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Well no offence to the chick, but who cares what she thinks? My guess is that whether Batista or RVD was being pushed, she wont be buying tickets to a wrestling event.
I dont think anyone on the net thinks that wrokrate is the main determinant when it comes to who to push. I mean most of us were around for Hogan's run on top and then for the Bret/HBK era. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that if workrate was key, HBK and Bret would have sold out arenas every night and Hogan would have been screwed in Montreal.
But, just like being a good worker isn't a recipe for great business, being a huge guy isn't a recipe for great business either. Undertaker did well as a big man, but he's not one of the top draws of all time, and guys like Nash and Sid are considered the worst champions when it comes to business.
The biggest PPV draw in WWE history is The Rock, now he wasn't Benoit in the ring, but he was an above average worker, if fact I'll go so far as to say he was a very good in ring performer. Steve Austin who sold more merchandise than anyone else and made Vince a billionaire for a while there, isn't a big man, and he was a helluva worker. You could say they all had great looks, but they were also great workers.
So, there is no winning formula. The problem I have with the business is Vince's inability to create new stars when they are needed to sustain business. Thats not to say Chris Benoit will set business on fire, but whats wrong with giving him a legit chance. Why is it that Benoit was mid card for life for the past 4 years and never gven a chance to run with the ball, yet Big Show gets chance after chance, and he's never done any good for business? Why does A-Train get pushed over RVD? Why is Hunter still on top even though he does nothing positive for business? These questions have nothing to do with workrate, its about paying attention to business, and being able to make tough decisions.
The other problem is that everyone nowadays looks like they came out of a cookie cutter. Wrestling is about being able to connect with fans, and not everyone on a wrestling show can do it. Its even more difficult to accomplish this when everyone has the same gimmick of being north of 6'4 and jacked up. I mean I would challenge her to tell the difference between Cade and Jindrak, or between O'Haire and Batista, or Orlando, well he's black he sticks out a little. But you get the point that everyone of the new guys has the same look. John Cena wasn't going anywhere until he got a gimmick, then he started to catch on, now he's arguably one of the top 2 or 3 faces in the whole company. John Cena the jacked up guy in tights wans't over, but John Cena the Dr of Thuganomics is on fire.
Or take Mick Foley, if your girlfirend were to see him from back in the day she might say "what an out of shape fashion nightmare" and seem disinterested. But we all know that Mick is one of the top performers of all time. Int he current WWE world a Mick Foley wouldn't even get into an OVW tryout camp let alone in the WWE. Thats sad, because in wrestling there isn't one forumla that makes a great wrestler, you need a cast of characters.
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