A question of heat and overness

[Guest jester]

Ok, forgive this rambling preamble to my question, but once I get to the point I think there’s a very interesting topic here:

 

There’s been a lot of talk on this board lately about how guys like Angle and Jericho shouldn’t be made to look bad at the hands of guys like Edge, Cena, etc. There’s even talk that guys like Angle and Jericho should not even be feuding with guys like that to begin with because they should be well above them. The reasoning is that this will bring the bigger guys down. On the other hand, guys like Triple H are criticized for not taking one for the promotion and not making their opponents look like credible threats. I gather the theory, though unspoken, is that there’s only so much heat and overness to go around, and for one guy to go up, another has to go down, at least somewhat.

 

Ok, here’s the meat of my question. Is it possible for two wrestlers to feud, and after the blowoff, BOTH be more over or more credible then they were before? Or at least, one guy is elevated, but his opponent doesn’t drop down in stature, but stays at the same level and does not look weaker or have his credibility damaged? In other words, both heel and face come out of a feud looking better?

 

I haven’t really been watching wrestling long enough to get a sense of this. I think some of the legendary battles, like Steamboat/Savage might apply. Those guys murdered each other in the ring for the better part of the night. Steamboat won, but I don’t think Savage looked any worse because he’d just fought the match of a lifetime, and it's clear lesser wrestlers would have been done much earlier (from the kayfabe view, anyway).

 

Long time wrestling fans, any thoughts? Or can you think of any examples?

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

The answer is I think so.

 

I think thats what ended up happening with the Rock/HHH feud before they were WWF champs.

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

Rock/HHH is a great example. Another would be Flair/Steamboat and IMO, HHH/Foley.

[Guest jester]

Ok, do you guys think that could happen again with the current product? Who could do it?

 

For example, was there a way for Jericho/HHH to feud over the belt and both come away looking good (Backstage antics aside)?

[Guest The Man in Blak]

I'll throw in the Razor Ramon/Shawn Michaels IC feud, which basically made both guys.

 

You could also say the same with Cactus Jack/Triple H, as the feud essentially defined Triple H and, in the process, kept Foley's respectability at a fairly high level.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I think it COULD happen today.

 

I honestly think that if RVD and Eddy had a few more matches they would have stolen the spotlight away from everyone else and been more credible as top guys as a result.

[Guest JHawk]

I think the closest thing I can think of recently was the Angle-Benoit feud from 2001. Angle, the former WWF champion, wasn't seen like much once his reign ended. By the end of that feud, Benoit's feuding with Austin at the top of the card, and Angle was to face (even over The Rock) during the first half of the InVasion.

[Guest Austin3164life]

Both Austin and Bret Hart looked golden in their awesome feud. No one really "went over". Of course, Montreal just suddenly happened and Austin "went over" I guess. But neither man went over the other, as both looked like true wrestling gods during their feud.

[Guest Shaved Bear]

i think a Benoit/RVD fued can absolutley push them into the main event, I mean if they can put on a string of ****+ matches for a few months, than there is no way that the crowd won't begin to notice

[Guest Mad the Swine]

About the only two components needed to allow a wrestler to keep his heat are:

 

The match is good (believable).

The finish is credible.

 

Of course, you need decent to solid booking behind the match. And you need guys that aren't afraid of making the other person in the ring look good.

 

If all are established, you can lose all year and still keep your heat.

 

An example:

 

Ric Flair doesn't win many matches. And he's still very over. The Mid-Atlantic (George Scott) did a wonderful job setting up Flair to fight at the top of the card. Other wrestlers and other promoters were nice enough and smart enough to let him go over in matches. If the match was good and the fans were riled in the right way, it could be a money-making endeavour for everybody involved.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Bret/Austin is a great example. The feud made Bret a Top-tier heel and Austin a top-tier face.