Tags
Austin, Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Future, John Cena, RAW, Seth Rollins, Stone Cold, Summerslam, Undertaker, Wrestlemania, WWE
A shit pun on a good movie. It’ll get better. I promise.
Watching RAW last night ensured me that the future of mainstream professional wrestling is in good, potentially unstable, hands. A wide array of young talent is on the rise; ranging from cliched enhancement workers to unconventional,but madly over, main eventers. Following on from Summerslam, an event which more than delivered, it was important that Americas biggest promotion put out a statement of intent for its future.
It has become evident that John Cena, the face of the past decade, is slowly on the decline. Injuries have hampered him in past years, and with the occasional absence to film a movie it has become apparent that his time isn’t now, it’s nearly up. Brock Lesnar; a special attraction sure but for how long? Is it truly amiss to think that he will get bored of wrestling, and want to try a new venture? He has done it once before, and he has hinted it time and again. Undertaker has proven his longevity and written himself into the history books as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, but with the streak gone, and a pile of injuries only getting bigger, it is only realistic to say that Wrestlemania will need a new, central attraction.
Young talent is needed to ensure the cycle which, although clogged at times, should never stop. It has been a worry, particularly over the past three years, that the company relies too much on imports from the outside, rather than to grow their own talent on a weekly basis on the inside. Most recently, concerns about bringing the Rock and Batista back from Hollywood have highlighted this debate within the community of wrestling fans across the board. Their importance is unrivaled, they add that glint, that passive interest. However akin to Lesnar, how long can that be sustained?
That brings us to the future. RAW presented us with Dean Ambrose taking on his former partner in crime Seth Rollins. Since the split of the Shield, these two have been engulfed in a feud already spanning three special events and have received a wealth of television time. This was only the second time in three months that the former partners officially met in a squared circle however they put on not only an extraordinary show moreover an indispensable one in regards to the fate of the industry. Getting twenty minuets to close out RAW is a rare thing for two young men and at the end of the night they had the crowd enthralled in their every movement.
Giving someone like Ambrose television time is integral. He’s wild. He’s brash. He’s eccentric. And people love it. The only way to allow people to love it however is to love it yourself, and that is the issue. It’s not a bankable gimmick and he does not, for the most part, have a conventional look. Already Ambrose is taking a leave of absence to film a movie, and depending on how his return is handled, it could be make or break for his career. If he returns, how I suspect, to an insanely enormous ovation; then he’s your star. They found him. If not they have wasted a potential goldmine, and they do not come along often in professional wrestling.
Some people say crowd reaction should not be used to gauge who deserves what in this business; those people are wrong. Example? Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan was recently the focus of the biggest show in the companies history, and if not for injury, would have enjoyed a lengthy title reign. He is not the only example to gain success this way. A bald-headed redneck named Stone Cold Steve Austin also had his meteoric rise in a similar fashion. They didn’t necessarily want to put him on top, they HAD to. This isn’t the days of the territories. Those days are gone. Bookers don’t book the shows; fans book the shows.
Last night the fans made it clear what they want. They want to see Dean Ambrose become unhinged. They want to see Seth Rollins continue on his rise to championship gold. They want to see Dolph Ziggler go out there at any position on the card and show the world. Now is the most important time in recent history for professional wrestling. A lot of interest has been put on Roman Reigns, and he’s great. But if all fails, don’t fear, there are plenty of young guys capable of taking up the mantle.
-FJ