Welcome to this week's Q-and-A-Palooza, where you ask the questions and I try not to make a mockery of myself by answering them. Let's dive in!
Which rapper do you think would make a perfect Wrestler? I think Ghostface Killah with his attire and personality would of made a great wrestler.
beatrice (Chikara101 Poster)
They actually made a rapper wrestling game a few years ago, Def Jam Vendetta. You might want to check that out, actually. But to the question at hand, I used to be somewhat of a Wu-Tang Clan fan back in the day, but now, I really don't know what most of them are up to outside of ODB, who's obviously dead. That being said, DMX to me always seemed like he'd be a natural fit in an edgier fed like the original ECW or even now in ROH.
After the jump...How strong should heels be booked, and how often do you think a heel should win clean?
jharper (Chikara101 Poster)
It depends on the character, but I truly believe that feds need to have strong heels that do win clean. You don't need to have cheating, chicken shit heels to draw heat. Some of the best heels in the real sporting world are just guys that are way too dominant and way too unlikeable for mass consumption. I mean really, can anyone honestly tell me that Kobe Bryant wouldn't be an awesome heel in wrestling? He fits the mold, as he's the best or one of the best players in the NBA and no one likes him outside of LA and possibly pockets in Philly that still cling to the belief that he's a "Philly boy".
Yes, booking should always be centered around heels getting comeuppance and faces achieving goals, but no one is going to want to see a heel get comeuppance if he does nothing to deserve it. Therefore, heels need to be built strong and win matches clean.
The next four questions come courtesy of bpc532 of both ChikaraFans and Chikara101:
1)
Where does this rank on the "Holy Shit!" scale?
I think that would break the scale, if you ask me.
2) "Did you forget your scissors? (Or the funniest shoot comment you've ever heard)
"I respect you, bookerman!"
3) Is it safe to assume that the best use of 2 hours for TNA, based off of the ratings, is just showing the Knockouts and Orlando Jordan spraying "lotion" on himself?
I think if Rob Terry brutally murdered Bubba the Love Sponge on camera, that would be a pretty hot segment right there in addition to what else you've laid out.
4) So Mark Henry arrives on RAW in 2009. His first match he dominates the then-WWE Champion Randy Orton. The next few weeks sees him destroy Legacy, and has perhaps the greatest segment of his life: Interrupting Jericho's promo, crushing him so bad he takes the count out loss like Legacy did, having pockets of fans swaying back-and-forth to his terrific theme song, plus having several thousand people do his "Raise arm, lower arm" thing he was doing. So you have this huge, powerful wrestler who has now become incredibly over in less than a month. What the hell happened?
Vince McMahon is a savvy businessman. You see, when he hears the fans react to something, he's keen enough to interpret what they really want to see. In that situation, the fans going nuts for Mark Henry? Yeah, Vince knew what they really wanted to see... the beginnings of another Cena/Orton feud that would last for the next four PPVs. That's what happened.
*resists urge to slit wrists*
Does a heel have to serious to truly draw heat? At least heat that you can build a marquee feud around.
emeraldflame (Chikara101 Poster)
The Rock was never truly a serious heel. Granted, inducing laughter is a face trait, but I don't think you need to be ZOMG ZOMG SERIOUS ARRRRGGGHHH all the time to draw heat.
Blog reader, commenter and ChikaraFans regular Friskey with the next batch of Qs:
1) What does TNA need to do to get the ball rolling on the right track? (With the exception of firing Russo, Dixie, and Hogan, because...come on, we all know you'd can them from the start.)
Those are pretty obvious choices, so yeah, after the house is cleaned out, here's what I'd do: Firstly, I'd establish AJ Styles as a top superstar by having him interrupting Flair during a promo and dressing him down, telling him he's tired of being the puppet and how he's taking over the operations. Establishing Flair as sympathetic and putting him in the background as a JJ Dillon type in Styles' new Horsemen stable with him, Beer Money and Desmond Wolfe.
Second, I'd organize the card and make things more defined. The X-Division is no longer just words about "no limits", there'd be something to define what those "no limits" would be.
Lastly, I'd book the fed with more of an ROH-mixed-with-classic-WCW flavor, a true alternative to the WWE.
2) What does ROH need to do to get new fans in?
Advertising. They need to get exposure on TV and let people know they exist. Getting onto a cable network that has a wider reach than 129 homes would be a start. I mean, I'm glad they have TV, but HDNet needs to get a broader reach for both their sakes.
3) Who do you think is going to be ROH's next signing? One of their own, or somebody else that Gabe is trying to push?
I don't know who is and who isn't under contract with them. I can see them make a play for Johnny Gargano, because I don't see Claudio really signing a contract.
4) Who would you like to see in a Chikara ring that hasn't done so yet?
Human Tornado. Two Skinny Black Guys vs. The Throwbacks? Yes please!
5) What has been your defining moment as a wrestling fan?
Chikara King of Trios '09, night one. It was my first ever indie show, and it made me realize that actually going out and checking out stuff under the mainstream radar makes my experience as a wrestling fan that much more rewarding.
6) In terms of WrestleCrap, what is the one moment that you wish you could wash your eyes from seeing?
Definitely Mae Young giving birth to a hand that was sired by Mark Henry.
7) Same terms as the previous question; What is the one moment that most people give a bad rap to, that you actually don't?
This is actually a good question I had to think about. Recently, I'm going to go with the 2 Cold Scorpio/Ken Doane match from the first DGUSA show. A lot of people I know crapped on it, and in context of the show, it didn't fit with the high octane, spotspotspot style the rest of the roster was putting out. However, I thought it was a good classic face/heel matchup. Scorp provided great veteran presence and Doane was exceptional at riling up the crowd.
Historically, apparently I was in the minority on Lex Luger's push as Mr. America in the WWF back in the mid '90s. As a pre-teen mark, I loved Luger (although not as much as Bret Hart), but apparently, people in my demographic didn't feel the same way I did. Looking back... I'm gonna level with you and tell you that I thought Luger was still damn good then. His character wasn't terribly interesting, but I still thought him slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid was a great moment and that he got the shaft by the fans and the company.
Ryan Strawsma with a bunch of what-if questions and one Divas related query at the end:
1) What if Owen Hart's tragedy been averted?
That is going to be the crux of my Earth-2 Wrestling series, if I ever get back my creative mojo for it. Basically, my theory is that Owen Hart would have gotten a big heel push and probably would have won a World title or two. Given Owen's popularity backstage and Vince's desire to keep putting it to Bret at the time, I think Vince would have done as much as he could have to keep Owen from going to WCW and keep him happy as well.
2) What if the Montreal Screwjob never happened and Hart left the company on good terms?
He would have been inducted into the HoF in probably the first class after it was rebooted in 2004, and even bigger... we either wouldn't have gotten the Mr. McMahon character at all, or it would have been birthed a different way. If it was the former, that would have changed wrestling history in a big way, given that Mr. McMahon, along with The Rock and the Undertaker, was one of three of the most important foils for Steve Austin.
3) What if Warrior hadn't put the figurative gun to McMahon's head at Summerslam '91 and stuck around?
Bret Hart wouldn't have gotten the title when he did, and then who knows where he would have been in the shuffle. Vince invested a lot into the Warrior, and he was pretty over. Something tells me that Hart and maybe even Shawn Michaels never would have gotten the shots they did. Or maybe they would have, since Warrior might have been at the center of the case against Vince re: steroids.
4) What if Hogan never jumped ship to WCW?
Man, you love these scenarios where Bret Hart's big push never comes to fruition, don't you? :p
5) What if the Shockmaster didn't fall through the wall in his debut?
He might have gotten over, but that was a cheeseball gimmick that probably wouldn't have had the legs that WCW needed to get major, long-lived draw out of.
6) What if Sting had come to WWE after Hogan left for WCW?
He probably also would have gotten Lex Luger's push, actually, and hell, he probably would have gotten a match with Bret Hart, since Sting seemed to have been a better soldier and a more charismatic face than Luger was in those days.
7) Who are some of the better women's wrestlers in WWE right now? I ask this because whenever there's a Diva's match going on, I'm either a.) taking a shit, or b.) wondering why they brought down the entire Diva roster to the ring for a six-woman tag match when it only involved two Divas and lasted less than a minute.
Most WWE Divas are terrible. Even Gail Kim, who got talked up a lot when she came back, has been botches and awkwardness since her return. However, there are a few really good women's wrestlers. Nattie Niedhart is one that never gets a chance to wrestle for whatever reason. Beth Phoenix could hang with the men, and Mickie James is a perfect foil for her. Other than that, some people like Michelle McCool. I don't, but she's at least watchable.
More questions from down under and Ross Fynmore:
1) Current state of Celebrities and rasslin'. Discuss. (it’s my question and I'll word it how I want to :P )
BUT IT'S NOT A QUESTION!!
...
No, seriously, I think wrestling is making a slight comeback in terms of celebrities wanting to be associated with it. You're always going to get your random sports teams showing up to their hometown events and such, but I'm not sure that five years ago, you'd have gotten Jeremy Piven to appear on RAW. The business is certainly on a slight uptick, I'd say.
2) I'm now three weeks behind on watching Impact. Should I watch or delete them from my DVR?
Depends, do you like getting pissed off and confused by a company's nonsensical booking decisions? If so, then by all means, don't delete your DVR.
3) WWE almost made me care about Kofi, then buried him down a mineshaft. So... discuss WWE's attempts to build new stars over the last 5 years.
They've certainly lost their way with trying to build new faces. I think they just think they could trot a face out there and he'll get a John Cena-like pop just because their music hits, but what they forgot is that John Cena worked his way to the top. He was built up and got a chance to display his talents in the ring and on the mic. After the Orton feud, they gave Kofi one shot on the mic, he flubbed it horribly and then bam, no more push. Where's the delicacy, the care? Not there.
Heels, on the other hand, seem to have a better road. I think it's easier to be a heel and cut a heel promo, which is why a guy like Miz is actually giving off the false impression that yes, the WWE still does build their midcard stars up the right way.
If Owen Hart got to play out the Game gimmick, which was originally devised for him, do you think it would have had the same longevity and success as HHH's run with it?
J. Leslie Voss
Another Aussie question! Anyway, it depends. Owen was always great at drawing heat, but would he also have gotten the 20 minute promos to start RAW like Trips did? Who knows at this point, especially if Owen got that character but Trips still found his way to marrying Stephanie. My kneejerk reaction, though, is to say that yes, Owen still would have gotten over.
A fan once asked CM Punk a question on his website using his real first name, sending Punk off on a small rant about how 'fans who know wrestlers real names are pretty smart, fan who USE wrestlers real names are pretty fucking stupid". He cites a rant posted somewhere by Raven that explains just why some wrestlers find it so disrespectful. Do you know anything about this Raven rant; know where to read it? If not, why do you think they would get so upset by being addressed as their proper names?
aknednyt (PTC Poster)
I think it's a kayfabe thing. I also think it also connotes a sort of closeness that the fan thinks he has with the wrestler, but the wrestler might just be weirded out about.
Two questions from PTC's Ken Partridge, Jr.:
1) Not that I want it to happen? But upon a Hart Dynasty split, or even something similar to Owen Hart and The British Bulldog (Where they focused mainly on tag team wrestling, remaining in it's championship picture, but were both also in singles championship pictures), who do you think will be break out star, Tyson Kidd or DH Smith?
Tyson Kidd should be the bigger star because he's emotive in the ring and a dynamic worker. DH Smith will get the push because he's big. Honestly though, they don't let either of them talk (nor do they let Nattie talk... asinine), so I couldn't tell you which one was the better promo.
2) If you could switch any two current wrestlers' gimmicks, who would it be and why?
Very interesting question. It's very hard because there aren't a whole lot of "gimmicks" anymore as much as there are characters. I guess if I had to choose, I guess I'd go with Roderick Strong swapping out his "I'm stronger than everyone" gimmick with Kenny Omega's unhinged video-game obsessor. It might give Strong a better outlet to try and add that out-of-character something that he lacks, and Omega has the innate charisma to be able to get any character over. It's not the best answer, but really, this is such a tough question... wow.
Hessian from PTC with three Qs:
1) What are your thoughts on WWE's family friendly format when they think it's alright to make fun of Swagger's lisp knowing full-well it will lead to an increase in the bullying on children afflicted by such impediments?
I've said it before that I don't think the WWE truly wants family friendly. They just want to half-ass it enough so that there's nothing to stick on Linda for her Senate run. If they really wanted family friendly, there'd be no DX, no Big Dick Johnson, no Piggy James, no babyfaces doing illegal shit like breaking and entering or blackmailing... well, you get the point.
2) The people wanted fresh blood in title scenes and major storylines, how well do you believe they have achieved this?
They've succeeded at least nominally. CM Punk, Jack Swagger and Sheamus are three guys who have been elevated or begun to have been elevated that weren't there before. The problem is that they're heels. They've done a terrible job at building new babyfaces from the ground up, and rather, they've just turned Orton face, which helps but really doesn't build a new star. Rather, it's just a new option to cheer for. I'm not complaining about that in and of itself; Orton should have turned face a year ago. However, there's something to be said for a babyface being "made" that's gratifying for a crowd. Imagine if Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, MVP or John Morrison had any one of their main event flirtations really followed up on? Yeah, me too.
3) Why don't TNA's fans get off their asses and do something about what the Ghosts of WCW are doing to their beloved show?
The problem is that they tried when Hogan took away their six-sided ring and put Sean Morley over Daniels (oddly enough, both guys are gone from the company now). However, there's no real incentive to stop supporting a product live if they don't have to pay to get in. I think by and large, TNA fans have made their voices known by not tuning into Impact, which the ratings reflect, but if you're going by the mutants at the Impact Zone? Well, they're going to keep coming and keep feeling entitled to be catered to despite not paying a cent to get into the arena because it's the only way they know.
RVD vs. Cena ... best crowd ever?
Anonymous Formspring Querier
Sadly, I wasn't watching wrestling during that crowd, but since it happened during one of the pre-watered down One Night Stands, I'll take your word for it.
Might I suggest the Reverse Heart Punch as Wade's finisher? Instead of a punch to the chest, you punch them in the spine. 'Twas my old backyard wrestling finisher back in 93.
Anonymous Formspring Querier #2
That might work, but at the same time, it's hard for a strike anywhere but in the face or the groin to look finisher-grade effective. I think that it could work if sold properly though.
Do you think Jim Cornette crossed the line(lol) with his comments about Vince Russo?
A Third Anonymous Formspringer
Haha, nice use of a pun. I actually think Cornette is as serious about murdering Russo as I am, in that neither one of us really want him dead, but it's a nice metaphor for how we feel he might pay for destroying wrestling. That being said, yeah, he crossed the line if only because he wrote those words down in a medium where he could be tracked and prosecuted. I mean, we all joke about killing people from time to time, but to send that in electronic print form to a guy who works for the same company on his company e-mail no less? Yeah, he crossed the line... if that line was between smart and stupid.
David McKinney checks in for the third week in a row with two questions:
1) Could a guy like Paul Heyman help turn around a Hogan/Bischoff TNA?
Heyman is a guy who needs creative control. When he was in charge of Smackdown, there are varying reports of what interference he had from the McMahon family et al. From the results of things, it looked like he was allowed to do what he wanted, but he's also been reported as clashing with Stephanie at times. Still, whatever resistance he got when he was with the WWE will probably triple at least with Bischoff and Hogan in his ear. I just don't see either one of those guys content with letting Heyman work his magic while they just take orders from him. If they bring in Heyman, it'll be just another case of there being too many cooks spoiling an already rotten broth.
2) How much credit or blame should Vince Russo get for TNA's current creative direction?
A lot of the blame should go to him. Yeah, he's not really in charge right now, but Hogan and Bischoff clearly are influenced by his booking model (although not as egregiously as if it was Vince Russo turned up to 11 going unfiltered). He also dug TNA into the hole they got themselves into. Honestly, you can blame a lot of what's wrong with mainstream pro wrestling right now on Russo, and TNA is no exception to that rule.
If you were a wrestler what would your entrance music be?
Sean McLaughlin
It depends on the character, but I think it would fall back to either being "I Am the Bullgod" by Kid Rock or "No Way Out" by STP.
Best venue for indy wrestling?
Anonymous Blog Commenter
I'm biased in that I've only ever been to The Arena for indie wrestling, so I really am not qualified to answer that objectively. That being said, there's really only one other place that I really, really ever want to see an indie show, like I'd go out of my way to go to that arena to watch indie wrestling. American Legion, Post #308. Reseda, California. The home of the infamous PWG Crazies, the fans who make grown men wish they'd just taken their advice and stayed the fuck out of Reseda.
The combination of Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo in the same company is a really bad thing, isn't it? It seems like TNA right now is trending along the same path that WCW did in 2000 during the Bischoff-Russo error - hot early, but then cooled off to the point where things were far worse than they were before.
jerseyboy (A1 Poster)
Hey, this isn't for rhetorical questions! But yeah, it is a bad thing. Russo by himself is more a disaster than Bischoff by himself, but if you get the two together and their tendencies to book for the Internet and make all kinds of smarky, insider references in addition to having no real focus for booking outside of what's going to spike a rating in the short-term. I really hate to bash on TNA so much, but hey, I didn't ask for so many questions about TNA's ineptitude. It's the fans on the Internet that are making these observations and asking the questions, the fans that Bischoff keeps blabbing about other people wanting to please when his booking models so far have shown he wants nothing more than to have our approval.
The next batch of questions are from Russel Harder:
1) What's your favorite wrestling quote? Not catchphrase, but quote.
Hard to say, so I'll go recent and go with what Paul Heyman said about TNA's booking:
Okay, I can't resist. How many times can u beat up RVD and Jeff Hardy and not give them a 'revenge-minded' interview afterwards? Heels beat up babyfaces. Babyfaces swear revenge. People tune in. Holy s---! The formula is not that f'n complicated, people!2) I'm not sure if you've talked about this before, but wrestlers such as Bret Hart have always had fantastic 'on the road stories', I also remember something about Ken Shamrock fighting with this guy or another (which isn't surprising in hindsight, but that's neither here nor there). What's your favorite 'on the road story'?
I don't want any1 to think I am saying I know it all. I DON'T KNOW IT ALL. I still have a lot to learn. I don't know how to grow hair on top of my head. I don't know how to get six pack abs.
BUT I KNOW THAT IF A HEEL BEATS UP A POPULAR BABYFACE, THEN BABYFACE NEEDS A CHANCE TO PROMOTE THE TIME AND PLACE OF THE BABYFACE'S REVENGE.
I'll have more when I get around to reading Foley's books and Jericho's book. As for now, my favorite road stories were the ones about Owen Hart that the WWF locker room regaled us with the night after he died.
3) What would you say are the top three stories of wrestling during the 1970's?
Eek. I'm not really a wrestling historian for that far back. I'd be willing to learn though. In retrospect, there's the whole deal about the world almost losing one of its greatest wrestlers before he even had a chance to take off. Think about it. Ric Flair no-sold a plane crash. That's fate, man.
Two questions from Matt Glass:
1) If you could have had ONE of the 10 superstars in the Money in the Bank match this year win instead of Swagger, who would it have been? Why? How would you want their storyline to go?
Christian, because he's worked so damn hard and is pretty over with the crowds. He deserves to get a run in the sun with one of the big belts, and really, any program featuring him against Edge, Chris Jericho or both would write itself. There's so much history, so much rivalry that a feud among the three men could last until SummerSlam while remaining fresh.
2) Also. CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Triple H or Shawn Michaels(circa early DX): Who do you feel is/was the best heel out of the four of these? What are your favorite heel qualities of each of these men when in said role?
It's a tossup between Punk and Jericho. Both guys rely on cheap heat, but I think Punk's is cheaper. It's easy to slam a wrestling crowd for liking their substances. Still, his heat is off the charts. I'd say Jericho beats him out by a hair, but it's very close. Jericho can do a lot of things as a bad guy. He's successfully gotten two very different heel characters over in two different eras. Triple H to me is best suited as a smart-alecky face. He's so dull and drab as a heel, and with his position in the company, you know he's not going to be showing much ass in the build to any matches. It seems like he's always pushed to be better in every aspect than the faces he's feuding with, which makes him dull. In the same vein, I don't think DX Michaels was all that great a heel at all. Yeah, he did heelish things, but those antics got cheers in that era. Michaels as a heel was best when he first turned on Marty Janetty and played up the Sexy Boy Elvis-for-the-'90s type character.
A fourpack of questions from James Varga:
1) Do you think that NXT is turning into Survivor with all of these contests?
I actually don't mind the contests. It's a good way to set the show apart from RAW or Smackdown and to give it more of a shooty competition aspect, since the matches are still clearly going to be worked. I kinda wish that they'd let them go and not work the contests though. You could tell that they were setting up Barrett to win the Talk the Talk competition, and you can also tell that Daniel Bryan tanked both weeks to help further his storyline along. I'd say let them go and do what they may during the competitions and then have contingiency plans for whomever wins them in the case of when the winner of the competition has to wrestle someone like they had post-keg run. Or maybe that could be a secret part of the competition, having to coordinate a wrestling match with someone when you don't have a whole hell of a lot of prep time.
2) What was the worst WCW pay-per-view of all time?
Uncensored '96 for reasons you can read about by clicking the link.
3) What's the worst gimmick character of all time?
There are a lot of contenders. I'll cop and say the KISS Demon, because it combined the sucktitude of a bullshit, contrived character with the shameless marketing and shilling of an outside interest.
4) Who do you think will get pushes in the upcoming months in WWE and TNA?
Well, Swagger's push has started. Hopefully it's in earnest. I think you're going to see Dolph Ziggler get some serious airtime, especially now that they're selling him as some sort of new age loose cannon with a tendency to put people in sleeperholds just for breathing. Kofi Kingston's half-assed push might get some more ass umphed into it. I guarantee you that both Bryan and David Otunga will hit the ground running after NXT is over, although I think Wade Barrett has the most upside potential out of all of them.
In TNA, I expect Pope to get some momentum after he jobs to AJ Styles this weekend. Desmond Wolfe might get some more exposure as the enforcer of the new Horseman-esque group. Hopefully though, Hogan and Bischoff will actually learn from the mistakes of the idiots running TNA before them and actually push people instead of doing nonsensical parity booking and only protecting Kurt Angle.
5) Any predictions for Summerslam and Slammiversary?
A bit far off, are we? SummerSlam... eh, probably Punk vs. Orton on Smackdown and Triple H vs. Cena on RAW. TNA... who the fuck knows at this point. They probably don't even know what they're booking for the next PPV let alone down the line.
Alright...where the hell is Samoa Joe? And why does Orlando Jordan get more air time than him?
Aaron Dillon
He got abducted by the men in the van, remember?
In all seriousness, like I wrote earlier in the week, Eric Bischoff in all his infinite wisdom doesn't like Samoa Joe. Remember, he didn't think Steve Austin would be a star either, and he gift-wrapped Sean Waltman, who like him or not, was an integral part of DX after Michaels had to retire.
As for Jordan getting so much air time... he's edgy! He crosses the line! HE SQUIRTS LOTION ON HIMSELF! Yeah, I don't get it either. He was a marginal talent in hte WWE and not much has changed except he's playing up his real life sexuality. Again, TNA has its priorities mixed up, but hey, if they keep it up, maybe we'll see Joe/Daniels again... in ROH.
Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!
