10 HUGE Tests Wrestlers Failed
Some tests are even too difficult for Steve Austin to pass, much less Buff Bagwell.
There aren't many tests to pass in this wrestling-as-content era. There are fewer metrics than ever - and this was true even pre-pandemic - to prove a drawing attraction or top star.
At this point, there are televised quarter hours, and that's about it. Merch sales are a decent indication of who is popular, but it's not enough for some, Or at least it would be, if it didn't betray a biased narrative, since Orange Cassidy outsold all but one design on ProWrestlingTees but is apparently an industry-killing joke.
Edge meanwhile recently failed a test. His recent NXT appearance wasn't promoted on Monday Night RAW - likely because they only dreamed up his "I might work whoever wins at TakeOver, depends if the match is any good" spiel out of desperation on Tuesday morning, Incidentally, what an indictment that will be in retrospect when he definitely decides not to.
"Yeah the match was really well-worked and everything, but I never bought Pete Dunne as a challenger and he spent an inordinate amount of time staring at his hands."
His appearance failed to outdraw AEW Dynamite. It wasn't a huge test, and the timing of the announcement tempers the embarrassment somewhat.
The following tests were huge, however, and it's understandable that they weren't overcome...
10. Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels Fail To Go The Distance
Bret Hart was the greatest North American pro wrestler of the 21st century, and the man who in effect trained your writer to appreciate the art behind the fad. It almost hurts to bury him.
But Jesus Christ was the WrestleMania XII main event a dud of a match.
It was ambitious. Bret's loyal fanbase appreciated his craft, and were prepared to go the distance he mapped, but an hour was a lot for the US in 1996, and the decision to go 0-0 was just dumb. Every established real sports precedent should have made this clear. This was a wet and windy Wednesday night in Stoke of a wrestling match, and the timekeeper took the best bump of a first 40-odd minutes that more or less felt like the commercial break of a TV match. It was just hold upon hold and a lot of laying about that was barely sold ahead of a crescendo that, while electrifying, arrived too late and felt disconnected from itself.
The fans lost interest - some even left - before Michaels realised his "boyhood dream" in a sudden death most would have taken at the 25 minute mark.