WWE Blog

Eric Bischoff

{ 4:16 PM, May 8, 2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }

Alot of people dislike Eric Bischoff. He was the man responsible for almost putting Vince McMahon out of business.
He used dirty tactics to win ratings. The WCW would go on the air, live on Monday night, whilst WWE also on Monday night, was pre-recorded. Bischoff put WCW Nitro out two minutes before the start of WWE Raw and gave away the results on Raw, so that viewers would stick with Nitro.
It worked. WCW beat WWE in the ratings wars between '96 and '98, eighty-six weeks in a row. That's huge for a company that was so far behind WWE in the early 90's, everyone wrote them off.

This is why Eric Bischoff is a genius. He single handedly revolutionised the business of Professional Wrestling. He saw that Vince McMahon's show was appealing to families. Good wholesome entertainment, for all ages. It was a family show. Bad gimmicks and all.
So Bischoff did the opposite. A complete overhaul of what it is to be a Wrestling company. WCW in the mid-90s developed Attitude.
The era is magnificent for all Wrestling fans. It pushed WWE to reinvent itself, and from that reinvention, we were given Stone Cold vs McMahon. The Coporation. The Ministry of Darkness, and Degeneration X. None of that would have been possible without Eric Bischoff.

Bischoff's biggest achievement, in my opinion, was the creation of the NWO. Taking Hulk Hogan, the biggest fan favourite of the 80s and turning him into a bad guy, laced in black, with a crew to reek havoc every Monday night, and shock the Professional Wrestling World with their antics, was a stroke of genius.
Having Scott Hall walk out on WCW TV, as an invader from WWE, was great. It set the tone for the whole era, what were WCW going to do next? Was the feeling us fans would get.

When WCW collapsed (in my opinion, due to Vince Russo, the biggest liability in Professional Wrestling), not even Vince McMahon knew how to handle the NWO angle. He tried, he failed. Bischoff took the NWO angle to it's limit, and brilliantly too. He created the idea of the evil boss by joining the NWO, a few months later, McMahon becomes the character 'Mr McMahon' , the evil boss.

The way Bischoff used Sting, was amazing. From the blonde spikey haired mid-carder, to top of the bill dark clothes, Brandon Lee in the Crow lookalike, who didn't speak for a year, the enemy of the NWO, was fantastic to watch.

Degeneration X in my opinion, was the best thing to happen to WWE. They created Attitude. Shawn Michaels kept the WWE alive in the mid-90s. D-X would not have came around, had it not been for the NWO. The WWE would not have created a hugely successful roster, including Stone Cold, The Rock, Mankind, Undertaker, The Corporation VS Ministry VS D-X angle or any other asset during the Attitude Era, had it not been for Eric Bischoff's vision for the total overhaul of what it meant to be a Professional Wrestling Company.

If TNA want to expand and one day, truly compete with the WWE, they need someone link Bischoff.
At the end of what was the be known as the 'Monday Night Wars', the best man won. McMahon took over WCW from Ted Turner, mainly due to the politics behind the scene at Turner Corp, and AOL Time Warner, but also because Bischoff was no longer running WCW. And, again, the serpent, Vince Russo had been brought in to write the storylines.

I hope to see Bischoff back on Professional Wrestling TV sometime soon. He's missed at the minute.

John Cena

{ 5:55 AM, April 27, 2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }

John Cena cannot wrestle. He has been pushed too quickly.
I'm still massively bitter about the end of the Attitude Era, when stars such as Stone Cold, Foley, The Rock, Undertaker ruled the old WWF. Even when Vince brought the NWO to the WWE, it fitted perfectly.
If Cena had been built some more, like Edge has been then maybe I could take to him more. Maybe if Cena had more than three moves, and didn't start life in the WWE with the lamest gimmick since Doink the Clown, he might have stood a better chance. I don't see him lasting long. He's already getting boos in every stadium he performs.

Don't get me wrong, he must be respected for performing every night, just to entertain us fans. That's praise worthy in itself. Anyone who can chose to put their bodies on the line night after night just to entertain fans, commands respect from me immediately. But the fact remains, he is not a talented Wrestler. Nor, is he any good with the microphone. He has connected with the new generation of fans, the kids, but the older generation, such as myself, who remember the Attitude Era days, feel like we've been let down.

I completely blame the lack of talent on the roster, on the takeover of WCW. There is no longer competition to push Vince and the WWE to raise the bar. Eric Bishoff forced WWE to raise the bar. Eric Bishoff was the foundations of the Attitude Era. Turning Hulk Hogan into a bad guy was a stroke of genius.

There is no competition, and as the WWE is slacking. It is currently being held up by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Randy Orton. Once the first three of those call it a day (they're all getting older) there is no one to fill their shoes. Certainly not Cena.

The WWE Title

{ 5:53 AM, April 19, 2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }

When Shawn Michaels beat Brett Hart at Wrestlemania 12, the old WWF Championship belt looked authentic. It looked professional, it had an air of magic to it. It was something we dreamed about holding up infront of 20,000 fans as kids.

This, is Brett Hart with the old WWF belt. It's the belt we all recognise. It has been held by Wrestling greats over the years. Even if Brett looks a little girly in his pink outfit, he could Wrestle, and he deserved such a prize. Everyone who has a clue about the Wrestling business, knows that if your character is marketable, the fans love you or love to hate you, and you can wrestle, you're going to move up the pay grades pretty quick. What better prize than a huge pay packet, and the traditional WWF Title?

Recently, since John "I can't wrestle or provide the slightest bit of entertainment" Cena had the title, it all of a sudden changed, to an incredibly shit design.

The huge diamond studded "CHAMP" written across the bottom of it, couples with the spinning WWE logo in the middle, whilst being held by one of the worst Wrestlers i've ever seen, makes the WWE title much less desirable than the old one. I really wish they'd stop remodelling it to suit different stars. I could cope with Stone Cold's smoking skull belt, just about. But the design should not cater to specific characters. It destroys it's credibility.

The greatest

{ 8:19 AM, April 18, 2008 } { 2 comments } { Link }

Obviously I can only comment on the stars i've watched over the past seventeen or so years, since i've been watching.

It seems that over the years, some of the greatest Wrestlers, those with extraordinary in ring ability are kept back somewhat in favour of those who come across better with the fans. It is of course the way things happen with Sports Entertainment. Entertainment comes first, Wrestling ability comes second. This isn't a bad thing, it's provided us with some of the most memorable matches, and house hold named stars.

To name a few of the stars I considered to have the most in ring ability, i'd start with Brett 'The Hitman' Hart. He never injured anyone in his entire career. That's a massive achievement. Regardless of my negative opinion of Brett's personality, his ability in ring, was second to none. It's a shame he couldn't adjust to the Attitude Era, but nevermind.

Secondly, Curt Hennig, also known as 'Mr Perfect'. To this day, I still think his entrance music together with his signiture towel catch was just fantastic. Perfect even. His ability outshone all those around him. He never got the push to Championship level, because he couldn't stay committed to one company for long enough, which held him back.

Shawn Michaels is the greatest of all time. There is no question about that. The Rockers era, the bad guy of the early '90s. He had the greatest match of all time, the One Hour Iron Man Match at Wrestlemania 12, which started with the greatest entrance of all time. He's been part of the most successful stable since The Horsemen, and I include the NWO in that, Degeneration X. He's the greatest entertainer in the business, and has an incredible Wrestling ability. Having been forced to retire in 1998 due to a back injury, to then come back in 2002, having not wrestled for four years, and be just as fast and as fantastic as always, is incredible. The man is unstoppable.

There were then those who have ability, but don't ever really get noticed. William Regal, Hardcore Holly, Owen Hart. These guys add credibility to the whole show.

At Championship level, we're faced constantly with a mix of those who cannot Wrestle but come across well with the crowd, and those who can do both, which is a rarity. Triple H and Randy Orton are entertaining, and can Wrestle.
Hulk Hogan could never wrestle. He got by with a leg drop for twenty years. The Rock is the greatest entertainer in WWE history, but he could not wreslte. Neither could Stone Cold. And now, we have John Cena. The worst professional Wrestler i've seen in years. He isn't even that good an entertainer. He should not be involved in WWE. Especially when the likes of Scott Steiner, Sting, and Kurt Angle are all on TNA, they are the guys who should be at the top of WWE.
Kane cannot wrestle, Carlito cannot wrestle, the Divas cannot wrestle. There are a number of stars, who just can't compete to a top quality, but there are those who the WWE needs for credibility purposes, who have the talent, and hopefully, will pass that on to the next generation.

This video, is of the greatest match of all time, with the greatest ending ever. The hour long iron man match between Shawn Michaels and Brett Hart at Wrestlemania 12, in 1996. Shawn had never been champion before this, and if you know his life story, you know how much getting to the top meant.

The first entry

{ 7:19 AM, April 18, 2008 } { 2 comments } { Link }

I keep a regular blog over at http://presidentjame.efx2blogs.com for everyday blogging needs. However, when it comes to Professional Wrestling, I feel I could talk non-stop, for hours. So it only makes sense that I start this new blog to cater to that.

I've been a fan of Wrestling since I can remember. I'm 22 now, and still haven't grown out of it. It still entertains me. It has grown up, with me. The era that catered to Children more than adults existed when I was a kid. The Hulk Hogan's of the World were around then. By '98, it gained attitude, and appealed to the older audience. Mick Foley flew off the Cell, D-X were telling everyone to Suck it. It was a fantastic era.

Watching Wrestling as a child is somewhat different to watching it now. When you're a child, watching repeats on ITV of old 1970s British Wrestling, stars like Giant Haystacks, Big Daddy and Jack Pallo, whilst buying videos of Hulk Hogan, The Macho Man, The Ultimate Warrior over in WWF, you watch it thinking it's real and that these guys really do hate each other. You pick your favourits and you boo the guys you hate. I really did believe Repo Man stole people's possessions. I really did believe Undertaker got his power from Paul Bearer's urn. And that's the magic of Wrestling as a Child.

As you get older, you see the whole thing differently. You start recognising the ability needed to perform to such a high level every night. You start noticing the quality of certain storylines. In short, you start watching it as if it's a soap opera, no different to any other on TV.

Those who have not grown up with a passion for Sports Entertainment, will often say the one thing that bugs fans like me. "It's all fake you know". As if, they've stumbled on some well kept secret. We know that it's scripted. Just like we know Eastenders is scripted. But that isn't why we watch it. We watch it because it entertains us. We watch it because we grow to love characters, we watch it because we appreciate the work that goes into making Professional Wrestling a succees.

Last week, me and my Girlfriend went to a WWE Raw house show in Nottingham, here in England. Up close, you notice things you don't notice on TV. You pick up on the difference in quality between the performers. For example, I noticed that Kane struggles to perform. He looks awkward and difficult. Whereas, Bob Holly, Brian Kendrick, William Regal, Randy Orton and Triple H looked on top of the game. William Regal worked off JBL brilliantly, he can wrestle. Carlito, can't. The Divas, were appalling. They messed up so much, it just looked a mess.
Overall though, the house show was excellent. Well worth it.

This blog will document my thoughts and feelings toward certain people associated with Professional Wrestling, certain matches, and my approach to storylines.

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