WRESTLING!................yeaaaa........TWICE IN A LIFETIME!..................yeaaaaaa

Welcome back to the Randomizer!

You may remember one of the first articles I wrote for my blog a couple years ago, named 'WRESTLING.....yeaaaaaaaaa.....'. I talked about my own status as a wrestling fan, what I loved about the entertainment when I was a child, what I hated about the entertainment and if I could really consider myself a wrestling fan after all what I said. I had decided to wean myself off wrestling for a time to see how I'd do.

Since then, a few things have changed in recent memory. I found myself more interested in what was happening backstage, amongst certain superstars and what the higher-ups had to say. Still not much interested who most of the superstars are, not too much for the product and what some fans really think about the future of the business.

It was when a certain former superstar spoke out against the company, which caught the ears of people, and wrestlers alike. You may remember I talked a little about one star that made good ground for a time, called CM Punk? If you don't, he was involved in one of the more well-feuds against the face of the WWE, John Cena, winning the WWE Championship from him, and one of the more out-spoken men to be in the business. Last year, he took part in a podcast with his good friend Colt Colbana, and reveal some pretty extensive and shocking accusations.

The most shocking being he's read the original article, and thought it was awesome! (disclaimer: might not be true)

At the time, I was quite shocked as many as others, and seriously considered dropping WWE altogether. However after much thought, I have decided to make a decision after writing the main points of this blog, some of which may not surprise, others which may bring you down a notch to question a company's policies, which has perhaps for so many years gone on too long.

So welcome back to WRESTLING........yeaaaa.....twice in a lifetime. (Little reference to the main showcase for the company, Wrestlemania. John Cena had faced off against Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson twice in Wrestlemania 28 and 29, the former being dubbed as Once in a Lifetime. Sorry for the long winded explanation but there you go!).

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·         CM Punk

Let's start with one of the obvious talking points in recent memory: CM Punk aka Phil Brooks. Here was one of the more popular stars of the business, someone who literally 'talked' his way to the top, and spoke out in character against the owner Vince McMahon and his family. In January of last year, he took part in one of the annual 'Big Four' events, called the Royal Rumble. Only a mere 24 hours later, he was literally gone, from the WWE and the wrestling business altogether. This shocked the wrestling community all around the world, surprised that 'The Best in the World', had packed up and left.

For over 10 months, no one had a clue why he had walked out. WWE were silent on the matter, as usual and business carried on as usual. Until he took part in Colt Conbana's podcast, and showed his side of what happened.

He once asked for some time off from a PPV date eight months in advance, for his friend's wedding, telling McMahon and son-in-law/future prodigy Paul 'Triple H' Levesque that he would not be available on that date. However he wasn't successful, and had to work the PPV in a 3 on 1 match against the faction 'The Shield'. He did manage to re-arrange the PPV card, so he and now wife and Diva wrestler AJ Lee could catch a early flight then back again. It's understandable to be angry at having to miss a friend's wedding, but for me it seemed an unlucky necessity to be in a business, that needs you to work for the entertainment of the fans.

He had also been asked to be involved with signing autographs with the convention Wizard World, and requested house shows off so he could take part. Those dates were given to various other superstars and Punk was denied the pay. It happened again when he was again to be involved, only to find his place taken by another wrestler, Daniel Bryan (more on him later), and that he was need on a tour, which apparently wasn't going well. The pay he received for doing that was $5,000 dollars, a quarter less than what he would have received if doing the autograph signings.

Some of his grievances could be considered to be a little picky, which I do understand. However, in this business there aren't always the arguments about money and personal holidays. It can go way deeper than you realised, especially where the term 'backstage politics' is used.

You see when he won his first title back at the July PPV in 2011, somewhere down the line was made a decision for Brooks to lose the title at the August PPV 'Summerslam' and eventually go on to face Paul Levesque at the September PPV after. He had lost that bout for reasons that aren't exactly made clear, but let's just say in the past, whenever Levesque was given a script, he asked the question: 'Am I going over?' Going over means winning against the opponent you're facing. If he wasn't, hell would break loose. Whether that was a resulting factor in facing Punk at the PPV, I can't say personally.

Nooooooo....

Another thing that came to ahead was that Brooks wanted to main event the flagship PPV, Wrestlemania. As a wrestler, just imagine being in a position to be on one of the most famous PPVs in history. Nothing can beat that. To be IN the main event meant a great deal to him. However, in his career, he never got his chance. John Cena as the main man for the company was going to face Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson for the second time, this time with the WWE title on the line. Which I always viewed as utterly pointless since Johnson isn't a full-time wrestler nowadays anyway, but that's not important. Brooks was put instead into a programme with the longest tenured legend of wrestling, Mark Calloway aka 'The Undertaker'. He reluctantly went along with it and lost, and this problem would not stray from his mind for a long time, as he would also face off against another part-time wrestler, Brock Lesnar, and lose.

In another dimension, Alice and her sister Charley were quite successful in their own right, headlining their own Wrestling/Eurovision Event

A bigger issue soon came up with the amount of injuries that Brooks accumulated over time. WWE may be 'sports entertainment', but there are different points in time where one mistake could led to a trip to the hospital, or even to death, as some fans will know to their cost. Punk had torn his knee in a match against Cena, which was causing him problems around the end of 2012 into 2013. With facing an up-and-coming wrestler called Ryback, soon came more injury problems as he took blows to the chest which caused his ribs to break, and eventually after Wrestlemania 29, he took three months to recover from his injuries, but it wasn't enough time when Vince called him back to work with Christ Jericho at the June PPV. Again, he reluctantly went along with it, and here comes the kill joy.

At some point in 2013, he discovered a lump down his back. Despite the WWE doctor Chris Amann thinking it was a fatty deposit...you figure that out, it simply grew and grew. Along with the injuries he developed, Brooks was anything but happy, when soon enough the lump became the size of a baseball and purple around the time when Royal Rumble 2014 was about to start. The doctor refused to cut it out because he was in the rumble match itself. In the process, he managed to receive a concussion, and as he went backstage, still had been refused to have the lump removed.

When he was asked to take a concussion test and a urine test the day after,  that was the last straw. He talked with McMahon and Levesque, airing his grievances at the pair of them and finally left WWE. After advice from his wife, he went to see her doctor in Tampa, Florida, and found out the lump was in fact a full blown staph infection, promptly removed that day.

If you're feeling even a little pissed off, I'd understand. I felt the same way after learning that piece of information. In fact, this was the main point in which I did consider dropping wrestling altogether. However, that was my gut reaction at the time. WWE has issued a statement saying that they take the health and wellness of their talent seriously, and there are those who have leaped to Amann's defence, saying he is a credit to the profession, namely Smith Hart, a member of the legendary wrestling family, The Harts. It has been announced that from last Friday, Amann has filed a lawsuit against Brooks and Colt Cobana for their claims, saying that they were untrue and painting him in a false light for their words, even going as far that Brooks had never showed him a lump, nor ignored requests if he had one to begin with. In addition, WWE have released a video of Brooks at the Royal Rumble with no defining lump on his back.

At this present moment, it's hard to get a grasp on whose points are better made. WWE has always courted controversy, accidently or even purposely, and has remained silent on a few matters. It's hard to not agree with Brook on some points. Yes, injuries are a nightmare in a business such as professional wrestling. Your body is wound down on multiple occasions whenever you fight, and the risk of death for art is always there if something goes completely wrong. Creatively as well, it can be frustrating when you are put in a position to lose matches, and facing the same opponents over and over, not feeling as if you will be seen as credible by fans, or even by management themselves who will have their own ideas in mind. Heathwise, it should be noted that some doctors can make mistakes over and over again. In a business like professional wrestling, those doctors must be knowledgeable and accountable if a lump is either just a fatty deposit, or an actual life-threatening infection or otherwise, to consult management if anything is up.

But there are times when people have called him out, especially Ryback who pretty much called Brooks a liar when Brooks said he broke his ribs on purpose, and didn't want to get into a war of words about the situation. Vince McMahon even stated on a different podcast with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin that he would be willing to work with Brooks again given the opportunity, and wished him the best.

The problem remains is really, damned for whose side you stand with. I do understand the frustration behind Brook's motivation to outright quit, but maybe it's best to take some of what he says with a pinch of salt, for now. The time now, is to wait.

Nope...still waiting

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·         WWE Deaf on all fronts?

So next question, which has irked some sections of WWE fans all around. Does the WWE listen to its own fans? The quick answer would be to say either: 'NO! NO! NO! NO!', or 'WWE has its head up its own double standard candy ass!', or even 'CENA SUCKS'. The long answer involves a certain star that everybody loves, and I do like up to a point: Daniel Bryan, and his beard. Seriously it is a bloody nest, you could fit a city of birds in it, look!

The birds are away at the minute, Bryan does ask for rent you know

But I digress.

Ever since he was in a tag team with the monster Kane nearly two years ago, Daniel Bryan's popularity has increased threefold to become one of the most popular wrestlers in the company, starting off an ever more increasing 'YES!' chant. Eventually over the course of a few months, he was storyline picked to face John Cena at the 2013 Summerslam for the WWE championship. Despite winning that match, in storyline he was not put over well by the company, having the title removed from him twice in the space of four weeks, and then put into a different feud altogether. Until that is last year's Royal Rumble.

Despite not actually taking part in the Rumble match itself, fans took it upon themselves to voice their displeasure at Bryan not being part itself. They WANTED him to be part of the Wrestlemania main event. However, management decided that returning part-time wrestler and now Hollywood actor Dave Batista would be the one facing the current champion Randy Orton, to the fans almighty displeasure. Vince McMahon is rumoured to have said that 'Randy Orton vs Batista is going to be the biggest Wrestlemania event ever'. Daniel Bryan was going to be facing Irish wrestler Sheamus instead at the event.

Seems a reasonable man doesn't he, fella?

But soon enough, the fans hijacked the show whenever they could, letting the company hear their displeasure at an event that probably wouldn't have meant anything in the long-term. Management caved in, and after working two matches at the main event itself, Daniel Bryan held the WWE Championship on the night. I do remember seeing the show itself on the TV and really getting quite tense at how Bryan would actually win out, and raising both hands in the air after Batista submitted to Bryan's finisher. The crowd finally had their champion.

However, a few months later, Bryan had lost all feeling in his right arm and subsequently had to have surgery, and once more lose the WWE Championship. But the fans didn't forget about him at all, and he made his return early this year, announcing he would be in the Royal Rumble. The triumph was short-lived, as he was eliminated, to the fan's shock. An upcoming new 'face' of WWE, called Roman Reigns has been pushed heavily in recent memory, and won the main PPV match, to face the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31.

The main thing WWE, or in Vince McMahon and probably some family members eyes, has in effect always visualised is the model of a superhero: Someone to always do the right thing, to never give up, and kick ass when they need to. Oh, and looking as if you have muscles is a prerequitsite. Sound like anyone familiar?

Why, hello there

John Cena has been at the top of the company for almost a decade, since he won his first WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 21. You may remember from my first article that one of the criticism I had about Cena, that I said this is not an original character. For some of a past generation, legendary superstar Hollywood Hulk Hogan was the first superhero, who made sure to eat his vitamins and say his prayers, to never give up and kick ass when he needed to. With muscles included. Nowadays Cena is slowly being wound down, to be replaced by the up and coming Roman Reigns, or at least that is the main plan in place by management.

The problem is, over at least 2 decades ago now, that superhero look was thrown out of the window, thanks to steroid and sexual allegations leading back to 1992, forcing McMahon to drop that look he, for lack of a better word, craves, and focus on younger, slimmer, more technical-styled wrestlers, marking 'The New Generation' era. Men like Bret 'The Hitman' Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker carried the business on their shoulders for the three years. But even their popularity was superseded by one man who gave the company a new light, especially when other wrestling businesses became competition.

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin still gets an f***-load of cheers, even today when he's retired. In fact he was never supposed to be touted as the most loved person in his prime. He was supposed to be one of the most hated person, attacking people whenever he felt like it and taunting the main good guy Bret Hart at the time. But after he won a 'King of the Ring' tournament in 1996, he cut a promo against Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, about how he thumped his bible and preached about John 3:16, which led to these words: 'Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your a**'. Thus was the turning point where fans began to cheer for the bad guy, and over 9 months later, became a fully-fledged face character.

In effect over the years, the heroes WWE fans have loved come in all shapes and sizes, and there have been times when McMahon has seen the potential in some wrestlers, to push them into the limelight, and some of that can be due to the fans loving some of the antics put across. But for most it seems like the image of a man who LOOKS capable of beating the crap out of you, with muscles galore, will stay at the forefront of WWE's image, at least with McMahon still in charge for the time-being.

For management, Daniel Bryan is not the person they view as the 'top guy' material. In a weird way that could mirror the real-life situation, they had him booked to lose the title and rematches at different points, and just moved him down the pecking order while focusing on Brock Lesnar and John Cena's rivalry. People can see that as someone who management really don't have as much interest in, as say Roman Reigns, who LOOKS and is pushed as someone who can beat the crap out of people. I have heard the possibility that WWE did that intentionally, pushing Bryan down so they could make him out to be not interesting. Whether that's true or not, I can't say.

I wouldn't say that WWE management doesn't listen to their fans, rather more that they don't WANT to listen. If they have a great deal of faith in pushing someone to the top, they will do all they can to do that. However, some of the promos Reigns has done in recent memory...have been comparing wrestlers with fairy tales...and Loony Tune characters. I'm not even kidding. I don't doubt his skill as a wrestler, but can you imagine a wrestler whose going to be at the top come Wrestlemania, really spouting off fairy tales and speaking like Bugs Bunny with a carrot? It's...kind of off-putting. As a personal view, I've always thought if Daniel Bryan was that popular, he should be getting more exposure. He certainly has the talent and skill to be one of the top people in the business. However, having some understanding how WWE works and their effective choosing of people, that will not be the case, at least in future.

Suffering Succotash.....what's up doc? 

Speaking of how WWE works...

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·         Backstage Drama

If you thought the drama WWE puts out every week is good...pfft come on, when was the last time something interesting happened? But seriously, what goes on inside the ring sometimes doesn't hold a candle to what happens backstage.

Over the many years, there have been so many stories that have unfolded about what happens to different superstars, what is the mentality of the locker-room, and how that mentality affects the wrestlers in the WWE in general. It would be ridiculous to list all the number of stories that have appeared over many years, much as I have done that now. But what I will do is list some of the ones that have made some people cringe and show some understanding about how such problems have arisen.

Problems? What problems?

In a recent podcast with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Vince McMahon said that the roster he has, at this moment point of time, are not as ambitious, and have not reached for the brass ring like John Cena has done. The four stars he did mention as attempting to reach out included Roman Reigns, but as for the others, he feels that because they are 'millenials', a different group of people compared to those of Steve Austin's era, whom he believes will reach for the brass ring, and fail, they will be afraid of being exposed.

It's interesting to listen to those words, because you get an idea that McMahon has no faith for wrestlers under his wing. You could sort of see the point he is making, especially after what I talked about last time involving The Monday Night Wars with WCW. There is no true competition to WWE at this point of time. But delving deeper into what you read up on backstage, there are all sorts of apparent problems.

There is an argument that McMahon has created a toxic environment in his own company. For instance, there are some people who have certain influence about how things will run. Cena for instance has used this kind of power a few times, like at Summerslam 2010 when he beat the last 2 remaining members of the Nexus, and rendered their run over before it could really get started. However, I have heard that he now thought that was something he should not have used his influence for, how he instead should've listened to fellow wrestlers Adam 'Edge' Copeland and Chris Jericho to allow them to go over. Whether he has continued in that manner, or used some other power recently, I don't know.

But there have been times in the past where another certain wrestler, named Randy Orton, has been controversial at times concerning other people, and fans alike. He has talked in public about former divas wrestler Kelly Kelly sleeping around with many wrestlers, has had to take some anger management classes, main evented PPVs after it was found out he was using performance enhancing drugs and not suspended, using backstage influence to knock down wrestler Kofi Kingston's career after he screwed up a move live on TV, and made a former diva's life hell after she apparently didn't know who he was on her first day. Yet he is still with the company, seemingly rated highly among people in the business, having lost a title match back at Wrestlemania. Apparently he has mellowed out overtime, but still it's quite considerable how much Orton has got away with over the years he has been there, only really being punished for drugs and not much else.

Don't look into his eyes...he will end you

Of course, it might be rude not to mention how Paul Levesque came up through the ranks. He was part of a group known as 'The Kliq' in the 90s, along with Shawn Michaels and two main others, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. They used their influence to push up who they felt was deserving, and keep back those they thought were undesirable to be at the top. They went separate ways when Nash and Hall jumped to WCW, but Levesque and Michaels stayed at WWE and created an interesting bubble to work in, getting into conflicts with Bret Hart and, by extension, The Rock. I would say that Levesque's growth is partially due to the considerable friends he made, and partially to being a good worker in the ring. There are always rumours attached to him, like what apparent influence he had from 2002 to around 2004, how being his friend will get you far, and perhaps a relationship with a certain 'Ninth Wonder of the World', which may never be revealed for a long time.

Nooooo.......

Nowadays, Levesque is in control of WWE's development show called 'NXT', which is getting better reviews more so than the main flagship shows are doing at the moment. However, I have read that he, like the past, has his own little clique of wrestlers coming up. As far as I know, all of them have wrestling experience before they signed up to the development show, and receive special treatment in regards to the other wrestlers on the show. Still, it makes you wonder how much some wrestlers should be given, in respects to their fellow man and women. By the way, Levesque is now approving of a few of the female wrestlers on the roster. Whether they will get a push up to the flagship shows remains to be seen.

So is there a toxic-like environment in the business? In one way, yes there is. Having a good number of people who can simply influence the outcome of a match by saying something, isn't a good thing for those can be victim to such problems. The example of outcomes shown do paint a picture about how people higher up can take you down in one swoop and you may never build yourself up again, thanks to those who can afford the protection, or have built themselves up to the top in the first place. Especially when your own boss says you don't have the balls to grab the brass ring available, it can hit pretty hard.

There is one word that does bring up some sort of defence: respect. That one word can help to push yourself up a little bit, to show respect to those wrestlers who have come before you, who have put their own bodies on the line in all sorts of matches down the years. Take Mark Calloway 'The Undertaker'. He is still winding down his career at the age of 49, wrestling only once a year now at Wrestlemania. Yet his career is not to be sniffed at. He has partook in cage matches, hardcore matches, even been in a ring surrounded by fire. All for the entertainment of the wrestling fans. In that regard, respect for those who have pushed themselves up the ladder.

Another thing is a possible alpha male mentality, to not allow yourself to pushed over and show how far YOU are willing to go for yourself, to make yourself into a brand so to speak, not just onscreen, but off-screen too. That ambition may take you down so far for many years to come, allowing you to have a glittering career, if you so chose to be in the business. However, at times it can feel that pushing yourself to your best can only go so far. Ultimately at the end, it's up to management who they will decide to push into the spotlight for better or worse. If as well, politics comes your way, you'd do well to be careful to fight for your spot, otherwise if you don't speak up, you won't get your say, or worse.

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So in the end, will I stop being a wrestling fan because of these things?

I suppose in one honest way, I kind of have. As I said, I don't really find the product of WWE at the minute interesting, or engaging to a point, at least for me. Don't get me wrong, there are some parts I did have a vested interest in. Like last year with Wrestlemania 30 playing, despite having my predictions about how the results will go, I was still shocked and happy at the major results, like Daniel Bryan winning the championship, and The Undertaker's undefeated streak finally beaten by Brock Lesnar (in a poor match. Seriously, it was just poor). But really, the only way I really follow it is reading up on results on wrestling news sites. There will be sporadic moments when I will watch it on tv, but other than that, I don't really watch it anymore.

In terms of understanding the various backstage stuff to a point, I can see the different points of what the company is trying to do, and let's be fair there will always be fans who will disagree with the product yet will still watch it. But I don't necessarily see change happening on the horizon in future, in terms of competition or change of product. McMahon will obviously still appeal to children and adults, that's his target market, always has, always will be, with the years 1997-2008 being an exception somewhat. For me, there are a lot of issues that need to addressed backstage, not just with egos and influence, but wrestlers needing to speak up for what they think is wrong, and not remain silent on matters that will more or less concern their careers. If they want to move into bigger things, they need to show that however much they can, and at least try and kick ass if they can.

The thing is, I don't really find much substance in WWE itself. I just feel that, as a product on-screen and off, there is just little there for me to be going on with. Personally, I'm not a fan of this alpha-dog mentality, where one person is above the rest, and the amount of influence that can come with certain wrestlers. While I do understand that you should fight for your spot, it doesn't really feel like an equal business to go with if you are forcibly pushed down the ladder, and you feel like you cannot speak up. It's a dog-eat-dog world, and it seems for the moment, if one ever enters into wrestling, they need to know how to play.

If WWE will continue the way it has done for the last few years, management are perfectly entitled to do as they see fit. But now, the only reason I'd ever keep going back is a sense of nostalgia for the times past. But I'm not going to get that through reading up wrestling sites, or even YouTube videos. What I have to me is the memories of those events, in my head. That's really the best way of looking at it really.

So perhaps then yes, WWE is really simply not for me anymore. I've had some great times watching all that's come before me, but as the product continues on, I can just see how it will remain the same for at least a good while, at least in my imagination. WWE may be forever, and it's time may be now, but for me, my time...is up.

Oh we lost another fan, how will we ever cope?.....................................................................................................................