The Importance of...7.18.08: Little Men

Posted by Mike Chin on 07.18.2008

"Which way did he go? Which way did he go?" - Shane McMahon, outhustling The Big Show

This week, we take our hats off to the little guys.

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Quick notes on the past week in wrestling

-Taylor's title win in TNA was refreshing to see. As much as Awesome Kong works as a monster, her title reign was growing a bit stagnant, to the point where all of the other women's feuds seemed somewhat predicated on the fact that the other women didn't want to feud with Kong, because they knew they would get steam-rolled. Taylor has potential for a more entertaining title reign, in part because, like CM Punk, she's vulnerable in the role.

-It was interesting to observe the chaotic flow to Raw this past week, specifically in the opening segments with the brawl, Kane's apology, and the impromptu Kofi Kingston-Paul Burchhill match. It was actually fairly entertaining, though I'm not sure Raw can keep up this pace.

-Beth Phoenix is an impressive talent, and I think there is potential in a limited run with her competing against men. I do worry about the effect on the men she's working with, though. This summer, Santino has been made Rey Mysterio's comeback bitch, lost to an un-famous celebrity, and now jobbed to a woman in her debut intergender match--and it really wasn't even portrayed as that much of an upset. I know Santino is playing the part of a comedic heel, and that his truest gifts are most certainly on the mic, rather than in the ring. Nonetheless, when you job one guy this badly, you risk him having absolutely zero credibility, to the point where he won't even function as a comedy act, because no one will care about him.

-I saw this Monday's main event as a bit of a coming out party for young Cody Rhodes. There's no question he was the workhorse in the main event, with Ted Dibiase evidently being protected, and JBL playing the 'call the shots without getting involved' lead heal. It was the first time I saw Rhodes work for that length time, and with the exception of a small few spots, I was impressed. He worked well with the Crime Tyme guys, and showed more chemistry than I ever would have expected with John Cena. I'm not saying the kid's ready for a bigger push than he's already getting, but I think he's proving himself in his current role, and showing promise for bigger things down the line.

On to our regular column...

Growing up as a wrestling fan in the eighties, I was a WWF kid through and through. Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, The Ultimate Warrior, Zeus—these were the guys who constituted the main event scene, and these were the guys who I accepted as major players in the world title scene. I simply couldn't understand why Ric Flair would be such a big deal over in the NWA, when he looked so decidedly average.

Things changed, of course. Flair came to the WWF and, in a sense, kick started a new era. He won the WWF title, and when he dropped it, it was to another relatively small workhorse, in Randy Savage. He won it back, but then lost it again, this time Bret Hart. Sure, Yokozuna, Diesel, The Undertaker and Lex Luger would still make waves in the main event scene through much of the nineties. Regardless, you can't ignore that Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Steve Austin made waves for the not so big men. And without these successes, would we have ever seen Eddie Guerrero frog splash his way to a world title reign, Chris Benoit get his just desserts at Wrestlemania XX, or Rey Mysterio get his chance at the gold two years after that? You can make a compelling argument that WWE still favors big men, but the world title scene has lost its ‘must be this high to ride the ride' aura, meaning that smaller competitors can reach the highest levels of this business, and quite justifiably so.

There you have the long and slightly tangential introduction. The topic of this week's article: the importance of little men.

There are few more effective ways of creating an underdog story, than by plugging a small competitor into a match. You don't need injury booking, family involvement or emotional promos to sell one of wrestling's little men as an underdog. All you need to do is watch the match. Take Floyd Mayweather v.s The Big Show. Spout off all you want about how unnecessary Mayweather was to this year's Wrestlemania. To be honest, I'm in the camp of folks who really didn't care for that match. Regardless, I can't deny that the match had a certain level of intrigue, based solely on the size differential between the two men. In my head, I knew Mayweather was going over. In watching the match, though, I struggled to conceive of how they were possibly to make that ending work. Such is the story of the underdog. You can't conceive of how he'll win. Life just hasn't been fair to him. Eddie Guerrero would never be as big as Brock Lesnar. The 1-2-3 Kid would never be as big as Razor Ramon. And yet, you had to hold out hope, and get behind the little guy. The little guy in pro wrestling represents the underdog in all of us, chasing a dream he has no reason to believe, and giving it his damnedest.

Beyond the appeal of little men in storytelling, smaller wrestlers also have a tendency to create better in ring products. They're quicker and more agile. Hulk Hogan has spoken on numerous occasions about the importance of charisma, and how he could pop the crowd with the simplest of moves, where other guys would need to break their backs to approach the same reaction. This is actually quite true. But regardless, if you're going to watch a match objectively, especially years after it's happened, you'll often find that the smallest guys create the best matches. WCW caught on to this in the mid-90s, when Eric Bischoff started signing every lucha guy in sight to pop his crowds in the curtain jerkers. The WWF seemed to understand this when Shawn Michaels started putting on four-star-plus matches with anybody who had a pulse during his first title reign.

Even outside the ring, you'll notice that smaller guys are often the best on the mic. Sure guys like the Hulkster and the Warrior had charisma and size. But if you actually sit down and listen to what they're saying, or really take some time, and read a transcript of one of their promos, you'll realize they're not only crazy, but that their words really just don't make any sense in the English language. Compare that with eloquent Ric Flair, hilarious Chris Jericho, or intense, but smart Brian Pillman, and you start to realize that these smaller individuals could speak for themselves and have promos that were comparably entertaining to their matches.

Between superior in ring performance, and superior skills with the stick, it seems that many little men are just plain better all around performers than their larger counterparts. The theory does, in a lot of ways, make sense. Smaller competitors aren't going to earn recognition based on their chiseled physiques or monstrous size. They aren't the kinds of guys who will give you a double take walking through the airport. In order to stand out, they need to be good at everything else—to present a true total package to their employers and the fans. Superiority equates to survival for little men.

In addition to strong performances, little men tend to benefit from reliability and longevity. Hogan had an impressive run at the top. Sid Vicious was one of wrestling's most awesome spectacles. Bam Bam Bigelow was one of the most athletic big men of all time. But look at the downside. Even with a relatively light schedule, including several extended ‘retirements' and periods away from the ring to make movies, Hogan's body is pretty darn broken down, to the point where he couldn't work a regular schedule if he wanted to today. For all of his memorable moments, what people remember most about Sid now is seeing him jump off the ropes and break his leg beneath his own bulk. Bam Bam, may he rest in peace, is no longer of this world. Wrestling deaths, and shortened careers are not unique to big men. Guerrero, Benoit, and Curt Hennig, to name a few, have all demonstrated that. But regardless, when you look at the longest active wrestlers, who maintained a level of excellence throughout their careers you will find a disproportionate number of average-sized, to small performers on the list. You have Flair. You have Michaels. You have Terry Funk. Heck, put Jeff Jarrett on the list. Taking The Undertaker and Andre the Giant out of the equation, what big man has really made an impact for more than 15 straight years? Additionally, while common logic might suggest that little guys are more likely to get injured as they get squashed or broken in half, the contrary seems true, as the smaller guys have less muscle bulk and better conditioning to help keep them in the game, making them the most reliable men on the roster.

In the end, it's not fair to see that either little men or big men are more important than the other in the world of professional wrestling. Each have their merits, and each can help the other shine, whether they're performing with each other, or in separate and different-paced contests on the same card. All the same, wrestling's little men have often been overlooked in the business, and certainly deserve their share of praise, both historically, and with an eye toward what they will do in the future.

That's all for this column. After writing at length about little men, next time around we'll be heading in the opposite direction. "Who? Who? Who? Who's the man?" Next week, it's Vader time. See you in seven.