Narm/Professional Wrestling: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

You can't write the sort of [[Narm]] that happens in [[Professional Wrestling]]. Okay, [[Kayfabe|you can]], but nobody really ''tries'' to do it intentionally. Unless you're [[Vince Russo]].

* Any bit that gets put into the [[Botchamania]] series becomes narm material by default.

* Sid Vicious was supposed to be a towering menace, but during his offtime, he's more interested in playing softball than pro wrestling. Also, he challenged Brian Pillman to a shootfight once, and after getting his ass kicked by Pillman he left, deciding to come back and try again with a ''weapon'' this time! The weapon he found and decided to use was a squeegee (yes, a squeegee). When he walked back into the bar brandishing the squeegee and challenging Pillman again, he was reportedly laughed out of the place. Don't forget that on a ''live'' WWF PPV, Sid asked for a retake when he screwed up his promo, and [[Jim Ross]] told him that they're live. And then there's the persistent rumor that he actually crapped his trunks during his ''[[Wrestlemania]] 13'' match with [[The Undertaker]]. Given the fact that The 'Taker had to hoist Sid's rear end towards his own face several times during the climax of that match to execute the Tombstone Piledriver, this brings new meaning to the scowl Taker has on his face throughout the match. And every waking moment since.

* Just about any promo (''[[Professional Wrestling/Memes|HUH?]]'') cut by [[Scott Steiner]] (''HUH?''), when he's supposed (''HUH?'') to be intimidating. (''HUH?'')

** "I'M HUNGRY!"

** Blame Ric Flair (well... his pre-TNA self) being simply one of a kind; it's essentially reviving WCW's "Lil' Naitch," except wasting one of the young TNA 'legends' instead of a ref.

* The 9-16-10 episode of Impact was host to perhaps Abyss' most ludicrous moment of narm to date, in which he abducted someone, presumably TNA backstage personnel, and proceeded to bring them to a torture chamber for the purpose of conducting various non-PG activities. In a scene more akin to something you'd expect to see in a ''Saw'' flick rather than professional wrestling, Abyss branded the date 10-10-10 onto the exposed abdomen of his captive. That this was filmed by a cameraman, who did nothing to intervene, and furthermore, shown on TV, to announcers who had little to no reaction whatsoever, not only makes suspension of disbelief impossible, but is also hilarious.

** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHAnESNhwd8 Except by] [[The Spoony Experiment|Spoony]].

* From the recent "THEY are coming" storyline rehash, there's the scene of Crimson "murdering" Abyss by hitting him in the back with Janice, followed by Abyss falling over after stumbling onto the ramp, with Crimson standing behind him, grinning like a horror movie villain. Sadly, the grin, Crimson's ridiculous faux-spiky hairdo, and his odd head-tilt ruined any attempt to take the scene seriously.

** I choose to blame the whole integration of Chucky into WCW in the first place; as someone else said on TV Tropes, the worst part about that storyline wasn't this, but that before the reveal, the build-up and hype by unexplained off-screen laughter... they could have gone ''anywhere'' with it.

* [[Goldberg]]'s catch phrase in WCW was "Who's Next?", which was simple and effective. After one match, though, Gene Okerland was interviewing Goldberg.

'''Goldberg''': "No... the question isn't 'who's left'... it's... 'WHO'S NEXT?'!" }}

* Announcer Tony Schiavone was a physical manifestation of this trope.

* [[Hulk Hogan]]'s promos for the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHSM-rIov8k "Yapapi Indian Strap Match"] might not have been out of place in the 1980s, but they were filmed in the year 2000.

** And given the fact that they took place in front of a patriotically raised, North-American audience, Hogan's insistence on making it sound like he was promoting an "Apple-Pie, Indian strap match" can only be wondered at. God knows what the audience made of the imagery of [[Ric Flair]]'s skin 'bubbling' from the strapping he would supposedly receive. We've all seen the texture of those McDonald's pies.

 

 

== WWE ==

** A hilarious moment of audience narm was brought by a Providence, Rhode Island crowd at Backlash 2009. After [[Triple H]] was given an RKO by [[Randy Orton]] followed by a punt kick, he was shown as unable to get up and was taken out on a stretcher all the while the crowd sang "na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye."

*** Speaking of the limo-bomb, how about Paul London's ridiculously cheesy grin during the hallway segment?

*** But then again, the Northeastern United States - particularly, from Philadelphia, PA to New York City - is home of the most hardcore fans/smarks in the entire professional wrestling world. It would be more of a shock if these crowds ''didn't'' create Narms.

** The best part was that Lesnar and Goldberg likely thought they could get away with phoning the match in, as they were both leaving the company the following week. Boy were they wrong! You really had to see it on PPV or in person for the full impact, as the crowd was edited in the DVD version.

** At least if you watch it with the English audio track. The chants are retained on the Spanish audio track.

*** In all fairness to Kev, you can see him grasping his leg as he enters the ring so chances were it was already in bad shape before the tear... though why with a bad leg you would go for a ''big boot'' as your first offense is beyond this troper.

**** In fact, he looks to be in pain from the moment he stepped over the top rope(raising the leg tugs on that muscle). This is then exacerbated by the torquing he did after the Big Boot. After which, he mis-stepped a little, and all 300+ pounds went crushing down on the muscle. Narm, if only because Shawn's speech included: [[Hilarious in Hindsight|"Triple H! What you see here is your future!"]] (It was in the past that he tore his left quad in 2001, but in the future that he tore his right one in 2007). Credit to the rest for breaking the match into a brawl to cover.

** On a related note, at the 2005 ''Royal Rumble'', [[Vince McMahon]] tore ''both'' quads stepping into the ring after both Batista and John Cena were simultaneously eliminated.

* [[Hulk Hogan]] vs. [[Shawn Michaels]]. You just have to feel sorry for HBK on this one. Hogan played [[Executive Meddling|a creative control equivalent of a royal flush]], meaning he was to win their match. The only thing Michaels could do was [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyN5sAShqOA ridiculously oversell] every bit of offense Hogan put up. The hilarity is unbound.

*** Lashley soon realized this and went into MMA, where he doesn't have to talk and can actually kick ass.

**** And then he went to [[TNA]], where he's had promo time every week and only one actual match.

**** And in MMA, he (or his management) instead gets a reputation for dodging anyone who would be an actual challenge/threat and ''isn't'' the champion (i.e. Alistair Overeem, Strikeforce heavyweight champion) or Fedor Emelianenko.

* The Great Khali once won the World Heavyweight Championship. That itself is not Narm, though. The following night on SmackDown, there was a big celebration in the ring for him, with many native Indian folk dancing, singing and celebrating with the big man. And there were a good number of shots of his face, in which he looked ''legitimately happy''. This still isn't the Narm, though. The Narm came when Dave Batista stormed out to the ring, scared away all the dancers and attacked Khali. Nothing says [[Hero Ball|heroic]] [[Designated Hero|face]] like trashing another guy's victory celebration. [[Moral Dissonance|Batista's a jerk!]]

** In the same vein, the segment where the Great Khali brings Big Show out and gives him various "peace offerings," including a ''goat,'' and basically doesn't do a single heelish thing despite being the heel. Big Show, conversely, abruptly ends the segment by punching Khali in the face and walking off.

*** Perfectly consistent with the above, making him the gigantic homeland [[Face]] and Batista and Big Show (and I figure any of Khali's enemies) to be the [[Eagle Land|arrogant, big and rude (whathaveyou) American]] [[Jerkass|bullies]]. If anything, it sounds like Khali's face turn on RAW was supposed to finally synchronize the two versions of him.

* WWE babyface Dave Batista is pretty much a Narm Fuel Station Attendant. From the "That's my title, and come Sunday, I'm taking it back" line that became hilarious through repetition (and Batista's constant failure to back up the threat) to his infamous "[[Professional Wrestling/Memes|Basketballs don't hold grudges]]" comeback, the big man is a great source of unintentional hilarity.

** As of mid-March 2010 turning heel cured him of the Narm...

* The 9/18/09 episode of ''SmackDown!'' contained a moment of Narm so perfectly emblematic of the trope that it's hard to believe it wasn't actually intentional. In response to general manager Teddy Long's nefarious actions in cheating [[The Undertaker]] out of the world title at the Breaking Point PPV prior to the episode, the Undertaker impersonated a limo driver and abducted Teddy Long in a jaw-droppingly stupid scene. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qesTV_U8zg8 See it here.] From the Undertaker's hilarious one liner, [http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/SGTenshinhan/T-LoSurprise.jpg to T-Lo's ridiculously exaggerated expression of surprise], to the incredibly cheesy special effects that kick in as Teddy struggles to free himself, I dare you not to laugh.

** [[Fleeting Demographic Rule|A very similar incident ten years earlier]] was another instance of narm. During [[The Undertaker]]'s [[Ministry of Darkness]] days when he was stalking [[Stephanie McMahon]], he impersonated a limo driver as Stephanie was chased into the limo by members of his Ministry. When she told him to go, he turned around, revealing who he was, and saying "Where to Stephanie!? Ahahahaha!!" as Stephanie screamed.

** "I came here for one reason - [[Writers Cannot Do Math|to attack and keep comin']], not to ask but just to give, not to want but just to send-the send the power of the Warrior down everybody's throat in the WWF 'till they become sick of it- well, you're gonna get sick of it, 'cause this freak of nature is just beginning to swell, and when I get big enough, brother, there ain't gonna be any room for anybody else 'cept me and all the Warriors, floatin' through the VEINS, and the POWER of the WARRIORRRRRR..."

* How about Jack Swagger bursting into the room of [[Rey Mysterio, Jr.|Rey Mysterio Jr]] and away dragging him away with an ankle lock, Rey was screaming out in pain and Jack had this manic grin on his face, this was still within the range of decent until Jack Swagger dragged him backwards through a curtain, you just got this image of a creepy pedophile dragging away someone who "looks like a freaking twelve year old" who's trying to crawl away from his abuser, hey, who said Narm had to be light and fluffy laughs.

* The infamous "Pillman's Got A Gun!" Moment: [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]], feuding with his onetime ally Brian Pillman, breaks into Pillman's house (observed by cameras). Meanwhile, Pillman, his wife and his friends, and announcer Kevin Kelly are all lying in wait for Austin, who beats up all of Pillman's cronies. Pillman then produces a Glock and claims he will "blast his sorry ass straight to hell" as Kevin Kelly screams "Pillman's got a gun!" At this point the cameras "cut out" until we rejoin the action with Austin unsurprisingly not dead. Pillman drops an F-Bomb on live TV as Austin gets pulled away. The vignette was so widely panned that the WWF and Pillman publicly apologized. Basically everyone involved realized how preposterous it was to have a scripted fighting show where guns could be involved.

* The 11-15-10 episode of Raw had a promo of [[John Cena]]'s decision as the special guest referee in the [[Randy Orton]] vs. [[Wade Barrett]] title match. To gather the effect perfectly, the AM Raw was better to watch. The promo was cut directly from a Piper's Pit that ended with [[John Cena]] basically no-selling an RKO, and then FUing both Orton and Barret. The promo itself was shots from Cena's career. However a more recent shot showed Cena hunched depressed in the corner of the ring and almost looked to be ''crying''. One could simply picture Barret standing behind him screaming "''Cry, Cena! CRY!!''" It then ends with a shot of Cena leaving the building. It's mostly ridiculous because it may be the first ever title match to be more about the referee than either of the two competitors.

*** I always figured she was in shock.

* After ''[[Wrestlemania]] 22'', Vince decided to get back at [[Shawn Michaels]] by booking him and [[Shane McMahon]] against Michaels and "God" at the next PPV (Backlash 2006). You see, Michaels had been a born-again Christian for several years and Vince decided to go after that in their feud. It was kinda stupid and tasteless to some, but one moment was very Narmtastic. A vignette during the feud had Vince and Shane visiting a church and doing a bunch of sacrilegious things. One moment, though, had Vince taking a palmful of holy water then saying to Shane "Who am I?". He then sipped the water, looked up and spat it in the air like [[Triple H]] does with his water bottle during his entrance. Even the harshest critics of the angle though that was entertaining even though it was intended as an act of sacrilege.

* The video games also have the potential for some potent narm, such as in one game, adding [[Jerry Lawler]]'s entrance music to Val Venis' Titantron.

* While [[The Miz]] promo at [[Wrestlemania]] 27 is pretty damn awesome, chronicling his days on ''[[The Real World]]'' then rising to the top of the WWE, his entrance was not. It showed him busting through an ''AWESOME'' sign made of what seems to be styrofoam. The thing looked like a prop from ''[[Pee-wee's Playhouse|Pee Wees Playhouse]]''.

* The opening music to the ''Tough Enough'' revival, which sounds less than suited to a pro wrestling show.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37jA7R_sCqw WWE Over The Limit 2011's promo] which feels more like a commercial for Viagra more than a PPV.

** The commentators refer to it as the "ultimate humiliation".

*** Perhaps the narmiest thing about Cody's otherwise brilliant persona is that the commentators cannot seem to decide whether Cody is delusional about his facial injuries or if he has actually been rendered ugly. You would think the transparent protective mask would aid in such a judgment call.

** The narm continues: following the attack on [[Randy Orton]] on the 10/10/11 ''Raw'' he taunts, "Would you like a receipt with that paper bag?"

*** Everything [[Cody Rhodes]] says makes him sound like he's sedated. He's supposed to sound crazy, but he sounds more like a talking goat in an earthquake.

* Pretty much everything [[Ron Killings|R-Truth]] says or does since his heel turn. That weird "shitting his pants" expression he always has or beating [[John Morrison]] to the point of [[Overly Long Gag]].

** He then insulted [[The Miz]], [[Rey Mysterio, Jr.|Rey Mysterio Jr]], and [[Alberto Del Rio]] by calling them Kermit, Bottlenose, and Liverlips respectively. He then referred to [[John Cena]] as "lily white."

** Also during his recent rampage against [[John Cena]] merchandise, he stormed away from the table of shirts and other things and comes across a concession stand. He then violently attacked...[http://i.imgur.com/52cyr.gif a pyramid of empty soda cups] featuring [[John Cena]] on them. He then turned and saw a poster with a giant soda cup on it, groaned angrily and stomped away.

** On the June 13, 2011, R-Truth referred to the Titantron as "the Triton."

** No doubt hurt by the fact that due to the PG rating, that kind of limited what she could do in terms of movement, dance in general tending to be suggestive (For the record, she can dance, she choreographed a lot of the routines for her college dance squad.) She does tend to repeat the same few steps over and over.

* [[Michael Cole]], presumably taking the TV-PG rating into account, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC8L9NIpZ5w&t=4m55s draws a great deal of dramatic impact when saying to Alex Riley:]

** And then he still can't help but crack a smile during the line, as though he were a little kid on the playground who'd just learned a new swear word and wanted ''desperately'' to try it out.

** I would think the grinning part comes from the fact that Cole was on the verge of corpsing due to unintentionally stalling on calling Riley a bastard.

** From that same edition, there's also [[John Cena|John Cena's]] angry face to the camera after being forced to watch Kane basically destroy his best bud [[Zack Ryder]].

* The 10/24/11 episode of ''Raw'' ends with Laurinaitis giving [[John Cena]] the opportunity to pick any partner he wanted for his upcoming tag team match against [[The Miz]] and [[Ron Killings|R-Truth]] at [[Survivor Series]]. After building it up for a few moments, Cena announces, "I choose my partner to be... [[Dwayne Johnson|THE ROCK]]!!" - at which point the cameras get a great close-up of the line of dribble hanging off his lip.

* On the topic of [[Wrestlemania]] 28, the [[Triple H]] vs [[The Undertaker]] match in Hell In A Cell, while an excellent and emotional match, had its moments. One such moment was when 'Taker kicked out of a [[Finishing Move|Pedigree]] that was chained from a Sweet Chin Music from guest referee [[Shawn Michaels]]: HBK sells it by dancing in circles like a lunatic around the ring. Another was when 'Taker sat up after that as Hunter prepared to hit him with a sledgehammer again ([[Holy Shit Quotient|it was that sort of match]]): Hunter sells it by dropping to the canvas in fright like he got kicked in the face. A little bit later, Hunter kicks out of his first [[Finishing Move|Tombstone Piledriver]] of the night again, that sort of match): the camera zooms in to 'Taker, hoping to get a priceless shot of his surprised face like when HBK did the same at their [[Wrestlemania]] 25 match, and instead gets a view of 'Taker with drool hanging out of his mouth.