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A Drop of Scotch with Chuck Soul (07/11/04)
Evening all,
During recent years the WWE has shamelessly lowered it’s standards, and any good wrestling analyst will agree. Indubitably, the board of directors has made a series of mistakes with regards to storylines, an eye for true talent and the importance of popular opinion. The company has always trodden a thin line when it came to establishing an equal balance between wrestling and the entertainment factor, and now, in my opinion, it has crossed that line. Of course, in an ideal world, when Vince came to buying out his competition, WCW would have crumbled into the pile of sand on which it’s foundation was built, and ECW would have rather merged with the then WWF to form a wrestling circuit of hardcore wrestling format with ingenious plots and storylines to match. Sadly this was not the case, and Vince set about toning it down and the wrestling action nullified and dampened. Additionally, the subsequent ejection of the ‘F’ in the company’s initials lowered spirits as with it, the ‘Attitude’ era was dismissed.
Now we are left with an era in which wrestling matches are predictable and tiresome to watch. Face after face winning with a clear and unimaginative set-up, no roar of the crowd and many of the new wrestlers have the spotlight but no personality. I say, bring back the veterans; Rikishi – Let the guy speak, Cena – shut the guy up, Paul London – spit in his face. Drop the patriotic tripe and selling out to the men (and women?) who apparently have had a hard time defeating foreign opposition from an underdeveloped county, quit the hugging and celebrating in the back and lets see some tension, some fearless brawling and for poo’s sake, let’s get hardcore already. The roster split had failed from the start and the business is severely lacking in talent. The next generation of Shawn Michaels’, Triple Hs and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austins is long overdue and we are seeing no signs of this sort of potential. Though it is these new no-hopers that are constantly in the spotlight and being put on every show whereas the more popular faces have been demoted and are now seen only on the dark and dismal caves of WWE Heat. Paul Heyman needs to get his finger out and set about resurrecting the wrestling business that everybody loved and of which the atmosphere was one of ‘No nonsense.’ The unit that separated the wrestlers from the ‘entertainers’ and knew what the fans wanted to see. I see a business now that has lost it’s passion and desire to be successful and in lieu has replaced it with a sympathetic temperament toward the amateur wrestlers of the world and this must cease if the WWE is one day to be successful again.
Those are my thoughts, but, of course, ‘A Drop of Scotch’ is an inclusive article and now it is time for your input. My question: What do you feel has driven the WWE to this weary stance, who is responsible, and what can be done in order to progress toward a better future for this company? Your thoughts…
Go in Peace
Evening all,
During recent years the WWE has shamelessly lowered it’s standards, and any good wrestling analyst will agree. Indubitably, the board of directors has made a series of mistakes with regards to storylines, an eye for true talent and the importance of popular opinion. The company has always trodden a thin line when it came to establishing an equal balance between wrestling and the entertainment factor, and now, in my opinion, it has crossed that line. Of course, in an ideal world, when Vince came to buying out his competition, WCW would have crumbled into the pile of sand on which it’s foundation was built, and ECW would have rather merged with the then WWF to form a wrestling circuit of hardcore wrestling format with ingenious plots and storylines to match. Sadly this was not the case, and Vince set about toning it down and the wrestling action nullified and dampened. Additionally, the subsequent ejection of the ‘F’ in the company’s initials lowered spirits as with it, the ‘Attitude’ era was dismissed.
Now we are left with an era in which wrestling matches are predictable and tiresome to watch. Face after face winning with a clear and unimaginative set-up, no roar of the crowd and many of the new wrestlers have the spotlight but no personality. I say, bring back the veterans; Rikishi – Let the guy speak, Cena – shut the guy up, Paul London – spit in his face. Drop the patriotic tripe and selling out to the men (and women?) who apparently have had a hard time defeating foreign opposition from an underdeveloped county, quit the hugging and celebrating in the back and lets see some tension, some fearless brawling and for poo’s sake, let’s get hardcore already. The roster split had failed from the start and the business is severely lacking in talent. The next generation of Shawn Michaels’, Triple Hs and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austins is long overdue and we are seeing no signs of this sort of potential. Though it is these new no-hopers that are constantly in the spotlight and being put on every show whereas the more popular faces have been demoted and are now seen only on the dark and dismal caves of WWE Heat. Paul Heyman needs to get his finger out and set about resurrecting the wrestling business that everybody loved and of which the atmosphere was one of ‘No nonsense.’ The unit that separated the wrestlers from the ‘entertainers’ and knew what the fans wanted to see. I see a business now that has lost it’s passion and desire to be successful and in lieu has replaced it with a sympathetic temperament toward the amateur wrestlers of the world and this must cease if the WWE is one day to be successful again.
Those are my thoughts, but, of course, ‘A Drop of Scotch’ is an inclusive article and now it is time for your input. My question: What do you feel has driven the WWE to this weary stance, who is responsible, and what can be done in order to progress toward a better future for this company? Your thoughts…
Go in Peace
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True, true, but the cruiserweights are not as guilty of overselling as, say, The Rock, for example...
†hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> OK, you just completely discredited the early career of Shawn
> Michaels, who surely could not be classed as irrelevant and if every
> move has to cause genuie pain, then surely you're losing the idea of
> why wrestling became 'worked' in the first place. Anyway, I love a
> good high-flying match, as long as they don't forget to sell or lose
> the psychology of the match as often happens in cruiserweight
> matches. Kidman and London, for example show a better grasp of
> selling and psychology than say, RVD or Shannon Moore.
I'm not saying every move should cause legitimate pain, but it should definitely be marketable. For example, the idea of a 619 actually hurting someone is laughable. First of all, the move should be banned for, well, total poorness really. And secondly, if it is to be used, it should provoke little to no reaction and, above all, must no be oversold. In regard to your Shawn Michaels analogy, the dude has done amazing things, and innovated a lot of the action inside the ring, and hasn't been afraid to bleed excessively either; a well-rounded professional wrestler. In essence, I'm saying, it is vitally important to address the issue of overselling, which denigrates pro wrestling greatly.
> OK, you just completely discredited the early career of Shawn
> Michaels, who surely could not be classed as irrelevant and if every
> move has to cause genuie pain, then surely you're losing the idea of
> why wrestling became 'worked' in the first place. Anyway, I love a
> good high-flying match, as long as they don't forget to sell or lose
> the psychology of the match as often happens in cruiserweight
> matches. Kidman and London, for example show a better grasp of
> selling and psychology than say, RVD or Shannon Moore.
I'm not saying every move should cause legitimate pain, but it should definitely be marketable. For example, the idea of a 619 actually hurting someone is laughable. First of all, the move should be banned for, well, total poorness really. And secondly, if it is to be used, it should provoke little to no reaction and, above all, must no be oversold. In regard to your Shawn Michaels analogy, the dude has done amazing things, and innovated a lot of the action inside the ring, and hasn't been afraid to bleed excessively either; a well-rounded professional wrestler. In essence, I'm saying, it is vitally important to address the issue of overselling, which denigrates pro wrestling greatly.
Tazz wrote:
> †hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> Same goes for Test and Scott Steiner. Surely they'd be better off
> bringing these guys back and just having them jobbed out to some
> young superstars to put them over? Ok, maybe not such a good idea
> for
> Steiner, as he can't make anyone look good...but the other two?
>
> What a waste of good talent. Surely the problem at the moment is the
> amateurs are getting center stage. (No disrespect to that Luther dude
> or Tyson Tomko for that matter.) We want to see some professional
> wrestling, the last thing we need is these losers being put over when
> their in-ring ability falls short of the standard required to be
> considered professional.
> 'Nuff said.
Umm, I would say Steiner is no more talented than either of those 'amateurs'?
> †hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> Same goes for Test and Scott Steiner. Surely they'd be better off
> bringing these guys back and just having them jobbed out to some
> young superstars to put them over? Ok, maybe not such a good idea
> for
> Steiner, as he can't make anyone look good...but the other two?
>
> What a waste of good talent. Surely the problem at the moment is the
> amateurs are getting center stage. (No disrespect to that Luther dude
> or Tyson Tomko for that matter.) We want to see some professional
> wrestling, the last thing we need is these losers being put over when
> their in-ring ability falls short of the standard required to be
> considered professional.
> 'Nuff said.
Umm, I would say Steiner is no more talented than either of those 'amateurs'?
Tazz wrote:
> †hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> Agree with a lot of that, but you go on about wrestling being the
> important thing and then run down Paul London. The guy is probably
> the best all round wrestler in the WWE at this moment. OK he sucks
> balls on the mic...but that's not the point.
>
> Well, if his style is your thing, I see where you're coming from. But
> fancy flips and speedy moves don't cut it for me. I've been in the
> ring, and resultantly, only credit moves which result in genuine
> pain. I therefore have no eye for showy or ostentatious movement.
> It's irrelevant to the sport, I feel.
OK, you just completely discredited the early career of Shawn Michaels, who surely could not be classed as irrelevant and if every move has to cause genuie pain, then surely you're losing the idea of why wrestling became 'worked' in the first place. Anyway, I love a good high-flying match, as long as they don't forget to sell or lose the psychology of the match as ofter happens in cruiserweight matches. Kidman and London, for example show a better grasp of selling and psychology than say, RVD or Shannon Moore.
> †hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> Agree with a lot of that, but you go on about wrestling being the
> important thing and then run down Paul London. The guy is probably
> the best all round wrestler in the WWE at this moment. OK he sucks
> balls on the mic...but that's not the point.
>
> Well, if his style is your thing, I see where you're coming from. But
> fancy flips and speedy moves don't cut it for me. I've been in the
> ring, and resultantly, only credit moves which result in genuine
> pain. I therefore have no eye for showy or ostentatious movement.
> It's irrelevant to the sport, I feel.
OK, you just completely discredited the early career of Shawn Michaels, who surely could not be classed as irrelevant and if every move has to cause genuie pain, then surely you're losing the idea of why wrestling became 'worked' in the first place. Anyway, I love a good high-flying match, as long as they don't forget to sell or lose the psychology of the match as ofter happens in cruiserweight matches. Kidman and London, for example show a better grasp of selling and psychology than say, RVD or Shannon Moore.
†hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> Same goes for Test and Scott Steiner. Surely they'd be better off
> bringing these guys back and just having them jobbed out to some
> young superstars to put them over? Ok, maybe not such a good idea for
> Steiner, as he can't make anyone look good...but the other two?
What a waste of good talent. Surely the problem at the moment is the amateurs are getting center stage. (No disrespect to that Luther dude or Tyson Tomko for that matter.) We want to see some professional wrestling, the last thing we need is these losers being put over when their in-ring ability falls short of the standard required to be considered professional.
'Nuff said.
> Same goes for Test and Scott Steiner. Surely they'd be better off
> bringing these guys back and just having them jobbed out to some
> young superstars to put them over? Ok, maybe not such a good idea for
> Steiner, as he can't make anyone look good...but the other two?
What a waste of good talent. Surely the problem at the moment is the amateurs are getting center stage. (No disrespect to that Luther dude or Tyson Tomko for that matter.) We want to see some professional wrestling, the last thing we need is these losers being put over when their in-ring ability falls short of the standard required to be considered professional.
'Nuff said.
†hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> Agree with a lot of that, but you go on about wrestling being the
> important thing and then run down Paul London. The guy is probably
> the best all round wrestler in the WWE at this moment. OK he sucks
> balls on the mic...but that's not the point.
Well, if his style is your thing, I see where you're coming from. But fancy flips and speedy moves don't cut it for me. I've been in the ring, and resultantly, only credit moves which result in genuine pain. I therefore have no eye for showy or ostentatious movement. It's irrelevant to the sport, I feel.
> Agree with a lot of that, but you go on about wrestling being the
> important thing and then run down Paul London. The guy is probably
> the best all round wrestler in the WWE at this moment. OK he sucks
> balls on the mic...but that's not the point.
Well, if his style is your thing, I see where you're coming from. But fancy flips and speedy moves don't cut it for me. I've been in the ring, and resultantly, only credit moves which result in genuine pain. I therefore have no eye for showy or ostentatious movement. It's irrelevant to the sport, I feel.
Test has been struggling with neck problems and is now out for a year after neck surgery.
...Surely Test is a pretty good wrestler?
Same goes for Test and Scott Steiner. Surely they'd be better off bringing these guys back and just having them jobbed out to some young superstars to put them over? Ok, maybe not such a good idea for Steiner, as he can't make anyone look good...but the other two?
Well, from the sounds of things, Rikishi is never coming back. It looks like they are just going to let his contract run out.
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