411 Fact or Fiction 03.22.07: Steroids, CM Punk, Hogan Legends Promotion, More

Posted by Ashish on 03.22.2007

It's week ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ONE of Fact or Fiction with Scott Slimmer, Vinz Rothenburg, and whether tri-branded WWE PPVs is a good idea...

Welcome back to another week of 411 Fact or Fiction! This week, 411 newbie Vinz Rotherburg takes on a 411 mainstay, Scott Slimmer! Let's get to it!


1. WWE will end up wasting CM Punk.

Vinz Rothenburg: FICTION. Although I can see why some may be concerned, I think it's too early to make such a broad statement. With reports on Punk's backstage standing changing every two days, there's just no way to predict how he'll be used down the road. In any case, I don't see the problem with his recent loss to Bob Holly. Not every newcomer has to go on a year-long winning streak; it gets old quickly. The fact that Punk made it onto the WM card and into the MITB match may mean something good -- or nothing at all. It's just too early to say.

Scott Slimmer: FACT. I completely agree with Vinz that it's too early to know if Punk is going to have a successful long-term career in WWE. There's part of me that could envision him disappearing before next year's WrestleMania, and there's part of me that can imagine him joining Bobby Lashley and Mr. Kennedy as the next generation of WWE headliners. However, even if Punk does make it to the top in WWE, I still have to believe that on some level he will have been wasted due to the restrictions placed upon him by the "WWE style." I'm sure that some of our more ROH savvy staff could attest to this far more eloquently than I can, but my impression has always been that Punk is best when you turn him loose and let him work his ass off to put on a great show. That's the kind of thing that works wonderfully in ROH but doesn't always fit well within the confined nature of WWE matches. So yes, WWE may push CM Punk. Yes, WWE may make Punk into a star. And yes, WWE may even turn Punk into a champion. But when it's all said and done, I'm just worried that the one thing WWE won't do is allow Punk to actually live up to his potential in the ring, and that truly would be a waste.

Score: 0 for 1


2. A "legends" wrestling promotion headed by Hulk Hogan would be a success.

Vinz Rothenburg: FICTION. I want to say "fact", because the concept sounds like a lot of fun. The major problem here is the involvement of Hulk Hogan. While he deserves and needs to be involved as a performer, I tremble at the idea of him running the show, because that just about guarantees three things: First of all, Hogan will headline 99% of all cards. Secondly, Hogan will carry the company's top title 95% of the time. And, finally, only guys Hogan likes will ever work for the promotion. That eliminates guys like Savage, Warrior, Piper, Funk and Hall right off the bat. Guys under contract with either WWE or TNA won't be involved, either, so let's say good-bye to names like Flair, Lawler, Nash or Sting. What that leaves us with, basically, is the dream team of Hulk Hogan and drinking buddy Brian Knobs going up against the destructive force of, say, Haku and Animal. (I sincerely apologize to any workrate fan who went blind reading that last line. Sorry.) So, yeah, gotta call this fiction, brutha!

Scott Slimmer: FICTION. Of course, I guess that all depends on how you define "success." I guarantee that Hogan will go on the Bubba the Love Sponge show and find some way to spin the whole ordeal into an overwhelming success, but at this point I think it's safe to say that Hogan is more or less detached from what the rest of us know as reality, which of course makes the entire concept of his "reality" show all the more ironic. In reality, the concept of the "Hulkamania World Tour" is nothing less than terrifying. As Vinz correctly mentioned, the first big question is which "legends" Hogan would be able to recruit for the shows. For instance, I'm not completely clear on the details of the WWE Legends Contracts, but Hogan would be monumentally screwed if he couldn't book anyone who has Legend status with WWE. Then you have to wonder if Hogan's idea of a "legend" is anything close to the average wrestling fan's idea of a "legend." Hint: Brian Knobbs only fits into one of those categories. And finally, in the end, you sort of have to ask, "What's the point?" Hogan has said that he wants to have a mix of big names and new starts, but Hogan's track record of putting over new stars has been, um, less than stellar. Just ask Randy Orton. So what's the point in watching retired wrestlers wrestle each other night after night? If mean, if they could still wrestle at a high level then they wouldn't be retired. See also Flair, Ric. So could the shows make money? Quite possibly. Unfortunately there really is no way to argue with the fact that people will still pay to see Hogan step into the ring regardless of who he's facing or who else is on the card that night. So if you want to use financial profitability as your measure of success, then yes, the Hulkamania World Tour might just be a success. However, I tend to measure a promotion's success on its ability to produce good matches and build new stars, and by those criteria I have to believe that Hogan is headed for nothing but failure.

Score: 1 for 2


3. At least five more WWE stars will be exposed for using steroids over the next four months.

Vinz Rothenburg: FACT. A lot of people involved in pro wrestling are on the juice. This is nothing new. It could probably qualify as the world's worst kept secret. It's just that no one ever really talked or cared about it. From the looks of it, that is changing now, so I expect to hear a good deal more about steroids in WWE until the ongoing investigation is over.

Scott Slimmer: FACT. The only real question here is if Sports Illustrated wants to expose any more WWE stars, because we all know there are plenty of names they could use if they so desired. And given the fact that this story seems to be getting some decent buzz in the mainstream media, I could easily see SI continuing to drop names here and there from time to time over the course of the next few months. Of course, all of this is completely decoupled from whether or not these revelations actually mean anything to anyone. Most people who hear of the allegations are just wondering if SI thought this was going to come as a shock to anyone on the planet. Right or wrong, the fact of the matter is that most people still assume that all professional wrestlers take steroids, and so to some extent they have to wonder why SI is making such a big deal about telling them something they already know. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, you have the actual wrestling fans who all realize that all of these allegations pre-date the WWE Wellness Policy and therefore mean less than they would have two years ago. We know that many professional wrestlers have taken steroids in the past. WWE knows that many professional wrestlers have taken steroids in the past. That's more or less the reason that the Wellness Policy was instituted in the first place, but of course SI doesn't seem to want to mention that part of the story. In fact, the only person that actually seems to care passionately about all of this is Colin Cowherd, but that's only because the man truly seems to get aroused by the sound of his own voice. So here's a message from one low level "booger eater" to the great and mighty Cowherd: Give it a rest, okay? We don't get pissed when you say that wrestlers take steroids, because we all know they do. We do, however, get pissed when you act like a dick and talk shit about a man that actually meant something to alot of people. So go ahead and sarcastically say that you're shocked by these allegations. That's entertainment, and that's why people listen to your show. But stop using the same tone when you say that Eddie Guerrero's death was a tragedy. That's just disrespectful and unprofessional.

Score: 2 for 3


---SWITCH!!!---


4. Bobby Lashley does not deserve the push he is getting.

Scott Slimmer: FACT. Okay, stay with me here for a minute. I do believe that Bobby Lashley deserves a push. He's got a great look, he's got an impressive background, he will improve in the ring, and he's one of the best bets to be a star in WWE for years to come. Lashley, along with guys like Kennedy, Cena, and Orton, are going to be the framework of this company for the better part of the next decade. Like I said, I do believe that Bobby Lashley deserves a push, but what I don't believe is that he deserves the push he is getting. I know that I'm going to sound like a cranky, out-of-touch ECW relic here, but Lashley is just about the farthest thing in the world from what I expect an ECW World Heavyweight Champion to be. He's not extreme, he's not hardcore, and he's not the kind of alternative that ECW needs as its top star. There are established ways to push guys who are on their way up the ladder. That's the reason the Intercontinental Championship and United States Championship even exist. I would love to see Lashley in the current McMahon / Trump / Umaga / Lashley / Austin feud as long as the ECW belt wasn't part of the equation. That's the kind of push that Bobby Lashley deserves. Bobby Lashley is going to be a big star one day. He deserves to be pushed. He deserves to wear gold. What he doesn't deserve is the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.

Vinz Rothenburg: FICTION. Although I think Lashley was a much, much better fit for SmackDown! than he is for ECW, I appreciate the push itself. Lashley may be no Chris Benoit in the ring and no Rock on the mic, but does have that certain something that could allow him to be a star, and he has improved greatly over the last year. Lashley definitely has the potential to be huge in the near future, so I love to see the company get behind him.

Score: 2 for 4


5. In light of the recent steroid heat, WWE should begin to push smaller wrestlers just like they did during and shortly after Vince McMahon's steroid trial in 1994.

Scott Slimmer: FICTION. I've always thought that there were a number of good reasons to push smaller wrestlers. Smaller wrestlers often employ a more fast-paced, more technical, and more exciting style of wrestling, which I certainly enjoy, but on some level I understand that this is simply a matter of personal preference. In addition, it would be great to see WWE push smaller wresters who have virtually no chance of being caught in violation of WWE's own Wellness Policy instead of pushing big guys and then acting surprised when the truth is revealed. However, the reason that I'm going with fiction in this case is that while there are plenty of good reasons to push smaller wrestlers, the recent mainstream steroid heat isn't one of them. The simple fact of the matter is that media scrutiny is far more focused on mainstream sports, especially baseball, that it is on professional wrestling. Most people want to believe that their baseball stars are totally clean, even if that isn't always true, but seem to accept that professional wrestlers are chemically enhanced, even if that isn't always true either. The bottom line is that no one in the mainstream press is going to notice if CM Punk one day defeats Bobby Lashley for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, but they will certainly notice if Barry Bonds doesn't play next season. I'm all for seeing smaller wresters getting pushed to the main event, but it should be due to the fact that they deserve that push and not due to some paranoid fear of a media witch hunt.

Vinz Rothenburg: FICTION. WWE should just begin to push smaller wrestlers, period. The current steroid investigation shouldn't even factor into such a decision. It won't change anyone's mind about McMahon, WWE or pro wrestling in general anyway. So, if WWE wants to get serious about pushing normally sized performers, great! I don't want to see these poor guys drop back down to midcard level once the heat is off, though.

Score: 3 for 5


6. Making all PPVs tri-branded is a good move by WWE.

Scott Slimmer: FICTION. I completely understand that I'm looking at this from a rather idealistic point of view, but I have always believed that the brand-exclusive pay-per-views had the potential to showcase a much wider range of talent while still providing high quality matches. Of course, they key word in all of that is "potential," because in practice the brand-exclusive pay-per-views have by and large been the weakest shows of the past four years. I'm quite confident that the quality of the newly tri-branded events will be higher than that of the brand-exclusive events due to the ability to stack the cards with top-level stars, but that doesn't change the fact that WWE is simply taking the easy way out of a bad situation. The best long-term solution would have been to address the problems they have with storylines and booking in order to make the brand-exclusive pay-per-views live up to their full potential while giving valuable exposure to the stars of tomorrow, but instead they went for the short-term solution by focusing on the stars of today. Of course, the real losers in all of this are the mid-card wrestlers who had a decent chance of wrestling on a brand-exclusive pay-per-view but may not be ever be featured on a tri-branded show. Guys like Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Carlito, Super Crazy, Chavo Guerrero, Gregory Helms, and even Ric Flair could easily get lost in the shuffle and stuck in booking limbo under this new plan, and that's a shame when you're talking about a bunch of guys that could all go out there and put on some great matches if they were only given the chance.

Vinz Rothenburg: FICTION. Well, "Faction", more accurately. It really depends on how the company handles this. If they throw every big name from the three brands on every PPV, that will effectively defeat the purpose of the brand extension, which was to allow more performers to make a name for themselves. Sadly, I'm afraid that's the road WWE will take in an effort to spike buyrates. While that may work, it also means that the development of new stars will have to be confined to the weekly shows, which would be a real shame.

Score: 4 for 6


These two finish 4 for 6! Join us next week for more Fact or Fiction!