Ask 411 Wrestling 03.28.12: The Streak, Triple Titles, Secret Sources, More!

Why did you come here?

*receives hastily scribbled note*

…

People read me because I’m informative? Really? That’s ridicu… I mean, of course they do. Because I’m awesome and smart and stuff. And not at all just some guy with Google.

Anyway, onto the WM questions! Most will be WM related, although some non-WM ones will sneak in. Plus, for a few reasons, I’m not going to bother separating the questions out into two sections. This isn’t an opinion week, it’s just that some questions jump around and a few I can’t be sure which section they should belong to. So for one week only, you’ll have to suffer the inability to know if a question is factual or opinion until you read it.

I know, I’m a monster…

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Backtalking

Women In Wrestling: Why won’t this topic die?

OK, please direct me to the data online that lists the full breakdown of WWE Merchandise Sales for the past 25 or so years broken down into individual superstars. I must have missed that website.

And there was at least one comment a couple weeks ago that called for all the women to be fired. And I see it every so often. But the fact is that I’m not even talking about women’s wrestling, I’m talking about the women. You could probably stop having women’s wrestling matches on WWE TV tomorrow and only the females watching and a small percentage of the online fans would care. But women overall do have a place in wrestling, and I feel that if you are going to have them wrestling, you might as well have it be as best as it can be. Else don’t do it at all.

(And I’ll admit that Trish is my go-to, but I should probably pick someone else… Lita maybe. She had groups of girls turning up during the Team Extreme period…)

Turning Cena Heel: See, the argument that Cena will sell more merch as a heel doesn’t work on me, on the basis that he’s moving a metric fuck-ton of merch now to kids. Why risk that? If/when that starts to run dry, THEN turn him. Not before.

Your Turn, Smart Guy…

What am I? I’m a Wrestlemania. My main event was 1 on 1, although it had more than just two guys involved in it, beyond the usual. The first match had two future world champions and one former world champion in it. The number in the title was written in roman numerals. There was at least one pinfall victory, at least one DQ, and at least one gimmick match victory condition. Of the two titles that changed hands, one of the subsequent reigns was less than a month, the other went a couple of months. I was held on US soil, I am what?

Keefy knows the score.

My main event was 1 on 1, although it had more than just two guys involved in it, beyond the usual- Shawn Michaes vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, with Mike Tyson as Special Guest Enforcer.

I am what?- Wrestlemania 14

What am I? I’m a wrestling match, held at a Wrestlemania. I never happened before that point, and I never happened after that point, and couldn’t happen again full stop now. I featured more than one past world champion, and I had more than one future world champion in it. One of my participants had a submission finisher and a gimmick currently in use by someone else. My winner was not American, despite the match taking place on US soil. I had a special guest referee, and other celebrity involvement. A match that should have had a meme involved but didn’t, I am what?

Questions, Questions, Who’s Got The Questions?/My Damn Opinion

Jason Helton gets first billing since I forgot to include him before.

Was Austin going to end up with all three titles before he broke his neck?

While it is true that Austin did hold 2 out of three of the major titles in the WWF when he broke his neck, being one half of the tag champions with Dude Love, and having won the IC title in the match where he broke said neck, I couldn’t find info on what would have happened without the neck injury. Title V Title does have some ring to it (and would have ruined Rocky, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves) but I couldn’t find info one way or the other.

That said, my gut is that Austin wouldn’t have held all three titles. If he’d have won the title off of Bret or Shawn, both of them had lackeys and offsiders to use as filler, and it would make more sense to have the champ screw Austin out of the other belts on his way to the title. The neck injury didn’t delay Austin’s win, Austin was going to win the title at WMXIV come hell or high water. It’s not like he was due to win it at or around Survivor Series or anything. (Well, he might have had Vince got the belt off of Bret earlier, but that’s another issue).

So I can’t say for sure, but I would say not.

When Foley came down off the Cell at KOTR ’98, did the Spanish Announce Team know he was coming?

Given that the Spanish Announce Team normally know when someone is going to go through the table (if only by the notes in the back telling people to avoid it), and given the speed that they get out of the way when it occurs, I would assume they did. It’s such a giant spot, the last thing you’d want is for Foley to break Hugo Savinovich’s leg by falling on it.

Again, can’t confirm it, but my gut says they absolutely knew.

Chris K asks about absences.

Hey Mathew,

Thanks,

I don’t see Miz being anywhere near the main now, short of a series of shockingly well placed meteor strikes. He was already losing favour this time last year, then the Summer of Punk raised the bar for what WWE expected in main eventers, and Miz has yet to return to the same level he was at.

That said, I think Miz would have lost clean as a whistle at WM if Rock wasn’t involved. Without Rock’s involvement, there’s no point for Miz to win. CenawinsLOL would be in full effect.

As for what WM28 would look like… See that’s hard because the entire year has been shaped around the Cena/Rock show down. Without that match, everything changes. EVERYTHING. From Del Rio to Punk, the main event scene is totally different.

I’d like to think that without Rock/Cena, WWE might have shown some more restraint with Punk, in that ideally this would be Cena V Punk 2, WWE Champion V The Actual Champion, with this build up being months rather than one week off. But that may be pushing the limits of what WWE would be willing to do.

But that’s a very optimistic idea. It’d probably be something like Cena defending against RR winner Chris Jericho and Punk would be stuck facing Del Rio or Kane or something meaningless. Or hell, Punk/Orton 2, since 1 worked so well…

As for if WM27 would have been impacted without The Rock, yes, yes it would have. Apart from the main event, The Rock’s presence gave WM a different feel, so without that it lacks some punch. Which may have led to the people involved to step it up some more, but probably have just had the show fall flat, with an ending that was predictable and ‘boring’ in Cena as champ again.

Ames is all over the shop.

Hey there long time time reader, second time asker of questions and hopefully first time answered.
I love the column and have a few questions that I hope you can answer one if not all.

1) With your idea of the Undertakers streak of HHH, Kane then Cena. I would like to know who WWE can trust to work a match with undertaker. If for some reason he can go past 50 years old who can work with him? With talk of a dream match with Sting would WWE trust an event with a non company guy? Also would Rock v Undertaker work? or CM Punk? If he didnt retire at WMXXX and say took the streak to 25-0 who would they trust to work with him?

The thing is, yes Taker is getting up there, although at 47 he’s nowhere near the oldest wrestler ever at WM (hello Vince!), the fact is that it would appear now that he’s down to one match a year. Which does mean that he can go out there and leave it all in the ring, and then have 10 or so months to recover, then come back in time for the next WM. And while I do wish Taker was around a little more often, that’s an acceptable schedule for him to keep.

And with that schedule, it means that as long as someone isn’t sloppy, Taker should be able to take them on. Someone who works snug, like a Finlay, or stiff, like a JBL, or wild and out of control like a Jeff Hardy, that’s one thing. But for all the faults of the WWE Main Event Style, anyone who can do it can be slotted in there. If a guy like Del Rio or Ziggler or Rhodes or whoever is able to work week in week out safely, as long as Taker can call the match to what he is cool with, Taker should be able to work with anyone.

Taker/Punk would be pushing it slightly, but I think that could work. Rock/Taker sure as hell would. Sting on the other hand is more about the story rather than the risk. While Sting is hardly a reckless guy, the fact that they would have Sting V Taker means that I’m fairly certain that even if Taker is held together by string and duct tape, he’d still get in there and work.

He if goes past 50 and heads to 25-0, it’s hard to say who would be in there with him. It would depend on who is in the main event and who Taker wants to work. Hell, Taker V Ryder at WM31? It could happen.

Won’t, but it could. But then so could Taker V Santino. Or Taker V The Bella Twins… It’s possible. It just won’t happen.

So with the WWE workers right now, most of them would be trusted.

2) In regards to the next genration of wrestlers and the rise of UFC do the wwe have to re-think their superstars. I ask this because Punk, Bryan, Dolph, Ryder etc are all big fans of wrestling and want to be pro wrestlers whereas the future Kurt Angles would go into MMA. Case in point being Brock. Do they have to reconsider what they consider size and talent? In that it is the ‘Geeks’ who will be the next genreration and the ‘Jocks’ will go into MMA or other avenues. I remember awhile back reading your column saying stars of today are more likely to be more health consious like Aries etc that in the old days?

It’s going to be an interesting few years actually, as the impact of UFC and MMA in general is yet to really kick in on the major leagues. Yes, the style is having an influence, but even now the talent in the minor leagues of WWE is still guys who are wrestling fans and who want to be wrestlers, Hero, Claudio, Black, Moxley… Sorry, Ohno, Cesaro, Rollins and Ambrose, they were wrestling fans who came in as wrestlers. But now, the ranks of the guys just starting out is different than it once was. All the muscular, tough guys who would head into wrestling are now doing MMA.

I think this is going to have two generation changes. Short and long term.

Short term, in a couple years, WWE is going to have a developmental pool made up of three types of talent. Second/third/fourth/whatever they are up to generational talent, small tiny flippy guys and giant fat guys, all of which is much more multicultural than they have now. There’s going to be a dry spell where the current default WWE talent look (tall, muscular and tattooed) will be absent.

However, that will only be for a couple years. And then it’ll go back the other way, as in maybe 5-10 years, there’s going to be a HUGE influx of talent that does look like that and who wrestle an intense, physical style, albeit at a slightly older age. See, yes, a good chunk of the available talent pool is heading for UFC. But if you don’t make it, there’s a finite amount of matches and shows around, and if you don’t win, you don’t do well. So eventually, there’s going to be a lot of ex-MMA guys who need work. So I forsee a point where some of them try pro wrestling. Many won’t be any good, but the law of averages states that there will be some who are charismatic but can’t handle themselves in a real fight. So to the fake stuff they go.

I might be wrong, I am predicting an influx of talent from a group who hate and look down upon wrestling, but we’ll see. I have in the past made some accurate predictions, so even blind pigs find acorns I do have some idea of what I’m talking about. Sometimes. Maybe.

3) With the so called lack of talent why are WWE not happy that the have a self made star in Ryder (I’m not his biggest fan but respect what he’s done)?

Because he didn’t get over how THEY wanted. WWE, and to be fair most bookers in history, like to control the show. They like to be the ones who run everything. That goes from the storylines to the champions to the concession stand to how the audience reacts. Good bookers will adapt to what the audience gives them, sure, but in an ideal world a booker would have a crowd that reacts just how he wants them to every show.

So when someone gets over outside of their control, or against the plan, they resent them. Like with the Hollywood Blonds in WCW.

It’s part of the same issue WWE and Vince has with guys who were big stars outside of WWE. They aren’t his boys, they aren’t talent that he moulded, he created. Now, yes, it’s easy to sit here and say that it doesn’t matter who came up with it, if someone is over they are over, but there’s still the fact that you didn’t create them, so you have to change your plans and adjust all your plans to take his rogue element into account.

And if he was to lavish praise on Ryder for going outside WWE and making videos online in which is insults the company and doesn’t follow the script, soon everyone would be doing it. Vince is a control freak, and with that comes the desire and demand that he, or at least people he chooses, are the ones to work out who to push. Not the fans. They should just shut up and do what they are told, which is to tweet about the show in positive ways and to buy John Cena merchandise.

WWE tolerates Ryder, and is now looking to use him as a popular midcard talent and as a gateway onto the internet for all the stuff they hope to put on the network someday.

4) Why dont they like Colt Cabana?

Well, this is what Colt himself had to say about his time there…

“I was just another guy in their system. It was a very negative vibe. You start doubting everything about yourself as a wrestler. All the confidence you ever had gets beaten out of you. I was investing in my future. I said, ‘I’m going to take the hit on money here because I know I’m doing the right thing. In four years, I’m going to be on global television. I’m going to be a big star. I don’t look like [WWE star] John Cena. I don’t have these giant muscles. But I do have a natural charisma. Wrestling needs to be different, and I have a way different style than all these guys. I wasn’t given a chance to shine like that. So next thing you know, I get four matches, I lose all of them, I get thrown out of battle royals, and I get fired.”

“Those first few months were depressing. I grew up watching the WWF; it’s all I wanted to do. They told me that I wasn’t good enough. Me knowing that that was a lie—that I just didn’t get the right opportunity—was fucking heartbreaking. I had to move back with my parents. It was awful.”

So basically the problem was that Colt didn’t fit into the WWE mould. He wasn’t what they wanted in a wrestler. Agree or disagree with the idea that Colt’s a good wrestler or not, the fact is that he really is a different kettle of fish from your average wrestler. As Colt says, you do need variety, but then again, WWE wants consistency, which as we’ve discussed before isn’t totally without merit or logic. And Colt is so far out of that it’s understandable why they would fire him.

I wouldn’t, but I see the logic.

5) Are there any ‘Stars’ in TNA that WWE have an eye on like Magnus or Roode? not just common names like AJ, Joe, Sting?

Well of course. WWE always has one eye, or rather one set of eyes down the food chain on TNA. Chase Stevens got a try out a little while ago, and there was a list of talent near the start of the year that was… Interesting. From memory the list was RVD, Morgan, The Pope, Bully Ray, Shannon Moore, Beer Money and Jesse Neal. But I’m sure WWE has someone keeping track of the company and making suggestions to the higher ups.

6) A not so serious question if AJ styles went to WWE would the change AJ lee’s name as I dont think AJ Styles would take a scrabble name?

Thanks for hopefully answering some of these questions as I tried to keep it relevant and keep up the good work

He would if he wanted a job. Or if he was willing to sell them the rights to the AJ Styles name. Unless you’ve previously been in the WWE (and sometimes not even then, eh Lord Tensai?) with a name, when you come in now, it’s a new name. I’m sure AJ would be allowed to have a say in making it, but I would wager he’d become Aden Jewett or some other name that has the initials AJ but isn’t AJ Something. You know, given the giant tattoo he now has.