My Top 5 TV Storylines That Reflect Pro Wrestling. 

By Patrick O'malley.

Intro.

When you dig beneath the annals of time, Pro Wrestling has always taken inspiration from other form of media, like Music, and cinema, but TV has always been ahead of the curb, when it comes to mirroring things that have, ande would happen in the world of Pro Wrestling. Whilst I was compiling this list. I sat back and had to watch a load of old episodes of some of the most respected shows, that TV has ever seen. From Problematic Couples. bullying, and aspects of coersive control, these shows do have parralells with Pro Wrestling storylines, even if you don't see them on first viewing.

5 Spencer And Heidi The Hills/ Chyna And Eddie Guererro. Edge And Vicky Guererro.

If you take your minds back to the year 2000, your TV would act as an infested state when it came to relationships. There was the Dawson/Joey/Pacey love triangle, and Buffy was getting over Angel as season 4 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer saw Riley enter the scene, however if you watched the WWE at this point then youn had love story's to enjoy, through the eyes of cringe. HHH and Stephanie Mcmahon, were showing that affairs can start from anything, and Eddie Guererro and Chyna were becoming loves next dream. Both of these relationships happened at the same time. Both HHH and Guererro showed that Jealousy is an ugly form of illness. Six years later MTV would premiere The Hills, a reality show that was spawned from a hit teen reality show Laguna Beach, which for at least two seasons became a major hit. The Hills was considered quite Controversial at the time, due to it's need to highlight how complex adult relationships can be. The show was accused of creating coersive behaviour. I do think when looking back at the relationship of Heidi and Spencer you can see how these storylines can be seen as the same, on one hand you have Spencer, a self owned man who doesn't work, whilst on the other his partner brought home the money. This would cause tension and jealousy, and. this was the reason why Eddie Guererro and Chyna, would end there relationship, as HHH would get physical with Stephanie in september of 2000.

4. The Elite Bullying.

If you look at the dynamic of Kenny Omega, and. Hangman Adam Page, from 2020/2021, you can pick a TV Villain and liken them to The Elite. At this point Kenny was the self made succession man, but when you look at the heinous acts of The Elite. However bullying in Pro Wrestling has always taken shape from TV. When you look back at the eighties The A Team was the show that catered to the youth, and showed kids the meaning of right, and wrong. This would change as the times changed. 2021 AEW took influence from Squid Game, as the final stages of the rivalry played out. This never made it air. But the intention was clear.

3. Mr Burns/ Vince Mcmahon.

In the 1990's the days of the minacle boss, weren't just becoming a thing in your everyday life, you could watch storylines that reflect your own life when you come home. This is the exact way to look at the rise of The Simpsons main Villain Mr C Montgomery Burns, and. the WWE's main Villain Mr Mcmahon. These were the times that we were living in. The 1990's were a testing ground for what shows could get away on TV, and this was proven when both of these men did bad things, on one hand, one tried to block out the sun, whilst on the other, a man become Satan himself, in the form of a higher power, who got off on the suffering of others. The parables for these two came up at the same time.

2. The Days Of Attitude.

1996-1999 were seen as trying times for both the WWE, and. WCW, this would lead to a form of inivation, on one hand you had the WWE led by it's form of colourful characters, that wouldn't look out of place in a comic book, whilst on the other hand you had WCW, a company that had turned into renegades since the debut of The NWO. As the years went on, you could tell that a form of copying was going on, especially as 1999 rolled into it's last few months, and Vince Russo took the creative reign in Atlanta. A Hardcore title came in, and over sexualisation became the norm. This would be the main form of controversy in the late nineties.

1. The Bloodline/ Sons Of Anarchy.

Drama has always been the main point for imitaion, from SNL doing a Dawsons Creek segment, to The Simpsons mocking The O C. In 2020 the world was introduced to the vision of Roman Reigns as a heel, this would have it flaws, even though his Matches were well booked. In  July of 2022 Vince Mcmahon was forced to retire, under mounting pressure from his own board of directors, after it was alledged that he was using Company funds to disguise hush money payouts. He would eventually do just this thing, and his son in law took over the creative direction of the company. This would take shape within the coming weeks and months. Under the old regime. The Bloodline was seen as a clear route for success, as Romans grooming of his own family became must view TV. This is how I viewed Sons Of Anarchy, a show about a outlaw motorcycle club, the show would centre around the themes of warped love, and, respect, told through the eyes of it's VP Jax Teller. If I was a casting agent, you could easily cast Sami Zayn in the Jax roll, whilst. Roman would Clay Morrow, a man that took pleasure in the trying to hold on to his family at any cost. Both shows would repressent forms of gangland violence, and betrayal. This is what made The Bloodline, and. Sons Of Anarchy unmissable TV, when they were airing.

Overview Of This Piece.

I found writing this piece to be quite enlightening. I found myself going down quite a nasty rabbit thanks to google, and having many subscriptions to many TV streaming services. But when I hit a brick wall, I kept thinking what this must've meant to fans of these shows in there own lifes, because from being a by stander you feel involved in the reality of fiction, as a way of escaping your day to day mondainity. And if this teaches you something about yourself that you don't like, then surely it's all been worth it, because you've seeked help, and bettered yourself in the long run.