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Submitted by eldandy on Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 1:58 PM EST
Welcome one and all to the column that may have bitten off more than it could chew this time, welcome to Sittin' Pretty with eldandy. For those of you that didn't have the opportunity to witness my escapades in the Columns Forum, allow me to introduce myself; I am eldandy. I'm a twenty-four year old Canadian boy who's been writing wrestling columns for a little over a year now. This is my column, Sittin' Pretty with eldandy. I've always considered myself to be a student of the business and the art of professional wrestling, and as such, I tend to look at things from a fairly analytical point of view. I don't mince words when it comes to stating my opinions, but at the same time, I prefer to look at things from a fairly objective standpoint. I hope that you like what I have to offer to what I consider to be the premiere wrestling site on the internet, and welcome any feedback and suggestions you might have. Alright, now that that's all out of the way, it's time to get to the reason you're all here. Let's talk about some wrestling. All too often, we in the Internet Wrestling Community feel that our favorite wrestlers are getting the shaft from the top wrestling promotions. While such wrestlers as Jeff Jarrett, Batista, the Great Khali, and Mark Henry continually receive main event pushes from their respective promotions, the likes of Samoa Joe, CM Punk, and Christopher Daniels are left to waste away in the midcards of the WWE and TNA. We make excuses like; "Oh, well Jarrett's got Dixie Carter in his back pocket, of course he's going to be a main eventer." or "Well, Vince has always shown favoritism towards no-talent big men with muscles in their turds, so it make perfect sense that Batista's winning the title." but the truth is, it comes down to something a lot more simple, and selfish than that. One thing that wrestling prides itself on more than anything else is loyalty, and those who remain loyal to a company often times are in line for the top spots. A few months back, a list of wrestlers were released showcasing the unofficial top nine wrestlers that the WWE consider to be their main event talent. That list included; Triple H, John Cena, the Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Edge, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Bobby Lashley, and Batista. Consider this for a moment. Of those nine wrestlers, only Rey Mysterio has achieved any type of success in a promotion other than the WWE, and even then, Rey's success in WCW and ECW pales in comparison to what he achieved since his arrival to the WWE. It would therefore appear that the WWE are fans of the home-grown star. There are times when so called outside talent like Chris Benoit, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, and Eddie Guerrero have tasted success in the WWE, but their title runs were minor in comparison to the runs of the likes of Batista or Cena, who came up through the WWE's developmental territories before hitting the WWE in a big way. TNA is very much the same way. While they have been quick to offer up their main event spots to the likes of Christian Cage, Sting, and Kurt Angle, other talent like Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, and Austin Aries are left out despite the mounds of talent and potential that they have as main eventers. It's no coincidence though that the four wrestlers that I listed have until recently taken full time bookings for independent promotions, most notably Ring of Honor. While it's often misconstrued as being favoritism towards "big name" wrestlers, I think more than anything they want to have wrestlers that are committed to their promotion first and foremost, which is probably why Jeff Jarrett has held the title so many times. So what does a wrestler who has established himself elsewhere have to do in order to succeed in the big two? The truth is, there are so few that have achieved success that way, that it's hard to pin point a strategy. Some wrestlers, like Goldberg in WWE, or Hulk Hogan in WCW, achieved greatness solely based on their notoriety and instant drawing power. If Hogan hadn't been thrust into the main event upon defecting to WCW in 1994, they would have wasted his drawing power, and the huge sum of money they were paying him. If Goldberg had been forced to work his way up the WWE talent ladder like so many others had before being pitted against the likes of Triple H, the Rock, and Brock Lesnar, he would have been useless. Some wrestlers become instant main eventers regardless of their prior history with other promotions, but that list is a short one, and even then, there are no guarantees that they will be successful. All too often, wrestlers who defected to other promotions with the promise of a big push were held down by politics and egos of other wrestlers and promoters. The likes of Tazz, Mike Awesome, and Chris Jericho left their respective promotions, but were swept under the rug shortly after their arrival. Even Bret Hart, who was one of the biggest draws in pro-wrestling at the time of his defection to WCW, was poorly used and held back by the likes of Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Goldberg. How often have we seen talented workers from Ring of Honor, and other independent promotions, held back because of their continued association with the company. While TNA allowed its employees to take independent bookings when not working for TNA, it was obvious that those wrestlers who chose to make ROH a priority were held back. Despite Samoa Joe's enormous popularity in TNA, and the quality of his in-ring work, he was continually held out of the main event in favour of wrestlers that kept TNA on the top of their list. Roderick Strong was actually fired from TNA after choosing to work an ROH show on the same weekend as a TNA Pay-per-view because TNA felt that he might not be able to make their show and perform to his full potential the following night. This has actually forced many workers to scale back their independent bookings, or in the case of Joe and AJ Styles, leave ROH entirely. When you think about the heights that professional wrestling has achieved over the past 10 to 15 years, it's still hard to fathom that it is still a mom n' pop industry, founded on family, tradition, and loyalty. Those who stick with the company are less likely to bite the hand that feeds than those who are prone to following the money. Make no mistake about it, wrestlers are in it for the money, but they also know that loyalty and hard work will take them places in a company like the WWE. With all that being said, it sure must be stifling for a guy like Chris Benoit to see so many wrestlers move past him on the depth charts while he is forced to plug away in the mid-card. A wrestler with Benoit's abilities must go nuts when he sits back and sees the Great Khali wrestle the main event of a pay-per-view against John Cena for the WWE Title. Perhaps Benoit's saving grace is that at the end of the day, he will still have a job, and will go down as one of the best professional wrestlers of all time, while Khali will go the way of Giant Gonzalles, as another big man that couldn't cut it in the ring. For all the loyalty and pedigree that WWE guys have, even Vince can't deny that there are some guys that he didn't make that are deserving of a shot. How else do we explain the likes of Benoit, Guerrero, and even Flair and Mysterio, being given the title? They might not get the same sort of push as a Triple H, or a John Cena, but they are still held up with the greats of the business, and nothing can deny them the fact that they have been WWE champion. No amount of loyalty can outdo talent and determination. So, perhaps the IWC are just impatient. We know who we like, and we want to see them on top now. These men are the best in the business, and they should be treated as such, right? While it's of little comfort to some people, all I can say is wait and see. Think back. Were you more emotional when Brock Lesnar won the title mere months after entering the WWE, or seeing Chris Benoit win the title after 15 years of sacrifice at Wrestlemania 20? Good things come to those who wait, and the next generation of wrestlers is well on its way to the success that has been courting them for a long time now. And now for the rest of the story. |
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