(This article contains a lot of spoilers for various wrestling and Spider-Man storylines. You’ve been warned.)
There is a term I’ve started using when it comes to the presentation of protagonists in fiction. I call it “The Peter Parker Syndrome”.
The idea that the hero has to face adversity isn’t a new one, and isn’t even a bad one. Many a touching story came from this very template – the Rocky series, Die Hard, Karate Kid, The Boston Red Sox in 2004 – hell, even professional wrestling’s Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston, and Becky Lynch had faced that very thing (though they mostly came about by accident).
But it isn’t always needed for every story. Anyone would know that.
Peter Parker, otherwise known as Spider-Man-… oh wait, I just outed Spider-Man! Anyways, the everyday nerd who is down on his luck is usually the template for this argument. Dude’s practically a meme at this point. In the comics and in the movies as of recently, any attempt to have Peter Parker do well in life and see a natural progression in his character is met with a “Not My Spidey” cry (granted the same happened to Miles Morales just by existing).
In the movies, Parker had so much going for him. He had the friend, he had the girl, he had Stark Industries helping him in his web-slingling adventures, and he had the love of the people. And yet people were still moaning that this was boring, that this makes Peter Parker feel bland. It almost reads as though everyone wants the wall-crawler to stay perpetually miserable.
On the surface, I can see their point. Peter Parker came from a tough place, bullied and belittled and rejected. Our emotions were reflected in his, in some tellings. He’d be bitter, annoyed, and angry. His thirst for revenge for Uncle Ben’s killer (spoiler alert) would be the culmination of all of that – all of it – to become the hero New York City would reject, but would need. Peter’s a guy who barely scrapes by, struggles with the ladies despite having no problem attracting them, and he’s dealing with life or world ending threats while the media is out for his blood. It’s not fair, and life’s not fair, and that’s what certain fans want reflected.
But Peter Parker, while a fictional character, is a human being. He should be allowed to grow and live and do things that gives so much to him, and he can do so without being handed nothing. Take for instance in the MCU, him overcoming that debris or learning to live a life without Tony Stark guiding him. He doesn’t need to have his family and friends taken from him after that. To make him go it alone, it isn’t necessary.
The same applies to wrestling.
While people like Dusty Rhodes and Bret Hart were compelling underdog heroes, it doesn’t have to apply to every other wrestler’s story to be a great babyface run. What made people tune into WCW for Sting and Goldberg or WWF/E for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock was that they kicked ass and won. Their stories didn’t hinge upon “the chase” but to see them overcome the odds and work the story. Their ascensions didn’t need to be prolonged.
This article you’re reading right now comes hot off the heels of Cody Rhodes’s loss to Roman Reigns at WWE’s indie show, WrestleMania 39 and Sanada’s triumph over Kazuchika Okada at NJPW’s big league event, Sakura Genesis.
For Sanada, his victory in gaining the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship was a long time coming. He’d wrestled for the company since 2016 and won the hearts of fans, but could never win “the big one”. Many fans, myself included, wished he’d be crowned already. It just didn’t seem fair, because he’s truly a great wrestler. Once he shed his ties with Los Ingobernables de Japon, however and joined Just Five Guys (haha, yes, burger joint joke). No longer did he look like the Super Saiyan version of Abraham Lincoln, but instead as a man who’s ready to take things seriously. His new look screamed star. So, overcoming one of the biggest obstacles in wrestling in what could be a big risk to the company, he dethroned Kazuchika Okada.
Okada had a reign with the IWGP Heavyweight CHampionship that lasted 720 days, almost two years. He fought Minoru Suzuki in the rain. He’s had massive storylines with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega. He’s become a bully that demolished Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Kaito Kiyomiya. To overcome Okada is to overcome life itself. Sanada did that.
Cody Rhodes, however, had everything laid out for him. As of this writing, he’s still yet to “finish the story”, if he ever does. Reason I say that is… well, WWE’s in a strange spot right now. But the grandson of a plumber seemed destined upon his return to the company to dethrone the man who’s held the Universal belt for over two years and the WWE title for a year, making for a combined three. He’s demolished opposition, either alone, or with the aid of his Bloodline. It’s made for compelling title defenses and some deflating ones.
Only a few times has it felt possible that someone would take the titles away from Roman. While Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, Edge, and Kevin Owens were the more frequent challengers, some of the best storyline moments have come from Jey Uso, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn,and Cody Rhodes. So many people who could’ve “finished the story” yet were unable to unseat the Head of the Table.
For Sami, it served a storyline purpose in reuniting him with Kevin Owens, despite the fact that the company could very well have run with him being champ. But they had to finish their story, and they did on night one of WrestleMania in an emotional ending. For Cody, he was positioned as the one to lead the company in a new direction without a Roman Empire, and for some reason, after multiple interferences, Cody was unable to finish his story. It’s been pretty baffling.
While I think that the company may somehow be able to pull off crowning him with the same momentum if not more, this feels like an egregious oversight. I see why they might want to go with it, as Roman’s story with The Bloodline isn’t over yet, but Cody could’ve easily won and The Bloodline could’ve met their story’s end without Roman being the Undisputed Champion. Cody had nothing left to prove.
Cody left WWE to find himself; helped The Elite make history; left his company when he no longer fit there; returned to WWE as the prodigal son, tore his pectoral muscle; fought through The Royal Rumble, battling the iron man in Gunther to truly earn his spot at WrestleMania; and ended Solo SIkoa’s undefeated streak. Only to lose via interference in what was a great match. He couldn’t finish the story.
Perhaps his upcoming rivalry with Brock Lesnar may help him toward that. Though I’d have preferred to see Cody defend the title against Brock, going against The Beast Incarnate could be this last hurdle to see a new American Nightmare. Maybe it’ll awaken something in him that calls to various versions of his past character and finish that story. I don’t know. I don’t know how things fit in or how they’ll go. That’s what excites and frightens me. Whatever the case is, clearly the story isn’t over yet.
But saying he hadn’t gone through adversity, I can’t help but shrug and say “okay, then.” What I’m getting at is that there isn’t much reason to wait when you have storylines that are red hot. When one thing grows stale and another is absolutely fiery, you do what NJPW did – you take risks. You jump into a unique scenario and work on the story after as you find out where to go from there.
That’s what makes storylines exciting. You work within your medium with all its strengths and limitations and you shoot for the fences. Sure, failure is always an option, but you learn from the fall and grow with the spring. How does the saying go? “He who hesitates, is lost.”
Wrestling is a unique form of storytelling that captures fans like no other fictional platform can. Unpredictability is fine, but having the temerity, the grit, the nerve to go forth into the dark unknown and make your own light. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Take Batman and Bianca Belair, for instance. Imagine if Batman was inches from stopping The Joker, only to have been broken. Batman has contingency plans and braces himself for a reason. Imagine if Bianca Belair had lost to the witty and clever Bayley. Bianca’s a warrior who can and will overcome because that’s who she is – the smartest, the quickest, the strongest, the toughest, the EST.
Or, if we want to take a look at AEW, take a look at the roads of “Hangman” Adam Page, who has battled his own demons to be the star he is. He finished his story because the ending was not deviated from when he was at his hottest. AEW has the same situation to play out again in wrestlers like Willow Nightingale, Eddie Kingston, and Mark Briscoe, as they all have something to fight for, bell to bell.
You don’t have to make your hero suffer again and again all the time. They can face adversity without having to find themselves at rock bottom. We can’t fixate on how people persevere through the hard times constantly. It’s okay to pull a Superman sometimes. It’s okay to give a Spider-Man who has everything he wants. There can still be mountains to climb.
But humanity needs this relief. People want to see good things happen to good people. You’ve followed your friends’ stories. You’ve wanted to see them do well so you can proudly clap in elated tears.
It’s okay to have your good guys win. I promise.
‘Nuff said.
