Blog Rewind 1: CM Punk

When I was in college and into my first few years as a sports journalist, I sometimes took to writing "columns" using Facebook Notes. Those were discontinued, and while Facebook still keeps a log of it, they take several steps to get to, so I figured it'd be best to re-chronicle some of those writings here.

It seemed fitting to start with CM Punk since he debuted last night in AEW, his first in-ring appearance on a pro wrestling show in over 7 years. I have much more to say about this at a later date, but for now, he's what I wrote about Punk several days after his famous "pipe bomb" promo in the summer of 2011. Facebook says it's a 9-minute read. I've left it unedited, and for the true wrestling fans, please forgive my ignorant slander of Luke Gallows and Serena Deeb. 

CharisMatic Punk breathes life into stale product

A quick note: First off, this is kind of long. Second, I was hoping to add footnotes as not to interrupt the narrative of the article, but I couldn't figure out how (probably because Facebook notes don't allow it). So, there are a lot of thoughts broken up by parentheses. Finally, I read through this many times, and every time I found an error or something I wanted to change. I finally just decided to post it and be done with it, so hopefully it flows smoothly. I think that's all I need to preface this. So, enjoy, and please feel free to share with whomever!

 

SummerSlam, August 17, 2008 — That was the first time I ever saw CM Punk in person. At the time, he was the World Heavyweight Champion and was defending the title against John Bradshaw Layfield. It was a solid match, ending of course when Punk hoisted up JBL on his shoulders and performed the Go To Sleep to retain his championship.

 

Before that night I'd been tuned out of wrestling for quite some time. I checked out shortly after I graduated from high school in 2003. I got sucked back in for a couple years during college when my friend's roommate became addicted, a period in my wrestling fandom highlighted by the 2006 ECW One Night Stand Pay Per View. I fell back out of touch with wrestling sometime during 2007, but when my uncle offered my dad and I the opportunity to go with him and my cousins to SummerSlam at Conseco Fieldhouse, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. When we got the offer a month or so before, I immediately started watching Raw again.

 

This was the first PPV I'd ever had the privilege to attend, and hopefully not the last. It was only fitting since SummerSlam (1991) was what really got me into wrestling in the first place (Bret Hart winning the Intercontinental title from Mr. Perfect is still one of my favorite matches). Of course despite defending the title, Punk wasn't even in the main event. (Batista took on Cena for the first time and Edge and Undertaker fought in a Hell in a Cell. Neither match as for the championship). Still, I was anxious to see this guy who had burst onto the scene, seemingly out of nowhere (I've never really paid much attention to anything other than WWE/WWF, so when someone like Punk or Bryan Danielson shows up, their brand new to me) to win the Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania and eventually take the championship. Could this guy really be a main eventer?

 

I have to say my first impression of Punk was a good one. He held his own with JBL and proved to me that he belonged. Unfortunately, Punk eventually had to forfeit the belt due to "injury", basically fell into obscurity on Raw before winning the MITB again and being moved to Smackdown and out of my realm, since I didn't get the CW, or UPN, or whatever network it used to be on. I still kept up with him on the internet and enjoyed his well-orchestrated heel turn against Jeff Hardy. He followed that up with a short-lived feud against Undertaker in September and October of 2009, and then formed the Straight Edge Sociey. Without being able to watch Smackdown, I never got to follow the SES that much, but it seemed kind of lame to me, only because Festus, er… Luke Gallows, and a bald chick were his only followers. I suppose it's a great tribute to Punk's skills on the mic that the SES lasted as long as it did.

 

He's been a fringe main eventer ever since. I say "fringe" because I've never felt he had a real chance to win the title over the past year and half. That's what made his promo on Raw last week so compelling, because the company went so long without giving him a true push. While I'm convinced that it was a worked shoot (we'll get to this later), there were lots of real elements to it, the same type of real elements that pushed WWE and WCW into the mainstream 15 years ago.

 

As I mentioned, SummerSlam 1991 was the first PPV I ever watched, and I've been into wrestling ever since. When I say that I "tuned out" of wrestling during certain times in my life, what I'm essentially saying is that I no longer made it a point to watch wrestling every Monday. I'd check wwe.com every once in a while to see what was happening and who was holding the titles, but that's pretty much it. Hell, if it wasn't for DVR, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't follow it as closely as I do now. I've always been a WWE/WWF guy, so I didn't watch a whole lot of WCW Nitro during my middle school days until the nWo took form, and even then, Raw took priority unless something really big was going on. I recently purchased the Best of Nitro DVD, and parts of it really make me regret not "jumping ship" in 1996 when Scott Hall and Kevin Nash did. Watching Hall's initial promo on the DVD, I was able to put myself in the place of the fans and announcers in the arena that night, and I couldn't help but be excited for what was to come, even though, with hindsight, I knew full well exactly what was happening.

 

That brings us back to Punk. I joked shortly after the promo on Facebook that maybe someone at WWE had been watching the Nitro DVD and realized that real life stories are far more compelling than the ones they feed us week after week. Really, that's why the Nexus/NXT storyline a year ago was intriguing. The difference between that and Hall's and Punk's promos is that we were all in on the joke. We watch wrestling because it follows a certain script, and for the most part we like that script, and we're contented with it. But when something goes off of that script, that's when we really get sucked in. The Nexus was interesting because it was something new (and could have had even more success had more established superstars been involved). Hall and Punk entertained us because they came out of nowhere as well… except we didn't/don't know exactly what direction it's going to take us.

 

Hall and Nash joined forces to take over WCW when no one knew what their actual agenda was, then they pulled in the most recognizable name of all time and the nWo was formed. We all went a long for the ride and loved (almost) every minute of it. That led to the WWE, in the battle for ratings, letting loose "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Degeneration X to rebel against the sinister Vince McMahon. The rest is history.

 

I think we can all agree that that was professional wrestling at it's apex. The common theme between everything I've just mentioned is that we never really knew what was going to happen next.

 

*********************

 

It's been floating around on the internet the past few months that Punk's contract was up soon, and that he was strongly considering leaving the WWE. From what I read, it seemed like he was just burnt out on wrestling. It's pretty much all the man's been doing for the past few years without ever really getting much time off, so it kind of made sense. I was still sad to hear this since Punk would be the third star to leave in the last nine months (Edge and Jericho being the other two. Sorry, not counting Triple H and Undertaker since I'm 99 percent sure they're fighting at Wrestlemania again next year).

 

Despite being one of then best in the business (arguably THE best), Punk has continually been held back by Vince and the rest of the WWE brass. In fact, it's been 637 days (and counting) since Punk's held a world championship. 21 months. By comparison, John Cena lost the WWE title the same night Punk lost his championship… and Cena's won it four times since then.

 

And right there is the fuel behind Monday's promo. It was real. It was off the cuff. It was exactly what diehard wrestling fans have been thinking for the past several years.

 

"I don't hate you John. I don't even dislike you. I do like you. I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back. I hate this idea that you're the best. Because you're not. I'm the best…. There's one thing that you're better at than I am, and that's kissing Vince McMahon's ass."

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. I've watched this promo at least five times and I've enjoyed it every time. I'm now 99 percent sure that it was a worked shoot. Yes, I think Punk will likely take some time off after Money in the Bank, but there's too many red flags to think that it was a 100 percent real shoot. For starters, they wouldn't have let him go on as long as he did, and he wouldn't have antagonized the people cheering him. Reading the spoilers for Raw on July 4th, it became abundantly clear that it was worked, but I'll let you watch for yourself (knowing that it was filmed immediately following Punk's shoot this past Monday. Spoiler Alert: Punk does not appear not the episode. Of course that's not really a spoiler since he was "suspended indefinitely" and is "effectively terminated" according to the WWE website. The last segment is definitely worth a watch.).

 

The fact that so many people thought it was real (people's comments on twitter were very interesting) and that I questioned it (and even woke up to a text from a friend asking me if it was real or not the next morning) is not only a tribute to Punk's great skill on the mic, but also to someone in the WWE who finally had the balls to do something outside of the box.

 

As I said before, when wrestling was at it's best, it was because it felt real and we never knew what was going to happen next. WCW constantly broke the status quo by having someone join or leave nWo. The problem is that WCW did so many twists and turns that that eventually became the status quo, and it wasn't fun anymore. They kept trying to outdo themselves with even bigger shockers, but eventually the shockers were just stupid (Examples: David Arquette winning the title; DDP losing and winning back the title in the same night).

 

My hope is that Vince McMahon, or someone on the creative team, realized this several years ago. That, coupled with the need for younger viewers, made WWE decide to go PG and essentially make it near impossible to upset the status quo. While this is all probably wishful thinking on my part, I'd like to think that Punk's promo set the stage for a major change in the WWE (even if we never see him after the Money in the Bank PPV July 17). That is to say, just when we were getting lulled to sleep with the PG age of wrestling, they throw us a curveball and make things interesting again.

 

Sure, the Attitude Era isn't coming back, and I don't see them abandoning the PG rating, but it's fun to speculate where it could go. I've actually envisioned an entire nWo-type story line they could run with, even though I'm sure it won't play out like that (this would involve Punk leaving, re-emerging in a few months "without a contract" and joining forces with other fringe main eventers, namely Christian). Regardless, CM Punk got me truly caring about a storyline again, which is fitting since we're less than two months away from the 20th anniversary of me being a wrestling fan. Even if WWE drops the ball on this, at least we'll have a lasting memory of one of the most underrated superstars of all time. Either way, I'll be watching.

Life, Death and Pro Wrestling

The last 24+ hours have been pretty emotional, and it all came to a head last night when, for the first time in my near-30 years as a professional wrestling fan, I was moved to tears.

People often ask me why I still watch pro wrestling. Well, nobody actually asks me that, but I often ask myself and assume other people wonder why as well. I don't usually have an answer. I love it for the storytelling and the sometimes hero-like characters that can be created, but too often recently the weekly television shows lack any creativity or compelling direction one might expect an episodic television show (especially on that's been on for 25 years) to have. It's embarrassing more often than not. Hell, probably 80-90 percent of the time. But I stick with it for moments like Sunday.

My Sundays are normally spent leisurely enjoying my time off after a six-day work week, and yesterday I went see my alma mater, Indiana, play for the first team this season. It was a mostly thrilling basketball game against a ranked Maryland team. The Hoosiers collapsed down the stretch sadly, though I was mostly encouraged by what I saw. Unfortunately that won't be what I'll remember most about that game.

It was 2:35 p.m., early in the second half of the basketball game, when I received a text from a friend that Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. I immediately went to Twitter, and the only thing I saw was the TMZ report, like I'm sure many others did. Time passed, but I really don't know how much. I tried to let the basketball game distract me, but it was difficult to think about much else. Somewhere over the next hour, Kobe's death was confirmed, and I spent the entire ride home from Bloomington trying to find details. It was a bittersweet relief to find out that only one of his daughter's had perished, as initial reports indicated all his kids were with him.

It's weird. I was never a huge Kobe fan. In fact, I really didn't like him at all when I was younger. But I grew to respect his game and I feel privileged that I got to see one of the all-time greats during my lifetime. It's also true that Kobe was no saint. He made his share of mistakes, but he also seemed to be reformed and a dedicated father and husband in his post-retirement. Yet for some reason, his untimely death hit me really hard.

It finally occurred to me yesterday afternoon. All last week I knew the four-year anniversary was coming up of the death of one of my best friends, Luke. Today is the actual anniversary as I'm writing this, and I think Kobe's passing was an all-too real reminder of what Luke's death four years ago showed me: Nothing in this life is guaranteed. Nobody knows when their time will be up, so you have to make the most of what little you have.

In April of 2011, the night after Wrestlemania 27, one of my all-time favorite wrestlers, Edge, unexpectedly announced his retirement. Visibly shaken, Adam Copeland, the man not the TV character, gave an emotional speech about multiple neck surgeries and recent numbness led doctors to recommend retirement out of fear of possible paralysis or even death should he continue. It was a very real moment in an otherwise scripted show. Without getting too deep into my fandom for Edge, one of the things I loved about him was that he was a fan. The way WWE portrayed it (so take this with a grain of salt), he appeared to be one of the biggest fan-turned-superstar that the company has ever had. Copeland was even in attendance at Wrestlemania 6 in Toronto to watch Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior. In March of 2012, Edge went into the WWE Hall of Fame, and for all intents and purposes, his career was over.

The Royal Rumble has always been one of my favorite wrestling Pay-Per-Views, and part of that is because its known for having at least one or two surprise returns. The returns are sometimes underwhelming, but if the WWE can keep a secret under wraps, the unexpected returns can provide great memories. Rumors had been circulating that Edge had been cleared by doctors to compete again and that the Royal Rumble was where he'd make his triumphant return.

I have to be honest though, after an emotional day that included a celebrity death, the highs and lows of IU basketball, reflecting on a friends' death, and numbing my brain with 3 ½ hours of mindless pro wrestling, my favorite wrestler making a big comeback was not near the forefront of my brain. His music hit, my jaw hit the floor, and the crowd reaction gave me goosebumps. By the time he walked through his trademark smoke, the emotion on his face was plain to see, and my eyes welled with tears. Had I been alone, those tears may have turned to sobs.

(Edge's return)

Here was a guy who got to live his life-long dream of becoming a professional wrestler, only to have that dream cut short in the prime of his career. Now he's back. There are rumors of a new three-year contract for the Rated-R Superstar, but it's impossible to say how true that is at this point, or if it'll even be in a wrestling capacity. If nothing else, it seems likely he'll at least have a Wrestlemania match in a couple months, but who knows?

And that's just it. Who knows what's next for any of us? If the last 24 hours have taught me anything, it's that we need to make the best of what we have while we have it, because nothing is certain. It's a lesson that I think everyone knows, but unfortunately, sometimes I think we need a reminder.  

Wearing my heart on my sleeve: A salute to No. 87

As a fan, football jerseys have always seemed more practical to me than wearing any other sports uniform to represent my favorite team. Baseball jerseys are too expensive, basketball jerseys don’t have sleeves, and hockey jerseys are sweaters.

To me, football jerseys are a perfect representation of what kind of fan you are. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I’m pretty meticulous when deciding which players I want to represent in my jersey wearing. There are three main things I look for: 1) Someone that plays an important role, 2) someone that’s going to be around awhile, and 3) and someone that not many others own.

Naturally, there are some star players that everyone owns, but you still have break down and buy them because you know they’re going to be the face of the franchise for years to come (see: Andrew Luck). But for the most part, I try to be different. Certainly they can’t all be winners. Sometimes talents fizzle out, and sometimes players just leave through free agency. I’m embarrassed to admit the players I’ve whiffed on, but when you pick the right guy, it’s pretty satisfying.

I’m happy to say I’ve picked out the right guy for the Colts on three different occasions. One of those, Antoine Bethea, left Indy prior to last season, but I got four good seasons of wearing that jersey before his exit. The second, Robert Mathis, I didn’t wear last season because of his injury, but I look forward to dusting it off this upcoming season.

The third, and most significant to me, is Reggie Wayne.

It might surprise some fans to know that there was a time when Reggie was the furthest thing from being a franchise guy, a time where No. 87 was almost nowhere to be found at Lucas Oil Stadium (and previously the RCA Dome). While tailgating as recently as 2008, Reggie’s eighth season in the league, I hollered at multiple fans wearing Marvin Harrison jerseys for not supporting our other top receiver. I believe it was something to the effect of, “I love Marvin, but Reggie is where it’s at!”

I think I only saw two No. 87s that day, not counting the one playing on the field and the one on my back. By that time, I was already in my sixth season of wearing my Reggie Wayne Jersey.

I think it goes without saying that it’s pretty fun to be a season ticket holder. My brother bought me Colts season tickets as a graduation present in 2003 and, as a family, we’ve been fortunate enough to get enough money together to continue being season tickets ever since.

One of the most interesting things is forming relationships with the fans that sit around you, often times without even knowing their names. Anyone who made it to a Colts game with me in the RCA Dome likely remembers the two guys that sat behind us, who I affectionately called, “The Drunk Redneck” and “The Australian Guy.” I’m not sure what they called me when just talking among themselves, but at the dome, they called me “Wayne.”

I got my Reggie Wayne jersey for Christmas in 2003, and I wore it to nearly every game for the next three seasons. I obviously wore it often enough to garner a nickname. At the time, Reggie was still somewhat of an afterthought. He was drafted by the team in 2001 and became, at best, the fourth most important player on the offense for his first few seasons. Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James were already major cogs of an offensive juggernaut and, it could be argued, that linemen Tarik Glenn and Jeff Saturday were even more important. Reggie didn’t even catch a touchdown pass a rookie (admittedly, I just discovered this).

Reggie had a good season in his third year, but he really broke out in 2004 when Manning broke the single-season touchdown record.  Even then, I remember seeing more Brandon Stokley jerseys in the stands than Reggie’s.

The crossroads for Reggie came prior to the 2006 season. He and fellow Miami alum Edge were both free agents, and it was clear the Colts could only keep one of them. Since we had Marvin, I assumed keeping Edge was a no-brainer, but the higher ups made the tough decision, and what proved to be the right one. On Feb. 23, 2006, Reggie Wayne became a Colts lifer.

Obviously he cemented his legacy with the impactful years that followed, and I’m not going to rattle off a list of stats that you could easily find with a quick google search. And yes, there’s still the chance he could sign with someone else to close out his career. But like Peyton Manning, Dwight Freeney and a few others before them, Reggie is a legend in Indianapolis.

If Reggie really just wants to hang on for one more year, it’s incredibly sad that the Colts couldn’t find a way to make it work. I honestly don’t think anyone is more upset about this than me. Reggie was THE player that supported for years. My email and other usernames exist because of Reggie. After I graduated from IU, I needed a new email and rjlopez was taken, so I wanted to come up with a significant number to tag on it. I chose 587. 5 for then-Cardinal great Albert Pujols and the number of IU national championships, and 87 for the last national title IU won... and of course, Reggie. 

But unfortunately he couldn't stay. It’s the nature of the business. Maybe Reggie’s departure leaves enough cap space to sign the one or two players that bring the Colts a Super Bowl in the coming years. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway.

I wanted to cap this off by counting down Reggie’s top five or even top 10 plays, but after watching some highlights, there are really just too many to try to condense into a short list. Instead, here are my three favorite Reggie moments.

3. The Near Fumble

The Colts were in the middle of what became the defining drive of the Peyton Manning era, and it almost didn’t happen. Reggie caught a pass over the middle and ran for extra yards when the ball suddenly popped out of his grasp as he was being tackled. After going about three feet above his head, somehow the ball miraculously fell back into Reggie’s hands, and he went to the ground. The rest, as they say, is history.

2. The Comeback

Another come-from-behind victory against the Patriots. This one certainly wasn’t as big as the first comeback victory against New England, but aside from Peyton’s return to Indy, this was the best Colts game I’ve ever been to. We trailed the entire game, and it was a three-possession game in the fourth quarter. For most this game is known as the “4^th-and-2” game, but I’ll always remember it for Reggie hauling in the game winning catch. It was also a valuable lesson in never leaving a game early. I was there for all of it, but I can’t deny that I considered leaving a few times.

1. The Super Bowl

I felt very confident going into Super Bowl XLI, but after Devin Hester took the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and Peyton threw an interception, I had a brief moment of doubt. That all went away when Peyton avoided the pressure, the Bears had a breakdown in the secondary, and Reggie got loose for a wide-open touchdown reception. I’ll never forget his fist pump celebration, and how (despite missing the extra point) I knew we were going to win the game after that score.

Thanks for the memories, Reggie. I can’t wait until No. 87 is in the ring of honor. 

Wrestlemania XXX: The Coronation of Daniel Bryan

Tuesday January 28, 2014 was probably my lowest point as a wrestling fan. Sure, there are plenty of ugly days in wrestling history, but to reference an old storyline, January 28 was when I “lost my smile.”

In case you need a refresher, that was the day it become public knowledge that CM Punk left the WWE, and there was no return in sight.

While this in itself wasn’t horrible news (though it was pretty bad), it came on the heels of Daniel Bryan stealing the show in his match with Bray Wyatt two nights prior at the Royal Rumble, yet he was left out of the actual rumble match. While I never really expected him to be in the match, friends that I watched the rumble with and so many fans online seemed to expect it, that I started thinking it was possible.

Of course, Bryan wasn’t in the rumble, a returning Batista won the thing, and we were (apparently) left with the Wrestlemania main event of Batista vs. Orton: the match that no one wanted to see… except for the higher-ups in the company.

You see, wrestling is full of cynical fans, but I’ve always thought of myself as a pretty optimistic fan. Even though I know better, I often let myself believe that things are heading or could still head in a positive direction. But in the Royal Rumble aftermath, there was no optimism to be had. The “Road to Wrestlemania” had a seven-car pile up blocking the way.

A lot of the fan cynicism has to do with the fact that the WWE has a monopoly over the business. During the Monday night wars, the business thrived because there were two companies competing for viewers, and they had to keep giving people what the wanted. Now that there’s only one show around, what’s “best for business” isn’t always what the fans want to see.

We live in a day in age where EVERYONE has a voice on the internet, and it appears that many people with a voice choose to use that voice to complain. I understand most of the complaints of the fans, and agree with many. Still, I’ve tried to stay optimistic and read as little online as I can…. But the Royal Rumble aftermath sent me to a new low. I vowed that I would never spend another dime on the product until either Punk returned or Bryan won the title (Of course, I bought the WWE Network… but this feels justified simply because if/when the current product sucks, I’m forced to reflect on when the shows were much more watchable)

Of course, everything seems to have worked out now with Bryan primed to earn a spot in the main event and likely claim the championship. My optimism has been restored (for now). But before I discuss Daniel Bryan, let’s look at the rest of the main events for the show.

In the WWE World Heavyweight title match you have long-time friends turned long-time rivals, who were part of one of the most unique factions in the modern era, squaring off, joined by a small, unlikely wrestler who, in real-life had learned his trade through apprenticeships around the world and made his way to WWE, finally getting his shot at the most significant wrestling title in the world, at the biggest event of the year. In doing so, he’s challenging the establishment—a pair of guys who between the two of them, had dominated the WWE main event scene for nearly a decade.

Then there’s a non-title match that features the company’s biggest name going against a “bad guy” that threatens to tear down his legacy, and for whatever reason seems to be getting cheered by half the fans. This heel has taken the company by storm over the past eight months and could be the company’s next breakout star.

Then you have the Undertaker putting his streak on the line.

OK, I admit the last one is kind of cheap, but in case you hadn’t figured it out, I was actually describing some ‘Mania main events from the past. The first one is the triple threat title match at Wrestlemania XX between HHH, HBK and Chris Benoit. The second is Bret Hart vs. “Stonecold” Steve Austin. And of course, Undertaker’s streak has been a major storyline for about a decade now.

I mention these past matches because 1) wrestling is and always has been a repetitive/copycat business. Even the most compelling stories have been told before in some form or another. And 2) I’d like to examine what those previous stories can tell us about this year’s main events.

John Cena vs Bray Wyatt

Some will argue that this isn’t a main event, but don’t kid yourself. If we learned anything from CM Punk’s 434 day title reign, it’s that if John Cena is involved in a match, that match is a main event.

I’m actually really looking forward to this one. While most fans in my demographic (male 18-35) hate Cena, I’ve learned to tolerate him.  His character is definitely stale, he’s not what you would call a technically sound wrestler and I’m far from being a fan, but he has shown in the past that he’s capable of putting on a great match given the right opponent. I believe Wyatt is the right opponent.

Not only do I expect this to be a solid match, but I also see Wyatt coming out with a clean win. Yes, Super Cena loses on the “Grandest Stage of them All” for the third time in four years.  Think about it, next to Bryan, Wyatt is the fastest rising star in the company, and a loss means nothing to Cena. Besides (spoiler alert), a “heel” has to win one of the main matches, and I just don’t see it happening in any of the others. I’m also hoping the loss sends Cena into a downward spiral that actually gives his character some depth… but even I’m not THAT much of an optimist (Cena’s character evolving? What a novel idea!).

Naturally I don’t expect there to be a double turn like we saw in Hart/Austin, but I do see this match catapulting Wyatt into stardom like it did for Austin, though obviously not quite the same level.

Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar

The WWE…..er, I should say… Paul Heyman has done an outstanding job of making me actually care a little bit about this match. With his one-match-per-year schedule, Taker should have his A-game, and Lesnar has been pretty entertaining in his part-time matches since his return almost two years ago, so the match should be high quality.

But let’s be honest, there’s NO WAY the streak falls. My guess is this plays out a lot like the first (technically second) HHH-Taker match. Lesnar dominates for the majority, and Taker uses his last gasp to lock-in the Hell’s Gate and make the former UFC star tap at “The Showcase of the Immortals.” (Have I used all the Wrestlemania clichés yet?)

Andre The Giant 30-man Battle Royal

This seems pretty wide open, and in the grand scheme, I doubt this match ends up meaning too much. But I’m a sucker for a trophy that means nothing aside from “bragging rights” (a la King of the Ring) and potential spin-off angles. Anyway, I could see any number of guys winning this, but for argument’s sake, my pick is Sheamus…. Or an unannounced “surprise” participant like RVD or Jericho.

Triple H/Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton

I never believed it would actually get to this point until about a month ago, but now it seems Bryan is destined to take the title at Wrestlemania XXX. The success of the WWE Network depends on it, and the network was a big gamble… they HAVE TO send the fans home happy.

I don’t pretend to believe that the WWE planned this all along, but for the fun of it, I’ve decided to take it a look at the “slow build” of Daniel Bryan getting to this point.

To me, Bryan’s ascension started two years ago at Wrestlemania XXVIII. Bryan entered as the World Heavyweight champion and had somewhat of a cult following. Nearly 80,000 fans chanted “Yes!” along with Bryan as he hopped down the aisle to defend the title against Sheamus in the show’s opening bout.

Bryan dropped the belt in 18 seconds, and many fans were appalled, including myself.

In reality, the quick end was probably the best thing that could have happened for Bryan. The internet fans started to believe Bryan was never going to get a fair shake as a main-event player, and the casual fans soon followed. The “Yes Movement” had begun.

He was then paired with Kane in what started out as a comedy routine. That evolved into a highly entertaining tag team, which gave Bryan not only the fan support, but it also allowed him to showcase his skill to the casual viewer.

His popularity grew to an all-time high last summer, and finally he won the title from Cena at Summerslam…. Only to be screwed out of it by the Authority. The angle that played out over the following months was fascinating from the standpoint that carried out a real-life story as on on-air storyline (the story being that Bryan is only a “B+ player” and not good enough to be the face of the company), but the execution was horrendous.

Pay-Per-View after Pay-Per-View ended horribly, and it seemed Bryan was destined as an upper mid-carder when Big Show as given a title match and Bryan was inserted into a feud with the Wyatts…. But then something very unexpected happened. WWE actually started listening to their fans!

I believe that when Punk quit, the WWE had little idea what they were going to do with the Wrestlemania card, aside from the Taker/Lesnar match. The constant CM Punk chants despite his absence, the “Yes!” chants and the boos for Batista that coincided with the upcoming launch of the WWE Network, the company knew it had to do something. They FINALLY had to give the fan something to be happy about.

And with that, plans were set in motion. Bryan got screwed out of the title again at Elimination Chamber. While my friends were once again pissed by the outcome, I came out of that PPV with a small sense of satisfaction.

While the match was certainly disappointing, the post-match commentary was completely centered around how Bryan was repeatedly getting screwed, and while the past had given me little reason for optimism, I felt like they were laying the groundwork for Bryan to make his way into the title match at Wrestlemania.

And now, here we are. Of course, Bryan has to beat Triple H first, but it’s just a formality. It’s likely that that match will end with some sort of shenanigans. Either Hunter cheats to win, and our host Hulk Hogan restarts the match (if precedent holds, The Rock was the host at Wrestlemania three years ago and somehow had the authority to restart the WWE title match)… or maybe there’s a draw and both men end up in the title match.

Either way, it’s difficult to imagine Bryan not holding up both belts at the end of the show as everyone at the Superdome in New Orleans chants “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

It’s amazing what a difference two months can make.

More than just a quarterback

(This column ran in the Oct. 19, 2013 edition of the Vincennes Sun-Commercial newspaper. I chose to post it here so I would be able to keep some personal record of it, but also because I have friends that do not have the newspaper readily available to them.)


I'll never forget the first copy of ESPN the Magazine that I bought. The cover was graced with half of Peyton Manning's face and half of Ryan Leaf's face, the two quarterbacks that were vying to be the top pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. I bought the issue specifically because the Colts held the No. 1 pick, and one of these two would, presumably, be the face of my team for the next decade plus. I don't remember any specific details, but I remember reading the cover story and thinking that Peyton Manning was a lock to be the first choice. 

I never thought I'd be rooting against Peyton.

That's why I don’t know how I’m going to feel when I walk into Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday. My family and I have had Colts season tickets for over 10 years now, and I’ve been to more than my fair share of big games. I’ve seen classic quarterback duels, come-from-behind victories and playoff games, but nothing comes close to comparing to what I’ll witness tonight.

I’ve been thinking about this game for over a year now, ever since the moment I heard Denver would be playing in Indianapolis. Peyton's coming back to the Circle City to play against the franchise he helped build into a perennial contender for over a decade (That's how it is to be a Colts fan, more specifically a season ticket holder, by the way. We've had such a intimate relationship with our quarterback for so long that we're on a first-name basis with him.). Clearly I have some bias, but to me this matchup is unprecedented.

Sure, many athletes have left the franchises with which they were once synonymous and later came back to play against those teams, especially quarterbacks.

The closest example of a future Hall of Fame quarterback playing against his former team was in 1994 when Joe Montana, then with the Kansas City Chiefs, took on his former teammates from San Francisco. Like the Colts, the 49ers had a young stud (Steve Young,  a future Hall of Famer) ready to take control, so it was easy to let Montana leave. However, that game took place in Kansas City. There was no homecoming for Montana.

The next example that jumps to mind is when Brett Favre left the Packers in 2008 and ended up with division rival Minnesota after a mediocre season in New York.  But that situation doesn’t even compare, in my opinion, for two main reasons. The first is that Favre left Green Bay on pretty bad terms.

Favre left his team in limbo while trying to decide whether or not to continue his career or head for retirement. The Packers, much like the 49ers, had a credible back up quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who was ready to become the face of the franchise, and ultimately Green Bay decided to cut the chord. While many fans were initially upset with the decision, the prevailing sentiment was that Favre was being selfish with his indecisive waffling.

But the biggest difference between the two situations is that Packers franchise was already one of the flagship franchises of the NFL. Before Favre, the Packers had 11 NFL championships (Super Bowls I and II, and nine pre-Super Bowl titles). Aside from a few quality years from Eric Dickerson and a brief, loveable underdog run with "Captain Comeback" Jim Harbaugh, the Indianapolis Colts were a perennial loser.
Peyton put Indianapolis on the football map.

While the Colts have a considerable amount of history, the vast majority of that history took place in Baltimore. Considering owner Robert Irsay left a bad taste in the mouths of many NFL fans when he snuck the team out of Baltimore in the middle of the night in late March of 1984, it’s no wonder many people didn’t believe Indianapolis to be a true football city.

Peyton changed all of that.

Several years ago in this space I mentioned a conversation I had with some college friends in the Fall of 2003 where I argued that Indianapolis was not a football town. For starters, I argued, the Colts had little to no history in the city. At the time, Peyton had had some success, but his first four seasons included a 32-32 regular season record and two disappointing playoff losses. 

The other argument I made was that Indiana was a basketball state. Despite Reggie Miller being in the twilight of his career, the Pacers owned the city, and basketball seemed destined to be the king sport forever.

Fourteen months after that debate, the Pacers gave the NBA (along with several unsuspecting fans in Detroit) a black eye, and all but a few diehards turned away from what was once Indianapolis's premier sports team. Where would they turn? Who would be the face of the city, and essentially the state?

Peyton made things pretty easy. Even though the Colts suffered two infamous playoff losses in New England, Peyton gave every sports fan a reason to believe. While members of the media and non-Colts fans questioned Peyton's clutch status, we Colts fans were content knowing that our team would put up at least 10 wins (it ended up being seven straight seasons of at least 12 wins) and be in contention every season.

Say what you want about Peyton's lack of success in the postseason —and if you've paid any attention to the news this weak, you know Colts owner Jim Irsay has— but speaking from experience, it's pretty fun to know that your team is going to be in the playoffs every year.

I could go on and on about Peyton's accomplishments in Indianapolis, but much of that wouldn't be anything you couldn't find by doing a quick Google search. What you may not find is that perhaps his greatest accomplishment is capturing the hearts of fans everywhere, and that's not limited to the state of Indiana. 

Five years ago I visited some friends in Houston who happened to be youth ministers. In their youth group was an 8-year-old boy who just so happened be a Colts fan. Why? Because of Peyton Manning. Last year, I went to Kansas City to watch the Colts take on the then-lowly Chiefs. I talked to about 20 other Colts fans who happened to be in attendance, and not one of them was from the state of Indiana.

The point is that the Indianapolis Colts matter, not just to a small fan base in the midwest like they did 15 years ago, but across the sports world. We have Peyton to thank for that.

So who wins Sunday's game? Perhaps the better question is, who will the fans be rooting for? For me, it's a no-brainer. I'm a firm believer that a sports fan picks his or her team and sticks with it. But while there's a part of me that will undoubtedly get the urge to scoff at every orange No. 18 jersey I see walking around downtown tonight, I understand. I'm extremely grateful for everything Peyton has done, and given everything I've just written, it's not surprising, nor is it wrong that some fans will choose to root for him this evening.

No matter what the outcome, the majority of fans will likely head home happy this evening. Either the young upstart Andrew Luck (Yes, there are two quarterbacks playing tonight) knocks of the old dog, or Peyton continues his torrid pace and gets some bragging rights. 

Regardless, the fans of Indianapolis deserve to see Peyton play one last time, and if there were ever a time where the player was more important than the team, this is it. That is what makes this game, and ultimately Peyton Manning's relationship with this franchise, so special.

Indiana Football and My Fading Optimism

As the Indiana Hoosiers begin another football season this evening, a season that is sure to be mediocre at best, I find it hard to be optimistic. 

I'm a Hoosier through and through, and I will ALWAYS support the Cream and Crimson. I always joked that Indiana basketball was 70% of the reason I opted to go to school there (20% partying, the other 10% for an education, if you must know), and truthfully that assessment wasn't that far off. I grew up an IU basketball fan, and since I got my degree from there, that fandom has definitely grown. It's surely grown by how much I care about IU basketball, but it's also grown in every other sport.

Any time Indiana has success in a sport, I feel I have reason to cheer. Soccer was great last year, and I can't wait to see if the baseball team can build off this past season's historic run. Football is no exception, despite there often being very little to cheer about. Hell some of my fondest memories of being a student are because of football. Most of them are from tailgating before (and sometimes after) the games, but regardless, I LOVE Indiana football. I will always root for them, regardless of whether or not the success ever comes.

I've always tried to be optimistic with this team, but but let's be honest. When looking at the IU schedule this year, it seems highly improbable that it will win a road game (Michigan St., Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio St.), which means the Hoosiers must go at least 7-1 at "The Rock" this season in order to assure themselves a bowl bid. While this is far from unlikely, I've been let down by this team too many times to even remember over the past 10 seasons, so putting it nicely, I'll say I'm skeptical, at best,  that this will happen.

Say what you will about me letting myself even get sucked in in the first place, but that's what we do as sports fans. We're hopeless romantics who keep thinking that things will turn around. Talk to any Cubs fan, and I imagine you'll hear a similar tune. I talked myself into potential bowl appearances every year I was in college, and the Hoosiers only made it one of those years... and even THAT took a fourth-quarter field goal to get there.... and we promptly got blasted by Oklahoma St. once we made it (at least I witnessed the greatest IU football moment —video below— in the past 25 years... maybe ever. RIP Coach Hep). I even bought into the hiring of Kevin Wilson... and he's won five games in two seasons. Rooting for IU football is a constant kick in the groin.

That's why I'm keeping my guard up this year. I'll watch every game, and I'll root for the Hoosiers, but I'd be content with a 6-6 season. If 6-6 sounds optimistic, please consider that IU has home games against fellow bottom tier conference teams Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue, not to mention a non-conference slate with home games against Indiana St., Ball St. and Navy. Anything less than 6-6 could mean a new head coach for the Hoosiers in 2014

But please, don't feel sorry for me. I've got the Cardinals, who seemed primed for another postseason run and are only two years removed from a championship. I've got the Colts, who should have a decade of Andrew Luck at the helms. And I've got the Thunder, who should be contenders as long as Durant and Westbrook are together. I think I'll be OK.

Still, it's never easy to root for a perennial loser. At some point the Hoosiers have to turn it around... right? I just don't think this is the year.

The Long Road Back

Cody Zeller made two free throws. Victor Oladipo hit a 3-pointer. Yogi Ferrell buried one from deep, then another. Oladipo added two more, Christian Watford tallied the Hoosiers fourth jumper from beyond the arc and Zeller got another easy two. Just like that Indiana jumped out to a 18-7 lead against No. 1 Michigan last Saturday night. At that moment, what I had suspected and hoped to be true for over a year was finally (in my mind) confirmed. Indiana University basketball was back.

You might be thinking that I’m a little late to the party on making this statement, and based on T-shirt sales, there’s no question you’d be right. I’m not sure whether it was when Zeller announced he’d attend IU several years ago, if it was at the beginning of last season, or when Watford made Hoosier Nation flood McCracken Court last December. Whenever it was, some wise man in Bloomington decided it was a great idea to start printing shirts that said, “We’re Back,” and now a quick Google search will show you there are at least five different variations of this shirt.

 

Seeing those shirts nearly everywhere (it’s still nearly impossible to watch a game without seeing at least one in the crowd) got me to thinking about what “We’re back” means and what exactly have we been coming back from? For me, those questions are trickier than you might think. On the surface, I’m sure most people think “We’re back” means that the dark years, plagued by the lingering shadows of Kelvin Sampson’s tenure, are over. While this is partially true, I’d like to go back even further.

On September 10, 2000 I walked out of the RCA Dome after a tough Colts loss to hear even worse news: Indiana had fired Bobby Knight. Before Sampson came along, this was probably the darkest day in IU basketball history. Still, while Coach Knight is a living legend in the Hoosier state, his last six seasons in his classic crimson sweater are pretty forgettable. While the Hoosiers reached 19+ wins in all of those seasons, they exited the tournament in the first round four times and were one-and-done in the other two seasons. So, are the Hoosiers “back” to where they were before Knight got fired? I’d still go back even further.

Twenty years ago Indiana went 31-4, and though the Hoosiers bowed out to Kansas just before reaching the Final Four, it was still a pretty successful season. That season the Hoosiers won their seventh Big Ten title in 14 seasons, they were the top-ranked team in the nation heading into the tournament and they were only six seasons removed from winning a National Championship. 

That was also the last time the Indiana basketball program really, truly mattered on a national level. And to me, that’s what “we’re back” from: irrelevancy.

It’s a bitter (and humbling) pill to swallow, but I have to admit it. Indiana didn’t matter to the rest of the country for nearly 20 years. Sure there were some hiccups of relevance during that time. Hell, I lived a lot of it.

I’ll never forget in 2001 when the Hoosiers knocked off No. 1 Michigan State at Assembly Hall. I remember because I slept through most of the game (although I can’t remember why), but woke up just in time to see Kirk Haston drain a 3-pointer to give Indiana the win. That win gave me the confidence to proclaim that with Haston in his fourth season and Jared Jeffries in his second, the Hoosiers could win it all in 2002 (Seriously, I did). Despite Haston unexpectedly, and foolishly, leaving for the NBA, the Hoosiers nearly made my premonition come true.  With the unforgettable play of guys like Tom Coverdale, Dane Fife,  Kyle Hornsby, A.J. Moye, Jeff Newton,  and even, to a lesser extent, Jared Odle and George Leach, Jeffries got the Hoosiers to the championship game before faltering against Maryland. No IU fan will ever forget beating No. 1 Duke on Kentucky’s home floor during that run.  Still, I couldn’t help but get the impression that the rest of the country was thinking, “Aww, how cute. Indiana thinks they can play with the big boys.” It’s actually pretty similar to what many thought of Notre Dame’s run to the national title game this past football season, but I digress.

Coach Mike Davis followed that run with a second-round tournament dismissal and two literal tournament no-shows. 

(Quick tangent: Am I the only one that thinks “What if” every time I see the Atlanta Hawks’ Josh Smith play on TV? Few people seem to remember that Smith, who would have been a freshman in the 04-05 season, was Davis’ top recruit before he declared for the draft. While many expected him to opt for the pros instead of making an appearance in Bloomington, I can’t help but wonder how Davis, and thus the subsequent hire of Sampson, would have played out. Would Smith’s talent have given Davis another 20-win season or two? Probably. Does this buy him another two or three plus years in Bloomington? I’d think so, but then what? I feel like this is one of the biggest “What ifs” regarding IU basketball in the past 20 years that no one seems to talk about.)

Me, Lyndsey, J, and Steve-o at the IU/Duke game.

Davis’ last season in Bloomington started with some promise, highlighted by a near-upset of top-ranked Duke in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, before the team fizzled in conference play and Davis graciously resigned before IU had the option to fire him. I remember this season specifically because I was a student at IU, and I was lucky enough to sit 10 rows from the court for the Duke game. I’ll never forget Marco Killingsworth throwing down a game-tying dunk just before the eight-minute timeout. Unfortunately for Killingsworth, and Hoosier Nation, his career was all downhill from that moment on. I'll also remember that season for this music video.

On March 29, 2006, I was sitting in Doc Sailes’  “Sports and the African-American Experience” class in Woodburn Hall with my buddy Steve-o when I got a text saying Kelvin Sampson would be the next Indiana coach. It sounds so stupid now, but I was excited. I knew IU wasn’t the high-profile job that most fans thought it should be, but I was naïve enough to believe that Sampson was a highly credible guy. At that point, it seemed like we were on our way back.

Look, it’s easy to say now how much of a scum bag Sampson is/was, but no Hoosier fan can tell me they weren’t excited when they heard the news that Eric Gordon was coming to Bloomington. Unfortunately I let that one bright spot convince me that Sampson could do know wrong. I turned a blind eye to the accusations that came out before the season started, and I sat back and enjoyed the ride as it seemed like this was finally the time when we were getting back to national relevancy. I mean, we did have the best freshman (Gordon) and the best big man (D.J. White) in the conference. It really seemed that a deep tournament run was on the way.

Then, naturally the week that College Gameday was coming to Bloomington, the shit hit the fan. I got to Assembly Hall at 7:30 a.m. to wait in line for Gameday, and was appalled when they spent the first 10 minutes of the show talking about Sampson’s violations. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t appalled because I thought the allegations were false. By this time, I had pretty much expected the season to end badly. I was appalled because, before the season started, this game, on the national stage, was supposed to be our moment to announce that “We’re back.”

You know what happened next, so I’ll skip ahead to the day Tom Crean was hired. I really don’t have any specific memories of this, because even though Crean said and did all the right things, my heart was broken by the Sampson-era. I felt like such an idiot for getting sucked in by Sampson, it was difficult to trust anyone who followed him. I was still an IU fan, but I had to keep my guard up.

Coach Crean's autograph

Those three down years are all kind of a blur. Crean’s first season was my last as a student. I remember going to Hoosier Hysteria and getting my “Crean & Crimson” shirt signed by Coach Crean. I remember Daniel Moore playing WAY too much, and being optimistic seeing the team improve while he played less. I remember Verdell Jones III being “The Man” and taking all the big shots when everyone else was scared to take them. I remember my first game as a non-student when we upset Michigan at Assembly Hall, and I remember a two weeks later when Crean got his first win over a ranked opponent, No. 20 Illinois.

The rest of the story has been written a thousand times by this point. Cody Zeller commits. Other top recruits follow. Watford hits the shot. Indiana beats No. 1 Kentucky. “We’re back.”

I’ve been meaning to write some or most of this for about four months, and have never really been motivated until now. Everything clicked Saturday night. The spotlight was shining bright on Bloomington, and the Hoosiers answered the call. It was the first time I truly believed we could win a National Championship this season. Having that belief, not only by a team's fans, but by college basketball fans across the country, year in and year out is what dictates national relevance to me. Duke gets that every year. Kentucky and Kansas have it. Though down this year, you'd be foolish not to expect North Carolina back near the top next season. Michigan State, and now probably Michigan, is on that level too. So are the Hoosiers.

I should actually rephrase my previous statement. I had previously thought we could win it all, but was under the impression that we’d have to catch some lucky breaks on the way there. Now, I’m confident that if we play our best game, we can and should beat anybody. Why can’t we? I mean, we’re back, right?