What is prime? Is the prime of someone’s life when they feel their absolute best? Perhaps it’s when they do their absolute best in their career. In the world of wrestling, a superstar’s prime ranges from all sorts of different years and ages. A young up-and-comer could be in his wrestling prime right now, and end up only going downhill after this, even if he was in peak physical shape a few years from now. Some superstars don’t experience their prime until late in their career. Others steal the spotlight on a weekly basis, and never really lose their prime or lose steam along the way.
I’m constantly confused when I hear the words “past their prime”. I use the phrase all the time, but I never fully stop and examine why I use the words. Whenever I use it in reference to WWE superstars, I must choose the words carefully, as it doesn’t always apply to those of higher age. Who does it apply to? If a wrestler retires from being on the active roster in his 30s, is he really past his prime? Then why does a man who only truly begins his WWE career in his late 30s or early 40s not consider himself to be past his prime? Is there an age limit? It’s time we examine these words and figure out what they truly mean and who they apply to.
I’m going to hit you with the arguably the biggest wrestler of all time. He’s immortal, he’s Hollywood, he’s Hulk Hogan. You can go into any wrestling forum or chat, and there’s going to be the people who know very little about Hogan’s career who instantly slap an “Old-Timer” tag on him. Sure, he might be an old-timer, but he does give it his best shot when he gets in the ring. I thoroughly enjoyed his confrontation with Shawn Michaels, and most of the fans will place the thanks on Shawn Michaels, and while he carried far more than his own share, Hogan held his own in the ring.
Still, does that mean Hogan is still in his prime? I don’t think so. Sadly, Hogan is no longer an active wrestler. Since his return in early 2002 to the WWE, he has been an off-and-on performer. For a period, right up until mid-2003, he had a steady role on TV. It was a rebirth of the Hulkster, and I think that while the prime of his prime, if you will, was in the 1990s, he gave it his all in that timespan. Since then, he has become a special attraction of sorts, and while I dream of the day we see Hogan vs. Austin at Wrestlemania, I can’t help but wish his wrestling career ended in 2003.
Coming back here and there hasn’t added much to his reputation, and I feel the matches have only added to his ego and not his dignity. Dream matches with Shawn Michaels and a potential Austin match are no more than ego-boosts. Another notch in the ol’ belt, if you will. These are what they are, and that’s dream matches, however there are a lot of dream matches we would love to see. Will we get them? Not likely. I admire his love for the fans and his will to put on these epic matches, but to take time away from a potential match with the young and the fresh, just to make money doesn’t seem to be the best choice. WWE has made a habit of choosing veterans for money in the short-term, over the young talent for the long-term, so my words won’t make a difference. I hate to say it, but Hogan is far past his prime, and he should consider a real retirement match to end a legendary career.
Let’s talk about a guy who is long past an active part of TV. In fact, he hasn’t been in the WWE in quite a long time. He is officially a movie star, with such films as The Rundown, Walking Tall, and Doom. We’re obviously talking about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Rock is a lot younger than Hulk Hogan, yet Hogan has put in more matches since 2002 than The Rock. But, I think we could all agree that The Rock’s prime is gone, considering he has left his WWE days behind. We all know he’ll be back again someday, likely for another match or two, but I don’t think we’ll ever see The Rock in an active, constant role anymore on television. His prime ended sometime in 2001 or 2002, and he has been nothing more than a special attraction ever since, even in a lesser extent than Hulk Hogan.
Who could possibly talk about the best and not mention The Undertaker? Just for the length of his career alone, he is a legend. I’ve always been partial to the Deadman of the early-to-mid 1990s, and while I’ll always enjoy Taker in any form, I wasn’t his biggest fan during the “BikerTaker” years, although I did enjoy the time in 2002 when he was Big Evil. Now that was a dominating heel. There’s always something memorable about The Undertaker every year, and he rarely disappoints. As his age keeps growing, his ability to put himself out there for the fans a few times a week diminishes, but there’s not a single doubt in my mind that The Undertaker is still in his prime. His retirement may be looming at any time, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be going out on top because he will. He’s a rare performer who defies the laws of wrestling, and laughs in the face of age. He’s been in his prime since 1990, and I can only wish he was still wrestling in 50 years. But, not even the Deadman is that immortal.
Now, I’ve covered some of the biggest draws of all time. How about some of the guys who may not be the biggest money-makers in history, but they busted their ass each and every night? How about two men who worked hard to get where they did in 2004? I’m talking about Chris Benoit and the late Eddie Guerrero (it’s difficult saying that, still). These guys did their best to put on the match of the night every night, until years and years of hard work paid off in 2004. Eddie won the WWE Title in February at No Way Out, while Chris Benoit headlined the main-event of Wrestlemania and captured the World Heavyweight Title. They were both in their prime for the past few years, and have used their years of hard work to push them up the ladder. Chris Benoit still works hard vying for the US Title, and Eddie Guerrero? There are very few people who will disagree with me when I say that Eddie was still in his prime when he died. Sure, Hogan and Rock worked hard, but they grabbed the audience by the throats through their personalities, and became huge rather quickly. Eddie and Benoit worked hard to assure themselves that the prime of their careers was spent atop the WWE. They accomplished their goals, and Benoit still remains one of the top talent in the WWE today.
Let’s face it: age plays a big factor in determining the prime of a WWE superstar. But it’s an incredibly tricky way to determine a man’s prime. Take The Rock or John Cena, for instance. The Rock was young in his prime, and John Cena is still in his 20s as he enjoys his WWE Title reign. Cena could be here to stay for years to come, becoming another Undertaker, and being in his prime for 15 or 20 years. Or, he could pull a Rock and become a movie star, or become a full-time rap star. Either way, John Cena could and might be a main-event man for a long, long time. But, he’s young. He’s fresh. His career is only just beginning, and he has already main-evented a part of Wrestlemania and has held the WWE title for almost eight months.
What about a man like Batista? He made it big in WWE as Deacon Batista in 2002. Okay, he wasn’t big. That was just a small start for the big man. In 2003 and 2004, he was Evolution’s lackey, playing fourth fiddle to Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton. Then, he suddenly became a babyface, seemingly overnight. The rest is history. But, he’s in his late 30s. How is that going to affect Batista’s run in WWE? He is more prone to injuries when working a steady schedule at his age, let alone main-eventing all the house shows and Smackdown PPVs as World Heavyweight champion. He’s in his prime so late in his career, where he may end up burning himself out with being a top guy, and end up retiring earlier than some guys have recently. And what about The Boogeyman? I heard the man behind the B-Man is 42 years old. What if he became a big performer? I’m not calling Boogeyman the WWE champion in a year or two, but he could be a prominent figure on the show. It’s not fair that he may not even get a chance to live out a successful prime, because his prime years may be a few years behind him.
We’ve seen men in their prime from all sorts of ages and eras. But what about the one man who has been in his prime for a few decades? Love him or hate him, Ric Flair is a legend. No, I won’t call him the best in-ring performer, or the best entertainer (he ranks up there in entertainers, though), but he merits a “Legend” title just for putting on solid matches so late in his career. Tonight, he faces Triple H in a Last Man Standing match. And he’s not going to go out there, take a few punches, bloody up Hunter, and then take a dive without so much as a scratch. You know he’ll take pain, you know he’ll get juiced (cut up and bloodied), and you know he’ll be feeling it for a while. But there’s not a doubt in my mind that he could be putting on another match tomorrow night on RAW. I’ve slowly grown to like Flair and respect him. I’ve asked for his DVD set for Christmas. I want to know this man in his early years. Either way, though, Flair is still going strong. He truly stands tall, still in his prime. He’s in his prime just as much as he was 20 years ago. In my eyes, that is.
A wrestler’s prime is defined differently by different people. We knew going into this discussion that age doesn’t always play the lead factor in determining a man’s prime. Some go through their wrestling careers as the lower card go-to guy, and that’s the prime of their career. Others win titles and main-event PPVs for years and years. All these men are all different ages. I didn’t need to tell you that there isn’t a set age where the superstars experience their prime, where their legacy hits a peak. But, there are far too many people today who classify the older superstars as “old-timers” and “past their prime” or “past their time”, simply because of age. Ric Flair isn’t past his prime. He’s not an old-timer. The Undertaker has been around seemingly forever, and even when recycling a classic gimmick, he’s still not past his prime. Not now. Not yet. People use the term while rarely thinking about it beforehand. People don’t think it, but technically speaking, The Rock is just as much past his wrestling prime as Harley Race or Ted Dibiase.
Now, don’t get me started on when a wrestler goes from Superstar to Legend.
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