Could it be...WWF Worth Watching Again?

Cafe Society
1

Ok, so I’m old-school and still call it the WWF. But, this week home from my normal MMA madness due to a severe neck injury, I watched Smackdown! for the first time in…who knows how long. For time immemorial, I’d either been working or at the dojo while the best in sports entertainment was on. For those rare periods that I wasn’t…WWF sucked so much I couldn’t make it past the first commercial break.

Honestly, the last time I watched was when they were hyping the championship match between Brock Lesner and Big Show. Bottom of the barrel, that.

I mean, I started watching in college after long months of resistance. Then, it got to me. The downfall of the NoD, the rise of the People’s Champion, Austin vs. McMahon II, leading up to the high water mark of pro wrestling (insofar as I could tell), the Corporation, the Ministry of Darkness, D-X, Kurt Angle and all the rest (with the possible exception of the Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection, but that was still pretty cool). Unfortunately, “life” kicked in and I stopped watching (I forget when that was, but I think I recall starting again for Austin’s return, becoming a bad guy (and saving the whole show when he had the whole, “Do you hear that, do you hear what my watch says? WHAT? WHAT?” which nearly topped my own personal golden age for sheer hilarity and quirky brillance) then when he left again, I stopped watching. I moved, dropped cable and didn’t look back (although I recall loving Booker T and Golddust’s team-up and was slightly disappointed about missing HBK’s return).

Then, I caught tonight. Ok, Cena still sucks, but at least Eddie doesn’t come out in that godawful low rider anymore. It was entertaining, funny, RVD and Holly were great as always, Eddie’s got the makings of a great champ and…Undertaker? With Paul Bearer?

So, fill me in, what have I been missing? Is it worth watching again? Smackdown! still looks like Raw’s poor little brother, but I suppose I can’t have it all.

2

I would say no, but then I think Smackdown has been terrible lately. (The Dudley, JBL, *$@#! Jacqueline as Cruiserweight Champion).

Raw has been better, but it looks like they’re readying yet another Shawn Michaels push and I can’t stand that guy.

3

Damn, a month later and I have to agree with you. Granted, I didn’t see any shows in the interim, but damn, this is like amatuer night. Or maybe, I just wanted a good old dose of HHH vs. HBK madness, which I can’t get on account of not having cable.

Guerro’s great, as always, Bradshaw makes a decent villain, RVD’s about to fall asleep (give the man something ferchrissakes), Dudleyz and Undertaker thing looks cool (I’m surprised 'Taker didn’t say something to the effect of, "Heyman, you just made a deal with the devil), Booker T needs some love and that’s about all. Talk about depressed.

4

mouthbreather still TiVOs Raw and Smackdown and I can’t stand to watch either one of them. I catch glimpses here and there, but, for the most part, it bores me to death.

This is coming from a southern tomboy who was watching ‘rasslin’ before she could talk, walk, or read.

I grew up on Rick Flair, Tony Atlas, Harley Race, etc.

My father shook hands with Ted DiBiasi. My older brother hung out with Abdullah the Butcher.

I’m so not into it these days.

I’m an old fart, aren’t I?

5

No, gooti, you’re not an old fart.

Is it true that you used to babysit for Cowboy Ron Bass?

6

As Kurt Angle would say “It’s true…VERY true…”

7

Bradshaw might get fired, for his little Nazi impersonation in Germany.

Eugene is a standout… they’re actually playing a ‘retarded wrestler’ with style and grace. He’s doing all the old school moves, too. Axe handles, walking the ropes, airplane spins… Plus, he’s got William Regal as his manager. Who I love to watch.

8

I admit it, I’m a Eugene mark. Nick Dinsmore has taken a terrible gimmick and done everything perfectly with it. Of course William Regal is fantastic too. I worry how Dinsmore will be able to drop the Eugene character eventually to make it on his own, but for now, everyone surprisingly loves it.

I watch WWE Raw and Smackdown more often than not, but it only frustrates me. Most of my favorite wrestlers are smaller guys, Cruiserweights, mid-carders… the guys who will never get pushes that they deserve. Imagine the frustration of being a fan of Hurricane, Rey Mysterio, Paul London, and Billy Kidman! Of course I also like Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and John Cena, so I’m glad they’re all being elevated. I definitely think Jericho is headliner/champion material, and Cena will be soon enough. I can’t get enough of his “deez nuts” gimmick!

9

Bradshaw flippin’ the Seig Heil? Oh man. I can’t think of the last time a wrestler did that. During some research into wrestling of the '60s/'70s, I recall Baron Von Raschke, but don’t think even he did that. I thought his anti-immigrant diatribe last night was getting a little close to over-the-line. He did look suspiciously like Vinnie Mac in that skit last night though.

How 'bout that 'Taker? I remember when he was the American Badass, he cut his hair on account of going bald and now it’s in that half-way zone where it looks absolutely terrible.

10

Much like Kurt Angle, I think management needs to stage some kind of intervention. He looks like an idiot and needs to shave it off or something.

I think the obvious thing to do with Dinsmore once Eugene gets stale is turn him heel. Have him cut a promo laughing at the fans for cheering some “retard” gimmick and mention how if they bought it they’re all the “special” ones.

11

The whole problem with Bradshaw and the nazi salute is that he did it in Germany where such displays are illegal.

Had he done it here it would not have been a big thing.

12

NO!, NO!!, NO!!!,
Don’t watch the “redneck soap opera” it sucks!
Seriously, I have enough redneck in me to watch idiots hitting each other with chairs but the 20 minutes of bad acting between “chair smackins” keeps me tuned out.

If there was more chair smackin’ and less crapola acting I would probably watch
Unclviny

13

God bless Tivo. I can condense 2 hours of pure crap into 30-40 minutes of slightly more palatable crap.

14

I haven’t watched wrestling in years. I used to be a big fan, but eventually the shows seemed to all be turning into 60-minute infomercials for the next pay-per-view event. The matches sucked - all squash matches featuring one of the stars clobbering some unknown.

Cruiseweights? So they actually have weight classes now? That’s an improvement I suppose. I did grow very weary of matches featuring a 500-pounder against a 235-pounder.

15

“Queer Eye for the WWE Guy”?

16

You’re joking, but I would totally watch that.

Undertaker’s “hair.”

Jericho’s occasional beard.

Jericho’s costume.

Somebody to buy Benoit some normal pants. Even when he’s walking around backstage or coming out for an interview he shows up in tights.

17

Not really. Cruiserweight wrestling is more of a style than a weight class. It generally involves fast paced matches with a lot of acrobatic maneuvers. It was popularized by Rey Misterio, Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, and various other smaller wrestlers in the mid to late nineties and while it’s typically the internet fan’s favorite brand of wrestling, WWE and McMahon generally ignore it.

18

:eek: No, no, no. First off, there’s no reason Dinsmore can’t have a long and successful career playing Eugene. Secondly, there’s no reason why Eugene can’t become a bad guy without changing his “act”.

I believe they’ve only really used the word “special” to describe him on the show. I doubt they’ll ever explicitly say that he’s truly “handicapped” in any way. And his character really isn’t much different than the many “simpleton” characters there have been throughout the history of pro wrestling.

Dinsmore has all the skills - in and out of the ring - to be a really big and (more importantly) lasting star. His match last night against Triple H was excellent! I’d like to see Eugene get a title shot against Chris Benoit while they’re both good guys. They could put on a great technical match.

And if the WWE feels the need to add to the drama of such a match, rather than create unneccessary tension between Benoit and Eugene, just have the bad guys interfere against both of them. They can fight off the bad guys together, then finish the match.

Anyhoo…

19

I’m a complete Eugene mark.

It helps that he’s got Regal, who has to go down as my all-time favorite promo guy, but he’s really got this idiot savant thing worked out.

They haven’t referred to him as “retarded” or “special”- the closest I heard was tonight’s Raw, where J.R. suggested that HHH was a bad guy for picking on the “less fortunate”.

Oh, and I will gladly contribute to the “Buy Chris Benoit some pants!” fund.

I’ll be at this Thursday’s Smackdown! from the T.D. Waterhouse Center here in O-Town… fourth row, facing the cameras! (radio buddy pulled strings- free seats!)

:look for me:

20

I’m just going to say that Eugene just got hit in the head by the deadly STEEL CHAIR!!!

Then he didn’t move for the rest of the show. There is at least a fifty percent chance he is now SMRT.