I was listening to the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame Podcast with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer and a question was posed if future Hall of Famers will need a WWE run to even be considered? For example, could AJ Styles be a worthy candidate if he never wrestles for the WWE?
The flipside to that argument is AJ Styles equally as worthy at this point as say Randy Orton?
One guy who I personally think is worthy of induction is Sting but can Sting be denied inclusion in the Observer’s Hall of Fame because he never wrestled for the WWE? Or is he to be denied because of his lacking resume overall?
I would say that Sting is a bit of a “compiler”, meaning he has tremendous longevity in top roles in WCW and TNA without ever having to carry either company during periods of hot business. He’s kind of like Vinny Testaverde in the NFL who threw for a ton of yards over many years but did little of major significance.
Of course, he was the focal point in a year-long program with Hulk Hogan that turned into one of the biggest buyrates ever in pro wrestling at Starrcade 97. Sting was the face of WCW in the early 90’s and was the crossover name they had from the post-Horseman, pre-Hogan era. He was saved by Robocop and fought on a boat that blew up… ok, so not all of it was good!
Bad booking aside, Sting is a Hall of Famer but one thing needs to happen for any pro wrestling Hall of Fame to even be worth a conversation.
Plain and simple, the business has to improve or what’s the point? And when I say “the business”, I mean the WWE. They have got to step it up and start treating what they do with some level of importance because this whole year has sucked.
Would Sting help that? I think it would but what about Hogan, brother? And would Sting be allowed to be “Sting” in the WWE or would he have to be called Brag Standish or something else ridiculous? And don’t forget about Hogan, brother!
I try not to write these commentaries when I’m mad about the WWE for fear that I’ll come across negative but the one segment I saw from Monday was with Michael Strahan, Titus O’Neal and Miz. I’ve seen all I can see and I can’t see anymore. Now, I was told the main was good and the spear from Reigns on Punk was terrific but I shut it off long before that. I just can’t do it.
Listen, I know Ring of Honor suffers from production issues and needs to step up and there is“sameness” about the roster. Some different sizes and styles are needed to make the “wrestling” more special but if the company I work for ever puts out anything that bad like I saw on Raw, I’ll quit.
Sorry… Sting! Yeah… Hall of Fame? Sure, whatever. WrestleMania 30? Sure, why not? Or Hogan, brother.
Thoughts for Young Wrestlers
Make everything have meaning – if you fall down, tell the audience it hurts. If you don’t tell them (with body language), the audience doesn’t know it and you fell down for no reason.
Look at the cameras – if there are cameras recording your actions, you should make sure the cameras catch your actions, reactions and hopefully when you fall down. If the camera can’t see it, you acted, reacted or fell down for no reason.
Speak with purpose/be a star always – if you are being interviewed on a wrestling TV show, it’s important that you tell the fans they should come and see you compete. Make the audience care and they just might! And if you don’t speak, just have camera presence. Be larger than life!
Watch Tanahashi vs Okada – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzrNdUP6tNU
See how everything means something, there is no wasted motion and they are absolutely larger than life. I don’t speak Japanese but I know who the “Rainmaker” is and what Tanahashi is all about.
Its one thing for me to show you the Ole Anderson turn from 1980 or the Dusty Rhodes “Hard Times” promo but Tanahashi vs Okada is the Rock vs Stone Cold in 2013 and is one of the best rivalries I can remember. Young wrestlers can learn from contemporary product but it’s not the WWE this year.
But what do you think? Please tweet me @RealKevinKelly. If the Hall of Fame was real, would Sting belong in it? Is he coming to the WWE for WrestleMania XXX and am I overreacting seeing that Michael Strahan segment from Monday’s Raw?
Happy Thanksgiving to readers who celebrate this Thursday and Happy Thursday to everyone else!
