The Way I C It 3.31.08: WrestleMania Hangover Edition
Posted by Chris Lansdell on 03.31.2008
A rant on a guy I've defended until now, a condensed WWE look, another rant on TNA, and, of course, feedback. Oh, and thank you Ric Flair.
Greetings, humanity! Welcome, once again, to the corner of the IWC that I like to call The Way I C It. I am your incredibly hyped host, Chris Lansdell, and I still don't understand why I bother defending Triple H.
You know, I imagine that if most of us were in his position, namely banging the boss's hot daughter, we would do a lot of things the same as HHH has. Title runs? Sure, why not? Lots of face time? Well, it makes money. Go to great lengths to get myself over and stay there? Hey, if the fans like it, go ahead. There was a period in wrestling where HHH dominated everyone and everything on WWE programming, destroying every credible threat to "his" title. RVD, Booker T, Orton, Jericho...and when someone came along that good old Dad wouldn't let him squash, he made his own belt. I have not defended these actions, nor will I. I also won't bash him for beer-ying Goldberg (who only signed short-term) or Steiner (who was a loose wire waiting for a pool of water). Even the constant beer-ial of the Spirit Squad is somewhat excusable...they just weren't ready.
Things changed, though. HHH disappeared for a while, others got over, and when he came back he stayed away from the title hunt. At one point, and I wish I could remember the exact circumstances, he lost a match that had a stipulation saying he would never get another title shot if he lost. He put over Jeff Hardy, clean I might add, and despite not giving Umaga a win in their feud, he made him look strong. People still bitched about him hogging the spotlight, but he was not holding the title (with the exception of a 2-hour reign at No Mercy) and was not getting any more face time than Cena, Hornswoggle or Edge.
Even though HHH lost last night, that was never going to be the reason for this rant.
On their roster, or in their employ, WWE has Dusty Rhodes, Arn Anderson, and unless something drastic happened recently, Ricky Steamboat. They also have Reid Flair in developmental, and are not on bad terms with Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon, David Flair and Harley Race. Hell, for something this big, they might even have been able to get Sting, although that's a big stretch. So tell me: With all of those (arguably) better choices available to them...WHY did TRIPLE bloody H get to induct Ric Flair???
Someone has to tell this guy that it's OK to take a back seat occasionally. I get that Flair is his hero, but dammit he's the hero of half the professional wrestlers alive today! I get that banging Steph comes with privileges, but they have to make sense, man! HHH is the most over face on the roster, so him winning titles or dominating the shows at least makes sense. In this case, he's just using his status to get what he wants, and that right there makes me sorry I ever spoke a word in support of the man. Would it have been so hard, if HHH absolutely HAD to be there, to have more than one person induct him? For a name like Flair, it wouldn't have been wrong. Hell, Dusty had 2 people!
Triple H remains a very talented wrestler and performer. He has an ego, but so do all the greats, and until now I've been willing to overlook it. No more.
Rant mode off. I hope everyone enjoyed the spectacle last night as much as I did. Given that Mania ended almost all the angles in WWE, I have a very small portion of WWE to bring you. For my thoughts on Mania, along with those of Slimmer, Minotti, and drunken JT and Small (paint your own mental picture!) you can check out the Instant Analysis right here. Also due to the PPV, this column is going to be somewhat shorter than normal. Are we all sitting comfortably? Then let's begin!
The Way I C The E
Just some random observations from me this week, as I can sum up every angle like this: We built to WrestleMania.
If, as has been suggested, Jericho goes to Smackdown post-Mania and feuds with MVP, I cannot wait for the inevitable Edge-Jericho feud. I can't remember them feuding before, which means it's one of the last fresh big feuds WWE has, and both Edge and Smackdown need some freshness like a teenage girl walking down the beach talking with her mother about Summer's Eve.
When Jericho kicked Punk to end the match on Raw, I thought we were heading for a post-match brawl, but they just went to commercial. How anti-climactic. I would have enjoyed watching Jericho and MVP going to sleep. Did I mention I'm a Punk mark?
Technically, with Khali being taller than Big Show and only 10lbs lighter, isn't KHALI the biggest athlete on the planet? I know we're not supposed to think, but this one just seems obvious...
As a wrestling journalist, it is my job to talk about what happened on wrestling shows. Normally this doesn't present a problem. Sometimes I have difficulty finding the right words to adequately describe a move, an atmosphere, or a match overall. Never before have I been so profoundly speechless over a promo. Michaels and Flair are two of the best on the mic, we knew this going into the feud. But never before have I experienced the raw passion and intensity that they both brought to that...absolutely incredible confrontation. It started off like most other promos, and the pacing and intensity just built and built until...WHAM, Michaels drops it right back down to first gear and walks away, not needing to spoil it with the super kick we all thought was coming. Pity is far more damaging to Flair's ego than an attack would have been. The only thing that hurt it was Jim Ross staying loud and hyped up after the Mayweather clip. They should have had Ross and Lawler go quiet and subdued, as they've done before for much lesser promos, and THEN done the Mayweather stuff before heading to commercial. Byers and I were discussing Raw on MSN, and as he's in the US and I'm in Canada where we have a 15 minute delay, he saw the promo long before me. He warned me not to switch off during Khali-Holly (and I wanted to SO MUCH), and was marking out like 10-year-olds at a joint Cena/Hannah Montana autograph signing. Once I saw it, we both agreed: End voting for Promo of the Year. It's over.
The Way I C The T
I have to weigh in on Robbiegate. As soon as I read the caption I thought "Oh SNAP!" and posted to 3 different places. Since then I have been alternating between thinking he is an idiot, thinking WWE are tyrants, and thinking TNA are assholes. In reality, all 3 probably apply. TNA should have known that showing him on air would jeopardise his career, and should have had more respect for the man and his family. Robbie should have known better and either stayed backstage like Shannon and Chavo, or not gone at all. No way he and Johnny Devine, who he allegedly went to see, are closer than Chavo and Hector, or Edge and Christian. When were they shown on camera? Oh that's right: THEY WEREN'T! And of course, WWE should not have put their employees in the impossible position of being so near to family and friends who they have not seen for a while, and yet tell them not to talk to them. It's like putting a fat kid in a room with a Big Mac and telling him not to touch. Regardless, the next time we see Groundskeeper Robbie (don't pretend you never thought of it!) will be on an episode of "Bart's People" saying "I used to be Robbie!"
For a show that TNA had been hyping as "huge", and their "biggest Impact ever", it was a letdown. I can't help but feel that the Storm run-in only happened because they were live and knew they could get away with a surprise for a change. It's not like they're going to make the teams 5 on 5...Otherwise, the main event was pretty paint-by-numbers PPV hype, although it was too close to giving away the PPV main for free.
More fantastic work between Booker and Roode. You almost feel like they legit hate each other. I love the booking of Roode as a non-chicken shit heel. Booker's promo was OK...normally I'm as big a fan of intense Booker as I am of intense Angle, but he fell over a couple of parts and it killed the atmosphere a bit. This angle is still one of the best on TV right now and long may it reign. Shame they had to put them in a gimmick match on free TV, but I guess they wanted big stuff for the live show.
You have to wonder if the bookers could hear the crowd going nuts for Shelley. The use of the Codebreaker by mid-carders continues as Shelley busted it out this week. Like I said from day 1, not a great choice of finisher of Jericho. Not that he's used it much. The jobbing out of the Guns continued after a very good match and a double underhook piledriver for the finish, which was a pleasant surprise. Regarding the Guns, I read a very interesting comment elsewhere on the site, which I feel deserves to be highlighted:
TNA only books this way so you people will have something to bitch about. IT'S
WRESTLING PEOPLE! It's not supposed to be totally believable. Guys like MCMG's
are so over with the fanboys they don't need a push. You are buying their merch
without it!
Posted By: wrestling fan for 30+ years (Guest) on March 30, 2008 at 02:27 PM
Interesting take, that people should not necessarily be pushed just because they are over. The live crowd in the Impact Zone were off the hook loud, and this is despite weeks of Gun-jobbing. You need people in your midcard to be over, or nobody will watch anything but the main event. WWE would do well to notice that.
ANOTHER Machismo-SoCal segment, lifting weights this time, and we all know where this is leading....Sonjay walks off with Val leaving Machismo with the weights on his chest. What got to me was this exchange:
Val: What are you doing here?
Sonjay: I don't know...
If that doesn't sound like a TNA bookers' meeting, I don't know what does.
On a side note, TNA have to be smarting that at that 1.0 rating from their first foray into live. It seems like no matter what they do, TNA cannot draw in new viewers.
The Way U C Me
Chris Jacobs is back via email:
Yeah the punishment should be over, I agree with that, but you never about the attitude of these guys. Maybe they havent changed, and are now just bitter with the punishment. They just need to get their act together. I liked MCMG, and I wish them the best, but wrestling needs to lose the ego problems, ecspecially if you are just a bunch of glorified indy guys
TNA is a glorified Indy right now, so they should feel right at home. I accept your point that we don't know what the Guns are like backstage, and if they truly have learned nothing from the jobbing, then perhaps they do need more of it. The thing is, it doesn't seem to be making a difference with the fans, and all reports say that the fans are the only thing Shelley and Sabin care about. As for wrestling losing ego problems...the biggest and best performers of all time have been walking ego problems: Shawn, Flair, Hogan, Nash. Getting rid of them altogether is counter-productive, but newcomers need to be put in their places.
About the SM on Punk's bandage, I'm pretty sure it was meant for Joe since his
birthday was last Monday.
Posted By: soulpower (Guest) on March 24, 2008 at 12:58 PM
So it would seem. I still think it would have been funny had it been Santino's birthday though.
The Mid Card wasn';t buried,they ought to have benn just happoy they were even
in a Raw main Event w/ 2 of the 3 guys in the Mania Main Event,they all should
begged to get an RKO or Fu in that match.I mean c,mon,Duggan or Kendrick are
too big to take one of them moves????
Posted By: Greg (Guest) on March 24, 2008 at 02:24 PM
Not at all. They're not too big to lose, but beating them with one move each (except DH Smith, strangely enough) sends the message that they are nowhere near the level of Cena and Orton and never will be. Basically, the result was fine, the execution sucked. Take a look at Flair: no matter who he beat, he always made them look great in defeat. Like Ric says in his book: If you make your opponent look like a chump, you look less impressive when you beat them. It's a bit of a loaded comparison because Flair was never faced with 17 guys at once, but that's part of my point: the situation should not have arisen, and given that it did, the mass pile-on and beatdown should have come a lot sooner, when more guys were there to do it. Here's how I would have booked it:
Santino, Super Crazy and Duggan get beaten easily. After brief flurries, DH Smith and Val Venis get pinned. Everyone else piles in and attacks. In the brawl, JBL hits Umaga, who goes nuts and starts killing people. Cena or Orton slips out to get a chair, and clears the ring of everyone else until Umaga catches him. BATSITA comes out and fights down the aisle with Umaga, while HHH comes and does his thing. That way, your comedy heel and 2 jobbers get squashed, 2 other jobbers get beaten, and nobody you want to build looks bad.
Back to throw my hat into the ring again...
I'm taking some liberties for Team Great Britain, and assuming it's Team
UK...just so we can include a certain irishman...
Singles Match:
Two of the younger generation of Brits, one of the most controversial champions
in recent memory against one of the most talented youngsters to lace up a pair
of wrestling boots (or pirate boots).
Nigel McGuinness vs "The Ripper" Paul Burchill
Triple Threat:
This is a bit of a dream match, spanning 3 generations...which would also
probably end up being just about the hardest hitting match on the card.
Johnny Saint vs Fit Finlay vs Doug Williams
Gimmick Match:
I'm undecided what gimmick would fit best...a lot of people would go ladder,
but I'm thinking a cage match, in the style of ROH's scramble cages. Lots of
high flying spots would fit perfectly for these guys:
PAC vs Jody Fleish vs Jonny Storm vs Zebra Kid
Tag Team Match:
No explanation necessary.
The Blue Bloods ("Lord "Steven Regal & "Squire" David
Taylor) vs The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid
Posted By: ausjimmy (Guest) on March 25, 2008 at 05:28 AM
Once again you have made some excellent choices, although I'm going to have to say no to Finlay, as he is not British. We could slide the kayfabed Piper in there, or Robbie Brookside at a push. I'm drooling at the thought of the tag match and the scramble cage though.
"kong kills bitches dead" LOL
thanks for featuring hamada vs kong by the way, it's from my Youtube channel
toyota vs aja is one of the best feuds joshi has ever made. it was rekindled
both at aja's 20th anniversary show last 2006 and at toyota's 20th anniversary
show last august 2007. it's one feud i think i'll never get enough of
paul burchill on raw might mean a decent title push for him. i think he's okay
and if y2j decided to give him the rub, i would enjoy it
Posted By: kapengmabula (Guest) on March 26, 2008 at 01:17 AM
Burchill is a fine choice for a mini-push, don't get me wrong. I just think it's a waste of time to bring Jericho back and have him putting everyone over without winning anything himself.
Anyone who enjoyed the Joshi column really should check out kapengmabula's YouTube channel. Some incredible and awesome matches on there. Toyota vs Kong is an formidable feud and produced a great series of matches, better than almost anything in North America from men OR women.
The Olympic plan is taking a week off while everyone is still suffering a WrestleMania hangover. With that said, that's pretty much game, set and match boys and girls. Keep an eye out for more me on this week's Buy or Sell, and coming soon, a video review column from yours truly.
"Robbie should have known better and either stayed backstage like Shannon and Chavo, or not gone at all."
Ahhhh . . . finally, an explanation for the Kane squash.
Posted By: McLovin (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 02:14 PM
Unless it transpires down the road that Ric Flair actually ASKED Triple H to induct him, I agree somewhat. You could also argue that John Cena shouldn't have introduced the recap video, since Orton is the champion after all. No complaints on the speeches themselves, though.
Posted By: T.G. Corke (Registered) on March 31, 2008 at 02:17 PM
Did you hear Flair? He and HHH are buddies, he wanted it that way
Posted By: dAVE!!! (Registered) on March 31, 2008 at 02:20 PM
"WHY did TRIPLE bloody H get to induct Ric Flair???"
Didn't Flair pick HHH for the induction?
Posted By: anon (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 02:38 PM
With Dave Fit Finlay being from Carrickfergus, he's British.
Posted By: ButchReedMark (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 02:43 PM
Yeah, I remember reading somewhere that Flair wanted Triple H to induct him into the HOF. I'm no huge fan of the guy (HHH) but it sounds like he was asked and this had nothing to do with politics.
Posted By: BJC (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 02:46 PM
Finlay's from Northern Ireland, so he's legally entitled to declare himself British or Irish.
Posted By: Luke (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 02:47 PM
finlays defo from northern ireland which is part of britain
and theres ya explanation for the chavo killing right there
Posted By: macca (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 03:05 PM
Leave Finlay alone, he's proud to be Irish, less than 100 years ago us Canadians were still technically British as well, be still called ourselves Canadians.
Posted By: Joel Yeomans (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 03:10 PM
No matter where the WWE think Belfast is (Finlay announced from Belfast, Ireland last night at wrestlemania, other times North Ireland), it is infact the capital of Northern Ireland. Which is part of the United Kingdom and also the British Isles. To be technical its not actually part of Great Britain. They even showed the Irish Flag last night when Finaly came out, even thought the Northern Ireland flag was clearly visible throughout the night with a fan holding it at ringside. Highly annoying. Im sure a Dubliner would be equally annoyed.
Posted By: Simone65 (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 03:10 PM
Dude, get over your markish views of Triple H. You don't think RIC FLAIR chose Triple H to induct him? He probably thought he already had a big match fued with Triple H, and since Shawn Michaels was retiring him, Triple H would induct him. Face it, this isn't a power trip! Ric and Triple H are good friends. And just because you have a hard on for him just cuz he's "married to the boss's daughter". I guess anyone with an opinion can write a wrestling column.
Posted By: The Rob (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 03:44 PM
Dude, MVP's Flair promo was EVERY BIT AS GOOD as Michaels/Flair.
Flair: "You can't lace their boots kid."
MVP: "Well, that's ok, because they can lace mine.. and. so. can. you."
Posted By: Probes (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 04:29 PM
Hey I just would like you comment on your rant about HHH and how he got to induct Ric Flair into the hall. Well if you would have read Flair's book, you would have known that not only is Flair not as close to those people, but HHH was/is one of the only friends Flair has in the WWE, let alone the world. Most of those people you mentioned he's either lost touch with, or he has an on again, off again relationship with (The American dream for example). I know this is only your opinion but I think you might want to be a little more informed on the issues before taking a stance. Would it have made more sense for the story aspect for one of those people to induct him? yea. But its Flair's choice. And when has the best "storyline guy" been the one to induct people. If you need more proof look at Hogan (who was inducted by an actor). I just disagree with your statement here.
Posted By: Danny (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 05:40 PM
Wow you just Bumgarnered your entire article. How embarrassing, the entire basis of your rant was erroneous. Seriously fact check, before you make a complete fool out of yourself.
I found it really funny when Finlay came out they cut to a shot of the Republic flag, when the Northern Ireland flag was clearly visible in an earlier shot.
Posted By: Guest#9910 (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 05:55 PM
Also, Triple H is probably the wrestlier with the strongest association with the WWE brand and business at the moment, for all the reasons you gave above. This was Vince's main man doing the induction, which I thought was cool.
Posted By: Palmer (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 06:09 PM
"On their roster, or in their employ, WWE has Dusty Rhodes, Arn Anderson, and unless something drastic happened recently, Ricky Steamboat. They also have Reid Flair in developmental, and are not on bad terms with Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon, David Flair and Harley Race. Hell, for something this big, they might even have been able to get Sting, although that's a big stretch. So tell me: With all of those (arguably) better choices available to them...WHY did TRIPLE bloody H get to induct Ric Flair???"
Wow. How do you have a column here again? At Flair's last wedding, none of those old timers were tapped to be Flair's best man. Trips got that honor. He inducted Flair into the Hall, because Flair wanted him to. He also didn't make his own because of Lesnar. WWE wanted to split the roster since they brought WCW.
Posted By: William (Guest) on March 31, 2008 at 07:24 PM
I am so sick of the Triple H hate. All you internet guys hate on him. He hasn't had the world title in 3 years!! And he's done the JOB to Batista, Cena and now to Orton. Chill out on the hate. And by the way, he's still the most over guy in the company so even if he was champ it would be deserved. Its funny how all you guys hate on Triple H but still worship that piece of shit Wife and Child murderer Benoit. Ooooh he had good matches so who cares if he killed his family. That was real life and I think any match with that asshole should not be on any best match list. Not anymore. He lost that right when he KILLED his wife and CHILD. You people amaze me sometimes.
Posted By: Thanks Ric (Guest) on April 01, 2008 at 02:32 AM
"Thanks Ric", Chris Benoit didn't lose any right, asshole. He deserves to be in any top match list as the WRESTLER, not the murderer. I in no way support him killing his family but I do respect everything BEFORE that. I can remember the good, not the bad, why can't you?
Anyways, I think its pretty sad to bitch, whine and moan because Triple H got to induct Flair in the hall of fame. They are buddies, Flair wanted him to. You defended him back when he squashed the whole tag division but you bash him when he did what Flair wanted?
Posted By: Jones (Guest) on April 01, 2008 at 03:01 AM
You seem to have a clue about this stuff so can you answer me a question? I would ask my mate Joe but I can't be arsed.
Is Ulster and Eire a dual passport situation if it's too their wishes? I imagine that if Finlay is a Fenian he'd be more likely to not mind himself recognized as being from Eire, but if he's CofE he'd be more likely to announce himself as Northern Irish and the UK. I've just confused myself. Help.
But Regardless, geographically Dave Fit Finlay would be on a UK Team. Shame on you Chris, I don't say Washington D.C. is in Canada and Toronto is in Alabama.
A basic grasp of matters geographical would be nice please.
Posted By: ButchReedMark (Guest) on April 01, 2008 at 03:11 AM
Butchreidmark, Dave Finlay is, from what i hear a Protestant from Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. A Fenian is a derogatory term for a Roman Catholic. Most Protestants consider themselves British and would say they are part of the United Kingdom. If you were born in Nortern Ireland you can hold a UK passport or an Irish Passport or both at the same time. Before the Partition of Ireland in 1921 all of Ireland was under British Rule.
Posted By: Simone65 (Guest) on April 01, 2008 at 06:25 AM
I didn't read all of your column, but I think why Triple H inducted is Ric Flair probably asked Tirple H to induct him. When Flair came to WWE, it was Triple H who say Flair sitting in an empty arena and went over to talk to him to cheer him up and give him a pep talk and then Triple started Evolution with Ric Flair. Triple H showed a lot of respect and appreciation to Flair. Triple H has put people over cleanly, and hasn't held the title for a long time. Walk a mile in someone's shoes before you judge them, instead of sticking your foot in your mouth.
Posted By: Chico (Guest) on April 01, 2008 at 02:35 PM
I was trying to keep my team based in the reality of here & now, which is why Booker is in, and Austin, Flair, and so many other past greats aren't in there.
Posted By: twf's sdc (Guest) on April 01, 2008 at 03:15 PM
I'm not a HHH mark far from it but I do agree with the general consensus here than the guy was asked by Flair to induct him, it has absolutely nothing to do with his power backstage .
Flair was asked who he wanted to get inducted by and HE requested HHH .
It's Hunter who told Vince to bring Flair back in 2002, to give him a great tribute match and a standing ovation on RAW .
And it's again him who played the mediator between Ric and Vince the last summer when everything seemed lost and they wouldn't communicate anymore .
And like stated HHH hasn't wear a gold title since 3 long years now .
Even better, the guy agreed to JOB not once not twice not even three times but FOUR times on a row at Mania !
What else could you ask for him now ?
Sorry but he did what was right for the business the past years more than not .
And if Ric Flair got such a fantastic tribute the past three nights it was because of one HHH
Posted By: Alexander Matthew (Guest) on April 02, 2008 at 03:20 AM
Yeah, sorry Lansdell but I called it before anyone else in the comments section. Flair requested Triple H induct him, so I'm afraid you now owe Triple H an apology in next week's article.
Posted By: T.G. Corke (Registered) on April 02, 2008 at 06:31 AM
Lansdell = Self-Pwn'd
Ric ASKED Trip's to induct him, it's been reported on multiple websites INCLUDING THIS ONE !! Get your facts straight before you rant dude, I usually enjoy your column but you made yourself look like a total arse hack this week.
Posted By: G3KKO (Guest) on April 02, 2008 at 12:12 PM
Edge and Jericho feuded briefly in 2002. Jericho cost Edge and Hogan the tag titles at Vengeance and they had a cage match on SD that Edge separated his shoulder during, I think it was the same night Mysterio debuted. The SD before Jericho and the Un-Americans jumped to RAW.
Posted By: Mike Campbell (Registered) on April 02, 2008 at 10:28 PM
