Josh Barnett isn’t a big fan of opening the curtains to wrestling fans with WWE: Unreal.
Former UFC fighter Josh Barnett was a recent guest on The Ariel Helwani Show. When asked if he’s a fan of the new WWE: Unreal show on Netflix, Barnett said he hates it and explained why he believes doing a show like this is a mistake.
“I absolutely hate it,” Josh Barnett said. “I think it has no place in the business. Because I understand where it comes from, and I understand the rationale behind it in this day and age, the way media is, the way it’s constructed, the way the stories are told, and how we package everything, from the beginning to the end, from the front-facing to the behind the scenes.
“And we package everything, and everything is displayed to everyone all the time now. But I am 100% team kayfabe. I view it like nobody wants to go to an illusionist show to be told how the trick goes; they just want to see the trick. They want to be amazed. They want to try and sit there and argue with everybody about how it was done and contemplate, you know, was that a real elephant, or any of those sorts of things to get those questions going.
Barnett believes wrestling fans won’t enjoy things the same way after this show
“Whether they be negative, positive, or anywhere in between. Because as long as the talking is happening, it’s good. And by keeping people always wanting to know, it’s good. If you expose it all before the show happens, they’ll enjoy it, perhaps, but not in the same way. And it’s the difference between the way I look at wrestling. If you just do a bunch of really cool spots and athletic moments, people will cheer for it, but it will not have the impact that the match that is all emotion and story-driven will.”
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What do you make of Josh Barnett’s comments? Do you believe a show like WWE: Unreal could do potential harm to the brand long-term? Let us know your overall thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit Ariel Helwani with a link to this article for the transcription.
