1. Teddy Long should have backed up his actions instead of apologizing for them.
Nobody wants to hear that Long did what he did because he was afraid for his job. Sure, it's feasible given the interactions that Long has had with Vince McMahon the last few weeks on Smackdown, but as McMahon said this week, he was trying to get Long to make the show more entertaining, to get the fans more involved, etc. How in the world does screwing The Undertaker out of the World Heavyweight Championship accomplish that?
The WWE already played the economy card late last year and early this year by having Shawn Michaels beholden to JBL for such a long time; there's absolutely no reason to go there again. We all get it; we all know that Long didn't want to lose his job and that McMahon was putting pressure on him. He could have easily claimed that signing Batista away from RAW was the first step towards his show's "improvement," with more to come.
So now what we have is a situation that I wish was a rarity in the WWE--a storyline that makes no sense. Long didn't explain a goddamn thing about why making sure The Undertaker didn't leave with the World Heavyweight Title was going to help him keep his job, or how CM Punk being included in the plot added to the situation or even why the champ would have gone along with it. Really, nothing's been explained to this point.
All we have is one man believing he never tapped, another believing he won by submission(or at least pretending to,) and a third who believes he was forced into actions that he is apparently sick to his stomach about. The first party has kidnapped the third party, while the second retains his
freedom, his confidence, and his championship. It's all very confusing; and needlessly so.
Long mentioned that he did this because he has a family to support; that he didn't want his family to see him in the unemployment line. That's all well and good, but I've got a family, too, and would I rather see a druggie like Hardy or a man who claims to be starting a reign of darkness be the Heavyweight Champion of the World above a guy who preaches morality, a drug-free existence, and immense personal strength?
Of course not, and that's what Long should have said--that he's doing this for his family; that he's doing this because the only man who deserves to be World Champion is CM Punk, because he's the only man fit for the job. See, it would have been so easy for Teddy to say that he believes that the champion of his show needs to be a man of conviction and a role model; and that only Punk was truly Championship Material in that regard.
Long should have said he had nothing to apologize for; that he was trying to protect his family along with all of our children--that he was doing the right thing by helping Punk get rid of Hardy and keep the World Title away from the Undertaker. That would have made sense and maybe it would help people believe he deserves whatever he has coming from the Dead Man between now and next Friday.
2. After seven years, TNA still seems small time.
Don't get me wrong; I'm very pleased at the result of the main event last night at No Surrender. While I know there's a few that feel differently, the right guy went over and it's the best thing for the organization to have one of the very best workers in the world finally in the World Title position. However, the way it happened leaves something to be desired, doesn't it? While I think Impact! has been pretty good lately, I don't watch many TNA Pay Per Views, and this is the second straight one that undervalued the World Title.
Slammiversary was the actual seven-year-mark for the organization and instead of doing something to celebrate the organization itself, they had Samoa Joe swerve everybody in the world by joining the organization that was formed mostly to get rid of he and Styles--the Main Event Mafia--by handing Kurt Angle the World Title to hang on the hook for victory in the King of the Mountain match. Now, three months later, Sting dives out of the ring to attack Matt Morgan, allowing AJ to hit is sweet springboard-450 to win the strap.
It's awesome that AJ Styles is the World Heavyweight Champion and it's even more awesome that Sting basically passed the torch to him last night, but it could have been done in a better way. Sting could have won the strap last night and dropped it to AJ at Bound For Glory, which is supposed to be their biggest show of the year. Instead, they're ignoring AJ's history of being the NWATNA World Heavyweight Champion on three occasions and acting like this is the first time he has been on top of the promotion...
And that's not all. In what has been hailed by many as the match of the night, ODB defeated her once (and future) paramour, "The Deaner" to win her first ever Knockouts Championship. I got up to finish cooking during this match, so I can't attest to the quality of the match, but I can state with absolute certainty that having Cody Deaner even in the running for what used to be the hottest championship in the organization is ridiculous; especially when the most dominant woman in the world is booked to the side, having spats with her manager.
Speaking of the Knockouts division, they just added a tag title to it, which is all fine and dandy, except that the most over person in either women's division just got shit-canned because she allowed her work Visa to expire. While it's certainly the individual's ultimate responsibility to take care of this kind of detail, I can't imagine that this is something that would ever have been allowed to happen in a better run organization. Now Sarita and Taylor Wilde (Ugh and Double Ugh) are the champs of a division that's about to fall on its face.
How about the other divisions? Booker T and Scott Steiner have no business with the tag straps while the Motor City Machine Guns are being used as nothing more than comedy relief and Beer Money Incorporated are being used in a kind of tangential feud with MEM. It's nice that The Dudleyz are putting them over as being some of their toughest competition ever, but Booker and Steiner really need to step aside from there. What about the X Division? Samoa Joe was the hottest thing in wrestling 3 years ago and now he's a fat, out-of-shape afterthought.
The Legends Title is around the waist of "Mr. Show Me The Money" Kevin Nash and may or may not be defended in what everyone assumes will be a Monster's Ball at BFG. TNA did a great thing by getting the World Title on AJ Styles; now it's time to let him run with the ball and lead the charge for the youth movement in TNA. MEM has already lasted longer than it should have, and they have yet to do their job of getting over the young talent. If TNA is still in this state six months from now, it won't matter how many shows they have on Spike TV; the feeling that they'll never be big-time will be overwhelming.
3. BK finally got to hear his Fred reference on RAW!
I've never seen a television show with Cedric The Entertainer in it, I've never seen him perform stand-up comedy, and unless he was in Barber Shop, I've never seen him act in a movie, either. Still, when I read that he was going to be the celebrity guest host for RAW this week, the only thing I could think was what a horrible idea it was. I actually let out an audible, "Ugh." It's amazing how hit and miss these celebrities have been and I don't believe I underestimated how much he was going to miss.
I've had DirecTV for almost three months now and as much as I hate not being able to watch Smackdown on television, since I don't have a local non-cable MyTV, I have to say that the ability to DVR RAW makes up for it, since I can still watch Smackdown online. It's the new fall television season now and with two 2-hour premieres I wanted to see and the fact that I hate sitting through RAW live, I started watching it at 9 p.m., after Heroes recharge premiere was over. Needless to say, I was extremely glad I watched it DVRed.
When I came down, my son had just started watching it after deciding he'd rather watch House tomorrow with the family--which, if you have or ever have had a 13-year old son, you'll know is surprising--and he asked me if I wanted him to rewind to the beginning of RAW. I said, "Of course I do." He said, "Okay, but the beginning is pretty lame." Those words did not describe the bullshit that was Cedric The Entertainer arriving to RAW. From what I saw last night, I'd say that the dude is completely misnamed.
Watching a dude greet a gaggle of geeks and freaks as they step out of a limo does not constitute entertainment as far as I'm concerned, nor does standing up on a stage making fun of professional wrestlers. Cedric may have been the host last night, but he's also a guest there and I thought the part of his diatribe I tried to listen to(DVR, remember?) and be amused by was in poor taste at the extreme end, and completely unfunny at the other one. I am bound and determined to not let today's column be completely negative, though, so let me say this...
This segment was saved by a certain faux-Italian coming out and saying he was a big fan of "Frederick The Entertainment," and after being corrected several times by the host replying something along the lines of "That's okay, I'll just call you Fred." The subsequent bullshit involving Chavo--and later that fuckwad Leprechaun and (I assume)Ezekiel Jackson--notwithstanding, Santino was the funniest part on RAW last night and he's the kind of entertainment I don't mind watching for a segment or two per week.
It's true that I thought Santino was running out of gas after dropping the Intercontinental Title to Regal and later breaking up with Beth Phoenix, but that's untrue. I hated his "Santina" character, but more often than not, the guy is comedy gold; I just wish he could wrestle. If he could, he'd be the closest thing that we have to The Rock; at least as a junior heavyweight. As it is, he's been the go-to entertainment guy on RAW lately. I don't remember if he did anything last week, but he saved the Price is RAW, as well as Frederick.
The thing that the current writing team of RAW(and the WWE overall) seems to be getting better at is putting guys in a position at which they can succeed. Unfortunately, Santino is never going to be a great in-ring talent, but as they continue to try to find the proper balance on the red show between wrestling and skits, that doesn't mean he can't be invaluable. Right now, the ratings show that this whole celebrity guest host thing is working pretty well, but if it ever runs its course I think they already have the right guy to fill the GM slot.
4. Scott Colton and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling deserve each other.
I love Ring of Honor. I mean I really, really love it. With apologies to all the Kevin Nealon fans out there, I'm going to answer some of my own questions for a while here. Hopefully you guys will all stick with me while I'm doing so. Do I still think ROH will compete with the WWE someday? Really, I have no idea. Six months ago, I thought their business plan was so solid that they were already the number two company in the world and that within five to ten years they'd be competing on a level playing field with the WWE, but things change.
One of those changes that happened more than six months ago, but less than twelve months ago, was the booking change. Was I happy that Gabe Sopolski was fired and replaced by Adam Pearce? No, no I wasn't. Did that make me want to stop watching the product? No, no it didn't. I felt like that would be an overreaction, that Pearce would need some time to grow into his new role, and that it wasn't just the company who needed to give him the time to grow; it was also the fans. After all, talent tends to win out.
I met Larry Sweeney when I was down in Houston, as I already wrote about once, and he seemed a little manic, but also like a helluva nice guy, so do I like the way ROH treated him? No, no I don't. What about the reports of financial irresponsiblity: bounced paychecks, disagreements on payouts with Dragon Gate, etc. that came out at the same time? Am I happy about those? No, of course not, and these things more than stars leaving the organization have me worried about the future. I'm not pessimistic, but I'm no longer as optimistic as I was.
So, then, the obvious questions are: "Why do I still love ROH?" and "What in the world does this have to do with Scott Colton or TNA?" I still love ROH because they still emphasize wrestling above all else. I believe there was a time that went without saying when one was talking about a wrestling promotion, but it's no longer the case and I believe there is utmost importance in there being a company keeping the wrestling flame alive in the professional wrestling business. Do you not agree? Yes, yes you do.
The irony isn't lost on me that the one time I was able to go to an ROH event and the first year that the company has its own national television deal is when all their troubles converged. The most recent and celebrated aspect of those troubles, of course, is the recent news that both Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness have signed with World Wrestling Entertainment and will be making their final ROH appearance this weekend against each other. Hot on the heels of these announcements is news that Scott Colton had a tryout match yesterday.
So, who the hell is Scott Colton? If you're only a fan of the WWE, you may remember him for his six Smackdown episodes as a jobber named Scotty Goldman. If, however, you are a true fan of professional wrestling, you will absolutely know him better as Colt "Boom Boom" Cabana. Cabana was once seen as a sure-fire, can't miss prospect by the WWE, but since they drained all the originality and personality out of his character like they do nearly everyone else, they did, indeed, take a half-hearted swing at him and miss.
He then went back to his ROH roots and has been plying his trade there for the last 6 months--ever since the 7-Year Anniversary Show. Now, however, he may get the chance to move on again and despite my and his love for ROH, he needs to take it. Cabana has all the tools necessary to be a major star; those that say he isn't in "Danielson's and Nigel's class" need to get a clue. There's nothing the guy can't do in the ring and he's so humble there's nothing he won't do. He's got the charisma, the technical ability, and plain work rate to be huge.
If the youth movement TNA started over the last few months continues, they and Colton will be a match made in heaven and he'll become a major superstar. When I say they deserve each other, do I mean it in the derogatory way in which that phrase is usually uttered? No, no I don't.(Sorry, couldn't resist) Colton, Cabana, whatever you want to call him has all the tools and Total Nonstop Action has spots available along with the desire to create new and young stars, take chances, and capitalize on any mistakes made by the WWE. This is going to rock!
5. Old Scratch better start looking into the most economic heat source.
Yesterday morning I was pouring myself a cup of coffee when my boss sat down and started switching out our communication book--if it matters, that's a binder that has our time sheets, time off request forms, a notebook to leave each other information, etc. in it--since it needs to be replaced 3 to 4 times a year due to the massive amount of use and abuse it takes. I couldn't help noticing--and me, being me, commenting--that it was hot pink; not exactly the manliest color or something I want to touch every time I work. She said, "Yeah, sorry."
Outwardly, I joked that it was okay; that I'd find some spraypaint or something, but internally I noticed that with the black on white notation mixed with the pink being the colors of Bret Hart, his Hart Foundation, and now the Hart Dynasty that maybe it wouldn't be so bad and ruefully remembered when the pink and black attack was back. So imagine my surprise at the irony that was reading news (or rumors, if you prefer) that The Hitman is considering a return to the WWE in a non-wrestling role.
To say that the news filled me with hope and joy is a bit of an understatement. I hated the way Vince McMahon chose Shawn Michaels over him back in the fall of 1997, I hated everything about the Montreal Screwjob--especially all those that feel Bret had it coming for "not doing business the right way,"--you know, the Bret screwed Bret people--and I especially hated the way that he was misused in WCW right from the start and how when that finally got turned around he was put out of wrestling forever by Bill Goldberg.
I have to say that I never saw the the day coming that he'd work for WWE again...ever. Sure, Bret agreed to work with the WWE in creating a compilation DVD in which he was able to tell his side of the story and of which he had creative control of the content back in the fall of 2005 and to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in Spring 2006, but even so there was obviously still bitterness on the side of the Hitman, because he flew home from Chicago before Wrestlemania, forgoing the traditional new inductee presentation at the event.
Bret Hart is my favorite wrestler of all time and I hate how he was treated by the WWE, but I have always felt that there is business still to be done between the two sides.Now it looks like it may finally happen. I have rejoiced every time Bret has worked with the WWE since all of his personal problems; the errant dismissal, the concussions, the strokes, the divorces; whether it was to do the dvd, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, or simply to show up on the Vince McMahon tribute RAW that ended with the infamous car explosion.
While I know Bret is never going to be able to wrestle again--if he could have, I firmly believe he would have against Kurt Angle back in 2004--that doesn't mean that he can't be a contributing member to the WWE. He's always had a great nose for the business. He and his brothers all grew up in it, he's helped train wrestlers in it, and Vince McMahon was like a surrogate father to him. I know that if I was Bret it would have taken me a long time to get over all the bitterness he's felt since he was kicked out of one organization by McMahon and another by Goldberg.
Here's hoping these rumors are true, that they come to fruition, that Bret has decided a decade is enough time to be bitter and to allow oneself to be filled with hate, because he can help the company both on-screen and off. I've felt for a while that eventually Chris Jericho will take over the lead role in the Hart Dynasty, and maybe he still will wrestling-wise, but that doesn't mean the team can't use a mentor that possesses knowledge of the ins and outs of a stable. Come home, Bret. It's time for the Hitman to become the Godfather.
6. The WWE should get the ECW Title on William Regal.
There's a few guys in the history of the WWE that I don't think went as far as they possibly could have for one reason or another. Owen Hart, of course, is often sited as being a future world champion and I think that he definitely could have been if he had survived with everything playing out perfectly for him. Eddie Guerrero is another that died too early to reach the pinnacle he could have. Even though he was WWE Champion once, he wasn't dominant in that reign like I think he could have been with a second.
Then there's a guy like Raven who eventually won the NWA World Title--a victory that brought him to tears, as I've written about before--but who didn't achieve success in the WWE mostly because they didn't understand his character and didn't know how to use him the right way. I believe he holds the record for holding their Hardcore Title, but what did that piece of tin really mean anyway when you could lose it by being ambushed at an airport? Absolutely nothing, is what. Simply put, Scott Levy never achieved the stardom he should've.
The same, my friends, could easily be said of William Regal. They say fine wine gets better with age. I'll have the occasional glass at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I'm really not a wine drinker. I am, however, a professional wrestling connoisseur and I can definitely tell you that the older Regal gets, the better he gets. Sure, he could wrestle circles around people 15 years ago, but he couldn't command your attention or completely demolish someone while doing so or while verbally ruining them like he does now.
I believe he cost himself a run with the WWE Title last year by being suspended for a violation of the Wellness Policy. The guy was complete fire as the general manager and as the king of the ring and was in a major rivalry with Mr. Kennedy that was going to elevate both of them. Instead, he knocked himself out of his spot, like Jeff Hardy had done a couple of months before, and without the youth and fans on his side, he wasn't able to garner back momentum and support the way the druggie was, so the small, short window he had has passed.
He's never going to get the WWE Title or the World Heavyweight Title, despite how good he is. There's too much of a logjam in front of him already, and as they look to build new stars up, it's only going to get worse. He should, however, get the ECW Title sooner, rather than later, but not only because of his own merit. No, he needs to win the ECW Title at Hell in a Cell or right around that time, because after watching ECW this week, I'm convinced it's time for Christian to move to another brand.
I've never been that big of a fan of Christian in the WWE. In a lot of ways, my opinion of him has wavered as much as my opinion of Randy Orton has. They both run hot and cold with me. TNA was a different story, because Christian proved while he was there how great his talent really was and that he was capable of being a big fish in a small pond, which I guess is the same thing he's proving right now on ECW. I haven't watched that show for months, but I decided to tune in this week to see Zack Ryder get his shot at the championship.
The two had a great match, and Ryder held his own pretty well, but what really struck me was how much Christian has elevated himself as a performer and grown his move-set. I still think he's going to have moobies worse than Ric Flair's, but the way he commands the ring, the way he moves in it, and the way the crowd was completely behind his every move really impressed me. The WWE looked within and found their heel replacement for Edge in CM Punk. I think if they look hard enough they'll see that they've already got their face replacement for Jeff Hardy, as well.
7. Sometimes living in the past is the only way to get through the present.
I'm really enjoying writing these daily missives. I've thought about doing this for a long time and, in fact, when I first started writing it was three times a week. The thing that always held me back was wondering if I had enough to say to find a way to post something every day. But, you know what? These are easy because I don't have to say a lot to say something and the more I write them, the more I think of more things to write on.
Yeah, I've got five or six things floating in my head that I want to write on right now and I'm sure by the end of the week not all of those will have been touched on. Still, they're getting postponed yet again because writing daily gives me the freedom to pick up a particularly interesting piece of feedback and give it the attention it deserves rather than a quick sentence or two immediately or an answer two weeks after the point was raised.
About twenty-four hours ago I received an interesting tidbit of feedback from multiple-time Main Page guest writer, Uncle Joe that I'd like to answer publicly, because he makes a solid argument. Here is an excerpt of his feedback:
"Bret has to get over himself Xan, and I hope you agree. I know he's your all time favorite, but the guy makes himself look more and more feminine as the time passes. IF he had said he would not do business with the E due to the way Owen died, it would be much more reasonable and really plausible. Now, if he doesn't want to work with the E just because, that's also respectable, but if he is still butt hurt over Montreal, then I dunno what to say to the man. I don't think he would have thrived in the AE either way, because I don't see him as someone who felt that he needed to adapt."
Pretty persuasive statement, right? The thing is, though, I can probably tackle this from a more personal perspective than most people can. I've had something on my mind all week that I haven't mentioned until now. On Tuesday, my dad went in the hospital to have basically the same surgery that my brother ended up dying as a result of a little bit over a year and a half ago. Don't worry, Dad's fine. I picked him up from St. Mary's today.
Nevertheless, thoughts of January 2008 and whether history would repeat itself have been plaguing me over the last five days. I'm happy everything went well this time, but it was hard being in that hospital again. It was hard having another family member go through this again without being able to do anything about it. It's hard just sitting on the sidelines and watching someone be in pain and knowing all you can do is be supportive.
It's so tempting to slide into my memories of Trav for a few minutes; an hour; just some time to feel close to him again. That's the biggest reason I went to Wrestlemania this year. I miss him a ton as it is, but how much worse would it be if I felt like there was something I could do to save him, but was stopped from doing so; not by a doctor or a nurse or some politician, or even the law, but by my own father?
I can't pretend to see inside the mind of The Hitman, but couldn't this be exactly what he's feeling? Montreal may have been the flashpoint, but stemming from the moment Vince asked him to leave, everything fell apart. He lost a lot of his dignity and respect from fallout of the Montreal Incident, he had to deal with that knowing that Vince McMahon--a guy who he regarded like a second father--chose a selfish, arrogant child over him.
A year and a half later he lost his brother, Owen, in an accident that he feels he could have prevented by talking both Owen and Vince out of doing the stunt. Eight months after that, he's put out of wrestling for good by a guy he never would have faced if he had simply refused to opt out of the 20-year contract that had him set for life. Again, do I know this is how Bret thinks? I do not, but if he does, I can see why he's still bitter after all these years.
Maybe it's not that he can't get over himself, maybe it's just that as much as it fills him with hate it's still better living in the past where Owen's alive, where he's got the guy he was once a surrogate son to, where he spent almost his entire professional career than living in the present where that's all gone; and none by his choice. I'll leave you with these words by John Greenleaf Whittier, "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been."
