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With the Slammy Awards coming up, I thought I'd ask this question: do you think that, with WWE allowing fans to vote for the winners online, that some categories end up being little more than popularity contests? Some examples I can think of would be Diva of the Year, Tag Team of the Year, and, in some cases, Superstar of the Year.
Absolutely but it’s not like the Slammys are a legitimate award show. They are just a WWE gimmick.
Thinking about the complete irrelevance of the IC title makes me sad considering how there were so many incredible matches back in the day over it. Do you think a way to revive it would be to have some wrestler – I don’t care who – comes out and cut a passionate promo about how it used to be something important. The guy could point out how it would mean you were the best wrestler in the company to have it back in the day. Point out the great matches people talk about were fought for the title and are available on the WWE Network (Vince can get a plug). As he talks he gets more angry about how it’s been relegated to a prop and how it was the reason he got into the business. He says the current state of it is disrespecting the Savage’s, the Steamboat’s, Mr. Perfect’s, etc. who have held it. It would take commitment from creative, which sadly seems to have none, but the audience needs to see a wrestler care about the title before they ever will.
That would be a start. But they would also, as you say, have to commit to it, just like Paul Heyman did in ECW when Rob Van Dam was the TV Champ. Heyman made that Title as important as the World Title and the people believed. WWE has one top belt now, there is no reason (other than weak booking) that the IC Title couldn’t be made important again.
I've listened to all 3 podcasts and read & reread your in depth coverage of Punk finally talking and one thing is really bugging me; HHH contacting Punk 2 days before his wedding then sending his breach of contract termination to arrive on his wedding day. Vince gave the corporate answer, and claimed it was coincidental, but I really do struggle to believe that. HHH clearly knew when the wedding was and clearly had the ability to either stop the process because of when the dates were or was the executive who green lit it. Apologies as the question is therefore kinda rhetorical; If the COO of a legitimate company, one genuinely answerable to shareholders, abused his position to further a personal vendetta, this left the company publicly looking vindictive, spiteful and childish, and likely cost the company a large settlement out of court; would that COO still have a job?
If a gun is at my head and my life depended on it, I would say Vince and HHH both knew it would get delivered on their wedding day and it was done on purpose. I am totally with Punk when he said that Vince’s apology is pure PR. Vince knew for almost six months what happened. If was really sorry, he would have called Punk months ago to apologize. But he didn’t. And he still hasn’t. To answer your question, oh yeah, the guy that did that should be fired for sure. Hell, I would also fire whoever was responsible for replacing Punk’s merchandise check and refused to do it. That is just crazy.
Do you think, if Punk's story is true (which seems highly likely to me, maybe I'm biased), that it should put pressure on WWE to release their doctor? If they want to look good from a PR standpoint, that seems logical to me.
Hmmm, tough call. The reality is when a company has a doctor, they often don’t have the patient’s best interest at heart since they work for the company. I dealt with this personally when I got hurt on a job when I was much younger. The company doctor just kept sending me back to work, even though it turned out I had a fractured vertebrae in my back. I only found that out because I became my own advocate and got second opinions. If I were in Punk’s shoes, I would have done the same thing, gone to another doctor. Hopefully that is the lesson that the wrestlers take from this. I think the lesson is be your own advocate and get second opinions if the first don’t make sense to you.
Are millennials less ambitious?
Only if you listen to a 69 year old guy who is losing touch with what young people are all about and is becoming the guy who tells “back when I was a kid†stories. Seriously, any time someone resorts to stereotyping a group of people, their argument is lost. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan were pretty ambitious weren’t they? And they both grabbed the brass ring that Vince said no one has had the guts to grab. So take excuses for what they are, excuses.
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