In a grocery store every item has what’s called a shelf life. This determines how long an item can stay on the shelf before it becomes stale. So too do the WWE top main eventers have a certain amount of time before they become stale. The shelf life of a WWE top main event wrestler has changed dramatically over the last decade or so..
The way most storylines work is that they make an emotional connection with the fan. The fans will then be connected with the wrestler through the many twists and turns that their character will take. This means they become exposed to that particular wrestler for a certain period of time over and over again.
If the fans are going along with the wrestler through too many storylines , they become over exposed to the wrestler. This is when the wrestler starts to become stale and rather boring.
The way most storylines would start in the late 80s/early nineties was that some type of conflict would occur between two wrestlers. They would then feud for a few months. The feud usually culminated at one of the upcoming ppv’s. This meant that a feud would usually span the length of time from after one ppv to the next.
There were 4 main ppv’s a year. This meant that there were usually only 4 main times when a feud could be culminated. Sometimes a feud would go on for two ppvs, which would span half a year.
This means that during this time period, when we were emotionally connected with a top main event wrestler in some way, we saw them go through 3-4 emotional ups and downs, twists and turns in one year.
As said before, there are only so many of these that a main event wrestler can go through before we begin to become tired of their character and feel that they start to become stale. But at this pace, it became harder for a wrestler to grow stale due to the storylines being so few and far between.
Take a look at Hulk Hogan in 1991, when the ppv cycle was still the same as the late eighties. He started off the year by focusing on winning the Royal Rumble. He then focused on defeating Sgt. Slaughter at Wrestlemania, which he did. His Iraq vs. America feud continued until Summer Slam, as a new twist was added by bringing in the Ultimate Warrior to the mix. Then the Hulkster focused on defending his WWE title against the up and coming Undertaker.
That’s only 3 emotional twists and turns that the fans had to go through with Hulk Hogan in that entire year. As you know, Hulk Hogan was around for a very, very long time in the WWE before he even became close to becoming stale.
In the mid nineties, the ppv’s increased to 12 a year, meaning that a main event wrestler would now be going through more feuds a year. This meant that the shelf life of a wrestler became shorter, in that the time would come sooner that they would become stale and the fans would grow tired of them.
Take a look at Shawn Michaels in 1996. He started off the year by focusing on winning the Royal Rumble, and then went on to feud with Owen Hart over his concussion angle. Shawn then went on to fulfill his boyhood dream by defeating Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 12. Shawn then went on to successfuly defend his title several times. First it was against his former friend and turn coat Deisel. He then went on to feud with the likes of the Brittish Bulldog, Vader, and Mankind. He then went on to defend his WWE title against Psycho Sid at Survivor Series.
But at Survivor Series, something strange happened to Shawn. In his first full year as the top main eventer, he seemingly went through a roller coaster of ups and downs as he went through 8 different storylines in one year.
The fans had now been burnt out with Shawn, and were now booing him at Survivor Series. The fans were tired of Shawn because he grew stale.
Shawn Michaels reign as being the number one wrestler in the company only went on for two more months afterward. This was very unlike Hogan, who reigned during the time when storylines were fewer and farther between.
Sometimes a wrestler may just be “red hot” so to speak and can last longer in the spot light than others. If you look at Stone Cold Steve Austin, he went through 8 different storylines in 1998 with out becoming the least bit stale. It wouldn’t be until mid 1999 that the Rattlesnake would start to show signs of becoming stale. But still, as hot as Stone Cold was, he could not pull off a decade of avoiding staleness like Hulk Hogan could.
Sometimes staleness can be temporarily cured, such as with a face turn or a heel turn to liven up their character, and to let them go through whole new experiences with them. But most times, the fans have felt that the wrestler has become too stale to ever go back to where they were as the top main eventer the same way they did before.
In this day and age a top main eventer’s shelf life is very limited, as opposed to in the 80's. They don't have expiration dates as they would in a grocery store, but the shelf lives of 80's main eventers and today's main eventers are dramatically different.
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