A couple of weeks ago Impact aired their show Xplosion, an enjoyable way to spend 45 minutes with a healthy mix of interviews, flashbacks to days gone by and new matches. The new match was Eddie Edwards fighting an up and coming Japanese talent by the name of Kiyomiya. The match had a nice back and forth exchange and obviously saw the GHC champion Edwards come out on top. It was clear that Kiyomiya one day will be a star in his home promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, but it got me thinking about something else. The wrestling that Kiyomiya was doing, as well as Edwards, was not the Japanese strong style we all associate with the country. Therefore the match did not show him in the best light or give the audience something different and new. It was the same when Marafuji came over to Impact or Ishimori for that matter. It made me think about Okada’s time in TNA or Nakamura’s and Prince Devitt’s in the WWE. Is it the fact that wrestlers are not allowed to be what brought them fame that is creating a disconnect with the fans?
When I listen to the WrestlingInc podcast, the only way I find out what is going on in the WWE, I often hear Matt Morgan complain about the way that they book the talent. He says that it is the writer’s who don’t know how to make the wrestlers exciting or intriguing, that this is what causes the fans to turn on them. Maybe there is some truth to that, I don’t know. What I do know is that legitimate stars like PAC (Neville), Austin Aries or Sami Callihan (Solomon Crowe) left the fed over how they were being used. I can honestly say that I was hard-pressed to recognize Callihan or PAC in the WWE ring, Aries’ style has always been easily adaptable and it was not what brought him notoriety. It is the same with Balor and Nakamura. They are underwhelming the audience due to the way they are being utilized in the squared circle. I find it interesting that people still get excited about either of these two athletes or what they might do, when they have neither done anything of interest or will get the opportunity to do so.
Sure there are examples of wrestlers who have been somewhat successful. Most of them in NXT. Whether one wants to admit it or not, NXT is quite a different animal and those who generally find success there do not find it on the main roster. Wrestlers like Johnny Gargano, Kassius Ohno, Thomaso Ciampa will be lost in the shuffle on RAW or Smackdown because their styles will not play well there. Kevin Owens, a good example of someone who has found success, has done so because of his charisma outside the ring. In many ways, he is a different wrestler in WWE than he was in Ring of Honor where he made his name. When KENTA came to NXT as Hideo Itami people went crazy, but his strong style was not allowed and he had to be retrained to an American TV style instead. It was partially why Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr. did not sign on the dotted line.
This is why I have a difficult time getting excited for Ricochet coming to NXT. He has always been one of my favorite wrestlers, but I fear he is going to be too vanilla in the WWE. People who have never seen him before will be underwhelmed because he isn’t allowed to do those things that made him famous. He should have stayed in Japan or gone to Ring of Honor or Impact. I know the pay is not as much, but you are allowed to be you, do what you do best, not what someone else wants you to do and put you in corny storylines. Impact has a true opportunity here. They can be that strong style place with a greater reach than Ring of Honor. ROH has become the second promotion in the US just by what they allow in the ring and it has brought in The Young Bucks and their like.
What I’m trying to say is that the reason there is a disconnect with certain wrestlers and the audience or a television product is that they are not allowed to be the legends they were in other places. I doubt we will see Prince Devitt or the real Nakamura in the WWE and because of that fact I hope that the Young Bucks never go there either, it will be the death of them.
-C. Marry Hultman
C. Marry Hultman is a writer, wrestle lover and runs the blog W.A.R.G promoting popular culture in society. Together with his buddy Nick E. Anderson he also runs The Wrestling Guild Podcast. Check it out at the following link:
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