Notes from the Nosebleeds #60
April 3, 2010
By: Matt O’Brien of Wrestleview.com
Hopefully you all had a great Wrestlemania weekend. So much has happened over the past week in the wrestling world. From WM26 to TNA’s ratings tanking, the week has been exhausting. Today’s Nosebleeds looks at some of those events with a few last notes for each.
Note on Mr. McMahon
Rounding out this eventful week is the bittersweet end to the career of one of the all-time greats. At Wrestlemania XXVI the Mr. McMahon character was retired. WWE booked a fitting end to the McMahon character by having Bret Hart be the one to bring him down. Since the Montreal incident gave birth to the character it is only fitting that Hart be the one to end it. While some look at Shawn Michaels as the antithesis to Hart, it is ultimately Vince and not HBK. This is a much better ending to the character than the planned “killing off” they had planned back in 2007. The character may just be the greatest heel in wrestling history.
Note on TNA’s poor ratings
What the answer is to TNA’s sinking ratings is anyone’s guess. When WCW was floundering, several voiced their opinions on what they would do to save the company. Unfortunately it’s not that simple. There really isn’t one correct solution, and no course of action can make the turn the company around right away. It will take several months for any change to feel noteworthy and the company can’t start from scratch. It may be possible to save the company and make it grow, but the talent and skill of that individual(s) will need to be nothing short of genius.
Note on a Nasty Week
This week news broke that the Nasty Boys are gone from TNA. Many groaned when they hit TNA a few months ago and engaged in a war with Team 3-D. Nobody expected their matches to be good, but the potential was there for something intriguing. No the Nasty Boys should not be wrestling. Neither should many performers out there, but what is the business to do with the stars of yesteryear? Putting them in the ring is dangerous and stunts the growth of future stars, but taking them out back and putting a bullet in their heads isn’t the answer either. Sure there are positions available backstage, but they are limited. There are other ways of acknowledging their value. What TNA fails to do is realizing where that value lies. Many fans fail to see their value because of where a company places washed-up stars on the card. We must never forget what the past has taught us, but at the same time we must move on. The wrestling business has its share of stars who fight the future and the impending day when they will no longer be relevant, cool, or good at what they do. Perhaps the business is the cause. The nature of the beast is that wrestlers are chewed up and spit out. As sad of a truth it is when one realizes they don’t belong in the ring anymore, it is even more tragic that the best the business can offer them is to get back in the ring and risk their lives.
Note on TNA and Goldberg
One of the TNA’s strategies to increase viewership has been to sign big names to the company, Along with the Nasty Boys, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash and so many others entrance to TNA has done little to enhance the product. That is why a recent Twitter post by Bill Goldberg actually complimented TNA more than knocked them. Goldberg announced he was in negotiations with WWE and said that it was a shame for TNA that they didn’t even try to attain his services. Good for TNA! Why in the world would they want to sign Bill Goldberg? There is no value that he could provide to TNA. This is by no means an insult to Goldberg. He has earned his place in wrestling history and working in some capacity with WWE should be interesting, but a run in TNA would not be. The Goldberg character died in 1998 and is never coming back. He may spark interest by working with WWE in a similar capacity to Bret Hart, but bringing Goldberg to TNA would kill any value he has left. It’s bad enough when mid-carders get lost in the mix. TNA has managed to get big name stars from the 90s lost in the shuffle. Adding Goldberg to a cast of Hogan, Nash, Hall, Waltman, Flair, Sting, and RVD would be terrible. If TNA brings in any more of these stars they may have to create a special championship division for them.
Nosebleed Trivia
Last week’s answers
What is the longest Women’s match at Wrestlemania?
A. Wendi Richter vs. Leilani Kai (WM 1)
B. Trist Stratus vs. Jazz vs. Victoria (WM 19)
C. Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James (WM 22) at 8:48
D. Alundra Blayze vs. Leilani Kai (WM 10)
What is the shortest Women’s match in Mania history?
A. Fabulous Moolah vs. Velvet McIntyre (WM 2) at 1:25
B. Chyna vs. Ivory (WM 17)
C. Trish Stratus vs. Christy Hemme (WM 21)
D. Terri Runnels vs. The Kat (WM 2000)
Who is the Diva(s) to compete in the most gimmick matches at Wrestlemania?
A. Stacy Kiebler
B. Torrie Wilson
C. Sensational Sherri
D. Victoria
Who is the Diva(s) to compete in the most Wrestlemania matches overall?
A. Lelani Kai
B. Sensational Sherri
C. Trish Stratus
D. Lita
E. Chyna
What is the latest on the card a Women’s match has ever been placed?
Second to last
How many times has the Women’s title changed hands at Wrestlemania?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. 4
This week’s Trivia…
A tribute to the Nasty Boys!
How many times did the Nasty Boys hold the WCW Tag Team championship?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
In which organization did the Nasty Boys debut?
A. NWA
B. AWA
C. GCW
D. UWF
True or False: Brian Knobbs once won the WCW Television title.
Which member of the Rhodes family is related to Jerry Saggs?
A. Dusty Rhodes
B. Dustin Rhodes
C. Cody Rhodes
What was the last WCW pay per view the Nasty Boys wrestled before Jerry Saggs retired?
A. Superbrawl 1996
B. Bash at the Beach 1996
C. Fall Brawl 1996
D. World War 3 1996
Answers will be posted next week. Thanks for reading!