AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
Well, for those of you who complain about WWE and what it airs in prime time...you now have an alternative. TNA made its prime-time debut this past Thursday.
What I saw was as good a prime-time TV wrestling show as I've seen in months and months.
The variety of matches...ranging from the Christian-Rhino barbed wire cage bloodbath to Kurt Angle-Abyss's match (that was far better than what we saw in Philadelphia only 1 1/2 weeks ago)...to AJ Styles-Chris Sabin-Christopher Daniels was a show that contained the most wrestling I've seen in a two-hour televised wrestling show this year.
There was far less of promoters putting themselves over...less shilling by 40 year old guys pretending to be hip adolescents (yes, I saw Brian James and Billy Gunn...but they weren't all over the entire show)...and no anorexic pseudo-models pretending to be women and/or wrestlers. The women who wrestled...wrestled. The women who were eye candy were eye candy (note to WWE, take a look at how Mexico's CMLL does it...they have both...but each in their place).
Still with all of this...the ratings were listed as a 1.0, which has GOT to be disappointing to TNA. TNA put some PPV level matches on this debut show to try and build interest for last night's Genesis PPV. Yet the ratings didn't match up to the quality of the show. Fans that wanted blood, got blood. Fans that wanted high spots got high spots
Some of your thoughts about last week's column remembering Eddie Guerrero...
From Scott Watry:
"I loved the column, and I cant believe it has been a year without Eddie Guerrero, but after re-reading the column I began to wonder... It talks about the Nick Dinsmore incident, I dont remember that at all, could you possible fill me in on that? Also it speaks of a certain wrestler being on a death watch by the WWE. I was wondering if you think that wrestler was Kurt Angle? Thank you for the time.
Nick Dinsmore, aka "Eugene", was found passed out from what was believed to be use of somas; and was put by WWE into drug rehabilitation. It wouldn't surprise me, given what we've heard, if the wrestler of the "death list" was, in fact, Angle.
From "Michael":
"I agree with you about WWE, Eddie and drug control in wrestling.
You said 'Instead of Guerrero's death creating a sea change in the way that wrestling promotions allow their performers to manage pain, and to take care of themselves...its legacy seems to be the most tasteless angle of 2006, that of the continued use of Guerrero's death for ratings and PPV buys.'
I couldn't agree with you more. Then they have the nerve to sale items like recently with the "EG Armband" when it's clearly just to make money. From Mick Foley's comments about Sable being forced to wear body paint or be fired... to selling of Eddie's death... to some of the recent comments Angle (TNA) made about Vince...
I 100% truly believe that WWE will always be about ratings and money, no matter who dies or the wrong doing in the company. It's a very sad thing."
The thing is...TNA's no different with what they're doing with Angle.
From Kathy Fitzpatrick:
."Yesterday I watched the 2006 induction to the WWE Hall of Fame and thought about when I heard that Eddie had passed. I was to pick a friend up at the airport and got a voice mesage from her. she was at the airport and I could barely hear her but I than found out Eddie Guerrero had passed.
As I have always said this crazy sport of wrestling brings so many different people together.Some stick with you forever and some you realize that they were never a real friend. Eddie was a real friend.
You were a great guy and we will never forget you. I know when you look down on all of us you still laugh and smile that goofy smile that we all loved and miss so badly.
I know you are in a much better place than we are. We love you and will never forget you my friend."
How can I add to that?
Until next time...
If you have comments or questions, or if you'd like to add the AS I SEE IT column to your website, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com.
If you'd like to add advertising on PWBTS.com (the flagship website of this column), banner ads are available for $400 for one year. These ads would appear on each newspage appearing on the newsboard. Cube ads are available for $200 for one year, which would be placed on the main newsboard page. For advertising requests, I can also be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com. AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
Well, for those of you who complain about WWE and what it airs in prime time...you now have an alternative. TNA made its prime-time debut this past Thursday.
What I saw was as good a prime-time TV wrestling show as I've seen in months and months.
The variety of matches...ranging from the Christian-Rhino barbed wire cage bloodbath to Kurt Angle-Abyss's match (that was far better than what we saw in Philadelphia only 1 1/2 weeks ago)...to AJ Styles-Chris Sabin-Christopher Daniels was a show that contained the most wrestling I've seen in a two-hour televised wrestling show this year.
There was far less of promoters putting themselves over...less shilling by 40 year old guys pretending to be hip adolescents (yes, I saw Brian James and Billy Gunn...but they weren't all over the entire show)...and no anorexic pseudo-models pretending to be women and/or wrestlers. The women who wrestled...wrestled. The women who were eye candy were eye candy (note to WWE, take a look at how Mexico's CMLL does it...they have both...but each in their place).
Still with all of this...the ratings were listed as a 1.0, which has GOT to be disappointing to TNA. TNA put some PPV level matches on this debut show to try and build interest for last night's Genesis PPV. Yet the ratings didn't match up to the quality of the show. Fans that wanted blood, got blood. Fans that wanted high spots got high spots
Some of your thoughts about last week's column remembering Eddie Guerrero...
From Scott Watry:
"I loved the column, and I cant believe it has been a year without Eddie Guerrero, but after re-reading the column I began to wonder... It talks about the Nick Dinsmore incident, I dont remember that at all, could you possible fill me in on that? Also it speaks of a certain wrestler being on a death watch by the WWE. I was wondering if you think that wrestler was Kurt Angle? Thank you for the time.
Nick Dinsmore, aka "Eugene", was found passed out from what was believed to be use of somas; and was put by WWE into drug rehabilitation. It wouldn't surprise me, given what we've heard, if the wrestler of the "death list" was, in fact, Angle.
From "Michael":
"I agree with you about WWE, Eddie and drug control in wrestling.
You said 'Instead of Guerrero's death creating a sea change in the way that wrestling promotions allow their performers to manage pain, and to take care of themselves...its legacy seems to be the most tasteless angle of 2006, that of the continued use of Guerrero's death for ratings and PPV buys.'
I couldn't agree with you more. Then they have the nerve to sale items like recently with the "EG Armband" when it's clearly just to make money. From Mick Foley's comments about Sable being forced to wear body paint or be fired... to selling of Eddie's death... to some of the recent comments Angle (TNA) made about Vince...
I 100% truly believe that WWE will always be about ratings and money, no matter who dies or the wrong doing in the company. It's a very sad thing."
The thing is...TNA's no different with what they're doing with Angle.
From Kathy Fitzpatrick:
."Yesterday I watched the 2006 induction to the WWE Hall of Fame and thought about when I heard that Eddie had passed. I was to pick a friend up at the airport and got a voice mesage from her. she was at the airport and I could barely hear her but I than found out Eddie Guerrero had passed.
As I have always said this crazy sport of wrestling brings so many different people together.Some stick with you forever and some you realize that they were never a real friend. Eddie was a real friend.
You were a great guy and we will never forget you. I know when you look down on all of us you still laugh and smile that goofy smile that we all loved and miss so badly.
I know you are in a much better place than we are. We love you and will never forget you my friend."
How can I add to that?
Until next time...
If you have comments or questions, or if you'd like to add the AS I SEE IT column to your website, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com.
If you'd like to add advertising on PWBTS.com (the flagship website of this column), banner ads are available for $400 for one year. These ads would appear on each newspage appearing on the newsboard. Cube ads are available for $200 for one year, which would be placed on the main newsboard page. For advertising requests, I can also be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com.
_________________________________________________________
If you have comments/questions, or if you'd like to add the AS I SEE IT
column to your website, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com)