WWE General Discussion - February 2008

[dubq 0]

Former WWF and UFC star Dan Severn was recently on the Club World Wrestling Insanity Radio Show and told an interesting story about a proposed gimmick for him during his time in the WWF in 1998-1999.

 

I'll never be voted into political office because I'm a very blunt individual. At the point that when I was working for the WWF, we had creative differences. The cycle of a professional wrestler, if you're a good guy, sometime down the road you'll sell your soul and become a bad guy. If you're a bad guy, you'll eventually see the light and become a good guy. That's the circle of a professional wrestler. Well basically, in the beginning, I was labelled as a good guy -- the intense good guy. No frills, kind of like a Dean Malenko. I mean the guy didn't really ever cut any promos. He just went out there and got business done. That's what I went out there and did. Suddenly, Vince Russo got the idea to put 666 on my forehead. I can be an Undertaker disciple. I said, "Whoa, time out." I said, "I live in Small Town USA." I said, "I want to know I can take my family out to a local restaurant without having the local patrons come up to my table or some local minister trying to lay his healing hands upon me. I'm thinking 'cause that ain't going to happen." And then all of a sudden, I'm being told, "Well Dan, we could use you poorly." I go, "What does that mean?" They said, "We can start having you losing matches." I go, "Yeah. That's true. You could ask me, but where does it say in my contract that I have to lose to anybody? What if I walk into your world of fantasy and start showing them my world of reality? How many of your so-called stars would I make look pretty silly in the process?"

 

THAT would've been awesome.

[tbondrage99 0]

People can talk about low buyrates all they want but Wrestlemania is coming up pretty soon and it could end up with more buys then any PPV before it. Isnt that usually what happens every year?

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Generally yes, but often times they spend so much money on advertisements / celebrity deals that they NEED 800,000 buys just to break even. WrestleMania XIX may have had more buys than any other WWE show that year, but it was still a failure in the big picture.

 

Also, kudos to the "thermometer" joke.

[Guest cheetoe]

-- The Sun out of the U.K. has Paul Heyman's first interview since his departure from WWE last year. It is called, "Why I Left WWE." You can read it at this link.

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...ticle762131.ece

 

Didn't see this anywhere. Alot of things regarding Vince McMahon and the WWE so I figure it belongs here. Fascinating stuff. Heyman actually makes Stephanie out to be the sensible McMahon.

[Celtic Jobber 0]

EDIT: Damn, cheetoe beat me to it...

 

 

Oh well, here's a few of the more interesting parts of the Sun interview with Heyman:

 

How was it for you to see ECW - your baby, the thing you created - almost destroyed in front of your eyes?

 

It was a very rough road because, make no mistake about it, Vince McMahon has every right to do anything that he wants with ECW.

 

He bought the right to exploit the intellectual property of the brand. It’s his, he owns it, and nobody can question whether or not he is entitled to do whatever he damn well pleases with it.

 

Rob Van Dam has articulated on this brilliantly in some recent interviews and it kind of brought back the memories of that time in 2006.

 

I tried to resign, and in front of other people because I wanted witnesses, several times in last two months of my tenure in WWE/ECW.

 

I offered my resignation to Stephanie on several occasions. I told her the tensions between me and Vince were getting in the way of the brand, that Vince was taking everything personally, and that it was neither fun, creative, or productive any more.

 

I thought if I left, Vince would give the brand the TLC - um, that’s Tender Loving Care, not Tables Ladders and Chairs - it needed. Stephanie kept trying to get involved, but Vince was on a tear.

 

I dare suggest that Vince was craving for someone to compete with him on any level, in anything in life, and also at the same time, hating to lose, said: “I have the original owner of ECW, I have the original creative mind of ECW, and you know what, we’re gonna battle over the creative direction of this product.”

 

And, at the same time, it’s like the WrestleMania main event - because it’s a predetermined finish.

 

At the end of the day, Vince has to determine what the direction is.

 

I’m not there to compete with him. I’m there to help him. I’m on his side, I’m his tag team partner.

 

It just became misery to work there which is why, as Van Dam has pointed out, I just wanted out so badly I finally couldn’t take it any more.

 

When did that happen, what was the actual date, because no one has known where you’ve been for a long time?

 

The final straw was the December to Dismember Pay Per View. That show was just a wreck.

 

I knew it going in. I kept trying to pitch different things for the show that week, that weekend, and even the day of the show. All day long on the day of the show, I kept coming to Vince saying: “The people are going to throw this back in our face.”

 

Can you give us some examples of the things that you wanted to do that Vince said “no” to?

I thought the undercard was horrible.

 

I thought that the design of the show itself made no sense.

 

I just felt that the entire layout of the show, the entire complexion of the event was a downer.

 

I also thought that we were doing Bobby Lashley no favours the way he was going to win the title. Lashley winning the title, especially if you eliminate Rob Van Dam and CM Punk early, would be leapfrogging over RVD and Punk.

 

Van Dam was the sentimental favourite, Punk was the kid that all the crowd was getting behind and they wanted to see the upset.

 

If you don’t appease the need for the audience to see that new hero get crowned like Punk did the week before at Survivor Series when DX let him say ‘Are you ready?’ then the audience will feel ripped off.

 

If you don’t put that spotlight on Van Dam, with whom the paying customers have just taken this long ride back into the title chase, then the paying customer will feel ripped off.

 

My opinion was to start the chamber off with the Big Show saying: “I’m a seven foot tall, 500lb giant, I’m gonna mow through every one of you.”

 

And the first to take him on would be Punk. Playing to the fact that UFC is so hot and in the public consciousness, Punk chokes out Big Show in the first round of the Elimination Chamber, four-and-a-half minutes in, and now the champion is out.

 

You know for a fact, before any two contenders lock up, I’m getting a new champion at the end of this match.

 

Then, the first guy to come out after Big Show v Punk, would be Van Dam. You let Van Dam and Punk fight it out, and then you start feeding in the heels.

 

Vince hated this. He especially hated the fact that Big Show liked it.

Even though he was being choked out within five minutes, Big Show liked it?

 

Of course, because he was making a new guy!

 

Big Show is so underappreciated in terms of how smart he is to the business, and how willing he is to make new stars.

 

Vince wanted all babyfaces out of the way and for all the spotlight on Lashley and for Lashley to do a Goldberg-style two minute squash of The Big Show.

 

At that point, not only did I realise that this is going to suck, not only is everyone going to throw this back at us, but this show is going to run short.

 

And during the show, I pointed all this out to Vince, which just angered him even more, and he didn’t care.

 

His attitude was: “When this broadcast is over, people will see a new champion, they’ll have a new hero and they’ll all be happy.”

 

When I went to Vince right before I went out to introduce the Chamber, I pointed out again to him “Vince this show is horribly short.”

 

I had this idea of getting 15 minutes out of the crowd, but Vince said: “No, no, no. Just go out there, make your point, and introduce the Chamber.”

 

Which is why, when I was in the ring, I made the statement: “ECW will live long after I am gone.”

 

Because I knew, either when I went back into the dressing room, or within the next day or two, it was time for me to leave.

[Timmy8271 0]

WWE has released the following developmental wrestlers:

 

- George "G-Rilla" Murdoch

- Antoni Polaski a.k.a. "ECW Original" Amish Roadkill

- "Badseed" Shawn Osborne (Shawn McGrath)

- Robert Anthony

[Guest cheetoe]

I AM FASTER THAN THE CELTIC JOBBER!#$@!

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I've always respected Heyman's mind for the business and I am sure he would have made it work, but in general I side with Vince on this one. Eliminating the dominant world champion 5 minutes into the match is a bad idea.

 

In hindsight, we all December... sucked and that Heyman's chamber idea might have worked better, but that doesn't mean it was a good idea when he pitched it.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I've always respected Heyman's mind for the business and I am sure he would have made it work, but in general I side with Vince on this one. Eliminating the dominant world champion 5 minutes into the match is a bad idea.

Why?

[Downhome 0]

WWE has released the following developmental wrestlers:

 

- George "G-Rilla" Murdoch

- Antoni Polaski a.k.a. "ECW Original" Amish Roadkill

- "Badseed" Shawn Osborne (Shawn McGrath)

- Robert Anthony

 

 

We can add Cassidy Riley and Ace Steele to the list.

[Guest cheetoe]

One thing that seems accurate is that the the McMahon thought proccess is very out of touch with what the fans really want to see... and that he doesn't seem willing to listen to, or even give consideration to anyone elses point of view.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Great quote from the interview:

 

Vince is such a control freak that if he sneezes, the next 10 minutes of any meeting are ruined because he is so p***ed at himself for not being able to control the sneeze.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I've always respected Heyman's mind for the business and I am sure he would have made it work, but in general I side with Vince on this one. Eliminating the dominant world champion 5 minutes into the match is a bad idea.

Why?

I find it anti-climactic to build up a monster heel champion for six months, only to job him several minutes into an hour long main event.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I've always respected Heyman's mind for the business and I am sure he would have made it work, but in general I side with Vince on this one. Eliminating the dominant world champion 5 minutes into the match is a bad idea.

Why?

I find it anti-climactic to build up a monster heel champion for six months, only to job him several minutes into an hour long main event.

Why is it anti-climactic?

 

I like it for a number of reasons. First, the crowd are going to pop huge at the dominant champion being the first one out, and in such a decisive manner. Second, when they calm down, they realize that they're going to see history with a new champion crowned, and can become excited and really into the match because they don't know exactly who the new champion is going to be. Then, depending on what happens to the guy who eliminated the champion, you can go any number of ways with the title picture. If the guy who eliminated the champion is eliminated by the eventual winner, you can set up the first title program by having him challenge the winner on the basis that he was the one who actually beat the former champion. Not only that, the old champion can demand a rematch on the basis that the new champion didn't beat him. If the guy who eliminated the champion wins, then you've established a new champion by: 1) Having him beat the former champion, and 2) Having him beat someone who, presumably, is a top contender, to win the title.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Ace was never going to catch on with the wwe - he'll probably go back for a run in ROH before calling it a career.

 

I love the Heyman interview and basically laid out exactly what I wanted in the EC. Show getting choked out by Punk mints Punk in the eyes of the fans without him having to win the belt. Remember at this time Big Show was calling it a career as well - he wanted to go out on his back. Booking it the way Vince did put over one wrestler - Bobby Lashley. If it would have followed Heyman's booking you could have put over 3-4 wrestlers. Punk by beating Big Show in five minutes, have RVD and Punk wrestle to a five minute stalemate, push Test or Holly in that they pin RVD and Punk, and wait for a 2-on-1 advantage over Lashley, and the Lashley for winning the title.

 

I still hope that Russo burns out again and leaves TNA and that some of the TNA power brokers push for Heyman to be brought it. I'd love to see Heyman vs Vince with the TNA money behind him. Angle has tremendous clout there right now, and I believe he was a big fan of Heyman. There is a movement in TNA that judging by the reaction to Global Impact, that they might want to eliminate a lot of the "sports entertainment/silliness" of their show and instead strive for a more competition/title based show. That's basically what Heyman wanted to do with ECW, bringing in Angle, booking Punk as a MMA shooter, and created the Boris Alexiev character that Santino Marella played while in OVW. The Alexiev character was a rip-off of Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emilianenko and was set to be a major threat for Angle.

 

Also look how he booked OVW during his stint down there - some of the best character development and storytelling at that time.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

WWE has released the following developmental wrestlers:

 

- George "G-Rilla" Murdoch

- Antoni Polaski a.k.a. "ECW Original" Amish Roadkill

- "Badseed" Shawn Osborne (Shawn McGrath)

- Robert Anthony

 

 

We can add Cassidy Riley and Ace Steele to the list.

 

No Second City Saints reunion in WWE.

[dubq 0]

I love that Big Show was cool with that proposed finish. Good shit right there.

[Human Fly 0]

Any word on who is going into the HOF this year? We should start getting announcements any week with only 7 or 8 shows to go before Wrestlemania.

 

Being in Florida it would be a good year for Macho Man, but I am not holding my breath.... Other Florida guys: Bruiser Brody, Kevin Sullivan and Lex Luger. Is Sting still under contract with TNA. Sting and Lex together would be a good draw for the HOF. Always would like to see Ravishing Rick get in.

[Diamonddust 0]

Any word on who is going into the HOF this year? We should start getting announcements any week with only 7 or 8 shows to go before Wrestlemania.

 

My guess -

 

-Flair is going to be the "headline" name

-Someone like Steamboat, DiBiase, or even Barry Windham (It will be in Florida afterall, which reminds me...) getting the 2nd spot on the broadcast.

-I wouldn't be shocked if they put Gordon Solie in the Hall of Fame since it's happening in Florida. It would be along the lines of them inducting The Sheik in Detroit.

-There is a rumor that Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia were going to be inducted by The Rock at one point.

-I would hope they induct a great tag-team, like they did with The Samoans. The Road Warriors should be high on the list as would the Freebirds.

 

You'll also get some secondary names to round out the event (What about Hacksaw, or Kamala, or someone like that?, but honestly, this is one of my favorite things about Wrestlemania.

[Diamonddust 0]

Any word on who is going into the HOF this year? We should start getting announcements any week with only 7 or 8 shows to go before Wrestlemania.

 

Being in Florida it would be a good year for Macho Man, but I am not holding my breath.... Other Florida guys: Bruiser Brody, Kevin Sullivan and Lex Luger. Is Sting still under contract with TNA. Sting and Lex together would be a good draw for the HOF. Always would like to see Ravishing Rick get in.

 

I seriously doubt Luger gets in any time soon. If they put in anyone from the Florida territory this year, I'm guessing it will be Barry Windham, Mike Rotunda, Gordon Solie, or possibly even Eddie Graham.

 

Rick Rude would be a nice addition as well, and I'm guessing Brody will get in sometime.

[Downhome 0]

Add Bobby Lashley to the released list finally.

[Enigma 0]

No one bitched when Taz got pinned in 30 seconds by Masato Tanaka and Mike Awesome after 9 months as ECW Champion.

[Diamonddust 0]

No one bitched when Taz got pinned in 30 seconds by Masato Tanaka and Mike Awesome after 9 months as ECW Champion.

 

Agreed, although everyone knew Taz was losing that match... just not when he was going to lose that match.

[Hawk 34 0]

Hell, I don't remember hearing a damn thing about Awesome showing up.

[NoCalMike 0]

I like Heyman's idea because if you think about it, if it comes down to Show & RVD in the end, everyone assumes RVD is taking the strap, however if Big Show goes down early, it adds a real level of suprise to the end of the elimination chamber. It also as mentioned before, puts over Punk without having to put the belt on him.....

[MillenniumMan831 0]

No one bitched when Taz got pinned in 30 seconds by Masato Tanaka and Mike Awesome after 9 months as ECW Champion.

 

Agreed, although everyone knew Taz was losing that match... just not when he was going to lose that match.

 

Saying Taz lasted 30 seconds in that match is like saying SD Jones really lost in 9 seconds in WrestleMania. The match went at least 3-4 minutes before Taz was doubleteamed and taken out. But the point is taken.

[Wally Balls 0]

 

This is 99.9% fake...but just imagine...

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

 

This is 99.9% fake...but just imagine...

 

It saddens me to think that the above match will never happen, but anybody who read Bret Hart's book can sympathize with The Rock.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

 

This is 99.9% fake...but just imagine...

Try 100% fake. But it would make a great match, and the interviews would be something else.

[tbondrage99 0]

HBK & The Rock would be excellent. Wonder if there will be any big dream matches this year.