Mar 01 2009
Out with the old, in with the new….
Recently I’ve notcied a somewhat odd yet fitting trend in wrestling. In the coming days it seems we’ve been barraged with an onslaught of storylines that deal with the relative dynamics of youth and age. Indeed, in both WWE and TNA, it seems the new vs. old motif is popping up like a case of the clap after a drunken one-night stand you had with that cute blond chick you met at the local watering hole (you know who I’m talking about).
Whether it’s the Legend Killer (and Hotel Room Kiler as well) Randy Orton facing off against Triple H for the umpteenth time or the Main Event Mafia/Frontline storyline they’ve got going on in Jarrett-land, we see the tension between the yungsters and the elder guard being worked out on stage. Indeed, who hasn’t felt the ire and the sense of being imprisoned under one’s parents? The children and the teenagers of any generation will rail against their guardians for any number of reasons: they feel their ways of being are outdated and corrupting the current status of life, that they’re being controlled and thus their creative potential goes crmincally untapped, or maybe us twentysomethings just want to get fucked up every day and not get bitched at for it. Whatever our grievances, there will always be a sort of passive conflict as the culture of today become the old farts of tommorrow, destined to man the helm of pop culture and rob us of our voices being expressed.
Indeed, in wrestling the prize of rookies is not to be understated. Wrestling is a novice’s game, no matter what the boys in the back or the dirt sheet writers will tell you. Steve Austin may pop a crowd but the person they’ve ultimately come to see is John Cena or Batista or whatever fresh face (Batista is a fresh face in fans’ eyes, not God’s, ust to clarify before you smarks throw the book at me) Vince is pushing at the moment. Because of the physical toll wrestling takes on the body, and the wear-and-tear of injuries accured, the older stars are often either pushed down the mid-card or, if they are capable and have paid their dues and stuck it out with the company through the years, are accorded a sort of “wise old man” status. This is why Shawn Michaels will always have a spot at the top of the cards. The seasoned veterans are useful because they have a lot to teach the up-and-comers and can make a rising star look like a million bucks. But the fact that many of the big names—Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper—-can’t take a bump without needing another hip replacement should tell you something about the virtues of youth.
With the recent Chris Jericho attacks the legends and Carlito’s dissing of the Nature Boy a few years ago developments, the topic of angry, rising youth has become more central than ever. Despite the speed and energy associated with youth, remember that there is a rail, raw sort of emotion that comes with it. Remember Orton’s numerous shoot attacks on the fans? Let’s not even get into Jeff Hardy’s *ahem* obstacles to say the least, since I feel that’s been beaten into the ground. With inexperience comes, well, inexperience. They make rash judgements and aren’t yet used to the pressures of life and fame. It’s like you when you got your first car and your mom busted you for smokng dope and having sex with your fuckbuddy, only tis imagine it’s broadcast on national tv and over a million peple scutinize it. Does’t seem so simple now, does it?
Wrestling occupies a unique postmodern niche because, as a self-aware theatre of fiction, it can take real-life conflicts and concerns and discussions about them via matches. It seems the underlying debate between trusting unproven and hot-headed postadolescent superstars and relying on tried-and-true company men at the expense of the product being stale is being given attention on my televison screen every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (and Sunday, if I’m lucky). Much like Carl Jung pointed out the collective unconcious and how everyone has the same basic thoughts, in both companies we see Kurt Angle battle AJ Styles much like Edge has to fend off the Game. I, for one, will be excited and eager to see just what this has in store for the future.
