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So What Are They Doing Right?

“What is wrong with pro wrestling?”

This seems to be a popular question these days among fans of professional wrestling. Declining ratings, smaller live audiences, and a perceived weaker talent pool have the fans scratching their heads and longing for the “good ol’ days” of 1998 when the WCW and WWF were battling for Monday night supremacy and ECW was an irresistible wild card that developed one of the most loyal followings in wrestling history.

But with all of the focus on what is going wrong in our beloved “sport,” one must ask what’s going right? Rather than focus on the negatives when it would oh so easy to do so, I have chosen to take a different road and talk about what is right. Here are a few of my thoughts on what is right in professional wrestling.

Talent: The WWE has the most talented workers in the history of pro wrestling, bar none. The only problem with this pool of talent is the writing. The fact is that many of these wrestlers have never headlined a pay-per-view. And they have not worked with wrestlers that are superior to them in terms of experience and talent. Take Jamal & Rosie for example. As The Island Boys in the HWA, they were a dominant tag team. But they were facing the likes of Matt Stryker and the Cody Hawk. While these guys are all great wrestlers, even they will admit that they are no Triple H. But that is the level that Jamal & Rosie have now been placed. In addition, some former “mid-card” workers are now being asked to perform at the Main Event level for the first time in their careers. Bubba Dudley and RVD come to mind. Headlining for ECW in front of 5,000 fans is a far cry from being in the Main Event for 15,000 people. Any worker will tell you that. But this is what these guys live for and it seems that they are up to the challenge. It will just take time fro some of them to develop at the level they are being asked to perform. And it will take time for them to work well together. The brand extension forced some tag teams to separate, thus the members of the team became singles wrestlers. History shows that usually only one member of the team will go on to bigger singles success. It will take time for the talent to gel and the writers to find the right storyline for each worker, and when that happens- look out!

Brock Lesnar: Many fans have complained that Lesnar does not deserve the WWE Undisputed Championship because he has not yet “paid his dues” in the business. Well, I have news for those people- “dues” have not been paid by many people for years in this business. For modern fans (80’s to present), we all remember the push that Nikita Koloff received. What we didn’t know then was that when he debuted, he had exactly zero professional matches under his belt. In an interview on the Wrestling Guys radio show (Wednesdays at 6pm on AM 910 WPFB), Koloff said he had little training and no time on the indy circuit when he made his debut with the NWA. Lex Luger is another wrestler that comes to mind. The list is long. But aside from an outstanding amateur background, Lesnar possesses the size and ability that makes the non-wrestling fan stop and say “Who is that guy?” And that is what wrestling needs right now. He also has a much larger audience for which he performs compared to the 80’s when wrestling was much more regional. Vince McMahon would be making a big mistake if he didn’t put the strap on Lesnar while he is hot. Timing is everything in this business. And Lesnar came along at a time when the biggest names in the WWE started unexpectedly disappearing. Steve Austin quit, Kevin Nash suffers an injury, and The Rock has to go make a movie. Had all of this happened before the brand extension, both RAW and Smackdown would look very different today and maybe Lesnar doesn’t hold the belt. But for now he does, and I think the WWE would be wise keep Lesnar a focal point of the company until the business catches up.

Smackdown: Without a doubt the biggest beneficiary of the brand extension has been the Smackdown show. It has been the overall better show as of late, and the roster has really stepped up to the challenge of carrying the company.

Vince McMahon: Love him or hate him, the company’s biggest asset is Vinnie Mac. Yes, he is perhaps the most creative marketing wizard to ever grace the business. Yes, he has been called every name in the book by fans, wrestlers, and promoters alike and yes he probably deserved it most of the time. But he is also smart enough to know that the business runs in cycles. The unprecedented popularity of the past 5 or 6 years that culminated in the purchase of WCW was bound to be followed by a drop. McMahon knew that and warned everyone about it, saying they had to keep the focus on getting better and competing with themselves. He is also smart enough to know that the product is not very good right now. Vince knows that even though his biggest competition has gone out of business, the fans will just stop watching the product. You need look no further than the ratings to figure that out. And the only way to get them back is to get people talking about the WWE again. And if anyone knows how to do that, it is Vincent McMahon, Jr.

Everyone has their own opinions about the state of pro wrestling, but I have seen more than one down cycle in the business and it always comes back. This time will be no exception, just be patient.

Until next time….I’m Cam, I’m “The Man”, and I’ll see you at ringside!

Past Columns:

September 14, 2002 - Mainstream Media Folied Again!