WWE: How the Resurrection of Larger-Than-Life Characters Would Benefit WWE

I remember as a boy sitting in my living room, lying on the floor in front of the television next to my older brother, watching wrestling for the first time. I  remember being impressed with the in-ring action, but I know it wasn’t the quality of the wrestling that really grabbed my attention.

I remember seeing these two guys make their way to the ring. They were two huge guys with outlandish haircuts and paint on their faces, and they were wearing padding to the ring covered in huge spikes. I remember sitting up and thinking, “Who are these guys?” Like many kids in the early 90’s, the Legion of Doom looked like the coolest thing I had ever seen.

A little later I saw another guy with face paint, sprinting to the ring and shaking the ropes, looking like a shooting star that brought an explosion of adrenaline that carried through the television set to a young boy from Glasgow, providing me with the thrill that has kept me watching for the last 21 years.

The Legion of Doom, The Ultimate Warrior, The Macho Man, Hulk Hogan and Demolition, followed later by Shawn Michaels, DX, The Rock and Mankind, were all characters that stood out from everyone else on the card, real men providing a fictional character that would withstand the test of time. If one were to look at the times in which the great characters of the industry were at their peaks, it would become clear that those times were some of the most profitable in the industry.

Looking at the card for recent WWE events, it isn’t hard to notice that throughout the entire card, there is a distinct lack of character throughout. I’m not talking about character in the sense of Cody Rhodes' slightly psychotic gimmick. I’m talking about the fact that instead of the guy with the inimitable look, wearing all red and yellow, having a seizure in the ring that leads to victory, you have a guy in street shorts and trainers. I’m talking about the fact that instead of the guys wearing the spikes, with faces adorned with war paint, you have two guys who have taken their usual ring gear and made sure that they are wearing the same colour. There just doesn’t seem to be anyone taking the chance to be different: No one stands out.

No one, that is, with a few exceptions. These exceptions, however, lead to the other part of the problem. They are namely, Santino Marella, Brodus Clay and Zack Ryder. Can anyone see the commonality here? All three of these characters have been reduced to the comedy relief section, providing a respite between the ultra-intense tussles between the top guys. Simply put, the WWE has reduced the stand-out character to the lower card, as a side attraction to the main event.

But the blame cannot squarely be placed on the shoulders of the WWE. Look at the indy wrestling shows taking place all throughout the world. They, too, are filled with the now-standard business stereotypes, whether they be the skinny high-flier in the baggy pants, the technical wrestlers who have modelled themselves on the attire of Chris Benoit, or the garbage brawlers who dress exactly the way Raven and Justin Credible have dressed since the late 1990’s.

The problem is that there is simply nothing new, no new big character that storms its way through the indies, or Japan, and explodes onto the screen upon reaching the big time. There is no new Muta, or Sting, or Road Warriors, or Macho Man. There is nothing that would make the young kids of today sit up with their jaws dropped, thinking they’d witnessed the coolest thing they’ve ever seen. In a time where ratings are at a steady low figure week on week, you’d have to think that something has to be at least attempted to boost the viewership.

However, my fear is that it cannot be done today like it was in the heyday of the grappling game, simply because there is no longer a territory system. In years gone by, wrestlers had years of travelling from company to company, tweaking their characters as they went. They learned how to make an impact from arrival, they learned how to make the character work in a number of different situations and angles and they learned to develop an in-ring style that complemented their character. By the time they got to the WWF, the gimmick was established, fully fleshed and had become three-dimensional, an extension of the wrestlers themselves. These days, the lack of a territory system means that there is nowhere for a character to develop, leading to thin, one-dimensional characters that gain little reaction from the paying public.

I believe that if someone wants to get over, they have to have something different about them that separates them from the rest of the locker room. There’s a reason why The Undertaker, Kane, Hulk Hogan and Mick Foley have enjoyed such lengthy careers. As to whether it will be done in the future, or indeed as to whether it can be done in the future, only time will tell.

One thing is certain, however. With the WWE having to institute focus groups into the reasons why the youth of today are not clicking with the current programming, something has to be done to make the kids of today tune in every week. If it worked for me, surely, surely, it wouldn’t hurt to try it again.