The Goodness 03.21.07: Bobby's Breakthrough
Posted by on 03.21.2007
A look at why WrestleMania 23 may be remembered as the starting point for Bobby Lashley's ascension to superstardom.
The (second) most important thing I took from Raw Monday night is that JBL has officially become the re-incarnation of Jesse Ventura. Like Ventura, JBL is an excellent commentator. In my opinion, he's the best commentator the WWE has had since Bobby Heenan and way better than Lawler and Tazz, who I like. He's perfect in the role. He's also like Ventura in that he is the proverbial straw the stirs the drink. Remember how Ventura was instrumental in the Hogan/Andre angle in 1987? Maybe it's not on the same level, but that's the same role JBL played Monday in his verbal smackdown of HBK. Lastly, he's like Ventura because he's always talking about how good he is, how he's going to make a comeback and, well, he might not. There were also rumors of a Ventura/Hogan feud that never happened. I think JBL coming out of retirement could do some nice business. Why? Because JBL is more over now than he ever was as a wrestler. The Raw crowd Monday night gave JBL some serious heel heat. We respect JBL for his talents as a commentator but once he steps through those ropes, we can't help but boo him. Who knows if JBL comes back but let me say I'd be 1000 times more interested in his next match than I was for his last match. Speaking of the man who put him into retirement....
The Goodness 03.21.07: Bobby's Breakthrough
When the rumors about the Donald Trump/Vince McMahon match at WrestleMania started filtering through the Internet, I could not have been less excited. The rumor had Trump picking Hulk Hogan and Vince picking the Great Khali or the Big Show in a re-creation of the Hulk/Andre match from 20 years ago. To say I was unimpressed would be an understatement. I ripped on Hogan last year and the guy is so far past the age for wrestling it's sad. As for Khali, I don't really feel the need to watch him get pushed anymore after his feud with the Undertaker that set wrestling back about 20 years. However, things changed drastically when Hogan asked for too much money, McMahon balked and the WWE was forced to do something they may not have wanted to do. They had to go with the young talent.
A lot of wrestling fans, especially in the past few years, have complained about the upward mobility of new stars. The Attitude era was built on a foundation of new guys (to the WWF) like Triple H, Rocky and Foley who were given an opportunity to get over and move to the main event level. Then the WWF did the same for Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton, but all four were pushed way back down the card after their runs were over. New guys like Kennedy, C.M. Punk and others get over initially but stay stuck on a treadmill, waiting for a big moment. Waiting for an opportunity to prove if they belong in the main event.
With the four guys in the main event out of the picture, the WWE had to look elsewhere for the wrestlers to make the Trump/McMahon match work. In Umaga, the WWE has created a heel monster, despite the skepticism from many, myself included, as he tore through Raw in the past year. It worked though. It was old-school, having Umaga squash everything in his path, but dammit it worked. The crowds have bought into Umaga as a legitimate threat, in no small part due to the instant classic against Cena at the Royal Rumble, and anyone who could beat Umaga would be treated thusly. When Donald Trump announced his representative, I firmly believe a star had been born and a breakthrough was made.
Bobby Lashley had the look from the second he entered the WWE. His physique is ridiculous. He's just good enough on the mic. He has improved in the ring by leaps and bounds, despite being forced to wrestle too many stiffs like Test during his ECW run so far. It wasn't looking good for Lashley after the abomination of an ECW pay-per-view in December but there was something there in Lashley that people connected with.
Here is why I think Lashley has the potential to become a true superstar and it's true of all wrestling superstars: he has charisma. Charisma comes in a lot of different forms. Rocky got the charisma from his amazing promos and outgoing personality. Foley got his from being absolutely f'in crazy but likable. Hogan got his from just being a star of the highest magnitude. Goldberg's charisma was derived from being the most intense, powerful wrestler many people had ever seen. What sets Lashley apart from the current crop of main eventers, I'm talking Cena & Batista, is that his charisma isn't forced. He doesn't have to fake anything, make jokes or act differently to get over. People like him.
And that might be the most astounding thing about Lashley. He has the physique of a monster. He doesn't wrestle like a typical face in the ring, there's no real sympathy in his in-ring work. He kicks ass. But when he smiles, the crowd loves him. He's a walking contradiction: a monster of a man that appears to have a heart of gold despite the fact he's crushing guys into a million pieces. He's a lot like Goldberg in that respect, who the crowds genuinely liked back in 1998, but he's a better wrestler than Goldberg. Who knows if he'll get better or become a true great. What we do know is that the foundation has been laid for greatness.
This feud with McMahon & Trump may be looked back upon as not only a great WrestleMania moment but as the launching pad for Lashley's career. How many wrestlers have gotten the rub of Donald Trump, one of the country's most talked about, discussed and known celebrities? When Donald Trump says, "Go get 'em Bobby" or "You're the man Bobby", that's huge. The Trump/McMahon feud has been picked up by the Associated Press, media across the country and of course by the E! network as the Trump/Rosie feud rolls along. You know who gets mentioned in all those stories? Bobby Lashley. The WWE is now in the position of having a young superstar with loads of potential that is already benefiting from mainstream coverage. I would bet that more non-wrestling fans have heard of Bobby Lashley than Batista.
All of this was hammered home Monday night. I knew the WWE was planning something when Chris Masters appeared out of nowhere to kick-start his Masterlock challenge a couple weeks ago. It had been ignored for months so when he came back, I knew they had something planned. When JR started putting over the Masterlock Monday night, about how it hadn't been broken in over two years, I knew we were in store for something. I just didn't think it was going to be something special.
When Lashley came out, the crowd erupted. That was no surprise, but would they really pop for Lashley breaking the hold? Was the Masterlock challenge that big of an accomplishment? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. The crowd reacted to Lashley breaking the hold like he had won the world title. They threw their arms, jumped up and down and screamed in appreciation. It's a reaction you don't see too much these days, especially for something that wasn't even match. All Lashley did was power out of a move put on him by a wrestler that has basically been reduced to a jobber. It did not matter. The crowd loved Lashley. If it's any indication, Lashley's breakthrough moment is just under two weeks away and the WWE may have created a true star to hitch a ride on for a while.
Over at TooMuchSports.com the WrestleMania in Five series is continuing and we have enough coverage of the NCAA Tournament to kill hours at work. Because that's obviously what the Internet was intended for.
