Category: Wrestling Musings

All posts related to pro rasslin’ that isn’t covering specific shows or events.

Further Thoughts About This Bret/WWE Deal

Yeah, so I had a few more thoughts on this surprise deal with Bret Hart and WWE… and there are some concerns.

So there’s the fragile peace that exists between Bret and Vince, seemingly for the sake of putting together a DVD set of Bret Hart’s career. I’d imagine this is part of Bret’s motivation for participating in this project, since he was always conscious of how his legacy in the business would be perceived. I also have to imagine that Bret might have some inkling as to how WWE would have presented him had he not done the deal. After all, we all know about the Self-Destruction Of The Ultimate Warrior DVD that WWE released recently – a glorified burial of Warrior that seemed a bit extreme. It wouldn’t have been outside the realm of possibility that a similar project would be in the works for Bret.

Later on, I’ve learned there were rumors regarding a possible title for the Bret set: “Screwed: The Bret Hart Story.” Somehow, I don’t think that title is going to stick if they want Bret to stick around… then again, I wouldn’t put it past Vince to be that petty.

 

The Handshake That Froze Hell

Hear that, kids? It’s the sound of Hell freezing over.

Now, you see that picture above? That’s the thing that froze Hell.

From WWE.com:

It was a sight many fans never thought they would see again, until now. Bret Hart and Vince McMahon met face to face today before shooting began for the upcoming DVD chronicling the Hit Man’s career.

During shooting, McMahon and Hart both talked about Bret’s beginnings, SummerSlam 1992, the historic Owen Hart-Bret Hart rivalry, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the infamous Montreal incident, Bret’s jump to WCW and much more.

Afterwards, the Hit Man said he was “happy with how everything went today,” regarding the Bret Hart-WWE joint production.

Should be interesting going forward.

The Death of McWrestling (Or Is It?)

(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?)”

Summer Clean-Up At McWrestling

WWE has decided not to proceed with any renegotiations with Bubba and D-Von Dudley. We wish both Bubba and D-Von the best in all future endeavors.

Also, World Wrestling Entertainment has come to agreements on the release of the following Superstars. WWE would like to wish them the best in their future endeavors.

* Joy Giovanni
* Kenzo Suzuki
* Matt Morgan
* Charlie Haas
* Jackie Gayda
* Marty Jannetty
* Dawn Marie
* Mark Jindrak
* Maven
* Shannon Moore
* James Yun (Akio)
* David Heath (Gangrel)
* Billy Kidman
* Spike Dudley
* Kevin Fertig

Man, I haven’t seen this many wrestlers laid off since last year… seriously, though, this is just sad… especially since some of these guys are more talented than those getting actual pushes at the moment. In any case, good luck to all these guys in their future… well, you know.

On the bright side, WWE has hired Matt Striker, the guy who had the best chance of beating Kurt Angle to win his gold medal until a quick submission hold forced him to tap as fast as he got out of being a teacher… because only a teacher who uses sick days to wrestle and gets fired for it can get a job at World Wrestling Entertainment. This, when over a dozen guys were dropped just a couple weeks ago. Just so they could hire a disgraced teacher.

Eh, who cares?

Later.

Your WWE Hall Of Fame 2005 Roll Call

or those who don’t know, the WWE will be inducting more people into their Hall of Fame, which was revived last year for the first time in… years. And they are:

“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff
“Cowboy” Bob Orton
“The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart
Iron Sheik
Nikolai Volkoff
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper
And of course, Hulk Hogan (f*ck Marvel).

Good money’s on Mr. T to be the next inductee…

(2019 Update: He’d get inducted… in 2014.)

WWE + 1 half of Mortal Kombat = Wrestlemania 21 X-BOX

WWE Wrestlemania 21, the new X-Box video game, has been announced for a March release.

According to a Game Informer article, it’s developed by Studio Gigante. Studio Gigante was not only the team who developed the X-Box fighting game Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus, but is a group led by John Tobias, co-creator of Mortal Kombat.

Somehow, I half-expect Triple H’s finisher to literally Randy Orton’s spine as opposed to his regular finisher… I wish I could say that was just a lame joke, but considering how Randy’s been booked as of late, there are worse fates.

Should TNA Use The WWE Tape Footage?

On a recent edition of the WWE’s Internet show Byte This, former ECW owner and current WWE scripter Paul Heyman said that TNA would never be true competition to WWE. Is there truth to that statement? Maybe, but TNA is really doing well at bringing paranoia to a federation that has lost all touch with the wrestling audience.

TNA has had a decent week/month to say the very least. Their first real PPV, their Fanfest, their matches on one of Fox Sports’ regular programs, the mysterious tape with WWE wrestlers getting pissed because TNA brought them cookies during a commercial shooting all seem to be giving TNA some much needed attention, which can only be a good thing. Now that they’re getting noticed by a large number of people, it’s their chance to make the most of it.

If you’ve heard, WWE is threatening legal action against TNA if they use the cookie footage. They’re demanding that TNA surrenders the tape and whatnot. What does TNA do? They put up a poll for fans to vote as to whether they tape the footage or not. Here’s the link:

[LINK NO LONGER VALID]

My vote? Show the fucking footage and prepare for the consequences. A lawsuit from WWE might be the right, legal thing to do, but it would only further their reputation as bullies of smaller companies (according to TNA). Not only that, but it will show a sign of weakness from WWE as they will be considered threatened by a company they claim is beneath them.

So, as Chris Jericho stated, make the right decision. Vote for the cookie footage to go on the air.

2011 Update:
TNA did eventually show the footage on one of their PPVs (along with a poor man’s Vince impersonator that made me long for the Billionaire Ted skits… hey, at least those were somewhat entertaining.), but blurred out the majority of WWE talents’ faces in order to avoid legal issues. You can make out who’s there, though, if you’re keen-eyed and can recognize tattoos. The footage can be found on TNA’s 50 Greatest Moments DVD if you’re so inclined… it might also be on YouTube.

The Shadow Of TNA Threatens McWrestling

From InsidePulse.Com:

WWE still has up to 5 members of the roster that they want to cut, but the word is that they are holding off, so they don’t feed the talent to TNA. This week being huge for TNA, with Victory Road and the TNA matches on Best Damn Sports Show Period WWE doesn’t want to give them any more momentum.

With morale being so low, especially in the SmackDown! locker room, it may come to the point where talent starts asking for their release to go to TNA, as it’s starting to be looked at as an alternative.

From what I hear so far, Victory Road was a pretty good show. It’s too damn bad that I chose to skip the first real TNA PPV and set myself up for another disappointment from the WWE. I’ll admit to have enjoyed Taboo Tuesday, but it wasn’t necessarily a good show either.

In any case, the added exposure they’re getting right now is exactly what they need to become a serious alternative to WWE, who is starting to notice this small-time wrestling company and holding off the firing of five other talents from their roster, just to keep them from jumping ship.

Kudos to TNA for their recent exposure and let’s hope I’m around for the Turning Point of their Victory Road.

Later.

Divas Dodgeball?! WTF?!

So let me get this straight: instead of a decent wrestling match, we’re getting a bunch of talentless models playing dodgeball with RAW’s women wrestlers at Summerslam?! Who was the genius that thought up that stupid idea?

No wonder women’s wrestling in WWE is shit these days. You try and promote the division as something that can be equally appealing as the regular male division, and then you throw in something stupid like this into the mix. And the RAW Diva bullshit was bad enough on its own…

Come on, dodgeball?!

First Bradshaw as World Champion and now this…




Nostalgia Does NOT Equal Ratings

Something is filling the air of World Wrestling Entertainment since the purchase of World Championship Wrestling from AOL/Time Warner back on March 2001. Vince McMahon should be living the time of his life – after a long struggle, he had beaten the last major wrestling federation and is the only big-time league in North America. With the possibilities of a new and improved WCW on the horizon and potential inter-promotional matches that were only the stuff of dreams, it seemed like McMahon was ready to begin a new era with a bang and take his wrestling company to the next level.

Of course, things did not exactly work that way.

Continue reading “Nostalgia Does NOT Equal Ratings”