Okay so there have been lots of tales of wrestlers not wanting to do jobs. Some examples include:

Austin (this happens often LOL) - didn't wanna work with Mero after Sable cucked him... Jarrett wasn't on his level and the famous one with THE BROCK.

Hogan is famous for "doesn't work with me"

Shawn obviously with the smile.

HHH got it a bit. Obviously by 2021 he has spent ample time on his back. We heard it in 2002 and the answer always falls on "never refused" which never really felt like the answer to give that kills the politician accusation. I guess it means he never disagrees with what Vince wants, but doesn't deny that he probably gives Vince those ideas LOL.

You don't really hear about that anymore. So far I can't recall hearing about too many "modern" guys refusing angles and jobs. I suppose you could argue Cena against Nexus at Survivor Series or wherever where they had Cena overcome the odds to kill their heat instead of prolonging things. The frustration always was on creative, never Cena for refusing to give back. If anything you could argue he did it too much, even before his career was on part-time status.

Maybe CM Punk was the last guy? He feels like a different era than the NXT guys though. Like Adam Cole probably watched him growing up! It was always said he had NUCLEAR HEATZ, but I dunno if that was just drama the IWC created. He certainly told us he refused to wrestle HHH @ Mania, but the match never happened so it doesn't count. And obviously if he was able to get his way there would be no "favors" or HHH and Kevin Nash bullshit. But it sure seemed like he cared enough to be the best. Maybe just a bad politician?

But like these indy guys coming up once NXT went vogue? The new guys? The new day? Charlotte rumors?

It might be like BSK and maybe I'm just not paying attention, but I really don't recall hearing rumors like that anymore.

So to the thread title. One of the criticism of the newer generation is there's no passion. No drive. That #1 rule that guys like Austin and JR say all the time. If you're not here to be #1, well why are you here? Basically implying midcarders are shit. But I see the complaints that AEW is camp. So maybe if the company isn't DEDSRS, how can we as fans take anything serious? That's the big difference between wrestling and other mediums. They might wink wink at the 4th wall, but other than Deadpool they are being subtle about it. It's not a 2 hour movie telling you THIS SHIT IS FAKE YO.

So maybe since it IS fake that's why kayfabe was so cherished. Because if people are "in" on the con, it doesn't really work.

So the AEW generation. Team TWITCH. Do you guys think most are simply "just happy to be here?". One criticism to why everything sucks is no one wants to rock the boat. No one is a true star these days. You can't replace Austin like that. They got lucky with Rock, but usually it's just one mega star if you're lucky. But Kevin Owens? Look how many guys are waiting for a top spot in NXT and to be signed? He's replaceable. So he won't say shit. No one rocks the boat.

No one is truly passionate about a spot. Any spot will do. It's less being the best in the business and simply getting product out there to be noticed for sponsors.

Is that needed? Like if Reigns suddenly was reported to have heat for refusing to work with losers... is that something to hate him for? Shouldn't we rather hate the geeks dweebs and dorks who don't care enough to want things done right or who are complacent just to be invited to the show? I'm not saying they don't give it 110%, but with all the time playing vidya and being concerned about that... maybe they aren't?

Come on, you're infringing on my gimmick.



I'll add more later. Kenny Omega did something silly recently. He and The Good Brothers gave 3 jobbers actual minutes.

Kenny Omega is your World Champion - the man who conquered Japan. MGKA might be the best all rounder on the roster. And Gallows is a monster. All 3 men are part of the most dominant and influential faction of the last 20 years. Belt collectors. Main Eventers, etc. And they gave these jokers time.

This should have been a 30 second mauling. But instead they wanted to " have a good match "

This says it all. If The Avengers ran into a handful of amateur boxers wearing bumbags and the fight lasted anything more than 30 seconds, what hope do they have saving the world?

Booking is key, and it's lost at the expense of workrate. And it extends further than putting two names together and calling yourself a booker.

AJ Styles is another example. He wanted to be TNA's top dog and get paid well for it. He also wanted to go out there every week and wrestle his friends in long matches - he did that. Most of which were midcard guys. He'd wrestle Kaz or Dutt for 20 minutes. And suddenly you're telling me the guy that took 20 minutes to put Kaz away is capable of defeating Sting or Angle? It doesn't make sense in kayfabe.

Consistency in booking is key also. You want to " have a good match " save that for the house show.

Low Ki makes me laugh. Years ago he knocked a guy out in literally the first second of the match. Stone cold, dead to the world KO. Instead of doing the walk off, he then begins to stomp the prone and possibly concussed opponent. Psychology at the expense of, well lack of intelligence on the fly.



So, in short 😉 there's a real lack of understanding of psychology (don't confuse workrate with psychology) and storytelling in wrestling right now. Especially in AEW.