Is it the job of the wrestler to get over themselves or is it the job of the promoter/creative to get the wrestler over? Or perhaps, is it a little of both? I've often seen times when a wrestler got over by themselves but their legs were cut out beneath them. This observation started when WWE put the Stone Cold Steve Austin podcast on the WWE Network and Austin's guest was the chairman himself, Vince McMahon. Austin mentioned Cesaro and in my opinion, McMahon listed ridiculous things as to why Cesaro never got that big push. Since then, Austin mentioned the so called "brass ring" and that it is a superstar's responsibility to just take it. However, it's a big Catch 22! Austin said wrestlers should speak up more about their characters, yet at the same time, often wrestlers like that are seen as complainers, like Dolph Ziggler. I see it happening right now with Rusev, where he has managed to get himself over and the fans by his side, yet WWE won't budge.
The problem is, since WWE is a monopoly and there's isn't really anywhere to go, you're kind of stuck! That's easy for Austin to say but in his day, there was another big company or two out there to go to. There were options! If anyone didn't like the way they were being used in the WWF they could go to WCW, and vice versa. In fact, some even found themselves and a character by going to ECW. Look what ECW did for Raven! Or Justin Credible! Heck, Bam Bam Bigelow reinvented himself there and began to look like the monster he should have all along. Chris Jericho left WCW for the WWF and became an even bigger star. The same thing happened with the Big Show. Even during TNA's best days, they were still not WWE's competition.
I brought this up because it's been bothering me for the longest time. While Austin brings up some good points, he's not exactly the right person to get the advice from. The reason I say that is due to him walking out of the company in 2002. He disagreed with something so instead of dealing with it another way, he took his ball and went home, something he regrets to this day. In a previous blog, I brought this up and mentioned that the reason he walked out was not because he refused to lose to Brock Lesnar. He just felt it was not smart to put a match that caliber on free TV without any buildup. I completely agree, but he went about it the wrong way. Here's the problem, though! Whenever a wrestler questions something, it's looked at as complaining or insubordination. What I'm asking is, where do you draw the line?
Let me start with Cesaro! At WrestleMania, he and Jack Swagger, the Real Americans, lost in the Fatal Fourway Tag Team Championship match. After the match, Swagger turned on Cesaro by trying to put him in the Ankle Lock. For quite a while, even though he was a heel, Cesaro garnered fans with his amazing displays of power. When Zeb Coulter made Swagger apologize and shake hands, Cesaro completed his face turn by using the giant swing on Swagger. The fans went crazy for him! As if that wasn't enough, he went on later that night to win the first ever Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by body slamming the Big Show out of the ring. Momentum was in Cesaro's corner. The next night on Raw, he was endorsed by Hulk Hogan, who presented him with the trophy. Cesaro was on top of the world!
That's when it all went to shit! He turned on Coulter and informed him he was now a Paul Heyman Guy, as Heyman walked out to the ring. Swagger came out and attacked Cesaro, which kept the fans on his side. Unfortunately, Heyman's other client Brock Lesnar had just broken the Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania and the fans were not happy. Heyman mentioned Lesnar all the time, completely overshadowing the work it took to get Cesaro cheered! I don't understand that! Why ruin his momentum to turn him heel? Not only that, why make him an afterthought compared to what Lesnar did? It baffles me to this day! They should have kept Cesaro face and not put him with Heyman at all. He could have rode that momentum all the way to the following WrestleMania. By then, the fans might not have even cared about Daniel Bryan trying to get his moment again or complained too much about Roman Reigns. I don't think Cesaro was necessarily destined for a World Title, but he could have at least got pushed!
Zack Ryder is another example. Due to not being used at all on TV, Ryder decided to get himself over without WWE's help or endorsement. He created his own YouTube show called Z: True Long Island Story. His show was entertaining and he made many tongue-in-cheek references to the aspect of getting over. He even created his own Title belt, the Internet Championship. This caused WWE to take notice and finally push him on TV. It seemed things were going great when he finally defeated Dolph Ziggler to become the United States Champion. That was as far as it went! Just weeks into his reign, he lost the Title, his girlfriend Eve Torres cheated on him with John Cena, and he was destroyed by Kane. I'm not saying Ryder should have been World Champion or anything but he could have at least held the US Title for a few months or so. Not everyone can be a main event star but he sold merchandise and they could have thrown him a bone. His career since has been touch and go.
I feel like they're doing Rusev a disservice right now by not doing anything with him at all. "Rusev Day" has gotten so over with the fans that he outsold all the other merchandise for a short time. The fans absolutely love him right now and it seems like though the fans want to cheer him, creative is trying their hardest to keep him heel. I say, don't fight it! The fans should dictate who's over and who's not. I feel like they need to ride this momentum because we may be looking at the next big star. Beyond Braun Strowman, who I believe will be getting his moment sooner rather than later, Rusev is not too far behind. It's a joyous occasion because every day is Rusev Day!
Dolph Ziggler is the ultimate example! He is known to complain a lot about his pushes, or lack there of. I'm with Ziggler all the way, though! I also don't think he's injury prone or anything like that. The biggest example of a time when he could have been pushed was the 2014 Survivor Series. With a little help from Sting, Ziggler was the last man standing on his team, finally dismantling the Authority (for all of two weeks, but still). Again, I'm not saying he should have won the 2015 Royal Rumble or anything, though I would have loved it, but they could have at least done something. Instead, he was a throw away competitor in the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match, and had stop and go pushes many times over.
Though I have many examples. I'll talk about one last wrestler, Bad News Barrett. Wade Barrett started off strong as the leader of the Nexus, only for he and his cohorts to be disposed of quickly by John Cena. Thanks John! After that, Barrett dabbled in mediocrity, winning several Intercontinental Titles, with none too memorable. He seemed to hit his stride by creating the Bad News Barrett character. That got over! Unfortunately, nothing came to pass. It's amazing, during the awful League of Nations faction, Barrett was the only one I cared about at the time. When it comes to getting a great push for Barrett..."I'm a afraid I've got some bad news!"
I could probably go on for a long time. I just feel like if a superstar is doing their part, it's only right for them to be at least met half way. All of these men I mentioned got over organically with the fans. They're on the right track with Braun Strowman, Elias, and several others. Yet, they've dropped the ball with Bray Wyatt time and time again. With all that being said, I'm curious as to what you all think.
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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That's when it all went to shit! He turned on Coulter and informed him he was now a Paul Heyman Guy, as Heyman walked out to the ring. Swagger came out and attacked Cesaro, which kept the fans on his side. Unfortunately, Heyman's other client Brock Lesnar had just broken the Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania and the fans were not happy. Heyman mentioned Lesnar all the time, completely overshadowing the work it took to get Cesaro cheered! I don't understand that! Why ruin his momentum to turn him heel? Not only that, why make him an afterthought compared to what Lesnar did? It baffles me to this day! They should have kept Cesaro face and not put him with Heyman at all. He could have rode that momentum all the way to the following WrestleMania. By then, the fans might not have even cared about Daniel Bryan trying to get his moment again or complained too much about Roman Reigns. I don't think Cesaro was necessarily destined for a World Title, but he could have at least got pushed!
Dolph Ziggler is the ultimate example! He is known to complain a lot about his pushes, or lack there of. I'm with Ziggler all the way, though! I also don't think he's injury prone or anything like that. The biggest example of a time when he could have been pushed was the 2014 Survivor Series. With a little help from Sting, Ziggler was the last man standing on his team, finally dismantling the Authority (for all of two weeks, but still). Again, I'm not saying he should have won the 2015 Royal Rumble or anything, though I would have loved it, but they could have at least done something. Instead, he was a throw away competitor in the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match, and had stop and go pushes many times over.
I could probably go on for a long time. I just feel like if a superstar is doing their part, it's only right for them to be at least met half way. All of these men I mentioned got over organically with the fans. They're on the right track with Braun Strowman, Elias, and several others. Yet, they've dropped the ball with Bray Wyatt time and time again. With all that being said, I'm curious as to what you all think.
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
https://tagmeadate.com/
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