wrestling / Columns
High Road/Low Road 11.09.07: Kevin Nash Returning to the Ring
Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road! A brief explanation of the column: Uncle Trunx takes the Low Road (negative view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related “stuff” while Sat takes the High Road (positive view).
The Results for the Cyber Sunday Concept:
High Road: 52%
Low Road: 27%
Both Roads: 21%
E-Mails:
These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.
Chris Grissom Writes:
I think time and again this PPV symbolizes more than anything else that the WWE wants to justify their thinking about what we really want to see. Anyone with half a brain knew what the card would look like as soon as they announced what we were to vote for. Especially those with buying control in the household. The concept is not flawed. Although I think it would be better served as an occasional occurance on regular programming or a SNME. Until they allow for more fulfilling options no one is going to buy it. Like everybody loves a ladder match. Are you telling me that they couldn’t have put an option of who will Cade and Murdoch face in a ladder match for the Tag Titles? London/Kendrick or WGTT or The Highlanders. All of whom seem perfectly capable of putting on a show stealer. But maybe that’s the problem, no one wants that right? It’s funny to think that the highlight of the fan voting concept was back in WCW with Sting against Hogan on Nitro.
Uncle Trunx: I agree, the concept could have some merit under certain circumstances, but WWE need to make people actually care about what they’re voting for, and not have an obvious winner lined up for each vote.
Sat: My biggest concern with the Cyber Sunday concept is that the voting is not that surprising. Sure, we get a surprise each year, but for the most part it is all predictable. I think that your suggestion for a occasional appearance on TV would not be a bad idea, but again, the voting can not be predictable.
Eric Koch Writes:
I chose Both Roads, cause (like Larry’s definition of the brand extension) it’s the wrong execution of the right idea. Letting fans create the card is one thing, but what incentive do people have to buy the show? To see if one of their picks made it? Oh boy. I think Dunn said WWE should stop the voting the RAW before and announce winners so fans know the card. Good idea, but I’d take it further.
I’d say right after SummerSlam, open a page on wwe.com with everybody on the roster to choose and let fans create the cards or nominate specific matches. Over the next two months, you can build a kind-of “warzone” on TV with everybody fighting everybody, giving fans reasons to vote for a variety of matches and getting wrestlers used to working with one another prior to the show (and also maybe building up Survivor Series for oldschool tagteammy goodness).
Stop that stage of voting after No Mercy, then find all the matches that get the most nominations and separate them, and give fans several options that they already nominated (Say if Matt Hardy vs. MVP and Jeff Hardy vs. MVP both got the same amount of votes, they could create the “pick MVP’s opponent” gimmick… for example). The next week, WWE picks the 7 or 8 matches (that are the most relevant) that got the most votes and present a completely fan-made card. From there you could add stipulations concerning certain feuds that fans can also vote for.
So instead of giving the audience a predetermined card the night after the last PPV with limited choices and no card prior to the PPV itself , WWE present an autumn long “event” that promotes the website, gives fans a reason to keep watching (to see if their card or match is being built in anyway) and for once, they can really see WHAT the fans want and ACTUALLY have an opportunity to give it to (some of) them. For $40. Thoughts?
Uncle Trunx: That would be great, except that it might just take too much creative control away from the people employed to book the shows. I get the feeling that they’d be somewhat reluctant to do that, as it could ultimately make a lot of people redundant…
Sat: I have always thought that Dunn’s idea about Cyber Sunday was a good idea, but I think that you may have a great idea because the longer the wait for the pay per view, the more likely the fans are to be interested in it. Awesome idea, but I don’t see it happening any time soon.
Kevin Nash Returning to the Ring
High Road:
Kevin Nash returning to the ring is a good idea because this has allowed him to fix his biggest problem. Kevin Nash’s biggest problem has been staying healthy and two years away from the ring and a limited schedule should help to make him a valuable asset to TNA.
Low Road:
Kevin Nash’s in ring days should be far behind him now. He can be an asset to TNA as an outside performer, a manager or similar. However, they have more than enough in ring performers and struggle to find time to use them all. Surely bringing back an old, injury prone guy who hasn’t wrestled in years is not a positive move nor a forward thinking one.
High Road:
Kevin Nash has been magnificent in his backstage segments, but there is a limit to how much he can do with just backstage segments alone. Kevin Nash has helped a ton of wrestlers with his backstage segments and I think that with him returning to the ring, he will be a bigger asset to TNA. I feel that his backstage segments and his partnership with Alex Shelley was one of the things that elevated Alex Shelley in my eyes. The same thing could be done with another wrestler this time around.
Low Road:
Kevin Nash is a very entertaining guy with a microphone; I fail to see how being restricted to this role limits his usefulness to TNA. I’d say the opposite; having him in the ring actually makes him less useful, as it’s not playing to his strengths. TNA have a lot of talented wrestlers but fewer talented talkers. Keeping Kevin Nash in the role which plays to his current strengths seems to me to be the best idea.
High Road:
TNA has been bringing in a ton of wrestlers that have gotten some exposure in the WWE because they are considered a name that could help draw some viewers to TNA. Well, Kevin Nash is a huge name, who was also a part of the most successful era in wrestling, so it makes sense for TNA to bring him back into the ring.
Low Road:
What exactly have all the big names achieved? Looking at the ratings, very little. Angle, Sting, even Pacman Jones didn’t move the ratings very much and according to a lot of rumours, the latter only served to annoy the talent which lost out on ring / tv time because room had to be made for the new guy. If those I listed couldn’t move the ratings, I don’t see how bringing Kevin Nash back to the ring will make a huge impact; to me, it looks more likely that it will merely annoy wrestlers who lose their tv or match time to him.
High Road:
Kevin Nash returning to the ring is a good idea because I have felt that he is always in entertaining feuds. And TNA has struggled with having some entertaining feuds, so his return should help in that department.
Low Road:
Kevin Nash has had some entertaining feuds in his time; he’s also been booked in some utter rubbish. Given that he’s been out of the ring for ages and is long past his prime, I can’t see him reaching the heights he once had. Besides, there’s the notorious tendency he has to miss matches where he isn’t going to win. Given that TNA’s only real use for someone like Nash in the ring is to build their talent up, this is a potential cause for concern.
High Road:
Kevin Nash returning to the ring is a good idea because I think that the fans will be interested to see Kevin Nash in the ring for the first time in a long time. I think that with Kevin Nash making his return after a long layoff will have the fans interested in TNA. Now, I will admit that this is not something that is going to send buy rates through the roof, but it will help to create some interest in TNA.
Low Road:
The fans who remember Nash are likely to already know and watch TNA. It is possible that his return will produce a brief ratings spike but I really can’t see it doing anything long term except possibly annoying the roster who take another step back into the shadows to allow someone from the past to take the spotlight.
High Road:
One of the things that I keep hearing about Kevin Nash is that whenever he is going to lose a match, he fakes an injury. Now, I will grant you that he does seem to get injured right before a match when he is supposed to lose, but I think that it is a coincidence. My reason for this is that all of the times that he was injured, he came back after a long break, which to me means that he waited till he was fully recovered to return to the ring. For example, he had chest problems before Bound for Glory 2005 and he came back six months later. Then, he had a neck injury when he was supposed to lose to Chris Sabin in June 2006 and now he is coming back from that injury. I will admit that the injuries do happen at a good time for Kevin Nash, but I feel that they are not intentional.
Low Road:
Really? I think that, given his age and the long layoff he’s had it’s far more likely that he’s going to end up unable to compete. The cynic in me can’t help but feel that it’s likely to happen after he’s had a few wins over the new guy(s) he’s feuding with, right before he’s due to put them over and establish them as stars. To me, putting Kevin Nash in the ring at this time is just too huge a risk. Surely, given his age and condition, it’s better to play to his strengths and keep him behind the microphone where he’s grown on me as an extremely entertaining performer.
Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?
E-mail us your reasons for taking the High Road or the Low Road and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road at [email protected]. Your reply will be included in next week’s column.
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