I like this thread and it's an interesting ongoing argument. This is the only forum in the world where you can get talk like this because the wrestling business is such a unique animal in that its fans and performers have their own literal world that feels separate from the rest of civilization. Where else other than in Brett Favre's world can someone retire and everyone start talking about when he or she will appear next.
I pose a question to all the posters: if you had a job where you worked for 20 years but got an offer for a better job, a higher paying job, or perhaps one of your creative outlets has just offered you a unique chance (say you work out and have the opportunity to buy a gym or something), would you not take such an opportunity? Clearly you are still quite capable of doing the job you've been at for the last 20 years. Perhaps the company will struggle to replace such a wonderful employee and won't bounce back for a while, or ever. Even in knowing your value to said company, would you turn down the opportunity of a new challenge and new success?
I know I wouldn't, and neither should these people. People like the Rock, Stone Cold, Trish Stratus, Lita, JBL. These people have created opportunites for themselves outside of the world of wrestling and have left that world on their terms. It's a peaceful feeling to do so. It's nice to hear about their successes as a wonderful counterpoint to the steroid related deaths, decline of financial situations and working matches in high schools just to get by. As a wrestling purist, you could look at The Dynamite Kid who wrestled himself into a wheelchair as someone who never "sold out".
Back to our office example, if you were to take your new opportunity, do you have any obligation to return to the company you worked for previously? Of course, you do not. However, if you had an off day or some free time, you might find it fun to visit the office, see old friends, shoot the shit, etc. However, you wouldn't go back to that job for the day and sit down to do some work. That's insane! This of course, is what some wrestling fans expect of retired wrestlers who can "still go". I understand wrestling is very different than working in an office, but my point is that as a fan or an employee of the company a beloved one left, appreciate anything they do when they come for a visit, and root for that person to succeed in life.
As for the original question, yes it is unfair to look at the case of The Rock and Stone Cold differently. The main difference is that The Rock walked away at such a young age in the wrestling business that people were baffled. It's like the talk of Mark Buehrle retiring from baseball in 2 years. He would be slated to retire at 34 and people think he's nuts! The dude stated on record that he's made plenty of money to live, feels comfortable in other opportunities he will have, and mostly, wants to spend time with his family more. Yet fans feel cheated that he has a few more good years left in that left arm and somehow he is cheating THEM out of seeing him pitch. I don't know about you, but the only cheating going on is Mark cheating his family out of a husband and father. Being a traveling professional athlete is difficult on a family, ask any of them, so many look forward to retirement, but have to play past their prime sometimes to make sure they are financially stable.
Again, for me, I prefer to hear about my favorite entertainers being successful and healthy, regardless of what walk of life they choose. For some, this is a difficult concept, because we get so caught up in the world of wrestling that it's like a cult. It is such a shock if someone gets out and if they do, they must have wronged us, the fans. Those people aren't true to the business somehow because they arent' "lifers" now. It is people under that spell that see people like this as "sellouts" because they will earn a larger paycheck from making movies than they will from wrestling. But I encourage you to emerge from that spell and see the real world. These men and women are doing well financially and they did start their fame in the world of professional wrestling, but none are sellouts. Not Rock, not Austin, not Trish, not Lita, Hogan we won't discuss because his situation is totally different, but not anyone who makes a choice. So think of Rock and Austin in the same boat. Great wrestlers who were part of the wrestling boom of the late 90s but have survived to make movies unlike all the dead wrestlers and poor ones. And if they happened to grace your tv screens again on a rare occasion....................just sit back and enjoy the ride!
