There ARE Surprises Left in Wrestling
The past post-Wrestlemania week, busy as it was, proved one thing: and that is they can still surprise us fans with something from out of nowhere (besides an RKO). Surprise, shock, and awe are not dead; merely a collectively lost art.
Neither is suspense, and this fact was most clearly on display at Mania when the Hardys' music hit and they emerged from the back to take part in, and ultimately win, the ladder match for the Raw Tag Team Titles. There had been rumblings Matt & Jeff would return at the show but nothing affirmative until their entrance. The entire crowd was caught completely unawares and erupted, giving the former TNA talents the pop of the night.
Well played, WWE! As the old chant goes: you still got it.
But by no means did the astonishment end there. The next night on Raw saw the returns of Finn Balor and Kurt Angle and also the call-up of the Revival (which involved the New Day much like the aforesaid match the night before). Then on Smackdown Live, we witnessed the long overdue arrivals of Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger from NXT.
No memo, no leak, barely any notice ahead of time. It's academic that you can't keep a secret from the IWC and steps have to be taken if you aim to leave them in the dark until showtime. Yet WWE managed to keep things close to the vest not only once, but several times across three nights -- an impossible feat in the age of the internet.
In the past, there was a risk of plans getting out, though not to the degree of today. Dave Lagana, and others like him for example, will liberally leak information to the dirt sheets at the approximate moment a storyline is proposed.
Back in the 90s, you didn't have this problem. The classic example is Lex Luger's unexpected jump back to WCW in '95. Eric Bischoff allowed few in the loop as to what was going down, had Luger flown in quietly, and then there he was -- ringside at the Mall of America.
This was the beginning of frequent, unannounced jumps back and forth between companies during the Monday Night War, culminating in the debut of the Radicalz in 2000 and Shane McMahon's appearance at the final Nitro.
That was a different time but it a big shocking debut can still be done. And while this all coincided with the Superstar Shake-up, Vince didn't have to make an announcement. If he, or any of us, learned anything it's better when he doesn't.
Neither is suspense, and this fact was most clearly on display at Mania when the Hardys' music hit and they emerged from the back to take part in, and ultimately win, the ladder match for the Raw Tag Team Titles. There had been rumblings Matt & Jeff would return at the show but nothing affirmative until their entrance. The entire crowd was caught completely unawares and erupted, giving the former TNA talents the pop of the night.
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But by no means did the astonishment end there. The next night on Raw saw the returns of Finn Balor and Kurt Angle and also the call-up of the Revival (which involved the New Day much like the aforesaid match the night before). Then on Smackdown Live, we witnessed the long overdue arrivals of Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger from NXT.
No memo, no leak, barely any notice ahead of time. It's academic that you can't keep a secret from the IWC and steps have to be taken if you aim to leave them in the dark until showtime. Yet WWE managed to keep things close to the vest not only once, but several times across three nights -- an impossible feat in the age of the internet.
In the past, there was a risk of plans getting out, though not to the degree of today. Dave Lagana, and others like him for example, will liberally leak information to the dirt sheets at the approximate moment a storyline is proposed.
Back in the 90s, you didn't have this problem. The classic example is Lex Luger's unexpected jump back to WCW in '95. Eric Bischoff allowed few in the loop as to what was going down, had Luger flown in quietly, and then there he was -- ringside at the Mall of America.
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That was a different time but it a big shocking debut can still be done. And while this all coincided with the Superstar Shake-up, Vince didn't have to make an announcement. If he, or any of us, learned anything it's better when he doesn't.
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