Thought of the Day: A Little Dab’ll Do Ya
Today we’re looking at the most important thing you can have going into a match.That thing is doubt. Let’s look at the most famous wrestler of all time: Hulk Hogan.
Here’s the Hogan formula in a nutshell: a monster beats a bunch of jobbers and then a midcard guy, then he says he wants Hogan. This sets up a big showdown in a major arena with the fans buying tickets because this conversation was taking place in school cafeterias all over the country:
“Studd can beat anybody.”
“He can’t beat Hogan……can he?”
“Man I don’t know. We have to go to the show!”
Then Hogan would lose the first big match by countout or DQ. The fans would be stunned because there was no way Hogan could lose and then there would be a rematch where Hogan would win. A third match was needed to break the tie and you have three months of big house shows for the feud. The key to the whole thing is doubt. As soon as the fans say “can he?” there’s a reason to buy a ticket, because you have to see if Hogan can pull it off one more time.
The same is true for every big match. You have someone you want to see win, but in a good story there’s a reason to believe they can’t do it. You can buy it on PPV or watch it on TV or if you’re lucky actually go to the show, but you have to see if your guy can pull it off. That’s the key to storytelling and making you want to see the match
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That was the key to Daniel Bryan’s rise to the top at WrestleMania XXX. Even though it was the most obvious ending since Austin at XIV, he faced such a hard road to the title(two matches in one night? It’s rare to find someone that can do two good matches in a row) that there was doubt about whenever or not he could pull it off.