In the end, we will all be nothing but a distance memory, leaving behind only the legacy we have laid. People often ask the question, “If you could meet your future self, would you like the person you have become?” It’s a thought that keeps some people on their toes throughout their lives, always wanting to make a lasting impact for future generations.
As average everyday people, we are often judged by our job titles, social status, marital status, and financial well being. As unfortunate as it is, this is the world we live in. Except every person is so much more than where they work, how much money they make, and who they married. We are people who also leave a legacy. These legacies won’t be as closely examined as celebrities and high-profile athletes, but each person makes some sort of difference in the world.
The same can be said for professional wrestlers. Day after day, hundreds, even thousands of wrestlers step inside 20×20 rings to perform for us, the average everyday person. As fans, we take it upon ourselves to decide who our favorite characters are and whom we despise the most of the talents that are presented to us. That’s one of the perks of having a pulse: you get to have an opinion on a never-ending list of subjects.
Being a professional wrestling fan can be a tricky endeavor, one we partake upon willingly yet feel like it is an obligation at the same time. Once you are a fan, no matter how many times you claim you are done watching you come back each and every week, watch the characters perform for you, and again critique their performances and social standing based on your opinion of them.
One thing that gets lost in all of this is that our fandom and opinion sharing are essentially just a small part to a much bigger picture. As a wrestling fan, we are investing our time and money into a product and we expect to be entertained during each and every segment, match, televised show and promo. However, there’s only so much we can control. As much as we don’t like how something is going in professional wrestling, all we can do is voice our opinions and move on.
There’s really not much else we can do to change things. It’s the equivalent of going into your local Subway expecting a certain kind of sandwich to taste a specific way only to unwrap it, take that first bite and realize it does not meet your taste bud’s satisfaction. Of course, you could complain and demand your money back, but what does that solve? All it does is let your voice be heard for a few seconds and have to move on with your life.
Thus is the life of a wrestling fan. It’s an up-and-down roller coaster ride. You can either buckle up and enjoy the ride or start screaming at the top of your lungs until you finally get off, eventually irritating all of the other passengers that rode the ride with you.
While we like to think of being a wrestling fan as a hardship, being a professional wrestler is no easy task either.
Constantly being in the spotlight, being featured in online reports more than movie stars, music stars and super models, professional wrestlers rarely have any room to breathe. Today’s media in on a 24-hour cycle, one that refreshes every day, sees every single story dissected in every imaginable way. Somebody gets injured and suddenly millions of fans are either saying, “Good, I never liked him anyway”, wishing the talent best of luck or wondering if it’s all part of some story.
The IWC, or Internet Wrestling Community, is at the biggest fault with all of this. Several times a day, I will scroll through Twitter and see a wrestling fan complain about how much media attention a celebrity is getting and starts begging everybody to “leave them alone because they are just normal people, too.”
However, not an hour later they will be examining a wrestler’s personal life, job status, social standing, questioning if their boss is holding them back and so much more. The craziness of the internet has essentially taken the joy out of wrestling for its fans when its sole intention was to bring fans closer together through interaction. It’s a double-edged sword of the worst kind.
Unfortunately, because of the internet, IWC, and dirt sheets, a once very private sector of sports and entertainment has become more highly scrutinized than any other sport in the world. You would never be caught dead knowing of a wrestler’s personal life unless it made the local papers about 20 years ago. Times have changed, and now every move a talent makes outside the ring impacts their status inside the ring, especially to the fans.
Last week, my colleague Jacob Stachowiak wrote a great piece about how the IWC has led to the downfall of what we once loved. Wrestling use to be fun, something we could all enjoy. But with all the scrutiny that comes with every single show — whether it be WWE, TNA, ROH, NJPW or any other promotion — professional wrestlers not only have a responsibility to entertain us but also to be sort of role models.
CM Punk’s issue that stemmed last week created a lot of buzz and deservedly so. Not only is WWE potentially losing one of their best talents, but his fans flocked to his side even though they did so for all the wrong reasons. Fans of Punk chose his side because of their undying love for his in-ring work, his promo ability, and edginess in the ring. What they don’t realize is that they are not supporting CM Punk the wrestler; they are supporting Phil Brooks the person. While Brooks had his reasons for leaving, he did so in the worst possible way. He just walked away.
Walking away from your problems is never the right answer. How many times have we been told to face our problems head-on and to work things out, never go to bed angry, don’t sweat the small stuff and other sayings of that nature? Obviously Brooks never got that message as he left everything bottle up and let his ego overtake him.
Fans of his immediately began calling for hijackings of all WWE televised programming and live events (which they failed at, by the way) all in support for a man who walked out on them willingly and didn’t give his fans a second thought. He thought of only himself and that is what is being lost in all of this. Legacy is a tricky thing. Right now, Punk’s legacy will be etched in stone as a man who got a 434-day reign as WWE Champion and had other huge accomplishments throughout his career.
Phil Brooks’ legacy will be one of a man who felt he was bigger than the company, a man who thought he was better than the absolute best in history of professional wrestling, held up the business for more money and a guarantee at more prominence (twice), continuously felt he was being unsold or “held back” in favor of other talents and away when he didn’t get his way. Remember, CM Punk and Phil Brooks are two completely different entities but in wrestling the real life person quickly molds into the on-screen character. The lines quickly get blurred and that’s something we, as fans, all need to remember.
Take, for example, somebody like John Cena. Cena, who worked his way up in the WWE for over 10 years, constantly feels like he needs to prove himself. He gives his all in every match, every promo and every public appearance. While John Cena is his actual name, Cena, the average man with a good job, has never let his success, or lack thereof, affect his on-screen character. Dirt sheets and IWC members would love to find dirt on Cena the man just so that they could berate Cena the character but they can’t.
This is because Cena realizes that as the face of the WWE he is constantly being watched. He understands the pressure that comes with being a top star, something that Brooks never realized, making his on-screen suffer because of his real life personality.
There’s a reason athletes such as Kobe Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger will forever be seen as sexual deviants. There’s a reason Michael Vick will never live down his dog fighting. Real life actions impact your on-field reactions from fans and with the creation of social media every fan can let you know exactly how they feel about you.
Oddly enough, somebody’s off-field action can change the legacy they leave behind them when they do finally call it quits. Because no matter how good you are on the field, in the ring, on the microphone or in the classroom, it all comes down to the type of person you choose to be and the actions you choose to take. Punk and Cena have each written most of their legacies. Whether they are good or bad is up for the court of public opinion to decide, as is everything else these days.
But make no mistake about it; a legacy is much more than being a good athlete, entertainer, or worker. A legacy is something everybody will leave behind, and it’s the average, everyday actions that will determine it. Wrestlers now have to watch their real life actions more closely as they are constantly scrutinized. They have the internet to thank for that. Real life actions now have an impact on the on-screen characters whether we like it or not. That is the world we live in today.
Everybody leaves a legacy but not everybody leaves a meaningful one.