World Wrestling Championships - Can We Have a Real Standard Bearer Rise Up Please?
By Andre Marshall
Professional wrestling, for a few years, had become a monopoly as the only major wrestling promotion was the WWE. With this industry monopoly, the writers of the promotion seemed to put out mostly mediocre scripts and matches. With no competition, there was no urgency to put out a product that really captivated the wrestling audience as once in the past. Even with inter-branding promotions, the level of scripting and match making still lacked great entertainment value. With wrestling performers such as "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson and Stone Cold Steve Austin leaving the industry to pursue Theatrical careers, the wrestling promotion seemed to become stale in its presentation.
Professional wrestling is entertainment and with most of the best entertainers gone, the industry seemed to go into a game of hop-scotch. With Triple H, the only real standard-bearer for pro wrestling left at the time, mostly injured and off the scene often, there was a sense of urgency to find someone to fill his shoes. Hence the decline of the greatness of being world champion. The title started changing hands about every other month or so. Look at the current roster of the WWE and count how many times the present top stars have been champion. Ric Flair has been champion a record 16 times but in today's flash in the pan era, that record will be dissolved by a wrestling new comer in just a few short years. A virtually unknown can walk into the business and become world champion within less than a year, for example Shamus. After only less than 2 years in the big leagues he is a 2 time world champ. Ask yourself, if he has a career as long as Flair and even Hulk Hogan, how many times is he bound to be champion? Perhaps a 40 time champ.
The match making in professional wrestling in recent times has taken away from the importance of a championship main event match. Remember Wrestlemania VI? Think of the build up of the main event of that match. The World Heavyweight champion vs Intercontinental champion (Hulkster Vs Ultimate Warrior). That had never happened before and the anticipation was off the charts. That match is talked about even today when the Wrestlemania event is approaching. That type of match should only be reserved for big events like Wrestlemania and not the weekly Raw or Smackdown show. When matches of this magnitude are over-played, the importance, the anticipation, and the perceived omnipotence of the winner of this type of match is declined. Keep this match sacred by only presenting it once every few years. This will bring back validity and understanding as to who really is a cut above the rest.
The TNA wrestling company is helping reform the landscape of professional wrestling. With a rival promotion coming into the mainstream of pop culture, the writing and match making in the industry has improved but still needs more improvement. To continue its' success, TNA needs to settle down and find a constant as a world champion to build the company around. Understood, TNA is a young promotion, but to sustain, an industry standard needs to be established. Kurt Angle is legitimate champion but he doesn't have the charisma needed to take the company to new heights. Even if it is Kurt, find someone to build around and stick with him. Crowning a new champ every six weeks is going to kill the company fast and again destroys the value of having the title of "Heavyweight Champion of the World."
Just because something is old doesn't mean it's no good. Bring back the days when a champion walked like a champion and conducted themselves like a champion. Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Harley Race, Macho Man they wore their title belts around their waist. The title was not on themselves but apart of themselves. No one wrestling in the big leagues less than a year should challenge for the world title. Even Goldberg was into his second year before he challenged for the title. No disrespect, a rookie from the NXT show should not be wrestling the supposedly best wrestler in the world for the title before even his first real promotional match. Come on wrestling writers, stop the madness.
PS: While Stone Cold Steve Austin left wrestling due to overwhelming injuries The Rock did dump wrestling over Hollywood but the point is absolutely true the moment WWE trashed the worth of their coveted heavyweight championship from then onwards there had been a significant decline in the standards of wrestling which stood strong for decades up until now. Nowadays the championship change hands just like that and won by rookies who don't even bother to prove themselves worthy to the people, take a look at Austin, Hitman, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker they went through a heck of a time before rising to the top and what a class act these guys were, while now look at the current rookie champion Daniel Bryan or whatever he is called he is trash but not all to be blamed on the poor little guy its the thick headed WWE creative department. Although TNA is still down and out the WWE keeps on rollin only due to the wrestling fans also known as WWE Universe the term coined by WWE itself. It seems now that the thick headed WWE creative department finally heard our critic and now trying to find their lost glory, one of the recent move was to promote CM Punk and they did it well while accepting their own rotten creativity anyway they still have a long way to go…
