Why I Love Wrestling 6.24.07: Underdogs
Posted by Jordan Linkous on 06.24.2007
I take a look at one of the most beloved characters in wrestling, the underdog!
To quote Alice Cooper, SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! I'm pretty excited about that, and this summer should be pretty relaxing. All I have is working every other week or so, and I am clear for a fun summer. But down to why we are really here, the MOST POSITVE column in all of 411Mania land as said by me. This week we focus on the little guy. The little guy is someone who is never expected to beat those bigger guys. Because he is at such a disadvantage, he is normally the fan favorite. Wrestlers like Rey Mysterio, The Hooliganz, and ever Shawn Michaels have all become loved by the fans not only because of their wrestling ability, but also because they are so easy to get behind.
Underdogs
One of the greatest and well known underdog stories is of one Rey Mysterio. In 2002, Rey was brought into WWE as a cruiserweight. Almost immediately, he became on of the WWE's most beloved figures. He quickly rose through the cruiserweight leagues and won the championship. He was also a several time tag champ. Along the way, he had his share of road bumps in the form of much larger wrestlers. One wrestler that comes to mind is The Big Show. The largest wrestler at that time, Big Show had no problem pushing Rey-Rey around. Rey never got ahead in his feud, and was even swung like a baseball bat into the ring post. Although Rey was widely popular already, I believe he was able to draw in more fans based on these feuds with larger opponents. Rey never looked like he had a chance, but the fans stayed behind him and rooted him on. The next big man that feuded with Rey was JBL. Rey scored an upset victory on JBL which led him to go on a rampage. He pushed Rey around and tormented him. He did the typical large heel thing which led to him being hated more and Rey gaining more love, which eventually led to his push. I personally love this feud, mainly because it had JBL. He played the large, arrogant heel role so well and really got some love for Rey. I know I say this a lot, but Rey is one of the only true underdog wrestlers. In almost all matches outside of Cruiserweights, he is the underdog. Fans, including myself, love to root for the underdog because so many people can relate to him. Kids especially love Rey because for one thing, he is normally their height. And he is cartoony with his mask, to kids at least. But kids can pick up on things, and they pick up on the fact that Rey is similar to them because he is smaller and gets pushed around. I know that is how I, and my little brother, feel. When he gets a victory over the big guys, it is a victory for all his fans as well. Rey has always played the face role, as many underdog wrestlers have, which also helped his adoration. All in all, Rey is a fantastic underdog because he can get the fans on his side and he is also a great wrestler. Thanks Rey.
Another great underdog, or should I say underdogs, is the pair of Brian Kendrick and Paul London, which I will refer to as Londrick throughout the column. These guys have been on and off in the company, and have finally made a splash as the longest reigning tag champs in quite a while. These two lightweights weigh in at 380 pounds, only 30 more pounds than Umaga. As you can see these guys are often at a disadvantage. They are also crowd favorites and my favorite tag team today. Almost always wresting as the underdog, these guys have faced their fair share of obstacles, two being MNM and Deuce & Domino. Nobody considered Londrick as anything more than a pair of jobbers, being destroyed by the likes of the Gymini and Fit Finlay. That all changed when they were thrust into a rivalry with MNM. Nobody considered them anything more that chump change for MNM, but Londrick snuck in a win over them. This got the fans attention. Londrick was a fun energetic pair of superballs and MNM were the hot heel tag team. Fans immediately got behind Londrick. They had a back and forth rivalry which ultimately saw Londrick win the tag titles. They were the new hot team. They then took on a lager team in Regal and Taylor. Now while they may not seem too big, compared to Londrick, they are Big Show and Kane. Nevertheless, the fan favorites were able to retain there titles. We now come to Londrick's most recent feud, Deuce and Domino. These guys are also big compared to Londrick, and were able to gain some pretty good heat by manhandling the champs. The fans were behind Londrick all the way, but even with the fan support, Londrick lost their titles. These guys are still a hot tag team, and are looking to make a splash on Raw as a top notch tag team. They are underdogs and beloved by fans all around the world, and hopefully they will get recognition rather than being squashed. Thanks Londrick.
Before the time of Rey Mysterio in the WWE, there was one of the original underdogs. Weighing in at a cool 225 pounds, we have Shawn Michaels. Michaels has grappled with some of the best big men in the business. Undertaker, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Vader, and Sid are all a few big men that have fallen to Shawn Michaels, but not before putting up a fight. I have said it a million times, but I love Shawn Michaels. As a heel or as a face, as an underdog or an equal, I will never root against Shawn Michaels. And when he is put in matches with bigger men, there is even more of a reason to support him. He gets pushed around by the bigger guys, but he has a lot of heart and determination and he starts to mount his comeback. That is how many of his matches developed. The bigger guys would devastate with moves like big boots and powerbombs, but Shawn would use his quickness and cunning to gain the advantage with elbow drops and the Sweet Chin Music. HBK is the true underdog of the 1990's, and one of the best wrestlers of that time as well. Thanks HBK.
So that wraps up another short version of my column. Let's summarize. The underdog is someone that the fans can relate to that have been pushed around. It is someone they can get behind and cheer. Rey Mysterio, Brian Kendrick, Paul London, and Shawn Michaels are all widely successful superstars that have become well known for not only their wrestling ability, but also for being great underdogs.
Feedback
The one and only piece of feedback this week comes from Claude Baker:
I was reading your 411mania article and I found it hilarious because you sound EXACTLY like me a few years back. I was a wrestling obsessed kid who did all the same things as you: wrestling with friends, playing wrestling video games, getting the latest DVDs (I was really into ECW and old-school stuff), and we used to have leagues with our old LJN WWF Figures. It was cool to read because it took me back to those fun days and I enjoyed your enthusiasm for wrestling. Too many times nowadays everything I read on the internet is so negative and it's refreshing to see a guy who actually seems to LIKE wrestling instead of just bashing everything.
I'm not quite as wrestling obsessed as I used to be, as I don't play the video games, have wrestling figure leagues, buy all kinds of Tapes/DVDs, or wrestle with my friends anymore, but I still enjoy some good ol' pro wrestling.
By the way; Why I love Pro Wrestling=Canadian Stampede 1997. Get it if you haven't. The Bret's Team vs Austin's Team match is my favorite of all-time and the whole show is really great.
Claude Baker
P.S. Quiet Riot Rules!
I am glad that I'm not the only wrestling obsessed person. I love wrestling with friends, playing the games, buy DVD's, and yes, I still have my box of twenty plus action figures in my room that manages to make it out anytime I need to come up with a new wrestling move. What can I say? I love anything wrestling. Anyway, that just about wraps it up for me. Make sure to send you comments, questions, or concerns to me. You stay classy, 411Mania readers.
