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"It's going to take you longer to get over, but once you get over, you're going to be over for good." -Ted DiBiase
You already know that professional wrestling is the purest form of sport yet devised by man, but what you might not know is that there is also an entertainment component to the industry that is, at best, tangental to the athletic action between the ropes.
Above, Ted DiBiase refers to a conversation he had with his former client, Steve Austin, prior to the development of the famous "Stone Cold" persona. It took Austin, ostensibly the greatest wrestler of the last 25 years, many attempts at finding himself before he struck upon the right combination of brashness, hostility, humor, and vest choice that allowed him to reach the peak of his profession.
Austin, like nearly all of his contemporaries, spent years at a time grinding out fruitless stints as characters that didn't resonate with the public at all. Generic Tough Guy... Generic Beefcake... Heyman Guy... Movie Buff... all fell by the wayside. But when he finally hit the magical combination, he hit it bigger than any wrestler in history.
That brings us to the curious case of Damien Sandow, who toiled as a haughty "intellectual savior to the masses" for over a year with limited notoriety or success. Wrestling promoters are notoriously greedy and fans will pay more to see famous or popular wrestlers fight, resulting in higher pay for the participating athletes and the promoter. It's simple economics, really. Sandow understands this, of course, so he decided to take a unique tact. Recently he's appeared in a new guise each week. Granted, none of them have caught on, but he's smart enough to know when to cut bait (immediately) on each of his horrible ideas. Astronaut... Master of Magnetism... Excellence of Execution... WWE Chairman... Urban Music Star... Patriotic Singer-Songwriter... Fast Food Employee... all failed. The the key is that he keeps trying new things.
Don't you think Kevin Nash wishes he could have cycled through his stints as Vinnie Vegas and Oz to become Big Daddy Cool years earlier? That's what Sandow is doing right now!
Detractors might call attention to the fact that it takes time to refine one's personality and that the process cannot be rushed, but naysayers also said it was impossible to split the atom and they were proven wrong. We don't know until we try.
In a sport where your career can end at a moment's notice, don't wrestlers owe it to themselves and their fans to find their ideal ring personality as soon as possible? Thank you Damien Sandow!
Oh, and if you're reading this, don't bother saying "You're welcome" in response. That's not your thing anymore, nor should it be. You're off to the bigger and better... you just have to find what that is.
OFFICIAL WRESTLER WRANKINGS FORMULA
ANY WIN = 2 POINTS
US OR INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE BOUT = 1 POINT
WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE BOUT = 3 POINTS
NON "BIG 4" PPV BONUS = 1.5X
SUMMERSLAM, SURVIVOR SERIES, ROYAL RUMBLE = 2X BONUS
WRESTLEMANIA = 3X BONUS
The WWE season begins on the day after WrestleMania 30 and culminates with WrestleMania 31. The wrestler who accumulates the most points over the course of the season, wins the coveted Wrankings Championship!
Monday Night Raw -- 7/28/14
Main Event -- 7/30/14
Smackdown -- 8/1/14
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WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 17 *TOP TEN*
1. SHEAMUS -- 50.5 points
2. Rusev -- 50 points
3. Bad News Barrett -- 37 points
4. Cesaro -- 35.5 points
5. Bo Dallas -- 33.5
6. John Cena-- 32
7. Big E -- 24
8. Seth Rollins -- 22
9. Dolph Ziggler -- 21.5
T10. Alberto Del Rio -- 21
T10. Roman Reigns -- 21
Thanks for reading, Cagesiders. We'll see you back here next week!