411 Fact or Fiction 01.12.12: Funkasaurus, Jericho, Nash vs. Warrior, More

Posted by Steve Cook on 01.12.2012

Does the Funkasaurus intrigue you? Will Chris Jericho break his silence next week? Would you want to see Kevin Nash & Ultimate Warrior in an MMA fight? 411's Ross Rutherford & Patrick O'Dowd answer these questions and more in the latest edition of Fact or Fiction: Wrestling!



Hi, hello & welcome to Fact or Fiction! I'm Steve Cook, and it's been a funky week in the world of wrestling! Of course, the funk was brought by the Funkasaurus himself, Brodus Clay! Some love it, some hate it. The same goes for Chris Jericho's continuing storyline where he just can't bring himself to address his adoring fans. There's split opinion on whether or not Daniel Bryan should be the one turning heel in his feud with Big Show. There's also been debate about the WWE Network, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam & the Kevin Nash vs. Ultimate Warrior saga. Also, TNA is going to England.

I've invited two of 411's finest to discuss these topics. First of all, a man who's new to our website and has brought us The 8-Ball, a weekly column listing the top eight in various wrestling topics…please welcome Ross Rutherford!

His opponent is the co-host of The Greg DeMarco Show With Greg DeMarco & Patrick O'Dowd, presented by 411Mania and streaming worldwide through the Voice of Choice Nation…say hello to the Wrestling Realist, Patrick O'Dowd!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect WWE, TNA & crazy people MMA-related questions.

1. You are intrigued by Brodus "The Funkasaurus" Clay.





Ross Rutherford: FACT. I know everyone thinks it looks cheesy and that it won't get him anywhere, but I think if done right it might get over. This is only bearing in mind that they don't turn him into some blatant Rikishi rip off. If they make his character interesting I think it will work. If you look at some of his facial expression he legitimately looks crazy. Maybe if they turn him into some type of obsessive dancing mad man? I don't know, I think it is too early to tell where they are going with this and whether it is a good or bad move, but it does have my attention.

Patrick O‘Dowd: FACT. Many people have been arguing that Brodus was being built as a dominant super heavyweight and that is how he should have debuted. With the E already pushing two such monsters in Mark Henry and Kane, there seems little reason to have yet another tearing his way through the ranks. The second I heard "Somebody Call My Momma" playing I was instantly smiling. More importantly I was curious about where this could go. Watching Brodus in his jumpsuit with his ladies I was transported to memories of the Godfather and Dancing Rikishi. The man worked the gimmick hard and it definitely appeared like he was enjoying himself. I think there is a great deal of fun to be had with Clay's character as it is a complete 180 from my expectations. I am not sure where this angle/character will go, but I know I am going to be entertained watching it unfold.

Score: 1 for 1

2. Chris Jericho will finally be able to speak next week on Raw.



Ross Rutherford: FICTION. I don't mind either way. I have a feeling he is going to keep toying with us up until the Royal Rumble. The way I see it, regardless of when he decides to finally say something, this angle is going in an interesting direction. I'm sure I'm with a large majority that is hoping this leads to a Punk/Jericho angle for Wrestlemania. I could be wrong though, but this isn't Jericho's first rodeo and he would not have returned so soon if he didn't have something new to add to his persona. It would be nice to see Jericho put Punk over at Wrestlemania and I think they could steal the show from Rock/Cena if they got time to work. I'm most interested to see if Jericho is playing a heel or a babyface. My gut says he will be playing a heel, but Jericho is fairly good at swerving us. Who knows? Either way, I can't wait to see what he does next.

Patrick O‘Dowd: FICTION. I think I am saying fiction because I am digging the silent treatment so far. Clearly, the man is overwhelmed by the fan response. In all seriousness, the audience is still reacting to his antics and the silence, so why not keep it going? The purpose of this is to build tension so that when he finally does speak, the fan reaction will be huge. It seems to me that Jericho is going to eventually call us out as the sheep that we are for blindly cheering his return. The longer he can get folks to cheer for his antics the better the fodder will be when he finally does talk. I think that he can string this out for one more week at least and get the audience to the point where we are begging for him to talk to us, and we will love it when he then drops a verbal beatdown.

Score: 2 for 2

3. Daniel Bryan is better off as a heel than as a babyface.



Ross Rutherford: FACT. I'm saying fact for the simple logic that it is far easier for young guys to get over as heels. The last time I remember a young guy (really) getting over as a face was Jeff Hardy. That took years. Daniel Bryan can pull off either I'm sure. I have not seen much of his ROH work, but I've been told he played a brilliant heel. It works with the storyline too. The Big Show is the bigger and dominate wrestler and Bryan uses any cheap method he can to get a victory. It makes perfect sense, and being that Bryan is a smaller wrestler it is believable from him to play the weasley heel, although to be honest I'd much rather see him making people tap out left and right. I suppose Smackdown needs a top heel with Mark Henry and Christian injured for the time being, so I suppose this is their way of trying to fill the void. As long as he is putting on good matches I really don't feel a need to complain.

Patrick O‘Dowd: FACT. I have said this many times on the Greg DeMarco Show (shameless plug!), but my favorite times watching Daniel Bryan work have been when he is acting as a heel. If fans are unfamiliar, take a look at Daniel Bryan's work during his Championship run with ROH. During his time as Ring of Honor World Champion, Bryan took a turn as this smug, "I don't do this for the fans" persona. His best antics were when he would get the crow excited for a particular move (many times he would be setting up the surfboard), then flip the crowd of and stop his opponent instead. He can do the chickens### heel stuff as well. During the ROH/CZW Cage of Death match he intentionally turned and attacked Samoa Joe and ran out on ROH because he wanted to protect his title. Having him play the cowardly heel against the Big Show makes a lot of sense to me because I think it makes Bryan a little more credible as the champ. I hate face underdog champions because many times the champ comes off looking like he isn't talented enough to have the belt and is just lucky. Look at Rey Mysterio's first title reign. We were supposed to buy Rey as an underdog, but most just saw him as weak and lucky. As a cowardly heel Bryan can play up the idea that shouldn't be the champ and is now going to whatever he can to hold the belt. There is real potential in that angle.

Score: 3 for 3

4. WWE Network delaying its debut until the end of the year is a good decision and not a sign that the project ultimately won't work.



Ross Rutherford: FACT. People have such little faith. Vince McMahon is the greatest business man to ever come into the wrestling world. Could this be a flop? Yes. However, I think by putting off its debut they have realized that if they want this to work they will have to fully dedicate themselves to it. McMahon is smart, and I'm not sure he would take a gamble like this unless he was sure it would pay off. This is definitely something that we will have to wait and see on. For right now, my interest is not on the WWE Network. Do I think they will benefit from their own network? I'm not sure. No wrestling promotion has ever dreamed of trying to pull off something like this on a large scale. McMahon is in untested waters, but he had made a career out of doing this.

Patrick O‘Dowd: FACT. I am going to own up front, that I know very little about what is actually happening with the why's behind the WWE Network's delay, but I refuse to immediately jump to the idea that the delay is sign of the project's failure. The WWE clearly has put a great deal of effort behind this project and hyped it to the moon. I am going to err on the side that says the WWE doesn't want to see this go the way of the XFL. The delay is an effort to avoid failure, not evidence that it already has failed. If the Network isn't quite ready, then take the time to work out those snags and debut strong. The worst thing that could happen is for the network to debut and see problems be it technical or otherwise.

Score: 4 for 4


SWITCH!

5. Keeping Jeff Hardy in the TNA title picture is a wise decision.



Patrick O‘Dowd: FACT. So long as James Storm is feuding with Kurt Angle, then having Jeff Hardy in the title picture is fine by me. Bobby Roode pulled a nice little cowardly heel move of his own to retain his title which was right on target with his character development, so there is still a story there for Jeff. I know I've been fooled by Jeff before, but I have really appreciated his redemption story arc. He and Roode worked a very solid match at Genesis and if Jeff's act truly is together, let them keep working together until Storm and Angle blow off their rivalry.

Ross Rutherford: FACT. Jeff Hardy, whether we like him as a person or not, is over with the fans. So if Bobby Roode is able to benefit off of going over him then great. I don't think it would be a good move by TNA's part to actually give him the title right now after what he pulled last year. I actually hope they don't give him any title for a long time. TNA doesn't need any more bad press, but Hardy knows how to have a good match and it doesn't bother me in the slightest to see him working main events again. I think Jeff is fully aware that he is on his last straw. I hope he sees how his brother has been more or less ostracized by TNA and WWE and realizes that he needs to make this next run count. I hope he keeps on the straight and narrow and proves all of his harsh critics wrong. I've always been a fan of Hardy's ability to delight the crowd, but over the past few years I have not enjoyed his work. I hope he hits his stride again and is able to work amazing matches again.

Score: 5 for 5

6. TNA should hold more events in England.



Patrick O‘Dowd: FACT. By all accounts, TNA does quite well in England and the company has a strong fan base there. Taping Impact in a location other than Orlando, with an international fanbase that is invested in your product, can only make the company look more professional. One of the chief complaints surrounding TNA is the Impact Zone audience. Change that and go somewhere with some fan investment.

Ross Rutherford: FACT. TNA, for whatever reason, is really big in the UK. I think if they worked a PPV over there, like Slammiversary or Bound For Glory, that they would be able to attract a sizably larger crowd than they usually get here in the states. I don't understand why WWE doesn't do this more often either. Wrestling is huge in other counties and if American promoters held more events in places like India, Mexico, Japan, and the UK they would be able to widen their audience and open up new business opportunities over there. I'm aware that both companies tour the other countries, but holding a TV taping or a PPV would be a huge deal for foreigners and I think the American viewers would be interested in seeing how others across the World react to the American talents.

Score: 6 for 6

7. Rob Van Dam would be an effective member of the WWE roster.



Patrick O‘Dowd: FACT. Fact only if RVD is motivated, and that was one of the reasons he stopped working for the WWE in the first place. RVD may have lost a step, but it isn't that big of a step. And with the roster that is currently working prominently on Raw and SmackDown there could be some killer matchups. I would love to see CM Punk and RVD, or RVD and Ziggler, RVD and Cody Rhodes, and so on and so on… RVD has always been a versatile worker that can work with high flyers as well as big men. I haven't seen much to show me that he couldn't be effective. But, as I mentioned above, Rob is most effective when he is motivated.

Ross Rutherford: FACT. This is an odd question. When Van Dam is enjoying what he is doing I think he could be an effective member of any roster. I honestly don't think he likes TNA. I think he is over it and wants to either go back home or maybe have one final run with the WWE. Van Damn's last run with the WWE was held down by his drug arrest and the fact that he was more or less chained to the limited ECW brand. I think if he came back he would be able to work with a ton of the new guys and do them a lot of good. Van Dam vs. Dolph Ziggler? Van Dam vs. Cody Rhodes? Van Dam vs. Daniel Bryan? I think they all sound like good matches and interesting feuds. So my simple answer is yes, but you can't ever tell what RVD is going to do next. Based on his performances in TNA recently he seems burnt out with the promotion. I hope he gets out of whatever funk he has been in, though.

Score: 7 for 7

8. You want to see Ultimate Warrior vs. Kevin Nash in an MMA fight.



Patrick O‘Dowd: FICTION. You couldn't pay me to watch that fight. This twitter war of words is just that, words. I don't care if these guys do want to kill each other. Who knows what kind of shape warrior is in? And Nash, while looking decent during his WWE run, seems to have forgotten that the last fight he was in was a work. And that is what I think this war of words is. It's a work. The second Nash Tweets that he's shooting, he is no longer shooting. He's using the word to garner attention and he has succeeded because here we are now typing about Nash and Warrior. Both of these men love attention and publicity, this is the last I am going to look at the situation.

Ross Rutherford: FICTION. Who does? These old guys really need to stop shit talking on Twitter. Its getting really old. I mean Nash reminds me of a tree that you can tell is about to fall over. His legs just constantly look like that they are ready to snap. I don't even want to comment on the Ultimate Warrior. I think this is retarded, and I don't want to see it at all. I mean seriously, who cares? Ultimate Warrior is (and forgive me 80s WWF fans because I know you are going to hate me) a has-been and no more than a flash in the pan. There I said it…do your worst.

Final Score: 8 for 8

Ross & Patrick run the table, achieving a perfect score of agreeance! Do you agree with them? I'm sure there are some people out there hating on the Funkasaurus & mute Jericho. Surely somebody doesn't think it's a good idea to put Jeff Hardy in the TNA title scene. Oh well, we thank Ross & Phil Patrick for their contributions, and congratulate them on achieving the first perfect score in the Cook Era of Fact or Fiction! Join us next week when two more literary warriors enter the Fact or Fiction ring!

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