Back-Leg
Frontkick: (09/23/04): Best Of September
2004! Featuring Chronic Jeff Jarrett, Heidenreich For Dinner,
Hulk Hogan Hype, The Death Of WCW, "Russo Style!",
New Gimmicks For Randy Orton, The Debut Of "Bullshit ", Eddie Guerrero
Gone Loco, The Raw Report Card,
The Ultimate Collection Of Warrior Insults, And Gene
Snitsky's Makes Your Pro Choice For You! All This Plus Much
More!
Hello once
again. I’m Sean and this is the Back-Leg Frontkick….the column
that’s a lot like a night of passion with a dirty prostitute…
You never know what you’re gonna get! (a Virus? Maybe on both
accounts.).
And with
that said, what you may also “get” is a brand-spanking
new Chris Benoit DVD for your collection of movies…. in
addition to those unlabelled porn films that you think
your girlfriend doesn’t know about. Anyway, I’m calling this
grand giveaway…..umm… the Chris Benoit… DVD…ummm…. GIVEAWAY!
...Yes! I like it!
Genius!
See, for
your loyalty to this site, I thought it time I reward you with
a gift that may or may not just be an extra copy I got as
a gift myself and don't need and never paid for but boy
do you deserve something! Ahem. So, all you have to do is email me
here and tell me what it is that you
like about the
Wrestling Fan.com, and your name will go into a fishbowl and
be drawn, while the fish will DIE for your by gawd
selfishness, and then the winner that is drawn
will receive said Benoit DVD by mail, complete with a
Benoit-esque snot-bubble blown onto it for dramatic effect.
Benoit would want it that way. So, enter now! This will
likely never happen again! Check the to see if the moon's red,
because I'm spending money! (on S& H, anyway). Get to it,
motherfucker.
So get to
it, fuckies, because this DVD is awesome. In fact if it was a
woman, I’d probably make sweet, sweet love to it. It’s that
awesome! Then I'd call it Woman. As Chris does his. Somewhere
this makes sense.
Headlines;
You know the drill. The real sites report the news…I steal
it…and make light of it because I secretly mask my own
insecurities through criticism of others! Huzzah!
He’s The One With
All The Stroke Smoke Around
Here…
Jeff Jarrett
ran into an incident at the airport in Nashville last Sunday.
Nashville Airport's Manager of Public Affairs and
Communications Kelly Watson states that a clear pipe was found
in Jarrett's luggage. The airport confiscated the pipe and let
Jarrett proceed with his travels. Jarrett told airport
security that he had no idea how the pipe got in his
bag.
I guess
all that time he spent with Brian Lawler, and all the programs
he had with Scott Hall and X-Pac is finally rubbing off on
him. Literally. Through Osmosis. I don't know if Jeff
can even spell that , though. He stopped caring about
phonics after he learned to tediously spell his own
name. Can't say I blame him.
That said, Dave Meltzer is reporting that
in all likelihood this is just a “rib” (that, or Jeff Hardy
grabbed the wrong duffle bag that night) by some of the
wrestlers. A “rib”? Whatever happened to shitting in a guy’s
gym towel, or throwing his clothes out the window? Personally, If I was Jeff, I don’t
think I’d “get” the joke when the “rib” could land me jail
time…. and a “program” with a 350 pound black guy who unlike
the guys in TNA, won’t be the one “laying down” for him. Nice friends you got there,
Jeff. I can just see where this is going: “Haha, you guys are hilarious! 50 pounds
of rock cocaine in my Gym bag?! You guys are the BEST! You got
me! You really got me this time! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I
have to go spend the rest of my life in prison. Really, really
funny shit, though”….
Still though, it is kind of funny to
picture Jarrett as chronic. I mean, can you even make a bong
out of a balsa wood guitar? And speaking of the guitar, I'm
almost saddened to hear that it was found in his actual
luggage, and not the guitar itself. Why not? Maybe
that's why it turns into a fine mist every time he smashes it
on someone's head. IT'S PACKED WITH COCAINE! And not just
really fake and made of confetti and not-at all how
guitars shatter.
However, you do have to give Jeff
credit. No seriously. TNA's in the hole like 15 million
dollars. He could really use your help. Every dollar
counts! Mostly because they never charge money for their
tickets, but whatever. But that said, more credit to Jeff,
because, honestly, if he is a fucking
smack-head, how many
people do you know who could defend the NWA Title night
after night when their opponent’s heads keep turning into a
white rabbit? And here I thought the only people strung out
high and delusional were whoever's booking impact. What a
professional. You've got to take your huge white glowing hat
off to him. Then throw it out because it's so fucking Gay.
Just
saying.
Stop calling me Brother, Bruther!
In an
article on MTV.com, Hulk Hogan finally responded to Randy
Savage's challenge (BE A MANNNNN, HULK!) from a year ago
to wrestle him one more time.
"Every time I wrestle
Mach, I beat him up pretty bad," said Hogan. "I heard he's
having a pretty tough time. If he can get a little oil in that
wheelchair and get those legs pumped up — because those legs
are about the size of my arms — I'll beat Macho Man up one
more time. But this time it won't be so hard. God bless Miss
Elizabeth, she's not here, so I'll just beat Macho up for
free. No big deal."
Ya. I
can only imagine how much better a fist-fight between two
fledgling half-crippled ancient bald dudes in bandanas and
weightlifter's belts could be if in fact the woman one of them
divorced 12 years ago and since wants nothing to do with
him was standing their watching. I guess she should just
thank Lex Luger for sparing her the gut-wrenching torture of
having to choose a side.
This
part though, broke me up: "Every time I wrestle Mach, I beat
him up pretty bad". Oh Ya? (Ohhhh Yeahhhhhhhh!) that
Hulkster was always known for working a little too stiff…I
can’t tell you how many careers that LEG DROP probably ended,
bruther.
Seriously though, who
is Hogan kidding? His “offense” couldn’t crack a
fucking egg, let alone hurt a man (Savage) who’s probably
dreamt of killing the Hulkster for the last ten years, just
because he thought that the Orange Goblin likely violated
Miss Elizabeth with his umm, “6 Inch Python”.
And you know what? I think might want to
kill a guy whom I thought was sticking his radiated member in
my wife, too.
Anyway, the article also talks about
how Sean "P. Diddy" Combs challenged Hogan to a match for $1
million recently, but then declined, when Hogan quickly went
to accept.
"I know a million dollars
ain't that big of a hit to him. So if he's gonna get beat up,
he might as well make it a hundred million dollars. I can't
ever lose in front of my daughter. But I've got a lot of
respect [for P. Diddy]. I saw him run for those kids in New
York. So it's all good. If it's a million dollars for the
kids, if he wants to put that up, I'll let him beat
me."
I just love
listening to Hulkster “shoot”. It’s almost comical really, the
way he toggles between reality and fantasy. But then again,
this is a guy who wears a bandana, tear away shirt, and
fucking red spandex pants, complete with a work out belt to
the movies and to do his fucking groceries. So credibility
isn't exactly his strongest suit. That'd be slamming fat
foreigners who are bad because they love their own country and
customs, for the record.
(booooo!)
And The
P.Diddy thing is ridiculous. What strikes me funny though is
that all these public appearances are supposed to be for his
daughter Brooke’s benefit, but somehow Orange juice
here keeps turning the spotlight back directly onto his
huge glistening orange
dome.
And 100
million dollars to “wrestle P.Diddy? Come on, Hulk. I can just
see the hyperbole now: “I remember the time I
bodyslammed that 700 pound Puff Daddy, dude. Tore all the
muscles in back, man! But those 500,000 screaming Hulkamaniacs
in the Silverdome, they got me through, Bruther! Then I slammed him, Brah, I
felt the earth open up, and the sea turned to blood! Then he
died three days later, bruther. And that's a
shoot...”.
So,
there you go. Hulk Hogan will only wrestle and lose to P.
Daddy ideally if 100 million dollars is at stake. Who knew Dr.
Evil was booking this thing?
The Match The World Has Been Waiting
For.....
Sources indicate that The Undertaker vs. John
Heidenreich match will now take place at Survivor Series. The
match was originally scheduled to take place at Unforgiven,
but WWE opted to give Heidenreich some more time in the ring.
By that logic though, Heidenreich's debut should have been set
for Survivor Series 2044. He'd still need a little work,sure,
but he wouldn't embarrass himself too
badly.
That all
said, truth is, I’ve actually been dying to see Heidenreich
Vs. Undertaker…a REAL Undertaker that is. Preparing his
lifeless body for his final resting place. Or maybe I just
wanted to use that joke. Maybe.
Ah, I kid, but still, Heidenreich? God. To me,
Heidenreich represents the last relic of the hopefully by-gone
era of talentless big-men who get hired and then pushed just
because they’re big and have a good “look”.
And
therein lies the problem for me. With Heidenreich, I
don’t even think you get the latter. Basically, Heidenreich
looks like he’s taken a few spins in the Industrial microwave,
leaving him so leathery, that he by comparison makes Ric Flair
look like a prestine newborn baby. There's slabs of
fucking Pemmican out there less sun-fucked than this
guy.
To me, and
maybe this is just me, when Heidenreich comes to the ring, all
browned and oily, I always get the disturbing visual of a
Thanksgiving turkey, or at the very least one of those hot
dogs in the 7-11 that revolve in that dish at the front
counter that no one dares eat. And as much as I try, I just
cannot get behind a man who looks like he’d be better off
being served with mashed potatoes and some heavy gravy, than
“wrestling”.
So, think
about that next time you see Heidenreich wrestle. And when
Taker pins him at Survivor Series (which actually started off
as the THANKSGIVING night tradition! Sweet Irony!) try and
picture him laying in some tomatoes and lettuce, as people
gives thanks, pass the cranberry jelly,
and pull pieces of giant cherry-red underoos out of
their stuffing. I guarantee you won’t be able to watch
one of his matches the same way again. And that Thanksgiving
will be ruined. Hey, is that a shoot-fighting glove in Mom's
apple pie? There you go.
Hey Man, Good To See You Again.
Big news
from backstage.....
Paul Heyman was backstage at RAW tonight.
He told people that he was there to present new
ideas, will work RAW again next week, but that he was a
member of the Smackdown writing team. This seems to indicate
that Heyman is keeping his exact role to himself, or that he
actually doesn't know what his exact role will be.
Speculation had come up regarding Heyman
returning to the creative team with the recent release of Tom
Prichard and hiatus of Bruce Prichard, as well as the recent
low ratings for RAW and Smackdown.
Dave Lagana
remains the head writer of Smackdown with Brian Gewirtz as the
head writer of RAW.
Huh, if all of a sudden we see Justin
Credible as WWE Champion, we’ll know Paul’s taken things
too far…
Seriously though, if this story is true,
this is huge news for WWE creative….or is
it?
Of all the
names mentioned, and with Vince apparently “now realizing”
that the creative needs some work, what’s really changed? I
mean, Gerwirtz and Lagana still have their positions, and more
than likely Stephanie is still “head” of creative, so, what’s
going to change, really? It’s simply a matter of too many
“cooks” in the kitchen. All likely preparing Steph huge
amounts of food, but that's besides the point, whatever that
was supposed to
be.
Heyman’s a great idea man, no doubt, but
his ideas have never been accepted when they’ve been
filtered through a committee of people who more often than
not, have their own ideas or agenda. Or I don't know, go
against the principle of pushing identical 6'5" dudes with
crew-cuts and boxed tights and SPINEBUSTERS, dear god do they
bust-spines. It's tremendously
exciting.
However, the fact that Vince wants to now overhaul the “creative” makes no
sense, because the people who’ve caused all the damage are still firmly entrenched in their
roles. Releasing certain underlings while still keeping the
same people on top, is comparable to having a sore shoulder
and amputating your fingers to try and fix it. WWE needs to
get at the root, and unfortunately that root is a couple of
clueless burned out TV writers… and “Daddy’s little girl”. The
latter of which is not going anywhere, unfortunately. Believe
me, I've tried. You'd think a target that huge wouldn't be so
hard to
miss...
It’s sad
too, because when Vince broke into the business, it’s said
that he desperately wanted to be one of the wrestlers, but his
father ruled against it, because he just didn’t see it in
Vince. Unfortunately, the same kind of wisdom is not seen in
Vince junior here, as he continuously throws Steph a bone
(probably literally if him checking out her giant cans were
any indication) despite her having ABSOLUTELY ZERO experience
as a writer beforehand. The excuse always given is “she’s been
around the business all her life”. Ya? Well, so was David
Flair and Erik Watts….and much like Steph, they too were said
to have “wrestling in their blood”. They just must
all have had bad circulation in that case. Dear
god. It’s the same case with Steph. She’s a moderately
entertaining TV character is small doses, but as a writer,
she’s stinks worse than a Hobo's taint . If she was
anyone but Vince’s daughter, she’d have been shit-canned years
ago. That's the truth. Only in wrestling can you have
someone incredibly under-qualified for a job, who then
proceeds to stink up the joint, and THEY THEN FIRE THE TALENT
AND BLAME THEM FOR NOT GETTING OVER. Anyone else see the lack
of logic there? That's like arresting the victim of a
drunk-driver because they didn't know to get the fuck out of
the
way.
If Vince is
truly serious about changing the creative direction, he needs
to REALLY CHANGE IT. Not give us shit and tell us it’s ice
cream. Or, not give us TABOO TUESDAY and tell us it's umm,
Wrestlemania? (despite how revolutionary it is! YOU HAVE THE
POWER!). Let Paul
take a crack at creative completely. Why not? He once
convinced me that the Musketeer, the Prodigy and The
Prodigette were not like the most worthless concepts
ever. He's a talented fellow. He took 2 weeks to
make me believe that Aldo Montoya was a World Champion to be
reckoned with, while I still don't buy Diesel. Holy shit. Had
this guy been around during the 30's, Hitler would have spared
the Jews, because Heyman would have convinced him that there
was more money to be made in keeping them around (before
taking it to film Rollerball). I mean, if Justin Credible can
be Champion of our planet, then by god, he'd stop the
Holocaust! Because well, one is the most completely
sorrowful, upsetting, and disturbingly vile idea ever
perpetrated on the human race, and the other was the
decimation of the Jews. I don't even know I'm talking about!
I'll stop
now!
He Lies, He Cheats… He
Blacks Out?
Looks like
another health issue for
Eddie....
Eddie Guerrero
"went blank" during his match at the Smackdown taping last
night and appeared to be injured. He seemed to have his mind
somewhere else. This all seems to be stress related, possibly
heightened due to his home being severely affected by the
Hurricane in Florida. Guerrero has had episodes like this in
the past.
HOW DO WE
KNOW THIS IS NOT A LIE? IT'S IN HIS CREDO! Or something! And,
oh ya, I’d be stressed too if Gregory Helms was
destroying my home! …Oh wait, ya, you mean a real Hurricane, umm sorry. THUNDEROUS
DROKICKS > the elements.
All kidding
aside, this kind of sucks for Eddie, because if these rumors
are true, I think we’ve seen the last of Eddie as WWE
Champion, at least for a while.
If
you believe everything you read on the net, (and how could you
not with guys with reputable net-handles like
Austin316FTW4EVR telling you the “Big News”?!) you’d be
led to believe that Eddie has absolutely zero stress level,
and really can’t seem to handle a lot of pressure. However,
he’s still the best wrestler on Smackdown, so what do you do?
Give him time off to mentally heal, and fill the void
with more Orlando Jordan matches? Dear god, sometimes the
mental well-being of people have to take a backseat! If in
fact Low-Riders have back seats. It’s actually a strange
situation. Still though, maybe it’s just me, but I think I’d
still rather watch Eddie Guerrero black out for five minutes
and maybe kill someone in the ring as a result, than say,
watch an able bodied Mark Jindrak expose the business and make
me want to kill myself. Is that wrong?
Why can’t
the terrible wrestlers be the one's that have
the mental issues? And is there was to give them some?
No? Ok, then.
Although,
maybe this whole "blacking out" thing is a
growing epidemic? Maybe there's something in the water.
And maybe that's why HHH only drinks from bottles. Maybe
for the last six months, the SmackDown creative team has also
been blacking out completely? It makes sense if you think
about it. I mean, who in their right mental state would push
Jon Heidenreich? Quick, Prozac for everyone! And if that
doesn't work, someone break out the fucking Dr. Kellogg
Electro-shock machine! We need to save this brand!
All kidding
aside, Best of luck to you Eddie, seriously. I’m an asshole
some (most) of the time, but I don’t really mean it. Now go
steal yourself some No-doze, esse. And if you by
chance get caught, just throw the package to the Security
guard, lay on the ground "out cold" and hope for the best. It
always seems to work on TV!
Undertaker: Dressed To
Kill....Literally.
WWE is allowing the
Undertaker and John Cena to not follow the controversial WWE
dress code that has upset many wrestlers for the past few
weeks. 'Taker doesn't have to follow due to his long standing
position in the company and the fact that he is one of the top
guys. Word is that Cena doesn't have to follow it because
management feels that a dress code would strongly conflict
with his character. Of course, many wrestlers have complained
that the dress code conflicts with their character, but have
not been given permission to not follow
it.
So, your trying
to say that Deadmen don’t wear comfortable and stylish
clothing? That’s really too bad. Personally, I’m convinced
that had Jason Voorhees worn a cardigan and some smart slacks
instead of a shredded pair of slimy coveralls he wouldn’t be
compelled to slaughter teenage camp councilors, because the
clothes would give him a newfound sense of importance and
heightened self-worth.
All kidding
aside, it would be kind of hard to convey any sort of gimmick
consistency when you see a man like Undertaker, who
purportedly portrays a zombie for a living, wearing a pink
polo
shirt.
However, Undertaker and Cena aren’t the
only ones who’s gimmicks don’t exactly mesh with stylish
dress. I mean, guys like Kane, Rosey and Tyson Tomko aren’t
exactly your standard “Big and Tall” shoppers, so why subject
them to this stupid rule? And wouldn't a suit like totally
expose Rosey's SECRET IDENTITY? Unlike still calling himself
ROSEY? I fear to think what would happen if certain
arch-criminals got that
information.
And besides, do Undertaker's
shoot-fighting gloves even go with a sweater vest? What does
Mr. Blackwell say about
that?
Ya, I'm
done.
Say it Ain’t so….
Is
the Diva Search really fixed? It could
be....
- WWE does have the right to fix the Diva
Search contest if they want. The fine print of the contest
rules states that they reserve the right to change the rules
of the contest at any time and can change how the winners are
selected. The wording of the contest rules basically leaves
room for WWE to run the contest however they want.
[PWTorch.com]
And as if
Coach’s selling of Carmella’s “offense” on Raw last Monday
didn’t give that away. I mean, Christie had to leap onto
Coach’s back, then bite him on the ass (A move not seen since
Pat Patterson stopped going over matches in the back…) before
forcefully riding him down to the canvas. Yet, he sells
Carmella’s punches, like he was hit by a truck? There’s
suspension of disbelief, then there’s fucking stupidity.
Although, If I knew this was a chick who in all likelihood at
some point jacked off Mini Me at the Playboy Mansion, I too
would be avoiding those soup bones at all
costs.
But still, umm, WWE LIED TO US! THIS
THING MAY NOT BE ON THE UP AND UP! I feel like totally
violated. Almost as much as the way my eyes and ears have been
raped during the last 6 weeks. I don't know who to trust
anymore. Because if this contest could be FIXED, then that
might open the door to the possibility that this entire
industry is rigged and predetermined. And you know, I
just can't face
that...
Red Neck, Pink Slip.
WWE.com posted this statement
about Jamie Noble:
World Wrestling Entertainment and Jamie
Noble have parted ways. WWE would like to wish Noble all the
best in his future endeavors.
I for one
always liked Jamie Noble. His mat based style was always a
good change of pace in the spot heavy cruiserweight division.
His work to me was always reminiscent of Chris Benoit. Only
with arms that don't start at his armpits. But you know, why
keep a guy like Noble around when you can bring back 500 pound
guys who wrestle in trash bags? WWE is just thinking about the
future!
To
me, this is the ultimate irony. The WWE has once again chalked
up another victim of their ever growing list of “don’t have
anything for you creatively” list. And to me that’s absurd.
What is the point of calling yourself “creative”, when you
convey about as much creativity as a mongoloid making a paper
mache hat. I mean, to me, a group that has the audacity to
call themselves “creative” should at least have a modicum of,
I don’t know, creativity? That'd be like being A 60 year
old billionaire with no training and calling yourself a
wrestler. Oh.
Anyway, Noble now founds himself
wandering out into the Indies where he’ll hopefully make a name
for himself, while leaving the WWE’s cruiserweight division
lighter than that one Olsen twin. And with that in mind, at
this point, why doesn’t WWE just scrap the cruiserweight
division altogether? There’s still a lot of talent there, but
they’re dropping fast. Soon WWE’s cruiserweight division will
return to the depths not seen since 1998 where you had just
Taka Michanoku, and Pantera wrestling in long john underwear
that even Charles Ingalls wouldn’t be caught dead in. (I may
be the only wrestling fan on Earth who watched Little House on
the Prairie…). And I for one don’t think there’s ever an
appropriate time to wear tights with a removable ass-flap at
the back, although I’m sure Bradshaw (and apparently
Heidenreich now) may feel differently about
that...
Anyway, here’s to the WWE career of Jamie
Noble Boy, you were the longest reigning WWE Cruiserweight
champion ever, got it on with Nidia and Torrie….and Bill
Gunn(?!) at the same time, tormented your blind girlfriend
(and who hasn’t been there?) and somewhere along the line,
decided to discard your pants altogether (And I thought I
was the only one!) Hats off to you, man, and Good luck. And
wear pants. That's just a little parting advice.
Guerrero
Warfare:
Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero got into a
brawl backstage at Smackdown last night. The incident took
place after the final segment of the show. The two came
through the curtain and they exchanged words loudly. From
there, it quickly escalated from verbal to physical.
Angle apparently
grabbed Eddie in a face lock and took him down to the ground,
incapacitating him, before being pulled off by Johnny Ace and
some of the agents. Then, they apparently got into it again
further in the back before getting broken up again. Vince
McMahon reportedly spoke with both men about the incident
before leaving the building.
It is said that Eddie missed his cue in
the final segment, which made Kurt’s character look weak.
Angle reportedly grew frustrated and told Eddie to basically
get his head in the game, and it escalated from there into the
brawl.
Vince McMahon did speak with Eddie
Guerrero recently about how his stress level seems to be
negatively impacting his work. Guerrero has been extremely
moody and under pressure as of late, possibly one of the
reasons why he got involved in a physical fight with Kurt
Angle backstage at the Smackdown taping last night.
[PWTorch.com].
I'm insisting the "word exchange" went like
this:
Kurt: Hey, Eddie. Want some of my
words?
Eddie: Sure, vato. But only if I
can give you some of mine.
Kurt: It's a
deal!
Eddie: It's a
trade!
Kurt:
Exactly.
Eddie: So, want to senselessly roll around
and brawl for a few minutes?
Kurt:
Sure!
It happened just like that, I
swear.
Anyway, I'm personally blaming
Eddie's breakdown on the cumulative guilt he must feel for all
the lying and cheating and stealing he does. Or not. But
seriously, a physical fight? What, do they normally just fire
shit at each other with telekinesis? (If you read last
Spring's BLFK, the answer IS
YES.).
Moving
on:
Speculation
that it was a work....
Some were speculating earlier today that
the Kurt Angle/Eddie Guerrero fight that broke out backstage
at the Smackdown taping last night was a work designed by Paul
Heyman to create a buzz among the internet fans and hopefully
create more interest in Smackdown. However, at this point, the
fight does appear to have been legit.
WCW tried a staged shoot fight angle a
few years back. They staged a backstage fight between Diamond
Dallas
Page and Buff Bagwell
in hopes that it would spark interest in an on-air feud
between the two. The program ended up being a flop. It also
upset many wrestlers who did not like the fact that management
swerved them.
There is no evidence that supports the
Angle/Eddie fight being a work, just speculation at this
point.
Word
from backstage is that both Angle and Guerrero looked
extremely upset during the fight and that it appeared to be
very real and likely was.[Credit:
1wrestling.com]
You know,
maybe the reason why "creating buzz" off a "worked"
backstage fight didn’t work in WCW was because it
was a fight with BUFF FUCKING BAGWELL?
'Cause you know, when I think of down and dirty
fighters, I tend to not think of guys who have calf implants,
shop for clothes at the same store as the fucking Cat in the
Hat, and share road stories with their Mothers. And besides, I
doubt said Mom would allow Buff to even get into a fight.
Now if it was Judy Bagwell throwing down , then, maybe
I'd buy it. If she's good enough to be one half of YOUR
WCW Tag team Champions and carry her (large) load with Rick
Steiner between those ropes, than you watch
out.
Anyway, I don’t believe any of this
for a second. As mentioned earlier, despite Eddie apparently
channeling the Mr. Furious character from Mystery Men, I truly
think he just needs a brief hiatus to get his shit
together. But if he does have to snap
and kill somebody, start with all the tall guys in boxed
tights with crew-cuts. All 50 of them. I'll even buy you
a ticket to Louisville.
100% Pure Whoop Ass
The National Enquirer is reporting that
Tess Broussard, Steve Austin's ex-girlfriend, was arrested in
January of 2003 for prostitution. She apparently met her
prospective client at a hotel after meeting him on the
internet. She arrived to the hotel with 113 condoms. Her
client ended up being Sgt. Howieson of the Orange
County Sheriff's
Department. Broussard ended up pleading guilty and paying a
$600 fine. She also got 10 days of community service,
probation, and had to attend an AIDS awareness program.
Broussard's attorney told the Enquirer that she was the
"victim of an overzealous sting operation" and she only plead
guilty to spare her family and friends the ordeal of a trial.
Austin and
Broussard recently got in an incident that saw Broussard
apparently stab Austin's manager and get in a
physical altercation with Austin himself. She claims that she
was set up.
113 condoms?!!! And they’re worried about
Aids awareness? THE BITCH HAD 113 CONDOMS! I think she’s
pretty “aware”.
And my favorite part: “She plead guilty
to spare her family and friends the ordeal of a trial”. Hey,
here’s a suggestion: How bout trying not being a whore? Things
just seem to be getting more embarrassing for the Texas Rattle
Snake here. I mean, who wants sloppy seconds? Or should I say,
the 114th serving… if she got her money’s worth out of those
condoms….
And finally, she’s a victim of an illegal
Sting operation? Oh that Sting! Ever since he found religion
he thinks he can cram his morality down everyone’s throats! Ok
I have nothing here. But admit it, this ordeal is kind of
funny.
NYC Meets
Destrucity!
From a press
release:
The Ultimate Warrior Returns to New York
City!
NEW
YORK, NY---09/22/04--- Former WWE Champion The
Ultimate Warrior will be making his first New York appearance in over
10 years on Saturday October 30th at 10:00 AM to sign
autographs at the first ever Ringside Fest: A Tribute To Jakks
Classic Superstars. The event will be held at Carolines On
Broadway in Times
Square presented by Ringside Collectibles. The
signing will be followed by a Question and Answer session
where fans will have the opportunity to ask The Ultimate
Warrior questions about his legendary career.
The Ultimate Warrior is one of the most intense wrestling
superstars of all time. From his classic match against Hulk
Hogan at Wrestlemania VI to his memorable encounter with
Triple H at Wrestlemania 12, he is one of the most recognized
and renowned wrestling superstars to this day.
For more information visit
http://www.RingsideFest.com or call the Ringside Fest hotline
at: 516-593-5413.
Ringside Collectibles, Inc. is the #1
on-line retailer of Jakks Wrestling Action Figures and
collectibles.
CONTACT: Ringside Collectibles, Inc. /
516-593-5413 info@ringsidefest.com
This just
may be the greatest thing EVER. You see, I’ve been feuding
with the Warrior for a while now, only he just doesn’t know it
yet! And with that said, one of our readers in the NY area,
has to get to this thing and ask Warrior the “hard” questions.
You see, Warrior apparently is somewhat of a loose cannon, and
I’d LOVE it if we could break
him.
With that
said, if anyone is in the NY area on October 30th and attends this conference,
Please read the following questions/comments to the Warrior
Man on behalf of The Wrestling Fan.com! Always Believe!
Warriah!
1) I’m
Mexican, I’m on Welfare, and I believe in higher taxes for the
rich. Can I still be a "little
Warrior"?
2)
Destrucity? Sounds like a fucking made up word to
me!
3)So, just
curious, how did Hennig’s shit smell? (then produce a
pail with Mr. Perfect's face on it and ask him to sign
it).
4) I just
bought Sgt. Slaughter’s colored WWF belt!
How ya like dem apples?!
5) I traded
your workout video for Gay
porn.
6) I
remember illegally hopping the border to come see your matches
back in the 90’s!
7) I think
your hero Atlas was a homo.
I mean a naked, squatting man with a ball on his head? If
that’s not a metaphor for homosexuality, I don’t know what
is!
8) So, it’s
ok for straight guys to wear make
up?
9) Fidel
Castro. What a great guy,
eh?
10) So, why did you kill Davey Boy
Smith?
Anyway, do
this for me, and I will be a friend for life! Or, at least
until I get sick of you. Whatever comes
first.
Man Of The
Haas
WWE stars now
engaged....
The Ottawa Sun reports that WWE
stars Charlie Haas and Miss Jackie (Gayda) are now set to be
married. Haas proposed to Gayda two weeks ago at her home
after getting her father's blessings.
The full article is
available here.
Congratulations to the happy couple! And
I hope you have the same successful loving marriages as many
of your peers, like… Elizabeth and Randy…err.. Missy
Hyatt & Eddie Gilbert? Nah. Steve &
Debra….ummm… Bret & Julie
then?...Fuck!
Anyway, I
had no idea that it was the 1800’s still, and Charlie had to
get “Dad’s” permission. Does this "marriage" also entitle
Charlie to a dowry of three thousand feathered boas, pink
halter tops and whatever's left of Rico? And Isn’t the
fact that Charlie lettered at Seton Hall good enough for
this Father?! It would be for Jim Ross’s daughters! This I
promise you!
Anyway, when
thinking about this whole thing, I couldn’t help but picture
Haas strapped into the lie-detector like in Meet the Parents.
Dad: Have you ever watched Tough
Enough 2?
Charlie: Umm, no.
Dad: Good. But if ever you do, you
might want to fast forward past the hot tub scene…..
Charlie:
…
TNA Is Not
OK
Many backstage in TNA are actually happy
about Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman possibly coming
in to the promotion. The thinking is that those three will do
what they always do, play a lot of politics and take some
power away from Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell. Most of the
wrestlers are OK with just about anything if it takes Jeff
Jarrett and Mantell away from the
books.
Russo &
Dutch Mantell, or, Nash/Hall & Waltman? Jesus, that’s like
asking if you’d rather be shot or stabbed. They both hurt like
hell, and you'll end up dead either way, but you've got to
figure out which scenario enables you to have few more moments
of fleeting life.
That is a
tough choice though. And One I’d have to think long and hard
about...
Hmmm, Hall
& Waltman could probably score some better weed,
*although*, Jarrett, DID have that pipe in his bag, so who
knows? And Mantell? Dude just doesn’t grow a ZZ Top beard like
that without being under the influence of something! Oh ya, my
point was, umm, …oh ya, I don’t have one. TNA is fucked either
way
VINCING
WORDS
Apparently,
in his new book, Jerry Jarrett told his son Jeff, that
reading Vince Russo's TNA scripts were "Like reading a
book written by someone on LSD." From there, Vince Russo
caught wind of this BETRAYAL and posted the following
rebuttal, in defense of his *ahem* "good name". However,
since it is Vince Russo we're
talking about, I have decided as a public service to those who
don't speak fluent Bullshit, to go ahead and translate it
on their behalf
Here is
Vince Russo's unedited post:
”Dear Marty,
I am completely taken back by your effort
to defend me concerning Jerry Jarrett's e-mail. What an honor
to have somebody spend that kind of time in your favor.
I thank Jerry
Jarrett for making it crystal clear why I have come to despise
the wrestling business over the past 12 years. Jerry's e-mail
to Jeff clearly and matter-of-factly shows you first hand what
kind of situations and individuals I have had to deal with
throughout my career.
Let me just say it right now--I hate the
wrestling business. The only thing that keeps me involved is
all the young men and women in TNA who I truly care for. My
interest is to counsel them and school them in a business that
will just chew them up and spit them out . . . if they let it.
My greatest joys come in this business today when I get to
spend some quality time with the talent. This past Sunday AJ
Styles and his wife invited me, my wife Amy and my daughter
Annie to his church. It was the best time I had in the
"wrestling business" in the past two years. To me--that's what
it's all about.
I'm just sitting here stunned--trying to
figure out what makes one individual discredit another. What?
To me there is only one answer--again--tear others down=build
yourself up.
I pray for Jerry Jarrett and I mean that.
I hope one day he will be able to find the peace, love,
happiness, contentment and joy in his heart that I have
discovered in mine.
Please let Jerry's e-mail be a lesson to
you all. If you can't share love . . . it's not worth
sharing.
I
thank you so much for remaining loyal. I appreciate the fact
that you can see through it all and realize--WE WERE
ENTERTAINED AT THE TIME AND THAT'S ALL WE EVER ASKED FOR.
You will always
be family.
Vince”
And here is what it REALLY
says:
“Dear mark,
I don’t need
your help defending me! I have SPALDINGS baby, HUGE
SPALDINGS!
I thank Jerry
Jarrett for making it crystal clear why I have come to despise
the wrestling business over the past 12 years. He just doesn’t
“get it”! People wanna see broads rasslin in the mud, they
don’t want no Lucha shit!
Let me just
say it right now--I hate the wrestling business. The only
thing that keeps me involved is all the young women in TNA who
I truly care for, even though they won’t show their tits! Not
even by “accident”! My interest is to counsel them until they
do, and school them in a business that will just chew them up
and spit them out…. then in turn I’ll chew them up and spit
them out! Ya! SWERVE! No one would see that
coming!
My greatest joys come in
this business today when I get to spend some quality time with
the talent. This past Sunday Jimmy Yang and his wife invited
me, my wife Amy and my daughter Annie to his church. I didn’t
go because no one will ever buy a foreigner as a wrestler!
Telling him that we would never have anything for him, EVER,
was the best time I had in the "wrestling business" in the
past two years.
I'm just sitting here stunned--trying to
figure out what makes one individual discredit another. What?
To me there is only one answer--again--tear others down=build
yourself up, especially Hulk Hogan…that Bald piece of shit!
I pray for Jerry
Jarrett and I mean that. I hope one day he will “get it” and
he’ll let me write a show everyone wants to see! six words:
“I’ll meet you in the Block!”
Please let Jerry's e-mail be a lesson to
you all. If you can't share love . . . it's not worth sharing…
Psyche! SWERVE!!!!!
I thank you so much for remaining loyal.
I appreciate the fact that you can see through it all and
realize--WE WERE ENTERTAINED AT THE TIME AND THAT'S ALL WE
EVER ASKED FOR, ESPECIALLY GTV…THAT SHIT WAS JUST GOOD TV.
You will always
be family, unless your Japanese…or Mexican…or any
non-American. Vince”
Sounds about right.
:)
And speaking of our Friend
Vince....
WCW: The Russo Years
My friend R.D. Reynolds over at Wrestlecrap
has a brand new book on the horizon called “The Death of WCW”
where he and Observer fave Bryan Alvarez meticulously detail
the demise of, at one time, North America’s TOP wrestling
promotion, WCW. The book can be ordered here.
Anyway, this
got me to thinking about one of my favorite periods in WCW for
out and out “stinktitude” (tm. Edge & Christian): Vince
Russo’s 1999-2000 tenure!
Now, I could
try and spin the positives and say that at least under Russo’s
leadership the company did utilize guys like Benoit, Bret Hart
and Kidman while shelving dinosaurs like Hogan, Savage and
others…. but what fun would that be?
The legacy
that Russo left in WCW, is one of a creative case of diarrhea.
That being an absolute flow of non-stop shit. And in a way, I
feel sort of sorry for Russo. He did desperately try to make
people care about the mid-card acts, even ones that seemed a
little familiar. A little too
familiar if you know what I mean. As a matter of fact,
you always got the impression that you’d seen some of these
gimmicks somewhere else before….
Ok, then.
The time is October of 1999 and Vince Russo and writing
partner Ed Ferrera leave the greener pastures of the then-WWF
to jump ship to the struggling WCW where more money and
seemingly unlimited creative power await.
And you
know, it really didn’t take them too long to make their mark.
Right from the get go, you could see the stink of Russo in
play as journeymen like Brad Armstrong were re-christened
“Buzz-kill” and told to emulate his somewhat more famous
brother Brian “Road Dogg” James. And they weren’t even subtle
about the gimmick infringement either. Soon guys like Shawn
Stasiak were given the ‘Mr. Perfect’ gimmick (while the actual
item Curt Hennig was STILL under contract, no less) and Chuck
Palumbo the handle of the new “Total Package,” although, Chuck
got out of that one before the urge to poison his fiancée came
into play. And hey, with all his experience standing behind
Billy Gunn, I imagine his Heimlich maneuver would be
MASTERFUL. Score one more for the new Total
package!
However,
that all said, Russo would be ousted from power in early
January of 2000, but would resurface several months later
alongside Eric Bischoff, where the two would combine forces to
assimilate into one wrestling credibility-destroying monster
that would eventually sink the company into such depths that
Vince McMahon was able to swoop in the next year and purchase
the company for around 3 million dollars(!). Before then
completely destroying it. Umm, ya. If Russo and Bischoff are
the motherfuckers are the one's that sold the drugs to WCW,
then Vince McMahon is the Pimp that beat it to death than
fucked the body.
Now, with
that said, I’m going detail 5 of my *guilty pleasures* (in a
car wreck sort of way) from this time period. And although
Russo wasn’t *technically* at the helm for everything I’ll
list, his spirit was there, because quite frankly, it was his
previous booking that set the pace.
5)
Return Of The Varsity Club.
In 1988,
Kevin Sullivan assembled a clique of wrestlers who each
celebrated their collective college wrestling accomplishments
by dubbing themselves the “Varsity Club” with each man (Mike
Rotundo, Steve Williams and Rick Steiner) wearing a letter
jacket from their respective alma-maters. It was kind of a
unique idea, although I always found it funny that a guy who
basically spent 20 years worshipping Satan (Sullivan) would
all of a sudden re-embrace his college roots, throwing out his
Necronomicon and dusting off your old Gym teacher's one piece
track suit. Somehow, when one pictures Devil Worshippers,
one doesn’t automatically think of them wearing letter jackets
and doing Hindu squats. I’d also think that the college
athletic department would frown on drinking goat’s blood, but
I could be wrong…
Anyway,
TWELVE years pass, and Russo gets the idea to reform this
formidable stable of Collegiate heroes. Only thing is, there
isn’t a guy under 40 in the group! Kind of hard to celebrate
your College triumphs when you haven’t seen college in
twenty-five fucking years. But no, there they were, letter
jackets and all. The funny thing is it could have worked if it
was marketed as a parody. That being a bunch of guys who live
off past glories and have no idea how embarrassing they now
are. Think Al Bundy and his Polk High football
triumphs.
The only
thing that sort of salvaged this angle was the smoking hot
Kimona (now re-christened Leia Meow) jumping on a trampoline
in a bikini/cheerleader’s outfit. This at least distracted
from Sullivan, who opted to come to the ring to manage his
charges wearing his letter jacket…and NO PANTS! And those
legs! Arrrghhh. I wasn’t able to walk by the frozen chicken
aisle for a month after that without
shuddering.
4)
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma was
portrayed by Ed Ferrera and was obviously a direct parody of
Jim Ross, right down to the paralyzed face. Yes, this guy was
such a class act that he emulated JR’s Bell’s palsy. As if
there wasn't enough to parody with Jimbo's insistence on
comparing the plight of wrestlers to Post Civil War abused
Animals, but here was Oklahoma calling matches, managing, and
even wrestling, all while maintaining the same
unrelenting distorted visage like someone had just dipped
the fat fuck in a bowl of Smilex backstage. No wonder Jim
Cornette spit in the dude's face.
Now,
granted, some of Oklahoma’s shtick was amusing…in small doses.
However, he became somewhat of a focal point of storylines in
latter 1999 when he began a feud with Madusa over the
cruiserweight title…and yes, before you ask, the cruiserweight
title was contested between a fat little announcer and a
woman.
Leading up
to the big match at Souled Out, the two began attacking one
another… with Barbecue sauce. Get it? Jim Ross loves barbecue
sauce! This shit writes itself….
Also, former
J.R. verbal blow job, Steve Williams, was now Okey’s backup.
And one has to wonder if karma took its revenge on Doc for
this betrayal as Williams now has cancer. And not of the Hulk
Hogan/Kevin Nash Locker-room variety. IT'LL GET YOU
BOOMER-SOONER THAN LATER. And I think it’s obvious that
there’s a direct correlation between the two. Good Ole J.R.
has friends in high places, you know. God was just paying
Jimbo back for constantly putting over the Bible by bringing
biblical words like “Jezebel” back into public consciousness.
That, and I hear The Lord’s a HUGE Sooners fan.
HUGE.
Anyway, not
even the mighty creator himself could save us from Oklahoma
and this strange push. Ferrera would go on to bag the CW title
at the pay-per-view, and the first of the final nails in the
coffin for WCW were laid.
3)
The Strange Tale of Tank Abbott.
Anyone who’s
ever watched the Ultimate Fighting Championship, knows who
Tank Abbott is. A no-nonsense, no-finesse brawler, Tank gained
popularity for just being a general bad ass, despite never
winning a fight and wearing your Dad's giant swim-trunks to
umm, "wrestle" in.
Anyway, WCW
finally took notice, and with the success of cross-over
shooters in the WWF like Ken Shamrock and Dan Sev… err Ken
Shamrock anyway, WCW offered the Tank a contract.
Tank never
really assimilated himself into wrestling though, and
basically just went out there and knocked people (jobbers)
out. To my knowledge Abbott never even pinned anyone (or even
tried.).
Anyway, in a
strange twist, because of the whole Bret Hart concussion,
Goldberg laceration, and Jarrett “retardation” (three matches
the week before the PPV? Come on, Jeff) leading into January’s
“Souled Out” show, WCW was in dire need of a main event. And
in Russo’s last hurrah (at this point anyway), he wanted to
put the World Title on Abbott! He was told "no", point blank,
and briefly left the fold as a result. The funny thing is
though, considering what happens to the belt not 6 months
later, perhaps Tank wasn’t that bad a
choice.
Fast forward
a couple of months and here’s Tank facing “old friend” Big Al
in a “skin’s match” where the goal of the bout was to
grab....wait for it…a leather jacket suspended on a pole! Now
THAT’S a prize! It’s strange how WWF never snatched up this
idea…. Imagine how much better The E& C Vs. Dudleys Vs.
The Hardy’s Ladder matches would be if 1980's Jammer
pants were involved, instead of those silly championship
belts!…..
Anyway,
Abbott defeats Big Al, then improvises a spot where he pulls a
knife on Al and holds it to his throat, yelling out: “I could
fucking kill you right now!”. A flustered Tony Schiavone then
scrambles for a cover and says “I think it’s scissors. I think
Abbott wants to cut off his beard”….even though Big Al was
clean shaven. (Note to self, if my barber ever says to me “I
could fucking kill you right now!” while giving me a shave
…it’s probably time to find a new
barber….).
From there,
Abbott logically goes from attempted murder to the even more
heinous: Love of boy band music! Tank became Three Count’s
“roadie” and was so enamored with their music, he couldn’t
help but cut a rug to it… cut a “rug” that is, and not Big
Al’s non-existent fucking beard….
2) WCW: The “C” Doesn’t Stand For
Credibility.
While some
will point to The Hogan/Sting Starrcade 1997 match, or even
the infamous Nash/Hogan “finger poke of Doom” as the catalysts
for WCW’s demise, at least those abominations featured actual
WRESTLERS.
During 2000,
WCW all but destroyed ANY credibility the company had, and
more specifically any credibility the Titles themselves had
left.
It all
started when the aforementioned Bischoff/Russo alliance took
place, and the first order of business was to strip all the
champions of their respective titles so they could all be
re-contested. Our dreams of the epic SID VS. HULK HOGAN
REMATCH now squelched. We were heartbroken. Kind
of.
...But, then again, on second
thought, when those Champions include The Harris Brothers, I'm
not exactly going to cry myself to
sleep.
Anyway,
under this regime, the belts didn’t exactly maintain their
prestige. As a matter of fact, Russo and company would have
been better off just squatting over Big Gold and dropping a
steaming load of shit onto it. Here’s the roll call: Daffney:
Cruiserweight Champion. Eric Bischoff: Hardcore Champion.
Vince Russo: WCW World Champion, and DAVID ARQUETTE: WCW World
Champion.
By now
everyone knows the story of Arquette getting the belt in an
insane decision to help get over the WCW movie vehicle: Ready
To Rumble. And what better way to promote a movie then to put
the leagues top belt on a 150 lbs. actor? Anything? The
sad part was Arquette didn’t even pin the Champion Jeff
Jarrett, instead bagging the gold in a lame tag team match
where he pinned Bischoff. I so have to try that sometime. I'll
go fucking sunset flip
Tiger
Wood's father than by proxy take his PGA titles. This is how
things work.
From there,
you’d assume that Arquette would drop the title immediately,
but no. He goes on to the ppv(!) and defends against Jarrett
AND “friend” DDP, that he… wait for it…SWERVES! And in turn
helps Jarrett win HIS Title. I mean, why? If you were in it
with Jarrett all along, why go to all the trouble of having
Double J drop the title in the first place? Or why not just
give Jarrett the title? Why take all the physical risks? It’s
like the Bond movies where the villain goes to all the trouble
of setting up an elaborate death for 007 when he could just
shoot his ass right there. And on that note I'm surprised
Russo resisted the urge for the giant saw-blade and the Sharks
with LASERBEAMS....that'd of course SWERVE us and help Bond
ESCAPE. NO ONE WOULD SEE THAT COMING! And we'd STILL be
talking about it today! and not just in retrospect for how
completely worthless it is.
1)
I’ll See You In The Block!
To me, this
is a lost gem, hence its placement. Everyone remembers the big
fuckups of the Russo era, but no one ever seems to remember
the mulleted jobber and a “specialty” match designed to
finally get his track-pants wearing ass over. I’m of
course talking about Jerry Flynn and the “Block”. And for
those not familiar with Flynn, he was a “martial arts” expert
who’s probably seen more ceilings than Paris Hilton,
specifically at the hands of Goldberg. And Goldberg. And
Goldberg. And Goldberg. And, you guessed it Goldberg. Don't
even get me started on Glacier.
Anyway, in
the WWF, Ken Shamrock had the “Lion’s den” and Mankind had the
“Boiler Room Brawl”. Both matches were uniquely designed to
settle scores with adversaries where these men would have the
home field advantage. Enter Jerry Flynn. (as if anyone ever
invited him). For several weeks in late fall of 1999,
Jerry Flynn began challenging various wrestlers to meet him in
the “block”…or technically the basement or sometimes an
abandoned underground parking lot of the arena where the two
would do BATTLE until one…you, know, I don’t think there was
really any set rules to this one. Basically, it was one big
fucking waste of time, as Flynn and guys like Barbarian would
fumble and bumble around, blink a lot, growl a
little, all while pretending to ram each other into
cement walls while missing by like 6
inches.
It wasn’t
quite hardcore, and it wasn’t quite wrestling. Actually it can
be best described as…Shit. That’s right. Week in, and week
out, we’d have to suffer through Flynn and some other
hamburger flailing about before the director would
finally get the right idea and cut the fuck away from
this abortion. Although, I used to always wonder if anyone
bothered telling Jerry and his hardcore karate pajamas that
the match was now over. For all we know, Flynn and Barby might
still be going at it today…..
Soon after,
the “Block” was dropped and Flynn slipped back into
mediocrity. As if he ever left. He just left a "BRB"
reminder. But never fret fans, THE BLOCK could return at
any time. Maybe one day we'll find out how one evens wins this
shitpile. Or at least tell Jerry. He's still out there in a
collar and elbow with Barbarian, wondering why no one ever
gave them the high sign to go home.
That all
said, there are SO MANY things I could go on about from
there, like The Kid-cam, Artist Formerly known as Prince
Iaukea, Janitor Jim Duggan, Bret Hart’s desert revenge, among
MANY others, but I’ll save that for RD. I’m not quite ready
for a book yet. And not just because no one ever offered.
Although, that is the main
reason...
Babyface
101
By
now, it’s fairly obvious that WWE has
chosen to put all their eggs in Randy Orton’s basket as the
Raw brand’s new “top babyface”.
After losing the World Title back to HHH
under dubious means, this now frees Orton up to develop a
natural following, and grow as a fan favorite, and not just be
“forced” on the fans whether they were ready or not. From
there, it is likely that Orton will chases HHH to WrestleMania
where logic points to him regaining that Title.
Of course,
they once said the same thing about Lex Luger, and look how
well that turned
out.
Now, with
that said, I’m not going to be one of those detractors who
claim that Orton will never maintain fan interest for an
extended period of time, especially in the highly touted
Wrestlemania Title chase spot. However, what I am going to discuss is the somewhat
familiar booking that young Mr. Orton currently finds himself
undergoing. I feel as if I’ve seen this all somewhere
before….But that can’t be! Surely the WWE wouldn’t utilize the
exact SAME routine in developing all their top stars? Nah. I
just can’t see that. I mean, what's next, opening a wrestling
developmental system that trains exact identical cookie-cutter
wrestlers?
ABSURD.
All sarcasm
aside, WWE seems to always be in a holding pattern as it
pertains to how they market they’re top “good guy”, especially
since the dawn of the Attitude era. Not that the 1980’s were
much different. During that time, Vince desperately tried to
remold certain wrestlers in the shapeless mold of Hulk
Hogan, but ultimately found that filling the Gigantic yellow
clod-hoppers of the orange-skinned Hulkster a futile pursuit.
The way they slammed foreigners who dared to be fat and
foreign just wasn't the same. But, still, Vince tried
(and tried) to find that one special man who’d take that torch
and run with it. Or in Hulk's case. Walk in a gingerly safe
fashion so to not cause injury, or expend energy,
bruther. Unfortunately, the world wasn’t ready for Lex
Luger’s bus of Star-spangled horse shit, or Diesel and
his Title reign that even our Lord Jesus Christ couldn’t
resurrect from the dead. Hell, even the Ultimate Warrior
couldn’t hold the world’s attention, despite having the best
promos this side
of….nobody….
All that is,
until a bald headed savior came along, and no, I’m not
referring to my penis, even though he goes by the same name.
I’m of course talking about Stone Cold Steve Austin, a man,
who smashed the mold and carved his own unique niche in the
wrestling world, while heroes like the Hulkster disappeared
faster than Jeff Foxwothy would in a hip-hop
club.
Fast
forward, six years and WWE once again finds itself in the same
funk it was in nearly a decade before.
Enter, Randy
Orton. Rather than cultivating a unique persona, they’ve
decided to go to the well of wrestling cliché’s yet again, and
create a Frankenstein monster out of the spare parts of
preceding Attitude era heroes. Orton is one bald head, Forrest
Gump knee brace and Count Chocula Eyebrow away from reaching
these
goals.
Don’t
believe me? Fine. But just keep watching Raw, and keep a check
list of the following occurrences and tell me I’m
wrong:
1)
Tension with the owner and/or an authority figure of some
sort;
Last time I
checked, Randy Orton didn’t exactly have “bad blood” with Eric
Bischoff, so what gives? Oh ya! He’s an Anti-authority bad ass
now!..You know, despite being a chickenshit heel for the last
two years and single-handedly helping Eric Bischoff maintain
his current spot as G.M. one year ago when Orton won the
Survivor Series for him. I don’t know about you, but I’d think
that’d buy a little loyalty from old Easy E, but what do I
know?
Oh, and just
so you know, hating a whole new set of people, even if you
shared the same belief system as them like 6 weeks before,
automatically transforms you into a NEW HEROIC PERSON. So, ya,
had Goebbels turned on Hitler and gave him a piggy back ride
gone awry, you better believe Das Fuhrer would be out there
waving the American flag a few weeks later, leading the Allies
charges to overthrow those fucking Nazis. That's how these
things work, you see.
2)
Humiliates his heel protagonist by using unusual props.
Now that
he’s a man of the “people”, the newly found Anti-authority bad
ass will find himself compelled to embarrass those who are his
worst enemies by utilizing some very unusual means, which are
not limited to cakes and other messy foods, the driving of
trucks to ringside, then spraying people with a hose from said
truck, that of course will no doubt propel some sort of vile
liquid at his foes. And finally, there is the out and out
DESTRUCTION of the property of his arch rival, which more
often than not will see the stealing…than demolishing of his
”beloved” vehicle.
So, when you see Orton destroy HHH (or
Bischoff’s) car (and it will happen), don’t blame Randy. He
can’t help it. After all, this is what babyfaces do!
3)Gets “screwed” by the heel’s posse of
wrestlers.
It wouldn’t
be an attitude era babyface, if there wasn’t a CONSPIRACY to
see him get beat and keep the title from his grasp through a
series of intricately laid plots and betrayals! And damn, does
it ever take A LOT of guys to put this sumbitch down, doesn’t
it? Even if he tapped out quite easily to a midcarder you're
supposed to forget he lost two like the year
before.
And it
really is sad the way the owner/commissioner/GM always seems
to think that it’d be a CRIME if this anti-authority hero
somehow became champion! And as owner (or GM) the best thing
to do is to make an uneasy alliance with another man that
shares almost identical traits to your foe. Somewhere
this makes sense.
4)An uneasy alliance with another
wrestler, usually a former “rival”
Why are these two men, fighting?! Don’t
they know that they’re on the same side and will eventually
learn to respect one another if only for the reason that they
have been through the same hardships? And how come you always
accidentally hit each other with chairs when you’re aiming for
your common enemy? It’s a misunderstanding, that’s all! And
besides, you will eventually shake
hands, or at the very least share a beer together. But you
won’t get too “buddy buddy” because “Attitude era babyfaces”
don’t have real friends!
5)A newfound respect by the play by play
announcer… despite the fact that not long before, this same
man was causing the same
types of injustices that he himself is now a victim of.
By Gawd! This man’s toughness has earned
my respect! You have to respect this man! He’s double tough!
And he overcame all these adversities!
6) Being arrested, suspended, or escorted
from the building for no real reason.
See number 1
and 2.
Better get
used to getting the night off, buster! But don’t fret. Just
because you’ve been arrested doesn’t mean you can’t strangely
escape, and return just in time to close the
show!
So, ya, that's Randy
Orton's future in a nut-shell. Well, that, or under the
heaving sweaty body of HHH. But here's hoping that doesn't
happen. And that's the Bottom Line, so Rest in Peace If You
Smell what the Ort is Cooking,
Bruther.
RAW: Report Card
A
couple of months ago, I dissected
SmackDown, citing what I liked, and didn’t like. Now, I
thought it’d only be fair to give Raw the “How’s your Father”,
only this time I’ll grade each (select) individual on the
highly subjective Sean Carless Grading System! And, by the by, am the only
one who’s ever wondered what happened to the letter “E” in the
A-F grading system?.....Ya, I probably am….
They Get an
“A”:
Chris Benoit: Despite the fact that his forearms start
where most people’s armpits do, Chris Benoit has managed to
become WWE’s most consistently excellent
wrestler.
And
regardless of whether he ever gets the opportunity again, few
can deny that this year has belonged to the Rabid Wolverine.
And about that, since when are their Wolverines in Atlanta? Of
course, this is a company that has yet to
realize that you cannot list your hometown as your entire
country. Right,
Nidia?
Kane: This year Kane has been saddled with some
absolutely TERRIBLE angles, but yet has managed to spin shit
into solid GOLD. And in doing so, has
managed to become the single most entertaining character on
Raw. In addition to this, he seems to be garnering more and
more cheers from the fans. Got to love the WWE, the only place
where people feel the plight of the evil sexual predator, and
boo the tormented impregnated
victim….
Trish Stratus: Trish has managed to shed her good girl
persona (but unfortunately not any clothes) and adopted the
antagonizing bitch persona perfectly. And because of this, the
Women’s division has a strong heel character that brings depth
to an otherwise flat division (maybe not the right adjective
considering…).
They Get a
“B”
Randy Orton: Orton has had an INCREDIBLE year, and now
looks to be primed to become the RAW brand’s number one
babyface. However, rather than letting it progress naturally,
WWE has instead ran The Legend Killer through the old babyface
machine, and all of a sudden he’s all eyebrows and attitude.
Sheesh. You know, it’s probably a good thing he’s not a third
generation star, too….oh
wait…
Chris Jericho: The year didn’t start out too
well for Y2J, as his character showed vulnerability it
otherwise would never have shown. “I really care for you,
Trish?” Bah. The real Jericho would have masked his
hurt through jokes about Trish’s augmented chest and ruined
her reputation. I can relate. I'd high five someone in
celebration, but I've alienated everyone and am
desperately lonely. But I sure showed her. That's for
sure!
Thankfully, though, Y2J has since
regained his character’s edge, and continues to be the
arrogant prick we all know and love….even if he did just get a
Flowbee haircut.
Eugene: In the year 2004, the World fell in love
with a retard (no, not George Bush) and showed a genuine
interest in the former Nick Dinsmore that few could have ever
imagined.
Part
sympathy and part nostalgia (the Eugene offense),
Eugene
was one of the few wrestlers in recent memory to garner “real”
unsolicited fan reactions. However, what was a definite feel
good mid-card act, was over-exposed and in turn bled dry. Only
in wrestling could a retard being destroyed by a hammer
wielding Viking be
accepted...
Shelton Benjamin: Of all the men who were traded back in
April, Shelton
is the only one to really rise above his previous
spot.
It’ll be
interesting to see where Shelton goes from here (An Evolution spot
makes the most sense) but if I was WWE, I’d actually think
about teaming him with Eugene…. After all, Shelton does have a striking
resemblance to Bubba from Forrest Gump, and who wouldn’t want
to see a Bubba/Gump-like tandem born? Hell,
throw Rob Conway in there for the
Trifecta.
Batista: As
mentioned in many of my past rants, I don’t know what
direction they want to go with Batista. Is he an unfeeling
monster? Or a coifed Tropicana hustler? I
mean, monsters don’t wear Chiquita banana trunks. Just
saying.
With that
said, there hasn’t been a man in the WWE who has improved as
much as our friend Dave, who went from total deer in the
headlights to competent, believable brawler, inside one
calendar year. Very
impressive.
They Get a
"C":
Ric Flair: Flair is still “the man”, and gets bonus
points for my favorite Wrestlemania moment ever this past
year: The Nature Boy People’s
Elbow.
Anyway,
Flair is still competent enough in the ring to not embarrass
himself, but however, from a character stand point, what’s the
deal? For all intents and purposes, Flair (along with Batista)
should have turned on HHH after the feud with Eugene and even more so than
that, the comments H’s made after Summer Slam. Personally I
can’t stomach all the HHH verbal fellatio week in, and week
out.
La Resistance: Raw’s
number one tag team!....'cause, umm, there is no number two
tag
team….
William Regal: I’ve
really enjoyed what I’ve seen from him thus far, especially
his promos. The interaction he had with HHH pre-Summer Slam
was just so great in its intensity. But, where is William,
lately? Perhaps he’s swimming the English channel in that
woman’s bathing suit he wrestles
in?....
Eric Bischoff: It’s hard to believe, but Eric Bischoff
has been RAW G.M. for over TWO years now, and in wrestling
years, that’s a lifetime! However, bar a face turn(?), there’s
really nowhere for his character to go, except maybe finally
giving us a feud with Vince. And from there, maybe have WCW
wrestlers invade WWE! They couldn’t possibly fuck that up!
Right?
....Right?!...Oh.
Edge: Edge is really giving Mr. Glass a run for
his money in the injury department, only Adam doesn’t have a
freak bone disorder, he’s just real clumsy, that’s all. I kid,
Edge. But come on, I was really starting to dig his whole
quasi-heel
turn.
In a perfect
world, a Heel Edge will re-unite with Christian (maybe not as
a full time team) and feud with Michaels & Jericho. I’m
keeping my fingers crossed. And in position for a five second
pose. I call it the fat guy who sits at his computer and
over-analyzes wrestling too much. It's gonna really be
something.
They Get a
“D”...Actually Fuck It,
“F”
HHH: (What?..who’d you think?) The funny thing
is, I was really digging the Hunter who was unselfish and
jobbed, and secretly hoped we’d seen the end of the HHH who
needed a vanity belt. I've come to assume that this Hunter was his twin brother
that he kept locked up in the Iron Maiden in Titan Tower, and
he somehow escaped. The MAN IN THE IRON CROSS. Or something.
All I know is, he was found and executed. Welcome back
Cocksucker
version!
Tyson Tomko: I’d give him an “A” for effort, but you
don’t win the Nobel Prize for “attempted chemistry”, right?
The fact is, Tomko has shown absolutely nothing in the way of
actual skill since he debuted. In fact, all he has going for
him is his “look”, which for the record is somewhere between
“the Devil” and the prisoner in Oz who’ll part your ass like
it was Moses and the Red
Sea.
I mean, how
many sub-par matches does he have to have before he gets his
ticket back to Louisville? Normally, I’d cut
Tomko some slack, but only if he was hanging over a
cliff.
The Entire Divas
Search: At least the right person
won. And what was our payoff for this whole sordid mess? A
stunned Carmella, thanking the audience? Hell, even the worst
reality TV shows have a catty bitch whom at least goes out
swinging.
But hey,
welcome to the WWE, Christie! And get used to dropping your
ass down like that…only you’ll be using Vince’s genitals as a
crash pad instead of the
canvas….
And Now A Word From Our
Sponsor
Introducing the Snisky System! Planned
Parenthood for today’s Modern woman (or
clueless Diva).
Dr. Gene Snisky knows what it’s like to
raise a child in today’s world.
(to about waist level and then punt them into the
rafters). Everyday, across this country, accidental
pregnancies are taking place between young women and the
pyro-maniacal demons they bed, but now THERE’S A
SOLUTION!
The Snisky
System is a new trend in the birth control market! Dr. Snisky
has innovated a *brand-new* non-invasive Abortion technique
that is 90% reliable,10% hilarious and 0% credible. After
all, when Gene Snisky is hired to do a job, he gets that job
DONE! ...As long as that job is not putting on a good
match.
Anyway the Snisky System is
actually quite simple: All you need is one chair +
one Preggo stomach… and presto! Your vagina is back
in business, accepting a virtually unending line of
tremendously happy Mexicans (although their facial expressions
are somewhat obstructed by their masks), completely guilt
free! (Ok, maybe not guilt
free).
So, accept
no substitutes. Choose the Snisky System! Cause, Baby, you
won’t know what hit you!

Melchor Vs. Gonzo;
This is the debut of a new feature here
in the Back-Leg Frontkick. You may have seen this same format
over 411 recently where it’s known as “Fact or Fiction”, and
at first I felt bad that, for all intents and purposes I was
going to re-do a concept that Ashish (the site’s owner)
already did. That was of course until I found out that he
stole it from WWE.com first, so it’s fair game I guess.
And speaking of 411, our first edition
features two of my fellow 411 alumni’s, Michael Melchor and
Dr. Gonzo, who exactly one year ago this week debuted there
with me as the 411 Wolf pack…only unfortunately, Gonzo and I
portrayed the roles off Scott Hall and Syxx-pac respectfully
in said “Wolf pack”, and lasted about as long as a prom night
handjob. However, Big Nash (Melchor) is still going strong
today, and I’m sure he’ll just be THRILLED with that
comparison….
Anyway, the concept of BULLSHIT is as
follows: I post five blanket
statements pertaining to wrestling, and two staffers go head
to head, answering either “true” if they agree and BULLSHIT!
if they don’t. Ya, we're really creative.
Here we go:
Dr. Gonzo: Mescaline addicted
malcontent Vs. Michael Melchor: Jack of all trades writer with
a pension for unfortunate luck with the elements; … Who will survive?
1) Going with HHH as World Champion was
probably the best decision at this point.
Michael Melchor: Oh my God...my
first “opponent” is THE Dr. Gonzo? Mr. “Raoul Duke” himself?
The same legend that wreaked havoc in Las Vegas on a severe drug
bender with his lawyer? I better be on my game here...
True – but that’s
conditional. Given the rumors about what they plan on doing
for “Taboo Tuesday” next month, Triple-H would be a better man to vote against than Randy Orton. As choices,
you have Orton, Shelton Benjamin, Eugene, Chris
Jericho...that’s only a short list, and each one of them would
be not only a viable opponent but also a pretty decent match
to boot. Orton, however, has Triple-H, Kane,
and................... ..............hold
on................I’ll think of one soon, I
swear....................
.......................................ahh, nevermind.
Dr. Gonzo: True. Ugh, I'm stuck
between a rock and a hard place here. As much as I've had
unbelievable hatred for Triple H over the past few years,
Randy Orton's title run was colder than Stephanie McMahon
after nobody offers her thirds. Worst of all Benoit was used
as a transition champ to put over the then heel Orton,
cleanly, who immediately turned "face" in an attempt to usurp
the number one babyface spot. Benoit gets buried in the
process, and Orton flops. So by default they panic and give
the belt back to Trips, which I don't mind. Randy wasn't ready
for the ME just yet, as we had months of him being a cheating,
dastardly heel, and then in ONE night we are supposed to cheer
him? Please. They "face turn" wasn't even a face turn. It was
a default turn. he didn't do anything facelike that warranted
the fans cheering for him. No build up, nothing. The heels
beat him down and suddenly that makes him the biggest face in
the world? The slow turn would have been better used, but i
guess Monday was a step in the right direction, but I think
right now the belt is better off in Trips hands than Orton's,
but if I had a choice, Jericho or Benoit would have
it. I have a feeling Benoit has already had his run at the
top.
2) NWA TNA first 3 hour Pay-per-view will
be a success.
Michael Melchor: True. TNA is
entering a new market without even leaving the old one. The
promotion is being rebuilt without any “Resets” or anything
drastic simply due to having to cater to a different office.
It’s even wholly possible that Impact! (they stole my column
name!) may move to FX on prime time to gain more of a head of
steam before Victory
Road.
Not enough people were willing to pay $10
a week. It may be a little more
than ONE WWE PPV a month, but the timeframe just didn’t work
out. Now TNA has to show more people their product (which
isn’t bad, all things considered) and what they can do before
November. If done right, the right mix of old and recognizable
faces, a different style of action in the X Division, and
well-planned storylines could pay off bigger that TNA’s ever
seen.
Dr. Gonzo: BULLSHIT! I like TNA,
they're sticking around and just cleaning up the WWE's scraps,
and very smartly not trying to compete with them directly.
However, this 3 hour PPV is the start of the competition, and
I don't think the timing is right. They're really going to
have to pull out some big stars for this PPV to be a success,
and I don't mean Sean Waltman or Dusty Rhodes, and by calling
Dusty a star, I mean a large, gaseous
object.
3) Bringing in "gimmick" characters (like
Simon Dean) and soap opera storylines (like Kane & Lita)
is just what WWE needs right now.
Michael Melchor: Bullshit. C’mon,
Sean – you know better than to even ask me this question...
During my first marriage, I had a
trade-off with my then-wife Julie. I watched Raw and Nitro on
Monday nights, but she got to see the hour before Raw. And her
choice was Melrose Place, a show
that I absolutely COULD NOT FUCKING STAND. Now, I’m all for a
good soap opera (I DO watch wrestling, obviously) but Melrose Place was NOT one of them.
It
was all too much...exploding buildings, crazy women back from
the dead, everybody sleeping with everybody else...just way
too unrealistic and over-the-top. Not to mention just plain
stupid.
I
always watched wrestling to get away from the everyday the way
I thought it SHOULD be done – with enough sport and just the
right dash of personality to create drama.
And what I am “treated” to for the last
few years in return? People sleeping around and getting
pregnant mutants, a lousy necrophilia gag, old hags giving
birth to a hand...just way too
unrealistic and over-the-top.
I’m sorry, but I like it much better when
the big question is “Can Orton overcome Evolution and win the
Belt back?” and not “Which Slutbag gets voted out of the ring
this week?” But now I’m getting ahead of myself...
Dr. Gonzo: TRUE(kinda)! They are
great to laugh at, I mean watching the Kane and lita angle is
just comedy at it's finest. Kane has the abusive, demonic,
asshole boyfriend down pat, and Lita being dead weight (and
carrying it too, now that she miscarried...what? too soon?)
only makes it funnier. Taker's return was cool, and lackluster
at the same time, but the gimmick returns should be great.
Just remember, the greatest debut of the last 10 years has
been Kurt Angle, a pure gimmick from the start. Gimmicks work
great for heels, but the gimmick they have for "Simon Dean"
looks like a lame rehash of Kurt Angle, and will fail most
likely. But he hasn't even has his debut yet so I'll cut him
some slack. John Cena was pure gimmick, but ran with it, and
made it work. Also, the last gimmick debut (Mordecai) failed
miserably, though, so I seem to be caught in the middle here.
I'm just sick of the "arrogant heel". Rocky did it the best,
and Kurt ran with it. Everyone since has just been rehashes.
Gimmicks might be cool if they are used sparingly.
4) Reality TV concepts like the Diva
Search will never work in wrestling.
Michael Melchor: True,because this
isn’t what we watch wrestling for. Again, bring on the theatre
of athletic competition, not the tragedy of a useless T&A
show. That’s all it boils down to, because only ONCE has WWE
ever delivered on its “promises” (Miss Kitty at Armageddon
2000). And no porn is better than bad porn any day of the
week.
Plain and simple, there’s no room for
useless reality “Divas” OR “storylines” in wrestling. I wanna
see violence and blood, not silicone and fake sex. We already
have Cinemax for that.
Dr. Gonzo: TRUE! But "Tough
Enough" worked the first time. It did fail the second.
Unfortunately, the Diva search is rumored to be popular among
the "mark" fans, but it still isn't bringing in the ratings,
which is what the question is regarding I believe. Reality TV
angle's serve no purpose in wrestling. It's just extra money
that's used up, and a TOTAL waste of time. I dare anyone to
tell me a SINGLE event in this diva search that was worth it.
That sundae making contest was the stupidest thing I have ever
seen. Fuck reality TV.
5) Rob Van Dam is the most misused man in
wrestling right now
Michael Melchor:
Bullshit. The most misused man in wrestling right now is the
vastly-underutilized
Gene “The Plot Killer”
Snisky!
Give that man a multi-year deal and a main event at
WrestleMania for the service he has done to Raw NOW!
Dr. Gonzo: BULLSHIT! Hey I'm a
stark supporter of RVD, and was a huge fan of his in ECW, and
his early WWE career, but lately he has been phoning it in,
and I mean in a "Dave's not here, man" kind of way. He's
usually involved in 5 minute matches where he pulls off his 4
moves and then bumps the rest of the time. I think 4 moves in
the ring is all RVD can remember anymore as he emerges from a
smoke filled locker room. The strange thing is, the fans still
pop for him. He is a natural born face, with huge charisma and
spectacular moves, that instantly make him a crowd favorite.
He can bump like a fool, but also lacks any mic skills, which
also stood as a testament for his in ring skills. In ECW his
manages had no teeth and blew a whistle all the time and RVD
STILL got over. In the WWE, he never got mic time, but like
Taijiri, his moves spoke for themselves, and the fans love
him. They had a chance putting him over the top against Trips,
but we all know what happened there. Since then he's been
unmotivated and nearly unwatchable in the ring. He was
misused, but years in the midcard, and his lack of motivation
has brainwashed me into thinking that he's right where he
belongs. Plus if I said he was misused, it would be another
reason for me to be pissed off about the WWE, and I don't need
another one.
Ok, people
that’s it for me this week. I may not be doing a new column
next week, but stay tuned anyway because I may have something
big in store. And don’t forget about the DVD
contest!
See you all
next week, where I announce the contest winner and maybe
masturbate under my desk. Hopefully
both.
I'm Sean.
Send
Feedback to Sean
Carless
Sean Carless is a man of many hats. And
he wears those hats to cover an ever-increasing bald spot.
Sean's various scribblings have been read at Live Audio
Wrestling, 411 Mania, Honky Tonk Man.com, The Toronto
Star.com, and Lethal Wrestling. He has also cured
AIDS.
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