I'm trying the new-fangled slide list format on the Sporting News for fun. Probably screwed it up, we'll see.
potential
Rumble match and a potential “Cancel your WWE account” campaign
26th January 2015 by Scott Keith
Hey Scott.
After tonight's Rumble match, it has to be clear to even McMahon or HHH's staunchest supporters that they are clearly out of touch with their viewers. You could tell by the audience's reaction pretty much every potential winner fans would have been happy with. Without a doubt Bryan, Ambrose and Ziggler would have gotten huge cheers as the guy to get the "Ending Undertaker's Streak Re-Rub", and I'm pretty sure they could have safely gone with Mizdow, Wyatt and maybe even Ryder. And of course by the end, when reality had sunk in, the crowd made it known they'd even take fucking Rusev over Reigns. But no, Vince and/or HHH knew better than we do what we actually want, and now Brock gets fed to Reigns.
I usually feel like people over-react about how bad the product has gotten. NXT is enough to balance out the bad parts of RAW for me, and even in the same show I'm now complaining about they had a pretty enjoyable title match. But screwing up the A story as bad as they are now is the last straw for me. I know the only way WWE will actually listen to the fans is if we vote with our wallets, so I am canceling my WWE account as of tonight.
So it occurs to me, if you agree about the need to send a message to Vince and HHH, you could try to start a "Cancel Your Account" campaign on your site, to make it absolutely crystal clear what we as fans think they need to do. The more people that can collectively each pull $120 a year out of WWE's coffers, the more likely they will actually make a lasting change to the product.
And to be clear, at least to me, the change that needs to happen is that whoever currently has the "final call" when it comes to important matters needs to step down immediately. New blood is needed at the top level of the company.
Maybe it's a waste of time, maybe they are actually willing to go out of business before admitting they've lost touch, but for me at least the line has been crossed. They get no more money from me until they can right this ship.
Yeah, but I love the WWE Network. Why cut off your nose to spite your face? It also allows me to go back and watch GOOD shows, like 1996 Nitros!
Article on NXT and potential issues
2nd May 2014 by Scott Keith
Hey Scott,
Know you're a big NXT booster, as am I, but thinking about the treatment of Emma on the main roster, I sense the NXT diehards may be alienated by the main WWE brand over time.
What say you
?
I'm just happy that HHH is committed to putting NEW faces on the shows now, and that they've gone dozens of guys cycling through developmental to keep fresh faces. Bo Dallas is probably gonna bomb, but at least it's something different and he'll bomb in a totally unique and different way than other guys.
I just wish they would have jettisoned CJ Parker with the other dead weight.
Potential Cena-Bryan feud
24th October 2013 by Scott Keith
So…
It seems to me that the groundwork is being laid – intentionally or otherwise – for a Cena-Bryan feud, with Bryan as the quasi-heel (although he'd undoubtedly have a lot of fan support). The motivation for Bryan is just about perfect: why does Cena get a free pass from The Authority – thrown into a title match before he's set foot in the ring following injury – but Bryan keeps getting screwed over at every turn because he's not "Good for Business?" Never mind the fact that he beat Cena clean as a sheet in the middle of the ring. Cena, meanwhile, has a perfect defense: he chose to defend the title against Bryan at Summerslam, and when you go all the way back to it, he's the one who brought Bryan back into the company after the Nexus kicked him aside (or if you want to go for extra realism, after he got fired). It could even work with both of them winning their matches on Sunday to make it a title unification feud, although I doubt they'd go there since multiple belts means multiple toy belts to sell to kids (which, of course, is Good For Business).
So, you think they'd go in this direction? Or do you think they wouldn't want to cut off sales of "Yes! Yes! Yes!" shirts by making Bryan a quasi-heel?
Oh, and by the way, the NY Islanders' "Loudville" fans (college kids who get access to cheap seats an hour before the game) have started doing the "Yes!" chant after the Islanders score. You think they'll have the good sense to do something with that when Raw's at the Coliseum next month?
I think you're overlooking the most obvious and lame and thus most likely reasoning behind a Bryan-Cena title feud: The Bellas. It's a Bella in every corner!
Potential Mania Title Matches
15th January 2013 by Scott Keith
What would you think of the following scenario:
Ziggler cashes in MITB on Del Rio sometime in next few weeks.
Rock or Cena beat Ziggler at Elimination Chamber in an elimination chamber.
Rock and Cena fight for World Title at Mania.
Ziggler cashes in MITB on Del Rio sometime in next few weeks.
Rock or Cena beat Ziggler at Elimination Chamber in an elimination chamber.
Rock and Cena fight for World Title at Mania.
This allows Punk to hold onto WWE title and have a streak vs streak match against the Undertaker.
Sounds great, but I know Rock REALLY wants to be WWE champion, not big gold belt secondary Syfy champion. And he's got a point.Unfulfilled Potential
3rd September 2012 by Scott Keith
Hey Scott,
I've gotten a few posts from you on your blog regarding questions I've had, so here's another head-scratcher that requires your expertise. What are some of the biggest 'unfulfilled potential' wrestler cases in the past 20-30 years? I think the biggest is Scott Hall. He had everything; the look, the size, the wrestling ability, the charisma. But he had a serious drug/alcohol addiction problem. How good of a Heavyweight Champion would he have been in WWF/WCW, providing he was sober? What about Jake Roberts? Another guy who's personal issues kept him from being the top guy. Also, more physical issues such as Magnum TA's case, or Curt Hennig. Although Curt had drug issues too but maybe he wasn't really ever thought of at that level.
Whatever Curt Hennig had the talent and motivation to do, he already did. He wasn't going to get to a higher level than he was at, especially when they programmed him against Hogan at the end of his undefeated streak and houses went down. By the time he got to the Monday Night Era his back was shot anyway.
I think the Holy Trinity of wasted potential came from Crockett in the 80s: Nikita Koloff, Magnum TA, Barry Windham. Each of them should have went on to be World champion several times over, but Koloff lost all his motivation after his wife died and the window closed for good. Magnum of course we know what happened. Windham was the second-in-charge for Dusty Rhodes and was being groomed by him to be the booker, while Flair was grooming him to be the top guy in the promotion, and he just stopped giving a shit about any of it. He could have been legendary in either capacity and he ended up with nothing. Like, if they had PPV in early 87 and they put one of those Flair-Windham matches as the main event, people would be raving about it like it was Savage-Steamboat today.
Lost Potential
10th September 2011 by Scott Keith
I found what you wrote about Barry Windham not reaching his full potential during your WWF Vintage Collection review interesting. Are there other examples of wrestler’s not reaching their potential, for whatever reasons, you can think of? Terry Taylor? Lex Luger? Vader?
I don’t really know what more Vader could have done. By the time he went to the WWF he was past his prime and it’s not like he was going to be the top guy there anyway. Terry Taylor is a different kettle of fish, because he was a great worker who got into a really bad car accident in the 80s and then suddenly became a mostly good worker instead. So yeah, the Red Rooster thing destroyed any chance he had to get over on his own, but there was really a ceiling there anyway. He wasn’t going to be a top guy. Luger, yes, definitely. Should have been The Guy, but he got screwed over too many times and he just stopped caring. Nikita Koloff is another one who should have jumped to the WWF and drawn millions against Hogan, but his wife dying ripped his heart out and he was never the same again. He was improving so fast in the 80s, though, that he should have been something great. More recently, there’s been a disturbing trend of WWE calling guys up way too early and then basically chasing them out of the business when they don’t get over right away. Because there’s no regional scene to make a living from, if a Chris Masters fails in his one shot as a green rookie, then it’s less likely he’ll hone his craft and return. A lot of these guys are just finding jobs outside of the business and not coming back, and I think that’s what’s really going to hurt in the long run. So all you ever get is the potential, and then they’re gone.
Lost Potential
10th September 2011 by Scott Keith
I found what you wrote about Barry Windham not reaching his full potential during your WWF Vintage Collection review interesting. Are there other examples of wrestler’s not reaching their potential, for whatever reasons, you can think of? Terry Taylor? Lex Luger? Vader?
I don’t really know what more Vader could have done. By the time he went to the WWF he was past his prime and it’s not like he was going to be the top guy there anyway. Terry Taylor is a different kettle of fish, because he was a great worker who got into a really bad car accident in the 80s and then suddenly became a mostly good worker instead. So yeah, the Red Rooster thing destroyed any chance he had to get over on his own, but there was really a ceiling there anyway. He wasn’t going to be a top guy. Luger, yes, definitely. Should have been The Guy, but he got screwed over too many times and he just stopped caring. Nikita Koloff is another one who should have jumped to the WWF and drawn millions against Hogan, but his wife dying ripped his heart out and he was never the same again. He was improving so fast in the 80s, though, that he should have been something great. More recently, there’s been a disturbing trend of WWE calling guys up way too early and then basically chasing them out of the business when they don’t get over right away. Because there’s no regional scene to make a living from, if a Chris Masters fails in his one shot as a green rookie, then it’s less likely he’ll hone his craft and return. A lot of these guys are just finding jobs outside of the business and not coming back, and I think that’s what’s really going to hurt in the long run. So all you ever get is the potential, and then they’re gone.