Wrestling Wednesday - Thoughts on Lockdown 2013 & WWE's "Tribute" to Paul Bearer

Wrestling Wednesday…

TNA Wrestling - Lockdown 2013 and the Era of Bully Ray



Lockdown 2012 was one of the best pay-per-view events of 2012. The main event between Bobby Roode and James Storm was spectacular. Lethal Lockdown was tremendous. From top to bottom, the card was outstanding with only one true low point in the Knockouts Tag Team Championship match. 

Lockdown 2013, in front of the biggest audience in TNA history, was one of the worst pay-per-view events in TNA history from top to bottom. Lazy, uninspired, and illogical, Lockdown 2013 provided one of the most lackluster events from TNA Wrestling in the last four years. The most memorable moment from the night -- the crowning of Bully Ray as TNA World Heavyweight Champion and revelation of Bully Ray as the President of Aces and Eights -- stands out of the prime example of everything wrong with this event. I hate saying that too because I am really, really thrilled for Mark LoMonaco and the culmination of a 22-year journey to the top.

Bully Ray defeated Jeff Hardy for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a surprisingly weak main event at Lockdown in which both men went through the proverbial motions with a couple of spots thrown in to break up the monotony. In the end, Bully Ray struck Hardy with a hammer tossed to him by Devon and scored the cheap victory. Then, Ray cut a vicious promo on Hulk Hogan and Brooke Hogan before revealing himself as the President of Aces and Eights. 

Six months too late in my opinion.

I would have loved this in October 2012. I called for this in October 2012. However, Bully Ray turned face and sided with TNA in the war against Aces and Eights. For months, he fought with Aces and Eights only to then reveal himself as the leader of the group in March 2013. To me, that booking decision was nothing more than TNA running out of ideas for who would make a good leader for the enemy faction and “throwing crap at the wall” booking most often seen in World Wrestling Entertainment. It almost makes me question if Jeff Jarrett, my selection for Aces and Eights President, did not turn down the opportunity to lead the group and this was TNA’s next option after missing the chance when the iron was hot in October. 

As for the rest of Lockdown, the only match worth note was an outstanding Triple Threat match for the TNA World Tag team Championships where Austin Aries and Bobby Roode defeated both Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez and Bad Influence - Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. Lethal Lockdown was a bloodless, mediocre affair while Kurt Angle’s loss to Wes Brisco was an upset but an unimpressive outing from Brisco. Velvet Sky retained the Knockouts Championship over Gail Kim in a solid match where Kim’s interaction with referee Taryn Terrell was more exciting than the championship match itself. Robbie T over Robbie E, Joseph Park over Joey Ryan, and Kenny King’s X-Division title defense were all forgettable filler in a night of mediocrity from TNA.

TNA Wrestling had the chance to take a massive step forward at Lockdown in front of 10,000 fans at the Alamodome, a massive step forward on the eve of taking Impact Wrestling on the road weekly. However, TNA took a massive step backwards instead as they ran like a Kenyan running from a hungry lion with that effort.

It is a shame too because I am so happy that Bully Ray is finally a world champion. Bully Ray showed in 2002 as Bubba Ray Dudley in WWE that he could be a main event solo star. However, Triple H used political stroke to squash his momentum. Nearly a decade later, TNA finally gave Bully Ray the chance to shine on his own as a solo star. Now, two years after going solo and a year after being ready for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Bully Ray finally has the gold he deserves. I just hate that it came as the result of a horrible booking decision six months too late for my tastes or on one of the worst pay-per-views produced by TNA in a long, long time. I hope that Bully Ray and TNA can rebound from the misfire that was Lockdown 2013. I would hate to think that the Bully Ray Era in TNA is going to be a complete failure.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not touch on another shining example of the tasteless, classless, and downright disgusting antics of World Wrestling Entertainment.



William Moody, known the wrestling world as Percy Pringle, III and Paul Bearer, passed away last week at the age of 58. As the wrestling world mourned, I posted a tweet that initially garnered a lot of backlash because it was deemed insensitive and because people thought I was wrong, plain and simple. 

As the wrestling world mourns Paul Bearer, @WWE writers, @CMPunk, & @HeymanHustle smile knowing they have promo material for RAW & UTaker. - March 6th at 2:07AM.

Within moments of the post, I received comments from fans saying that WWE would not stoop to that level. I received comments about how CM Punk would never do anything of that nature because he is “respectful of the business” and therefore Punk would “refuse to take part in anything that distasteful.” Despite countless examples contrary to that belief -- namely Punk’s participation in the mockery of Jerry Lawler’s 2012 heart attack or Punk’s mockery of religion for cheap heat on social media, fans continue to wear rose-colored glasses and give both World Wrestling Entertainment and CM Punk the benefit of a doubt time and time again. 



After reading about this Monday’s RAW (because God knows I am not tuning into that mess as long as the part-time players are the main event scene), I was saddened but thrilled to see I was right once again. Not once but twice did Punk disrupt tributes to Paul Bearer in order to garner more heel heat for himself in this current WrestleMania feud with The Undertaker. The disrespect was subtle. However, it happened and that cannot be denied unless you merely want to sound like another one of the many WWE sheep who “bah, bah, baaaah” with every justification of their heinous actions. After the showed opened with a video package and The Undertaker paid homage to his former manager, CM Punk interrupted and cut a promo on The Undertaker. Later, in a match with Kane, Punk lost and then assaulted Kane with an urn before ending the night with a mockery of The Undertaker’s trademark gesture -- a gesture made in remembrance of Paul Bearer throughout the night. 

The most offensive part of all of it, in my eyes, was how lazy it came off. People justifying the segment can say if Paul Bearer had not passed, there would not have been an urn in play. That is my point exactly. Simply because Paul Bearer passed away, did that mean WWE’s brain trust had to scrap whatever plans they had in favor of disrespectful antics using the memory of Paul Bearer for CM Punk’s heel heat? No. The Undertaker and Kane could have both paid tribute to Bearer, without interruption, and Punk could have later in the night cut a promo on The Undertaker without ever alluding to the passing of Bearer or the usage of the urn. Lord knows the show was missing the antics of the WWE Champion since Dwayne “Hollywood” Johnson was off in South Korea promoting his upcoming movie.

I know that I am in the minority when it comes to calling World Wrestling Entertainment out on their disrespectful antics. I am in even more of a minority when it comes to calling out CM Punk on his disrespectful antics. After all, Punk is “the best in the world” and the adult masses love living vicariously through their glorified mid-card hero. However, I will gladly stay in the minority and stand by what I feel is right than justify antics I deem reprehensible simply because I am a fan of a person or because I cannot stop watching a product and need to justify putting myself through six hours of it weekly. 

This week’s RAW was another example of WWE in 2013. It was tasteless, hypocritical, disgusting, and most of all -- lazy.