BY MIKEY MIGO
Obviously, I’ve been in a “wrestling state of mind” as of late. It’s not just Rockstar Wrestling stuff. I’m a big fan of wrestling. I watch and often enjoy the WWE product. I try to watch TNA, but it’s just too incompetent to follow. Ring of Honor’s bigger shows seem to deliver a match or two that I’ll enjoy, but overall I just can’t get into their product. I’ve been checking out FCW stuff on the internet and I can honestly say that it’s more entertaining than TNA and Ring of Honor these days. That’s just me though. I want everyone to have wrestling they can watch and enjoy. I read wrestling news, I read columns, I watch videos, I listen to podcasts, I read forums, I read comments, I talk to wrestlers, I talk to fans, etc. etc. etc. What I’m saying is that I’ve gotten pretty deep into the wrestling community. Sadly the main reaction is almost ALWAYS negative. No one is EVER happy. No one has ANYTHING good to say. It’s pretty much a million people saying “The writers suck! Vince sucks! They destroyed that storyline! THIS is how they should have done it! I know WWE more than WWE! Triple H is burring everyone AGAIN!” It’s always a complaint or a “shoulda’ done”.
Folks. Please. Take a deep breath and look at what’s going on. I’m 28 and I have memories of being 3 and watching Saturday Night Main Event. So, in my 25 years of wrestling memories and experiences I can honestly say that the WWE is currently putting out its BEST product. Hear me out.
Professional Wrestling is a business that runs in cycles. It’ll be a hotter commodity and putting out a great product for awhile and then it’ll suck for awhile. The shows will be lame and fans will fall off. A lot of the time it’s in the middle. It’s in the middle of the road. The shows and stories are well enough for wrestling fans to continue to be wrestling fans. The WWE has survived plenty of eras. I was a kid during the “Hogan era”, a teenager during the “Attitude Era”, and now in my twenties. I’ve seen a lot of wrestling. The “Attitude Era” was great and is often spoken of as the best. It was great times, but I think TODAY is better.
It all comes down to a core group of wrestlers that are just now hitting their peaks. The Attitude Era was so bad ass because so many people were coming into their own at the same time. Austin, Triple H, The Rock, Mankind, Undertaker, and a lot of the people on the roster were all laying down the ground work that would make their legacies.
Right now we have a group of guys who are “there” or arguably “riiiight there”. The current breed of those coming into their own include the likes of CM Punk, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, and Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett being not too far off. I think THE guy is Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler is by far the best performer professional wrestling has seen in a LONG time. Everything I like about certain wrestlers seem to be among the many attributes of Ziggler. Things from Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Perfect, Billy Gunn, Owen Hart, and other icons are all easy to be seen in this guy. I cannot stress how awesome Dolph Ziggler is and can be in the future.
Along with those guys, we’re still experiencing the prime of Randy Orton and John Cena. They’ll be around for awhile. Then we have guys like Christian and R-Truth who are still viable contenders. Mark Henry, Booker T, Big Show, Goldust, Kane, William Regal, and a few others are closer to retirement than we’d all like to admit. They’re all still contributing and doing their part. The Undertaker and Triple H should retire, but that’s not a discussion for now. Chris Jericho has some gas in his tank because he knows how to treat himself. He’d be able to stick around for a couple years, take a year or two off, and STILL come back for one more, hopefully extended run. Point is, he, Orton, and Cena are going to be “the vets” before too long. Guys who debuted in WWE in 2003 are going to be the “vets”. Crazy.
Then they are supporting stars and wrestlers who have a lot going for them. Zack Ryder, Kofi Kingston, and Jack Swagger have all had various levels of upper card success. Something in them could just “click” and they could turn it up and become bigger stars than anyone. For now, they’re solid hands that contribute well. The lower card is fun too. Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Tyler Reks, and Curt Hawkins have potential. Everyone does.
My intentions weren’t to go over the entire current WWE roster. It’s just that I honestly feel that so many people currently on the shows are worth mentioning. The older vets are mainly vets who can still perform at a very high level like a Regal, Kane, Booker T, etc.
It comes down to two things. Change and Uprise. The current scene needs a big shake up that leaves everything on its ear. Meanwhile new leaders and superstars need to rise. Basically, it’s on four people. Two upcoming “vets” and two upcoming “main eventers”. CM Punk needs to step up one more time and get over the hump to be a HUGE star. He COULD be the “Austin-type” if he got that chance to really break though. Dolph Ziggler needs a title reign and a few wins over bigger names. He’s going to have the best matches of the show and continue to become huge. It’s like RVD in ECW or HBK in the mid to late 90’s. He’s the showman. Randy Orton just had one of his best years. He’s putting out good matches, he’s putting people over, and he’s the most consistent main eventer the WWE has had since Bret Hart. If he continues to put people over and still maintain his status at the same time then he’s doing more good for wrestling than really anyone else in the locker room. And finally, John Cena. John Cena’s character seems to finally be shifting to a new direction. I think whatever way they go will really decide how this new “era” goes. There needs to be a shift either way. So basically, it comes down to CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler and John Cena and Randy Orton just like it came down to the Austin and Rock, and the Michaels and Hart, and the Hogan and Savage before them.
So what’s the new era? It’s still PG, but some edginess and attitude are shining though. Putting on good matches and performance seems to be in the forefront now. Even the stand outs in FCW seem to be on the more “athletic” grind. I know the old school fans are going to cringe because it’s a show full of “guys that are midcard/IC Title size”. Times have changed.
Imagine if Wrestlemania 3 had a whole show full of Steamboat/Savage style matches and then one “big muscle guy” match? As long as it be can be done, be done entertaining, and make money then it’s exactly what we’re heading towards. It’s just how the chips are falling. The roster is athletic and can put on more “work rate quality” matches than say a Batista or JBL.
So I jokingly wrote down the term “Athletic-tude Era”. The more I think about it, the more I’m cool with it. They didn’t call the “World War” the “World War” until it happened. I’m sure that’s the case here. Whatever it’s called, I’m genuinely thankful for the hours of entertainment provided by Vince McMahon and those “horrible Hollywood writers”.
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