*** Despite the negative start, this is actually quite a positive article. I just wanted to say that early on in case you read the first few paragraphs and gave up because it looked like the usual negative whining about wrestling that you read online all day, every day. If you gave up because you think I suck, that’s fair enough***
I just don’t get it anymore, sports entertainment I mean. Thanks to the AJ Styles vs. Magnus TNA World Title match on IMPACT last week, and the two week heel turn and reset of Daniel Bryan’s character in WWE, I’m thoroughly fucking confused.
Granted, there have been loads of other examples of WWE and TNA serving up shit sandwiches in recent times, but these are the two most recent turds that have been curled out by the ‘creative’ teams and then crudely shoved into a toasted bread roll for us to consume.
I’ve been struggling to understand why AJ Styles was made to look so strong on his way out of TNA, while Magnus, the World Champion – who is staying with the company and looks like the guy they’re positioning as the top heel – was made to look like such a subservient and weak little bitch.
The only heel that was made to look strong in that debacle was Dixie Carter. Unless she’s going to wrestle AJ if/when he returns to TNA, the whole thing made no sense and was embarrassing to watch.
I sat there watching that match play out (it wasn’t really a match, just a succession of run-ins, kick outs and annoying referees) and actually laughed at the stupidity of the whole thing – that’s not a good thing. It was like a wrestling match designed by the Keystone Cops, if the Keystone Cops suffered from ADHD and had never seen a professional wrestling match in their lives. It was unintentionally hilarious, for all the wrong reasons. In fact, the only thing missing to sum up the ridiculousness of what I was watching was the Benny Hill theme tune.
So TNA’s big match left me confused and chuckling at its absurdity, over in WWE things weren’t any better. What the hell was the point of turning Daniel Bryan to join the Wyatts, only to blow the whole thing off in a week and put everything back as it was?
I know why they did it. They did it because the ‘yes’ chant got on ESPN and other mainstream publicity at a big basketball game and Bryan was named as the originator of the chant – even though Bryan actually took the chant from UFC fighter, Diego Sanchez. That’s fair enough, I can understand WWE’s thinking behind the quick switch. They are mainstream publicity whores and anything that gets their name out there in a positive fashion will be pushed to the moon by the company.
What I don’t understand is the thinking behind turning Bryan in the first place. The conspiracy theorist in me believes it was an attempt to dampen down the crowd reactions to Bryan, especially after the Cena/Orton/HHH promo to hype the WWE/World Title unification match at TLC was so memorably ‘yes-jacked’ by the crowd in Seattle on Raw a month ago. Maybe I’m being slightly over the top and dramatic, but the timing is more than a little suspicious and the decision to turn him heel was utterly baffling, especially given the stage the Bryan/Wyatt storyline was at.
I like to think there’s at least some kind of vindictive mind-set or ‘squash the annoying bug’ motivation for the decision to turn Bryan heel. It makes me feel more comfortable thinking they tried to fuck him on purpose, as opposed to accepting that WWE are just being completely clueless.
Granted, the Bryan face turn on RAW this week was a great moment. If you bottle that last ten minutes of RAW and view it as a stand-alone event, it was fucking awesome. Everyone involved played their roles to perfection. The crowd reaction was red hot and left no one in any doubt that the people see Daniel Bryan as the top babyface in WWE.
If you look at it from a storytelling point of view, or even from a longer term view as a way to build up both Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan, it was rushed, ill-conceived and in the end utterly pointless. Everything is back to the way it was two weeks ago, apart from the fact that Bray is now 0-2 when it comes to brainwashing wrestlers to add to his clan.
Ok, I know complaining about wrestling is both boring and pointless (especially when it comes to WWE and TNA). I get that. I really, really do. I find myself fighting the urge to look too deeply into what’s going on in WWE and TNA, but I can’t help it. I love professional wrestling, especially when it’s done well.
I love the action. I love the incredible athleticism, but more than that I love the characters, the storylines and the emotional investment that only wrestling can bring out of me. It’s just…I don’t get that from sports entertainment at the moment. I know I should stop caring so much; it’s ‘just’ wrestling after all. I know I should just stare open mouthed, download an app, buy some merch and chant along like the good little consumer-tard I’m supposed to be. But I can’t.
Thankfully there is a positive outcome to all of this. Stick with me, we’ll get there eventually.
This all started because I watched a Jim Cornette shoot interview the other day. It’s his most recent one called Breaking Kayfabe and it goes into his time in ROH and what lead to him leaving – and holy crap is that one hell of an eye opening story. If Cornette is telling the truth (and we all know everyone in wrestling tells the truth at all times), the people from Sinclair Broadcasting who are running ROH, make Dixie Carter look like a wrestling promoter of Sam Muchnick-like acumen.
Anyway, what really caught my attention was Cornette’s admission that he’s finally accepted that professional wrestling (as he knows it) is dead and gone and what’s left is sports entertainment.
It’s hardly a shocking revelation for anyone has been watching wrestling for more than twenty years. But it’s sad to see someone with the passion, commitment and love for professional wrestling like Jim Cornette has, concede that he was wrong and the sport he loves is dead and gone.
So what has Cornette given up on? He’s been fighting for years to try and show the world that the professional wrestling of the 70s and 80s, the serious, sports-like professional wrestling of the past, could still draw and succeed in the modern world, with a few necessary tweaks to the presentation of the product.
Cornette has long been of the belief that what people want is not a parody of wrestling (which is what he feels WWE and TNA are) but a product that takes the best elements of wrestling’s past – compelling characters, long running storylines, Titles that mean something, hard-hitting and realistic looking matches, and combined with a modern TV presentation. He felt that there were millions of lapsed fans who were turned off by Vince’s sports entertainment but could be brought back with the right product.
Who knows if he was right? He tried with ROH but ultimately failed, although an argument could be made that his hands were tied in that regard. Cornette blames Sinclair Broadcasting (who own ROH) for not knowing how to run a wrestling company and he makes a pretty compelling case for the prosecution.
Then again, others will place the blame squarely at Cornette’s door. Some will see him as a dinosaur from an era that is no longer relevant. They’ll write him off as an out of touch, old school guy, who can’t control his anger, which ultimately lead him to leaving both TNA and ROH.
I’m not judging him either way. I’ve always liked Cornette and his views on wrestling but I wouldn’t like to work for him because of how intense and combative he is. You can’t deny Cornette’s passion and his work ethic when it comes to wrestling. Then again you can’t deny that his attempts to promote the kind of wrestling he believes can still draw, have ultimately been unsuccessful.
In the interview, Cornette explains that after ROH he hit rock bottom and realised that his addiction to wrestling was going to cost him either his sanity or his life. He cared so passionately about wrestling and about reviving it, that when those above him (mainly non-wrestling people from a corporate background) didn’t listen or deliver on their promises, he would snap and it was taking a toll on his body and his mind.
Eventually he realised that the only way he could continue to live a happy life, was to give up his life-long passion, admit he had a problem and then try to recover; which is what he’s doing at the moment.
He finally admitted that he was wrong, that professional wrestling as he knows it is dead and no matter how hard he tries, he can’t bring it back. He’s also finally accepted that his wrestling addiction has clouded his judgement for years. He can finally admit the harsh truth to himself: wrestling is dead and sports entertainment lives.
So with Cornette’s words ringing in my ears I decided to do something I hadn’t done for a while. I decided to watch some independent wrestling. It’s the closest thing we’ve got to wrestling presented as a serious sport, if you follow the right promotions. I’ve been a fan of independent wrestling for years, especially ROH and PWG, although I’ve lapsed in recent months and haven’t watched nearly as much as I used to.
While searching for matches of some of my favourite independent workers, I stumbled across a series of videos on You Tube called ‘Kevin’s Weekend Escapades,’ which are vlogs by former ROH World Champion Kevin Steen as he sets out each weekend to work the independent circuit in the US and Canada.
After watching two or three episodes I kicked myself in the arse for not watching them sooner. Then I remembered why my wrestling addiction will remain a life-long battle.
There’s something strangely inspiring about seeing Kevin Steen, dog tired and beat-up after three days of brutal travel and wrestling, driving home, his eyes barely remaining open and all he can talk about is how thankful he is to do what he does.
Every week he reiterates how much he loves the business of professional wrestling, his fellow wrestlers and how even though he’s basically dying from exhaustion, he keeps going. He keeps getting up in the middle of the night, flying for hours, driving for hours, working his matches and then doing it all again the next day. His commitment to his profession is eye opening and reminds me that I have never really worked a hard day like that in my life.
Week after week, Steen leaves his wife and son behind in Montreal and heads out on the road to work. Along the way he struggles with travel issues, works shows all over the US and hangs out with guys like Eddie Edwards, The Young Bucks, Michael Elgin, Adam Cole and other top independent wrestling talent.
The humour and the camaraderie between them is brilliant to see. Every one of them with the same commitment to putting on the best show, no matter the size of crowd, or how much travel they’ve had to endure. They love the business, they love what they do and they work harder than any of us can really understand.
It’s ironic that the man who Cornette had so many issues with in ROH, is actually the kind of hard-working, committed and passionate wrestler that would have excelled in the territory days. I know Cornette thinks Steen is the perfect guy to headline a rec centre in front of 400 people and that he’s not a TV star, but that’s purely a matter of opinion. You can’t deny how hard he works and how much he loves what he does.
It’s the respect for what Steen and others do that made my mind up – I’m not giving up on wrestling. I might eventually give up on sports entertainment, but not wrestling. So with my heart swelling with pride and my confusion and annoyance with WWE and TNA a distant memory, I bought my first independent wrestling show since the ROH show over Wrestlemania weekend last year that I couldn’t see due to technical issues. I took a gamble and went with EVOLVE 25.
The gamble paid off. The show, held in bar in front of maybe 100-150 people, had five matches and each one was well worked, exciting, competitive and believable (even the spotfest match looked great). I got to see great talents like AR Fox, Davey Richards, Ricochet, Chris Hero, Johnny Gargano, the Young Bucks, The Bravado Brothers, Rich Swann and Chuck Taylor all perform to an appreciative crowd. The biggest thing that stood out was everyone worked hard and everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves.
It wasn’t the greatest show I’ve ever seen. But it reminded me that even though WWE and TNA are stumbling along, confusing fans, botching the pushes of good talent and generally concentrating on only getting over the owners/promoters, there’s still plenty of great wrestling and hardworking wrestlers out there that deserve your support.
Jim Cornette might have given up but I haven’t. It thanks to Kevin Steen and his colleagues, it’s thanks to EVOLVE 25 and it’s thanks to the fact that even if WWE and TNA can’t feed my habit, there’s a whole independent scene out there, just waiting for me to get completely hooked again. Don’t ignore it, don’t forget about it and do whatever you can to support it, because without it, we’d all be much worse off.
See, not all negative and whiny. Told you. It’s nice to get re-invigorated by wrestling when you feel like giving up. Oh and be sure to check out Kevin Steen’s videos, they’re really fun, informative and they show you just how hard Steen and his peers work on the independent scene to entertain ungrateful smarky fucks like me. Just go to his YouTube page – www.youtube.com/thekevinsteen
Don’t forget I’m on Twitter – as if you needed reminding. You can follow me @MFXDuckman where you can expect to find nothing more than really short versions of what you’ve just read and shameless plugs for my podcast. Speaking of which…
Did you hear the massive news? Of course you did – SLTD and MFX have partnered up. That’s right, your favourite wrestling opinion and comment site, has teamed up with your favourite wrestling podcast to bring you insight, entertainment and more laughs than a tickle factory.
Each week on MFX, Sir Ian Trumps and I take a look at TNA and review IMPACT (show usually goes up Monday/Tuesday) with our WWE show and RAW review later in the week (Thursday/Friday). If you need more information on MFX, check out the MFX page here, but really you just need to listen to a show and you’ll quickly get a feel for what MFX is all about.
As always, thanks for reading and be sure to keep supporting SLTD.
Until next time…
Peace
Duckman
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