MeeThinks 6.20.06: EXTREME Letdown
Posted by John Meehan on 06.20.2006
With ECW off on the wrong foot, is all hope lost?
MeeThinks: EXTREME Letdown
With ECW off on the wrong foot, is all hope lost?
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
- Marcellus, Hamlet
Act I, scene iv
Welcome back, all. Your weekly dose off IWC optimism continues this week as we attempt to shed a positive light on what was clearly *the* biggest letdown in the recent memory of professional wrestling. More on that in a second, as well as glossary entries and reader feedback (plus a Snaketacular surprise or two…) below – but first, some HUGE NEWS!!!
I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!
(Though that's completely true – it's also entirely besides the point…)
I'M GOING TO THE IMPACT ZONE!!!
Yup, that's right readers. Just two weeks from today (Monday, July 3) and yours truly will be livin' it up in TNA-land as I mark out like a chump for all of my Impact Zone favorites. Though this little vacation means there'll be no MeeThinks to be had on the 4th of July (happy Independence Day, though…) – I'll be back in *full force* to give y'all a personal account of what it's like to be there LIVE in the presence of the "New Face of Professional Wrestling" with the following week's column.
That means –
No new MeeThinks on 07.04.06, but a fully-loaded and regularly-scheduled column on 07.11.06 complete with match spoilers (they tape two weeks' worth of TV at a time, I'm told), live (though delayed by a week) thoughts from the show, photos (if I'm lucky!), and an entire column dedicated to a firsthand account of what it was like to have been a part of the TNA experience.
Should be good times.
But that's still three weeks away.
In the mean time, onto this week's column…
Here's a letter I received last week to get us started…
Great column this week as usual, Meehan. I'd have some more detailed feedback, but I'm more interested in if whether or not you're going to try to take on the would-be suicide mission of trying to make something positive out of the insanely bad first ECW show. I advice against it, the notion could hurt your credibility as the IWC's most optimistic voice.
- Marlen Austin
Thanks for writing, Marlen. And believe it or not... I'm actually going to *accept* that challenge and see if I can't lend an optimistic outlook towards what was easily one of the single worst televised wrestling programs in the past five years. And that's INCLUDING the Katie Vick stuff, ya' know!
Alright, here goes...
On the heels of a super-hot pay per view showing, the Sci-Fi debut was certainly not a great week for WWE's upstart "third brand" in ECW. Between undead zombies, nonsensical stripteases, jobbing of former world champions and an overall WWE-lite feel, there is little room for doubt that the show simply didn't go off as planned.
But let's not be so quick to write the rebirth of "Extreme" off just yet, eh?
After all, it's just *one* show… and that's hardly the basis to judge an entire promotion by, right?
Here's hoping…
Let's hit the ground running with this thing in this week's column!
Rock & Roll.
Our Story So Far
Last Tuesday, ECW's "rebirth" came in the form of what was — admittedly — one craptacular mess of a show. Plagued by appeasing four different sets of bosses (the Smackdown audience, the Sci Fi Network, the WWE brass and the ECW loyalists), the ECW pilot program was riddled with holes from start to finish.
In our results for the evening, fans saw:
John Cena and Edge battle it out while RVD's title reign was quickly brushed aside in favor of this longstanding WWE rivalry.
The Sandman square off against a wrestling zombie. No, not the Undertaker… an actual "Zombie," complete with grave-dust and all.
A beautiful and aspiring young exhibitionist relive every 15-year-old's worst nightmare as she repeatedly failed to unhook her bra (and lost a fingernail in the process, no less…). Though, one might argue that for Sci Fi fans, inability to see female nudity was hardly anything new…
WWE mainstay-turned "new face of ECW" Kurt Angle completely *DECIMATE* former ECW Champion Justin Credible.
A cutaway clip which featured what appeared to have been a vampire (hey look! It's MORDECAIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!), rumored to be a sign of a vampire stable (and a Tarot Card Reader) to come.
A laughable backstage segment with Paul E. attempting to rally his ECW troops (virtually all of whom had spent the past five years squandering their celebrity in WWE lower-midcard obscurity).
And a ten-man battle royal, in which former WWE heavy hitter The Big Show completely laid waste to everyone on the ECW roster not named "Sabu."
Couple all of that with an audience that was *clearly* there to see Smackdown and *not* ECW (a fact that you probably could have guessed by virtue of the sheer number of "Rey Mysterio" signs in the crowd, or perhaps by the "Welcome Back Paulie (sic)" sign in the same), and you've got all the makings of a disaster on your hands.
Making matters worse, rumor has it that the following rewrites and last-minute changes all took place just hours before the show hit the airwaves:
1) Heyman's script for the night originally saw The Sandman beating the crap out of an Alien as a thumb to the nose of the Sci Fi faithful. Sci Fi execs, of course, would have *none* of that "alien-bashing" on their network, and so — despite the fact that it's perfectly acceptable for Men in Black like Will Smith, Alien hunters like Sigourney Weaver, and intergalactic Enterprises to blast them some alien scum at will — ECW was forced to make a last-minute substitution of "The Zombie" in the sacrificial lamb place that was formerly reserved for an extraterrestrial.
2) After viewing the ECW pay per view, Sci Fi execs were mortified at some of the foul-mouthed chants that eminated from the audience. Rather than embrace and encourage the vocal fan participation that the cult-like hardcore audience might bring with them, Sci Fi execs begged Vince and Company to air the show on a tape delay rather than going live with it as was originally planned. As such, at the last minute the ECW taping was moved to the "warm-up" slot to tape before the Smackdown show to allow censors and post-production folks time to clean up the broadcast for TV by the time it hit the airwaves at 10p.m. (Though, to be fair, this *also* allowed post-production folks the chance to clean up a few of the blown spots in the battle royal — so perhaps not *all* was for the worse here).
2) Still, the "language" issue was a thorn in Sci Fi's side, and so they urged WWE to instruct their fans to keep things a bit more civil than your average ECW crowd. This probably wouldn't have been an issue to begin with, given the fact that the show was being taped in front of a Smackdown! audience to begin with (a fact that was made PAINFULLY clear as one woman in the crowd showed a look of utter disgust after having some of The Sandman's beer spilled on her), but Sci Fi wasn't taking any chances. As such, ring announcer Joey Styles was forced to address the crowd moments before the taping. Taking center ring, Styles urged fans to "respect the family atmosphere" and the younger fans in attendance, and thus to keep their foul-mouthed-chants to a minimum. (Cause NOTHING says ECW like a quiet and polite crowd, right?)
So yeah, bad news all around.
As far as reactions to the show went…
Word on the street is that *everybody* involved recognized how slapdash, WWE-esque, and amateurish the show came off. Heyman reportedly *hated* the show, as did the ECW (and WWE) locker room. McMahon's closest advisors tried to put the fires out by assuring the emperor that they simply *loved* his new clothes, but later reports suggest that even the WWE Chairman himself simply wasn't buying it. Bad show from start to finish, and all kinds of problems from the word go.
On the bright side…
The 2.79 Nielsen rating was a nice consolation prize, though.
For a debut show on a formerly-wrestling-free network, the rating definitely exceeded most expectations. The striptease, the Angle/Credible beatdown, and the battle royal overrun all did some pretty solid numbers — and so while the quality of the show itself might have been less than ideal, the *quantity* of viewers certainly didn't seem to mind.
With all that said, though –
There's certainly a lot of pros and cons to be discussed about the inaugural outing for ECW on the Sci Fi network. So let's see if we can size up the situation (and see what this means for the future of the brand) in a little column I likez ta' call…
MeeThinks?
Fair warning: This week's column will be a bit more catch-as-catch can than some others, as there's a boatload of issues that need discussing, and a whole slew of arguments that have arisen about the new ECW in the past week. If you want to save yourself the trouble of a more detailed reading, I'll be happy to save you the time and summarize the next four pages or so for you thusly:
GIVE IT A CHANCE!!!
Now then, if you're still up for a more detail-oriented and optimism-infused insight…
Alright, I'm not gonna' lie and tell you that everything is peachy-keen over in WWECW land. As the Shakespeare quote at the top of this column clearly read… "something is rotten in the state of Denmark." *TONS* of kinks need working out and *LOADS* of rethinking needs to be done if ECW is ever going to succeed as a viable third brand of WWE and as a *national* (or *international*) promotion. We'll get to all that in a second, though.
But before we go writing off the new promotion altogether…
We should definitely kee in mind the track record for "rough starts" among wrestling promotions. Sure, the first Nitro saw Lex Luger show up out of nowhere and totally shock the wrestling world. But let's not forget some of those *other* "false starts* in the wacky world of sports entertainment, shall we?
The first ever TNA broadcast featured giant wrestling penises (no joke), while the first Smackdown saw D-Lo Brown square off against the man he would ultimately end up paralyzing less than two months later, and the first RAW was headlined by – get this – DAMIEN DEMENTO!!!
Hardly the type of stuff you want to hang your hat on, eh?
So yeah, the new ECW didn't get off to the best of starts – but let's keep in mind that "growing pains" are hardly unique to the rebirth of "Extreme" here, folks.
That said, of course — each of those "growing pains" definitely need addressing in a bit more detail. Best example?
"John – the Smackdown crowd is KILLING ECW! If ECW is to succeed, they're gonna' need to tape their show at an entirely separate time and venue than the WWE's ‘B Show!'"
A valid point, but one that is hardly so easy to solve.
Though the co-taping with Smackdown is a tough "uphill" battle, it's simply one that the ECW crew must (at least for the time being) be willing to fight on a weekly basis. Sure opening for the blue brand is hardly the *ideal* situation here, but the simple fact of the matter is that — again, for the time-being, at least — ECW has no choice but to hit the road and tape with another brand, be it RAW or Smackdown.
Why's that, you ask?
Simple.
Touring TWO shows as opposed to ONE show costs quite a bit more in terms of setup, cameras, lighting and production crews. Though a "hardcore" promotion like ECW hardly demands the same "gloss" and polish as your normal WWE venture, the fact remains that you *still* have to pony up the dough to pay for a camera crew (no matter how "gritty" their production values are) regardless of whether you're shooting a professional-grade blockbuster or a backyard wrasslin' video. While true, the cost for "gritty" camera-work is hardly as expensive as that of "the pros," the fact remains that even the most rudimentary of camera crews *STILL* needs to be paid not only for their taping, but also for the set-up and equipment break-down before and after the cameras stop rolling. Ditto for the lighting crew, as well as the sound people and the folks who set up the ring… and PRESTO – you're looking at four separate staffs that'll be looking to get paid on a per-event basis should they be split from the rest of the Smackdown! taping team.
To break ECW off as an entirely separate promotion (and one with *national* aspirations, no less) at this point would mean that you'd have to pay for an entirely separate camera crew, an entirely separate ring set-up crew, an entirely separate lighting crew, an entirely separate crew of arena staff, an entirely separate crew of sound technicians, and an entirely separate crew of folks to do your post-production work (just to name a few!). With each of these crews all demanding individual paychecks if they're not already in the arena to work another regularly-scheduled WWE event (like, say, a Smackdown taping…) — your company's expenses go through the roof as your *overhead* is exponentially higher than what it might otherwise be if you simply kept all of those staffs working for one extra hour apiece.
Much easier to work just one extra hour than to force a team to take everything apart and set it all up once again, after all.
"Well why not just let ECW have its own arenas and save on that overhead by taping two or three week's worth of TV in a row like TNA does?"
While this idea is neither "bad" nor "unprecedented," it's simply unfeasible for the time being.
Bottom line is that ECW is — like it or not — still trading off of some leftover RAW and Smackdown! feuds in order to get their ball rolling. As such, the company simply can't afford to go off and tape two or three weeks' worth of television at a clip, as their storylines are (for the early-going, at least) intricately interwoven with those of WWE's other two shows. If "World Champion" Rob Van Dam cuts a promo at the beginning of a two-hour ECW-only show only to not be introduced as the company's champion by night's end (as, say, that second hour's worth of TV wouldn't air until two nights *after* the RAW brand's Vengeance PPV) — fans will either start to wonder what is up or they'll simply clue in that the company is effectively giving away major PPV results for free (for in the hypothetical case described above, it'd be all to clear that RVD was to have lost the championship at the PPV).
So while taping two or three weeks' worth of TV is a great way to cut down on production and arena costs, the simple truth to the matter is that until ECW becomes a viable entity in and of itself (and good shows or crappy ones, that's *definitely* going to take some time), the new brand simply cannot afford to go it on their own and run the risk of ruining two and three weeks' worth of WWE storylines just for the sake of having an independently-run taping that was worth the extra money.
Give it time on this one.
"Fair enough, I guess. But the LEAST they could do is tape ECW AFTER the Smackdown! taping!!!"
True.
If WWE is looking to attract a more "adult" audience to the new brand, the clear alternative to their current state of things would be to tape ECW *after* Smackdown (and thus, have it air live), but with Sci Fi turning their noses up at that notion (for the time being), this one seems like a shot in the dark for the immediate future.This isn't *all* bad, mind you, as the earlier taping *does* allow the ‘E to post-produce the new show to help it come across more smoothly. And though the "you f*cked up" chants were an endearing part of the "old" ECW, being reminded of amateurish performances certainly doesn't help convey the most professional of products to a nationwide audience (remember the XFL?), so giving the new brand a chance to spruce itself up before hitting the airwaves could really go a LONG way in winning new fans.
And besides…
In certain arenas (like, say, Philly) I think fans can fully expect that ECW will occasionally swap taping positions with the Smackdown show. And as time wears on, fans will actually *plan* to go to the show to see BOTH a Smackdown taping and an ECW one (as opposed to those fans last week who'd probably bought their tickets well in advance of the ECW brand being announced as part of the show). But until that happens, it's not necessarily the worst idea to keep taping this show *before* the other one, at least for now.
And why?
Can you name four major ECW stars that are *NOT* WWE alumni?
Sandman, Sabu… um… Dreamer… and… um… err…
Exactly.
Until ECW gets its momentum going as a "new breed" unto itself (the influx of Ohio Valley talent will *definitely* help in this area), the company is simply going to need to borrow some star power from Big Brother WWE to help keep fans' interest. Shoot-fighting Angle is a perfect fit for ECW, as is badassed-golliath Big Show — but they've still got a long way to go in establishing themselves before people will shuck out big bucks to watch those two main event an ECW show against the rest of the ECW bunch (for now).
As such, WWE is making a smart move by pairing the Smackdown tapings with those of the new ECW brand. Now, rather than buying tickets to see "relative unknowns" or "that hardcore guy I've heard so much about," fans can experience the ECW alternative while still taking in their fill of the WWE product. Gradually, as new fans come around to ECW – the brand will be able to main event and/or showcase its homegrown stars at the same level as its WWE counterparts.
But these things take time, people.
Nowadays, rather than simply going to see a show main-evented by, say, Tommy Dreamer versus The Sandman… fans will be able to justify buying a ticket to the show on the grounds that they also got to see guys like The Undertaker, Batista and Rey Mysterio all on the same night. Sure the order of the taping might make it seem like the ECW roster is the JV-squad to the Smackdown main eventers… but the fact that *both* brands are somewhat "light" on talent is easily masked by the fact that fans have the opportunity to see two full roster's worth of performers in one night's worth of tapings.
Here, the benefit works both ways.
If ECW was taped before (or after) RAW, then the fate of Smackdown would be bleak indeed… as who would *really* pay to see a brand where the biggest stars are limited to The Great Khalii and Mark Henry while the rest of the Blue Brand heals itself up? But with Smackdown's roster being as "underexposed" as it is (though it's easily just as if not moreso talented than RAW's), it makes all the sense in the world to give fans their money's worth by tacking on a few other well-known performers (Angle, RVD, Show, etc.) who just so happen to be brawling under the ECW banner in order to make them feel like the show was worth their money.
Then, once Smackdown gets healthy and ECW's "homegrown" stars become more widely accepted as nationwide main eventers in their own right… both brands are primed and ready to hit the ground running with full, exciting rosters and separate tapings to boot.
But again, not yet.
Five more quick little bullet-style points before we wrap things up here…
One) "The product feels TOO much like a WWE show! The backstage bits, the interviews, and the match outcomes TOTALLY put WWE style and its performers over the ‘authentically' ECW vibe."
For the most part, I'll agree with you here. But again, much like Kevin Nash has to break a few X Division eggs before a new TNA breakout-star omelet can be made, so too must a few concessions be made in the "old" ECW to help the "new" one achieve greater heights than its predecessor ever could have dreamed of.
Two) "Justin Credible jobbed to Kurt Angle, you say?
GOOD, says I. After all – Credible was only made the ECW champion because just about every other major performer had either left the company (Raven, Awesome, Tazz, etc.) or been too injured to hold the belt (RVD, Spike, etc.). Perhaps putting "new" Angle over "old" Credible might have been symbolic of the company's attempt to finally move beyond that roadbump in ECW's history that was mid-2000.
Three) "The backstage troop rally seemed straight out of a RAW outtake!"
SO WHAT, says I. It was cartoonish, laughable and all sorts of inauthentic — but until ECW can prove it's got a roster and a show worth caring about all to itself, then you can *bet* that it's going to need the overflow of every RAW and Smackdown! viewer it can get to help the promotion get itself up and running. After Sabu, Sandman and RVD each make their token appearance for the show… the current roster gives little incentive to watch Tony Mamaluke square off in a nothing-match against Balls Mahoney in a "cookie sheets and trash can lids are legal" match. So let's infuse ECW with some WWE (for now), and let's infuse WWE with some ECW in return. MeeThinks while the WWECW-flavor might be a bitter pill to swallow, once things get up and running (and once the TNA talent raids start and the OVW alums come out in full force)… it's hardly one we'll be tasting for *too* much longer.
Gotta' walk before you can run with flaming tables and barbed wire, after all.
Four) "Big Show totally dominated virtually all of the ECW roster!"
As well he should, MeeThinks. The guy is seven feet tall and close to five hundred pounds. He shouldn't be yucking it up with Kane or winning the crowd over with an awe-inspiring chest-slap, he should be beating the everloving piss out of anybody who comes in contact with him, for crying out loud. Poor Al Snow had to look like a chump. So what? And boo hoo, Little Guido never stood a chance. BIG DEAL. The Big Show has a lot of ground to make up in restoring his ass-kickin' credibility amongst the average fan, and if his wins just so happen to come at the expense of squashing a few ECW enhancement talents (all of whom save maybe Dreamer, let's face it, didn't stand a CHANCE at winning that battle royal in the first place) — then such is life.
Cost of doing business in building your company's "Big" threat.
Five) "Well ok… but you've got to admit that the Sci Fi elements went a *little* overboard, right?"
WRONG. From where I was sitting, the Sci-Fi components of the show were all sorts of entertaining — providing you take them in the right context, of course.
"Wrestling Vampires! Oh Noes!"
Get over it. Gangrel literally "cut his teeth" (triple-entendre pun totally intended, by the way) when wrestling for ECW some years ago, and having a wrestling vampire (especially one like David Heath a.k.a. "Gangrel" who by all accounts pretty well *lives* his gimmick) is hardly foreign to the ECW faithful. Besides, it puts Kevin Fertig (a.k.a. MORDECAI) back on our television screens — and you might just recall that prior to donning the Mordecai gimmick, Fertig was actually one of the dirt sheet's hot prospects under the pseudonym of "Seven." So bully for them.
"Wrestling Zombies! OMGZ!!!"
If you weren't entertained by The Zombie, then you seriously need to check your IWC swagger at the door, folks. Sure the match took up some "valuable" TV time, but it was a *great* tongue-in-cheek parody of the goofiness and hypocrisy of the Sci Fi network, and an *awesome* way to establish ECW (and its poster boy in The Sandman) as the ass-kicking alternative to your usual Sci Fi Network fare. If — while the company finds something for the guy to do other than simply beat up on Dreamer every week — Sandman comes out and totally decimates one Sci-Fi icon after another on a weekly basis, at least the guy's doing something at least *somewhat* entertaining, right?
Besides…
If this match had been a promotional commercial for ECW, you would have marked your balls off for it and you *know* it.
Just imagine…
A horde of undead zombies, vampires, boogiemen and other assorted aliens all come crawling, sliming and groaning towards the camera all while each intoning their various creature-specific dialects. Some voiceover guy says "Sci Fi Network…" and then — from out of nowhere — a Singapore Cane comes flying onto the screen as baddie after baddie gets bashed in the skull and all sorts of extraterrestrial goo goes flying everywhere. The voiceover guy then yells "GETS EXTREME!!!" and the camera pans up to reveal Sandman, cane in hand and cigarette in lip, covered in all colors of blood and standing over the fallen pile of those standard fare Sci Fi foes. Then as the announcer says "Tuesdays at 10pm, only on Sci Fi" you see one of those fallen zombies or whatever attempt to twitch a little bit… only to have Sandman whack the guy once more with the cane for good measure as the camera fades to black.
BEST. WRESTLING. COMMERCIAL. EVER.
So yeah, while the segment had nothing to do with "authentically ECW" or establishing any serious or longstanding feuds for the new promotion, it absolutely went a long way in accomplishing *exactly* what the aforementioned commercial would have done, only it did so in a controlled environment (read: the confines of a one-hour block of television targeted primarily at wrestling fans) rather than simply going overboard and peeing in the Network's proverbial Kool Aid by pissing fanboys off while interrupting the regularly-scheduled commercial breaks of their precious episodes of Babylon 5.
And besides… (and we'll end with this)…
*IF* he should be lucky enough to land a spot as a recurring character, you've totally got to admit that The Zombie would make for an OUTSTANDING addition as comic relief to *any* roster in a Conan O'Brien "Frankenstein Wastes a Minute of Our Time" sort of way.
In the end, then…
Sure there's growing pains and kinks to be worked out… but there's plenty of room for growth, and given last week's showing, there's certainly nowhere to go but up.
Agree? Disagree?
"Methinks it sounds a parley to provocation!"
- Iago, Othello
Act II, scene iii
Shoot Mee YourThinks and I'll post your thoughts next week!
In the meantime…
The Unofficial Glossary of Professional Wrestling: Volume XXIX
We're compiling a massive Wrestling Glossary of fan observations of the clichés, trends, and standbys of the wrestling world that might as well serve as the unofficial "rulebook" for this sport we all love so well. Each week, I'll post one an entry of my own as well as a few submitted by you, my faithful (and hopefully articulate) readers.
It's simple, really. You submit an entry, I add it to the Glossary, and you get the credit.
This week's entries…
The Tag Team Communication Breakdown
If any tag team or pairing of close friends are having any sort of on screen friendship difficulties, the quality of their in-match communication is often the first victim of their bickering, and thus the chances of them accidentally hitting one another during a tag match will increase by some 99% (see: Los Guerreros split up, Survivor Series 2003). Alternatively, if one partner is in the other partner's corner during a singles match, you can guarantee that the ringside partner will attempt to make the save, but ultimately intervene or distract the referee at precisely the wrong time so as to inadvertently cost his buddy the match. -MNicholson
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They (are Pushed to receive Pin-)Fall(s)
If one is a fairly new member to their respective companies, and if one is outstanding in his girth (see also: Joe, Samoa; Umaga), height (see also: Khali, the Great; 1990's Undertaker, etc.), or freakishly muscular build (see: Lesnar, Brock; Goldberg, Bill; Batista, Dave; Masters, Chris; Lashley, Bobby, etc.) it is well known that the only means of getting the superstar over is by feeding the entire roster to them in what is known as the "Undefeated Streak." Rather than trust the sheer look of the wrestler alone to get them over, the company will attempt to make them a "world-beater" usually by way of feeding these newcomers smaller men and Cruiserweights in an attempt to excuse the burying of the division for the sake of making a merchandising superstar. -The Frankchise
The Sing-Along Syndrome, Part I
Although many people would not bother to think it, the true manner of getting over does not rely on wins, losses, or even looks. Rather, the overness of a wrestler is in direct correlation with the effectiveness of his or her catchphrase. A superstar who does not have a catchphrase generally loses the appeal of the audience, despite how much they are proceeded to be pushed down the throats of audiences (see also: Masters, Chris; Umaga). However, those with catchphrases become instant celebrities of the fans, because they have a reason to remember the superstar because they can easily recite the words along with them, thus making them the most important member of such pairings of non-catch phrasers with catch phrasers (see also: Carlito and Jesus; Armando Alejandro Estrrrrrada and Umaga; Road Dogg and Billy Gunn, etc.). -The Frankchise
The Sing-Along Syndrome, Part II
In the same vein, even the most talented performers will continue to find themselves unable to capture the audience until they develop a catchphrase. The best examples would include: "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (over by way of "Austin 3:16"), Rocky Maivia to The Rock (over by way of "If you Smellll..."), "Prototype" John Cena vs "Doctor of Thuganomics" John Cena (over by way of "You Can't See Me"). With that said, be on your toes because Mr. Kennedy is coming for the title.
Kennedy. -The Frankchise
The Sing-Along Syndrome, Part III
On the flip side, of course, though logic and history clearly dictates that the best of catchphrases are original and inspired by the performers themselves, promoters know full well that even the most talented performers can continue to find themselves unable to truly capture the audience until they've developed a catchphrase of their own. As such, companies will often saddle performers who've gotten over on their own merits with a neat-o catchphrase just to be on the safe side (see: Benoit, Chris – "Prove Me Wrong;" Cena, John "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect," etc.). - Meehan
The Sing-Along Syndrome, Part IV
Once a wrestler gets him or herself over, should his or her catch phrase become stale or be taken away, (s)he will surely see his or her star status likewise diminish as a result (see: Matt Hardy and his move to Raw... where he dropped the "V-Oneuh!" catch phrase). As a result, many wrestlers who were once over by way of a certain catch phrase will vainly find themselves scrambling to come up with another one once their old standby has gotten stale or become copyright property of a former employer. Unfortunately for most, these subsequent catch phrases usually turn out to be… well… crap (see: James Gang, "Nobody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt"). -The Frankchise
Nicely done, all. Keep those entries coming, and we'll do it again next week with VOLUME XXX!! Scandalous, no?!
Till then… onto the rest of the feedback!
YouThinks Reader Mail
Was a bit light this week, and so Marlen's letter (posted above) and these few below are just about all we've got this time around. Do feel free to shoot Mee YourThinks on this week's debate, though… and we'll post your comments here next time!
Floor's yours, Curtis…
Re: The Two Count Appeal Glossary Entry
I know I've seen one match, for the life of me I can't remember who it was, get a 2 count then convice the ref it was a three count and the ref awarded him the match. I know it was an indy fed, possibly from Japan...but Ireally can't remember.
- Curtis McLean
If true, that's awesome my friend. BONUS POINTS (and maybe a freebie prize or two) if anybody can provide Mee with video proof of such a turnaround!
So if you've got proof of this sort of thing, e-mail it my way by clicking right here!
And keeping with the topic of this week's column, semi-regular Ron M. reads my mind and says…
I don't know about you but I'm not entirely understanding why everyone's coming down on the ECW show. It wasn't a homerun or anything but I think it shows a lot of promising signs. Big Show looked dominant, Kurt Angle completed the evolution into the firece shoot-fighter that began on RAW, Sandman is IN SHAPE(!), and the show had a different, grittier feel to it.
Feel free to mention any of those things in future columns, btw.
And what's with people coming down on TNA all of the sudden? With TNA and ECW being the shows I'm willing to watch, I might be better served just not reading IWC stuff at all.
- Ron M
Thanks for writing, Ron. Hope this column helped corroborate your feelings on the show, as well as to shed a bit of light on some of the intricacies and growing pains that are hardly unusual for startup promotions like the one we're looking at.
As far as being down on TNA goes, it's simply a boom-bust cycle. With all the ECW love and the talk of the dX reunion, WWE has simply gotten more play with the "smart" fans — and we all know that they've only got just so much "positivity" to spread around, no?
Anyhow – TNA's stale title scenes and old-timer main eventers haven'thelped matters, but now that AJ and Daniels have livened up the tag ranks while Samoa Joe and Shelley/Nash heat up the X Division, I'd say the pendulum is just about due to swing back in TNA's favor any day now.
I'll letcha' know what I think of TNA after I get to see it LIVE in two weeks, deal?
Alright, that'll do it for … WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!!
MeeThinks Summer Cinema Snaketacular Countdown
More cryptic clues, and more obscure Samuel L. Jackson quotes ( name the movie quoted from below and WIN!!) to get your spine tingling for what will surely be the single greatest event in cinema history…
"Oh look, they got their own airport security…"
58 days…
And With That, I'm Outta' Here
Thanks again for reading, all. Next week we're sticking with the regularly-scheduled program, followed by a week off (so that I can hit up the Impact Zone firsthand) and report back to y'all the following week!
Till text time – four more nights of wrestling this week and a solid pay per view on Sunday to boot. Enjoy the summer, enjoy the time off… and always stay positive!
