Send in your questions to WZMailbag@gmail.com or post them on our forum at this link. This week I am joined by Mike Killam and Josh Isenberg.
I was just wondering that with the angle that started that saw vinnie mac being supposedly “blown up” in his car just before the awful benoit incident. Have l you any idea of who was going to be revealed as the suspect/suspects and how the angle was going to play out? Obviously it would have been revealed that vince had survived but it would have been interesting to see how it progressed.
Josh Isenberg: The idea was for Vince to just be missing and his body is burned beyond recognition. Creative writer, at the time, Chris DeJoseph commented a few years ago that the angle would continue and multiple people would scramble for power. The storyline would evolve over the next 6-8 months with “what will it take to get Vince’s power that he left behind?
Knowing a few stories and sources, there was never a specific person that would have been revealed as doing this. It was more of the ongoing saga of who could take control of WWE and lead the company higher than Vince did. After someone took full control, Vince would make his return and fight whoever was appointed the man/woman in charge to get his company back.
Max Cruze: Damn. WWE has had some pretty weird storylines over time but this one sounds pretty compelling. If not for the Benoit incident, I would have loved to see this one play out.
Do you think GFW is “shooting themselves in the foot” when it comes to a possible invasion angle with TNA? It is the right way to introduce his company to the public?
Mike Killam: As much love as I have for Jeff Jarrett, GFW shot itself in the foot when it couldn’t decide on what public vision they needed to present to the fans. They announced far too soon, with far too little behind them, and then left people hanging for more than a year without any indication – other than dozens of rampant rumors – of what to expect from the finished product. Was it going to be a TV show? Was it going to be a reality show? Is there a TV deal in place (a question we are still asking, by the way)? Is it just going to be an international production company, bringing NJPW and AAA to US PPV?
People started asking “What exactly is GFW?” a long time ago, and it’s a question we still don’t have an answer to. For a long time it was an idea with a really poorly designed website. Wrestle Kingdom was a great idea (and IMO the single greatest wrestling PPV in history) but what was the long-term yield? What does any of it mean? Fast-forward to summer 2015, and all we see are some poorly attended live shows in AAA baseball stadiums, filled with one or two notable names and mostly unknown (albeit it very good) indie talent. At least the website is slightly better now.
This thing with TNA really doesn’t do anything for them, because we still have no idea what GFW is. It’s just another step in the extremely long road of making something incredibly convoluted, and never telling the people what to expect. When they finally announce a TV show – which they have taping dates for, coming up soon – the shine will have already worn off. It’s like when you’re in high school and you want to form a band with your friends, but you spend the first five hours of “practice” coming up with your name, and never actually picking up an instrument to see if you’re any good. By the time this thing actually happens who is going to care? The dwindling fans of Impact Wrestling?
Bottom line is that Jeff will do anything to get him and his brand on someone else’s paid screen time. That’s not a bad thing. NJPW, AAA, ROH, TNA – as long as he doesn’t have to pay the networks, it’s free advertising. The problem is, there’s just nothing substantial to advertise for. He’s got one thing, and that’s the trust of the boys and girls. Talent like AJ Styles and Bobby Roode; those are respected names, and if you can get them on board with your vision – whatever that vision may or may not actually be – you’ve got a chance at making something special. I just hope it’s not too little, too late.
