I've been home sick with the flu, and have spent a great deal of time in front of the television with a box of Kleenex. Maybe it's because I'm always on the look-out for it, but it seems like wrestling is everywhere these days.
For instance, did you know Crime Time is still around and on the Hallmark Channel? Imagine my surprise. Well, maybe not the two homeboys with their penchant for five-finger discounts, but it's called Crime Time nonetheless. Gimmick infringement is probably what WWE would call it, but most people would call it back-to-back episodes of "Murder She Wrote" and "Perry Mason."
WWE vs. NASCAR
Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but on Sunday's Daytona 500, John Cena was featured prominently in one of the Super Bowl-like mega commercials. Cena was trying to teach the Gillette Young Guns (an group of young drivers sponsored by Gillette) how to wrestle. They kicked his butt, but I feel safe in saying that the "wrestling" Young Guns were actually wrestlers dressed in the fire suits of Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman. Newman was the winner of Sunday's race, by the way.
The ad campaign is practically a soap opera. Last summer Cena had learned how to drive a race car (more or less) on a reality show called "Fast Cars & Superstars - The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race." So in the new commercial, Cena was merely trying to return the favor.
It's a well done commercial guaranteed to appeal to wrestling fans, NASCAR fans, and viewers who just enjoy an entertaining commercial.
But if you want to see the commercial, called "Wrestling Ring," you'll need to tune into NASCAR races where it will run exclusively. It's well worth watching a race to see the commercial (assuming you're not already a race fan).
Not surprisingly, I gave this a big "thumbs up."
TNA vs. NASCAR
Then there was TNA's foray into the world of NASCAR last week, and after watching Juan Pablo Montoya and Reed Sorenson on "Impact" Thursday night, I have one question: WHY?
I know there is a history of collaborative efforts between NASCAR and TNA, given past participation by Hermie Sadler and Jeff Hammond. But this time there seemed to be no rhyme or reason behind the appearance. Come on, we all know that wrestling is scripted. Couldn't they have at least scripted a plausible storyline for them?
Montoya is one of my favorite drivers and I've been watching him since his Formula One days, but the segment was painful to watch and I was relieved when it was over. Of course, it didn't help that the drivers seemed ill at ease and giggly in the wrong spots.
Sorry, TNA, but I'd rate this a big thumb's down.
* * *
Thanks for reading and see ya next week.