By Ciaran James@TheCiaranJames
We’ve now entered the era of the 5’10 wrestler, extremely talented but severely lacking character. As TV content declines the masses instinctively look for an alternative, this naturally assisted the resurgence of Independent Wrestling and the recent interest in NJPW. In the last decade the work rate within the entire wrestling industry has improved, and with that a flow of Junior Heavyweight sized wrestlers have emerged and grabbed the spotlight. There is no denying the skill set the new wave of wrestlers possess, inspired by CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Samoa Joe there is now an acceptance of any size, look and shape. This has led to a wonderful array of talent and matches, so much so that WWE built a development territory called NXT to house them all, the success of NXT has inspired even more. There is an opinion between fan and industry insiders that NXT is superior to RAW & SDLive, and arguably it is. The product exhibits an old school booking philosophy, a slow build and pay off, this works fine until the talent move to the main roster and it all falls apart.
The debate as to why the talent from NXT fails on the main roster is long, there are many opinions. When you look at the talent that has been promoted, the list is short of who has had long term success. There is the idea that Vince McMahon has lost his way, when you’re in an industry for decades doing the same job day after day surely you lose focus? Does Vince know how to use Andrade Almas, AOP, Sami Zayn, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, the answer is scary. Audiences who turn away or grow disillusioned with WWE look to the management, bookers, writers and others to cast blame, but could the fault lie with the wrestlers themselves, for all the talent they possess where is the OTT characters from yesteryear? Steve Austin, Rock, Mankind and Hogan all gained success with their larger than life characters that fans could invest in, in 2018 which one character stands out above the rest? Enzo Amore love or hate him had it, he was larger than life and he grabbed your attention from the get go, aside from that who in WWE steals the spotlight week after week and makes you come back every Monday and Tuesday. The current standout performer who seems to have the x-factor is Velveteen Dream, from in ring skill to acting, the man seems to have it all.
As well as being able to wrestle numerous styles, Dream is a throwback to the characters of old, Gorgeous George, Superstar Graham, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, Dream has traits from all those superstars. Dream has already been touted as being the next big thing, with some saying he could even rival the Rock’s success in the company. The Dream is yet to achieve superstardom, however in a short space of time he has eclipsed many of his NXT peers and stolen the show on numerous occasions. As well as Dream, the Elite consisting of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks have manged to get themselves over as huge wrestling celebrities despite not having the once desired look. As good as they are in the ring, it was also their social skills that got them over huge via their vignettes and YouTube series. One idea as to why the current era of wrestler’s lack character is WWE itself, for the last decade the company has done a wonderful job of fully exposing the business and more than ever promoting it as “we play characters on TV’ show, they have fully detached themselves from being a pro wrestling company. Everything is scripted, everything.
WWE opened its doors and pulled back the curtains, now when a wrestler tweets from their account it could be real or make believe, we aren’t quite sure. Blurring the lines has diluted the business, most fans now relish the opportunity to befriend a wrestler on social media or in person, the aura of the business has evaporated. Tommaso Ciampa is the most recent example of a wrestler taking his role seriously, Ciampa wants to be hated, he wants to be vilified, and his use of social media has been extraordinary to watch. I would also like to give credit to a wrestler local to myself, Elijah, the Dragon Pro Academy graduate also plays a heel, his social media account is completely character based and I applaud him for it. Most of the current crop of talent recently signed by WWE or coming through have witnessed the business according to how WWE have set it, therefore to see a lack of characters should not be that surprising. I attend several different promotions all with 100 miles of one another, I see a vast array of talent and characters good and bad, however what always seems to stump me is the lack of x-factor. It’s that which leads me to the question about who is to blame for character deflation, the bookers and promoters or the talent themselves.
Some believe we are in a wrestling boom period, but step back and take a look at the whole picture, it’s more like a corporate takeover. The only boom right now is WWE related, TV deals, UK division, major events in Saudi Arabia and Australia, WWE’s moves of late are more like chess moves, inspired to crush rebellion. WOS has dusted off and looks to debut within the next few weeks, with a decent roster and access to more UK TV screens than WWE the future for NXTUK may not be so rosy after all. Another crushing blow to WWE was the joint announcement of the NJPW/ROH Super show at Madison Square Garden, taking place on the eve of WrestleMania opposite TakeOver, this was sure to ruffle the feathers of the McMahons’ after initially blocking ROH’s first attempt. Sinclair Broadcasting have deep pockets and big friends, even going back as far as last summer, they made WWE wait on the contracts of Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reily and Adam Cole. What will be interesting is what WWE do between now and then, Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega are prize possessions, talent that both ROH & NJPW will want to keep hold of heading into WrestleMania weekend in 2019. WWE are sure to bite back, but like always let’s hope that wrestling wins out.
