Just Say No TO Recycling…And Other Thoughts From Last Night’s RAW
August 5, 2008 by Frank Mazzola
Filed under WWE
Just say no to recycling.
No, I’m not talking about plastic bottles or newspapers. I strive to lead a “Green” lifestyle and encourage everyone to do the same.
I’m talking about recycling wrestling gimmicks. When I saw Matt Stryker appear in the ring with a chalkboard, talking about being a teacher and using large words in a condescending manner with the fans, my mind immediately flew to horrible images of Shane “The Dean” Douglas.
It may be true that many of today’s fans weren’t following the WWE back in 1995. For those who don’t know to whom I am referring, Dean Douglas was a heel character who attempted to convey that having an impressive degree of knowledge allowed a person to mock and belittle those who didn’t. It was a worthless gimmick that the fans never took seriously, nor should they have. I really thought we had seen the last of this sort of nonsense when the WWE shifted to it’s “Attitude Era” in the late 90’s.
I implore the writers not to consider bringing this sort of foolishness back. It didn’t generate any heat back then and it sure as hell won’t now.
Other thoughts from last night’s show:
- I really enjoyed the three way match between CM Punk and Y2J/JBL. I’d love to see a program between Y2J and Punk (who is back in my good graces after his performance) as they are so similar in style and would tear the house down.
- Guess we can go ahead and call it right now: Beth Phoenix will be both the Women’s and IC champ after Summerslam. Excuse me for a second….(fake sneeze) “Chyna!”
- Here’s how I feel about Mike Adamle as GM: Well, he’s certainly got some interesting ide-ZZZZZZZZZZ (sorry, I nodded off there)
- Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, sets up a comeback like Shawn Michaels.
- Hey, I have a theory about what’s in Kane’s burlap bag: The final shreds of Vince McMahon’s dignity after the epic failure of his Million Dollar Giveaway promotion.
- I don’t see them staying as tag-team champions for long, but it’s a shame. I honestly believe that Cena/Batista could be the most dominant titleholders since the Road Warriors.
- I hold my breath every time Kofi Kingston has to defend the IC belt against Paul Burchill. The idea of “Stiff Boy” carrying around that title makes me question whether I could even write a column anymore about RAW.
- Finally, I thoroughly appreciated the Katie Lea- Mickie James match. These two professionals take advantage of any spot they can get to show off their collective talents and perform at a high level each and every week.
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August 5th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Santino for IC Title! Pure gold Frank and you know it haha
I thought this was a very enjoyable RAW, more time was dedicated to wrestling (for once)
Although I am disappointed they took the titles off of Rhodes/Dibiase Jr. The whole ‘two opponents being bonded by the tag belts’ has been used to often recently, look at Cena-Micheals last year, and MVP-Matt Hardy on Smackdown! Hopefully they lose the titles….and soon.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:26 am
Sad when you think back to how Vince wasted the Franchises talent with such a dumb gimmick. I’d love to do a wrestling study, have a majority of gimmicks (like a teacher, plumber, being mentally challenged, etc and not attitudes, ala Stone Cold) helped or hurt a career. I’d bet its hurt in a landslide.
August 7th, 2008 at 9:01 am
I have to say i find the “mentally challenged” character ideas to be a bit offensive. I couldn’t stand how in the past wrestlers beat up on Eugene, made fun of him and took advantage of his disabilities, and i’m not sure what they’re trying to do with Festus (i think that’s his name) the guy who comes out looking challenged then they ring the bell and he goes nuts. But how can they create these characters and then bring Jenny McCarthy in and promote her Generation Rescue (which i think is an amazing cause) charity. It seems like she would have an issue with these story lines as well. Maybe i’m just sensitive to it, having worked in a group home with adults with Autism and experienced first hand the difficulties that they have faced every day of their lives, but to me, it’s not funny nor entertaining to watch individuals portrayed to have mental illness be taken advantage of.
any thoughts? am i just being too up tight or is it inappropriate?
August 7th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Kirsten,
No, you’re not being too uptight. I think you bring up an excellent point.
The use of the mentally challenged as “entertainment” is a disgusting tradition that dates back a long time. English Asylums used to release their mentally challenged patients into a courtyard on Sunday afternoons and people would pay money to watch them run around and beat on each other (I believe it was a place called Bedlam Asylum…hence the use of the word in our venacular).
I’m guessing that Jenny figured that the greater good that would result in getting her charity national recognition would outweigh the shame of being associated with such a product.