 |
The Work Of WrestlingAuthor: Tim Kail
Professional wrestling is an art. The Work of Wrestling is dedicated to exploring that simple truth. Produced & hosted by Tim Kail. Language: en-us Genres: Arts, Performing Arts, Sports Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
I Will Not Talk About Backstage Segments For One Year
Tuesday, 16 December, 2025
I've talked about my hatred of backstage segments for twenty years (ten of those on my podcast). They look terrible, they elicit terrible performances, and they are conceptually dubious. Over the past decade I've attempted myriad ways to dissect them and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt they're an antiquated, character-killing device that does nothing but get wrestlers "under". I've talked and written so much about them that it's become something of an inside joke with my listeners (that and Seth Rollins' pants). At this point, my listeners know I despise back stage segments, they know exactly why, and any new listeners will eventually get around to hearing me lament their existence. And that's why I'm going to try something new in 2026. I am not going to talk or write about backstage segments at all, for one year. My reason for doing this is threefold 1) as I already outlined, my listeners don't need to hear me describe why I hate them for the thousandth time 2) just thinking about them makes me angry 3) it will be a challenge to ignore them, a new gimmick for me to figure out in 2026. As is often the case, whenever RAW does anything slightly different my interest gets piqued and I think, "Maybe they're finally changing." That was my reaction to Gunther's awesome opening segment on last night's RAW. After saying he made John Cena "tap like a little bitch" he strode into the backstage and the camera followed him. He stopped to talk with a few wrestlers and Adam Pearce before driving away into the night. It was great, exactly the sort of little tweak to the blocking and filming of such segments that I've been looking for. More of that, please, WWE! Coming out of everything that happened in John Cena's last match, I think fans are missing a subtle yet significant shift in the overall perspective of WWE. Michael Cole was quick to say (in a clearly prepared line) after Cena tapped, "Professional wrestling just destroyed Sports Entertainment". Can you imagine such a phase being uttered ten years ago? Absolutely not. I've been critical of Paul Lavesque's booking this past year, but this incremental shift away from Sports Entertainment toward professional wrestling is masterful. The phrase "professional wrestling" was used consistently on RAW in stark contrast to the past twenty years. It's as if the on-screen death of John Cena's entire gimmick has nudged the company into a new era where the fundamental concept of Sports Entertainment is being done away with. One subtle way to visually signify this shift is in the camera following Gunther to the back; a new era needs to look and behave differently or else it means nothing. We'll see if Paul Lavesque continues this to the point where it becomes a trend. It takes commitment, though. Furthermore, it takes commitment to something most wrestling fans don't give a shit about. There are times it feels like I'm the only critic and fan beating the drum of improved camerawork. For it to happen, Lavesque has to want it too, simply for its own sake, because he believes better camerawork signifies a better program. I'd argue that improved camerawork and more realistic backstage segments would gradually work on viewers, though, giving the overall experience of weekly WWE TV a more respectable, prestige vibe in alignment with the company's goals. I don't hold out much hope, as there were still traditional backstage segments on last night's episode of RAW. But I perceive a philosophical shift in the company that deserves to be celebrated. A renewed perspective on the future of the company, injecting new life into the proceedings, the ideals of pro-wrestling as a physical contest, a place where good and evil battle for supremacy. Even if backstage segments don't disappear entirely, it would be nice to see WWE integrate new camerawork and peaks behind the curtain in the style of WWE Unreal on its weekly broadcasts. Regardless, this is the last time, for one full year, that I'm going to write or talk about backstage segments. Doing so will make me a happier, healthier person and, hopefully, a better art critic. Given that this is the last time for a full calendar year, permit me to outline, once again, why they need to go: Conceptually, backstage segments represent a paradox. The subjects in backstage segments perform as if the cameras are not there. This raises the following question: if the cameras aren't there, how are we, the audience, seeing it? This very simple question reveals the conceptual house of cards that is backstage segments. Merely poking the concept sends it fluttering into a mess of debris. There is no narrative, ideological foundation for backstage segments. The wrestlers should either act knowing the cameras are there or the way the segments are filmed should be different (i.e. the camera crew would function like a documentary crew filming characters with their foreknowledge of their presence). No one gives a good performance in backstage segments in the scripted era. The blocking is awkward (wrestlers filling the scene from off camera, the camera moving backward to accommodate everyone in the shot), stuffed with characters in a bland, waist-high shot as wrestlers strain to get out their scripted lines of dialogue. It's nearly impossible to make such scenes feel authentic. They watch like bad SNL skits or scenes in pornographic films that take place pre-coitus. Visually, they're junk, doused in red or blue lights, taking place in nondescript offices, impromptu walls covered in adverts, the viewer's eye given no place to settle. They worked in 1999 with a less sophisticated television viewer and when wrestlers weren't shackled to their scripts. In 2025 they are conceptually and visually at odds with the rest of WWE's production, a largely sleek, modern-looking sporting event. And I must mention all of this also applies to AEW. For reasons I cannot fathom they produce backstage segments in the exact same way as WWE and it kills me. It will take time to indoctrinate WWE fans to a new style of backstage segment, a form of storytelling I'd rather label "The Backstage World". It may take even more time for WWE's directors, writers, producers, and camera people to adapt to a new style. But I think that work is entirely worth it. Consider a conceptually and visually consistent WWE that does not fluctuate wildly in quality from one scene to the next, the sort of television show you're not embarrassed to watch. I long for that version of WWE. I'm at peace with the fact that I may never get it. At the very least, I've said and written my peice for the past decade. It's time for me to hang up this constructive criticism and move on to something new.
