WWE Demonstrates Excellent Storytelling with Golden Truth Angle

Crazy as it sounds, the Golden Truth angle is WWE's best-told story. No, seriously.

One of the most intriguing online narratives right now is whether Captain America: Civil War is a love story, as the protagonist goes to great lengths to protect his best friend.

The same can be said about the budding bromance between R-Truth and Goldust, as WWE has taken its time in forming its oddest pairing. This storyline dates back to January 2016, with Goldust pandering to R-Truth in what initially looked like a bad ripoff of the memorable Booker T-Goldust vignettes.

Yet WWE soldiered on and continues to do so.

Prior to their re-debut as Golden Truth, WWE aired a video package featuring all the highlights that led to their big night.

First, Goldust courted R-Truth. Then R-Truth courted Goldust. Then the two auditioned as a team to negative results. Then the two opted to seek other tag team partners. Now they're finally together as a willing tandem.

As fans chanted "Golden Truth," it was obvious that WWE's hard work with two of its elder statesmen was paying off.

Then they lost.

The loss suffered by Golden Truth to the more unheralded Breezedango showed maturity in storytelling, as WWE prolonged the payoff for the sake of reality.

Since pro wrestling is scripted, it's common to see WWE Superstars win their debut matches or their first matches back from injury. This feeds a basic, feel-good narrative, but how realistic is it?

There's ring rust and countless adjustments to make before somebody returns to form. The UFC has countless examples of stars either losing their return bouts or looking outright rusty.

The most recent example came during Jon Jones' much-anticipated return to the Octagon last month against Ovince Saint Preux. Despite coasting to victory, the usually confident Jones was not at all pleased with his performance.

In Jones' post-fight interview, transcribed by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com, Jones said, "I was watching, imagining, anticipating techniques—knowing when techniques would have landed, but just not going for it ... Physically, I felt amazing. Mentally, I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm sucking. This isn't good.'"

Similar to a return bout, when it comes to pairing for the first time, two partners need to develop in-ring chemistry before racking up wins.

In losing its debut match, WWE is writing yet another chapter in the Golden Truth saga. The two now need to learn to work together before fans are treated with an elusive win from the likable duo. If this chemistry manifests itself with R-Truth showing up in a golden bodysuit next week on Raw, so be it.

Despite deft storytelling, the Internet Wrestling Community is trained to hate this type of angle. Too much comedy, too much silliness and not enough history of wrestling for Ring of Honor.

Hardcore wrestling fans are overly predictable (read: boring) in their tastes. They tend to skew toward the wrestling aspect of WWE rather than entertainment, especially in instances of cheesy bromances like The Golden Truth.

But listen to the crowd.

With an entire origin story behind them, the casual fans—the ones who matter—were into this angle. During a backstage segment after the match, R-Truth proclaimed the fans wanted The Golden Truth, and they responded with cheers.

What began as an ill-fated courtship has become an embryonic tag team, and it could develop into one of the most feel-good underdog stories in WWE. The subplot of R-Truth and Goldust representing the old guard in the New Era also adds a dimension of realism.

Believe it or not, The Golden Truth is not only working, but also this storyline arc could end with a championship.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.