Samoa Joe: Bending Believability 

How did you start following professional wrestling? Maybe it was already a recreational activity in your household, perhaps it was fashionable when you were in school, or possibly you could have gravitated towards the car-crash like television being offered.

At what point did you realise you became a pro-wrestling fanatic? It could have been when you stuck numerous posters of Superstars across your bedroom wall, when you grew angry over every decision that went against your favourite wrestler, or when you found yourself bobbing your head to an awesome theme song.

Finally, Why do you keep watching it even though it is 'fake'? The answer is simple. You can't stop.

These are grown men who still enjoy this form of entertainment, why?

Wrestling aficionados are asked those above questions least one point in their lives, as professional wrestling is not an ordinary part of entertainment in terms of the way it functions.

Many brand it fake, while others label it as a children's show that adults should not be getting emotional over. Except to the millions who make the time in their hectic schedule for three-hour episodes of wrestling, it's still very real to them.

Why is that the predicament though? This is a type of question where you don't need me to give you the answer to, because you already know the reason. The wacky world of professional wrestling can make a person despise a wrestler who is just playing a character and it can reduce a grown man to tears when that despised character retires.

This is a world where anything is conceivable and everything conceivable can happen at once, as there is one element that allows these situations to occur in a world where everyone knows it can't.

That my friends is the power of your believability. Now, I know believability and professional wrestling are two things that can't be used in the same sentence, but they can't be separated at the same time.

Where else will anyone witness a six foot ten athlete craft a legendary career playing a 'Deadman'? It sounds ridiculous, it should not be achievable in any period in history, yet it is possible.

Now, maybe this is too shallow to anyone outside the wrestling culture, but to the die die-traditions of wrestling fans, this 'deadman' is the most respected grappler that stepped foot inside the squared circle.

This gimmick feels really right about now.

"Believability lends credibility" is a quote from Garrison Wynn might be the safest way to aptly describe this phenomenon, as it is only due to the people who make up the wrestling fanbase of any promotion, can these larger than life characters feel alive. Throughout history, there have been countless wrestlers that have required audiences to suspend their disbelief for the gimmick of their character to actually operate.

Pro-wrestling legends such as The Undertaker, Kane, and Mankind are a few examples of fans buying into what WWE was feeding them. No matter how far-fetched these veterans' backstories sounded, the audiences were ready to believe in these mega-stars' narratives all in the name of entertainment.

However, the modern era of wrestling has seen gimmicks from the 80s or 90s receive no more confidence from the wrestling masses all over the world. That is due to the age of social media, reality television, and the general practicality of the world forcing companies to change their approach when building their rosters.

We hardly see wrestlers being marketed as nonsensical TV characters that emerged form unrealistic walks of life, instead, they are being promoted as real-life fighters. These are people that are building a career out of winning matches, obtaining championships, and main eventing the highest selling pay-per-views.

Landscapes change, but only the knowledgable evolve.

The wrestling industry has constantly been about keeping backstage business separate from the narratives being told in the ring, but the enthusiasts demanding a pragmatic approach from bookers has seen promotions craft unique narratives. These are stories that are created in the hopes of bending your believability, as the ultimate goal is to make you question what you are witnessing.

Is it a work, or shoot? That is the most asked question in wrestling today, as fans can't seem to tell the difference between what is created for television and what was meant to stay behind closed doors. More and more wrestling promotions are keen on walking the blurred line when formulating their programmes for television, which is a risky business, but bookers realise they can't obtain success with taking risks.

Therefore, throughout history, there have been wrestlers that have blurred this line to perfection, while others did the polar opposite when trying to get clever with the audience. So, if there is one superstar in WWE today that is a master of this genre that his name has to be Samoa Joe.

In case you forgot who the real Samoa Joe is, let me refresh your memory, this is a man that walks the talk, he says what he is going to do, and nine out of ten times he does it. However, nowadays it's troublesome for fans to take Joe's words as a certainty because WWE has not been competent enough to capitalize on a once in a lifetime talent such as the Samoan submission machine.

Nevertheless, Joe is still regarded as a man that can bend the thin reality of kayfabe in his favour. Conviction, resentment, and pure condemnation are the words that be used to describe the verbal assault Samoa Joe dishes on his opponent when he is on the mic.

Moreover, that intensity allows him to give audiences the illusion that the promises in his threats are not empty. As it is those promises that give the audience a stern outlook on the authenticity of a character.

Joe never uses sticks and stones to break his opponent.

For audiences to believe the authenticity of what a professional wrestler is feeding them every time they pick up a mic, the stakes of the situation need to be realistic. That is why Joe continuously keeps his side of the story as plausible as possible, which in turn allows you to hang on to every single word that comes out of his mouth.

Just take a glimpse at any of the most compelling segments Samoa Joe has managed to craft in Vince McMahon's company, you will observe a man that takes the subtle nuances in a situation and exploits it to his advantage. This allows his actions that follow feel believable enough to occur in real time, which is a masterful move Joe has done numerous times throughout his career.

Whether it was calmly whispering in Paul Heyman's ear about his client's future when Joe met Brock Lesnar in their championship match, or even throwing AJ Styles off his game by utilising his greatness weakness ie. his love for his family, Joe always plays mind games in the subtlest ways, as he chooses to use these complex details most would overlook to craft a convincing narrative.

That type of intricate character work from a wrestler that is not afraid to dive deep in the psychology of the story he is striving to sell makes enthusiasts of a product that is deemed fraudulent feel authentic.

At the end of the day, wrestling might never get the respect it deserves from the general public, but when you witness stars like Samoa Joe have even the hardest critics second-guessing, it's enough to validate Joe's reliability as a plausible mic worker.

As this is a man that lends credibility to the believability.