"From the Desk of..." Issue #1 (1/5/10)

Written by Greg Prowse,

The main event at Wrestlemania 24 was not Ric Flair against Shawn Michaels, although it should have been. An "I love you" and a superkick later, Flair bowed out in one of the most emotional moments in wrestling history, certainly in the history of WWE. Real tears streamed down Flair's face before taking the final blow, real emotion showed by Michaels, who would be known as the man who ended the great Nature Boy's wrestling career.

You may be thinking to yourself - why on Earth am I talking about a match that every man, woman and child who follows wrestling already knows about? What more can I possibly write that hasn't already been written?

To me, this was one of the very few emotionally-charged moments where you sit on the edge of your seat, your eyes glued to the TV set, perhaps a tear is produced as you realize your seeing something very special. Sure, it wasn't Ric Flair in his prime or even his best match, but emotion wise, it was the best of Ric Flair, with Shawn playing a pivotal role in holding up the wrestling side of things. Not every week is a legend going to retire, but I find its something that's lacking in today's wrestling, even though I feel its the very fabric of pro wrestling's appeal; drawing you in as the viewer and making you suspend disbelief.

Of course, that's not to say WWE have been barren when it comes to emotion-filled moments these last few years. Joey Styles classic shoot on Vince McMahon when he "quit" his position of RAW play by play after run-ins with Jerry Lawler and the Spirit Squad, Paul Heyman's multiple shoots on Vince and the product, Flair berating Carlito for not taking the business seriously, the Hogan/Rock match from Wrestlemania in Toronto which turned Hogan babyface to name a few.

The inspiration for this column came when I was watching some old World Class Championship Wrestling footage, a Cotton Bowl event where Kevin Von Erich gave Chris Adams an ultimatum; fire his manager Gary Hart and Kevin would forget all the verbal and physical abuse Adams had been doling out to him. Like a true heel, Adams waited for Kevin to turn his back, then blasted him with a wooden chair, legitimately splitting Kevin's head open. The reaction was unbelievable; girls in the front row openly weeping as Kevin was being tended to by paramedics and hauled into an ambulance. If Adams wasn't over as a heel before the event, he was now. I can't imagine any girls in the front row crying uncontrollably if John Cena got hit with a chair. In fact, half the fans would probably cheer.

Having watched quite a lot of World Class, these emotional moments were commonplace because the people idolized the Von Erichs - notably David, Kerry and Kevin - and because they believed in the product. When a heel hurt the Von Erichs physically, they were hurting the fans emotionally. The belief was suspended because the story-telling was so vivid, it drew you in, and made you care when the Freebirds were beating on the Von Erichs, or when Ric Flair or Harley Race would narrowly avoid losing the NWA World title.

While I understand WWE is a very successful company, I feel that over the years, they have retarded their own product by reminding us every five minutes its not pro-wrestling, its sports entertainment. Some of these wrestling territories such as World Class and AWA were doing big business by being wrestling promotions, with the added bonus of the people believing in the wrestlers and the product, allowing this emotion to spill on a more regular basis. AWA may have been a bad example as Verne struggled to move with the times, but I believe had Fritz chosen to expand instead of being content with Dallas, and had their not been so many tragic deaths, the wrestling landscape could be very different. Had WCW taken advantage of their roster in the early 90's instead of trying to be WWF lite when they had names like Flair, Steamboat, Vader, Austin, Pillman, Rude - as well as close links to New Japan Pro Wrestling - they may have actually gotten somewhere instead of losing obscene amounts of money.

I understand wrestling has to move with the times, just like any other industry. However, I contend that by calling it wrestling, you wouldn't be insulting people's intelligence, they could go back to basics without trying to "swerve" the fans at every corner just for the sake of it, and still make big money. UFC is doing huge business by promoting fights with simple concepts that are easy to relate, such as the Ken Shamrock/Tito Ortiz series, which drew big money. You didn't see Shamrock as a babyface who then turns heel, then babyface again, or anything over-complicated. It was Shamrock the grizzled veteran - a legend - being disrespected and insulted by the younger and brash Ortiz. It set attendance and PPV records, and yet in the sports entertainment world, we get complex scenarios, twists and turns that make no sense, over-use of gimmick matches - many of which are ridiculous concepts to start with, or promos/scenarios that are designed to look like a shoot, but don't really hit the mark because the vast majority of the audience has no clue what is going on apart from a small group of internet fans. I really think "sports entertainment" could learn a lot from UFC.

In no particular order, I've made a list of some of the moments that I have personally enjoyed for the sole reason that it drew me in as a viewer, even though I have a working brain and realize that pro wrestling isn't a "legitimate" sporting contest. Much like when watching a movie, I want to be drawn in by the storyline or angle, rather then have my intelligence insulted, or have some idiot get on a microphone to do a "worked-shoot" promo telling us DURING A WRESTLING SHOW that wrestling is pre-determined.

1). Snake bite angle. On an episode of Superstars before the 1991 Survivor Series, Jake's cobra sunk it's fangs into the arm of a defenseless Randy Savage, who was tied in the ropes. No tricks, no magic here, a real snake bites Randy Savage, leaving the fans completely aghast. The angle is made even more sinister when its revealed that Jake had LIED about his cobra being de-venomised, and that Savage had almost been killed. Thus the planned Survivor Series match between a team involving Savage against a team involving Jake is cancelled. Add in Jake's demonic promos that nobody else was doing in wrestling at the time and you can't get any more memorable an angle then that.

2). 911 chokeslams Fonzy. Former WWF and NWA referee Bill Alfonso entered ECW as a member of the Philadelphia State Athletic Commission. Alfonso became genuinely hated for trying to enforce the rules, although his decisions DID seem to always favor the heels. In one example, he attempted to call off a Taipei death match between Ian and Axl Rotten when a small trickle of blood was deemed to be too intrusive to Ian's eyesight. Alphonso dodged being physically assaulted by 911 - who was usually called on by the fans to rid ECW of nuisances or in some cases wrestlers they thought didn't belong - for around a year, before he finally accomplished his goal of chokeslamming Alfonso at Gangstas Paradise 96. It produced one of the loudest and most sustained reactions in the ECW Arena - all over one chokeslam.

3). Savage and Liz Re-Unite. At the time, Savage was a heel after turning on his friend and tag team partner Hulk Hogan, becoming the Macho King, and taking on Sensational Sherri as his new valet. Savage challenged the Ultimate Warrior to a match at Wrestlemania 7, even going so far as to make it a Career match. Consequently, Savage is beaten and Sherri, realizing her meal ticket is gone, proceeds to stomp Savage. Liz, who had been shown as being in the audience during the match, rushes to ringside and throws Sherri out of the ring. After a few awkward moments, Savage and Liz hug to a huge response. Shortly after came the proposal on TV by Savage and subsequent wedding at Summerslam, marking the first wrestling wedding that wasn't interrupted by a heel - although there would be drama at the reception thanks to Jake's cobra. It seemed like the fans knew in the back of their minds Savage and Liz were a real item, but it was always kayfabed. The whole process - Wrestlemania, the proposal on TV, the wedding at Summerslam was highly emotional stuff and very well done.

4). Hogan joins the nWo. Bash at the Beach 1996 has to be arguably one of the most memorable WCW pay per views in the history of the company. At the time, Hogan was still in the red and yellow, the stereotypical babyface that wasn't really cutting it anymore. Hall and Nash were brought in - a huge coup for WCW - with the implication that they were WWF invaders and calling them The Outsiders (the implication that they didn't work for WCW and were still WWF wrestlers resulted in Vince taking legal action which unsurprisingly was thrown out as there was no foundation). The main event was to be Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage against The Outsiders and a mystery partner. Oddly the mysterious third man didn't come out to the match, so it started as a handicap match. Luger was injured when Sting accidentally collided with him in executing his Stinger Splash and was taken out on a stretcher. With the Outsiders in control, Hulk Hogan made his way out in the red and yellow. The fans cheer, thinking he's coming to save the day, only to watch in horror as Hogan legdrops Savage and high fives Hall and Nash. However, the real drama and emotion came when Mean Gene walked into the middle of the warzone to get Hogan's explanation. As Hogan runs down the fans and claims his vitamins and prayers were just a gimmick, the ring fills up with garbage. I think a fan even tried to get into the ring. The turn was so strong and the heat was so immense that it gave Hogan several years longevity in WCW as he went from being one of the greatest babyfaces, to one of the most memorable heels in wrestling, and made the nWo the hottest thing in pro wrestling at that time.

5). Kerry wins World title. The Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling got set on fire due to the fans love of the Von Erich boys - David, Kevin and Kerry, along with state of the art production, and an influx of new, exciting talent into the area. David was tipped to be a future NWA World Heavyweight champion, at a time when the NWA belt was considered the most prestigious title in wrestling. In 1984, David tragically passed away while on a tour of Japan. World Class lost their franchise player, and the state of Texas was in mourning. Texas Stadium was the site of the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions, headlined by Kerry against NWA champion Ric Flair. Kerry had tried on a number of occasions to beat Flair, only to be undone, usually as a result of Flair getting himself disqualified. On this occasion, Kerry pinned Flair and resulted in an outpouring of emotion from the 50,000 plus. As an unfortunate side note, Kerry would drop the title just three weeks later to Flair, evidence that the NWA had no faith in Kerry as a long time champion. However, it was still one of the great feel good moments in professional wrestling, as Shawn Michaels stated on the WWE World Class DVD.

6). Dibiase turns babyface. Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation was at one time one of the biggest wrestling territories in the United States. Watts crew included such names as Junkyard Dog, Terry Gordy, Michael Hayes, Jim Duggan, Eddie Gilbert and many others that would go on to bigger things in WWF and WCW. Dibiase was there as a heel, and was cast as a protégé of Dick Murdoch. On an episode of UWF TV, Dibiase had an opportunity to wrestle Ric Flair for the NWA World title. Murdoch decides he should get the match, Dibiase refuses to step aside and gets attacked by Murdoch. Dibiase gets posted and takes a brainbuster suplex on an unprotected concrete floor, resulting in a massive blade job. Dibiase is taken to the back, where later in the show, Bill Watts goes on camera and states that Dibiase still wants to go through with the match despite his injury, and he will have a pressure bandage covering the wound. Watts gives a warning to the fans at home before Dibiase comes out to wrestle Flair. Of course the bandage comes off, Dibiase continues to bleed like a stuck pig, the mat and the outside of the ring covered in blood. Dibiase loses the match, but as a result, the fans get behind him, and Dibiase becomes a babyface. In just one TV episode, the fans go from hating him to urging him on to beat the opportunistic champion Flair, who was really used as a backdrop for a greater purpose; ie. getting Dibiase to switch successfully. To me this was classic booking, drawing you in, seeing this heel bleeding profusely yet refusing to forfeit the opportunity. The key thing here is that it was intentional, rather then misguided booking where a heel gets cheered when he isn't supposed to be.

7). Horsemen have one last ride. Much can be written about the real life battles between Ric Flair and WCW boss Eric Bischoff. They were presented on screen with Bischoff's affiliation with the nWo against Flair's Horsemen, and were evidently just as volatile backstage. Flair took time off after wishing to see his son Reid compete in an amateur wrestling tournament, time off that Flair had asked for and received clearance. Bischoff didn't feel that way and asked Flair to be present at a Thunder taping that conflicted, and Flair said no. Bischoff proceeded to gather everyone together and talk about how he was going to ruin Flair and his family. This was supposedly what happened, although Bischoff denies making those statements. Suffice to say, there was real genuine heat between the two. The Horsemen had been disbanded and used as cannon fodder for the nWo. Flair returned to WCW on an episode of Nitro as Arn Anderson was putting the group back together in an emotional night in North Carolina. Flair proceeded to tear Bischoff a new one to the delight of the fans. Sometimes shoot style promos can backfire when the fans don't understand or get confused when shoot and work are mixed in ala Vince Russo's shocking Bash at the Beach promo on Hulk Hogan. However, the situation between Flair and Bischoff was so public that the fans understood, and Flair delivered one of the truly great interviews in addressing Bischoff. Unfortunately the Horsemen were killed off once again and the return was not taken advantage of, but for that one night on Nitro, it was a truly magical and emotional moment in wrestling history.

There are many other examples I could list, but for the sake of not putting people to sleep, I'll leave it at that. All of the examples I listed hopefully support what I wrote earlier in the piece, that when scenarios are presented that make you really think and suspend disbelief, it really is wrestling at its best. It's these moments that I feel have galvanized me into the wrestling fan I am today, and I look at these moments in time with great fondness.

Until next time...