In The Zone
Posted by TWV Guest Columnists
on 09/11/2006
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Guest Column By Dan Hoffman
As thoughts raced through his head, music flowed from a nearby speaker and the early afternoon sunlight pushed gently against the side of a nearby building. The sound of motorcycles could be heard in the background.
Casting a quick glance around the room, he viewed a box full of football cards, an old wrestling tape, and the family cat curled up in a chair taking a nap.
The longer he sat gazing at the computer in front of him; his thoughts began to turn to the world of wrestling and some of the various news items he had discovered as he sifted his way through the maze of online news sites.
The first one that caught his attention and stunned him into a state of disbelief was the evolution of the WWE's "wellness policy." Under the policy, the way it originally stated was that if a contracted talent failed a drug test or was found guilty of a drug related crime, that contracted talent was suspended without pay for a minimum of thirty days.
This period of time would allow talent thirty days to recover & heal from injuries, enroll in rehab if necessary, and comeback stronger & healthier.
Under the revised policy however, due to the WWE having faced storyline conflicts and other problems when talent failed drug tests, the new penalty is now a loss of pay for thirty days; however, the talent in question will continue to work for the promotion during that period and only be given money to cover expenses.
As he paused, he inhaled deeply and scratched his head. He thought if the policy is a wellness policy established to help the talent in question recover, heal, and seek out help for their physical problems, why is it now that the WWE is seemingly putting the health and well being of the contracted talent on the back burner and placing the company's financial health and well being in front of the talents?
Shaking his head in disbelief, he thought would the new policy really have helped Eddie Guerrero? Had Kurt Angle remained with the company, would the new policy have been any use to him? Rubbing his face in disbelief he could not see how the new policy benefited anyone but Vince McMahon and the WWE. He thought perhaps TNA is right in their approach, recording their shows in advance and allowing their talent two to three weeks between matches to heal and recover from the abuse their bodies take in the ring.
Quickly skimming the headlines, his eyes quickly focused on a headline that tells of past wrestling events. It catches his attention enough for him to investigate it and he quickly discovers that on this date in the year 1995 World Championship Wrestling's program called Nitro defeated Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation in the TV ratings by scoring a 2.5 while Raw scored a 2.2 to launch the Monday Night Wars. He pondered this for a moment and thought. Could this happen again? Could TNA defeat WWE in a ratings war going head to head if given a two hour timeslot and the chance?
Pausing for a moment, he rested his head on his palm and silently listened to the radio as the local news program was being announced and the dog curled up on the floor behind him began to stir and then just as quickly, gently placed his head on the floor.
Cracking his knuckles and listening to the popping sound that was produced, he scratched his nose, inhaled, and thought what it means to be a wrestling fan. He figured it wasn't always the most popular sport to follow but the storylines, plots, and twists were enough to keep him hooked since he was a small child and now into adulthood, his favorite promotion at the time being TNA. He moved his wrist and making the mouse dance clicked onto the TNA website and examined the lineup for the weeks show.
He discovered that the main event of the program would be one that would make even the most bloodthirsty wrestling fans cringe...a "Hangman's Horror" match where the only way to win the chaotic and ultra violent match is to choke out your opponent.
The two men that TNA had selected to be placed in the match serve to sweeten the pot as it's two men that define hardcore wrestling: Abyss & Raven. Only time will tell what amount of brutality and destruction these two longtime rivals will unleash upon each other as they unleash hell on the iMPACT! zone. One thing's for sure, he won't miss this week's iMPACT! program. Will you?
Send feedback to
gbphoff@aol.com.
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