Why Calling A Wrestler The Next Whatever Is A Recipe For Disaster

[Wildcat66]

At this point; a good portion of us knows about my several threads regarding the fall from grace Bayley has had this year, the 'Hug Chronicles' as I've taken to call them.

It's been quite an interesting ride looking back at it; I never intended for it to go that far. But up to this point, I had never seen any wrestler fall so far from where she was when the year started. Sure, you can say others have had it worse than her; but it's not like they were going to be a mega-star or an icon.

Bayley was a different breed, she was a 'horsewomen' who made a name for herself in NXT; she was the one woman every little girl could dream of being, she was going to be the 'female John Cena'. And now? She's being boo'ed out of buildings and is gone with a shoulder injury; it's likely she never reaches those heights again even if she does recover.

So, what does Bayley have to do with this thread?

Well, as i'm guessing most of us know by now, Asuka is heading to the main roster. We don't know when that's going to be or what brand she'll go to; but it's happening and so many people are excited for it. Asuka has been receiving praise from fans everywhere for being perhaps the greatest female worker in NXT and has even drawn comparisons to Goldberg. (Thanks in large part to her outdoing his undefeated streak)

And that is a major concern. Why?

Has anyone noticed something interesting about the NXT women that get called up? The ones that don't get as much credit like Alexa Bliss, Carmella or Nia Jax end up doing better than most expected and the ones we expect to succeed like Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Paige and yes; even Bayley; have more of the speed bumps. The one exception to this rule has been Charlotte, which even that's been a little shaky as of late.

But that doesn't just go to the women, that's also been a part of the men's side. Remember when people thought Bray Wyatt would be the next Undertaker? Or when people started comparing C.M Punk to Steve Austin? People have even compared Chad Gable to Kurt Angle, one of the greatest wrestling technicians and entertainers of all time. None of them have panned out, with C.M Punk coming the closest; and even so, he's been gone from WWE for three years and is likely never coming back.

In short: Wrestlers who get compared to other wrestlers usually don't live up to their predecessor unless it's either back accident or by sheer luck.

But there's another reason why doing this is detrimental to wrestlers, and this was brought up by Jack-Hammer. To paraphrase, when fans declare one wrestler the second coming of another wrestler; this adds more pressure on the star to perform at said level; beginning to get jaded when they start to hit the skids (be it booking wise, match wise or otherwise) and begin focusing on what they have in common instead of what the merits of the actual performer are and when they fail to reach the levels of said star, they automatically declare them a failure.

This is a mentality among wrestling fans that's been going on for years now and to me, it's a bad mentality to have. Wrestlers are not simply going to be the next so and so just because they have things in common or wrestle a certain way, Shinsuke Nakamura is not going to be the next John Cena or the next The Rock; he's the first Shinsuke Nakamura and no one can take that away from him. Even if Shinsuke never wins the WWE Championship, it doesn't take away all the great matches he's had over the years. He's still one of the best wrestlers in the world and that is never going to change.

In conclusion: Asuka is a great wrestler, she's proven this time and time again in NXT; and i'm confident she's going to do great in WWE either on RAW or SmackDown. But to compare her to someone she's not isn't going to help her in the long run, because that isn't who she is. Just like how Bayley isn't the next John Cena.

This is a problem wrestling fans have had for years and it's one that sadly won't be going away anytime soon. Am I saying that wrestlers can't be compared to other wrestlers? No, by all means; go ahead. Compare wrestlers to wrestlers, there's a reason Past vs Present was a thing for a short while. But if you are going as far as to say that they could be the next Steve Austin, The Rock or even A.J Styles, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

So if by some chance I come across a thread saying that Asuka is being used all wrong one day, I won't be shocked. Because that means the mentality has struck again, even if her booking gets better afterwards; it won't matter because once the toy is thrown away, it can't be used again.

 

[Lowdown]

This is something that has been happening in not only wrestling, but all other forms of sports as well. Whoever is currently up-and-coming is always going to be compared to a past or present standard bearer. It's something that we're all guilty of. For example, I've said more than once that Pentagon Jr. reminds me Stone Cold; he's definitely an antihero that fans have been behind for quite some time, especially in Lucha Underground. But I won't out and out say that he's the next Stone Cold. Whenever promotions build up new stars as the next "whoever", I generally think you lead fans to believe that this star will be the guy to carry the torch. If he falls flat, its a bad look all around.

 

[Wildcat66]

This is something that has been happening in not only wrestling, but all other forms of sports as well. Whoever is currently up-and-coming is always going to be compared to a past or present standard bearer. It's something that we're all guilty of. For example, I've said more than once that Pentagon Jr. reminds me Stone Cold; he's definitely an antihero that fans have been behind for quite some time, especially in Lucha Underground. But I won't out and out say that he's the next Stone Cold. Whenever promotions build up new stars as the next "whoever", I generally think you lead fans to believe that this star will be the guy to carry the torch. If he falls flat, its a bad look all around.

I think everyone's been guilty of doing this at some point in their life. Even I've probably been guilty of doing something like this.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Calling any wrestler "The next (insert legend here)" is never good for anyone involved. While it's tempting for us as fans to want to see a modern counterpart of our favorites from the past, it benefits no one to make these comparisons. It hurts the wrestlers when they are unable to live up to such high expectations. Then if the wrestler does indeed not meet the expectation(s) then it only ends up angering the fans in the end. We should not be looking for another Hogan, Austin, Rock, Taker, or even another Cena among the male stars. We should instead be glad to see talented guys like Rollins, Styles, Owens, and others who are stepping up to put on great matches. The same is true for the women. Instead of hoping to find the next Trish or Lita we should be happy to see Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch and more, making history.

 

[Navi]

Has anyone noticed something interesting about the NXT women that get called up? The ones that don't get as much credit like Alexa Bliss, Carmella or Nia Jax end up doing better than most expected and the ones we expect to succeed like Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Paige and yes; even Bayley; have more of the speed bumps. The one exception to this rule has been Charlotte, which even that's been a little shaky as of late.

This is a mentality among wrestling fans that's been going on for years now and to me, it's a bad mentality to have. Wrestlers are not simply going to be the next so and so just because they have things in common or wrestle a certain way, Shinsuke Nakamura is not going to be the next John Cena or the next The Rock; he's the first Shinsuke Nakamura and no one can take that away from him. Even if Shinsuke never wins the WWE Championship, it doesn't take away all the great matches he's had over the years. He's still one of the best wrestlers in the world and that is never going to change.

With regards to the women and Bayley in particular, they came up at a point when the women's division wasn't really a division. You had the Bella's, Paige, Alicia Fox and not many other's. Once AJ Lee left the division was sort of a shambles. I think most if not all of the women have done okay, considering women's wrestling is seen by some as the bottom of the barrel.

Bayley was left behind in NXT because if they had brought her up as well there wouldn't have been anyone left there either. The biggest problem with Bayley is not her skills or her fanbase, it's the fact that she is very one dimensional. Once you get past the "I'm a lifelong WWE fan and I'm living my dream", there isn't really much else. She is kind of boring compared to the others. Not that she shouldn't have a job in the WWE, but she has lost some of her luster since being called up.

As for the subject of the thread, I agree no one should be called the next so and so. Each wrestler is unique and should be judged on their own merits. Once you start comparing them to another, like for example Bray Wyatt to the Undertaker, Wyatt comes off looking like a poor cousin. No one likes to live in the shadow of an icon. Someone like Wyatt should be blazing his own trail, maybe that's why the train went off the tracks somewhat.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

With regards to the women and Bayley in particular, they came up at a point when the women's division wasn't really a division. You had the Bella's, Paige, Alicia Fox and not many other's. Once AJ Lee left the division was sort of a shambles. I think most if not all of the women have done okay, considering women's wrestling is seen by some as the bottom of the barrel.

Bayley was left behind in NXT because if they had brought her up as well there wouldn't have been anyone left there either. The biggest problem with Bayley is not her skills or her fanbase, it's the fact that she is very one dimensional. Once you get past the "I'm a lifelong WWE fan and I'm living my dream", there isn't really much else. She is kind of boring compared to the others. Not that she shouldn't have a job in the WWE, but she has lost some of her luster since being called up.

As for the subject of the thread, I agree no one should be called the next so and so. Each wrestler is unique and should be judged on their own merits. Once you start comparing them to another, like for example Bray Wyatt to the Undertaker, Wyatt comes off looking like a poor cousin. No one likes to live in the shadow of an icon. Someone like Wyatt should be blazing his own trail, maybe that's why the train went off the tracks somewhat.

As far as Bayley is concern, i heard she was part of the original plan but got injured so she got replace by Becky Lynch but you right on all account here. I Think the problem is that NXT as a whole is pretty much one dimensional and when you take them away from the environment and go put them in the main roster, you stuck with a bunch of one dimensional wrestlers on a roster that want them to be more. So then had the extra pressure of comparing them to somebody like undertaker or Cena or any other legends, their a pretty good chance they will sink because they don't have a chance of creating their own path. That's why i think Reigns as been having so much trouble getting over with some fans, because all we heard is he's the next Cena, he the guy they have chosen to take Cena's place. If they would have left him be his own man and instead of putting him in the situation we're he as to be like Cena, they probably would have a megastar on their end already instead of a tweener that'S not even near Cena's level yet.

 

[Starkist]

I personally don't call a wrestler the next so and so. I simply say something such as "Ziggler sells really good or oversells like a Shawn Michaels." Does not mean I think he's the next Michaels, it means he has some characteristics of Michaels and nothing else. Calling anyone the next whoever has been ongoing ever since I got into sports and wrestling. It can hurt the person because now expectations of this person are hire than they need to be.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I get that you are just a kid, but this isn't the first time you have taken a commonly held opinion and either A) tried to pass it off as some Earth shattering revolution you came up with or B) tried to piece together additional parts onto the original opinion and pass it off as some new theory. You really need to stop.

Everyone knows that calling someone "The next [insert star here]" is a bad idea and sets that person up for failure. This has been the case for decades in wrestling and other sports. This isn't something you just stumbled on.

Just like your Bayley theory, this isn't something you just discovered. It's a commonly held opinion.