wrestling / Columns
High Road/Low Road 04.11.08: Wrestling in 08
Welcome back to ISSUE 100 of the High Road/Low Road!
A brief explanation of the column: Uncletrunx 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 WrestleMania 24:
High Road: 43.8%
Low Road: 18.8%
Both Roads: 37.5%
Wrestling in 2008
High Road:
I think that one of the best wrestling news that we have had in 2008 is that TNA is actually turning a profit. I will admit that I am surprised that this is happening, but either way, it is a good thing.
Low Road:
I’m less concerned about them turning a profit, and more concerned about the in ring direction of the company. Sure, it’s good to know that they’re solvent and unlikely to vanish anytime soon. However, the claim to be an “alternative ” to WWE is looking increasingly shaky; these days they seem more and more obsessed with WWE and either recruiting their former stars, or interfering with their business. WWE needs decent competition, and to my mind the time when they had that was when WCW was a true alternative, with exciting angles and a great cruiserweight division. Sadly, TNA is moving away from being the alternative and towards being a knock off WWE clone.
High Road:
The Ric Flair retirement celebration has definitely been one of the best segments of the year so far. This was definitely one of my favorite segments of all time and this will probably be in the running for best segment of the year.
Low Road:
It was great to see Flair sent off so well, that can’t be denied. However, wrestling is poorer without him. How many genuine legends are still around? How many guys like Flair, who can be an inspiration in the locker room, who can pass on their wisdom and experience on a daily basis? There’s Finlay, I guess, but his background is wildly different to Flairs so what he offers is also different. Flair is, in short, irreplaceable. Flair retiring provided one of the all time great moments in wrestling but there is now a huge, legend shaped hole in WWE, and wrestling is poorer for it.
High Road:
Samoa Joe was portrayed very poorly by TNA in 2007 and I was questioning whether he would get a world title run this year. But, TNA has managed to make Samoa Joe into a very credible challenger in 2008 and what makes this story even better is the fact that he was portrayed so poorly by TNA in 2007. TNA’s booking of Samoa Joe in 2008 has definitely been one of the better things that have happened in wrestling.
Low Road:
Samoa Joe was working his way to being the one true homegrown star TNA had; as it is, he is still some way off the level he was before he lost to Angle about 1,000 times. It’s good to see him being built back up, but he is only one TNA homegrown star, and he is only starting to get the push he should have had; it does very little to change the problem of TNA being the place where WWE cast offs go. That is a much bigger problem which won’t be solved just by giving Samoa Joe his deserved push.
High Road:
The WWE being serious about their drug testing has definitely been a positive this year. The WWE showed that they are now serious about the drug testing when they suspended Jeff Hardy in the midst of his major push. If this does not send a message to the wrestlers that the WWE is serious about the drug test, then nothing will.
Low Road:
Indeed, although given the events of last year, the Benoit tragedy and the surrounding media circus which descended on Pro Wrestling, I can’t see the suspension of one semi main eventer being enough to put a shine back on Pro Wrestlings severely tarnished image. The majority of people I spoke to in my unscientific poll don’t believe that the WWE drug testing is any more real than the outcomes of their matches. The public image of wrestling is about as low as it’s ever been and I can’t see that changing soon.
High Road:
Another major thing that has happened in wrestling this year is that the WWE has made an effort to push some of the younger talent. Just in the first four months of this year, we have seen the WWE make an attempt to push two new stars. First, we saw Jeff Hardy get a major push where he got a world title shot and then a good run in the Elimination Chamber. Second, at WrestleMania, we saw the WWE attempt to push another star and this was CM Punk winning the Money in the Bank ladder match. This is definitely one of the best things that has happened in 2008.
Low Road:
Jeff Hardy is a positive? Yes, the guy got a push, then he managed to blow it as spectacularly as he has done every other time he’s had his chance. C M Punk is a positive, but once again, he’s just one guy and there’s nothing to say he’ll actually get the big belt; other than him, the top of the WWE looks remarkably similar to how it has been for years. Orton, Cena, HHH, HBK and Undertaker are the guys on top, with the recently reinstated JBL set to join them. The breath of fresh air which Jericho was supposed to bring has, to my mind at least, been wasted; it should be him in that mix rather than JBL but JBL has the ear of the office so Jericho remains in the mid card. As Spinal Tap once sang, “The more it stays the same, the less it changes…”
High Road:
The pay per views that the WWE has presented this year have been very well presented. The Royal Rumble had some good matches and an intriguing Rumble match. No Way Out had the Elimination Chambers. WrestleMania is always a great pay per view. The three great pay per views that the WWE has presented is definitely a highlight of wrestling in 2008.
Low Road:
The few months leading into Wrestlemaina are usually the WWE’s best period for producing entertaining storylines and good television. I have to ask if it will continue to be so, and the jury is out. Given the rubbish served up last summer, and given that, in my opinion at least, the run in to Wrestlemania this year was somewhat less stellar than usual, I am not optimistic.
Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?
Simply write “High Road”, “Low Road”, or “Both Roads” in the comment section.
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.
Tim Schmidt Writes:
Both roads this week. Some things were great on this show. I’m sorry.. I love you will be with me the rest of the time I am a wrestling fan. I agree on a lot of what you guys said, but is Undertaker/Edge a Low Road? They gave us a highly entertaining unpredictable battle and at times I thought Edge might pull it off. I know we all knew the outcome but they tried pretty good making it look like Edge had a chance. I dont like the chokehold but some things can be overlooked in a match like this (after all, Shawn did blow the moonsault on Flair)
Sat: This email is mainly for Uncletrunx, so I’ll let him answer, but I will say that you have to overlook some things in a match. If you aren’t, you are never going to be satisfied.
Uncletrunx: Some things can be overlooked in a match, but the finish of the main event of the biggest show of the year isn’t one of them.
Bill Bumgarner Writes:
I’m going to use a smaller version of your format from the WM24 column here, so bear with me.
High Roads:
1 – Ric Flair’s Last Match. Match of the Year for sure. The emotion, the atmosphere….everything was perfect except for it not being the last match on the card. Other than that, absolutely perfect.2 – Orton Retains the WWE Title. I cannot express how happy I am here. I’ve become an Orton fan in recent months (actually, I’m a fan of ANYone who can keep the belt off of SuperCena) and I’m pleased to see him look strong as a heel champ who could potentially keep Cena out of the title picture for a good, long while (and maybe finally get rid of that butchered thing they call a title belt).
3 – Undertaker Remains Undefeated at WrestleMania. Need I say more?
Low Roads:
Everything else.
Sat: Have to agree, except I would also have CM Punk’s victory has a high road.
Uncletrunx: Indeed, and I thought that Finlay also deserves respect for showing his versatility again. He’s a genuine legend and turned in a great show opening performance in my view.
Comments:
411 has added a new feature. Below are the comments for last week’s columns and our responses. The comments that will be included will be the ones that pertain to this week’s column. Also, your comment will not be included if you are commenting on another reader’s comment. The comments are as of Friday Afternoon.
SaveUs222 Writes:
Both roads? While some things were great (Shawn/Flair) some absolutely sucked (Bunnymania)
Sat: Have to agree, but I have to include TNA has a low road.
Uncletrunx: I don’t think Bunnymaina was the worst thing about the show. That tells you quite a bit right there!
David Writes:
Pretty much have to say low road. While there was one good match, WWE pissed on its own “grandaddy of them all” this year.
Sat: I thought that Cena/Orton/HHH had a good match, as did Taker/Edge, but I can’t argue with you because determing what a good match is basically subjective.
Uncletrunx: Indeed; I thought it was a pretty good show, with one true “Wrestlemania moment”. It wasn’t the best ‘mania but it certainly wasn’t the worst.
Steph Writes:
High road. One word: W000000! there’s no way this could be a low road for me, not with the awesomeness that was flair/hbk. it even made up for the retarded bunnymania match.
Sat: The Flair/HBK thing was very well executed. I wasn’t expecting this to be the highlight of WM24 and it looks like it will be. The best part about Bunnymania was the lights going out.
Uncletrunx: “The best part about Bunnymania was the lights going out.” Sat’s great; he can make a high road out of anything!
Raven Effect Writes:
If we are talking about Wrestlemania XXIV in whole, I have to go with high road this time. The card looked like crap, but the show actually ended up being pretty good. It may not have been up there amongst the best Wrestlemanias ever, but it was pretty good. I mean, there weren’t many matches that were bad. Bunnymania was not that good, but probably better than you could expect. Batista vs. Umaga was a disappointment. Kane vs. Chavo was way too short.
Other than that, every match was either awesome, or at least decent. I mean, Edge vs. Undertaker was great. Orton shocked the world and retained the WWE title! HBK and Ric Flair had an instant classic and a great send off for Naitch’s career. Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather shocked the crap out of us all, myself included, and proved to actually be good without burrying show. I am happy to admit I was wrong last week when I went low road. As I said last week, it was a wait and see thing, and for once, WWE actually pulled it off! This year’s Wrestlemania was pretty good. Hopefully WWE can keep up the good work, and maybe it will become watchable again for the first time in years.
Sat: So far, the emailers and commentors haven’t mentioned Show/Mayweather. It was actually pretty intriguing, but is overshadowed by Flair/HBK.
Uncletrunx: Everything else on the card was overshadowed by Flair vs Michaels. I can only hope that their financial reward was somewhere close to Floyd’s.
Bobby Writes:
Definately High Road. The good/great (HBK/Flair, WHC match, WWE Title match, MITB, Belfast Brawl, & Mayweather/Show far outweighed BunnyMania (Snoop, Santino, & King made it entertaining) & Tista/Umaga (HUGE disapointment, Big Dave didn’t show up at all & he gets rewarded w/ a fued w/ HBK). In my opinion, this was a very entertaining show, which is what a WrestleMania should be.
Sat: Yeah, I thought that this Mania was definitely one of the better ones that we have had. This was defintiely better than last years.
Uncletrunx: I actually preferred last years show as a whole, but was entertained by this years. At the end of the day, that’s what counts.
Hgdragon Writes:
A lot of people give Batista crap for flubbing the finish of their match. You have to give him some credit for even getting Yu-mang-a up in the first place. Fella’s a bit of a load to hoist up that way in the first place and Batista just simply over-balanced himself during the lift. It’s more physics than him being sloppy. That much mass will have a lot of momentum that will be hard to stop and redirect.
Sat: I was expecting so much from the Batista/Umaga match that the match taht we saw was a SmackDown match. I will admit that getting Umaga up is pretty hard, so Batista should get some slack for that.
Uncletrunx: I wouldn’t mind a botched finish so much if the rest of the match had been any good. As it was, it was the botch icing on the crap match cake.
Capt Smooth Writes:
I would say both roads, but leaning high. Even the “bad” matches had good parts. How would you top this one next year? Please no CENA/Batista match! The WM fans love booing them for no apparent reason, so they would shit all over it without even giving it a chance. Perhaps they would even do a “boring” chant about ten seconds into the match.
Sat: I think that Cena/Batista would be very good, but this is coming from somebody who thought that Batista/Umaga would be good
Uncletrunx: Next year? I think Undertaker needs an opponent who might pose a serious threat to the Streak; either HHH or HBK, possibly. Cena needs a decent build and feud, possibly with Orton following a year long feud which Orton has the best of; that way, people might actually want Cena to win and he might manage to get over as a face with the majority of the crowd. The tag titles need to mean something, Jericho needs building into a contender and they need to do something awesome with Finlay.
G3KK0 Writes:
High Road: Flair/HBK, MiTB, and both title matches were good to great (Flair/HBK was EPIC). Finlay/JBL was a solid opener and Mayweather/Big Show was a good spectical. While BunnyMania, WWECW Title and Batista/Umaga were the shits (anyone with half a brain already knew that going into the show) they were useful breaks for a beer run & some bathroom usage. The good FAR out-weighed the bad on this show.
Sat: Definitely, the good definitely outweighed the ppor.
Uncletrunx: It did. I was pleasantly surprised.
Setobakura Writes:
high road…all 3 title matches ended the way they should have, though I was surprised that Orton retained…a lot of the matches seemed really rushed though
Sat: yeah, have to agree the title matches ended they way that they should have ended.
Uncletrunx: I’m still not 100% convinced by Orton retaining, although if they can make him a dominant champ leading into next year I’ll change my mind on that. What I don’t want to see is him beaten at Backlash to kill his momentum.
Your reasons for taking the High Road, Low Road, or Both Roads and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road are welcome at [email protected] or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week’s column.
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