What makes a storyline "good"?
- Thread starter Snowman1
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Give me a reason to care. Give the storyline some substance. Don't just tell me Face A is beefing with Face B because this is wrestling. And preferably it could be deeper than just typical 'wrestling issues' ie oh well this guy cost me a match or something generic like that. If you can add an underlying reason for why two guys really want to beat the fuck out of each other, that IMO is what makes people care about a feud.
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Wrestling is all about creating a conflict between two (or more) people and making us care enough about said conflict that we want to see a match where one guy wins and the other guy loses. Do this well enough and people will care. (Easy in practice, harder in execution is an accurate way of looking at it, but it's not rocket science either.)
Unpredictability, we have many feuds between big main eventers that are not getting the over because they are predictable.
We need to see something new, something that we didn't expect, we need to watch the match without knowing who the winner will be.
We need to see something new, something that we didn't expect, we need to watch the match without knowing who the winner will be.
Unpredictability (to an extent, when things stop making sense it's not good, looking at you Russo) and some substance, as said, instead of just random, generic feuds.
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The ones who are always the same, we talk and fight once, are bad imo. And then the other ones where everyone gets there and fight whenever and leave the talking and saying what are they going to do are the good ones imo
Logical unpredictably, originality, promos need to be good, and the wrestlers in the feud need to have good mic skills, or have a manager that has good mic skills, otherwise promos and/or interviews will be dull and make the storyline look boring. Good lengthy matches can also help, including gimmick matches.
Well simply put, I consider a storyline good if it entertains me and/or draws me in and makes me care. There are a ton of different variables that can be put into the equation of a storyline that can result into me enjoying them. I'll briefly attempt to explain everyone that pops into my head, even though this will mostly be redundant as pretty much everything has already been stated that I could.
Scale. Having the story feel grandiose is a great way to get me enthralled into the angle for obvious reasons that I won't bother to get into. I'm starting off with this because it's really just a personal preference that I'd rather have a big story than a small story but just being a bigger, more at stake angle doesn't guarantee quality so it's a nice lead in. The next thing that pops into my head is logic, it's needed for me no explanation required. Originality, which is very important though I'm not expecting a ton from a lot of feuds, just a little. Something to separate itself greatly from all the other feuds that have a similar baseline. Lack of originality will eventually cause me to resent a certain storyline and turn off the feud almost immediately because of it. The heel authority figure angle (and face to an extent, but those are far less frequent) are a pretty good example, outside of the figure himself, they really never play out any differently than you'd expect. I also can't get thrilled for those because they often just lead to very boring matches with the figure himself. Another one is unpredictability, swerves. However, this one ties right back into logic. I don't want the logic behind a swerve to be simply to swerve us. It has to make sense within the story, it has to make sense for the characters.
The people involved. As well written as a story is, if those portraying it can't due it justice then it just all falls apart. You can write the magnum opus of wrestling angles but if you place Hornswoggle and Khali as the two main players, it's going to suck. Side note, all stories should be written with the players in mind, rather than writing a story then figuring out who would work for it. But the people involved are perhaps the most important part of this. Consistency to an extent, although I feel each week should get better and better, so a build but the writing remains great. No filler, everything shown should have a point. Nothing should feel contrived. Some foreshadowing would be nice, not really essentially but it works. Some subtlety, some symbolism. I know it's wrestling, but still, this could be what separates it from bad. The story should serve some point, ties right back into no filler just an a bigger scale. Substance, no explanation required.
I think I said every component that makes up whether I'll consider a story good in a broad sense at least.
Scale. Having the story feel grandiose is a great way to get me enthralled into the angle for obvious reasons that I won't bother to get into. I'm starting off with this because it's really just a personal preference that I'd rather have a big story than a small story but just being a bigger, more at stake angle doesn't guarantee quality so it's a nice lead in. The next thing that pops into my head is logic, it's needed for me no explanation required. Originality, which is very important though I'm not expecting a ton from a lot of feuds, just a little. Something to separate itself greatly from all the other feuds that have a similar baseline. Lack of originality will eventually cause me to resent a certain storyline and turn off the feud almost immediately because of it. The heel authority figure angle (and face to an extent, but those are far less frequent) are a pretty good example, outside of the figure himself, they really never play out any differently than you'd expect. I also can't get thrilled for those because they often just lead to very boring matches with the figure himself. Another one is unpredictability, swerves. However, this one ties right back into logic. I don't want the logic behind a swerve to be simply to swerve us. It has to make sense within the story, it has to make sense for the characters.
The people involved. As well written as a story is, if those portraying it can't due it justice then it just all falls apart. You can write the magnum opus of wrestling angles but if you place Hornswoggle and Khali as the two main players, it's going to suck. Side note, all stories should be written with the players in mind, rather than writing a story then figuring out who would work for it. But the people involved are perhaps the most important part of this. Consistency to an extent, although I feel each week should get better and better, so a build but the writing remains great. No filler, everything shown should have a point. Nothing should feel contrived. Some foreshadowing would be nice, not really essentially but it works. Some subtlety, some symbolism. I know it's wrestling, but still, this could be what separates it from bad. The story should serve some point, ties right back into no filler just an a bigger scale. Substance, no explanation required.
I think I said every component that makes up whether I'll consider a story good in a broad sense at least.
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I'm literally going to steal Heyman's view on this as honestly he's the best mind this business has ever seen :
Here are the bad guys, you build them up build them up then the good guy comes in and let's fight.
All I need to know is who are these guys, why are they fighting and why should I care?
Here are the bad guys, you build them up build them up then the good guy comes in and let's fight.
All I need to know is who are these guys, why are they fighting and why should I care?
"All I need to know is who are these guys, why are they fighting and why should I care?"
I remember this Heyman quote, great stuff.
I remember this Heyman quote, great stuff.
I think it's all just opinions.
But if it has the potential to get a similar reaction with all fans, it could be good.
Not like, "This is such a bad storyline" but the opposite.
But if it has the potential to get a similar reaction with all fans, it could be good.
Not like, "This is such a bad storyline" but the opposite.
Dolph'sZiggler said:
After this post, they should close the thread, because it hit the nail on the head for me.