I doubt Ring of Honor would have retained as much of its
fan base as it has over the last few years without Kevin Steen. Turning on his
pal and tag partner El Generico at Final Battle 2009 started a chain of events
that eventually made him the most popular man in the company.
It started with the Generico v Steen feud. The former tag
champions spent 2010 warring with one another and headlined Final Battle in a
wild and allegedly unsanctioned brawl. A loss there meant Steen had to leave
the promotion. When he returned six months later Jim Cornette’s booking had
taken its toll on the product. Fans were losing interest. The American Wolves
had senselessly been split up and shoved into a rivalry over the ROH
championship and a poor job was being done of creating new names. If you think
this is a trouble for WWE it’s even worse for a promotion operating at ROH’s
level. They can’t rely on a handful of stars and a highly successful brand
name, their success comes from a steady flow of exciting, fresh talent and high
quality matches. But that’s by the by.
Despite being booked as a heel that wanted to tear Ring
of Honor apart Steen was greeted as a face at the majority of ROH events in the
second half of 2011 and early 2012. The reason for this is almost certainly
that Steen tapped into the audience’s frustrations about the state of the
company. He said things that those watching felt. His cries for change and the
removal of Jim Cornette meant that fans were never going to boo him. He was
calling for the things they wanted.
ROH fans just don't want to boo Kevin Steen
Things could have gone wrong for him when he won the ROH
world title. ROH fans have a history of turning on popular wrestlers once they
win the championship. Not only that but Cornette left the company five months
into the reign. Without Cornette around Steen could have become directionless.
Fans continued to support him. Perhaps they appreciated the hard work he’d put
in across the preceding two plus years. I know I did.
In addition to his work in ROH he also appears regularly
for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. His rise in PWG occurred alongside the rise he enjoyed
in ROH as his war with Generico was a big deal there too. The turn and feud
helped to fashion both men into top names on the indies. For Generico this led
to tryouts with TNA and WWE and offers of work from both. Like any sane person
Generico wound up opting to take up WWE’s offer. He can now be seen in NXT
wrestling as Sami Zayn.
Steen remains on the indies. To the best of my knowledge
he has had no tryout with either TNA or WWE. As far as WWE is concerned this is
perfectly understandable. They have the money to be able to sign practically
anybody they want to a developmental deal. Not only that but they have a roster
full of guys in NXT ready to be moved to the bright lights of Monday Night RAW.
It’s no secret that they like their guys to be in shape. It’s also no secret
that Steen, while incredibly agile for a man of his size, is not in the shape
WWE would require.
Basically WWE don’t need to concern themselves with
Steen. As good as he is they can afford to overlook him. TNA, on the other
hand, should be emailing, calling, tweeting and touting ‘Mr Wrestling’ every
day to try and get him to become part of their product. He would be a fantastic
addition to Impact Wrestling. He’s affable, funny and likeable enough to
succeed as a face but can just as easily summon a brutal intensity to his
actions and words, meaning he’d excel as a heel there too. Hiring him wouldn’t
instantly turn their flagging TV show around but it would be a step in the
right direction.
It’s likely that Steen is perfectly happy where he is. As
one of ROH’s top names I imagine he makes a decent living, supplementing it
with appearances with other, smaller companies. If he wants to make the move to
WWE in the future he’s still young enough to do so, it would simply be a case
of getting back into shape. I can’t imagine he’s distressed at the (assumed)
lack of interest from TNA. It’s a sinking ship that would almost certainly do
his career more harm than good.
I’d love to see Steen in WWE one day. Whether it happens
I’m happy to see him doing well in Ring of Honor. And avoiding TNA.
No comments:
Post a Comment