Category: Written Commentaries

So Hardcore Justice happened last night… and I was able to watch it… a show that somebody else paid for. Thanks, Sean.

Sadly, I didn’t see the whole thing. Birthday party after all. What I did see… was rather meh, but otherwise harmless.

I certainly hope that all these ECW guys, fans, and whathaveyou who still needed any semblance of closure despite several reunion shows over the years, have got their closure with last Sunday’s PPV… because I very much like for ECW to rest in peace and not get violated again in five years time when they start complaining about how they weren’t given a proper send-off. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

If I can give TNA some credit, it’s on the fact that it’s strictly a reunion show – comprising matches featuring ECW alumni. You had TNA talent chime in and drop their thoughts on their favorite moments of ECW (without actually calling it such), but outside of those who are ECW alumni and Mike Tenay (who’s doing commentary since, you know, Joey Styles obviously can’t due to contractual reasons), TNA talent weren’t part of some storyline shoehorned into the show to push their shows the following week. In fact, there had only been one or two mentions of upcoming TNA shows on the entire PPV. So yeah, I’ll give them credit for keeping it as a reunion show.

And for what it was worth, they tried to put out the best show they possibly could. You had the old ring announcer, you had John Finnegan reffing all the matches, the ring ropes were black, the lighting was dimmed in an attempt to replica the old ECW arena shows (didn’t really work), and the two main events were actually pretty solid for what they were; a return to the “extreme” style that they had innovated and revolutionized in the mid-90s. Of course, the undercard wasn’t all that great – matches are basic fair and far from hardcore – but they tried to put on a good show and no doubt some people will find some enjoyment out of this show.

But as true as they tried to make it, it all feels really, really, REALLY artificial and shallow.

Hardcore Justice emanated from the Impact Zone… and that has to be the main reason why I have a hard time buying into the whole feel. Because the Impact Zone, no matter how dark you dim your lights or color your ropes, is the absolute most farthest thing from extreme anything.

People can piss on Vince all they want, but when he did both ECW One Night Stand PPVs, he could have easily held them in a big arena and push it as he would another WWE PPV. But he held them at the Hammerstein Ballroom, which might not be the ECW Arena in terms of pure nostalgia or ECW-ness, but was the kind of small arena that ECW would hold shows at (in fact, they DID hold shows there). And for all it’s worth, it almost felt like an ECW show. Felt a bit slicker, had the obvious outside influence, but it felt like a solid ECW show. Everything that they did there, they did right. Hell, I’d even give props to the Hardcore Homecoming show that was held on the same weekend, which also felt like a good old-school ECW show.

With the IMPACT Zone, it seems like the audience are nothing more than unpaid extras in a set filling seats (interesting since people watch the show for free, regardless of whether it’s an Impact airing or a PPV event.),  going through the motions chanting the usual fluff chants that you would expect from an ECW audience, but without any of the feeling. I’ve always got the feeling that the Impact Zone fans are practically sheep – everything about this show tried to look like an ECW show, but it feels very much artificial. And I don’t consider myself an ECW hardcore or anything like that – but even I can recognize a passionated audience from a canned one. This could have benefited from being booked at a small arena, but instead they got cheap and held it at the Impact Zone… I guess at this point, TNA couldn’t afford stuff that matters and instead blow their budget on bringing in has-beens.

I don’t get the “Fuck You, Vince” chants. Unless you’re referring to Vince Russo, in which case I agree wholeheartedly.

Look, if you’re looking for that long-eluded closure that ten other “reunion” shows couldn’t give you, then I hope that Hardcore Justice gives you that much needed closure. For all of my reservations and fears, it was a pretty harmless show. Oh this wasn’t good either in a wrestling sense or even a nostalgia sense, but it was harmless and if it ends up being the last stand, then it’s a fair one at best… but let this be the last one.

It’s been nine years. It’s over. It’s done.

Move on.

Please.

TNA, you want to have a reunion show? Have a WCW reunion show. You’ve got all the guys under contract anyway, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

(2019 Note: You know, this was the 105th post on the original DTM Blog and yet it has graced this new unified site as the overall 100th post. In all honesty, I could not think of a better “landmark” posting to mark the occasion. For the record, I’m using the expanded version that was later posted on the Webstation and not the blog original, which is shorter.)

Sometime in March 2001, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment) had purchased all related assets of World Championship Wrestling from AOL-Time Warner after the company had lost close to $60 million in the previous year.

I’m not going to tell the story of how the company, who had reinvigorated the wrestling industry with the creation of the New World Order angle, went from top of the world to the bottom of the comode, since that story is well documented in the book entitled The Death of WCW by RD Reynolds and Bryan Alvarez. However, let’s go on with the fallout of that purchase… based on various internet sources, said book, and my own (vague) recollections. Some of this might be inconsistent, but I’m not in possession of a time machine.

Continue reading “The Death of McWrestling (Or Is It?)”

The following piece was taken from The Bite edition 06/30/2002 in a subject called “Chris Jericho’s Bashing of the Internet Marks”

“I am browsing through the wrestling webpages and I find this link which contains Chris Jericho’s comments about the dirtsheets and critics (or as he calls them, “marks”) who gave his match with Rob Van Dam negative reviews. If that was the case, then explain to me why this match was the second most-enjoyed match in the King of the Ring (according to a WWE.com poll on June 26th 2002 – 7:49 AM Eastern Time, for those who want to be technical). Explain to me why I actually enjoyed watching this match… It seems to me lately people are more interested in picking out the bad points of a product (in this case, the WWE) than to be entertained by it. They want to check for low ratings of the product and figure out what’s wrong with the product.

“On one of the dirtsheets Tuesday morning, I saw this article agreeing with Chris Jericho’s comments. He thought the June 24th episode of Monday Night Raw was one of the best he’s seen, despite the low rating. Sounds like this guy’s been entertained pretty well. He also says the people who claim that “without big guys like Austin, Rock, or Triple H, WWE is going nowhere” are also the same people who a year ago have said that “WWF (F the Panda) needs to get the limelight off Austin/Rock/HHH, WWF needs to create new stars.” These people are contradicting their own words by saying stuff like this now. If you’re going to review a card, review both its positive and negative attributes. To claim that the crowd was pretty much dead is a joke. I thought the crowd was into it, especially during the RVD/Jericho and Lesnar/Test matches, both of which I felt were highlights of the card.

“The ratings do not dictate whether the card was good or bad. It dictates how many people were watching the show with interest. You can have the absolute best quality television program that night and still manage to score a pathetic 2.9. That simply means in order to attract a larger audience, the writers have to do better than what they are providing.”

That pretty much sums up how I felt about the whole thing at the time. Two months later, I purchase a copy of Pro Wrestling Illustrated (referred to commonly as PWI) in which one of the magazine’s columnists (once again) agree with Chris Jericho’s internet tirade. (All the more interesting is the fact that Chris is true to his word about being done with wrestling on the Internet, as I have yet to see a new commentary posted… nor do I expect one.) The wrestling “newswires” and dirtsheets are nothing more than a source of negativity and bullshit rumors that may or may not happen. It seems that 10% of what’s out there actually holds some merit (mainly Smackdown spoilers – which is the only reason I go to these sheets in the first place), while the rest is “speculation” or “rumor.” I opt for the third option: bullshit.

These days, there is no true way to be entertained by wrestling because we are often tempted to go to these dirtsheets and check out the latest “backstage heat” or “potential future storylines.” And when they do happen in a wrestling card, we shrug it off and pass it as “predictable.” Of course, before you went on to the dirtsheet, you probably didn’t have a clue as to what happened.

On the other hand, though, wrestling hasn’t really changed much during the time it’s been around. Maybe some of the stuff is semi-predictable, maybe some of the stuff is the same shit, and maybe we’re getting the same match ups over and over again. You can call it whatever you want (wrestling, sports-entertainment, male soap opera, the fake sport), dress it up in any way you like, but it is the same product. It is the same basic principle.

Bottom line… who gives a fuck, really? I mean, if you are tired of the same old thing happening over and over again, THEN DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND STOP WATCHING THE FUCKING SHOW!  Is there anything that is tempting you to watch something you don’t like in a negative light? If there is something I don’t like on TV or in the movies, I don’t watch it. It’s as simple as that. Find something you do like and go watch that. It seems as though there are people will just about bash anything and may very well like anything… that is something Chris Jericho has stated in his commentary. In some sense, that is true. Also in some sense, I don’t think there is such a thing as a true fan. In fact, I think these days, the definition of being a fan has changed to the point where the original meaning is lost.

A fan used to be someone who enjoyed the show… but now I think a fan has evolved into a mark… if you’re a fan, you will enjoy the product you’re a fan of. It’s alright to criticize, but enjoy the show too.