Hello everybody and welcome to the I need a bigger contract edition of the Big TimBoski Show! As always I am the man who will never show up on time for training camp but yet still want to be called a team player known as Tim Sampsell. This week on the show we talk lightweights in giant land, the move to Friday’s, an American tradition and as always I have trivia but before we get to that there are some things quickly that I want to take care of.
Last Sunday I was LIVE at the Great American Bash, now I understand that apparently it did not come off real well on pay per view but honestly it was an awesome show and I really enjoyed it as it was my first time attending a PPV live.
Now with that I do not want to rant but I will quickly say that I am personally disgusted with the treatment of the Muhammad Hassan character and the man who plays him. In no way should Marc Capani be punished for simply doing his job and it is a shame that of all the times to not stand up for their own booking, they do it during a time of war and racist feelings towards Arab-Americans. Hopefully in the future Capani’s career can take off again and hopefully the WWE has learned from their mistakes but I am disgusted with the recent happenings.
Welcome to the Land of the Giants:
Well over the years there have been a lot of rumors about Vince McMahon’s tendencies, his likes, his dislikes, and his political views. One of these rumors is his dislike for smaller wrestlers while he has what some fans have call a “fetish” for the bigger guys. Well this rumor resurfaced on Sunday at the Bash when current internet darling and huge crowd favorite Christian lost to Booker T. Christian who appeared to be getting pushed to the moon back a few months ago was traded to SmackDown after his long awaited feud with John Cena was traded to RAW. Those who have the read the reports know that apparently Christian feels his push is going out the window.
Well that made me ponder why? Here is a guy who has some of the best mic skills anybody has ever had in the wrestling business. His promos are as good as anybody’s and his in ring work always makes people come off great and is always an entertaining match. The fans have latched onto him but for some reason the WWE got cold feet and decided not to pull the trigger. I feel that Christian’s lack of size may be the biggest reason for this. With the exception of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels almost every long time main eventer in WWF/WWE history was over 250lbs. Christian is not the first guy to be caught with a case of created limper tail. Here are some other examples from recent history.
Back in 2001 at WrestleManiaX7 “Stone Cold” Steve Austin turned bad guy and went with HHH. Who did they start feuding with? I know a lot of people forget but it was the Hardy Boyz. Jeff had taken the Intercontinental Title off of HHH while Austin was kicking the holiness right out of Matt Hardy and Lita and the fans were into it but instead of setting up matches with the Hardy’s for Backlash, they put Kane and the Undertaker in there instead and thus the PPV was rushed and did not draw as well. Matt and Jeff were quickly moved back down the ladder and this storyline was never brought up again.
At the end of the same year (2001) Chris Jericho had done the unthinkable and became the first ever Undisputed Champion. One of his first title defenses was on RAW against then co-owner Ric Flair’s hand chosen opponent. Flair had chosen “Everybody’s Favorite Wrestler” and “The Whole F’n Show” Rob Van Dam to be the opponent. The match went on back and forth until Vince McMahon interfered for Jericho which of course brought Flair to the ring and the match ended with Flair with a Figure 4 on McMahon while RVD had his own Figure 4 on Jericho! It made you think that here we go with a dream match for the Royal Rumble, Jericho vs. RVD for the Undisputed Title but out of nowhere they decide to do a mini tournament without RVD in it and name the Rock the #1 contender instead. Why the cold feet? Why change something that you built up properly? Why not at least try it one time and if doesn’t work then move on?
The answer is because the WWE has it instilled that there is only one type of super athlete and they are the big, muscular, abnormal people that when you look down the street your first impression is “Damn that guy is huge!” Now they may be huge guys but just because they are big guys doesn’t mean they automatically have a better drawing power then somebody smaller in stature. Case and point; who is the most popular superhero in America right now and was voted the greatest superhero according to Bravo? Its NOT Superman or Batman…it’s Spiderman!!! Yes the smallest of the big named superheroes is the most popular and why is that? Is it because he can lift an inadament object over his head and throw it a mile? Is it because he has these obscenely super powers? No its because he is cunning, sly, quick, daring and oh yeah really entertaining! That’s what were talking about here, entertaining. Is Batista more entertaining then Eddie Guerrero? No, not in my eyes in fact I think it’s the other way around and it’s not because Eddie is smaller, its because he does cooler stuff in the ring, puts on a better in ring show and oh yeah and is entertaining. Not saying that Batista is not but if you switched places would it really hurt the WWE? Not really.
Now I know some of you are saying what about Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero’s title reigns from last year? Well Eddie couldn’t keep with the pressure while Benoit was never given the spotlight. He had to redo the WrestleMania main event. His feud with Kane was all about Lita and was overshadowed by HHH vs. HBK, his feud with HHH was all about Eugene and his feud with Randy Orton was about HHH and was overshadowed by HHH and Eugene.
The fear to pull the trigger is nothing new from the WWE but come on. You wonder why Indy fans always groan when they hear one of their favorite lightweight workers are being asked or do go to the WWE? It’s because they know that he will probably not get an opportunity to show his stuff and climb up the ladder. Paul London has been in the WWE two years now and we have yet to see the Paul London that got that job. We have yet to see the “Please Don’t Die!” Paul London that drew Ring Of Honor’s first ever 1000 fan event. We have yet to see the Paul London who put on matches of the year with Michael Shane (Matt Bentley in TNA), Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Bryan Danielson and its because the WWE wont let him apply his craft properly and it’s because they know that London would easily win over the crowd and move up the ladder and would somebody in the WWE please tell me what is so bad about entertaining the fans?
Whenever a guy from the Indy’s moves to the WWE the fans are always skeptic because in the Indy’s you really see what a guy can do both in the ring and on the mic and the current worry is of course current ROH World’s Champion and new WWE employee, CM Punk. Will we see the Punk that took over Ring Of Honor or will it be a watered down thing like we have seen with RVD, London and the cruiserweights?
The big problem I think the WWE has is they feel that lightweights are not draws and how would they know? They’ve only pushed two to the top and they are two of the biggest legends ever. Again superhuman does not mean giant. It means doing things that a normal person can’t and I am sorry but being big doesn’t make you superhuman because you are expected to lift people smaller then you over your head easily. Superhuman is doing the shocking, the unexpected and the things people wish they could do. Now I am about the size of Paul London (5ft9, 198lbs) but I cannot do a shooting star press, nor can I do a 619 or a 450 splash but you know what neither can JBL or HHH or Batista. You know what every single lightweight can do though? They can hit a clothesline, a powerbomb and a back body drop.
The big guys bring one thing to the table and that is size. There are only three big men currently in (or around) the business that have true in ring technique and can put on five star classics and they are Brock Lesnar, HHH and Samoa Joe. No other big man has the type of in ring work that truly wows audiences. The little guys on the other hand got to where they are strictly because of their ability to wow audiences. They don’t have these unbelievable bodies and muscles but like Spiderman they are sly, cunning and always coming up with something new. So Vince and the WWE just because he is little does not mean he sucks. In fact it probably means he is better then your bigger guys so give Christian his push back and don’t be afraid to let the little guy run with the ball because they can draw. They bring something different to the table and that is athleticism and besides you want people to get their money’s worth well putting on a match of the year candidate every show is certainly not a bad start and besides maybe it will get rid of that terrible myth that only the big can draw.
The Move to Friday’s:
Well as everybody knows this September SmackDown will be moved to Friday nights on UPN and there are some people who think this is a good move because it will put the WWE against less competition but if you are the WWE you dread this move and there is a big reason why and I will get to that but I’m going to hold you in suspense for a little bit.
SmackDown is currently the number one show on the worse broadcast network in America, UPN. SmackDown is also on TV’s most competitive night right now so the fact that they get an audience is impressive especially with the way they treat it as a second rate show. Now the preemptions because of baseball games are going to hurt but not as much as the lack of people watching television.
I’m a college senior and I don’t know about you but me I am not home on a Friday night. I am out and so is the rest of the WWE’s target demographic of 18-34 year old males. What this means is that the only people who are going to be watching SmackDown will be the true diehards who have absolutely nothing to do. Now because ratings and shares are percentages, do not expect the rating to change because it is a percentage of how many people are watching television in an area; however the share will move up because that is the percentage of how many people have the TV on so because less people are home that means less TV’s are on so the share will move up.
I know you are thinking so what? Well the so what is that you are now only going after a smaller percentage of the population and now that you are only going to be able to keep the diehards this means the WWE will have to do something they never want to do.
That is they will have to book to the diehards! In other words the internet is going to get its way. Why is that? It is because the casual fan will not be home to watch it so even though the diehards are going nowhere, neither are the spoilers since the show will still be taped on Tuesday’s and since the diehards read the spoilers now they have a decision, go out and party or sit home and watch a SmackDown that they know they are not going to like? I do not read spoilers but it is a pretty easy decision for me and that is I’m going out. Now you have a dilemma because on Monday nights and Thursday nights most diehards have no choice and are home but Friday is the weekend so they may not be home. How do you keep your rating? You are going to have to book to the diehards so Christian who may think his push is over might now get a second chance because the WWE is backed into a corner until they get out of their contract.
I know a lot of the wrestlers are worried about whether or not SmackDown gets picked up but while it is still on the air the guys who are the internet darlings will now get moved up because that is what the audience wants to see. So SmackDown will be getting a make over whether the WWE likes it or not because they can book to the casuals and lose they’re diehards to movies and parties or keep the diehards and try and catch some casuals in the process. I know your thinking that casual fans are home on a Friday night. Yes if they are under 14 or are over 55 so to me expect SmackDown to go through some definite changes when the show moves to Friday because if they can’t keep their rating or raise it against no competition then why would another channel or network want to pick them up?
An American Tradition:
You know many international fans like to rip US wrestling fans for their perceived lack or appreciation or dedication, hell I have even seen somebody in a forum with a quote that said: “Wrestling; In Japan it is a sport, in Mexico it is a religion, in Canada it is a tradition but in America it is a joke!” Now you are entitled to feel that way and while I rip my fellow countrymen for being racist towards the Muhammad Hassan character there is a tradition that we have in this country that every country that the WWE visits and that has a wrestling promotion usually does.
What is this tradition you ask? Well it started in the mid 1980’s with the rise of Hulk Hogan and really took center stage during the nWo and the Attitude Era so what on earth could I possibly be talking about? Posters! Yes that is right, posters are indeed an American tradition amongst wrestling fans not just here but all over the world. I know Sunday at the Great American Bash me and my buddies brought posters that said “Midgets=Ratings, That’s Our Batista, Peeps 4 Life and Liberals 4 Equality!” We had a blast making them and we had a blast getting the liberal one by security as well but posters have now been a staple of American wrestling fans that is celebrated all over the world. The chance to get your poster on television and truly express yourself is a thrill and a half. Fans say hi mom or salute their favorite wrestler or most hated wrestler in anyway possible to express themselves and be part of the show. This is part of the fun of going to a live event.
The creativity of these posters is unbelievable to see and is really fun to catch at a live show. Me and my buddy F. Tom saw a fan with a poster that said the “Wheel of Taps” with Benoit’s head being the spinner. We also saw creative ways of ripping on Hassan, JBL and others.
The point of this little spiel here is that when you go to a wrestling show you want to express yourself and that when the WWE tours to England or especially Japan where nobody ever brings posters, the fans bring posters and why is that? Because it is a tradition that has became a staple of American wrestling fans and the WWE so the next time you rip an American fan for whatever reason just remember that you brought a poster to the show just like he did.
Trivia:
Alright here we go with last week’s question, the answer and as always our Medium TimBoski’s for the week!
Who sung the National Anthem at the first WrestleMania?
“Mean” Gene Orkerlund!
Our Medium TimBoski’s are: David De Connick, Dwayne Nicholls, Gavin Langdon, Joshua Rubin, Glen Notaro, and Mike Kelly. Congratulations!!!
Alright here we go with this week’s question remember if you think you know the answer please email it to me with your feedback at [email protected] and if you read me at a forum please email me your answer. Do not post it in the forum thread. Alright good luck everybody!!!
As everybody knows at the very first SummerSlam in 1988 the Honky Tonk Man lost the Intercontinental Title to a mystery opponent who ended up being the Ultimate Warrior. Who was the regularly scheduled opponent?
Well that does it for this week’s edition of the show. As always I hope you enjoyed it. Remember to send all feedback and trivia answers to [email protected] and until next time LATER!
