wrestling / Columns
411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Is WWE in Good Hands With Triple H?
Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are Mike Chin and Mike Hammerlock!
1. Judging by their public stance regarding Chyna, if Sunny were to do adult films, WWE should remove her from the Hall of Fame.
Mike Chin: FICTION – If Sunny does go into porn, my expectation is that WWE will ostensibly forget about her existence. Removing her from the Hall of Fame invites a storm of Sunny tweeting at them and her loyal fans ranting. Quietly never making mention of Ms. Sytch is a more surefire way to quietly dissociate themselves from her. As a half-measure, I can imagine WWE removing or minimizing her spot on the Hall of Fame website, but I can’t imagine them formally removing her from the Hall.
Mike Hammerlock: FICTION – The WWE instead should recognize it’s taking a ridiculous stance on Chyna’s porn career. Shawn Michaels (former Playgirl centerfold) and X-Pac (who can be found in a viral porn video with Chyna) aren’t persona non grata with the WWE. Chyna went harder core, but so what? Much of the world has seen Kim Kardashian getting schtupped. The WWE would hand her a contract tomorrow. Then again, the porn objections HHH mentioned during his podcast with Steve Austin (whose domestic abuse history apparently isn’t a red flag) were just a smokescreen. Chyna’s still raw about Trips and Stephanie and none of them particularly want to be in a room together. If Sunny can carve out a career for herself in the porn industry in her 40s, more power to her. In fact, the WWE would be wise to bring her around more often if she became a mildly successful porn star. Linda McMahon isn’t running for office again. Drop the PG shit already. I’m mildly surprised pro wrestling hasn’t become a career path for more porn actresses. They’ve got built in fanbases and, unlike many WWE divas, some of them can actually act a little bit.
2. If TNA loses their deal with Destination America, it will finally be the end of the promotion.
Mike Chin: FICTION – I could go either way on this one, but given that I was among the naysayers proven wrong when I thought TNA would call it day when they lost the SpikeTV deal, I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt that the company will find a way to persevere. I do suspect that if TNA does live on post-Destination America, they will need to change their business model in dramatic ways, which may include drastic roster cuts and even a full step backward from the number-two-US-promotion spot they’ve held for so long, slipping behind feds like Lucha Underground and ROH.
Mike Hammerlock: FACT – There’s a chance TNA could find another network, but combined with its rumored payroll problems and non-existent live event business, I don’t see how TNA survives without weekly television. That’s the lion’s share of its business. It is primarily a television program. I’m rooting for TNA to survive. There’s a lot of talented people on its roster and the product has improved from its 2013-early 2014 low point. Yet it would take a Hail Mary play for TNA to lose its DA deal so quickly and then find another network with national reach. The Spike-DA switch was an ordeal in and of itself. Having to repeat it inside of a year strikes me as a likely extinction event for TNA.
3. Triple H signing guys like Rhyno and Samoa Joe to limited deals to work NXT, while allowing them to take other bookings, is exactly the kind of thing that they should be doing to grow the brand and new generation of performers.
Mike Chin: FACT – To be honest, I was disappointed to hear that Joe wasn’t getting the full NXT treatment as a talent bound for the main roster himself, but it is nonetheless a thrill to see him on any level of WWE programming, and treated as a reasonably big deal. Having guys like Rhyno, Joe, and Brian Kendrick work with the up and comers is as effective of a way of any as simulating the effects of the old territory system in which younger talents would more organically cross paths with stars on the back ends of their careers. Moreover, it creates some exciting short-term programs from which young stars (not to mention the WWE Network) can benefit from nostalgia draws and cross-generational dream matches.
Mike Hammerlock: FACT – We don’t have territories anymore, but WWE/NXT can leverage talent from the indies. Back in the day, when the Crusher or Baron Von Raschke or Ken Patera rolled into a territory, they came with instant legitimacy. They were proven commodities who required little build. As soon as they’d show up, they’d target the top faces on the roster. Tickets would then be sold. Could our heroes fight off these heavy hitters? Worked like a charm. Ever since the collapse of WCW, the WWE has operated too much like the only wrestling promotion in existence. The downside of that is the WWE has over saturated the airwaves, which consigns much of its roster to a heatless existence. For instance, Jack Swagger is a big dude and a hell of a wrestler. Yet we’ve seen him lose so many times, it’s nearly impossible to pretend a match with him in it is a big deal. On the flipside, the chance to see Samoa Joe against some of the top guys on the NXT roster is a bit of a dream match. Joe vs. Owens? Hardcore wrestling fans become instant marks for matchups like that and casual fans don’t take long to pick up on that excitement. “Hmm, seems like a lot of people here think this Joe fellow is about kill someone.” It’s something fresh, exciting and different from the WWE. We could use a lot more of it.
4. While she is only 23 years old, you consider Sasha Banks one of the best female wrestlers in the company’s history.
Mike Chin: FACT – Sasha Banks has been very, very good in NXT and demonstrated remarkable growth. After her truly special showing opposite Becky Lynch at Unstoppable, I don’t think there’s any denying she’s one of the best female workers in WWE history. Here’s hoping that WWE allows her to showcase her talents on the main roster before long and that, when that time comes, she gets the benefit of the type of lengthy outings she’s getting in NXT to really tell stories. WWE’s track record isn’t exactly inspiring on this issue, but here’s hoping.
Mike Hammerlock: FACT – To be fair to previous generations of WWE female wrestlers, the company rarely has booked epic women’s matches like we saw with Banks and Becky Lynch. What could Victoria, Melina, Jazz, Molly Holly, etc. have done if they’d been opportunities like this? Thanks to NXT, the Boss has been given a chance to make a statement, like Charlotte was last year and Paige was in 2013. All three of them are superb in the ring, as good as any female wrestlers in WWE history. They can put on matches better than a lot of the guys. So the talent deserves a lot of credit, yet just as much should go to Triple H and the booking for the NXT women’s division, which is showcasing that talent better than anything we’ve seen from Vince McMahon. For sure the NXT Women’s Championship has come to mean more than the WWE Divas Championship ever has.
SWITCH!
5. Following the latest NXT special, and signing of Samoa Joe to a limited deal, you are now more confident than ever that WWE would be in good hands with Triple H.
Mike Hammerlock: FICTION – I’m fully confident the WWE would be in better hands with HHH, but he sold me on that last year. NXT has been getting its big events right, it has harnessed the energy of its fans and it’s consistently telling engaging stories in and out of the ring. Combine that with the business savvy to mend fences with Bruno, Warrior and Lanny Poffo, plus signing of the NXT Five, and Trips can’t take the reigns of the WWE fast enough. One thing is clear, he’s as much a fan as he is a performer. While he may talk trash about dirt sheets and poke sticks into the IWC for fun, the guy wants to see cool matches as much as we do. I think he’s proven that with NXT. That’s all fans can ask from a booker.
Mike Chin: FACT – I’m an apologist for Vince McMahon and think that he still deserves more credit than it’s currently in vogue to give him. That said, Triple H does seem like about as reasonable a successor as the company could hope for, at least from an in-ring perspective, for this instincts toward old school booking and selling wrestling as a sport. The fact that Triple H purportedly came up with and developed the NXT concept is encouraging. The success of shows like Unstoppable–and each of the Takeover specials to precede it–is pointing in positive direction as well. I still think there’s some proving to be done about how NXT talents and concepts cross over to the main roster, but for now, there is reason for optimism.
6. After seeing the above picture, Vince McMahon likely got way too excited and demanded that Triple H sign Hafþór J Björnsson from Game of Thrones.
Mike Hammerlock: FICTION – If only I could believe Vince were that plugged in. Björnsson is huge, which is why he got cast as the Mountain. Signing random giants regardless of wrestling talent (hello Nathan Jones) used to be Vince’s gig, but that was a Vince McMahon who was still trying. The bigger thing, for me, is what are the chances Vince is cribbing any notes from GOT? Chances are higher he’s taking inspiration from America’s Got Talent. “We need to get someone who can play the tuba with their nose!” To Hunter’s credit, he was rocking the barbarian warrior vibe before GOT ever became popular. This one kind of goes to the previous question. Of course that’s Hunter in the pic that shows cultural fluency.
Mike Chin: FICTION – I’m sure this question is meant to be understood in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, and, yes, Vince does love his big men. Just the same, the fact that talents like Rob Terry didn’t ever make it in WWE does illustrate that McMahon isn’t entirely insane about getting his hands on every freakishly muscular dude he can, and pushing them to the moon. I’m sure a picture like this would pique McMahon’s interest, but let’s not get too carried away.
7. What is your excitement level for the Elimination Chamber PPV.
Mike Hammerlock: 7 out of 10 – And that’s more excited than I was for WrestleMania. Dare I say it? The build to Elimination Chamber has been pretty good. The two EC matches are a fresh take on what had become a common formula, especially the tag match. Honestly, best thing that happened to the WWE tag division was Daniel Bryan getting injured and the tag title match making the main card at Extreme Rules. Since then, tag team wrestling’s been a lot more prominent on WWE programming. Can’t wait for Cena-Owens. Got no idea what to expect there and I love that. The divas title match should get some time. Rollins-Ambrose sells itself. If they can avoid the stupid overbooking (and they probably can’t), we could get an instant classic. Unlike Extreme Rules and Payback, this doesn’t feel like filler.
Mike Chin: 7 out of 10 – The Elimination Chamber isn’t my favorite gimmick match, but it’s usually reasonably entertaining, and its a fun surprise to get it now when I thought the concept was going away indefinitely. Moreover, I like seeing mid-carders and tag teams get a shot in the Chamber (though I’d also love to see WWE give women a shot in this match). In any event, two novelty gimmick matches, plus Dean Ambrose getting a world title shot, and the potential magic of Cena-Steen is enough to sell me on the idea that this will be an entertaining in-ring show, if not necessarily a historically important one.
8. Following the reveal of some roster members, describe your level of excitement for Global Force Wrestling.
Mike Hammerlock: 2 out of 10 – It’s exciting to see a new promotion enter the fray, but GFW lacks a certain wow factor. The roster is filled with known quantities, so it’s not going to be like Lucha Underground where we got to see Ricochet/Prince Puma get his first regular television exposure and young Mexican stars like Fenix and Pentagon Jr. introduced to a wider American audience. The main event at the first shows will be George Murdoch (the artist formerly known as Brodus Clay) against former NFL player Moose. It won’t be a technical classic. What could make GFW exciting is if we see a steady stream of talent coming in from its long list of international partners. Honestly, if you live in the northeast U.S. you can see better cards put on by the Beyond Wrestling promotion in Providence, RI. PWG runs better cards on the west coast. Any Evolve or Dragon Gate USA card will give you superior action. Chikara offers a better, if more light-hearted, product as well. GFW is taking baby steps. Makes sense. Might be a while before GFW puts together a truly compelling card.
Mike Chin: 5 out of 10 – I’m giving this one a five to communicate that I’m very much neutral about GFW at this point. I like the idea of Jeff Jarrett getting another potentially national promotion off the ground, and I like the presence of Jim Cornette and his influence on the emergence of acts like The New Heavenly Bodies. That said, the names I recognize feel like a who’s who of guys who aren’t employed by WWE or TNA, and not in a particularly flattering way. There are talents like Jim Duggan and Scott Steiner who I struggle to imagine as viable in-ring talents beyond a one-shot deal at this point. There’s the likes of Chris Mordetzky (formerly Chris Masters) and George T. Murdoch (formerly Brodus Clay) who I like well enough but I worry GFW might milk too aggressively the way WCW and TNA had a history of doing with past WWE talents. To me, GFW’s greatest potential rests in pushing talents like PJ Black, Moose, and The Young Bucks, who haven’t really had sustained opportunities on a major stage up to this point. If the more established talents are used to put over these potential rising stars, GFW could be on to something. For now, I’m taking a wait and see approach.
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