Take up thy wrestling boots and walk - Time flies
    Submitted by Pt2 on Saturday, September 9, 2006 at 3:03 PM EST



    Tempus Fugit. I just realised how long it has been since I last took the time to write a column. And it’s not down to not having time, but instead, I’ve found that there hasn’t been anything to write about.

    Don’t get me wrong, the shows are still going on, throwing up new material for the reviewers and others to mention new things about, but in spite of their being 3 wrestling shows a week, I don’t seem able to find anything to write about.

    It’s not a complete writers block, because I’m managing to write about other things with ease, and it’s certainly not just me losing the urge to write. The problem comes from something much deeper, and the core of it seems to be in the way I watch, or at least the way I am currently watching, wrestling.

    I can’t find anything to write about because it seems like I’ve written about what they are doing now several times before. In short, even the best wrestling that the WWE is offering right now seems stagnant, stuck, like the same stuff we were watching years ago. Cena and Edge seem to be the hottest thing on the shows right now, and although I don’t deny it’s entertaining enough, why would I need to write about it? It’s not like they are doing anything new, even at the best of times they are competently running over the same old ground. D-X vs. The McMahon’s is reminiscent of pretty much everyone vs. the McMahons ever - you win one week, we’ll win the next, and now the initial optimistic buzz is wearing off, what is left except a watered down version of a familiar stable? Jeff Hardy is back, doing pretty much exactly the same things he was before, and also proving to the world that it wasn’t drugs that made him unable to talk, because he’s still absolutely useless outside the ring. Johnny Nitro and Melina, once two thirds of a promising unit, have descended quickly into piss-break territory - once the entrance is over, you’ve seen it all, as evidenced by the utter piece of shit that was the press conference - if that is the build up to your matches, why would anyone care about your matches, or even take the time to see them in the first place? It doesn’t make sense. Also, with Trish (and if the rumours are true, Lita) soon to be gone from the WWE, then the women’s division is going to be in serious trouble if they persist with having actual matches - because Mickie James is the only woman on RAW that can do anything watchable in there that has had any popularity come her way, and the last time I checked she couldn’t wrestle herself every week - Trish was the backbone that held that division together over the past 5 years, whether she was wrestling against Molly, or Jazz, or Lita, or Mickie, or Victoria, and if she is gone, then the whole thing is going to require some serious restructuring - but then, when they put no effort into the women’s division, why should I waste your time and mine by writing about it? When they take it seriously, I figure the rest of us will too.

    As for Smackdown, that’s even worse. The wrestlers are trying, but it almost seems like they are being cut off from the knees before they can actually do anything. I don't’ know whether it’s because every time I turn it on there is a contract signing that (surprise, surprise) ends in violence, because when you come away from a show the only things you need to remember concern Batista or Rey Mysterio, or because the brightest prospect on the whole smackdown roster at this time is continually used as part of a three man whipping boy for D-X on a whole different show, but every time I watch the show, I come away feeling disappointed, partly for what the show is, and at the same time for what it could be. It could be great, but with the exception of half a dozen wrestlers, nothing else seems to matter on their roster - the guys are either all bit players or nameless and faceless, trying to get recognized and from what I can gather, failing miserably.

    ECW, now there’s something at least - what a fantastic show. A show they have so much confidence in, they put the title on a non-ECW guy within a matter of weeks, and since then have had every show main evented by the top stars on the other shows. Yeah, you can tell they really think a lot of the guys on the ECW roster. I bet they’ve even got Kelly somewhere near the top of their list of future champions about now. ECW needs to be broken off from the other shows at some point if it wants to seem credible and bring back the sizeable portion of ECW fans that won’t watch the show. The people chanting it may have been wrong, but the chants of “you both suck” aimed at Batista and Big Show, incorrect though they are, should serve as a warning that WWE and WCW created guys are not who the fans want to see on those shows. They want their Tommy Dreamers and their Justin Credible’s given the ring time that is being given to guys that already get time on the other shows - and even though I’ve never been the biggest fan of ECW, I want the Dreamers et al to get that time too. If your not going to use them, why keep them on the roster? They attracted their followings for a reason, by having them and not using them to the best of their capabilities you are wasting your assets.

    There does seem to be only one bright spot I can find, in all of the wrestling I’m watching on a regular basis right now - although many things are enjoyable, there seems to be just one, lone area in which things are getting better. And that is tag wrestling. With the establishment of London and Kendrick as Tag champions on Smackdown, combined with a small number of teams for them to face, Smackdown has created for itself something of a division - but Smackdown isn’t really the surprise, whenever tag wrestling has flourished post brand split, it has been on smackdown.

    The real surprise is RAW, where between Haas and Viscera, the Spirit Squad, Cade and Murdoch, Hacksaw and Eugene, and the surprisingly entertaining revelation that is the Highlanders , RAW actually has something approaching a decent tag division for the first time in years. While not many of those teams are going to be around in six months and some of them certainly wouldn’t be in contention for team of the year, the very fact that it is a step in the right direction is comforting, especially as it helps get the Highlanders on TV more often - it may be simple stuff, but I like it - and I’ve learned not to question it too much.

    So yeah - it’d had been a while, so I thought I’d better give you a run down both on my takes of the shows, and the reason why it had been some time. Traditionally, the WWE seems to pick up in the run up to the Survivor Series as they plot their Wrestlemania strategy in more detail, so hopefully the mediocre will upgrade to good, and the poor will at least become mediocre around then. I only hope that it does.

    Anyway, thanks for reading. Any feedback is replied to, you can send it at takeupthywrestlingboots@gmail.com

    Thanks again,

    Pt2







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