WWE: Top 3 Oscar-worthy performances
The professional wrestling industry has seen its fair share of campy segments, underwhelming reveals, under-explained supernatural elements as well as confusing commentary.
There have been outrageous segments on a level that defies beliefs. But everything has its faults, especially when the total number of episodes for each of the two major shows of the WWE TV programming is just too many to count.
The WWE is referred by many as a fake soap opera with no real substance. But like any other sport, it has a traditional heritage. For every bad segment, there is a good one as well. There are moments in history that are great sporting achievements. Snapshots of sheer brilliance. The nature of wrestling gives the fans an entertainment value on par with any sport.
In honour of those moments, I have created a list of three of the best moments where someone from the WWE deserved an Oscar nomination. I tried to limit the list to non-wrestling segments, and resist the urge to just rewrite this entire thing as a tribute to Paul Heyman's exquisite talent.
#3: The Undertaker rises from the dead to confront Kane, 1998.
The Brothers Of Destruction have come a long way, trading Paul Bearer back and forth, evolving as characters over almost two decades of domination. If there ever was a soap opera storyline in the WWE, it’s the Undertaker and Kane saga.
Though the in-ring action may not have backed up the storytelling the wacky, fun, outrageous nature of those stories made their program must-see television. But there was something about the story, perhaps the supernatural element and the ever-important “cool factor” kept people interested.
This particular event took place on RAW in 1998, a few weeks before the game-changing PPV, WrestleMania 14. The lighting, the sound, the look of arrogance on Paul Bearer’s face, that segment had it all.
The WWE shames other sports and entertainment entities when it comes to pulling off elaborate live theatrics such as this, and they usually involved the Undertaker. Are we going to mock that, but celebrate daytime soaps, where guys like these can teach acting classes to aspiring daytime stars?