This week, all of the action has been transpiring outside of the squared circle and not just in WWE. Since the beginning of the year, the wrestling world has been still with news which whilst important has hardly set the wrestling world alight. Now though, after the dust of WrestleMania has settled the wrestling world has been injected with two pieces of the biggest news so far this year.
Interpromotional Warfare?
WWE has long ignored the status of its main rival in the industry, TNA, even going as far as to pretend the company didn’t exist and passing it off as a mere gnat biting at its thick hyde but never doing any real damage. WWE has taken numerous action against TNA, often to its lesser counterparts detriment including inducting Ric Flair into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time as part as the Four Horsemen, whilst Ric Flair was still under contract to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and without asking the permission of Dixie Carter and other bigwigs in the TNA office.
After Ric Flair’s appearance at the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012 ceremony sparked outrage in TNA’s locker room and they sought out retribution against the company that had both wronged them, ignored them and cast them aside as mere pretenders to their throne for too long. With Ric Flair leaving the company, no longer believing he could ply his trade there after his second Hall of Fame appearance, TNA decided to take legal action against World Wrestling Federation for poaching a member of their contracted talent without their knowledge or permission. Some would say that TNA should have done something sooner to stop Ric Flair appearing on the show and whilst ‘The Nature Boy’ informed TNA he was going to accept the invitation and TNA sat back and did nothing, it is true the company had every right to take legal action against Vince McMahon.
The companies finally settled out of court and WWE agreed to lend TNA, Christian, to appear on several TNA shows in order to make up for stealing Flair away from the promotion. It was a move which Christian didn’t get any choice in and one which TNA reaped the rewards from in ratings. When news broke that Christian was going to appear on two TNA shows people had to tune in just in case it was all a plan by the two companies to begin an interpromotional storyline which could result in some of the biggest matches and storylines to ever take place in the wrestling business.
When Christian appeared on TNA’s Slammiversary 2012 pay-per view – which for the record he hated, since he didn’t part company with TNA on great terms the first time – and then promptly left again, many were left deflated when what they had crossed their fingers and hoped for, failed to materialise. What had been touted as the beginning of maybe the biggest wrestling invasion ever – even bigger than WCW and ECW’s invasion in 2001 which was of course all orchestrated by Vince McMahon because he owned the rights to both WCW and ECW by that time – was just another ploy to keep the lawyers off of Vince McMahon’s back.
Now though, nearly six months into 2013, maybe what people thought may never take place has finally had its wheels set in motion. Earlier last week, TNA President Dixie Carter was rumoured to have met with Stephanie McMahon to talk about the possibility of putting on a WWE and TNA interpromotional show. According to all sources the meeting went very well and both parties were really enthusiastic about the possibility of hosting such a show. Look further beneath the surface though and you will find a bigger plan just waiting to have the touch paper lit.
WWE need a great storyline to pull more viewers in and TNA desperately need the spotlight that a WWE invasion could produce. More than half of WWE’s audience do not watch TNA because they have a preconceived notion that because TNA was a load of garbage in the past, with Vince Russo at the writing and creative helm, its the same today. Your Wrestling God has to disagree. Today’s TNA product may not be perfect still, but it is regularly better than WWE, at least in the ring. Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Zema Ion are just three TNA names which currently make TNA better value for money in the ring that WWE and they just need the audience to help take them to the next level.
There are many great matches which could result in a long and protracted interpromotional war. Yes, it would mean that the TNA talent would have to travel further and at more expense to TNA plus wrestle a heavier schedule to keep the invasion going on house shows and WWE talent would have to put in extra house appearing on TNA house shows and TNA television. But just think of all the fantasy matches that WWE could put on if they were to take the chance on TNA. Sting vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania, Bobby Roode vs Dolph Ziggler, Austin Aries vs Randy Orton, Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar – again, Sheamus vs Samoa Joe and of course the match which would almost inevitable not to book, Hulk Hogan vs John Cena. Whilst that match may otherwise put you off of buying a card, it would, in the right circumstances, be one of the biggest box office draws in recent memory.
Vince McMahon will take some convincing to pull the trigger on this but if Triple H got involved then maybe WWE would get somewhere. A feud would not have as much at stake as the 2001 invasion because Vince does not own TNA and therefore couldn’t do a ‘Winner Takes All’ final battler or anything to do with a company going out business. But it could be one of the most memorable things to happen in wrestling since 1997 and that’s never a bad thing. I’m not saying it will happen or that WWE are planning it as we speak. But if Vince can see the potential and guarantee that neither party would be harmed by the association then I don’t know about you, but I’ll be look for Bobby Roode and company to put in an appearance on Raw sometimes this year. Hell, when is Raw in Orlando next?
WrestleMania 30: The Rock vs Brock II
You may remember these two doing battle eleven years ago at SummerSlam 2002 and you would be right. The Rock and Brock Lesnar went into battle over the then WWE Undisputed Championship in a match which would put Brock Lesnar on the map. Since then both men have gone their separate ways and to much success in both of their lives. The Rock as we know left WWE to have an uber successful career in Hollywood – his performance in ‘Fast and Furious 6’ is nothing short of brilliant by the way – and Brock Lesnar left the company at WrestleMania 20 in 2004 in a dull outing against Goldberg. First to try out for an NFL career which went down the pan faster than a sloppy shit and secondly to try his hand at UFC. The latter was maybe his best career decision ever.
Brick Lesnar made millions of dollars per fight inside the Octagon or whatever the UFC aficionados call it – I don’t watch it – and putting on considerable muscle mass, much of which he still has today made him a force to be reckoned with. If you don’t think so, just remember that UFC is real fighting where you can sustain life threatening injuries. Would you want to be caught square around the head by one of Lesnar’s gigantic paws? Thought not! Lesnar was a beast in UFC and just like The Rock in Hollywood, Lesnar was a huge target for WWE when they came to revisiting old talent in order to get their ratings for WrestleMania’s 27 – 30 back to what they used to be.
Putting aside how you feel about both men for a moment, the potential for a Rock vs Brock II is limitless at WrestleMania 30 and this isn’t just fantasy booking now, it has come to light in the last few weeks that this is WWE’s hope, going into the rest of the year and the beginning of the next. None of us know where we’re going to be in a years time, all we can do is hope. Something tells me though that the Rock already has the date cleared in his diary for no other reason that it will most likely be his final ever match. As much as it pains me to say that, maybe the time has come for the Rock to step down completely and allow us to remember him as one of the greatest wrestlers ever, instead of the man who isn’t as good as he used to be.
The reason I bring up the subject of the Rock’s final match is because of his injury which was sustained at WrestleMania 29. It’s well documented what the Rock had to go through on the night and the surgery aftermath which could have seriously damaged his film career. Had the injury been any worse then the Rock would have had to pull out of filming the upcoming Hercules movie and that could have had a knock on effect on his whole acting career. Hollywood doesn’t like unreliable stars. The Rock cannot continue to wrestle whilst risking another career injury such as the one he just encountered. That’s a given. I watched a recent episode of ‘Wrestle Talk TV’ on Challenge in the UK and whilst I do not usually watch wrestling shows like that because their opinions usually irk me greatly, they did discuss whether or not the Rock should ever wrestle again.
The guy whose name escapes me now brought up a valid point when he said the Rock didn’t need to wrestle again and he doesn’t need wrestling. He was right. Wrestling needs the Rock because of his Hollywood standing and the spotlight he casts upon the business and when his time comes to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, it will be a richly deserved induction. The Rock is a millionaire and whilst he doesn’t need to wrestle again, for once, I’m going to say that he should. But just one more match. And that’s not the selfish wrestling fan in me wanting just one more. That’s the Rock fan in me wanting him to go out on top. The Rock simply cannot go out on a defeat and more than that a defeat to John Cena. The Rock, after everything he has done for the wrestling business deserves to go out on top. Forgetting the time honoured tradition in wrestling – of putting a wrestler over on your way out of the door – the Rock has done everything to deserve his hand raised high in his final ever match.
More than that, Brock Lesnar is the only man the Rock has ever lost to – that mattered – which he then never defeated in return. Now, my minions, a little history lesson. The Rock is widely criticised and hated by some sectors of the WWE Universe walking out of the company for the first time in 2002. 2003 and 2004 are forgivable because people knew he was going again, but it seems the first cut really is the deepest. People chastise the Rock being a sell out and turning his back on the business but let’s be honest, those people are arseholes who have no respect for the wrestling business or those who put their lives on the line every night for our entertainment. The Rock simply did what those who hate him never had the chance to do. How many times did he make us laugh or cry or sit up and take notice when he was a constant part of our lives. The truth is, the Rock gave us so many great moments and memories that we should have been happy that he found something he loved that wasn’t breaking his back every night and paying him significantly less that stepping in front of the cameras would. Instead of being happy, some morons saw him as a sell out. To those people now, I saw simply, get a life. If anyone deserved the success Hollywood brought fro everything he had given us then it was the Rock and if you don’t think so then the exit is behind you. Leave quietly and don’t return.
Sadly, the Rock’s exit in 2002 overshadowed what he left in the ring at SummerSlam 2002. Watching the match back, it’s pathetic that the audience would savagely boo and jeer him with chants of ‘You sold out’. Those people need rounding up and slapping hard. Because the match which the Rock gave Brock Lesnar, made Brock a star in the WWE. Who had Brock defeated before that? The Hardy Boys, Rob Van Damn, wrestlers who whilst they were mid-card good guys didn’t have enough sway to put Lesnar over the way he need to be put over. And whilst we’re on that subject, a lot of those guys didn’t want to put Lesnar over because he was a rookie who was being pushed over them after they had been there for years. Was that The Rock’s thought? No. The Rock knew he was leaving and he also knew that Brock Lesnar needed a star performance. On the night, The Rock gave him the best springboard he possibly could on which to shoot for the stars.
I doubt The Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels or even Bret Hart could have done as much for Brock Lesnar on that night in 2002, as the Rock did. It was an unselfish showing by ‘The Brahma Bull’ and before people argue the Rock had no choice but to put Lesnar over, remember the Rock, the biggest star in WWE at the time could have refused to allow Lesnar to pin him clean after an F5. The Rock, to save face could have insisted on a run in or beat down by some heels and then being pinned to make it look like he was screwed out of the Championship. But he didn’t. The Rock willingly put Brock Lesnar over convincingly – he also did the same for Goldberg at Backlash 2003 before he left again – and that my good friends and haters is the right way to go out.
So, the Rock deserves one more match just to say goodbye the right way. A man and wrestler as good as the Rock was needs to be remembered the right way, for everything he did for the business. Brock Lesnar has a chance to give the Rock back what Dwayne Johnson gave him in August 2002 and allow the Rock to go out on top. The Rock has defeated John Cena, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind, Big Show but he has never defeated Brock Lesnar. The Rock gave everything he had to make Brock a star in 2002 and its time the favour was returned.
You don’t have to love him, hell you don’t even have to like him. But the Rock, for all of his opponents somewhere along the line has given them a great platform on which to shine. More so than John Cena as done for any of his. Like him, love him or hate him. You have to respect that.
Onwards and upwards...
