In any competition, all aspects of life and throughout the course of your life there are always winners and losers. In the wrestling world, losers are referred to as ‘Jobbers’ mainly because wrestling is a scripted sport, and losing in this context just isn’t the same. The term jobber though isn’t used by promotions, wrestlers never, ever cite the word ‘jobber’ on television or live shows because the word is a fan made construction that smart fans use, and the actual term takes away from the mystique of the shows, and takes away from the reality that promotions try to promote. Some of you who are not so caught up in the wrestling reality might be asking yourself the question of why even bother, well the answer is quite simple really, there are countless wrestlers looking for paid employment, so if losing a few scripted wrestling matches puts food on the table, then so be it. It might damage your wrestling personality/character, but from a wrestlers perspective it should be seen as a job, right?
Wrestling needs these jobbers to survive, and these men and women are the ones who are provide that equal balance for promotions. I’ll take the WWE as a good example of this. Many smart fans predict what will happen at each Pay-Per-View or big live show on television because the current state of the product is very predictable, mainly because you know who the jobber is before the actual event. The WWE is simple television in this respect, because winners of matches are so straight forward once you know the names. The big names in the business are those who you all might recognise at home, or be able to name if you saw his picture. Examples are The Undertaker, Triple H, Rey Mysterio, The Big Show, Edge, Randy Orton, Batista, and the superman of professional wrestling, the man who never loses, the invincible once, the undefeatable, god of all gods, the holy grail of all wrestlers, the man who has a global army of supporters, an instantly recognisable face, a movie actor (Well not a very good one), a fighting champion, a man who can carry any wrestling promotion into greatness, he is the man we all love to fear, the man wrestling purists love to loath, a multi-time world champion, he is life, word life.. JOHN CENA!!
I use John Cena as my example, well because he never, ever loses. The only time he ever gets pinned or submitted is when there is an outside interference, or down to a circumstance that is out of his hands. The last time he was pinned 1.. 2.. 3.. in the middle of the squared circle was at a wrestling event was at the Pay-Per-View (PPV) “WWE Hell in a Cell” 2010, where he lost to the notoriously evil (and English) Wade Barrett, leader of breakout group “The Nexus”. Here’s the funny thing though, Cena only lost because two wrestlers who wanted to join ‘Nexus’ (A group of ‘rookie’ wrestlers who joined forces to all get a contract, after the end of WWE NXT season one, which Barrett won). Cena was ambushed, and Barrett one the match because of the interference. However, what made the match predictable was the stipulation of the match. If Cena was to lose he would be forced to join Nexus, and if Barrett lost, Nexus would disband. It had the fans of the WWE completely thrown, and even some smart fans were questioning whether they thought John Cena, the man who never loses would actually be pinned by a wrestler who has been in the WWE for ten years less, and compared to Cena had no accomplishments. But however, we already knew the Nexus was staying around as they were being advertised for the following PPV. In this case the jobber (Cena) provided an intriguing storyline to continue, all in the name of losing.
Jobbers in general are there as ‘supporting cast’ to the main cast (The winners, the storytellers), and half the time are actually as good as or better than the guy they are wrestling and eventually losing to. Jobbers still get paid, and get the honour to face the guys at the very top of the card, for example a Kurt Angle, or Undertaker, so in that term it is good promotion for the loser of the match, as he will be getting extended airtime because of the calibre of wrestler they are facing. When thinking about one jobber who just loves what he is doing in this respect, the man who puts over the winners more than ever, for the greater good, is current TNA superstar Tommy Dreamer. Known as the ‘innovator of violence’ in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Dreamer has become famous and made a loving out of losing. When the WWE decided to bring back ECW as a third brand in 2005, Dreamer lost the majority of his matches despite being the only ECW original on the show. Dreamer was putting over all the guys the WWE wanted to push, and getting paid to do it. In TNA, Dreamer is doing the same, losing to the few young, upcoming stars in TNA, who haven’t been forced down by Hulk Hogan and his legion of old men (See blog 2# ‘reliance on older superstars’ for more into this). The advantages of having a designated jobber such as Dreamer is having the luxury of planning even better storylines and future matches without having to worry about the superstar having a backstage tantrum or hissy fit on Twitter or Facebook, damaging the wrestlers own reputation. Also from a company standpoint, they are there to make a profit, so if the jobber is making a wrestler look better, thus hopefully making more money, then they will see a share of the profit and make more money themselves. Plus places for big shows are small, especially in big companies, so having to lose to be on a show (As big as Wrestlemania or Bound for Glory) might be the only way to become famous or earn money, but like with the example of Dreamer, and Ric Flair even (Who is actually putting over younger stars in TNA, such as Matt Morgan, Jay Lethal and AJ Styles) it might be for the love of wrestling which means they are sacrificed that much to make themselves look weak to a national audience (Especially with some fans which think wrestling is real).
Put yourself in the shoes of a jobber for one moment. You have to face a wrestler who is only going to win because he is either new to the company or the creative writing team are high on the chosen wrestler, and be told you have to lie down and lose for this not so talented wrestler (Especially to someone like John Cena, who has a grand total of five wrestling moves), it could get demining, and there is a saying in the wrestling business that you should only be in it if you aim for the top, well either these jobbers are just waiting for their time to shine as winners and championship holders, or they have no lust to get to the top.
Jobbing is an in ring issue, because as a devoted wrestling fan, sometimes those booking matches just get it wrong. For me, in 2010 there is a lot to be answered for in terms of booking. TNA’s, ROH’s and WWE’s in particular booking for me has gone into a downward spiral, where only the big, muscle men, jacked up on protein shake, sporting shoulders the size of basketballs (Check out Ezekiel Jackson, he is insane), or the undeserving superstars are winning without justification, Jeff Hardy is a standout, because since returning to TNA in January, his performances in the ring are dyer, his promo work and PR of the company has been awful, he has sucked beyond belief. Hardy doesn’t fit the TNA model, yet was handed everything, whilst stars of the X Division and Women’s division are busting their asses off for smaller pay, less reward, less TV time and less credit. But one thing is for sure, being a jobber takes a bigger person, it takes dedication, and patience, but if you ever asked a fan like myself to lay down for John Cena, I’d tell the bookers to bite my shiny metal ass!
Robert Austin
“In Ring Issues”
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