The Way The World Turns
Some things are natural and simply the order of things. People and progress and are constantly striving to take things to the next level the wrestling business is no different. Wrestling has it’s highs and lows, 1985-1990 is considered by many as a golden age in wrestling when stars like Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair dominated the scene for there promotions.
During this time Vince McMahon had a vision he no longer wanted wrestling to be regional and stuck in a single territory. During this period Vince gathered up all the top talent from all the different regions in order to make a truly national product. It was during this time Vince came up with the concept for Wrestlemania the first true Wrestling mega event in which wrestling would invade the mainstream audience with larger then life athletes and gimmicks or characters. Within this vision Vince would meld Wrestling and Hollywood together in an over the top spectacle. This idea was truly unique not only would you see the incredible athletics you would see in sports but you would also get the acting in which you could only see in a Hollywood production. Wrestlemania I did not do the buy rates that had initially been expected but had done enough to convince Vince there was a market. During this time Hulk Hogan had boomed and was the first Wrestling Superstar too transcend the sport. During this time we had cartoons featuring Wrestling Superstars as well as action figures. The name Hulk Hogan was known around the world and the World Wrestling Federation truly capitalized, for the first time in the history of Wrestling the business was a money making phenom.
Enter the 1990’s, Hulk Hogan was starting to become a thing of the past WWF tried to pass the torch to guys like The Ultimate Warrior unsuccessfully. While wrestling was still popular it was becoming inevitable Hulk Hogan was going to eventually leave for the movie business. WWF still had draws such as Randy Savage, Ric Flair & Ultimate Warrior but none of these guys had the cross over appeal of Hulk Hogan. Ric Flair eventually left Ultimate Warrior was fired and Randy Savage wasn’t really doing anything. Wrestling was in need of the new mega star the belt was dropped on Bret Hart in what some people call the return of real wrestling; While Bret was a fantastic wrestler he didn’t have what could be described as crossover appeal. Around the same time WCW was starting up Ric Flair returned to reclaim the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and would be name the first ever WCW Champion. WWF was still striving to find the next huge star. By this time Wrestlemania IX had rolled around and the return of Hulk Hogan had arrived to reclaim the title in a really odd fashion, Hulk Hogan was not initially booked in main event it was Bret Hart © vs. Yokozuna for the WWF Title but rumor has it the Hulkster wasn’t happy with his payment for the event and demanded he be given the title. Bret would wrestle Yoko in the main event losing due to interference from Mr. Fuji and the infamous salt incident; after the match Mr. Fuji challenged Hulk Hogan and in a stunning twist of events Hogan ran out and basically squashed the new champ. Hulk Hogan’s run was ill fated and didn’t last very long with him losing the title back to Yoko at The King of the Ring Pay-Per-View in 93.
Wrestling and the WWF was in what is described as a down period, WWF struggled to keep attendances up Bret Hart was WWF’s major star but wasn’t a huge draw. WCW started to sign stars that had previously been huge in WWF enter Vince’s idea of the new generation which was basically a concept to try and play down WCW’s stars as old. We had a bunch of new faces Shawn Michaels was being built and groomed for the top spot, Diesel & Razor Ramon also became forces in Vince’s new generation but still attendances and ratings weren’t exactly great. WWF for the first time had major competition in the form of WCW with wrestler jumping back and forward from promotion to promotion but it wasn’t until 96 when Kevin Nash (Diesel) and Scott Hall (Razor Ramon) jumped ship that WCW became not only competition but a company that could destroy the WWF.
Thus begins the television era of wrestling for the first time in the history of wrestling television had become the focal point over the large events or pay per views this era would become known as The Monday Nights Wars. Eric Bischoff the figure head and creative mind behind WCW saw two promotions in Japan feuding and came up with the idea of using Scott Hall & Kevin Nash in an invasion angle when they entered the WCW as The Outsiders. Good Ol’ Bisch made this look they these two had actually been invading from the WWF it was announced there was a third member and who embodied WWF more than anyone else? Simple answer Hulk Hogan now we have a trio known as The New World Order or the nWo. WWF was still trying to promote there new generation but had lost two major stars this was a hot time for wrestling fans and also created the internet revolution of wrestling fans needed to know all the gossip; who was jumping ship from WWF to WCW and visa versa.
Two wrestling programs both going head to head on the same night in a primetime slot both trying to destroy each other, WCW was giving away the results of RAW because at the time RAW was taped and WWF continued to rip into WCW by having skits that would parody the fact WCW’s wrestlers had seen there prime and past it. Wrestling for the first time had two audiences and a huge audience at that WCW was killing WWF in the ratings mainly due to the nWo storyline.
We skip forward a few years WCW was still relying on the nWo storyline and the fans had enough of it, The nWo had become so dominating in WCW that had to split them into two groups meanwhile over on the WWF side there was a guy called Steve Austin trailblazing and becoming the next huge star. Once again a change of guard had begun Shawn Michaels who was the WWF’s star of 90’s had become badly injured and was booked in a match with the rising phoenix known as Stone Cold Steve Austin and once again this change would be at Wrestlemania. Shawn reluctantly passed the torch to Austin and thus began The Attitude Era.
By this point WCW had become stale and boring and WWF had once again changed the face of professional wrestling with its new Attitude. WWF added more of a soap opera element and had become and over the top entertainment program, Wrestling took a back seat to storylines. The product as a whole become racier and more sexually oriented and became a pop culture phenomenon with ratings at an all time high due to superstars like Steve Austin & The Rock leading the charge. WWF would dominate WCW in the ratings until 2001 when in one of the most surreal moments in the history of Wrestling WWF purchased WCW I know for me personally I found out by logging onto WWF.com and I simply couldn’t believe it there had been rumors and speculation but not in my wildest dreams did I see this coming. The wrestling world was in shock and WWF was set to deliver there biggest PPV of all time Wrestlemania X7 in which Steve Austin was pitted against The Rock in the first face vs. face main event since Warrior vs. Hogan. Not only would WWF deliver the greatest Wrestlemania but there was also the symbolic handshake which storyline wise symbolized Steve Austin’s heel turn but in reality almost seemed like Vince thanking Austin.
Now WWF was without competition and would become the WWE; Steve Austin could no longer go like he used to The Rock was moving on to becoming a movie star and WWE once again finds themselves in the search of major star while ratings are still solid they weren’t what they had once been Vince finds himself in a situation in which he once again needs to redefine the business. At the same time there is a new rising phoenix known as Total Nonstop Action while not big enough to compete with WWE are slowly progressing and becoming a thread.
So what is next for this sport we all love what’s the next defining moment what is the next big step. It has become clear the internet has become a huge tool as well as a huge negative in wrestling. Is the internet the future of wrestling? Spawning such storylines as the Matt Hardy/Edge feud or is it in reality minor? Who knows but I look forward to witnessing the next major moment in wrestling the next major star the next major promotion. One thing has been proven threw out the years wrestling has a loyal audience that will follow it no matter what simply because they love it but will wrestling once again capture the main stream public’s imagination? I truly hope so.
I love wrestling I love watching wrestling and in my heart I know the business will survive no matter what, I just hope I can live all the big moments and enjoy what I love to enjoy WRESTLING.
My countdown of the best wrestling matches in history continues:
18. Chris Benoit vs. The Great Sasuke (Super J Cup Finals 95’)
This match pits two of the worlds best together in the ring in one of the most important tournaments in history The Super J Cup. Now only is the just a match on the card it is the final and these two would create J Cup history. A 45 Minute classic which was simply flawless it had it all high spots, crisp moves and impeccable psychology. Benoit would go on to win with a gut wrench suplex from the top and would define the J Cup. The 95 tournament was never matched in terms of pure wrestling action and is considered by many the greatest wrestling event ever.
Thank You
Matthew James
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