“Patience is the companion of wisdom.”
My mind is blown when I see how often the WWE gets in its own way. I don’t know, maybe it has to do with the pussification of today’s world thanks to all the hoopla and overreaction to Janet Jackson’s boob making that ever-so-infamous appearance at the Super Bowl. Certainly that moment forever changed the things we see and hear through today’s entertainment outlets, but that can’t be the sole reason as to why the WWE has become a shred of its former self. When I look back at all the god-awful mistakes the WWE has made, and not throughout time but just in the last year or two alone, there is an underlying commonality that rears its ugly head in every disaster-of-a-decision I can recall: the lack of patience.
The biggest mistake the WWE ever committed (and I know that phrase is used a lot, particularly in this column, but here it applies) was to seperate the brands into two (now three) different entities. At the time, of course it made sense to split everybody up to give more wrestlers the chance to make a name for themselves. With all the talent they acquired through the buyout of the WCW, Vince McMahon saw that he was, more than ever before, flooded with talent. But what the WWE failed to realize was that the faces of the company who had carried them during that time, namely The Rock and Hulk Hogan, weren’t going to be there all that much longer. Had Vince had the foresight to see that his precious few stars had their WWE days numbered, I truly believe we wouldn’t have seen the split.
The can of worms we fans were handed when Mike Adamle was named the RAW General Manager a little while back was one of the most embarrassing moments in the WWE’s history. By FAR, Adamle was already the worst announcer ever hired by the company, yet for some outlandish reason Vince thought he could pull it off as a GM? And for his flagship program?!? Did he not see Adamle booed every time Adamle walked to his chair before shows? And, call me crazy, but I wasn’t the only one who knew Adamle’s constant stammering was far from being an act, was I? We all knew he was not anywhere close to being ready for TV, yet somehow he was “promoted” within the company – something that proverbial heads should have rolled for.
And what about Mr. Kennedy’s firing? (you knew this was coming, so stop pretending you’re upset with me) Of course I know that Kennedy dealt with injury problems at the most inopportune of times, but I can’t begin to comprehend why this man – somebody who everybody knows is fully capable of being a star in the company – was released just because he was a bit stiff in the ring coming off an eight-month layoff.
Sorry, but it confuses me that they let him go and nobody backstage objected in the least while total wastes of space like Kane, who the creative team has admitted that they have no ideas for, remain on the roster. I guess team creative can’t get over the fact that Kennedy, with whom they could have gone many directions creatively, needed to shake off a little ring-rust while nobodies like Kane, Goldust, Hornswaggle, Mike Knox, Jamie Noble, Festus, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Sim Snuka, Charlie Haas, Curt Hawkins, The Great Khali, Kung Fu Naki, R-Truth, Jimmy Wang Yang, and every last one of the WWE Divas (except Maryse… she can stick around) remain on the roster? That’s unacceptable… even by what I thought used to be the WWE’s standards.
Another thing I cannot get over is how many times the World Heavyweight Championship exchanges hands. By my count, the belt has been passed on from one wrestler to another 13 times in the last 15 months! If the WWE gives a lick about how prestigious this belt should be, then they need to make up their god damn minds and stop putting the title on whoever they think is the flavor of the month.
Even though Smackdown has been the show that has seperated itself from the rest of the pack in every which way, I’m not surprised in the least bit that it has the reputation within the company of being the “B” show. Fortunately, for the time being it looks like CM Punk is going to get a longer title reign than his previous one since creative is now dead-set on having him turning heel. As much of a mistake I think that is -although I will admit it’s something fresh to watch – establishing him as a heel will require a solid chunk of time with him as the champion (ideally).
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