Another Problem with Wrestling Complaining

Wade Keller was a perfect example of another issue that comes with wrestling complaining. He went on a rant in his Raw Post-Show podcast about Wrestlemania being too long and the fact that the length of the show is based on the desire of WWE to have more hours viewed on the Network which would then look good on Wall Street. Keller said that people should not live their lives based on making a few extra dollars and that life should have more meaning than that.

There are a few problems with this. Before I get into that, Keller is right. Wrestlemania is too long. Outside of NXT Takeover, I would argue that most big shows are too long (I would say that WrestleKingdom is too, but there were several matches this year that should have been longer and were not in the interest of having a shorter show-so I have to think about that one). With that said, what Keller is doing is dangerously walking the line between saying something is bad for the fans and preaching about how someone lives because he cannot wrap his mind around the corporate mindset.

I am sure the McMahons do not need a new jet or another big house, but who am I to say that they should not want that? It’s not my place. If that is how they want to live, I am not going to rant and give a lecture (that I am 99.9 percent sure none of the McMahons and very few of the stockholders will hear) about how people should not live their lives for extra money. They are a business and there are entities outside of the McMahons who have some investment (literally) in how WWE does. Even if it is just the McMahons-they are in business to make money. The argument is not that they should have more things to fulfill themselves than money-the argument about some of the things that they do (eg: going to Saudi Arabia, international shows that are for all intents and purposes non-canon, making Wrestlemania too long, blinding lights) is that it is either morally wrong (Saudi Arabia) or it is damaging to the product in the long run and it either alienates or runs off even the most loyal of fans.

Here is the thing, once you say that there is more to a business than making money, then the analysis can drift into something like “Creative did this thing that I don’t like that is making them money-but I don’t care how much money they make.” It is fine for a fan to not like something that is popular even if does make a company money, but you cannot be assertive in that opinion if something is working. That is why there has to be perspective. As noted above, unless the company is doing something that is completely morally wrong-then we have to take into account (even if we do not personally like it) that the goal of the organization to make money.

I could make an argument that it is morally questionable to make Steve Austin a hero based on his character. Same for the Rock. In the prime of the Attitude Era, neither of them were exactly white-meat babyfaces, but they both made WWE a great deal of money. Again, there is a difference between pushing anti-heroes as protagonists and making a show too long or taking millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia. At the same time, once we go down the road of judging organizations morally for wanting to make money (when that is the point of a business-no matter how much money it has or it is making)-then anything that an individual fan does not like can be questioned. Personally speaking, I do not think that is a road that we can go down.

 

Problem with Wrestling Complaining

I do not mind when people complain about wrestling because they do not think that the shows are good and especially if they have critique that is based on strong analysis. I do think the complaining can be a bit much (especially when it comes in the form of ranting and raving), but the worse thing about wrestling complaining is when someone fantasy books a match or a segment and then gets angry when their specific fantasy booking does not take place. I am all for “live and let live”, but that is silly. You cannot book something yourself and then demand that a company books the same thing that you did and if they do not-the company is run by idiots. Wrestling is not about any one fan or any group of fans.

It should be noted that the motivation for this post was the complaints that were online after it was confirmed that the Usos would not wrestle the Hardys for the Smackdown tag team championship. Let me be clear, if I was in charge-I would have had the Hardy-Usos match, this seems like a very good time to do it (even if Wrestlemania is already a very long show). At the same time, there are fans who had their heart set on a match that was not even teased on television. It just seems silly for fans to get their hopes up for something that they did not really have a right to expect.

This goes back to something I have said before on this blog-good and bad for the most part is subjective. That is why I get frustrated when people say that they do not care about how well a company does because that means all those fans want is a company that caters to their personal wishes and that is not realistic. Moreover, no company should be calling individual fans and asking “would you like us to do this specific thing?” When it comes to broad considerations, yes companies can ask for fan input-but not when it comes to specifics.

The thing is what fans like for the most part is arbitrary. It is not really a standard for good and bad-it is more them just wanting something in the moment and if they get that then it is good (unless they find something else to complain about) or they do not get it-then it is bad. The reality is that the masses are more important than any specific group or any vocal minority-unless that vocal minority has the potential to mess with the show. The Kofi Kingston-Daniel Bryan match is a rare example of a specific booking situation where there is (I think) a good and bad result. Kofi Kingston losing is bad because it is going to hurt the performers in the following matches based on the fact that people really want Kofi to win.

I will say this-the Kofi-Bryan example is different from the Hardy-Usos non-match because at least viewers have a reason to believe that Kofi will win the championship, people who just watch the show have no right to expect the Hardy versus Usos title match. That is like me thinking that Missy Peregrym owes me a date because I had a dream about it last night (which I did not…that was a complete hypothetical….).

Kofi Kingston-Good and Bad

I usually want my posts to be evergreen, but this seems like a current events topic that is worth exploring. As it stands now, I think it should be Kofi Kingston versus Daniel Bryan as the Wrestlemania title match.

The good is that it is a great story and the fans are ready for it. I have thought for a while that WWE should tell the story of Kofi Kingston going for the WWE championship and because of circumstances they can tell the story during Wrestlemania season. There were concerns and/or speculation about who Daniel Bryan would defend his title against because no one seemed obvious and now there is someone obvious. This may seem contradictory-but that leads to the bad.

The thing about Smackdown is there are other contenders to face Daniel Bryan and they can be good stories. Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Kevin Owens and Bray Wyatt all have compelling cases to go against Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. Are they better than Kofi? No, but today’s crowds (the 2/18/19 Raw aside) look for reasons to take over shows. In other words, one of the biggest reasons I think it should be Kofi is that it gives the WWE title match a chance to get over instead of having a potential (certainly WWE’s storytelling should not get the benefit of the doubt) strong WWE title match be the “victim” (for lack of a better term) of a hijacking.

I am a big proponent of fans doing whatever they want as long as it is not vile to the point of disruption. At the same time, I despise when crowds chant for wrestlers who are not present at the time. I know too much about what wrestlers go through to be okay with that kind of disrespect. I am fine with…I am actually very pleased with the support that Kofi Kingston is getting right now. I just don’t like what the WWE has become (and it is more their fault than the fans fault) in the sense that the only way to get WWE to do the right thing is for fans to disrupt the show. I didn’t like the “Rusev Day” stuff either (again-I am more than okay with it when he is in the presence of the fans-not okay with it when other people are trying to perform).

What I am saying is that it is not a good thing that the second biggest reason I want Kofi Kingston in the WM WWE title match is because I am worried about what is going to happen with the title match (and even other parts of the show) if he is not.

Classic Promo of the Day

If the New Day Breakup…

I think it is going to be a bigger deal than people think. I really think that people are going to be heartbroken if one (or two) of the members turn on one (or two) of the other members.

The New Day is an act that appeals to every portion of the fan base. Yes, to some people they may be stale…but I do not think it is a significant number. Moreover, there are still things that could be done with the group. Big E and or Kofi going after a world title and moving Xavier Woods to 205 Live (while still allowing him to wrestle on Smackdown or whatever main roster show the New Day is on). There can be more programs where they have to get serious so that there is a sense of relief when they get to have fun again. The point is they do not have to keep doing the same things (if getting stale is a concern).

From a business standpoint, it makes no sense to turn the New Day heel. I do not think whatever creative positives the turn would have (whatever that turn is) would outweigh the loss in business from merchandise sales. In this era where no one is truly a draw (with few exceptions) in terms of arena, Network and television sales-the best way to make a difference is merchandise. With that in mind, it would be bad business to intentionally take away a revenue stream when there is no real reason to.

Should the New Day be together forever? I don’t know about that, but if they shake things up occasionally-I think there is at least 2-3 years left in them.

One of my Favorite Royal Rumble Moments

Royal Rumble 1991

A lot of stuff happened at Royal Rumble 1991. I was watching it on WWE Network (random number generator) and I realized that there were several big moments/angles. Well, there were two big moments. Virgil finally turning on Ted Dibiase, which was one of the great few minutes in WWE history (Dibiase talking trash and the turn itself). The other major happening was Sgt. Slaughter winning the championship from the Ultimate Warrior with the help of Randy Savage…which set up the two major matches at Wrestlemania that year.

When you have two main angles where one was building up for years and other was a title change…and that is combined with the Royal Rumble itself….that is an eventful show. I only bring this up because I never thought of Royal Rumble 1991 being a major show until I saw it…well actually it was before I got into it. I was thinking during the first match (Rockers versus the Orient Express)…”isn’t this where the Virgil angle happened” and then I thought “wait isn’t this where the Slaughter title win happened.” Those two thoughts and the Rumble itself were the inspiration for this post.

Favorite Catchphrases of All Time

This is not separated for each promotion like the theme music post.

This is for every promotion and I am doing this on the spot, which in a way (or multiple ways) is better than thinking about it too much. Counting down from 10 to 1

10. “No” (Daniel Bryan)

9. “Yes” (Daniel Bryan)

8.  “What?” (Steve Austin)

7. “Too Sweet” (NWO and Bullet Club)

6. “Whether you like it or don’t like it, learn to love it because it’s the best thing going today” (Ric Flair)

5. “Finally the Rock has come back to”….(The Rock)

4. “Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, Children of all Ages…Degeneration X proudly brings to you its WWE tag team champions of the woooooooooooooorld! The Road Dogg Jesse James, The Bad Ass Billy Gunn…the New Age Outlaws (New Age Outlaws)

3. “Goodbye (smooch) and Goodnight (bang) (Kenny Omega)

2.  “I am the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be” (Bret Hart).

1. LIJ Roll Call

Five Favorite Theme Songs (Multiple Promotions)

I was going to write an introduction about how important theme music is to wrestlers….I’ll skip it and just say theme music is very important to wrestlers. With that in mind, I am going to document for posterity my five favorite theme songs for WWE/WWF, NXT (I am going to separate NXT from WWE for the sake of this exercise) NWA/WCW, ECW, Impact Wrestling/TNA and New Japan. It was difficult to decide what to cut out, but I am happy with what I came up with. Comments where applicable. Counting down from five for each company. One more note, some of these songs have been used in more than one promotion, I am only use each song in my list (or lists) once.

WWE/WWF

5. Voices (Randy Orton)

4. I won’t do what you tell me (Steve Austin)

3. Hart Attack (Bret Hart)

2. Demolition (Demolition)

1. Cult of Personality (C.M Punk) (I know its cheating because it’s mainstream but I don’t care)

NXT

5. Worlds Apart (Sami Zayn)

4. Velveteen Dream (Velveteen Dream) (D.R.E.A.M is….

3. Shock the System (Undisputed Era)

2. Rising Sun (Shinsuke Nakamura)

1. Root of all Evil    (Alistair Black)

WCW/NWA

5. Chase (Midnight Express)

4. Badstreet USA (Freebirds)

3. Raven theme

2. NWO Wolfpack

1. NWO original

ECW (All mainstream songs)

5. Perfect Strangers (Shane Douglas)

4. Walk                       (Rob Van Dam)

3. Big Balls                (Balls Mahoney

2. Natural Born Killers  (New Jack)

1. Enter Sandman            (Sandman)

Impact Wrestling/TNA

5. When the Smoke Clears (DCC)

4. Fortune 4                            (Fortune)

3.  Trouble                              (EC3)

2. Deadman’s Hand              (Aces and Eights)

1. Evil Ways                             (A.J Styles)

ROH

5. Dalton Wants it Now (Dalton Castle)

4. Kill Steen Kill              (Kevin Steen)

3. Reach for the Sky        (Briscoes)

2. Something for You        (Adam Cole)

1.Chris is Awesome             (Chris Hero)

New Japan

5. Shot em (Bullet Club)

4. Rain Maker (Kazuchika Okada)

3. Subconscious (Nakamura)

2. Kaze ni Nare   (Minoru Suzuki)

1. Stardust           (Tetsuya Naito)

My Life as a Wrestling Fan-Part 2

Part 1

Q: Who is my favorite wrestler of all-time?

A: Bret Hart

Q:  Favorite Storyline?

A: Hart Foundation versus Steve Austin

Q: Favorite Event(s)

A: Wrestlemania 17, Canadian Stampede, Backlash 2000, Wrestlekingdom 11, WrestleKingdom 12, Dominion 2018

Q: Worst Moment?

A: This is tough, part of me just wants to go with something in the fictional universe so I don’t have to pick between real-life tragedies…I’ll pick from one of the real-life tragedies and say the Benoit murder-suicide because a child died.

Q: Why do you and what do you like (about) wrestling

A: In Part 1 I discussed my other entertainment interests (and my other interests in general). When it comes to wrestling, it has everything that I look for in entertainment in one place…especially drama and athleticism.