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“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” -Mark Twain
As we grow, we *should* look at things differently. Ask an 18 year old me about life and the 45 year old me about many things, and you’ll get very different answers. Child raising, politics, religious beliefs, business, or what matters in music are just the start of things that I’ve made different choices than that young idealist who’d spent his entire life to that point being supported by someone else, and had lived in an area that could be traveled in a 90 minute drive.
Life offers many forks in our roads when it comes to decision-making. We can stick with our past or try a new way. The problem can be when we always choose to stick with what we think we know, or always choose the new perspective. We have to think at each choice, and those choices create perspective.
To give my perspective, I became a wrestling fan at 11 years old. My father couldn’t stand pro wrestling, and with one television in the house with no cable, it was hard to do. But when staying at grandma’s house, she had cable and wasn’t as stingy with the television. There was also a second black and white television that could pick up WCW Worldwide at 10:35 p.m. on Saturday nights. I discovered Sting, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Dustin Rhodes, and “Stunning” Steve Austin. I was in high school for the NWO and Attitude Era. I was working my first full time job when Vince McMahon purchased my beloved WCW, and was parenting in the John Cena era. I also grew up reading comic books as another passion of mine.
The timing of it all will change my perspective. I’ve heard debates here at this very news source of PWTorch about Sting not being a true draw in wrestling, where I see him as my “Hulk Hogan.” He was the one that captivated me as a hero at a young age. At the same time, getting into it a little older, I also liked the bad guys. “Ravishing” Rick Rude was my favorite. He was the trash-talker who was not pushed around. He had cool friends and a blonde bombshell on his arm. His manager was a little sleazy back then. Kind of still is, but Paul Heyman is the greatest part of professional wrestling in my lifetime.
In looking back from then to now, the way I watch the show is very different.
Wrestling is a Comic Book Universe
As previously mentioned, I also grew up reading comic books. Into my 20s and 30s, I read them regularly. Not every comic that appealed to me when I was a child appealed to me as a teenager. You meet other fans who make recommendations that opens new worlds to you. I could not have appreciated “Watchmen” (nor should I have been) at six years old. I didn’t understand what deconstruction was, or understand how Rorschach could only think in absolutes or how Dr Manhattan was representative of God.
When I was young, simple was great. Spider-Man or Superman overcame the odds and saved the world each issue. Those were important to hook a young audience. While those were important, so was “Watchmen” and “Dark Knight Returns,” serving an older audience who had grown past wanting a simple story. For ones who grew up on Hulk Hogan, Sting, and John Cena, we grow up. A business has to make a choice. Do they keep only serving the fans who grew up on these heroes, or keep using heroes to attract the next generation.
What happened in comics were different formats and sister publishers. These were still comic book superhero stories, but separated by universes. Even different publishers beyond Marvel and DC would make independent comic books, that major corporate owned publishers would not take the risk on, but cherry-picked the best ideas as well as artists and writers with the standout work.
In a universe, you’d have different rules and characters. Many publishers had more than one top character. Batman and Superman coexisted in the same universe in their own stories, but would on occasion interact. This was how a fan of one property would learn about other characters and become fans. Occasionally, these worlds would interact. The infinite earths in DC, or even a DC vs. Marvel crossover. Each company and creator would have to make sure their individual characters weren’t being undermined in a crossover and ensure and ending that could keep everyone strong.
So why is it that finishers are kicked out of and matches always go longer in AEW than what we see in WWE? It’s a different universe. Why can you be hit with chairshots and barbed wire bats, but the thing that ends that match is a frog splash from the top rope? That’s how it works in that universe. In a perfect world, the WWE brand split was like having different pockets in a comic universe that only intact as often as a publisher-wide crossover would take place.
It’s also incredibly hard to create a new character in comics that people buy. Once you’re iconic, you always will be. Even when they make poor movies or missteps in the writing on a comic or television series, they are remembered for their greatness first and foremost. Occasionally you’ll have a” Walking Dead,” “Invincible,” or “The Boys,” but check the “created-by date” on most of the heroes they make shows and movies about and you’ll notice a trend of characters created 35 years ago like Deadpool are considered the “newer breakthrough” characters. How many fans of Ms. Marvel are there in comparison to Wonder Woman? It takes consistency in storytelling and being endorsed by key influencers that gets a comic book character or a professional wrestler over.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Who deserves a title
One of the regular gripes I hear from internet fans and some of my wrestling customers is that LA Knight needs to become champion, and I get it. I used to complain that Curt Hennig never won the WWF Championship. Scott Hall, Roddy Piper, and Ted DiBiase were also on that list.
To make another analogy, I find Fred Willard to be a comedy legend in acting. If he was in something, I paid attention, because anyone who chose him for a role would likely have a tone in their film that I was going to enjoy. He was never the leading man, but that’s doesn’t mean he didn’t have a fantastic career with a legion of adoring fans. I’m sure he didn’t set out to be a supporting character, but there are hundreds of thousands who have never gotten to the level of resume that Fred Willard had.
Not everyone can be champion. It has to be the right creative, paired with the right hero and villain who can put on the program that captures the audience and the head of the creative team at just the right time. I loved the line in Oba Femi’s recent segment where he told Bron Breakker that he was good enough for any other era, but he happens to be in the same era as Oba Femi.
You may be better than those before you, but you happen to be around a person who just happens to catch on. That doesn’t diminish Ted DiBiase and his importance to wrestling as a major villain. He was Hans Gruber to John McClane in “Die Hard.” Not to say that Breakker won’t be a champion, but though many aspire to be, and may even be worthy of carrying the title, not everyone can be the top guy.
Different Flavors
At one time, I hated comedy wrestling. These are supposed to be tough guys, yet you have the post-heel Doink the Clown. A wrestler can be funny, but the saying was, “funny don’t draw money.” I didn’t prefer the bodybuilder power types, simple bad guys who crushed snakes or the entire Dungeon of Doom, and a squeaky clean babyface were all things I didn’t like seeing on my wrestling.
Eventually, I grew up. I was one of the male voices booing John Cena on television. I liked ECW, I liked WCW Cruiserweight action, and I liked cool bad guys like the Dangerous Alliance or the NWO. Super Cena was not for me. Then I went to my first wrestling show with my children. They loved John Cena. The dancing big guy, Brodus Clay and his Funkadactyls. It’s where I made the connection that not everyone watches for the same things, and it’s not all about me.
Commonly attributed to Dusty Rhodes, the saying, “wrestling is a buffet, with something for everyone,” was fully understood. There will be Human Monies on a Pole matches, and corny song segments. If enough people enjoy it, who am I to say it shouldn’t be a part of the program.
The People Behind the Characters
In wrestling today, there is the show, then there is the person behind the character on social media or doing podcasts. This is a mixed bag for me, because I love and hate it equally. While I’m not looking for heroes, I am inspired by people and their stories.
I’m a bigger fan of Cody Rhodes than I would be, because he’s been so open and public. A man who doesn’t feel respected for his work for the company who employs him, who went out on his own and said he was good enough to do it without the corporate backing. I love that because it’s me. I opened my own retail store after 28 years of being disrespected by multiple companies because I decided that I could do this on my own.
While I love hearing from the man, he has his own podcast while being the top guy. There’s too much access and not enough mystique. It overexposes Cody and shortens his shelf life because people aren’t clamoring for their once a week dose of their favorite wrestlers.
On the other side, I’ve grown a great affection for Jeff Jarrett through his podcast. I especially love his business insights. I only gave this podcast a chance because I really liked Conrad Thompson’s format for podcasts, and I assumed there would be some good stories having been involved with all the things he’s done in life. I didn’t expect to love the man behind the microphone. This was one of my least favorite wrestlers ever. I respected him and his abilities, he just wasn’t for me. Which was the point. He was a heel and I was supposed to hate him. Falling in love with a man on a podcast would have taken away from his role in the ring.
So I used to watch for the character, because even when I read Pro Wrestling Illustrated the interviews were done in character. Now it’s harder to do that, and takes away from my enjoyment of the characters at times. Now I do find the people who inspire me then play their roles well. I love that Kevin Owens is a family guy. I love seeing both the soft spots of CM Punk when he talks about his wife or dog, and the prickly parts that also help me see myself in him.
I Don’t Know Everything
I read PWI, PWTorch, and participated multiple message boards about pro wrestling. I knew who the real good guys and bad guys were. I knew all this history and what made a match be considered five stars. I understood everything about wrestling. Then I heard Jim Cornette talk about the story within a match. I heard Dax talk about the difference between a wrestling hold and a highspot. I’d hear about how Jerry Lawler would play to the last row of the balcony. These were all phrasing I may have heard, but took me years to understand.
When we label ourselves as experts, we can often stop listening to other perspectives that conflicts with our own. Advice for way more than wrestling: We are limited in what we see or understand. There’s always so much more to see and learn. The fun part about learning more is it deepens my appreciation of the art form. I’ve grown in how much I respect even the jobber of a match, or the guy who busted his ass to get to the WWE only to not get a push there. Just making the roster shows you’re elite.
Most of all, I have to find news ways to stay in love with the product. We can look for reasons to stop watching or watch for reasons to stick around.
(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to http://nerdstalgia.shop.)
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