This is what I've been saying for a long time now.
Nowadays, guys are doing moves to get cheap pops, or finisher kickouts/false finishes to get a cheap pop, instead of making the crowd care so much about you and the story you are telling in the ring that they will literally pop for a headlock because they are so into your character or the story of the match.
I don't want people to think I'm shitting on the guys today, because lord knows there are some amazing wrestlers on the roster today. But it just seems like, to me at least, that guys have been so beaten down with the horrendous booking they receive that, since they aren't given adequate mic time or vognettes or segments to get people more into their character, that they have to result to kicking out of finishers 3 times per match or doing crazy high spots that are dangerous as fuck as cause injury just to get the people to pop for them.
Make no mistake, this isn't the wrestlers fault. This is 100% on Vince, Creative, and the agents/producers for allowing this to happen. Wrestlers are just a different breed, if you let them they will risk life and limb just to have a memorable spot in a match. I mean look at Mick Foley, dude allowed himself to be thrown off a fucking cell because he was so determined to be a main event star and Vince had killed his character with those constant character changes between Mankind, Dude Love, and Cactus Jack. Vince told MICK afterwards he was putting a governor on him to help keep him safe. So that's what it takes for Vince to step in and tell someone to slow down? Going off a cell through a table? Why couldn't he have done that back in the summer of 2013 when Bryan originally hurt himself? He couldn't have pulled Bryan aside and told him to nix the top rope drop kick and diving headbutt?
Where is Vince when Cena and Owens are kicking out of each other's finishes 3 times each every match? Or kicking out of top rope AA's? Or when there is a random match on Raw with 2 finisher kickouts?
Guys just aren't being allowed to become great workers and storytellers anymore, because they have to compete with everyone else who is doing all these insanely dangerous high spots. I'm not the only one who has realized how much more frequently guys are suffering severe injuries than they did 15-20 years ago, right?
Bottom line, if wrestlers today were given the proper microphone and TV time to develop their characters and get audiences behind them, and I don't mean doing a scripted segment backstage or a scripted promo in the ring, I mean really letting guys speak from the heart off of some simple bullet points, fans would be reacting MORE to LESS. That's just a fact.
That's why I think it's fair to say that Rock, in his prime, was a better WORKER than most of the talent is right now, or he's at least better than a lot of the talent are ALLOWED to be today. There just aren't many stories being told in the ring anymore, and it bums me out.