wrestling / Columns
411 Fact or Fiction 8.21.08: Foley and TNA, ECW at Summerslam, Sheik Abdul Bashir Crossing the Line and More!
1. The finish to the ECW Title Match at Summerslam was an insult to the paying customer.
Ryan Byers: FICTION. If that was the finish to Triple H/Khali, possibly. If that was the finish to JBL/Punk, I could see it. If that was the finish to Cena vs. Batista, maybe. If that was the finish to the Hell in a Cell match, definitely. However, what we are dealing with in Henry vs. Hardy is, at the absolute best, the fifth most important match on the card. Hell, it may even be sixth depending on how you rank Hardy vs. MVP. Count the Michaels announcement as a “match,” and the ECW Title bout drops down to seventh place. No matter what promotion you’re looking at and no matter what era in professional wrestling history you’re looking at, the number of people actually paying to watch the seventh most important event on a card is completely insignificant. Could you find five or six folks who were insulted? Sure, but that’s not a big enough number to matter. The vast majority of fans had completely forgotten about the thirty-three second affair by the time that the show was over, instead remembering the awesome pro wrestling action that we DID get throughout the night.
Michael O: FACT. Initially I answered ‘FICTION’ because I strongly doubt that anybody besides the friends and family of the respective participants paid to see this match, but by the time I had written out my justification for that answer, I came to realize that any way you look at it, it’s a thumb to the eye of the pay per viewer. Sometimes we have to overlook this sort of thing when an injury is involved, but to the best of my knowledge neither man was hurt and a rematch is set for Tuesday night. I mean, a rematch already occurred Tuesday night. Yeah. So you got to see for free what you didn’t get to see when you paid 40 dollars. Which I’m sure makes you thrilled and has you eagerly anticipating your next opportunity to give the WWE your money. I suppose Vince has his bases covered, as you’ll probably decide to spend the money you refuse to shell out for Unforgiven in protest on that sexy new Hell in the Cell set.
John Meehan : FICTION. The only reason that I’m saying “fiction” here is because nobody in their right mind would have actually purchased this pay-per-view in order to see this match go down in the first place. Now the bullshit finish to the Edge vs. Matt Hardy Summerslam showdown in 2005? THAT was an insult to the paying customer — because even with a headline match up like Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels main-eventing the show, I’m sure there were at least a sizable handful of (smart) fans that tuned into the pay-per-view to catch the in-ring payoff of what was then shaping up to be between two LEGIT real-life rivals (you’ll recall that Edge had “stolen” Lita from Matt, and Hardy had just been fired and re-hired). Flash forward three years later, and Matt Hardy may well indeed be competing for a world championship at a WWE PPV (which *sounds* like a draw on paper)… but it was over the ECW strap (which is on par with the US gold, if that), and his opponent was Mark Henry, for cryin’ out loud. Expectations weren’t exactly high. In a show that featured two other top-title bouts, PLUS a “dramatic return” for Shawn Michaels, AND Hell in the Cell with the Undertaker, AND the first-ever singles match between Batista and John Cena? You can’t honestly tell me that people bought the show to see how Henry/Hardy would turn out. Since they didn’t, I’m sticking with fiction.
Score: Fact: 1, Fiction: 2
2. Carlito is unhappy once again and WWE isn’t currently using him. It would be better if the two sides just cut ties and move on.
Ryan Byers : FACT. I know that there are some folks on the internet who love him because he at one point in his career did some springboards and therefore has the coveted “MOVE SET,” but Carlito is nothing special. He can’t do anything in the ring or on the microphone that a thousand professional wrestlers haven’t done before him and that a thousand others won’t do in the future. Every time he throws one of his hissy fits, the rationale behind placating him and keeping him around seems to be, “Well, he speaks Spanish, and we want to attract the Latin American demographic.” However, that argument is faulty because a.) there are plenty of other wrestlers in the world who can speak enough Spanish to get by and b.) you’re not exactly using Carlito to appeal to Latinos if you’re just keeping Carlito under contract and never putting him on TV. Sign Sicodelico, Jr., sign Perro Aguayo, Jr., and let Carlito go the way of the dodo.
Michael O: FACT. I really don’t understand why they stubbornly retain the services of Carlito in the face of his numerous public complaints about the company. There is rarely any upside to keeping a disgruntled employee on the payroll and if Carlito is destined to be the future of the business, he has failed to show much evidence to the fact in his nearly four years with the WWE. I know there are supposedly demographic concerns, but it hardly seems worth it to keep a whiny sandbagger on the roster. Guys like Bret Hart and Eddie Guerrero had to stick around for quite a while before getting their big breaks, and they may have been sometimes forced to smile with shit in their mouths, but they never let it have an adverse affect on their ring work. I haven’t missed him at all in the two months since he was last seen on TV and beyond a barely justifiable curiosity regarding his new look, I can’t say I’ve been anticipating his return. I think at this juncture, the best thing for all parties involved (Carlito, The WWE and us) would be for the Caribbean Cornrow to venture out into the world and come back to the family once he’s had his passion for the business restored.
John Meehan : FACT. Simply put, Carlito blows. Though the guy showed some serious promise early on in his WWE tenure when he stepped (briefly) out of the “poor man’s Razor Ramon” shadow and started developing into a memorable and marketable superstar in his own right, Carlito has been nothing but disappointment and drama for well over two years now. From whining backstage about his lack of character development to consistently putting forth some of the LAZIEST in-ring performances in WWE memory, Carlito has done nothing to change his lot in life and even less to silence his critics. If this third (or fourth? or fifth?) time around the whiney-go-round tells us anything, it’s that the guy is better off seeking his fortunes elsewhere… and WWE is better off without him.
Score: Fact: 4, Fiction: 2
3. Matt Striker will have a much longer career with WWE now that he has made the transition to the announce booth.
Ryan Byers : FACT. Lower card wrestlers at Striker’s talent level are a dime a dozen. Want proof? Go to a Florida Championship Wrestling show. Guys who have the “look” that Vince McMahon prefers for television announcers AND enough knowledge of wrestling history to not sound like complete morons are a rare breed indeed. Want the perfect example? Look no further than Tazz. Anybody who thinks that he would still be employed by WWE if he hadn’t made the transition to the announce booth is more than welcome to put in a bid on the lunar real estate that I currently have on the market.
Michael O: FACT. Matt Striker sure went from zero to hero in the space of an hour, didn’t he?. Called upon to take up broadcasting duties due to Foley-gate ’08, Striker proved himself to be a more than capable stand-in for Tazz, a fitting happenstance considering the former suplex machine once made a similar transition. If Striker does go on to take up permanent residence behind the booth, and based on his first few weeks that seems very likely, the online speculation over his narrowly being spared from this latest spate of cuts will become the stuff of teacher-turned-wrestler-turned-announcer legend.
John Meehan : FACT. A million times “fact.” See Big Daddy V, Shannon Moore and the rest of the WWE B-teamers? Now that ECW has effectively transitioned into a full-on “developmental with a TV-deal” third brand of WWE entertainment, it seems as if Vince and company have had little time and little use for performers who’ve already been on their roster for a few years and failed to make a dent on the landscape of World Wrestling Entertainment. A flashy new singlet or a quick gimmick overhaul is hardly enough to undo years of jobberdom, and so “enhancement talent” performers have been getting the axe left and right. Matt Striker has probably won a combined total of no more than a dozen televised matches in his entire WWE career… and it’s hard to imagine anyone ever taking the guy seriously as an in-ring threat at this point in his career no matter what spin or damage control he or WWE could muster up. And in this day and age of increased exposure for each new developmental talent, where new stars are being scouted every day and new losers are a dime a dozen? A three-year jobber’s resume is pretty much a fast track to a pink slip. Smart move finding another niche if you can.
Score: Fact: 7, Fiction: 2
4. TNA’s version of the New Blood vs. Millionaires Club will succeed unlike when WCW ran the same angle.
John Meehan : FACT. We’ll call this one “fact” with a big *IF* — simply because there are a TON of variables that pretty well render this question unanswerable, and so I can’t help but give it the benefit of the doubt (for now, at least). First and foremost — WCW was undergoing all sorts of backstage turmoil at the time of their ill-fated attempt at a young vs. old roster wide rivalry, and so stories and alliances were pretty much swapped and scrapped all across the board on just about a weekly basis, which made their TV product suffer accordingly. Second point: WCW had uberEgos like Hulk Hogan and a heyday-era Nash (plus Goldberg, etc.) on the payroll to further complicate the issue. And while Booker T and Kurt Angle may well have egos in their own right, *none* of ’em come close to having the stroke of a guy like the Hulkster. Third point? Seems to me that the “ghost” of Jeff Jarrett (or his guitar, at least) is siding with the younger bucks in this whole affair… which pretty well muddles the line of “old guys on one side, young guys on the other” when it comes right down to it. Finally — this newly emerging TNA angle is WAAAAY too young to fairly be dismissed as just another attempt at reviving a dead WCW storyline from the past. Sure, the signs of failure may still be lurking in the shadows (the egos, the Russos, etc.) — but for now, I’d say give it a chance.
Michael O: FACT. With tentative-ity to the nth degree, as I trust TNA’s booking department about as far as I can throw them, which is not at all far. It would be easy to say FICTION and rag on Vince Russo still being involved, but the question then becomes more about whether or not Vince can learn from his past mistakes. That TNA has proven to be much more capable of putting over the younger stars than WCW ever was bodes well for the angle and that alone gives it more promise than we’d had at the outset of the previous incarnation. Whether a Samoa Joe has much to gain from beating a Kevin Nash in 2008 is an entirely different question, and one that I’d have a decidedly different answer for.
Ryan Byers : FICTION. I would abstain from answering this question if I had that option, because I really don’t watch TNA anymore. As a result, I probably am not the most qualified person to respond. However, EVERYTHING that TNA has done since moving to SpikeTV has resulted in the same 0.8 – 1.1 rating, and, absent the presence of one or two superbly built matches, the same 15,000 – 20,000 pay per view buys. Thus, if you define “success” as doing more for business than any other angle that the company has ever run, the odds are clearly stacked against this program working out.
Score: Fact: 9, Fiction: 3
5. The Sheik Abdul Bashir character is crossing the line in a bad way with the usage of “raping lady America” and using a finisher called the “WMD.”
John Meehan : FACT. The original Muhammad Hassan character was absolutely brilliant, simply because it pushed hot button issues *without* making overt or clear-cut references to an actual, honest-to-Allah in-ring terrorist competitor. The guy (and his sidekick) played their parts to perfection: true blue Americans who’d been unfairly discriminated against, and who were mad as hell on account of their misfortunes. This time around? Hassan is gone, and so Daivari becomes the de-facto foreign hell — twice the hatred, half the nuance. Saying that you’re raping a country is bad enough, but calling your finishing maneuvers the “WMD?” That’s just heavy-handed, desperate, and unnecessary, even by pro wrestling standards. Sometimes less is more.
Michael O: FACT. Although I have an extremely high tolerance for bad taste, I can’t imagine anybody not named Vince Russo has good expectations for this one. I watch TNA whenever I have the infrequent urge to do so, and thus have yet to actually see the Sheik in action and see for myself how this character is portrayed, but I do know that, to put it delicately, the “war on terra” isn’t going as good as it could be and I doubt most people want a reminder of that when they turn on Impact. If the intent is to satirize the bigoted stereotypes of some Americans, I could maybe get behind it but that appears to not be the case and if it is, they’ve badly missed the mark from what I can tell. Personally, I revel in tacky shit, this is far from the most offensive thing a wrestling company has ever churned out and stuff like this would almost never cause me to not watch TNA if I otherwise had plans to, but I also think this character would be more likely to get a few viewers to step back across the line than encourage new ones to jump over it.
Ryan Byers : FICTION. I’m not a fan of any gimmick that portrays all people from the Middle East as terrorists or individuals who loathe America, but that’s not what the question is asking. The question appears to be asking whether Daivari’s specific character here is in bad taste compared to other characters cut from the same cloth. If that is in fact the question, I have to answer it in the negative. “Raping lady America” is no worse than Andre the Giant being “raped of his dignity” as called by Vince McMahon when the Heenan family shaved the big man’s head. The “WMD” reference isn’t offensive in the slightest. If the term “WMD” came in to popular usage and then an actual weapon described as such was to kill people in a high profile attack, THAT would be offensive. However, that’s not the case. “WMD” was merely a scare tactic style term used to drum up support for the U.S.’s invasion of Iraq. There’s nothing offensive about misapplying a term used to describe a threat that never really existed.
Score: Fact: 11, Fiction: 4
6. Mick Foley going to TNA would do nothing to help the product as far as ratings and PPV buys go.
John Meehan: FACT. At this stage of the game, it seems that there is very little — if ANYTHING — TNA can ever do to affect their ratings and PPV buys in one direction or another. If cameo appearances by well-known personalities (Hogan, Sting, Angle, etc.) can’t seem to budge ratings north of the 1.0 to 1.1 mark, and increased national and international exposure (TNA in Japan, TNA on tour across the U.S., etc.) still don’t seem to affect their buyrates or overall fanbase by any substantial margin, I fail to believe that one limited-schedule-if-he’s-even-willing-or-able-to-wrestle-it Mick Foley will do any better in getting things to change. Aside from the one “dream” (“nightmare”?) match of Foley vs. Abyss (which is years beyond relevant, given Foley’s later-career path away from the hardcore style), I just don’t think the Mickster has it in him to help TNA’s fortunes in any measurable way, shape or form — save but to further cement TNA’s reputation as a haven for WWE old-timers. Not that Foley shouldn’t take an offer if it’s made his way, mind you… but I just don’t see it helping TNA in the long run, simply because anybody who’s a fan of Mick Foley has likely already seen what TNA has to offer — and is either watching it to begin with or simply has decided that it’s not worth their time.
Michael O: FACT. Mick Foley is one of my all time faves, no doubt, but I think there are only a handful of men alive (The Rock and Steve Austin would be two) who have enough juice to significantly bolster TNA’s ratings and PPV buys all on their own and Mick is just not one of them. Maybe if he hadn’t been the man of many returns in the WWE for the past 8 years of his “retirement” and maybe if a more significant figure from his past was on hand to welcome him. Unresolved issues with Sting? Kurt still holding a grudge from Mick’s commissioner days? Meh. Foley still has a lot to offer any wrestling organization and would make a fine addition to TNA in just about any capacity but at this point in time I do not feel that his name alone carries enough weight to cause a dramatic upturn in either of these categories.
Ryan Byers : FACT. Kurt Angle went to TNA, and nothing happened aside from one big buyrate. Booker T. went to TNA, and nothing happened. The Dudley Boys went to TNA, and nothing happened. Christian went to TNA, and nothing happened. All of those men were bigger stars in WWE at the time that they jumped than Foley is now. I love the Micker and respect what he’s done throughout his career, but the fact of the matter is that he’s not had a serious run in the ring for six years now and probably has no desire to return to active duty as a wrestler on a full-time basis. If guys who were working full-time in WWE just weeks before their TNA debuts can’t do anything to turn the tide, Cactus Jack won’t either.
Score: Fact: 14, Fiction: 4
7. By effectively telegraphing numerous title changes in one night, The Championship Scramble will do nothing but further devalue the World Title and the championship reign of CM Punk.
John Meehan: FACT. Wanna’ know why this match is absurd? Let’s pretend we’re fans of a “real sport,” for a second, and we’re watching the three-time Super Bowl Champion New York Giants defend their Vince Lombardi trophy in every minute of the game… with whichever team is ahead at any moment being able to lay rightful (if momentary) claim to “World Champion” status. Start with their season opener against longtime rivals and fellow three-time Super Bowl Champions, the Washington Redskins. Redskins kick an early field goal on their first possession? THE REDSKINS ARE FOUR TIME WORLD CHAMPIONS! G-men come back and score a touchdown on the next drive? NEW WORLD CHAMPIONS! Ten minutes later and the ‘Skins put up another six? THE REDSKINS JUST WON THEIR FIFTH VINCE LOMBARDI TROPHY! — and that’s just in the first quarter of play. The only way this match works out in Punk’s favor (or in the metaphor, in the Giants’ favor) is if the champ dominates the contest early and never once allows the opponents to take the lead — thus increasing the prestige of their championship reign by protecting so much as even a momentary loss of the title which they so bravely defend. Now if Punk can last the full time limit without ever once dropping the belt (even for a second!)? Then we’re looking at a bona-fide star making performance, and the guy looks like a world-beater. Otherwise, we’re just padding already meaningless numbers and championship stats to everybody involved, thus watering down both the duration and the significance of each new title reign *regardless* of who comes out on top.
Michael O: FICTION. This is an easy FICTION for me as it’s only an assumption that there will be numerous changes, and we don’t know if any presumed changes that occur in the match will actually “count”, or if the only change recognized in the books will be for whoever is holding the belt at the 20 minute mark. The biggest plus in having Adamle step in as GM is that “The E” can throw some new ideas out there and if they don’t work, they can be chalked up to the Barney Fife of RAW, at least in kayfabe terms, As long as there isn’t a 24/7 rule in the works for the Heavyweight belt, I see no harm, and if CM Punk is holding the gold when the clock strikes 12 (or 7:55), it would be his biggest accomplishment so far as champion. Besides, there wasn’t exactly a wealth of exciting one-on-one prospects for Punk next month. Kane? Batista again? I’m looking forward to the match and I’ll reserve judgment on the booking until after it’s happened.
Ryan Byers : FICTION. Actually, I’ve already figured out how the Championship Scramble is going to work. See, CM Punk during this title reign has essentially been the babyface version of the Honky Tonk Man. He won his title and retains his title over top stars by either cheating or in absolute flukes (Edge, Batista). He periodically beats a guy who is clearly not going to be of championship caliber at any point in the future (JBL, Snitsky). When he’s put up against a top-level guy in a fair fight, he loses clean (Jericho). Given that, there’s only one finish to the Championship Scramble that actually makes sense: NOBODY PINS ANYBODY, EVER. The match goes the distance and not one fall occurs. Punk will retain his title in a twenty-minute draw, and the championship will not be devalued in the slightest . . . plus we get to continue the reign of the Punky Tonk Man.
Score: Fact: 15, Fiction: 6
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