Have we seen the end of washed up wrestlers?

[Cookie14]

We all know the type. Wrestlers who should have retired years ago and gone on to do other things.

This is very common among wrestlers from the 80's and 90's.

Look at Hogan and Flair as perfect examples. But they are not the only ones. Mick Foley should have retired years ago, so should Scott Hall. Even Jake the Snake Roberts still does indy shows. (I honestly believe that Bret Hart would still be an active wrestler if it wasn't for the concussions and stroke)

I don't see any of the current generation of wrestlers staying in the ring into their 50' and 60's. (Can you imagine Cena wrestling at that age?)

The question is, why?? What is the difference between the current generation and previous ones? These days, wrestlers go off and do other things, have other careers away from the ring.

 

[philbrooks]

TNA's gullibility in throw ex WWE after ex WWE name at their problem.

The current of WWE stars seem to have observed the mistakes of veterans by meeting them backstage and being lectured by the vets in developmental. As well as learning financial management in developmental also.

 

[Ferbian]

I don't know if we'll see the end of it, but I do agree it looks possible for the majority of the current wrestlers to be retired, or very limited on in-ring activity.

Something tells me the reason we're still seeing guys like Ric Flair constantly being active to a certain extend, and Jake Roberts doing the same thing, purely for the money, because as far as I know they didn't have that many people wrestling back then for a monthly guaranteed payment without wrestling every night.

 

[ShredddMetal]

we've probably seen the end of the wrestlers like Flair and Hogan who stick around long after their prime, and i can think of one real reason why. the business has evolved into a much more difficult lifestyle. when Hogan and Flair started out, the schedules weren't nearly as hectic, there wasn't nearly as much pressure to be a perfect physical specimen, and the business itself and the moves that are performed in matches have a lot more of a toll on the body than they used to. its just a matter of the evolution of the business, and guys like the undertaker and shawn michaels, having 20+ year careers, will be much more rare.

 

[spinningtorturerack]

Current wrestlers have learnt from previous mistakes and try to have a diverse income. Charlie Haas has his own shop, Angle has his food business he's set up, a lot of wrestlers own gyms, and since Hogan broke the mold, a fair few have gone on to acting (even if they haven't been that successful, the Rock being the best of the bunch).

Also wrestling is a lot more of an intelligent thing than it used to, you look back to the 80's and it is filled with muscle-heads who may not have known much else since that was their family trade, now you have people from all sorts of backgrounds with degrees, teaching qualifications and so on, this is something they enjoy and wanted to do, but have other options so one day they can hang up boots and move on.

 

[TokiRKO]

Wrestling in the 70's and 80's was MUCH lighter. There were no weapon shots, and very few moves. Back then people had elbow drops, piledrivers, and DDTs as finishers. Wrestling today isn't made for long term performers. Plus I'm pretty sure this generation are sick of seeing 50-something year olds in the ring and have vowed to not do it themselves

 

[TheStar]

Wrestling in the 70's and 80's was MUCH lighter. There were no weapon shots, and very few moves. Back then people had elbow drops, piledrivers, and DDTs as finishers. Wrestling today isn't made for long term performers. Plus I'm pretty sure this generation are sick of seeing 50-something year olds in the ring and have vowed to not do it themselves

Wait wait wait first and foremost the actual wrestling may have been a bit lighter than some of the styles today but the road schedule was much more heavier. If you wanted to be a top guy you had to stay on the road damn near 365 days a year. In addition you actually had a bit more tough men in those days- tell Bruiser Brody he was something, take a Stan Hanson lariat, or even tell Terry "Potato farmer" Funk that his slaps don't take a toll.

But I degress we must also remember the day of the "washed up" wrestler will never end because even back in the day you had the oldies still in the ring. Remember Verne Gagne and his lifetime title reign in the ole AWA, remember Bruno Sammartino and his punch kick routine vs. Macho back in 80s, hell even look at Puroresu/Joshi wrestling (Japanese wrestling) and you'll still see some of the old bags still floating to the ring (Except Shark Tschuyia-got to love her) with their bad knees and fading hairlines.

Guys remember sometimes being a little "seasoned" still in the ring is not a bad thing, these in ring vets are showing the new breed how to have longevity and still put on a match worthy of a "thank you chant" even lightyears away from their prime.

Hahaha hahahah FEAR THE FUYUKI Line

 

[Judah's Lion]

to add on to what a few have already said in response, i'd say that it can boil down into two major differences:

1. the toll on the body. there's much more intensity in today's wrestling than the wrestling of the 80's and around that time. maybe not the best story-telling all the time, but the move sets and the weapons shots and the spots are much more grueling on the body than the body slams of yester-year.

2. finances. i don't think (though i don't know for sure and am not even sure how i'd find out) that wrestlers were paid as well in the early years as they are now or as guaranteed as they are now (excluding TNA). plus, to my knowledge, a lot of the wrestlers that are "washed up" now and still wrestling to a vast majority have had major life and financial problems that have nearly forced them to never retire because they need a paycheck just to make rent and things like that. today it seems that more have learned the lessons from the past mistakes of the earlier generation and have taken better care of their finances and invested into a number of different things outside of the wrestling ring.

i bet the majority of the differences of then and now could be fit into one of these two categories. i would also give "honorable mention" to the audience of wrestling today as, speaking for myself at least, i tend to enjoy watching the newer and younger guys more than i do the older guys that have a hard time getting around in the ring as well as they used to in their prime. some can still tell a great story (HBK & Taker namely) but most are just slowing down and botching very familiar moves.

 

[streicher187]

Difference is SIMPLE.. today they make in one year what the guys in the 80's and early 90's used to make over 20 years...

Unless the piss away their finances like Flair they are good to go after 5 or 10 good years and have other options like acting to fall back on..

 

[closet_fan]

i'm not sure that scott hall should have retired. i think the years he had abused alcohol and drugs had more of an affect on him than actual wrestling ever did.

unlike hogan, flair, etc. if hall had kept himself in shape and gotten rid of his demons, he could still be a decent wrestler, much like nash.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

this is what you will, amazing wrestlers starting with the "E"...a lot of names come to mind...the when they turn at least 45ish, most will call it a day, some that retire just want to stay in the business...so they continue with TNA....

its a bit obvious, nash, hall, pac, flair, hogan, foley and some others, they just can't stay away from the wrestling business...they could do something backstage, but no, they have to keep performing in the ring..

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

We all know the type. Wrestlers who should have retired years ago and gone on to do other things.

This is very common among wrestlers from the 80's and 90's.

Look at Hogan and Flair as perfect examples. But they are not the only ones. Mick Foley should have retired years ago, so should Scott Hall. Even Jake the Snake Roberts still does indy shows. (I honestly believe that Bret Hart would still be an active wrestler if it wasn't for the concussions and stroke)

I don't see any of the current generation of wrestlers staying in the ring into their 50' and 60's. (Can you imagine Cena wrestling at that age?)

The question is, why?? What is the difference between the current generation and previous ones? These days, wrestlers go off and do other things, have other careers away from the ring.

Well, seeing as though you are basing half of this thread on an assumption, I am confused as how to answer it. It's an interesting idea, but you are basing your idea on something that hasn't happened yet.

The guys like Flair, Hogan, Foley, Hall, and Jake the Snake should have retired a long time ago (some did, and came back several times). I am in agreement with you on that. A lot of those guys should have hung up the boots. But some of those guys need the money...actually, all of them do I think.

While I have no clue if Cena, Orton, etc. are going to stick around into their 50's, I think they may have learned something from guys like Flair, Roberts, etc. If they have learned anything, it's to save their money. Invest wisely. Be smart about your future. Don't piss away your life's savings on absolutely nothing. But back in the day, guys were not paid as much either. Some guys had no choice but to wrestle into their 50's because they had never made enough money to be as secure as the top guys.

Hogan, Flair, etc. are having financial problems? Are you kidding me? Hulk Hogan should have so much money right now, he should be able to give Linda half of everything and still be a multi-millionaire. I don't like to pass judgement on someone's personal life, but come on. The guy made MILLIONS and MILLIONS of dollars. Same with Flair.

Like I said before, I don't know if Cena, Orton, guys like that will wrestle into their 50's or not. But if they do, it probably won't be due to financial issues. At least I hope not. I hope they have looked at some of these older guys, and realized how to handle money. But I don't think you or I know what's going to happen. To just assume they won't wrestle after they should have retired isn't a great argument.