Welcome to this week's lighter-than-usual QandAPalooza. Let's dive right in, shall we?
What would be your thoughts on Chris Hero having a special guest role in the BDK in CHIKARA? I've heard no rumors or anything, just thought it'd be interesting to see how you think Chris Hero would fit into everything if they somehow brought him into the fold, with Claudio having the tag titles with Ares and all
Billy Dunleavy
That's an interesting thought. I thought that Hero might have been the 8th BDK member, which would have been markoutworthy in its own right, but I think if the Chikara guys had an ace up their sleeve, it'd be Hero. I'm also not entirely sure the circumstances by which Hero left Chikara either, but hey, if they were bad, hey, bridges in wrestling never stay burnt.
However, if I were booking things, I'd probably end up bringing in Hero as a... hero. Swerve city, and one that doesn't entirely not make sense. Remember, disregarding ROH continuity, Claudio and Hero were kayfabe enemies at the end of the Kings of Wrestling storyline. Just thinking out loud on that one, since I doubt we'll see Hero involved in this storyline.
After the jump...James Varga checks in with a quartet of questions:
1) What do you think of TNA surrendering Monday Night's to RAW?
A fitting end to a hastily-put-together experiment. Honestly, the whole deal was thrown together in a few months for the 1/4 special, and they blew their wad, making promises that they wouldn't keep and wrestlers who wouldn't stick around for more than a few weeks. I mean, they said they were going to push new stars. Meanwhile, the Outsiders are the Tag Team Champions now. Eric Bischoff ripped up a script on camera, and months later, he was pissed off at Vince Russo for quitting as head writer because he couldn't put together a script week in and week out.
The move was one that was ill-thought and ill-prepared for. Hogan wanted to come in and be like Vince McMahon without realizing that Vince, for all his flaws and foibles, worked his ass off establishing an audience and building a pro-wrestling empire. Hogan did no such thing. Dixie Carter did no such thing either, as she's spent the last eight years or so handing the keys to her product to whomever pitched her the best snake oil. I want TNA to succeed, I really do. However, they're not going to do it until they find themselves and start establishing a base that consists of more than hardcore WCW fans and the Crucial Crew.
2) Any thoughts on TNA letting go of Bubba the Love Sponge?
3) Bubba the Love Sponge did bring up something very interesting about TNA. Do you agree with him or disagree with him about Dixie Carter listening too much to the people on the internet?
I think he's bitter. That being said, Dixie doesn't listen to the Internet as much as she listens to anyone who has her ear at the moment. The thing with that is that the people who have her ear, including Bubba's BFF Hogan, all seem to think that the Internet, albeit more influential than the haters will say, is way, way, way more influential than it really is. Look at how hard they push Twitter. It's a great social media outlet and an easy way to provide open access to the fans, but the truth is only a fraction of the audience uses it. Trending on Twitter is kinda cool, but at the same time, they don't realize that "TNA SUX" is just as likely to make them trend as "TNA iz teh kewliez" is.
4) CHIKARA is going to have Ares vs. Ultramantis Black. How awesome will this feud be?
I've been waiting for Mantis to join the fray since the angle kick-started in earnest. Nothing about UMB or the Order is less than awesome. Of course this will kick more ass than everything short of this picture:
Two questions from Brian Kelly:
1) With the economy in the shitter as it is why doesn't our government just sell more bandannas and t-shirts?
I know this is a joke question, but if Obama was smarter, he'd be trying to license as many of the Obama shirts, bumper stickers and even comic books that he could to help pay off the national debt. Seriously, I'd even consider voting for him in 2012 if he did that.
2) Tomko, your thoughts?
I'd like to compare him to Batista. Wait, there is no comparison. Batista rules. Tomko is kinda mediocre.
How does one have to suspend their disbelief to enjoy Santino Marella?
KoppoKick
This comes from an older thread on A1 where resident TNA diptard TB4-LIFE said that you needed to "suspend your disbelief" in order to enjoy the antics of Santino Marella. Yeah, I don't get it either.
What is the other half of the story?
lucius (A1 Poster)
This is from another claim from TB4-LIFE when faced with TNA's terrible ratings, saying that TNA was a successful company because "ratings only told half the story". I'm assuming the other half is house shows and PPV buys. Considering that TNA house shows get outdrawn by ROH and Chikara and it would take a year of PPV sales to match what the WWE does in one month, well, the other half of the story doesn't look good either.
This team had a tryout match for TNA. Great team or Greatest team?
bpc532 (ChikaraFans/Chikara101 Poster)
Greatest team. Sign them now, push them to the moon. Just don't advertise them in Arizona.
(only half-joking here)
Why is Michael Tarver so bad at drinking pop?
Random Formspringer
I could make an incredibly racist joke here, but I won't seeing as this Los Bendejos thing might just get me in enough trouble! Seriously though, he probably has acid reflux or something. Leave the poor man alone!
Three questions from Chikara101 regular jharper to close out the mailbag today:
1) Was I imagining Dean Malenko really getting over with the crowd through ring ability alone back in '96-'97, with his matches with Rey Mysterio Jr, Psicosis, his classic series with Ultimo Dragon, and so on, or was I being too big and too uncritical of a Malenko mark?
I was in the same boat as you, so I couldn't tell you. That being said, a lot of cruisers at the time were getting over organically and yet got no help from Tony Schiavone and the rest of the WCW brain trust who were busy screaming about the ZOMG ZOMG NWO MAIN EVENT HULK HOGAN SURGE STING ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG to pay them any mind and actually call their matches.
2) Another Malenko question - your honest opinion, who was better in the ring - Benoit or Malenko? Benoit seemed to get all the fan love, but I always thought Malenko was his better when it came to pure ability.
Malenko, I thought, was way more technically sound, but HWSNBN had the better grasp of how to work a match that combined the best aspects of workrate and technical ability and of how to pop a crowd and tell an overarching story. I think it's a big reason why Benoit got over in the WWF and Malenko didn't, but it was also a big reason why Benoit went nuts and Malenko didn't.
3) Ring of Honor is holding a card some 15 minutes from my house come this September. Should I go? How is their wrestling right now, in your opinion.
I would endorse going. I know the rabble at CF/C101 might be that "zomg roh sux cary fux lil boys tyler black sux lolol", but while some of the booking may be questionable at times, the wrestling is still top notch. I mean, how many times are you going to go to a wrestling show, sit there and just nitpick at everything as it happens live? If you're not a sad man, the answer is never. I think you'll get a good bang for your buck if you go. I think if you're asking this question anyway, you know the product and would probably enjoy it anyway.
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography
Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!
