of busted glass and thumbtacks. To me it's no different than watching a fight scene in an action movie. Yet don't ask me to accept Hornswoggle can run through walls or that anybody not named Vince McMahon really runs RAW and Smackdown.

 

[destruct-o-tron]

I must be honest, I laugh hysterically whenever Tensai is on.

And they had that promo tonight where he was screaming about something in Japanese. Come on. Nobody looks at that dude and doesn't see Albert/A-Train.

I know it's supposed to be a throw back to the old-school gimmicks, but it's all just way too hard to swallow.

I can suspend disbelief when it comes to Cena standing up to Lesnar, or guys like Zack Ryder managing to "beat up" anyone. But Tensai... I just /facepalm.

 

[Helmut Spargel]

you're looking way to deeply into it if that is your only "suspension of disbelief" problem with wrestling in general... Look you have to look past the logic behind that stuff just as you have to look past the logic of a "private convorsation" between 2 people with a cameraman in the room... or watching someone plan an ambush, or some dastardly deed with a cameraman there to broadcast it...

there are numerous things in pro wrestling that you just have to know are ignored... otherwise all of the times in the past where superstars broke into rivals homes and attacked them, or assaulted them in the back would be "arrested"... You can't have too much realism (Ie real life rules)... its wrestling damnit, and even pre-determined, and even scripted to an extent you can't expect real world rules

I guess that most of what you posted can be written off as part of the WWEverse. A lot of what we see now (as compared to 25 years ago) tends to be closer to reality TV, where the participants either aren't supposed to know or care that there are cameras around. This obviously isn't the case with promos or interviews, but generally cameras in the back are intended to show, instead of tell. I think the storylines are more complex when some action takes place behind the fourth wall. There is more subtlety.

As for home invasions, desecrating graves and the like, these actions seem to go with the contract. If you are in the WWE, basically you have carte blanche to perform actions towards other WWE members. The Paul Bearer incident is differentiated to me, because it was an ongoing situation where outside interference would have occurred off camera and would have involved no impact on the WWE world. There shouldn't be real-world rules, but you can't write off the existence of a world outside of wrestling.

Yet don't ask me to accept Hornswoggle can run through walls or that anybody not named Vince McMahon really runs RAW and Smackdown.

This post made me think more in depth on two aspects of the original topic. The first deals with the supernatural aspect of characters. When i was 11, I completely believed that the Undertaker could be an actual demon. Now, on the wrong side of 30 and having suffered through the American Bad-Ass persona, I'm more likely to think the Undertaker's traits resulted from a really lousy childhood. Disturbed (R-Truth, Randy Orton, Kane) is an easy trait to sell and one that resonates with much of the audience. Superhuman powers are a much tougher pill to swallow.

The second point goes to the Johnny Ace-Long showdown over the past few months. I had bought into it hook, line and sinker. I suspended my disbelief over McMahon's actual involvement and rooted for Laurenitis to pull out the win. I think this goes back to the send-off McMahon was given a good 9 months ago. Not only was it a powerful moment, enough time had passed that McMahon wasn't at the forefront of my mind. I believe this illustrates a very good setup by creative, where I (and many others) were able to suspend because of the well-planned staging.

I must be honest, I laugh hysterically whenever Tensai is on.

And they had that promo tonight where he was screaming about something in Japanese. Come on. Nobody looks at that dude and doesn't see Albert/A-Train.

I know it's supposed to be a throw back to the old-school gimmicks, but it's all just way too hard to swallow.

I can suspend disbelief when it comes to Cena standing up to Lesnar, or guys like Zack Ryder managing to "beat up" anyone. But Tensai... I just /facepalm.

Part of this goes back to the supernatural aspect of suspending disbelief. Tensai isn't being just billed as a Japanese monster, there is something mystical about his character. Most people past puberty probably can't buy this wonderful warrior descended from Mt. Fuji for the sole purpose of beating up jobbers.

The bigger aspect is the WWE is throwing a white guy out there, who doesn't look particularly Asia, covering him with characters, and is barely addressing the fact that almost everyone knows who he is. I'm not sure how to rebrand the Hip-Hop-Hippo, but I think most agree Tensai has missed his mark.

It is telling that after his first appearance, when it became apparent that everyone remembered him as A-Train, that the commentators went out of their way to explain he was an ex-WWE star that went to Japan to train. Had this been the initial layout of the character (wrestler gets fed up with the WWE, goes to real wrestling in Japan, comes back to prove his and Japan's dominance) Tensai may have drawn more interest than currently exists. I could have bought that much easier that Albert the Buddhist samurai.

 

[Azane]

I always found when you hit a point where there's suspension of belief, you've gone too far and there's no going back.

You need to not think about wrestling AT ALL if you want any form of suspension of belief. Keep in mind, Paul Bearer has been killed on TV at least once, Kane was a horribly disfigured monster that had no problems besides a bad dental plan once the mask came off. Edge threw Paul off the top of a ladder 2nd story etc... last time we saw it, and keep in mind we still have many more murderers running amok in the WWE that have never been sentenced (unless they did a stunner on the boss, that got them handcuffed for 1 night)

Recently, the only major suspension of belief I could see, that actually got to me, was Zack Ryder having a broken back, being thrown off the stage in his full body cast, and being alright and ready to compete less than a month later. This one actually boggled me, because injuries are a very strong way of working angles, repackaging and suspending people, but they used it as a way of burying Ryder for no reason instead.

All time suspension of belief? Anytime you see Undertaker in a buried alive match and the announcers call it his specialty, you know, that match that Taker always loses somehow =p

The only reason Johnny Ace suspends my belief, is because I can't believe they have a guy with his lack of talent acting in the first place.

 

[Mustang Sally]

What have people had a suspension of disbelief problem with recently and is there any way for the creative team to avoid such problems or will situations that stretch plausibility to the limit always be with us?

It's the latter part of that sentence that applies...... plausibility will always be stretched by pro wrestling programming. There are so many things that happen in the course of a 2-hour wrestling show, it's nearly impossible for Creative to write new scenarios all the time and maintain conditions that are completely realistic. Face it, a certain amount of fairy tale quality is built into a pro wrestling production.

Take last night; Kane was beaten at ringside with a lead pipe and dumped over the railing into the audience. In real life, this would be serious business. Yet, when he lands in the crowd, the fans are smiling and patting him on the back. Is that realistic? No, but what is WWE supposed to do about it? They can't tell 16,000 people to get in on the act and behave accordingly, right?

Pro wrestling was reality TV before there was reality TV. I have no problem suspending disbelief during the program rather than questioning each event by saying: "That could never happen in real life!"

We all have to face numerous problems in the real world, but there's no reason not to take pro wrestling for what it is while the show is on. We can afford to relax and enjoy the sports entertainment in the same manner we enjoy "The Wizard of Oz" even though we're pretty sure none of that was realistic.

Not to worry; if we want to concern ourselves with real-life problems; they'll still be there once the wrestling program ends.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Suspension of disbelief is something that I find very easy to go along with. I know & understand that wrestling is scripted entertainment. You can have different wrestling companies call themselves a "sport" or simply label themselves as "wrestling" or some sort of "contest of athletics" all you want but at the end of the day, we all know what it is so it's nonsense to get hung up on the terms.

The violence in wrestling is, generally, "fake" in the sense that they're not out to legitimately do serious harm to each other. For instance, Kane getting hit with the pipe in the right way and with the proper force would have severely injured or killed him. I know this, yet that didn't stop me from kicking up my feet and just enjoying it for what it was. I'm not saying it was great but, all in all, it was a professional wrestling beatdown.

As for Paul Bearer being "left in the freezer", an explanation could have been simply that people didn't want to get involved or put in the middle of this "feud" between Orton & Kane. After all, people just go on about their business and ignore terrible things going on around them everyday. There are people that come across rapes that just ignore it, turn around and head back in the way they came rather than put themselves in the middle of the situation by calling the cops. Same thing in regards to murder, assault, hit & run and any other form of physical assault. Is it likely in this scenario? Of course not, especially when you've got 4.5 to 5 million people watching this unfold live on their televisions. However, to get immersed into the story, you have to "ignore" the logic that says that it's all set up.

I know that the upcoming Avengers movie isn't real and I have a good idea, generally speaking, how it's going to end. But that won't prevent me from potentially enjoying myself. I knew how the Lord of the Rings movies were going to end, again generally speaking, and I knew that none of it was real, but it still didn't mean it wasn't a great story to watch unfold.

If you sit and think about things you watch on television or in movies too much, then you can truly kill your enjoyment of whatever you're watching.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

What I cannot buy is the fact that the event manager and employees of Joe Lewis Arena would allow a man to be kept in a freezer for any length of time, especially when the location of said freezer was broadcast on the Jumbotron (and presumably on the tv sets scattered throughout the arena.) Furthermore, we know members of Detroit's Finest were present at the arena. Apparently Detroit-area cops aren't that popular if the amount of booing is any indication, but I can't believe that the police force possesses such incompetence that a man can potentially freeze to death while the police force focuses on a mundane sobriety test. Police officers respond to potential homicides with greater celerity than to sobriety tests.

I called the Detroit Police Department and they explained to me that ever since the Artest Melee they have chosen to have no authority over sporting events. They will only handle affairs that occur outside of the arena (like busting scalpers) and applying field sobriety tests by request like you saw last night. They also told me to contact Joe Louis Arena.

I called Joe Louis Arena and they explained to me that their attorneys advised them to not interfere in WWE's program or else they could be held liable for committing the heinous act of ruining television and be sued for like a kajillion dollars. They also told me to contact WWE Headquarters.

I called WWE Headquarters and they told me that all WWE Superstars were independent contractors and they were not liable for their well being. They also told me to contact the Detroit Police Department.

So you see that there was no reason for "Suspension of Disbelief" necessary. This was a combination of limited police power, legal recourse, labor laws and bureaucracy.

The main point of this post is that the WWE has to be careful when vignettes occur in the world at large, because the non-WWE world operates based on a different ruleset. When actions are taken outside of the "stage" (for lack of a better term,) a failure by authorities to act makes the product look shoddy. This problem is the inverse of bring ambulance crews/medical personnel to the ring for "injuries."

What have people had a suspension of disbelief problem with recently and is there any way for the creative team to avoid such problems or will situations that stretch plausibility to the limit always be with us?

You are absolutely right about the Paul Bearer segment and have every right to point out the unbelievability but wrestling will always be this way. The whole show is one giant steaming pile of disbelief. Wrestling is written for kids and that's great because in the end it is just another TV show. We put a higher level of expectation on it because it is a parody of actual sport but in the end it is no different than any other program on TV. I would love it if the writing was more realistic but I accept that I am not their core audience. I either have to appreciate it for what it is or find something else to do.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

Suspension of disbelief applies to the fact that you have to drain your brain. Do you honestly believe that Paul Bearer was in the freezer the ENTIRE time?

It's called make-up effects. The minute the camera turned off they got him out, applied some make-up, and before Kane "saved" him they put him back in.

Not to mention the fact that, *spoiler alert* it probably wasn't a real freezer to begin with. I live in Detroit and visit the Joe frequently. I also took a tour down those halls. I don't ever remember seeing a freezer down there.

 

[jrichardson25]

Yeah, there's a lack of continuity among a lot of storylines and characters. You have to take them at face value to be totally honest. When I watch, I let the kid in me enjoy what's there. When its over then I think about it at an adult level. That's part of the reason why Tensai doesn't bug me at all. They're doing everything right with him so far. A build with everyone getting decimated in his path. Yeah, I know its Albert/A-Train. I don't really care to be totally honest. He's got a fresh run and should be given the chance to run with it... on another note... his Japanese is terrible... Felt like he was reading from a script. Sakamoto should be doing the talking in Japanese for him....

Suspension of disbelief applies to the fact that you have to drain your brain. Do you honestly believe that Paul Bearer was in the freezer the ENTIRE time?

It's called make-up effects. The minute the camera turned off they got him out, applied some make-up, and before Kane "saved" him they put him back in.

Not to mention the fact that, *spoiler alert* it probably wasn't a real freezer to begin with. I live in Detroit and visit the Joe frequently. I also took a tour down those halls. I don't ever remember seeing a freezer down there.

It probably was a loading area door or something stupid and they had a fog machine... but not the point...

I'll admit I fell asleep during the part where Kane was in the ring and Bearer was out there... I'll be re-watching that tonight so I can fully understand the arc... but yeah, there's a lot that's over the top but that's why we enjoy it at the end of the day.

 

[Shakin' Abe]

How about the Punk / Jerico angle? Eve said talent are not allowed to drink 12 hours before an event? What the hell is /was Stone Cold Steve Austin doing every time he enters/entered the ring? I know it's all fun and games but the fans are not stupid but that segment last night was about one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. Total waste of time. It's like the angle ran out of steam and this was the best they could come with before the PPV.

 

[Darkshot77]

The fact that things in a wrestling ring, or something back stage need to be ignored or accepted as true is not the point here. The WWE has made a reality that if we are willing to enjoy, we must accept. All works of fiction, television show, book, movie, game, pro wrestling, do this. They make an alternate reality. Things become inconsistent when they break the bonds of the reality that they have made. It is when the WWE does not adhere to the bounds of their created reality that I have a problem. For example:

In "WWE WORLD" a wrestler can harm another wrestler, and is some cases general employee, with their bare hands or with any manner of weapons, deadly or otherwise, and not be held accountable before the law. All of us who watch wrestling have accepted this as true. But, In 2009, Randy Orton had won the royal rumble and came out to say who he was choosing to face at WM. He has a group of rent-a-cops there to remove HHH because he was pressing charges of assault against him. Here the WWE changed the reality. Now you could have a wrestler arrested for things he did against you inside of the arena. This is inconsistent with the reality the WWE had established. To say that Randy Orton had the right to press charges against HHH meant that any one could. Under these rules, Edge, with in reason, could be pressing charges against Cena for attacking him, or vice versa. Heck HHH could counter sue under these rules. But they did not, only Randy did. Later when HHH broke into Orton's house with a sledge hammer and tried to maim him, even though HHH was arrested on sight, he did not receive any punishment from the law. After Orton lost at Wrestlmania, why did he not go back to pressing charges against HHH? He could before, why not now? The WWE had returned to its created reality that wrestlers are free from punishment of the law. When Randy Orton pressed charges against HHH, the WWE superseded the bounds of the reality that they had made. It is things like this where I have a problem. JBL got Cena arrested for spray painting his car. But when Cena did it later with Cryme Tyme, no charges. Kofi ruined Orton''s race car, again no charges. The WWE would be OK if they stayed in their world, when they try to leave and come back, there is an issue. The WWE has problems maintaining its reality.

I get that wrestling requires that something be accepted and that trying to compare things to reality will only remove the enjoyment. Somethings people may say are inconsistent, like how does a fireman's carry power slam hurt more than a DDT, how can people get up from a chair, ladder, ring bell, or various other weapon shot, but the belt is an instant KO. But this is all part of the fictional world of wrestling. I can accept this stuff. It is when the WWE leaves this world that I have a problem. I crates glaring inconsistencies, and damages the product as a whole.

 

[wrestlingxp]

Besides the fact that everyone is overlooking... didn't Kane or the Undertaker already "kill" Paul Bearer a few years back? I don't profess to be some sort of expert, but I thought just a few years ago Paul Bearer was some how killed off on a PPV... I wish I could remember the details, but they are escaping me at the moment...

Okay, I looked it up... I think this is what I was referring to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzSlDCbeOBs

 

[Defekt]

A few segments on RAW last night required some suspension of disbelief.

Paul Bearer being locked in a freezer.
The WWE's alcohol policy (Stone Cold drank in the ring every night)
Punk being forced to take a sobriety test in the ring.
Brock negotiating his contract in the ring.

I guess I look at most everything as a storyline, and when it's more logical and makes more sense, it's easier to buy into, and makes me wanna watch more.

I think Rock and Cena did a good job of building that feud in a believable way. The things they said about each other were based in reality, and while I didn't think one was gonna shoot on or double cross the other, I really did feel they didn't particularly like each other.

 

[DirtyD79]

The fact that things in a wrestling ring, or something back stage need to be ignored or accepted as true is not the point here. The WWE has made a reality that if we are willing to enjoy, we must accept. All works of fiction, television show, book, movie, game, pro wrestling, do this. They make an alternate reality. Things become inconsistent when they break the bonds of the reality that they have made. It is when the WWE does not adhere to the bounds of their created reality that I have a problem. For example:

In "WWE WORLD" a wrestler can harm another wrestler, and is some cases general employee, with their bare hands or with any manner of weapons, deadly or otherwise, and not be held accountable before the law. All of us who watch wrestling have accepted this as true. But, In 2009, Randy Orton had won the royal rumble and came out to say who he was choosing to face at WM. He has a group of rent-a-cops there to remove HHH because he was pressing charges of assault against him. Here the WWE changed the reality. Now you could have a wrestler arrested for things he did against you inside of the arena. This is inconsistent with the reality the WWE had established. To say that Randy Orton had the right to press charges against HHH meant that any one could. Under these rules, Edge, with in reason, could be pressing charges against Cena for attacking him, or vice versa. Heck HHH could counter sue under these rules. But they did not, only Randy did. Later when HHH broke into Orton's house with a sledge hammer and tried to maim him, even though HHH was arrested on sight, he did not receive any punishment from the law. After Orton lost at Wrestlmania, why did he not go back to pressing charges against HHH? He could before, why not now? The WWE had returned to its created reality that wrestlers are free from punishment of the law. When Randy Orton pressed charges against HHH, the WWE superseded the bounds of the reality that they had made. It is things like this where I have a problem. JBL got Cena arrested for spray painting his car. But when Cena did it later with Cryme Tyme, no charges. Kofi ruined Orton''s race car, again no charges. The WWE would be OK if they stayed in their world, when they try to leave and come back, there is an issue. The WWE has problems maintaining its reality.

I agree the inconsistency is the biggest problem to suspending disbelief. Wrestling would really benefit from somebody like a script supervisor to read over the storylines creative writes and explain to them the inconsistencies or why a certain character would or wouldn't do whatever. I'm not expecting a guy or gal who writes a wrestling show to be a scientist or a lawyer, but at least stick to the rules you freakin' made up.

 

[studaman31]

i understand what u r saying. there has been many times where u think that would never happen. but u just have to roll with it and enjoy the ride. its entertainment at the end of the day. never stop believing

 

[Dysturbed]

at least stick to the rules you freakin' made up.

Technically they do because governing all of the rules that they make up one basic rule which is that wwe has unlimited wiggle room to change things as they wish since even the most basic concepts in sports entertainment are situational.

A wrestler can be giving a promo and knocked out after just one move yet that same wrestler can endure that same move and many others over the course of a match and not only may they not be knocked out, but they may even be victorious. Either way, the length of time it takes to do the same damage is based on what the story calls for. It is inconsistent, yet at least it is common.

As we also know, If the situation is for someone to be able to clear out a ring full of wrestlers with clotheslines that is the method that is considered most effective storyline wise yet if they want that same wrestler to find it difficult to get the edge over just one wrestler, then that is what will be used. Again, it is inconsistent but common.

As for "rules", whether or not a wrestler gets arrested, fined, fired, injured on a long term basis, presses charges, etc for doing something falls under the same concept of being situational. Like with everything else, there isn't single method of how these things are portrayed, but realistically what if there was? I agree that the inconsistencey can be annoying or even stupid, but at least, as noticable as it is, it mixes things up.

edit: in reference to the original post I do know that Paul Bearer being allowed to remain in the freezer is odd, but it still goes with the premise of things being allowed (as unrealistic as they may be) if that is what it takes for a point to get across. In this case the point of course isn't supposed to be that there are incompetent people who didn't save Paul Bearer, but how Kane is evil. We already knew that he is "evil" but it is what was being displayed. Obviously the part that you mentioned is noticable and people do care (since we notice everything) but since we're not "supposed" to care, it is acceptable imo.