Beyond The Beermat

Hype isn’t so much an aspect of the wrestling industry but one of it’s most important building blocks. The process of putting champions, challengers or even circumstance onto a pedestal is an art form onto itself. Part of our unwritten contract as fans is to acknowledge it all. To understand that being told someone – or something – can reach a level we all know isn’t realistic. But that’s how it has to be. Everything has to be bigger and better, more spectacular and different than anything we’ve ever seen before. That’s the business. Even that suspension of disbelief has a line. Using the tagline “The Greatest Wresting Match Ever” is some bluster, even for WWE. But their hot air isn’t the point so much as the question what does make a match great? Different encounters mean different things to different people, and yet there is to a degree some consensus. Certain confrontations have more acclaim than others. Which ultimately tells us that while it may be subjective, there is a guideline to follow. Beyond The B