What is a great worker in wrestling?

So what is a great worker? To a lot of people, it’s somebody who can have a great match on a regular basis. While that’s not totally wrong, it’s also very far from the truth.

A great worker is basically somebody who can get fans to buy tickets to see them wrestle. It’s also somebody who can get a promoter to pay them main-event-level money, no matter how good or bad the wrestler is in the ring. You could also say it’s someone who makes a career out of reporting half-truths in a newsletter and convincing millions of fans and people in the industry that they’re the greatest historian and reporter in the business. Basically, being a great worker means being able to make people spend money on the product.

Ric Flair was a great worker. He could give you a great performance while doing almost nothing, and fans always wanted to see more.

Hulk Hogan was also a great worker because he knew what fans wanted and gave it to them. It’s not that he didn’t know how to wrestle—he did. Just go watch his New Japan work if you don’t believe me. But he knew fans weren’t paying to see him put on a five-star classic.

Steve Austin was the same way during the Attitude Era. The same goes for John Cena, CM Punk, and Roman Reigns. They are great workers because they were huge draws for the company and worked the fans into spending money to see them.

Another type of great worker is someone who can get a huge contract from promoters and make them believe they’re worth the money being paid. In that category, Mercedes Moné is probably the greatest worker of all time.

Let me explain why I think this. We all know that while she did some indie matches before signing with WWE, she made her name there. At first, she was just another bland women’s wrestler. Let’s face it: if you watched her early NXT stuff, you wouldn’t have thought she would become a star in wrestling. But then Triple H saw the potential, switched her heel, and paired her with Summer Rae. That was a great way for her to get comfortable as a heel while still developing her in-ring and character work. Eventually, Summer got called up, and Sasha was able to branch out on her own, showcasing herself as a strong wrestler—which led to those classic matches with Bayley. Would we still remember those matches if they didn’t have great characters? I really doubt it.

When WWE needed to rebrand the women’s division, she was in the right place at the right time. She got called up and became one of the top stars in the women’s division for most of her career. Even when she had her famous temper tantrums and would go home, she was never punished and was always welcomed back with open arms. But eventually, the stardom went to her head. She decided to leave WWE and take a break from wrestling.

After that break, she came back in New Japan, demanding big money for her matches. While they were good, they weren’t on the level of her WWE work, and you could tell she was coasting on her WWE fame to squeeze as much as possible out of promoters. That led to her signing with AEW. Talk about a money mark—Tony Khan is the ultimate money mark, and she knew it. She worked him into giving her a massive contract, and that’s exactly what happened. While she doesn’t have creative control, it’s obvious she has his ear, and he’s going to do whatever she wants. That’s how great of a worker she is. She convinced a promoter she’d be a big draw while, in reality, she’s just an average wrestler coasting on past glory.