Lance Storm's most recent column, riveting as usual.

What the Hell is Going On?

September 30, 2007

If I can be serious for a minute, I think the wrestling business has lost its collective mind!! I am a HUGE wrestling fan; there is 6 (soon to be 7) hours of pro-wrestling programming on TV each week and I can’t stand any of it. I think the last thing I saw on TV that I liked was the CM Punk title victory over John Morrison on ECW TV 3 weeks ago. That is not to say there hasn’t been anything else good on the shows, there very well may have, but on the whole the shows have been so asinine, I’ve either stopped watching or turn it off early after regretting tuning in.

Impact I usually get through if I tune in, because it’s only an hour and I don’t watch anything else on TV Thursday night’s so I have more time then, but if the show goes to 2-hours and doesn’t improve I’ll likely be turning it off mid stream as well. Having to watch all the nonsense they put out when there is a whole locker room full of guys I’d love to see work is just frustrating.

ECW is in a horrible time slot in Canada (midnight on Friday) I record the show but weekends I spend with my kids so Monday (RAW) usually rolls around before I get a chance to watch it. Insomnia Friday night’s is the only chance ECW has with me, and to be honest the show is usually slow enough to cure the insomnia so it’s a catch 22.

SD is also in a horrible slot being early on Friday nights. My kids are still up and they hate wresting so I have to record it in hopes of watching it later. Some times I can manage but lately when I have watched, I see Jamie Noble, chasing a leprechaun, acting like he is Eugene’s dumber red neck cousin. The Teddy Long / Kristal wedding is horrible. Wrestling weddings are bad enough when they involve over characters you give a damn about. I used to love SD but almost all the guys I used to love watching are gone; Regal, Benoit, Edge, Helms, London & Kendrick, Booker, to name just a few. Maybe I’ll be able to get back into SD now with Rey and Taker Back, but it’s been so bad of late I’ve got out of the habit of watching SD.

RAW used to be the saving grace. This show was almost always good. There was that long run there where Edge, Orton, Cena and Michael gave us an amazing match each week, RAW ruled. Now, I’ve all but lost interest. Benoit’s death and the abandoning of Vince’s death really threw a wrench into the works but it’s even gone down hill since then. The Hornswaggle thing was the last straw for me. I tuned in that night with genuine interest and felt slapped in the face. Vince is now fathering leprechauns who not only hold titles but we are now to believe is a minor and able to be put up for adoption, despite not having the consent of the mother. We see Jim Duggan wrestling matches on RAW, and HHH rehashing his old angle with Vince squashing everyone in site. It was bad enough when DX killed off the entire tag team division, do we need to see Hunter destroying it by himself? Don’t answer that it was rhetorical.

There are times I wish I wasn’t a wrestling. I love this business and continue to watch in spite of my frustration. I hope TNA can find a logical grove with their new 2-hour show. I hope Edge and Helms get healthy soon and return. I hope Jericho is returning and hurries the hell up. I hope the New Hart Foundation debuts soon. But I guess what I hope for most of all, is for this Industry to get it’s shit together and put a little Sport back into my Sports Entertainment. Give me a good solid match each week or an angle that makes sense and happens in the ring and I will, Shut The Hell Up. I promise!

Lance Storm

On a closing note I have come up with a logical explanation for the completely nonsensical nature and poor quality of the shows of late. Perhaps it’s in an attempt to make the industry look so bad, Congress will be too embarrassed to investigate it.