Burning_Inside said:
Latimer what do you mean by high spots? You mean the bumps he takes? Man you have to realize that you can be the shittiest wrestler ever, yet still "suck" because the promoters and writers make the stars. That's uninformed of you to say. You think that just because the Rock for example has more fans and is in a better light than Jeff Hardy, that it's Jeff's fault? Take a look at the Rock and Jeff and tell me who the better wrestler really is, and who has more balls int he ring. The Rock for example yet again is more charismatic because they write him in to be charismatic and have a lot of speaking roles. Jeff doesn't talk because, well, they don't ask him or want him to, because they don't want his popularity to over ride main eventers. You have to understand how the industry works, it's fucked up. WWF could easily make ANYONE a main eventer with the popularity of Hogan or the Rock, all they have to do is write you out to be that way. RVD took a lot of heat backstage because they thought that his popularity due to his wrestling style was making him "too" popular. It's stupid if you ask me.
First of all, I want to make it clear that I am a fan of Jeff Hardy and I love the hardcore style of wrestling as well as the traditional aspects.
The writers work with what the talent offers them. People were held back in the old WCW and the bookers were in on it. The WWF is an entirely different environment where the whole team is positive. No one is trying to hold anyone back. You won't find a better company for character development and support. Let's look the mechanics that make a truly good wrestler.
(In no specific order)
1. Charisma - You basically either have it or you don't. It can be developed to an extent, but you have to have some kind of base to start with at least.
Ex. The Rock and Stone Cold.
2. Physique - The WWF is home of the giants, but this is slowly changing over time. The fans have and probably always will demand this. If you're a smaller wrestler or out of shape you have to work even harder to succeed in this business. You damn well better excel in other aspects of the business.
Ex. Take away the Big Show's size and he's nothing in this business.
Exception - Chris Jericho makes up for this with solid ring work and charisma, among other things.
3. Mic Skills - You have to know how to work the mic. Most of the greats were fluent with their mic work. It's a natural ability, but it can be more easily developed than other attributes.
Ex. The Road Dogg got over largely in part to his awesome Mic work.
Exception - Kayne has some of the worst mic work ever, but his size and character put him at Main Event status.
4. Ring Psychology - You have to know how to work a crowd. If the fans are emotionally involved you generate interest and real feelings towards your character/match/feud.
Ex. Hulk Hogan basically sucked on pure wrestling ability. He could work a crowd with the best of them though.
5. Wrestling Ability - You have to know how to actually wrestle. You have to know how to mesh your style with other people's style and make the match look good.
Ex. Chris Benoit and William Regal. Beniot is one of the best technical wrestlers in the business. Regal is one of the best at having the ability to mesh with any others style. Both of them are great at both aspects of wrestling.
When you look back at all the former and current superstars of the wrestling game, generally you will find them to excel at most or all of these attributes. There are always exceptions to getting over in the business, but the truly great (or top) performers usually have a well-rounded character and abilities.
Jeff Hardy has to put his body on the line and hit a swanton off from a 12ft. ladder through a table, in order to get a huge pop. The Rock just hits the crowd with a People's eyebrow and draws a bigger pop.
I agree that the writers can have a huge effect on the wrestlers popularity. The thing is they have repeatedly tried to build on the Hardies' characters. The fact is they don't have the mic skills or ring psycology down enough to tell a truly compelling story. They have been giving numerous opportunities and fail to reach the level the writers would like them to achieve. That's why I say that if you take away Jeff Hardy's high spots, insane bumps, and his high flying style in general, he ceases to captivate the crowd and would probably be working the indy scenes. The Rock and Jeff are both fortunate enough to have the good looks that they will always get over with the women fans.
If they could propel Jeff Hardy to the level of a Stone Cold or The Rock, you don't think they would do it in a heartbeat? Especially considering the fact that they are plagued with injuries, Stone Cold's career is coming to an end; they are at risk to losing The Rock to Hollywood. I honestly don't think they are holding anyone back in that regard. Watch Rhyno soar to the top in the years to come. Kurt Angle has less experience than Jeff Hardy and he's already achieved more in his very, very short career and will be a flagship of the WWF for years to come.
Let's say that Jeff Hardy did get propelled to Main Event status. Say goodbye to all the high-risk moves that got him to where he is today. They don't want their top stars risking injury like Hardy does. It's just bad business. And really, where does Jeff stand without his hardcore/risky move set?
As far as RVD goes, He may have taken heat backstage, but that heat was from the other wrestlers. RVD will go farther than Jeff Hardy because he has more of the intangibles that make a great wrestler. It's already happening. He had a way bigger pop than Jeff and louder pops throughout the match at SS. Take away all the teenage girls and Jeff's entrance pop his cut in half or maybe more.
Sooner or later if he does go to the next level, he will have to drop his high-risk arsenal and greatly improve is other abilities. Unless he wants a short lived career in the spot light. Shawn Michaels got real hardcore in the last years of his career and now he's retired and banged up, when he had many years to still be a star in the business. Mick Foley, the hardcore icon, took the nastiest bumps this business has ever known. When he got to the top and after is legendary HIAC match/bumps, he toned down his bumping and got over on his other abilities (mic work/charisma/ring psychology) and was more over than he had ever been in his career.
This is something that the hardcore (extreme) style fans seldom think about. If you can tell an awesome story and get the fans emotionally charged and involved in the match, it'll beat out a good hardcore match 8 out of 10 times. SummerSlam: Austin/Angle was turned out to be the best match on the card and one of the best matches in recent memory. RVD/Hardy, while still an awesome match, came nowhere near the quality of the Austin/Angle match.
Now the WWF are slowing down the huge bumps and high risk matches. They're pointing talent to the Austin/Angle match as an example of how to put on a great match without putting your body on the line.
10 years from now The Rock will be laughing his way to the bank, while Jeff Hardy has a good chance of being in a wheelchair and a vague memory in the fans' minds.
So ask me who the better "wrestler" is between The Rock and Jeff Hardy and I'll tell you its The Rock.
Ask me who has the best actual wrestling ability and I'll bring up Chris Benoit before any Hardy ever crosses my mind.
I hope that wasn't too uninformed for you and my lack of understanding of the industry didn't show through.
High Spot - A particularly acrobatic, high-impact move in a wrestling match which usually consist of a plancha, a tope, a suicide dive, or any other wrestling move which generally includes wrestlers flying from the ring to the outside. Example: "That high spot in the match was incredible --- The Great Sasuke did a suicide dive from the ring into the fans in the third row."
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