The doctor orders: recognition of Summerslam (with the League champions, Summerslam match results and later)
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Each and every year, Wrestlemania seems to get bigger and bigger, continually being elevated past any level that each and every other wrestling PPV throughout the year could begin to compete with. It started happening about 5 years ago, when the WWE made the decision that there was little reason for them to do anything but big stadium venues for their global phenomenon. It’s tough to top the atmosphere of 70,000 plus fans and you can imagine the kind of affect that has on the psyche of one of the performers. Yet, there is another major PPV that stands out as the clear cut second priority for the WWE each year…and that’s Summerslam. The fourth yearly event that the WWE developed in the late 80’s, Summerslam has become an affair that is really second only to Wrestlemania on the scale of where the biggest of happenings takes place, be it storylines, matches, and/or memories.
It certainly did not start out that way from a storyline perspective, for in its formative years it was merely a way to cash in on what had already been featured at Wrestlemania. If the Royal Rumble eventually became the set-up PPV for Wrestlemania, then Summerslam would’ve had to have been called the step-down event. From its start in 1988 all the way until 1993, Summerslam was used to further the main-eventing/headlining feuds from previous Manias. Hulk Hogan continued his feud with Ted Dibiase and Andre the Giant by teaming with Macho Man Randy Savage in the Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks tag match. Hogan then teamed with Brutus the Barber to keep his beef(cake) with Savage (and Zeus) alive the following year. Then, Rick Rude tried to parlay a victory at Wrestlemania 5 over the Warrior into a steel cage match victory that would’ve given him Ultimate’s WWE Championship. The Hulkster called upon the Ultimate Warrior to help him take down the Iraqi supporters a year later, after Hulk had taken down the forces of the evil doing Sgt. Slaughter at Mania VII. Warrior then hooked up with Savage for a rematch of their Mania VII classic some eighteen months later in 1992. It was not until the champion, Yokozuna, went toe-to-toe with the Luger led Lex Express that Summerslam featured its first-ever totally unique match-up that had not been done (at least in some way) before. Luger vs. Yoko was nothing to write home about, certainly, but it did start a trend for Summerslam that has, for the most part, continued ever since. ’94, ’95, ’00 (sort of), ’03, ’04 (sort of), ’08 (sort of) were exceptions, but for the most part Summerslam took on its own identity in the mid-to-late 90’s and never looked back.
HBK vs. Vader and Undertaker vs. Mankind was a solid summer line-up in 1996 and it didn’t ride the coattails of Mania whatsoever. Neither did the Hart Foundation’s quest to wrestle the title away from Undertaker despite HBK being the referee potentially standing in the way the next year. Or the following year when Taker vs. Stone Cold happened at MSG and was supported by the Rock and Triple H elevating themselves toward the main-event (that could’ve been the main-event line-up for Mania). A year later, Triple H burst onto the scene in the main-event and would help cement his legend three years after with his involvement in HBK’s return from a four-plus year hiatus. WWF vs. WCW hit its crescendo at Summerslam. Brock Lesnar truly became the Next Big Thing the year that followed. Randy Orton became the youngest World Champion in history at Summerslam, HBK faced Hulk Hogan in an Icon vs. Legend match at Summerslam, John Cena’s first epic matches with Edge/Orton/Batista happened at Summerslam, Edge vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell went down at Summerslam. That’s some epic stuff. This event is special.
Wrestlemania often holds the rights to the biggest of the big matches. Yearlong stories have been built to bring us to some of the most anticipated battles of all-time. The fact that those matches occurred at Mania certainly helped their causes, but I believe that there have unquestionably been some monumental Summerslam matches that could have easily been top billed bouts at the Show of Shows. The first that comes to mind is Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan. Mr. Wrestlemania vs. Hulkamania (which built Wrestlemania) would undoubtedly have been a match that the millions of people around the world that look forward to Mania each year would’ve salivated over. Given how well the storyline played out and how good the match ended up being, I think it would’ve fit just perfectly onto a Mania like the one in Houston in ’09 or Chicago in ’06. Randy Orton vs. John Cena and John Cena vs. Batista provide two more recent examples of major matches that arguably should have been done first at Mania to capitalize on their effectiveness. Cena, by Summerslam ’07, was definitely the top star in the industry and the foil that Orton’s heel character provided him would have been a perfect fit for either of the two Wrestlemanias that proceeded it. The same could be said for the Cena feud with Batista, which was so thrown together in 2008 and much better handled two years later at Wrestlemania XXVI. Imagine if the great feud that took place in 2010 actually led to the initial encounter between those two guys. Buyrates dropping below 900K may not have been a problem. Undertaker vs. Steve Austin, Bret Hart vs. Undertaker, the return of Shawn Michaels to face Triple H, and even to a lesser extent CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (since that storyline was just so damn good) could’ve all been main-events or headlining matches at Wrestlemanias, but instead served to elevate Summerslam. It just goes to show that Summerslam is a high priority for the WWE, as well.
Many of its most memorable moments came when Summerslam played host to classic battles over the Intercontinental title. Wrestlemania has had a few IC title matches that blew everyone’s socks off (i.e. Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper, and Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon in the Ladder Match), but if there is one event where the IC title has shined the brightest, it’s been Summerslam. That trend began in 1991 when Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect had their exquisite battle for the strap at MSG. The Hitman took it to the next level with arguably the greatest match of all-time when he carried British Bulldog to an outstanding bout literally calling out sequences in number that he’d had Bulldog memorize during the week leading up to the PPV. Michaels and Ramon’s second ladder match was certainly not its predecessor, but it was still excellent. It’s difficult to find such high quality in title matches across a four year stretch even at the Granddaddy of Them All. Three four-five star classic matches over one title in just five tries? Impressive. If you factor in what was going to be a four-star match between Steve Austin and Owen Hart before the accidentally horrific neck injury cut the match short of classic status and then follow that up with a ladder match between Rock and Triple H that was ridiculously good for two guys that didn’t belong in a ladder match…that’s 5 in 7 tries. Damned impressive run for the Intercontinental belt, eh? The run would continue with such impressive, albeit less spectacular bouts such as Edge vs. Lance Storm, Chris Benoit vs. Rob Van Dam, and eventually Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler.
The IC title has always been based on simple plots and that’s often why it has worked so well at Summerslam. The WWE aren’t trying quite so hard. The WWE always seems to try its hardest during the build-up to Wrestlemania since they know that event is their big cash cow of the year. Sometimes, that works to the detriment of the quality of the PPV. Matches set to feature celebrities and gimmicky things to lure in business from new avenues can work against those Manias, in terms of quality. Summerslam has often been the place where quality came back into play and trumped that of its more heralded cohort. The first Summerslam that I can remember being flat out better than Wrestlemania was 1997 (CMV1 note – Summerslam did a better buyrate than Mania that year, too. The first and only time that’s happened). If the WWE had flip flopped the cards, the event would’ve been remembered as one of the better Manias instead of one of the worst. The same could be said for Summerslam and Wrestlemania 2000, in which interestingly the first official TLC match would’ve taken place at Mania instead of the first-ever, yet unofficial TLC match (the Triangle Ladder match). 2002’s Summerslam was the best WWE PPV of all-time and trumped Rock vs. Hogan; not much you can do about that. 2005 was an excellent Summerslam, as well, and was better than Wrestlemania 21, in overall quality. Summerslam ’06 was right on par with Mania 22. I’m pretty sure most fans would’ve been happier with Summerslam ’09 than Mania 25, sans for Taker-HBK, of course. 1991, 1992, 1998, 2001, and 2008 were all years in which Summerslam and Mania were neck and neck with one another.
So, since we’re six weeks from Summerslam, I thought I would just remind everyone that Summerslam can be a pretty bad ass wrestling event. From the glory of the IC title to the Match Made in Heaven to the Hart family to the Highway to Hell to rise of new stars (Hart, Foley, Austin, Trips, Rock, Brock, Angle, Orton, and Punk to name a few) to TLC to the WCW/ECW Alliance vs. WWE to the slam dunk at the Nassau Coliseum (’02) to the first and only match between Hogan and Michaels to the chapters in four of Cena’s biggest rivalries to the last chapter of the Taker-Edge rivalry to the Nexus, Summerslam has provided us with more memories than any other event than Wrestlemania.
The Biggest Party of the Summer is coming…pop the top of a beer, park yourself in a comfortable chair, and let’s enjoy the ride…
Group A
HBK vs. Triple H – 6 pts (38-6 differential)
Austin vs. Angle – 6 pts (30-14)
Warrior vs. Macho – 0 pts (14-30)
Nexus vs. WWE – 0 pts (6-38)
Group B
Bret vs. Bulldog – 6 pts (31-13)
Eddie vs. Mysterio – 6 pts (29-15)
Rock-HHH-Angle – 0 pts (16-28)
Cena vs. Jericho – 0 pts (12-32)
Group C
Edge vs. Taker – 6 pts (26-18)
Benoit vs. Orton – 3 pts (23-21)
HBK vs. Razor – 3 pts (20-24)
Eddie vs. Angle – 0 pts (19-25)
(CMV1 note – Still the most hotly contested group. This is one of the groups where the final match of the group stage will have a huge bearing on who advances to the next round. The differential is theoretically close enough that Angle vs. Eddie could win and still advance despite having no points, yet. We know that Edge vs. Taker will advance, but what goes with it is still very much in question)
Group D
TLC 1 – 6 pts (35-9)
Bret vs. Taker – 3 pts (28-16)
RVD vs. Benoit – 3 pts (16-28)
Orton vs. Cena – 0 pts (9-35)
(CMV1 note – We’ve got our first big upset of this tournament, with Benoit vs. RVD narrowly upsetting Bret vs. Taker, 9-8 in the voting. To say that I’m surprised by that would be an understatement. Bret vs. Taker is holding on by voting differential, but it is now a prime target to miss out on the knockout stage unless it puts together what would at this point be an unexpected solid showing against TLC in phase 3 of the group stage)
Group E
Bret vs. Owen – 6 pts (31-12)
HBK vs. Hogan – 6 pts (25-19)
Hardy vs. RVD – 0 pts (17-27)
Taker vs. Orton – 0 pts (14-29)
Group F
The Rock vs. Brock – 6 pts (34-10)
CM Punk vs. Hardy – 6 pts (34-10)
Mankind vs. Trips – 0 pts (11-32)
Edge vs. John Cena – 0 pts (9-36)
(CMV1 note – It now comes down to which match will win the group. They are tied in voting differential, so it all just comes down to which match wins in the final pairings of the group stage. I will be very intrigued to see which one comes out on top. The winner avoids a likely date with Taker vs. Edge in the Round of 16)
Group G
Mr. Perfect vs. Bret – 6 pts (29-15)
Mysterio vs. Angle – 3 pts (23-21)
Austin vs. Undertaker – 3 pts (20-24)
DX vs. Legacy – 0 pts (16-28)
(CMV1 note – Wow! Mysterio vs. Angle smoked Taker vs. Austin 13-4! With that victory, it would take a sheer miracle for what I consider to be one of the biggest main-events in Summerslam history to advance past the group stage. Angle vs. Mysterio is what I voted for, simply because I think that’s one of the most underrated matches in history, but I never expected the majority – especially not the large majority – to vote the same)
Group H
Brock vs. Angle – 6 pts (36-8)
Rock vs. Triple H – 6 pts (29-15)
Owen vs. Austin – 0 pts (15-29)
Cena vs. Batista – 0 pts (8-36)
Group Stage Game Threes
Shawn Michaels-Triple H in a Non-Sanctioned Street Fight ('02) VS. Kurt Angle-Stone Cold Steve Austin (’01)
Ultimate Warrior-Macho Man Randy Savage ('92) VS. Nexus-Team WWE (’10)
Bret Hart-The British Bulldog ('92) VS. Rey Mysterio - Eddie Guerrero in a Ladder Match ('05)
Chris Jericho - John Cena ('05) VS. Triple H-The Rock-Kurt Angle ('00)
Undertaker - Edge in a Hell in a Cell Match ('08) VS. Randy Orton - Chris Benoit ('04)
Shawn Michaels - Razor Ramon in a Ladder Match ('95) VS. Kurt Angle - Eddie Guerrero ('04)
The Hardy Boyz - The Dudley Boyz - Edge and Christian in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match ('00) VS. Bret Hart - Undertaker ('97)
Randy Orton - John Cena ('07) VS. Chris Benoit - Rob Van Dam ('02)
Bret Hart -Owen Hart in a Steel Cage Match ('94) VS. Shawn Michaels - Hulk Hogan ('05)
Jeff Hardy - Rob Van Dam in a Ladder Match (’01) VS. Undertaker - Randy Orton ('05)
Jeff Hardy - CM Punk in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match (’09) VS. The Rock - Brock Lesnar ('02)
Edge - John Cena ('06) VS. Hunter Hearst Helmsley - Mankind in a Steel Cage Match ('97)
Bret Hart - Mr. Perfect ('91) VS. Undertaker - Stone Cold Steve Austin ('98)
Degeneration X - Legacy (’09) VS. Kurt Angle - Rey Mysterio ('02)
Triple H - The Rock in a Ladder Match ('98) VS. Kurt Angle -Brock Lesnar ('03)
John Cena - Batista ('08) VS. Stone Cold Steve Austin - Owen Hart ('97)
The wrath of Titus - 4 years later, is accept to forgive Chris Benoit?
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Email: WrathofTito@yahoo.com / BLOG is TITO: Click Here to go to LoPForums.com (Join LoPForums.com to Comment)
Welcome back to the "Excellence in Column Writing", also known as the Wrath of Tito. Hope all is well with the LordsofPain.net audience, as I'm back for a certain reason. That reason is one of the most significant days in pro wrestling history: June 24th, 2007, which was 4 years ago. That single day caused forced and needed change to pro wrestling, serving as a major wake-up call. Unless you were under a rock during that time, it was the day that Chris Benoit was determined to have killed himself after murdering both his wife and child.
Before I boldly write about this topic, please allow me to preface this: I'm VERY disgusted in what Chris Benoit did. In fact, I wish he had the courage to stand trial and accept punishment by a jury of his peers instead of taking the pussy way out of it by killing himself. For what he did, he should have felt years upon years of shame to think about what he did to his family. As a new father myself, what he did has become more personal because I could not even, for a fraction of a second, think about doing what Benoit did to his family. To do what Benoit did to the person he said wedding vows to or the child he created is completely disgusting. I could never take another person's life, let alone those who are the closest to me.
That said, let me ask the following questions: Would Chris Benoit, the Engineer, kill his family? Would Chris Benoit, the School Teacher, kill his family? Even the Chris Benoit, the Postal Worker, would he kill his family? Would his working conditions at each of these jobs force him to work beyond 8 hours a day, pressure him to work through injuries, or pressure him to take performance enhancement drugs just to look tougher? I don't think so...
Now it can be said that Chris Benoit ultimately decided to become a wrestler. That's a very fair statement. Chris Benoit idolized Dynamite Kid and when Benoit, at age 15, met Dynamite in person, he pretty much made up his mind to become a pro wrestler. Instead of attending college, Benoit attended Stu Hart's Dungeon. What, are we to punish a young kid for following his dream? Granted, Benoit's biggest influence was Tom Billington, the Dynamite Kid. Billington has openly admitted his steroid use, but who is to say that Billington introduced Benoit to performance enhancing drugs? Regardless, pro wrestling is what Chris Benoit, at a young age, wanted to do for a living and he followed his dream and was incredibly successful at it.
But for a price. Wrestling changed drastically during the 1980's. Territories went away, and with that, fewer employers (WCW, WWF/WWE) could become the few employers. Thus, if you wanted to make it big in pro wrestling and realize your dreams of maximizing revenues at the highest level, you had to do it through WCW and the WWE. Thus, the demands on wrestlers to work through injuries and have the new accepted "look" that was influenced from Mr. Universe competitions of the 1970's. If you didn't look like a bodybuilder, YOU LOST YOUR SPOT. If you didn't work through injuries, YOU LOST YOUR SPOT. Otherwise through the 1990's, if you didn't like what your big wrestling employer wanted you to do, i.e. keep the physique or work through injuries, you only had ONE choice. Take Chris Benoit, for an example. He worked for WCW from 1995 to 2000, and then when a creative spat occurred during January 2000, he worked for only the WWF/WWE until his death on 6/24/07. WCW went away during March 2001... Where could Chris Benoit go to maximize his income as a pro wrestler? Thus, whatever the WWF/WWE wanted him to do, he had to if he wanted to keep wresting at a high level.
Wrestling is a dangerous profession and there's no doubt that Chris Benoit took many bumps/bruises in his 15 years before joining the WWF during 2000. However, he was the WWF/WWE's responsibility from 2000-2007 as an employee, even if the WWE would claim he was an independent contractor. Benoit had to abide to any policies/procedures and the enforcement of those policies/procedures of a publicly traded corporation known as the WWF/WWE. Whatever happened between 2000-2007, a publicly traded corporation endorsed. This would also including following the rule of law, which in the case of employees using illegal drugs, could become problematic (maybe not for independent contractors?), as well as following working conditions laws throughout the past 40 years. Granted, the information on the long-term effects of concussions are just being made public and increased in seriousness, as you're seeing with the NFL and NHL regulating headshots.
Benoit lost his mind during June 2007. There were some signs indicating problems on the horizon. Chris Benoit and Nancy Benoit (formerly "Woman" from WCW) are on record as to having some domestic problems during 2003, including a restraining order and divorce papers filed by Nancy. Nancy dropped both, for whatever reason, but she did that Chris Benoit had a mean streak that would involve throwing and breaking furniture. Other than this domestic incident which Nancy Benoit opted to not pursue, the signs of a troubled man were not there. He had many friends backstage, was a highly respected professional, and by all means, appeared to love his family. He brought his son Daniel Benoit backstage and always appeared quite proud of him. Even if there were issues, the publicly traded corporation known as the WWF/WWE during 2000-2007 either lacked policies to escalate personnel problems or didn't enforce policies.
Something went wrong during June 2007. He completely snapped and killed both his beloved wife and son on June 22nd and appeared to remain in his home until killing himself on June 24th. Thus, he did what he did and remained around the bodies for almost 2 days. Something went BADLY wrong. Benoit notified the WWE that he would be unable to show for the June 24th Vengeance: Night of the Champions Pay Per View due to "personal reasons". If Benoit was having trouble at home during his 2000-2007 WWE tenure, he may have hid them by being a very dependable wrestler who rarely missed due to injury (neck injury was the only thing that slowed him). Wrestling could have been his salvation to escape any personal problems he may have had. For him to call-off and then completely lose it is an indication of inconsistent behavior to me (booked to win the ECW Title, too). Heck, lacking a history of violence to commit murder of his wife/son and then suicide is very inconsistent.
In other words, something changed Chris Benoit for the first 40 years of his life, but the damage done to Chris Benoit by professional wrestling changed him during his last month of his life. In other words, while Chris Benoit was the person who killed Daniel and Nancy Benoit during June 2007, I seriously question if this bad weekend would have occurred had it not been for the significant brain damage suffered as well as the steroid use endured by Chris Benoit just to keep living his dream at a high level.
Please consider these significant facts that could have drastically changed Chris Benoit before and after 2000:
- WWF/WWE eliminated drug testing from 1996 to 2006 due to "financial reasons" and that testing was "reinstituted" after Eddie Guerrero's death, according to Linda McMahon's interview with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 12/13/07 (Simmons 3) Chris Benoit worked for the WWF/WWE from early 2000 until his death through June 2007.
- Between implementation of the Wellness Program during early 2006 until Chris Benoit's death on 6/24/07, Benoit tested positive THREE times under the Wellness Program but "received no suspension or other penalties as a result of these positive tests", according to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Letter to Office of National Drug Control Policy, 1/2/09. (Simmons 3)
- Prescription anabolic steroids were found in Chris Benoit's house during the murder/suicide investigation, appearing to receive shipments from an online pharmacy based out of Florida. (Fish 1)
- Autopsy of Chris Benoit at the time of his death revealed that he had 10 times the normal amount of testosterone in his system, according to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Letter to Office of National Drug Control Policy, 1/2/09. (Simmons 3)
- Test results on Chris Benoit's brain revealed that his brain was so damaged that it resembled that of an 85 year old Alzheimer's patient, according to the head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University. (ABC NEWS 1)
- Brain damage, upon examination of Benoit's brain after death, was found in all 4 lobes of the brain and deep into the brainstem. Brainscans found brown clumps or tangles, or brown spots, which are indications of dead brain cells caused by head trauma according to the head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University. This type of brain damage indicates an advanced form of Dementia (ABC News 1).
- Benoit has openly told friends that he has had "more concussions than he could count". (ABC News 1)
IN SUMMARY - Being completely untested from 2000-2005 for performance enhancing drugs, and from 2006 to 2007, he flunked 3 tests without penalty under the new "Wellness Program". Upon his death, steroids found at his house and high levels of testosterone in his body. Then, the personal admission to friends about being unable to count the number of concussions which coincides the incredible amount of brain damage found upon examination of Benoit's brain after death. Wowzer... It reads to me as if his employer at the time, the WWF/WWE, should have been proactive as a publicly traded corporation to not just protect its assets from harm, but to also avoid reputational risk from one of their wrestlers snapping from brain damaged mixed with steroid use.
It begs the potential question... Can we forgive Chris Benoit? During June 22 to June 24 of 2007, we have NO IDEA what Chris Benoit was thinking during those days. Obviously, he lost it and having brain damage combined with heightened testosterone, chances are that the Chris Benoit that most wrestlers and fans respected wasn't the monster that destroyed his family on June 22. Maybe the real Chris Benoit returned to earth on June 24th and couldn't live with the shame of what happened on a "lost day". What Benoit did is something that deserves burning in hell for enternity, but chances are that Benoit couldn't control his rage due to brain damage and heightened levels of testosterone flowing through his body.
Benoit wasn't tested from 2000-2005, and flunked 3 Wellness Program tests from 2006-2007 without penalty. Multiple concussions probably endured. Where was the WWE?
With today ironically being June 25th, 2011, 4 years to the day of June 25th, 2007 of the Monday Night RAW tribute to Chris Benoit... It makes me wonder if fans have it in them to remember what a great wrestler Chris Benoit was as remembered on that 6/25/07 RAW before the real news came out. He was one of the best in-ring performers of all time and he brought out the very best in many of wrestling's bests, including Steve Austin, Rock, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Kane, Chris Jericho, and many others. Obviously, he did what he did and it sadly can't be reversed. I can't quite get over it myself, as another favorite wrestler bieng lost actually prompted me to stop watching wrestling after the 6/25/07 RAW until late 2009, my "blackout" period when you didn't see me writing these Wrath of Tito columns or even now with the Blog is Tito daily entries. However, I can't help but place liability on pro wrestling for its role in killing Chris Benoit.
Sadly, it took the deaths of two great wrestlers, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero, and 2 innocent family members, Nancy Benoit and Daniel Benoit, to "scare" pro wrestling "straight". The Wellness Program was ramped up and wrestlers were soon suspended for violations. Drug testing and better medical care of its wrestlers should have been there the entire time, however.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Simmons, Rob. "10 Questions for Linda McMahon." Letter to Linda McMahon. 4 Mar. 2010. Hartford Courant Blog. Rob Simmons for U.S. Senate, 4 Mar. 2010. Web. 23 June 2011. [http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/Letter to McMahon from Simmons_030410.pdf]
"Benoit's Brain Showed Severe Damage From Multiple Concussions, Doctor and Dad Say - ABC News." ABCNews.com: Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive Interviews - ABC News. ABC News, 5 Sept. 2007. Web. 23 June 2011. [http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3560015].
Fish, Mike. "Steroids Discovered in Probe of Slayings, Suicide - ESPN." ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports. ESPN.com News Services, 27 June 2007. Web. 23 June 2011. [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2917133].
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As inspired by Sports Illustrated's Peter King.
1. Eric Bischoff is the Dan Gilbert of Pro Wrestling. I'm watching Eric Bischoff complain about wrestling fans via his Twitter and Facebook account, and I just laugh. He reminds me of Cleveland Cavs owner, Dan Gilbert. The Cavs were handed Lebron James in 2003 and eventually, Dan Gilbert when in full control, was able to enjoy James packing his arenas and boosting the value of the Cavs franchise. Much like Eric Bischoff with Ted Turner's money when finally getting Hulk Hogan after a disastrous 1993. Then, of course Dan Gilbert loses Lebron James and the Cavs were horrible for the 2010-2011 season. When Eric Bischoff's Time Warner money was beginning to tighten up, suddenly his creative ideas dried up and since 1998, he's been a failure creatively in pro wrestling. Like Bischoff, Gilbert is a troll on the internet and feeds the fans's burning rage towards their profession. Instead of acting like a professional, they feed the trolls. Acting like an idiot on Twitter or other internet resources is just an extension of how weak Bischoff and Gilbert are as executives and how Time Warner money and Lebron James masked their weaknesses.
2. What is up with the Macho Man Randy Savage DVD? I'm late to the game on this one, but I'm buying up DVD libraries of my favorite wrestlers. I bought Macho Man Randy Savage's for a nice $12.99 brand new price, but I probably found out why... Matt Stryker and Maria have to be the worst hosts of all time. They were both completely clueless on how to host a presentation, let alone commenting on Randy Savage's career properly. Maria is pure stupidity, while Stryker is just a poor lead host. I'm mean seriously, Michael Cole wasn't available for 2 hours to host this DVD professionally?
3. I'm still not over Macho Man's death. His death is a tough one for me to swallow. He was one of my favorites of all time and it's sad to me that he was never able to say goodbye to the business. He's an all-time great that fizzled towards the end of his WCW career and he didn't last long in TNA. Sadly, he could never work something out with the WWE to give us a fitting goodbye and he was beginning to possibly work with the WWE by agreeing to the toy deal. I'll admit this.. I watched Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage @ Wrestlemania 7, and I'll admit this... Seeing Savage and Miss Elizabeth reunite got me... It really hit me that both are GONE from this world and what a shame.
4. Pregame show by the WWE for RAW? I've long argued that the WWE should attempt to match production of pro sports leagues. In this case, the WWE is reportedly discussing having a pre-game show for Monday Night RAW. If so, it would be cool to bring back some ex-wrestlers to be on the panel and it would be a great way to possibly keep recently retired wrestlers in the business instead of putting them in harm's way by wrestling beyond the age of 40. Shawn Michaels would be perfect as a panelist and it would keep him around the sport without needing him to wrestle. I'd recommend giving Paul Heyman a call to be on the pre-game show. Just go watch 2001 and enjoy Heyman on commentary. The guy is awesome and thought provoking on a live mic. Someone like Roddy Piper would also work well...
5. Best way to FIX Matt Hardy is to IGNORE him. I see that several columnists are falling into the trap I learned long ago... Matt Hardy loves to stir crap up using internet resources, with YouTube and Twitter beign his recent choices. The bait is being taken... I'd advise IGNORING HIM. He's a midcarder at heart in any federation that he joins and he appears to not appreciate the jobs he's had. Just ignore him and let him soon realize the fact that the pile of money that the WWE and TNA has paid him won't last forever. Both Matt & Jeff Hardy should be wrapping up their WWE careers by now and possibly be used backstage as road agents to teach the next generation of wrestlers how to entertain. Instead, they're both out of the WWE and screwing up. Based on their great matches during the early 2000's, it's quite shocking to see the Hardy Boys 10 years later.
6. WWE should book Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior for Wrestlemania 28. If I were Vince McMahon and wanted to add a comedy match to Wrestlemania 28, why not look at Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior? Since both wrestlers talk up themselves, let's see how "great" both are by having them put on a great match in their older days. I do believe the match would be enjoyable from a crowd standpoint, as they'd crap all over the match much liked Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg at Wrestlemania 20. It could be billed as the "rubber match", provided Warrior's win at Wrestlemania 6 and Hogan's victory at Halloween Havoc 1998. It would be highly entertaining to see this trainwreck!
7. It would be sad to see CM Punk to leave the WWE. CM Punk's WWE deal is expiring soon and he's looking to leave the WWE, citing burnout I do believe. From all that I've seen, he's a good all around wrestler, but the look and personality change performed during late 2010 has only scratched the surface on his potential. Having him be booked strong heading into Cena suggests to me that he might have a new deal, but it could be just building up Punk to allow Cena to thrash him at "Money in the Bank".
8. "Meh" on the WWE Stock. WWE cutting its dividend, weak earnings, and the economy would have me worried as an investor. Closing today at $9.64 is cheap if you consider recent trends, and 4.90% isn't a bad dividend yield . I think with the WWE, it's too much of a short-term stock. I would worry about keeping the stock for over 5 years, for example. WWE is too dependent on its television deal and weak competitors. If they were to ever lose the USA Networks deal for RAW while having either TNA or Ring of Honor rise as a legitimate #2, the WWE could be in trouble down the road. I suppose it might be worth a buy when under $10 and holding through Wrestlemania 28, but you could find better conservative stock buys right now on the market.
9. Congrats to Zema Ion. On TNA Impact on Thursday, I saw a wrestler whom I followed on the local independent scene... Zema Ion, but known as "Shiima Xion", was quite an impressive wrestler when I saw him. You saw a glimpse of Zema Ion on Impact, and as you noticed, he has some moves and high flying maneuvers. When I saw him for a few years on the indy scene, he was performing moves that I've never seen before and executed mostly without flaws. Great to see one of the wrestlers you've rooted on in person from the indy scene making it to the bigtime.
10. Montreal Screwjob DVD? Jim Ross hinted on his Twitter (I know, all news flows through Twitter these days) that Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart are filming segments for a DVD to arrive in October 2011. Many are assuming it will be about the Survivor Series 1997 match where Vince McMahon ordered the referee to call the match in favor of Shawn Michaels provided that Bret Hart was getting out of his 20 year contract early and bolting to WCW. Ross suggested that they filmed 5 hours worth of interviews and it was "no holds barred". Isn't it amazing how the Montreal Screwjob is still being talked about and remains a draw for wrestling fans to warrant a DVD.
That's all I have... Do me a favor and JOIN LOPForums.com, which is our message board system and you can sign up for FREE.
WrathofTito@yahoo.com
Wrestlicious Says They Will Debut On Viacom Network Later This Year
Wrestlicious announced today via press release they have partnered with the Union Square Agency for production going forward. They also announced receiving a letter of intent from a Viacom-owned cable network to broadcast all-new episodes of the series in 2011.
Union Square Agency Announces Partnership Agreement with Wrestlicious
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Union Square Agency (USSE Corp., Pink OTC Symbol: UCRP) today announced an all encompassing partnership agreement with Wrestlicious, an American all-female professional wrestling promotion.
“We are thrilled to partner with Union Square Agency to take Wrestlicious to the next level. This is a perfect fit given their positioning as a lifestyle agency and proven ability to grow properties.”
This agreement is a 360 degree deal that leverages the best of both companies and should be the first of many future projects together. Union Square Agency will provide sponsorship sales, television production, syndication, media sales, event extensions, venue selection, strategic partnerships and manage licensing and merchandising.
In 2010, Wrestlicious launched their critically-acclaimed, Tampa-based female pro-wrestling series “Wrestlicious TakeDown”. Wrestlicious has a letter of intent from a Viacom-owned cable network to broadcast all-new episodes of the series in 2011 and Union Square Agency will oversee production. “Wrestlicious TakeDown” is the first action/comedy television program produced by Wrestlicious LLC, founded in 2008, which aired on Dish Network, via MAV TV in the United States and Bite TV in Canada, as well as in syndication. It features sketch comedy, on-location beach segments, music videos and other non-traditional components in addition to exciting wrestling action performed by ring veterans in colorful, over-the-top characters. www.wrestlicious.com
Johnny Cafarella, Wrestlicious Co-Executive Producer said "We are thrilled to partner with Union Square Agency to take Wrestlicious to the next level. This is a perfect fit given their positioning as a lifestyle agency and proven ability to grow properties.”
*PHOTO* of AJ Lee at last night's SmackDown show ->
