When you look at basketball and football, we've seen this happen a lot. Michael Jordan came out of retirement, furthering an already perfect career--then he came back and proved that even Air Jordan can age. Scottie Pippen tried to come back, only making it into the minor leagues, and becoming the butt of jokes from Charles Barkley. (Whom quipped, "I wanna come back, too! But when someone retires, it means they can't play anymore.) Brett Favre... let's not go there.
Why does an athlete want to come back?
1) Unfinished business.
Michael Jordan is the greatest example of that. He left the NBA in his prime, tried to play baseball, and came back to kick more butt. Shawn Michaels came back after nearly a decade of absence, and had a comeback equally as awesome as Air Jordan's first comeback. Some athletes keep returning because they believe in their mind that they can do it again. But then again, there's only one Michael Jordan. There is only one Shawn Michaels. And the rest are finding that out.
2) Ten years of education = doctor. Too bad it doesn't translate to the real world.
When Tully Blanchard left WWF, and WCW pulled back on their deal, there was nowhere Blanchard could go. He was a Horseman, a master technician in the ring, and toured the world as a champion. But suddenly his wrestling career was done, and he had to fall in line to get a job like you and me. What he found is despite all the time he spent on TV, and in front of millions of people, he still couldn't find someone to hire him. The only job skill he had was to wrestle. He had a notorious drug problem at the time, and wrestling didn't want him back. Lucky for Tully, he found a new career in evangelism. But some wrestlers just can't succeed at anything else other than wrestling. The head Horsemen himself, Ric Flair, owned car dealerships, a finance loan company, amongst other things, and none of it brought him the paycheck that wrestling did. And it's sad. Some of the boys have spent their lives defining their wrestling craft, never preparing for a future away from it...
3) Money talks
Let's face it, if an old man had a choice between a Social Security check, or a check from Vince McMahon or Dixie Carter... It's not a hard choice to make. When a wrestling personality is paid well, he is paid well. Think back to the 90s, when MTV did a special on wrestling and showing a broke Tony Atlas. All it took was one comedy role and a trademark laugh to get Tony a decent check for a time--and it was better money than he was making on the indys and his day job (if he had one).
4) We paid to see these old stars. And if you don't believe it, just ask them.
Restating the obvious. Kevin Nash still thinks it's 1997. Jeff Jarrett never really drew a dime, but can say he did because he founded the company. And Buff Bagwell still thinks he's a huge star--one that never got a fair push--and if you don't believe that, just ask them. Joanie Laurer wants to wrestle Snooki at WrestleMania, and the offices in Stamford don't care. Some people still hear the pop of the crowd that happened too long ago. I guess they know more about the audience than the audience.
Why old timers need to retire
1) I didn't pay for them. Did you?
Most of the wrestling audience today were not around for Ric Flair and the Horsemen's run in 1985. Most of the wrestling audience were not even around for the first WrestleMania. So why book Flair in the main event? This generation's idea of wrestling is Shawn Michaels, Triple H, the Hardys, Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, etc. The only tenured veteran left that can still draw is The Undertaker--and he wisely doesn't work a full schedule. These veterans are fools to think they can get the same money they got in the 70s, 80s, and 90s--not with the locker room of boys that are REALLY putting asses in seats, and deserve to get paid.
2) Their mind is saying yes, but their body says no.
These old timers think wrestling is fun--and for them it is. Okay, it was cool to see Ricky Steamboat wrestle a few times, in recent years. But I cringed when I saw Jimmy Snuka try to wrestle Chris Jericho. Thank God he didn't take to the top rope. Not to mention how disgusting it is to look at Roddy Piper in trunks these days. We fans do pay to see these legends, but what we don't realize is that we paid for the match we saw in 1993. And we're not gonna get it. Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon at WrestleMania proved that you can never go home. I am a huge fan of the Hitman, but it's pointless to put him anywhere near a ring. He couldn't even equal the same performance as he did against Bob Backlund. And it ends up becoming a waste of our money.
Why legends are useful in wrestling
1) A generation is never ushered someone brings the torch
Ric Flair spent the past two decades in WCW and WWE putting over a lot of stars. He wrestled guys like Kurt Angle, Big Show, Umaga, Rico Constantino, Shane Douglas, and Buff Bagwell--and he put them over like a businessman. Some wrestlers capitalized and became someone, and some of them never made it other than that one win over Flair. But the bottom line is, if a rookie beats a legend, he beat someone and the fans have a better chance to connect to him. It's silly for Flair to be in the main event, anymore. But just to be in the ring with Flair is good for any wrestler that needs a reputation.
2) No experience necessary. The best training is on-the-job training.
The modern wrestling culture is designed to put guys on TV before they are ready. There's nothing we can do about that. A lot of the stars that were around seven years ago are leaving, or are gone. We need new stars, NOW. And despite the efforts of OVW, FCW, etc. there is nothing a farm system can do to replace the education of working on the road. It's a good thing there are guys like Arn Anderson, Sean Morley, Bill DeMott, and Dave Finlay backstage. These guys are the college professors of wrestling, and as good as they were in their heyday, their brains are useful now for a generation that needs to perform at their level. If they can get in the ring an put over a youngster, even better.
3) There's money to be made from the past.
The DVD, shirt, and merch sales of some of the legends are lucrative. But it puts wrestling in a corner, that if enough money is made off of a vintage wrestler... the fans and the company will sense a demand for "one more match". It may or may not be a good idea. But if that many people are paying for a DVD or T-Shirts... there is a clear message being sent from the fans.
What do I think?
Wrestling does need to embrace it's past. We have come far from a century ago, when Frank Gotch as a circus attraction. We now have multiple CDs of theme music, ties to movies, video games, and even have a wrestling company on the New York Stock Exchange. Tradition brought us to a great place.
But... if we were able to bring Frank Gotch back from the dead... would fans really want to see Frank Gotch wrestle a bear at WrestleMania? Most fans would be cheering for the bear. And you know it.
Sometimes the wrestlers, and not just them, but the fans and the promoters need to know when it is time to move on. The Rock, Steve Austin, and Chris Jericho understand that importance, as they have moved on to other interests and careers. Whether or not they succeed at their new occupations are not important--they have the liberty to pursue it because of wrestling, and they will never have to be "that one wrestler" that wrestling pushed away. It's nice to have a high school reunion every ten years... but every ten days will just bring back those old emotions that we outgrew.
Wrestling, as in life, has a beautiful history with a lot of amazing people that made those moments. But just like life, the best way for one to survive is to move on.
