As I think back over my time in the business, I can think of a lot of discussions and heated debates, or just plain ridiculousness about belts in various companies that I have worked for. I read something earlier this morning which reminded me of this topic. Today's rant is going to delve a little more "inside" than most of the stuff I have written publicly so far, so to those who are more "old school" than me ... I apologize in advance. I just don't know a better means of getting this message out to the masses.
To the wrestling fan, the championship title should be the most prestigious prize in wrestling – the goal for which all wrestlers strive, and for which only the greatest can achieve. Their belief in the belt and the credibility of what it means is paramount to the success of a circuit. The legitimacy of the champion and respect of that individual carrying the title is important to the promoter for the purposes of media, sponsors, and ticket sales. Wrestling fans LIKE belts ... look at how many replica titles you see in the crowd on any given night. Royal Duncan & Gary Will have produced three editions of a book devoted exclusively to lists of champions from around the world. No pictures, no stories about the angles written for the champions, just 400 pages of lists. It sold huge.
What’s the appeal? First of all, they’re real shiny … and second, the championship belt is what ties wrestling to other professional sports, it’s a tangible element in an industry where heart and passion can’t be quanitified. Take for example, the Stanley Cup ... it's the goal of THOUSANDS of hockey players at all levels of the game, but only a select few may ever have the opportunity to hold that above their heads knowing that their years of sacrifice have paid off.
BELTS AS A TOOL
In reality, think about how many belts you own. For guys, I would guess that number is less than five – for gals, maybe more than twenty. I own two belts and I use them to hold up my pants and as a device to clip my cell phone to my hip. That’s it. I don’t think about that piece of equipment as an accessory, I don’t worry about what it says about my outfit, or what people will think when they see it. It serves a purpose.
Wrestling belts are the same. Championships are a tool to tell a story. MANY, MANY, MANY promoters have lost sight of that and use the belt as a crutch to invent contrived storylines. The belt is passed from one champion to the next without ever being established and is used to placate egos. The belt is the goal (from a fan perspective), but the issue shouldn’t simply be the title. It’s not about the hardware – it’s about being the best. The belt might bring the people in the door ONE time, but it is the fans’ belief in the characters and the conflict that will bring them back. If the belt is the only “storyline”, people are going to get bored fast.
Belts in wrestling have been abused to the point of almost uselessness. Go to any independent show where they have passed belts from one guy to the next without forethought, what kind of crowds does that promoter draw? How much do the people believe? Or perhaps more amusingly, when you sit through a six match show and five involved some belt or another ... haven't you watered down the significance of any of those "prestigious" titles?
Titles should be promoted in the interest of making money. A championship belt, by design, looks like a prize – you can’t buy one from the local shopping mall, and that uncommon-ness creates its appeal. Additionally, not everyone has the guts to step in the ring as they do, so there is some inherent respect for wrestlers that ascend to championship level if promoted correctly.
CREDIBILITY
Legitimacy of a title relies on the credibility of the champion. Take a look at a list of guys in a title’s history. As a wrestler, think about how many of those guys are guys that you believe in. If you'd be embarassed by a loss to one of those champions, that guy isn’t credible. Fans, despite what some in our business might think, aren’t stupid either and if they see a guy that they perceive THEY could kick the shit out of, they won’t support it. A champion carries a lot of weight with a company, and make no mistake, when promoted correctly, carries a huge responsibility.
I remember one guy who won a title in Winnipeg. The next day, he showed up for work at his day job at Home Depot wearing the belt over his street clothes bellowing: “Get a load of this, look who’s the new champ?” While boosting his own ego among the crowd of 9 to 5ers, he actually did more damage to his credibility than good. What do you suppose those folks were thinking when he walked into the staff room? How credible is this guy as a superstar when he is still bound to his minimum wage job in retail? Don’t misunderstand, we all need to work and make money and can’t support ourselves on indy wrestling money, and there is a certain amount of professional pride that we should have about the business, but think about how you are perceived in the public.
Also damaging the credibility of champion is the epidemic of promoters buying recognized WWE belts off of Highspots and putting stickers on them (or worse, not modifying them at all) to create their champions. The folks in the crowd have the SAME BELTS!! In some cases, because the fans’ belts don’t experience the same wear and tear as titles used in the ring, the fans’ belts are nicer. What are you saying about the legitimacy of your champion when an eight year old kid has the same belt, and he never had to bleed, sweat, or take any bumps to get it? Fuck off. It’s a big thumb in the eye to your customers and it kills the credibility of the talent you are trying to promote.
RESPONSIBILITY
I worked with this one guy one time who came up to me and said “I always wondered what it would feel like to hold the gold.” With that I tossed a belt at him from a corner of the locker room and asked him: “How’s that feel?” This guy approached the business of belts like a mark. He’s not alone, I’ve had people tell me “It’s not about the money, it’s about the push.” This guy didn’t have a clue either – he was starving, but he was the champion and that was good for his ego. This is representative of some of the problems that we have in the business today with sub-par, backyard, bad attitude little bastards weasel their way onto shows and somebody promotes them as a champion … WHAT THE FUCK!?
Maybe it’s the wrestling fan in me, but I think that being champion carries a certain level of responsibility:
1. First and foremost, you’re now responsible for the draw. If ticket sales are down, it is believed that it is due to the people not believing in you as a champion. Eddie Guerrero was a great talent, possibly one of the best of all time, but he had a short run as WWE champion because gates were low in all towns where he appeared as champion, and they made a change. As a champion, your face on a poster is expected to translate into money – can you live up to that? Think about how much money the promoter is gambling in that investment on you, can you back it up?
2. As champion, you are expected to be a leader in the locker room. A lot of the items that I have discussed before about professionalism, locker room etiquette, protecting the venues, etc is all part and parcel of this. I would suggest (in keeping with old NWA tradition) that the champion should also show up looking the sharpest of all the talent. The fans need to perceive that the champion is a big money player, and how you dress should reflect that.
3. You need to be very considerate of your station in the business when accepting bookings for other promoters. If you are the champion in one company, you can’t be opening the show for another. In the world of the internet, everyone knows what’s happening in every town now. Protect the promoter’s investment by handling your bookings carefully.
4. As champion, you must do what you can to restore credibility to the business through your reputation. Don’t get in a bar fight and get your ass kicked – you’ve just buried wrestling. Don’t disrespect the business or expose the magic of what we do. If you’re the champion, you should be an ambassador not only for that company, but also for that station.
MARKS FOR BELTS
I have worked with guys during my career that it was absolutely impossible to get a belt off of. Once they were the champion, you would have to stab them nine times, throw them off a building onto a bed of nails, shoot them with a cannon, and they might still kick out at two. Understand, that promoters are looking at their talent to determine who is willing to do business – and will immediately disregard any talent who disrespects their investment.
I can think of two times in my career where I have given my notice as champion – once for Ernie Todd in 1997, and once for ECCW in 2006 where I gave notice, and showed up to do business with the individual selected to take my spot. I have never no-showed a booking because it has meant doing a job, and have never refused to do that title match job clean. I’m not a mark for the belt, but I recognize its significance. How badly am I damaging the credibility of the title if I refuse to put over the new champion clean? What kind of obstacles will the promoter and the talent have to overcome to gain acceptance with the fans? How willing would that promoter be to consider working with me again?
Get over yourselves. Think about how you would want to be introduced as champion and extend that same courtesy. As All Star Wrestling champion, I have a full schedule of title defenses ahead, but as I look at some of those matches, I recognize that my tenure as the titleholder could end on any given night, and there are a number of talented wrestlers working under the All Star banner, and for other companies where I am making appearances, that would be great champions.
CARRYING THE BALL
I read this morning, that in one wrestler's estimation that a performer's self-worth is determined by a promoters willingness to allow them to "carry the ball", in that writer's view, that meant campaigning as the champion. I don't think that this is entirely the case. Consider Roddy Piper in the 1980's. From 1984 to 1987, Piper was one of the biggest villains in the industry. He was a heel with so much heat that even though not boasting the superhero, medically enhanced physique of some of his peers, he was still a strong enough draw to headline WrestleMania 1 with Hogan, be featured in the cross over celebrity match in Wrestle Mania II, and was one of three feature matches in Wrestle Mania III in front of 93,000 people. Piper's appeal and ability to "carry the ball" was not lost on promoters. Remember, he jumped to WCW and was given a non-title win over Hogan ... Piper's character and his ability to whip the crowd into a frenzy meant that he didn't need a championship belt to prove his worth. Similar accolodes could be given to Ted DiBiase, Jake Roberts, Paul Orndorff, and others who headlined some of the biggest events for the WWE in the 80's but were never given a title run. Koko B. Ware never held a title in the WWE, never headlined a pay per view -- this year, he'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
A wrestler's willingness to "carry the ball" starts with the attitude that they present when they show up at the venue, the way that they interact with their peers, the respect that they give to the people who buy the tickets and support independent wrestling. All of those things listed above in RESPONSIBILITY. If you want to be a champion, carry yourself like one. Demonstrate to all around you that you ARE a champion, whether or not you have the belt that supports that designation.
Vance Nevada