Posted in: The Northern Star The Northern Star--Antidepressant
By XanMan
Sep 18, 2005 - 4:55:44 PM
"Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. It's harsh and cruel, and that's why there's us. Champions. It doesn't matter what we've gone through, what we've done, or suffered; it doesn't even matter if we make a difference. We live as if the world were as it should be to show it what it can be."--Angel
If Jeff Jarrett's the answer, I've really got to start wondering what the fuck question TNA's asking. Raven is the right guy to carry this company to the main stage, and yet...5 days after he beat Rhino at Unbreakable, he is unceremoniously dumped in favor of good ol' Double J. Now, if this was an isolated incident, I think we could just chalk it up to politics, or schmoozing, or whatever the hell else you want to call it--it's clearly not because Jarrett's deserving. The guy's the least talented World Champion in the history of the business, and when I say that I'm counting David Arquette and Vince McMahon, and I'm serious. Every time Jarrett's out there it looks like he's going through a choreographed routine, and I fucking hate that. What's even sadder is that Jarrett apparently truly believes he's a great wrestler, and I'll even give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he truly believes that TNA is better with him at the top of the heap. He's wrong on both accounts, and it would be nice if TNA would realize that and move on. But, they won't. This company has an incredible history of refusing to move on, of not allowing a true evolution of their product. For all the innovations they have brought to the game in their 3+ years of existence, they still love to dwell in the past. They've gone back to having a nearly old-school type of grappler as their World Champion, which will do nothing to help them compete against the World Wrestling Federation, and to make matters worse, it's a guy that is more of a jackass in the locker room than Triple H's detractors believe him to be. Make no mistake: Jarrett's not the answer, he's a cancer.
But, is TNA actually looking at him as the answer? I would contend that they're not. Instead, it would appear that Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is going through the same motions they did in June of 2004. Which means that they're getting all the ducks lined up for another move to cable television. Personally, I believe this is a mistake. I think it's a huge error to mistreat your fans, your public, and your workers by trying to go back in time. I thought it was a mistake last year, and I think it's an even bigger mistake this year, because of the incredible strides the organization has made. Last year, they had a chance to set up something huge by having Ron "The Truth" Killings or AJ Styles as their World Champion upon embarking on their first national TV deal. Styles was the champ, he jobbed the belt to Killings, and then Jarrett won it in the first ever King of the Mountain match. This began a title reign for JJ that would last 12 months, and prove to be aggravating to even the most devoted TNA fan. Let me make this clear: I love Total Nonstop Action. I've been watching since their second weekly pay per view, but Impact I didn't like. There were too many commercials, there wasn't enough show-time, and there was far too much Jarrett and Dusty Rhodes. Now that Rhodes is part of the WWF and Jarrett was being a little fucking crybaby, I expected things to be different upon their move to Spike.
But instead, yet again the organization is traveling backwards. Not only is Jeff Jarret now Heavyweight Champion of the World, but 5 days before that, AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels to become the X-division Champion. Anyone out there doubt that America's Most Wanted will be NWA World Tag Champs on or before October 3, 2005? I didn't think so. The Naturals are doing fine with the tag straps and have, in fact, been able to have a much better reign than the best tag team in the world ever got a chance to. Partially because they're so fucking talented, and partially because the fans have rallied behind them since the death of their mentor, the much-loved "No Gimmicks Needed" Chris Candido. AMW definitely do not need to hold the tag gold again, as they've become for TNA what the Road Warriors were for the WWF, NWA, and AWA: a main-event tag team that doesn't need the belts to be hella-over. As long-time passengers on the Star know, I'd be far happier if the team would split, with the mega-talented "Wildcat" Chris Harris moving up to main event status and "Tennessee Cowboy" James Storm either moving to the midcard or forming a new tag team with someone else. Maybe he could even be the next Diamond in the Rough. But, either way, the organization is not going to move forward with the same guys continuing to "hold the gold." It seems TNA is not just stuck in a rut, they keep purposely getting themselves caught in the same one. While Styles, Harris, and Storm are great at what they do, Jarrett is far from a shining example of championship material, and truly none of these 4 men should have gold around their waists at this point. You can't force yourself to move forward by stepping back.
"It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen."--Herodotus
What they really need to do is to just let ka take care of itself. The WWF writers are ridiculed for some of the stupid storyline decisions they come up with and for pulling out things that have been done before. Cena in the Austin role, for instance, or The Heart Throbs becoming the new Billy and Chuck. But, at least the WWF uses new people in the same roles, what about an organization that just wants to restart their storylines every year, and with every fucking move they make? I think TNA has a lot of talent, but I also think they mis-use a lot of it. Chris Daniels is no longer the X Champ? Why? Because they wanted AJ there. Again, why? I believe this makes his 5th reign as X-Division Champion, and it's not like the crowd was screaming for him to get it. Daniels or Joe winning the Triple Threat match would have been a better choice. Daniels because he's been rocking the division, and Joe because he's been undefeated and moving up quickly--not to mention being possibly the most dynamic wrestler in the world. But, instead, he's handed his first loss just so the Golden Boy can get the strap back and make it mean nothing again? It just doesn't make sense what management is doing here. It doesn't seem like they're trying to accomplish anything. They keep going over the same ground. Those who don't learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them, and those who let their fear rule them will never succeed. Especially when it appears their actual fear is of success.
I want TNA to succeed. I want the WWF to have a credible threat and some real competition. Even more than both of those, I want the wrestlers to have a legitimate alternative for when they aren't used properly by the WWF and want to try their hand at another organization. I'm looking at you, Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam. But, the fact is that right now there is no real opportunity outside the WWF. Not only is TNA incapable of competing with the WWF financially at this point, but they also seem unwilling to truly be the place of opportunity that they could and should be. There are countless men in the organization that either are or have been over enough in the last two years to not only get the World Championship, but also have outstanding reigns with it and help make the title mean more than it ever has. Sadly, only Jarrett and Raven have really gotten a chance to shine with the belt. AJ Styles, Ron Killings, Chris Harris, Abyss, and Monty Brown(as much as I wonder "why?"), however, have also been more than popular enough with TNA's crowd to have gotten a run with the strap. Hell, you could even make a case that Jeff Hardy earned the championship with his series of matches with Jarrett. But, instead of letting one of these guys run with the ball, they let the other Jeff fumble the shit out of it for 12 months and make the World Title into the Nauseum Heavyweight Championship, because everyone's sick of that jackass.
Now, after a brief respite, the championship is back in his hands, which basically spells out the fact that there is no real opportunity in TNA. People scoff at Frankie Kazarian, Paul London, Spanky, CM Punk, and James Gibson for "selling out" to the WWF. But, folks, as I see it there isn't much of an option if you really want to make a living at the wrestling business. Ring of Honor is a nice little promotion, with a great concept behind it, but it's still just a regional promotion that has only hit the big-time in the hearts of the IWC, not in real-life. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as the #2 national promotion, should be doing everything it can to attract new wrestlers, and more importantly, new big name wrestlers to it. Instead, they are making it look very much like the only guys that are going to get a real chance to shine, no matter how well they do, are Jeff Jarrett, AJ Styles, and AMW. The way they are running things, my friends, is very bush league. You can't grow as a wrestling company if you won't change, and if you won't show others that you're willing to accept new ideas and run with something that's really working. As a fan of TNA, they are telling me that I shouldn't have been watching for the last three years, because they're just going to re-run the stuff that happened during that time, instead of picking a direction and running that way.
"Matter o' fact, dog, here's a pencil. Go home, write somethin' suspenseful, and don't come back 'til something' dope hit you. Fuck it, you can take the mic home wit' you."--B Rabbit
I was really looking forward to October 1st. I was happy for TNA Impact!'s redebut, and I wanted to watch, but I'm not going to support Jeff Jarrett as World Champion. I'm just not. I think it sucks that while I was looking forward to seeing TNA again on something larger than my computer screen, the organization itself is looking backwards. This is an organization that has a history of fucking up even their best angles. It was Raven's "destiny" to win the World Title in March of 2003, and he really should have, since that was an incredible storyline and he was the most over guy in the promotion, and yet...due to a minimal contract dispute, he didn't get the strap. A couple of months later, the World Title did, indeed, change hands to AJ Styles, however, they made what I consider to be one of the dumbest moves in history by destroying all Jarrett's heat and all Styles' pops at the same time by pulling a double-switch. Styles went heel and Jarrett face, by the simple act of Vince Russo cracking Jarrett's guitar across his head. Later, Jarrett (playing the role of the white knight) reclaimed the title from Styles, turned heel, and was set to face Chris Harris for the World Title since Harris won a Final Fourway match-up. Despite being extremely over, Harris was substituted for by Styles(who won the strap) and was immediately shoved back with Storm into the tag division. It's safe to say that the management of TNA--be it the Jarretts or the Carters--have never known what they wanted the company to be or do.
Well, lads and lassies, they better fucking figure it out within the next two weeks, because if reports are accurate Spike has given the organization 13 weeks to match or improve on Velocity's ratings. While this doesn't seem like a hard task, they certainly aren't making it any easier on themselves by asking us to follow another Jarrett title seige. He's not the future. Guys like Abyss, Daniels, Killings, and Styles are. Raven should have been a big part of the transition to those guys, because you know damned well that the selfish asshole that he jobbed the strap to won't. He wouldn't even job it to Raven in the first place, despite the fact that Scott Levy is a proven draw and a proven winner with more charisma in his left hand than Jarrett will ever possess. I want to be excited for TNA, I want to fall in love with them all over again, and I want to have millions of viewers follow me into their fantasy land. I want to be shocked. Sending me back in a time machine doesn't do that, I've seen it before. Instead, be dashing and couragous. Give me things the WWF either can't give me, or wouldn't dare to.
Put Gail Kim and Jackie Gayda against each other in a match where bra and panties are what they start in and the loser walks away without those items on. Pit the two greatest tag teams in the world against each other, which is something the WWF hasn't been able to provide in YEARS, but don't just do that. Instead, I want to see Mark LoMonica and Devon Hughes be as vulgar and vicious as they were in ECW, yet have the fans behind them, as what's-their-names take on the newly turned team of America's Most Wanted. I'm unsure how well this turn will work, sure, but being that they've already held the tag straps 5 times, it was imperative that something be done to keep them fresh, and I'm interested to see how it all plays out. Throw Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and Chris Daniels back in the ring together, and make it the first ever Triple Threat Iron Man match. Whether they make it 30 minutes or 60, you're looking at an instant contender for BEST MATCH EVER. As far as the World Title goes, it's pretty simple. Make it mean something by taking Jarrett out of the title picture. It really is okay to have a World Title feud that doesn't involved "The Chosen One". I promise you. Wrestling fans will love you for it. After Abyss' history with Raven, a feud between those two for the strap would be amazing, as would Killings breaking away from 3LK and "shooting" on the man who should still be World Champ.
Do all these things and more, and I'll be with you to the end of days, but I won't sit through another re-run. Don't even bother trying to get my attention if all you're bringing me is the same old same old. I don't hate the WWF in the manner some do, as I know that there's a better chance they'll be around to entertain me than anyone else out there. That doesn't mean I don't want an alternative, but you actually have to give me one. If you're at all associated with Total Nonstop Action, I'd have you hear me very well. See that shiny red button over there? The one in the glass case that has the letters R-E-S-E-T on it? Do not trust it. The legend this button bears is a misnomer. It tells false, whereas I say true. By pressing that button, you will be closing the door on some of your most ardent fans, and it's a door that once closed becomes extremely difficult to open. It's not impossible, but it may take more time than is left you. You might as well be trying to stop the water from sinking to the bottom of the sewer you'll find yourselves in.
Long days, pleasant nights
The Comment Box
Aaron writes:
Hey man,
Just wanted to drop you a note and say good job on your Northern Star column on faith and wrestling. It's nice to see people being creative in their writing (relating personal stories to wrasslin' and whatnot) and honest about their struggles with faith.
I'm a Christian, and totally understand what you said about finding the balance between being a legalist and being disobedient to God. In my experience, it seems like the behavior guidelines that are logical are there because God's original intentions for it are better, while the rules that seem ridiculous were usually made up by a bunch of old men who didn't look for any deeper meaning to the Bible.
I completely believe in Jesus Christ as the way to being reunited with God, and I've been a wrestling fan since I can remember. I don't see a contradiction between the two. In fact, I think that physical competition and creative storytelling are part of the beauty God created in mankind... though I doubt He's a big fan of that thing on Jillian's face.
Again, I appreciated your take on a subject rarely tackled in the wrestling arena. Keep up the good writing. Rock on like Raven's destiny, bro.
Aaron
Aaron, thank you for your awesome feedback. I agree with you that professional wrestling and Christianity are not mutually exclusive, and I wasn't trying to imply that I believe they are, just that I felt that others thought I was doing the wrong thing by watching it. To be honest, I'm not sure where my faith lies. Sometimes I find myself asking God for assistance, when I'm no longer really convinced He's up there. I've also thought about looking into other religions to see what they offer and if I feel like my beliefs could match theirs. I guess I'm at a large cross-roads, but one with many paths. Not a fork, but a tree with many branches, and I'm not sure which limb will support my weight. That's a good point about the "rules" in the Bible, though. I think a lot of people I was learning with and from read it literally, as I did myself, but more and more I'm coming to believe that a lot of it is meant figuratively. For instance, I argued for years that the dinosaurs never existed, but if they didn't, the only reason for their existence would be to challenge mankind's faith in what the Bible--and God through it--has told us. Despite my belief that God is cruel, I think this is a little out of bounds even for him.
Benny Russ writes:
G’day, Xan, Next time I send you feedback it should be about wrestling, but I thought I'd address a few of the issues you brought up.
Number 1: Bullying and the strong preying on the weak. If it's human nature, then I guess I'm not human. A lot of people who know me would probably agree with me. When I was in school I was a bit of an enforcer. I wasn't the biggest kid in school, although I was bigger than average, but I was a hard headed rugby player who was tough as nails (and still is). Everybody knew it, and everybody respected me. I occasionally “bullied” people, but only if it was for their own good. That may sound like the cop out of most bullies, but what I'm talking about is convincing people/friends to do stuff they wanted to do, but were too scared to.
Number 2: Christian beliefs. Dude, it sounds like you've got a good handle on some of the problems with organized religion. The problems you outline with Catholicism are some of the very reasons that the protestant churches broke away from the Catholic church in the first place. Of course the protestant denominations came up with just as many stupid traditions that had nothing to Christianity pretty soon afterwards.
You said that you were happy with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, but that you were told that you weren't supposed to like a lot of the things you liked. That you couldn't and can't come to terms with the idea of “a loving God who gives us a million things we aren't supposed to do, and punishes us with eternal fire and pain if we continue to do them. What kind of a god is that? Not loving but cruel.”
Damn straight sparky. One question though. Why'd you believe these people when they said you weren't supposed to do these things? What makes them better able to work out what God does and doesn't want you to do? I'll let you in on a secret, nobody is more qualified to work out what God does and doesn't want you to do than you are. That's not a general you, that's a specific you. You've read the bible. Don't ever let anybody else tell you what it means. Work it out for yourself. As a great man once said in a great movie “You must do what you feel is right, of course”.
Sorry for the rant, just felt it had to be said. Next time I e-mail you it'll all be about wrestling. I bet Wev’s glad he doesn't get e-mails like this. I'll just go back to banging my head against my computer screen, as I attempt to finish writing my PhD thesis. Hope I didn't disturb you too much.
Cheers and Beers
The one
The only
The Original
Benny Russ
Sorry I had to edit your e-mail for length, Ben, but you touched on a few points that I felt compelled to address.
Number 1: That's probably true, and I should have phrased it better. I suppose what I should have said is that it's a common occurrence for the strong to prey on the weak, rather than human nature. It's actually more "nature" than human nature, but you're right, it doesn't apply to everyone as there are people out there like you that defend others. Gracious and noble of you, sir. I, too, try to talk my friends and family into doing the right thing, or at least tell them what I think the right thing is and give them a new point of view.
Number 2: Well, I suppose this will seem like a cop-out to you, but it was drilled into me from an early age what the right and wrong things were to do and what God wants and demands of us, so even though by that point I was questioning the Catholic Doctrine, I wasn't really questioning what I felt God wanted from me, and in a way, I guess I still don't. As I said to Aaron above, I question the existence of God more than I question what the model of the Christian God wants of His followers. Here's a question for you: The main part of Christianity, the part that makes you a Christian is believing that God so loved the world that he gave his only son, which protected us from Death because he died for our sins. Well, why not get rid of sin itself? Wouldn't that be more logical, and if I can think of that, why didn't God? That's where the "understanding" part fails me, my friend.
You didn't disturb me at all, Benny, I like a good discussion.
You can send any comments by email to me at XanManX@hotmail.com with the words "Northern Star" or "feedback" in the subject line or you can click here to leave feedback if you're a member of The Lop Forums.
