Whether you like it or not, the face of wrestling has been permanently altered and continues to morph through the years relentlessly. Every article I seem to post these days comments somehow on a resistance to change that fans have, but even though some changes are nit picked, others slip stealthily under the Internet radar. One such being so significant that it affects the basic storyline workings of the company. It’s gone seemingly unnoticed that faces are now no longer faces per se, but instead hybrids of heel and face, flipping flopping between which ever suits.
This revolution started with the prophetic promo of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. A relative unknown at the time, cut what was seen as a sacrilegious attack, certain to gather heat quicker than wood in a fireplace. Instead, the following night saw an inundation of “Austin 3:16” signs, catching storywriters and the like completely off guard. It was from there on in we saw the beginnings of the first antihero of many to come.
The list of antiheroes has been growing rapidly throughout the years. Steve Austin, The Rock, Eddie Guerrero, the NWO, John Cena, Undertaker and Mankind, all tiptoed the line of face and heel during their face runs. It seems that it’s getting increasingly difficult for a character to get over in this modern world.
Think back to the 80s, each face was as generic as the next. Each portrayed a hero, someone who overcame adversity and the direst of times. Look at the two most over faces of the era, Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan. There’s only one distinction I can make between these two characters depiction wise. Warrior had a mask. Plain and simple the two men who molded a childhood generation were basically the same person. Nevertheless, they put bums on seats night after night. Looking at them now, in their time of increasing senility, it’s hard to believe that anyone had faith in them, let alone followed them religiously.
Hogan and Warrior represented ultimate good. When wrestling was debased to simple binaries of good and evil, they represented purity and more importantly hope. They were the hero on the night, like a recurring epic film they returned every week to overcome yet another seemingly unbeatable opponent. But unlike a movie, the fourth wall is broken, you as a fan feel a certain intimacy and authenticity because you in the same room as where the conquest is occurring. It’s exactly why the Hulkster rose to fame after he defeated Andre, the supposedly impossible to defeat opponent. Everyone loves a hero, and that’s exactly why people watch wrestling.
One of the greatest tools of establishing a bong of faith between the audience and the hero is the classic “hulking up” that we’ve seen Hogan, Warrior and more recently Eugene do. Not only does this encourage and involve the audience, but also symbolistically this is the mark of the underdog, much like when a country gets attacked all the people unite together and become stronger than they were beforehand. It’s rising up in the face of evil and showing that you won’t be broken that easily. Something everyone can’t help but aspire to. Which is why it’s peculiar that this so basic stereotype doesn’t exist any longer.
Using the archetype of the monster heel to signify the unovercomeable object always meant the odds were stacked against our hero. It was all the more satisfying when the hero beat the monster fair and square without having to resort to underhanded tactics. Times like these have bred some of the most intense mark out moments ever recorded.
The whole situation is somewhat down heartening, not because it’s an era passed, but instead that the golden hero, when introduced, won’t even get a second glance from the audience. Is it a sign of the times that heroes aren’t valued? In our modern society only the people who are rough around the edges are admired? All evidence points to this case. An example being CM Punk’s straight edge gimmick, in the 80s, a character like Hogan preached that all the kid’s should drink their milk, eat their greens, and take their vitamins, a mantra embraced by every youngster all over the world. Yet in this day and age Punk boasts that he is drug and alcohol free, only to be met with a hostile reception. Could the audience have changed that much over time? Has the Attitude Era forever blemished the fans’ perception of what a hero is?
However, this subversion traverses all genres of entertainment. Comics for instance have seen the increased popularity in non-spandex wearing heroes, as opposed to the classic straight-laced patriot. Does this indicate that it’s wrestling to blame but instead a natural audience progression that’s caused this shift? One would think that in these years during military action that people would cling to images of hope and justice. A perfect example being the main event of Wrestlemania 7, a fight between Hogan (everything good in the world) and Sgt. Slaughter (the image of evil and deceit), a parallel to the Gulf War at the time. Strangely we are living during the Gulf War mark 2 (in search of a better description), yet at Wrestlemania we saw Eddie win the title through trickery. Entertaining, but it’s a trait expected from an old school villain like Flair or Hennig.
Is this trend diminishing, or is it only culminating further? A single pinnacle of heroism lies in Eugene, a modern day Jimmy Duggan, representing the heroes of yesteryear, defeating the undefeatable. He is the brand new Anyman. Interestingly, on paper his gimmick seems destined for the intestines of Wrestlecrap, yet he is arguably the most over wrestler in the company at the moment. His spirit of the underdog shines through an unconventional gimmick; perhaps the audience is clinging to the heroes after all.
With the success that Eugene’s old school spirited character, will we be seeing more characters with taglines like “Stay in School” or “Be nice to your mother”? Somehow I don’t think so, Eugene is a novelty, much along the same vein as Hogan and Warrior. The more heroes you have, the less they seem like heroes. There may be a few more golden boys emerge from the woodwork, it seems the Attitude Era will forever be tattooed on wrestling as we know it.
The End. I hope you enjoyed it, if you want to send some feedback my way my email is TheButchershopcolumn@hotmail.com, good or bad, I’d like to hear from you. Until next time…
Over and Out
The Butcher
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