The New Guy Effect

So I was watching a wrestling show the other day and began to think: “Well, I’ve seen him in the ring plenty of times now, and wearing those same trunks…  And the other guy is using the same old holds he showed us 100 times before…”

So I yawned and hit Fast Forward.  Then I saw more familiar faces and repetition, so I went into Double- and then Triple-Fast-Forward, and then the show was over.

I was feeling like I needed some Strange — something novel and different. Even some new trunks or a move I never saw before would’ve done the trick.

Men are wired to be constantly on the prowl.  All dudes have a craving for unique flavors of eye candy, forever flipping channels, surfing the web, prowling the neighborhood to see what shiny new toys might be out there.

For wrestling fans, that means we need a steady stream of innovative holds, unusual gear, something shocking that no previous wrestler has thought to do to his opponent before, and we need to see New Guys.

Wrestling federations must provide the fans with both long-term relationships (the beloved veterans we’ve been following for years) as well as some One-Night Stands, some Strange to change things up and surprise you.

I’m sure this has happened to you before:  you’re watching pro wrestling and a New Guy walks to the ring.  And you’re all like: “Whoa, who the hell is THAT!  Damn, what was his name again?!?   I hope they show him again next week!”

The wrestling federations understand the appeal of the New Guy, so they even tease us with him.  Weeks in advance of his first match, they’ll announce: “Fans, we have an exciting young superstar coming into the federation very soon!   You won’t believe the wild excitement this young lion delivers every time he climbs into that squared circle!”

Then they may show you a video of the New Guy — maybe a montage of his flashiest wrestling moves from previous matches.  Just a sneak peek to whet your appetite, showing a little more of him each week until you’re aching to see him actually wrestle.

Another way to experience the New Guy Effect is to attend local indy wrestling shows.  Maybe you’re in some dingy bar room or high school gym.  Maybe you don’t even know the names or faces of any wrestlers in this federation.

Then they play the entrance music to build some excitement, the curtain bursts open, and out walks an Adonis you’ve never seen before.  The wrestler will seem even more exciting and impressive to you just because he is a New Guy — just because he is Strange.

In the Golden Age of rasslin’, the New Guy Effect was achieved using  “Enhancement Talent” — the parade of jobbers putting their bodies in harm’s way each week as they dared to compete with the Big Boys.

The jobbers came in all shapes and sizes to appeal to a wide spectrum of tastes: some were cute, some fat, some muscular.  They wore speedos, singlets, and tights.  They had long girlish hair, buzz cuts, or bald heads.  They were every color of the rainbow, like a box of skittles.

As the promotion traveled around the country, they would often hire local talent to serve as the jobbers.  So the fans might see a rookie take his beating only once, and then disappear back into obscurity.

But using local talent enabled the federations to achieve the New Guy Effect — to present the viewers with a constant stream of previously unknown, unseen talent (even if they barely ever won a match.)

Nowadays, most wrestling federations don’t really have pure jobbers who serve as whipping boys for the stars.  Fortunately, nowadays the wrestling fans can experience the New Guy Effect by searching on-line.  We can easily download videos, Google, order DVDs, and check out Blogs dedicated to promoting young talent, such as the Beefcakes of Wrestling blog (which offers up some rare and beautiful buried treasures),

There seems to be no limit to the New Guys from all around the world who are now just a mouse click away.  Maybe the reason jobbers are rarely seen in modern pro wrestling is because our cravings to see New Guys has been fulfilled by the Internet…?  That’s a subject for another day…