Here is part of the top 10 series and this one has some very interesting things that I have noticed over the years as wrestling has evolved…
5. The person makes the title
Whenever a team wins a championship or a title it means something. The 2004 Red Sox after they had won their world series made that title seem important because they fought so hard to get to it. They had been in such a struggle to get to the world series in the first place that you couldn’t help but be proud of the team. They had the right cast of characters as well as the right amount of chemistry amongst all of them. In wrestling, one of the greatest champions of all time, Hulk Hogan, gave that title meaning because who didn’t like the guy growing up? He would beat every bad guy that stepped in his way and he made it seem so har to defend. It seemed as if every guy that came across his path knew they had a chance but he knocked them down before they had a chance to even win. He also gave the company where he had the title a little bit of credibility. He would appear on TV shows, ads, and what not. If you’re going to be that company’s champion you have to represent your company with pride and dignity as no one is going to give you chance if you don’t promote yourself just a bit. He basically built up the title and he carried it everywhere making it seem important. The length of the run also was very important because not only did he seem like a fighting champion but it was during a time when there was so much talent around the world. It could have been possible that any other guy would be champion but he carried that title with such a attitude and the way he got the crowd behind him was nothing short of amazing. He actually made you believe that he could beat anybody up without hesitation. Titles, I believe, were made to enhance wrestlers but the wrestler could actually enhance the title if done correctly. There are certain wrestlers that make the title due to the strong reactions they may get from the crowd that they are entertaining. Nevertheless, in our society today where we crave for change constantly it is much more difficult to have that title mean much of anything. We may get sick of seeing someone on TV constantly that has the title but that is our job as fans. The choice comes down between how we want to see our heroes and villains portrayed. This is what I mean by how the person makes the title which is constant enhancement and how they defend. They may see that title as a treasure, a special object, and once that is completed we can better identify how that character goes about his business. There are also certain figures in wrestling that keeps this going and one of my favorites.
4. Authority figures never get their way.
For some strange reason, authority figures never seem to get their way. This person can be the general manager, the commissioner, the person in charge, or just a president type figure. I don’t what it is but we as audience find a way to find this funny and tragic. I’m sure most of wish that our bosses or persons above us would stop bothering us and let us do our jobs. However, we really can’t say much back because we like making money and most real jobs have a steady income. One of the more memorable runs of an authority figure, Vince Mcmahon, came out on TV and declared himself as the CEO of his company after years of sitting behind an announcing desk. This resulted in one of the best of all time, Steve Austin, to make a run at him for being corrupt and taking advantage of his wrestlers. This included putting the classic shield that would block Austin to getting to Mcmahon and every week from 1998-1999 they would be up ending one another. It was entertaining television due to the characters involved as well as the realism that came along with it. It wasn’t so much that we wanted each person to lose but we kind of wanted the anti hero to get his reward for all the wrong that had been done to him. One of the examples that comes right to mind is when Mcmahon would send two of his top wrestlers, Kane and Undertaker, to essentially attack Austin and have him lose the coveted WWE championship. We badly wanted the authority figure to get what was coming to him but he always found a way to make sure that our hero was not to get his way. I can clearly remember him saying that you can either do things the easy way or the hard way. I find this amazing that even in the face of adversity that most of the time when our backs are against the wall we find a way to come up with other options or sometimes we make the wrong choice. The authority figure, seeing that he chose the wrong choice (the hard way), essentially didn’t get his way because the good guy always found a way to screw the boss over. As I heard a few months ago, everyone wants the be the guy shooting the gun from a helicopter, smoking a cigar, and getting the girl at the end. What’s interesting is that we follow our heroes and sometimes we may even want to be them. That is what is so cool about wrestling. We, as fans, get to see the impossible become possible through fake storylines. They may not always be truthful but in this case the authority figure acted like a dastardly bad guy and he got what was coming to him. Typically, this is what happens in movies as we hope that the story will slowly develop to include the struggle between good and evil. The good wins most of the time but the fact that we finally got to see and end always some sort of special ring to it. Lesson learned here: it is very hard being an authority figure.
3. You pay to see the bad get his butt kicked by your hero
Basically, I summed this up in the above post but I did want to add something. I believe that for this to happen right there has to be a reason as to why the hero wants to beat up the bad guy. The feud can’t just happen because there jealous of each other because then your audience would be very confused. There has to be a clear definition as to who the bad guy and who the good guy is. The classic example for me is when Eddie Guerrero was chasing the championship against Brock Lesnar. We wanted Eddie to succeed because he had turned his life around professionally and personally. The champion, Lesnar, was so good at being an asshole that he would be making fun of the Latino culture and he would give Guerrero crap for all that he had gone through. The line had been drawn as to who was who and we were given a reason to care as to why Eddie was going to win. The chase was on and we wanted him to see him win. The feud lasted a month but what came across as simple actually worked. As the saying goes, keep it simple stupid. The more logic and flow the storyline between the good guy and bad guy makes sense the more we understand each character’s motive. I can see why the bad guy what he does because he may have different motivations than the good guy. The good guy may want to redeem himself while the bad guy may want to teach the other guy a lesson. It all makes sense and it is nothing more than a pattern. It is almost like a cycle that never ends that keeps going.
2. Good crowd psychology means making the fans react to anything you do
I am fascinated as to how crowds and wrestlers can change the structure of a match by hitting the right moves and the right timing for everything. Bret Hart was a master of this as he would get the crowd chanting his name whenever he was down and he would do a good job at getting the crowd at caring about him. The facial expressions, the holds he would put on, the spots where he would work a different part of the body, and this all made sense. The greatest match I believe I’ve ever seen was done in the United Kingdom between British Bulldog and Bret as there was move after move that the crowd reacted to. Bret was working the back, the legs, the neck, and even the face. This is something that is important in any wrestling match because we start to understand the vulnerabilities of the opposing wrestler. Sometimes, fans complain about a certain wrestler’s moveset and the small number of moves they may do. The way Bret would pace himself made me actually care how he constructed his matches. He would do restholds and the restholds are very important because they make the crowd slow down. The slowing down is almost like in a movie where there is dialogue and little action. The action and highspots consists of us reacting and going geez that was such an awesome move. It is like Jake Roberts once said, we go expecting some fake wrestling but then we remark to our friends and those around us as to how awesome that particular move was. In most cases, the less you do the more it means. Another wrestler who was excellent at this was Rick Rude. Unfortunately, Rude had a somewhat shortened career but he was always one of my favorites. He would have very simple moves like strikes to the neck, back breakers, body slams, and and occasional move from the top rope. I believe doing this is important because if the wrestlers care how they construct their stories the easier it’ll be for the audience to understand. One more thing I forgot to mention is the art of losing and how that may get the audience behind you even more. This is apart of crowd psychology because the loser of the match may come out looking stronger because he put up a losing effort but he gave it his best. We cheer for the guy that did his best which he calculated he would do based on how the match was going for him. All in all, psychology is the basis and ground as to how you build a match up and what the end result is as well.
1. The characters we see on TV are just exaggerated versions of themselves
The awesome characters we see on TV are built from the people themselves and that is something that is always welcome. One of the few times that I have observed that the term “be yourself” has worked was when they gave Mick Foley in WWE a chance to be a toned down version of Cactus Jack that was seen in Japan and WCW. This character was brutal and could fight a good match with just about anybody. What I believed this showed of Foley that he was very giving to the profession of wrestling and he cared about giving back to the fans in attendance. He put his body on the line almost every night as he was good at drawing a reaction from the crowd. You could see the development as to how he would have his hardcore matches as the match would go back and forth almost like a slugfest that had big consequences for both guys. Another fellow that was great at this was Jim Cornette. Even though he was just a manager, he would put over the next tag team over and you could see that he actually cared about the next match or event that was coming up. Little did we know, Cornette had an opinion for just about everything and this is what makes wrestling so great. You have these guys that are everyday people just like you and I. The difference is that they are actually on TV speaking about or talking about what is upcoming. The goal for most managers back in the day was to sell tickets and make us to go see shows. I can truly say the funniest and most random character that came across television was Brian Pillman. Pillman, who was small and had a heart condition, was very competitive for his size and he did it with precision. The way he came across was very one dimensional but there was something about him that made him different. He would wrestle big guys, small guys, and even medium sized guys. It was only a few years later that his character and wrestling ability came full circle. He had this crazy character that was on TV that was simple yet he would always shoot from the hip. He would say what was beaming in his head and he never let his guard down. I believe what Brian did was that he let himself loose, hence the name loose cannon. This character was the beginning of the many characters that would come across as being angry and pissed off all the time. The point here is that there are all sorts of characters that make us laugh, cry, cringe, get angry, be joyous, or just make us feel good inside. Sometimes, being you is what is important in life and so it is in wrestling. These guys didn’t get into it to please others as there goal was to be a fast rising star and the only to do that was to be their own character. If it is something we had never seen before, then bless you because you are so unique. The uniqueness of something or anything is welcome because we may just be surprised even more so than before. If it is something we have seen before, then bless you because at least you are putting your own spin on it. The very few that have attempted this have come across as resilient, upcoming, and trying to prove a point. Taking elements from different kinds of characters may also be something that is certainly welcome because who knows if you throw crap against the wall it may just work. Wrestling is something that is very special to me and I’m sure there is something that we all have a passion for whether it’s on TV or it’s something we do as a hobby. I can say that in almost 20 years as wrestling fan and all the technology we have now that I have not stopped learning about the sport and entertainment that I see. Wrestling rules!
Till next time on the Top Ten series…
Just Another Day... 