Controversy about Smackdown main event

[Guest wildpegasus]

CONTROVERSY BREAKS OUT BACKSTAGE AT SMACKDOWN

 

by Dave Scherer Updated: 11/12/2003 12:56:37 PM

 

 

A huge controversy erupted in the Smackdown locker room last night that once again pointed out the political problems that are affecting WWE and it’s product, and point out the evils of having people push their own personal agenda at the expense of what is good for the company as a whole. It was a situation that drew the ire of so many people that as of this writing, I have talked to seven different Smackdown talents this morning who have told me that Michael Hayes, in pushing to get over an angle that he wanted, rubbed a number of people in the locker room the wrong way at the show and left a lot of people disgruntled.

 

Hayes lobbied throughout the day yesterday for John Cena to hit an FU on Chris Benoit at the end of their match, which they worked as a tag team, at last night’s TV taping. Hayes was working all day to get the idea pushed through. The problem was, he was the only one who was behind actually doing it, since everyone else in the company realizes that Cena needs to be pushed as a babyface and that the fans are solidly behind him. Hayes’ position was to have Cena FU Benoit because he was trying to catch lightning in a bottle and have Cena reprise the Stone Cold character, even though the characteristics of the two really don’t match up and again, no one else at the show thought that confusing the fans with a Cena FU on his partner was a smart move.

 

The talent involved in the Survivor Series match thought it was a bad idea for Cena to do the FU, feeling it would confuse the fans and hurt Benoit. The issue had appeared to be settled, with Cena not doing the spot, until Hayes met late in the day with Vince McMahon, as the show was being put to bed, and got it pushed through. He did so by reportedly misrepresenting to the owner how others felt about it. From what I was told by all of the people that I talked to today, after this happened Hayes was then telling people at the show that the FU was what Vince wanted, though no one believed that given everything that had gone down earlier in the day. I have talked to a number of workers who feel that Hayes showed really bad decision-making on this issue and they are now questioning what I call his “wrestling IQ”.

 

What makes matters worse is that there is a distinct feeling among people at Smackdown that it was extremely suspicious that Hayes, who is a writer for the Raw brand, was pushing for the finish given the effect that it could have on a major player on the Smackdown roster.

 

The end result was that after the spot aired last night, the crowd sat there in a shocked silence, and it wasn’t good. It was a “You confused us with Cena and buried Benoit” kind of silence, which is really bad for the product. Hopefully, it will be edited off the final broadcast.

 

It should be noted that this is the second dubious incident that Hayes has been involved in during the last month. Of course, after drinking heavily, he hopped on stage and sang “Jailhouse Rock” at Stephanie McMahon and HHH”s wedding last month and had the microphone was taken away from him by Linda McMahon.

[Damaramu 0]

Well we all knew he was a fucking moron....this just helps to prove it.

[haVoc 0]

The end result was that after the spot aired last night, the crowd sat there in a shocked silence, and it wasn’t good. It was a “You confused us with Cena and buried Benoit” kind of silence, which is really bad for the product. Hopefully, it will be edited off the final broadcast.

 

I'm sure the 5,000 marks in the crowd were thinking "you fuckers just buried Chris Benoit!"

 

They probably were confused if they should cheer or boo, though.

[Downhome 0]

I was actually hoping that they'd have it so Cena and Benoit didn't get along, but I dunno about an F5. They could have did the same thing, a lot better. Sometimes it's best to be rather subtle, instead of just IN YOUR FACE, with what you are trying to get across.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Subtlety was never a specialty of the WWE's.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

At least someone out there is trying to come up with new ideas that don't involve hosses and McMahons.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

So? Shitty ideas are shitty ideas, regardless of whether or not they're fresh or different.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

Sometimes it appears to be a shitty idea and then it works. Some you know have 0 chance of making it. This doesn't appear to be complete shit. Maybe this teases him as a tweener like Hayes wants. Thats not so bad.

[Guest nikowwf]

This is easily rectified. DONT SHOW THE SPOT ON TV. If the WWE shows it, then no one should blame Michael Hayes, as its obviously approved by the higher powers.

 

niko

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Sometimes it appears to be a shitty idea and then it works. Some you know have 0 chance of making it. This doesn't appear to be complete shit. Maybe this teases him as a tweener like Hayes wants. Thats not so bad.

From what all SD reports suggest, Cena was totally over as a face, thus making this "tweener" bullshit totally unnescessary.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

Right, but they reference the SCSA similarity. SCSA was known to do this to faces sometimes as well. It made him more of a badass than just being a full face. Cena going from a heel to a "clap your hands while I rap as a face" would get old fast. Being a bit of a tweener, but leaning towards face isn't such a bad idea.

[Guest webmasterofwrestlegame]

I bet things like this go on all the time backstage.

 

But to suggest Hayes did it to sabotage the SmackDown! band in anyway is bordering on the ridiculous.

[1234-5678 0]

I was actually hoping that they'd have it so Cena and Benoit didn't get along, but I dunno about an F5. They could have did the same thing, a lot better. Sometimes it's best to be rather subtle, instead of just IN YOUR FACE, with what you are trying to get across.

I don't know where that angle went, but it certainly isn't in my face.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Right, but they reference the SCSA similarity. SCSA was known to do this to faces sometimes as well. It made him more of a badass than just being a full face. Cena going from a heel to a "clap your hands while I rap as a face" would get old fast. Being a bit of a tweener, but leaning towards face isn't such a bad idea.

No, it's not a bad idea, but Cena is not Austin and the fans will never connect w/ Cena like they did w/ Austin. Hell, nobody's probably ever going to connect w/ the fans like Austin did.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

Right, but they reference the SCSA similarity.  SCSA was known to do this to faces sometimes as well.  It made him more of a badass than just being a full face.  Cena going from a heel to a "clap your hands while I rap as a face" would get old fast.  Being a bit of a tweener, but leaning towards face isn't such a bad idea.

No, it's not a bad idea, but Cena is not Austin and the fans will never connect w/ Cena like they did w/ Austin. Hell, nobody's probably ever going to connect w/ the fans like Austin did.

You can't just play it safe and hope things will pick up on their own. Sometimes you have to be bold and recreate the business. Cena isn't SCSA but maybe he's the next generation we've been waiting for. Everyone laughed at him when he first came out. Now he's over huge. Maybe he can take it to the next level. You never know if you don't try.

[Guest Coffey]

"Once a Freebird, always a Freebird."

[Downhome 0]

I was actually hoping that they'd have it so Cena and Benoit didn't get along, but I dunno about an F5. They could have did the same thing, a lot better. Sometimes it's best to be rather subtle, instead of just IN YOUR FACE, with what you are trying to get across.

I don't know where that angle went, but it certainly isn't in my face.

Yes it is. Instead of them allowing Cena to slowy become a face, or to allow him to have a subtle progression, they have him do his FINISHER to his partner. That isn't what they need to do with the guy.

[Guest Miss Indy Queen]

CONTROVERSY BREAKS OUT BACKSTAGE AT SMACKDOWN 

 

by Dave Scherer  Updated: 11/12/2003 12:56:37 PM 

 

     

    A huge controversy erupted in the Smackdown locker room last night that once again pointed out the political problems that are affecting WWE and it’s product, and point out the evils of having people push their own personal agenda at the expense of what is good for the company as a whole. It was a situation that drew the ire of so many people that as of this writing, I have talked to seven different Smackdown talents this morning who have told me that Michael Hayes, in pushing to get over an angle that he wanted, rubbed a number of people in the locker room the wrong way at the show and left a lot of people disgruntled.

 

Hayes lobbied throughout the day yesterday for John Cena to hit an FU on Chris Benoit at the end of their match, which they worked as a tag team, at last night’s TV taping. Hayes was working all day to get the idea pushed through. The problem was, he was the only one who was behind actually doing it, since everyone else in the company realizes that Cena needs to be pushed as a babyface and that the fans are solidly behind him. Hayes’ position was to have Cena FU Benoit because he was trying to catch lightning in a bottle and have Cena reprise the Stone Cold character, even though the characteristics of the two really don’t match up and again, no one else at the show thought that confusing the fans with a Cena FU on his partner was a smart move.

 

The talent involved in the Survivor Series match thought it was a bad idea for Cena to do the FU, feeling it would confuse the fans and hurt Benoit. The issue had appeared to be settled, with Cena not doing the spot, until Hayes met late in the day with Vince McMahon, as the show was being put to bed, and got it pushed through. He did so by reportedly misrepresenting to the owner how others felt about it. From what I was told by all of the people that I talked to today, after this happened Hayes was then telling people at the show that the FU was what Vince wanted, though no one believed that given everything that had gone down earlier in the day. I have talked to a number of workers who feel that Hayes showed really bad decision-making on this issue and they are now questioning what I call his “wrestling IQ”.

 

What makes matters worse is that there is a distinct feeling among people at Smackdown that it was extremely suspicious that Hayes, who is a writer for the Raw brand, was pushing for the finish given the effect that it could have on a major player on the Smackdown roster.

 

The end result was that after the spot aired last night, the crowd sat there in a shocked silence, and it wasn’t good. It was a “You confused us with Cena and buried Benoit” kind of silence, which is really bad for the product. Hopefully, it will be edited off the final broadcast.

 

It should be noted that this is the second dubious incident that Hayes has been involved in during the last month. Of course, after drinking heavily, he hopped on stage and sang “Jailhouse Rock” at Stephanie McMahon and HHH”s wedding last month and had the microphone was taken away from him by Linda McMahon.

The funny part about this is the fact that they "claim" the crowd sat there in silence. I was there last night and the crowd popped loudly for Cena after he did it. I think this just the political bs backstage that are complaining about it. Granted after Cena did the FU on Benoit my friend said to me "He's gonna be their next Stone Cold". I don't know if they're playing him up that way but i'm sure if they let Cena go with it, he can have a following just like Austin did. I also saw this as a way to show that noone on Team Angle trust each other. When Benoit finds out his tag partner was Cena he told Angle he doesn't trust Cena and even Angle said I don't trust you (Benoit) either. I thought they were just playing up to that leading into the ppv.

[BifEverchad 0]

I agree with keeping Cena as somewhat of a tweener. They shouldnt rush his turn, as one week he's heel, the next he's a face. They did that task too many times in the past, and it just seems lazy on the writers part. So, I don't really understand the backlash Hayes is getting from this incident. Cena should just be a tweener for now, and eventually go full fledge face.

[dubq 0]

I don't see what the big deal is. Cena is automatically supposed to be friends with Angle and Benoit because Lesnar turned on him? A face turn is gradual, not instant. Cena needs to retain some of his "heel" qualities if he's going to continue with this character, and FU'ing Benoit did just that. It also creates a "tension" angle for the match at SS.

 

This has been done a million times before during gradual turns, so I don't see what the big piss'n'moan fest is all about.

[dubq 0]

I was actually hoping that they'd have it so Cena and Benoit didn't get along, but I dunno about an F5. They could have did the same thing, a lot better. Sometimes it's best to be rather subtle, instead of just IN YOUR FACE, with what you are trying to get across.

I don't know where that angle went, but it certainly isn't in my face.

Yes it is. Instead of them allowing Cena to slowy become a face, or to allow him to have a subtle progression, they have him do his FINISHER to his partner. That isn't what they need to do with the guy.

Yes it is. It creates interest in the survivor series match. "Can Benoit and Cena co-exist?" What's so hard to grasp here, people?

Edited November 12, 2003 by vivisectvi

[TheFranchise 0]

I don't see what the big deal is. Cena is automatically supposed to be friends with Angle and Benoit because Lesnar turned on him? A face turn is gradual, not instant. Cena needs to retain some of his "heel" qualities if he's going to continue with this character, and FU'ing Benoit did just that. It also creates a "tension" angle for the match at SS.

 

This has been done a million times before during gradual turns, so I don't see what the big piss'n'moan fest is all about.

Correct.

[BifEverchad 0]

I was actually hoping that they'd have it so Cena and Benoit didn't get along, but I dunno about an F5. They could have did the same thing, a lot better. Sometimes it's best to be rather subtle, instead of just IN YOUR FACE, with what you are trying to get across.

I don't know where that angle went, but it certainly isn't in my face.

Yes it is. Instead of them allowing Cena to slowy become a face, or to allow him to have a subtle progression, they have him do his FINISHER to his partner. That isn't what they need to do with the guy.

Yes it is. It creates interest in the survivor series match. "Can Benoit and Cean co-exist?" What's so hard to grasp here, people?

Exactly.

 

It adds something to the Survivor Series match, it doesnt take away.

[dubq 0]

Right, but they reference the SCSA similarity. SCSA was known to do this to faces sometimes as well. It made him more of a badass than just being a full face. Cena going from a heel to a "clap your hands while I rap as a face" would get old fast. Being a bit of a tweener, but leaning towards face isn't such a bad idea.

Hell, Austin still Stuns faces from time to time.. Stacy comes to mind as the most recent.

[dubq 0]

I was actually hoping that they'd have it so Cena and Benoit didn't get along, but I dunno about an F5. They could have did the same thing, a lot better. Sometimes it's best to be rather subtle, instead of just IN YOUR FACE, with what you are trying to get across.

I don't know where that angle went, but it certainly isn't in my face.

Yes it is. Instead of them allowing Cena to slowy become a face, or to allow him to have a subtle progression, they have him do his FINISHER to his partner. That isn't what they need to do with the guy.

Yes it is. It creates interest in the survivor series match. "Can Benoit and Cean co-exist?" What's so hard to grasp here, people?

Exactly.

 

It adds something to the Survivor Series match, it doesnt take away.

Granted, I think they're a week late on all of this. They should've had this last week, and then have Benoit get his revenge this week. And then after the SS match is said and done, they shake hands and call a truce or something.

[BifEverchad 0]

Granted, I think they're a week late on all of this. They should've had this last week, and then have Benoit get his revenge this week. And then after the SS match is said and done, they shake hands and call a truce or something.

They can still do that. But at SS, have them co-exist, and eventually win and then they call the truce.

 

 

or something..

[Downhome 0]

You don't understand what I am talking about. I'm not wanting Cena to just up and become friends with all of the faces overnight. I'm more against that crap than I am against this.

 

There just isn't any reason for them to just so blatantly do the TOTAL "Cena FUs Benoit" angle. There are a million other ways that they could build up mistrust and his lacking of wanting to work with Angle, Benoit, and everyone else. If they want to slowly turn him face, or even tweener, doing something of THIS extent just confuses the fans.

 

Have Cena refuse to tag Benoit in or out, have him walk around the ring. Have him be focused on A-Train who could be at ringside, seeing how THAT'S who Cena should really be focused on. Then, as the match goes on, have it be presented so that Cena has no other choice but to TRY and work with the face team, for the good him himself.

 

There are endless possibilities.

[Guest Boo_Bradley]

I'm siding with hayes on this one...

 

Only so many Smackdowns I can handle where the draw is OMG Team Angle is facing 2000 lbs worth of MEN BAH GAWD!

 

 

(Ok JR isn't there but you know....)

[Guest BionicRedneck]

Basically they tried it, it got a shite response, don't do it again, lesson (hopefully) learned, no harm done.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

Basically they tried it, it got a shite response, don't do it again, lesson (hopefully) learned, no harm done.

This response says otherwise:

 

The funny part about this is the fact that they "claim" the crowd sat there in silence. I was there last night and the crowd popped loudly for Cena after he did it.