Professional Wrestling True/False

[Hawk Hart]

So on this other site I'm involved with a weekly true/false column where an admin messages a few people questions and we have to answer.

I have just completed this week's and I wanted everyone else's opinions. If you like this, I can post the week before last's too.

ROH as a whole is doing fine without Gabe Sapolsky.
True: Gabe was getting burned out, which he refuses to admit, and on his shoot he says "People don't buy ROH dvds for the story" which, I think, is the exact reason why he was replaced. I didn't pay all that close attention to ROH during the last few months of Gabe's reign because the stories did not interest me and I know that I'm not the only one. This booking shake up got a lot of people watching again and things will only get better from here. 2009 will be the beginning of Age of Scrap Daddy in ROH because, I think, he will bring fresh perspective to the ROH brand and have us seeing an almost all new product from what we're used to in ROH, with new and exciting angles.

WWE has already botched The Legacy story line.
False: They can still redeem this angle but only if they let the young guys make a name for themselves and not just the lackies trying to keep a hold on Randy's ball bag.

TNA will take the right steps in the new year to be a much better product than they were in 2008.
True/False: I think that TNA CAN take the right steps, but I don't know if they WILL. For them to improve and make a better product they must take step back, take a look at not only themselves, but the wrestling business as a whole. They really need to refocus their energy into new talents this year for them to have their own identity. The X Division needs to be re-established for TNA to improve and the old timers need to take a backseat to the stars of tomorrow. TNA needs to say goodbye to the days of Sting, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Kevin Nash, and Scott "Heh?" Steiner dominating the Main Event and Mid Card guys and say hello to the times of guys like the Murder City Machine Guns (f*** the Motor City name) not being whiney and actually winning titles and young guys taking over. Also, please, for the love of Super Saiyan Jesus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk8L703DkAs) don't make EVERY PPV main event end after interference, it makes your talent, and your title look weak. Finally, two more things, listen to the fans and "FIRE RUS-SO!" and please, please, please, give Christopher Daniels the world title when he comes back.


Jack Swagger and Ted Dibiase jr. will both hold World Titles in the WWE before the year comes to an end.
False: If either have World Title potential, it's Ted. He has the look and the talent have the Big One. All he needs is to tap into his charisma. If the kid could get more personality than his ring attire, I would say that nothing can stop him. On the other side of the coin we have Jack "The All American American" Swagger. First of all, serious? That's his gimmick? "All American American"? It's that sort of thing that makes fans wish for the days of Duke the Dumpster and the Gobblety Gooker (Ok, maybe that's an exageration, but still). He has all the personality of a snowman without the looks and half the talent. He reminds me of a young John Cena, and that is not a good thing.

Before the year is over atleast one big name will be gone from WWE.
True: This looks to the year that at least one big name will retire. I could easily see Shawn Michaels and/or Undertaker retiring before the year is up. I belive Michaels was quoted as saying in an interview "WWE called me to do one match and that was 6 years ago." I've got WrestleMania 25 pegged to be the last time the Show Stopper can Steal The Show. Oddly enough, I think the Dead Man will make his last appearance at the same event. Undertaker is aging, his body is becoming more injury prone. I can see the Phenom calling it quits after one last big match at the Grandest Stage of Them All in front of a hometown crowd, possibly against HBK.

Before years end a big name from either TNA, ROH, or both will jump to WWE.
True: I'm going to assume the questioner did take into consideration that Christian Cage is rumored to return at the Royal Rumble so I'll discuss talent outside of him. I can very easily see Kurt Angle returning to the WWE after his TNA contract is up, like I discussed in week one. As far as ROH goes, I think Bryan Danielson is ideal to make the jump. He's a solid technical wrestler in a league that holds only greatest (i.e. Dean Malenko, William Regal, and yes, even Chris Benoit) and has a look that would benefit the E greatly. Who better to hire than a small guy with a "natural" look for a company that's trying to distance itself from the the steroidy appearance of the 90s. Factor AmDrag's talent with his ability to cut a promo and the backing of his former trainers William Regal and Shawn Michaels, and you can see that Danielson is a no-brain hire for WWE.

Tyler Black will be the face of ROH in 2009.
True: Black is THE guy that ROH needs to push. He has the look, the talent, and the charisma to work on a main event level. He's super over right now and now that Gabe is no longer holding the book, I think ROH will start pulling the trigger on guys like Black. I truely believe that Black will not only be the face of ROH this year, but for years to come. He has the ability to be a franchise player for ROH on the same level as Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla should not be running their first event of 2009 without World Champion Chris Hero AND BOLA winner Low Ki
True: I think it's AWFUL idea to run the first show of the year without two of your biggest stars. Imagine WWE running the Royal Rumble without John Cena or Randy Orton or TNA running Genesis without AJ Styles or Samoa Joe. The first show sets the stage for what to expect for the whole year and leaving off your top two guys doesn't send a good message to the fans.

[Hawk Hart]

Here's a previous one...

True or False for 12/22/08

With John Morrison and The Miz currently the World Tag Team Champions of RAW, ECW roster members, and constantly popping up on SMACKDOWN WWE would be best to just unify their tag team titles and have tag teams float between brands.

Hardcore Superstar - TRUE - Brand restrictions for titles mean nothing if the champions appear on almost every brand. The WWE is running low on tag teams that can entertain and having one tag title would cut down on teams that no one cares about having title runs (Anyone remember when Hawkins and Rider were champs?).

Kurt Angle has no intentions of re-signing with TNA once his current contract is up.

Hardcore Superstar - N/A - I can’t say if this is true or not but I can that it would be a good idea financially to go back to WWE. TNA is mid level company trying to operate on a global scale, not signing Kurt would be a good move for TNA because they could free up cash to give to new, midcard guys that they could build themselves so the company can get it’s own identity and not be known as the Land of Misfit WWE/WCW Alumni. Also, Kurt is going through a divorce currently so anything that would allow him to make a little bit more money would be a good move on his part. One thing that I can not comment on however is weither or not this would be good for Kurt’s health. Kurt has a well documented history of neck problems and one must wonder what toll the WWE travel schedule would do to his body.

Ring of Honor will be lucky to still be around come this time next year.

Hardcore Superstar - FALSE - Ring of Honor will only be bigger 12 months from now. With HDnet sniffing around as a possible network to show ROH as well as the new DirecTV deal the national exposure of ROH will increase and hopefully result in renewed interest. This new interest could result in higher PPV and DVD sales which will only help the company. ROH is the new ECW in spirit, but I think that front office of ROH has a little better knowledge of how to run a company, well, except the guys in marketing. My only suggestion would be for them to run shows in areas that are wrestling deprived, i.e. Seattle, Texas, Northern California, and Upstate New York, to try to increase awareness of the product.

WWE has made a mistake tossing the WWE Title on someone with a questionable past like Jeff Hardy.

Hardcore Superstar - FALSE - Hardy is money. The marks love him, the smarks love him, and his ring work is solid. He sells alot of merch and is damned entertaining. I think that this title reign has been a long time coming and is a great idea. My only concern is that it happened at Armageddon. If it had happend at a big 4 PPV the impact of it all would have been better. I can understand the WWE going for the shock factor of it happening on a throw-away event but it would have been more meaningful if it happend on a larger scale.

The Main Event Mafia vs. TNA Frontline storyline is good for TNA.

Hardcore Superstar - TRUE (to a degree) - I personally find this entertaining and it has me tuning in to TNA for the first time in over a year. My only major concern is that we’re going to see a situation like the inVasion or the New Blood where one stable becomes too dominate of the other and it results in everyone being hurt in the long run. I do think the idea of a former World Champions stable is good but we need more clarity for everyone else. Are the Motor City Machine Guns faces that bitch alot or heels? We need a distinction of who is affiliated with who so that it’s not a special type of love making activity involving alot of people in a ball.

The ROH World Title run of Nigel Mcguinness needs to end NOW.

Hardcore Superstar - TRUE - As a Nigel mark this is hard for me to say but yes, we need a new ROH World Champion. Year long title runs result in staleness of the product. I don’t know if they can really end it now though. ROH has had problems not pulling the trigger on guys that are way over with prime examples being Claudio and Hero and it wouldn’t look credible for most of the ROH main event players to win the strap. At this time I can only see AmDrag or Black taking the belt, not that that’s a bad thing, but those wins would result in us seeing the same thing we’ve seen since Nigel took the strap.

Vince McMahon would be smart to look into bringing in such MMA stars as Kimbo Slice or Gina Carano for WrestleMania 25.

Hardcore Superstar - FALSE - Kimbo lost alot of credibility when he got knocked out by that dude who is not remembered by anyone as anything but that dude that knocked out Kimbo. Also, Gina isn’t well known enough to draw buyrates. That being said, Burt Reynolds would draw huge.