Double Impact: Making Amends By: Michael
Melchor
Hey there and
thanks for checking in. Been a while since I’ve been
here, I know. Of course running one
zone and appearing weekly in
another over at 411 – not to mention expecting
child #6 (!) and dealing with the rest of everyday life
– will do that to someone.
I’d initially
planned on filling the spaces here with reprints of the
Double M Rasslin’
Report, but even that’s gotten to be a crunch.
Instead of taking the cheap way out (which I’ve been
accused of already), I figure I can use this to explore
topics off the beaten path of the usual news and
comments. Topics that I care enough about to get a
little in-depth in.
Topics
like...Vince Russo.
I’ll go ahead
and say it – I’m a fan of both the man and his
work. His work because, in my eyes, nothing is as cool
as the Millionaire’s Club/New Blood feud could
have been. The man, because, right or wrong, he gave all
of himself and went with his vision, right or wrong. I
don’t even know if I can come up with a handful of
people that have that kind of guts or integrity anymore.
But people are
human, and they screw up. Russo himself knows this, and
has set about to correct a mistake made long ago.
If only the
McMahon family could apologize like this...
EVEN THOUGH
WE DIDN’T ALWAYS AGREE---JR DESERVED BETTER
Since my life
has taken on a new direction some two years ago now, I
must admit that I really don’t watch wrestling anymore.
Having a new outlook on life, courtesy of God, the
things that appealed to me for a good portion of my
life—42 years to be exact—just don’t “float my boat” any
more—pardon the pun.
But I will
admit, I still flip around during commercials—a habit
which none of us will ever break. This past Monday night
between innings of the Yankees/Angels game, I happened
to “flip to” Raw when Jim Ross was in the
ring.
Why would this
concern Russo enough out of his shell to comment? My,
don’t we have a short memory?
You know, I
swore when Jesus saved my life I would never comment on
“mainstream wrestling” again, but this time I have
to—not because it has anything to do with wrestling, or
an angle, but because it has to do with everything
that’s wrong with society.
In my book
“Forgiven”, that’s due out in a few weeks,
—
Ah, ever the
plug machine – even in Christianity. Toldja he sticks
with what he is & knows.
I talk
at great length about Jim Ross, and my relationship with
him. I’ll be the first to admit that there were times
when I was tough on him, and it wasn’t personal—it was
strictly business. But, at the time my view was clouded
. . . much clouded. Why? Because I never put myself in
the shoes of Jim Ross. I had never walked one step in
his boots. Put aside the personal setbacks in his life;
the bouts with bells palsy, the death of his mother—who
meant the world to him, I’m talking about the taxing job
called “Talent Relations”. Fans of the business really
have no idea the thanklessness of this job—yes, even
more thankless than that of a television writer. Forget
about having to please a roster full of wrestlers, many
with egos larger than the average man could ever fathom,
but the demands from Vincent K. himself . . . you just
had to be there to understand. But with unexplainable
patience, Jim Ross did it. From a personal level did I
always agree with his decisions, of course not, but then
again—we’re all guilty of being Tuesday morning
quarterbacks. Could I have done a better job? Probably
not—but then again—I would have never wanted the
position in the first place.
I’d venture to
guess that, no matter how much the armchair bookers in
the IWC claim otherwise, none of them would, either.
Imagine the responsibility and headache that comes with
a gig like that for a multi-milllion dollar corporation
and every pertinent employee in it. No fucking way I
would want that headache. Anyone that does is either a
kiss-ass (like the current holder of said position) or
suicidal. The pressure that comes with it is immense,
and Russo acknowledges that.
In wrestling
we all have egos, some bigger . . . much bigger . . .
than others. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that JR didn’t
have an ego—and I think he’d tell you the same thing.
But the difference between JR and some of the boys was
that JR truly, truly, loved his job. That’s much more
than I can say about myself. JR took great pride in
being, “the best play-by-play man in the business", and
he should have—because he was. To him—being out there
every Monday night was what he lived for. The truth?
There was no better. Was he a bit “over the top” at
times, of course he was—but—his love, heart, desire, and
passion for what he calls “the game” wasn’t, isn’t and
will never be matched.
During the Raw
boom in the late 90’s, I’ll tell you right here, right
now—I wanted to replace both Lawler and JR. At the time
we’re talking about the “Attitude” era, when
sports-entertainment was as close to reality as it was
ever going to get. Personally, I just had a problem with
a guy wearing a crown and a guy in a cowboy hat selling
it to me. When all else was as “real” as wrestling could
ever get—in my opinion, we had two blatant “characters”
trying to sell it. But, that was all about personal
“taste”; it had nothing—NOTHING—to do with the ability
of Lawler, or Ross.
So in hindsight,
I can understand the WWE brass wanting to replace
JR—things change—you have to evolve. Growing up I can
remember Ralph Kiner, Lindsay Nelson and Bob Murphy
calling Met games. Man, in my head I can still hear
their voices—but that was then—this is now. Things just
change . . . look at me. No, I don’t have a problem with
the “business” decision, but as not only a Christian but
as a human being, I just have a problem with the way
they did it.
This coming from
the guy that created “Oklahoma”? I mean, he still saw
fit to take shots at JR, no? Let’s find out why, shall
we?
You know
what, there are a lot of things you can say about Vince
Russo back “in the day”, BUT one thing I will say—I
never—NEVER—treated anybody disrespectfully. Yeah, my
button was pushed on a few occasions, but all-in-all I
treated people the same way I wanted to be treated. Even
though JR and I weren’t on the same page at many times—I
can sit here and say that when I worked with him—and
when I wrote for him—I never made him the butt-end of a
joke. One of my personal, professional highlights came
when JR had his own announcer’s desk built during an
episode of Raw—to me that was entertainment---and JR was
priceless.
But on the other
side of that coin---when WCW backed me into a
corner—when they wanted ratings yesterday—I did the
despicable. I sent Ed Ferrera out there and asked him to
do a parody of JR. There is much more about that in
“Forgiven”, but let me just say—if there is anything I
could ever take back that I did in the wrestling
business—that was at the top of my list. Again—at that
time we were going after the WWF, and we were going
hard—I was stopping at NOTHING. What a horse’s !@#$ I
was. Again—you will never understand the pressure I was
under—if you think for one minute that I was thinking
straight—you’re wrong—but still, that’s no excuse. I ask
God everyday for forgiveness—and I hope this column
serves as an open, public apology to
JR.
So, there you
have it. It’s already been admitted (not here) by Russo
himself that he and JR didn’t see eye-to-eye about a lot
of things. Now I’m not sure if “Oklahoma” was a personal
attack on JR or the down-home hayseed he came off as on
Monday nights. I’d still bank on the former, but, unlike
the people that JR worked for, Russo at least sees the
error of his ways then and wants to make up for that
now.
BUT—with that
being said—what’s the WWE’s excuse? I mean, not only
isn’t there a ratings war—but the guy is on their team!
Why, do they make a guy who has been so loyal to their
company—the butt end of their jokes? Well, there’s only
one good reason for that—because they can . . . they
will . . . and they don’t care.
Yes—it’s all a
work my friends, all “made-up”, all “make-believe”.
But—there isn’t a single person in that company who
doesn’t know what announcing means to JR. From having
him kiss Vince’s butt to having Linda low-kick him—JR
has been degraded as a human being every way humanly
possible. And that’s the problem I have with the
business. Replacing JR was no doubt traumatic to him—NO
DOUBT—if not for anything else—why not let the guy go
out with dignity? Why not let the guy go out on his own
terms—with his head held high and not squirming on the
mat like a helpless imbecile? Why? Because it was funny?
I don’t know . . . maybe it’s me . . . but I wasn’t
laughing. I wasn’ t laughing because there was just more
evilness behind it then you’ll ever know . . . but again
that’s the wrestling business and that’s why I now play
for the “other” team.
That’s an
interesting statement to me...there was just more
evilness behind it then you’ll ever know. Like what?
Does Russo know something about the specific incident
he’s not letting us in on? Probably not; he’s just
worked with the McMahons before and knows how they play.
But,
you know what—there also needs to come a time when you
just say to the boss, “Sorry, Vince . . . I’m just not
going to do that.” I completely understand that that is
easier said then done.
And he should
know. Continuing on...
There is a
lot of money at stake . . . and everything else that
goes with it . . . BUT . . . you know what really comes
with money—NOTHING. Take it from a guy who once had it,
doesn’t have it any more, and doesn’t want it. Money is
not worth anybody’s dignity. JR is talented enough to
get a job calling whatever he wants. And at the end of
the day, if his dreams come true and he’s up there in
that Sooner booth—guess what—he doesn’t have to worry
about anybody kicking him in the jewels to get their
jollies—that just doesn’t happen out here in the “real”
world.
Man, we need to
re-think were we’re at. Don’t give me that angle
nonsense—we need to start treating people with dignity
and respect—especially in the wrestling business. The
change has to start somewhere—and I hope it does here.
Again—JR—to the
world, I’m sorry for any pain I’ve ever caused you, and
I have to deal with that every day, but my friend—I’m
telling you—you deserve better . . . much
better.
I won’t get into
that one like I did Russo’s, but Ed Ferrara also
apologized for his part in the whole
affair. Where Russo goes, Ferrara follows – that much
has always been accepted. But Ferrara at least had the
guts to admit he did wrong and own up to it.
Vince McMahon
didn’t. Neither did his wife or daughter. It’d be
understandable if the payoff was Austin going out on
Taboo Tuesday and kicking Coach’s ass from one side of
the building to the other and, as a result, JR got his
job back. However, Austin walked out again
because he was told that, win, lose, or draw, JR wasn’t
coming back.
The McMahons not
only humiliated him on national television, but they
left it as the last time we see the man – the voice of
Raw and one of the best announcers to have graced the
industry – on TV.
But, of course,
God forbid they recompense that with a tribute or
anything of the like. No, the whole story is dropped now
and everybody moves on.
Except for Vince
Russo. He did JR wrong and, despite how he felt about
him back then, publicly apologized for it. Say what you
want about Russo’s writing technique or his desire to
grab what attention he can when he can, but, in this
case, I say good for him. He at least had the
wherewithal to step up and do what JR’s own bosses
wouldn’t.
L8. Thanks again
for
reading.
