Five-Star Conversation 09.08.09: Price is Raw, Rey’s Suspension, More

Posted by Geoff Eubanks on 09.08.2009

The Price is Raw discussion, plus Rey Mysterio's predicament and why WWE treats its' performers as if it were a psycho girlfriend and more!

DID YOU KNOW?: Mark Henry having won that Jacuzzi on Raw means he's either going to end up making his own gravy or providing the neighbor kids with all the Cherry Kool-Aid they can drink.

This is really neither here nor there, but over the holiday weekend here in The States, I unearthed an old videocassette containing the Live Aid concert from 1985 and spent the better part of Monday afternoon committing that to DVD. I remember that day very specifically, the day of the concert. I was obsessed with seeing the whole thing, both from London and Philadelphia, and it was the first time I actually stayed up all night. I think the Wembley broadcast to America started at like 4am and I didn't trust my ability to wake up that early, so I just stayed up all night to fire up the VCR for when The Style Council hit the stage (I forewent recording Status Quo). Later that morning, after my family woke up, dismayed that I'd taken the television hostage, my parents announced that we'd be visiting my grandparents that day. I was LIVID. Not only would I miss a couple hours of the concert, I'd not be able to record it at my grandparents', because they had no VCR and I'd need to swap out a video at some point, as the concert was longer than the length of a videotape. As it worked out, I only got to see as much as Dire Straits, because I promptly zonked the hell out once we reached my grandparents' place. I've always been bitter about that until I realized that we were visiting my mom's parents the day after her birthday. Then I had to kick myself in the ass for being such a spoiled little prick.

All that to say, I want to share the following performance with you. I was a fan of U2 from around the "War" album in 1983, so by the time this went down, I was already a card-carrying, flag-waving little Bono-ite, but this performance put the band on a world platform for the first time and really shook America awake to how brilliant this young quartet of Dubliners really was. I hope you enjoy…Bono's effortless command of an audience this massive still gives me chills.





I'm sorry this is late this week, but I had my first three-day weekend allowed by my company not facilitated by America or Jesus having a birthday in months and I just wanted to snuggle up with a jug of Skyy. Three things my apartment lacks to it's detriment: 1) an automatic dishwasher, 2) air-conditioning, 3) an internet connection. Yes, I know. How very 1998 of me. Go ahead and bag on me.

The fact is, I'm in front of a computer close to 50 hours a week at work and am allowed autonomy enough to do virtually whatever I need to do while at my desk. Virtually once every two months does a situation arise where I would benefit from having internet at home; otherwise, I'd be spending an assload of extra money a month that I frankly do not have so I could spend more money that I frankly do not have on things I frankly do not need and staying up too late looking at porn, of which I already have plenty. Besides, me intoxicated with a phone is bad enough…just ask Cook about some of the drunk-dial voice mail messages I've left him. I felt so bad after the last Macho Man one that I had to promise him to discontinue the practice.

At any rate, this means I get to comment on last night's episode of The Price is Raw! I may get a lot of flak for this, but I really enjoyed this installment of Raw. I've always enjoyed Bob Barker and, like many of us, grew up watching The Price is Right. However, it just blows me away how sharp and commanding Barker was last night, and with what ease he transitioned to hosting a wrestling show. Granted, he was allowed to make it his own by turning Raw into a TPIR format, but he was completely unphased by being in front of tens of thousands of people, as opposed to maybe a hundred or so in the old Bob Barker Studio where TPIS is taped (believe me, I've been there…it's TINY! TV makes it look twice as big as it really is!). As a matter of fact, the ad-libbed banter at the beginning of the show with Chris Jericho was just awesome! Could you imagine Barker taking Jericho over his knee? Hilarious! It just goes to show what a smooth customer Barker continues to be (and one can wonder who on TV today could pull off a performance with such ease and grace…Ryan Seacrest? Please.)

I don't even know if Barker knew what he was saying or referencing when he told Triple H, "I've got two words for you…Spin it!", but that was a laugh-out-loud moment for me. I just wish he'd have brought the Plinko board…! How awesome would it have been to have seen Shawn and Tri busting out the Plinko! It was also nice to see The Bella Twins and Rosa Mendes finding their true calling. For those of you unfamiliar with the mystical appeal of Plinko:



Is it just me or would Santina have been gold as one of Barker's Beauties? Too, it was a great call bringing in Howard Finkel to play Johnny Olsen/Rod Roddy. And was I the only one who marked for the "you lose" bumper?

So here's a question I'd like to pose to you, is MVP really that over, as his massive pop by the Chicago crowd last night implies, or is it just that fans really want to see Jericho get his come-uppance? I felt the match that opened Raw was a lot of fun, but that it wasn't really exceptional. This was a perfect case of a good match being made great by a fantastic, hot crowd. Really, kudos to Chi-Town for making such a difference in last night's telecast!

Sometimes it's just a matter of pitting the right people together at the right time that can make all the difference, and I think that's what we have here with MVP & Mark Henry challenging JeriShow (BTW, I'm not going to Barry Horowitz myself to death over this, and I don't know if I'm the only person to come up with the term "JeriShow", but I hadn't seen it anywhere else when I started using it, and have seen several other folks using the term, so if I came up with something, huzzah for me!).

Granted, I don't think MVP & Henry are going to unseat JeriShow this Sunday at Breaking Point, but it doesn't mean they may not eventually do so. It strikes me that McMahonagement has done itself a disservice by recognizing too late how valuable a commodity is Jericho and the worth of having him available to both main shows, how badly he's needed on Raw, and, should JeriShow drop their UTTTs, Jericho becomes a SmackDown!-exclusive property, where, with the ascension of Punk's fantastic heel transition, the ascension of John Morrison as the new #2 face on Friday and the return of The Undertaker, he's frankly not needed as badly, even with the indefinite loss of Jeff Hardy and the temporary loss of Rey Mysterio (we discuss him in COMMENTPALOOZA below.

However, and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't next month's PPV HELL IN THE CELL, where every match will be contested inside The Cell? Doesn't that imply big time feuds? It seems to me that McMahonagement needs to really up the ante in the war between these two teams to warrant a Cell blow-off. (And what's with pulling back-to-back gimmicked PPVs, anyway…?)

It's a damn shame the great Harry Caray is no longer with us. Could you imagine how awesome he'd be hosting Raw in Chicago?!

I hate to keep coming back to the Chavo Guerrero/Hornswoggle "program", but since it's harder to get rid of than a scorching case of crabs, it bears mention. Had this thing gone on for just a couple of weeks before it transitioned into Chavo/Evan Bourne, would any of us really be so upset about it? I've made grudging peace with Chavo's emasculation and will be fine with Chavo eventually putting over Bourne, who needs a solid, convincing win, but can we end this already? But it seemed to me that even Michael "I'm perpetually 10 years-old" Cole is getting tired of this crap. He dug into his shallow sack of "vintage" catch phrases by calling Chavo a bully, but you know, after two + months of being jobbed out to a little person in every ridiculous gimmick match known to Russo, I'd be channeling my inner-bully, too.

I really enjoyed the Cody Rhodes/John Cena match, especially Rhodes' pre-match promo. I've never really heard him stand on his own and deliver such a confident and focused promo…it really gives me hope for his future! People keep touting the upside of Ted DiBiase, but I have yet to really see it. Rather, it's seemed to me that Rhodes is the real breakout star of the two, because, really, the only thing I see DiBiase having over Rhodes is size, but I hope they both eventually manage to bust out of Orton's shadow and become main event players for years to come.

Am I the only person who was impressed with Cena's Figure-Four counter into The STF? The fact that they did that was significant because it helped to build to this Sunday's PPV where all matches will feature a submission-only ending, something that was apparently forgotten about in the D-Generation-X/Orton & Masters match. Incidentally, WTF was Masters doing in the main event? Maybe Chavo should be tagging with Orton and Masters being made a fool of by Hornswoggle…?

At any rate, far from a perfect show, but quite entertaining. Your thoughts…?

Before we head into COMMENTPALOOZA, I'm wondering how many folks out there remember Mystery Science Theatre 3000? This is one of my favorite shows of all time, but whenever I bust a shout-out to the MSTies reading, no one ever makes a mention of it. Could it be that all 10 seasons of this fantastic show has already slipped into obscurity…? Enjoy…



COMMENTPALOOZA!
My first reaction to the RE Steve comment was "oh yeah" but now I am thinking a little bit more cautious. I think the position of booker is sort of like a manager of a sports team. Usually the best coaches/managers aren't top of the mountain former players, they are utility infielders and role-players on the team.

It has been since 1985-1987 UWF since Sting has been a role-player. That is a long, long time. Sting was never really booked as an underdog either, outside of the program with Vader. After the Clash I, Sting was considered at least equal in the fan's eye in ability as Flair, so he was only the underdog for a cup of coffee over those many scenes in that program.

If Sting has been the most vocal voice for the non-mainstreamed talent in TNA, he hasn't really done them any favors over his stay in TNA. Sting continues to have himself booked in the upper-crust of the federation and he mainly aligns himself with what he knows and is familiar with in and out of the ring. Sting doesn't seem to have swayed the Jarrett/Mantel brain trust prior to the Dixie Stampede, so I am not convinced that he will be an advocate for the next generation in the future.

I understand the Nash PR but given TNA's schedule (or lack thereof), it would fit perfectly into his plans. Given that he seems to actively work with the younger talent more often, I am prone to believe that Nash would give them greater relevance in TNA.

Who knows though, they could both suck.

Maybe it is time to give the job to someone who hasn't had the ball but understands how the game is played. Maybe it is Taz's turn at the book.
Posted By: thegunisgood2009

I'm going to go easy on this because I could very well slip into a Sting rant, as he is decidedly not one of my all-time favorites. The fact that he was allowed to become as big as he was as quickly as he was speaks a lot more toward the fact that The NWA/WCW was at an utter loss for a tip-top face who could counter Flair and THE HORSEMEN's eeeevil ways since Magnum TA was tragically forced into retirement, but that's really neither here nor there where this conversation is concerned.

Do you mean, gun, that because Sting has never been booked as an underdog he'd not successfully be able to book a successful underdog? It seems to me that one could certainly have a solid understanding of how to configure and build a story for someone else, even if one hasn't had such firsthand experience in such a role. Also, there would still, I imagine, be a committee atmosphere, therefore, ideally, the responsibility to know everything wouldn't fall onto just one person's shoulders.

As much as I dislike him as a performer, though, I am loathe to heap too much blame on Sting's head with respect to the manner in which he's been booked in TNA, ie, rolling over the youth to be spotlighted at the top of the card; that's been TNA's seeming mission statement this year, which is a damn shame. It really makes TNA appear to be the modern-day WCW, where the big names go to squeeze every last drop of money and recognition out of their name value and it really gives the franchise the stigma of being a gaggle of WWE rejects, which is ridiculous, considering the rest of the young, hungry and extremely talented roster of kids who've helped the franchise keep what's left of its' good name. I'm especially surprised at Foley in this respect, because he's sold his coming out of "retirement" as a means of putting over kids like Edge and Orton with the intension of helping them up to the next level, a feat well-accomplished in WWE, but we see none of that thus far into his TNA run.

Moving on from all that, though, it would be interesting to see what Taz might have to offer to creative, since his most notoriously successful stint in the business was under Paul Heyman; the fact that Heyman worked so closely with talent, I'd be interested to see what kind of a fingerprint that might have left on The Human Suplex Machine.

In regard to booking, there's no reason why the committee couldn't accept input from wrestlers, so long as it fits into the bigger booking picture. Look at some of the wrestler/bookers there've been: Ole, Nash, Dusty, and Fritz. They had some good ideas, but mostly put their friends or themselves over at the expense of the product.
Posted By: Iron Knee

Now, I'm not going to sit here and attempt to claim I know how everything works, cuz I don't, but it seems to me there should be times when creative works very closely with on-air talent, in terms of brainstorming ideas, or listening to ideas talent has already come up with, as well as getting a new angle off the ground, but it seems to me that there should likewise be times when creative needs to shut out talent to protect against the pitfalls of nepotism, etc. I think that's one of the reasons why ECW was able to become as successful as it was, because Heyman always had an open ear to his talent, but laid down the law as the final authority when the final word had to come down.

Obviously, not all ideas will be useable, profitable or even sane, but when a leader shuts off communication from his/her employees, preferring instead to allow his/her "infallible" vision and boundless creative voice be the sole company guide, it's my humble opinion that such leader runs the risk of allowing his/her megalomania weaken what could be a much stronger product. There's such a thing as too many cooks spoiling the broth, but not everyone is a Tyler Florence in the kitchen, too, and it's important to be aware of the difference.

Geoff, I was curious on what you would think might happen with RAW guest hosts. I don't know what caused me to think of this. Let's say that any random celebrity is set to host, but there has been another death in the company. For example, Santino is killed in a hit and run. What do you think might happen? Would the WWE cancel with the guest? Might they keep the celebrity there to show that while wrestling is fake, the emotions and love from the fans, wrestlers, and crew are real? What if the host wanted to do the show anyway, so they could shill a product? Like I said, I'm not sure where this is coming from. Maybe I just like knowing what makes people tick. On a lighter note, great videos this week. The first one just proves that farts are funny.
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth

I think we saw with the passing of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit that WWE is more than willing to suspend the week's stories should the necessary opportunity arise to honor a fallen brother (or sister, one would have to assume would be the case). It seems to me, to produce a fun-loving type of show such as we saw on Monday with Bob Barker in the wake of a tragedy would dishonor not just the deceased, but his/her family, friends, fans and the business as a whole.

Yes, I have to assume that the planned show would be cancelled. Worst case scenario, Creative has a concept already in the can, and the guest host would simply have to be re-scheduled. Considering we're not talking A-listers, that shouldn't be too difficult a task.

Well, after a few extremely busy weeks getting Pittsburgh's newest comic shop up & running, I return to 411 to find that 5SC is still the most interesting wrestling dialogue on the onlinternet.

The deal with Mysterio, if his story is to be believed, highlights one of the most bewildering tenets of WWE management in recent years. Essentially, toward its "superstars", WWE management is acting like a spiteful, jealous, controlling psycho-girlfriend.

For a company that goes to such supposedly great lengths to respect both its fans and its "legends", WWE is doing a lousy job treating its current roster with any sort of dignity or reverence (with the exceptions of Triple H and the Undertaker, of course). I mean, first it was MVP eating a five-month losing streak supposedly due to a disrespectful comment to a damned piss-tester. And even NOW, it seems like blind luck that MVP's face push was as successful as it was, so I don't buy that they knew what they were doing the whole time. Aside from that, there's a litany of examples of wrestlers ending up in the doghouse for expressing themselves in one way or another. That's kinda where the jealous girlfriend psychology comes in; "WHICH website were you talking to?! Well what did you say to them?!"

Don't tell me that this is because they need to "pay their dues" either, because WWE has all but eliminated that phrase from their philosophy. They bring guys in at upper-midcard level after eight months in developmental. They sign these young guys to three-year, six-digit contracts before they even think about their potential place in, say, a PPV line-up. They scoop up these kids out of a gym, give them a career on a silver platter and THEN decide that they need to "know their role"? I don't buy it...

So why ARE the wrestlers themselves sooo far down on the WWE totem pole? Does WWE mistreat its employees for the same reason most major companies do? Because it's easier? Because they can replace any one employee? Because they've been the top dog for so long that they've forgotten what it's like to DEPEND on individual talents?

Maybe it's because the people who have been brought in from Hollywood production companies and ivy league masters programs to decide what course sports entertainment will take...maybe they don't think there's a place in that process for the SPORTS ENTERTAINERS, except for the requisite line-reading and clothesline-throwing. And the occasional midget boxing match...

And really, anybody could box a midget and it would be funny. A monkey could do it. And that's the problem. They've changed the very JOB of a wrestler to the point that a monkey could do it. That's the point where you can longer call something an art form.

Sorry, that was kind of a downer, huh?
Posted By: KanyonKreist

Congratulations, Kanyon! Can you send pics of the new shop? Is it as glamorous and spiffy as Rob…Van…Dam's (I know you did the thumbs with me!) Five-Star Comics? And thanks very much for the fine complement! I really do appreciate feedback like that, good or bad. It helps to keep me centered in reality. There are times I write this sucka and think, "Damn, what a bunch of meandering drivel!", then get to The Abbey and be sipping a martini as I read over the hard copy I print up in my little moratorium and end up feeling really good about what I've written (yes, the martini does help…!). But feedback is always preferred to my own opinion. I am a little biased toward myself.

I LOVE the psycho girlfriend analogy! The first girl I ever slept with (I'll pause here and let you all absorb that…) just found me last week on Facebook and, despite the fact that she's married, she's behaving like we're 15 all over again, placing demands on how often we're supposed to be in touch, talking on the phone, etc, and is getting all nutty because I've been on a three-day vacation away from my computer over the long weekend, acting all huffy and hurt and because I've not responded to her yet. THIS was a major factor in the logic with respect to why I went weiner-exclusive when I was 26…guys tend not to be this needy. No offense, ladies.

Okay, I'll be dogging Mysterio in a moment over this situation, so don't think I'm jumping on Vince's jock, but I'm going to look at the situation Kanyon brings up from a different perspective for a bit here.

As evidenced by the Benoit tragedy, we've seen the absolute shitstorm WWE stands to face if one of its' performers steps in it and tracks it in the house, as Jim Ross might say (and, as I said last week, as big as TNA likes to think it's become, the reason why the whole Kurt Angle situation didn't become a public relations nightmare for them is because, try as they might, they still aren't regarded as much more than a regional theme park attraction by the national media). Therefore, it becomes a necessity for WWE to create across-the-board rules to protect itself from the possibility of poor conduct, in whatever form, reaching the fans, be that a failed drug test or a renegade comment by a disgruntled employee (unless, of course, your name happens to be Carlos Colon, Junior, then you get a push).

I can more than understand WWE's desire to protect itself as much as possible in this regard. It's like if a minor gets caught and is convicted for vandalism; sure the kid looks bad, but who has to pay for the damage? The kid's parents, and then it's up to the parents how to deal with the kid beyond that.

As for the rest of your analogy, I can't argue with any of it. I recall reading a recent edition of Paul Heyman's column in The Sun, where he makes the statement that (and I'm not remembering exactly, but the gist of is that) WWE has stopped actively looking for talent, to find the individuals who may best suit the role of "sports entertainer" and instead waits for potential talent to find them, and that a bikini model has a better chance of being recruited by WWE today rather than an All-American athlete (although, after Lesnar and Lashley, one wonders if you can blame them, because if a talent comes to them, it has to be assumed that they want to be there, right…?). I believe Jim Ross has made a similar statement recently, as well.

That said, though, I find it interesting that WWE has been casting such a focused eye on Ring of Honor. RoH's considerable talent roster has had varied luck in WWE, as has always been the case when The WWF/E signs talent from other organizations, be it The AWA, WCCW, The UWF, ECW or WCW. However, considering the success of CM Punk and, thus far, Evan Bourne, one has to wonder if WWE isn't giving RoH another look?

Incidentally, I've wanted to write about the somewhat shocking news that both Nigel McGuninness and Bryan Danielson are apparently New York bound, but there's really not much to say, aside from simply echoing the sentiments that have already been expressed ad naseum on every comments section reporting this news. They've toiled in the trenches for years, have earned the reputations of being the best wrestlers in the world, they're not getting any younger and it's about time they started socking away a little in the way of a nest egg. Whether or not WWE decides to capitalize on the talent they've signed and turn them into stars, or allow them to toil away dutifully in the mid-card, making lesser-talented performers look better than they really are as they rise above RoH's former mechanics on the card (think Sean Morely) remains to be seen and will happen…or not…whether we cry and bitch about it or don't. I prefer to be hopeful with a pragmatic arch-of-the-brow.

And I think that sort of answers your rhetorical questions, Kanyon, WWE treats its current talent with such impudence because it can afford to do so. My crazy former boss used to love to bust out the line, "If you can't do this, I'll find someone else who can" to threaten me whenever he arbitrarily decided to pile another arbitrary duty on me, and it was an idle threat, because he had me so well-trained, it'd take him years to find someone else with my staying power and ability, but he didn't want to admit as much to me. Besides, he enjoyed getting pissed off at me too much because it gave him an excuse to yell and scream and carry on like an asshole.
However, in WWE, when you have people coming to you to work for you, unless you're a Triple H or an HBK or an Undertaker, is there anything close to a sure gig with WWE? Granted, we've seen falling-outs and hissy-fits, only to witness later, once time passes and heads cool off, that both sides kiss and make up. Hell, if we can see Vince shake hands with Bret Hart, how can you really be surprised by anything anymore?

Ehhh, I never watch Raw so the big man match up of doom wasn't viewed. No loss in the end as I've got the blue brand to get my wrestling fix.

I'll be very interested to see what happens with Rey-Rey. I've always liked Rey but he's had a lot of health problems and while I know a lot of people are thinking he's likely looking at a pain killer problem, it wouldn't surprise me to find out it was something steroid-ish to help him recover. He may even produce a prescription but I think if there was a snowball's chance in hell of him having a legitimate excuse Vince and company would have cut him some slack and waited to see the 'script even if it was past the deadline. Why? Because like Jeff Hardy, Rey is a walking ATM machine in the merchandising department and bankable wrestlers are given a lot of leeway, see Orton, Randall K.

I'd hate to see Rey lose his job but I really expected him to jump ship to Mexico at his last contract signing. He might have made less guaranteed money but he would have had a movie deal and multiple other options. The WWE must have thrown a boatload of cash at the 619's premiere wrestler to keep him on Smackdown.

As to TNA's booking situation, I think Gun might be onto something with Taz but I think a better candidate would be Mick Foley. Foley understands the way wrestling should flow and how feuds should build and we know he's a writer already. It would be an interesting experiment, IMO.
Posted By: Pete

Rey's story doesn't hold together. Supposedly he was promoting stuff when informed that he had failed his wellness test and had only a day to get proof that it was a prescription.

Now, knowing that you are in a company that tests for certain things, why wouldn't he have given a copy of his prescription to the WWE office right after his doctor gave it to him? That would avoid confusion.
Second, this is 2009, not 1909. There is no need for couriers, trains, and horses. Use the "phone" that is doubtlessly in his pocket - like everybody else. Call the doctor's office. They can fax or e-mail the doctor's prescription. At most he will have to fax his signature to the doctor's office to give permission. Every good hotel has a machine - as does every Kinkos.

I think that Rey is taking this opportunity to protect his future interests in Mexico. He did have offers from promotions there, as well as a possible movie career. I wouldn't put it beyond him to use the threat of leaving for that (TNA cannot offer comparable money) as leverage with the WWE.

I could be wrong. I have only the parts reported here. But as a person living in the first world who has traveled for a living, the "didn't have enough time" part looks fishy.
Posted By: Guest#6175

Absolutely, and here's where I stop patting Vince on the back and start casting an eye of aspersion to Mysterio. It would seem to me that as soon as a performer is prescribed medicine that could land them in hot water with their company, cost them a month's pay and compromise their integrity (especially with a performer in Mysterio's position as the single-most adored figure by the company's target demographic of highly-impressionable children), wouldn't you think such a performer would have a copy of that prescription faxed, FedEx'ed, and e-mailed to company headquarters before s/he had that prescription filled?

Too, and I'm not saying that Angie (Mrs. Sterio) is just sitting around getting her Peg Bundy on, but if her husband is out on the road and is truly too busy to attend to such matters (which I don't buy at all, for the same reasons mentioned above by 6175), were you her, wouldn't you make it a point to get that information to your husband's employers before they suspended him for a month without pay?

Furthermore, it strikes me that Mysterio speaking out the way he did has very little to do with protecting his options in Mexico. It's not like he got busted for having a buttload of meth or heroin in his system, it was medicine that could very well be prescribed in a legal fashion for a knee, as I've said here many times, that is so badly messed up, he has no business walking stairs much less performing at the level at which he does. That makes sense to me, but to be unable to produce a prescription for such medicine makes him look foolish, but not criminal. Besides, Mysterio, scandal or not, would still be a HUGE star in Mexico and whoever pulls those strings stands to make BANK. But a movie career…? Seriously? The guy's a dynamo in the ring, but his promo skills suck ass through a straw.

All in all, to my knowledge, no prescription was produced, and, considering WWE held off the suspension so Mysterio could drop The ICT to John Morrison (in a spectacular match!!!) on last week's edition of SmackDown!, tells me there, in fact, was no prescription in the first place. Don't tell me WWE would rather suspend a talent like Mysterio (who has had a hell of a solid year in the ring, BTW) than keep him around. Had Mysterio managed to produce a prescription, I'm sure WWE would have been happy to play ball with one of their top talents.

I buy into Angle's story of having a prescription. Even though someone brought up the point of "Why would he be carrying them around?", the answer is pretty simple. He had been kicked out of his house, due to a restraining order. Legal or Illegal, he would have taken the drugs with him. But I still believe he has them legally, otherwise, I doubt so many people would complain about how much smaller Angle is now than he was in the "E". They don't seem to be for him to get bigger, otherwise he would be bigger, or at least the same size he was before entering TNA.
Posted By: JWestmoreland

First of all, that's a fantastic consideration I've not seen suggested anywhere else, JWest, with respect to Angle having to have all of his "must-haves" on him, considering the fact that he'd been kicked out of his home in favor of Rhaka Kahn. Wow, imagine being Kurt…you can't legally drive, due to the suspended license and you get kicked out of your own house because of your crazy ex-girlfriend. Where are you supposed to go?! The more I think about this situation, the more I empathize with Angle, to a certain extent.

How much, though, will hinge heavily upon whether or not he manages to produce a prescription for his medicine. Let's hope for his sake he and Mysterio don't have the same doctor…

it's funny you mention hmv there, geoff. after the events of last years "holiday season" (an americanism, ick i feel so dirty), when woolworths and then zaavi went under in quick succession, i'd venture there are parallels between the company now and wwf in early 2001 when ecw closed and mcmahon bought wcw, since both are having to find ways to continue after seeing off major competition (sure there are the supermarkets, but they don't seem to take selling music quite as seriously now for some reason).

you know whilst mulling over the points you and i were making about tna and story telling, it got me thinking; wwe are getting real inefficient with their product. take summerslam for instance. remember when wwe used to book 8 matches on the card of a major show, and not one of them would get jobbed out in under a minute? heck, i remember then booking 9 or 10 matches back in the early 2000s, and all of them got a running time measurable in minutes, NOT SECONDS.

i dunno, there must be something about the production between matches that's changed; how much time they linger on/replay the events of the previous match, get interviews, hype the following match, whatever.

i know they had dx coming out in that tank, and that took a bunch of time, but you need stuff like that at summerslam because you need to get over that it's the second biggest show of the year, and things happen there that wouldn't on an ordinary ppv. i personally think they should add a half hour to the show's running time if keeping the big show feel is being a detriment to the wrestling.

oh, and the new issue of power slam came out last week; they speculate it was russo who gave the go-ahead for the call to be made to bubba the love sponge's show. not to stir the pot when we're moving on, but still.

keep up the good work geoff
Posted By: DaJ

That's a really interesting comparison, HMV and WWE, DaJ. I just included it because that's where I get all my McFly cds and DVDs now that the Virgin Megastore has closed down and it's a lot cooler to drop the name of a British supershop than plain ol' Wal*Mart (and it seems like a cooler store than Asda or Tesco). The main difference, though, I think, is that HMV didn't actively buy out its competition the way WWE did, but that's starting to split hairs, isn't it?

I'm assuming you're referencing the ECWT "match" at SummerSlam. I think what you're touching on is the amount of actual in-ring portion we're being served by WWE these days as opposed to the product of a decade ago (yes, 2000 is only a couple months from being ten years ago…). If so, I think the answer stems squarely from the amount of padding with which we're saddled these days.

People want to point the finger at long-winded and self-aggrandizing promos and backstage segments when complaining about the shrinking amount of ring-time we get per show/PPV, but I don't think that's the case; rather, we're getting fed longer and more elaborate production pieces these days, in addition to other little time-absorbing doodads like "Raw Rewind" and "Slam of the Night" segments that seems to get longer and longer each week. We're being saddled with ten pounds of exposition for a story that has two ounces of substance to it in most cases.

Now, if there's really a story going on, like the one we just saw wrap up with CM Punk and Jeff Hardy, then by all means, especially as that program was the top story on the show, surrounding The World Title. However, how much exposition is required for Chavo Guerrero being emasculated by Hornswoggle week-in and week-out? Believe me, there's no need to relive whatever bullshit we were forced to endure the week prior. One is either trying to forget about it or, one is six years old and thinks it's the best part of the show and can't wait to see the next "hilarious" installment.

I'm going to start a little experiment in the coming weeks and attempt to keep track of the time given to, not just wrestling versus non-wrestling content, but how much exposition/padding we get on a weekly basis on each WWE-provided program and see what we come up with. If I end up really gung-ho about it, I'll dig up an old Attitude Era videocassette out of which I'd neglected to edit the commercials and do a little compare-and-contrast.

That's all for this week! Thanks for reading; RESPECK!