Over The Limit AKA John Cena is God Thoughts

I understand that professional wrestling is a scripted, dynamic form of entertainment where outcomes are predetermined and matches are planned out in advance. But there are limits to the amount of disbelief one can suspend, and tonight Over the Limit far surpassed my own limits on idiocy. An otherwise good PPV was ruined in my eyes by the main event tonight, one in which John Cena was playing Jesus from Passion of the Christ in his match with The Miz. From the immediate reactions of others on Twitter and Facebook, I was able to quickly see that I was in the majority on this opinion.
There was a lot of good work on this show, and most things did, in fact, make sense in following story lines and advancing feuds. Up until the main event, I was very happy with the way this PPV was turning out, almost to the point where I would have considered it one of the top PPV events I have seen this year from one of the big two (okay, well the big one and the little one). But the main event happened, something I want to go over just so others who may have not seen this show can understand exactly where I am coming from.
John Cena overcame all of the following to win his match with The Miz. Because an I quit match is no DQ, Alex Riley was involved from the beginning and this became a two on one handicap match. Apparently, that is no problem for Jesus H. Cena. He was hit with the following objects - the ring steps, a steel briefcase multiple times, multiple Singapore cane shots while being held in a crucifix style position, multiple chair shots, he was whipped with a belt multiple times while being held in place over one of the pieces of lighting equipment, thrown into the uncovered barricade, placed in the barricade where he was supposedly stuck and hit with another chair shot. I am sure I may have missed a thing or two, but the point has been made. Through all of this, he got in very, very little offense and the match was completely one sided. And he would never say I quit. This is beyond any realm of rhyme or reason that I can comprehend, but the ending became almost TNA level horrible. The Miz and Riley had tape recorded Cena saying I quit on an earlier Raw, and used it in the microphone for the supposed win. Of course, Mike Chioda (the referee) finds this tape of Cena after declaring Miz the winner and orders the match to restart. Riley misses with a belt shot and hits Miz, then Cena lays out Riley. Next, he begins whipping Miz with his own belt and Miz tries to run away. He gets caught on top of the ramp, whipped a few more times, then gets put into the STF. Not even five seconds later, he is uttering the words I quit to Chioda. I am a fan of the classic cartoons featuring Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner, and I still think that this match was more absurd than any cartoon those two were ever in together. If you have seen those cartoons yourself, you know exactly what I am talking about.
To say I am angry would not do how I feel justice. I have been a professional wrestling fan for close to 30 years, and a writer for 10. I have seen numerous things in my day that have angered me - be it story line irregularities or just nonsensical booking (see David Arquette WCW Title win). I was recently reading the current issue of Figure Four Weekly, a publication put out by Bryan Alvarez located at:

http://www.figurefourweekly.com
In this issue Bryan tells a story about some of his wrestling matches and one of his trainers, Buddy Wayne. Now, when Bryan went to Buddy with a match layout that didn't make sense, Buddy would tell him, "Now why the fuck would you want to do that?" A simple directive that meant what he was proposing made no sense at all. The WWE has a full time staff of writers, many of the top stars in the business, and their own World Champion involved in creating this match, and, sadly, at no time during the preparation of this encounter did anyone say now why the fuck would you want to do that? People saw this and said it was good? I have a very hard time trying to believe that, but it must be true, because that is exactly what happened. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new lord and messiah, and his name is John Cena. It's sad that TNA as a company is so completely inept, because I have never seen a time where the WWE was in as vulnerable a position as they are now to face competition. If there was a professional wrestling company that knew what they were doing, WWE stock would drop faster than Enron's. This may be the worst period ever in the history of professional wrestling, and that does cover a lot of ground. But it may also be the truth when we look back historically at this period of time.

Michael Barton

Impact Wrestling - Wrestling Matters?

There is a new look to the set - one that was supposed to indicate change finally in TNA Wrestling. The name is Impact Wrestling now, but the changes seem to be a case of getting plastic surgery to repair an internal organ. In other words, there is nothing different but some colors. The creative team has not changed, and from the opening segment one could tell it was going to be the - as ECW fans used to chant - "same old shit."
I seriously have no desire to go into great detail, or a match by match analysis, because it isn't needed. There is a lot of talk about wrestling, wrestling matters, wrestling wrestling wrestling. But it is nothing more than talk. The show is still a clusterfuck of nonsense. There are some positives. They seem to be following certain storylines, like Angle-Jarrett etc. - but overall, if you don't change what the real problem is, and spend money and focus on bullshit that doesn't matter, it is still the same exact show. Why spend money to put billboards in Stamford, CT? Why spend money on changing the entire set? And why are they still trying to act like they are in competition with WWE, when they are so far below them? It's like taking a team from Class A minor league baseball and have them play the 1927 Yankees.
The problems, as well know, are behind the scenes. The powers that be, a famous Vince Russo WCW era line, are like cancer in this company. With the WWE running completely boring programming right now (minus an exception or two), there is an opening to make progress. But, when your company has cancer running the show, and you put a band aid on your forearm and act like that will sove the problem, you get nowhere and do nothing but waste more money.

The Dilemma That is Chael Sonnen

The Dilemma That is Chael Sonnen

By Michael Barton

A little less than a year ago, Chael Sonnen became a household name through self promotion that took many who follow UFC by surprise. He told stories, made fun of Anderson Silva incessantly, but surprisingly, he backed up his smack talking at UFC 117, taking Silva and dominating him for four and a half rounds before he was caught in a submission and forced to tap out in round five. A star was born, but sadly, this was also the beginning of a truly bizarre series of events that leaves both UFC and Chael in an awkward situation going forward.

While all the buzz post fight was incredible, problems had surfaced well before Chael’s drug sample came back positive for higher than normal levels of testosterone. For those that may not know, Chael was also a real estate broker at one time, and he was involved as a suspect in a felony money laundering case. He eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years probation and a 10,000 fine, as well as having his license revoked. Prior to his plea, Sonnen went before the California State Athletic Commission on December 2^nd, 2010 to defend himself and explain the testosterone issue. The hearing itself lead to some very interesting reasons as to why his test was positive. Sonnen claims he suffers from hypogonadism, a condition which causes low testosterone production, and that he was under a doctor’s care and received shots twice a week to place his levels within normal range. Most have scoffed at this excuse, but this issue became secondary almost immediately after the hearing. For one, the commission itself came off as having no knowledge or idea about anything in regards to MMA, and they actually wound up reducing his suspension by six months. A short time later, another claim at the hearing by Sonnen (he claimed to have gotten clearance from Keith Kizer of the Nevada commission) was immediately refuted by Kizer himself. At first, nothing seemed to come of it, Sonnen cleared up his felony case by pleading guilty, and it looked as if Dana White was ready to have Chael and Michael Bisping (who is either loved or hated himself by the fans) be the coaches on the upcoming season of Ultimate Fighter, and it was likely that this show, based on the presence of Sonnen alone and his ability to self promote, would have likely done very good ratings. But the CSAC apparently has other plans.

It came out recently that Chael has been suspended indefinitely by the CSAC based on his testimony at the original hearing in December that has been refuted, as well as his conviction in his money laundering case. A hearing has been set for May 18^th, where both sides will have one hour to present their cases before another vote is held about possible further punishment if it is found out that Sonnen lied to the commission. And although this suspension is only in the state of California, states usually have an unwritten agreement between them that if one state suspends someone, the others honor that suspension as well. This certainly puts the coaching position out of the realm of possibility, but this entire story also puts UFC in an interesting position as well.

On one hand, UFC is in the business of promoting fights and making money. Chael Sonnen has proven (through his sometimes outlandish bravado) that he has an uncanny ability to promote anything he happens to be involved in. As we can see from how quick Dana White, President of UFC, was ready to put Sonnen in the spotlight on Ultimate Fighter almost immediately after he resolved his legal issues, he sees what a lot of people see when you think of Chael – money. But Chael is facing an uncertain future, and there are still a number of issues revolving around him. It becomes an almost moral decision by UFC in a sense – here is a man who has the speaking ability of a great politician, but that ability has also put him in some serious trouble if the CSAC finds him guilty of lying to them. He appeared to be almost bulletproof to Dana after this first round, but as each day passes, his legacy is appearing to be more one of controversy than of one where he took one of UFC’s top fighters to the brink. For now, we can all only wait and see.

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michaelbartonfreelance@yahoo.com

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Vince McMahon is About To Go Down In Flames

Vince McMahon is About To Go Down In Flames
by Michael Barton

Vince McMahon has just made the single biggest mistake in his life, and I am honestly shocked that he does not understand that he is about to lose everything. This is a man who is trying to fight against what has made him who he is today. It must be mental torture to know that your entire empire has been created by something so obviously despised. Professional wrestling made Vince McMahon, and, by attempting to remove the terminology "wrestling" from the vernacular, it is going to be the same thing that ultimately destroys him.

Every gamble that Vince McMahon has taken within the pro wrestling business has - for the most part - been a successful venture. He has taken a business that was a regional business for decades and turned it into a global enterprise. He has escaped from the jaws of defeat time and time again, always coming out better on the other side. I often compare him to John Gotti, the former mob boss once known as the "Teflon Don" for his ability to stay out of prison. Unfortunately, Gotti was eventually put away for the rest of his life, and while I do not see McMahon ending up in that situation, I do see a man who could possibly wind up broke and his empire crumbling right before his eyes.

Only McMahon knows why he absolutely hates pro wrestling. He cannot stand it for some reason, although it is what has made him millions upon millions of dollars. There is a psychological issue here that we will likely never understand, but it is what drives him to do everything within his power to be as far away from professional wrestling as possible. There is language that his own company is not allowed to use under any circumstance, such as "wrestler" or "pro wrestling". And while many of us who closely follow this business find it comical, it is about to reach a critical stage where we could see the business change rapidly and become completely different in a very, very short period of time.

Vince McMahon is attempting to remove the term "wrestling" in any way, shape or form possible from his company. Somewhere in his mind he thinks that by doing this, he will be able to expand into other ventures that will increase his wealth and standing in the world. If the WWE were still a privately owned company that would be one thing, but this is a risk he is taking that has serious financial consequences. McMahon is planning on stepping out into the world outside of wrestling and acquiring other business ventures. He recently told the Los Angeles Times he wants to buy "...anything that is out there. We can take on a ton of debt." If we take a brief moment to look at the past, every time McMahon has tried something outside of wrestling, he has failed miserably. The most obvious case being the XFL, the renegade football league McMahon started that only lasted one season.

The following is an excerpt from the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter published 4/24/11 by Dave Meltzer http://www.wrestlingobserver.com

"McMahon’s financial failures outside of wrestling are almost as legendary as his financial successes within. Starting with the Evil Knievel snake river canyon jump, the biggest closed-circuit fiasco in history, which forced him into personal bankruptcy, failing as a music concert promoter, a boxing promoter, a movie producer the first time (Shane Productions), music companies (twice), an attempt to turn bodybuilding into a PPV entity, marketing bodybuilding supplements, a Times Square restaurant, his wife’s senate run and best known of all, a football league."

Vince is stating that he has learned from his past mistakes, and that he will only be purchasing entertainment companies. But every time he has stepped out of the wrestling business, he has failed miserably. And this time, he is putting a public company on the line, and some investors have already started to jump ship. The problem with being a publicly traded company is that, if you make the wrong move and it is big enough, you can lose everything almost overnight. The stock dividend has been overpaid for a number of years already, and it cannot last. To put it simply, the company is already paying out more than it is making, and if they suffer financial losses in taking on these new companies, the stock could easily plummet if enough stockholders get scared off by these new acquisitions. If that happens, the entire business could be ruined due to the stock falling, and Vince McMahon could be left completely broke.

Vince McMahon has never made it outside of the professional wrestling business. He has tried countless times, and he has failed each and every time he has tried, and in spectacular fashion. If this plan fails, it could mean the landscape of the professional wrestling business drastically changing once again, including Vince McMahon no longer being a part of the business that has made him who he is today.

Contact me at michaelbartonfreelance@yahoo.com