Opinion
The Lost Art Of The Wrestling Story
Ric Flair once wrote in his autobiography, “To Be The Man,” no one in the wrestling business sold for him more than Ricky Morton and Ricky Steamboat. The story the 16-time world champion and “The Dragon” told from their days in the Carolinas in the late 1970s and early 1980s and later relived in 1989 with Steamboat capturing the WCW World Title was more like ballet than a wrestling match.
When two performers have that kind of chemistry, professional wrestling leaves its mark on its fan and creates a narrative that cannot be duplicated. Today’s professional wrestling has a hard time creating that kind of plot and development because feuds are short-lived and today’s fans aren’t invested in characters like in decades past because of poor booking and a lack of true heels and babyfaces.
The feud between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura is as close an old-school wrestling story as WWE has put together in some time. Few of this generation of characters come close but fall short of hitting its mark. It may be more important for superstars to work well together than it is for them to have a start, beginning, and end.
When I think of a wrestling story, I have to travel back in time. Jack Brisco and Dory Funk, Jr. Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine. Bruno Sammartino and Larry Zbysko. Verne Gagne and Nick Bockwinkel. Somewhere out there, someone forgot how to write a wrestling program. The connection of the two stars to the fans and how to win them over in victory and defeat. It’s a lost art. With the end of Kayfabe and “wrestling” – which was replaced by sports entertainment – the notion of chapter and verse was lost forever.
The Styles-Nakamura showcase is helping to mend the bridge once again.
As a youngster growing up in Jacksonville, FL, my father would take us to the old Colosseum to watch NWA matches. Flair, The Funks, Brisco, Dusty Rhodes, Pak Song and Mike Graham. Good guys or villains, they were like heroes. They created drama in the ring. They knew how to play off the interaction of the fans. They were some of the best in their craft. I could make the argument a few come close in addition to Styles and Nakamura with The Miz and Jinder Mahal providing they are two of the best heels of this generation.
Seth Rollins has become a one-man show on Monday nights, but there is no one to dance with him. Bray Wyatt told a decent story, but he lost his way. No one holds a candle to Trish Stratus and Lita in women’s wrestling, but a feud between Sasha Banks and Bayley could rekindle that kind of intensity. Vince McMahon used to be a master at creating “believable” characters and scripts. His “circus” kept children interested for more than five minutes. Now, they jump around from superstar to superstar like butterflies from plant to plant.
If WWE wants to get some of its fan base back, write programs that mean something. Maybe not to the extent of Flair and Steamboat, but use Styles and Nakamura as a springboard. Do something with Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan. Create heat between Jason Jordan and Chad Gable when Jordan returns. Make Banks and Bayley mean something.
If not, the current feud between the WWE Champion and the King of Strong Style may be the last time we witness greatness in the ring from a story that has written itself.
Write better a better wrestling program and fans remain engaged. I thought this was something WWE already knew about, but apparently, they lost the cheat sheet a long time ago.
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Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
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SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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Opinion
Chris King: Is Brock Lesnar Truly Retired?
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
At WrestleMania 42, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar took off his boots and gloves following his loss to Oba Femi. Lesnar has done it all inside of his twenty-four-year career in professional wrestling. He’s a ten-time WWE Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and he’s one who ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
While Lesnar was in the ring, he was visibly overwhelmed with emotion and crying while he thanked the fans in his own way. The Beast even threw up an x to signal to Paul Heyman, his longtime friend and advocate, that this was not scripted and was real. There had been rumors that Lesnar and Oba were supposed to have a series of matches before everything went down at Mania.
‘The Career Killer’ Gunther was doing Heyman’s bidding as he faced Seth Rollins for a favor. For a while now since Gunther retired Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles, the rumor has been Gunther was set to retire Lesnar in his hometown at this year’s SummerSlam event. There’s been no confirmation if Lesnar is truly retired, but on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, we saw Heyman talking with General Manager Nick Aldis. Later that night following Rhodes’ match against the debuting Ricky Saints, Gunther choked out the WWE Champion. Could this be the favor from Heyman?
I know in the world of professional wrestling we live by the mantra of “never say never,” but what if Lesnar is actually retired and this was WWE’s way of shutting down those rumors about Gunther and Lesnar? What if Gunther’s next program is chasing after the WWE title, and where is Randy Orton at in all of these plans? There are so many questions that need to be answered, hopefully soon!
Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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Opinion
Chris King: Defend The Intercontinental Championship At Backlash!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
This year’s annual Backlash showcase is only a few days away, and while there are many big matches announced, one that definitely should be isn’t on the card. In my opinion, outside of Roman Reigns/Jacob Fatu and Seth Rollins/Bron Breakker, the Intercontinental Championship scene has been stellar over the last month.
Penta has been an excellent champion, especially after his triumphant title defense in a ladder match against JeVon Evans, Rusev, Dragon Lee, and the Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. Their ladder match at Mania was one of the best that WWE has produced in a while.
The momentum never stopped, as on the post-Mania episode of Monday Night Raw, ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page made his debut and was quickly inserted into the Intercontinental title scene. Page had a fantastic showing against his longtime NXT rival Evans and picked up a big win in his debut match thanks to an assist from Rusev.
All Ego immediately joined forces with ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ Rusev, who was also vying for the Intercontinental Title in his own right. On this week’s episode of Raw, Page and Rusev defeated Evans and Penta. All Ego pinned the champion, making a huge statement and putting him one step closer to getting a title shot. For the past few weeks I’ve been anxiously waiting to see if WWE was going to add this incredible fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but it hasn’t happened yet.
As much as the WWE Universe enjoys witnessing great matches on free television, I truly believe all four superstars deserve the chance to showcase their talents on the PLE. While Penta has done a terrific job as the intercontinental champion, it’s time for a fresh face to hold the prestigious title. Page would make a great braggadocious heel that would help elevate the Intercontinental Championship to new heights!
Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
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Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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