Jobbers. Enhancement talent. Ham and Eggers. Jabronis. They’ve had many names over the years, but their role has always been the same. Make your opponent look great. They were an integral part of professional wrestling for decades. A good hand was a guy you could trust to take a young rookie or guy new to the territory and teach him the right way to work. Prepare them for what lay ahead as they moved up the card. Need a monster heel to run through the competiton? Duane Gill was your guy. Got a baby face who wants to show what he can do and build a connection with the crowd? Iron Mike Sharpe will be his guide. These were men who knew their place on the card, and were secure enough in their position to understand how important they were.
Then the Monday Night War happened, and with the demand for more consistent marquee matches, job guys became a thing of the past. At the time it was understandable. WCW and the WWF were fighting for every viewer, so every segment had to have the star vs star appeal, something that had been unheard of except on live events or pay per view broadcasts. But wars end, and times change.
These days, Vince McMahon is the Emperor of his wrestling kingdom and with no direct competition to speak of, his new war is with the rest of the television world. A larger and more aggressive foe. While some would argue that this new enemy would require a greater emphasis on star vs star encounters, the difference with this battle and the one with WCW is that the old war was a battle for wrestling fans. This is a war for casual viewers. A superstar facing another superstar is only important if the viewer is invested in those superstars, knows who they are, and cares about what happens to them.
This has been one of the biggest struggles WWE has currently: Building new stars and getting them to connect with the casual viewer. Like others, I think bringing back squash matches and utilizing under card performers could help casual viewers get to know WWE’s characters and make that crucial emotional investment. This was how I myself fell down the rabbit hole of professional wrestling.
Watching WWF Superstars with my father I was captivated by the wrestlers I saw. It was clear cut who I was suppose to pay attention to, and in today’s world where viewer’s choices are plentiful and their attention spans limited, the KISS method of Keep It Simple Stupid has never been more important.
There has even been evidence that this can work in the modern era. One only needs to look at NXT as a great example of how squash matches have made those stars of tomorrow shine brighter for an audience unfamiliar with these athletes. Now, NXT is not seen by many in a prime time capacity, so I understand the skepticism. However, it HAS been done to great effect in the past with Ryback on WWE and on TNA’s prime time show IMPACT Wrestling with Ethan Carter III. Although this was also a part of his story line as a “protected” star, putting EC3 in squash matches allowed the TNA audience to make a connection with him and learn to hate him, while being subconsciously told “this man is a star”. Here we are a few months later and EC3 is getting some of the strongest heel reactions on the roster. He is nowhere on the level of a Bobby Roode or a Christopher Daniels, but fans do care about him enough to react strongly.
Now, I’m not advocating that we change RAW’s broadcast to three hours of squash matches, but I know there are many people out there who struggle with getting through three hours of midcard matches that no cares about. Sprinkling in a few squash matches here and there would allow current fans to discover some new talent, or give them a break to catch their breath. There is also WWE Main Event and WWE Superstars that feature lowercard matches nobody really ever pays attention to because neither wrestler is given a chance to shine. Even if these contests are used as popcorn matches for the more die hard set, it will mean those regularly put in these spots might be given the time to shine and show what they can do. At the same time it will allow first time viewers or casual fans to be enticed or even captivated by someone new and exciting. Someone who appears dominant, and worth watching.
But bringing back squash matches would allow for an even more important purpose in today’s WWE. It would allow talented journeyman to teach new talent and get them ready for when they have to start being competitive. It isn’t easy to just slip into a competitive role on the world wide stage, and because WWE doesn’t utilize these talents as much as they used to, it has often been their downfall in the last few years with too many talents not ready for the burning lights of WWE’s main stage.
It would also give some of WWE’s under utilized talent a very important role. Many of them are simply a step away from being considered jabronis anyway. Now many of you might balk at the idea of one of your favorites being given the title of “good hand”, but really, this is an important and secure position in the company. Don’t believe me? Well, take it from a guy who knows what that position is like first hand. Hopefully that will give some perspective.
In pro wrestling, someone gets their hand raised and someone gets pinned. Both roles are vital. There are ways to be victorious in defeat, and although no one will argue that those in the main event are less famous than their jobber counterparts, one can argue their level of importance to the pro wrestling machine. In the end it doesn’t matter who ends up with the loser’s share of the purse. If bringing back squash matches could enhance the experience of current fans, intrigue news fans, and eventually lead to a more solid roster, then we as fans are the ultimate winners.
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