When in Rome XXVII - Mayweather's Not Worth the Money + Knowing Good and Evil
Submitted by romans_3:23 on Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 12:05 AM EST





Welcome to When in Rome, the column that rushes to the front of the buffet line. Speaking of all you can eat, I live outside of Philadelphia, home of the young and tall 76ers, who are currently running one of the stranger promotions I’ve ever seen. For the low, low price of $31, you can purchase a ticket to not only enjoy a basketball game, but also to gorge yourself on all the hot dogs, popcorn, chips, salsa and soda that you dare consume. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether this promotion is sweet like a Peja Stojakovic three point swish or ghastly like a Shaq free throw attempt. All I can say is that I have a hard time turning away from a feast…With that in mind it’s time for some…


Apocrypha


Continuing with the basketball theme, the NBA’s Western Conference looks like it’s headed for quite possibly its most thrilling finish to a season in a long time. I love the move that the Lakers made in getting Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown and a bag of chips. The Lake Show now has the complimentary star to go along Kobe Bryant that they’ve lacked since Shaq’s LA exit a few years ago. Lamar Odom benefits greatly now that he is the third (maybe even fourth, once Andrew Bynum returns) option. But, as good as LA looks, I still wouldn’t sleep on the dreadfully boring/successful San Antonio Spurs. The four time champs also look like they are hitting their stride, overcoming some earlier injuries to catch the Lakers at the top of the West. All this can change in a matter of days since the top nine seeds in the West are separated by no more than six games. I personally would love to see an old school Lakers vs. Celtics NBA Finals. I bet David Stern would concur.

Lots of big NFL goings on over the past week or so – free agency began and the Jets spent much moolah; Andy wanted to get Randy, but Moss decided to stick with Bill. Then Brett Favre retired.

I’ll tell you one thing however, I am not about to babble on about the big “winners” or “losers” of free agency just yet. I always find it ridiculous how the “experts” can cast judgment on a team’s free agent signings and losses so quickly. No one can truly judge many of these transactions until a few years down the road. I will admit that I like what the Eagles are doing because the Philly fanbase was actually jumping off the Eagles bandwagon onto the Phillies bandwagon lately. The Birds needed to be aggressive and their signing of Asante Samuel and pursuit of Moss really re-energized the fanbase. Talks also abound of a potential trade for Larry Fitzgerald taking place. If the Birds get Fitzgerald, they will once again own Philly’s soul – that is unless the baseball team can reach the World Series…

In wrestling news, the biggest shocker this past week is that WWE has created an “Industry News” section on its website and has mentioned rival promotions, most notably, TNA and ROH. Now, why would Vince acknowledge his rivals? Does he secretly own every wrestling promotion on earth? Nah, WWE is a publicly traded company – Vinnie Mac couldn’t keep that stuff secret. Is WWE extending a large eff you to its rivals by basically saying that they’re so insignificant that exposure from WWE can’t even help them? Maybe - Vince is a defiant guy, but I doubt it. Let me present you my theory on this new endeavor, which is connected to…

Another big story in the news this week - Congressman Bobby (seriously I’m a Congressman named Bobby) Rush’s ripping Vince for no-showing a hearing concerning drug use in pro sports. Supposedly, the Congressman was upset about the brush off because he wanted to tear Vince a new one through some intense questioning. Vince says that he has a legit reason for skipping the meeting because his lawyer Jerry McDevitt had a trial the same day as the hearing. Now, how doe this tie in with WWE.com’s “Industry News” section?

Since Congress has its sights on pro wrestling, maybe Vince figures it would be proper to form alliances with his smaller rivals. Why? I wouldn’t put it past Congress to try to play the smaller guys against WWE in an attempt to nail Vince. Now one might think it would be good for TNA or ROH if WWE took a fall, but the wrestling industry would suffer irreparable damage if WWE fell – TNA and ROH would not be financially capable to suddenly carry the industry. Vince’s granting exposure to the little guys may be his way of offering them an olive branch, showing that they are all on the same side. Vince is saying that their enemy is not WWE, but Congress. They need a united front against their common foe.

Or maybe it’s just a way to increase hits on WWE.com. Who knows? It’s time to debut a new column section…


Knowing Good and Evil


Genesis 3:22

Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man was like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever-"

In the beginning, mankind knew good and evil perfectly. Seems pretty strange considering our current situation, doesn’t it? Adam and Eve, who were created in God’s image, stood blameless without sin before God and they trusted God’s interpretation of the world he created and obeyed his word. In doing so their reasoning was perfectly in line with God’s. But by listening to the deceptive words of the serpent, who said that they would be “like God” if they disobeyed, Adam and Eve disregarded that they were already like God in that they were His image. After Adam’s sin, the image of God became marred – not lost totally – humans are still God’s image but mankind’s original righteousness is lost and human reasoning is now fallen.

Humanity can no longer rightly interpret good and evil, and we are unable to fix ourselves through our own powers. Thankfully, God provided a way through Jesus Christ to redeem the fallen image. With the leading of the Holy Spirit, God’s people can know good and evil by understanding God’s word in the Bible. In the age to come God will restore the image and even raise it higher than its original perfections. In the beginning one was perfect, but had the potential to sin; in the age to come one will not be able to sin. One will know good alone, for the potential for evil will no longer exist.

In this new section, I will attempt to know good and evil in this present age. This knowing of good and evil consists of me analyzing a WWE Superstar’s current situation on the card and determining whether or not he is better suited to play a face or a heel. First up is…

Chris Jericho

Y2J is the first guy I will examine because when watching his MITB qualifier against Jeff Hardy, I noticed that Jericho exhibited some heelish tendencies in that match. Once again, most of the crowd seemingly supported Jeff, who is probably the most over face in WWE at the moment. At best, Jericho fans caused a somewhat split reaction, but the majority of the cheers went to Hardy. Playing off the crowd response, Jericho basically worked as the heel to Jeff’s face, but Y2J did manage to win the match cleanly – he is a face after all, he shouldn’t be cheating to win. Seeing Jericho work a somewhat heelish match made me remember just how awesome he was as a heel in the past. Remember, it was heel Jericho that was the man of 1004 holds; it was heel Jericho who successfully debuted in WWE by going one on one with the Rock on the stick and it was heel Jericho who became the first undisputed WWE/WCW champion. Heel Jericho has quite the prolific history.

Of course at this moment, Jericho as a quasi heel seems to have been a one shot deal. WWE isn’t really dropping any hints that Jericho will be turning in the near future. He has been a face since returning in October, feuding with the heels Randy Orton and JBL with the potential existing for some fresh feuds with Raw heels Mr. Kennedy and Umaga in the near future. But, should WWE be looking to turn Jericho heel?

Many people do prefer Y2J as a heel and it seems that enough time has passed since his return (most returning greats get cheered no matter what) to turn him. The MITB match could be the perfect opportunity to lay the groundwork for a Jericho turn. Maybe Jericho could somehow cost Jeff Hardy the victory that everyone wants him to have in MITB. If Jericho denies Hardy, he could easily morph into a full fledged heel. A long term feud between Jericho and Hardy undoubtedly would produce great matches. Maybe Jericho could take the Intercontinental title off Hardy and actually begin defending that championship, or maybe Jericho could move into a feud with John Cena after feuding with the “Rainbow Haired Warrior.” Storyline wise, it would make a ton of sense for Jericho to target the guy that forced Eric Bischoff to fire him from Raw back in 2005.

But, the fact that most of Jericho’s potential face opponents on Raw, outside of Hardy, are rehashes of past feuds (Cena, Triple H, HBK) kind of dampers the idea that Y2J should go heel. Fresher feuds exist for a face Jericho on Raw, but what if Jericho moves to Smackdown after turning heel? Jericho could have several fresh feuds on against Smackdown faces (Undertaker, Batista, Finlay, Matt Hardy) not to mention the ECW crossover CM Punk. By moving to Smackdown as a heel, Jericho would ensure that he was near the top of the card. If he remains a face on Raw, he seems destined to remain mired in the crowded mid card. Heel Jericho probably would win the World Heavyweight Championship by the end of the year. Face Jericho on Raw will be lucky if he even receives a WWE title match the rest of the year. The main event picture is just too packed.

So, what should it be for Jericho – good or evil? Obviously, I’ve got to go with heel Jericho, especially if he jumps over to Smackdown. Jericho might not have saved us with his return, but he could save his main event status with a heel turn and brand switch.

What do you guys think? Drop me an email romes_writings@yahoo.com and let me know.

Don’t think that you’re done reading just yet – there’s more!


The Gospel Truth


Isaiah 55:2

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.


The word of God is clear here – it is foolish to waste money and effort on things that do not have lasting value. Vince McMahon (occasionally) is a billionaire, so it’s obvious that he knows a thing or two about money, but I question whether one of his latest major investments really makes much sense. I find that this investment may not at all satisfy the fans and Vince will regret not using his purchasing power on something with longer lasting worth.

What is Vince’s poor investment? It’s the guy nicknamed “Money” – undefeated boxing champ Floyd Mayweather. Why do I think Floyd’s a poor investment? Well, if WWE truly is paying him $20 million for working Wrestlemania 24, they are insane. Reportedly Mike Tyson netted $3.5 million a decade ago for working Wrestlemania 14 as a special ref for the Stone Cold vs. Shawn Michaels WWE title match. At that time, Tyson may have been the most controversial, most recognizable athlete on the planet and he received under a fourth of what Mayweather supposedly is getting for his appearance this year.

Now, I understand that WWE is hyping Mayweather as a household name, but honestly I really had no clue about the guy until he showed up at No Way Out. I looked up some info about Floyd and found out that he holds a 39-0 record and that he has held several world titles in various weight classes. He beat a guy named Zab Judah – that’s a cool sounding name, but I never heard of that guy either. Mayweather also beat Oscar De La Hoya, a guy that I’ve actually heard of. Because of his record and titles, many boxing experts recognize Mayweather as the best fighter pound for pound in the world today, maybe even ever. Floyd also appeared on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Apparently, Floyd is a marketable athlete.

But, with that said – I’m a pretty big sports fan, and I had no idea who Floyd was until a few weeks ago. Is that really the kind of guy that WWE should dole out $20 million? Sure, Floyd has gotten WWE some mainstream attention on ESPN, but as usual it has been negative. In my experience, I’ve noticed that sports fans, unless they are already wrestling fans, aren’t neutral towards sports entertainment – they despise it. Wrestling makes a mockery of the sacred competition that is professional sport. So, I question the rationale of banking on a sports star to make the casual fan purchase a wrestling event, unless it’s a guy like Tyson, who was/is such a freakshow that people will tune in just to see what he’ll do.

A guy like Floyd is a nobody compared to Mike Tyson. Heck, Lawrence Taylor and Mr. T are both much better known than Floyd, and I seriously doubt that they received anywhere near the amount Mayweather is supposedly banking. Also all those other athletes/entertainers did not really add that much to the Wrestlemanias they participated in – in fact the Manias in which they were prominent are probably the worst Manias of all time. Make a list of the worst Manias. I bet your bottom three are WM 1, 2 and 11 in some order. While the athlete/entertainers aren’t the sole cause of the horrible Manias – their prominent roles on those cards did not improve them. The entertainers/athletes can positively contribute to Mania when they have small roles like Pete Rose’s recurring confrontations with Kane during the Attitude era or Butterbean’s Brawl for All KO of Bart Gunn at WM 15, but when the outsiders have a significant role –they bomb.

Yes, we all should respect the early Manias for being the foundation of what we have today, but did Mr. T really add anything to Wrestlemania 1 or 2? Wouldn’t WWE have been better served to run with a Hogan vs. Piper title match at the first Mania? Couldn’t Piper have done something more worthwhile than get DQed in a boxing match at WM 2? Did WWE really have to build WM 11 around a LT/Bam Bam Bigelow match? Seriously, that matched bumped the WWE title match between Diesel and HBK to the midcard! That was a farce and it is just as ridiculous for WWE to pay Floyd Mayweather $20 million. Hopefully his match will not be last. If it is, I suspect that many a fan will try to beat traffic and scoot out of the Citrus Bowl before the end of WM 24.

Now, Floyd may not actually be making $20 million for his Wrestlemania appearance. Many have said that the number is kayfabe and that Floyd is really getting $1 -2 million with incentives linked to buyrates. I have no problem with that scenario at all, but if WWE legitimately is paying out $20 million to Floyd, I have to criticize them. That’s probably more money than all five guys in the two main events will make combined – and Floyd is not showing that he is worth main event type money as a sports entertainer.

Floyd’s promo on Monday’s Raw did not help to change this perception. Lots of people criticize Shelton Benjamin for not having mic skills, but in comparison to Floyd, Shelton sounds like the Rock. A boxer may be able to get by hyping a fight with the whole, “I’m here to dominate” shtick, but that seriously will not cut it in the WWE. Floyd sounded so out of place – like he was trying to remember scripted lines, especially when he tried jousting with Jerry Lawler. Floyd was awkward at best on the stick – dreadful at worst and I don’t really have much confidence that he will improve. He’s there for a quick payday – it’s not like he really going to become a full time wrestler. He’s trying to get by on personality alone, but unfortunately Floyd’s personality is downright bland in the WWE. If one believes the latest gossip, Stephanie McMahon agrees with my take completely. Now, who says that Steph doesn’t know a thing or two about wrestling?

Also, earlier I mentioned the Rock. Now, that’s a guy who has a personality! If Vince is willing to pay Floyd $20 million, why on earth would he not offer that sum instead to the Rock to entice him to wrestle at WM 24? Would you rather see Floyd in a one off match or instead see the Rock vs. Cena, or Rock vs. HBK, or Rock vs… you get the picture. Well, maybe you could argue that paying the Rock that much would anger the full time wrestlers, but the Rock isn’t really a wrestler anymore. He’s a movie star and he often commands over $10 million for a film. Why should a wrestler be any more upset over the Rock getting a huge payday instead of Floyd Mayweather?

The Rock would draw in as many casual fans as Mayweather – plus the Rock would guarantee that those long time fans that aren’t committed to purchasing WM 24 had a real reason to buy. I realize that the Rock has distanced himself from WWE, but I do not think he would turn down $20 million – even if WWE wanted him to job. The Rock is going to be at the Hall of Fame ceremony after all, so it isn’t like he has disowned WWE. For the same payday, I’m sure the Rock would provide everything that WWE is hoping Mayweather will and much more. In all, I just can’t see how WWE can justify paying a semi-famous, promo challenged boxer such a large sum. This “Money” will not provide lasting value.

This column is about to end, but before you go – read a few…


Proverbs


Unparalleled excellence may result in greatness, but the vanity of fame is fleeting so read RIPbossman’s – Hardtime #104: Hall of Fame

How can a man ascend to the heavens yet stayed grounded? Discover the way of wisdom by reading State of Bliss’ – Flight of the Tranquil One: Nonstop Service to AMT (Absence of Minor Titles)




You’ve just finished reading the uninspired, fallible, opinion only word of Rome. Take it for what it’s worth. I’ll be back in two weeks with another column, but while you wait be sure to check out the LOP Columns Forum . The great columnists there will appreciate you reading their work.


Also, don’t forget to email me, romans_3:23 , at romes_writings@yahoo.com.


Later all



















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