Will size always matter in WWE?

[Coffey]

 

It's been apparent for a long time that the bigger you are, the better shot you have of getting onto WWE TV. Just look at Chris Masters as an example. He's not ready to wrestle at all yet he gets Raw time.

 

 

We've also seen Chris Benoit & Eddy Guerrero win the World Titles recently. They were depushed afterwards but they still reached the top. A couple of years ago, nobody would've seen that coming.

 

With some of the best indy talent in the US today being under 250lbs and 6' tall, one has to wonder: Will size always matter in WWE?

 

If size matters so much to Vince, why isn't The Big Show currently in the middle of a five year world title reign? Why do the cruiserweights ever win matches or get TV time?

 

[goodhelmet]

I want to vote yes but with caution. I think as long as Vince McMahon is running the WWF that size will matter. After he dies of complications due to steroids, it really depends on who gains the power.

[sek69]

The WWE will always favor jacked-up stiffs as long as Vince has any say.

 

As far as the Big Show, Vince is probably still mad at signing him to that long contract.

[Loss]

It will always matter, but never as much as it once did. I credit two things happening to that:

 

(1) The steroid trial of the mid 90s forcing Vince to push Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels as top guys and fans not wreaking havoc in the streets as a result

(2) Rey Misterio Jr getting over so huge in WCW

 

In Rey's case, he really broke down the door where smaller guys can now get hired, even if they're not pushed at the top level. He was laughed at by most in the locker room before his debut match at the '96 Great American Bash, but after they saw the match, no one was laughing anymore and knew he had the potential to be a star. And he is a star.

 

I don't know that Bret and Shawn were so much influential in smaller guys getting into wrestling, because smaller guys have always gotten into wrestling, but I think they opened the doors for smaller guys to be pushed. Bret and Shawn have always looked credible against anyone they've faced.

 

Benoit and Eddy did win titles, but I don't know that they ever would have won them if they weren't so jacked up. They're not WCW-sized anymore; Guerrero is short, but is freakishly huge. Yes, they got runs with the title, but neither is a top guy now, and I think the reason for that is because of the way guys like HHH and JBL have towered over them.

 

So, yes, it will always matter, and it will always be easier for a big guy to get noticed than a small guy, but it is not the end-all, be-all. I think the cruisers are pushed because of key people pushing for specific guys, and I also think they have this hope in the back of their minds that they can create another Misterio, who's been a huge house show draw in Hispanic markets and a big merchandising success.

 

And right now, business is down. Vince typically focuses more on big guys when his numbers take a nosedive. That's ironic, because when they put the belt on Bret at Survivor Series '95 since Diesel was killing business, house show business picked up literally immediately, and the first half of '96 was the biggest house show period in company history with Bret and Shawn as the top guys at the time, until they got to 2001 and shattered their own record, ironically enough running main events like Angle v Jericho and HHH/Benoit v Austin/Rock. I think it matters to the casual fan, but only to a certain point. They may see Spike Dudley as too small, but I don't think Jericho or Guerrero have anything to worry about, and they also are extremely charismatic, so they seem bigger than they really are.

[Coffey]

I like to think that in the future WWE will focus more on in-ring work, like Ring of Honor, as opposed to storylines and "larger than life" appeal.

 

I've never thought that size or age mattered in wrestling. If you can go, you can go. That's really all there is to it.

 

If a wrestler can wrestle great but can't talk, get him a mouthpiece like in the 80's. A return of male managers wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

I voted "no." I don't think it will always matter. In fact, I think we'll start seeing a change in the near future. Possibly in the next five years. Call me optimistic.

[Guest Some Guy]

Assuming HHH stayd married to Steph the two of them will be running the show after Vince dies/retires. HHH is a roid guy and Steph is married to a roid guy. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they both like big roided up wrestlers. I don't see WWE changing anytime soon, like ever. They will give guys like Benoit token runs with the strap but never make them the focus of the company. They didn't when Benoit was champion and wouldn't now. Anyone else notice that the bigger much more roided up guy's angle didn't get fucked up and he ended up winning the title at WM while the tall lanky kid's angle was fucked up and he didn't win the belt at WM?