I have questions about the WWE...

#wwe #codyrhodes #romanreigns
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[@Dporticus]

Join me as I watch classic matches for the first time @ www.patreon.com/Dporticus

[@charlesreynolds4288]

A MUST WATCH!! June 28,1998 King Of The Ring Undertaker vs Mankind Hell In A Cell match

[@DangerDown_YT]

Dude thats such a classic

[@theharoldsshow]

Eras are as follows: Golden Era (sometimes the Rock n Wrestling Era) (1980-1993). This was the era of wrestling at peak mainstream popularity, Hulk Hogan was the big star New Generation Era (1993-1998) This was a bad era for WWF, mostly dominated by WCW in the ratings. Full of bad gimmicks, but Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and early Steve Austin were bright spots Attitude Era (1998-2002) A return to the mainstream, full of car crash storytelling and constant title switches. The storytelling was much more memorable than the actual wrestling most of the time. Top stars were Rock, Austin, HHH, Angle, Mankind Ruthless Agression Era (2002-2008). The era of the first brand split, stars like Rey Mysterio, Brock Lesnar, HHH, Batista, John Cena, and Randy Orton were popular. Good in ring matches became more common. PG Era (2008-2014) WWE went PG and this era was full of Cena, Orton, and Punk. This was considered a dark period for WWE Reality Era (2014-2016) A brief kind of relaunch era. More of the same, but instead of Cena it was full of Roman Reigns and the Authority New Era (2016-2021). Another rebrand, this one was full of stars of the future like Rollins, Bálor, Owens, and of course, Roman Reigns. Still often thought of as a bad era as Vince was incredibly old and out of touch by then COVID Era (2020-2021). More of a minor era. Some things got better from a lack of fans, but most is relatively unrewatchable Renaissance Era (2021-2024) Triple H took the reins and WWE became much better. Cody Rhodes, Rollins, and the Bloodline were much of the stories told Triple H Era (2024-) Firmly driven by Triple H, just started

[@austinapologetics2023]

Ik this is how it's classified on wikipedia but let's be honest. 2008-2020 was basically all PG Era.

[@hour748mighty]

@@austinapologetics2023just cause it’s pg doesn’t mean it’s the pg era

[@austinapologetics2023]

@@hour748mighty ik, the product is still PG but it's in a new era. I was saying that breaking down 2008-2020 into three different eras is kinda pointless cause they're really all the same. The most you can do is maybe cut off in the middle somewhere because some stars left and some newer stars came in but the product and how it was presented was pretty much the same minus a few exceptions.

[@ChampagneS4366]

Attitude Era was 1997 to 2001. according to most people.

[@KegOfMeat]

You need turn each era description into its own paragraph because this is just a wall of text.

[@Bdc13james]

Mick foley had multiple gimmiks n one royal rumble

[@Dporticus]

What 😆 🤣

[@The_Local_Carrot]

@@DporticusRoyal Rumble 1998

[@spiritandtimeakalilroachie7014]

​@@Dporticuswhen I found out Mankind was also 5 other characters I was confused.

[@tomer_stern]

@@Dporticus He had a split personality gimmic. Look up "The 3 faces of Foley"

[@cyan6045]

@@Dporticus He entered as three separate characters; Mankind was his creepy masked persona that was just disarranged and weird but absolutely entertaining, Cactus Jack was his more hardcore persona where he would do the craziest stunts and pull out barbed-wire bats, and Dude Love was his comedic persona who was optimistic and romantic per namesake.

[@Kastagoo]

I've watched wrestling for 24 years. Love hearing your new experiences with wrestling. 1. Title changes are far more rare now than in previous eras. Attitude Era (1997ish-2001) was particularly known for short title reigns and title changes on TV. TV ratings were far more important 25 years ago so WWF cared more about the television show more than PLEs. 4. There are tons of behind the scenes interviews and podcasts that detail the behind the scenes construction of matches. They are kind of a mix of improv and rehearsed depending on experienced levels. More experienced wrestlers are more likely to have a few key moments and fill the rest in with their instincts or communicating during the match. Less experienced wrestlers like Jade or NXT wrestlers for example, are more likely to fully rehearse a match before putting on TV or PLE. 5. Generally, the more respect you have as a performer, the more creative control you have at least over your character. Modern wrestling is WAY more lenient on wrestler expression than the past. If you want some laughs look up WWF in the mid 90s there are a lot of terrible characters given to people. I feel like now more than ever, wrestlers have more control over their character.

[@LukeBiggs-ny5te]

One of the best title changes in history happened on Raw on the January 4th 1999 episode (filmed in late December 1998). The Rock vs Mankind for the WWF Championship. I suggest watching the whole episode as it builds and builds and builds to the greatest crowd pop there has ever been. It also sparked the turning point in the Monday night wars with the infamous "that'll put butts in seats" quote from the WCW commentator

[@patrickevans9604]

The night that 600k people got to miss the finger poke of doom lol

[@chaoticoldbore]

This comment made me go back n watch it again.

[@justinquamme916]

They spoiled it on Nitro but it didn’t matter this was the ultimate common man’s best moment ever!! For the sole fact that we never believed Vince would give it to us in a million years

[@Zornow0031]

That's a great match but the pop edge got during his return was much louder and better. Granted hell of a lot more fans but still everybody was screaming. As far as the ending to a match goes. Shit Cody Rhodes just had a massive pop after winning the title. There's a lot more moments too where the pops are just so loud it's unfathomable. Like I said love that match but there are so many more moments that pass that in terms of a great pop

[@patrickevans9604]

@@Zornow0031 the reason that Foley beating the rock that night for the title is so iconic for some of us isn't about the pop he received. It's about the fact that night was a moment in history, it's about the fact that it was Foley's first world title and that WCW thinking nobody wanted to see it screwed themselves by spoiling it and it backfired on them. This was one of the bigger moments that people point to as one of the reasons wcw ended up failing.

[@albertallen]

As far as multiple gimmicks goes Finn Balor would turn into his “demon” persona when he needed it but it wasn’t an every week thing

[@Optilliam]

I started watching wrestling on the attitude era, titles changed on raw and smackdown…but it’s definitely gotten to the point where it’s either oh they’re no losing it’s not a PLE match, or with Roman and with Cody now…it’s like Cody isn’t gonna lose until certain PLEs

[@CSPRING101]

Wrestlers having more then one gimmick at once is practically unheard of unless them having multiple gimmicks IS the gimmick. Mick Foley was famous for this exact thing with Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love (he entered the Royal Rumble 3 separate times in one night with that). The most common other way this is done is giving the wrestler a “dark side” gimmick. Finn Balors demon, The Fiend for Bray Wyatt, or Willow for Jeff Hardy. I’ve got no idea what Ivar’s doing tbh.

[@ZBatt1]

Regarding how much of a match on television is improvised or rehearsed, from all of the interviews i have watched over the years, it seems like the weekly shows have some choreographed sessions and walk throughs, but can be more improvised with a few certain checks that have to be hit, usually with a specific lead up to a tap or pin, but with the PLE shows, they are most certainly 99% choreographed and rehearsed beforehand, sometimes weeks in advance. I imagine Cody is doing a lot of that because he is not wrestling weekly, so he is probably just practicing for PLE matches thoughout the month and cutting promos on the side. Just like the WWE 2K24 Wrestlemania road matches, you have to hit certain checks to progress the match, but how you get there is totally up to you, same goes for the actual WWE matches.

[@G_Rez]

So, the big spots are choreographed and rehearsed, but it's nowhere near 99%. The more people in the ring, the more the choreography is needed to keep things visibly coherent, but much of 1v1 matches is "called spots" where the wrestlers will take a moment to communicate a sequence to eachother, and then execute. But, this can heavily vary depending on your place on the card, your match producer (the one setting up the match structure in accordance with the writers rooms instructions) and the individuals involved. Randy Savage was known for wanting every single thing to be choreographed ahead of time, memorized, and executed. Undertaker was known for preferring to call as much in ring on the fly as possible. A big part of what WWE wrestlers are being paid for is not just their ability to perform the matches, but to adjust their matches to time requirements. Often on a weekly show a talking segment will go long, and then a match will be shortened as a consequence. A recent example of wrestlers adjusting their match to hit their big spots sooner was Uso vs Uso at Wrestlemania, where they clearly had a vision for what they wanted their match to be, but when they had to remove 10 minutes from it, they floundered to maintain the emotion they wanted to convey. Now, a match like a Roman reigns main event is almost all choreographed, making sure the wrestlers and the Camera crew all know where they need to be, but, this is again largely because the more people involved in a match require a much tighter grip on the match. Roman vs Cody II at Wrestlemania was way more pre choreographed than Cody vs AJ at Backlash, which involved less people and less traveling around the stage, giving them more wiggle room to call the match in ring and work through the wrestling part of their job in between reaching their spots

[@kaic-m2865]

cody does a lot of house shows

[@Strange_Da_Range]

As for choreographed matches it depends on the Wrestler. Hulk Hogan mentioned how Aundre the Giant would never talk to him about what to do in the match. He would just scream at Hogan "DONT WORRY!". But then someone like Ricochet is 1,000% gonna talk to his opponent. Which is how we get those REALLY cool spots where Ricochet and the other dude are looking like a bunch of ninjas flying around the ring. If you watched the Mankind vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell match, they talk about how a lot of that match wasn't improvised. Especially the part where Undertaker Choke Slams Mankind through the middle of the cell.

[@SnowMart]

Must have been extra scary in the HIAC match considering from my understanding, chokeslamming Mankind _through_ the cell wasn’t supposed to happen. Not so much improvised as it was accidental.

[@Strange_Da_Range]

@SnowMart Sorry that was a typo that I just fixed. I meant a lot of that match Wasn't* improvised.

[@mikematson6323]

One that was big on choreography was Randy Savage.. Watched the Biography on him on A&E and Steamboat was saying they had a pad with 144 steps on it from lockup to final pin..

[@jamiecooper8596]

The choreography question. I was a pro wrestler for a decade and this is how it’s done on the indies. Pre show meeting the promoter will talk through the card and tell you anything they needs you to include in your match. Then you get together with your opponent and talk through the match. Mostly the improvised parts were the technical wrestling at the start, the heels heat and any trade offs/ hope spots. The high spots of the match or longer sequences would be planned ahead of time but you’d never actually practise the moves. You’d just walk through the motions back stage. In WWE they have match agents (veterans and higher ups) that will act as the guide and make sure the match hits the right story points. The agent would work directly with the wrestlers on behalf of the booker/promoter.

[@Dporticus]

I appreciate the insight! Thank you

[@jamiecooper8596]

@@Dporticus love your videos!!

[@hforster02]

When it comes to matches being put together, there isn’t an actual script for them. For WWE, there’s producers,who are usually former wrestlers, who work with the wrestlers to decide on the spots, the finish, etc. When it comes to indie matches, the wrestlers just get together and call the match just hours before the show, and there’s no rehearsal or anything like that. And finally in terms of improv, matches can be completely called on the fly in the ring, but it’s usually done between people who’ve been working together for years. And normally the wrestlers decide on the big spots and the finish and the rest (for example the baby face shine and the beginning and the heat from the heal throughout) is just called as they go.

[@Excluded_Trash84]

The world titles usually have only ever been changed on weekly shows via mitb cash in

[@StraightEZ]

i’m 21 i’ve been watching since i was 7 and having a childhood that consisted of me watching and growing up and continuously watching it , it’s a totally different experience as an adult , but watching wwe / wrestling as a young kid is really something special , oh yeah the wwe especially 2019 raw is a fever dream it was such a bad time

[@The_Local_Carrot]

Many wrestlers have had 2 gimmicks at the same time but sometimes someone will go down to NXT to try a new gimmick and see if it gets over with the crowd and if it does they might bring it to the main roster look up Mick Foley Royal Rumble 1998 he switches between 3 characters in one night

[@ThisIsMarkJones]

In terms of the choreography side of things ... every WWE is planned out, but it depends on who the competitors are. Nowadays every match has a producer working on it alongside the talent. But in terms of the specificity it really depends on who's in the match. Back in the Vince McMahon days, there were superstars who had less creative input than others, byt that might have changed under Triple H's leadership. Historically, wrestlers havd changed matches on the fly based on fan reaction. A really good example of that is Hogan vs Rock at Wrestlemania X8 (18) in Toronto. Rock was meant to be the babyface and Hogan the heel. However, the fans cheered for Hogan and began to boo Rock. After hearing the crowd reaction, Rock called an audible and both wrestlers flipped how they were working (Hogan to face, Rock to heel). Usually today it's a producer and the talent working together to plan out the match.

[@kenbrandon6434]

The tables weren’t always “gimmicked” or padded underneath. Shane MacMahon, who has often gone off cages through the announce table got them to add some cushioning. The announcers, who don’t always know all the details of certain matches now get hints of the what may happen when the ring crew makes certain “adjustments” to the table between matches. Gimmicking the announce table helps because certain moves don’t always have the proper impact to cause it to collapse, which can hurt more for those involved. They’ve also gradually phased out the old crt monitors that could hurt backs if not removed by the wrestler before the move. They also have to avoid accidentally hitting it too hard too soon. You could tell in the past how the table collapsed prematurely in the past and how the wrestlers had to make adjustments.

[@Robby_C]

Traditionally championship matches only took place on the “big shows.” Though what is considered the “big shows” changed over time. Titles have switch on TV matches, but it doesn’t happen often…. They even happen at house shows occasionally, but that’s super rare. The late 90’s was full of a lot of hot-shot style TV, so having matches made at the spur of the moment with a lot of unpredictable shock value kinda chanced fans expectations of how often title matches should happen, and how quick they should change hands. The best part about this current TKO era is that everything that WWE has leaned on for the last 20-30 years is completely out the window… so honestly anything is possible.

[@MartonKM]

4. So I trained in Hungary to be a wrestler, so I know how this is works in the indys and stuff, but I dont know exactly the 'WWE way' of match planning. So in the indy's about 3 or more hours before the show the wrestler's going to talk to each other about their match. It's depends on the wrestler's experience like how many things they exactly plan before the match. If someone has less experience, than they go trough on the whole match. If someone has more experience, he's completely fine if his gets just a few bullet points. Bullet points like a specific thing that the booker wants to advance a storyline, or something like that. At bigger indy companies, and major ones like the WWE, there are "agents" whose are likely to be very experienced or retired wrestlers, who you can ask to help putting together your match. I suppose, that in the WWE these agents got the "bullet points" from the writers or someone else that needs to happen in a certain match, and they are talk with the wrestlers about it, and figure it out. Edit: I left out, that it's completely common, that the wrestlers call the match for each other. Usually the more experienced wrestlers are calling the match to a not that experienced one, (like Austin Theory vs John Cena) but that's completely depends on the situation. This could avoid, that one of the wrestler's forget something that they discussed in the backstage. 5. Character wise like you said it, you have to pitch everything for management. There are cases where they went with your pitch, but if someone in the creative management didn't like it they could shut it down. So yeah, the company has the last word in it. Like when LA Knight came up to the main roster, that management wanted to use him as 'Max Dupri' because they dont liked the 'LA Knight' character in vain LA has pitched his original 'LA Knight' character. But if you get tho that status in that company, you will have a certain trust from the company that you will have a say in some things. But there are lots of examples that wrestlers has used it for wrong reasons, whitch brings me to your next question 6. For example in the 80s and the 90s Hulk Hogan had a very close realiton to Vince McMahon, and he used it to gain creative control over who could beat him and stuff.

[@mankool19]

So the lay out of a match is usually planned by the match producer who is assigned to the match who works with the writing team so the right person wins for storylines then that producer will relay that to the stars and them and the wrestler will put the match together

[@markmorales-smith8100]

In the 90s there were only a few PPVs prior to the introduction of In Your House which evolved into every other PPV. There was only WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series and King of the Ring. Back then titles changed hands much more often on TV, at least the secondary and tag titles.

[@kenbrandon6434]

Mick Foley’s biographies are great in explaining some character development. It does go both ways. A wrestler can offer his feedback or suggest a character. Management may be looking for a new type for a certain storyline and “suggest” it to a wrestler and unless he has some political pull, he’ll go along with it to keep Creative happy or they might find themselves underused later. Now, if you didn’t like a character-shift offered by Vince MacMahon, you had better have a good reason and a good alternative to present. He didn’t mind people saying “no” if they could present something better or somehow prove in the ring how that their suggestion would get move over.

[@ForeverDegenerate]

@Dporticus 1. Announcer's Table. You asked how the Announcer's Table seems to break when they need it to. Here's the secret: They Don't. Not always. If they need to put someone through the table, they'll usually set it up either before the show or before the match, during the commercial break. Here's the thing: The table still has to be stable enough for the Commentators to do their job up to the point that someone goes through the table, so they can't just set it up to be flimsy as paper while the Commentators still have to sit there and lean on it. Because of this, sometimes the mechanisms that allow the table to collapse don't work initially. So, more often than not, when you see someone attempt to put someone else through the Announcer's Table and fail, that's legit. That's them hitting the "through the table" spot and the table legit not breaking. Generally you can tell this is the case if they do it again and again until the table breaks. I don't think I've ever seen a table outright refuse to break to the point that they give up on the spot for safety reasons. 2. How A Match Works. Ok this is complicated. So here goes. A lot of this is dependent on who is wrestling. Superstars who have been around a while and that the WWE trusts will have more leeway and will be allowed input into the match itself. Sometimes they may even be able to suggest or dictate who wins and loses. Most of the time, the Winners are Losers are dictated by the person who books the matches (called The Booker) and the person in charge of the shows (currently that's Triple H). Other outside factors could force a decision one way or another. Investors, for example. Other executives in the company, for another example. Contracts as another example (some Superstars may have wins and losses baked into their contract). And finally, the Company Positions of the people involved in the match. The example that comes to mind is The Rock. He is, currently, on the TKO Board of Directors (TKO is the parent company of WWE). Technically, he has the authority to dictate the outcomes of his matches. As you can see, a lot goes into deciding who wins and who loses, but normally it's up to the Booker, the Story Writers (which outcome makes the most sense for the currently ongoing narrative), and Triple H. Once all that is decided, the Superstars involved in the match are brought in, told what the expected outcome is, given a bullet-point list of things they must do during the match (such as hitting specific moves and pulling off specific feats like the aforementioned going through the Announcer's Table), how much time they have for the match, then they're left to fill in the blanks, so to speak. As I alluded to, the more tenure a Superstar has with WWE and the more WWE trusts them, the more leeway they will have in terms of what they can and can't do. Yes, there are banned moves and spots that no Superstar is to do under any circumstance. And then there are restricted moves and spots that only certain superstars are allowed to do. So the Superstars will hit the practice ring to work out the match (usually they'll find a ring at a local gym they can use to figure things out, then they'll go over it one last time at the venue, like, an hour or two before the show) while the referee is, I believe, given a list of spots the need to be hit during the match. Referees, however, are not told the expected outcome. In fact, all referees are ordered to call every match on the fly. So, even though there's an expected outcome for every match, that may not be what happens. Someone can screw up and the referee, not being told anything before hand, will just count the three. Yes accidental wins have happened before. The referee, as you may or may not have noticed, has an earpiece in the ear the whole time. This is connected to the Production Center backstage where the Show Producers and Triple H watch the show. They are able to call audibles to the referee who then must communicate said audibles to the Superstars in the ring. This includes changing the outcome of the match in the middle of the match. The referee is also responsible for the well-being of the Superstars in the match. They are constantly checking with the Superstars to make sure they're ok after taking bumps. They have the authority to alter or even outright stop a match for health and safety reasons. So the entire complexion of a match or even the story can be radically changed if someone legit gets injured. Then we have the Superstars themselves. As I alluded to, they have differing levels of latitude with how they conduct the match. There's usually one Superstar who "leads" the match and it's usually the one with the most tenure. This Superstar will call shots and make sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to. Sometimes, if you have multiple veterans or if everyone in the ring really trusts each other, they'll all call stuff on the fly in response to things. Two big examples come to mind. The first is The Rock vs Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 18. The Rock went into that match as the Babyface and Hulk Hogan who had just returned to WWE as Hollywood Hulk Hogan of the NWO went in as the Heel. But that changed once they hit the ring. Rock and Hogan were looking around at the crowd as the crowd reacted to them. The Rock realized that Hogan was getting the Babyface reaction of massive cheers while The Rock himself was getting a mixed reaction at best. So before actually starting to wrestle, while they were soaking in the crowd, The Rock took the opportunity to call an audible and signaled Hogan to work Face for that match. While that didn't change the outcome of the match, it completely changed the complexion of the match and made it infinitely better than it otherwise would have been. The other example is Ric Flair vs Undertaker, ironically, also at Wrestlemania 18. Undertaker was supposed to end the match with The Last Ride because his gimmick at the time didn't use the Tombstone Piledriver. However, Taker's back gave out and he was unable to lift Flair. So he called an audible and busted out the Tombstone Piledriver which is much easier for Undertaker to execute when he's tired and his back is hurt. If memory serves, Taker tried for the Last Ride twice, but could not lift Flair. So, in Undertaker's own words, he went, "Screw It! I'm gonna use the move that nobody gets up from!" Ironically, The Tombstone Piledriver, is the easiest move for Undertaker to execute in his entire Signature Arsenal. So yeah, like I said, a WWE Wrestling Match is complicated and has a lot of moving parts. From Story Writing, to Producing, to the Boss, to the Boss' Boss, to outside factors, to the referee, to the Superstars involved, to screw ups by the ring crew (like the aforementioned Announcer's Table). The final version of a match isn't realized until the match is over.

[@Ruben-so7pu]

Amazing man.

[@ForeverDegenerate]

@@Ruben-so7pu Yep. As the old saying goes, “No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength.” Or in this case, no pre-determined outcome nor match choreography extends with certainty beyond the curtain. Because once they step through that curtain and they're in front of that live crowd, they only have one shot so all bets are off. They gotta do what they gotta do. This is why I don't agree with the assessment that WWE is 100% pre-determined. Due to all the moving parts and factors beyond their control, just because they have a plan going into the match doesn't mean that's what we get in that ring. Incidentally, this is what makes, in my opinion, WWE one of the best and safest places to work in the industry, if not THE best and safest place to work in the industry. The level of trust between the Superstars, between the Superstars and the Refs, and the Superstars and Refs and the Company are what allows them to do what is necessary to get everyone out as unharmed as possible and to pivot smoothly to the point that the uninitiated steel thinks it's all planned. And those that don't adhere don't last. WWE, especially in the last decade or so, don't fuck around when it comes to Superstar Safety. Unlike other promotions who barely have a plan when they walk through that curtain (if they even have one), flaunt company protocols, blatantly ignore the Referee, have Referees that don't have the balls to get physical with Superstars when needed, and who barely punishes those who are guilty of one or more of the above (coughAEWcough).

[@Ruben-so7pu]

@@ForeverDegenerate look im back 15 years later, ive already watched 22, 23 and now im back to date with 24. You seem to know your stuff, can you tell me when the WWE started to get good again, im tempted to go back after Summerslam 2020 when the tribal chief was created.

[@ForeverDegenerate]

@@Ruben-so7pu Honestly? It's probably only been REALLY good for the last year or so. TKO bought out WWE last year and that forced Vince to not be in charge and without his meddling, it got really good. Prior to that, Vince was in charge up until the investigation which forced him to step down for the first time. Vince being Vince weaseled his way back in, meddling with how Triple H was running the company and show until TKO bought them out. You could FEEL Vince's meddling during that time. I will say this though: I would go back to watch 2020 specifically for a few reasons. The first is Bray Wyatt. His legendary Firefly Funhouse Match against John Cena took place at Wrestlemania that year. The second is The Undertaker. At that same event, we got Undertaker's last match against AJ Styles. And the third is Drew McIntyre. Again, that's the year that he won the World Championship at Wrestlemania. For those moment alone, at least Wrestlemania 36 is worth a watch. And if you're a fan of Drew McIntyre, seeing his World Champion run as a Face is pretty satisfying, even if it was sans fans. It will also give context to Drew's current "gimmick." And, as you pointed out, the birth of The Tribal Chief and The Bloodline. The Bloodline, honestly, was the only thing really keeping things afloat because Vince being Vince refused to commit to anything else and still stuck to his mostly biased booking. Also, 2020 was, primarily for Vince, the year of "Transitional Talent." What I mean by that is that you could tell Vince didn't really see 2020 as an actually viable year because no Live Events and, thus, no Live Crowd. You could tell he was putting on the shows to make money, both for himself and his investors. The Champions that were crowned that year were nothing more than Transitional Champions, hence why call it the year of "Transitional Talent." He gave the titles to people, generally, whom the WWE Universe felt deserved it just so he could say he gave it to them. The proof of this is the fact that once the Pandemic Restrictions were lifted and crowds and live shows were allowed again, Vince promptly took the titles off them to put them on Superstars that HE wanted the titles on. The only Superstar that this didn't affect was, of course, The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns. So yeah, I would say, bare minimum, Wrestlemania 36 is worth a watch. Outside of that, I say you decide. If what you see interests you and entertains you, then watch it. If not, turn it off.

[@Ruben-so7pu]

@@ForeverDegenerate i used to love the WWE as a kid back in 05 to 09 something like that, then i lost all interest, here in Portugal was kinda hard to watch the shows and when we did they were 3 weeks delayed, so you would go online and see the results before having the chance to watch the matches. I came back because i kept hearing and reading things about Mania 40 and to be honest, the Rock being involved was what pushed me in but after i watched it, Cody and his story kept me in. I bought a sub in WWE Network and started watching every single PLE, Raw and Smackdown since his return on Mania 38 till today, now im catching every single show mondays, fridays and saturdays when a PLE comes out. Im gonna follow your advice and watch from 2020 till Mania 38 and then ill be caught up on the last 4 years. One thing ive noticed, people keep saying that Raw is 3h and Smackdown is 2h, but when im watching the shows in WWE Network or when for instance i download the new ep of Raw tomorrow, the episodes are really like 2h10 for Raw and 1h20 for Smackdown. Whats up with that. Oh and btw thank you for taking the time to talk to me and explain things, i really appreciate the gesture.

[@avb19d6]

Pat Macafee jumping on the table is how they test it for durability

[@Dporticus]

Lol

[@SeViLionCollectibles]

I was on the independent circuit for about a decade in the early 2000s. For most of it, I was masked crazy heel type character kinda like The Fiend. Most of it was of my own design, but I did take in-put from friends and promoters. There was one point where a promoter thought I should become a goofy face character instead and come out to Micheal Jackson’s thriller. Dance and all. That wasn’t for my style at all. Kudos to those who like it, but that just wasn’t me. He told me that I could either do the character he wanted, or he wouldn’t book me, so I quit that company. For choreographing the matches, I was a bullet-points guy. I wanted a solid beginning, mid-point, and ending to be practiced before getting in front of the crowd. Most people, even those who wanted to improvise the whole match, would at least work with me on those main points because they knew it helped me. However, some guys refused to ever practice anything, and those were usually my worst matches. Partially, because my preferred move-set included a lot variances on moves tailored specifically to me. Just for instance, I came up with a unique take on a suplex that looks like I’m turning it into a chokeslam on the way down. I wouldn’t do that on someone who I haven’t practiced with because it requires a slight adjustment compared to a normal suplex. More often that not, at least in my days, the people who purely wanted to call it in the ring were those who were stuck in the 80s when it came to their styles, because they really just stuck to very basic moves for the majority of the match, then maybe had a somewhat modern finisher.

[@theharoldsshow]

1. The Titles would change hands on weekly shows dating back to their beginnings. IC has changed hands on Raw over fifty times or something like that. Mostly in the Attitude Era (1998-2002) In recent memory, Bryan beat Styles to win the WWE title on Smackdown, and Styles beat Jinder on Smackdown as well. Big E beat Bobbly Lashley on Raw with a cash in a few year ago as well. Not as common as it once was, but titles can definitely change hands in weekly shows, I was half expecting Chad to beat Sami tbh. 2. This isn’t a very common thing. NXT is a developmental brand, so I assume they are using the new style on there as a way to check out if it gets over and works. 3. It doesn’t always break. There are some moments when it should and it doesn’t. I think there is some force required, but sometimes it just doesn’t break and they have to try again and hope. The tables are extremely thin and break very easily, that’s how the standard tables work. 4. Matches are choreographed depending on what match I think. Some wrestlers will go I it before the show and go move for move, I think Savage vs Steamboat at Mania III was like that. Others prefer to go in the fly, and not practice the spots as much. WWE has producers, usually former wrestlers, or current, Pete Dunne does some producing. Bobby Roode is another producer. These people assemble the matches. 5. Most wrestlers have very little control over their character. Some are given levels of creative freedom, which fans usually don’t like as it ends up being a cheat code for these wrestlers to win every match even when they probably shouldn’t. Usually the bigger names have some freedom, it all depends on who you are to the company. If you’ve been around for a while, they might give you more free reign. You shouldn’t expect it immediately though, that would not rub off well on a lot of the veterans.

[@Virulsa.]

Love the doggy cam 😂🙏

[@Dporticus]

he's the best part of every video tbh

[@neonprotegewrestling9147]

There is a talk show on the network called legends of wrestling where a bunch of legends sit down for an hour and talk about a few topics, there are about 30 or so episodes and they are great, and a great learning experience for intermediate fans who like the product, know some of the past, but want a fuller experience of the past. It’s 5 charismatic, passionate, and knowledgeable legends talking about the business they love and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about wrestling. They talk about people, angles, different arts in the business, all super interesting

[@kenbrandon6434]

Titles did change a little more in the past, but having it “passed around” too often was considered “diluting the product” removing some of the specialness and feeling of importance of title defenses on PLE’s. So they make it rarer, but it still does happen, often the day after a PLE, as the person is “transitional champion” who may have won it by cheating or was injured in the previous nights match. World title defenses are meant to be rarer and the mid-card titles were the work-horse titles defended regularly on TV, but some popular wrestlers, like Gunther, have helped elevate certain titles and less likely to be passed around. It’s now even rarer to have titles changed at live un-televised events (though there are always cameras present), but they will sometimes do it just to help them promote live events as “anything could happen”, but this is still quite rare. And a lot usually, was at the whim of Vince MacMahon. If he didn’t have faith in the wrestler, there could be sudden title changes.

[@kenbrandon6434]

Eric and Valhalla are actually a married couple with a mutual love for Viking cultures and I have a feeling Ivar was drawn into it. To be fair, he and Eric were already a team in ROH as War Machine, which had to change when they debuted in NXT (because of Disney/Marvel character). I think they debuted as the War Raiders, but after it became more known, about their fascination about Viking culture, especially Eric and Sara Logan’s Viking wedding on KZbin, they evolved on the main roster, adding Sara as Valhalla. WWE had been moving away from “cartoonish” type characters or stereotypes, which made it occasionally hard to book realistically.

[@Chuckdwolf]

I just found your channel, really liked this episode. Been watching WWE, since 1990, and following the business in general, checking out any and all promotions I could, since late 90’s WCW, and ECW, became the gate way to other promotions. Love talking wrestling, and currently have zero friends, who are into it. You have a new subscriber

[@Dporticus]

I appreciate that! You're welcome to join the discord as well if you're looking for some more folks to talk wrestling with. Either way, I appreciate the kind words!

[@vgenisis]

One wrestler with multiple gimmicks at the same time is fairly rare. Mick Foley immediately comes to mind, but Foley is a legend that I'd reccomend either watching a documentary on or taking the time to watch during the late 90s' Monday Night Wars episodes of Raw you can find on peacock I believe. One of the best to ever do it. On the topic of match choreography, Cena is actually notorious for being overly audible during his matches which is actually something you'd expect out of the less experienced indy guys. Part of the skillset of being a good wrestler is knowing when to communicate and how to do it out of view and out of earshot of the fans and cameras. Next time you see a headlock if you look super close a lot of guys use that as a moment to either whisper the next string of moves to their opponent, like "Push off, dropkick me out", sometimes they'll do it while "wrenching" the headlock where it almost looks like they'll lean in a bit and hide their own mouth with their bicep and the opponent's head. For a typical match on a weekly show, guys might practice a few "spots" together before the show, especially when it's guys that haven't wrestled together in a while, or at all. That said, a lot of most matches flow as rehearsed spots and signature moves sprinkled into a lot of improvising all "telling a story" that culminates in the good guy hitting his finisher clean, OR the bad guy hitting his finisher after shenanigans, OR a storyline is deemed the more important factor at the time and the match ends in some kind of disqualification/no contest/countout/brawl/something else that leaves the match as a loose end if creatiive ever wants to revisit it for a rematch angle. For premium live events(formerly pay-per-views) like Wrestlemania matches CAN go the same way but those events are usually where you'll see things that required a lot more prematch planning and choreography. Theae shows are the spectacles that aim to get attention even outside the world of wrestling. Back in the day it was stuff like buried alive matches with a literal grave site set up in the arena where someone would get buried under six feet of dirt. Or it was inferno matches with pipes around the rimg where you won by lighting your opponent('s suspicious fire resistant gloves/boots/clothing) on fire. Now it's much less crazy but still a lot more planning goes into premium shows because obviously the wrestlers want the viewers to keep paying to watch.

[@Whyzee12]

You answered the majority of your own questions correctly!

[@ajhenderson6023]

The two gimmicks thing is easy to explain. WWE will send a wrestler to their developmental territory to try out a gimmick to see if it works. If it gets over, they will try it out on the bigger shows. They did this with The Adam Rose/Leo Kruger thing.

[@MrMitchellJRGaming]

For the multiple personalities, it’s not common but not uncommon either. Mick had his 3 faces, Bray Wyatts 2 fiend characters (mask/non mask), Finn as a Demon, among others. I think they are giving Ivar a chance to have a solo career and if successful in NXT, they will split up In terms of choreography, it depends on the wrestler (a lot of older talent like to call it in the ring). This allows them to feel the crowd and base their performances by having that immediate feedback. But even then usually they have a game plan which has some big spots and the finish determined.

[@Zornow0031]

Mick Foley was able to use multiple gimmicks. Abyss also had a run in TNA where he ran two gimmicks at once The announce table the wrestlers have to get permission to break. It doesn't always go well though. The triple threat match with Rock vs Angle vs HHH the table broke early while HHH was delivering a pedigree on the table to Angle. Angle smacked his head on the concrete and concussed himself so hard he didn't remember the match. Pre HHH era Vince controlled much of the character process unless you were a big draw (taker, Cena, HHH, etc.) nowadays I feel like they get more input on their characters A lot of documentaries or today's interviews really let you behind the 4th wall. Chris Van Vleet is a great guy to watch for such content.

[@princejonez9127]

Titles definitely would be on the line on free tv all throughout the 2000s and some of the really early 2010s especially the mid card titles.

[@original123kid7]

Yes, the WWE Championship & World Heavyweight Championship use to change hands sometimes on Raw or Smackdown during Ruthless Aggression & PG era. IC & US Titles were more common.

[@mikematson6323]

The World Title would change on Raw and Smackdown in the Attitude Era.. Titles were props at that point..

[@MartialArtsFilmFreak]

It doesn’t happen often. But AJ Styles randomly won the WWE Championship on a random episode of Smackdown.

[@MisterJack2023]

Funny enough he also lost it on a random episode of smackdown too

[@aidinexmachina4232]

1.) It used to happen more often. A really good example of an amazing Title Change on a Weekly Show would be Undertaker vs Batista in a Steel Cage Match on the May 8th 2007 episode of Smackdown. Unrelated but once in a century they'd even change titles on a House Show to entice people into buying tickets. 2.) They could be trying to re-package Ivar with a new gimmick & they're testing the waters. I'd guess they also might just not want him in the Viking outfit unless he's gonna wrestle. Pro Wrestling has a thing about Civilian Clothing meaning they can't/won't be in anything physical. But on the off-chance they are planning to break up the Viking Raiders (or maybe even just replace Ivar with someone else), there have been a lot of repackages in the past that lead to a tag-team just breaking up after. So it's within the realm of possibility. 3.) I'm also not sure. I've always chalked it down to one of the Announce Desks being gimmicked, while another one isn't. They used to have this gag during the Attitude & Ruthless Aggression Eras where wrestlers always went through the Spanish Announce Desk. But then there are times where 1 Desk gets absolutely punished and takes like 4 finishers to actually break. 4.) Some Wrestlers prefer to put together basically the whole match, with 1 or 2 improvisational sections. The "Checklist of spots" is a good way to put it. Whereas some wrestlers call it in the ring. A big part of Wrestling Matches is the ref. Usually they'll be silently giving wrestlers cues like how much match-time is left. Some people are better at being coy about it. But if you watch some John Cena matches, you can actually hear him in real time saying stuff like "Slam" when dodging a clothesline & setting up the AA. 5.) It depends on a few factors, but one of the big ones is who's booking & writing the show. When Vince McMahon was in charge, he has absolute 1st & Final say in everything that went on in front of the cameras. From how the matches would go, how the commentators speak, to the point where he'd ban certain words & phrases like "Pro Wrestler", "Hospital", and "Belt." On the other hand, someone like Triple H is much more open to letting people portray themselves their own way. Of course, he probably won't let any gimmick fly, like say a guy in a Shark Mask who thinks he's Stone Cold Steve Austin (Peak TNA), but he's a lot more back and forth with the roster when it comes to creative ideas. I have to think Indie Promotions are a lot more hands-off. It also depends on how long you've been there & how much respect you've gained for your match quality or work ethic. Even Vince had guys he trusted to do their own thing. 5 1/2.) There can definitely be situations like that. A guy named Alex Riley was starting his singles run after turning on The Miz. He minorly botched a Royal Rumble spot, and from that day John Cena didn't like him, let it be knowns, and Riley was gone shortly thereafter. When someone as big as Cena, Undertaker, or Shawn Michaels didn't like someone, they know they were basically on the chopping block.

[@johnoxley1946]

with regards to world titles changing on either RAW or Smackdown. It does happen, but not very often. You only need to watch interviews with wrestlers and they openly say that they sit down and and discuss the moves and sequence of moves to be used, and when time permits they rehearse beforehand. You should particularly watch the interviews with Edge since he left WWE and he talks about what was involved in planning and choreographing the TLC matches with The Hardy Boys and The Dudley's. I was sitting front row at a live match in Sydney where Ric Flair was tagging with HBK and you could hear Ric calling all the spots during the match. The referees also are involved in calling spots if the wrestlers forget the sequence or if backstage want to change the sequence. Sometimes the cameras are in the wrong place at the wrong time and you can see the wrestlers talking to each other about what to do next. Perfect example was this week's RAW cage match with Becky & Liv Watch the overhead camera shot with both wrestlers on the mat and you could clearly see Becky speaking to Liv.

[@KimTaura]

The late 90's (attitude era) would have so many title changes. It definitely used to be a thing, that's how some people have 10+ titles.

[@varan619]

Hogan had two gimmicks at the same time. In story, he wasn't allowed on TV and he became the masked character Mr. America. Vince accused Hogan of being Mr. America, Hogan denied it.

[@ElaineClush]

A lengthy explanation for Question 4: Performers have a few spots they write ahead of time and potentially a few specific rehearsed moves. But most of it is in fact called on the spot according to what the crowd is into and what the adversaries' chemistry in ring together demands. Matches are typically done in one take with no real rehearsal past maybe one or two tricky angles. For example, Seth Rollins and Randy Orton practiced the stomp getting reversed into an RKO five or six times before Wrestlemania 30. Seth could never get the height, or Randy couldn't rotate under the boot fast enough. But they decided to call it on the spot as an improvised moment and since they stuck it, it's an all-time wrestling move. Often spots are called when wrestlers and referees speak- their "Arguments" or points where maybe the ref is holding a competitor off to the sides, they're actually just communicating the matches. Many wrestlers also have long hair so that they can droop it in front of their faces to talk in-ring. Say someone like Bray Wyatt did a Sister Abigail, as he leaned in to give the kiss of death his hair could cover his face and he could say something like "kick out at 2" or "kick out and we'll do this spot." Undertaker and Shawn Michaels would often do this after kickouts or specific spots where their face would be just above their opponent.

[@danzgalliwag]

According to referee of the match, Shawn and Taker practiced the finish to their WM25 bout over and over. Shawn couldn't hit the moonsault right always veering too far to the side. But naturally, come showtime HBK nailed the spot. Too bad Taker caught him.

[@krisjustice2681]

1. Title changes have traditionally been how promotions sold PPVs. Basically, if the biggest chance for a title change is at a PPV, that compels more fans to buy it. 2. It's fairly common to see wrestlers portray different gimmicks when working across multiple promotions. I think NXT is a weird case where it's considered developmental (a place for wrestlers to experiment with different characters in front of a small audience) but also a third brand that's an extension of the overall WWE brand, so that example you mentioned is a little abnormal. Regarding the last question about politics and wrestlers trying to shoot down their peers' ideas/gimmicks, that's an extremely common story told by many in the business. How fans learn about these instances is primarily through "shoot interviews", which are essentially just tell-all interviews of wrestlers. There's an endless amount of them, and by watching enough of them you'll quickly realize that the business is pretty cutthroat.

[@justinarchibald1886]

Mick once had 4 gimmicks and all entered the Royal Rumble

[@neonprotegewrestling9147]

Different spots in a match like the announce table breaking are really complicated sometimes. They usually aren’t gimmicked to break unless they know they need to ahead of time, Shane McMahon’s numerous dives are good examples, as under the announce table there is a crash pad, but other times they just have to go through it hard way. One time the announce table broke right before a move was hit causing Kurt Angle to get a bad concussion, Summerslam 2000 or 1999 I believe. There are times both the table and wooden tables haven’t broken, especially the Japanese tables, and during a women’s tag match from early 2010s two women went through a table that was the finish of the match, and it didn’t break. JBL one got choke slammed through his limo which was gimmicked to give way, but earlier in the match a fan ran onto the limo and almost ruined it before the spot. Most of the time just standing on the table won’t break it, but I do believe they are designed to break away if enough of an impact is given to the announce table

[@zakk219]

1. There have been times when the title has changed more frequently and have changed hands on the weekly shows. It's less common with the top belts but the midcard and tag titles have changed hands on the weekly shows fairly often in the past. Right now is a time where title reigns have generally been longer so title changes actually mean something now but there have been times where title changes were much more frequent. 2. It's rare for a wrestler to have more than one gimmick. Mick Foley is the most famous person to use multiple gimmicks at the same time but there are wrestlers like Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt who have multiple gimmicks that are essentially different aspects of the same character, so it's more one gimmick but with multiple ways they are portrayed. NXT is a bit different because it's more meant to work on different gimmicks so maybe they just wanted to test to see if this version of Ivar could work in front of a smaller audience. 4. How choreographed a match is really depends on the wrestlers. Some wrestlers prefer to call it in the ring and some like to have every spot planned out. In WWE, there's also producers who help plan out a match to fit for time or to do things that the writers want for the story. 5. That also depends on the wrestler. I don't know as much about how this works with Triple H but I know that, in the past, Vince and the writers would create the character and the wrestler didn't really have much input in where the character went or the different aspects of the characters. The top stars like Cena and Roman usually have some creative control but probably not full creative control. Some other wrestlers may also be trusted with more creative control or may pitch gimmicks to writers/the booker but ultimately the decision lies at the feet of the booker and they have final say on what happens.

[@neonprotegewrestling9147]

WWF used to give people gimmicks often, but then people put their spin on gimmicks, especially with the Kliq they got to start making their own gimmicks. Scott hall almost had a GI gimmick, but pitched scar face and got the gimmick. The APA was given to JBL and Ron Simmons, which they put their own spin on it as it was similar to their real life personalities. Edge, Christian and Mick Foley often found things to do and say on the day of the show and pitched it that day. Triple H actually was the one to pitch the idea of him and Stephanie being married instead of Test, and the whole company was changed due to that. Wrestlers often have a big say in what they do, but when they are told to do something from the head boss they do it reguardless, but they’ve been many stories of people pitching ideas and that being the creative went with, and stories of people pitching ideas that were denied like Randy Savage pitched a mania match with Shawn Michaels for Mania 9 or 10, around then and never getting his way which caused him to, among other factors, leave WWE for their Rival promotion WCW which that whole company was basically the wrestlers booking what happened to their characters on the fly for the top stars at least

[@thehachisquad246]

As a wrestling trainee, my company plans spots and then improvises until the time for the spot

[@KegOfMeat]

For the eras question: 1963-1984/85: This era doesn’t really have a name per say, but it’s when the WWE was the WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) and was a north east promotion running shows primarily in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. A couple of names you would have heard Michael Cole say during Roman Reigns’ title defences, Bruno Sammartini and Bob Backlund, wrestled in this era. 1985-1991/92 Wikipedia lists this as starting in 82 and going until 92, but the Golden Era or Rock N Wrestling Era is pretty much tied to Hulk Hogan’s rise in the WWF and then the eventual phasing out of Hogan due to the steroid trial that Vince McMahon was involved in. The era is known for over the top, larger than life characters like Hogan, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Ted DiBiase and Roddy Piper. The matches were short, slow and they quite often ended in disqualifications or countout. It was named the Rock N Wrestling Era because of the cartoon called Hulk Hogan’s Rock N Wrestling, as well as the inclusion of celebrities at the first WrestleMania. 1993-1996/97: The New Generation Era was a low point in WWE history. Characters were terrible and often occupational like the garbage man, the plumber, the dentist or the monk and the wrestling was just as bad. Raw began in this era, as before this the company had mostly had shows that would air on the weekends with commentary dubbed over after the fact. Raw was the first show to have commentary recorded as the matches were occurring. The company expanded their PPV offerings in 1995 introducing In Your House which were events taking place in the months not already occupied by one of the Big 5 (Rumble, Mania, King of the Ring, SummerSlam and Survivor Series). 95 is also when Rival company World Championship Wrestling started Monday Nitro that aired against Raw, beginning the Monday Night Wars. WCW was owned by Ted Turner and aired on TNT while Raw was on USA Network. 1997-2001: The Attitude Era where the companya programming was TV 14 and featured more cursing, violence and sexual content. This was done to keep up with WCW Nitro which would defeat WWF Raw in the ratings for 83 weeks in a row, thanks in large part to the New World Order storyline. The Attitude Era was wild and unpredictable with short matches, lots of face and heel turns, chair shots to the head, outrageous characters like porn star Val Venis and pimp The Godfather. SmackDown was introduced in this period and the company went public. 01-02: There’s a bit of time here where the WWF was presenting The invasion story where WCW and ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling, the number three promotion in the 90s) invaded the WWF to try and take it over. It wasn’t what people wanted because none of the big stars were there like Hogan, Sting or Goldberg. People normally lump it in with the Attitude Era or Ruthless,Aggression Era because The Invasion was in comparisons to other eras, so short. 2002-2008: The beginning of the Ruthless Aggression Era could be considered either the name change when the WWF lost the court battle with the World Wildlife Fund and had to be renamed World Wrestling Entertainment or when Vince McMahon made his Ruthless Aggression speech on Raw, which was followed on SmacKDown by John Cenas debut. 2008-2011/12: The PG Era, when the company dropped down to the PG rating to appeal to kids and get more sponsors. It was in part damage control from the fallout of the Chris Benoit Double Murder Suicide from June 2007 and to make an attempt at looking more presentable when Vince’s wife Linda ran for a senate seat for Connecticut, losing two elections and costing the company millions of dollars. The PG Era saw the company switch to HD, start doing PPVs based around gimmick matches and cater to a younger audience, resulting in blading being banned. Chairshots to the head were also banned, I’m sure in part to lessen the violent nature of the action but also due to the advancement in science and the revelation of concussions and CTE. 2012-2015: I hate the name but people call this the Reality Era. SmackDown became a glorified Raw recap show during this time and Triple H and Stephanie would form The Authority group in 2013 which would last until 2016. They’d kick off every Raw with a twenty minute promo. This era was not very good. 2016-2020: They reintroduced the idea of split brands in 2016 but the product really didn’t change in the way it was presented or the people who got pushed. 2020-2021: Pandemic Era where the company first did shows in the empty Performance Centre before transitioning to different arenas and using the ThunderDome. The ThunderDome had screens around the hard cam and behind the announce table with people zooming in to create the effect of a crowd. Most people would like to pretend this stuff just didn’t happen. 2021-2022: This also isn’t really an era because it was a brief period after things started returning to normal and before Triple H took over as head of creative. It was basically the same as the pandemic era except crowds were back. 2022-present: The Triple H/Paul Levesque Era as they were calling it at WrestleMania. Better matches, better storyline’s, more development, less filler and repeat matches, less long promo segments, more interesting characters, all hallmarks of Triple H’s booking philosophy. The announce table is always supposed to break but for some reason it just doesn’t collapse all the time.

[@ElMegaMike]

Honestly. If you are into videogames and you have the chance. The “story mode” of WWE 13 and WWE2K14 do a good work helping you understand the different eras. WWE 13 focus more on Attitude era.

[@justinquamme916]

The best title change and arguably the most heartstrings moment on wwe weekly tv was when Foley beat The Rock for the strap. Hot damn. 1..2..Apeshit

[@michaelpagnotti4131]

I will say, you don’t see the World Titles change hands too often on weekly television, but if they were to have a title change hands on weekly TV it would be the midcard title, but you won’t see it too often I feel.

[@1996gameking]

To answer the question if some veteran wrestlers have more pull backstage then younger once: 1. Everything regarding who win, what happens in the match, what promos/segments happen is usually summed up under the term "Creative" and some wrestlers usually veterans have what is called "Creative control". 2. How much this creative control can do can vary from company. In WWE it usually mean "You have the right to refuse Vince's ideas. Without (much) repercussion. In WCW creative control could actually mean someone has full say about what they do. 3. The have been plenty of wrestlers that have abused their creative control. This is referred to usually as "Backstage politicking" (This is sometimes also done by wrestlers who may not technically have creative control in their contract but have enough pull backstage to be listened to regardless. One example of that is Hulk Hogan over the years there have been plenty of stories about Hulk Hogan refusing to lose to people clean. (clean referring to: No interference, No cheating, No distractions, No DQ, etc..) Which resulted in some wrestlers that could have been a big deal never getting that opportunity. Side note: Another term you may come across is "Going into business for themselves." This refers to a wrestler (usually someone with a lot of pull backstage) going of script/doing things that were not discussed OR things they were specifically told not to do. This could be anything from Kicking out just after three. Going completely of script or for example taking someone's finishing move and immediately kicking out. A infamous example of that involves a masked female wrestler who legitimate tried to break her opponents arm in a match.

[@viewer642]

I believe in most cases they recieve a thing that will tell them key points of a match that NEED to happen, for example Jey Wins tonight but he MUST hit the Uso Splash to end the match. other wise the match is all improv. However for big PLE matches more specifically something like the royal rumble, they section off into groups of 10 and rehearse the segments so that spots can be organized

[@hishamsheriff9936]

When it comes to how matches are put together, it can vary based on who the wrestlers are. But generally, say for a one on one match, the two wrestlers will meet together backstage with an agent or a producer and put things together. The agent/producer is usually a retired wrestler, and is usually someone who was a very technically and psychologically gifted wrestler. The wrestlers are then usually told who's gonna win the match, what the finish will be (will it be a clean victory, will they cheat to win, will they win because their opponent got distracted, will an injury be part of the match/overall story etc), and how long the match is gonna go. Then they'll structure the match based on the info they're given. The more senior or experienced wrestler will also usually lead the discussion, and the producer is there to also help out, give ideas, and make sure that whatever the head booker wants ends up happening. The extent of this discussion is also very dependent on who the wrestlers are and how well they work together, and on an individual basis. Some wrestlers like to fully and meticulously choreograph everything. The most well known example is the Macho Man Randy Savage. At WrestleMania 3, he had a match (which stole the show) with Ricky The Dragon Steamboat for the IC title that they 100% choreographed before the show. On the other hand, you have wrestlers like Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was a big proponent of "calling it in the ring". Which meant that he'd just know the most important beats to a match, and then would just "feel" the crowd and decide what to do while the match was actually going on. This is something that only the best of the best can really do effectively, because they need a solid understanding of crowd psychology, and you need a LOT of chemistry and trust with your opponent to keep you safe, and be able to respond to your calls in time. Another challenge with doing this is to make sure that the mics don't pick up what you're saying, and Cena is quite notorious for being heard by the mics calling his matches. If you search up the channel Botchamania and look for their videos from like 2013-2018, there's a good chance you'll see a lot of Cena in those videos. When it comes to wrestlers' input on their characters and stories, again it also depends on who the wrestler is, where they are on the card, how much the bosses trust you, and what your contract says. For main eventers like Roman, Seth, Cody etc, they definitely have a lot of input on stories. Roman especially does so, since his part time contract, and him being aligned with Paul Heyman backstage as well as on screen. Everything that Roman has done since his return in 2020 as the Tribal Chief has been approved by him and Paul, but this is something he's earned based on him more or less being told to do what he was told from 2015-2020. Similarly, Seth and Cody have also earned that right to a degree. Newer wrestlers/midcard wrestlers generally don't have that much sway, but they can still earn it. A good example is The New Day. In 2014, they debuted as a group (all three members had been in WWE for at least a few years prior, but had nothing going for them at the time), and they were MEANT to be good guy positive preachers. But that just did not work, and the gimmick fell flat on its face. They still worked their asses off to make it work for like a month, before they went up to Vince and said they needed to change things up and become heels (bad guys). Vince wasn't sure that they could get Kofii booed (since he had always been a good guy), and Xavier Woods straight up told Vince that if he couldn't get Kofi booed after four weeks, then Vince should fire him because that would mean he wasn't good enough. Vince respected the balls on Xavier for doing that, approved a heel change, they managed to get Kofi booed, and then The New Day started getting more and more creative control. CM Punk also went through a similar story backstage back in like 2009 too. So it's all about proving to the company that you can be trusted, that you care about your work, and are willing to at least give it a try even if you're given a "bad gimmick or story"

[@SayMrBeefy]

Hope some of these answers help lol Attitude era into the Ruthless Aggression era, mid-card titles changed on weekly shows quite a bit more often then, the IC, US, Tags, Cruiserweight, Hardcore and Women's titles all would change on any given weekly show. But that 1 time Mick Foley beat the Rock on Raw for the WWF title. If a wrestler is in-between gimmicks, like Ivar doesn't have Erik, they may be trying a new gimmick fir him in developmental because he's without his tag partner. Mick Foley had 3 gimmicks at one point, it happens but it's not common. The tables are all gimmicked, idk to what degree tho, id like to see how they work, the old ones used to brake if you coughed too hard around them tho, that's how Kurt Angle got knocked out in one match against HHH. Each match is choreographed by the wrestlers. For a weekly show, call time to the arena is between 12-2pm, the get the match cards, find out who's going over from the producers/bookers within a time frame. It's up to the wrestlers to decide how they take it home. Hogan used to talk about how Macho Man would comb over the details of matches with a fine tooth comb because he didn't want people to hear called spots during the match. Then theirs guys like Cena who work out the bug spots before hand and call the spots in the ring. Sometimes some will just "wing it" with something if they trust each other. They all vary tho. Back when Vince was in control, unless you signed it into your contract like Hogan, and you were a mid-card guy, you had ZERO creative input, it was do what you were told. Guys like Stone Cold, Taker, HHH, Rock, Angle, Jericho, top guys would have some creative freedom but it all passed thru Vince first. I would imagine it's changed a bit now that he's gone and Hunter is in charge, im sure he likes what he sees and offers more insight than control creatively, but that's my opinion. Hope those help lol

[@PedroBenolielBonito]

New fan learns about wrestling tropes: the video.

[@Dporticus]

Part 6 actually

[@ericgropuis]

Been watching wrestling for a long time, been seeing your vids come on my feed but thought I’ll chime in to answer some questions 1. Titles usually are saved for major events like the PLEs/PPVs because want to protect the prestige of a title that it will only be really defended on a big show like the World Titles or just change hands during those events to give you a reason to watch it. During the Attitude Era (1997 - 2002) TV ratings were the big thing at trying to win the Monday Night War, famously Mankind (Mick Foley) won the title on Raw and WCW made fun of it so people switch channels to Raw to see what was going on. During the Attitude Era they also had the Hardcore title which had the 24/7 rule which was defended at all times. During Ruthless Aggression Era they still did it but it started to die down. Nowadays it still happens just not as frequently as it used to, bascially any title is up for grabs minus World Titles or that champion is in the feud. EX. Sami is in a feud with Gable so he won’t drop the title but when Dragon Lee was the North American champion he lost the title on a random episode of NXT when Oba Femi cashed in NXT’s version of the MITB. 2. It’s common for certain people who have a gimmick to not dress up as that gimmick when they are just doing regular segments like talking or being at ringside, in the ring he still wears all the Viking stuff, on main roster we don’t see Ivar just talking regularly or just chilling regularly. It could be a thing where he is trying to change some stuff up while he wasn’t in a tag team since NXT is the show to just try stuff. Finn Balor has 2 gimmicks with regular Balor and then Demon Balor, Mick Foley had the faces of foley where he was 4 separate people Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love and then Mick Foley 3. I’m actually not sure because the announce desk doesn’t break all the time when they want it too, like at King and Queen of the King it seemed like the desk was supposed to break when Cody did the Cody Cutter but it didn’t, the desk has to be sturdy to last the whole show but also needs to break when there is a spot so it’s up to chance. 4. It depends on the wrestler and their experience. Some wrestlers like to have everything down to a tee, some like to just know the finish and that’s it, others do a mix where they have some spots they want to do but will fill in the spots. Sometimes people change things up on the fly during the match and call the spots or sometimes they just have free rein, Eddie Guerrero did a match with JBL which he called on the fly all by himself. Wrestlers come together and try and figure that out and then a Producer also is the head of what happens during a match and they are the ones who ultimately decide which spots are happening, the finish and making it fit the time. People like Robert Roode, Abyss, Micheal P.S. Hayes, Jason Jordon are producers to keep an eye out for. 5. Depends on the wrestler. Most wrestlers are given something to do or they have a pre-established gimmick or are told to come up with something. The writers make stuff knowing the characters and the wrestlers are free to pitch whatever they want and workshop with others to further their character. A more trusted person has more free rein or someone who has so many ideas like Bray Wyatt can bascially do what they want as long as it’s translated by the writers

[@mhoovair89]

There is a video about the ladders & how they’re painted silver. Also interested in the commentary desk. My theory is that there is a remote switch that pulls a pin and lets it collapse

[@DRock36]

I was a professional wrestler for 3 years on a national TV level for an independent promotion, and I find the choreography question intriguing cause it changes for almost every wrestler. Some wanna plan out the entirety of the match but there are many times where only the winner is determined beforehand and everything else is improvised and lots of more seasoned wrestlers that have the experience prefer to improvise it on the spot as the match goes because then they can determine what they do based on how the crowd is reacting.

[@SFsteve]

From what I gathered over time from listening to interviews and podcasts…what we see on tv between two wrestlers in a feud…that match has been worked many many times at house shows…and the blow off match that we get at a ppv is the culmination of hours upon hours of in ring time from working house shows leading up to the build for the final match at least that’s how it was. Iono bout today’s methods. But the bookers and producers are the ones that plans out the match and which person is going over that night.

[@stephaniemarie5242]

Definitely feel like titles used to change a lot more on raw

[@easybreexy]

Major and minor titles used to def change hands on weekly shows , so you legit would never know

[@chadbrisco4042]

Here's a list of eras just so you know: The Golden Era (1980-1993) The New Generation Era (1993-1997) The Attitude Era (1997-2001) The Ruthless Aggression Era (2002-2007) The PG Era (2008-2016) The Reality Era (2016-2024)

[@relaxandsleeptime5769]

Mick Foley won his WWE championship on Raw in the late 90's

[@neonprotegewrestling9147]

The hurricane, Gregory Helms, he played both himself as a reporter and The Hurricane the super hero, it was 2 people as one character. Often you’ll find people experiment gimmicks on house shows, or developmental. Charles Wright swapped gimmicks many times, and the story of the Godfather’s early days was started on the house show circuit as his previous gimmick

[@tsollazzo]

In the hardy boys autobiography Jeff talks about doing a coffin drop early in his career and undertaker basically told him never to do it again as taker thought he was biting his style. IIRC

[@danzgalliwag]

Randy Savage was known to completely flesh his matches out beforehand, down to the most minute details. I remember hearing a story that prior to WM3, he sent Ricky Steamboat the entire layout of their match via fax machine. Of course, perfectionism like Macho's is rare, and used to be even more so. Until relatively recently, your average discussion before a match tended to consist of, "we'll call it in the ring, brother."

[@pikapikapitiful]

One of my favorite title changes was on a raw. Chris Jericho won it back the next night from batista that just beat him one day ago at a ppv. Can't remember when this happened exactly but sometime in 2008/09. It was a cage match. I was so excited.

[@ShadyBwady]

They’re definitely testing the waters with Ivar for a new gimmick which would make sense

[@shanerogers7198]

Ok, you need to get to “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, at WMII. It’s widely regarded as a “Mount Rushmore” match. Some would say the GOAT. However, before you watch, work your way through the build up, it’ll make it so much better.

[@DTWrestling]

Answering the question of how much input wrestlers have on their character design/story, they have some input to an extent. Let's say that you just debuted and you have your character that was given by creative or producers, etc. You can pitch something to them, but if you're a new guy, then it will mostly get turned off, but then you can put a twist into the character that you were given and make it better. If you have been there for a while, you can pitch a feud with a wrestler. The top guys like your Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, etc, have more input in their story. But at the end of the day, it will be creative that decides your character or story.

[@navtektv]

Eras. I will only be naming the ones I've watched through so it starts around 1997. Attitue Era - '97 to '02. Ruthless Aggression - '02 to '11 PG Era - '12 to pretty much present. The PG era jokingly has some mini eras in it like the Muppets Era or the Celebrity Era but mostly this is the overview. Mind you the transition from RA to PG wasn't done in a day so people might disagree on exactly where the PG era began but to me mid 2011 was where a lot of Ruthless Aggression Era stars were starting to retire and the match Between Undertaker and Triple H at Mania 28 inside Hell in a Cell was coined the End of an Era match and I think this was definitely the moment where from then on WWE was firmly in the PG era.

[@Dporticus]

I wonder who normally coins the terms for these eras

[@navtektv]

The Attitude Era was only called the Attitude Era toward the end of its run when WWE started putting a banner onscreen in front of their shows saying WWF Attitude. It was a fan coined term. The Ruthless Aggression and PG Eras were announced by Vince himself. In mid 2002 a few months after WWF was forced by court order to change its name to WWE. Vince came out to the ring and said that a new Era was beginning in the WWE and that he demanded from his wrestlers to show Ruthless Aggression to get ahead and get noticed in this new Era of Wrestling. As for the PG stuff, Vince was shown in a video package in the early 2010s saying that WWE will be going from TV14 to PG. He didn't call this a new Era but this announcement heralded the end of Ruthless Aggression and the fans started calling those times as the PG Era. And this also heralded, funnily enough, the Era of me pretty much not watching Wrestling pretty much until the summer of 2022. Good times. 😁

[@jimharvey205]

Titles rarely changes hands on the weekly shows. Few and far between. It DOES happen like once every 5 or 10 years, and when it does it's incredibly special. But in today's era, I doubt the WWE Universal title change anywhere other than WM or SS

[@gohanrocksmysox039]

In the Attitude Era (98-01ish), the titles switched hands on an almost weekly if not monthly basis. This era (2022-present) seems to be an era of mostly longer title reigns.

[@justinarchibald1886]

It has changed in weekly shows but it hasn't happened in a long time

[@Daniel-tf5vj]

I think it would be interesting for you to consider start reacting to wrestling videos, there are a lot of wrestling channels here on youtube that make videos about wrestling past, history, lore, secrets etc... This way, you would learn a lot about past wrestlers, matches, big events and moments etc... basically about the business in general... I think also people would be interested in checking out your reactions so it would make for good content.

[@Dporticus]

That has been a suggested category on my patreon. I'll end up doing the full unedited reactions over there and if one sticks out enough I may do a recap or thoughts on KZbin.

[@anxofmyown]

Here’s an approximate timeline of modern WWE eras Attitude era is 97 - 01 Ruthless aggression 01 - 08 PG era 08 - 14 “Reality” era 14 - 19 Pandemic era 20 - 21 Renaissance era 22 - present

[@Dporticus]

The hell is the reality era lol

[@Ashhad1400]

​@@Dporticusjust PG era but rebranded

[@dragonrana88]

@@Dporticus It's a spin-off of PG Era. They had Totally Divas and Totally Bellas, The WWE Network debuted and they had Legends House, Breaking Grounds and other "reality" shows and documentaries. So there was more focus on in the ring and out of the ring personalities to bring in subscribers. In 2021 they sold the US distribution rights to Peacock and have started selling the rights outside of the US killing the Network as we knew it.

[@ChristianBanton]

@@DporticusBasically time where Daniel Bryan won the title if you know who that is. He was a Big Star in 2013-2014 and Basically fans got him into the main event scene and he won the title at mania. Now he is in Aew. He left In 2021. Wasn’t because of issues just he wanted to do something new

[@strikeromega]

These are interesting questions! Lemme try. 0:53 major titles don't change on TV often. That much is true, but it can happen, and it used to occur all the time in the 90s (it's worth noting there weren't as many PPV/PLE's as there are now, at that time. On very rare occasions they'll do a shock change. A lot of them I've already seen in the comments here, but one of my favorites I was present for. In November of 2018, on the build to that year's Survivor Series (which then, early into the second Brand Split, used to be centered around Smackdown vs Raw matches with champions on opposing brands having exhibition matches and teams of 5 from each brand having elimination matches.If you know about the night where Becky Lynch got her nose broken, this took place on the night right after that. So at this time, Smackdown, having gone from taped to live relatively recently, aired Tuesday nights. So on that show, Charlotte was made Becky's replacement, since Becky was Smackdown champion and she couldn't fight Raw champion Ronda Rousey. They were promoting as the world title exhibition match that year, Smackdown's WWE Champion AJ Styles vs Raw's Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. But Daniel Bryan had been trying to win the title and got an impromptu match for the title in the main event. Daniel Bryan had returned from a premature retirement but had seen his success dwindle and he was going nowhere fast. But in that main event, Bryan turned heel and low-blowed AJ to win. This made it so now, Bryan was facing Brock Lesnar in the exhibition match. This is the run where Bryan debuted the wooden title and where Kofimania got going soon after. But it's important to realize that all conventions in wrestling pretty much exist to make it a surprise when they break them. I dunno why Ivar came out with no gear. But when he wrestled on NXT, he did wear the gear. I've basically never seen him not in gear before that point though. 4:20 I'll be honest, I'm not sure what the announce table criteria is. I've seen plenty of times where it seems like it should have broken but didn't (that RKO to IShowSpeed at Mania for instance) 5:34 it really varies. I am pretty sure that for most matches the only thing dictated is who goes over and how. The head bookers (Triple H and his creative team) may depending on a story dictate specific points to hit. But the actual construction of the match is between agents backstage and the wrestlers. Sometimes they do have it fully choreographed but usually it's loosely planned. They also have to adjust for more or less time and to change things up in reaction to the crowd. Whether or not they call it in the ring fully is up to the wrestlers. 7:10 At current times, the character work is typically collaboration between a wrestler and their creative team, in WWE. Vince would absolutely dictate characters, but people could try to pitch characters to the leads. In the indies and elsewhere wrestlers may have complete control. More popular wrestlers even in WWE might have a ton of control, for instance, Rock has his own writer he brings in who works with the creative team and has at times been allowed to use additional time for his segments and do things like curse and go past the PG rating.

[@Flutaccc]

To answer (most) of your questions World told title changes HAVE happened on RAW and Smackdown before but it isn’t common, not counting the women’s battle royal that Becky won the most recent was Charlotte Flair beating Ronda Rousey in late 2022 The most infamous modern day occurrences came from Brock Lesnar having his first Smackdown Match in like 18 years to squash Kofi, and AJ styles beating Jinder Mahal. In 2019 and 2017 respectively Mid card titles and tag titles change far more frequently, Rey Mysterio beat Theory for the US title on SD, Jey and Cody lost to JD on RAW etc To answer your Ivar question in a more unique way, don’t worry about losing Erik and Valhalla, Erik and Ivar have been tag team wrestlers in almost any company going and Valhalla and Erik are married, they’re all great friends and will probably stick with eachother for a majority of their time wrestling The announce desk thing is simply a gimmick airbag, you can even see it sometimes when it breaks I don’t know too much detail about match choreography yet but I am training to be a wrestler in a few months hopefully so I may be able to answer that later But often times matches are rehearsed to a degree with some improve, with backstage producers being mainly producing the big moments, ex WWE wrestlers Robert Roode and Jason Jordan are the main ones people know, with them retiring in the ring and going to a producer role As for Cena calling spots, that’s just a thing he’s known for Wrestlers often pitch ideas, they might get shut down they might not, The New Day actually came to fruition because Xavier Woods pitched the idea for them to team Hope I gave some good answers

[@user-jo1wi8fh5x]

Eras are controversial, but everyone agrees on the structure, if not the years, up to the PG Era. I’d define them as: Golden Era (1983-1993): Hogan winning the WWF Title to Hogan leaving WWF. New Generation Era (1993-1997) Attitude Era (1997-2002): Montreal Screwjob to brand split. Ruthless Aggression Era (2002-2008) I’d say the PG Era was a long stretch lasting from the ratings switch in 2008 to HHH’s creative takeover in 2023, or maybe WrestleMania 40. Within that, you have the Super Cena, Punk, Reality, Decline, COVID, and Renaissance Periods. I’m sure this will look a lot different in 10 years.

[@skyecase5968]

1. There have been title changes on the main shows. It's very rare, but it does happen. There was a point in time where we had champions that lasted 3-5 months on average. Nowadays it seems like it has been going on for a longer time. 2. Ivar's tagmate Erik has been out injured since November 2023, People on the main shows know Ivar as the Viking Raiders, so they stick with that. NXT is a place where people can try out new gimmicks and stuff, Baron Corbin is a great example of this. As for if a character has ever had two gimmicks at once, I'm not sure 3. I have no idea how they get the announce desk to collapse only certain times. I do know there have been spots where it was supposed to break, but didn't and sometimes they'll redo the spot. Regular tables, are just that though, regular tables. The chairs and ladders are an aluminum material though, but the tables afaik from what I've read and heard, are just plain old tables. 4. As I mentioned in answer 3. They have spots that they practice, as for how they get to those spots, a lot of them just know each other as they've wrestled each other a lot. Some of them can get so good together that they can just pretty much improvise spots mid match, but the bigger ones preplanned. As for everyone though, they work together on house shows practicing spots and moves together, and they also have practice and training days where they go over the spots and just see how they can work together for the non spots. 5. A lot more recently with HHH running content. 5.2. I've not heard of that, but I have heard of people not wanting to work with certain people. I really like this style of video along with your answering our questions. Talking about wrestling is really nice, and I also don't have people to talk to it about, LOL

[@JustChrisTM]

1) Lashley beat Miz in March 2021 on Raw for the WWE title. Styles beat Jinder for it on Smackdown in late 2018. It's rare, but it happens. 4) A lot today is practiced, but the great ones can call everything in the ring on the spot in the moment by reading the crowd (not as loud as Cena 😂) 5) Depends on who you are. Certain people gain the trust of the office to do their own thing or put their own flavor into something w.o backlash. Comes w time a lot. No wrestler has total 100% control. They have input, but ultimately (best case scenario) management and the wrestler can compromise and make something great.

[@ZBatt1]

As a long time NXT fan (of 2 months) 😂, I think wrestlers try out gimmicks on the other show fairly regularly to see how the crowd reacts and if it sticks.

[@Dporticus]

I'm also a long time nxt fan! (2 weeks)

[@ZBatt1]

@@Dporticus We are seasoned fans no doubt

[@SalMags-sk6eq]

As a NXT fan of a few years this is kinda accurate. Some wrestlers change or shift there character to help protect the character on the main roster

[@ZBatt1]

@@SalMags-sk6eq Didnt AJ Styles do this?

[@SalMags-sk6eq]

@@ZBatt1 yes to a lesser extent than Ivar yes, another example of this is Reggie who used to chance the 24/7 championship being scryps in NXT and eventually part of a stable. Or baron corbin who had the happy gimmick but dropped it when he went to NXT

[@Jshmoney24]

In terms of calling a match I’ve learned that until maybe the 90’s wrestlers would usually improvise themselves. They would get the finish by the runners of the show and basically call the match on the spot usually. And nowadays things tend to me more pre scripted by agents and the wrestlers beforehand but I would guess some of the top guys/vets probably still choreograph on the spot

[@navtektv]

The announce desk spot usually calls for it to break during most spots because it collapsing is actually easier on the wrestler taking the bump. Especially with the crash pad that is usually placed under the table. A while back the announce tables were put together so flimsily that it would collapse half way into the spot while the bump was being set up. Because of that I think they've made the table a little bit more sturdier so that the spots can be set up. Unfortunately because of this I think the table has been made a little too steady to the point that half the time now the spot fails. The announce table is meant to always collapse and if it doesn't then it sucks for the wrestler taking it because that shits going to hurt.

[@Blazntrax81]

Producers (mostly former wrestlers) get with the talent and put together their matches. They get bullet points on the scripts and the writers work with the wrestlers to make the promos their own.

[@LYTEDrewzFN11]

Your dog is so cute!

[@Dporticus]

The cutest!

[@AquaMaceEnt]

There have been championships that changed hands during live weekly shows like raw or smackdown.... There have also been times where the championships changed hands at house shows which is very rare

[@TimKujat]

1. There were times in the early 00's where titles would move more often then now, however still not very common. 2. Im not sure its that Ivar has 2 gimmicks, but understanding that hes not a real viking and its ok for him to not always be dressed that way. 3. Im not actually sure 4. The mathces are made by the wrestlers and which ever agent is working on the match with them based on the outcome they are told beforehand. As for how much of it is choreography or imporv varies by the wrestlers. Some have been known to go out there and improv most of it 5. I guess it depends on if people are being passive and not speaking up. I assume anyone can pitch stuff. 5-2. More clout is more clout. I would assume, for example, Undertaker could have shut down Brays character if he felt it was derivative of his but Im not sure that would have been something he would do. Great video. Great Detroit merch.

[@Wyatt6661]

Can’t wait for see the Wyatt 6

[@hunterwise5156]

Titles do change hands on Raw and Smackdown and yes even house shows but it's not super often

[@anxofernandez3344]

Most people practice their matches beforehand during the day. Also, wrestlers tend to have matches with the same people on house shows and on TV, so usually before the big match they've had time to do some rehearsal. It's different on TV and on PPV too because they may have their match time cut for some reason and on TV there are commercial breaks. Only a few people call the match on the spot. John Cena is very loud calling spots and he doesn't use the classic wrestling lingo to keep the meaning hidden. Others just know what to do or they just need to look at each other to know the next move or at least they're not so loud, but only the top.guys in WWE can go out there and figure everything out. There are agents/producers who put together the matches alongside the wrestlers, following some directions from the writing team about the story they want told. Title changes on Raw and SmackDown used to be a lot more common, even the World titles, but since HHH has been in charge we've had exceptionally long title reigns. Once wrestlers have built trust and equity they have more saying in their character's direction, but ultimately it's on the head of creative, currently Paul "Triple H" Levesque, to give the green light. Roman could pitch going back to his Big Dog gimmick, but Triple H would say no. About people having multiple gimmicks. I feel like Iin Ivar's case it's about trying a different thing on a small platform to see how it goes. The Viking Raiders used to be the War Raiders in NXT and War Machine before that and they didn't have the Viking gimmick. Érik and Valhalla, who are married, do try to have a "modern viking lifestyle" , it's a sort of hiooy-ish/new age thingy. Both Erik and Ivar are now injured and won't be back in a few months and Valhalla is pregnant, so we won't see her on TV probably until the 2026 Royal Rumble. She used to go by her maiden name Sarah Logan before becoming Valhalla. It's possible that in the future they'll all phase out the Viking gimmick.

[@sevgadagenty9229]

One of the things which was better under Vince was that things were more unpredictable. For better or for worse, you often had no idea if Vince would suddenly turn sour on a champion and have them lose. Honestly, it wasn't that long ago that titles were changing pretty frequently, happened quite a lot pre covid.

[@kotv22]

It's mainly been more modern when less titles change hands on weekly shows tbh. There kind of feels like more importance has been put on lesser pay per views having title changes over weekly shows.

[@juggalopa717]

Some wrestlers have more control over their character than others it depends on the level of trust that a company has for them. The titles changed on weekly Shows more often in the late 90s early 2000s, also about the announce table the announcers don’t mess with it I read in I think jerichos book the tables are put together like Lego blocks sometimes they just don’t click it all the way into place.

[@SimonKingsleyDutton]

If you’re open to the idea I’ve been a fan of WWE since 1999 and could probably discuss pretty well all of these questions. Fancy jumping on an interview discuss them and can use it on both of our channels?