Weight of the World

The wrestle business is at war with itself. Lines have been drawn in between talent. Lines that don't separate us by talent level but lines that separate us by size. Now don't let my remarks be misleading, through the eyes of competitive sports there have always been these lines. Boxing, football, basketball all have these lines within weight classes and positions. However, only in professional wrestling is the line blurred to determine who can and cannot draw money.

Michael Jordan, in my opinion, is the greatest basketball player of all time. Now some might argue in favor of a guy like Wilt Chamberlain. Both were great athletes that revolutionized the sport but they both have one thing in common, they could play basketball. To say Wilt was better because he was larger just doesn't make sense.

Same should go in professional wrestling. The underlining factor should be can they perform? Can they engage an audience and take them on ride of emotion? If the answer is "yes" then I would consider that person a valued asset.

In boxing, great heavyweights like Ali and Tyson have defined eras but there have been plenty middleweights, welterweights, so on and so forth that have drew big money especially in the last decade where heavyweights in the states have been sorely lacking. Same goes for UFC, sure guys like Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir have done very well but lower weight class guys like Georgge St. Pierre and Tito Ortiz have had a major impact on the sport as well.

There was a time in wrestling when you had a guy like Lou Thesz but right next to him you had a guy like Danny Hodge. He wasn't considered below him or less than Thesz but just a a different weight class. He was considered just as talented, maybe even more so.

WWE tries to create an aura that their roster is full of superstars. That there aren't weight classes or lines of division but I bet you could ask any member of the WWE Universe who would get a title shot between The Great Khali and Primo that 99% would pick Khali, not because he's more talented but because the audience has been trained to see the difference in size with years of booking decisions. Now there is always an exception to the rule and Rey Mysterio is WWE's.

I'm not saying make the next 130 pounder the next World Champion. There still has to be a balance of believability. That's when true talent shines through. The way Rey works is exactly what works. Just like the way Shawn Michaels weaves a story is unlike any other. Now at some point in time somebody said the both men couldn't or wouldn't draw money. Makes you wonder how many others could put the WEIGHT of the world on their shoulders and run with it. 

                                                     Me with wrestling legend Danny Hodge