Hello everyone. I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season and I hope that continues as we enter the New Year. Christmas has come and gone and it took me a few days to realize this, but I didn’t receive a single wrestling related gift.
Let me explain.
In my circles, I’m known as the wrestling guy and when in doubt during any gift giving time of year, someone gets me a wrestling gift. I’m not nearly the collector I was in my younger years. My wife and I had a very relaxing Christmas but still, not a single WWF/WWE labeled item in my stocking or under my tree.
Maybe it’s some weird sign that I’ve finally grown up?
Remember when WCW was the top wrestling promotion in the world? It’s sad that they are out of business because WWE no longer has competition to push them to create quality content on a consistent basis.
For every great idea WCW had, they had one that was equally as bad. On top of that, their lack of continuity at times was down right insulting to the audience.
This past Saturday at UFC 181 in Las Vegas, it was announced that former WWE Superstar CM Punk has signed to fight in UFC and will make his Octagon debut sometime in 2015.
Punk was interviewed at cage side by Joe Rogan and said he is done with professional wrestling and that MMA is his full-time career now because it’s now or never for him.
Punk said that the weight class he will fight at is up in the air, but he is looking at middleweight (185 lbs), but welterweight (170 lbs) is a possibility. He also said that he will not fight at light heavyweight (205 lbs)
As a teenager in the growing up in the 1990’s, professional wrestling was my singular passion. While WWF/E was often front and center for me, Extreme Championship Wrestling, spent a few years as my favorite wrestling company. What drew me into ECW was the realistic storylines and hardcore atmosphere, complimented by blood, guts, tables, chairs and barbed wire brutality.
Naturally, I was thrilled when WWF and ECW worked together for a time in 1997. Taz, Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Paul Heyman, and others appeared on Raw and in return, Jerry Lawler, with the help of Sabu and Rob Van Dam would infiltrate the ECW Arena. This was great stuff that really showed how to do a proper promotion vs. promotion angle.
Most wrestling fans only remember the poorly executed 2001 invasion angle involving ECW and WCW instead of its predecessor. I recently wrote an article for WhatCulture.com examining all the juicy details about this fresh concept during the heated stages of the Monday Night War. Click the link to check out10 Things You Need To Know About The Original ECW Invasion.
Most people that dream of a career in athletics or entertainment aspire to be a world champion or recognized by an academy of their peers as the best. I, on the other hand, had childhood ambitions of becoming the WWE Intercontinental Champion. Sounds kind of odd, right? Someone dreaming of being second best instead of number one is not normal. The thing is, I didn’t look at it that way.
Those who watch professional wrestling enjoy it for one or all of its different facets. I enjoy it for the matches more than anything and to me, the WWE title meant you were the biggest star while the IC title states that you were the best wrestler. That’s what I wanted to be, the best wrestler and tell great stories in the ring like Don Muraco, Ricky Steamboat, and Randy Savage.
Intercontinental title matches were one of, if not, the hottest match on the card. Summer Slam 1991 was a significant moment for me as a wrestling fan. Bret Hart upended Hulk Hogan as my favorite wrestler when he defeated Mr. Perfect for the title. Their match spoke to me in a way that I can barely put into words. It was epic, dramatic on its own accord, and was simply about being the best wrestler.
The IC title was highly regarded and held such prestige. Today, not so much. It’s an afterthought at best. So, I wrote about how WWE could fix that problem for my debut article at What Culture.com where I was invited to join them as a featured columnist. I’m very appreciative of this opportunity and can’t wait to get into the thick of things. Check out5 Ways WWE Can Make The Intercontinental Title Relevant Again.
WWE served up another episode of Monday Night Raw that spun its wheels before it was saved with a surprise appearance by The Rock. While the great one’s appearance is just what the doctor ordered, it also highlighted some of the glaring holes in the company’s current creative direction and talent roster. Continue reading “Raw is Rock But Not Solid: Thoughts on the WWE Product”→
This past Saturday night, I put my wrestling promoter’s hat on, again, for our second annual pro wrestling charity event, ElkMania 2. Lastyear’s show was a huge success as we raised $1400. 00 for the Elks National Foundation which funds youth programs, college scholarships, and veteran services. My colleagues and I put together a fantastic show with the goal of exceeding its predecessor in every way and we had a former WWE Superstar to help us out. Continue reading “Reflections of ElkMania 2”→
John Cena got the crap kicked out of him on Sunday night. That is the only way to describe the Summer Slam main event between him and Brock Lesnar. There was a lot of talk about how this match was going to go. Some felt Lesnar should win while others felt he should never see the gold and leather of the world title due to his part time status. Continue reading “Brock Lesnar: The Conqueror of Worlds”→
The accusation of racism in WWE has once again reared its ugly head. It is an issue that has been brought up over the years, but never thoroughly investigated because only a handful of wrestlers have spoken out on the matter. Also, because professional wrestling is dismissed more often than revered as an entertainment genre, the issue is often swept under the rug and never taken seriously. The Atlantic’s article on racism in professional wrestling sparked the first real conversation on the matter, and the recent firing of Alberto Del Rio has raised concern and awareness on the issue to an increasingly unprecedented degree. Continue reading “The Battle of WWE’s Institutional Racism”→
Millions of wrestling fans across the nation will be watching Monday Night Raw this evening. However, I won’t be one of them. It should be a fun episode considering it’s not only the go home show for Summer Slam, but it’s Hulk Hogan’s Birthday and a big celebration is planned with surprise guests including an nWo reunion. I’m a huge mark for the black and white clad stable, but I just don’t have it in me to watch a classless buffoon receive a thunderous applause from an arena full of people while getting a payday to boot. The jackass I’m referring to is Scott Hall. Continue reading “Hey Yo, I’m Not Watching Raw Tonight”→
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