Rapid camera cuts in pro wrestling have become almost a staple of WWE programming. Usually with every step, every word, every strike the camera angle changes in the production truck.
A lot of this has been attributed to Vince McMahon’s right hand man, Kevin Dunn. For the most part – fans would rather this direction style be left in the past. However, it turns out Dunn is not the reason for the rapid camera cuts – at least not at first.
Former WWE Vice President Mike Mansury claims that the camera cuts aren’t a result of Dunn – but actually The Shield. While speaking on AdFreeShows.com The Insiders, Mansury discussed how the cuts became a staple of the stable’s chaotic beatdowns:
“I will say that the rapid camera cutting, to my recollection Conrad, that came into play when the Shield debuted. And the whole purpose was, because there’s the movement in the camera, ‘ready 3, ready 4,’ going back between all the angles, the initial design behind that initial style of shooting was to make what you were seeing on-screen for the three characters of The Shield, and just the push they were getting at the time, just to make it seem all that more chaotic.
And at the time, it worked. I can see now how after so many years of doing it, a lot of viewers feel like they’re on a pretty queasy-induced thrill ride. But that was the intent behind it initially, and yeah, you’re right 100%, a lot of it is to also done to protect the magic, right? You don’t want to expose the business. A big part of the business is how it’s presented on TV, and if you’re exposing the magic, you’re killing it for everybody. So that’s the approach right there, but the rapid camera cut situation, it was born out of just creating an exciting and chaotic feel for when The Shield were doing those 3-on-1, 3-on-2 beatdowns very early in their run.”
Mike Mansury on The Insiders
Some fans may not like to hear it but it appears Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose may be the reason for those rapid cuts fans hate so much, not Kevin Dunn. A very interesting bit of insight into a part of programming we don’t hear much about in the wrestling industry.
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.
Follow us on Twitter: @BodyslamNet
