As a newcomer to Wrestlezone.com, I am chomping at the bit to start writing columns. My mind has been racing with subject matter that I can’t wait to cover. In the past 24 hours alone, I’ve debated writing about topics ranging from the Taker vs Yokozuna coffin match being the best booked match of all-time, to announcer slip-ups that I found funny (like when Gorilla Monsoon repeatedly insisted upon calling Skinner by the name of “Spinner the Alligator Man”), to the time I went drinking with a whole bunch of wrestling personalities. However, I took a deep breathe and I realized that I’ll have countless time to cover a wide spectrum of topics down the line, so instead I thought I’d start by introducing myself today and then we’ll go from there.
So, let’s start with the basics. My name is Eric Stein, I live in NYC, I appeared on CBS’ Big Brother 8, and well, I’m a huge wrestling afficianado. I’ve probably attended at least 50 live events in my lifetime including Wrestlemania 1 and 10, King of the Ring, Survivor Series, Summerslam, this year’s Royal Rumble, ECW, RoH, etc etc etc. My wrestling tape collection is hundreds in size. On any given day I could pop in a catch as catch can classic ground match or just as easily throw in a Cactus/Lightbulb/Pirannha/Syringe on a Pole death match and be happy. Hell, I even own and still watch one of the ECW Lethal Lottery cards featuring Firebreaker Chip…how many people can say that get still enjoy his work?
To this very day, I still own almost the complete series of LJN 1 foot action figures from the mid-1980’s. Recently, I stayed up from 1 am – 2 am EST every day to watch UWF on ESPN Classic. Favorite wrestlers of all-time include Junkyard Dog, Owen Hart, and Bob Backlund. I greatly miss the days of a true tag team division. I like The Boogeyman. Favorite theme songs of all-time include The Mountie’s, JYD singing Grab Them Cakes, and I actually have K Kwik & Road Dogg’s “Gettin’ Rowdy” on my iPod. Overall, I’ve been a dedicated fan, follower, and advocate of the business for almost 25 years (I started young). I had the very unique opportunity to work for the WWE for a few months, which provided me with a chance to get an inside look at an industry that I grew up on.
Here’s a few quick thoughts on this week in wrestling. Kudos to the WWE for BURYING DH Smith on RAW. Even with all of the recent wrestling tragedies, DH Smith failing his Wellness Policy test has to rank amongst the highest for me. The man lost his father to steroids, went on record stating that not only would he never use but he’d be an advocate against them, and then at the very first shot he has he uses immediately. I’m not going to start my very first column up on a soapbox here, but I have nothing but disgust for his choice. I took immense pleasure in watching him get decimated by Umaga.
What the heck was up with the ECW main event? Could that match have been any sloppier? Also, I think WWE should learn that in the case of ECW repetition isn’t breeding familiarity anymore…it’s breeding boredom. I actually kinda dig the slow builds to push debuting or returning guys…it harkens back to the days of Saturday Morning Superstars. But repeating the same main event week after week after week is just brutal. Would it have really been so hard to keep the belt on Punk and have him fight Shelton at ‘Mania? Chavo is not over and they should really put this feud out of its misery. If there was ever a candidate to move to a different brand to get some fresh programs, it’s CM Punk.
The booking of Jericho defeating Hardy in a MitB qualifier was beyond me. Didn’t care for that at all. Are they trying to promote parity amongst the top performers a la the NFL? At least Jericho is a new addition to the match. I don’t wanna feel like I’m watching a replay of previous Money in the Bank matches. I’d love for WWE to step up and mix up the participants a bit. Would it really kill them to have someone win a surprise qualifier and get some fresh blood in the match? How about Kofi? What if they had just included Batista and Umaga into this match? Colin Delaney? Howard Finkel? It’s always such a dynamic match with such immense potential…I just want it to feel new and exciting still.
Alright, that does it for my first column. Now that we know each other, you can expect some Q&A’s, audio/video pieces for the site, and some of those historic/random/pointless columns that I’ve been dying to write. Really glad to be on board here at WrestleZone.com.
