A response to the Onslaught

Normally I don't get into pissing contests, especially with people on my own site, but in this case I felt there were a few items that needed clarification regarding Tim Haught’s column written yesterday where he felt the urge to bash Chris Kanyon and take issue with the founding members of Tha O Show (myself and Dan-e-o).

Sure the professional thing might be to just let it slide, but screw it - I've had to play corporate softball in the past, but I'm not doing it on my own website.

In the Kanyon Interview... Sorry Tim, but your Bret Hart article from September didn't have anything to do with Kanyon's announcement on Bret.

If you actually listened to the interview (and I strongly recommend you do), you'd know that Kanyon brought up the Bret thing himself when discussing the art of a worked shoot.

Kanyon also knows of my history with Bret, and figured I’d get a kick out of him saying it publicly during my interview and he didn't really have much to lose anyway.

I’m not sure why so many people are so protective of that Bret story.

Here’s a quick thing to consider regarding the Montreal screwjob and the legitimacy on it. Bret Hart had just under two months remaining on his WWE contract when Survivor Series happened. Word had leaked to the internet that Bret had signed a WCW contract that would kick in when his WWF deal expired. No one, including the wrestlers, expected Survivor Series to be Bret’s last night when they arrived at the building that day.

Once he arrived at the building (and this can be verified by watching Wrestling With Shadows) Bret started walking around giving out hugs and saying goodbyes. Goodbyes? Why? He still had two months to go. He KNEW that was going to be his last night in the company. He KNEW something was coming.

Why was Vince McMahon at ringside for the finish? So that he could be there for Bret to spit on him, and to create a visual spectacle that would spoon feed the marks into hating McMahon. Dammit, it worked well. If the idea was to SCREW Bret, they sure as hell didn’t need Vinnie Mac at ringside to pull it off. If the idea was to get “Mr. McMahon” over as a heel – it was a brilliant move.

Let that sit in your brain and marinate.

Tim criticized my description of John Cena’s title belt. I hate spinning belts. Period. That “thing” he carries is NOT the WWE Heavyweight Championship. I don’t care what you want to call it, it’s a piece of crap. For that matter, I hate ANY belt that is personalized for an individual superstar. The Smoking Skull belt was stupid. The Brahma Bull belt was dumb. The Million Dollar Belt was sweet as hell, but wasn’t an actual title – so that’s cool.

That ugly piece of tin that Cena carries suggests that the belt is HIS and not that he is the current holder of said title. That to me, is wrong. You also put over how Cena sells more merch, and sells out buildings, etc etc.

John Cena is NOT currently top 10 in WWE merchandise. The top 10 on the WWE Shop site is a work. I have a friend who works for the WWE who has given me clearer indications that Cena’s stuff gets put up in the top ten because they are trying to push it. Top merchandise sellers right now? DX – and then a bunch of other guys. Rey Mysterio out sells Cena … not just in the ring, but at the merch counter too.

You should know too, that being in a top spot is completely a reflection of the company’s desire to put you there. Who the hell was Batista before McMahon flipped the switch and made the sheep cheer for him? He was a guy with a bad haircut in the background of Evolution. Suddenly he’s over like nobody’s business? It’s all about opportunity.

I’ll tell you this, when it comes to in-ring performance, Cena couldn’t lace Kanyon’s boots.

Going back to Tiny Tim’s article; One of his buddies who commented on the story put him over as a Grad student. Well, clearly we are only interested in bringing in talented writers with some sort of educational background. The number of emails Dan-e-o and I receive on a daily basis from people wanting to write for this site is nuts. By the way, grad students should proof read their work homie!

By the way, virtually all members of Tha O Show writing team are well educated grad students. Most of us have been in the journalism / wrestling business for over a decade. Those who don’t have the formal education have been a much bigger part of the wrestling biz than you or I – Like Kanyon for example.

I think I can speak for Dan-e-o when I say, we make no apologies for anything we've written. We don't need to be objective or fair to anyone. We don't need to be politically correct. This is ultimately OUR site. We started this site as a means of entertainment for ourselves. It has evolved into something much, much bigger. That being said, I’m not going to stop hating on guys who I think suck just because more people are reading.

Is every article we post a five star piece of work? No, obviously not. Considering the sheer volume of work we are outputting, I think more often than not, our shit is pretty solid. I know all of our interviews are rock solid and I’d say can be put up against those done by anyone. In terms of audio quality, freshness and originality, our interviews don’t take a back seat to anyone. That’s why we don’t cut a new one every week. It’s certainly not for lack of guests.

Finally, no Mr. Haught we aren’t going to fire you from Tha O Show. That would be small minded and weak of us. We encourage your free thinking, and divergent style. Keep writing. Just try to take less than two months between articles from now on.

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