Do you know that the light we see from stars at night takes millions or possibly billions of years to reach us? At The Great American Bash, a star was reborn; Booker T finally became a WWE World Champion. I know there are some people out there that say this is long over due. I happen to be one of them. I also know that several people will argue he is the first African-American champ of the WWE, because the Rock is half Samoan. The issue of Race in wrestling can be dealt with at another time. I remember when Booker T first arrived in the WWE. Here was the WCW champ, a former tag team champion, and an impressive physical specimen and he was made out to be a joke. He would win pointless matches against mediocre talent and then do his "Spin-a-Rooney" and the crowd laughed. After a few months, he began to get a better crowd reaction and more interesting matches. This went on for awhile and then to be honest, he became a B list star with A list potential. He then was moved to SmackDown! to be an A list star on a B list show. And maybe if Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, and Batista hadn't of come along, he would have been the champ. I know that Booker T became champion to give Batista a decent opponent to win the title back from. I know Batista is SmackDown!'s bread and butter, so he will get the push. So I ask you these questions: Who gets the push? What factors help you get the push? What makes a wrestler a star?
Bobby Lashley seems to be being groomed for stardom. Physically, he is a monster! I don't see much personality, but give it time. Matt hardy gets a better reaction than more than half of the WWE, but he wrestles nobodies. Why? Is it because of the controversy he created with the Edge/Lita situation? Is he being punished like Triple H was after the Madison Garden incident? How many legitimate contenders are on SmackDown!? I can count only three: Batista, Lashley, and Hardy. I will give Mr. Kennedy a mention, but he won't get a push for awhile.
It isn't much better on RAW either. Who are the legitimate marquee players? John Cena is the most loved and hated man in the WWE on any given night. Edge developed from a goofy Canadian tourist to a real superstar. Triple H will always be a star in the WWE. Shawn Michaels is at the twilight of his career. Ric Flair refuses to hear the swan song that played for him years ago. Besides the aforementioned stars, who do we really have? Randy Orton? He probably screwed himself out of title contention with all of his backstage antics. Kane seems to be going through the motions, but the Big Red Machine is just that...a machine. I don't see the Kane that used to scare and dazzle the crowd. The Big Show and Kurt Angle were banished to the new XFL. RVD watched all future title shots go up in smoke. Carlito seems best as a second string character and the same goes for Shelton Benjamin. Umaga will come and go like a bad cold that you will forget about in a couple of months. Eugene? You've gotta be joking!
Whatever happened to the WWE creating superstars? The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, The Ultimate Warrior, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, Kevin "Big Daddy Diesel" Nash, and the list goes on. These men were more than wrestlers; they were stars. I asked my sons to name their favorite wrestlers and a lot of this list was covered, yet only two of these names are still illuminating the squared circle and not as brightly as they once did. How did these men transform themselves into the constellations of the wrestling night sky? Will I one day be comparing Batista and Edge to the likes of Bruno Sammartino and Andre the Giant?
Is it the fans that make the stars? Do we have the power to reach into the primordial consciousness of what a wrestler is supposed to be and whisper, "Burn brighter than the sun." And when we see that star ascend to the heavens, do we recognize it? Do we have the power to give a wrestler a push? Do we see the potential and give it a helping hand by our cheers? Or do we watch them struggle and fade away before they are off the entrance ramp because Triple H is promoting a new T-shirt? Or are we spoon fed the stars and left to spit out the rest? Rob Conway has a great gimmick. I liked it better when Rick Rude did it several years ago... and Ric Flair before him... and Buddy Rogers before him, but it is still a good gimmick. Viscera has an interesting look. Who doesn't like a fat guy in pajamas? Yet Rob Conway, Viscera, Umaga, Eugene, and even more names than I have already mentioned will come and go. While Edge, Batista, and John Cena will appear on lunchboxes, T-shirts, energy drinks, and a host of other trinkets and gadgets until injury causes them to collapse like a star becoming a black hole. Unless someone else comes along and gets a bigger push and shines even brighter causing those before him to fade into the background.
This is the business. So why do I keep watching? Because I am waiting for the next batch of stars to shine brightly, maybe brighter than the stars of yesterday or today. But I will not forget the first stars I saw when I first looked to the wrestling heavens no matter how long ago their light was shining and then faded away.
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