The Piledriver Report 09.23.09: Wrestling- The Hot Topics

Posted by Ronny Sarnecky on 09.23.2009

After being away from the site for two weeks, The Piledriver Report takes a look at three of the hottest topics in the wrestling industry. From Jeff Hardy to Batista to RAW’s Guest GMs, Ronny Sarnecky gives his opinion on each subject.

Due to unforeseen personal circumstances, I failed to send in last week's edition of "The Piledriver Report." Within the last two weeks, there have been numerous stories that have broken out in the professional wrestling industry. Instead of covering one topic, as per usual with this column, I will look at a number of issues that have been hot topics in sports entertainment.

JEFF HARDY'S ARREST



When I first heard about Hardy's arrest, I can't say that I was shocked. I can say that I was disappointed though. By now, everybody knows what happened. Somebody tipped off the police. Jeff Hardy's house was raided, and the law enforcement officers found a bunch of "goodies" that were just cause for Jeff Hardy to be arrested.

Before commenting on the situation, I wanted to hear all of the details surrounding the case. Now that I have heard most of the public details, I feel I can comment on Jeff Hardy's arrest.

One of the charges that Jeff Hardy is facing is drug trafficking. In no way do I think Jeff Hardy was dealing drugs. Why would he need to? The WWE was trying to throw money at Jeff Hardy to resign with them. I think there are two possibilities on why Jeff had enough drugs to warrant a "trafficking" charge.

The first possibility centers on the Vince steroid trial. For those of you who don't remember Vince's trial in the mid-nineties, the federal government had McMahon in court on criminal charges for distribution of steroids, among other things. One of the issues raised in court was that steroids were delivered to Titan Towers for Vince McMahon, and Vince was then giving the shipment to Hulk Hogan. Vince claimed that he was not selling steroids to Hulk Hogan, but sharing them with him as friends. I could easily see Jeff Hardy in this position. He had all of these drugs for his use, and use among his friends. That is more likely then Jeff being a drug dealer.

The second, and more realistic, possibility is that Jeff Hardy has a big drug problem. If this is indeed the case, it is time for Jeff to get the help that he obviously needs. The WWE has a three strikes wellness policy. Strike one was in the summer of 2007 when he was suspended for thirty days causing him to miss SummerSlam 2007. His second Wellness failure took place in the Spring of 2008. This time, Jeff Hardy was suspended for sixty days. He missed WrestleMania XXIV, where he was scheduled to win the Money in the Bank match. Not only did the biggest push of his career get put on hold, but he lost out on the biggest wrestling pay day of the year. He had one strike left, and couldn't afford to get a final strike.

A third strike would mean that he would get terminated from the company. Jeff got busted two weeks after he left the WWE. Something tells me that Hardy was doing these drugs during his final stint in the WWE. This means that he was risking his career in order to get high. To me, that shows that Jeff has a huge drug problem. Hopefully, Jeff gets the help he truly needs. Until then, CM Punk was right about Hardy all along.

BATISTA'S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT



During the September 14th edition of RAW, Batista appeared in the opening segment with a big announcement. After surprising Randy Orton with the fact that he is now healthy, he let the crowd, and home audience know, that he is retiring from RAW, but moving to the SmackDown! brand.

This was not the news I was hoping for. After having the pleasure of watching Edge, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Chris Jericho, CM Punk, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, Jeff Hardy, and the Hart Dynast, the WWE has decided to ruin my show. With Rey out on his Wellness suspension, and Jeff Hardy no longer under contract (and maybe doing five to ten), the SmackDown! brand is severely lacking in the face side.

I understand why the WWE brought Batista over, but I can't help but be disappointed by the fact that Batista is going to clog up the SmackDown! main event scene. CM Punk has been such an awesome heel as of late. With all due respect to Chris Jericho, once Edge went out with his injury, CM Punk has carried the SmackDown! brand. What I fear now is that the WWE will try to put the World Heavyweight title on Batista's waist as soon as they can get a Punk vs. Batista match signed up.

I do not understand the fascination with Batista. He's not a good worker, unless he is in the ring with Triple H, Edge, or the Undertaker. His promos are boring. All Batista has in a steroid enhanced body. Besides, what ever happened to the Batista heel turn? Instead, I fear we will get a face Batista running wild on all of the best heels that SmackDown! has to offer.

SPECIAL GUEST STAR



On June 22nd, Vince McMahon announced that instead of naming a new RAW General Manager, each week RAW would have a special celebrity guest GM. The new concept is now three months old. Throughout this last quarter of the year, the WWE has provided both celebrities, as well as wrestling legends, to host RAW on a given week.

The list of guest hosts includes Bob Barker, Jeremy Piven, Cedric the Entertainer, Bob Barker, Trish Stratus, Sgt. Slaughter, Ted DiBiase, Dusty Rhodes, ZZ Top, Floyd Mayweather, Seth Green, Freddie Prince, Jr., Shaquille O'Neal, and Batista.

After three months, I feel we have given the guest GM role a long enough run to decide whether or not the role has been successful. I feel that the GM spots have been a mixed bag right now. For every successful SHAQ appearance on RAW, we've had to deal with disasters like Jeremy Piven and Dr. Ken. For the most part, the best guest GMs have been the wrestling legends, except for Sgt. Slaughter, who was put in a no-win situation. The best guest GMs were SHAQ, Mayweather, and Bob Barker, who shockingly received one of the biggest pops on RAW.

Despite the mixed reviews on the RAW GMs, in my opinion, the guest GM role has been a failure in the long run. The reason is because the guest General Manager role is supposed to enhance the product. Instead, the role takes away from the RAW telecasts. Very few people watch RAW because of who is hosting the show. Plus, after the initial guest GM appearances, the WWE hardly receives any publicity for these appearances any more. So, why even bother anymore?

My biggest complaint in regards to the RAW guest GM has to do with the fact that the WWE spends so much time on their special GMs that it takes away from their actual product. In two weeks, the WWE will be presenting their next pay per view. However, instead of spending every minute they can to build up interest in the Hell in a Cell show, the WWE wastes time on a ten-minute stand-up routine by Cedric the Entertainer. Later, they follow this up by having Cedric in a wrestling match. Wouldn't their time have been better spent by running some meaningful angles for the pay per view? Or how about using the time to air a long, exciting match that would make fans of SmackDown! proud?