My Favourite Matches--Vol. 2

Since the last installment of My Favourite Matches was about the first Pay-Per-View I ever watched, I've decided to continue on with another first.

Wrestlemania X-Seven was the first Wrestlemania I ever watched and it is still probably my favourite one to date (with the exception of the one I went to of course). The main event, one of my most favourite matches, saw Stone Cold Steve Austin face off against The Rock for his WWE Championship--the most prestigious title a wrestler can hold in WWE. This show took place in 2001 at a time when I was a different kind of a wrestling fan than I am now. At this point I was literally obsessed with wrestling. Seriously people. Anybody who knew me at this stage of my "wrestling fandom" probably thought I was absolutely insane.

Why it's one of my faves:
I was not only obsessed with wrestling in general in 2001, but I was also obsessed with The Rock. I thought this guy was pretty much a god. There was nobody better than him, not even Stone Cold Steve Austin--the guy who had been WWE's leading man for several previous years. I knew this match would make an impact and it certainly did.

Normally wrestling matches are between a heel and a babyface for that good vs. evil effect. But on that night the ultimate battle of the babyfaces was taking place. The Rock and Stone Cold were the two biggest fan favourites at the time so the fans were torn on who to stand behind. This is what made the match so electric. People didn't want to see either guy lose.

Thoughout the entire match the control went back and forth like I had never seen before. It was impossible to say who would be the winner. They put on one hell of an entertaining match that would end with a major twist that left me with a kind of bittersweet impression of it all.

Part 2---Part 3---Part 4

The Power is in Your Hands

In less than a week Cyber Sunday will be airing live on Pay-Per-View.

For the fourth straight year WWE is holding an interactive event in which every match on the card has been influenced by the fans in some way. The concept behind this unique show is that the fans are given different options for each match and then get to vote for what they want. Voting is easy--just go to the Cyber Sunday website and click on the match you would like to vote for.

This year's card includes matches for the main championships of each brand (the WWE television shows--Raw, Smackdown, and ECW). Title matches are supposed to be the most important of matches, so having three of them on a card that the fans get to choose is fairly exciting. For two of those matches the fans get to decide on the opponent for the current champion (Raw Champion Randy Orton is pictured at left). There are three possible opponents to choose from with two actually being potential candidates and one being someone who really isn't main event material. But hey, tt's all up to the other fans to make the decision on that one. The third title match gives fans the chance to choose the guest referee. Again, two out of the three are actual contenders.

The other three matches give options for the type of stipulation fans want to see in a match. For those three I really can't predict what the majority of fans will choose because, quite frankly, all three choices hold a relatively equal entertainment value.

I think that perhaps the most interesting idea about this kind of show is the fact that nobody knows for sure what the outcome of the voting will be. Sure, we can all have our predictions about the most likely candidates but there's still always the chance for a little surprise.

Giving the fans the opportunity to decide what they want to see is probably the easiest way to give back to them. Since the fans are what keep wrestling alive it only makes sense to let them have some solid input into what they are so diligently following. If there was more input allowed in other areas of wrestling there might not be so many people turning away from it.

--Photo borrowed from WWE.com

No Fans = No Wrestling

One of the most important aspects about wrestling thats makes it different from every other sport is the importance of the fans. A professional baseball or football game could still be played without any spectators present. The only difference that a lack of spectators would make in theory would a lack of noise. Athletes in popular professional sports don't technically need people to watch them play their chosen sport.

The following statement comes from a blog entry that was part of the MIT course that I mentioned in a previous post:

"Professional wrestling, like theatre, relies on an unwritten social contract. Simply stated, that contract concerns the obligations of both audience and entertainer: the entertainer is expected to give a satisfactory performance and the audience is expected to respond accordingly."

I think that the author has made a really great point here. Wrestling relies on the spectators. If there aren't fans present to watch a match, it's simply like a practice or rehearsal. An actor can't perform without an audience, and neither can a wrestler. The goal of a wrestling match is to draw a reaction from the audience with each maneuver that's performed. "The audience rewards the effort by applauding or energizing their response in other ways : smiles, oohhs and ahhs etc.". Whether that reaction is positive (known as a "pop") or negative (known as "heat"), that part really doesn't matter. A wrestler's character predicts what kind of a reaction they will receive from the crowd, they just need to concentrate on making that reaction happen.

It's also important to put the fans first in both theatre and wrestling because they are "economically driven entities". Both businesses "need a cash flow to stay afloat". For the most part we are given what we want, with the exception of a few (...okay more than a few) storylines that just weren't up to par for most people. In my next post I will be discussing one of the ways in which WWE is trying to reach out to the fans and give them what they want.

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As an added bonus, I've included the first part of the Empty Arena match which aired during Halftime of Superbowl XXXIII in 1999 between Mankind and The Rock. How ironic...

Wrestling vs. Comics: The Ultimate Showdown (Or Not)

One of the main qualities about wrestling that makes it so appealing to so many people is that it tells the story of "good guys" vs. "bad guys". The majority of matches put on feature the fan favourite vs. the guy fans love to hate. It's not hard to tell who is who--fans are in unison as they show their support for the "babyface" (good guy) and their displeasure for the "heel" (bad guy).

Now, what other type of entertainment features an ongoing battle between the forces of good and bad (well, evil)? Comic books!

I can't pretend that I am a comic connoisseur (like this guy), but from what I do know about them, they have a lot in common with wrestling. Comic books tell a story about a superhero and their attempt to defeat an evil force and as I already said, wrestling tells the story of the babyface vs. the heel.

The superheroes in comic books go by a 'cool' alias, rather than their real name. Back in the 80's and even in the 90's there were wrestlers with names that could be fit for a superhero. Andre The Giant, Hercules Hernandes, Macho Man Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior (pictured on left)--okay, they aren't the greatest superhero names, but they are definitely better than what we have today. Wrestlers usually keep their real names (or names that could be real) rather than using a ring name or alias. Brian Popkin, a guest columnist for SlashWrestling.com, made a great point when he said, "their names make them sound like guys I went to high school with". I couldn't agree more.

"The comic books that sell all have characters with superhero names. Do you think a comic book called "The Adventures of Clark Kent" or "Legends of Bruce Wayne" would sell? They tried using a real name for a comic with Luke Cage instead of Power Man. It didn't sell."

Another similarity between comic books and wrestling is that the superheroes and wrestlers each have their own "superpower". A wrestler's finishing move is equivalent to the amazing powers a superhero can exert on his foe. Sometimes, however, a wrestler has his own move put on him. Popkin compares this to "Spiderman getting beat by his own webbing or the Iceman getting beat by water".

I think that the huge fan base that both comic books and wrestling have is what truly makes them similar. Comic book fans and wrestling fans get the same type of entertainment from both products and entertainment is what they are all about.

My Favourite Matches--Vol. 1

As a way to give everyone a better look at wrestling--since it appears that nobody in the class is a fan, I've decided to share some of my favourite matches with everyone.

This week's clip is from the TLC match (tables, ladders, and chairs) at Summerslam 2000. The point of the match is for one of the participants to climb the ladder and grab the Tag Team title belts for himself and his partner. The tables and chairs come into play because it's entertaining for wrestling fans to see someone get slammed through a table or hit with a chair (or at least it is when it's done right...some wrestlers don't do it very well).

Why it's one of my faves:
Summerslam 2000 was the first Pay-Per-View event I ever got to watch, so there's no doubt that I would include a match from that show. The match is loaded with high-flying moves, and plenty of examples of wrestling's wonderful use of tables, ladders, and chairs. I'm a sucker for matches that involve what wrestling fans generally call "Holy Sh!t" moments, and this match definitely has some of those. The good news is that I'm not the only one who enjoys this kind of match--just listen to the crowd reaction in the arena!

Note: This is only a small portion of the match (Part 2). If you are interested in seeing what else happens you can view the rest of the match at the following links:
Part 1---Part 3---Part 4

The Downfall of the Women's Division

In the past few years WWE's Women's Division has become downright embarrassing. There have been so many women come and go from the roster, but few have made an impact where it counts--in the ring! Now, before anyone gets offended I do have to say that there have been some great women wrestlers in recent years (ie. Trish Stratus , Lita and Victoria), but there have most definitely been more duds.

I think that the creation of the Diva Search a few years ago has a lot to do with the division going down hill. First of all, let me explain what exactly the Diva Search is. As a way to attract women to become a part of the wrestling world and therefore attract more male fans, a contest was held in which the winning contestant would receive a $250,000 contract with WWE. This of course sounds like a grand plan, but in addition to the winner of the contest, 5 out of the 9 previously ousted contestants were also hired to be a part of the company. Sure, WWE felt they needed to add more women in skimpy clothing in order to gain higher ratings, but come on.

To this day only 2 of the 6 women originally hired as part of the 2004 Diva Search are still employed by WWE. What pleases me most about this is the fact that they are not simply eye candy anymore--they have actually been training and have greatly improved since they were first introduced to the actual wrestling ring.

Thankfully, WWE still has 2 of the contestants from the 2005 Diva Search--the winner and the 3rd runner up, as well as the winner of the 2006 Diva Search. Only the 2005 winner has actually ever wrestled. On a side note for any Survivor fans out there, the winner of the 2005 Diva Search (Ashley) was cut from Survivor: China after just 2 episodes/6 days. While Ashley was away in China, Krystal (the 3rd runner up) was "marrying" Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long (I will discuss the wonder of wrestling weddings in a future post).

Now, I totally understand the purpose of the Diva Search but I guess I just don't agree with what it has done. There was once a time when women in the wrestling world were actually wrestlers or at least valets who had an actual role. I'm looking forward to seeing more of a balance in this aspect--something it seems might actually be happening as more of the divas have been training and having more matches. The downside though: the 2007 Diva Search is now in full swing.