Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Memories of the first 100 ROH shows, should WWE wrestlers be allowed to smoke weed, Kurt Angle’s health problems become scary in WWE, and remember when Joey Styles and ECW mattered? It’s all here in this archived version of the 5.4.06 Four For The Road

–Kurt Angle is out indefinitely after chronic neck problems causing the WWE to do an injury angle on Smackdown and put the heat on Mark Henry. Does anyone watch Smackdown anymore? Do the wrestlers in the back even watch it during the taping? I know I’m a wrestling fan, and that means it’s my job to play Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, and top off my Friday night with some WWE, but I can’t. Not only do I not want to stay home for this show, I don’t even want to tape it. I don’t want to even watch it if I am home. It makes me sad I find Smackdown so thoroughly boring that I can’t bring myself to watch all the talent that show possesses, especially Kurt Angle.

At the risk of being arrogant (I take the risk whenever I type) I find it undignified that a star such as Angle has to spend the twilight of his career in WWE sanctioned semi-obscurity. Sure, Smackdown is a network show–moving to the CW Network (Who?)!!! If two million people fall asleep in front of their TV sets on a Friday after some chocolate ice cream, is anyone really watching Smackdown?

Half-joking aside, if WWE doesn’t want to take B-show slotted Smackdown seriously, move Kurt Angle to the new ECW product in a Hogan role. By that I mean a very limited match schedule, big star aura, and featured interviews/angles. Every two months Angle will pull off the “big match” to stay where he needs to be, and I can see one of my favorite all-time wrestlers begin his eighth and perhaps last WWE year with a reason to pay attention. Angle is an anomaly, and the WWE should treat him as such. This could be it for a short but storied career. Let’s at least pretend something besides the McMahon’s 43rd pathetic attempt to be the Ewing’s from “Dallas” is important. How did HBK once say it? “Priorities Vincent. Priorities.”

– Joey Styles cuts a quasi-shoot promo on RAW to get the ECW brand angle started for WWE. Here was WWE’s first step in rebuilding the ECW Brand- a carnival barker catfight and a few minutes of one announcer telling another announcer, before a befuddled crowd, that he didn’t like his job and was quitting. It doesn’t sound like much, but Joey Styles promo (which was pretty much 99% the truth) got this angle off to the best start imaginable. It’s a nice way to get the fans riled up and begin to get your pieces in place. It wasn’t Scott Hall shows up on Nitro big, but it wasn’t Lance Storm and Shan-o running out for “WCW” either. It was as good as it gets on WWE TV in 2006.

The next day the entire Internet was abuzz. Everyone, it seems, can’t wait to see what’s next, since we all know what’s coming in broad strokes. ECW’s PPV. An ECW web cast that will become a USA Network show. A special WWE vs. ECW program on the aforementioned network, and house shows in ECW strongholds. The angle was such a good start I had to wonder if Heyman and McMahon had sat in their offices converting Heyman protégé Gabe Sapolsky’s interpromotional feud angle into the WWE scale version. Gabe, your check is in the mail. Paul swore it!

The thing is, Monday showed how far away all of us are from the WWE product today. In specific, how different its fans are from “us”. Like it or not, by default, we have become the ECW fan base. Styles did the promo we’ve all been saying in our collective heads since 2001. The former ECW announcer gave the most believable/real/passionate promo in at least a year, and we all wondered how the TV stooges under Stephanie could have done it. They didn’t. Styles wrote it himself. But while “we” were all cheering about what Joey said, while we clapped about how “we” struck back and all that’s coming up, the WWE fan base sat in confusion.

Don’t get me wrong. Styles painted the broad strokes for the uninitiated to follow the karaoke words, but I’d estimate about 10% of the fans in attendance got that promo. I mean really felt that way, understood the issue, and actually bought in past “the J.R. replacement is doing a bad guy thing.” 10% understand the issues, know that the storyline is based in truth, understand what ECW really was and what it’s spirit is. 10% completely buy into the “us against them” positioning of the rivalry. Make no mistake, that’s what it’s being positioned as, and it’s what the angle has to be to start the brand.

We (you and I, anyone who reads this, subscribes to a newsletter, owns a compilation not put out by WWE, or has gotten ripped off by Rob Feinstein) are that 10% that needs to grow to make this work. The WWE fans, or displaced ECW fans, are being asked to pick a side, and the hope is the WWE won’t alienate the portion of the fan base that picks ECW. At least, one would hope they’d do a few subtle things to subconsciously encourage ECW support.

I do love the start. They deserve all the credit for the frame work; but a hesitant sign lies in the fact that it’s cut up in highlights of the angle on the WWE’s own website. Joey’s rant on the product has already been censored. My hope is next week Heyman gets involved, or better yet, if one of Paul’s messengers, like Dreamer, gets fired by Vince and vows to “call Paul”. I say acknowledge Dreamer as a front office guy, and Paul as the exiled to Louisville employee that he is. Then have Paul come in the week after Dreamer is fired, deal w/ Vince, and after getting himself fired, you have Paul say that when his contracted was extended he had the right to run a second ECW PPV. The next week run another Vince/Heyman confrontation and get RVD involved in the build up w/ a reluctant WWE championship match they HAVE to contractually fill at the PPV. Once you use the controversy from the PPV main event to run w/ ECW as a break off self sufficient group, we can really start the “brand building”. This needs to be Pro Wrestling against Sports Entertainment. This needs to be Joey Styles announcing like a sport. This needs to be viewed as two distinct promotions without WWE logos on anything ECW. Flush the pride; the checks still go to Stamford anyway.

The answers are right in front of the WWE and they’ve started setting the table. I like it. One cautionary note for phase two after the PPV. The old ECW, with its old stars and flaming tables, won’t work. You need to change the perception of ECW and hardcore to make this last. The older guys (Axl, Sabu, Sandman, Dreamer, and Balls) need to put over the CM Punk’s of the new territory (I’ve got money that Heyman gets him in the company w/ a push). If all these things are done, there is a shot at success. Congrats WWE. TNA and ROH should have been nervous on Tuesday morning. You’ve got the internet/newsletter fans talking. That was never your problem though. It’s time to be unselfish so Sports Entertainment fans get involved.

– Newsletter editor/writer Wade Keller openly has supported the idea of altering the WWE Wellness Policy to allow for wrestlers to smoke marijuana. This isn’t a story from this week, but it’s the kind of subject with long-term ramifications that I’d like to tackle in my column. I think it’s important for as many ideas as possible to be discussed for the future good of the business as a whole.

In the interest of public disclosure I feel it fair to tell you that Wade Keller once gave me coupons for a free buffet. Bruce Mitchell, a Keller sanctioned editorialist who often polarizes opinions with his words, once bought myself and a friend dinner in Greensboro. He introduced me to a food known as hushpuppies. Also, the Pro Wrestling Torch’s own Jason Powell, who I affectionately call “Bulldog”, has been nice enough to take my calls and give me some advice once or twice a year. Mr. Mitchell and I just seem to talk over each other.

Why any of this is relevant, besides the fact these men share a love for typing words like “work”, “shoot”, and “Flair Country” and actually get paid for it (I’d like to submit a resume guys), comes in the form of Wade Keller’s editorial comments in past months about the WWE Wellness Program. Keller wishes, for the sake of the wrestler’s collective health that they be allowed to smoke weed without fear of violating the company’s drug policy. I laughed out loud at this bold statement when I first read it. I was amazed Keller would sanction the use of a federally illegal substance in a sport and/or entertainment industry already riddled with drug abuse. But Wade, much like Raven manipulating his fellow heels in late 1995 ECW, has a “higher purpose”.

Keller goes on to say that he would rather seem his friends in the Fed get high in their hotel room after shows and go to sleep then abusing Oxycontin, Somas, or Percocets. He’s concerned enough about painkiller abuse mixed with alcohol that he believes turning a blind eye to pot in the testing may be the only fair way to keep these young men alive past forty-five. When does anyone who knows one thing about the plague of drugs in wrestling’s history publicly promote drug use in their own publication?! Well Wade Keller just did, and he makes a pretty damn good case for why we should be agreeing too.

The thought process goes like this. Wrestlers have been dropping like flies over the past few years. We have alcohol abuse, heavy recreational drug abuse, steroid abuse for muscle building and rehabbing injuries, along with painkiller abuse. If we take away painkillers from these guys, especially because they are in a lot of pain even if they aren’t addicted, then we should at least allow them to smoke weed. Pot is a not-so-secret painkiller substitute in wrestling, which to this point is not attributed to any deaths in wrestling. If the drug testing overwhelms guys, we could see desperate wrestlers who can’t smoke or eat pills quitting, being fired, or even committing suicide. While I’d say these are extremes, they are very real possibilities.

Booze and medication don’t mix as easy as weed and meds. Pot is, as far as we know right now, less destructive then painkillers or steroids, although it can be debated. Deaths HAVE been attributed to drinking, pain pills, and enlarged hearts brought on from steroid abuse. Marijuana seems to be free of this stigma.

Anyone who knows me well knows I’m completely against the legalization of pot. I don’t smoke it and don’t like being around people who are smoking it. But I don’t live in the wrestling industry. It’s a different world entirely. If smoking a joint before bed can save a few lives per year then I am in favor of the WWE amending the drug policy. Certainly it would have been better had pot been left off in the first place. Removing it now might draw attention to the illegal drug. But in essence, we are talking about an illegal medicinal use of a street drug. With everything that has happened over the last two decades in this industry, I’m willing to look the other way on this one.

–ROH first 100 show memories. With the first 100 shows in the bag, I’m gonna do a personalized recap of the 25 shows and countless other DVDs I’ve watched from this promotion and give my own memories. Here we go.

The first show: I remember how much smaller ROH was at first. A simple fence for the guardrails. A very indy-looking entrance way. The lights on in the entire Murphy Rec. Center gym. A couple hundred displaced Philly wrestling fans. That said it was the most professionally run Indy I’d seen since ECW, and in a lot of ways, it was more professional. The show started at 7:30 just like they said, and they’ve started on time 85% of the time since they formed. The matches were a lot of fun. The style of presentation was unique and accented. The main event blew me away and I’ve been hooked ever since.

As for the next few shows, I missed the second, and in doing so missed one of my favorite all time American matches. Low Ki and American Dragon put on a match that still holds up today, as Low Ki was in the midst of becoming the early ROH poster boy with a great run of matches. The next show featured AJ Styles awesome debut versus Ki, and a tremendous moment of Tribute to Eddie Guerrero. In the wake of his passing that moment takes on even more significance as a fan.

The rest of the year saw the making of a talent in Spanky, and even more home grown in Paul London. While it wasn’t as great as many say, the London Mike Shane street fight/ladder match was a great coming of age for not only the workers, but the fans. Low Ki introduced us to Samoa Joe in a way that redefined strong style in North America within eight minutes. CM Punk debuted not with a match, but a promo, that had myself and several others who saw him for the first time cheering for him before he ever broke a sweat in the ring. Add on Tanaka and personal favorite Otani, some great Corino antics, and a lot of fun matches. It was a great time to be a fan. We had no idea how much better it would get.

The next year we got a very interesting and risky riot angle at the Anniversary show. The production values went up as well. We saw the New Jersey debut at the old Rexplex and Paul London’s last ROH match. Liger was brought in for Japan, as well as the Great Muta. I got to sit front row for the Muta show, and up until the CZW/ROH feud show on 4/22, this was the biggest in Philly. But enough of this overview. Lets get to the bite sized snacking memories…

My running buddy Stevie Bon Bon used to go to the shows with me in’02,’03, and ’04. He was great for starting silly chants the fans around us would enjoy. This was particularly fun when early ROH champ Xavier wrestled. We could not stay awake during his matches, so Steve made a lot of friends in those matches. When Xavier finally lost, I love watching Steve snap awake and overzealously cheer Samoa Joe upon his winning. But my favorite chant was one reserved for Simply Luscious, the valet of Christopher Daniels. “I fucked Lucious” clap clap, clap clap clap. Poor Ronnie Stevens. Corino dumped her, ROH stopped booking her, and my jackass friend would steal her heat.

Phraseology is always something that makes wrestling promos and fan chants fun. Here are my favorites. Chris Daniels to Corino: “You made a shambles out of Simply Lucious” in scolding tone as she runs crying to the back. Or CM Punk’s famous “What then now, BITCHES”, a proper dig at the Murphy Rec. faithful that actually got him cheers. A well-spoken heel indeed. Then there’s the classic Corino “Yeah… ah ha, look at you now! You’re just a big fat asshole now!” after catching a heckling fan screw up a failing chant. Corino made the Final Battle 2002 DVD worth it if that audio picked up. Or the One Year anniversary, when Corino told a drunken patron hanging off the balcony of the Elk’s Lodge, “Hey pal, give us all an early Christmas present and just fall Forward!”

I think my all-time favorite “had to be there” moment was the running commentary of a fan next to me during Glory By Honor II. He had myself and friends in stitches all night, not only for his excitement over Gary Michael Cappetta (“GMC!! Bring it home GM…. LIIIIIVVVE, FROM THE OMNI…the MECCA!” and he was just getting started) to his concerned question for surprise run-in Tommy Dreamer (Picture a muscular black guy in his twenties screaming at the ring like Lassie letting everyone know Timmy fell down the well. “TOMMY,” he yells in desperation as he gets Dreamer’s attention, “Tommy, are they bringing the Rumble?! Please Tommy!!” in reference to the just announced 2004 Royal Rumble in Philly.)

As for embarrassing moments, how about Stevie and I getting a little sauced up in Queens at the first Anniversary show, and thinking (like many others, you snickering marks) that the riot at the show was real. At least stone breaking Frank Romeo was ringside and bought it. I was up in the balcony. Both of us are still trying to live down that bus ride home. I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for the Generation Next show in ’04 in the tent outside the Philly Armory. Frank Romeo lies and lies, and just when you think he’s told the biggest lie, you REALLY are watching an ROH show under a carnival tent.

Seeing Kobashi versus Joe in New York City will go down as perhaps one of my favorite live moments as a fan. It’s actually on my short list of favorite matches I’ve seen live as well. Words can’t do it justice, but a mention is still in order. Many CM Punk moments are up there as well, not only matches but the emotion he’s shared with the fans.

Thanks for the great matches, moments, and memories ROH. You give me a reason to go out with some friends for a night of wrestling. I’ll see you guys at 200 shows. Or, well, I’ll see you July 15th actually.