“We make movies.” – Vince McMahon (Beyond The Mat (1999)
The quote above is the now-famous line from WWE’s CEO over twenty years ago, and while Vince’s sentiment was understandable in terms of WWE’s theatrical storytelling, he has long tried to make that statement a literal one. With multiple (and mostly unsuccessful) attempts at wrestler led WWE Studios films, but in those instances, they were out of their depth and veered far away from their established style of storytelling. However, 21 years after Vince’s infamous “movies” line, his ultimate dream became a reality when his grand stage, WrestleMania, played host to the company’s greatest ever movie, featuring their greatest ever character, the Boneyard Match.
The Boneyard Match was the conclusion of a featured WWE storyline that saw the heel (antagonist), AJ Styles, personally attack The Undertaker’s family and ability at 50+ years of age. Due to the coronavirus, instead of putting on a traditional theatre-style performance in front of a live audience, they opted for a cinematic fight scene with all the classic tropes and filmmaking techniques. From the offset, the Boneyard Match establishes its setting just like a film, fading in and out of various shots of the haunting “boneyard,” expertly supported by the established theme song of The Undertaker. There’s then The Undertaker’s grand, action hero entrance as we see him riding his motorcycle to the boneyard with a bird’s eye view shot, supported by Metallica’s “Now That We’re Dead” song. So although the presentation is akin to a Hollywood film, unusual for WWE and its audiences at WrestleMania, it still successfully maintains familiar Undertaker components to keep audiences engaged.
Songs like “Now That We’re Dead” is another element of the Boneyard Match that creates this cinematic presentation, and successfully so. The music (or score) supporting a film narrative and guiding audiences' reactions is cinema 101, and just like any other major film, WWE incorporates this here throughout this story. From setting the eerie feel with Undertaker’s theme music, creating excitement with “Now That We’re Dead” and a ticking score that later reignites the audience anticipation when Undertaker has another obstacle in the form of multiple druids. Later on, during the slump of our protagonist, there’s a slow Joker Esq. supporting track to support Undertaker’s superb beaten and broken down facial expressions. The score effortlessly guides this story, like it should and would in any great “movie.”
Consistent dialogue throughout a match is also not a familiar sight, but in this instance, the lines were very much designed and executed like any great action flick. From Undertaker’s dialogue upon entering, challenging AJ to bring it, which is almost reminiscent of Stallone’s “Come and get it” line from Rocky V when he’s about to have a street fight with Tommy Gunn. On the other side of the coin, AJ’s early teases of “old man” to later pleading with ‘The Deadman’ by saying “Please don’t bury me” was all part of the classic good guy/bad guy storytelling, but with the consistent and smooth delivery from both AJ and Undertaker, it gave a fun filmy feel as opposed to being a classic wrestling match.
Still, despite the wonderful incorporation of traditional cinematic storytelling techniques, what makes the Boneyard Match so successful is it is still rooted in WWE’s core physical form of storytelling, which both characters are masters of. They’re talking to add to the film’s soundtrack, but it’s still the traditional choreographed wrestling fight that’s telling the story of the ups and downs of our hero. They’re “selling,” taking all the falls on cars and rooftops, and still connecting with strikes, rarely relying on cutaways like Hollywood blockbusters, and that’s evident in the presentation. Hell, Undertaker even bleeds for real by putting his own arm through a car window.
Plus, much like the WWE is, the Boneyard Match is an over the top mix of genres, from western to action to fantastical-horror, and it includes all the tropes one would expect from those genres. As discussed earlier, this is very much an action film, but the setting, Undertaker’s magical ability to create fire flames, and the eventual burial of Styles is all horror. And the finale, with our hero picking up his bandanna, placing it on his head, and riding off into the proverbial sunset with his motorcycle, is the modern equivalent of the cowboy riding off on his horse. It’s classical cinema but all wrapped up in WWE’s world.
Also, now, with the ability of hindsight, this proved to be a truly great and symbolic send-off for WWE’s longest-tenured star, The Undertaker. Almost all the symbols, even his literal one, of ‘The Deadman’s’ career come out here. His ‘American Badass’ character riding a motorcycle, ‘The Deadman’ rising from the dead and burying his opponent, and even the real Mark Calaway talking “smack” with a touch of humour at times. Although these symbols are showcased through this cinematic lens, they prove to be the link to creating this beautiful balance of film and WWE style storytelling.
In the end, this happenstance project proved to be, in many ways, the culmination of McMahon’s long dream. His beloved art form, most cherished character, and his dream of creating “movies” all came together in perfect harmony on his grandest stage, WrestleMania. So in so many ways, this is, without a doubt, the greatest WWE movie of them all.
Image courtesy of wwe.com
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