Down for Count: Samoa Joe and my TNA interest return

Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

by Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

This week is going to be a change of pace for the WWE diehards because when I turned on RAW I saw R-Truth and flipped to TNA. (I can’t stand R-Truth…I don’t know why!) But, I must have changed the station during one of TNA’s better moments because I witnessed Samoa Joe’s return to TNA.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not an avid fan of TNA, and I don’t follow them regularly. However, Tazz and Mike Tenay made Joe’s return sound like a big deal. I could be biased because (for some reason) I like Tazz as an announcer, but something in the way he carries himself and projects his voice makes him believable.

I will admit though, when Joe made his way down to the ring, in a surprise return, I could not help but have WCW flashbacks. A tag team match…A mystery partner…If a Bash at the Beach turn would’ve happened, I would’ve flipped back to RAW. But it didn’t happen. For that, I commend TNA booking; it honestly surprised me that they did not try to recreate that moment.

It has been done so many times in wrestling, where a company tries to revisit an angle, but instead of making it fresh and exciting, they recreate, identically (but horribly) the same interaction that drew heat five to 10 years ago.

With the Shawn Michaels/Vince McMahon angle from a few years back, McMahon “screwed” Michaels like Michaels did to Bret Hart at the 1997 Survivor Series. Trying to recreate the same atmosphere from 1997 was impossible—even McMahon knew that—but he went ahead with the angle anyway. From my perspective, all that did was anger true wrestling fans like a slap in the face.

But back to what TNA did right. It almost seemed like they teased fans with a Bash at the Beach replay, only to give them what they wanted but never expected. The surprise return coupled with Joe’s quick exit following the match leaves questions to be answered. Since this was the first time Joe has been seen since he was kidnapped weeks ago, (I haven’t watched TNA in months, so this kidnapping thing is news to me.) this strategy seems like it could actually work out. Joe returns to the Impact Zone, helps Team Hogan (Jeff Jarrett, Abyss and Rob Terry) defeat Team Flair and walks away without a word to any of team members.

In the very small amount of knowledge I have of TNA, Joe is one of the better wrestlers there, and I believe his return—and the angle in which he is returning—could help elevate TNA’s position within the “Monday Night Wars Version Two.”

Very few times do the fans actually see what they want to happen, rather than what the corporation wants them to see. TNA’s booking did an excellent job, let’s just hope they’re able to keep that momentum going, and maybe I’ll be able write about TNA because I truly want to, rather than a lack of anything worth my interest in WWE.

Down for the Count: Please, Hassle the Hoff

Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

by Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

When WWE started having guest hosts on RAW, I thought that maybe some good could come of it. But after seeing the train wreck that happened with Jerry Springer and then David Hasselhoff’s atrocity Monday, I know that no good can come from guest hosts.

Sure, they jolt ratings on occasion, but, more often than not, they add no content to the show, other than ridiculous gimmick matches that make me want to watch TNA’s version of Monday Night Nitro. There are strong enough storylines going right now, being that they’re still fairly fresh off of Wrestlemania, that trying to incorporate the guest host into the storylines is ridiculous.

Most of these guests are outside the realm of sports entertainment (Yes, I realize that’s the point.), but attempting to involve them in angles or create mini-angles that lead to the host making the main event match is a waste of time, especially with RAW being live. The only relief when the guests are on the screen is the moment when Santino Marella waltzes in unannounced.

However, with the Hoff, Marella became a part of the spectacle as he refereed the catastrophe Hasselhoff called the Baywatch Babe Triple Threat Match.

From what little wrestling was involved in the match, the only diva that added any ounce of credibility was Gail Kim—and all she did was clothesline Jillian Hall out of the ring after Hall broke up a pin attempt.

Regardless of the matches The Hoff put together, his “Hoff” jokes got old about two minutes into his entrance, and the same goes for the announcers referencing the jokes throughout the night. Guest hosts add nothing to the show except for ratings, especially if they are only there for one night.

The only way I can see any type of logic with guest hosts is if one stays around for an extended length of time as part of an angle and develops a character within the show. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

For the time being, RAW has angles that are enticing enough to keep fans interested without bringing in a random celebrity every week for a ratings boost. I can’t imagine that Hasselhoff really gave WWE that much of a surge. He’s David Hasselhoff. What can he offer the WWE other than a used up catchphrase or tagline that causes eyes to roll and songs that nobody can remember the lyrics to?

Down for the Count: Orton teeters on the brink

Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

by Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

A couple weeks ago on RAW, John Cena chose Randy Orton as his ‘mystery tag team partner’ for a match against Batista and Jack Swagger. I know that Legacy is practically non-existent, but my initial reaction was still, “Uh…Orton and Cena? Teaming up? How is this possible?”

Legacy’s demise is an important part of the transition of Orton’s character, but to throw him in a match with the top babyface seems a little sudden. Maybe it’s WWE’s way of showing that Orton is on the verge of a turn, since it seems like he’s been teetering for the last few weeks or so. Obviously, the pairing was a hesitant one with an air of mistrust and tension, but the fact still remains—one of the best heels of this decade teamed with someone who is supposed to be (despite the Cena-haters) one of the top faces of this decade.

This goes without saying, but I am not a booker or storyline writer. But throwing a top heel and a top face together so soon seems like it could hurt Orton and his character’s direction. A similar situation occurred a few years ago when Orton was unceremoniously eliminated from Evolution. He left the group and did a complete 180, going from an up and coming heel to a face whose fire died out too quickly. WWE needs to prevent that from happening again, especially with the quality of talent they are dealing with in Orton.

Though it appears WWE is doing a better job this time around by creating a distrust when Orton and Cena tagged, I still see Orton’s character working better as a heel.

It’s not that he can’t pull of being a face, because with his talent, he could pretty much do anything and get over, but he just has the kind of personality where he’s so easy to hate that fans love to hate him.

Everybody, whether they’re wrestling fans or not, have someone or something—whether it’s a TV show character or a sports team—that they hate because it’s fun to do so. For example, fans one One Tree Hill love to hate Dan Scott because the big, evil man who ruins people’s lives. But without him, the show wouldn’t be the same. As much as fans would have liked it initially if Dan Scott was killed off, they would soon realize that they’re villain isn’t there to antagonize and create havoc.

The same thing goes for wrestling. If you take one of the best heels out of his element and have him cater to the fans, being the good guy and doing what’s right, people are going to resent that they’re evil was taken from them. Many people, myself included, use wrestling as an escape from the drama, pain and heartache of life, and as odd as it sounds, the bad guy has to stay in this fantasy world to keep things moving along, to keep us coming back to see who will try to knock him off of his high horse next.

One of the important things about wrestling is that the fans are kept happy. If fans love to hate Orton, why take that away from them? Orton can separate himself from Legacy, and because he is so good at what he does, he can still come out of the feud looking strong without a turn.

From my perspective, fans would hate him even more if he came out Legacy as an even cockier, more arrogant heel. So, Orton needs to stop teetering, and give the fans what they want.

Down for the Count: HBK has left the building, but not our hearts

Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

by Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

Every wrestling mark, blogger or Internet fan is probably talking about Shawn Michaels this week, and I won’t be any different.

The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels is, without a doubt, one of the best wrestlers I have ever seen. His match with the Undertaker at Wrestlemania was the best, most professional send off for a career as impressive as Michaels’.

Chants of “Thank You, Shawn,” “One More Match” and “Please Don’t Go,” echoed through the arena Monday night on RAW when Michaels gave his farewell speech, proving how much value Michaels adds to every show he is on, not only as a wrestler, but as a person.

It’s hard to even find the words to explain how much of an impact Michaels has had on wrestling, from his controversies to his Wrestlemania moments. Every single part of Michaels’ career had a trickle-down effect on the business and has impacted so many wrestlers, from those in the WWE, all the way down to the local scene.

Just the thought of knowing that fans will not see another HBK promo or see him tuning up the band to deliver Sweet Chin Music is still hard to comprehend. It doesn’t seem fathomable. Since I started watching wrestling, Michaels has been a focal point—one of the wrestlers I could always look to for a great match that told a story, no matter the opponent.

In his early days, girls fawned over the sexy boy, always rooting for him to come out on top. Today, Michaels’ persona has transformed from that cocky, arrogant guy into who showed off against his opponents at every opportunity to the workhorse, a staple of Monday Night RAW, a class act that children and adults alike look up to as a role model.

One of the things I respect the most about Michaels was addressed in his farewell speech. He acknowledged the fact that career-ending matches are not always viewed in the best light by fans because the one whose career ended typically returns within a year. However, Michaels blatantly said—fighting off “One More Match” chants as he did so—that he will not go back on his word to the fans, or the Undertaker.

Anyway, running down a list of HBK’s accomplishments is a useless feat for two reasons—one, it would take entirely too long, and two, anybody who cares enough knows them already. So, I will leave you with this final statement regarding one of the best workers in the business—Shawn Michaels, despite his past and his flaws, is, and always will be, a cornerstone of WWE, and wrestling as a whole. Nothing anyone says or does will ever be able to tarnish the trailblazing legacy that Michaels has left. The Heartbreak Kid has left the building, but he will never leave the hearts and minds of wrestling fans.

Down for the Count: WWE Hall of Fame inductees deserve honor

Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

by Kari Williams, Alestle Reporter

Though I love watching the angles and matches unfold for Wrestlemania itself, the anticipation of waiting to hear who the latest nominees are for the WWE Hall of Fame is much more important to me.

I’ve heard from many people in the industry that WWE’s hall of fame is only in Vince McMahon’s mind or that the reasons for the inductees are politically motivated. That may be so, but the achievements of the wrestlers and managers (ignoring the fact that celebrities somehow manage to find a way into a WRESTLING hall of fame), cannot be discounted just because of how the hall of fame is viewed.

Almost every wrestler or manager inducted deserves to be there for one reason or another, especially this year’s inductees of Stu Hart and Gorgeous George. Those two men are, in my opinion, the most deserving. Gorgeous George practically set the stage for the heel gimmick in pro-wrestling, without which Ric Flair and Buddy Rogers, among many others, may not have had the success they did. His feminine ways outside of the ring intertwined with his masculinity in the ring made him the man fans loved to hate.

Stu Hart is a staple of wrestling, more so in Canada than America, but his legacy and legendary tales are known world-wide. Hart grappled throughout his entire life, ran Stampede Wrestling in Calgary for a number of years and ‘ran’ the infamous Hart dungeon. Though I feel that Hart’s induction is politically motivated due to Hart’s son, Bret, returning to WWE for Wrestlemania, the honor is justified.

I’m sure people will disagree with me thinking Gorgeous George and Hart are deserving, but when the WWE Hall of Fame inducts people like Pete Rose and William Perry, it’s refreshing to see quality individuals given the respect they worked for years to earn.

Despite all of the mind games, backstabbing and corruption that take place in wrestling, I truly believe that, if nothing else, the wrestlers inducted into this hall of fame deserve to have the honor bestowed upon them.