Corner To Corner - It's all about character
Submitted by Stan Grubb on Monday, April 29, 2002 at 2:47 PM EST



Perhaps the single most important aspect of today’s professional star is the development of character. In essence, we all look upon each star with indifference until he acquires some style, some charisma, or just something that sets himself apart. Those are the defining aspects of character. Without it, there is no star. There is no show. There is no need for television at all.


Hello again everyone welcome back to Corner to Corner. Lately, C2C has been delayed a bit due to various personal obligations. I would like to apologize to each of you readers for not being here each week as it was in the beginning. I want you to know I will be working hard to make sure Corner to Corner no longer gets delayed. So, on with the debacle!

Televised wrestling has a very specific formula for success. The first part of the equation is to have a successful off television market. In wrestling, this means you need to have good quality shows off screen so that word of mouth can spread. The second part of the equation of a successful televised wrestling promotion is a broad based network that is devoted to your program. For example, in the early stages of Monday Night Raw’s success, USA Network demonstrated a strong backing in the WWF’s product no matter what the ratings and no matter what the feedback from advertisers. They were loyal until their structuring changed and for that, WWFE owes them a debt of gratitude. The third part of a successful is perhaps the most important part next to the audience itself, and that is popular characters. If we all got together and watched a wrestling show with Bob Jones and Fred Smith in the main event, we’d change the channels as quick as we could. Point being, without a believable, entertaining, and popular character to watch, we’re not interested.

Character is the most important thing to have in your arsenal if you intend on being a superstar these days. Lately, we’ve been getting a look at some young studs who are busting their asses to give it their all. Some are becoming quite big in star status. Others continue to fall below the learning curve with their development.

A perfect example of getting big in star status due to a successful character is Brock Lesnar. Taking a brief look at this guy, we can all agree that he is definitely a monstrous looking guy. At his height and weight, we don’t get much choice but to pay him some attention. His in and out of ring style provides us with a rather entertaining display of power and dominance. These things alone, almost give his character that certain something.

The only problem with Brock right now is that we haven’t heard him speak. Perhaps it’s better that way, because I remember seeing Vader before he spoke and liking him much better before he opened his mouth. Back to Lesnar though, the reasoning behind his silence is simple. Paul Heyman. Heyman, a seasoned veteran of this sport from all facets, is the mouthpiece for Brock Lesnar. For that, Brock Lesnar’s character is more believable. Heyman gives us the look inside Brock’s mind that we ask for each time we see him destroy yet another victim.

Look at how he manhandled the Hardy Boyz. From a total mark perspective, that was such a huge feat being that one man destroyed two very capable wrestlers. Jeff Hardy, a daredevil and high flyer, had his body flattened. Matt Hardy, a very talented singles performer, had his face rearranged. On screen, which is the most important place for you to look good, Brock Lesnar has looked like a total monster. That is good for business.

From this point, it seems fitting that Lesnar continue to not speak on his own. In the past, when big powerful monsters, such as Lesnar, spoke, their heat dropped and their believability suffered also. Those two things are key for your character to become a superstar. On the path he’s on right now, Lesnar could become Undisputed Champion before he needs to utter a word.

With the combined talent of Heyman’s mental facilities and Lesnar’s physical dominance, we are treated to one hell of a segment each and every outing they have. That, beyond any doubt, is the reasoning behind the success of Brock Lesnar thus far.

Of course with each success, you have failure. Failure as a character is defined as having a character that garners no heat and has no believability. Physical appearance may be very well done, but in the long run, you have got to have something else to make it all work.

A perfect example of falling below the learning curve is one Shawn Stasiak. Mr. Stasiak has been in this business for a few years now and has been working his ass off to become successful. In his aspirations, I think it can be safely stated that he skipped the character development courses as WWFE University. Here we have a wrestler who’s physical appearance gives you the impression that he is a hard worker in the gym and just might have something special for you to see.

In his first stint inside the WWF, he was known as Meat. Now, I don’t blame Stasiak alone on this one, because the writers up in Stamford must have had a hell of a cocaine binge before they created this faulty idea. Meat’s premise was that all women wanted him. I think the WWF forgot that they had done that already with Shawn Michaels. Apparently, they had figured women would get what they wanted from him, and then be done with him, like a piece of “meat,” Well, that gimmick just stunk. Right away fans booed simply because they felt the idea was lame. There was no heat for Stasiak, only for the writers who gave him suck a pathetic gimmick.

Stasiak started doing his own thing backstage. This got him in trouble because since his character sucked on screen, any of his off screen mistakes were magnified by one hundred. He was fired due a silly misunderstanding about a tape recorder and thus went to WCW.

In WCW, he was saddled with yet another silly idea. The WCW writing crew figured they could call him, Perfect Shawn. Get it? Perfection=Perfect Shawn! Anyhow, he was given a program against Curt Hennig. Now, in this gimmick, Stasiak did have a chance to make it work. He was given microphone time and handed the spotlight. While most stars would have jumped on this opportunity, he fell flat and came off as not just unbelievable, but also a bit foolish. Nobody cared about his gimmick. Nobody tuned in for his segments. In lacking charisma and style, Stasiak suffered further, getting pushed only when absolutely necessary.

In the ring, Stasiak’s work is not the best, but it sure as hell provides a lot more entertainment than his out of ring work. He can go and could use some more time to mature, but he needs, desperately, to gain some character.

When the buyout came, Stasiak was in the middle of finally showing he could produce an entertaining segment. The “Shawn and Stacy Show” segments grew popular but only because of the addition of Stacy Keibler to the formula. Stasiak did some talking, but he kept it simple and grew while doing so. Keibler was amazing to look at, as she is today, so that helped keep the attention of fans. In what has to be his most high profile program to date, Stasiak worked with Bam Bam Bigelow leading into the buyout. The feud made Stasiak a believable heel and decent in ring star. It was not grade A by any stretch, but it was a start.

The buyout took place, McMahon picked up the stars he wanted, and Stasiak went back up north. Stasiak, who at this time should have seen the chance to become a higher-level star, did not attempt to continue the Shawn and Stacy show. Instead, he went from WCW/ECW Alliance Lackey to all out klutz. He would run to the ring in effort to help the Alliance look good, and get pounced like a buffoon. Fans did not approve, nor did they like it. The segments left television almost as quickly as they began. Providing a few laughs here and there did not provide Stasiak’s big push. It provided more truth to the statement without brains its just brawn.

At least Goldberg’s brawn had the body language to give it believability. Stasiak’s brawn was like anyone else’s. It wouldn’t matter how buff he makes himself, it’s still just him. Without the proper usage of charisma, entertainment, and believability in the character itself, the wrestler’s actions have no real need to be viewed.

In this, I think we can all agree that today’s younger stars are getting a first hand lesson in what makes a wrestler become a superstar. It doesn’t just take brawn. It doesn’t just take an attractive manager. It doesn’t just take a gimmick. It takes character. And without that, you are just like Bob Jones and Fred Smith: normal, ordinary, and mediocre

Until next week, remember to show a little zest this week, someone may be watching.


Thanks again for reading.
--Stan Grubb-
ImpactXtreme@msn.com








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