WWE's Addition of Realistic Injury Finishes Is a Great Move

In a span of two days last week, the WWE gave us not one, but two very realistic injury finishes in two major matches.

Yes, the so-called “fake” world of wrestling turned very real—or at least appeared that way—when Dolph Ziggler lost his World title to Alberto Del Rio via a kick to the head at WWE Payback, just a week after returning from a serious legitimate concussion.

The next night on Raw, Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan ended in a no-contest when—whether it was scripted or not (and yes, there are fans who believe both)—Bryan suffered a stinger and was unable to finish the bout. 

In a WWE where we’ve seen matches end with a wrestler getting ducktaped to the ring post, it’s been rather surprising to see the company’s shift in mentality: going from obviously scripted endings to very realistic ones.

It’s a very smart move, too.

If you look back at some of the biggest success stories throughout the history of the WWE, most of those stories had some sort of element of realism to them. 

The Rock vs. John Cena was such a highly-anticipated match and feud because, whether it actually was or not, it seemed like those two genuinely disliked each other. 

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin became arguably the biggest star in wrestling history because he was largely being himself rather than playing a TV character. 

CM Punk rose to the top of the WWE in 2011 in large part because he dropped a “pipebomb” that summer that completely blurred the line between what is real and what is scripted.

That’s what great storylines do. They blur the line between the real world and the scripted world of the WWE.

Now, that realism is being brought to matches, too, and it’s certainly a wise move by the WWE.

One of the most infuriating things about pro wrestling is what at times amounts to a total lack of realism. For example, it’s a joke to think that Rey Mysterio would ever have a real shot at beating Big Show in a fight, just like it’s dumb to think that Hornswoggle was actually running Raw for a year.

But when pro wrestling blends fiction with reality, what results is usually very entertaining. 

The WWE did that at Payback when Del Rio targeted Ziggler’s head with most of his attacks. Coming off a legitimate concussion, Ziggler’s head is his Achilles’ heel right now, and ADR targeted it with absolute precision. 

Now, that’s something that actually makes sense in a pro wrestling world where most things usually don’t.

Wouldn’t you expect someone who was fighting for a championship to target his opponent’s biggest weakness? If this were MMA, wouldn’t a fighter go after his opponent’s jaw if he knew it was weak? 

Things are no different in the WWE. Even though everyone knows it’s scripted, we can forget that in instances like these when a real-life situation plays into a major storyline.

That’s what the WWE is doing with Ziggler vs. Del Rio, and even if Bryan’s injury on last week’s Raw was legitimate, that’s what the WWE is doing with Orton vs. Bryan, too. 

The match between those two finished in a no-contest after Bryan appeared to be seriously hurt, and though it ultimately ended up being just a stinger, the finish wound up working out brilliantly. 

Bryan is on this kick right now where he believes that everyone around him—mainly Kane and Orton—thinks he’s the weak link, so his goal every night is to prove that that isn’t the case. 

The no-contest finish (whether scripted or not, which I don’t think it was) only added more fuel to Bryan’s fire—which is already blazing hot. 

It’s that realism surrounding the finishes to Bryan vs. Orton and Ziggler vs. Del Rio that have made these stories work. Hell, Ziggler turned babyface because of the finish to his Payback match while Bryan is somehow getting even more over because of the finish to his. 

If realism is what’s going to make matches mean more than they would without it, then realism is what many of WWE’s matches should get. 

If the fans think it’s real and the wrestlers make it look real, then that will accomplish one major goal that every match should strive for: generating real reactions.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!