The Shoot #51
February 9, 2010
By: Joshua Piedra of WrestleView.com
-The First Shot-
Greetings and Salutations and welcome to the 51st edition of The Shoot. The column this week will be an interesting once since it will be on a subject that I wanted to touch on for a little while, now, but kind of forgot about. It will be a little different since most of my columns focus on me ranting about stuff that bothers me? this one is something that I actually enjoy.
Before we delve in? as is our custom around these parts? it is time for your Quick Shots.
-Quick Shots-
So TNA is trying to do some recruiting through radio? Hulk Hogan called into Rob Van Dam’s radio show and tried to hard sell him on TNA. Apparently, Van Dam had talked to Jeff Hardy about some ?whacked out storylines? (insert your Jeff Hardy drug and/or paint joke here) and that he would be interested in talking to Hogan off the air. Now, whether or not Van Dam went ahead and did so remains to be seen, but honestly, I think Van Dam would fit well in TNA. I mean, he’s all about moves, flash, and barely selling, so I?m sure he?ll find a comfortable spot in that locker room.
In a sad, sad day in TNA history, Scott Steiner seems to be no longer with the company. Now where else am I going to get my fill of Canada-bashing, overuse of the word bitch, HAH!?, and of course, and let’s not forget, all the sexual harassment and innuendo? I mean? for those of us who need that fix, this is a major blow to us. Scotty.. hurry up and go somewhere just so we can hear your sweet voice once again!
Not really anything else all that interesting to me. I mean, there was a small tidbit that ROH was honoring WWE tickets when the WWE cancelled their show at the Wachovia Center. That was an interesting business move by ROH to attract new fans. Pretty cool and sly of them at the same time, if you ask me.
-The Big Shot: A Tribute to Comedic Wrestling-
So this week’s column takes a look at the lighter side of professional wrestling. As aforementioned, this was a column that I wanted to write some time ago, but it got lost in the shuffle of things, but I recently saw a Top 10 Moves of Ebessan video on YouTube (I won?t give away the username since he has had trouble in the past with his account for the videos he has put up, but if you are familiar with searching for Top 10 move lists on YouTube, you pretty much know who I am talking about) and it re-sparked my interest in writing this column.
So what am I talking about when I say comedic wrestling? I?m not really talking about Santino Marella since he is more of a comedic character. Sure, Santino has done a few matches here or there and we all can?t really forget his stint as Santina and becoming Miss Wrestlemania, but that’s not the kind of comedy I am talking about. I?m actually talking about throwing comedy into a match.
You will usually see examples of this on the independent circuit. Some of you may already be familiar with one of those comedic wrestlers. His name is Colt Cabana. Colt Cabana is probably one of the best comedic wrestlers here in North America. Very few can pull off what he does and still make the match very entertaining. Some just like to blow through a comedic spot and then ?get serious? and start wrestling. Colt takes it to a new level where he spreads out the comedy throughout the match to make it seem more meaningful.
When Cabana signed with the WWE, I was completely overjoyed because I felt that his style of wrestling and his personality would fit in very well on television. In fact, even though Santino is more of a comedic character than a comedic wrestler, him and Colt Cabana in the WWE would have been an amazing tag team from an entertainment standpoint. You know that you would have loved to seen it, but, sadly, it just wasn?t meant to be. Something about Cabana just didn?t click, whether it was his character or the fact that creative just didn?t know what to do with him. Regardless of what the reason was, Cabana is gone from the WWE and back in ROH, where he continues to shine.
Japan has two comedic wrestlers that usually put on a great show as well. Those two are Ebessan (the same guy that re-inspired me to write this) and Kuishinbo Kamen. In fact, you can probably find it on YouTube, but they had a match where they did their famous ?Slow Motion? set. If you don?t know what that is, I highly recommend you see it because you will laugh your ass off once you do. Basically Ebessan and Kamen go through a typical chain wrestling exchange from headlocks, to the classic ?Try to knock me down with a shoulder block? exchange, right into a back kick and finally a shining wizard? all done in slow motion. Not to try and accentuate this with a pun, but it really was like watching poetry in motion which just laughing at the ridiculousness of it at the same time.
Of course, drawing comedy through a match and slow motion isn?t the only way to make the fans laugh. There are the famous dance off routines as well. Colt Cabana and Christopher Daniels had one on the indy scene where Daniels broke character and started to do his dance routine from his Curry Man persona which was quick hilarious. It wouldn?t be the only time Chris Daniels busted out the moves either. He had a pretty hilarious dance competition with AJ Styles at a 1PW event as well. Just like all the others before these, you can find these clips on YouTube.
In fact, come to think of it.. most of this column was inspired by YouTube clips from over the years. Hmm?
It’s official. This column is brought to you by YouTube! Broadcast yourself?. And others?. And get stuff taken down by copyright holders!
I am sure there is a lot more out there, but I just wanted to give a shout out to the major comedic acts. You probably won?t see these in the WWE or TNA, but if you check out Ring of Honor or the Indy feds from time to time, you?ll come across a jewel here and there.
Some people even question whether or not comedy has a place in wrestling. Face it? in this day and age, with the technology we have, everyone SHOULD know that wrestling is an act. It’s entertainment? it’s physical theater. There’s no better way to describe it. Plays, movies, radio, magazines, tv shows? they all have comedy in it because they are all forms of media and entertainment. Wrestling is no different and I believe that comedy does have a place in wrestling. Sometimes it’s a nice break from all the action and soap opera drama. It makes you sit back and just enjoy a show for what it is and it does the one thing that wrestling truly sets out to do: entertain the fans.
So the next time you see Triple H break into Randy Orton’s house, the next time you see The Big Show throw John Cena through a spotlight, or the next time Vince Russo releases another one of his creative abortions onto the air waves. (Sorry Tebow? but TNA storylines are one thing that shouldn?t be pro-life) Just click on the internet, find a great comedy match, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
-Culture Shock-
Oh when the Saints! Go marching in! When the Saints go marching in?. I hope they march? into a volcano? and never to return!
Yes.. I hate the Saints.. I hate Drew Brees? and I don?t give a rat’s ass about their Superbowl win. I seriously hope that when they get back to ?Breesiana? that someone informs them that they?re moving to Oklaholma afterall so they can rob that city of all its pride and glory. But anyhoo? (as I dodge the massive influx of hate mail)
Music!
WWE The Music, to be exact. Volume 10 came out today and while David Stephens gave it a thorough review right here on Wrestleview, I really agree with what he had to say. There were a few decent songs on there, but nothing that would really stand out on their own with the exception of Christian’s. The reason why is because it would stand on its own is because it already has. For those who forgot, the original ?Just Close Your Eyes? was done by the band Waterproof Blonde and it was featured as a song on one of their albums. Story of the Year was just hired by the WWE to do a cover of THEIR song. Hence why out of all, it’s the most credible. The only other song I enjoyed was Sheamus? theme. Dave gave it a 2.5, but I?ll give it a ? notch higher. It was at least a 3 in my opinion. Is it the greatest song out there? No, but it did have me repeat it a few times. Other than that.. the albums was ok? not their greatest, but oh well.
An unofficial full version of Uragiri no Yuuyake by Theatre Brook made its way out to the internet. The album drops on February 24th, but the music video is out now. If you don?t mind a semi-decent recording of 128kb quality, then you can check it out now.. or just wait a few weeks for your precious high quality 320kb. I highly recommend you all check it out now? it’s a very energetic song and downright addicting to listen to!
Also.. FOR SHAME Tegami Bachi! Tegami Bachi, which is what it is being called now rather than Letter Bee, had an OVA (Original Video Animation) out before the series aired called ?Light and Blue Night Fantasy? and I guess that they had a need to produce a filler episode in a 26 episode series. So did they animate a new episode? HELL NO. They took the 23 minute OVA and shoved into the series and called it Episode 17. How friggin cheap of a move is that?
Finally, one of my acclaimed animes from last season, Darker Than BLACK, just started airing it’s 4 episode special called ?Darker Than BLACK: Kuro no Kayakusha GAIDEN? Whenever you see the word GAIDEN, you know what it’s going to be a story that takes place before the series. Now the odd thing is that which the official title seems to hint that it takes place before the original series, most sites are reporting that this one takes place between season 1 and season 2. I, personally, don?t care. I get to see Li Hei kick more ass and that’s all that matters. If you?re a fan of the DTB? check this Special series out.
-The Final Shot-
That’s going to do it for me this week. If you would like to submit anything as far as column feedback, wrestling discussion, culture shock topics, anything? you can do so by using any of the methods below.
E-Mail: syscrash2002@hotmail.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/itoshinojjp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joshuapiedra
Until next week?
Follow WrestleView.com on Twitter: twitter.com/wrestleview
Send us news/results: click here