Looking back on what were three historic nights, one has to give WWE a lot of credit for doing the right thing.
The truth of the matter is, that in a world filled of jealousy, greed, backstabbing, politicking, and pride above all (especially in a McMahon-driven WWE), it’s not everyday that you can do the right thing. While professional wrestling is indeed a business, and an industry, those terms are often used loosely, as our own Joe discussed in a recent column. However, make no mistake about it – the mentality of every person involved with professional wrestling one way or another is the same. “It’s good for business that Big Show beats Mayweather, since Big Show is sticking around.” “Benoit violated an unwritten law of the business to hide or rid of the stuff.” Those are sentences that I’m sure you’ve heard if you follow this whole thing close.
Like every other “business,” the people that run WWE’s day-to-day operations have everything invested in their TV shows. The matches and storylines they put on TV are the product they’re advertising and selling, after all. This is why, just like any other real business, it is hard to make decisions from time to time. In such a filthy world, it’s even harder to make decisions that put over people other than you in a huge way.
In the recent past, WWE has made three very good decisions that I think they deserve a lot of credit for.
It was on the June 23rd, 2003 episode of Monday Night RAW from New York that Vince McMahon did the right thing. Steve Austin handed the retired Hardcore Championship to Mick Foley in what was a very brief touching celebration for the Hardcore Legend. Having his peers in the ring, Vince McMahon came out and thanked Foley personally, although the two had been at odds in the recent time, including a weird segment on the WWE plane where Foley left the company for a period of time. No matter the circumstances, McMahon and his crew delivered a great gift to a deserving man full of passion for wrestling.
The second good decision came at the WWE Unforgiven PPV in 2006, when the company gave Trish Stratus a great send-off by letting her win the Women’s Championship in her last match. A classy move for a classy girl who entertained many throughout her career, having come in as a piece of tits and ass in the company and worked her way through injuries and the diva stigma to become a legitimate good worker.
Of course, the third good decision was the past three days, which one could declare as the Flair Weekend. While this was the biggest of the three celebrations, it was also the most deserving and historic one, and rightfully so, as the best wrestler alive was retiring. WWE didn’t start off the right bat with the storyline, but ended strong, and really, nobody is going to remember what lead to the match and how it came about – they’ll simply recall the ending and the segment on RAW the next night.
The point I wanted to send across is that in all three of these situations, WWE didn’t have to do what they did. While they’re no longer in a wrestling war with WCW or any other company, and they have nothing to be afraid of when putting over people who are leaving, it is a “written rule of the business” that nobody who’s leaving should be put over. In fact, they should go on a losing streak and put everyone else over. What a silly idea, right? While passing the torch is very important in pro wrestling, I think it’s overrated sometimes. Think about it. Would you remember Trish Stratus’ last match so well had she lost it? Following the Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday and the walk-off from the ring on Sunday, Flair’s retirement was very emotional and memorable. But do you think it would have been as memorable as it is now thanks to RAW’s final segment last night? In both cases, the answer is no. WWE did the right thing – they went against the “unwritten rule of the business” and respected both its talent and audience by giving both what they wanted.
In the case of Ric Flair, I couldn’t be happier. Not because it will have such a lasting impression, and because it was so memorable. Simply because he deserved it so much. Ric Flair was an entity in NWA and WCW in its heyday. However, when the Bischoff era began, the Nature Boy went through what I can only call the dark ages. This was a man that was buried weekly on Nitro, and this was a man who was put down, embarrassed, and had his character destroyed on weekly basis by the “creative” that was WCW. In an emotional promo after a 2003 edition of RAW from Greensboro had gone off the air and the active roster had come out to celebrate him, Ric Flair mentioned that he had gone through a period of time where he wasn’t the Nature Boy anymore. That he didn’t believe in himself, and that he had hit rock bottom. I’ll let you guess which period of his career he was talking about. It was the love and respect of his peers that had gotten him back into the game, and thanks to Triple H’s push gotten him a major run with Evolution that gave him seven more years. It’s rare that we thank Triple H on this site, but we owe you plenty for this one, Hunter. Going against Brian Gewirtz – who probably until this day doesn’t understand why Flair is important and what he means in wrestling – The Game pushed for Flair’s involvement. Had it not been for this run, I don’t know how we would have made it to today.
A wrestling legend – a mat technician and a promo genius – probably would have been sitting in some rehab clinic reminiscing the highs and lows of his life. But he is not. Instead he went out on his terms, and as he said, is now off chasing life, instead of the other way around. Such is the reality of your sports entertainment star, folks. I wish I could tell you to ask some of them, but a lot of them are gone. Dead at a young age “from the business.” Others continue to battle issues that “the industry” brings into their life. Most, like Joanie Laurer can’t see the problem. Others, like Charles Ashenoff (Konnan) and Jake Roberts are trying to get smart, fix their health or rid of their demons, whatever be the case. There are few of those, who after years of doing this see “the business” in a whole different light than your John Cena who is “‘roid free” if you watch that WWE commercial. Such is the life of a pro wrestler. In every other business of selling goods I know of, once the product is “sold” to a buyer with a few days return policy, it is no longer the seller’s responsibility. If that’s the magic formula, then WWE fits the bill perfectly.
The sad part of it all is that in the process, the “seller” will continue to make millions and millions. This gives WWE the right to do whatever the hell they want. I hope WWE will continue doing the right thing. I give them all the credit in the world for the last three days. The Ric Flair retirement was handled perfectly. Unfortunately, I fear the new products we’ll be sold beginning next Monday. As always, we give the buyer the benefit of a doubt. But next time they sell one of their best goodies to us again, let’s hope it’s a sale as big as this one!
Thank you, Ric.
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