10 Things Nobody Has Told You About Wrestling Yet

8. Stars Must Win A Lot To Be Perceived As Stars

Vince McMahon
Instagram/@allelitewrestling

Chris Jericho and Cody are the preeminent examples of wrestlers who aren't allowed to "win" in the minds of certain fans who insist that they only do so to seize control over their spot and look good.

Tony Khan is the booker. Neither Cody nor Jericho were or are Hulk Hogan in WCW.

Khan recognises that his top stars must win and win frequently in order to maintain their aura as stars. He therefore books them to do precisely that.

It's the reality of being a wrestling star, and a comparative exercise is useful in demonstrating why it must go this way. Consider Jericho's various WWE runs before he reinvented himself in 2016. He did jobs all over the place in the early 2010s, to Bray Wyatt, Ryback and Fandango, all on pay-per-view, and even the various hiatuses didn't help him. He didn't return with huge buzz as a much-missed megastar; until he radically changed his act, he just sort of existed, at a level well below the WrestleMania part-timer crew, because he had lost so frequently that the rub stopped working.

It works now because he wins more often than he loses.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!