The Wrath of Tito - Follow-up on Kurt Angle, Master's return, Trish, HHH, more
Submitted by Mr. Tito on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at 8:58 PM EST
Welcome everyone to the Wrath of Tito, which is ON TIME this week. I'm typing super-fast, too, as I only have this small window of opportunity to write this evening. I hope everyone is having a good week... It's a busy one, as usual, for me, and it's going to be a fun rollercoaster of a life for the next year until the Mrs. Tito I've hinted at in this column for years officially becomes the real Mrs. Tito.
To follow up my discussion in my last column about Kurt Angle, I said the following, if you'll remember:
"Now, there are whispers that Kurt Angle has violated the new WWE "Wellness Program", i.e., the drug policy. Until I see legitimate proof of that instead of speculation, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT. There's no evidence of Angle has abused any type of substance. I'm tired of message board posters attacking Angle's character over absurd speculation. If there was proof that Angle was taking drugs, I definitely would NOT condone it. You, the readers, know my stance on drugs and know that I do not tolerate wrestlers who abuse drugs. I'll even tackle my favorite wrestler if there was proof to show drug abuse. However, until there is evidence, some of you lowlifes need to shut the hell up. Innocent until proven guilty, remember that?"
Foot in mouth I go... however, I would suggest that integrity is given here, as I waited before the facts came out before even jumping on this "drug bandwagon". After I wrote Saturday's column, a mere 4 hours passed when the WWE.com interview was posted about Angle's painkiller abuse. To stay consistent with my hardlined drug stance, I will envoke the FINGER OF SHAME to Kurt Angle for getting too dependent on the pain killers. Sure, his body hurts... but abusing prescribed drugs is certainly not the answer. Rest and recovery are, however, and the WWE will take you off the road to recover. Instead, Angle pushes himself and he was probably taking whatever he could for pain relief to continue to work. The guy was about to attempt to wrestle with a torn groin, for Christ's sake! Even though Angle is my favorite wrestler, he needs help to alter his methods of softening the pain. Drugs, even excessive prescribed ones, are NOT the answer.
The release, the more I hear and think about it, becomes to make more and more sense to me. With this time off, Angle can readjust his life. He's too wired these days and it's taken over his life. His marriage is on the rocks and his long-term health is extremely questionable, thanks to his non-stop drive. Sure, it's good for we, the wrestling fans, to always see Kurt Angle out there and wrestling. He's been a blessing to the WWE since he debuted in 1999 (which I regretfully criticized back then, but I soon respected him in 2000) and we, as wrestling fans, should be concerned more about Angle making the Hall of Fame ceremony on his own two feet instead of in a wheelchair. While I don't like to compare types of drugs, Angle was taking excessive painkillers and foolishly working through injuries because he loves to perform and has the drive to be the very best. This is in contrast with a guy who smokes dope while driving to the next show and refuses to work at being the very best (RVD). Drugs are drugs, but Angle's use was to keep performing at a high level despite injuries. I still don't condone it, however, and Kurt Angle needs help, NOW.
Maybe in a few months we'll be blessed with a healed up Kurt Angle and a guy with a new outlook on life. Angle needs to take few steps back and realize that he's one of the most talented athletes that the WWE has ever had. The talent and his personality can speak for itself, while he can start giving that body a much needed rest. His personal life has become a mess and he needs to assess whether he wants a love life while working over 300 days on the road. It's a tough choice and having wife/kids waiting at home is NOT for everyone. He needs to get off the painkiller addition and start living a much better lifestyle. Then, when he's ready to return, the WWE fans will welcome him back with open arms and back him for addressing his drug and personal problems.
-While on the subject of drugs, I saw that a favorite rookie wrestler of mine has returned from his suspension... Chris Masters made his WWE return to face John Cena. But Masters looked different... It looks as though the "Masterpiece" lost a few pieces... Maybe 30 pounds or more of muscle amount of pieces! As a baseball fan, I can remember when admitted steroid user (thanks to grand jury leaks) Jason Giambi was noticeably smaller after steroid testing was implemented in 2003 or 2004. Meanwhile, Masters was suspended for failing a drug test as part of the WWE's Wellness program, but the drug of choice was never revealed. Some suspected it was painkillers, while a lot of the accusation trigger-happy marks were throwing instant "steroid" claims. While I still don't know what Masters was on, he was definitely thinner, insomuch that Jim Ross kept mentioning that Chris Masters was "leaner" throughout the evening. Masters is definitely smaller than when we last saw him.
I don't know for sure... but he's definitely thinner and it comes after a drug suspension. I hate to play Michael Moore and say that by adding 2 + 2, it will equal 5... But it seems obvious that someone has a new diet or workout regimine. No facts to back that up, but stating the obvious that Masters is thinner after a drug suspension. Nothing more can be said about that.
With Masters thinner, however, the character must be rethought. He hardly looks like a "Masterpiece" with that smaller frame. Before, the muscles did the talking and made the gimmick. Now, he has the typical build of every WWE superstar. That presents a problem. He loses credibility as a monster heel because of the lost size and how am I to believe the "Masterlock" when he's obviously not as strong as he once was?
However, I did like what I saw with Masters... Jim Ross was actually correct. Being leaner has made Masters quicker, more agile in the ring. I liked his match with John Cena. I thought Masters was a good performer who lacked offense before his suspension. Maybe the large muscle mass was slowing him down in the ring? I'd like to think so. With Masters being smaller, he'll have to start performing well to adjust for the large reputation he once had as a powerful wrestler. I think he'll do well in the longrun as a in-ring wrestler, but it's the character that needs attention. It's up to the WWE Creative Team to prove how insightful they are by adjusting to Masters body changes and showing fans that other wrestlers should still fear Masters as a wrestler. I'm not really sure, however, if the Masterlock can still be used and that's a shame. Masters and the WWE officially brought back the full nelson.
-As for the rest of RAW... I can't stay up that long. The show came on at 12:30 am and I was out a little bit after 1 am. Yes, it was on Sci-Fi... but I didn't have access to Sci-Fi from the television I was stationed at. I did, however, watch quite an exciting tennis match with Andre Agassi making me proud to have played tennis. I hope he makes it to the Finals, somehow. It's been a great run and now, he can officially retire to be with his wife Stephi Graf full time. Not a bad deal.
I will say that a ladder match between Edge & Cena should be good at Unforgiven. I like the twist added that Cena has an offer to leave RAW for Smackdown. I, slowly becoming a Cena fan, don't want him to go onto that show and wither away. Keep him on RAW where he's established himself as a regular character. Plus, I want more of Cena vs. Edge. That's been a GREAT feud.
Speaking of Sci-Fi, my apologies for biting on the "Surge TV" story. A parody newspage put that together and myself, along with others, were fooled. A journalist, I am not. Good thing I didn't post that on LoP as a newspost. Phew!
~Daily Apples~
-It seems as though Trish Stratus will be leaving the WWE after Unforgiven to take time off or to retire for good (her contract expires). If Trish gives the word that she's retired for good, it's time for the WWE to make nice on a big superstar leaving the sport. That's right, I'm talking about a retirement ceremony on live television. Trish has been with the WWE since 2000 and has been a major influence to women's wrestling and how divas are marketed within the WWE. As a performer, she's been great and is an incredible ambassador for the WWE. Her hard work needs to be commended and the WWE should retire her with style. I would suggest allowing her to retire as WWE champion, if anything. But a ceremony with all of the wrestlers coming out to embrace her would be better.
As I've said before, Trish is one of the biggest female influences on pro wrestling. Along with Miss Elizabeth, Sensational Sherri Martel, Sunny/Tammy Sytch, and Sable, she's opened the door for females to become a bigger part of the WWE in the future. Her revitalizing of the women's division, merchandise sales, and personality have been extremely critical to the "Divas" in the present and in the future. All hail Trish! Plus, a good tribute will allow Trish to forever be an ambassador for the WWE.
-I'm wondering what's with the stab at Hulk Hogan by Triple H in the latest edition of WWE magazine. In response to the backstage news about his creative influence in the WWE by attending creative meetings and being married to Stephanie, Triple H said that Vince McMahon is the one with the true influence backstage and that HHH says and does what Vince asks. That's fair enough of an assessment of Vince, though I would suspect that one would show more favoritism to his son-in-law than to someone who is not married to his daughter. That's what HHH fails to consider. That's not to mention that his wife, Stephanie, is a lead writer and has a lot of decision making power behind the scenes, as well.
But I've beat that deadhorse and I've grown to respect HHH for the last 2 and a half years now. I'm being honest when I say that. However, I did not like his slant against Hulk Hogan. In response to rumors that HHH doesn't want to drop a belt to a certain guy, he said "I've yet to see Hulk Hogan lose to anybody. He wrestles once every 6 months, and it doesn't matter if you're the biggest name in active competition today, he's not going to lose to you. There was suppose to be a Hogan/Michaels 2, and Hogan was supposed to lose. All of a sudden his knee starting "bugging" him." Ouch. Stinging comments. HHH might be in character saying that, given that he's with Shawn Michaels to comprise DX... but still. Say what you want about Hogan, the WWE, or shall I say HHH's father-in-law, Vince McMahon, is paying Hogan millions of dollars to wrestle those few times. Hogan is basically a WWE brandname and for HHH to bash the Hulkster like that is classless. HHH could have gone on in that article and made his point about backstage rumors without throwing Hogan under the bus. I had no problem with HHH's comments until that and I'm NOT a Hogan defender.
Just bad publicity, internally, for the WWE. Now granted, HHH vs. Hulk Hogan might be a project for Wrestlemania 23, and if so, it's a good seed to plant. But exposing pro wrestling (yes, I know everybody knows that it's fake, but it's still the business of building beliefs about winning and losing!) and trashing Hogan's character because of his backstage stroke that HHH's own father-in-law gave him is unprofessional. Additionally, stupidity awards also go to the WWE Magazine's editors for printing the interview quote and for Vince McMahon for allowing the editors to print that quote.
-With an interview with the Washington Post, the Rock said that his wrestling career is "absolutely" over and that he quietly decided to get out of wrestling to spend more time acting and with his family. That's fair enough, but as I've said in the past about Chris Jericho... "never say never". With the Rock, he needs a box office hit before he convinces me that he's officially done with pro wrestling. His movies have, well, struggled. They've made decent money, but some have lost money. He has yet to become that breakout action star that he was once predicted to become. I'm not sure about the Gridiron Gang, as I once remember seeing that when it was called the Longest Yard (*using a sarcastic David Spade voice*). The Rock needs an action movie defining role, such as how Conan/Terminator solidified Arnold as the action star he once was.
If the Rock is done with pro wrestling, the WWE should offer him an olive branch and induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame already. Why not? How could Rock refuse that honor? However, if the Rock's movie career keeps floating along, why not offer him several million a year to wrestle again? The WWE lacks one big drawing name to possibly repeat the past successes with the ratings and to become a major mainstream phenomenon again.
-Not that I care to report news about the 2006 DragonCon science fiction convention, but four wrestlers will be signing autographs. They are Captain Lou Albano, Virgil, Iron Shiek, and Lita. Of those 4, who is the one that is currently under full-time WWE contract. Granted, Captain Lou and Shiek might be under Legends contracts (not sure?), but Lita is not. Why would she be signing autographs with this crowd? Is it WWE policy to send an active wrestler to sign with 3 other inactive or former WWE stars? It's seems rather odd and begs to question if this is a sign that Lita is leaving the WWE soon? She reportedly wants to act and may pursue that once her WWE contract runs out soon. I'm not officially sure when her contract expires, but the convention is THIS weekend.
That's all I have for today... Enjoy your week and just chill, till the next episode!
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