Hello and welcome to another edition of ...ATWIT! I've been absent from writing columns for the past couple of weeks because of the sheer absence of idea's to think of. I was scratching my head for day's trying to think of something to write about instead of bashing the Diva Contest or talking about the Kane/Lita wedding, two things I know no one wants to read about. So why don't you kick back, pour some root beer in a plastic cup, and get ready to go into the 4th dimension that is My Mind (too dramatic?)
If you haven't noticed by now my column is designed to specify the unwritten and non-verbalized formulas of the WWE. I like to take time and smell the roses of sports entertainment today. I enjoy writing about that and telling everyone my views of 21 century wrestling. Today I'd like to browse around pay-per-views that the WWE creates. I want to research the greatest and worst PPV's in WWE's illustrious history and give my perspective of the whole idea of wrestling PPV's.
We all know that PPV's in WWE started with Wrestlemania. The WWE is very proud of the thought of Wrestlemania and they should be. It was a great idea to have the best talent money can buy in the ring at the same time in one night. But Wrestlemania didn't last 20 years just because it was a great wrestling product; the idea lasted because it made lots and lots of money. So much money that for years WWE focused their full attention to one day of the whole year where they could get their big payoff! Wrestlemania was something that nobody saw before in the world of wrestling and that was the combination of wrestling and celebrities. That combination still stands in today's wrestling society. But now instead of one major card a year, WWE opted to form one every month. Why not? They were making major bucks with their success of Wrestlemania, Summer Slam, and Survivor Series, why not have others like those that can sellout a stadium and get people to pay to watch on their television. A very ingenious idea indeed.
It was a wrestling fans dream. They get a Wrestlemain every single month, but little did they know that that wasn't the case. Backlash or Unforgiven was not the same as Wrestlemania or Summer Slam. Cards were basic in the expansion PPV's. Instead of Angle and Benoit main eventing you'd get JBL and Undertaker. OF coarse that wasn't alway's the case. In the mid 90's every PPV card had highlight players such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, or Razor Ramon every month. This just shows that WWE has not viewed PPV's to be a special event like they did decades ago. Class in PPV's is still evident though. Every year we still get major cards for Wrestlemania, Survivor Series, and Summer Slam, but the rest of the year we get stuck with nine other lust-less events. The main focus of a PPV these days's is to resolve any feud that was made on RAW or Smack Down, but if the feuds on those sister shows flat out suck then the PPV is not going to be any better, now is it? So here’s another question for all of you, why does Vince make Wrestlemania such a spectacle every year yet blows the rest of the year out of his nose like a bad Cuban cigar. It makes no sense. Vince wouldn't dare put JBL in the Wrestlemania squared circle, so why the hell is he putting him down our esophagus’s every over day of the year?
It's not always the writer’s fault. Sometimes you get great cards, but horrible performances from the talent. I'd say that Wrestlemania XX was a big blunder in sports entertainment history. The card was fully stacked. You had Angle vs. Guerrero, technical vs. technical. You had Kane vs. Undertaker, power vs. power, and many more great matches on paper yet none of them (except maybe the triple threat main even) astounded like they could have. Most were held back to only a short amount of time because of the huge twelve-match card, but there was no excuse for mediocre matches in such a prestigious event like Wrestlemania. This just goes to show you that no matter how much hype and pizzazz you put into a PPV it's never going to be a sure thing as far as wrestling quality is concerned. Even if you have Guerrero, Jericho, Angle, Benoit, and other keen wrestlers battling each other in a PPV there is no way somebody can without a doubt say it will be a "standing ovation" PPV. Yet we could have others like Kane, Undertaker, Big Show, and A-Train all vying at once and you can't say it will be a piece of unadulterated crap.
So as a conclusion lets give WWE a break. Yes, they can make some really jacked up PPV's (GAB 2004), but lets just stop and thank the lord that they aren't near as bad as wCw was in the later day's of their company. Lets enjoy the Wrestlemania's, Summer Slam's, and Survivor Series’ that come along once a year and forgive WWE for not making their other PPV cards as good as those PPV programs. WWE is not perfect, we all know that for a fact, but at least they try and listen to the fans (hence Guerrero/Angle every other month.)
Thanks again everybody for giving me 15-20 minutes of your time to listen to my nostalgic comments. Again, I'm sorry for not giving you a column every week like the old day's of two month's ago, but I hope you all can settle with a new column every other week. Thanks and ...And That's What I Think!
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