[SPCDRI]

Combat sports will frequently have a situation arise where one person is bigger than the other one, but a commentator will say something like...
"I know the other guy has the weight, the height, the reach advantage, but Mr. X is a much better fighter/boxer/karate guy/whatever and has more experience."

McMahon and Hayes don't want to push people that they don't think could win in a fight in real life but they don't take experience and wrestling skill into account.

Kayfabe wise, Daniel Bryan should beat the shit out of a guy like the Great Khali. Khali was just a big fat goon who couldn't wrestle for shit. He should have never been within a mile of a championship belt.

The same holds for Morrison, who is a very experienced and flashy wrestler and a real hell of an athlete, too.

 

[TheLuchador129]

Agreed. Wrestling skill should be paramount.

 

[GreenBax]

It used to be like that. I remember a match between Hogan and Perfect where Ventura and Monsoon were picking the match apart scientifically. They went on about Hogan's sheer strength and power and how he might be too much for Perfect to handle, but then Ventura would point out Perfect's ability to adapt and use his athleticism to his advantage.

I preferred it that way.

 

[faceface]

It would be nice, but they can't. You used Khali in your example, yet he's the perfect example of why it can't work that way. Khali may be atrocious to watch for any long-time fan, but if his lack of wrestling ability meant that he had to lose every bout to maintain your idea of kayfabe, anyone supporting the guy would feel cheated every week. The reason Khali is such a good example of why this is such a problem is that many of his fans aren't drawn to him because of his talent, but because of his nationality, so instead of simply moving onto another star with a brighter future, they would feel alienated and lose interest.

In a company whose stars are decided by their ability to win over the crowd, why would you not base their credibility on the same thing? In boxing the stars are the best boxers, in amateur wrestling the stars are the best wrestlers, in MMA the stars are the best fighters. In Sports Entertainment, the stars are inevitably going to be the best entertainers.