Wrestling with Emotion – Bits and Pieces around the
Wrestling World…
The last time I wrote about professional wrestling was
almost two months ago. At that time, John Cena and Daniel Bryan were on a
collision course heading towards either the season finale of Total Divas on E! or SummerSlam. I do
not really know which. Dixie Carter and the TNA brain trust decided the best
possible free agent signing – for the company to reveal as the August 1 Warning
– was former UFC star-turned-Bellator fighter Tito Ortiz. Ring of Honor was in
the midst of a tournament for the ROH World Championship with a
less-than-stellar tournament field.
Frankly, I reached a point in my wrestling fandom I never
reached in 25+ years. My “give a damn” was officially busted. I did not care
what took place in any of these companies. With baseball actually interesting,
a very competitive IndyCar Series to follow, the NFL season looming, and so
many great music specials on television at the time, wrestling just did not
warrant any of the attention I usually gave it.
A lot has changed in two months regarding the landscape of
professional wrestling. Yet, the old adage remains true – especially when
dealing with professional wrestling: the more things change, the more they stay
the same. The faces have changed on top in one company. The drive towards the
biggest event of the year is going on in another company. A new era has started
in a third company. Yet, it is a hard time to be excited about anything in
professional wrestling.
WWE presents WWF 1998-1999: The Remake…
At SummerSlam, Daniel Bryan defeated John Cena cleanly to
become WWE Champion. Shortly afterwards, WWE COO and special referee for the
match Triple H assaulted Bryan as Randy Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank
contract. Daniel Bryan’s WWE Championship reign lasted less than a minute.
Triple H, along with his wife Stephanie McMahon and father-in-law Vince
McMahon, justified putting the title on Randy Orton because Orton was “good for
business.” Randy Orton was a good “corporate” champion. This was the beginning
of the WWE’s version of the WWF Corporation angle of 15 years ago.
In the following month, Bryan has suffered countless
beatings from Orton, Triple H’s hired goons – The Shield, and the Big Show –
who now works as an unwilling henchman for the McMahons because Big Show is
broke for unexplained reasons. Bryan defeated Orton for the WWE Championship at
the Night of Champions only to have Triple H vacate the championship the
following night because, again, Bryan is “bad for business” and this rehash of
an angle is “good for business.”
I am a fan who believes every angle is fair game to redo
after a certain period. However, the redo must be different in some ways. This
rehash is ridiculously too close to the original.
Triple H is Vince McMahon. Randy Orton is The Rock. Daniel
Bryan is Mankind. The Big Show is Kane. Stephanie McMahon is Chyna. The Shield
is Big Boss Man, Ken Shamrock, and Test. When John Cena returns from his elbow
surgery – the only reason Daniel Bryan is getting this chance at all in the
first place – he will be Stone Cold Steve Austin.
 |
| And, you all thought this angle wouldn't end up being about me. Silly, silly IWC kids. |
The saddest part of all of this is how members of the
infamous Internet Wrestling Community believe Daniel Bryan will actually come
out of this as a main event star for the remainder of his career. The more I
see the proceedings unfold, the more I see the parallels in 2013 Daniel Bryan
and 2011 CM Punk. Punk was on the verge of greatness after his “pipe bomb”
promo on RAW. Then, Punk interacted with Triple H and Kevin Nash, came out on
the losing end of the encounters, and saw his feuds for the WWE Championship
overshadowed by Triple H and Kevin Nash’s feud. CM Punk was WWE Champion for
over a year and yet appeared only as a mid-card talent – something he is now. Daniel
Bryan won the WWE Championship and immediately had the legs of his momentum cut
out from under him. Triple H and crew both buried him weekly verbally and
physically. The focus of RAW has shifted from Bryan to a crying Big Show and
how the McMahon Family is forcing him to do horrible things. Eventually,
Bryan’s WWE title reign will appear in the mid-card to Triple H-Big Show main
events.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Disappearing Faces and Missed Opportunities: The Road to Bound for
Glory 2013…
On Sunday, October 20th in San Diego, California,
AJ Styles will challenge TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray for the TNA
World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory. While I am excited to see
this match, it is all I am excited about when it comes to TNA Wrestling right
now.
After relieving Bruce Prichard of his duties because of
ineptitude, TNA has allowed multiple contracts to expire or come close to
expiring in spite of Prichard’s absence. In the last month, Mickie James’
contract expired while she was TNA Knockouts Champion. After refusing a
low-ball contract offer, Mickie lost the Knockouts title to ODB and currently
is in contract negotiations with the company. Ken Anderson, coming off some of
the best work he’s done in years, has his contract close to expiring and does
not have a new contract on the horizon either. AJ Styles’ contract expired in
September and the face of TNA Wrestling only signed a three-month extension
with the company to last through Bound for Glory and its immediate aftermath.
Most important of all, Hulk Hogan and his ungodly contract expire on October 1st
with neither side close to agreement on a new deal. This all comes fresh off
the many releases over the summer for budgetary concerns.
For what TNA Wrestling spends on Hulk Hogan, the company
could afford to resign Mickie James, Ken Anderson, AJ Styles, and probably 10
additional in-ring talents who would improve TNA’s in-ring action. However, we
are talking about Dixie Carter making the right business decision.
Carter is a known fool when it comes to making the right
decision for TNA. Carter allowed Spike TV to bend TNA over a barrel when it
comes to promoting Bellator – right down to putting Rampage Jackson and Tito
Ortiz on TV as in-ring performers until Bellator removed them from the
programming, not TNA but Bellator. Dixie Carter has not made offers to any of
the incredible free agents current available in professional wrestling – names
like Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, MVP, John Morrison, Serena Deeb, Angelina Love,
or most recently Ted DiBiase, Jr. or any of the major names in Ring of Honor. Now,
as TNA heads into the biggest event of the year, Dixie Carter is taking a page
from the Vince McMahon “Make It All about Me” playbook as Dixie Carter is now
portraying a heel persona in conflict with the superstars on her roster. Not
only is Dixie wrong from a business standpoint, she is also wrong from a
storyline standpoint as well.
Looking at the potential lineup for Bound for Glory 2013, I
find myself at a loss for words. The roster is painfully thin and matchups are
growing stale with every passing week. Faces are disappearing weekly because of
company mismanagement. On top of this, the notion of resigning Hulk Hogan as a
priority and turning Dixie Carter into an on-screen heel persona are far from
what TNA should be trying to do to save this company apparently in its dying
days.
When 2013 started, the company had the opportunity finally
to give wrestling fans what they wanted – a grand alternative to World
Wrestling Entertainment and their hot garbage booking. Instead of creating new
stars, TNA missed countless opportunities. Chris Sabin held the TNA World
Heavyweight Championship for a month and then disappeared into obscurity upon
losing again to Bully Ray – without even getting a championship rematch (apparently
nobody in TNA read Booking 101). Sure, Magnus came out of the 2013 Bound for
Glory Series as a stud. However, Jay Bradley looked unworthy of a contract, Kaz
remains nothing more than a bit player, Joseph Park lost all of his momentum,
and Samoa Joe remained stale as ever – all missed opportunities to help
establish and refresh characters. The Knockouts Division now consists of ODB,
Gail Kim, Velvet Sky, and Brooke Tessmacher. Once the greatest assembly of
female talent in the business, the Knockouts are now down to four women is one
of the most painful downfalls for a division in wrestling history.
In every way possible, TNA has stepped backwards in 2013.
What should have been the company’s greatest year, 2013 has been potentially
the worst year in the history of TNA Wrestling. For every great moment inside
the ring, TNA has allowed company mismanagement to overshadow that greatness
and allowed a feeling of absolute despair engulf the company and its
programming.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Era of the Panama Playboy – Ring of Honor has a new World Champion…
At Death Before Dishonor XI on September 20th in
Philadelphia, Adam Cole defeated Tommaso Ciampa in the semi-finals and Michael
Elgin in the finals of a tournament to win the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight
Championship.
After a 16-man tournament featuring some of Ring of Honor’s
finest and some hired guns brought in to make the tournament seem more
competitive but actually weakened the tournament in my eyes, Adam Cole defeated
Michael Elgin to become the 19th World Champion in Ring of Honor
history. Shortly after scoring the victory, Cole firmly established his
long-tease heel turn by assaulting former ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe and
Michael Elgin with the championship belt. Not only did Adam Cole win the
biggest title in the company, he became the biggest heel in the company in a
single move – a move desperately needed to revitalize Ring of Honor.
Ring of Honor has been stuck in limbo since the end of the
ROH-S.C.U.M. feud that dominated all major angles for a year. Adam Cole as a
cocky, arrogant heel World Champion opens up a world of potential main event
feuds. I love the idea of Cole feuding with Jay and Mark Briscoe, Michael
Elgin, Kevin Steen, and perhaps even Tommaso Ciampa, Roderick Strong, or Jay
Lethal down the line. Adam Cole’s championship reign signifies a new era for the
company and, hopefully, a vast improvement in the storylines for a company
known for providing the best in professional wrestling action in America.
Happy (Forced) Retirement, JR…
On September 11th, legendary ring announcer Jim
Ross announced his retirement from professional wrestling after over 40 years
in the business. Well, retirement is what Ross would love to have you believe.
After all, I can imagine Jim Ross hates to think that Vince McMahon and World
Wrestling Entertainment fired him for a sixth time (two storyline firings and
four legitimate firings). Of course, this is indeed the case as Vince McMahon
fired Jim Ross over an incident beyond his control over the SummerSlam weekend.
Ross hosted a WWE 2K14 symposium for fans and video game
executives over SummerSlam weekend in Los Angeles. During the symposium, a
drunken Ric Flair appeared hijacked the event in another stop on the Ric
Flair’s Sad Mess of a Life 2013 Tour. Ross was unable to regain control from
Flair. Vince McMahon could not punish Flair, as he was not under contract to
World Wrestling Entertainment. All Flair lost from his drunken appearance was
future potential employment options with WWE, including a nixed appearance the
next night at SummerSlam. On the other hand, Vince McMahon could take all of
his frustrations out on his favorite punching bag – Jim Ross. McMahon fired
Ross and spun the story as “the retirement of Jim Ross.”
I wish that I could feel bad for Jim Ross’ latest
mistreatment. However, Jim Ross has brought this all upon himself repeatedly. On
camera, Vince McMahon and WWE management have fired Ross twice – October 2005
and October 2011. Behind the scenes, Vince McMahon has personally fired Ross
now four times – February 1994, August 1994, October 2009, and now September
2013. I know Vince McMahon will hire and fire Ross because he loves doing it
too much to change the cycle. Apparently, Ross loves it too as he continues to
run back to the WWE every time Vince snaps his finger for his favorite punching
bag to return. I would love to wish Jim Ross the best in his retirement but
this was anything but a retirement. Jim Ross paid the price for something Ric
Flair did – sad but true.
Other Notes…
- Kurt Angle will return to TNA Wrestling at Bound for Glory
on October 20th after a stint in rehab. This came off the heels of an
arrest in Texas for DUI – at least Angle’s fourth arrest for such an act. While
I hope rehab worked for Kurt this time, I fear that Kurt returning to the hot
mess TNA Wrestling currently is in will only drive him to the bottle quicker
than usual.
- Over the SummerSlam weekend, Darren Young of the Prime
Time Players came out during an interview with paparazzi on TMZ. In the
aftermath of this, Young has appeared on Ellen,
NBC’s Today, ABC’s Good Morning America, and in articles
inside the pages of Sports Illustrated
and USA Today. Young and his partner
Titus O’Neil have suddenly received pay-per-view matches and a push out of
nowhere as WWE exploits the national attention coming from their first openly
gay superstar.
In response to WWE’s sudden push of Young, Kofi Kingston and
Zack Ryder have visited in multiple men’s bathhouses across the country to watch
and “learn” in hopes of developing a new set of skills for a renewed push.
No comments:
Post a Comment