Chances are, all of your favorite athletes have some sort of an off-season. Whether it be football, baseball, basketball or whatever the sport may be, time off is a given part of an athlete's lifestyle. There are multiple reasons why an off-season is an important and necessary part of the life for professional athletes, primarily for recovery from the grind of competing at the highest level, as well as days and nights on end of traveling from town to town, city to city.
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There's one exception to this rule when it comes to professional athletes having an off-season. That exception is obviously professional wrestling. While most of our critics won't consider pro wrestling as an actual "sport," so to speak. However, there's no denying that the participants are indeed athletes and they suffer very real injuries.
With all of this in mind, let’s examine five ways professional wrestling would benefit from having an off-season.
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5. Creative Time
One of the biggest complaints I hear from today's fans is about the rushed matches and poor quality of storylines. I'm sure you've watched a match on Raw, Smackdown or even a pay-per-view, where it seems like a rushed mess.
This often happens because of some sort of a creative nightmare, where the WWE creative team makes a last-minute decision which translates into hot garbage on television.
Having an off-season, even some sort of a short downtime would help eliminate this problem. It would give Vince and his creative minions plenty of time to focus on the creative aspect of the business, resulting in a better quality product overall.
4. Home time/morale booster
Let's face it, most of us had dreams of being a problem wrestler when we were kids. It wasn't until we were adults that we learned of the rigorous work done behind the scenes. The intense traveling schedule is something that many fans often forget about. Most superstars are away from home 5-6 days per week, sometimes 7 days. They miss time with family, holidays, birthdays, births of children and a plethora of other special occasions that you and I take for granted.
Even if it was just a one-month off-season, it would make a world of difference in the morale of talent. Having more time at home with loved ones would mean more time to celebrate special moments, take kids to school and help better one’s relationship at home. This would ultimately translate into a better work environment.
3. Anticipation
I'm a huge fan of NFL Football. Towards the end of each summer, I start getting excited. It's the start of a new season, which means fans’ anticipation is through the roof, hoping to see their team make it to the Super Bowl.
Imagine if WWE ended their season with the conclusion of each year’s Wrestlemania. It would elevate the biggest and most picturesque event of the year to an even higher level. Then once the new season kicks off, the fans would be chomping at the bits, eagerly awaiting to see if an event was coming through their area. Just as the saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder.....," time off would have fans busting at the seams with anticipation.
2. Developmental time
As we saw with this recent brand-split and draft, WWE brought several stars up from NXT, which is great...or is it? The problem was, some of that talent just simply was not ready.
Nia Jax, Eva Marie, and Alexa Bliss are a few of the newer superstars who honestly should have remained on the NXT roster. Don't get me wrong, they may very well turn out to be fine superstars one day. However, their skill level is just not up to par with the main roster. Consider if there was, in fact, some down time.
An off-season would create an environment where the talent that needed to hone their craft could continue to train and develop with the NXT coaches and staff, without the pressure of live television. Once the new season kicked off, they would stand a better chance being ready for the big stage.
1. Health and recovery time
The number one benefit from having an off-season would be the overall health and well-being of the WWE Superstars. Having an allotted time off would give the talents extra time to cool down and recover from nagging injuries, maintain their current health and also give them a chance to get a proper diagnosis for something that may have been bothering them.
Not only would this help their current well-being, but it would definitely improve their long-term health and longevity, as well as better their long-term way of life.
Final thoughts
I'm not insane, nor am I naive to reality. The fact is, there will likely never be any sort of off-season. This is simply an attempt to take a look outside the box. There are obvious benefits to this theory, but there's also cons as well. The financial impact from having any time off at all is something that would cause Vince Sr. to roll over in his chair.
I understand the somewhat ridiculousness of this idea. I just hope that some will come to terms with the reality of what these men and women put their bodies through on a nightly basis, all for the sake of entertainment. It's a fascinating industry, with many moving parts. I just wish some would learn to appreciate and respect these moving parts as being actual human beings, just like you and I.
