wrestling / Columns
The MeeThinks Friday FreeThinks 10.24.08
Hello again and welcome back to your regularly scheduled week end dose of intrawebz ‘rasslin optimism. We’ve got plenty of news to cover this week, plus a HUGE win this past Monday night that certainly deserves some gloating. By the way on the old sports front… THIS JUST IN!
Tony Womo Out Three to Four Weeks With Bwoken Widdle Fingey
I dunno which one is worse — the media’s proBama bias or their pRomo man-crush. Sign your name to a substantial piece of legislation and/or win so much as ONE playoff game and maybe *then* we’ll begin the gratuitous ass kissing, thankyouverymuch.
(Admit it — watching Barack win a playoff game would be pretty flippin’ sweet, don’t you think?)
Ooh, and in a completely unrelated personal note — I just saved a bunch of money by switching to Progressive Auto Insurance, who came in a cool $97 a month *LESS* than what all I was paying those folks behind the increasingly mind-numbing Cavemen ads.
Suck it, GEICO.
Oh right, wrestling news!
In this feature, we’ll make a quick note of those mini-news story items that have either already been covered in greater detail by other writers, or that haven’t quite yet materialized into full-blown mega stories of their own. In either case, these items seem to warrant a brief mention nonetheless so that we can keep better tabs on what all’s developing (and — in theory — end up with a better perspective in the long run) along the way.
The Doghouse: Performers who’ve landed in hot water over the past week.
Jeff Hardy (Smackdown!) – arrived late (after the show had already began) for last week’s Smackdown! taping.
Elijah Burke (ECW) – remains sidelined from WWE programming as WWE officials have “lost confidence” in him.
Notes: The Jeff Hardy situation is covered in full detail below.
Elijah Burke hasn’t been seen on WWE programming since May 30 of this year, and he continues to sit on the sidelines with nothing to do on account of the fact that WWE officials have allegedly lost their confidence in this once-rising young star.
The Debuts: New and/or newly returning performers of the past week.
Brett Badery: Enhancement talent made one-time appearance on this week’s ECW.
Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling (TV Show) – Upstart celeb promotion/reality show aired first episode on CMT last week.
Notes: Brett Badery appeared on this week’s ECW on SciFi broadcast in a losing effort against upstart superstar Jack Swagger. Badery is not believed to have signed a WWE contract.
Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling is the second wrestling-themed television show to debut in 2008 (the other wrestling-themed program is the weekly television show dedicated to WWE’s developmental league, Florida Championship Wrestling, which has been airing on Bright House Sports Network in Florida for the past two weeks). In case you missed it, here’s the trailer (which actually ain’t all that bad, believe it or not):
Reports indicate that Hogan’s show managed to draw a Nielsen rating of 0.4 — which is well below the average WWE rating (which typically ranges from the mid 1.0’s to the mid 3.0’s, depending on the show), and is less than half of the rating typically drawn by TNA Wrestling. Strictly speaking, the Celebrity Championship Wrestling program was designed merely to serve as a short-cycle “C”-lebrity crossover vehicle, and is not actually affiliated with any one wrestling promotion.
The Departures: Obituaries and/or performers whose contracts have ended this week.
Leah Maivia (unsigned/NWA Polynesian Pro Wrestling) – Wife of the late High Chief Peter Maivia passed away on Sunday, Oct. 19 at the age of 81.
Notes: This past Sunday, Leah Maivia passed away at the age of 81. In addition to being the grandmother of mainstream wrestling-crossover superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and wife of the late WWE Hall of Fame performer High Chief Peter Maivia, Leah also was involved with the promotional side of the wrestling business, as she worked alongside her husband to promote the family’s NWA Polynesian Pro Wrestling shows until his death in 1982. She continued to promote these shows for the next six years. On behalf of this column and the entire 411 staff, I hope you’ll join me in extending your thanks, thoughts, and prayers for Leah and the entire Maivia family for their many years of work in the professional wrestling industry family.
The Drama: Developing scandals and/or budding backstage rumors.
WWE RAW (WWE) – under continued pressure from USA Network execs to expand to three hours.
Adam “Pacman” Jones (unsigned) – suspended NFL star checked into alcohol treatment facility, ending speculation of a TNA return.
Sting (TNA) – still not working the TNA house show circuit despite winning the company’s world title.
Manu (RAW) – told to watch his weight by WWE officials.
Tony Atlas (ECW) – rumored to have been brought in largely to keep an eye on Mark Henry while on the road.
Notes: Word out of Stamford this week is that the USA Network continues to push Vince McMahon and WWE to expand their weekly RAW broadcasts to a three-hour-format. Vince, however, is reluctant to make such a change — citing the fact that talent and writers might become subject to burnout faster, and WWE audiences are already taxed with some 5 hours of original programming each week the way it is. As a compromise, WWE has agreed that they will continue to air select “special three-hour-editions” of RAW on an intermittent basis.
Former TNA tag team champion and current Dallas Cowboys defensive standout Adam “Pacman” Jones officially announced this week that he would be spending the duration of his latest NFL suspension in an alcohol treatment facility. As such, TNA fans can breathe a sigh of relief that the former tag champion will likely not be setting foot in the six-sided ring anytime in the near future, if ever again.
Sting situation is covered in complete detail below.
Manu’s case is a strange one, as the Polynesian powerhouse was brought in not only because of his famous wrestling heritage, but also on account of his naturally larger-than-normal physical size. In an era where chiseled physiques are quick to fall under the suspicion of steroid abuse scrutiny, WWE has long made it a habit of bringing in naturally bigger performers in order to add some much-needed size and credibility to their traveling brand of pseudo-sports and entertainment (see: Big Show, Umaga, Vladmir Kozlov, etc.). Unfortunately for Manu, his greatest asset is also his biggest liability, and WWE bosses are concerned that the man’s near-260-pound frame is teetering on the brink of unhealthy excess. As a result, Manu has been asked to cut weight and stay healthy.
In a semi-related story, numerous sites have reported this week that WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas was actually brought back into the company in order to provide ECW’s resident Goliath, Mark Henry, with something of a traveling buddy and accountability partner once the cameras stopped rolling. Word has it that Henry has always been something of a soft-spoken loner, and it is certainly no secret that the man has struggled with weight issues in the past. According to reports, the theory is that by paring Henry up with Atlas — who is in tremendous shape for a man in his late fifties — Big Mark will pick up some healthy training and dietary habits, thus improving his overall health and preserving his what all is left of his already limited in-ring ability.
The Disabled List: Performers who’ve gone down to injury or suspension in the past week.
David Penzer (TNA) – bruised face and sore ankle following scripted scuffle with Kurt Angle.
Mickey Henson (SD!) – taking leave of absence from WWE to deal with nagging medical issues.
Notes: This week is a unique one in the world of professional wrestling, as it marks the first time in many months that the only additions to the disabled list came in the form of in-ring-related injuries to performers who are traditionally featured in non-wrestling roles.
Penzer’s injuries were the result of his onscreen (scripted) altercation with Kurt Angle, and he is not expected to miss any significant amount of time as a result.
Mickey Henson is the second WWE official to join the inactive list this month, and he joins fellow referee Marty Elias (who suffered a hernia two weeks ago) on the injured reserve.
Jeff Hardy Arrives Late for Smackdown! Taping
Hardy Booked for Show’s Main Event but Fails to Arrive Until After Taping Had Begun
Jeff Hardy makes his way back into the wrestling headlines for all of the wrong reasons again this week for showing up late to last Tuesday night’s Smackdown taping. Hardy has twice failed a WWE Wellness test since being rehired by the company in 2006, and has long been rumored to be treading “on thin ice” with WWE officials on account of his notoriously erratic behavior.
Just one month ago, the younger Hardy brother narrowly avoided a third (and presumably final) strike under WWE’s Wellness initiative when he was removed from a flight after attempting to board the plane while intoxicated. While no official disciplinary action was taken against him in the days that followed, skeptics simply can’t help but notice that Jeff continues to run perilously close to running afoul of WWE’s bad graces, and one cannot help but wonder if it is only a matter of time before such repeated near-misses with unprofessional behavior will ultimately end up costing the man his job.
I know, I know…
There’s probably a perfectly legitimate excuse for missing or arriving late to work on just about any given day of the year. And let’s be honest here — who among us can seriously claim 100% attendance in just about ANYTHING we’ve done in life (and no fair pointing out Cal Ripken, btw)?
But while showing up late to one show in a blue moon may well be a perfectly excusable mistake, Jeff Hardy is currently fighting an uphill battle with two Wellness strikes already under his belt and the dust still barely settled over last month’s drunken flight flap-up. As such, one would THINK that he’d be walking on eggshells all the more in order to restore his company’s faith in the spot that he has currently been given.
Long story short?
MeeThinks Jeff Hardy’s behavior had better improve in a hurry, lest he find himself little more than one untimely “Twist of Fate” (Hardy-har-har! DOUBLE PUN!) away from his second WWE pink slip. Given the live nature of so many of their shows and the sheer amount of marketing energy and television time that WWE dedicates to so many of their performers, the company is well within their rights to can a performer should (s)he develop a clear pattern of problem behavior or a documented history of unreliability.
Then again —
WWE could always slap the Big Gold Belt around Jeff’s waist knowing full well that he’s just seconds away from another high-profile foul up. Though it’d wreak havok with their booking plans, don’t tell Mee that it hasn’t crossed their minds to trot the guy out as a poster boy destined to prove just how serious the company can be about enforcing their Wellness initiative — even if it may inevitably come at the cost of canning a World Champion in the process.
Sting Still Not Working TNA House Show Circuit
Company’s World Champion Doesn’t Perform When the Cameras Aren’t Rolling
TNA World Champion Sting finds himself under the critical microscope this week on account of the fact that he is still not working the TNA house show circuit in spite of the fact that he was recently crowned the TNA World Champion. Though many have said that a veteran like Sting is certainly entitled to save his energy for the company’s televised events (for truth be told, a number of “veteran” stars often work a reduced-if-ever house show touring schedule), his decision *not* to take part in TNA house show efforts even after winning the company’s highest prize has certainly earned him the ire of more than a few fans and wrestlers alike.
In addition to being the company’s single biggest star simply by virtue of his pre-existing reputation and many years in the business alone, as TNA World Champion, Sting is the de-facto public face of his promotion. By not appearing at house show performances, Sting only further reinforces the perception that house shows simply don’t matter to big-name talent, lending a heap of unnecessary fuel to the age-old fire that “if it didn’t happen on television, then it didn’t happen.” As TNA tries to make inroads to new markets and expand its business nationwide, it is certainly a dangerous precedent to tell your customers that the “little known show” from this “little known promotion” they’ll be paying hard-earned money to see simply isn’t going to be worth the time of the company’s very own World Champion. In short, fans are told that the house shows simply aren’t worth their time… which is a terrible way to entice casual fans and new viewers.
Bottom line? If TNA wants to use their house shows as an effective marketing tool in order to attract new fans across the country, then they’d better start demanding that their World Champion start showing up at these events. This is WCW level bufoonery at its most basic level. While the in-ring action that TNA provides is, at times, among the very best professional wrestling that the North American continent has to offer (because let’s be honest here, when you strip away the bogus stipulations, unnecessary outside interference, and gratuitous gimmick matches, a vast number of TNA’s performers can really bust ass in the ring), demanding all the more effort from your lower-and-midcard performers in order to make up for the glaring absence of your World Champion on the house show circuit is a quick way to engender loads of ill will from fans and performers alike, and it’s a surefire way to burn the remainder of your roster out in a hurry.
Ric Flair Considering In-Ring Return
Wrestling Legend Offered Big Money for Bouts in Japan
Word ’round the rumor mills this week is that Ric Flair has been offered some serious coin if he is willing to set foot in a wrestling ring for a number of high-profile bouts in Japan. Invariably, this has led to speculation that Flair might soon be cutting short his WrestleMania-induced retirement, and that the only thing stopping him right now is that he made a promise to Shawn Michaels that their match at WrestleMania XXIV would indeed be his last.
MeeThinks?
As Bret Hart so succinctly repeated in his Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling autobiography, “never let [your]self forget that the whole business is a work.”
Flair’s WWE career may well have closure on a high note, but the guy has THOUSANDS (if not millions) of fans the world over who would be happy to pay their hard-earned money in order to watch him appear just one final time in a home town or arena near them. As much as it pains Mee to say it, why should Ric Flair force the entirety of his future plans to be dictated by a scripted outcome of an equally scripted match? Perhaps for fear of tarnishing his legacy as the “greatest” performer ever to have set foot in a professional wrestling ring? Perhaps for fear of defying the WWE fanboys who’d rather he “Leave the Memories Alone” (TM 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment, All Rights Reserved).
Hate to say it, bu as Flair himself has said countless times…
“The man who makes the most money is the greatest.”
Maybe it’s just because I had the priveledge of seeing The Nature Boy’s WrestleMania encounter with Shawn Michaels there LIVE and in person at the Citrus Bowl earlier this year, but I for one could most certainly care less if Ric Flair decided to take one last payday in a farewell tour on the opposite side of the globe. Sure, it’ll probably diminish a bit of the finality and closure which so many of us couldn’t help but admire in that WrestleMania match, but in a business where EVERYTHING is staged ahead of time, there’s really nothing that can take away from the palpable level of drama and excitement that fans felt when witnessing that match in the first place.
Frankly, sometimes the quote-unquote “greatest” moments don’t really age all that well at all (see: Razor/Shawn, Hogan/Andre). While on the flipside, so many of the other “great” wrestling memories of all time still hold up remarkably well in spite of what all may have unfolded after that final bell had rung.
Go back to WrestleMania VI and watch Hulk Hogan pass the torch after dropping the belt (and, presumably, “calling it a career”) against the Ultimate Warrior. Sure history would go on to prove that this was nothing more than two terrible workers with two terrible egos… but it’s still one hell of a WrestleMania moment all the same.
Take a look at WrestleMania VII when The Macho Man Randy Savage loses a “career-ending match” (and reunites with Elizabeth). Look past the fact that Savage was back in action less than one calendar year later, and the finish to that match *still* ranks as one of the single most emotional in WrestleMania history.
Heck (and I’d never thought I’d be one to say this) — go back and watch the conclusion to WrestleMania XX, where two lifelong underdogs finally stand victorious as world champions on the grandest stage of them all. Four years later and both of these men have met tragic ends… yet there still remains an undeniable poignancy in watching these two now-fallen comrades share an in-ring embrace as the show fades to black.
Even if Ric Flair’s WrestleMania match against Shawn Michaels may indeed NOT have been the final bout of The Nature Boy’s career, it most certainly marked the absolute and most definitive end of Ric Flair’s career as we knew it — and for that, I have zero problem whatsoever in walking away from it feeling as if we really did witness a rare and indeed classic moment in professional wrestling history. Regardless of what all The Nature Boy decides to do with his future, I certainly don’t think I’m alone in saying that the man has every right to do whatever he chooses, and that his true fans will have absolutely no problem wishing him well and enjoying his legacy no matter what he winds up doing with his life now that his days as a regular, active member of the WWE roster have drawn to a close.
If Flair wants to wrestle, fans are willing to pay to see it, and promoters are offering him the kind of coin that it would take to do it, I say more power to him. Call Mike Hickenbottom to clear you conscience if you have to, Ric… but ultimately, don’t be afraid to do whatever is best for Ric Flair.
As that incessant Fuel video montage told us so many times over, “You will never change.”
Brock Lesnar Interviewed on ESPN’s E:60
Former WWE Champ Faces Tough Questions in Tuesday Night Television Segment
In case you missed it, here’s the clip from ESPN’s E:60 that profiled former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar which aired this past Tuesday. In it, he discusses his WWE tenure, his problems with alcohol and pain pills, his marriage to former WWE Diva Rena Mero (aka Sable), his upcoming MMA bout with UFC, and — inevitably — the ubiquitous steroid issue that seems to haunt him at every turn:
While the ESPN feature is actually quite good (and dare we say “fair”), it’s biggest significance (and certainly, its most controversial moment) is in how Brock handled — which is to say, avoided — his answer to the steroid question. In case you skipped the video, upon being asked the inevitable “let’s talk steroids” issue, Lesnar actually stood up, removed his microphone, walked off set, and told reporters “ok guys, we’re done here.”
For a guy who’s so proudly denied foul play in the past, this moment most certainly comes across as something of a riddle. Compare, for a second, Brock’s on-set walkoff in 2008 with this article with ESPN.com that was published in June of 2004, where Lesnar tackled the doping issue head-on, saying:
” All that [steroid] talk is jealousy. I don’t need anything to get me up at the gym other than Metallica and AC/DC. When it comes down to it, bring your little piss cup and I will fill it for you.”
So this begs the question…
Is Brock Lesnar:
A) Simply tired of hearing the same steroid questions over and over again?
B) Dodging the question so as not to raise speculation into his collegiate and WWE past?
C) Afraid that he’ll be exposed as a hypocrite should a positive result appear in a future UFC drug test?
Certainly, both World Wrestling Entertainment and Ultimate Fighting Championship are not without their own cases of high-profile doping issues. In turn, both organizations have come under increased public scrutiny to both legitimize and improve their existing drug testing policies. As Brock Lesnar sits poised to become the biggest professional wrestling crossover star in MMA history (simply because Ken Shamrock’s MMA career peaked in the sport’s infancy, and only then did he made a splash in professional wrestling), he has effectively become a de-facto lynchpin in public perception of both the sports entertainment and mixed martial arts industries. If he stays drug free and can continue to prove it, Lesnar can really go a long way in quelling much of the speculation and doubt that is so often levied in the direction of either of these industries (though critics will ALWAYS find something to complain about, a high-profile crossover star with repeated examples of a clean drug history certainly helps to cast some serious doubt on their claims).
If he fails, however…
In any case, stay tuned to the Lesnar front in the coming weeks and let’s see how this one shakes out. MeeThinks his success — or failure — could have serious repurcussions for both MMA and professional wrestling as we know them.
And With That, I’m Outta’ Here
That does it for Mee this week, folks. Have a great weekend as we near the home stretch for Halloween shopping (pro ‘rasslin costume photos are always a crowd-pleaser), enjoy the PPV this weekend, and always stay positive!
– Meehan
The National Domestic Violence Hotline : 1-800-799-SAFE.
