Wrestlemania X-8 (Written By: Maurice D. Proffit)

Wrestlemania XVIII (18)

 

Date: March 17th 2002

City: Toronto, Ontario

Venue: SkyDome

Combined Attendance: 68,237

Sub-Theme: “The One and Only”

Celebrities: Drowning Pool and Saliva

Wrestlemania 18, is the 18th annual wrestlemania professional wrestling pay per view, produced by the world wrestling federation. 

This would be the last Wrestlemania with the company being named “World Wrestling Federation” or “WWF”. Shortly after this maina, The WWF would then be The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment); due to a lawsuit settlement between the WWE and World Wildlife Fund.

Wrestlemania is returning back to Toronto. The last time Wrestlemania was in the Sky Dome was for WM 6; where over 60,000 fans witnessed Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior; title for title. This year, the arena would hold yet another dream match. This would be the house that will bring you Icon vs Icon- The Rock vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan. In addition, Hogan is making his illustrious Wrestlemania Return!

This Wrestlemania was on the bell curve of a new era of the company. The Attitude Era was no more, this would be the rooted beginnings of the “Ruthless Aggression” era (some argue that, that started at WM 17). The invasion angle is long over, WCW guys have fully assimilated into being WWF guys. The World Titles of Wrestling have consolidated into one and a major player of THE GAME recently returned as well.

A little under a year ago, Triple H suffered a devastating quad injury (while in a match partnered with Steve Austin against Jericho and Benoit on a live edition of Raw), which immediately put him on the shelf. After surgery and many many months of rehab, Triple H made his return at the 2002 Royal Rumble and won the event. This would grant him the right to face the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World; Chris Jericho. Jericho won this honor back in Dec of 2001 when he was victorious in a 3 match stipulation; by defeating The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin; both in the same night. With Triple H earning the main event spot, and his “ex-wife” now siding with the champion; this is set up to be a wild contest.

A week before the No Way Out 2002 PPV, in an attempt to gain vengeance against Ric Flair who has taken over the company (thanks to him being the consortium who bought Shane and Stephanie’s stock of the company), Vince McMahon announced that he is “injecting a poison into the company he father built”. Vince broke news by announcing that he was bringing in the New World Order into the WWF, and they will be debuting at No Way Out in Milwaukee, WI. After they debuted, The Rock pressed and had some fun on the expense of Hall and Nash. However, when Hogan came out to cut a promo and lash out on the fans, is when The Rock got involved. It was during this promo where The Rock challenged Hulk Hogan, one on one at Wrestlemania. Hogan accepted…GAME ON!

Wrestlemania begins with already getting 5 STARS! Rob Van Dam challenges William Regal for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. And with the 5 star frog splash, RVD wins his 2nd singles title with the company!

Undertaker Note: The Undertaker faces Ric Flair. This would be the first time (and only time) that The Undertaker is wrestling as a heel at Mania. Due to some disagreements between the Deadman and Flair, this match came about. This was a very good 20 min match, and Flair looked as good in the match as he ever did. But Taker was just too much for the Nature Boy and pins the 16 time former heavyweight champion of the world. Undertaker is 10-0 at wrestlemania.

 

The video package begins showing the clips of the return of the nWo at No Way Out, and then leads to the epic promo between Hulk Hogan and The Rock, where the challenge is set for Wrestlemania. Clips follow, along with heart pounding rock music to illustrate the story of these two. The last image you vividly see, is a black and white image that looks to be cutting into the current footage that we are looking at. A spliced scene from one of the many invasions the nWo did on the Monday Nitro set between Hogan, Hall and Nash. A graphic of the footage looks to be ripping in half to show us present day and plays the most familiar theme music of them all, the nWo theme, Enter Hollywood Hulk Hogan. I swear to you, as I am writing this, I am getting Goosebumps thinking of this moment. 68,237 people on their feet screaming in joy, not only because of the one of the most familiar and coolest themes of our time is playing, but because (at this time) the King of Wrestlemania, Hulk Hogan is walking down a WWF Aisle into a WWF ring for his Wrestlemania return, that was have not seen in 9 years. The electricity of the crowd was so electric, that it would’ve made sense to be exhausted by the time the opening bell hit, but that wouldn’t be the case, not for this sold out crowd. Hulk Hogan, was finally home. But at an even louder ovation, The Rock’s theme hit and with (what seemed like) millions of cameras flashing in the crowd, The Rock enters into the Ring and is set center stage in front of millions watching around the world, face to face with the Icon of Pro Wrestling, Hulk Hogan in the ring with him. The match started with a memorable stare down onto each other and the crowd.

The two lock up and Rock overpowers Hogan and muscles him to the ground. Hogan back to his feet and locks back up with The Rock, however, this time it would be Hogan to overpower and throws The Rock. This send the crowd into a complete frenzy and to add fuel to the fire, Hogan breaks the cool Hollywood persona and goes back into Retro Hogan and throws poses at The Rock. There is not a soul sitting for this monumental moment. The match goes on. During the match, The Rock locked on the Sharpshooter, causing Hogan to tap out. However, the referee was down and unable to acknowledge the submission. The Rock let go of the hold and tried to revive the referee, but Hogan gave him a low blow followed by his own version of The Rock’s finisher, the Rock Bottom for a two-count. The two tried their respective finishers, the Rock Bottom and the leg drop but each kicked out. After two more Rock Bottoms and a People’s Elbow, The Rock pins the Legendary Hulk Hogan and gets the 1-2-3 victory to win the match. After the match, Hall and Nash come to ringside and express disappointment o Hogan for losing and jump Hogan. The Rock assist Hogan and both of them beat on Nash and Hall. They clear the ring. The Rock also steps to the side and gives the spotlight to the 68 thousand plus, to pose for the crowd. Hogan, not only stole the show, but was once again and officially a face in the world wrestling federation.

The main event was for the World Wrestling Federation Undisputed Championship. Chris Jericho vs Triple H. Just like how Triple H entered with Motorhead playing his theme, Drowning Pool would play a version of his theme song as he entered to the ring. Jericho, entered the arena with Stephanie McMahon on his side and the match takes place. In all fairness, both of them really do give the world a very very good match. If you watched this match isolated to the rest of the card, you can really appreciate the efforts by both of them. However, at the same time, the crowd just was not into it, and it was not anything against the two men in the ring, but more so due to how overwhelming the Rock/Hogan match was and drained the crowd of all of their energy. Not even the Divas match before the championship match could help matters. During the match Triple H went for the Pedigree on Jericho through the announcers’ table. However, Jericho reversed it into a back drop, sending Triple H through the Spanish announcers’ table. Stephanie tried to hit Triple H with a steel chair but had it removed by referee Earl Hebner. Stephanie pushed Hebner aside but then, she was met by a Pedigree from Triple H. Jericho tried his own Pedigree on Triple H but ended up having it reversed into a catapult. Triple H then hit the Pedigree on Jericho and pinned him to become the new Undisputed Champion

Match Card

HEAT- Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Albert defeated Mr. Perfect, Lance Storm and, Test

PPV

-Rob Van Dam defeated William Regal (c) to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship

-Diamond Dallas Page (c) defeated Christian to retain the WWF European Championship

-Maven (c) fought Goldust to a no contest in a Hardcore Match for the WWF Hardcore Championship. The title changed hands on a number of occasions between The Hurricanne, Molly Holly, Christian and back to Maven.

-Kurt Angle defeated Kane

-The Undertaker defeated Ric Flair in a no DQ match

-Edge defeated Booker T.

-Steve Austin defeated Scott Hall (with Kevin Nash).

-Billy and Chuck (c) defeated The APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw), The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) (with Stacy Keibler) and The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) in a Four Corners Elimination match for the WWF Tag Team Championship with Billy and Chuck retaining the titles.

-The Rock defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan

Jazz (c) defeated Trish Stratus and Lita in a triple threat match to retain the WWF Womens Championship

Triple H defeated Chris Jericho (c) (with Stephanie McMahon). To win the World Wrestling Federation Undisputed World Championship.

Wrestlemania XI (Written by: Maurice D. Proffit)

Wrestlemania 11

 

Date: April 2nd 1995

City: Hartford, Connecticut

Venue: Hartford Civic Center

Combined Attendance: 16,305

Sub-Theme: ????

Celebrities: Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, Nick Tutouro, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Salt N Pepa, Lawrence Taylor and a bunch of NFL players (Ken Norton Jr., Chris Spielman, Rickey Jackson, Carl Banks, Reggie White and Steve “Mongo” McMichael)

 

Personally, two of my favorite matches on the card, involved the Hart Brothers. One match was for the WWF Tag Team Championship, Owen Hart and Yokozuna vs The Smoking Gunns (champions). Owen and Yoko defeated the Gunns and won the Tag Team titles (the only title to change hands at Mania). The 2nd match would be Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs Bob Backlund. This was one of their final encounters as they have essentially been having a 5 month feud, going back to their first mach on WWF Superstars Oct 1994. This was the match were Bob “snapped” on Bret after Bret defeated him. The next month the two had a rematch for the WWF Championship at the 1994 Survivor Series and Bob defeated Bret to win the championship (and lost it to Diesel 2 days later). But this would be the proverbial rubber match and this time it would be an “I Quit” match. Rowdy Roddy Piper is the special guest Ref for the match. Solid technical match in which Bret ended up winning.

 

Undertaker Note: The Undertaker made his wrestlemania return at this ppv and went against King Kong Bundy. Bundy threatened to pin the Undertaker for the 5 count, due to him not believing that Take could survive the avalanche splash. But it wouldn’t be enough to put the dead man away. The Undertaker defeated King Kong Bundy. Undertaker is 4-0 at wrestlemania.

 

 The WWF Championship match saw challenger Shawn Michaels (due to winning the 1995 Royal Rumble) face off against this former best friend Diesel (champion). Originally Pamela Anderson was supposed o escort Shawn down to ringside, but Shawn “fired” her for those responsibilities and instead Jenny McCarthy (to her credit looked like she was having the time of her life and just having a ton of fun) escorted him to ringside along with his bodyguard Sid. But when Diesel came out, he wasn’t alone, he had the blonde bombshell herself under his arms, Pamela Anderson (to much chagrin looked like she couldn’t care less and was just waiting to get paid and get the hell outta there) . Good match, Michaels relied on quickness and agility to get the advantage in this, and Diesel attempted to slow him down with pure strength. Shawn was close to winning then gold when he hit Diesel with the super kick, but Sid had the ref tied up, and for this reason, Diesel took advantage, went for the jackknife power bomb and covered him for the victory, to retain the WWF Championship.

 

The headlining main event was Lawrence Taylor vs Bam Bam Bigelow. Bigelow was a pure veteran of the WWF, so he was the most trusted and reliable man to be able to carry this match and work with Taylor. Taylor went for some stiff shots on Bigelow and looked pretty impressive in the match. Taylor has a very strong and measurable size, so he match well with Bam Bam (physically). Back n forth match it was and Bigelow went for his flying head butt from the top rope. However he was unable to pin the NY Giant! With Taylor getting his last gust of wind, he climb to the 2nd rope and hit Bam Bam with a forward flying forearm and covered and pinned Bam Bam for the 1-2-3 victory.

 

Personally, I remember watching this, and I remember thinking that it wasn’t as strong as Wrestlemania 10 in terms of match booking and quality. I didn’t believe that Shawn had a chance at beating Diesel. (at the time) I wasn’t an NFL fan, so I’m like “Who the F is Lawrence Taylor?” And I didn’t understand why the WWF Championship match wasn’t closing the show! The only match that I was looking forward to was the Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund match because (to me) that was the only match that had a solid story. Neither man has ever utter the words “I quit”. Just 11 years earlier Backlund lost the WWF title due to his manager “throwing in the towel”. Just some month earlier, the same thing happened with Bret Hart when his mother threw in the towel. So the story line for the I Quit match was very compelling, and the resolution would be a great pay off. I can say the same thing for the Undertakers match. It was a match I was very much looking forward to and was satisfied with the resolution. Owen’s match was a pleasant surprise. But I can’t really say the same about the rest. And also what was annoying, that is seemed as if the WWF was kissing a lot of Hollywood ass. Granted, Wrestlemania has always had celebrities there, but the celebs in the past played more of a footnote to the event. This year, the celebs WERE the event and as a guy who just wanted to watch some cool matches and resolve a storyline here and there, that was more distracting than anything. And I always hated Jonathon Taylor Thomas. I wanted to kick him in the dick.

Match Card

– The Allied Powers (Lex Luger and The British Bulldog) defeated The Blu Brothers (Jacob and Eli) (with Uncle Zebekiah)

– Razor Ramon (with The 1–2–3 Kid) defeated Jeff Jarrett (c) (with The Roadie) by disqualification. Jeff Jarrett still held on to the World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Championship.

– The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated King Kong Bundy (with Ted DiBiase)

– Owen Hart and Yokozuna (with Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette) defeated The Smoking Gunns (c) (Billy and Bart) And won the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championships

– Bret Hart defeated Bob Backlund in an “I Quit Match”

– Diesel (c) (with Pamela Anderson) defeated Shawn Michaels (with Sid and Jenny McCarthy) to retain the World Wrestling Federation Championship

– Lawrence Taylor defeated Bam Bam Bigelow (with Ted DiBiase)

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

The Rumble that should not Fumble. (2012 Royal Rumble Preview and some extra goodies)

Written By: Maurice D. Proffit

For those who are friends with me on Facebook, you have had to endure close to 25 days of daily Royal Rumble stats information on your news feed. You must forgive me, while some are quite blue during the early months of the year, due to the post holiday blues. To me, this is one of my favorite times of the year. Between Jan and April 1^st, I LIVE on a constant high. Royal Rumble in Jan, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Grammys and then the Oscars in Feb. The SUPER BOWL, My Theater companies black history performance and the march and build up to the greatest day of the year…Wrestlemania Sunday! The day after Wrestlemania is when the blue feeling sets in on me, but I don’t even want to focus on that, because (obviously), I’m currently riding the high that I’m on, lol.

So lets talk about the most appropriate topic that is best fitting for right now…the Royal Rumble. The Royal Rumble holds a near and dear special place for me. More than Wrestlemania, The Royal Rumble just SCREAMS nostalgia. The 1992 Royal Rumble was my first PPV I ever watched live. A friend of mine and I shoveled snow for our neighbors ALL winter, just so we could save up the $19.99 (plus tax) so we could order the ppv. So $32.00 later we were set and ready to order (had some extra for a pizza too). Unbeknownst to me, I was about to engage in 3 hours of what many would call (to this day) the greatest Royal Rumble in history. From the opening of (After Vince McMahons iconic introduction of the Rumble participants) Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Moonsoon welcoming the ppv audience to the 1992 Royal Rumble in the Knickerbocker Arena to the ending where Ric Flair cuts, what  most would say would be one of the most memorable promos of his career (“…with a tear in my eye…”) after winning the Rumble and winning the vacant WWF Championship, there was no better way in the world of spending their Sunday evening. I was enthralled. I was in 5^th grade at the time, and the next day, my buddies and I who watch the PPV, were reenacting the end while we were outside playing at recess on the snow banks. We all took turns of being either Flair, Hogan or Sid Justice (since all three played a pivotal role at the end of the rumble) and when it was my turn to play Ric Flair and assist with dumping my buddy Mike “out of the ring” to be declared the undisputed World Wrestling Federation champion, I swear to you that I felt the euphoric feeling that Flair himself did, just 24 hours prior to my moment.

1993 Royal Rumble – The First PPV I ordered at my house.

1994 Royal Rumble – Saturday Night PPV at my friends house and a bunch of us outraged over the conclusion of the Undertaker/Yokozuna match.

1995 Royal Rumble – Watched it at my buddies house…WTF what that?!?! (if you’ve see this Rumble, you know exactly what I’m talking about).

I could go on and on about my experiences with this pay per view, but I would only be entertaining myself. But let’s talk about the 2012 WWE Royal Rumble. You know, going into this, I’m actually kinda at a loss as to what can take place. I remember 2009, to me it was CLEAR AS DAY that Randy Orton would win it all. And made that prediction a little bit after Christmas. Then, viola, Randy Orton is your 2009 WWE Royal Rumble winner, headed to Wrestlemania to face the champion of his choosing. 2008 and 2010 the “returning wrestlers” ended up winning (John Cena and Edge) it. I’m not a fan of Alberto Del Rio, I never was, I thought him winning it would engage me, but the only thing that sold me was his manager Ricardo. So when Del Rio won last year, it was pretty sour to me. Orton winning in 2009 HAD to happen, #1.) Because his build up was strong and #2) there hasn’t been a heel Royal Rumble Winner since Mr. McMahon from the 1999 Rumble. 10 yrs was long enough for the drought and Orton was the best to be overall. Currently, I’m sort of at a loss. My pick to win this year’s Royal Rumble is slightly going against the grain and last night while watching Raw, almost made me 2^nd guess my pick. But my pick to win the 2012 Royal Rumble is none other than Wade Barrett.

I’m picking Barrett because Smackdown is in desperate need of more viable heels. Barrett is that guy. Barrett has the look, the poise, the mouth piece, the skill and the credibility to be the winner of the Royal Rumble. I think this little spat he has going on with Sheamus is just going to last until “The Elimination Chamber” ppv, and from there, he will concentrate on his run for either the WWE championship or the World Heavyweight championship. Why not Barrett??? I mean who else would make sense in this equation? Not Foley (god bless him for being in it too), I don’t think the Miz will win it. I see Miz going the distance to the final 4, but not winning it. Why would Cena win it, when he’s headlining Mania with The Rock already? I don’t think Triple H, there is absolutely no reason for him to. Could it be Jericho??? Wait a second…could it be Jericho? Let’s think about it. What has been the focus line from Jericho lately “it will be the end of the world as we know it.” CM Punk calls himself “Best In the World”. To take out the best in the world would be what? “Earth shattering”. Jericho can manipulate the Rumble and be a forgotten factor, therefore pulling a Santino from last year (YouTube Santino, 2011 Royal Rumble, you’ll see what I mean), but this time succeeding at it and being the 2012 Royal Rumble Winner! Last night on Raw, Jericho showed a highlight reel of basically his entire WWE Career. It showed his WWF Debut (which I was live in attendance for, since it was my 18^th birthday as well), to him winning the Intercontinental championship, to him becoming the first ever undisputed world heavyweight champion (both the WWF and WCW world titles held at the same time. I’m only clarifying this because earlier I used the word “undisputed” while referencing Flair’s title win). To becoming the “Best In the World at What he Does”. The only thing left out of this man’s resume is being a Royal Rumble winner. Maybe it is Chris Jericho who will be able to capitalize his career with the Rumble victory and go on to Mania to face the “Best in the World” CM Punk. A program with those two going into Mania could be epic, absolutely perfect for the title match. They would give us a show that we would talk about all year. But then back to the other hand, Barrett would be a nice slice of unpredictable pie. Why is it that the Royal Rumble winners always have to be main eventers?!?! The only non-main event winners that I can recall are Duggan, Studd…wow. That’s it. 88 and 89. The rest, main event caliber stars. Now, Barrett has the million dollar look, but is not Randy Orton. But are they saving Orton and Barrett for Mania? Maybe for the World Heavyweight Championship? ARRRRRRRRGH!!!!! The possibilities are endless.

So let’s settle it here, here is my 2012 Royal Rumble / Wrestlemania XXVIII predictions…

Chris Jericho wins the Royal Rumble and goes on to Wrestlemania to Face CM Punk in an epic battle. Randy Orton wins the Smackdown Elimination chamber next month and is the World Heavyweight Champion. Wade Barrett finagles his way into the World Title scene and faces Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight title at Wrestlemania XXVIII.

(Fantasy Booking)

CM Punk vs Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship

Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett for the World Heavyweight Championship.

The Undertaker vs Triple H (part 3)

The Rock vs John Cena

So there you have it. Its been said, signed, sealed and delivered on the outcome of the rumble match. Whatever the conclusion is, this Sunday’s PPV will not be a disappointment. I tend to prefer my WWE when they do not give you too much to go off from. The less the better and with this case, less is more. I look forward to seeing what happens in the under card matches as well as the Rumble itself. We know Miz is #1, that is what we have for sure, but the rest is cloudy. All that matters is that at the end when the smoke clears, there is one decisive winner and we all turn the ppv off and go home satisfied from watching an incredible display of drama meets athleticism. And that maybe somewhere out there, there is that 5^th grade kid who will be watching and this Sunday night…will be HIS 1992 WWF ROYAL RUMBLE.

Let the games begin.

Bourne to Swag-Out Hardcore, but Leave Perez In the Garage.

Writte By: Maurice D. Proffit

 

WWE: OH EM GEE! We’re In Hollywood! We need a “celeb” of some sorts!

 

Jackoff WWE Hollywood Writer: “No fear people, I got Perez Hilton on my speed dial. Hollers!!!”

 

WWE: “Oh! Great work (Jackoff WWE Hollywood Writer). How on earth did you have his number?”

 

Jack off WW Hollywood Writer: “Oh! We blow coke…er…um…I mean, we have drinks once and a while…yeah.”

 

 

Last night was the 1/16/2012 edition of Monday Night Raw. I thought the show was good. Not a bad show overall. I went into the show not knowing what to expect so my expectations were pretty low. Not a whole lot was set up from last week that made me compelled to tune into this week’s Raw. But…it’s Monday Night Raw; it’s a staple in my life that I do not see being removed any time soon. So it may be pointless for me to point that out, but it still is obvious. But I ask, “Why is it obvious”? Why is it obvious that a show can end somewhat on a down note and not give you too much to look forward to, but yet can expect those viewers to come back the next week? Just to clear the air, the 1/9/12 edition of Raw ended with Zack Ryder attempting to get Eve out of harm’s way from the Monster Kane, but unfortunately, he had a flat tire and we see him, changing a flat tire. I’m sorry, is this Pro wrestling I’m watching or that television show on the Discovery Channel, “Monsters Garage”? Must be. The MONSTER Kane and changing a flat tire outside of the arena GARAGE. But I’m sitting here watching our United States Champion (whom at one point was a cult favorite of mine) Zack Ryder changing the tire of his rented car so he can drive his (unconfirmed) girlfriend Eve, away from Kane. WWE, why is this your way of closing a show? How is this beneficial? How is this enticing? How does this make me want to go to work the next day and talk about this with fellow fans? Either F2F or on FB and Twitter? How? Needless to say, for me, Raw ended on a sour note last week. Thank GOD for the entertaining debut of Broadus Clay and also, Chris Jericho once again toying with the emotions of the crowd. If it wasn’t for those two, I wouldn’t have anything to talk about.

Which leads me to this week’s edition of Raw? Didn’t know too much of what to expect, so I decided to settle my mind into the old time saying “Expect the Unexpected” and that I did. I’m going to touch on my major gripe of the show shortly, however I want to touch on some of these highlights.

 

-Mick Foley. Foley comes out and cuts a promo for the Anaheim, CA crowd. It’s funny because yesterday I left work early due to an illness and as I was in bed, medicated and resting, I had on the 1999 WWF Royal Rumble and I was watching Mankind (one of Foley’s alter egos) vs. The Rock for the WWF Title. And I remembered how much I LOVED Foley and it was no different to watching him come out on Raw last night. Sure, he’s older, and may’ve lost a half a step, but still undeniably one of my all time favorites in wrestling. His announcement of him being in the Royal Rumble this year did nothing but bring a smile to my face. But what does that say about the Rumble itself? I was just having a conversation with a buddy of mine in the UK (Ross) about this. The weight as far as talent in the rumble seems scary light. I don’t think that Cena is in it, I don’t think HHH will be in it. No Taker, and not sure about Jericho. Christian is still injured, so who is there left to go with? Curt Hawkins? JTG? Yoshi Tatsu? Drew McIntyre? Nothing against the talent AT ALL. I will NEVER disrespect talent or say that a wrestler “sucks”. However, how am I to believe that this is a rumble where ANYONE can win? I’m going to go more into the Rumble next week, and give my predictions, but with Foley being in it, kind of shows that WWE needs some weight in it.

 

I’m happy we have new tag team champions in Epico and Primo. I LOVE that Rosa has finally found her niche within the company because she looks legit next to both of the gentlemen. Whereas every other angle they involved her with looked absolutely phony. Congratulations to Epico and Primo, but what does this mean for Kofi and Evan Bourne? I get the reason why the belts were dropped to Epico and Primo was because of Bourne violating the wellness policy because he cannot keep his hands off the blunt. He served his 30 day suspension while Kofi still wrestled in a singles capacity (BTW, what happened to the 30 day title defense policy that all champions need to abide by? Eh, I guess that’s thrown into the “once upon a time” pile). What kills me is that RIGHT when Air Bourne (Kofi and Bourne) were starting to look like a legit tag team and were in the midst of resurrecting the tag team division. Bourne fails his drug test and now the belts are taken away. Not on TV either, but at a non-televised house show. And they lose their rematch the next night on Raw (last night). Ok, Bourne needs to be punished, BUT WHY PUNISH KOFI?!?! Are you serious? Why should Kofi pay for Bourne’s’ stupidity?  R-Truth did the exact same thing as Bourne back in November to The Miz. Was The Miz punished? Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, he came out looking stronger from the incident. Now, I know were less than 24 hours removed from Raw, but what is going to happen to Kofi Kingston? Unfortunately if you let the message boards of the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) tell it, they say that “Air Bourne will wind up on Impact due to getting fired”. I’m sorry, but when you imply that, you’re implying that KOFI SMOKED THE WEEEEEEEEED!!!! AND HE DID NOT!!!!  (Smacking and Shaking My Head) This is why I stay away from the IWC Message boards completely. That is an example of the ignorance that wrestling fans seem to display on a daily basis.

 

I was happy to see Jack Swagger win the United States Championship last night from (my former cult favorite wrestler) Zack Ryder. I’m sorry, but the shine immediately came off once Ryder won the US title back at TLC. The moment was excellent, but overall, it was the build that made the journey fun. It was the “Z True Hollywood Stories” that occurred every week on YouTube. It was the FB and Twitter community rallying behind him to push him. It was the online petitions that went around, so we can see Ryder finally get that main event push. It was the small tiny sightings of Ryder that we were given each and every week. But when WWE sees something hot, they REALLY know how to dump water all over it to cool it down considerably. As soon as WWE got their hands on Ryder, it lost the mystic that he once had because it was too much at once. This is a prime example of the old saying “be careful for what you wish for, you just may get it.” We’ll, we got it and me personally, I don’t like it. I’m happy for him, but I loved the cult value of him, but from his angle, I applaud him because being a cult favorite doesn’t do too much to appease the bills. But Swagger is your new United States Champion. I love Swagger because he has the build of a condensed Brock Lesnar and the abilities of a Kurt Angle. I was the ONLY one who predicted his win in the Money In the Bank Ladder match at Wresltemania 26 and not only did he win the briefcase, but he cashed it in and became the World Heavyweight Champion a couple of weeks after the event. I was ecstatic when he first won, but damnit couldn’t get over. Needless to say, Swagger lost the belt later that summer and fell down some slots. Swagger has worked his way back up the ranks and winning the US title is not a step down for him, considering that he is a former world champion, but this is a massive leap forward to being a main event player. Which Raw desperately needs. Just like Ryders Ride, let me sit back and enjoy this one. WWWYKI.

 

John Cena didn’t appear on Raw until 9:11pm (CST)?!?!? CM Punk closed the show?!?! Did WWE Read Proffit’s Piledriver last week??? Hmmmmm…. #melikey

 

 

This leads me to my gripe. I’m sure you wondering by now “What the hell was that opening about?” That opening had to do with my feelings towards WWE pandering to likes of Twitter, Access Hollywood, E! and TMZ. Does WWE even care about what the fans want from pro wrestling? Do they look at us and just take us for granted? Do they disregard how loyal we are to them? Do they take into account that despite the struggling economy and unemployment being where it is today, we STILL find a way to buy their PPV’s, buy their DVD’s and Blu Ray’s, buy tickets to live events, buy merchandise? Even after all of those products are ridiculously over priced? Do they take into account of how dedicated WWE fans are to the products to make sure that both Raw and Smackdown ratings are at network highs and continue to make both shows the highest rated shows on cable? Do they take any of that into consideration? I can answer that, HELL NO, when you have the likes of Perez Hilton flopping down the aisle and trying to communicate with the fans of pro wrestling? Dude, you are NOT here for me! You are here so that WWE can be on TMZ the next day, and WWE if that is whom you are targeting your focus on, instead of fans like me who pour their blood, sweat and tears into your product, then that says an awful lot. Raw was in Anaheim last night, right down the street from LA. Perez was in his home town, and explain to me why even his home town booed the hell out of him! Bro, you are a gossip columnist. Your fan base is the likes of one of my colleagues who loves celebrity gossip and does NOT like pro wrestling. WWE let him stay within HIS demographic and concentrate on your own demographic! Because every time you bring people like him into the WWE Ring to speak to us, you are not only wasting our time but you are also giving us devoted fans the middle finger, and not Stone Cole Steve Austin’s middle finger, but the Vince McMahon middle finger…which is much worse.