I was surfing through the endless numbers of wrestling news the other month about the major talent cuts that were made. Notables such as The Dudley's and Charlie Haas sadly lost their jobs. I was considering basing this column on notables that left the WWE only to have better careers afterward. Then I noticed another news archive of a possible Brock Lesnar return. A sickening feeling fell over me. Does the WWE actually have any dignity anymore? Lesnar recently left the WWE and a multi figure contract to be a towel boy to the NFL's Minnesota Vikings bench before being cut before the season with no interest from any other football team. What he did was not only a piss poor life decision, but it was a major disrespectful thing to do when you review the fact that the WWE gave him a major opportunity for him. They pushed him quicker than any other wrestler I can remember with no past pro wrestling experience. The writers teamed him with the devilish Heyman and soon he was paired with The Rock for the Heavyweight title in Summerslam. He became the 71st Heavyweight champion in front of a live New York crowd.
The Lesnar high never ended either. It seemed that he was always the premise of a major plot. His storyline pairing with legends such as McMahon, Undertaker, Big Show, Angle, The Rock, and even Steve Austin can be used as a highlight reel for the "Get the 'F' Out" era a decade from now. Add those highlights along with winning the title a second time over Angle at WrestleMania XIX and again over Angle in a 60-minute iron man match for the ages and you can without a doubt put Lesnar with the best in the business for years to come.
Even with all the big time success (along a big contract to boot) the golden boy of new era wrestling wasn't satisfied. For some reason he thought he had more to prove in his life. He wanted to fill a boyhood fantasy that should have been left in the past. Lesnar decided to give all his fame up to pursue a pro career in football. I personally thought this was a stupid decision, but it was a decision that he felt good about. If he thought that it would have made his life better than I give major props to him for following a dream he wanted to catch. Yet Lesnar did something that I will never forget. He personally made negative comments about the business that gave him a chance. He kicked mud in the face of all of us who watched him wrestle over television and even purchased tickets to see him main event. If it weren’t for WWE giving him a chance in 2000, Brock would likely be herding goats in Webster, South Dakota. Lesnar should be sucking Vince’s big toe right now after giving him a chance. Instead, The Next Big Thing shunned his past like a cancer that was released from his body.
Brock Lesnar making the squad of the Minnesota Vikings would have been a great story. Sports Illustrated would be contacting him for an interview of how Lesnar pursued his dream of leaving a $45 million contract with WWE to join Vikings squad and only earn around $230,000. Lesnar would have said in the interview that it was a lifelong goal to be apart of a pro sports team and that he was also happily engaged to Rena Mera, another former WWE talent. As we all know though, that dream did not come true. Brock was cut from the Vikings bench in August and didn't even get the chance to smell a real football field, let alone play on one. To put an even more negative spin on his story, Brock also filed a lawsuit against the WWE to get out of his no compete clause that he signed before departing for the NFL. That meant that Lesnar was looking into competing in wrestling again after turning his back on the profession.
This wouldn't be the first time that the WWE let bygones be bygones. When the wCw started picking off talent from the WWF they went straight for the big guns of the organization. Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall soon left the stale WWF for the fresh wCw. Years later, like most of us know already, the wCw crumbled down to the ground thanks to bad management. Many wrestlers were left out of a job after that. There was quick speculation as to who the WWE would sign and who they would let go. Most thought that Hogan, Nash, and Hall wouldn't come near a WWE telecast for the rest of their career. They would simply move to Japan and pursue jobs oversees. That did not happen however. All three were signed to WWE contracts to reform the nWo, arguably the biggest, baddest, and best faction in pro wrestling. It was stunning to believe that Vince would have such a forgive and forget attitude. These three guys humiliated the WWF year after year along with Eric Bischoff. They shunned WWF to be the main wrestlers for the enemy. I don't see anything worse in wrestling than that. Yet Vince welcomed them with open arms. All three were noticeably past their prime, but they all got the best storylines. Hall faced off against Steve Austin at Wrestlemania and Hogan was in the main event slot against The Rock in a dream match for all to behold.
We also know that this story didn't end very well either. Scott Hall (one of my favorite wrestlers of all time) was kicked off the WWE roster after a drunken fight over the Atlantic Ocean. Kevin Nash went through a serious injury to his leg and didn’t return until a year later. Hogan stayed with the roster for a while longer, but he ended up only hogging the spotlight and holding back many younger talents from getting valuable face time on a WWE program. You'd think that Vince would learn that some things aren't worth ratings and hype when they end up turning sour. Then Vince hired Goldberg. Unlike Hogan, Nash, and Hall, Vince had no prior history with Goldberg. Goldberg was a big reason to how the wCw become so successful though, so we knew that Vince wasn't necessarily Goldberg's buddy throughout the years. It was widely known that the only reason Goldberg came back to wrestling in the first place was because he wasn't getting any new paychecks from Ted Turner. That alone was reason enough to dislike him. Most also knew that Goldberg was not the greatest wrestler. To say that he was this decades Hogan would be an understatement. wCw would have pushed him to heaven if they could. They didn't have that kind of Godly power so they just settled on making him the face of the company. Vince salivated over the fact that they could have wCw's golden boy and quickly made a deal with the former wCw Heavyweight champ. In no time Goldberg climbed the ladder to the top. This actually seemed like Vince did something good for the WWE. No, Goldberg wasn't a good wrestler, nor could he act. However, he did manage to sell merchandise and put green in the WWE's pocket. Sometimes that’s all that matters in wrestling these day's. It's time to shed a tear on this story too because it wasn't meant to be. Goldberg’s ego ended up being too big (go figure) and he was making flight arrangements for Japan in no time.
You'd think that Vince would learn his lesson by now. First the nWo failed, then Goldberg blundered. I didn't even mention the debacle known as SCOTT STEINER. That name will live in wrestling infamy as being the most hyped wrestler to do the shittiest ever! Vince ended up doing the unthinkable only moments later. He hired his worst enemy to be a star for the RAW brand. Eric Bischoff joined the WWE in one of the most shocking moves in wrestling. Even though he wasn't (and still hasn't been) a writer or a major player at the Stamford office, it was still very odd to see him on WWE television. This was the main person who made Vince’s life a living hell. This was the guy who spoiled WWF storylines on live television. This was the guy who flaunted over the fact that he beat WWF RAW week after week in the television ratings. This was even the man who attempted to outbid WWE over the rights to the wCw. What did Vince owe him? He owed him a swift kick in the tactical glands and nothing more. Again, Vince went in favor of T.V ratings over judgment again and hired him as the main villain on RAW. This has not blown up in Vince’s face yet and likely never will. He still hasn't given Bischoff any special duty on RAW. I doubt that Bischoff even consults others on the program. Bischoff also knows that he can't screw up on anything. He was given a job at the most powerful wrestling organization today. The same organization that he almost drove out of business years earlier. That’s like George W. Bush making John Kerry one of his top aides after he won the election as a show of good faith.
These short stories go to show that no matter how much you screw with Vince and the WWE, they still forgive and forget. I guess that if Vince himself is man enough to give Lesnar another chance after all the stupidity that Lesnar induced to himself with his career choices than I too can give Lesnar another shot. He has shown that he can wrestle and that he can carry the load at the top of the WWE, but he hasn't shown that he is stable in his life path yet. I'm sure that Brock will now make wrestling a full time gig unless he wants to co-star with The Rock as a second bodyguard to John Travolta on the next Get Shorty sequel. Only time will tell if Vince actually gives him his job back and if Brock himself makes it back to be a main event star that he once was.
Thanks again for reading. I'm starting school back in a couple of weeks so I might be even less active with my columns (if that is even possible.) I hope most of you enjoyed this column though. I'm thinking of doing a sequel to this one about ways that Vince has screwed others in the company (mainly Bret Hart.) That’s still in the works however. Anyway's, thanks for reading and...And That’s What I Think!
Copyright © 2005; TheWrestlingVoice.com & Douglas Nunnally.
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer & Privacy Statement
| What Did You Think About WWE Backlash 2008? |
|
|