Wrestling Rumblings #81
July 23, 2010
By: Jose Marrero of Wrestleview.com
What is going on everyone? I really contemplated maybe taking a week or two off as I am moving the next week and between packing things up and going to work and other things I haven’t had the same wrestling state of mind that I typically do when I am left alone but I figured while I can’t speak for next week this week I think I can churn out something with the great readers of this column as an inspiration. So I am going to take this column and answer some of the questions many readers, friends and others have been asking me as of late…you’re reading “Wrestling Rumblings.”
What do I think of the recent mentions of “Wrestling Rumblings” #76 on some podcasts?
Well I don’t know if there are any more shows or for that matter columns that have mentioned this particular column but I do know of 2. One of which was “Wrestling Weekly” which is a show hosted by Les Thatcher, Doc Young and I believe the last co host is named Will Strauss although I could be mistaken about that. Les is actually one of my mentors in the world of wrestling as ever since the first day we corresponded he has always been there to give advice and for that matter anything else of himself that he could give. I’ve actually had the privilege to interview Les twice throughout the years and in between that correspond with him not just as a wrestling guy but as a friend. Les is one of the true nice guys of wrestling and an “old timer” who has grown with the times instead of just sticking to what worked for his generation. I’m not the only guy on this site with great things to say about Les as I am sure our very own Adam Martin would have a ton of nice things to say about the man as well. So when I heard Les mentioned the column and put it over and actually went through some of the rules on his show I was first off honored that he would mention my work and second of all humbled by the fact that he respected it. In short Les is the best.
Now another show that I heard mention it was hosted by a gentlemen by the name of Anthony Deblasi who has hosted a variety of shows throughout the years such as “The Minority Report”, “The Don Tony and Kevin Castle Show” and “Breakfast with ‘Blassi”. While I have never met Anthony personally I have corresponded with him on several occasions which is one of the reasons why his attacks at not having read the column bothered me a bit but it is what it is. One thing I am sure that anyone who follows anything is aware of is that what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for all. While I didn’t care for the personal attacks and slurs that were thrown my way on that show the criticism of the piece didn’t really bother me especially because I can tell he didn’t read the actual piece just the rules. I’ve always maintained that no one cares about feuds amongst wrestling media personalities and I maintain that belief. Besides for me to sit here and take a shot at Anthony is cowardly on my part because he is just a faceless individual to me. It doesn’t make me a big time man, just a punk behind a keyboard. I have since privately emailed Anthony and I like to think it’s a closed matter.
Who is the mystery GM?
I get asked this on a weekly basis and probably get two or three text messages from the same people when watching Raw and probably a few emails on this a week from readers. My answer is always the same “They don’t even know who the GM is yet”. Seriously though if I have to take a guess I really liked the idea I had last week of Bret Hart always being the GM and somehow being in some sort of collusion with Nexus the whole time. I’ve had readers email me with HHH and Bryan Danielson but I don’t think the GM should be a wrestler. That’s just my opinion though; another guy who I think could get a good reaction since he is not with the company anymore would be Shane McMahon. It should be interesting to see where this goes.
Thoughts on TNA’s attempt at an ECW reunion show?
Like many others who are reading this I was a big fan of the original ECW and probably enjoyed the first One Night Stand show more than any other PPV I have seen in quite a long time, with that being said that was five years ago and a lot has changed in five years. One of the most obvious things being is that the ECW guys are five years older, much removed from national fame and aren’t in the best of shape anymore. I’m all for guys like Jerry Lynn, Al Snow and others trying to get a payday but I don’t see how this helps TNA. When WWE did an ECW reunion show they were still doing good business I can’t say that for TNA if they are doing literally less than 8,000 PPV buys a month. That means they are hemorrhaging money and potentially in danger of going under. They need something that is going to be lasting not a quick fix one month boost which I doubt they will even get for this. I’ll try to keep an open mind to this as I will with anything in wrestling but I really don’t think this is the way to go.
Thoughts on the new Florida promotion starting up.
I actually first started hearing rumblings about this promotion sometime in May with people telling me that this was going to funded by the Wilpon family which for those who don’t know are the principal owners of my beloved New York Mets. I really wasn’t sure what to think then as the Wilpon family hasn’t done the best job with my Mets team and wrestling isn’t really there element but they were just financial backers I heard. Once I heard the stories involving Paul Heyman declining to take part in the project after being approached I didn’t think there would be anything further from this but lately a lot of talk has surfaced and it looks as if this promotion will get off the ground for at least one show. I have heard something about the idea of taping it for TV but wonder just where you would show this as TV stations are not chomping at the bit for wrestling anymore. Plus who exactly would you decide to put on TV as wrestling stars are not running around all over the place. I have the feeling we have another Wrestling Society X type promotion on our hands and just like that promotion this one will not be lasting long.
What do I think of AJ Styles being named #1 in the PWI 500?
I haven’t read PWI or any of its sister magazines in years. I used to regularly make sure to read the 500 but I haven’t had the chance to check out this one. Having not read the issue and not had the time to really think what was going on from the time period that PWI was judging I can’t say who I thought maybe had an argument to be named #1 over AJ Styles. I think all it really shows is how stagnant wrestling is as AJ hasn’t exactly set the world on fire but at the same time neither has anybody else. I am sure the powers that be in TNA are celebrating and Dixie Carter is probably going nuts on Twitter but the 500 doesn’t mean that much and if you don’t believe me ask Dean Malenko who once upon a time was number 1 as well and it didn’t do anything for his career either.
What do I think of the 7 vs. 7 match announced for Summerslam?
Forget the choices to be on Team Cena which some of which are obviously more questionable than others. My biggest issue with this match was the timing of it as I thought Bragging Rights or Survivor Series would have been a much better choice but it is what it is. I think most of the weaker workers on both teams will be well protected and big tag matches on the WWE main event scene are usually very well worked and entertaining. I just hope Team Cena does not beat The Nexus as Wade Barret and company need the win more. However it should be pointed out that if Cena does lose this match it would be his third straight PPV loss and I don’t know how the company feels about jobbing out there top star like that.
OK I am going to wrap this installment up but before I do I have to give the people something to do for the weekend. For once I am not going to plug a show but am going to plug the Wrestleview archives. I have received a lot of email from readers lately who have gone back and read column as old as 6 months and it has showed me that some of the stuff I write can stand the test of time and still be entertaining so go back and read some of these columns and email me about it at wrestlingrumblings@hotmail.com and well that goes for any other questions or comments as well. I’m not 100% sure if there will be a column next week but until next time, I will try to do better and until then, I am out.