Yes, I’m still alive……It’s been a while, but, I’m back, hopefully my consistently this time. We shall see.

A lot of my absence has to do with the turmoil in my personal life, that, this time, I won’t share. A lot of it has to do with there not really being anything I felt like writing about. Now, I know there have been quite a few “interesting” things happen since I last wrote, but, they didn’t really strike me. Yes, Big Show returned, and, was immediately misused, in a “money” feud with Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather (I absolutely refuse to call him Money. I think that nickname is completely moronic). This is the “celebrity match” for WM XXIV. I am interested in seeing the match; however, I’m not EXCITED about it. Does anybody even know what kind of match it’s going to be? If it’s boxer vs. wrestler….no thank you. Then there’s Jeff Hardy’s suspension; I wasn’t really all that surprised to hear it. Disappointed, but, not surprised. Therefore, I didn’t feel the need to write an entire column dedicated to it.
With that too long explanation out of the way, let’s get to right now. I’m not a very big fan of TNA. For a promotion claiming to be the “alternative” they don’t seem to offer much more than the other guy. I mention this, because it was while watching this week’s Impact that I felt the desire to write. Kind of ironic, I think. It was actually one moment, one line, which got my “creative juices” flowing. It’s strange. I know. Devon Dudley (oops, isn’t that a Titan err, I mean WWF I mean WWE…yeah, that’s it...copyright?) says “beat us if you can, survive….if we let you!” I had a little mark out moment right then. I even said, aloud, “hell, yeah” and, I was watching a DVR’d show, by myself. For any of you who are unfortunate to not understand the historic impact of that borrowed catchphrase, Taz used it often in ECW, when he was the complete badass. The type of badass Samoa Joe was booked as his first year in TNA, you know, before they decided to pretty much bury him? So, yeah, the little things get me going occasionally.

So, Wrestlemania is nearly upon us. All logic would point to HBK ending Ric Flair’s in ring career, since he’s already signed on for some stupid celebrity reality show. That would lead one to believe that he’ll have the time to do something outside of wrestling. I myself would be thrilled if Slick Ric won the match, and continued to work. Yes, he is most definitely past his prime (by several years) but, let’s be honest, the old man can still go, at least enough to keep us entertained. At 59, he can do things that I couldn’t dream of doing now, at 35, or, even at 18. The man is truly a master in his trade. Period. Why not let him go out on top? Or, at least on his own terms? Why does he need to lose on the “grandest stage of them all” and end a corny angle that seems to have been created simply to get him screen time, and, to build to said loss? Only Vince McMahon and his creative staff know those answers, unfortunately.

The rest of the WM card looks interesting, but, not stellar. The Money in the Bank match always seems to steal the show. I’m glad it has become a staple on the card. The title matches are too predictable, with the exception of the Raw Title match. The only real predictable thing there is, Randy Orton will not leave Orlando still the champ. HHH or Cena? Your guess is as good as mine, probably even better.

This predictability is one of the things that have created such a span between my ever so eloquent editorial masterpieces (YEAH right!). Wrestling just isn’t as exciting as it used to be. I can’t help but feel part of that loss of excitement is my growing older, wiser maybe. However, I think the primary reason is the talent on my TV, or lack thereof. You see there just aren’t any real megastars anymore. In the 80’s there was Hulk Hogan, and Ric Flair (and the Horsemen). In the 90’s there was The Rock, Steve Austin, the NWO, and, again, Ric Flair. Now, Flair is still lacing up the boots on occasion, but, he isn’t in the main event picture, not at all. Hogan longs for the days when Hulkamania was runnin’ wild, but, that just isn’t going to happen again. Sure, he can still go (kinda) but, he’s pretty much a washed up old man who’s had way too many surgeries, and just wants to be in the spotlight for the paycheck. Now, one could argue that Flair is five years older than Hogan, so he should be considered a washed up old man, too. The main differences here, in my opinion, are; Flair has been fortunate to not have to have several surgeries to repair damage done in the ring, Hogan has not. Now, Flair did have a near career ending back injury, but, that was….ohhh…over 30 years ago, and, the result of a plane crash). Flair’s style has kept him relatively safe in the ring. Hogan, too, but, he hasn’t been as lucky. There’s also the argument that Flair can wrestle circles around Hogan, and always could, so, Ric Flair is simply not the same broken down old man. Fair enough?

Now, back to the discussion at hand; the talent today, although there are several stand out performers, there just aren’t any megastars. HHH is where he is primarily because of his connection to the “family”. Most fans know this, and, even if they don’t admit it, despise him for it. Cena, well, his gimmick is one that sometimes seems to almost incite riots. I, personally, like John Cena. What he does do in the ring, he does well. The gimmick, I’m a little conflicted about. He seems to be pushed as today’s Hulkster if you will. He almost never loses, beats impossible odds, yet seems completely in control while doing it. HHH? He’s just HHH. I prefer the more DX like Hunter. Tons of sarcasm, plenty of humor, and complete disregard for, well, pretty much everyone, and everything. I’m still not sold on the Cerebral Assassin HHH. Besides those two, who do we have? Michaels didn’t “succeed” when given the big belt, on any occasion. Orton COULD be a superstar, but isn’t just there yet. Edge, well, he’s THIS close, but, not quite there. To me, I still see the guy coming out of the ring of fire with Christian and Gangrel. This tall scrawny silent guy. I just don’t see superstardom from him.

The Undertaker? He’s the “company guy”; been there, doing his job, for years. He’s still entertaining to watch, but, he hasn’t been huge since, well, ever really. He’s still in my personal top five favorites to watch, just not the kind of star power from years past. So, what happens when the stars that ARE on our TV’s every week are done? When they hang up their boots? Because, honestly, I don’t see a single one of them having a career like that of Flair, or even Taker. Who are the superstars of the future? CM Punk? Maybe. Kofi Kingston? I don’t even understand the appeal. The guy is new, and, he was stale after a couple weeks. Sure, he has a unique style, but, it looks completely stupid to me. DH Smith? If he can stay clean, and get a personality, I could see him getting somewhere, but, superstardom? I just don’t know. Who else is there? Maybe some of you would care to share your opinions on this? I could go on for hours (wait, I pretty much just did) on the topic of who’s got it and who doesn’t. I, as you can tell, base my opinions on guys who are on my TV right now. There’s a plethora of indie guys that are very impressive, even better than those in WWE or TNA right now. There are surely some undiscovered talents out there, too. But those guys aren’t big players……yet.

More so than usual, I’m interested in hearing what you all have to say. It’s nice to be back. Until next time...

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