Do Spoilers Spoil the Show?

By Chad Smart
@ChadSmart on Twitter

As loyal readers know, I am not too fond of the current mainstream-wrestling product and have basically stopped watching Raw, Impact and Smackdown over the last two months. Though I am not watching the shows, I do read recaps of Raw and the spoilers for Impact and Smackdown after they finish taping. This gives me an idea of what’s on the show and I can gauge if there is anything on the shows I feel I should seek out or if I would be wasting two hours by watching the shows.

Over the last two weeks however I have had a slight change of opinion when it comes to spoilers. I read the Impact taping results and thought the shows read pretty bad. On the past two Thursday’s after getting home at night, with nothing else going on I ended up watching replays of Impact while I caught up on news on the web. To my surprise and pleasure, I was entertained by Impact and thought the shows had a better flow then the way it appeared on paper.

This may not be a major revelation, but words on papers and people actually acting out those words can be totally different. I’ve read several scripts that have been pretty flat but when performed by talented actors the material is elevated into something great. I’ve also read great scripts that became insufferable due to bad acting. I realize now wrestling spoilers are the same way.

Courtesy: WWE.com

When you read spoilers all you usually see is Wrestler A beat Wrestler B. Wrestler C came out and talked for 15 minutes. When you watch the show, you get (hopefully) a solid story told during the matches that in turns build interest in not only the match but also the wrestlers involved.  During a promo, you hope to see an intensity or solid character delivering lines that have an emotional connection to the fans. Fans want either someone they can get behind and cheer on to victory or someone they hate (in a good way) who they want to see get beaten. Take for example a possible Smackdown spoiler. (I’m using Smackdown because it has a clear cut World Title storyline in place) If you’ve been following the show and you read, Christian cuts a promo about wanting another shot at the World Title, first reaction would probably be, I saw that last week why do I want to watch it again? Then you watch the show and you see the emotion Christian conveys during the promo and you buy into the story of Christian being cheated out of a potential victory so you feel he deserves another shot. 

Due to my enjoyment of Impact over the last two weeks, I have decided for the next month to try and avoid spoilers and watch the shows without a preconceived opinion.  As I’ve mentioned recently, the build up to Destination X has been really good by TNA standards (I know, backhanded compliment) and they’re also building to the Impact on July 14. I like the idea of them building to specific Impacts. Just wish they’d reduce the number of pay per views.

What are your thoughts? Do you read spoilers? Do you think spoilers take excitement away from the show?

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