Wrestling has certainly taken a lot of hits of late. I have recently read several wrestling columns where the author has stated that that particular column would be his last. People who used to be fans are sick and tired of the crappy story lines, or the lack thereof. Good wrestlers are put in ridiculous situations where they have no chance of succeeding. Many talents are hidden in the process, and sometimes the end result is that the wrestler involved is fired, whether he does his job or not.
Let me illustrate one situation that we have had to endure within the last few months. The feud between Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio was a bad idea from the get-go. Now, these two could have had many good matches if the conditions had been different. But putting Eddie’s memory in the middle of it and adding Vickie Guerrero to the mix turned this into a poisoned apple.
I can’t blame any of the participants. We all know that staying alive in Vince’s world means frequently doing things that the athletes don’t agree with. Just ask Lita about that. Chavo and Rey are simply trying to make a living and feed their families. I don’t pretend to know the situation that Vickie is in, but I’m sure that something very tempting was dangled in front of her, and she has been left alone with three children. Survival takes over.
I too am bored with the WWE / ECW right now. I still enjoy watching TNA, but I have not had the opportunity to go watch what I feel is one of the best independent promotions, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and really miss that. Anyway, as far as the television shows are concerned, I must remember one thing that can make viewing a lot more tolerable.
TALENT! On Raw we have Jeff Hardy, who has been hotter than hot since his return, Charlie Haas, who would be super if given the right track, Triple H, Randy Orton, John Cena, and Shawn Michaels. SmackDown! gives us King Booker (if they would just let him shut up and wrestle), Kennedy, Gregory Helms, Batista, Undertaker, Chris Benoit (welcome back),Vito, Sylvester Terkay, Chavo Guerrero, Bobby Lashley, Finley – hey, with all those names SmackDown! doesn’t look like the second-rate show, does it?
What about ECW? Well, Sabu, RVD, Hardcore Holly, and CM Punk. TNA gives us AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, Christopher Daniels, Petey Williams, the Brothers Ray and D-Von, Kurt Angle, Rhyno, Kazarian, Sonjay Dutt, Samoa Joe – I think you get the idea here.
I named all these names to prove a point, and I know that I have left some out. While I agree that for the most part professional wrestling is on a bit of a decline right now, it has been there before and lived to talk about it. I believe that will happen again. So while I get disgusted with some of the ideas fed us, I also try to enjoy wrestling at its very basic level. I watch these great athletes give of themselves again and again. I appreciate their efforts to entertain, even when it might seem that with the situation they find themselves in, this is an almost impossible attempt.
And above all I appreciate their abilities. The talent necessary to do what they do in their chosen profession is a gift. As with anything, when done well it looks easy. These men make it look easy, and I appear to be one of only a few at the present time who still finds a way to enjoy watching matches.
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
