Some thoughts on last night’s Raw:

A couple of surprising results highlighted an entertaining show, as Raw’s top two babyfaces -- John Cena and Bobby Lashley -- were both pinned. In the process, WWE did a nice job of rehabilitating the credibility of Carlito and Mr. Kennedy.

I’ve thought for a while that Carlito was too talented to be languishing in mid-card status, and last night he was put in a prime position on the show. He not only opened the program by engaging in a verbal confrontation with Cena, but he also got to wrestle the champ in the main event. Everyone knew Randy Orton, who was seated at ringside, was going to get involved in the match (he distracted Cena, allowing Carlito to win with the backstabber), but I didn’t think that Cena would actually be pinned -- especially without Orton hitting an RKO on him. Of course, the main purpose of the match was to further the feud between Cena and Orton, but hopefully it also was the start of a renewed push for Carlito.

I was more surprised that Kennedy pinned Lashley, and the fact that he did so without a run-in or using a foreign object was even more of a shock. It was a much-needed win for Kennedy, who seemed to be losing momentum since moving over to Raw. It looks like Lashley will be off television for a while, as wwe.com reported after the show that he might have suffered a torn rotator cuff. I’m not sure if that’s a legit injury or a story-line injury, but Lashley appears to be headed for the disabled list for something. ...

Cena was tremendous on the microphone during the opening segment with Carlito and Kennedy. It was almost Rock-like. I know some will find that statement blasphemous, but I did say almost. ...

To show that even the best aren’t perfect, Jim Ross consistently referred to Beth Phoenix as Jillian Hall and vice versa during the six-women tag match. At one point, Jerry Lawler referred to "Jillian" right after Ross misidentified her, but J.R. didn’t pick up on it. Couldn’t someone in Ross’ headset have clued him in? ...

I think Santino Marella is a hoot. Cryme Tyme, on the other hand, not so much.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

You can’t make this stuff up.

It is being reported on Nashville television stations and various Web sites that suspended NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones has signed a contract with TNA.

While some reports have said that Jones will wrestle in TNA, his lawyer told Tennessean.com that the Tennessee Titans cornerback “won't be wrestling” and won't be playing the part of a villain as some might expect.

Obviously, TNA is desperate for mainstream attention, but doing business with Jones, who has been arrested six times since being drafted in 2005, is a risky move. Contrary to the adage, any publicity is not good publicity – just ask WWE how happy it is about all the media coverage it has received over the past month – TNA is going to come off looking sleazy to the general public for trying to capitalize on Jones’ notoriety. From a business standpoint, I’m not all that convinced that signing Jones will really attract that many new fans anyway.

In the past, WWE and WCW had tremendous success by bringing in controversial athletes Mike Tyson and Dennis Rodman, respectively, but I don’t think the general public will be as curious about Jones.

Two things I am curious about: How will the TNA creative team pull off making Jones a babyface, and which TNA good guy is going to be the unfortunate one to be associated with him?

On the other hand, if this angle turns out to be a success, maybe TNA will follow it up by signing Michael Vick to manage a new version of the Pit Bulls tag team. Uh-oh. I probably just gave Vince Russo an idea.

Speaking of Russo, several wrestling Web sites have reported that he was not the mastermind behind the Jones signing. As someone who worked for WCW when Russo frequently spoke about the company needing a publicity stunt to turn things around – such as his suggestion of paying O.J. Simpson $1 million to take a lie detector test on a WCW pay-per-view – I find that hard to believe.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

Some thoughts on Monday’s Raw and last night’s ECW:

Three years after headlining SummerSlam and becoming the youngest world champion, Randy Orton is back in the main event of the annual August pay-per-view and has another shot at realizing his vast potential. I think WWE has done a good job rebuilding Orton as a top-level heel after his push had stalled due to his poor behavior on the road. Where his career goes from here is up to him. The time is right for WWE champion John Cena to drop the belt to Orton, and I’m looking forward to the buildup to their SummerSlam match over the next four weeks. …

King Booker’s act gets more entertaining every week. His delivery and facial expressions during his confrontations with Jerry Lawler the past two weeks have been fantastic. It makes me laugh out loud when Booker speaks with a campy British accent when he’s calm, and then slips into an exaggerated form of Ebonics when he gets riled up. …

Obviously, Booker’s angle with Lawler is just a setup for Booker to wrestle the returning Triple H at SummerSlam. Other possible matches at the pay-per-view include The Great Khali vs. Batista, Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero and Bobby Lashley vs. Carlito. A match that reportedly is not happening is the one involving Umaga and several cast members from Jackass. The deal apparently fell through, and I can’t say I’m upset about that. Speculation is that Jeff Hardy will wrestle Umaga in a rematch from Sunday’s Great American Bash, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it as a triple-threat match with Mr. Kennedy in the mix. …

Speaking of Hardy, he has been very impressive as of late. He and brother Matt are more over as singles wrestlers than they have ever been. Jeff followed a good match with Umaga at The Great American Bash with an outstanding match against Mr. Kennedy. I was relieved to see that Jeff was able to continue in the match on Raw after slipping off the ropes and landing on his head. I thought for sure he had broken his neck. …

WWE obviously realized the Santino Marella babyface push wasn’t working and has decided to go in another direction with the character. Now that he is starting to show subtle heel tendencies, I already find him a lot more interesting. …

As for ECW, there wasn’t much to this week’s show. The highlight was probably Stevie Richards pinning Kevin Thorn. No one saw that coming, but I think it’s good to have an upset to shake things up every now and then. Richards, who looked really good two weeks ago against CM Punk, could be in line for a minor push. With the ECW talent roster being so thin, it doesn’t seem that far-fetched. …

I like the pairing of Big Daddy V and Matt Striker. The former Viscera is effective as a monster heel and Striker makes a better manager than he does a wrestler. …

Finally, I have to get something off my chest. Because I have such great respect for anyone who gets in the ring, I don’t harshly criticize wrestlers that often. But in the case of The Miz, I am making an exception. I just don’t see anything remotely entertaining about this guy. If he hadn’t been on MTV’s The Real World, would WWE have even given him the time of day? You would think someone with such an annoying personality would be a great heel, but The Miz doesn’t make me love to hate him, he just makes me want to turn the channel. His work in the ring is average at best, his catchphrase is lame, and when I say his look is strictly mid-card, I’m talking mid-card at an indy show.

It seems like WWE was trying to make him a babyface a couple weeks ago, but now he appears to be a heel again. I’m just hoping that the angle in which the members of Extreme Expose have a crush on The Miz ends with the revelation that the women were just stringing him along and setting him up for some form of humiliation. Then again, is The Miz even capable of suffering humiliation?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

I wanted to respond to a comment that was posted earlier today that posed the following question: “Why is this in the sports section? Shouldn’t it be in the entertainment section?”

The answer is that there is no definitive answer. Pro wrestling is a unique entity because it mixes athleticism with scripted story lines. The term “sports entertainment” has been coined to describe it, but wrestling doesn’t fit neatly into either category. At The Sun, pro wrestling has appeared in both the sports and entertainment sections.

In fact, wrestling’s ambiguity poses a dilemma for newspapers and networks across the country. For instance, wrestling is discussed on ESPN as well as Access Hollywood. And it’s written about in Sports Illustrated as well as Entertainment Weekly.

The guy who posted the comment today wrote that The Sun “should move [wrestling] and poker out of the sports section.” I respect that point of view and don’t totally disagree with it. The only point I will make in defense of wrestling, poker and whatever else is part of the sport/not-a-sport debate, is that sports in general are becoming more about entertainment value and less about pure sport.

I get it that wrestling is different than other sports because it is predetermined. But, as I’ve written before, at least wrestling admits that it’s scripted entertainment. We have certainly seen enough instances of point-shaving scandals, crooked referees and boxers taking dives to know that so-called real sports are not immune to being “fixed.”

And that brings me to my final point. I had to chuckle when it was suggested in the comment from today that I either didn’t know what wrestling was or that I was trying to insult people’s intelligence by pretending that I didn’t know. He took issue with me writing that I was surprised that John Cena pinned Bobby Lashley clean. “It’s scripted, dude. Get a grip!” he wrote. Of course, what I was saying was that I was surprised by that scripted ending. It would be the same as if I wrote about movies and I said that I was surprised that Bruce Willis’ character was dead in The Sixth Sense.

Obviously, this guy is not an avid reader of Ring Posts because I have written openly about the business since the inception of this blog. People who don’t like wrestling will never understand it, but the fact is that wrestling fans (the majority of them, anyway) know exactly what wrestling is. We like wrestling because of the fact that it’s entertainment, not in spite of it.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

There are some fans who just don’t like John Cena and they never will, which is fine because everyone is entitled to their opinion. But those who criticize him as being a bad worker must be seeing something different than I’m seeing.

I’m the first to admit that Cena is not a ring general, but he usually delivers an entertaining main event match. When in the ring with top-level workers such as Shawn Michaels, Edge and Triple H, Cena has more than held up his end in some outstanding matches. But Cena also has had good matches with guys like The Great Khali and his opponent at last night’s Great American Bash pay-per-view, Bobby Lashley.

Cena is clearly the top star in the business, and I like that WWE has been putting him over strong month after month on pay-per-view. I was a little surprised that he pinned Lashley clean last night, but I can’t disagree with the decision. By having Cena turn back every challenge and overcome the odds, it should make it that much more of a big deal when someone (Randy Orton?) does defeat him for the title. …

I’m not a big fan of Umaga as a character, but – like Cena – he is better in the ring than he is given credit for. His match against Jeff Hardy, in which Umaga successfully defended the Intercontinental title, was one of the highlights of the show. To me, “The Samoan Bulldozer” comes across as much more of a force than TNA’s “Samoan Submission Machine.” …

I hope that Matt Hardy’s pinfall loss to U.S. champion MVP doesn’t mean that Hardy’s push as a singles wrestler is over. …

So, Hornswoggle is the new WWE cruiserweight champion. I’m sure he will carry the title with the same dignity and honor of past cruiserweight champions such as Oklahoma (Ed Ferrara), Daffney, Madusa, Jacquelyn and Chavo Classic.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

My predictions for tonight’s WWE pay-per-view:

WWE champion John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley: There have been rumors that Lashley is turning heel, but I don’t see that happening. Because a significant portion of the audience dislikes Cena, having Lashley – or anyone – turn on him could backfire and actually illicit cheers instead of boos. I think this match will have an inconclusive ending to keep the feud going.

World heavyweight champion The Great Khali vs. Batista vs. Kane: This match has potential to be a train wreck. I’m guessing that Khali retains the title by pinning Kane, setting up Batista to defeat Khali for the belt at SummerSlam.

ECW champion John Morrison vs. CM Punk: It’s too early in this feud for a title change. Morrison retains tonight, but Punk will get the title at some point.

Randy Orton vs. Dusty Rhodes (Texas bull-rope match): It’s hard to believe that “The American Dream” is wrestling at The Great American Bash in 2007, 22 years after he defeated Tully Blanchard in a steel cage to win the world television title at the first Great American Bash. Rhodes won’t be as fortunate tonight, as he becomes another legend to succumb to the “Legend Killer.”

U.S. champion MVP vs. Matt Hardy: This figures to be one of the best – if not the best – matches of the night. WWE has done a good job of getting Hardy over as a serious contender. I expect Hardy and MVP to trade the belt back and forth, beginning with Hardy winning tonight.

Intercontinental champion Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy: It won’t be a title sweep for The Hardy Boyz, as Umaga prevails.

Carlito vs. The Sandman (Singapore cane match): I see a lot more value in Carlito than The Sandman, and that’s why it pains me to say that I think The Sandman will win.

WWE women’s champion Candice Michelle vs. Melina: I was surprised that WWE put the belt on Candice, but she’s actually not that bad in the ring. I think Melina will eventually regain the title, but not tonight.

Cruiserweight open (Gauntlet match featuring WWE cruiserweight champion Chavo Guerrero, Jimmy Wang Yang, Shannon Moore, Funaki and Jamie Knoble): I’d like to see Yang win the title, but I’m guessing that Noble will emerge as the new champion. Unfortunately, nobody really cares about the cruiserweight title anyway.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Some thoughts on last night’s TNA Impact:

As a longtime admirer of Kurt Angle’s work, I never thought I could see too much of him, but that was the case on this week’s show. Not only did it seem like he was in every segment, but he spent almost the entire show wearing nothing but bikini briefs and a pair of flip-flops. I think I would rather look at a shirtless Big Daddy V then to ever again see that much of Angle (at least Big Daddy V will only be in one segment, not seven).

The show-long story line centered on Angle trying to figure out who stole his clothes and title belts. Why Angle never suspected Samoa Joe, his archrival for the past nine months, is beyond me. Maybe Angle should have hired federal investigator Daniel Beck. He probably has a lot of time on his hands now that the Mr. McMahon exploding limo story line has gone the way of Chuck Cunningham from Happy Days (yes, that is a dated reference; ask your parents if you are too young to get it). But I digress.

In the final segment, Joe confessed that he indeed was the thief. Joe then said that he wanted to put the past nine months behind him and start fresh with Angle. He challenged Angle to a match at the Hard Justice pay-per-view on Aug. 12 with all the title belts on the line, and then extended his hand. Uh-oh. I think I’ve seen this before with these two and it usually doesn’t end well. Two weeks ago I wrote: “You’d think after all those double-crosses that Angle and Joe would stop falling for the old handshake trick by now.” I guess Angle doesn’t read Ring Posts, because he shook Joe’s hand and Joe then head-butted him.

Now, here’s the beauty part. After Joe (the babyface) steals the possessions of Angle (the heel) and then suckers him, Angle ultimately gains the advantage and the show ends with Joe screaming in pain from an ankle-lock. TNA’s creative team has sure made Joe out to be one pathetic babyface. As far as the stipulation of all the belts being on the line in their next encounter, why would Angle, the world champion, want the X Division and tag team titles? Just wondering. …

To me, the most entertaining aspect of the Angle skits was the performance of backstage announcer Jeremy Borash. He has great timing and facial expressions and knows how to add to a segment without taking the focus off the wrestlers. Back when we were in WCW together, I remember thinking that JB showed a lot of potential as a performer after he was briefly given a role on television as Vince Russo’s lackey. If he ever wanted to go this route, I could see Borash becoming a quality heel manager. …

It was definitely time for Team 3-D to turn heel, and I have always thought they were better in that role (Brother Ray can incite a crowd with the best of them). The fans at the Impact tapings in Orlando, Fla., already had turned against them (more specifically, they turned on Brother Ray) a while ago, and I think the Steiner Brothers were going to be cheered in this feud no matter what. …

Why did TNA bother to turn Lance Hoyt heel and pair him with Christy Hemme if he wasn’t going to be given a push? I’m not saying Hoyt should be headlining pay-per-views, but couldn’t he at least beat Kip James?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

When describing himself, CM Punk said he is “the greatest don’t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover story.” Despite his multitude of tattoos, long hair, piercings and love of hardcore punk rock, Punk shoots down any preconceived notions of what he is about by espousing the “straight edge” lifestyle.

And while he is not among the biggest, flashiest or most muscular performers in WWE, Punk, 28, has built a loyal following and is one of the centerpieces of ECW. On Sunday, Punk will wrestle ECW champion John Morrison (formerly Johnny Nitro) at The Great American Bash.

I spoke with Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, in a telephone interview yesterday.

Q: I know that living a straight edge lifestyle is not just a wrestling gimmick for you. How does it apply to your real life?

A: Straight edge is everything about a personal decision to not live my life under the influence or not being aware. I pretty much don’t like anything that alters my view of reality or my perception or my grasp. It’s not drinking. It’s not smoking. It’s a lot of things.

Q: What led you to adopt this type of lifestyle?

A: I just didn’t want to be like everybody else. I didn’t see the point in getting messed up to have fun. My dad was an alcoholic when I was growing up, and it never made any sense that my parents couldn’t afford Christmas presents, but they could buy three cartons of cigarettes apiece a month. That definitely had a lot to do with it.

Q: How did the punk rock scene influence you?

A: Straight edge was started by a [punk] band called Minor Threat. They wrote a song called “Straight Edge.” It’s all about music, and they felt exactly how I felt. They didn’t like guys coming to shows getting messed up when it was supposed to be about the music. They didn’t understand how anyone could do that – not remember the show and all that stuff. Punk rock and straight edge will always be married together. As far as me integrating that with wrestling, I learned a lot from punk rock. The do-it-yourself lifestyle is something that I’ve translated into wrestling.

Q: As someone who is in the public eye, do you see yourself as a role model?

A: I definitely know that there are people out there that look up to me, and I think as an athlete in the public eye, it’s dangerous ground to tread on because of the Charles Barkley thing of “I am not a role model.” Even if it’s just one kid, somebody’s going to see you and take a liking to you and get attached to you, and you’re a role model whether you like it or not. I actually like to say that I’m not one because I do do stupid things and everybody should make their own personal decisions. But I’m straight-edged, so I have a lot of parents that come up to me and thank me because their kids look up to me. That’s really powerful, and I can’t deny that.

Q: How tough is it to maintain the straight edge lifestyle being in the wrestling business and with all the temptations of the road?

A: Not tough at all. It’s actually very easy. It’s very black and white for me. You either do it or you don’t – and I don’t do it. It’s not a wrestling thing; it’s a thing in life. You can hurt yourself and take painkillers, or you can hurt yourself and just grit through it and let the body do what it’s supposed to do. I fractured my skull [in a match in 2002] and I refused painkillers. I made it through that and I’m a stronger person for doing it. It’s a personal choice, and you’re either strong or you’re not.

Q: How did you develop your unique in-ring style?

A: I just like a more realistic, wrestling-as-a-sport style, and I’m a big fan of Japanese wrestling. Integrating that with what I knew with my jujitsu, I don’t know if I developed it, but it was natural for me.

Q: Do you think MMA will have more and more influence on what pro wrestling matches look like?

A: I think if you’re smart, it has an influence on your wrestling style. I don’t think you can ignore it. MMA is a force, just like pro wrestling is, and pretending it doesn’t exist is a little bit ridiculous. If you’ve ever been thrown in an Anaconda Vise or a Jujigatame or any kind of standard jujitsu hold, you know the pain and you know how it feels, and I think a lot of fans can start to appreciate that a lot more. I’m sure there are kids that watch MMA that are trying these moves out on each other, and the stuff hurts. They come away with maybe a newfound respect for it. And then they see me doing that to people and they go, “Yeah, that stuff hurts.” I think that’s part of the appeal.

Q: Do you have any interest in doing MMA?

A: I would love to. I live in Chicago, and I know there are a lot of fighters out here. I just recently moved back, which to me is a big accomplishment. I moved away in 2001 or 2002 for wrestling, and I’ve come full circle and I’ve finally made it back home. I’m definitely going to start looking at gyms, and I’ve found a place that I can go back and start working on my jujitsu again, because it’s been a long time since I’ve found a dojo that I felt comfortable enough where I can go in and work out. I’ve got friends here that are into it, so I’m probably just going to go check out their gyms and see what happens. I’m not saying I’m going to jump into it. I’m not fighting tomorrow or anything. But it’s definitely something that interests me. But saying that, I also hate getting punched in the nose.

Q: I know that you grew up as a wrestling fan. Who were some of your favorites and when did you decide wrestling was something you wanted to pursue?

A: One of my first memories is of Roddy Piper smashing the coconut over Jimmy Snuka’s head. This is the story I always tell. Ever since I saw that, I fell in love. It was so powerful and so raw and it just sucked me in, and it’s all I ever wanted to do since then.

Q: What are your thoughts on ECW now being built around young guys such as yourself?

A: I love it. I love the fact that it’s a little gritty and maybe a little bit darker. I love that it’s a bunch of young guys and that we’re all hungry and willing to step up and do what it takes. There’s something romantic about that. It’s a one-hour show and a lot of people complain that’s not enough time, but I think it’s great. You get in, you get it done and it’s over with. Honestly, I think we’re the best brand in the WWE. And that’s no lie. That’s my pride and that’s how I operate. I’m definitely working hard to make sure it’s the best brand.

Q: What would it mean to you to get a run as ECW champion?

A: I take a look around and I see posters for pay-per-views and I see magazine covers, and there are three guys on it: Bobby Lashley, Edge and John Cena, and those were the three champions. To be in the company of guys like that, that’s amazing. I would love nothing more than to see my big ugly mug plastered all over pay-per-views posters and stuff like that. To be ECW champion is something that I take very, very seriously. I would always give it my all in the ring and I would have the company on my back, so to speak. I would do everything I possibly could to carry the brand, not only ratings-wise, but also at live shows, and make sure people got their money’s worth out of the champion.

Photo courtesy of ECW.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 1:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

If you don’t want to know what happens on Smackdown on Friday, stop reading immediately (and don’t visit wwe.com, either).

For the third time in 18 months, an injury to the world heavyweight champion has disrupted WWE’s long-term plans and forced a title change.

Edge, who suffered a torn pectoral muscle at last week’s Smackdown taping and is expected to be out for four months, handed over the title at last night’s taping in Laredo, Texas. A battle royal was held to determine the new champion, and the winner was The Great Khali. At Sunday’s Great American Bash pay-per-view, Khali will defend the title in a triple-threat match against Batista and Kane.

This is a big blow for Smackdown. Edge has become the best heel in the business and is clearly the top star of the brand. The plan reportedly had been for him to have a long title reign, but his run has ended after just two months.

Ironically, Edge would never have been given the opportunity to be in the top spot on Smackdown had the previous champion, The Undertaker, not suffered a torn biceps a few months ago. The run of bad luck for holders of the big gold belt began at the beginning of 2006, when Batista suffered a torn triceps and had to relinquish the title.

Serious injuries are part of the business, but WWE has had an especially tough stretch when it comes to main-eventers getting hurt. Just as Triple H and Rey Mysterio are about to return, Edge joins The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels on the disabled list.

I’m sure WWE’s decision to put the belt on Khali will be criticized by a lot of fans, but I really don’t have much of a problem with the choice (it would have been better, however, had Khali not been pinned and forced to tap out by WWE champion John Cena on two recent pay-per-views). I would have preferred someone like Matt Hardy or MVP been given a shot, but I think WWE has done a good job with Khali since he was moved to Smackdown. He plays his role as a menacing monster well, and I’ve found some of his backstage segments – where he bullies the production crew and tosses then around – to be entertaining.

The obvious problem with Khali is that he is extremely limited in what he can do in the ring. And on Sunday he will be in there with Batista and Kane – who aren’t exactly Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle – so the potential exists for this match to be a disaster. I wouldn’t be surprised if Khali’s reign is a short one and Batista ends up with the title again.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

As promised earlier this week, I will relate some of the experiences I had with Kevin Nash, Vince Russo and Bill Goldberg during my stint as WCW Magazine editor in 2000-01. All three were mentioned on WWE 24/7 On Demand’s Legends of Wrestling as people who had a lot of heat backstage.

On Monday, I wrote that the problems Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell had with the magazine were that they either weren’t in it enough or they weren’t featured prominently enough when they were in it. Nash was difficult for the exact opposite reason. He didn’t want to be in it.

People at the magazine had forewarned me when I first took the job that Nash probably wouldn’t give me the time of day. Now, there also were plenty of wrestlers as well as employees in the office at WCW who swore that Nash was a great guy. And he was – if he invited you to be in his inner circle. Apparently, the guy I replaced as editor – he was transferred to another department within the company – was a buddy of Nash’s. So, in Nash’s view, I stole his buddy’s job. Therefore, in protest, he would not cooperate with the magazine in general and me specifically. It didn’t help my cause that Nash also didn’t care for my boss, the publisher of the magazine, because Nash felt he had treated his buddy unfairly.

I had no dealings with Nash during my first few months there, but eventually the time came when I needed to interview him. In every issue, I conducted a lengthy, in-depth Q&A with one of WCW’s top stars, and it was Nash’s turn. I heard through the grapevine that Nash would refuse to do it. The publisher suggested that perhaps, just for this one issue, we should let Mark Madden do the Q&A. Madden was a WCW television commentator and he also wrote for the magazine. More importantly, he was one of Big Kev’s peeps. I felt as if I had to make a stand. I had done all the other interviews, and I was going to do this one, too.

I approached Nash backstage before a show and politely asked if he could give me some of his time for the interview. “I don’t do anything for the [expletive] magazine,” he growled. “You guys can’t even get my age right, so why should I talk to you?” It seems that in a previous issue of the magazine – before I was even there – Nash’s age was reported incorrectly. It listed him as being one year older than he really was. I couldn’t believe a 42-year-old man – oops, I mean 41 – was acting like such a spoiled brat. I tried to plead my case, but he never even made eye contact with me. “I’m taking a shower,” Nash said as he walked away.

I was not going to give up, however. It was completely unacceptable to me that a guy making seven figures would refuse a reasonable request from a magazine published by the company that was paying him all that money. A couple weeks before that incident, Russo, the head of the creative team, had met with WCW employees from publishing, public relations, marketing and other departments to address concerns that some of the talent was uncooperative with those of us trying to do our jobs. Russo, in full pep-talk mode, said that it was going to be a new day in WCW, and if any wrestler refused to do something, we should go to Russo directly and he would take care of it.

So I went right to Russo and told him what had happened. He said he would talk to Nash. I watched Russo follow Nash into a room, and several minutes later, Russo came out and walked up to me. “OK, he’s waiting for you. He’ll do the interview,” Russo said.

Obviously, it was a little uncomfortable interviewing Nash after having to get Russo involved. And knowing Nash’s reputation for being a wise guy, I expected him to give me one-word answers and to cut the interview short, but to his credit, he was very professional and it turned out to be a really good Q&A. However, I never did get an invitation to join “Team Big Sexy,” as he called his clique. In fact, Nash went right back to ignoring me, even if we walked right past each other in the hallway. Oh well.

As for Russo and Goldberg, I never had any heat with either one of them. My problem with Russo wasn’t that he was a bad guy, it’s that he was touted as a creative genius and he was anything but – at least from what I saw in WCW. I could fill several blog entries recounting Russo’s scatter-brained booking, but much of that is already well documented.

Some of Russo’s concepts that didn’t make it to television were priceless, and there are two that immediately come to mind. In company meetings, Russo discussed in great detail his plan to do a “Who Wants to Marry a Sports Entertainer” segment, in which Glenn “Disco Inferno” Gilbertti would actually marry a woman who wins a contest. His other big idea was to pay O.J. Simpson $1 million to take a lie detector test on a WCW pay-per-view.

My favorite Russo story, however, concerns the time he said in a meeting that he was going to take himself off of television as a character. Well, he might have been off for a couple weeks, but then he not only was back on TV, but he was on more than ever and he even booked himself to win the WCW world title. At a subsequent meeting, someone reminded him of his vow to remove himself from TV. His response sounded like a line from The Godfather: Part III. “I know,” he said in his think New York accent. “Every time I try, they keep pulling me back into it.” No one said anything, but I remember thinking at the time, “They? Who are they? You’re the one writing the show!”

Goldberg was described on Legends of Wrestling as a great guy away from the business, but a bad guy to deal with during his WWE run. I can’t speak to that, but whenever I dealt with him in WCW, he was cooperative and, for the most part, friendly, although he probably did take himself a bit too seriously at times. The thing with Goldberg was that he did not suffer fools easily – and there was no shortage of fools in WCW. But if he thought you were competent at your job, whether you were a magazine editor or a public relations person or whatever, then you had his respect.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

After writing yesterday that Bill O’Reilly would make a great heel manager, I started thinking of a potential angle for him in WWE.

I came up with the idea of a pay-per-view match between left-leaning Mick Foley and right-leaning JBL, with Al Franken and O’Reilly in their respective corners. Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura would serve as the special referee. The stipulation for the match is that if Foley wins, Franken gets five minutes in the ring with O’Reilly. The promos leading up to the bout would be off the charts.

Of course, Foley would win, and that’s when things could really get interesting. Instead of O’Reilly taking a few scripted pratfalls, imagine if Franken, a former high school wrestler, went into business for himself and began stretching him. Taking advantage of O’Reilly on live television would be payback for all the guests he has ambushed and bullied on his show. Then, after Franken was done with him, Foley could finish him off with the Mandible Claw – if O’Reilly could get his foot out of his mouth long enough for Foley to stick his fingers down his gullet, that is.

OK, I admit that angle has about as much chance of happening as Big Daddy V (a.k.a. Viscera) making the cover of Muscle & Fitness. But I’d still rather see “Bill O” in a pay-per-view match than Steve-O.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

I know this will come as a big shock, but it seems that Fox News Channel intentionally misled viewers in an attempt to boost its ratings. The “fair and balanced” channel advertised that Bill O’Reilly would have a “hard-hitting interview” with WWE CEO Linda McMahon on his show last night as part of the ongoing coverage of the Chris Benoit story.

McMahon’s hyped appearance was a hot topic on wrestling Web sites yesterday, as the pundits pondered whether it was a good idea for her to be on a combative, circus-like show such as O’Reilly’s. As it turned out, McMahon was never really booked to be on the show last night. What Fox News aired was an interview with her from five years ago in which she discussed the influence pro wrestling has on children.

That is a classic case of bait-and-switch. Of course, no one should really be surprised. It’s not like anyone will ever confuse a blowhard such as O’Reilly with Edward R. Murrow. Come to think of it, O’Reilly might have missed his true calling. He’d be a natural for pro wrestling as a heel manager.

While I’m on the topic of mainstream television’s coverage of the Benoit story, I thought the Larry King show on Monday night was mostly a waste of time. As usual, King didn’t ask good questions, and we really didn’t learn anything new.

I think the wrestlers on the show, especially John Cena and Chris Jericho, represented themselves well, but at times I felt like I was watching another Benoit tribute show. I can’t really criticize the guests – Cena, Jericho, Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase and Steve Blackman – for that, however, because they all knew Benoit for years and truly did like and respect him. Near the end of the program, Jericho realized that they had spent most of the show saying what a great guy a man who murdered his wife and son was, and he tried to explain where they were coming from.

“We've been talking so positively, but we can also never forget or forgive these horrible acts that he did,” Jericho said. “And that overshadows everything else in his life. But you can't tell the story of pro wrestling without talking about Chris Benoit.”

There was one cringe-worthy moment on the show. When King commented on Blackman's wrestling nickname, the host said: You were known as the Lethal Weapon. A killer.” I know it was something that King said without thinking – and it was live television, so they couldn’t edit it out – but I cringed nonetheless.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Some thoughts from last night’s ECW:

Just when I thought nothing could be more disgusting than The Boogeyman chomping on a mouthful of worms, out comes Big Daddy V (formerly Viscera) wearing the most unflattering outfit since Giant Gonzalez wore the tights with the painted-on muscles and the fur.

Although he’s never been one of my favorite performers, I don’t have a problem with Big Daddy V getting a gimmick makeover and a push as a monster heel on ECW. Lord knows the pajama-clad “World’s Largest Love Machine” deal had run its course. What I do mind is him wearing suspenders with no shirt underneath, because Big Daddy V’s flabulous physique makes Abdullah the Butcher look like Chris Masters. At first, I actually thought he was wearing a prosthetic fat suit last night.

If you want to see something truly hideous, however, wait until Big Daddy V and The Boogeyman wrestle each other. It’s got my vote for Worst Match of the Year and it hasn’t even happened yet. …

What got into Stevie Richards last night? He showed a lot of fire and had a really good match with CM Punk. I was expecting a glorified squash, but Richards got in a lot of offense before Punk prevailed. …

OK, so let me get this straight. The Miz not only is a babyface, but he also has all three members of Extreme Expose fighting over him. Sorry, I can’t suspend my disbelief that much. …

ECW champion Johnny Nitro and Tommy Dreamer put on an entertaining “extreme rules” match. Nitro’s corkscrew moonsault off the barricade was the highlight of the night. As I’ve said before, I really like Nitro in this role. And for those who think that he isn’t worthy of being ECW champion, let’s not forget that the likes of Justin Credible, Steve Corino and Mikey Whipwreck also have held that title.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

Wrestling figures who have the most heat backstage was the topic on the most recent episode of my favorite wrestling show, Legends of Wrestling on WWE 24/7 On Demand. I could relate to a few of the stories told by the panel – which again consisted of Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Hayes, Mick Foley and Eric Bischoff – because I dealt with some of the individuals they mentioned when I was the editor of WCW Magazine in 2000-01.

When I first started working for WCW, some people in the office smartened me up as to who among the talent would be difficult to work with. I think Lex Luger was at the top of everyone’s list. We didn’t do much with him in the magazine for that very reason, and I didn’t try to interact with him because he always seemed so aloof. There were plans to do a photo spread of Luger going through his workout regimen that he said he was interested in, but we were never able to get him to commit to a firm date.

After I had been with the company about eight months or so, Luger approached me one day at catering before a show. I can’t remember exactly whom I was sitting with at the time, but several of the boys were there.

“Are you the new magazine editor?” Luger asked me. He caught me by surprise because those were the first words he had ever spoken to me. “Well, no, not exactly. I am the editor, but I’ve been here for eight months,” I said.

“Hi, I’m Lex Luger,” he said, extending his hand. “I just wanted to introduce myself. Judging by how much of a presence I have in the magazine, I figured you must not know who I am.” And then he walked away. It was my first and only “conversation” with Luger.

Buff Bagwell also wasn’t too pleased with me on a couple occasions. He felt as if I had wronged him in regard to two of our magazine covers.

The “New Blood” story line began right after I started at WCW, so we decided to put some key members of the group on the cover of the first issue I was involved with. Our art director said we could put up to six people on the cover, but any more than that would make it look too crowded.

Bischoff and Vince Russo, as the leaders of the faction, were a given. Jeff Jarrett was eliminated from consideration because he had been on the cover a couple times right before that. We came up with five other names – Vampiro, Scott Steiner, Billy Kidman, Shane Douglas and Bagwell. There was one too many, so after some discussion among the magazine staff, it came down to Douglas or Bagwell. Ultimately, we chose Douglas because his angle with Ric Flair seemed like a bigger deal than Bagwell’s with Luger.

Right after the magazine came out, Bagwell called me at the office to tell me how upset he was that he wasn’t on the cover. I tried to explain how we arrived at the decision and I also apologized profusely if he felt slighted. Bagwell continued to vent, saying he has always been kept down in WCW and this was just another slap in the face. It was one of the most uncomfortable conversations I have ever had.

Fast-forward to a little less than a year later. Bagwell and Luger had formed a tag team called Totally Buff and we did a cover story on them. Surprisingly, everything seemed to go smoothly with the story and at the photo shoot, and Bagwell and Luger were pleased with the pictures. Then the magazine came out and an upset Bagwell called me again. He took issue with the headline on the cover, which said “Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell: Bodies of Work.”

“You know, it’s so simple and sometimes you guys make it so hard,” Bagwell said. “Our tag team is called Totally Buff, not Bodies of Work. It doesn’t say Totally Buff anywhere on the cover.” The funny thing is that I had decided to put their individual names on the cover rather than the name of the team because I thought they would feel disrespected if their names didn’t appear.

I explained that “Bodies of Work” was sort of a play on words, referring to their physiques (they were flexing shirtless on the cover) as well as their impressive resumes in WCW (which was what the story was about). Bagwell didn’t seem to follow my logic, and just kept saying that the team is called Totally Buff not Bodies of Work. In retrospect, the headline should have read: “Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell: Two Pieces of Work.”

A few other WCW performers that I crossed paths with – Russo, Bill Goldberg and Kevin Nash – also were discussed on Legends of Wrestling. I’ll write about my experiences with them later this week.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

Speculation about Chris Jericho’s return to wrestling began almost immediately after the former undisputed champion left WWE nearly two years ago. It remains to be seen whether he will come back to WWE or sign with TNA, but this much is certain: Jericho will make a special appearance at the Maryland Championship Wrestling show tomorrow in Dundalk.

I spoke with Jericho in a telephone interview yesterday.

Q: It’s well known that you and Chris Benoit were close friends. Before getting into questions about your career, I wanted to ask what your thoughts are on the tragic events of two weeks ago.

A: It’s hard to separate the man that did these terrible, horrible crimes from the guy that I knew who was like a big brother to me, who was a great friend, a great mentor and a great influence on me in such a positive way. I’ll never understand why he did what he did, but all I know is the guy that I knew was just a sweetheart of a guy and one of my best friends, and I’m going to miss him.

Q: Moving on to something more lighthearted, how much have you missed wrestling since leaving WWE?

A: I was really mentally burned out when I left; I just never realized it at the time. It took me about a year and a half to kind of collect my thoughts. Actually what happened was that I wrote a book on my journey to make it to WWE from being a kid. And once I was done the book, it kind of made me realize how much I love the wrestling business and – not to sound too sappy – helped me find myself as a person and as a professional and to start digging wrestling again. So, probably about the last six months, I’ve been paying attention to wrestling and getting into it and watching it again. Whereas, for the first year and a half, I really just was so mentally fried, I just didn’t have any desire to have anything to do with the business. But now I feel differently.

Q: There has been a lot of speculation about when you will return to wrestling and whether it will be with WWE or TNA. Can you give us any clue as to when you might be coming back and which company you are leaning toward?

A: I haven’t really even come that close to getting into specifics of when or where. It’s funny because I hear those rumors all the time. I’m usually the last one to know. People will come up to me and say, “Hey, I heard you’re going here,” and I’m like, “Wow, I didn’t know that. I wish I could help you with that one.” I like both of those companies. I like Ring of Honor as well. I have my favorites in all three of those groups and it’s fun to watch all three of them because, first and foremost, I’m a wrestling fan. That’s why I wanted to be a wrestler in the first place and that’s why I think I did as well as I did, because I always enjoyed the product and tried to put myself in the fans’ shoes and ask, “If I was in this crowd what would I want to see?” And then I tried to deliver that. I really have no time frame or anything like that. But now I’m lurking in the shadows, so watch out – you never know.

Q: How do you feel about TNA dropping your name a few times on their show? Apparently, Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar weren’t too happy about it when their names were mentioned.

A: I don’t know why they wouldn’t be happy about it unless they’re taking themselves way too seriously. For me, I think it’s great. It keeps your name out there, and who am I to complain if my name has enough value to be used as a teaser for something?. I mean, they wouldn’t use Funaki’s name or Big Bully Busick. I’m smart enough to know that if things like that are going on – rumors on the Web and dropping of my name on TNA shows – that just means that people want to see me come back. I find it a real compliment that whenever I do signings, people ask, “When are you going to come back?” Or they say, “Wrestling hasn’t been the same since you left” or “wrestling needs you.” That’s a lot better than saying, “Man, wrestling’s a lot better now that you’re not around.”

Q: When you do come back, do you want to work a full schedule again or do you want to be a guy who kind of comes and goes and makes special appearances?

A: No, that’s not me. I’m “go hard or go home.” When I left, I never said I was retiring. I just said I needed a break and I said when the time was right and I could come back better than ever, I would. When I come back, it’s to come back and make a difference and to play the game. I don’t really think guys coming in for special appearances and leaving really helps. If you come in for one show every two or three months, it’s a good nostalgia thing, but you really can’t make any forward progress. You might as well just come out and wave at the crowd like an ex-president at a parade and then disappear. If I come back, it’s to do what I do best and become one of the biggest names in wrestling again.

Q: You mentioned mental burnout as one of your reasons for needing a break from wrestling. How are you feeling from a physical standpoint?

A: I was pretty fortunate. They used to call me Hockey Puck in the locker room because I never got hurt. I never missed a show in WWE for any sort of injury, so when I left it wasn’t for a physical reason. I feel great; I’m in great shape. But I didn’t feel all that bad physically when I left.

Q: How much of your decision to take a sabbatical had to do with wanting to spend time with your family?

A: It had a lot to do with it. There were some other things I wanted to do creatively, but that was 50 percent of the reason. The other 50 percent was that I wanted to stay home more with my family, and then almost one year ago we had twins, so now I have a very young family. It’s nice just doing nothing but hanging around with my family. But after a while you start feeling that urge creatively to do some more stuff, and that’s when I would go work – write a book or film a movie or do some stuff with the band.

Q: Speaking of some of your other projects, what was your experience like working with The Groundlings, the improv troupe?

A: It was great. I did MADtv, and one of the producers was a Groundling. He thought it would be great if I went to watch one of the shows, and I did. And the head of The Groundlings was a wrestling fan and thought I should do one of the shows. I did one and they kept asking me back. I worked with them for a year, from April ’06 to April ’07, pretty much on a monthly, sometimes bi-monthly, basis. I almost became like an honorary member of The Groundlings. And The Groundlings are the best improv troupe in the world. Will Ferrell is a Groundling, Phil Hartman, Sherri Oteri, Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Coolidge – some great, great people. So working with them was very difficult, but to hold my own and kind of make a place for myself was actually quite a feather in my cap. I learned a lot. They always asked me, “Have you ever had improv training? You’re really good at this.” Well, yes and no. No, I’ve never had training like those guys had, which is very strict, methodical training But just from wrestling, a lot of the stuff I’ve done is improv. Standing in the ring with Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock for 20 minutes after a match just improving with one another, that’s another form of improv. It helped me to kind of slip in with them really easily and I have an open invitation to go back whenever I want.

Q: You just mentioned improving with Austin. When I interviewed him a few years ago, his feeling was that wrestling was too scripted. He liked working old school, where you know the finish of the match but you don’t script the whole match, and when you do a promo you speak from the heart rather than memorizing something that was written for you. What are your thoughts?

A: I agree with both of those things 100 percent. Sometimes I think a promo has to be a little more scripted, but if that’s the case you can always do bullet points. But I always had a hand in that. I refused to take a piece of paper given to me by somebody who didn’t know my character. There’s some good writers in WWE that I like to work with, but I think it gets to the point now where th