ZAH
Maybe I should thank WWE afterall...
By ZAH
Dec 4, 2006, 19:47

Let me start by saying that there would be nothing I'd want more in the world at this point than to listen to an hour-long Radio Free Insanity featuring Paul Heyman.

That man has proved his worth over and over again but has been constantly stifled and prevented from doing what he does best...which is to produce exciting sports entertainment television. With the two previous One Night Stand PPV's he proved that he could give us a great product under a WWE banner...but Vince has now proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he never wanted "ECW" to succeed, but instead wanted to use the name to help promote a third brand that will now morph into something else.

Wait a second...ECW was “sports entertainment?”

Yes.  Like it or not, that's what ECW was.  Sure, it had some great wrestling from time to time...but Heyman excelled at hiding flaws and weaknesses of his performers to make them look stronger.  There were very few wrestlers in the organization.  Most of them were brawlers who ended up being performers after some careful direction and assistance from Heyman. 

Don't believe me?  How 'bout this...for every Malenko vs. Guerrero, there was another Dudley popping up or a Kimona Wanalea.  For every Rey Mysterio vs. Psicosis, there was always the Public Enemy dancing or a bWo skit.

Don't try telling me ECW wasn't sports entertainment.  It was ALL about sports entertainment.  However, I think it's pretty easy as an old-school ECW fan to think of the promotion as "professional wrestling"...especially after Shane Douglas' rally cry when he threw down the NWA title to help create Extreme Championship Wrestling.  However, in retrospect, I think it's quite easy to see that Heyman was simply masterful in how he displayed his product. 

"Professional wrestling" barely survives at all today.  Ring of Honor...Pro Wrestling NOAH...that's about it, isn’t it?  I mean, the vast majority of promotions today are sports entertainment-oriented.  That's not a bad thing, though...so I'm certainly not one to jump on the "I hate sports entertainment" bandwagon.  It’s just that there’s so much craziness out there today (and yes, I’m including TNA’s dumb-ass recent booking decisions) that it’s hard to find something that doesn’t make you cringe or feel like your intelligence is being insulted.

With all the bullshit that has gone on in the past 24 hours, I think it's time for me to sit back and reflect a bit.  What is it, exactly, that makes me watch every week?  Why have I cut back on my viewing habits recently?  What can help me regain my love for this business?  What in the world am I doing writing for a wrestling website when wrestling insults me on a weekly basis?

Well, I sit back and realize that I still have my love and passion for the business...I absolutely LOVE professional wrestling...it's just hidden and repressed a bit right now.  I know that there's wrestling out there that will make me jump out of my seat again like a kid and feel the excitement of the moment...I just also know that I have to find it and pick my spots accordingly.

WWE...you have disappointed a long-time fan for the last time.  I'm certainly not going to be pretentious and say that I'll never watch your product again because I'd be lying.  However, I swear on my newborn son that I won't be spending money on WWE for a very long time.  I have no problems admitting that I will illegally download every stitch of WWE programming that I can find going forward.  While it may not affect your bottom line too much, it'll make me feel a HELL of a lot better when you throw a lame-ass 2-hour PPV my way again...and you WILL do it again.  It's in your nature.

Out of all of this, I actually fear for Paul Heyman's relationship with wrestling.  I fear that Heyman will go on into non-wrestling related fields following all this nonsense. He was reportedly considering it before ECW was re-born and he signed a new contract, and after this catastrophe I can see his love for the business be destroyed and him wanting to move on to something else.  It’s a terrible shame because there is nobody else on the planet that can inspire me to enjoy wrestling like Heyman.

F*ck you, WWE. I’m battered and bruised but not broken.  I know what I like and what I don’t like.  You can throw out all the excuses in the world and fire all the scapegoats you want...but you won’t break my spirit.  You won’t make me become a lap-dog that will simply follow whatever you want to throw at my television screen.  I refuse to comply.  I refuse to cheer who you want me to cheer.  I refuse to believe what you want me to believe.  I'm an individual.  I, and only I, know what I like and don't like.

This isn’t the end of the world for me and my love for the business.  I think it’s actually a new beginning.

Maybe I should thank the WWE afterall.

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