The Steel Cage

So just when I thought the WWE stuff couldn't get any more tasteless than the Undertaker shoving Eddie Guerrero's widow into a casket, they do that storyline on their site where Jeff Hardy is found unconscious at his hotel.

And to nitpick with my fellow blogger Alfonso, the storyline that WWE prior to the PPV wasn't that Jeff had been attacked at his hotel. It was that he was found unconscious at his hotel. Given even the slightest bit of knowledge of Jeff and what he's gone through, I doubt there was a single fan on the planet who didn't instantly jump to a substance-abuse thing.

Wrestling loves to turn "reality" into storyline, but the problem is they hardly ever do it well. And when they do, it usually leads to worse problems in "reality."

Fact: Jeff Hardy is one strike away from his WWE career ending. More importantly, he could be one relapse away from endangering his own life. To turn his real-life struggles into a storyline is sick and twisted.

I'll get back to Jeff in a moment, but first, on to Vickie Guerrero. I read all your comments about my post from the weekend about how distasteful I thought it was for Undertaker to shove her into a casket right around the anniversary of Eddie Guerrero's death, and I agreed with a lot of the points you guys made. So here's a bit more of an explanation as to what goes into my thinking on this one.

Continue reading "On Vickie Guerrero and Jeff Hardy " »

As far back as 16 years ago, WWE started to wonder whether the all tag team-elimination match concept for the Survivor Series had become something of a burden. At Survivor Series 1992, WWE mostly abandoned the concept - except for one elimination match involving the Nasty Boys, the Natural Disasters, The Beverly Brothers and Money Inc - in favor of a standard show filled with money grudge matches.

Among those was the first ever pay per view battle between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, who had won the world title just days earlier. Although a tag match between the Ultimate Maniacs and Ric Flair & Razor Ramon had been hyped as the main event, the Michaels-Hart match actually went on last - perhaps signifying the youth movement that WWE pursued in the post Hulk Hogan era.

Another match on the card was this clunker - a "nightstick on a pole match" between the late Big Boss Man and Nailz. If I remember correctly, the storyline was that Nailz was a former inmate in a prison where Boss Man worked as a guard and mistreated him. The "Nailz" role was originally intended for the late Brian "Crush" Adams, who even voiced over the original teaser videos for the character. But it ended up going to former AWA babyface Kevin Kelly, who, if I recall correctly, was later fired for threatening Vince McMahon's life.

Of the so-called "Big Four" of WWE's pay per view calendar, the Survivor Series has become the neglected step child. Were it not for the return of John Cena, this past Sunday's event likely wouldn't have had the buzz of even a Backlash or Unforgiven.

But before the days of monthly pay per views, Survivor Series was quite the big deal. In fact, back in 1987, it was the only other pay per view besides WrestleMania.

Besides the tag team elimination match concept that has long seemed outdated, part of what made the Survivor Series so special was that it became a holiday tradition. The first four were actually held on Thanksgiving, and I vividly remember scarfing down my turkey as quick as I could to rush across the street to my friend's house and watch Team Hogan vs. Team Andre.

WWE eventually ditched the idea of holding it on Thanksgiving, and instead held the show on the night before the holiday. With today being Thanksgiving Eve, I thought I'd share some of the most memorable moments from Survivor Series early days.

If you're in my age group and have been following wrestling for a while, you probably remember this match, dubbed "The Gravest Challenge." Although Hulk Hogan's cloak of invincibility had been shattered a year and a half earlier when the Ultimate Warrior pinned him at WrestleMania VI, the Hulkster's defeat at the hands of the Undertaker was no less shocking - in part because of how decisively Taker destroyed Hogan.

Yes, I know the blow of Hogan's defeat was supposed to have been softened by the fact that Taker needed the assistance of Ric Flair and a steel chair to win. But I remember noticing at the age of 13 how much light there was between Hogan's head and the chair. That helped me rationalize that Taker's win was, in fact, clean and that Hogan was the scrub I always thought he was.

It may not be much of a wrestling story, but WWE.com's announcement that Guns N' Roses' title track off the band's new album "Chinese Democracy" is the official song of Armageddon gives me the opportunity to write about something I've been wanting to for three days now.

Gn'R's new album is amazing.

In fact, as I'm writing this, I've got the incredible "There Was a Time" playing in my ears. When I tell you it's nearly as good as anything the band has done in the last 20 years, I'm not exaggerating.

Yes, I know the criticisms: It's not the "real" GNR, but rather essentially a tribute band with Axl on vocals. But that's a bit unfair. The reality is that this version of GNR - with some changes - has been around longer than the original. And you'd be hard pressed to find a more talented group of musicians. I've seen this GNR play live twice, and as much as I love Slash, Duff, and company - I never missed them. And if I want to hear them, I'll pop in a Velvet Revolver CD.

Perhaps an even more unfair comparison to this band and the original is that between the legendary "Appetite for Destruction" and anything that followed.

The truth is, if you considered the entire body of work GNR put out, "Appetite," as great as it is, is the one that doesn't fit. By "Use Your Illusion" I and II, GNR was already on to an entirely different, far more musically ambitious sound, as evident on epic songs like "Estranged" and "November Rain."

Chinese Democracy is closer to UYI I & 2 than it is to "Appetite," and that's fine with me. I waited 15 years for this album, and it's lived up to my expectations for the most part. If nothing else, it's a great piece of rock music. And that's in short supply these days.

So what does any of this have to do with pro wrestling? Not much at all. Although Randy Orton would be wise to lift a track off this album to replace his lousy entrance music.

After writing about train delays for the last couple days, there’s no way I’d rather unwind than to write about the even more maddening world of pro wrestling.

Some quick thoughts:

. The crowing of Edge and John Cena as world champions of their respective brands is part encouraging, part discouraging, and altogether revealing. Encouraging because no two men have earned the confidence to be given the ball as much as Cena and Edge – both legitimate draws in an industry desperately lacking stars. Discouraging because it’s an indictment on how little progress WWE has made in the star-making department since both these guys were on top back in 2006. Still, regardless of how WWE got here, I think they’re smart to go all in on Cena and Edge.

. The Slammys are back! Yay! I don’t say that sarcastically. If only for nostalgia’s sake, a big smile came to my face with last night’s announcement of the return of the campy WWE awards ceremony. The Slammys have brought us such memorable moments as Jim Duggan and Harley Race brawling among farm animals backstage, and Vince McMahon singing and dancing as Hull Hogan played the bass guitar and Jake the Snake lead the horn section. Even if WWE takes a more serious approach to the awards, it could make for some compelling TV viewing, as we get a peak into what WWE considers its best match of the year, biggest star, etc.

. While I’m glad to see the Intercontinental championship get a little bit of respect and attention in the form of a tournament to determine a number one contender and the release of a DVD set on the IC’s title history, the whole thing seems a bit out of nowhere. Last week you could get an IC title shot pretty much by showing up at Raw. Now you have to win a tourney? If this is the beginning of WWE investing a lot more in the title, then I’m all for it, but I won’t hold my breath.

. Speaking of past Intercontinental champions, I’ll set the over-under on Goldust’s latest tenure in WWE at four months.

. I must admit to being distracted during the last half of the Survivor Series by something far more pressing – R. Truth’s entrance music. My fellow adolescent-minded guests and I spent the better part of the evening playing, singing and dancing along with the God-awful “rapping song,” as Santino might say, and inserting our own incredibly tasteless lyrics. R. Truth may be the least cool wrestler every to portray a streetwise hip hopper ever since P.N. News – and that includes Cena’s “Doctor of Thuganomics.”

. I’m cautiously intrigued by where this whole Stephanie – Shane rivalry is going. Unfortunately, the least obnoxious of the McMahon clan – Shane – seems to be the one that we will be getting the least of. I think his nuanced acting over the last several weeks has been one of the highlights of Raw.

. The quality of women’s wrestling in WWE right now is the worst I can remember in a long time. At least half of WWE’s Divas, and maybe more, have absolutely no business in a ring. That goes double – literally – for the Bella Twins, who have all the wrestling ability that I did when I won the Rosedale Basement Wrestling heavyweight championship back in 1987. I have no problem with WWE keeping some pretty faces on the payroll, but why make them wrestle? I think some of the women – such as Maryse – have the potential to be very good heel valets. But in the ring, they’re totally lost. Hopefully, the returning Melina will add a small bit of credibility into the division.

. Never did I so clearly hear Mr. Kennedy do his lowering microphone bit – what with the fans not making any noise and all.

There's been a lot of discussion in the Internet wrestling community over the last 24 hours about WWE's last minute major angle headed into the Survivor Series. In case you missed it, WWE.com reported that Jeff Hardy was found unconscious in the stairwell of his hotel early yesterday morning and was rushed to a hospital and was questionable for his triple threat WWE title match later in the evening.

Apparently some mainstream news media picked up the story, and WWE sold it to the hilt when Survivor Series went on the air.

Obviously, the criticism of the angle was its eerily similar tone to the many news stories we've unfortunately become accustomed to over the years about wrestler deaths. And, since it involved Jeff Hardy, there was even more reason for fans to fear the worst.

Now, I am the first to bash WWE for its tendency toward tasteless angles, including many that have exploited wrestlers' deaths and the very real emotion that those tragedies stir in fans. I still haven't gotten over Mr. McMahon's exploding limo.

But I have to come to WWE's defense in this one - albeit somewhat half-heartedly.

The reality is, the old "wrestler attacked in hotel room" angle is as old as time, and has been a reliable, if not terribly original, way to build anticipation for a match. Obviously, the few key differences between this angle is that it unfortunately comes during an era when wrestlers being found dead in their hotel rooms is not all that shocking, and also an era when the Internet is a viable tool for wrestling companies to forward angles.

Don't think for a second that if Jim Crockett 25 years had the ability to use the Internet to sell a storyline hours before a big show, he wouldn't have used it. With WWE taping its final TV show before Survivor Series five days earlier, it makes sense for WWE to take advantage of its web site, and condition fans to visit the site in the days leading up to show for any late breaking developments.

A lot of the criticism has dealt with how seriously WWE, its wrestlers and announcers sold the angle. Some people likened their mood to the somber emotions exhibited in the hours after the deaths of Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit.

But isn't a wrestling promotion's job to make fans think its real? To criticize them for doing too good a job is to say they should have made the angle look more fake. And the fact is, for the pay off of the angle (Edge's surprise return and title win) to really work, it was important that fans didn't see it coming.

None of this is to say that fans don't have a right to dislike the angle, or even feel a bit resentful that they were put in a position to worry about a wrestler's health. But their criticisms should really be directed at the wrestling industry as a whole for creating a culture where it's not that uncommon these days to get news of a wrestler's death hours before a pay per view.

What's more, WWE writers certainly could have been a little more delicate in choosing their words, and not exploited Hardy's spotty history in the company. It should have been made clear to fans that Hardy was apparently "attacked" in his hotel room, and not just found unconscious. Jeff's brother Matt may have delivered the most questionable line of the night when he talked about expecting "the worst."

Also, if they weren't, everybody in WWE should have been smartened up to the angle ahead of time.

But from purely a wrestling angle perspective, the fact is bookers from 20 years would have killed to pull off an angle like WWE did last night. It created drama and anticipation leading up to an otherwise lackluster semi-main event, delivered a huge pay off in the form of Edge making his shocking return and capturing the WWE championship, and sets up loads of possible grudges - including a money feud between Hardy and Edge, who presumably was behind Jeff's attack.

I think we sometimes lose sight that a wrestling promotion's job is to make you think it's real. Apparently, WWE did too good a job last night for a lot of people's tastes.

I have to say, the Undertaker shoving Eddie Guerrero's widow into a casket three years almost to the day after his death was one of the most classless displays I've ever seen on WWE programming. Say what you want -- I'm being overly sensitive, it was just a storyline, whatever -- but it's garbage like this that blurs the line to the point where it makes a tragic death seem more in line with a title switch or a heel turn.

A guy DIED. You claim to be a "creative" team. Surely there's a different way to promote a Casket Match.

Say what you want about "If Vickie was OK with it, then so am I," or "Eddie would have been fine with it." I have HUGE issues with both of those statements (both of which are bull), which I'll get into at some point. But that's a rant for another time. This is a Survivor Series preview.

You know, Survivor Series is in Boston this year, and at one point I was thinking about driving over and enjoying the show in person. But when I read this SmackDown spoiler the other week, it killed any interest I might have even had in the show.

That's not a good thing. Storylines are supposed to draw money, not make me want to hold onto mine.

Anyway, here's some thoughts on what's actually a pretty lackluster Survivor Series card:

Continue reading "WWE Survivor Series preview and predictions" »

Sorry for the infrequent posts this week. It's been a nutty few days on the transportation beat.

I was thrilled to finally the trailer for Darren Arnovsky's upcoming flick, "The Wrestler," which is already being talked about as an Oscar favorite - especially for Mickey Rourke's performance as Randy "The Ram" Robinson.

You can check out the trailer here.

After years of suffering through wrestling movies like "No Holds Barred," and "Ready to Rumble," it's so satisfying to have a movie that - apparently - does justice to the uniquely compelling story of the life of a pro wrestler. It may not be an overstatement to say that "The Wrestler" may do more for mainstream acceptance of pro wrestling than anything Vince McMahon or any other promoter has ever done.

I've kicked myself for missing the showing of the film at the NY Film Festival, and later at the Hamptons FF. If anybody has any line on how to watch the movie, please let me know.

I already posted the entire transcript of my recent interviw with Chris Jericho, but here are some video excerpts from the same interview. Here, Chris talks a little about his reality show on the Fuse network, "Redemption Song," as well as his return to the ring after a two year hiatus, and his amazing feud with Shawn Michaels.

A couple notes:
. Yes, I framed the shot incredibly poorly. I'm sure you're all dying to see the entirety of my handsomeness, but you'll have to settle for the left half. At least I had the microphone on this time.
. To maximize hits, my editors suggested a thumbnail featuring the lovely ladies of Redemption Song rather than one of Jericho. We both agreed that a photo of me would totally overload our servers and shut down Newsday.com, so we decided against it.

Enjoy.

Here's the wire story for ya:

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Brock Lesnar stopped heavyweight champion Randy Couture in the second round of their fight at UFC 91 on Saturday night, earning a technical knockout when the referee stepped in as he kept punching after Couture went to the ground.

Lesnar, a former NCAA wrestling champion and WWE star, overwhelmed the 45-year-old Couture in just his fourth pro fight. Lesnar sent him to the canvas in the second round with a glancing blow that landed behind the ear and wasted no time in landing numerous hammer fists. Couture was never able to recover and the fight was stopped at 3:07.

“It sounds really good,” Lesnar said after being introduced as the new heavyweight champion. “I can’t believe it. I just believe in hard work and it pays off.”

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Couture was at a decided physical disadvantage against the 6-3, 275-pound Lesnar (3-1), who is 31 and at the start of his pro career. Couture (16-9) also had hadn’t fought for 15 months, stepping away when he became fed up with contract squabbles and his inability to land the big fights he really craved.

Couture wasn’t sure about his future after the bout.

“I still feel like I’m getting better as a fighter so we’ll see,” said Couture, who has two fights remaining on his contract.

In the co-main event, Kenny Florian moved one step closer to a title shot when he forced Joe Stevenson to submit in the first round.

“This is exactly what I wanted,” Florian said. “I wanted to come out and make a statement.”

Florian almost immediately shifted his focus to lightweight champion B.J Penn.

“I want B.J.’s belt,” he said. “I consider you a master and now it’s time to kill the master.”

Also on the card, Dustin Hazelett defeated Tamdan McCrory via arm-bar at 3:59 of the first round. Gabriel Gonzaga, the last man to face Couture, earned a TKO over Josh Hendricks, dropping him with a hard right before the referee stopped the fight at 1:01 of the first round. Demian Maia made short work of Nate Quarry to remain undefeated, getting him to submit at 2:13 of the first round.

In the preliminary bouts, Aaron Riley beat Jorge Gurgel in an unanimous decision. Jeremy Stephens knocked out UFC newcomer Rafael dos Anjos 39 seconds into the third round. Mark Bocek got Alvin Robinson to submit in the third and Matt Brown forced Ryan Thomas to tap with an arm-bar 57 seconds into the second round.