Your News, My Views 9.05.06
Posted by Larry Csonka on 09.05.2006
Aristotle was asked how much educated men are superior to the uneducated: "As much," said he, "as the living are to the dead.”
Introduction…
Well I pissed in some cornflakes last week. Lots of people upset, nasty letters, and even personal insults; all in all a good laugh for me. That being said, I might as well get to work and do what I do best!
Things I need to talk about…
First things first, we will discuss Kurt Angle. I think that there are a large number of you that are blind. I have received so many emails that assure me that he is not that beat down, he quit to repair his marriage, he has no addictions and that he looks totally fine. You are all blind if you think that is the case.
Kurt Angle is visibly falling apart. He doesn't look good, has undergone dramatic changes physically and suffered numerous injuries in his effort to be the best. But it is that effort that has hurt him, and there is some pattern to this. Let's look at that pattern here:
High school, tears up ankle and refuses treatment. He performs.
The Olympics, he purposely lands on his head as to lot lose a point, fracturing his neck. He gets shot up with a ton of stuff after being told not to wrestle under threat of permanent injury or paralysis. He ignores that and goes on to win the Gold.
In the WWFE he re-injures the neck again. He refuses the fusion surgery that would strengthen his neck and goes with Dr. Jo. 3-months later he is back and the surgery is undone with one chair shot.
So what have I decided from all of this:
Kurt Angle's greatest attribute is his intensity and determination to be the very best at everything he does.
Kurt Angle's greatest detriment is his intensity and determination to be the very best at everything he does.
Here is the other thing people came down on me for, kids, he was FIRED. WWE realized he had horrible problems, he was suspended because of these problems and he started showing up to house shows and events totally messed up, as in "No Condition to perform." Some have paralleled his state to be as bad as Brian Pillman at his worst. Sit back and let that sink in for a moment kids, BRIAN PILLMAN AT HIS WORST! WWE had no choice but to try and have Angle seek help, but Angle refused. WWE was content to keep him under contract so that he could help himself, but Angle refused. I don't care if you disagree, your wrong. I don't care if other writers here want to say, "Contrary to what Larry says, I believe it was a friendly split." Live in your fantasy world because that isn't the truth. The greatest downfall of always trying to be overly positive is that it can blind you to the truth.
Some are asking why WWE.com would post such nice stories about Angle if he was fired. Because they hope he gets better, they want him back and they have respect for him. They hoped that the firing would shock him enough that he would seek the rehab and that they could hire him back. But that isn't happening and WWE has decided to change their stance:
According to sources, the meeting between WWE Execs & Kurt Angle was heated & confrontational. Angle was an emotional wreck departing WWE Titan Tower.
They aren't playing nice anymore here, and I expect it to get worse.
The other thing I got flack for is breaking down Angle's options. People said that there is NO way he will go anywhere else. WRONG. 90-Non-Compete kids, and the way things are looking he is not headed back to WWE anytime soon.
He CAN make big money in Japan for big show matches.
He CAN get STING money from SPIKE and TNA to work 3-days a month.
He CAN get big money from and MMA group.
Kurt Angle is a crown jewel to these promotions right now, he's an opportunity, ratings, buyrates and dollar signs all wrapped up into one pilled up, atrophied package. I don't mean that as disrespect, the man has problems he needs to deal with. Do you take the chance and bring him in. Do you want the next level so bad that you will take the chance of hiring him. Do you do "what is best for business" and sign him to try and get your company ahead, or do you "what is best for business" and the man and not hire him. That is the question there. As I said last week, in my opinion Kurt first of all needs intense rehab to kick the massive addiction he has to painkillers. He also in all reality needs to retire and get the proper fusion surgery. If not, Kurt Angle will be this generation's Tom Billington (Dynamite Kid) and be in a wheel chair in the next few years. If he doesn't do this, you may as well keep the "death watch" on him because he is one bad bump away from paralysis.
Go home man, kick your habits, try and recover from the plethora of injuries, play with your daughter, make your wife happy, repair your marriage and see your new child born. If he never comes back, fine, he did all he could and made a great career to be proud of. By the way, if you don't believe me fine but you can get it all from the Observer and other places that have confirmed the stuff. And I laughed at the emails that said I should apologize to Angle in fear that he sues me for Libel. I'm done with it for now, send the hate mail if you want, it's a good laugh.
Secondly, we shall discuss Bryan Danielson. I still contend that a separated shoulder is nothing to mess with, in fact going 50-more minutes could have caused major damage to the shoulder. He has to get checked and has missed booking and if it bad enough, he may have to get surgery and miss even more time. In the UK he suffered a bad laceration in a match and against orders wrestled later that night, risking infection. All I was trying to say is that there are more important things than pride, and "the show." I guess I'm an ass for caring and all, but shit happens.
There was a 90210 marathon on Monday…ROCK.
I went to the doctor yesterday, and discovered I have a slight tear in my bicep. It blows.
I did 5 VHS/DVD reviews this weekend, lots of good stuff kids.
The wife was a little kitchen vixen this weekend, making some tremendous meals.
What about the Croc Hunter dying? Damn, I mean, I am pretty sure that is the way he would have wanted to go and all, but the number of times that dude basically cheated death I thought he would just keep going. I pray his wife and kids deal with it ok, it won't be easy.
ECW EXTREME NEWZ~!:
Your News: The ECW house shows scheduled for 9.16.06 in Jamestown, NY and 9.17.06 in Niagara Falls, NY are now listed as combined Smackdown/ECW events. Scheduled to appear are: King Booker, Lashley, Sabu, Test, Batista, Finlay, Rob Van Dam, Hardcore Holly, Matt Hardy, Mr. Kennedy, Francine, Kelly Kelly, Kristal, Jillian Hall, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, KC James, Idol Stevens, CM Punk, and Stevie Richards.
My Views: I can understand them doing this. ECW house shows haven't exactly been a hot ticket on their own. Occasionally pairing them with Smackdown and Raw will at least have the guys in front of a bigger crowd, provide a different card for the fans and get the boys a better house show payoff. I actually don't have much of a problem with it.
Your News: Vince McMahon and Bonnie Hammer of NBC Universal concluded negotiations on the deal to renew ECW on Sci-Fi. The terms of the deal are not yet known, but the show will stay at its 10pm time slot. This deal was expected to be renewed as Sci-Fi internally projected the series to average a 1.4 rating, but the series has averaged a 2.3 through its run thus far. There will also be a replay for the show at a yet to be determined time. ECW will air through December of 2007 with this deal in place.
My Views: That means that ECW is guaranteed another 16-months of existence. That's good news for the brand. Now if they will ever let them be more independent that would make me happier. The replay is also big news, and I wouldn't doubt if Vince is begging for a Thursday at 11pm replay. Oh he'd do it.
Your News: ECW On Sci-Fi this week did a 1.9 rating, down from a 2.3 rating last week. While the rating was the show's lowest yet, the drop was expected. WWE expected up to a 25% drop due to RAW viewership being down this week. The drop will justify WWE's feeling that RAW sends viewers to ECW.
My Views: No big deal, all ratings between 1.9 and 2.4 thus far and a one week drop shouldn't scare anyone. I am sure it will be back to a 2.0 or more this week, especially with DX appearing on the show.
Your News: It was Vince McMahon's decision to have the Sabu vs. Paul Heyman match on ECW on Sci-Fi tonight. McMahon threw out the original plans for the show, feeling that a strong main event would be needed for tonight to keep ratings up since RAW viewership was presumably down last night due to network changes and delays.
My Views: Wait, I am shocked. Vince McMahon decided to scrap the original plans and instead we got the "Evil Owner vs. Rebellious Face" match in where the evil owner used his "resources" to overcome the beat down he would normally receive and then, in a shocking twist, the non-wrestling evil owner pins the Rebellious Face! It's brilliant! It's…It's…what I saw on Raw the night before. Oy…
WWE news, notes and happenings:
Your News: Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero have been added to the Raw tour of Mexico. Ric Flair, Torrie Wilson, Harry Smith and Oleg Prudius have been removed.
My Views: Hey someone up there has a brain! I mean seriously, when you go to another country to try and do good business, you don't take Oleg Prudius. Hell, you don't take Harry Smith right now either, unless you are going to the UK. Anyway, Chavo and Rey being added to the tour of Mexico is a smart business move and they should sell out the smaller buildings they moved to I would imagine.
Your News: There also have been changes to the Philippines events in October for the Smackdown brand. The Great Khali, The Pitbulls and Matt Hardy are being replaced by The Miz, KC James and Idol Stevens, and Kristal Marshall.
My Views: Wow…I have to think that the Philippines are getting the short end of the deal there.
Your News: According to WWE.com, Chris Benoit is scheduled to return to action on 10/21 at the Smackdown show in Manila. He is scheduled to team with Lashley against William Regal and Finlay. He is also scheduled to team with Lashley against King Booker and Mr. Kennedy on the 10/22 Smackdown show in Manila.
My Views: I think Benoit's return will be a big positive for Smackdown. They have had a rough go of it and due to the preemptions have gone with a holding pattern until the end of September. Once they get things going again, they have some great stuff to build on and the return of Benoit can only help them.
Your News: It was another good quarter of business for WWE.
Their earnings for the quarter were $11.3 million, up from $11.2 million during the same period last year.
Revenue was $93.3 million, slightly down from $93.8 million during the same period last year.
The quarter has to be called a success because not only did WWE lose their cable advertising revenue of roughly $8 million that they had last year, they also had one less PPV this quarter than last year.
Despite those two items and the fact that live events revenue and PPV revenue were down, WWE was able to make it up with a huge jump in DVD/Home Video sales as well as an increase in magazine publishing, live merchandise sales, online merchandise sales, WWE.com revenues, and TV rights fees.
Of course, live events and PPV revenue are two of the company's key revenue streams so that is something to watch in the future.
My Views: It is really amazing that even though they are hitting a low time for PPV buys (for them) and they are losing what is actually more than $8-million in ad revenues that they are still making money hand over fist. It's like I said, if they can get WWE 24/7 out to an even bigger audience, this company will NEVER go under. They are the WWE Machine as I have called them, they know how to market themselves and they know how to make money. It's what they do.
Your News: RAW on Sci-Fi actually ended up doing a 3.3 rating, not a 3.4. The number ended up being rounded down due to the overrun doing a 3.2. The overrun tied the opening segment as the lowest rated segments which is unusual considering the overrun is usually the highest rated segment. The show pretty much maintained consistent ratings in the 3.3-3.5 range for the entire show, showing that most of the viewers were hardcore RAW fans and thus didn't flip the channel much.
RAW's USA airing started with a 0.8 and went downhill from there, with most of the second hour segments doing 0.5s. This was expected due to how late the show aired.
My Views: Vince McMahon was reportedly very upset over RAW airing so late on the USA Network. He was already upset due to RAW not airing in its regular timeslot in the first place. USA delaying it another hour and a half didn't help matters.
Your News: The Great Khali needs double knee surgery and will be out of action for some time. There is talk of bringing him back as a face when he is healthy.
My Views: What did he do that requires knee surgery? Oh that's right, maybe he tries to bend them when he walked instead of being like Frankenstein. I hope he recovers well. And I say Khali and DX together. The promos would be magnificent.
Your News: Carlito is said to be very frustrated being on Raw. He feels as if the company is not playing to his strengths. There was a chance that he was going to move to the main event scene, but those plans have been scrapped.
My Views: I can totally understand why he is pissed. Early in the year he was in the Elimination Chamber and looked to be pushed towards the main event. Then things went down a bit, he had the IC Title again and now he is just another guy and stuck making out with Trish. Which is a nice personal accomplishment but does nothing for his career. He is an after thought, and now they have told him to "act more like the Rock." Yeah, because that worked so great for Sonny Siaki. Maybe a draft is in order to mix up some stuff.
Your News: The reason that Vince McMahon was wearing a shirt while wrestling at Summerslam is that he isn't working out nearly as much as he once was. He is said to still look great, especially for his age, but Vince himself didn't think he looked good enough to go without the shirt.
My Views: Vince is a freak, a roid freak. I don't need to see a 60-year old dude more juiced and jacked than most of his roster. Keep the shirt on and get put of the ring and off of my TV for a while old man. You're annoying me.
Your News: There was a round of drug testing a few weeks back for Raw and ECW. Reportedly everyone passed. The Raw and ECW locker rooms were very shaken up when all of the suspensions happened on Smackdown.
Joey Mercury is in the "outpatient" portion of his rehab process.
My Views: I think the reason everyone passed, or didn't fail to a huge degree is because after the drama with SD, everyone tossed a lot of shit off of their cycles and tried to get as clean as possible because the company was getting serious. As for Matthews, this is great news and I wish him well in his continued recovery.
Your News: The Gymini are about ready to return to Smackdown. Todd Shane has been medically cleared to return to the ring from his torn bicep.
My Views: I guess that is good news for the tag division. You'll have London and Kendrick, The Pittbulls, The Mid-South Job Squad and them. Better than what Raw has, that's for sure.
Your News: WWE recently announced their latest PPV Buyrates:
Backlash – 273,000 - Domestically (163,800)
Judgment Day – 231,236 - Domestically (138,741)
ECW - One Night Stand – 280,268 - Domestically (168,160)
Vengeance - 313,320 - Domestically (187,992)
Great American Bash - 224,233 – Domestically (134,539)
My Views: It's funny that they didn't announce these until the Conference call and quarterly report. Usually they announce them well before hand. Maybe the poor domestic showing by them and the killer domestic numbers by UFC slowed them down. Oh yes, there is something to that. And now people are all over it like they discovered it. I far from discovered it but I covered it, and now people are riding the coattails.
Your News: There is not only talk of adding a WWE developmental area in the Northeast, but in the Southeast as well. There's been talk for a long time of doing something based out of Steve Keirn's school in Florida over the last year.
My Views: I think that this is a great idea. I have said for a LONG time that with WWE's resources that they should in essence, create their own mini-territory system. 3-4 small ones for all the beginning and questionable talent, and then they get promoted through those systems to Deep South and or OVW, since they have TV. Think of it as baseball. Single A, Double A and Triple A, all in an effort to move onto the "show." With all of the agents they have hired and could hire, they could easily staff the place. Hell, I would talk with Lance Storm and see if his place could be one of the beginning grounds. This could work very easily and I think they should go full force with it.
…Intermission…
Pimpin ain't easy…because no one wants to return the pimp, ya fags~!
Your News: The UWF (which handles all of TNA's non-televised events) has announced that TNA will be returning to Philadelphia on November 10th.
My Views: TNA's previous show in Philadelphia on June 9th was a big success drawing a sell out of over 1,000 paid. The show was awesome as I reviewed it on DVD. I think this is great news.
Your News: Hermie Sadler's UWF will debut TNA in Toledo, Ohio on Friday October 20th at Headliners.
My Views: More good news here as TNA continues to head into new markets. The UWF shows are a lot of fun, stay tuned for 4-more DVD reviews in the upcoming weeks!
Your News: Jake Roberts recently pitched an angle idea to TNA where he helps a fan recover from drug addiction.
My Views: Wow…that's…wow.
Your News: TNA is building towards a big gimmick match for PPV between Raven and Abyss. It will probably be a Clockwork Orange match or Hangman's Horror. There is also talk of another Monster's Ball match, involving Brother Runt.
My Views: I am all for it. It's the perfect way to use Raven right now. I think they should do a Clockwork Orange match or Hangman's Horror at this show, and then for BFG do the Monster's Ball, since it has been a staple of the October PPV's thus far. Should be good, and brutal fun and hopefully they can take Abyss and do something with him afterwards.
Your News: Impact on Thursday did a 0.8 rating. The Ultimate Fighter, which preceded it, did a 1.4 rating.
My Views: The VMA's were expected to take a big chunk out of the ratings for these shows last week. The WMA's did low ratings, so TNA was basically unaffected while TUF was down 0.2. TNA needs to do something to get the ratings back where they were and to grow again, and then of course as I always say, convert them to PPV buys.
Everything else that needs covering:
Your News: Lance Storm posted the following on his website:
"I am proud to announce that Bret Hart's eldest son Dallas, has enrolled in Storm Wrestling Academy™. Dallas will be joining my Sept. training session and I look forward to training the next generation of wrestling Harts. I was thrilled when Bret contacted me about training his son and consider it an honor to train the son of the wrestling legend."
My Views: Dallas Hart has had some prior training, as he spent some time at the "Funkin Conservatory" ran by Dory Funk Jr. He had a match there, and Dory Funk has said that not only was he impressed, but that he definitely had an "IT" factor. Going to Storm's school I believe is a smart move for him, and the fact that Bret basically hand picked Lance's school also says a lot about Storm's training abilities. Hell, we could see Dallas Hart vs. Harry Smith some day, and that could be pretty cool.
Your News: BJ Whitmer underwent ankle reconstruction surgery on Tuesday. Two ligaments were completely torn and needed to be reconstructed and a big piece of destroyed cartilage along with some bone chips were taken out of the ankle. Whitmer will miss 12-16 weeks. The injury initially happened on 3/30 at "Dragon Gate Challenge" in that infamous fall from the ring to the floor against Jimmy Jacobs. Whitmer worked the entire CZW feud in pain and gutted out the injury while trying to keep things quiet. Jacobs finished the job on the ankle last Saturday in Chicago with a vicious attack that isolated the ankle. Now Whitmer will face tedious rehab before he can return, hopefully before the end of the year.
My Views: Once again I will "be the bad guy" here and wonder, was it really worth going 5-months with two ligaments that were completely torn and needed to be reconstructed as well as a big piece of destroyed cartilage along with some bone chips were taken out of the ankle? I mean, that's not an ankle sprain kids. I respect Whitmer for not wanting to pull out of what was the biggest angle of his career thus far but I also think that you need to think long-term when it comes to these things. Trust me, I understand the wrestler mentality more than most; it's one of the worst things about the business.
Reader Email Time:
From Isaac -
Question: How does Eddie Guerrero feel about him being exploited? Answer: He doesn't, he's dead! Eddie doesn't have an opinion of it why? He's dead, it's not a bad thing at all! Who really cares how they use Eddie's name! Really people still, 10 years later exploit Tupac Shakur! Chavo, Rey, and Vicki wouldn't be fired (well maybe Vicki) if they refused to this segment, so they have to know what they are doing. And that's Eddie's real family! I just think if I was dead I would want my two best friends fighting over me like that, wouldn't you? And in this case, the heel is completely justified which makes it all the more intriguing.
Unfortunately, I don't where to write this and I heard you were the man around here, so I went straight to the top!
I care that they use Eddie's name because it is in poor tastes and is extremely uncreative. Rey and Chavo, more Chavo would get extremely buried and or fired by refusing to do what they are asked. I wouldn't want my wife and nephew, along with my best friend fighting over me in a fake story or in real life. That is fucked up.
From John -
So now, after all is said and done RVD dropped both his belts and had probably the biggest push in his career squashed over a $140 speeding (and I don't mean Jeff Hardy-esque speeding) ticket? Where's the wellness in that? Sabu, the guy who was actually charged for drug possession, only got a fine? WTF!!!
It wasn't just over a speeding ticket. This shit was allover the media, and they had to send a message due to them instating their own Wellness Policy. Technically since Sabu pled guilty he should be fired, but I guess they aren't taking it all as written.
From John B. -
Has anyone else noticed that that Sylvester Turkey guy and CM Punk have been stealing from Samoa Joe's move set, like Turkey's squash match against Scotty where he used that Standing Double-legged Fisherman Buster aka The Muscle Buster and well it's obvious about Punk using the Facewash but then again Punk & Joe Trained and wrestled together so no problem there but what about Turkey?
Guys from different promotions "steal" from other guys all the time. It is one of those things that happens, but isn't that cool still between the guys.
From john Chambers, damn a lot of John's! -
I can understand if you don't post my comments in your column, but I sure hope you do. Hopefully, a situation doesn't arise again where I need to use your forum to address someone else. But here goes:
One of your readers (we'll call him Baby Hogan since we didn't get his name) decides he wants to write in and bash those he doesn't agree with. He calls me a moron and a Hogan hater because:
I said the time for Hogan-Orton could have gone to some of the younger talent.
I said Hogan got a mild reaction.
First off, Baby Hogan knows nothing about me. I like Hogan. My favorite match ever is Hogan-Rock from Mania X8. I have nothing against Hulk. It was the feud I didn't approve of and the match was not good at all. Now that the feud is over, I don't love or hate Orton or Hogan any more or less and I certainly don't want to buy Brooke's CD. So in the end, the match and the entire feud was a waste of time. Hogan wins, leaves and the program accomplished nothing. Also, Baby Hogan babbles about people paying to see Hogan and people not knowing who Carlito, Lashley, Finlay or London/Kendrick are! I NEVER said people would pay to see London-Kendrick. My point is, the WWE seems to be relying on things that got over in the past. They need to use all their time to promote young talent and new storylines. He says people don't know these guys, but he should speak for himself. Guy like Carlito on Raw and Lashley-Finlay on Smackdown has at times been bright spots in otherwise dull shows. Does he not see the Carlito wigs in the audience?! The crowd loves Little Bastard (who belongs to Finlay - definitely over as a heel). Lashley is very over and crowds appreciate the highflying style of London/Kendrick and always get behind them. People DO know who they are. I for one would definitely consider buying a PPV if Lashley-Finlay were settling their feud in, let's say... a last man standing match? Besides, as far as the people that don't know these guys, maybe they'd know them if Vince gave them time on a show like Summerslam!!
As for the reaction to Hogan, it was mild compared to other reactions he's gotten. When Hogan wins, the crowd normally blows the roof off the place. Now I don't have a tape so I can't go back and watch, but I do not remember that happening at Summerslam. They cheered when he won but they didn't blow the roof off and didn't even stay with him the entire time he posed! As a matter of fact, didn't he not like the reaction he got from one side of the arena? Also, if you listen carefully, weren't there some boos for Hogan at SS? Not a lot. But definitely enough to notice them.
Now one more thing before I go. Baby Hogan writes:
"If you want to talk business, more people buy Hogan merchandise than all those guys combined."
Who said anything about business or merchandise?!
Here's some advice for Baby Hogan:
1) Learn that Hogan is not the only guy people are into.
2) Learn how to read and understand what you reads before you try to insult someone.
3) If you're going to debate a topic, how about debating what the person actually said instead of misquoting them and putting words in their mouth?! That's like arguing with yourself, genius!
