Welcome to the 49th edition of the No Smark Zone. This week its FACT or FICTION covering such topics as No Mercy, Charlie Haas, and everyone's favorite bitching point, John Cena. Oh the pannel this week, we have myself, of course, the incomperable Soulpower, the man from Montana, Montana. Actually he's from Detroit but Montana has a better football team. We also have syndiacted blog talker Chessary and finally apparently the only person paying attention to my last column, -HBK-. LETS GET TO IT!!
After many chapters in many books, countless interviews, and tons of angles and references to the subject, there is now a greater chance that the whole “Montreal Screwjob†may have been the greatest work in wrestling history.
Soulpower- Facton't get me wrong, I believe that the heat between Shawn and Bret is legit, but I've always thought that the screwjob was a work. There were just too many "coincidences" (Like the Bret Hart documentary that just happened to film the incident) to think that it was legit.
Montana- Fact: I've made a thread about this before a while back. I really do think this could have been the greatest work of all time. I don't think we will ever know if it was all a work or not. When hearing the story, Bret Hart just comes off as too big of a D-Bag. Like Vince mentioned Bret Hart was supposed to honor the time honored tradition. I can't see Bret being that big of a baby backstage. Plus it was a great way to send him out. Plus the wwe was in desperate times. Willing to try something new. I think Vince had control of the situation at all times.
Chessarmy- No no no no. Fiction, for a simple reason. Why would Vince do that as a work? What would the point be? Sure, it created the Mr. Mcmahon gimmick, but that could have been created without a screwjob like this. Also, why would Vinnie Mac give up one of his top wrestlers for nothing? If this really was a work, do you think Vince would actually give up Bret Hart to the competition for nothing? Not to mention Bret still refuses to appear on WWE TV today because of what happened. This can't possibly all be a work.
-HBK- Fiction. There was a legitimate hatred between Hart & Michaels, and it's well documented than Bret also had a fierce hatred for the direction the business was going. The multitude of angles would have occurred whether this was a work or shoot, Vince has proven he'll use anything with a sniff of noteriety in an angle. There is no way this could've been a work and Vince, Shawn or Bret to not have let something slip by now.
Kaedon- Fact: I’m not a huge believer in conspiracy theories, but I think, as more of this stuff happens over the years, the chances of this being a very well done and elaborate angle go way up. A lot of people point to the “Wrestling With Shadows†thing but I think that was more of a coincidence than anything. If it was a work, I think Bret told Vince he was going to have a camera crew with him and Vince took as much advantage of it as he could without putting the pedal to the floor and making it reek of a work. The bottom line is, the more and more things that come out; books, DVD chapters, and on air angles, it just makes me question it more and more.
After working at least passable matches with such workers as John Bradshaw Layfield, Batista, The Great Khali, and Umaga, John Cena has finally proven he has the in ring skills to be a main event megastar.
Soulpower- Fact:Cena proved this long ago. I'm not a big fan of the guy (Sorry, cena-buttocks), but I'll say it again. John Cena is the best big match wrestler in the business today. He's not a polished in-ring technician, but put him in a big match against anyone, and you'll have a match where the fans are usually rabid and are on the edge of their seats.
Montana- Fact: Love him or Hate him he's the most over guy in the business. Simply the reaction he draws add to the match itself. Who doesn't remember John Cena vs RVD. Pretty much every PPV match Cena is a big time match, with good pyschology. Look at the star ratings he puts up ***1/2 + matches just about every time on PPV.
Chessarmy- John Cena can be a main event megastar because of the$e, he isn't a good wrestler and he probably never will be. But, he draws HUGE and that is a good enough reason to push him. I personaly, don't like him, but I will be the first one to admit that yes, he does deserve to be a main eventer. So, I'll go with fact.
-HBK- Fact. Cena is extremely talented and good at what he does. People can complain about the title reign, but John is great in the ring with anybody, on the mic and is a huge draw for the WWE. The guy is a promotional machine as well. Cena is the future of the industry and he is going to be a Main Event megastar for as long as he wants to be, which could be for years and years to come.
Kaedon- Fact: If there is anyone out in the great world of wrestling who thinks John Cena doesn’t have what it takes to get it done, they are a fucking moron. Yes, YOU are a moron. John Cena has delivered in big match after big match after big match. He has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that he can get it done no matter who he is in the ring with. Even that talentless hack The Great Khali was dragged to a *** match by The John >_> I am always amazed at the reaction he gets during the matches he’s in. Despite the fact that HHH, HBK, Undertaker, Kane, and Edge were all around and prominent stars during the Attitude Era, John Cena is the only one who gets the AE reaction during his matches. Check the tapes, people were on their feet screaming for most of the main event matches, and Cena, love him or hate him, evokes that response. What really sealed it for me was when he faced Batista. It was one of those defining moments in his career. He took a really over wrestler who, while GREATLY IMPROVED, is not the best worker, and made it what may have been match of the night.
Despite the conventional wisdom of the so called smart fans, HHH’s move to Smackdown has hurt the brand more than it has helped.
Soulpower-Fact:Sorry, Kaedon.. I've got nothing for this >_>
Montana- Fiction: HHH hasn't hurt Smackdown. It's been the creative team and booking that has hurt Smackdown. They also caught the injury bug. SD argueably has the best roster in wrestling, when healthy. To blame HHH for SD's situation is wrong. I think in 2009 you are really going to see HHH will bring to SD. On the road to wrestlemania, i think HHH is going to play a big role, and SD will catch fire in that time.
Chessarmy- :roflmao: no no, fiction my friend. Triple H is Triple H, no matter how much the internet "smart" marks hate on him, he still draws like a motherfucker and he always will. Trips is a top star in the WWE, his move to Smackdown! helped the brand tremendously. I'll admit though, his WWE Title reign has sucked, but thats my opinion. The fact is, Triple H has helped Smackdown! He was probably a major factor in MyNetwork TV accepting Smackdown! on their network, and he has helped ratings. He is a major plus for the brand
-HBK- Fiction, with a bit of fact as well. Triple H moving to Smackdown was a shock move noone suspected and gave a breath of fresh air to the brand. I don't know about anyone else, but I for one was sick of the only top faces being Batista and Undertaker. The fact of it is I've got to say, I am usual the one arguing for Triple H in terms of him burying competition, but I can't think of one loss he has had on Smackdown, while beating every supposed 'challenger' for his championship.
Kaedon- Im going to have to say FACT to this one. It is NOT intentional by HHH but he is, pretty much, one of the biggest stars in the company. Wherever he goes, pretty much all of the focus will be on him. Is it right? Well with John Cena on Raw and out, Edge and Taker nursing injuries, what else do you expect? Yes, they could give the ball to Jeff Hardy, an erratic former drug addict who likes to no show, it would be different, but it wouldn’t be safe and in my opinion, it wouldn’t be smart. So the WWE focus on who? HHH. A guy who has been a cornerstone of the company for more than a decade. Is it his fault? Not at all. But he is still hurting Smackdown.
The WWE are demeaning a great talent in Charlie Haas by making him come out and imitate wrestlers for a momentary pop as opposed to letting him try and get over on his own.
Soulpower-Fiction:Haas is a great wrestler, but for the first time in his career he's showing a lot of personality (Even if its someone else's). I say continue with the imitations, as long as the fans continue to react.
Montana- Fiction: They tried letting him get over on his own and it failed. If it takes this demeaning angle to help him get over, than so be it. Charlie Haas has won his first match in years. I don't think Haas has that big of problem with it. Plus like the question mentions "Momentary Pop" I can't see Haas doing this angle for a extended period of time. Hopefully this can be the launching pad to get Haas on the right foot to his singles career.
Chessarmy- I personally, don't give two shits about Charlie Haas, so I don't know what to say here. I'm going with fiction, I don't want to see someone as stale as Haas get pushed, plus his current gimmick is funny.
-HBK- :rofl1: , FICTION. Charlie Haas is boring from every way you look at it. No mic skills, no gimmick, no look, although he can go in the ring. When WGTT had Anfgle as the mouthpiece it eliminated the need for Haas to speak or have a gimmick, but every since they split up, Charlie has done jackshit. Putting him in this gimmick is great, it gives him something to do other than sit in the back and job at house shows, and it has a great humour side to it.
Kaedon- Fiction: I don’t think I could have said it any better than Montana. This guy was given ample time and opportunities to get over on his own and he has FAILED in epic fashion. In fact the only thing I think he has been really successful in was when he was with Team Angle and Benji in TWGTT. So is it demeaning? Perhaps, but its not like he has to go out there and wear a dress…
The WWE wasted the last PPV, No Mercy, with pointless matches that were really too predictable from an outcome standpoint and that were lackluster from a workrate standpoint.
Soulpower-Fiction:Before the PPV, I would have said fact. After the watching the show, it was damn good, even if it was predictable. Most of the matches were good, and there was no really bad match. Not to mention that the double main events delivered big time from a "workrate standpoint".
Montana- Fiction: No Mercy was on par with every WWE PPV outting. If that scenario was true, than it would be true for every WWE show. Generally the big four come with big shows. However the "other 8" PPV's can get pretty bad at times. I think the WWE has done a solid job booking its PPV's so far this year. No Mercy featured two very good matches in its two main title matches. Probably will end up being a top 5 PPV this year in my book as well. I don't think the WWE waste any PPV. Its wrestling. Wrestling fans are lucky the wwe is here to provide entertainment
Chessarmy- Fiction. No Mercy was just a little predictable, but the last part about workrate really killed it for me. No Mercy had lots of great matches, and some good ones. Both the WWE and World Title matches were awesome, the ECW Title match wasn't bad, Kane vs Rey was good, and Big Show vs Taker was solid. The only bad thing that comes to mind is the JBL vs Tista match, but at least it was short. So no, the matches were great, some were a little predictable, but they weren't lackluster from a workrate standpoint
-HBK- Semi-Fact, Semi-Fiction. The matches were very predictable, everybody knew each champion would retain and whatnot. But the matches themselves were probably much better than expected. People can say the ending brought them down blah blah, but every ending that seemed screwy there was a reason for (eg. Kane/Rey to continue the feud, Triple H/Hardy to develop the storyline of Jeff not being able to put it together). The matches themselves were pretty good from where I'm sitting, the only real let-downs were the ECW Championship match and Batista/JBL, the rest were all done pretty well and the segment with MVP/Orton/Priceless/Punk/Kofi was great.
Kaedon- I was going to do a review of the PPV but between the guy who wouldn’t shut up so I could get down and watch it and the dumb drunk bitch who was trying to grope me, I kinda lost the intricacies of the matches as a whole. I thought it was a good PPV, and I think it delivered solid matches, but other than the main event, no one will remember this PPV next year. The main event was the saving grace because while it was predictable as hell, it was the only match that made me believe it might not end the way I thought it was going to. Jim Cornette once said “just because they know where you’re going doesn’t mean you cant take them on a scenic route†and unfortunately, the ladder match was the only one that did that. FAAAAAAAAAACT.
Well that’s it for this edition of the No Smark Zone. I know I said I was going to review No Mercy, and I guess I could watch it online, but fuck it. Next week I will be taking a suggestion from Montana and giving one of the WWE shows a report card. Which one will it be? You’ll have to check me out next week for my FIFTYITH No Smark Zone.
Don’t forget to read SPs Raw review and my SD reviewHERE as well as TJ’s ECW review and The BKB’s Impact review. See ya next week!
After many chapters in many books, countless interviews, and tons of angles and references to the subject, there is now a greater chance that the whole “Montreal Screwjob†may have been the greatest work in wrestling history.
Soulpower- Facton't get me wrong, I believe that the heat between Shawn and Bret is legit, but I've always thought that the screwjob was a work. There were just too many "coincidences" (Like the Bret Hart documentary that just happened to film the incident) to think that it was legit.
Montana- Fact: I've made a thread about this before a while back. I really do think this could have been the greatest work of all time. I don't think we will ever know if it was all a work or not. When hearing the story, Bret Hart just comes off as too big of a D-Bag. Like Vince mentioned Bret Hart was supposed to honor the time honored tradition. I can't see Bret being that big of a baby backstage. Plus it was a great way to send him out. Plus the wwe was in desperate times. Willing to try something new. I think Vince had control of the situation at all times.
Chessarmy- No no no no. Fiction, for a simple reason. Why would Vince do that as a work? What would the point be? Sure, it created the Mr. Mcmahon gimmick, but that could have been created without a screwjob like this. Also, why would Vinnie Mac give up one of his top wrestlers for nothing? If this really was a work, do you think Vince would actually give up Bret Hart to the competition for nothing? Not to mention Bret still refuses to appear on WWE TV today because of what happened. This can't possibly all be a work.
-HBK- Fiction. There was a legitimate hatred between Hart & Michaels, and it's well documented than Bret also had a fierce hatred for the direction the business was going. The multitude of angles would have occurred whether this was a work or shoot, Vince has proven he'll use anything with a sniff of noteriety in an angle. There is no way this could've been a work and Vince, Shawn or Bret to not have let something slip by now.
Kaedon- Fact: I’m not a huge believer in conspiracy theories, but I think, as more of this stuff happens over the years, the chances of this being a very well done and elaborate angle go way up. A lot of people point to the “Wrestling With Shadows†thing but I think that was more of a coincidence than anything. If it was a work, I think Bret told Vince he was going to have a camera crew with him and Vince took as much advantage of it as he could without putting the pedal to the floor and making it reek of a work. The bottom line is, the more and more things that come out; books, DVD chapters, and on air angles, it just makes me question it more and more.
After working at least passable matches with such workers as John Bradshaw Layfield, Batista, The Great Khali, and Umaga, John Cena has finally proven he has the in ring skills to be a main event megastar.
Soulpower- Fact:Cena proved this long ago. I'm not a big fan of the guy (Sorry, cena-buttocks), but I'll say it again. John Cena is the best big match wrestler in the business today. He's not a polished in-ring technician, but put him in a big match against anyone, and you'll have a match where the fans are usually rabid and are on the edge of their seats.
Montana- Fact: Love him or Hate him he's the most over guy in the business. Simply the reaction he draws add to the match itself. Who doesn't remember John Cena vs RVD. Pretty much every PPV match Cena is a big time match, with good pyschology. Look at the star ratings he puts up ***1/2 + matches just about every time on PPV.
Chessarmy- John Cena can be a main event megastar because of the$e, he isn't a good wrestler and he probably never will be. But, he draws HUGE and that is a good enough reason to push him. I personaly, don't like him, but I will be the first one to admit that yes, he does deserve to be a main eventer. So, I'll go with fact.
-HBK- Fact. Cena is extremely talented and good at what he does. People can complain about the title reign, but John is great in the ring with anybody, on the mic and is a huge draw for the WWE. The guy is a promotional machine as well. Cena is the future of the industry and he is going to be a Main Event megastar for as long as he wants to be, which could be for years and years to come.
Kaedon- Fact: If there is anyone out in the great world of wrestling who thinks John Cena doesn’t have what it takes to get it done, they are a fucking moron. Yes, YOU are a moron. John Cena has delivered in big match after big match after big match. He has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that he can get it done no matter who he is in the ring with. Even that talentless hack The Great Khali was dragged to a *** match by The John >_> I am always amazed at the reaction he gets during the matches he’s in. Despite the fact that HHH, HBK, Undertaker, Kane, and Edge were all around and prominent stars during the Attitude Era, John Cena is the only one who gets the AE reaction during his matches. Check the tapes, people were on their feet screaming for most of the main event matches, and Cena, love him or hate him, evokes that response. What really sealed it for me was when he faced Batista. It was one of those defining moments in his career. He took a really over wrestler who, while GREATLY IMPROVED, is not the best worker, and made it what may have been match of the night.
Despite the conventional wisdom of the so called smart fans, HHH’s move to Smackdown has hurt the brand more than it has helped.
Soulpower-Fact:Sorry, Kaedon.. I've got nothing for this >_>
Montana- Fiction: HHH hasn't hurt Smackdown. It's been the creative team and booking that has hurt Smackdown. They also caught the injury bug. SD argueably has the best roster in wrestling, when healthy. To blame HHH for SD's situation is wrong. I think in 2009 you are really going to see HHH will bring to SD. On the road to wrestlemania, i think HHH is going to play a big role, and SD will catch fire in that time.
Chessarmy- :roflmao: no no, fiction my friend. Triple H is Triple H, no matter how much the internet "smart" marks hate on him, he still draws like a motherfucker and he always will. Trips is a top star in the WWE, his move to Smackdown! helped the brand tremendously. I'll admit though, his WWE Title reign has sucked, but thats my opinion. The fact is, Triple H has helped Smackdown! He was probably a major factor in MyNetwork TV accepting Smackdown! on their network, and he has helped ratings. He is a major plus for the brand
-HBK- Fiction, with a bit of fact as well. Triple H moving to Smackdown was a shock move noone suspected and gave a breath of fresh air to the brand. I don't know about anyone else, but I for one was sick of the only top faces being Batista and Undertaker. The fact of it is I've got to say, I am usual the one arguing for Triple H in terms of him burying competition, but I can't think of one loss he has had on Smackdown, while beating every supposed 'challenger' for his championship.
Kaedon- Im going to have to say FACT to this one. It is NOT intentional by HHH but he is, pretty much, one of the biggest stars in the company. Wherever he goes, pretty much all of the focus will be on him. Is it right? Well with John Cena on Raw and out, Edge and Taker nursing injuries, what else do you expect? Yes, they could give the ball to Jeff Hardy, an erratic former drug addict who likes to no show, it would be different, but it wouldn’t be safe and in my opinion, it wouldn’t be smart. So the WWE focus on who? HHH. A guy who has been a cornerstone of the company for more than a decade. Is it his fault? Not at all. But he is still hurting Smackdown.
The WWE are demeaning a great talent in Charlie Haas by making him come out and imitate wrestlers for a momentary pop as opposed to letting him try and get over on his own.
Soulpower-Fiction:Haas is a great wrestler, but for the first time in his career he's showing a lot of personality (Even if its someone else's). I say continue with the imitations, as long as the fans continue to react.
Montana- Fiction: They tried letting him get over on his own and it failed. If it takes this demeaning angle to help him get over, than so be it. Charlie Haas has won his first match in years. I don't think Haas has that big of problem with it. Plus like the question mentions "Momentary Pop" I can't see Haas doing this angle for a extended period of time. Hopefully this can be the launching pad to get Haas on the right foot to his singles career.
Chessarmy- I personally, don't give two shits about Charlie Haas, so I don't know what to say here. I'm going with fiction, I don't want to see someone as stale as Haas get pushed, plus his current gimmick is funny.
-HBK- :rofl1: , FICTION. Charlie Haas is boring from every way you look at it. No mic skills, no gimmick, no look, although he can go in the ring. When WGTT had Anfgle as the mouthpiece it eliminated the need for Haas to speak or have a gimmick, but every since they split up, Charlie has done jackshit. Putting him in this gimmick is great, it gives him something to do other than sit in the back and job at house shows, and it has a great humour side to it.
Kaedon- Fiction: I don’t think I could have said it any better than Montana. This guy was given ample time and opportunities to get over on his own and he has FAILED in epic fashion. In fact the only thing I think he has been really successful in was when he was with Team Angle and Benji in TWGTT. So is it demeaning? Perhaps, but its not like he has to go out there and wear a dress…
The WWE wasted the last PPV, No Mercy, with pointless matches that were really too predictable from an outcome standpoint and that were lackluster from a workrate standpoint.
Soulpower-Fiction:Before the PPV, I would have said fact. After the watching the show, it was damn good, even if it was predictable. Most of the matches were good, and there was no really bad match. Not to mention that the double main events delivered big time from a "workrate standpoint".
Montana- Fiction: No Mercy was on par with every WWE PPV outting. If that scenario was true, than it would be true for every WWE show. Generally the big four come with big shows. However the "other 8" PPV's can get pretty bad at times. I think the WWE has done a solid job booking its PPV's so far this year. No Mercy featured two very good matches in its two main title matches. Probably will end up being a top 5 PPV this year in my book as well. I don't think the WWE waste any PPV. Its wrestling. Wrestling fans are lucky the wwe is here to provide entertainment
Chessarmy- Fiction. No Mercy was just a little predictable, but the last part about workrate really killed it for me. No Mercy had lots of great matches, and some good ones. Both the WWE and World Title matches were awesome, the ECW Title match wasn't bad, Kane vs Rey was good, and Big Show vs Taker was solid. The only bad thing that comes to mind is the JBL vs Tista match, but at least it was short. So no, the matches were great, some were a little predictable, but they weren't lackluster from a workrate standpoint
-HBK- Semi-Fact, Semi-Fiction. The matches were very predictable, everybody knew each champion would retain and whatnot. But the matches themselves were probably much better than expected. People can say the ending brought them down blah blah, but every ending that seemed screwy there was a reason for (eg. Kane/Rey to continue the feud, Triple H/Hardy to develop the storyline of Jeff not being able to put it together). The matches themselves were pretty good from where I'm sitting, the only real let-downs were the ECW Championship match and Batista/JBL, the rest were all done pretty well and the segment with MVP/Orton/Priceless/Punk/Kofi was great.
Kaedon- I was going to do a review of the PPV but between the guy who wouldn’t shut up so I could get down and watch it and the dumb drunk bitch who was trying to grope me, I kinda lost the intricacies of the matches as a whole. I thought it was a good PPV, and I think it delivered solid matches, but other than the main event, no one will remember this PPV next year. The main event was the saving grace because while it was predictable as hell, it was the only match that made me believe it might not end the way I thought it was going to. Jim Cornette once said “just because they know where you’re going doesn’t mean you cant take them on a scenic route†and unfortunately, the ladder match was the only one that did that. FAAAAAAAAAACT.
Well that’s it for this edition of the No Smark Zone. I know I said I was going to review No Mercy, and I guess I could watch it online, but fuck it. Next week I will be taking a suggestion from Montana and giving one of the WWE shows a report card. Which one will it be? You’ll have to check me out next week for my FIFTYITH No Smark Zone.
Don’t forget to read SPs Raw review and my SD reviewHERE as well as TJ’s ECW review and The BKB’s Impact review. See ya next week!
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