Greetings!
In last week’s column, I was outspokenly critical of the powers that be in the WWE for having perpetrated that ill-conceived abortion on RAW, which entailed Stephanie McMahon, for no explicable reason, being given the supposedly prestigious Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award, which, ultimately, served to be merely a flimsy pretext for Shane McMahon to come out to denounce Stephanie as not only an unworthy recipient of the award, but to condemn her and her husband Triple H for having run the WWE into the ground (which, it should be noted, elicited a huge, positive response from the crowd).
Subsequent to that, rather than acknowledging the fans’ reaction (which, he damn well should have), Vince McMahon, instead launched into an irrational rant directed at Shane for having, rightfully calling Stephanie and Hunter out, and, as punishment, informed him that he would be having to fight the Undertaker in a “Hell in a Cell” match at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, with the stipulation being that if he loses, he will be disowned and excluded from any further involvement from the company, but if he wins, he’ll then have control of Monday Night Raw.
To my way of thinking, the whole charade was illogical and contrived, like so many other angles on the WWE these days. Not only was it lame and senseless from the get go, but it also reflected the WWE’s increasing lack of respect or regard for the intelligence of wrestling fans, in general, which is a recipe for disaster, given that, they’re the ones who are ultimately paying the tab for everything.
For whatever it’s worth, I received an overwhelmingly positive response from wrestling fans the world over, many of whom were even more vehement and outspoken than I, in expressing their disgust and consternation with the lack of creative acumen or rationality of those pulling the strings in the WWE. One reader, from Pompano Beach, perhaps put it best when he commented that “wrestling must be an incredible sport to have remained as popular as it is, given how many times the geniuses in the WWE have continually dragged it through the mud with all their contrived bullshit,” which I couldn’t agree more with.
I might add that there were a few texts, perhaps from members of the WWE’s creative team, who were less than complimentary, who pointed out that it was easy for somebody, such as myself, to knock something, but another thing altogether, to come up with a better alternative.
In other words, put up or shut up.
I’d be happy to oblige those cynics and lemmings who continue to have their heads in the proverbial sand and misguidedly think that the geniuses in Stamford, Connecticut are continuing to hit home runs, even though, in actuality, they’re striking out most of the time.
As I’ve already pointed out, the whole charade with Stephanie getting some award she didn’t deserve, to Shane being reproached for no discernible reason by Vince and subsequently being ordered to fight another babyface (the Undertaker) with whom he as no issues with, made no sense from the get go. Nor, I might add, did it make Vince look like anything but an embittered, addled King Lear type who was losing it, to be threatening to disown Shane if he lost to Taker.
Taking all of that into consideration and given that Shane O’Mac’s return and his cut to the chase denunciation of Hunter and Stephanie elicited a great response, would it not have made a hell of a lot more sense, given that all the heat in this angle is between Shane and Hunter and Stephanie, for Shane to simply have cut to the chase and demand a match with Hunter, rather than being place against Taker, at WrestleMania, in a cage if need be, or whatever other stipulations they might see fit to invoke to make the whole scenario more enticing?
It might also have added to the intrigue if the WWE were to include a guest referee of note, such as, perhaps Ronda Rousey (whom they teased and ultimately wasted at WrestleMania 31 last year and who might need some charade like this right now to boost her fortunes, which have declined, since she got destroyed by Holly Holm). Other possible candidates to be referees, might have been ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Mick Foley, my brother Bret, if his health allowed him to, or perhaps some member of the Dallas Cowboys, given that WrestleMania is taking place in AT&T Stadium.
I might add that I’m not seeking to tell Vinnie Mac and the rest of his creative team how to run their business, because they generally tend to do whatever the hell they want anyway, but with all the feedback I’ve been receiving from wrestling fans all over the world, which has been overwhelmingly in agreement with everything I’ve been alluding to, I felt compelled to speak up – not only as a member of the so-called wrestling fraternity, but, first and foremost, as a FAN, who deeply cares about our business and the direction which it, unfortunately, appears to be heading in.
In any case, I’ll call this a wrap for now. As always, I welcome and appreciate your input and feedback. Until next time.
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