The first Newsday.com blog post every written in Utah
RICHFIELD, Utah -- I'm here in a hotel room in Utah right now drinking a beer called Polygamy Porter. Their motto is, "WHy Have Just One!"
I am not kidding. Google it if you don't believe me.
Anyway, I'm enjoying having some time on my road trip to post again for the first time in a while. And in reading the comments from my RAW Roulette post, I see some interesting insights and questions that I thought I'd respond to ...
*** So why didn't Kane get the title at No Mercy? ***
I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.
I will say this though -- the ball really started rolling for putting the title on Kane at a production meeting the same day as the WrestleMania 19 press conference. It was one of the few production meetings not attended by Vince, Stephanie or Triple H, as they were at the Mania press conference. At the production meeting, everyone thought putting the title on Kane was an awesome idea, and it would have been. Not too long after the meeting, Triple H, Stephanie and Vince got back to the building, and within a week or so, the plans for No Mercy had changed. Shockingly, suddenly the production people were suddenly on board with that line of thinking.
*** What right do you have to do preview and predictions if you don't watch the shows all that often and you don't even know who some of these people are? ***
Hmmm ... I don't watch every show religiously and I'm not 100% invested in the current product. Sure sounds like I'm a casual fan, doesn't it? I still check the boards every day and read recaps, and watch whatever I can ... most Internet fans watch the shows week in and week out, which is great, but I just don't have the time or commitment anymore. But I'm honest about that -- and you know what? I think that most fans are in the same boat I'm in.
Add in the fact that I've sat in those creative sessions and understand not only the psychology of booking but also the psychology of the politics, and I think I'm a pretty good person to preview shows. And it's just my opinion anyway -- though for the record, I'm usually pretty good with my picks.
*** Were you the guy who wrote that column on WWE.com back in the day about how the Hardys just being in the ring with Triple H was getting them over and he didn't deserve any of the criticism he was getting online? ***
I sure was. And there were a few reasons behind it.
One -- to some degree, I believed it. That was partially the Kool-Aid talking, and partially the fact that it wasn't until around that time that Triple H really started playing the political games as much. It snowballed exponentially after WWE bought WCW and after his quad injury.
Two -- as the guy who put together the Web Rumor Report every day, I noticed a dramatic, dramatic drop in news and rumors online in the days and weeks after WWE bought WCW. That to me correlated with a drop in interest in the product. Given my own unhappiness with the product after WMX7 (the company forever jumped the shark the night after X7 with the formation of the Two-Man Power Trip, in my opinion), I thought I'd throw something out there to light a fire and give people something to play with for a bit.
*** Wish you'd post more stories -- it's been a while ***
Yes it has. I'll apologize to you again for not writing more stuff on here -- I really enjoy telling you guys stories and hearing all you have to say. The Steel Cage blog is something Alfonso and I do in addition to our normal workload, and given the time demands of a daily newspaper, we don't always have enough hours in the day to interact with you guys. But we'll continue to post whenever we can -- I hope you're continuing to enjoy my backstage stories and ridiculous opinion pieces, and the awesome interviews and columns that Alfonso posts every week. Thanks again for reading.
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Comments (12)
Did Shawn Michaels's full-time return and Scott Steiner's signing play a factor in Kane not winning at No Mercy? They immediately were put into title feuds.
What was creative like when the title matches were not the main attraction ala this years Summerslam or were they pretty much the same day in and day out?
Totally off topic but I bought that beer once just because of the name and slogan! Too bitter for my taste. To those that feel these guys don't provide enough content just one question - How often would you post stories and recollections only to be ridiculed and debated incessantly? Keep the articles and interviews coming and we'll keep reading.
I echo the last statement about posting more stories! They are priceless to us fans, although I find it quite truthful that your highlight of RAW Roulette was just seeing the lights of Las Vegas. =) The best things in life truly are free.
I find it very interesting that the drawing board had Kane in a main event for No Mercy more than 6 months in advance, especially since I often feel that WWE has been booked a month in advance, 2-3 at best.
Seth were you there around 9/11 if so what was that like?
hey man, I like the idea of you answering the comments and questions. You answered mine. I check the blog everyday, this and 411 are the two wrestling sites I check the most. Anyways, does Triple H really believe his own hype? I mean, I'm sure he does, it's more of a rhetorical question, but why and the hell was he put into a feud with Steiner? Triple H hasn't been the same since the first quad injury....obvious statement there....
Hey Seth, your right to preview shows is called the first amendment. No one has to read your posts if they don't want to.
Also, you're totally right about the Two-Man Power Trip. Austin-HHH would have been a great program for a couple months and then they could have shifted Austin to feuds with Undertaker or Kane without it seeming so stale.
My question is about the heat between Taker and HHH... what was behind it?
My thinking is it may have had something to do with the politics you have mentioned about Kane winning the World Title at No Mercy.
If not, it would be interesting to know why...
Also, I was wondering if people have noticed the lower amount of television time HHH has had since his move to Smackdown (more importantly in the last few weeks, after his time out for the new daughter). My theory is that HHH doesn't sleep with Hayes, so Hayes has a "clearer" perspective.
I also see that the hottest storylines in the WWE product has no direct correlation to RAW writers. I have been speculating Vince has noticed this, with RAW supposedly the "flagship" show, and will probably not go unanswered in the near future.
One thing that I always wonder about is how new guys are accepted (or not as the case may be) in the dressing room. Obviously you werent on air talent but how did you feel meeting guys like Undertaker, JBL and the other 'leaders'? Was anyone overly nice to you, or overly mean to you?
Hmmmm, I guess prior to this week, Newsday.com blog posts had nevery been written in Utah. Score one for those Polygamy Porters!
The HHHate is hilarious. Come on guys, it's 2008, let it go. To be honest I think Seth just incites it a little bit, because he know it gets the fans riled up, leading to more comments and views (I'm even falling for it myself) but really, a lot of the HHHate is just so blatantly illogical that I think it needs to be shot down.
I read on here the other day that apparently HHH produced his scramble match just to make him look superior to all the others in the match? That's ridiculous. The whole point of the match was to make it look like HHH was just one tiny step away from Jeff Hardy, who is now breathing down his neck. It's making Jeff look very good. You can't make everyone look on the same level, and there has to be a hierarchy. Sunday wasn't Kendrick's or Shelton's turn, it was Jeff's.
People need to realise the only reason HHH gets built up is because he is still money. The bigger he looks, the better someone else looks when they finally beat him. I'll bet Jeff goes over him clean to finally win the big one at No Mercy, and it will be epic. A win over HHH is huge, and for good reason.
I think Seth even wrote a blog explaining why HHH got the belt in 2002 and not RVD. It was all about giving legitimacy to the belt, so would it really have made sense to have Kane beat him for it like a month and a half into his reign? Would HBK have still won it then?
If HHH was so title hungry and buries people like everyone says he does, then why was he without a title for 3 years? It's funny that on Smackdown they allow Jeff to bring up the 'family', because it's just playing on the perception that people have. If HHH really did do it as much as people said, or even had the power to, then would he really have allowed that to make TV?
If he hates Jericho so much, why is he now the champion? Surely big bad HHH would be able to use his all conquering powers to stop it? Know why Jericho is champion? Because right now, he is also money. He's phenominal right now, the best he's been in his career.
Vince makes decisions based on money. HHH is money. I don't think he would ever turn money down just to please HHH, because quite frankly, why does he need to? Is HHH going to threaten to leave Steph? Go to TNA? Want does he honestly have over Vince?
"Vince makes decisions based on money" Yeah he shot down a Macho Man DVD, That's not a moneymaker? Vince would never let personal feelings get in the way of making money.....Riiiight.