Welcome to Deconstructing the Moveset my friends!
There is something I just have to address here first:
Yesterday morning at 3:07 AM, AJ Styles and his wife Wendy, celebrated the birth of their first child. Ajay Kovell Jones was born 6 pounds, 12 ounces. He will be released from the hospital along with Wendy on Thursday. Our best to the Styles family.
HOW DARE THAT HOSPITAL RELEASE AJAY? He’s only been with the company for a short while and already they’re unhappy with his performance that they’re releasing him? And how could they do that to his mother? She JUST gave birth! Stop the presses! Inform the internet! Flame the forums! Hahahaha.
On a side note I wanna see that spot that AJ had with Abyss ay Lockdown, but I don’t want to spend my time actually downloading the PPV. And I’m certainly not buying it once it’s on DVD. As a rule I don’t buy anything from Shane Douglas.
Make sure to catch AJ Styles and Jarrett on Blue… ok, I can’t even try to help sell that company anymore. TNA holds less interest to me than what happens on Velocity on a weekly basis. Speaking of Velocity, Paul London’s wrestling Akio this week. Make sure to watch that (Kurtis).
I’m extremely sorry for the lapse of columns, but real life came and bit me in the ass for the past month and change. I almost had my column up last week (as Hevia showed everyone in his column this week)
The president cut off Smackdown! for me and all I saw was the ending. So no Smackdown!, let’s take a look at RAW:
The Captain and the Nature Boy
Man, I don’t think these two could have a good program, but the interaction and chemistry these guys seem to have is phenomenal. If he wasn’t gonna get moved over to Smackdown!, I’d love to see him in a program with HHH and have Flair do most of HHH’s speaking.
One SUPER Super Kick
Leave it to Shelton and HBK to have an amazing amazing match on RAW. The whole thing top to bottom was exciting and they got it RIGHT. There was a chance that Shelton was going to win, but once I saw all the near falls he was having I was dieing to see how they were going to have HBK take the win.
The Gold Rush
Except for Edge I was happy with everyone involved with the Gold Rush Tournament. I’d be happy to see a PPV caliber match with any of those guys vs. Batista. Kane vs. Batista is a match I really really want to see again, especially after seeing their match in OVW, which was overbooked but good. HBK vs. Batista would be a good test for the big guy if he could keep up with someone besides HHH, Batista vs. Edge doesn’t interest me so much, and a more involved Batista vs. Benoit would be really cool because other match could exploit Batista’s strength against Benoit’s endurance.
So once a wrestler retires, what’s left for them to do? Is there a 401k for them to tap into? No, but they have a different advantage than the rest of us that spend our lives building our nest egg so we don’t have to work until the day we die. They’re wrestlers, (generally) loved by wrestling fans.
Once you’re done with your career in civil engineering, could you tour the country going from construction site to construction site signing autographs and charge per appearance? No. Obviously not.
But this is the advantage that wrestling for a career has given those who wrestle. The way they’ve earned their living is giving the fans enjoyment through their matches, and when it comes time to retire, fans are willing to give back for the enjoyment that you’ve put in.
A wrestling career is a whole lot like an investment anyway. The better you are, the more you are worth, and in the long run, the longer you can cash in on your investment (aka your career).
Mick Foley will forever be able to make a living off of his promotional appearances as a supplement to whatever else he chooses to do because he managed his career correctly. Now people are still foaming at the mouth to see Foley as a referee in a Wagner Brown vs. Jerry Lawler match just as much as when he was WWE champion.
By comparison not too many people will go out of their way to see Sean Waltman wrestle on the indy circuit because it almost seems like he’s done his best to ruin his legacy. He went from X-Pac to a Brady bitch. His most recent run with TNA has done little to repair that rift between him and the fans. It’s not unrepairable, but everyone knows he’s a drug addict and released a sex tape with Chyna, which the descriptions I’ve heard were absolutely gross.
Bret Hart did an appearance at RVD’s comic book store at Wrestlemania weekend this year, and there had to be at least 500 people online to get an autograph or get their picture taken with the Hitman, myself included. And we were all willing to shell out a minimum of $40 to get that autograph. I’m sure that Bret could get that kind of turn out anywhere he goes, anytime he goes. It’s not a bad living once you’re retired.
Tito Santana had a line around the gym I saw him in, same with Hacksaw or even Al Snow. Hillbilly Jim hosted the Road to Wrestlemania tour for the WWE, and I’m sure he got a nice paycheck for that as well. Would he have been able to do that if he wasn’t a retired wrestler? No.
Hacksaw sells real estate in Florida, I heard Rick Martel sells real Estate as well. These people find things to do after wrestling to make a living (and probably to fill the time as well.) RVD’s got a comic book show, Booker T has a clothing store, and Foley writes books.
So much like an investor, if you’ve been smart about things, you can retire with money and still get the respect and adoration from the fans. If you’ve squandered your career, you’re not going to be so lucky.
Welcome back to Deconstructing the Moveset. Now get outside, it’s getting warm out there.
