Corner To Corner - Reflection
Submitted by Stan Grubb on Sunday, April 21, 2002 at 2:15 AM EST



I hate having writer’s block. I hate not being able to come out with a new thought. Perhaps new thought is not necessary right now. Maybe it’s time to rehash an old one. Yeah, reflections work.

Hello dear readers, welcome back to Corner to Corner. This week, we take a brief look back. It is a look on some things that I have noticed before and I think have been forgotten too soon. I apologize ahead of time if this seems too short, but sometimes, even us columnists get writer’s block.

It seems lately that pro wrestling has become a lot less about the athleticism and a lot more about the entertainment aspect. Wrestlers talk more and wrestle less. Shows that used to be about talent and work are now simple hype filled machines. They do nothing but fill our screens with commercials and other unnecessary drivel.

I remember when WCW Nitro had spectacular cruiserweight contests and followed them with solid tag team action. Sure, the main events lacked, but for the most part, Nitro was a quality show. I remember when WWF Raw tiptoed on the edge of sanity but maintained a high impact show from top to bottom. Sure, they had some crap in it from time to time, but we managed to find the entertainment in the matches themselves.

It was only 1998 when Chris Jericho was feuding with the cruiserweights and showing us all just how wrestling could be entertaining AND athletic. Do you remember when he and Dean Malenko were feuding? Those matches alone made me a HUGE Malenko fan and a larger Jericho fan. High flying, fast paced, solid impact matches are missing from today’s crapfest.


The main event tier was a little clearer inside the WWF in 1998. The Rock and Steve Austin lit the ring on fire with their back and forth matches. Ken Shamrock was consistently dominant and very believable. The Degeneration X stable was so successful it helped to push WWF Attitude even further. I think we all remember the Invasion deal when they attempted to get into Nitro. All of that was some quality stuff.

These wrestlers nowadays, they are missing some very key things. These promoters are no different. The McMahon Monopoly has hurt professional wrestling thus far. While ratings continue their decline, pay per view buy rates are surely next to suffer.

The WWA pay per view TANKED, and why did it? It was because they lacked any proper build up. My advise, to you Mr. Borash, is to hold off on any further pay per views until you learn to build a story properly. Don’t just throw a card together and call it gold. Plan the damn thing.

The XWF states that they are “very close” to signing a television deal. Well, I’m very close to being promoted at my job. But guess what! Neither one is a done deal, so why talk about either? The point here is, don’t spread a rumor if you’re a promoter, SPREAD TRUTH. The fans of wrestling don’t give a crap if you are close to anything. They care about being told the truth and the results.

Nothing bothers me more than hearing hype about nothing. I mean, who cares if somebody MIGHT come back to wrestle? HAVE they come back? NO. Did they come out and say it? No again. So, who cares?

Goldberg, Goldberg, Goldberg… What are we going to do with you? I tell you what Bill, why don’t do us all a favor and just come right out and admit you will never wrestle again. You have an injury, and we’re supposed to care? Aren’t you the same guy who said you couldn’t stand the WWF? Didn’t you also accuse them of not doing anything to help the September 11 victims? Yeah, quickly afterward you took them back. The point, dear readers, is that none of us should give Goldberg a second thought. He let us know what he thought when he flew off at the mouth before taking the time to do any research. He bashed the only game in town. Then he bashed the fans that support it. Wow, what a way to gain support. Silly… Silly…

This week is a very brief, very bitter look at the wrestling world. I realize that a lot of you spend your time on this site to enjoy the news and take into account the columns we write for you. I hope you read this, this week, and take a moment to look back on what you remember wrestling was before this “monopoly” came about. I ask that you please take a moment and examine the state of affairs a little closer. When you do, remember this, while we cannot change the past, we can make damn sure that the promoters and the wrestlers learn from it and change the future.

I wish it would change soon, my patience gets thinner each time I see a 20 minute promo instead of 2 or 3 matches that could have taken its place. Some very deserving talent is getting wasted now because of the “state of the game.”

Until next week, here’s to doing away with writer’s block.

--Stan Grubb-
ImpactXtreme@msn.com








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