Either for or against it, AI has the world in a rear-naked choke that seems particularly hard to break. Industry after industry is either terrified or tempted by the siren call of artificial intelligence as a way to improve their products and workflow or as a way to cut hard-working people out of their jobs. Hollywood entertainment Unions fought tooth and nail to keep the technology out but could AI in professional wrestling happen?
Most wrestlers are not in an Actors Guild, and WWE, in particular, has a contentious history with union movements. Some of the ways in which AI could enter the squared circle border are bizarre but others might be a welcome change.
In what will (hopefully) be a series dedicated to the questions around AI and wrestling, the first post is possibly the most lofty on the AI-enhanced wishlist. What if we didn’t need wrestlers anymore? What if talent was computer generated, and wrestling on TV was all being directed and performed by an AI and a couple of programmers?
It isn’t totally out of bounds to think something like that could happen. The Fox competition “Alter Ego” made AI avatars into pop singers, and the technology has grown considerably since then. With AI growing in its use, the fate of that show may be a thing of the past.
Born to Battle in The Ring
Wrestling, on its face, is about opposing characters battling for some reason. The rationale can be revenge or pride, really any real emotions that would pit two people against one another. The art form is the true story of combat in all of its forms but fictionalized to avoid serious injury.
Humans have been fighting for centuries. It is unlikely that will change. Although people don’t claim to love violence, we watch it for sport.
People have difficulty grappling with the reality that real men and women can and do get hurt in sports or sports entertainment; now, enter AI.
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We fear for the safety of wrestlers or athletes, partly because they are human. Somebody’s father or sister is putting their health on the line for us to let out this deep-seated need to watch the violence we all are too nervous to perform ourselves. AI technology can theoretically take the guilt out of combat by ensuring two avatars, not people, square up.
AI can generate voices, dialogue, scenes, and full-body avatars with movement. Producers and engineers could write up all the elements of a wrestling show into code to be brought to life by an AI program if it had enough content to train from. It could create brand new shows and corresponding stars for the industry without any people at risk of injury.
Bringing Dream Matches to Life With AI
The potential of AI is often said to be constrained by humanity’s imagination. As that applies to professional wrestling, fans’ imaginations almost universally turn to dream matches: Undertaker vs. Sting, Roman Reigns vs. Bruno Sammartino, Eddie Guerrero vs. Dominik Mysterio (his biological son, by some accounts), just to name a few.
Every era has had its stars. Sadly, most of those stars never get to share the ring and, when they do, it isn’t in their prime. In situations like Ultimate Warrior vs. Big E, neither wrestler is able to compete, which almost makes it better than the alternative. Matches like Shawn Michaels vs. Will Osprey, with both men in their prime, could be the greatest match of all time.
AI could make that a reality.
Instead of creating brand new shows, titles, and rosters, an established entity could use AI to create a Once-in-a-Lifetime match or even an entire card of them. Promotions like WWE or NJPW have the back catalog and the depth of lore to make great use of something like this. The event could market itself as a tournament of sorts.
They can promise a group of performers who have never met in our world to battle for supremacy within an entirely AI-constructed world. The arena can change to match the style and feel of the different eras. We would be seeing stars from decades past under the bright lights of a modern stadium wrestling show.
Likewise, we could see living legends fight during wrestling humble origins. In those cases, their physical presence is the only way to get over.
AI in Professional Wrestling Alongside Real Stars
While AI in professional wrestling could create new shows and even new superstars, does it have a place in the current product? Well, AI can and has been used to enhance video content in the past. As a creative tool, AI can make graphics for individual characters on the spot using colors and imagery that are relevant to the superstar.
This capability can make entrances and even backstage promos feel hyper-relevant to the show fans are watching at home. Imagine if, when Jey Uso got “Yeet” of all things over the first time, every graphic associated with Jey was able to capitalize on that?
This could let fans see their feedback on the show almost instantly. In doing that, the writers would almost certainly enhance the characters to match the audience.
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AI could now get some use with an algorithm to gauge and review crowd reactions and change stories or promos on the spot. More than once, a wrestling fan has seen a talent bomb. Maybe they are nervous, or the story isn’t over with the live crowd.
Production’s ability to use AI to change direction instantly based on those factors could be a real game changer. For one thing, it can help inexperienced talents get back on track if the crown rebels. That alone would make it a vital tool.
Second and most importantly, it would let the creative team pivot with fans quickly based on reception in the arena or even on social media. It would let creative teams for televised wrestling harness the power of the people.
Can AI in Professional Wrestling Really Work on Television?
The big question is whether any of this can work, and the answer is probably not. It certainly won’t work right now. AI can’t capture the emotions of the performers, and it may never.
The fact that they are real people doing truly incredible things is absolutely part of the appeal of the in-ring side of the business. As a novelty, once or twice, a significant promotion could try and create dream matches but best of luck giving it live up to fans’ expectations. In the best-case scenario, it would look like a WWE 2K24 match.
The worst case could be so much worse. Its use in real-time shows is also somewhat suspect. Significantly, changing an entire story on the spot will affect a lot of other people.
Also, AI isn’t perfect, as the internet has shown countless times. If “Yeet” came out as “Jeey” or some other combination of the slogan and its star, it would actually ruin the moment and be hard to fix right away. AI may still have a use in wrestling but it’s not ready for prime-time television.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
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