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The Up & Under: I Am
By Sam Berman | March 21, 2008
Ok. Now the gloves are off.
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“’Cause I’m a renegade… Never been afraid to say what’s on my mind at any given time of day…”
-Jay-Z & Eminem
Renegade
This is the beginning of something new for me; I’ve never actually had my own website before. Ok, so it’s not all mine or anything, but as empowered as I have been elsewhere to espouse my opinion, here I have a freedom to truly say whatever I think, regardless of who might be reading.
So I’m taking advantage of it.
I think Roderick Strong has peaked as a wrestler. Don’t get me wrong, he’s immensely talented and is essentially guaranteed to put on at the very least a solid match with pretty much anyone on the Independent scene. He’s just completely uninteresting, and has been ever since his heel turn began about a year ago. If I were asked to pinpoint the true height of his popularity and ability, I’d say without hesitation that it was during the ring introductions leading into his third shot at Bryan Danielson’s ROH World Title in late-March of 2006. That’s when he was at his highest point. Since then, though he’s had some great matches and a couple of very good feuds, he has strived in vain to once again reach a place where the fans were literally salivating at the notion of him as the top man for Ring of Honor. Unfortunately for Strong, ROH didn’t pull the trigger and he has lately devolved into yet another also-ran in a company that has irritatingly become overflowing with them.
I don’t like Nigel McGuinness as ROH World Champion. At all. And it actually has very little to do with either his injury history or any of the other issues that plagued the early months of his reign. It has to do with the fact that when I talk about Ring of Honor, there are at least two guys I think of as being ‘bigger’ than him. Furthermore, it has to do with my belief that Nigel without the belt is thoroughly uninteresting, and having him continue to represent the company as its top star is merely a crutch for ROH management not knowing what to do with him once he loses it. I’m not excited about any of Nigel’s upcoming defenses, save for his date with Kevin Steen, and even that is simply due to my being a huge fan of Steen’s work. Frustratingly, I am somewhat certain that ROH has a long reign in store for Nigel, as they build the ‘legacy’ of a champion that many fans see as a ‘loser’ in the first place.
I love watching John Cena wrestle, and I like his promos even more. Frankly, I think Cena is one of the true bright spots in World Wrestling Entertainment lately, and is one of the few guys I’m actually interested in watching as a fan. Let’s look at Cena’s track record: he gets feuds with new or up-and-coming talent over. He always brings the goods on Pay-Per-View, when the fans are literally paying to see him. He worked hard to come back quickly from a major injury. He has found a way to work well while dealing with a split crowd reaction that is basically unlike any we’ve seen before. What exactly is there to NOT like about John Cena? People often accuse me of being an ‘indy mark’, but in all honestly, what I’m a mark for is things that are entertaining. Well let me set the record straight here: Karen Angle, Team 3D, Chavo Guerrero, Vicki Guerrero, the Knockouts Title, would-be main eventers feuding over the Intercontinental Title, Batista’s entrance, Faction Warfare, death match wrestling, and Jigsaw unmasking DO NOT entertain me. John Cena does. Sadly, I think we’re headed towards Triple H’s umpteenth title win at Wrestlemania instead of Cena getting the nod to win the strap from Randy Orton, who, by the way, you can add to my ‘not entertaining’ list.
As a fan, I’m millimeters away from giving up on caring about Samoa Joe. Though Joe has been one of my favorite wrestlers for the better part of three years now, I’m sad to admit that I can’t remember the last time I really cared about his work in TNA, mostly because the company as a whole turns me off to such a startling degree. I’m just tired of Joe fighting the uphill battle against Kurt Angle and his ‘name recognition’. I have no backing for the following statement other than my gut feeling, but had TNA taken a chance and put their top title on Joe in late 2005, the company would be worlds closer to being true competition to World Wrestling Entertainment today. I wholeheartedly believe that had TNA taken a cue from ROH and let Joe run through everyone on the roster in a dominating, extended title reign, the buzz it would have created would have not only boosted TNA the way Joe’s ROH World Title reign put that company on the map, but further might have been able to capture fans’ imaginations the way Goldberg’s streak did for WCW. But more than anything, I simply want Joe to be interesting again. I had some hope that his worked shoot promo on Pay-Per-View a few months ago would jumpstart both him and TNA to do something interesting. I can barely express my discontent with the fact that not only have they failed to capitalize on that moment, but that in no way does that failure surprise me.
I believe in The Cool Kids’ Table. I remember being in high school and heading up to the library during every free period to check for updates on the old Rantsylvania site. I couldn’t get enough of the commentary and insight available from places like Wrestleline and a new-to-the-scene 411wrestling. At the time, it never really occurred to me that I might have a chance to spend time writing about wrestling, I just liked that there was always a new opinion or a fresh idea to read.
When I was driving around the other day, the thought popped in my head that The Cool Kids’ Table has the chance to be that ‘must-read’ site for some kid in some high school somewhere. If you’re out there, I hope you know that we’re doing this for you; we want you to rush up to the library during your study hall to check for a podcast or a review or a column. So here’s the deal: you keep checking, and we’ll keep making sure that there’s something here for you.
And like I said in my opening, whatever’s on my mind is what you’re going to get.
Viva la renegade website!
Topics: The Up & Under |
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 am
Just wanted to thank you guys for putting on a great podcast. I enjoy the show and look forward to listening to more down the road.