Shining a Spotlight 1.26.12: Favortism

This has gotten Bayless more than a few reactions from colleagues, especially the ever-outspoken Stephen A. Smith, who has literally gotten out of his chair and walked off when Bayless makes statements like Tebow being a better runner than Michael Vick. During a recent talk, when the Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs, Smith finally explained the key issue with Bayless’ Tebow championing which was that in the twenty years they’ve known each other, Bayless has talked about guys like Tom Brady, Brett Farve, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Montana, both Mannings and others being great but all having flaws. So, it made no sense how Bayless could run down these guys (each of whom had won at least one Super Bowl) as being flawed yet choose this “marginal talent” to elevate to a level of perfection he has yet to achieve.

I’m sure many see where I’m going with this as there’s quite a few guys in wrestling who are seen are overrated and such. There are also those who folks champion despite the fact so many other fans are against them. These opinions have been around for as long as the business but the rise of the IWC has only made them more widespread and also led to some becoming “fact” among fans. It can be a sometimes troubling aspect that I’ve discussed before but bears repeating as it speaks a lot to fandom in many ways.

Favortism

We all have our favorites, that’s for sure. The performers or movies or such that we all admire and hold dear to. Also, many of us have likes and dislikes the rest of the world can be against. In an issue of his classic comic book Starman, James Robinson has hero Jack Knight, told he may be the only person to stop a threat, reply “I’m also the only person who prefers The Two Jakes over Chinatown.” It’s a great line because so many of us hold to beliefs or likes that the rest of the world can’t seem to grasp. That’s been around for quite a while but the Internet has only affirmed these beliefs as well as giving rise to the idea that you have to be on one side or another of your likes or there’s something wrong with you. I’m a huge fan of the site Television Without Pity which does fun recaps of shows but I notice they have the annoying habit of championing shows big-time (Heroes, Glee, Chuck) but as soon as they hit a small rut, turn on them big as being utter crap. Heroes is a great example of a show that was adored (maybe a tad too much and that’s speaking as a huge fan of it) in its first season only to have the following ones (nowhere near as bad as critics say) be ripped to shreds. The troubling aspect of that is how this wave of slamming grew, that bashing the show became the “in” thing to do and woe if you tried to defend it.

I don’t mind the fact that people hate the Star Wars prequels, that’s their right. What I hate is this whole elitist mentality that if you don’t loathe them with a passion, you can’t be a “real” Star Wars fan. When I did an entry on the Blu-Ray set of the films for the 411 Movie Awards, I talked of how I still liked them despite their flaws and tinkering by Lucas and how folks slammed me for it. Sure enough, right in the comments for the Awards, someone wrote that my words proved I wasn’t a “real” fan. It extends to love for various directors as well; Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers just assumes anything Martin Scorsese does is automatically awesome, ranting when Shutter Island wasn’t nominated for an Oscar despite it clearly not being the man’s best work.

The Internet has just added to that with guys posting “best of” lists that show their bias. 411mania was ripped a lot by folks when we chose X-Men First Class as the best movie of 2011 over other critical favorites. Every guy who does reviews has to have a tough skin for the inevitable “are you nuts, this thing sucks” or such comments. Some folks go really overboard like Entertainment Weekly doing at least three covers a year for Twilight among other stuff. The fact is, we all have stuff we champion over others and that especially goes for wrestling.

Some guys can have rather odd likes and dislikes. For a man who has an entire website devoted to the worst of wrestling, it’s odd that RD Reynolds is the only guy I know who talks of Zach Gowen being a “can’t miss prospect WWE blew.” Scott Keith has been famous for his love of Owen Hart and other Canadian guys. As for me, I’m a mark for Ricky Steamboat and I’ll defend John Cena whenever I can, seeing him as nowhere near this horrible worker others do. In fact, the Cena hate is something that shows this annoying mentality of fans as it really strikes me that many boo Cena less because they really dislike him and more because it’s supposed to be the “cool” thing to do. Giving up what you believe in just to fit in with others is never a good thing to do. Sadly, it’s something that seems to happen a lot in the IWC and just makes it harder for us to be taken seriously as a majority of the fanbase. Every time I talk about TNA, I’ll get a dozen guys talking like the company is not only equal to WWE in power but on the verge of putting McMahon out of business. It’s like how ECW has been elevated to a much larger status than it truly attained, folks wanting to cling to their memories of it being great and that’s the mentality that leads to problems.

Going Against the Flow

I’m used to taking stands folks find unpopular. One of my biggest is Rob Van Dam. He’s a good worker but never saw him as the incredible icon so many others did. I’ve said it before but I still get annoyed watching the crowd at the “One Night Stand ‘06” match chanting “shame old shit” at Cena while cheering a guy who hasn’t changed his moveset since 1999. I never bought into Jeff hardy as a real main-event level star, he was skilled but something just threw me off about him and his problems just seem to prove that. Of course, a lot of fans refuse to admit to such things, still pushing guys hard even if they fall flat at times. It might be that hard thing about changing our minds but sticking to these faves even when they’re clearly not the mega-stars you insist they are makes you seem a bit foolish at times.

It’s not like I’m a guru when it comes to seeing future stars. I thought HHH, the Rock and Cena had potential but not the mega-stars they would become. I figured Kennedy would go a bit further than he has, ditto for some guys like Ahmed Johnson and others. It really is tricky figuring out who can and can’t make it as a future star, sometimes it’s a combination of factors. Austin needed the “Austin 3:16” speech to take off, Rock had to go heel and Cena had to take on his goofy rap character first. It’s hard just pushing someone if the fans don’t take to him. That’s a key thing so many of us in the IWC don’t get which ties in to fandom as well.

A common comment I see a lot of is “if the IWC did the booking, WWE would be out of business in a year.” I fully acknowledge WWE can use a bit better planning but I’ve heard from guys who have booking experience saying it’s a hell of a lot tougher than you think it is. I enjoy Daniel Bryan a lot, a favorite but I don’t think he’s a guy fans flock to. I’m a major Ricky Steamboat mark, man was a genius in the ring but I acknowledge he wasn’t the guy flashy enough to carry a company. It really strikes me how so many guys the IWC champion are ones who, frankly, don’t have that main event promise and ability to be the stars a company needs to survive. It’s not just being great in the ring, being a wrestling star also means real flash and charisma. Dean Malenko was a master technician but would you count on him as a world champion in WCW? A lot of folks don’t get that, they don’t understand you need someone not just good in the ring or on the mic but really able to handle the pressures as far too many guys can’t (see RVD and Jeff Hardy).

One thing that affects judgments is time. When I posted my list on the worst of wrestling in 2011, I had a lot of comments on “this was the worst year in wrestling ever.” Fact is, I can remember far worse like 1993 and ’95. This sort of mentality changes a lot of opinions. Star Wars can be seen as totally awesome to a young kid, we didn’t see the flaws the original films had but judged those of the prequels by an impossible standard. Likewise, a lot of us who grew up in wrestling in the glory periods of the ‘80’s or late ‘90’s judge it a bit harsher, not quite getting the fact you can’t replicate the feeling of those times anymore. It’s why the various attempts to recreate ECW have failed, you can’t see it the same way with this promotion breaking out big-time amid the cartoonish antics of the bigger promotions. Of course, a lot of the ECW fanatics don’t see it, always snapping that the new ECW failed because of WWE ruining it, not understanding you can’t go back to 1996 all over again. Ditto for why the New World Order revivals never took either, you just can’t copy that all over again. But somehow, a lot of people have it in their heads that you can just roll back time, not understanding that the world has changed and so have they.

Indeed, it’s telling how I’ve seen a lot of IWC guys shift opinions on favorite stuff. Scott Keith once stated that Vince practically murdered Owen Hart but now has backed off a bit, citing it as an accident and also gives respect to the once loathed Shawn Michaels. I’ve seen guys who once ripped Vince McMahon over every little thing also change their stands, realizing the man really does like and want to help his workers. On the other hand, Ric Flair’s personal issues have led to a lot of folks no longer seeing him as the admirable figure he once was and I don’t think I need to mention the change in thinking about Benoit. Holding onto a favorite is admirable but continuing to do so in the face of logic is something else. Hogan and Flair were the true icons of their time but seeing them in the ring today is downright painful. It also pertains to how newer guys can face either slamming or instant love, no real midway point. On his blog, Keith has been reposting reviews of past Royal Rumbles noting how Cody Rhodes became a not-so bland worker and his surprise how Ryder went from Edge flunky to one of his favorite guys in only a couple of years. It takes a while sometimes for folks to take off right and be able to click and to look down at their chances just because you’re not a fan of them just makes it harder.

There’s nothing wrong with having favorites, that’s why you’re a fan. There’s nothing really wrong with championing them either. But you have to try and balance that out with a bit of reason at times. I’m a huge fan of guys like Steamboat but acknowledge how they may not have been the epic draws most paint them as. I enjoy Haas and Benjamin a lot so didn’t want to face how poor their ROH tag team title run was for a while. Yet in wrestling, folks will let their favoritism get the best of them, ignoring the flaws in a worker or even a company and elevating some guys beyond their stature. That also pertains to putting down folks as being crap just because you don’t like them. You don’t like Cena, ok, but you can’t say the man is not a star, he’s proven himself at that level far better than a lot of IWC darlings. You love TNA, ok, just don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re the equal to WWE now. Being a fan is more than just cheering your favorites, you also have to see how others perceive them and be open to your own beliefs changing. Doing that might just let you see them in a better light and appreciate the business even more.

For this week, the spotlight is off.