BobBitchen
11-24-2005, 09:33 AM
From Lords of Pain
Submitted by Mr. Tito on Thursday, November 24, 2005 at 12:59 AM EST
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all... Welcome to the returning edition of the Wrath of Tito. My crazy working schedule is about over and hopefully, I'll have more time to write. If not, well, maybe it's time to hang it up. I've had a lot of good wrestling issues on my mind lately, so the motivation to write IS there. It's just a matter of time... Thanksgiving is here... not only be thankful to eat a nice, hearty turkey meal on the last Thursday in November. Not only be thankful for having the Cowboys and Lions on EVERY Thanksgiving NFL game (seriously, someone change that!). Be thankful for many things in your life, such as your health, family, loved ones, friends, etc. I'm quite thankful for each of those. In addition, I'm thankful for years of great readers to keep this column afloat, even though I might have some of the most rash opinions on the entire internet when it comes to pro wrestling.
And here's one I'd like to first discuss and then we'll randomly jump into the news. WHY IS VINCE MCMAHON GETTING BLAMED FOR WRESTLER DEATHS?!? When a wrestler suddenly dies, what's the first thing that many skeptical wrestling fans say? "Where was Vince? Why didn't he curb their drug use? Why didn't he have better working conditions?" I say phoey to all of that! You know EXACTLY what you're getting with Vince McMahon. He's been the WWWF/WWF/WWE owner since 1983 (at least that's the date I pulled from the "Sex, Lies, and Headlocks" book), thus meaning that wrestlers entering the industry have 22 years of Vince McMahon on record to look at.
Let's first talk about DRUGS. Why is everyone making such a big deal about the new "WWE Drug Policy". Hasn't there always been a drug policy in the WWE? Why don't you ask the Iron Shiek how he suddenly became unemployed for the car drug bust in the late 1980's? Why not ask Brian Christopher who was terminated by the WWE because he was busted for drugs on the Canadian border? Why not ask Scott Hall about his many WWF rehab stints? Maybe ask Sean Waltman about how he left the WWE in 1996: released from contract or drug rehab? Why not ask Shawn Michaels, who before he became a born-again Christian, was sent home from making a non-wrestling appearance because he looked "out of it"? Even the late Eddie Guerrero was subject to tough drug penalties by the WWE. They saw his pain killer problem and put him into rehab in 2001. He couldn't stay clean and was busted for drunken driving in early 2002. They fired him! (Note, I may have the dates slightly off, but you get the point).
Just because Eugene was found passed out on the floor because of drugs and the reaction afterward happens doesn't mean the WWE never had a drug policy. The fact that they suspended Eugene immediately shows the longtime WWE drug policy. Eugene passing out on the floor is embarrassing the WWE in a foreign market. They did not hesitate to suspend him. How on earth does this create a "new WWE drug policy"? WWE has a long history of not tolerating drugs, with the exception of Shawn Michaels in the late 1990's... but they were on him in the early 2000's or it might have been 1999. Many, many midcarders have been let go due to drugs and you can take one good look at the mid 1990's to see that (several are dead, unfortunately).
How is Vince McMahon even remotely responsible for wrestler drug use? He doesn't recommend them to take excessive amounts of pain killers, nor does he encourage cocaine use or other forms of drugs. I believe he has an aggressive policy on drug offenders. Look at the long list of wrestlers forced into rehab, sent home for being out of it, or outright released. In addition, look at Rob Van Dam. He has a long stigma of being a major dopehead. Vince McMahon determines his world champions. Do you honestly believe that Vince wants to put an openly pot smoker on top of his company with a world title? Being open about his pot use, I believe, has kept him from moving up to the next level. How can you seriously make someone a world champion when their toughest phrase is "duuuudddddde"? There is a significant correlation between wrestler success and not using drugs. Have the Rock, Hogan, Flair, Triple H, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Kane, Undertaker, Sting, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and many of the other industry's top, top, most successful stars done drugs excessively while being on top? NO. Now, I'm sure many of those wrestlers have dabbled in drugs, but it never kept them down from excelling in the wrestling business.
I usually consider drugs to be things such as narcotics... Usually with STEROIDS, I consider those to be performance enhancers. They actually improve your performance, whereas smoking pot or doing lines of cocaine will diminish you. Does Vince McMahon openly tell his wrestler to use steroids? No. Vince was almost indicted in 1994 for apparent steroid distribution. Even if Vince did distribute steroids to his wrestlers before 1992 (when charges were first made), I can guarantee that he hasn't since. The thing with Vince is that he thinks BIG. He wants large wrestlers. His policy appears that he wants you to be a large wrestler and probably doesn't care how you get there. Now, if he sees something like excessive aggression or the clear side-effects, I'm sure he'd have something checked. Since 1994, wrestling companies have clearly acted upon suspicion.
But there are many ways to get large besides steroids. Go to your local GNC and you'll see many supplements with almost the equivalent power of steroids. Growth hormones work, too, though they can be extremely dangerous to your longterm health. The only thing Vince does is push wrestlers who look larger than life. That's what he wants... he has TWENTY-TWO YEARS of this attitude and now are we just paying attention? It comes with the job. If you don't want to tax your body by piling on excessive muscle, then don't take a job with the WWE!
There are many other things that Vince McMahon gets blamed for... long road schedules. Actually, the past was a lot worse and days off were scarce. How about health? The WWE ring and outside padding is a lot safer than, say, 15 years ago. Wrestlers are also told to work a lighter style to AVOID injury, hence the boring kick-punch transitional move style that's being used in the WWE ever since Steve Austin was being protected from injury in 1997-1999. Paychecks? Wrestlers have guaranteed contracts now, which they did not before 1998. Emotional stress? It comes with every kind of job and wrestlers joined the WWE knowing they would be working long days and hardly having any true time off. Backstage politics... always around and at every work place. SO WHAT!
Based on the 22 Years of Vincent K. McMahon running the company, here's the current WWE Job Description:
# Work Long Hours: 22 years of Vince McMahon being a highly demanding boss on wrestlers' time. You should know that there's a television taping at least once a week for each brand and at least one Pay Per View show to wrestle each month. That's given. Then, there's time to train and to get into shape. Another given. Appearances... gotta promote the product, another given. Houseshows? Gotta promote the live product in as many cities as possible and plus, the gate revenue is a significant part of the WWE revenue stream (and wrestlers make a % off of the gate!).
# Must be in Incredible Physical Shape: You must look the part of being a larger-than-life character in the ring. Pro wrestling is one of the few professions where you're not only showing off your athletic ability, but your physical shape. NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB have uniforms to cover up the physical shape of their players. With wrestling, it's mostly shirtless. Guys have to look the part of being physical beasts or it doesn't fly with the public. Vince McMahon knows this and usually pushes those who have great ability and impressive physical attributes. That's just a fact and Vince has 22 years of implementing this. How you get there, well, that's your own personal choice and don't get caught using steroids if you take that risk.
# Vince McMahon can be a DICK. Montreal 1997... Kiss My Ass Club... Shrewd backstage politics to put over wrestlers he likes... Having a monopoly has given Vince a tough market position... He has 22 years of being a tough business man. Do you want him as your boss?
# Pain. Wrestling requires bumptaking and mistakes can happen within a ring to cause injury. Long history of this and it's expected early on when you first train to become a wrestler.
# Likely, a short term career. Not every wrestler ends up like the Undertaker and work for the WWE for 10+ years. "It would be nice to have that kind of job security", as what's-his-name said on Office Space. You know, going into the WWE, that it might be a very short stay, 5 years at most. A bad booking decision or lack of appeal with fans could send you home packing. In addition, a career ending injury can take place.
In close, if you're a wrestler entering the WWE, you know EXACTLY what you're getting into. Vince McMahon has a long 22 year history of working you long hours, being a shrewd business man, demanding a great physical body, feeling pain within the ring, among many other things. If you enter a crazy environment like the WWE, you can't suddenly be surprised at the way things are ran. It should be expected.
What's great about the WWE NOW as opposed to 1983 is that conditions are actually better... why?
1) Guaranteed money.
2) Larger percentages of gates and merchandise
3) Lighter schedules... instead of working 350, you might work 300 on the road.
4) Safer... more padding on the ring and on the outside, as well as wrestling a lighter style
5) More additional avenues in the media to work (TV, movies, etc.)
6) I'd imagine better healthcare while in the WWE... how many WWE wrestlers has Dr. James Andrews taken lately?
If you enter the WWE, you know exactly what you're getting into. So if you're cowardly enough to start snorting nose candy or using excessive pain killers, just remember that you knew about Vince McMahon's business practices heading into the line of work. Nobody told you to become a wrestler. Becoming a wrestler has lots of sacrifices involved, including possibly living poor for a few years as you make it into the business. It's a choice! Get another job if you aren't man enough to take on the risks of becoming a WWE wrestler. That simple. Don't blame Vince for steroids wrecking your body, painkillers + alcohol fucking you up, or cocaine being a hell of a drug... blame yourself for cowering under circumstances you knew about well in advance.
Vince McMahon is NOT responsible for a single wrestler death... with the exception of poor Owen Hart, which should have been planned better with a much more trained stunt coordinator. Eddie Guerrero's death is most likely due from heart failure from his many years of abusing drugs and I can imagine some sort of muscle enhancer put stress on his heart. Abusing drugs, alcohol, and whatever else that is deemed socially undesireable was Eddie's choice and it's unfortunate that we lost such a great performer because of that. But it's NOT Vince McMahon's fault that Eddie died. Some of you fans really need to get a reality check and stop scapegoating the employer... maybe start blaming the employees for signing up for the very demanding job.
OK, that was the main course... here are some TIDBITS:
-Jonah, formerly of Tough Enough 3, admitted to using steroids/"other drugs". Umm, he's still relevant to the wrestling world? Tell me how many Tough Enough guys still remain in the WWE? Just one... Johnny Nitro on Smackdown. Chris Nowinski, Maven, Nidia, Linda Myles, Matt Morgan, Jackie Gayda, the other winner from #3 (Matt?... is he still in OVW?), and Daniel Puder... ALL GONE. Tough Enough was a total failure. Good wrestlers will come from those who actually WANT to join a wrestling school, not a bunch of punks wanting to become a wrestler through an Mtv show. I wish the guy the very best now that he's out of wrestling after various failed attempts to get in, but who cares? I don't even give one damn about a single winner of Tough Enough, let alone its runner-ups. Same idea applies to winners of say Survivor and American Idol, with the exception of Clay Aiken (and I'm glad he's popular so that Conan O'Brien can rip on him). Who cares?
-One thing that I noticed about the Eddie Guerrero shows was the competitive nature of the matches. The guys wrestled as though it was a legitimate athletic contest. Many shook hands and wrestled for the sake of it. Many, great clean wins occurred and the loser always acknowledged it with a "great match" kind of signal. Why can't wrestling be more like this? Maybe push it more like an athletic contest, instead of the goofy soap opera with excessive backstage segments that it's become? I certainly enjoyed last week's shows... not just for the sake of Eddie Guerrero, but for the sake of seeing great, well worked wrestling matches. If it's Sports Entertainment, then why not in addition to making it Entertainment, why not use the first name of Sport? It would add some credibility to the product that has lost some of its fanbase due to poor match-ups lately.
-Reportedly, commercials are advertising Randy Orton vs. Undertaker in a Hell in the Cell match. Raise your hands if you'd like to see this match? *hears a pin drop* Unless Orton puts his 25 year old body on the line, ala Mick Foley, this is going to be another Bossman vs. Undertaker, Wrestlemania 15, style of match. Seriously. It will be THAT bad. It's quite amazing how the WWE will repeatedly present a match that apparently isn't drawing fans (though I liked their Summerslam encouter, very much) and tag a specialized stipulation to it. It's like polishing a turd... despite your polishing attempts, at the end of the day, it's still a turd.
-John Cena on MAD TV? Good for him, though I fear he's getting rapidly overexposed. Fans are starting to boo... I really hope he adds some spark to that show. MAD TV can be hard to watch, sometimes. Outside of Stewart skits, I don't laugh very much at that show...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Submitted by Mr. Tito on Thursday, November 24, 2005 at 12:59 AM EST
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all... Welcome to the returning edition of the Wrath of Tito. My crazy working schedule is about over and hopefully, I'll have more time to write. If not, well, maybe it's time to hang it up. I've had a lot of good wrestling issues on my mind lately, so the motivation to write IS there. It's just a matter of time... Thanksgiving is here... not only be thankful to eat a nice, hearty turkey meal on the last Thursday in November. Not only be thankful for having the Cowboys and Lions on EVERY Thanksgiving NFL game (seriously, someone change that!). Be thankful for many things in your life, such as your health, family, loved ones, friends, etc. I'm quite thankful for each of those. In addition, I'm thankful for years of great readers to keep this column afloat, even though I might have some of the most rash opinions on the entire internet when it comes to pro wrestling.
And here's one I'd like to first discuss and then we'll randomly jump into the news. WHY IS VINCE MCMAHON GETTING BLAMED FOR WRESTLER DEATHS?!? When a wrestler suddenly dies, what's the first thing that many skeptical wrestling fans say? "Where was Vince? Why didn't he curb their drug use? Why didn't he have better working conditions?" I say phoey to all of that! You know EXACTLY what you're getting with Vince McMahon. He's been the WWWF/WWF/WWE owner since 1983 (at least that's the date I pulled from the "Sex, Lies, and Headlocks" book), thus meaning that wrestlers entering the industry have 22 years of Vince McMahon on record to look at.
Let's first talk about DRUGS. Why is everyone making such a big deal about the new "WWE Drug Policy". Hasn't there always been a drug policy in the WWE? Why don't you ask the Iron Shiek how he suddenly became unemployed for the car drug bust in the late 1980's? Why not ask Brian Christopher who was terminated by the WWE because he was busted for drugs on the Canadian border? Why not ask Scott Hall about his many WWF rehab stints? Maybe ask Sean Waltman about how he left the WWE in 1996: released from contract or drug rehab? Why not ask Shawn Michaels, who before he became a born-again Christian, was sent home from making a non-wrestling appearance because he looked "out of it"? Even the late Eddie Guerrero was subject to tough drug penalties by the WWE. They saw his pain killer problem and put him into rehab in 2001. He couldn't stay clean and was busted for drunken driving in early 2002. They fired him! (Note, I may have the dates slightly off, but you get the point).
Just because Eugene was found passed out on the floor because of drugs and the reaction afterward happens doesn't mean the WWE never had a drug policy. The fact that they suspended Eugene immediately shows the longtime WWE drug policy. Eugene passing out on the floor is embarrassing the WWE in a foreign market. They did not hesitate to suspend him. How on earth does this create a "new WWE drug policy"? WWE has a long history of not tolerating drugs, with the exception of Shawn Michaels in the late 1990's... but they were on him in the early 2000's or it might have been 1999. Many, many midcarders have been let go due to drugs and you can take one good look at the mid 1990's to see that (several are dead, unfortunately).
How is Vince McMahon even remotely responsible for wrestler drug use? He doesn't recommend them to take excessive amounts of pain killers, nor does he encourage cocaine use or other forms of drugs. I believe he has an aggressive policy on drug offenders. Look at the long list of wrestlers forced into rehab, sent home for being out of it, or outright released. In addition, look at Rob Van Dam. He has a long stigma of being a major dopehead. Vince McMahon determines his world champions. Do you honestly believe that Vince wants to put an openly pot smoker on top of his company with a world title? Being open about his pot use, I believe, has kept him from moving up to the next level. How can you seriously make someone a world champion when their toughest phrase is "duuuudddddde"? There is a significant correlation between wrestler success and not using drugs. Have the Rock, Hogan, Flair, Triple H, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Kane, Undertaker, Sting, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and many of the other industry's top, top, most successful stars done drugs excessively while being on top? NO. Now, I'm sure many of those wrestlers have dabbled in drugs, but it never kept them down from excelling in the wrestling business.
I usually consider drugs to be things such as narcotics... Usually with STEROIDS, I consider those to be performance enhancers. They actually improve your performance, whereas smoking pot or doing lines of cocaine will diminish you. Does Vince McMahon openly tell his wrestler to use steroids? No. Vince was almost indicted in 1994 for apparent steroid distribution. Even if Vince did distribute steroids to his wrestlers before 1992 (when charges were first made), I can guarantee that he hasn't since. The thing with Vince is that he thinks BIG. He wants large wrestlers. His policy appears that he wants you to be a large wrestler and probably doesn't care how you get there. Now, if he sees something like excessive aggression or the clear side-effects, I'm sure he'd have something checked. Since 1994, wrestling companies have clearly acted upon suspicion.
But there are many ways to get large besides steroids. Go to your local GNC and you'll see many supplements with almost the equivalent power of steroids. Growth hormones work, too, though they can be extremely dangerous to your longterm health. The only thing Vince does is push wrestlers who look larger than life. That's what he wants... he has TWENTY-TWO YEARS of this attitude and now are we just paying attention? It comes with the job. If you don't want to tax your body by piling on excessive muscle, then don't take a job with the WWE!
There are many other things that Vince McMahon gets blamed for... long road schedules. Actually, the past was a lot worse and days off were scarce. How about health? The WWE ring and outside padding is a lot safer than, say, 15 years ago. Wrestlers are also told to work a lighter style to AVOID injury, hence the boring kick-punch transitional move style that's being used in the WWE ever since Steve Austin was being protected from injury in 1997-1999. Paychecks? Wrestlers have guaranteed contracts now, which they did not before 1998. Emotional stress? It comes with every kind of job and wrestlers joined the WWE knowing they would be working long days and hardly having any true time off. Backstage politics... always around and at every work place. SO WHAT!
Based on the 22 Years of Vincent K. McMahon running the company, here's the current WWE Job Description:
# Work Long Hours: 22 years of Vince McMahon being a highly demanding boss on wrestlers' time. You should know that there's a television taping at least once a week for each brand and at least one Pay Per View show to wrestle each month. That's given. Then, there's time to train and to get into shape. Another given. Appearances... gotta promote the product, another given. Houseshows? Gotta promote the live product in as many cities as possible and plus, the gate revenue is a significant part of the WWE revenue stream (and wrestlers make a % off of the gate!).
# Must be in Incredible Physical Shape: You must look the part of being a larger-than-life character in the ring. Pro wrestling is one of the few professions where you're not only showing off your athletic ability, but your physical shape. NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB have uniforms to cover up the physical shape of their players. With wrestling, it's mostly shirtless. Guys have to look the part of being physical beasts or it doesn't fly with the public. Vince McMahon knows this and usually pushes those who have great ability and impressive physical attributes. That's just a fact and Vince has 22 years of implementing this. How you get there, well, that's your own personal choice and don't get caught using steroids if you take that risk.
# Vince McMahon can be a DICK. Montreal 1997... Kiss My Ass Club... Shrewd backstage politics to put over wrestlers he likes... Having a monopoly has given Vince a tough market position... He has 22 years of being a tough business man. Do you want him as your boss?
# Pain. Wrestling requires bumptaking and mistakes can happen within a ring to cause injury. Long history of this and it's expected early on when you first train to become a wrestler.
# Likely, a short term career. Not every wrestler ends up like the Undertaker and work for the WWE for 10+ years. "It would be nice to have that kind of job security", as what's-his-name said on Office Space. You know, going into the WWE, that it might be a very short stay, 5 years at most. A bad booking decision or lack of appeal with fans could send you home packing. In addition, a career ending injury can take place.
In close, if you're a wrestler entering the WWE, you know EXACTLY what you're getting into. Vince McMahon has a long 22 year history of working you long hours, being a shrewd business man, demanding a great physical body, feeling pain within the ring, among many other things. If you enter a crazy environment like the WWE, you can't suddenly be surprised at the way things are ran. It should be expected.
What's great about the WWE NOW as opposed to 1983 is that conditions are actually better... why?
1) Guaranteed money.
2) Larger percentages of gates and merchandise
3) Lighter schedules... instead of working 350, you might work 300 on the road.
4) Safer... more padding on the ring and on the outside, as well as wrestling a lighter style
5) More additional avenues in the media to work (TV, movies, etc.)
6) I'd imagine better healthcare while in the WWE... how many WWE wrestlers has Dr. James Andrews taken lately?
If you enter the WWE, you know exactly what you're getting into. So if you're cowardly enough to start snorting nose candy or using excessive pain killers, just remember that you knew about Vince McMahon's business practices heading into the line of work. Nobody told you to become a wrestler. Becoming a wrestler has lots of sacrifices involved, including possibly living poor for a few years as you make it into the business. It's a choice! Get another job if you aren't man enough to take on the risks of becoming a WWE wrestler. That simple. Don't blame Vince for steroids wrecking your body, painkillers + alcohol fucking you up, or cocaine being a hell of a drug... blame yourself for cowering under circumstances you knew about well in advance.
Vince McMahon is NOT responsible for a single wrestler death... with the exception of poor Owen Hart, which should have been planned better with a much more trained stunt coordinator. Eddie Guerrero's death is most likely due from heart failure from his many years of abusing drugs and I can imagine some sort of muscle enhancer put stress on his heart. Abusing drugs, alcohol, and whatever else that is deemed socially undesireable was Eddie's choice and it's unfortunate that we lost such a great performer because of that. But it's NOT Vince McMahon's fault that Eddie died. Some of you fans really need to get a reality check and stop scapegoating the employer... maybe start blaming the employees for signing up for the very demanding job.
OK, that was the main course... here are some TIDBITS:
-Jonah, formerly of Tough Enough 3, admitted to using steroids/"other drugs". Umm, he's still relevant to the wrestling world? Tell me how many Tough Enough guys still remain in the WWE? Just one... Johnny Nitro on Smackdown. Chris Nowinski, Maven, Nidia, Linda Myles, Matt Morgan, Jackie Gayda, the other winner from #3 (Matt?... is he still in OVW?), and Daniel Puder... ALL GONE. Tough Enough was a total failure. Good wrestlers will come from those who actually WANT to join a wrestling school, not a bunch of punks wanting to become a wrestler through an Mtv show. I wish the guy the very best now that he's out of wrestling after various failed attempts to get in, but who cares? I don't even give one damn about a single winner of Tough Enough, let alone its runner-ups. Same idea applies to winners of say Survivor and American Idol, with the exception of Clay Aiken (and I'm glad he's popular so that Conan O'Brien can rip on him). Who cares?
-One thing that I noticed about the Eddie Guerrero shows was the competitive nature of the matches. The guys wrestled as though it was a legitimate athletic contest. Many shook hands and wrestled for the sake of it. Many, great clean wins occurred and the loser always acknowledged it with a "great match" kind of signal. Why can't wrestling be more like this? Maybe push it more like an athletic contest, instead of the goofy soap opera with excessive backstage segments that it's become? I certainly enjoyed last week's shows... not just for the sake of Eddie Guerrero, but for the sake of seeing great, well worked wrestling matches. If it's Sports Entertainment, then why not in addition to making it Entertainment, why not use the first name of Sport? It would add some credibility to the product that has lost some of its fanbase due to poor match-ups lately.
-Reportedly, commercials are advertising Randy Orton vs. Undertaker in a Hell in the Cell match. Raise your hands if you'd like to see this match? *hears a pin drop* Unless Orton puts his 25 year old body on the line, ala Mick Foley, this is going to be another Bossman vs. Undertaker, Wrestlemania 15, style of match. Seriously. It will be THAT bad. It's quite amazing how the WWE will repeatedly present a match that apparently isn't drawing fans (though I liked their Summerslam encouter, very much) and tag a specialized stipulation to it. It's like polishing a turd... despite your polishing attempts, at the end of the day, it's still a turd.
-John Cena on MAD TV? Good for him, though I fear he's getting rapidly overexposed. Fans are starting to boo... I really hope he adds some spark to that show. MAD TV can be hard to watch, sometimes. Outside of Stewart skits, I don't laugh very much at that show...
Happy Thanksgiving!