The state of the WWE.
No need to discuss my personal life for you to read. From here on out, it’s mainly diatribes towards the basic stuff we all cover here.
This Week in Wrestling
Are the WWE Fans (at least the ones we are associated with here) losing all verifiable proof of any remote intelligence?
The three Big Stories this week in “Professional” Entertainment are as follows
1) Brock Lesnar returns to WWE
2). Mass Cuts
3). The Backlash of the Muhammad Hassan Segment this Thursday following the tragic events that occurred Thursday morning.
Brock Lesnar’s impending return is being met with various reactions; some exhilarated and some outraged. Both are acceptable emotional reactions.
There has been a lot of pointless debate about how the return of Lesnar should be handled.
The general consensus is that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is the potential of a Batista-Lesnar showdown in Chicago to headline next year WrestleMania XXII event.
The problem is that everyone has their own differing belief on how exactly that clash should be built up.
There isn’t a single solid or even a loose argument that Brock Lesnar has to go onto Raw (although it’s likely some people here being the irrational and profoundly oblivious idiots they are, believe Lesnar would be better suited for Monday night. The same show that already has a large cluster of big names from John Cena, Jericho, Hogan, Michaels, Angle, The Big Show, Edge, Kane and Triple H. There’s no way Lesnar wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle over there, it’s not like anyone on that side would play any sort of political Shenanigans). It is crystal clear that Brock Lesnar needs to be on Smackdown.
The debate becomes separated into three things
A). should Brock pay “dues”?
B). How does Brock return?
C). Does a return of Brock Lesnar really signal a change for the Company
A). absolutely not. Bottom line is this, it’s a business. Every wrestler is there for the same reason, to make a living. Don’t get me wrong, some of them have a stronger ethical attachment to their profession but they have their own bottom line, which is making that income. If you want to pay these so called “dues”, do so behind the screen and away from the product itself.
Brock Lesnar, the human being probably deserves to pay some dues but not the character, the performer MUST NOT be doing jobs right off the bat to the bigwigs in the back who feel the need to squeeze onto their “spots”.
B). He needs to return where he left off, DECIMATING the roster, creating a sense of paranoia and uncertainty.
It would be wise to play off the reality of Lesnar’s departure. USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! However such action much be handled delicately, they cannot under any circumstances even come close to attaching some sort of “failure” brand on Lesnar for not getting into the NFL as he had attempted.
You focus on the fact he left the company and deserted the fans and gave no concern for the potential ramifications that come from it.
This is a delicate situation and the most crucial aspect is how he is brought back and how he is built upon that.
None of this “Ring Rust” claptrap; Brock Lesnar is an indestructible force. Ring Rust doesn’t apply to him. He is on another level and that MUST be emphasized emphatically.
C) Put aside the skimpy egos of the players in the back, Brock Lesnar’s return could potentially alter the structure of the company. However let’s be honest; the reality is…
The return of Brock really won’t change anything. Maybe aesthetically but as a whole, the company’s structure will remain the same. It might appear fresh for a couple weeks or maybe even a few months if they really play the cards right which we know is long shot expectation as it is.
It will require a complete overhaul of the product and bringing back Brock Lesnar and cutting a few meaningless names and maybe even adding a couple more of those brilliant creative Hollywood writers they covet won’t change a damn thing.
Vince McMahon is now a feeble old man trapped in collecting the reality that surrounds him. It’s not completely at the feet of Vince McMahon however, it’s the entire pyramid.
Brock Lesnar will be a nice addition to the roster and could possibly give us some quality that the company is sorely lacking but you are fooling yourself if you think this will shake the company to its core.
Mass Cuts
-As of this writing, the WWE roster has been truncated. However none of these releases will change or alter how the company is. Allow us to give a pointless “examination” of the releases.
Akio
-Nothing significant of value here. His release has no effect on the product at all. He will obviously rebound and find good work in TNA, ROH and Japan.
Jim Cornette
-Don’t fool yourself into thinking that because he slapped a student for breaking kayfabe, he was fired for it. That was the trigger WWE was looking to obtain to finally get rid of Cornette. It’s obvious they didn’t value his commitment to the territory as the track record clearly proves.
However it’s not to say Cornette is blameless here. Cornette has a well documented history with rage and let’s face it, he’s not exactly the most politically correct person walking around but that’s insignificant when you consider the man at the helm of the ship.
Jim Cornette’s value was greatly under appreciated by this company ran by monkeys, It’s not for sure who is the most as lost here because what exactly is WWE losing here? They never utilized Cornette and his work, so clearly what ever he did was irrelevant and they basically paid Cornette to be a babysitter.
Will Jim Cornette get work elsewhere? Honestly I don’t see ROH or TNA altering its design to accommodate Cornette’s completely different style. He could however just as easily return to the fold as a manager and that could allow him to do what he does best and hopefully help resolve these anger issues of his.
Matt Morgan
-Jim Cornette mission was to make something out of this roid monkey and that he delivered. It just may have been one of his greatest accomplishments of his creative legacy. This was completely pissed on. Matt Morgan offered only one thing of value and that was his ability to cut a promo. Something WWE seemingly salivated over. It appeared they had a jackpot here. Big tall monster that can talk and doesn’t require a voice like Lesnar and Vader did whose size would be able mask his weakness in the ring. They killed him by sending Carlito over to Raw and without making any effort; they cut a man with marginal upside.
Where does Morgan go from here? I wouldn’t be surprised to see him over in Japan soon.
Billy Kidman
-Mrs. Wilson jokes are getting old but let’s face it. That is Billy Kidman’s identity. Trust me; there are worst identities to have. He was done. His body completely banged up from a plethora of injuries that he was never going to recover from. It’s not surprising he was cut.
Will he get work with TNA? History indicates that he will, simply for being a former WCW star. I don’t see him hanging around for much longer however.
Gangrel-Why put someone back on your employment roster if it was just for a couple appearances.
Joy Giovanni-Clearing out the divas is fine with me. She had a brief period of relevance but that ship sailed quickly.
Dawn Marie- Technically she wasn’t released. She was pushed out with a full lump payment. Technically it’s still low grade bullshit just for the ethical reasoning. However I don’t think, honestly it was because of the pregnancy completely but the fact she was aging and although she was an excellent asset to be used for something beyond tits and ass, that just went over the heads of creative. I’m not quite sure if she will rebound and continue to work in the business after the birth.
Marty JannettY
-Shawn did him in first by refusing to do a rocker reunion tour because Shawn felt he wasn’t a nostalgic act just yet. To his credit, he might have a point. Don’t blame Shawn for this though, Marty was the irresponsible one (funny how the more people change…the more they stay the same) who put himself out of a job.
Kenzo Suzuki and Hiroko
-They weren’t on television since January and they weren’t getting over then. Another flop in the book of failures.
Mark Jindrak
-For what attributes he possessed, “the look”, he lacked in everything else. It’s not a case of a green worker here. He’s been in the business for now 5 ½ years. He has hardly shown any measure of improvement in that time, why should we expect him to by now? A case of WWE making another sensible cut.
Charlie Haas and Jackie Gayda
-Here is a completely different case however. Gayda was expendable and she even knew this and prepared for it. The fact Charlie Haas was capable of actually wrestling, something they claim to still endorse, and the WWE was incapable of accepting that fact.
To be honest, I’m happy Charlie Haas is gone from WWE. Haas has made it clear he wants to excel in Ring of Honor and the independents and show what the WWE was too afraid to showcase and the success of James Gibson, indicates to me that Haas will have no problem.
It’s just a shame they did this shortly after their marriage. However this might be a GOOD thing for their marriage. Instead of being on the road 250 days a year together potentially suffering the pitfalls of other wrestling marriages, they can live a more balanced life.
Jackie will find work in other venues, from fitness to modeling. They will be just fine.
Maven
-A slight surprise if only for the fact he was an example of being completely home grown. However it was time to accept that the TE experiment was a absolute failure, which is evident when only Johnny Nitro and Matt Cappotelli (still floundering in OVW) are the only ones left standing as far as wrestling talent is concerned (Matthews is a product of the TE system) It’s funny that Maven was clearly signed for one reason, He could talk.
That makes it two Tough Enough products to only have talent in that field to be cut, making it seem they would be directing towards a inclination for wrestling talent but the release of Haas and Akio counters that argument. I won’t miss Maven at all. Quite frankly I don’t know if TNA will bother with this but they may find the appeal of potentially turning Maven into a “star” when WWE spent years on him.
Shannon Moore-
I applaud this decision.
Spike Dudley
-Limited to his range of what he could offer, but yet he delivered superbly at his talent of bumping and selling. I guess beating down Spike wasn’t a selling point anymore and that heel run didn’t light the world on fire. Quite frankly he wasn’t serving a purpose in WWE, now he can be happy and fling himself around in the Indy scene.
Kevin Fertig
-He failed at making the best of his big hyped push and cemented his burial by crossing Jim Cornette. No talent, and virtually hated by both OVW and WWE. That’s saying a lot with all the pricks walking back there.
The Dudley Boyz
-An absolute surprise if you were expecting WWE to rebuild its tag division but it’s been in the crapper for years. Bubba and D-Von will retain the rights to the names, I believe. Which right there makes them the biggest Free Agents for TNA to grab. It won’t boost their product or draw but it will give them that “still relevant” appeal because Nash, Hall and Jarrett were completely played out. While the Dudz have a chance to revitalize themselves.
Muhammad Hassan
-Before this week; his character which could have been brilliant with the right writing had merely been an annoying cheap heat piece of junk. That’s par for the offerings we have grown accustomed to from this company.
The original design of this character was that Hassan was an Arab American looking for acceptance. That scheme flew out the window after the first vignette aired.
From there it became a complete reflection of the incredibly warped mindset of Vince McMahon and sadly the unbelievable lack of intelligence it caters to.
Monday night they continued the Hassan/Undertaker program by simply casting Shawn Davari (notice they completely drop his first name there? Guess bible boy didn’t want to be connected) as a martyr. Okay, sure he didn’t strap himself with explosives but im assuming that’s just because the prop department wasn’t stocked with those clever rubber sticks. To top it off, they completely abandon the supposed meaning of Hassan’s “intentions” and just completely made him the image of a terrorist. 4 Men in camo and ski masks (I’m guessing no one could grow a scraggly beard quick enough) attacked the undertaker.
So far you can stretch it and say it’s not much different from other heel beat owns but it is when it’s done in the time of unrest and WWE continued to play into the usual stereotypes of the Arab people and perpetuated the same low class stereotype wrestling has been slapped with for years and something that I don’t believe will ever change.
It escapes from being the traditional heel beat down when Piano wire is used, an instrument well documented as a tool for terrorist activity.
Once again, it’s shining example of Vince McMahon trying to dazzle us with his shocking controversial characters when it’s really just a desperate ploy.
It was bad enough they even did this ridiculous segment, it’s offensive but not because of the circumstances but because it was just plain stupid and this type of “entertainment” makes me ashamed to be a “wrestling” fan.
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