The Awesome Era

The referee's three-count ushered in a brand new era in the WWE last night, as The Miz successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on WWE Champion Randy Orton! Enter the Awesome Era, which, in my opinion, is going to be truly awesome. Anyone looking for a picture-perfect example of hard-work personified need look no further than Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin.

I still remember the good ol' days of 2004 (holy crow, I did NOT realize it was so long ago...), in my mother's living room watching the $1,000,000 Tough Enough competition, and telling her to come check out the Big Show slapping the piss out of all these young, green WWE hopefuls. She was disgusted, and got mad at me. But I digress. One of those hopefuls was Mike Mizanin, already rocking his monicker of 'The Miz'. The guy had charisma, that's for sure, but he was definitely not in physical WWE shape, and certainly didn't possess any outstanding professional wrestling ability.

He, along with many others, was man-handled by the 500-pound Big Show, degraded by an irate Kurt Angle, made out with Mae Young (worst of all?), and went through extensive physical exertion only to be runner-up to the walking embarrassment that was Daniel Puder. He was eliminated from the competition, but far from defeated. The saying goes, "if you want something bad enough, you can get it" and The Miz is living proof.

He was eliminated from Tough Enough on December 16, 2004, but had made a lasting impression on the WWE. He worked his tail off under a developmental contract for close to two years, before making his WWE debut on Smackdown! on April 21, 2006. And from there on, we witnessed the non-stop growth of a young man who is without a doubt going to comprise the young talent that will be the future of this business.

For the most part, Tough Enough is completely despised by the men and women in the WWE locker room. Reason being that they all had to work their ass off wrestling on the independant scene in order to catch the eye of the WWE, and these guys are given a golden opportunity to compete against FAR fewer individuals, win a million bucks and be invited into the WWE. That's why despite the opportunity, most of them don't last (see Daniel Puder's appearance in the 2005 Royal Rumble, where he got the shit chopped out of him by Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Hardcore Holly, before being dumped over the side of the ring like a corpse, never to be seen again).

It's the guys that truly want it who will make it in this business, and it was obvious that The Miz wanted this more than anything. I mean, how amazing is it that in 2004 Mike Mizanin lost the Tough Enough competition to Daniel Puder, who didn't last a week in the business, and now, six years later, The Miz is the face of the company: the WWE Champion. I never thought I'd be able to sensibly use the words 'Cinderella' and 'WWE' in the sentence, but it seems appropriate now.

Way to go Mike, you are one of the few (lately) who TRULY deserve to have that belt around your waist, and you've convinced someone who has lost interest in the current product, to tune in once again. The company is in good hands. Scratch that, it's in AWESOME hands.

Auto-Fail!!

Gonna have to be a short one today, folks, life calls.

So apparently on the WWE's latest DVD release, 'The Top 50 Superstars of All Time', they actually MIS-SPELLED Bruno Sammartino's last name in the chapter index, spelling it as "Summartino". Are you fudging kidding me? That is a complete and total embarrassment.

It makes me wonder if CreComm is the only program in the world that makes you live and die by the spelling of proper names. And also makes me realize just how integral to your reputation it is that you can spell them correctly and consistently. So way to go CreComm, things like this reassure me that there is logical reasoning behind why I sweat just a little bit when writing assignments.

Happy Friday, hope everyone has a great weekend and stays safe on the roads with all those maniacs! Farewell!

Top Ten Favorite Wrestlers

Well folks, I am tired and busy and think I'm coming down with a nice, juicy flu, so rather than delve deep into my intellectual pro wrestling thoughts, I'm going to whip up my own personal Top Ten List of my favorite wrestlers, past and present. I'll also be introducing my first poll to the blog, hopefully some visitors will take part in that if they don't want to leave comments. So here we go!

10) Matt Sydal: I remember seeing one of his Ring of Honor matches on TV, can't remember who it was against, and being absolutely blown away. The things this guy can do in the air, and how flexible and athletic he is, it's truly awe-inspiring. Definitely the Rey Mysterio of this generation, in the way he is re-defining high-flyers.

9) AJ Styles: AJ Styles is the perfect blend of technical wrestling, and high-flying. I love how crisp almost every single thing he does in the ring is. Very impressive to watch.

8) Jeff Hardy: You either love him or you hate him. A lot of people call Jeff a "spot monkey" or a "glorified stunt man", but I don't see how you can take anything away from a guy who continuously puts so much of his well-being on the line for our entertainment. Jeff has been the driving force behind multiple 'Holy Shit!' moments for me, and I will always have a great deal of respect for him.

7) The Rock: Not a lot of explanation needed here. The Rock is professional wrestling. Not Hulk "I have a tummy ache, sorry" Hogan. He was the height of charisma, and the height of athletic ability, and the two met at the top to combine into some of the most entertaining television you'll ever see.

6) Kurt Angle: Contrary to the chant that will always accompany his (WWE) entrance music, Kurt Angle does not suck. Kurt Angle is an amazing amateur wrestler, and brings out the best in his opponents. I love his physicality, and how intense his matches are. And damnit if Kurt Angle couldn't be funniest son of a bitch on WWE programming sometimes. I think I might just have to post 'Sexy Kurt' at the end of this entry...

5) Bryan Danielson: The guy was fired in, what, his first couple weeks with the company? And the outcry by the fans was so great, that they actually brought him back. That says a LOT about a guy's talent. When does the WWE EVER listen to it's fans??? Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Benoit might be the very first thing I request to see upon reaching the pearly gates.

4) Randy Orton: Recently Orton seems to have contracted "Stone Cold Syndrome". The disease of being such an amazing heel, that people start to cheer you, and all of a sudden you're a babyface, but you don't really have to alter your personality whatsoever! I hear a lot of people say Orton is crap on the mic, but I think he's awesome. You guys know he's trying to generate heat right...?

3) Chris Jericho: I don't even really know why, but there's just something so insulting about being called a 'parasite'... Another guy who is incapable of having a bad match. And one of the few who still has a credible submission hold. I miss hearing a pop for a submission attempt... But Danielson is bringing it back!

2) Eddie Guerrero: It takes a lot to truly amaze me when it comes to pro wrestling, but the way Eddie could hold a crowd in the palm of his hand, was amazing. Good guy, bad guy, it was truly up to him, not you. I definitely took him granted, as I'm sure most of us did, and would give anything to see one more Eddie Guerrero match.

1) Chris Benoit: If I actually had a decent amount of people commenting, I'd say something like "This is probably going to create some controversy..." Benoit didn't have a lot of traditional charisma, but he had his own personal type of charisma. And it was all in the ring. Holy smokes could that guy go. So physical, and so flawless. His Northern Lights Suplex will probably always be my single-favorite wrestling move to see. HIS. Not only did we lose a fantastic wrestler back in 2007, but we lost a fantastic legacy and it truly is a shame.

So there it is, like it or not, those are MY top ten favorite wrestlers to date! It's hard to cut it down to ten, but there ya go. Talk about your own, disagree with mine, whatever you like! Take us home, Kurt!

Tribute to the Fans

I’ve been a Professional Wrestling fan for about seven years now. Over the course of these years, I’ve been privileged to attend about six or seven live WWE shows. The shows each varied in significance, from a non-televised house show to WrestleMania 23, but no matter the grandeur, there is one thing that seems to stay constant throughout: the fans. A quick scan around the arena can usually give me a pretty good idea of what kinds of fans are in attendance. It doesn’t take an in depth conversation with the individual to recognize which category they fall in to.

First there’s the ‘mark’. A mark is a wrestling term, used to define someone who cannot separate fiction from reality when it comes to Pro Wrestling. Marks are wrestling fans at heart, but for all the wrong reasons. They have absolutely no concept of the matches being pre-determined, or the characters and personalities being staged. Marks can most often be seen on YouTube, in self-shot videos, chastising Kane for burying The Undertaker alive, and tragically ending his life. Or standing from their seats, hand-over-mouth and wide-eyed after seeing John Cena dumped through a wooden table. Marks will forever be a source of laughter to more educated fans, and they will forever wonder why.

Next is the ‘smark’, which is simply a play off the previous term, to stand for ‘smart mark’. Smarks are just as big of fans as marks, only they have a firm understanding of the ins and outs of the business. Smarks understand that every match is pre-determined, and that there is a lot of acting involved in the personalities portrayed in the ring. Smarks will often have knowledge of backstage politics, or certain wrestlers’ personal lives. Smarks can often be seen cheering for the heels (bad guys) and booing the babyfaces (good guys), since they have grown weary of seeing the stereotypical ‘Superman saves the day’ win.

‘Dedicated fans’ are a rare breed but by far the easiest to spot. They are typically 35+ but not exclusively. Dedicated fans are dressed head to toe in WWE clothing and merchandise. They are usually wearing a WWE brand baseball cap, t-shirt, armbands, and jeans. But they’re not finished yet. Slung over their shoulder is a $250 replica championship belt, in one hand is the program for the evening and they could very well be carrying a WWE plush toy or other paraphernalia. Dedicated fans are usually seen walking the halls around the concession booths, and not in their seats, simply because they’ve been to so many events that seeing the show isn’t of high priority to them; they come for the atmosphere… and to show off their merchandise.

‘Clueless fans’ are also fairly easy to spot, and the majority tends to be comprised by one sub-category: girlfriends. Clueless fans typically have no desire to be in attendance, and don’t watch the programming regularly. They view Pro Wrestling as a bunch of rednecks throwing fake punches at one another, and can often be overheard saying, “who’s that?” and “what just happened?” Clueless fans can be seen blowing bubbles with their gum, twirling their hair, looking annoyed, and texting.

Last and least are ‘the crazies’. The scary thing about the crazies is that they cannot be easily identified at first; they fit no standard physical definition. But once the crazies reveal themselves, there is simply no mistaking them. They can be seen either in the arena, at a show, or just in a regular setting with a wrestler present. The crazies can be seen leaping out of their seats and rushing in to the ring to confront a wrestler, or verbally and physically assaulting a wrestler in an everyday setting. They can then immediately be seen being punched in the face by Eddie Guerrero or Chris Jericho, among others, and dragged off by security.

So whether or not you’ve ever been to a Pro Wrestling show in your life, chances are if you sat down in attendance at one, you would fall into one of these five categories. Together they make up the classic atmosphere of a Professional Wrestling event. Try to spot each one the next time you’re out at a show, like a twisted game of bingo. And if you don’t spot a crazy, then you may just have to suit up and fill that role yourself.