We hear it all the time: this guy has IT. But that guy? That guy just doesn't have IT.
Who tells us who has it, and who is lacking in the it-department? Do we decide on our own by looking someone over and deciding if their it-o-meter is hitting 1000 on a scale of 1 through 10? Is it possible to gain it, or are you just born with it? If you do possess it, whatever way you found it, can you lose it like a pair of keys? Or does it stay with you forever? I'm losing my mind trying to wrap my head around it, and finding out everything I need to know about it. It's driving me insane!
In the WWE, it's not hard to name three superstars who absolutely have it. The three names that fly into my head are The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Hulk Hogan. They have enough in-ring ability to hold their own in the ring (perhaps Austin and Rock moreso than Hogan), while having an incredible charisma on the microphone, in the ring, or just interacting with the fans.
In the modern era of professional wrestling, and specifically WWE, who has what legends are made of?
The name that instantly comes to mind for most wrestling fans (love him or hate him) is John Cena. He has a natural way of speaking on the microphone. He can build up the capacity crowds in the biggest arenas (at least for weekly RAW shows) by running through the list of ways he is going to annihilate his opponent. In the ring, he's compared to Rocky Balboa: not the greatest performer, but he'll do what's necessary to win.
The problem with John Cena is that he rarely has the majority of the fans cheering for him. On his best days, he gets a solid pop. But on a typical Monday night across the country (and the world), John Cena is mercilessly booed by a large portion of the crowds. Specifically, the men. How can someone hated by so many be considered the current face of WWE? And I know what you're thinking: who cares what small percentage is booing John Cena? The boos that he suffers in the ring hurt him in the long run. I was a fan of Cena when he first started getting popular. But as time went on, I lost faith in the man with a PhD in Thugonomics. I started losing interest, because I knew that no matter what he did (as a babyface), he wasn't going to be able to reverse the weeks, and now years, of damage that has been done, where many fans will boo Cena and cheer his opponent.
To make matters worse, Cena has been pitted against a lot of babyfaces, or heels that garner respect pops from the crowd. WWE wisely chose not to allow Cena and HBK to feud in the past weeks to maintain a level of dignity with the WWE Champion. In the same breath, you can say that they have ultimately hurt the Wrestlemania main-event by not allowing a proper feud to build. This "will he or won't he turn on Cena?" feel of every RAW, Smackdown and PPV event has been frustrating. An entire championship angle for Wrestlemania was alterred drastically, mainly (I assume) because John Cena cannot get a strong enough crowd reaction against a fan favorite like Shawn Michaels. So why push the feud when there are heels that could take HBK's spot?
John Cena couldn't even get the entire crowd to root for him against Triple H one year ago, and even Edge during 2006, when every other week seemed to feature the two in the same match. It wasn't until Umaga that Cena started winning back some of the crowd. But it took the heel with the strongest ability to gain heat (Who could love a Samoan Bulldozer? Not even his momma loves him!) to give Cena some newfound credibility. When all is said and done, Cena will be considered a legendary performer, but the bar has been lowered for him. It's unfortunate, because he has potential to be the next "It" guy with true "It" appeal. But, he hasn't quite earned his "It" stripes yet. Perhaps someday we'll see a strong heel Cena.
On the Smackdown side of things, Batista was once considered by yours truly to be the next "It" Man. Three wins over Triple H, and actual babyface cheers cemented him as a credible fan favorite. There was no stopping the Animal from taking over WWE. Then, he was traded to Smackdown, where he was instantly paired up with JBL in a mediocre feud that most fans have long since forgotten. An unlikely partnership with Eddie Guerrero that ultimely ended in November 2005 was the last great angle Batista took part in. An injury sidelined Batista for several months, and since then, he's won the gold again, but he has lost his charm as the soft-spoken behemoth. Rumors about a lack of motivation or love for the business have run rampant for months. True or not, it still shows that there's some sort of lack of motivation from Batista, which has hurt his potential spot as one of the greatest performers of modern-day pro wrestling.
How about the up-and-comers? Bobby Lashley is the ECW Champion, which evidently, holds as much credibility as the Intercontinental Title, seeing as how that's what Umaga was given to hold his own in comparison to Lashley at Wrestlemania. Like Batista and Brock Lesnar, Lashley is lacking in the Strong Personality Department (a place that many wrestlers have never visited). Considering Lashley as an "It" Man doesn't hold up much. Jeff Hardy is an incredible superstar, but he said more on last Monday's edition of RAW than in his entire six months since returning to RAW. CM Punk is still building a persona amidst the ever-changing ECW. Rob Van Dam smoked some marijuana, and his massive push was deflated instantly. Kennedy is probably the closest the WWE has to a potential star out of the up-and-coming wrestlers.
This all leads me to the one true "It" man that the WWE currently has. The one guy who undoubtedly has it. It's not Undertaker or HBK, as they are already veteran performers. The guy that has the greatest potential to still be a main star in WWE in five years is Triple H. There will always be those who argue about his very possible backstage clout that will keep him in WWE in five years, thanks to a marriage to the boss's daughter. But who are we to confirm rumors that we don't witness first hand? Just ignoring that evidence, Triple H is an incredible performer. He has the in-ring ability that is every bit as good as Stone Cold Steve Austin in his prime. His mic skills are superb, mixing in a strong and interesting promo with crowd interactions (both as a heel and babyface). He oozes charisma. He has won the respect of those of love him and those who don't.
It was a sad day to hear about his injury in January, that forced him to miss Wrestlemania. As a fan of The King of Kings, I feel that, win or lose, he brings his best every year to Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania isn't the same with The Game in action. Despite being an unofficial McMahon, Triple H has won over fans recently with a Degeneration X revival. Even though some have deemed it an unneccessary blast to the past, and some, including myself, have felt that the revival should have ended with his injury, you can't deny that the fans have cheered big time for Hunter and HBK. Triple H even got a strong reaction from the Hall-of-Fame audience when Dusty Rhodes pointed out how frustrating it can be to miss the Super Bowl of wrestling.
In any event, Triple H has all the qualities that make for an "It" man, at least in my eyes. And that's what makes the "It" factor (not unlike The X-Factor) so great. What I find to be star qualities may not be what you find to be star qualities. Who I think are the men (and women) who have "It" in WWE may be drastically different from who you think have "It". It's so hard these days to find one true wrestler that everyone agrees is legendary. One guy that is the real-life Mr. Perfect. For now, it's just time for me to shut "it".
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