What Can We Learn From The WWE?

Considering pro wrestling has survived five decades entertaining every class in American society, even after taking countless attacks from outside sources, tells me that there may be quite a few things we can learn from pro wrestling as it applies to our community. When building a personality in the pro wrestling circuit, the producers made sure of only one thing: The superstar never, ever, broke out of being a character.

Many stars have come and gone in the industry, but an elite few have remained for seemingly ever. Their common trait was their professionalism. It wasn’t who had the biggest muscles. It wasn’t always the most athletic guy. It wasn’t even the guy with the most credentials that stuck around forever. It was the Stone Cold’s. It was The Rock’s. It was the guys who through thick and thin never let their true colors show, only the character they portrayed.

The purpose of this article is to remind those in the community that there are days when the community will try you, and they will bring some serious heat, but you have to remain professional at all times. Truth, Dynasty, K Starr, and Prodigy all have characters they portray now. Truth is the entertainment machine. Dynasty is the Hollywood superstar that dates models. K Starr is the confident people’s champion. Prodigy is the professor. Realistically it’s easy for them to just want to be Dan, Len, Pat, and Van — but they can’t be. Not in the open public. They’re selling a product that is themselves. If they were to ever wish to be on 90 million Dr. Pepper cans, sign a quarter-million dollar paycheck, or sell t-shirts that say “Dynasty 3:16″ they’ll have to be as untouchable to the fans as Terry Bollea, Dwayne Johnson, and Randy Poffo.

That’s not to say they won’t interact with the community. It’s in their job description that they will. They just can’t answer to personal situations just as Terry Bollea has to be Hulk Hogan as soon as he steps outside of his house. Fans will try to break him. Fans will try to make it personal. Hulk Hogan never breaks, despite people yelling about his wife and children. He can’t afford to, because once he breaks and becomes Terry on the big stage he’ll be unemployed. People will no longer be caught up in the hysteria that is Hulk Hogan… he’d be mortal to them. Despite the trials and tribulations that come his way, Hulk Hogan the personality is still high-fiving the fans, and mingling with crowds of people at the local mall or grocery store. The spotlight is always on.
For anyone and everyone who hopes to make it huge in the Madden community, remember that you don’t have to have the greatest skills in the game. You don’t have to have the brightest mind in the game. You have to have a character and stay that character all the time. Only one person in our community right now has the ability to turn it on and off publicly, and that’s Truth. People know when he’s being Truth and when he’s being Dan. That’s the only exception to the rule. Once K Starr logs in to his name on any forum, or shows up to any Madden tournament, he has to be K Starr and not Pat. He has to mingle with the amateurs. He has to be the people’s champion. He can’t afford to get into a shouting match or a pushing altercation because someone said something personal. This is the key to marketing yourself on a big stage. A stage on which nobody knows how to conduct themselves because none of us have ever been on it before.

For those of you who want a long and successful career as a Madden player, pick and stay in character the entire time. Len Green is the prime example. On radio shows and at Madden tournaments he’s Dynasty. When it’s time to shut it off behind closed doors, he’s Len Green.

Len Green, to you, never exists.