(Note by Ray, this is Ryan’s first column on Wrestling Rambles so let him know your thoughts)

The Full Package
By Ryan Wilson

The full or whole package in the WWE is something not all stars possess. But what is the full package? Well read on.

The Look
It is hard to argue that stars must have the look or costume to make up their character. For example, look at the late and great wrestler, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, there is no question in my mind that the Macho Man stood out because of his outfits. The Macho Man was known for his outrageous colours and patterns but that’s one of the reasons we all loved him. Having a look that matches your character is essential; could you imagine R-Truth sporting some shorts? Well the answer you should be looking for would be no. R-Truth was known for his rapping persona therefore his street styled trousers suited his character well, and it still does Lil’ Jimmy!

The In-Ring Skills
One name that springs to mind right now with brilliant in-ring skills would be Dolph Ziggler, another name would be Daniel Bryan. Both of those men really know how to wrestle and entertain the crowd. Granted there are other current WWE workers that know how to put on a match inside that ring but DZ and DB are standing out for me. For me in-ring skills are really important, in fact I’d probably rather have someone who has brilliant in-ring skills and no personality, such as Daniel Bryan. It has to be said that DB is improving on the mic and he might surprise us all and be a comedian. Right now I doubt that but I will always be first in queue to watch him wrestle.

The Mic Skills
Check 1, 2, 3. Hello? Is this thing on?
Yeah anyways, this section of the full package is becoming more and more important in today’s WWE product. Because WWE has become more than just wrestling and more about entertainment the WWE Superstars and Divas must be able to get on the mic and entertain us, after all if no one spoke on the mic then no rivalries would form and WWE would be that bit more boring. You can teach years worth of wrestling knowledge but for the mic skill section it all depends on your ability to speak to a crowd of hundreds up to thousands, which to some can be very daunting. I know I know, just imagine the crowd naked, that should help after all? Well no, not really, if anything that would distract me. Mic skills all come down on your personality and confidence, do you have what it takes to entertain a whole crowd of paying customers by talking? If not, then you do not have the full package.

The Character
This one is another tricky part of the full package. Usually our WWE Superstars or Divas are assigned characters or gimmicks. John Cena is the superhero who can kick everyone’s ass on any given day, R-Truth.. Well R-Truth is the new mentally insane Superstar, Kane is the demented monster who was burnt all these years back to only name a few. But if WWE Creative can’t find a character/gimmick for you then you’ll soon be out on your ass. Sure it depends on your personality, for example Sheamus is Irish, like myself, Sheamus is a proud Irishman so when the penny drops for the creative team they build on that personality and assign him the Celtic Warrior gimmick which will no doubt carry on until the end of his career. Characters like the Headbangers back in 2000 are prime examples of how dry creative can get with your character, all I can remember about the Headbangers were when they entered the 2000 Royal Rumble with giant sized cones as boobs. Way to go creative and here’s me wondering why any of the Headbangers never became WWF champion. If creative can’t assign you a worthwhile gimmick or storyline then you’ll get the news that, “creative has nothing for you” oh why thank you WWE for discreetly telling me I’m out on my ass and out of a job. Characters/gimmicks can be a rough area and your career can hang in the balance if creative don’t get it right.

The Bond Between Wrestler and Fans
This one is left all down to the wrestler. It is up to them to use what they’ve been assigned and to establish that link with the crowd. Sure the WWE can cut excellent promos about you that can make the crowd say, “Woah I like this guy” but to make that promo they must have footage of you. Whether the crowd like you because of your wrestling skills (step forward Sin Cara) or whether the crowd like you because of who you are, it’s all down to one person and one person only – yourself. Why do people like Sin Cara? Because he entertains them with his spectacular moves. Why do people like John Cena? Because even though he has a limited moveset, he entertains people on the mic. Even heels have a link to establish, they have the opposite job of making the crowd hate them -that’s still a link between crowd and wrestler. Using various techniques the heels have the job of gaining heat from the fans and if they can do this then they’re doing their job. Social networking has become a huge part of WWE stars communicating with the WWE Universe -Twitter being the most common form of social networking used and yes, before anyone asks I do try shamelessly to get stars to retweet, reply or follow me. Twitter is an easy way to help get yourself a few extra fans, so why not go for it?

As you can all see the full package is something that sounds quite hard to have, and I can only think of a few that tick all these boxes for me at the moment. Do you have the full package?