Hash O' Stuff

Old Timer Wrestling Conventions

2010-01-27T01:00:00.000-06:00

Old School- Robert Gibson (1/2 of The Rock 'N Roll Express) signing autographs

In the sporting world nostalgia is big business. It should be as heroes are part of some of the best times in our lives. And in their heyday it is difficult to get around these heroes. But as times goes by and new superstars emerge, yesterday's heroes become more accessible. Many supplement their income by doing autograph shows. It seems to be big business.

For professional wrestlers there are different old-time gatherings that they attend and make themselves available to their fans. It is good to see them at the shows. Unfortunately, these conventions are few and far in between. Having a trade show with memorabilia, pictures, and booths is not that frequent. If one can find them, they should attend. Some old-time wrestlers have websites and lists when they will attend a show. I like to see a tradeshow with Baron Von Rashke, one of my favorite old-time wrestlers. On his site he does have pictures of him at various trade shows.

I haven't been to one of the much smaller fan conventions, and don't know if they really exist. I'm talking about this scene in The Wrestler where Mickey Rourke goes to some event with other wrestlers seated at card tables and they are selling their autographs, trinkets, and videos. Sadly, in the movie there was no one at the show. But that sad scene was an element to make the movie sad. I do hope old-timers do better than that movie scene showed.

Hulk Hogan On TNA

2010-01-23T09:53:00.002-06:00

Add this post to the many reviews of Hulk Hogan's time on TNA. Really, it comes in two parts as this review is late enough to also include the first weeks following the introduction of Hogan to Impact.

The January 4 introduction of Hulk Hogan to see TNA Impact was awesome. The only weakness I saw was Hogan mentioning he was backstage with the talent all-day long, when the show spent a great deal of time and money ostensibly showing Hogan coming to the arena in a stretch limo and an accompanying motorcade. The motorcade was complete with police escort. Other than that it did a good job of introducing new additions to the roster without giving too much away. It was more of a tease of what is to come. Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, The Nasty Boys, Scott Hall, and Sean Waldman were all introduced during the show.

It was also a good strategy to schedule this against WWE Raw on Monday nights. This gave Impact its highest ratings ever. Can't really say it was because of the Monday night maneuver, but it did help make a statement and build buzz.

The subsequent weeks started to show the storylines. Unfortunately, the Nasty Boys are back. They didn’t get over when they were in their prime and these WCW refugees suppose to add to TNA? The same with the NWO line-up with Scott Hall and Waldman reforming with Kevin Nash as The Band. There is hope that Hogan is going to split from them. Hall doesn't look like he could make it three minutes in a ring. Waldman probably will flake out in a few weeks. There is a reason Kevin Nash has been able to keep a career going in pro wrestling. Then there is Bischoff. What does he add? Out of all the WCW retreads, Bischoff is the one that needs to go.

So, after the initial hype it looks like the WCW reunion will probably end with a WCW crash.

Be sure and check out the bbusiness show The Sharktank.

Professional Wrestling And Flying

2009-12-11T21:57:00.001-06:00

When one begins to look at professional wrestling as a business or a sub-culture, there are a number of interesting themes that arise. One I see is aviation as it affects wrestlers. Seems many professional wrestling stories revolve around the aviation industry. Commercial aircraft and private aircraft come into play. This is not to say that wrestler are flying about in private Gulfstreams. The only one who could afford to own a private jet is McMahon. I doubt even Hogan at his peak could afford a private jet, but that doesn't stop the stories.

One private aircraft story that comes to mind is Ric Flair being involved in a plane crash. It left him with a broken back but he did recover, obviously. But that same crash did leave Johnny Valentine paralyzed. The reason the wrestlers were flying was to save time and money, as they went in together for the flight.

On commercial aircraft wrestlers currently fly. WWE superstars are given vouchers to fly from venue to venue, and only the top stars like Bautista can get first class tickets. He actually has that stipulation in his contract. This is a change from the old days when wrestlers would travel via automobiles together. This made for some awkward moments when supposed enemies in feuds would be caught together. One of the most famous was Jim Duggan and The Iron Sheik getting busted for drugs while traveling together.

Old School Indian Wrestlers

2009-11-29T07:28:00.003-06:00

Chief Wahoo McDaniels

Since the age of televised wrestling Native Americans have been characters, except for most recent years. I didn’t know how far back as my reference only goes so far as Chief Wahoo McDaniels, Well, the other day I was looking up the actor who played Luca Brasi in the Godfather and found his name was Lenny Montana. He did have some ties with the mob, Wikipedia called him an "associate" of the Colombo family. But he had spent years as a professional wrestler and had feuded with Chief Little Eagle. Reading on Chief Little Eagle led me to Chief Big Heart, and Chief Big Heart led me to Suni War Cloud. This is a whole tradition of Native wrestlers I had never heard of. And the people they feuded with include Grizzly Smith, Dick the Bruiser, Waldo Von Erich, Gorilla Monsoon, Bob Orton Sr. and my favorite Skandor Akbar. Suni War Cloud even got to act in the Jim Thorpe movie about the famed Sac and Fox athlete.

It must have been fun to watch American Indian wrestlers back then. The only downside is they all wore war bonnets. But with a nostalgic look, even that is appealing of a simpler time. I can imagine a promoter telling a Native athlete trying to get into professional wrestling if he was going to play the Indian angle he would have to wear a war bonnet. Then the athlete wondering where the heck he can get a war bonnet. Native American businesses do not sell many war bonnets. They are not a big seller.

Chief Jay Strongbow

In my day there was Wahoo McDaniel and Chief Jay Strongbow. I didn’t get to see Strongbow much growing up, as he was in the Northeastern promotions and I was in the Midwest/South. Then there was Tatanka. Never felt the kinship there as he was Lumbee. Wahoo was Chickasaw and Choctaw and played for the Oklahoma Sooners.

So, I wonder to this day what it would be like if old timers could wrestle in today's Native arenas. There are the big venues like the Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods but there are also a lot of smaller arenas. Places where there is ESPN boxing matches. The Citizen Potawatomi have a large venue that could have smaller pro wrestling matches. Most of the California casino tribes have forums for big events. I am just saying it would be neat to see Native wrestlers performing in Native arenas.

Old Is Cool With The AWA Reruns

2009-08-28T01:00:00.000-05:00

It has been enjoyable to watch AWA wrestling on ESPN classics. It's fun to see a lot of young rookies back in the day, having seen a very young Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, and Mick Foley. If it is also good to see the old style of wrestling with old timers like Chief Wahoo McDaniels and Baron Von Rashcke. It does my heart a lot of good.

This period of an AWA wrestling is set in the late nineteen eighties. Just after Wrestlemania III is Verne Gagne's response to the rise of the WWF. It is interesting to see wrestlers who are iconic on the WWF and then wrestle for the AWA. An enjoyable recent rerun was Sergeant Slaughter who attacked by the Iron Sheik, and then to Slaughter's rescue came Guerrero Brothers- Hector, Mondo, and Chavo Sr. Which again shows the generational change since this period of wrestling.

For me personally, I stay up late to catch AWA just for a promo or match with the Baron. They just don't make them like him anymore.

Khali Vs. Kane = Good

2009-08-27T01:00:00.000-05:00

I have been enjoying this feud been The Great Khali and Kane. It was a bit odd how Kane started it, but it looks like The Great Khali is ready to finish it.

This is a very good fued for Khali as he needs something after his turn to face with his comedic bit of kissing. That was fun and a unique way to turn someone to being a face. Now, we get to see him back in action, I do hope he has worked some on his wrestling moves though. I think it would be good for big men like him to study with old school wrestlers about holds and other tools they use to use back in the day. Face it, Khali will not be in a ladders match any time soon. But if he had a bag of holds he could pull from, then part of the match could be him doing his holds with would be devastating because of his strength. Then the other parts could be his opponents using acrobatics to chop him down.

Of course, this would necessitate him wrestling more MVP's or Shelton Benjamin's, rather than Kane's. But a speed versus strength match is has more opportunities than a strength versus strength match.

TNA Suffocating Homegrown Talent

2009-08-26T01:00:00.002-05:00

TNA has run into a long standing problem with crowds. It is easy to draw a crowd, but the way you draw a crowd is the way you are going to keep it. That is why one can buy a crowd, but a bought crowd has to keep being paid. In the case of TNA wrestling, the crowd was bought with the Main Event Mafia. Now, it has a problem because it has to try and grow its "organic" talent- A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, etc. They are cheaper and being younger have the longevity to grow TNA. Main Event Mafia you get what they bring, where they are is the most you will get out of them.

It is unfortunate that it takes time to grow talent, and in the mean time the bills continue. And an investment in ready-made talent does have a short-term payoff. But what has happened is that Matt Morgan, AJ Styles, and Samoa Joe are stale with little prospect of any immediate creativity. And with the Main Event Mafia, Sting, Jeff Jarrett, and Mick Foley, TNA singles action is in a stalemate with itself. Only TNA tag-team has any life to it.

A company cannot buy their way into growing, ask the WCW.

The Lame Return of DX

2009-08-25T01:00:00.002-05:00

The reintroduction of DX was a lackluster. With Triple H and Shawn Michaels coming out in full bluster mode only to be waylaid by Legacy. DX did not even have the opportunity to speak, and it is that in-ring talk that is their strength. I can understand WWE creative wanting to build the feud for Summerslam, but this was not the way to do it. It would actually have been better for DX to return at Summerslam. With Triple H and Shawn Michaels showing such weakness as to be jumped man to man and being unable to recover, makes DX look weak. This flies in the face of all the hype that the WWE has put into the return of DX.

Ultimately, I don’t mind the WWE bringing DX back, mainly because the last time they used them I believe Triple H was injured. That left Shawn Michaels alone and after Triple H was healed, DX was not reformed. Then there was a one-night return somewhere down the line. But DX needs to be near invincible due to their savvy, and not simply jumped by a pair of lackeys.

WWE Guest Hosts

2009-08-24T01:00:00.002-05:00

Guests host for WWE Raw on Monday nights has been enjoyable. I do not know about the longevity for the guest host format, but it could go until to end of the year or until Wrestlemania. Oddball guest hosts have been the most enjoyable like ZZ Top. Then having an athlete like Shaquille O'Neill or past WWE superstars make a lot of sense to guest host. What has not been making a lot of sense are actors who have no bearing on wrestling. Seth Green and Freddie Prinze Jr. were a bust. Jeremy Piven was able to bring something with his charisma and a short theme to the show, but thus far he has been the exception. If the WWE would reach further for guest hosts then that would help this gimmick come off better.

The highlight of these hosting shows has been Santino. Funny when he can easily outshine someone like Freddie Prinze Jr. He can keep these segments up until it ends, then return to a new theme with his unaware character. It's a gimmick that will not stale quickly, provided WWE creative doesn't wear it out.

Be sure and watch the TV Show about bartering - Barter Kings. Click Here.

Knowing The Ropes

2009-07-03T13:00:00.001-05:00

I was at a WWE match once when Goldberg was under contract. After the show a small crowd gathered to watch the wrestlers gather to be taken away. A few had their own vehicle but most gathered onto a pair of passenger vans. This took a long while and people shouted out at that their favorites as you caught glimpses. Most were cordial and waved at the crowd, a few ignored the crowd, but it was what Goldberg did that was amazing.

Out of all the WWE talent at his televised show, Goldberg came up the ramp with some security and signed autographs. He was nice and kept it moving as the crowd gathered around him. He teased a young boy about wearing a Stone Cold t-shirt and not his. A real pro. The question of mine is that with all the talent needing to get over with an audience, why no one else come up and sign a few autographs? In my humble opinion this raises the question, did Goldberg reach the heights of wrestling because he did what no one else was willing? Did Goldberg sign autographs because he was a top wrestler, or did he become a top wrestler because he signed autographs?

Having read both The Rock’s book The Rock Says and Stone Cold’s book The Stone Cold Truth there are some interesting revelations that led to the true superstars success. Both The Rock and Stone Cold’s success can only be compared to likes of Andre The Giant or Hulk Hogan.

What was intriguing about The Rock is how much he worked on his character and his promos. Spending a lot of time developing and crafting, even taking his character out of the writer’s hands. Compare this to hearing so many wrestlers complain about what creative is doing to their characters when they could be taking charge of their characters.

To help assist them with character development is taking a page from Stone Cold’s book. Steve Austin carried a notebook around and anytime he had an idea for his character he wrote it down. Again taking responsibility for his character and continually working on it. The Rock and Stone Cold doing what others do not.

Getting to the WWE is a long and hard road I am sure. The school, training, and paying of dues. Then there is the hit and miss of getting booked from talent. I can see why many wrestlers coast when they get contracted, because they see getting contracted as the end of the journey. The reality is that it only continues and those that reach the heights know that. Stepping up and doing more after busted you butt time and again just to get where you are., is something that very few wrestlers do. I know most have it in them, because that is what it took to get to The Show.

This is success in any field though, there is no stopping just something new. But consider that the extra is doing things like signing autographs, working new promos, and being 24 hour consistent on character development is not too much more to do than the next guy. But the gain is extraordinary.

Check out this TBBT episodes list.

Bischoff’s Book

2009-06-30T01:00:00.002-05:00

Eric Bischoff wrote the book Controversy Creates Cash sometime back. However, as it is primarily a retrospective about his time with the WCW and the various real-life plots there, it stands as a nice history of what went on. All of it is instructional, as some tales and happenings are cautionary, others quality examples. An example is how they built Goldberg. Rather than have Goldberg rise through the rank and work dark shows to learn their craft, they used the undefeated storyline, as he worked to learn the ropes. Smart. However, on the caution side is the Ted Turner history of just buying talent. It can work for a moment, but is not sustainable. And as the WWE showed, the better long term strategy is to grow your own talent.

When you consider what the WWE and TNA face just as wrestling enterprises, and consider there is nothing new under the sun, it should be instructional. It should help keep past mistakes and successes in mind of current wrestling organizations.

Trump Legacy

2009-06-29T01:00:00.001-05:00

I guess I was right that Trump was going to designate a new GM every week. Without Trump WWE Raw is continuing with that idea. I like it. Especially as Batista set a good tone for future GM’s by threatening to exercise the full powers of a GM. Future GM’s can also. The trend this far is to use injured superstars (Batista) and past superstars (DiBiase). It will be fun to see what the future will hold. McMahon threatened to use average people and I would like to see some random fan run Raw for a night. An average joe off the street would be cool too. I guess we could expect to see athletes, Hollywood celebs, and possibly even politicians.

What would be really fun would be to see vintage wrestlers, not necessarily Hall Of famers like DiBiase, but more along the lines of a Brooklyn Brawler or Doink The Clown. Regardless, I like this turn and believe it could be a lot of fun. It also should be pretty dummy proof.

TNA's Main Event Mafia Demise?

2009-06-26T01:00:00.002-05:00

Well, it has been brewing but has finally happened. The Main Event Mafia finally left the original premise of veteran wrestlers (WWE alums) banding together and demanding respect from the younger crew. Instead and inevitably they started drafting younger talent and turning on their own. Most recently the Main Event Mafia turned on Sting.

What I do not like about this most recent turn is two things. One, it has been done so much that it is cliché. Since the Four Horseman introduced the clique format, this has been a work. The NOW took it to a boundary crossing extreme, which frankly destroyed the concept. Which brings me to two, as Main Event Mafia is now trying to be anarchistic membership, there is little they can do but follow the script laid down by the NWO. There is no creative direction they can take this except to keep doing the same old thing until it simply cycles out. All they can do is invite surprising new members and turn on current members, and do it over and over and over. At least before the first real traitorous turn, the Main Event Mafia could have done something different. Something that would last like the Four Horseman, instead they opted for the downward slide of the NWO.

Trumped

2009-06-25T01:00:00.001-05:00

So, the Trump era on Raw lasted one week. Wish I could say I had seen that coming but not in the slightest. Looking backwards I am not surprised, because I always wondered how they would get Trump involved week to week, and knew he would not be traveling arena to arena. So, I figured he would appoint a GM who would speak for him and he would do taped Titantron promos every week probably shot from his "boardroom." One idea I had was Donald Trump he were to appoint celeb GM's from his show The Celebrity Apprentice.

So, Vince is back and this amounts to a popcorn fart. The question is why? Speculation has been that was an unpopular move, but Vince makes plenty of unpopular moves and never corrects them due to opinions. Another and more likely speculation is that this move actually moved the stock price of WWE. The stock price fell on the Trump buying Raw news, which is dang funny because stock owners don't know a work when they see one? All I know is this was not the plan because the WWE cannot afford to pay Donald Trump fees just for a one shot show, plus having that show commercial free. Big dollars was paid to Trump for something else and it didn't happen. The real question is what's next with Donald J. Trump?

Tommy Dreamer - A Real Champ

2009-06-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

I admire the heck out of Tommy Dreamer. I feel he is one of us made good. A real wrestling fan who has made it through hard work and love of the industry. Have seen him work things behind the scenes through the WWE webcast and the reality show Tough Enough. It was especially shown when he use to do those gross out bits. Showing me how much he truly loves being in the wrestling industry and how blessed he knows he is to be where he is. Not like others who when they get to the heights, think everything they have and more is due them. When something is given to guys like Dreamer like a belt, they treat it and the fans with respect. It makes them work that much harder. He is no prima donna.

WWE will not allow him to hold the ECW Championship very long, and that is unfortunate. Our loss when no one would work harder to make a reign mean something. A guy like Dreamer would weave many storied feuds and bouts into something to remember. And he wouldn't do it with gimmicks and shortcuts, but perseverance. I would liken a Tommy Dreamer reign to something like a Harley Race. Probably not as long, but that substantive style. Not a lot of flair or glitz, no amped up promos, but a solid understanding of the basics of wrestling that make the audience appreciate what they are seeing.

Earlier I mentioned his gross out segments, which I often wondered if they were real or a work. But that is wrestling- is it real? Kayfabe. Old School. That is what Tommy Dreamer is about, a guy without the natural talents or innate charisma that can get an instant pop, but his work ethic makes everyone appreciate him. A long Tommy Dreamer reign would make everyone he matches against instantly better. And if ECW is a training camp, what could be better? Regardless of PPV, house show, dark show, televised anyone he is in the ring will get over. That is what a Race was and that is what a Dreamer is- a betterment to the industry at-large.

A New Lame Trend?

2009-06-23T01:00:00.001-05:00

Talked about Santina's firing last time. What I didn't mention was that after the firing the footage was edited to appear that Santino ran up immediately afterwards to lament his sister's firing. As if it was actually two people. That was Raw.

Then on ECW Gregory Helms in a suit and tie (with ponytail) was interviewing Mark Henry when during the interview a case fell on a stage hand. The Hurricane came out to lift it off him after 5-6 other crew members failed. The scene was show Helms missing from a Mark Henry and Tony Atlas reaction. Quickly afterwards the scene was edited to show Helms walking back into frame with the suit and ponytail to complete the interview. As if he was there the whole time.

Not bad for some comedic mixture but a bit lame in a campy sense. If WWE creative uses this technique rarely, it could be a little tool for them. Use it too often, it will quickly deflate any Superstar using it.

A Trump Decision, Good Decision

2009-06-22T22:10:00.001-05:00

Having Donald Trump take over Raw was a bit lackluster. I was surprised McMahon was still placing himself in the mix and causing a bit of tension between him and The Donald.

The highlight of the evening though was Donald Trump fired Santina Marella. Finally putting that character to rest. I thought Santina was good for two or three weeks, but then it just went on and on. Santino Marella is too good a talent to be donning drag every week, plus doing a Santina bit takes Santino out of the picture. It does give one of Raw best talents to finally start and work new stories.

The firing was a bit unceremonial but there was two highlights in the quick exchange. First Trump referenced firing Miss California, which I thought was a string admission on his part. Seems in the press he has distanced himself from the firing and let "pageant officials" do the speaking. Second Trump used his patented catch phrase "You're Fired."

The McMahon's Diminished

2009-06-21T01:00:00.004-05:00

Recent storylines involving the McMahon's could limit their future impact if they chose to return to an active story. The first was McMahon's mysterious injury that was never resolved, the storyline was just dropped. Then there was the recent McMahon/Triple H versus Randy Orton. So, Randy Orton takes out three McMahon's and the devious Vincent Kennedy McMahon cannot come up with a suitable revenge? This is a man that went round and round with Stone Cold Steve Austin. The highlight of the McMahon's involvement in a storyline was probably the merging of ECW, WCW, and WWE. Vince does such a great heel, but he couldn't give Randy Orton what was due him.

This is unfortunate as any future return of McMahon is cheapened. Expectations are lowered and are not the draw they could be. It could also be that the whole McMahon family wants out of the story process. Shane is pretty much out already and Stephanie has a child, so they will not want to be involved in a story week after week. And Vince may be feeling his age and wanting to do more corporate HQ work. So, if the McMahon's are bowing out that is fine, they have plenty to do behind the scenes. Just hope they don't try another comeback only to shrink from after it in a few weeks.

TNA Off-course

2009-06-20T01:00:00.000-05:00

Total Non-stop Action Wrestling could be off-course. It actually is longtime in coming and unfortunate. TNA started as an underdog promotion that had the good fortune of striking a national cable deal with Spike. They were building a good company and then they went the WCW route.

Recall WCW? Ted Turner's attempt to buy into Rasslin'. Big checkbook buying big talent and it worked for awhile. Then it began to wane because the creative died. In the meantime WWF was by necessity needing to work its creative to grow its own talent. It did in The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, two icons. Wrestling hadn't seen stars of this stature since Hulk Hogan. You can't buy instant success.

TNA doesn't have Ted Turner money but they have been getting disgruntled WWE superstars. This is doubly worse than WCW. One, you never build any organization with the malcontents of another organization. They were look for greener pastures and after the honeymoon will continue to look for greener pastures. They are quitters who will quit you after a period of time. At least WCW had an understandable motive- money.

Second, creative builds talent. Get talent prepackaged then it has no where to go but down, while ignoring growing the next replacements. If provides a false sense of success. TNA was on track working AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, my favorites Black Machismo and Sharkboy were a new way to revive old themes, and Beer Money had a lot of possibilities. Then TNA tried to shortcut its way to success with recruited talent. Indeed, it did give them a bump but its also choked growing talent and creative. Now, they are floundering, trying to find storylines that will last longer than three weeks.

Trump-eting WWE

2009-06-19T01:00:00.001-05:00

OK, Vickie is gone and Vince sold Raw to Donald Trump. I think this has some possibilities and we will be seeing more Trump on the Titantron. Don't really see The Donald traveling arena to arena, week after week. So, I imagine most of the Titantron will be him speaking to set a few feature matches a week. My prediction is that he will eventually turn Raw over to an Apprentice GM after two or three weeks. He will make occasional appearances for PPV build-ups. This will probably run for 3-4 months.

Like much of the WWE creative, they set themselves up to do something good, but will they take it?

Vickie Guerrero, Please Come Back

2009-06-18T01:00:00.001-05:00

Vickie Guerrero is hopefully taking a haitus from wrestling and not leaving. I for one will miss her screeching "excuse me, excuse me" to interrupt some wrestler in the ring, as she comes out to turn his world upside down with some impossible match. Also, on a more "real" level I always felt that she was working in the WWE because Eddie Guerrero may not have left much for the family to live on. They have two children and being on the road as a single parent cannot be easy. Always thought highly of the WWE powers that be for giving Vickie the work, and they shouldn't be disappointed. She rose from Teddy Long's assistant to taking over Raw as GM. And she did the heel great, and as all heels should- get there's in the end of a story arch. She would get her knocks as a heel and was great with just plain screaming when things didn't go her way.

My only knock on her or her character was with Edge. Didn't like their "marriage," kayfabe or not, felt it was disrespectful to Eddie. Though I am sure he wouldn't have minded when it meant helping his family. Felt the marriage was only a time killer and didn't add anything to Vicky or Edge's character, was just an uncreative plot gimmick.

I don't think Vickie has left a legacy but her time on WWE was well spent for its time and hope she returns for more.

O'Something O'Good O'Coming

2009-06-17T02:58:00.002-05:00

Can't say I always liked Finlay. When he debuted with the I Like To Fight story, he didn't look very street to me. Round in the gut, blond, wearing a singlet, and carrying a shalalee, his heel tactics using a weapon didn't fit the I like To Fight. Someone who likes to fight doesn't need to cheat or use a weapon for one-on-one action. Then he did the Hornswoggle bit which was fun but didn't help him or his character. At Wrestlemania, a year back, he got shalacked by JBL which I found somewhat sad and thought he was on his way out. He has spent the past year as a jobber. Most recently he went to ECW without Hornswoggle.

Then a wonderful turn of events, he just started jumping everybody. What does this mean? I have no idea and I love it! The possibilities are endless for Finlay's character, and I realized something. I actually like him, but it has been his storylines that have held him back. A guy who likes to fight doesn't need to rely on a stick or a midget to get him over. I like the I LIke To Fight bit if he actually fought. Now he can, if WWE creative can really work something good for him. Finally, something worth watching on ECW.

Here We Go Again

2009-06-16T11:54:00.003-05:00

Randy Orton is the heavyweight champion again, after taking Batista out again. And again and again we will have to end every other episode of Raw with Legacy doing a 3-on-1 beat down and a fade out with Randy Orton sneering in the face of the "victim." What I cannot figure out is why the face can never figure out to eliminate DiBiase and Rhodes, before facing Orton. We have seen it before, start Raw with a backstage take down of one of the parties and ultimately leaving the leader of the pack one-on-one with avenging superstar. Instead, WWE creative has Batista and Triple H chasing all three around the arena solo only to get caught in ring for a 20 minute beat down to end the show. Even the commentators stop talking.

Orton makes for a good heel, no doubt there. But I cringe to think for the next three to six months we have to deal with him as champion. WWE does well when they have a surprising champion have a reign, not just regurgitate another Triple Hype championship. Jeff Hardy, Eddie Guerrero, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio these are fun and exciting times. But it is boring when a the title gets passed around the same few same olds.

The CM Punk Reprieve

2009-06-15T10:07:00.003-05:00

I am so glad that CM Punk is the new champ. Not that I am a fan of his blandness, I would much rather have Jeff Hardy hold a charismatic run as champion. But with CM Punk as title holder, that puts Edge out and the fact that it is a three way feud hopefully means Edge will be out of the heavyweight title championship for a long time. My beef with Edge (and Randy Orton for that matter) is that though his gimmick makes him a great heel, it also is one noted and has been played too much. The Rated R Superstar angle died, well it is time for the ultimate opportunist to die also. Or at least do something new and that angle does not always have to end with him holding the title.

A great heel for the long term can make you guiltily like (or love to hate him) him and he also doesn't diminish his heel-ness if he gets his comeuppance. That is the social contract, we will shell out the $35 bucks for a pay-per-view to see the heel get what he has coming. But when an Edge or a Randy Orton never get what they have coming, it breaks the contract and I stop paying for the PPV. Why pay when the feud is just going to continue for the next three months or until the face gets injuried (for real)?

Wrestling Business

2009-06-12T13:06:00.003-05:00

I am always fascinated with various businesses and how they work. With wrestling there are many facets, but the one that gets me is the salaries. How much do wrestlers make? Researching I see that it runs the gamut. Local promoters may pay $20-50 to a jobber to a pair of C-notes to a past star. TNA at one time was paying a couple of hundred dollars per show for a homegrown star like TJ Styles, and $75 for everyone else. I am sure that has changed, especially to the Main Event Mafia members.

Then there is the big Kahuna, the WWE. Most superstars make $75,000-$200,000 per year. Divas on the low end, and Superstars on the high end. They get a traveling stipend and airline coupons to get place to place. Now, real Superstars hit the seven figure mark. Reportedly, Ric Flair made $2 million in his last years, Batista and John Cena make a million or more.

These kind of dollars make WWE wrestlers almost on par with star professional athletes. Most league minimums are in the $200K a year range, with stand-outs hitting the million or more marks.