[MERGED] Does Size Matter when it comes to wrestlers?

[sXe_Factor]

I've seen hundreds of people complain that small guys can't realistically be world champions, for the sole reason that apparently, a big guy will always beat a small guy in a fight. However, most people fail to realise that this is pretty much all "hollywood".

In reality, fighters like Royce Gracie, at just 175lbs, or 79KG, are (or were, at UFC 1, 2, and 4.) Able to dominate, including eliminating much larger opponents.

The weight divisions in "real fighting" were actually mostly put in to protect the big guys, not the small guys.

So my questions are as follows.

Can a small guy be a believable world champion? If not, why?
Would a small-to-medium sized guy actually be more believable as a champion?

 

[a0161613]

I got thinking about Rey's first title reign and how many people criticised the decision for putting the belt on him like they did. A lot of the problems we had with it came from the nature of the push, but then with the success of his recent feud with Alberto del Rio, I began to wonder whether it's difficult to accept Rey as a World Champion because of his size.

I dont object to him as a viable challenger. When booked correctly against the right opponent, we can get past the disbelief, so Edge is the perfect opponent (plus they have chemistry coming out their kaboodle), so was Ziggler, Morrison, Jericho, Angle and Swagger.

But his feuds with Batista and Kane have often been interminable and unenjoyable because the little man/big man combo doesnt always work too well. They can't keep up or effectively sell his offense or look clumsy doing it.

So what is too small? Should bookers keep this sort of thing in mind when booking a title win and the pushes of others to build as challengers?

I dont mind Rey and against the right opponent he shows himself to be a very capable worker. With the wrong people I find suspension of disbelief to go out the window and I think that goes down as a booking issue. Same with Amazing Red.

Alberto del Rio is someone I've been impressed with and he is just about on the right side of small but believable. In this instance Rey is the perfect face to oppose him while he needs to get over. WWE has got this character spot on so far.

I know Rey is 175lbs so he is smaller than most anyway but generally what is a good height & weight for smaller wrestlers? Should height and weight be a factor? And how far should bookers/companies expect suspension of disbelief to extend?

 

[ABMorales787]

No, really. I think the fault of Rey first run being seen as so bad lies on who he faced. I mean for the entire month of May he was wrestling guys over 300 pounds and nothing else. And that the time, the roster had guys like Finlay, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Matt Hardy and Chris Benoit. But instead of aiming to have Rey wrestle normally they aimed to make a sob story out of it. It was pretty ridiculous. Instead of having great matches with regular Heavyweight like he had been doing for the past year, they instead have him be the "Giant Killer" all over again. Is it wrong to but a non-Heavyweight as Heavyweight Champion? No, just look at his run as Intercontinental Champion. It alone proves Rey could be a credible Champion, WWE see's the booking in a totally different perspective just for merch sales.

Chris Jericho was also a guy that was seemingly in lost woods. When he was Undisputed Champion, he was facing The Rock and Triple H. But guys towered over with an excess of 50 pounds and half a foot over Jericho on a weekly basis. As well as when Jericho feuded with Batista. I know the difference isn't as blatant as with Rey Mysterio, but the point is that he still had great matches and wasn't seen as a blatantly over-matched underdog. Not the case with Rey Rey as he was simply booked as the "Impossible Man" his entire run only to lose the title to the one guy he faced where he actually had a legitimate chance. Booking didn't do him favors, b ut it did to Jericho and even to CM Punk on a degree. So as far as I can see, size doesn't have as much to do with being a good champion. Booking rides more on that.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I think to be taken seriously as a plausible World Heavyweight Champion, as a bare minimum, you have to be a heavyweight, which implies a certain minimum size requirement. If you are only 175 lbs and are wrestling guys the size of Kane, Batista, or the Undertaker, it stretches plausibility too much. I know we are expected to be able to suspend disbelief to enjoy any professional wrestling product, but it cannot border on the absolute ridiculous.

Tag team belts, IC, US, cruiserweight or light heavyweight (when they still existed), even the WWE Championship, it is Ok for smaller guys to contend for these titles (arguable on the latter), but I personally think it is ludicrous for someone like Rey Mysterio, Evan Bourne, Amazing Red, etc., to contend for a title bearing the name "heavyweight," regardless of skill level or mic skill.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm pretty much with KJ on this. As with any champion of any size, booking plays a huge part in whether or not a guy comes off as credible. Instead of Rey Mysterio being booked as a guy that can go in there and hang in the ring with anyone, he's constantly referred to as "The Ultimate Underdog" by commentators whe he's in there wrestling against someone 275 lbs or over. Instead of highlighting Rey's athletic ability, rather than hyping what a competitor he is, they make too many references to his size. We can see that there's a huge size difference between Mysterio and almost anyone else in the WWE, but they shouldn't constantly harp on it. Use the commentators to build the guy up and help put him over instead of using them to reinforce certain doubts that some fans might already have due to his size. When Mysterio last feuded with Kane, before Kane took the WHC from him at the MITB ppv, Rey won every single match that they had together and he won them cleanly and there was little problem believing in Mysterio there so I see no reason why it should change just because he has the strap.

 

[mrbrownstone]

Yes a smaller guy can be believable as a world champion, however as others have said it all depends on how they are booked. If a small person is booked as an Underdog then I will have a hard time believing that he can beat a guy the size of Kane. However if instead of that the commentators highlight that the guy is so quick and athletic and technically sound that size isn't an issue then I will have no trouble suspending my belief with a win over someone Kane's size.

I also think it depends on who you face, I have no trouble believing that Rey could beat a regular sized guy like an Edge, Cena, Alberto, Miz etc. sure they may be bigger than him but they are far from being dominant monsters. I think if you are going to give a smaller guy a main event run then put him up against guys of a more average size instead of monsters, it is far more believable if they do manage the victory.

Finally I all think it depends on your move set, look at my thread about it if you want more detail. I would have no trouble believing that Daniel Bryan could knock off Kane because I know that if he locks in a submission hold it will be all over, and then size doesn't really matter.