Submitted by : Julian McLeod, 1/18/10

Submitted by : Patrick Gearty, 1/13/10

                                              "What Has(Or Hasn't) Happened To Monday Nights?"


    Back in 1997 and 1998, the nWo was still a hot item in WCW. Mid-card stars such as HWWDNSO, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko were filling up the rest of the show nicely, and the luchadors were bringing unique matches to our houses weekly. The WWF was also running hot with DX, The Hart Foundation and Stone Cold Steve Austin changing the direction of the old school WWF into the "Attitude Era."  While there were many racy storylines and raunchy humor, the WWF still succeeded in letting their biggest stars shine. That made for great Pay-Per-Views and quality storytelling.
 
Well, this is 12 years later, 2010.  And what was on the screen this particular evening?  We had two mid-carders who can speak and deliver decent matches have a horrendous 15 minute segment, a way over-the-hill owner not even have the most potentially hot storyline on TV this week due to time constraints.  Then finally, they have WWE's MVP on Raw tonight, only to have him get knocked out by a way-washed-up-has-been boxer while a leprechaun did a crotch chop.
 
This is the WWE of 2010. Trying to mix the adult humor of 1998 with the more family friendly product of 2010 just won't work.  In 1998, stars like the Undertaker and DX were helping the then-WWF compete and eventually beat WCW, the then-top wrestling company. The Undertaker was starting to transform into a cult leader, while DX was boosting the entertainment aspect of the show.  That was twelve years ago, and gues what?  They're still on.
 
So, we finally hear TNA is ready to compete with the now WWE.  Okay, the X-Division, AJ Styles, Desmond Wolfe, Pope Dinero........they are ready to compete.  But who were the main people being pushed with the most camera time?  Jeff Jarrett, Mick Foley, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle......see where I'm going? TNA's answer to compete with WWE is to be WWE and rely on the 1998 guys to revitalize 2010.
 
See, the WWF was in serious danger of going down this path.  After WrestleMania 7, the WWF was reaching overload on its older stars.  Hulk Hogan, Jake the Snake Roberts, Tito Santana and Rowdy Roddy Piper were all stars clearly past their prime.  So, what happened?  Roberts lost clean to the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels went over clean on Tito, Bret Hart went over clean on Piper and Sid Justice.......lost to Hulk Hogan.
 
The problem is there are certain guys in this industry that will never acknowledge their time has past and let the new light shine.  Hulk Hogan could've done the right thing and put over Sid that night.  Sid was to be the next Hogan, but Hogan would not let that happen. The one thing that was really good on TNA last week was the continuing segments with former WCW boss Eric Bischoff.  He has great on-screen presence, and he plays the role of the boss so well.  Hogan cannot really wrestle at this point, and him being the leader of TNA just doesn't work.  I don't think Hogan's ego will allow him to see it.
 
As for WWE, when you have a roster that includes John Morrison, the Miz, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, and now Bryan Danielson, there is no reason WWE could not be ready for their next five year run.  But instead of pushing these guys, the WWE title picture is someone not ready to be pushed - Sheamus - dealing with John Cena and Randy Orton, who have been enjoying their five year run.  On SmackDown, Rey Misterio and Batista, both who have been on their big runs since 2005, are feuding to determine the next opponent for the World champion, the 20 year veteran Undertaker.  All this young talent, and they continue to sit on the sidelines not being groomed properly while all these veterans enjoy the spotlight that should be passed on by now.
 
So, what will be of Monday nights come 2020?  Will HHH and Shawn Michaels be coming out with walkers jobbing MVP and Kofi Kingston?  Will AJ Styles be feeling the Outsider Edge?  Will MVP and Kofi finally get their break, only to pass their prime and make two others job like they are now?  If things are to change for wrestling, one thing needs to go back in time.......lose the scripts! Write out a storyline, but let the wrestlers sell the story. A good salesman reading lines to you will never make the sale, as each customer is different. You can't sell the same way to each person.
 
Having the young guys working with the vets, and having those vets teach the young guys psychology, ring presence, promo work without a memorized piece of paper and having the vets eventually put the young guys over seems the quickest way to breathe some life into a dying business.  WWE and TNA are sucking the life out of the industry, and to bring life back, they will eventually have to take a risk and run with the youngsters. The Kurt Angle/AJ Styles match last week was a good start.  Let's hope everyone took note and continue that trend so we can still discuss wrestling 10 years down the road.


Submitted by : Jordan Grindlay, 12/16/09

                         Pro Wrestling and the Theory of Civilizing
One of the key elements in the theories of Norbert Elias was that of
civilizing; this is the concept that there is a constant refinement
and improvement of technologies, manners, rules, laws & morals. It
also suggests that pre-modern age sanctions were controlled by external
bodies, but through the process of civilizing, these controls are
slowly moving inwards. Heiland and Shelly (1992) stated that if Elias’s
hypothesis were correct, then interpersonal relations change with the
civilization of society and so should the nature of interpersonal
crime & violence.
Speirenburg claims that’s this process was first seen in the courts of Europe
with the shift from barbaric and brutal forms of punishment to more restrained forms.
McClintock affirms that this process has continued and we have seen a “growing
sensitization towards violence”.
However, over the last several decades, there has been a huge increase in forms of
entertainment such as Professional Wrestling and Mixed-Martial Arts. How in a world
which is in constant refinement and increasing sensitization towards
violence have these “sports” maintain huge popularity?

Professional Wrestling currently has an audience of millions when it
airs over thirty hours of programming on our television sets, and its
Home Video and DVD releases often occupy the number one spot on the
Sports sections of major retailers. Why this is so peculiar in relation
to Elias’s concept of civilizing is due to the fundamentals of Pro
Wrestling ; It is recognized as possibly the oldest sport in the world
alongside running, but its move from legitimate competition to
spectacle (where combatants work together to create the illusion of
competition with causing minimal harm to one another) began in the
carnival’s in Europe and America in the late 19th century. It became a
moderately popular spectator sport in the early 20th century and was
reported in many newspapers who covered the results, although they also
condemned it due to the unruly crowd it attracted. This “crowd”
included gamblers and aggressive spectators, an “uncivilized“ group of
people possibly. The legitimacy of Pro Wrestling as a sport was called
into question in 1929 when a Chicago newspaper printed the results of
the nights matches the day before the show. Prior to this and for many
years after, Pro Wrestling attempted to shroud its secrets from the
public to maintain legitimacy. After this blunder, many newspapers
stopped covering Pro Wrestling and it suffered ridicule for being a “fake”
sport. It was seen as mainly a show for the blue-collar working class, or
basically, less educated “fools” & ignorant folk who “consume the
realistic illusion of wrestling and respond to it in purely emotional
terms” (Lipscombe, W). Even the wrestlers who performed at the events
were known to quip, ‘What has fourteen teeth and an IQ of 50? Answer:
The first ten rows of a wrestling match (Twitchell, J). It was expunged
from high-brow consideration and was something which did not fit in
with collegiate and gentlemanly sports.
During the 1950s, Pro Wrestling’s largest national body (National Wrestling Alliance) was
called in front of Senate due to allegations of illegal business
practices, further perpetuating the idea that this was a fake sport
built upon scams and illusions. This gave the idea that the people who
run the events were merely con artists and the wrestlers themselves
were too. In regular society, con artists would be duly punished for their crimes.
In the world of pro wrestling, these deviant acts were welcomed by its fans, who
allowed themselves to be conned ; they bought tickets knowing exactly what they were
going to witness. With civilizing, why would people let themselves be conned?
And furthermore, why not distance oursevles from our primitive past?

Pro Wrestling has also branched off into the exceedingly violent,
bordering on 'extreme body modification' with the use of things such as
glass, hypodermic needles, and thumbtacks during a typical show in some
pro wrestling organizations across the globe. These deviant acts swing
wildly from the theories of Elias and civilizing.

Mixed-Martial Arts is possibly one of the fastest growing legitimate sports in the
world today. It is culturally known as “cage-fighting”, a mixture of
boxing, wresting and martial arts.

Pro Wrestling’s popularity, it could be claimed, is a by-product of Elias’s theory of civillizing.
With an increase in the sensitization towards violence, it allows for a
sophisticated theatrical representation of the violent urges repressed
by social morality. Also, with the rise in the 1980s of Hulk Hogan(a pro-wrestler
very much scripted to be like a “real” comic-book hero who symbolied good over evil),
societies acceptance of 'good overcoming evil' ideal dragged Pro Wrestling into the fringes of
mainstream pop-culture. This was because it became almost family
friendly, and more middle-class, via its decrease of violence and
increase of theatrics. It was also a model for turning true situations
into a game, as many times Pro-Wrestling plays off real world
situations, such as the Gulf War. It also provides a very paganish
delight in display of muscle and strongmen. On the other hand, this is
also one of its downfalls. With our increasing sensitivities and moral
ideals, such displays of male bravado are frowned upon, and also its use
of vulgar social cliches mean pro wrestling does remain a little
mentioned mainstream phenomenon. Its lack of coverage in mainstream
media suggests a moral dissatisfaction with its practices but its
popularity suggests a secret love affair with the public. Brecht once
claimed pop culture to be 'vapid & noxious,' and Pro Wrestling does in
fact perpetuate heterosexual privilege in society, which is somewhat
noxious.

We also might understand that professional wrestling offers a more
“sophisticated” treatment of our culture’s “violent urges” than do other sports, where the
violence is real, not pretend (“Doggie Doggie World” 97).

In his seminal essay, “The World of Wrestling,” Roland Barthes describes wrestling as a “spectacle of excess” or a “stagemanaged
sport” of grand gestures (e.g., of Justice) that fans understand as such and
expect of the event (15).


“as these internalized controls on an individual's behaviour became more
automatic and pervasive…they eventually helped to produce the ideal of
the fully rational, reflective and responsible citizen of the civilised
world in the 19th and 20th centuries: one who would be sickened by the
sight of suffering and, with their own emotions under control, one who
respected the authority of the state to resolve disputes on their
behalf.” (Godfrey and Lawrence 2005)

Elias’s theory implies a gradual increase in self-control over various bodily and
emotional expressions, including violence. As such, it is compatible with
historical data which suggests that, looking back over the past several
centuries, the long-term trend has been toward declining levels of
violence. On the other hand, his work also suggests that changing
perceptions may also be important and that part of this civilizing
process involves decreasing tolerance towards violence - a diminished
ability and willingness to put up with such behaviour. Despite this, the
worlds of Pro Wrestling & MMA maintain high levels of violence for
public enjoyment, and these forms of entertainment have only increased in
violence & popularity over the years, contrary to the long term trend
in society. What can be drawn from this is that in accordance with Elias’s theory of
civilizing, our violent urges have been suppressed by social morality,
but through Pro Wrestling & MMA, our primitive instincts are given a
safe environment in which to be released, a “sophisticated treatment”
in accordance with our civilizing world.


Submitted by : Jamal from the UK

"A Pop For The Crossface Is A Pop For Child Murder"

    I don't get angry any more, it just makes me weep and leaves me asking what has become of my fellow man. What has become of you all? I remember watching HBK do it the first time and couldn't believe what I had seen. I literally wanted to rub my eyes. I should not have been surprised at all really ; nothing in that world should surprise me any more. I remember Eddie dying and Orton telling millions of people he was in hell. I remember Owen passing away and the so-called remembrance show was an absolute disgrace. I'm shocked they didn't have a skit pissing on his grave or HHH talking about Mr Hankey. I am in no way religious but I hope hell is real sometimes. Funny, most men hope there is a heaven.
    He's dead, he's fucking dead.
    The cross face was one of my favourite moves you know - it just looked so real. Too real. I know people have been hurt in the world(the real world) using wrestling moves. People trying to use the stunner in fights after too much beer and stupid kids backyarding, cutting themselves open, but I don't blame those moves and don't see why they should be banned. They were never done to a child, a son, a loved one, until their world turned to darkness and the stars went out. When I watched HBK do that move I felt dead inside but the fans in the arena popped, they stood up and cheered. What was I watching, what was I supporting? Wrestling is supposed to be fun and I enjoy a blurred line of reality but that was not crossing the line but jumping it so far they could not see the other side any more. And anyone saying HBK is a good man trying to remember a friend needs to really think about their world view. This righteous man who found god is not turning a negative into a positive, he and his good buddy HHH are crapping on an innocent child's grave. Watching Eric Young do it a few months ago made me ask, 'Why?' For cheap heat to get a few cheers and boos? For god's sake, he is a professional wrestler, how can he not find a better way of getting heel heat? His stupidity does annoy me but HBK and HHH thinking they are doing good infuriates me. Eric once said what is true for me may not be what is true to you. I always agreed until today.     He's dead, he's fucking dead.
    I hear these fans now. "He's a great technical wrestler." "He killed his wife." "Yes, but what about all his great matches?" "He killed his son." "What about his great matches in Japan?" "Killed his wife." "No, but he was a great cruiserweight." "Killed his son." "He had a great hardcore matches too." "Killed his wife." "What about the Four Horsemen run?" "Killed his son" "He was a great heavyweight too in the end." "Killed his wife." "What about that Kurt Angle match?" "Killed his son." "No, but he did so much, he should be remembered!" Yes, that man should be remembered. As a filthy killer. As a thing, as a monster and never to be forgotten. But as a wrestler? If you have to ask that question then there is not one shred of hope for you. I cannot read your comments any more fellow YouTube users. Every single Roundtable, people have to ask about him. One man said, "Why are the Roundtable running scarred of his name?" This man asked what the Roundtable were frightened of. No one is scared of his name. Maybe scarred, but never scared. We don't say his name because he doesn't deserve to be remembered as a wrestler. Or as a man. Just a monster.
    He's dead he's fucking dead. I just wish he would have only killed himself.


Submitted by : Jay Smith(YouTube : Helpmedie91111)


                    What's Wrong With Wrestling 2009


    Well guys, this is just the opinion of one man, not the gospel.  I'm not in the
business or have ever been.  I'm like you, a fan.  And yes, as you can tell from
the banner headline, a jaded one in part.  If you're a new fan and haven't been
around since the WrestleMania birth or WCW starcade, the Monday night wars, then
you're probably saying, “What's wrong with wrestling?  This guys what's wrong with
wrestling.”  And do you know what, you're one hundred percent on the money. 

      I'm thirty. Yes, a thirty year old wrestling fan. I'm a normal guy, I like going
out with friends, playing poker, drinking and love women.  I don't tell my girl
friend about my passion for this. Wrestling is my whore, my mistress that I let
seduce me when my girl isn't around.  I guess in a way I've been cheating on her
with wrestling for years.  I don't wear wrestling t-shirts though do own two
nWo black and white shirts which I love.  I go to the odd live event in the UK
when I can and sit right on the front row, losing myself in the action.  So back
to the question of what's wrong with wrestling in 2009.  You see, for those of us
who were lucky to watch Hogan, Savage, Piper, Warrior, Flair, Hart, The Brain,
The Million Dollar Man, Jake Roberts, Rude, Taker, The Bulldogs, Andre and all
the rest, we were treated to a real cast of characters   Yes, I will be the first
to admit that the wrestling isn't up to the same standard as say The American
Dragon ; Could he do what Hogan did? Could what many believe to be the best
wrestler in the would change wrestling? In the 1980's, Hogan with Vince smashed
wrestling out of shadows and into MTV, forever changing what we call sports
entertainment. 
  I read an interview with Jake The Snake and he talked about how the new kids
couldn't work.  At first I dismissed him as bitter.  Then I watched an old WWE
classic show which had The Million Dollar Man V Dusty.  They hardly took any
bumps but man were they working the crowed, it looked so easy.  Flash forward to
Evan Bourne and his comeback.  I watched him fly though the air a few times
and what did I hear?  A roof shattering pop?  No, I heard apathy  And why you
ask? It's simple ; Fans don't really care. How can they relate with him? 
Has he done an earth shattering promo or have charisma that just makes you want to
believe? Again, no.  Don't get me wrong, I think Matt or Evan is an ok wrestler
but unless you can connect with the fans on some level other than a couple of
high flying moves, they will never care.  And what happens when Matt or any of
the guys get chance to speak? It's all written down for them. How can I connect
with anyone if what they say doesn't come from their heart? I can't, I wont.
  I was lucky to be around for the Mania ride and have enjoyed most of them. I
watched WCW and was around to see The Wars. ECW - the real ECW - doing
whatever the hell they wanted. Guys showing up on any show. Sid on ECW, Hall and
Nash on Nitro. It was truly a treat for us all.  Not Brands or the draft,
genuine ship jumps. I was so lucky to see Hogan change wrestling again with
the New World Order before it got stale and laughed at with the Blue World Order. I
watched Austin and The Rock rise up, a broken HBK in Mania 14, the Screw Job. I
watched it all and loved every minute. But now what's wrong with wrestling?

No promos from the heart.
Guys working the same matches over and over.
No real completion
No territories.
No guys who jump out at you like The Brain or Piper (Prime).
No tag division (that matters).
Too many titles that mean nothing.
HHH (lol).
Vince taking us to Attitude then putting us right back to the 1980's with a thud.
Wrestlers we know nothing about.
Divas who we know nothing about, nor care to.

  Well, whats wrong with wrestling in 2009?
  I'm what's wrong with wrestling.  I wont accept it and love her unconditionally any more.
I won't see her when my girlfriend isn't looking, I won't call her. Wrestling was my whore and
she loves me.  I just don't love her back.


Submitted by : alex703@earthlink.net

“TNA = Take this Nonsense Away”
For a long while, TNA was considered to be a cutting edge company that pushed smaller, albeit more talented stars as a contrast to the big bodybuilders that WWE put on TV.  They had the X Division, a no limits division that featured all the young rising stars in today’s business and provided tons of fun and exciting action for wrestling fans such as myself and others to eat up and enjoy.  How is it possible then, in the time span of four years, for them to have fallen into the abyss of professional wrestling, disgracing wrestlers and fans alike during that time?
       Let me just start by saying that TNA has the absolute best roster in the world.  Literally.  There is no crop of wrestlers that I would rather watch in any other promotion, including Mexico, Canada, and Japan.  And that is just what makes it so sad when you see great wrestlers like Samoa Joe running around with paint on his face that makes him look like a wannabe Crush, actually murdering other people on the roster (Scott Steiner).  It is sad to me that it isn’t just a couple of mistakes, in fact, TNA has been booking like this for about the past 3 years, and they expect people to watch and buy their product?
       Let me do this in an organized fashion, or else this essay will just go all over the place and just be very unenjoyable (much like TNA).
       A couple of months ago, TNA started a storyline, where a faction was formed called the Main Event Mafia, and it included: Kurt Angle, Booker T, Sting, Kevin Nash, and Scott Steiner (all former WWE or WCW stars, might I add).  They tried to take control of TNA, until a young upstart group of TNA “originals” called the TNA Frontline were formed, which consisted of:  Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Eric Young and the Motor City Machine Guns (inexplicably Christopher Daniels wasn’t a part of this, considering he is an original and can get over faster than damn near anyone in this business today.  Oh well, I guess they were too busy dressing him up as a video game character) to fight back.  All wrestling fans that even remotely followed TNA finally sighed a deep breath of air, because finally, FINALLY, the young guys that everyone loved but didn’t get pushed were going to be put over.   But what took place was actually quite the opposite.  The Frontline was crushed quickly, never even being given a chance to go over some of the ex-WWE-ites.  In fact, the only people in the Frontline who were made to look strong, were a tag team that joined later called Team 3D, who by the way are not TNA “Originals” (they joined in late 2005, TNA has been around since 2002), and are way past their prime.  Essentially, what this storyline that once had so much promise did was boost the people that didn’t need to be boosted.
       Another thing that came up in TNA a little more than a year ago was a women’s division, titled the “Knockouts” division.  At first, it was great, some of the best women’s wrestling outside of Japan, with the most sensible, and quite frankly, best storylines in the whole company.  They were all incredibly over, with the Beautiful People (Velvet Sky and Angelina Love) along with Awesome Kong, a badass goliath of a woman being the most over heels in the company.  They had Gail Kim, who was considered one of the best, if not the best technical female wrestlers in America, and ODB, the woman version of Steve Austin, to combat them, and the fans loved it, with good reason.  Over the summer, the man who was booking all of this, Scott D’Amore, left the company, as well as Gail Kim.  It shows, as this division has become as much of a shithole as the rest of this goddamned company.
       A couple of months ago, TNA management made a conscious decision to put less wrestling on their weekly program, IMPACT!, in order to build up to their monthly 3 hour Pay-Per-Views.  And that’s ok, as long as the PPVs deliver with some great, hard-hitting wrestling.  But they don’t.  Take for example, last night’s Destination X PPV.  After the first 5 matches, there were less than 25 minutes of wrestling.  I am sorry, but that is fucking inexcusable!  People are paying 30 dollars to watch a WRESTLING PPV, and after more than half the card is done, you have less than 25 fucking minutes of wrestling!  Whomever booked this shit, and it is shit, deserves to have a pitchfork shoved up their ass, or to be put in a handicap match with Terry Funk and Mick Foley in Japan!  For christs sake, TNA, you have Jim fucking Cornette in your company, one of the greatest minds in the wrestling business.  I’m sure you could get Raven, Gabe Sapolsky, or you could even suck up your pride and hire Paul Heyman!  Jesus Christ, even get Jerry Jarrett, I’m sure he could help, or at least be better than his fucking asswipe of a son!  It’s not as if TNA doesn’t have options, they just choose to keep Jeff Jarrett, Vince Russo, and Mike Tenay, guys who all had something to do in the late WCW era (hmmm, I wonder what happened to them) booking your promotion.  I mean, you had an episode of IMPACT! Where there was no wrestling for 56 straight minutes!  56 fucking minutes!  That is half of your show, for crying out loud and this is a wrestling program after all, and even if you want to have less wrestling on TV, you need to have some, especially considering how bad most of your angles are TNA.  Does it seem logical that you are trying to get AJ Styles “arrested” for punching someone, while Samoa Joe is stabbing people with a knife?!  Just because Don West, another one of TNA’s shitfaced ideas, he should go back to selling pokemon toys on infomercials at 3 AM, turned heel against Mike Tenay, why does that suddenly make him like the MEM?  I’ve never seen someone change all their viewpoints so quickly (a little realism, please guys).
       The best storyline in this past year has been Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe at Lockdown, and there is one simple reason for that.  It was realistic.  It was two people hunting for the title, and they both wanted it equally.  They showed vignettes of them training in different locations, making this even more serious.  Frank Trigg, who isn’t a huge MMA name, but an MMA name nonetheless, was brought, and that brought in some realism as well.  And by the time Lockdown came around, fans were hungry to see that matchup (that PPV was by far the best selling TNA PPV of the year, getting 20,000 buys more than the second highest bought PPV), and the two wrestlers delivered a classic, submission style match that was realistic and intense, and really awesome to watch, actually.  TNA did a fantastic job there, and whoever booked that should consider doing similar-type stuff more.
       Another good thing in the past year has been the tag team Beer Money Inc.  It consists of Robert Roode and James Storm, a complete contrast in characters (one is a self made millionaire, the other is a beer guzzling southerner), but their personalities are very similar.  They play off of each other beautifully, and thankfully, they weren’t placed in the NWO 2.0, I mean MEM.  They are literally the ONLY good thing in this god awful company that calls themselves a wrestling promotion as of March 16, 2009.  And the booking staff is doing their best to ruin them too.
       I could go on and on, but I will just end it by saying one final thing.  TNA will most likely continue down this path of wretchedness, and eventually (and this has already started to happen) even their most diehard fans (as in, those idiots who chant TNA! TNA! at any dive they see) will see through the bullshit and turn on them.  And if that happens, the company will slowly but surely lose money, and eventually go out of business, and the sad part is, it wouldn’t even be such of a tragedy.  Oh it’s true, it’s damn true.
       -Alex


Submitted by : airalchemist89@aol.com

Analysis of WWE "SUPERSTARS" w/ Eric's Thoughts as well.

RAW :

Batista – Okay, we’ve seen him long enough to know how great he is…and I am TIRED of it! WWE should give Batista something else to do apart from chasing the World Title. Namely have heavyweight feuds, like they did to Undertaker for a few years! Batista’s not bad, but I am just not fond of powerhouses. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all!!
Eric : More like we've seen him long enough to know how UNgreat he is, heh. I won't stand for the prejudice of lumping all powerhouses in to the same category either! :P But anyway, I know he's popular - or least, was - but he's 39 or 40 years old, and has been a main eventer for several years with many world titles to his credit. How much longer is he gonna stick around? He's got one last match with Cena, but then what? He should really just hang it up or give MMA a try(He trains in some forms to stay in shape, or so he says). I know, I know, he's way too old & sluggish for MMA - to say nothing of how easily his steroid muscles snap off the bone - but I'd rather see him get his ass kicked for real, heh.

Charlie Haas- It’s funny how I rant how WWE held back black wrestlers. I completely forgot how Haas and Benjamin were tag team champions! In my opinion, Haas and Benjamin are great in ring competitors, both as a team and individuals. WWE HAS to give Haas some shots at the I.C. or U.S. title! I liked Haas in ring performance, and it’s a shame to have good talent go to waste.

CM Punk – A wrestler new to WWE, but unlike various newbies before him, keeps me entertained! Using his “martial arts” skills (gimmick, I know, but it’s supposedly Muay Thai), he’s a decent light weight competitor. I think WWE rushed giving him a World Title. They should’ve waited a little longer (five years max) to give him something BIG like a World Title. Oh well, good for him winning now, than not getting it at all later.
Eric : Actually, they could have given him a world title a YEAR earlier if they promoted it right. He was just as over then.

Dolph Ziggler – Not impressed, no in ring skills, not worth while to have.

The Miz – Okay, this guy should be barred from having any title around his waste! He can’t wrestle for crap! All he has is that clothesline that I can counter to a freakin rock bottom, and a knee to neckbreaker finisher! NOT Impressed one bit!!

Hacksaw Jimmy Duggan – You know for a guy who was the first Royal Rumble winner, you’d expect him to be a main eventer. I am VERY disappointed, and I am sorry if I disregard his historic past! I just don’t care for the guy.

Cody Rhodes – How can you make a move like the original DDT be a finisher?? What? The guy couldn’t think of anything cool to finish off an opponent?? If it was a spinning DDT, then we have a compromise!! All and all, he’s like…Randy Orton ; only there because he’s a son of a Hall Of Famer. And frankly, I DON’T CARE! He didn’t really wow me as an in ring competitor. And I can’t stand the fact he and Teddy Jr became Tag team champions, and Cryme Tyme yet to have a reign!
Eric : Jake The Snake, Raven & Tommy Dreamer made the DDT believable finishers. Maybe Cody can with time. I doubt it, but the DDT in & of itself isn't a "uncool" finish.

Goldust – What’s with the freak show?? (sorry if I raised eyebrows) I seen him a few times in my life, and the neckbreaker’s just not for me!! I never got to see him wrestle with Booker T as a tag team (no cable). So…next time I see’em, in the ring, I’ll give out good review.
Eric : You must be young if you started watching AFTER Booker/Goldust, heh. That was about his 15th comeback back THEN, heh.

Jamie Knoble – BIG mistake getting rid of the Cruiserweight title. Nothing’s sad than seeing in ring competitive lightweights like Knoble getting torn apart by wrestlers twice his size. He should also feud for the I.C, U.S. (get a partner) and Tag team titles.
Eric : How is getting rid of the Cruiserweight belt a mistake? WWE NEVER, EVER made it something worth watching consistently. If there was a Cruiserweight title now, and Knoble had it, he'd be lucky to get a dark match on PPV with little hope of ever actually getting on one. I'm not saying the Cruiserweight title couldn't have meant something, but that's in this dream world where WWE cares about making lighter weight titles worth something. They never have, and never will.

JBL – I love the APA, but I hate it when they split. I don’t know about you guys, but JBL’s gimmick is one of the best I’ve seen. Rich white man thinking he’s all that? SURE why not? Of course, I am pissed Faarooq didn’t get anything big (after his grand career in WCW).  I think JBL’s a decent heel character, and worth while to put against face.
Eric: JBL sucks & I can't stand him.

John Cena - *crack knuckles* Where to begin? I liked him when he first came in. The gimmick was funny, and he was very competitive in the ring. However, when he got two reigns, each spanning for over 10 months, I got pretty damn sick of him! Cena, as we all know, is overrated. It would be so cool if he turned heel, and make better sense too. Heels typically have long title reigns anyways. I hate the fact WWE’s trying to make Cena like a Hogan, Rock, Austin, etc. IT ISN’T THE SAME!! Cena’s just something for those little pipsqueaks to kiss ass too! If he was heel…OOOOHH SNAP!! But one can dream…
Eric : Who exactly, overrates Cena? The writers? Half the crowd boos him and the internet hates him. Anyway, a heel turn for Cena might still work.

Kane – No complaints, except BRING BACK THE DAMN MASK!!
Eric : That's your ONLY complaint? heh

Cryme Tyme – HATE THE STEREOTYPING GIMMICK!! But LOVE the in ring abilities they bring in!! It’s a damn shame WWE’s holding them back! Looks like the “Soul Patrol” will remain the only full black tag team in WWE’s history!

Chris Jericho – Lose the code breaker, and puts some damn pants on!!
Eric : How about the whole, "Stop punching women" thing? What would Jesus think?

Kofi Kingston – He’s not bad but he needs more in ring skills. He’s a decent competitor but needs a little bit more to wow people like me! Now he’s competing the Chamber match...I smell a black CM Punk! Good God, they push these rookies in too early.
Eric : Black CM Punk? There's a joke there, I know it, I just don't know what it is...

Manu – Big mistake taking him out of Legacy! Now Legacy’s an all white meat group! I think Manu and Umaga shoud recreate the Wild Samoans!
Eric : Legacy = whites only.

Mike Knox – I just don’t know ; he has some technical skills, but fights like any other powerhouse, and I just don’t care for it!.
Eric : Knox? Technical skills? Did I miss something?

Randy Orton -  Great heel personality, but that’s it!! He barely has any offensive moves! Even the Rock can kick his ass!! I can’t stand people who take so much time on the mike and perform so little in the ring! Seeing well skilled wrestlers like Shelton Benjamin being looked down and outshined by wrestlers like Orton makes me want to puke!

John Morrion – I have nothing against this guy except that wussy ass tag team partner the Miz! I think he had a great feud against CM Punk as ECW champion! He can walk the walk, and talk the talk! Not to mention pulls off some impressive corkscrew moonsaults. Although I’ll admit his Moonlight drive is very much bullshit!

Rey Mysterio – Good back in his early years in the WWE, when he wasn’t toned down. Again, BIG mistake taking away the Cruiserweight Championship! I cannot take Rey seriously when he beats wrestlers like Kane, and Mike Knox. Him beating wrestlers like Orton, or Cena even, perhaps…And Rey should feud for the lesser titles and then work his way up to the Heavyweight championship.
Eric : Mysterio is toned down? Huh?

Santino Marella – Like the Rock and Orton, good on the mike, but unlike The Rock I am unsure of his in ring capabilities. I heard he took judo so I am looking forward to him actually putting those moves into good use. At least he as a decent finisher: A saluting headbutt (laugh).

Shawn Michaels – No complaints, except he should get rid of that abomination of a figure four clover leaf crap hold! He needs new in ring skills, but he’s still worthwhile watching and he does do some interesting stuff. (outside dives and elbow drops, big plus for me!) I may have complained Orton needs in ring skills, but let’s face it, HBK fights like a lightweight, Orton’s a mid – heavyweight who just bores the hell out of me until he RKO’s someone!
Eric : Does he actually still do that move? Sad. HBK needs new in ring skills? WHAT? I may hate Shawn Michaels, but that's the last thing he needs new of. Hair plugs, though, would be at the top of the 'new' list :) High flying stuff is great, but a great wrestler they alone do not make. Just saying because I've noticed a pattern in your analysis.

Sim Snuka – good kicks, looking forward what else he can do in the future.

Ted Dibiase Jr. – Good god, Orton, Rhodes, Ziggler class ! NEXT!!

William Regal – My favorite in ring wrestler EVER!! He’s not a main eventer, but he should be one! Any one with technical wrestling skills deserves a world title shot! Too bad he blew it at the worst possible time! I hope to see him become World Champion before he retires. If he’s released beforehand, I will hate WWE for life!
Eric : Once again, technical skills alone a great wrestler do not make. If he's released before he wins a world title - something I don't see happening probably ever - it's more than likely to be because he failed another drug test, so you can hardly blame WWE for that.

SMACKDOWN :

Big Show – No complaints except get rid of that Knockout Punch! He gots the chokeslam, what the hell does he need the punch for?
Eric : Because it's cool.

Brian Kendrick - He doesn’t need Ezikel. What he really needs is to join an all heel stable (not with Orton, but maybe with edge)
Eric : Why?

Carlito – Great both ways: heel and face. He has a somewhat satisfying offense, and a decent finisher. He, along with Shelton, should be pushed!
Eric : I was thinking that too....years ago. But he's supposedly doing pretty well as SD Tag  Champ with his brother. Might as well enjoy it because it's probably as far as he'll ever go now.

Primo – Overall, the Colons are most likely to take after the Hardys. I have no complaints, except Primo must find a Better finisher!

Hawkins and Ryder – Thank god one of them wears pants!! They shouldn’t’ve lost their in ring skills (they had GREAT in ring skills starting here!!)

DH Smith – A rookie with a powerslam finisher, I like it! Looking forward what else he can do!

Edge – Break up with Vickie already, and stop hogging the world titles! Seven reigns is enough! His current in ring skills are fair, but I do miss the Edgeucator and Edgexuction.
Eric : SEVEN fucking reigns? Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel Jackson – Black or not, you see one powerhouse, you seen them all! It drives me nuts seeing him with Brian though! Leave it to the big black guy covering for the scronny white boy’s ass! Kinda like JBL, except Orlando Jordan’s more of a snake than a big guy than Jackson.
Eric : Not all powerhouses are alike. Besides, it's not like there haven't been tons of white bodyguards in wrestling either. Bigot ;P

Jesse and Festus – Another talented tag team being held back! What the hell? And they are white!! They should be tag team champions by now!!
Eric : White, schmite. Doesn't matter what color they are ; WWE just doesn't care about tag teams either.

Khali – Honestly, seeing the WWE has Big Show again, Khali should go to TNA. Oh and PLEASE get rid of the Kiss Cam!
Eric : Though I'm sure they'd gladly take him merely because he was in WWE before, I'd say if Khali were to leave WWE he'd be more likely to go to Hollywood to make movies than to TNA.

Hurricane Helms – He made a great heel and a good in ring competitor. Too bad he couldn’t use his Vertebreaker. That would’ve made him big time worth to watch! His superhero gimmick was very entertaining as well.
Eric : He used to be 'big time worth to watch' to me, too. In WCW.

Jeff Hardy – Despite the drugs, a competitor who deserves at least ONE world title reign in his career! I can’t help but love his in ring skills. He doesn’t hold back too much (just the 450 splash). They are making him big as Cena, but if you ask me, unlike Cena, Jeff DESERVES the spot light! For godsakes he was in this business with his bro a lot longer than Cena!!
Eric : To be fair, 99% of all of these could have started with "Despite the drugs," heh. Besides, Hardy was merely a transitional champ, the proverbial bone being thrown to the fans, so I'd hardly say they're pushing him as big as Cena. I'd also say Cena deserves his push a fuck of a lot more than Hardy. Longevity doesn't mean shit if you don't have skills or bette reasons to justify your push. Otherwise Bob Holly would've been world champion forever, heh.

Matt Hardy – He had fair feuds, and tries not to screw himself up like Jeff. It’s a shame he’s not a big time risk taker like Jeff. At least Matt has a competitive in ring style, especially when he’s against wrestlers he’s currently feuding with. Still, Matt needs to excel his offense to make him worth while to talk about like his brother. And maybe jump off a balcony or two crashing on his opponents…you know…if all else fails.
Eric : If you consider Jeff Hardy a big time risk taker, why does he land in crash pads so much? All the same, all the TLC guys suck without gimmicks like weapons to help them imo.

Kizarny – Get a new finisher, then we’ll talk!
Eric : Worst gimmick in forever, I can't believe this shit made air.

Jimmy Wang Yang – See why we need a light weight division again??? WWE just don’t care for their light weight wrestlers! Honestly, this gimmick Jimmy’s in is just down right crazy, but what are you going to do? Beats being a stereotype.
Eric : You contradicted your own point! If WWE doesn't care about lighter wrestlers, as you said, what purpose would a whole division they don't care about serve? What's he going to do? I dunno, maybe not settle for "big money" from a stupid company and ply his trade in Japan, TNA, the indies, or all of the above?

Kung Fu Naki – Spoke too soon on stereotypes. Cruiserweight division needed, PRONTO!!
Eric : Obviously Funaki doesn't care about stereotypes as long as he gets paid if he's stuck around THIS long.

MVP – Get rid of the playmaker!

Mr. Kennedy – Get rid the mike check and stick to the Ken Ton bomb and Green Bay Plunge!
Eric : More like fire this shithead PRONTO!!

R –Truth – WWE’s holding back black wrestlers continues!! A former world champion and he’s fighting among the mid card? Big time BS by WWE! Not to mention, I am pretty sure R Truth has a lot more to show in the ring than what he currently does. Of course, it could be worse…

Shelton Benajamin – THREE YEARS IN A ROW named the most Underrated Superstar!! Need I say more? Oh get rind of the Paydirt, and stick to the Powerslam/T bone Suplex. I don’t know if you guys realized it, but the Paydirt looks like a freakin reversed RKO!
Eric : Underrated? I don't think so. Tons of people, including those in WWE I bet, know how talented he is. UnderPUSHED, however, NOW we're talking!

Triple H – 12 world title reigns.. STOP ALREADY!!
Eric : It's never going to stop, so get used to it :)

Umaga – …..meh…. leave’em be, just have him and Samu be the next Wild Samoans!
Eric : Samu? Huh? Headshrinker Samu?

Undertaker – JUUUST right! Although, I like the American Badass Gimmick very much!

Kozlov – One big fat ogre after another! NEXT!!

Mark Henry – GET OUT OF ECW AND GET THE REAL WORLD TITLES!!
Eric : The last thing Mark Henry should be doing it winning ANY world title.

Boogeyman – I honestly think he and taker should feud…I don’t know why… and Boogeyman should feud for a title by now!
Eric : Of course you know why - because they're both "dark, evil monster" characters. And why does Boogeyman even deserve a title shot?

Finlay – Lose the midget, get out of ECW, go to Raw/Smackdown and get on to better things!
Eric : He's 50 years old. How many 'better things' could he possibly have ahead?

Evan Bourne – GET HIM A TITLE SHOT!! Big time potential, very well skilled in the air and on the ground!!
Eric : I don't know about 'on the ground,' but the rest is well said.

Jack Swagger – Not bad heel, great finisher! Get him out of ECW too!
Eric : This guy is being pushed as Brock 2, and could actually be Brock 2.

DJ Gabriel – What the hell he is here for? It’s beyond me!
Eric : To make me laugh & so Alicia Fox has TV time for me to drool over her.

Ortiz – find a new finisher, and a new gimmick!! The big O ??? Who does he think he is the Ultimate Warrior??
Eric : Oprah

Tommy Dreamer – ECW’s dead, get the hell out!!
Eric : haha, yes!

Paul Birchill – Get him a title shot!! But he should get a new finisher! The moonsault slam’s probably overkill. Curve Stop…okay, I’ll admit, that’s deadly!! Twisting Neckbreaker, seen it!!
Eric : Why does HE deserve a title shot? Because he's British? Never liked him either.

Divas : Okay, the only divas I actually like are Beth Phoenix, Katie Lea Birchill, maybe McCool, Jillian Hall, Candice Michell, Natalya, Mickie James, and Melina. All of them actually fight in the ring, as well as pose nude! Too bad thanks to kids they cannot do that anymore! HA!!
Eric : Ok, so the only divas you like are...all of them? ha



Submitted by :  Stefan Heins

Though I'm only 15, I have been a fan of wrestling & WWE in particular for quite a few years, and recently have been disappointed with the direction it seems to be going. That being said, recently while watching your excellent show, I suddenly had a idea which I believe would improve the current WWE product significantly. I would like to know your views and if necessary, criticisms of my idea.

First of all, the Brand Split. It was originally introduced because WWE didn't want to lose all the WCW and ECW talent they acquired because they would not get as much TV time as their 'talent' merited. This seemed a good idea at first. Fresh ideas and mid-card talent ready to take the step to the next level could be given their chance to show what they had. As I said, it was a good plan back then. Nowadays though, the Brand Split seems to be obsolete for many reasons. Firstly, not as many new talents are getting their chance to shine because certain 'family members' give themselves the spotlight. Secondly, the ideas and story lines for SD & RAW are practically the same. Guy has wife who gets him the Gold all the time, but wife gets assaulted/has affair with other guy. First guy wants revenge for assault/betrayal so title match is set up. The only difference is that SD has thrown Cena in because of his huge fan base, lack of preparation and injury meaning they didn't have time to give him another angle or put him against Batista. Another reason the Brand Split has become obsolete is the fact that the Brand's aren't even split anymore. Miz and Morrison have recently appeared on every show, Cena, Michaels, HHH and quite a few others are appearing on both SD and RAW. What was the point of the Brand Split? To give different guys their own show to show off their talent without having an overload of main eventer's. Well that worked brilliantly. This ties into to my final problem with what has happened to the Brand Split. As pointed out earlier, it WAS created because of too much main event talent on one show. But now, most of that talent has left, so they have to use the same main event guys on all the shows, making that function of the Brand Split useless.

So what to do about this? Well, I believe that my plan would stop this confusion. Firstly, combine SD and RAW under the original RAW name. This show would contain established talent and new main event guys, maybe a few jobbers. It would have the Original, non-Cena influenced World Title. Do away with the WCW belt. The IC title would regain its importance as the only secondary title on the main show (I'll get to why I called it that later) and then have one tag title. I am aware this is similar to the good old days but you may be asking what would become of WWECW? Well, since this already seems to be happening anyway, WWECW would become FCW with mainstream TV exposure. It would have a few established main eventer's to help mentor, establish and add interest to the new talent coming up. It would have the ECW belt as the main title, maybe the US title as a secondary belt. An alternative to the US title (never a popular choice among diehards) would be the Hardcore title, although this could also be a bi-branded title along with the women's strap as it is an excellent way to give jobbers/mid-carders a step up. On a side note, WWE have definitely missed an opportunity with that title, don't you agree? I loved those little segments with Crash (RIP) and various jobbers. Anyway, they would one or both of those plus a tag title of their own. This is my plan, although I'm sure I've forgotten somethings and will probably think up some more ideas later.

Anyway, that is my idea because I am slowly becoming disillusioned with the current product. Criticism, counter-ideas and other comments are welcome.

Keep up with the show, better than some of the TV we have nowadays and a excellent source of entertainment, information, comedy and most importantly, the truth.

Yours Sincerely


Well Stefan, since you asked for some feedback, here are my thoughts : To clarify, WWE started the brand split with the intention to make WCW a separate brand ala like the Brand Split we now "enjoy" Basically if you substitute the name "WCW SmackDown" on to the show they currently have on Friday nights on MyNetworkTV, it'd be the exact same show, with as much to do with WCW as "ECW" on SyFy does with (the real/old/original) ECW. As in, nothing to speak of. I don't particularly feel it was necessary due to the influx of the 24 names they signed from WCW at the time(and the ECW names as well) because :
1. They didn't exactly bring a lot of the current WCW main eventers along to automatically clutter up the main event scene, though they certainly could have portrayed some of them as such. As we remember all too vividly, they did the exact opposite, but that's another story. And 2. They didn't even bring all of those 24 out on TV anyway. Some like The Wall, Lash LeRoux, Mike Sanders, Elix Skipper, etc. never made it to TV at any point.
I may be totally wrong and that (the intended brand split was a necessity due to the talent influx) may have been the internal logic at the time for it, but they had gotten along just fine for several years with the already huge roster they had had before buying WCW/ECW and no one was calling for a brand split then.
ANYWAY, brand split or not, we'd still have the Levesque-McMahon problem you mentioned anyway, so it's not like ending the brand split would solve that problem. That problem, in fact, will never, ever go away, barring some unforeseen massive deaths, heh.
I'd also hardly say the brand split worked 'brilliantly' before everyone started 'crossing lines.' The company line was always that the brand split was intended to create new stars, but would Brock, Eddie, Orton, Cena, Batista & Edge(who had already been in the company for years, always being one of the 'next stars' that entire time) - whom are the only ones I consider 'stars' that were created since the split - would they have become stars brand split or not? I'd say so. Everyone else who's main evented since then(Angle, Undertaker, Jericho, HHH, HBK, Big Show/Kane, the usuals) was a star long before the brand split anyway, and barring short lived runs like Benoi...HWWDNSO, Jeff Hardy, Mysterio & RVD, I think all they've done is use the brand split to create the illusion of twice as many stars by throwing belts around multiple people at once.
I think the notion that there were too many people on the roster is just plain silly, and that's not intended as insult because I hear it ALL the time, but what I mean is, who says they have to have every single member of the roster, even the main event roster, on every show, wrestling ever show, doing something every show? They don't. If they simply paced themselves, planned ahead(impossible, I know, heh), and perhaps were a little more creative, they'd be able to produce entertaining programming every week, multiple times a week even(they have the roster for it!), with one roster. It worked for years, and with them being so lazy about the brand split's individuality it looks like they keep taking steps towards returning to that.
Rebranding "ECW" as 'FCW' might be a positive step, as I think FCW - from what little I've seen of it - is GREAT. If they put FCW on national TV every week, I'd actually watch it(swear!). But bringing back the Hardcore title is useless, because the title itself is useless, and it'd be even more useless if it wasn't "ECW" heh. The title never meant anything, and if that style of match is what you want, it'd be better if that happened during "ECW" world title matches anyway. Lord knows that belts needs importance, ha. Afterall, Crash Holly - as funny as it may have been for like 5 minutes, heh - going down a slide and sneaking in someone's room doesn't quite match up to Terry Funk barbed wire or Mike Awesome powerbombs from the top rope through tables in terms of 'hardcore,' does it? "ECW" would also need a roster deep enough to justify a tag title, which they've never had.
Well, thanks very much for submitting the column and for enjoying the show so much. I think a lot of your column echoes a lot of our sentiment regarding the brand split. Your kind words are very much appreciated, thanks for the work!
By the way, everyone loves the Big Gold belt :)
-E, Wrestling Roundtable


Submitted by :  Jamahl “RandomMindz” Reynolds(airalchemist89@aol.com)

                                                          Ridicule the formerly known WWF

Four scores and nearly…ten years ago, my twin brother and I discovered WWF Smackdown on Thursday. I remember watching these pro wrestlers perform in the ring pulling off several cool fighting styles. This is a little before I figured out it was fake, but unlike most people, I couldn't turn away from it! I was a proud WWF fan for a long, long time, ever since 1998. I considered people who bash it inconsiderate hypocrites. Let's face it, almost EVERYTHING you see on T.V. is faked! 'Why bad mouth wrestling if you are going to buy a Jackie Chan martial arts video?' I would ask them.

I remember the great stars of the WWF: The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind/Cactus Jack, The Undertaker, Kane, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrerro (may he rest in peace), Chris Benoit (may he burn in hell), Triple H & D-Generation-X (X pac, Road Dogg, and Mr Ass Billy Gunn), Shawn Michaels (well, I watched him during the late 2000s, but he still counts), The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, Edge & Christian, Too Cool, Tazz, Raven, Rhyno, The Leathal Weapon Steve Blackman, Test, Albert, Trish Stratus, Lita, Chyna, Hardcore Holly, Crash Holly, Molly Holly, William Regal, Tajiri, and many, many, many great stars of the ATTITUDE ERA! I was marveled by each superstar. Bad or good, they did their job in a great fashion! And even though most of whom I listed was in the mid card, I still considered them great!

During this time, the WWF would soon buy off their rival companies WCW and ECW. And I got to know stars I've never seen in my life (because we didn't have cable at home) : Goldberg, Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Rey Mysterio, Sabu, Sandman, etc. etc.

Little did I know, as the years go by over half of the names I've mentioned would end up leaving the WWF forever. And then the WWF lost a lawsuit and changed their name to WWE. THIS is when, I believe, is about the time the taste of pro wrestling started to go sour...

The WWE has become the biggest name in pro wrestling industry, and is by far the worst example of any pro wrestling I ever had the pleasure of witnessing!

TOO MANY DUMB ASS MOVES were made by the WWE. Moves I never...EVER expected to happen! It was bad enough several great stars left the WWE, but its even worse for who replaces them!

Vince McMahon changed the company from good to bad to worse!! For the past few years since he eliminated WCW and ECW, McMahon has been shoving garbage in the faces of many dedicated fans, and has turned the company upside down. Just like Disney when they got rid of Disney Afternoon, One Saturday Morning, One Too and put in fuckin Disney Channel, and ABC Kids!

How much did Vince McMahon screw up the company I once never got tired of? Let me count the ways:

As I said before, several wrestlers left the WWE, and new guys started coming in. Nothing wrong with that...unless of course you see that just about every single new guy are put into positions they are NOT supposed to be in!!

If you are a minority and interested in pro wrestling… DON’T go to the WWE!! I’ve seen several talented in ring stars being given bullshit gimmicks. One was a group of awesome Latino stars collectively known as the Mexicools (Juventud, Psychosis, and Super Crazy). All of them competed in ECW/WCW and all of them were awesome high fliers. Vince gave these guys a bullshit gimmick involving them driving LAWN MOWERS down to the ring as an entrance!! Another : Cryme Tyme! One of the fewest tag teams featuring two black guys are STREET THUGS in the WWE!! And recently, they have an Asian guy name Funaki who isn’t a great wrestler at all, act like a Kung Fu expert, and they changed his name to : Kung Fu Naki.
Now, the Mexicools and Cryme Tyme are two ethnic teams with the worst gimmicks imagined. But, I try looking past the gimmicks and see what these guys do in the ring. And they were all phenomenal! HOWEVER! Vince does another bullshit move: not giving the two members of Mexicools, nor Cryme Tyme a tag team title reign!! In fact, the past tag teams have been white boy teams! Don’t get me wrong, the Hooliganz were great. But this new team called Miz and Morrison is very unbalanced: One has in ring talent, the other doesn’t! How the hell does a half ass tag team like Miz & Morrison win and STAY tag team champions is beyond me!
Ethnic mismanagement continues with two stars: Randy Orton, and Shelton Benjamin. Orton is a third generation pro wrestler. Benjamin is an amateur wrestler. Orton, the bad guy,  wins an I.C. title and holds it on for nine months. Shelton would later win the I.C. title and hold it on for ten months, and he was a good guy by the way. After his I.C. reign, Randy Orton immediately gets pushed to be a main eventer and becomes the youngest heavyweight champion in WWE’s history. Benjamin on the other hand wins several other secondary titles, and has now recently turned bad guy. Now, to compare the two : Orton spends most of his time talking & posing, and he has mediocre in ring skills. Benjamin on the other hand has been dubbed “Most underrated superstar” for 3 years in a row, which means he should have be given a promotion to the upper level of the company and go for the Heavyweight championship. Now, how did a boring white wrestler like Orton become world champion, and a tough ass black wrestler like Shelton NOT be given a world title shot is beyond me!

I’ll be fair ; not just colored people are not getting the big belt, but wrestlers who have overall GREAT in ring skills are not getting what they wanted! I have seen wrestlers who have bogus finishers like the DDT or Neckbreaker, both of which are basic and not so deadly, beat wrestlers who would kick their ass within minutes! When you see dumbass wrestlers like John Morrison beat JTG, a giant of 300 lbs, with a fuckin neckbreaker, something’s fucked up!!

Abuse to the light weights. During the grand years of the WWF, there was a belt designed specifically for light weight wrestlers. Winning titles like the Intercontinental (I.C.) or United States Championship is completely rare for someone of a lightweight status, which is why the WWE had the Lightheavyweight /Crusierweight championship. Wrestlers under 220lbs would have a belt to fight for, then maybe work their way up to the United States belt, Tag team belt, the Intercontinental belt, then the World Heavyweight Belt. Unfortunately, the WWE decided to discontinue the use of the lightheavyweight belts. What will happen to the lightweight class you ask? Oh a few things…

They are used as punching bags for people twice their size and weight
Rey Mysterio, 5’3 is beating people twice his size. Which is totally unrealistic and pretty god damn stupid.
Many of the light weights left the WWE because there’s nothing for them.

So, if you are about under 200lbs, start eating more and build some muscles or you’ll be a big time punching bag like Kung Fu Naki!!

Heavyweight recruitment! About 2002, a new wrestler by the name of Brock Leasner arrived in the WWE. He was over 300lbs and can throw a heavyweight like the Big Show (500lbs) over his head like it is nothing! Brock Leasner, before Orton, became the youngest WWE World Heavyweight champion in history in a few months! He was a phenomenal athlete, who would later quit WWE. Now he’s Heavyweight Champion in the UFC!! After Brock left, and before he even made it to the UFC, a bunch of heavyweights came to the WWE. And let me tell you something, ALL of them were unimpressive! Except two: Batista and Bobby Lashley (who also went to MMA). What’s funny is all of them were practically the same: Big muscles, wearing underwear, and would love to beat the crap of skinny little wrestlers. The show got pretty damn boring! From reading Wikipedia(unreliable, I know, but somewhat relevant), America evidently supports powerhouse wrestlers, whereas other parts of the world prefer different styles. If the WWE is the “world” how come I am seeing fat white guys beating the snot out of skinny asian and Mexican superstars??

John Cena. Right about now, Cena’s becoming a household name. How do I know? I have a cousin who asks me about him, and he isn’t a pro wrestling fan! WWE is hoping to get money out of him because he appeals to the fans. Cena began working in WWE just about the same time Brock Leasner did. Now, Cena was a decent wrestler at the time, and I was shocked to see him win the World Championship within a few years. Now I am dead sick and tired of him.

Cena's over pushed! On his first title reign as a world champion, Cena held the belt for almost a year! I had no problem with that, but when Cena came in on his second reign, which lasted a full year, I was getting stomach sickness! He started to get boring! I don’t care how good he is! There are several other wrestlers who are equally as talented as Cena, and they deserve a world title shot as much as he does! One example: Bobby Lashley. Now Lashley can be referred to as the black version of Brock Leasner. Lashley became a quick rising star and performs moves that WILL hurt someone! Unlike Cena, Lashley was a soldier, and a wrestler, and Lashley dominated during his rookie year. So when Cena “beats” him for the WWE title, I was offended! Lashley would suplex and powerslam Cena into next week!! But of course, being black in pro wrestling is pretty difficult. Unless you play the bad guy of course. Right Dwayne “the Rock “ Johnson and Booker T (the fuckin King Booker gimmick!!)??
WWE had many greats: Hogan, Austin, and the Rock to name a few. The company is hoping Cena may be the one to bring in the money. Well, I’ll give you this, he’s bringing in money…just not the right kind of money! Hulk Hogan was (well in my view) a classic perfomer, bringing in fans here, there, everywhere and from all ages! Hogan was timeless! Austin and the Rock both have their own personas that won MILLIONS of fans over! They didn’t mimic Hogan. Hell, The Rock was a comedian jock, taunting wrestlers left and right, and had timeless catchphrases. “layeth Smackethdown on ALLL YOUR CANDY ASSES!!” (Note: Smackdown TV show was based off the Rock’s catchphrase) And Stone Cold Steve Austin…let me put it this way, he’s the first guy to drink on the job, curse people out, and beat up his own boss all at once!! Both the Rock and Austin were timeless, and they appealed to the matured audience. Cena on the other hand, tries to replicate these great stars. It was great on the first few runs, but it started to go stale. Unfortunately, his stale White Rapper/Marine gimmick worked on the worst of all pro wrestling fans: KIDS!! THESE FUCKING KIDS!! Cena appeals to kids, the large audience, and THAT’S WHY he’s well known! WWE put him there NOT to entertain us (the REAL fans), but to grab enough money for Vince McMahon’s family to get rich off of! Thanks kids! Tune in next time!!

Extreme Championship Wrestling was one of the most famous companies in pro wrestling! ECW and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) were the WWF’s most biggest rivals. Now both defunct, the WWF/E purchased both companies. Vince McMahon really did it when he created “ECW One Night Stand” a pay per view that had old wrestlers from ECW come and compete! It was by far one of the biggest things the WWE has ever done. ECW was a show about no rules in any of their matches!! EVERYTHING was legal and EVERYTHING was HARDCORE!! Wrestlers did not just punch, kick and throw each other, weapons were involved: chairs, ladders, tables, base ball bats, shopping carts, trash cans, barb wires, etc. etc. After the success of One Night Stand, Vince decides to resurrect the ECW TV show! Now the WWE has three shows a week: Monday Night Raw, Friday Night Smackdown, and Tuesday Night ECW! However, there were a few problems that pissed off people who were ECW fans from the very beginning!!
`
NO hardcore matches! Okay, a company famous for its hardcore (no holds barred) matches, are forced to do “traditional style wrestling… something is definitely wrong here…
Bogus superstars – Right when everyone saw that Vince McMahon was fucking with them, almost all of the ECW superstars left WWE. In fact, the only real ECW star on the ECW show is Tommy Dreamer. Replacing all of the famous names of ECW are a bunch of newbies!!!

Tone Down EVERYTHING!! Because Kids and their mommies are typically coming to the WWE, a few bullshit changes were to be made to make sure the company gets its money.

Certain famous moves are banned: Piledriver, Shooting Star Press (brought back by Evan Bourne) and 450 Splash to name a few. The reason being is because they cause too much injury if not done properly! If you ask me, PRACTICE the move and FIND away NOT to get hurt NOT banned it!! Besides, Piledriver was to be my ideal finisher if I became a WWE superstar!! Not to mention the matches are a lot more predictable than before…honestly I wonder if it’s because I watched the shows long enough to figure it out…
That’s another thing, as told by the Roundtable, Vince doesn’t care about technical wrestlers. In my case, Vince doesn’t care about in ring styles period! I am seeing the same damn styles by every wrestler! Punch, kick, shove, irish whip, clothesline, cradle, and hip throw…practically over and over again! Sad to say everyone has identical finishers! A freakin DDT, neckbreaker, or STO! Okay, leave it to Raven to do the DDT, everyone else, FIND SOMETHING ELSE!!  The only ones who I can say I am fascinated with are those who DOESN’T use the same damn style! Morrison, Regal, Bourne to name a few! And oh, just to keep up the pace, wrestlers change the match with…the DropKick! JR – check out the height of that drop kick! YEAH, FOR THE BILLIONTH TIME!!
There won’t be swearing or blood! I’ve been watching WWE since during the Attitude Era. There was swearing and blood spilling everywhere!! NOW they stop swearing, and if there is blood, the fuckin T.V. turns black and white!!! These are kids!! They know what color blood is!! And I am pretty sure even the youngest bastard fan knows what the term
”BASTARD” means!! Oh , and just for us guys: NO BRA AND PANTY matches!! I don’t need to explain further on the details, I can hear all of you yelling in misery already!

Well, there you have it, a handful of things that I am pissed about WWE.

In my final opinion, WWE’s phrase is “The Power Is Back”

Jay Leno says WWE, “More faker than a hooker’s orgasm”

I say, WWE,  “The Power It Lacks, People Get Your Money Back!”


Submitted by : Michael Green
                                                         Commentary On The State Of WWE

First off, I love the show. It's so hard to find a wrestling fan who knows what the hell they are talking about, and who doesn't think that John Cena is Jesus Christ. I'm 25, and have been a fan since WrestleMania 3. Back in my personal wrestling heyday (88-2000), I was a huuuuuuuuge fan. Fast forward to today, and well, it sucks :

1) Same people at the top!
How long do we have to see HHH, Cena, Edge, & Orton?!?! Come on! WWE is turning into WCW in that nobody is getting a push. If I turn on RAW now, I can't tell whether its 2005, 6, 7,or 8. WWE is putting the same people in different story lines. What more can Orton/HHH have left to fight about? They have an entire roster full of talented stars, but nobody is breaking through(a la wcw). Another thing, whatever happened to interviews or backstage segments? The wrestlers logo in the background and he would tell what he's gonna do this Sunday. Why doesn't JR or Michael Cole ever have in ring interviews with the wrestlers anymore? That was a very important element that is seriously missing today

2) Backlash (aka WrestleMania again)
Backlash is the worst ppv of the year in my opinion. It completely cancels out what happened at WrestleMania. It's the same matches, with a gimmick added. So why did I just pay $50 for a ppv when I can see it again next month for cheaper? Backlash should have a completely different card that is not a mirror of WrestleMania

3)"rematch clause"
Wtf! Does everyone have these now? When did the "rematch clause" even exist? This is by far one of the main elements that has hurt WWE. It keeps the same people in the main event, and subjects us to the same matches month after month. Back in the day, there was no such thing as a rematch clause. If you lost the belt, you would go feud with somebody else, and get another shot down the line. Now, if you lose the belt, all you have to do is storm out the next night on RAW and demand a title shot. What happened to matches already being made? Why do the wrestlers call the shots?

4)Cena
Ok, I understand that it is a business, and you want to sell shirts & shit, but gimme a break! I have nothing against a top face, but this is just ridiculous. He wins every match!!!!! He might lose one or two, but you can definitely be assured that he's gonna demand a title shot, get it, and win. What I don't understand is, he's a face and the fans boo him...isn't that telling the creative team something!?!?! They don't want him as their champion. WWE is force feeding him down our throats and I am utterly sick of it. Turn him heel at least. We've been seeing the same shit for like 4 years! If not heel, let him feud away from the belt for a while. Hey, even Hogan went against Earthquake at SummerSlam in a match that had nothing to do with a belt. I don't see what the fascination is with Cena. He's not a good wrestler, his gimmick is stale, the fans boo him...what other signs does WWE need?

5) Vince
Sometimes I just wanna ask Vince, "What the hell are you doing?!?!?!" This is not the WWE/F that I grew up with. Not just the wrestlers, but the quality. My friend made a good point to me ; I asked if he was gettimg WM25, and he says, "Why? It's just like watching RAW. Besides, aside from the Hardy match, I've already seen those same wrestlers fight each other" I cannot see how Vince does not see how big of a shit sandwich he is feeding us. I almost feel insulted that he actually expects us to accept what he is presenting to us. He was around before all of these wrestlers and probably whoever is on the creative team. He has seen the highs and knows what WWE is capable of. It just makes me so upset that even though he is capable of delivering a MUCH better product, he simply won't.

6) Wasted talent
Kane: The biggest disappointment ever!!!!! He debuts as Taker's brother in the original Hell In A Cell, had a decent match at WM14 against Taker,  defeated Austin for the title, and that's his career. Kane should have always stayed in the top teir of superstars, but for some unexplained reason, he sucks. They completely fucked up Kane. They "humanized" him by teaming him with X-Pac, had him do the "Kane-a-rooney" with Booker T, put him in that ridiculous Katie Vick angle with HHH, they just completely pissed on his career. Has he ever had a meaningful title run???? Or better yet, a title run at all??? And no, I don't count the 24 hours he babysat for Austin.

Big Show: Another waste of talent. Should've been a modern day Andre, but even he's never had a meaningful title run. He's never been in a meaningful feud. In fact, he's just not meaningful.

I could go on forever, but my fingers are tired from typing on my blackberry. So, hope I get some feedback from you guys to hear what you think about my commentary on the state of WWE.

Eric's Thoughts : Frankly, aside from the Cena section(We're pretty much Cena fans on the show, heh, as you can see in the re-upped Cena discussion we had from last year), it's pretty much the same thing we've been saying on the show so you're not far off. Except on the wasted talent section, heh. We know Kane & Big Show have been wasted, but they'd hardly be at the top of a modern list of wasted talent compared to the likes of, over the past several years, Paul London, Colt Cabana, Spanky, Shelton Benjamin, Monty Brown, etc. We all know how badly they've screwed up Kane & The Big Show, but their time is long past and I'd look more towards the guys who at least still have potential for the future such as CM Punk, MVP, Kofi Kingston, Matt Sydal, etc.
Thanks for writing!


Submitted by : Jay Issa


                       Has TNA Choked Out Joe?


“Joe was a man without an Island.”

“With one sentence TNA had lost their new era before it had begun.”

It was on June 14, 2005 they made the announcement.  I remember thinking it was
a double edged sword : He had the choice like his friend CM Punk. They parted ways and
Punk went on to become ECW World champion, World Tag Champion, Intercontinental
Champion, a Money In The Bank Winner and, for a brief, lack lustre spell, he was World
Heavyweight Champion. CM Punk left ROH and left for success. 
I remember my friend saying that place would be the death of his career.  I wonder if
that's why his friend Samoa Joe left for Total Non Stop Action Wrestling.  This is the
company that I watched settle a feud with a hand shake. Not one of meaning nor substance, 
just a handshake. This was his path - the most aggressive character I had seen in a long
time was going to a small minded promotion. Nuufolau Joel Seanoa to family, Samoa Joe to
you and me.
  I watched Joe in ROH from his first match to his last.  At first
glance, a judgemental eye would observe a tubby man with an awful blond dye job(at
the time).  But when he went toe to toe, I felt it. When he punched, kicked and
fought, it hurt. I was lost in the wrestling, marking out for the first time in
a long time.  This guy was real and no one, no promotion could screw this guy
up. How could anyone manage it?   What kind of incompetence or buffoon could
mastermind that infeasible feat?  Before we knew it, somehow he was no longer a
flunky or the paid muscle for guys like The Fallen Angel and began walking far
from Corino.  Samoa Joe was scheduled to have a match for the ROH Championship
in 2003, a belt he would hld for twenty one months and not at any point did I get
board with the run.  How could I? It was real. 
  He fought  Kenta Kobashi, who I have had the pleasure of seeing live once as he
chopped an English wrestler until his chest bled. Kenta honored Joe picking him
as his opponet.  His matches against  Homicide,  Bryan Danielson, Low Ki and
Punk became widely talked about, but after a few years he was bigger than the
beloved promotion in the way American Dragon has become in ROH. Joe was a man
with out an island. And one day he got two calls ; two choices. Vince 
McMahon or Jeff Jarret.
  And there it was, June 14th 2005 : Samoa Joe was heading to TNA Slammiversary,
to chants of “Joe's going to kill you.”  Everyone knew who he was
as he walked out with tribe dancers.  I remember thinking at this point, had he
made the right choice?  That night he was called a 'Submission Machine' by the
scattering announcers screaming over the match.  TNA just got their hands around
Joe's throat. 
  In the months that followed, he didn't lose. Amazingly, for all mistakes they
made like having him in an Utlimate X match, they didn't have him lose. No, when
he lost, it would surely be for something important against the 'elite,' one second
away from glory knowing next time they met on their biggest pay per view, Joe
would win. He tapped out against Angle. But after their breath taking MMA match
which Joe won, he would lose again to Tomko on TV in a nothing match.  Losing is
not bad ; it's not the end of the world, but for some wrestlers, after being built
up and built up, they cannot lose for nothing.  TNA gripped their hold a little
more.
  Then, TNA's "3:16."  They had it, a moment that could change the course of their
promotion. Something so big that it would literally crumble the old Jeff Jarrett
ideals out of TNA.
  Scott Hall No shows. I got home hearing all the buzz about
Joe's speech and watched it.  It was happening, this was one of those moments. A
Shane Douglas moment(“This is it, Dad!”). A Steve Austin moment("Austin 3.16 just
whipped your ass!”). Joe didn't use a catch phase. He didn't need one. This
speech was bigger than that, bigger than wrestling. He was on a one man crusade. 
An arena normally held with such artificial emotion went cold. They all knew
what was happening. This was the birth of TNA, a baptism of fire that Joe would
burn and ride the tails of for the rest of his career.  No one could screw this
up. Until after that speech, he brought out the comedy act of Eric Young.
Joe wanted to bring in Homicide, anyone but a comedy act.  With one sentence TNA had
lost their new era before it had begun.  TNA looked deep into his eyes as they
now squeeze.
  A title run was given. At last he would be the official face of the company,
and one week into it, they had their finger ready to remove the belt.  They saw
little in him as the leader and it showed in one of the most disappointing title
runs I have ever witnessed.  At least with Punk's run, we knew all roads led to a
short run even if he had done the unthinkable and became Shane's life partner. 
But Joe matches with Booker, Scott Steiner, Kaz, Christian and others were all
lacking. Joe wasn't being Joe any more. He looked tired, like the air had been
taken out of his body.  When his title run came to an end it was a mercy, which
led him to Nash. They did have an ok match and I'm a mark for Nash but Joe was
an animal, he needed to be put in the ring with guys that wanted it.  He had
been wrestling guys for months that had done it all, had nothing to prove. 
TNA didn't need them and Joe didn't need their rub. It was a rub of death
slowing him down and a lack of clean wins was something the fans felt.  He wasn't
real any more.  He wasn't special.  He was just Joe.  TNA almost have Joe
blacking out, their grip around him is complete, he must surly tap out.
  Joe leaves for a brief spell before returning revamped.  Gone are the old
shorts, he has a new look, tribal face paint, a cut off leather jacket and
talks about a nation of violence.  The Nation of Violence goes over peoples
heads when he strings up a Middle eastern wrestler as he begs for mercy before
being torchered Joe.  They may have well as water boarded on the next segment. 
But that was TNA, the company Joe had chosen.  A company littered with stupidity such as
having Rhino talk about the same man as a 'stinking foreigner' and his hate for
them. But when the camera pulled back, he wore an Italian flagged shirt. We
all know about TNA and their bloopers could never all be listed, nor would I
want to, but this was what Joe wanted, his path.  I watched him in a segment with
Scott Steiner as he put what looked like a knife to his throat and found it befuddling. 
Sting has his bat, he uses it.  Foley has barbed wire bat and uses it. HHH has Vince 
and uses him(Hey I have to bash him at least once every column.), HHH has his sledge
hammer and uses it. The Dudleys with tables, Abyss with tacks.  But a knife? 
After a while if I'm threatened with a knife a few times by the same guy but
don't get stabbed do I think for one second he is going to use it?  No. I know it's just
a show but this was the guy we felt was the real deal.  Joe was the weapon, how could they
miss that? Joe is now reduced to a stupid leather jacket, face paint and a knife using it
like a child telling someone if they don't do what he says he will use it.
  Joe, you made your choice, you walked that path.  To a company that allows screaming
pundits over matches, that talk over your promos.  Play by play guys cannot make a match,
they can add or they can detract from it. Have West and Tenay ever added to you? 
TNA had the hottest star in wrestling. We all knew it, and what have they done to him?
If his fall from grace continues, he will have to consider himself lucky to partner with
Super Eric. How many dream matches deliver?  How many times have we seen wrestlers
misused or contracts cut? Joe was the one guy you couldn't screw up.  2003 seems so long ago.
  I know why you made your choice Joe, but it was the wrong one.  Working with commentators
who couldn't call a match to save their lives, bookers that leave even the laziest wrestler
puzzled. Maybe you might have never been called up to the WWE roster, maybe you'd have been the
fish head eater or some other silly gimmick, maybe you would have been the job
guy. Or do you look at Punk and see the skinny guy making a nice little mid
card nitch for himself watched by millions all over the world & wonder?  Could
Joe have headlined WrestleMania 25 and been that star to break out with Ross
calling, “Oh my god, Joe has done it! His Journey to the top isn't at an
end, it's just begun. Samoa Joe's life is now one of a champion. This was
WrestleMania 25 and thank you for watching.”?
   This maybe harsh but TNA was a choice of a coward scared to try and fail. 
TNA has its hands around your throat Joe maybe its time to choke it back.


Submitted by : Pat Gearty-Chicago, IL

                                                        Judgment Day’s Verdict: Crappy

    Chicago, IL- WWE presented their Judgment Day pay-per-view on Sunday, May 17, 2009.  After two sub-par efforts to commence their pay-per-view season (which starts with Wrestle Mania every year), Judgment Day had very little interest from most fans since there were no real new feuds or new matchups of note.  The show did not disappoint in being a disappointment.

Now, to be fair, the crowd live at the arena was red hot to start.  From the opening bell, the crowd was really up for the show. Being that the event was in the Windy City, the show opened with Chicago’s own CM Punk coming out to face Umaga.  CM Punk won the Money In The Bank at WrestleMania for the second year in a row, guaranteeing him a shot at any WWE World title in the next year.  So, what is the best way to build him up for his eventual title shot and subsequent run?  Have him lose clean and get very little offense in on a guy (Umaga) who has been squashed in every major match he has had in WWE (see Royal Rumble against John Cena or Wrestle Mania 23 against Bobby Lashley).  The match itself was okay, but pushing a guy who already has been pushed while burying a guy in the midst of a second straight year of chasing the title seems incomprehensible to me.

After the first match, the crowd came down a bit for the Christian/Jack Swagger ECW title match.  However, the crowd did show a lot of love for Christian as the match went on(whether this love is due to him being a remnant of the Attitude Era or because of his current work remains to be seen).  He and Swagger seem to have natural chemistry in the ring together, and as long as Swagger continues to raise his game on the mic, I see no reason not to keep this feud going as long as possible.  Christian winning with a handful of tights was adding to the storyline of him out-cheating the cheater, but I’m not sure what that will accomplish.  I hope a re-write is in order for these two, as the feud has legs.

Of all the matches on the card, I actually looked forward to John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin the most.  From the reaction of the crowd, I must’ve been the only one.  The crowd was not into this match at all, and I think the results of the match showed that.  Both guys did pull off some dazzling moves, but the moves did not look fluid, and the timing in this match was off at times.  Morrison ended up winning with his split leg corkscrew (or as it is now called, Starship Pain).  As a guy who really wants WWE to push new talent, I don’t know if this match will do it for either guy, as the crowd just didn’t react to the match at all.  Both guys are capable of much better, and a crowd hotter for both could’ve helped.

Let me preface the next segment by saying I love Santino Marella’s comedy act.  The crowd really eats it up also, as Santino - without wrestling much - is getting way over.  However, having the Miz come out to insult the crowd only to bring Santino out to crack jokes didn’t work at all.  Who does that really build, Santino or Miz?  I would argue neither, as neither is taken seriously as a wrestler, so the “just there for comic relief” moment does nothing for anyone, and WWE’s further burying of Chavo Guerrero is sad, as he came out to frog splash Santino.  No one’s character got built by this, and frankly, it makes it seem as if WWE has no faith in any of these guys carrying a real feud.

For all those unfamiliar, Chris Jericho and Rey Misterio fought over the WCW Cruiserweight title back in 1998.  These matches were fast paced and very entertaining.  Tonight, these two had their first real match together in WWE.  The match they had was quite different from the one back in the day, as Jericho now wrestles a more mat-based style.  The crowd was extremely pro-Jericho in this match(Jericho's 1999 WWF debut was in Chicago), and Chicago has always had a warm place in their heart for him.  Rey was not booed in the match, so while Jericho played the heel, there was no heel heat.  The fans just seemed to appreciate this as a good match with Rey retaining his belt.  I liked this match, and it was by far the best on this card.  It is bothersome that these two main event-caliber wrestlers were on the undercard.  This match should’ve been the main event of the show based on the in-ring work and crowd reaction.

The last three matches are going to be bunched together, as they all are been there/done that matches.  Cena/Big Show was awful, and the crowd seemed to agree.  The crowd, as always in Chicago, booed Cena vehemently.  They booed Show too, and this reminded me of the Big Show/Batista match on ECW from the Hammerstein Ballroom (although this crowd didn’t swear at them---PG after all).  Cena doing the FU (or Attitude Adjustment---yawn) on Show is no longer impressive, since Cena did it on Show AND Edge at Mania.  And don’t get me started on Cena’s no selling after the match by running around hugging the Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano.  Orton/Batista was also a dud, as Orton wasted all the time of the match trying to be counted out or DQ’d.  Ric Flair came out to help Batista at the end of the match where Orton was DQ’d for slapping the ref.  Of course, this is the only moment in the match where the crowd was excited, and that’s for a man who is retired (BTW, Flair could only wish he was in the same shape Ricky Steamboat is in).  Finally, Edge/Hardy had a non-sensical finish with Raw’s Matt Hardy helping SmackDown’s Edge beat SmackDown’s Jeff Hardy.  Exactly who feuds with whom here?  And how exactly can you continue a brand extension if all the guys interfere in each other’s matches?  Three matches-three duds, and all three had finishes that did nothing to build to the next thing and seemed unsatisfactory to the audience.

So, what did we get out of Judgment Day?  WWE continues to build no new stars, and instead they just pair the marketable talent together to fill in the spots prior to the same old main eventers boring the crowd.  The audience got fed more of the same old wrestlers (minus HHH, which no one seemed to miss), and still there seemingly is no new direction for a company in bad need of it.  Well, I guess the road to Summer Slam has begun, but the pot holes remain huge, and maybe it would be better to try to fix them than just drive around them all the time.

Eric's Thoughts : Sounds like something we'd have written ourselves, well done :) However, some notes :
-People had to have been disappointed when the expected CM Punk Cashes In In His Hometown Angle never happened
-I watched the Morrison/Benjamin match and plan on watching the Mysterio/Jericho & Swagger/Christian matches in due time, but of what I saw, they(Morrison & Benjamin) did ok. Morrison dazzles people with his high flying, and his springboard corkscrew finish is undoubtedly impressive, but watching Benjamin made me sad realizing that his time was 5 years ago - that's an eternity for a failed star, and that amount of time tells me he'll never make it. Know how you can tell? Because others, like Orton, were being groomed at the exact same time, and unlike Benjamin who was left to rot the midcard treadmill, they've kept trying and trying with Orton no matter what. They made their minds up years ago when he was in developmental that "He will be a star!" and made that their own self-fulfilling prophecy, despite him tanking the ratings with every title win. I realized this years ago, and that's why I stopped watching - why should I be a fan of all these people they will never do nothing with? Why should I be invested in that? So Carlito can be in the dark match for 2 out of the last 3 WrestleManias? Fuck that. Anyway, Morrison does flippy stuff too but he's white(just a coincidence, uhuh) & people think his stupid parodies count as charisma so he'll be a star for them as soon as they feel like it. How do I know? Because even though it takes HHH, Undertaker & Shawn Michaels being absent for him to even be allowed on PPV, at least he made it and was put over clean.
-So phony Ric Flair goes from pretending to care about ROH on HDNet one night, and the next is running around with his man crushes on WWE PPV the next. Fucking pathetic. You'd think he was carrying HHH & HBK's bags the way he verbally blows them every chance he gets. That segment he did on ROH's show setting up a four-way title match was embarrassing(I'm sure he cares enough to remember the names during a promo on RAW so he doesn't have to read off a piece of paper) and then Mr. "ROH Ambassador"(ha!) is being used to prolong this stupid Evolution alumni feud until HHH comes back. He might as well just tarnish his legacy by getting his boyfriend HBK's permission to take some backdrops in a 6-man next month at The Bash or whatever it's called this week.
-One of the reasons I asked the message board if they'd care if he we skipped this show was I was looking at the lineup and going, "Give me a break!" If I wanted to see Mysterio/Jericho for a midcard title, I saw it 11 years ago when it was probably better(Everyone's saying it was good, so we'll see). If they truly wanted to make me interested in Jericho/Mysterio, then put them in the main event for a world title, then I'm totally there.Jeff Hardy/Edge? Seen it a billion times over the past 10 years. Cena/Big Show? WTF, they feuded the first time almost 6 years ago! It's almost like Batista actively tries to bore me, and Orton's just lame anyway.
Hate to sound too negative as always, but hey, I can't wait to talk about Backlash, as I really liked that show! Believe it or not ;) But we'll save that for on-camera.
Thanks for writing!


Submitted by : Jamal Smith

                                                     The Death Of Creativity, The Birth Of Reality

  

      The most interesting thing about wrestling is no longer who beats who, the
spots used, people falling of ladders, plowing through tables and/or the
ring, tag partners turning on each other or groups forming.  For me, the most
interesting thing about wrestling is what happens behind the curtain.  I've seen
about every kind of match from Viagra on a pole (thanks Mr. Russo) to pig pen
matches - again props to Russo, the same Vince Russo who must be praying to
the god he discovered a few years ago so he can keep his job now that Double J's on
gardening leave.  I think it was a combination of the internet, the Montreal screw job
and Beyond The Mat changing what the fans find most compelling about the
industry.  Right now, TNA is more intriguing to me than any other show because of
one reason ; Double J/Angle/Dixie.   Good luck backing a man whose body is
hanging together by a thread. If Jeff's guys(i.e. all the WCW flunkies_all go, then
maybe there is a chance TNA could really blow up. Odds are it will just remain the same
but what if it doesn't?  If Jeff sells his stock and goes, then true success comes TNA's way.
Jeff will have sold his shares on the cheap.  Hell, maybe he can sell them to Mick Foley - life
intimating art. 
  I'm not going to talk about the Jarret situation too much until its played out
more but I am hooked. In the mean time I will be putting my thoughts of TNA down :

  Eric Young :
  Oh dear, where to begin?  For years Eric has played a 'Eugene' character ;
basically  a retard)no offense to any retards).  Now cast your mind back a few
years to Spike Dudley - he spent years in ECW playing the fool, has a run in
WWE still playing the fool and still having tag matches against his brothers
with mystery partners, as well as punching above his weight with Molly. He
played the same joke for years and bam, one day, Tazz (two zz's then) says “He's
the Boss”. I can't believe that Spike, who has been a dick weed
for as long as I can recall, is the leader.  Someone who doesn't like
wrestling but still reads these things are quick to say, “But its fake anyway!” 
No shit, and the Terminator didn't really go back in time. I have
to believe and lose myself in the story, the same as any film or TV show. ('Lost'
take note. Time travel, really?)!  So if I'm watching an angle, saying to
myself, “Self, what the fuck?”  then it's a doozy.  So if Eric Young aka TNA's
joke, is now leading a group, I say to myself, “Self, what the fuck”.

  Groups and Gangs :
  Yikes, what can you say about the World Elite?  You have groups and gangs, 
something Vince Russo loved in the Monday night wars.  Think back to The Nation, DX,
Hart Foundation, DOA. There were many more gangs all over the place, it was OTT
watering down the concept, but take The Ministry and Corporation - when they merged
into one, “Self, what the fuck?”  Its the same with World Elite slapping everyone
into one basket ; why the hell should I believe the British Invasion would
listen to a man who probably can't tie his owns shoes up?  So another group in a
group makes little sense to me at all and can be summed up in one of two
words (pick one) : Laziness or stupidity. What happened to The Frontline? 

  Tazz or Taz :
  Another WWE guy.  The only guy I want to watch who used to work in the WWE right
now is Burke.  A lot of people will scoff at this and that's cool, enjoy watching
Foley and Steiner.  I can't think of any WWE guy that came in and really shook
up the company for the better or long term(I am not using Angle just yet) and don't say
Foley's name. Think Lockdown.
  Raven was the best guy they got because TNA was touch & go, then Raven
showed up back when it was a weekly PPV from WWE to TNA.  But I guess Angle is their main guy.
  Since then, we have had Rhino=champ of a day, Booker=wife gets more TV
time, Steiner=Falling apart, Christian=I'm with Vince on this one, nuff said, and
Angle=when he implodes it will be sooo bad for that company. 
  So they bring in Taz in the worst blown spot I have had the misfortune to see
in years. Sting looked lost, I mean really lost. Joe wasn't exactly on the money either
and then the next night Taz cuts a promo how WWE was cool, a face promo.  There is
only one way to describe this in a mature and adult way...,"Urrrrrrrrrrrrrr
thicko."  He knew he was a heel and he does that? Idiot.  The angle makes no sense
either but that's part and parcel of wrestling. It hurts to wrap my head around
it at times. 
  I see Taz taking the commentary sooner rather than later and maybe West being
a heel manager or getting sacked as he was one of Double J's guys(I do think he could
be a manager). So far the Taz experiment has failed.  By
the way, Joe should be Joe, not Umaga or Taz Two.  The first night he entered TNA
they called him the Samoan Submission Machine, planting that Taz thought into
our brains.  Joe has been more mishandled than any other star I have seen in a
decade (no not when he first came in to TNA).  When I see him I wince and I
don't see him as special any more.  This is a wrestling crime.

  Bobby Lashley :  
  We all know how he came in to TNA. It looked cool, then nothing, and we all know he
wasn't contracted. It was typical TNA. “Hey everybody, I have a good idea.” 
He is introduced by Angle and as a new member of the MEM.  So this means he is a heel right? 
Why the hell would he walk down to the ring smiling and high fiving every fan before his face turn
four seconds later?  Answer, he has no wrestling brain at all and already seems
there for the money alone.  TNA don't need this or one of the worst spears in
wrestling.  Why don't they need him?  They have their next money man and don't
even know it ; Hernandez.

  The next few months should be one hell of a ride and I think people will be
looking to the internet sites to find out the gossip more than what is happening
on the screen.  After all, we live in a time of reality TV. Even the stupidest C
Listers caught on and got their own reality shows(Hey, Brooke).  I think TNA
could kinda of overtake WWE in a fashion of ratings if they were to do a reality
backstage show.  People are always looking for the next big angle, next big
guy or vibe like Attitude.  Right now its reality. “TNA : Crossing The Line” would
probably kick The Hills' ass at least.  These are just thoughts and may not be
right but if you have strong feelings, either positive or negative, then
that's the main thing.

  Jamal



CHIKARA: The Most Entertaining Wrestling Show Today

                        By: FlacoHombre

      For those of you who are not aware of CHIKARA, it’s a promotion that has been around for about 4-5 years and was started by independent wrestling legend “Lightening” Mike Quackenbush. CHIKARA is a lucha libre promotion in America that specializes in high flying matches with a high amount of goofy and corny humor that makes even Lance Storm smile. They go all the way with the lucha libre gimmick of their promotion, with lots of gimmicks, dividing the wrestlers into technicos and rudos, and calling their tag titles “Campeones de Parejas”. Tag Matches are a bit different with tags including legal wrestlers escaping to the floor, and the Campeones de Parejas are the focal point of the promotion. The other main title is the Young Lion’s Cup, which is won in tournament format (last one was YLC VII), but has been defended in singles competion the past couple of years.

      I stumbled across this promotion about 6-9 months ago through YouTube and their CHIKARA Podcasts a Go-Go. At first glance, I thought it was just a bunch wannabe luchadors running around in front of 100 people at your local community center. Basically, your local independent wrestling promotion, but with a gimmick. But I did some background research on the promotion, and discovered guys like Jigsaw, Quackenbush, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Larry Sweeney, and Colin Delaney amongst others had all gotten their big break in CHIKARA.

      So I took the time to watch a CHIKARA show about a month ago (Revelation X) and was astounded by the athleticism of these wrestlers I’ve never heard of. F.I.S.T, Osirian Portal, Vin Gerard, Jimmy Olsen, Up In Smoke, Ultramantis Black; all of these wrestlers who I’ve never seen and only a few have I heard about were incredible in the ring. They could cut serious promos, wow you in the ring, and make you laugh your ass off. Highlights of the show included about every tag match, multiple wrestlers getting onto commentary (Larry Sweeney was incredible), the special announcement of Intermission (“when you can get up talk to those around you”), and the brutal Ladder match between Vin Gerard and Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen (which was one of the best psychological ladder matches I’ve seen due to Gerard’s work on the legs and Olsen’s use of Gerard’s old gimmick).

      CHIKARA may not be for everyone, as even though there is a good bit of technical wrestling, there is also a good bit of humor, and entertainment is the main point of each show. If you tend to like just straight up technical wrestling, and aren’t a big fan of comedy wrestling and gimmicks, then I wouldn’t recommend you watch CHIKARA. But if you do like some wrestling with some entertainment, and entertainment with your wrestling; Bienvenidos mi amigo a CHIKARA! (“Welcome my friend to CHIKARA!” for those who aren’t bilingual).


The Death Of Creativity, The Birth Of Reality part 2

“In many ways Vince Russo is like Vince McMahon ; they are both men out of time.”

    I believe it was Chris that  said wrestling should look for the next big vibe or influence on society and transform it to the ring.  I agree even the most fantastic of stories have a tie to something we can relate to.  Take X-men - you can find racism, homophobia and intolerance.  Star Wars can be interpreted many ways ; That's what's so cool about it(not the incest. He only kissed her on the lips, there was no tongue, ok?!). I didn't take the good verses evil fight from it, more religion. The way in a society more advanced than ours, even though it was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, they could still go to war on a galactic scale due to religion. 
    But what happens if you use religion, race, hate & homosexuality in wrestling? What do you get?  Heels.
     One of my favourite X-men characters was in God Loves, Man Kills ; a man called Striker (forget the films with him in) who played an evangelist.  Doing great evil while thinking it was for the greater good and in gods name.  Perfect heel. See CM Punk Vs. Raven in Ring Of Honor, total belief in his convictions. 
    However when we do these characters in say WWE, they are so watered down as to annoy us slightly but not provoke any real feeling.  Yet these characters are best when they are let off the leash and believe in what they are saying and feel it. Otherwise we get a Reverend Devon & Batista going up to the fans with a collection plate, missing the point and unable to provoke any real emotion other than, 'why am I watching this while my girlfriend'sin the room?' I wonder of she still thinks I'm cool. 
           In 1996, Vince Russo looked for the next big thing in wrestling and like all writers plagiarised. Russo looked at the nWo and had an epiphany.  The newspapers and news channels would talk about gang warfare on the streets.  A light bulb went off in
his head and he created the gangs concept.  Watching what happened in the real
world worked.  VKM begrudgingly accepted that good guy verses bad guy wasn't
working any more.  He even said so on a TV interview putting on the jerkiest
voice and proclaiming the cartoon era dead so to speak.  The most popular show
at the time, Jerry Springer(another faked entertainment show), was pretty hot and
that became Monday Night RAW for a few years. Hell, maybe he could be the next
guest host with the KKK leader as his doctor Ken.
    Even in England we heard about the rap gangs with Biggie and Tupac taking over the news. The idea of gangs were everywhere.  So yes, at the time it was acceptable to use it willy nilly. Flash forward thirteen years later to a product called TNA where Mr. Russo is now working(by a thread, I may add). He is still using the concept. See TNA's 200th show. In fact Russo has gone as far as putting an established gang into a gang that was made up from two other factions and Eric Young(congrats on using the cross face you wanker.  It was used to kill a women
and defenceless child! The move should be banned out of good taste.)
      The concept of gang warfare is long dead.  Banging a roster of wrestlers in
the nWo didn't work in WCW when they watered the idea down, a brilliant idea at first.  So when you take a faction of eight(that's including valets & exclusive world champions) and combine them with the World Elite that were three British men, one Eric Young and the tag team of Bashir & Kiyoshi, the outcome is a dead concept.
      Vince Russo is taking a concept from reality and using it on the
television show.  But it was from thirteen years ago.  Do we still have gangs? Yes, but are they in the news as much these days?  When a man trying to get some
teens off his property & protect his family gets stabbed, we turn to the
celebrity page and see who Kate Moss is fucking this month.  Tragic, but more of
our race do that than say a prayer for the dead.  Gangs don't shock. What's
worse, Russo, although he had nothing to do with the nWo massive faction with
half the locker room in the black & white or red nWo, he watched WCW and
he knew how it went array, later bringing a silver nWo. 
      In many ways, Vince Russo is like Vince McMahon ; they are both men out of time. VKM is a man wishing it was the eighties. I remember reading Bobby The Brain's
book, he said he saw Vince in what I think was a bright yellow suit and looking
to Linda McMahon who shrugged, saying “Vince likes colours”. 
      Vince's theme of the superhero was once needed in the United States after the
first & second World Wars, and the shame that was the Vietnam war, went down a
treat for me as a child.  A hero was required and people had the likes of
Captain America.  Vince took this superhero idea and put  Hulk on the centre
stage. See how Marvel keeps tying in with wrestling?  For years the wholesome good guys were the WWF. Hogan, Warrior, Lex, and Hart ect.  But when that concept died, Vince McMahon could not wrap his head around it.  Asked about Austin's success, he shrugged and said he could not understand how he got those reactions.  He wasn't playing a heel, this was after their little war.  His eyes spoke volumes, any truth is always there.  They look confused and sad.  Funny how going against everything you believe in can make you a billionaire.  Without any competition, he has again reverted to superheroes.  Big Dave had his run putting a flag pole into someone ass. John Cena, the poster boy for abortion's. I mea,n America the all American hero.  Tazz once said when Cena no sold, “Where's he hiding the cape?”  Even though Cena is not the champ at this moment of time, he is still their poster boy. 
      Ironic how two men both had cutting edge ideas (kind of) at the time, years
later cannot let that ideal slip from their grasps, stubbornly supporting their success of old in defiance of this new world.  In Russo's case it's thirteen years, but McMahon's it's twenty four years plus.
     I believe if TNA did a reality show it could surpass their wrestling show ratings.  I don't mean do a Tough Enough or The Fight Network's wrestling reality, but a real reality show.  Sign some of the guys in the roster to it and yes, they will lose some
mystique, but ponder about the Angle situation right now happening before our
very eyes.  Oh snap. Booker and his wife together, Jeff Jarret and Vince Russo's man
crush on him.  Hey, why else would he have done that Bash At The Beach thing? I'm just saying. 
    Even Joe could do something because his character is in the toilet at the minute.  But it would have to be done correctly. I guess to have someone on a hotel bed smoking crack or whatever Jake The Snake was smoking would not benefit
TNA or the channel.  If it did happen, it would be like The Hills ; There is a
disclaimer on The Hills which says the show is made up and full of shit.  Like that start of RAW.  But as Junior would say, 'it's entertainment.'  I believe following around maybe four tops guys would benefit TNA and the wrestlers chosen, if it were the old guard more and give them opportunity's outside of wrestling.  I would be careful to use AJ but as one of their biggest stars, I would say Dixie would put his name down second.  This concept is not one I would enjoy I must state.  But reality is the current fad. 
    Would it make Dixie richer? Yes. Would it help wrestling? That's for you to answer.  Any ideas on the message board would be
cool if answers that are debates or well thought out statements other that
“You're a twat”.  I get enough of that from my family every Xmas.
      Would it be bad for wrestling? If they did a thirteen ep show that
was in the Beyond the Mat vain, absolutely not.  Yet staying away from the drug
side(they would have to), there is reality and there is being stupid.  If it was
in The Hills vain, then yes.  But isn't that wrestling now?  A lot of bitching
about nothing, resolutions going no where! That's TNA right now. Think
about it.
    Until next time, have fun and enjoy life. Because one day you'll be dead and be faced with a eternity of watching Mark Henry matches as punishment for all your sins. 
Repent before it's too late.


Submitted by : Jason Alletto


      Regardless of the negativity shown towards the post-fight antics of new
Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, the UFC and
Lesnar himself must strike while the iron is hot.
      While the UFC prides itself on being a company of respect, honor, and tradition (?),
Brock Lesnar is the anti-hero that Dana White has been looking for
since Tito Ortiz decided to bow out quietly and focus mainly on getting
on top of his wife (the most famous porn star ever, Jenna Jameson). The
die-hard MMA fans are having a tough time adjusting to a guy like
Lesnar. These fans do not understand how this ex-professional wrestler
can just waltz into the biggest mixed martial arts company in the world
and be put in a position to headline UFC Pay-Per-Views. Dana White
knows this, and he is using it to his advantage. My concern is that
after all this negative backlash, will he continue to use it? I believe
that he has no choice, and here is an example why :
      Time and time again, Dana White has taken these alleged 'real life
situations' and turned them into entertaining build-ups to his monthly
Pay-Per-View events. Ken Shamrock (a former WWF Superstar) and Tito
Ortiz may have had the most heated rivalry in UFC history. Tito Ortiz
disrespected Shamrock to his face on numerous occassions. At UFC 40,
UFC 61, and a free on Spike Special called "Ortiz vs. Shamrock: The
Final Chapter", Dana White was able to continually sell these fights.
      The first fight had most of the country backing the wiley veteran
of Ken Shamrock against the young, cocky champion Tito Ortiz. Ortiz
played the heel, and he did so extremely well. He defeated Shamrock
decisively with excessive strikes. UFC 40 had a certain buzz around it
because of Shamrock's star power from his pro wrestling run and the
curiosity of people who have heard of Ortiz and have never seen him
fight live (like myself at the time). At the time, UFC 40 was the most
successful UFC event to date.
      The Ultimate Fighter 3 had gained a fair measure of momentum
after the first two seasons became success stories in their own right.
What better way to set the stage for a future Pay-Per-View then to have
a rematch of a fight that drew more buys than ever before? Dana White
made sure he put Ortiz and Shamrock in situations to make the bad blood
boil over and it worked to perfection. UFC 61 had become the most
successful Pay-Per-View in UFC history once again because of this
build for Shamrock and Ortiz.
      The same formula was used for the third fight, free on Spike TV.
This fight once again hit a homerun for Dana White and the UFC. My problem with
this whole issue with Ortiz and Shamrock is that after each and every fight, these two
shook hands, hugged and then went on to tell Joe Rogan how much
they respect one another...



      Are you kidding me?


       When I witnessed this, I looked back at all the bad blood that was boiling over.
The selling point that made me intrigued to purchase these events were that these two men
outright loathed each other. And now these two expect me to believe
that everything is well and good? I am a die-hard pro wrestling fan, but I couldn't believe
I saw something so damn fake on an Ultimate Fighting Championship show. Until the dominance
of Chuck Lidell and Matt Hughes, the UFC lost me.
       Tito Ortiz worked as a heel in the UFC so well that Dana White
himself teased a possible showdown in The Octagon with "The Huntington
Beach Bad Boy." This fight never happened, but what did happen was an
hour long special on Spike TV selling the "real life" beef between
Ortiz and White.
       The UFC now has another top heel. A top heel who knows exactly how
to play the heel. Not too long after UFC 100, news broke that Tito
Ortiz is ready to finally return to the UFC. Could the UFC be on the
verge of having TWO top heels? Is this a coincidence?
       Dana White is too smart for even the most well educated Mixed
Martial Arts fan. What he does with Lesnar in the next few months
leading up to his next title defense is crucial. White must make sure
that Lesnar is near front row for each Pay-Per-View. White must also
make sure that they give Lesnar some well deserved interview time to
keep this momentum going. There is no doubt in my mind that the next
time Joe Rogan stands next to Lesnar, the boo's will be defeaning.
       Brock Lesnar is the UFC's top draw of all time in just 4 fights for
the company. He is the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. He
is a big, dangerous man who has a first hand education in selling
himself in whatever way he sees fit.
       The success of the UFC is on the rise. There is no telling just how
big this sport can become. And with Brock Lesnar leading the
way, there may be no way to stop this freight train.



Submitted by : Jamal Smith

                                                     Holding Up The Guard Rail

      I watched the Roundtable discuss TNA Lockdown.  The guys are all about opinions &
I have debated with Chris over The Wrestler film before, which was cool. The
guys sum up the show in a saying, "What is true to me may not be what is
true to you."  So I post this in a form of debate and hope it is taken in that
spirit, as am sure it shall be.
      The idea of Lockdown to me is not fresh, but lazy and confusing. Apparently
they don't tell the audience all the gimmicks that are in the cage(Keep in
mind the cage is a gimmick). Team 3D have a match that had the cage open.  I
think these kinds of things make baby Jesus cry. Joking aside, the final match
of any PPV is what you are left with. Tim said it had Mick Foley crawling to his death.
Harsh but funny none the less.  The final match should blow you away or have something
that makes you go, 'wow.'  I'll give TNA their due, they must have had an idea this match
would, as Jim Cornette would say, 'suck a dick' and had something for the fans to remember,
with the appearance of Bobby in the match previous.  The final image of TNA
Lockdown was Foley stumbling away with the championship belt.
    Sitting at home, this was an awful PPV but here is the rub : Watching at home and watching
live is a completely different experience. I don't usually speak about pay per views.  I like to discuss ideas or concepts,  so I think it would have been interesting to hear if the guys from the Roundtable would have enjoyed the show if they were at home.  Maybe so, but I could not get into
that show at all. Live, you loose yourself in wrestling.  Why?
    If you're watching Smackdown, really excited because some Mexican
wrestlers comes out that you used to watch and then they arrive in their debut riding lawn
mowers, you look to your left as your sister is there gazing over
embarrassed for you. It's a nightmare.  Welcome to the world of being a
wrestling fan. That's not a dig at Eric, but a funny story he told, and
something we have all shared one way or another. When it happens there is
no explanation that will appease the person judging you. Watching wrestling
when something really lame happens and a family member is there (thinking about
getting themselves emancipated) can be a great source of embarrassment up there
with being caught masturbating. I have seen so many rubbish matches & gimmicks that I have
wanted to crawl away and die when my girlfriends have inquired about wrestling. I have
lied saying I was channel hopping. That was why I was so happy when ROH emerged ; I could watch
it, no matter who was in the surrounding area, with pride.  And I wouldn't change the channel for my
girlfriend, saying, "It's better than Sex In The City." Later wondering why she
made me sleep down stairs.
  I did not see a live event until I was 21ish.  It was WCW in Birmingham,
their massive dome. Man did that card suck. Nash was in a wheel chair pretending to have lost his mind. There was no top line guy wrestling.  We got Flair and Perfect.  These are two of my favourite stars, but at the time Ric looked terrible and what he said about his confidence in his book showed.  WCW had kind of buried them, yet kept both in prominent spots all at the same time,
which is fascinating(A few weeks later, Flair was buried 'for real' by The Filthy
Animals).  The match wasn't bad but it was the same match spot for spot that I
had seen them do a few days before on Nitro.  All through the card, from start to
finish, was "We want Sting," "We want Goldberg."  They went to the London show
instead, days later.  The chants got so bad, "Rocky" and "Austin" chants broke loose.
Extremely loud ones at that.   I was anti-Goldberg, as was my friend (we
thought we were too smart. Idiots), so when people shouted, "Goldberg," we laughed at
them.
    Then the run-in, the first one I had ever seen live. I stood up full of
adrenaline and in a high pitched voice shouted “It's Goldberg, it's Goldberg!”  My
friend looked at me in disgust. However, it was not Goldie but Lex(We were
high up, don't judge me). Lex came to the ring and double teamed, Ummm Perfect I
think, and who came out and made the save? A wrestler comes to the ring and the arena looks to one another with complete disappointment like when Lisa Hooper saw my penis. He grabbed the microphone
and said, “You didn't get Sting, you didn't get Goldberg, but you got Buff.” Fucking brilliant.
Thanks for coming. Everyone left immediately. The car ride home was not a
pleasant one. The card itself made the BBC's Watch Dog show, where numerous
people complained about having all the stars on the ticket & advertising them but getting Fucking Buff Bagwell topping the show. And Eric Bischoff said there was nothing wrong with the product at the time. They had come to England, sold out a giant arena and shit in our mouths.  I literally felt like I had been abused. WCW had raped me. Right in the ass, told me to love it and say their name.
    We all left the arena limping because of our butt rape.  We left in shame but
we left in shame together.  No family member saying, "What is this shit?"  Or
feeling like a dork or lame. I was out of pocket 35 fucking quid though.  If I
am honest, there was not one good match that night and looking back, I should feel
lucky to have seen Flair & Perfect, but it felt like no one was trying at
all. Booker had an ok match(he was still mid card then. It would be a few
months until he lost on a PPV only to be put in a Championship match later with
Jeff Jarret), but my first live experience sucked. I drove out so couldn't drink,
and brother did I need a drink watching that shower of shit.  I made my way to
my piece of crap car, saw a limo outside and thought about throwing my feces
at it.
    The main thing I took from this experience was the safety I felt.  It was cool
not feeling like a freak and having to explain why I was watching the show.
Most wrestling fans don't really tell people that they watch it. In a past
column I called wrestling my whore. Well that night she fucked me. I wasn't
put off watching a wrestling show again. It was like my first sexual
experience. It was a poor showing but I wanted to do it again.
    I watched a show with a friend in the Coventry sky dome.  Three thousand
people turned up, but it was a small arena so it was cool and felt full, unlike
TNA putting everyone on one side. The card had Terry Funk(I had his blood on
my Jeans. Don't ask). He was on the floor next to me and I shouted, "Come on, Ter."
Patting his chest(in a manly way, I should add), I was shocked it was like steel.
He looked like he was hanging on by a thread but the man felt like superman. He
battered himself to put on a great show and this was about five years ago so he
was still very old wrestling wise.  The crowed was hot, the wrestlers
appreciated it and put on a fantastic show.  AJ was there and put on the finest
match I have seen live. Homicide fought Low Ki. Some guy bad mouthed Homicide.
in a chant. Homicide used the same beat and tone and said, "You fucked your mother." I
was in bits. Colt Cabana talked to me and had a picture with me while on the
way backstage. He stopped, took time to take a picture and didn't say, "that
will be ten dollars, bitch."
    We saw a title change with Doug Williams dropping the strap, and all left so happy.
I was front row and in all the action, I was lost.  Lost in every punch and kick.  When Low Ki smashed from the top rope onto Homicide's chest, I felt it.  We all did. The three thousand people electrified the dome and I had my second wrestling experience.  It was one of joy and not shame.
Like my second sexual experience.  I went to the same show a year later with
Mick Foley and, as he puts it, he ended up stinking up the joint.  It was the last
match and boy did it stink.  He was charging for autographs.  I
kind of felt outraged even though I had no right and he later said he gives that
money to charity. But because I had both his books at the time I felt like I
knew him, like he owed me. I walked from Foley not giving him a dime and shot the shit
with Steve Corino who was really cool. Sandman pushed past me to go to the john.  His eyes were so red I said to Steve, "fucking hell, that's no gimmick."  Corino just nodded as though to say, "You're preaching to the church." Shannon Moore's gimmick table was as empty as former President Bush's head(Which Bush? Pick one). This was when he was cut, going to
TNA for a week, made AJ Styles look like a bitch, then went to ECW. He was trying
out his punk gimmick against Sonjay Dutt(TNA at the time).  A talented guy
who got shit on with a lame gimmick and was let go. During the match people
were shouting, "Velocity."  Moore couldn't make it out, and thought they were
cheering him and celebrated.  Bless his freaky haired little heart.
    Final thoughts are what you walk away from the show with(I used Lockdown to make a point about live wrestling and main events, not to criticize the guys who enjoyed the show). This card had a double main event ; First, Cornio, Sandman and Foley Vs. the
Brit heels. As you can guess, Mick phoned it in and The Sandman was eliminated
first, after a few minutes. It's a miracle he was able to walk to the ring. Corino went over and though I may not be a massive fan of his wrestling, I always thought he could be a cool '80s heel ' manager and enjoy his promos.
    The main event was Doug Williams in a tag match Vs Kenta Kobashi. I had only
heard of Kobashi after hearing the card a few week prior. He is a Japanese
legend. He walked to the ring and starred into my eyes for the first time that
night (wow that sounds gay). I felt a real presence when he looked at us and
worked. The other guys in the match escape me but I remember Doug's chest
bleeding, I mean really bleeding, from Kobashi chops. I had never seen anything
like it. People mocked Doug and he stood on the apron as his partner took over
looking to his chest an said word for word “Come on, I'm doing this for you.”
People just laughed. I didn't. There was something special about this match. 
Kobashi got Doug's partner and smashed him into my railing. I held it up. The
guy next to me thanked me as he didn't want his beer going over him(The Sandman spat enough beer on us all for a life time). Kobashi smashed his opponent into the rail for the second time, & I prevented the guard rail going over again. This time Kobashi looked me dead in the eye for the second time.
He was pissed and my hand went in the air as though a police man had a gun
trailed on me. The third time, the rail came down, the beer went everywhere and
it hurt.
    But I wouldn't have had it another way. After all where's the fun in
holding up the guard rail?

Submitted by : Jamal Smith, UK
Illegal stream from an immoral sport


    “In a sense wrestling is a gigantic form of self harming.”


    Not the most fan friendly banner headline right?  Well, I'm going to try to
play devil's advocate and maybe see wrestling from the side we dismiss or never
even ponder. Is wrestling immoral or deplorable, and if so, why?
    A friend of mine is a Jehovah's witness and yes we spent house laughing at him
because he was 25 but not permitted to have sex with his girlfriend(Now five years later
he has more sex than anyone I know but that's beside the point).  He would not be allowed to watch wrestling. His beliefs would not allow him to tattoo his body. How many wrestlers can
you think of that don't have a tattoo? You see, it is deforming your body from a
certain point of view, disfiguring it. Orton's arms look like they have been mangled, questioning other wrestlers get Pepsi on their body when Coke is clearly the better drink(That will be cash
please, John Pemberton).
    What about the drugs? Marijuana is illegal, but it is rife in the world
so naturally it is in the wrestling business. A recent firing was a well known
pot head. Many think this is harsh but it is an illegal drug. This deems it immoral.
Take Jeff Hardy : I find it funny that he is so popular. There is no bigger face at this point.
Look at his past, a past filled with drugs and narcotics. I watched a shoot with him when he left, or got told to leave should I say. The entire shoot should have been accompanied by subtitles.
This is not me being sarcastic for a change ; I barely understood three words at
a time and yet he is a hero to kids.  I know CM Punk covered all of this in his program but it does boggle the mind. Look at guys like Kurt Angle ; when he explodes, I believe it may be far worse than Chris B. The man is a time bomb(good look with that Jeff, and smart move. Maybe next time fuck
bin Laden's wife).
    Into the blood. These men and women go around bleeding. They self harm with
blades, cutting their flesh with steel to bleed life force onto the apron, to
appease fans, a sea of morons ordering women to show their tits.  Are these the
kind of people you should bleed for?  In a sense wrestling, is a gigantic form of
self harming, allowing yourself to be cut and hurt. You work with your opponent, getting
slammed on the mat, punched, kicked, planted through tables, hit with chairs and thrown off ladders.  What kind of person would allow this to happen to themselves? Was it right that Foley had his ear ripped off? Was it right that he allowed his arm to be burn with C4? People having stingers (temporal peralises) or broken bones. HBK broke his back, the Bulldog was in a wheel chair for a lengthy
spell, before passing away.
    How many wrestlers have passed away before their time? I remember turning on
the internet to get my fill of wrestling gossip, laughing to myself about which
cut wrestler would be slagging of HHH today. And there it was : Eddie has passed
away far before his time. I went cold and questioned why this had happened. Was
it his time or had it been premature due to the wrestling life style? How many
have we lost the death count in the last five years is a joke. At work, a few of
my friends know I still watch and they reminisced about who they enjoyed watching
as children. Every other guy was dead. Do you blame wrestling, fans, Vince or
the wrestler?
    Was it right for the owner of WWE to say, “What's up, my nigga?!” to Booker T? As a man of colour, I say no. As a man full stop I say no. If I was Booker and Vince had said that to me I would have reminded him about the time I beat the piss out of his boy big Dave Batista and advised it was not a good idea.
    Now what about the use of women in the WWE or old WCW, Major Gunns or Miss Hancock to name but a few(Russo)? I watched as Sable judge a bikini contest, Torrie bent over and rubbed her back side on Sables groin area(sweet). Take Mickie and Trish at WresleMania. I loved the match but why did James have to put a hand on Trish's crotch, then lick her middle finger? Children were watching and mums were grimacing(dads were getting ideas for later). How many women have had to pretend to fancy Vince or Dusty(Shudder).  They were literally whoring themselves out for the world to see. Even Vince put his daughter out in front of the world to be called a slut, encouraging Jericho to do so.
    Is it morally wrong with that sport which is not a sport, are we wrong to
watch it for free? TNA's second biggest show of the year so far has gotten
seven thousand buys. SEVEN THOUSAND! But there are more than seven thousand
fans watching the PPV's. These sites that offer such shows make money from add
pop ups. But we watch knowing it is wrong.  In an age obsessed with ratings and the quality of matches,this is a disaster. If people had watched that Terminator show instead of streaming
it, would it still be around?  If you look at the figures on wrestling internet
sites about the buy rates then they are all down.  Is this due to the recession
and hard times? Is this helped by the product and lack of fresh and cutting
edge ideas? Or is this due to temptation? Why should we pay X amount to watch
a PPV we probably wont enjoy that has HHH Vs. Orton again? Is this theft? Yes. 
Is this wrong? Yes. But if you steal from a morally corrupt person, is it what goes around coming around? All I know is I shall be watching SummerSlam via the stream.  And I know I shall not be alone. There will be millions of people doing the same thing.  We will all be stealing the stream from an immoral sport.


Submitted by : Steve Kaye
SmackDown After Ten: From B-Show to THE Show :

How can you keep track of a decade? It is 3,650 days, 520 weeks, 120 months or ten years. For a wrestling fan however, the best way to measure a decade would be 528 editions of SmackDown. After 528 shows, SmackDown has reached a milestone that very few television shows reach, whether it is a sports show, an episodically-based show or a Professional Wrestling show. Much has changed over the years on SmackDown, yet at the opposite end of the spectrum, much has stayed the same.     
By 1999, as all people who were not living under a rock would know, the WWF was in a heated rivalry on Monday nights with World Championship Wrestling. The Monday Night War, between WCW Monday Nitro and WWF Raw is War, however, was reaching its sunset, as the WCW ratings were dropping at an exponential rate. The WWF had the momentum, the talent and they soon realized that they needed more airtime in order to showcase the talents that had made the WWF the number one show “in town”. The WWF reached out to the fledgling UPN Network and struck a deal to bring a brand new two-hour show to Thursday nights every single week. The company named the show SmackDown, a popular catchphrase used by arguably the biggest draw in the WWF at the time, The Rock. The regular airing of the show began on August 26th 1999 (after a live pilot was shown on UPN in April of 1999).
The show was seen as the “B” Show to WWF Raw; although featuring all of the “Superstars”, SmackDown did not progress the storylines as much as Raw did. The first six months of SmackDown had its share of memorable, albeit somewhat controversial, moments; Vince McMahon won his first and (hopefully) only WWF Championship in September 1999, over his future Son-In-Law. Arnold Schwarzenegger “knocked out” Triple H. Fabulous Moolah, in her seventies, won the Women’s Title, and The Big Bossman dragged The Big Show’s “father’s coffin” around the street on a towline. Many stars broke out during this time, including, Chris Jericho and the Radicalz.  SmackDown got off to a momentous start, yet by 2001, the show had become flat. The same stars were being forced down the throats of the fans every week on Raw and SmackDown to the point that it became overkill. It was time for a change, for a rift.
April 2002 brought about the idea of the Brand Extension, splitting the roster into two parts for Raw and SmackDown. For younger, less established stars, this was their chance to shine and receive face time. For the more established stars, it gave them the opportunity to be even bigger stars than they had previously had been. On paper, it was a fantastic idea.  The Brand Extension brought The Rock, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan, Edge, Lance Storm, DDP, and Christian among others to SmackDown and for the first few months, The Rock, Hulk Hogan and Kurt Angle were the faces of SmackDown. Slowly but surely, the rosters began to change on a semi-weekly basis and SmackDown seemed to be left with the workhorses of the roster, while Raw received the established stars. By October of 2002, SmackDown had gone through a change in booking. Paul Heyman, the mastermind behind ECW, had become the head writer/booker for SmackDown. He brought with him many of the ideas that made ECW popular. He found a handful of popular wrestlers that he could base the majority of his show around. “The SmackDown Six”, of Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Los Guerreros(Eddie & Chavo), Edge and Rey Mysterio became the biggest asset the show had, while Big Show and Brock Lesnar feuding over the WWE Championship became secondary. People watched the show to see Los Guerreros & their devious antics, to see the fast paced, high flying abilities of Edge and Rey Mysterio, and Benoit and Angle tag team together knowing that their hatred towards one another would ultimately build to a point in which the two of them would have one of the greatest matches in Royal Rumble history. SmackDown was becoming the show to watch and as 2003 began, SmackDown had cemented itself as the best wrestling show on television at that point.
SmackDown reached its greatest height between 2003 and 2004. At the start of 2003, WWE’s rising star, Brock Lesnar, was on a collision course with Kurt Angle. The two had weaved together a fantastic story in which Brock was chasing Kurt at every corner, with Kurt figuring a way to slip out of every and all situation, including using his own brother as a tackling dummy. At the same time, Hulk Hogan had returned and was feuding with Vince McMahon in a feud that blended fact and fiction to a point in which many fans were questioning how much of what they saw was planned and how much wasn’t. Both feuds culminated with two of the three main events of Wrestlemania 19, with both matches becoming the top two matches of the night. Brock Lesnar, as the new WWE champion, would lead SmackDown through the entire year, feuding with Kurt Angle, Undertaker and Hardcore Holly (to the dismay of all fans with the exception of Holly’s immediate family). Hulk Hogan would very quietly leave WWE in a shroud of mystery in June 2003, leaving fans to this day still unsure of who Mr. America really was and, if it was Hulk Hogan, how he passed the lie detector.
In February 2003, a man who had been floundering around the lower card of SmackDown began to rise to the top. John Cena had created a white rapper gimmick, complete with freestyles on his opponents and the beat boxing abilities of Brian Hebner.  The Brand Extension’s first real star, Cena’s silly gimmick began to interest fans, pushing Cena quickly up the card into feuds with Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and Big Show.  Cena became a merchandise machine, with shirts flying off shelves and became one of the lead baby faces entering 2004.
Entering 2004, SmackDown was firing on all cylinders. Brock Lesnar was moving into a feud with Bill Goldberg, Lesnar, who had to drop the title in order for it to be defended at Wrestlemania XX, lost the WWE championship to Eddie Guerrero at No Way Out 2004. Eddie was the feel-good story of WWE. He was a man whom had conquered demons, surviving a massive car accident in 2000, being fired by WWF due to a drug problem, going to rehab and basically restarting his entire career working independent promotions, including a short stint in the young, upstart Ring of Honor. He returned to WWE sober, completely focused, and in February, achieved the dream of every person who ever steps into a professional wrestling ring ; to win the World Championship. Eddie took the title and ran with it, entering a feud with one of the world’s best, Kurt Angle.
Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg had a fantastic build to their match at Wrestlemania XX, up until three or four days before the match. Word had gotten out the Lesnar planned on leaving WWE for the Minnesota Vikings and that Bill Goldberg was not going to be renewing his contract that was ending at midnight, following Wrestlemania. The fans at Madison Square Garden completely trashed them both, leaving them to have possibly the worst match in Wrestlemania history (until the Miss Wrestlemania Match, which is now the worst). Brock disappeared from SmackDown, leaving it with an opening for a new lead heel. Enter Bradshaw.
John Layfield had just returned from roughly a year off of professional wrestling. He along with his partner Ron Simmons, were one of the top tag teams of the early new Millennium. In May of 2004, the pair broke up, with Ron retiring from active competition. Layfield renamed himself JBL and became a Wall Street tycoon, a role very true to his life (he is an investment banker).  He played the role perfectly and the fans hated him. He moved into a feud with Eddie Guerrero and beat Eddie in two of the best matches of 2004, one of them being quite possibly the bloodiest match in WWE History, at Judgment Day 2004. JBL took the championship from Guerrero at the Great American Bash, and he held that title until Wrestlemania 21. He dominated the ranks of SmackDown for the rest of the year, defeating every face challenger in his path, until he reached the most popular star on SmackDown, John Cena.
Cena was the ultimate babyface at this point ; he was taking on all of his challengers and chasing JBL. He defeated JBL in a lackluster match at Wrestlemania and took the title to Raw. SmackDown was left with Batista as their champion. Batista, much like Cena, was a very over babyface, yet he was not putting on the matches of Lesnar, Angle, Guerrero and Layfield before him. This led SmackDown to its lowest point, from mid 2005 through 2007.  SmackDown, with Batista at the helm for most of that period, was moved to the timeslot that TV execs lovingly refer to as the Friday Night Death Slot, 8pm to 10pm Friday nights. In this timeslot, SmackDown garnered some of its lowest ratings in the history of that slot, averaging at points no higher that a low 2. SmackDown became the “B” show yet again, with wrestlers whom were not quite ready for the live Raw. SmackDown was virtually the “AAA” compared to the ECW “AA” and the FCW/DSW/OVW “Rookie League”.
    In 2008, SmackDown had accumulated a solid roster of wrestlers yet again. Triple H, the Hardys, MVP,  Khali, Umaga and The Undertaker became the focal points on the show. The show began to pick up steam, however, the show never reached the heights it did during 2003 and 2004. Triple H was spending time on both Raw and SmackDown, which in a way diminished the importance of SmackDown, as he was seen going out of his way to feud the majority of the year on Raw. By the 2009 draft, the SmackDown roster was once again stocked with the workhorses of the roster, much like 2003 and 2004. CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, the Hart Dynasty, Cryme Tyme, Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho became the stars of the roster. The show became focused less on the silly stories and more (believe it or not) on the wrestling. Stars became even bigger stars during this period, including Dolph Ziggler, CM Punk and Jeff Hardy.
    Jeff Hardy, disregarding his current situation, had the best year of his career in 2009. He progressed as a performer and entertainer in such a short amount of time. He went from being the spot king of WWE to someone who was able to put on a quality-wrestling match without the need for excessive spots. Most of Hardy’s success in 2009 was in large part due to the help of his foil, CM Punk.
    Punk began his WWE career in 2006 after a stellar period in ROH. He grew into a fan favorite very quickly, winning his first world championship less than two years into his WWE stint. His career in WWE hit a snag by late 2008, with him becoming a mid card talent teaming sporadically with Kofi Kingston. When he moved to SmackDown in 2009, he won the Championship almost instantly. Fans began to turn on Punk and after a few dastardly tactics, Punk returned to the form that led him to his greatest success in Ring of Honor ; his straight edge, “better than you” mentality. He was the perfect foil for Jeff Hardy, as Hardy had been suspended in the past for his drug use (see current news). They put together a feud in which both wrestlers had their careers skyrocket to a point in which they made SmackDown the show to watch each week. SmackDown, thanks to Punk and Hardy, is now attempting to reach the point it was at in 2004, the flagship WWE Show and the one fans want to see.
    SmackDown has been a rollercoaster ride for a decade and it seems that at this moment, SmackDown is approaching the peak of its success.