Hi all, welcome to another offering by yours truly on the wrestling world, this week asking the rather deep, philosophical and maybe slightly morbid question “What will happen after I am gone?” Not me personally, of course, but you know what I mean.
A few months back, I was at the cinema with my girlfriend and we were waiting for a film to start. Of course, we had to sit through three hours of adverts first. I was paying close attention to my small mountain of chocolate ice cream and concentrating intently upon its upcoming demise when suddenly I heard a distinct, smooth, vaguely familiar voice of an old man from the speakers around the auditorium. The dulcet tones belonged to a British comedian called Bob Monkhouse, who had died back in 2003. You can see the same advert at the following link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmWtzfKcMpA
A few months before his death, Mr Monkhouse had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I remember back at the time he was quite open about it. I seem to even recall an interview where he admitted his condition, then confirmed he was not to undergo treatment and that ultimately he had an unspecified amount of time left to live. The advert had been made as if he had planned for this to come out four years after his death and this sparked quite the reaction in me.
Was this a very clever way of both sending a very powerful message and leaving a legacy to ensure he was not forgotten a while longer? It certainly fit the slightly more twisted humour he would occasionally engage in during the last few years of his career, which had gone from writer and “Carry On” actor to super-smooth game show host and stand-up comedian to the title character’s voice in the “Mr Hell” cartoon show.
It later emerged that this was in fact all made with modern technology, camera-trickery and other very clever jiggery-pokery, using computers to stitch together old footage of him. But the thought was a compelling one and it got me thinking (naturally, of course…) about professional wrestling.
With Ric Flair’s imminent retirement approaching and as such the latest cycle in wrestling’s proverbial Circle of Life nearing completion, I wonder if a number of wrestlers at different stages in their career find themselves asking these sorts of questions, particularly on the night when the Nature Boy does leave the ring as a competitor for the last time.
“What do I want to do as a professional wrestler? How do I want to be known? What will my legacy be? What will I leave behind to the next generation when I decide to hang up my boots for good?” Some of those questions will matter more than others to different people based on their ambitions, their stage of their career and so forth, but they may well have them.
We hear a lot of talk from all parts of the wrestling community about the need to “build a future” and “create new stars”. It’s very much a key element of that Circle of Life which Mufasa, Simba et al embodied so famously and critics are often quick and devastating in expressing their disapproval if such a cycle isn’t always completed. But nonetheless it can’t all be about making new stars. If a generation spends all its energy “making” everybody else and does not have stars that go down in folklore on their own, how could there be stars of tomorrow? Some are destined to MAKE stars whilst some are destined to BE stars. There are different skills required to MAKE a star as opposed to BEING a star. Can the second even really be taught? Doesn’t it just kind of… well, happen?
There are those lucky few whose blessed job is to be that Legend of their generation. It is their destiny to be great themselves and unless they are perceived to be truly elite against others in their time, could they ever hold that mantel? Can this be confused with “burying” those they work with? After all, if everyone was busy making everybody else to try and keep things equal and therefore gives everyone a chance of making it, doesn’t that just create a generation of underwhelming mediocrity?
That’s not to say of course that they can’t put over ANYBODY. Just as you can’t happily create a generation of merely mediocre stars all sharing the spotlight, a failure to prepare those that are shortly due their time at the forefront of a company in turn leaves behind a generation of names that simply do not live up to those before them and as so many have stated before you have to give them credibility so they can hold the fan base during this transitional phase and maintain some kind of legitimacy in the public eye. It’s all about finding the balance. If they only help put over just one or two in the space of their career, doesn’t that make what they do for them all the more special? After all it was Flair’s matches with Sting for example that were credited with making the latter into a legitimate big name.
But what of the unsung heroes? Those that help make the Legends what they become? The experienced mid-card “Mechanics” who can guarantee their partner a four star, twenty minute crowd pleaser every week of the year? For whatever reason, they were never destined for greatness, but you can bet they did their bit for the industry that they love so much. Indeed just as Legends will no doubt have favourite, career defining matches, they will also likely have a favourite Mechanic or two who they could always trust to help them deliver something special on what would otherwise be a fairly average night. As I said earlier, there is a difference between making a star and being a star, and it requires an understanding and skill of execution that maybe few either extreme end of the card are capable of.
But if it is a skill in which you are clearly head and shoulders above your peers, then perhaps this will be in turn your legacy? OK, maybe it is not the legacy you would have set out to achieve, and maybe it will not be as well appreciated by the more casual observers, but it is also generally those people who go on to be considered the best teachers and therefore the best at preparing the next generation. Indeed you could argue that because they build both the present and future generations at different stages of their respective careers, they are the pillars which make this industry and in some ways their legacies mean more in terms of keeping the business going for years to come.
This year’s Wrestlemania is going to answer a lot of questions about legacies. Just how exactly will Ric Flair’s career end that night? Sure he will lose, but how will he lose? Rumour has Triple H winning world title number 12, edging closer to Flair’s 16, but even if he goes on to add another 10 reigns, will his main legacy still only be that he married the boss’ daughter? Undertaker’s streak is once again on the line, and there have been murmurs every year that although it would be unpopular if it were to end, it could well happen because of the impact it may have on the other’s career. But if you had to name one thing he was known for, would this be it? What impact does taking it away from him have on his legacy? Wrestlemania is just one night of the year, but it will have an everlasting effect on what you leave behind.
Just a thought…
Happy Easter to all! Hope there is plenty of chocolate involved! Feel free to e-mail me your thoughts at stuart_black@hotmail.com it’s always good to hear them. Also if you get the chance I am building an archive of all my columns at www.myspace.com/stuartblack (under construction) feel free to check it out.
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