Wrestling thoughts that probably don't deserve

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

There's a Charlie Haas vs. Akio match on internet Heat this week. Akio got entrance video & "televised" entrance, so maybe they'll be bringing him back? Decent match, too.

[Guest Local Jobber R]

Saw this in today's WO update and it made me chuckle:

 

 

 

-Dusty Rhodes is in Las Vegas this weekend for de la Hoya-Mayorga. Rhodes is the special guest of Ricardo Mayorga and will be coming down the aisle as part of his team

 

 

I would pay twice the amount asked for this PPV if Dusty was doing commentary.

 

"THEY BE CLUBBERIN' EACH OTHA FOR REALZ, TONAH!"

But it's George Foreman's job to make the witty jokes on boxing PPVs.

[Strummer]

PWI:

 

Francisco Cartagena sent this one. ... NWA Wisconsin midget worker "Shortstack" has been signed to a WWE deal and he's scheduled to be Finlay's leprechaun.

[Guest Cam Chaos]

PWI:

 

Francisco Cartagena sent this one. ... NWA Wisconsin midget worker "Shortstack" has been signed to a WWE deal and he's scheduled to be Finlay's leprechaun.

Classy.

 

It's things like this that keep me watching The Sopranos rather than WWE. Leprechauns... I give up.

[Guest The Metal Maniac]

P.S. For real blind TNA hate including ten "Joe is fat" jokes per thread please visit the wrestling section of http://www.shootproject.com/thepit

Nothing tops "Joe is fat!"

"So was Vader."

"Yeah, but Vader wore a singlet."

 

Mind-numbing.

[World's Worst Man]

To be fair, The Pit is basically a site for trolling idiots who've been banned/run out of decent message boards, so they congregate in a place that is accepting of who they are.

[The Thread Killer]

Yeah see here's the thing...I post there off and on, so does Josh Johnson (who owns it), so does Dr. Tom, and there are other good people there who post on a semi-regular basis.

 

Just because some of the posters there are morons, (and I am not for one minute saying there isn't) don't brush the entire board with the same brush. The problem is that Jingus is determined not to ban ANYBODY no matter how they post, including idiots like Carnival and Lesson In Machismo, psychos like Leena, trolls like "Lactose" or "The Neocon" and out and out stupid gimmicks...so people get away with murder over there.

 

The fact that they don't ban blatant trolls or gimmicks is a pain, and it takes away from the board, but there are still some good people there. I don't post in their wrestling folder, because there are so many stupid people, but it's not just a site for trolls. Hell, it's no worse than the Hardcore Discussion folder at TSM, Non Stick Wrestling at DVDVR, or the new WDI.

[Guest savagerulz]

From PWInsider:

 

Legendary wrestling manager and all time great promo man Jim Cornette has agreed to terms with TNA and will be debuting soon for the company in an "authority figure" role. Given Cornette's ability to cut fabulous promos and his ability to sell storylines, he should be a fabulous asset for TNA.

 

Now THAT'S something that could make me a TNA mark.

[World's Worst Man]

Yeah see here's the thing...I post there off and on, so does Josh Johnson (who owns it), so does Dr. Tom, and there are other good people there who post on a semi-regular basis.

 

Just because some of the posters there are morons, (and I am not for one minute saying there isn't) don't brush the entire board with the same brush. The problem is that Jingus is determined not to ban ANYBODY no matter how they post, including idiots like Carnival and Lesson In Machismo, psychos like Leena, trolls like "Lactose" or "The Neocon" and out and out stupid gimmicks...so people get away with murder over there. 

 

The fact that they don't ban blatant trolls or gimmicks is a pain, and it takes away from the board, but there are still some good people there.  I don't post in their wrestling folder, because there are so many stupid people, but it's not just a site for trolls.  Hell, it's no worse than the Hardcore Discussion folder at TSM, Non Stick Wrestling at DVDVR, or the new WDI.

I don't think for a second that there aren't good people there, it's just that if there's a good number of idiots at a forum, regardless of how the other posters are, that forum gets a bad rap. DVDVR for instance has some great people there, but the forum's gained a reputation for being home to snarky, sarcastic fucktards, just because those people are usually around in every other thread, and are basically allowed to act that way without fear of being banned.

 

It does kind of suck to judge a place on the minority, but in my personal experience, that kind of minority is usually enough to ruin the place, unless they're dealt with in a timely manner.

[Guest Big Papi]

From PWInsider:

 

Legendary wrestling manager and all time great promo man Jim Cornette has agreed to terms with TNA and will be debuting soon for the company in an "authority figure" role. Given Cornette's ability to cut fabulous promos and his ability to sell storylines, he should be a fabulous asset for TNA.

Now THAT'S something that could make me a TNA mark.

Meltz says that Cornette is undergoing surgery any day now and won't be able to appear for a few months if this story is indeed true.

[Strummer]

Watching Tommy Dreamer get absolutely NO reaction tonight was kind of sad and doesn't bode well for the ECW angle. Dreamer was buried too much over the past 5 years to expect the crowd to treat him like a star. I assume this sets up Foley and Edge v Funk and Dreamer at ONS 2.

[sek69]

Why would they do an angle involving Mick Foley and Tommy Dreamer in Anaheim? If they would have done it practically anywhere on the east coast it would have got a much bigger reaction instead of dying a slow death.

[The Thread Killer]

So since I was bored, and since I'm planning on watching ECW when it starts up again probably, I thought I'd sit down and check out RAW tonight. This would be the first time in YEARS that I've done that.

 

What a boring ass pile of CRAP.

 

Then I go online, and see some people commenting about how this week's show was "pretty good" or "better than recently." I'm thinking to myself that either people are FAR too easily entertained...or I've become spoiled from watch mostly ROH, Puro, and TNA to the point where I have a very low Sports Entertainment tolerance level...because that show freaking sucked.

[Coffey]

I know Raw didn't hold my interest. WWE is directly responsible for how I feel about wrestling as a whole. When WWE is bad, it makes me want to actively seek out other wrestling less which I think is somewhat abnormal. In 2005, I was really big into Ring of Honor. I watched most of the shows from that year. In January of this year, I went to an ROH show in Dayton, OH. Since then, I haven't followed the company, at all. I think a lot of it had to do with James Gibson.

 

As far as TNA is concerned, I quit following them once Christian won the NWA Title and for some reason everyone on the internet was talking about how all the fans coming into the ring was some "big moment." I was like "well, if this is a big moment, I don't like the product." The commentary and the Orlando fans turn me off from the product in a way that no wrestling match can remedy.

 

Last night, during Raw, I found myself watching MLB and NBA instead of Raw the majority of the time. Then I went to bed before the Raw main event even came on because I didn't care. By the time Monday Night Football rolls around, with Tony Kornheiser on there now, I think I'll be done with wrestling for good. It might be time for me to get a new hobby anyway. I've become too jaded where I can't enjoy the product without critiquing it with a fine-toothed comb anyway.

 

The "big" things on the horizon for the Summer of WWE seem to be, apparently, ECW coming back (again) and DeGeneration X coming back. It appears as if this May 19th crap is leading to Kane getting his mask back too. It's just MORE rehashing. I DON'T CARE! I like watching Pride and UFC with my friend Jeremy more...and it's cheaper.

[Guest Cam Chaos]

It sounds like you are where I was.

 

I used to be able to flick between Nitro and RAW.

 

Then if I didn't like RAW or SD that week I could skip one but watch the other.

 

Then after that I said, ok, I may not like the weekly programs with the shitty crude angles, but the PPVS generally deliver and I get most of them for free, I'll keep track of them since they are generally more wrestling and less crap.

 

Then of course they started stacking cards and playing favourite so PPV matches are the same length as TV matches unless it's the main event. Then the endless rematch PPVS began and the subtle variations on the same formula that changed nothing (HHH vs face champion vs heel/face/tweener).

 

Then out came the old draws... I mean, Legends to try appeal to an audience they've long sinced alienated with things like the Kiss My Ass Club, which itself was put to rest by The Rock but has now been pulled out from the mothballs. Much like Foley. Much like ECW developing out of the WWE and rebelling.

 

I think it's quite clear they have no new ideas or long term plans for the company to really progress in a positive new direction since every "new" idea they have has already been beaten to death by them already. Every person they have groomed for greatness has either had their legs cut off or failed to capitalise on the push behind them with the exception of Batista, who I believe turns 40 this year, and more recently the Boogeyman and Fit Finlay, 42 and 50 respectively. The figures speak for themselves in terms of their long term profitability. Then on the other hand you've got a company literally taking a step back by six months by bringing back the same old face they got rid off to try freshen up the product in good ol' J.R. Then add to that every new guy coming up works the exact same way and generally get saddled with shitty gimmicks (The Con Man, Eugene, Spirit Squad, Jilian Hall) and I don't think things look very good.

 

At this point holding out hope is futile. The stars they have tried to establish have either failed or are likely to be gone sooner rather than later. I can honestly see wrestling's popularity decreasing as the MMA market in the US grows and becomes more competitive. As physiques shrink and ideas run out, I think there may be a cultural shift towards every man fighters being idolised rather than 5'2" masked Mexicans or 6'8" roid monkeys.

 

Will wrestling disappear?

 

No, however I do think in time unless WWE figures something out fast they may end up scaling back their operations further and the wrestling market may also become more competitive as indie numbers begin to equal WWE's.

 

Maybe that's what will generate the next boom period, who knows? But for now... I think the WWE will continue it's decline before it rights itself. On the other hand, in PRIDE you have the OWGP that's going on, a Gomi vs Aurelio title rematch planned, a Ninja vs Coleman rematch planned, Baroni vs Henderson being considered... in the UFC you have Hughes vs Royce, Hughes vs GSP 2, Arlovski vs Sylvia 3, Shamrock vs Griffin, Bonnar vs Griffin 2, the lightweight division is being brought back... it's no surprise you are finding it more interesting, things are actually progressing in a logical and entertaining fashion the majority of the time.

[Mad Dog]

You know. I became a much happier person and really started to enjoy wrestling again when I just stopped watching the WWF last year.

[World's Worst Man]

I haven't regularly watched WWE since 1999, so I really don't feel the crushing disappointment towards the WWE product. Yea it sucks, but I don't care a whole lot, because I watch maybe 1-2 hours of WWE programming in a month now. DVDs make up for the other 99% of my wrestling viewing.

[Mad Dog]

There's so much good wrestling out there I don't see why anyone would subject themselves to crap week in and week out.

[Coffey]

Because WWE on cable TV is free. That's why. I also grew up on it and have followed it for the better part of twenty years. I don't know, it's weird. As a company, they aren't loyal to me but as a fan, I feel loyal to them, I guess. Plus there's an abundance of it. They have a big name, so everyone equates them to wrestling.

 

It's like, when wrestling is good, WWE is good. It's mainstream and people are talking about Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, etc. or The Rock, Steve Austin, etc. When it bad? "It's just wrestling." or "You still watch that?"

[World's Worst Man]

I guess it depends what one is looking for. Back when I stopped watching WWF, it was easy. At that time, I was completely uninterested in angles or characters, I wanted nothing but good in-ring wrestling. So no matter how habitually I watched WWF up to that point, I just had no reason to watch them, because even if they were putting out a "good" product (good for the WWF/E), it wasn't going to appeal to me. (because even at their best, the in-ring wrestling is generally sub-par) Now I suppose I care a bit more about angles/characters, but I'm not in a habit of NOT watching WWE, and really, I'm not interested in the type of angles/characters they feature anyway. So, it's easy to not watch

[Coffey]

The problem is there's always something in WWE that interests me. A lot of the time the bad outweighs the good but I still like watching certain things. For example, right now, I like HHH. I like seeing which cities boo and which cities cheer Cena. The Spirit Squad make me laugh. A lot of the women, namely Mickie, Maria & Trish, are hot. I liked the Styles promo and I'm glad I got to see it live. Etcetera.

 

I think my problem came when I tried to make wrestling more than just a TV show. When it became a hobby other than just watching it on Mondays. When I started talking about it to friends or trying to defend my opinions about it on-line is really when it all started going downhill.

 

Honestly, I think the last boom period is what killed wrestling for me. In more ways than one. The bar was set too high. I had too many options available for me. It was the "in" thing to talk about and whatnot. When the boom died down, I was left by myself. I've been on life support since then.

[Loss]

Despite WWE not being a haven for great wrestling, the point stands that the best wrestlers in WWE (Benoit/Finlay/Rey, etc) are better than anyone on the indies. It's important to remember that even if one enjoys the ROH or TNA guys more, that doesn't mean that they're necessarily "better" -- CM Punk stumbling pretty badly in OVW, by all accounts, should make that obvious.

 

The best vacation from the humdrum of modern wrestling isn't more modern wrestling from another country or style, it's the past, and all the great wrestling that happened for decades before now.

[World's Worst Man]

I'd say Samoe Joe is easily better than anyone in the WWE at this point. Same goes for Bryan Danielson. I'm sure things would be different if a guy like Benoit was working in a better enviroment, but he's not, so it doesn't really matter.

[Loss]

Joe and Danielson are better than Chris Benoit if Joe and Danielson would achieve better results performing in the exact same environment. I'm not so sure that's the case, although I do agree that Joe and Danielson are having better matches simply because they're put in a position to have better matches.

[Guest Kevin Cook]

Misawa?I don't want to put this contentiously, but can you explain why you think that? Because I'm not quite sure what you mean by "better," and I can't think of any way any number of WWE guys aren't better than even a good prospect like Joe or Danielson.