When in Rome XXXII - The Great Racist?
    Submitted by romans_3:23 on Friday, May 30, 2008 at 10:19 AM EST

    Welcome to When in Rome, the column that knows that there’s no place like home – at least for my Penguins. Good job with game three, now just gotta keep it up in game four. With the Pens having the advantage of making the last line change, Sidney Crosby was able to avoid the dreaded Zetterberg line and score two huge goals for the Pens. I really think that the Pens can win game four – they have to if they are going to have any real shot to win the Cup. I’m gonna stick with my original prediction of the Pens winning in six games (yeah I’m a homer, whatever...)

    I still believe in the Pens, and hold out hope that this series will end up much like the 2006 NBA Finals. Remember that series – when the Dallas Mavericks were about eight minutes away from going up 3-0 on the Miami Heat, but then Dywane Wade took over and salvaged game three for the Heat? Remember what happened afterward? The Heat didn’t lose another game to the Mavs and they won the title. The third Pens/Wings game had a similar feel to Heat/Mavs game 3. Detroit dominated at first like Dallas, taking a 9-1 shot advantage, but then Crosby stepped up and the rest of the Pens followed. Can the Pens pull off a Heat like comeback? They have the talent to do so, but will it happen?

    Since I’m already babbling, let’s read some…


    Apocrypha


    Oh, we’re halfway there – Whoa oh – the Lakers are in the NBA Finals! Thank goodness! Now the NBA is guaranteed to at least have one interesting team in its championship series. Hopefully Boston seals the deal and cements the best Finals match up in years. I’m elated that Kobe Bryant was able to silence his haters with his performance in the playoffs so far. So many people said he’d never be anything without Shaq, but I think that winning the tough Western Conference clearly shows that Kobe can get it done without the Diesel. Even if the Celtics or Pistons win the NBA title (they won’t by the way…) Kobe still deserves mad props for winning the West. It’s amazing what one can do when they aren’t saddled with inferior teammates. Much credit must go out as well to Mitch Kupchack, the Lakers’ GM, who brought in Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol to fill out a young squad, turning them into a title worthy team.

    Unfortunately though, even though the Lakers will probably be even better next year – I don’t think that we’ve heard the last from the dreadful San Antonio Spurs. Manu Ginobli was playing hurt in this series and I do wonder what would’ve happened if he had been healthy. Would the Lakers have been able to rally from two double digit deficits? That’s unlikely. Yes, the Spurs have a bunch of old role players, but the core of their team is still young and good enough to make a run next year. They just need a younger supporting cast, but the Spurs have the advantage of being a great team to play for, so they shouldn’t have many problems re-tooling.

    In wrestling news, “reporters” are once again claiming that several Superstars are pissed off at Triple H and that Trips may soon find himself on Smackdown after the upcoming WWE Draft. Seriously, don’t we read this same story every year at this time? Trips needs to move. Everyone hates him, blah, blah, blah. You know, I wouldn’t mind if Trips moved to Smackdown. That would be a nice change for WWE, but if that happens – it is in no way related to these silly rumors that get posted this time of year. Trips will do what’s best for the business. He always does. Sorry haters…

    Speaking of the Draft, I always wondered why WWE hasn’t gone and adopted a full on free agency format, ala pro sports. I really think that it would be much more interesting if each wrestler had a real contract (storyline wise of course) with his brand that would expire at a certain point, allowing him to become a free agent. Then GMs could have bidding wars for the Superstars and whatnot at various times in the year. Yes, it would be good if a bunch of contracts expired at this time of year so that a mass change can take place, just like in pro sports during their free agency periods. But it would also be nice for changes to take place throughout the year in a logical manner, instead of how haphazardly they occur now.

    Well, there’s another ppv this Sunday – One Night Stand. Here’s a very quick “prophetic word” about what will go down: Trips will win. Taker will win. Beth will win. Big Show will win. JBL will win. Batista will win. Hardy will win.

    If these predictions come to fruition, it will be a heavy face victory night on Sunday. Maybe Umaga will win to create some balance, but as of now, I’m done picking him to win a ppv match. He hasn’t done so in what, over a year? Umaga seems to certainly be moving to Smackdown. Vince basically revealed that at during a shareholders’ meeting earlier this month. Hopefully Umaga can start winning after the move. He may be a monster, but he is starting to lack credibility.

    All right, enough of that let’s move on to the main topic…


    Mahabharata


    "I play to bring honor to India's name abroad, and I feel very proud when I am beating up white wrestlers," The Great Khali


    Yes, I usually begin my main section with a quote from the Bible, but today I’m quoting some ancient Indian Mahabharata. Well, actually I’m quoting a Washington Post article about former World Heavyweight Champion the Great Khali. Who knows, if Khali’s already immense popularity in his homeland continues to grow, maybe his words will be recorded in a sacred text someday… Anyways, this quote has stirred quite the hubabaloo amongst the IWC – many are even accusing Khali of making a racist comment against white people. But, I’m here to defend the Great Khali. He was not making a racist statement against white people. No, not at all – he was making a racist statement against

    black wrestlers

    Yes, the Great Khali was simply implying that defeating black WWE Superstars does not fill him with pride, nor bring honor to India. He holds a bias towards white WWE Superstars, finding them superior to black WWE Superstars. Khali is proud when he beats Undertaker, John Cena or Stevie Richards. He is indifferent when he beats Shelton Benjamin or Elijah Burke. The only question that remains is this – Is Khali’s assessment of the current crop of black WWE Superstars correct?

    Today we’ll look at each of the black Superstars in the WWE and decide if Khali should feel pride when he defeats them.

    First let’s look at

    Elijah Burke
    Burke hasn’t done much besides job ever since Vince McMahon branded him as the new face of ECW back during the “New Breed” days. WWE’s website lists Burke’s career highlight as participating in a tag match at Wrestlemania 23 (in which he was part of the losing team.) We all know that his true career highlight was wrestling Chris Benoit in his final match. In all, Burke has been a massive disappointment since gaining Vince’s stamp of approval. Maybe WWE higher ups subconsciously hold Burke responsible for driving Benoit murder his wife, child and self nearly a year ago? No matter what – the verdict is clear - Khali should not be proud to defeat Elijah Burke.

    Next up we have another ECW Superstar - Kofi Kingston . Kofi is known for having a nice undefeated streak at the beginning of his WWE career, a Jamaican accent and some sweet kicks. While that’s nice, the fact remains that he is a raw rookie. How can he even be compared to the Great Khali, a former World Heavyweight Champion? This verdict is clear - Khali should not be proud to defeat Kofi Kingston .

    Then, we have The Boogeyman. The Boogeyman’s claim to fame is eating worms and cracking clocks over his own skull. He does hold a victory over former World Champion Booker T at Wrestlemania 22 and has frightened countless WWE Superstars during backstage segments. In all, Boogey has made a decent career for himself by embracing his gimmick – too bad WWE thinks he’ll get stale if he’s around for more than a few weeks at a time. Where is Boogey now? A part timer can’t possibly be in the same league as the giant Khali… Khali should not be proud to defeat the Boogeyman .

    Up next is another guy who has gone MIA, Big Daddy V. Now, Big Vis has had a few impressive accomplishments in his career. He made rap cool in the WWE with Men on a Mission, long before John Cena ever busted a freestyle rhyme. V also won the 1995 King of the Ring tourney and headlined that year’s Summerslam in a WWE title match against champion Diesel. He came up short, however, and floundered in the midcard afterward. After some major gimmick changes, V started too look like a force on ECW, but his push was cut short by his being too fat for his own good. Besides that, Big V is known for having large boobs – and he isn’t a WWE Diva, so it isn’t all good for Big V. Is he a respectable opponent for Khali? Overall, I say No, Khali should not be proud to defeat Big Daddy V.

    Now, let’s look at some Raw Superstars – the tag team Cryme Tyme . These guys are definitely entertaining and over with the crowd, but they haven’t accomplished much in their WWE career, outside of getting fired and rehired. I take that back, they have accomplished the rare feat of losing most of their matches, yet managing to stay included in backstage vignettes each week, in which they steal things. Well, Khali may have trouble here since this match up would be two against one – would he not bring honor to his native land with a victory? I say no. How much honor is there in besting robber jobbers? - Khali should not be proud to defeat Cryme Tyme.

    There is another black wrestler on Raw – former WCW Champion Ron Simmons. Simmons has had much success in his career in addition to his title run – he was part of an immensely popular APA tag team, as well as the leader of the Nation of Domination. But, at this point in his career, he only wrestles on rare occasions and mostly just shows up to say “DAMN!” when something odd occurs. Undoubtedly, Khali would have been proud to defeat Simmons about five or ten years ago, but today – not so much. Khali should not be proud to defeat Ron Simmons.


    Now, let’s look at the three black Superstars that have the best chance of filling Khali with pride when they do the job for him: Shelton Benjamin, Mark Henry and MVP. These three are the best of the bunch of black WWE Superstars at the moment. But, is a victory over any of them cause for conceit?

    First, we have Shelton Benjamin. He is known for being the best pure athlete in the WWE, holding the Intercontinental title 5645242 times, botching 5645243 moves, and being chosen by this columnist as the best option to win the 2008 Royal Rumble… Anyways, Shelton has a prolific resume to say the least, but despite all his accomplishments, one word best describes his career – potential. Maybe it would be best to place an adjective in front of that word at this point and describe his career as “unfulfilled potential.” Shelton has seemed close on several occasions to breaking through and reaching the elite of the WWE, but something has always held him back, typically his lack of mic skills. Should Khali feel proud if he defeats an underachiever? I say no. Khali should not be proud to defeat Shelton Benjamin.

    Up next is Mark Henry. The “World’s Strongest Man” has been a WWE fixture since 1996 and he has accomplished several… Wait, Mark Henry has been in WWE since 1996 and he has accomplished pretty much nothing! Henry has held one title in his WWE career – ONE! The now defunct European championship, which he didn’t even win in a match! Jeff Jarrett gave the belt to him as a gift for a favor. Seriously, how can Henry only have one championship reign (and a short one at that) on his resume? Think about it. Henry and Hornswoggle are tied in championship reigns at the moment. Besides that captiviating run as Euro champ, Henry caused Mae Young to give birth to a plastic hand… This is a no brainer - Khali should not be proud to defeat Mark Henry.

    Finally, the great white hope of the bunch, Montel Vontavious Porter. MVP truly has taken WWE by storm since his debut in 2006. He recently wrapped up a US title run that lasted nearly a year. He is golden on the stick and has his own talkshow, the MVP Lounge as a testament to his greatness. He participated in the consensus 2007 feud of the year with Matt Hardy, and he is universally recognized as a future World Champion. Topping it all off, MVP has one of the best entrance themes in the biz – One, Two, You hear the clock tickin…

    This is where Khali’s theory of black Superstar’s inferiority breaks down – MVP is awesome. Only the most ignorant of backwoods hicks would find fault with MVP, and Khali is no hick – he is an intelligent man who is an ambassador for an entire nation. Sadly, his intelligence did not keep him from making an ignorant remark about only feeling proud when beating white wrestlers because undoubtedly Khali should feel exceptional pride if he defeats MVP.


    There you have it - the Great Khali unfortunately is a great racist. Too bad, I really want to like the guy, even though many fans hate him. Maybe it’s all you haters that drove him to his vitriolous racism. The empirical evidence just doesn’t add up to support his inflammatory theory– all black WWE Superstars are not best served as fodder for Khali, only 90 percent of them.

    Who deserves fault for that statistic, is a question for another day…


    Let’s close with a…


    Proverb


    If you are starving, you should not eat only candy. Read Skittlez’ Taste My Rainbow #20 – Riddled With Randomness for a balanced meal.



    Well, you’ve just read the uninspired, fallible, opinion only word of Rome. Take it for what it’s worth. If you have any thoughts on The Great Khali and his statement, the state of black wrestlers in WWE or frankly anything else pertaining to this column drop me an email at romes_writings@yahoo.com.


    Also, be sure to check out the LOP Columns Forum . Read some columns. Write your own. Have fun.


    Later all












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