For those of you reading this site who have not heard of me I will assume you are a first time visitor. If you are not a first time visitor I would have to assume you don’t pay attention when scanning this site. I have found myself in a position to being front and center on this site for the last few months. I have three people to thank for that Jerry “The King” Lawler, Corey “I want to be a Wrestler” Maclin and Brian Tramel. I have been in the wrestling business for some twenty five years now. I know there may be many of you who have never heard of me and are not aware of where I have been or what I have done. I will briefly say that I have been a referee, manager, wrestler, booker, promoter, driver and most other job descriptions that you can identify in this business. I will be referencing situations that cover the past twenty five years so that will help bring you up to speed.
I will be giving my opinions on Raw, Smackdown, the “CREATIVE” teams, TNA, perhaps a little ROH and any Indy news and happenings I am aware of. I will pull no punches and will not hesitate to give praise regardless of my personal opinion of the company or the individual.
I have sat back long enough and tried to do my part to defend the wrestling business. It can no longer be done. I do not believe that the current efforts to bring awareness to the back stage antics that go on in wrestling will work at all. It will be interesting to see how the efforts of Congress will affect the wrestling business as a whole. I don’t expect it to impact the WWE very much at all. If Vince McMahon was being accused of trafficking steroids, selling them, or insisting that talent took them he would have a major problem on his hands as well as the company and the stockholders. In the worst case scenario some more talent would have to be released and some of these guys would actually have to learn to work. If major sanctions are put on the WWE as a result of this I would be surprised. Actually I would be shocked. If I was TNA I would be very concerned, this could have a huge financial impact on them depending on what Congress decided to do since they appear to have no policy in place. All in all I just don’t believe that Vince McMahon or Dixie Carter or anyone else is responsible for the behavior of these people once they are outside of the actual work environment. Can you imagine what would happen in this world if employers were responsible for their employees twenty four seven.
I guess one thing that does strike me as strange is that Congress, as far as anyone knows, has not contacted Corey Maclin and or Jerry Lawler in regards to Memphis Wrestling and its policy regarding drug testing. I guess Congress doesn’t recognize Memphis Wrestling as a viable wrestling company. It is on broadcast television on the CW network. I can’t imagine that it should be ignored and let’s not forget they actually had a wrestler die on a show a few years ago. But, at least up until now, they seem to be flying below the radar.
I understand that the same group of fans that gave Jerry Lawler the excuse he is using for hitting me shoved Johnny Rotten on Friday night August 17th at the very secure Sam’s Town Casino. . I guess it’s a good thing that he didn’t turn around or make any movement toward them. If he had I assume that the defender of truth, justice and the American way, Jerry Lawler, would have leaped to the fans defense again and started shooting on Rotten and perhaps Sid Vicious as well. I have heard nothing of Jerry Lawler interjecting himself in this situation. I find that interesting. I wonder when we will hear that Sam’s Town security does something about this group of fans who seem to feel it’s alright to reach out and hit wrestlers and or managers.
I do feel that there are numerous corrections needed in our business. I am not sure that the damage done by Vince McMahon can be corrected. I don’t believe that there is any "going back" to the days of Kfabe. I am not even sure that the talent today even knows how to speak Carny. What I do know is that things can get better if there is a major adjustment in the WWE. As sad as it is, WWE is the measuring stick for our business around the world. I hope that there is more to TNA than meets the eye but it’s very doubtful. When will Bob Carter take the toy away from Dixie that she doesn’t seem capable of getting to function properly? If Bob Carter is to recoup his millions it will not be by his daughter’s hand. In a world where the leader of an industry is as vulnerable as they have ever been if you can’t overtake the guy ahead of you after three years, will you ever be able to do it?
I got a call from a friend in LA today who attended the "The Biggest Party on the Beach" event on Venice Beach. It was a WWE promoted event. I would say that WWE can now claim that they can draw thousands and thousands of people to an event when it is FREE. Isn’t it funny how people will turn out for a day of fun and under card matches when it’s FREE? Now if they can just get them to watch main event matches on cable for free. Oh, wait a minute, I forgot please excuse me ... Monday Night Raw isn’t about matches, it’s about comedy skits, pre-written interviews, sexual situations and insulting peoples intelligence. I was told that the event on Saturday was excellent and that the matches were all top notch. Isn’t it funny how when guys aren’t forced to rehearse all day, that they can go out and put on good matches? How I long for the days when the real creative part of the business was accomplished in the squared circle between bells. I hope that someone in WWE figures this out. But then they would have to be willing to give Vince or heaven forbid Stephanie an opinion that they might not agree with his. That many times is a direct ticket to the unemployment line or worse yet the dog house.
Over the next few months I will be attempting to give answers on these topics and a bunch of others. If this business is ever going to be enjoyable again, someone has to draw a line in the sand and start working towards solutions. I warn you in advance that those of you who like controversy will definitely get it. I will most certainly be talking about Corey Maclin and Jerry Lawler in the weeks to come and the shambles that is Memphis Wrestling. If you want to hear stories about legends you will find them here. If you’re looking for someone to say the things you wish you said by all means keep an eye on this column. If you’re a huge fan of the product that Vincent Kennedy McMahon, Dixie Carter or especially Corey Maclin are producing than you should be prepared to see some opinions that will conflict with yours.
On one final note I want to congratulate my very good friend “Sweet” Stan Lane on his recent marriage to Maria Burnette. I know many wrestling people around the world were probably shocked to hear of Stan’s recent nuptials. I can honestly say as one who has seen it first hand that the Fabulous One has made a good decision and that once and for all , the school girls dreams are no more and all the mothers can rest easy, their nightmares won't be returning
That was a Piece of my Mind
“The Big Cheese” Sal Corrente
