Notes from the Lost B/R Dossier: The Art of the Push, Has It Evolved?

What does it take for a superstar to get noticed by the booker?

Is it exceptional in-ring skill or the ear deafening pops or boos the performer accumulates over a certain period of time? Is it the success of a gimmick that puts the management on notice? Or is it the rising merchandise sales of said performer which raises both his stock and importance in the company?

Perhaps, it is because of all of the above.

There is a pecking order; there has always been one in companies where importance is given mostly to the top talent in the company—main-eventers.

The evidence is before you: The opening and closing segments are usually reserved for wrestlers of the top echelon, be it for a main event match or a shocking closing segment.

There is a proverbial glass ceiling that the new talent has to break through in order to truly become one of the top superstars.

Over the years, the wrestling audience has witnessed moderate to main event pushes for superstars; moderate meaning they are given a fair amount of wins or even begin to rack up a winning streak and a main event push would qualify as booking the superstar to get in the ring with the current main event talent, and giving him/her high profile wins, in bouts where the championship may or not be on the line.

But how far does a superstar have to go until he/she reaches the level of success to hold the belt? How long must they be slammed on their backs and be pinned before they are on the other end of the pin fall and are picking up impressive victories?

It’s not easy to establish a definite time period or instruction manual because the way people break into the business varies from one person to another.

Some may attribute it to luck, but whoever thought luck leads anyone to success obviously has never searched for the words "hard work" and "determination" in a dictionary.

Simply put, luck is for losers.

Others get to where they are because of their connections; well, sort of.

This is by no means a bash on Hunter Hearst Helmsley, but a tiny observation of the career of Randy Orton. Orton got into the business due to his ancestral roots being firmly planted into wrestling history.

But even with wrestling in his blood, Orton, just like any other wrestler recalls of starting from scratch and working his way up from the bottom rung of the ladder:

When I first got down there, I hadn’t received a lot of training. I remember throwing my first dropkick and barely getting above my opponent’s knees. Everyone was looking around thinking, “Are you kidding me?”

-Randy Orton discusses his training in OVW in WWE Magazine

We get to where we are because we’ve either perfected the art of what we do so much to the fact that it has become second nature; it matters not which art it is, only that you excel in whatever you set out to do.

Taking that into consideration, what we have here are some of the necessary requirements, if you will, from wrestlers that are as follows:

• Wrestling prowess
• Microphone skills (The ability to: talk confidently, talk smack)
• The look
• A good gimmick
• Charisma (to connect with the crowd in either a positive or negative way)

These are attributes that are looked at when selecting a superstar that they will benefit most from; this is a business after all.

But over the decades, the importance of some of these qualities has been questioned and for good reason.

Has the art of the push evolved up to the point where the professional wrestling standards are now completely different as opposed to what they used to be?

Let's take a look.

Wrestling prowess: The importance of wrestling skill has taken a sharp drop; I’m in no way suggesting that basic mat skills are obsolete, but rather the clinic we see two superstars put on in the squared circle is a spectacle that comes infrequently but when showcased, it shows the bursting potential of a wrestler.

Another example of how wrestling skill has been put aside in favor of high paced brawling is the move set adopted by Steve Austin after he took on the ‘Stone Cold’ persona.

Long gone are the days of time consuming rest holds and submission maneuver filled bouts; however, what we have now are a plethora of different styles being incorporated into weekly bouts such as Lucha Libre, several aspects of Muay Thai and King’s Road which not only revitalize the wrestling but also creates opportunities for two or more styles to clash in a single match.

What is evident is that even though its importance has decreased, wrestlers still have the determination to provide bouts that are compelling to watch.

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