In short, Shayna acting fearful of a gimmick which will cease to exist in the near future does nothing but damage her.
No doubt, a year from now, the show will have moved on from this horror movie fest- with Alexa Bliss having reverted back to her normal self magic on Raw once more being confounded to the dreams of Vince McMahon, at least until he decides to bring Vladimir Kozlov back to play a six-armed warlock of the sea. After all, this is the company that booked Seth Rollins to gouge out the eye of Rey Mysterio, only for Rey to magically regrow it later – no explanation given. However, WWE’s inconsistency with its storytelling completely undermines this. Within the universe of the show, the magic probably exists it is canonical within Raw’s lore. She is being made to openly fear something which we all know is make-believe.
Not only is the “magic” overexposed, but Baszler is completely de-legitimized by its usage.
It actually leads to many accusing Raw of being shockingly bad television. Meaning that, for WWE viewers who often follow all three of its “A” shows, the difference between Raw and the other two is staggering most weeks.
Both shows offer pro wrestling as a sport, rather than a fictional, horror movie-inspired drama. Also, the use of magic on Raw is overexposed by the lack of magic in NXT and SmackDown. Quite simply, everything is too glossy the grit is gone and the “magic” is exposed. Entrances in the WWE have recently moved on from 4K cameras to 8K. Now, the WWE has a significant majority of its audience able to access the internet with the touch of a cellphone screen. Additionally, high-definition viewing was a fair way away, meaning that the “magic” was shrouded in protection by the lesser visual quality of the time. There was a time in the 1980s, and even the 1990s, when magic in wrestling could be made to work the smoke and mirrors translating well to an audience who had not yet gained access to the internet.
We recently published an article on why magic does not work in 21st century professional wrestling and it must be referred to here. Shayna Baszler is currently being booked to fear Alexa Bliss, or rather, the seemingly supernatural mystique of Alexa Bliss and her demon doll of death, Lilly. De-legitimizing Shayna Baszler Helps No One The current omnipotent and magical character of Alexa Bliss continues to prove problematic. It is also causing terminal damage to a character who is being completely mishandled on Raw.
Therefore, one might accept Baszler’s pediophobia as a perfectly normal and legitimate situation. Or even the more recent Anabelle, which has no doubt caused a sleepless night or two for thousands of would-be adult viewers of the hit horror movie anthology. Who wasn’t fearful of Chucky or Goosebumps’ Slappy during their youth? If you were, then you, yourself, have experienced elements of pediophobia. A legitimate phobia which proves problematic to many, with the phobia typically bringing on bouts of intense anxiety breathing difficulties sweating and more. What is pediophobia, you might ask? Per, pediophobia is the “fear of dolls”. Where do we begin? Shayna Baszler, resident bad*ss of Raw former two-time NXT Women’s Champion and one-time domineer of the Elimination Chamber match-up is apparently pediophobic.