I'm not even going to preface this blog by first saying I'm a big Seth Rollins fan. I've stated that publicly dozens of times on my daily PodcastOne show. Seth Rollins is one of the only wrestlers on the entire, active WWE roster that both acts, and makes you believe that he's actually "mad". With the exception of maybe a Rusev, the majority of the many one-dimensional performers on the show are too busy cracking really bad jokes, instead of putting real emotion and effort into attempting to make you believe that they actually CARE ABOUT defeating their opponents.
So . . . I like Seth Rollins.
Now, if you've followed me over the years, you know that I don't usually talk out of school. I tend to "stay in my lane" and talk about what I know best and that's writing and producing. Very rarely do I criticize what happens between the ropes during a match, simply because I AM NOT A WRESTLER. Many of you bozos out there who actually critique wrestling matches for websites -- that nobody are reading -- should take heed to those words.
Unfortunately, after seriously injuring now three wrestlers within basically the same year, it's time for somebody to smarten up Seth Rollins and explain to him that wrestling is a "work". And, for those of you who have forgotten, and many have, being a "work" means that wrestling is fake, but the art is in "working" the audience to believe that the fight they're seeing is indeed real.
Thus, you "work" the crowd.
Also, as part of that work, as a performer your job is to "protect" your opponent. You're responsibility is to make sure he doesn't get hurt in "the work". In turn, he returns that favor. But, let's face it, "work", or no "work", guys/gals are going to get hurt. Wrestling is a physical contact sport, and somewhere along the line there is going to be a certain level of "error" on somebody's part. However, with Seth Rollins, we're not just talking about error, but rather at times reckless abandon.
The three instances where wrestlers were seriously hurt on Rollins' dime, were just outright acts of aggression -- there was no "work" involved. I mean, the guy practically caved in John Cena's face. He hurled a 50 year-old man in Sting so hard in the corner that the guy literally looked like a rag doll. And then at SummerSlam, he powerbombed Finn Balor with such force into the ringside boards, that the now former champ is going to be sitting on the sidelines and watching for the next six months.
It's a "work", Seth, a "work". How many times are we going to hide under the guise of it being an "accident". Guys train for years to actually prevent "accidents" from happening in a "worked" fight---there is actually an art to that. And, truth be told, if guys down at the WWE Performance Center are indeed hurting people due to not knowing how to "work", guess what---they're staying down at the Performance Center.
Man, people have lost sight of what exactly a professional wrestling match is. It's supposed to be simple, easy, and if you're a pro---the risk of injury should be minimized. I recently read a blog where Bret Hart stated that he never hurt an opponent in TWENTY-THREE years. Do you realize how many matches Bret must have had over that time? That's what the business is "supposed" to be . . . it's supposed to be a "work".
So, just to kind of break this down to the simplest form, if certain wrestlers are working with a reckless abandon in an effort to simply get those "This is Awesome" chants---that are more childish than blowing and popping bubbles---from a select crowd of people that have never risen to an athletic level say beyond a game of kick ball---I hope it's all worth it when that ridiculous mindset forces you to not only watch from the sidelines with your wing in a sling, but also figure out what you're going to be doing at 40 years-old when you're broken body won't even allow you to put your feet on the floor in the morning.
I promise you, there won't be "This is Awesome" chants then.
