Now, before I start I want to say that I know the WWE is not real and that everything is scripted, and just because you don’t like it doesn’t give you the right or justification to look down on those who do. I find it enjoyable to watch as background sound while playing games. Now that we have that out of the way, I want to talk about something that I was thinking about while watching the last Raw, when Triple H came out, followed by the Undertaker. When the Undertaker came out and started having his stare-off with Triple H, I just remembered how epic Undertaker used to be, and so was Triple H. You would have matches where Triple H would come out in a Game-of-Thrones-esque attire, with matching throne and crown and the name “the King of Kings”. You would have matches where the Undertaker would come out with the Dark Tower theme, and then as the Dead Man theme. These were amazing.
When you think of the current brand of wrestlers, it just feels… off. You have CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as the current big-title holders. You have the Miz, R Truth, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, the two new gangster Mexican wrestlers. Even the bigger wrestlers like Big Show and Mark Henry are just… boring. And I don’t really know why.
At first I thought it was because they’re not doing themes anymore, but then I realized that is definitely not the case. You used to have the Rock (I don’t count the Rock as a current wrestler, his match at Wrestlemania is most likely just a one-time stint), Steve Austin, Heartbreak Kid, and these guys didn’t have any big themes. They had their own “things”, like Steve Austin with beer and certain catch phrases and the like, but they were still top-notch.
Maybe the current wrestlers are just bland? They don’t really have their own personalities, and those that do (the Miz) are just too drawled out and misinterpreted that it feels pretentious and ‘try-hard’. They don’t have their own looks, their own moves. Everyone these days is doing the same finisher but with a different name.
I think that the WWE is currently caught in a bad time. It feels like they just lost a lot of their old wrestlers, and they’re currently transitioning by promoting the old C class to B class, and the old B class to A class. I mean, Zack Ryder used to be one of the clone-Edge’s just a few years ago, and now he’s one of the biggest names. Daniel Bryan didn’t even exist in the WWE more than a few months ago, and now he’s beating unrealistic matches like the Big Show and Mark Henry for the championship.
On another point, and I know I’m blabbering now, I think it might also be the sizes of the wrestlers. Wrestlers are tiny compared to those 10, 20 years ago. The biggest wrestler these days is Sheamus, and that’s because he trains with Triple H. I don’t wanna count Mark Henry and Big Show; by “big” I mean definition and muscle mass. I know I’ve mentioned him several times, but Daniel Bryan? Seriously? The man looks like a short lumberjack now. It’s hilarious how beefed up he is compared to when he first came in, and how he’s grown the beard to make himself look thicker, but his height is still limiting him. It just doesn’t feel epic to watch short men (and I know they’re not short compared to the average male height, but they are short for WWE wrestlers). Even CM Punk is ridiculous – Triple H said it right a few months ago – “skinny fat”. WWE needs BIG wrestlers again, but perhaps this is because they’re being more strict on steroid use ever since the Chris Benoit incident.
Not all “current” wrestlers are boring (to me), though. Randy Orton has always been entertaining, with the Legend Killer and the Viper themes. Edge was also great, but he’s gone now so that doesn’t count. John Cena is just… overplayed. I like his character, but he’s incapable of doing anything spectacular in the ringplay. The only thing he has going for him are big arms, other than that he’s a normal body-builder; no athleticism, no gymnastics, not even any unique moves. The AA? The “You-can’t-see-me”? Really now. He wears jean shorts for Christ sake, even limiting his capability even more. Rey Mysterio was always fun to watch, but it seems they’ve decided to replace him with Sin Cara who is just a bore.
I don’t really know what I’m getting at, but if you’ve read this much, thanks. To summarize, I just don’t feel as enthralled by the line-up as I used to, and I don’t know what it is. It’s not the themes, as there used to be wrestlers with no themes and there are current (boring) wrestlers with themes, like Kane, who just feels like a second-hand Undertaker. It might be the sizes and body masses of the wrestlers, as it really can’t be denied that wrestlers these days are A LOT smaller than they used to be (CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as WWE and World Champion…) It might be the fact that they just don’t stand out as much as their predecessors, but those who do (the Miz) are doing it wrong.
Perhaps now that I’m older I don’t find it as exciting, but that doesn’t feel like the case. Sheamus is my top-runner these days; my favorite. He has his own look and he has a personality, though he still doesn’t feel “epic”.
Anyway, opinions?
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TL;DR – Woo Woo Woo