The Wrestling Sandwich 5.28.2011

I’d like to address one thing before we begin. Some people both on the comments and even Steve made remarks about the Sacrifice main event last year for TNA being a mistake. It actually wasn’t a mistake at all. See, I realize a lot of you really do watch TNA or at least attempt to every week despite bashing the product, and I wanted to see if there really were people out there who did watch and didn’t just bash it because it was the cool thing to do. So I figured why not? I’ll slip a little something into the Roundtable. A few of you noticed, most didn’t, but it confirmed to me that there is a larger audience for TNA than people want to admit. See how easy that was? I was wrong about WrestleMania not hitting 1 million buys and I admitted it a few weeks ago FIRST THING in the column, so I do apologize if I am wrong or make a mistake. This was deliberate, and congratulations to those who did catch it and realize my point.

I’d also like to thank Spencer Mallard and The Fuj for their continuing attempt to combat WWE bias everywhere on the site. Most of you consider them trolls but I think having supporters of every wrestling company getting their voices heard is important.

Non-Wrestling question to the guys out there: I just saw a post of pictures for that new girl who replaced Megan Fox in Transformers 3. In case you missed it, it is available here and I’d like to ask if you prefer Megan or Rosie in the franchise? If enough people make a choice, I’ll reveal results next week and my view on which one is the hottest. And if enough people make a choice, I’ll be happy to post some pictures of the one you chose next week. See, I may like TNA but I’m good to you!

And here we go into the Sandwich!

A Tribute to the Macho Man

Last Friday, I came home from work and turned on the television to watch FOX News like usual, only to see at the bottom of the screen that former professional wrestler “Macho Man” Randy Savage had died. Obviously, my stomach turned at the news and later on I checked 411 to see if it was true, and sadly it was. The very first wrestler I ever saw compete on TV was gone, and all of us were saddened to see him go.

For me, Randy Savage was more than just “some wrestler” as I’d had the privilege of seeing him perform live in my state several times. The way he performed, his intense promos leading into the matches, and of course the flamboyance and pageantry of his entrances gave away that he was the total package when it came to entertaining a crowd. He could get 60,000 people to boo or cheer him with one simple action, and was beloved around the world for it. Although he was actually smaller than you’d think in person, his career rose to legendary status within several years in the WWF and proved that anybody could be somebody, if you believed and worked hard enough to obtain your goals. Macho Man was the first champion after Hulk Hogan to hold the belt longer than a year, and the night he became champion was after wrestling four times against four totally different opponents: The rough Butch Reed, the technical Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, the gargantuan One Man Gang, and the opportunistic “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase. It is interesting also to note that night Savage was up against more than four guys, he was up against their managers as well. Slick, Jimmy Hart, and bodyguard Virgil were three more to contend with, and Elizabeth obviously wouldn’t be enough by herself. Hulk Hogan came to even the odds, even when Andre the Giant got involved, and assisted in the defining victory of the Macho Man that put him on the main event level even though he wasn’t 6’8 and 302 lbs.

Savage impressed everybody in the promotions he worked for with his work ethic, attention to detail, and ability to connect with the audience. Whether he was competing as a face or heel in WWF, WCW, or TNA, he always had a believable role rather than the over-the-top gimmick some were known for in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Savage was simply a flamboyant egomaniac that happened to back up his words and had, at the time, the most gorgeous woman in wrestling at his side to prove how he was truly “Macho” in comparison to his opponents. It was a big step up from Fabulous Moolah and Judy Martin when Miss Elizabeth debuted, that’s for sure. To this day, nobody has ever wrestled four matches in one night at WrestleMania and been victorious in all of them except the Macho Man, which is a feat in and of itself considering how Vince obviously had bitter feelings when Savage left the WWF for greener pastures in Atlanta, Georgia. As one of the biggest players of the 80’s boom period, people knew his name and Macho was able to work as a top name in any promotion around the world, choosing to spend the remainder of his career in WCW until eventually it would be bought out by McMahon.

Randy always was a competitor, and he was tired of taking a constant backseat to Hulk Hogan. Savage recorded a memorable rap CD in which he bashed Hogan on several tracks and repeatedly challenged him to matches, although Hogan never accepted. Later, the two would talk and begin mending their fences. Savage briefly participated in TNA, although well past his prime at the time.

The one thing that pisses me off more than anything else? We will never get to see Randy Savage stand on the stage during WrestleMania, accepting the kudos for his induction in the WWE Hall of Fame. Seriously, how the hell can any hall of fame not have Randy Savage when you consider his matches and the memories he has created? I was looking forward to the day Vince McMahon would allow Savage to take the mic and discuss his career and thank all his loyal fans, and have a joint induction of himself and former wife and manager Miss Elizabeth. Perhaps one last time, Savage could have put Elizabeth on his shoulders as the fans applauded and cheered but with both of them gone too early in this life, that will not occur next or any year. It would have been interesting, to say the least, especially since it appeared as if Vince was starting to become more open to the idea of letting Randy Savage participate in the WWE, with promotional duty for WWE All Stars.

I know most of you are tired of reading all the tributes and stories by now, a full week after the untimely death of Randy, but I never got a chance to post anything in my column last week and this week, I decided to remedy that.

Rest In Peace Macho Man.

Smartest Thing of the Week: WrestleMania Beef Up Leads To Over One Million Buys

Before The Rock, Trish Stratus, and Steve Austin came to WWE this year it was looking bad. Ratings were down, buyrates were down, and nobody was interested in the new guys or the constant Super-Cena angle. Vince decides to do something about it and brings back some of the most popular names from the Attitude Era to play parts in the show and they score the million buys mark they have tried unsuccessfully to reach for the past two years. I was wrong in claiming they would get a lower buyrate, but that’s good news for everybody on the card that will come home with a bigger bonus than last year, as they deserve.

Dumbest Thing of the Week: There’s no CRYING in Wrestling!

WWE had the most unstoppable Diva in a decade on a collision course with the entire Diva division. She had been laying waste to everything in her path, and was headed to take on eight women at once. The audience looked on, the Divas began worrying, and Kharma stepped into the ring… to promptly drop on her knees and cry.

Now, the reason why she did this is still unclear outside of something has occurred that assures she will be out the rest of the year, and a lot of people are thinking pregnancy. But this was about the dumbest thing the WWE could possibly have done and frankly, they didn’t need to do it. Have her come to the ring, the RAW GM chimes in and says if she attacks anybody she’s fired, and simply have her clothesline somebody down and get “fired” as she walks off escorted by security and officials. On Smackdown, Long says she isn’t welcome either, and then she’s gone until she shows up surprising everybody next year and continuing on her tear. How do you get this wrong, seriously?

OLD SCHOOL WRESTLER OF THE WEEK

“Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig

Curt Hennig was a favorite wrestler of mine from the second I saw those infamous promos in which he bragged he could do anything perfectly, and went on to prove his wrestling skill in the company. Hennig was one of those rare pure performers who could athletically take bumps and deliver moves in such a way that compels you to truly believe in the performance, and he was an expert at working with some big names such as Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and even Shawn Michaels briefly. Like most wrestlers, however, Curt didn’t start out in the WWF. First, we have to go back to the AWA to chronicle the start of the perfect wrestler.

Curt Hennig started out in the AWA, on Jan 30th, 1980 with the gimmick of “Cool” Curt Hennig. He’d soon team with Scott Hall and capture the AWA Tag Titles, one of many titles Curt would add to his resume. The biggest win in AWA for Hennig was his World Title victory over Nick Bockwinkel on May 2, 1987. Curt and his dad Larry “The Ax” Hennig would face off with the real owners of the AWA, Verne and “Don’t Call Me Rambo” Greg Gagne, and join up with the Diamond Exchange, led by everybody’s favorite self-help guru, Diamond Dallas Page! Hennig, however, realized that things in the AWA could only take him so far, and with the promotion adamant about pushing the owner’s son and Nick Bockwinkel over younger talent, dropped the title after a fifty-three week reign to Jerry “The King” Lawler.

Hennig had competed in the WWF before, in 1982, although he didn’t accomplish much at the time. Despite popular misconception, Curt was not always known as “Mr. Perfect” when he began with the company. He started out as Curt Hennig, no gimmick outside that of a heel, and competed in several matches featured on WWF Prime Time Wrestling. Eventually, he’d become famous for his promos debuting his new character of “Mr. Perfect”, who according to the hype could do anything perfectly. Hennig actually did perform all those amazing feats on each promo himself, although sometimes it would take several attempts as he was at first very shy in front of the camera. Curt blasted through the WWF’s preliminary wrestler ranks and then to midcarders, having an undefeated streak for a year and picking up recently turned Lanny Poffo as his new manager under the guise of “The Genius”. Hulk Hogan was the target, and Hennig actually cost Hogan a count out victory to The Genius when he took his title and destroyed it on Saturday Night’s Main Event. His first loss, in WWF’s history, was to Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake at WrestleMania VI, although he’d lost to several others in tapings and house shows before.

Hennig paired up with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and went after the Intercontinental Championship, winning it during the finals of a tournament that crowned a new champion after it was declared vacant due to its previous holder, Ultimate Warrior, abdicating it after winning the World title. Kerry Von Erich would pin Hennig for the belt, and then with the help of Ted Dibiase’s “guest announcer” services Curt would go on to take the belt again. But at SummerSlam 1991, he lost the belt to Bret Hart due to bulging discs in his back and a broken tailbone and requiring time off from the ring. “The Coach” John Tolos was his last manager at this time, as Heenan had fully entered the world of broadcast journalism. He would play a famous role as the executive consultant to Ric Flair while Flair entered the company and became champion over Randy “Macho Man” Savage.

The final edition of Prime Time Wrestling featured a roundtable of various wrestlers and commentators, including Mr. Perfect, who watched Randy Savage request Perfect to be his partner against Flair and Razor Ramon at Survivor Series. Heenan said Perfect couldn’t handle that level of competition anymore, and Perfect fought with Heenan until he accepted the invitation, prompting Heenan to slap him. Perfect dumped a water pitcher over Heenan and declared he was “back” as Savage’s partner, getting the victory when Flair and Razor got disqualified. Mr. P defeated Ric Flair during Monday Night RAW in a “Loser Leaves the WWF” match so Flair could return to WCW. I still remember seeing a bloody Hennig with two beautiful women on his arms soaking in the cheers after putting Flair away, and how furious Heenan became. He’d enlist the services of a man who was “beyond perfection” named Lex Luger. “The Narcissist” Lex Luger would pin Mr. Perfect in their first encounter at WrestleMania IX, which would feature Curt heading to the back and attack Shawn Michaels, who was allied with Luger. It was Curt Hennig who coined the “Heartbreak Kid” moniker for Shawn, during his color commentary with Vince McMahon while healing from injury. Unfortunately, his injuries put him on the shelf again before the 1993 Survivor Series. He would return briefly to cost Luger the title against Yokozuna at WrestleMania X, but due to his injuries, the planned feud would never take place and he’d leave the WWF.

After a year off, he returned to WWF when his health was better and again was on commentary, but this time as a face. It was a ruse, however, as he had been seemingly stealing all of Triple H’s female assistants when he’d come to the ring, which drove Helmsley mad. Marc Mero saw Hennig seemingly get assaulted by HHH, and stepped in when Hennig was too injured to compete. Of course, it was all a plan and Hennig clocked Mero with a steel chair to allow HHH to score a pin. This was billed as the perfect hoax, and then when Hennig signed with WCW, only the footage of Hennig getting attacked by Helmsley was shown with him referred to as “less then perfect” as punishment for the jump.

Hennig’s most famous part in WCW was after his debut, when he double-crossed his tag team partner DDP and joined the Four Horsemen to take Arn Anderson’s position. During War Games, Hennig revealed he was actually nWo and helped assault the Horsemen by threatening to slam the steel door shut on Flair’s head if the Horsemen didn’t quit. Mongo did, but Hennig slammed it on his head anyway, giving the victory to the nWo and injuring Flair for a period of time. He’d become US champ over Mongo with the help of Rick Rude, his long-time friend, who jumped after the Survivor Series screwjob occurred. Hennig would later turn with Rude to join the Wolfpack faction after it was formed, although it was obvious they were moles for Hollywood from the get-go. Naturally, after having Konnan replace him for a match against Goldberg, Hennig and Rude jumped Konnan after the loss and showed off the black and white. During the nWo’s fat trimming, Hennig was attacked and kicked out in 1999. He would go on to form the West Texas Rednecks with his partner Barry Windham, Barry Duncum Jr, and Kendall Windham. Hennig did vocals on “Rap is Crap” and “Good ol’ Boys” which were used as theme songs for the group, blasting the rap business as they feuded with Master P’s “No Limit Soldiers” only the fans began cheering the Rednecks over the Soldiers. Hennig would lose a feud to Shawn Stasiak after Stasiak became “Perfect-Shawn” and a career match to Buff Bagwell in late 1999, before leaving WCW in 2000.

In 2002, Hennig was contacted as one of four returning wrestlers for the WWF Royal Rumble. He, along with Goldust, Val Venis, and the Godfather, would come back at least for one night. Ultimately all of them would return, although Hennig got involved in a fight with Brock Lesnar during the “Plane Ride From Hell” which saw him get fired as a result. He would compete briefly in TNA when they began, and then tragically died on Feb 10, 2003 due to cocaine intoxication. He had been taking various drugs and painkillers to help him compete, and it finally caught up to him.

During his career, Hennig actually did hold a recognized world heavyweight championship in the AWA, although never WWF or WCW straps. Hennig was renowned as a practical joker and a fun guy to be around backstage, despite the injuries and setbacks that kept him from ever holding the world title. His DVD hit #1 the week it was released on Billboard’s top recreational videos.

I was a fan of Mr. Perfect since he began the gimmick, and remained a fan when he turned face against Flair and Razor. He was one of the few guys I liked as a heel or face, and seeing him compete was a lot of fun. I thought his comeback at Survivor Series 1992 was underrated, as he put on a compelling story and nearly turned heel during the match, only to return and save Macho from a two-on-one assault. The day I heard he was dead, I felt pretty shocked as less than a year ago he’d been competing in WWF, and obviously I was quite sad to read the news on 411.

Judge for yourself on the Survivor Series 1992 match:

Take 5

Wrestler To Watch: Ted Dibiase

After having a bad few months, Dibiase was drafted to Smackdown where he seemed to make little difference until after Cody Rhodes, his former partner, pinned him quickly two Smackdowns ago. The next week Ted came to the ring accompanied by Cody and it appears the two are once again working together, with Cody helping Ted overcome his funk. Dibiase got a much-needed victory and looks to continue his winning ways in the short term at least, and has a second chance at boosting his career on SmackDown.

Promo Of The Week: JR’s Shoot on Vince McMahon, Monday Night RAW, 1996

This isn’t in its entirety, unfortunately, but this was the part where JR was about to announce the fake Razor Ramon into the ring and then shot on McMahon for several minutes. Afterwards, he brought Razor in and the rest you can see for yourself! This is one of the reasons JR is so missed, the passion and emotion he brought to every part of his job was amazing.

Babe To Watch: Miss Tessmacher

She’s gorgeous with glasses or without, and the former secretary of Eric Bischoff is showing some serious curves in and out of the ring each week on Impact. Now, as Brooke Adams she didn’t make much of a name in WWE’s version of ECW, but in TNA she’s been flourishing despite not being very good in the ring. And hey, everybody needs time to learn the craft! The important thing is, she’s keeping guys interested in tuning in and looking great doing it. Hopefully she’ll dump Lacey Von Erich as her trainer (KAYFABBBEEEEEEE!) and find somebody like, oh, Al Snow? He does have some nifty martial arts moves.

And a special treat: Miss Tessmacher’s BOOTY SHAKING EXPERTISE!

Match of the Week To Watch: El Valiente vs. Polvora, CMLL April 9, 2011

Well, there isn’t much to say about this match because it is SO GOOD that you’ll have to look at it for yourself. Some of you may question why some 411 writers vote for CMLL wrestlers and matches, and this two out of three falls classic might help explain it. For back-story: Polvora is the Mexican National Welterweight champion, coming in after previously assaulting El Valiente. Valiente is looking for revenge and the title, and it is worth the view!

First part:

Second and final part:

Mystery Section to Watch: Line of the Week!

This is where every week I’ll give a random person or event to watch. In this case, I decided on a famous line by Sid Vicious.

Sid lets Kevin Nash know just how smart Big Sexy is:

Good job, Sid. Good job. All kidding aside, despite this gaffe Sid was pretty intense on promos and in the ring and had a good following. And he’s lucky we only use ten percent of our brain, according to popular misconception

Haterade: Hater’s Gotta Hate, Here We Set ‘Em Straight!

“The Fuj and Spencer Mallard are two shining examples of articulation and open-mindness.”

You do know that the majority of Spencer Mallard and the Fuj posts are just trolls who pretend to be them to make TNA fans look bad, Wes. Why do you make it so easy to dislike you?

Look, I like TNA. I watch every single Impact and TNA PPV they have. Hell I even watch Xplosion every week. But if you don’t call them out on their shit and continue to write completely freaking insane things like the above comment and that stupid top ten list you are never going to be seen as anything else but a joke, Wes.

As for shit, take for instance the whole Bischoff/Gen Me debacle. Max Buck went out as a heel and had the an amazing match of the night against Kazarian at Sacrifice, and the next day he gets pinned as a face by Eric Bischoff. They could just as easily had the completely logical finish with Jeremy doing the job and Max walking out on his brother, who he’s been feuding with. Thus they would have kept Max as a heel, which he’s been doing a good job of, and still got their point across.

I think you might respond to this, Wes, which I respect, but please for God’s sake stop defending everything TNA does, or just quit.

Posted By: Christopher (Guest) on May 21, 2011 at 01:00 AM”

Christopher you should know by now that just like John Cena, I never quit!

I think I see where they are going with the X-Division stuff, by the way. Bischoff is punishing them for daring to call him out outside the arena weeks earlier, and they are going to mount a challenge to Immortal. This was likely the first week of a long-term storyline involving Immortal and the X-Division. If I am wrong, I’ll agree with you it was shit, how’s that?

“First off I want to know if the person picture who refused to talk to 411 was Reby Sky, because she is pictured in the column. If I could find out who didn’t want to talk to 411, that would be great.

Now, onto Wes. I said last week I have tried to deal with you liking TNA more than WWE, but you just are a complete TNA fan who I can’t stand and pretty much hate WWE. I have multiple reasons to say why you love TNA and hate WWE.

1. You say that The Fuj and Spencer Mallard are “two shining examples of articulation and open-mindness”? REALLY? They say WWE is dying a lot when it clearly isn’t, and are CLEARLY WWE haters and TNA trolls.

2. That list you are defending about facts about either TNA or WWE proves you are completely pro TNA and won’t give WWE a chance(just like why you hate people on 411 with them loving WWE and not giving TNA a chance). That list is all pro TNA and anti WWE. If you had at least 1 that was pro WWE and anti TNA, it would make you look better. You won’t do a list that has only bad TNA info and good WWE info because you don’t want to bash TNA/be nice to WWE.

3. Your “Special Report” is so stupid. When I read most writers on 411’s reason why they don’t like TNA, they say “I tried to give TNA a shot, but I just didn’t like the show or the product”. People here bash WWE a lot(not as much as TNA but they do), so stop with the “411 writers LOVE WWE and HATE TNA” Some people like WWE and don’t like TNA, and vise versa. People don’t like TNA, why do you hate that? IT’S THEIR OPINION!!! Also, you hated that Superstars had the MOTW, when you probably didn’t watch the matches on Superstars or just hated it because it was WWE and on Superstars. The Kidd/Trent series of matches are better than any matches on TNA the past couple of weeks because they were. People bash TNA when they see stuff they don’t like, and bash WWE when they see stuff they don’t like. With the rating going down, why does that matter. Wrestling isn’t as popular, that’s why rating are down. WWE still has really good ratings, and TNA has been around 1.1 it seems like forever.

These 3 things I listed proves to me why you hate WWE and love TNA. I hope you respond to this week’s comment over last week’s(or both), because I want a response to this. I have TRIED to give you a chance, but you do the pretty much the same thing you hate the writers on here for, except you love TNA and hate WWE. People give TNA a chance and don’t like it, DEAL WITH IT! Stop being a hypocrite because it makes you look bad. If you stay the same, next week’s column could be hard to read with only TNA love and WWE hate. I really you respond to this comment and will be ready for a response.

Good Column Cook, please only be gone 1 week.

RIP Macho Man
OHHH YEAH!!!
DIG IT!!!

Posted By: Still Guest#8287 (Guest) on May 21, 2011 at 03:25 AM”

I hope you enjoyed my Macho tribute earlier in the column, first off.

About the match: Match of the Week, in my view, is supposed to be seen by people on TV. Superstars got cancelled because WWE didn’t have enough fan interest to raise ratings and keep it. I don’t count Superstars because it was cancelled and is only available on WWE.COM to watch. Although my colleagues disagree, I vote for the match I think was best that aired on television and exclude any show that was cancelled and stuck on a website. WWE does have good ratings considering the competition, but as I’ve pointed out the overall wrestling viewership and the Nielsen points have dropped considerably since Attitude ended. TNA does need to improve that number, but SpikeTV isn’t exactly well known throughout the country as USA, SyFy, and many others are. They may be “available” in a certain number of households but that is misleading since most people have hundreds of channels and never watch most of them. I’ve got around a thousand, for example, and I can’t watch every one. If people give TNA a chance and hate it, that’s their opinion and I will respect it. But most people who bash it do not even watch it enough to comment on it. I do hope, as I said, you enjoyed the extras this week to make up for Cook’s absence.

“It’s the same with you every week Wes. There’s nothing wrong with hating TNA and loving WWE just like there’s nothing wrong with hating WWE and loving TNA. People can love and hate whatever show they want. It’s their choice. What bothers me is Wes getting mad when people love WWE and hate TNA when he himself loves TNA but hates WWE. And what bothers me even more is him denying it. Dude just admit it. You are bias and you blindly love TNA. You are always taking shots at WWE and praising TNA. Both shows make mistakes and both shows do some good stuffs. When TNA does something stupid atleast admit and when WWE does something good atleast mention it without taking a shot at WWE. And please for once try to defend TNA without taking a shot at WWE. I’m a little bit interested about next weeks column. I wonder if you are going to bash WWE and praise TNA in the entire column. If you do and this column eventually turns out to be written by only you and then I’ll stop reading this. I like both TNA and WWE but I’m tired of you bashing WWE all the time and praising TNA all the time even when they do stupid things like they’ve been doing since Hogan came in. WWE isn’t great but its not as bad as you portray it.

Posted By: David (Guest) on May 21, 2011 at 01:28 PM”

I don’t hate when people love WWE and hate TNA, David, I hate when people do not watch TNA and then randomly bash it because all their friends do. I do not blindly love TNA, if you’ve seen my comments about their marketing and writing team in the past you should know that is anything but a defense.

Legion, I have to chop down the reply.

1. “This statement is misleading and full of speculation. The cyclical nature of wrestling isn’t something that you can pin down to a ten year cycle like that. The last boom started in 1997, but it didn’t actually start to taper off until 2001. That lands in two decades right there. And who are we to assume that things won’t change again? UFC could fold. The football strike could have negative affects on the viewers like baseball and hockey before it. All you have here is speculation, which is not the same as facts.”

The cyclical nature has come and gone with the advent of hundreds of new channels, UFC, a renewed popularity in football, and more PPV options than you can shake a stick at, Legion. In the past four decades, there has been some type of a boom that raised ratings and mainstream interest except for 2000-2010 overall. Even if UFC folds, mixed martial arts attracts more fans because it is “real” and another company will pop in. The football strike is Vince’s BEST chance to attract more viewers this fall but even with a strike I’m not sure if McMahon can change the way the digital age has affected TV viewers.

2. “Wasn’t this the same column where I read that “WWE did it first” wasn’t a plausible defense for what TNA does? This response more so than most of your others shows the bias you have for TNA/against WWE as your basically saying “I know it’s happened in TNA and other companies too, but the point of this is to make WWE look bad.” I’m not denying that it happens in WWE, but I won’t pretend that it doesn’t happen elswhere.”

I was never aware of TNA releasing women just because they were considered “overweight” or were pregnant, though.

3. “WWE is an established brand. They don’t have to sell their products for a bargain basement price because they already have their fanbase. TNA is STILL trying to establish a loyal fanbase, even after being in business for almost 10 years. The inability of TNA to charge full price for any of their products is evidence of them failing to consistantly provide a decent product and keep viewers hooked. And your also only looking at PPV’s and the dvd’s of said ppv’s. What about the retrospectives that WWE puts out that run about 9 hrs, roughly 7 of which are matches? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.”

TNA has over one million loyal fans as ratings attest to every week, I’d say that qualifies as a loyal fanbase. TNA has been in business for nearly ten years but not a lot of people even know about TNA, again due to poor marketing on their part. They do charge full price, but the fact they offer such bargains here and there takes it easy on the consumer’s wallet during bad economic times while WWE RAISES their PPV prices and wonders why the numbers are falling. WWE retrospectives are what, Best of RAW/Smackdown or best of the year? When they release four PPV DVD’s and a t-shirt for less than twenty dollars, call me.

4. – About Jeff Hardy, I’m not going to defend Hardy being allowed to come out. You win this point. By the way, I LOVE Domino’s and one of the reasons why is their “we screwed up” campaign that helped people trust the company again. And the pizza is delicious.

5. If WWE doesn’t push new faces, they will not be able to continue into the future as a business because when the old ones retire, they have no replacements. They have to push new names for their future. The fans may not like it at first, Legion, but Vince has a way of shoving them down your throat until you accept them as WWE wants you to.

6. Flair/Sting/older wrestlers – Flair is almost ALWAYS used to put somebody over. Sting can still wrestle, and if you notice most of his victories come after REPEATED finishers as if to show the younger guys will not go down to just one. He will also put people over. Also, there is a big difference between Flair putting a guy over and Moolah pinning Victoria to become Women’s Champion a sixth time.

7. I’m glad you have no response to this one, actually. Saves time.

8. “Psst! Wes! Pretending that TNA is without fault is no different than “blindly defending them”. As Good Ol’ JR would say “Blowing the other guys candle out won’t make your burn any brighter.” ” – Good quote, and you are right. However, when have I said TNA is without fault? Did you read my responses in this section so far?

9. About TNA and their best match/Lackluster PPV following – Legion, as I said in this column before, TNA receives a single digit percentage of Impact viewers as PPV customers. WWE does as well on all but WrestleMania. Besides, you use free TV to build interest in the PPV although TNA has said they don’t want to use the PPV model anymore but have to due to existing contracts.

10. “Vince has always tried to keep the term “wrestling” at a distance. The phone call between McMahon and Turner after Turner bought Jim Crockett Promotions out proves this. And by all accounts the Cole/Lawler thing is a combination of the tv writers and Vince himself as he seems pretty high on Cole’s work. Hunter on the other hand has said that he wants to get back to basics and make the wrestling the focal point again. He’s even made it his agenda to get more international stars. I honestly think the product will get better as his involvement grows. And why is it that wrestling “journalists” take every opportunity to point out that titles no longer have any meaning and are “just props”, but they’re also the first ones to complain if “wrestler x” never gets the title or someone holds the title for too long/not long enough?”

Hunter wants to get back to basics? I’m sorry if I am skeptical but I think he’s going to be the same selfish person he has always been. I really feel when Vince is gone, HHH is going to ruin the WWE. But neither of us can talk until after Vince hands it completely over, so we’ll have to agree to disagree and wait out the end. I never believe in using titles as props, and that is why I don’t like certain people holding them. I have respect for the championships, as I use titles as a main voting point on WOTW and MOTW columns. You must have mistaken me with somebody else, as I have never viewed titles as worthless.

“dumbest thing of the week:

Wes pigeon holing ECW as a cesspool. You do know that some of the greatest wrestlers of the Attitude/Nitro era are from ECW, right?

Posted By: jay (Guest) on May 22, 2011 at 12:39 PM”

Anus of wrestling, actually Jay. The greatest wrestlers are from ECW? Hm.
– Chris Jericho started in Stampede and not ECW, if you want to be technical.
– Rey Mysterio competed in Mexico well before he came to ECW BRIEFLY.
– Chris Benoit is another Stampede graduate and was in ECW briefly.
– Steve Austin was in WCCW and WCW before ever joining up with ECW, again briefly.

RVD was from ECW, and he ended up busted with drugs, embarrassing the entire company. The rest never made enough impact to be counted as “great” so again, as I said, the company is massively overrated and the anus of wrestling as many people have suffered injuries and even death from that style. By the way, ECW didn’t originate that hardcore style; FMW did years before ECW was even born as Eastern Championship Wrestling.

“That “Easy Way To Become A Wrestling Columnist” reads just like a post in a internet discussion forum by someone who has fallen out with said forum’s hierarchy and is having a temper tantrum. You’re not better than that?

Posted By: Guest#4570 (Guest) on May 23, 2011 at 12:47 PM”

Uh, not at all. As I said, my intent was not for that section to be thought of as a critique of 411 writers whatsoever. I’m actually getting a promotion of sorts, as I’ll be writing this column solo in the near future. I’m actually on good terms with everybody on the staff because we write and we don’t judge people on their opinions in terms of friendship.

“this is the last time i read this column. cook, stick to the solo work. kirk, i hope you have other employment lined up because you’re not going to last if you keep going out of your way to alienate and insult your audience. your ‘special report’ this week was an especial steaming pile of manure that can only have the effect of having less people visit this site. i’m sure your employers and the advertisers will be thrilled.

Posted By: Guest#4283 (Guest) on May 21, 2011 at 03:34 PM”

Actually last week’s column rose in hits and pleased the powers-that-be. Thanks, though!

AND FINALLY FOR NEW HATERADE:

“You didn’t post that on purpose, why not just admit it? People might respect you a little bit. If you did post it on purpose then it doesn’t make you much of a journalist does it?

Posted By: Xetal (Guest) on May 23, 2011 at 02:37 PM”

Already explained that earlier. I just wanted to mention this because I have a family member who is a journalist. And if this particular family member can get a degree in journalism and be considered one, anybody on the planet can. Seriously, if you saw this person’s pathetic excuse for writing you’d wonder how it took fifteen years for them to get axed. You are more of a journalist than they are and I don’t even know you! And how did posting that statement make me less of a journalist? It was an experiment, Xetal. And based on the reaction a lot more people watch the product than admit to it, which was the entire hope I had coming into that.

OLDER HATERADE:

I wasn’t able to get to this last column but here are the entries ready to go.

“Is Wes Kirk really Jake Chambers? That would explain a lot…this guy has to be a troll on purpose?

Posted By: Fro (Guest) on May 14, 2011 at 12:26 AM”

I don’t see how I’m trolling. In fact, I’ve seen numerous articles in which a good thirty comments are directed as to how much TNA sucks and wishing death on the company while all I am trying to do is keep people from just knocking it to be “cool” in the IWC. By the way, Chambers is a completely different style than me. What that style is may not even have a name but I’m sure hallucinogenic properties are in the equation.

“I know I am wasting my time pointing out how wrong Wes is, but I will…

The TV ratings’ system has changed a TON since the Attitude Era. Raw got a 3.2 last week with 5 million viewers.

Ten years ago, that would have been about a 5.0 rating. To keep it simple, just look at viewers, not a point.

Posted By: I am smart. You are not. (Guest) on May 14, 2011 at 01:27 AM”

I’m afraid, sir, you’ve earned your status as a noddy.

If you are wondering what noddy means, it means you are the opposite of what you say you are.

“Yeah WWE is bad right now but TNA is worse. I’d rather stick with WWE than waste my time with TNA. As for Wes, dude stop it already. At least Steve praises TNA whenever they do something right. You’re always hating on WWE. Your “Dumbest Thing of the Week” section always ends up about something from WWE but never from TNA.

Posted By: David (Guest) on May 14, 2011 at 01:30 AM”

Good reason for that David! Every other column on 411 pretty much buries TNA in some form or fashion, and even Cook does from time to time here on the Sandwich although he went to Lockdown and had a REALLY GREAT time as he told me, although of course he tries to hide it. He’ll see the light someday. No reason to bash TNA time and time again on this column because they get enough undeserved hate.

“Should the right booking/creative group arrive with the billion-dollar roster they have, however, things would change considerably.”

1. Who would you suggest? I don’t see Heyman coming in while Bischoff/Hogan are around.

I think they need to get OUT of the Impact Zone for TV if they seriously want to challenge WWE. When I catch Impact, all I can think of is WCW Worldwide.

Posted By: Wrasslin Fan (Guest) on May 14, 2011 at 02:28 AM”

That would be a good thing, WF. No matter how poorly TNA may be doing in the minds of people at least they are getting paid on time.

And you are right, they need to go elsewhere when they can but right now financially they aren’t able to compete with WWE as far as touring the country. Don’t forget we’re probably in the midst of a double-dip recession, either.

“Wes, you spend 20 or so lines listing positives for TNA and negatives for WWE (some of which are dubious at best, Mae Young as the oldest wrestler in a match, you can’t honestly count that when Flair, Foley, and Hogan have all participated in main event matches in a TNA ring while Mae was a 1 minute, 1 note comedy spot) and at the end of it all, your grand conclusion is “TNA isn’t as bad as people think.”

Which is true, it’s not AS BAD as you might read in the average comment section.

But that’s the best you can say about it, isn’t it?

Posted By: dubya (Guest) on May 14, 2011 at 04:43 AM”

At least you admitted it wasn’t as bad as people are making it out to be.

TNA is good, but it can be better. So no, that isn’t the best I can say or hope for TNA.

Obligatory Hot Babe Photos Can Be Found Here

Just posted Hot Babe Photos Can Be Found Here

Mathew Sforcina asks a question I did not know the answer to in the Your Turn, Smart Guy section. Can you guess it? Ask 411

Greg DeMarco discusses the big ROH sale to those AWESOME new owners Here

For those of you who can read above eighth grade levels, Spencer Baum’s One Fall novel continues here

If you want to drop me a line, remember to add “411” in the subject so I don’t sweep it to the same place as the Nigerian gentlemen trying to use my bank account to move 30 million dollars.

And I noticed Steve’s lovely little “TNA Impact” turd photo that he posted the other week.

Yeah well, Steve isn’t here this week so I’ll close out things by posting the best possible depiction of what Monday Night RAW was like to sit through. And the worst part of this picture is that it was made over four years ago and still is more appropriate today than ever!