Ever think there may be another reason why certain guys have never been WWE Champion?

[TheICChampion]

Ever stop and think that maybe the reason why some guys don't become top superstars is because they can't/don't want to? We know the schedule of a WWE superstar can't be very easy, what with travel, appearances, media, etc. Now just imagine what it must be like for the WWE Champion. The face of the company. Take all that stuff I mentioned and multiply it by 10. Some people just can't handle it. Maybe they've been given a chance to be champion and just haven't delivered to the company's satisfaction and thus won't be given another chance. Maybe they've been given the chance and felt they can't do all that on a regular basis. Or maybe they've told Vince ahead of time that they know they wouldn't be able to do it. So, next time you wonder why a certain superstar hasn't won the title again, or why they haven't won the title at all, maybe this'll be another reason to think about.

 

[Softcore Holly]

I'm sure there are/were plenty of guys that are/were just fine being in the midcard and collecting a regular paycheck without doing any extra work. At the same time though I'm also sure there were plenty of guys that would've loved the chance for the all benefits there are to being champ and would've happily done all the extra work, but never got that chance. (Whether or not they deserved it is a case by case discussion)

But we're not mind readers, there's no way we can possibly know what's really in the guys' minds and they're all going to say that they all want to be on the top of mountain if asked, so it's really not worth thinking about. Although I have to think that if Vince comes up to anyone that hasn't already been champ, told that person that they planning to make him the champ and that person said no thanks to Vince? They would need the best reason in the world or I would imagine their career would be going downhill REAAAAAAAAALLY fast.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Sure, it's logical to consider the possibility that there are reasons why some wrestlers don't get pushed as WWE Champion. As has been pointed out in numerous threads, not everyone is gonna be a main eventer, a significant majority won't make it to that level in fact and there are various reasons for that.

People from all walks of life LOVE conspiracy theories and that's most definitely true in pro wrestling, WWE in particular. Whenever some wrestlers aren't "used right", at least in the opinions of some fans, it seems as though there's no shortage of diabolical reasons as they're being "misused" ranging from accusations racial bias, to personal grudges held by management, to company officials getting some perverse pleasure out of it and the list goes on and on. Fans of some wrestlers live and die by these beliefs, some of which are perpetuated by the wrestlers themselves; Shane Douglas has made a career out of spouting one conspiracy after another about virtually every company he's ever worked for in regards to why he isn't the megastar he believes he should be and always was.

That's not to say that management doesn't make mistakes sometimes, because we all know they do. Sometimes, somebody gets a push who probably shouldn't have while others should have but didn't. That happens in every wrestling company and it happens in every business as there are always some employees who get passed over for advancement for various reasons who shouldn't while some are advanced when they shouldn't be, resulting in the company finding that out the hard way. Personally, I think Vince is becoming more out of touch with the mind set of modern wrestling fans; that's not to say that he doesn't still have good ideas or that he's lost touch in terms of corporate matters, but more fans are becoming turned off by the "sports entertainment" aspects of WWE and viewership numbers seem to reflect that. With that being said, I do think Vince's decisions are made because he thinks they're the right calls rather than it being part of some nefarious plot to screw guys over but, again, if he's becoming out of touch with what fans are into, then it's a matter of putting his ego aside and admitting the possibility that he no longer has his finger on the pulse of the modern American wrestling fan.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I can't see anyone who's working a full time schedule anyway turn down the chance of making main event world title pay compared to what they would get as middle of the card pay, The Seth Rollins of 2014 I don't think is wrestling any less than the world champion Seth Rollins of 2015 for example as both were on full time schedules only difference I can see is as world champion he probably has more power and control in the company since winning title and probably most importantly more money.
Even previous champion Brock didn't put in more dates as champion as far as I know.
Having held the world title and being a former world champion at least holds some prestige for the rest of their careers they will always be known as a former world champion rather than just a former mid carder making it easier to get other work such as other wrestling companies or autograph conventions etc for life after their WWE career, So I can't see anyone new being offered the world title turning it down and also never heard of it ever happening.

 

[TheICChampion]

I can't see anyone who's working a full time schedule anyway turn down the chance of making main event world title pay compared to what they would get as middle of the card pay, The Seth Rollins of 2014 I don't think is wrestling any less than the world champion Seth Rollins of 2015 for example as both were on full time schedules only difference I can see is as world champion he probably has more power and control in the company since winning title and probably most importantly more money.
Even previous champion Brock didn't put in more dates as champion as far as I know.
Having held the world title and being a former world champion at least holds some prestige for the rest of their careers they will always be known as a former world champion rather than just a former mid carder making it easier to get other work such as other wrestling companies or autograph conventions etc for life after their WWE career, So I can't see anyone new being offered the world title turning it down and also never heard of it ever happening.

I know that they want to make more money, I also know it's better for their career to say they've been World champion. But what I was talking about was whether or not they thought all the extra work outside the ring was worth it. As a mid-card guy, you may not be as highly scrutinized by the higher-ups in the company as you would if you were the guy who was representing it as the face and main champion. Also, as WWE Champion, you don't really get any days off. I've heard guys like Randy Orton and Batista talk about it in their DVD's. As a mid-card guy, you get a few days off a week. As WWE Champion, you're spending those days off doing autograph signings, or media appearances, or who knows what else. Would it really be worth it?

 

[gooseholla]

"Or maybe they've told Vince ahead of time that they know they wouldn't be able to do it."

I am willing to bet that no superstar ever went up to Vince and said "Hey, Vinnie, thanks for hiring me. By the way, I don't want to be world champ, even for a month."

 

[Navi]

I really think that any WWE wrestler whether you're John Cena, Roman Reigns, Ambrose, Rollins or even Sandow, wants to be the best they can. For some of them thought it will never be a WWE title run.

Maybe they aren't as good as they think they are in the ring, not over enough with the crowd, not liked by management, injury prone. There could be a hundred reasons for every situation. The bottom line is, there is only one title, and if everyone where given a reign, it would last about 1 month before it was passed to the next guy.

The IWC is always complaining about the value of the belts, and nothing would devalue it more. The roster needs wrestler's to fill every spot and not everyone can be bottlenecked into the world title picture. I'm sure we all have our personal favourites of who we think should have won, or been given a shot, just as as I'm we'll all not agree on who does win.

As long as a wrestler goes out there and gives it his or her all, and does their best then they have to be happy with that, and so do we.

 

[Prince Vee]

Well, if there's gonna be some wrestlers who would really tell the management to not put them in the title scene, they certainly isn't gonna be a part of the Full time Schedule or in a long term contract. Other than that, I don't think anyone would utter no to that.

For instance, Chris Jericho, if offered with the deal to become a chamiom he would never accept it, owing to his busy schedule with Fozzy. If someone wants Triple H to have another run as the WWE Champion, he probably wouldn't have accepted it as he had limited his in ring career over the years.

Albeit there can be some special cases, like Randy Orton didn't want to break the Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania owing to his respect to him and his legacy. In that perspective, some superstars (very a few) would've said no to end the title reign of a legend.

Cheers!!

 

[LionheartY2J]

I'd say if anything, there's been progress in that department. Until the past few years, each era had maybe 4-5 guys who the title would pass between, with the occasional interim guy. Even in the attitude era, guys like Ziggler, Miz, and Del Rio never would have sniffed contention, and even Rollins would be fighting it out for the IC title for the next few years.

And there was something to be said for guys having to put in their time before being catapulted to the top of the mountain.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I know that they want to make more money, I also know it's better for their career to say they've been World champion. But what I was talking about was whether or not they thought all the extra work outside the ring was worth it. As a mid-card guy, you may not be as highly scrutinized by the higher-ups in the company as you would if you were the guy who was representing it as the face and main champion. Also, as WWE Champion, you don't really get any days off. I've heard guys like Randy Orton and Batista talk about it in their DVD's. As a mid-card guy, you get a few days off a week. As WWE Champion, you're spending those days off doing autograph signings, or media appearances, or who knows what else. Would it really be worth it?

If somebody who has never been champion unless they have some health problem or personal situation taking place at the time was that disinterested in being the champion solely due to some extra work and showed such lack of comittment or ambition I don't think someone like that would even make it to the WWE level never mind be offered the chance at being champion.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

That's been blown out of the water with Brock, he doesn't "do the work", has "never done the work" and has always bitched about the schedule..

Some guys have made rods for their own backs, Barrett is a classic example... He made an ill advised interview comment about "being done in 5 years", about 4 years back... that would have taken him off the radar because a traditional title push takes best part of a year 18 months to complete, which would have left WWE no time if that was his plan to actually benefit from him... so the push went to others instead.

There is that old phrase "Titan Training" that is more likely, those who can match Vince in terms of pace of life, work ethic are more likely to be made champ than those with other things in their life... look at Ziggler, he's as interested in his stand-up as he is WWE... so that's taken him out of the title picture.

 

[OYDK]

Well, it doesn't really matter what the wrestlers want does it? Let's use Dean Ambrose as an example here; Dean's young, he's great at what he does, and he's over with the fans. Now imagine if Vince came up to Dean and said, "Hey kid, we're gonna make you the WWEWHC tonight!", and Dean replied with, "Eh, no thanks Vince, too much work..." Well, that would be the end of Dean Ambrose now wouldn't it? Same applies to all up and comers. If you're not in it to become the "man" than what are you there for? Might as well just half-ass everything to make sure you don't get an opportunity.

Pretty counter-productive don't you think?

 

[Mustang Sally]

Or maybe they've told Vince ahead of time that they know they wouldn't be able to do it.

Ouch! to that. Sometimes it's tough to separate the scripted world of pro wrestling from regular jobs the rest of us work, but if you look at the latter, that's the last thing you'd ever want to say to your boss.

Thinking of my own job, when speaking to the folks above you, one always makes sure to let them know your ambition and willingness to take on any project is boundless. I would imagine Vince McMahon would look at any of his employees with disdain if they ever dared tell him they were satisfied with anything less than attaining the highest level they can in his employ.

As for the rest of it, all performing employees have to be on the road with everyone else, traveling an insane amount of time and working their rear ends off. Why not shoot for the highest level you can? Except for extra outside appearances on behalf of the company, how much harder does the champion really have to work, anyway?.....and however much it might be, isn't the extra compensation worth it?

But however satisfied the employee might be with his/her current position, don't ever let the boss know it, whether that boss be Vince McMahon or your own immediate supervisor. A boss who is satisfied with employees that don't want to advance themselves is a poor boss, imo.