I wish I could attribute this quote to the right person, but in the midst of watching Extreme Rules with a group of friends on Monday, this frankly brilliant one-liner stood out and stuck in the back of my brain, getting used to the different scenery until it took residence next to a bunch of similar thoughts that have been swimming around in there for a few months now. The line is a perfect catalyst for a subject that I think is extremely important for wrestling these days, particularly the WWE.
When the Undertaker's Streak was broken at WrestleMania 30, the disgust and outrage from so many people was incredible. It was beautiful to experience, such genuine passion for a loss in the wrestling ring, it was like watching a historic genuine sporting moment. Whether or not the decision to give that win to Brock Lesnar was the right move has yet to be determined. It could end up as brilliance, a stroke of genius to create a new part-time phenom who can come in for the big superfight in the absence of Undertaker or Rock, and fill that bi-annual role better than ever. Or it could end up as a wasted opportunity, a lost device to make a new megastar in an environment where it is getting harder and harder to make one. Time will tell.
The one thing I am certain of, however, is that it was absolutely time for the Streak to die.
Wrestling fans are creatures of nostalgia. They'll always harken back to the time wrestling first hooked them as the best ever. They'll fondly remember Hulkamania or the Attitude Era, they'll talk about favourite moments and wrestlers gone by that stood out. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels in classic matches. Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage being larger than life. Steve Austin and The Rock being such magnetic personalities and performers that you had to watch just to see what they'd do next. Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes talking the money out of your wallet. Jeff Hardy flying through the air. Whatever it is, people love what they grew up with, and as we all get older, we yearn to relive.
I was asked yesterday by a friend of mine what WrestleMania is without the Streak. My answer was "WrestleMania 31". An obvious answer, but what I meant by that is that it's time for the next ten years of WrestleMania to begin. The new interesting scenarios with new characters, ones that don't rely on stars we grew up with, but ones they create right now and make us feel like we're watching something exciting because we're experiencing the evolution of the business. That's what hooks people, fresh star power hitting at the right time and place and taking us all along for a ride.
Wrestling used to move so fast. When you compare how much changed in the wrestling world from 1994 to 2004, and how little changed from 2004 to 2014, it's astonishing. Much less talent turnover, significantly fewer stars created, and very little change in the look and feel of the shows. Guys like Cena, Orton, HHH and Taker have dominated television and Mania main events for so long now, that even if they don't have the same number of years on their birth certificate, it is the exact same situation WCW was in in 1999, where everything about the product was so old. The fact the top guys had been around for so long and took all the focus is what led to them losing any kind of foothold they had left against the progressive, vibrant, dynamic WWF.
Wrestling's evolution became so much slower, and that, I think more than anything, is why interest has dropped off. People have come to believe you can skip a year in WWE and not miss that much, and they'd probably be right. The same good friend referenced above was the one who declared, when Brock Lesnar beat The Undertaker, that he was "done with WWE". Strong sentiments for sure, until I pointed out that he hasn't watched Raw or followed the product in years anyway, which he conceded was correct. And therein lies the point. As much of a connection as people had to the streak, there are ultimately only so many top spots in this business, and every year one of the very top ones at Mania was taken by a guy who has been on top in the company for almost a QUARTER OF A FUCKING CENTURY. WCW, lambasted for its dated approach, never had anything even remotely resembling that. I'm a big fan of Taker's work, don't get me wrong, but things need to move on. It's time to break the shackles of history and focus on today and tomorrow.
When Hulk Hogan left the WWF, Vince McMahon embarked on the "New Generation" campaign. In 1996, he created the Billionaire Ted skits mocking Hogan and Savage for their age. The Attitude Era was all about sticking it to the past, the here and now is what's cool, fuck the past and fuck everyone else. Then as soon as WWE bought WCW and suddenly became the custodians of wrestling history, their own mentality - treating the present like it's the best that things have ever been, abruptly stopped. The WWE has embraced their history more than ever, but in doing so has shined a light on how big and exciting things have been before, which doesn't make for a favourable comparison to today, where they have spent so long keeping guys stagnant, destroying the midcard, devaluing the titles and running with the same top guys and top angles as the true focus for years. It's created a culture where more people love wrestling for what it was than what it is.
A true, honest to God new era in the WWE is needed to grab wrestling fans by the balls again. Shake off the apathy, things are changing. The things we've banked on forever, they're no more. They have some building blocks in The Shield, Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, Bray Wyatt and Brock Lesnar. The best talker of the modern era in Paul Heyman. The best production team in wrestling history. This isn't about shitting on the past, it's about letting the past be the past, and stop dwelling on it when things count the most - bringing in the stars of yesteryear has been a failsafe for the WWE at WrestleMania of late, to where they barely have to do any work to create an interesting match, just bring in the big guns.
Hopefully, that dies with the streak, and they're forced to go all the way and make new stars, stars that get every bit as hot as those established names that have been carrying the company for so long. Because I'll say this much - if the company doesn't evolve, the fans will continue to, and they won't be taking WWE along for the ride.
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