1. Apparently Bound For Glory is a euphenism for "go for broke."
About two hours from the time I'm typing this, TNA will put on its biggest event of the year, Bound For Glory, and they have really put together an incredible lineup. Last year's Bound For Glory was almost universally panned because of the results of the show, and I even wrote a bitter denunciation wondering what the bloody fuck TNA was doing. While I did hate the victors on the show, the matches were all pretty damned good.
And the ones this year look better. Are there some matches that could turn into real clusterfucks? Sure, but it's clear that they are trying to put together the very best show they can; something that I honestly didn't feel that the WWE did for Wrestlemania. Somehow, with only a month of buildup, they've managed to give every bout on the card a "big match feel," and that's to be admired.
You knew with all this praise for TNA there had to be a "but" coming somewhere, and here it is: they've done a great job of putting a tremendous show together, possibly their first "must see" show of the last few years, and they've also done a great job of selling it as such. These are both very good things; what isn't is the price tag. As good as Total Nonstop Action has been at times, they've failed to hook the average viewer.
This card could have helped change that. My wife is putting in a ton of overtime and told me to go ahead and put out the shekels for tonight's event, knowing that I'm also going to order WWE's Bragging Rights next weekend. If it wasn't for that, though, and that I could use a bit of a stress reliever, I wouldn't be ordering Bound For Glory this year, because as I've already written, I feel honor-bound to go with Bragging Rights.
If I was about a millimeter away from not ordering what I think look's like TNA's best card in years, how far away are others? You know that I'm far from the average fan, so if I was on the verge of skipping this event, probably lots of regular viewers are, as well. Funny thing? If it had been at $29.95, I wouldn't have hesitated. Yeah, it's only a $10 difference, but it's also a 33% increase on top of their usual price.
On principle, I shouldn't be ordering this event, but to me it's pretty much a must-see now that I know we have the extra money available. Yes, the WWE increases the charge for their signature event also, but they can afford to do so because they are the WWE. TNA should be concerned about drawing people in, and setting this event at such a high price point, they are doing the opposite. TNA hasn't earned the right to charge this sort of premium.
This promotion is supposed to be in the business of making money, but in this instance, I believe they are costing themselves some by pricing themselves out for those that may have considered trying to see what kind of show they can put on. I believe tonight's event is going to be awesome. I expect to be entertained, excited, and thrilled. What I don't expect is that I'm going to have a lot of company.
2. Are we going to see an anniversary or annhilation?
Last week on Super Impact! Kurt Angle said that it was the "one year anniversary" of the formation of the Main Event Mafia. But that wasn't quite true. The Impact! that aired on October 23, 2008 is the one that ushered in the era of the MEM as Sting, Booker T, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and Kurt Angle joined together to form "the most powerful group in the history of professional wrestling." Now whether that moniker is true or not--and it's not--they certainly have been the dominant force on Impact! ever since.
At one point, the only title in TNA that the Mafia didn't hold was the Knockouts Title. That has now changed, as not a single member of the stable currently has any gold. Kurt Angle barely escaped with a victory last night, but every other member took a loss, so the question has to be asked--is the stable going to disband before their true one year anniversary occurs? On Super Impact!, the myriad opponents of the Main Event Mafia came out as a group with Brother Ray as their spokesperson threatening to destroy the Mafia at Bound For Glory.
So, was the Mafia destroyed? Not yet, but it doesn't seem like it's very far away. Samoa Joe was apparently very sick from the flu and basically got his ass handed to him by "The Boss" Bobby Lashley. Booker T was carried out on a stretcher, while Scott Steiner was choke-slammed through a table by Team 3D. Kevin Nash lost his Legends Title after being lowblowed by Hernandez's head--which probably wasn't as fun as it would sound normally, even for a guy who styles himself Big Sexy.
The leader of the group, Kurt Angle, is the only one that didn't come out of the show with somewhat of an embarrassing loss, and he was just barely able to hold on against the Blueprint. The last time this stable suffered trying times, they ended up rebelling from their newly crowned Godfather, kicking him out of the group, and choosing to go back to the leadership of Angle, who now appears to have abandoned the group effort in favor of personal vendettas against Matt Morgan and TNA World Heavyweight Champion, AJ Styles.
So, with Samoa Joe's defeat, Booker's injury, Steiner getting knocked out by Team 3D, and Nash being robbed by Eric Young, is this the end for the group? Come Thursday does this dominant force just whither away? I don't know, but I hope so. They had a chance to have the TNA Frontline ban together to defeat these guys, but they didn't go that way, and instead they've each been beaten by different opponents. Sure, these opponents were united on Super Impact! for the first time in months, but there was no meeting of the minds last night.
So, who does that leave to force a disbanding? The World Elite? I like the stable and what Eric Young has done so far as their leader, but do we really want one heel stable conquering another? I don't. What I'd like to see is Nash step back into his mentoring role, Joe become the dominant killer again, Angle help AJ and Morgan elevate even higher, Booker T leave like he said he was going to, Tracy keep posing for men's magazines, and Scotty have a single's run if he's going to work as inspired as he did last night.
One reason WCW failed is that they didn't know when and how to get rid of the NWO for good. TNA shouldn't make that mistake with the Main Event Mafia. They don't need to be defeated by a stronger power; dying by their own arrogance is enough. They can no longer demand respect from the younger generation, because the next generation have now supplanted them in every division. It's time for them to roll with the punches. Sometimes an explosion isn't favorable to simply fading away. It sure seems like this is one of those times.
3. This isn't bringing me anywhere but down.
Dear Dad,
How's it going? Everybody okay down there? I wish I knew for sure how I was, but I just don't, man. On one hand I seem to have everything going for me, while on the other it seems like all of it is teetering on a precipice and if it tilts the wrong way my whole career is going to come crashing down. How did it get to this? How did I let it get to this? I didn't have to be here. I had my chance. I was out, I was gone. I didn't have to come back to them; I could have struck out on my own. Did I pick the wrong side? The decision seemed so obvious when I made it, but now I look back and the reasons are muddled. Why the hell did I come crawling back? And why did I do it again last night?
How did it all come to this? Remember when you introduced me to World Wrestling Entertainment on Monday Night RAW and I challenged the tag champs, claiming that I was going to be one of the next men to wear that belt? Well, I was right, and Holly never saw it frickin' comin, Dad! Cody and I pulled the wool over his eyes and everybody else's. We were a good team on our way to being great, learning as we went. Why did we ever let that viper get into our heads? Orton convinced us that banding together was going to make us stronger, was going to help us fulfill the legacy that you and Bob Orton and Dusty Rhodes had laid out before us, but where has it really gotten us? Two short tag title reigns and carrying the bags for a multi-time WWE Champ? That isn't what I signed on for.
Remember when you guest-hosted RAW? I still think that's a stupid name for it, really. How can someone be both a guest and a host at the same time? What, are you supposed to welcome yourself? You could, of course. You were a fantastic wrestler with an incredible skill-set. You should have been WWE Champion at least once, but I will win that belt for you eventually. I'll win it for both of us...if I can ever get Orton's fangs out of me; and that's why I mention the show you hosted. You gave me a chance to face Orton and I held my own against him that night. You showed me what I'd been missing; not experience, that will come with time. What I'd been missing was confidence and being able to go toe to toe with one of the top stars on RAW gave me that.
I used that confidence and helped instill some of it in Cody in our war against DX. Michaels and Hunter are legends; probably more legendary already than Randy ever will be; and not only did we come a hair away from beating them twice, we actually made Shawn Michaels tap out and gave them more trouble than anybody else ever has--including the McMahons. In the last 15 days, though, that has all kind of gone by the wayside, and I'm not quite sure why. I learned more about myself fighting against Michaels and Helmsley than I ever did heeling as a lapdog to Orton, and yet what did I do last night? I stood there and took it. He told me not to raise a hand to him, and I didn't. I don't know what's wrong with me. What the hell's so great about being Orton's lackey?
I admit that last week I got hot at Cody for pinning me in our Triple Threat against Cena, but I'm over that now; I've cooled down. He was just being ambitious, just as I was by pinning Randy. I haven't learned a damned thing from that chump except how to be a coward, and last night was the ultimate expression of that. No more, though. He's going to kick me out of Legacy? Fuck him! I am Legacy. I am going to reconcile with Cody; he really did nothing wrong, and he and I will strike out on our own. We don't need Orton. He may need us to keep his title from Cena, and maybe we'll be there for him one last time, before we do everything we can to take it away from him. I'm going to show Orton what it means to be a viper, and if Rhodes isn't with me in intent, maybe we'll see if your old maxim is true.
"Everybody's got a price," right, Dad? If necessary, I'll find out what Cody's price is. One thing's for sure, though. I found out what my price is not last night. It's not my courage, it's not my morals, it's not my soul. Orton tried to shape me into a younger version of him, but it's not happening. I've got too much of your arrogance and stubborness in me to just keep being his puppet, so I cut the strings next week. With or without Rhodes' help I am going to do what Hogan and the old WWF higher-ups stood in the way of you doing; I'm going to win the WWE Title. I'm going to do it for both of us, Dad. It's high time that the name on that belt said "Ted Dibiase." I love your Million Dollar belt, and I'd be honored to carry it, but I want to be WWE Champion even more, and it will be even sweeter if I take it away from Orton.
Love,
Teddy
4. "Bugger This," (T)hinks (N)igel (A)bout the WWE.
I can't say I'm not surprised. I can't say I'm not disappointed. I also can't say I don't understand. The life of an indy wrestler isn't glamorous or prosperous. If you are a fan of independent wrestling at all or if you've ever read books by such wrestlers as Chris Jericho and Mick Foley, you know that most of the time they are barely squeaking by, living in their cars or sharing a house with a group of their fellow indy workers, just hoping that they get their shot at the big time.
For Jericho and Foley, the big time really meant the WWF, but they would have settled for WCW, which they did. For the artist formerly known as Nigel McGuinness, the big time really meant WWE, but he ended up moving to TNA instead. Is Total Nonstop Action a step up from Ring of Honor? Without a doubt it is. ROH still features some of the best pure wrestling action in the world, but they've been struggling creatively a bit lately and after two tremendous single's title reigns, what did Nigel really have left to do there?
I said a while back that I was going to stop reading the news on this site because it was destroying my surprise and making me less of a fan. Turns out I wasn't strong enough; I'm addicted to it as I think a lot of people are. I even know people that are addicted to reading the spoilers on the site, which is just sad. Reading news about signings, releases, suspensions, illnesses, etc. may make one less of a fan, but I firmly believe that if you're reading spoilers you're no longer a fan at all.
Anyway, I tried to avoid the news, but wasn't able to. I come here to read and write columns, after all, and it seemed like something would always catch my eye. About two months ago, that happened with the news of Bryan Danielson agreeing to an agreement in principle with the WWE, which I read on the forums here before it was up on the main site. A few weeks after that, a similar announcement was made regarding Nigel McGuinness. Now I wish I'd stuck to my guns and never read that news, because it seems as if things have fallen through.
I wrote a column analyzing how they would each do in the WWE, and now it looks like neither may get there...at least not yet. I hate that "may" way of phrasing things, but it fits, because even though I know the decision that Nigel came to, I have no idea what Danielson is going to do. Apparently the reason that McGuinness decided to forego his agreement in principle with World Wrestling Entertainment is that they were taking too long to extend him an offer. That's a genuine concern; who can afford to sit around making no money?
I can't and I doubt you can, either. So, instead he goes to TNA from ROH and he's going to be on television on a weekly basis on a channel that a large majority of the population gets, while he's only working a few days a month with hardly any travel. If it worked for Christian, Angle, and others, why wouldn't it work for him? I think McGuinness had the perfect move-set for WWE, but there's absolutely no reason it can't work in TNA. With Booker leaving, Angle on his way down, and MEM hopefully imploding, it's good timing.
Look at the champs in TNA right now: AJ Styles, Amazing Red, Eric Young, the British Invasion, Sarita and Wilde, and ODB. There is a real movement now to push up and coming stars there, whereas WWE hasn't been doing that much and apparently didn't have immediate enough plans for Dragon or Nigel to get them signed. I thought Nigel McGuinness was going to become a major star for the WWE; now I think Desmond Wolf is going to do so for TNA. The only thing that's changed is the path to his success; not the fact that he's going to have it.
5. I should have trusted my instincts.
But, it's hard, you know? (That's what she said.) No, you pervert, I mean it can get messy. (She said that too.) Argh! Whatever. The point is that I never really understood addiction. If I don't have a Coke for a couple of days, I start craving one and lately I've been having a real bad craving for chocolate and peanut butter, but addiction? Pshah! My wife has tried to quit smoking at least 10 times in the 9 1/2 years we've been married with absolutely no success, and I've been very critical of her about it.
I started smoking 6 years ago because I was feeling depressed and stressed and wanted some kind of relief. It's kind of weird to start smoking at the age of 28, I know, but my wife smokes, both of my brothers smoked, my uncle smoked, my Dad smoked, my friends smoked. I guess what I'm saying is that as much as I had always abhorred smoking, a lot of the people around me did it, and I thought I'd give it a try as opposed to blowing up at the ones I loved. But, as much as I hated being stressed and depressed, I hate cold more, so stopped as winter came.
So, nicotine didn't work on me. I smoked for about a month, month and a half, sometimes didn't remember to smoke, and quit as soon as I felt like it. Big fucking deal. My dad started smoking for the same reason, decided to quit, and didn't crave one after that. Just like me. Maybe it just runs in our blood. But, you know what else runs in mine? The same thing that runs in yours, since you're reading this. Wrestling. I've always enjoyed reading news about it and since the internet wrestling community came along I've been using.
Using news isn't as harmful as using nicotine, in my opinion; at least it isn't life threatening. No, it can't kill you, and it can't harm you physically, but it can definitely harm your fanhood, and I feel like it has mine over the years. Still, I don't seem to be able to stop reading the news or to have an internal filter that helps me sort things into categories of "likely" or "not likely" to be true. Maybe something inside of me is channeling and paraphrasing Arnold Schwarzenegger, "No, Xan, it's not a rumah."
In any case, the news doesn't seem to be something I can avoid, but I think a lot of people would've gotten fooled by Nigel McGuinness--now Desmond Wolf--and his lie to the boys and TNA Management about why he hadn't signed with WWE yet. This is, of course, assuming the current rumor is true and he actually was lying. If he was, you can hardly blame him. His career was at stake and he was only telling a little white lie, really. After all, the WWE had taken a long time offering a contract to him...he just didn't reveal they weren't going to.
Where does that leave Danielson? I still think he's got a good career ahead of him, but mostly as a midcarder and an agent if, in fact, his deal is/will be done with WWE. I don't believe he's ever going to be a star for World Wrestling Entertainment, but that doesn't mean he can't have a long relationship with them and be a success in the business. While he's clearly a better wrestler than Evan Bourne, he's about the same size with about the same amount of charisma, so all I can do is hope that he isn't used as enhancement talent the way Bourne is.
If he hasn't signed with WWE, though, I believe he'd be wise to follow Nigel to TNA. I've always believed he's a better fit there than he is for McMahon's company, and he'd get a nice, easy schedule to boot. Will it hurt the careers of these two men that they never "made it" to the WWE? I don't know; has it hurt Sting's? He is still considered to be an icon for many although he always refused to work for Vince McMahon. I guess it depends on how well they do in what is now the #2 promotion in the country. Either way Dragon goes, I'm not going to believe what happens with him until I see for myself.
6. It takes all kinds.
Just like the old theme song says, "It takes different strokes to move the world." I may not love the current direction of the WWE, but it's certainly been better in the last few months than it was the three months before that. Why? Partly because they moved some new blood over to RAW and Smackdown, partly because they finished up the awful Batista/Orton and Triple H/Orton programs, partly because Shawn Michaels has returned, partly because of the rise of CM Punk, John Morrison, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, and Legacy.
Those are a lot of different factors, which speaks to the heart of their resurgence--variety. Vince McMahon has always subscribed to the 3-ring circus philosophy of booking and I can endorse that, because it makes sense. It has always worked for him, and it seems like it's only when he forgets about using his philosophy that his company starts to fall creatively and financially. Why are the ratings down right now? We are tired of seeing Randy Orton as a boring champion and John Cena as Superman; plain and simple.
Last week I suggested a path by which the WWE could go that would still provide that variety, but would also give adult fans something they could look forward to that would be more to their liking and tastes, while still offering good content to the PG crowd that the WWE is currently catering to. I stand by that suggestion, especially in the light of what's gone on since, but I think what has become a more pressing issue is the lack of wrestlers that don't embrace the fairly recent "WWE style" and that don't have the muscle-bound physique.
Yesterday a "news item" came out quoting Batista as saying that Rey Mysterio will never be the star he should be in the WWE. Well, Dave, let me introduce you to exhibit A as to why you're correct. It's called a mirror. Rey Mysterio cannot become a major star in the WWE, because nearly everyone in the company dwarfs him; including you, Batista. With the recent success of guys like Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho, and CM Punk, maybe eventually the WWE will stop being the land of the giants, but it still is at this moment.
Guys like Mysterio, Evan Bourne, and yes, Bryan Danielson aren't going to be able to become superstars there until the average height and weight of their contemporaries changes. If Batista really wants his little buddy to be more successful than he has been--and make no mistake, Mysterio has made a ton of money for both himself and his company while winning a majority of his matches and being a former World Heavyweight Champion--he should start leading an exodus out the door, and in the process convince Vince McMahon he's right in doing so.
That's going to be a tough sell. McMahon's always loved the big dudes and tolerated the littler ones who could actually, for instance, wrestle in order to have an audience that would allow him to have a showcase for his giants. That isn't about to change. If it was, would guys like Seamus and McIntyre be the ones getting big pushes right now, as opposed to the recently toned down and solid Benjamin, MVP, Evan Bourne, etc.? Mysterio isn't bad when paired up against guys relatively his own size, but against giants?
I wish I could sublimate my smark prejudices enough to believe the guy can legitimately compete against giants, but I just can't, nor can I buy him as the underdog when he almost never loses. Even my kid sees through the guy now when he was once his favorite wrestler, though I encourage him to cheer for his own choices. The reason? Simply put, he's cool, but he's too fake. He's 13 now, but he started saying that when he was 11. Mysterio just doesn't work in the WWE environment and without a different company belief system, that's never going to change. In other words, even Batista's opinions suck.
7. People should just chillax and be fans.
I'm a big fan of professional wrestling, and as some have pointed out to me, watching more than just the nationally televised promotions doesn't make me a bigger or a better fan than some, it just makes me a more varied one. There's an argument to be made there, I suppose, and it's not one I'm really interested in getting into much now except to say that fans at indy shows tend to be more rabid, more reactionary, and more creative than WWE and TNA fans, but the things they come up with seem to be contagious.
That's not always a bad thing, but sometimes it is. Things that work with a small crowd are not always going to work with a larger one or for a large promotion that has a national television deal. ROH seems to understand that, because they haven't been micing their live crowd well. I think there's a reason for that; they are trying to build an audience outside of their regular one and they know that as rabid as their fans are, they really aren't a bunch that are indicative of the national preference, nor are they a welcoming group.
At Breaking Point, the Canadian crowd chanted something that was chanted pretty regularly in the past--and is now being rejuvenated--in ROH when Prince Nana came to the ring to praise Jimmy Rave or some other member of his Embassy. That chant is, of course, the very classy "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I don't mind it being on PPV, that's a show you've paid to watch and anything can happen live in that case, but if it started showing up on national television, they'd have to do something we all hate--filter in taped crowd noise.
When I went to Smackdown a few years ago, I was disgusted by all the generic "you suck" stuff that was chanted by the crowd. No originality; everybody just seemed to be going through the motions. There was no real heat on the heels; it was an easy chant for people to say, because it's become such a part of the national vernacular. Last night I watched Jimmy Rave vs. Bryan Danielson from ROH Homecoming II and the crowd chanted, "Jimmy Swallows!" while he was defended by some others in the crowd who chanted, "Jimmy Spits!"
He didn't appear to be very gratified by the support he received, but he's not supposed to be--he's the heel. He's hated so much that the crowd chants "Die Jimmy Die!" and thows toilet paper at him. When's the last time you saw any real heat like that in the WWE or on TNA? It's the job of the heel to be hated, but nobody really is anymore, are they? Mick Foley got boos for what he did to Abyss, but he was right in everything he said to him, so I was on Foley's side. Randy Orton's hated for being boring, but not for being psychotic like he should.
He doesn't draw nearly the boos and jeers he should, because his character is too mild and he plays it too tight. Nowadays wrestlers get more cheers and boos just for entering the ring, rather than for anything they do inside it. As fans, we've become too smart for our own good. If you enjoy the work someone is doing as a heel, don't cheer him--boo him. That's what he's trying to get you to do; that's his job. So if he's doing it well, don't give him praise, give him your very worst vitriol. That is what he deserves.
As cool as those dueling chants sound, and as much as they get the crowd involved, they don't really do their job and while you may be entertained in the crowd during the brief time you're doing it, you're hurting the television product, and unless it's a face vs. face encounter--ala Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker at Wrestlemania--you're hurting the longterm prospect for the heel no matter which side of the chant you're on. Am I saying you can't cheer on who you want to? No; I'm saying be smart about the way that you go about being a mark.
