I think wrestlers and classic Hollywood stars is actually a better comparison than most. Many/most movie-goers paid to see Grant, Gable, Bogie--the Star being "themselves", being their persona, not necessarily because they wanted to see a good story. Same can be said of most wrestling fans, who paid to see the Star--Gorgeous George, Hogan, the Rock, Cena today, and were not terribly concerned about seeing a good match.

I think KISS over the years is a good example to compare to Flair. You know you were gonna get Gene spitting blood, Ace shooting bottle rockets from his guitar, Paul talking about sex, etc. They might change the order, but they always had to get in their signature spots -- people expected it.

 

And they made it work.

 

I think wrestlers and classic Hollywood stars is actually a better comparison than most. Many/most movie-goers paid to see Grant, Gable, Bogie--the Star being "themselves", being their persona, not necessarily because they wanted to see a good story. Same can be said of most wrestling fans, who paid to see the Star--Gorgeous George, Hogan, the Rock, Cena today, and were not terribly concerned about seeing a good match.

Cary Grant had several gimmicks he worked over the years. But John Wayne's a good example of a guy who worked the same match for 40 years. Even in the rare times when he went tweener or almost heel (Red River, Searchers), he was still John Fucking Wayne.

 

Wayne = Hogan