The bargain bin is a common phenomena in England. I have no idea if other countries have the exact same sales idea but basically it’s where all the useless crape that was once expected to make a profit, goes. I know other countries have it but no one’s bargain bin is as big as WWE’s. And I’m not talking about the backlog of t-shirts and DVD’s that WWE can’t get rid of. I’m talking about the talent roster.
As 2012 comes to a close, WWE’s bargain bin is bulging tremendously. Thanks mostly to its failure in creating new stars and sheer bloodied mindedness in ignoring any new star it brings in, to make a difference. The names currently residing in WWE’s bargain bin read like a list of who’s who of forgotten talent and includes names like Santino Marella, Zack Ryder, Tensai, Tyson Kidd, Primo, Epico, the whole of WWE’s Divas Division, R-Truth, The Usos, the Prime Time Players, 3MB, Wade Barrett just to name a few. It’s a depressing read which includes higher profile names who are on the cusp of being brushed inside. Looking at the amount of talent from the names above, you would have thought WWE could have hand picked one or two of these and made them into stars.
Some, like Santino Marella will stay in WWE’s bargain bin until the company decide to have a clearout and axe him from their roster. Other like Tensai, Barrett and Ryder should be further up the card making an impact where its needed. And when you look at the gaping holes in the Intercontinental and United States Championship Division, there’s no good reason for WWE not using them effectively.
Tensai could be used as a career stepping stone if WWE don’t want to make him a major factor in the company. At least that role would put him more in the spotlight than he currently is. When Vince hired Matt Bloom and brought him back to WWE, at some point before the decision to add him to the payroll, Vince and others must have looked at footage from NJPW. Anyone who did so would have seen how much Tensai, then Giant Bernard, had upped his game. There was a major difference between the man that left WWE as A-Train and re-entered as Tensai. Bloom had moulded his style of wrestling to suit that of smaller opponents and it worked a treat. In Japan, Bloom worked longer, more physical matches with opponents smaller and far more athletic than himself, yet if you ever saw a Giant Bernard NJPW match you’d have never known Bloom was the man at a disadvantage. He was that good.
One of the most notable achievements Bloom added to his CV in Japan was his highly successful and quite brilliant tag team with ‘Machine Gun’ Karl Anderson. They held the NJPW equivalent of the WWE Tag Team Championship for an inordinate amount of time and the fans, even though the two men were American, loved them. If you get a chance to see any of Bloom and Anderson’s tag or single matches from their NJPW days then I urge you to do so. You won’t be disappointed. Bloom was a hit in Japan and he could have been in WWE as well. The old adage is ‘if it’s ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. A phrase Vince McMahon should listen to once in a while. Had WWE, the company who will never run out of money, done a deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling to buy the rights to the Giant Bernard name, it would have been so easy for WWE to use the momentum Bloom brought back with him from NJPW and make him into an unstoppable monster.
I often wonder when writing these blogs, if you and I can sensibly come to these conclusion then why can’t Vince McMahon? The man that came up with Wrestlemania. The man that revolutionized wrestling with hardly any money to his name. What is it that Vince McMahon can’t get his head around in his old age? It’s simple and effective. Had Bloom, under the name Giant Bernard or even as Tensai – even though everyone in the arena knew who he was – attacked John Cena on his debut and absolutely demolished the leader of the Cenation then it writes itself, how much of an impact that would have had on the WWE Universe. Even more so had Cena sold the beating like it was the end of his career and turned up the next week in a cast and wheelchair.
It was quite astounding how quickly Vince lost interest in Tensai after his debut. It took all of four weeks for Vince to lose interest in a man he spent a sizable amount of money acquiring and plugging on television for weeks. Did Vince give Tensai a red hot storyline and a stage on which to prove his worth? No. Tensai’s first match on WWE T.V was against jobber to the stars Alex Riley. WWE never gave Bloom a chance to thrive and neither do I believe they meant to. It looks like WWE hired Matt Bloom back to bury him on purpose. So they could make some pathetic point by saying “You have no right to leave the company and make it big elsewhere. So we’ll rehire you and bury you in hope those who aren’t in the know think you weren’t any good in the first place.” I strongly believe that Matt Bloom would have been better staying in Japan. The only place a WWE contract has gotten him, is slung in the bargain bin.
Even though the bargain bin is full of wrestlers you’d expect to be cast aside, even though some of them, like Zack Ryder, are friends with those in power in WWE like John Cena. It has done nothing for them. It seems the days are gone when you could rely on a favour from your buddy who had the ear of the boss. Now it seems that its every man for himself. Even though the known method of cashing in a favour actually made more stars than it diminished. People can’t honest think wrestlers such as Brutus ‘the Barber’ Beefcake would have gotten as far as they did in the business had he not been friends with Hulk Hogan behind closed doors.
Still, now it seems the bargain isn’t just marked up for nameless talent who constantly tread the boards of ‘Superstars’ every week. A shift in temperament backstage has seen bigger names begin to descend towards the basement. The most prolific name amongst these is Rey Mysterio.
Once a pinnacle of WWE’s Cruiserweight Division and fan favourite with the children all over the world, last year Rey Mysterio was the top merchandise seller behind John Cena. Children revered him and still do to this day. Yet Mysterio has gone from contender to the World Heavyweight Championship crown to a bland association with one of WWE’s biggest flops, Sin Cara. It’s no secret that Mysterio’s team with Cara has dragged the biggest little man down a peg or two but it seems even his talents can’t help Sin Cara make it in WWE. It has had the reverse effect however on Mysterio’s career.
Instead of breathing fresh new life into a tired act, the team has been the albatross around Mysterio’s neck. After returning from his 60 day suspension for violating the wellness policy, Mysterio has been wasted in WWE. And it only goes to strengthen the rumours that when his contract expires he’ll be away on his toes for Mexico where he will be treated like the saviour by bookers and fans. Wrestlers like Mysterio have a problem stepping aside for the younger talent and instead of allowing Sin Cara the spotlight in the team, Mysterio has tried to take the credit at every turn possible. WWE have only Mysterio to blame for helping the decline of Sin Cara and Mysterio has only himself to blame for a portion of his fall towards the bargain bin.
It’s hard to think of WWE allowing Randy Orton or John Cena to fall that far without halting the drop and pushing them back up the card. Whilst there is a lot of hatred towards Mysterio from the audience, the jeers he gets on a regular occurrence attest to this, WWE are famous for not listening to the crowd and Mysterio is undoubtedly still one of WWE’s top performers. Numerous wrestlers who have suffered as many injuries and been through as many knee operations as Mysterio has are hardly able to walk. Yet Rey still manages to climb into the ring and put on a show to suggest that his knees are in perfect condition when they’re anything but.
His performances and his attitude towards the fans still haven’t managed to save Rey Mysterio or any of the other names on the bargain bin list from entering wrestling obscurity, which is why I believe it would be a great idea for wrestling to institute a transfer system like every football / soccer league around the world has, so different wrestling companies can buy and sell their talent as they please. If this was to be implemented and agreed upon WWE could sell those they deem unfit to carry the company to places like TNA, NOAH, NJPW and Ring of Honor thus making profits on their investment and giving the wrestler a continuous job so they don’t have to go without work until someone else picks them up. In return WWE could purchase several of the promising talent from other companies and try to do with them what they failed to do with people like Tensai. This would open up a whole new alley of stars and talent for the companies to explore and profit upon. It’s a sensible suggestion and one which would change the face of wrestling as we know it.
Until someone sees sense and opens an avenue like a transfer season up, wrestlers in companies, not just WWE will continue to be ignored and fall into obscurity waiting to be put out of their misery.
I would just like to take this opportunity to remind you good people that your TLC 2012 review will be up at the end of the week, so keep your eyes peeled.
Onwards and upwards...
