I was prepared to share with you who I feel is the Savior of wrestling when I got an email from Maria Kanellis.
I’ve heard from so many over the past week as to whom they think the Savior is. From Cena and Punk, to Vince McMahon and the fans themselves, a wide variety of answers to a question that many believe there is no real “correct answer”.
Or is there? I think Maria is onto something. Please read.
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Kev,
I've seen one savior and now I see another. I have a pretty good instinct about talent and I haven't been wrong yet. The reason I started watching wrestling is the same characteristic that I look for in a man. Sex, confidence and an “I don't give a shit attitude.”
Wrestling is sexy. It has sex appeal. You say wrestling needs a savior and I say wrestling needs to get its sexy back.
Wrestling used to have an Edge. From Lita's underwear showing, no-fear attitude to Edge humping the ring. I'm not taking about a live sex celebration, although that was amazing. I'm talking sex appeal. Just like the way I way drawn into Rock’s innuendoes and Stone Cold's hatred of authority, I want to be drawn in again. There are a few wrestlers that have that kind of sexy now but the right feud has not shown up yet.
It's all about chemistry. It's all about out-doing the person you are in the ring with but also making them look like the greatest wrestler in the world. Edge and John Cena. Rock and Stone Cold. HHH and Undertaker. Shawn and anyone/everyone. Trish and Lita. I've been in the ring with all of these tremendously talented wrestlers and all of them had something in common. Sex Appeal. Men and women loved them or wanted to be them. When people watch wrestling, they want to see themselves or at least who they wish they could be. At Ring of Honor, I get the pleasure of standing next to another sexy wrestler. You can feel it wash over a room when he enters. That jealousy. Everyone wants to be the guy that "can't wrestle".
I remember when I first met Rock and was so taken back by his star power that I could barely breathe. Or when I first saw Punk. Powerful people take over a room, people stare, and you can almost taste the self-motivation dripping off them. Wrestling ability is amazing and I love when a wrestler can talk but that isn't what people remember. Fans remember the spark. Fans latch onto an attitude, a confidence, and a wrestler's desire to be better than anyone else. I have seen that very thing happen with another wrestler over the past 2 years. I have watched fan after fan, wrestler after wrestler go from a hater to a fan of his work.
A wrestling locker room is like a soup that one ingredient can change everything. I know that the locker room is just missing that one ingredient to make it a perfect blend and to bring out the best in everyone. It needs a Miracle. A Prodigy. An Epic Wrestler.
We can all say, that “the Greats” always had that confidence, sex appeal, and that “I don't give a shit attitude”. But did they? Rocky Maivia, Stunning Steve Austin, The Super Destroyer, Sexton Hardcastle, The Prototype, Chick Magnets, and Terror Ryzin' all had that appeal but it was not until a perfect moment when all their hard work came together.
There is a perfect moment in every great wrestler's career that defines their stardom. It begins the rise. It makes you, the fan, pay attention. But the real mechanics in making that moment is years and years of only caring about one thing. One motivation. One dream. One love. WRESTLING.
Relationships, finances, family, and their physical pain doesn't matter. These Great Ones, the Best-in-the-World’s, the Game’s, and the Better-Than-The-Bests know that they will achieve that dream. No matter what it takes. They had the “I don't give a shit attitude” that they will succeed. And that's why they do. These legends were not memorable when they started. They made themselves that way.
The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Edge, John Cena, CM Punk and Triple H all had that one love and I see that in another wrestler. He is and will be Better Than The Best. Not because he is the greatest technical wrestler, the greatest talker, or has the most fans but because he has that one love. He has worked at it for 11 years and practices his craft everyday at every moment. From practice in the ring to the gym to learning from the best wrestling coaches in the world. He doesn't give a shit what anyone says about his move set, he just pushes forward learning, achieving, and dreaming. He knows where he is going and soon everyone will see it.
You want a savior. I have him and his name is Mike Bennett.
XO
Maria Kanellis
The First Lady of Professional Wrestling
@MariaLKanellis
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
