Kevin Nash and Sean Oliver criticized WWE’s long-standing production tropes, arguing that the constant use of predictable music cues and manufactured shock breaks the audience’s immersion. Kevin Nash pointed out that commentators repeatedly fake surprise when a wrestler’s music hits, despite having the format in front of them.
Commentary’s Fake Surprise
“How many f**king week after week after week. Does somebody in the middle of a sentence, they start the music and they just go and then stare up to the ramp,” Kevin Nash said. He noted that for realism, the announcers should acknowledge the planned occurrence: “For realism sake, don’t you think you now should go and…Well, and here comes Roman. We know this was gonna happen. What’s gonna happen now?”
The Soap Opera Analogy
Kevin Nash used an analogy to explain why the production style breaks the audience’s investment in the segment, stating that wrestling operates in a world where everyone seems aware of the behind-the-scenes format.
“If you watch a soap opera and you’re at the monitor, and the scene before your scene, some guys making out with your f**king wife, and then you go to the f**king bar in the next scene, and he’s standing there talking to two guys, and you go over and you punch him in the face. And he goes, ‘What the f**k is that for?’ He goes, ‘I was watching the monitor. I saw you kissing my wife at that last scene,’ like you can’t do that,” Kevin Nash explained. He concluded, “You can’t live in that f**king world. And that’s what the wrestling world is.”
Pacing and Organics
Kevin Nash also criticized the show’s pacing, especially in key moments, noting that everything in wrestling is automatically ratcheted up to a “10 or f**king 11,” lacking any organic ebb and flow. He suggested that production should build the excitement as the wrestler approaches the ring rather than hitting the crescendo immediately.
Kevin Nash stated, “Wouldn’t the build up be better if you built it up as the f**king thing progressed, instead of going 150 miles an hour as soon as you see Roman, wouldn’t it, as he f**king got closer to the ring, you kind of f**king ramped with him, and then when the f**king, when they engaged, then you f**king do the crescendo when f**king he blows Lesnar out.” He stressed that letting things happen organically requires precision and timing from production.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Kliq This with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
