#29 - Let Wrestlers Be Wrestlers

I have posted above the 2012 SummerSlam music video that the WWE put together promoting the event which I believe played mostly through social media. I remember watching this last summer and thinking to myself that the video showcased what was good about pro wrestling.

In this video, we have pro wrestlers being pro wrestlers! They are allowing their own personalities to shine (Daniel Bryan is pure gold in this video) which adds so much to their characters. Today, I feel that the creative team has too much control over the product. Why does the creative team have to write promos? Why do the talent be given the ability to add dimensions to their own characters? If a person uses their own ideas, they are much more committed to the task. Let's start letting pro wrestlers be pro wrestlers!

It worked for Dolph Ziggler who wouldn't be near the level he is now without appearing on Zack Ryder's Z True Long Island Story. Without Ryder, Ziggler would be still portrayed as the "new Mr. Perfect" when now we are now comparing his rise to Shawn Michaels

Daniel Bryan was floundering in the mid card until turning heel in early 2012 and being allowed to let his personality to show through the Yes/No chants and Dr. Shelby segments with Kane. The wrestler once known as the American Dragon and for "kicking in fucking heads" is now wanting to be called the Dazzler? Bryan showed that you can be a great wrestler while also entertaining which is something we might not have seen since Ric Flair and his outlandish personality of the '80s

The Ringmaster floundered until he submitted an idea to creative for a cold-hearted ruthless man who showed no emotion. Eventually, we were given Stone Cold Steve Austin who was his personality exaggerated. Steve Austin actually drinks beer, drives a pickup truck, enjoys using colorful language and is a redneck from Texas.

These three examples show that wrestlers being themselves have worked in the past and present so why not allow other wrestlers this chance? Mick Foley has stated that he felt the Attitude Era (arguably the most profitable era in pro wrestling history) started when Vince McMahon gave a speech about wrestlers having to inject more of themselves into their characters. Actually, Foley really can attribute the success of his WWE career largely to his series of interviews with Jim Ross back in June 1997 where he interwove his personal history (Dude Love & his desire for attention as a teenager) into how the Mankind character came to be in his head.

In closing, I have given four good examples of where wrestlers were allowed to be themselves and were successful. The music video included with this post proves that there is a wealth of charisma and untapped comedy in the WWE locker room just looking for the opportunity to be showcased weekly. Why not lighten the workload of the creative team and allow them to focus strictly on story line progression! Let's start seeing wrestlers make the best of their chance and their characters! Lets start letting wrestlers be wrestlers and watch the product we receive every week! I thank you very much for reading!

#26 - Giving TNA/Impact Wrestling A Fair Compliment

I have re watched this segment a few times and started to realize something ... TNA has been running the same general story line for almost three years now 

• January 4, 2010 - Hogan and Bischoff come to TNA
• June 2010 - the They story line begins with Abyss
• October 2010 - They are revealed, Jeff Hardy Heel Turn, Hogan and Bischoff turn heel, take control of TNA, forms Immortal
• November 2010 - Dixie Carter puts an injunction on Immortal, Turning Point PPV main event also sees Garrett Bischoff debut as referee Jackson James
• March 2011 - Dixie Carter loses court hearing and Hogan gains full control of TNA, Sting returns to battle Immortal and take back TNA, wins world title
• October 2011 - Hogan vs Sting, Sting gains control of TNA back for Dixie, Hogan turns face to save Sting from Immortal beat down, introduction of Garrett Bischoff
• January 2012 - Hulk returns as the trainer of Garrett Bischoff
• April 2012 - Team Garrett beats Team Eric in lethal lock down to banish Eric Bischoff from TNA
• June 2012 - After Sting is chosen to go into the hall of fame, Aces & Eights debut attacking Sting, targets Hulk Hogan as well
• September 2012 - Garrett Bischoff is told by Hulk Hogan than he is not ready for a TV title match, looks pissed at Hogan
• October 2012 - The promo I have above ... almost a guarantee Bischoff is involved! It could be a swerve but I think the evidence adds up! 

If this is the direction that Impact Wrestling is heading for, I have to be honest and say I will be impressed. Internet fans will dismiss this as a rehash of the same story but I am going to give them credit. When a TV show moves from season to season, the villains usually stay the same or return back into the show's story. I am a Breaking Bad fan and a character example of this theory is Hector Salamanca (the older gentleman who only communicates by using a bell, for those readers who are unaware or unfamiliar with character names). He returns in each season's story in some form ... With Bischoff's obvious television experience and past track record that he treats wrestling like the episodic television it competes with, this story makes sense and has had longevity. As wrestling fans, we are used to short payoffs but this hopefully will pay off eventually. The only issue ... you can't kill someone off in pro wrestling ... what will be the pay off? We may not know for a long time yet ...