Before I delve into my own
perspective on the present state of pro wrestling, let me
first post the thoughts I received from “Big” Andy Mac via
email just a few minutes ago.

In addition, don’t forget to tune into
The Wrestle Radio Reunion Special this Saturday, October
11, from 5:00 to 6:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time) on WHRW Binghamton
90.5 FM. All you have to do to listen from anywhere in the
world is log onto www.whrwfm.org
and click on the “Listen Live” button. Andy Mac and I will
both be on the air, along with a panel of our fellow wrestling
friends and fanatics, and it promises to be a fun time. If
time permits, we may field some phone calls at (607) 777-2137,
so make sure you have your opinions readily available! Click
here for more information.

Okay, so what is the state of pro wrestling?
… and how exactly does one examine three wrestling organizations
of interest?

Here’s what Andy Mac had to say on the
subject:

I am actually going to take a little time
and do a little compare and contrast of the state of wrestling
today. I am going to separately compare RAW and Smackdown.
After that I will compare the WWE as a whole to arguably the
number 2 and 3 feds in the country at this time: NWA:TNA and
RoH (Ring of Honor). [To compare] RAW vs. Smackdown, I will
use 4 basic criteria to determine which in my opinion is better:
Match Quality; Repetitiveness; McMahonitude; and Hype/Storylines.
Here goes nothing:

Match Quality:

RAW: With the exception of Chris
Jericho, RVD, Lance Storm, Christian and the occasional
gem from the likes of Booker T, HBK, Orton or Ric Flair …
the wrestling on RAW simply sucks a big one.

[Editor's note: See La Resistance, Jonathan
Coachman, Mark Henry, Maven (sorry, he just does not do it
for me, on the microphone or otherwise), and so on and so
forth]

Smackdown: With the exception of
Taker’s spottiness, Big Show’s gastrointestinal fits, the
Bashams (who are still green) and the aging APA, Smackdown
presents fine wrestling night in and night out.

[Editor's note: See Kurt Angle, Chris
Benoit, Brock Lesnar, Rey Mysterio, Tajiri, and so on and
so forth.]

Advantage: Smackdown

Repetitiveness:

RAW: Two words and a letter: Fuck
Triple H. I am so sick of him, I hope he gets VD from Steph
cheating on him.

[Editor's Note: VD stands for venereal
disease, which is what Stephanie could have gotten from cavorting
with every pro wrestler on the roster since adolescence.]

Smackdown: The main event picture
has remained the same for most of the year, but Brock and
Kurt put on consistent three and a half star matches or better.
Brock vs. Taker is a repeat but that is the only match that
we have seen before on the upcoming No Mercy PPV.

Advantage: Smackdown

McMahonitude:

RAW: A little Shane with a side
of Linda, not so annoying.

Smackdown: OVERLOAD

Advantage: RAW

Hype and storylines:

RAW: Other than the Triple H threshold,
nothing cohesive is going on at any given moment on RAW. The
main event last week, Christian vs. RVD – which had history
and involved two great workers – was mentioned once and then
given ten minutes. This match involved the number two belt
on the show and two workers that had a past to build upon
… C’mon, it’s not rocket science.

Smackdown: The main event is the
focus of every show. Feuds are being started, continued or
ended every week, and the writers are committed to heel and
face turns that for the most part make sense.

Advantage: Smackdown Winner:
No surprise … Smackdown

———————————————————————————

WWE vs. TNA vs. RoH

Criteria: Match Quality; Storylines;
and Production Values

Match Quality:

WWE: See Raw and Smackdown comparisons
above.

NWA:TNA: The X-division is a thing
of beauty and occasionally there is a good match outside of
that, such as the tag team cage match or a lot of AJ Style’s
work; otherwise, the product is still very sloppy.

RoH: With the exception of the
“a-bit-too-often” garbage match, meaning a spot fest with
weapons and blood, I have never seen better wrestling.

Winner: RoH, second: WWE, third: TNA

Storylines:

WWE: Inconsistent all over the
place, but there are the occasional diamonds in the rough
that make for compelling television.

[Editor's Note: As an example of a compelling
storyline, see the Brock Lesnar-Paul Heyman saga, among others.]

NWA:TNA: TNA is weak due to the
fact that while there are some things going on that can be
promising (e.g., Styles, Raven and the X Division), Russo
is a complete idiot.

RoH: It is difficult with semi-monthly
shows, but the website gives history of the big matches and
the promos exclusive to the videos tell a lot.

Winner: Tie between WWE and RoH, third:
NWA:TNA

Production Values:

No need for debate here, as WWE is still
hands down the best at promotional production packages.

[Andy Mac's Side Note: Ticketmaster's
number 7 hot ticket last week was WWE, of course for WrestleMania
XX sales … but at number 9 was Ring of Honor, who sell at
most 1200 tickets for an event.]

Overall winner: I have to give the
edge to RoH. My only hope is that it doesn’t get too big for
its proverbial britches and lose viable venues because it
can’t appease its growing fan base. If you have not yet seen
it and RoH comes anywhere near you, by all means buy tickets.

-”Big” Andy Mac

———————————————————————————

In the above commentary, “Big” Andy Mac
makes a very good case in each of his arguments. I do agree
with him for the most part, especially as it pertains to Smackdown
having the current advantage over Raw. We all know why this
is the case, and even though Triple H is surrounded by big
names, his detrimental effect on the Raw product is just insurmountable
at this point.

If you think about it, the Triple H Threshold
– that is, the point at which a wrestler can no longer be
elevated due to backstage politicking and innate jealousy
on the part of those business casual main eventers who aren’t
as good as they once were so they hold on for dear life by
marrying the boss’ daughter to remain atop the WWE food chain
– has reached a ludicrous point on Raw. For me, personally,
it’s to the point that when I see RVD win the Intercontinental
belt I suspect that he won not because the writers thought
he was deserving and that this will be a stepping stone to
the World Championship … but instead he won it because they
wanted to appease pissed off fans that are sick of seeing
RVD – and Booker T and Chris Jericho and
get f*cked with.

Even when Triple H finally dropped the
belt, the cynicism in me had become so deeply rooted that
I am not thinking that he is graciously stepping aside to
give someone else a chance to lead the Raw brand. I feel like
Triple H truly believes that Goldberg is a mere placeholder
for him so that he can go off and get married and f*ck Stephanie
up the ass during their honeymoon without having to worry
about getting f*cked from behind himself – albeit proverbially
– from a bevy of better and more entertaining Raw brand superstars.

Instead of fighting over the IC belt,
imagine guys like Christian, RVD, Randy Orton and Jericho
all vying for the World Heavyweight belt instead. This would
give Raw something that it hasn’t had in a long time: fresh
talent to work with that produce feuds and storylines of significance
to increasingly knowledgeable fans.

Frankly, I am sick of past WCW and WWE
storylines being reintroduced and cloaked under “new” circumstances
that all equate to the same old bullshit that has been going
on since Triple H took over the brunt of main event airtime
on Raw.

The insertion of big names on the Raw
roster can no longer cover up WWE’s fallibility, and right
now is the perfect time for NWA:TNA to make a bold move like
signing Hogan and putting on a Sunday PPV. Right now is the
perfect time for RoH to hit the ground running and produce
a solid independent product that slowly but steadily grows
and harnesses its fan base.

Right now is the perfect time for the
state of pro wrestling to undergo a true power shift that
would undoubtedly be welcome by angered and/or estranged WWE
fans … the question is, can the little guys stick it out against
big bad Vince?

If one of the two alternatives can manage
to catch a few lucky breaks, there just might be a revolution.

That’s all for now … PEACE.

-
Chris Biscuiti

Chris Biscuiti also
writes for 411mania.
He occasionally updates his
own site, too, but that is more a rarity than the
norm, and he thinks that Donovan McNabb is a very good NFL
quarterback, and would take him any day over Vinny Testaverde.

Last 5 posts by Chris Biscuiti

• News Analysis: This is Not a Wrestling Story - June 26th, 2007
• Rime of the Super Mario - April 5th, 2005
• A Secret Crept - March 29th, 2005
• To Be A Protagonist - March 21st, 2005
• The Phone Number Attached - March 15th, 2005