10 Common Wrestling Tropes Every Fan Knows About

The top tropes in wrestling are commonly recurring themes that come up quite consistently throughout the years. All these twists, turns and general storytelling devices are things fans are used to if they’ve watched wrestling for at least a short time. Wrestling promotions still try to hope it will surprise the viewer or keep them guessing despite most viewers already being used to it.

We will look at the tropes wrestling fans have more than become used to throughout the years. The chances are you’ll see all these things within a few months of watching WWE television. Not all are bad, but they no longer provide the same level of shock once you’re used to them. Find out just which ones still exist today with ten common wrestling tropes every fan knows about.

10 Heel Authority Figures Hold Down Fan Favorites

Vince McMahon created a trope during his first stint as an on-air character in the Attitude Era. Here, Mr. McMahon (the authority figure) would attempt to hold down Steve Austin (the fan-favorite) as they embarked on an iconic feud together.

WWE would see the authority figure become a trope. Names like Eric Bischoff, Paul Heyman, Stephanie McMahon and Vickie Guerrero among others would have similar roles on the show. Face wrestlers tried to overcome them with the stories essentially all remaining the same.

9 Weddings Always Go Poorly

The storyline of a wedding taking place in wrestling usually means something is going to end up poorly. Jake Roberts and The Undertaker attacking Randy Savage at his wedding with Miss Elizabeth after they opened a gift with a snake inside started it off hot.

Weddings like the ones between Stephanie McMahon and Test, Edge and Lita, and Brooke Hogan and Bully Ray all ended in horrible fashion for the couple. The trope will see the happy couple enter a world of pain through physical or emotional means with the angle playing out.

8 Face Tag Teams Have A "Hot Tag" Late In Their Match

Longer tag team matches often have the same formula that does work if it’s done right. The heels will almost always work over one of the two wrestlers for a solid portion of the match. One fresh face will wait patiently to get his chance for revenge as the heels prevent the tag a few times.

Upon finally making the “hot tag," the fresh wrestler will have an exciting comeback picking up the speed and gaining control of the match. Old matches like Legion of Doom vs Money Inc. and recent bouts like The Revival vs DIY show how effective and timeless the trope can be.

7 Heel Foreign Characters

One trope that wrestling should probably try ditching is the concept of the foreign heel character. Most (in)famously Hulk Hogan often faced off against anti-American heels in the 80s and early 90s. WWE continued going back to that style of character even in recent years with Rusev and Jinder Mahal.

The branding of WWE showcases the current importance of having an international presence, proven by the WWE’s modern diverse roster. There have been positive signs like Ali playing a face character, but the recent push of Mahal as the anti-American heel shows that it’s still too recent.

6 Wrestlers Hide In The Battle Royales

Battle royales often provide the fun aspect of fans viewing multiple names as having a realistic chance to win it all. There are a few different tropes involved in the battle royales like a surprise entrant coming out in the last spot or heels working together before turning on each other.

However, the most common trope features one wrestler hiding outside of the ring or sometimes even under it. That performer will resurface later in the match to either steal the victory or pull off the win. The most memorable instance of this was Santino returning in the 2011 Royal Rumble match before Alberto Del Rio eliminated him to confirm the win.

5 Using The Spanish Announcers' Table For Carnage

The history of WWE has shown that the Spanish announcers table is not the safest place ringside. WWE used to have one English and Spanish table each in the Attitude Era. Given the placement of Vince McMahon at the English table, wrestlers would use the Spanish team’s table for damage.

It became a running gag where commentators like Jerry Lawler or Taz would have fun calling the action. Countless WWE stars have put other wrestlers through the Spanish announcers table leaving the team to call the rest of the show without a monitor or table.

4 The Loser Leaves Town Matches

The idea of the loser leaves town match adds importance since the loser is forced to leave the promotion forever in the storyline. That rarely happens, as the trope makes it clear a wrestler either leaving the company for good or to recover from an injury will lose that kind of match.

WWE would never refuse to talk to someone important about coming back just because they lost. Jeff Hardy returned many years after losing one to CM Punk and no one cared about the stipulation since it wasn’t relevant when he was leaving.

3 Referees Get Knocked Out When Interference Is Ready

Wrestling matches have shown that the timing of a referee getting knocked out or taken out of action happens to coincide with important moments of a match. A referee never gets knocked out with rest holds taking place during the official’s time unable to officiate.

The trope will see other wrestlers enter the ring to interfere or one of the combatants trying to cheat with a weapon or some other shady tactic. Referees getting taken out of commission essentially guarantees that something big is going to happen. Fans even start standing up to look out for the interference when it happens.

2 Kicking Out Of Finishers In Big Matches

Finishing moves are often protected for big stars when facing off in casual matches. Kofi Kingston was not going to kick out of Brock Lesnar’s F5 during the Smackdown episode since it was a show on television rather than a massive PPV bout.

Wrestlers often do kick out of each other’s finishers with it becoming more often in recent years. However, the trope is that it only happens on PPVs in important main events. Roman Reigns kicked out of five F5 finishers from Brock at WrestleMania 34 before finally taking the loss.

1 Heels Insult The Local Sports Teams

Cheap heat is the easiest way for a wrestler to get hate from the fans as a heel. The most popular tactic to achieve this is for the heels to go out of their way to insult the local sports teams. Villainous wrestlers have done this for decades, and it works perfectly like a hateful charm.

Elias and Kevin Owens most recently had a memorable moment when Elias made fun of Seattle for losing the SuperSonics basketball team. The fans reacted with loud boos that lasted minutes before the heels were able to speak again. Until the audience stops reacting as such, this trope will live on forever in professional wrestling.

NEXT: 5 Wrestling Heels Turned That Failed Dramatically (And 5 That Succeeded)