Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Where did heel heat go?

Where in the heck did heel heat go? Why aren't arenas scorching with anger when a (bad guy) antagonizes the fans?

In 2013, "Heat" has cooled down because the world has gone soft and hot button issues that are touched upon are considered too controversial to discuss.

I'm not condoning Bully Ray's actions after last Thursday's "Impact Wrestling" television in Chicago, Ill. The TNA World Heavyweight Champion repeatedly unleashed gay slurs at a fan in front of his family, calling him f*ggot.

In a world that empowers bigotry and discrimination, it was ill advised judgement on Ray's part to attack the fan in that fashion.

But in the confines of a wrestling ring where good vs. evil is prevalent, we have to separate Bully Ray, the performer, from Mark LoMonaco, the man.

Did the hateful slurs come from the mouth of Bully Ray, who positioned himself as the top heel in the company after defeating Jeff Hardy for the TNA World Title at Lockdown and aligning with Aces and Eights, or LoMonaco?

With wrestling being devoid of true heat seekers outside of CM Punk, Ray is trying to do his job as the top heel and top wrestler in the company by goading fans to loathe him with torrid passion that they would watch TNA every week to see who could dethrone him.

Fans have to realize that comments made to get you emotionally involved with professional wrestling's characters are just that: comments. They are words to make you cheer your favorite wrestlers until your lungs blow out and boo the very wrestlers you detest.

I know we live in a sensitive world, but fans should not judge wrestlers by the words they say to entertain you on a weekly basis.

Did Bully Ray go over the line? Yes but that's what bad guys do. They go step out of boundaries to draw people to buy tickets or to watch the next wrestling show.

That's heat and fans should bask in the emotion of professinal wrestling instead of alienating it.


Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Whole F'n Schmo ep. 6- Aces and Eights takeover

River City Wrestling Heavyweight Champion Michael Faith is a bully and a proud hater of the hispanic people. But "The Largeador" has to be given credit for running roughshod over the RCW roster for over a year. Arguably the most dominant wrestler in the promotion's history talked with me, while alongside his lady friend Kyra Myra, after his latest RCW Title defense against Sicodelico Jr. March 9. Whole F'n Schmo was also graced by the presence of Aces and Eights who hijacked the show to talk about their Lethal Lockdown match against Team TNA at TNA Lockdown March 10.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Whole F'n Schmo ep. 5 TNA Lockdown Fan Interaction Special

TNA Lockdown Fan Interaction was an awesome weekend. I had the opportunity to interview TNA superstars and personalities. The weekend included promising to buy beer and chicken, getting turned down for a date by a TNA Knockout and getting escorted out of the Crowne Plaza Riverwalk. Enjoy my experience during TNA Lockdown Fan Interaction.

Friday, March 1, 2013

TNA star looks to bring Jersey flavor to San Antonio

TNA Star Robbie E
Total Nonstop Action wrestling star Robbie E has no qualms talking about himself. The
Robbie E you see on Spike TV every Thursday hamming out vocabulary such as "bro"
and "hamster" is who he really is in real life. Affliction style T-shirts and a Pauly D-like
hairstyle are what you see if you run into him on the streets.

"I'm from Jersey. I go to the beach, club, and tan. The gym is my life. The clothes you
see me wear are the clothes you will see me wear when I go out to dinner and when go to
the airport."

E's brazen ego allows him to claim he is the "greatest wrestler there is" when the
promotion casts luminary superstars such as, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff
Hardy, "The Icon" Sting, Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan. Having won the TNA X-Division and Television Championships in his 2 1-2 year stint in
the company, the arrogant wrestler from Seaside Heights, N.J. is not finished trying to
back up his ego.

He wants to be TNA's third Grand Slam champion, joining AJ Styles
and Samoa Joe on that exclusive list.

"I'm only 29 years old so the sky is the limit. The TNA World Heavyweight
Championship and Tag Team titles are in my future. I have only just begun."

Winning the Grand Slam would further elevate the company in his own eyes.

"I mean look at me. Who wouldn't want me as the face of their company?" E said.

E has the opportunity to continue cementing his name when he and the TNA stars invade
San Antonio March 10 for the TNA Lockdown pay-per-view at the Alamodome.

The annual event will host three steel cage matches main evented by TNA World Champion
Hardy defending his title against Bully Ray. The other steel cage matches include Team
TNA, captained by Sting, versus Team Aces & Eights, led by TNA Television Champion
Devon and Kurt Angle versus Wes Brisco of A & E.

"There's going to be crazy hardcore stuff going on this year. Who knows what Kurt
Angle is going to do this year? Impact Wrestling is an experience like no other. Every
match will be action packed and you get to see the hot Knockouts, and most importantly,
you get to see Robbie E," he said.

E looks forward to the Hardy-Ray matchup the most. Hardy and Ray are no strangers to
each other, having competed in classic tag team matches as part of the Hardy Boyz versus
Dudley Boyz rivalry in World Wrestling Entertainment.

"I feel Bully Ray has something up his sleeve. They have history unlike no other so to see
them lock horns inside a steel cage is huge," E said.

Fans also have the opportunity to meet the stars at its TNA Fan Interaction event at the
Crown Plaza Hotel Downtown March 9.

Before E was wrestling in front of thousands of fans for TNA, he was plying his trade in
independent promotions around the Northeast after being trained by Extreme
Championship Wrestling star and current TNA agent Simon Diamond.  The independents
are shows where wrestlers prepare for the national spotlight by peforming in front of
small crowds in small arenas.

He received a tryout match with TNA Wrestling in July 2010 after wrestling for 10 years.
The company offered him a deal shortly after the tryout.

"(Being in a national promotion) is what every wrestler wants. The travel, having
wrestling be your only job, and getting fame when you are on television and getting
recognized when you are out in public was awesome the first day it happened and it is
just as awesome now," E said.

The brash wrestler was always confident he would earn a spot in a national promotion.

"I was never going to stop trying (to make it to a higher level). Some wrestlers give up
after a few years, but I said I would keep going until something happens," E said.

His hard work was not only rewarded with a TNA contract and titles but also the
opportunity to work with reality television stars. E has faced off with Jersey Shore's Angelina and JWoww on the TNA Impact Wrestling show. He even stepped into the ring against Ronnie from the hit MTV show.

"He was a hampster bro. He was half my size. He was a midget," E claimed.

E might have to put another "hampster" in his place at Lockdown.

He and his bouncer Big Robbie T aka Rob Terry have had miscommunication issues
stemming from Terry attempting to outshine him in a recent dance competition called
The Bro Off.

Their issues could culminate in a match March 10 at the Alamodome.

"He has been trying to out bro me and he don't know me because I am the No. 1 bro. He
has to realize that. I have had to put him in his place by smacking him around a little bit.
He knows the deal. I pay him to be my bouncer. The spotlight is on Robbie E not Robbie
T," E said.

You can purchase tickets for TNA Lockdown through http://www.ticketmaster.com or at
the Alamodome box office. You can catch Impact Wrestling on Spike TV every
Thursday at 8 ET/7 CT.

Follow me @WholeFnSchmo