Truth B Told 11.06.08: Silent, But Deadly

Posted by Bayani Domingo on 11.06.2008

Sometimes actions speak louder than words, too bad we’re too busy listening to promos and vignettes to find out when that is. Has wrestling become too reliant on “mic time” to make up for the lack of “ring time”?

Last weekend I was in attendance at the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla "Battle of Los Angeles", an annual tournament that started in 2005. Each year the tournament seems to get better and better, with names from all over the Indy circuit and at least some minor international participation. This year's BoLA was won by the "World Warrior" Low Ki. He was able to defeat PWG's Champion, Chris Hero, in an absolutely brutal and violent match which was possibly the most severely "stiff" match I had ever seen live. I have seen "Street Fights" and Cage Matches less brutal and dangerous than this, but the match produced the right results and now it looks like Low Ki is the newest contender for the PWG title he never actually was beaten for. "Winning BoLA…So easy a caveman can do it".

The irony of the situation is that for months Chris Hero has been layering promo after promo upon the fans of PWG on his way to capturing the PWG title, while Low Ki has managed nothing more than a high pitched primal scream upon launching his Australopithecus ass across the ring full speed at his opponent. But on Sunday night, after the final bell had rung, Chris Hero took the mic again, with some of the fans even groaning and awaiting his lengthy speech to the audience, when he simply said, "It looks like I just found my #1 contender" and walked off. A total surprise and show of class as he let Low Ki have his big moment after an amazing contest. Low Ki then treated the audience to a surprising speech that put over the fans, the company, the wrestlers, and the industry itself. While the speech had only lasted a few minutes as he sat their trying to catch his breath and in obvious pain from the match, it really sunk in just how powerful a promo can be when it comes from a man who wastes little time with words. It was as if Silent Bob had stopped in the middle of "Mallrats" to give his monologue from Hamlet… or maybe "Goonies". "Up there it's their time…THEIR time…but down here PWG it's our time…OUR time".

So the past few weeks I've given Chris Hero some grief about taking up too much mic time before, after, and even during matches to address the PWG fans. It felt just so forced to have him constantly lecturing us and pandering to us to show us just how much he appreciated PWG, how much he wanted to put the company on his back in the wake of so many talents being injured and retired, and how much he wants us to realize the sacrifices he and other wrestlers go through in order to just simply entertain us and make us forget just how shitty this country has become in the time it took Lindsay Lohan to come out as a lesbo. But for all his effort it seemed to backfire as he lost a good deal of support from the fans. Either because the "Chase" is always more fun than the "retention" or because fans just didn't want to "hear about it", they wanted him to "be about it". But in that one night of wrestling I think he gained so much more respect back by just letting his wrestling do the talking. The man busted his ass and wrestled longer than any other many in that tournament, took everything Bryan Danielson, Necro Butcher, Scott Lost, and Low Ki had to give him, might have broken his nose, and left absolutely everything out there in the ring, just to make sure that the fans got the type of tournament and experience he thought they deserved. It doesn't matter what you try to do to put someone over on the mic, it doesn't matter how much you tell the fans you appreciate them in a promo, because in the end, any savvy wrestling fans knows all that by the way you perform in that ring and what you leave there on that mat.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has had a varied list of past champions, but two of the most popular happened to have been almost completely mute, Super Dragon and El Generico. It didn't matter that they couldn't talk, other than the occasional "Ole" for Generico, because they were able to emote all of the charisma and personality they needed through their ring work. It actually seems like in recent PWG history the Heavyweight Champions that enjoyed the most mic time were the heels. For the most part the wrestlers in PWG are both cheered and booed and once popular wrestlers like Kevin Steen, Joey Ryan, and Human Tornado turned "heel" they needed the extra mic time in order to explain just why they turned and remind us fans how little they cared about us and how they were willing to do whatever it took to hold on to the title. So in many ways it seems like fans were conditioned to look at wrestlers with excessive mic time as "heels".

Over in RoH I think the same thing holds true, just look at Jimmy Jacobs and the "Age Of The Fall". When the AoTF debuted in RoH they were wildly anticipated and cheered upon hitting the ring and brutalizing two of the most popular wrestlers in the history of the company, The Briscoes. Even after the brutal beatdown and string one of the brothers up as he bled all over the ring the fans still cheered Jimmy Jacobs. That was until his promo went just a bit too long and the fans started chanting for him to just shut the hell up. When you look at the line-up of wrestlers in RoH it seems like universally the heels (Sweeney, Hero, Jacobs, Nigel) are the ones that get all the mic time while the faces are content to sit back, say a few words from time to time and let their fists and feet do the talking. It's a case where both the "heels" need a format to instill their "heelishness" as well as annoy and taunt the fans into giving them a genuine "heel" reaction as well as the "faces" being competent enough in the ring to simply wrestle with the minimum of mic time needed. The Briscoes, Danielson, Samoa Joe, Homicide, there are plenty of popular "faces" who simply got the job done without needing to resort to lengthy promos, sure guys like AmDrag and Joe could cut a good promo when they had to and exercised brevity, but they didn't have to do it to try and GET "over", they only did it reinforce who they already were in the ring. in fact it seems like when a "face" gets too much "face time" he loses his appeal.

Look at TNA, where Samoa Joe is supposed to be the new "face" of the company, both literally and figuratively. However Joe was never more popular and respected by the fans than when he was a quiet assassin, the no nonsense ass kicking heel of that dominated the X-Division without so much as a peep. Now that Joe has gotten some mic time as a "face" it seems as if he has lost some of that aura and support he had before. Christian debuted and got more popular as a "heel" when he finally got to take a more prominent role in a company that had given him the opportunity and outlet to express himself on a regular basis, but when he tried to turn face with that same mic time he lost a bit of his popularity. Guys like Christian and Kurt Angle don't NEED the mic time to get over because they are great characters and wrestlers, but when you have some wrestlers on the roster without great mic skills then sometimes you need to utilize them to their fullest…almost to a fault. Problem is that guys who can no longer go in the ring, or never could have hid behind the mic in order to try to hold on to their "spots". Kevin Nash hasn't had the goods for years, however he's managed to hang around the "main event" scene for quite sometime because of the vignettes, promos, backstage segments, and mic time he's accumulated by hanging around the "real stars". Then again sometimes it takes the extra promo time to turn a relatively pedestrian Jay Lethal into the mega popular "Black Machismo", but there of course is overkill. That's when you end up with guys who have over stayed their welcome and almost negated the good will they've accumulated from their ring work by just hogging the "stick".

When you think of Triple H circa 2006 or John Cena last year you can see how too much mic time can turn a crowd against you. When John Cena is the focus of every show and constantly has a mic in his hand he starts to become stagnant and overbearing. But then all of a sudden he started got thrust into a feud with HBK where he wasn't necessarily the focus, he wasn't necessarily the only "face" and didn't get the majority of mic time, we were able to see him actually wrestle and wrestle a very entertaining set of matches. The guy can "go" in the ring when he has the chance and his wrestling is the focus and his "promo" work is there to simply support it, not the other way around. Its as if the constant pandering he did on the mic masked his ability in the ring.

The WWE is full of competent wrestlers who don't get enough mic time, but somehow they are able to do their thing. Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, and Rey Mysterio are fully capable of maintaining a huge fan base, but none of them are really that competent on the mic. Evan Bourne seemed doomed from the start without a cruiserweight title to chase and the "e" banning many "high risk" and top rope moves. However when they cut him loose and didn't worry about him talking to much he proved to be one of the most popular guys on the ECW roster. The Undertaker has spent a good portion of his career never saying more than simply "Rest in Peace" and look where he is now. Hell, Kane was more popular, intimidating, and powerful as a nearly mute monster than when he began actually talking without the use of his little voice box. Then again you get guys like Santino Marella who without the ample mic time he gets each week would probably have been wished "well in his future endeavors" months ago due to his lackluster wrestling skills. Then again the WWE seems to place more emphasis on the "E" than they do the 2nd "W". Over exposure, especially on the mic, can sometimes stall or even kill the momentum of a wrestler. Even the most ardent MnM2.0 fans have to agree that Miz and Morrison overload on a weekly basis is becoming overkill. In small doses those guys are gold, but lately the "Dirt Sheet" is becoming less and less amusing each time they run out the same shtick. They are in danger of ironically becoming the next DX. The '08 HHH/HBK version that is.

It used to be that "promo" time and mic time in general was used to help get a wrestler over, establish a character change, or further a feud. But now it seems like wrestling shows are using that time to make up for the shortcomings of the wrestlers or simply make up for the lack of creativity on the booker's part. On the Indy scene it seems like every wrestler is fighting and clawing tooth and nail to secure a top spot in the industry and hold on to that spot. It takes every advantage there is and sometimes it's not enough just to be a great wrestler if you can't figure out a way to showcase your personality outside of the match as well. The challenge is finding a way to balance the "walk" and the "talk" so that you don't overshadow the skills that got you to the stage to begin with. It used to be that "mic time" equated to popularity, but now it seems like you can let your wrestling do the talking for you and let the "mic time" fall where it may.

The Truth

I've found a new respect last weekend for Hero, Bryan Danielson, Low Ki, Nigel, and all of the men who wrestled their asses off at BoLA. If you find pictures of Nigel's busted face you will know exactly what I mean. The guy got no time to speak in the ring, yet he wrestled with an eye that was basically swollen shut and worked his ass off to make his opponents look good, even managing to put over a terrified Brandon Bonham after the untimely drop kick caused the injury, by simply offering a handshake and raising his hand. It's amazing just how much can be said from just a little gesture. I've found that there is a time for talk and there is a time for action. Unfortunately it seems like when I turn on my television all I get is the talk and about 25 minutes of action. I just hope that this doesn't filter into the places where I expect it least like the Indies. Then again you never know what will happen now that Gabe is out of RoH and the company looks for a new direction. 15 minute "Main event" contract signings on RoH shows? Be scared….be…scared.

Coming Up Short

With Evan Bourne now out of action for a while it will be interesting to see who steps up amongst the young guys to reach that next step of stardom. Bourne had been on the cusp of reaching upper mid-card level after it was apparently just how popular he had become amongst WWE fans, but now it looks like with Punk and Kofi relegated to the tag division along with "Sloppy Seconds Generation" aka Manu/DiBiase/Rhodes, and even Miz and Morrison getting jobbed pretty good this week, someone else better make a play. It has been a while since we've seen Kenny Dykstra, Ryan Braddock, and Scott Goldman. Dolph Zeigler is suspended and will likely be sent back to FCW and let's face it, Ricky Ortiz is still way too green despite his bit of charisma and Jack Swagger hasn't done much of anything yet to brag about. I would actually love to see Jack Swagger pin his opponent and then bring out a spray can of Old Spice Body Spray and douse him in it. It's amazing how a few months ago the "E" was ripe with new wrestlers and now that Bourne is on the shelf only the Bella Twins and Swagger are even close to maintaining a push and getting somewhat over with the crowd. Pushing and elevating young talent is just something the "e" can't come up short on anymore. Not with their "Main Event" wrestlers all reaching or sitting at middle age very soon.

6 Degrees of…



I think this is pretty damn obvious people. Considering we have a NEW "People's Champion", let's just link him to the old one.



Whatchu talkin' bout readers?

Probably still chattering on how PWG can't manage to afford to buy their own ring and a few extra ropes. You know that's what I'M doing.

6 Degrees Results

You people disgust me.

Left Overs…

Mike Adamle recently resigned as GM of RAW on the basis that he felt he was demeaned, immasculated, undermined, and made to look like a fool on an everyday basis. Or as they call it in California "Irreconcilable differences".

It has taken Batista longer to SHOP for a belt than it did for him to hold the WHC Belt on RAW. If the title said "Gucci" on the front I betcha he would have had it for at least another season until Fashion Week.

Super Crazy is unemployed now after asking for his release from the company since he was unhappy with his current position within the company. Which happened to be roaming around all 3 brands…asking wrestlers if they wanted to buy a rose for the pretty divas.

Scott Steiner a member of the "Main Event Mafia"? apparently Steiner had to plead and beg to become part of that stable…as well as harness the power of 1.21 Gigawatts.

Low Ki recently got a WWE tryout…again, this time a day after winning PWG's Battle of Los Angeles. There is talk backstage about pairing Ki up with another struggling wrestler recently called up. The plan rename Low Ki, Cro Magnum TA, pair him with Bam Bam Neeley and package them as the " Bedrock n' Roll Express".

I hear Ricky Steamboat has been working with Funaki on his new, Kung Fu Naki gimmick. No idea where this might lead for Funaki as the plans for an upcoming feud against "Nacho Man" Super Savage were scrapped after yesterday's release.

Looks like Evan Bourne (Matt Sydal) will be out of the ring for around 4 months. The plan is to have Bourne do a few more consultations with Dr. Andrews before he is sent back to his usual pediatrician in case he needs surgery. Micro-surgery at that.

Recently Kimbo Slice was brought up at a creative meeting at the "e" and Vince had no response. The original idea was to bring in Slice as a "legit bad ass MMA guy" like they did with Blackman and Shamrock. The idea would be to feud him against Ryan Braddock who would be repackaged as the New "Krush", then move along to a feud with Dos Caras Jr who would be repackaged as "Fanta".

So Goldust has resigned with the "e", but Val Venis is no where to be found. I've been thinking of a way to work Venis back in the mix and I'm thinking of a tag team of Venis and Ricky Ortiz: The Big Ohh's. Val Venis can finish off his opponent with the "Money Shot" and Ricky Ortiz can whip him off with the Rally Towel.

The Great Booty Debate 2008

I like themes when it comes to the GBD, so this week we're going with "Hydration". Something about a moist, scantily clad woman, posing enticingly that makes me want to grab a towel…wait a sec…

Random Asian Bitch Lookin' Good Pic of the Week



Aria Lee: Silly girl, there's only room for one lap in that tiny pool. Mine.

Random Latina Bitch Lookin' Good Pic of the Week



Angelica Correa: I guess she's trying to air dry herself. Tell you what, I'll blow on you, if you blow on me.

How the hell is it that Booker T found the ONE sports bar in all of Houston that was apparently "Anti-Christian". Where did they go, TGI-Sabbath Day's??

Perro Aguayo Jr, Damian 666 and Mr. Aguila have all left CMLL to work Independently, which marks the first time that anyone has left their job in Mexico to look for work…IN Mexico.

Pimpin' In High Places

How sad was it to see not only Ari and Berman beat me in the PWG BoLA roundtable predictions, but to find out I was in the middle of the pack, not even at the top was just mind boggling. There goes being the "Black Sheep" and trying to go against the flow. From now on it's all flow, all the time:

Ask 411

Eubanks

Csonka's R's

Evo Scheme

CoH

Threat x 3

J-Weezy

D-Dubya

So…um…what was that about John McCain again? Yeah, thought so. Barrack Obama put a historical BEATDOWN on McCain this week and made him his own personal jobber. Watching the McCain campaign in the past week was like watching a build up to a Jeff Hardy title match. I guess we'll have to wait at least another 4 years to see if Mrs. Palin and her husband, Tim McGraw, will gain enough "Foreign Policy" experience to make another run at the Black House…I mean White House. But enough of my glorious gloating, next week I'll be attending at least one of the NWA tapings in Hollywood, possibly two, so it might be the perfect time to take a look at the once mighty federation that has now gone the way of the dodo, and guys with dogs larger than their shoes.

Till then, the Truth will set you free.

-B