World Wrestling Entertainment - This is Goodbye.
Dear World Wrestling Entertainment,
This is the hardest letter I have ever had to write. You and I have gone through a lot of ups and downs over the course of our 23-year relationship. I still remember when we met like it was yesterday. I was a young boy of six-years-old when I stumbled across two men in a square structure enclosed by red, white, and blue ropes. They were fighting but it was unlike any other fighting I had witnessed in my brief time on this planet. I watched as Tito Santana pinned Iron Mike Sharpe on the Saturday morning broadcast of Superstars of Wrestling in the very first wrestling match I ever watched. From that moment, I was captivated with everything to do with wrestling. While I lived in the heart of Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA, my first taste of wrestling came from World Wrestling Entertainment (then known as the World Wrestling Federation). You, WWE, were my first great love.
From Hulk Hogan to Bret “Hitman” Hart, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to Kurt Angle, Trish Stratus to Mickie James, and Chris Jericho to CM Punk with many more in between, the wrestlers I found myself most aligned to were in the WWE. Despite my tastes for in-ring action evolving and my growing annoyances with the “sizzle over substance” approach taken by you, I remained true to you, WWE.
In 2010, we had our worst fight. I remember how the company fired my beloved Mickie James on the heels of one of the worst WrestleManias ever. My love for you was never lower than it was in that moment. I left. I started seeing TNA Wrestling and I found my love for wrestling blossom again. Despite my best judgment, I let you back into my life and started to believe that you could be good to me again. The Miz won the WWE Championship. Some of the matches on TV were really good with young talent getting the spotlight usually reserved for the same tired acts. Then, WrestleMania 27 came and you ripped my heart out again. WWE, you and I have been on shaky ground for far too long. The Michael Cole-Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler rivalry hurt my heart. Hornswoggle’s reign of terror hurt my spirit. The celebration of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, despite everything he did to distance himself from the business that made him famous, hurt my soul. However, I kept taking you back because I wanted to believe you could change. Despite TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor Wrestling giving me everything I needed and more, I continued to allow you in my life, World Wrestling Entertainment. WWE, I just could not quit you… until now.
WWE aired the 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW on July 23rd. I knew this three-hour broadcast would not be great. In fact, I was positive that it would be terrible. I just did not know how terrible it would be. The show started innocently enough with a reunion of DX. It was funny and entertaining despite lasting over 20 minutes. Then, I got the first wrestling match of the evening - World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, Rey Mysterio, and Sin Cara vs. Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, and Alberto Del Rio. Instead of a solid 15-minute wrestling match between five great performers and Sin Cara, the match lasted for five minutes with a commercial break included. Brodus Clay defeated a former World Champion in less than 30 seconds when he beat Jack Swagger. Then, there was the wedding.
I hate AJ Lee. She is a cute girl. But WWE, I do not understand why you insist on pushing her so hard. Why? She does not deserve any of the push she has received. AJ Lee ruined the CM Punk/Daniel Bryan rivalry for the WWE Championship. Despite hating weddings in general, I had a glimmer of hope that AJ was to return to the mid-card along with Bryan as a married couple. Instead, Vince McMahon named her the General Manager of RAW. Why, WWE? Why did you kick me in the groin with steel-toed boots and spit in my face? Why?!?
The rest of the night was a blur for me. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson graced us with his presence long enough to say he was going to become WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble in January 2013. Stephanie McMahon stole the show from Triple H, Brock Lesnar, and Paul Heyman in a segment confirming Brock’s next jobber duties at SummerSlam. Lita and the APA returned alongside a list of legends for a fun segment against Heath Slater. The Miz defeated Christian for the Intercontinental Championship in a solid match. The Undertaker looked more decrepit than ever while helping Kane beat up on six jobbers. Then there was the main event - WWE Champion CM Punk vs. John Cena. WWE was not going to let me down with this match, right? Right?!?
I was wrong. I was so wrong to believe in you, WWE. Instead of another great match between these two, they went through the motions for abut ten minutes of sloppy action before Big Show interfered. For some reason, you always want to say everything is better with Big Show involved but it is not, WWE; it is not. Big Show makes nothing better. As the match ends via DQ, Dwayne Johnson runs to the ring to save John Cena when CM Punk attacked him. As the announcers screamed, “Why Punk Why,” while fans got their poster-board and magic markers to make signs reading that for the next month of television, I felt myself finally ready to say two magic words to you, WWE.
We’re through.
I, in good conscience, cannot continue to stay in this relationship. For one, I know that you are going to give me more of this AJ girl and I just cannot take anymore of her. Only World Wrestling Entertainment can turn a red-blooded heterosexual male against a cute girl with skimpy outfits. However, this constant push and the constant referrals to her as “crazy” despite her only on-screen talent being that she can skip is too much for me to take.
More importantly though, I cannot stay with you, WWE, and watch the most cherished prize in the history of your company get devalued even more as you take a page right out of the WCW Playbook by having a Hollywood actor win the WWE Championship on January 27th, 2013. There is no doubt that CM Punk will lose this title to Dwayne Johnson on this night. The only question is who Dwayne will drop the title to on April 7th, 2013 at WrestleMania XXIX - John Cena or Brock Lesnar. In all good conscience, I cannot stick around for your descent further into the depths of squalor and hell that you have brought upon yourself. I will be watching professional wrestling from TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor. They both treat me so much better.
This is goodbye, World Wrestling Entertainment. Thank you for the memories and the good times. Maybe someday, we can be friends again. However, someday is not for a long, long time to come.
Sincerely,
Aaron F. Goins, Jr.
I agree with everything here except for one thing; the post Hulk Hogan era of superstar contracts stipulates that after so many years of in ring work" a star becomes a Brand Ambassador and is allowed to pursue other ventures while still representing the company. Its typically 5-7 years of doing outside stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter, who never watches wrestling knows that it's the WWE' Dwayne The Rock Johnson in her movies, and at the Kid's Choice awards . Until the 1000th episode, she had no idea he wrestled.
The rest, I agree with 100%.
The thing that aggravates me most about Dwayne Johnson is how he conducted himself from 2006-late 2010.
DeleteHe was an ambassador to the WWE and was making movies. He was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and everything was fine. Then, he got tired of "The Rock" image and wanted to be credited in films as Dwayne Johnson. He distanced himself from wrestling and no longer wanted to be an ambassador one iota. When the Chris Benoit incident occurred, this went into overdrive. Dwayne Johnson wanted nothing to do with his wrestling past and disowned it.
Dwayne Johnson's film began to suffer because nobody goes to see a Dwayne Johnson movie; they go to see The Rock. After some failed action films (including the surprisingly good "Faster," he wanted to get the wrestling audience he lost to rejoin him at the cinema. He wanted nothing to do with wrestling because it was "beneath him" until he realized he needed wrestling fans to cash in on. I have hated his guts ever since.