SolidGoldBomb Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Also on the subject of small guys all roided up, didn't Adrian Nevelle (PAC) used to be a scrawny guy back in his European wrestling days. I see him now and all that muscle mass he has just looks so disproportionate to his body. He generated that mass during his stint in Dragon Gate. I remember him showing up to wrestle Steen in PWG and fans were chanting "you got huge" and "PAC Lesnar." It's also a match I specifically recall for "THIS IS WRESTLING, YOU FUCKFACE!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdWEpbBjJ4g that's hiarious I hate that stupid chant too. Yes thank you all for pointing out that this IS indeed wrestling i'm watching. The sign on the door said it as well, but I had no idea until now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooker Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Seth Rollins just showed up on the Daily Show to challenge Jon Stewart to appear on Raw on Monday. avec video... Hahaha. Imagine if the WWE had someone that could save a segment like that when someone shows up to blank, "who the fuck is that?" reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool arrow Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I keep hoping a WWE crowd will start chanting "This is sports entertainment! Clap Clap Clapclapclap!" 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brysynner Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Why are pro-wrestlers getting smaller? It seems like there's a ton of < 6'0" < 200lbs in wrestling now. Is it a case of the bigger guys are doing other things than wrestling (MMA?) or more people realizing being a pro-wrestler sucks (the constant travel, the lack of pay, the hierarchy in place) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bustronaut Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'd say mainly #2, but coupled with the fact that a lot of nerds got into wrestling in the lat 90s, and 2k, so they tend to be smaller 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyWhioux Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Why are pro-wrestlers getting smaller? It seems like there's a ton of < 6'0" < 200lbs in wrestling now. Is it a case of the bigger guys are doing other things than wrestling (MMA?) or more people realizing being a pro-wrestler sucks (the constant travel, the lack of pay, the hierarchy in place) At the risk of sounding like a cop-out, I'm sure it's a little of both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Brysynner, on 27 Feb 2015 - 10:51 AM, said:Brysynner, on 27 Feb 2015 - 10:51 AM, said:Why are pro-wrestlers getting smaller? It seems like there's a ton of < 6'0" < 200lbs in wrestling now. Is it a case of the bigger guys are doing other things than wrestling (MMA?) or more people realizing being a pro-wrestler sucks (the constant travel, the lack of pay, the hierarchy in place) Why don't you ask the guy who dropped the ball with Ryback, and treats Rowan and Harper like jobbers every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 It's something I've thought about for a while. It's mostly what Mike said. Back in the day, most of the major stars weren't really fans when they were younger. They got into the business when their first choice(football usually) fell through. The current crop are all, for lack of a better word, geeks who grew up loving wrestling. Most of them were never into other sports, either. There are exceptions, but these guys' goal from day one was pro wrestling. The crazy thing is, none of the "love the business above all else" guys draw any money, but the guys who looked at it as work, did. Much of that can be placed on where the business is now, and how it's run, but I always found that interesting. I think a big reason things are the way they are, is because the only big game in town knows that many of these guys are just happy to be there. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeball Wizard Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I think it also has to do with the perception of wrestlers. Big guys used to get pushed almost no matter what, and smaller guys were jobbers. By now enough people have seen smaller guys who can work and a lot of bigger guys who cannot. It opens up the field a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bink_winkleman Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 The ol' lady and I marked out big for Rollins on TDS last night. And I was about to post something very similar to what RandomAct just said about athletes and wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyWhioux Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 It's something I've thought about for a while. It's mostly what Mike said. Back in the day, most of the major stars weren't really fans when they were younger. They got into the business when their first choice(football usually) fell through. The current crop are all, for lack of a better word, geeks who grew up loving wrestling. Most of them were never into other sports, either. There are exceptions, but these guys' goal from day one was pro wrestling. The crazy thing is, none of the "love the business above all else" guys draw any money, but the guys who looked at it as work, did. Much of that can be placed on where the business is now, and how it's run, but I always found that interesting. I think a big reason things are the way they are, is because the only big game in town knows that many of these guys are just happy to be there. At the risk of being pedantic, I'm not sure it's all that surprising that the people who treated it like a profession made/generated more money who treated it as a labor of love. Was it CM Punk who had the line about "the biggest marks are the ones in the ring"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 It's also pretty amazing how our concept of what a "big guy" and a "small guy" is has changed. Growing up in the 80s, guys like Hennig, Hart & Michaels were considered "small" wrestlers. But I watch them now and those dudes were pretty fucking big. Hennig was a beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brysynner Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 It's one of the things that's kind of killing my love for wrestling, I don't like seeing guys who are my size in the ring, I enjoy the spectacle of guys bigger than me doing things they shouldn't do. WWF conditioned me to enjoy a Hulk Hogan, an Ultimate Warrior. Think how big Savage would look next to Daniel Bryan. I feel like when I go to shows I'm either looking at a guy in the eyes or looking down at them. I miss the days when I spent my time looking up at the roster. Oh well that's what the Network is for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyWhioux Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 It's also pretty amazing how our concept of what a "big guy" and a "small guy" is has changed. Growing up in the 80s, guys like Hennig, Hart & Michaels were considered "small" wrestlers. But I watch them now and those dudes were pretty fucking big. Hennig was a beast. I remember him cutting more than one promo about his 21 inch neck. It's a relative thing, I suppose. Like football and basketball, they're all giants compared to the general population. Like, I actually had Billy Gunn come into a coffee shop I was working at the time, and Billy Gunn was never really thought of or marketed as a particular big guy among wrestlers but the dude was fucking huge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningBeard Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 ^ I was thinking that exact same thing when I was watching the network last night. A guy of Michaels, Hart or Hennig's size would probably be classed as a hoss now - crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Hennig was suplexing Big Show late in his career dude was a beast. HBK and Bret would still be dwarfed by guys like Sheamus, Barrett, Swagger, and Orton. They wouldn't be hosses today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool arrow Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 1998 Curt Hennig was a walking Wellness Violation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Michaels is not big for any era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Are there 5 wrestlers in WCW, WWF, and ECW put together that could pass a legit drug test in 1998? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool arrow Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Depends which drugs you're testing for. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Yeah I mean Rollins and Ambrose are about the same size(I think both are taller) as HBK and Bret, and I don't see them going hoss on anybody. There are plenty of big dudes in current WWE. Just because the most over guy in the company is the smallest doesn't mean we're in an era of runts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bustronaut Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Are there 5 wrestlers in WCW, WWF, and ECW put together that could pass a legit drug test in 1998? Gillberg, Golga, Terry Funk, Jerry Lawler and Dennis Knight 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playa Shunna Ver 3.0 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Are there 5 wrestlers in WCW, WWF, and ECW put together that could pass a legit drug test in 1998? Gillberg, Golga, Terry Funk, Jerry Lawler and Dennis Knight Lance Storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Charisma isn't a drug. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Dave Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Yeah I mean Rollins and Ambrose are about the same size(I think both are taller) as HBK and Bret, and I don't see them going hoss on anybody. There are plenty of big dudes in current WWE. Just because the most over guy in the company is the smallest doesn't mean we're in an era of runts. I thought both guys were 6'3 or so. They're at least Reigns' height, and he was my height in college. Also, I think we as a society have moved away from "larger than life" heroes. Look at the actors playing superheroes in movies now. Only Chris Hemsworth would be considered "huge" compared to the action heroes of the 80's and 90's. Chris Evans is in good shape, but he's not blown up. Chris Pratt is naturally pretty big, but he got in fantastic shape for Guardians. I don't think its just a wrestling thing. I know what I meant to say with this post, I'm just not sure i said it. Does that make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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