Column of Honor: 06.05.10: The Storytellers of The Story

Welcome to the Column.

If I’m being honest, which I try to be in my coverage of an industry that by necessity incorporates dishonesty and deception into its framework, then I must confess it was rather difficult to come up with a subject to write about for this week’s column. Then I received some inspiration from an unlikely source in an unlikely environment.

A few days ago I attended an “unveiling” ceremony for uncle’s mother-in-law (in Jewish tradition, the unveiling of the grave site / tomb occurs at least one year after the passing). I was speaking to some family member’s on my aunt’s side, describing to them the kind of writing that I do for this website. Now, one of these family members had lived in Atlanta, Georgia for years, so he was familiar with (at least in passing) the knowledge that WCW used to have its headquarters in that city and that at one time professional wrestling was a very huge deal there.

Many wrestling fans come across the inevitable moment where it is necessary to explain why one is a fan of professional wrestling in the first place. However, the question he posed to me while we were all congregating and commiserating on Block 16 of the cemetery premises was not “why”, as in why was I a fan of that “fake wrestling”, but rather, “what?”

He asked me, “What kind of writing can you do about that [professional wrestling]?”

The question caught me by surprise. At first I had to pause and gather my thoughts. Then I responded with a rundown of the various types of columns that I have written here over the years—news reporting, analysis, critiques and judgment in regards to the shows and the performance aspects of the business, opinion pieces and so on. In addition, I neglected to mention at the time the sort of odd-ball feature pieces I occasionally (and rather enjoy) writing—the lists, the comedy pieces, the celebrity-look-alike features, and so on. The answer I gave seemed to satisfy him and after a few more minutes of discussion, we moved on, leaving the cemetery for a family dinner.

However, upon further reflection, I’m not exactly sure that I truly and definitively answered the question of what function we internet wrestling columnists—or any of the wrestling press for that matter—serve. I felt I gave more of a catalog of the types of columns I write rather than addressing the idea of the “what” (and I don’t mean the chant originated by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin) more thoughtfully. At the risk of being criticized for taking this whole thing too seriously or for romanticizing the notion of what it is any wrestling writer does whether in-print or online, this is the conclusion I reached about the service of wrestling journalists and to a larger extent about all wrestling fans, large or small:

We are the storytellers of the story of professional wrestling.

We are the historians of this business—and “the what” that we write about—which may be a niche hobby or a niche of a niche—all add up to create the collection of knowledge about professional wrestling, which can then be examined, shared and discussed further.

Sounds kind of arrogant and egotistical right? Yeah, I know. I kind of groaned when I wrote that above sentence too. However, there is quite a bit right about that statement as well.

The wrestling journalists are the ones who take the stories the wrestling companies are telling and not only report on it all, but also attempt to put it all together to form as coherent and logical a whole as possible. With every wrestling event that is reported on (a major one such as a Wrestlemania or even the smaller house shows), the reporters spread the news, the writers contribute the play-by-play, the critics judge the matches and the commenters on the wrestling web sites and other social media pages all contribute their say as well. All of that “what” combines to form the world-at-large: the wrestling promotions, the wrestlers on the roster and the stories being told in and out of the ring every night.

The matches, the angles, the twists and the turns, the matches are these pieces to a jigsaw puzzle that the wrestling community solves together. It is from there that fans, critics and the industry as a whole can look at that picture (which is also constantly changing and evolving) and judge it accordingly.

The technological advances of the mid 1990 are allowed for a larger gathering and dissemination of knowledge. It became a repository for all sorts of information for many different industries. Internet dictionaries, encyclopedias and the like are common place and ingrained in today’s information-centered society; it is possible to attain information about all sorts of subjects with just a few brief clicks.

Simultaneously, the internet became a huge boon for the wrestling community over the past fifteen years. Particularly relevant to the wrestling industry was the ability to house its history through different archival websites (some more accurate than others). All of the information collected and all of the articles being written, whether here at 411Mania.com or through any other wrestling website, collectively form the patchwork quilt of what happened, when it happened and why it happened. This began in the early days of online wrestling communities, from the very first RSPW forums, to the “Golden Age” of internet web-sites such as Scoops, WrestleManiacs, Death Valley Driver and 411Mania in its previous incarnation of 411wrestling.com. From that era sprung up even more websites dedicated to coverage of the business. The Post-Big Three era and the opening of the internet market allowed for all sorts of independent promotions to spread their name brand and sell their merchandise online. Websites have sprung up with devoted coverage to those companies and major wrestling communities have also expanded (to the chagrin of some) their reporting of the major independent promotions.

It would be too conceited to declare that this only existed insofar as the development of the internet and the internet wrestling community. The origins of wrestling reporting go back to the very beginnings of professional wrestling itself, with articles in local papers that reported on the wrestling attraction coming to town. Later on, wrestling newsletters and programs were created and published to report on and cover the regional promotions. These newsletters took various forms, from hard news coverage to pictorials and photographic journals (using action photos from the shows) to the fan ‘zines devoted to a special wrestler (such as the Bruno Sammartino newsletter) or a specific company.

Then there was the development of what became popularly known as the “Apter Mags”. Magazines such as Pro Wrestling Illustrated and The Wrestler told the story of the angles that were taking place, although they were also known for adding on more fictional and sensationalistic details to the stories of these wrestlers and grudges. The combination of kayfabe mixed in with the first of wrestling fan-fiction and the additional coverage given to many regional promotions became the way a whole generation of wrestling fans learned and read about the business.

Then there were the “insider” newsletters—the “dirt sheets” that tried to dig deep into the true and real aspects of the wrestling business (inasmuch as what you could learn, discover and report about the business was real). As readership of these newsletters developed and grew (including the wrestlers themselves), fans became “smarter” and more in-the-know about the industry news and future developments for storyline and use of the wrestlers. When the internet coverage exploded, the “Apter Mag” style of reporting gave way to being as factual as possible about the ins-and-outs of professional wrestling.

All told, these forms of wrestling media forged the path that eventually led us to where we are today—on the internet, reading newsbits and columns, having daily discussions about everything and anything related to wrestling, craving more coverage and getting it through an onslaught of information. Again, it all comes together to form a not-so-cohesive but certainly encompassing whole. The story of the story of professional wrestling is formed in that network of information and the writing, reporting and commenting on it all.

Wrestling journalism has existed almost as long as the industry itself. This is because the wrestling industry needs coverage in order to “promote” itself and spread its presence and brand awareness to as many prospective customers as possible. On the other hand, journalists need a story to cover in order for them to do their jobs.

That’s not to say this is a completely symbiotic relationship, or that it’s a smooth and easy-going one. The wrestling companies need journalists, but that doesn’t mean they have or will always get along with them. Wrestling promotions want to control how their stories are presented, framed and shaped, but like any artists, when the press (and the fan / customer) watches the show, they are putting their work (or art) out there to the entire world to see, opine, judge and interpret for themselves.

The wrestling companies need the media to report and to promote the product, and if it is a good one and receives enough recognition, the hope is it will take off and collect enough fans and press attention to continue onwards in existence. On the other hand, there is always the chance of the promotion being hurt by negative press coverage or show reviews, not to mention controversial happenings within the promotions or the talent A good example of this would be the booking change from Gabe Spaolsky to Adam Pearce in ROH during 2008, which led to much criticism of the changes to the product. However, this year, ROH has produced shows, matches and storylines that have been far better received, and thus it has led to them also gaining back more positive press for their product.

For about the last five years I have written about the developments in Ring of Honor and the angles and developments of many other promotions as well. During that time frame, my writing has ranged from serious to wacky, opinionated praise and criticism, to infuriating in its existence (for some). There have been comedy pieces, reviews of shows, compiled lists, and at the end of every year is my best efforts to sum up everything that came before in the past three-hundred-and-sixty-five days.

By the end of my time writing this column (which inevitably will occur as it has happened even to the best of internet wrestling columnists that have written before, during and after me), these columns will have documented a large share of wrestling history. There is something comforting and pleasing about the notion that I can look back on any one of my columns (or anyone else’s for that matter) and see a slice of that history unfold and reveal itself. That is both the writer and the fan speaking within me.

The wrestling journalists but also and especially the wrestling fans hold the history of this industry in our hands. We are the ones who know who-defeated-who for what world title, or why so-and-so deserted his tag team partner, or what happened on a certain day in wrestling history. That is an awesome happening and not something that should be belittled or mocked, but rather appreciated and enjoyed.

We are the historians of the hobby that we know and love. That is something I should have told that family member, but sharing it here will have to suffice.

1. William Regal: I’m going to go old school here—”WATCH OUT! HE’S SHOOTING!” At first, the five-minute free-for-all on WWE NXT this past Tuesday seemed to be an impromptu breakdown in wrestling programming in light of Matt Striker not receiving word about who had won the competition. In hindsight, I’m pretty sure something like what happened was supposed to happen, but it probably got a little too out-of-hand, or at least more than anticipated. At the head of the chaos was William Regal, who was just amazing in peppering his live-mic commentary with jabs at everyone from David Otunga to Chris Jericho to Matt Hardy. I was bored throughout most of the NXT finale, well…except for the announcements of the Rookie / Pro combinations for season 2—those entertained me and made laugh for far different reasons than Regal’s promo at the end of the show. Still, Williams Regal and the rest of the pros saved the show in the last five minutes, from Regal telling the world about how the reason that Otunga made it to WWE TV was because he married well off, but he had seen his wife and he didn’t marry too well off, to Regal calling Matt Hardy “Eugene” and telling Jericho that he “loved his two moves”. CM Punk’s figurative “peace-out” of the program was just that final awesome touch. God knows that this program might turn into a huge joke for season two, but if it’s going to go down, we all might as well go down laughing.

2. Edge Slams a Door Into Randy Orton: Hey- I laughed … and laughed … and laughed. I’m not sorry about it either.

3. Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz & Michael Cole: Truly an entertaining under-card feud and yes, call him Bryan Danielson or Daniel Bryan, but whatever you call him, you can finally attach “wins” at the end of it, since he pinned The Miz on Raw this past week. Knocking Miz into Cole was all sorts of fun as well.

4. Bret Hart: “The Hitman” is doing a very good job thus far in his tenure as Raw GM. Although of course it has only been two weeks, in that time Bret has shown that he is talented in what is actually the most important part of that role—delivering information about upcoming matches and explaining storylines to the audience in simple but effective and engaging language.

Bret may not have the physical ability to go in the ring anymore, but he certainly has much of his wrestling instincts still about him. Hart was able to explain to his family members David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd and Natalie Neidhart that he brought in the Uso Twins last week, but while he didn’t intend for them to get hurt they also needed to respond to the adversity. He ended it by asking them what they were going to do about the situation, which led to a The Hart Dynasty doing a group plan session. This is the kind of added detail and character-strengthening actions that can be delivered in these sorts of backstage segments and with Hart at the helm of the GM promos you can be sure he will do his best to bring that sort of development out of the other wrestlers.

Hart is no longer an active participant, and thus no longer worried about his own place in the wrestling industry. Therefore he has been and will likely continue to be very giving to the other wrestlers during the segments, from his own family to The Miz, Edge and Chris Jericho. It’s clear he knows the focus is on building the current active roster and thus far has shown himself to be unselfish in that regard.

5. Green Ant: I just received my first order of CHIKARA DVDs for 2010, so I’m now in “catch-up” mode for that promotion (I’ll have more detailed thoughts on their shows starting in next week). The first match on A Touch of Class is Green Ant, who is the rookie in The Colony, fighting against Colony insurgent and traitor Pinkie “Pink Ant” Sanchez, who dressed up last year as Carpenter Ant and lured The Colony into a false sense of security so that he could betray them and help start the formation of the Bruderschaft des Kruzes (the big heel stable for this year’s shows). That opening match was hard-hitting and compelling. Immediately, Green Ant has shown his improvement in the ring and erased any skepticism I had of his efforts last year. Pinkie was no slouch himself and they both set the tone for the show and for this season of CHIKARA. As mentioned, more thoughts on A Touch of Class next week.

BONUS-THE SKIP LIST: Let’s face it, this wasn’t the best and the brightest week in professional wrestling. It wasn’t too difficult to come up with my Fave Five, but there was a good share of WrestleCrap on this week’s programming as well. Ashton Kutcher putting a “hit” out on Zack Ryder, which turned out to be Alicia Fox (huh?), a boring first fifty-five minutes of NXT including Otunga and Wade Barrett participating in an “Oh Snap” contest of verbal insult, The Undertaker being reduced to a “vegetative state” to sell a legitimate injury and Kane crying… CRYING about it (think about that given all of their twisted character history), whatever TNA absurdities occurred this week on iMPACT and on and on…let’s just say I was clicking past some of these more absurd segments this week. Oy.

–defeated Austin Aries on February 13th, 2010 in New York, NY to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Davey Richards (Toronto, ONT, CN on 06/19/10)

–Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in a Triple Threat Match in Phoenix, AZ on 3/27/10
–Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in a Triple Threat Match in Charlotte, NC on 4/3/10
–Tyler Black defeated Kenny King in Dayton, OH on 4/23/10
–Tyler Black defeated Chris Hero in Chicago Ridge, IL on 4/24/10
-Tyler Black defeated Roderick Strong in New York, NY on 5/8/10

ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) (champions since 04/03/10, 1 successful defense)

defeated The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) on April 3rd, 2010 in Charlotte, NC to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe (Toronto, ONT, CN on 06/19/10)

-Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin by DQ after The Briscoes interfered in New York, NY on 5/8/10

–defeated Davey Richards in the finals of the HDNet Tournament on March 5th, 2010 in New York, NY to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. TBD

–Eddie Edwards defeated Colt Cabana in Philadelphia, PA on 3/6/10
–Eddie Edwards defeated Petey Williams in Mississauga, Ontario on 3/20/10

Pick 6 Series

Rankings as of: 05/09/10

1. Roderick Strong
2. Christopher Daniels
3. Kevin Steen
4. Chris Hero
5. Davey Richards
6. Kenny King

The Pick 6 Series matches scheduled for June 18-19, 2010 are as follows:
June 18 – Buffalo, NY
(1) Roderick Strong vs. (5) Davey Richards

June 19 – Toronto, ON
(2) Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega

BONUS: KENNY OMEGA—Street Fighter (thanks to Scott Hardie)
Note—you only have to watch the first thirty seconds or so, you’ll get the idea.

-It’s relatively easy with all of the hype for the next Ring of Honor internet Pay Per View the next night in Toronto to neglect that the night before ROH is also returning to Buffalo for the first time in five years. It’s actually a bit of a shame that is the case, as so far it’s looking on paper as a very good card with quite the stacked upper tier. Here is the card in full:

Special Challenge Match: ROH World Champion Tyler Black vs. Steve Corino
Must-See Rematch from Chicago: Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong
“The Omega Effect” Rematch: Kenny Omega vs. Austin Aries
“Supercard of Honor V” Rematch: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. The All Night Express of Kenny King and Rhett Titus
Tag Team Challenge: ROH World Tag Team Champions Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli w/Shane Hagadorn vs. Cheech and Cloudy
Eddie Edwards’ “10-Minute Hunt”: ROH World Television Champion Eddie Edwards vs. TBA
Singles Match: Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana vs. Shawn Daivari
Also scheduled to appear:
– Delirious
– Tyson Dux

The non-title match between Tyler Black and Steve Corino is certainly different and unexpected—although whether or not it works as quality, “ROH style” main event remains to be scene. The onus is on Black as champion to work with Corino and produce a compelling match. It wouldn’t be unexpected knowing Corino’s past rep in ROH of having controversial finishes (the riot in Queens, using his son just last month in New York), especially since Black has begun to be involved in skirmishes with Corino and his charge Kevin Steen. An interesting side note is that Corino’s last ROH World Title match also took place in the Buffalo area, as he fought Bryan Danielson (a.k.a. Daniel Bryan) at Buffalo Stampede back in late 2005.

The remainder of the upper card includes another Richards vs. Strong match, which while threatening at this point to be overexposed, also has been rocking with some fantastic and indeed “must-see” efforts from both men. Since both are continuing to play important roles in the promotion (and with Richards having the title shot the next night), the effort should be there from both men to put on a classic. It’s also going to be interesting to see how the results play into future matches for the rest of the summer.

Omega vs. Aries was an excellent, top-tier main event title match back in November and it has been sometime since then where both have become sort-of underplayed. That should make for more of a fresh and new feeling for this one. The Briscoes vs. All-Night Express has been done several times throughout the last year, but again it’s a dependable quality match. Now that Aries is King and Titus’ official manager, expect them to make a better showing than ever before against The Briscoes.

The lower card is a bit of a toss-up and while not impressive on paper, depends on the effort of the wrestlers to see if these matches go beyond mere filler and actually add to the overall quality of the show and purchasing power for the DVD release. Kings of Wrestling are no doubt at the top of their game, but Cheech & Cloudy haven’t been portrayed as the most serious of contenders (squashed constantly on HDNet appearances) despite their crowd-pleasing and entertaining act. The match could go either way in terms of being easy on the eye. Cabana vs. Daivari doesn’t ring well with me at all, although again Cabana has been on a peak in performance thanks to his more serious take on his character and in-ring actions. It all depends on If Cabana and The Embassy play this more for comedy or if Cabana doesn’t give-in to the temptation to regress to those tactics and instead used his new personality twists to lead to a different style of match against Daivari. A serious Cabana is also a somewhat scary Cabana. I’d like to see his repeated crossing over the line in the blood feud against Steen & Corino have some more direct consequences on his bookings against other opponents, like this match here.

Already Signed:
ROH World Title Match: Tyler Black defends vs. Davey Richards
ROH World Tag Team Title Match: The Kings of Wrestling with Shane Hagadorn defend vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe
Grudge Match Months in the Making: Kevin Steen vs. El Generico
Pick 6 Contenders Series Match: (2) Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega

-Added to the card during the past two weeks was the second annual “Toronto Gauntlet” match, with the winner receiving a future title match. It was ruled that the winner does not necessarily have to be ranked in the Pick 6 to receive specialty title shots from matches like this one or Survival of the Fittest, which is a smart call in that it can slightly diversify the list of contenders without ditching the current system. Current participants announced include Colt Cabana, Steve Corino (and since both are feuding against each other it can be deduced they will likely be meeting at some point during this one), current ROH Television Champion Eddie Edwards, Roderick Strong (currently ranked number one on the Pick 6, with two more names to be announced. So far, this is a good mix of upper card talent, and conceivably any one of them could receive a title shot—although Strong is still the front runner.

-One more match added to the lineup is a “grudge Match” between Austin Aries vs. Delirious. These two had a brief match in New York City that resulted in a disqualification win for Aries when Delirious refused to let go of a chokehold. Kenny King & Rhett Titus entered ringside after the match to attack Delirious, but for this match they will be barred from ringside. This is a feud that has been developed on HDNet, albeit with much of the angle not yet airing or will air in the upcoming weeks. It was a cold match / angle in NYC and I don’t know if it will be any better in Toronto. At least with King & Titus out of the way (at least for now), these two can have more of a “match” than an “angle posing as a match”. Fans at ROH shows have always responded better to matches they know are past the process of establishing the angle between feuding wrestlers and have a better chance of ending decisively in the favor of one wrestler or the other.

-The Young Bucks are returning to action for ROH. They will appear on the 7/23 and 7/24 shows in Collinsville and Chicago Ridge. The ROH press release refers to them using their TNA monikers of Generation Me as well as their new singles names of Jeremy and Max Buck…although I’m not sure that’s going to fly with me, other ROH fans, or even if it should stick. These guys are The Young Bucks and Matt and Nick Jackson, plain and simple. It’s a team name that works and is known on the independent scene, so why give the changed names more prominence?

The independent fan base knows they’re The Young Bucks, so emphasize that name. Besides, in what way did they act like a “Generation Me” in ROH? The name suggests a duo of selfish and ego-centric wrestlers, but they never demonstrated those qualities in ROH, and while they may have played the heels in PWG, that was more in reaction to the fans turning on them more than any outward personality changes. They were great in PWG, the fans knew it and resented them for it, so they threw it in their face. They were more Generation Me in PWG than in ROH OR TNA, but they have never been referred to as such in PWG. No matches at this time have been announced, but I’d anticipate some high profile matches for them, perhaps against The Briscoes or The American Wolves.

-It was heavily hinted that one of Amazing Kong’s matches on 7/23 & 7/24 would be a rematch against Sara Del Rey. I’m fine with that, but it does seem to indicate that ROH is not going to book other women outside of the regular roster to fight Kong. The ROH roster’s female population solely consists of Del Rey, Daizee Haze and Rayna Von Tosh in a non-wrestling role. I’ve repeatedly made my opinion known that a Kong vs. Melissa match would be buku bucks, but it hasn’t happened yet. Even booking MsChif or Allison Danger would be a good call to add value to these attraction matches. The ROH women’s division isn’t necessarily about to go through a renaissance, but some diversity wouldn’t hurt it either.

-The newest rule added to the Pick 6 includes a stipulation that a wrestler on the list can only challenge for the ROH World Title twice. If unsuccessful in both chances, the challenger gets knocked off the list and must make it back to the Pick 6 list before challenging again. This should do wonders for freshening up the title matches and start to better use more of the six challengers at any given time. There were moments of frustration when those who were ranked number one weren’t receiving their title matches (or putting in for one, if we’re using Kayfabe terms) or when one person on the list kept receiving title matches instead of others on the list. Now perhaps some of that repetition will end, and will also add some strategy for when unsuccessful challengers choose to request another title match.

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It’s J.D. “Where’s Best of Raw 2009 Disc Three” Dunn and Michael Bauer discussing Davey Richards in Japan and the return of The Young Bucks…ahem…Generation Me to ROH in this week’s 411Mania Buy or Sell.

Mike Campbell reviews Kayfabe Commentary’s YouShoot with Jim Cornette, the latest installment in Cornette’s ever-impressive and gregarious shoot interviews.

That will cover it for this week and next time out, thoughts on the latest ROH and CHIKARA DVDs, plus more. Thanks for reading!

BROOKLYN!
–Ari–