411 Fact or Fiction 5.29.08: The AJ Styles Beat Down, the Second Generation Stable, Regal’s Suspension and More!

Posted by Larry Csonka on 05.29.2008

Week ONE HUNDRED and EIGHTY features Geoff Eubanks, Jarrod Westerfeld and discussion of Owen Hart being a World Champion, had he lived.

Welcome back to another week of 411 Fact or Fiction: Wrestling Edition! This week, two men go to battle as Jarrod Westerfeld enters the 411 Arena to do battle with Goff Eubanks!

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1. The beat down on AJ Styles to close out Impact last week was a great angle.

Geoff Eubanks : FICTION. Admittedly, I've not been committed to enduring, uhm, watching TNA for the better part of a year, due to the ridiculous, wasteful, superfluous nature of the booking. When AJ Styles, one of his generation's most talented performers, started wearing that fucking crown, I wanted to wallop him with a chair myself. An optimistic mind could consider this gang jump a positive thing with respect to Styles' growing back his balls, likely siding with Samoa Joe, Christian Cage and Rhino, but, aside from personal vindication away from Angle, where does this really leave AJ? As far as I'm concerned, I agreed with TEAM 3D & Booker T when they pointed to Karen and proclaimed to Kurt, "THERE'S the problem!" She's been shaking those hooker tits in AJ's face for so long the poor kid doesn't know if Right is down or left is up. Besides a face AJ has really only one singles title recourse, as Joe has a (well-deserved) hold on the TNA Title. While the company totally needs to re-invigorate the X-Division, and AJ *could* be the man to do it, TNA needs to stop pulling AJ out of the main event to help them out every time they fuck up the XD. Just ask Chris Daniels where that gets you.

With all that *could* be done here to benefit Styles and the company itself, I've got a fiver that says all of this is going to focus a damn sight more on Kurt & Karen Angle than it will Styles and his future standing in the company. Or maybe they're setting up Styles and Karen once Kurt kills himself in the ring…(see below)

Jarrod Westerfeld : FICTION. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it and thought TNA did a great job of setting it up and getting me to care, again, about AJ Styles in a big way. It was a very good segment that was built up brilliantly these past few months, and earlier on the show with the confrontations between Karen and Kurt, and AJ with Tomko, but it wasn't great. This beating dragged on for so long that I almost felt uncomfortable at points. It also didn't help that AJ was bleeding profusely from, I believe, a single chain shot, while earlier on the show Homicide and Hernandez had tiny cuts from eating unprotected chair shots to the head. So those little things added up to making what could've been a great segment into only a good one that'll be remised in a couple of months.

Score: 1 for 1


2. Considering his history of neck issues and that he currently has three cracked vertebrae and two herniated discs; Kurt Angle should not wrestle at Slammiversary.

Geoff Eubanks : FACT. MOTHERFUCKING FACT!!! For Foley's sake. It increasingly seems to me that perhaps the worst thing Kurt Angle could have done so early in his life was to have managed to buck the odds at the 1996 Olympics and win a gold medal with a broken freakin neck, because, since he did it then, he seems to be eschewing common sense year after year, injury after injury, believing himself to possess a quality of will that supersedes the demands of a fully-functioning body.

Now, true, we all claim to have a better grasp here in the IWC of that which we do not truly understand (some better and more so than others), and, it's true, Angle must certainly know his body better than any of us, but HOW many serious injuries IS this now? THREE cracked vertebrae AND TWO herniated disks?! This scares me for his sake, because it's reminiscent of the "invincible" attitude employed by Eddie Guerrero after he lived through that horrific car wreck that *should* have killed him but didn't. I'm not going to be all sensationalistic and suggest that Angle's going to die or be paralyzed in the ring or anything, but, unless reports over the last six years have been greatly exaggerated, it seems clear to me that Angle's retirement will be a forced one because his body will not allow him to perform any longer…and sooner than later. (One wonders exactly HOW bad off Angle's physical situation must become before Dixie steps in and says no more, as we were led to believe she would when Angle first signed to TNA…?) A permanently sidelined Angle will be miserable because, in his 40s, he still has a college kid's "fuck it all" desire to compete, which would be admirable if it weren't so suicidal; imagine how unbearable the rest of his life will be if he's forced to live the rest of his life in a wheelchair?

Jarrod Westerfeld : FACT. I'm only going to buy Slammiversary for Kurt and AJ, but even I can't root to see this happen so soon after yet another injury to his neck. I've been a loud opponent of Kurt's early entry into TNA for so long now that I have to call, once again, foul on his irresponsibility to himself and his family and to this company for not taking better care of him. The man has been working hurt for way too long. He doesn't want to stop and rest and TNA can't afford to not have him around considering he's the biggest star name they have that could, and by all rights should, bring their name into the limelight. It's too soon to stick him onto a pay-per-view card against the likes of a young blood wrestler, and if something is wrong with (Kurt) to the effect that he ends up hurting AJ, then this company is royally fucked for sure. It's one thing to lose a single star, it's another to lose two because of something that could've been prevented by simply sitting one of these guys, namely the limp dog, on the sidelines.

Score: 2 for 2


3. Sting deserves a retirement similar to Ric Flair's.

Geoff Eubanks : FACT. I've followed the progress of TNA Sting (having decidedly been NEITHER a fan of "surfer" NOR "Crow" incarnations) and I have to admit to an almost complete 180 degree turn where my respect for Sting is concerned. Steve Borden signed with the company for all the right reasons (to lend his legendary name to a fledgling franchise and to help both the company and its youngsters grow in a manner that would benefit them all) and has behaved as an absolute class act to be revered and replicated by any and all who respect this business. He's in phenomenal shape, plays ball with management and has been, by all accounts, a hell of a backstage role model, all to be absolutely commended.

In a business where we've become conditioned to saying goodbye to our heroes far too prematurely due to untimely deaths, it's my opinion that those who are still around at their careers' end should receive an appropriate hero's send off. They, the talent, deserve it, the fans certainly deserve it and more such Flair-type send-offs are just plain good for the business itself, IMO. Plus, considering the fact that Sting's TNA contract expires in December 2008, there's still conceivably time for him to sign a WWE Legends contract and be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Houston (presumably by Flair) on the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania, with a career-spanning DVD to follow.

Jarrod Westerfeld : FICTION. I already foresee the hate mail coming my way, but let's be honest here, what is Sting's legacy? He played an ultra cool character during the height of the Monday Night Wars. Anything else? Yeah, that's pretty much what I figured too.

He's a legend, that's for certain, but he's not the caliber of legend that needs some huge send off the likes of which should be remembered for years to come. But I'm not saying he should be shoved out the back door and dragged off to the glue factory, either. His send off should be special and big, but not of the caliber of Flair's – hell, Flair got the kind of send off Harley Race should've had, and a send off that should've been thought about for Bret Hart, but no one else, really off the top of my head, deserves that kind of farewell. A reunion of the Four Horsemen, and the goodbye to a legend that stuck around long after he should've given up the game with so much heartfelt moments and so many people thanking him for allowing them a stage on which to try and live out those boyhood dreams of growing up to be just like him? That's not in the stars for Sting. No one grew up wanting to be him, and what reunion could he have that would be of any significance to him or this industry? Him and "Dingo" Warrior hanging around in the middle of a ring? Yeah, there's some significance in that, alright. Sting should get a proper farewell along the lines of "here's your final match, you go over, get some pretty sparklers, hug a few guys that mean something to you, share the spotlight with your family, and go home with this nice paycheck; thank you, enjoy retirement." Cold, but it's about all his legacy really afforded him.

Score: 2 for 3

---SWITCH~!---

4. A stable of second-generation stars (Afa Jr, Ted Dibiase Jr, DH Smith, Cody Rhodes) will ultimately fail.

Jarrod Westerfeld : FACT. Oh man, I want to make that a FACT AND A HALF because it's so damned true. What's the appeal in second-generation superstars? Oh, right…nothing. Cody Rhodes is bland on his own, thus why he has to leech off of Cryme Tyme to look better; DH Smith is a bumbling fool who is either killing his momentum playing with the juice – and no, I don't mean OJ – or fumbling into AFI's closet and coming out with way too much of their mascara; and none of the casual fans will care about Afa Jr. or Ted DiBiase Jr. Why? Because we've seen this all before with past superstars who came in with only the hype and character of, "hey, my daddy was a wrestler, so I'm following in his footsteps." It doesn't work. It's never worked, and I defy someone to tell me a generic character like that has ever worked. Remember Rocky Maivia? Of course not, that guy sucked as a generic third-generation superstar. Remember Randy Orton's first run on SmackDown? Yeah, there was one before he started flipping out because the Undertaker was using horrible B-movie segments to slip inside of his head. Hey, does anyone still care about Chavo? What? No one ever cared about Chavo? But what about when he had Pepe? Oh…people only cared about the stick horse and not Chavo? Geez, poor Chavito. Go ahead, team these guys up. Hell, throw in Natalya Neidhart and Jimmy "Deuce" Snuka Jr. while you're at it. I'm sure that unit will get over just playing characters in the shadows of their father's legacies.

Geoff Eubanks : FACT. I HATE saying that because I want these young men, all with tremendous upsides and legacies to uphold and extend, to succeed. Personally, I've only seen Rhodes (who seems to me to have been brought up too early, although he has desire in his eyes and his father's gift of gab) and Ted Junior thus far (no, I actually have never seen Smith), and all I've seen of DiBiase was that brief promo on this week's Raw (which felt a LOT like a young Orton, for better or worse).

So if we go with these four men, apparently to be managed by Ted Senior, the first thing that concerns me is, are these guys ready to come up yet? There's been a lot of talk recently toward the end of "shaking up WWE" (to the end that Vince is giving away money…I just laughed openly at my TV on Monday, asking out loud, "REALLY, Vince? Is it THAT bad?!") and this isn't the first…or second…or 50TH time we've seen Vince try to "shake things up" (remember RUTHLESS AGGRESSION? Yeah, it's been going on THAT LONG), and bringing up kids WAY too soon has been a staple of such a game plan since guys like Cena, Orton, Batista and Brock, basically, the first class of OVW, were so successful upon being brought up (of course, they were kept in developmental for EONS before they saw TV, but Vince doesn't seem to equate that with, say THE SPIRIT SQUAD). If they're a bunch of Drew McIntyre's, Kenny Dykstra's and Mike Knox's whose blood I respect, this whole thing is dead in the chute.

Next is, do these guys have anything in common aside from all being second generation performers? Is there anything else that unites them? Or can each guy come in with his own story? Like, Smith could feel a heavier burden than the rest of his stablemates because he feels a greater obligation to succeed, to carry on his father's legacy? Ted Junior could feel a greater sense of smugness, as it's HIS dad who manages the stable, etc., etc. dX were all a bunch of counter-culturists with an attitude, THE HORSEMEN were all purists in it to be the best and enjoy the fruits of their labor, and EVOLUTION represented the best of the business yesterday, today and tomorrow. It would behoove these four gentlemen to have a similar such underlying purpose, otherwise it will be a one-dimensional gimmick that will not last.

Finally, and what swings my confidence in the negative, is that only Rhodes is the sole member named who ALREADY has no black mark next to his name, given that both Smith and Afa have logged a Strike One Wellness infraction and that Ted was pulled over for drunk driving. This is NOT how a "sports entertainer" starts a successful career in these times in which we live. Altogether, I really will be rooting for these kids, and just because this stable MAY fail, it's not a death sentence to their careers, but I just am not brimming with faith in this group just now.

Of course, they could always bring Nick Hogan as the ultimate face-in-peril.

Score: 3 for 4


5. You were surprised by the recent suspension of William Regal.

Jarrod Westerfeld : FACT. Why is that every time I do Fact or Fiction there's a Wellness Policy violation that involves someone that actually surprised me? First time out it was Hardy who, by all rights, shouldn't have shocked me, and now it's a relapsing Regal. I almost don't ever want to sign up for this column ever again as I'm fearful the next time I do CM Punk will have violated the Wellness Policy – after all this time he now falls off his principles.

What more can actually be said here? Regal was believed to have been clean for years. Note that, it was years ago that he had issues. The WWE helped him out with rehab and supported him in his trying times, and for years this man had been working for them without any issues, and without any demons or dependencies dragging him down. It still shocked me that he failed this go around, because the last time he was in violation was because his name appeared in the Signature Pharmacy gray market scandal, but he, like others, never tested positive for any substances. In fact, nothing in the report indicated that the substances were recently purchased, only that they had been, at one point or another, customers to the gray market website. So of course this was shocking, because this time he actually failed a test and was shown to be off the wagon – for what? Who really knows? But all I can say is what a major fuck-up. If only he could have conquered these demons once more, so that we could be talking about something else right now – like when will something, even his BAC, put over Santino?

Geoff Eubanks : FACT. Regal has been quite forthcoming with respect to his former substance abuse issues, but likely so as a result of his ability to have kicked the habit. It was and is a deep hope that he's not reverted back to his addictive ways and I really do believe he's not done so. What he HAS done, I don't know, but I WAS surprised to see him rack up Strike Two, especially during the midst of the most significant on-air role he's enjoyed since coming to the Fed. All I hope is that this is an anomalous mistake from which he learns and never returns. He's too good, he's worked and sat in the shadows too long and really does deserve a solid physical role before his body can no longer perform to spec. There's plenty of time for a cerebral role, such as the Raw GM, as he'll be a well-spoken and intelligent person long after he can no longer perform in the ring.

Score: 4 for 5


6. Had Owen Hart not died 9-years ago, he would have eventually had a WWE Title/World Title Run.

Jarrod Westerfeld : FICTION. I'm a bigger Owen fan than I was a fan of Bret. As a matter of fact, I was the kid cheering for Owen to kick his stupid brother's leg out from under him at the Royal Rumble (1994) and wanted nothing more than to see Owen finally prove, once and for all, that he was not only better than his brother, but that he was right about Bret all these years: he really was a selfish prick. But at no point was there ever a sign that the WWE was going to trust Owen with their biggest title. Hell, they barely trusted Bret with it, and he was clearly the bigger of these two men. That's what kept Owen down, his lack of size. The other thing with Owen was that after a while, his drive for the industry was dying off, and who could blame him? The man only got into it because it was the family tradition, so you really couldn't expect him to keep up the care of this industry for much longer. But hey, if it will make you feel all warm and tickly inside, you could always try and find this one Coliseum Video where Owen pins Bret in a lumber jack match for the WWF Championship, celebrating with all of the heels before President Jack Tunney reverses the decision. There's your title, champ – sorry the company didn't really believe in you enough to actually let you ride out with it.

Geoff Eubanks: FICTION. This one hurts to have to admit, as I have ALWAYS been a BIG Owen mark and have likewise always considered him to be a better wrestler than his older brother (not the in-ring general or the promo man, mind you, but the better wrestler). My first inclination was to place this squarely in the "Fact" category until I considered two things:

1) The wrestling landscape following SURVIVOR SERIES 1997 (when Owen elected to remain in the WWF as his HART FOUNDATION teammates defected to WCW following the so-called Montreal screw job, leading directly to the company's greatest business boom EVER). As performers such as Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, Triple H and Kurt Angle rose to main event level (as well as Kane, The Undertaker, The Big Show and even Vince himself having the proverbial cup of coffee with the belt), the main event was becoming its own exclusive VIP Lounge, indeed. It was felt as if Owen could stand to gain from Vince's propensity to reward company loyalty, and it appeared as if that initially just might occur for a month or so when Owen had "reportedly" gone off the deep end, following what dX and Vince had done to his brother, morphing into "The BlackHart" as a result, out for blood against those who had wronged The Harts and left him suddenly alone and without family, the lone and cornered animal.

However, this push, for whatever reason, was quite short-lived, Owen eventually joining the ranks of THE NATION, the faction supposedly providing the core sense of family Owen missed and required. Unfortunately for Owen, though, he was lost in what was essentially an African-American faction and saw "his" program with HHH ostensibly handed off to NATION leader, The Rock, instead being booked in a much sloppier, less-coherent story involving the rivalry among Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn and Steve Blackman. Basically, in the hotbed of talent that was the post-Bret WWF, one had to be one of the very absolute BEST in the business EVER to vie for the HWT, and, good as he was, in Vince's eyes, at least, Owen simply wasn't in the same light as the likes of The Rock, Taker and HHH. Owen was clearly a mid-card mechanic to Vince without the ability to "turn up the burner" and match the Attitude required of a top tier WWF main eventer of the time.

2) If Owen, apart from his in-ring prowess, was known for anything, it was his playful nature, always ribbing his compatriots on the road, and for being an utter and complete tightass on the road. The reason for the latter was because of the third thing for which he was best known, being a loving family man. He enjoyed sharing about his family and was tight with his money because he was scrimping and saving so he could retire early and be there to watch his kids grow up, to be a proper father and husband to the people he loved the most.

The fact that he was such a jokester leads me to understand why he had such a difficult time manufacturing a believably angry tough guy character, which was why he floundered (in terms of securing a main event spot) during the Attitude Era. Altogether, as Owen saw his chances in the main event slipping farther and farther from his reach combined with his desire to be home with his family (despite all of the other Hart family tragedies he'd have had to have experienced had he not passed), I'm inclined to suggest that he'd have looked at his career, said, "Well enough," and retired from active duty without a world title ever associated to his name, the greatest performer never to wear a World Title.

Score: 5 for 6

These two finish 5 for 6! Come on back next week for more of 411 Fact or Fiction: Wrestling Edition!