411 Fact or Fiction 04.19.12: Lord Tensai, Foley vs. Ambrose, Roode Retains, More

Hi, hello & welcome to 411 Fact or Fiction! I’m Steve Cook, and it’s been another eventful week in the world of wrestling. WWE announced that WrestleMania 28 was the largest-grossing wrestling event in history. Raw in London featured Lord Tensai defeating John Cena in the main event & Daniel Bryan changing the name of his finishing submission hold to the Yes Lock. Mick Foley & Dean Ambrose’s online feud continues to gain attention from folks all over the World Wide Web.

TNA held their Lockdown PPV in Nashville over the weekend, and surprised some folks by having Bobby Roode retain their world championship. Garett Bischoff led his team to victory in Lethal Lockdown and forced his father out of TNA, but it remains to be seen whether or not the fans care. Bully Ray was on the losing end of Lethal Lockdown, but the dirt sheets are speculating that he may soon become the world champion. Meanwhile, ROH featured some matches from their Showdown in the Sun iPPV on their TV show, leaving some fans to wonder why they purchased the show while others say it’s a good move for future business.

We have two of the Wrestling Zone’s finest here today to discuss these topics. Introducing first, the host of The Greg DeMarco Show with Greg DeMarco & Patrick O’Dowd, the author of the Wrestling 5 & 1, and one of the people I go to when I need people to answer TNA questions in this column…the snarky Greg DeMarco!

His opponent recaps the wildly popular Ring Ka King wrestling series every week and hails from across the pond. Say hello to Jack Stevenson!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect wrestling-related questions.

1. WrestleMania 28’s record as the largest-grossing wrestling event of all time will be broken within the next five years.

Greg DeMarco: FACT. I think it’s broken by WrestleMania 29. The WWE is hitting on a formula that works from a business/buyrate standpoint. WrestleMania is a mainstream multimedia event—not a wrestling pay-per-view. From that standpoint, the company attracts viewers that don’t watch purchase any other WWE events during the year.

And look at the potential for the card! You already have Brock Lesnar and The Rock confirmed for the show. And if you pair them up, that leaves John Cena vs. The Undertaker and CM Punk vs. Steve Austin (if you really want to go all out). Add in some title matches, and you’ve got a huge event on your hands.

And you know that Vince wants to break that record again. So if WM29 doesn’t do it, watch out for what he does at WM30.

Jack Stevenson: FACT. I’m not very good at predicting the future, but so much can happen in the wrestling business in five years. I mean, five years ago, who would have possibly thought The Rock and John Cena would meet one on one? That CM Punk would be one of the WWE’s biggest stars? That the Miz would have had a world title reign? The WWE has shown time and time again that it can attract people to buy Wrestlemania by putting on huge matches time and time again. The Rock-Cena is a heck of a match to top, but I have faith that the company can do it, and in doing so will beat their own record for largest-grossing wrestling event.

Score: 1 for 1

2. Lord Tensai’s victory over John Cena on Monday solidifies him as a top player on Raw.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION. If Lord Tensai becomes a top player on RAW, we will look to his win over Cena as the early part of that evolution. But that isn’t built in one week or three weeks. It takes time, and we haven’t seen him deliver consistent performances for an extended period of time yet. I live Giant Bernard/A-Train as much as the next guy. I’m impressed by his credentials in the ring. I love the Iron Claw! But it’s too soon to tell. For every thought of “he pretty much beat John Cena clean” I also have “he looks like a pale fat kid in his underwear.”

Jack Stevenson: FICTION. Since returning to the WWE, Lord Tensai has received muted reactions from the WWE fans, and as such a victory over John Cena isn’t going to automatically solidify him as a top player on Raw, especially because of it’s tainted nature. The former A-Train has improved dramatically from his first WWE stint, becoming a dominant, imposing big man in Japan, one of the best in the planet at what he does. But it’s a rare Raw viewer who knows about his New Japan work, and can recognise his talent from a couple of squash matches and a solid bout against John Cena. What the victory does indicate is that the WWE are prepared to back him, and if they do that I have no doubt Lord Tensai will soon be firmly integrated within the upper tiers of the Raw roster. However, to call him that now is definitely an exaggeration.

Score: 2 for 2

3. You believe Mick Foley when he says he won’t be working with Dean Ambrose.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION. Dean Ambrose has a tremendous amount of potential both on the mic and in the ring. He has all of the tools necessary to really connect with the WWE fanbase, and really move the needle in the future. Dean Ambrose is a relative unknown to the “WWE Universe” of casual fans. What reason do they have to believe he’s feuding with Mick Foley when they don’t even know who he is? It makes perfect sense—character wise—for Mick Foley to publicly deny the feud. That plays right into what Ambrose is saying. And I think Foley sees potential in someone like Ambrose, and would love to have his name attached to Dean Ambrose’s success.

Jack Stevenson: FICTION. I’d certainly be disappointed if Foley was telling the truth. I saw the hype surrounding Jon Moxley when he wrestled on the independent scene, but always imagined him as a overrated Davey Richards style indy darling, and thus didn’t really bother checking out his work. It turns out ignorance isn’t bliss though, because what I’ve been missing is a talented grappler and, more important, a phenomenal promo. Now in the WWE as Dean Ambrose, I got very excited indeed when I saw the Foley feud start to develop, and if it has really been called off, I think a real opportunity has been missed. However, this feud has been based very much in realism, and I’m hoping Foley hasn’t truly been offended by Ambrose’s actions. Given the amount of things Mick has agreed to in his wrestling career, I don’t think he’d curtail the momentum of an exceptionally promising young talent at this point.

Score: 3 for 3

4. The Yes Lock is a better name for Daniel Bryan’s finisher than the LeBell Lock.

Greg DeMarco: YES! Err, I mean FACT. Look, “LeBell Lock” is a cool sounding name. But Gene LeBell was the guy we all pretended to know about when Daniel Bryan busted out the LeBell Lock for the first time. For most us, that knowledge is really limited to Wikipedia. The name is an obscure reference at best.

The Yes Lock? That’s a name synonymous with Daniel Bryan—a brand that is taking off with the WWE. “YES!” is a borderline pop-culture reference, destined to be left on the cutting room floor of “I Love the 2010’s” someday.

Jack Stevenson: FACT. A tentative “Fact” here, because ‘The Yes Lock’ is a bit of an awkward name; it doesn’t have the nice rhythm as it flows off the tongue that the LeBell Lock did. However, it capitalizes on the momentum of what has become an incredibly popular catchphrase, and Daniel Bryan explained the change well enough, so it’s not like I’m going to lose sleep over it.

Score: 4 for 4

SWITCH!

5. Bobby Roode retaining the TNA World Championship at Lockdown was the right decision.

Jack Stevnson: FACT. What would a title change actually achieve? Impact Wrestling in 2012 has been one of the most uniquely unremarkable years in TNA’s tempestuous history. I mean, I don’t follow the show religiously, but I watch it on a semi-regular basis and skim through the recaps when I don’t, and yet there isn’t much I can really remember about what’s happened so far this year. Robert Roode is talented, hard working and devoted to TNA, and while you can say the same things for James Storm, I don’t think a title change would do anything worthwhile for the main event scene. It wouldn’t invigorate it, wouldn’t change it’s direction, wouldn’t start popping 1.5 ratings. Neither character is exciting enough to do that, and in that situation, I don’t see the point of a title change. It would still be same old, not bad but not good Impact Wrestling. Wait for someone truly exciting and different to be worthy of a run.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION. I love Bobby Roode as the TNA World Champion. I loved it from day one. But his reign has been so poorly handled, that from a “Bobby Roode” perspective, it made sense to end it. I love James Storm. He’s an amazing talent with that unique ability to connect with any audience. He’s “every man” and people can buy into that. His build to the title was also mishandled.

But at Lockdown, in Nashville, the right decision was for James Storm to win the title. Sure, Roode would have won it back within a few months. But the Nashville moment was squandered. Bobby Roode has proven that you can still be champion after a missed opportunity—his was Bound For Glory. But the opportunity to create a “moment?” You can’t pass that up.

Score: 4 for 5

6. Garett Bischoff will never be accepted by TNA’s audience.

Jack Stevenson: FICTION. Stranger things have happened. In fairness to Garrett Bischoff, he’s far from the worst talent to step into the squared circle, and as long as his father Eric remains in an important position in TNA he’ll receive every opportunity available to get himself over with the Impact Wrestling fanbase. It’s pretty much accepted that TNA’s audience is generally jaded, and when you couple that with the fact he probably wouldn’t be on the main roster if it wasn’t for nefarious nepotism, it’s going to be an uphill struggle for him. But when the Rock debuted in late 1996 he was a hated white meat supposed good guy, and he became one of the most popular, edgy stars in pro wrestling history. I’m not trying to say Garrett Bischoff is the next Rock. As I said at the start of this answer though, stranger things have happened.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION. Garett Bischoff might never shake the stigma of being Eric Bischoff’s son. Add in the manner in which he was introduced and pushed, and it magnifies the problems he has. He shows flashes of greatness mixed with flashes of Erik Watts. Debuting him as a Bischoff and having him paired with Hogan and Sting and feuding him with Eric Bischoff were all bad ideas. TNA fans are smart enough to see what’s up.

That said. NEVER? Never is a strong word. Crazier things have happened. I can say “highly unlikely”, but you never say never in wrestling.

Score: 5 for 6

7. Bully Ray deserves to be the TNA World Champion.

Jack Stevenson: FACT. Throughout his entire career Bully Ray has mainly been seen as just a tag wrestler, and as such has never had a meaningful run with a singles belt. However, split from D-Von he has been consistently the most entertaining, charismatic and motivated presence on Impact, and if those three characteristics don’t earn you even the briefest of world title reigns, I don’t know what does. Ray’s at a stage of his career where it wouldn’t be wise to ask him to carry the company, but a reign of one or two months would represent an appreciative nod to the quality work he has put in since splitting from Team 3-D.

Greg DeMarco: FACT. He can wrestle. He can cut promos. He can lead. He can tell a story. He can do it all. And he can carry a promotion’s top title. He can make the face look like a million bucks in the chase. Why not give him a run? There is one thing… he’s Bubby Ray Dudley. It looks weird. And despite the changes—he still looks like a Dudley Boy. Road Warrior Hawk got plenty of world tile shots, but never won the big one. That might plague Bully Ray. But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve the shot.

Score: 6 for 7

8. ROH airing matches from their Showdown in the Sun iPPV events on their TV shows will help their future iPPV business.

Jack Stevenson: FACT. Ring of Honor has, and will continue to have for the foreseeable future, a core fanbase that buys every iPPV they put out. All they need to do to satiate them is put on a strong, wrestling centric product, and they will stick around. What the company needs to worry about doing is hooking in the casual fans who aren’t immediately attracted by the smaller arenas and serious grapplers, and the best way of doing that is by showing them what they’re missing. Whether’s it’s displaying a five star mat classic or a solid bout between two of the more colourful, compelling characters, the odd iPPV match will provide casual fans with an exciting sampler that might just persuade them to drop a few dollars and give one a try in the future. Do it too often, and you’ll put people off buying the shows all together, but if you keep it as nothing more than a sampler I think it will work well enough to be viable.

Greg DeMarco: FACT. Now, this was likely born out of planning on the company’s part. But if ROH promotes those matches as part of the iPPV package, really driving home the point that these matches were made available on iPPV to view live (if you’re lucky!), then it will help the business. However, if ROH downplays the iPPV option, or delivers the matches they already gave away for free, then the company looks bad. And I can’t help but fear that this is just poor planning and they won’t do a good job of hyping the iPPV medium. That said, I can’t help but sit here and think with over a million viewers each month, someone is bound to see this event and decide to order he next one. And when you’re struggling like ROH is, every buy counts.

Final Score: 7 for 8

Jack & Greg agree on everything except Bobby Roode retaining the title at Lockdown. How did you feel about it? Let us know down in the comment section, along with your thoughts on the other topics and our guests’ opinions. Thanks to Greg & Jack for participating, and we’ll be back next week with more 411 Fact or Fiction!

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