9. How Did We Make Yesterdays Stars Into Todays Legends?
For many fans, the defining moment of WrestleMania XXX was the opening segment between Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. The three biggest performers in WWE history (first three of a top five rounded out by Bruno Sammartino and Andre The Giant) stood in the ring and talked, to rapturous applause. But thats all they did. They just drank beer and talked. No bumps were taken, no belts changed hands, and not a single punch was thrown. By all rights, the fans should have sh*t all over it, but instead, it turned into far and away the most entertaining segment of the night. Now, theres no question that Hogan, Austin and Rock all have something special, be it looks, charisma or talent. However, it is also fair to say that none of them would be the legends they now are if they hadnt first been pushed to the moon and back by WWE creative. Hogan teamed up with Mr. T at the height of his 80s fame, he slammed Andre The Giant in the SILVER dome and he became a household name thanks to ruling the WWE roost for the better part of a (very successful) decade. Austin, for his part, joined forces with Mike Tyson at the height of his 90s fame, beat up Vince McMahon and, as a result, ended up spearheading the much-vaunted Attitude Era by becoming the poster boy for rebellion all across The States. Of course, The Rock was the top hand in the WWE during its commercial peak, he held the WWE Championship a record-breaking number of times and his immense popularity landed him in Hollywood, where he now makes damn good money as a bankable leading man. WWE execs should go back and re-watch the making of these larger than life (now quasi-mythical) superstars. They should remember that before Hulk Hogan, there was Terry Boulder, before Stone Cold, there was Stunning Steve Austin and before The Rock, there was Rocky Maivia. Nothing happens overnight and absolutely nothing happens in a vacuum. With todays stop/start pushes plaguing WWE talent, what hope is there that the company can build another Rock, Austin or Hogan? It is time, then, for WWE creative to stop talking about promising young talent and to start thinking of them as great talents in their own right. For this, WWE needs to go old school and build stars like Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and Cesaro into world-beating, moneymaking machines, as opposed to simply tomorrows stars, a promise that, at the time of writing, seems destined never to deliver. How much more thrilling would 2014s Hell in a Cell Pay Per View have been if Ambrose and Rollins were fighting over the WWE Championship? (A title, which, lest we forget, wasnt even contested for at the event?) Which brings us neatly to our next question...
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
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Latcho Drom,
- CQ
