411 Fact or Fiction 12.03.09: Sheamus's Title Shot, 4 Hour Impact, Hogan's Media Comments and More!

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 12.03.2009

Is Sheamus a fine choice to challenge John Cena at TLC? Is four hours of Impact on New Year's Eve too much? Is it too early to split Eric Escobar and Vickie Guerrero? Is the WWE setting the wrong example by promoting Jeff Hardy's DVD and pushing CM Punk as a heel? Jeff Small and Scott Slimmer debate these topics and more in the latest edition of 411 Wrestling Fact or Fiction!



It's Wednesday night/Thursday morning, which means just one thing…it's time for another edition 411 Wrestling Edition of Fact or Fiction! I'm your moderator as always, Jeremy Thomas, and despite having a slow news week thanks to Thanksgiving, we still have a lot to talk about! This week in our panel are another two of our Wrestling Zone writers, with Instant Access man Scott Slimmer going head to head with the one and only Jeff Small, the man behind the Small-For-All News Report and the Great Khali's biggest fan! These two are no strangers to each other and have a lot to say, so let's get to it!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect WWE & TNA-related questions.

1. Sheamus is a perfectly fine choice to challenge John Cena for the WWE Heavyweight Title at TLC.



Jeff Small: FICTION. If the WWE really wanted to build Sheamus up as a challenger for Cena's belt, he should have been placed in a #1 contender's match at TLC to obtain a title shot at the Royal Rumble. The Rumble is already known for its midcard title matches including Bob Holly/Brock Lesnar, Mark Henry/Kurt Angle, and Ken Kennedy/Batista. Sheamus would have been a perfectly fine choice at that time. Not now when there's no time to make him a credible opponent.

Scott Slimmer: FICTION. There are two fundamental flaws in choosing Sheamus to challenge John Cena at TLC. First, Sheamus hasn't been on Raw long enough to have become credibly established as a threat to Cena's title. Sheamus had only been a member of the Raw roster for four weeks when he was named the Number One Contender, and in that time all he had done was retire a veteran jobber, beat a nameless jobber, attack a timekeeper, and kick an announcer, in that order. His sole credible accomplishment was pinning John Morrison to pick up the victory for Team Miz at Survivor Series, but one pinfall over the Intercontinental Champion still doesn't make you a credible threat to the WWE Champion. Second, there were better choices than Sheamus to be John Cena's next challenger. I applaud WWE for attempting to elevate new talent by giving a title shot to someone that has never been a world champion, and I would understand choosing Sheamus if there was no better choice available. Unfortunately, in this case there were two better options from which to choose. If Jack Swagger had maintained his undefeated streak and not lost to Evan Bourne three weeks ago, then he would have provided Cena with a more established and more technically competent challenger. But as far as I'm concerned, the best choice for Cena's next challenger was actually Kofi Kingston. Say what you will about face / face matches and feuds, but the crowd was behind Kofi and ready to see him elevated to the top of the card.

Score: 1 for 1

2. Four hours on TNA Impact on New Year's Eve is overkill, even if part of it is a "Best Of 2009" show.

Jeff Small: FICTION. You know I always hear the complaint that most episodes of Impact always feel rushed as nothing has time to breathe. Well, on a four hour edition of Impact, the company can either slow things down to normal pace or go through two months of storylines. Either way, I think it's a win for us viewers.

Scott Slimmer: FACT. This is in no way meant to be a critique of TNA, the TNA talent, or the TNA product, but rather recognition of the fact that four hours of continuous professional wrestling is overkill in almost any situation. We as a wrestling audience have been conditioned to watch televised wrestling in one or two hour increments and to expect pay-per-view wrestling to be presented in roughly three hour packages. Deviation from that established formula tends to a make the product feel drawn out and bloated, irrespective of the quality of the additional programming. Three hour Raw specials usually feel too long despite the fact that they usually feature additional talent from Smackdown and ECW, and the four hours allotted to WrestleMania each year usually seem to drag a bit even though WrestleMania is the single most important wrestling show of the year. In the case of the special episode of TNA Impact on New Year's Eve, the four hour program could feel especially long if a significant portion of the show is dedicated to "Best of 2009" segments features clips and matches that previously aired earlier in the year. TNA is traditionally a niche product with a consistently loyal fan base, and I have to believe that most of the viewers watching Impact on New Year's Eve would have also watched the vast majority of Impact episodes during the course of the year. And as much as I love professional wrestling, I can think over of several better ways to spend New Years Eve than watching reruns of matches that I've already seen.

Score: 1 for 2

3. It's too early in Eric Escobar's tenure to have him strike out on his own without Vickie Guerrero or someone else as a manager.

Jeff Small: FICTION. For as much as I love Vickie Guerrero in the WWE, she totally steals the entire spotlight from Escobar. There's no way for Escobar to get over if he's constantly in Vickie's shadow. Now without Vickie, Escobar has a chance to develop a character, possibly show off a more varied offense (than steal a match with Vickie's help), and rise to the occasion. And if he doesn't it's back to developmental or ECW for him.

Scott Slimmer: FACT. Eric Escobar's lack of proven promo skills, coupled with his extremely brief tenure on televised WWE programming, would seem to indicate that he would be best served by remaining with a proven mouthpiece such as Vickie Guerrero. Unlike many rising stars that are introduced on ECW before being moved to either Smackdown or Raw, Escobar was introduced directly on Smackdown only two months ago. He wasn't given the opportunity to establish himself in the WWE equivalent of the kiddie pool. The fans still have very little idea who he is as a wrestler or as a character, but up until last Friday he was at least clearly identifiable as Vickie Guerrero's boyfriend. Vickie Guerrero may very well be the best heel in the business at the moment (just listen to the deafening heat she gets every time she steps through the curtain), and being associated with Vickie Guerrero meant that Eric Escobar was somebody. But now? Now he's just a guy that used to be associated with Vickie Guerrero, and that basically makes him nobody. Maybe Escobar will eventually prove himself to be phenomenal in the ring. Maybe Escobar will eventually show that he has tremendous skill on the mic. But that will take time, and in the meantime he needs a way to keep his head above water and stand out from the beige background of mid-card talent. Vickie Guerrero was exactly the kind of life preserver that could have bought Escobar the time that he needed to prove himself, but now he'll be forced to sink or swim solely on his own merits.

Score: 1 for 3

4. Bobby Lashley will make a good feud for whoever comes out of Final Resolution as the TNA World Champion.

Jeff Small: FACT. Lashley's over, has name recognition thanks to his time in the WWE (and possibly MMA), and hasn't looked like a total idiot yet. He's perfect for a main event feud at Final Resolution.

Scott Slimmer: FACT. This one is a total toss up, and ultimately it comes down to whether or not you want to give Bobby Lashley the benefit of the doubt. Compared to other possible title contenders on the TNA roster, Lashley does not have the strongest track record of high quality matches. However, it's important to remember that Lashley is still only five years into his professional wrestling career, and he was away from the game for nearly two years in the middle. He has an amazing look, is incredibly naturally athletically gifted, and is well versed in the fundamentals of wrestling, so I choose to give him the benefit of the doubt and expect that his ability to craft a coherent, compelling match will continue to increase. However, the other obvious issue associated with Lashley is his promo skill (or lack thereof), but it should be possible to successfully manage this difficulty through careful booking. Yes, I know, I just used the phrase "careful booking" in regards to a company run by Vince Russo and / or Hulk Hogan, but like I said, I'm trying to be an optimist here. If Lashley is allowed to let his actions speak louder than his words, then he should be able to assert himself as a monstrous challenger to the champion. Lashley is much larger than both AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, and so the physical storytelling of the feud should be able to compensate for Lashley's lack of verbal skill. Bobby Lashley still has the potential to be a major star for TNA, and it'll be interesting to see if they can showcase his strengths better than WWE did.

Score: 2 for 4


SWITCH!

5. The WWE is setting the wrong kind of image to the kids they are trying to market to by promoting Jeff Hardy's DVD set and then continuing to push CM Punk as a heel.



Scott Slimmer: FACT. Professional wrestling is a very bizarre business. We all know that. For reasons that I still don't fully comprehend, it seems as though many of the societal values and norms that we have become accustomed to in everyday life simply do not exist within the world of the squared circle. Such was the case when Jeff Hardy and CM Punk were feuding over the World Heavyweight Championship earlier this year. Hardy's history of drug abuse and Punk's straight edge lifestyle were dealt with surprisingly openly during the course of the feud, and yet at that point it didn't bother me that Hardy was being booked as the face and Punk as the heel. It may seem counterintuitive to book a proponent of drug use as a face (and, in fact, as your world champion), but it's important to remember that Jeff Hardy's drug use was in his past at that time. As far as most of us knew, Jeff Hardy was a man that had defeated his demons. But as we've all learned far too many times in this industry, demons have a nasty little habit of rearing their heads when you least expect. And so when Jeff Hardy was arrested for having lots… and lots… and lots and lots and lots of drugs, WWE should have realized that they were no longer in a position to promote his live-for-the-moment lifestyle. Jeff Hardy has not defeated his demons, and continuing to promote his DVD while pushing CM Punk as a heel only serves to carelessly glorify Jeff Hardy's failures, not his victories.

Jeff Small: FICTION. Oh come on, when has the WWE tried to send the right message to the kids since "Make a Difference" Fatu? The WWE is a business. They should promote one of their most popular stars' DVDs, especially before he gets placed in the slammer. They should also allow Punk to exaggerate his real-life beliefs to create his heel character. Which they are doing. No blame on the WWE here.

Score: 3 for 5

6. Hulk Hogan's recent media comments about being in charge of TNA, booking them without a writing team and Steve Austin ducking his challenge is not helping TNA at all.

Scott Slimmer: FICTION. There are two important details in the wording of this statement that ultimately make it fiction. First, the statement claims that Hogan's comments are not helping TNA "at all." While it is certainly debatable whether Hogan's comments are doing more harm than good, it's also very hard to argue that they have no benefits at all. For better or worse, Hulk Hogan and his recent comments have brought increased attention and media coverage to TNA. I have to believe that some new viewers will tune in to Impact when Hulk Hogan starts appearing on the show. Will those new viewers constitute a significant increase in Impact's rating? Maybe the will, maybe they won't. And will those new viewers continue to watch Impact once they see what it has to offer? Maybe they will, maybe they won't. And that's where the second important detail in the wording of this statement comes into play. This statement is about Hogan's "comments," not his actions. Ultimately, there's only so much good or harm that words alone can do to TNA. But when Hulk Hogan does finally arrive, it will be his actions that definitely show whether he is going to save the promotion or bury it. Will he really be in charge of TNA? Will he really be booking without a writing team? Will he really use TNA as a platform to goad Steve Austin into one last ill-advised match? It will be Hogan's actions and the answers to those questions, not Hogan's comments beforehand, that ultimately prove his worth to TNA.

Jeff Small: FICTION. What are you smoking, brother? Hulk Hogan didn't have to promote TNA while thrilling 50,000 Hulkamaniacs on his Hulkamania Tour. But he chose to. TNA should be thankful that Hogan is willing to resurrrect a dying brand. And if he decides to remove all writers to better the product, so be it. Hulk Hogan is a wrestling institution and should be revered in TNA. Remember kids, he slammed Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3. What else needs to be done?

Score: 4 for 6

7. Rey Mysterio would be better served by not doing the "quick fix" surgery and waiting to come back until he's completely recovered.

Scott Slimmer: FACT. Rey Mysterio is one of the greatest little men in wrestling history, and I have no doubt that he loves performing for the fans. As such, my assumption would be that he wants to do whatever he can to give the fans as many memorable matches as possible. The number of injuries that Mysterio has sustained over the years, coupled with his trademark high-flying style, may give the impression Mysterio's days as an active in-ring competitor are numbered. This may very well be the mindset that Mysterio himself has adopted, and in that case I understand why he would want to have the "quick fix" surgery and get back into the ring as soon as possible. But it's also important to remember that Mysterio got into this business and made an impact at a very early age, and he's still only 34 years old even though he's been wrestling for twenty years. It's possible for today's top wrestlers to perform at a high level well into their early forties, and so under the best circumstances it may be possible for Mysterio wrestle for another full decade. In light of that timeframe, having the traditional surgery and taking a year off to fully heal doesn't seem like such a long time. And so on one side of the coin you have Mysterio rushing back to the ring before his body is ready and ultimately ending his career prematurely when the pile of injuries simply becomes too much to bear. On the other side of the coin you have Mysterio allowing himself to take a break, completely recover, and then continue to perform for his fans for years to come.

Jeff Small: FICTION. Rey's knees are shot and really with the style he works, how much of a shelf life does he have left? Let Mysterio take the quick fix surgery, come back and work a return program with Batista, enjoy a WrestleMania paycheck, and then see how his knee is holding up. Milk him for what he's worth as I can't see Rey making it to WrestleMania 30.

Score: 4 for 7

8. The Hornswoggle/DX mini-feud has been taken too far and needs to stop.



Scott Slimmer: FACT. I understand that professional wrestling is about more than just scripted athletic pseudo-competition, and I appreciate the value of entertainment in the televised product. However, I also believe that wrestling matches are still the single most important part of professional wrestling programming, and I believe that every non-wrestling segment should play a role in building toward an actual wrestling match. I have no problem with promos and interviews and contract signings and pre-match pep talks and skull punts to fathers and fathers-in-law. Hell, even raping a corpse can be used in the build to a title match. But entertainment segments used solely for the sake of entertainment are simply unnecessary, especially when the actual entertainment value of the segments is question is dubious at best. And that's precisely the case with the Hornswoggle / DX mini-feud. There is no chance (no chance in hell) that this feud is going to lead to a real match, and it is a waste of time for everyone involved. Yes, this feud seemed to be the main building block for the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series, and yet it played absolutely no role in that match. Now DX is theoretically engaged in a feud with Chris Jericho & Big Show for the Unified Tag Team Championships, and yet they're still embroiled in the Hornswoggle feud that no longer has any bearing whatsoever on their upcoming pay-per-view match. As the great American philosopher Susan Powter has said, "Stop the insanity!"

Jeff Small: FACT, at this moment. If all we are getting out of this mini-feud is a fifteen minute comedy skit next week, then yes this feud needs to stop. However, if this mini-feud leads to DX breaking up and Shawn Michaels receiving custody of Hornswoggle, then it might have been worth our time.

Final Score: 4 for 8

And after the dust has settled, Slimmer and Small split the difference. Thanks to the both of them for their answers, and to you the readers for clicking on the link and seeing what they had to say! That's all we have for this week…check us out next week for more 411 Wrestling Fact or Fiction!

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