Ah, yes, nepotism. It's the one thing in the world of business that we all hate with an utter passion, but it's there. It's something we must acknowledge, and accept as a truth. As long as overprotective fathers and spoiled sons exist in the world, we're going to have to accept that certain people got promotions, hell even their jobs, from who their father was. It's almost as American as Baseball and Hot Dogs, really.
But, in no business is nepotism more accepted than the business of professional wrestling. It's often said that bookers should never be on screen characters, as they will start to book in their best interests, rather than the companies. And really, what father doesn't want to see their son succeed in the business?
Well, clearly, the answer to that question is no father wants to see their son succeed. Mainly because, if they did, they wouldn't push their untalented sons to the moon, as it's widely expected that wrestler will be boo'ed out of the building. Now, plenty of wrestlers have been booked by their father, and survived. Look no further than The Hart family. Booking never killed Bret or Owen in Stampede, as they did just fine for themselves, and were legitmate draws. But for every Bret and Owen, there's a Ross and Bruce Hart, who still get pushed by their father into the company, ans wind up sputtering. It can be said that Bruce was the reason Stampede failed, and Stu watched idly by, now wanting to see his son fail. At the end of the day, booking your son seems an accepted aspect of professional wrestling, and has yielded us some of the worst results in wrestling. The question is, what has been the worst case of nepotism in professional wrestling?
For me, it boils down to one man, and his quest to get his neophyte son try to get over in WCW. And that would be the seriously under prepared Erik Watts.
Yes, the son of Good Ol' Bill himself. When Bill took over as the head of WCW in 1992, and as booker, he did some good in WCW, but did plenty more bad. He did things such as cutting catering from live events, dimmed lights so that wrestlers almost couldn't see their opponents, and eliminated ringside mats for the "tough" look. But perhaps his most polarizing move in WCW was the idea that his son, Erik, who before 1992 had been a quarterback at Louisville, was deserving of a chance to be at the top of the promotion. For two years, Watts was treated as a God of wrestling, matched up with the likes of Arn Anderson, Rick Rude, and other top heels in WCW at the time. And, much more shamefully, these men were forced to sell for the guy that barely looked like he had any muscle on his body, and even less talent. He couldn't take a bump to save his life, and his "work", if you can call it that, consisted of mainly rest holds and punches. Not exactly the expected work of a main event athlete, but remember, he was a God. All because his father was the booker. This man was lobbied to be given the world title, and the only thing stopping it was Watts' own need to look credible to the boys. Thus, while Watts was never given the belt, he was given plenty of chance to get boo'ed on a national level, and be hated by the boys for his father's pushing of the untalented, clueless Erik.
Need evidence? Watch this classic between Erik Watts and the Mambo Warrior. Mind you, this isn't Kamala, as most would believe. Just a horrible, horrible impression of him.
Which gives you my case for the Worst Sign of Nepotism in Wrestling. What would be yours?
But, in no business is nepotism more accepted than the business of professional wrestling. It's often said that bookers should never be on screen characters, as they will start to book in their best interests, rather than the companies. And really, what father doesn't want to see their son succeed in the business?
Well, clearly, the answer to that question is no father wants to see their son succeed. Mainly because, if they did, they wouldn't push their untalented sons to the moon, as it's widely expected that wrestler will be boo'ed out of the building. Now, plenty of wrestlers have been booked by their father, and survived. Look no further than The Hart family. Booking never killed Bret or Owen in Stampede, as they did just fine for themselves, and were legitmate draws. But for every Bret and Owen, there's a Ross and Bruce Hart, who still get pushed by their father into the company, ans wind up sputtering. It can be said that Bruce was the reason Stampede failed, and Stu watched idly by, now wanting to see his son fail. At the end of the day, booking your son seems an accepted aspect of professional wrestling, and has yielded us some of the worst results in wrestling. The question is, what has been the worst case of nepotism in professional wrestling?
For me, it boils down to one man, and his quest to get his neophyte son try to get over in WCW. And that would be the seriously under prepared Erik Watts.
Yes, the son of Good Ol' Bill himself. When Bill took over as the head of WCW in 1992, and as booker, he did some good in WCW, but did plenty more bad. He did things such as cutting catering from live events, dimmed lights so that wrestlers almost couldn't see their opponents, and eliminated ringside mats for the "tough" look. But perhaps his most polarizing move in WCW was the idea that his son, Erik, who before 1992 had been a quarterback at Louisville, was deserving of a chance to be at the top of the promotion. For two years, Watts was treated as a God of wrestling, matched up with the likes of Arn Anderson, Rick Rude, and other top heels in WCW at the time. And, much more shamefully, these men were forced to sell for the guy that barely looked like he had any muscle on his body, and even less talent. He couldn't take a bump to save his life, and his "work", if you can call it that, consisted of mainly rest holds and punches. Not exactly the expected work of a main event athlete, but remember, he was a God. All because his father was the booker. This man was lobbied to be given the world title, and the only thing stopping it was Watts' own need to look credible to the boys. Thus, while Watts was never given the belt, he was given plenty of chance to get boo'ed on a national level, and be hated by the boys for his father's pushing of the untalented, clueless Erik.
Need evidence? Watch this classic between Erik Watts and the Mambo Warrior. Mind you, this isn't Kamala, as most would believe. Just a horrible, horrible impression of him.
Which gives you my case for the Worst Sign of Nepotism in Wrestling. What would be yours?
