Punk Enough for Brown

 

Written By Maurice D. Proffit

 

 

 

So, I feel inspired to weigh in my 2 cents about this CM Punk/ Chris Brown rivalry that is currently taking place. For those who may be unaware, back on Feb 19^th, CM Punk sent out a random tweet about Chris Brown; brining up his actions that he took upon 3 years ago when he violently assaulted R&B Superstar and then girlfriend Rhianna. The images of Rhianna, after the beating took place, still stays etched in each of our minds when we have to think of the black/blue bruises on her cheeks, the swollen eye and the busted up lip. 

damn…

 Chris did a number on her, that really took a great amount of effort to create. There wasn’t 1 single person that I knew that didn’t feel quite enraged after this all took place. Eventually after turning himself in, he accepted a plea deal which granted him 5 yrs probation, clean the side of the road and domestic violence counseling…

…that’s it? 

Problem?

 Seems like a slow back n forth (left to right) wave of the finger if you ask me. (The wagging finger of shame)

Chris becomes the butt of late night TV jokes, dyes his hair to pay homage to Shelton Benjamin, makes a new album, goes on Good Morning American and throws chairs out the window and continues to peel the layers back to show how much of an asshole he really is. 

That chair in the corner...is gonna get it.

 Somehow, someway, the public starts to accept him again. We see him appearing at BET awards shows, Soul Train Award Shows, MTV Music Award Shows and when he hits the stage, the crowd just goes haywire, as if nothing ever happened. I’m sorry, but I missed the memo stating that he was vilified of his wrong doing? Why is society embracing him again? Why is it ok to honor this guy who committed a heinous crime (only murder and assault a child may be the only things worse than what he did)? Why are we indulging him? Why? Because he did a Michael Jackson Tribute and started crying?!?! 

I dont care if i nail the moonwalk. As long as I can cry like a baby at the end, I'm home freeeee!

 I think what irritates me the most about Chris Brown; is that before the assault and more so after the assault (when he started making more public appearances), he has this arrogant demeanor about himself where he really thinks he is bullet proof. My thoughts tell me that he laid low for a reason between the night of the assault and the final judge hearing in June 2009. The man was scared and he should’ve been. Chances are, he was going to go to jail for a long time. But come on this is big bad Chris Brown; self promoting R&B thug, this should be nothing, right? Don’t think so. But when the judge just ordered him to be on probation for 5 years, what message did that send to a guy that is like the way he is? I’m Untouchable!

The Irony is that the size of this shirt, fits the guy on the shirt. BTW, Im a Thug...YAY!!!

So enters vilified Chris who is Teflon to the world. Walks around with a snarky swag, which amazes me how people see though it. Is completely out of line when he trashes his dressing room at Good Morning America. But nothing seems to happen with this guy. When he appears on television, I either turn or I leave the room because I honestly do not care for anything that he has to say.

Someone asked me this week “You feel this way about Chris Brown, but you’re one of the biggest Mike Tyson fans that I know”. 

Dude....

Let me say this about Tyson. What happened between Tyson and Desiree Washington (though NONE OF US have the full story) was unfortunate, and I think the fame and lifestyle did a number of Mike before it happened, thus why he wasn’t in the right state of mind. However, here is the difference. Mike served prison time. A judge of the court of law, sentenced Mike Tyson to 6yrs in prison. Tyson served 3 yrs of prison (let go early due to approval of probation for good behavior) and gave his spiritual life to the nation of Islam. Now for me, that’s another subject for another time, but if spiritual guidance can help you get your life back in track, then I’m all for it. Mike show compassion for what he did, when he went on national television and indicated that his actions and decisons were morally and humanly wrong and would take that back any day of the week. His only focus was to try his best to erase the memory of being a better human being. Mike walked out of prison not with the arrogant, cocky, “yeah, f*ck you” mentality. But walked out of prison humbled and a new man. Now granted, shades of the “old” Tyson reared its ugly head when he fought Evander Holyfield, but that was more “odd” than “heinous”. Tyson now is no more Americas most hated, because he had no qualms about showing a more sensitive and more humanistic side to him, which American has embraced. Chris Brown…not so much. 

Imagine the Tyson voice with the Nelson Muntz voice saying “HA-HA!!!” 

 

 

When I see Chris Brown on television I ask myself “why”? When I hear about his tweets, I ask myself “why”. When I get a reminder of his arrogant prick attitude, I ask myself “why”. But then when I hear about WWE Champion CM Punk calling him out on Twitter, I say “WHY NOT?!?!” 

 

CM Savior

Finally someone, who is a public figure decided to speak up and out on this Chris Brown situation and is calling the man out. I’m sorry, but so many people have forgiven him and act like the assault never took place on Rhianna. Some on needed to give him a stiff reminder that “No! It’s NOT ok what you did! You are NOT sorry for what you did! You are NOT going to send this dangerous message that it is ok to violently assault women!” Thank you CM Punk for overriding these sheep who have just decided to block the past, just because you have some new tattoos and a new CD that came out.

He said while promoting "This Album is gonna be a HIT" (the room filled with awkward scilence)

After CM Punk made his tweet, Chris Brown, went on one of his usual twitter rants that included calling Punk irrelevant, calling him a “fake” wrestling (see my last issue of the Proffits Piledriver about my take on the word “Fake” in wrestling), saying he’s on steroids. Brown also went on to say that “music lasts forever and wrestlers come and go.” Also mentioned that “…I don’t know who you are and don’t give a shit about you.”. Clearly you do Brown when you left about 6 twitter messages to Punk.

Chris couldn’t have really thought that he was going to forever dodge this bullet of him committing this assault. This will always be the stain on the white t-shirt in terms of his career. And it was long overdue for someone to highlight how irresponsible, ignorant and inconsiderate that he really is. For the way that he handled the Rhianna incident.

Eh, Eh. Yeah. I drugged her to be with me again.

Punk made a video response to Chris Brown and basically challenged him to a 1 on 1 match in the ring.

But he said something that I felt was very interesting in the video. “Donate some more time, to explain to kids what you did was not right.” And this goes back to what I said earlier about the way how he treated this situation, and how he is handling himself. I’m sorry, but winning Grammy does not erase the past and does not mean that the public forgives you. Now, a match between him and Punk, in HIGHLY unlikely, more than likely that will never take place. But I would like Brown to really put this into perspective. Yes, you do have a fan base that still adores you and still purchase your records. But there is a large amount of the population that is FAR from forgetting and forgiving him. I would really like him to learn from this experience and understand that there still is some wrong that needs to be made right, from his end. Stop the cockiness, stop the ridiculous antics on twitter where you tweet something offensive and then quickly delete it. Stop being overly sensitive when this is brought up. Chris Brown may want to own up to what he did to Rhianna and do what is right in terms of cleaning up his mess. And no making a song called “Birthday Cake” with her (why she would want to work with him again, I have no idea and I feel it sends a dangerous message to women who are assaulted on a daily basis) does not clean it up. The way Chris beat Rhianna before, only indicates that, that was not the first time that he did that to her, and unfortunately will not be the last, because he is that type of character.

You...No...Good...HOOLIGAN!!!!

But if I had to send a message to Chris Brown, I say this, your chance of winning back the sympathy and the hearts of America, that window is closing at a rapid pace. It may be in your best interest to learn to be a man and take on full ownership of your actions. And instead of just sweeping it under the rug, and acting like this issues isn’t a big deal, my advice is to finally treat it as a big deal and bring awareness to why this problem is such a problem and what was the cause of your problem. What are you battling within yourself to make yourself believe that assaulting your girlfriend is the best decision possible to handle adversity? That is the core problem that you fail to recognize and I highly doubt that you have done anything to fix it. So Rhianna; I hate  your decision to work with him again, and I hope that the rumors are not true that you two are close to becoming a couple once again. But understand that if you do decide to go down this path one more time, history has no problem repeating itself and Feb 2009 will repeat. And Chris Brown, if and when you do feel the need to use your girlfriend as a human punching bag, there is going to be an 18 x 18 foot ring set up at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Florida on April 1^st of this year, in front of 70+ thousand people. If and when you feel like using your girlfriend as a punching bag, maybe you want to channel your anger in that direction. Because a man by the name of CM Punk will be in the middle of said ring, and you can finally see what it is like to fight someone closer to your size.

Oh shit, this aint the BET Awards, is it?

 

Man up Bitch.

Oh this is how she felt...ok, my bad.

Closet Wrestling Fans, You Can Hide No More.

Written By: Maurice D. Proffit

 

So how familiar is this scenario?

D-Bag: Dude, you like pro wrestling?

Fanboy: Yeah.

D-Bag: Heh, Really? You know its fake, right?

Fanboy: 

Wrestling fans have encountered that conversation dozens and dozens of times through their lifetime. Aside from the outrageous cost to watch a live PPV, it’s almost the full price that we pay for being a fan of said sport. But my question is, are we alone? Are we the only ones who share the same category of fandom? Honestly, I don’t think we are.  This may be a bold statement, however, I believe that the same ones who question why we are fans in the first place and enlighten us with that revelation of breaking news that its “fake”, may just be one rung under us hardcore fans in appreciating what we see every week.   

Shhhhh, Elin knows about the hookers, but NOT the Royal Rumble DVD's

I really feel that there are 3 kinds of people in the world (in terms of pro wrestling) Those who are legit fans, those who are closet fans and those who honestly do not know and do not care for (not out of spite) what is going on. But I do not think that there are people that absolutely hate professional wrestling (besides wrestling fans, but that’s a whole another article, which I will speak about at a later date). I have 3 situations that I would like to speak about that helps my theory.

 

 

The Attitude Era.

Not your granddad's wresting!

Back in 94-96, I was in 8^th grade/freshman year in HS. And it was very known that I was a pro wrestling fan. And on a daily basis I would receive the whole “you know its fake” gimmick from people. I didn’t know anyone who was publicly a fan of wrestling with the exception of one guy in 8^th grade and then in HS, he ended up going to a different school, so once again I was all alone in terms of being a fan. I cannot stress the word ALONE enough. 

Yes, I do have Lionel Richie playing in my head #Hello

 No one but me was pulling for the WWE when they had the likes of Adam Bomb, King Mable, Sparky Plugg, The Portuguese Man O War Aldo Montoya, Duke The Dumpster Drose and Max Moon.

Yes, please take him seriously as a potential world champion

Yes, I sat through these matches that were 100% gimmicked up. And would be too corny for the ABC Family Channel.

That corny shit wouldnt fly here, prick!

But I did not care for a second at all. It was fine with me seeing these half rated matches because of my love of this product. And then, a year to two later, the WWF goes into a different direction and bring us “The Attitude Era”. This was a period in wrestling that paralleled with the current culture of young people and where we were in general from a society’s stand point. The Attitude Era gave you the cutting edge, in your face, party to the edge of death mentality that was currently revolving around music, TV and films at the time. It was a very alternative way of viewing the product and a success it was. So much of a success in fact, that I noticed that there were more and more people who had no shame in wearing “Austin 3:16” t-shirts to school.

"My Austin Shirt, can kick your Abercrombie shirts ass"

DX T-shirts, Chyna Shirts, nWo shirts were all in this mix as well. Constantly on a daily basis. But here’s the funny part. The people who were wearing these shirts were ones that never were public about their fandom in the first place and some where even people who would question my loyalty to it (questioning in terms of “why” do I like it?).  Now, I’m not calling them banwagoners, but to me, you had to have been there during the transition period in order to understand what all was happening, in order for your to appreciate the product so much that you invested your dollars into said t-shirt that you wear on your back. I am convinced that you were always a fan of the sport, but you needed that push so that you would be comfortable enough to be out there with your passion for it. Sir, you are and always were…a fan.

Radio.

Video didnt kill a G*d Damn Thing!!!

Sunday April 2^nd 2006. The morning of Wrestlemania 22, live in Chicago, IL at the AllState Arena. During this time my Sunday mornings normally consisted of me cooking a Sunday morning breakfast for my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) and cleaning the kitchen. Call it domesticated if you want, but to me it was my Zen.

Eat my chicken carbonara, or I'll kick you in the dick!

Not so much because of the dirty skillet meeting the suds, but because I would listen to this radio show on 92.3 (Power 92) called “Sports Talk”. Power 92 is an all Hip Hop/ R&B radio station, geared towards an urban audience in the Chicago/Hammond, IN area. “Sports Talk” was the only all black sports radio show that was on the radio at this time. It was a great show, not just because of its audience that it was trying to target, but because the commentary was just really good, and very honest. The show received a moderate amount of reception from listeners; they may’ve gotten about 6 calls within the two hour time span that they were on the air each week. So naturally in radio, when the calls aren’t coming in, you either elongate the current phone call or fill in the gaps with in studio discussion.

No wonder we cant get calls, we got Cowheard.

One of the hosts name was Leon Rogers, very well-known radio personality in the Chicago land area, so he would bring not only his veteran radio skills, but also the comedy of the show and input with current sports related topics. On this early spring morning, the main topic of discussion was the start of the new baseball season for both the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox organizations. Especially the White Sox, since at that time, they were the reigning world champions of Major league Baseball. So, needless to say, this was a pretty important episode.

I dare you to talk about anything other than us, ripping the leauge a new one!

Now, Leon is indeed an open fan of pro wrestling, and sometimes, he would drop little wrestling connections to the topic at hand dealing with sports, and the other guys would just (playfully) brush him off. 15 min before the show ended, Leon, mentioned that Wrestlemania 22 would be coming on that night and how much he was looking forward to seeing John Cena face Triple H for the WWE Title. The guys in the studio, once again, tried dismissing what he said, but he opened the phone lines up, for anyone who wanted to call in to talk about WRESTLING. The other guys in the studio joked with him, telling him not to text his mama to call into the station now since no one would call. The show went to a quick break, and when they came back, the LINES WERE FULL. Within that 15 min time frame, they took about 11 calls, with me being one of the calls (yay! Happy face!) In 15 min, they almost doubled their weekly average for a whole show.

I knew when they'd mention WWE, I'd have to actually WORK now!

Now, this is NOT me saying Wrestling> All Pro Sports. Not at all. But that once announcement, triggered an itch for callers to call in somewhat aggressive like to discuss pro wrestling on the radio, even if it was only for about a min-min and half, they embraced that immediate bond that was put on the table and once again when it was ok to be open about it, all inhibitions are taken down and the closet fan is no more. Chicago Sports talk Radio listeners…You were and are always a fan.

I'm looking at you Chicago

 

 

 

 

The Rock Returns.

Still...The Great One.

The night was February 14^th 2011. For a week now, it was heavily announced that Vince McMahon would unveil the guest host of Wrestlemania 27, live in Atlanta, GA. The 2/14/11 edition of Raw, CM Punk defeats John Cena; Miz beats Daniel Bryan, R-Truth and Morrison def Otunga and McGuillicutty, Eve def Natalya and Randy Orton def Shemus. Pretty standard Raw, but it wouldn’t be the solid matches that would make this night memorable. It was how the show closed, when the host of Wrestlemania was announced by Justin Roberts. As we waited a good 1min and 7 sec in anticipation (and 1 min and 7 sec of anticipation does feel quite like an eternity) from out of nowhere we hear…

No one saw this coming, everyone was just side blasted by this announcement that The Rock returned to the WWE and would be guest hosting Wrestlemania. As the late great Gorilla Monsoon would say “The Electrically was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.” And indeed it was. We have gone almost 7 years without seeing The Rock in a WWE ring. Granted, we have seen small snippets and reminders of The Rock throughout time weather it would be a movie promotion, him inducting his father at the HOF or a video message for the Smackdown anniversary. We have been reminded of The Rock, but something about him being IN a WWE ring brings a certain spark, a certain degree of magic to it, that we have been without for the last 7 years. We got it that night and every reminder of why we loved this man in the first place all came back. Any reservations that we once had before about him, and him “turning Hollywood” on us, were suspended, and all that mattered in life was the 21 min segment we would receive of The Rock addressing his fans once again. All was right in not only in the world of wrestling, but in the world in general.

Arrived, Kicked Record Breaking Ass, Leave

This was obvious because on FB and Twitter, the Rock was blowing up. But it was Facebook that surprised me the most. No surprise from my fellow wrestling fans that I talk with on a daily basis on FB, but it was the people whom I always assumed that if they passed a wrestling ring on the street they’d have no idea what the hell it was. THEY were FB’ing about The Rock. People who never (and The Rock means NEVER) speak about that world, but now that world has become theirs, and they were loving every sec of it. My FB wall was filled of people who were asking about The Rock and asking me if he really was back. Twitter was going bananas and The Rock was instantly trending world wide.

Rock Killed Me.

My text inbox, same thing. And next week, the text messages, and FB Wall notes of people asking me “what time does Raw come on?” and “Is The Rock wrestling tonight.” One of the biggest names of all time in wrestling next to Hogan and Austin returns to the ring. Now Casual fans have a reason to tune in and embrace what they have always loved. Casual viewers, you will always…be fans.

But let’s go back to the word “Fake”. I think that word is not only harmful to pro wrestling, but also is offensive as well. I myself has trained a little bit to be a prowrestler. I have 1 Indy match under my belt and that is with a local figure by the name of Matt Longtime. I am a proud 0-1.

Yeah! It was I who made the Proffit, Stop It!

But to call what we did in that ring and how we prepared for the match to give everyone a great show as “fake” couldn’t be more insulting. I call professional wrestling a “Controlled Situation, with a premeditated outcome”. What happens in between those words hurts like hell (believe me). Now, I only have 1 match to show for it. But what about showing some respect to the men and women who do this constantly on a regular basis, night in and night out and leave everything in the ring. Risking their health and risking injury, just to not only put on a helluva show, but also to do something that they love doing? Ripping prowrestling with ignorance is just as bad as taking food off a man’s table to feed his family. I’m not telling you to go to Best Buy, buy a DVD and become an instant fan, but I feel that it should get more respect, and I would like to see that the description of professional wrestling, on a common basis, can fully abolish the word “FAKE” from its description.

"Fake" The New "N" word.

Give it some dignity, please. But if you want to take it an extra mile, let’s talk about how many dives are taken in professional boxing. Boxing promoters are one rung above criminals, you mean to tell me that everything that goes on behind the scenes with pro boxing is completely legitimate?

Only In America, can you get convicted of 2nd Degree Murder and end up a millionaire!

Man, please. Or what about the NBA? It was revealed a couple of years ago, that Tim Doungehey solely RIGGED the 2002 NBA Playoffs, to see to it that the Lakers would win the championship.

Lebron, get me out of jail and my job back, you will have 5 championships

What does that sound to me? From his angle, it sounds like a controlled situation with a premeditated outcome, but only he and whatever mobsters he was working with, knew that. So, why isn’t the finger on Boxing? Why isn’t it on Pro basketball? Why do they get the pass, but Prowretling, which embraces that its sports entertainment is the one that gets the shaft? Don’t be hypocritical, Lets…Be…REAL (not fake).

I think there is a strong amount of fandom in the majority of us. Some embrace it more than others. And that is absolutely fine. But I just want to say that there is no reason at all to shy away from what you have an interest in. It’s a great excuse to escape from the reality that we know that is life and to suspend disbelief for just a few hours a week to take pleasure in being entertained. For those who can appreciate this, I saw “salud” to you. To those who are a part of the 33% who don’t know a thing of what is going on…man are you missing out.

Your healthcare coverage should take care of FOMO symptoms…only if you’re in Canada.

 

 

Before I end this. Just want to show some love to a few SOLID bloggers that I am learning A LOT from (thank you gentlemen)

For your Baseball Fix, this man is a walking/living Wikipedia of anything dealing with Major League Baseball. Check out Matt Adams (Twitter: @2012WhiteSox) His Web sites are: http://ramblingsofbaseball.com and http://southsideshowdown.com

For your Premier English Football League fix, on opinions, topics, analysis and all that good stuff that deal with English Football, check out Ross Bell (Twitter: @RossBell1984  ) His Web Site is: http://www.johnnykashmirsrandomblog.blogspot.com/

For anyone that take an appreciation in commentary on computers, Video Games, Politics, other outlets of technology (of which i am completely clueless about but I envy the hell out of him) and other random yet relevent thoughts. Check out Sekani Wright (Twitter: @Sekani2  ) his Web site is http://www.sekani2.com

American Wrestling Crowds…OWNED?

 

Written by: Maurice D. Proffit

Thank you 2/6/2012 edition of Monday Night Raw for being a very lackluster and underwhelming show because that motivated me even more to talk about something that has been itching my brain since Thursday 2/2/2012.

So any wrestling fan, that takes his wrestling somewhat seriously, you were well aware that TNA Impact Wrestling was being broadcasted from Wembly Arena in London England last week. Queue “Rule, Britannia”

RULE BRITAINNIA!!!

Living in a current day and age where TNA is normally the punch line and/or but of all jokes, I like to consider myself a “TNA Apologist”. I don’t necessarily take part in the constant bashing of the organization. Is it flawless? FAR from it! Is it perfect? FAR from it. Can I put together a global wrestling federation on their level? FAR FROM IT! And that’s the reason why I don’t beat it up to much. While people focus on its negatives, I take into consideration how far they have come and their direction. I look at those attributes and it makes me hold on to the bumpy ride even longer. There have been plenty of times where I would just look at the product with absolutely disgust and/or embarrassment. And I’m asking myself, “Why in the hell would they air this?” But in all fairness, I’ve asked those same questions and visited those same feelings about the WWE as well. So, I cannot be hypocritical. So now here we are at the Impact Wrestling that is in London. And just from the mere opening of the show as they are panning the crowd, I am HOOKED AND SOLD. Never, and I mean NEVER have I seen a TNA audience with so much electricity and so much passion. Gorilla Monsoon coined the phrase “The Electricity in here is so thick, you can cut it with a knife”, and my sentiments were exact for this London crowd.

Eat your F*ckin heart out Impact Zone, We own you!

Did it matter that Bound for Glory back on Oct 9^th 2011 left us with a very sour taste in our mouths, considering how the PPV finished? No. Did it matter that TNA is the hub for what is called “The home of Russo booking?” No. Did it matter than almost a year ago; Jeff Hardy made his way down to ringside at the Victory Road ppv, to face Sting in a world heavyweight title match, but was higher than a Boeing 757?

Dude wait, is the belt thingy on the line or my bong?

No, it didn’t. To these fans, “To hell with the past! We just want to see some wrestling.” And at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about? Wrestling. Isn’t that the reason why we tune in on Mondays and Thursdays? Why we buy the ppvs? Why we buy tickets to the arenas? Isn’t this the reason why we do these things? For the in ring wrestling? Now, I hate to do this, but I must prove a point, let me compare the UK Wrestling Audience to the United States Wrestling Audience. Black/White difference. And I feel that there is a black/white difference because the WWE has raised and set the bar to a level where only they can reach. Now, is this a bad thing? Absolutely not. This is 2012, in order to progress, we have to accept modernity. But why is it that American Wrestling fans have difficulty with distinguishing the difference between a multi-million dollar product vs a successful yet meager product? It’s like if it’s not the multimillion dollar product, it’s not worthy of being on our television sets.

Yeah, F*ck Off! We’re not going anywhere!

Example. When I was I college, my now wife (who was then my girlfriend) were hanging out in my dorm room (QN: We were on campus during the summer working and going to summer school and there were times where we had a lot of down time, just so you don’t think we never used our time wisely, lol) and I had an ECW wrestling tape that I was borrowing from a friend of mine and I wanted to show her. She had never been exposed to anything outside of WWE, but she was a good sport anyway and told me she’d check out the tape. For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of the PPV, but it had an RVD vs Sabu match on it, that (to this day IMO) was a classic. I wanted her to watch that match, because I knew she would appreciate it. Just a few days before, we watched RVD vs Eddie Guerrero on Monday Night Raw in a ladder match, that just stole the show and to this day is her favorite match of all time. We watched the RVD/Sabu match, and I noticed that I was the only one who was really into the match. As a matter of fact, she asked if we could turn it off because it was “boring”. BORING?!?! Seriously??? I asked her the problem and she said “it looks bootleg and low budget.” Well…yes, it is very low budget. But the beauty of ECW is what was lost in the glamour was made up for it in the ring. That wasn’t enough for her. She wanted lights, pyro, a stage, 14,000-20,000 person stadium, big original music, great camera work and set designs. Her bar of what to appreciate with pro wrestling was set so high, that no other org (even the original ECW) would not be able to reach that standard.

 

Is that the current problem now? Are we just too jaded by the pomp and circumstance that WWE gives us on a bi weekly basis that it almost like we expect it already and the novelty has worn off? Going back to that crowd in London England, that crowd reminded me of what pro wrestling used to be in the 80’s. Rabid crowd popping for every and all big move that took place. They even reminded me of the WWF Attitude Era crowd who just went nuts over anyone who was in the ring. I was watching on WWE Classics on Demand the other day; an old episode of Monday Night Raw where it was Jacqueline vs Sable in an arm wrestling match…a women’s arm wrestling match, and the crowd was eating up every second of it. Loved it! If we were to get right now Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella in an arm wrestling match, the crowd would rebel and the home audience would twitter/Facebook “Worst sh*t ever” and all that good stuff. So what is/was the difference? Why is it that a live crowd cannot get pumped to see a Yoshi Tatsu vs Drew McIntyre match? Why do we pop for the entrance music but when the bell rings it’s the total opposite? I cannot even begin to tell you how much it kills me when I see people who are sitting ringside, TEXTING! C’mon man! You’re ringside at a live WWE event! Nothing at that moment compares, unless your house is on fire, and if it is, you have insurance…you can wait! There’s a world title match going on in front of you.

I know these seats were $500 but, I wonder what Brad is doing? *sigh*

How many times do I have to see the people in the first 4 rows more concerned about making sure that they are on TV by looking at the titan tron? Or what about the guy who is ON his cell phone, and simultaneously looking at the titan tron and waving at the hard camera saying “Hey! You see me!?!? I’m in the gray shirt! Yeah dude! That’s meeeeeeeee.” UGH!!!! I would KILL for your seats! And not just to I can call my buddy and tell them to turn on USA to look at me, just so I can watch the action going on just a mere 5 yards away from me. I challenge you to look for any old WWF tape from the 80’s and 90’s and find me a crowd that is dead and critical to the product. And where did the heavy heavy criticism come from? Now it’s not wrong to voice your opinion of what’s going on with wrestling, but it’s come to obsessive hate now with fans. For example, TNA had a poster that was out to promote one of their shows and there was a very slight typo on it. And the typo occurred on a line that was not even prominent. But someone on Facebook felt the absolute need to harp on this type and him and others just ripped the company apart and did everything but wish death on them. Wow, all of this over a typo? Hey genius, open ANY magazine, I promise you, you will find some. Since when did people all of a sudden become editor in chief of the New York Times???

Yes! I found a TNA typo! I Rule…(looks around moms basement)

Have we as fans really gotten to that point? Where our only reason for breathing is to hate on a product that we love? I’ve said for some time now that No on hates pro wrestling more than WRESTLING FANS. I am more than convinced by this. And it seems like it’s really on this side of the pond. True, there are those who are extremely critical over in Europe, but when we see examples of this last Impact, the new TNA spinoff “Ring Ka King” and whenever we see footage of WWE in Europe, we get the same reaction across the board. We get that energy, that passion, that excitement, that emotional investment. As Americans, are we just generally overly stimulated? Remember when once upon a time, cable TV just meant 10 extra channels in addition to 2, 5, 7 and 9? Now, I hit the guide channel and I have a channel numbers “957”. Remember when once upon a time when the sole reason for your car was to drive you from point A to point B? Now our vehicles turn on with a remote control. Open the doors with the censor of your hand, voice activated. Heats your seat individually and your coffee mug. Have televisions sets in it. Remember when once upon a time, your phone was used to… (*gasp*) make phone calls? Now a phone does everything under the sun and making a phone call is so down on the list. I’m not even going to go into the details of what a phone does now. I’m just waiting for it to microwave your food.

Whats this “Phone Call” that you speak of?

But are we just overly stimulated to a point where we cannot appreciate the dignity of simplicity? Where just a mere match between two men or two women is way under our expectations and our immediate reaction is to mock the talent? Is our attention span that bad where we as fans cannot appreciate a Broadway (Wrestling Term: “Broadway”: A match that last 1 hour or more) anymore??? Gone are those days. This is why the Divas get a 90 sec 8 woman tag on Raw! Attention spans are next to none.

Collectively, we work 10 min a week!!!

Maybe, just maybe we need to take a page from our friends in international waters and understand that they really are the fortunate ones who are ahead of us. From the Canada, to the UK, to India, to Japan, these wrestling fans are seeing something that we just will not accept that is in front of us. WrestleMania will never go on international soil due to the economics of the whole thing. But…maybe Wembly Stadium or the Tokyo Dome does deserve a WrestleMania. And we in the United States should watch on tape delay.

Add one more seat and we’ll break the 1992 record!

I’m just sayin…

 

 

Before I end this. Just want to show some love to a few SOLID bloggers that I am learning A LOT from (thank you gentlemen)

For your Baseball Fix, this man is a walking/living Wikipedia of anything dealing with Major League Baseball. Check out Matt Adams (Twitter: @2012WhiteSox) His Web sites are: http://ramblingsofbaseball.com and http://southsideshowdown.com

For your Premier English Football League fix, on opinions, topics, analysis and all that good stuff that deal with English Football, check out Ross Bell (Twitter: @RossBell1984  ) His Web Site is: http://www.johnnykashmirsrandomblog.blogspot.com/

For anyone that take an appreciation in commentary on computers, Video Games and other outlets of technology (of which i am completely clueless about but I envy the hell out of him), Check out Sekani Wright (Twitter: @Sekani2  ) his Web site is http://www.sekani2.com

Two Kings Take Their Royal Thrones and are Etched into History.

By Maurice D. Proffit

 

I went into this years rumble not knowing too much of what to expect. The E seemed pretty numb when it came to giving details about who was going to be in the Rumble. All we knew for sure was The Miz would be the first entrant and Mick Foley would be involved in the Rumble as well. What about the other 28? Who’s in it? Who pulled what number? Did Ted Dibiase Jr. try to purchase a better number from someone? What happened to watching the wrestlers pull their number and then they cut a promo after wards? What happened to “Rumble Qualifying Matches”? So, needless to say, there was a lot of mystery behind all of this. So naturally I’m intrigued. I must say, the undercard was entertaining. I think that everyone who performed in the under card matches really showed out and brought their A game. Personally, I could’ve done without Brodus Clays match against Drew McIntyre, because it was just a Raw squash match, and in place of that match, I would’ve appreciated about 5-7 more minutes of the World Heavyweight Championship match between Daniel Bryan (champion), The Big Show and Mark Henry, in a Steel Cage match. That match has so many elements of something special, but it was way too rushed. So yeah, I could’ve done without the Funkasaurus, just for this night.

Yeah, us bitches mean bidness.

The Divas 8 woman tag match was VERY impressive. I loved the fact that the heel Divas, lead by the Diavs Champion Beth Phoenix, came out in matching colors (Emerald Green). It was symbolic of unity and had a very tradition al feel to it, which is missing in wrestling at times and I did like that (Oddly though, TNA is pretty good at that). But even though the uniformity was on the surface, it didn’t show in the match when Beth purposely tagged out her partner Brie Bella so this way she could score the victory. Brie didn’t take too well to that obvious.

It's not a Tamborine, Dolph!

The WWE Championship match was executed well showing that both Punk and Ziggler had what it took to main event one of the “Big 4”. I know people are wondering what does this mean for Dolph. Since Dolph (essentially) lost about 3 times in the match. People, this can only mean BETTER THINGS TO COME. They are developing for the future of the company and Dolph is entrenched in those plans. In fact (and I made this prediction a year ago before it was announced that there would not be a Money In the Bank at Wrestlemania), but if Dolph is going to be in the MITB match at this years  wrestlemania, he IS winning it, and he IS cashing in the briefcase , and he IS going to be the WWE Champion THIS YEAR. Yes, you heard it here first on the Proffits Piledriver, Dolph Ziggler will be the WWE Champion THIS YEAR. And a program with him and Punk this summer will be one for the books. Sunday night was a mere temperature check and they both read HOT!

I'll point to it in case the fireworks arent enough to get your attention.

The Royal Rumble was good. I did appreciate the bulk of the younger guys who were in the Rumble. I liked seeing both of the WWE Tag champions (Primo and Epico) in it, I liked that Hunico was in it, I loved that the Miz and Cody Rhodes DOMINATED the Rumble. I liked how strong Wade Barrett looked in the match, he looked super legitimate. I appreciated the comedy spots by Foley and Santino. I am very pleased to see that Kofi Kingston is still being used as a strong asset amongst the guys, despite the fact that his tag team partner lives a life as if he’s at a Cypress Hill concert 24/7. And to tell you the truth, I did not mind the winner too much. While we’re on the subject, Congratulations to Mr. Ken Coleman for winning the “TRIPLE-R” Contest (Reese’s Rumble Roulette) for the 2012 Royal Rumble. Ken has #22 and #22 was Sheamus and Sheamus went on to winning. Ken won a sealed unopened copy of Summer Slam 2009 and a copy of the 2001 WWF Royal Rumble, both on DVD. Ken, your items will be in the mail at the end of this week, enjoy. This is all brought to you by Proffits Piledriver. Ok, commercial over with. At first, I was a bit salty that Sheamus won because him and Jericho were the last in the ring and Jericho was my pick to win (if you remember last weeks’ back and forth commentary on here). And for the purpose of just “being right”, I wanted him to win. However, after I gave it some thought, the WWE NEEDED Sheamus to win. They didn’t necessarily need Jericho to win.  Jericho didn’t need the Royal Rumble Rub in order to “get over”. Smackdown is a little dry when it comes to “established” stars. They have Randy Orton, Big Show, Henry, but that’s really about it. Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett and Sheamus are your stars for tomorrow. Bryan is the WHC, Barrett is feuding with Orton, so that leaves Sheaums needing and opening because all he’s been doing lately is beating the hell out of Jinder Mahal. So, the Rumble victory was what was needed by him to make Smackdown that much more legitimate and a strong force of a show overall. And a roster overall. However, here is my difficulty. Sheamus is a two time WWE Champion, a former US Champion and the King of the Ring. A resume like that, you would think that we’d be beyond trying to build a superstar. Once upon a time, it you just had ONE of those credentials, you were made….you were legit. Three of them and we’re STILL trying to get you over and convince people that “yeah! This guy means business”. Hmmmmmmm…makes me wonder a little bit. Sheamus has already been the WWE Champion and both of his title runs were a bit luke warm. Sheamus won the WWE Championship for the first time in Dec 2009 by defeating John Cena in the TLC match. The next month was Royal Rumble PPV, you can put him in the middle of the ring with a broom and people will still buy the PPV because they want the Rumble. Then he loses the title the next month at the elimination chamber ppv, because he was eliminated from the chamber. Later that year, he wins back the WWE Title and defends it at 3 PPV’s; MITB, Summer Slam and Night of Champions. MITB has a bonafied stacked card and a gimmick PPV. Summer Slam, he wasn’t even the headliner, and NOC he lost it within a match with about 8 other guys in it. I’m just saying. If/when Sheamus wins his next world championship whether it be the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight championship, if he was in a one on one match with someone to headline a PPV card, would YOU the buyer, be influenced enough to purchase it? Sheamus gets the initial shock pops when his music plays and when he does get initial victories. But is he the type of champion that you can really get behind and rally for? Are you invested in Sheamus enough where whatever he says and/or whatever he does, you buy it? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. I can hope that a heel turn for him will be coming soon. Because I prefer the Sheamus that retired Jaime Noble.

  

I get the WWE “Celebrity Wing HOF”. I like how the WWE decided to put greats like Pete Rose and Bob Euker (That’s for you Matt Adams, lol) in. I was a bit tongue and cheek on the Drew Carey addition, but I let it slide. But this year’s “Celebrity” induction may have me more excited than seeing the wrestlers get inducted. Monday morning, the media circuit went crazy when it was announced that IRON MIKE TYSON would be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. I grew up during the Tyson Era in the late 80’s early 90’s. That was a BADASS time to be alive, if you want me to be honest. Pop culture at that time had such a cool edge to it and if you were in the know of what was happening, you were riding a high that not even pedialyte could remedy. I remember, as a kid, we didn’t have cable in our house, so I would get my Mike Tyson updates just from the 10 o’clock news. I remember the news stories of “Is Tyson good for Boxing” since his matches were only 45 seconds. I remember boxers were legitimately afraid to step in the ring with him. My older brother, Doni was in college at the time during the Tyson era and he would see the fights, get them on tape and when he’d come home to visit, he’d bring them home and him and I would watch the fights on tape. I didn’t care if his fights only lasted 45 secs, to me, he was a machine. I loved it, I ate it all up! I remember thinking “He’ll never lose!” when he was the undisputed world champion. Even when the Barbara Walters interview happened and Robin Givens made my boy look like a criminal, I still stood by his side. Even when that Dessire Washington stuff went down and he went to prison, didn’t matter, I still stood by his side. I haven’t felt this elated about Mike Tyson since it was announced in 1995 that Tyson was being paroled from prison and was making a comeback to the ring to fight Peter McNeely. My hero was back in the ring and ready to retake his throne and dominate the boxing world once again! For the next 10 years, I see Tyson rise back to the top and slowly begins to dwindle down and by 2005 in his final professional fight, he loses to Kevin McBride by forfeiting during the fight, refusing to leaving his corner. Tyson was a mere shell of himself. After that, Tyson has turned himself more so into an attraction. Did a circuit tour, some TV, charity work, movie appearances and especially resurrecting himself as a comedy character in the “Hangover” films. It’s great to see Tyson when we do see him. In the summer of 2011 Tyson is inducted into the Boxing Hall of fame. Helluva honor, and well deserved, but the announcement of him being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, instantly takes precedence! I’ll never forget when Mike Tyson was at the 1998 Royal Rumble and the next night on Raw, he comes out and goes face to face with Stone Cold Steve Austin. A chilling moment that I still remember thinking that when the “scuffle” happened with Tyson, his entourage, Austin and the WWE officials, that it was something that went wrong and I bought into it. Yup…they worked me. What Tyson did for the WWE, in my opinion was just as important as to what Austin and The Rock did for the WWE to bring fire to the Attitude Era. Tyson is what put WWE on that mainstream media wave and kept them there. Tyson was a major part of pop culture at that time and was always on Sports Center. Whatever Tyson did, the cameras were on him. Especially since during the time Tyson was working with Vince McMahon, him and Don King had the very public split, so the WWE and Tyson connection became the immediate love child for the media. This was what made the WWE a legitimate force and something that the fans who trashed it for so many years, would want to tune in to see what was going to happen next. Bait Set…CATCH! We eat good tonight. And Wrestlemania 14 Shawn Michaels vs Stone Cold Steve Austin with Mike Tyson as the special enforcer was the dream combination. And the rest, as they say, is history. So yes, hearing the announcement of Mike Tyson being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame brought me back to when I was 9 yrs old following him on the news sports segment, just to see who Mike beat and how fast. It brought me back to the countless hours I spent in front of the television playing Mike Tyson Punch out on the Nintendo Entertainment System. It brought me back to the joy I felt when it was announced that he would be released on parole and would be making a return to the ring. It brought me back to when he won the World Boxing Association title from Bruce Seldon (unfortunately the same night that Tupac was gunned down in Vegas). This announcement brought me back to when I realized that Iron Mike Tyson was indeed a machine. And though he may not be in the ring anymore, Tyson is that machine that seriously never quits. All hail the King.