Lance Cade makes a sudden and quizzical departure from the WWE Universe. Meanwhile WWE got slapped with another sexual harassment suit and apparently John Cena is going to return to the ring sooner than expected. I know I’m as shocked as you are too.
Opening Witty Banter
I’ve got nothing exciting to report this week. But Hulk Hogan’s “Celebrity Championship Wrestling?†Complete and utter awesomeness. I mean it’s got reality show trash, C-level celebrities, and whole lot of Brian Knobs and Brutus “The Barber†Beefcake. Seriously, Team Nasty? I love it.
And speaking of so bad it’s good, as I’m finishing up this article I’m watching a 1987 episode of Prime Time Wrestling on WWE 24/7, and they just played the “Piledriver†music video with Koko B. Ware singing and all the top faces of the day working construction. It might be the greatest piece of cinematography I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how that hasn’t been brought out on WWE television recently, what with guys like Santino Marella, Matt Striker, Miz & Morrisonon on TV who are right there just begging to lampoon it.
The News of the Week
The sudden and abrupt dismissal of Lance Cade has become the talk of the wrestling world this past week. At the time of his release Cade was riding biggest push of his career at his time, working as Chris Jericho’s protégé and gearing up for a potential feud with his real-life trainer Shawn Michaels. His sudden release was reminiscent of his former partner Trevor Murdoch’s abrupt firing this past summer. Even now there is no concrete information on why Cade was released. So far the only thing close to an explanation comes from cryptic words of Jim Ross’ blog.
Here’s the exact words from JR’s blog:
“As many of you know, Lance Cade was abruptly released from his contract this week much to the surprise of many of us. I have always thought that Cade had a wealth of physical potential and he was always a polite young man in my dealings with him. Like many fans, I too did my share of armchair quarterbacking as to why Cade was not featured in a more prominent role on WWE TV programming. However it seemed that in the past several weeks those issues were being addressed even to the point of Cade defeating HBK on a recent Monday Night Raw. The story that I have read on many internet sites about the reason for Cade’s sudden dismissal isn’t accurate. Many pundits speculate that Cade was dismissed because of a bad performance in a recent TV bout against DX on RAW, which is absolutely untrue. Lance’s dismissal had zero to do with his in ring performances or his lack of ability. Lance Cade was dismissed from the WWE because, like many humans, he made a major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment that cost him his job. This included Lance having a seizure on an airplane and having to have emergency medial care. Luckily, Lilian Garcia was on the same flight and was instrumental in helping Lance get taken to a hospital where a battery of tests were run that luckily determined that there was nothing seriously wrong with the young man such as a brain tumor, etc. Everyone makes mistakes, Lord knows I have made plenty in my career, but in this day and time some mistakes just simply can’t be condoned. To some fans, Lance Cade will likely still be perceived as the victim in this matter and his punishment too harsh. Under the circumstances of the situation, I don’t know what other decision the WWE could have made. I’m just relieved that it wasn’t me in my former role that would have had to address this matter. I really like this kid and hope that he continues to follow his dreams. Second chances are not foreign in the wrestling business so perhaps that could be in Lance’s future but that’s just a personal observation. Lance Cade is a talented young man whose best days should be ahead of him and I wish him nothing but success. Lance has been knocked down and now it is up to him to get off the canvas and get back in the game. I’m damn sure pulling for him. Let’s hope Lance’s peers are paying attention to this situation.â€
Naturally this drew a lot of Internet attention immediately it was posted, so Ross wrote a reply to clarify what he said:
“Lance Cade had his WWE contract terminated a few days ago which completely caught me off guard. As I wrote a few days ago, I was and still am a fan of Lance’s and was shocked when I heard news of his dismissal. I feel confident that Lance will rebound from this misstep and find the success that many feel he deserves. Nonetheless, for some to compare Lance’s incident where he had a seizure on an airplane that necessitated an emergency trip to a hospital with Jeff Hardy being asked to leave a plane because it was perceived that he was allegedly intoxicated seems like a stretch to me. Neither individual was on the right side of the equation of their respective issues but Lance, unfortunately, came too close for comfort by incurring a life threatening seizure and put the WWE in a position to make a really tough call. Could this matter have been handled better? I have no idea as I was not in the loop, thankfully, but I do feel that at some point in the future, and this is simply my opinion, after enough water has gone under the bridge that both parties could well do business again with each other.â€
After a few days to read and think and ponder the situation, it is obvious to me that there is more to Cade’s release than what meets the eye. Cade didn’t get released because he had a seizure on a plane. Having a medical condition isn’t grounds for dismissal. Having a seizure because you ingested something, perhaps illegal, that causes you to have a seizure is grounds for dismissal. I’m not going to speculate or say anything that I know isn’t true, but from reading Ross’ rhetoric it’s seems as if Cade blatantly put something into his system that caused his body to into the type of shock that would cause a seizure on a crowded airplane. In a post-Benoit wrestling world, the last thing a publicly-traded company with a stable stock in a turbulent stock market wants is another death on their hands. The way Ross indicated that the company had no other choice but to dismiss Cade seems to show that whatever happened was super serious. Ross’ exact words of “he made a major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment that cost him his job†is code for “the kid f-ed up real bad.†The way Ross described it is that if Cade gets himself cleaned and a little time passes, he should be able to find himself back in WWE company down the road. Cade has the look and is built just like a guy that WWE wants to push, and I’m sure we’ll see him back in WWE rings somewhere down the line.
According to PWInsider.com, a former WWE employee named Fara D’Angelo hasfiled a sexual harassment lawsuit against WWE. She worked for WWE as the Global Licensing Coordinator from April 2004 to May 2006. Her claim is that the harassment came from Senior Director of International Consumer Products Alex Romer. D’Angelo claims that he “pursued an intimate relationship with her almost immediately after she started working at WWE even though she was married, adding that he would do so in person, via text messages, late night phone calls, etc.â€
D’Angelo says that another employee who witnessed the harassment told her to “switch jobs” and that when she took her complaint to WWE’s Senior Director of Quality Assurance, Mike Archer, he also encouraged her to look for a new job.
The reason she is just now coming out with the allegations is that she feared her job would be in jeopardy if she continued to pursue the harassment, and waited until she had left the company under her own terms.
I have read a lot of comments around the ‘net wondering why she is taking so long in coming out with the allegations, but from my understanding it takes a long time in order to get a legal case put together and ready to present. But really, what would it matter if she came out with the allegations the day it happened or two years later? It’s still serious allegations that need to be dealt with. But this is WWE we are talking about. This is didn’t even come close to the top of the sleaze scale in regards to WWE scandals and going-ons.
The big “spoiler†in regards to Survivor Series is that John Cena will be returning at that PPV. The amount of hype videos that they are showing for Cena on WWE TV would indicate that the rumor is true.
The pay per view is in Cena’s backyard of Boston, Massachusetts, so I would be surprised if Cena isn’t on the show. The guy is part-machine, part-human and is a walking, living, breathing WWE hype machine and Vince McMahon’s dream employee.
In not so shocking news, the second week of SmackDown! on MyNetworkTV broke it’s own record from the week before and became the highest rated show on MyNetworkTV.
Let’s see, MyNetworkTV has been on the air for what, a month, so it’s not really something to stand on the rooftops and shout out. SD!, even when pulling poor numbers, is still a great ratings grabber. Professional wrestling has always been a winner on cable. Even in Nitro and Thunder’s dying days they were still pulling great numbers relative to anything else on cable at that time.
The best of Starrcade set is back on and is currently scheduled to be released on January 13, 2009.
I’ll believe it when I see it on the shelves at Best Buy.
In a recent interview with Ric Flair he said that he figured his son Reid is about a year away from making his WWE debut. Flair will also be in Reid’s corner for his first-ever pro match on December 6, as Reid will team with brother David Flair to take on the Nasty Boys. The match will take place at an independent show in the Flairs’ stomping grounds of Charlotte, North Carolina.
I’m glad they are not going to rush Reid’s debut in WWE. The roster is so full of second and third generation stars as it is right now. It will be better for Reid and everyone else involved for him to get as much seasoning as possible before he appears in the “big time.†When you are taking the weight of the world on your shoulders, you’re talking about Reid Flair in the wrestling world. No matter how successful he will be, he won’t be his daddy.
Former WWWF/WWF announcer from the late ‘70s/early ‘80s Jack Reynolds passed away this past week at the age of 71. He had recently been hospitalized for intestinal and heart issues.
Pulse Wrestling’s thoughts and prayers go out to Reynolds’ friends and family.
Wrestler of the Week
Week of October 13 – 19: Evan Bourne
In what was another slow week of WWE television, the man who put on the best match and had the biggest star-making performance was Evan Bourne. He beat Chavo Guerrero on this week’s ECW en route to earning his first pay per view appearance as one of the contenders for Matt Hardy’s ECW Championship. I really believe that if the judging for Cyber Sunday is legit we will be seeing Evan Bourne challenging for the ECW Championship live in his first pay per view appearance.
RAW’s On Tonight!
It’ the final push for Cyber Sunday, which is live next Sunday so expect plenty of campaigning from the parties involved in the voting process. I’m sure Chris Jericho will continue to be an evil prick while trying to make Shawn Michaels’ and Batista’s lives a living hell. I just hope it doesn’t involve any more handicap matches. I’m praying for more Glamarella goodness this week. I would love it if Charlie Haas appears as all three of Santino Marella’s potential Intercontinental Championship challengers. Haas-dust, Rowdy Charlie Piper and Hass-y Tonk Man? It just writes itself. You heard it here first.
On Last Week’s Episode…
SmackDown!
How They Rated
A.M. RAW (10.12.08) – .7
RAW (10.13.08) – 3.1
ECW (10.14.08) – 1.1
SmackDown! (10.17.08) –
This is Boring, What Else is There to Read?
Wiswell laments the lack of comedy on Ring of Honor cards.
Glazer give you 41 reasons why you should watch Ring of Honor.
