411 Fact or Fiction 11.09.06: Hardy Boyz, K-Fed, Bischoff, More

Posted by Ashish on 11.09.2006

It's week ONE HUNDRED AND SIX of Fact or Fiction with Caleb Newby, Ashish, and whether WWE should stop using K-Fed...

Welcome back to another week of Fact or Fiction! This week, 411 Games Editor Caleb Newby takes on….ME! Let's get to it!


1. Having the Hardy Boyz reunite at Survivor Series in a 10 man Survivor Series match with such little build is a bad move by WWE.

Ashish: FACT. The Hardy Boyz reunion should be something that is used to bring interest back to the RAW tag division and also deserves more spotlight than what it will get as part of a massive 10 man Survivor Series match. The Survivor Series matches have a hard enough time as it is giving rub to each of its participants, let alone the match that features DX, Edge, and Randy Orton, all of whom will grab most of the focus.

Caleb Newby: FACT. The WWE's tag teams are in shambles (as everyone knows) and the Hardy Boyz reuniting could be the spark that reignites the division. The Hardy Boyz are linked to some of the best tag team days WWE fans have seen and a reuniting Matt and Jeff should be used to do just that. As Ashish said matches at Survivor Series are a cluster as it is going from spot to spot… and when that features DX, well, we all know who is going to grab the spotlight. Which really is a shame since the Hardy Boyz coming back together really needs its own showcase.

Score: 1 for 1


2. Being involved with WWE has been a bad move for Kevin Federline.

Ashish: FACT. Kevin Federline working with WWE just makes his name more of a joke in the mainstream media. WWE is not popular or hot in the mainstream at all right now and being associated with it is the last thing K-Fed needs. I guess it might turn out to be a blessing for him now that his music career is flopping and his financial lifeline is divorcing him. I'm sure WWE will give him a permanent job, but I doubt that is his goal right now, thus it's a bad move.

Caleb Newby: FICTION. This was hard, but I am going to say that Federline had nowhere to go but up. Federline gets to go from a "career" in music where people are supposed to like him and buy his merchandise as fans, to a gig in pro wrestling where he gets paid the more people hate him. And judging by everything we've seen, that comes naturally to Mr. Federline. Factor in that Britney is leaving him and the guy doesn't have much left. His concerts were being cancelled anyway due to lack of attendance. When you are at the bottom of the heap the WWE isn't such a bad spot to be.

And for the record, I answered my other Fact or Fiction question on Kevin Federline before news of his split with Spears hit. So yeah… remember that.

Score: 1 for 2


3. Putting the World Tag Team Titles on Ric Flair & Roddy Piper was a bad idea.

Ashish: FACT. Putting titles on guys as old as Flair and Piper devalue all of WWE's titles. Nobody cares about Piper anymore and Flair at this point should be used much more selectively. I don't think WWE has much concern about the tag division on RAW right now though, and figure a Flair/Piper run is as good a draw, if not better, than anything else in the division. That might be true, but it is a move that is counterproductive in the longterm and as WWE should recognize by their current state, shortterm thinking lands you in a hole. Kind of like the one they're in now.

Caleb Newby: FICTION. Here's how I see it. No-one cared about the Spirit Squad anymore and they have turned into total jokes twisted with fan apathy. Flair and Piper on the other hand at least get reactions from the crowd and can get people energized by their appearance on a show. With that said they shouldn't be champs for too long. Two guys whose combined ages are over 100 years really shouldn't be dominating a tag division, sad as it may be. And if some team comes in and lays out the legends in the process it will be a much better rub than defeating the Spirit Squad for the straps. So I'm all for putting the belts on the old timers and keeping the belts at least on television on a more consistent basis.

Score: 1 for 3


---SWITCHAROO!!!---


4. Returning Eric Bischoff to the GM role is the right move.

Caleb Newby: FACT. How long has Vince been looking for a new GM now? Has it been a year yet? I wasn't happy when they got rid of Bischoff in the first place as he was always an interesting personality for the show and slower to get sick of than Vince. Eric plays his role to perfection and always gets a response from the crowd. Unfortunately this week my TiVo cut out halfway through RAW so I only saw half of Bischoff's return but I was entertained. Hopefully he's back next week as he's the perfect authority figure for the show that shouldn't have left in the first place.

Ashish: FACT. Eric Bischoff is great at playing the heel GM, second only to Vince McMahon. Plus his history automatically gives him a certain credibility that nobody else would have. WWE obviously realized this which is why he is back in the role. If anything, he is actually being under utilized as just the RAW GM. WWE really missed the boat with angles playing off the original McMahon/Bischoff heat, but that's another story.

Score: 2 for 4


5. WWE needs to drastically shake up RAW as it is now the company's most boring brand.

Caleb Newby: FACT. Granted, I don't watch ECW and catch Smackdown when I can but regardless, RAW has been very boring. DX was interesting when they teased it and when they first reunited but has gotten old quickly and seems to dominate the show to the point that it brings everything else down. I don't have the answers as to what they should do or how they should do it, but I'm voicing my vote more and more by changing the channel or fast forwarding the boring stuff, which has become near 70% of it. If anything I miss the "anything can happen" vibe we had from the late 90s and early 2000s that has seemingly disappeared. Bring back some of that. At least Mr. Bischoff's comeback sparks my interest a bit.

Ashish: FACT. RAW has become an incredibly stale show that is not moving forward at all. The mid-card is laughable, DX is a nostalgia act that has been dragged on for way too long, and John Cena is one of the most repetitive characters on the brand. WWE needs to go back to long-term planning and fundamental storyline structure. Right now RAW has no spark at all.

Score: 3 for 5


6. WWE should stop using Kevin Federline.

Caleb Newby: FICTION. Not to overuse him, but don't stop entirely. The WWE got a lot of mainstream buzz from it and Federline has been playing his role perfectly. He is hated by the crowd, acts like a scumbag, and is cocky as all get out. Plus, we have the ever present tease of Britney showing up which (while 5 years too late) has even greater mainstream buzz written all over it. Not to mention that Federline has made Cena more interesting and popular t'boot. Why stop a good thing early? And if we know the WWE, we know that's not a danger!

Ashish: FICTION. Like Caleb said, there is no reason to stop using him. He is doing a good job in his heel role and whatever mainstream publicity he brings in is a bonus. With his marriage over and his music career going nowhere fast, Federline may need WWE more than he thought he would when he first agreed to work with them.

Score: 4 for 6


Me and Caleb finish 4 for 6! Join us next week for more Fact or Fiction!