Paid Members garynysmon Posted February 27, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 27, 2023 This popped up on my feed and I couldn’t help but think that wrestling has taken a massive turn for the worst if his claims are considered to be a good thing I realise that tenure is a good thing in many fields, but when I think back to most runs during my childhood, they were 6-7 years at most (although they often felt much longer). Hulk Hogan’s main run was less than a decade and a big thing was made of Tito Santana wrestling at the first 9 Wrestlemanias. Hell, my favourite and most vivid run ever was Jake’s second heel run in the WWF and that was 9 months long! So while Randy Orton’s career was hurt from having substantially fewer options re: alternative places to go after WCW’s 1999 downturn and Hollywood not wanting him, is it just me or is sticking around for 20 years doing basically the same act not exactly a positive thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Depends how you look at it really. You've got other guys who carried on way beyond their prime in smaller companies and had embarrassing runs in front of small audiences and for what? So going somewhere else isn't necessarily a good thing either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted February 27, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 27, 2023 15 years of Dolph Ziggler. No company on earth needs that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted February 27, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 27, 2023 Tamina Snuka has wrestled for WWE for thirteen years. I bet she herself couldn’t even name a single thing she’s done without consulting Wikipedia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavemanLynn Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Get in, get out, go home. Anyone there who's happy just clocking in and out is taking up space. I know there's fewer big-money options, plus a hell of a lot of political/nepo stuff to wade through, but still, 15+ years and you still want to hang around, you should be enhancement talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddymagic Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 There's a lot of talent who have stayed too long or haven't freshened up their act much - Dolph Ziggler, New Day (especially Kofi), Randy Orton, Tamina, Dana Brooke, Natalya, R Truth, Jinder - aside from Orton, who can still be valuable - are years past their best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted February 27, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 27, 2023 All it sounds like to me when I read that is "I don't give a fuck about any of this - I'm just staying by the cashpoint until it stops chucking out money, because I sure as fuck wouldn't get it anywhere else, doing anything else. But I can't say that publicly, so I'll just half-arse some answer that sounds relatively fan-friendly". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Nick James Posted February 27, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 27, 2023 13 minutes ago, Daddymagic said: R Truth - aside from Orton, who can still be valuable - are years past their best. You lost your argument by including Truth in that list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Randy Orton is still capable of being entertaining when he can be bothered, and could still quite easily be slotted into a main event spot if the stars align and he becomes bothered about the WWE at the same time as the WWE decide to be bothered about him. What I’ve always found fascinating about Orton is how well rated he is by other wrestlers/people within the business. He’s like the Michael Carrick of wrestling in that way, not always great for a spectator but the Manager is going to feel safer with him in play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lorne Malvo Posted February 27, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 27, 2023 14 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said: What I’ve always found fascinating about Orton is how well rated he is by other wrestlers/people within the business. He’s like the Michael Carrick of wrestling in that way, not always great for a spectator but the Manager is going to feel safer with him in play. Yeah, this is something that always surprises me. As recently as 2021 JR was calling him the best wrestler in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavemanLynn Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 I don't doubt is easy to work with; he's been around yonks and has a slow, simple style with a low-risk repertoire. Whether that means he should still be in the mid/upper card after 20 years is the issue. The skills he undoubtedly has should be imparted to the next generation, and that doesn't need to happen on TV every week. Guys like Dolph have the skills to warrant a place; the main roster doesn't need to be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted February 27, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 27, 2023 Randy Orton is someone who I can see so many reasons why people think he's one of the best in the world, particularly in WWE's house style, and his timing and crowd management are almost second-to-none, but very little of what he's good at translates into entertaining or exciting TV unless he's paired up with somebody who can provide that half of the equation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 1 hour ago, CavemanLynn said: Get in, get out, go home. Anyone there who's happy just clocking in and out is taking up space. I know there's fewer big-money options, plus a hell of a lot of political/nepo stuff to wade through, but still, 15+ years and you still want to hang around, you should be enhancement talent. I kind of feel the exact opposite. I admire people who’ve honed their skills to the point where they can get in, get out and go home, particularly when they’re able to do it at the top of their profession for huge amounts of money. Why should Orton leave a top billing position and go work Japan or whatever? To improve his cred with work rate obsessed fans? Is that really what’s important? He reminds me of Nash - do what you do well, do the minimum required to make the most money, don’t be a mark for the business, get out before you’re in a wheelchair. I suspect in a decade we’ll all be talking about how smart he was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted February 27, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 27, 2023 Orton's been superb the last couple of years. Like Rollins, he's really thrived in that reliable veteran slot with no real pressure on him. As far as I'm concerned, anybody who makes Matt Riddle even minutely tolerable is one of the best in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoote Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 I think another aspect of it, especially the last 10 years, is an increase in wrestlers being, not marks for themselves per se, but wanting to do everything. Loyalty to one company doesn't feel like a valid choice anymore. Whether it's becoming the next indy darling, or trying to be the next monster gaijin in Japan, wrestlers are more inclined I feel to want to dip their toes in many pools. Other than WWE and their exclusivity (AEW talent are still working indy dates, but with the house shows starting how much longer will that last?), they aren't tied down. (If this reads badly or like the ramblings of a madman, it's the morphine talking) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.