This.........this could be a bad one folks. And it will be very short
I feel raped. I feel honest to God raped by Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. At the end of 2009 I was proud to call myself a TNA fan, I was enjoying wrestling for the first time since the death of Eddie Guerrero and I was genuinely hopeful for the future with Hogan and Bischoff and the great young talent leading the way.
I have no hope any more.
I just don't get it, how did something so good get turned to shit so quickly? I honestly feel like an idiot for investing my time in them. I watched the Live Impact and their Genesis Pay Per View, hopeing I'd see something that would say "This is TNA. we're different and you should watch us" and what do we get? A WCW Ripoff and not even a good one.
But the Impact spoilers coming out this week are the very last straw. They're rehashing Montreal.....VER-FUCKING-BATIM! And with it my hopes for the future die. I have gone from a wrestling fan who was loving saying that and having hope for the Hogan Era.....to wanting to kill everyone involved in it and anyone who supports it.
It's times like these I wonder why I bother anymore.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Saturday, December 5, 2009
TNA's 3 Hour Live Impact: Let That Be Your Final Battlefield
The winds have picked up strength. The smell of fail is in the air my friends. The news broke and the message boards are in a frenzy. TNA is going to take on WWE in a one off constest Monday the 4th of January 2010 and TNA are hyping heavily the return to tv/TNA debut of Hulk Hogan which will happen on that show.
This may very well KILL TNA. And I don't mean a little "Oh we tried and failed" kill either I mean we may very well bear witness to the death of a company on January 4 and I'll tell you why, there's 3 very good reasons while any fan of TNA should be deathly afraid.
Reason 1: The timing
It smacks of desperation, you're putting on a live Impact, something you've never done on one months notice. I love TNA but the simple fact they're not ready for this fight yet. Not in terms of wrestling product, not in terms of brand marketability, not in terms of experience, not in terms of anything you can measure in terms in comparison with WWE. The one thing, love him or hate him anyone has ever said about Vince McMahon is he thrives on competiton and for almost 10 years now he hasn't had it. Now the wrestling equivalent of David could very well be about to awaken the sleeping giant.
And even if WWE doesn't take much notice, what exactly is TNA aiming for? Their Thursday night Impact at their HIGHEST point this year averaged a 1.3 and that was at the start of the year, in more recent times they've fallen to somewhere around 1.0. What is considered a victory here? Even as dire as Raw is now they're averaging about a 3.6 so if the aim is to defeat RAW then they'll fail and fail dismally, if the attempt is to get to a 2.0, they'll still fail. I don't think Hogan alone accounts for 1 million viewers. I can see only ONE viable reason for doing a show January 4. It's the first Monday night for 6 months without Monday Night Football and they're hoping that enough of those viewers tune into Impact to make it viable. Will it work? I don't think so. Most of the fans who would be intrested in wrestling are more than likely "Better the Devil you know" fans. They'll go to the WWE. If TNA gets to 1.5 that's a good effort but it's not worth the extra cash they're putting on the line to go live and head to head
Reason 2: Hulk Hogan
Yes Hulk Hogan. TNA's Biggest Asset is also their greatest albatross, and could be the rock that sinks the company.
Again I'll freely admit bias as I'm not a Hulkamanic nor was I ever, but the people who left WCW in their droves during their slump did so with Hogan on top of proceedings, every comeback he's made for WWE since has been the same, the 1ST week you get a nostalgia pop in the ratings (Maybe up to 0.3-0.4) and then the VERY NEXT WEEK they go back to normal or in most cases involving Hogan, worse. TNA doesn't have the fanbase to lose, they can barely fill the Impact Zone, a 1000 seat soundstage at Universal Studios. Hogan was and is a legend, but as I've said in previous columns you sending the wrong message by making him the focal point, TNA needs to be providing a alternative, not a nostalgia reunion. The focus should be on guys like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Matt Morgan, Desmond Wolfe, yet when the announcement is made and the ads are put out who gets the attention? Hulk Hogan, it's a step in the wrong direction for TNA and considering they're already close to the edge of a cliff, it's a step they can ill afford to make.
Reason 3: Vince Russo
This is a maybe but if he's still writing at TNA come January 4 then woe betide TNA. Those who watched WCW in 2000 and survived without killing themselves or winding up in the nuthouse would well remember just how crazy it was. Nonsensical segment after nonsensical segment, swerve after swerve, disaster after disaster. If that's the message TNA send in a live head to head battle, they will not only be beaten, they'll be annihilated.
Fix these three reasons and TNA may have a chance, but since they won't it's a very very bad idea from Dixie and the gang. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be a fatal one.
This may very well KILL TNA. And I don't mean a little "Oh we tried and failed" kill either I mean we may very well bear witness to the death of a company on January 4 and I'll tell you why, there's 3 very good reasons while any fan of TNA should be deathly afraid.
Reason 1: The timing
It smacks of desperation, you're putting on a live Impact, something you've never done on one months notice. I love TNA but the simple fact they're not ready for this fight yet. Not in terms of wrestling product, not in terms of brand marketability, not in terms of experience, not in terms of anything you can measure in terms in comparison with WWE. The one thing, love him or hate him anyone has ever said about Vince McMahon is he thrives on competiton and for almost 10 years now he hasn't had it. Now the wrestling equivalent of David could very well be about to awaken the sleeping giant.
And even if WWE doesn't take much notice, what exactly is TNA aiming for? Their Thursday night Impact at their HIGHEST point this year averaged a 1.3 and that was at the start of the year, in more recent times they've fallen to somewhere around 1.0. What is considered a victory here? Even as dire as Raw is now they're averaging about a 3.6 so if the aim is to defeat RAW then they'll fail and fail dismally, if the attempt is to get to a 2.0, they'll still fail. I don't think Hogan alone accounts for 1 million viewers. I can see only ONE viable reason for doing a show January 4. It's the first Monday night for 6 months without Monday Night Football and they're hoping that enough of those viewers tune into Impact to make it viable. Will it work? I don't think so. Most of the fans who would be intrested in wrestling are more than likely "Better the Devil you know" fans. They'll go to the WWE. If TNA gets to 1.5 that's a good effort but it's not worth the extra cash they're putting on the line to go live and head to head
Reason 2: Hulk Hogan
Yes Hulk Hogan. TNA's Biggest Asset is also their greatest albatross, and could be the rock that sinks the company.
Again I'll freely admit bias as I'm not a Hulkamanic nor was I ever, but the people who left WCW in their droves during their slump did so with Hogan on top of proceedings, every comeback he's made for WWE since has been the same, the 1ST week you get a nostalgia pop in the ratings (Maybe up to 0.3-0.4) and then the VERY NEXT WEEK they go back to normal or in most cases involving Hogan, worse. TNA doesn't have the fanbase to lose, they can barely fill the Impact Zone, a 1000 seat soundstage at Universal Studios. Hogan was and is a legend, but as I've said in previous columns you sending the wrong message by making him the focal point, TNA needs to be providing a alternative, not a nostalgia reunion. The focus should be on guys like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Matt Morgan, Desmond Wolfe, yet when the announcement is made and the ads are put out who gets the attention? Hulk Hogan, it's a step in the wrong direction for TNA and considering they're already close to the edge of a cliff, it's a step they can ill afford to make.
Reason 3: Vince Russo
This is a maybe but if he's still writing at TNA come January 4 then woe betide TNA. Those who watched WCW in 2000 and survived without killing themselves or winding up in the nuthouse would well remember just how crazy it was. Nonsensical segment after nonsensical segment, swerve after swerve, disaster after disaster. If that's the message TNA send in a live head to head battle, they will not only be beaten, they'll be annihilated.
Fix these three reasons and TNA may have a chance, but since they won't it's a very very bad idea from Dixie and the gang. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be a fatal one.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Remembering Eddie "Umaga" Fatu
This is probably going to be a very short column folks, and probably the worst of the lot so for those who enjoy good writing, you probably should look elsewhere.
As I type this word has come through on wwe.com and other wrestling news sites that Eddie Fatu aka Umaga has passed away, some speculate heart attack, others say something else, that's neither here nor there. It doesn't make him any less dead and unlike more recent deaths this one is going to hit hard and unfortunately leave a lot of questions about once again where does professional responsibility stop and personal resposibility start.
Eddie Fatu was a developmental player in the WWE for a long time before he finally got his shot, as part of the tag team "3 Minute Warning", one of my guiltiest pleasures of the time. Their matches weren't great, in fact most of the time they were barely what you'd call good. But through shrewd and clever writing and a role as then Raw general manager Eric Bischoff's enforcers 3 Minute Warning started to get over and started to get heat. Of course being the WWE, they fucked it all up but putting them into a fued with ambiguously gay duo Billy and Chuck (A fued that was set up when Billy and Chuck were going to get married and then at the last second revealed that they actually weren't gay. A move that REALLY delighted GLAAD, who sent them a gravy boat to celebrate their achievement. No word on whether GLAAD ever asked for the gravy boat to be returned or not) and then they pretty much burned out by the time the 2004 Royal Rumble came around and went back to development.
There Eddie waited for two years, until just after Wrestlemania 22 when he was given a new look, new gimmick and a manager to match. He was now "The Samoan Bulldozer UUUUUUUMAGA!" (Once again you have to say it like that or it doesn't work. It's a WWE thing please don't write me about it)
I have to admit, when I saw this gimmick I thought it was the most stupid idea on the planet, the idea of the samoan or islander savage had been done before in the late 80's all the way up to the mid 90's and every one of them failed in the end. Why? Well there's a number of reasons I sure the WWE would give you, like connection to the fans, not finding the right opponents, problems with their workrate but there's a more simple for why the "Samoan/Islander Savage" gimmick never got over.
BECAUSE IT FUCKING SUCKED!
Seriously let me run through some of the names here and I'll prove it. Afa, the original Wild Samoan, he did have a pretty good go of it for a while, I think he even fought Hogan at one point but he's far more well known as a trainer than he ever was as a wrestler. Haku? Probably the most famous of them all, he became King of the World Wrestling Federation (Sadly he did not come with crown as illustrated) and had a pretty good 4-5 year run in the WWF, then went to WCW and became THE MONSTER MENG! (Once again it's a wrestling thing). He definately was a pretty good mid to upper midcarder but it wasn't really a gimmick you could ever see on top. Fatu of the Headshrinkers is probably the other one I should bring up. Except when he was a Headshrinker noone cared, yet the WWE pushed him in various ways for 6 FUCKING YEARS before they found the right gimmick for him. A big fat guy who loved to dance, have fun.......and rub his ass in peoples faces.......And I only wish I was making that up.
So you can see it was with some trepidation that I saw this gimmick, yet Eddie pulled it off, and it was done for two very good reasons.
Reason 1: His Wrestling Style
Umaga didn't fight people, he ran them over like a bulldozer (Hence the name). For a while it brought back memories of another wrestler from another wrestling company, Goldberg. He'd hit you, hit you again, squash you in the corner and then finish you.
He also took one of the STUPIDEST finishers of all time, The Samoan Spike and made you believe it was crippling and hurting his opponent. For those who don't know what the Samoan Spike was and why I think it's stupid let me explain what it was. You pick the guy up, hold your thumb out like the Fonz.....and then jab the guy in the throat. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. Yet with Umaga it seemed to work and he was a danger to anyone without having to do anything at all.
Reason 2: They never let him talk at all
As much as he was fighting well in the ring the reason Umaga got over in the early days wasn't because of Umaga, it was because of his manager. Armando Allejandro Estrrrrrrrrrrada! (That's three wrestling things for those playing the home game) Estrada made you believe he was the only one capable of controlling this savage and certainly Eddie played that part to perfection, researching tribal tattoos that he could add to his face, crying out Samoan war cries. Umaga never spoke one word of english and it got him over fast. He was like the WWE version of Ivan Drago, whatever he hit he destroyed.
He had a great run in WWE but behind the scenes Eddie Fatu fell into the same trap so many other wrestlers do, he got involved in drugs and truly believed he could control it when he couldn't. It would end up costing him everything as he was fired after refusing to go to rehab. I'm not going to speculate that this has anything to do with what happened, nows not the time. He had just made a tour of Australia with the Hulkamania tour and looked to getting his life back on track. Now I guess we'll never know.
Anothertragic loss for wrestling. Let's hope it's not just another statistic
As I type this word has come through on wwe.com and other wrestling news sites that Eddie Fatu aka Umaga has passed away, some speculate heart attack, others say something else, that's neither here nor there. It doesn't make him any less dead and unlike more recent deaths this one is going to hit hard and unfortunately leave a lot of questions about once again where does professional responsibility stop and personal resposibility start.
Eddie Fatu was a developmental player in the WWE for a long time before he finally got his shot, as part of the tag team "3 Minute Warning", one of my guiltiest pleasures of the time. Their matches weren't great, in fact most of the time they were barely what you'd call good. But through shrewd and clever writing and a role as then Raw general manager Eric Bischoff's enforcers 3 Minute Warning started to get over and started to get heat. Of course being the WWE, they fucked it all up but putting them into a fued with ambiguously gay duo Billy and Chuck (A fued that was set up when Billy and Chuck were going to get married and then at the last second revealed that they actually weren't gay. A move that REALLY delighted GLAAD, who sent them a gravy boat to celebrate their achievement. No word on whether GLAAD ever asked for the gravy boat to be returned or not) and then they pretty much burned out by the time the 2004 Royal Rumble came around and went back to development.
There Eddie waited for two years, until just after Wrestlemania 22 when he was given a new look, new gimmick and a manager to match. He was now "The Samoan Bulldozer UUUUUUUMAGA!" (Once again you have to say it like that or it doesn't work. It's a WWE thing please don't write me about it)
I have to admit, when I saw this gimmick I thought it was the most stupid idea on the planet, the idea of the samoan or islander savage had been done before in the late 80's all the way up to the mid 90's and every one of them failed in the end. Why? Well there's a number of reasons I sure the WWE would give you, like connection to the fans, not finding the right opponents, problems with their workrate but there's a more simple for why the "Samoan/Islander Savage" gimmick never got over.
BECAUSE IT FUCKING SUCKED!
Seriously let me run through some of the names here and I'll prove it. Afa, the original Wild Samoan, he did have a pretty good go of it for a while, I think he even fought Hogan at one point but he's far more well known as a trainer than he ever was as a wrestler. Haku? Probably the most famous of them all, he became King of the World Wrestling Federation (Sadly he did not come with crown as illustrated) and had a pretty good 4-5 year run in the WWF, then went to WCW and became THE MONSTER MENG! (Once again it's a wrestling thing). He definately was a pretty good mid to upper midcarder but it wasn't really a gimmick you could ever see on top. Fatu of the Headshrinkers is probably the other one I should bring up. Except when he was a Headshrinker noone cared, yet the WWE pushed him in various ways for 6 FUCKING YEARS before they found the right gimmick for him. A big fat guy who loved to dance, have fun.......and rub his ass in peoples faces.......And I only wish I was making that up.
So you can see it was with some trepidation that I saw this gimmick, yet Eddie pulled it off, and it was done for two very good reasons.
Reason 1: His Wrestling Style
Umaga didn't fight people, he ran them over like a bulldozer (Hence the name). For a while it brought back memories of another wrestler from another wrestling company, Goldberg. He'd hit you, hit you again, squash you in the corner and then finish you.
He also took one of the STUPIDEST finishers of all time, The Samoan Spike and made you believe it was crippling and hurting his opponent. For those who don't know what the Samoan Spike was and why I think it's stupid let me explain what it was. You pick the guy up, hold your thumb out like the Fonz.....and then jab the guy in the throat. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. Yet with Umaga it seemed to work and he was a danger to anyone without having to do anything at all.
Reason 2: They never let him talk at all
As much as he was fighting well in the ring the reason Umaga got over in the early days wasn't because of Umaga, it was because of his manager. Armando Allejandro Estrrrrrrrrrrada! (That's three wrestling things for those playing the home game) Estrada made you believe he was the only one capable of controlling this savage and certainly Eddie played that part to perfection, researching tribal tattoos that he could add to his face, crying out Samoan war cries. Umaga never spoke one word of english and it got him over fast. He was like the WWE version of Ivan Drago, whatever he hit he destroyed.
He had a great run in WWE but behind the scenes Eddie Fatu fell into the same trap so many other wrestlers do, he got involved in drugs and truly believed he could control it when he couldn't. It would end up costing him everything as he was fired after refusing to go to rehab. I'm not going to speculate that this has anything to do with what happened, nows not the time. He had just made a tour of Australia with the Hulkamania tour and looked to getting his life back on track. Now I guess we'll never know.
Anothertragic loss for wrestling. Let's hope it's not just another statistic
Thursday, November 5, 2009
There is no Curse in Elfish, Entish or the Tongues of Men for THIS!...
A part of my childhood has just died. Thanks a lot Hulkamania tour. Thanks a whole fucking lot.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
A moment's thought on the Hogan-TNA Deal
So even a week after it was announced still the only thing the wrestling world wants to talk about is Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff signing for TNA, Bischoff plans to stay off the air and just help the creative side which is a definate upgrade for them. Bischoff,love him or hate him is the only man who did something noone else in the wrestling world can claim. He forced Vince McMahon to adapt but changing the rules of play.
See before Bischoff the reason WCW was always the number 2 organisation was because they tried to the WWE on their battleground, relying on tradition and their fanbase to spead the word for them. It didn't work of course and WCW was pretty much a lame duck company that had a good product but still loast money. Then Eric Bischoff took over and things began to change, because he refused to fight the WWE's fight. He got live prime time, he gave away the WWE's results, he signed their talent away, every move he made laid the foundation to the one spark they needed to push them over, when Hulk Hogan turned heel and joined the New World Order, Bischoff had that spark and for over 2 years ran with it.
He has his flaws though, he was never able to follow up the crushing blow he dealt to the WWE and when McMahon finally adapted it was a matter of time. That's not to say Bischoff doesn't have one of the greatest minds out there, he's an asset that will work big for TNA if they use him right.
But Bischoff is a side player in this, everyone wants to talk about Hogan, what role will he play? how will he affect morale? will this change TNA? It's all been discussed on every wrestling board non-stop for the past week and a couple of people have been waiting with baited breath to see what I would have to say about it. So here it is. My opinion on the great signing and what it will mean for TNA
I
DON'T
CARE!
Seriously it is far too early to tell and everything I say is pure speculation. Hogan could help the TNA brand in terms of name recognition, everyone knows that. He could help to put a lot of the talent over. Or he could do what he's done so many times before, let his ego get in the way of good business.
Hogan is a household name but he's not a main eventer or a title contender, not now, not ever and if TNA believe that then they're heading in the wrong direction. They need to look to the future, the seeds of discontent with the WWE are already starting so if they provide a viable alternative by looking to their younger stars, they may just start their climb into the stratusphere.
Another quick thought I wanted to bring up is their new heel Desmond Wolfe. For once TNA look like they have got a compelling character, a guy who's hellbent for respect and doesn't care who he destroys to get it. They started this guy off perfectly by having him attack Kurt Angle, Kurt is taken out on a stretcher, Wolfe looks like a badass. Angle wants a match at Turning Point but how can he beat a guy who damn near crippled him. Classic Booking 101. Give the fans an underdog to cheer for, a match they want to see and a heel that looks unstoppable and watch the cash roll in. Hopefully TNA doesn't screw this one up because they've got the pieces to make a compelling drive now at the WWE. For the first time ever, people are talking about TNA more than the WWE. Now is the time to play your best cards, now is the time to show what you're all about and the only way to get to the top is to be hungry.....hungry like the Wolfe
I can't believe I made the reference.....I may just go kill myself now.
See before Bischoff the reason WCW was always the number 2 organisation was because they tried to the WWE on their battleground, relying on tradition and their fanbase to spead the word for them. It didn't work of course and WCW was pretty much a lame duck company that had a good product but still loast money. Then Eric Bischoff took over and things began to change, because he refused to fight the WWE's fight. He got live prime time, he gave away the WWE's results, he signed their talent away, every move he made laid the foundation to the one spark they needed to push them over, when Hulk Hogan turned heel and joined the New World Order, Bischoff had that spark and for over 2 years ran with it.
He has his flaws though, he was never able to follow up the crushing blow he dealt to the WWE and when McMahon finally adapted it was a matter of time. That's not to say Bischoff doesn't have one of the greatest minds out there, he's an asset that will work big for TNA if they use him right.
But Bischoff is a side player in this, everyone wants to talk about Hogan, what role will he play? how will he affect morale? will this change TNA? It's all been discussed on every wrestling board non-stop for the past week and a couple of people have been waiting with baited breath to see what I would have to say about it. So here it is. My opinion on the great signing and what it will mean for TNA
I
DON'T
CARE!
Seriously it is far too early to tell and everything I say is pure speculation. Hogan could help the TNA brand in terms of name recognition, everyone knows that. He could help to put a lot of the talent over. Or he could do what he's done so many times before, let his ego get in the way of good business.
Hogan is a household name but he's not a main eventer or a title contender, not now, not ever and if TNA believe that then they're heading in the wrong direction. They need to look to the future, the seeds of discontent with the WWE are already starting so if they provide a viable alternative by looking to their younger stars, they may just start their climb into the stratusphere.
Another quick thought I wanted to bring up is their new heel Desmond Wolfe. For once TNA look like they have got a compelling character, a guy who's hellbent for respect and doesn't care who he destroys to get it. They started this guy off perfectly by having him attack Kurt Angle, Kurt is taken out on a stretcher, Wolfe looks like a badass. Angle wants a match at Turning Point but how can he beat a guy who damn near crippled him. Classic Booking 101. Give the fans an underdog to cheer for, a match they want to see and a heel that looks unstoppable and watch the cash roll in. Hopefully TNA doesn't screw this one up because they've got the pieces to make a compelling drive now at the WWE. For the first time ever, people are talking about TNA more than the WWE. Now is the time to play your best cards, now is the time to show what you're all about and the only way to get to the top is to be hungry.....hungry like the Wolfe
I can't believe I made the reference.....I may just go kill myself now.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Heel Champions: The greatest in my eyes may shock you
With the recent loss by CM Punk to the Undertaker wrecking his run as a great character and heel world champion a lot of discussion has started up on who the greatest heel champion of the modern era in the WWE has been. A lot of great heels have held the belts. Triple H, Edge, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton. Everyone has an opinion and they will defend their chosen champion to the hilt in any argument. I believe there has been only ONE truly effective heel WWE champion in the past decade, yet when I mention his name anywhere I'm either flamed incessantly or have people question my sanity as a wrestling fan.
Before I reveal my choice as the greatest heel champion of the modern era let me explain the criteria as once again I open the book entitled "Maskell's Booking 101"
The heel champion should be a great talker or at least have a great mouthpiece to generate heat, to incense the fans and to get them to come and see him get beat up by the babyface challenger.
The heel champion should always find a way to sneak away with a win, just when it looks like the babyface is finally going to put him away, the heel champion cheats to win and makes the fans believe that their guy almost had it and next time, next time the heel champion won't be so lucky. He doesn't even have to win, he can sneak out and run for a countout or get himself disqualified, which while losing him the match means he keeps the gold around his waist. All the while he goes on televison and claims he's better than everyone simply cause he's the champion and the babyface is not.
The heel champion should always stack the odds in his favor, whether that's by gathering a group of lackeys to protect him or setting up challenges so outlandish they seemingly don't have a hope of winning. It all infuriates the fans more as the fans now believe the champion is a coward as well as an asshole, which in turn makes them want to see their guy overcome those odds and destroy the champion even more.
The Honky Tonk Man did this with the Intercontinental Title in the late 80's, he held the belt for almost 18 months, yet ask fans who are still watching wrestling today who saw him in that era and ask them to name five matches that Honky won that weren't squash matches, just five matches he won when he had a legitimate shot of losing his title and I guarantee all you'll get is a series of dumb looks and "I don't know"'s all around. Yet he's still regarded by old school as the Greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time, because he followed the criteria of Booking 101 and got the fans so riled up they paid money to see him get beaten up.
That turns us to the WWE title, every person I've named certainly has claims to being the greatest heel champion of the modern era. Noone respected HHH and the way he would always seemingly win when common logic said he should lose. Then we all found out he was banging the bosses daughter and head of the writing staff Stephanie McMahon and the whole thing made sense. Edge has definately riled fans the world over with his antics on WWE TV but in the grand scheme of things he's only ever been used as a transitional champion, a very good one but transitional nonetheless. Orton may yet become the greatest heel champion ever but most fans at least respect him for being a good worker, even if he's a prick backstage and that means he's not there yet.
Nope, in my opinion only ONE man has ever taken the principles of Booking 101 to their utmost to be the greatest heel champion of the modern era. Fot almost a year he infuriated fans with his promos, his running down of their heroes and their way of life, the way he managed to slip out of the clutches of the virtuous babyface time after time and the way he never fought a babyface champion on terms that weren't to his advantage. Only one man had absolutely no respect from the fans and made those fans who already did want to see him get beaten up riled up to the point where some wanted to see him killed.
His name? John Bradshaw Leyfield
Before you all start laughing or preparing your letters of hate let me explain. Before he became JBL, Bradshaw was a opening match tag guy who drank beer, beat up people and appeared in low level comedy spots. Around April of 2004 his tag team, the APA was split up, primarilly because Ron Simmons wanted to retire as an active wrestler, what that kicked off was the most amazing character change of all time as the Texas beer drinking bar fighting redneck dissappeared to be replaced by a Wall Street, suit wearing, corporate version of what a wrestler should be. He looked down his nose at the fans that once cheered him, saying that he earnt money in the stock market while his fellow wrestlers and fans had squandered their money on cars and drugs and loose women (Which is not that far from the truth, in real life Leyfield made many appearances on Fox News programs such as Cashin' In where he gave stock tips and his opinions on the stock market. He wrote a book on how to make money in the stock market, he got his own radio show where he doled out financial advice) and that that made him better than them and that he was a better wrestler than anyone, in fact he was a Wrestling....God! (You have to say it like that or it doesn't work).
The WWE finally had a compelling character and for once in their lifes, they didn't fuck it up, they had him beat up people and appear in vignettes attacking the mexican heritage, making it clear that there was only one person who he was aiming for. The WWE champion Eddie Guerrero. They met at Judgement Day and the result was one of the goriest WWE pay per view matches in history, the result of a Guerrero blade job gone horribly wrong. JBL didn't even win the belt that night, the match finished in a double DQ but the groundwork had been laid, just over a month later at the Great American Bash JBL did the unthinkable in the eyes of many fans, he beat Eddie Guerrero 1-2-3 and became the new WWE Champion
And the Internet Wrestling Community pretty much exploded 3 seconds later.
A lot of people howled with derision, saying this was a terrible idea, how could the WWE do it? and that JBL was the worst champion ever. What these fans failed to realise is every time they posted their hatred, they proved why JBL was the right choice for champion. They tuned in week after week, sure that it would only be a one month reign and someone would defeat, but lo and behold week after week, month after month JBL found a way of escaping, whether by cheating, getting dq'ed or with help from his "Cabinent", Orlando Jordan and the Basham Brothers. Every hero that he faced he got by, Big Show, Guerrero, Benoit, Undertaker, Angle. They all fell down....and all the while JBL kept talking, kept riling the fans into more and more of a frenzy by saying he was a wrestling god and that noone could defeat him, finally it became clear that the fans had just one hope left, a babyface had been building for over a year, a man who was like a powderkeg waiting to go off and all that was needed was that one final spark to shoot him into being the next WWE mega hero.
John Cena.
After winning the number one contendership not long after the Royal Rumble, JBL tried EVERYTHING to keep Cena away from ever facing him, he set up roadblock after roadblock, gauntlet matches against his Cabinent, four on one beatdowbs on a weekly basis, constant interference in his matches to upset his momentum heading into their showdown. Cena survived it all and finally JBL had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, the stage was set. Wrestlemania 21. JBL faced John Cena for the WWE title, and the fans were convinced that tonight, finally JBL would get his comeupance and Cena would destroy him. The bell rang, the crowd roared and the two locked up as the fans waited for Cena to start ripping JBL to shreds.
It didn't happen. JBL overpowered Cena and beat him down.....and beat him down again.....then he beat him down some more.....this went on for 15 minutes.
I must admit when I first saw the match, I never got this part of it, now I totally get it. The fans were so convinced that Cena was going to destroy JBL that they regarded it as a formality, by taking that away from them they made them believe that maybe....just maybe their last hope couldn't overcome the odds....that JBL was right, that he truly was better than everyone just like he said he was....slowly the fans went silent in disbelief as their hero seemed down and out, then they got emotionally involved, cheering for Cena to rise up and somehow, someway find a way to beat JBL, and since this IS wrestling and good MUST triumph over evil in the end, Cena did find a way, digging down deep into his reserves to reverse JBL's offence, turn the tables, hit an F-U and end the reign of John Bradshaw Leyfield once and for all. And with that win Cena became a megastar, a place he still holds today
JBL never really got to that height again, he fueded with CM Punk over the World Heavyweight Title in 2008 but he never got back to the heights of 2004/5, eventually he quit earlier this year after losing an Intercontinental Title match to Rey Mysterio in just 7 seconds. However his legacy should not be so easily thrown away by wrestling fans, by following the principles of Booking 101, he not only provided the WWE with a compelling heel champion who fans both internet and regular wanted to see get killed, his promos infuriated fans, his way of getting out of matches frustrated them and his eventual loss of the title to John Cena created the biggest star the WWE has had in this decade.
With all that on his resume, how can anyone deny he was the greatest heel champion of the modern era? No other champion out there ticked every other box plus had zero respect from the fans, respect equals sympathy and if a heel has sympathy he's not doing his job. JBL did his to a tee and for that reason in the realms of the heel champions of the modern eta he truly was a Wrestling.....God!
Before I reveal my choice as the greatest heel champion of the modern era let me explain the criteria as once again I open the book entitled "Maskell's Booking 101"
The heel champion should be a great talker or at least have a great mouthpiece to generate heat, to incense the fans and to get them to come and see him get beat up by the babyface challenger.
The heel champion should always find a way to sneak away with a win, just when it looks like the babyface is finally going to put him away, the heel champion cheats to win and makes the fans believe that their guy almost had it and next time, next time the heel champion won't be so lucky. He doesn't even have to win, he can sneak out and run for a countout or get himself disqualified, which while losing him the match means he keeps the gold around his waist. All the while he goes on televison and claims he's better than everyone simply cause he's the champion and the babyface is not.
The heel champion should always stack the odds in his favor, whether that's by gathering a group of lackeys to protect him or setting up challenges so outlandish they seemingly don't have a hope of winning. It all infuriates the fans more as the fans now believe the champion is a coward as well as an asshole, which in turn makes them want to see their guy overcome those odds and destroy the champion even more.
The Honky Tonk Man did this with the Intercontinental Title in the late 80's, he held the belt for almost 18 months, yet ask fans who are still watching wrestling today who saw him in that era and ask them to name five matches that Honky won that weren't squash matches, just five matches he won when he had a legitimate shot of losing his title and I guarantee all you'll get is a series of dumb looks and "I don't know"'s all around. Yet he's still regarded by old school as the Greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time, because he followed the criteria of Booking 101 and got the fans so riled up they paid money to see him get beaten up.
That turns us to the WWE title, every person I've named certainly has claims to being the greatest heel champion of the modern era. Noone respected HHH and the way he would always seemingly win when common logic said he should lose. Then we all found out he was banging the bosses daughter and head of the writing staff Stephanie McMahon and the whole thing made sense. Edge has definately riled fans the world over with his antics on WWE TV but in the grand scheme of things he's only ever been used as a transitional champion, a very good one but transitional nonetheless. Orton may yet become the greatest heel champion ever but most fans at least respect him for being a good worker, even if he's a prick backstage and that means he's not there yet.
Nope, in my opinion only ONE man has ever taken the principles of Booking 101 to their utmost to be the greatest heel champion of the modern era. Fot almost a year he infuriated fans with his promos, his running down of their heroes and their way of life, the way he managed to slip out of the clutches of the virtuous babyface time after time and the way he never fought a babyface champion on terms that weren't to his advantage. Only one man had absolutely no respect from the fans and made those fans who already did want to see him get beaten up riled up to the point where some wanted to see him killed.
His name? John Bradshaw Leyfield
Before you all start laughing or preparing your letters of hate let me explain. Before he became JBL, Bradshaw was a opening match tag guy who drank beer, beat up people and appeared in low level comedy spots. Around April of 2004 his tag team, the APA was split up, primarilly because Ron Simmons wanted to retire as an active wrestler, what that kicked off was the most amazing character change of all time as the Texas beer drinking bar fighting redneck dissappeared to be replaced by a Wall Street, suit wearing, corporate version of what a wrestler should be. He looked down his nose at the fans that once cheered him, saying that he earnt money in the stock market while his fellow wrestlers and fans had squandered their money on cars and drugs and loose women (Which is not that far from the truth, in real life Leyfield made many appearances on Fox News programs such as Cashin' In where he gave stock tips and his opinions on the stock market. He wrote a book on how to make money in the stock market, he got his own radio show where he doled out financial advice) and that that made him better than them and that he was a better wrestler than anyone, in fact he was a Wrestling....God! (You have to say it like that or it doesn't work).
The WWE finally had a compelling character and for once in their lifes, they didn't fuck it up, they had him beat up people and appear in vignettes attacking the mexican heritage, making it clear that there was only one person who he was aiming for. The WWE champion Eddie Guerrero. They met at Judgement Day and the result was one of the goriest WWE pay per view matches in history, the result of a Guerrero blade job gone horribly wrong. JBL didn't even win the belt that night, the match finished in a double DQ but the groundwork had been laid, just over a month later at the Great American Bash JBL did the unthinkable in the eyes of many fans, he beat Eddie Guerrero 1-2-3 and became the new WWE Champion
And the Internet Wrestling Community pretty much exploded 3 seconds later.
A lot of people howled with derision, saying this was a terrible idea, how could the WWE do it? and that JBL was the worst champion ever. What these fans failed to realise is every time they posted their hatred, they proved why JBL was the right choice for champion. They tuned in week after week, sure that it would only be a one month reign and someone would defeat, but lo and behold week after week, month after month JBL found a way of escaping, whether by cheating, getting dq'ed or with help from his "Cabinent", Orlando Jordan and the Basham Brothers. Every hero that he faced he got by, Big Show, Guerrero, Benoit, Undertaker, Angle. They all fell down....and all the while JBL kept talking, kept riling the fans into more and more of a frenzy by saying he was a wrestling god and that noone could defeat him, finally it became clear that the fans had just one hope left, a babyface had been building for over a year, a man who was like a powderkeg waiting to go off and all that was needed was that one final spark to shoot him into being the next WWE mega hero.
John Cena.
After winning the number one contendership not long after the Royal Rumble, JBL tried EVERYTHING to keep Cena away from ever facing him, he set up roadblock after roadblock, gauntlet matches against his Cabinent, four on one beatdowbs on a weekly basis, constant interference in his matches to upset his momentum heading into their showdown. Cena survived it all and finally JBL had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, the stage was set. Wrestlemania 21. JBL faced John Cena for the WWE title, and the fans were convinced that tonight, finally JBL would get his comeupance and Cena would destroy him. The bell rang, the crowd roared and the two locked up as the fans waited for Cena to start ripping JBL to shreds.
It didn't happen. JBL overpowered Cena and beat him down.....and beat him down again.....then he beat him down some more.....this went on for 15 minutes.
I must admit when I first saw the match, I never got this part of it, now I totally get it. The fans were so convinced that Cena was going to destroy JBL that they regarded it as a formality, by taking that away from them they made them believe that maybe....just maybe their last hope couldn't overcome the odds....that JBL was right, that he truly was better than everyone just like he said he was....slowly the fans went silent in disbelief as their hero seemed down and out, then they got emotionally involved, cheering for Cena to rise up and somehow, someway find a way to beat JBL, and since this IS wrestling and good MUST triumph over evil in the end, Cena did find a way, digging down deep into his reserves to reverse JBL's offence, turn the tables, hit an F-U and end the reign of John Bradshaw Leyfield once and for all. And with that win Cena became a megastar, a place he still holds today
JBL never really got to that height again, he fueded with CM Punk over the World Heavyweight Title in 2008 but he never got back to the heights of 2004/5, eventually he quit earlier this year after losing an Intercontinental Title match to Rey Mysterio in just 7 seconds. However his legacy should not be so easily thrown away by wrestling fans, by following the principles of Booking 101, he not only provided the WWE with a compelling heel champion who fans both internet and regular wanted to see get killed, his promos infuriated fans, his way of getting out of matches frustrated them and his eventual loss of the title to John Cena created the biggest star the WWE has had in this decade.
With all that on his resume, how can anyone deny he was the greatest heel champion of the modern era? No other champion out there ticked every other box plus had zero respect from the fans, respect equals sympathy and if a heel has sympathy he's not doing his job. JBL did his to a tee and for that reason in the realms of the heel champions of the modern eta he truly was a Wrestling.....God!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Nostalgia: Not always a good thing
So after a bout of mild pneumonia I'm back once again to put forth some more opinions and god do I really just want to let loose like a true smart mark after that God Awful Hell in a Cell pay per view. Thank God I didn't actually buy the thing. But a couple of points from this pay per view and from my trolling of the various wrestling message boards has led me to believe the WWE as they move in to the PG era is on something of a nostaliga kick.
It's hard to argue when you look at it. Undertaker destroys CM Punk to stand on top of the heap again and will probably face a heel turned Batista at Bragging Rights, cause God knows we didn't run that idea into the ground a couple of years ago. It boggles the mind how the WWE can continuely screw up compelling characters like they do. But I'm not really on the high horse about that. It pisses me off sure, but hey no point complaining.
The big thing that's ignited the boards recently is a report that Bret Hart would be "Open" to working for the WWE again, some 12 years after the Montreal Screwjob. While the kid in me would love to see Bret back in some capacity with the WWE again, it's hard to see where he fits in the grand scheme of things. He can't wrestle ever again thanks to the stroke he suffered, do you put him in a mentor role with the Hart Dynasty? It's a thought but Bret's mic work in his prime was only mediocre at best and those days are long gone.
Not to mention the time factor, the last time besides the Hall of Fame and his DVD that anyone saw Bret in a ring for most people was 9 years ago, most of the audience of those days do not watch wrestling now and those that do aren't probably going to move the numbers in such a way that it makes signing him viable. It just seems like a bad move all around.
The one thing wrestlers can't beat is time, compare the WWE product of today with that of let's say five years ago. Who was in the main event? HHH, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels. Turn to Hell in A Cell last night, who was in the main events? HHH, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels.
That's one of the major gripes I have about the WWE, NOTHING changes. It's always a combination of the same 6-8 guys (Throw in Batista, Orton, Cena and Edge when he's healthy). The WWE put them in matches, run them to the point where noone wants to buy the shows anymore, then changes them up, only to turn one or two guys and run the same exact matches a couple of months later, anyone who is not in the 8 will either get a token reign (See Punk, CM and Hardy, Jeff...and you can probably throw in Mysterio, Rey as well) or made to look so weak holding the belt that noone takes them seriously, by doing this the WWE is ignoring the key principle of Booking 101. Put on matches the fans will pay money to see. It's not as if the WWE are in a war and don't have time to build new moneymaking stars. Yet when push comes to shove the WWE seem either unwilling or unable to change. And it may come back to bite them in the end
Edge is injured at the moment, Shawn Michaels, HHH and Undertaker are all one bad bump away from retirement. The majority of fans over 13 don't accept Cena and the less said about Orton and Batista the better. Now is the time to prepare for the future, by giving big wins to guys like CM Punk, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston and MVP you can build money making stars that will push your company for the next 10 years. But by chopping and changing wins in the midcard you're risking killing their drawing power, time and money in the WWE may be infinite, the fans paitence is not.
While the WWE aren't in dire straits yet, there comes a time where you have to stop living in the past, or else you risk destroying your future. That time for the WWE is fast approaching. I hope they're smart enough to see that
It's hard to argue when you look at it. Undertaker destroys CM Punk to stand on top of the heap again and will probably face a heel turned Batista at Bragging Rights, cause God knows we didn't run that idea into the ground a couple of years ago. It boggles the mind how the WWE can continuely screw up compelling characters like they do. But I'm not really on the high horse about that. It pisses me off sure, but hey no point complaining.
The big thing that's ignited the boards recently is a report that Bret Hart would be "Open" to working for the WWE again, some 12 years after the Montreal Screwjob. While the kid in me would love to see Bret back in some capacity with the WWE again, it's hard to see where he fits in the grand scheme of things. He can't wrestle ever again thanks to the stroke he suffered, do you put him in a mentor role with the Hart Dynasty? It's a thought but Bret's mic work in his prime was only mediocre at best and those days are long gone.
Not to mention the time factor, the last time besides the Hall of Fame and his DVD that anyone saw Bret in a ring for most people was 9 years ago, most of the audience of those days do not watch wrestling now and those that do aren't probably going to move the numbers in such a way that it makes signing him viable. It just seems like a bad move all around.
The one thing wrestlers can't beat is time, compare the WWE product of today with that of let's say five years ago. Who was in the main event? HHH, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels. Turn to Hell in A Cell last night, who was in the main events? HHH, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels.
That's one of the major gripes I have about the WWE, NOTHING changes. It's always a combination of the same 6-8 guys (Throw in Batista, Orton, Cena and Edge when he's healthy). The WWE put them in matches, run them to the point where noone wants to buy the shows anymore, then changes them up, only to turn one or two guys and run the same exact matches a couple of months later, anyone who is not in the 8 will either get a token reign (See Punk, CM and Hardy, Jeff...and you can probably throw in Mysterio, Rey as well) or made to look so weak holding the belt that noone takes them seriously, by doing this the WWE is ignoring the key principle of Booking 101. Put on matches the fans will pay money to see. It's not as if the WWE are in a war and don't have time to build new moneymaking stars. Yet when push comes to shove the WWE seem either unwilling or unable to change. And it may come back to bite them in the end
Edge is injured at the moment, Shawn Michaels, HHH and Undertaker are all one bad bump away from retirement. The majority of fans over 13 don't accept Cena and the less said about Orton and Batista the better. Now is the time to prepare for the future, by giving big wins to guys like CM Punk, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston and MVP you can build money making stars that will push your company for the next 10 years. But by chopping and changing wins in the midcard you're risking killing their drawing power, time and money in the WWE may be infinite, the fans paitence is not.
While the WWE aren't in dire straits yet, there comes a time where you have to stop living in the past, or else you risk destroying your future. That time for the WWE is fast approaching. I hope they're smart enough to see that
Monday, September 21, 2009
Discussing C.M Punk's heel run
Just a quick blogging/thought today as I'm trying to shake off the flu before it really takes hold but this one was too good to pass up.
I was trolling the wrestling boards as I usually do but with TNA's pay per view not a lot was going on so I decided pretty much to take a day off. That is until I went to Scott Keith's blog page and read a pretty intresting little piece by one of his contributers called Alexander (which you can find here http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/09/17/the-anti-stone-cold/). Basically he puts forth a compelling argument that CM Punk in his current guise could be, for lack of a better term the anti Stone Cold. While I don't exactly agree with all his thoughts it is a compelling thought and certainly on face value alone there seems to be a lot to support the thought
Austin was Everyman, the common man in the pickup truck who worked a blue collar job 9-5, came home, drank beer and would fight you at the drop of the hat, it's the reason he became the biggest superstar wrestling has ever seen, because fans suspended their disbelief and lived vicariously through him as he gave hell to his boss week after week and fought for the little guy against corporate America. He was a foul-mouthed, redneck, beer-swilling guy who would fight you and raise hell at the drop of a hat and fans ate it up like a hot meal. He was the shining example of the Attitude Era
Fast forward about 10-12 years to the present day. WWE is trying to be more family friendly, to put forth a PG product and as part of that they want to discourage drinking and drugs and so forth, noone better represents the image that corporate would want to portray better than CM Punk, a man who lives his life without stimuli and he's becoming the number one hell simply by saying that makes him better than the audience, he riducles their heroes such as Jeff Hardy for using drugs and he uses a strong style that will keep him in any match.
It's the perfect heel for the WWE as they push into this eta, a man who attacks the stereotypes of wrestling, attacks their heroes for being human and yet he can back up his words by being a better wrestler than anyone out there. For once in their lifes the WWE through CM Punk has a compelling character to present to its market and build around for years to come, all Punk needs is one last push to send his star skyrocketing, if the WWE is smart they will use Undertaker as that push, he's the one guy on the roster (With the possible exception of Cena) the fans see as unbeatable, he's the Phenom, you beat him down he comes back and takes your soul to hell. If CM Punk, the guy who claims he's better than anyone beats him clean at Hell in a Cell 1.2.3 you have yourself a main event heel that could last as long as Austin did as a babyface. It's a smart move for the company as they move to the PG era, its a smart move for business as fans will pay to see him get whats coming to him and its a smart move for the future.
Then again noone has ever accused Vince McMahon of doing what is smart, still we can dream can't we?
I was trolling the wrestling boards as I usually do but with TNA's pay per view not a lot was going on so I decided pretty much to take a day off. That is until I went to Scott Keith's blog page and read a pretty intresting little piece by one of his contributers called Alexander (which you can find here http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/09/17/the-anti-stone-cold/). Basically he puts forth a compelling argument that CM Punk in his current guise could be, for lack of a better term the anti Stone Cold. While I don't exactly agree with all his thoughts it is a compelling thought and certainly on face value alone there seems to be a lot to support the thought
Austin was Everyman, the common man in the pickup truck who worked a blue collar job 9-5, came home, drank beer and would fight you at the drop of the hat, it's the reason he became the biggest superstar wrestling has ever seen, because fans suspended their disbelief and lived vicariously through him as he gave hell to his boss week after week and fought for the little guy against corporate America. He was a foul-mouthed, redneck, beer-swilling guy who would fight you and raise hell at the drop of a hat and fans ate it up like a hot meal. He was the shining example of the Attitude Era
Fast forward about 10-12 years to the present day. WWE is trying to be more family friendly, to put forth a PG product and as part of that they want to discourage drinking and drugs and so forth, noone better represents the image that corporate would want to portray better than CM Punk, a man who lives his life without stimuli and he's becoming the number one hell simply by saying that makes him better than the audience, he riducles their heroes such as Jeff Hardy for using drugs and he uses a strong style that will keep him in any match.
It's the perfect heel for the WWE as they push into this eta, a man who attacks the stereotypes of wrestling, attacks their heroes for being human and yet he can back up his words by being a better wrestler than anyone out there. For once in their lifes the WWE through CM Punk has a compelling character to present to its market and build around for years to come, all Punk needs is one last push to send his star skyrocketing, if the WWE is smart they will use Undertaker as that push, he's the one guy on the roster (With the possible exception of Cena) the fans see as unbeatable, he's the Phenom, you beat him down he comes back and takes your soul to hell. If CM Punk, the guy who claims he's better than anyone beats him clean at Hell in a Cell 1.2.3 you have yourself a main event heel that could last as long as Austin did as a babyface. It's a smart move for the company as they move to the PG era, its a smart move for business as fans will pay to see him get whats coming to him and its a smart move for the future.
Then again noone has ever accused Vince McMahon of doing what is smart, still we can dream can't we?
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Star Power V Developing Talent: What's Best for TNA?
So yeah I took a day or two off. Too much grog for Talk Like a Pirate Day (I tried to plunder my woman's booty but ending up sinking to Davey Jones's Locker.....I feel dirty just making that joke). And it's not as if much has been happening in the world off wrestling as we entered a post-WWE pay per view, pre-TNA pay per view type lull after the big events of earlier in the week.
However through trolling the various wrestling boards around I did find something intresting to talk about, from of all places the Wrestlecrap forums (Actually I think the Wrestlecrap forums are probably one of the best forums out there, 99% of people there can have intelligent debate on all the topics of wrestling and they temper their passion with respect for their fellow posters, you should really check them out (Note: RD I expect that $20 by next Friday :P) and get involved).
A poster there put up a poll for debate on whether TNA should reach deep into their pockets and try and make an offer to sign The Rock to their roster, even if it's only for a one off match with Sting, it is an intresting thought, Sting v Rock is probably one of the only quote unquote "Dream matches" left unfought in the industry and I'm sure if they announced a match like that at Bound for Glory their buyrates would increase but the question I have is "Does signing huge talents from the WWE hurt you in the long run more than it helps". Should TNA really write out the wrestling equivalent of a blank check to sign a wrestler who while still a hero to many, hasn't been seen in a ring in a competetive sense in at least 5 years? Would TNA be better off by focusing their efforts on some of the talent they've nutured and grown in the past 3-5 years which, while slower to take on will hold the company in better stead when they do take on?
Let's be brutally honest here, almost every signing TNA has made from the WWE has failed to make a difference to TNA. The only real two who've made what could even be considered a blip are Kurt Angle and Christian Cage and the Christian blip went so well that as soon as his contract was up he jumped back to the WWE to take possession of a title that has about as much respect as the attitude era's European Title, the ECW Championship. That leaves us with Angle, a guy who at the moment you couldn't see Vince wanting, a guy whose had legal troubles (Even if the charges were eventually dropped), a known drug problem and is always one bad bump to the head away from either retirement or a wheelchair for life. I like Kurt but I believe the most flattering term I can use for him is "Damaged Goods". What's to say that the Rock will make any sort of significant difference to TNA in terms of buyrates, ratings, merchandise and ticket sales or even just plain talking. A lot of the fans who were fans of the Rock during his most popular period of time in the WWE are not even wrestling fans any more, or if they are they're not watching the big two and I don't really think that signing the Rock is going to be a big enough hook to drag them back.
Another factor to consider is the message you send to your roster, the guys that have been there night after night fighting in the trenches for the company and are now on the cusp of stardom, guys like A.J Styles, Christopher Daniels, Matt Morgan and Hernandez. Do you really want to risk stopping their momentum that you've worked so hard for them to get for a one shot blowoff match? You know there was a guy who did that with a match between Goldberg and Hogan in WCW....I wonder whatever happened to him? Is the gain you'll get from the Rock being on your programming worth the risk of potentially making stories and characters you've tried to build up for so long being made to seem less important? I don't really think so
The Rock in TNA to me seems like the classic "Square Peg, Round Hole" scenario, kinda like Jenna Jameson becoming the replacement for Angelina Love in the Beautiful People, it'd work if you forced it but its gonna take time for people to buy it, time that could be better spent setting up for the next 5 years of TNA, rather than being like every other wrestling organisation and thinking of the next 5 minutes.
The Rock in TNA would provide a great nostalgic feel for TNA, but to be a ready made alternative to WWE TNA doesn't need nostalgia, it needs to show that it is the next generation of wrestling and the best way to do that is to showcase the great athletic talent they already have, A.J Styles, Matt Morgan, The Motor City Machineguns, Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, the list goes on and on. These men are the future of TNA, these men are your ticket to being a viable alternative to WWE, these men are going to be the standard bearers for your company for years to come.
TNA needs to look to the future, not the past. Pushing the talent they have already have is going to do better for their company in the long run than any quote unquote "Big Name Star" they can bring in. Like it or not, signing guys The Rock, Hogan or Stone Cold, while provided good momentary "Nostalgia" jumps in ratings and buyrates is ultimately a step in the wrong direction.
However through trolling the various wrestling boards around I did find something intresting to talk about, from of all places the Wrestlecrap forums (Actually I think the Wrestlecrap forums are probably one of the best forums out there, 99% of people there can have intelligent debate on all the topics of wrestling and they temper their passion with respect for their fellow posters, you should really check them out (Note: RD I expect that $20 by next Friday :P) and get involved).
A poster there put up a poll for debate on whether TNA should reach deep into their pockets and try and make an offer to sign The Rock to their roster, even if it's only for a one off match with Sting, it is an intresting thought, Sting v Rock is probably one of the only quote unquote "Dream matches" left unfought in the industry and I'm sure if they announced a match like that at Bound for Glory their buyrates would increase but the question I have is "Does signing huge talents from the WWE hurt you in the long run more than it helps". Should TNA really write out the wrestling equivalent of a blank check to sign a wrestler who while still a hero to many, hasn't been seen in a ring in a competetive sense in at least 5 years? Would TNA be better off by focusing their efforts on some of the talent they've nutured and grown in the past 3-5 years which, while slower to take on will hold the company in better stead when they do take on?
Let's be brutally honest here, almost every signing TNA has made from the WWE has failed to make a difference to TNA. The only real two who've made what could even be considered a blip are Kurt Angle and Christian Cage and the Christian blip went so well that as soon as his contract was up he jumped back to the WWE to take possession of a title that has about as much respect as the attitude era's European Title, the ECW Championship. That leaves us with Angle, a guy who at the moment you couldn't see Vince wanting, a guy whose had legal troubles (Even if the charges were eventually dropped), a known drug problem and is always one bad bump to the head away from either retirement or a wheelchair for life. I like Kurt but I believe the most flattering term I can use for him is "Damaged Goods". What's to say that the Rock will make any sort of significant difference to TNA in terms of buyrates, ratings, merchandise and ticket sales or even just plain talking. A lot of the fans who were fans of the Rock during his most popular period of time in the WWE are not even wrestling fans any more, or if they are they're not watching the big two and I don't really think that signing the Rock is going to be a big enough hook to drag them back.
Another factor to consider is the message you send to your roster, the guys that have been there night after night fighting in the trenches for the company and are now on the cusp of stardom, guys like A.J Styles, Christopher Daniels, Matt Morgan and Hernandez. Do you really want to risk stopping their momentum that you've worked so hard for them to get for a one shot blowoff match? You know there was a guy who did that with a match between Goldberg and Hogan in WCW....I wonder whatever happened to him? Is the gain you'll get from the Rock being on your programming worth the risk of potentially making stories and characters you've tried to build up for so long being made to seem less important? I don't really think so
The Rock in TNA to me seems like the classic "Square Peg, Round Hole" scenario, kinda like Jenna Jameson becoming the replacement for Angelina Love in the Beautiful People, it'd work if you forced it but its gonna take time for people to buy it, time that could be better spent setting up for the next 5 years of TNA, rather than being like every other wrestling organisation and thinking of the next 5 minutes.
The Rock in TNA would provide a great nostalgic feel for TNA, but to be a ready made alternative to WWE TNA doesn't need nostalgia, it needs to show that it is the next generation of wrestling and the best way to do that is to showcase the great athletic talent they already have, A.J Styles, Matt Morgan, The Motor City Machineguns, Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, the list goes on and on. These men are the future of TNA, these men are your ticket to being a viable alternative to WWE, these men are going to be the standard bearers for your company for years to come.
TNA needs to look to the future, not the past. Pushing the talent they have already have is going to do better for their company in the long run than any quote unquote "Big Name Star" they can bring in. Like it or not, signing guys The Rock, Hogan or Stone Cold, while provided good momentary "Nostalgia" jumps in ratings and buyrates is ultimately a step in the wrong direction.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Discussing the TNA Knockouts Division (Or A Diva by any other name is still a Diva)
So as I type this column up the first Playboy shots of Traci Brooks are making the rounds of the internet. Wrestling fans of the male persuasion around the world are seaching on google and dissecting them even as I sit here. And that got me to thinking about the TNA Knockouts Division, what once was a place where women's wrestling might have had a chance to thrive is now a cheap WWE ripoff.
Anyone who thinks women's wrestling in the WWE is treated as anything other than a joke is sadly kidding themselves, out of everyone on their roster I can name about two real wrestlers (Mickie James and Beth Phoenix. Nattie Neidhart doesn't count as she rarely is seen wrestling on TV) and the rest are a bunch of pretty faces doing very basic matches to provide tittilation and eye candy for their number one 18-35 male demographic. They have improved though I have to say, the days of bikini shoots and basically softcore porn dvds are over as well as the always classy bra and panties matches. This is probably more due to WWE's shift towards a PG-13 slant but at least they're partially trying, they let a deal that had their divas pose in Playboy lapse and they've booked their titles generally around the strongest wrestlers. A lot of that believe it or not was pretty much due to TNA.
Back in 2007 TNA began the Knockouts division, putting out promos that said they were more about the athletisism of the women rather than them being quote unquote "Barbie Dolls" (Why they centered these around Christy Hemme then is a mystery because when I think althetic womens wrestling, she's not exactly at the top of anyones list). They created a title and put it on one of the best female wrestlers going around, Gail Kim and for a while as they brought in talent like Awesome Kong, Melissa Anderson (Alyssa Flash to the TNA fans) and others they looked for a while like they were going to live up to the hype and for the first time on a national level womens wrestling looked like it was going to be something to be respected.
But things change and opinions change, and TNA ended up doing the same thing every national federation has done with womens wrestling and what every national federation will continue to do in the future. They went back to the lowest common denominator. It all started with the debut of a stable called "The Beautiful People", Angelina Love and Velvet Sky, two gorgeously hot women no doubt and athletically they are competent in the ring but the fact remains, for the first time looks outranked athletic ability and Angelina was pushed to win the Knockouts title.
Since then the whole division has decended into farce, at least up the top, they are still trying down below with hirings like Shannon Ward and Lisa Marie Veron, quite possibly the most underrated female wrestler of the past decade. But a division is only as strong as the person holding the belt, at the moment the Knockouts title is being decided in a fued between ODB (Who, while passable, isn't a real strong choice on looks OR athletic ability, she wrestles power sort of matches and is passable, like a lot of the Knockouts are) and Cody Deaner (Who as you may have guessed by the name is in fact, not female). What once was a respected title is now a joke.
But the final nail in the coffin for the Knockouts division was the announcement that they had signed a deal to have their wrestlers pose nude in Playboy, just like the WWE did so many years ago. At that point in my opinion the whole circle was complete and athletic ability was pushed aside for looks.
Still TNA fans waited with baited breath to see who would be the first Knockout, there were a lot of hopeful candidates. Melissa Anderson, manager/interview/part time wrestler So Cal Val, Christy Hemme, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, the list went on and on. Then the big announcement came.
Traci Brooks.
And the whole thing pretty much went downhill from there.
Don't get me wrong. Traci has been the longest serving female in the company, she's one of the better female wrestlers they have but....how do I put this delicately. Traci has two looks....or as I would say, she's an Either/Or. She's EITHER a passably attractive woman OR she looks like what would happen if the late Michael Jackson mated with your tupperware set, had a child and THEN that child got smashed in the face with a brick. It got so bad for TNA that Brooks wasn't even put in the magazine, her photos were released in the Playboy Cyber Club, a place that most wrestling fans never even knew existed and even less would sign up to see (They'd wait for the photos to leak like every other wrestler whos ever posed in Playboy)
The current situation both confuses and irritates me, TNA had something going, women's wrestling CAN be a solid key to a wrestling company, stand alone women's federations like SHIMMER have shown us that. Yet it seems that in the end women wrestlers will forever be disrespected on a national stage unless you have a pretty face, a large set of breasts and a tight ass. Maybe things will change, maybe they won't but at the moment the only thing TNA is knocking out is the conception that their women's division is any different to WWE's.
Anyone who thinks women's wrestling in the WWE is treated as anything other than a joke is sadly kidding themselves, out of everyone on their roster I can name about two real wrestlers (Mickie James and Beth Phoenix. Nattie Neidhart doesn't count as she rarely is seen wrestling on TV) and the rest are a bunch of pretty faces doing very basic matches to provide tittilation and eye candy for their number one 18-35 male demographic. They have improved though I have to say, the days of bikini shoots and basically softcore porn dvds are over as well as the always classy bra and panties matches. This is probably more due to WWE's shift towards a PG-13 slant but at least they're partially trying, they let a deal that had their divas pose in Playboy lapse and they've booked their titles generally around the strongest wrestlers. A lot of that believe it or not was pretty much due to TNA.
Back in 2007 TNA began the Knockouts division, putting out promos that said they were more about the athletisism of the women rather than them being quote unquote "Barbie Dolls" (Why they centered these around Christy Hemme then is a mystery because when I think althetic womens wrestling, she's not exactly at the top of anyones list). They created a title and put it on one of the best female wrestlers going around, Gail Kim and for a while as they brought in talent like Awesome Kong, Melissa Anderson (Alyssa Flash to the TNA fans) and others they looked for a while like they were going to live up to the hype and for the first time on a national level womens wrestling looked like it was going to be something to be respected.
But things change and opinions change, and TNA ended up doing the same thing every national federation has done with womens wrestling and what every national federation will continue to do in the future. They went back to the lowest common denominator. It all started with the debut of a stable called "The Beautiful People", Angelina Love and Velvet Sky, two gorgeously hot women no doubt and athletically they are competent in the ring but the fact remains, for the first time looks outranked athletic ability and Angelina was pushed to win the Knockouts title.
Since then the whole division has decended into farce, at least up the top, they are still trying down below with hirings like Shannon Ward and Lisa Marie Veron, quite possibly the most underrated female wrestler of the past decade. But a division is only as strong as the person holding the belt, at the moment the Knockouts title is being decided in a fued between ODB (Who, while passable, isn't a real strong choice on looks OR athletic ability, she wrestles power sort of matches and is passable, like a lot of the Knockouts are) and Cody Deaner (Who as you may have guessed by the name is in fact, not female). What once was a respected title is now a joke.
But the final nail in the coffin for the Knockouts division was the announcement that they had signed a deal to have their wrestlers pose nude in Playboy, just like the WWE did so many years ago. At that point in my opinion the whole circle was complete and athletic ability was pushed aside for looks.
Still TNA fans waited with baited breath to see who would be the first Knockout, there were a lot of hopeful candidates. Melissa Anderson, manager/interview/part time wrestler So Cal Val, Christy Hemme, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, the list went on and on. Then the big announcement came.
Traci Brooks.
And the whole thing pretty much went downhill from there.
Don't get me wrong. Traci has been the longest serving female in the company, she's one of the better female wrestlers they have but....how do I put this delicately. Traci has two looks....or as I would say, she's an Either/Or. She's EITHER a passably attractive woman OR she looks like what would happen if the late Michael Jackson mated with your tupperware set, had a child and THEN that child got smashed in the face with a brick. It got so bad for TNA that Brooks wasn't even put in the magazine, her photos were released in the Playboy Cyber Club, a place that most wrestling fans never even knew existed and even less would sign up to see (They'd wait for the photos to leak like every other wrestler whos ever posed in Playboy)
The current situation both confuses and irritates me, TNA had something going, women's wrestling CAN be a solid key to a wrestling company, stand alone women's federations like SHIMMER have shown us that. Yet it seems that in the end women wrestlers will forever be disrespected on a national stage unless you have a pretty face, a large set of breasts and a tight ass. Maybe things will change, maybe they won't but at the moment the only thing TNA is knocking out is the conception that their women's division is any different to WWE's.
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