The "I belong" Feeling

What exactly am I talking about here? Easy: There is a wrestler you have never seen before and he (or she) walks into the ring and you know only by watching him that he belongs in that ring. It does not happen often – at least to me – but when it happens you sit there and simply can’t stop watching and loving him. This is what I call the “I belong” feeling.

Some people may call it naturals, but I don’t really like the term. Because “natural” means that one is good in whatever he is doing from the very beginning – and that doesn’t necessarily apply to a wrestler who I feel belongs in a ring. There is a connection between the two terms however to the point where you can’t simply teach someone what to do for the crowd to love them. Because no matter how good a wrestler is trained there is no guarantee that people will like him. You can give a guy promo lessons three hours every day a month and then send him out into the ring and it could very well happen that the fans still wouldn’t like his promo. Not because he was bad or anything but because he simply hasn’t it. The same goes for in-ring-ability – there are wrestlers who can do really difficult moves but are not over with the crowd because they can’t sell them the right way.

One of the best examples is John Cena. WWE wants us to love him, in fact they do everything possible to get him over with the crowd but in the end there are still wars between “Let’s go Cena” and “Cena sucks” chants whenever he is out there. Cena has his good moments on the mic and isn’t as bad in the ring as many fans out there make him out to be, but for me he hasn’t it. He walks out and talks a bit and wrestles a bit and I think “Okay that was funny, okay that move wasn’t half bad …is he done yet?”. To me he could be any other guy wouldn’t it be for the fact that the WWE books him like the next Hulk Hogan and has most of their merchandise build around him. He feels replaceable, as if any other man of his build with a decent smile could do the exact same thing.

The exact opposite example his Chris Jericho. The first time I saw Jericho walking down the ramp in his typical fashion with that arrogant grin on his face I felt like he really belonged there. He is a heel and I can boo him for that but I also want to cheer him at the same time because he is so damn good at being this heel, he gets across his persona like few others. I honestly can’t imagine another man doing Jericho’s gimmick with the same effect. Even if the guy had about the same height, same hair color and the same style of clothing he still wouldn’t be able to deliver Jericho’s promos the same way he does – because what makes this guy really good is not necessarily what he says but how he says it, facial expression body language and all.

Then there are the guys who don’t have that feeling at first, who struggle and then somewhere along the line find their uniqueness, their personal “I belong” feeling. One of these guys in my opinion is the Miz. When he was still in a Tag Team with John Morrison he was nothing special. Yes, they were funny, but if one of them was sticking out it was Morrison and not Miz. The Miz was simply there and even if he wasn’t bad he was somehow forgettable, a guy who could have left the business without being missed in the long run. Now look at the Miz as he is today, a guy who walks out and you feel like he owns the whole arena. I can’t think him away from today’s wrestling; it wouldn’t be the same without him. He suddenly belongs in that ring.

Partially that feeling comes to wrestlers with time – look at the old guys: The Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Because Shawn Michaels belonged in that ring from the moment he first set foot in it. Bret Hart on the other hand, to me, doesn’t have this special feeling about him anymore. He isn’t the man he was once and I don’t blame him for it, but he lost his charm along with his ability to still wrestle matches. Other guys never made me feel like they really belong in a ring and most likely never will. A good example is Randy Orton. I think he can wrestle good matches, he has the right vibe around him, his promos are decent and he still does not have that feeling around him that makes me antsy whenever he comes into the arena like Miz and Jericho do.

The “I belong” feeling in other words is the “It factor” of wrestling. Some guys have it, some don’t. Everyone has to choose for him- or herself and in the end it’s most likely up to personal preferences who you think has this special vibe about him and who hasn’t. Now I’d like to know your opinions on the matter. Who do you think has it? Do you disagree with me on the matter? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.