Matt Dawgs
Random Thoughts from Matt Dawgs: Matt is Back, Flair retires, Michaels/Batista, Bret Hart Book, How I Met Your Mother, Club WWI Rules, Bam Neeley and More
By Matt Dawgs
Apr 12, 2008 - 3:18 PM

Random Thoughts, Opinions, Questions and Observations.

I know, I know. I haven’t written a column in like forever and a day and I apologize. Real life is hectic and anyone who has one knows what I am talking about. A lot has happened since my last column in February. (Yes it has been THAT long) so rather than try to rehash old news, I am just going to get right into what is currently going on in the business along with some celebrity news and gossip that goes along with it. Enjoy the show.

On March 30, 2008, arguably the greatest in ring performer in wrestling history officially retired. Ric Flair, a man who has been entertaining people for 35+ years hung up the tights and robes and stated that he will never wrestle again. Now I know a million times over we hear the term never say never in this crazy business. But with the ceremony on Monday night following Wrestlemania, I fully think that WWE and Ric Flair should carefully consider ever breaking that statement. No wrestler with the exception of Terry Funk in 1983 in Japan (insert own retirement joke here), has had a ceremony that emotional and touching. The genuine respect and admiration that Flair received from both his fans and his peers will never be matched. The fact that he ended his career in what was probably his best match over the past 5 years against the one man who many argue is the only better in ring performer in professional wrestling history will never be matched. The only way that could have been topped was if Ric won the match and then announced he was retiring on his own terms, as a winner. Either way, WWE showed a tremendous amount of class and respect to Flair and I feel that if he were to ever lace them up again, even if it is 5 years down the line for a one time only match (or tag match teaming with his son Reid who is in the FCW developmental), it would put a damper on the ceremony. Let the memory of Ric Flair being celebrated stay in our minds forever.

I am completely surprised by the lack of attention the Undertaker vs. Edge match has received. By most accounts of wrestling fans like you reading this, many people felt that this match was just ok. What a lot of people are failing to realize is that this match was probably the best booked/planned out match in several Wrestlemania’s. The story both men told was excellent. From Edge having a counter for every major move in Undertaker’s arsenal (Old School, Choke slam, Tombstone, Last Ride) to not being able to finish Taker off was flawless. My assumption is that the lack of crowd heat (from an already burned out crowd) as well as being in an outdoor stadium which takes away from the acoustics of crowd noise probably played a factor in the lack of reaction. However, with that being said, this was in my opinion the match of the night. Edge and Taker delivered in a solid main event and this match easily makes Taker’s top 3 Wrestlemania matches ever (along with Taker vs. HHH and Taker vs. Flair). Hopefully Taker’s body holds up and he gets a semi-long title reign. My only problem with that is there aren’t really any challengers ready for Taker. We’ve seen Taker/Batista/Edge feud for the past year already. WWE needs to infuse new blood into the program. Dave Meltzer is reporting that Smackdown lead writer Michael “P.S.” Hayes is lobbying for HHH to come to Smackdown and feud with Taker as a heel. No word on whether or not Triple H is down for that but I feel that it is safe to say that the answer is NO; no times a billion. Management (including HHH) in WWE feels that Smackdown is the B show. I fully expect to see HHH on Smackdown for a special appearance but not as a main event heel. He would see it as a step below and knows that RAW is the bread and butter for the company. Moving to Smackdown would be a demotion for him. Something he would never do.

Britney Spears sunbathing .

Right now, the most captivating and entertaining angle going on for WWE is the Shawn Michaels/Batista controversy. My only problem with it (and WWE in general) is the lack of main event babyfaces who want to turn heel. They seem to be playing it as a face vs. face match up. Problem is, Batista isn’t acting like a face. He is saying heel like things towards Shawn and acting like he is a prick. Bottom line is, they need to go full fledged heel with it instead of teasing it. Hopefully that is the eventual plan but right now, it is kind of hard for fans to get behind Batista with this seeing that he is acting like a spoiled brat. Shawn is completely in the right in this angle and is being portrayed as sympathetic by saying that Flair trusted him and only him to promise to give him 100% and be able to live with the burden of being the person who retired Ric Flair. Instead, Batista is treating it like Shawn should have not wrestled Flair but eventually; someone would have retired him anyway. Batista’s logic just doesn’t make sense to me. Anyways, the end game should be Ric Flair coming back during one of their matches and costing Shawn the match and joining Batista. Batista can go heel and have Flair as his mouthpiece/manager. That would be GOLD. A bad ass Batista with Ric Flair cutting promos for him is something that hasn’t been done in a while. A monster heel having a manager help him dominate. The last time that was a main event act was Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. See, if you remember, last time Batista was a full fledged heel, he was in Evolution. He has since evolved (no pun intended) into a better wrestler and character since then. A Flair/Batista heel tandem has a lot of legs behind it as a main event act. Pull the trigger WWE, PULL IT!!!!

Great Khali vs. Big Show. Really? Like seriously, someone in WWE creative thought that letting Khali work a feud with another Giant who can’t carry a match on his own was a good idea? Don’t get me wrong, Big Show knows what he is doing and can work. But he is a follower in the ring. He needs a strong opponent to dance with. He can’t go out and lead the way. Especially against someone like Khali who has no type of athletic bone in his body. How can this be a good idea?

Vote for Harvey Dent . We need a good District Attorney!!!

I’ve just finished the Bret Hart book and while this is a controversial comment I am about to make, this book is by far the best wrestling book I have ever read. (Sorry JG) Most wrestling fans state that Mick Foley’s first 2 books are the best but to me, this book blows it out of the water and it also paints a pretty scary and ugly picture of a common professional wrestling family. See, most of us older fans (fans my age) have this picture in our heads that Bret Hart was a hero and the Hart family were the portrait of a wrestling dynasty. Boy would they be wrong. The Hart family, while loving each other in their own unique way, was a very dysfunctional group of people. Also professional wrestling in the 80’s and early 90’s was a crazy place to be. Between sex with woman in all parts of the world to drug parties in random hotel rooms after shows to Vince McMahon being so sh*tfaced that wrestlers once took turns doing their finishing moves on him in Ric Flair’s hotel suite while Flair was out partying and McMahon threatening to fire whomever he remembered kicking his ass the next morning, IF he remembered who they were the next morning, this book chronicles an amazing and incredible story of a man who had a lot of pressure on him to deliver both in the ring and in his home. Hopefully when it is released in the United States soon, it isn’t edited because I read the Canadian release of this book. If it is edited, my advice to you is to buy it from Amazon Canada and read it. Amazing.

I currently have Chris Jericho’s book in my possession. I was about to start reading it when I heard he was green lit to write a sequel to it. So I am on the fence as to whether or not I want to wait for the sequel before starting this one. That way I can read them back to back. A Lion’s Tale starts with him breaking into wrestling all the way to his WWE debut promo with the Rock. That is where it ends. The second book will pick up from there and chronicle his career up until his most recent return to WWE. He has stated that he will also have a chapter in regards to Chris Benoit. For those who do not know this, Jericho was one of the last people to communicate with Benoit before the murders and was the last person to send Benoit a text message the night of his suicide. He sent him a text letting him know that their longtime friend Biff Wellington was dead. According to police sources, by way of the SUN in the UK, Benoit was most likely dead at the time the text came in. It was the last text his phone received.

Actress Stacy Dash of Clueless and Mo’ Money fame is 42 Years Old. Here is a recent pic .

Mike Knox of ECW fame has been in the news lately. Apparently a house owned by Knox as well as some other former WWE developmental wrestlers was recently sold and in a crawl space in the home were some old hypodermic needles, steroids, HGH and some pay stubs as well as a copy of Knox’s WWE contract found. Knox denies the roids were his (as they were found in a separate box from the drugs). He claims the drugs were someone else’s. My assumption is that he is telling the truth. I find it hard to believe that Knox would knowingly sell a house with his prescription drugs in it. However the flip side of that coin is that he also left the old contract and pay stubs there. That was pretty dumb. Either way, it was all prior to the wellness policy being established so I assume there will be no punishment for Knox. At least I hope not.

Does anyone know why they wouldn’t let Randy Orton break character for the Ric Flair retirement ceremony on RAW and come into the ring when Flair was so instrumental in his early career yet they have him be one of the first guys out with the Raw roster to appear on the ramp way. I understand he has personal issues with both Cena and HHH from a storyline perspective but still, fans would understand, especially in that moment. They could have played his music unexpectedly and fans would have anticipated an angle with Orton screwing with Flair on his special day. HHH could have looked pissed. Orton could have came all the way to the ring looking serious, climbed in, stared face to face with Flair and then extend his hand and thanked him. Follow that with a hug and that would have been perfectly acceptable for this story. It was just odd not having him in the ring especially with Batista in there too.

“How I Met Your Mother” is the funniest sitcom on television. I am not sure who watches this show other than me as the ratings indicate that not much of America is watching but still. I have quickly found this show to be more entertaining than media darling “Friends” was and “Friends” was one of my favorite shows when it was on the air. Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris’ character) is bar none the best comedic character in television today. He virtually steals every scene he is in. If you get a chance to watch this show or Netflix it so you can catch up on DVD, do so. I highly recommend it.

As you can probably tell, I have been avoiding the mention of TNA in this column so far. I just have to. TNA gives me an unexplainable headache. Their booking defies anything resembling logic at all. Rhetorical question (or answer it on my section of the Message Board): Has there been any performer in the history of professional wrestling that has lost more momentum at a faster rate than Samoa Joe? Joe at one point was white hot. He could do no wrong. He was the most over performer in the entire company, he was on the verge of becoming TNA’s first breakout star, he was booked as a monster that ran roughshod over everyone and WHAMS!!! Kurt Angle debuts in TNA and Samoa Joe loses all momentum, gets booked lazily and now, a few days away from his title first title match in months, no one cares. His win will have no meaning. Sure it will pop some fans in the arena but this title reign of Joe is a few months too late. Joe is now just another guy on the roster rather than THE guy. I just don’t understand this business anymore. Politics and people pulling strings is constantly a problem with promotions today. Instead of doing what is right and what can make money and help a company turn a corner, performers continue to get the ears of those in charge and end up doing what is best for them individually instead of what works for business. A Samoa Joe title win would have helped TNA tremendously a few months back. Joe would have been taken seriously had he beaten Angle in their first match. Joe would have had a year of several successful title defenses instead of constantly losing to the likes of Angle, Christian Cage, Robert Roode and others. It’s a shame, damn shame.

Speaking of TNA, run in after run in, ref bump after ref bump; WTF?

I love this SONG . Good to see that an American Idol finalist not named Clarkson has finally has a hit. Sure it is Chris Brown’s star power that is carrying this to the top but Jordin holds her end. The song is damn good and catchy.

If you haven’t heard by now, James Guttman is on fire right now. No, not literally. He has had probably two of the most unexpected guests on his Radio Free Insanity over the past two weeks. For those of you who have not signed up for Club WWI yet and just listen to the RFI versions, you need to sign up.

Club WWI

It’s only $4.99 a month. That’s cheaper than a cup of coffee. DO IT !!!!

Need a reason? Fine the two interviews I mentioned that took place over the past two weeks were with former WWF commentator Sean Mooney in his first wrestling related interview since leaving the sport in 1993. The second interview was with former WWF and WCW Color Commentator and former governor of Minnesota, Jess “The Body” Ventura. Now do you want to join? You should, if you don’t, you are just as bad as TNA’s bookers.

The funniest moment in American Idol history took place this week. ENJOY .

Good luck and God bless to Torrie Wilson who for all intents and purposes is most likely going to have to retire. From her My Space Blog, Torrie wrote:

" My health is doing ok as far as back problems. I must say there are days that I wake up and ask myself why the heck I put my body through what I did the last few years but it's all worth it. I can never trade all of the awesome experiences that I have had in the WWE and of course all of the great lifelong friends that I have made along the way. I have been told by 2 back surgeons that I should never set foot in a wrestling ring again if I want to be moving around in a few years on my own. Pretty depressing if you ask me....I don't even have some awesome memory of what my last match even was or who it was with. Hopefully it was with Victoria and I beat her! (-: I guess everything happens for a reason for sure."

Chavo Guerrero’s new bodyguard is Bam Neeley. Bam Neeley? Really? I mean, for serious? Was Bro Montana copyrighted already? What’s next? Maybe Ike Tyson? Troy Jones Jr.? Eric Jeter? Harry Bird? WTF? Not very creative like WWE creative.

WWE needs to change the Hall of Fame format. Due to the late time they decide to begin the Hall of Fame, what could have been an incredible night for Ric Flair became a rushed speech on his behalf (partly due to the Rock’s earlier speech as well) because Flair was well into his speech and he had to be told to wrap it up several times as he was still speaking at 11:30 pm ET when in fact, USA network’s coverage of the event began at 11:00 pm ET. So the production team needed him to wrap it up in order to edit his speech into something that can air on television and they only had roughly 15 minutes to do it. My suggestion is that next year, they either hold the event on Friday evening instead of Saturday so that they can tape it for Saturday night and also give Saturday off for the talent who are there all week at events. Or….start the Hall of Fame at around 6:00 pm ET instead of 8:00 pm so that they can be done by 11:00 pm. Either way, they need a solution for this because most people in attendance state that they didn’t care about the time and could have listened to Ric Flair until 2 in the morning if he decided to keep talking. Events like that are memorable and shouldn’t have been cut short. Something needs to be done either way so that it doesn’t happen again.

Big up to Derek Burgan and the introduction of his new wrestling themed comic strip titled “ Drawing Heat ”. I know this is a project Burgan has wanted to do for years now. So congrats dude.

Speaking of Comics, I am going to the New York City Comic Con next Saturday at the Jacob Javitz Center. For those of you not in “the know”, the NYC Comic Con .

Ok kiddies, classes are over for now. See you all next week in a month or so!!!!!!!!!!

MATT NOTE: I just wanted to let you all know that I will be doing a Question and Answer column in the near future. I am taking all reader questions in regards to any subject. Nothing is taboo. So feel free to e-mail your questions to my e-mail address and I will address it. Just include your name and state/city that you are e-mailing from and I will post your question along with my answer in a future column.

Feel free to discuss whatever you’d like in the “ Anger Management” section of the message board or whichever section you see fit.

~Matt Dawgs  

World Wrestling Insanity writer Matt Dawgs is the bread and butter of the World Wrestling Insanity family. His future is bright and once James Guttman comes into a large sum of money, you can expect Matt will be getting tons of it thrown at him, at least half of it. Matt also moonlights as a professional wrestler/manager in the NY/NJ Indy scene. He is legit afraid of getting on Homicide’s bad side but thinks he is a cool dude in general. He also is a funny guy. If you have any questions, corrections, feedback, comments and ideas, he can be reached at Dawgs@worldwrestlinginsanity.com . If the feedback is negative, you can e-mail Matt at insanity @ worldwrestlinginsanity .com .

P.S. – In case you didn’t know, there is a WRESTLING BOOK that is out titled “World Wrestling Insanity”. It is a damn fun read so I suggest you run out and get it today. If you already have your copy, read it. If you already read your copy, read it again. It is funny; Like me.

Also, don’t forget to check out our new section, CLUB WWI . It can be found by clicking the banner at the top of this page. Check out all the new audio updates and features found there. Some good stuff including all of James Guttman’s past Radio Free Insanity broadcasts as well as all new, uncut interviews with some of wrestling past and present names. Good stuff people.