![]()
SEScoops Mailbag for October 28th
(please submit YOUR questions to [email protected])
***WE NEED YOUR QUESTIONS, SO GET THEM IN NOW!***
Q: I was thinking the other day, guys like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, JBL, Edge, and to an extent Jeff Hardy have gone on to have successful singles careers after breaking out from a tag team. Did the powers that be in WWE know that they were going to have successful careers or [were they] surprised how much they got over when they transferred to singles competition? – Kieran A.
A: I just got done watching the new Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels Rivalries DVD (highly recommended) and they talked about being the workhorses of the company back during their tag days, having better matches than many of the big men WWE had been pushing. The company knew what many of these guys were capable of, but they could not have known how big each would become. In the case of Bret Hart, they always had plans to push him as a singles guy, but felt he wasn’t ready when he first came in and paired him off with Jim Neidhart, specifically to help groom him for a singles career down the line. In the case of Edge, he started as a singles star and the company definitely had high hopes for him in that role, even after he started teaming with Christian.
Q: Any update on the negotiations between Chris Hero and WWE? – John Johnson
A: There was some sort of snag in the paperwork. Hero is still allowed to wrestle independents until the deal is done, and the expectation is that it will happen shortly.
Q: Why is Booker T still on commentary? You can hardy understand him half the time and he doesn’t make a lot of sense. Why does WWE still have him out there? Wouldn’t they be better off adding [Matt] Striker back to the announce table? – Chico Salazar
A: They have him out there because he’s a big name from the past who is approaching 50 years of age, but still has loads of charisma. The one thing about Booker on commentary, as horrible as he is, is that he expresses genuine enthusiasm and at least tries to get guys over, unlike Michael Cole who goes out of his way to bury everyone. Striker was good in his role and is a student of wrestling history, which actually worked against him. Only in WWE.
Q: Sometimes when I watch Raw, I see that there’s a guy with a blue button down [shirt] and red cap always holding signs. I also remember that he was the WWE fan on “Deal or No Deal”. Who is he? – Kyle G.
A: That would be Rick “Sign Guy” Achberger.
Q: Why is everybody down on John Cena winning or having the World title all the time? He’s one of the hardest workers in the company. He works hurt, never complains, just keeps on going like nothing is wrong. When he does give up the belt, it usually is to go make a movie for WWE, so why shouldn’t he get it back? Plus, he has [granted more wishes] for Make-A-Wish than any other celebrity. – Anonymous
A: All of those things are true. But why mention Make-A-Wish? The title, while meaningless these days, is not a charity award. You put the belt on someone because you feel it’s their time and they’ve earned the opportunity, or because doing so results in a noticeable increase in business. Cena is in a position where he doesn’t *need* the title and there’s money in him chasing for it every now and then. But when he gets it every other month, it doesn’t mean nearly as much.
Q: I always have been curious since CM Punk won the WWE Championship back at Money In The Bank, was CM Punk winning the championship the original plan? Or did Vince [McMahon] change scripts before the PPV like usual? – Syed Rizwi
A: In the time it took you to ask that question, Vince has already changed his mind on 16 different things. As I understand it, the plan heading into the weekend of the PPV was for Punk to win the title and have Alberto Del Rio successfully cash in his MITB briefcase that night. Obviously, plans changed and they held off on doing that until Summerslam.
Q: One of the most insulting things to me as a fan is the idea that all of the babyface wrestlers are loosely aligned and that all of the heels are loosely aligned. Generally it isn’t too bad, but the problem for me lies when a wrestler turns. Suddenly all of his former enemies are now allies despite whatever happened during their respective feuds and it honestly just isn’t believable. An example of this would be Sheamus or CM Punk backing HHH. Do you think that WWE could benefit from consistency in character relationships rather than doing a blanket babyface/heel dynamic? – Dan Kincaid
A: I think *any* wrestling product can benefit from consistency in storylines. It is rather ridiculous in September to have CM Punk insulting Triple H’s wife and in October, they behave like the best of friends. Better yet, think about how personal in nature the feud was between Triple H and Randy Orton heading into WrestleMania 25. Orton physically attacked the man’s wife and gave her a rape kiss on national TV, yet now it appears to be water under the bridge. They want so badly to be seen as episodic TV, yet I don’t know too many television shows where that sort of lazy writing would be tolerated.
Q: If you had to choose between WWE’s announce team (Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T) or TNA’s announce team (Mike Tenay and Taz), who would you choose? – Brandon
A: That’s like asking someone if they would like to be shot in the face or the scrotum. I’ll let you figure out which is which.
Q: Is it true that wrestlers tape their wrist to hide a razor that’s used for ‘blading’?
And also, I would like to know why is it that Triple H tapes the tips of his fingers? – Adrian Ramlochan, Trinidad, West Indies
A: That is one of the reasons wrestlers would tape their fingers and wrists, but most do it as protection against sprains and breaks. Obviously, in WWE these days, they don’t do it for blading since blood is banned. With the fingers, it can also provide a better grip on ropes, cages and foreign objects. In the case of Triple H, I think he may have gotten the idea from Ric Flair who also used to tape his fingers. D-Von Dudley does that as well.
Keep those questions coming to [email protected] and remember to include your name!
