Tyrion Lannister, aka the Imp, is the most popular character in Game Of Thrones by a long way. In-universe, he's hated and feared by the populace of Westeros, based upon their superstitious belief that the supposed defects of his birth extend to his soul. Despite this, thanks to his intellect, bravery and some flashes of malignant ruthlessness, hes managed to stay alive and an influence on the political landscape, beating and defeating all those who sought to take him down, including his own despised father. In WWE, Vince McMahon remains convinced that a smaller guy will never draw on top as the face of the company. It's a perennial problem, and a mindset he can't seem to shake - every time the issue comes up, he needs persuading all over again. It was true for Bret Hart, it was true for Shawn Michaels Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, and of course Daniel Bryan. There are probably more, but those are just off the top of my head. Whether each or any of those men individually could or did draw is pretty much beside the point. Wrestling is a work. The audience believes what theyre told, because thats the whole point: these are stories told to us via the medium of wrestling, just as ballet and opera tell us stories via the medium of dance and Italian warbling. In this case, WWF/E has spent decades telling its audience that smaller guys are midcard underdogs or jobbers. Thats not the case on the independent scene, where smaller men regularly rule the roost: or in ROH, TNA, or anywhere else. In part, the mindset stems from McMahon's belief - shared by many in the industry and many fans - that it's simply not believable for a smaller guy to beat a bigger guy. This ignores two important points. Firstly, McMahon regularly has his top babyfaces face off against monster heels - it's been of his favourite go-to angles since he was in short trousers. By his own rationale, John Cena should not be believable defeating the Great Khali. Not that John Cenas very believable doing anything, but you take my point. Secondly, smaller guys beat up bigger guys in real life all the time. They're more skilled, or they're smarter or faster or nastier or some unholy combination of the four. Kurt Angle, a good 510, took down the much larger Brock Lesnar when they had a friendly sparring match backstage. The current UFC interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor just had a friendly sparring match with the guy who plays the Mountain on Game Of Thrones: in three minutes, he ran rings around him, exhausting the 6 foot 9 monster to the point where he was visibly having trouble keeping his guard up and eventually laughingly went to his knees in capitulation. Size is an advantage in a legit fight, but its only one of many. But these arent legit fights these are worked pro wrestling matches, and if you want to build a little guy up to look like a complete badass, you absolutely can. Thats the beauty of the business.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
