Breaking The Walls Down - Bits and Pieces Submitted by Chris Dailey on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at 3:00 PM EST
Breaking The Walls Down
Hello all and welcome to another edition of Breaking The Walls Down. I need more time in a day. My wife said to me the other day if she had three more hours in the day, things would be a lot easier. There simply isn’t enough time to do everything I need to do anymore. Bah, oh well. Anyway, onto Bits and Pieces as that will be my focus point since I have a bunch of things in my head.
Bits and Pieces
My last column concerning solely Bits and Pieces seemed to rile a few feathers when it came to a wrestler’s union. I guess my viewpoint comes from seeing too many corrupt and/or impotent unions. I’ve never seen a union that can coexist with management in an effective work environment and still work for the benefit of the union members. Someone brought up the point that if a union had existed when Owen Hart was alive, he may not have ended up doing the stunt he had done. While it’s impossible to argue that point, I will say it’s a good point. Unions, as I’ve said in the past, have their good points and good intentions. But, I’ve seen too much corruption to say that they are a global benefit. Heck, sometimes I can’t even say they are looking out for the benefit of their own union workers. But, that’s an entirely different story.
Bret Hart has stated that if he sees HBK at the Hall of Fame Ceremony he will immediately leave. O.K., enough is enough. News flash for Bret Hart, HBK works for the company and odds are he’ll be there or may be seen. Now, with this news coming out McMahon may ask HBK to stay away (or, for all we know, already told him to do that). Hart is adding more drama where there needs to be none. I’ve been a Hitman fan for years, that’s no secret. But, the recent quotes from him leave me scratching my head. Let it go Bret, let it go.
I miss “The Fisherman’s Suplex” or as Mr. Perfect Curt Henning called it “The Pefect-Plex”. I thought it was a great move. Is it great as a finisher in today’s environment? Of course it can be. I can see a wrestler using it as his/her finisher in conjunction with a move or two that leads up to it that are devastating. Setting it up with something like a “Spine-Buster” would be perfect. At least I think so.
Thought of the day, do you think Vince McMahon got lifetime free tans at that salon with the girl who tried to sue him for sexual harassment? The reason I ask is, did you see his tan on RAW? Does anyone worry about skin cancer anymore?
There is an interesting thread in the “Feedback” section of the LoP forums. In Mr. Tito’s feedback thread, a debate is going on about Sensational Sherri’s induction into the Hall of Fame. I firmly believe that since Sherri is being inducted, so should Miss Elizabeth. Is everyone forgetting how instrumental she was for The WWF? Whenever she was on the scene, everyone paid attention, men, women, children, everyone. She was beautiful, sexy, and classy on camera. Couple those qualities with her smile and everyone stopped to notice what she was doing. To put Sherri in before Elizabeth is, in my eyes, controversial to say the least. In my opinion, both should have been inducted at the same time.
Ahh, the wonders of Google Video. Thanks to Google Video, I was able to see Sandman vs. Sabu, in its entirety. The video quality wasn’t the best, but it was still something I very much appreciated. Between Google Video and Youtube.com, we’re able, for free, to take a trip down memory lane with some classic wrestling videos. These sites aren’t solely professional related, obviously, but they can be used to find professional wrestling videos. Now, most of the videos are spots pieced together by fans, but an occasional match, in its entirety, sometimes surfaces. Enjoy all!
Speaking of Youtube.com, I was able to watch a match that Brock Lesnar was in. But, it wasn’t an American match, it was a Japanese match, as he’s the IWGP Champion. He’s the same old Brock Lesnar, but it was good seeing him in a match again. Man, that tall heavy guy he was facing in tag team action is ridiculous in size. The one thing I keep thinking about Lesnar is, as he gets older, will he continue to be able to do the F-5 to his opponent, even the very heavy ones? The wear and tare of the ring has to eventually catch up with him. For now the finisher is fine, but, like John Cena, I would think as he gets older, a new finishing move will be necessary.
Cactus Jack is back! Yeah, I know, I shouldn’t expect the hardcore icon that we’ve all come to know and love. Mick’s a little too old to be doing anything too hardcore. But, he’s going to be in a hardcore match with Edge at Wrestlemania, so one has to think something brutal is going to happen. We’ve been teased with chairs, barbed wire, and thumbtacks. While I’m sure chairs and a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire will be used to some extent, I’m not too sure on the thumbtacks. Edge has surprised me in the past with his ability to tolerate hardcore matches, but a match with Cactus Jack is a whole different scenario. I’m hoping the match is very entertaining and it might be enough to make me order the PPV (I’m trying to save money) this Sunday. We’ll see.
Wow, have Big Show and Kane gone over with the crowd or what? The crowd on Monday night certainly enjoyed these two. To be honest, they’ve grown on me. I really do wish that they weren’t a slapped together team and almost had some sort of distinguishing look between them that defined them as a tag team. I have a feeling a split will be on the way soon. But, that was a pretty funny segment last night with Big Show trying to move the forklift out of the way so Kane could get out (Kane eventually uses a side door to the room he was trapped in, good stuff). Regardless, these two together are an imposing force that I think could be pushed for some time to come. The WWE needs to feed off of the crowd’s reaction with these two and build a tag team division around them. I long for the days of solid tag team wrestling. It wasn’t that long ago, was it?
I’ve had many people e-mail me in the past couple months and tell me that my opinion on the NWA-TNA is dead on. I have had a few that have told me that the company will be a serious competitor sometime soon. I’ll say this, for those who have read my column since the beginning (or for any extended period of time), they’ll know I admit when I’m wrong. But, in this case, I have to believe I’m right. I’m not seeing any evidence that NWA-TNA is ready to compete against The WWE. I’m glad for Christian being the new champ, but it I don’t see it as enough. It’s a small step to be sure, but it’s not anything that can make them a serious contender. To be honest, take away the studio that NWA-TNA is in and I see them below where ECW stood years ago. But, that’s my opinion.
Jim Ross has been announced as the announcer for RAW matches at Wrestlemania this year. I have to say that’s a shot at Joey Styles, as Styles will not be announcing the matches. The fans are going to be confused by this. Joey Styles will take a significant hit in the fan’s eyes, as he will have the perception as having zero trust from The WWE for doing any big-time events. If The WWE is so down on Styles, why not simply let go of him. Why are they doing that to him? I love to hear Styles announcing matches. I wish he was announcing the Cactus Jack vs. Edge match at Wrestlemania, but perhaps another time.
I don’t want to sound like a miserable jerk or anything. But, I’m not looking forward to any of the world title matches at Wrestlemania. Neither of those matches makes me excited nor want to buy the PPV. The only reason I’m tempted to buy the PPV is for the Cactus Jack vs. Edge match and the Money In The Bank match that I’m hoping RVD wins. This isn’t supposed to be the way Wrestlemania shapes up. Usually I can find at least three matches that excite me. I guess Kane and Big Show vs. Carlito and Chris Masters might be good, but that match is a prime example of my gripe about tag team wrestling. Those two teams aren’t really tag teams. They are two sets of guys that have been thrown together. The bonus to this is, the post Wrestlemania era usually indicates a clean set of storylines that make for a fresh beginning. In some cases, the day after Wrestlemania sometimes feels like a new calendar year for The WWE.
