Welcome to this weekâ<80><99>s edition of Sean O’Mac’s Pullin’ No Punches (PnP for short). Each week you’ll find Sean’s opinions on one or more topics in the WWE world as well as letters from readers. Remember that you, too, can chime in with your thoughts anytime. I like the props, but love the debates and disagreements too. Just keep them brief or I’ll be choppin’ ya down!
My most loyal readers, all four or five of you, know that Iâ<80><99>ve harped in the past about credible journalism. Iâ<80><99>ve talked about how important credibility is, especially in the online world, and even slammed the hell out of CNN for what they did to John Cena.
The last time I spoke about credible journalism, I turned the heat toward the WWE for not doing their part to help keep online journalism credible.
Imagine my surprise upon reading Glenn Gilberttiâ<80><99>s most recent editorial posting, â<80><9c>Why The Internet Is Hurting The Wrestling Business, Part 2.â<80> If you havenâ<80><99>t read it yet, please go check it out in the editorials section before reading any further.
Say it ainâ<80><99>t so, Glenn! Say it ainâ<80><99>t so!
My first reaction after reading Glennâ<80><99>s piece was a mix of frustration and anger. After all, here I am now considered one of these â<80><9c>Internet wrestling journalistsâ<80> and whether intentionally or not, Glenn basically took a three-foot brush and painted us all the same color.
But then I stepped back, as all good journalists are supposed to do, and took an unbiased look at things. Glenn, knowing the wrestling business as he does, is certainly entitled to his opinion and, unfortunately, itâ<80><99>s an opinion thatâ<80><99>s probably been shaped by much experience.
I have no doubt that Glenn and others in the business have been victims of shabby journalism, much like the examples he pointed out. Why in the world would someone get information straight from the horseâ<80><99>s mouth, then put out a story that says â<80><9c>Despite what Glenn Gilbertti says, this is what heâ<80><99>s going to do?â<80>
Itâ<80><99>s a terrible thing when journalists, online or otherwise, donâ<80><99>t report the facts correctly or donâ<80><99>t do enough investigating to make sure they have the right information.
But letâ<80><99>s put the paintbrush on hold for a minute, please.
Glenn is a great source of information on how things are in the wrestling business â<80>” thatâ<80><99>s what he knows.
Iâ<80><99>m a great source of information on how things are in the news business â<80>” thatâ<80><99>s what I know.
Iâ<80><99>ve worked in the newspaper business for the better part of 10 years, with a brief stint thrown in there working as a news director for a radio station. In that time, despite being in what most would regard as â<80><9c>small-townâ<80> publications, Iâ<80><99>ve broken stories that have been picked up nationally, covered tons of controversy â<80>” and never once has my credibility as a journalist been called into question.
So when I was lucky enough to be brought into the fold at Wrestle Zone, I was excited. I was hired mainly to do editorialized pieces, such as my Takes on WWE programming and the â<80><9c>Pullinâ<80><99> No Punchesâ<80> columns, but also given a green light to write more. I have the opportunity to write news, do interviews and report on the goings on within the WWE.
Unfortunately, I have two things going against me: I havenâ<80><99>t been in the online wrestling world long enough to have a nice, long list of sources; and I have an old-fashioned sense of journalistic integrity that I just canâ<80><99>t seem to shake.
Lucky for me, I now know people who know people who are related to the guy who can supply me with a nice list of contacts. Unlucky is the fact that the WWE still operates under the assumption that anything in the Internet world isnâ<80><99>t the media and deserves no attention.
Since Iâ<80><99>ve been working online, Iâ<80><99>ve tried â<80>” through the proper channels â<80>” to get in touch with Ricky Steamboat, and even requested an interview with John Cena and Vince McMahon in the wake of the CNN debacle. Guess how many return phone calls Iâ<80><99>ve received?
Zero.
While I know most wrestlers, Glenn included, probably have a bad taste in their mouths regarding online wrestling journalism, that certainly doesnâ<80><99>t help matters.
Sure, wrestlers and the wrestling business have probably been screwed in the past by online journalists. But do you think that because of what happened with CNN that everyone in the WWE has been banned from speaking with television media?
As a career journalist, I’ll keep on hounding until I get the feedback I want from those in Connecticut – and I’ll keep holding my tongue (or fingers since I’d be typing) on any story that I can’t back up. I know there are others here and elsewhere who feel the same way.
The Punching Bag
Itâ<80><99>s your turn again! This is where, each week, youâ<80><99>ll find e-mails and feedback from wrestling fans on my Takes and opinions. You’re welcome to send yours, good or bad, to wzseanomac@yahoo.com. But be warned – the WWE isn’t the only ones I won’t pull punches for!
Actually, the only reason the puppies on Trish look bigger, is it looks like she lost weight. A LOT OF WEIGHT!!!! I have a bad feeling that since she wants to do more ‘mainstream’ projects; a lot of directors are telling her to look less like a wrestler, and more like a starlet. As someone who is past 40, and watched wrestling since Nixon was in the White House, all these nostalgia shows do it for me. With everyone that was mentioned, RVD was something of an ‘OH MY GOD’ moment, since nobody mentioned him. I know it doesn’t seem likely, but, I hope that he is back, and after all, ‘owes’ Randy Orton for sending him away.
– Matt H.
Well, Matt, whatever the case – Trish sure looked hot! Lita looked damn good too! It was nice to see them both on Monday. I join you in enjoying the nostalgic, and in being completely shocked to see RVD on Raw. It’s being reported that WWE took notice of the huge pop he got, so who knows what the future holds for Rob? We’ll see.
Farleydave sent me a rather long e-mail regarding my take on the 15th anniversary show. Since I didn’t have too many letters this week, I’ve decided to include it – but don’t get used to having long letters like this one! 😉
First of all, let me say that last nights Raw 15th Anniversary Special on USA was THE BEST WRESTLING program I have Seen ALL YEAR!!!
Now, u start your column by saying:
“The show was filled with memories, humor, and even a couple of title matches. Unfortunately, despite the grand fashion in which most of the show was held, most the the matches tonight seemed to be mere filler for the rest of the pomp.
While I can admit I enjoyed the show for the most part, it was indeed disappointing to not have the strong backbone of great matches to make it much better – especially being the last episode of Raw before Armageddon.”
Lets go through the matches again, because I’m not sure we even watched the same show.
1. Jeff Hardy v. Carlito for the Intercontinental Title in a LADDER MATCH!
This flat out STOLE THE F’n SHOW!!! period… Best Match on RAW in a Loooooonnnnggg time… Carlito REALLY needed this!
Well, I did put them in my Headliners, as it was definitely a good match. We’re on the same page so far…
2. Speaking of the WHOLE F’N SHOW<< Rob... Van... DAM squashing Marrello had me MARKING BIG TIME at home! I was going freakin' nuts... NO ONE had that up on the sites!! (Now a sidebar, I had read some spoilers before the show of who was backstage and what matches were planned, and this was NEVER mentioned.) Good job WWE keeping that one on the Down Low. Possibly an even better reception that Y2J had, maybe because they didn’t blatantly promo the hell out of it for MONTHS, acting like they were gonna swerve everyone, and just DID IT!
WWE definitely pulled off a coup there – I have to admit I was as shocked as anyone that RVD was there.
3. Hogans whole segment was GOLD. Not too long, so the haters can’t complain.
I have to admit, I love seeing Hogan. But he and Khali definitely looked like they didn’t practice that bit much…
4. The Evolution Reunion was about what I expected. Good build towards the PPV.
5. The opening segment was CLASSIC. A LOT of HHH on the show, but that’s okay, look how many different events, moments and memories he’s been involved in over the years on RAW. I liked the whole, “What’s up, Steph?” was GREAT! I love it when they acknowledge the smart fans…
6. The 6-Man Tag between Rated RKO/Umaga and the rest of evolution was….
aiiiiiggghhhttt. Nothing too special there. but a great concept, none the less.
7. Bichoffs segment was putting me to sleep until Y2J came out, some interesting stuff there.
8. Similarly, the Battle Rayal WAS pretty terrible, but then, if u remember the Gimmick Battle Royale from WM X7, it was for PURE nostalgia… and that’s what it was! Then IRS giving the win to Ted Dibiasi was GREAT> my roommate LOVED Million Dollar Man back in the day, so that was especially cool for him. He still sounds GREAT!!
Now, in my opinion there were some downsides…
1. The tag Title match was a Waist!
It might as well not have happened, with everything else that was going on, it will be forgotten, as the Titles themselves seem to have been already by the booking staff.
Gold changed hands, so it’s a headline. But I was disappointed with the match. It was way too short for starters…
2. Kennedy’s match with Jennety was DI-SS-A-POINT-ING… no added heat to the HBK/Kennedy fued there. waist…
3. They RUINED the KANE/LITA promo in the back by adding Ron Simmons “Damn” moment of the week to it. Why are they still having him do these???
4. After all the other ‘surprises’, I was DYING to see The Rock, or even Possibly BRET HART come out during the Last Segment with Vince naming Himself “GREATEST RAW SUPERSTAR!”… (*Big Surprise, right?)
So instead they had, Mick as Mankind, Undertaker then Stone Cold. Stone Cold can still cut a great promo, don’t get me wrong, but this just didn’t feel BIG enough.. maybe becuase they had already blown bringing back Austin and Foley a couple weeks back… Remember?
Of course not, cuz wrestling fans have super-short-term memories, right?
Well, other than that, though, Best Raw of 2007.
And, I guess, your right.
Basically ONE match I would call a ‘classic’ and that was the first match. Not too much for the Divas, I was surprised with 3 hours, but oh well.
Also, not a lot of involvment from Smackdown or ECW. But all in all, the best Raw in a long time. Can’t wait for Tribute to the Troops, and I may even see Armagaedon this weekend.
So I’m just sayin, not as bad as you make out to sound, but all in all, a pretty fair assessment of the night i suppose.
Sorry I went on so long, but I hope u post this.
-farleydave
Well, I don’t know what else to say, Dave. You start off by saying you’re not even sure we watched the same show, then say I’ve made a pretty fair assessment of it? I think we agree on a lot of the show – the Hardy-Carlito ladder match was a thrill, and the rest of the matches were fairly bland if not way too short or just bad. But I did enjoy the rest of the show for the most part. I’m not sure how big a stretch it is to say it was the “best Raw of 2007,” but overall it was a good one.
Sean “O’Mac” McGuinney’s day job is as a newspaper editor. He has been a journalist for nearly 10 years and has covered everything from government to sports. The wrestling? Well, that’s just been enjoyed since he was a kid. Don’t ask how long ago that was.
