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Pro Wrestling

WWE Legends Should Be Used Carefully

By @sdmeyers1

Hulk Hogan

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With stagnant ratings and the roster in its weakest state in years, the WWE has turned to its legends on a regular basis to draw interest in its weekly programming.

Hulk Hogan has made numerous appearances on WWE television over the past several months, as has Ric Flair. Unfortunately, the company has not found a logical and useful role for these icons. As a result, the segments involving them are forced and nearly unwatchable.

To provide an example, Hogan appeared on Raw this past Monday to promote the WWE’s partnership with the Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation. In the process, Hogan pandered to the audience with his typical catchphrases, and then brought several cancer survivors into the ring to act out his trademark poses with him.

While this partnership is a worthwhile cause that the WWE should celebrate, trotting Hogan out in a pink shirt to do this seems unnecessary. Hearing from the women themselves, even if just through a brief ringside interview with Tom Phillips or Renee Young, would’ve been much more appropriate.

Since early this year, Hogan has been nothing more than a walking advertisement for whatever message the WWE wants to send to the public. For months, Hogan was heavily advertised for appearances, and then would come to the ring just to shameless plug the WWE Network.

He also joined Flair and Shawn Michaels to conduct a roundtable discussion of an upcoming match between John Cena and Brock Lesnar. The segment was a dud, and again completely lacked a purpose other than to try to draw in viewers with the promise of three WWE legends.

Similarly, Flair had a dubious appearance on Raw in the spring when he came to the ring during to address Evolution and The Shield. Flair struggled to convey his message, in which he was asserting that The Shield was better than Evolution. Subsequently, the WWE Universe, as well as the announce team, was baffled by his comments.

This has happened in recent years with Rowdy Roddy Piper as his heavily-promoted Piper’s Pip segments almost always fall short of expectations. Piper and Flair both seem to go off script too often and try to make the segment more about them than the current talent.

Conversely, Mick Foley‘s recent appear on Raw was both relevant and effective. Foley made a surprise appearance during a segment involving Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Foley warned the competitors about the career-altering effects of competing inside Hell In A Cell. This made sense because Foley’s career-defining moment came as part of a cell match. He helped promote the match and the pay-per-view without it feeling forced, and he also put over the two rising stars in the process.

Unquestionably, men like Hogan, Flair and Piper helped build the wrestling industry to what it is today. The WWE should use these Hall-of-Famers in a limited capacity, though, when it truly makes sense. Hogan’s role as a walking billboard makes each appearance by the Hulkster feel less special.

These legends still have a place in the WWE, and if used correctly, can still contribute to the company’s success. Finding the right recipe to do so will benefit both the icons and the WWE. Otherwise, Raw may start to resemble Legends’ House.

Sean Meyers is a professional wrestling writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter and “Like” him on Facebook.

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