The title of this blog is something I hold dear, especially when it comes to professional wrestling. God knows there have been many times in wrestling history that doing this was completely ignored. I’m going to discuss a few examples of what I believe were missed opportunities to strike whole the iron is hot. This idea came to me on a recent blog I wrote about The Miz in 2016 just after the Talking Smack incident with Daniel Bryan. I felt that he was at his best during this time and unlike the two times he won the WWE Title, this would have been a much better time to do it.
Successful Examples
Though my blog is about failing to strike while the iron is hot, I thought about some of the best examples of it working. Vince McMahon realized that Verne Gagne refusing to push Hulk Hogan as the number one guy was his gain, this Hulkamania in the WWF was born and the rest is history. The same could be said a few years later when Macho Man Randy Savage got a big push that remained for another decade. In WCW, two of these call out to me. One was Diamond Dallas Page and the other was the streak of Goldberg. For as good as those turned out, I’m about to look at missed opportunities:
The Lex Express
I wrote a blog a few years ago about why the Lex Express ultimately failed. I pointed out that it was more because of bad booking than it being the fault of Lex as a performer. While yes he wasn’t what the fans wanted in the end as they preferred Bret Hart, the WWF dropped the ball here. They started off well with the aftermath of him slamming Yokozuna and embarked upon the bus tour known as the Lex Express. We were on the right track so far but they didn’t go all the way. It might not have worked out but they should have at least tried. It all came crashing down at SummerSlam 1993 when Lex won by count out and thus did not become Champion.
I wholeheartedly think that he should have won but what’s worse is what happened after the match. They had him celebrate in the ring as if he won the Title, making him look ridiculous. What did he have to celebrate? He may as well have lost. At least a loss or somehow getting screwed out of the title I can respect. After that, his stock went way down. While I quite enjoyed the double Royal Rumble win with Lex and Bret and the booking up until WrestleMania, as I thought there was still a chance, the booking once again killed his momentum, what little he still had. This time he got screwed when special referee Mr. Perfect disqualified him. The only thing I liked about this was it was at least some continuity, because it looked like revenge for the previous WrestleMania when after defeating Perfect, Lex knocked him out.
Rumors say that between the Rumble and WrestleMania, Lex drunkenly told people the plans for him to be Champion. I honestly doubt this happened. As much as I dislike quick Title changes, I would have even settled for Lex defeating Yokozuna for the Title and dropping it to Bret Hart by the night’s end. However, we need to admit that the reason they did the double Rumble win was to justify Bret wrestling twice in the same night and continuing the amazing feud between Bret and his brother Owen.
Owen Hart
Interestingly, the previous topic actually leads directly into what was a highlight of the New Generation era, the bitter and emotional feud between Bret Hart and Owen Hart. Owen was on a roll in 1994. He defeated Bret in the opener of WrestleMania 10 and went on to win the King of the Ring, after which he proclaimed himself to be known from then on as the King of Harts. Between defeating Bret at WrestleMania and winning the King of the Ring, these accomplishments earned him a shot at Bret’s WWF Title at SummerSlam.
This match took place in a Steel Cage and was yet another classic match between the brothers. Bret won but this was far from over. Directly after the match, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, who helped Owen win King of the Ring, blindsided the returning British Bulldog and his wife Diana Hart, Bret and Owen’s sister. Owen and Jim then locked themselves in the cage with Bret, as the rest of the Hart brothers tried and failed to rescue Bret. When the Bulldog finally came to, he climbed into the cage for the rescue, as Owen and Jim fled.
Later that year, Owen acted an Oscar worthy performance, costing Bret his Championship to Bob Backlund. As successful as that storyline was, I can’t help but think they should have went all the way with Owen, giving him a brief run with the WWF Title. While it may not have made him a main event star for good like it did Bret, it was certainly worth a try, as Owen as so white hot at the moment. Owen could have just as easily transitioned the Title to Diesel in a few months. This was his time to shine. While some argue that he should have been given the ball a few years later after the Montreal Screwjob, that was during the rise meteoric rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Owen had all the momentum in 1994, which is why this became an example of not striking while the iron is hot.
Zack Ryder
One thing I want to make perfectly clear is that in no way do I mean every wrestler on this list needs a World Title. Those examples were merely a jumping off point for the topic. Not striking while the iron is hot can take many forms. One such form is Zack Ryder and how, after being barely used, he managed to get himself over. Call it a conspiracy theory if you want, but I truly believe that Vince McMahon refused to fully push anyone he didn’t help get over himself, or with help from creative.
Ryder put together a YouTube show that was entertaining, funny, and included several insider wrestling terms that fans knew about. Instead of complaining to management, he took action and did it himself. It worked slightly, as it was enough to garner him fan support in order for them to justify him winning the US Title from Dolph Ziggler at the end of 2011. Unfortunately, that was quickly nixed, as he lost my the belt merely weeks later, and made to look quite frankly like a cuckold to his potential love interest Eve Torres and her attraction to John Cena. However, that wasn’t quite enough, as he was often manhandled by Kane, most notoriously by having Kane push a neck brace wearing, wheelchair bound Ryder off the stage.
With that being said, I, not anyone else were necessarily asking for him to be hotshot toward a main event spot or World Championship. We were realistic! It’s just that a lot more effort could been given by sources beyond Ryder’s control.
Bret Hart
Before you get your parties in a bunch, please know that I’m referring to Bret Hart in WCW. Fresh off the Montreal Screwjob and swift exit from the WWF, this should have been a no-brainer. Now, I know there was a full month before he could be used, be he was so white hot that it didn’t matter. When he finally did arrive, things didn’t seem right. They kept nonsensically teasing him as the newest member of the nWo, something that did eventually happen unfortunately. Thanks to various reasons, notably referee Nick Patrick not doing a fast count as intended during the Starrcade 1997 WCW World Title match between Hulk Hogan and Sting, special enforcer Bret Hart restarted the match because of so called shenanigans pulled out Hogan. Because it was a regular count, it made Hart come off looking dumb. His WCW tenure itself was a disaster but I’m just concentrating on his immediate use which should have capitalized on the tans’ support due to the incident in Montreal fresh on fans’ minds.
Matt Hardy
I know what you’re thinking! Broken Matt Hardy! Nope! Im referring to his brief firing and due to the real-life tension between him and Edge and Lita. That was all real. That was a hot feud. My problem is that while it made Edge the legend he is today, they only focused on Edge. The feud should have made both men. Matt could have been a huge superstar too. Obviously, he’s a legend in the business but at that point he should have gone to the moon. There are many more but I think I’ve made my point
No comments:
Post a Comment