[Deconstructing the Moveset] – Be A Man, Macho

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I'm a man, right?Happy Thanksgiving all your American readers out there. Happy Thursday to all my international readers.

Welcome to our last installment of Wrestling Appreciation Month here at Deconstructing the Moveset. It’s been a fun month that has seen the first Sunday TNA PPV, Macho Man’s return, DDP’s return, threats of Hogan, Austin & Goldberg’s return, 12 wrestlers fired from the WWE, and the defeat of the Hev Nation in the WWE Fantasy Roster Game. Just to name a few highlights.

I encourage you to read my story and how this whole month came about here.

Also, take a look back at my profile from the past few weeks in my archives to read other readers stories.

WHY YOU LOVE WRESTLING

Our old buddy Joe Selders wrote in with his story:
You’ve been asking recently what made us a fan. I’ve been thinking about and I really can’t come up with any one thing. I don’t remember what the first match or show or whatever was that I watched. I do remember Hulkamania running wild and not really being into I wanted to see Bundy, or Andre or anybody really squash Hogan. I also remember watching WCW more then the WWF and loving the Ric Flair and the Horsemen. Flair was and still is a limousine ridin, jet flyin, wheelin, dealin, kiss stealin, son of a gun and as a kid I just thought that was awesome. He had the money, he had the power, he told you he was the best and he backed it up. He didn’t always play fair, but I didn’t care about that. I wanted to be Ric Flair. Of course this same kid also wanted to be Diamond David Lee Roth. This came later, but when Flair came on WWF TV with the big gold belt proclaiming himself the real world champion it was a huge holy shit moment for me. So even though I may not know what got me watching wrestling in the first place, Ric Flair is what kept me watching.

There are other reasons now, Benoit, Jericho, TNA’s X division but Ric Flair and the Horsemen will always hold a special place in my heart. Later bro I’m going to go watch some of my Flair DVD now.

Might I suggest if you want to continue this discussion, head on over to the forums for wrestling where you can drain your minds with the other reads and staff members of the Inside Pulse. We’d love to hear from you!

BE A MAN, MACHO

Maybe you missed the press release about Macho Man’s involvement with NWA:TNA’s next Pay Per View, “Turning Point”. You can see the actual press release here and read the whole thing for yourself, but something disgusted me while reading this.

The bottom line throughout all of this is that I love wrestling, and there is very little I enjoy more than watching or talking about wrestling. I take it very seriously, while the product is not always serious, and I can appreciate that. But occasionally, I question some wrestlers actions. No, unbelievably, wrestlers are not infallible. And more importantly, neither are the legends.

Also – do not e-mail me saying that I have no respect for the man. Randy Savage has had a huge contribution to wrestling today and he is a legend, and will probably never be forgotten. I love watching old Savage matches and to this day before I drop an elbow, I have to point both pointer fingers to the sky.

Everyone’s seen their favorite wrestlers from their childhood doing SOMETHING and questioned, “what the hell is _______ doing? This is not something that ________ would do.”

Well, as you could guess from earlier, this is all about Bonesaw. OR as the wrestling world knows him, the Macho Man. Recently, he made a return to wrestling under NWA:TNA to apparently feud with Nash, Hall and Jarrett. And you’ve probably heard the rumors about his altercation with Hulk Hogan at the gorilla position as well. If you haven’t, let me quote our own Matthew Michael’s coverage of it:

Additionally, Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com is saying that “After debuting at the Victory Road PPV, Randy Savage called up TNA officials this afternoon and pulled out of all future appearances” due to an “unsafe working environment” stemming from his run-in with Hogan backstage at Sunday’s event. Rumor has it that Hogan and Savage had a brief conversation, Savage blew Hogan off, so Hogan asked Savage to take things outside to settle them once and for all. Savage walked away.

This is of course after releasing a rap album, with WONDERFUL lyrics:

I'm a man, right?Be a man Hulk Come on don’t be scared
Your runnin’ from Macho that’s what I heard
Be a man Hogan Come on don’t be a chump
I never thought Hulk would go out like a punk
Be a man Hulk Come on don’t be scared
You’re runnin’ from Macho that’s what I heard
Be a man Hogan Boy you’s a chump
Cuz Hulk Hogan is a real big punk
-“Be A Man”

It would seem that someone is a walking contradiction in his actions and words. And it’s a damn shame. No, not because Savage didn’t fight Hogan right then and there, but it’s a shame that Savage can’t seem to settle for the fact that he’s one of many legends that helped build the sport and not THE legend that built the sport. Their entire careers have been spent pretty much in the same companies and their paths have crossed numerous times in the ring. They’ve put on some amazing matches in their history together and now they’ve been reduced to talking trash in rap albums and at the gorilla position at a PPV that was supposed to lift NWA:TNA to new heights.

Savage had been rumored to have quit and come back, and we’ll probably never really know what happened at Victory Road. And hey, it’s wrestling and this is the internet, so we’re about as reliable and credible as claims of weapons of mass destruction.

Anyway, back to the press release:
“Why am I back and why here in TNA?” said Savage “It’s simple, I’ve seen this all before. I am not going to hang out on the sidelines while those three ego maniacs destroy another company. I made the mistake of joining them a while back but I know it’s time for the young guns of this business to shine, the Styles and the Hardy’s. Come ‘Turning Point’ I will make sure these so called kings rule no more, ohhhhh yeah!”

I know wrestling is not “real” so to speak, and that press releases are meant for the press and not Mr. Hardcore Wrestling fan, but this one bothers me. They are putting a lot of stock in Savage, and that’s (to borrow a catch phrase) not cool. This is a guy who has already walked out once on the company due to an “unsafe working environment” and then came back only when his demands were met. It’s like he’s holding the main event angle hostage in NWA:TNA for the following demands:

  1. Jimmy Hart not be allowed anywhere near him or in the gorilla position when he is appearing, due to Hart and Hulk Hogan’s close relationship
  2. limo service from his home to the event
  3. a private dressing room
  4. and two security guards of his choice at the events

Supposedly for the first night of his security, Macho chose his Wrestlemania X opponent, Crush. Rumors also are going around the other was Ron Harris. He’s being protected by DOA for Christ-sakes.

So this brings us to where you, the reader say “alright, so what’s your point?”

Macho Man is a legend in the sport. Unless he bumbles his dealings with the WWE completely, he’ll step into the role of the Hall of Famer eventually. So what’s with the paranoid attitude? By placing himself in this position, he’s put a lot of pressure on himself.

He jumped right into the main event for the next PPV, and that could mean trouble. Macho hasn’t been in the ring in a long time, despite all his experience he can fall back on, he’s also in NWA:TNA and standing besides Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles. He certainly can’t keep up cardiovascularly (I think I made that word up) with these guys, and we’ll see how much psychology he has retained over the years while shooting a movie, sitting collecting left over WCW checks and recording an album.

Heck, even Hogan himself didn’t come back into the main event picture when he returned to the WWE. They slowly built him to Wrestlemania against the Rock, but made sure the fans were accustomed to him again and gave him a little bit of time in the ring in front of crowds in order to get him back into the groove of things. But not Macho, he’s gonna jump right into the main event of Turning Point. And now the pressure’s on to perform.

I know I’ll be watching and being critical of this legend who has once again decided to step into the ring. We do it with every old timer we see that makes a comeback. Piper, Hogan, Steamboat, Dusty, Henning (on his last run RIP), Tito, Goldberg, Austin, these are all guys that had to re-earn our trust into cheering or booing for them again. It wasn’t as easy as once appearance and then the crowd will always react. Do you think that Chris Jericho WON’T be watching the PPV thinking back to Savage vs. Steamboat at Wrestlemania 3? Of course he will be. You think Edge will be watching and not be able to remember seeing Warrior vs. Savage live in Toronto at Wrestlemania 7? Of course he’ll be thinking about it.

What Randy Savage is wrestling with here isn’t Nash, Hall and Jarrett. It’s his legacy. You’re only as good as your last match, and he could get himself into some danger here. Although at the same time, he has the opportunity to also re-create his legacy as well. If he goes out there and wows us all, then more power to him, but he better be ready to do that. No one turns on people like wrestling fans do.

So we’ll see how this plays itself out, and we’ll know if Savage can keep up as soon as he steps into that ring and the shock of seeing him live again wears off.

Here’s my message to Randy Savage: Be a man and step up to the plate. It’s too late to take your ball and go home without tarnishing your reputation. Good luck Mach.

Go enjoy time with your family or loved ones (you Americans anyway), eat some turkey, fatten up and take a nap.

Happy Thanksgiving. And may you never experience the Gobbledegooker again.