Continuing on from part one of the series, here are my next two top pet peeves of pro-wrestling...
8. Special Privileges for Main-Event Talent
There is a theory in the world called The Law of Averages. Basically, it means that the outcomes of random events will eventually balance itself out. A streak of bad luck will eventually turn good. Now, this theory isn't exactly scientific, its more of a statistical probability or wishful thinking. If you flip a coin 100 times, it's not going to land on heads and tails an equal 50 times, but the number will almost always end closer to a 60-40 split than 90-10. What does the law of averages have to do with pro-wrestling? I'll tell you.
WWE has what they call a Wellness Policy that cracks down on the wrestlers who use illegal drugs. Since its inception, multiple wrestlers have been suspended and/or fired for their use of such illegal drugs. The full list of WWE wrestlers who have violated the Wellness Policy as of today are:
Booker T, Edge, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam are the only five main-eventers on that list. Five out of thirty-nine. That's only 12%. Pretty damn close to that 90-10 split that is almost statistically impossible. Now, I'm not saying that any particular wrestler has used illegal drugs or not. I'm just saying that I think WWE uses this policy to their own advantage. I've written about this offense before in a blog entitled:WWE Gets Political and So Do I, where in that blog, I show where WWE admits that they "should not be under the purview of the antiquated rules and regulations of State Athletic Commissions" because are sheer entertainment. All that means is that they get to regulate who they enforce their own rules against. I can't see how this could possibly be fair to non-main-event talent. It's their own fault for using the banned substances, but there should be no double standards.
A prime example of this happened only a few weeks ago. Evan Bourne was suspended for thirty days after testing positive for using synthetic marijuana. But Evan Bourne wasn't alone. R-Truth also tested positive for the exact same substance, only he was not immediately suspended. R-Truth is not main-event talent just yet in WWE, but he was booked in a PPV match against two guys who WWE hold in the highest regards, John Cena and The Rock. Because of this match, WWE waited to suspend R-Truth until after the PPV. Does that seem fair to Evan Bourne? He is half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, and was also booked in a PPV match at the time. They just simply took him out pf the 5-on-5 Tag match and inserted someone else into his place. Apparently, the match featuring Cena and The Rock was more important.
7. Ending Storylines Too Soon or Just Forgetting They Ever Existed
I admit this one is a little petty because not everyone has the same feel of when a storyline has more to offer or when it has run its course. So, instead of going over each example from the past, I'll just stick mainly with the most recent, and probably the most prevalent of all the events, CM Punk's amazing storyline this summer.
We all know it well, Punk delivers an award-worthy shoot promo at the end of RAW and it catches the WWE Universe by complete surprise. After a short suspension, Punk receives a title match against John Cena at Summerslam and proceeds to win the WWE Championship. Then, as promised, he leaves WWE as champion. During his time away, Punk makes appearances at Comic-Con, leaves messages on Twitter and does other things away from the WWE spotlight that arouses the Internet Wrestling Community into a tizzy. This was the single most well executed program that WWE has run in years. I was on the edge of my seat. But then, WWE pulled the plug too quickly. Only two weeks after leaving, CM Punk makes a miraculous return. He's signed a new contract and he's back in WWE. Cena receives his rematch for the WWE Title and promptly loses. However, Kevin Nash of all people, attacks Punk after the match and Alberto Del Rio cashes in MITB, to win the WWE Title. I could not believe this. CM Punk was, at that time, the hottest thing going in WWE. And in one fell swoop, they just knocked him right off the pedestal he had earned the right to sit on. Then to make matters worse, as they always do, they involved Punk in a storyline with old, creaky Kevin Nash. Thankfully, they came to their senses and didn't make Punk face Nash, but Triple H instead. Not that Triple H was too much better, but anything was better than Nash. After the match with Triple H, Punk just faded into the background. WWE became all about Triple H, Kevin Nash and John Laurinaitis. They just effectively killed the best thing going for them at the height of it's run so they could put the son-in-law in the spotlight. As difficult as it is to determine timing, I don't think anyone would disagree that CM Punk's run was cut off too soon.
And it doesn't just end there. There are still some parts to the above storyline that I have questions about. For instance...
Why would Kevin Nash break into Triple H's office and send himself a text message? I mean, he could have just paid someone to do it. Or he could have never done it and feigned the text altogether. Or, and this is the best one, he could have still done exactly what he did and never even brought up the text message that wasn't. Either way, it would have had the same result. This was just another storyline that they squashed because they didn't plan it out well enough.
Why hasn't CM Punk still not exacted revenge on Kevin Nash for costing him the WWE Title? Sure, Punk is champion again, so its possible that he's just allowed bygones to be bygones. But come on, this is pro-wrestling - there is no such thing.
Who was the Anonymous RAW General Manager?
What happened to The Conspiracy everyone was talking about?
When did the New Nexus disband?
Who was the 'higher power' controlling the original Nexus?
Why didn't the original Nexus go after WWE Management as they planned?
What secret did Beth Phoenix have against Mickie James when she debuted?
Who raised the briefcase at King of the Ring in 1999?
Who dropped the cinder-block on Steve Austin's head?
Who all knew about the Montreal Incident?
I could go on...
(Part Three of this series will be up on Monday before RAW)
8. Special Privileges for Main-Event Talent
There is a theory in the world called The Law of Averages. Basically, it means that the outcomes of random events will eventually balance itself out. A streak of bad luck will eventually turn good. Now, this theory isn't exactly scientific, its more of a statistical probability or wishful thinking. If you flip a coin 100 times, it's not going to land on heads and tails an equal 50 times, but the number will almost always end closer to a 60-40 split than 90-10. What does the law of averages have to do with pro-wrestling? I'll tell you.
WWE has what they call a Wellness Policy that cracks down on the wrestlers who use illegal drugs. Since its inception, multiple wrestlers have been suspended and/or fired for their use of such illegal drugs. The full list of WWE wrestlers who have violated the Wellness Policy as of today are:
» Afa Anoa'i, Jr. - Suspended for 30 days on March 20, 2008
» Andy Leavine - Suspended for 30 days in August 2011
» Balls Mahoney - Suspended for 30 days in September 2006
» Booker T - Suspended for 30 days in 2007
» Booker T - Suspended for 60 days on August 30, 2007
» Carlito - Contract terminated on May 21, 2010
» Charlie Haas - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Chavo Guerrero - Suspended for 30 days in 2006 or 2007
» Chavo Guerrero - Suspended for 60 days on August 30, 2007
» Chris Kay - Suspended for 30 days in 2007
» Chris Kay - Suspended for 60 days in April 2007
» Chris Masters - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Chris Masters - Suspended for 60 days on November 2, 2007
» Darren Young - Suspended for 30 days on October 5, 2011
» Derrick Neikirk - Suspended for 30 days on January 15, 2008
» DH Smith - Suspended for 30 days on November 2, 2007
» Dolph Ziggler - Suspended for 30 days on October 10, 2008
» Drew Hankinson - Suspended for 30 days in October 2006
» Edge - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Evan Bourne - Suspended for 30 days on November 1, 2011
» Funaki - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Gregory Helms - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Heath Slater - Suspended for 30 days on October 17, 2011
» Jeff Hardy - Suspended for 30 days in July 2007
» Jeff Hardy - Suspended for 60 days on March 11, 2008
» Jimmy Wang Yang - Suspended for 30 days on June 9, 2008
» John Morrison - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Kid Kash - Suspended for 30 days in July 2006
» Kurt Angle - Suspended for 30 days in June or July 2006
» Mike Chioda - Suspended for 30 days on August 15, 2011
» Mr. Kennedy - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Neil Bzibziak - Suspended for 30 days on January 15, 2008
» Randy Orton - Suspended for 30 days in August 2006
» Rene Dupree - Suspended for 30 days in June 2006
» Rene Dupree - Suspended for 60 days in February 2007
» Rey Mysterio - Suspended for 30 days on August 27, 2009
» Rob Van Dam - Suspended for 30 days in July 2006
» R-Truth - Suspended for 30 days on November 22, 2011
» Ryan O'Reilly - Suspended for 30 days in September 2006
» Ryan Reeves - Suspended for 30 days in July 2006
» Sin Cara - Suspended for 30 days on July 18, 2011
» Snitsky - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Test - Suspended for 30 days in February 2007
» Umaga - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Umaga - Contract terminated on June 8, 2009
» William Regal - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» William Regal - Suspended for 60 days on May 20, 2008
Booker T, Edge, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam are the only five main-eventers on that list. Five out of thirty-nine. That's only 12%. Pretty damn close to that 90-10 split that is almost statistically impossible. Now, I'm not saying that any particular wrestler has used illegal drugs or not. I'm just saying that I think WWE uses this policy to their own advantage. I've written about this offense before in a blog entitled:WWE Gets Political and So Do I, where in that blog, I show where WWE admits that they "should not be under the purview of the antiquated rules and regulations of State Athletic Commissions" because are sheer entertainment. All that means is that they get to regulate who they enforce their own rules against. I can't see how this could possibly be fair to non-main-event talent. It's their own fault for using the banned substances, but there should be no double standards.
A prime example of this happened only a few weeks ago. Evan Bourne was suspended for thirty days after testing positive for using synthetic marijuana. But Evan Bourne wasn't alone. R-Truth also tested positive for the exact same substance, only he was not immediately suspended. R-Truth is not main-event talent just yet in WWE, but he was booked in a PPV match against two guys who WWE hold in the highest regards, John Cena and The Rock. Because of this match, WWE waited to suspend R-Truth until after the PPV. Does that seem fair to Evan Bourne? He is half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, and was also booked in a PPV match at the time. They just simply took him out pf the 5-on-5 Tag match and inserted someone else into his place. Apparently, the match featuring Cena and The Rock was more important.
7. Ending Storylines Too Soon or Just Forgetting They Ever Existed
I admit this one is a little petty because not everyone has the same feel of when a storyline has more to offer or when it has run its course. So, instead of going over each example from the past, I'll just stick mainly with the most recent, and probably the most prevalent of all the events, CM Punk's amazing storyline this summer.
We all know it well, Punk delivers an award-worthy shoot promo at the end of RAW and it catches the WWE Universe by complete surprise. After a short suspension, Punk receives a title match against John Cena at Summerslam and proceeds to win the WWE Championship. Then, as promised, he leaves WWE as champion. During his time away, Punk makes appearances at Comic-Con, leaves messages on Twitter and does other things away from the WWE spotlight that arouses the Internet Wrestling Community into a tizzy. This was the single most well executed program that WWE has run in years. I was on the edge of my seat. But then, WWE pulled the plug too quickly. Only two weeks after leaving, CM Punk makes a miraculous return. He's signed a new contract and he's back in WWE. Cena receives his rematch for the WWE Title and promptly loses. However, Kevin Nash of all people, attacks Punk after the match and Alberto Del Rio cashes in MITB, to win the WWE Title. I could not believe this. CM Punk was, at that time, the hottest thing going in WWE. And in one fell swoop, they just knocked him right off the pedestal he had earned the right to sit on. Then to make matters worse, as they always do, they involved Punk in a storyline with old, creaky Kevin Nash. Thankfully, they came to their senses and didn't make Punk face Nash, but Triple H instead. Not that Triple H was too much better, but anything was better than Nash. After the match with Triple H, Punk just faded into the background. WWE became all about Triple H, Kevin Nash and John Laurinaitis. They just effectively killed the best thing going for them at the height of it's run so they could put the son-in-law in the spotlight. As difficult as it is to determine timing, I don't think anyone would disagree that CM Punk's run was cut off too soon.
And it doesn't just end there. There are still some parts to the above storyline that I have questions about. For instance...
Why would Kevin Nash break into Triple H's office and send himself a text message? I mean, he could have just paid someone to do it. Or he could have never done it and feigned the text altogether. Or, and this is the best one, he could have still done exactly what he did and never even brought up the text message that wasn't. Either way, it would have had the same result. This was just another storyline that they squashed because they didn't plan it out well enough.
Why hasn't CM Punk still not exacted revenge on Kevin Nash for costing him the WWE Title? Sure, Punk is champion again, so its possible that he's just allowed bygones to be bygones. But come on, this is pro-wrestling - there is no such thing.
Who was the Anonymous RAW General Manager?
What happened to The Conspiracy everyone was talking about?
When did the New Nexus disband?
Who was the 'higher power' controlling the original Nexus?
Why didn't the original Nexus go after WWE Management as they planned?
What secret did Beth Phoenix have against Mickie James when she debuted?
Who raised the briefcase at King of the Ring in 1999?
Who dropped the cinder-block on Steve Austin's head?
Who all knew about the Montreal Incident?
I could go on...
(Part Three of this series will be up on Monday before RAW)
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