Well, another week has passed and yet another batch of exciting news goes down after my column is posted. I had just gotten around to addressing the Rob Feinstein fiasco when Brock decides to up and leave for the NFL, WM XX goes down and Vince decides to shake up the rosters on both brands.
At this rate, you can expect Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to come back and re-form the New World Order as soon as my column is done.
Let’s take things one at a time,
Armed Robbery
Surprisingly, most of the responses I received last week were in the affirmative on my position that, while Feinstein’s actions were clearly wrong, the methods by which he was caught are a questionable form of vigilante justice that could encroach upon individual liberties if not checked. The responses against were primarily from those who felt the crime fit the punishment. This is certainly understandable, especially if you know of anyone or are yourself a victim sexual molestation as a minor. When I wrote the piece, I tried to make it very clear that the actions of Feinstein were wrong, but that it’s easy to realize that. After all, child molestation is illegal under the law and often times the law deems it necessary to curb an offender’s individual rights for the good of the public (e.g. neighborhood notification laws when they move into a new area).
The danger is, of course, in the slippery slope. While most of us do not shed one tear for Rob or whatever happens to him, what happens when websites, local news crews, journalists and the like decide that other actions are worthy of exploitation? For example, getting blasted at a company Christmas party. How about attending a gentlemen’s club? These are acts that are perfectly legal, but could have damaging repercussions for one’s image if an entity felt they needed to be exposed.
Furthermore, the issue of entrapment as regards that case still bothers me. Consider the slippery slope once again. If police were allowed to coax us into crimes, we’d all be locked up. Most of us do not need to be asked to walk across a street illegally, so imagine if there were cops out there trying to cut down on the practice by baiting random pedestrians. We would all be looking over our shoulders and, in the process, losing a bit of our freedom. That’s why it’s illegal for the police to do this and wrong for others to do it, too.
Brock Star Attitude II – Enter the NFL
The ramifications and wisdom regarding Brock’s attempt at the NFL have been widely discussed, so I’ll keep it simple.
– Brock has every right to do this. There were certain factors that were important to him that went into this decision. It is his right, as it is everyone’s right, to pursue work where he wishes.
– Brock is leaving behind a lot and could end up with nothing, potentially. Again, if a shot at the NFL is worth it to him, this is the price he pays to take it. Personally, I think he is nuts, but that’s just my opinion. Somebody – an agent, former player, NFL coach, whoever – had to tell him that this is a good idea. He isn’t dumb enough to try this without some kind of hint that it could work. When the coach of the Vikings is not even acknowledging the story as real news, it makes you wonder where he is getting his information from.
– He can always come back. He might have to grovel, take a pay cut, etc., but he is doing this while he is young and it’s not like WWe would tell him no or send him down to OVW.
– His decision most likely triggered the Brand Lottery, which is highly significant.
Lottery Ticket
Some have come out in favor of this idea, but let me be the first to say that this is not a good idea on any level. Not even to reposition the upper card or do anything else. This move can only be seen, in my mind, as a necessary evil brought on by the simultaneous departure of 2 major stars and the long-term mistake by the booking committee of letting too many major players fill up the RAW roster.
The reason is simple and relates to basic marketing – you are hurting both brands’ identities by doing this. The idea of the split was to create 2 distinct divisions that could compete against one another and generate brand loyalty from 2 distinct audiences (with a lot of overlap, ideally). From its inception, this idea was going to be tough and management recognized why. Neverminding that both shows are on different networks and that one show (RAW) is viewed on a night that historically is a traditional wrestling viewing night, the difficulty existed in each show forming a readily recognizable roster with its own characters, storylines and style of fighting.
In effect, Vince is pushing the reset button. Or, more accurately, he is being forced to push the reset button. How far is an interesting question. Each brand now could have a totally different set of wrestlers and it will take the audiences yet another period of time to get a feel for this and how they interact. They’ll have to rethink who is where and forget some past interactions. All of this hurts the idea of establishing brand identities. A good question is why did this happen? HHH needing Benoit, the Rock just showing up on RAW presumably for the ratings kick and exposure, the injuries to Edge and Undertaker, and the loss of Brock have all left SmackDown out of major stars. Not to mention the inability of the bookers on SmackDown to establish enough new ones or find ways to get suitable replacements from the other brand to lessen the impact of the aforementioned. Some of this was preventable and some of it was not, but the problem went untreated for far too long.
So the lesson, in the end, is clear – poor booking decisions and lack of long-term focus really can cost the company and exacerbate the effect of bad breaks that are out of the company’s control. We can only hope that the booking this time around will create more stars for us to enjoy. Certainly there is plenty of room now, maybe moreso than at any point in the recent history of the fed.
The Little Things – WrestleMania XX
Let’s do this. I’m going to involve some of the big stars on the site in this report because I felt like it was lacking in the pay-per-view. To wit, I say:
1. Celebrity Fear Factor
One of the little things that makes WM great is the presence of celebrities that you don’t get on other pay-per-views. While some people would rather the show focus exclusively on the wrestling aspect of the business, it is undeniable to me that including celebrities has produced some of the most memorable moments in WM history. People still talk about the Lawrence Taylor match, the Mike Tyson enforcer match and Mr. T tag match. Let’s also remember that they can not only provide us with humorous bits (anything Pete Rose has ever done), but can also help create characters. One of the earliest flashes of the Rock’s cocky heel character came during the WM when he was interviewed by Gennifer Flowers.
This WM had absolutely none of that. No musical acts, no celebrities, just some old wrestlers flung out there in meaningless roles. One had the sense that they were trying to cut costs to be honest. Donald Trump’s appearance added nothing to the show and just seemed to take up time.
I am not opposed to WrestleManias that focus more on churning out new stars and producing a quality in-ring product, like Widro talked about in his column. However, I wouldn’t want the pendulum to swing too far in the supposedly appropriate direction. I, personally, would have liked to have seen the older guys make more meaningful appearances and wouldn’t have minded one bit if Hogan hadn’t shown up as a surprise. As long as it’s reasonable. And I certainly think that WM is losing some of its fanfare if they make it less of an event by not including celebrities interacting with the wrestlers we love. They may cost more, but they make up for it by creating memories and garnering mainstream attention from the press.
2. Deeply Scarred
I’ll let the resident ranter share a little thing he liked with us. In his own words:
If Eddie’s new Scarface shirt doesn’t jump to the top of the sales charts, there’s something seriously wrong with the world.
It is a pretty cool shirt, isn’t it? Probably the best one they’ve had in quite awhile.
3. Knuckle Under
I’ll continue with my parade of celebrity appearances, since WM failed to do so. Eric S points out something that I was all over on Sunday:
Meanwhile, the brass knucks helps Cena to retain something that’s being taken away from him: his edge. It’s straight out of the Guerrero Cheat-To-Win School, but it works for Cena just as well. This is an example of Haley’s Little Things in action; it’s the way things are done that matters moreso than the results
This is absolutely correct and goes back to something Widro had raised in his news report before WM. Cena had lost his edge, partially due to censorship, partially due to a premature face turn. Letting him cut a promo where he could talk about penises with STDs and pull a win from the Big Show using his custom knucks that he had referenced in his rap was a good way to remind us that he’s still a thug, even without the tats. That’s what made us like him in the first place and they need to be careful about this being lost or that all window of opportunity I talked about with regards to rocketing him into the upper card might close.
4. Slide Slide Slippity Slide
I don’t mean to make too much light out of an embarrassing moment, but one thing that always sticks in my mind are when wrestlers goof up on a grand stage. A sign falling behind Mean Gene’s back, Lex Luger or Scott Steiner wrestling with the English Language or the Shockmaster. Just the Shockmaster. These are all memorable in their own way. And provide a great laugh among friends watching.
One of the biggest laughs of the night came when Ultimo Dragon started to come out as the face with his hands pumping in the air.
And then slipped on the stage just as the pyro was about to go off.
My friends and I cracked up and joked about it the whole night. Sometimes wrestling is fun even when it’s not trying to be.
5. The Man
The biggest laugh, however, came from none other than the Nature Boy himself.
Seriously, if you can’t sit back and just enjoy what the Nature Boy still does at his age on the grandest stage of all, you aren’t a wrestling fan. The fact that he stopped Batista and begged to do it was funny enough, but then the execution. I mean, wow. Easily the highlight of the night for me.
Reader Matt Heardman had this to add:
The Rock and Flair had some great chemistry together during their match – taking the piss outta each other numerous times, with the woos and struts etc… but something that I thought was great and maybe not noticed as much, was when Flair just snapped, finally taking exception to a clothesline on the outside.. he got up and he ran (and pretty damn quickly too) to the other side of the ring to get a chair – like he was gonna beat some respect into the Rock. The ref struggled for a good 15 seconds to get this chair back off Flair.
Flair was awesome in this match in my opinion… Another noteworthy tidbit when stopping The Rock from making a tag ‘I DON’T THINK SO MOTHER F*CKER!’ – fantastic.
Readers’ Picks: Fortunate Son
I didn’t catch this and have not looked at the tape to confirm, but if it happened, it was a pretty neat catch by reader Jon Carruthers
Favorite minor detail of the night probably went unnoticed by most, as I didn’t even catch it until my third viewing. However, while Paul Bearer was standing at ringside, just before Undertaker’s music hit he turned slightly to the ring and shouted, “You’re no son of mine!” Whether it was him or somebody in management who decided on that line, kudos for not forgetting the Kane/Bearer connection.
Good stuff. There were lots of little things to take away from that WM so I encourage you to send in yours so I can post them next week.
Now, onto RAW:
1. Fi-Fi-Finally
I’ll let the lady handle this one. Brook checks in with the most noticeable addition to last night’s show:
The damn dog is hilarious. Does anyone remember when La Res first mentioned that they wanted a dog (back when Grizzly Bill had a “price” on his head that everyone wanted to collect?)? I laughed at the line back then, and rolled over when the dog first came into view. Even having Grenier back with La Res seemed palatable because of this
Indeed. Don’t they seem like a more viable threat with a third member and the dog? If only Austin were allowing them to seem like a threat.
Ya know, I usually stick up for Austin because he has given us a ton of little things and big things to remember over time. Even Brook gave him credit for carrying around that goofy ticketbook (and that could create a lot of humorous sketches on its own). But seriously, take a frikkin beatdown for the guys. Dupree has superstar written all over him at age 20 and we’ve seen you drink beers for quite some time.
2. By The Seat Of His Pants
My favorite celebrity, my good friend Bill of the Harvard education, checked in to make sure that I gave HBK some credit last night. Apparently he was keeping HHH from interfering in the Benoit sharpshooter by holding onto the back of his pants. He thought this was pretty funny of Shawn and so do I. In fact, along with Ric, try to treasure Shawn while he is still here. It was only a few WMs ago that we thought his back had rendered him useless. Yet here he is giving it his all with back to back crimson masks and some excellent selling as well.
3. Wig-ing Out
Keith is right – the wig bit never gets old. I didn’t have a problem with Molly’s dome being displayed prematurely, either. My main problem, again, is with this face Victoria. I should be enjoying this title run of hers, but it seems like all the fun in her character is gone. Like last night, wouldn’t the old Victoria have really REALLY gotten into the chance to shave another woman’s head? Just seemed like a mediocre job with some hair sprinkling to me. Oh well.
4. It’s A Fact
Matt is very, VERY underrated. I’m just glad to see him back on the show, he is one of my favorite characters on the roster. He probably deserves a push more than a lot of guys who are getting one coughRandyOrtoncough.
5. The Conversion Continues
I’ll let reader Ryan Tyreman give the weekly update on how well Christian is doing with this angle:
Been reading your column for a while now, and thanks to you I can enjoy wrestling more by focusing on the small positive things rather than pissing on backstage crap. After months, you practically have to give A Little Thing to Christian every week now. He has really stepped up his game for the past year and is on par (if not better) with Edge now as being new Superstars for the main event. Here are 2 more Little Things I noticed from him:
1. At Wrestlemania XX — the look he gave just before he hit the Unprettier on Jericho after their match was absolute gold. Just that simple facial gesture and smirk could say it all right there. (Also worth mentioning is Trish’s hotness going from hot to DAMN HOT in a half second)
2. On RAW the next night — when he wanted the crowd’s attention, he was snapping his fingers. Maybe he can’t snap or just wasn’t doing as much as he should, but that gesture to me is a thing I don’t see other heels doing.
Very well put. The best thing, however, about this angle is its realism. Yes, I know Eric had a problem with the angle being a simple bad guy gets the girl device, but the beauty is in its simplicity. I think just about every guy has felt or knows someone who has felt jilted by a female despite being honest and genuine. Even though he wasn’t initially bah, you get the idea.
There you have it. Plenty of material from me this week, so let’s see what you have to say. Keep the comments coming and I’ll talk at ya next week.
