That Was Then, Is This Too? 08.19.09: Superheavyweights

Posted by Jasper Gerretsen on 08.18.2009

Join me for another edition of That Was Then, Is This Too? as we take a look at one of the most dominant superheavyweights in the business today!

Welcome back to another installation of That Was Then, Is This Too?, the column that looks for parallel lines in all the right places. To start us off this week, we have comments!

I think that the only feuds that could possibly take place in the Cell would be Randy Orton-Cena-Triple H on the RAW side, they need to use this as a conclusion to this 2+ year on-again off-again feud. On the SmackDown side of things, C.M. Punk vs. The Undertaker would be the only thing that makes sense. Taker has rested for the last 6+ months and can be thrown right into a feud after Jeff leaves in August. That would give them 2 months on SmackDown to build the Taker-Punk for the Cell.

Posted By: RageInTheCage (Guest) on August 11, 2009 at 04:03 PM

As hard as Punk has been pushed lately, I simply don't think he's ready for Taker in a Cell. It would certainly make for a huge win for Punk if he did pull it off though.

The NWA Bunkhouse Stampede made it to PPV Jan. 88
while the first Royal Rumble PPV was 1989, so it wasn't the first gimmick PPV as you said.

Posted By: Guest#5259 (Guest) on August 11, 2009 at 04:18 PM

Survivor Series also predates the Rumble as a gimmick PPV.

Posted By: Guest#5634 (Guest) on August 11, 2009 at 04:19 PM

Looks like I got my years a bit mixed up, and I should've added "the first true gimmick PPV in the WWF".

We would see the first hell in a cell not to feature HHH or the Undertaker. Not the best reason for the ppv I grant you but it provides a talking point.

Posted By: peter (Guest) on August 11, 2009 at 06:59 PM

Well, Taker still has two months to return, so we could see something like Orton/Triple H on RAW and Punk/Undertaker on SmackDown!. Interesting bit of trivia though.

i agree with taker coming back after summerslam he should be right in the title picture build it up have em face at breaking point i'd say it shoudl eb a draw so taker can challenge punk for teh belt in hell in a cell but punk won't agree instead he'll just run down the cell and undertaker for being the lord of darkness and such y not have taker play mind games wit em to bait him inside the cell i feel punk shoudl go over in the cell cuz taker loses nuttin by losing n punk gets a legit victory over taker

Posted By: jamille 5150 (Guest) on August 11, 2009 at 07:26 PM



Why can't we admit what this really is, an attempt to rip-off a good idea from TNA. Every match at Lockdown is in a six-sided cage, and, from all accounts, seems to be one of their more popular PPVs. McMahon is not above stealing ideas, he is just above giving credit for those ideas where they are due.

The column is good though, but I guess if you think about it, Armageddon 2000 is a rip-off of Fall Brawl(War Games). War Games was suppose to be the must-see event of that PPV. Damn you McMahon and your so not original ideas.

Posted By: JWestmoreland (Guest) on August 12, 2009 at 02:02 AM

That's assuming the Lockdown concept is a good idea, and it's not for the same reasons the Hell in a Cell PPV wouldn't be. Besides, Lockdown has had some absolutely atrocious matches/gimmicks, like the blindfold match between Storm and Harris and the electrified cage match between Team 3D and LAX. Still, Lockdown must be like Christmas for Russo, considering he gets to book gimmick matches inside a gimmick match.

I would love to see Punk v Taker, would be a huge match for Punk & judging by Takers form over the last 2 years i would expect a 4 star match.

Posted By: jbardo (Guest) on August 12, 2009 at 05:33 AM

It would certainly be a great match, but somehow I'm not too sure if we'll be seeing it. Punk simply isn't at that level yet, and I doubt two months will be enough to get him there.

With that out of the way, let's head to the main event of the IWC's week! Banner!



That Was Then, Is This Too? - Superheavyweights

A height of 6'1" and a weight of 272 lbs are impressive statistics for any professional wrestler. Those dimensions take on a whole new level of impact when applied to a female wrestler. Amazing Kong is truly one of a kind, a female superheavyweight. Despite her rather rotund frame, she is by no means a slouch in the ring. During her extended time in Japan, she has managed to develop a style that fits her physique perfectly, and she has fought her way to the top of the food chain in virtually every promotion she has wrestled in.

I cannot overstate the importance of Kong's time in Japan. Thanks to her training and early work in the legendary All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling promotion, she managed to develop herself in an environment where female wrestlers are taken far more seriously than they are in most other countries. Something that's relatively unique to Japan is that women wrestlers aren't relegated to small divisions within larger companies, but actually have companies dedicated entirely to them. The effect this has had on women's wrestling in Japan over the decades is amazing, with dozens of spectacular matches that would rival any men's match in terms of workrate, emotion and impact.

While there are many male superheavyweights that have achieved some level of notoriety, I have to admit that I'm coming up short to think of anyone that can match Awesome Kong's combination of size and workrate. Therefor, in the spirit of emancipation that characterizes Japanese wrestling, I'll be looking at a male wrestler in stead. A male wrestler whose top rope moves and powerbombs register on the Richter scale. A man they call Vader.

That Was Then...

There are few men in the industry who are as frightening as The Man They Call Vader. Throughout the late eighties and early nineties, the masked monster laid waste to everything in his path on three different continents, winning world titles wherever he went through sheer brutality. He was hardly the first monster to step into the ring, and he certainly wasn't the last, but what made Vader different was his almost impossible speed and agility.

With Harley Race at his side, Vader had an awesome run in WCW, literally destroying people left and right. He had possibly best feud of his career with Sting. They had several excellent matches, including a brutal strap match and a hard-hitting match in the finals of the otherwise forgettable King of Cable tournament, and traded the WCW Heavyweight Championship several times. Sting was, as Ric Flair would put it, a "white meat babyface", and was the perfect opponent for the monster that was Vader.



And then there was the legendary feud against Cactus Jack. While his matches against Foley might not have the same quality as his matches against Sting, there are to these days very few feuds in mainstream wrestling that have achieved the same level of sheer brutality. On WCW Saturday Night, in a match that was heavily edited due to its violent nature, Foley suffered a broken nose (which, according to Foley, you can actually hear on the uncut version of the match on one of his DVDs) and needed 27 stitches. This would only be the beginning of the insanity, as Foley would lose an ear during a match in Munich. On another occasion, he temporarily lost feeling in his left arm and leg following a powerbomb on the concrete floor.

Afterwards Vader would feud with both Hogan and Flair, but he would never regain the WCW championship even though he had some memorable moments, including kicking out of Hogan's legdrop at a one count. He was eventually fired from WCW following a brawl in the locker room, and soon after found himself in WWF. Although he was initially pushed heavily as a monster heel, the only gold he would win during his almost three years in the company was a Slammy award in the "Crime of the Century" category for splashing Gorilla Monsoon. He rarely had any significant feuds, and even lost his match to Kane at the 1998 Over the Edge PPV. His final PPV match would be a loss to Bradshaw in a no holds barred match, and he returned to the land of the rising sun soon after.

...Is This Too?

It's not that hard to spot the similarities between Kong and Vader. Both are huge monsters that dominate not just through their enormous physical size, but also through a wide array of devastating high impact offense punctuated by the occasional top rope move that probably makes spatula salesmen salivate. They also had a lot of success in Japan, partially thanks to the country's rather unique wrestling culture.

But as a part of TNA's Knockout division, Kong finds herself in a much harder position than Vader. After all, any monster is only as good as the heroes that try to topple it, and the TNA Knockouts division simply has nobody who can be a credible threat to Kong. Gail Kim was a great foe for Kong, but when she went back to Connecticut the Knockouts division pretty much fell apart. I think it's fair to say that Kim was the Sting to Kong's Vader, but who will be her Cactus Jack, her Flair or her Hogan?

Simply put, for a monster of Kong's caliber to be a draw for more than a few weeks, you need a division with depth, where she can be booked against several different wrestlers who are a credible threat to her. This is why her work in SHIMMER is by far the most entertaining work she has done in the US. She has had highly entertaining and competitive matches against the likes of MsChif, Cheerleader Melissa and Sara Del Rey, and even though she didn't win all of them she is still a dominant force on the roster, but because she has so many credible opponents she has a far wider range of possible feuds and programs.

Naturally TNA tries its very best, with Kong's feud with The Beautiful People as a good example, but the problem remains that there are no women on the TNA roster who can provide a credible threat to Kong in a singles match. They could try to build up Alissa Flash (Cheerleader Melissa) or Sarita (Sarah Stock), but that would take time and effort, neither of which TNA has been willing to give the Knockouts division since the departure of Gail Kim. The return of Scott D'Amore as booker for the Knockouts division offers some hope, but after the way the Knockouts title was treated at Hard Justice I've kind of given up hope for what was once a very promising division.

And now, since as 411Mania writer I'm contractually obliged to remind people that Kong kills bitches dead, a bonus video of Kong killing a bitch dead: