Steve Austin had to be The Ringmaster and possibly Fang McFreeze before becoming "Stone Cold." SImilarly, The New Day had to patiently wait as WWE figured out that Big E as Dolph Ziggler's evil bodyguard, Xavier Woods as a dancing fool and Kofi Kingston being largely forgotten about until he WASN'T successfully thrown out of the Royal Rumble wasn't as good as the trio being smug bastards. Being an enormous success at pro wrestling is all about waiting for the moments when time, space and place intersect and magic happens. Until that point, it's all about the waiting game and staying in-shape, focused and consistently delivering top-notch in ring performances in the interim. It's in the waiting for the magic to occur -- and in the pitching of creative, wearing different gear, and in generally trying to the point of sometimes continuous complete failure -- where patience, the most important WWE skill, is tested.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
