Company guys are the superstars who are loyal to their promotion, work hard for their promotion, and do their best to improve their promotion. They are men who, commonly, put the federation's goals before their own. There have been men that have sold out their company for greener grass, and at the same time, there are many good examples of men who bust their ass time and again and they do it all for their boss and for their peers. The question I pose is who are the best and worst "company guys". Meaning, who has done the best to promote and work hard for the company they work for, and who has done nothing but politic, jump ship, and selfishly work their way to glory, regardless of whether or not it was best for the company.
The best wrestlers at helping their company I believe have been AJ Styles, for one. He bleeds Impact. He has dedicated ten years to a promotion that at times has been faulty and even at times has neglected to utilize him in favor of newer, bigger, more important stars (see: Kurt Angle, Christian, and Jeff Hardy). I mean, after being shoved into the spotlight relatively early in TNA, becoming a multi-time X-Division champion and even winning the NWA World Champion more than once, and then all of the sudden, as soon as some WWE talent comes floating along in the form of Angle and Christian, he falls back into a lackey-like role. Still, he worked his ass off while teaming with Tomko when he had somewhat little amount of motivation to do so. This is a guy who is all about his brand, and loves his promotion clearly. He wants TNA to be the biggest company in the world, and that's pretty apparent.
The next one that comes to mind is Sting of course. Perhaps he's just an asshole, but he won't go to the WWE. He stuck with WCW from it's start, all the way to its finish and he never once stepped foot inside the same building as a WWF event (prepared to perform at least), and then, he joined TNA. After joining TNA, he helped put it on the map and despire an almost impossible to refuse opportunity last year, he stuck the promotion that has trusted him with the strap multiple times, and he never ever turned his back on the promotion that has done so much for him.
Others I could mention are The Rock, who never went anywhere but the WWE or anywhere else even though it'd be hard not to believe that someone has given him a jingle at one point or another, plus Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Kane, and of course, above all, the ultimate company guy, Triple H. Although, it's debatable that at times he's been a pain, because he may or may not have, at times, put his own goals in front of the WWE's. Though if you ask me, his reign of death in the mid-2000's was only sensible. I don't know that anyone except for him could have been the face of the company from 2003-2004. And though he squashed many young guys, he was their major draw for a reason. He was damn good at a time when the WWE was a little 'meh'.
As for the worst, the first two I think of are Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. These two have always been about the money, and I don't think they give a damn if they have to leave WWE to go to NJPW to get paid more, they'd do in the bat of an eye. As long as the moolah is there, they will come. And that's not to say that I don't love the fact that they left the WWF and formed The Outsiders and later the nWo, but that's not giving it all for your company. At all. And to that extent, Hulk Hogan is very easily bought out too, and can be a prick when he doesn't get his way. So I'll classify him with his nWo partners.
I would also add that Jeff Hardy is about the shittiest guy to have in your company if you're looking for team players. He's distrustful, selfish, reckless, and generally unrealiable. He didn't voluntarily go from WWE to TNA and back twice, but the fact that he put his personal thrills over the company's demands is enough for me to call him a bad company guy. He is the LAST person I would build a company around because he isn't worth the hassle of always getting your plans fucked up because this jerkoff wants to go do blow in the bathroom before a show. So forget that.
And as a neautral addition to this, I would just like to state that I don't feel Ric Flair is a good company guy. But he isn't a bad one either. He did leave WCW at one point on terms that he wasn't getting his way, and sold out a company in it's youth to go to the WWF for a little while, but he did come back and he did give WCW his all in his first and second stints. Not to mention he's the main reason WCW ever got on the map, period, so I'll give him that. Still, I feel like the money he's said to demand and the fact that at one point, he left WCW hanging devalues that. Also, the fact that he wrestled in TNA after his big WWE retirement match was some hardcore bullshit and shows how little he valued his blowoff with Shawn at Mania. But, once again, he's in between. I don't feel he's the company man that some people portray him to be, but he never did much to destroy a business, so it's ok.
Anyways, sound off my friendly friends.
The best wrestlers at helping their company I believe have been AJ Styles, for one. He bleeds Impact. He has dedicated ten years to a promotion that at times has been faulty and even at times has neglected to utilize him in favor of newer, bigger, more important stars (see: Kurt Angle, Christian, and Jeff Hardy). I mean, after being shoved into the spotlight relatively early in TNA, becoming a multi-time X-Division champion and even winning the NWA World Champion more than once, and then all of the sudden, as soon as some WWE talent comes floating along in the form of Angle and Christian, he falls back into a lackey-like role. Still, he worked his ass off while teaming with Tomko when he had somewhat little amount of motivation to do so. This is a guy who is all about his brand, and loves his promotion clearly. He wants TNA to be the biggest company in the world, and that's pretty apparent.
The next one that comes to mind is Sting of course. Perhaps he's just an asshole, but he won't go to the WWE. He stuck with WCW from it's start, all the way to its finish and he never once stepped foot inside the same building as a WWF event (prepared to perform at least), and then, he joined TNA. After joining TNA, he helped put it on the map and despire an almost impossible to refuse opportunity last year, he stuck the promotion that has trusted him with the strap multiple times, and he never ever turned his back on the promotion that has done so much for him.
Others I could mention are The Rock, who never went anywhere but the WWE or anywhere else even though it'd be hard not to believe that someone has given him a jingle at one point or another, plus Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Kane, and of course, above all, the ultimate company guy, Triple H. Although, it's debatable that at times he's been a pain, because he may or may not have, at times, put his own goals in front of the WWE's. Though if you ask me, his reign of death in the mid-2000's was only sensible. I don't know that anyone except for him could have been the face of the company from 2003-2004. And though he squashed many young guys, he was their major draw for a reason. He was damn good at a time when the WWE was a little 'meh'.
As for the worst, the first two I think of are Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. These two have always been about the money, and I don't think they give a damn if they have to leave WWE to go to NJPW to get paid more, they'd do in the bat of an eye. As long as the moolah is there, they will come. And that's not to say that I don't love the fact that they left the WWF and formed The Outsiders and later the nWo, but that's not giving it all for your company. At all. And to that extent, Hulk Hogan is very easily bought out too, and can be a prick when he doesn't get his way. So I'll classify him with his nWo partners.
I would also add that Jeff Hardy is about the shittiest guy to have in your company if you're looking for team players. He's distrustful, selfish, reckless, and generally unrealiable. He didn't voluntarily go from WWE to TNA and back twice, but the fact that he put his personal thrills over the company's demands is enough for me to call him a bad company guy. He is the LAST person I would build a company around because he isn't worth the hassle of always getting your plans fucked up because this jerkoff wants to go do blow in the bathroom before a show. So forget that.
And as a neautral addition to this, I would just like to state that I don't feel Ric Flair is a good company guy. But he isn't a bad one either. He did leave WCW at one point on terms that he wasn't getting his way, and sold out a company in it's youth to go to the WWF for a little while, but he did come back and he did give WCW his all in his first and second stints. Not to mention he's the main reason WCW ever got on the map, period, so I'll give him that. Still, I feel like the money he's said to demand and the fact that at one point, he left WCW hanging devalues that. Also, the fact that he wrestled in TNA after his big WWE retirement match was some hardcore bullshit and shows how little he valued his blowoff with Shawn at Mania. But, once again, he's in between. I don't feel he's the company man that some people portray him to be, but he never did much to destroy a business, so it's ok.
Anyways, sound off my friendly friends.
