Breaking The Walls Down - Five Years Of Columns, Five Years of Memories Submitted by Chris Dailey on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 at 8:27 PM EST
Breaking The Walls Down
Hello and welcome back to another edition of Breaking The Walls Down. Well, The Eagles have started the season with three wins. Again, I choose to leave it at that. The Eagles must take it one game at a time, and that’s their approach, which makes me happy. Anyway, onto Bits and Pieces.
Bits and Pieces
So Kurt Angle is developing an ego? Hmmm, that could definitely be a problem. As, one day, that ego could be put in check by the biggest ego in the WWE these days, Triple H. While I won’t contend that Kurt Angle is a great wrestler, he hasn’t been in this sport as long as some other guys. He needs to be careful.
Billy Gunn was sent home and kept off of the house shows. His attitude has reportedly been horrible. Honestly, I keep forgetting that he’s on the roster anymore. He’s not the same wrestler he was five years ago in the ring. Some wrestlers adjust to changes, some don’t. It’s obvious that Billy Gunn hasn’t adjusted at all. Maybe it’s been the injuries he’s suffered or maybe it’s the years compounding on each other that is affecting him. Either way, the change is obvious. And now, it’s manifesting itself in other ways.
The on-going saga of Sting talking with the WWE continues. It’s the same thing over and over again. Sting claims he’s talked to the WWE (not that I don’t believe him, it’s simply the same story over and over again), but he has stated that the lawyers get in the way. He has been quoted as saying that HBK has played a significant part in him being interested in the WWE (due to HBK’s born-again Christian beliefs). My opinion is that if parties involved are interested enough, lawyers can’t stand in the way. Concessions will be made and a deal will be reached. It’s obvious neither side must want it too much.
Last, but certainly not least, RIP Ray Traylor. When I first began watching wrestling intensely years and years ago I fondly remember this man. I was always excited to see him wrestle and I never could understand why he never beat Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title. The sad thing about that last sentence, both wrestlers I mentioned have passed away and neither one of them reached the age of 50. I wish nothing but the best for Ray Traylor’s family. My prayers go out to them and I hope that they can eventually move on and find solace in the fact that their husband/father touched the lives of so many in a positive way. God bless Ray Traylor and RIP.
Anyway, onto the column.
Five Years Of Columns, Five Years of Memories
This week marks the five year anniversary of this column. Honestly, I had no idea I would make it this long. I had no idea that this column would become popular with you, the reader. This site and this column wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for you, the reader. And, I thank you. I also would like thank Calvin Martin, as he gave me this opportunity. He’s a great webmaster, plain and simple. I’ve seen many columns come and go, some that I’ve missed greatly. Through all of it (and here well over a year before I got here) was Mr. Tito’s column. Through a few evolutions that his work has undergone, he now has the current product: “The Wrath of Tito”. If you are one of the few who have not checked out his column, please do so. It’s always an interesting read.
Aside from the memories stated above there is the obvious memories that this website and this column revolves around, wrestling. Many memories jump out that bare further remembrance. To begin with, there has been numerous, numerous wrestling deaths in the past five years. With the most current death of Ray Traylor, to Curt Henning, to Yokozuna to numerous others, the professional wrestling world has been turned upside down. Many superstars have been lost, but most importantly those superstars are parents to little children, married to a wife or husband, son or daughter to a mother and father, brother or sister to another sibling, and friend to someone important. These people lost more than a superstar, these people lost someone near and dear to their hearts and that is someone can never be replaced.
But, what could have been replaced were some of the angles that have been put forth these past five years. We’ve seen some really good angles, like the angle that developed between The Dudley Boys, Hardy Boyz, and Edge and Christian. Another good angle or storyline developed between Vince McMahon and Steve Austin involving The nWo. Some other interesting angles that developed were some that developed in ECW before it folded and the great angle that began when Vince McMahon bought out WCW and the rights to ECW. There have been many angles done properly.
However, there were the angles that flopped horribly. For example the second half of the angle involving Vince McMahon buying WCW and the rights to ECW. The angle went south very quickly and led us into what we currently have today, split rosters. We now have a Raw brand vs. a Smackdown brand. I can feel the excitement . Another blown angle was The Big Bossman dragging around The Big Show’s supposed dead family member around in their coffin. Due to the recent passing of The Big Bossman, I won’t degrade this angle more than simply saying it was one of the worst pieces of trash I’ve seen in an angle. These past angles have lead into the present day debacle that is the Lita/Kane/Matt Hardy angle. Joy. Oh, and I forgot to mention the majority of angles in WCW for the years it was in existence while I wrote this column. Those were excruciatingly painful to sit through.
Some things for us not to forget in these past five years has been what has appeared in the news. Most notably the purchase of WCW by Vince McMahon and the bankruptcy and purchase of rights to ECW by Vince McMahon. These past five years have been a rough ride to say the least for Mr. McMahon. Not only did he purchase his two big competitors, but he also started his own football league, as well. Who can forget The XFL. The much ridiculed and often the subject numerous comedian and office jokes, The XFL was a serious football league. It had national notoriety, but no respect. The league was broadcast on TV, but many newspapers (including my own) refused to report any news on the league. The league posted higher ratings than that several sports that have national airtime, but due to its ties to professional wrestling, the league had to fold after only one year of operation. Some football players made the jump to the NFL thanks to their participation in the league. League MVP Tommy Maddox returned to the NFL and now currently plays for The Pittsburgh Steelers (but thanks to an injury is out) and Rod Smart plays for the Carolina Panthers as a wide receiver, but has fame as a kick returner (those who watched The XFL will remember him as the player with “He Hate Me” on the back of his jersey as his name). The bottom line is the XFL wasn’t a failure because the play was horrible (it wasn’t great, but it was getting better), it failed because the media rejected it before it had a chance because of its ties to professional wrestling.
That brings me to a point I’ve tossed back and forth in my mind these past five years. Will professional wrestling ever be seriously accepted by the mainstream media? After thinking through this on many occasions and having many conversations about it in many places (such as Third and Spruce Café, The Sports Bar, Sharkies, friends houses, with my wife, etc.) professional wrestling, as it is known today, will not be accepted by the national media. The national media view professional wrestling as what it appears to be, entertainment, scripted entertainment. There is nothing of national interest in professional wrestling so long as it has nothing to do with someone dieing or a high-profile lawsuit.
Something that stood out as important was never really mentioned by the national media, the marriage of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The heiress-apparent to the WWE throne marries a professional wrestler and this doesn’t even bar a mention as a side note, in a side column? I saw no mention of the wedding and I no one pointed it out to me. Yet, we get the latest updates on Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. The reality behind that is no matter how popular professional wrestling gets, it will always be shunned by the national media. Anything associated with professional wrestling (and more specifically, Vince McMahon and the WWE) is looked at with noses held high in the air.
Regardless of what the national media thinks, news has been very plentiful these past five years. This had lead me to think about what you, the fan, thinks is the most significant news topics within the past five years. I’m curious to see what else the fans believe is historically significant in the world of professional wrestling outside of the acquisition of WCW and ECW.
There is another thing I would like to point out. A reader wrote to me about last column. He cited the reference I made to Ric Flair and praised me for not writing negatively about Flair. He stated that he has read and heard many fans do nothing but criticize Flair for various reasons. He was upset about this and felt it was a breath of fresh air to see praise written about Flair. It is my belief that Flair is deserving of praise due to his hard work both in the ring and on the mic. I’ve heard the criticism of Flair before, but I’m kind of confused as to what he’s done to deserve it. He’s a 16-time world champion, multiple time US Champion, tag team champion, and one of the greatest, if not the greatest champion of all time period, end of sentence. Those of you who feel he should retire now and never step back into the ring haven’t really watched how he functions in the ring compared to that of the other wrestlers on the WWE roster. Many of you claim he has lost a step, but a Flair who is one step slow is still two steps faster than many on the WWE roster. He’s earned the right to retire when he wants, where he wants. Instead of criticizing him, why not sit back and enjoy what he is doing on TV, because, at his age, he won’t be doing it for too much longer. He’s said as much, and my only wish is that I could have enjoyed his career more than I have.
To summarize, these past five years have been a constant rollercoaster for professional wrestling. However, the current trend is a downward spiral. Professional wrestling is in a state of flux. Professional wrestling is losing its ratings, thus losing its fanbase. I know it’s almost lost me several times along the way. The fix isn’t readily available, nor known, but it must be found for the sake of professional wrestling. And, these past five years have been an up and down ride for me as well, both enjoying professional wrestling and writing this column as a result of the product. It is my hope that I can write this column for another five years and write about the resurgence of a once proud sport. Here’s to another five years with great memories, less loss of life, and resurgence that will usher in a new era of professional wrestling.
