Monday, March 5, 2012

Wrestling Fact Or Fiction: March 6, 2012

Tossing Salt Presents: Wrestling Fact Or Fiction
March 6, 2012
Doug Maynard & Russell Jackson

As Steven Tyler of Aerosmith has often said, "we're baaackk.... back in the saddle again.... we're back!" And yes indeed, my Peeps, we are most definitely back. I'm Doug and this is Wrestling Fact Or Fiction, where myself and the indominitable Russell Jackson take a look at the issues of the day and decide what's what in the wild & crazy world of professional wrestling. We're running a few days behind due to both of us being a little under the weather, so let's not wait no more and jump right into it. Let's do this...

1) John Cena made The Rock look like his bitch in the promo at the end of RAW Monday night?

Doug - FACT: That last little bit by Cena was great and probably one of his best promos in a long, long time. The Rock is a great talker and had the fans in his hands all during his segment, leading chants and trending worldwide time and time again. And "Kung Pow Bitch"... that was funny. But Cena came out and did his piece and for once, played it totally serious. He called out the Rock for his "cheat notes" written on the arm and just tore him a new hole. And for once in his life, as Cena left, The Rock was actually speechless. I know it's all scripted, but it was a great moment to help build up their match at Wrestlemania. So far, it's been all "Rock this" and "Rock that" with Cena being the Kung Pow, fruity-pebble eating bitch for Dwayne. And now, Cena gets his shots and he's making the best of it. Awesome!

Russell - FICTION: John Cena didn't make The Rock look like anythin, much less made The Rock look like "his bitch" in the promo at the end of RAW Monday night...John Cena, just like the WWE is settin another classic example of tryin to cram himself down the fans' throats towards his match against The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII in Rock's home town of Miami, FL...Just like at WWE's Money in the Bank PPV last year in Chicago, IL when John Cena faced CM Punk in the main event for the WWE Championship, John Cena is gonna get booed out of the building when he faces The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII...Both John Cena & the Jackasses that is the WWE needs to come to the realization with that, move on, & go about their business...

2) The movie "Bending The Rules", starring Edge, will make a profit for the WWE Films Division?

Doug - FACT: Based on the preview, I like this movie. It doesn't appear like it was too costly for the WWE to make and Edge has a stronger appeal to him than most of the previous WWE "movie stars" seem to have, at least in my opinion. It'll do the very brief limited run in theatres like most of the WWE movies do and then come out in DVD. And that's when the money will be coming in. I don't think it'll set any box office records, but my gut tells me that this movie (and Edge) will have a good run and the profits will be decent for the WWE (for a change).

Russell - FICTION: I was goin back'n'forth with this question...Even though the movie looks interestin to see from the previews, WWE has a BIG history of makin/producin non-stellar movies that would make an ordinary person want to become both deaf & blind...I don't see "Bending The Rules" to make any big waves on the big screen...

3) The "Hoeski" gimmick will take Eve to the next level in the WWE and make her a bigger star?

Doug - FICTION: If Eve was a good actress, she could use this character development and role to raise her status in the WWE and move to potentially Lita or Trish Stratus levels, but she's not believable and nobody cares. The fans care about Zack Ryder and will want to see him get revenge on the "Hoeski" who betrayed him, but once that's accomplished, Eve will be just like every other Diva "Flavor of the Month" and be forgotten soon afterwards.

Russell - FICTION: The women's division a.k.a. the WWE Diva's division is a dyin breed & has been that way for quite some time...The "Hoeski" gimmick that Eve is partaking in doesn't make me a bit interested one bit...Eve & the rest of the so called Diva's division should just wither away like a bad fart...

4) The Miz will be gone from the WWE by this time next year?

Doug - FACT: The Miz is catching all sorts of crap both storyline wise and from WWE management and from what I understand, very little of it is deserved. Miz busts his ass day in and day out for the WWE and does anything and everything asked for him, but when things aren't going great, he's being blamed as the scapegoat. WWE management blames Miz for the lousy buyrate for the Survivor Series pay per view. Why Miz? Why not John Cena or The Rock or R Truth, all of who were also in the main event? Why not blame the lack of an undercard and the way the show was thrown together with little build in the last week or so? Miz has his faults and we all know that. He did mess up a few weeks ago by failing to catch R-Truth on RAW and causing Truth to hit the outside far too hard. He screwed up, he was chewed up and apologized and that should be the end of it. But the WWE is daily burying Miz more and more for no reason and eventually, something is going to have to give. If Miz hasn't been "future endevoured" by the end of this year, I'll be surprised.

Russell - FACT: It's as simple as this, if The Miz isn't hungry enough to pursue any more championships, show the idiots that is WWE upper management that he belongs in the WWE, then he needs to get out of the organization...From the news that I've read hear recently bout The Miz, I don't look for him to be with the WWE for very much longer...

5) Independent Wrestling events are a dying art form in the United States?

Doug - FACT: There was a time, just a few years ago, that on every weekend, you could find one or two Independent wrestling shows within your area to go see and enjoy and have a great night, but it seems that those days are getting fewer and farther between. Part of it is because of sports like UFC, MMA and other competitions that are taking away the young men and women who would once have chosen to be wrestlers, but now are checking out these other options. And economics plays a big part of it as well because nobody has any extra money to spend on the little perks like going to see a live Indy event. But the biggest reason is the WWE and TNA. They used to embrace wrestlers from different backgrounds with different ring styles and different characters and the Indys thrived with young men and women, learning their trade and hoping to become big time stars for these companies. Now, the WWE (and TNA to a lesser degree) don't want diverse young talents. They want "cookie cutter" wrestlers who only know one style and can be molded into what their limited perception sees as a "sports entertainer". If there's no where to go to be a star and successful, then why should the young wannabe wrestlers even try and bother. Not everyone fits into the WWE or TNA stereotype of what a wrestler should be and while in the past, they still had a chance, that doesn't happen now. Thus the Indy business suffers from a lack of talent because if there's no place to aim for, far too many feel that it just isn't worth even trying.

Russell - FACT: I'm surprised that there are still the Independent scene of professional wrestling...There are 3 main wrestling organizations as of now - WWE, TNA, & ROH...We all know that the WWE is the main wrestling organization that's out there...TNA is still around which I'm surprised as hell that that organization is still functioning...If Ring of Honor plays its cards right, it could give the WWE a run for its money...I don't see the Independent Wrestling events lasting for another 5 - 10 years, but then again, weirder things can happen & I could be way off base *shruggs*...

<<--- SWITCHEROO --->>

6) So far, Wrestlemania XXVIII is shaping up to be one of the greatest Wrestlemania events of all time?

Russell - FICTION: There's 4 weeks left til WrestleMania XXVIII & there is only 5 matches announced...WWE needs to get on the ball & announce more matches to the "Grandest Stage of Them All"...The more matches WrestleMania XXVIII has, the bigger the PPV is gonna be, plain'n'simple...

Doug - FICTION: It's probably going to be a helluva show and one of the better Wrestlemania shows, but "greatest of all time" just isn't going to happen. For every Rock versus Cena or Triple H versus Undertaker, we're going to have a Big Show versus Cody Rhodes or (most likely) a Teddy Long versus Johnny Ace stinkeroo. Still no word yet about "Money In The Bank" either. And I'm sure there will be some celebrity wrestling stinker connection too. WWE always does well in putting together their biggest show of the year and making it a (mostly) entertaining four hours of action, but since WWE seems more concerned usually with flash & sizzle over substance these days, I doubt it will even close to some of the better shows of the past like # 3 or # 17...

7) Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis will end up wrestling a match at Wrestlemania for control of both WWE brands?

Russell - FICTION: The last thing those idiots (WWE Upper Management) need to do, is to put John Laurinaitis vs Teddy Long at WrestleMania...Fans wanna be excited in watchin the PPV, not to be bored to the state of unconsciousness...Have a Smackdown vs Raw 8 or 10 man tag with the GM of the winning brand runs both shows...

Doug - FACT: Lord, I hope not, but I've got a sick feeling that we'll either get a singles match with Teddy versus Johnny or a tag match with Teddy and Santino taking on Johnny and Otunga for control of the shows is exactly where we're headed. I think a far better option would be either do a quick no-finish for this match if by some chance it is held af Wrestlemania OR just postpone this rivalry until the next pay per view after Wrestlemania and solve everything in a RAW versus Smackdown "War Games" match, as I laid out in my last "Tossing Salt - Worldwide News" column last week. I don't know how they're going to resolve this whole GM versus GM crapola and I really don't care. I just want it to all go away!

8) Chris Jericho is right when he calls CM Punk a "Chris Jericho wannabe"?

Russell - FICTION: Chris Jericho & CM Punk may have similar up bringings in professional wrestling, but Jericho is way off base in sayin that CM Punk is a "Chris Jericho wannabe...In my opinion, Punk is more polished, more focused on retainin his WWE Championship against Jericho at WrestleMania...Punk stands out, in a league of his own, whether on the mic or wrestling in a match, it's that simple...

Doug - FACT: Look at the career that Chris Jericho has had. Even if he's not intentionally trying to follow in Jericho's footsteps, Punk should be because Jericho is a prime example of how to have a successful career. I don't think that Punk literally wants to be Chris Jericho, but does his want his career to be as grand as Jericho's has been? Of course he does!

9) Daniel Bryan versus CM Punk is the modern equivilent of Ric Flair versus Ricky Steamboat?

Russell - FICTION: I don't believe the Daniel Bryan versus CM Punk is the modern equivilent of Ric Flair versus Ricky Steamboat for this simple reason, there's never been a decisive winner...Maybe, just maybe, if ya let Bryan & Punk wrestle a freakin match, one on one, without outside interference from Sheamus, Jericho, No Charisma Johnny or Teddy Long, & have a decisive winner between the 2, then I MIGHT reconsider on changin my answer...thank you...

Doug - FICTION: I've used this comparison a couple of times when talking about the Daniel Bryan versus CM Punk matches, but now that I've truly had some time to think about it, I was wrong. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are two of the best "wrestlers" in the world and of that, there is no doubt. And if given the chance to really cut loose in the ring and call their matches on the fly, they definitely have the potential to rival Flair vs. Steamboat in match quality. And that's where the problem lies. CM Punk is the WWE Champion. Daniel Bryan is the World Champion. They both work for the WWE and the matches are scripted by the WWE agents and not the WWE Superstars themselves. Thus Punk and Bryan are only allowed to be as good as Arn Anderson or Michael Hayes or Dean Malenko allow them to be and that's just not going to cut it. So while the potential is there and the talent is there, Bryan and Punk will never have the opportunity to really be at their very best in the WWE and that's just a big shame.

10) The WWE needs to revamp their entire "Creative Team" and bring in new faces for the writing / booking of their shows?

Russell - FACT: WWE needs to revamp their entire "Creative Team" and bring in new faces that knows wrestling from a fans point of view, what the fans of WWE, professional wrestling for that matter wants to see...Then & ONLY THEN, will WWE Raw & Smackdown will be fun to watch again...Nuff said...

Doug - FICTION: I was going to answer "Fact" at first because almost every major flaw in the WWE generally lies with the booking and the so-called "Creative teams", but then I had a realization. The problem isn't the creative team in itself so much as it's the person providing the direction of said team... and that would be Vince McMahon and the "Billion Dollar Princess" Stephanie McMahon. Right now, we get the crap we get on WWE programming because the writers write to please an audience of one... Vince McMahon. Can you imagine what they might be capable of if they were allowed a little autonomy and a chance to cut loose and really let the ideas flow, even the ones that Vince might not like very much? It would be an amazing change in direction for the WWE product and, I think, would really allow the WWE to grow AND entertain everyone, rather than just people named Vince. So essentially, keep the creative teams and writers as they are. Just get rid of Vince and Steph and let them go on a long, long, long vacation. Put HHH in charge instead. Make a committee of three or four guys of diverse backgrounds and preferences to run the creative side of the company. Do anything that needs to be done to make things more entertaining and better. But the first step has to be get rid of Vince McMahon.

So there you go. We went (5-5) this time around and actually, when you read the answers, I think we agree even more than that. We just have different ways of getting around to getting our points across. So we're at 50% agreement. Not our best, but not our worst either.

If you'd like to join Russell and myself and be a part of "Wrestling Fact or Fiction" or if you have any questions, comments, etc, then drop me a line at Doug28352@yahoo.com. We'd be glad to have you join the fun.

That's going to do it for this week, my friends. Next edition will be up by Friday (and maybe earlier) so look for it. I'm Doug and for both myself and Russell, thanks for reading. Have a great week and never forget... "Wrestling is real! It's life that's fake!".

Ubuntu!

No comments:

Post a Comment