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I apologize for the long period between columns. My new work schedule is a bear. To make up for this, I promise to have something special to present in April.
Random Question: Who is the future of WWE? Cena, Orton, Batista, etc....
THE END OF THE ROAD
They fly from post to post and mat to mat as if they had invisible wings. They can hurl men twice their size across the ring with little effort. Their bodies look like chisled marble. Inspiring music pounds and blasts through the air when they make their entrances and appears again at their victories. The people in the stands watch in awe and worship them. They are our heroes, and sometimes they seem invincible to us.
They are, however, mortal. A lifetime of wear and tear on the human body can break down even the greatest giant and most proficient athlete. Sooner or later, they reach that breaking point where they must say "Enough. It's time to go home." As it is with everyone and everything in this finite world, our favorite wrestlers reach the end of the road.
Who? Who amoung the WWE roster is ready to hang up their boots? Who is looking over the horizon at a life without backbreakers and superplexes off the top ropes? Who is ready to lie down on the canvas and look up at those sparkling lights just one last time? With wrestling still somewhat of a guarded business, we are forced mostly to speculate. With that in mind, let's begin.
--BOOKER T--
Booker Tio Huffman was born on May 1st, 1965. Before making it big in professional wrestling, Booker was arrested for robbing a Wendy's. It was an inside job since he was working there at the time. No, this was not some storyline WWE made up to feul the Triple H vs. Booker T feud of years past. It is legitimate. Fortunately for Booker, he turned his life around and made his way into wrestling in 1989. Older fans might remember Booker as G.I. Bro and with tag team partner and real life brother Stevie Ray. With Ray, Booker T formed a tag team once called the Ebony Experience and later called Harlem Heat in World Championship Wrestling.
Booker T, through no fault of his own, was one of the figures in a very controversial night in pro wrestling. Then WCW honcho Vince Russo was having troubles with Hulk Hogan and could no longer deal with him. For whatever reason, the match between Hogan and Jarrett turned into Jarrett lying down two seconds into it and allowing Hogan to put a boot over him and finish the match. Hogan was irate. Russo made a speech later about Hogan and how he admired men like Jeff Jarrett and Booker T went out every night and gave their best. Hogan was "stripped" of the title and the match to decide the new WCW Champion was Jarrett vs. Booker T. Guess who won?
Unfortunately for Booker, WCW did not last all that much longer. He enjoyed five reigns as the champion and then resurfaced in WWF when McMahon bought what was left of his competition. Since then, Booker has been placed in tag teams, singles feuds, and even a Wrestlemania world championship feud with Triple H. After that, we began to hear rumor of Booker T getting ready to retire. He was aging and ready to move on. His store in his native Houston, Jam Zone, could be enough for him post-wrestling, right? Yet, a couple years later, he's still in the business. Word came through some time last year about Booker not ready to hang it up just yet.
Has that changed recently? Last year, Booker T signed a one-year contract extension with WWE. This made some believe he only had one year left in him, but Booker does not quite see it that way according to this interview from Flagship News:
"I didn’t sign a one-year deal just so I could leave after one year. I signed the one-year deal just so I could feel comfortable wrestling year by year. I’m not 25 anymore so I don’t know how I’m going to feel from year to year. Right now I feel great. Next year and the following year I could feel great. You just never know and I want to give the company the benefit of having a fresh Booker T that wants to go out there and work. Not a Booker T that’s just on the roster getting paid."
In other words, Booker T's career in the next couple years is very much up in the air. He may be with us well into his forties like so many other wrestlers who stay into middle age. Though, the fact that he plans short-term is very telling. Not to mention the fact that he recently opened a wrestling school with Stevie Ray.
--THE UNDERTAKER--
Mark Calloway was born March 24th, 1962. He made his debut in 1989 under a mask as Texas Red and then another mask as The Punisher. It did not take long for the mainstream promotions to notice this giant. WCW had him in their newborn company as "Mean" Mark Callous. Unfortunately for WCW and very fortunately for WWF, he left the former and joined the latter as The Undertaker. The man from the dark side. The dead man. He appeared as a surprise during the 1990 Survivor Series and became WWF Champion only one year later.
Undertaker continued his success in WWF with feuds against Shawn Michaels, Mankind, Yokozuna, Brock Lesnar and countless others. 'Taker has been with the McMahons a very long time. He has stayed with the company for the last fifteen years. He has enjoyed title reigns, slightly altered gimmicks over the years, and particularly lucractive contracts. Not only worth a lot of money but also valuable in other ways. His current contract allows him to work a very limited schedule compared to everyone else on the WWE roster. Part of this is because the Undertaker will be forty-three years old later this week, and part of it is because...well...he's the freaking Undertaker. He can do what he wants.
Of course, we know all of that. So, where does the Undertaker stand in terms of his future? Is he near retirement? A few signs point to "yes" and some to a big fat "no." First, as previously indicated, the Undertaker is not a young man anymore. I do not have his medical records, but we have to wager that his body is not what it once was. How could it be? Now, with that being said, can he still go in the ring? Yes and no. He has not actually slowed down much from what he was years ago. He always had a slow pace. He was a monster, after all. That brings up another point. He hasn't really destroyed his body over the years with a lot of high-risk, daredevil manuevers. Undertaker has played it pretty smart. So, what is his physical condition at present? Strong enough to wrestle but not enough for a full-time schedule. That's the best one can say based on the facts as we have them.
What is another reason he might be on his way out? The upcoming Wrestlemania match with Randy Orton. Popular wisdom says the Legend Killer will finally end the Undertaker's massive 'Mania winning streak. The entire feud is based around it. If WWE is ready to do this, they must know the Undertaker is in the twilight of his career and is ready to put over the young talent. Of course, that is only speculation. The main possibility of Undertaker staying is that, as I mentioned, he's the freaking Undertaker. He's pretty much always be over with the crowd. Some might roll their eyes at his outdated gimmick, but the fans in attendance seem to love it. WWE may want to keep the Undertaker around as long as they can, and the Undertaker himself probably would not mind considering his easy schedule and big paychecks.
When is his contract up? Old information says May of this year, but that almost certainly out of date. He probably has had an extension since then.
--RIC FLAIR--
Richard Fliehr was born February 25, 1949. I could write a five-part column about "Nature Boy" Ric Flair's achievements throughout his long career, but for the purposes of this article, I will summarize. Flair made his debut 1972, and for the past thirty-three years has dominated professional wrestling in this country. He may not be as big of a mainstream name as Hulk Hogan, but Flair had what Hogan did not: actual wrestling ability. Flair captured the NWA, WWF, and WCW Championships in his spectacular career and has earned world championships even more times than WWE television has claimed recently. For more on that, click HERE for a previous story.
Few can claim to have had nearly as much success and longevity as Ric Flair. Not only has he earned all the top prizes but he has done it for so many years. He turned fifty-six last month and it still wrestling part-time on Raw as Triple H's sometimes manager and sometimes tag partner. There are other wrestlers who are still going in their fifties, but most of them are embarrassing to watch. Flair was past his prime a decade ago, but he can still go reasonably well for a man his age. Better right now than some on the Raw roster (I'm looking at you, Snitsky) will ever wrestle as long as they live.
So, after thirty years of wrestling, what is the Nature Boy's physical condition? Well, he still has a lot of muscle for a man his age, but it is obvious his body is wearing down. Even legends need to take a breather. When Chris Benoit chops Flair's chest, it doesn't become red. It turns black. Flair also has many nagging injuries. His knees are said to be in poor condition if memory serves. All the injury reports I read say that while Flair is breaking down, he still wants to wrestle as best he can. Will he retire soon? He is done wrestling full-time, but will he hang up his dazzling robes for good?
The strange thing is that I have a feeling that WWE will keep Ric Flair around for a long time. Even when Flair is ready to pretty much call it quits in the ring, he'll still be around backstage or in a role as Triple H's second in command. Even when he breaks down, does that mean he won't wrestle one more match somewhere down that road? Well, Jerry "The King" Lawler is retired from the ring, and he is called to work a match once or twice a year. The same with Sgt. Slaughter. I have this feeling that Flair will be more or less the same. Never truly gone until he is walking around with a cane.
That brings me to the conclusion of this column. Are these wrestlers ready to retire? Maybe. A lot of signs are pointing to it. Not only these men but others as well. Kurt Angle is said to be deteriorating. A recent interview had him claim that the strength in his arms have decreased greatly and that his neck will never be what it once was. Are our heroes going away? Possibly, but I am not too worried about never seeing them again. If professional wrestling has proven it has one standard rule, it is this:
Everyone always comes back.
