Ask 411 Wrestling: 09.13.06 Hardys, Bischoff, Video Packages, More!
Posted by Chris Clarke on 09.13.2006
So what’s the over-under on Hardy’s tenure with Wellness~? 3 months? 6? Let’s read all about it, and more, in this week’s Ask 411 Wrestling!
Hey yo.
Time for another wonderful edition of Ask 411. Thank you all for your questions, as I've got a bunch in the que and am always looking for more. Keep on sending them in please, and don't ever hesitate to write in corrections!
Errata:
Conley Jiles theicon91@msn.com rants away: I was roaming around the CZWfans.com board, & I glanced upon a thread about 411mania.com bashing CZW. Before I read, I knew exactly what it would say,
something along the lines of "These people have no brainds, taking weed whacker shots, falling off roofs, they're retarded!" & that is exactly what I saw. Now, I'm not sure if you are the guy who wrote the article, and if
you aren't, I apologize, but, YOU SIR are the one who is retarded. If you even paid attention to the product, which you must have since you decided to write a pretty little article about it, you would see that CZW is more than deathmatches. Hell, they hardly even use that aspect any longer, maybe 2 -- 3 times a year. If you really think CZW is just "people taking weedwhacker shots" and "falling off roofs", I beg of you to pick up any of the Best of the Best tournaments. I'm also assuming youre an ROH fan, seeing as nearly all ROH fans won't give CZW, or any other promotion, a chance. If you ask me, seeing people smash lighttubes over each other is FAR more entertaining then the usual ROH format, and that is :: wristlock -- headlock -- armdrag -- tope -- armdrag -- armdrag -- handshake :: I want you to post this up, becuase if you can bash CZW, you can show people that CZW isn't what all the haters say it is
(Ed note: Wow. Just - wow. First of all, my rant about CZW was specifically about the deathmatches, not the overall product. Second, if you had actually read what I wrote, I simply said that it was MY opinion, and I provided a link to CZW's website to find this stuff out for themselves. I also put over CZW for bringing themselves higher in my eye, by participating in their angle with ROH (who I'm not a mark for - just a casual fan) and cutting back the stupid crap.
But I do stand by my original statements - excessive or "ultra" violence is just cheap heat because you can't work. CZW, even if they've moved away from that in some respects, still used it to get noticed in the first place. Therefore, they have a long way to go in my eye before they can ever earn my respect. But I'm just some smark - what the hell do I know.
Steven J writes: "Actually, it was even worse than that. The bombings happened early Wednesday morning as I recall, not on the same day that Smackdown aired. Ergo, the WWE had all the time in the world to edit the show and remove the segment from the TV show, but for whatever reason they chose not to."
No, July 7 2005 was a Thursday. But I agree, some type of editing should have gone on.
Manu writes in:
"Jingus points out something important: The Hassan Martyr angle
"He was taken off of TV when UPN threatened to pull SmackDown and it was
because of the martyr angle but something you didn't mention was that that
particular episode of SmackDown aired on the same day as the London
Bombings. Had the bombings not happened and the martyr angle run anyway I
doubt that UPN would have put as much pressure on WWE."
Actually, it was even worse than that. The bombings happened early
Wednesday morning as I recall, not on the same day that Smackdown aired.
Ergo, the WWE had all the time in the world to edit the show and remove the
segment from the TV show, but for whatever reason they chose not to."
They chose not to because they had already sent the show out, and it was now up to the networks to censor it if they wanted to. From the New York Post: After the bombings took place last Thursday, WWE execs gave broadcasters carrying the show a heads-up about the sketch. It was edited out in Europe, but aired on UPN here with a discretionary crawl along the bottom of the screen that said: "In light of today's tragic events in London, parental discretion is advised in viewing tonight's episode." ( http://www.nzpwi.co.nz/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1289&Itemid=105 ) So really, UPN was to blame.
"That was the infamous Bash "shoot" firing of Hogan (which was 100% total work by the way, even though everyone pretends its not), "
You really think they'd take a work all the way to court? That seems like going too far for a work. And yes, Hogan did sue for defamation of character, I believe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_Hogan#World_Championship_Wrestling
Kat writes in:
In response about Mikes question about Hogan dressed in his Hollywood attire in his last WCW match (at Bash at The Beach 2000), you said ?Hogan came down to the ring not as Hollywood, but in his street clothes.? Actually, Hogan was in his Hollywood attire. Here are two links to a picture of the incident:
Adam writes: I hate it when u say this all the time: what do we say kids- if its on t.v., its a work! I think that is like a slap in the face to every wrestler in the wwe or tna or the indies, and I'm shocked that you are saying it, since u said you worked in the indies. Can you plase stop saying that, cause I think that SOME of it is scripted, but MOST of it is real. They work hard to put on a great show, and i think people like you, who say things like that, are just assholes. Most kids think it is real, and you can really hurt them by saying things like that. When I was 8, I found out that SOME is scripted, and i cryed. you can really hurt a kid by telling them that
(Ed Note: AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH My bet is that this email is a work!!!!)
TIME FOR A SET OF QUESTIONS!
Mike asks: There's one question I have about something currently going on in the WWE, and i was wondering if you could provide me with an answer: If the tag team of London and Kendrick have it written on their ring attire, why don't they get announced or even referred to by the WWE as the Hooliganz? Is this a matter of copyright or something? Their characters seem very unexplained right now and it's been bugging me for some time now
ask 411: That is an excellent question. I know the IWC is referring to them like that, but never do you hear it on TV. I also have never read any report of that trademark being put in by the fed – so there may be a conflict. Other than that, I have no further info – maybe someone out there does?
Tarek asks: Now we all know that Vince likes the wrestlers big so how come mid carders and cruiseweights dont try to improve their bodies big time to get more noticed? I mean if I was Billy Kidman back in the day and I had no direction I would ask for some time off and get massive.
Second, why do the WWE hire talent who have a bad look? I see so many in OVW and Deep South and ones that debut now I know will never make any impact whatsoever.
ask 411: wow – that first question is a dangerous one in this age of WELLNESS~! I think the reason is simply that, in terms of the small guys, the reason why they got hired was their workrate, not their muscles. Look at the guys who ended up playing the Dicks – roid heads, but 5'5. They got fired very quickly. Simply put – small guys have to have the work, not the hulk, in order to get hired in Vince's world.
In terms of a bad-look, that's all relative. I would say that not all Hollywood actors have a good "look" per se – it's all about finding one's niche. Hell – Duggan is an ugly Mofo and always has been, but he got hired. Even Batista is a funny looking guy, but his unique look got him over. They all can't be Orton/Jericho types.
Gary asks: Read the site daily and I was wondering if you think that it is inevitible that Matt Hardy will be re-drafted to Raw to re-team with his brother Jeff,
because all I have read in several articles on WWE.com about Jeff looking forward to teaming with Matt again and think about the dollars Vince will make on Hardy Boyz t-shirts.
ask 411: I do think it is evitable – maybe even to put Lita back with them as well sometime in the future. That threesome does sell a lot of merch, so why not go for it? I think Jeff will have to start screwing up first, and eventually they'll add Matt back to his life in order to babysit him.
Danny C Asks: On Raw and Smackdown, do general managers do anything besides an on-air role? Like, Does Teddy Long help write the shows, or act as a road agent, or did Eric Bischoff write for Raw when he was G.M.?
ask 411: Very specifically, I think undeserved, Bischoff was told that he was not, nor would he be ever, part of creative. He's still got that WCW stink on him, so no one wanted him to be part of that side of the business again. I think he could have been effective as a brainstormer, as he did have some good ideas over his tenure, as long as he didn't have carte blanche control of anything. What could it have hurt??
Long is in the same boat – 100% performer, nothing else.
J.B. asks: is their any move that you consider to be too dangerous to attempt in the ring, like on Youtube their is a video of some idiotic fool attempting the Canadian Destroyer off of the top rope(and one off of a ladder) just curious.
ask 411: Yes. Anything stupid like deathmatch stuff that involves no "Work" and all pain. I find nothing entertaining nor viable about a move that can't be faked. So that opens up a huge among of stuff I guess!
Nelson asks: in 2002 Brock Lesnar was no doubt the hottest new superstar to come along in years. The very fact that The Rock CLEANLY jobbed to him at SummerSlam was enough to cement this idea. My question is, with all the steam Brock had going, why did they kill his heat and relegate him to Smackdown? Did he mess up somehow? Or was it that Triple-H really did not want to have to play 2nd banana to Lesnar and by creating two world titles he would never have to? Either way, I think this was the move that began the downfall of Lesnar as he was moved from the future #1 guy in the E to the #1 guy on the B show.
ask 411: I believe the answer to be 2-fold. Just like Batista today, the fed had faith that someone like Brock could be the "name" on that show. So you put someone you believe to be a strong draw there, and just let them run with it. The problem is, just like Batista is finding out now, is that when you don't have solid heels and faces around you, there is only so much one can do!
The other reason is simply that they wanted to keep him away from the real star of wrestling – Triple H. That would keep those two from having to feud, thereby saving up a bit feud for Hunter later on. So – why when that happens, does not Hunter go to Smackdown… mmmm?
Dabid asks: I thought that Hulk Hogan was the only man in WWF history to pin Andre the Giant, but a friend says he remembers Ultimate Warrior not only pinning Andre but GORILLA PRESS SLAMMING HIM. Did anything like this ever really happen? Is Hogan the only man in the WWF to pin Andre?
ask 411: Andre's last matches with the fed were him jobbing out on a regular basis to the Warrior. Oftentimes in under 2 minutes. A press slam though? I seriously doubt that. Andre was in worse shape than ever at that point, and was not happy about doing all the jobs. So he never went out of his way to put Warrior over in any huge way.
Cody asks: I was just watching the new Vince Mcmahon DVD and I watched the match between him and Austin in the cage at St. Valeintine Day Massacre. When Paul White(Big Show) threw Austin into the cage was the cage supossed to break? After Austin hit the ground and the ref raise his hand, he looks shocked. So if it was not supossed to break, then was was the original ending to the match?
ask 411: Yes – that was the planned finished. Lame? Oh yeah. When the Punjabi Prison finish was so bad, that's what I immediately though of. I guess the 7-year angle exemption had expired on that one! Funny that Big Show was involved in both!
Bryan asks: When the Highlanders come to the ring...they always announce their weight in stones. What does that convert to in pounds....and why do they use that anyway,..if the creative control wanted to hammer home that their from Europe, why not just use kilograms?
Ask 411: because Kilos are boring in the grand scheme of things. Using "Stone" is a very British Isle thing to do, so it does fit the gimmick quite well. Lots of people still use that system in England to this day. One stone is equal to 13.999999603167928 pounds.
Brendan asks: I love the video highlight packages that the WWE does for there feuds and they usually play them to hype PPV matches. I have only been following wrestling since late 96 and wanted to know what feud had the first music video highlight package to hype the match.
ask 411: I personally believe it all started with the Highway to Hell video spot hyping Austin vs. Undertaker at Summerslam 1998. Vince bought the rights to ACDC's song of the same title, and put together a strong video package hyping the match. It really did help sell the match (that unfortunately did not live up to the hype in the ring, but did well as a draw) and they started appearing more frequently from there, of course leading to the "Desire" phenomenon a few years later.
THAT'S IT FOR THIS WEEK! Also – next week is a week away for me, see you next time on Sept 27!!!
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Every week, I will answer a number of questions (schedule permitting) regarding professional wrestling. It can be on any topic – new, old, national, international, whatever. You can even ask me IWC questions if you so desire, I will do my best to hunt down the answers. The column will also be filled with humour, commentary, and occasional ranting. It also may not be P.C. – so be forewarned!
This column will be appearing every Wednesday afternoon. I will not hesitate to open up questions to the audience if I am stumped, and I will provide "errata" warnings if I'm proven to have been smokin' da pipe.
All questions and responses should be directed to cjc739@mail.usask.ca. I would be happy to hear from you on any topic at all.
And I guess that's it for now – no gimmicks, no silly lists of rules – just send me some darn email. This is about the free-exchange of information – nothing more, nothing less. Let's just have some freakin' fun and actually publish this column with some sort of consistency. To do that – I NEED YOUR HELP! SEND IN YOUR QUESTIONS!
