Why I hate Zach Gowan, and Why it's Vince's Fault.

[Guest Nevermortal]

Zach - ahh..well..never you mind..you need to finish your homework..

"Or I'll beat ye with a leg that no longer works, I'll do it!"

 

Sorry, Surf Ninjas reference.

[Guest Dangerous A]

Good stuff, AS.

 

Might want to cut a bit of the excess cussing, but other than that, nail on the head type of stuff.

 

Again, I am waiting for Zach's ankle/knee/quad/hip to go out so he'll become what we all expect him to: a trivia question.

[Guest OnlyMe]

I offer only one defense for Zach. He gets ratings. Like him, loathe him, or want to pull his leg off and beat him with it, people do tune in to see him. Check back a few weeks, and you'll see that one of his segments gained a MILLION viewers.

 

That's why he should be on TV.

 

Of course, it does more harm in the long run to rely on non-wrestlers / gimmick wrestlers, but you should know that anyway.

 

Nik

(who dislikes Zach too)

[Guest the 1inch punch]

Nope, I completely agree with everything AS said

[Guest Anglesault]

Might want to cut a bit of the excess cussing,

I honestly had no idea that I was cursing too much.

 

 

Ugh.

[Guest cabbageboy]

Considering that Zach's involved in a major angle with people like the McMahons and Hogan...shouldn't his segments be drawing the ratings for SMDN?

 

I do find it amusing that they wouldn't put Christian over ANYONE when he won the IC title, yet are willing to job out world title contenders to a punk with one leg.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Zack Gowen, if the guy wants to wrestle, let him wrestle, its what he's wanted to do. I feel bad for him, the guy lost his leg. He couldn't help it and has had to deal with it during his life. Yes, he's handicapped, but he's not total shit out of luck.

 

And if he can wrestle good (yes, he'll need his plastic leg to help him out with applying more moves), that's even better. Isn't that what you want to see from him?

 

I'm enjoying the storyline although Hogan shouldn't have been a prick and left Zack on his own. (You'd figure Hogan would have been the one to help Zack actually get his "contract" at the end of the match.)

 

The only problem is the Gowen / McMahon takes up way too much attention on SD and I can see why the SD locker room moral is low.

 

And I thought it was complete idiocy for them to book Gowen / McMahon for A PPV? Most people don't want to shell out $35 to see that shit, but then again, any time that Vince McMahon / Big Show get beat up is good time, but not a rookie.

[Guest JHawk]

I completely agree with AS, mostly because the longer this angle goes on the more we see Vince McMahon on TV, and that makes me hate this storyline even more.

 

As for the cursing, you should probably cut it down (I'm guilting of doing it too much on occasion myself), but at least I can tell you care about the product and want it to succeed.

[Guest JMA]

I think Zach should be getting the Spike Dudley push--or lack thereof. He should either be on Velocity or opening Smackdown. I don't dislike the guy or anything, just how I feel. I do think he'd make a excellent heel manager, though. His gimmick would be hitting his client's opponent with his fake leg. It's very old school.

[Guest Aero]

Great column... I also agree 100% with everything you said. IMO, one of the worst parts about this push was just on Smackdown the other night when they replayed the ENTIRE match of Gowen & Steph vs. Big Show. I figured Velocity had already handled that. To make it worse, you had Michael Cole claiming that his win could possibly be one of the greatest moments in WWE history. Gimme a break.. I don't think any marks would even believe that.

[Guest Brian]

I feel sorry for him in some respect. He's being exploited as a novelty act, and who knows how much time he has with his somewhat frail body and one knee. He has no real long-term value in the business, and that's somewhat sad. He's gotten a free ride and a lot of exposure, but his career will be so short and more than likely he'll end up screwed up worse than most.

[Guest Coffey]

Might want to cut a bit of the excess cussing,

I honestly had no idea that I was cursing too much.

 

 

Ugh.

I love how I just get completely ignored, despite the fact that I said it first.

 

Guess that's 1000 posts. Whoop-de-fuck.

[Guest Mulatto Heat]

I offer only one defense for Zach.  He gets ratings.  Like him, loathe him, or want to pull his leg off and beat him with it, people do tune in to see him.  Check back a few weeks, and you'll see that one of his segments gained a MILLION viewers.

And I wonder how many of those additional viewers are those that channel surf, happen to catch Gowan, and stay to watch, all the while poking fun at the whole scenario. Both my parents do that - my mom especially. I still remember when she asked me on the phone "Did you see those two wrestlers getting married?" Christ.

 

Of course, it does more harm in the long run to rely on non-wrestlers / gimmick wrestlers, but you should know that anyway.

 

Yup. This goes back to what I said before - if someone happens to see Zach Gowan's one-legged dropkick (heavily edited of course), and sticks to their generalization that wrestling is akin to the Jerry Springer show, they're not going to care about Kurt Angle's matches or promos, no matter how good they are. Nor are they going to give a crap about the upcoming PPV. No one seems to realize that though.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

I don't see the point in 'getting ratings' when it doesn't a)boost house show attendance and b)boost PPV buyrates and c)boost advertising revenue. Until there is a full-blown increase in ratings all-across-the-board Gowan + McMahon = Ratings = dick all.

[rising up out of the back seat-nuh 0]

Thank God Hogan quit, other this whole scenario would probably have rumbled on untill SummerSlam. As it is, Vince/Gowan looks like the blow-off.

 

Would it have been so hard for WWE to bring in Gowan the same way as TNA did? At least then, he'd have some longivity, and get over before you put him into the top-line mix.

 

HA! SD is on now and they just showed Stephanie spearing Sable. Fucking hilarious.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

One would have thought that Hogan vs. McMahon at WM would have been a blow-off to their feud...

 

Vince _wants_ to be on camera.

[Guest Coffey]

What's with the underscores?

[Guest Bad Guy]

yeah why do you _type_like_this?

[Guest Slapnuts00]

Its no suprise that WWE screws up another "Sure thing". In TNA, they handled him perfectly. Here's a new wrestler, Mike Tenay says he's inpirational...HOLY SHIT DID HE JUST RIP OFF HIS LEG!?! He's kicking RoadDog's ass. BJ James looked totally bewildered. It was awesome.

The whole bringhing him in for the white boy challenge thing would have been awesome. It would have been a total shock. I can just imagine JR's bewildered comentary as the one legged guy upsets Rodney Mack.

But instead he's been in a main event angle, shoved down our throats telling us HOW AMAZING HE IS, and instead of just showing us, they continue drilling it into our heads and he becomes a disappointment and a hinderance. Stupid WWE, they screw EVERYTHING up....

[Guest Mulatto Heat]

yeah why do you _type_like_this?

You asking another person about their typing habits.

 

That's irony.

[Guest Thunder Rising!!!]

Once again, save your Zach hate for Vince.

 

None of you would be stupid enough not to take this push that Vince is giving him if you were in his place, even though its utterly ridiculous in itself. Zach is yet another vehicle that the McMahons can salve their huge ass egos on, particularly Vince.

 

Don;t hate the player, hate his boss.

You are right, don't hate the player, hate the boss.

 

Zach Gowen is not responsible for having himself shoved down everyone's throats, it the big pile of shit that they call a writing team.

 

They are pushing someone that is obviusly not ready and needs some time before making it into the main event level.

 

Its just sad that all the hype and the respect that he got before he made his debut has now all turned into hate because of the way they are handling him.

[Guest JMA]

I can't believe my post about Gowen being a heel manager was no-sold. He hits his client's enemies with his leg.

[Guest The Old Me]

yeah why do you _type_like_this?

I'm assuming his space bar is broken.

[Guest MarvinisaLunatic]

I think its for emphasis on words..

 

and while I could see Zach being a heel manager, I don't think they'll ever go for it.

 

He has underdog written all over him, not evil sneaky heel manager..

[Guest Basswitch]

An Underdog, sneaky heel manager... with one leg.

 

I would watch it just to see if it made any sence.

[Guest Coffey]

I think its for emphasis on words..

It just makes it harder to read...

[Cherry Blossom Viscount 0]

The very attitudes and contempt you all hold toward young Zach Gowan are the reasons that small wrestlers will never be taken seriously. It's not your fault per se, it's the fault of the wrestling audience as a whole. While you all see Gowan as pathetic, the marks see Benoit, Spanky, Ultimo, and Rey as pathetic in the sense of them beating guys like Show, HHH, Austin, Rock, etc. etc.

 

You all don't see this as being fair because the big men lack wrestling ability while their smaller counterparts possess it. But who cares? The impressive stuff that Benoit and Rey and Ultimo have done in the past aren't done in the WWE. Besides a well planned out match composed of the usual spots, why should a mark like Benoit over say A-Train, who doesn't have a set moveset and switches his moves regularly and is bigger, and therefore "better" in their eyes? Benoit small, A-Trian big. Gowan one leg, everybody else two.

 

They need to turn Gowan as he will best be suited as a heel. They need to make him a sadistic, young punk that will do ANYTHING to get ahead. They need to make up for his physical handicap by making him a clever bastard. Have him hire stronger wrestlers to take out his enemies, ambushes, verbally run them down. Piss on the fans. They can make Gowan more than a one note wrestler. It's all in the booking.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

A heel turn will not work. It won't work because when all the turns are done and the angles are exhausted and the SWERVES~! are SWERVED~! and the smoke has cleared: It's still a one-legged guy that is a novelty act at best and something people don't want to see at worst.

 

This isn't a "sure thing." While he'd get an indy league some exposure, he isn't main event material (yeah, I know I sound like HHH here, but shove off) especially when he's supposed to be an underdog.

 

McMahon better hope that contract doesn't last long. This guy is going to fuck up his one remaining leg very quickly and we're going to have another Droz (with all due respect for the suffering Dozdov has experienced since his accident) a guy who Vince is sitting around and paying for the rest of his life as a gesture of goodwill.

 

Sure he "just wants to wrestle" but if the cancer never happened and he had all his appendages he wouldn't be working there. As he is, Gowan needs to be in an indie promotion with a smaller ring. He could get the right indie place over big time, but that's probably the exact reason why WWE has signed him in the first place.

 

He needs to be with the Mavens and Ricos and I'll be happy.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

The fact that people will have to lay down for a guy who is probably physically inable to kick an infant's ass sickens me.

Well, he does only have one leg, so it's tough to kick much of anything.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

The very attitudes and contempt you all hold toward young Zach Gowan are the reasons that small wrestlers will never be taken seriously.

 

No, the reason why small wrestlers will never be taken seriously is because of _Vince_.

 

It's not your fault per se, it's the fault of the wrestling audience as a whole. While you all see Gowan as pathetic, the marks see Benoit, Spanky, Ultimo, and Rey as pathetic in the sense of them beating guys like Show, HHH, Austin, Rock, etc. etc.

 

Which is why there is a _crusierweight_ division. I am all for the "little guys" being separated from the "big guys" as long as the division gets pushed but not because of the believability issues, it's because the little guys are used to make the big guys seem bigger. I could point to _several_ instances in 'real fighting' where a small guy beat a bigger guy because they had greater *skill*. And don't lump Benoit in there with Rey. Rey is like 5'2. Benoit has believably faced opponents like Austin, Rock, Angle, and HHH where sized didn't figure in _at all_.

 

You all don't see this as being fair because the big men lack wrestling ability while their smaller counterparts possess it. But who cares? The impressive stuff that Benoit and Rey and Ultimo have done in the past aren't done in the WWE. Besides a well planned out match composed of the usual spots, why should a mark like Benoit over say A-Train, who doesn't have a set moveset and switches his moves regularly and is bigger, and therefore "better" in their eyes? Benoit small, A-Trian big. Gowan one leg, everybody else two.

 

You are equating a severe physical disability to a less-than-a-foot difference in height??

 

They need to turn Gowan as he will best be suited as a heel. They need to make him a sadistic, young punk that will do ANYTHING to get ahead. They need to make up for his physical handicap by making him a clever bastard. Have him hire stronger wrestlers to take out his enemies, ambushes, verbally run them down. Piss on the fans. They can make Gowan more than a one note wrestler. It's all in the booking.

 

This I kinda agree with, but then again, I kinda don't. If you throw in a gimmick where Zach has a preoccupation with destorying his opponents legs, then cool - it evens the playing field.