Cheap Seats: Odds and Ends (Miro wanting his release and KO’s contract expiring)
Years ago I wrote a column for a now defunct horror website. My writing process was simple. As I would get an idea or inspiration I would toss it on “paper” and expand on it. Sometimes I would have enough material I felt comfortable posting it, other times I would see the idea just doesn’t work, and other times there just wasn’t enough material. So I developed what I would call Odd and Ends. Just brief thoughts on workable ideas that may not constitute an entire piece, and that’s what this is; Odds and Ends.
To begin with
KO and Miro
Big news breaking this week on Miro wanting his release and KO’s contract expiring.
Owens isn’t going anywhere. Owens is a vital part of what’s going on in WWE. Owens has quietly become one of the most important names to the WWE roster. He’s over whether he wants to be a face or a heel. He’s good on the mic, good in the ring. He can fight for a midcard title without really taking a step back. It wouldn’t surprise anyone to see KO walk out of a PLE as World Champion. He can put over young talent on the way up without losing any of what makes him KO. He is to Smackdown what Sami is to Raw. WWE won’t let that go and will pay KO what he’s worth to keep him.
Miro is another story. I think Miro has talent. He never caught on with me in WWE, but I understood why people loved him. When he went to AEW I felt he did the best work of his career as “God’s Favorite Champion”. I became a Miro guy. The problem with AEW though, love them or hate them, they haven’t been very kind to big men (just ask Wardlow).
But is there a spot for Miro in WWE? I wouldn’t be shocked to see a return, but I don’t think he works in the current WWE landscape. Bron Breaker, Braun Strowman, Jacob Fatu, Oba Femi, Bronson Reed, all are the “monster” type characters that Miro plays. You can only have so many guys being pushed as the unstoppable force. At best Miro plays the gatekeeper (the role I think Strowman is playing right now); kept strong enough to make a win over him matter, but ultimately there to put over someone like Breaker.
Two Hours vs Three Hours
Less is more. People are on limited time, there are so many quick fix options for the consumer to watch, and some people really just don’t need the air time. A three hour show means I have to suffer through failing storylines/pushes that have no allure to me. I mean really; if cutting down to two hours means I no longer have to suffer through this Karrion Kross faction or see Ivar on my screen again, then I fully support it.
While personally I’d prefer a two hour show, though, why not go with three hours? The die hard fans are going to watch it whether it’s two hours or three. Others will do like I often do; record it or watch the Hulu replay and fast forward through the parts that don’t appeal to them. From a business standpoint three hours makes perfect sense. Three hours is more advertising dollars, more air time to feature more names, and the longer the show is on the more likely someone is to randomly check out the product.
Given all of that I’ve noticed something with Raw. When Raw is good, three hours flies by. Right now WWE is on a roll and I find myself on Monday night glancing at the clock and not believing it’s already the main event, the time has flown by. When Raw is bad? Three hours for Raw seems like it’s never going to end. So it is a double edged sword.
Division in Wrestling
I’m going to start by saying that while I can make no promises, too many people write about the division in wrestling, which oddly enough only creates more division. So I want to say what I have to say on the topic here, now, then move on from the topic and try not to revisit this again.
This division and “us and them” mentality in wrestling is nonsense. I’m in my mid-40s. I grew up during the Monday Night Wars. During the Monday Night Wars I was also finding the IWC. I was a part of message boards, in ICQ chats. There were the WCW die-hards and the WWF/E loyalists, and there was a little bit of good-spirit poking, but most people were consuming both products and wanted both to succeed. As long as WCW and WWE were competing, the fans prospered. Each week both shows brought their A game trying to get the viewer to change that dial.
Now everything is us and them. But this isn’t just a wrestling problem, this is our current culture. Just look at our political landscape. There is no middle anymore, no one crosses the aisle. Having a sane conversation with someone with opposing political views is rarely seen.
What both sides of this need to understand is that WWE and AEW need each other. As long as we have both it creates a better wrestling ecosystem. AEW needs WWE to succeed because it’s a global brand, has farther reach, and better brand recognition. If WWE is hot and successful, then wrestling is hot and successful. I don’t mean with the IWC, we will watch no matter what, I mean with the casual fan. WWE brings eyes to wrestling in general. But at the same time, WWE needs AEW, because an alternative on a major cable network and deep pockets means that it’s crap or get off the pot for WWE. It forces WWE to try to find the right story/character for talent to help them find better success. Triple H of all people, being a WCW cast off, understands that.
This isn’t the Monday Night Wars, it never was. AEW and WWE aren’t competition, they never have been. WWE is pop music, being pushed in a manner to appeal to as many as possible, while AEW is metal music, designed for a specific niche. The only reason there’s any kind of “war” is because Tony Khan has created one in his own head and others have taken that ball and ran with it. Both companies need one another to make their business better.
Wrapping Up
Overall it was a decent week of wrestling. I feel like Bad Blood is shaping up pretty well, and unlike the last PLE, to me this one doesn’t really have any guaranteed winners (unless we get Gunther vs Sami). I had every intention of watching Dynamite for the first time in months, and going in with an open mind, but come Wednesday I was sick, on a heavy regime for nausea from my local dispensary, and instead opted to lay in bed and watch horror flicks on one television while playing XBox on the other.
Given that, I finally watched The First Omen and must say I was pleasantly surprised. I expected nothing going in, as I usually do with reboots, remakes, and prequels for iconic movies I grew up on, but it was legit good. Great tension, good horror imagery, and tied in perfectly with the original.
On a last note, I don’t understand how my Missouri Tigers can be the only team last week to beat another ranked team with the BC win, but yet dropped one spot in the rankings. I get that the BC win doesn’t look so good with another FSU loss now, but they were still a top 25 ranked team and Missouri got the job done. Shame I can’t say the same for my 49ers this last week.
This Week
Playlist of the Week:
A Visceral Reach – Whitechapel
Floods of Triton – Mastodon
Anarchy – Lilith Czar
Concept of God – Escula Grind
Fostering the Divide – Immolation
Army of Me – Bjork
Vulturous – Cattle Decapitation
Honey (Are U Coming?) – Maneskin
NY State of Mind – Nas
Death is But a Door – Alluvial
Movies of the Week:
The First Omen
Blink Twice
Fear Street Triology
Thelma
Click bait: Unfollowed