Scott’s Blog of Doom

“

http://www.stormwrestling.com/092406.html

Great commentary from Lance Storm about TNA’s troubles.  The name issue in particular is a really good point.

So did Kurt Angle’s signing change the show any?  Discuss it here.

Well, now I’m sure Kid Kash can go back to TNA secure in a push because he’s a WWE reject now instead of just an indy one.  It’s truly mind-boggling that they (by which I mean WWE) even hired the guy in the first place, as I’m sure everyone could have guessed that they’d have nothing for him and would totally misunderstand why the character worked in the first place.  I feel kinda bad for Jamie Noble now, too, basically left in the cold as a result of his tag partner getting suspended first and then fired, after he wasted a perfectly good ROH run on a shot at hitting the bigtime again. 

Note to WWE:  Just stop signing cruiserweights and trash the damn belt.  It’ll make everyone happier in the long run.

Here’s yet another interesting take on the Angle situation, from reader SideshowShan.  I don’t necessarily agree with the reasoning here, but it’s very well said.

“

I know that everyone has an opinion about the Angle situation… and for the most part they’re all the same.  I want to share mine because I think it’s a totally different view than most everyone else. 

I want to start by saying I love Kurt Angle.  I think he is an outstanding pro-wrestler and will no doubt go down as one of, if not THE best wrestler of our generation.  The fact that he’s only been on TV for 7 years (Survivor Series ’99) says a tremendous amount about his talent and charisma. I do not want to see him end up dead or crippled like so many other wrestlers. 

However… if he is too stubborn to learn from the past and take the advice of his friends and family and take it easy for a while… why shouldn’t TNA hire him? Why shouldn’t TNA take advantage of Kurt and the reputation he brings with him?  If they would have told him, “No”… would that mean he’s going to sit home and heal and get well? No.  Does it mean that he won’t be paralyzed in 6 months? No.  Would it mean that he’s be able to get off drugs and stay clean. No.  If TNA had told him “No”… you know where he would be?  He would be in Ring of Honor or in Europe or in Japan doing the same thing.  If something bad is inevitably going to happen… would you rather see him in TNA or on an indie show in front of 120 people?? 

I think Angle in TNA is a HUGE win/win situation for everyone involved.  Kurt gets to wrestle a bunch of young guys who not only can keep up with him… but will guarantee great matches.  You know you’re drooling over the prospect of Angle vs AJ or Daniels or Joe or Sabin or watching him dismantle Sonjay or Alex Shelley. This is also what Kurt wants.  He wants to be able to work with these guys so he can show that he can still go.  Do you think he really wishes he was back in WWE having another feud with the Undertaker or Big Show?  TNA also gets the first REAL, credible wrestling superstar since they started.  I think Kurt’s jump will get them more publicity than Christian or Sting or Steiner or Nash or any of the other former WWE superstars ever could.  Even if it’s negative publicity due to Kurt’s health and supposed drug problems… there’s no such thing as bad publicity.  You might end up getting people tuning in just to watch him die in the ring.  Is that morbid?  Yes!  Am I wrong? I don’t think so. 

If Kurt can’t look at Eddie (or Brian Pillman or Dynamite Kid if you want to have a closer comparison) and not see himself in their tragedies … then what can be done?  Kurt is on a path to total destruction.  How it ends is entirely up to him.  We can complain about TNA all we want… but this is the wrestling business.  It is a vicious and brutal beast that does nothing but chew people up and spit them out when they’re done with them. You can say all you want about Vince McMahon…. But the business was like that before he came around and it’ll be like that when he’s long gone.  Do you expect the circus to keep the acrobats around if they can’t perform anymore?  It’s not how it works. I think TNA has every right to use him to their advantage.  They know what he can do for them.  That’s really all that matters right now.  As horrible as it sounds, neither the wrestling business nor a single company is going to go out of business if something bad happens to Kurt.  TNA will not go under if Kurt is paralyzed in their ring.  They won’t shut down if he’s found dead in a hotel room.  It’s just a fact of the business.  We’ll have another tribute show.  We’ll have another DVD set.  Then the show will go on… just like always. 

Look at the worst-case scenario… if Kurt was to die in their ring, because of his Olympic history, it will be a big story for the mainstream press.  Way bigger than Owen or Eddie ever was. Even though it will be bad press, it will still bring TNA into the eyes of a lot of fans that really didn’t know about it. It will be the best publicity TNA has ever had. 

Now look at the best-case scenario.  Due to the lighter schedule Kurt is able to rest and heal his body to the point that he’s not “one suplex away from death” anymore. He is able to help TNA become a viable contender to WWE.  He has great matches with AJ and Daniels and Joe and everyone else.  He brings many more fans to TNA and the industry as a whole is better because of it. 

I think it’ll probably be somewhere in between. 

Should we feel bad for watching him kill himself night after night? I don’t think so. Kurt is just an extreme example of what every wrestler is doing.  They’re all suplexing themselves into an early grave for our entertainment.  Kurt’s just more likely to end up there sooner than most.  You can’t really blame pro wrestling for Kurt as he’s been doing this to himself since the Olympics.  He wrestled in the Olympics with a broken neck.  He used Novocain to numb the pain because using anything else is against the rules!  We as mere mortals can’t imagine the drive and determination it takes to do something like that…. so how can say it’s easy to NOT do that? 

Look, I want to Kurt to have a long and healthy life. He deserves to see his kids grow up and be able to play with them.  However, I am not going to sit back and judge him or TNA for anything.  It’s Kurt’s choice and TNA is going to be better off with him on the roster.  I think it’s going to be a great relationship that will pay off in ways we can’t even imagine yet.  It’s going to be a great time to be a wrestling fan again. I just hope the great time isn’t short lived. ”

The Princess’ ECW Rant

Live from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

– Jim Ross gets introduced with the Oklahoma Sooners fight song as his theme music. He shows his love for Tulsa and thanks Joey Styles and Tazz for inviting him (although both deny doing it). Ross is about to go into a rant on ECW and Mid-South wrestling when Matt Striker interrupts. Oh geez, Matt Striker is going to pick on Jim Ross? He tells him he lacks education and calls him blue collar…*GASP* Oh no you didn’t! Striker continues the verbal assualt for several minutes until Sandman enters and gives Striker a cane shot to the gut before handing the cane over to JR to finish the job. JR toasts the Sandman and has a moment he usually reserves for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Fairly harmless segment I suppose.

– Uncle Eric cuts a promo to hawk his book and sadly his promo skills are better than 90% of the entire WWE roster. Really I used to hate Bischoff’s presence but the guy can cut a decent promo. I’m interested in buying the book, but I know that nothing is going to be included without Vince’s approval.

– Hardcore Holly is all about the display, no time for talking.

Extreme Rules: Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly. RVD starts quickly with some early takedowns and lands a savate kick and a weak clothesline before dumping Holly to the floor. Holly tries to rally but RVD dumps him on the ring barricade and drops the spinning leg from the apron. RVD goes after the plunder and finds a table. The ECW crowd is a little slow on the “We Want Tables” chant, but they are from Oklahoma so its expected. Holly catches up to RVD and sends him into the stairs before laying in some DOWN HOME SOUTHERN VIOLENCE~! and sending him into the post. Back in the ring and Holly gets two after a standing leg drop. Our pugilists fight in the corner until Holly catches RVD on a blind charge with a boot. Holly goes for a choke on the second rope and a chinlock. Oh yeah, an extreme rules match is BEGGING for a resthold. The chinlock becomes more of a neck vice or neck wrench. RVD fights to a standing position but gets dropped again with a couple forearms. RVD rallies again only to get caught with an elbow in the mush that gets two for Holly. RVD tries to send Holly over the top but Holly counters and suplexes RVD through the table!

Commercial break.

We’re back and OH MY!!! Holly is gashed hardway on his back. Ewwwwwww and of course the camera shows us plenty of times. Holly sets up a chair and slams RVD on the base throat first for a two count. Holly sets up the chair on RVD’s face and drops the leg from the second rope for two. God that gash looks nasty. RVD fights off Holly and suplexes him on the chair. Slugfest is won by RVD after a couple of clotheslines. Time for RVD’s moves of doom, first the somersault monkey flip and then the sidewinder kick from the top. What’s next? The chair-assisted corner dropkick hits solid and is followed by the chair-assisted rolling thunder gets two. RVD goes for another chair flip-flop move but Holly powerbombs RVD on the chair for two. Kick to the face by RVD drops Holly but Holly counters the chair-assisted five-star frog splash by tossing the chair to the face. Nice spot but only gets two. Holly goes for the Alabama Slam but RVD wiggles out of it, instead Holly goes for the chair and gets hit with the Van Daminator. A second five-star frog splash gets a three count and ends a heck of a TV match. (RVD def. Holly, five-star frog splash - pin, ***3/4). Don’t like this rating? Kiss my ass. Both guys busted ass and entertained the hell out of the crowd. The trainers wrap Holly up and the crowd and announcers puts him over with an ovation. Best ECW moment since they’ve come back on TV.

– C.M. Punk talks about being such a straight edge, his addiction to competition and calls out the entire ECW roster before Kelly Kelly interrupts and asks him to teach her how to play strip poker. Kelly Kelly is a horrible actor by the way, she makes me miss Gayda…Knox comes out and tells Punk to find his own bitch, but Punk says “my bitch is in her cage while yours keeps escaping”…This angers Knox so he does what any man would do and threatens to kick Punk’s ass…after he’s done “straightening out” Kelly Kelly.

– Another Marine spot where Cena talks about making out with chicks. Yay…Ooo new Weird Al CD!

Extreme Catfight: Ariel (w/Kevin Thorn) vs. Francine. Ariel cuts a kooky little promo but Francine doesn’t play that shit so she strips Ariel and throws her down with a flying mare. Thorn interferes to help Ariel get a cheap shot and Balls Mahoney comes out and whallops Thorn with a chair shot. Ummm I don’t rate catfights but this one sucked.

– Big Show says the Singapore Cane is legal.

– I was getting some Crystal Light while the Rene Dupree promo was going, did I miss something?

ECW World Championship: Big Show vs. Sandman. We join this in progress as Sandman is caning the shit out of the Big Show to the point of where he’s busted open. Show fights back with his wide assortment moves including a few headbutts and a few thunderous chops. I was mildly curious to see how these two would work together and so far it isn’t pretty. Sandman tries to rally but like an idiot he goes to the ropes and gets barged for it. Show continues to hammer away as Sandman tries to reach his cane. Show’s cut appears to be a terrible blading job, nothing more. Sandman counters the chokeslam with a DDT and grabs the cane, dropping Show after a shot from the top rope. Sandman wrenched his knee on the move but still gets two. Meanwhile Matt Striker prances to the ring and grabs the Sandman’s cane ending his rally. A backbreaker and the showstopper legdrop ends it. (Show d. Sandman, showstopper legdrop — pin, *) This wasn’t very good but it was very predictable.

The Bottom Line: Only two matches tonight, but one of them was excellent and that’s about all you can hope for in an hour of programming. Anything extra is gravy. No gravy tonight.  

OK, so we’ll throw some Sunday stuff in there, too.  What the heck.

- Simpsons was better, with at the very least a coherent plot this time, but it’s just another in the endless list of “Homer’s wacky new job” episodes, a premise that has already been beaten so far into the ground that they made a joke about how far it was beaten into the ground last week. 

- American Dad continues to rule the animation world, with the return of Roger’s Golden Turd and another tremendous mindfuck from Stan.  What I really enjoy about the character is that he’s written to be SMART, not the usual idiot man-child like Homer and Peter have devolved into over the years.  And the line about being such a great negotiator that he negotiated his way out of flunking negotiator’s school was classic.  AD is on such a roll right now.

- Family Guy treads where others have already parodied many times, specifically The Simpsons and South Park, in taking shots at Wal-Mart.  Oh, how edgy.  It’s still funny, but it’s really turned into a show with nothing new to say, and that bothers me. 

- Studio 60~!  WAY better than the pilot, chock full of great stuff.  Matt and the Death Clock, Matthew Perry playing an assertive character for once, the Gilbert & Sullivan stuff, “I hate spunk”, tons of great stuff here. 

- Heroes.  Didn’t watch it, because I think it won’t last anyway.  If anyone else did, feel free to tell me if I missed anything good. 

- RAW.  The power going out was kind of a metaphor for the whole promotion, I think. 

That’s all I got.

“

Hey, it’s a hot topic, so let’s keep the discussion rolling.

Regular correspondant Paul writes…

“Scott,

I know that subject line seems a bit brash; but please
hear me out.

First; in general I think Kurt Angle is an amazing
wrestler, and one of the best I’ve ever heard on the
mic; so I don’t want you to think that I hate Kurt
Angle in general or anything. It’s because I like him,
and care about his well-being that he has me so angry
and livid right now.

Given that Kurt Angle’s desire and passion to compete
is stronger than his common sense; I have a really bad
feeling that he’s going to end up either crippled or
dead within the next 2 years. Can’t somebody send him
a copy of The Dynamite Kid’s book? I’m not being
facetious- he really needs to learn from others’ past
mistakes because he’s heading right down the same damn
path. I don’t want to go to a wrestling news site in a
year and see the headline “Kurt Angle paralyzed in PPV
main event” or “Kurt Angle found dead of O.D in hotel
room after not being allowed to compete in main event”
damnit!

Doesn’t Kurt ever think about his family and how much
they care about him and his well being; instead of
himself and his insane need to be competitive? Doesn’t
he care that his fans are worried about his health
(both physically; and mentally)? Obviously he doesn’t.
For Kurt; it’s all about what he wants, and to hell
with everybody else.

I just wonder how long it will be before we see a “The
Self-Destruction Of Kurt Angle” DVD; ’cause he’s
obviously burned the bridge back to WWE for good with
this decision. WWE was more caring, and supportive of
Kurt as I’ve ever seen them be with anyone; and he
goes and slams the door right in their face to show
his appreciation. Kurt could have taken a year, or two
years, or however long it took to sit back and get his
body, mind, and life in general back in order; but he
just doesn’t have the patience or common sense that
God gave a billy goat to do that.

That lack of foresight is going to cost him very
dearly one day; and I’m sorry to say that he’ll have
nobody to blame but the man in the mirror. Remember
that in a few years when he’s a quadriplegic; or found
dead in some seedy hotel room. Does NOBODY in TNA care
for Kurt’s well-being at all?

I’m very angry with Kurt Angle right now; but in a way
I also pity him a little; because I think that in a
very real way; he’s a disturbed; sick man who needs as
much help as he can get to get his life back in order.
Right now; I think his drive to wrestle is the only
thing he’s living for.

You can put this in your blog if you want but that’s
not why I sent it. I’m just mad as hell; and depressed
about what this means for Kurt’s well-being I needed
to vent to another Kurt fan about it. Thanks…”


You know, I understand the desperate need on TNA’s part to generate the all-important Buzz on Pro Wrestling, so even though it’s insensitve and callous, it does make sense from a certain point of view.  That being said, the fault here does, I agree, lay mostly with Kurt for not having the common sense he was born with.   The differences between happy-go-lucky 2000 Angle and scary, creepy, neckless 2006 Angle are really quite sad when you watch his stuff back-to-back, and Angle has already had one surgery that would have been career-ending in most people.  The nerve damage in his neck is already painfully obvious, as his arms have shrunken in recent years ala Paul Orndorff and Chris Benoit, and all we had heard for months on end was how he was constantly in pain.  He’s going through personal problems and drug problems, and he is clearly just not in a state of mind where he should be doing ANYTHING for a year or more.  It takes at least 9 months to come back from standard neck surgery and Angle has already rushed himself back on multiple occasions and suffered even more for it, and you can see it in his limited mobility and altered ring style.  I’d rather he just take a year, or two years, or whatever and heal himself.  And again, TNA’s track record for protecting their people is not good.  And I don’t think saying that a suplex could kill him is overstating things at all — you’ll note he deliberately shifted to a mat-based style in his last WWE days, because (from what I could see) his neck simply couldn’t bend in the right way to take those moves any longer.  And there’s no miracle remedy for it, Dr. Jho and Shawn Michaels aside.  Once you’ve wrecked your neck, it’s wrecked. 

Further, as my hero and compadre John Petrie was saying in the other Angle thread, this isn’t 1996 anymore where having a big star show up is going to turn the tide.  Sting and Christian both had initial ratings bumps and then got sucked into Crappy Booking Zone like everyone else, which is exactly the same lesson that WCW learned the hard way when they died.  The key is to push the shit out of Styles, Daniels, Joe and AMW until they’re associated with TNA like bacon with eggs, and thus build new stars from the ground up for people to associate the product with.  Yes, it’s slow and arduous and might actually involve TOURING someday, but that’s the biz for ya. 

Rant over.

So TNA’s big surprise is Kurt Angle, and I don’t think anyone thinks this is a good idea, outside of TNA.  They have nothing they can do with him while he’s injured, and while the easier schedule might benefit him in the short-term, in the long run he’s one suplex away from permanent brain damage or worse, and a company of amateurs like TNA is not going to be the ones to step up and protect him. 

Very scary stuff.