Posted in: COLUMNS WRATH of TITO - Wrestlemania 26 Main Event forecasting and more
By Mr. Tito
Jun 8, 2009 - 7:23:53 PM
"People will think you're crazy, what are you trying to prove?"
"There's still some stuff in the basement." -Rocky Balboa
Since my last column, I didn't think I had another one in me... Then, Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25 happened and suddenly, like the Rocky Balboa quotes I posted, I suddenly had some stuff in my basement to get out as well. Welcome, one and all, to the WRATH of TITO... Since it has been almost 3 years since I retired and probably more than a year since I wrote a "special" column, allow me to re-introduce myself. I am Mr. Tito, former author of the daily column entitled "Phat Daily Column" through 2002 and author of the weekly column with this same title, "The Wrath of Tito", through 2006 for LordsofPain.net. Much of my work, thoough my late 1990's columns are a bit rough, can be found by clicking here (though many 2005-2006 columns still need posted).
So here I am... Back with one more column... For those who have followed my post-retirement work, let's just say I've become a distant wrestling fan and have especially drifted away from pro wrestling after Chris Benoit's death (even wrote a few controversial columns post-retirement about the subject). However, Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25 changed that... Seeing the work of two great, historical wrestling stars at their age reminded me as to WHY I enjoyed wrestling heavily for 20 years of my life. Their work together in creating drama is why I religiously followed pro wrestling, and for that, I thank them. For the past 2 years, I questioned WHY I followed this stuff after Benoit's death and the many other stars who died before and after him from apparent drug abuse. But HBK and the Undertaker reminded me WHY I watched.
Shawn Michaels is great, I've said it 100 times... But it's time for the Undertaker to get his props, especially from me. For those who read my prior columns, I did NOT like the 1990's Undertaker. The gimmick of the "deadman" overwhelmed him and put more emphasis on character than wrestling ability. Move forward to 2000... Undertaker jumps on a bike and suddenly, the "deadman" gimmick is gone and the focus is on wrestling ability. The 2000's have been a rebirth of the Undertaker and he has a long list of great matches to prove it. Now, there's more emphasis on in-ring ability than on gimmick, though he flirted with the "deadman" gimmick again in 2004. Undertaker in his elder years is proving why Vince McMahon was so high on him for years upon years even if it lost him money. Once they stripped away the seriousness of character, the Undertaker became legendary. Besides it takes 2 to put on one of the BEST Wrestlemania matches in the 25 years of the show.
I'll discuss the rest of Wrestlemania 25 later in this column... But for now, allow me to layout the sections of my "return" column as well as my last wrestling column I'll ever write unless I become a full-blown wrestling fan again:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Wrestlemania 26 Forecasting
- WWE = Recession Proof
- Phat Review: "The Wrestler"
- Ten Things I Think (Inspired by SI.com's Peter King)
Enjoy the column and I thank you, very much, for reading. Oh, and special thanks to the fellows at Columns Central for some assistance on some information that I needed for this column.
Wrestlemania 26 Forecasting
Back when I was writing the "Wrath of Tito" through 2006, I did a "Should the WWE Wrestlers Form a Labor Union" during September 2005 that drew the ire of a former WWE midcarder that I believe left the WWE either in late 2007 or early 2008. He really liked my column and actually shared some insight as to why he and his fellow WWE wrestlers have not formed a union (let's just say that Vince McMahon is a tough, tough person to break and collective bargaining negotiations with him would not be fun). From there, we traded emails through much of 2006, which helped add some insider insight to my columns that year, and then we kept it up through 2007 (to which I forwarded some news items to several posters).
Now, I won't "brag" about my source back then, for he was slightly disgruntled about the way he was being used during those years, but his insight was good for providing the moods of the booking establishment at the time. Based on what he told me during this time, I believe it can help provide added insight into predicting Wrestlemania 26's main event or main events. We haven't traded emails since a few months after Benoit's passing, for I believe a "gag order" was put in place with the media and the Feds looking deep into the WWE for performance enhancer use.
For the past few years, the WWE has relatively kept the same guys at the top... Triple H, Edge, Randy Orton, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and John Cena... While there are a few "up and comers" who flirt with the top on occassion, Batista gets some love, and the Hardys get a serious look, on occasion, those are the "Sinister Six" of the WWE. Historically speaking, when Vince McMahon doesn't have serious competititon challenging him, he usually sticks with guys he's comfortable with and reluctant to take on change. All you need for proof of this was his idiotic move during Wrestlemania 9 when Vince scrapped his current main event plans and re-established Hulk Hogan as the World Champions. Look at how comfortable Vince has been with Undertaker at the worst parts of the Taker's career. Additionally, Vince seems to always go back to Triple H when he dislikes a champion he pushes (though in some cases, that's smart business).
Of those "Sinister 6", there's one match-up that has been given serious time on television or at Pay Per Views. I know they may have fought a few times (Great American Bash 2008 and substituting for Jeff Hardy later at Survivor Series 2008) or have been indirectly involved in each other's storylines here, but we've never seen a full blown TRIPLE H vs. EDGE feud. Looking forward to Wrestlemania 26, that's the match-up that I'm guessing could potentially happen. Given that we've seen an over-saturation of the other match-up combinations, it could happen at Wrestlemania 26 as the WWE searches for "unique" match-ups, if they so choose.
This, of course, is where my backstage source comes in handy... Could it really happen? My understanding, from my source, is that Edge and Triple H purposely keep a distance from each other. If you look back to Edge's career, he arrived during the late 1990's just as Triple H was beginning to get a serious push towards the top. Then as time evolved, Edge got away from his Brood or tag team days and began a serious singles career. By then, most noteably 2002 when he joined the Smackdown brand and started seeing a serious singles push (great feud with Kurt Angle, if you'll recall, and Angle has been bald ever since losing the "hair vs. hair" match), Triple H was firmly entrenching himself as a McMahon with his relationship to Stephanie McMahon. The Game-ah was becoming increasingly powerful backstage and Edge was there, firsthand, to witness HHH's rise to power through backstage politics.
My source told me that Edge's frustrating end to 2002 completely changed him, according to those close to Edge. If you'll recall, management scapegoated Edge for a bad series of matches against Albert, or as he was re-manufactured at the time, the A-Train. Remember, Vince LOVES size and there was a serious push for Albert/A-Train at the time. As memory serves, Edge and A-Train fought at Armageddon 2002, and by most reviewers at the time, it was poorly rated. If you'll recall the news & rumors of the time, management was blaming Edge for not making A-Train look good. After all of the hardwork Edge put in, the dangerous TLC matches against Dudleys/Hardys, and the great feud he put on with Angle that year, this was the "thanks" he gets? Getting scapegoated for a tub of lard?
It was that moment that changed Edge forever in addition to an injured neck he'd soon have to need surgery for to start 2003. At that point, Edge basically said "screw it", according to my source, and opted to radically change himself in the business. Two things changed... For one, Edge became much larger in terms of muscle mass. Vince likes "big", so Edge gave it to him. Facts back this up, provided Edge's admission of steroid use after his neck surgery as an "experiment" during an interview with TSN's Off the Record along with Edge's name being on a seized online performance enhancing list, according to Sports Illustrated (click here), for receiving HGH. Provided that Vince McMahon loves size, Edge, after his neck injury, did everything he apparently could to potentially satisfy that.
The second factor that changed was an attitude change by Edge... Everything before 2003 was mostly from hardwork. Night in and night out, Edge apparently busted his arse and any success, push, or booking was based on his work ethic. After getting screwed politically by being scapegoated for the A-Train series of matches, Edge, according to my source, "had enough". Upon his return in 2004, Edge began to play political games backstage. Don't believe me? This is what I assumed myself back when these incidents happened, but my source said it was definitely the case... Think back to the notorious Edge/Lita affair during 2005... Was Edge ever punished for his lewd behavior that forced change characters and storylines because his love affair with Lita/Amy Dumas leaked out. He was completely unscathed while Matt Hardy, who I believe foolishly resigned with the WWE at the time, took the punishment. Now granted, Matt Hardy made the situation worse by speaking publicly about the "love affair", Edge was still went unpunished despite doing the dirty deeds that led to the entire controversy and heel turn of Lita (my source said management really liked her as a face, for her merchandise moved well with younger females).
Since getting suspended in 2007 after his name appeared on an online pharmacy list for purchasing performance enhancing drugs, Edge has won 6 World Championships (I count)... One would think that embarassing the company publicly through using performance enhancers would depush a guy, but apparently, not Edge. His push kept coming (as has Orton's, also suspended, who is a close associate of Triple H). Thus, two very embarrassing situations that Edge escaped in the form of the public announcement of "kayfabe" broken about the Edge/Lita/Matt Hardy love triangle and Edge's admitted and indicted use of performance enhancing drugs have not affected things backstage for Edge.
Now, my source, back during 2006, said that Vince McMahon views guys like Undertaker and Triple H as his "elite" wrestlers, while Vince was content of having a "cluster" of guys who would flirt with the top or feud with each other (Batista, Edge, Orton, Benoit, and Cena). Thus, this is why many of those wrestlers would feud with each other extensively while occassionally challenging Triple H or the Undertaker, though obviously not getting the upper hand on Vince's 2 favorite wrestlers. My source also said that Shawn Michaels was exclusively used as a facilitator as a means to help those "cluster" wrestlers and that HBK will be utilized against Triple H or Undertaker when a big drawing match is needed (see Wrestlemania 25 and the excellent HBK vs. Undertaker match). Hence, why HBK has worked many times against that "cluster" of wrestlers and wrestles HHH or Undertaker on big occasions only.
Edge, however, according to my source and other things that I've read over time, "wants it". In fact, I'd greatly argue that Edge is aspring to become Triple H. Playing the political games, illegally doping on performance enhancers to become bigger, and somehow becoming a NINE TIME Champion... whereas Triple H, the Game-ah, is a 13 time champion, the political master, and well, let's just say that Triple H is quite the bodybuilder (no tests or online pharmacy stings against him). In many ways, the reason they haven't had a full-blown feud is that they are too similar. With the way Triple H is management and the way Edge plays management, the two might be too similar in nature to perform good business.
HOWEVER, instead of running Triple H versus Randy Orton for the 10304958950936th time, one can't deny this big and unique match-up that awaits big Wrestlemania 26 attention. But make no mistake, based on what you've read today, this is a major clash of egos. Both wrestlers, over time, have big egos to bruise and it might not happen...
A wildcard in this situation involves the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Their Wrestlemania 26 match was superb and a testement to their legacies with both wrestlers being at or close to 44 years of age. Who knows where their careers will be in a year... Both are getting up there in age and have been working lighter schedules as time wears on... Doing a scan of online reports, some are even suggesting that Wrestlemania 26 could be Shawn's last (though completely unconfirmed) and the rumors suggest that Triple H will be his final opponent (much like it was HBK's first opponent upon his return during SummerSlam 2002). While I wouldn't disagree that HBK vs. HHH would be Shawn Michaels's last match, I'd argue that the Undertaker would want a piece of the action...
Another potential "main event" bout, with this HBK rumor considered, I think, would be Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Undertaker. Wrestlemania has become a home to 3 way matches and this is a unique, money making match that would be HUGE for Wrestlemania especially given the reaction towards HBK vs. Undertaker. Now, to play "fantasy booker", I would put great storylines around this match by having Triple H enter this match as World Champion, Undertaker win the Royal Rumble, and Shawn Michaels weasel his way into the match by offering Vince McMahon his career to enter the match. Thus, a dream scenario would be Champion (HHH) vs. Undefeated Streak (Undertaker) vs. Career (Shawn Michaels). Lots of high drama in that match.
I sense, and call me crazy, that we'll see a rematch between Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, potentially giving us a "Hell in the Cell" rematch from their 1997 classic. That has "money" written all over it, even though the match would be incredibly dangerous to each 44/45 year old at that point in their career. But it's the ultimate revenge match, especially with Undertaker's career on the line. Based on the way the fans raved about the match, that suggests to me that HBK vs. Undertaker, the rematch, will be done. Others have suggested that Undertaker's streak will be broken by an up and coming wrestler or possibly by the likes of John Cena. I don't buy that. The "streak" is the Undertaker's legacy and he'll retain it at Wrestlemania. Besides, Undertaker has wrestled the "cluster" wrestlers I mentioned above many times and the matches aren't draws like a rematch against Shawn Michaels.
Thus, I'll boldly predict the following matches:
- Triple H vs. Edge
- Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, the rematch (possibly Hell in the Cell)
- Randy Orton vs. John Cena - by default
OR
- Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker
- Edge vs. John Cena - historically great feud, by default
Hopefully, based on the information I've presented, it helps provide you, the current WWE fan, some perspective towards Wrestlemania 26.
WWE = Recession Proof
Given my economics background, several longtime readers have asked and other columnists have opined whether a recession (or economic downturn across the board) would affect the WWE. My answer is "no". In basic terms, ask yourself about 1996-1997. During those years, the WWE was on the brink of danger, financially, as WCW was crushing them in the ratings during the Monday Night Wars. But during 1996-1997, the computer age was igniting the economy in historical fashion. However, the WWE was losing money. 2001 was a financially good year for the WWE even with the botched Invasion. WWE had their biggest Wrestlemania ever, Wrestlemania 17, despite the 2001 recession starting just before the event was held. Looking back further to 1990-1991, the WWE did "just fine" during a recession.
So to ask, will this current economic downturn, which began during December 2007 according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, affect the current WWE product? I, of course, suggest NO IT WON'T! Simply put, just look the revenue comparison from 2005 to 2009 (using an annualized calculation based on 3/31/09's numbers for 2009):
Net Revenue Analysis
2009*
2008
2007
2006
2005
Live and Televised Entertainment
$256,328,000
$331,454,000
$316,842,000
$182,999,000
$290,784,000
Consumer Products
$132,276,000
$135,669,000
$118,087,000
$59,183,000
$86,410,000
Digital Media
$27,716,000
$34,822,000
$34,771,000
$20,755,000
$22,857,000
WWE Studios
$14,890,000
$24,512,000
$15,955,000
N/A
N/A
TOTAL Revenues
$431,300,000
$526,457,000
$485,655,000
$262,937,000
$400,051,000
As seen by this year-to-year analysis, the WWE is actually fairing quite well during the recession, as declared by the NBER, to have begun during December 2007. In fact, the entire year of 2008 was an economy in decline yet it's a booming year for the WWE in terms of revenue generated. Annualizing 3/31/09 numbers, the revenue may be down, but that's mostly from a declining television revenues because OTHER companies are cutting back. If you look at "Consumer Products", 2008 and 2009 are seeing huge amounts of money spent by fans on WWE licensed products. This is occurring in wake of many retailers seeing weakened revenues by consumers.
I have repeatedly said this in the past... WWE has a different type of fanbase that is more cyclical based on the PRODUCT, not the economy. Your typical wrestling fanbase is mostly dominated by those aged 25 or younger and low income types who are already feeling the economic hardships. Statistical studies and research has proven that over time. Despite the WWE being the top rated cable show since 1998, they cannot generate higher ad rates because of their demographics of fans. Something with lesser ratings could generate higher ad rates because of the income potential that the WWE lacks with its fanbase. It's a proven fact. Plus, the WWE will have a much easier time now because of the LACK of legitimate pro wrestling alternatives to challenge its revenues.
Phat Review: "The Wrestler"
Dipping through my Column Archives, you'll observed that I reviewed all kinds of media from books to videos to music CD's... Thus, in keeping with that tradition, I am going to review "The Wrestler" quickly.
Overall, this movie was quite good. If you've ever latched yourself onto an independent promotion, as I did during the 2000's, this movie hits pretty hard. It reminded me of the wrestlers and promoters I worked with. All of the quirks of the pre-show preparation, the dragging of the suitcases on wheels, and the life of a washed-up superstar still trying to hang onto former fame. Mickey Rourke did a fantastic job as Randy "the Ram" Robinson and had to put in serious hours for that role. In some ways, he may have been "too nice" as the former superstar, especially with the way he was complementing one of his opponents at a show. Then again, his character never lost matches and the rage shown at the meatshop was quite real.
What needs to be understood about Pro Wrestling is that there's no retirement plans in place. Either you invest and save what you earn within the big federations or you're hitting the independent circuit for years. That's just the way it is, absent of a pro wrestling labor union. Thus, seeing "The Ram" scrape by is quite real. I've seen more than a handful of ex-WWE, WCW, and ECW stars in person beyond their prime. Not to make an example, but I once saw King Kong Bundy take on Greg "the Hammer" Valentine during the late 1990's at a time where both guys should have retired (both could barely walk!). The Ram was getting there, as his health was eroding as the movie wore on and another bi-product of the business, The Ram had to take drugs to keep him in tip-top physical shape to look great or pain killers to ease the pain of wrestling at his age. I've never seen this kind of behavior first hand, but look around, it's quite evident in pro wrestling. The short window of earnings potential and the grueling schedule causes that to happen.
The whole stuff with Ram's daughter is quite real... It's hard to be a family man while on the road. That's just the way the schedule is. Wrestlers just can't "turn it off" because that's their means of earning money. Do you fully expect a guy who has wrestled 10-20 years as his top means of earning income to suddenly stop and change careers? Yeah, tell that to Brett Favre who may play yet another season. You just can't turn this "way of life" off. At least Favre has a nice retirement plan and better income stability than the Ram would ever see. Former pro wrestling stars, who haven't saved their money, have it bad and I thought this movie portrayed that quite well.
I recommend this movie to any wrestling fan... This movie gets an A in my gradebook. Plus, you get to see Marisa Tomei's boobies... :)
Ten Things I Think
* As inspired by Sports Illustrated's Peter King, author of the Monday Morning Quarterback.
1) Vince McMahon continues to be out-of-touch when it comes to performance enhancer abuse in pro wrestling. On ESPN's 360 program, he tried to make it out as if the WWE was the only one getting finger pointed for performance enhancer drugs. Hello, has Vince McMahon ever heard of Major League Baseball??? Fact, Vince McMahon was almost indicted for steroid distribution (but nobody denies the usage by his wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan). Fact, despite the Wellness Program being implemented before his death, Benoit was found to have plenty of steroids to distribute or use in his house after his death. Fact, many of his wrestlers were busted for the online HGH sting and he suspended 10 wrestlers in response. Sorry, Vince, but you have a bad reputation during this matter. Like Bud Selig, you allowed drug use to help fuel your product's success but now that deaths or historic records have been broken, you're getting exposed. Allowing drug abuse like you have allows for short-term gains but terrible long-run problems.
2) It's embarrassing to see Hulk Hogan in his current state. Not just with the tabloids, his lousy Vh1 shows, etc... But his CMT show was atrocious. Hogan was at the top of the business during the 1980's and 1990's yet his wrestling advice is absolutely terrible. Granted, it's Todd Bridges you're teaching how to wrestle, but it goes to show you that Hogan has natural charisma that you just can't teach and that he's not much of a ring technician. Of course, neither are Brian Knobbs and Brutus Beefcake who were just painful to watch in their teachings. Regardless, Hulk Hogan has had a sad retirement from pro wrestling that needs fixed soon. Then again, he can just be a better father.
3) Many of you got on me for my "WWEconomics" columns in my attempts to review the current economic happenings. You attempted to mock me for my recession forecasts or lack thereof. Well, as it turns out, I may have been right at the time... If you read those ill-fated columns, I repeatedly said that if a recession were to occur in 2008, it would be, and I'm quoting myself, "inflation induced". Well, considering the recession began in December 2007, I was technically correct. The high gas and heating home prices at the time were completely eroding consumer and producer incomes, thus causing a pullback in both spending levels... and thus the recession began along with the ongoing housing slide and early financial problems. It's quite hard to "stretch" your income when gasoline is over $3 trending towards $4 and beyond. The current administration better be ready for energy/inflation problems as our weakened dollar from printing excessive amounts of money to "stimulate" the economy or to spend on debt could cause any economic recovery to disappear quickly. How about that for an economic forecast?
4) If Chris Masters does indeed return, I'll say it again: tweak the Masterlock. A standing full nelson is foolish because any wrestler can all muscles and parts below their shoulders. However, if you sitdown with the full nelson, much like the classic Camel Clutch used by the Iron Sheik, it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get out of. Try it on a friend, kiddies (though no liability towards Mr. Tito). When sitting down with a full nelson, your crotching puts all pressure on the lower back of the opponent. It renders them motionless and is impossible to break. I once put it on a hockey goalie I played with in my youth and that goalie was much bigger than me... He couldn't break it, despite being twice my size (I'm talking about you, Carpino!). If Masters does this, he has a dynamite finisher!
5) I think it's rather funny how many ex-WWE stars shrink in size as they join NWA-TNA or attempt to become MMA fighters. Gee, that's not suspicious? I'm very amazed at how tiny Kurt Angle has become since his WWE exit.
6) Speaking of NWA-TNA (and yes, I keep calling it that to annoy TNA fans)... TNA Impact is a painful show to get through. Sorry, but it's like watching WCW with Sting, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Booker T, and Jeff Jarrett dominating while Kurt Angle acts as a poor Godfather (the movies, that is) imitation with the "Main Event Mafia". This fed can't get above a 1.3 rating in prime time and has been stuck around that rating for years. They wonder why? History has shown that when you're the lower fed, the one way to rise to the top is to CREATE NEW STARS. Instead, we're seeing the same old, same old... Besides Sting, they are guys we've seen the "best of" in the WWE.
7) The WWE stock looks pretty good... In this economy, if you bought when it was below $10, which is what I recommended in my "WWEconomics" columns a while back, you would have made out like a bandit. As long as competition is kept in check, this stock is pretty solid and pays a nice dividend. In this economy, you take what you can get.
8) Other Wrestlemania 25 Thoughts: The rest of WM 25 was somewhat brutal and HBK vs. Undertaker should have been the main event. Orton vs. Triple H was as bad as their prior match-ups that I can recall. I loved seeing fans filing out, much as they did for Wrestlemania 18 for Jericho vs. HHH. Triple H vs. Randy Orton has never worked out well, probably because friends are often too careful with each other in the ring. Ditto for brothers, as Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy wasn't impressive... They've never worked well together. Why did the WWE even bother with Rey Mysterio vs. JBL? The 3 way was OK with Edge, Cena, and Big Show, but doing just Edge vs. Cena would have worked better. Those two "cluster" members work well together. Nice seeing Ricky Steamboat back and he can surprisingly still go. The Money in the Bank match is getting stale and "blah" to the Diva Battle Royal.
9) I'm amazed that not more of an issue was made about Sunny being in the ring. I don't think the WWE even appreciates the door she opened back in the 1990's. Granted, the WWE flirted with this with Miss Elizabeth, but Sunny came on the scene during the mid-1990's when the internet was just beginning to pick-up. Her photo spreads were very revolutionary and laid the groundwork for the Sables, Torries, and Trishes of the world to take full advantage of. All circumstances of her WWF demise aside, she should get credit, much like Miss Elizabeth, for giving the WWE great ideas on how to create new revenue streams for future years regarding the use of women in their product.
10) I don't know why the WWE has yet to make amends with Macho Man Randy Savage... my guess is that it has to do with money. Towards the end of his WCW run, he apparently became quite greedy in contract negotiations and that may have kept him out of the WWE. That's my understanding, as well as the WWE's desire to please Hulk Hogan by not having Macho on the roster (both Savage and Hogan reportedly hate each other these days, Savage even wrote a song about it!). For those of you who are insisting that the whole Stephanie McMahon affair rumor is true, I suggest you drop it. That has NEVER been proven and from everyone that I've talked to during that era, it didn't happen. It's just a sick rumor started by someone. Keep in mind that if Savage did do the dirty deed with Stephanie through 1994 when he was last with the WWE, do the math... she would have been 17. Do you think that Vince McMahon, who is one of the most ruthless businessmen ever, would have allowed Randy Savage to get away with statutory rape? Seriously think about that... Macho is not in the WWE because of money desires and the WWE's desire to pacify Hulk Hogan.
@That's all I have to give to you for now, Titoholics... Unless something else inspires me to write about wrestling, this is it... This is the end. Thank you very much for reading and just chill... till the next episode.
