Which wrestlers are great title chasers?

As a long-time fan and follower of professional wrestling, I must say that both “Hangman” Adam Page and Sami Zayn have truly captivated me with their remarkable journeys within the ring.

Independent of the type of entertainment, there’s a universal fascination with the excitement of pursuit. We can all relate to striving for a significant achievement, be it securing a prize after years of hard work or obtaining the affections of a long-term admirer (excluding instances where the person uses manipulation or abuse to get what they want).

In professional wrestling, one common narrative device is when a leading good wrestler challenges for a championship title. It’s not just about watching someone claim the belt; fans are drawn in by the wrestler’s growth and development both inside the ring and as a character, which forms an engaging storyline that people follow along on their journey.

After securing those monumental victories, the tales of these wrestlers don’t end there. For certain ones, the euphoria they felt chasing the gold becomes challenging to replicate once they’ve ascended the throne. This doesn’t imply that their subsequent title runs were disappointing or that the less spectacular reigns tarnished the thrill of the chase. Instead, it underscores the difficulty in sustaining the same level of excitement among fans after experiencing such a captivating climax.

So, let’s talk about three wrestlers whose chase to the championship exceeded the subsequent title reign (in WWE and All Elite Wrestling).

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin’s journey to the pinnacle of the WWE was not a straightforward climb as one might assume. Although he triumphed in the 1996 King of the Ring tournament (an opportunity initially intended for Hunter Hearst Helmsley), the company primarily focused on building up Vader as the top villain. Consequently, Austin’s career didn’t gain momentum until his iconic rivalry with Bret Hart unfolded.

By early 1998, things began moving smoothly again. As Austin’s fame soared, he clinched his second Royal Rumble victory, setting the stage for his eventual WWE Championship win. Despite the reluctance (to put it mildly) of then-champion Shawn Michaels to lose matches, Austin’s first WWE Championship was practically inevitable.

Back in the day, I was the one who snatched the championship at WrestleMania 14. However, the WWE roster back then wasn’t overflowing with top villains for me to square off against. This left the company focusing the majority of Raw episodes on my feud with Mr. McMahon. Luckily, our on-screen connection worked like a charm, and despite a few entertaining bouts with Dude Love, I never really found that ideal ring rival during any of my babyface title reigns.

In 1999, Austin pursued The Rock for the championship title. This trend was marked by some unexpected moves in the storyline – Vince McMahon winning the Royal Rumble, and The Big Show debuting in the WWE. However, the plot of Austin chasing the champion (essentially standing in for Vince) worked well. Yet again, this resulted in a reign of less than two months for Austin as champion. Following that, he resumed his rivalry with McMahon.

During that time, the WWE was less strict about title changes and more focused on boosting ratings. This means it’s reasonable to evaluate Austin based on this context. However, despite his title reigns, they may only serve as minor aspects when looking back at his overall career.

“Hangman” Adam Page

Prior to becoming a vengeful arsonist known as “Hangman” Adam Page, he was leading one of the most gripping good-guy storylines in contemporary professional wrestling. It’s plausible that his career trajectory began during the Bullet Club split in 2018 within New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he had some of his toughest matches against Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

There’s no disagreement about AEW’s feelings towards him during his world title fight against Chris Jericho at the main event of their second pay-per-view, All Out. Despite losing that match, it was just the beginning of a long and challenging journey for Page to reach the championship title.

During our journey, we witnessed Page capture the AEW World Tag Team Championship alongside Kenny Omega, struggle with an alcohol addiction, lose companions within The Elite, form new bonds with The Dark Order (who left a memorable impression during their entrance on Dynamite prior to facing The Elite), take a break from AEW, and ultimately rediscover his self-belief, setting the stage for a rematch against Omega for the world title at Full Gear 2021.

Two years after his loss against Jericho, Page didn’t disappoint against Omega in 2019. Finally, he fulfilled the potential that many had predicted for him back then.

After his remarkable victory, AEW decided to keep up the momentum by challenging Page with Bryan Danielson. This led to a series of exceptional matches, one of which was a 60-minute time-limit draw at Winter is Coming 2021 that received a rating of 9.53 on Cagematch and five stars from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. In simpler terms, AEW followed up with Page effectively by setting him against Bryan Danielson, which resulted in some fantastic matches, including an outstanding 60-minute draw at Winter is Coming 2021 that received high praise.

After defeating Danielson, he proceeded to face Adam Cole, who symbolized the last remnant of Page’s conflict with The Elite. This encounter appeared to be a step back for Page, yet he continued to dazzle as Cole’s counterpart, leading to an entertaining series of unusual matches. Subsequently, we witnessed the well-known narrative involving CM Punk where Page aimed to jolt us from the illusion of Punk’s comeback in professional wrestling (the “workers’ rights” remark proving to be prescient later on). This signified the end of Page’s dominance but also the start of the decline of Punk’s tenure in AEW.

In summary, it’s important to clarify that Page’s tenure as AEW World Title holder wasn’t disastrous, despite what some online fans might have suggested at the time. However, he found himself in a predicament due to his own achievements. Many fans considered his tale with Omega and The Elite as a creative pinnacle for AEW early on, making it challenging for anyone to sustain such high-quality storytelling. Now, Page is back in the spotlight with his feud against “Swerve” Strickland, demonstrating that stories of this magnitude don’t occur frequently and they tend to outshine lesser tales.

Sami Zayn

Similar to Mick Foley and Ricky Steamboat, Sami Zayn has emerged as a classic, heroic wrestler figure, often referred to as a “white meat babyface.” Despite initially being viewed by Vince McMahon as more of a comedic villain (or midcard heel), Zayn’s talent eventually earned him a prominent role as one of the main heroes in WWE.

Supporters of Zayn’s wrestling career in Ring of Honor and other independent promotions as El Generico had always felt he possessed this level of talent. Fans of NXT quickly realized this during his tenure with the Black and Gold brand. After establishing himself on the show through exceptional matches with Antonio Cesaro (also known as Claudio Castagnoli), Zayn then set his sights on Adrian Neville’s (or PAC) NXT Championship. With Neville displaying a more villainous side during their rivalry, Zayn was determined to demonstrate that he could win the title without resorting to underhanded tactics.

Ultimately, Zayn faced Neville one-on-one at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution. As anticipated, a moral dilemma arose for Zayn when he had the chance to use the NXT Championship belt to defeat Neville easily. However, Zayn chose not to compromise his principles and instead opted for a fair fight, defeating Neville with the Helluva Kick, thus winning the big one in NXT on his own merit.

As a die-hard fan, I didn’t get much time to revel in Zayn’s victory, as Kevin Owens, the newcomer, pounced on him post-match, reigniting their long-standing rivalry within the WWE arena. A few weeks down the line, my beloved Zayn lost the NXT Title to Owens, signifying a shift in the company’s plans to reposition him as a title contender. However, an injury sustained during his battle against John Cena altered those plans.

Zayn’s current success with the Tag Team and Intercontinental Titles indicates that prolonged championship periods don’t lessen fans’ enthusiasm for him. However, as we witnessed with “Hangman” Page, it can be challenging to replicate the intense excitement surrounding a title switch.

2024-10-02 20:15

CANTO PREDICTION. CANTO cryptocurrency

CRU PREDICTION. CRU cryptocurrency

BODEN PREDICTION. BODEN cryptocurrency

CEL PREDICTION. CEL cryptocurrency