The Crossface 11-21-02

[Guest TSMAdmin]

Due to a scheduling difficulty, the only contributors to the most recent Crossface were:

 

Brandon Truitt: Brandon is a regular here on the Crossface and happens to own a heaping helping of shoot interviews. Check out his recap of the Sheepherders (Bushwhackers) shoot interview. He will also be your moderator tonight.

 

and

 

Dr. Tom: Tom brings the content every week, providing the reader with his Smackdown recaps, The Mid-Week News, movie reviews and much more! Read up on Tom's feelings of this week's Smackdown.

 

 

 

Brandon: Let's start with Survivor Series, Dr. Tom. What did you think about the 6-man table match?

Dr. Tom: I wasn't expecting a lot going into it, but it was surprisingly entertaining. Jeff Hardy killed himself for our enjoyment again, but I guess it's something about Bubba and tables that just makes the matches better. And of course, seeing the real Dudleys reuniute (I don't like the Bubba/Spike pairing) was great.

Brandon: I'd say it was surprisingly good considering that 5 out of the 6 participants suck and it had the added bonus of Rico verbally berating Jeff in midmatch

Dr. Tom: Yeah, there's always that. I guess the tables carried them to a good match, and the Rico-Jeff bit was funny. I haven't heard something like that so loud in a long time.

Brandon: It's not like this was an isolated incident involving Jeff... He hasn't been able to run the rails in forever and that match he had with Triple H in the main event of RAW a month or so back was BRUTAL. Rico's just the first person to bust his chops about it during the match in an obvious way.

Dr. Tom: That Raw match was terrible, one of the worst matches I've seen on the show. I've never liked Jeff in singles matches, but that Raw match was beyond dreadful.

Maybe more people need to start yelling at him, like "Lose the hankies, Jeff, goddamnit!", which might work, too.

Brandon: I think he needs to be sent home until he can pull himself together or get released. He looks like he's running on "international substances", as they'd say on WCW.

Dr. Tom: Definitely. In that Raw match, he seemed like he was on heroin. Sending him out there like that doesn't do anyone any good, especially Jeff.

Brandon: Funny how Jeff has no character, can't have a match worth anything, and has a glow-in-the-dark facepaint job that I'm tempted to make off-color remarks about... and yet HE's getting a bigger push than his more talented and over brother Matt.

Dr. Tom: Funny isn't really how I'd describe it... "sad" sounds more appropriate. Matt can put on good matches, has gotten over with the Version One gimmick, and is obviously having fun out thee, while Jeff just goes thru the motions. So all he does on SD tonight is get tossed thru a wall by Brock. Yipee.

 

Brandon: Moving on... What did you think about the Guerreros vs. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit vs. Edge and Rey Misterio?

Dr. Tom: I think, considering all the buildup this match has gotten over the past month-plus, that it should have had forty minutes or so. It's a shame that we can look at a near-**** match and call it a disappointment, but it really needed to be longer.

Brandon: I think the right team went over and that it was good, but that the booking of the feud burned out a lot of the interest in seeing these guys m face off.

Dr. Tom: I agree. Those six have been going at it for a while now with no change-ups. Maybe Angle and Rey taking some time off will get them to shake things up a bit. Not that I mind seeing those guys square off, but they need to throw someone else in every now and then.

Brandon: Well, they were going to shake it up a bit, but shit happened... like the booking of the WWE title getting changed.

 

Brandon: That brings us to the Big Show-Brock Lesnar match... We went from Benoit being slated to win the belt from Brock at Armageddon to Edge being a tackling dummy for Big Show.

Dr. Tom: Ugh. What a profoundly STUPID decision that was. If they keep the belt on Brock until Mania, not only is he massively over, but the title actually means something. But putting it on Slow for a month just so Brock can win it back doesn't do anything, as far as I can tell. It might build Brock up in his chase to get the strap back, but he's already over.

Brandon: It was dumb on several levels... For one, Brock was only facing Big Show in order to cement his face turn, yet a reason he lost was that they felt he had few challengers until the fabled Wrestlemania program against Angle. Another was that he was supposedly booked to lose because the rumored Lesnar-Lennox Lewis match was called off.

Dr. Tom: He could have had some damn fine matches against Eddy and Benoit during the interim. As for the Lewis match, I think that he and Lewis would be boring to watch.

Brandon: None of the real fans want to see that... it is intended to be a publicity stunt to bring in more casual fans. Too bad Vince is so concerned with the casual fans that have moved on instead of the dedicated fans that are still with him... for now.

Dr. Tom: The problem with the casual fans is that once they move on, it takes a lot to get them to come back. Dedicated fans will stay thru the tough times and bad shows, but casual fans will find something else to watch and not give a second thought to a wrestling show.

Brandon: That's true and, unfortunately, Vince is finding that out the hard way on BOTH counts. The casual fans aren't coming back and the die hards are slowly leaving, particularly those that had been watching RAW.

Dr. Tom: Yep. And the diehards are the ones who read a lot of the websites, and it seems like Vince appoints a lackey to slag the internet sites and fans every week.

Brandon: Vince likes to slag the Internet Wrestling Community because we question his "divine ability", which also brought us the WBC and the XFL, amongst other failures.

Dr. Tom: Like Bradshaw saying "smart marks" were unathletic losers who got beaten up for their lunch money. What a petty and stupid thing to say, considering you're blithely insulting a good portion of your fanbase. And guaranteed contracts for pieces of shit like Mark Henry and the Big Slow.

Brandon: For someone who's supposedly a financial genius, Bradshaw is a true moron. You don't insult your fans, even if they do dislike you and make comments about your extracurricular activities.

Dr. Tom: I don't remember George Lucas calling Roger Ebert a stupid fatty for not giving Star Wars a good rating. Things like that just don't happen outside of Vince's little world.

Brandon: It happens outside of Vince's world, except that it's handled PRIVATELY and not broadcast to the world. Vince, on the other hand, likes to shoot his mouth off because he's "Vince McMahon GODDAMMIT!" Since few people like him anyway, he decides to piss everyone off... and it slowly gets to the people who can stand him.

Dr. Tom: Which means people are professional about it...

"Hey, I didn't like you giving my movie only 1/2*" as opposed to, "If you don't like our shows, you're a fat loser who got the shit kicked out of him as a kid." And Vince wonders why he has no cred with the real media.

Brandon: And that was coming from a guy who's known for his beer belly and his hazing ability rather than his ability to get over in a wrestling ring or on a mic.

Dr. Tom: Right. Pot, kettle, black.

 

 

 

Brandon: How about the Elimination Chamber? Good match? Wrong person go over? Is it worth owning just to see Triple H take an RVD shinbone across the throat?

Dr. Tom: The wrong person definitely went over, though I wasn't surprised. The match was pretty good, but the Chamber itself needs some work if they're going to bring it back. I haven't liked HHH since he came back, but I will give him props for finishing a match when he could barely breathe, and couldn't talk.

Brandon: I think having Triple H start the match instead of Jericho was a tremendous mistake. Triple H hasn't been able to have a good match all year unless Jericho or Shawn Michaels carried him there, so putting him in the ring for the better part of an hour was a bad idea. The only reason to do that is to give him the verbal blowjob of "he was in there from bell to bell and got beaten by a guy who had only wrestled 10 minutes".

Dr. Tom: Yeah, I wouldn't have put him out there at the beginning. Jericho looked excellent in the match, and he would have been a much better choice to kick it off.

Brandon: What about the reactions Booker T and RVD got? Do you think that the booking committee would have put either of them over if they knew the reaction they were going to get during the match?

Dr. Tom: How could they not know the reaction those guys would get, though? They've been the most over men on Raw for some time now.

Brandon: Yeah, but they've been conveniently kept away from the guys management considers "true" stars like HHH and Bubba Ray for the most part, unless they're set to job to them.

Dr. Tom: Maybe the fans BOOING when Booker went out might have caught them by surprise. I hope it was a wake-up call. I think Booker will get his turn. IMO, he's a better choice than RVD, since he can deliver on the mike and has silly spots like the Spinaroonie that pop the crowd silly.

Brandon: RVD would be fine if he was given a manager or just allowed to be himself and not do the WWE standard "20 minute promo, guy arrives in a limo, attack from behind" cookie cutter stuff they've done in the main event since Austin won the title at Wrestlemania 14.

Dr. Tom: Yeah, they have to realize that he doesn't fit their main event style, and they need to let him work his own match, especially if he's going to be the champ. If everyone else is so good, they can adapt to him.

Brandon: They don't see it that way unless it's one of their chosen ones they want to push... like Big Show, Triple H, Bubba Dudley, etc.

Dr. Tom: That's Booker's problem, and RVD's too... he's not one of Vince's boys, and heaven forbid a home-grown guy like HHH has to lie down for a WCW heathen like Booker T.

Brandon: Yeah, how dare Booker T just want one win to get over when it took three title reigns, stealing the boss's daughter, destroying several rising talents, retiring a beloved superstar, and becoming the first heel to EVER hold the belt when Wrestlemania ended to get Triple H over.

Dr. Tom: You forgot about no-selling certain death.

Brandon: Good point, but that's after he got over, in the "We've created this guy so we're damn sure not going to let him slip back into the midcard" phase.

 

 

 

Brandon: Let's move on to RAW on Monday... What did you think of Shawn Michaels' promo, interaction with Bischoff and RVD, and the fan response?

Dr. Tom: Michaels' promo was pretty boring, especially considering he promised not to come out and bore the crowd by talking. His interaction with Easy E was pretty bland, and I think their homage to the fans' objections over the necrophilia crap fell flat. I liked his intereaction with RVD, though.

Brandon: I think that pairing him off with RVD is a mistake unless he's passing the torch... no Triple H interference, no lost smiles, no 150 pissed off and roided up marines... just a 1-2-3 in the center of the ring.

Dr. Tom: I can't see him putting RVD over right away, though. A two-week title reign, AND a title change on free TV?

Brandon: They booked themselves into this corner... I don't think anyone who wants to see Triple H vs. Michaels would be more likely to buy it if HBK still has the belt, if only because Triple H winning would be a foregone conclusion. They could take the belt off HBK and put it on Booker or RVD then have them feud with Jericho and it would take them through the Rumble at the least.

Dr. Tom: That'd be the way to go. As long as HBK's title reign doesn't end with a HHH win at Armageddon.

 

Brandon: Let's talk about the state of the "world titles" in the WWE. This may be the first time in history that the two top belts in the company were both traded in back-to-back pay per views.

Dr. Tom: That's a dubious distinction. It just shows how worthless the belts really are.

Brandon: That's the fault of the booking crew who decided to move the WWE title from Brock to Big Show. Show has "lame duck" written all over him, no matter what Paul Heyman tries to do. As for the World title, it had to come off Triple H at Survivor Series because NO ONE would have stood for him taking on 6 guys and coming out with the belt after the one-sided performances against Kane, RVD, and Booker going into the match.

Dr. Tom: Definitely. So Brock's hurt. You can hide an injury like that for a month. It doesn't mean you take the belt off him and put it on someone who's even more useless and less over than the last time he held it.

Brandon: It's not like they haven't worked around THAT before... hell, I'm pretty sure Hogan only wrestled two TV matches when he was champ earlier this year and Triple H only wrestled one, against Jericho AND Stephanie McMahon with Steph laying down for the three.

Dr. Tom: As for Triple H, it's definitely true and, if he has to lose, who better to win than his best buddy?

Dr. Tom: Right. It's easy to get around Brock's injury for four weeks. It's not like they make their champs wrestle on TV all the time, anyway.

Brandon: The problem is that Vince either came up with the idea of having Brock lose the belt or someone convinced him it was his idea. That meant that he'd listen to other people but wasn't going to be dissuaded. People were negative to some OBVIOUS crap like HLA and the necrophilia stuff, yet Vince went on with it because they were his ideas.

Dr. Tom: I've heard that Big Slow is Heyman's "project," so I imagine it was his idea, or he had a lot to do with it.

Brandon: Justin Credible was also his project and look at where he's been since ECW went bankrupt.

Dr. Tom: But Justin isn't a HOSS BAH GAWD~!

Brandon: Yeah, he don't have nuthin on that there Mark Henry feller... Who cares if he can't wrestle worth a shit, he's a legit tough guy! [/HossTML] It makes me wish Bill Watts had never promoted a territory when I listen to JR spew his HOSS-tile tendencies.

Dr. Tom: Smackdown has been so much better without people like Henry.

Brandon: Yeah... so now most of them are going to RAW and, in their place, Smackdown gets Big Show as its champ.

Dr. Tom: Then they had to ruin it by getting rid of someone who can actually wrestle in Hurricane Helms, and bringing in a tub of shit like TBS.

Dr. Tom: And Cole doesn't call anyone a "HOSS," so it's all good on that count.

Brandon: Hurricane is probably the biggest example of a wasted talent in the federation today considering where he was on Smackdown when he left for RAW and where he is today.

Dr. Tom: Definitely. He was a tag team champ for a while, then he was reduced to showing "highlights" of objects getting pulled out of not-HHH's rectum.

Brandon: At least he got to pull Triple H's head out of his ass... lord knows it's been there since at least late 1999.

Dr. Tom: That was probably the one highlight in that sad segment. They should trade Helms back to Smackdown just to put him back in the Cruiserweight division.

 

Brandon: What do you think of this whole Test and Stacy situation? Will this be Test's last stand in the WWF?

Dr. Tom: If it is, he can't be proud to have "Testicles" be the last thing he's remembered for. But if he doesn't get over this time, yes, they should cut him loose. Diesel Lite might have been OK three years ago, but all he does is waste space in the ring now.

Brandon: He's been a waste of space since Triple H went over him in late 1999 and hasn't been able to get ANY reaction no matter what they've done with him. He also has a talent for screwing up his big chances.

Dr. Tom: True on both counts.

Brandon: Getting tangled in the ropes SO bad at Wrestlemania X-7 that his opponent AND two guys at ringside couldn't untangle him was probably the low point before his Testicles were mentioned.

Dr. Tom: I don't dislike him like a lot of people seem to, but I'm absolutely indifferent toward him. No reaction one way or the other.

Dr. Tom: Heh, I remember that. Eddy tried to work it into the match until even HE had to try and get him out.

Brandon: I want him off my TV for at LEAST several months because someone more deserving could use the time much better than he has.

Dr. Tom: I could certainly live with that. Stacy can stay on TV, though.

Brandon: But of course, although she needs to do more dancing like she did in the Miss Hancock days.

 

 

Brandon: What about Big Poppa Pump? Is it a good idea to pair him up with Christian and Jericho?

Dr. Tom: Considering he'll invariably squash them, I'd rather he be paired against someone who sucks, like Regal. They could get some good comic moments from Regal, just in his facial expressions reacting to one of Steiner's roid-influenced promos.

Brandon: That would be good, but Regal's in-ring ability can't carry Steiner, while Jericho can and Christian MIGHT be able to.

Dr. Tom: Yeah, they need someone who can get a good match out of him.

Brandon: That falls to Jericho if only because the rest of the heels on RAW suck, with Triple H being at the top of the list.

Dr. Tom: Personally, I think they should get the most out of Steiner that they can. I'd be surprised if he didn't get an injury of some kind before Mania.

Brandon: He'll be gone by Wrestlemania... in fact, I think he'll be gone after the Royal Rumble. Everyone is saying it'll be about 2 months and then he'll be out due to injuries or attitude problems.

Dr. Tom: Sounds reasonable to me. He could feud with HHH and they could have a new kind of Iron Man match at the Rumble. The first one to tear a quad or suffer any other steroid injury loses.

Brandon: I'd have to pull for Steiner there... after the last few months, I don't want Triple H anywhere NEAR my TV.

Dr. Tom: Yeah, I don't like Steiner, but I'd have to pull for him against HHH.

 

 

Brandon: Speaking of Triple H, what do you think about this week's ratings and the lack of Triple H on the show (despite everyone talking about him)? As one writers said this week, Big PoocHHHie was definately in effect on Monday.

Dr. Tom: I think the rating will be spun as a positive reaction to HBK getting the belt again.

Brandon: Yeah... until RVD loses to HBK and Triple H comes back to feud with HBK. At that point, they'll go back to 3.1 and below until they can get the cripples out of the main events.

Dr. Tom: The next few weeks' ratings will be telling, I think. If HHH comes back and runs roughshod over everyone, and the ratings dip again, then his effect on them can't be ignored.

Brandon: You'd think that. However, they've got excuses for EVERYTHING.

Dr. Tom: But since he's nailing the boss' daughter, nothing will be blamed on him. Spin control is all it is at this point, and it's not even good spin.

 

Brandon: It's good you brought up spin control, as there was a LOT of it today. The WWE had a somewhat important conference call today, as CEO Linda McMahon commented on recent earnings, the top personnel in her company, and the possible return of some estranged employees. What do you think of the WWE's disclosure of their first quarter of financial losses since 1997? Keep in mind that they did have a one-time settlement in there that took the number from a $2+ million profit to a $1 million or so loss.

Dr. Tom: I think it should be a giant wakeup call for them. Profits are gone because fans are disenchanted with the product they see on TV, especially on Monday nights. Fans want to see the stars they cheer for, not cripples who are hanging onto their spots with white-knuckle grips.

 

 

Brandon: Speaking of that... let's move to the talent comments Linda McMahon made. When asked for the top stars of the company and the names of rising stars, she said that the top stars were "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Brock Lesnar, while the two top rising stars were Edge and Test.

Dr. Tom: Oh boy...

Brandon: Considering the physical well-being of three of the four "stars", this is not exactly a positive sign, let alone TEST being named as a rising star.

Dr. Tom: Let's see... cripple, cripple, cripple, legit star in the first group. And freaking Test in the second group makes it a joke.

Brandon: Edge does have potential to be a big star but not as much potential as an RVD, Booker T, or Chris Benoit.

Brandon: He wasn't a bad choice to mention, though, because he's popular AND can cut the mustard in the ring as compared to most of the other guys on the list.

Dr. Tom: I think he does, simply because working with guys like Benoit, Angle, and Eddy all the time will catch him up on what he lacks compared to guys like Booker.

Brandon: True, but Booker is seen as a bigger star now and has proven he can bring it in the ring in his famous Best of Seven series with Benoit.

Dr. Tom: Right, but I think Edge is as viable as someone like Booker or RVD. Working with a high calibre of opponents on Smackdown has already helped him.

Brandon: True... I just don't see him having the potential to make as fast a jump to superstardom as the other guys I've mentioned. He's hit a bit of a wall because he's an over face but not in a position to move up the card. On the other hand, RVD and Booker are THE faces on RAW and it's not just by default.

Dr. Tom: He probably has gone as far as he can go for now. But he's still done pretty well for himself in the last two years.

Brandon: True, especially considering how his heat vanished after three months of feuding with the office's pet project William Regal. He's rebounded from that which means he's got staying power.

 

Brandon: As for Test, why do you think he was mentioned? Purely due to cosmetic reasons? Because of who his friends are supposed to be?

Dr. Tom: I can't fathom why they would mention him. The rising star tag MIGHT have applied to him during The Corporation days, and even that's a stretch.

Brandon: he was a rising star in late 1999 up until Triple H stole Steph away from him.

Dr. Tom: He never seemed too over to me there, except when Stephanie was involved.

Brandon: Then again, consider the midcard of the company at that time... Billy Gunn as the King of the Ring, Chyna, X-Pac, Jeff Jarrett in a woman-hating gimmick, Godfather... ANYONE would seem to be a rising star compared to those rejects.

Dr. Tom: Yeah, that's for sure. Those were some lean times once you got out of the main event.

Brandon: If it wasn't for the emergence of Edge, Christian, and the Hardy Boyz, everything past Backlash would have been a complete waste in 1999. Whoops, forgot about Jericho, but that WAS the intent of certain people at that time. That's a column just waiting to be written by someone.

 

 

Brandon: Linda McMahon also mentioned that they'd been in discussions with Steve Austin. Any surprise considering how low RAW ratings had gotten recently?

Dr. Tom: No surprise at all. I said months ago that he'd be back before Mania, and I stand by that. When ratings are down, there is no burned bridge that Vince McMahon won't repair.

Brandon: True, but I figured they'd at least wait until his domestic abuse trial was finished.

Dr. Tom: I think it's a foregone conclusion that he'll be back. The important question is, how does the crowd react to him? The big cheer for the returning hero or boos for the guy who walked out on the company and slapped his wife around?

Brandon: I think they'll use the method that Vince chose for Kurt Angle's first match at Survivor Series 1999... let him do his thing as a tweener until he gets a reaction one way or another then run with it.

Dr. Tom: He's never been a traditional babyface anyway, so that's probably the best way to go.