Dave Fenichel, aka The Eternal Optimist, aka Samuel Plan’s personal favorite columnist, is a kitty punching, baby stealing, abominable excuse for a man. His excessively Optimistic views on the world of professional wrestling are nauseating at best and deplorable at worst. If you hate yourself and are a glutton for punishment, you can follow him on Twitter @The Eternal Optimist.
Reminder – LOP is moving to DISQUSS forums starting on September 8th. Don’t be left out!
QUESTION OF THE DAY: Do you think that there is an unfair double standard between how the IWC views the WWE compared to how they view other promotions?
Hi kids.
We’re a couple days removed from “All In”. I really enjoyed the show. However, watching the IWC roll over as if it was the second coming really doesn’t sit well with me. While I rated the show highly, I also saw an awful lot of similarities to the WWE that others just seem to want to overlook. With that in mind:
The Eternal Optimist Presents: Okada and Omega Are John Cena Knockoffs, Plus Three Other All In Happenings That Highlight The Hypocrisy of the Diehard Wrestling Fan.
****Okada and Omega Are John Cena Knockoffs****
I decided to order “All In” for several reasons. First, I’ve been under the weather and had a rare Saturday night to myself at my house. Second, although I currently only watch WWE, I wanted to support the group that was trying to do a good thing for the industry.
Most of all though – I wanted to see Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega wrestle.
For at least a year or two, I’ve been hearing how these two men have revolutionized the wrestling industry – how their matches together have been the best that have ever occurred in a wrestling ring. Simply put – I had to see what the fuss was all about.
I came away impressed with both men in different ways. Okada is smooth as silk. He reminds me of Randy Orton when Orton actually cares to perform. Omega is fantastic as well. It is ironic that Jerry Lynn was a special guest referee on the show, because that’s the closest comparison that I could find. Everyone lauds the RVD v Jerry Lynn matches from ECW lore. I do as well. While RVD was undoubtedly the bigger star at the time and the much bigger star in the grand scheme of things going forward, it was Jerry Lynn that made that series special. He was a wizard in the ring. Omega is that level of good.
I thought they wrestled in two of the three best matches on the show. I enjoyed Omega’s match a bit more because of my personal attachment to Pentagon Dark, but both matches were well worth the cost of the show.
Here’s the thing. As I watched both matches, I couldn’t help but come to the same conclusion.
I was watching the John Cena match!
What? You don’t agree? Those matches were loaded with finisher and after finisher either being countered or kicked out of. How many times did Okada go for a Rainmaker? How many V Triggers did Omega hit? How many times was the One-Winged Angel countered? In addition, there was constant no selling of injuries. Pentagon broke Omega’s arm and he was fine two minutes later to drop him with a One-Winged Angel. This was John Cena 101.
There’s nothing wrong with that. The style was first made popular by Austin and The Rock during some of their epic encounters. Cena made some adjustments to it and brought the “epic” match to an entirely new level. It’s an arguable point that John Cena is the greatest wrestler to ever live. There’s no issue with trying to emulate him, and that’s exactly what Okada and Omega have done.
I can’t help but laugh at the diehards who want to take a giant dump on everything John Cena does but lose their minds over wrestlers doing carbon copies of his matches. Denial is a stinky cologne, and you all wear it well.
****1998 Halloween Havoc Called, They Want Their Production Team Back****
“All In” completely dropped the ball when they ran out of time and were abruptly cut off from the air immediately following the finish to the main event. I knew that they were in trouble when the main event of the card didn’t start until after 10:45PM. My fears were confirmed when you could audibly hear a member of the production team state on air that they needed to “get to the finish”.
For a show such as “All In”, the closing shot was one of the most important pieces to the entire broadcast. It was at that time where they needed to make a statement, a showing a unity that would announce to all that were watching “Here We Are, and Here’s What’s Next”.
We can debate the root cause for why it happened. Some believe that Okada and Scurll went over their allotted time. I believe that the inclusion of an unannounced match to open the card is what sunk their ship. The “why” it happened really doesn’t matter.
It was an inexcusable mistake, yet all I saw from fans were excuses. “Oh, it’s ok. They are new at this. It’s just a mistake, no big deal”. Bull$hit! Can you imagine the vitriol from those same fans if the WWE had cut off Wrestlemania or Summerslam in that matter? You would NEVER let them hear the end of it. What’s good for the goose needs to be good for the gander. This was a TREMENDOUSLY big screw up and an equally GIGANTIC missed opportunity. There are no ifs ands or buts about it.
****So You DON’T Really Care About Title Matches Going On Last?****
All I hear from the worshippers is “wah wah wah, why isn’t the WWE Title closing the show?” “Wamboo bamboo, A.J. Styles is being disrespected”. “Boo hoo, the WWE Title has the most history and is being treated like crap”.
So as you can imagine, I would have expected everyone to be out in full force LAMBASTING the decision to put the NWA and ROH World Title matches on in the middle of the show. Instead, complete radio silence.
Don’t get me wrong – neither of those matches should have closed “All In”. There were three matches on the show that were bigger draws than both title matches. It was the correct decision to not have either be the closer.
That said, it’s also been the correct decision for the WWE Title NOT to close Pay Per Views. A.J’s title run just hasn’t been particularly good. He had a great match with Samoa Joe at Summerslam, but the run has mostly been full of stinkers against the likes of Kevin Owens and ESPECIALLY Shinsuka Nakamura. Roman Reigns is the MUCH BIGGER star and the WWE was absolutely right to put their best foot forward to close.
The crybabies need to get a grip and stop feigning outrage over the WWE title not being put on last. “All In” clearly showed that you don’t care about “respecting the belt”. It’s just a cover for your hypocrisy.
****Parading D*cks Is Apparently Cool Too****
Don’t even get me started on this one. I don’t want to hear your nonsense excuses as to why the Joey Ryan storyline was good. It was complete and utter nonsense. It was Katie Vick level bad and there’s nothing that you can do to change my mind on that.
The diehards want to nitpick every little detail on the WWE product, but are perfectly cool with a merciless band of inflated c*cks rolling down to the ring like they’re the Undertaker Druids in 1994.
NEVER AGAIN will you have ANY credibility when complaining about any shortcomings of the WWE product. You lost that privilege when you TREATED Joey Ryan’s return like it was Hogan v Rock at Wrestlemania X-8.
I was watching Raw last night and shaking my head at the pathetic double standard being set. People were ACTUALLY upset that The Shield returned from jail when no court would be open on a holiday. RIDICULOUS! Raw was bookended with an amazing angle that was reminiscent of the Attitude Era, yet you booger eaters SCORCHED the company for a minute and irrelevant detail while cheering for a “d*ck hip toss” two days earlier.
Go ahead. Continue to troll the WWE over their decision to make a title belt red while two of your favorite performers put on an epic match. Continue to chant for the clock while two supposed internet darlings tear the house down during an Iron Man. I’ll continue to laugh at your ignorance and your unwillingness to apply the same standard to another promotion. Maybe if Seth Rollins had worn a human body suit condom, all would have been forgiven.
That’s a wrap kids. My disdain for the diehards is at an all-time high this week. Thank you for reading. As a reminder, LOP is moving away from IntenseDebate and moving to DisQuss forums for our comments starting on September 8th. I look forward to interacting with on a better platform.
Agree or disagree with my take? Sound off below!