Corner to Corner: Saying Goodbye and Saying Hello!
Submitted by Stan Grubb on Friday, August 30, 2002 at 10:55 PM EST





It's always sad to see a prominent member of the business walk away from the spotlight. We all grow accustomed to reading or seeing the high profile people look upon us and give us something else to talk about. Hey, it's hard saying goodbye to something you've become so used to having around.





Corner to Corner: Saying Goodbye and saying Hello!




Good evening everyone and welcome back to "Corner to Corner!" I'm the host, as always, Stan Grubb and I'm back this week to make some special announcements. I hope you don't mind a long rant this week also! So, without further ado, OFF WE GO!



Goodbye PDC



I have never had the opportunity to ever sit down and talk with Mr. Tito but I have always thought that he had a very unique viewpoint to offer on this business. While I dissagreed with a lot of what he said, at least he had the testicular fortitude to answer to most of my questions. I thank you, Tito, for all of your hard work and effort in giving this business a well deserved kick in the ass.



When I first came to LoP, it was because I was picked up from the column boards in the LoP forums. I remember reading Tito's PDC and enjoying it or hating it, but I always read it. Why? It was a needed outlet to help understand the business better. I admit it, the PDC influenced my desire to write about wrestling. It was also nice to see someone hate RAW as much as I did for a large amount of the time.



Tito, thank you for the PDC and thank you for offering such a unique vision on the business we all know and love. I look forward to the Wrath of Tito. And until it arrives, I hope you have fun and just chill....



Goodbye to Xpac!



HA HA HA HA HA HA! I realize it is very unprofessional for me to start a paragraph with laughter, but come on it's Sean Waltman! The Lightning, 1-2-3, Cannonball, Syxxpac, X-Pac, KID! I mean, here's a guy who refused to accept his role as a cruiserweight sensation and attempted the impossible and that was establishing himself as a heavyweight contender. I admire the guts involved in this experiment, but how many of us truly felt he would not suceeed. I am willing to bet my next pay check that at least 80% of you raised your hands! Look, Waltman was talented but all he ever seemed to want to do was a crappy crotch to the mouth gimmick and then tell people to take him seriously. Sean, if you ever want to make it in this business, quit going by gimmick names, stop throwing your crotch in other mens' mouths, and just wrestle. Do you understand that? Don't ever do an interview where you think you deserved more than what you got. In ten years, when wrestling is ushering in yet another crop of young talent, don't try to pull a Hulk Hogan and do a comeback. Call it a loss and please, never return to a wrestling ring. Mutual agreement... Riiiight.



Like Vince sat there and said, "Ya know J.R. I don't know if we can afford to lose Waltman. I mean X-Pac is just so over with the crowd and not only that he's such a marketable face!"



Then we got J.R. and Waltman's comments.



JR: "Well Vince, the 'kid' is unhappy. I think he'll be better off."



Waltman: "Right I mean, maybe I could come back some day?"



Vince: "Sure Sean, whatever works for you."



Yeah RIGHT. Look, nobody cared for X-Pac, and if they did, it was only becase they saw his early material and thought he'd eventually break away from his stupid gimmicks. Bye Bye X-Pac, good riddance to bad rubbish.



Anybody notice?



It just seems that with Steve Austin gone, we don't have half as many stories about backstage arguements. Well, maybe there was a little ego involved in the big guy after all. I salute a lot of things he did work wise, but his walk out only seems to have fueled the younger talent to perform one step ahead of the rest. Steve, you really did a number on yourself. The business, if you hadn't noticed, has recovered quite nicely.



SUMMERSLAM-HBK-and booing the Rock



A lot has come to pass since I last wrote so I have to pick up some slack. Summerslam was an awesome pay per view. I watched from start to finish and was thoroughly entertained. Angle and Mysterio was fast paced and very well done. Those two men deserve medals for how well they perform, period. Eddie Guererro and Edge was also well done. I think it's plain to see that both of these guys are legit and ready to maintain the main event with out big oldie, The Undertaker.



I know I'm going to catch a brow beating for this, but HBK versus HHH was probably the best damn match I ever saw. Triple H performed at a very consistent rate and HBK really did look like he hadn't missed a beat. I laugh at those who said they didn't care. I mean really, this is a definate match of the year candidate if not winner and it most certainly told an effective story. Michaels' leap of faith through the table gave me a chance to reflect on all of the wonderful matches he had before that moment.



The sledgehammer thing really annoyed me and made a lot of sense at the same time. It annoyed me because it was probably the lamest aftermath for a Triple H match I've ever seen. I mean, when he was a heel the first go round, all of that had purpose. This time, all it did was show how desperate he is to keep a solid heel status. That bothered me because I wonder if he and Shawn just said to each other, 'Yeah that will work.' I didn't have any expectations, by the way, Hunter and I think if you take my thoughts here as bad then YOU can kiss MY ass. Your match was too good to give it a half ass sendoff with a sledgehammer to the back routine.



Now that being said, it made a lot of sense because you have to remember that both Michaels and Helmsley knew they'd have to find a way for Michaels to be taken out of the spotlight he had apparently stolen from Helmsley by realistically putting Helmsley in his place as the lesser of the two. So, having Helmsley get the last laugh with the sledge did make sense and so I don't totally disagree with it. Still, it definately seemed half assed.



Either way, this match made me remember just why I am such a huge Michaels fan and why I respect and enjoy watching Triple H. Kudos gentlemen, you stole the show.



That is until The Rock and Brock Lesnar got into it. I never thought I'd see the day where I would see such a fast heel/face switcheroo at a WWE event. I mean, Lesnar was so over as a face, they cheered when Heyman cheated for him! And Rock? I mean come on, here's a guy who can flick an eyebrow and make the masses scream in excitement and on this very night he's booed like he just beat an old woman! Their pace that they set was really off the hook. With the Rock really keeping Brock at bay for a good while, I didn't honestly know where they were going to go with it all. All of us had predicitions but none that good. Either way it was great how it only took ONE F-5 to put the Rock down. That shows that the WWE values the integrity of Brock Lesnar as a monster champion. Right now, that is definately a needed element as the roster seems to thin by the month.



Sound Off!



With RAW, you had an AWESOME pay per view to lead them into what should have been the hottest Monday of the year in the WWE's backyard. Instead we got to watch, Big Oldie and Triple H in yet another match. The build-up was weird though. I mean, for a second, I thought Shawn Michaels was going to try for one last shot at the strap, but hey that's the fan in me. So Hunter comes out and runs off at the lip how he wants a shot at Brock. The Undertaker comes outs and now it's a three way brawl, but wait, no no no. Brock leaves? Wait a minute, isn't Brock supposed to be the big MONSTER here? Ugh, just who wrote that segment.



At least when Kane came back, the roof exploded. As Mick Foley would say, the pop was Road Warrior-ish! Welcome back Kane. That being said, all of you who are convinced about it being a different guy, are you alse the people who believe there is more than one Ultimate Warrior? Maybe some of you stil think that there is another Undertaker too? Come on! Clearly, we've become paranoid about our genre. Relax man, it's the same guy.



Then on Smackdown, we got The Undertaker AGAIN? Come on, who did we tick off to deserve this? I respect the 'Dead Man' but even I understand the need to utilize OTHER talent. Did we suddenly forget about Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Kurt Angle? What about Rob Van Dam? I mean there is plenty of KNOWN talent there to push, why are you jamming the Undertaker on our screens? Stop IT! If the guy could work a little better, I wouldn't mind it, but the truth is that he's slowing down and getting pounded. Hey, if you're reading Mark, no disrespect, but I want something different.



It's funny because I would change the channel, but there's nothing else to watch! And since there is nothing else on, why can't the WWE ever seem to get the formula down? I guess it's time for another call to Fan Services, because we better nip this in the bud before another damn BURRIED ALIVE match takes place.



Say Hello to something NEW!



I realize we all like to rank our favorite wrestlers so upon further thought, I've decided to hold a Corner to Corner Top 100 chart. We're opening the polls now to start your voting. Now, this is not just another list. The Corner to Corner Top 100 is a compilation of one hundred of today's and yesterday's greatest legends. There are FIVE major categories to consider when you vote, so please read them and think it over before you send me a vote for the Repo Man!



Ring Work is our first category. This category is worth 25 points of the on the individual ranking of each star. Take into consideration their style, how well they work with other wrestlers, and how well they get a story told. A good example of a solid in-ring performer would be Chris Benoit or Triple H. Both men work very well with many different styles and normally do so on such a frequent basis that their matches frequently get a high amount of attention for the quality.



Showmanship is our next category. Now, this is not just whether or not they wore face paint. This is an important category because it is worth 25 points! Why? It's a proven fact that you can be the most technically sound wrestler in the world but if you have no personality, the crowd will usually crap on you. Some superstars have the tools to overcome this, some don't. A good example of a wrestler who never really possesed a lot of microphone ability and overall would be Dean Malenko. He had ALL the tools of an excellent wrestler, but his personality really didn't spark the eye of the audience. He is also a great example of how he had the tools to overcome not having that spectacular personality. This is the category where I want you to consider their microphone skills, their ability to make any situation work in their favor, and their overall charisma. A good example of a solid gimmick is Kane. Glenn Jacobs has been in this business for a long time but his other gimmicks failed miserably. Issac Yankem and Unibomb are good examples of that. Kane, however, has the hype, has the movements, and has the eye of every fan in the house when he arrives.



The third category is Legacy. This applies to all, but I think we'll all feel compelled to rank high where the old school is concerned here. It's worth 25 points also, so this is a must have. A legacy is best described as what you've left behind in the business or what you've contributed TO the business. An excellent example of this is Arn Anderson. Here is a guy who's overall skill was phenomenal and his personality was capitivating just enough to keep you interested. Perhaps his career ended too soon, but his backstage contributions to the stardom of superstars like Scott Steiner, Bill Goldberg, and even Hugh Morrus cannot be ignored. Helping mold future talent into the main talent is such a huge contribution, so I imagine that Arn Anderson and even Al Snow will rank high here.



Now the next category is Titles. This category is worth 15 points and while it is a lowered ranked category, I think it's important that it's presense be felt on this listing. A championship is considered a reward for hard work and a recognition of loyalty and preseverence. Some make this work to their advantage and make their reigns memorable. Hulk Hogan would rank high here, because he reigned as World Champion of two major promotions but also maintained LONG reigns. Ric Flair is ALSO a solid example of how being champion can bolster one's status, so I imagine he'll rank high. I dare say Jerry Lawler could rank high due to his performances in Memphis.



Lastly, we have Politics. This is worth only 10 points, but it should never be ignored. The political power struggle behind the scenes has had such a huge effect on modern day sports entertainment. Whether it's a positive example, like The Rock standing firmly behind the product and conducting himself in a professional manner behind the scenes or it's the old Kliq days where Michaels was leading the charge to apparently make the life of Vince McMahon very uncomfortable. Either way, this should be an interesting ranking to see who this really takes away from. I could see Steve Austin, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels suffering from this with their alleged recent and prior backstage antics. I would also imagine that Hulk Hogan could take a beating here too, as he is considered by many to be a huge part of the demise of WCW.



So, there we have it, 100 points for 100 different wrestlers. Vote for as many, or as little as you like, but please include a rating in each category. They can be male or female, alive or dead, active or retired. It doesn't matter, but you must rank in each category for your vote to count! I am going to release the list in November, so it's high time we got started. In order to keep this voting process as accurate as possible and also to avoid getting flooded at my home address, I've started a mailbox at Corner to Corner's Official Mailbox So please send ALL votes there!



Thanks again for reading this week, and please VOTE!



--Stan Grubb--



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