Most of the time when I post about wrestling I get a slew of comments. I will just quickly run through everything that's normally said so we can get past it.
First, I know wrestling is fake and is staged. So is your favorite TV show.
Second, yes, Kane is still wrestling. But if that's the only wrestler you know, you aren't a true fan so don't comment on it.
OK, now that that is out of the way, let's talk.
I watched a majority of Monday Night Raw tonight from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto tonight. This was going to be a marquee show for the Monday night brand as there would be no commercials and a big card to boot.
Unfortunately, things aren't as great as they were in say 1998. Trust me, that was a great year for professional wrestling. Stone Cold Steve Austin won the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania 14 and immediately became a legend with his feud with Vince McMahon. The crowds were awesome. Look at this...
Stone Cold drives a cement truck...
Stone Cold drives a zamboni...
Stone Cold whips out a gun...
And of course, Stone Cold drives a beer truck...
That was a fun trip down memory lane, wasn't it? Now back to the current day WWE. WWE is trying to draw a younger crowd to get more fans again, and it's product is suffering big time. I understand that you need to initiate the new crowd, but they're taking this to an extreme.
For example, the WWE has banned chairshots to the head in their matches. (Like I said before, yes, it's fake.) This means that the big knockout blows is the chair shot to the...ribs. Violent! Of course, the WWE is trying to prevent another Chris Benoit situation, who had his brain turn to swiss cheese and decided to kill his family and himself because of too many blows to the head. That's a good thing...but come on!!! It's wrestling!!! Wrestling without chairshots is like beer without alcohol. C'mon now!
The commentary has gone down as well. Jim Ross is one of the best wrestling commentators of all-time...and the WWE is starting to weed him out so that Michael Cole can be the voice of the WWE. It's good to know that they have my interests in mind, so Mr. Cole. Keep using your fake enthusiasm and crappy catch phrases and keep my seat warm.
The championships are being demoralized. The Intercontinental Championship has been tossed around like bean bags at a Brewers game the past couple of weeks. When was the last time Drew McIntyre actually defended the damn thing? And then there's the United States Championship which has been held by The Miz, a solid young wrestler, however the WWE has an interest in sticking him with crappy tag teams. Which brings me to my next couple points.
When was the last time a young superstar, WHO DESERVED IT...got a push. Mr. Jack Swagger doesn't count. He's got a good bit, but there was another guy who had the same bit as the "All-American American", that was Kurt Angle. Nice re-hash. But guys like The Miz and John Morrison (who were on a tag team once upon a time) aren't getting a push, they're getting paired together because of...
The lack of good tag teams. The Hart Dynasty might be the only real true tag team in the WWE. They're trying to build some, but none of them have the great impact that they had...say back in '98. In '98, you had teams like the New Age Outlaws, the Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and the Dudley Boyz. They might not have been the greatest tag teams ever, but at least fans could get behind them for good or for bad. Now they just mash two main eventers that they have no clue what to do with and then mix their songs together. Isn't that cute?
I'm ranting more and more about this and I haven't mentioned that Bret Hart won the U.S. Championship tonight. He makes a great champion...in '98! Why are they not promoting some young stars? Mix it up a bit! We can only take John Cena for so long!!!
And the guests hosts have been terrible! Flavor Flave? Buzz Aldrin? Bob FUCKING Barker??? Get someone who will be entertaining...not someone who is trying to sell stuff. Call Jared Allen. Call Bob Uecker. Hell, get Shaq to do it again, he's not busy thanks to Mr. James mailing it in. Guys with personality would make this great.
So, I'm officially an old guy. I'm looking for the good ol' days again, and someday, the WWE might turn up the maturity dial on their programming, until then...I'll just keep watching!
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