Lawler's take on Necrophilia angle

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

Once again, I'm sitting in an airport with some time on my hands, so I may as well use the time to update the site. It's Wednesday afternoon, October 23, and I am in Raleigh, North Carolina. Last night I wrestled in my hometown of Memphis at the Pyramid, during the Smackdown taping. Well, I didn't exactly wrestle during the Smackdown taping, I actually wrestled "before" the taping. I had a "dark" match with a young man called "Red Dog." He is the real life husband of WWE Diva, Jazz. I have seen him around before and I think he is trying to get a contract with the company, (who isn't) He is a pretty big guy. Maybe 275lbs, and I thought we had a really good match. Red Dog impressed me and I think the agents liked the match as well. The Pyramid wasn't exactly "packed," but the crowd was very vocal as usual for my match. I really appreciate the fans in Memphis. They have treated me so well over the years. It's always fun to get a match when the WWE is in Memphis and I gotta thank J.R. for always thinking about me when they come here. I also did what we call a "precondition" video to show to the audience before a match. They wanted to make sure Tajiri got a good "crowd favorite" response from the Memphis fans, so right before his match, he and I were on the big Titontron screen. I told the fans that Tajiri was my friend and that I had just given him his first dose of Memphis' own, Jerry Lee Lewis! At that point, Tajiri broke into song, and delivered a spirited rendition of "Great Balls Of Fire!" It was really pretty funny and the crowd seemed to love it. When he walked out after that, the crowd went nuts. Instant "Good Guy!" After the show last night, I just had time to go home and repack my bag, because I had to leave my house at 4am to catch a 5:10am flight to Atlanta and then on to North Carolina. I got over here at about 9:30am and had to be in a lawyer's office at 10. I was through with what I had to do by 11:30am and the whole thing was pretty much a wasted trip. My flight home is not until 7:30pm so I am just killing time until then. I may tell you all about this crazy North Carolina legal situation someday, but right now it's too stupid to even talk about. I will get back to Memphis at 8:30pm and then I have a softball game at 9:30 tonight. Thank goodness, after tonight I have a few days off where I don't have to travel. The next time I have to go out is to Detroit next Monday for Raw. OK, I guess I have avoided the inevitable for long enough. I guess I have to respond to my many e-mails and questions I have gotten since last Monday's Raw and the infamous "HHH Video." If I've been asked once, I've been asked a thousand times..."What did you think of it?" "How could you laugh at that?"

"What was Vince thinking?" or, "What was Triple H thinking." And a few people even said, "I thought the only thing wrong with it was that the car trunk came open at the end!" Well, let me see if I can put my thoughts about it into words. Now I know that some people are claiming to be so offended that no explanation will help, so to those people all I can say is, "I'm sorry that you feel that way." Let me just say, right off the bat, neither J.R. or I saw the video before it aired. Vince did sit us down in his office beforehand, and tell us pretty much what we were going to see. When he told us what was on the tape, I asked what he wanted our reaction to be after we saw it, and that's when Vince said what he usually says..."I want you guys to react just how you honestly react when you see it...I don't want to tell you how to react, just do and say what comes natural." Well, I must admit that no amount of describing what was on the tape could ever compare to actually seeing it for the first time. And especially seeing it for the first time as it aired "live" to the world! A lot of different thoughts were going through my head while I watched it. Of course I thought it was "pushing the envelope." It may have pushed the envelope right off the table. Of course I knew many, many fans were going to be turned off by it. And I knew Vince knew this as well. I also knew J.R. and I were going to be expected to do our part to "sell" this video to the fans when it was over. I knew that we were going to be walking a tightrope in the fact that some people were going to be OK with it, while other people were going to absolutely hate it. I already knew Vince was "OK" with it, because if he had not been, it would not have aired. As I watched it, I must tell you that my feeling or reaction changed a couple of times while I was watching it. At first I felt very uncomfortable, and wondered why we were doing this...then I started to see some humor in it...then at the end, with the "I screwed your brains out!" line, I felt it was all intended for shock value. I mean, that was a pretty strong line along with the graphic footage of a handful of "brains." If that was meant to get people talking, it worked! Long before most of us were born, back in 1939, a line was uttered at the end of arguably the most famous movie of all time that was meant to have similar shock value. In "Gone With The Wind" when Scarlet asked Rhet, that if he left, where should she go, and what should she do. And in a line never before heard in the world of cinema, Rhet replied, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" Those eight words shocked the entertainment world and set it on it's ear. People were talking about that line all over the world, because, at that time, no one had ever said a cuss word in a movie, much like I don't ever remember seeing anyone crawl into a casket and pretend to have sex with a corpse. Most of those people watching Gone With The Wind were appalled and shocked, much the same as fans today are over HHH's video, but they talked about it. And you can never underestimate the power of "word of mouth." Movies today are still made or broken by word of mouth. That's what I believe this skit was all about...generating word of mouth. And I believe Vince is of the opinion, as many famous people are, that there's no such thing as "bad publicity." As long as they spell your name right when they talk about you, let them say what they want. I can honestly say that when the video was over, my general impression was that it was funny. I tried to look at it as what it was supposed to be if you didn't know everything is a "work"....if you didn't try to overanalyze everything. What it was supposed to be, if you were a fan who believed in wrestling, was a bad person...Triple H, dressing up like his opponent and staging a scenerio, that, when shown to the fans, would be intentionally in bad taste and would result in great humiliation to his opponent, Kane. That's the real "storyline." If you are not a "smart mark" or if your'e just a casual fan, that was what the video was, plain and simple. It was intended to make people think, "What an a**hole that Triple H is, that he would go to such great lengths to embarrass some poor guy like Kane....Why, I want to see Kane kick Triple H's BUTT now!" That's the storyline if you can still watch wrestling for the fun and entertainment of it. So that's how I tried to react to it. I tried to imply that it WAS in bad taste, but that's what made it so good. Because Triple H is good at being bad! I also thought that if I laughed at it, in a sense, it might take some of the edge off of it to some fans. That they would suddenly "get it" and be amused as well. I looked at it as similar to the "Kiss My Ass Club" we had awhile back. That was some envelope pushing at the time. A grown man, exposing his bare ass and having another man actually kiss it on national television...I don't think I had ever seen that done before. It shocked alot of people, but to me it was genuinely funny, and so I laughed my head off on commentary and I think that helped to make those episodes enjoyable...for most people. I have already gotten people e-mailing me saying..."Now you can't say 'lighten up' about this one, King" or "This was the worst thing ever on television and Raw should be taken off the air!" Well, to those people, I do say...."Yes, lighten up! This is freakin' television folks. It ain't called the "idiot box" for nothing. Don't take stuff you see on television so damn serious. You'll have a stroke! You'll get all stressed out. Some of you people need to go out and buy a dog...name it "sense of humor," and then you'll have one. Remember, if it ain't the news, it ain't real. (and I'm not even sure about the news) So don't have a cow about it! I don't know of any other television show on earth where when you watch it and you see something on an episode you don't like, you scream, "Fire the writers!" "Kill the owner!" Look at tv shows like "Friends," or "Seinfeld." On those shows, the characters are given credit for being funny, and they are the stars of the shows. I mean, is Kramer funny, or is it just the material the writers of the show write for him?

Well, to me it's both, but I don't ever bother to look at it that deeply....I just say, "Kramer's funny." But not on WWE television....we can't just say, "Triple H is a real jerk for doing something like that." Oh no, we gotta dig in there and say, "Who wrote this crap?" Well, to me, that takes all the fun out of the business. And yes, it is a business, but it's a fun business. It's a business where the wrestlers should be focused on and not what goes on behind the scenes. You gotta know that knowing everything that goes on behind the scenes spoils the fun of things. Didn't we all learn that with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny? Or especially with the "Wizard Of Oz." All I'm saying, in the famous words of "The Wizard" himself, is, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" Watch what's out front, on the screen, and have fun with it. If you can't have fun with it, then just don't watch! But whatever you do, don't worry yourselves to an early grave over wrestling....it ain't worth it. OK, I've said my piece....and now I don't even have time to tell you all the juicy, "behind the scenes" details of my personal life! I'll have to get back to you on that....Later!

[Guest Nater]

Thats funny that he noticed the trunk opening at the end of the show, figuring that him, JR and Vince were probably the only ones watching at that point..

[Guest Insane Bump Machine]

He compares the HHH video to Gone with the Wind? LMAO!

 

 

It was intended to make people think, "What an a**hole that Triple H is, that he would go to such great lengths to embarrass some poor guy like Kane....Why, I want to see Kane kick Triple H's BUTT now!"

 

I wonder how many people actually thought that...

[Guest Kingpk]

So.....because it's "just TV" we should have our intelligence insulted?

 

And why is he comparing WWE to shows like Seinfeld and movies like Gone With the Wind?

[Guest Insane Bump Machine]

And why is he comparing WWE to shows like Seinfeld and movies like Gone With the Wind?

Because "we're making movies."

[Guest NoCalMike]

Umm word of mouth, huh?? What wrestling fan in their right mind would dare to tell a non-wrestling fan about the video?? It is bad enough when my girlfriend watches RAW with me and there is a silicone-breasted women every other five minutes, I get enough grief and flack for being a "wrestling" fan just over that. I don't think I will EVER tell someone who doesn't already know, about that damn video. How do you spread word of mouth, that you like wrestling and tell them about RAW at the same time,

 

"hey bob, you watch wrestling, oh well check out RAW on TNN, they ummm wrestle umm, every few umm, minutes, umm when they aren't umm, raping dead corpses ummm....oh wait, nevermind, forget about it."

[Guest Dillon Likes Bossman]

He so off on this its not even remotley laughable. We don't pay for PPV's of other TV shows. We as fans, shouldn't have to sit though sh*t like we saw on Monday. And I know this is post Russo era and shock TV seems to be "cool", bu t its 2002 now. Shock value is dead. Humping a dead corpse and throwing meat saying its brains is nothing revolutionary. And wether you a "smart mark" or not nobody is paying to go to house shows or buy PPV's anymore Jerry.

[Guest AndrewTS]

. In "Gone With The Wind" when Scarlet asked Rhet, that if he left, where should she go, and what should she do. And in a line never before heard in the world of cinema, Rhet replied, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" Those eight words shocked the entertainment world and set it on it's ear. People were talking about that line all over the world, because, at that time, no one had ever said a cuss word in a movie, much like I don't ever remember seeing anyone crawl into a casket and pretend to have sex with a corpse. Most of those people watching Gone With The Wind were appalled and shocked, much the same as fans today are over HHH's video, but they talked about it. And you can never underestimate the power of "word of mouth." Movies today are still made or broken by word of mouth. That's what I believe this skit was all about...generating word of mouth.

 

Ah yes, and I'm sure this angle will be viewed as a defining moment in entertainment history, and thankfully the rest of the Raw broadcasts can stand up on their own merits and be entertain--wait...they don't.

 

And I do hope that mentions of necrophilic sex won't be running rampant in other forms of "entertainment."

 

Like I care--sitcoms now are incredibly retarded as it is, but I guess they CAN get worse.

[Guest jester]

There is such a thing as bad publicity, Lawler. It's called "no publicity." Which you got, at the cost of pissing off the fans you didn't need to sell to. Was it worth it?

 

Since we don't know for absolute certain who is responsible for the angle, and we're hearing yet again that Vince controls everything, fine. Vince is the moron who should be fired. It our position clear now?

[Guest AndrewTS]

He compares the HHH video to Gone with the Wind? LMAO!

 

 

It was intended to make people think, "What an a**hole that Triple H is, that he would go to such great lengths to embarrass some poor guy like Kane....Why, I want to see Kane kick Triple H's BUTT now!"

 

I wonder how many people actually thought that...

Actually, if I'd have seen the thing it would have only lead to the same reaction seeing HHH would always invoke in me.

 

"GET THE FUCK OFF MY T.V. YOU TALENTLESS BASTARD!!"

 

and/or

 

*click*

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

It was intended to make people think, "What an a**hole that Triple H is, that he would go to such great lengths to embarrass some poor guy like Kane....Why, I want to see Kane kick Triple H's BUTT now!"

Most of us already thought Triple H was an Asshole. We didn't need a Stupid Segment to confirm it.

[Guest TheGame2705]

I don't care how deep you analyze it or if you just look at it superficially....it's still talking about screwing a corpse. I will say this though, anyone who liked Hannibal and is offended and shocked and appalled by this has a double standard. Hannibal is about a psycho who eats people which IMO is just as gross as necrophilia.

[Guest AndrewTS]

I don't care how deep you analyze it or if you just look at it superficially....it's still talking about screwing a corpse. I will say this though, anyone who liked Hannibal and is offended and shocked and appalled by this has a double standard. Hannibal is about a psycho who eats people which IMO is just as gross as necrophilia.

Hannibal was crap--Silence of the Lambs and to a lesser extent Red Dragon though...good stuff. Hannibal was just shock-value gross out shit. RD and SotL was about so much more.

[Guest AndrewTS]

I don't care how deep you analyze it or if you just look at it superficially....it's still talking about screwing a corpse. I will say this though, anyone who liked Hannibal and is offended and shocked and appalled by this has a double standard. Hannibal is about a psycho who eats people which IMO is just as gross as necrophilia.

And sadly, HHH isn't even playing a "character." He's just being himself all the time.

[Guest Cataclysm911]

And why is he comparing WWE to shows like Seinfeld and movies like Gone With the Wind?

..because they're on T.V.? Just a guess...

 

He's right though. People really should just laugh at it and then go on. That's what I've been saying from the beginning.

 

It's no different than people complaining about title reigns. Like when David Arquette won the WCW World Title everyone was saying what a disgrace it was to all the people who have held the title, etc. Well, it's not like the wrestlers who won it, actually won the damn thing. Someone said "OK, you can win."

 

The only thing about the whole Lawler story that bothered me, is that it was kindof hard to read because he didn't use paragraphs.

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

"He compares the HHH video to Gone with the Wind? LMAO!"

 

The updated GWTW quote: "Frankly my dear, I just screwed your brains out..."

[Guest chirs3]

Word of Mouth?!

 

WHAT word of mouth?!

 

Did anybody here actually tell their friends who weren't wrestling fans about this? Or were you too embarassed, like me, and just try to pretend it never happened?

[Guest LaParkaMarka]

I think Lawler argued the WWE side of things rather well...I mean, it was just a publicity stunt to try and get people "talking" about Raw. Of course, the word of mouth being spread is "Raw sucks, don't watch it" I can see the reasoning behind why they would try something like this. The segment was horrible, but if they really went over the top (I'm thinking Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness style schtick here) it might have worked a little better.

 

His point about how the marks are supposed to see it is good too. I always thought we (smarks/"internet nerds") were the hardcore fans that watch the most. But now I'm thinking we're just a really vocal minority. I also think that we smarks seem to overestimate the intelligence and sophistication of most wrestling fans. There could theoretically be a lot of people who simply saw the segment as Trips mentally torturing Kane as opposed to crap that doesn't belong on tv.

 

I've personally stopped watching Raw, but there is some (maybe faulty) reasoning behind this little stunt, and they may very well have succeeded in whatever they were trying to accomplish. I suppose we have to wait for the Monday ratings. I sincerely hope they plummet, but the post-"Kane = Murderer" Raw didn't have a drop off at all. Which is sad.

[Guest TheArchiteck]

Well, I don't know about you guys, but Lawler stated that pretty well. Thats about the best way I would expect someone in the business to react to emails.

[Guest fingers]

i'm with Lawler.

 

Dunno what the fuss is about.

 

I think people still see this shit as real.

 

HHH is a character, and his character was taking the piss out of KAne (another character) by role playing himself as Kane shagging a corpse.

It wasn't real, and i don't expect a large series of grave robbings from it.

 

Much worse has been seen previously and will be seen again.

 

Its not the death of WWE although it might dissuade the oh so sensitive souls out there.

[Guest Kingpk]

No shit it wasn't real. That's not the point.

 

The point is they're stooping to rediculous points just to get attention when Vince has the greatest assembling of talent in North American wrestling history and is pissing it all away just to attract "casual viewers" that will abandon WWE as fast as they jumped on. This time, however, they'll alienate the fans who have put up with this "Attitude" and "Crash TV" shit just to get to the wrestling which, last I looked, was the second word in the company name.

[Guest Samurai_Goat]

All I know is there was a long period where I stopped watching Raw. One day, I flip it on, and it's allright, kinda getting into it, and then......"You're a murderer!" I mean, come on! Is that the best you can do? And then the whole necrophelia thing, and so on, I'm not turned off because of it being offensive or anything. I'm turned off because it's a pretty weak plot line. I mean, how much of a writers block were these people in to think that this sounded like a good idea?

[Guest fingers]

i don't really have a problem with it.

[Guest jester]

The angle doesn't shock or offend me. What's my problem with it then?

 

It's not wrestling.

[Guest fingers]

no, but it gives purpose to the wrestling.

 

Like thats the reason Kane and hurricane lost the tag belts.

 

you can't have pro-wrestling without a story.

[Guest cynicalprofit]

Let me just say, right off the bat, neither J.R. or I saw the video before it aired. Vince did sit us down in his office beforehand, and tell us pretty much what we were going to see. When he told us what was on the tape, I asked what he wanted our reaction to be after we saw it, and that's when Vince said what he usually says..."I want you guys to react just how you honestly react when you see it...I don't want to tell you how to react, just do and say what comes natural."

 

Didnt they not tell the guys or show them what was gonna happen, I know they didnt for Tony, but someone, Henan bitched about not knowing what was going on. This sounds very similar. WCW wanted a real reaction, now the WWF does too. Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it.

 

It was intended to make people think, "What an a**hole that Triple H is, that he would go to such great lengths to embarrass some poor guy like Kane....Why, I want to see Kane kick Triple H's BUTT now!"

 

Seeing as how Im a smart mark, my opinion doesnt really count, but how it the fuck does a guy acting like he's fucking a corpse make me think he's an asshole? He's fucking a corpse...what else can I say.

 

 

I mean, is Kramer funny, or is it just the material the writers of the show write for him?

 

Ok I didnt liek Sienfield, but Kramer was funny do to the body motions he did, the writers didnt write for him to enterr the doorway like he did, he did it himself. It was based on a real guy too.

 

Or especially with the "Wizard Of Oz." All I'm saying, in the famous words of "The Wizard" himself, is, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" Watch what's out front, on the screen, and have fun with it.

 

I'd suppose hed want the same to aply to politics and your job. If you dont pay attention to whats really going on, you can and will be screwed and or scammed.

 

It's no different than people complaining about title reigns. Like when David Arquette won the WCW World Title everyone was saying what a disgrace it was to all the people who have held the title, etc. Well, it's not like the wrestlers who won it, actually won the damn thing. Someone said "OK, you can win."

 

If your company doesnt take the product seriously, neither will the fan. Did you not notice how WCW went out of business because of shit like David Arquette winning their world title. If Vince threw the title on a non wrestler, with maybe the exception of a boxer, all his wrestlers look like fools. And why would you watch a bunch of guys who are obviously fools? No point, people wouldnt watch anymore, and the show would die, just like WCW did.

 

You have to treat your product with respect. Thats why ECW was able to rise up, they treated their title like it ment something, and they backed it up with a good mix of insanity and wrestling. Even though its all fake, in terms of winning and loosing, you cant just do whatever you like, anyone can do that, hell a monkey with typewriter could. You have to make things meaningful.

 

Giving the title to David Arquette was not meaingful since he isnt a wrestler, he's an actor, and they only did it as a schock. Shocks arent meaningful.

[Guest chirs3]

no, but it gives purpose to the wrestling.

 

Like thats the reason Kane and hurricane lost the tag belts.

 

you can't have pro-wrestling without a story.

 

It gives purpose to wrestling? How?!

 

"Oh, you accused me of murdering some girl, then reenacted my (never) having sex with her body! I'm gonna KICK YOUR ASS... Live, This Sunday, at No Mercy!"

[Guest Kingpk]

no, but it gives purpose to the wrestling.

 

Like thats the reason Kane and hurricane lost the tag belts.

 

you can't have pro-wrestling without a story.

They can do better than this.

 

This whole thing is just for media attention since Vince is out of touch and desperate to become a billionaire again.

 

Not to mention they pretty much threw out all of Kane's past history for this.

[Guest Kid Kablam]

ANd yet another WWE column that can be summed up in just to words "Lighten Up." Is this the only defense WWE has? "Lighten Up?" That's their standard response for everything, and this just further proves that Jerry Lawler enjoys his status as company whore.

[Guest fingers]

no, but it gives purpose to the wrestling.

 

Like thats the reason Kane and hurricane lost the tag belts.

 

you can't have pro-wrestling without a story.

 

It gives purpose to wrestling? How?!

 

"Oh, you accused me of murdering some girl, then reenacted my (never) having sex with her body! I'm gonna KICK YOUR ASS... Live, This Sunday, at No Mercy!"

 

something like that. The pretense is that HHH has found something in Kane's closet that he's using to upset his Psyche. The more he berates Kane the more Kane gets pissed and does stupid shit, like losing the tag belts.