BANK STATEMENT #5 - An Open Letter: Omos is the Future
Dear Wrestling Fans,
Hi everyone!
Ever since I’ve started writing the Bank Statement again on Hardway HQ, I’ve noticed that I’ve been very quiet as it comes to writing anything controversial. I’ve focused on the history of wrestling and, in truth, some of the more positive takes in the industry that people will generally agree with. It’s not that I’m an agreeable guy: I just feel like a lot of wrestling fans have similar tastes with me. I just expend a lot more verbiage than others while doing it.
It’s my nature. I love to write when I’m passionate about something, and I’m very passionate about certain parts of the wrestling business. People for the most part genuinely agree with my views on that.
That is what leads me to this open letter. I am very self-aware that not many will believe me. As an old school wrestling and boxing fan, I love the heavyweight fighters. With rare exceptions, in the mainstream media, smaller, incredibly talented performers are not looked at as major attractions, unless you are a phenomenal talker. Floyd Mayweather in boxing, Conor McGregor in MMA, and Rey Mysterio in wrestling are the exception to the rule. But, to me, big bruisers are where the money is at. They have size, a gruff demeanor, a presence, and legitimacy to them.
In wrestling, that’s always been the case. From Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and the Ultimate Warrior to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, the Rock, John Cena, and Batista, the aura of heavyweights have always made them must-see-TV. They never might be the best in-ring performers, but they utilized their believability, their facial expressions, and their size to their full advantage.
And it’s sad to say that, especially with the absolute athleticism of today’s modern professional wrestler. They can fly, they can strike, they can innovate, but they are not perceived as mainstream stars, in my opinion.
Maybe it’s why professional wrestling hasn’t had real mainstream buzz since the CM Punk “Pipebomb” in the summer of 2011, or more importantly, the Attitude Era, which died on April 1, 2001 - WrestleMania X-Seven. It’s missing “it”. As much as I could go and blame the creative direction of multiple wrestling promotions, I truly believe it’s the credibility of how talents handle themselves, especially inside of the ring.
The majority of performers inside the ropes in this current era all have, in my opinion, a work rate style. A lot of grapplers are utilizing move after move after move after move in their matches, while surviving strikes and high impact moves that, if looked as real, would destroy any other athlete. The legitimacy and viciousness of UFC has really taken the steam out of pro wrestling credibility, especially during the art of the match. It’s wild when Brian Cage from AEW, a monster with an incredible physique, is flying and doing insane wrestling maneuvers, when he should be staying on the mat and just destroying other performers with his size. It’s just not realistic looking.
I really struggle watching today’s product so much, which forces me to be a bitter fan and longing for the past. I actually feel like I’m lapsing into the “back in my day” type of wrestling fan, which truly upsets me. And, in reality, it almost forced me to give up hope on today’s game.
So when I sat down and watched WrestleMania 37, Night One with my buddy and his wife a month ago, I went in with low expectations. I was drifting in and out attention-wise after the fun Lashley and Drew McIntyre battle to kick off the show. The next two matches weren’t my cup of tea. Just how it goes.
And then...I stopped. And focused on the next battle.
The New Day defended their RAW Tag Team Championships against AJ Styles and his partner. The whole build to the match was simple: keep “the Phenomenal One” in the ring as much as humanly possible. It really felt like WrestleMania 6 as Demolition isolated Haku in their tag team match and kept Andre the Giant. But just as the New Day slipped up, AJ tagged his partner in. Just in that moment, I smirked.
OMOS became must watch television.
The fear in Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods’ eyes was outstanding. The facials from the 7’3 giant was unbelievable. The way he moved around the ring was stellar. And the simplicity and the style of his offense was old school.
The victory of AJ and Omos illustrated a major change in my view of WWE programming. The storytelling behind this duo for six months has been epic. During AJ’s matches, no one dared cross the big man. The fear in every WWE superstar’s face told the entire story. There was something intimidating and awe-inspiring about this man. Once he competed, all bets were officially off.
Wrestling has missed a legitimate, full time performer as a threatening presence for a long time. Sure, Braun Strowman was considered a monster, but he had some serious slapstick moments that lost credibility with fans. Bray Wyatt had a chance to be wrestling’s version of an evil villain from a horror movie, but WWE lost their way with the character. Even the repeated start-and-stop of Lashley took a lot of thunder away from him in 2019-2020 until recently.
But with Omos, WWE has protected him completely from his first night in. He doesn’t say much, he stands tall with purpose, and when he does strike, it’s all business. Omos cannot be moved and, thus far, no one has been able to. There hasn’t been a guy protected like this since Diesel became the bodyguard of Shawn Michaels in 1993.
Omos feels REAL. He’s a silent headhunter that has one job: to protect AJ Styles at all costs, by ANY MEANS NECESSARY. He has no need to fly around and expend any additional energy. He has no desire to be seen as anything other than muscle. And that’s exactly what professional wrestling needs right now: a guy that hurts people as his job.
As much as people hate to admit it, this industry needs guys like Omos around. Not everyone should have an illustrious moveset. Not everyone needs to have an illustrious interview segment. Not everyone needs to be seen as a favorite of the internet wrestling community. The heavyweights in wrestling are, as Big Cass said in 2017, “where the money is”.
Omos is, both figuratively and literally, larger than life. He is imposing, brutal, and vicious. No one should be able to stop him. As an old school wrestling fan, this new school bruiser is a breath of fresh air into today’s wrestling product. Omos is awesome.
To basically say it bluntly, Omos is the future of the WWE. It might not be what you want to hear, but it is a fact. Once the big man is on his own, he will be a mega star in wrestling. I truly believe that fans will pay to see Omos dominate. More importantly, Omos will issue in the era of heavyweights once again. Not just heavyweights, but realistic, credible bruisers that feel, look, and are REAL. By the end of 2022, this man will be on top of WWE as a World Champion. Casual fans will come back to wrestling, and in spite of all the hardcore fans trying to reject him, ratings will go up.
Laugh at this open letter all you want, but I see the future. It is coming. Just don’t be surprised when it happens.
OMOS IS THE FUTURE. BANK ON IT.
Love, Bankie.
Bankie Bruce
Comments