Handicapping the News 05.25.12

For the second time in three weeks, breaking news on a Thursday evening has forced a slight rewrite of the column. Part of me enjoys the breaking news aspect of the column. Part of me just wants to fill in the blanks when I get home from work on Thursday and press “submit”. Since there’s more work ahead than anticipated, let’s go ahead and get to the reader spotlight.

This week’s spotlight goes to Michael L, by virtue of not talking about Randy Orton.

I’d like to comment on ROH’s growth, or lack thereof. It’s hard to believe, but ROH has actually been around longer than ECW (which ran from 1993-2001). They’ve consistently pursued a strategy of slow but steady growth, and not gotten them bogged down in bad decisions that damaged their long-term viability. When they needed to scale back, they’ve done so. It may be frustrating that ROH is down to about a weekend or two a month (if that), but it was necessary given the economic times. And they’ve made relatively smart decisions in regards to their affiliations. Heyman was so desperate to grow ECW that he ended up killing his company in the long with with a horrible deal with TNN.

The major problem with ROH today is that their current roster is just not that compelling. Outside of Kevin Steen, there really isn’t a majorly compelling character that the average wrestling fan might get into. Hopefully his title run will help enhance the personalities of some of the other wrestlers because they really need someone to bring the company forward. As good as Richards is, he’s just not the type of personality regular fans will rally behind.

Excellent points you make, some of which back up things I’ve mentioned in this column. TNA and Ring of Honor have outlived ECW already, and both deserve to be commended for their longevity when you consider that the runs of other historic promotions have been of shorter length. World Class Championship Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, the United States Wrestling Association, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and Extreme Championship Wrestling all hovered at or under ten years. What TNA and RoH have managed to do is impressive, especially considering today’s economic climate and the general perception that wrestling is in a down period.

Ring of Honor’s roster does feel like it’s lacking something, and I’m not sure what the fix is. In terms of talent, there’s not a big gap between what they have now and guys like Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Spanky, and the guys that were there when Ring of Honor was put on the map. If anything, they have a more diverse roster and have been able to take advantage of guys like Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin and Jay Lethal being released from larger promotions and being able to come in and work full time for RoH. Steen is the “anti-wrestler”, and there’s a mix of brawlers, young guys, veterans, and Ring of Honor staples like the Brisco Brothers that allow them to really put on a varied product.

I can’t help but wonder if what’s caused a perceived stagnation in Ring of Honor’s growth is the fact that they’re not new anymore. When Ring of Honor debuted, they had several things that set them apart. They had the Code of Honor, and they had a ton of guys that wrestled in a style that nobody in WWE did or that WCW had. They had young guys, fresh faces, indy darlings, and they created a buzz simply by being new. They also offered more pure wrestling than anybody else even came close to. As they’ve grown and evolved, they’ve lost some of the things that set them apart, they’ve modified and mutated the product into something that’s still different but not as different as what originally got them noticed.

There’s a fine line that separates what’s different enough to stand out and what’s too different to be marketable. I think Ring of Honor is dancing around that line. If they continue to make good business decisions and stay the course, they should have plenty of time to figure out what the right balance is.

05.21.12 Lord Tensai now just “Tensai”; probably soon to be just “Albert”

We’re a couple of months into the Lord Tensai experiment, and people just don’t care. No amount of jobber squashing is going to change that. No amount of green mist spewing is going to change that. No amount of beating CM Punk and John Cena is going to change that. I’m not sure anything can change that. Now, it is my personal opinion that Matt Bloom is one of the finer big men in wrestling today, and has improved in leaps and bounds during his time in Japan. He’s athletic, can work a classic big man style as well as adapt to smaller, more technically based opponents, and can have an intimidating presence. Unfortunately, this gimmick calls for him to have a stalking, slow, deliberate style. I think they would have been much better off allowing him to come in throwing big boots, power bombs, running avalanche splashes in the corner, and generally making his offense look a lot more high impact than it has. I’m also not sure that the claw, or any variation thereof, is a suitable finish for 2012. Furthermore, the lack of momentum created by his entrance, style, and finisher, made it impossible for him to get the double arm sitout chokeslam over as a finish as well. They’ve tried, they’ve tweaked the name, they’ve dropped the Japanese handler, and the Tensai gimmick seems to be running out of steam. What does that mean for the rest of this WWE tenure for Mr. Bloom?

Future Endeavored sooner than later: 30 to 1
I think they’ll give one honest shot at repackaging the guy before he’s outright released. He clearly has talent, but he may need to disappear for a bit to allow the WWE Universe to cleanse their palate before he can make an impact.

Superstars and house shows: 20 to 1
If nothing else, he can serve as a mentor and veteran presence to young guys. He can give them valuable ring experience and help them to mature in the ring. Bloom has never been described as trouble in the locker room that I know of, so they may as well take advantage of that potential leadership.

A tweaked push, either as Tensai or Albert: 8 to 1
Tensai went from beating Yoshi Tatsu to John Cena. It was weird and felt forced. A better approach would have been watching him destroy Zack Ryder, then target Santino. Let him capture the US title, rename it the Empire of Japan title, and go into a feud with a newly turned face Jack Swagger. Patriotism always works for cheap heat, and it couldn’t be worse than what’s happening now, which is no reaction whatsoever.

Randy Orton mentioned on Twitter this week that he’s not allowed to do the “punt” anymore due to something stupid called “concussion awareness”. Stupid WWE, wanting to protect their wrestlers from TBI’s and all that garbage. In all seriousness, I keep offering evidence that Randy Orton is a terrible human being, and I keep getting heat for it in the comments. This is just further evidence of such. Why would WWE bother banning the punt? How dangerous could a worked kick be? After all, Alberto Del Rio still gets to use his Shining Wizard variation, right? And Zack Ryder can use his face wash. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan routinely throw kicks to the head, and CM Punk’s finisher involves a knee to the face. For that matter, Big Show’s finisher is a massive punch to the head. All of these moves, if legitimate or with minimal error, could lead to a concussion.

There’s the rub. Orton doesn’t work the punt. He just kicks people. Why? I don’t know. There are a number of possible explanations. Maybe he feels it won’t look as realistic if he pulls it. Maybe he misjudges it and just hasn’t figured out how to work it correctly. Or maybe…just maybe…Randy Orton is an asshole. Before you tear me to shreds again, I offer two quotes regarding Randy’s punting habits:

“If you watch the replay, I wasn’t too careful. I definitely let him have it. My wife DVR’d it for me because I had to watch it for myself. My foot still hurts.”-Randy Orton, interview with ESPN.com, 06.08.2009

I could chalk that up to Orton staying in character if not for…

“The very last night I had it, Randy Orton kicked me so hard in what was supposed to be an unbreakable, Dr. Murray designed – the same doctor that made Kobe (Bryant) and Rip Hamilton’s mask – it was supposed to be unbreakable but it had a huge beak on it because it was for a broken nose. He cracked it straight down the middle.”Cody Rhodes, interview with Brian Soscha on 106.1 The Mix in Philadelphia, discussing Randy Orton punting him.

What does the future hold for Randall Keith Orton?

The punt returns eventually: 7 to 2
Somewhere down the road, we’ll see it return. It’ll either be a heel turn, his return from yet another injury, or when WWE has somebody they just don’t really care about having a concussion needs to be written off television.

The punt is replaced with something harder to screw up: 15 to 1
Orton’s moveset seems to be doing fine without the punt, especially as a face. If nothing else, the hanging DDT works just fine.

The punt was actually banned because they were worried Orton was going to get a concussion while delivering it: 25 to 1
Even he isn’t that uncoordinated…right?

Two of the most popular (and ridiculed) divas in history suffered separate health scares this week. Joanie “Chyna” Laurer was hospitalized after collapsing three times during press related events for the release of her Avengers themed porn parody. Later in the week, Tammy “Sunny” Sytch was also admitted to the hospital. The career paths of these two women have been remarkably similar.

Both burst onto the scene in WWE, and while Chyna had a much more physical nature and role (for obvious reasons), both she and Sunny were highly visible on the flagship show of Monday Night Raw. Both women became wildly popular, as Chyna’s looks changed dramatically, and she became somewhat of a cult sex symbol. I’m sure many of you will now express revulsion at that idea, but you know you were on that train. Don’t deny it. For her part, Sunny was the 1996 “Most Downloaded Woman of the Year” for AOL. The internet was different back then, just trust me. She was a sex symbol that never quite achieved crossover fame, but was wildly popular within wrestling circles.

The two women both seemed to get inflated opinions of themselves, and found themselves out of WWE. Both women ended up doing softcore pornography, as Chyna found herself in Playboy once before leaving WWE, and once after. Sunny, in an attempt to revive her career, took part in the website WrestlingVixxxens.com with Missy Hyatt and others, letting everybody see what they had only dreamed of…about three years too late. Chyna progressed into hardcore pornography, while Sytch slammed on the brakes of that career and continued to have personal issues that didn’t involve public nudity.

Neither woman seemed to be entirely comfortable with the fame they found or the complications of lifestyle that came along with it. The result was that personal decisions and problems were magnified and exposed for the public to not only see, but to judge.

Then, in May of 2012, they found themselves both admitted to the hospital. The stories start to diverge a little here, though. Sytch has kept wrestling at arm’s length, appearing occasionally at conventions and indy shows. She went back to school, and seems to be making attempts at living a normal life. Laurer has embraced the madness and keeps spiraling out of control. What’s coming down the road for these two divas?

WWE Hall of Fame Induction: 40 to 1
There’s a number of factors working against both here. For Sunny, the fact that she was never an in-ring competitor hurts, as does her well publicized demons out of the ring and her venture into the world of softcore. For Chyna, the statements she’s made about WWE after leaving and the fact that she’s now a legitimate porn star all but makes her impossible to induct any time soon.

Recovery for both: 10 to 1
In Tammy Sytch’s defense, she says she was sick and was admitted to the hospital due to illness, and is now feeling fine. Believe it or not, that’s a viable explanation. I’m not sure much of an explanation is needed for Chyna. I’ll take Tammy’s word for it. Chyna is in a dark, dark place right now and I wish her the best, even if I’m not entirely optimistic.

Full time returns to wrestling: 100 to 1
Chyna’s bridges are burned and then some. I’m not so sure that Tammy wants to do anything other than make appearances and earn a little money on the side.

This section was originally supposed to be about TNA’s exodus of talent, which includes Ric Flair and Alex Shelly, and may expand to include Matt Morgan at the very least. In some ways, it’s still about that. Obviously, though, the game has changed. As of May 24th, 2012, this is about more than Ric Flair not showing up for dates, or Matt Morgan’s contracted dates running out. This has turned into something that could, potentially, change the wrestling landscape.

Before you shake your head and think I’m overstating things, remember that once upon a time, there were no 90 day no compete clauses written into contracts. That all changed when guys started showing up on Nitro the day after contracts ended in WWE. The idea that what amounts to tampering charges are being brought against World Wrestling Entertainment could change the way business is done in the future isn’t so far fetched.

There are more potential ramifications here, such as the idea that Linda McMahon’s political opponents could jump on this and use it against her in her bid for a Senate seat. There’s the idea that TNA is now on Vince McMahon’s map, which isn’t always such a good place to be. This is potentially the biggest story to come out of wrestling in a long while, and it’s going to be interesting to watch it unfold.

At the center of things is a gentleman named Brian Wittenstein, who was once employed by TNA, provided WWE with inside information about the workings of TNA, including the contract situation of several talents. Wittenstein worked briefly in WWE as Michael Hayes’ assistant, but was let go when he provided WWE with the insider information. However, there was apparently a delay in WWE receiving this information and coming clean with the information, which is where a big part of the problem lies. After this information came to light, Ric Flair started asking to be let out of his contract, and started failing to appear at scheduled dates. Alex Shelly is also apparently headed to WWE in the near future, but has not been named in any of this legal mumbo jumbo so far; the same holds true for Matt Morgan.

Later in the day on the 24th, word came out that neither the WWE nor Mr. Wittenstein has been served with any form of legal documents regarding this situation. There has been an injunction issued that any and all information handed over to WWE by Brian Wittenstein be returned, and not destroyed.

A hearing is scheduled for June 11th, in Nashville, TN. What can we look forward to?

An out of court settlement: 50 to 1
An out of court settlement accomplishes nothing in this case. If TNA is going to take the step of making these accusations and turning things over to the legal system – especially with language such as “In order to injure TNA and gain a competitive advantage, WWE intentionally interfered with TNA’s contractual relationship with Ric Flair and maliciously used the trade secrets and confidential information provided by Wittenstein to approach Ric Flair,” included – then settling out of court isn’t the way to go. It leaves them far too vulnerable. If they feel they have a strong enough case to pursue this, and if they have a strong enough case to win this , then they have effectively isolated themselves from any aggressive tactics by WWE.

A dismissal in regards to WWE, conviction for Mr. Wittenstein: 5 to 1
I expect WWE to receive an admonishment in the case, however, the fact that they volunteered the information and basically self reported the ethics violations will help their case. It’s also going to be very hard to prove, without testimony from Wittenstein or Ric Flair, just how much of the information they used, if any. The paperwork filed basically states that it’s unfair that WWE is bigger than TNA and can offer more money to talent. The same would be true, whether WWE knew what workers were being paid or not. The trickier, and probably more substantial, part of the suit is the part where WWE has had access to TNA’s marketing and business strategies.

A lengthy process that leads to an anticlimactic resolution: 3 to 2
Real life court cases don’t work like Matlock or Law and Order. There is rarely a moment of dramatic testimony that turns everything upside down in a matter of seconds. There will be no, “You can’t handle the truth!” type moments here. It’s going to be a lot of legalese being spoken and guys in suits and ties that we’ve never heard of making claims and arguments and counterarguments. Somewhere down the road, a decision that’s far less dramatic than the announcement of this news has been will be issued.

Disclaimer: I don’t have a problem with how Over The Limit ended. The writing was on the wall for a lot of people, and there were a lot of options on who could interfere without being terminated. My issue isn’t with the booking, but with the reaction and lack thereof.

Once upon a time in this column, I wrote about double standards that exist in wrestling when it comes to the perception of WWE, TNA, and Ring of Honor. Some agreed with me, some didn’t, most of humanity never even saw the column, and I’m okay with all of the above. After this past weekend, another example of those double standards has popped up, and I’d like to take a look at it and ask for some feedback.

At this year’s installment of Lockdown, TNA had a main event match of Robert Roode vs. James Storm, for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. After a long build with a few twists, turns, and surprising defenses by Robert Roode, everybody seemed primed for a James Storm win. The time was right, everybody said. The consensus among all the “s”marks was that if James Storm was ever going to win another world title, it would be now. Then it didn’t happen. Robert Roode retained his title in true heel fashion, getting kicked out of the ring and to the floor. He looked luckier than good, but he had survived once again.

The internet was apoplectic. This was typical of TNA, and the reason that they continued to fail over and over again. They had built a feud for six months and they had the right time to have the heel get what was coming to him, and instead they robbed the hard luck babyface of his big moment in front of a hometown crowd and it was just stupid. Utterly, totally, stupid. This proved beyond any doubt, if there ever was any, that TNA didn’t know what they were doing. All of the rhetoric and propaganda was out in full force.

I tried, calmly, to explain to some people that it wasn’t a mistake at all and that TNA shouldn’t be judged on the outcome of one match when we didn’t know the bigger picture. James Storm didn’t get the belt from Robert Roode. So what? I feel like the people that were so outraged over that would have died of a massive myocardial infarction on July 10, 1988, watching Lex Luger be robbed of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair by the Maryland State Athletic Commission due to a tiny cut on his forehead. The crowd was frenzied at the thought of Luger winning. The Nashville crowd barely knew there was a wrestling match going on at Lockdown.

Then, at Over the Limit, the stage was set for another heel to get his comeuppance. John Lauranitis, the GM of Raw and Smackdown, and arguably the most over heel in wrestling today, had been waging war against CM Punk and John Cena and anybody that made fun of his voice, as well as manipulating and taking advantage of Zack Ryder and humiliating Teddy Long, for months. After all of his methods of abusing power, Big Johnny was cornered in a match with John Cena, and he was going to get his payback. This was the moment. They had set the stage for Cena to beat the life out of Lauranitis and give the WWE Universe a reason to cheer. Then it didn’t happen. Big Show interfered, Lauranitis defeated Cena, and we’re moving on.

Despite the same principle applying in both situations – that the stage had been set for a cathartic beating and victory, yet the heel came out on top – there was no backlash or outrage over what happened at Over The Limit. There were no cries of how WWE didn’t know what they were doing or how foolish they were for having a non-wrestler beat their top star, or how they had taken one of their most effective babyfaces and turned him heel. There was a shrug and we moved on.

So help me understand. When two circumstances are exactly the same, and one draws ire from several voices within the IWC, yet the other one goes largely ignored and accepted, why is that? What’s the difference that I’m missing here? The excuse that “Well, WWE obviously had plans for Cena and Big Show which is why he didn’t win.” Well, it turned out that Storm needed time off from TNA, so putting the strap on him wouldn’t have worked, either. In fact, that was part of the argument I made about not knowing everything that went into the decision. I’ll be looking for your explanations below during the week.

That’s it for me. I’ll try to do better next time. You can message me on Twitter @GavinNapier411 if you want to tell me how much you love me or hate me, or just say hi. Odds are I’ll be back next week.