SEScoops Mailbag for September 29th

(please submit YOUR questions to [email protected])

Q: Why does Impact Wrestling and Impact pay-per-views have 4 hot chicks in the front every single week? They are always in the same spot too. So is Impact paying hot chicks to stand up front, are they that desperate? – Abbas R.

A: They are plants. And I don’t mean that as an insult, I have no idea what their IQ is, they may well be as smart as a potted plant, but they are not there every week because of their passion for wrestling.

Q: Why does it seem like the WWE Title is better and more recognizable to have than the World Heavyweight Title? To me the World Heavyweight Title would be better because your the champion of “the whole world” as opposed to being the champion of just “the WWE”. And isn’t the World Heavyweight Championship the old title that all the other legends held? – John P.

A: WWE doesn’t care much for acknowledging that any world exists outside their little bubble, so to them, carrying the WWE Title is far more prestigious. A big part of why it gets more recognition has to do with that title being the centerpiece of their flagship brand. Any Raw title is going to have more emphasis placed on it than a Smackdown title, that’s just the way it is. As for whether this WHC is the “old title that all the other legends had”, that simply isn’t the case. The physical belt bears a resemblance to Ric Flair’s old “big gold” belt because that is what it is modeled after, but the lineage of the current title starts with Triple H pulling it out of a briefcase on Raw in 2002. It has no connection to the title that Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Sting and others once held.

Q: When did [John] Cena become the face of the company? Was it around WrestleMania 22 or 23 during his feuds with HBK, Triple H and Edge? – Marc

A: Those feuds helped solidify him as a main eventer, but I would say that when he was drafted to Raw in June 2005, while still WWE champion on Smackdown, the decision was made for him and not Batista to be the face of the company. It’s quite a sobering thought when you stop and realize that Cena has already been the “face” of WWE for double the amount of time Steve Austin was. As a matter of fact, he’s quickly approaching Hulk Hogan in that department.

Q: What are your thoughts on [John] Cena matches? Do you happen to think Cena is lazy? And what are your thoughts on Chavo [Guerrero] not wanting Cena to surpass Ric Flair’s 16 title reigns? Why isn’t he hating on Sting and Kurt Angle who hold the title a lot in TNA too? – James

A: You can dislike John Cena for a lot of reasons, but being lazy is not one of those reasons. In fact, the guy is about as far from lazy as one can get. He travels wherever the company sends him, including on his days off, and rarely sees the inside of his own house. He goes above and beyond for WWE, which is a big part of why he’s in the position he is in. Is he lazy because he doesn’t spend time learning new moves? Hulk Hogan made plenty of money and did just fine sticking with his routine when he was on top in WWE, too. It’s not as though people are going to suddenly stop hating on the guy if he busts out a hurricanrana (I’d pay to see this) and a few submission holds, so why bother? As for Chavo, he’s clearly craving attention. Who could possibly care? And I laughed heartily at the last part of your question. I can picture Master Splinter at the end of a Ninja Turtles movie shouting, “I made a funny!”

Q: I was looking up old promos for PPVs, and I saw one for Randy Orton vs. Edge from 2005. The match was for the Intercontinental title and the promo was well done, it had a good feud behind it and I realized something. When was the last time we got good build up for a mid-card title feud? The last one I can think of is Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio. Do you think that WWE can do anything to help the IC title gain its prestige back? – Matt from Wisconsin

A: The days of the IC title meaning what it used to in the mid-to-late 80’s are over. It’s just a different era now and there are many more titles than there were back then. People have been conditioned to think that only the World titles mean anything, and even then, they’re rarely treated as anything special these days with how many times they change and how many title shots a person can get (see John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, Christian just to name a few). However, you can work to bring SOME of that prestige back by doing two things. First, get rid of the U.S. Title. Now that Smackdown guys can appear on Raw, it’s completely pointless having two secondary titles on TV. Second, put the IC title on someone like CM Punk, a person the fans care about and can get behind, who is viewed as a true top-level talent and who can go out there and have great matches with almost anyone. They’ve put the strap on main event guys before (see Triple H, Chris Jericho and Kane in 2001), which is the key here because without it, fans aren’t going to care. The goal then over time would be to have them help put over a mid-card guy who’s missing that one ingredient until they finally win the championship. Now you’ve made a new superstar AND made the title mean something. This is not rocket science.

Q: I was watching COPS and they were in North Carolina following officers. I’m wondering how it is possible I watched two full episodes and not once saw Matt Hardy getting popped for DUI/DWI. Did I blink? – Joe

A: Kurt Angle probably happened to be in town.

Keep those questions coming to [email protected] and remember to include your name!

– WWE shipped 279,000 DVD units in August, up from 257,000 in August of 2010.

– The WWE website had 11.6 million unique visitors in August, down from 13.7 million in August of 2010.

– The WWE shop website averaged 1,097 orders per day in August, up big time from the 700 per day in August of 2010.

– The November 14th episode of Monday Night Raw in Boston, MA will be a three hour broadcast. This will be the final Raw before the 25th Annual Survivor Series.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)