Why WWE Entrance Videos Suck

Entrance videos used to be one of the most defining aspects of the initial impressions of a wrestling character. Along with their entrance music, having a good entrance video could make or break a character in the eyes of the fans, especially the casual ones.

WWE’s current version of entrance videos is just an animated version of the wrestlers’ name, and while the tone and feel of that animation can give hints to their character, it’s not quite enough.

I know I sound like ‘old man yells at cloud’ right now, but entrance videos even going back six or seven years ago had clips of the wrestler hitting their big moves and posing spliced between the graphics of their name, and those clips are the defining factor of what helped sell the character in the eyes of the fans. And it’s so important to sell a character to an audience before you even lay eyes on them.

Just from the way weekly TV shows work, you’re not going to see the big spots, highlights, and epic promos from every wrestler every week, so fans who are seeing a wrestler for the first time get to see the best of what that wrestler can do in a snappy video package that fits the tone of that wrestler.

From a personal standpoint, as someone who wasn’t into wrestling when Nexus debuted back in 2010, I can remember the one thing that really sold me on them when I did get around to watching them wasn’t a promo or the music, it was their entrance video.

A video that happened to feature Justin Gabriel hitting a 450 Splash to which I responded “oh cool, that’s like that move I used to put on all the wrestlers I made in Here Comes The Pain”. That was the one thing that hooked me into the Nexus. You can even see it here.

But what is there to hook new fans into wrestlers nowadays on their entrance video? ‘Oh look it says Bayley in some flashy text. I guess they’re called Bayley.’ But they know nothing of her character, motivations, or what a great wrestler she is.

And for a company like WWE, who rely on those casual fans to succeed, engaging them in any way they can is absolutely crucial.

And I promise this isn’t just me taking my own experiences and assuming everyone is the same, because just think of some of the classic entrance videos there have been in the past. Goldust’s ‘Shattered Dreams Productions’ taking up the screen, DX’s entrance video that overlaid them making their actual entrance, I could go on.

These videos sold an audience on the wrestlers, and not just from the live crowd, but the audience watching from home. They’re an integral part of the presentation of a wrestler that have been removed entirely.

So put those clips of their big moves and character facial expressions back in the entrance videos!

Hell, even fanmade entrance videos on YouTube used to be all the rage because people liked them so much! Fans genuinely enjoy watching them and in combination with a great piece of entrance music, they can absolutely make a wrestler.

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• Entrance Videos
• Pete Quinnell
• wrestletalk
• wwe

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