Hi all and welcome to my first column as a twenty two year old! Hopefully just because the columnist is a year older doesn’t mean the column itself won’t occasionally regress back to someone with the mindset just a fifth of that age when the time comes, but for now this week’s column is inspired by how I spent my birthday – a trip with some old friends to Dublin.
It was great catching up with a lot of the guys, some of whom I hadn’t seen since I finished at University back last summer. We saw the sights, played some poker and partied pretty hard. The one thing that struck all of us was how friendly everyone seemed to be in Dublin. If you bumped into someone accidentally in the street, they would smile, perhaps laugh a little, even apologise though it wasn’t their fault. Maybe they would make a joke out of it and tease you with a “Hey, go easy on me pal!” You bump into someone in my home town, chances are you’re either going to get stabbed, kicked repeatedly until you lose consciousness or if they do smile and apologise, you just lost your wallet. The poker was friendly, the cab drivers were friendly, the random people in the street were friendly, everybody was friendly. People really do make a city and the people of Dublin turned a good holiday into a great one.
It’s true of anything. People make a city, people make your workplace and of course people make wrestling what it is. Wrestlers often claim they perform better in front of a lively crowd and viewers enjoy a product with people who for one reason or another make you like them. We like to work in a friendly city, with a friendly workplace and yet we seem to be fed rivalries that are only fuelled by hatred and vengeance. It’s no secret that a curious, perhaps even slightly perverse side of human nature means we like to see such rivalries resolved with a bit of a punch up in almost any sport. Boxers don’t show enough respect to one another, or one footballer holds a grudge about a tackle on a colleague by a certain other player that left them on the shelf for a significant amount of time. Big Brother and Survivor always seem to be about tension in the house or on the island and not about crazy happy parties or random frolicking. Yes, you heard me, frolicking.
For the most part, a wrestling feud always seems to have some animosity to it. There has to be a grudge, or a disagreement, or an incredible hatred or something negative fuelling it. This grows week by week until we get to the pay per view where we ideally get treated to an intensely fought contest with a dramatic and exciting finish. Sure, it doesn’t always work out that way, but that’s the plan!
But ultimately it leaves me pleasantly surprised that, for now at least, Wrestlemania is currently being headlined between two matches where the opponents don’t hate each other. They desperately want to win on the biggest stage of them all, of course, and they have to believe that they are better wrestlers than their respective opponents, but there is no real hatred there. Whilst it doesn’t fit the typical description of a feud given above I think it’s a good thing.
If you are a true competitor in any field, you can put your emotions to one side for the duration of the contest. Whilst we like to see fire in a contest in any sport, people who compete on anger tend to make mistakes or tire too soon. Controlling your anger is key, but it works the other way too. Just because you respect an opponent, or even quite like the guy, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t mercilessly beat him when you have the chance! You should be able to put your emotions to one side there too and make sure you don’t go easy on him just because he’s not a complete bastard. But matches fuelled by respect have also been some of the most memorable. What about The Rock vs Hollywood Hogan at Wrestlemania? The Owen Hart tribute match between Bret Hart and Chris Benoit?
OK, I admit both of those examples were big matches on special occasions. I guess that explains why the WWE have chosen to go with the matches that they have for Wrestlemania. Barring any upcoming heel turns, all of those involved (John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Batista and Undertaker) are set to go into the annual event as faces. We should still see an intense match and a great finish to both all being well, but could we get even more out of it as a result of the Dublin effect? Could it be that because everybody kind of gets along the atmosphere will turn a good match into a great one? Who needs an audience baying for blood when they could just be enjoying the fact that they are there!
It takes less energy to smile than frown. It’s healthier for you too. We always have those Wrestlemania moments from time to time of the gracious loser being gallant in defeat whilst the victor gets his picturebook moment as the confetti falls down from the ceiling and the crowd chants his name. It’s Wrestlemania after all. But why does it have to happen but once a year? At the end of the day why does there have to be so much hate? Can’t things be more like Dublin? Can’t we all just get along?
Just a thought…
Is there a time and a place for special “friendly feuds?” Would you like to see more or less of them? Drop me an e-mail at stuart_black@hotmail.com and share your thoughts with me! I look forward to hearing from you.
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