My Take On 9.27.06: Going Broadway, Wrestling is a Bad Word, Getting Rid of the Cruiserweight Title and Being/Acting a Champion
Posted by Larry Csonka on 09.27.2006
This week My Take On goes back to the multi-subject mode to dive into four topics that have been on my mind.
Introduction:
Welcome back to the latest edition of My Take On. After a brief rest from the column, we have returned in recent weeks to look at subject such as Ron Killings, My Father, a RetRo look at the Ric Flair book and now to something I love to do, the multi-subject column! I have always loved these and felt it was time for another, so sit back and relax and let's tackle these subjects.
Going Broadway: I remember back watching the old NWA on Saturday's. I remember seeing Flair and Windham go to a 45-minute time limit draw. I remember watching Flair vs. Garvin go the whole one hour show and Ronnie pulling it off just as the show went off the air. Now, these were not only great matches, but they were long ones that you had NO CLUE were going to go that long. It made it special. I remember seeing Ric Flair vs. Ricky Morton go 40-minutes at a HOUSE SHOW! Did I expect it? No, because Morton was a tag worker, but he took it to Flair and I thought Ricky was going to win. I love Iron Man Matches, I think Hart vs. HBK was great. I liked HHH vs. Rock and HHH vs. Benoit. But, if I really wanted to I could just wait until the last 10-minutes because I know I am guaranteed 60-minutes. The drama isn't there, the art of going "Broadway" is almost dead. Almost. To their credit Ring of Honor has worked to bring this art back, with their long-term champion Samoa Joe and CM Punk. Their fist 60-minute encounter was at the World Title Classic, which I own and is a really good match. It was very unexpected to the crowd and they were into it for the entire TIME! Punk took him to the limit, which no one has done because Joe has defeated everyone on sight. They had a rematch and again it went 60-minutes, and was amazingly better than the first. This year Bryan Danielson has done a bunch of draws, now with Danielson some fear that they were getting predictable, but I think the fact is that they have found a way to bring back this tool in the big title matches. It isn't expected, it isn't a planned 60-minutes and it has a very dramatic effect when done right by the proper athletes. I miss that, I miss it a lot and I wish that WWE, TNA or both would find a way to use it and bring it back because ROH has found a way to use it. Some say that the traditional "WWE" type audience won't get into the match, but I disagree. The Iron Man Matches have failed ratings wise because people KNOW it is going 60-minutes. The last 10-15-minutes always get a ratings boost. If they just do an unexpected Broadway, they may be surprised by the results.
Being a Champion/Acting a Champion: This is something I do seem to talk about from time to time, and some people think I put too much thought into things, but to me these are important. In today's business it is very easy to become a champion. There are so many titles and so many promotions around that at some point in time, you will be a champion. The Invasion was the worst as WWF had about 47 championships on TV at one time. But while it seems that everyone can BECOME a champion, not that many know how to act or get the chance to act like one.
When a guy is the champion, I expect certain things. One thing I love is the champion coming out last for his match. I love the announcement of the challenger, especially a babyface challenger. He makes his way to the ring, the crowd hot and cheering for him. He enters the ring and waits in anticipation for the champion to make his arrival. And them BOOM it happens, the champion makes the grand entrance, the last man of the night out to the ring (In the main) and you are just setting a stage of importance. Unfortunately most of the time this little attention to detail is dropped, like at the Unforgiven PPV for example.
Another thing I hate is the way people carry the title belts. To me, I love when the guy WEARS the belt, or has it over the one shoulder. It looks good, they are treating the title with respect. In theory the champion would treat the belt with a ton of respect as it is a career goal. There are exceptions to the rule I will say. When it fits the gimmick of the performer to wear or carry it differently, I can buy that. The way MNM, and now just Nitro wears the belt; basically making it a giant phallic symbol works perfectly for his character. But when it comes down to it, I LOVE when a guy wears the belt, it looks important and like they are ACTING like the champion. While I hate the spinner belt, watching Edge come out with the title around his waist, acting the part, made me happy.
The final thing is the dress of a champion. There are exceptions to this rule as well. Steve Austin and John Cena shouldn't wear suits and shit around to the ring. Cena is a "street guy/Marine" I guess and Austin was the prototypical redneck, what they wear fit them. The Rock and his "$800 Shirts" from Miami fit him to perfection. Ric Flair and HHH come off great in suits, while Jeff Jarrett…well I guess he's one of the problems now isn't he? Now in all honesty there are times where I don't give a rats ass what a guy is wearing to the ring, but when a guy like Jarrett who is supposed to be your world champion comes out looking like the local representative for G.L.A.D (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders for the uninformed) that is a problem. Christian Cage had this problem as well. One time he hopped into the crowd to cut a promo and he was LOST in the crowd…he looked WAY too normal, not like the champion. Things were made worst when he feuded with Monty Brown. Christian had his "Bob the Builder Jeans" on and some kind of T-Shirt, while Monty had on a Rock Style $800 shirt, slacks, dress shoes and looked PIMP. He looked the part, acted the part and came off like the champ, while Cage came off as the chump. Unless it totally doesn't fit, while champion you have to dress the part.
Wrestling is a bad word… In WWE anyway. It has been this was for a while. Vince has always wanted to distance himself from the perception of "rasslin" in favor of "entertainment." The guys aren't wrestlers anymore; they are "Superstars" or "Extremists." Commentators don't call the action, they tell stories. And now the long know term of "ROAD AGENT" isn't even safe, as they are now "producers." It is to a point that in meetings if you say wrestlers or wrestling, you get odd looks. The last time I checked "Wrestling" was still on the marquee and the wrestlers are what make the business work. It isn't a bad word kids, remember that.
Things need to change…on Smackdown: Now, this one is hard for me to say, but I have to. I love the Cruiserweights. The WWE has a good group of talented workers, but we have to face facts. The division will never be booked properly. They have signs of life, but looking back every time it looks like they are going to do the right thing Chavo Classic and Jacqueline win the title. They get a strong heel champion, and then forget to book him in a match before the PPV and we get Funaki as champion. That isn't a slam on Sho Funaki, dude can work a solid match, but the fact is he has been treated as an absolute joke and a jobber for years and they wonder why no one will take him seriously. Right now Gregory Helms is the longest running Cruiserweight Champion ever, but what does that mean when he has no one to defend it against? Let's face facts; London, Kendrick, Noble and Kash are all in the tag division. They are four of your strongest competitors and they aren't in a position to feud for the title. Super Crazy is on Raw, Moore is on ECW, Davari is MIA, Little Bastard will never get a legit push and Psicosis is stuck in Mexico because creative has nothing for him. I suppose that the Miz could be a cruiserweight, but I don't think they know exactly what to do with him. Funaki and Scotty are nothing but jobbers, let them stay singles jobbers and a very low-level tag team like they have been. Rey has moved on and they will probably never move him back, and Chavo probably won't go back either. There are just a plethora of problems and they need solved.
Smackdown has had roster issues with injury and suspensions. I think one belt needs to go since the WWE has never really pushed then for real, just drop the title. Get rid of it, if you aren't going to use it correctly, don't use it at all. Now, this opens up the door to freshen up the US title scene. Play off of that history, they rewrite is anyway, link it back to it's origin, holders like Race, Slaughter, Funk, Dusty, Tim Woods, Wahoo, Flair, Angle, Benoit, Valentine, Guerrero, Austin and Steamboat. I use those guys because they are either fresh in the recent fans mind, or respected a lot. When Cena was going to go away, they took the chance with Carlito, which was fine to build someone new. I would have had Kidman win it back then. He had the whole "Shooting Star Press" of death going, and that would have been a better angle for Cena to leave on, and it was already written for them. Also, he was in a feud with Paul London. They could have had a good series, then transitioned to a returning Chavo. He wanted revenge, and there we have 3 people going for it, fresh faces to the belt. But they never did that and the US Title was kind of in obscurity for a while. Finally they had some juice with Cena and Booker, then Booker and Benoit feuding for the title. Lashley had a run and great feud with Finlay and now the title has transitioned to Kennedy who is about to battle with the Undertaker. Things are picking up well, but the addition of Helms and Hardy to the title mix would be a good idea. They need to add some flash to the division and guys like this will do it, and they are already well known. I hate to see the Cruiser Division treated so poorly, but if they have no plans for it, dump it and fortify what you do have; a title with prestige and history. Unify the titles and go from there, it will be better for all involved.
My Take On:
So there it is, another edition in the books. This bad boy came from a restless night and avoiding the in-laws as they decided to pay us a weekend visit. I got a new BBQ grill and couch out of it, but I was just not in the mood for company so I escaped to my den for some writing. I hope you enjoyed this edition of "My Take On" and if you have an idea for me to write on in the future, shoot me an email and I'll do my best to get it done.
