SEEDS OF DOUBT, By Damian Slater

If you ask any Pro Wrestling fan about the storyline that has gripped them the most over the past few years, I dare say a majority would be throwing their single digits up to the sky and talking about ‘The Bloodline.’ While there’s definitely some valid criticism that could be made for some of the booking along the way, as they say “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish” and there’s no denying that the biggest chapter finished with a bang.

So what made it so enthralling for so many? To me when I look at a lot of the most exciting angles across all of Professional Wrestling I keep coming back to the same phrase – ‘seeds of doubt.’

For Cody Rhodes, he had the double whammy. Those following every kayfabe movement of the story had seen that all of the potential ‘chosen ones’ – Sami Zayn, Drew McIntyre, Jey Uso, even Cody himself – had stumbled when it was almost certain that they were destined to win. Then the armchair bookers who were paying more attention to the behind-the-scenes were touting conspiracies about Roman Reigns reaching record numbers, The Rock going into business for himself, even an irrational hatred from the company towards Dusty Rhodes.

Fans were fighting over which champion would be the best for the company’s growth and future storylines. Not since Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash in 1998 had I seen this sort of deliberation and doubt (and for the record, seeing my school mates argue about the eventual winner of that Starrcade ’98 match was what spiked my curiosity for Pro Wrestling). Even at Wrestlemania XL when it was almost a given that Cody Rhodes would win the title, there was still that little lingering feeling that maybe they were going to hold off for another year.

Doubt is one of the most powerful tools in great storytelling. Can the babyface overcome the obstacle that has been thrown their way – a dominant opponent… an injured limb… power in numbers? You don’t even need a multi-billion dollar company backing you with buzz words and weekly hype videos. If you can apply seeds of doubt to all of your matches and all of your angles, you are well on your way to creating drama-fuelled Pro Wrestling.

As far as I’m concerned, that’s the best kind.