Hello everybody and welcome to the barb wired bra edition of the Big TimBoski Show! I am your host, the man who never needs gloves when removing bras, Tim Sampsell. This week’s show is a dozy as we figure out what separates HHH from his idol and we play my favorite writing game, “Could He Be?” All of this plus Trivia so away we go!
Is Shawn Michaels Terry Funk?
This is the fourth installment of a little thing I call, “Could He Be?” The first time we did this was last July where we compared Ric Flair to HHH as regards to their quest for title reigns, we then compared Chris Benoit’s first title reign to that of Bret Hart’s and a few months ago we looked at how Chris Jericho and Randy Savage were used in the same way to help out big men. This time we look at two legends as we figure out if Shawn Michaels is Terry Funk.
Now a lot of people are asking what could I possibly be thinking well they have more in common then you think. Both are from Texas, both are recognized as true legends of the in ring product, both could work any style presented and both are entertaining as hell on the microphone so what could I possibly be comparing them to? Well what I am going to do is compare Shawn Michael’s current position and role in the WWE to Terry Funk’s back in ECW.
Now both men are former world champions and yes even Funk can main event to this day and in the pre-Paul Heyman days of ECW Terry Funk was brought in as a main eventer and feuded with Jimmy Snuka over the Eastern Championship Wrestling Title. Funk knew though that his role was not to carry a company. He was 50 years old at the time and understood that it was more important to get the younger talent established. If you own or you have at least seen “The Rise and Fall of ECW” on tape or DVD then you would of heard Paul Heyman talk candidly about how Funk wanted to establish the younger guys to help better the business and wanted to do something special with everybody he was in the ring with.
Funk would establish ECW Icons and legends such as Sabu, Shane Douglas, Taz, Raven and the Sandman just to name a few. Funk was involved in the first ever three way dance (Triple Threat Match) with Sabu and Douglas in 1994 and went to a 60 minute time limit because is put over Sabu, Shane Douglas and ECW. Funk understood that he had a big enough name value where if a guy would beat him then that man would be established as a true player and not a flavor of the month. You look at the list of guys that Funk help establish, they have all left their mark on the pro wrestling industry.
Now look at Shawn Michaels. Once regarded as the worse backstage politic player ever now is setting up the business with future stars. Since Michaels has came back he has feuded with HHH but has helped put over young stars and stars who needed the push because he knew that a win over him would be good for business. Losing to Chris Benoit helped establish him as a credible champion who was not a fluke.
You look at the guys Michaels has put over since his return and you are looking at current stars, current champions and future champions. Shawn Michaels helped establish Randy Orton with his feud in the summer of 2003 and lost to him at that year’s Unforgiven, he put over Batista as a true giant at the end of 2003 with their small feud and most recently he put over Hassan and Davairi by losing to Davairi on RAW with just a low blow. Hell having the feud with them establishes them as true up and comers and as the future of the business.
When Paul Heyman took over ECW and had the syndicated TV deal Funk was 52 years old and was looked at as a novelty in the fact that he is the legendary Terry Funk and win or lose you know you are going to get a great show out of him. You look at Shawn Michaels who is now right around 40 and you see the same thing. Michaels has no gimmick. He is just himself out there; he comes out to the same music and wears the same clothes because that’s what we remember him as but by no means is he still the Heartbreak Kid. He still is the showstoppa, the icon and the main event because he can still deliver the goods! He solidified Kurt Angle’s legendary status at this year’s WrestleMania by tapping out to ankle lock. Terry Funk established Sabu as the true face of Hardcore Wrestling by losing the ECW Title to him in a barbed wire match in 1997.
If you watched the ECW DVD Paul Heyman said about Terry Funk and I quote: “I have to make sure there is a future for there to be a business.” I am sure that Vince McMahon would give the same accolades to Shawn Michaels because that is exactly what Shawn has been doing these last two years.
Terry Funk and Shawn Michaels were by no means washed up but they knew that they had and have nothing left to accomplish in this business. They have been through it all and have done it all. The one thing that they had to take care of was to make sure that when they left there would still be a business. If guys like Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash would of taken the same approach then maybe WCW wouldn’t of went into the toilet.
Why HHH Can’t Get Any Love:
As you all know HHH is the most hated pro wrestler in internet land and is also one of the top bad guys in the entire WWE. You also know that HHH is a 10 time champion looking to catch Ric Flair’s record of 16 title reigns but there is a big problem that HHH has and while I did compare him to Flair as quests go, he is going about this the wrong way.
HHH is noted as the worse political player in the company and marrying the boss’s daughter does not help his image in the least but when you look at his television persona and compare it to the Nature Boy’s well there are some definite flaws. First up is the fact that HHH is boring on the mic. If you don’t believe me well go through your old tape collection and find a promo from 2000, then find a promo from now and you will notice that they are exactly the same. HHH has not cut an original promo and more importantly an entertaining promo in the last five years. He is the game and he is going to kick your ass. Hell even the time length is exactly the same every time he comes out for his promos. What is worse is he’s even been stealing Flair’s catchphrases such as “There is only one diamond business and you’re looking at him!”
Flair who always had the same catchphrases always had something different to go around them. The delivery is the same because that was his style but the content and that is what is important, the content was always different. From questioning Steamboat’s stance on monogamy to telling Dusty Rhodes that he is not great enough to be champion, “Slick Ric” always had something different and more importantly entertaining to say. Flair could make you laugh, cry, happy and angry while HHH can only make you wish he would stay off of your television because he has said nothing different in the past five years. You probably have HHH’s promo committed to memory because it is the same thing every time out.
That though is not the only problem HHH has, he also has a problem with making guys look great. Sure he put Batista over and tapped out to Benoit but unless he is losing he is ruining careers. You look at the promos with RVD and Booker T back in 2002, 2003. He passed RVD off as a joke because he wouldn’t take him seriously when RVD made fun of the way he spit water and the race card storyline with Booker T was the worst in WrestleMania history. Then you look at Randy Orton who could NOT even get a credible world title reign because they rushed his face turn and then HHH won the belt back a month later making Orton look like a fluke champion and now he is injured and stuck in limbo.
Flair on the other hand made everybody look good. He definitely held some guys down but in the ring they always came out looking like a million bucks because Flair understood that you are only as good as your opponent makes you. Name one bad Ric Flair storyline or match, good luck.
And that brings me to the most important thing here that hurts HHH and that is storylines. Now I understand that there are writing teams involved but you choose how good your character can be and more importantly how fresh it could be. Both Flair and HHH have had their hands in the creative side of the product so do not tell me that they have no control whatsoever because they did and do.
Back in Flair’s prime he had many face and heel turns, not to be fickle but so that he kept his character fresh, storylines fresh and the list of opponents fresh. Flair understood that when he ran out of opponents as a face then its time to turn heel and take on the faces and vice versa. It helped add to Flair’s character because you never knew which Flair you were going to see. Was it the fan friendly Flair or the one who just liked the women in that town and nothing else. The fans though cheered and booed but were with Flair for every title reign. You would see signs in the crowd saying “10 Times the Man,” and “12 times the Man!” You never see that with HHH because of all 10 of HHH’s title reigns only one happened when he was a good guy. Just once that means the other nine times nobody wanted him as champion.
This presents a problem because HHH has established himself as the only heel capable for the title. We all know Edge is not going to beat Batista anytime soon so who does that leave at the top of the heel food chain? Christian who appears to be going to SmackDown and that’s it! There is nobody else and this turns to boring television. Now if HHH was a good guy then they could build more heels and help build the business and keep storylines fresh but instead we are getting repackaged storylines with too many guys stuck in limbo because none of them have had the chance to hit HHH’s level to be credible constant main eventers.
This is what separates Flair from HHH because Flair understood how to keep things fresh and interesting now I understand that times have changed and a million turns is no longer accepted but I do feel that HHH does need repackaging and needs one more face turn because unfortunately for him right now ratings on RAW are up the last two weeks with him off the show. If that does not ring a bell then nothing will. Time off, a face turn and new promos are what HHH need immediately because he is what his holding down talent and his own legacy.
Well it is trivia time again and as always here is last column’s question, the answer and our Medium TimBoski’s for the week.
What was the first normal one on one WWF Title match at a SummerSlam?
Many of you put Rude vs. Warrior from 1990 down but that was in a Steel Cage so the answer is 1992 when Randy Savage defended the title against the Ultimate Warrior!
Here are our Medium TimBoski’s for the Week: Anthony Mangafas, Dale Fudge, Mark Gleadhill, Jeff Sadler, LMart, Matt Koivu, Mike Kelly, London Calling, RockBowski, and SK84Life. Congratulations!!!
All right here is this week’s question, remember if you think you know the answer then please send it with your feedback to [email protected] and always good luck!!!
As we all know the Undertaker is a perfect 13 and 0 at WrestleMania, who did he beat for lucky win #7?
Well folks that about does it for this edition of the Big TimBoski Show! As always I hope you enjoyed and will comeback for more. Remember to send all of your feedback and your trivia answers to [email protected] and until next time LATER!
