The MeeThinks Saturday Spectacular 05.26.07
Posted by John Meehan on 05.26.2007
Remembering Owen Hart, Losing Shawn Michaels, Defending ONS and More!
Hey everybody, and here's to a killer Memorial Day three-day weekend for all of you who just so happen to be taking Monday off from work, eh? Lots of stuff this week, so let's see what we've got in store!
On tap this week:
Jeff Jarrett Loses Wife to Cancer
Eight Years Later: Remembering Owen Hart
Losing Shawn Michaels is a GOOD Thing?
RVD *NOT* Done Just Yet?
Why One Night Stand's "All Gimmick" Approach Really Ain't All That Bad
YouThinks: Spirit Squadder Fired, But Which One?
YouThinks: Why Your Create-A-Wrestler Sucks and Snitsky Rules
YouThinks: Stand Back! Is There a HURRICANE Comin'?
YouThinks: May Nineteenth and The Eighth Wonder
YouThinks: The Company (Sand)Man
YouThinks: Did WWE Churn Out EIGHT New Stars in Three Years?!
YouThinks: TNA Cribbing from nWo-era WCW?
YouThinks: Samoa Joe Kils The X Division
YouThinks: Is Matt Morgan Mitchell's New Monster (if a woodchuck could chuck wood)?
YouThinks: WWE Cuts... Who's Next?
YouThinks: Is a Starr Headed for WWE?
YouThinks: Christian is Gold, So Why Isn't He Wearing Any?
YouThinks: Edge Saves Smackdown!
TONS of news, MeeThinks and YouThinks this weekend -- so let's get to it, eh?
What a sad and overwhelming week this must be for Jeff Jarrett. After a long illness, Jill Jarrett -- his wife and the mother of his three children, ages 3-11 -- finally succumbed to the cancer she'd been battling on and off for years. By all accounts, Jarrett has been the portrait of a family man in recent weeks -- literally flying into TNA tapings solely for the matches and television segments he was featured in, and then immediately leaving the TNA tapings and flying back to his home in Nashville on the next flight to be by his wife's side in her final days.
This is a tremendous loss to Jeff Jarrett and his family, and truly a sad, sad day for wrestling fans the world over. On behalf of myself, the 411 community, and wrestling fans at large -- I offer my sincerest condolences and prayers for those closest to Jill Jarrett in this most difficult of times.
My thoughts and most heartfealt sympathies to the Hart family and friends this week, as we remember the eighth anniversary of Owen Hart's tragic death in Kemper Arena on May 23, 1999. But taking nothing away from the Harts and their loss, I simply can't help but feel that an additional show of support and sympathy is clearly in order this week for one Jeff Jarrett, who lost his wife on the very same day that he once lost his tag-team partner and close friend some eight years ago.
I can only begin to imagine Jarrett's grief at this time. Odds are that even now, years after the Kemper Arena, just about *every* fan who was into wrestling back in 1999 can tell you EXACTLY where they were and EXACTLY how they felt on that fateful night this week eight years ago.
It hit Mee the moment that a visably shaken Jerry Lawler returned to the commentary table after tending to Owen in the ring and said "no... it doesn't look good at all." From there and in the interview segment featuring Jeff Jarrett and Debra immediately thereafter, I knew for sure that something was wrong -- as the typically heelish and charismatic pair of Debra and Double J were likewise showing serious signs of shock and confusion.
Flashing foward eight years later -- and it is almost impossible to fathom just how heartbreaking this all must be for a man like Jarrett, and MeeThinks it is crucial at a time like this that fans remember that we, as fans, only know "half the story" and half the performers -- largely basing our judgment and feelings on what all we see presented to us on television, in fleeting moments at an autograph table, or via the few tidbits of backstage gossip we're all able to cull from the internet and the message boards.
For the wrestlers themselves, however -- who travel the world together and become tremendously close to their fellow performers along the way -- the loss of a friend or loved one must be downright devastating.
With that in mind, rather than pontificating or attempting to say something profound or any more meaningful than what all has already been said both *better* and before by people far closer to this tragedy than myself... I'd simply like to share a few brief reflections on the life and death of Owen Hart as they were shared by the wrestlers themselves in the days and weeks following his untimely death of eight years ago this week.
(Special thanks to Steve Gerweck and Gerweck.net for his Owen Hart tribute page, and for logging and maintaining many of the quotes that appear below.)
[Owen] was such a wonderful human being and I will miss him so much. I've tried and tried to sum up into words what he meant to me. What he meant to all of us who loved him. It seems everyone knows by now what a great husband, father, son and brother he was. He was, without a doubt, the finest family man that I ever knew. His life was centered around his wife, Martha, his one and only childhood sweetheart and his two beautiful children, Oje and Athena. So many times, I remember he sprinted from the door of the plane, his two carry on bags in each hand, at a full run, worn out and weary, just to clear customs, through the sliding doors, to their outstretched arms.
A man with no vices. None. His only obsession, his family. Always his family. And oh how he loved them all! I don't believe anyone knew Owen as well as me, except Martha. I recall, so often, in airports, hotel rooms, dressing rooms, long drives on endless highways, his only dream was to come home to his wife and his two children. He almost made it, only days before moving into their dream home. He worked so hard for that dream. It's all so unfair, an exhausting argument with God. A long and sad meditation on fate and purpose and love.
- Bret Hart
Never mind the fact that Owen was a great guy. Never mind the fact that Owen was one of the greatest wrestlers the world has ever seen. Never mind the fact that he was one of the reasons I wanted to become a wrestler. Never mind that I went to the Hart Bros Pro Wrestling camp, in hopes of meeting and training with him. All that matters is that Owen Hart is gone, never to entertain or make us smile again. This was a terrible senseless accident and it puts everything into perspective. Contract disputes, minor injuries, lack of a push, don't mean squat when you compare them to a family who will never see their father again.
God bless you Owen Hart. I know I will always respect and never forget you.
- Chris Jericho
You feel the burn when you cry
It starts to come when someone dies
The pain you feel as your eyes swell and the tears will up in the wells
The burn starts to choke you up the words come out slow and shaken
You close your eyes and wonder why
There is a burn when you cry
When Owen left it felt like hands around my throat
I couldn't talk I couldn't see
The burn overwhelmed me
My heart is heavy this is why
You get the burn when you cry
It digs down deep you can not sleep
You toss and turn in your sheets
Awaken with sobs and wet pillow cases
You wander aimlessly looking to the sky
You feel the burn when you cry
- Mark Henry
He was a tremendous technician in the ring and will be sorely missed. I just recently made a tape of a couple of matches that Bret had with Owen because I was studying how they did their big false finishes to pop the crowd. I did this about a week ago and tonight, when I checked the tape I was going to record over I realized that that was the tape I almost recorded over. I put it aside with the other tapes I want to save. I want to watch Owen again. If you get a chance to see any of those matches, they are indeed classics.
In closing, this really puts life in perspective. Any one of us can go at any time, so seize the moment and never, and I mean never, forget to tell people you love that you love them.
- Diamond Dallas Page
If you talk to every wrestler in the business, no one would have anything but praise for the type of person Owen was. Owen was a friend. I spent almost 4 years with Owen in the WWF. No matter how long the road trips were, it seems as though, right when everyone was about to crack, Owen would pull a rib or some type of practical joke. And then we'd all regain our sanity.
Wrestling aside, Owen probably was one of the best human beings I have ever met.
- Kevin Nash
I was not only a fan of Owen the wrestler, I was a fan of Owen the human being. Each time I saw Owen I was greeted with a firm handshake and a warm smile. He had a sense of humour that was unlike anyone I knew. Often there was laughter, there was Owen.
- The Blue Meanie
For those of you so interested, donations in the name of Owen Hart can still be made to:
Though knee injuries (especially at Shawn's age) are never all that fun -- my younger brother just had his knee opened up a few months back, actually) -- believe it or not, this injury probably couldn't have come at a better time for HBK and WWE in general.
Why's that?
For starters, Michaels' prognosis looks to have him back by late summer (as opposed to the initially-projected Survivor Series/November return). This is a HUUUUGE break for WWE, as they basically get to cap off their summer and kickstart their high-gear "Road to WrestleMania" (which we all know pretty much starts the day after SummerSlam) with the re-introduction of one of RAW's biggest stars. This is an awesome late-summer boost for WWE, as it'll really help provide the creative team with a refreshed, marketable and reliable main-event commodity to help pull the company through the fall.
Speaking of refreshed main-eventers, though --
I know a number of my fellow columnists have already touched on this one as if it were a "bad" thing, but MeeThinks the staggered timetable of main-eventers returning from injury will be a GREAT way to really get some good mileage out of current stars, as they're constantly to be presented with bona-fide "main-eventers" as the once-injured stars stagger their returns in the months to come.
Think about it...
First, Smackdown gets a boost from Mark Henry. Hate him all you want, but the guy most certainly made a respectable dent in the blue brand's main event picture since returning in May.
Next, you're due for a guy like Mysterio (June/July), who can EASILY step in and freshen things up at the top of the Smackdown card once Mark Henry's served his purpose.
Come July/early August, you're looking at a HUGE return thanks to one Triple H... stepping in for a tailor-made program against Randy Orton on RAW, and maybe even giving chase against Edge now that the PPV's are all "tri-branded."
Oh yeah... don't forget KING BOOKAHHH and MISTAHHHHHRRRRR KENNEDY (... KENN-ED-EEEE!) right around the same time. With WWE PPV's (quite literally) happening just about every third week throughout the summer, returns from guys like Booker and Kennedy are no-brainers to help liven things up in the main event, that way we're not forced to sit through an entire summer headlined by a string of Batista/Edge, Lashley/McMahon, or Cena/Khali rematches.
Top off your late summer with a return by Shawn Michaels (say, SummerSlam or just thereafter) -- and you've got a HUGE audience just waiting to see one last reunion of dX (so they can finish what they started last summer!) to pull you through the fall and maybe even the early winter months, and then once you've milked that cash cow for all its worth and given fans their fill of one last HBK/HHH pairing -- BAM! Triple H is back to playing the baddie we all love to hate (as reports indicate he's hoping to do by year's end), and you're staring at an easy sell for a Michaels vs. Triple H program that'll reach a boiling point come WrestleMania 24.
Sure, we've seen The Game take on The Showstopper a million times already -- but if WrestleMania XX's showdown between Kane and The Undertaker taught us anything (and I should know, I was there!), it's that fans are MORE than willing to plunk down a crapload of money (and excitement) to cheer for a match they've already seen provided it's booked cleverly enough and that it's something they haven't seen in a long enough time. Thanks to Michaels' injury (and Triple H's just before that), the timetable for our inevitable Triple H/HBK showdown automatically got pushed back a good three-to-six months. Now, rather than squandering the thing with an early payoff in October, WWE fans have a solid six months to get themselves pumped to see these two former-friends go at it ONE MORE TIME on the grandest stage of them all.
Not to fantasy-book here, folks -- but can you HONESTLY tell Mee you wouldn't pay some good money to see Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania? Shoot, it doesn't even need to be for a world title (that way, you can use the belt to bring other guys to the main-event level)! Load up a WrestleMania with THREE world title matches, the obligatory Money In The Bank ladder match, an epic grudge match between HBK and Triple H (arguably) two of THE (long sounding "eee") biggest stars in recent WWE history, and -- of course -- another installment of the WrestleMania unbeaten streak of The Dead Man, and you're staring at a lisence to print money.
Which reminds Mee --
Feel free to add The Undertaker (late '07) to that aforementioned list of returning stars I rattled off a few paragraphs ago. And while we're add it, leave a space or two for a surprise-returner (maybe Jericho?), a TNA-import (never say never), or the push of a breakout talent (coughPunkcoughElijahcough) in the Fall of 2007... and just like that, we've pretty much booked ourselves a slew of fresh and exciting (some "never before seen!") WWE main events for the next 10 months. New talent mixing with "new" talent (back from injury), new stars being made (Kennedy) thanks to injuries building fan anticipation for their return (think back to how crazy fans went for the U2 rehab videos of Triple H), and new programs dominating the top of the WWE's card as veterans mix it up with returners who mix it up with breakout stars of the next generation.
Sounds like a great time to be a 'rasslin fan, if you asked Mee.
Well there you have it. Even if we all hate Snitsky with the fire of a thousand suns (not really, I just use his matches as an excuse to hit the old fast-forward button on my TiVo) -- you've gotta' admit that it's good to see that WWE will be getting some use out of the final days of RVD's soon-to-be-concluded tenure with ECW when he puts the company's new monster over at the all-gimmick-match One Night Stand pay-per-view. Sure nobody will buy Snitsky any more or less than we do now, but at least RVD's last act with WWE will be somewhat more memorable than earning himself a cheap, chairshot/DQ win during an otherwise unmemorable episode of ECW on SciFi.
Look folks...
We all know how I feel about Rob Van Dam ("you made your bed, now lie in it"), and MeeThinks its no big secret that the IWC ain't all that high on (hehehe, "high on") Gene Snitsky... but the bottom line here is that it's good to see both WWE and Rob Van Dam coming to some sort of mutually-agreeable middle ground in their recent hissy fit, even if it means that Gene Snitsky will likely be a world title contender when all is said and done.
As for the One Night Stand pay-per-view itself:
I for one am all for the "all gimmick" concept of this particular event, and here's why.
1) Sure, I've called TNA out on having an "all gimmick" PPV of their own in the past, but the difference here is that TNA's gimmick PPV (the cage match) depends on a gimmick that is, for all intents and purposes, a lot more "special" than the gimmick that WWE is trotting out for their showing ("extreme rules," which basically says "no disqualificiations"). Traditionally speaking, cage matches are used as the blow-off to a MAJOR feud, whereas no-DQ matches usually pad out little more than the middle of a PPV. It's a lot more realistic to have one night where even the most "meaningless" of matches is contested under "no disqualification" rules than it is to see Bullet Bob Armstrong and Konnan locked inside of a steel cage for a be-all-and-end-all-ARM WRESTLING CONTEST!!!
2) Theme with variations in the "no DQ" stipulation is a LOT more versatile (and less cheezy) than the theme with variations with the all-cage-match approach. With no DQ -- you can have a street fight, a submissions-only, a falls-count-anywhere, etc. With the cage match, you're basically relegated to "one-upping" yourself with stuff like "weapons in a cage," "roof on the cage," "barbed wire around the cage," etc. and you're left with hokey stuff like the "Electrified Cage," "blindfolded in the cage," and the aforementioned "arm rasslin in a cage" debacles.
3) WWE's borrowing the "One Night Stand" ppv from the ECW roots, right? Since it was, for the past two years, an "ECW" pay per view (if in name only by last year's outing) -- it makes all the sense in the world that for this "One Night Stand" all the rules would be laxed to allow the PPV to fit in more appropriately with its supposedly "hardcore" roots. Sure, those same roots have been "bastardized," "sacrificed," "sabatoged" or what have you week after week on WWECW programming... but MeeThinks that there's actually something of a tribute to the "original" ECW in allowing this One Night Stand to be an all-out hardcore homage to the "anything goes" atmosphere of the ECW of old, and so I for one am all for it.
4) Timing is everything. And since the last WWE pay per view was just two weeks before this one (yikes! Who scheduled that?!?), WWE found themselves in a tough spot in that they had just under 13 days of new television to offer up a new PPV that people would actually pay good money to see. Sure, the obvious solution is "THEN DON'T PUT YOUR PAY-PER-VIEWS SO CLOSE TOGETHER ALREADY!!!", fact is that die was cast when WWE made their pay-per-view calendar over a year ago, and so they had to make due with what all was laid out before them.
As a result, they were basically staring at a PPV that was bound to be headlined by rematches from just two weeks before (and looking at the main events, you'll note that it is EXACTLY the same three main events as Judgment Day!) -- and so rather than beg fans to pay double the money for the EXACT SAME SHOW many of them had bought a mere two weeks' prior, WWE smartly decided they'd one-up their previous outing, and offered fans the promise of a new and exciting "extreme" twist on what all they'd seen. Sure Judgment Day wasn't particularly memorable or anything, but at least the matches themselves were given enough time and the actual quality of the in-ring action wasn't all that bad. Spice things up with an "extreme" rehash of the same, and fans have every reason in the world that this PPV should be all the more entertaining than the last.
YouThinks Reader Mail
Greg Hahn caught a pretty glaring error on my part, and was quick to call Mee out on it:
Nick Mitchell is Mitch, not Nicky. Nick Nemeth is Nicky.
It's kind of disappointing to see a wrestling columnist on a great website make such an error. I
suppose I'll keep reading though, but you should make sure you don't jump to such conclusions in
the future.
-Greg,
411mania reader
Good catch, Greg. And if you'll notice, I went back and edited my column from last week accordingly just about 12 hours or so after it'd first been posted with the error you mentioned.
Not to cop-out here, but the reason for my mistake was pretty straightforward, actually: WWE's html link said "ArielScottyNickReleased.html" and so in citing the source I deferred to WWE's terminology and screwed up accordingly. In short, their headline (and HTML code, for that matter) called the guy "Nick" and mentioned he was formerly of the Spirit Squad, so I put two and two together and presumed he musta' been "Nicky."
Well there you have it. My apologies to all the Nicky fans out there (both of y'all). Figured I'd get a free pass since WWE didn't bother to distinguish between the guys, so it's probably not all that earth-shattering when a lowly web columnist makes a similar error. Regardless, I'll try not to make the same mistake in the future when they fire Mikey! Err, I mean Johnny?
Moving on...
Josh Irving has some Thinks to share on The Great Khali:
Khali is a joke and hopefully after he loses to Cena, that will be the end of him. He has definately run his course. I don't like the match, but I know why WWE did it. There is a lack of challengers right now. There was basically nobody for Cena to face except Khlali. I think they want to prolong the Cena/HBK feud a little longer so we might have to wait a little for the rubber match.
While Khali can't draw from the internet crowd, some of the casual fans might be interested in this match. Not only that, the kids will definately be interested in this match. My neighbor downstairs is 12 years old. He convinced his mom to order Judgement Day based on Cena vs Khali alone. He seemed like he was really looking forward to that match more than anyone. And his mom agreed to order the ppv simply because she thinks Cena is good looking. So while Khali won't appeal to the hardcore fans or the internet crowd, there are quite a few casual fans that might want to see Khali vs Cena.
Remember, internet fans are only a small portion of the overall wrestling audience. Not only that, little kids bring in alot of revenue. They get their parents to spend. I have seen it first hard when I go to live events. Little kids worship Cena and they get their parents to drop some serious dollars on him.
- Josh Irving
You are absolutely right, Josh. Hate him with "X-Pac heat" or not, bottom line is that Khali is a GREAT foil for such a polarizing champion as John Cena, as he keeps the "smart" fans angry AND he gives the marks all the more reason to cheer for their hero. Even if they can't stand Cena, no self-respecting 'net fan in the world would be caught dead cheering for such a lug with the workrate of Khali... and since the "hardcore" dedicated 'net fans are likely to watch wrestling REGARDLESS of what all WWE offers up (if only because it gives us something to run to our computers and bitch about immediately thereafter), WWE's in a pretty great spot when it comes right down to it, as nothing sells easier to a "mark" crowd than big ugly bad guy taking on young, good-lookin' champion.
Shoot, Hulk Hogan made a career out of that one!
Once Khali's run his course, expect WWE to pepper their main event picture with the next "big ugly bad guy" du-jour. Snitsky might be a joke, but he's the right guy for the part and if WWE can continue to work the same formula they've been relying on in the past year or so (Cena vs. Umaga, Cena vs. Khali), there's every reason to believe that he'll sell tickets.
Like I've said before -- Umaga, Khali and Snitsky are the PERFECT, "classic" 'rasslin baddies... because when all us 'net dorks were spending countless hours making sure the jawline was "just so" and that we'd selected the perfect pigment for the wrist tape on our No Mercy Create-A-Wrestlers, TONS of your average 'rasslin fans out there were just trotting out the biggest, baddest-lookin' guy they could muster. Screw the time it took to round out your CAW's attributes to make sure they could hit the Tiger Driver AND the Inverted Senton Splash to the outside of the ring -- for many fans, it was a simple matter of "just gimme' the big, nasty dude in black trunks... and then send him out there and kick some ass."
Chris keeps things light as he celebrates May 19 with some Thinks on Kane's former tag team partner, The Hurricane:
Great article as always Meehan! I agree with what you said about Helms. Terribly thing to happen to a great performer and a legitimate nice guy but hey, at least he's employed still!
My question to you is what do you think will happen a year from now when he returns? Will he cut back on the high flying and play it more cautiously in the ring? Lets face it, after Lita had the surgury she was never the same again in the ring. Not that you can blame them, If I get a papercut I may just take the day off work! (small joke). Also what would be his best bet? Coming back as Gregory or returning as The Hurricane? I think (dosen't have the same ring to it does it?) that seeing The Hurricane back in the ring would give me some good laughs. Have a great MAY 19th (gasp) and thanks for reminding me about the Kane-Holiday. Made my day!
-Chris
Richmond,VA
Thanks for writing, Chris! You might actually be onto something, really, as most folks returning from long-term injuries generally tend to walk back into the squared circle in the de-facto role of "hey, we missed you!" babyface. The pissed-off "Gregory Helms" character doesn't really jive with that natural fan inclination to cheer the hell out of a guy as soon as he returns, so maybe a Hurricane revival could be in the cards after all. It's a pretty easy sell when you think about it, really -- Helms cuts a promo about how "Gregory Helms" was weak and too-easily injured, and so in his place the SUPERHERO that is The Hurricane was reborn!
Hey, worked for Captain America, ya' know. Well, that is until that whole assasination thing a few months back... but nevermind all that. Point is, "Hurricane" is a comedy character and a much-loved one at that. Does Helms need it to make his return successful? Probably not. But MeeThinks there's nothing wrong with striking when the iron's hot, as it's an easy fit with the character's natural "delusional" persona and the crowd's natural penchant for cheering a guy back from injury... so it certainly couldn't hurt.
Speaking of May 19...
Brian McDonough had this to say:
may 19 was his birthday(andre the giant) his 51st
- Brian McDonough
Well there you have it, folks. Actually, Andre was born in 1946, meaning he would have been 61, not 51... but still a good bit of trivia there, Brian! Thanks for that!
Mike switches things up and talks some ECW turkey.
Enjoyed the read as I do every week. I agree with you 100% when it comes to the entire Sabu, RVD, WWE situation. It comes down to the fact that they don't work well in a suit and tie corporate environment and that is what WWE has basically become. When I first heard that RVD didn't go to the "voluntary" trips to Iraq, I figured the relationship wouldn't last very long. And why anybody would think WWE would put up with bad behavior from Sabu is beyond me. Randy Orton? Ok we'll look the other way (which I don't agree with, but thats another rant for another day). Sabu? Bye bye.
My only concern with this whole ECW original dismantling is the direction of The Sandman. He really hasn't done anything wrong since signing from what I read. He loses almost if not all of his matches, and when he is involved in tag competition he's always either getting eliminated first or losing for his team. Yet he hasn't complained and has shown up for work whenever asked. We all know his limits inside the ring, but we've always known that as did WWE when they signed him. I still believe he has a place in the new ECW and could really move merchandise under the Mcmahon marketing machine. Hopefully he won't get thrown under the bus because of his extreme alumni.
- Mike
Great letter, Mike!
You are absolutely right that Sandman has been nothing short of the portrait of professionalism ever since his signing with WWE. Not only has he stayed clean (I'm looking at YOU, Scott Hall), he's always done his j-o-b (coughSabucough) and he's managed to do what so many other ECW originals weren't able to do -- namely, keep things in proper perspective AND still remain under the company's gainful employ.
Check out the interview with Danny Doring after he was released a few months back and you'll see that he, along with so many of the other so-termed "originals" knew their role in the new ECW from the get-go: in short, lend some "authentic" brand credibility to help in the promotion's revival, and put new talent over to carry the ball thereafter. Doring did a tremendous job of keeping things in perspective, as he made it perfectly clear that he knew he (and so many other ECW alums) were hired specifically to help put new guys over -- so he had absolutely no complaints with the way things worked out.
If you go back to Sandman's interview from last year around this time, you'll see that the guy demonstrates a pretty similar attitude. He basically says "yeah, I signed a one-year deal. Dunno what they'll have me doing, but I'm making good money and up for whatever. Should be fun."
That, folks, is a guy who's got a good handle on the situation. Whereas Van Dam turned the whole revival ordeal into a cause for martyrdom (conveniently, only AFTER he'd seen his title hopes go up in smoke) and guys like Sabu and Balls simply couldn't get their act together in a timely and efficient enough manner to conform to WWE's "corporate" environment -- Sandman (and Dreamer) showed that of the lot, he's pretty much THE (long sounding "eee") true professional in all of this.
He's rehired and he understands what's expected of him. He shows up for work on time and in the proper condition to perform, and he does what's asked of him without hesitation or complaint. Whether he's beating up a Zombie or falling face-first through a stack of folding chairs, Sandman has really proven himself to be a true rarity in the wrestling business -- namely, he's a guy willing to do what he's told (even if it means rarely -- if ever -- winning a match) for "the good of the company" who can STILL remain pretty damned popular along the way.
He's kinda' like Val Venis with a weekly spot on television, really. Not that this guarantees him a job for life, of course, but Val's been able to hang on WAYYY longer than anybody ever thought -- so who knows, eh?
Robert Kirk has Thinks all over the map. But since he starts with an ECW rant, we'll turn the floor over to him now:
Good points on ECW and on the old ECW performers my own take on ECW is that it had its time just let it go the odd ppv is great but i would be much happier if Monty Brown (have no intention of calling him that stupid arse name) was on raw bringing some meaning to the intercontinental championship again.
There are a ton of other moves i would make as well I know carlito is popular but he sucks big time so boring to watch so i would either move him off to ovw and promote somebody with more ability like paul birchill just as long as he didnt come back with that god awful pirate gimmick (doesnt work for the black pearl and doesnt work for him), or failing that how about we see harry smith he still hasnt been on raw a year after he said on his myspace page that he was debuting soon supposedly as part of the Vince versus Shawn and Trip fued
The way i see wrestling at the moment is that it has losts its way raw can be good smackdown gets lucky sometimes ecw is awful and needs to be scraped keeping the likes of cm punk and monty brown etc whilst getting rid of the shite (lashley,thorn etc). Am sure everybody knows there is a lack of real main event guys in wrestling at the minute thats what the great limited moveset is in the main event because cena has been up over all of the credible people on the roster we are now down to bringing in glorified jobbers for off deals to as you said make cena look like superman.
main event guys raw
Triple Machon (maybe 5 years left in him)
Shawn Micheals (maybe 2 years left in him)
John Cena(bound to be around ages as i hate him)
Edge (almost as old a triple H so about 6 maybe 7 years)
Randy Orton (twat)
thats it that is the main event roster 3 of which have been in the wwe since the early 90s and in shawns case the late 80s where are the new main event guys coming from look down the roster you see any potential break out stars on raw i don't
smackdown
Undertaker (if goes another 2 years i would be amazed)
Booker T (entertaining but older than Batista)
Batista (limited and old hes about the same age as nash)
Mr Kennedy (Relatively fresh could be awesome but desperately needs a new finisher can't have a finisher that rvd used as a warm up move)
that covers smackdown and no i don't count rey jnr as in my mind he is not main event status same as raw apart from mr kennedy name somebody else that has broken into the main event lately
And as a fan in the UK the only alternative is TNA as we dont get to see ROH here except through youtube I used to love TNA and stopped watching WWE for about 18 months but now TNA is stale. Rhino despite being cheered every week and putting on good matches as well as doing decent promos is no where near the title picture, AJ styles I like him as a heel he is still one of the best wrestlers on the roster, Daniels is still good not sure where this new gimmick is going a couple of other bright notes but the rest of it sucks VKM (zzzzzzzzz) which is a shame as i honestly thought lance hoyt could of been a legit star (prob in tag team though) team 3d (never found there deal entertaining).
but my main gripe for all of joes ability he destroyed the X division by walking over the roster the whole point about the x division(aside from the great wrestling) was that anybody could win (Petey Williams,Jerry Lyn, Alex Shelley,AJ,Daniels,Sabin et)c but he made them look so weak that you just dont buy them being a viable threat title wise finally TNA cannot move to the next stage without having a home grown champion no other feds reject it has to be a guy they built from the ground up
be relieved to know the rant is over keep up the good work on the column
cheers,
- Robert Kirk
Thanks for the letter, Robert! Some MeeThinks to YourThinks, in numbered (but admittedly somewhat haphazard) order.
1) WWE's main event is deeper than you think. With virtually ALL of their "top level guys" (save Flair) good for at least another 2-3 years, they have got PLENTY of time to turn out a new crop of stars. We forget what a difference only a few years make, ya' know... because if you flash back to WrestleMania XX (just three years ago, really):
Edge was injured, and nowhere near the main event.
Cena opened the show, but was stuck in the US title hunt.
Batista was stuck firmly in a midcard handicap tag match.
Orton was too, and was still months away from main-eventing.
Booker T was wasting time with Van Dam in an undercard tag titles bout.
RVD was likewise spinning his wheels in RAW's tag ranks.
Bobby Lashley wasn't even on the card, or in the company!
Rey Mysterio -- well, I'll leave him out since you don't like him.
Regardless --
In three short years, each of these guys has skyrocketed into the bona-fide "main event" picture. True, not all of 'em have been particularly successful there (Orton's title reign comes to mind, as does Rey's, or Van Dam's) -- but the fact remains that not one, two, three, four, five, six, or seven -- but EIGHT guys who're currently entrenched in WWE's main event picture were simply nowhere near it just three years ago.
So yeah, the main event has a fair chunk of old-timers who've reached "the top" and will likely be there until they retire (HBK, Michaels, 'Taker)... but a) the amount of time those "old-timers" have held the belt in the past three years has been pretty brief, when you really look at it all, and b) that doesn't mean WWE hasn't made strides with pushing new stars (even if they are "veteran performers") in three years' time. We've gotta' remember, "new stars" doesn't always mean "new performers" -- and since WWE has made "new stars" (even if its with some less-than-"new performers" like Booker etc.) in recent years, there's really no reason to believe they can't do it again (or aren't doing it now).
2) TNA, on the contrary, has been making a number of errors in their booking of the main event picture. Basically in TNA-land, there's been an unspoken rule that "the latest WWE hire is automatically the number one contender." Whether it's in the tag ranks (Basham/Damaja, VKM, Dudleyz, etc.), the "knockouts" (Hemme, Gail, Miss Jackie, etc.), or the NWA TNA World Championship (Rhino, Christian, Angle, etc.) -- the bottom line is that too many a homegrown and/or home-regroomed talent (like Killings) has been shuffled aside to make room for the latest acquisition from "big brother" WWE.
Now, in truth --
This is hardly unprecedented in the wrestling world, as you will recall WCW's period of greatest success came when they did pretty much the EXACT SAME THING by importing guys with huge star power from WWF (Hogan, Savage, Luger, Hall, Nash, Bret, etc.) and putting them over the people that the longtime WCW fans had come to know, identify with, and root for (Flair, Sting, etc.).
The trick, of course, is that on the heels of this great success, WCW's ultimate downfall inevitably came when the company overpushed the WWF-imports and undervalued their own "homegrown" stars like Benoit, Jericho, Eddie, etc. Over the course of the entire nWo angle, WCW really only made one bona-fide "new" star of their own (Goldberg, though I suppose you could probably make a good case for DDP as well), and so when the WWF castaway pool started to dry up... there was simply nobody left who'd come from WCW to carry the banner and make fans care about the promotion now that all those old-timers from up north had pretty much run their course.
TNA isn't quite that bad off yet, mind you, and they still have plenty of time to make "new" homegrown stars of their own -- but the fact that many a TNA fan is already jumping at the chance to sign the latest WWE-ject and push him to the moon should he be hired (RVD) is not an inspiring sign. Simply put, if TNA is ever to succeed as more than a "WWE-knockoff," they absolutely have to start pushing homegrown talent, new talent and talent that might not have ever been given a chance in bigger companies. Sure, allowances can be made from time to time for pushing guys who've come in from WWE -- but TNA should be careful of how they book these performers, as putting a "newcomer" WWE-ject midcard act over a "veteran" homegrown TNA main-eventer makes your entire company look all the more laughable by comparison.
3) The X Division is something of an anomaly, really, as TNA has pretty much gone out of their way to bury, mismanage and muddy up the poor thing in just about every fashion possible -- yet it still continues to survive. The Jackass stuff was certainly a low point, but the continued reliance on that overly-complicated World X Cup scoring system and bringing in foreign talent for "showcase" matches that ultimately didn't result in any major angle developments certainly didn't help matters, in the long run. People complained about Kevin Nash being booked as "the monster" of the X Division, but (as I said from the get-go) the guy's in-ring time was kept to a minimum throughout... and it's pretty hard to argue with success, as Nash's angle that resulted in "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal could easily be one of the best gimmicks to have emerged from TNA since LAX.
Samoa Joe was a tough call. On the one hand, he was home-grown and so putting him at the top of ANY division was a step in the right direction. But then again, since the X Division just so happened to be (at the time) the one area of TNA that was actually MOST dominated by "homegrown" talent... TNA's superhuman booking of The Samoan Submission Machine might have actually backfired there in the long run, as now even though TNA fans will buy Joe as "main event ready" (kinda like they bought Goldberg as WCW main-event ready when you think about it) -- he's up there in the main event with just about everybody else (excluding Sting and Abyss) who're all WWF/E alums.
I mean, you've got Angle, Christian, Tomko, Steiner, Rhino, heck even Jarrett... maybe even Sabu and RVD in the months to come. So basically what you've done is said "congrats for punking out all the TNA-originals in the little-league X-Division, Joe. Now you're qualified to take on the WWE-jects in our main event!"
So is there hope for TNA's main event yet?
4) Without question. A number of the TNA main-event-peripherals are bona-fide homegrown talents and/or guys who never really were given the chance to shine in other companies. Guys with limited/no runs in WWE like AJ Styles, Abyss and Christopher Daniels are all prime contenders to carry the TNA banner and serve as the "new face of professional wrestling" that TNA claims to be.
Veterans WITHOUT the recent stank of WWE on them (like Sting and even Jarrett when you think about it), if used wisely, are likewise crucial in their importance to forging TNA a main event identity of its own. Jarrett's recent program against Bobby Roode is proof of just how effective using a "TNA" guy to put over a TNA guy can be.
And WWE-alums like Christian, Killings and Rhino (and that's about it, really) are also of great value to TNA, as each of them can legitimately claim that they "weren't given a chance" in WWE (much like Benoit, Jericho, Eddie and the rest were stifled in WCW), and so it's their turn to shine in a promotion that will actually recognize them for their talent and give them the proper opportunity to run with the ball in TNA.
Hate to say it, but guys like Kurt Angle and RVD simply can't make those sorts of claims. BOTH guys pretty much washed out of WWE on account that they couldn't pass a drug test, and BOTH guys pretty much made it clear that they'd rather travel less and work "smarter" than travel more and work "harder." Not that you can blame 'em for wanting a lighter work load or what have you, but the bottom line is that BOTH of these guys were given an ample opportunity to headline in WWE, and -- thanks to personal indiscretions or whatever you wanna call 'em -- they blew it. It's like The Dudleyz whining about "not being given a chance" in WWE. Sure it's a nice promo and all, but they made good money and had a pretty well-decorated run up north, so nobody really buys it.
Since we've landed in TNA-land, let's turn to John Bryant, who's back with some Thinks on TNA:
always want to get your thoughts on my ideas. do you think TNA should bring in Matt Morgan,whom they are considering as Mitchell's new monster, rather than a sluggish hack like Ricky Bandumbass of WSX? I mean Morgan despite his tragically short run in WWE is one of the few very talented and athletic big men of wrestler, i'd say he's the Bam Bam Bigelow of this Generation. and besides if not that they could always hire him and Jindrax as their big men tag team or they could put Morgan and/or Jindrax in the X-division because despite their power these men,well Jindrax anyway, have proven they can fly. and as for Morgan well Samoa Joe didn't all around the ring, except when needed, and he got over heavy in the X-division.
also I wanna get your thoughts as to who else will be cut by WWE, I mean I know Nick and Scotty and Vito weren't doing anytime but Ariel was just on TV, like 2 days before she was released and Sabu....ah well who cares.
I was talking to my friend Sean Garmer, of the Triple Threat, and I was thinking perhaps if Aries/Starr got released WWE could sign him and he kind of vetoed that. but then I was thinking if they did managed to bring AS around then perhaps they could bring in someone for him to feud with, like maybe The Am Drag? just a thought.
Also, let's say WWE wanted to do a Sting or Jeff Jarrett DVD about their careers, Sting of course being in WCW. could they legally do it since they own the footage that they would put on the DVD?
- John Bryant
Thanks for writing, JB! Here's MeeThinks to your points, numbered accordingly.
1) It's gonna' be Ricky Banderas. And even if he's no great shakes in the ring, I'd *much* rather see TNA give a non-WWE-alum the chance to shine rather than simply trotting out yet ANOTHER WWE-ject like Matt Morgan to run roughshod over the TNA roster. Like I said to Robert above... there's a dangerous precedent in TNA to monster-push ANYONE who's ever been a WWE employee. And frankly, if this new guy is gonna' be as much of a "monster" as they're making him out to be -- why not give somebody else the chance to get over rather than simply rehashing a talent that fans will automatically see as nothing more than a guy who couldn't hack it in the 'E.
True, Matt Morgan has potential and there might be a place for him in TNA down the line... but as for now, I just can't see fans buying him as "THE" (long sounding "eee") new monster when the last memory most folks have of the guy is of him st-st-st-stuttering through Smackdown a few years back.
2) Who's next in line for the WWE cuts, you ask? Well if I were a betting man, I wouldn't be surprised to see what's left of the ECW "originals" gutted by the summer's end. No disrespect here, but guys like Balls Mahony should probably start booking independent dates, if they know what's good for 'em. Likewise you can probably say so-long to Shannon Moore, and expect to see a few more folks let go from the developmentals... and maybe a guy the level of Super Crazy if WWE is feeling particularly heartless and looking to cut their losses on the injured reserve.
3) Austin Starr in WWE is something that I honestly would *not* like to see, and realistically I just don't think WWE is all that interested in the guy these days either. He's been a backstage pain in TNA, and with Teddy Hart likely bound for WWE's locker room any day now -- I just don't see what purpose it serves to introduce aNOTHER "bad apple" to an already volatile backstage environment. Besides, Starr doesn't even have the legacy to play off of that's earned Teddy a free pass... so I wouldn't count on it.
Alex Shelley in WWE, however, is something that I most certainly WOULD like to see. The guy is flat-out awesome in the ring and on the microphone, and I have every hope in the world that in five years' time, he'll be wearing championship gold for one company or another as a result of his top-notch performances. Think Chris Jericho, ya' know?
4) A Sting or Jarrett DVD from WWE. Could they do it? Legally speaking, there'd be no question as they own the rights to all the WCW libraries (and the old WWF libraries, in Jarrett's case). Practically speaking, WOULD they do it?
Not likely. So long as Sting and/or Jeff Jarrett are competing for a rival promotion, it makes just about ZERO sense to help lend those guys free advertising by making fans excited about their "legacy" one again (and risking those same fans tuning in to TNA to see what those guys are up to) just to sell a few DVDs that WWE could easily market ten years or so down the road.
Finally, Troy has some Thinks of his own on topics all over the wrestling map... so I'll let him have the floor to close out this section!
I enjoy your column very much. I look forward to reading it each week. Please allow me to rant for a few.
First with TNA. Christian should still be the champ. He is by far the best wrestler/character they have going. All things considered wrestling ability, mic skills, character believability, he's the whole package for TNA. When he's on the mic nothing he says seems forced (John Cena) it just flows along with the moment. His character is strait out heel no in between (Kurt Angle). Also with his character like some of the most successful it seems like he's being himself just with the volume turned all the way up. And lastly if done right, a one on one program with Samoa Joe for the belt culminating in Joe taking the belt (after say a 2 or 3 month program) could have been gold, and built Joe back up. Like him or not Joe's momentum is gone and the instant classic could have helped him get it back.
Now for the WWE. I'll start by saying it's about time they put the belt back on Edge (the World Championship). The guy is the best heel going. Face it John Cena is getting stale. They have had him beat everyone so there's no one left to put the belt on (Oh yeah Trips is coming back so they'll put the belt on him we haven't seen that before). So on Raw we can look forward to what HHH vs Cena HHH vs HBK (that's fresh) or maybe HHH vs Orotn (snore). But over on SmackDown if they do what's right and keep the belt on Edge for say 7 or 8 months we can see Edge vs Benoit, Edge vs Rey, Edge vs Batista, Edge vs Kennedy now those are fresh feuds that have potential to kick ass. Also Edge just may be what Kennedy needs to become the next big star. Please write your thoughts on these matters .
I'm out
- Troy
Thanks for YourThinks, Troy! Here's mine:
1) TNA's title picture is an interesting one. I fully agree with you that Christian Cage is, hands-down, THE (long sounding "eee") single greatest heel in the wrestling business today -- but that's not to say that he necessarily needs to be toting around the TNA World Title to prove the point. With the King of the Mountain qualifier matches dominating TNA programming for the next month or so -- fans still have every reason to tune in to the program and get excited for the title hunt, and in the mean time Christian fans don't have to run the risk of the champ's title reign getting lost in the shuffle as he's forced to share the spotlight with nine other guys when he's supposed to be booked as the dominant champion going into the PPV.
So yeah --
Christian = GOLD, but that doesn't always mean that Christian needs to be WEARING gold along the way. He's still red hot and firmly planted in TNA's title picture without it... and MeeThinks he's bound to be a fixture in TNA's main event scene for a LONNNNG time to come.
2) Edge as World Champion likewise freshens things up on the WWE side of things, as the guy is a natural heel and has done wonders in his top-of-the-card programs against John Cena and dX. Amazingly, he's kept his star power intact despite walking out of each of his feuds the LOSER over the past 365, and so it's good to see him moved over to Smackdown where -- thanks to the returning roster of guys fresh from injury that we mentioned before -- he should have a ton of "new faces" to work with along the way.
Alright, let's wrap this puppy up.
And With That, I'm Outta' Here
Thanks again for reading, all. Not a lot in the way of "breadth" of wrestling news this week, as I'm sure you've noticed, but a ton of topics that deserved a serious "depth" of analysis, and so kudos to those of y'all who've managed to stick with Mee this far. Enjoy the PPV-free, three-day Memorial Weekend, get pumped for Saturday Night's Main Event, the One Night Stand pay-per-view, plus the "Night of Champions" RAW that's rumored to be right around the corner a week or two from Monday night (more on that one next week, I'm sure), and always stay positive!
