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Submitted by Pt2 on Saturday, April 10, 2004 at 7:24 AM EST
Welcome one more time to the column that asks more questions than a toddler who walks in on their parents during sex; Take up thy wrestling boots and walk. Back once again from the obscurity of the week, I am as always your host, Pt2. I’d like to thank everyone who read and/or sent feedback for my debut column last week. I would also like to apologize for the HTML problem last week. A couple of people reported that it was out of synch, and I saw it myself. The first time the page loaded, it looked screwed, but when the page refreshed it looked how it should. Weird, eh? Since it looks right now I can’t see what’s wrong with it to fix it, so if it happens again this week.... I’ll have to ask you to stick To compete, or not to competeI’ve been reading the news and other wrestling info on the internet for some time now, and one thing that often comes up is something I like to call the “Competition Theory”. It’s been going around since 2002, when the WWE programming generally started to decline in the aftermath of the long running ratings war with WCW. Depending on who you talk to, this theory relies on one of two major principles. The most popular of these (which incidentally, is not my take on it; I go with the other option, that comes later on), is that if the WWE was presented with competition, then Vince McMahon would have to stop doing what he wanted and listen to the fans reaction to keep ratings. And all of a sudden, a lot of people I know seem to be getting quite excited, for a very southern reason.... It seems that the NWA-TNA are coming more and more close to signing a deal with the FOX network. If this goes through, for the first time since March 2001, The WWE will not be the only wrestling show on North American TV. This is what we’ve been waiting for, the one thing that you hear people beg for over and over again, competition for the WWE, to encourage them to step things up and give us what we want, as opposed to what they want to show us. At least, that’s the premise. Allow me to go out on a limb, and say you’ll be waiting some time before you see any noticeable change on your screens from this. Sorry to disappoint. An easily accessible alternative would be a wonderful thing, but an alternative isn’t necessarily the same as competition, until the consumers MAKE that alternative competition. I’ve seen TNA for the last month or so (although it is a few months behind here in the UK), and while it probably is the best wrestling product right now, it’s still not big enough to cause any major problems for the WWE. TNA fans, or WWE doomsday prophets, you can disagree with me there, but I’m going to give my reasons why. The only way that TNA can make a big impact on the WWE’s ratings is by following the lead of Eric Bischoff and WCW, and running head to head with them. WCW managed to do it, and for a number of years managed to do it very successfully. But when WCW did it, the had Hogan, Savage, Luger, Sting, Flair, and a number of former big WWE names to go head to head with the likes of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Diesel. They needed Bret’s prolonged absence and to lure away Kevin “Diesel” Nash and Scott “Razor Ramon” Hall before they could really make any impact on the WWE’s ratings. But let me present a scenario. Would the WWE have really been as worried about WCW’s growing success if their show getting more ratings didn’t mean RAW getting less? If they were going head to head with “WCW Wednesday Nitro” it wouldn’t quite have had the same effect. Would WCW have been able to compete with the WWE at all in the early stages without their big names? Would the show have attracted enough people to even keep them going long enough for the NWO angle to start without recognizable names like Hulk Hogan and Lex Luger? Personally, I doubt it. TNA has AJ Styles, but he is a name for the future. He’s not a major name to draw people now, and since they might just have their TV deal now, that is what they need now. Who else do they have that people will be familiar with? Jeff Jarrett, Raven and D-Lo Brown. D-lo does nothing anymore. Jarrett is only a main event calibre star to the six people who saw the final year of WCW, and Raven will pull in the hardcore ECW/WCW fans. But they are probably watching already. TNA doesn’t have the star-power beyond what many people will consider to be mid-card talent, and will need to get a fan base (larger than the very loyal one they already have) before they can challenge anyone. And that’s where the theory all falls apart, at least for now. I’m not predicting the end for TNA; far from it. With the great show that they put on week after week, they will only attract fans from this TV deal, and their profile will rise, I’m almost 100% sure of it. It’s not TNA that needs to wait and see, it’s fans who think this will begin a renaissance for professional wrestling. We may say the great re-birth that people have been praying for since the death of the Invasion angle, but it won’t be just yet. TNA could not go head to head with the WWE and survive at this point. Many WWE fans will tune into another wrestling show out of curiosity, just to see what this new (although the NWA is far older) company can do. But if they try and over-reach by running on a Monday, or even Thursday, night, then they will not draw in the WWE fans, and the odds are they won’t bring in the casual fans. They could attract an ECW-like cult following at best. Put it on a Tuesday, or a Wednesday to start with, and curious Jim and his buddies could tune in to watch, and then we have conversations like “Who would win: AJ or Mysterio?”, and then, it will truly start to begin again. But no-one will have that conversation if people don’t see A.J. I’m sure TNA realise that they need time to grow before trying their luck against the WWE, mano a mano. No one longs for a real, big name alternative to the World Wrestling Empire more than I do. I think it will be great for the wrestling talent, and great for us as fans. I hate that if wrestlers want to make big money, there is only one place that they can go, and I hate that the WWE quite sensibly uses that as a strong bargaining position. TNA are the best wrestling product around, and the best (and in my mind, in North America at least, only) chance we have for a real alternative. With enough time to grow, and mature the WWE will have real opposition. But as much as I want rivalry, I think it isn’t the wrestling/entertainment spin of the companies that will change from the competition, which is what is usually thrown around in the “competition theory.” At the tail end of 2002, that was what everyone wanted. They wanted an alternative to the WWE, because they (more specifically the RAW brand) was too entertainment based and didn’t put enough emphasis on the in-ring competition. The ratings for RAW dropped as fans turned away in droves, through travesties of creative and sub-standard storylines. That’s changed now, and both brands have a certain weighting towards the in-ring aspect. The RAW main event of Wrestlemania has been one of the better matches of the past year, and the shifting of Shelton Benjamin to RAW to go alongside Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, and what could be a rejuvenated HHH, shows that RAW has no problem putting on an athletic contest to go with their story. Smackdown has crowned Eddie Guerrero champion, the first champion the brand has had under 240lbs since...well, since the Brand’s split. A sign at least, that the WWE will go with fan reaction (as Guerrero and Benoit were the most over men on smackdown for the past year) as opposed to pushing who they see fit. With both Benoit and Guerrero becoming world champion, the complaint that the WWE isn’t listening is no longer valid. Cena was popular, he won a title. Guerrero and Benoit take their titles, and win their matches at the biggest pay per view in HISTORY. Vince is listening, and he’s listening to the majority. And if you don’t think so, listen to the ovation for the WWE champion compared to the rest of the card, and then come back to me. Which leads me to what the rest of us think about why the lack of competition is bad for the industry, more than anything else. If it isn’t Vince doing what he wants to do, and not caring about anything else, what could it be? If it isn’t that he is being a selfish SOB and you want to see him shocked out of it, why could you possibly want competition, Pt2? The real reason I want to see competition? The idea’s become better. Things happen that never happen when there isn’t a ratings hungry demon breathing down your neck. People stop resting on their laurels, and get less self assured, and come up with more stuff that doesn‘t make the authors of Beverly Hills 90210 blush. Look at the last time two companies were neck and neck. We start out with one company “invading” another, and forming the NWO, which for my money is still the greatest master-stroke in wrestling writing history. All right, that’s not exactly how it played out, but that’s the way it looked, When Nash and Hall started showing up on WCW shows. Opinion is divided on the wonders of D-X, but there is no denying that it drew, and was something that the WWE would never have done unless they had WCW to catch. They could never have pulled a D-X off while Salvatore Sincere was jobbing to Freddie Joe Floyd ten minutes earlier now, could they? And they would never have gone that route without the knowledge that they were losing, and the need to catch up being absolutely apparent. Austin as the bad-ass good guy, Hogan as the bad ass heel, Bret Hart taking his family around him, “Crazy” Ric Flair as president of WCW, the truly memorable and great moments of wrestling come when two companies are playing a game of can you top this. Vince Russo, when he isn’t restricted by a poisonous locker room, is a booking genius, the main mainly responsible for WWE success prior to his resignation. The man had no room to work in WCW, but if they give him room to work his magic, we could see the start of wrestling’s finest age. Vince McMahon is a competitive son of a gun, and I’m willing to bet Shane and Stephanie have that some fight in them. Russo left WWE to try and complete his reputation by saving WCW. WCW died. You think Russo isn’t going to try and get some of his rep back? The real reason I want to see competition is not to see the WWE on the back foot. I don’t hate the WWE, it’s been a great source of entertainment to me for many years, and more than anything I want to see it flourish. But more than that, I want to see it at it’s creative best, which Vince McMahon only seems able to produce when his back is to the wall. If TNA get on, and stay on cable, then they can build a fan base. Once they are pulling in decent ratings of their own, then they can run with the ball and take on the New York empire. The battle of the Vince’s, a New Yorker against the guy who RUNS New York, Russo vs. McMahon, in a battle for ratings and pride. It’ll make World Championship Wrestling vs. The World Wrestling Federation look like a warm up. Sean Connery released from WWE contractWell, not quite. But close, if you ignore that one is a Scottish actor who used to play James Bond, and the other... well, isn’t. In the past week, Sean O’Haire, the former WCW tag champion and at one time a man tipped for success in the US title picture was released from his WWE contract. It’s not exactly the shock of the millennium, though. Sean has been on Velocity duty since his program with Piper and Hogan ended abruptly early last year. And it’s been proven that Velocity duty doesn’t exactly do wonders for your employment prospects. The man was at the top of the card and looked set for nothing but success, but fell from grace, and will presumably have to find work in the independents. Will we see him in Nashville? Who knows, at this point. Not me. I never lost control. I doubt it was selling the world that got Sean into the kind of position where he was likely to lose his job. It’s probably a combination of the lack of motivation that he seems to have been displaying since his “I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know” gimmick got pushed to the back shelf (which would be understandably frustrating), and the fact that it is about the time the WWE will be slimming the rosters. There is too much talent on both the RAW and Smackdown line-ups for everyone to get enough TV time to do themselves justice and make a name for themselves, and at that point, it must be both frustrating for the talent in the sense that they feel as if they are wasting their time, and frustrating for the management, knowing they are not getting as much as they could for the money they expend. Naturally, when the rosters are this loaded (and they have been pretty damn packed since the acquisition of WCW and ECW), some Shaving of the rosters will be expected. And over the past few months, we’ve seen the release or unhindered departure of O’Haire, Terri Runnels, Zach Gowen, Ron Simmons, Mike Sparks, Ernest Miller, Chris Kanyon, Goldberg and Kevin Nash (both left at the end of their contracts with no effort at re-negotiation) Brock Lesnar and Brian Kendrick (Both asked to be and let out of fulfilling their contractual obligations... at least for the time being). They’re definitely not afraid to cut back on the talent, now are they? Lets look at who they lost. O’Haire has proven himself in tag teams, but hasn’t done too much recently. Sparks and Runnels won’t have a huge impact on the show, being non-wrestling talent. Nash spent most of his contract injured and as much as the Diesel mark in me hates to admit it, he isn’t worth what it would take to keep him. Goldberg is only worth the money if you’re in a bind talent-wise, which they are not. Miller makes a decent enough Heel if kept away from a ring. Kanyon was a star in WCW and could have been used more by the WWE, but would never have been main event. Kendrick could have been a big player in the cruiserweight division if it was taken more seriously - let me put that another way. If HE was taken more seriously. The WWE look as if they are trying to build a successful cruiserweight division (Chavo-Mysterio had the time and effort put into it to at least show development), but the way he was portrayed, I don’t think Brian Kendrick would ever have been a major player in that division. More likely Funaki 2005. Indeed, My ass. Lesnar was a star, everyone knows the story and has an opinion, I won’t go into it here. Not without a beer and some snacks, anyway. It’d be a long night. The weird thing is, it’s not like when they have had a clearout in the past, where the people who go all seem to be in the same position. It’s almost as if no two people leave for the same reason this time out, and they come from poles apart. Brock was the golden boy, O’Haire was your typical big man, Kendrick was the Joke boy, and they’re all gone now, for one reason or another. Whether it’s people choosing to leave or World Wrestling Entertainment releasing them, they are all no longer on the payroll. And when the mix of talent leaving is that diverse across the card, you have no idea who could be next. I would hesitate to say that a Bob Holly or J.B.L. will be the next to go, since they practically bleed WWE - but Terri was said to be loyal enough to have a job for life, and she left the company. People are walking or being asked to leave, trying other ventures or being forced into them, and truth be told, I haven’t got a damn clue who is going to be next, or even if there is going to be a next. Maybe they think that they have slimmed things down enough for now and will be making a big push into the rest of the year with the personal they have now. It’s a question that I don’t think any of us have the answer to. But I’m sure it’s something that we all have an opinion on. Please feel free to send me yours, I’d be glad to hear them. All Shook UpBefore the beginning of this year, the WWE talent was structured into two very distinct, separate identities. RAW had stars like Booker T, Triple H, Ric Flair, Goldust - known more for their entertainment value than their in ring skills, or past their in-ring best. Smackdown on the other hand boasted names like Chris Benoit, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle - for the most part, stars known for their in ring ability over their skills on the stick. Although Kurt Angle is probably a glaring exception to that rule, people had drawn up the battle lines; Raw was the entertainment show, and Smackdown was the wrestling show. While the diversity was never more apparent than in the run up to Wrestlemania XIX, this trend did tend to continue right up until the tail end of last year. But since the Royal Rumble, Chris Benoit, possibly the best in ring worker in the company, jumped ship to RAW and won the World Championship from Triple H. Now I’m a Chris Benoit fan, and have been for many years, but even I have to admit that he’s not exactly gold when it comes to being on a microphone. While I think he does sum up the character perfectly, it’s not exactly the “sports entertainment” that the RAW brand has become famous for. Even more recently, another young talent more famed for their in-ring work than their entertainment skills got drafted to RAW in the lottery, by the name of Shelton Benjamin. We know Benjamin is a great athlete - just watching some of the mans matches with Charlie Haas is a testament to that. But the legend has it, you need more than that to succeed on RAW. And though he does seem to exude natural charisma, at the moment, those skills are very green. On the flip side of that, Smackdown seems to have received a lot of the green talent - people who need time and experience to get themselves to the next level. Rene Dupree and Mark Jindrak will probably get some TV time over the next 6 months, and Dupree is getting his program with Cena already. Just leave that damn dog backstage. Other than that, who have Smackdown acquired? Rico, so Miss Jackie can do Bikini contests - an entertainment trade, and The Dudley's, who will be shoring up the tag team division now that Smackdown’s most credible team in Haas and Benjamin (I refuse to call them TWGTT) have been split. With more established wrestlers coming to RAW when their charismatic values get called into question, and trades being made to Smackdown to bring more “entertainment” value out of the show, will it crush the shows individual feel? Personally, I don’t think so. You still have Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, HHH and Evolution, Chris Jericho, Eric Bischoff, William Regal et al on RAW. Almost everyone with a certain experience and talent for connecting with the crowd. On Smackdown, you still have Eddie Guerrero on the world title which is a positive message to the locker-room, and the Cruiserweight division, that will always show a wrestling partiality for Smackdown. The shows unique feels and identities are unlikely to change. You may get a little more wrestling on RAW, and that wouldn’t go amiss, but don’t think it will change too drastically. Perhaps then the better question is will these stars be accepted on the other brands? Benoit seems to have been accepted, but remember he has been world champion for less than a month. If he loses the title, will people still be cheering for him a month later? The Smackdown fans, impressed with his in-ring efforts, kept him in people’s minds even when he was duelling with the A-Train, and his fan reaction alone meant that they could never discount him. With the RAW fans supposedly caring less about the in-ring work, will the same thing happen? The same thing goes for Shelton. He’s getting a nice reaction now, coming off his arrival on RAW and subsequent defeat of HHH. But the man is only learning how to connect with the crowd on the Microphone, and he will probably have to learn quickly. His former college buddy Brock Lesnar got to learn how to use the Microphone alongside Paul Heyman. Shelton rarely spoke at that time and didn’t have that luxury. If Shelton doesn’t get formidable on the mic soon, and his momentum from the HHH victory is not sustained, then it’s quite possible that he could end up back in the mid-card, battling away against Test instead of Billy Kidman. On Smackdown, there is less to worry about. Dupree is already getting a decent reaction. Jindrak probably will too. Rico can’t do any worse than he did on RAW, although he’s apparently not going to be doing much on the blue brand either. Jackie, well... I’ve never heard them boo Torrie Wilson out of the building, so I doubt Jackie will get shit on by the Smackdown fans. Booker T and the Dudley's are popular athletes, and are already getting the reaction that you expect they would. The question seems not how the others will do on Smackdown, but how these wrestling specific stars will do on RAW. Personally, I think the gulf has always been misrepresented. I think RAW fans appreciate good wrestling too, and won’t have any qualms with watching Chris and Shelton do their thing on RAW and the RAW PPVs, and were probably just as happy to see them arrive as they were to see Edge come to RAW. But a lot has been said about this Wrestling/Sports entertainment gap between the shows, so it’s another question to pose to you. What's your take? Will Shelton and Chris have faded away from the main event by Summerslam? Or will they become two of the principal stars of the show, alongside Evolution, Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley? Without any further ado, it’s now time for the 756th most prestigious awards in wrestling..... Take up thy wrestling boots.....Take up thy wrestling boots, William Regal. It’s great to see man with as much knowledge and experience return to the ring, especially when he has been told that he would never be able to wrestle again. He’s a valuable asset to the locker room and the company in general, and it’s great to see him prove the doctors wrong and return. My hats off to you. ..... And WalkWalk, Kane. Well, it’s not so much Kane. But it is kind of frustrating, when you see them have TWO great chances to make someone the biggest monster heel since Vader, and screw them both up. Once again, Kane is little more than a jobber. Throwing him at people actually doesn’t work anymore, because never mind how big and scary he is... he loses every damn match he has. Not a great way to get someone over. And that’ll do it for this week. Before I go, just time for some plugs - LOP Columns forum! Check out work from SteJ and his crazy train, Captain Lou, Random Guy, Your Ayatollah, Tinaali, BBM’s number one fan, Valleyboy and his memmy awards, Robb, the women’s wrestling update with Brochio66, and check out rising columnists Adrenaline and Raven97. So, I’m going to go and do something else now. As always, all feedback is appreciated either on the column itself or just opinions on anything I’ve brought up, and you can send it to me here. Naturally, I’ll reply to all feedback. Thanks for reading, have a great week. *NEW GALLERY* Whoa Payton!! VERY HOT Modeling Shots of Payton Banks!
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