I would like to start todays blog by thanking those who not only read, but intelligently respond to the material within, through facebook posts & comments listed on this page.

I have never made a claim to being the smartest guy in the wrestling game & I have always enjoyed a spirited debate- I do,however, have a real distaste for the type of guys who hide behind aliases & call names and make pointless, pathetic criticisms ( Hey, u suck!)

If you're aren't willing to speak your peace & stand your ground, and just want to have a pointless pissing match, this is probably the wrong place for you anyway- but luckily, none of you have dipped so low...and I hope it stays that way.
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I got to thinking this morning about the role of the babyface in the overall presentation of professional wrestling, & I believe I have come to a conclusion why there are so few true babyfaces these days: no one wants to be likeable, or HOW to be likeable.

I take this back to my earliest days in wrestling, when we were all learning the ropes & getting our ideas together on who we were & who we wanted to be- and I don't recall one of us wanting to be a "good guy" in the ring. We all wanted to be the mean, vicious badass that took no crap from anyone-which, ultimately, is a babyface role, anyway- see how little we knew? :)

The reason is kinda simple, if you think about it: It is very,very hard to make people like you in almost every situation- its kind of an impossible task, is it not? Of course-but the traditional wrestling babyface has had to constantly be the type to "pull the girl off the train track" type who is selflless, non ego driven , & heroic. Now, amongst us, who the hell can pull that off on a daily basis?

The much easier route in wrestling, of course, is to play the part of villian- or heel- which requires less time focused on being likeable.  However, too many guys walk out, sneer, yell at the fans to "shut up", and overreact- which oftentimes doesn't lend itself to credibility- and it sure doesn't mean you know what you're doing out there in the ring.

I have always felt that each role should have certain traits, and that both require significant effort. But being a babyface is much,much harder than being a heel.

In a not so far away land ( actually, it was mostly right here in the USA) in a time not so long ago ( 30-50 years) EVERYONE started out as a babyface. EVERYONE. And I believe there were reasons for this- and the main reason may surprise you, but if you look at it logically, it makes perfect sense.

This may come as a shock to alot of you younger wrestlers reading this, based on how the layout of matches takes place today, but not so long ago, the HEEL dictated the entire match- the "high spots", the "false comebacks"  etc. ALL OF IT. Every moment of every match was called by the Bad Guy- and why? The two answers blend together.

How can you be expected to call or dictate an entire wrestling match, start to finish, if you are totally new to the profession? Now, just for clarity, these were not totally one sided squash type matches, where the heel dominated, dominated, & then dominated- before he won; these were the back & forth battles of your youth, dynamic & exciting.

So, when you were young & new, the heel was your mentor- he told you when to comeback, what to come back with, how long it would last & when to do it again. Every night, in towns from Ass Crack,Arkansas to New York's Madison Square Garden, a veteran was nursing a greenhorn through a match- and I'm willing to bet, 99 times out of 99.5, the heel was rugged old craftmaster and his opponent, a fresh faced newcomer.

I think to those days, in comparision to alot of the "give & take" or " I gotta get my cool moves in" mindset of today, & wonder if our lack of passion for the matches has waned due to the content, or the layout of the presentation.

Until next time....
SSS