Mick Foley Chucked Off Hell in the Cell 14 Years On

“With that one move, everything I had accomplished in my 13 years of wrestling had instantly become obsolete.”- Mick Foley from his ‘Greatest Hits and Misses’ DVD.

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This article you’re reading today is conjured up on the 14th anniversary of the most infamous match in WWE history.

It occurred at the 1998 King of the Ring at The Igloo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Mick Foley as Mankind took on The Undertaker inside and outside of Hell in the Cell.

It’s one of those matches that most everyone loves because of the sheer bravery put forth by both men. Not just Foley, but both men.

And to think, this match shouldn’t have happened in the first place…

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In his initial autobiography ‘Have a Nice Day’, Foley described the events leading up to KOTR 1998 in great detail.

If you don’t own the book, then you MUST purchase this.

For the rest of you, this will be a summary of how this all played out.

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Mick was led to believe that his hot program with Steve Austin would continue on another month. It was supposed to be Austin fighting Foley inside the Cell with Mick being the Dude Love alter-ego.

A booking change led to Mickster getting a ring on the telephone. Instead of Foley getting another crack at Austin, it would be Kane getting the nod in a First Blood encounter. As a consolation prize, Mankind would face Undertaker.

Again.

Mick had numerous programs with Undertaker by this point, with as many matches on PPV to show for it. To Foley, this seemed like a rehash of an already past due occurrence. Add in Undertaker’s unhealed broken foot, and there was even more dread abound.

Foley in addition had the unfortunate luck to have Terry Funk as his travelling buddy. In a brainstorm of what to do in order to top the magnificent HBK/Taker match from the year before (read the recap of that sucker here), Funk gave Foley the idea to be chucked off the Cell.

Even Undertaker didn’t want to do this!!!

However, when the time came to calling, Undertaker and his broken foot scaled that Cell faster than the slowest man in Ward Melville High School.

In this opening sequence, a DANGEROUS piece of foreshadowing occurred as while walking on top of the Cell, both men nearly fell through because the ceiling gave. This got a loud gasp in Pittsburgh. None the wiser, both men went on truckin’.

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“What’s gonna happen here?”

“Undertaker’s fightin’ back, he’s fightin’ back! No doubt about it folks, and I don’t like it a damn bit!”

Jim Ross, with that as his expository, then utters the greatest call in wrestling history as Mick Foley made his leap of faith.

“GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY, GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY, THAT KILLED HIM! WITH GOD AS MY WITNESS, HE IS BROKEN IN HALF!”

The Igloo is hot with excitement, then went cold as ice when they realize, “Gee, the guy isn’t moving!”

It takes a while before Mankind’s wheels start to turn again. Meanwhile the crazy monster wants to go back up!

AND SO HE DOES!

Undertaker is more than happy to deliver some more punishment.

Only this time, the crescendo of this tightrope action leads to a climax of a chokeslam…

THROUGH THE FUCKING CAGE!

“WILL SOMEONE STOP THE DAMN MATCH,” cries Ross, who may or may not have suffered multiple heart attacks.

Terry Funk, as Terry Funk (and not Chainsaw Charlie), comes down to try to end this, but Undertaker chokes the Funker right out of his sneakers!

From this point on, everything else feels supplementary.

Undertaker blades, and this is hardly a footnote in this damn match.

Mankind gets a shiny present in the form of multiple thumbtack drops, but even THAT doesn’t deliver the initial shock value those two big bumps did.

Undertaker Tombstones Mankind into the canvas, and wins the war. Not a match or wrestling contest, but a WAR!

This is a match EVERYONE knows of and remembers. The shock value alone ranks it up there, but then the gall of these two to plow through the match with more injuries than multiple foreign disputes is a miracle in and of itself.

Leaving here today, I just want to thank Mick Foley and Undertaker for putting on a show that no one shall never dare to duplicate. It truly left a mark on this business, a mark that will never be touched.

Now for a moment of zen: the new Hall of Famer with the blogger himself!

 

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Triple H/Shawn Michaels Summerslam 2002: Bad Booking’s 20,000th View Post

 

Well folks, this blog is one year old. It has done more than I ever could have dreamed.

Today, I’ll be capping a match that pretty much started my WWE fandom.

My first episode of RAW was the July 22nd, 2002 edition (as of this writing, Monday’s RAW will mark 11 years exactly I became a full-time fan). It was the night after Vengeance, where The Rock became Undisputed WWE Champion.

Also occurring at Vengeance was Triple H signing a contract with RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff after a friendly persuasion from Shawn Michaels.

Eric tried to stir some crap up with The Game and The Heartbreak Kid by making HBK Triple H’s “manager”, HBK quit, then came back, with the notion that the old band D-Generation X would surface.

Only that didn’t happen.

Triple H delivered the world’s worst Pedigree to his best friend.

 

Yes, one that looked worse than Marty Garner’s.

The week later, Triple H was explaining his actions while he got news that someone had their head rammed through a car window.

That man was Michaels.

A “whodunit” unfolded. It resulted with Triple H taking blame after the security camera cleared showed the malevolence of The Game. Triple H only admitted it because he wanted to prove to the world that Shawn was weak and was vulnerable.

On a satellite camera, with bandages and cuts all over, Shawn vowed to return for Summerslam to a MASSIVE POP.

So the road to Long Island was paved, and the two brawled their way to SummerSlam.

August 25th, 2002 was indeed a hot and humid day as I remember it in New York State.

A huge card of action surrounding this match ensued. Kurt Angle made Rey Mysterio tap in the best opener of all 2002. Edge defeated Eddie Guerrero in a decent match, ditto for Ric Flair on Chris Jericho. Lance Storm & Christian used devious means to retain their tag gold against Booker T & Goldust. RVD defeated Chris Benoit in a underrated classic to win the Intercontinental Championship. Undertaker defeated Test in a battle of big men. Lastly, Brock Lesnar became Undisputed WWE Champion after shockingly defeating The Rock clean as a sheet.

The match covered today was just before the Rock/Brock main event.

A match so epic it should have been the main event!

So here we go!

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The chapter from the Summerslam 2002 DVD kicks off with Jim Ross and Jerry “the King” Lawler discussing how Shawn’s been away for four years leading up to this encounter. Most people watching today (or at that point) may not have seen HBK perform either live or on the soon-to-be-developed YouTube.

As usual, the video package is A+. Anything less would be utter failure if WWE had a college with a course solely dedicated to video production. The main summary shows Shawn and Hunter as friends closer to brothers. However, that brotherhood was shattered by the evilness and the ego by a man who believes his time is here and now.

Shawn comes out first to an epic introduction. Shades of Undertaker’s King of the Ring 1998 entrance as pyro shoots off every time HBK takes a step. JR hopes that this match is not a decision Shawn will regret for the rest of his life.

Up next is Triple H, fresh off of bone chip removal in right arm. Ridiculously jacked, fitting of what the character had at the time. For some odd reason, HBK made his entrance, then the bell sounded for Howard to do ONLY HHH’S ENTRANCE! If this was Lillian Garcia, both men would have had botched intros!

As Motorhead blares, another thing blares: Shawn’s ego. Not afraid to stand off against his former best friend, he jumps over to the top rope in a corner and tells him figuratively to bring it!

Shawn throws first shirt and here we go!

The first few minutes are split between the two, with Shawn getting a little more offense in. Like the good ol’ days, Shawn does a crossbody over the top and onto The Game! Huge moment, and it shows HBK hasn’t missed a step in four years.

Want more proof? Hunter, after averting trash can lid disaster a first time, tries to grab Shawn by the hair back into the ring. Shawn then smacks the lid against Hunter’s head, and skins the cat back in! HOLY MOLY BATMAN!

Shawn makes Hunter eat more trash can, and follows it up with a shot from the top rope. Sensing superkick time, Shawn tunes up.

“Derp.”

Like the Cerebral Assassin he is, Hunter sidesteps the danger, and gives Shawn a backbreaker!

The next couple of minutes sees Trips completely bitch out Shawn. Focusing on the back, Triple H throws Shawn into turnbuckles like a little child. To add insult to injury, Hunter tells Shawn to “SUCK IT” then kicks him back down. The heat for this part was incredible!

Triple H zones in even further on the back, with multiple elbow drops on the area, maybe even hitting the plate surgically embedded in there. This gets a near-fall, and this prompts The Game to get a chair.

Hunter doesn’t give Shawn’s back one moment to rest. Like Jason Giambi, Hunter swings for the fences with the chair.

After almost getting pinned again, Shawn tries to fight his way out of this predicament, adding in a near-fall of his own! Hunter quickly resumes control with a face-buster.

Despite the objections of referee Earl Hebner, Hunter DDT’s Shawn onto a chair for a near-fall. Oh lookie, BLOOD!

Shawn’s been busted open, with just enough blood to look like a crayon was coloring outside the lines.

Hunter pretends he’s a daddy with a score to settle, so he takes off HBK’s own belt and whips him like a government mule! Creatively, Hunter wraps that belt around his fist so when he decks out Shawn, the buckle is striking the cut! BRUTAL!

Shawn attempts to get to a vertical base while Hunter is looking outside the ring area for something.

That something would turn out to be your friend and mine, MR. SLEDGIE!

Earl tries to stop it, but Shawn has the whereto to get out of trouble. Hunter quickly gets back his momentum into an abdominal stretch. Tsk tsk, we got a rest-hold!

Hunter grabs the rope for additional leverage, which makes Hebner seethe. I mean, Hebner gets into Hunter’s face, pushing him around showing whose boss!

“BIGGER DERP!”

The confrontation allows Shawn to try to get some groove back. Instead, Hunter positions Shawn for a superplex. Shawn may have pushed Triple H off, but Hunter pushes Hebner into the ropes, which in turn crotches Michaels.

Michaels loses some balance and winds up in the ‘tree of woe’ position. This allows Triple H, with the chair in hand, to get another free shot in on Michaels! Once again, that back shot is the equivalent of a Major Leaguer getting a home run deep into the stands!

Hunter sets up the chair middle of the ring, and delivers yet another backbreaker to Shawn! This time, the sitting portion of the chair is more mangled than a victim of Dr. Hannibal Lecter!

After another failed series of near-falls, Hunter stomps down the chair, and gives his old buddy a sidewalk slam on the steel apparatus! ANOTHER mini-series of near-falls ensues!

Hunter’s yelling at Shawn to STAY DOWN! Frustrated at his inability to put him away, Game puts the chair down again. Potential Pedigree coming up, but the only thing that happens is a low-blow from Shawn straight to Hunter’s Netherlands!

Once again, Shawn is trying to gain some momentum. Only Hunter’s got that chair again. Will it connect?

It did connect, but not in the way nature intended! Shawn managed to kick that chair back into Hunter’s face! What’s the result?

 

Ughhh…..

More crimson than red ink on a failed test!

Shawn is finally turning the tide! The elbow to the face followed by a kip-up ensues, and this crowd on Long Island is ESTATIC! After a back body drop, Shawn winds up the chair for some Sweet Skull Music! THAT HIT WITH A BULLET!

After getting whipped over the ropes, Hunter is now getting what is due to him. Some lid shots, some belt shots, it feels like a little bit of everything!

As Shawn is raping Triple H of his dignity (or whatever he may have had left), the crowd is chanting for TABLES! Keep in mind there are mini rivulets of blood all over the ringside area!

Michael Cole and Tazz make a go for it after Shawn whacks Triple H so hard in the head with the lid that Hunter goes flying! Hugo “kindly” lets Shawn take his boot for another dose of cranial carnage. I tell you what, Shawn’s racking up the fines in Wellness isn’t he?

“A heel for a heel!” Nice work King!

Hunter tries to get up only to get a nasty-looking Bulldog on the bottom half of the steel steps! GNARLY!

Okay, this just got real: Shawn pulls out the LADDER! We’ve had chairs, garbage cans, and belts up to this point, but now we’ve got the big time piece of metal that made HBK famous!

Triple H met the ladder in person as HBK rammed it into his head!

After shoving the ladder deep into the solar plexus of The Game, Shawn then successfully catapulted Hunter right into it! Since he was busted open, the only thing that’s being assassinated is Triple H’s blood supply! As this point, Gordon Solie would salute from the grave saying that this is indeed a crimson mask!

Lawler made a note on commentary that Hunter would never have imagined being massacred like he is against Shawn. See kids, this was when King made valid and astute comments on commentary!

After failing a near-fall, Shawn tried to get that ladder into the ring. He failed again as Hunter had the synapses to do a baseball slide.  As HBK lies hurt to the outside, Hunter’s face is telling a story, with little drops of blood going to the mat.

Hunter got some free shots in and tried to go upstairs. Shawn however met up with him and delivered a superplex! Shawn covered Hunter to a 2, and then met a high knee courtesy of Hunter channeling Harley Race.

With conclusion in his sights, Hunter gets the top half of the steel steps chucked away from earlier. It looks like a free shot, but instead, Shawn delivers a drop-toe-hold to Hunter on the steps! YIKES!

Both men get up and Shawn clotheslines Hunter right over the top, onto the ladder! Hunter’s left knee got jammed in the ladder while the right one caught a metal edge. I’m sure he’s thankful he got knee pads!

Finally, Shawn unveils the table from under the ring! While setting it up, he takes down Hunter with one punch. Although H would get right back up, he was then met with a fire extinguisher. Gee, he lands on the table.

HBK rolls back in the ring.

HBK climbs the top rope!

HBK LOOKS ARROGANT!

HBK TAKES FLIGHT!

TOUCHDOWN!

Jim Ross says something very true here. If this was a Falls Count Anywhere match, the bout would have ended right here! The crowd was LOUD, and the carnage was poetic justice. But no, the show must go on!

Shawn slowly gets the ladder in the ring, and Hunter just as slowly rolls into the ring himself. HBK sets that ladder up, and climbs up it!

Mouthing, “I love each and every one of you,” he elbows The Game from the top!

Instead of being down though, it gives Shawn a big jolt of adrenaline.

The crowd is calling for it, and the commentators are calling for it.

SWEET…CHIN…MUSIC!

Shawn tunes up the band (which I might add might be measured in sixteenth notes), gets sidestepped into a Pedigree, but Shawn counters out into a pinning predicament!

1

2

3!

BAH GAWD SHAWN HAS DONE IT! THE FANS HAVE THROWN THEIR ARMS UP! JIM ROSS IS NECK-FATTING LIKE CRAZY! LAWLER’S SPAZZING OUT LIKE A GIRL!

Howard announces Shawn as the victor as Shawn gives Earl a little kiss on the forehead.

There is a little bit of irony here: The picture of Shawn before WrestleMania XIV was an image taken after he said his match was for Earl. Hebner had a brain aneurysm just before the big show, and was laid up for a while. While Hebner should have ref’ed what could have been Shawn’s last match, he instead refs the first match Shawn would have from the comeback!

As HBK has his hand raised, he simultaneously gets another kiss: from a sledgehammer!

Hunter, with his face still caked in blood, goes into unholy evil mode with the sledge. Taking liberties, he delivers a parting blow to his fallen foe.

The scene of a still very-well-bloodied Hunter laughing after Shawn is put on a stretcher is some of the most horrifying imagery in WWE history.

It’s a Pyrrhic victory for Shawn, and a redemption spell for The Game.

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While they would fight again, and with bigger stakes in tow, this is the one match that truly defines their feud.

Shawn Michaels in his autobiography admitted this match should have been with Vince McMahon. The implication being that Shawn was going to avenge his injuries, and the injuries done to all of his friends (like Steve Austin, Triple H, Kevin Nash, amongst others). Vince would be the slave-driving boss while Shawn would be the savior.

Instead, Hunter wanted the match with Shawn, and the rest is history.

Shawn and Hunter would feud on-and-off for nearly four years. Ironically, they would reunite to take down the one man who originally should have faced Shawn in the first place. Also, the man who would be Hunter’s real-life father-in-law!

Instead of wrapping this up, think of it as a new beginning. Here’s to 20,000 more (actually, 40K as of this revision) views and another year of great things to come!

Revised: 7/21/13

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WWE PG Post

Professional wrestling, sports entertainment, whatever you call it, always has to change in order to survive.

That’s why in 2008, WWE made a radical transformation.

Around the time of WrestleMania 24, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels were told explicitly NOT to have blood in their match. The reason being that the company was apparently going in a more family-friendly direction.

It wasn’t until June of that year when the PG rating became official, but to be honest, PG was the rule for a good little while before the change went into effect.

While there are positives about this, there are some glaring negatives.

To start this, we’ll start with some positives.

With the PG rating, the WWE had to drop those really dumb/raunchy angles. Although they had been dropping by the wayside for a time, angles like a proposed Paul Burchill/Katie Lea Burchill incest story would have been detrimental to business. Seriously, imagine that angle playing in your head.Would that story make ratings history? Surely I jest NOT!

In addition, there would be no outrageously raunchy gimmicks like ‘The Dicks’ appearing on your screen. That was some needlessly embarrassing time filler back in 2007, one that RD Reynolds would take great joy in inducting to Wrestlecrap. Dumb gimmicks will never die that is for certain, but at least we got the illogical juvenile characters out of the way.

However, the best thing about PG in this humble blogger’s opinion has been how, over time, the WWE finally got the message to get younger talent entering the main event scene.

2009 was a really rough year for WWE programming.  All the big angles were carried on the backs of John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H), Big Show, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Undertaker, and Edge. It seemed as if the main event scene was the only portion of the card that mattered, while the future superstars in the lower portions of the card were swept aside.

As 2010 went on, it seemed like main eventers were dropping like flies. Shawn Michaels retired per stipulation at Wrestlemania 26. Batista left the company after his contract lapsed. Triple H greatly reduced his on-screen role to fulfill corporate obligations off-screen. Chris Jericho took another hiatus. Undertaker had been wisely fixing himself up for the Wrestlemania wars, while Edge abruptly retired in 2011 due to exacerbating neck issues.

All these guys were gone, and there were men eager to not only step up to the plate, but prove to the fans that the world is theirs.

One example is a man named Sheamus. Although he had debuted only a few months prior to TLC 2009, the big Irishman made a big impact, and thus was thrust into a main event with John Cena. Little buildup aside, Sheamus won the WWE Championship with throwing Cena off the turnbuckles through a table. Over the last few years, he’s been a great example of how to improve while being in the public eye.

Another example is Dolph Ziggler. Nick Nemeth has been saddled with CRAP to begin his WWE career. Imagine being a caddy for Kerwin White, a Mexican who turns out to be white? Nick lived it! Imagine being a male cheerleader being fed to D-X every week, and then getting the ultimate burial of being slapped in a OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) box? Yep, him too. Originally a porn star gimmick, Dolph’s introduction was that he, well, he introduced himself. Slowly but surely, Dolph became a player, and now might find himself amongst the top of the mountain. The RAW after WrestleMania 29 saw Ziggler FINALLY cash in Money in the Bank, thus becoming a LEGIT World Heavyweight Champion!

Then there is also MARK HENRY. A WWE employee since 1996, he has a mark in just about every era. However, it wasn’t until a rebirth in 2011 that showed the big man’s new-found potential. Long labeled a disappointment in his WWE tenure, Henry was seemingly a guy Vince should have cut loose the day the 10-year contract expired. Shockingly, Henry made a ‘Hall of Pain’, and had a lot to gain as a result.

He became a DOMINANT World Heavyweight Champion sidelined only by injury. His earth-shattering style provokes fear in all of his opponents. In an era where wrestlers from the indies regularly impress with their nicely distributed array of styles, having the monster in Henry is a nice testament to the roster pool.

There are many other examples, such as CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and ZACK RYDER, that could be used just as effectively to promote this point. Go to YouTube and just watch video after video. It’ll be worth it!

Let’s also not forget the fact that WWE, during the PG era, has also become stable in the ratings while trying to expand to new areas. WWE Films has made several new movies, some of which have made legitimate dents in the box office. The Rock’s movie career has only given WWE MORE exposure. Although the WWE Network seems to be a ways off (hell, it may not ever launch), the WWEFanNation YouTube channel seems to bring exciting and innovative new programs to WWE’s viral repertoire. Even if a lot of the original programming mentioned in the original post is gone, there is still a lot of current/classic footage posted to satisfy the most casual fan.

While the positives have been explored and not talked about much, the negatives have been drawn out since the day of the inception.

Lack of blood seems to be the hot topic issue. While this blogger doesn’t have any problems with the absence of someone blading every week unnecessarily, it seems like more dramatic moments are missing that something extra. There are Elimination Chamber and Hell in the Cell PPV’s, all of which have 2 or more contests apiece within the confinements. For those new fans out there, let me tell you something: these cage matches are the end-all be-all matches. They are feud escalators/enders in which combatants who truly hate each other tear each other to bits. In this era, it is unbelievable for someone to have their head smashed into either chain or mesh then come out unscathed. It’s a degree of legitimacy that’s been yanked for the sake of audience share. Most fans do not agree with this, and I am on that bandwagon. Blood is like sweets on the nutritional pyramid: USE IT SPARINGLY (but effectively).

Another issue is the severe limitation of ‘hardcore’ elements. In the last few years, medical research has shown the damning results of these wars. Between a more family-friendly demographic, multiple Senate races, and legitimate medical consultation, WWE made it a point to fine anyone who delivers unsafe head shots. While this sounds all fine and dandy 9 times out of 10, let’s also figure that time #10 is a match that NEEDS that one or perhaps two blows. Like a Last Man Standing affair or Hell in the Cell, that chair shot could be the end. Only the main eventers should be allowed to do this with the warning that something bad could happen. With appropriate testing and contract waivers, a protected shot to the cranium can truly make an average angle spectacular.

Shockingly, this blogger’s biggest complaint of the PG era isn’t the lack of blood or the lack of weapon usage.
Instead, it seems to be WWE’s commitment to create programming that will attract the lowest common denominator.
You know it’s really bad when D-Generation X, a faction originally born out of immature/jackass behavior, suddenly has a leprechaun in order to be kid-friendly.

You know it’s also really bad when there are times when people have to substitute originally “non-kid-friendly” terms for other ones.. When Steve Austin had his “Guest Host” spot on RAW in 2009, he could not say ANY of his catchphrases at all. It was as if WWE didn’t know what was PG or even G.

While there could be other examples of negative-PG, it seems as if every WWE era will have positives and/or negatives. How a fan views these issues are definitely equivalent to their enjoyment of the product.  The way I see it: the sky is the limit. As long as WWE can catch fire with hot talents, use them effectively, and bring up the product around them, there is no reason why there cannot be another boom period.

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IN CONCLUSION:

Professional wrestling, sports entertainment, whatever you call it, always has to change in order to survive.

That’s why in 2008, WWE made a radical transformation.

While it may not be perfect or ideal, it seems like WWE is hammering away at making the product better.

With less focus on stupid gimmicks and more attention on the up-and-comers, the WWE has slowly but surely been improving their on-screen product in the last few years.
However, no one notices it because they’re too busy bitching about the rating on the upper-left-hand corner on the screen.

Let me tell you something:

Every WWE era, whether it was Rock N’ Wrestling, New Generation, or Attitude, had somewhat-equal doses of positives and negatives. Sure wrestling may not be what it was then, but at the same time, the business is cyclical.

If/when the WWE gets another boom period, which should come rather unexpectedly, I’ll laugh at the people who said the company died because their rating changed. The philosophy is stupid, childish, and immature.

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Another General Announcement: Introducing Bad Booking’s DVD’s!

(keep in mind this picture is an older capture)

As some of you may know, I have a DVD/Blu-ray collection. I am proud of what I have accrued, and even prouder on how I compiled some most of these products.

So starting very soon, I’m going to post pictures and stories about these discs.

Like most people and their collections, the products (at times) can only be as good as the backstories themselves.

So far, including the inevitable Black Friday/Cyber Monday haul, there are well over 300 titles to cover, so there won’t be a shortage of material.

I will also note that I never have went into debt, or any other serious financial hardship to purchase these treasures. I will always maintain that I spend responsibly, and have always put needs before wants.

Which brings me back to my collection.

It all started back in 2001 or so when I got a certain box set as a really early birthday present.

That will kick it off in due time as right now, I’m going to compile pictures (and my brain power) to make something unique and hopefully entertaining. It’s going to be a massive undertaking for sure, but it’s going to be an undertaking I will enjoy as a labor of love (when I’m not punched in at work that is).

So in the mean-time, take this as I won’t be doing many or any new topics for the blog, as my attention will be focused squarely on this peg. With hundreds of titles to catalog, including wrestling, cartoons, and even the Hollywood epics, this is one not to miss!

For anyone who wants to see what this is going to potentially include, check out my collection over at Invelos here.

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BBB Rants About the Current State of WWE

 

So I read this week that WWE is really trying to improve it’s product. They are attempting this by having focus group meetings in New York City.

A focus group you say?

Yep. WWE is legitimately trying to reach out to fans of the past and present to get popular opinion on how they should steer their current product.

Well, I couldn’t attend any of these mainly because I assume they were scheduled in secret. However, I think I can provide somewhat of a voice via this blog, so here goes nothing!

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July 22nd will mark the ninth anniversary of the episode of RAW that “marked” me.

Yes, that sentence was really bad.

As you could see from a prior blog entry from my 30 (well, a helluva lot more than that) day challenge, this episode of RAW had a very memorable angle of Triple H turning on his best friend Shawn Michaels. That led to a kick-ass match at SummerSlam the month after.

Also let’s keep in mind that RAW back in those days was TV-14, and one of the main culprits why people are turned off the product today. More on that later.

For right now, I want to accentuate the positives of that episode of RAW.

In addition to the DX reunion/breakup angle, we had a wonderful segment with Eddie Guerrero and The Rock.

Rock, who had just won the WWE Championship the night before at the Vengeance PPV*, was challenged by Latino Heat to a match in the main event of the show. Not before Rock went Viva Eddie on his ass!

I didn’t know if you were Cheech, or Chong!

Also, let’s keep in check that Eddie was nothing more than a mid-carder who had a couple of runs with the Intercontinental Championship at this point in his WWE tenure.

This started the catapult of Eddie to the echelon of WWE talent.

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There is one of the biggest reasons why WWE programming is in the craphole, so to speak.

For the last several years, two men have held the top spots affirmatively. Those two men are John Cena and Randy Orton, both whom are beloved face “Superman” World Champions. 

Now I don’t have a problem with having very strong and established champions as they can bring any promotion at least some credibility.

Let’s face it though: those two men aren’t getting any younger. Cena has been banged up for a while and Orton, while not in as big a danger as Cena, still can have that one big injury that can put him on the shelf for a while.

Taking the Wasteland bad from Barrett almost made this career-ending. Fortunately, it wasn’t that much of an issue and returned to action just a couple of weeks later.

So what do you have underneath?

Well, you have guys (heels mind you) of Miz, R-Truth, Alberto Del Rio, Christian, and a boatload of others that can carry the ship. Let’s also give some shout-outs to faces on the card like Kofi Kingston, Big Show (for an attraction short-term champ), hell even Alex Riley who has started to come into his own as of late.

If anything, NOW is the time to start. WWE has no direct competition in the sports-entertainment field, and thus can take risks that won’t end the company like the potential thereof in 1997.

Speaking of risks, let’s get back to this in my mind bullshit “ratings” thing. I’ll go on both meanings here.

The first meaning is the Nielsen (not Leslie) ones. People think that because RAW and/or SMACKDOWN aren’t pulling ratings like they did ten years ago will die sooner than later, is absolute horse manure. Couple merch sale with booming “Live” (aka house show) audiences, and investing in fields not invested in back then, WWE is going to keep on going for YEARS to come.

Now let’s get to the other one, the “TV-‘x’” variety.

For the longest time, WWE programming was originally TV-PG. That’s right, from your Hogan era all the way to late 1997, all the shows were either PG or their equivalent.

At the penultimate weeks of 1997, Vince McMahon pulled the trigger on letting the second half of Monday’s show get a little more ‘raw’. In an almost unprecedented move, “RAW is WAR” was now TV-14, and let more risqué segments air.

An F-U to USA that the network ironically loved!

While it helped WWE become #1 in the wrestling wars, it also made for some unnecessarily tasteless television. For example:

Remember this? Neither do I!

Yes. Meat. As in he wrestles with a boner. Accompanied by a women’s faction called PMS, aka Pretty Mean Sisters.

From about 2000-early 2008, after Vince Russo left/”Crash-TV” ended/became a public entity, WWE went through a wholesale of changes in its identity. Top guys were leaving, competition was nowhere to be had, and people were turned off the product for one reason or another.

A lot of people blamed the recent (as in 2008) change to PG programming as a crutch.

While originally the product became more toned down as a change of what they can and can’t do, the last couple of years have signaled that WWE is now knowing what to do, and the reigns are a bit looser.

To branch out the point, ratings have nothing to do with the quality of the television as the script writers and entertainers do. Look at this segment from 1997:

This proves my point.

It shows the potential heel turn of Bret Hart, the potential face turn of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and the WWE Championship feud with Sid and Undertaker mixed in for good measure. THAT is great television.

What rating is it? PG!

Besides the language, I think WWE’s writers are more than capable of making something like this again, with multiple high-dollar feuds conjoining and making for some high-rolling television.

If anything, the writing is what makes the product so stale now.

There are episodes of RAW that I can predict what will happen, and eight out of ten times I’m correct. Oh gee, Cena wins AGAIN! Oh gee, Miz is ‘really’ bad on the mic AGAIN! Even worse, the main event guys are so “out there”, the mid-card can never stand a chance. Getting a couple of mid-carders to have some meddle with the world champs could really make someone sound like a legitimate threat, something much needed in this current landscape.

While I’m not a person in the WWE office or anything like that, I have to believe that there is a stranglehold going on where the writers are pretty much grounded into doing what the higher-ups want, and not much else.

The last few weeks has featured CM Punk in the height of his career, cutting controversial promos on the Chairman Vince McMahon himself, the “idiot and doofus”, and more so, pretty much breaking down the fourth wall of inner-working in the WWE. This should be an exciting time with a wave of change seemingly to follow.

I’m not holding my breath. When Punk leaves or perhaps stays, it’ll just be a flash in the pan and that everything will go back the way it was before. Unlike Austin or Rock who took charge of their characters, the current talent is not as free to do that now, and have every little aspect micro-managed down to a science.

Before I start rambling into that and probably start saying things I have no clue about, I’m going to wrap this rant up like Dave Chappelle’s “Wrap It Box”.

BAH GAWD KANG!

Now here’s your moment of Zen:

I get on top!