I know… shocking, isn’t it? Well, yours truly, the very humble man who was voted by you great readers of Wrestlezone.com as the most popular columnist on the site has to give credit where credit is due.
Glenn Gilberti, the target of so many slings and arrows on this site made two absolutely 100% true statements in his last column. Without cutting and pasting, as that gives me a headache, allow me to paraphrase.
Glenn said that a Disco vs Honky match at an MMA show would be more popular than a fake-MMA style wrestling match. I think that Disco vs Honky would get over at any show, MMA or wrestling, better than pseudo-chokes and ankle locks that last forever.
I have always believed that the boat leaves the dock on a lot of good indy talent because they abuse their bodies doing tons of flippy things or unnecessarily stiff matches when they are young and then learn to work too late and only when their bodies are shot. I’ve seen it so often over the past 17 years.
If the young talent today would put faith in creating a gimmick and living a gimmick then the gimmick would get over and people pay to see the gimmick, not the self-abusing work. Fans love the buffoon, the creature, the wildman… And they pay to see it over and over again.
Why does the Honky Tonk Man still work all over the world? Because he’s one of the last great gimmicks. He and his style transcend language, generations and an audience raised on an all-to-real version of fake wrestling.
The Zombie? Wonderful! One shot on ECW was all he needed to work in Puerto Rico, all over the Northeast and recently pull a bloody Sandman out of a bar fight. He’ll work for as long as he wants and make good money by playing a great character.
Why do fans clamor for Kane to pull the old mask out of the burlap bag? Because they loved the monster. Sure they like the mask-less Kane but they love the mystery of the orphaned brother of the Undertaker… a victim of fire and abandonment as a child.
Why are the biggest box office hits the “superhero” movie? Because fans today in our jaded, over-exposed, over-informed society still love good versus evil. If you give fans an opportunity to willingly suspend disbelief, they will. In movies and in wrestling. Now, not every movie or wrestling match can be monsters or good versus evil. There has to be a balance.
How good is Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho? Two great athletes, one great, complex story. That’s what wrestling is all about, Charlie Brown.
Next, Disco actually said first what I was going to write about this week. CM Punk is being made to look like steaming, worthless dog turd as they saddle him with terrible dance partners in JBL, Batista and Kane.
If CM Punk was more than just a transitional champion, he would be programmed against more suitable opponents. JBL is the only hope as he can be a brutal, bully heel who will make Punk sell and get over as a gutsy champion with more guts than brains. As it is now, Punk isn’t getting over and sooner or later, it will be labeled a failed experiment.
So, fans of Wrestlezone.com, for one day, head over to the Official Glenn Gilberti Thread and praise the man for hitting two nails right on the head.
Then tomorrow go back to cursing Glenn, saying Russo is the antichrist, Dutch Mantell has fleas and Jeff Jarrett supports the Taliban.
Besides, how bad can Disco be? He came in second place to me, didn’t he?
As always, your thoughts, questions and suggestions are greatly appreciated, always read and usually replied to at kevinfsu90@yahoo.com
