Bye Bye Big Man: Professional Wrestling’s Change in Heart

Professional wrestling used to be a land of giants and bodybuilders. The taller and more muscular you were, the better. And while it made way for superstars the likes of Andre the Giant, Paul Wight, Scott Steiner and Rick Rude, it also allowed El Gigante, Nathan Jones and even the Ultimate Warrior to achieve some type of success in the sport.

Aside from the sudden surge of Ryback, the muscular mess hasn’t been a hit with WWE fans over the past decade. Chris Masters’ rise to mediocrity is well-documented, as is Rob Terry’s in TNA. It seems after becoming a staple on every promotions roster, the muscle-bound freak is no longer a commodity.

Sorry Big E. Langston. Your pectorals aren’t enough to get you a real spot on RAW.

The same thing can be said for the seven footers. Aside from Wight, is there a giant currently thriving at a major promotion? Great Khali can barely walk. His skill on the microphone sadly, is worse; it’s a miracle the guy has work. Although Abyss, Kane, Undertaker are monsters, they are not in the Khali and Wight height range. If anything these guys all possess what seems like the winning wrestling formula today, impressiveness. Impressive height, weight, ability in the ring and on the microphone. If you’re missing any one of those, it’s harder to be a perennial top-billed star.

Take a big man like Matt Morgan for instance. The guy is solid on the mic and is in amazing shape. But has he had one “five-star match” in his career? Does he have Undertaker and Show’s presence? Will he work and sell like Kane and Abyss? No. In the ’80s and even early ’90s, Morgan could have been a star. Today, fans feel they deserve more. Until Morgan finds out what his “more” is to give, he’ll be a mid-carder.

The same thing goes for Ryback. Yeah, he’s been successful lately, but fans have seen his act before. It’s called Bill Goldberg. But unlike Ryback, Goldberg was much more talented in the ring. He used kicks and submission holds in addition to his bevy of power moves. He also had a ton more stamina. If Goldberg’s career was able to last for a decade, then give Ryback’s current persona five. Fans will ultimately get bored of his no-selling stiff exhibitions of power. Why? Because unlike 25 years ago, fans truly appreciate performers who can work. The age of the muscle bound freak and giant is over.

That doesn’t mean big men and physical specimens can’t be stars in the sport anymore. They just have to try harder. Their “look” may help get them in the door, but it won’t get them through it.

The CM Punks, Daniel Bryans, Dolph Zigglers and even Samoa Joes of the wrestling world now have any opportunity to turn up the volume even higher than before. If they can continue to succeed, the wave of Indy stars getting chances in the WWE will surely continue.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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