I get it, you think you’re better than me because I watch pro wrestling. My excuse is, I’ve been watching since I was 7 years old, what’s your sad excuse for watching “The Bachelor”? Anyway, I’m not here to debate with you why I watch pro wrestling. I am here to talk about last night and the 15 minutes that changed the face of pro wrestling.
Wrestlemania takes place the first weekend in April. Normally, the WWE will spend from the beginning of January building the storylines to culminate in Wrestlemania, the WWE’s Super Bowl. The past few years have mainly seen the usual suspects feuding with each other (Cena, Orton, etc.) and the Undertaker extending his winning streak, most recently having the 2 best matches I’ve seen in 20 years with Shawn Michaels, ultimately ending HBK’s career.
Thing is, storylines have gotten a bit vanilla and complacent. Bad guy vs. Cena, Cena prevails. Done. Sure, you had some great characters like a CM Punk or the Miz who could work a stick and the ring and get heat from the crowd, but the pops came from the new segment, the PG crowd. Everyone remembers the wrestling boom of the 90’s – the Attitude Era. Cussing, blood, heavy and overt sexual content – these were the calling cards of the Stone Cold Steve Austin’s, Mankinds and DX. When the boom ended, the WWE shifted gears into PG programming. Gone were the beer-swilling, middle finger throwing foul-mouthed heroes, in came the clean-cut, all-American, love the troops, hustle, loyalty, respect John Cena.
And it worked. A new audience was grown. Wrestling is extremely popular, mainly with kids and not so much with adults – and that’s because that’s the demo they’re going after. The adult crowd was turned off – like going from watching internet porn to watching Skinemax – you don’t quite get the same response that you got before. Where were the guys you wanted to hate and the wanted to hate you? Where were the guys that were so bad that they were actually the good guys? What happened to the guys that could get you so worked up on the microphone, it didn’t matter that they sucked when it came to actual wrestling?
The game changed last night. Finally, the Rock came home.
The Rock announced as the official host of Wrestlemania, and in 15 minutes, he kicked off the most exciting speculative set of “what’s going to happen” since WCW Starcade in 1997 (that’d be the one that saw me and Big jumping around a buddy’s living room for a solid 20 minutes because Sting beat Hogan. yes we both had girlfriends, no they weren’t imaginary).
In 15 minutes, the Rock gave heed to the following:
He will be back in a near-full time capacity. Does this mean he’s the “anonymous GM”? Will he stay after Wrestlemania?
He will not hesitate to fight – will we get a dream match at Wrestlemania?
He called out the Miz – he basically called the champ a bitch.
He called out Cena
Ahh, now we have the most intriguing part. John Cena is the modern day Hulk Hogan. The eternal good guy. The role model for kids. The guy that the WWE pushes in EVERY marketing campaign. Cena = WWE. The Rock came out and called Cena out on everything that the older wrestling fans hate…and the ENTIRE crowd love it. There were no boos. There were no Cena cheers. So, it begs the question, is now the time for Vince to deliver the biggest turn since Hogan joined the black and white? Will Cena turn heel and face the Rock in the mother of all dream matches at Wrestlemania?
Makes sense – think about it. HBK goes into the HOF. Seamus wins the Elimination Chamber takes on the Miz for the title. Orton v. CM Punk. Del Rio v Edge. Undertaker retires Triple H. You’ve got your top 9 names players matched up and you biggest star is without opponent. Enter the Rock. Vince played his card masterfully. I think this is Vince’s swan song. This will be his Wrestlemania to put the WWE back on top for good, and from there he will officially hand the reigns over to Triple H and Stephanie.
Either way, the WWE has done something that has been lacking for damn near 5 years. The took predictability and punched it in the nuts. Every show is a must watch from now through April 2nd.
We make no apology's here at TB&TB when it comes to wrestling. We have enjoyed the entertainment "sport" as long as we have been alive. If we don't get together on Mondays to watch RAW, we spend most of Monday night texting each other like little school girls. Last night, the question was asked "who are the writer for WWE, and how can we become one?" The question was fuled by another show of predicable story lines and more and more of the "same ol' stuff." Thus began the debate on how, if you were in charge of the WWE, would you run it? So have no fear, Big is here, to "fix" the WWE.
Step one. Branding. The current WWE roster is "broken down" into 3 shows. Monday night Raw (the flag ship), Friday night Smackdown (the "b" show) and ECW on Tuesday night (the C show and proving ground). The first thing I would do is make these show completely independent of each other. No more stoylines that have people cross over between the three shows. The idea is to make the one company, WWE, feel like it had three different identities.
One step to do this is move all the Women wrestlers (or as WWE calls them, Divas) onto the Monday night show RAW. Now you may have to "trim the fat" of some of the Diva's on the roster, but condensing and focusing the talent into one brand would only create better Diva matches, which the WWE desperately need right now.
The next step in Branding is move all the tag teams to Friday night. For too long now the tag team division in wrestling in general has been forgotten and miss used. By replacing the women on Smackdown with tag matches and more importantly mic time, I believe the fans would get behind them in no time flat. A caveat to this is you can't have just also ran Tag Teams in the tag team division. You need star power. Think Hardys or Edge and Christian (note, they are doing a good job of this with having Edge and Jericho hold the straps right now).
While ECW is being used very well at the moment as a proving ground for up and coming wrestlers, even it could use a slight retooling. I suggest reforming the Cruiser weight Division Championship, and giving that to ECW. While Vince has always been a fan of the Super Heavyweight, and always will be, there is a sector of people who enjoy the small, high flying aspect of cruiser weight wrestling. Don't believe me? take a look at this video from WCW Starcade, 1999, where 4 cruisers stole the PPV with this crazy match which included Billy Kidman Vs. Rey Misterio, Jr. Vs. Juventud Guerrera Vs. Psicosis.
You can't tell me people won't be entertained by that.
So let's break down the branding.
RAW - Diva's (stays the Flag ship. Geared more toward family's, pg rating)
Smackdown - Tag Teams (a little more mature, place where people who preform on the mic and in the ring are valued more, geared more toward the older wrestling fan)
ECW - Cruiser's (Still a proving ground for up and coming Heavys, also has the infusion of cruisers to make show worth watching.)
Step 2 Fixing PPV's
Over the years, WWE has tried to create more buz around its PPV's by including things like the Elimination chamber during No Way Out, or the extreme rules matches at Extreme Rules. This is exactly what WWE needs to do, but take it up another notch.
As it stands right now there are 4 big PPV's every year, with 8 or 10 others every month. As it stands right now, only the Royal Rumble has an yearly pay out of a title shot. I'm going to change that. Stating with the Big One, Wrestlemanina.
WrestleMania is the biggest show of the year, and to add to it, every year the WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion will fight. The end of every wrestlemaina will have one superstar holding both title belts in celebration, and the time between Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania will be the only time during the season that wrestlers would be allowed to cross brand lines.
Of course this creates a wrinkle in the winner of the Royal Rumble has traditionally gotten a title shot at Mania, but this is an easy fix. I would move the PPV No Way Out, which is traditionally between the Rumble and Mania, to October, and the October PPV, Bragging Rights, to February. This way the winner of the Rumble gets not only a title shot at Bragging Rights, but if he wins, he gets to headline Wrestlemania with a match between the opposing brands champion.
Think of the push a wrestler can have in just 3 months. From winning the Rumble, to winning the Title at Bragging Rights, to becoming the unified champion and headlining Wrestlemania. I will explain swapping Bragging Right and No Way Out in just a bit.
Next up after Mania? Draft. On the second Monday following Mania, the Draft takes place. I would like the draft to be a little more calculated, and a little less random as it is shown now. Let the GM's of the shows actually draft, or maybe even have a small 3 vs 3 matches where the winner can chose what brand he goes to. (think of the champ who loses at wrestlemania, winning a chance to change brands and go after the guy who beat him). Now as I said earlier, there will be no cross brand competition other than the time between the Rumble and Mania, and a small time before Survivor Series, so when Mania crowns a new unified champion, the superstar who wins would have to chose which belt he wants to defend on which show. The other belt then becomes the main story line for the next PPV, Backlash. Any number of things can be done for that PPV, a King of the Ring type tournament, a Scramble match for the vacant title, a tourny that takes place during TV culminating in a finials at the PPV, any number of things can take place.
After Backlash, there is a normal PPV in Judgment Day, which can be used to finish Mania feuds and start building toward the summer push.
Then Extreme Rules. I like this PPV a lot because of the fact it is a little different then most. The only change I would have with this one is use ECW more. This needs to be the one PPV of the year that they really get over. Have 2 or 3 ECW matches on this one, including a ECW title match, Crueser Weight Match, and ECW vs the world in a 5 on 5 extreme showdown, where each week on ECW, one member of the ECW team calls out someone who they think "soft" from the other brands, and forces them to be in this crazy extreme match.
The next two PPV's The Bash and Night of Chapionons, would remain unchanged.
Then the 3rd biggest PPV of the year, Summerslam. This has always been one of my favorite PPV's for little reason than it usually the only one during my childhood where I could convince my parents to let me order it while I had a bunch of buddies over to watch it. Looking back, I'm sure it was because there was no school during the summer and this was the last good thing that happend before school started, and my folks thought it would be fun to have one last summer hoo-rahh.
With the Summerslam PPV, I can fix 2 problems with one little solution.
I have always been a fan of the IC belt (and TV belt in WCW), because the IC champion was always one of my favorite guys to watch as a kid (Warrior, Rude, Honkey Tonk), and I feel the IC and US belts right now have very little meaning. Well, that would change here, because at Summerslam, it would be IC/US vs. WWE/World Champion. Belt for belt, every year.
This would help in 2 ways, it would give credence(especially leading up to Summerslam) to big name guys wanting to win the IC/US Belt, and it would create another situation, much like after Wrestlemaina, where after the Slam, the IC/US belt would be vacant, and the idea's of what do to with vacnt belt are endless, and it at the least gives you two good matches mid to high card matches for the next PPV, Breaking Point. If this is too much title changing, than make Summerslam a non title match for the IC/US champ.
Breaking Point would be for the most part a normal PPV, with the chance to have the vacant IC/US title belts up for grabs.
Next is Hell in a Cell, normal, no changes.
Now the swapped No Way Out. I moved this one here because it gives yet another opportunity for someone to become number one contender during the Elimination Chamber, and the pay off is having a title shot at the 4th biggest PPV of the year, Survivor Series. Survivor Series would have the pay off from No Way Out as well as a traditional (sort of) 3 way 5 on 5 on 5 survivor series match between the 3 different brands.
The last PPV before we get back to the Rumble is Armageddon, and should be more or less a set up the the story lines that will start at the Rumble and end at Mania.
So lets recap
Royal Rumble - Winning getting title shot at Bragging Rights. Bragging Rights - Title Shot for Royal Rumble Winner Wrestlemania - WWE Champ vs. World Heavyweight Champ Draft Backlash - Crowning of new champion who's brand lost a Mania Judgment Day - Normal, finish story lines of Mania. Extreme Rules - ECW Payday, 3 or 5 ECW Stars/Future Stars vs 5 other brand stars who have been called out as not extreme enough for WWE. The Bash - Normal Night of Chapionons - Every Title on the line Summerslam - IC/US vs. WWE/World Heavyweight Champ. Breaking Point - Normal Hell in a Cell - Normal No Way Out - Elimination Chamber, either for Title, or for #1 Contender. Survivor Series - Chamber Pay off, 5 on 5 on 5 Tri-Brand tradional SS match. Armageddon - Normal
With all of these changes, I believe it would give the WWE three separate yet competitive brands, put more clout in both the IC and US belts, and give each brand a different identity. But I'm just a cave man.
We challenged you, you responded (kinda), and here is your prize, I present, without edit, the ramblings of Victor the Bear.
Wrestlemania 25 From the Eyes of a Casual Fan
I’m sure you’re already tired of reading my posts. I was thinking of doing this in my Championship acceptance speech but I think it warrants its own posting. As all of you know, myself, Big, Brown and El Blogador attended Professional Wrestling’s greatest spectacle this weekend by attending Wrestlemania 25. I’m not a fan like Big, Brown and Blogador are. I used to watch religiously back in high school but just sort of grew out of it, or so I thought. Well last year Big and Brown accepted me into watching it with them at a time I just needed out of my house. Lately I’ve tried to make it a point to watch it with them, but if we don’t all get together to watch I’m usually at the gym, or watching Chuck and Heroes. But there’s something to be said for attending one of these events, witnessing it live and right in front of you. If you’re looking for a breakdown of the match’s, or to talk about how many mullets we saw, or David Carr jerseys, I’ll leave that to Big and Brown.
Anyways, so when Brown got tickets to Wrestlemania 25 I was on the fence about going because A. How am I going to pay for this? And B. Am I a fan enough to enjoy this? Once I was able to pay for it I just figured I’m going to go down with no expectations and just enjoy the weekend. Well I was truly blown away. It was a great time, and I have a great lasting impression from being there. I tell everyone that even if you don’t like professional wrestling because you know it’s fake, or you think it’s childish, or beneath you, I say GO, GO, GO! It’s an amazing experience and just being there, surrounded by all the fans that come from all over the world to see this and feeling their energy during each match, this was one of the best events I’ve ever been to. It’s entertainment people… and damn they know how to entertain.
Tired of wrestling yet? I hope not, because with us this year, making his first wrestling event as a spectator, our picnic basket loving friend, Bear, is making his way to H-town.
I say first as a spectator because, unbenonst to me until a few min ago, Bear is no stranger to the squared circle. As a matter of fact, he was a full fledged wrestler back in the day under the name of Victor.
Dear sexy readers. I know you don't really trust me again yet. You think I'm going to go away again don't you? You are afraid that if you start believing in me again that I'll just turn on you once more, leaving you crying, and hurting.
But I'm not like that, baby. I'm not Chris brown.... Yea i wouldn't bite you and punch with one hand while I'm driving down the street to the Gramys, But your just like Rahoonie. You'll come back. You always come back.
You see I'm saying this right now because i need you. You may have noticed that the reference to wrestling have been, how should we say, plentifull. One might even say we have had a plethora of pinyatas wrestling references lately. There is a good reason.
Me, Brown, Bear, and Blog-a-dore are going to take a little field trip in a couple of weeks. We are going down Houston way, to the land of the Orliers, Astros to take in a little thing called Wrestlemania.
We have plenty of bits and what have not working in our head for the weekend, and one of which We would love some help on, and the people benefiting this will be not only us, but you the sexy readers.
We like to play a game called people bingo, where we look for certain things on our bingo cards that are, how should we put this, out of the ordinary. Take fore example if we were at a heavy mettle show, or rodeo, one of the things on the bingo card would be a black guy. The way you get points for it is if you can take a picture of them with camera or phone. Sound like fun?
So we need your help finding list items, and yes, we will post the pics when we get back.
Let me get you started in the right direction: A guy with an NWO shirt. Someone in a TO Jersey A Pinata of a Wrestler (its in Houston) A Hot Chick (bonus if she's not with kids)(double bonus if she's with unattractive dude(aka my fantasy))(super double bonus if you can get pics of her tit/bare ass)(ultimate boo-kakey bonus of all time if you put your sharpshooter in her figer 4)
"The Simpsons" is great, but is kind the old school player. They can bring the heat if they need to, but everyone knows they're the king, and just accepts it. Kind of like Shawn Michaels.
"Family Guy" is the new kid on the block who's captured everyone's hearts and is great doing what it does. Kind of like John Cena.
"South Park" however. "South Park" is the one that keeps going away so you kind of forget about it, but then it comes back with such jaw rattling fury you realize, it's always been the king. Kind of like The Undertaker.
If you didnt see "South Park" last night (if not, see it here.) You missed Trey Parker's and Matt Stone's giant middle finger to America's darling, Disney. The Jonas Brother, Grey's Anatomy (on ABC - owned by Disney), and Mickey Mouse were pretty much torn a gigantic new ass hole.
Me, Big, Bear and El Blogador have been debating when, where and how he was coming back, but none of us had this one pegged.
Big thinks this makes sense to bring more light to ECW...I disagree and say this is Vince punishing Christian for leaving the WWE and is now wasting talent.
Fox Searchlight got together a round table of old wrestlers to talk about the movie, and it really brings the movie back into light about what and who it's portraying.
The round table: -"Rowdy" Roddy Piper -"Diamond" Dallas Page -Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake -Greg "the Hammer" Valentine -Lex Luger
I'll say this much, everyone except for Page looks god awful. So, I guess that's a credit to man yoga or whatever he's doing these days.
We've made no secret that we're huge professional wrestling fans here at blog headquarters. Been fans for 2 decades solid now, so when we heard that a serious movie (not a documentary or "Ready to Rumble") was being made about wrestling, we knew it was a must see. Throw in the fact that it had a "re-born" Mickey Rourke and an often naked Marisa Tomei, and you've pretty much got my money already. By the way, this post probably isn't going to bring the funny because, I liked the movie, and it's hard to shit on things you like. (Except for friends because I've made it my life's mission to kick Big in the balls as often as I can.)
So, "The Wrestler" opened in Dallas on Friday, and we packed up the bus with your two favorite bloggers and some of your favorite commenters for a blog field trip. Me, Big, Bear, Bizzle and Carl Badlander. Blogador was going to go with us, but he was on in-law duty. (Yes, I could make fun of him, but let's recap: we were 5 dudes going to see an indy movie and he was with his wife. Yup, we're in a great position to talk shit.)
Anyway, the movie. Fan-fucking-tastic. Cock-tacular. Ram Jam-merific. How's that for you?
I came out of the movie saying that it was really targeted at people who are either a) professional wrestlers and b) people who have never watched pro wrestling. The video of matches and works and scripts was very real and I was, what's a good word? proud? that people were reacting the way they were to some of the crazy shit that happens in wrestling. Hardcore matches, injuries, works for pops and heat, all of it. Having been a fan of the genre for 20 years or so, I had seen these kinds of matches, so it didn't surprise me, but it was the portrayal of Robinson that really had me wondering if I this what's happening with guys I watched long ago that have disappeared from the global promotions.
It was easy to think that you were watching Jerry Lynn or Marty Janetty or someone like that instead of Mickey Rourke acting, and I suppose that's the mark of a good acting performance. I've ready reviews about how former wrestlers in the 80's (think Rowdy Roddy Piper) have come out of the movie bawling like babies because of how closely it mirrored their own lives. Them turning their backs on anything tangible in "reality" just for one more moment to bask in the glory of fans cheering their name. Rourke nails it on the head in he final monologue he delivers at the end of the movie by echoing that statement.
If you walk in expecting to see "Ready to Rumble" and you're going to look at is as a joke, then you can go stick your dick in a light socket for all I give a damn. OR if you're going to be a pompous ass who's more interested in lighting, sound and searching for analogous and anecdotal imagery that Aronofsky is trying to capture by using these shots, then you can drown in your own douchbaggery and I hope you die of AIDS. However, if you just appreciate a good movie that you can watch and enjoy for 2 hours, I'd recommend you pick this up when it gets released or head to your local movie theater and check it out.
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That might have been one of my douchiest posts ever. The movie's got MILF tits and lots of 'em. Hooray for Coug-Boob!
I was thinking about doing some end of the year awards post after watching the Video Game Awards the other night. You know, do it like a "real" award show, give nominees, pick a winner, do a fake thank you speech, but there was two things wrong with that idea.
1. It would take WAY to long, and I'm lazy 2. Nobody really cares, and would just skip past the post after the first 2 sentences.
None the less, I still want to do something like it, so I came up with 4 things that I enjoy doing not involving a slab of meat or a scantly clad showgirl, and I will give you my "awards" for those things.
Up first is Wrestling.
I know, not another wrestling post. But its one of few things that keep my attention outside of the sports world, and I love it. So here are a few awards for the Genre of Wrestling.
Top Face of 2008 (good guy)
Jeff Hardy
I always look at a guy that being a good face if its somebody I root for, constantly. Is funny and intense on the mike, and preforms well in the ring. I haven't really rooted more for anybody this year more than the Enigma, Jeff Hardy. From his first shot at the title against Randy Orton during the Rumble, to his suspension for drug use, from his comeback to being "drafted" by Smakdown, and then to last weekends title victory over HHH and Edge and his soon to be feud with his brother (hopefully). I have enjoyed rooted more for Matt Hardy than anybody else in the business right now.
Runners Up: CM Punk, HBK, HHH,
Best Heel of 2008
Chris Jericho
It was a tough call between him, Orton, and Edge, because these three guys are just about as perfect a heel as you could want. The sheep fans hate them because they are told too, but the smarts fans love to hate these guys. I picked Jericho because of his ability to carry a feud, and a story line without chasing after or defending a championship belt. He's work with Shawn Michaels was brutal, and captivating, leading to his heel turn, where he took over as top heel of the company. His work has been just nasty good.
Runners up: Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, Edge
Top New Comer (guy i think has a shot at being big)
CM Punk
Regulated to ECW for the start of the year, made a big splash when he won Money in the Bank and wrestlmania. Unlike what i feared would happen, he didn't cash in his title shot for the ECW championship, instead waiting till he got "drafted" to Raw, and took advantage of a beaten down Edge to win the World Heavyweight title.
I loved his run with the title. It was something new, and unexpected. Something the WWE rarely does.
Runners Up: Evan Borne, Santino,
Female Wrestler of 2008:
ODB
For the longest time I wasn't a big fan at all of female wrestling. Fun to look at, but the only redeeming part of the matches were watching to see if a nipple popped out. Then I started watching TNA wrestling a little more and my view changed. They didn't just have super models trying to wrestle, they had full out wrestlers who could really throw down, and had distinguishable traits
ODB is one of them, and in my opinion, the most fun the watch. She's a little mannish, but has some good moves, and fantasticlly large chesticals. I mean come on, a little bit of a big girl who drinks alot, cusses, and can beat my ass? How can I not love this chick.
Runners up: Gail Kim, Roxxie, Beth Phoenix.
So there is my end of year awards for wrestling. I'm going to try and get another one up today, either Music or TV. So check back this afternoon.
That's right, you read that title correctly. TNA Wrestling was in town this weekend and put on a little show at the House of Blues. So, El Blogador and I went to check out the scene.
Here's a few notes:
Booker T rode to the event in a very elaborate RV and parked it in between the House of Blues and Hooters.
Blogador and I ate at the Hooters and had a window staring at Booker T's RV, our main form of enjoyment of was a fat kid in a Kix (the band, not the cereal) t-shirt and a binder waiting for autographs. Blogador and I make a pact stating that if either of us stooped that low, the other would put a bullet in said person's head.
Lots of kids at TNA Wrestling meaning, lots of beaten down parents.
Jeremy Borash might be the gayest man on the planet
Petey Williams's finisher, "the Canadian Destroyer", looks as cool live as it does on television
Fans of TNA Wrestling apparently have no sense of humor because Blogador and I tried all night to get chants going to make wrestler's laugh. Nothing caught on, but the old black man across the aisle from us couldn't stop laughing.
Blogador and I can get pretty racist without thinking about what we're saying. We both played the "hey, we're minorities too" card and got off scot-free. Take that, whitey!
Curry Man's dancing is quite infectious. Even we were dancing like jack asses.
I decided, after a few beers, it was the appropriate time to hit on MILFs. Turns out the MILF I chose happened to be the PRESIDENT OF TNA WRESTLING. That's right, of all the people in the building I hit on, it happened to be the president of the promotion.
Biggest laugh from our section: when Awesome Kong came out and Blogador screamed "That's a huge bitch!" at a particularly quiet moment.
TNA Knockout champion, Taylor Wilde = Nastia Liukin with a boob job...right down to the five-head.
Jay Lethal's Macho Man gimmick is more nostalgic in person then it is on television.
LAX (Latin American eXchange) got the biggest pop of the night. I started a "De-mo-graphics" chant...no one got the joke.
If you saw Samoa Joe at the gym, you might think he just got a membership and it's his first time there and not that this guy is the World Heavyweight Champion. Go figure.
So, TNA Wrestling comes on Thursday nights on Spike TV at 8. Check it out, you might recognize some of the older guys that are still wrestling on there.
If you've been paying attention to the Olympics, which we have in between WWE pay-per-views and Cowboy preseason games, then you might have noticed some fairly eyebrow raising judging inconsistencies in the "subjective" events like gymnastics and diving.
So, what's the deal? Is it anti-American bias? Is it Americans being sore losers? Is there some kind of Chinese political appeasement going on?
The only redeeming quality of Brown University
To be honest, I haven't the slightest fucking clue. I just go by what I see. For example, The Big and The Brown's favorite sexy gymnast, Alicia Sacramone, seemingly got screwed out of medaling last night in the women's vault competition. The Chinese girl, Cheng Fei, fell on her knees while landing, and Sacramone landed on her feet. Yet, somehow, China was awarded the bronze medal and Sacramone got fourth place. Interesting.
The one on the left? 18. The other two? 16. Riiight.
Case two, The Big and The Brown's favorite local gymnast, Nastia Liukin, was seemingly screwed out of a gold medal in the uneven bars last night. A TIED score with the Chinese gymnast, He Xexin (the one in the middle that was 13 about 9 months ago, but is 16 now). She TIED the score, but through some kind of weird tiebreaker system, He Xexin got the gold and Liukin got the silver. In the objective events (track, swimming, etc.) ties are allowed. In fact, Jason Lezak tied with some Brazilian swimmer for bronze because they posted the same finishing time in the 100 Freestyle.
Nastia Liukin took the high road, even though in the picture she's about to release her inner Texan and whoop some little kid's ass.
"It’s nothing I can control, and honestly, I can say it has been very fair to me, and I got the biggest gold medal of them all," said Liukin, winner of the women’s all-around gymnastics gold."
So, what's the deal with the subjective sports? Is it really a good thing to inject subjectivity into sporting events? I'm pretty sure the original Olympics only consisted of measurable and quantifiable results...you know, someone wins a wrestling match, someone runs faster than someone else, someone throws a rock further than someone else. Now with technology, it's that much easier to determine if someone touches a wall one one-hundreth of a second faster than someone else. No subjectivity.
Is it sour grapes to look at the cases of total subjectivity and say that the host country, which has been coming into question left and right, could be pressuring the human element of the judging to edge competition out, regardless of that competition's country? I dunno. It just appears that the Chinese team is sweeping a lot of the subjective events and losing a lot of the objective and quantifiable events.
I dunno, but I don't think anyone will listen to objective reasoning within the context of this argument. If you think America lost a subjective event because of a controversy, it's just sour grapes. If you think America won a subjective event fairly, then it's a double standard.
DAVE!
This is why I prefer pro wrestling. At least the results are known ahead of time and cheating is expected. Way to go, Dave.
It doesn't dawn on you how long ago it was until you flip on ESPN Classic and see something from that year.
That being said, I was flipping channels last night and came across ESPN Classic's presentation of some old AWA Championship Wrestling. The two guys wrestling? Curt Hennig and Scott Hall.
You all might remember these guys as "Mr. Perfect" (Hennig) and "Razor Ramon" (Hall) in the WWF boom of the late 1980's and early 1990's.
Curt Hennig has probably looked the same since he was born, so he wasn't that hard to recognize. The only difference was that he was much much smaller, so he obviously hadn't hit the juice (the guy died from steroids a few years ago.)
What blew my mind was Scott Hall. First of all, they billed him as "Big Scott Hall"...very original Verne Gagne, very original. Anyway, because I always remember Hall partnering with Nash or going against the 1-2-3 Kid or Shawn Michaels, it never really dawned on me that he's actualy 6'7"...not only that, but he hadn't become a raging alcoholic yet.
I thought I was watching Rick Rood and not Scott Hall.
Here's what these guys looked like in their WWE glory days (as you rememeber them)...
Hall (left) and Hennig (right) in their glory days
And here's how they looked on that AWA show...
Ambiguously Gay Duo
This post probably doesn't mean anything to anyone that isn't me, Brown or Blogador, but I damn sure thought it was interesting. Then again, I guess if you took a picture of me in 1987 and a picture of me now, I'd look pretty effing different too...
