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Welcome back to the Excellence in Column Writing brought to you by the one & only Mr. Tito exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com. Well, Wrestlemania 32 is in less than 2 weeks and I have to say that I'm a big underwhelmed by the show. While I'm happy for a few undercard matches, I cannot say that I'm excited for the co-headliners in Roman Reigns vs. Triple H and Shane McMahon vs. Undertaker. Too much McMahon stench for my tastes... But who won't be at Wrestlemania 32 is one of the biggest WWE performers of all time, Hulk Hogan. If you asked Hogan on whether he'd take $115 Million and growing ($25 million more added today) in his lawsuit against the news/gossip website Gawker, I'm willing to bet he'd like to have his personal and professional life back. Yes, money can buy many things but what it can't buy is happiness or remove shame. Hogan's family had issues ever since the Hogan Knows Best show and made worse by infidelity. The fact that a sex tape exists is quite embarrassing but to also contain many racial slurs increases the humiliation. On top of that, WWE Corporation seems to be OK with the existance of a sex tape (I guess because it was filmed illegally, not Hogan's choice), but have real PR issues with Hogan's racial slurs after the filmed sexual deed was completed. Hogan may be rich (we'll see how the Appeals process goes). However, Hogan may be making amends with his racial comments... I could imagine that any anger of his racial comments were slightly erased by black celebrities and sports stars by the way Hulk Hogan stood up and beat Gawker in court. Gawker posted Hogan's illegally filmed sex tape without fear or consequence and tried to tell the courts that it was OK to post because it was newsworthy. No, it's invasion of privacy... After all, you can't just post pornographical material on a regular website, let alone illegally filmed ones that are in violation of privacy laws. "But but but 1st Amendment" morons keep saying. Do you even know what the 1st Amendment is and what it protects against (Government)? In fact, celebrities should THANK Hulk Hogan and Erin Andrews for having the courage to stand up for what's right in the Court of Law. Hogan challenged Gawker while sports commentator Erin Andrews challenged the hotel chain that placed the Peeping Tom next door to Erin's room. Both court cases will create precedent to disallow the illegal filming of private moments and attempting to profit from them online to occur. Both Hogan and Andrews have to live with the consequences of others' actions. In the case of Hogan, he was a willing participant in infidelity and he said those words afterward. Erin Andrews was a completely innocent bystander who was just changing in the privacy of her hotel room. To this day, Andrews is traumatized by that illegal filming. Hogan is more ruined because of his words afterward... But hey, now that Hulk Hogan could be netting $140 million (I know, Appeals Court will hear it), it's time for Hogan to back up what he said about TNA Wrestling during August 2013 at a wrestling fan expo in Toronto: "Number one, and one doesn't work without the other, give him the keys to the car and have somebody somewhere just drop all the resources we need like we had in the WWE and the WWF whether it be cameras or money or vehicles or advertising, just have heaven open the doors and just drop it on us. In a perfect world, if we could give him the keys to the car and all the resources we need, that's what needs to happen." The "him" meaning Eric Bischoff, by the way... Well, $140 million (probably half after taxes) could go a long way to saving TNA Wrestling! Come on, Hogan... Drop those resources from the sky and fix TNA wrestling! However, I would advise against it. You see, anytime that Hulk Hogan has had to make decisions himself, he often fails with a few exceptions (bolting WWF against Vince Sr.'s wishes to film Rocky 3 being one). Retiring from pro wrestling during 1993 to become a full time actor, wrong... Having full creative control over his character in WCW, wrong... Go watch Uncensored 1996 and see that "Doomsday Cage Match" disaster unfold... After that, he began trusting WCW bookers like Kevin Sullivan to use him properly and thus Hogan's career was reborn as the heel leader of the NWO, a role that he had to be talked into doing! But then came Starrcade 1997 where his creative control killed that big event with an awful match against Sting where the finish was completely screwy. And the Hogan's creative control getting in the way of everything else in WCW... Then came the SummerSlam 2005 booking debacle against Shawn Michaels. While some would argue it as karma against Shawn for his booking games during the 1990's, there's no way that Hulk Hogan should ever beat Shawn Michaels at that point. And then Randy Orton 1 year later... And then, Hogan makes the decision that completely ruins his life by trusting his "friend" Bubba the Love Sponge on an offer to sleep with his wife. Yep, no strings attached... Joins TNA, makes the show actually worse... See, more often than not, anytime that Hulk Hogan has been directly involved in big decisions that affected his life, personal or professional, issues seem to arise... It's like an Actor versus Director. There are many successful actors and actresses in Hollywood... But can they all sit in the director's chair and call the shows on the movie? No. Their talent is portraying a character but what most actors lack is imagination and innovative abilities to produce great films. It's easy to be a great talent but to convince others around you to become successful as well takes leadership. Same thing with sports stars and coaching... Not every great football, basketball, hockey, or baseball star can actively convince others to play great as well. Some are great individual talents who need a coach to adequately use them and put them in the right situations. Vince McMahon is the one who could place Hulk Hogan in the right situations to succeed. Vince had the right environment, promotional machine, and the right creative mind to make Hulk Hogan successful. After the Uncensored 1996 debacle, Hulk Hogan began to open himself up to listening to the creative minds in WCW (Eric Bischoff, Kevin Sullivan, Terry Taylor, etc.) and they convinced him to turn heel. Then, his return to WWE during 2002 was successful. Despite the issues with Steve Austin that year, he did great work with the Rock had a decent nostalgic run in the WWE. Then, Hogan pushed for some creative control over SummerSlam 2005 and that match with Shawn Michaels went wrong... If you want a good real life current example of someone emulating Hulk Hogan, notably the times Hogan had creative control and use it (not the sex tape), look no further than Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavs. Since his return from the championship winning stint in Miami, it seems part of the conditions for returning to Cleveland was some creative input on how the Cavs were coached and accumulated talent. Reportedly, Lebron or his agent were instrumental in some of the talent decisions and were involved in the coaching change earlier this year. The result? A team that lacks chemistry that doesn't play Defense. The Cavs are very lucky to be playing in the horrible Eastern Conference as chances are that the Spurs or Warriors will mop the floor with them in the NBA Finals. Things were much different in Miami where it was clear who ran the team (Pat Riley) and Lebron only had to worry about playing. Many players and coaches have struggled historically taking on dual roles of operating things on the field/court and in the front office. It's a constant struggle this year for Doc Rivers in his dual role as Coach and General Manager of the Clippers, for example. Hogan just has to learn from past decisions and potentially realize that he needs more coaching or directing than he thinks. ======================================================= RAW is HULU Missed the Cut (Hulu RAW is only 1.5 hours long): - Bubba Ray Dudley vs. R-Truth - Big Show/Social Outcasts segment - Very thin in replays, backstage happenings... Seems like they got every match in besides 1 (I think). I absolutely hate myself when RAW starts off with Stephanie McMahon on the microphone. I really do... She's been talking down to potential main event wrestlers for 15 years now and nobody can point to a wrestler she's bad mouthed that has benefited from it. Things are made worse when Roman Reigns does the usual paint-by-numbers response to Stephanie that many wrestlers have tried. Don't care... AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens was excellent, especially for a televised match. Some are crying about Owens getting the win, but he's the Intercontinental Champion and a guy who once beat John Cena cleanly. I roughly consider Owens an equal to Styles and I think it's a feud that WWE can revisit later. Plus, Styles loses because of some Chris Jericho interference. Great stuff! Funny how both of these guys consistently have great matches and yet that doesn't impress the likes of Vince McMahon. I guess he wants you to grow a few more inches and be a bit more flamboyant, I suppose. If you notice, Big E is slowly collecting up pins and wins... I wouldn't doubt that New Day's recent babyface turn is being used to see if Big E could fill that upper-midcard to main event babyface void. And why not? The guy isn't bad and he has developed an improved personality. Good win over Rusev for Big E. Short match, but nice follow-up storyline segment with AJ Styles trying to interrupt Chris Jericho vs. Fandango. Hey, Fandango is still around! Remember when he beat Chris Jericho at a Wrestlemania?!? Good mic work afterward by AJ Styles. Ugh at the prospect of a multi-person Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title. I'm sure that it will present a decent match, but I would love to see Owens have a singles match instead. I grow tired of these cluster ladder matches. We have an entire event dedicated to those called Money in the Bank. I think Natalya vs. Charlotte was on RAW, as I remember Charlotte bouncing around the ring... But I was too busy writing the rest of this column. The Vince McMahon segment was a total waste... Just talk and no substance. And no Shane or Undertaker with 2 weeks before Wrestlemania. What the hell? And now, if Undertaker loses, he's FIRED. Haven't heard that before in another feud... The Main Event was Dean Ambrose vs. Braun Strowman. OUCH at WWE fans chanting "this is boring" when Strowman had a hold on Dean Ambrose. I thought Ambrose did his best to keep the match as engaging as possible... And of course, we have to protect the future opponent to Roman Reigns by having Dean Ambrose disqualify himself. I would think that I'd make Ambrose look strong heading into Wrestlemania with a win over a hoss, but it's WWE booking logic 101 at play... Again. I guess Dean overcoming the Wyatt Family beatdown afterward is a "win" for him. Whatever... Should have made it No-DQ and have Dean win the match via Dirty Deeds DDT on the chair.... Like what happened anyway. No-DQ protects Strowman while giving Dean a good win heading into Wrestlemania. Is booking really that hard? SHOW THOUGHTS: One of the worst Wrestlemania hype RAW episodes ever... Nobody was freakin' there just 2 weeks in. No Shane, no Brock Lesnar, no Undertaker, and we barely saw Triple H. What the hell, WWE? [ D+ ] grade, although the matches weren't that bad. The Wrestlemania 32 is looking bad and again, will rely on Shane McMahon to turn into Mick Foley for Hell in a Cell. Good God! ======================================================= THE LAST WORD I agree with most that Wrestlemania 32 could be a complete disaster with Roman Reigns getting heavy boos as he becomes WWE Champion for the 3rd time in over 4 months while the show seems to be very reliant on Shane McMahon taking MICK FOLEY-esque bumps in the Hell in a Cell match against the Undertaker. I've been of the mind that I'm satisfied with getting the match that *I want* (Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar) and the rest of the show being good would be just gravy. As I look around the internet, message boards, Twitter, etc., I'm actually a lot less negative about the Wrestlemania 32 hype that most. At least I have openly discussed what I'm specifically looking forward to (Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar). But as I think about Wrestlemania 32, I don't think Vince McMahon is getting enough credit for preparing the show. Wait? Vince McMahon praise? Hear me out... Let's take a look at the INJURY REPORT of the WWE right now. In other words, these wrestlers won't be performing at Wrestlemania due to injury: - John Cena (Shoulder) - Randy Orton (Neck) - Daniel Bryan (Forced to retire, post concussion syndrome) - Seth Rollins (Knee) - Cesaro (Shoulder) - Sting (Forced to retire, neck) - Bray Wyatt (Back) - Luke Harper (Possible knee injury) - Nikki Bella (Neck) I know, I know... Vince McMahon's "master plan" of pushing Roman Reigns harder to replace the babyface starpower lost has failed. Folks, I'm on record dating back to 2014 suggesting that Roman Reigns would be a failure as a Main Eventer if the WWE overpushed him instead of letting him learn to become a singles superstar through growing in the midcard. Don't believe me? Read what I said in this June 10, 2014 Column that is dated and time stamped: Roman Reigns, as discussed above, has many issues in becoming THE GUY. For one, zero personality. The biggest draws in the business had some sort of personality that was engaging with the fans. Hogan, Savage, Flair, Rock, Austin, and John Cena. All of them have loads of personality that connect with fans even when those wrestlers aren't wrestling. Reigns is reliant 100% on the in-ring stuff, which in my opinion, isn't good on his own. He's had several Main Event opportunities as a singles wrestler and it has fell short. Until he greatly improves in all areas as a wrestler, it could be a major mistake to push Reigns as the top star. And that's on top of the many RAW review columns where I was barfing on Reigns as a singles wrestler... But nobody listens to me. Almost 30 years as a wrestling fan, 17+ years as a wrestling columnist for one of the top wrestling websites, read many wrestler books, have had access to WWE/ECW/WCW wrestlers, speak to many indy wrestlers, etc. When you say something over a year and a half ago that is extremely accurate, it's time to take notice... I'm getting off subject... I'm here to PRAISE Vince McMahon, not to write another column about Roman Reigns. Again, I have my Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar match-up, don't care if Triple H and Roman have an arm wrestling match instead. By now, I could be getting desensitized by the Roman overpushing and have just moved on. No, Vince is in a very dire situation with Wrestlemania 32. As I suggested in my column 3 weeks ago about "talent", Vince has a very thin roster right now in terms of STAR POWER. Sure, you can blame the WWE Creative Team but NXT isn't exactly restocking the WWE talent pool with potential main eventers other than the Shield promotion to the main roster and event that is questionable (see ratings dropping in 2015). WWE just doesn't have top level athletes or entertainers giving pro wrestling a look as they did 15 years ago. Just a matter of fact... And get ready Comments section for your drinking game... Vince doesn't have a "Class of 2002" developmental class to bring up to the main roster nor does he have another strong competitive promotion (like ECW or WCW) to raid for talent. I really don't like Shane McMahon vs. the Undertaker but I fully understand what Vince is doing. He's using SHOCK VALUE to put eyeballs on the WWE Network and butts in the seats in Dallas for Wrestlemania 32. Seeing what potentially stupid bumps that someone's father is willing to take is the "trainwreck" effect. And against an older Undertaker. Good God, Shane McMahon hasn't wrestled in like 7 years, he's in his 40's, and he's expected to be the bump guy in a freakin' cage match. But you remember those dangerous matches against Test, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Shawn Michaels, etc. and you'll tune in to see Shane get his arse kicked badly... What kind of bump will he take next? But again, do you want a guy who hasn't wrestled in years, a father, and guy in his 40's taking MICK FOLEY like bumps? He'll have to do this or else Wrestlemania 32 could be a big bust. Vince needs something to put attention on Wrestlemania 32. Didn't think he'd use his own flesh & blood, but with that injury report... Vince needs a draw for Wrestlemania. Sorry, but I'm struggling to see how Rusev, Sheamus, remaining members of the Wyatt Family, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett etc. could measure up to the Undertaker. As much as I want guys like Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens to get real shots on the roster, Vince keeps shooting both down for pushes and we'll just have to enjoy an Intercontinental multi-body match at Wrestlemania instead. WWE roster is filled with midcarders but nobody strong enough to fill the Main Event shoes of some of the names on the injury list. I'm happy that Vince saw a roster need to bring up Sami Zayn. That's a move in the right direction but I'm just not that crazy in the rest of the NXT top guys (yet) to immediately come in and make an impact. Several older stars are done or aren't allowed to wrestle like Steve Austin (I was WRONG on that one) and the Rock (insurance reasons). However - WWE just needs to get through this Wrestlemania 32 and hope that a few of the undercard matches (like Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles) and then let the Injury Report resolve itself... By SummerSlam 2016, the WWE roster might look pretty good... If you gave me a Main Event scene with Triple H (looks great lately), Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns (have to live with it), and maybe take veterans like Chris Jericho or AJ Styles more seriously, the WWE might have a pretty good SummerSlam show and WWE Title division. Then, you use all of that veteran firepower to mix many of the developmental call-ups of the last 5 years or so who aren't sticking... Not bad... That's when you take those Intercontinental Title/US Title divisions seriously, even the Tag Division. Things aren't as bad as they seem... WWE just has bad luck with injuries. Now, 2-3 years from now when many veterans are ready to retire or can't carry the WWE on their backs, yeah, that's when the WWE is in trouble. Somehow, WWE has to resolve its TALENT deficit. They need to promote Pro Wrestling as a decent living that many failed athletes of other sports can use as an alternative. Many great wrestlers just couldn't make it in pro sports and went to wrestling as an alternative. The Rock, Bill Goldberg, and even Roman Reigns are prime examples. How WWE is unable to get more ex-NFL, NBA, or UFC performers is beyond me. Again, it goes to what I said 3 weeks ago... Wrestling has an IMAGE and POPULARITY problem that is discouraging new talents from trying to pursue pro wrestling as a career. WWE has to somehow make pro wrestling as an appealing avenue for athletes to consider. They also need to find a better talent scout who can find "diamonds in the rough" like Jim Ross did during the 1990's and 2000's to fuel the Attitude Era with great talent. I like some of the recent signings that Triple H has done, but he needs to sign more Main Event potential stars that would impress Vince. Not sure what Zayn, Joe, Balor, Crews, or Corbin are doing for Vince... And before I get lectured on WWE Creative again versus Talent... First and foremost, I have more than criticized the WWE Creative Team. But let me remind you of Vince Russo. He was an amazing writer for the Jim Ross-stocked WWE that was loaded with all-time great talents in their prime (Rock, Austin, Foley) but he didn't do so well in WCW. Speaking of WCW, how about Eric Bischoff? WCW appeared to have become an unstoppable force when it signed away Scott Hall and Kevin Nash while also raiding ECW and Mexico of its top talent... But then the Time Warner folks tightened their belts during 1999 and those veterans signed to big contracts got older... Suddenly, he didn't look like a genius himself. YOU NEED TALENT! Many great coaches in NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, etc. move from a team with a strong General Manager to a complete trainwreck of a team with an awful front office. What, did that coach suddenly become stupid overnight? Nope... Lack of talent to executive your plans and great talent can overcome bad booking. Placing the Rocky Maivia in the Nation of Domination... Yeah, another black guy in the group. But then, Rocky Maivia was given the microphone and he got quite creative on the mic. "The Rock" was soon born and he grew out of that ridiculous Nation of Domination stable. WWE not only needs more talent, but it needs STAR POWER. That's what the WWE doesn't have right now no matter how hard they try to push certain guys (Roman Reigns)... Desperate times call for desperate measures, hence why Shane McMahon needs to do his best Mick Foley impersonation at Wrestlemania 32. But, get through it, and eventually the WWE roster will be decent through the summer. It's not as bad as you think... Although, things look scary 2-3 years from now. SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. Like Super Mario Maker for the Nintendo Wii U? Then check out my pro-wrestling based courses within Course World --> Search: - WrestleWar - ID: AEAC-0000-01C3-4578 - nWo Run-in - ID: 2274-0000-01B3-5AC0 - WCW Wargames - ID: 7BAA-0000-01B0-8F99 - WWE Royal Rumble - ID: 7B38-0000-01A3-2F4C - Pro Wrestling Mario - ID: E290-0000-0199-7AC7 © Mr. Tito and LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com - 1998-2016
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