Sometimes, when you’re writing columns on a regular base, you sit down at your little desk, chase the cats away from your keyboard and start writing, fully intending to finish the job in a reasonable amount of time and having fun doing it. And sometimes it just doesn’t work like that. And no it’s not because the cats keep coming back but rather because you can’t really figure out how to tackle a given subject.
Case in point, today. There is this big elephant in the room I don’t really want to write about because I don’t feel like I connect to it in any way, and yet, it’s kind of difficult to ignore an elephant when you are living in as small a studio as I do.
Wrestlemania.
It’s rather funny in a way. I’ve spend the past few weeks reading all kinds of comments about how the show was gonna suck, about how everybody was going to boo the hell out of Reigns And how things could have been so much better if they had done it this or that way. And the, on the other side, you had some few rather positive ones and of course the long list of wrestlers and wrestling personalities endorsing Reigns and even the respected Jim Ross getting in on the fun and telling us how the Tug of War on RAW was actually a clever thing and how good it was for Lesnar to have such a limited schedule.
The thing is I actually agree with neither one of those.
From a personal point of view I’ve made no secret that I wasn’t sold on the whole thing at all, and that is perhaps the most disappointing thing because it shouldn’t be a problem to sell the “Showcase of the Immortal” to one who has remained a wrestling fan, trough good and bad times, for 27 years. But OK, this happens. I find myself lacking enthusiasm towards most of the things the card is proposing and there is nothing really wrong with that. It’s only wrestling after all, and there is more than enough going on in the wrestling world nowadays to keep the wrestling fan in me happy. So I’m gonna watch one match probably, read the various reviews, maybe catch highlights here and there and for me that will be the end of the it. The reason I’m writing this is, I find myself somewhat flabbergasted at the long list of negative comments and fans going: “I’m gonna watch simply to see how the audience is gonna shit all over the product in general and Reigns in particular”. Really? That’s why we’re watching something nowadays? What’s the point? I mean if you’re gonna pay or spend a couple of hours of your live to watch this, shouldn’t you keep at least an open mind to the whole thing? What’s the reasoning in paying to watch something for the sole purpose of saying how bad something is? Criticize the build-up, say how they haven’t sold you on it, how you aren’t gonna watch this year, that is all fine, but saying you’re gonna watch something just to see fans turning on a product or wrestlers (why are those fans paying to do that in the first place would be a good question), sorry I simply don’t get it. It’s one thing to have some fun and take a shot at WWE from time to time (and I’m not the last to do it), but there comes a time when enough is enough. Watch or don’t watch, agree or disagree but stop complaining about it. If with all promotions like ROH, NJPW, AAA and others (and yes, even TNA) are proposing you still find yourself needing WWE to bring your weekly dose of WRESTLING, then you only have yourself to blame.
On the other hand I don’t like people like Ross or Jericho trying to sell me on something that simply isn’t there either. Ross saying that the fact that there was no physicality between Reigns and Lesnar, and the fact that Lesnar being on such a limited schedule was actually a good thing is simply incorrect even if his arguments aren’t. Yes no physicality before a match can be good, yes, limited schedules reduces the danger of having a wrestler over-exposed, but, in this case it doesn’t work because Lesnar wasn’t there AT ALL (or barely). You can’t create a build-up for something that isn’t there. Heyman might be the best talker in the world, but even he can’t create miracles. The one confrontation between those two ended with Reigns snatching the title away from Lesnar (and I can’t blame him, probably the first time he saw the damn thing with Lesnar NEVER being there and all) and Lesnar snatching it back? And that’s supposed to be enough to sell me on the whole thing? Well, sorry Mr Ross, I’m not buying it.
Wrestlemania is going to be what it’s going to be. Like it, hate it but there it is. There are gonna be some good things, perhaps, some bad things, perhaps, some swerves, perhaps, hey WWE might throw in some surprises here and there and end up with a reasonably entertaining show. But, as things stands now, I find little enjoyment in writing about how it’s going to suck or how it could have been better. And even less enjoyment in listening to people telling me how the build-up was great after all and that it was just me “not getting it”. For me Wrestlemania-fever will occur next year (hopefully) and that’s the end of it.
Does it mean it’s gonna be a wrestling-free couple of weeks for me? Hell no. I’ll be giving out my WM predictions anyway on Mr Widro’s Round-table tomorrow, and even will have fun doing it, I’ll be doing this site’s first ever One Man Round table on Invasion Attack next week and this week, I’m gonna talk about an event I’m REALLY exited about. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you: ROH’s SuperCard Of Honor 9, which will be happening this very evening! Well, for you guys anyway.
I’m a bit astounded that, even in the mids of Wrestlemania Negativity week-end, so little has been made about what is scheduled to be an action-packed card featuring Samoa Joe Challenging Jay Briscoe for the ROH world Championship. This is also Joe’s final announced date with ROH (until now), so speculation will again be rampant over what he’ll do next. The result and the way this night’s match will go might give us some clues, but, either way, this one should be huge.
Let’s take a look at the full card, shall we?
