Ordinarily, A Closer Look At… focuses on one specific wrestler, angler or match from wrestling’s past and looks at what made that individual thing work or not. This time, it will be a bit different, as (in honor of Thanksgiving) I count down the Top 5 Things I am grateful For in Professional Wrestling Today:
5. Sara Del Ray:
People are pretty vocal in their criticisms of the WWE. I actually try to defend WWE on a lot of things, but the one thing I really agree with their detractors on is the sad state of their women’s division. For the most part, the division is nothing more than a way to add some sex to the show. They know a large portion of the audience are young men, so they try to give them some eye candy in the program. Attractiveness and sex appeal are taken far more seriously than actual in-ring wrestling ability.
Fortunately for fans of women’s wrestling, there are places where it is taken seriously. Ring of Honor, along with it’s sister promotion SHIMMER, do not treat their women’s wrestlers like sex objects. They are looked on as serious wrestlers, who are held to the same in ring standard as their male counterparts. When two women step into a ROH ring, I know that the wrestling part of the show isn’t coming to a halt, it is going to keep right on rolling.
No women’s wrestler today embodies this more than Sara Del Ray. Del Ray has been on the scene for several years now, and she just continues to get better and better. Anyone who has watched her over the years has been able to see her constant growth and evolution. The hard work she puts in to improve herself is obvious. Del Ray was always a good wrestler, but as time goes on, she keeps getting better and better. Right now, the women’s division of ROH seems to be built around her and I couldn’t think of a single woman more deserving of that. Sara Del Ray is just as good as almost any male on the roster and I always look forward to any match she’s involved in.
4. “Dashing” Cody Rhodes:
I admit it: I am a sucker for the super-vain heel gimmick. Whenever a wrestler is obsessed with his looks and cuts promos about how much better looking he is to get cheap heat from a crowd, I almost always enjoy it. From pioneers like Gorgeous George, to “The Model” Rick Martel, to the gold standard when it comes to this gimmick “Ravishing” Rick Rude, it’s almost always a winner with me. Nobody in recent years has pulled this off better than Cody Rhodes.
Ever since I first saw Rhodes debut in the WWE a few years back, i thought he had a lot of potential. He was young, athletic, had a good look, was a hard worker, and came from a good wrestling family. He had all the tools to succeed, but he just wasn’t clicking the way he should have. His personality was practically non-existent. He seemed comfortable in front of a crowd, he just didn’t have anything to say that held their interest. However, when Cody Rhodes made the transition to “Dashing” Cody Rhodes, the last piece of the puzzle was finally in place.
Whether he is checking out his own image on the jumbo tron, protecting his face in a match, or giving us his grooming tips in a pre-taped segment, this current gimmick has brought out the best in Rhodes. Now that he has an engaging personality to match his physical tools, the sky is the limit for Rhodes. In 2011, I don’t see anywhere to go but up for “Dashing” Cody Rhodes.
3. The American Wolves:
When it comes to strictly in-ring performance, I don’t think their is anyone in the world today who is as good as Davey Richards. He has the kind of intensity rarely seen in a pro wrestler these days, with unmatched technical ability. There is nobody Davey Richards can’t have a good to great match with. He is stiff, athletic, he can brawl, he can go to the air, he can do technical exchanges, he knows submissions, he has surprising power for a man his size. He simply has no weaknesses as far as actual wrestling goes.
It is a testament to the abilities of Eddie Edwards that as Richard’s tag team partner, he isn’t seen as a sidekick or second fiddle. Richards may arguably be the best in the world today, but Edwards is certainly no weak link. As Richard’s partner in the American Wolves, Edwards stands side by side with him as an equal. This was proven to everyone in the finals of the tournament to crown the first ever ROH TV Champion when Edwards submitted Richards in an absolutely flawless contest.
These two men are the most perfectly matched tag team since Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Richards brings the intimidating intensity of Anderson while Edwards has the sly deviousness of Blanchard. Both men are terrifically gifted athletes and incredibly skilled wrestlers. They also mesh together like few others in the game today. They work together perfectly, executing all the hallmarks of text book tag team wrestling.
Whether they are competing in singles competition or as a team, whenever the American Wolves are in the ring, the chances are high you are about to see the Match of the Night.
2. Daniel Bryan:
When Bryan Danielson signed a contract with WWE, wrestling fans seemed to almost unanimously bemoan the decision. They said he was too small. They said he didn’t have the personality. They said he didn’t have the charisma. They said he was making a huge mistake, that he would be squashed by larger wrestlers, that he would spend some time as a jobber then leave.
When Danielson, now called Daniel Bryan, didn’t make it to the finals of the first season of NXT, everyone thought their predictions were coming true. When Bryan was “fired” in the early stages of the Nexus angle, people cursed WWE and thought the entire thing was a failed experiment.
After a brief return to the indys, (ncluding a highly entertaining match with Shelton Benjamen I was lucky enough to attend), Bryan made his surprise return to the WWE at SummerSlam, helping Team WWE ovrcome the challenge of the Nexus. From their, he continued to make an impact in the WWE, getting a string of victories and strong showings, eventualy leading to his defeat of The Miz for the WWE United States Championship.
With the win, Bryan proved all the critics wrong. He wasn’t too small. He didn’t lack the personality or the charisma. He wasn’t a jobber to be destroyed by everyone else. bryan was the real deal. He is the proof that there is still a place in the WWE for a normal sized guy who can wrestle circles around anyone else to come in and succeed.
1. The Miz
Confession time: I used to hate The Miz. I hated his matches. I hated his gimmick. I hated his stupid name. Whenever he was on, I quickly went to check what else was on TV. But while everyone else was booing him and wishing he would go away, the Miz kept working hard, honing his craft, and getting better.
It took a while, but eventually, people started to notice. He went from being a joke, to being the guy thought of as the less talented half of a successful tag team with John Morrison, to being a guy who suddenly was decent, to being arguably the most well-rounded wrestler on the WWE roster today.
The Miz isn’t the best wrestler in the world. However, he has worked hard and become a pretty good one. However, everything he lacks in technical ability, he more than makes up for with his ring psychology, his ability to get heat from a crowd, and his promo skills. Once thought of as annoying and irritating, the Miz has become the best interview in wrestling. His promo a few months ago on Raw, about his journey from being a joke to being a legitimate star, was the best wrestling promo I’ve heard in almost a decade.
The Miz has gone from a guy struggling to become a star to a guy who helps create stars. It was much easier for Daniel Bryan to get over with the crowd because he had a terrific partner in his first feud in The Miz. Alex Riley, in his role as The Miz’s “personal assistant,” gets instant heat with the crowd and it’s a role that gives him exposure and the ability to grow into his own man. Any program the Miz is in is going to be successful at this point in time.
All of his hard work and vast improvement has not gone unnoticed. He went from being a United States Champion, to the Money in the Bank winner, to very recently winning the WWE Championship. I am not sure how long The Miz will hold this title. However, I do know this: two years ago, the thought of the Miz as World Champion would have made me laugh. Today, there is nobody in the company I would rather wear the belt around his waist. When you factor in ring work, personality, gimmick, interview skills and ring psychology, The Miz is the most entertaining wrestler working today and the number one thing I am thankful for in the world of wrestling right now.
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