The Lost Art of the Slow Build - Too Soon for Ronda?

   I understand that wrestling has changed and evolved in the last 30 years or so.  I understand that maybe some fans may not have a long attention span anymore.  Since the inclusion of at least one Pay-Per-View every month in professional wrestling, I almost feel as if wrestling fans have now become conditioned to have smaller attention spans.  While I can appreciate striking when the iron is hot, there is a difference between knowing when to do that and when to use a slow build.  One mistake I think WWE is making right now is not slowly building Ronda Rousey.  Before I get to that, I have a few examples of a slow build and why it is important.

   Hulk Hogan's feud with Andre the Giant for instance, is an example; not so much the act of a slow build for the match itself, but overall for the entire feud that went until the Summer of 1988.  In early 1987, Andre turned on Hulk Hogan, setting up their match at WrestleMania III.  Along with competing with the NWA's Starrcade, the WWF created the Survivor Series to extend the Hogan/Andre feud.  Layers were added over the months, such as the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase paying off the referee in Hogan's rematch with Andre, and subsequently purchasing the WWF Championship from Andre.  The Title was vacated and a tournament to crown a new Champion took place at WrestleMania IV.  In the end, Hulk Hogan evened the odds for his Mega Powers partner "Macho Man" Randy Savage, thwarting off Andre the Giant in order for Savage to defeat DiBiase to become the new Champion.  Finally, at 1988's SummerSlam, the Mega Powers defeated Andre and DiBiase, known as the Mega Bucks, ending Hogan's feud with Andre once and for all.

   Another example happened in the 90's.  Paul Heyman was smart enough to know that fans were craving to see a match between Taz and Sabu in ECW.  However, he did not rush it at all.  He built it slowly to where the two men didn't even touch one another for almost a year.  Taz kept challenging Sabu, who would always decline.  The anticipation was built up so much that fans couldn't wait for it to happen.  Matches tend to be better received when the fans are invested.  While Hulk Hogan's match with the Ultimate Warrior wasn't exactly a mat classic, the match wouldn't have been as well received without the proper buildup.  That was the case here as well.  It even earned mutual respect from one another for Taz and Sabu.

   The buildup to Hulk Hogan vs. Sting at Starrcade 1997 was a year and a half in the making.  During the Summer of 1996, the nWo took over WCW.  On an episode of Monday Nitro, it looked as if Sting had joined the nWo, as he attacked his friend Lex Lugar alongside an nWo limousine.  However, we would soon learn that it was an impostor.  Unfortunately for Sting, fans turned on him because they thought he joined the nWo and even his peers distrusted him.  At Fall Brawl during the War Games match, the last man to join in on the nWo's team was the impostor Sting.  Everyone was finally made fully aware of this when the real Sting came out for Team WCW.  Sting beat up the nWo by himself and then left, simply to make a statement that he was not satisfied with everyone distrusting him, leading to Team WCW losing the match.  After that, Sting's character evolved into his "Crow" gimmick and we would see him very sparingly, mostly in the rafters for well over a year.  Finally, Sting came back to defeat Hogan for the WCW Title at Starrcade in December of 1997.  

   A more recent example of a slow build was the build up to the first match between John Cena and The Rock.  The Rock got involved in Cena's Title match with The Miz at WrestleMania 27.  The next night on Raw, Cena challenged The Rock to a WrestleMania match the following year.  In late 2011 at the Survivor Series, Cena and The Rock teamed up to take on The Miz and R-Truth.  Despite winning the match, The Rock executed a Rock Bottom to Cena.  Though The Rock wasn't at every Raw, both him and Cena went back and forth with promos against each other for a year until their encounter.  For the time, the match was treated as "Once In a Lifetime."  

  Before I get to the topic at hand, here's an example of something I think could have used a slow build.  What I'm referring to is Jinder Mahal becoming the WWE Champion.  I disliked Jinder being Champion for several reasons but one particular reason was the lack of build to his moment.  You can't take someone who loses all the time and make him a credible Champion overnight without the proper build.  That's why the whole thing was so asinine to me.  It's bad enough taking someone from near jobber to Champion, but it's even worse to do it overnight.  I think it would have been smart to start building him up somewhat under the radar.  Start giving him some wins but don't discuss them as much as other feuds.  Sooner or later, he starts defeating more credible names.  Give him a great showing in the Royal Rumble, spending a large amount of time in the match and making it to the final six men.  Then, you have him win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXXIII.  That way, by the time he wins the number one contendership Battle Royal on Smackdown, he's a much more believable threat to Randy Orton and his win, while still shocking, wouldn't have been as poorly received.

   Now we come to the enigma that is the booking of Ronda Rousey.  First things first, I don't want to come off as some know-it-all fan.  I don't claim to know anything about wrestling business-wise.  I'm not in the industry nor have I ever booked a show or match.  With that being said, I think it's too soon for what is about to happen with Ronda Rousey, no matter what the result may be.  It was announced that she will be challenging Nia Jax for the Raw Women's Championship at Money In the Bank next month, with it likely being her first singles match for WWE.  Don't get me wrong!  Ronda Rousey is a great athlete and a huge star, and she shut up a lot of critics and haters with her performance at WrestleMania this year.  In fact, it was my favorite match of the night.  

   However, Nia is still not exactly a veteran and having a less experienced wrestler with Ronda might not be the best idea.  While Stephanie McMahon is not a wrestler at all, she's been involved with wrestling her whole life, and there were ring generals in there in Triple H and Kurt Angle.  Lately, she's come to the rescue of her friend Natalya from an attack by Mickie James and Alexa Bliss. Rumors then started that a program between Ronda and Natalya would take place this year, likely due to Nattie turning on Ronda.  Now, they're already putting Ronda in the Title match.  Nia just won the Title from Alexa at WrestleMania and I'm not trying to predict the future here, but it's more than likely Ronda will win, and in my opinion ruin Nia's run.  Of course, even if Ronda does not win, it will either be a screwy finish or not end clean whatsoever.  I'm afraid it will ruin the progress Ronda made at WrestleMania with her surprising delivery both as a wrestler and as a character.  

   Once again, this is all subjective and just my opinion.  While I did want to eventually see this program take place, I think it's way too soon.  I'd like to see a one on one match between Ronda and Mickie James at Money In the Bank.  Working with an experienced wrestler like Mickie would be important for this stage of Ronda's career.  Again, I'm not saying no to a Title run by Ronda.  It's something I expect and would welcome.  However, it wouldn't be smart to do it so soon.  Then, at Extreme Rules in July, Ronda can team with Natalya, who has somewhat mentored and trained her in the ring.  Together, they could take on Mickie James and Alexa Bliss, since Alexa is now done with Nia Jax.  During the match, Nattie turns on Ronda and it sets up a match between the two to be built towards SummerSlam in August.  Once her program with Natalya ends, Ronda could then set her sights on the Women's Championship.  That could be either outright winning it from whomever is Champion at the time, or perhaps winning the Royal Rumble to earn the opportunity and have her culmination at WrestleMania.  Other big money matches for Ronda would be against Asuka and Charlotte Flair.

   I'm not trying to tell Vince McMahon how to run his company.  There's a reason why he's a rich wrestling promoter and I'm not.  However, I still feel I'm allowed to have opinions on my passion that is wrestling.  I can still feel a certain way and disagree with something.  I don't overdo it, nor do I complain just to complain but it's unfair for me to simply accept everything that happens in wrestling.  There is such a thing as a bad idea, or at least a poorly received idea.  Even promoters and wrestlers talk about gimmicks, angles, or things they disagreed with.  Are there people that simply like to complain about every little thing in wrestling?  Sure!  But to me, I know the difference and I would never claim to know something I don't.  What do you think?  Is it a bad idea to rush a Title program for Ronda?  Or you fine with it?  Do you prefer it?  I'd like to know your thoughts.

  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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