I was having trouble Blogging as much as once a week about wrestling, but I'm going to give it another shot, mainly because I wanted to put my own thoughts out there on this Chris Benoit tragedy. Here we are only a week later and it seems as though the mainstream media has already started to move on. ESPN.com has some articles up on it, but there was no mention on this week's Sports Reporters and the stories on Nancy Grace and The O'Reilly Factor have started to become less frequent. So now it's starting to become less of a national story and more of a wrestling story. Anyway, here's my take. Could steroids be the leading factor? Most definitely, but is there also a good chance that these were just the actions of a disturbed man? This was obviously a dysfunctional marriage which had at least one previous incident of domestic abuse, and that sort of relationship would not be helped by having to take care of a child with a serious disability. Even with all these facts, the mainstream media has tried to paint this as a "'Roid Rage" incident. I don;t necessarily blame them, given the history of the WWE and wrestlers in general dying young and having serious drug issues in the past. I understand that people are looking for answers as to why would anyone kill their own innocent seven year-old child, but the sad truth is that there never really are any answers when a child dies. There are many reasons and factors that don;t necessarily make sense, but the root is that there was a very disturbed and sick individual committing the act. His drug use and possible head injuries from his years in the ring may have contributed, and we'll never know to what degree, but ultimately Chris Benoit has to take the blame for this, and no one else.
I don;t really mind all the questions being asked about steroids and the attacks on WWE, many of these are long overdue. But in truth we really can;t say for sure that this is proof of the ineffectiveness of the wellness policy. The wellness policy may actually be doing its job, maybe many of the wrestlers have cleaned up their acts. We don;t really know , although based on the size of these guys and the fact that Benoit still had active prescriptions for steroids tells me that the policy is at least somewhat flawed.
This story isn;t over, there is still plenty of fall out, but my guess is that in another month it will be business as usual in the WWE. Vince McMahon will be as insulated as ever, he'll do things his way, he'll run angles that might be seen as "in bad taste." And maybe that's the way it should be, if the Owen Hart incident didn;t change him, and Eddy Guerrero's death was handled for profit the way it was, I can;t imagine this incident would change anything.
-SEF
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Monday, December 04, 2006
Thoughts from the last week
The first thing I wanted to comment on was the end of the Spirit Squad. What a waste, they came in with a boom and now they've been sent out mercifully, hopefully this isn't the last we'll see of them. It seemed like WWE just gave up on them too fast, then de-pushed them to the point were there was no way to save them. The got rid of the break-up angle, jobbed them out to a bunch of old guys to hear a few cheers at the start of a show. I feel like WWE is afraid to push anyone, they're in a catch-22. They don;t want to push any young guys who haven't paid their dues, but they can't make stars out of guys who they've made look like jobbers for years.
Hopefully when Ric Flair comes back they'll have a nice plan or angle to re-introduce him with a bang, maybe they can't plan it because they don;t know how long his divorce will take, but they could definitely capitalize.
I still don;t get the whole CM Punk thing.
Kelly Kelly may be the biggest star in all of ECW right now, especially if big show has to take some time off.
I know I'm in the minority here, especially among internet fans, but I love the whole Voodoo King Mafia angle. They're cool enough for me, I still like Mr. Ass.
I'm definitely hoping that The Hardys vs. MNM feud is just a beginning and they'll have other teams built up to bring in as the next challenger to the thrown of best tag team in WWE.
Bobby Lashley is apparently the new ECW champion, I think ECW needs a whole new dircetion. they should just kinda let ECW do its own thing then pluck any stars who are ready for primetime, just like they did when it was independent of WWE.
I wanna wish the best of luck to Lita, she deserved better than she got the last couple years, hopefully she'll find a better outlet than she did in the WWE, either in wrestling or in a new profession.
That's all,
-SEF
Hopefully when Ric Flair comes back they'll have a nice plan or angle to re-introduce him with a bang, maybe they can't plan it because they don;t know how long his divorce will take, but they could definitely capitalize.
I still don;t get the whole CM Punk thing.
Kelly Kelly may be the biggest star in all of ECW right now, especially if big show has to take some time off.
I know I'm in the minority here, especially among internet fans, but I love the whole Voodoo King Mafia angle. They're cool enough for me, I still like Mr. Ass.
I'm definitely hoping that The Hardys vs. MNM feud is just a beginning and they'll have other teams built up to bring in as the next challenger to the thrown of best tag team in WWE.
Bobby Lashley is apparently the new ECW champion, I think ECW needs a whole new dircetion. they should just kinda let ECW do its own thing then pluck any stars who are ready for primetime, just like they did when it was independent of WWE.
I wanna wish the best of luck to Lita, she deserved better than she got the last couple years, hopefully she'll find a better outlet than she did in the WWE, either in wrestling or in a new profession.
That's all,
-SEF
Monday, November 27, 2006
Survivor Series
WWE had one of its big 5 PPVs last night, and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. They seem intent on sticking to the exact same boring track that they've been riding on for some time. That being said I'll give a few high points to the show, and then a few low points as well.
-As bad as I felt for Mike Knox, I have to admit I got a bit of a chuckle when he got eliminated from his match so fast. When the other team had to ask who he was and if he was supposed to be in the match or not I couldn't help but laugh a little. the biggest problem with him being out so soon was that Kelly Kelly went with him.
-Seeing John Cena give the FU to Big Show was impressive. I don;t care if it's been done before, it'll always impress me.
-The Hardy Boys being back together is fun, but in truth between Jeff being out of shape and Matt being exposed as a fraud over the last few years, I think they might not be as a big a deal as they seem right now, the nostalgia might wear off quick. It's funny seeing the two of them together, it's like Jeff has all the natural gifts and Matt has all the desire, but neither has the full package.
-I enjoyed the Mr. Kennedy win, it was a kinda cheap way to put him over, but at the same time he continues to get a big push. This match also featured the closest thing to a new angle or twist in an old angle when MVP kinda turned on Kennedy.
-I was glad that they gave Lita and Mickie James some time out there to put on a good show. Unfortunately they didn't quite deliver. Lita seems to have all the moves but doesn't necessarily have the timing or the stamina to put on a top level match.
Now onto the negatives.
-The whole Cryme Tyme embaressing Lita gimmick was so bad for so many reasons. It reminded everyone why she wanted to leave in the first place, it wasn't at all funny, and was pretty insulting. More importantly, it's becoming very clear that Cryme Tyme sucks, they don;t have anything real to offer. Their gimmick isn;t doing them any favors, but I don;t ever see as much as a twinkle of potential.
-Team DX going over 5-0, just ridiculous. Johnny Nitro deserves better, he has a lot of potential, and with Melina at his side to cover up his lack of mic skills he could keep rising to the top. Rated RKO should've at least knocked out CM punk or Matt Hardy. But I guess this is par for the course when DX is involved, maybe Punk or Matt getting eliminated would've reflected badly on them.
-The biggest negative aside from no new angles or angle andvancement was Batista winning the title. He's just not good enough in the ring, he needs to go back to being someone's enforcer, try something new, maybe a heel turn, maybe just put him as part of a badass tag team where he can just do hot tags. But he can't even handle a 10 minute match at this point, and this just guarantees a mediocre title match at Smackdown's next PPV.
for now that's all I got for all the SEF maniacs out there, don't forget to say prayers and take your supplements.
-SEF
-As bad as I felt for Mike Knox, I have to admit I got a bit of a chuckle when he got eliminated from his match so fast. When the other team had to ask who he was and if he was supposed to be in the match or not I couldn't help but laugh a little. the biggest problem with him being out so soon was that Kelly Kelly went with him.
-Seeing John Cena give the FU to Big Show was impressive. I don;t care if it's been done before, it'll always impress me.
-The Hardy Boys being back together is fun, but in truth between Jeff being out of shape and Matt being exposed as a fraud over the last few years, I think they might not be as a big a deal as they seem right now, the nostalgia might wear off quick. It's funny seeing the two of them together, it's like Jeff has all the natural gifts and Matt has all the desire, but neither has the full package.
-I enjoyed the Mr. Kennedy win, it was a kinda cheap way to put him over, but at the same time he continues to get a big push. This match also featured the closest thing to a new angle or twist in an old angle when MVP kinda turned on Kennedy.
-I was glad that they gave Lita and Mickie James some time out there to put on a good show. Unfortunately they didn't quite deliver. Lita seems to have all the moves but doesn't necessarily have the timing or the stamina to put on a top level match.
Now onto the negatives.
-The whole Cryme Tyme embaressing Lita gimmick was so bad for so many reasons. It reminded everyone why she wanted to leave in the first place, it wasn't at all funny, and was pretty insulting. More importantly, it's becoming very clear that Cryme Tyme sucks, they don;t have anything real to offer. Their gimmick isn;t doing them any favors, but I don;t ever see as much as a twinkle of potential.
-Team DX going over 5-0, just ridiculous. Johnny Nitro deserves better, he has a lot of potential, and with Melina at his side to cover up his lack of mic skills he could keep rising to the top. Rated RKO should've at least knocked out CM punk or Matt Hardy. But I guess this is par for the course when DX is involved, maybe Punk or Matt getting eliminated would've reflected badly on them.
-The biggest negative aside from no new angles or angle andvancement was Batista winning the title. He's just not good enough in the ring, he needs to go back to being someone's enforcer, try something new, maybe a heel turn, maybe just put him as part of a badass tag team where he can just do hot tags. But he can't even handle a 10 minute match at this point, and this just guarantees a mediocre title match at Smackdown's next PPV.
for now that's all I got for all the SEF maniacs out there, don't forget to say prayers and take your supplements.
-SEF
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Quick hits
Just wanted to post some thoughts on the last week or so.
-Was really glad to hear that WWE will bring back the elimination matches to Survivor Series. I always enjoyed the gimmick matches like this because you can continue a feud without having to give away the match with a winner or loser. This might not really apply right now because they seem to settle feud on the TV shows within a week or two, not like back in the day where a feud could start in the winter and not get settled until Wrestlemania.
-I'm just gonna come out and predict it now, Ric Flair and the old-timers vs. Spirit Squad in an elimination match. It just seems to be consistent with recent booking.
-Nice heel turn for Hardcore Holly this week in ECW, but if it were all an elaborate set-up wouldn;t he have turned on RVD last week or at least not taken much of a beating from Show last week? I'll pretend it makes sense this way because it's closer to logical than most angles are right now. I'm really loving the current stable of heels in ECW.
-Turkay and Burke are a good fit in ECW, Turkay is big enough to be a monster heel in ECW, while Burke is about average size. I think they could be a big factor going forward. Not so much for Daivari and Great Kali, which makes me wonder, does Smackdown still have anyone on their roster?
-I really miss having great tag teams, is Cryme Tyme the top team for WWE right now? that's sad, Tag Team title matches used to be the third or fourth biggest match on most large events. I would love for WWE to create one dominant tag team who actually operated as a team in the tag division.
-The other thing I long for is Ric Flair moving into the manager role, use his fame to get other people over, this is where he needs to be now.
Thats all I got today,
-SEF
-Was really glad to hear that WWE will bring back the elimination matches to Survivor Series. I always enjoyed the gimmick matches like this because you can continue a feud without having to give away the match with a winner or loser. This might not really apply right now because they seem to settle feud on the TV shows within a week or two, not like back in the day where a feud could start in the winter and not get settled until Wrestlemania.
-I'm just gonna come out and predict it now, Ric Flair and the old-timers vs. Spirit Squad in an elimination match. It just seems to be consistent with recent booking.
-Nice heel turn for Hardcore Holly this week in ECW, but if it were all an elaborate set-up wouldn;t he have turned on RVD last week or at least not taken much of a beating from Show last week? I'll pretend it makes sense this way because it's closer to logical than most angles are right now. I'm really loving the current stable of heels in ECW.
-Turkay and Burke are a good fit in ECW, Turkay is big enough to be a monster heel in ECW, while Burke is about average size. I think they could be a big factor going forward. Not so much for Daivari and Great Kali, which makes me wonder, does Smackdown still have anyone on their roster?
-I really miss having great tag teams, is Cryme Tyme the top team for WWE right now? that's sad, Tag Team title matches used to be the third or fourth biggest match on most large events. I would love for WWE to create one dominant tag team who actually operated as a team in the tag division.
-The other thing I long for is Ric Flair moving into the manager role, use his fame to get other people over, this is where he needs to be now.
Thats all I got today,
-SEF
Sunday, November 05, 2006
End of week thoughts
Just a few things I wanted to comment after taking in this weeks shows and news.
-The bigger TNA becomes the more excited I get, if they could ever become close to as popular as WCW was, the big winner would be the fans. I feel like WWE needs a kick in the pants and the battle between the two groups is what made wrestling so big in the 90s.
-Watching ECW I'm really into Holly and Test, they were at the top of my list of personal favorites who should be pushed, and they just happen to be doing it in the same feud.
-Also in ECW, loved how the sexy costume contest actually contributed to an angle. Unfortunately that angle involves CM Punk, and I just don;t get the whole CM Punk thing. I'm not at all impressed with any part of his act, don't think he's a good worker, doesn;t have a good physique and I'm not too impressed by his charisma. Admittedly, when it comes to the guys who the online community are hyping up, I'm usually not that impressed, but at least I can understand what people see in them. With Punk I can;t see it at all.
-TNA is pretty exciting, and I like a bunch of the things that are going on now. The angle where the James Gang did their "shoot" is not one of the positives. I'm still a mark for the James Gang, they're one of my favorite tag teams ever, I'm a mark for all the older guys in TNA, I might be Jeff Jarrett's number one fan these days. But the point is this, I don;t think there's ever been a succesful angle involving the wrestlers admitting that wrestling is fake.
-Smackdown is still a mess, but I did enjoy the way they used Batista this week, it reminded me of why he got huge in the first place. Another good thing in that angle was King Booker, I find his character to be a lot funnier than most give him credit for.
Thats all I feel like writing for now, until next time I'm still...
The SEF
-The bigger TNA becomes the more excited I get, if they could ever become close to as popular as WCW was, the big winner would be the fans. I feel like WWE needs a kick in the pants and the battle between the two groups is what made wrestling so big in the 90s.
-Watching ECW I'm really into Holly and Test, they were at the top of my list of personal favorites who should be pushed, and they just happen to be doing it in the same feud.
-Also in ECW, loved how the sexy costume contest actually contributed to an angle. Unfortunately that angle involves CM Punk, and I just don;t get the whole CM Punk thing. I'm not at all impressed with any part of his act, don't think he's a good worker, doesn;t have a good physique and I'm not too impressed by his charisma. Admittedly, when it comes to the guys who the online community are hyping up, I'm usually not that impressed, but at least I can understand what people see in them. With Punk I can;t see it at all.
-TNA is pretty exciting, and I like a bunch of the things that are going on now. The angle where the James Gang did their "shoot" is not one of the positives. I'm still a mark for the James Gang, they're one of my favorite tag teams ever, I'm a mark for all the older guys in TNA, I might be Jeff Jarrett's number one fan these days. But the point is this, I don;t think there's ever been a succesful angle involving the wrestlers admitting that wrestling is fake.
-Smackdown is still a mess, but I did enjoy the way they used Batista this week, it reminded me of why he got huge in the first place. Another good thing in that angle was King Booker, I find his character to be a lot funnier than most give him credit for.
Thats all I feel like writing for now, until next time I'm still...
The SEF
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