wrestling / Columns
High Road/Low Road 11.14.08: Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling
Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road!
A brief explanation of the column: Uncletrunx takes the Low Road (negative view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related “stuff” while Sat takes the High Road (positive view).
The Results for RAW 800th Anniversary:
High Road: 31%
Low Road: 62%
Both Roads: 7%
Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling
High Road:
My initial fear with this show was that it was going to be a staged reality wrestling show. So far, we have seen four shows and so far it does not look staged. The worst four competitors have left like they should have. The thing that makes this show very enjoyable is the fact that it is a good show and that fact that is not staged.
Low Road:
I’ll get this in the open right away; I’m no fan of “reality TV”. To me, it’s made all the worst by the addition of the word “celebrity”. So I was never likely to be a fan of this, even if it did include “wrestling”.
High Road:
This is the first wrestling reality show that has been done by somebody other than the WWE. The WWE has done Tough Enough and the Diva Search. But Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling is the first wrestling reality show other than the ones done by the WWE. And I think that is huge because I think that when the WWE does something, you just do not feel that invested in because of the amount of programming that the WWE does. It is different with Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling because first you have celebrities wrestling and it something that the WWE would not do.
Low Road:
“You have celebrities wrestling and it something that the WWE would not do”; really?
To me, it’s exactly what WWE does far too often. Having the likes of Maywether at Wrestlemania, for example. I hate seeing celebrities brought in to wrestle as it makes it all seem too “easy”. After all, if a load of folks who are famous for other things can just come in and wrestle, wrestlers aren’t that special.
As for not having it done by WWE, I fail to see why that automatically makes it better. WWE are the market leader in wrestling. They know what they’re doing when it comes to wrestling, and while I don’t count the diva search as a wrestling reality show, I do feel Tough Enough was a better show as it had the WWE promotional machine behind it. There’s also the question of what exactly the winner of this will do with their new found skill. Got to WWE? Go to TNA? Bounce around the indies? Leave it all behind? Tough Enough had a contract at the end, and a future for the participant; this has not.
High Road:
This show has the potential to be very successful because it is able to draw in many different viewers. First, you have the potential to draw in wrestling fans. Second, you also have the potential to draw in fans of the actual celebrities. I think the one that as the most potential is the second one. My reasoning for this is that I was never a huge American Gladiators fan, but I tuned in for the two current seasons just because of Hulk Hogan. I see Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling getting viewers the same way.
Low Road:
That second point would only be of benefit to wrestling if it turned those fans into fans of wrestling. As the winner has no contract to wrestle after the end of the show, it’s unlikely to move those fans across to WWE, TNA or anywhere else. Given that celebrities seldom seem to alter the long term wrestling audience one way or another, I don’t think this will have any impact at all in terms of attracting casual fans to wrestling. The rating thus far for the show are also low, seeming to suggest that the crossover appeal isn’t there.
High Road:
One of the positives of Hulk’s Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling is the format they have worked out for the show. One of the more important things for a reality show is a having a basic format down for the show and Hulk’s Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling has executed this perfectly. The basic format that they have is a challenge, teaching the celebrities three moves and then having a match. The format that they have is basically what you need for a reality wrestling show and if they stick to this format for the entire show, then I see this being a very good show.
Low Road:
Format is irrelevant. It’s still a crap reality TV show which is mindless, trite and panders to the cult of the celebrity; in this case twice as it panders to the celebrities learning to wrestle and to the ego that is Hulk Hogan.. Having a decent format doesn’t save it from being just like every other show of this type.
High Road:
Hulk’s Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling has one thing going for it that most of the other shows have a problem with and that is the fact that they give their matches a lot of time. Now, I don’t have actual times noted and Steve Cook doesn’t put down the times for his recaps, but the matches definitely seem to get a lot of time, something that the matches of RAW, SmackDown, ECW, and Impact do not get. And I will give the fact that the matches are a little sloppy, but this is a show where they are learning to wrestle, so it does make sense in that regard.
Low Road:
This show suffers from the issue most reality TV suffers from in my opinion, and that is that the focus is less on the contestants and more on the presenters, judges, or whatever. In this case it was somewhat inevitable with Hulk being all over it, but you’ve also got Brutus Beefcake and Brian Knobbs as the trainers and the team format emphasizes them. I’ll not take the cheap shot and make a link between Brutus Beefcake/Brian Knobbs and sloppy looking matches, however tempting it may be…
High Road:
A minor High Road here, but it should be mentioned. Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling is on multiple times a day meaning that there are many chances to watch the show.
Low Road:
Given the ratings, I think you could air it on constant repeat and still not get people to watch. It’s a run of the mill reality TV show designed to promote Hulk. That’s a low road to me.
Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?
Simply write “High Road”, “Low Road”, or “Both Roads” in the comment section.
E-Mails:
These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.
Tim Schmidt Writes:
Low Road on the 800th Raw. It was very bland and did not have that special feel to it. Most of the matches were to short to mean anything and there was to much filler. The stupid dance segment should have been done away with as well as the 16 Diva tag match and that time should have been given to the other matches. I am pretty sure that Austin is on good terms with WWE and the overused clip of him and the beer truck was palyed. Sadly, the cage match could not save this lackluster show.
Sat: I think that the biggest problem with the 800th show was that the WWE did a lot of hype, but the hype did not live up to the actual show. Still, it was a decent show, but not living up to the hype.
Uncletrunx: It was an ok show, but not enough for a huge milestone show; overhyping it didn’t help.
Comments:
Below are the comments for last week’s columns and our responses. The comments that will be included will be the ones that pertain to this week’s column. Also, your comment will not be included if you are commenting on another reader’s comment.
Jbardo Writes:
“but I can’t help feeling the loss and subsequent win without pinning Batista or making him submit weakens Jericho and reduces the awesome momentum he had built up” Thats rubbish, beating HBK in a ladder match & Batista in a cage can only help not harm Jericho.
Sat: I think that the thing that helps Jericho gets some credibility is the fact that he won the title right after he lost because it showed that he was resilient.
Uncletrunx: Jericho didn’t look especially strong in beating Batista, while Batista pinned him cleanly. It can’t help but reduce Jericho’s championship credentials.
Kyle Writes:
First Comment: Low road the 800th episode spectacular sucked. They had a chance to finally do something on a big stage by elevating some new talent to the main event scene. But unfortunately what we got was the same old crap. Triple H and HBK are great don’t get me wrong but RAW,Smackdown, and Impact could all use fresh blood. It seems like we are in a time warp let’s look at the top guys Triple H, HBK, Nash, Angle, Sting, Booker T, Jericho, undertaker, big Show, and others. The same people who were on top 10 years ago are on top still. Eventually if Raw wants to survive another 800 episodes they have to start elevating young stars. We can’t keep relying on the same 5 or 6 guys. Maybe just maybe this is the reason ratings are down is because the same guys who were on top back then are on top again.
Second Comment: To add on to what I said. I wanted to enjoy the show but after about 2 and half hours i turned Raw off to watch the MNF game because i was so disappointed to what I was seeing. I am not a fan of either team but the game was more interesting than the show. i turned it back to watch the cage match and see jericho winning the title. A little over 20% of the show was dedicated to wrestling. It takes a lot for me to turn off a wrestling show but never have i been more frustrated than watching raw Monday. I just felt like that 3 hours show should be special this one wasn’t it felt like a two hour stretched into 3 hours. At the end i felt like the show had gone on forever.
Sat: I agree with you that the WWE needs to elevate some more guys, but let’s not play the WWE for not elevating stars. They have done it with Cena and Batista and could potentially do it with Kozlov. As for your second comment, I can understand the fact that there should be more wresting on the show, but seems like we are not going to see that because the WWE is heading towards more entertainment.
Uncletrunx: I wonder how long before WWE does a whole Raw without doing a single wrestling match? I wonder if, by that stage, people will legitimately suggest that I’m out of touch for wanting wrestling on a wrestling show? I wonder how long after that the WWE will drop the second “W”?
Bobby C Writes:
Low Road. Other than Jericho winning the title, there wasn’t anything here that was entertaining from a wrestling stand point, and little that was entertaining from an entertainment stand point. I hope that this leads to some changes in character (Bad Luck Dave going nuts) – but standalone – this episode was Low Road.
Sat: DX and Morrison/Miz was very good also, but I could have lived without the DX opening talking bit.
Uncletrunx: DX is now a HHH / HBK vanity trip and nothing more. I could happily see no more DX and be content.
Cory Writes:
Any show that features Mae Young wrestling in a match has to be considered a “Low Road” I’m just glad she didn’t die in the ring. How would that have been for a Raw moment?
Sat: Mae Young is insane. Didn’t she want to wrestle Aurora when she reached the age of 18? That’s a smart move because Mae will be 100+ at that time and getting in the ring with somebody with no experience.
Uncletrunx: Mae Young has a ton of guts but I’m not convinced it’s wise to put her in the ring any more.
Michael Writes:
Low Road, I’ve seen a lot of three hour specials but that was the worst one I have ever seen. Let me repeat what I said on the raw report Monday.
“Where do I begin? Let’s see first things first. Orton makes his return against CM Punk and they just get four minutes before a DQ. Nice going booking. Next Charlie Haas proves he’s the worst there is the worst there was and the worst there ever will be. The tag champs don’t even interact and Khali of all people saves Rey. Taker and JBL was basically Taker making JBL his bitch. A lame battle royal for number one contendership for a title no one cares about. Who ever came up with the idea that a woman who’s been around since the last supper needs to be wearing wrestling tights needs to be shot and have his eyes gouged out, that stupid dance off between guys who I don’t know why still have a job.
And to top it off a cage match where the guy who lost it 8 days ago gets it back. And the point of Batista winning it was? My cousin who was staying with me forced me to watch the Power Rangers marathon since he doesn’t like wrestling and we would switch between commercials. I found that more enjoyable than this.” That pretty much sums it up.
Sat: Wow, if Power Rangers is more enjoyable than the WWE, than the WWE better start to worry.
Uncletrunx: Power Rangers more entertaining than WWE. That says it all.
JLAJRC Write:
I gotta say Low Road. Outside of the Steel Cage title change, there was absolutely nothing here that they wouldn’t do on an average episode of RAW. The things they did that were supposed to make this “special” we’ve seen dozens of times this year already Appearances by DX, Hardy Boys, and Mae Young just aren’t that surprising or special anymore. The only thing missing was a “surprise” appearance by Steve Austin to stun someone.
Also, just how many anniversaries are they gonna celebrate? If it’s every 50 episodes, we can look forward to one of these things EVERY year (or two years if they stay the 100 episode route. Let’s not forget the anniversary show they’re gonna to throw every 5 years to celebrate how long they’ve actually been on the air) I’m finding all the bragging they’ve been doing lately via those “Did You Know” segments to be obnoxious. It’s only gonna worse from now on.
Sat: The Did You Know segments are so bad. It’s like they are tooting their own horn, but making it sound like they are not tooting their own horn.
Uncletrunx: I agree with you totally. How hard would it have been to get someone like RVD back for one night?
The Great Captain Smooth Writes:
High road. The show was full of good stuff. It had great moments from the past (Flair’s farwell!), a suprise title change, random dancing (It’s too bad California voted against Cole and Goldust being able to get married.), Mae Young didn’t die, Adamle quit, Khali helping Rey, the start of a potential heel turn by Steph, TAKER ON RAW!!!, JBL lobbying for GM, DX rocking (“I’m not ready!”) and NOT burying Miz and Morrison, and last but not least, we got to hear “DAMN!!!”.
Sat: The danceoff was pretty weak in my opinion. Seemed to be like they wanted to do a rehash of the WrestleMania 23 rehash from a few years ago.
Uncletrunx: If Mae Young not dying and DX not burying someone is enough to keep you entertained, you’re easily pleased. The dance off is what I fear we’ll see a lot more of now there’s going to be more “E” and less “W”.
Ronald McFondle Writes:
I though it was a good episode.
The cage match was great, with the exception of Bats moving to slow for some of the spots to work right.There were some new spots in that match I haven’t seen in a cage before.Great showing.Jericho can write one hell of a match.
Of course Punk/Orton got 4 min. to a DQ.Do you marks think long term at all?They need to keep this going for a one on one or Classic SS match at Survivor Series.You all bitch when TNA gives these matches away full on and free on TV then you bitch when they put them on TV and their short non finishes.Good thing you don’t have booking jobs.
Of course there was a stupid dance/comedy spot.Always is, get over it.It is what it is and some people enjoy them.
The womens match was just typical dismal WWE womens wrestling.Did you expect more?
I though the IC battle royal was fun.
You armchair bookers love to bitch on here.Speaking as an actual booker of an indy fed it was a fun show with a solid main event.
Sat: I agree with your assessment for Punk and Orton. You don’t give a match like this on free TV and the DQ was the way to go.
Uncletrunx: I respect you, Mr Bookerman!
17 Writes:
“I was looking forward to Sting and Jarrett at the time…”
because you:
A) have shockingly low standards.
B) enjoy watching boring matches.
C) deluded yourself into thinking they could have a good match.As for the 800th RAW, Low Road, especially if you’re right and that piece of crap Batista won the title just so he could lose to Jericho here without getting pinned. There was no good reason whatsoever for Jericho to lose the title to someone like Batista. Batista just isn’t championship material. He has zero personality and he can’t talk or wrestle to save his life. Someone like him beating Jericho in any way destroys Jericho’s credibility.
Elsewhere on the show there was nothing special or interesting.
Plus I can make this a undisputed Low Road with two words, Mae Young. I rest my case.
Sat: Come on now. Everybody is not going to enjoy the same match. I can pretty much guarantee to you that every match is not universally loved. And see some people love Batista and some hate him. Its the same thing with the Sting/Jarrett thing.
Uncletrunx: Is it also true of Mae Young?
PJ Writes:
Both Roads: There was some good stuff I’m glad Adamle’s gone, DX vs Miz & Morrison was a good match, the cage match was pretty good too & any time Jericho wins the WHC it’s good in my book but there was some bad as well, first there just wasn’t enough action for my taste, the Shane/Adamle/Orton segment dragged, I think the whole Kung Fu-Naki thing is stupid and I thought giving Punk vs Orton away on free TV was a mistake (and wasn’t much of a match either).
Sat: I was surprised that you were the only one that went with Both Roads because I think that this was the right choice for the 800th Show.
Uncletrunx: I’m not so charitable, it was a low road for me. It wasn’t a bad episode but as an anniversary special it was lacklustre.
Your reasons for taking the High Road, Low Road, or Both Roads and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road are welcome at [email protected] or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week’s column.
