Saturday, March 28, 2009
A Short Break, And Now I'm Back
Owing to a lot of activities in my college, which tied me up, I have been unable to post a blog for about two weeks. Not that anyone is reading this. Oh well. I'll be back in action shortly! (I'm talking to myself)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Smackdown (6/3/2009 Review): Brother vs. Brother Feud Hard(l)y Matching Up To Expectations
This week's Smackdown was a great show overall with solid performances from all involved. The only cause for bother (and it's a pretty big one at that) remains the lukewarm way in which the Matt-Jeff rivalry is playing out. As soon as it was announced that the Hardys were having separate qualifying matches for Money In The Bank (because Jeff refused to fight Matt at Mania), it was obvious that both would lose. Matt lost to MVP trapped in a quick counter as I expected, and later that night Matt walked into Jeff's qualifier against Shelton Benjamin and slapped Shelton, thus causing Jeff to lose by disqualification.
While both Matt and Jeff performed very well, I'm really disappointed with how WWE has handled this so far. I don't agree with those who say the rivalry is not hot because of the brothers' mic and acting skills, because they've both proven they can be very good in those departments. It's just that the treatment of the feud has been just like any other tag-team-splitting-up story. These are two brothers who have stood by each other for 10 years. Jeff has had his fair share of problems, while Matt has always been responsible and consistent. Yet Jeff has had the better career and is more popular with the fans. Matt is supposed to be jealous of that, and so turned on his brother. But Jeff seems a lot less heartbroken than he should be considering Matt has been the only one who was there for him all these years. All the ingredients are there, but the fire has just been lacking. Even the announcers have not played up the feud, which is shocking considering J.R. is on the Smackdown team. But WWE still has 4 weeks to save this situation. I'm hoping they'll do it.
Other thoughts on the show:
Best Performers: (1) Matt Hardy (2) Shelton Benjamin (3) Jeff Hardy
Match of the Night: Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin (MITB Qualifying Match)
Best Promo: The Undertaker
While both Matt and Jeff performed very well, I'm really disappointed with how WWE has handled this so far. I don't agree with those who say the rivalry is not hot because of the brothers' mic and acting skills, because they've both proven they can be very good in those departments. It's just that the treatment of the feud has been just like any other tag-team-splitting-up story. These are two brothers who have stood by each other for 10 years. Jeff has had his fair share of problems, while Matt has always been responsible and consistent. Yet Jeff has had the better career and is more popular with the fans. Matt is supposed to be jealous of that, and so turned on his brother. But Jeff seems a lot less heartbroken than he should be considering Matt has been the only one who was there for him all these years. All the ingredients are there, but the fire has just been lacking. Even the announcers have not played up the feud, which is shocking considering J.R. is on the Smackdown team. But WWE still has 4 weeks to save this situation. I'm hoping they'll do it.
Other thoughts on the show:
- The beatdown of Triple H by Legacy during his match against Umaga was very well done. Randy Orton's facial expressions were tremendous as usual. WWE is doing a very good job with this feud. Although I wonder if any other wrestler besides Triple H would have fought off three people for so long before finally falling prey to them....
- It seems Umaga legitimately injured his leg in a jump to the outside of the ring in the aforementioned match with Triple H. Let's hope it's not serious. It'll be a blow to the Samoan Bulldozer after having just come back from injury
- The contract signing between Edge and Big Show was very entertaining. Both men (and let's not forget Vickie Guerrero) were perfect as usual, and bickered back and forth for a while. Show again hinted at an affair with Vickie. Of course, before Edge could put pen to paper and sign the contract, Cena's music hit, and he thrashed both Edge and Show. He then whispered something in Vickie's ear, causing her to look shocked and scared. I'm guessing Cena has proof of the affair, which he will use to blackmail Vickie into making the World Heavyweight Championship match a Triple Threat. Should be fun. (Although Big Show already leaked the news about the match to VH1, and the word is that Vince McMahon is not happy with him at all. Oops)
- Both the MITB Qualifying Matches were very good, which is not surprising considering the talent involved. It's great to see MVP get in. Ditto for Shelton Benjamin. I could definitely see either of these guys winning this year.
- I noticed during Eve's match against Maryse that she seems a lot better in the ring than the other Diva Search girls when they started out. Not that she needs in-ring skills to earn my appreciation.
- The Undertaker's speech was a good way to open the show. The Shawn Michaels video that aired during the promo was simply phenomenal. Seriously, WWE would be worth watching for those videos alone. I can' wait for this match.
Best Performers: (1) Matt Hardy (2) Shelton Benjamin (3) Jeff Hardy
Match of the Night: Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin (MITB Qualifying Match)
Best Promo: The Undertaker
Monday, March 9, 2009
TNA Impact (5/3/2009) Review: Jarrett-Angle Brawl An Unnecessary Distraction
The thing about TNA Impact is that it tends to assault your senses. It's understandable that with a roster of almost 60 and 2 hours of TV a week, it's hard to fit everybody in on the show, but TNA seems to stuff in so much that it sometimes appears they're not quite sure what they're doing themselves.
This week's Impact started off well, with Jeff Jarrett announcing that Kurt Angle had been slapped with a week's suspension for attacking him last week, and that his salary had been donated to a "worthy cause". This cause turned out to be the Front Line, who then paraded new suits they had bought with the money. Jay Lethal thought for some reason that wearing a suit made him Ric Flair. Eric Young spent very little of his portion on the suit, and most of it on surround sound for his gameroom, and invited Kurt Angle to 'come over and play anytime'. Now this was TNA's usual attempt to throw comedy in everywhere, but I didn't find it too out of place because these guys are supposed to be young and flippant. Then Kurt Angle proceeded to show up at the arena (because the rules don't apply to him), and took turns beating the hell out of Young, Lethal and Consequences Creed. He also tore their suits off to get his salary back. So far, so good. Angle played his part of the spoilt egomaniac who thinks he's above the system perfectly as usual, and TNA had just about managed to keep things logical.
This is where things got messy. Jeff Jarrett, deciding enough was enough, decided to go out and fight Angle. Sting tried to tell Jarrett to let him fight Angle, but Jarrett just pushed him out of the way. Jarrett then went to the ring, and after a 5 minite brawl, physically threw Angle out of the arena. Sting, or any of the Mafia members didn't even make an appearance. This 10 days before Sting and Angle face off in a match for the championship. It took the focus off the Sting-Angle rivalry, and I feel it was badly written. It made Jarrett look singlehandedly more powerful than the Front Line (what's the point of still having it, by the way) and the Main Event Mafia, and just added to the already overcrowded and muddled mess that is the TNA main event scene.
I would have had Jarrett go to the ring, brawl with Angle, only to have it broken up by the Mafia, who then proceed to beat up Jarrett. Then Sting comes out, and makes the Mafia step away. Angle then launches himself at Sting, and Jarrett goes for Angle. You could then have had Mick Foley come out to restrain Jeff Jarrett, while the Mafia separated Sting and Angle. This would have been a perfect way for the show to go off the air.
Other thoughts on the show:
This week's Impact started off well, with Jeff Jarrett announcing that Kurt Angle had been slapped with a week's suspension for attacking him last week, and that his salary had been donated to a "worthy cause". This cause turned out to be the Front Line, who then paraded new suits they had bought with the money. Jay Lethal thought for some reason that wearing a suit made him Ric Flair. Eric Young spent very little of his portion on the suit, and most of it on surround sound for his gameroom, and invited Kurt Angle to 'come over and play anytime'. Now this was TNA's usual attempt to throw comedy in everywhere, but I didn't find it too out of place because these guys are supposed to be young and flippant. Then Kurt Angle proceeded to show up at the arena (because the rules don't apply to him), and took turns beating the hell out of Young, Lethal and Consequences Creed. He also tore their suits off to get his salary back. So far, so good. Angle played his part of the spoilt egomaniac who thinks he's above the system perfectly as usual, and TNA had just about managed to keep things logical.
This is where things got messy. Jeff Jarrett, deciding enough was enough, decided to go out and fight Angle. Sting tried to tell Jarrett to let him fight Angle, but Jarrett just pushed him out of the way. Jarrett then went to the ring, and after a 5 minite brawl, physically threw Angle out of the arena. Sting, or any of the Mafia members didn't even make an appearance. This 10 days before Sting and Angle face off in a match for the championship. It took the focus off the Sting-Angle rivalry, and I feel it was badly written. It made Jarrett look singlehandedly more powerful than the Front Line (what's the point of still having it, by the way) and the Main Event Mafia, and just added to the already overcrowded and muddled mess that is the TNA main event scene.
I would have had Jarrett go to the ring, brawl with Angle, only to have it broken up by the Mafia, who then proceed to beat up Jarrett. Then Sting comes out, and makes the Mafia step away. Angle then launches himself at Sting, and Jarrett goes for Angle. You could then have had Mick Foley come out to restrain Jeff Jarrett, while the Mafia separated Sting and Angle. This would have been a perfect way for the show to go off the air.
Other thoughts on the show:
- The verbal exchange between Mic Foley, Sting and the Main Event Mafia was very well done. The idea was that Foley was trying to convince Sting to quit the Mafia, who then came out and told Sting they still had a long way to go. Kevin Nash was especially good on the mic, while Foley and Sting were their usual great selves.
- On the subject of the Mafia, it was good to see Booker T show a little more seriousness this week after his recent cartoonish performances. However, that didn't stop the situation with him and AJ Styles getting ridiculous. Three policemen showed up to arrest Styles- wearing gas masks. Seriously, gas masks?? Did they think AJ Styles would let loose his arsenal of deadly biological weapons? I also couldn't see the logic of AJ being arrested for stealing a belt, but Samoa Joe (who revealed himself as one of the masked policemen) going scott-free for holding a machete to Scott Steiner's throat. Oh well.
- The Beer Money, Inc vs. LAX match was the best of the night, although it makes no sense why LAX would put their careers on the line when both Homicide & Hernandez have two huge title shots to cash in. The promo that Roode and Storm cut before the match was really entertaining too.
- The Knockouts match served no purpose at all. However nice it was to see The Beautiful People, the pleasure was quickly nullified by the women in the Kongtourage. Yikes.
- Alex Shelley had a decent match with Kiyoshi. After Shelley won, Suicide appeared again, taking both him and Chris Sabin out. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.
- Somebody needs to tell TNA the Abyss therapy sessions are not funny. At all. Probably the only thing that was as bad on this week's Impact was the continuation of the Don West-Mike Tenay rivalry. Wow, announcers feuding. Who wouldn't pay to see that.
- Speaking of Abyss, his former partner Matt Morgan, who beat Shane Sewell this week, is really impressive. A little more work on the microphone, and he's a main event waiting to happen.
Best Performers: (1) Hernandez (2) Matt Morgan (3) Kurt Angle
Best Match: LAX vs. Beer Money, Inc. (Off the Wagon Tag Team Championship Challenge)
Best Promo: Beer Money, Inc.
Line of the night: Mike Tenay (to Don West): I guess the next two hours with you will be about as much fun as an emergency landing in the Hudson river.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
"Come On Man, It's Fake" OR "Why Do You Watch That Rubbish? It's All Fixed"
Sound familiar? Sepending on whether you're a wrestling fan or not, it's a good bet you've either been on the receivng or giving end of at least one of them.
I don't know how, but "fake" is a tag that seems to have become attached to the spectacle of pro wrestling, and it's very hard to shake off. It very often happens in my hostel that I'll be watching wrestling on TV or my laptop, and some wise soul waltzes in and treats me to one of the following:
a) A contemptuous laugh
b) An indulgent smile (like a parent would to a child who's playing with his imaginary friend)
c) A sad shake of the head
d) Similar body language indicating pity, disdain, etc.
e) A helpful "Come On Man, It's Fake" or "Why Do You Watch This Rubbish? It's All Fixed"
This behaviour is to be found all over the world. Now I find this completely unfair. There are others who follow cricket, football, basketball, badminton, movies of a particular actor or actress, play Counterstrike and other LAN Games with similar enthusiasm, but they are left alone. Their passion is not questioned. So why are we wrestling fans singled out for this treatment? I'm going to attempt to explain that, and also try and clear up one of the biggest misconception's around- that wrestling is "fake".
Why all the hate? Why do people look down on wrestling and it's fans?
This is actually very simple to answer. Far too many people think that wrestling is a sport with outrageous match-fixing involved, a business that pretends to be a legitimate sport and then cheats the audience by paying certain people to win and certain people to lose. If this was true, then I would totally understand the disrespect they show wrestlers and wrestling fans. But is it? Nothing could be further from the truth. This brings me to...
WRESTLING 101, CHAPTER 1: THE OPPOSITE OF REAL IS NOT NECESSARILY FAKE
Okay, so admittedly, a vast majority of the wrestling fans in my country (India) think wrestling is a real sport and aggressively argue with people who call it fake.
But you see, wrestling's not real. It's definitely not fake either. Which is why here, the opposite of real is virtual-a virtual reality similar to that you'd see in a movie or TV Show-one that exists only as long as the cameras are rolling.
What many people fail to understand is that you're not supposed to look at it as a sport. It's true that until the mid-70s at least, wrestling promoters presented it as a real sport and hid the fact that it was scripted and pre-planned, but not any more. Most wrestling fans today know that it's not real, and those in the wrestling industry are very open about it.
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, who introuduced the term sports entertainment, describes it best-
"Professional wrestling, as done by the WWE, has always been about entertainment. It features fantastic performers who are world-class athletes who have the ability to create entertaining characters and enthrall an audience. However, what we do is scripted and is not competitive sport. Unlike competitive sport, we can control the outcomes to ensure an exciting evening of entertainment. That's why our fans always get a great show."
Note, that's the chairman of the biggest wrestling company in the world talking. There's no attempt to hide, hoodwink or cheat anybody. He discusses wrestling as a director would talk about a movie, referring to the wrestlers as performers, not sportsmen, and their on-screen personas as characters.
In short, watching wrestling is like watching an action-packed play. Athletes (who have to be decent actors too) play out storylines and rivalries, as decided by the wrestling company, maintaining the spectacle of a sport.
So as you can see, the two sentences in the title of this blog fall apart in the face of this.
1)"Why Do You Watch That Rubbish? It's All Fixed" : There is no actual sporting competiton involved, and so saying it's fixed makes no sense
2) "Come On Man, It's Fake": Calling a virtual reality that involves suspension of disbelief in the audience (just like a movie or play) fake, is like calling The Dark Knight or Hamlet fake, just because it's not real. And I'm sure you'll all agree that's just plain unfair.
If it's not real, what's so insulting about calling it fake?
The word 'fake' implies some kind of deception, and is usually said very dismissively. "Fake" and "scripted", are two different things. What people don't understand is how physically, and indeed, mentally and emotionally demanding wrestling is. Wrestlers undergo a gruelling training and conditioning system that very few make it through, and WWE wrestlers in particular are on the road about 300 days a year. Imagine that much time away from their families. It takes creativity, teamwork and trust between two wrestlers to make a good match and tell a great story. The slightest mistake or error can produce horrific, painful injuries. It is a business wrought with great pain and sacrifice, one that takes hard work and unique artistry. It is a business held in great honour by all those involved, including the wrestlers and the fans. Doesn't "fake" completely and unfairly undermine that honour?
I'll end now. I do hope I've made a convincing defence of the business I love to those that don't love it. And I hope it's not too much to ask that the next time you hear someone vilifying or looking down on wrestling as fake, you'll tell them about this blog! Okay, that was shameless self-promotion. See you later.
"I can't jump high, so I jump from high places." - Cactus Jack
I don't know how, but "fake" is a tag that seems to have become attached to the spectacle of pro wrestling, and it's very hard to shake off. It very often happens in my hostel that I'll be watching wrestling on TV or my laptop, and some wise soul waltzes in and treats me to one of the following:
a) A contemptuous laugh
b) An indulgent smile (like a parent would to a child who's playing with his imaginary friend)
c) A sad shake of the head
d) Similar body language indicating pity, disdain, etc.
e) A helpful "Come On Man, It's Fake" or "Why Do You Watch This Rubbish? It's All Fixed"
This behaviour is to be found all over the world. Now I find this completely unfair. There are others who follow cricket, football, basketball, badminton, movies of a particular actor or actress, play Counterstrike and other LAN Games with similar enthusiasm, but they are left alone. Their passion is not questioned. So why are we wrestling fans singled out for this treatment? I'm going to attempt to explain that, and also try and clear up one of the biggest misconception's around- that wrestling is "fake".
Why all the hate? Why do people look down on wrestling and it's fans?
This is actually very simple to answer. Far too many people think that wrestling is a sport with outrageous match-fixing involved, a business that pretends to be a legitimate sport and then cheats the audience by paying certain people to win and certain people to lose. If this was true, then I would totally understand the disrespect they show wrestlers and wrestling fans. But is it? Nothing could be further from the truth. This brings me to...
WRESTLING 101, CHAPTER 1: THE OPPOSITE OF REAL IS NOT NECESSARILY FAKE
Okay, so admittedly, a vast majority of the wrestling fans in my country (India) think wrestling is a real sport and aggressively argue with people who call it fake.
But you see, wrestling's not real. It's definitely not fake either. Which is why here, the opposite of real is virtual-a virtual reality similar to that you'd see in a movie or TV Show-one that exists only as long as the cameras are rolling.
What many people fail to understand is that you're not supposed to look at it as a sport. It's true that until the mid-70s at least, wrestling promoters presented it as a real sport and hid the fact that it was scripted and pre-planned, but not any more. Most wrestling fans today know that it's not real, and those in the wrestling industry are very open about it.
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, who introuduced the term sports entertainment, describes it best-
"Professional wrestling, as done by the WWE, has always been about entertainment. It features fantastic performers who are world-class athletes who have the ability to create entertaining characters and enthrall an audience. However, what we do is scripted and is not competitive sport. Unlike competitive sport, we can control the outcomes to ensure an exciting evening of entertainment. That's why our fans always get a great show."
Note, that's the chairman of the biggest wrestling company in the world talking. There's no attempt to hide, hoodwink or cheat anybody. He discusses wrestling as a director would talk about a movie, referring to the wrestlers as performers, not sportsmen, and their on-screen personas as characters.
In short, watching wrestling is like watching an action-packed play. Athletes (who have to be decent actors too) play out storylines and rivalries, as decided by the wrestling company, maintaining the spectacle of a sport.
So as you can see, the two sentences in the title of this blog fall apart in the face of this.
1)"Why Do You Watch That Rubbish? It's All Fixed" : There is no actual sporting competiton involved, and so saying it's fixed makes no sense
2) "Come On Man, It's Fake": Calling a virtual reality that involves suspension of disbelief in the audience (just like a movie or play) fake, is like calling The Dark Knight or Hamlet fake, just because it's not real. And I'm sure you'll all agree that's just plain unfair.
If it's not real, what's so insulting about calling it fake?
The word 'fake' implies some kind of deception, and is usually said very dismissively. "Fake" and "scripted", are two different things. What people don't understand is how physically, and indeed, mentally and emotionally demanding wrestling is. Wrestlers undergo a gruelling training and conditioning system that very few make it through, and WWE wrestlers in particular are on the road about 300 days a year. Imagine that much time away from their families. It takes creativity, teamwork and trust between two wrestlers to make a good match and tell a great story. The slightest mistake or error can produce horrific, painful injuries. It is a business wrought with great pain and sacrifice, one that takes hard work and unique artistry. It is a business held in great honour by all those involved, including the wrestlers and the fans. Doesn't "fake" completely and unfairly undermine that honour?
I'll end now. I do hope I've made a convincing defence of the business I love to those that don't love it. And I hope it's not too much to ask that the next time you hear someone vilifying or looking down on wrestling as fake, you'll tell them about this blog! Okay, that was shameless self-promotion. See you later.
"I can't jump high, so I jump from high places." - Cactus Jack
Saturday, March 7, 2009
What? What? What?
Immortal words, or more accurately, word, from probably the biggest star in wrestling history, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
I think its safe to say Austin probably didn't delve too much into the philosophical complexities and existentialist implications of the word, but I'm going to elaborate on that a little. Just kidding.
What i'm going to do is tell you what inspired me to finally join the blog bandwagon, what drove me to choose wrestling as a central topic, and what I hope to achieve by this. So in the words of DX, "Are you ready?"
1) What's making me blog?
a) Everybody's doing it and I'm feeling left out
b) I'm not actually blogging, it's a figment of your imagination
c) What?
d) I had something to say, that I thought some people might be interested in, and with the encouragement of a blogger friend (That's you, Arjun) realized that there would be absoultely no harm in giving it a shot. It might even be a lot of fun.
Um....(d). Final answer.
(2) What's making me blog about wrestling of all things
(a) It's my passion
(b) It's my burning passion
(c) It's my burning, undying passion
(d) It's my burning, undying, eternal, fervent, protracted, almost concupiscent passion
Any guesses?
(3) What I want to achieve
(a) Communicate with and share opinions with other wrestling fans
(b) An outlet for my numerous ideas and opinions related to the current wrestling scenes
(c) Have fun
(d) Help dispel the many misconceptions and prejudices about wrestling from the hearts and minds of the people
The answer my friends (or at the moment, the grand total of zero people who have read this blog), is all of the above.
I'll see you around.
Till then, how about this for a quote.
Bobby Heenan commenting on Hogan's entrance music:
Bobby Heenan: That's my second favorite song.
Gorilla Monsoon: I'm almost afraid to ask. Whats your favorite?
Heenan: All the rest are tied.
Welcome to Blogger Is Me!
And with that characteristically dorky proclamation, I have blogged my first words. (It's actually a very clever play on the phrase 'Welcome to Raw is Jericho', which has never been tried before.)
Now I don't follow too many blogs, but I assume a lot of them spend their first post detailing at great lengths what inspired them to blog, what they're going to blog about etc. etc. all marked by a charming undertone of apologetic anticipation, and expressing the hope that their blogs will be embraced by the blog-reading populace etc. etc.
But am I going to do that? Am I going to be just like everybody else? Well of course. As the Invisible Man said in that episode of Heroes, "They're all like the rest. That's why they're called the rest."
But I've discovered a way of being different, while not really being different at all. It's a gift. You see, I'm going to do all those things I mentioned in my second post. Bet you didn't see that one coming eh? Or should I say, that two coming. Heh heh.
Now I don't follow too many blogs, but I assume a lot of them spend their first post detailing at great lengths what inspired them to blog, what they're going to blog about etc. etc. all marked by a charming undertone of apologetic anticipation, and expressing the hope that their blogs will be embraced by the blog-reading populace etc. etc.
But am I going to do that? Am I going to be just like everybody else? Well of course. As the Invisible Man said in that episode of Heroes, "They're all like the rest. That's why they're called the rest."
But I've discovered a way of being different, while not really being different at all. It's a gift. You see, I'm going to do all those things I mentioned in my second post. Bet you didn't see that one coming eh? Or should I say, that two coming. Heh heh.
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