The Wrestling Sandwich 03.16.11 Part 2

Scorpion’s Take:

Steve suggested to me that we review the process of Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan and what they have done for the business, and I for the most part agree it is time for a yearly review of their efforts. Have Hogan and Bischoff contributed positively or negatively to TNA? Judging by the past 13 and a half months, there are definitely two cases that can be made.

Positive Impacts:
– Created the greatest hourly rating in TNA history (1.7) on Jan 4, 2010.
– Created the greatest Thursday night rating in TNA history (1.37)
– Challenged the WWE in 2010 so that for the first time since 2001, we actually had two wrestling companies going against each other on Monday nights with overall viewership topping five and a half million.
– Brought in big names such as Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, and Rob Van Dam.
– Brought in unproven talent that became bigger in TNA such as Mr. Anderson and Mickie James
– Brought several live TNA broadcasts to the table that raised the overall ratings

Negative Impacts:
– Ratings remain mostly the same since before their arrival
– Most of the main event talents remain the same with a few exceptions
– Changing the six sided ring that “didn’t work” without giving it enough of a chance
– Hired people such as Bubba the Love Sponge who were unprofessional and took cheap shots at the company that paid them
– Kept match times ridiculously short at times

A lot of people point to the Sunday night PPV Victory Road as a sign that TNA doesn’t have its shit together, and for one part they are right. The wrestlers are able, the commentators are able, but the bookers need to be replaced. I have never been a fan of Vince Russo, and I know he isn’t the only booker involved but I do know his work contributed to the death of WCW and ever since his time in TNA, they have had worse overall storylines and that “crash-TV” atmosphere Russo made famous. Allowing Jeff Hardy to compete if he was unable to perform was stupidity at its finest, and it could have easily been prevented. Hardy could have still done the quick one move match with Sting but then RVD and Anderson come out and Bischoff makes it a triple threat main event, with whoever wins as champion and whoever is not involved in the fall as the new #1 contender.

Bischoff and Hogan have attempted to bring decades of experience and knowledge to the company, although they can only do so much on their own. Rumors abound that they aren’t too happy about the state of affairs TNA is in, but nobody can confirm that.

But the one thing you cannot doubt is that they have had a positive impact overall for TNA when you consider the points made above.

While TNA requires better bookers and writers, Hogan and Bischoff have pushed TNA to work harder to become better. Sometimes they nail it out of the park such as with creating a new main eventer in Mr. Anderson, and sometimes they drop the ball like Sunday night at Victory Road. Overall, the results are encouraging although at times the terrifying lows can make many an experienced wrestling fan shake their head and wonder aloud how stupid a company can possibly be.

WWE, for all their laurels, have done some really stupid things in their lifetime. During one period from 2000-2004, it was virtually impossible to tune into RAW and not see HHH yapping for twenty minutes every broadcast. Worse, they had Helmsley and Kane involved in the Katie Vick fiasco, they greenlighted a Mae Young pregnancy angle that ended up giving birth to a hand, attempted to show Mark Henry as a sex addict who got “satisfaction” from a transvestite, pretty much killed Lance Storm’s career with the “boring” angle, and naturally enough made the dream event everybody wanted to see of WCW VS WWF turn into a complete joke. But, WWE is often given a pass whereas TNA is beaten to death over the least mistake made.

It is one thing to be successful in 1988 or 1996, but this is 2011. You have to change with the times, and you have to do what works NOW. Bischoff and Hogan have brought some new, fresh ideas with them and they have helped TNA overall. Highest ratings in history do not lie, although the down periods weren’t anything to brag about. TNA has been on the road more under the Bischoff/Hogan regime, they have tried live events, attempted new concepts and storylines, and used celebrity involvement to boost awareness of their product such as Jersey Shore cast members. TNA is attempting to be relevant and interesting, and they will not always be successful. Sometimes, they will be successful and fail to follow up on it. However, one way or another, to survive in this business they need guidance from people who were at the top and know the basic fundamentals to succeed. Hogan and Bischoff are giving TNA that.

Steve’s Take:

Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff made a lot of big promises when they entered TNA. Hogan especially, as he proclaimed that TNA would have ratings in the 3s when he arrived, and they would take over the wrestling business…brother.

That hasn’t quite happened.

Yes, some good things have happened since the arrival of Hollywood & Easy E. They are on the road a lot more, and house show attendance has steadily gone up the more that they’ve traveled. They’ve had more live telecasts, which have certainly been interesting if not always critical successes. They have tried to make a bigger dent in mainstream media with celebrity appearances…the success of those can be debated, but they are getting bigger celebrities than they did back in the day. They’ve brought in some wrestlers that we never thought we’d see in TNA. It’s become a viable place for wrestlers that feel they won’t get what they deserve in WWE.

But you have to wonder, and it’s really tough to say this for sure…does any of this have anything to do with Hulk or Eric?

We do know that they changed the ring from six sides to four. Some people care about this a lot. We do know that Bischoff had a key role in producing TNA Reaction, which got great reviews from many online critics. We do know that Hulk’s had physical problems and hasn’t been able to devote the attention to TNA that he would like to. We also know that he made a heel turn that hasn’t really gotten over with most audiences even though he is good in the role. We do know that Hulk has brought in people like Bubba the Love Sponge that were much more trouble than they were worth.

And yes, ratings are slightly up. But anybody who knows me knows that talk about ratings is among the least interesting things to me in the universe. I’d rather spend a column talking about Orlando Jordan’s bowel movements than talking about TV ratings.

Yes, they’ve pushed Mr. Anderson. They also took the title off of him after a month to continue a Jeff Hardy storyline that defies logic. They pushed the Pope, and now he’s in a feud with Samoa Joe that doesn’t matter enough to warrant a PPV match. They made Rob Van Dam champion. They took the title off of him by having Abyss murder him backstage. He was back in action before they crowned a new TNA Champion. I have no idea if Hogan or Bischoff was behind that idea, but somebody approved it and it happened.

Scorpion complains about how WWE is often given a free pass by critics while TNA is picked apart for every little flaw. There’s a reason for that: track record. WWE has a track record. They’ve been around for decades and have been the world’s biggest wrestling promotion for a pretty good number of them. Yes, they’ve done a lot of stuff that I wish I didn’t see on my television. They’ve made countless mistakes, some of which TNA hasn’t come close to equaling during their tenure.

But yes, WWE gets the benefit of the doubt in most of our eyes. We know what we’re getting from them. They’ve done a lot of dumb things, but they’ve also done a lot of great things, and they’ve been more successful at what they do than any other wrestling promotion in history.

How can you argue against that track record?

TNA has a long way to go before getting on that level. Hogan & Bischoff might help them get there with their “new ideas” which I haven’t really been able to identify. Shaky backstage camera work and one of the lamest heel factions of all time is all I’ve figured out so far.

The jury is still out on Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff’s impact on TNA. They’ve done some good things, but bad things have happened too. I think the question TNA fans, wrestlers and anybody associated with the company need to ask themselves is the same question that Ronald Reagan asked during the 1980 Presidential Election.

“Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

Don’t tell me that ratings being up a fraction of a point means that you are.

Indycent Exposure: Chuck Taylor
By Steve Cook

I’ve always been a big fan of independent wrestling. It’s where the superstars of tomorrow get their start and usually where the superstars of yesterday end up going. Sure, the crowds aren’t always great, the production usually sucks and not every match or promo is the most fantastic thing ever, but a good independent wrestling promotion gives you a nice bang for your buck while introducing you to people you don’t see on TV every week. “Indycent Exposure” (credit to Scorp for the name) will be a weekly introduction to somebody that doesn’t appear on national television every week. Some of the more diehard wrestling fans will be familiar with these folks, others will be seeing them for the first time.

Our first subject reminds me a lot of myself if I was about thirty pounds lighter and had more hair. Much like your humble correspondent, this man is known far and wide as a Kentucky Gentleman. He regularly competes in CHIKARA, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Dragon Gate USA, EVOLVE and countless other promotions. Chuck Taylor has been impressing people on the indy scene over the last couple of years, and has been getting some major love in the Sapolsky projects as of late. He was voted MVP in EVOLVE’s 2010 season and is part of the Ronin group in Dragon Gate USA alongside Johnny Gargano & Rich Swann.

Personally, I’m partial to some of his teamings from PWG. His team with Kenny Omega was known as the Men of Low Moral Fiber, and that was certainly a fitting name for them. Once Omega moved on to other things, he joined up with Human Tornado and became part of 2 Skinny Black Guys of Low Moral Fiber. Tornado retired and El Generico ended up joining Taylor in the team. Because when you think of skinny black guys, you think of Chuck Taylor & El Generico. He is currently part of the Fightin’ Taylor Boys with Ryan Taylor & Brian Cage-Taylor.

Chucky T likes his groups. In addition to Ronin & the Fightin’ Taylor Boys, he is part of Team F.I.S.T. in CHIKARA, and is sponsored by Larry Dallas in EVOLVE. My theory is that Dallas chose to sponsor him due to a recommendation from Reby Sky, who has quite the thing for Kentucky Gentlemen. Who can blame her? Here’s a look at some cool moves that Taylor likes to use. For some reason the videographer insists on calling his finisher the “Omega Driver”, but Taylor prefers to call it the “Awful Waffle”, which is one of the best move names in the business.

Another favorite pastime of Taylor’s is scaring children. He absolutely hates kids for some reason…I’m sure he’s explained it in a promo somewhere, but YouTube has not helped me out as of yet. So here’s a clip of him scaring children!

Will Chuck Taylor ever make it to one of the big two? My first instinct is to say no because he’s too small, but both WWE & TNA have shown flexibility on this lately. If he continues to be charismatic and impressive in the ring, maybe we’ll see him on Season 11 of NXT.

If nothing else, Chucky deserves some love for naming himself after possibly the most iconic sneaker of all time:

Mine wore out pretty quickly, but they were still some pretty cool kicks. Blacky, do you have any opinions on Chuck Taylor for the masses?

BS: Steve, I don’t follow too many wrestlers in the independants as you know, but I actually know of Chuck Taylor. I’m a move fanatic, so I like to check YouTube from time to time and I saw this “Omega Driver” being advertised, and it was Chuck delivering one to some hapless individual who looked absolutely destroyed afterwards. And, I even saw his tombstone piledriver variation on it. I’m sold on the finisher and I can tell the kid has charisma and talent from those videos, so I’d love to see him join one of the big two IF he can still use his Awful Waffle, as you call it. The main problem is if he’ll be required to “dumb down” his moveset or if he can keep what makes him unique, and that remains to be seen. For now, though, he looks like somebody to keep an eye on and if I ran a company, I’d sign that dude to a development deal ASAP along with Castagnoli and Generico from what I’ve seen by all three of them.

Take 5 is where we each highlight five performers to keep an eye on in the coming weeks and months. This was Scorpion’s idea, and he suggested dividing it into the following categories:

Steve’s not sure there are enough authority figures he wants to highlight to last very long, but he’s willing to go along with it.

Steve’s Wrestler To Watch: Brodus Clay

So Johnny Curtis won Season 4 of NXT, right? I was pretty sure he did, because I remember being quite surprised when it happened. Curtis won a tag team title shot alongside R-Truth, but he was not the NXT cast member that appeared on Raw & Smackdown last week. It was Brodus Clay who made his presence felt in matches on Raw & Smackdown, as he’s taken a spot at the right hand of Alberto Del Rio. If you’re not familiar with Mr. Clay, dude is a monster. Billed at 6’8″ & 360 lbs., Brodus doesn’t look like your typical WWE Superstar. He’s got decent talking ability, and being alongside Del Rio is a pretty good place to be these days. Like the other NXT guys, Brodus will get his chance to shine. I’m sure he’ll note what’s happened to some of them after getting that initial chance.

Scorpion’s Wrestler To Watch: Alberto Del Rio.

Could you really expect me to start out with any other choice? Alberto has become a sensation practically overnight, going from a highly pushed WWE rookie (not rookie to wrestling) to the newest main eventer. Alberto came off the last six months with a rocket strapped to his ass, beating 39 other men in the first 40 man Royal Rumble and main eventing WrestleMania in a few weeks against Edge. This week, he’s brought in Brodus Clay to help even things out with Christian and focus his full attention on the World Champion. Alberto is on track to break records, win titles, and kick some ass…

But you already knew that!

Steve’s Tag Team To Watch: Edge & Christian

One of WWE’s greatest tag teams of all time reunited on last week’s edition of Smackdown and emerged victorious over Alberto Del Rio and his protégé Brodus Clay. Nobody should expect a return to the tag team ranks for E & C, but this situation is worth keeping an eye on considering their issue with Del Rio and Edge’s World title defense against the Essence of Excellence at WrestleMania. How will Christian figure into Edge’s title defense against the man that took him out of action?

Scorpion’s Tag Team To Watch: Beer Money.

One of the most successful and accomplished teams, Beer Money have put on wrestling clinics showing not just tag team but overall wrestling that should make any fan proud. If you never actually watched the Best of 5 series with the Motor City Machine Guns or the PPV bout before it, do yourself a favor and watch! Beer Money have good mic skills, excellent in-ring talent, and are instantly recognizable and seperated from the pack once you see them compete. With the Drinking While Investing (DWI) finishing maneuver and memorable tag team double teams such as the slingshot DDT and double vertical suplex (BEER! MONEY!) and the entrance complete with boozer cruiser, Beer Money stand out in the top tag division in the major leagues today.

Steve’s Woman To Watch: Lucky Cannon Maryse

You knew this was coming, right? Maryse’s 2011 has been pretty quiet so far, as she’s been hooked up with Ted DiBiase in an act that’s gone nowhere for anybody involved and hasn’t gotten a lot of attention from people. Now, I know some of you are thinking that hosting NXT isn’t a huge step up because most people don’t watch it, but it’s a great opportunity for the Sexiest of the Sexy to hone her mike skills and show off a different side of her personality. Or she could just stick her hand in everybody’s face the whole season. Either way, I’m interested.

Scorpion’s Woman To Watch: Madison Rayne.

I remember watching Madison pretty much only exist to take the pinfall for the Beautiful People when I began watching TNA, but she has become booked so well now that she’s able to take people apart without the help of Sforcina’s favorite Knockout, Tara. Madison has the looks and charisma to get over without a problem, but she also has some nice maneuvers including her finisher, the Rayne Drop. Frankly, this is a young woman with the talent to go a long way in any company, and after disposing of Roxxi so easily on Impact last week, even a loss to Mickie or a new debuting female wouldn’t hurt the streak she’s been on.

Steve’s Authority Figure To Watch: “The Network”

It’s pretty tough to tell who has the power in TNA at any given time. One week it’s Hulk Hogan, the next week it’s Eric Bischoff, then it’s Dixie Carter, and if nobody else is there, I think Eric Young gets to book matches. Theoretically the company belongs to Hulk Hogan right now, but he didn’t even last a week in charge without having a main event forced on him by “the network”. This led to Sting winning the TNA title and Hogan & Bischoff going all crazy over that damn network making them have matches and stuff.

So, no matter who has the power in TNA, they will have to deal with Spike TV’s demands. I can only hope it leads to the return of this man:

Hey, he did create the Ultimate X match. That’s more than Bischoff or Hogan have brought to the table.

Scorpion’s Authority Figure To Watch: Teddy Long.

Long’s been pretty busy this last Smackdown, making stipulations and matches left and right. Teddy has been pretty much a mainstay on Smackdown for seven years, proving himself to be fair almost all of the time and seems to always have a solution to whatever problem pops up in the ring. After re-uniting Edge and Christian for a night, Long also made Mysterio/Rhodes official for WrestleMania and seems to be a good foil for groups like The Corre or devious competitors like Del Rio.

Steve’s Commentator To Watch: William Regal

Regal made his WWE announcing debut on NXT last week, taking Josh Mathews’ place alongside Todd Grisham as a color commentator. He’s already mastered something that a lot of wrestlers who make the transition to commentary have a very tough time with, the art of not spending most of your time talking about yourself. His self-depreciating humor will serve well in this new endeavor for the grizzled veteran. I think William has a lot of potential as a commentator and wouldn’t be surprised to see him move up the ranks the next time Vince decides to rotate announcers.

Scorpion’s Commentator To Watch: Taz.

When I first heard Taz doing commentary, I hated it. In fact, I was not a huge Taz fan at all! Over the years, Taz has won me over as a seriously credible and interesting personality who is able to interject not only his own wisdom over the moves and their impact in the ring but also a few one liners and humorous observations. He has become in my view the top color commentator in the business today, able to correctly call maneuvers by their proper names as well as throw in some funny comments when times call for it. And of course, he always lets us know when it is time to let the pigeons loose! Taz genuinely sounds like he is interested in the competition and gets the fans drawn in, as opposed to the more cookie-cutter blandness of most WWE commentators these days. For that, I salute Taz and hope you guys tune into Impact and pay attention to the Human Suplex Machine.

Scorpion wanted to do a girl contest like several of the other 411 columns do because getting readers to vote on which girl is hotter is always good for comment numbers. Steve went along with it, but with a caveat…he thought it’d be a nice twist if the contest pitted a woman of wrestling against a woman of TV, film, music, sports, politics, basically anything other than wrestling. This way they could avoid repeating matchups from other peoples’ columns. This week, Scorpion picks a woman of wrestling while Steve picks a random female celebrity.

BS: The reason I went with Velvet Sky is honestly because I believe she is the sexiest woman in wrestling right now and as good if not better than any of the models and celebrities out there getting paid 100x more money to look good.

SC: I went with noted actress Jessica Biel because she’s been in the news lately. Apparently her relationship with Justin Timberlake is over. Yes, I am available.