Posted in: Fact or Fiction Wrestling's Fact or Fiction: The Year in Review
By SkittleZ
Jan 3, 2004 - 3:15:23 AM
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, it is I your Master of Ceremonies Phantom Lord and with me as always is LOP’s man who calls it right down the middle…Da Ref. This is the hottest column on the entire IWC as we welcome you to another edition of Wrestling’s Fact or Fiction.
As I promised this would be a big edition of Fact or Fiction and I have
delivered. Joining us this week are two legends of LOP. Please welcome Tito and Stanman.
Along for the ride are two veterans of the LOP Message board. I am
speaking of course about The current Reigning and Defending PWA
Heavyweight Champion of the World Villiano 187(Yes, He is a Model) and fellow main page columnist Dumass. Joining us this week as our six man or should I say woman is a great up and coming columnist on LopForums.com. Please Welcome Tinaali.
Tina has a great column this week where she did the impossible. Land an
interview with The Living Legend himself, Bruno Samartino. Well enough
of the introduction.
ON TO THE FIRST QUESTION
Fact or Fiction: Making Goldberg champion helped the WWE
Tito: I say this is FACT.
Goldberg became the first WCW Champion who mattered. Booker T, Scott
Steiner, and Kevin Nash did not get props for being former WCW champs.
Goldberg defied all odds and all backstage jealousy and came out as the
WWE champion. Goldberg became a worthy enough face to actually beat
Triple H for the world title, and his huge face pop at Summerslam
proved that a babyface can get over on RAW, a show heavily dominated by
Triple H. It gave hope to faces against Triple H, and it somewhat paved
the way for Shawn Michaels to actually look like he has a chance
against Triple H. In this respect, Bill Goldberg as WWE champion has
helped the WWE, in addition to giving WCW guys some respectability in
the WWE. It may open doors for other WCW stars to maybe come in?
Stanman: FACT.
It was what the WWE did with his reign that made it disastrous. Giving
him an injury angle to prevent him from wrestling during the first
couple of weeks of his reign hurt his credibility. Making him the
champion was the smartest thing the WWE has done in a while since it
was fresh at the time. It was the politics and horrible creative
writing that made his reign an average one, so to speak. It's a shame
Goldberg was the one who kept the belt warm for Triple H once he came
back from his honeymoon, since he was the only one whose credibility
Triple H hadn't destroyed yet. Now going into the New Year, RAW doesn't
look too good. Although it hasn't looked good for quite a while now.
Dumass: Goldberg was champion?! Where have I been?! FICTION.
Goldberg's reign at the top of the hill didn't do much to the
popularity of the WWE. All it did was show that certain wrestlers run
the real show backstage with Triple H winning back the title in what,
4-5 weeks? I really hope the internet was happy that Goldberg was
champion, but I'm sure they complained about it in some way, shape, or
form because that's all they can do apparently. I hear no one really
watched the PPV that Goldberg won the title in, so it squandered
obviously to make Goldberg happy because, though his wrestling skills
are that of a crippled horse and he has the mic ability as a mute in a
debate, no one has the common sense and the balls to call him for what
he is; a useless football player that overstayed his welcome in
wrestling, except for the faceless "12 year olds" that occupy the
message boards and write the columns. Goldberg as champion was awful. I
didn't care to see him as champion because I knew in a few weeks time
that I would see HHH with the title again. No, I didn't use politics
and conservatively liberal bullshit to figure that one out; I used WWE
logic. (Triple H)World Title - World Title + Goldberg(World Title)
= X If X is not in favor of Triple H (their top wrestler), he will win
the World Title again. It's that simple. I don't need to
resort to "rumors" and "gossip", I just resort to the common equation
that I've been seeing all year. Simple Dumass-amonics.
Villiano: Considering he held the belt for only a few months makes this FICTION.
His loss at Survivor Series to HHH shows that Goldberg held the title
because HHH was injured, and no other reason. The show quality didn’t
go up when Goldberg was champion, and the ratings didn’t spike too high
either. Is this all Goldberg’s fault? No, but it didn’t help his
chances to make a large contribution. Bill Goldberg could have had a
huge effect on wrestling, but the way he was booked proves that people
in power are afraid to let other people get over. Doing this hurt the
WWE in my opinion.
Da Ref: I'll say FICTION but
it's not really Goldberg's fault. The problem lies in how he was
booked. Whether or not he's any good is irrelevant because as a worker, Hulk Hogan
wasn't all that great and look what happened. With Goldberg, you had a
recognizable face from WCW and someone that had been a major player in
the business. When he was signed to WWE, he had a number of feuds
against guys that were top tier or close to the top tier in the
company. After that was done, he was put in a feud for the World Title.
The problem was in what happened from there.Everyone was expecting
Goldberg v. Helmsley for the World Title and when it was announced at a
press conference for Summerslam, it created some fanfare. Yet, they
dropped the ball when they changed that one-on-one match to an
Elimination Chamber out of nowhere and included Shawn Michaels, a
broken down Kevin Nash, and a not ready for the main event spot Randy
Orton. That took whatever steam it had out because it was as if the
company had given up on Goldberg as a main eventer without really
trying.
So after Goldberg finally won the World Title
atUnforgiven, his first "big feud" was against Mark Henry, a guy that
no one has been able to do anything with. All the while, they ran the
old school bounty angle, which could've worked towards helping build up
Goldberg as well as others. Yet, it ended up going to Batista of
Evolution which brings the whole thing back to Helmsley. If the bookers
went another way, could it have helped the company? Well, it would've
been more helpful than the way they went.
Tinaali:Making Goldberg champion helped the WWE I hate to say it but this is Fiction.
It should have made an impact on WWE’s product. The reason why it
didn’t is simple. Goldberg was forced to be a weak champion by the
storyline he was in. Between having to sell the injury to his ankle and
the constant beat downs by Evolution he never had a chance to do the
title any justice. If he had been able to have a longer title run I do
believe it could have helped but then the question becomes how much? At
first I was upset when he lost the belt because I started to believe
they were going to give him a decent run until I heard the news about
his previous engagement in Japan. If he isn’t going to be able to
defend the title for a while then it is only fair that it is given to
someone else. With all the build-up for his debut though they really
should have given him a better title run. You can’t build someone up to
be this incredible monster and then have him trampled on during every
show. Once again, this is a case of poor booking on the part of Vince
& co. They should have maximized on their investment by letting
Goldberg be the champion he could have been instead of turning yet
another WCW superstar into HHH’s lackey.
Phantom: Making Goldberg the champion was a great idea, but how he was booked did nothing but hurt him so Fiction
on this one. Goldberg is a monster yet he had to sell for Mark Henry?
Mark Henry doesn’t even know a wristlock from a wristwatch. In the end
all Goldberg ended up doing was putting Triple H over because lord
knows no one has done that for him enough this year. I mean the poor
guy has such a rough schedule of only tv tapings while films
his part in Blade 3. Goldberg should be the World Champion right now.
They could be building a nice feud with him and Kane but instead it
looks like Goldberg has said Fuck the WWE and I can’t blame him.
Fact or Fiction: The Cruiserweight division was a disaster this year with repetitive and non-action-packed matches.
Tinaali: The Cruiserweight division was a disaster this year with repetitive and non-action-packed matches. Fact.
What is sad about this is that of all the divisions, this is the last
one that should be boring. There is so much talent in the CW division
yet the wrestlers are either banished to Velocity/Heat or not allowed
to do the high-flying moves that the CW Division is supposed to be
about. Perfect example of this would be Ultimo. What the hell were they
thinking when they signed this man if they had no intention of using
him? A feud between Ultimo and Mysterio could have had fans jumping out
of their seats. If the excuse for not using Ultimo is that he isn’t
over with the fans then WWE has no one to blame but themselves. A
wrestler has no chance of getting over if they are never given a chance
to wrestle. As for Mysterio he couldn’t be any more over with the fans
even with a limited move-set. Just imagine the excitement he could
bring to the division if given a chance to be innovative in the ring.
Another example is Hurricane. Yes his gimmick is silly but he is a
solid wrestler yet every week one more of his moves has been stripped
off of him. The CW Division is not meant to be kick, punch, and slam.
If the WWE wasn’t so scared of the hosses looking bad they would
realize what a goldmine they are sitting on. I can understand telling
someone like Mysterio to tone it down during matches like the one with
Brock. Obviously a man of Brock’s size isn’t capable of keeping up with
a fast paced match so it makes sense to tell him to tone it down.
However, when you have a cruiserweight vs. cruiserweight match telling
them to slow down just makes their moves look too rehearsed. Their
skill set is supposed to be fast paced. When you slow it down it takes
all the excitement right out of the match.
Villiano: Pure FACT.
The WWE had their chance to make the Cruiserweight division exciting
with the additions of Ultimo Dragon, Spanky, Paul London, and Jimmy
Yang, but the WWE dropped the ball. Vince asking his highflyers to
change their style to a more mat based style made the division boring
and dull. Why have a Cruiserweight division if you aren’t going to let
them wrestle like cruiserweights? It’s the same as telling Albert and
Big Show that they can’t use their best spots and have to replace them
with highflying moves. It makes no sense.
Da Ref: I'll say FACT
and once again, it's ranting on the booking. When the brand extension
took place, one of the things talked about was how the Cruiserweight
Division would get more exposure because a sizeable portion of the
Smackdown roster was made up of cruiserweights. Since then, the brand
saw a number of large men like Brock Lesnar, Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan,
the Undertaker, and others get on board. Now, the emphasis is towards
guys like this with most of the cruiserweights on that side have been
used as jobbers or on Velocity. Plus, the matches weren't that exciting
because the company has restricted the competitors to a style that
doesn't really set them apart from the other wrestlers, which goes
against what the Cruiserweight Division is all about.
Phantom: Do I need to even explain this one? Fact.
They have the best crop of talent in the world for this kind of
wrestling and what are they doing? Bumping for the BAH GAWD HOSS’S,
jobbing in meaningless matches, and being told “You have to slow it
down, wrestle more like The Undertaker and A-Train. Less is More”. They
have Ultimo Dragon who is probably one of if not the best cruiser in
the world and they have jobbed him out to the point where he wants to
leave and go back to Japan because he realizes he’s nothing more then
cannon fodder for the big guys. 2004 has started off right with a great
match with Rey and Tajiri, but I can bet you that will be the last good
cruiser match you see until Wrestlemania if your lucky.
Tito: This is very much agreed with, as I say FACT
because nobody in the WWE was allowed to do anything special (to maybe
steal the show from Vince McMahon and his stupid Hogan feuds), and
secondly, the independent scene is wrestling the same match, over and
over again. The WWE still has a major hard on for larger wrestlers,
hence the demotion of cruiserweight wrestlers to Velocity and the
disrespect to Ultimo Dragon. Bad year indeed, but it was more on the
promoter's side of things due to not giving it attention or not trying
to create new things within the divisions.
Stanman: On the contrary, the Cruiserweight division has gotten better. FICTION.
With Rey Mysterio giving the division exposure with his popularity, the
addition of Ultimo Dragon and a believable heel champion in Tajiri, the
division can go places. Cruiserweight matches are never
'non-action-packed' as there is always something that makes you watch,
unlike those main events featuring the Triple Hs and Undertakers. All
the WWE has to do is expand the roster to have more wrestlers compete
in the division to avoid matches pitting the same two wrestlers over
and over again. If the WWE gives half as much attention to this
division as they give the main eventers, the cruiserweights will
skyrocket. Because unlike most of the main eventers, these folks have
TALENT.
Dumass:FACT. Simple to understand, hard
to comprehend. The Cruiserweight division hasn't been very good this
year. Yeah, there may be some good matches, but the majority of them
were the same stuff you and me have been seeing for years now. I'm sure
someone will blame the awful "politics" of the WWE for "holding down"
Cruiserweight wrestlers, but then, that person would be completely
ignorant to the real point; Cruiserweight matches are boring when they
do the same stuff you've seen them do for years. The old saying, "If
it's not broke, don't fix it", only works for idiots who don't know how
to upgrade, which is something the division is in a major need for. The
only two exceptions this year to this rule are Jamie Noble, who
completely made the Crusierweight division fun to watch due to his
middle-paced style and making a terrific gimmick that was supposed to
"hold" him down, and The Hurricane, who basically said, "Fuck this!"
and started doing power moves until the management told him to stop;
that's fucking balls right there.
I will give the WWE
management some blame since they want the Crusiers to slow down and not
pull off major moves because it will supposedly hurt the product. That
is wrong to limit a wrestler just because they move faster and seem to
work harder than the main eventers; yes that's wrong. But you know
what, if the wrestlers can't work with what they have, then they aren't
that good to begin with maybe. I know, I know. Rey and Tajiri are the
"greatest" to some people and it's unfair that Ultimo Dragon "isn't
getting no fuking Smackdown match", but guess what? Vince bought them
because they wouldn't say no. If Ultimo is pissed because of the way
he's being used, he shouldn't have said yes, especially when he knew
what the WWE was all about the bigger men and Crusierweight wrestling
is a side attraction. If Rey is pissed because he was jobbed off in his
hometown, then he should realize that it isn't going to get any better.
Fact of the matter is, the Crusierweight division isn't making any
progress to better itself in the face of neglection. Want someone to
notice you? Work harder and better than everyone else. That way, you
either get what from your boss or you get a better deal from someone
else; don't blame politics and have your fans fight your battles for
you.
Fact or Fiction: There is too much hype on the internet about Wrestlemaina XX that it's hurting the product right now.
Phantom:
Considering we’ve read everything from Flair vs. Steamboat to Hart vs.
Angle to Austin vs. McMahon I would say Oh Hell Yeah this is a Fact.
I mean you can never over hype a massive event, but for the price that
they are charging for tickets and pay per view, I think the hype is
going to have a damaging effect on it especially since a lot of people
are going thinking a lot of old stars are coming back even though we
know there is no chance in hell of that happening.
Da Ref: I'll lean more towards FICTION
on this one. The problem is that this is supposed to be a HUGE
Wrestlemania because it's the 20th Anniversary and it's being held in
Madison Square Gardens, home of the first one. With all of that as well
as the hyping of it since the last one, it has to be bigger than any
other. Right now, they don't really have anything going into the show
that will be a box office smash. Austin having a match at WM XX is in
question. Who the Rock will face is in question. The right challengers
for the two World Titles is in question. Based on a brief moment at
Survivor Series, I thought they would've gone with WWE Champ Brock
Lesnar versus World Champion Bill Goldberg, which would've been an
appropriate match because you have the two top dogs of each "brand"
against each other. That adds drama. Now, it looks like that won't
happen. Sure, one of the brands will have their World Title challenger
named at the Royal Rumble but what about the other? How do you come up
with an opponent for a match of not only Wrestlemania quality but the
quality for the 20th Anniversary of the event?
Stanman: Oh wow, FICTION!
You can never over-hype Wrestlemania, let alone Wrestlemania XX. It's
going to be a historic show as something memorable is bound to happen
that night. You have the twentieth anniversary of the biggest spectacle
in sports entertainment at Madison Square Garden. That is huge. It's
the only thing that is making me watch the WWE right now. All this hype
better knock some sense into the WWE writers to produce the best show
they can. From the looks of it, this is their last chance to get out of
this major slump.
Dumass:Fact, by the abundant
columns on the IWC surface about what may or may not happen, I'd say
that's a huge fact. You know what I think might happen at Wrestlemaina
XX? I DON'T KNOW! It's way too early for columnists and message board
dwellers to know anything that's going to happen several months from
now. Why? Because the WWE books things on an hourly basis! They have
the attention spans of a ADD kid looking at a wall. All this
"Wrestlemaina Predictions" stuff to the internet columnist is called
"lazy writing". They book a fantasy show
that probably won't happen, no matter how good they are. If they were
so terrific at it, then why aren't they giving the same attention to a
Raw or Smackdown? Because it isn't the same thing? That's horseshit. In
order to help a product, you must analyze all prospects of the said
product. I don't care about "importance" of a certain event, I want
care to all the shows, that way, it doesn't seem like one show can save
the product. To give your thoughts and opinions on WMXX this early is
stupid, especially when the "smart fans", you know the ones who know
that Raw or Smackdown is written in half a day, are trying to make the
WWE competant enough to plan this shit out months in advance. Morons.
The
message board goons aren't a cakewalk either. Every message board I go
to, it's filled with "What will happen at Wrestlemaina XX????!!" I go
inside because I can't resist calling people idiots and proving them
wrong and the entire thread is filled with stupid remarks of "Bret HArt should com bak coz hes' the bests", "Hogan shoud be at Wrestlesmainia because hes Hoagn!", and my favorite, "Falir
and Stremboat should fight each other because they had a great match
that my dad was talking about because I asked him and he started saying
that sTemaboat was great". No one should be wondering what's going
to happen in several months because that's hurting Raw and Smackdown
right now. I haven't given much thought to Wrestlemania XX because I
know things can change and I might just be wrong if I give my
predictions now; thus I will be called stupid, which is not something a
columnist likes being called. But I'll give you a taste of my opinion
what will happen. Wanna know what I think will happen at Wrestlemania
XX? Too fucking bad, learn to grow some patience and wait for it come,
bastards.
Tinaali: There is too much hype on the internet about Wrestlemania XX that it's hurting the product right now. WrestleMania, what’s that? Is that something new they are having this year? It’s the first I have heard about it. [/sarcasm] C’mon. Give me a break. Without a doubt, Fact.
I know it’s the big 20th anniversary celebration but what they have
done with this year’s WrestleMania is worse than seeing Christmas
decorations in the stores before the kid’s have even had a chance to
say “Trick or Treat.” We all know that WrestleMania is coming up in
March. It does every year so it’s not like it is going to catch the
fans off guard. They have been hyping it up since the day after
WrestleMania XIX. The problem with shoving it down out throats every
time we turn around is that they are making it harder and harder to
live up to their own hype. What sucks is that if you aren’t already
tired of hearing about it, chances are you will be soon enough. Now
that we are down to the last three months before the big show I am
willing to bet Michael Cole will be mentioning it at least as many
times as he made military references when calling the matches in
Baghdad. Was it just me or did that get on anyone else’s nerves too?
Tito: Disagreed. This is FICTION
because Wrestlemania 20 at least has people talking. The WWE's current
television product has nothing special to talk about, but a
Wrestlemania 20 broadcast from Madison Square Garden IS something to
talk about. What WWE wrestlers will come back? What great matches will
be booked? Etc. The year 'round hype has been good for the WWE, and the
internet rumors are only spiking interest that much more.
Villiano:
I don’t think the hype about WM XX on the net has anything to do with
the hurting product right now. The product is hurting because of the
lackluster storylines and the poor booking on each show. Pushing
wrestlers that noone cares about/or are tired of is hurting the
product. On the last RAW of 2003 Vince and Linda both made comments
that the WWE listens to their fans and does what the fans want. Their
comments are just like this subject, it’s FICTION.
Fact of Fiction: The Brand Split in the WWE will be ended by the end of next year
Da Ref:FICTION.
Vince is too stubborn to realize that things aren't working as much as
he thought they were. He believes that he has created two separate
"brands" that aren't like each other. Meanwhile, everyone else sees
it's still WWE with WWE wrestlers on both WWE shows wrestling the same
WWE style that has been with WWE since they were the WWF.
Dumass: It should have finished at the end of 2002. FICTION because God knows the WWE doesn't know when to quit.
Villiano: The WWE has way too much money and time invested into this and they won’t give up on it this early proving this is FICTION.
Other than talent not being used correctly, the split has gone well.
They’ve done a very good job of splitting the brands, but still showing
the fans that all the wrestlers are still under the WWE banner. Ending
the brand extension anytime in the near future just wouldn’t make any
sense.
Tito: As much as I hate to admit it, this is FACT.
Ratings and business will continue down a downward spiral and Vince
McMahon will become paranoid. A simple short term solution would be to
merge the rosters. It would create a small ratings bump and give fans
some good match ups, namely the Smackdown roster guys against Triple H
or Shawn Michaels. I say this will happen after another weak summer of
wrestling for the WWE. Good short term solution, but bad in the long
run, for the brand extension allows for guys like John Cena or even
Randy Orton to get any airtime.
Stanman: That is a FACT.
Although the WWE management is stubborn beyond belief, business is
business. They will realize that this whole thing is a failure due to
their ignorance and inability to hire good writers to make the split a
success. And it will be a huge attempt to lure fans back to boost
ratings and house show attendance, which has been sub-par for the past
year or so.
Tinaali: The Brand Split in the WWE will be ended by the end of next year Fact.
Actually I see this happening by the end of this year. The WWE needs to
mix things up and the only way to do that is to end this ridiculous
brand split. It looks like they are already considering this due to the
teasing of cross-brand matches. Look at Survivor Series. Granted
Kane interfering in the match between the Undertaker and Vince may not
have surprised the fans that read spoilers but since I don’t read them
I was pleasantly surprised. It seemed only natural that it would
happen but the fact that there was interaction between the two brands
did wonders for the match. What shocked me even more was when Brock was
being interviewed and Goldberg stepped up to the mic. That was a golden
moment for me since I have wanted a match between the two of them since
they signed Goldberg. Hopefully we will be seeing more of this at
WrestleMania XX. If they don’t have any cross-brand matches at
WrestleMania I am going to be very disappointed. However, if they don’t
want to end the split they do need to start a draft or have more of the
free agent storylines such as with Matt Hardy. Right now they need to
do something to spike the interest of fans again and I firmly believe
this would be a step in the right direction.
Phantom: I think it will, so Fact
on this one. RAW is in need of new faces and Smackdown has no one to
really feud with Brock Lesnar. It’s only a matter of time before they
think of some bullshit way to end the feud. Make a unified champion
once again. The easiest thing to do would be the unify the world
heavyweight and tag team titles. The other belts can be defended on
both shows. It would do wonders to break up the same old predictable
finishes and matches for the titles. Plus John Cena need’s to be one
RAW. Give him a live microphone and he’ll do to that what Austin did
for flipping the bird.
Fact of Fiction: Hogan would have killed off NWA-TNA if the deal had went through and they signed Hogan
Dumass:
You know that lyric in Hendrix's 'Voodoo Child', "I stand up next to a
mountain, and I chop it down with the edge of my hand", that is the
perfect description of Hogan. FACT. Realize that Hogan is the
one person who truly believes he is completely perfect. He really
believes that everything he does and all his ideas and stuff is
completely reasonable and upright. In so many words, the guy is
deluded. If the TNA deal had gone down, he would have destroyed the
backstage morale and the on-screen workrate of the entire show probably
in about one night. He would have been given the title probably in 2-3
weeks of his arrival and would be exactly who he was in his last stint
in the WWE; living off the nostalgia and "old days". We, then, get
another "shoot promo" from Vince "The Prince" Russo about Hogan is
awful and blah blah blah, and BOOM!, recycled 1999 storylines, losing
interest to everyone involved and, by May or June of 2004, NWA-TNA will
go the way of the dodo and XWF; extinction.
Now, I've been a
Hogan mark for a long time of my life, and yes, I do feel good when
Hogan came out for his final run in the WWE and the crowd would
continue cheering; that felt great to watch, but guess what? That's
done, over, thrown away, and tossed out. I don't want to see Hogan
anymore. I want to see something new. I know TNA is the recycling
center of wrestling, turning former WCW and ECW junkyard waste into
budding new wrestlers again, but that's not going to happen with Hogan,
like it hasn't happened to the now-TNA-regular, Dusty Rhodes. I love
Dusty as well, but that's because I only watch matches of his when he
was worth watching; and the same goes for the "all-mighty" Hulkster.
Truth of the matter is, NWA-TNA got lucky. They lucked out not bringing
in the Orange Goblin to their side of the yard. All hatred aside for
Hogan (yes, the internet made me hate him, though the "Finger Point of
DOOM~!" didn't help either) and the fact that I'm not completely hooked
up on NWA-TNA in the first place, I really don't want to see Hogan
wrestle anymore and I don't want to see what could possibly be my next
choice in wrestling selection be ruined by complete and profound
stupidity of hiring Hulk Hogan.
Da Ref: Because the deal
is still up in the air, I'll go with [b]FICTION[/b]. The one thing that
the Jarretts are doing is going with a per show deal. Some guys have
longer deals while some guys will get a certain amount of dates and
then, it's up in the air as to whether or not both sides will continue
their relationship. For all we know, the same could be said when it
comes to Hogan. Having him come in to hype the major PPV and do some
build up for the likely match against Jarrett could garner a lot more
attention than what NWA-TNA is getting now. If everything went well for
all parties involved, Hogan could continue with the company. If not,
they cut their losses and go back to what they've been doing.
Phantom: I think this is a Fact.
The Bound For Glory PPV is now hinging on whether Hulk Hogan can ever
wrestle again. Never mind the fact they have the talent, action, and
angles to fill a ppv. The only thing stopping them is if Hogan can
wrestle and will he wrestle for them. Now I know I said having Hogan as
NWA World Champion might be a good idea if he was allowed to go to
Wrestlemania 20 to defend the title against Steve Austin. But the more
I think about it, Hogan was never one to exactly defend a title. The 30
day clause to him ment 90 days because there were a lot of WCW PPV’s
when he was champion that had tag matches that he wasn’t part of as the
main event. The same would happen to TNA and in the long run ditching
Hogan might be the best idea they have had.
Tinaali:
Hogan would have killed off NWA-TNA if the deal had went through and
they signed Hogan This is a topic that is very near and dear to my
heart. With the exception of a few PPV’s I have been a loyal TNA fan
since their very first show. This is one of those things that could
have gone either way. Since I have to pick one I am going to say Fact even though I don’t think it would have been the death of TNA. Let’s face it. Hogan is
Hogan and his name does bring a certain amount of interest to a
product. I guarantee that Hogan’s involvement with TNA would have
generated temporary interest in TNA and may have even brought some new
fans into the mix but at what cost? He doesn’t have the Midas touch
anymore. He might be able to turn something to gold for a short bit but
eventually you realize that it was only that cheap gold plated crap
that you can find some crack head peddling down on the street
corner. In the long run I do believe he would have hurt TNA but
eventually it would have recovered. Hogan isn’t the answer for them.
The X-Division is. Sure it might take a bit longer to build a fan base
up without the cheap publicity stunts but in this case, slower is
better. The word is out on TNA right now and the interest in the
product is building fast. In the past four months since I have been
posting here I have seen more and more people realizing that TNA does
provide an outstanding alternative to the ever-declining WWE product.
If they truly want to be the alternative to WWE then they need to do
just that. You can’t provide an alternative by assimilating to the
competition.
Stanman: FICTION. No way. Hogan would
have boosted the NWA to a higher level with his star power. Now granted
he doesn't have the wrestling talent, but he does have the
entertainment value which compliments their brand of 'total non-stop
action'. If Hogan knew his role and not become the top guy in the
federation a la Jeff Jarrett, he could have helped the fed. When I say
know his role, I mean wrestle mid-card and put over the young wrestlers
like he was doing during his last stint in the WWE. If the NWA gave
Hogan total control, then maybe I would think differently.
Villiano: Hulk Hogan would have helped get NWA-TNA the television deal they so desperately need, so this is FICTION.
The internet may not like Hogan, but the casual fans love him. People
will pay money to see this guy just because he’s a legend. People still
want to see hulk Hogan wrestle. NWA-TNA needed that deal to go through
so they could get a shot at a television deal, now they have to get it
by some other means.
Tito: I say this is FICTION
only because the Jarretts are going to kill NWA-TNA anyway. Let's
ignore Hogan and look at 2 guys they brought in: Lex Luger and Dusty
Rhodes. I love Dusty, but Jesus, his prime and best wrestling days were
long ago. Secondly, how desperate can you get to bring in Lex Luger, or
all of the veterans out there? The Jarrett family books like the old
Southern NWA promotions, and not in there prime years. It's like
watching WCW Thunder all over again. Bringing in Hogan would have done
nothing for business, but with the way things were going, he wouldn't
hurt it much more than it already is.
Fact or Fiction: By the mid-2004, TNA will have a major TV deal to contend with the WWE.
Tito: Total FICTION.
Until the Jarretts present a unique product, instead of a Vince Russo
shock value show mixed with Southern wrasslin', this show will remain
on Pay Per View until someone runs out of money. Another point is that
the WWE has damaged all chances of any other federation getting a
television deal. Does anybody remember the Parents Television Council
(PTC)? They attacked the WWE's advertisers, making less advertisement
dollars per WWE show. Wrestling shows are not as profitable as regular
programming, even if the ratings are much higher. The WWE has muddied
the waters for any promotion to get a television deal.
Da Ref: I'll say FICTION.
The talks with WGN have not been reported as much as they were when
everything started. So, it's hard to say that something will be put
into place before the end of 2004.
Stanman: Nope. FICTION.
Wrestling is a downward trend in the mainstream media. I seriously
doubt any network would want to build a fed from scratch, seeing that
the NWA does not have a huge fanbase to begin with. Unless, they can
find an investor to help with their financial situation, like Ted
Turner helped WCW, the WWE has nothing to worry about in terms of
competition. It is a shame too, because I would like to see the WWE
writers get off their asses and write some good shows for once.
Dumass:
If they constantly keep bringing in people to "save" the buyrates every
week, I don't think TNA is going to enough money to pay the wrestlers,
no less get on TV. FICTION. I haven't watched TNA in about 4
months now. Am I missing the "the best wretling in the world"? No,
that's still on the WWE Free TV. Am I missing my former favorite
wrestlers coming back and kicking some ass? No, I remember when Vader
made an appearance, lost, and didn't come back the next week. Newsflash
NWA-TNA: One hit wonders and "pop up" stars do not go well when you are
trying to gain crediblity to a federation. Dusty Rhodes may have drawn
crowds in the 80s, but even his accent hasn't been pushed up with the
times of 2004. Vader isn't going to bring ratings in because no one
(and I mean no one) in the 2000-2003 crowd knows who Vader is, let
alone why he's so damn important.
If the NWA wants to start
making an actual run for a TV deal, they should start with getting some
established 'NWA-TNA' stars. Guys who only work for NWA-TNA and no one
else. Want to know what also is a good thing? House shows; they work
wonders for the reaching of a TV deal because they actually give the
crowd (who don't want to fork over 10$ a week) a chance to see these
great wrestlers wrestle. Oh my God! What a fucking concept! Another
thing they can do is stop with the "one hit wonder" signings. I don't
care if D-Lo Brown was missused in the WWE, I don't care if he's doing
great in TNA, he's a WWE-fired jobber to every'internet' and TV fan out
there in TV Land. Raven can be the best wrestler you got, but the fans
aren't going to really care since he's a former WWE jobber (though to
Raven's defense, he has really stepped it up a notch; kudos to him).
Stop hiring wrestlers left and right because that is soon going to eat
up a lot of money.
Finally, don't rely on quick fixes. Do not
come out one show and suddenly have a Vader or a Dusty Rhodes pop up
and stick around for 3 weeks, or in Vader's case, one night. No matter
what happens, that's not going to help your product at all. Why?
Because there is no limit to who you can bring out. What if one week we
get to see a Clockwork Orange Whateverthefuck Match with AJ Styles and
Kamala the Ugandan Giant? Oh yes, people will rush to their PPV
controls and shell out 10$ to see that.[/sarcasm] In the end, TNA may
not get a TV deal by June of 2004. If they do, then they have a lot of
changes to do in order for the fans to really give a shit about them.
They need to start showing off their product in more places other than
Nashville or wherever they are coming from because that's not where the
rest of the country focuses their attention. They are not WCW and they
do not have the all-profiting power of Billionaire Ted and his deep
pockets; they better get their shit together and start acting like a
real federation.
Villiano: TNA may get a television deal,
but there’s no way in hell that NWA-TNA will be able to contend with
the WWE in 2004. The WWE still has a major monopoly over the sport and
will keep a tight grip on things for the next few years. Thinking that
TNA can overtake the WWE this year is FICTION.
Phantom:
I really want to say fact, but I know other wise since I know how
television works. Supposedly TNA is about to sign a deal with WGN to
broadcast Xplosion on Saturday Mornings. This is like them getting
their own version of Wrestling Challenge or Superstars. While it will
get them attention, it won’t do much since most of their audience (like
people like me) are asleep at 10 in the morning on a Saturday. I’m
gonna say Fiction on this one only because TNA is not ready to
go head to head with Mt. McMahon. By 2005 they might be, but if they
try to go National now I can safely say a lot of TNA’s roster will be
offered a lot of money to come up north where they will be promptly
squashed by the WWE’s good ol’ boy network.
Tinaali: By the mid-2004, TNA will have a major TV deal to contend with the WWE. Fiction.
As much as I love them I do not think they are ready for a major TV
deal yet. There is still a lot of improvement needing done before they
can pull in enough ratings to keep a major cable station interested in
carrying their product from week to week. If they try and make the move
too soon they are setting themselves up for failure and once it is done
on a national level, there is no way to save face. Right now they are
on the right track. Their deal with WGN is perfect for them. TNA is
still in the grassroots phase and they need to build their fan base up
a bit more before trying to go head to head with WWE. I do see great
things happening for them this year. Mid-2004 is way too soon but at
the rate they are going expect to see a major deal on the table for them by mid-2005.
Who will be the breakout star of 2004
Tinaali:
With so many to choose from this is a hard question to answer. For the
WWE Cena is the hottest thing going but I would consider 2003 to be his
breakout year so instead I am going to go with Little Johnny. Just
kidding… Seriously though, for the WWE I have to go with a tag team as
opposed to a singles wrestler. Paul London and Brian Kenderick aka Spanky.
Although I almost always forget to watch Velocity, I hear that the fans
are going nuts for these two. What I have witnessed by these two is
that they have great chemistry as well as good in-ring ability. Sounds
like the recipe for success to me. Eventually Vince has to give us what
we want right? Yeah, even though we are little kids that want candy for
every meal I think he will see that sometimes giving us candy isn’t a
bad thing. Expect to see more of these two soon.
As for TNA… I
hate to see any of them become a breakout star but that is purely for
selfish reasons since breaking out would mean being picked up by the
WWE. If there is one person who could make it there, it there it would
have to be Christopher Daniels. As long as he could keep his
Fallen Angel gimmick I think he could do quite well as a cruiserweight.
As for what show, I think he would fit in quite well on Smackdown. If
he doesn’t leave TNA for the WWE, expect this man to have the
Heavyweight Title by mid-year. One way or another, great things are in
store for the Fallen Angel this year. He is definitely on the ones to
watch list.
Tito: I personally believe Edge will
come back on a roll. He's had a year to think about his career, and see
the WWE from a different perspective. He remembers how he lost the
political game on the way out (being blamed for not getting Albert over
as a main eventer). He'll be a fresh face that everyone will want to
welcome back and he'll hopefully get some respect from the WWE in 2004.
Phantom: In the WWE I think it will be John Cena.
He’s going to have the same kind of year in 1997 that Austin had
leading up to his run in 1998. I think they made a huge mistake not
giving him the US Title in front of the troops in Iraq but even still
he is probably the most over guy on all of Smackdown. He can do no
wrong. For NWA-TNA I’m gonna say it’s Abyss Sure guys like
Chris Sabin, Christopher Daniels, and C.M. Punk are tipped for
greatness, but in the end Abyss is probably the best big man since Kane
when he first debuted in the fall of 1997. I believe Abyss will be the
NWA World Champion at some point this year and he would be a great
choice. Watch his match with A.J. Styles. If anyone from the WWE is
reading, that is how you book a Big Man vs. Small Man match. Abyss has
the look, talent, and moves to pull it off. I think he is going to be
the break out star of 2004 for TNA.
Stanman: NOBODY!
With the politics going on backstage in both RAW and Smackdown, the
current top guys will be holding their place at the top tier, the
underappreciated workers will still be underappreciated and the
undeserving wrestlers will get the pushes. Come on, you all should know
the WWE by now. Who has been the breakout star of this past year?
Absolutely no one! It's going to remain that way for the year 2004 as
well. It's quite sad, really.
Da Ref: Even though he started breaking out this year, I have to go with an easy choice and say JOHN CENA.
For WWE, this guy has been pure gold. The company spent a lot of their
time pushing Randy Orton as the next Rock because both are third
generation wrestlers. They started him out as the ultra-babyface with
very little personality and then turned him heel to try and capture
lightning in a jar. Yet, on Smackdown, you had this guy who was a total
babyface from OVW making his debut in a match against Kurt Angle
followed by a feud here and there with very little response from the
crowd. He goes heel and adopts a rap gimmick. He gets on the mic and
shows he can work a crowd. What happens? The fans start cheering for
him and it's almost as if the company has no choice but to make this
guy a face. Fortunately, his gimmick manages to carry over very well
from heel to face with little damage to what the fans liked about him.
THAT sounds more like the evolution of Rocky Maivia than Randy Orton.
Villiano: The WWE has a gold mine sitting on Smackdown, and 2004 will be the greatest year of his career. I’m talking about Chris Benoit.
The guy’s being built for a giant push for the main event at
Wrestlemania XX against Brock Lesnar, where he will win his first WWE
Championship. Benoit will hold that belt for most of the rest of 2004,
if not all of it, and cement himself as one of the most talented WWE
Champions of all time.
Dumass: My pick is a tie between Chris Benoit and CM Punk.
CM
Punk has been conquering alot in the indy scenes, he's been making the
TNA alot of fun to watch, and his fued with Raven in late 2003 has been
giving alot of praise his way. The kid can do no wrong and he is
quickly getting noticed. I saw him live once and I knew this kid would
be big someday. The matches he's had in the past are nothing like he's
having in TNA and hopefully he can win some hearts. One thing I do not
advise for him is to not jump when Vince starts to call. Do not go the
way of alot of the other recent indys greats are doing (IE: Spanky,
Paul London) and sign with Vince right off the bat. Develop more with
the fans and try getting some more training in. Go for the best in TNA
and demand it. I want a wrestler who will fight for his spot and I know
CM can be that one young saving grace that TNA and pro wrestling needs
to get into some people's heads and pockets.
Now, Chris
Benoit. I remember when that guy was finally able to showcase his
talents on American mainstay television. I was completely awed in
seeing him. That was 10 years ago and in ECW. Now it's 2004 and the
WWE. This will be the year of Benoit if he's given a chance to shine.
Giving the title shot at Royal Rumble to Hardcore Holly isn't one of
the best ways to do that; but I'm sure someone with the right
intentions (WAKE THE FUCK UP PAUL AND REPRESENT THIS MAN!!!)
will be more than happy to led him in the right direction. His unique
ability of being able to light the crowd on fire as easily as you flick
a lightswitch (yet no one will pay to see him main event) is amazing.
His entire movelist of above impact moves makes him dangerous. He can
make anyone (and I mean anyone) look like a million dollar savings
bond. Now is the time for Benoit to be the champion. Now is the time
for Benoit to follow the trail that alot of fans and wrestlers think he
should have had years ago. This is the year of Chris Benoit.
Closing Thoughts
Tinaali: As far as wrestling is concerned I can’t say that I am sad to see this year pass.
There is nothing more refreshing than being able to put a less than
stellar year behind and start out with a clean slate again. I have high
hopes for 2004 as far as wrestling is concerned. Less McMahons and more
Cruiserweights. More TNA and no more Why, Why, Why from Jimmy Hart.
Less Lawler & JR and more Tazz & Cole. Those are just a few of
my wishes for the coming year. On a worldwide note I want to see less
of our soldiers dying and more of them coming home. I have to say that
watching Smackdown in Baghdad almost moved me to tears a few times
during the show. It wasn’t Santa getting knocked down or tears of
boredom from watching Rhyno either. The fact that there are families
here in the US watching the show for glimpses of their loved ones
should move even the coldest of hearts. Seeing signs that say “I Love
You Rachael” or “I Miss You Mom” choked me up so much that I had to
leave the room at one point. Granted we see signs similar to this week
in and week out but the fact that this was one of our soldiers few ways
of making contact with loved ones at home was heart wrenching to me. At
the end when the man in charge of the USO shows was telling Vince how
he hoped they would come back next year, I just couldn’t help but say a
little prayer that somehow it won’t be necessary to do this again next
Christmas. Let’s all hope that next year the world will be a safer
place. I want to wish you all out there in cyberland best wishes for a
safe and happy New Year. Thanks for reading.
Villiano:
2003 was a mighty interesting year for the WWE. I didn’t say good, I
said interesting. RAW had a total of 2 title changes for an entire
year. Makes you want to watch their shows since they are so
unpredictable. 2003 was the year of the cruiserweight on Smackdown. Too
bad A-Train and the other fat hosses forgot to read the memo and wasted
all of the cruiserweights camera time and ate all the food backstage.
Nothing sticks out in my mind as a positive in 2003, and I am an
optimist, so I think 2004 will be a better year for the WWE.
Phantom:
What can I say about 2003 that I haven’t said all ready at some point.
Wrestling wise is was half and half. Half was good and Half totally
sucked ass. I’m dreading 2004 because a lot could happen both in
Wrestling and Life it self. I truly am worried about what I’ll be
typing one year from now in this column. Who died. Who didn’t do this.
Why did this happen. For the time being lets just all hope it’s a good
and safe year for everyone involved.
Da Ref: To close
things out, let me just say this. If 2003 is any indication of what we
can look forward to in 2004, the business in the States is screwed.
Why? Because nothing has changed whatsoever for the better. On RAW,
there's no new main eventers. On Smackdown, it's back to the 80's with
the idea of "Big Men Equal Money." With NWA-TNA, they're still trying
to get their foothold after a year and a half in existence. MLW took a
step back and has to try and get back in the race. ROH had Jeff Hardy
screw up a match for them. I know that the Georgia indy scene is even
more screwed up than ever. I guess the only saving grace of this year
is that XPW has finally been taken out back and put to sleep.
Stanman:
The year 2003 has been quite a weird one, I'll tell you that. The WWE
has had better days with their creative staff. Changes need to happen
within WWE management in order to produce a profitable product once
again. Until that happens, we will be seeing the S.O.S. over and over
again. The funny thing is, I don't see any changes happening soon.
Which leads me to..
For those of you who read my column, Stanman's Wrestling AfterThoughts,
you all know how hard it is for me to write about a product that
REFUSES to improve itself. I used to write a column every week back
when I first started, but recently I have been pumping one column once
every month, IF I'm lucky. Motivation is a key factor for my writing
and for the past few months, I had very little. On that note, I am
officially retiring from column writing. Yeah, that's right, I'm
announcing it here on Fact or Fiction, the hottest column on the
internet. Props to Phantom Lord for letting me do this.
Thank you to all who provided me with feedback and suggestions as it is *greatly* appreciated. And a big shout out to all the Vogies who helped me get me to where I am today (you know who you are). I'm the last of the breed, so to speak.
I will still be around LOP as a news reporter and for the Column Of The Month submissions. Speaking of which, go visit the LOP Columns Forum. I cannot stress how good the talent is there. Unbelievable.
What a way to end the year, eh? With a final SWAT.
Take care and Happy New Year! Please clearly state it is Feedback in the message title otherwise the mail will get deleted
