New contributor
To go along with the excellent stuff posted by The Princess on occasion here, I’ve decided that Matthew Roberts, who tends to chime in with great discussions and ideas on just about everything on here, will be given posting privileges on a trial basis. So basically if I’m ignoring a news story or a wrestling show and he thinks there should be a discussion here, he’ll have the ability to start one. This will hopefully allow for even more timely updates and quality content here on the blog.
Good move Scott. Mr. Roberts deserves this shot, in my opinion.
I would like to publicly thank our best buddy and big toe Scott Keith for showing this faith in me. I promise to not abuse my new power because I know that with great power comes great responsibility (I am really lucky because I got this power without being bitten by a radioactive spider or a bad Brad Armstrong gimmick). I promise to not end up like Russo in a pope mobile or Bischoff wasting the first hour of Nitro on himself. I will just post occasionally (as soon as I figure out how to do it) when there is a major show the great fans here want to discuss or a major news story breaking, such as the Randy Orton thing, which should help other posts from getting tied up in side issues and becoming unmanageably long (the posts can get tough to read once they reach 70 or so comments).
I want to thank all the great people here, such as bee_oh_three, flair4dagold, manwithnolife85, and many others I know I am leaving out, but I mean no disrespect to because we may not agree all the time, but we have had some excellent discussions, which have made me fall in love with this blog.. No, lobsterturtle, I am not a Scott Keith ring rat (if Maria, Candice, or Victoria need a ring rat, though, I want them to call me) and I wish I was still a kid (next month I hit the big 30). As the character Major Henry Terrill said in the 1958 Gregory Peck film “The Big Country,” “If there’s anything I admire more than a dedicated friend, it is a dedicated enemy” and I have that Chris Benoit “prove me wrong” mentality, so I love accepting the challenge of proving myself worthy and changing any negative opinions about me. However the lame nicknames stay because, as Mick Foley has said he is a second rate Terry Funk rip off, I am certainly a third rate Scott Keith rip off, so for every Orange Goblin there must be a Black Lesnar.
Now don’t let the power go to your head and forget to post with the little people in the talkback section
I could never forget the little people and nobody is littler than you flair4dagold (that was a rib). I promise (at least for the moment) to keep from anointing myself with any insane, egotistical, nicknames, such as “King Of The Mountain” (Jarrett) or “King Of Kings” (Hunter’s attempt to show up Jarrett). I do not want Keith giving me the boot like Time Warner gave Bischoff the boot, though if Keith wants to pay me millions to go fishing in Wyoming I will not complain. I will still be posting all the time in the talk back comments section because I am not sure if I can figure out how to make a post of my own (I got Windows Live Writer down loaded and set up, so we will give it a whirl after Raw ends on Monday when Raw becomes Raw Is Roberts – okay just 1 insane, egotistical nickname).
Did you just compare Scott to Hogan, and yourself to Lashley? Ouch!
Seriously, good job and welcome to the Scotty Heenan family.
I love it; I am a part of the Scott Heenan family. I guess that would make me the Barbarian of the family due to my penchant to job, only wear loin cloths, and use antlers as hats. Since Hulk Hogan is the greatest wrestling draw ever and Keith is the greatest internet writing draw ever, that analogy would fit (though Keith is a better worker than Hogan and will not be performing in front of an empty building in Memphis next week like Hulk will be). I am not Lashley, I have no physique (I am in shape, I am round), but I can cut a promo, though Lashley and I share a common lack of overness with wrestling fans on the internet.
If I could be serious for a minute (Lance Storm tribute to our Canadian leader), thank you for your well wishes.
Seems like a bad decision to me. What did this kid do to deserve his spot? Is he your latest IWC ring rat? It all looks very sad and very desperate.
Aw come on. Other than the lame-o nicknames (no offense MRobert), he’s a very intelligent and insightful wrestling observer. I’ll leave him innocent until proven guilty, ya know?
Well that, and his penchant for calling 95% of wrestling history falsified and that most smarks don’t know the real truth. Next thing you know “Vince would like us to believe” RAW was on USA when it was really on TBS.
Wrestling is a worked sport that for about a hundred years was protected very closely, so there was little true history put out about it. Then, factor in that all history is inevitably written by the victors and you get the fact, which I did not invent, that most of the so called history of wrestling is worked. Most smarks, including me, do not know the real truth, because we do not have access to it (wrestling is still kayfabed greatly) we just read and watch what bits of history we can from different points of view and discuss it. This is not a bad thing as it provides for some great fun, but it does force us as fans to be critical and ask questions about what is presented to us as wrestling history (unless you accept the Warrior disc as the gospel of truth).
And agree with the one poster above, if you’re going to write full-time, you should probably drop the nicknames. Otherwise, keep up the good work. I need some fun shit to read when I’m supposed to be “working.”
My posts on this site are going to be limited to the occasional big news item (Randy Orton versus Europe’s finer hotels) and posts for shows so fans can discuss them (a post for Raw on Monday will be my first stab at doing a post). This will help out when Keith is away and big news breaks (when news breaks, we fix it) and to keep side discussion on shows and events from jamming up other non related posts. I am not going to be doing huge show reviews or anything other than a few of my usual smarmy comments because I honestly do not have the attention span or typing skills for the type of fine work Keith and Princess do. I am scared to even try a post because I am about as experienced at this web log stuff as Foley was when he did his short lived blog and I have a hard time getting my comments to show up on here when I write them half the time.
My writing style will remain unchanged as I have to go with what “brought me to the dance” as Jim Ross would say and I am more politically incorrect than the Sandman (without the smoking habit though). I read these nick names on other sites (except for Douche and Domino, which I made up myself off of the Sam Elliot line “the Double Douche” in the Terry Funk classic film Road House) and I find them amusing, so I stick them in my writing. As Johnny Cash or Paul Jones said, “you can’t please everyone, so you might as well please yourself” (which I do when I think of Maria and Victoria, but that is another story). Wrestling is supposed to be fun, no matter how hard the Jarretts, Russo, and McMahons try to make it not be, so I am just going to keep on having fun with it and I hope other will too.
Matt, its true that Wrestling still has its kayfaybe moments, but I tend to enjoy Hogan’s “truth.”
I love Hogan’s truth too, it makes for great comedy. Hogan is a man who legitimately had the greatest wrestling career ever (not saying he was the best wrestler, but he made the most money out of wrestling and became the most famous wrestler) yet he still needs to kayfabe his whole life (his book was a riot). The fact is that every wrestler from the lowest jobber to the biggest star is the exact same way, so since wrestling history comes from these people it makes wrestling history a big work. I do not think there is anything evil or malicious about it, it is just the nature of what has always been a closely guarded and ego driven industry, so fans should be aware of it.
Even though you might disagree with him (and I do sometimes) you do have to agree that a SHIT TON of wrestling’s history is just kayfabed all to hell. You just have to take everything with a grain of salt.
You hit the nail right on the head there.
Exactly. I mean, you got people wanting to screw Vince over, you got Vince himself wanting to rewrite history to make himself and his numbers look good, you have egotistical people putting themselves over in hindsight, etc. Unless you actually can see some paper documents or hear the words come out of someone’s mouth, you can’t trust about 95% of anything in wrestling’s history.
Very well said. I agree totally.
Roberts, you did it baby! You hit the big time!!
Congratulations Matthew! I’d love to chat or e-mail some more some time.
Thanks for the congratulations and I would love to e - mail or chat too some time.
Can I get your e-mail address? I’m not finding anywhere on this site where I’m able to locate it. If you don’t feel comfortable posting it here, please feel free to e-mail me at sturm316@yahoo.com.
Thanks for the address. I just sent you a message.
Mr. Roberts,
Congrats. From the convo’s we’ve had, you seem like a man after my own heart. From watching 24/7 and looking back at stuff that was just 3 or 4 years ago, it looks like the fed hasn’t learned a damn thing and I’m really upset as to where they once were and where they could be at this very moment.
There are 3 main individuals that I want to discuss right now for those on this blog -
1.) The Rock - Dwayne should’ve been THE guy that the fed was built around and the guy that could still be drawing TONS of money. He had everything that Hogan had and more - he was a much better worker and he was a much better personality backstage.
2.) John Cena - he’s getting the push that The Rock should’ve gotten; however, he’s so stale as a face that their gonna have to push him as a heel sooner than later. He’s got to be the guy to build up new talent (and I do think that he can do it); however, the fed is gonna have to realize that they need to go in this direction right now… The product is so stale and John has had the biggest push a face can possibly have. The only other thing they can do is take all of the gloves off and let him loose as a piece of crap, smarmy heel…
3.) Stephanie - the downfall of wrestling. I cannot believe that Vince McMahon allowed his daughter to marry a wrestler. As much as I hate Michael Levesque, I give him props for seeing the biggest commodity to securing his career and his future. Shane should be the guy that Vince trusted w/ his company, not Steph. That’s not being sexist, its just calling a spade a spade. When things get even worse than what they are right now, it will all be at the feet of Stephanie… Deer in headlights for a wrestler that had only one good year of matches and will more than likely have huge influence backstage when he decides to hang it up. I only hope that when HHH retires, he’ll focus his energies on making the company better than what it could’ve been when he was an active competitor…
Just food for thought folks…
Cena’s going to have to be turned heel in the next few years. No one’s going to buy a guy in his mid 30’s still doing the same gimmick of baggy pants, jerseys, and whatnot.
Also, whats scary is that Cena is going to be around for a loooong time. Too long. Guys like Bret, Austin, Undertaker, Hogan, Flair, Savage were all in their 30’s when they finally won the big Championship. Cena’s late 20’s and already achieved that. Its also why I think those guys title wins are more memorable, they worked hard for years to get to that moment. Guys like Lashley, Cena, Orton weren’t even in wrestling for longer than 5 years before they got to the top.
I agree, Stephanie is a main factor in whats wrong with WWE.
Well the root of the issue of guys getting to the top spot now instead of having to wait years to hone their craft is b/c of the speed in which the industry works now. The Monday Night Wars were a gift and a curse to a certain extent. Gone are the days of jobber matches and using TV to showcase stars for house show performances. Big time matches occur on weekly TV; however, they’ve watered down the need to spend money on a PPV - which changed the biz as well…
PPV has been good b/c we all get to see major storyline developments and title changes instead of having to watch a title change a week after its taken place at a house show… But again the Monday Night Wars made the FED change their whole booking perspective to pop a big rating to compete w/ WCW.
What I’m trying to say is guys have to be pushed now instead of being fully capable of carrying matches like they should as THE top performer for a territory or federation. I hope that made sense.
Even looking at HHH back in 2000, look at how long it took for him to develop as a capable worker who could carry a match. I mean his feud w/ Foley helped tons but he was able to deliver the goods when he reached his peak, which was in his 30’s. That’s how the biz used to work, guys in their 30’s were much better workers and knew how to better tell stories than guys in their 20’s who are just breaking into the sport.
Still hope y’all see where I’m coming from w/ this point -
I see where you are coming from and I agree. The fact is the house show business died in 1993 and it is not coming back. That forced the change of the business model from being live event based to being television based for revenue. WCW made that change first, which caused them to take the lead, then McMahon came roaring back and changed it better than WCW had by adding revenue drivers WCW never had, such as DVD and web based content sales.
Since WWE is the big dog and WCW isn’t around, I always thought they would’ve slowed down. They’re booking the same way they in late 99 and 2000. More jobber matches on tv and more emphasis on booking towards a ppv instead of booking just to tune in next week.
Vince McMahon has jobber matches; he just has the jobbers as full time roster members rather than coming in for a single job for the most part. Old school jobber matches will not be coming back for several reasons.
1. Old school jobber matches built towards house shows, which were the main revenue driver. House shows are now a minor revenue source and many times lose money. Advertising revenue and merchandise sales are now the main revenue drivers with some revenue coming from pay per view.
2. Television ratings and advertising revenue are needed to continue NBC / Universal and CW network funding WWF television shows. Jobber matches would cause that to drop and McMahon can not afford that.
3. McMahon does not like bringing in jobbers to do a single job then leave for many reasons. For 1 thing 1 can show up on his show then be on TNA the next week. For another thing, if a jobber gets hurt it opens up a potential variety of legal problems, such as the law suit against the Rockers by the jobber who did not know how to take a back bump in the 1980’s. Contracted talent are not going to lose their jobs to sue McMahon, but non contracted talent have little to lose in many cases (Saturn killing jobbers on Jakked got him fired because they were lucky nobody sued over that).
I guess thats why another reason why I like the old days so much.
They could still slow the booking down a lot instead of having big marquee matches every week. Instead, more tags and 6-mans.
I miss the good old days too for the most part. They do need to slow down the booking by eliminating half their pay per views and the ECW and Smackdown television shows. TNA needs to go bye bye too because wrestling is over exposed. However, none of that will happen any time soon (except for TNA going bust maybe).
As much as I don’t like TNA, I hope they don’t fold anytime soon. It gives people a place to work and I always hate it when businesses close up, like when a Wal-Mart moves into town and eventually the local grocery has to shut down.
Thats why I liked ECW. It gave people a chance to shine that wouldn’t have gotten that opportunity. Guys like Tajiri, Guido, Super Crazy had credibilty in ECW but were just midcard jokes in WWE. Although I did like Tajiri’s role as Regal’s “house boy.”
I really do not care 1 way or the other if TNA flops. My bet is with the money it keeps losing it will. I do think it is better for the industry as a whole for there to be less wrestling on television. The wrestlers with talent will always land on their feet some place as the best ECW guys have proven.
I thank you for your kind words. Forget the last 3 or 4 years, wrestling has been doing the same thing for decades and it is never going to change. Wrestling is cyclical because promoters never learn and make the same mistakes over and over again. Nepotism, politics, and greed are the trademarks of wrestling since before Vince McMahon was born.
1. I disagree that the Rock should have been pushed harder, he was pushed exactly right. For 1 thing, if Rock was pushed harder, when he left for Hollywood it would have been far more disastrous for the WWF than it was (which was pretty disastrous since Austin left at the same time). For another thing, even at the level of push the Rock was given, fans were turning against him when he first left, which led to Hogan unintentionally getting over as a face and Rock having to go heel during his brief come back. Rock was good, but for the long term of the business it was good that he left when he did, so guys like Cena got a chance (better they found out Lesnar, Blandy, and Botchtista were duds early rather than later).
2. Cena got the right push, but they waited a year too long to put the World title on him. The same thing as happened to Warrior, when he was super over he ran through all the heels while holding a secondary belt, so when he ended up getting the big belt he was stale. Cena needs to be turned heel immediately while he has heat for the long term good as him as a face and because outside of Edge there is not 1 over main event heel on the roster (Edge is starting to go stale too with the Hardy heat wearing off). However, since this is wrestling and wrestling never learns, they will ride Cena as a face until that horse is dead and buried, then they will scramble around losing money throwing crap at the wall.
3. I am the ultimate Nipple H hater on Earth, but I do not think by herself she is the downfall of wrestling. Compared to the redneck bimbo Dixie Carter, Nipple H is a genius at wrestling (Stephanie knows enough to hate Russo at least). As far as Shane being in charge is concerned, that would be the downfall of wrestling (there is a reason the WWF does not yet have a plan for succession like most family run businesses do). If it was up to Shane McMahon we would have Testicles and “The Lethal Dullness” Steve Blackman feuding for the World title.
There was a GI Joe episode that relates to this. There was a GI Joe episode that relates to everything in life. The bad guys (Cobra) infiltrated the command structure of GI Joe and put 3 big goof balls in charge over the many competent leaders they had available. Luckily, the top guy (General Hawk) came back before the goof balls got GI Joe wiped out.
A. Dial Tone was made a leader and he sucked because he always wanted to be a leader (had desire), but he was a moron (had no ability). This is who Nipple H is.
B. Lifeline was made a leader and he sucked because he had the ability to lead (he was smart), but did not have the desire to lead (he was a medic and a pacifist). This is who Triple H is.
C. Shipwreck was made a leader and he sucked because he had neither the ability (he was an idiot) nor the desire (he was lazy) to lead. This is who Shane McMahon is.
He’s nothing like Shipwreck… Where is Shane’s smartass parrot? And Cena needs to master the art of the no sell… Pull some Sting tapes out and go to school.
That would give people more reason to complain about him, he can’t wrestle and now he doesn’t sell big moves.
I never said Shane was cool like Shipwreck, I just said he was lazy and dumb like Shipwreck. It takes a talent to be as lazy and worthless as Shipwreck and maintain coolness. As far as where Shane’s parrot is now, I have no clue. What is Andrew Martin up to after getting fired for juicing?
Sting could sell just fine, nobody has ever complained about Sting not selling for them. I refer you to matches against Vader, Foley, Flair, and Muta for proof of Sting selling (people hate Starcade 1997 because they say Sting sold too much for Hogan). Cena does not need to no sell more; if he did fans would get sicker of him than they are. Cena needs to improve his long term selling, but so do 95% of wrestlers now at days.
I finally got a chance to watch the Sting-Vader series very recently, thanks to my very good close personal friend, the jawas.
They all rocked the house.
Sting versus Vader rules hard.
I even dug Davey Boy Smith vs. Vader, good power match. I wish I would’ve seen all this WCW stuff back then, instead of now, 15 years later.
Some Vader stuff was good and some of it was not. Vader was hit or miss. Davey Boy was good, but Ron Simmons was bad for instance. I like more of Vader now than I did then.
I never said Sting never sold(I loved his stuff vs Vader, and you can’t no sell against Vader unless you want to get stiffed even worse!), but when he did a no-sell like vs Flair or Rude or Jarrett recently and did the superman comeback it always seemed cooler than Hogan or Warrior… I think Cena should cater to his base and expand it by incorporating stuff like no selling punches like those HBK birdshit fist he sold at WM like Shawn was Harley Race… Fuck that he’s the champ and selling for HBK’s skinny ass like that exposes the business and makes him look like a wet behind the ears pussy… I don’t think the smart marks in the crowd who want to be a part of the show and cheer the heels are ever going to cheer him without him losing his base support and turning heel… If he turned heel now it would just get X-pac/JBL/Hollywood Blondes heat and equal NO MONEY… Just boos for the sake of boos and you lose a guy he sells merch to kids and women.
What is “Hollywood Blondes” heat?
A heel act that is over and can get a ton of heat with a live audience, but can only draw a 2.6 Clash rating headlining with Flair when previous Clashes where getting 4s and 5s…
I do not understand the Hollywood Blondes heat comment either. X – Pac heat is the definition of go away, we do not want to see you heat that draws no cash. Hollywood Blondes heat is the polar opposite as people paid to see them get their asses kicked because they were so good at pretending to be jerks. JBL was some place in the middle as he started with X – Pac heat, but eventually won fans over to become a serviceable main event wrestler.
Hogan no sold Vader, so it has happened. Sting only no sold during the standard face comeback, which has been around for decades. Cena sells at an acceptable level; he certainly should not no sell more because no selling has never been a part of his gimmick like a Hogan or Undertaker. Every big name in wrestling has sold for Michaels over the past 20 years (even Hogan sold as much as his washed up ass could), so Cena should sell everything Michaels does.
If you don’t know the difference between the superman comeback and the standard face heat segment I question your knowlege on the business… Cena needs to develope a superman comeback like Hogan, Warrior, and Sting before him… He doesn’t have the Rock’s mouthpiece, Bret’s psychology and its a different era now so making him a rebel baddass like Austin wouldn’t work either… If you heel him yeah you might get an entertaining heel, but you would also alienate his fanbase that he actually does have.
If you are going to claim Hogan and Warrior’s Superman comeback are the same as a Sting comeback, then I am going to have to question your knowledge of the business. Cena works a Sting style and he always has, so he has not had and does not need a Superman comeback. The only 2 things Cena does not need to work on in the ring are his short term selling and his comeback timing / ferocity (fans no longer buy Hogan and Warrior type comebacks). Cena’s fan base is disappearing rapidly and he needs to heel now before they all go away.
You’r right sting’s superman comebacks where different… That is why I referenced him at first:) I remember watching a match with him and Rick Rude going back and forth with punches and all of a sudden Sting starts no selling-letting Rude punch him a couple of times… And then Sting screams(eyes bugging out) while pointing to his own jaw, “C’mon hit me again” starting his superman comeback… Its all different depending on the individual from Lawler to Hogan to Sting… And fans seem to still pop when HBK lets the Power of Christ compel HIM~! … And as far as Cena turning heel goes it just seems so contrived and forced at this point to go that route… For months now he’s been a nice guy and doesn’t let the negative crowd reaction get him down and now this week on RAW he’s EVIL~!… Bleh I think after the nWo angle people are sick of heel turns for the sake of heel turns… I think WWE are better off thinking of better ways to get him more face heat than cheap heel heat.
I mean no insult to European fans, but they generally pop for whoever the faces are when the WWF tours over seas because they are starved for live WWF action. Even those fans are booing Cena out of the building now so he needs to go heel before they just stop reacting totally. Nothing else is going to get him over again as a face later on (I am not advocating a life long Cena heel turn, just a year or so). Michaels is the guy the WWF has been heeling just for the sake of heeling him and to try to keep Cena face and fans are not buying it 1 bit.
What do you know about European fans? No insult taken but you don’t know it all.
They generally pop for the faces as there aren’t usually the same amount of smarks in the audience over here. We’re not cattle, we are capable of thought.
These events in europe are generally attended to by families, providing a healthy smattering of kids who like Cena, there’s your pop.
We’re not starved for live action. We get a tour every 6 months but the cities are changed sometimes.
Cardiff didn’t get the survivor series tour last year but gets the wrestlemania and survivor series this year. How many times a year does the E visit Seattle? Bet it’s not a lot more.
As for Michaels heeling it, he’s not doing it to the best of his ability is he?
Damn go back to the Hogan stuff, that was all true but the fans shit all over him for it, the promo in Canada where he pretended that Hogan and Bret were coming out.
Michaels is one of the best heels in the business. Trouble is his beliefs now make that more difficult for him to do. If he came back as dancing,cocky, look at me I’m sexy, do what I say say not as I do HBK then Cena would have super face pops against him.
Robert,
My point about Rock is this - either way you go (face or heel) he is a bonafied HEAT Machine… His match w/ Hogan was part nostalgia b/c the fans in Canada wanted to cheer for Hogan, but deep down they knew that the Rock was winning the match. That’s why the crowd didn’t boo the outcome. A lot of times crowds are gonna cheer or boo whoever, but fans are a lot smarter than what feds give them credit for - TNA or WWE…
If Shane was that much of a jackass as you guys say he is, then damn - the McMahon family empire is in a lot of trouble. Now that will then lead me back to HHH b/c he’ll give Steph the input on who he thinks can lead the company when he hangs ‘em up, hopefully…
As I type this, though - I think I’m giving Mike H too much credit b/c he practically robbed of the Jericho/Rock main event that could’ve made TONS of money for the fed. He also practically ran a broken down Angle out of the fed as well, but still Kurt Angle should not be in a TNA ring.
And I remember the episode of G.I. Joe you were talking about. I have the 3 more mixed up than you do - I consider HHH to be Dial Tone ’cause he has the desire to lead, however he couldn’t draw heat for sh!t as far as being charasmatic and when he got injured it was all over. With them booking around him at WM2000 it was a huge screwup as far as I’m concerned. Then putting him over Jericho at WMX8 was an even bigger mistake b/c Jericho had just as much charisma as Rock and was a much better heel that they could’ve used to build someone else for but didn’t. I have major hatred for HHH and that’s why I’m rambling on w/ him. I consider Shane to be Lifeline b/c I do believe that he has the ability… And I consider Steph to be Shipwreck b/c damn is she really screwing things up…
Stephanie is definitely Dial Tone because she will stop at nothing to run the WWF, but she knows nothing about professional wrestling. Triple H is definitely Lifeline because he knows wrestling and is smart enough to lead, but is content to be behind his wife. Shane is Shipwreck because he has no clue how to run a wrestling company (World Champion Steve Blackman) and he really does not care because he is happy with whatever flunky job he gets. The WWF is in big trouble when Vince dies in 100 years or so (from 19 stab wounds like Mister Burns on the Simpsons).
Rock was not over as a face before or after the first Hogan program. I was at Smackdown where fans booed Rock (including me) no matter what Hogan was doing. Fans rightly or wrongly resented Rock’s Hollywood tenure. Absence has made the heart grow fonder on Rock, but I do not think he will ever recover that love he had in 2000 from wrestling fans.
I used to be anti Hunter, but I gave that up years ago. Angle is in TNA because he is a nearly crippled drug addict, not because of Hunter. Hunter’s win over Jericho was basic wrestling booking as Hunter was a huge face making his comeback and he needed the win. I used to tear Hunter apart on the internet, but then I sat down 1 day and looked at his political moves in retrospect and decided they were for the good of the business (I am glad he buried RVD, Angle, Orton, Hardy, et cetera now and I see why he did what he did).
HHH is content w/ being behind his wife b/c he knows that he has her wrapped completely around his finger. So in the end, this is like John York taking over the SF 49ers and tanking that organization before they make an attempt to rebound…
Honestly, I gave up on the biz after Rock/Austin III.
A couple of questions -
what kept Austin/Hogan from happening?
why did Angle get fired, was it a failed drug test?
Why are Vince and Hogan having a falling out right now?
What turns you off about RVD - lack of crisp maneuvers, only a spot fest wrestler maybe?
1. Austin and Hogan will never happen because they hate each other’s guts going back to WCW. When Hogan came into WCW that was the end of Austin’s push for different reasons depending on who you want to believe. My opinion from hearing all sides is that Austin wanted to work Hogan (coming up with wacky ideas to try to get Hogan to do it, like being Hogan’s cousin on camera or being a Hulkamaniac) and Hogan rightly or wrongly rejected working Austin, so Austin took his ball and went home with some real, but milked, injuries, which made Bischoff fire him. Also, Austin and Hogan are never going to job again for anybody, much less each other, and both guys have creative control over everything they do, so booking the match would be a nightmare (Austin only did the Rock / Austin 3 job because that was the last job he owed in the business from Rock lying down the first 2 times for him).
2. Angle failed drug tests and refused company paid rehab. His neck is completely shot to the point Vince McMahon tried to get Angle to retire and move into a non wrestling role 3 years ago. Angle’s reputation in the locker room had sunk to rock bottom as he was always complaining about his booking or push. McMahon told Angle to go to rehab and heal himself while cleaning up his act or be fired and Angle wanted to be fired (McMahon was so desperate to get rid of Angle he did not even hold him to the standard 90 day no compete clause).
3. Vince and Hogan are bitching at each other about money like they do every couple of years (it will be patched up by Wrestlemania 24). Vince wanted Hogan to sign a lifetime intellectual property deal as Austin is under and Hogan refused. Hogan wanted the money Cena and Michaels were getting for Wrestlemania 23 to do the Trump match and Vince rightfully told Hogan he was nuts to expect to get the same money as full time wrestlers who are main eventing the show. The Hogan / Orton match at Summerslam last year did not draw a dime and Hogan’s last television appearances did nothing for ratings, so McMahon has told Hogan he is done taking the majority of the money for what ever shows he works.
4. I was a huge RVD fan for years from the first time I ever saw him live at the Invasion pay per view. I cried for his push and waited endlessly until it finally came. Then his dumb ass blew it and he went up in smoke figuratively and literally, by getting busted for drugs and making a joke out of it (including flipping people off at his sentencing). He is horribly stale as a wrestler, when he was in the middle of his push he was doing nothing before he even got busted, and I wish he would go to TNA with the rest of the has beens like he was saying he would do, but I know he will not do.
I heard nothing about RVD flipping people off during his sentencing. Whered you read that? I guess this would be a good time to ask what (or who) your sources are. Im pretty sure youre getting some stuff from the Observer (and maybe the Torch) but I was curious where else you might be getting your info from. I mean if you know people in the business, I obviously don’t expect you to out them, but I am curious.
The Wrestling Observer originally reported that Sabu and Rob Van Dam flipped off the media in the court room. You can read about it at this link (it is in a shaded box towards the bottom of the page)
http://www.obsessedwithwrestling.com/profiles/r/rob-van-dam.html
Also, Rob Van Dam on his web site wrote a post making fun of his suspension when it happened and saying he wanted a vacation (RVD is a dick). I claim no special knowledge of the business or any wrestlers; I just voraciously read and watch whatever I can about it (though I do not pay for news at any of the pay sites).
JROC133 first off . . .
1. The Rock decided he could make more money making movies. He did something Hogan never could do, nor Austin (and I doubt Austin breaks thru with “The Condemed” either). I couldn’t blame the guy wanting to get away from the wrestling life and just become regular actor. If the well ever runs dry he’ll be back somewhere, even Japan, but I got a feeling that Dwayne Johnson is set and has no real desire to ever set foot in a wrestling ring again. Not to mention rumored legit heat with Triple H. And even though he cut a pre-recorded promo on Raw to hype Wrestlemania 23 - it tells you how much he wants to really be part of Wrestling anymore and I bet the only reason they got Rocky to do the promo was because they wanted a “legendary” face. And Rocky was legendary, but once the movie deals came in and he was somewhat a success — you knew he was never going to work in a wrestling ring again. He did a few guest spots, but like Hogan before him and currently — he feels he is bigger than wrestling; and unlike my hero — he might be — for the moment. I mean when the WWE is the only game and town, look how many top talents just said screw wrestling and went to other forms of entertainment. See Jericho, Chris; Stratus, Trish; Dumas, Amy “Lita.” And those were the ones that weren’t fired outright by Vince either.
2. I like Cena as the spunky Hogan-like babyface, but crowd reaction doesn’t lie — they hate his ever-friggin guts. He was a solid babyface in 2004, and I think he is still a big draw to the Smackdown crowd — but when Steph and the crack writing team decided to make him the focus of Raw - you lost several upper midcard guys that just threw their hands up and quit the company. There was nothing wrong with Cena on Smackdown, he was over on that show and if you wanted a feud with either Christian or Jericho — send them over to him rather than visa-versa. Instead Cena basically sends Jericho into rock and roll retirement; and what could have made bland-midcarder midget Christian a legit upper midcard threat turned him into Cena’s jobbing boy and was thrown to Smackdown in a lower posistion than he was on Raw before Cena showed up. But hey, we got “real talent” like Khali and Lashley running the roost.
3. Is it all Steph’s fault? Old tubbo hasn’t worked outside of a desk since she was knocked up and now raising the kid. Although I think her lacky’s are even lamer than she is.
1. Rock did leave for movies and I do not blame him, though he has been disrespectful towards wrestling in the mainstream media prior to doing his Wrestlemania 23 promo. Rock will never wrestle another match any place, maybe we will get a guest referee spot or 2 once the film career comes to an end, which will be soon (Rock has made a fortune in Hollywood, but his movies have not drawn well). I never bought into the Hunter / Rock heat rumors because they did way too much business together to hate each other like say Hogan / Austin do. Austin, like Hogan, might have made it in Hollywood if they took up the mainstream offers they had in their wrestling prime, but both decided to do the smart thing for them and stick with wrestling when they were making huge money (a bird in the hand is worth more than Lita’s bush or something like that).
2. Cena did not cause 1 single wrestler to leave the WWF, even if he is losing his overness. Jericho’s contract was up 3 months before he left, but he signed an extension just to work Cena and put Cena over on the way out. Christian left because he was told the truth that he is only a comedy mid card act, but he also stayed past his contract and showed up at Taboo Tuesday just in case he was needed. Trish left to take a stab at Hollywood and devote herself to her lucky husband and Lita left to service punk rock bands (she already had taken care of the whole WWF roster a few times over) and mess around the Indy scene.
3. Nipple H’s lackeys are a bunch of boobs. She gets the blame for being the head dope, but they all stink. Michael Hayes is head road agent and he does not even attend most house shows. Surfer Johnny Ace has been a horrific disaster in talent relations (his biggest signing was Kelly Kelly, which should tell you something).
Well, she should take the blame. She hired them. Didn’t they start hiring ‘Hollywood’ writers once Stephanie took over?
Don’t forget that idiot rodent Kevin Dunn. What a waste of oxygen.
Kevin Dunn is a moron and had an over inflated reputation for years. Nipple H was there when they started hiring Hollywood wash out writers. However, I think the decision to do that rests with Vince McMahon. I guess with minds like Michael Hayes and Johnny Ace running things they were desperate for help.
Great now even more of Robert crowbarring Black Lesnar into every posting…As Nash said “Take it easy Imus.” That Black Lesnar stuff comes off very ignorant
I love getting heat before I even make my first post. It is like the internet declaring Eugene the worst thing is history before his debut, then the gimmick got over huge (for a while at least). I have already explained the reasons why I call Lashley Black Lesnar (though I like Lashley as a person more than I ever liked Lesnar as a person) due to the exact similarity in gimmick and push, so I shall not go through that entire explanation again for those who can not read the previous posts (I did not invent the Black Lesnar name either). I have never made a derogatory comment about Lashley’s race or any other wrestler’s ethnic background and I would not as a long time fan of Tito Santana and Junkyard Dog all the way up to today’s criminally under used talented minority wrestlers, such as Carlito and Shelton Benjamin (who each deserve Lashley’s push more than Lashley does).
I am not Imus as I am not a 99 year old, washed up, has been, second rate Howard Stern rip off. I was for firing Imus years ago, so I am glad he is gone. I wish there was more of a public out cry over Big Slow stupidly saying Big Slow was his slave name as there was over Imus. The left wing is always going to go into their tired cries of racism whenever somebody points out a legitimate fact about race (such as that McMahon booking from Vince Senior to Vince Junior has always been ethnically conscious from Sammartino to Lashley), so I will put these complaints in that context and move on.
My writing style will not change for anybody, so keep on complaining because it does no good with me. I am grateful and proud that Scott Keith placed the faith in me to allow me to make posts, but it is not a position I lobbied for or ever expected to get. If I was told I had to change my style of writing to accept it, I would not have, because I am a big free speech advocate. Scott Keith knows my style of writing (I am opinionated and unapologetic about it) and made this decision on his own without making any demands on how I write, so I accepted it as that.
As far as praising Scott Keith goes, I will continue to do it because I want to do it. I am a long time fan of his work (I read Wrestling’s One Ring Circus while on jury duty and his rants for years before and after that) because whether I disagree with him (as I often do) or agree with him, I am always entertained by him as a writer. He let me join this blog some months ago (a privilege many members take for granted here) and I have enjoyed spirited debate while rekindling a dying love for wrestling as it is right now. Now, he just totally sweeps me off my feet by letting me author posts on his personal blog (a great trust he has only shared with 1 other person outside of himself), so whether you want to read it or not, I am going to display my gratitude and appreciation of what he has done for me and for professional wrestling as a whole.
For what it’s worth, I’d like to request that you drop the nicknames, too, along with the kissing up to and praising of Scott. It’s all incredibly distracting and it honestly makes me NOT want to read your replies.
Wow, sounds like the Backlash has already begun on MRobert. Speaking of which, was Blacklash on your list of rejected nicknames for Bobby?
Take the RO out of Brock and replace it with LA and you get the nickname I use for Lashley (because both wrestlers use the same gimmick, not because of race), which I did not even come up with as I read it some place else. I had no use for either Lesnar, though Lashley is a way better person while Brock was a slightly better wrestler. People can backlash all they want, it does not phase me because I am going to do things my way the same way I have been all along (to thyne own self be true is my motto). I do the best I can at everything I do for myself because I am a perfectionist, and I will do the best I can here for that same reason and because I have the utmost respect and regard for Scott Keith for giving me a chance to help out his little community here that he has set up for us to have these rousing debates.
Whats wrong with Lesnar? He’s a big muscley freak (what Vince likes) but he could go in the ring, which is what use wrestling nerds like. Should’ve been the best of both worlds. I think WWE pushed him too fast which caused him to get burnt out. Maybe I’m wrong and he eventually would’ve left anyways. It just seems like the same way with Orton. He was pushed pretty fast too, so now he thinks he’s bullt proof and can do whatever he wants.
Brock Lesnar was pushed way too hard too fast. He looked like a million bucks, but did not have the dedication or personality to be a long term main event wrestler. The Lesnar super push was a reason why I did not watch wrestling in 2003. He had a couple of good matches (I have the Here Comes The Pain DVD), but in terms of carrying a compelling story he never cut it.
I didn’t watch wrestling in 03 because on one show it was the McMahon Cinema, while RAW never had anything watchable except Chris Jericho.
I wanted to watch Smackdown more because I liked Benoit, Angle, Tajiri, Brock, and Eddie but I just couldn’t stand Vince, Hogan, and Stephanie being on tv so much.
The combination of Nipple H and Bischoff was too much for me in 2003. I just had no interest in Lesnar. In 2004 Cena, Guerrero, and Benoit got me back into wrestling. I liked World’s Greatest Tag Team a lot too.
Cena brought you back to wrestling? Wow.
I used to be a huge Cena fan. His act was fresh and he was doing something original. Then, Nipple H ruined him and he became the dud he is today. I miss the rapping and throwback jerseys.
Id like to congratulate MRoberts for getting the gig. Also wanted to ask you: do you have any insider info on why Christy Hemme was released? I always saw her as, potentially, the next Trish (in terms of rising up from mediocrity to being pretty good in the ring) and was always mystified why she was let go - epsecially considering they paid her $250,000.
-Martman
Hi MRoberts
Congrats on getting the gig with Scott’s Blog. I hope to read more of your interesting opinions on wrestling. BTW, you wouldnt happen to know why Christy Hemme got released would you?
-Martman
Thank you for your words of congratulations. My opinion on why Christy got fired was because she screwed Hunter and / or Botchtista. Hunter and / or Botchtista were riding with her (or on her) at the time she was fired. The reason given was the lame creative had nothing for her, the rumor was she was flirting with Hunter, but I think it was more than that and here is why.
1. Christy had just signed a new long term contract and was to report to Ohio Valley to learn to wrestle right before she was fired. Nobody gets fired out of the blue after signing a new contract and wanting to learn to wrestle for just flirting or lack of story lines.
2. Christy was not held to the standard 90 day no compete clause after she was fired. People fired for lack of creative plans are always held to that. When they just fire you and do not care if you show up in another company the next day, you did something (or somebody) more than flirt.
3. Christy and the WWF will not say a word about why she was fired. Compare that to a Charlie Haas who really got fired for the inability of the noncreative department to come up with a story line for him and who ripped them for months publicly. If Christy were fired just for