What next for the WWE, does it have a reason to exist?

[CorpusBlack]

Have a goodnight.

Yeah.. I'm out too. Gotta find some dinner.

 

[Lantern Venom]

I think the Rock probably geared up. Please HBK and the others mentioned will always be in the shadow of the freaks of their resoective times. Edge is also known to have been on gear. I think it's unlikely Flair ever took performance enhancers, but, don't tell me Flair was as big as Hogan.

What HBK actually said is that he was in the shadow of bigger men in the 1980s. WWE has had more than it's share of smaller champions since the early 1990s: HBK, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Stone Cold, Chris Jericho.

Mankind was popular because he did extremely dangerous stunts. So much so that Foley quit wrestling for a while because it upset his children.

Mankind may not have been on drugs. The character was certainly a freak! Which is a shame because much as I look upon Foley's characters with disdain, he is an intelligent and articulate man and believe it or not, a good writer.

You'll get no argument from me on his intelligence. Anyone who's ever heard him speak or read one of his novels knows that there is college professor's brain trapped inside his rather unsightly appearance. However, I do disagree that Mankind isn't a good character. The character was childlike but also twisted and psychotic. It made for great television.

I don't dispute them being huge, but, HBK was not the draw the WWE wanted so when they saw Austins popularity, they pushed him.

Flair was not enough for the WCW to compete, neither was Sting hence the NWO. This didn't prove enough against Austin. Who was perhaps the most morally ambiguos character ever created.

That's not quite true either. HBK's back injury nearly ended his career in early 1998. Austin still would have gotten his push but HBK would have remained near the top due to his amazing athleticism and in-ring storytelling had he not gotten hurt. He's held the title and main evented several times since returning. However, the man behind the HBK character, Michael Hickenbottom, has stated that he no longer wants the title, which is why he never wins it.

I don't diagree that Austins popularity marked his card. I do believe though it showed the smaller guy was not what they were after. Both HHH and Austin are very big guys.

Austin isn't a big guy. He has good conditioning but he never actually topped 250 lbs. Most high school football linemen are that size. He's substantial in size but Austin didn't get to the top because of his physique.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

They have, yes, through longevity near the top of the business. The number one draws are probably.

in no order:
Hogan
Rock
Austin
Undertaker
Warrior
Cena
Angle
Hart
Sting
Lesnar
Batista



No Flair or HBK, hell, Sting was always above Flair for the WCW.

Lesnar and Batista over Flair and HBK?

Nononono. I'm a HUUUGE Batista fan and even I can't co-sign onthat part of your list lol. You can usually gauge a wrestler's general overness(storyline excluded) by crowd reaction during the Royal Rumble. When Flair or HBK's music hits, the place explodes. Lesnar wasn't with the company long enough to even hold a candle to Flair or HBK's careers. And I doubt Batista ever will, unfortunately.

HBK is more popular than Lesnar and Batista ever were or will be.

Yeah seriously. They're huge guys and Lesnar was VERY athletic for his size but they're not household names at all.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Austin isn't a big guy. He has good conditioning but he never actually topped 250 lbs. Most high school football linemen are that size. He's substantial in size but Austin didn't get to the top because of his physique.

Austin was 100% character

 

[Lantern Venom]

They have, yes, through longevity near the top of the business. The number one draws are probably.

in no order:
Hogan
Rock
Austin
Undertaker
Warrior
Cena
Angle
Hart
Sting
Lesnar
Batista



No Flair or HBK, hell, Sting was always above Flair for the WCW.

You really do have a very limited knowledge of wrestling, though it's much more than a professed wrestling hater *should* have. Closet fan?

Anyway, let me impart some knowledge to from a 30 year fan. That list could only be viable as a list of top WWE superstars on the last 20 years. Only the first 4 names on that list can even compare to the iconic status of wrestlers like El Santo, Blue Demon, Perro Aguayo, Jushin Liger, Bobo Brazil, Bruno Sammartino, and Antonio Inoki. Professional wrestling existed long before WWE ( CMLL and the NWA for over half century before WWE). It has existed in many other forms since the WWWF/WWF/WWE came into play in 1963.


Moreover, on your list, the last 7 guys can't be put in the same breath as Ric Flair. Flair has main evented more cards than all of those guys put together. Sting was never,ever, ever considered as a replacement for Flair. He was popular but after his initial run with the WCW title in 1990, the booking committee was disappointed with Sting's inability to deliver a a good promo and his routine spot-blowing. That's why his reigns were always short. He was always better in a situation where he was chasing the title rather than holding it. That's why Flair was champion when he left WCW in 1991 and was given the title back in short order when he came back in 1993. WCW didn't even trust Sting to be the #1 guy when Flair left. Luger was given the title in Flair's absence and Sting only won it after Luger signed with the WWF.

 

[Jerry!]

The above post is completely the reason why I am lost to the appeal of wrestling to people over 14 years of age. Basically you're rooting for whomever the company thinks can sell their product the best. Thats pretty much what it comes down to.

 

[bullets]

Obviously not because half the time his "facts" are wrong. It's actually kind of funny, Sting's most popular period was when he didn't actually wrestle, just stalked people from the rafters.

Actually his popularity had peaked before that , The NWO stroryline helped him reinvent his character.

 

[Lantern Venom]

The above post is completely the reason why I am lost to the appeal of wrestling to people over 14 years of age. Basically you're rooting for whomever the company thinks can sell their product the best. Thats pretty much what it comes down to.

The appeal is very close to the appeal of comics. Pro Wrestling is a soap opera of bizarre characters in a superhuman battle of wills. The critics of comic books often say the stories and characters are juvenile and the artform is garrish. For those of us who love comics, it's much more than that.
I have no problem with you or anyone else not being a fan of wrestling. It's one of those things you "get" or you don't get. I've watched in complete befuddlement as adults have packed NASCAR events and react as if their lives depended on it. All I see is a group of oversized appliances going around in circles. Yet I have never felt the need to seek it's demise. I don't understand why so many members of the anti-wrestling crowd so adamantly oppose it's very existence.

 

[CorpusBlack]

Only the first 4 names on that list can even compare to the iconic status of wrestlers like El Santo, Blue Demon, Perro Aguayo, Jushin Liger, Bobo Brazil, Bruno Sammartino, and Antonio Inoki.

*cough cough* Great Sasuke

 

[Lantern Venom]

*cough cough* Great Sasuke

I just freaking love Sasuke. I often pretend to be a Japanese announcer introducing him.

 

[CorpusBlack]

I just freaking love Sasuke. I often pretend to be a Japanese announcer introducing him.

I loved all of Michinoku Pro. Sasuke and Delfin were my two favs by far though. Naniwa and all of Kaientai weren't far behind either.

Gotta give it up to Ultimo Dragon and his Toryumon federation too.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

The above post is completely the reason why I am lost to the appeal of wrestling to people over 14 years of age. Basically you're rooting for whomever the company thinks can sell their product the best. Thats pretty much what it comes down to.

I'll def admit that once you realize that the winners are pre-determined; being a fan isn't as simple as "watching to see who will win". You start to appreciate mic skills, ring work, and stuff like that better. The business side of it is interesting to us too

I've watched in complete befuddlement as adults have packed NASCAR events and react as if their lives depended on it. All I see is a group of oversized appliances going around in circles. Yet I have never felt the need to seek it's demise. I don't understand why so many members of the anti-wrestling crowd so adamantly oppose it's very existence.

Couldn't agree more lol

 

[Super_Ludacris]

Warrior was big back in the day.But over some of the other dudes on the list like Bret and Sting?

 

[CorpusBlack]

Warrior was big back in the day.But over some of the other dudes on the list like Bret and Sting?

Agreed. Warrior had a 2 year period where he was hot. But when he made his infamous comeback (twice), no one really cared and he fizzled off into oblivion. Whereas, if Bret Hart ever came back, it would be one of the biggest wrestling news stories of all time.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Warrior is still around. He makes an ass out of himself every few months by commenting on politics and what not. His most recent article was about Ledger

 

[CorpusBlack]

Warrior is still around. He makes an ass out of himself every few months by commenting on politics and what not. His most recent article was about Ledger

He's under protective custody now because of death threats in regards to what he said about Ledger.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

I would have cast Ledger as Warrior in a biopic....

 

[Colossal Spoons]

He's under protective custody now because of death threats in regards to what he said about Ledger.

Batfans take this **** a bit too seriously

 

[CorpusBlack]

Batfans take this **** a bit too seriously

I think it was more of the teenie bopper female crowd.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

Brokeback crowd. Like Seagal said never underestimate the Gay Mafia of Hollywood, they ruined him!

 

[CorpusBlack]

Brokeback crowd. Like Seagal said never underestimate the Gay Mafia of Hollywood, they ruined him!

Any angel you look at it, the dude had a monster fan base that wanted to crush the One Warrior Nation. Now is it 'One' Warrior Nation because Warrior is the only 'one' in it?

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Haha, imagine a mob of gay guys and little girls chasing the Warrior around the place trying to kill him.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

One Warrior Nation is a pretty dope name for a fanbase.....

 

[CorpusBlack]

One Warrior Nation is a pretty dope name for a fanbase.....

I think they just tried to fit words into an acronym for NWO backwards.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

Haha, imagine a mob of gay guys and little girls chasing the Warrior around the place trying to kill him.

For real how akward would it be when they all catch him in a alley and it ends up being a snuff film?
The answer? Really akward once Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan emerge from the back and run out with steel chairs and clear house.