[JAROTO]

Do you think CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are short? Because I would say that being 6'1 is tall and 5'10 is average.

They are short...average at most. I have a feeling the WWE plays a lot with heights. I'm 6'2 and I've met both...they look like midgets compared to me and I'm slim. And maybe it's not about height at all it's about looks in general. In Bryan's case it's totally his height...he is to small, besides that, he is perfect. Speaking about Punk he looks literally like a punk. I also met Taker and HHH the guys are immense they really intimidate. You know they are something special at first sight and I confess I hate HHH.

I just want to clear up that I'm talking about the new face of the WWE. There's no doubt Punk and Bryan are great. In fact they are some of my favorites right now, but you need much more to be the next icon.

 

[JAROTO]

People seem to be conflating "main eventer" and "face of the company". A small guy with the character, charisma, and wrestling ability (only big guys can get away with sucking in the ring) necessary can appropriately be given top billing.

Its having a smaller guy as champion or face of the company is where the size issue really comes into play. Its easy to buy a smaller guy as being just plain better than the majority of big guys. Its another thing entirely to present a smaller than average wrestler as THE best wrestler in the promotion.

Exactly what I'm trying to say. English is not my first language and sometimes I have a little trouble to explain myself. Thanks.

 

[Loudness]

What does Bryan beeing a manlet have to do with his skills? Guess nobody read my post lol. It's all about believeability, and as long as WWE books the smaller guys right (especially in the storytelling/psychology department, not just match results) and make them out as a big deal I don't think they will fail, assuming they have everything else in place.

 

[Eddie Ray]

In my opinion smaller guys are healthier and suffer less health problems post retirement due to carrying around less weight and having better stamina...I think leaner physiques should be encouraged. It looks better and its better for their health. Carrying around too much muscle can be just as bad as carrying around too much fat, its bad for the heart. For god sakes, Ryback looks uncomfortably big, like someone blows him up with a tyre pump before each match...

 

[JAROTO]

What does Bryan beeing a manlet have to do with his skills? Guess nobody read my post lol. It's all about believeability, and as long as WWE books the smaller guys right (especially in the storytelling/psychology department, not just match results) and make them out as a big deal I don't think they will fail, assuming they have everything else in place.

I got what you said. I liked your post. For example building Daniel Bryan like being a Chuck Norris, right? I mean Norris doesn't look impresive in any ways yet we all look at him like an invincible guy. I think it could be done, but they should have to build an immense campaign to support it and he would have to beat clean and square guys like the Rock and Lesnar and Cena to gain this kind of credibility. It would awesome if the WWE could build Bryan like that because he is great in every sense.

 

[Starbuck]

Smaller guys can be main eventers and champions but they can't be the 'face of the company' because they simply don't fit the bill. Guys in that position have to strike a chord with the masses, the casual fans and history has proven that it's the big, ripped, muscular, charismatic and aesthetically pleasing guys who are accepted in that role, not the smaller types. Hogan, Rock, Austin > HBK, Hart, Eddie.

 

[just1988]

If Floyd Mayweather can draw, then anybody can draw in pro-wrestling given the right push no matter how big/small.

 

[ChickMagnet12]

HBK says hi. Didn't HBK keep the WWF within touching distance of WCW during the days where the gulf in the quality of the shows was at it's largest?

As someone else said, if it entertains me it gets my money. Each one to their own though. If you're a fan and you care about ratings...well you should have a real good think to yourself. I don't see people watching Dexter or Breaking Bad and having ratings as their main talking point after, but maybe that's just what WWE has become, so poor people only find ratings to have a good debate on.

 

[Starbuck]

If Floyd Mayweather can draw, then anybody can draw in pro-wrestling given the right push no matter how big/small.

Boxing/MMA comparisons don't work when it comes to a 'fake' TV show. With boxers and MMA fighters everybody knows they are fighting in a legitimate competitive event. There is no suspension of disbelief because it's real. In WWE, that isn't the case and they aren't the same thing. The vast majority of casual fans are tuning in to see the guys they won't normally see on the street everyday. That's why Daniel Bryan could never do or be to them what John Cena is to them. It doesn't work that way. I hate to drag this up but just look at the problems Punk is having and he isn't even that small. Getting people to buy into you as a main event star is one thing. Getting them to buy into you as THE main even star is something different entirely. You need to have the physical presence to pull it off which is once again why guys like Cena play the leading man role and guys like Bryan play as a member of the supporting cast.

 

[Mister Hands]

The only size that matters for main eventing is the size of the reaction you get. That's why Del Rio, one of the most ostensibly perfect main eventers in the WWE, tends to kinda stink when he's main eventing, but Bryan could absolutely slot back in at any point. As for being the face of the company, just take that main event field, and pick the guy you trust, who's working the hardest. Punk didn't fail as face of the company, he was never even positioned as it. He's just sort of occupying whatever space WWE can't use Cena to fill. Orton probably suffered from that too, come to think of it.

 

[Evil Peter]

Small guys might not draw, but I don't choose my entertainment based on what attracts the biggest part of the masses. I look for quality and the best wrestlers in history, as far as my tastes go, have been smaller guys. Jericho, Guerrero, Benoit, Punk etc are people I'd always pick over the big roid monkeys. Of course there has been a few big men that's been really good as well. I was always interested in seeing Lesnar in the ring, but Nash was definitely never one of those.

Boxing/MMA comparisons don't work when it comes to a 'fake' TV show. With boxers and MMA fighters everybody knows they are fighting in a legitimate competitive event. There is no suspension of disbelief because it's real. In WWE, that isn't the case and they aren't the same thing. The vast majority of casual fans are tuning in to see the guys they won't normally see on the street everyday. That's why Daniel Bryan could never do or be to them what John Cena is to them. It doesn't work that way. I hate to drag this up but just look at the problems Punk is having and he isn't even that small. Getting people to buy into you as a main event star is one thing. Getting them to buy into you as THE main even star is something different entirely. You need to have the physical presence to pull it off which is once again why guys like Cena play the leading man role and guys like Bryan play as a member of the supporting cast.

While I agree to a point I don't think it's as drastic of a difference as you put it. In boxing/MMA you still have the lingering aspect that the smaller guys can't beat the HW's, so the best fighter in practical terms is the best HW. What the weight classes show, however, is that there are other ways of defining what "the best" is. It can, for example, be the guy with the best technique, which you won't find in the HW division.

Even in boxing/MMA you'll still generally get the less educated masses the most interested in the HW's, so the phenomenon is still there. Of course the biggest current draws are Mayweather Jr and GSP, in their respective sports, so it is possible to change that, and the same should be possible in wrestling. It would take some work to get there though, just as it took time before people started getting real interest in the lower weight classes in boxing when it began.

 

[Jupiter Jack Daniels]

As for a smaller guy who could have made it as face of the company, I feel Jericho would have been up for it. One of the few smaller guys at the time who had the complete package.

I view the Benoit/Guerrero pushes similar to the HBK/Bret pushes. Vince was coming off of losing his 2 biggest stars and had to do something to keep the wheels turning and took a chance. It both cases, it benefited the careers of those involved, but not so much WWE. Also, Bret was given 4-5 years as the top main eventer in the company, with HBK close by. Benoit & Guerrero would bounce around between main event to mid card because, IMO, it was never Vince's intention to make either man a legit main eventer, considering WWE had been grooming Cena & Orton to become stars, 2 guys who mirrored the recipe of success that Vince hit big with nearly 20 years prior.

Also, I can't help but think that if Brock never left, possibly Eddie, Chris or both would have never got that main event opportunity, as Brock staying would have really shook things up.

 

[Dusty Roids]

Do you think CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are short? Because I would say that being 6'1 is tall and 5'10 is average.

Well I know Bryan once said he was 5'8 and I'm not sure about Punk.

Punk isn't that short at all. He is about the same height as Cena which is normal. Punk just isn't roided up like cena and that's why people refer him as a small guy. Punk has well build arms/legs but his core is not that special.

 

[stonefort]

The comparison to boxing isn't very useful. Mayweather only fights one night a year. Pacquiao fights two nights a year. And it's a real sport.

Whoever is the face of WWE has to star 52x a year in a weekly TV show and 13x a year in PPVs. And that's not counting all the house shows.

Size is a huge part of what pro wrestling is about. You have to look the part -- just like with any TV show. Casual fans just aren't that interested in seeing slim, fit guys wrestle -- except as the exception. You can have an occasional Jeff Hardy type build. An occasional Daniel Bryan (who has added a lot of muscle mass since he's joined WWE and is no longer slim.)

And most of the smaller guys who've succeeded -- HBK, Guerrero, etc -- were super-jacked. HBK was huge in his earlier years. Compare their physique to typical UFC fight physiques.

Anderson Silva is 6'2 and fights at 185. GSP is 5'10 170. (These are fighting weights) Carlos Condit is 6'2 170. Benson Henderson is 5'9, 155.

Compared to UFC fighters, even the smaller WWE guys carry around huge amounts of upper body mass.

You could have a show filled with super-fit, 6'0 170 lb legit UFC guys jumping around the ring and people just wouldn't watch. They would just look too small.

This doesn't mean there isn't a place for smaller guys in WWE -- even at the main event level -- just that the norm will always be the bigger guys. Especially for whoever is the face of the company (Hogan, Austin, Rock, Triple H, Cena, etc).

 

[dude69]

Re: Small guys as Main Eventers.

I don't care if a stripper has B cups or Double D tits, entertain me...just entertain me and you'll draw my money.

good example

 

[BehindYou]

I don't think it should matter but ultimately big strong guys get over, especially with young boys who really look up to that kind of thing

 

[RDClip]

I don't think it should matter but ultimately big strong guys get over, especially with young boys who really look up to that kind of thing

That's not a great thing to promote to kid (since i guess WWE is a kids company now). Kids can succeed only if they are born with exceptional genes that would allow them to be 6'4" and build 260lbs of muscle.

WWE could try to push a small guy as a every-man type dude. Daniel Bryan is the perfect example. He is average in height/build Spent 10 years working his ass off to make his dreams come true. Incurred many injuries but pushed on when many people would have quit. And finally makes it to the top. Thats a great success story and people love stories of the underdog that comes through with willpower and determination.

 

[HEELKris]

I hate those stupid ''small guys'', it looks so gay when they beat a guy who's twice their size. Main eventers should look like WRESTLERS. Intimidating, not boring midgets. Eat vegetables and lift some weights. You have to actually do more than be spot monkies. You have to do promos that are actually good, you have to put asses in seats, at least more than 50 chairs, which is what you all are used to. And you have to draw a crowd, at least more than 100 people, which are the only people who want to watch indy wrestling. WWE needs to put titles on big men like Ryback

 

[RDClip]

I hate those stupid ''small guys'', it looks so gay when they beat a guy who's twice their size. Main eventers should look like WRESTLERS. Intimidating, not boring midgets. Eat vegetables and lift some weights. You have to actually do more than be spot monkies. You have to do promos that are actually good, you have to put asses in seats, at least more than 50 chairs, which is what you all are used to. And you have to draw a crowd, at least more than 100 people, which are the only people who want to watch indy wrestling. WWE needs to put titles on big men like Ryback

And Zeke and Mason Ryan and Khali and any other talentless body builder that wants to be on TV.

Not saying Ryback suck as much as them, but just being big shouldn't qualify someone to be a top guy. If there is a big guy that has the skill and endurance to go in the ring, I am fine with it. I was okay with it when Brock was going to be the no.1 guy (even though I thought he was best as a heel)

People would pay to see a average-height guy if WWE booked them well. To be an action star doesn't require a actor to be 6'6". Christian Bale isn't nearly as big as the comics portray Batman as, but the Dark Knight trilogy has made a crapload of money. Even in the age of excess known as the 80's (especially in action movies) Stallone (5'9") was just as popular as Arnie (6'2").

 

[2K JAY]

Size doesn't matter. I can enjoy both Rey Mysterio and The Undertaker.