Talk 'Wrasslin' with Chakal

[Aaron]

Another wrasslin' update.

My friend who is a securty guard at Detroit Metro saw Al Snow the other day

[ScJeff]

Dunno if this is posted, but Chakal congrats on being listed in teh top 500 current singles wreslers this year! =)

[chakal]

Originally Posted by ScJeff

Dunno if this is posted, but Chakal congrats on being listed in teh top 500 current singles wreslers this year! =)

It is what it is (ProWrestling Illustrated top 500) but it's still an honor. But my biggest achievement was being voted Wrestler of the year (in 2000) by wrestling fans in the whole Province of Quebec. The thing is, I only wrestled in tag-team matches in 1999-2000 and all other nominees were all wrestling single matches. Back then, I was also a bad guy, so I was 2 strikes behind everybody else when the list was released.

In the list, there was my teen idol Pierre-Carl Ouellet (Quebecer Pierre and Jean-Pierre Lafitte) and Jacques Rougeau. That was totally voted by the fans.

[Hockeywall33]

Thoughts on Current WWE storylines/situation Chakal?

[Bryan]

Have you guys seen Kurt Angle lately? Dude has lost a lot of weight. He was a full-size heavyweight in WWF/WWE, but now he even looks small next to some of the X-Division guys in TNA. It's crazy.

[geojedi]

Chakal,

Would you leave the Great White North for opportunities in TNA or WWE?

Sorry if this is a repeat question. Too lazy to fish through the pages and pages.

[DRE75HABS]

That's like asking if he'd leave beer league hockey to play in the NHL. If he said no, we'd really have to examine his head... unless it was a personal choice regarding where he's at in his life and his goals.

WWE (and to a lesser extent TNA) is the show. That's where the fans and the big money are. Every wrestlers dream is to be a part of it.

[geojedi]

True about being in the majors, but Chakal seems so vital to his brand (main heel, designs belts, etc.) and is home....

Most beer leaugers don't make the top 500 in their profession! We may have to examine the noggin anyway, he is a goalie after all

It is still a tough hypothetical

[chakal]

Originally Posted by geojedi

Chakal,

Would you leave the Great White North for opportunities in TNA or WWE?

Sorry if this is a repeat question. Too lazy to fish through the pages and pages.

I'd love too, but TNA doesn't pay that much if you're not friend with Jeff Jarrett or a former WWE "hasbeen". Some guys are almost working for nothing just in hope to get good exposure on TV so they can charge the max $ for their independent bookings.

WWE only hires former stars children now. That way, they don't need to build new characters. Also, guys they hire are way too young and inexperienced. Hulk Hogan was Hulk Hogan for 7 to 10 years before joining the WWE (WWF back then). Same for Macho Man, Jake "the Snake", Jimmy Snuka, Rowdy Piper etc. They were men, they had experience and their character was perfectly build when the hit it on National TV. Now, the guys have 6 months, a year at best of experience and the character are given to them buy TV writers that knows next to nothing about wrestling.

The reason why there's no veteran now.... No more real Indy competition. The NWA is dead, WCW too, the REAL ECW is gone, AWA didn't survived, World Class Championship Wrestling died and what else? The territories are all gone, Stampeeded Wrestling is dead too in Calgary.

So, no places for rookies to gain experience while still making a living out of it. I don't watch the WWE anymore, why would I watch guys that I almost consider a notch or 2 under me (technical skills and experience), would you watch hockey on TV if you had the conviction that you're better than them? I respect Dusty Rhodes a lot!!! But his son Cody sucks! No charisma, technically he still needs to learn. Now, they hired the DiBiase's brothers (sons of Million Dollar Man). Wait, soon you'll see to guy wearing tuxedos and doing what their father was doing 20 years ago.

Also, wrestling isn't like any other sport. There's nobody to scout for talents, you can go up only via a network of connections and friends being friend with the right people. So, now, no more guys with experience, so no more guys that have traveled and meet other wrestlers. So no more "network", so new wrestlers have nobody to refer to the people in charge. That's another reason why they only hire former wrestlers' sons.

[habs-fan]

Interesting thread Chakal.

And I haven't really watched wrestling since this guy was big.:-)

[jf-laflaire]

Thanks Chakal. Good read. I've had some time off & been doing projects around the house & watched alot of wrestler shoot interviews. I find them very interesting because its like listening to different witnesses about things that happened [e.g. Dynamite Kid & Mountie incidents].

It is really sad that all those wrestling alliances & "minors" are gone. Pro wrestling has declined because of it. I am not really a fan & can tell just watching it on TV. Nobody sells anything. Fueds are not what they were before and built up. All the characters act & look the same. Seems like Vince also has a glass ceiling as well. From what I understand about the money & stuff, most wrestlers do not perform lets say in WWF at the time for the money. They weren't really getting paid that much. I mean even today the top guy makes what $1 million? I think because the tradition is gone, there are no travelling shows or "minors" as you said has hurt it.

Someone needs to start a Pro Wrestler's Union & another rival federation with the right people.

That would kick ass. I think if workers got treated better instead of how I hear [get the impression] that Vince does you would get the top talent in a rival federation.

What do you think about wrestling & wrestlers today?

Do you think guys don't sell enough?

Do you think the hardcore stuff really hurt wrestling because fans expect more now?

I love the old ECW. Those fans were nuts. Those workers were nuts. The E-C-Dub chants are sick. Only thing is alot of those guys really gave alot to the people & are hurting today [e.g. New Jack].

I was listening to a Terry Funk interview & he suggested that wrestling will go back to the traditional way, because people expect the hardcore/attitude stuff now.

Listening to those interviews I find wrestlers are very personable people. They are straight up mostly & not bull ****ters. I like that [in law most people are liars]. They are about business & the fans.

[chakal]

JF, angles and characters suck because the current guys has no time to build-up their characters. Like I said, it took Hogan 7 years to get his act to a "SUPERSTAR" level and he was able to do it because there was territories and every 2 or 3 years, you were moving to a new place and felt fresh again. Now, after 2-3 years when people have seen enough of you, well, you have nowhere to go, and if you can't renew yourself... Vince fires you.

By the way JF, except for Stone Cold, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan and The Rock:
NOBODY EVER MADE 1 MILLION $ IN A YEAR in the WWE/WWF for wrestling. Some may have reached that amount with the PPV's and the merchandising though, but not much.

Totally different story in the defunct WCW where no-names had big contract, but that's why WCW was loosing 10 to 50 millions a year.

Guys now make around 200K $ or maybe 250k $. That's for wrestling, but they have PPV bonuses depending on the rating and the importance of their match on that show (all Vince to decide, there's no chart or official way to calculate that) and they get a % on the stuff the WWE sells with the guys' faces on it.

Booking wrestling should be easy if the characters are "over" (having crowd reaction/attention). Storylines are becoming important when you're booking 2 guys that nobody cares about because you need something to hook people into that match.

Never needed a storyline when The Rock was facing Austin, the 2 biggest names vs each other, 2 clashing attitude, the story is told by itself. In the old days, it was the same, Hogan vs Andre the Giant, no big storyline there. The biggest name ever face a former friend that was never beaten... What will happen? Easy story but how captivating.

Even in the NWA it was that simple, but with the right characters... Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes: The Champ, high profile, rich and living the jet set life guy who gets to the arena in a limosine vs the hard worker, the son of a carpenter from Texas. It sells by itself.

Now, characters aren't "over", guys have no experience and are too young.

In the 80's and early/mid 90's, nobody was reaching the WWE before they get 30 years old and they had 7-10 or even 12 years of experience.

Now, the guys are signed at 21 and they're mostly wrestling for 6 months. Then, another 6 months with the WWE training staff and BANG! On TV right away, playing a character they didn't created themselves.

Like I said, Hogan was Hulk way before the WWE/WWF hires him, same for Macho Man, Ravishing Rick Rude, Ultimate Warrior was the Warrior before etc.

I've seen all those guys on tape in their first year of wrestling... They all sucked. We all suck our first years. But there was places to suck as a rookie before and still earn some money. Now, guys suck right away on National TV and after 2-3 years, they're fired and their career is burned. You know, all you saw from them was crap, you know, first impression never goes away, so for you, that guy will always suck.

When a guy was changing company/territory before, wrestling being what it was, fans were understanding it and erased all they've seen from him where he was before and the guy was accepted as a new guy and he had another first impression. That was the importance of competition between Wrestling companies in developing talent.

Now, pro-wrestling is just like if there was the NHL but no minor hockey (pee-wee to junior) no pro minor leagues and no European pro-leagues too. Beginners already start in the NHL. They would learn to skate, shoot and play goal right away in the NHL on National TV. Would it be fun to watch?

[wyld1]

I totally agree with you, the new talent coming into the WWE are just plain boring & you see that they are still green technically. I mean their best characters & sellers have been around for at least 10 years.

But the new kids suck & need to be schooled Cody Roades, DH Smith are just there because of their dads & who the hell is that Colin Delaney wimp.

[EvilPepe]

I didn't understand why I really haven't been able to watch wrestling over the past six or seven years until reading Chakal's recent posts. I was never more than a casual fan, but I think back to the guys who were my favorites to watch, and they were all journeyman wrestling in Japan one year, Mexico the next, ect.

I saw a local show last year that featured Carlito and Doink the Clown. I had never seen Carlito before, but had been told he was a "star" at the time. He was hands down one of the worst guys there that night, but the only one who had his gimmick on a t-shirt. He just looked like he was going through the motions, and didn't put anything into it. The guy playing Doink at least had the ability to play the crowd (granted I guess thats easier when you are dressed like a clown).

[wyld1]

Actually Doink was around many years ago, I liked him, he was a fun personality.

He hasn't been around for a while, must have come back for a special appearance & ended up battling Carlito, like Piper did lately with another new looser Santino.