The Man, the Belle, & the Narrative Backslide
Why on earth is the first big post-Mania story in women’s wrestling one where we encourage the audience to boo and hiss at a woman who leans into traditional expressions of femininity?
Why on earth is the first big post-Mania story in women’s wrestling one where we encourage the audience to boo and hiss at a woman who leans into traditional expressions of femininity?
I think the real things to be said about this match have to wait for after WrestleMania. Right now it’s a lot of talk and hype, but how it’s handled in the heat of that “WrestleMania Moment” is what’s going to determine what it means to the trajectory of women’s wrestling.
Wrestling is a narrative — it’s a tale told in dropkicks. Like with any narrative work, calling on tropes that the viewer recognizes is a shortcut in character growth.