The Wrestling Doctor 05.27.08: Building A Better Monster Part II

Posted by W.S. Thomason on 05.27.2008

Sid Vicious, Kevin Nash, and Bill Goldberg. An IWC dream match for lovers of work rates and technical prowess.

THE WRESTLING DOCTOR: THE PRESCRIPTION FOR WHAT AILS

THIS WEEK'S PATIENT: BUILDING A BETTER MONSTER – PART II: SKYSCRAPERS TO SHOCK AND AWE
This week continues a three part series in which I will examine how major companies have booked monster characters as champions. The series may run consecutively, or it may be spread over several weeks, depending on what transpires in the world of professional wrestling over the next month. Part I may be read here.

By the middle of the 1990's professional wrestling stood at a major crossroads. In 1994 the World Wrestling Federation's business was significantly declining, and there was talk of asset seizure during the Vince McMahon steroid conspiracy trial of that summer. World Championship Wrestling had ceased running most house shows, and there was serious discussion within the Ted Turner empire of shutting down the company. McMahon's acquittal and Eric Bischoff's decision to bring in Hulk Hogan and partner more fully with Disney MGM Studios kept each organization alive, but it was clear that a new direction was needed to sustain both promotions in the future.

The WWF "circus" mentality that had led to unprecedented success in the eighties had petered out by 1994. WCW's attempts to copy the WWF model in the early 90s had miserably failed, as had efforts to take the product back to something resembling the pre-Jim Herd days.

The Mastodon character type – big men who exceeded 350 pounds, possessed tremendous power and size, were brutal and merciless, and were managed by devious villains – had long dominated the wrestling heelscape. The Mastodon genre peaked in 1993 with the lengthy world title runs of Yokozuna (WWF) and Vader (WCW), shattering the long-held belief that big men could not be viable champions. However, the aura of invincibility that was essential to the success of Yokozuna and Vader was shattered when their reigns reached an end. The Mastodon character type appeared to fall with them, but in reality shifts in the approach to business as well as in the wrestling audience meant that more than sheer size would be required for promotional domination.

Both the WWF and WCW began to look for leaner, slicker big men who possessed tremendous power and height but who did not carry excess weight. The companies were interested in giants who were more realistically proportioned than Mastodons; these men were between 300 and 350 pounds but stood at least 6'8". They possessed power but also reasonable agility; were respectable workers; and had mic skills or other character traits that helped them establish distinct personalities. These wrestlers often portrayed characters so unique that they are often not classified as one type. They were often perceived as more as regular wrestlers instead of giants, which helped them sustain momentum through defeat. They began to appear by 1990 but really broke away from other giants by 1995. I will call them Skyscrapers, after the tag team that introduced the type to the mainstream wrestling scene.

WCW introduced and seriously pushed The Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious & Dan Spivey) tag team in 1989. Spivey was a veteran who had failed to get over in a number of companies, and his role in The Skyscrapers served to help prepare Vicious for the future. Sid was the highlight of the team, receiving major pops each time he tagged in even though the Skyscrapers were heels. Chants of "We want Sid" were commonplace at WCW shows, and Spivey was often booed until he tagged out. Sid went down with a collapsed lung just as The Skyscrapers were heating up a program with The Road Warriors, so WCW looked around for a suitable replacement. They brought in Mean Mark Callous, who was far more capable and agile worker than either Vicious or Spivey. Callous lacked a formidable look, however, as his pale skin and bright red hair did not inspire intimidation. Spivey soon went down with an injury and The Skyscrapers came to an end. WCW did not know how to properly use Callous – a problem they had with many other stars – and he wisely left to become The Undertaker in the WWF.

Sid Vicious, in the meantime, returned to WCW and joined the Four Horsemen. He enjoyed a push that saw him dominate in TV squashes, but his marquee matches were terrible. WCW booked him poorly – he lost to US Champion Lex Luger on almost every house show leading up to his world title match with Sting at Halloween Havoc 1990 – but his poor ring work kept him out of the top spot. He was very over with WCW crowds, and often received pops regardless of opponent or performance. He went to the WWF as Sid Justice, received another major push that included headlining Wrestlemania VIII, but was fired for tampering with a drug test. A year later he was back in WCW and set to win the world title off of Vader when he stabbed Arn Anderson in an infamous hotel fight. Sid parlayed a good run in the USWA into a second chance with the WWF in 1995, but his in ring weaknesses clearly showed. He retired with a neck injury at the beginning of 1996, but surprisingly returned that summer to a massive face push. Sid stunned the wrestling world by defeating Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 1996 for the first of two WWF Titles. Sid's matches were lackluster at best, despite regularly being in the ring with Michaels and Bret Hart, two guys known for bringing out the best in larger opponents, but he still received major pops and "Sid" chants. He went on to headline Wrestlemania XIII, made a brief stop by ECW, returned to World Championship Wrestling, and wound up with two WCW World Titles and the main event at the last Starrcade.

Sid was known throughout his career as being temperamental, unreliable, and highly injury prone. He had a reputation for taking time off each spring to play softball – most of his runs with companies begin in the early summer and end by early spring – and his ring performances were weak. Many wrestlers have criticized his carelessness and sloppiness during matches. And then there is that little thing where he repeatedly stabbed a fellow wrestler with a pair of scissors. So how did Sid end up with four word titles after the incident with Anderson, especially when coupled with all of his other problems?

The answer is simple: he was over. Really, really over, particularly from 1990 to 1993. Sid is often pissed upon today, particularly by the IWC, but tapes from the time clearly show how into Sid crowds were, especially in WCW. Sid's weaknesses were painfully obvious in everything but squash matches, but at the time enhancement bouts were the main way that audiences were exposed to talent. His dominance in these contests was so unique for the early 90s that he built a reputation with the audience that he was able to ride for the rest of the decade – in spite of his reputation with management and other wrestlers. The fans loved Sid's raw power and the way in which he viciously (I had to go there once) beat down hapless jobbers. His powerbomb finisher and chokeslam set up were very unique maneuvers for the time, despite being often poorly executed. Vicious benefited from being in the vanguard of the Skyscraper character type; had he begun his career five years alter, he probably would have ended up as a precursor to Snitsky.

The success with audiences enjoyed by characters like Sid Vicious led promotions to look for other big men who fit the Skyscraper mold. WCW was excellent at finding these talents – with the exception of Glen Jacobs (Kane), WCW initially signed all of the major Skyscrapers. However, the company had no idea how to develop them once they were on the roster. One talent they signed in 1990 went on to win the WWF and WCW World titles and become one of the most important players in the Monday Night War era: Kevin Nash.

Nash began his career as Steel in The Master Blasters tag team; he then became Oz and later Vinnie Vegas. He did not enjoy much success in any of these guises, and his in ring work during his early years was very bad. In June 1993 he went to the WWF to become Diesel, the bodyguard for Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels. Vince McMahon has always had a preference for big wrestlers, so it was inevitable that Diesel would be made into a singles competitor. Nash got his first major singles run in a feud with Mr. Perfect after he cost Hennig his IC title shot at Summerslam 93. Diesel did not come out on top in these outings, but he took advantage of his opportunities and learned from his matches against more experienced talent.

The first hint that Diesel was primed for a major run came at the 1994 Royal Rumble, where he dominated the first part of the match and eliminated seven opponents. This dominant performance garnered him a great deal of attention, and he followed up with an Intercontinental Title win over Razor Ramon in April. His reign furthered his reputation as a destructive force, and headlined the 1994 King of the Ring pay-per-view against WWF Champion Bret Hart. He and Michaels won the WWF Tag Team Titles from The Headshrinkers before he dropped the IC back to Ramon. Both title switches were a device to split Diesel from Michaels, and that prolonged break finally occurred at the 1994 Survivor Series following another impressive performance in which Nash eliminated The 1-2-3 Kid, The British Bulldog, and both Headshrinkers in a couple of minutes. A few nights later Diesel squashed Bob Backlund in eight seconds in Madison Square Garden to win the WWF Championship. Diesel had gone from being a bodyguard to becoming the third WWF Triple Crown winner in less than a year (he remains the only wrestler to win the Triple Crown in one year). The WWF had transformed Nash into a believable monster who was distinct, dominant, and almost impossible to stop. Diesel, it seemed, was going to be everything that Sid Vicious could not.

Then they dropped ball.

The WWF was still locked into a 1980s family-friendly frame of mind. A rough-hewn Skyscraper who plowed through opponents without regard did not fit the WWF formula. The decision was made to tone down Diesel, and he quickly became a more traditional babyface champion. His reign lasted nearly a near but was not remarkable, partly because he faced few substantial challengers outside of Michaels and Hart, but mostly because the Diesel that had gotten over with the fans in 1994 was not the Diesel the WWF wanted to serve up in 1995.

Diesel regained his edge after dropping the WWF Title to Bret Hart, illustrating a big difference between how the fans perceived Skyscrapers as opposed to Mastodons. A title loss to Hart immediately ended Yokozuna's residency in the WWF's top tier, but Diesel was able to believably turn his defeat into a positive. His reborn mean streak carried him through a great no holds barred match against Michaels at In Your House: Best Friends, Better Enemies, which was exactly the type of bout that people wanted out of him during his year as champion.

Nash returned to WCW and co-founded the New World Order, helping to redefine professional wrestling in the process. However, he never regained the edge that initially got him over in 1994. His work rate in WCW was never great; his WWF run showed that he could have good matches, but he never put forth the necessary effort down south. He spent most of his first two years with the company in tag team matches. Nash's obnoxious streak shown through more in WCW – his whipping Randy Savage with a Slimjim was classic – and his backstage politicking made him infamous amongst many fans. He won the WCW World Title three times, but all of those reigns were highly uninspired (and two came while he was the booker). The monstrous element that defined the Diesel character had lost all of its steam, and few people today think of Nash when they discuss great wrestling monsters.

The element that got both Sid Vicious and Diesel over with audiences was their ability to completely dominate a situation. Sid was held back by personal and performance issues; Nash lost his advantage to poor packaging and a willingness to phone in later performances. Promotions knew what it took to develop a new kind of monster, but they had failed to completely follow through. The Skyscraper type, it seemed, also had its limitations. Companies started to look for another monster genre that might fill the gap between Mastodons and Skyscrapers.

Then WCW introduced Bill Goldberg.

Right now, most readers have moaned. There are few wrestlers who have received as much disdain from the IWC as Goldberg. I have always been proud to say that I was never on the Goldberg bandwagon – I absolutely hated it when he won the WCW World title – but his impact on the Monday Night Wars cannot be dismissed. Goldberg was as over at his peak as any wrestler ever was in WCW. Audiences were absolutely crazy for him.

Goldberg was indeed a monster, but he did not have the weaknesses inherent to the Mastodons. He also seemed to be free of the limitations that had restricted the Skyscrapers. He was smaller – 6'4" and 285 pounds – but he was faster than other big men. He hit hard, and his moves were very stiff and devastating. His personality was derived from his match style – short, aggressive, and explosive. All Goldberg matches were the same: Jobby McJob tries some offense. Goldberg no sells it. Punch, kick, slam, kick. Spear. Jackhammer. Pin. And do not forget the huge pops. He was presented as pure, undiluted dominance. He was what I will call a Shock and Awe monster.

Eric Bischoff has candidly stated that the Goldberg phenomenon started out as an accident. In a rare act of forethought, WCW did keep his winning streak going once it gained momentum in the fall of 1997, and by April 1998 Goldberg was the biggest attraction in the company. He crushed Raven for the US Title, and then defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Title at the Georgia Dome on Nitro in July. The win helped WCW keep its head above water as its ratings began to sink, but in typical fashion the company was not quite sure what to do with what they had. Goldberg's demolition of Curt Hennig at Bash at the Beach appeared to be a good start to his reign, but he only got two major pay-per-view matches while champion. His only appearance at the 1998 Road Wild was winning a pointless NWO battle royal, and he was omitted for the horrendous Fall Brawl show. His marquee title defense at Halloween Havoc was cut off to most viewers by a WCW timing mistake, and he also did not defend the championship at World War 3. He then faced Nash at Starrcade 98 in a match that was seriously promoted by the company.

By December 1998 fans were used to WCW making major mistakes, but no one thought that they would kill the momentum of their own best thing at their biggest show of the year. That is exactly what they did, as Nash ended Goldberg's 15 month undefeated streak in a screw job ending that saw interference from Scott Hall, Bam Bam Bigelow, and The Disco Inferno.

Yes, the Disco Inferno was involved.

Goldberg continued to be one of WCW's biggest draws for the remainder of the company's existence, but he no longer possessed the aura of dominance that had gotten him over. His 2003-2004 WWE run was an anemic shadow of his WCW peak. Goldberg had many injury and attitude issues that contributed to his downfall, and his in ring work was always mediocre, but his biggest weakness was his winning streak. The problem with Shock and Awe monsters is that their domination becomes a hindrance when it is taken too far. Goldberg's undefeated streak was just as burdensome as the size of Mastodons; the first major defeat undercuts the willingness of the fans to continue their belief in the monster.

TNA similarly struggled with Samoa Joe in 2007. They wisely ended his undefeated streak at the hands of a top opponent, but they had no idea where to take him from there. It took TNA nearly eighteen months to rebuild Joe to where he was before losing to Kurt Angle. The way that they booked him is mostly to blame, but his long-term undefeated streak opened a door into which only the most skilled wrestling thinkers should step.

From Mastodons to Skyscrapers to Shock and Awe, wrestling promotions spent the 1990s struggling to find a way to transform wrestlers of large size into a monster worthy of carrying the company's top prize. Every avenue that they explored proved to be littered with limitations. The irony is that while bookers were racking their brains, one company had already created the perfect monster who embodied the strengths of the other three types without any of the weaknesses. It just took them a while to realize what they had.