Welcome to a mini edition of the No Smark Zone. As I was writing this I was trying to figure out if I would put it out in next weeks NSZ or do this. I decided to go with a mini one because I am really proud of this. Now I don’t want to come out here and toot my own horn but TOOT…..TOOT. No, really I loved writing this because it came out so fluidly and I hope you all enjoy it.
Thank you to everyone who participates in my NSZ interactive thread in HIAT. Part of it is laziness on my part and part of it is just plain not knowing what you all want me to talk about, and that’s why I made that. The first thing im gonna tackle is something Soulpower raised, and that is what do I think ROH needs to do to become competitive. He also wanted me to dissect them but Im not going to do that. Sorry SP and everyone else. I have seen them but I haven’t seen them enough to give a thorough analysis other than some general things I notice about the fed. I will get to those later.
The first thing ROH needs to decide is what they want to do. Do they want to maximize their profit? Or do they want to stay true to their hardcore fan base? Because those are the two choices you have in most forms of art, and make no mistake, that’s what wrestling is, an art form. Its happened countless times in music, literature, TV, movies, and everywhere in between. The people making the art have to choose, popularity, or artistic integrity. And generally, not all the time but 99% of it, you have to compromise one for the other. If Ring Of Honor does this, compromises at least some of what makes it what it is now, I believe they would have a shot at going national and keeping fans. But they have a lot they’d need to do, a lot of which would piss off the hardcore smark fans.
The first think I believe they’d need to do is change the way they execute their matches. ROH has one thing that I think is at the core of wrestling, always has to be, and always will be. And that is that the payoff has to be in the ring. I can tell they believe that. The wrestlers and bookers in ROH believe that everything has to end, and a lot of times begin, in the ring. This couldn’t be anymore right. And a prime example is this bullshit feud with Kane and Rey Mysterio. Its not that I don’t want to see them go at it, because I am a big fan of both of their ring work, characters, and I think they can work well together. But it didn’t start in the ring and it very easily COULD have, which would have made a hell of a lot more sense than a phantom parking lot beat down. But back to ROH, they do this really well. They leave it all in the ring, from what I can tell. And that has an appeal. One of the biggest complaints I hear is that the WWE and TNA have too many run ins and there isnt a sense of finality. That is something ROH can exploit to show that they are different from the two other companies. What I think they need to change, however, is their perception of what wrestling is. Most of you know that I have this limited window of experience with ROH having only seen a handful of matches. But from what I can tell, and correct me if I’m wrong, the people who write this stuff, and even the wrestlers themselves, are under the impression that this is some kind of real athletic competition. Hey, guess what folks, IT’S A WORK! There are no record books, no ones judging you on points, and the winner is predetermined. They all know this, but pretty much everything in every match is geared towards the athletics of it. Don’t get me wrong, there is most certainly an athletic component to wrestling, but I get the sneaking suspicion that most of the ROH wrestlers, workers, and fans believe that is the end all and it is not.
And that, I believe, is what ROH needs to change. They don’t have to take away all of it, but what needs to be understood is what happens in the matches is the meat of it all. And they meat of it all cant be “look at the cool moves I can do†be it ground, power, technical, or high flying, the moves are inconsequential. Now I can hear some of you (Montana) say that it is just a stylistic thing. While this is true, that is a “style†that doesn’t mean it cant be good or bad, or in the case of ROH trying to go big, being able to draw and not being able to draw. And this gets into the whole argument of what draws. There is one tried and true thing that draws, connection to the fans. Be it on an emotional or physical one. Physically, almost no one can identify with what happens in a wrestling ring, let alone an ROH one. How many of us can say we performed or received a 720 splash? Or even more basic, a body slam? When’s the last time you just happened to pick someone up and slam them, if even in a fight? The things in TV, movies, literature, music, and all other art forms that DO draw, are the ones that connect. People can connect with football because most everyone has played it in some form or another.
And that leads me into the other huge thing that keeps ROH from breaking through, their lack of characters. Since you can not connect physically with these people, you have to do it emotionally. Why do people watch House? Because everybody knows a cranky sarcastic bastard like him and can identify with it. American Idol, I think on some level, at some point, EVERYONE, unless youre not into music, has thought about getting into a band or singing, or has done one or the other. And that’s why those shows, and shows like those get such high ratings, an emotional connection. I don’t think you can get that in ROH because they really don’t have many characters you can really get in there and connect with. CM Punk had a very identifiable gimmick in ROH when he was a heel. He was a guy who thought he was better than you because he was sXe and you weren’t. You’re a fucking loser who drank, did drugs, and all that. And that is why people like him stood out, and eventually got a shot in the WWE. It wasn’t just because he was “a great worker†in the eyes of smarks. Yeah, he can do a shit ton of moves, and yeah hes athletic, but there are/were tons of guys in ROH who are twice as athletic, twice as fast, and can do way more moves, but where are they? Either still in ROH or on the indies. Punk stood out, Samoa Joe stood out, these guys play roles that you can connect to and that’s why they had the success they’ve gotten. And in the annals of wrestling history, all of the biggest stars and most money making ones, had that one thing. That is what ROH needs to get. Nigel McGuiness, Bryan Danielson, and the Briscoes are all great wrestlers. I am a big fan of Nigel because he works a really stiff style a la Finlay and Regal that I really love to watch. But when a guy says “I am Brian Danielson and I am going to ________ when I get in the ring with Mark Briscoe†it doesn’t have the same presence as “My name is Stone Cold Steve Austin, and tonight I am going to open a can of whoop ass on The Rock.â€
So that, in my opinion, are the two big things ROH needs. They need to decide if they want to stay a small niche fed, or if they want to try and make obscene amounts of money. That’s not to say you cant do both. There are a lot of ways to make money while keeping your artistic integrity. Look at The Black Album, look at Clerks. When Metallica and Kevin Smith sat down and started to make their vision, both of them had masters to serve. They each had to satisfy someone who was either bankrolling it, promoting it, or whatever. But those people trusted the artist enough to know that if they do it right, it will be good and it will make money. There is also something to be said for NOT listening to people, like, the fans. Now, don’t get me wrong, you cant shit all over them, but you cant let them dictate everything you do because the most vocal fans (thank you internet) who think they are smarter than the average fan and a lot of times think they know how to make more money than Vince McMahon, a person who has made, lost, and then made more money than most of us will ever see. It boils down to what, I think, makes the USA great, democracy. If the majority of the fans are buying something, go with it because that’s the kinda shit that will make you successful and help you to draw money.
I will be back next week with a full No Mercy review as well as the second half of my fantasy booking with Jeff Hardy as well as MAYBE, some fact or fiction. The first three people to PM me will get to be part of the panel, so if you want to, you know what to do. See ya next week!
Thank you to everyone who participates in my NSZ interactive thread in HIAT. Part of it is laziness on my part and part of it is just plain not knowing what you all want me to talk about, and that’s why I made that. The first thing im gonna tackle is something Soulpower raised, and that is what do I think ROH needs to do to become competitive. He also wanted me to dissect them but Im not going to do that. Sorry SP and everyone else. I have seen them but I haven’t seen them enough to give a thorough analysis other than some general things I notice about the fed. I will get to those later.
The first thing ROH needs to decide is what they want to do. Do they want to maximize their profit? Or do they want to stay true to their hardcore fan base? Because those are the two choices you have in most forms of art, and make no mistake, that’s what wrestling is, an art form. Its happened countless times in music, literature, TV, movies, and everywhere in between. The people making the art have to choose, popularity, or artistic integrity. And generally, not all the time but 99% of it, you have to compromise one for the other. If Ring Of Honor does this, compromises at least some of what makes it what it is now, I believe they would have a shot at going national and keeping fans. But they have a lot they’d need to do, a lot of which would piss off the hardcore smark fans.
The first think I believe they’d need to do is change the way they execute their matches. ROH has one thing that I think is at the core of wrestling, always has to be, and always will be. And that is that the payoff has to be in the ring. I can tell they believe that. The wrestlers and bookers in ROH believe that everything has to end, and a lot of times begin, in the ring. This couldn’t be anymore right. And a prime example is this bullshit feud with Kane and Rey Mysterio. Its not that I don’t want to see them go at it, because I am a big fan of both of their ring work, characters, and I think they can work well together. But it didn’t start in the ring and it very easily COULD have, which would have made a hell of a lot more sense than a phantom parking lot beat down. But back to ROH, they do this really well. They leave it all in the ring, from what I can tell. And that has an appeal. One of the biggest complaints I hear is that the WWE and TNA have too many run ins and there isnt a sense of finality. That is something ROH can exploit to show that they are different from the two other companies. What I think they need to change, however, is their perception of what wrestling is. Most of you know that I have this limited window of experience with ROH having only seen a handful of matches. But from what I can tell, and correct me if I’m wrong, the people who write this stuff, and even the wrestlers themselves, are under the impression that this is some kind of real athletic competition. Hey, guess what folks, IT’S A WORK! There are no record books, no ones judging you on points, and the winner is predetermined. They all know this, but pretty much everything in every match is geared towards the athletics of it. Don’t get me wrong, there is most certainly an athletic component to wrestling, but I get the sneaking suspicion that most of the ROH wrestlers, workers, and fans believe that is the end all and it is not.
And that, I believe, is what ROH needs to change. They don’t have to take away all of it, but what needs to be understood is what happens in the matches is the meat of it all. And they meat of it all cant be “look at the cool moves I can do†be it ground, power, technical, or high flying, the moves are inconsequential. Now I can hear some of you (Montana) say that it is just a stylistic thing. While this is true, that is a “style†that doesn’t mean it cant be good or bad, or in the case of ROH trying to go big, being able to draw and not being able to draw. And this gets into the whole argument of what draws. There is one tried and true thing that draws, connection to the fans. Be it on an emotional or physical one. Physically, almost no one can identify with what happens in a wrestling ring, let alone an ROH one. How many of us can say we performed or received a 720 splash? Or even more basic, a body slam? When’s the last time you just happened to pick someone up and slam them, if even in a fight? The things in TV, movies, literature, music, and all other art forms that DO draw, are the ones that connect. People can connect with football because most everyone has played it in some form or another.
And that leads me into the other huge thing that keeps ROH from breaking through, their lack of characters. Since you can not connect physically with these people, you have to do it emotionally. Why do people watch House? Because everybody knows a cranky sarcastic bastard like him and can identify with it. American Idol, I think on some level, at some point, EVERYONE, unless youre not into music, has thought about getting into a band or singing, or has done one or the other. And that’s why those shows, and shows like those get such high ratings, an emotional connection. I don’t think you can get that in ROH because they really don’t have many characters you can really get in there and connect with. CM Punk had a very identifiable gimmick in ROH when he was a heel. He was a guy who thought he was better than you because he was sXe and you weren’t. You’re a fucking loser who drank, did drugs, and all that. And that is why people like him stood out, and eventually got a shot in the WWE. It wasn’t just because he was “a great worker†in the eyes of smarks. Yeah, he can do a shit ton of moves, and yeah hes athletic, but there are/were tons of guys in ROH who are twice as athletic, twice as fast, and can do way more moves, but where are they? Either still in ROH or on the indies. Punk stood out, Samoa Joe stood out, these guys play roles that you can connect to and that’s why they had the success they’ve gotten. And in the annals of wrestling history, all of the biggest stars and most money making ones, had that one thing. That is what ROH needs to get. Nigel McGuiness, Bryan Danielson, and the Briscoes are all great wrestlers. I am a big fan of Nigel because he works a really stiff style a la Finlay and Regal that I really love to watch. But when a guy says “I am Brian Danielson and I am going to ________ when I get in the ring with Mark Briscoe†it doesn’t have the same presence as “My name is Stone Cold Steve Austin, and tonight I am going to open a can of whoop ass on The Rock.â€
So that, in my opinion, are the two big things ROH needs. They need to decide if they want to stay a small niche fed, or if they want to try and make obscene amounts of money. That’s not to say you cant do both. There are a lot of ways to make money while keeping your artistic integrity. Look at The Black Album, look at Clerks. When Metallica and Kevin Smith sat down and started to make their vision, both of them had masters to serve. They each had to satisfy someone who was either bankrolling it, promoting it, or whatever. But those people trusted the artist enough to know that if they do it right, it will be good and it will make money. There is also something to be said for NOT listening to people, like, the fans. Now, don’t get me wrong, you cant shit all over them, but you cant let them dictate everything you do because the most vocal fans (thank you internet) who think they are smarter than the average fan and a lot of times think they know how to make more money than Vince McMahon, a person who has made, lost, and then made more money than most of us will ever see. It boils down to what, I think, makes the USA great, democracy. If the majority of the fans are buying something, go with it because that’s the kinda shit that will make you successful and help you to draw money.
I will be back next week with a full No Mercy review as well as the second half of my fantasy booking with Jeff Hardy as well as MAYBE, some fact or fiction. The first three people to PM me will get to be part of the panel, so if you want to, you know what to do. See ya next week!