Bad Morale in Smackdown Lockeroom

[Guest crandamaniac]

Smackdown Locker Room Unhappy

Posted By Ashish on 06.25.03

 

And everyone is too scared to tell Vince...

 

Word is that the Smackdown locker room has been very unhappy lately. Much of the talent feels misused and that Vince McMahon has been focusing the entire show on himself, Hulk Hogan, Zach Gowen, and Stephanie. Many wrestlers have been vocal about the problems to creative team members and agents, but nobody has gone up to Vince McMahon himself out of fear that he may fire them.

 

Smackdown was regarded as the happy locker room (compared to RAW) up until recently.

 

Credit: 1wrestling.com

 

This can't be a good thing. You got to be able to exchange ideas to have a good work place. Apparentally Vince and Co. doesn't like that

[Guest ISportsFan]

At least the locker room knows what good TV is.

 

Jason

[Guest Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye]

http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?...=ST&f=1&t=35580

[Guest Youth N Asia]

http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?...=ST&f=1&t=35580

 

EDIT: CRAP, beat me to it

[Guest AndrewTS]

I don't blame them.

 

Has Sable gotten a surprise in her gym bag yet?

[Guest BoboBrazil]

Vince succeeded in making Smackdown the worse show. People were saying it was the better show last year and it was drawing better ratings, so Vince had to ruin it starting with the Al Wilson angle. Since that angle the amount of shit on the show has been increasing every week.

[Guest AndrewTS]

Vince succeeded in making Smackdown the worse show. People were saying it was the better show last year and it was drawing better ratings, so Vince had to ruin it starting with the Al Wilson angle. Since that angle the amount of shit on the show has been increasing every week.

Wince h8z wrestling.

[Guest Polish_Rifle]

Is Dawn Marie still employed?

[Guest Zack Malibu]

I'm still in awe about how a show that features Spanky, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Tajiri, Los Guerreros, Hass, Benjamin, Rhyno, Cena, Lesnar, Mysterio, Noble and Matt Hardy could possibly suck. There's more depth on the Smackdown side alone then most "whole" federations have ever had, yet we're relegated to Hogan in a comedy angle with 2 non-wrestlers and a "yet to actually perform" one (3 if you count Sable), The Big Show pareening around with a look of constipation on his face, A-Train getting the "every other month we'll make him seem like a threat" push, and guys like Kanyon and Funaki relegated to jobber/comedy roles.

 

Vince always wanted to be the alternative to his rivals (hence the Entertainment atmosphere as opposed to Turner's "wrasslin'".). Considering TNA and ROH (not equal rivals, but competition nonetheless) are brewing with good workers and good-great matchups, Vince needs to be the alternative to them. That means he's TRYING to suck.

 

He's succeeding.

[Guest AndrewTS]

I feel sorry for Gowan. He gets more TV time than most of the wrestlers, he's a "rookie," and worst of all--Bradshaw's on SD.

[Guest Zack Malibu]

I feel sorry for Gowan. He gets more TV time than most of the wrestlers, he's a "rookie," and worst of all--Bradshaw's on SD.

Yeesh. I can see the setting now. A dark corner of a locker room, sometime after Smackdown has finished taping...

 

Sobbing is heard. A muscular figure stands tall, while a young man cowers in the corner.

 

Young Man:"Mr. Bradshaw sir, PLEASE give me my prosthesis back."

 

Bradshaw:"Oh I will. I'm about done lubing it up."

 

2 minutes later...

 

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

 

Welcome to SD, Mr. Gowan!

[Guest Lord of The Curry]

I can't feel sorry for somebody who sucks so much. It's just not in my nature.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Did Bradshaw actually do anything or was this just a rumor started by some bitter ex-referee?

[Guest nl5xsk1]

Yeesh. I can see the setting now. A dark corner of a locker room, sometime after Smackdown has finished taping...

 

Sobbing is heard. A muscular figure stands tall, while a young man cowers in the corner.

What do a muscular figure and Bradshaw have to do with each other?!?

[Guest Zack Malibu]

Yeesh.  I can see the setting now.  A dark corner of a locker room, sometime after Smackdown has finished taping...

 

Sobbing is heard.  A muscular figure stands tall, while a young man cowers in the corner.

What do a muscular figure and Bradshaw have to do with each other?!?

You're right. I should have said "The Cowboy from the Village People, now with a bad dye job".

[Guest CanadianChick]

I can't feel sorry for somebody who sucks so much. It's just not in my nature.

Zach? Have you seen him wrestle yet?

[LooseCannon25 0]

Here's how i feel about this shit. Zach Gowan can't act for shit and at the same time it's wrong to poke fun at his prosthetic leg every fuckin week on Smackdown cause Number 1 it takes up a huge amount of TV time, and number 2 it's not funny to continually make fun of someone's handicap every week on national TV.

 

Vince McMahon is the biggest egomaniac in the history of the wrestling business. Bigger than even Hogan. He thinks just showing up on a TV screen and creating terrible storylines will magically make the show better and raise ratings. He thinks we all WANT to see him taking up more time on a wrestling show than any of his wrestlers. He thinks his ideas and presense will solve all problems when the reality is that it has made things much worse.

 

The Mcmahon vs. Austin story was great compelling TV and pulled in huge ratings....but that was 5-6 fuckin years ago and the evil boss shit does NOT work anymore. His match at Wrestlemania getting ALL the hype, his 4-7 appearances every week on Smackdown is sickening. Nobody in the company is allowed to second guess his daughters awful booking even though its crystal clear that she sucks at her job.

 

Vince's egotistical attitude and "i could give a shit what the fans think cause I decided what they wanna watch" is gonna lead to his eventual downfall. Maybe no time soon, but if shit continues this way it WILL happen. If there becomes another major promotion that competes with WWE then expect the WWE stars to flock out of there one by one just like this other company that did business the wrong way........that company was WCW and look where they are now

[Guest jester]

For what it's worth (zero), here's how they should have booked Gowen:

 

Just have him show up and start wrestling, jerking the curtain. Have him wear long pants and say NOTHING about the one leg.

 

Have him go on a winning streak against jobbers and lower card fodder. Have Cole and Tazz start pumping him up as a promising new talent (NOT the Orton Blowjob oversell).

 

Now have interview segments in which his odd movements are noticed. Gowen attributes this to an "old injury" but says he is fine to wrestle. Still no mention of the leg.

 

Now add Vince to the mix. Basically, Vince tells him that he's hiding something and demands to know the nature of the injury. Gowen says that it's nothing and he can still go. Vince says that if he hid anything about his health, Gowen's contract is void and he's out on his ass.

 

After a bit of back and forth with the midcard heel, the heel sneaks in for a typical beatdown, during which time the leg comes off. Huge shocker for the audience, because I bet most of the marks hadn't heard of Gowen before this.

 

Now that his secret is out, Gowen explains that he didn't want a big deal to be made of it, that he wanted to prove he could compete with his opponents, and hold his own with them holding nothing back. He believes he has proven this and they he'll show a one legged-man in an ass kicking contest can still win. He still wants to complete his feud with that midcard heel at an upcoming PPV.

 

Vince arrives to tell him "Not on my show," calls him a cripple and that he doesn't belong, and fires him. Gowen says "Well, since I'm fired anyway..." and kicks the living hell out of McMahon.

 

A Smackdown later, Gowen also arrives for a beatdown on that midcard heel. Gowen is ejected by security at Vince's order.

 

Midcard heel is furious, and demands that Vince sign Gowen so he can have his vengeance in the ring.

 

Vince complies, Gowen comes back, wrestles the PPV, goes over.

 

I like this situation because:

 

1. I thought of it.

2. The feud builds sympathy for Gowen as an undergod just trying to make it and refusing to take the easy way.

3. The feud is between the heel and Gowan, and puts them in the spotlight.

4. Vince gets some of the exposure he craves, but is rather tangential. He still gets over as a heel, but without the cost of the other wrestlers' heat. Vince beating anybody in an arm wrestling match--I don't care if the US Marines helped him cheat--damages that heat.

[Guest DarkHollywood]

Not to be an expert but I think he only knows how to wrestle with ONE Leg. Wrestling with a prosthetic leg = not that easy, and will look extremly fake.

 

"Why is one leg bending and one in a frozen position?!"

[Internet Warfare 0]

maybe if I steal his prostetic leg he'll get off my T.V

 

hmmm it might just work.

[Guest HartFan86]

You know what the SD workers need to do? Get about 20-25 of them, and ALL go up to Vince.

 

What's he gunna do? Fire them all? Fuck no.

[Guest ViciousFish]

You know what the SD works need to do? Get about 20-25 of them, and ALL go up to Vince.

 

What's he gunna do? Fire them all? Fuck no.

Vine is a prick. He'd fire them all and 'promote' ALL of the OVW 'talent'. Where would that leave the viewers??

 

Watching Hogan, Taker and Big Show each having 2 squash matches a night and 10 Vince/Gowan skits.

[Guest HartFan86]

If Vince fired 20 guys because they stood up to him, those 20 guys could just go to the media and bash Vince McMahon so bad there would be nothing left. His public image would go down faster then Anna Nicole Smith on a treadmill for 3 minutes.

 

Okay, bad joke, but still...Vince can't possibly fire that many people because they disagree with him. You know what a guy like Benoit would do for TNA if he got fired (I'm assuming he's one of the people pissed off)? It would send them from a National organization into a Global Organization.

 

Add on 15 or so more guys to TNA that are fired from WWE. That's called bad business for Vince because then he'd be in serious jeopardy.

[Guest FatKane]

Zach Gowan is a boring actor.

Zach Gowan is an entertaining wrestler.

 

LET HIM WRESTLE.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Not to be an expert but I think he only knows how to wrestle with ONE Leg. Wrestling with a prosthetic leg = not that easy, and will look extremly fake.

 

"Why is one leg bending and one in a frozen position?!"

He doesn't wrestle with the prosthetic.

 

Last I saw...he just goes out there on his one leg.

[Guest Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye]

He said in the USA today article that he can wrestle with or without the prostetic on.

[LooseCannon25 0]

That's what i think the WWE needs.......for 25-25 wrestlers to go up to Vince himself and say they've had enough of this bullshit. He will NOT fire all of them cause his business will dwindle badly. If they DID fire them then they would scatter in Indies all around the country. TNA probably couldnt even afford to pay 2 of them right now to any lengthy contract.

[Guest ViciousFish]

If Vince fired 20 guys because they stood up to him, those 20 guys could just go to the media and bash Vince McMahon so bad there would be nothing left. His public image would go down faster then Anna Nicole Smith on a treadmill for 3 minutes.

 

Okay, bad joke, but still...Vince can't possibly fire that many people because they disagree with him. You know what a guy like Benoit would do for TNA if he got fired (I'm assuming he's one of the people pissed off)? It would send them from a National organization into a Global Organization.

 

Add on 15 or so more guys to TNA that are fired from WWE. That's called bad business for Vince because then he'd be in serious jeopardy.

Sure that's the truth but Vince is one of the biggest egomaniacs in the world. It honestly wouldn't suprise me if he made a bid for President and tried to run the place like Saddam. Vince is fucking insane and it sucks because the wrestlers don't really have another choice. They work for Vince or they do the independant bookings which don't pay nearly as much as Vince does even when they're getting only their downside garaunatees.

 

It would completely send TNA through the roof if they did get 15-20 WWE workers who wee allowed to cut lose but it would also damage their product. It would make them seem like it was a fed of WWE rejects.

 

What the wrestling world needs is another WCW (which right now TNA is slowlyt beginning to be) with a Monday night show to give Raw some competion and another show to give Smackdown some competition. Vince has always done best with competition. Look at the late 80's and early 90's with no competition. The WWF sucked, alot. Look at 2001-2003. The WWE has sucked. Look at 97-2001 when WCW was a huge threat. Vince worked his ass off and took big risks for big pay offs and it worked. Right now Vince is taking the same big risks (which aren't so big anymore) for no pay off.

[Guest HartFan86]

I'd think TNA would get the ones worthy of contract, the good workers. And I'm sure they'd get more support from Panda Energy and try to get all the guys to join their company as well.

 

Remember, taking setbacks now (by signing the fired WWE superstars) will pay off eventually (higher buyrates and more then likely start wrestling in a bigger venue.)

 

But we could talk about this for hours...it's a matter of what happens in "real life" instead of just sitting here typing scenarios.

[Guest HartFan86]

They work for Vince or they do the independant bookings which don't pay nearly as much as Vince does even when they're getting only their downside garaunatees.

 

I think it was Raven who said he makes more money on the indies then he did in the WWE. Also, isn't Crash Holly doing bouncing as a part time job because he's not making enough money?

 

It would completely send TNA through the roof if they did get 15-20 WWE workers who wee allowed to cut lose but it would also damage their product.  It would make them seem like it was a fed of WWE rejects.

 

I sincerely doubt it. I think everyone would know that they got fired for disagreeing rather then getting fired because they suck.