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Writing for professional wrestling is as different to writing for film as writing film is to writing television. The two prominent American wrestling companies, WWE and TNA, produce not only weekly episodic television, like a sitcom, but also monthly pay-per-views, like film. The shows have to be exciting to watch, yet build to an apex every thirty days, one that satisfies one quesiton yet asks another. And writing dialogue in wrestling is more like writing theatre than either film or television; because it is performed in front of a live audience, many of the gestures have to be embellished, with only key moments of tenderness & subtlety stripped down to the nuance of a close-shot Hollywood tearjerker.
I've been critiquing wrestling storylines & programming since 1996 for outlets ranging from newsletters & terrestrial radio to print media. In 2005 I founded Celtic Pro Wrestling where I coached young aspiring wrestlers and ran monthly wrestling events in Dublin. I was proud of the results, and became a better writer for the experience.
Below are some recent examples of my work in the field of mainstream storyline analysis, which I've submitted on a casual basis to wrestling's top publication, The Wrestling Observer (WrestlingObserver.com) since leaving pro-wreslting in 2007.
Booker T's TNA Debut
December 2007
Wrestling superstar Booker T made his debut in TNA Wrestling in late 2007. Not only did the company neglect to promote his arrival in advance, but his very first appearance was handled in a way which marginalized his impact. This article re-writes Booker T's introduction to TNA, with the intent of not only creating the most interest possible, but also setting him up for the following 12 - 18 months of programming . (31,500 words, pdf formatting)
Jeff Jarrett's Return
June 2008
TNA Wrestling Kingpin Jeff Jarrett took two years off wrestling when his wife passed away in the summer of 2006. This article looks at, given his particular wrestling character that character's circumstances, Jarrett's return could be most effectively written. (17,000 words, pdf formatting)
Ric Flair 's Retirement
March, 2008
This article looks at how WWE wrote the storyline for Ric Flair's retirement, and the fundamental changes that should have been made in order to make it more effective.
(5500 words, MS Word formatting)
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
September 2008
An article looking at the problems with how the second of the trilogy of matches between Shawn Michaels & Chris Jericho was written as it pertains to maintaining and creating interest in their third and final encounter. (3000 words, pdf formatting)
