High Road/Low Road 05.09.08: Shark Boy
Posted by Sat & Uncletrunx on 05.09.2008
Shark Boy has been using the Stone Cold gimmick for a few months. Is this a good move by TNA or a bad move? You decide in this week's High Road/Low Road.
Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road!
A brief explanation of the column: Uncletrunx takes the Low Road (negative view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related "stuff" while Sat takes the High Road (positive view).
As we wrote last week, Uncletrunx got married. He managed to finish the High Road/Low Road portion before he left for his trip. He won't be responding to the comments or emails, but I will forward your well wishes to him when he gets back.
The Results for the HBK/Batista Feud:
High Road: 81%
Low Road: 19%
Both Roads: 00%
Shark Boy
High Road:
Jay Lethal has shown that you can have success by copying a gimmick, so why not try it with another wrestler. If it works once, then you would be stupid not to try it again. Jay Lethal was a good wrestler, but his Macho Man gimmick is the thing that made him an X-Division star. I think that Shark Boy can have the same success with his Stone Cold gimmick.
Low Road:
Some things are funny once and then swiftly become a formula. Jay Lethal as Black Machismo worked because it was an innovation; having someone impersonate a legend was a new thing and it was a breath of fresh air for a guy going nowhere. Now, it looks to me as if it's likely to become a TNA formula; if they have a jobber or lower card guy and they don't know what to do with him, make him impersonate a legend.
High Road:
Whenever the old Shark Boy came out, I knew that it was an automatic loss and that was because the old Shark Boy never won. Now, with his new gimmick, he is now winning some matches, so now the outcome is not known for Shark Boy's matches. The new gimmick for Shark Boy has eliminated the feeling in the fans' mind that he was going to lose when he came out.
Low Road:
So it's turned him from a jobber to a tribute wrestler. With Black Machismo it was amusing but I questioned how long it would last. Now, far from moving Lethal on to better things, it looks like we're going to get a whole load more of the same, just when TNA looked to have turned their booking around from silly gimmicks. At this rate, we'll have a tribute division before much longer.
High Road:
I would say that the X-Division has lost most of their stars and the division is in dire need of some guys that can hold the title. Right now I would say that there are two guys that can hold the title and they are Jay Lethal and Petey Williams. Besides those two, I think that the others are a stretch. I think that with his new gimmick, Shark Boy could easily be elevated to the title, while the other wrestlers would need a few wins before they could legitimately bought as champion. Plus, Shark Boy as the X-Division champion would give us a smoking shark skull title.
Low Road:
If they want any advice on how to utterly destroy the X division, the words "Smoking Skull Shark Title" should give them a really good pointer.
High Road:
The reason that this gimmick is working so well is that he sounds just like Stone Cold Steve Austin. That is also the same reason why Jay Lethal's gimmick worked so well. Shark Boy has done a great job in impersonating Stone Cold and that is one of the things that has made the gimmick work so well.
Low Road:
It can be the best impersonation in the world; it's still an impersonation. If TNA want to be a major promotion, having a whole load of tribute wrestlers is not going to give the impression that they are major league.
High Road:
I was watching Lockdown a few weeks ago and I was surprised to see the number of people who were wearing the Shark Boy 24/7 T-Shirt. So, I decided to see where Shark Boy ranks in sales for TNA, so I went to JP's Hamilton Avenue Journal. From the article, I discovered that Shark Boy's 24/7 T-Shirt is the fourth best selling item for TNA. Shark Boy is a great character for TNA because he is selling merchandise for them and they were probably not expecting that to be the case.
Low Road:
Merchandise sales are not the be all and end all of wrestling. I've seen tribute shows where a lot of merchandise changes hands, but long term they will always be tribute shows. If TNA want to be seen as a global entity on the same level as WWE, things like tribute wrestlers have to go, in my view.
High Road:
As I wrote above, the fans are buying his t-shirt and they are always cheering him when he comes out. What does this tell us? It tells us that he is getting a reaction from the fans and that is really important. For example, Johnny Devine rarely gets a reaction. Does Rellik get a reaction? Most of the guys in TNA are unable to get a reaction from the crowd and that is just another reason why Shark Boy is a valuable asset for TNA.
Low Road:
A reaction is good, but there's a dark side to this; guys who TNA give original gimmicks to fail, while guys they use as tribute acts get a response. That suggests that we'll see more tributes and less original acts. Rather than fixing what's wrong with their original concepts, there's the risk that they'll go with the "quick fix" at the expense of the longer term. That, to me, is not a good thing.
Simply write "High Road", "Low Road", or "Both Roads" in the comment section.
E-Mails:
These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.
Tim Schmidt Writes:
High road. This feud has been rather entertaining. The promos have been great and they tried their best to get the fans emotionally into it by making Shawn sad and Batista angry. The best thing about this was there was no clear cut face/heel. Meaning, neither guy was shoved at us being good or bad. The match at Backlash was good, but not the great the promos led us to believe. Final note, congratulations Trunx. Hope you and your lady are happy together.
Sat: I'll forward your well wishes to Uncletrunx when he gets back. The match was decent, but not what I expected. It could have been better.
Joe Osbourne Writes:
This whole feud to me does seem to be a little forced. While I'm not a big fan of Shawn Michaels or Batista, I have enjoyed the interviews. Being an "old school" Bret Hart fan, I would much prefer if they used the presence of "Natalya" Neidhart and "DH" Smith, and build something with that on the Shawn Michaels' front. If they were to turn Batista heel, then I'd say it was worth it. If they don't, then I'm going to have to lean towards the Low Road. I can't really take "Both Roads". Seems like a cop-out to me. Unfortunately due to Jericho being wasted here, I will say Low Road. Jericho should have taken that belt off Orton, and I'm very disappointed that he had his big return to, "Save Us", and didn't. Perhaps because it was originally intended for John Cena. Either way, it's low road, because Jericho deserves better. He really is living up to his nickname, "Highlight of the Night", I just wish he'd be rewarded with World title gold. He only got to be Champ for a little time before jobbing to Triple H. Now Trips is holding the belt, yet again. It's just kind of annoying. From Cena to Orton to Triple H. What about Jericho? What about Edge? What about Raven? Oh...never mind. Old catchphrase. Anyway, I lost the point which is the low road of Michaels/Batista, which is, to me Jericho's pointless wasted role.
Sat: Jericho has been wasted in this feud. The only way I would say that he was not wasted is if he starts feuding with HBK. Plus, I am not the biggest HBK fan either; I am also a Bret Hart fan.
Joyce Wexler Writes:
High Road - It keeps these three favorites of mine on the front burner!!
Sat: Good point.
Comments:
411 has added a new feature. Below are the comments for last week's columns and our responses. The comments that will be included will be the ones that pertain to this week's column. Also, your comment will not be included if you are commenting on another reader's comment. The comments are as of Thursday Morning Pacific Time.
Save ECW 222 Writes:
High road. The promos were good and the match was fine. I liked this match. Wayto go Trunx!! Hope you and your special someone have a happy life together.
Sat: I'll forward your well wishes to Uncletrunx when he gets back. I was expecting a lot more from the match, but it was okay.
Gary Writes:
No good heel wrestlers on Raw???What about Orton?He's the top heel on all shows.
Sat: You can't just have one heel. I would say that the two top ones are JBL and Orton. Then the faces are Cena, HHH, HBK, and Jericho.
Reichou Writes:
High road. This angle is realistic, and WWE fans haven't always had good reason to suspend disbelief. While some young kids may not understand the complexity, this feud is almost a reward for the long-term fans who often get neglected by a company who tries so hard to recruit new fans that they sometimes forget the die-hard ones.
I didn't understand why Jericho had to be involved, although someone with great mic skills needs to play Devil's Advocate. Besides, the fans won't accept a Jericho heel turn unless it's against one of the company's top faces.
To me, the biggest problem I have with the feud is the fact that HHH isn't getting involved one way or the other - unless they're going to use his selfish focus on winning the world title rather than his friendships with Flair/HBK/Batista as the rationale behind his rumored upcoming heel turn.
This feud could lead to so many great stories unfolding. It's too early to tell how crucial this feud might be in the direction the WWE takes over the next year, but there's potential for some of the E's most popular characters to
make major changes. This is what storytelling is all about - people the audience has gotten attached to dealing with adversity and changing.
Sat: Good point about the complexity of this feud. I think Jericho in this match might be leading to a feud with Jericho. If HHH had been involved in this feud, 411 would have blown up with the HHH bashing.
Michelle Writes:
Congrats Trunx. :) High road.
Sat: I'll forward your reply to Uncletrunx when he gets back.
Evil Dave 83 Writes:
High road. The promos have been great, the match itself was solid and enjoyable, and the inclusion of Jericho, far from being pointless, seems to have given the story-line a fresh direction after the match. If, as seems to be the case, this is heading into an HBK-Y2J feud then I am really excited: we could be on the brink of the most enjoyable feud of the year bar none, because everyone knows what these guys can do on the mic and in the ring. Like so much of the booking concerning Flair's retirement, HBK vs. Batista has been of a very high quality.
Sat: Excellent points; I really hope that we get to see Y2J/HBK.
Raven Effect Writes:
I'm going to go with high road overall. This has been a good feud, and it is one we really haven't seen before. That is always really nice to see. Something fresh. Plus, HBK can have a great match with anybody. He can drag crappy wrestlers through a great match. Not everybody likes Batista, but he's no crappy wrestler. He can have some pretty darn good matches, as his feuds with the Undertaker have demonstrated. So, this has been a great feud so far and could even be a classic moving on.
I actually have to disagree with most people on one thing, though. I honestly think Big Dave's reasoning behind the feud are pretty immature and unrealistic. After all, true, storyline-wise nobody wanted to see Ric Flair's career have to end. However, Batista's main reason behind the feud is he felt Shawn should have laid down for Flair so Naitch's career could continue... something Flair would have been P*$$ED off and downright insulted by.
Flair would NOT have wanted somebody to lay down for him. He wouldn't have picked HBK for the match at Wrestlemania if he did. Anybody with half a brain can see that, so to me, it just makes Batista look like a big child. Flair wanted, flat out DEMANDED Shawn's best, so the Showstopper could not give him anything else. Who knows, though? Maybe it will lead to a heel turn for Big Dave when it turns out that the REAL reason he is so mad is because HE wanted the distinction of ending Flair's career. That could be good. Otherwise, I just think his reasoning is weak.
Sat: The fact that this is something new is very important to be. Plus, I never understand the Batista hate. He is decent enough in the ring. The Batista argument is kind of a stretch, but it is really hard for both guys to have a decent argument.
Captain Smooth Writes:
High Road. I would love for HBK to go all Christian on Batista and trash his mom for being a lesbian. It would be interesting to see who the fans would cheer for.
Sat: I am sure they would cheer for Batista. I don't even see HBK saying something like this.
Kapengmabula Writes:
High Road for the King. i don't expect the KotR to be main event anymore because the King of Kings himself doesn't want to be upstaged at all. as for Regal's hair, if he is aspiring for the Lord Voldemort look, then let him grow it long enough for that menacing look
Sat: Yeah, it was pretty obvious the King of the Ring wasn;t going to be the main event. The King of Kings was going to be in the main event.
Ray A Writes:
Low Road. I say so simply because Backlash isn't the event for a high profile match like this. I think what WWE should have done was first, give one of these men, if not both, a break. After. HBK should come out on Raw and finally address the fans on why he decided to take Old Yellar out and finally, Batista would come out and there, their huge feud would ignite and it would finally culminate at a big PPV like SummerSlam.
Sat: You are right in a way. But, the WWE has to look at what would make them the most money and that would be having this match at a pay per view that usually doesn't do that good. I expect Backlash to get a much better buy rate then it usually does. Plus, SummerSlam is going to get the buy rate no matter what.
KanyonKreist Writes:
High road all the way; other than his matches with the Undertaker, Batista hasn't done anything interesting since his 2005 feud with Triple H. Shawn Michaels brings out the best in everyone and this feud has kept me interested thus far.
Sat: Wow, I think you are right. Batista hasn't had an interesting feud besides HHH, and Taker.
G3KKO Writes:
Low Road: I agree with Uncletrunx that this feud seems like its just been put together to give Batista and HBK something to do. Also I've never been a fan of Batista, his feuds w/ Taker and HHH were very good but his feud WHC run was pretty bad, his match at Mania was awful and even the match at Backlash wasonly passable. Despite being a big fan of both HBK & Y2J I'm finding it hard to even care, plus Batista's supposed to be a laid back badass but he seems whiney in his (badly written) promo's
Sat: Of course the feud was put together to give them something to do, but the reasoning behind the feud makes sense, though Batista is really stretching in his argument. Plus, I never understand the Batista hate. I think that he does a good job, but most people do not agree with me.
Your reasons for taking the High Road, Low Road, or Both Roads and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road are welcome at satuncletrunx@gmail.com or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week's column.
Posted By: trussell (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 12:21 PM
High Road
Posted By: Leo (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Both roads. It's hard to judge right now. TNA and Shark Boy can turn this
gimmick into positive, or just drop it.
Posted By: L'Mago (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 01:09 PM
This is a little difficult as the gimmick has been pretty fun, and obviously
somewhat successful. I think I have to go low road on this one, though. TNA
needs to establish itself and become a true competitor. They need to build
themselves to the point where they are real competition for WWE and we are
talking about the big two again.
Stuff like Stone Cold Shark Boy is just so amateurish. It makes your product
look inferior because it is like saying your guys can't get over unless you
steal a gimmick (and an old one at that) from the other promotion. They need to
worry more about finding ways to get their guys over of their own accord rather
than ripping off old gimmicks, especially when they are from a different
promotion. That sort of thing can be good fun for a while, but can never be
taken seriously in the long run. It makes that wrestler seem inferior and it
makes the promotion seem inferior.
Posted By: RavenEffect (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 01:42 PM
High road
Posted By: ML2 (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 02:19 PM
both roads
Posted By: pete (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 02:58 PM
Low road all the way, if they dont have their own ideas, if they have no
creativity, it sends the wrong signal. It tells that TNA will just remain as
they are or they will copy from somewhere.
Posted By: Arnab (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 03:33 PM
Definitely high road. Both Vince and Steve LOVE what Sharky is doing with the
Stone Cold gimmick. I think TNA's reworking pays just enough homage while
allowing the worker to bring their own elements to their characters. We MIGHT
be seeing the dark side of this though....."Little Petey Pump"?
Posted By: CM Wolf (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 04:11 PM
High road. What no one seems to understand is that it's going to take years,
not days, for TNA to become a true competitor. That comes from consistency
marketing, merchandise sales (whether Trunx likes to admit it or not) and
characters that the fans can enjoy watching.
Shark Boy is someone that the fans obviously enjoy, even if it's a spoof of
another wrestler. Even Stone Cold himself admitted he had no issue with it.
There is a totem pole in wrestling, some are meant to be superstars,
mid-carders, and jobbers. Stone Cold Shark Boy fits in the lower tier and is
enjoyable. Even if he does win the X Division title someday I don't think it
will kill the division.
Posted By: Orlando (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 04:19 PM
low road, very low road. His finisher is called the chummer.... awful
Posted By: Ken Schmidt (Registered) on May 09, 2008 at 04:50 PM
both its good how he turns all the sayings into sea shit like shell yea but it
is this a rip off and tna cant come up with their own ideas?
Posted By: kjfxxxo9 (Registered) on May 09, 2008 at 05:21 PM
High Road!! Give me a Shell Yeah
Posted By: Rob~! (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 06:32 PM
High road...if it's grabbing your attention, then you know that they're doing
something right. Whatever it takes for you to get the job done, you should do.
Posted By: Ray A (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 06:35 PM
Low road. Yeah, sure, it's good for a few shits and giggles, but it's not
elevating Shark Boy, and it's only proving that Russo and the TNA Bookers can't
do anything unique and original to save their lives.
I get why they did the "Black Machismo" gimmick in the beginning --
it was to get Jay Lethal over by giving him a "personality makeover",
and it worked. (Now he just needs to get out of that gimmick and up into the
main event.)
But the Stone Cold Shark Boy gimmick serves no purpose other than to let Shark
Boy do an admittedly good Stone Cold impression. I'm not saying Shark Boy had
a future outside of the midcard, but at the very least, he could be a
successful midcarder instead of just a complete joke.
Posted By: Anonymous Smart Mark (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 07:14 PM
High Road, it's a popular gimmick and it sells shirts and WWF had some comedy
characters during the Attitude Era: The Oddities, Blue Meanie, Mankind, etc.
Posted By: Blanky (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 07:57 PM
low road
Posted By: ptjm (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 10:27 PM
both roads. I can see the value in keeping the Sharkboy gimmick. It gets a
cheap pop and it sells merch. However this shouldn't be used as an example to
get your lesser stars over. Sharkboy does a good job with the impersonation
portion of it, but his look, appearance and in ring performances are an utter
joke. Therefore it should be treated as such. This could really get over with
critics if it were just a comedy thing that was used sparingly. But putting him
in high profile matches with a shadow of a chance of winning just shows how weak
the X-Division truly is at this point.
I'd keep the gimmick, but use it as comic relief and use it SPARINGLY.
Posted By: bighustle (Guest) on May 10, 2008 at 01:28 AM
High Road. I find Shark Boy to be an affectionate tribute to one of the best
wrestlers of all time.
Posted By: Capt. Smooth (Guest) on May 10, 2008 at 05:38 PM
Low Road.
Posted By: Bob (Guest) on May 11, 2008 at 10:32 AM
About HBK/Batista: who would've thought that one week or so later and they
completely dropped the angle? HBK gets a morally ambiguous pin on Big Dave and
THAT'S IT? They've been doing this a LOT recently, and I've noticed a weird
trend among these frustratingly anticlimactic angles too. Follow me on my look
at these fizzled-out angles and try spotting the pattern... Orton/Jericho;
Jericho/JBL; JBL/Finlay... well I can't really continue with it directly
because for some reason Finlay was off TV for like a month following his big
push and his first ever 1-on-1 match at WrestleMania... makes sense, right?
(?!?!) So then, Batista/HBK - like I said, the second or third decent angle
Batista's been part of, EVER - is the latest to be thrown out the window by
WWE's ADHD-stricken creative team? What's next, they'll forget who the World
Champion is? I can see it now; we'll turn on Smackdown next week and the Big
Show will stroll out to the ring with the World Title. I know they're trying
to entertain children now, but even some of them are on Ritalin!
Posted By: KanyonKreist (Guest) on May 13, 2008 at 02:53 AM
