"Heroes (or babyfaces) are an important part of every sport, but nowhere more so than in professional wrestling...(they) learn to entertain their audiences (and) earn their hearts doing so."
- Heroes & Icons (Johnson/Oliver 2012)
For the last month or so, Ive been lucky enough to be live at the last few WWE live events here in the US (Royal Rumble in Phoenix, Elimination Chamber in New Orleans and RAW in Lafayette last Monday). Come Wrestlemania weekend in April, i will be at the ROH PPV, the DragonGate USA PPV AND my 3rd consecutive Wrestlemania. From my time spent at these events already, it is apparent that the industry is about to travel into uncharted territory in the next year or so. Sure, WWE are currently enjoying some great Monday night television ratings along with the promotion of the most profitable event of the year, Wrestlemania 29. However, Im more concerned about what will happen AFTER the "Showcase of the Immortals". Im more concern with WHO is going to be showcased as WWE's most beloved??
From where i stand and from what i have witnessed at these live events, WWE is, once again, booking themselves into a corner as it relates to their babyfaces. You know? The guys who fans are meant to live vicariously through. The guys who fans find they can relate to best. The guys that children, grown men/woman and family members have no problem in forking out hundreds of dollars in merchandise for.
The problem is that these "poster boys" are becoming few and far between. Yes, there are a plentiful amount of guys who are "designated" as babyfaces and work matches with the distinct goal in mind to perform within those boundaries. Quite frankly, it is easy to be taught a formulaic way of being a generic "good guy". As Hall of Famer Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka tells us in "The Pro-Wrestling Hall of fame: Heroes & Icons" (A MUST READ for any long-time wrestling fan), the "hero...goes out, gets his heat", performs his "one big babyface comeback, and goes home".
However, if being a babyface was this simple, WWE's future would look a whole lot brighter. Beyond the technical and the physical, Fans need a REASON to fall in love with you. They have to WANT To live vicariously through you during your matches AND your promos.
From where i stand and from what i have witnessed at these live events, WWE is, once again, booking themselves into a corner as it relates to their babyfaces. You know? The guys who fans are meant to live vicariously through. The guys who fans find they can relate to best. The guys that children, grown men/woman and family members have no problem in forking out hundreds of dollars in merchandise for.
The problem is that these "poster boys" are becoming few and far between. Yes, there are a plentiful amount of guys who are "designated" as babyfaces and work matches with the distinct goal in mind to perform within those boundaries. Quite frankly, it is easy to be taught a formulaic way of being a generic "good guy". As Hall of Famer Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka tells us in "The Pro-Wrestling Hall of fame: Heroes & Icons" (A MUST READ for any long-time wrestling fan), the "hero...goes out, gets his heat", performs his "one big babyface comeback, and goes home".
However, if being a babyface was this simple, WWE's future would look a whole lot brighter. Beyond the technical and the physical, Fans need a REASON to fall in love with you. They have to WANT To live vicariously through you during your matches AND your promos.
Look at the great babyfaces of all time. Ricky Steamboat: Through his amazing work rate, tremendous facials/selling, and a human emphasis on "being the best man he could" via a clean, healthy and law-abiding lifestyle, Steamboat resonated with a world-wide audience. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin: a character who became a personification of the feelings that existed within every "working man" in the world (even to this day): a feeling of rebellion and liberation that every man believes they are entitled to.
Finally, we have The Rock: the personification of "Charismatic Coolness", a man that, like Austin, everyone wishes they were. However, through his in-ring work and his promos, Rock establishes a human connection with his audiences and doesn't let go until the final bell of his matches. Being a part of something like "Team Bring it" brings about a community-feel to watching WWE programing, with Rock being the representative of a set goals of to live your life: "Just Bring it" (as if to say, bring LIFE on and never give up).
All these examples all hold 1 similar trait that is CRUCIAL for the longevity of babyfaces everywhere, regardless of the promotion: a human connection to the audience. Whether it be via the promotion of traditional competition, rebellion, or "being cool", these babyfaces have remained relevant and memorable due to this eternal union with the fans. In fact, Dr. David Reiss, a contributor at Cauliflower Alley Club seminars states "What (babyfaces) are offering to fans is an alliance with invulnerable heroes...its a SENSE OF CONNECTING with an invulnerable hero".
At Rumble, Chamber and RAW, The Rock continued to demonstrate this union over and over again. To be honest, it has been amazing to watch fans in Phoenix, New Orleans and Lafayette loose themselves in Rock's promos and in-ring work. Even for a fan like me, it never EVER got old.
The only man in the WWE to even hold a candle to The Rock is, of course, John Cena. Love him or hate him, John Cena is a bonafide superstar. He is quite possibly the only other man in WWE that can evoke such a strong reaction, good or bad, in any arena in the country. Why? Because over the years, John Cena has constructed a character that is held together by a set of values that fans can relate to: "Hustle, Loyalty, respect/ Never Give Up". By staying true to these values and never wavering from them during his career, Cena, like The Rock, has established a connection to audiences via a continual rehashing of these universal values.
Furthermore, Rock and Cena continually ground their characters to some sort of realism: another crucial benchmark of traditional babyfaces. Like Austin, Rock's character evolved from a legitimate frustration with the WWE fans in the mid-90s. By voicing his feelings on the mic, Rock began to ground his charisma within these realistic parameters. From a legitimate gripe emerged "The People's Champion": a man who spoke from the heart and never shied away from how he actually felt.
Cena on the other hand had a lifestyle outside the ring that based itself within a "Hip-Hop"/"Never give up" foreground. After Stephanie heard the rookie rapping on the road to a WWE live event in 2002, Cena got a chance to begin to express himself from a comfortable/realistic platform in the form of rap. Sure, the days of "Hip-Hop" Cena are long gone, but it was a necessary step for Cena to develop his character within the values he holds dear. Thus, the John Cena we see today is a extension of these home-grounded values which makes it easier for fans to relate to him.
The problem that WWE faces is that Rock and Cena are a dying breed of successful babyfaces that people will pay money to see. Furthermore, a lack of freshness in the "main-event" roster and an inability to create new babyfaces has caused fleshed out characters such as Cena to be turned on by frustrated fans that long for a new hero. However, the current available alternatives are lacking depth and originality.
Long-term speaking, Randy Orton and Sheamus (and Ryback to a certain degree) are the closest things to "draws" in WWE, other than Rock or Cena. However, their characters are so poorly defined that fans struggle to properly get behind them. In short, these guys are not people that would draw the same amount of fans than Rock or Cena. Why? Because of a lack of humility and a legitimate disconnect to their fans.
Look at Randy Orton: here's a guy who is an awesome wrestler, cooly ruthless and "viper-like" in his mannerisms. However, whats the emotional hook for fans other than "he's cool" ? Why should fans get behind this man? What's at stake in his matches? It also doesn't help that his character has had little to no direction in the last 6 months.
Look at Sheamus: a character who likes to fight. What else do we know about him other than he is Irish? While a guy like Cena has been given time to develop his character and speak out to actual values he holds dear, Sheamus remains an aggressive, solid grappler without a proper character arch. In the end, Sheamus becomes an above average performer who wrestles, gets his signature spots in, fans cheer along, he tells some Irish jokes aside. That's it. No character, no real "draw". Nothing for the fans to emotionally invest in week-in and week-out.
Ryback is much the same: a "muscle-head" attraction that has a catchphrase that is more popular than his actual in-ring work. Fans don't want to get to know this monster, they want to see him so they can chant for him. A short-term fix for an audience that wants a long-term relationship with their superstars.
What makes this problem even worse is that WWEs top heels are more fleshed out and understood than their top babyfaces, making "bad guys" like CM Punk, The Shield, Dolph Ziggler and Antonio Ceasaro more anti-heroes than villains. Time and time again, Punk and his promos are cheered by a majority of fans regardless of his underhanded tactics in the ring. Guys like Ziggler and Ceasaro are cheered also as their in-ring work and athleticism trumps the weak, cookie-cutter babyfaces that litter WWE's landscape such as The Great Kahli and The Miz. However, like JJ. Dillon says "in pro-wrestling, it takes two to tango" and right now, most WWE dance partners are lacking substance.
Whats the solution? In short, there are many. Start giving guys like Kofi Kingston (one of the most underrated guys on the roster) more credibility in the eyes of fans via more wins than losses. Give these young guys like Kofi, Tyson Kidd and The Miz (to a degree) more time on the mic and let them develop REALISTIC character archs that are easy to understand and easy to connect to. Start giving these young babyfaces truck-loads of Brisco/Rhodes/Steamboat/Samartino videos to study and understand WHY these men are iconic legends. But most importantly, give these guys TIME to develop their new characters. It took someone like Austin and Mick Foley years to finally reach the pinnacle of their career. By having WWE cut the legs off of per-mature babyface pushes, fans find it harder and harder to reinvest their time in a repackaged "good guy".
What ever they do, they are going to need to do it ASAP. As it stands, Rock and Cena being permanently injured is an issue that needs to be avoided at all costs for WWE. For a company that has not built up a legitimate superstar in 9 years, this a MAJOR concern.
As i gear up for Wrestlemania 29, an event based almost primarily on legit babyfaces and heels of the past (HHH vs Lesnar, Punk vs Taker, Rock vs Cena), i just hope that Wrestlemania 30 has some fresh new babyfaces that are ready to connect with an audience that is hungry for a hero that is new.
Thanks for reading folks!
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Email: obrien_joel@hotmail.com
Email: obrien_joel@hotmail.com
