Looks like CM Punk made some waves with his appearance on Colt Cabana’s podcast, eh? Seven columns here at 411 about it lead me to only one conclusion: 411 hates WWE.

It’s just a joke, guys. Hopefully this can settle the debate that’s been going on since we here jumped all over the Spike/TNA story- if a story is big enough to enough people, then a lot of people will write about it. Simple.

I said my piece about Punk months ago, and nothing’s really changed, so I’m willing to leave it at that. For me, what really got my goat this week was Vince (“Mister” to his friends) McMahon’s appearance on Steve Austin’s podcast, which was broadcast on the WWE Network immediately after Raw went off the air. There were a few things the Boss said that I didn’t fully agree with, but there were two ideas in particular that just made me cringe.

After Austin said something to the effect of the locker room today not appearing as hungry as when he was wrestling, Vince basically called out the entire roster, saying that this generation of millennials just doesn’t want it as much as the guys in Austin’s time. They’re too afraid to rock the boat, too afraid to speak up, and just generally do what is asked of them without any fight. He compared that to Austin, who was never afraid to say that he didn’t like the plans, even in instances where he had no backup idea, either. He even said that there are very few guys even willing to try to “grab the brass ring,” naming guys like Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose as being among the few to actually try.

This, of course, was all being said while Vince would return to the point that in WWE, they listen to their audience. The audience decides who the star is, not them. If you’re hungry enough, you’ll get an opportunity, and if you can win the audience over, you’ll become a star.

The first thing to come to mind when I heard this was, as many may assume, Zack Ryder. Zack Ryder did everything that the modern day corporate WWE speak says one must do in order to become a star. He took charge of his character, he made himself accessible via social media when most of the roster still hadn’t figured that out yet, and he managed to create a fan base while he was still jobbing on ECW and Raw. Eventually, he got to the point where nearly every segment would be trampled over with “We want Ryder!” chants, or even a more simple “Woo woo woo!” chant.

WWE tried their best to not listen to the fans. Then they tried to placate the loud fan base by moving Ryder out of his jobber role and into more of a jobber to the stars role. When the fans still wouldn’t quiet down, they made him the United States champion with a win over Dolph Ziggler at TLC 2011. The fans were ecstatic. “Their” guy had managed to dream the impossible dream, and got over all thanks to his own hard work.

And then December came to a close, and January 2012 was where WWE decided that they’d had enough of listening to us. Ryder quickly lost the US Title. John Cena took his girl, Eve. Eve verbally eviscerated him, and then Kane pushed him off the stage while he was in a wheelchair, unable to help himself. Also, no one ever came to his aid, because no one likes him. In the span of a couple weeks, WWE decided to tell us “Zack Ryder is not worth your affection. He’s not worth your cheers. He’s a loser. He’s a wimp. The ladies don’t like him. Even John Cena treats him like garbage. This guy sucks.” Ryder has yet to recover from this dreadful period of booking, though an injury has kept him off screen recently. Which is too bad, because who else can lose to Rusev in three minute squashes?

Those who want to dilute the point will mention how Ryder was never a guy that could be taken seriously as a world champ, but really, I feel like those of us who stayed rooted in reality while cheering for Ryder’s rise already knew that. I felt having him as an effective upper mid-card face, one who could hold the US or IC titles without much fuss, was the perfect spot for him, and I think many others felt the same. Sure, in our innermost markish places, seeing Ryder win the WWE Title may have gotten us to pop huge, but it wasn’t where he belonged. What sucks is, he had reached the exact spot he should have been, and they took it away.

They didn’t care what we wanted. They were determined to change our minds. They didn’t applaud Ryder for “stepping up” or trying to “grab that brass ring,” they instead punished him for daring to utilize YouTube and Twitter long before the company could figure out how to manipulate it.

After watching what happened to Ryder, I wouldn’t be surprised if the roster grew more sheepish as a whole. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of them simply did what was asked, hoping that being a “company man” would yield its own results, like the World Title reigns of Kane in 2010, Mark Henry in 2011, and Big Show in 2012. I loved Kane’s reign in 2010, but I also don’t remember the fans going nuts for Kane at this time. I don’t remember the fans begging for a Kane title reign. I just remember that that’s what we got.

For Vince to blame this on a generational thing, and not on an “I’ve seen what happens when you try to make yourself a star” thing is so disingenuous. Zack Ryder is not the only example of the company not listening to the fans, either. Remember when Kofi Kingston ended 2009 as hot as he’d ever been by entering a feud with Randy Orton? It was out of nowhere, and the fans loved it. However, one “Stupid! Stupid!” later, and Kofi’s push was completely taken away. Why? Because Randy Orton threw a temper tantrum in the middle of the ring? That’s a reason to kill a push?

Back to this idea that this group of “millennials” just don’t have it in them to try as hard as the guys from the Attitude Era for a minute, and just how insulting that must be for the roster to hear. The love affair with everything Attitude Era has long been an annoying trend. People ignore the Beaver Cleavages, Artist Formerly Known as Goldusts, and New Midnight Expresses in favor of the Rocks, Austins, and Degeneration eXes out there. People ignore the 3 minute matches, ridiculous turns, and nonsensical stipulations in favor of the Ministry, Austin/McMahon, and the rise of Shane McMahon.

Sadly, it also appears that Vince himself has these rose colored glasses on. In his mind, the entire roster of the late 90s was comprised of guys who were hungry, willing to do whatever it took to get over, and to get to the top. Forget the fact that these guys were mired in a ratings war with a rival show that had been routinely kicking their ass- that’s irrelevant! Forget that today’s roster exists in a corporate world where their every move is watched and punished, and their bosses try to keep everything sterile so as not to offend the shareholders- that’s irrelevant!. Do we really believe ½ of Austin’s antics would have made it to television in today’s environment? I definitely do not.

On top of that, in speaking about Austin specifically, do we not forget the times that he wasn’t hungry to be a team player? When he refused to work with Jeff Jarrett right when Jarrett was actually finding traction as a heel, because his feelings were still hurt over a promo Jarrett had cut nearly two years earlier? Is that the kind of stuff Vince misses so much from his roster? Paranoid egomaniacs holding others down so that they can keep their spot?

Really though, the idea that this group of wrestlers just doesn’t try as hard is so false. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan both came to WWE with plans of World Domination. Both were made to start off on the feeder shows (ECW for Punk, NXT for Bryan). Both had to win low ranking singles titles as some sort of test (ECW title for Punk US title for Bryan). Both got quick World Title reigns that were derailed quickly via bad booking (Punk lost his title without being in the match, Bryan lost his in the 18 second WM28 abomination). Both tried rebounding with a tag title reign (Punk with Kofi, Bryan with Kane). Both eventually got a big WWE title win over John Cena at SummerSlam. Both were immediately victims of a Money in the Bank cash in after being attacked (Punk by Nash, losing to Del Rio; Bryan by Triple H, losing to Orton). Both were then placed into detour feuds to keep them from getting their belt back immediately (Punk with Triple H, Bryan with the Shield and then the Wyatt Family). Both eventually got their belt back after much time had been wasted.

Punk, of course, only had to wait a few months, as he got his belt back at Survivor Series 2011, which kickstarted the longest reign of the modern era. Bryan, on the other hand, had to wait six months, watch as Big Show got a big feud out of his program (which, again, I don’t remember the fans asking for), getting put in the Wyatt Family, left out of the Rumble, and then eventually getting an “Okay, fine, jerks!” placement in the Elimination Chamber that eventually led to him winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 30.

The idea that the Bryan moment was somehow made “sweeter” because we had to wait has been thrown out before, and I think it’s rubbish. The Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania 28 established that Daniel Bryan was the most popular guy on the roster from where I sit. It never let up from there, as the fans constantly had his back. When he began his “I’m not the weak link!” portion during the late spring/early summer of 2013, there was no question that he was the hottest thing going. The fans went insane when it was announced that he’d be challenging John Cena at SummerSlam for the title. The fans went crazy when he won the belt. There was nothing to improve on. Daniel Bryan had just defeated John frickin Cena, clean, in the middle of the ring, for the WWE Title. What more could be done to improve on that?

Nothing. WWE just didn’t want to hear us. Oh, they listen, all right. They’ll listen, and then they’ll do something directly to spite us when they don’t like what’s being said. Hell, they’ll devote entire interview segments to having Triple H come out and openly taunt us, openly taunt things that are popular in the IWC. He’ll come out and talk about his friend “Mark” and what an idiot he is. That’s supposed to inspire the roster to step up? Knowing that if they become one of “our” guys, that in all likelihood they’ll be made an example of?

Dolph Ziggler is considered too risky to push because of his injuries. Triple H knows Dolph is a net fave, and so he basically calls him brittle on television. Randy Orton, the guy who breaks his shoulders while taunting? Nah, we don’t ever worry about his tendencies to get hurt. He’s “what a superstar should look like,” we’re told repeatedly. The difference? From where I sit, the difference is that Randy Orton is a company man and not beloved by the evil, horrible IWC. Jack Swagger kicks Ziggler in the face, and we punish Ziggler for being brittle. Where was that punishment for Orton when he broke his collarbone because Triple H threw him over the top rope carelessly?

It wouldn’t be so damn grating to hear Vince say “we listen to you, but we still make the decisions.” Instead, he likes to pretend that he, in the words of Austin, “can’t just wave a magic wand and make someone popular.” Maybe that’s true, but to ignore the fact that they can absolutely wave the magic wand and make that popularity wane, if not outright disappear, is ludicrous. The company should strive to make every single member of the roster someone the fans can get behind. THAT, to me, is where the Attitude Era shined. Even if they were stupid, each guy had SOMETHING you could either like or hate. Each guy had a reason for wanting whatever it is that they wanted.

Today, we just get random stuff. Why is Fandango in WWE? Why does this dancer want to be a wrestler? Why did Drew McIntyre decide that running with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal was a good choice? Why did they suddenly decide to become a jokester trio rock band? Why does Titus O’Neil continue to team with Heath Slater if he doesn’t like him that much? Because it makes the writers laugh?

Not everyone that becomes popular has to win a World Title. But they don’t have to be demoted down the card and ruined, either. Having wrestlers in the mid-card rival the popularity/hatred of those in the main event, to me, would be a good thing. But WWE appears to be terrified of having this happen. You’re either pushed to the moon, or you’re dropped from TV for weeks until your heat has died.

Undermining the roster the way Vince did on Monday night was very disheartening. The environment these guys work in is the reason they don’t speak up the way the guys of the Attitude Era did. They’re also not allowed to work as freely, to be “themselves turned up to 10” like the other guys were. And of course, if you do somehow get over with the fans, be prepared to enter the “Bobby Lashley Cooling Out Period” of your push where they actively try to take your “overness” away, to see if you “really want it.”

Seeing the Chairman pretend that these things aren’t actually happening in WWE, and that it’s all just a matter of these guys not wanting it enough? It really just makes it seem like they aren’t just not listening to us, but that they are keeping their fingers in their ears, and repeating the same tired corporate speak they’ve been feeding us for 15 years.

And if that gets depressing for me as a fan to hear, I can only imagine what it does to the guys actually trying to make a living in the company.



PUT SLICK IN THE HALL OF FAME!!



It’s All Wrestling. It’s All Stupid. We All Love It.