11-11-05
By ZAH
November 11th is Veterans Day (or Remembrance Day if you live in the Commonwealth of Nations, including Canada and the United Kingdom), which is the anniversary of the ending of World War I. According to the Veterans Affairs website, the major hostilities ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Veterans Day has been observed annually on this date since 1978.
Personally, I believe it’s important to remember those who have fallen to provide us with the freedoms we enjoy every day. I hope the younger generation continues to remember the sacrifices made by veterans as the years continue and don’t just think it’s a day off from work. Regardless of your thoughts on the war that is currently dragging on or where you stand on the issue, I think it’s really important to support the troops.
I’m remembering. And I thank you.
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Anyway…that’s my little serious “blurb” for the day. Now, on to more important matters.
Like what, you ask?
Item # 1 – More Dicks in WWE
I understand the business rationale for changing every single wrestler’s name upon entering WWE. I mean, it makes perfect business sense and pretty much screws the competition.
Ask yourself who is more recognizable…Spike Dudley or Matthew Hyson? Billy Gunn or Monty Sopp?
In five years, if somebody like Mr. Kennedy makes it big and becomes an international superstar what do you think the chances are he’ll be nearly as recognized as Ken Anderson? Do you think MNM will ever get work as John Hennigan, Adam Birch, & Melina Perez? What about Nick Dinsmore? What about Alexis Laree? What about Chad Wicks? What about John Toland?
Ahhh yes. Chad and John. Currently known as the latest tag team sensation to hit the Smackdown nation, the Dicks. That’s right. James and Chad Dick. Though I haven’t watched Smackdown yet, through spoilers I have found the bad jokes are already flying in the first promo done by the newest dynamic duo. Like what?
Some phrases reportedly said during this promo were:
“…Dicks take a pounding.”
“…cocky…”
“…rock hard…"
"Can LOD beat the Dicks?"
And here I thought that a person’s ass was the top of the WWE Creative food chain of classic humor.
WAIT JUST ONE DAMN SECOND…apparently I’m right: http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/assmoments
Item # 2 – There was a Shelton Benjamin sighting this week.
I know…I can hardly believe it either. And guess what? He almost won a match.
Item # 3 – How much does this suck? Kane and Big Show finally legit injure somebody and it turns out not to be Heidenreich.
Is Smackdown in trouble? It’s hard to say at this point. Who in the hell is as over with live crowds as Batista is right now? Jeez…even Cena’s not as popular as Batista is. This, folks, is a major blow to the Smackdown brand.
But the question remains…are they in trouble?
I think they’ll be okay. Why? They’ve got wrestlers like Randy Orton, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, JBL, and even Ken Kennedy that they could shove into the top spot. Hell, they could do something really insane and make Bobby Lashley the new champ. The bottom line is that they do have talent on that show.
I don’t think they’ll crash and burn with the options they have available to them, but it’s really going to suck for them to have their number one face (and heavyweight champion) off the roster for awhile. Batista has a torn right latissimus dorsi muscle and could be out for as long as three months.
Item # 4 – WWE offers lowball offer to Chris Benoit
There are many reasons why Christian did not accept the lowball offer that was offered to him by WWE. Many of those same reasons are the same for Chris Benoit. Will he accept the offer? Will the offer change now that Batista’s out for awhile?
Obviously, the hard-core fan in me wants Benoit to join TNA and have some dream matches with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. However, this guy was world champion and recently U.S. champion and featured in storylines recently with both Orlando Jordan and Booker T. With less than three weeks left in Benoit’s contract it should be quite interesting to see what happens with this situation.
My money’s on Benoit staying…but I hope I’m wrong.
Item # 5 – TSN in Canada picks up Monday Night Football
That means that during the entire football season, Raw will be pre-empted in Canada until after midnight and then given a prime-time spot on Tuesday nights to “compensate”.
F*ck TSN.
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Pillar to Post
Each and every week I’ll ask two posters from the WorldWrestlingInsanity.com message board three questions on the hot topics du jour and ask for their thoughts and insight. Ladies and gentlemen, this week I give you two more great posters…the Inedible Hulk and Debaser!
1. Agree or Disagree: Chris Benoit should not jump to TNA and remain with WWE.
Debaser: Disagree.
Many of us, particularly internet fans have the romantic notion of pro wrestling as an art form, and love to believe it when the James Gibson's and Spanky's of this world talk about being able to perform their craft freely and without limitations. The reality, however, is money talks, in wrestling more so than even the real world, and Gibson and Spanky are now back in WWE. Since the death of WCW, for all intents and purposes WWE has been the only game in town, and if you wanted to make money, that was where you had to be.
However, the money isn't flowing as freely as it did in the Spike TV days, and many of WWE's key business indicators, such buy-rates, house show attendances and TV rating are at the lowest point since the pre-attitude era. The purse-strings in Stamford have tightened, and it is at exactly the same time TNA's bargaining position has peaked. National exposure on Spike, monthly PPV's, the prospect of a prime-time timeslot, and Panda Energy willing, and able, to spend the money necessary to make TNA a competitor.
TNA was willing the break the bank for Foley and Hardy. Benoit is not as big a star as Foley, but he can work full-time, something Foley can't do, even if he wanted to. Benoit wouldn't have internet-fuelled buzz Hardy would have had had he joined TNA, but Benoit is a proven PPV main eventer, and WrestleMania at that, and he can produce the sort of matches X division fans are becoming accustomed to. Hardy is unproven in a main event slot, and his ROH matches this year indicated he may not quite be at the same level as Joe, Styles and Daniels.
TNA has money to spend, and Benoit could potentially arrive there earning as much as his downside in WWE (if the speculation is correct), and working fewer dates, which will allow him to supplement his income with Japanese or independent bookings. Most of all, however, Benoit will be a big star in TNA. Whether in the World title or X division picture, Benoit will be main eventing, something he is a long way from doing on even the depleted Smackdown roster. And he will be able to perform his craft, freely and without limitations, which is something he obviously craves.
Inedible Hulk: Disagree.
Chris Benoit is perpetually referred to as the best damn technical wrestler there is. However, since debuting in the WWF, he has, like all WWE wrestlers, been forced to work all of his matches by a paint-by-numbers formula. Not the WWE style formula that the majority of OVW trained rookies are conditioned to perform in, but in an equally restrictive "Chris Benoit" style. By this I mean the style in which WWE believes the fans want, and expect, to see when they watch a Benoit match. He MUST hit all of his signature spots in every match, or the live audience will not (presumably) be able to partake in the "WWE Experience" they've become accustomed to on television. If they can watch him, in person, doing the throat-slitting gesture, hitting the head butt, and getting a two-count, they feel they are part of Smackdown or RAW, and can "live" the exact thing they've seen on TV time and time again. In this way, Chris Benoit (and any other "Superstar") is to a wrestler what a static stock character is to an actor, and WWE is one big WB sitcom.
TNA, however, offers Benoit the chance to craft his matches with his opponent with a lot more breathing room. There are no TNA "Superstars". TNA does not need to manufacture easily digestible personas to sell T-shirts and lunchboxes. The "TNA Experience" is an unpredictable one, and while you will, for good reason, see signature moves and finishers, you will NOT see each one in every match, nor in the same order. You will also see differing, more logical, game plans employed by the wrestlers according to their opponent's style. Chris Benoit, by his own account, lives for wrestling. He is a life-long fan, and has continually trained and performed all over the world, learning new styles, and striving to become the best in-ring performer he can possibly be. He may have become the greatest wrestler in history during the last five years, but we'll never know it as long as he continues to conform to the guidelines and structure of WWE's standard "Chris Benoit" match.
2. Agree or Disagree: Kurt Angle wasted what could have been a potentially great, serious promo or interview segment when he discussed losing his wife and kids as part of a comedy-heel spot this past Monday night.
Debaser: Disagree.
Bringing reality into pro-wrestling angles is fine, but the object should always be to draw money. Unless his wife is coming in to wrestle him for custody of the kids (which isn't necessarily out of the question in present day WWE...), I don't see any money being left of the table by mentioning it in that context.
While I agree that losing his wife and kids because of wrestling could be the trigger for a great promo, at the end of the day it is never going anywhere other than to contribute to Angle's character development, and he has never had any problems in the area anyway.
Inedible Hulk: Disagree.
I, for one, have never been a fan of worked shoots, or other methods of breaking down the fourth wall. Yes, they bring an edge of real emotion and give the character an aura of sincerity in his motives, and that would be all well and good, if every angle and character were done in this way. However, in juxtaposition to the preceding and following segments, which will most likely consist of something in the manner of an over-the-top Kane/Lita or Eugene story. That snap from pseudo-reality to all-out hokiness is a disconcerting and confusing one, requiring viewers to alternate between varying levels of suspended disbelief. This inconsistency not only detracts from the viewing experience, but illuminates the phoniness of totally worked angles to an extent that no writer should be proud of.
I also objectively disagree with the classification of Monday's "repeated entrance" segment as a comedic one. The later "censoring the audience" crap could be perceived as comedic (even though it wasn't actually funny), but I think Angle snapping on the audience was written to be a serious indication of Angle's unbalanced mental state, and as so, the comments regarding his family were, in fact, the serious promo you mention. The fact that it came off cheesy and unconvincing is irrelevant. This is WWE, after all.
While I hope we don't get a Jim Ross style sit-down with Angle, I don't think we've heard the last of his moaning and blaming the fans on the subject. It seems like well enough fuel for a lazily written heel character to get through the next couple of months.
3. Agree or Disagree: Christian made a good career decision in jumping to TNA.
Debaser: Agree.
Nearly everything said about Benoit applies here. The only difference is Christian hasn't established himself as a main eventer. The move to Smackdown should have been the start of Christian's elevation, but instead saw him assume pretty much the same role as he had on Raw, just this time in front of fewer people.
Christian could be money, maybe not. Due to his size and look, and potentially enemies behind the scenes, we will never find out in WWE. Christian had a nice spot on the WWE roster, and for half a million dollars a year, you wouldn't blame him turning up and collecting the pay check. Cut that in half, and introduce another company willing to pay comparable money for much less work, and suddenly it's not so attractive.
Christian may be like D-Lo Brown, Billy Gunn and BG James, and end up proving WWE right in TNA. But you can't blame him for trying. Personally, I think Christian will succeed in TNA. He's in the top 5 promo guys in the business right now, he can work better than most TNA heavyweights, and he has the national recognition craved by Spike TV. He won't be starved of the opportunity.
Inedible Hulk: I'll agree.
I don't know the extent of the pay cut he would have received had he signed a new contract, or the amount of money TNA has offered him, so financially, I can't give an opinion (Not that I could ever, with a clean conscience, let anyone accept financial advice from me). I would assume the WWE contract would be worth a little more, though strictly in dollars and cents.
Money isn't everything. Christian, I can say with virtual certainty, was never one of the top earners in WWE, despite being one of the best on the mic, and a solid hand in the ring. He'd rile up every crowd that had the pleasure of being berated by him, and give his body for the good of some of the biggest bumps in WWE today, and yet, for every two steps he was pushed, he was inevitably knocked back three. Everyone has a breaking point, and when you sacrifice so much for relatively so little, all the while watching rookies zoom past you on their size alone, that point fast approaches.
Aside from the most definite and decidedly bigger push Christian will receive in TNA, he can also look forward to a much relaxed travel and work schedule; giving him space to pursue other interests (I've heard rumors of New Line having a movie deal for him; that could be good).
And finally, much in the way I described Benoit having the opportunity to break his mold and wrestle more as he wants, Christian could potentially blow us all away with his untapped talent. At the very least, we could finally know if we truly have him to blame for his infamous chinlock.
