My first "Down for the Count with Eric Darsie, from CamelClutchBlog[dot]com!
http://www.camelclutchblog.com/the-first-ever-among-the-fozzy-fanatics/
Down for the Count with Eric Darsie: the First Ever among the Fozzy Fanatics
Welcome to the very first edition of “Down for the Count with Eric Darsie,” featuring one of your favorite writers here on CamelClutchBlog.com, me, Eric Robert Darsie (or at least I hope so, because you are reading this!). But after thinking over Thanksgiving and the days that proceeded, I thought of other possible ways could I contribute to help better CamelClutchBlog.com. Besides doing the ‘WWE Week-in-Review,’ the WWE pay-per-view preview and predictions, and the occasional wrestling flashbacks, I thought of this new idea. “Down for the Count with Eric Darsie”- where I give my thoughts and opinions on certain things, like bands, wrestlers, people, politics, the world, news, etc., so-on, and even so-forth. And after some consideration of what I could give my opinion on for the very first “Down for the Count with Eric Darise,” I thought what else would be better for me to write about other than….
FOZZY!
Why Fozzy, you may ask. If you have heard me on Eric Gargiulo’s Pro Wrestling Radio, I have publicly announced that I am a huge Jericholic. And it only would be fitting for me to give Chris Jericho’s outside-of-the-pro-wrestling-business-ventures a tryout. After buying their first two albums, Fozzy and Happenstance, I fell in love with the band. Their hard rock beats and their deep lyrics, they touched the rock-and-roll soul that I have inside.
But Fozzy, I really enjoy. The reason why I love them is because they aren’t played too much on the radio. Heck, I haven’t even heard them played on the radio before, and to be honest with you, I feel like the only reason behind that is because Chris Jericho is a professional wrestler. If that’s the case, I find that to be utter b.s.
Coming early January, Fozzy will come out with their fourth album since 2000, entitled “Chasing the Grail.” An album that will be capped after their last release back in 2005. The biggest song on the third album had to be “Enemy” because both TNA and the WWE used that song for a pay-per-view theme song. Maybe, just maybe, if Fozzy’s third album got some press from the wrestling fans, maybe after the fourth album gets put out, they may get a chance to be taken seriously.
And come Tuesday, December 15th, 2009, Fozzy’s single, Martyr No More, will be released on iTunes. I believe that everyone should go out and spend 99 cents to own it, because Fozzy rocks everyone’s socks off, and it will be the best 99 cents that you will ever spend (given if they sell it for 99 cents… http://www.fozzyrock.com/)!
And people should check out two of the tracks from their coming album!
Let the Madness Begin’
Martyr No More’
But to conclude, I hope you guys enjoyed this first edition of “Down for the Count with Eric Darsie.” I don’t know when, but hopefully soon, I will have another edition of “Down for the Count with Eric Darsie.” I may discuss Ric Flair. I may discuss Sean Mooney. I may discuss tag team wrestling. We have to wait and see, now don’t we? Until next time, this is Eric Darsie from Minnesota, up before the ref’s ten count!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Is Knowledge and Justified True Belief One-and-the-Same?
My first paper for my Epistemology Philosophy class, hope you guys enjoy!
Eric Darsie
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Philosophy 303|Epistemology
Paper 1
Is Knowledge and Justified True Belief One-and-the-Same?
There’s a question that’s been debated in Epistemology and the question is if “knowledge and justified true belief one in the same?” After some thought and some philosophical consideration, I feel like I came up with an adequate answer to that question. I feel like there is a difference between having knowledge and having justified true belief. In this paper, I will distinguish knowledge from justified true belief, and what the differences are with them.
Here are my definitions of justified true belief and of knowledge:
Justified true belief: a valid true belief.
Knowledge: understanding gained through observation and/or experience.
Now with definitions of both justified true belief and knowledge, let me explain why they are two separate identities. In my eyes, a justified true belief is merely a belief that can be proved out to be valid and proved out to be true. Also, to me, any kind of belief is mere opinion, and opinions can change with the wind, they come and go by whatever situation that arises. At least for me, that’s when I see for justified true belief.
Knowledge is something that is strived for, something that people want to get and hold onto. Knowledge is what you experience to be true, as well as a society as a whole could observe to be true. Knowledge cannot be grasped and be held unto right away; knowledge takes time for someone to be able to have it. Unlike justified true belief, knowledge can be held by any amount of people, up to n.
To help set up why knowledge and justified true belief and two separate items that can be grasped, I will discuss what is commonly known among philosophers as the basic definition of knowledge and will show why each premise is necessary.
S knows p if and only if [a] p is true
[b] S believes p, and
[c] S is justified in believing p.
For premise [a], ‘p is true’ is necessary because if p wasn’t true, then knowledge can’t even be knowledge! If p wasn’t true, then people wouldn’t want it. Yes, one could be mislead on believing that p is true, but if that’s the case, I don’t feel that they wouldn’t go too far on it becoming knowledge. But back on track, if p wasn’t true, then there would be no way of going onto the second and third premise for the basic definition of knowledge.
Now onto premise [b], that ‘S believes p.’ I feel that premise [b] ties in directly with premise [a] in ways of p has to be true before S would decide to believe it. Like in premise [a], someone could be mislead on believing that p is true than believe in p, but if that’s the case, and if another moral agent is aware of it, they would correct that person and set them on the right track if they were mislead. And like I somewhat touched on, S wouldn’t believe p if S didn’t believe that p is true. So premises [a] and [b] go hand-in-hand on if one of them is accepted, then both of them are.
The last premise, premise [c] states ‘S is justified in believing p.’ To make premise [c] make sense, I’ll reword it to: ‘S is right in believing p.’ I think after changing up the wording of premise [c], if premise [a] and [b] were fulfilled, [c] would tend to follow. But to look at the premise ‘S is right in believing p’ would be true if S would believe p and p is true. And just a thought, it could be said that premise is circular to premise [b], that if S believes p then it would be justified in believing p. But in turn, for premise [c] to be fulfilled, p would have to be true and S would have to believe in p (premise [a] and [b]). With premises [a] and [b] having to be accepted before premise [c] to be accepted, it wouldn’t be circular to accept premise [c] because S would be right in believing p due to the two prior premises would make it valid.
So after looking at each premise and discussing why they are necessary for the basic (or broken down version) definition of knowledge, I do believe that they all are necessary for the definition for knowledge. The reason why I say that is because knowledge cannot stand on anything other than those three premises. If one tries to add more premises to the definition for knowledge, it would be harder and harder for one to be able to have it, and if it’s too hard to get it, then no one would want knowledge, and if you take away any of the premises, it wouldn’t be knowledge, because it could be easily changed and persuaded.
But going back to the original question, knowledge is different from justified true belief because of those three premises. Justified true belief is a belief that is true and valid. Knowledge, like already explained, is an understanding gained through observation and/or experience. Justified true belief can be held by a number of people. It’s easy to change it compared to knowledge, which I showed above. As a result, knowledge and justified true belief are two separate identities.
Eric Darsie
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Philosophy 303|Epistemology
Paper 1
Is Knowledge and Justified True Belief One-and-the-Same?
There’s a question that’s been debated in Epistemology and the question is if “knowledge and justified true belief one in the same?” After some thought and some philosophical consideration, I feel like I came up with an adequate answer to that question. I feel like there is a difference between having knowledge and having justified true belief. In this paper, I will distinguish knowledge from justified true belief, and what the differences are with them.
Here are my definitions of justified true belief and of knowledge:
Justified true belief: a valid true belief.
Knowledge: understanding gained through observation and/or experience.
Now with definitions of both justified true belief and knowledge, let me explain why they are two separate identities. In my eyes, a justified true belief is merely a belief that can be proved out to be valid and proved out to be true. Also, to me, any kind of belief is mere opinion, and opinions can change with the wind, they come and go by whatever situation that arises. At least for me, that’s when I see for justified true belief.
Knowledge is something that is strived for, something that people want to get and hold onto. Knowledge is what you experience to be true, as well as a society as a whole could observe to be true. Knowledge cannot be grasped and be held unto right away; knowledge takes time for someone to be able to have it. Unlike justified true belief, knowledge can be held by any amount of people, up to n.
To help set up why knowledge and justified true belief and two separate items that can be grasped, I will discuss what is commonly known among philosophers as the basic definition of knowledge and will show why each premise is necessary.
S knows p if and only if [a] p is true
[b] S believes p, and
[c] S is justified in believing p.
For premise [a], ‘p is true’ is necessary because if p wasn’t true, then knowledge can’t even be knowledge! If p wasn’t true, then people wouldn’t want it. Yes, one could be mislead on believing that p is true, but if that’s the case, I don’t feel that they wouldn’t go too far on it becoming knowledge. But back on track, if p wasn’t true, then there would be no way of going onto the second and third premise for the basic definition of knowledge.
Now onto premise [b], that ‘S believes p.’ I feel that premise [b] ties in directly with premise [a] in ways of p has to be true before S would decide to believe it. Like in premise [a], someone could be mislead on believing that p is true than believe in p, but if that’s the case, and if another moral agent is aware of it, they would correct that person and set them on the right track if they were mislead. And like I somewhat touched on, S wouldn’t believe p if S didn’t believe that p is true. So premises [a] and [b] go hand-in-hand on if one of them is accepted, then both of them are.
The last premise, premise [c] states ‘S is justified in believing p.’ To make premise [c] make sense, I’ll reword it to: ‘S is right in believing p.’ I think after changing up the wording of premise [c], if premise [a] and [b] were fulfilled, [c] would tend to follow. But to look at the premise ‘S is right in believing p’ would be true if S would believe p and p is true. And just a thought, it could be said that premise is circular to premise [b], that if S believes p then it would be justified in believing p. But in turn, for premise [c] to be fulfilled, p would have to be true and S would have to believe in p (premise [a] and [b]). With premises [a] and [b] having to be accepted before premise [c] to be accepted, it wouldn’t be circular to accept premise [c] because S would be right in believing p due to the two prior premises would make it valid.
So after looking at each premise and discussing why they are necessary for the basic (or broken down version) definition of knowledge, I do believe that they all are necessary for the definition for knowledge. The reason why I say that is because knowledge cannot stand on anything other than those three premises. If one tries to add more premises to the definition for knowledge, it would be harder and harder for one to be able to have it, and if it’s too hard to get it, then no one would want knowledge, and if you take away any of the premises, it wouldn’t be knowledge, because it could be easily changed and persuaded.
But going back to the original question, knowledge is different from justified true belief because of those three premises. Justified true belief is a belief that is true and valid. Knowledge, like already explained, is an understanding gained through observation and/or experience. Justified true belief can be held by a number of people. It’s easy to change it compared to knowledge, which I showed above. As a result, knowledge and justified true belief are two separate identities.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Luke 13:24--The Few
Luke 13:24 (New International Version)
Check out this video on youtube.com!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkLLOH7qXPg&feature=channel
The video is called "The Few - Piper/Washer/Ravenhill/Conway/Leiter"
I'm hoping to blog about this sometime soon. It's finals week this week, so time's tighter than normal. So hope you guys enjoy the video!
He said to them, 24"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
Check out this video on youtube.com!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkLLOH7qXPg&feature=channel
The video is called "The Few - Piper/Washer/Ravenhill/Conway/Leiter"
I'm hoping to blog about this sometime soon. It's finals week this week, so time's tighter than normal. So hope you guys enjoy the video!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
December to Remember to Forget to Remember to Forgot that it’s December
December to Remember to Forget to Remember to Forgot that it’s December
A title that I get a good laugh at, because it’s inspired by an Elvis Presley song (“I Forgot To Remember To Forget”). But I did a couple of pieces last month (“Trials, Emotions, and a Yellow Note Pad” and “Down for the Count with Eric Darsie: the Temptation of Lust Kills”) that seemed like to get some feedback from some people, so I thought I will put out another piece on letting people know how things are going.
The biggest thing that I really discussed from “Trials, Emotions, and a Yellow Note Pad,” was my ministry outreach.
Things are a lot better since then. Things are turning around; God is moving through the bible study. The other co-leader and I are starting to feel more connected with our guys in Case Hall at SCSU, which is something I really enjoy. And the guys I get along with. I am pulling something off from a senior from last year is pointing at my guys and holler out “SAY IT!” and they would respond “yes” and I would holler back “YES!” Seems like they enjoy that, and I really enjoy that as well (thanks Kiekhoefer).
And I’ve been praying about maybe discipling a couple of my men. I have feel like God has placed a couple of them on my heart at the beginning of the semester to be intentional on seeing how they are in their walk with the Lord and all that fun jazz. I think that would be cool, as well as it is my fourth year this year at SCSU, and I only have three semesters left, I want to teach some future leaders that are in my bible study what God has taught me this past three and a half years in school.
From “Down for the Count with Eric Darsie: the Temptation of Lust Kills” article/blog…..:
Things are getting better. I have talked to one of my closer buds and he’s gonna check in on me on how things are, which are a huge help for me. But that’s really it for those two blogs….
But I guess school’s ending here within two weeks, which is super nice! Only have to turn in three papers, which I am excited for!
Been listening to a lot of wrestling podcasts (Ministry of Slam [from the UK], Pro Wrestling Radio [the show I call in and write for], and the Wrestling Observer [$9.99 a month for about 12 podcasts a week; they run anywhere from about 15 minutes to 90 minutes or so. They are really cool and great, I highly suggest to any wrestling fan!]), and that’s helped me on not wanting to watch much wrestling anymore.
And been listening to sermons. From John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Matthew Moleksy. Piper is from the Cities, Driscoll is out of Seattle, and Molesky is out of St. Cloud.
All-in-all, that’s really it. Excited for the semester to end, have been tired of doing homework and excited to be able to relax for a couple of weeks before next semester. Winter break can’t come soon enough!
A title that I get a good laugh at, because it’s inspired by an Elvis Presley song (“I Forgot To Remember To Forget”). But I did a couple of pieces last month (“Trials, Emotions, and a Yellow Note Pad” and “Down for the Count with Eric Darsie: the Temptation of Lust Kills”) that seemed like to get some feedback from some people, so I thought I will put out another piece on letting people know how things are going.
The biggest thing that I really discussed from “Trials, Emotions, and a Yellow Note Pad,” was my ministry outreach.
Things are a lot better since then. Things are turning around; God is moving through the bible study. The other co-leader and I are starting to feel more connected with our guys in Case Hall at SCSU, which is something I really enjoy. And the guys I get along with. I am pulling something off from a senior from last year is pointing at my guys and holler out “SAY IT!” and they would respond “yes” and I would holler back “YES!” Seems like they enjoy that, and I really enjoy that as well (thanks Kiekhoefer).
And I’ve been praying about maybe discipling a couple of my men. I have feel like God has placed a couple of them on my heart at the beginning of the semester to be intentional on seeing how they are in their walk with the Lord and all that fun jazz. I think that would be cool, as well as it is my fourth year this year at SCSU, and I only have three semesters left, I want to teach some future leaders that are in my bible study what God has taught me this past three and a half years in school.
From “Down for the Count with Eric Darsie: the Temptation of Lust Kills” article/blog…..:
Things are getting better. I have talked to one of my closer buds and he’s gonna check in on me on how things are, which are a huge help for me. But that’s really it for those two blogs….
But I guess school’s ending here within two weeks, which is super nice! Only have to turn in three papers, which I am excited for!
Been listening to a lot of wrestling podcasts (Ministry of Slam [from the UK], Pro Wrestling Radio [the show I call in and write for], and the Wrestling Observer [$9.99 a month for about 12 podcasts a week; they run anywhere from about 15 minutes to 90 minutes or so. They are really cool and great, I highly suggest to any wrestling fan!]), and that’s helped me on not wanting to watch much wrestling anymore.
And been listening to sermons. From John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Matthew Moleksy. Piper is from the Cities, Driscoll is out of Seattle, and Molesky is out of St. Cloud.
All-in-all, that’s really it. Excited for the semester to end, have been tired of doing homework and excited to be able to relax for a couple of weeks before next semester. Winter break can’t come soon enough!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Down for the Count with Eric Darsie: the Temptation of Lust Kills
Here's an article that I intent to email in to get posted up on CamelClutchBlog.com, but I feel like I also want it up here. Something that I've been dealing with lately, especially this morning. Hope ya'll enjoy.
Down for the Count with Eric Darsie: the Temptation of Lust Kills
By Eric Darsie
I’ve mentioned in prior CamelClutchBlog.com articles that I am a Christian. And to be honest, I am not really a big fan of bringing it up in an article for a pro wrestling and sports site because, simply, this is a sports site. But I am sure there are other Christians out there that can relate to what I am willing to talk about here in this article. And what is that? Lust. And the temptation that lures, for men, in that it kills.
With the little intro with why I am writing this article, I feel like people should know why lust and temptation is a huge thing for Christians and why we battle against it. Us Christians are called to have these things: “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… (Galatians 5:22-23 [NIV]).” Those things, for Christians, are known as the “Fruit of the Spirit.”
So how does this relate to temptation and lust that I brought up? Those two things go against faithfulness and self-control in the Fruit of the Spirit. How is temptation and lust against faithfulness and self-control? We are turning away from Christ to find contentment of the flesh with the flesh instead of Christ. We believers are called to be content with Christ and to turn away from the flesh.
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Ephesians 5:3-5 (NIV)
Okay, I have given some support behind my reasoning. The only question that makes sense to make now is the question of: is we know that we are to turn away from any kind of impurity, then why do Christians choose to sin? This is my personal opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, but I believe that us Christians keep sinning because it’s our sinful nature in our fallen flesh that wants us to find instant gratification. Our bodies are against what God expects from us, that our bodies want what isn’t of God’s will for our lives.
All-in-all, I hope that this helped you all who don’t know anything of what Christians believe or don’t know what their views are on temptation and of lust. Those two things are huge for me right now that I am struggling with. So doing this article has helped me out on turning away from my sin and back to God where I want to be right now. I know with my fellow Christian friends also struggle with this to, so I hope that this article (blog, whatever you wanna call it) helps you out as well. If you are not a Christian, I hope you have an insight of what Christians view something that our bodies desire and long for. This is Eric Darsie from Minnesota, trying to recover from this ten count, goodbye!
Down for the Count with Eric Darsie: the Temptation of Lust Kills
By Eric Darsie
I’ve mentioned in prior CamelClutchBlog.com articles that I am a Christian. And to be honest, I am not really a big fan of bringing it up in an article for a pro wrestling and sports site because, simply, this is a sports site. But I am sure there are other Christians out there that can relate to what I am willing to talk about here in this article. And what is that? Lust. And the temptation that lures, for men, in that it kills.
With the little intro with why I am writing this article, I feel like people should know why lust and temptation is a huge thing for Christians and why we battle against it. Us Christians are called to have these things: “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… (Galatians 5:22-23 [NIV]).” Those things, for Christians, are known as the “Fruit of the Spirit.”
So how does this relate to temptation and lust that I brought up? Those two things go against faithfulness and self-control in the Fruit of the Spirit. How is temptation and lust against faithfulness and self-control? We are turning away from Christ to find contentment of the flesh with the flesh instead of Christ. We believers are called to be content with Christ and to turn away from the flesh.
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Ephesians 5:3-5 (NIV)
Okay, I have given some support behind my reasoning. The only question that makes sense to make now is the question of: is we know that we are to turn away from any kind of impurity, then why do Christians choose to sin? This is my personal opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, but I believe that us Christians keep sinning because it’s our sinful nature in our fallen flesh that wants us to find instant gratification. Our bodies are against what God expects from us, that our bodies want what isn’t of God’s will for our lives.
All-in-all, I hope that this helped you all who don’t know anything of what Christians believe or don’t know what their views are on temptation and of lust. Those two things are huge for me right now that I am struggling with. So doing this article has helped me out on turning away from my sin and back to God where I want to be right now. I know with my fellow Christian friends also struggle with this to, so I hope that this article (blog, whatever you wanna call it) helps you out as well. If you are not a Christian, I hope you have an insight of what Christians view something that our bodies desire and long for. This is Eric Darsie from Minnesota, trying to recover from this ten count, goodbye!
Monday, November 23, 2009
WWE Survivor Series 2009
WWE Survivor Series 2009 Review
November 23, 2009 By: Eric Robert Darsie Category: WWE / Pro Wrestling
Last night marked the 23rd World Wrestling Entertainment Survivor Survivor Series, and was main evented by the two World Championship Triple Threat matches. For me, I feel like those two matches were the biggest matches on the card, not to try to take away from the other four matches. I will admit, for the most part, this pay-per-view was better than expected. It may have been having six or so other friends over last night to watch Survivor Series and we had a little challenge going on to see that can do best on making predictions for the event, and I came out last, to everyone’s surprise. But let me talk about the two World title main events; the WWE Championship Triple Threat and the World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat..
World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat: the Big Show taps to Hell’s Gate!
A match that I expected to be horrible, just because of the limited move set of the Big Show and of the Undertaker. But I feel like this match turned out better than expected, and I would say this match was better than the World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat match at WrestleMania 25 with John Cena, Edge, and the Big Show.
But at first, the Unified Tag Team Champions were working together at the start of the match. And as been teased the past several weeks on television, the Big Show and Chris Jericho finally did wrestle each other a couple of times. Even though they really didn’t totally go against each other, but when it seemed like they were teasing the finish, they would break it up and go against one another for a little while.
And right at the end, the Big Show hit Jericho with the “Turkey Punch (the Knock Out Punch),” he was going to Chokeslam the Undertaker, and the Dead Man pulled the Big Show in for Hell’s Gate and go the tap out. That made me sad. Made me sad because I wanted to see Chris Jericho win the World Heavyweight Championship last night, but Jericho wasn’t in the decision of the match, so could we see a Jericho/Undertaker feud for the World Heavyweight Title?
WWE Championship Triple Threat: Sweet Chin Music equals the first move of the match, to HHH!
A match that didn’t live up to the hype of what was being built up. Everyone I talked to, as well as me, thought this match was going to turn out as a joke, and it wasn’t. I was totally in love with this match. Michaels and Triple H came out together then Cena came out. And the first move of the match, a Sweet Chin Music to Triple H, out of the blue!
But after the first move, Cena was surprised and Michaels and Cena stood around for about a minute, selling what the Heartbreak Kid just did. But this match turned out to a lot of one-on-one encounters with the guys taking turns. And another spot that we saw of this match that surprised me was Triple H spinbustering Michaels through the announcer table.
But this match saw a lot of false finishes, like Shawn Michaels Sweet Chin Musicing Cena, and then Triple H and Triple H fell on top of Cena, and got a two count. But at the end, to everyone’s surprise (not really), Cena pinned Triple H. That was a shock to me, and then Triple H took the fall for Triple H. But a great match that I thought was going to suck.
Conclusion
But to conclude, I would suggest everyone to go out and buy this pay-per-view on DVD when it comes out on DVD here in a month or so. This was a better pay-per-view than expected. But this is Eric Darsie from Minnesota, tired from last night’s Survivor Series, goodbye!
Check out CamelClutchBlog.com!
http://www.camelclutchblog.com/wwe-survivor-series-2009-review/
Sunday, November 22, 2009
WWE Survivor Series 2009 Predictions
WWE Survivor Series 2009
WWE Championship Triple Threat Match
Shawn Michaels def. John Cena (champion) and Triple H
World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match
Undertaker (champion) def. Chris Jericho and the Big Show
Batista def. Rey Mysterio
Team Orton def. Team Kofi
Team Morrison def. Team Miz
Team Michelle def. Team Mickie
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A Match Gone Wrong
A Match Gone Wrong
Here's a story that I found that I wrote back in high school for one of my creative writing classes. Hope you guys find this interesting. I also put in the end the terminology I use in this short story (which is put in the Author's Note). Anyways, hope you guys enjoy. This made me laugh once I found this. Here's "A Match Gone Wrong"...
A Match Gone Wrong
[Author's Note: There will be a list of terms behind the short, for you can understand the terms and moves of the terminology and world of professional wrestling. Addition to that, I, the author, know a lot of the sport of professional wrestling, and believe everything in this story would be true if it happened. Also, do not try any of this story at home.]
“Here I am,” I thought to myself when I walked into the Metrodome, which is located in Minnesota, my home state. Tonight, I face the very guy I beat at Everything Goes for the richest prize in our sport, the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, against my nemesis, Jordan McCents.
I found my locker room, which had a sign on the front, ‘Shaggy McMoney, World Heavyweight Champ,’ and I walked in. I see all the stuff I asked for, a recliner, a love seat, a couch, a small refrigerator, a portrait of me on the wall, and a couple of new wrestling attires I asked to get made.
After I put my bag down, I left my locker room to find my boss, Vince Bischoff, to see who will win the match, and of there is a way he wants us to finish our match.
“Come in,” Mr. Vince Bischoff said when I knocked on the door. “Oh, hey Champ, you finally got here?”
“I just got here about 15 minutes ago,” I said. “So, did you decide on who is going to win the match tonight?”
“What I've done, and the Board of Director’s, decided is to have you and Jordan figure that out due to we couldn’t pick who should win tonight.”
“So you want us to have a shoot?”
“If you two can’t also decide on which one of you should win, so, yes, I do want you guys to have a shoot. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes it is, Mr. Bischoff. Is Jordan here, yet, of which do you know?”
“Yes he is here, Shaggy, he told me to have you go see him after you talk with me. It is to the left, third locker room on the right.”
“Thanks,” and I left to go search for my opponent for tonight at Wrestle Series VIII.
“Hey Shaggy,” the number one contender for my belt, Jordan McCents, said after I knocked and walked in. “Did you talk to Vince yet?”
“I have,” I said, “and he wants a shoot if we can’t figure it out.”
“I tried to talk him out of it, Champ, because you and I both know our match won’t go well with us doing a shoot.”
“So, what should we do? Do you have any plans made up yet?”
“Well, I did make up some spots, champ, and I wrote them down, here they are,” then he grabbed the paper, “I would like it if we could do your finisher, somehow from off the top of the cage, us hanging or something.”
“Well, Jordan, for the King’s Hardcore Cage Match, which you know, this match of ours is the first match and this would be hard to pull off.”
“I know, Shaggy, would you like to do it and if so, how should we do this?”
“We just started our career’s here in the Global Wrestling Federation; my career started one year ago, this pay-per-view, and yours two year’s ago, this pay-per-view, not also saying how young we are.”
“Champ, it was only a suggestion, and if something happens bad to us, it’s not like we can’t use our degrees from college for something.”
“Jordan, I don’t want to waste my career, my life, and my friend to do something great. Plus, you know that the little kids always try the new stuff we do.”
Well, Jordan and I argued about it, and finally agreed to do it. The King’s Hardcore Cage Match, the new structure that was just made, which no one ever saw it before. The ring has a 15-foot high steel cage, the mesh cage, rapped around with barbed wire. But that isn’t all, the ring is surrounded with the wooded tables, with 10-foot steel ladders under them for we can use to climb up, in the ring, in the center of the barbed wire steel cage, to get and take down the Heavyweight Championship of the World down. All of this is surrounded and is happening in a structure called ‘the Hell In a Cell,’ which will surround the barbed wire cage, the tables and ladders outside the ring, and will hold the title up, which from the ring it is ten more feet taller then the Steel Cage, so 25 feet from the ring.
“So, then Shaggy,” Jordan asked me, right before I leave to get for our match, “are we still going to do it?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I said, walking out and shutting the door, for him and I can get ready for our big match.
After I got ready, it was time for my interview with Eric Sylvester, another guy who I grew up with.
“I am here with the World Heavyweight Champion, Shaggy McMoney,” Eric said, beginning our interview, “Shaggy, are you nervous, due to this being the big match, which is up next?”
“You know something, Eric ‘the Bike Man’ Sylvester,” I replied, “I am nervous, due to this being the biggest match in my young life and career.”
“Do you want to say anything to everyone in your family?”
“Yeah, I do, Eric, I would like to tell my family to have the younger kids look away if there is a lot of blood or if it gets really nasty, whatever comes first.”
“Shaggy, I got one last question before you have to go, what can we expect the Worlds Champ, you, to do to your opponent, the number one contender, Jordan McCents?”
“What you, Eric Sylvester, and the rest of the world can expect from me is to open the biggest can of whoop-a** on Jordan McCents that you'll all be surprised that ‘the Ol’ Mighty Shagg’ can do!”
Then the video of where and how Shaggy, me, and Jordan got where we are now, leading up to our legendary proportions.
I walked up to the Gorilla Position, where I seen Jordan looking through the curtain, to see the structure we are going to wrestle in. He then turned around, looking at me, and I can tell that he was also nervous and scared out of his wits.
Then the ring announcer, Jim Thunder, announced that it’s time for the main-event.
“It’s time for the main-event, here, at Global Wrestling Federation's Wrestle Series VIII,” Jim Thunder announced to the crowd and everyone who is watching via televise screen. “This match, the King’s hardcore Cage Match, is a one-fall match, by one of the two wrestlers has to escape out of this barbed wire steel cage, by out the door or over the top. When they do, they need to bring a ladder into the ring and climb up to capture the World Heavyweight Title! This all happens when the tables surround the ring inside a giant mesh cage with a roof on the top.”
Jordan McCents’ theme hits and he goes out of the Gorilla Position, I see him walk up to the giant cage and shake it, to test it to see if it will hold what everyone is going to see in a couple of short moments. He walks in the door, through the open area to get to the ring, where there are no tables, try to shake the smaller cage, forgetting it has a barbed wire, he shakes it without success. He takes his hands off, looks at them, with the blood already coming down, he enters the ring, and just that he laid me out last week with a Steel Folding Chair rapped with barbed wire.
My music hits and the crowd go nuts and no one could hear my music or hear Jim Thunder introduce me to the ring.
I never took my eyes off of Jordan, to sell to everyone that I am still mad at him for putting stitches, 15 of them, in my forehead, above my right eyebrow.
I enter the ring without hesitation, and gave the World belt to the ref, to suspend the title for Jordan and I can try to climb and get it.
The bell rang, everyone in the crowd were on their feet to see how this l legendary build-up match will start. Not the staff in the back knows how the match will start, the referee doesn’t know how the match is going to start, and even the two wrestlers do not know how the match is going to start.
“I can’t wait until those two gladiators hook it up and start this match up,” said Roger Anderson, a former professional wrestler, himself, was injured by the hands of Jordan McCents, who beat him to capture the Heavyweight Title.
“Roger, do you remember Shaggy McMoney, our Worlds Champ, said, ‘I am going to bleed, sweet, and pay the price to keep this title in my camp!’?” said Chris Erickson, a legend on the mic of color-commentating and broadcast journaling.
“Yeah, I do remember that, Chris,” ‘R.A.’ said, “I remember that because I was interviewing him when he said that.”
Then Jordan and I did a Collar-and-Bone Tie-up, which is just setting our right arms on each others left shoulders and our left arms touching the opponents’ upper right arms, and we asked how we should start. The only thing we did is what I thought of, and that was to do an Arm Drag.
I quickly stood up, hearing the roar of approval of the crowd. I looked at Jordan, and he has a shocked look on his face, like he didn't expect that I'll be pulling that out of the playbook. Jordan is one of the best wrestlers, who I faced and know, can sell just about everything, perfectly.
“Looks like McCents didn’t expect McMoney to go back to basics with ’em,” ‘R.A.’ Roger Anderson said after seeing Jordan’s shocked face.
Jordan then got up, walked towards me and I pulled off the Belly-to-Belly Suplex, which his body flew over the top rope and made contact with the solid barbed wire steel cage.
“Oh my gosh, Roger, looks like the champ wants to start this match quick without hesitation!” Chris Erickson said with excitement.
Jordan rolled back into the ring, holding his back, “Look at it,” Roger said with excitement, “McCents’ back is cut wide open!”
“How can a champ bust someone wide open right away in the match?” Erickson asked.
“Easily, my friend, with a Belly-to-Belly Overhead Suplex into the cage!”
I looked at his back, it was pretty bad, and I can tell that Jordan was in a lot of pain. So, I bought some time by going to the opposing corner and it on the top turnbuckle.
After about 45 seconds, Jordan get up, sprinting towards me, when I was talking with the crowd and leaped up to the top turnbuckle and hit me with the hurricanrana.
“Retribution is always so sweet,” Roger said due to the hurricanrana onto me off of the top turnbuckle.
Jordan than gave me the Blatant Choke, which really isn’t blatant due to there is no rules, he started to plan out the match with me, due to his long hair blocking his and mine face to the crowd.
“I love how the crowd is reacting to our match,” Jordan said to me.
“It’s great to hear the pop’s from them,” I said, “and what should we do now?”
“He is not letting off, ‘R.A.’, he is not letting off!” screamed Erickson.
“I’ll get up,” Jordan said, “taunt the crowd and you come and put me in the
sleeper.”
I blinked once, which means okay in the world of wrestling terminology, or at least in most of the world’s terminology.
So, Jordan got up, taught the crowd, and I caught my breath, and put him into the sleeper hold, like our plan.
When I did, of course, the crowd popped due to me being the home state hero and being a baby face, or a fan favorite, depending on who you talk to likes to indicate a good guy.
Jordan was fading fast from the oxygen being cut to his brain, so out of desperation, he did the famous counter of the sleeper, the back leg low blow, which brought me to the mat. If any man would be hit that hard, they would go down, too.
“Looks like McMoney is in pain, Erickson,” Roger said.
“Like normal, Jordan McCents has to resort to cheating his way out of holds and into the championship title scene,” Erickson said.
Jordan then went to the door, which was the only smart way to get out, to get a ladder and bring it into the ring.
Of course, the typical McCents fashion to buy more time, Jordan was taunting the crowd while getting the ladder. Jordan had to send in two tables to get a ladder. When he did get all of the hardware into the ring, I ran and hit him with a baseball slide to the chest, out the door of the cage, which launched him into the outside cage mesh.
I then got out of the cage, set up a ladder on the outside, and grabbed Jordan and started to climb.
Jordan hit me in the gut a couple of times to get away, and started to climb then inner cage. I caught him up there, and I set him up for the McMoney Cutter. I jumped off, with his head in my armpit, pretty much, and we smashed through some tables, Jordan’s face and head first, and me landing on my back.
The crowd was chanting ‘Holy S***!,’ which means a lot to us, wrestlers, in this business.
That knocked the wind out of me, and I can tell that Jordan is having troubles breathing. I started to panic because I didn’t mean for him to breather difficult to the move, us wrestlers always try to protect each other.
“Shaggy will pull out all the stops, Erickson, to remain the Heavyweight Champ of the World,” Roger said. “I know Shaggy would live up to his word by he will bleed, sweat, and pay the price for being and remaining as the World Heavyweight Champ!”
“I am surprised, Roger,” Chris Erickson said, “that these two men are still alive. This match is living up to the hype; it’s a pure out brawl!”
I crawled towards the steps, which was very difficult for me, due to broken tables, set-up tables, and ladders were in my way.
I was able to get to the stairs, after about a minute, with the crowd being dead silence, to see and hear what I and Jordan’s moves will be next.
“Shaggy will do anything to win,” Erickson said. “Just look at him, he did the McMoney Cutter off of the ladder, outside of the ring, putting his body and health on the line, through tables, just to slow his opponent, Jordan McCents, down!”
“Wait a minute,” Roger Anderson said in amazement, “while Shaggy is trying to set the ladder up in the ring, McCents is moving towards the steps. I can’t believe that his fall caused him to be busted wide open!”
“We can tell that these two men will do anything and everything to be the World Heavyweight Champ!”
I was shocked; too, that Jordan had enough energy to get up from that fall and still want to continue the match.
After seeing him, I started to climb the ladder, to see how far I can get. Well, it wasn’t too far, due to Jordan giving me the chop block to the knee, which made him fall, which he climbed the ladder, and I, off of the ladder.
Then, which is a shocker, Jordan got up before me and instead of climbing the ladder, he put me in the Figure Four Leg Lock.
“I can’t believe, Erickson,” Anderson yelled with excitement, “that McCents would pull off a move that we would expect McMoney to pull off!”
Jordan let go after about two or so minutes, after I tapped out a couple of times, and started to climb the ladder. He was only able to get up about a quarter of the way until I ht him with the low blow, which stopped him right in his tracks.
“Man, this is great,” Anderson said, “that McMoney now pulled a move that McCents uses. It is great seeing two men use each others move to punish one another!”
I went to the other side of the ladder, and started to climb. I got the same distance that Jordan get before; we both started to climb to the top to get the same prize after Jordan seen me start to climb.
As when we got there, we had to jump up to the top of the cage, so we would be hanging there by our hands. We started to kick each other, trying to knock each other down.
We must have been doing that for about 30 seconds, but felt like a couple of hours. But we did what Jordan wanted, he rapped his legs around me, to try to pull me down with his weight, I brought my legs up to his armpits, and dropped down, 25 feet to the mat, in my world famous finisher, the Minnesota Shagg, which is the Boston Crab.
When we landed, Jordan landed on his stomach and face, with me landing on his lower back. When we landed, I heard a snap, which isn’t a good thing you do not want to hear in real life, or in wrestling.
I just pulled his legs back for about 15-20 seconds to sell that it was the Minnesota Shagg that hurt Jordan’s back, not the fall.
I got off, to see how bad it hurt him. When I did look at him, he was knocked out cold due to the fall.
Not to sure how serious on how bad the injury was on him, I started to climb the ladder.
“With that fall, Shaggy should of climbed up and get his title,” Anderson said.
“Hopefully, McCents isn’t too injured from the Minnesota Shagg fall off of the roof,” Erickson said.
I got up to the top of the ladder, I leaped to the roof, which I got there, and grabbed my title, and fell.
“Shaggy McMoney is successful in retaining his title!” Erickson said with excitement.
“Here is your winner, and still the World heavyweight Champion, Shaggy McMoney!” Jim Thunder, the ring announcer said.
“McMoney lived up to his word,” Anderson said, “and he took out McCents in doing so!”
The cameras quit rolling, and the crowd was leaving, I came back and helped the EMT's get Jordan on a stretcher.
When we got to the back, Vince Bischoff, our boss, ran up and said, “What the hell happened?”
“It all went wrong!” I screamed, not knowing what is going to happen.
“I got the news that two little kids did exactly what you two just did, and they died!”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, Shaggy, it did happen, and you know what else, Shaggy, my job is on the line, due to what you two did. And if my job is on the line, Shaggy, so is yours!”
They took Jordan, who is still on the stretcher, knocked out, into the ambulance, and left.
“I’m sorry that we did it,” I said, “but I did try to talk him out of doing this, but he kept on wanting us to do this. Also to that, you did not have any plans on how or what should we do or who should win. I am not saying you, or Jordan should be the whole blame, but it’s not my whole fault!”
Then an officer came up to us, “to tell you, Mr. Bischoff, the kid didn’t die, and the parents will not file charges on you or any of your wrestlers or your company if you send someone to talk to them.”
Mr. Bischoff was happy to hear that.
“Okay, thanks,” Bischoff said. “Now, Shaggy, if Jordan is okay with it, you'll be good to go.”
Then his cell phone rang, “Hello... Yes this is I... Okay, he won’t?... Okay... Okay, thanks for the informing me,” and he hanged up the phone.
“What did they say?” I asked.
“You’re off the hook,” Mr. Bischoff said, “and Shaggy, thanks for the great match.”
So, I left, took a shower, grabbed my bag and my belt, and I left. I went on the plane to where the next show was, which was on national cable television, and Mr. Bischoff called me on my cell phone and said the two kids are in the hospital of the town we are going to be in the next night.
After I got off the plane, took a limo to the hospital, which the kids were at, and I spent the night there.
The nurses woke me up at seven, saying that the two kids are awake now, and I can
go and see them.
So I did. I woke up, and seen the two kids lying in bed, in the same room, watching the news about them, and what caused them to do it, which they then showed the seen of when Jordan and I dropped from the roof into the Minnesota Shagg.
“Hey, it’s Shaggy McMoney!” the first kid said, who did the move to the other kid.
“Why are you here?” asked the second one.
“I am here to talk to the both of you,” I said. “I heard that you two tried what Jordan McCents and I did last night. Well, I am sure that the both of you didn’t know is that I seriously hurt him, and as of right now, I do not know he'll be able to wrestle again. Then I heard the news of two of my fans tried on each other what I did to Jordan, I was shocked.
“I was shocked because I thought that wrestling fans know that we, the wrestlers, go through a lot of training, sacrifices, and pain to become wrestlers.”
“Like what kind of pain do you go though!” asked the first kid.
“Most of the time, I find myself, like you two, in a hospital bed, getting better, in the morning. That’s not all, either, I have to be out on the road four days a week, totaling in at least 250 days a year on the road.”
“So, being a wrestler sucks?”
“No, it doesn’t, if you do not have to hear about this kind of stuff. That is why we have commercials saying, ‘Please don’t try this at home.’ I can’t stress that enough.”
“We’re sorry.”
“I know you, the both of you, are. So, when the both of you get better, and get out of here, tell your friends, ‘Let’s not wrestle,’ because we, the wrestlers are professionals, we know what we’re doing. Will you do that for me?”
“Yes sir.”
“Now, get better, and always remember, McMoneyism is the only way to survive!”
A Match Gone Wrong Terms
• Everything Goes: The Pay-Per-View that Shaggy McMoney won the World Heavyweight Championship from Jordan McCents in a Last Man Standing Match, nine months before this PPV.
• Shoot: A match that is not planned out before, where they do not "Pull" any moves, where they make contact 100% of the time.
• Wrestle Series VIII: The Pay-Per-View that this event, the match, happened at.
• Spots: Certain parts of a match.
• The King's Hardcore Cage Match: A Match that the author, Eric Darsie, made up. The ring has a 15-foot high steel cage, the mesh cage, rapped around with barbed wire. But that isn’t all, the ring is surrounded with the wooded tables, with 10-foot steel ladders under them for we can use to climb up, in the ring, in the center of the barbed wire steel cage, to get and take down the Heavyweight Championship of the World down. All of this is surrounded and is happening in a structure called ‘the Hell In a Cell,’ which will surround the barbed wire cage, the tables and ladders outside the ring, and will hold the title up, which from the ring it is ten more feet taller then the Steel Cage, so 25 feet from the ring.
• The Global Wrestling Federation: Another one of the author's, Eric Darsie, creation, which is representing the current big wrestling company, the World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.™(the WWE™), which is owned by Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
• Pay-Per-View: A 3 hour or so show that you have to pay to see, due to the matches are bigger then the normal matches on cable or regular television.
• Gorilla Position: The place right before coming out onto the stage, where the staff of the theme music, wrestler’s video, and pyro, goes off.
• Sell: To act; to make something seem real.
• Hook It Up: Start the match; start to wrestle.
• Collar-and bone Tie-Up: which is just setting our right arms on each others left shoulders and our left arms touching the opponents’ upper right arms, and we asked how we should start.
• Arm Drag: When you grab your opponent's arm, fall to the ground, and whip him to the mat.
• Belly-to-Belly Overhead Suplex: A move that you throw your opponent, from facing them, over your head, both landing on your backs.
• Bought some time: Wrestling's way for taking the crowd off of his/her opponent, if something serious or whatever happened.
• Turnbuckle: The corner, which is a metal post with small pillows in the corners where the ropes meet it.
• Hurricanrana: When you are up on your opponent's shoulder's, sitting there, you facing one way and they the other way, and you do a backwards roll, which your opponent would land on their head or upper shoulders.
• Blatant Choke: Is just a regular choke, but on the ground.
• Pops: Is when the crowd goes nuts; cheer for their favorite wrestler.
• Baby face: Fan favorite, depending on who you talk to, likes to indicate a good guy.
• Back leg low blow: You raise your leg, backwards, and hit your opponent in the groin.
• Mat: The canvas which covers the ring.
• Baseball slide: A slide that is just like what baseball players do into the plate, but you are in the ring, your opponent is outside, and you run and hit him with the baseball slide.
• McMoney Cutter: Standing up, having the opponents head in your armpit, him/her bending over, you do a 180 degree turn, with your opponents head moving up to the top of your shoulder, you fall to your back, smashing your opponents head into the mat.
• Chop block (to the knee): When someone would drive their shoulder, standing up, into back of their opponents’ knee, while they are also standing up.
• Figure Four Leg Lock: Where you grab one leg, when your opponent is on the mat, on their back, and you walk a circle around the leg, one leg is in-between your opponents legs, with that leg you circled, rapped behind your leg, you bend down, grab the other leg, bend it at the knee, to make a 90 degree angle, put it on their other leg, you put your free leg in the opening of the two legs, fall down and put pressure on his/her legs with yours.
• Tapped out: When you are in a submission hold, and you do not want to say 'I quit', you just hit your hand on the mat three quick times to indicate to the ref, wherever (s) he is, saying that you give up the match and victory to your opponent.
• Low blow: Where, from behind, you hit your opponent, through the legs, in the groin area.
• Minnesota Shagg (Boston Crab): Where your opponent is on his/her back, you go up and put their feet into your armpits and you put your forearms by the back of their knees, and turn them over, to their stomach, and sit down on their lower back, pulling their legs back, which hurts their lower back.
Here's a story that I found that I wrote back in high school for one of my creative writing classes. Hope you guys find this interesting. I also put in the end the terminology I use in this short story (which is put in the Author's Note). Anyways, hope you guys enjoy. This made me laugh once I found this. Here's "A Match Gone Wrong"...
A Match Gone Wrong
[Author's Note: There will be a list of terms behind the short, for you can understand the terms and moves of the terminology and world of professional wrestling. Addition to that, I, the author, know a lot of the sport of professional wrestling, and believe everything in this story would be true if it happened. Also, do not try any of this story at home.]
“Here I am,” I thought to myself when I walked into the Metrodome, which is located in Minnesota, my home state. Tonight, I face the very guy I beat at Everything Goes for the richest prize in our sport, the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, against my nemesis, Jordan McCents.
I found my locker room, which had a sign on the front, ‘Shaggy McMoney, World Heavyweight Champ,’ and I walked in. I see all the stuff I asked for, a recliner, a love seat, a couch, a small refrigerator, a portrait of me on the wall, and a couple of new wrestling attires I asked to get made.
After I put my bag down, I left my locker room to find my boss, Vince Bischoff, to see who will win the match, and of there is a way he wants us to finish our match.
“Come in,” Mr. Vince Bischoff said when I knocked on the door. “Oh, hey Champ, you finally got here?”
“I just got here about 15 minutes ago,” I said. “So, did you decide on who is going to win the match tonight?”
“What I've done, and the Board of Director’s, decided is to have you and Jordan figure that out due to we couldn’t pick who should win tonight.”
“So you want us to have a shoot?”
“If you two can’t also decide on which one of you should win, so, yes, I do want you guys to have a shoot. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes it is, Mr. Bischoff. Is Jordan here, yet, of which do you know?”
“Yes he is here, Shaggy, he told me to have you go see him after you talk with me. It is to the left, third locker room on the right.”
“Thanks,” and I left to go search for my opponent for tonight at Wrestle Series VIII.
“Hey Shaggy,” the number one contender for my belt, Jordan McCents, said after I knocked and walked in. “Did you talk to Vince yet?”
“I have,” I said, “and he wants a shoot if we can’t figure it out.”
“I tried to talk him out of it, Champ, because you and I both know our match won’t go well with us doing a shoot.”
“So, what should we do? Do you have any plans made up yet?”
“Well, I did make up some spots, champ, and I wrote them down, here they are,” then he grabbed the paper, “I would like it if we could do your finisher, somehow from off the top of the cage, us hanging or something.”
“Well, Jordan, for the King’s Hardcore Cage Match, which you know, this match of ours is the first match and this would be hard to pull off.”
“I know, Shaggy, would you like to do it and if so, how should we do this?”
“We just started our career’s here in the Global Wrestling Federation; my career started one year ago, this pay-per-view, and yours two year’s ago, this pay-per-view, not also saying how young we are.”
“Champ, it was only a suggestion, and if something happens bad to us, it’s not like we can’t use our degrees from college for something.”
“Jordan, I don’t want to waste my career, my life, and my friend to do something great. Plus, you know that the little kids always try the new stuff we do.”
Well, Jordan and I argued about it, and finally agreed to do it. The King’s Hardcore Cage Match, the new structure that was just made, which no one ever saw it before. The ring has a 15-foot high steel cage, the mesh cage, rapped around with barbed wire. But that isn’t all, the ring is surrounded with the wooded tables, with 10-foot steel ladders under them for we can use to climb up, in the ring, in the center of the barbed wire steel cage, to get and take down the Heavyweight Championship of the World down. All of this is surrounded and is happening in a structure called ‘the Hell In a Cell,’ which will surround the barbed wire cage, the tables and ladders outside the ring, and will hold the title up, which from the ring it is ten more feet taller then the Steel Cage, so 25 feet from the ring.
“So, then Shaggy,” Jordan asked me, right before I leave to get for our match, “are we still going to do it?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I said, walking out and shutting the door, for him and I can get ready for our big match.
After I got ready, it was time for my interview with Eric Sylvester, another guy who I grew up with.
“I am here with the World Heavyweight Champion, Shaggy McMoney,” Eric said, beginning our interview, “Shaggy, are you nervous, due to this being the big match, which is up next?”
“You know something, Eric ‘the Bike Man’ Sylvester,” I replied, “I am nervous, due to this being the biggest match in my young life and career.”
“Do you want to say anything to everyone in your family?”
“Yeah, I do, Eric, I would like to tell my family to have the younger kids look away if there is a lot of blood or if it gets really nasty, whatever comes first.”
“Shaggy, I got one last question before you have to go, what can we expect the Worlds Champ, you, to do to your opponent, the number one contender, Jordan McCents?”
“What you, Eric Sylvester, and the rest of the world can expect from me is to open the biggest can of whoop-a** on Jordan McCents that you'll all be surprised that ‘the Ol’ Mighty Shagg’ can do!”
Then the video of where and how Shaggy, me, and Jordan got where we are now, leading up to our legendary proportions.
I walked up to the Gorilla Position, where I seen Jordan looking through the curtain, to see the structure we are going to wrestle in. He then turned around, looking at me, and I can tell that he was also nervous and scared out of his wits.
Then the ring announcer, Jim Thunder, announced that it’s time for the main-event.
“It’s time for the main-event, here, at Global Wrestling Federation's Wrestle Series VIII,” Jim Thunder announced to the crowd and everyone who is watching via televise screen. “This match, the King’s hardcore Cage Match, is a one-fall match, by one of the two wrestlers has to escape out of this barbed wire steel cage, by out the door or over the top. When they do, they need to bring a ladder into the ring and climb up to capture the World Heavyweight Title! This all happens when the tables surround the ring inside a giant mesh cage with a roof on the top.”
Jordan McCents’ theme hits and he goes out of the Gorilla Position, I see him walk up to the giant cage and shake it, to test it to see if it will hold what everyone is going to see in a couple of short moments. He walks in the door, through the open area to get to the ring, where there are no tables, try to shake the smaller cage, forgetting it has a barbed wire, he shakes it without success. He takes his hands off, looks at them, with the blood already coming down, he enters the ring, and just that he laid me out last week with a Steel Folding Chair rapped with barbed wire.
My music hits and the crowd go nuts and no one could hear my music or hear Jim Thunder introduce me to the ring.
I never took my eyes off of Jordan, to sell to everyone that I am still mad at him for putting stitches, 15 of them, in my forehead, above my right eyebrow.
I enter the ring without hesitation, and gave the World belt to the ref, to suspend the title for Jordan and I can try to climb and get it.
The bell rang, everyone in the crowd were on their feet to see how this l legendary build-up match will start. Not the staff in the back knows how the match will start, the referee doesn’t know how the match is going to start, and even the two wrestlers do not know how the match is going to start.
“I can’t wait until those two gladiators hook it up and start this match up,” said Roger Anderson, a former professional wrestler, himself, was injured by the hands of Jordan McCents, who beat him to capture the Heavyweight Title.
“Roger, do you remember Shaggy McMoney, our Worlds Champ, said, ‘I am going to bleed, sweet, and pay the price to keep this title in my camp!’?” said Chris Erickson, a legend on the mic of color-commentating and broadcast journaling.
“Yeah, I do remember that, Chris,” ‘R.A.’ said, “I remember that because I was interviewing him when he said that.”
Then Jordan and I did a Collar-and-Bone Tie-up, which is just setting our right arms on each others left shoulders and our left arms touching the opponents’ upper right arms, and we asked how we should start. The only thing we did is what I thought of, and that was to do an Arm Drag.
I quickly stood up, hearing the roar of approval of the crowd. I looked at Jordan, and he has a shocked look on his face, like he didn't expect that I'll be pulling that out of the playbook. Jordan is one of the best wrestlers, who I faced and know, can sell just about everything, perfectly.
“Looks like McCents didn’t expect McMoney to go back to basics with ’em,” ‘R.A.’ Roger Anderson said after seeing Jordan’s shocked face.
Jordan then got up, walked towards me and I pulled off the Belly-to-Belly Suplex, which his body flew over the top rope and made contact with the solid barbed wire steel cage.
“Oh my gosh, Roger, looks like the champ wants to start this match quick without hesitation!” Chris Erickson said with excitement.
Jordan rolled back into the ring, holding his back, “Look at it,” Roger said with excitement, “McCents’ back is cut wide open!”
“How can a champ bust someone wide open right away in the match?” Erickson asked.
“Easily, my friend, with a Belly-to-Belly Overhead Suplex into the cage!”
I looked at his back, it was pretty bad, and I can tell that Jordan was in a lot of pain. So, I bought some time by going to the opposing corner and it on the top turnbuckle.
After about 45 seconds, Jordan get up, sprinting towards me, when I was talking with the crowd and leaped up to the top turnbuckle and hit me with the hurricanrana.
“Retribution is always so sweet,” Roger said due to the hurricanrana onto me off of the top turnbuckle.
Jordan than gave me the Blatant Choke, which really isn’t blatant due to there is no rules, he started to plan out the match with me, due to his long hair blocking his and mine face to the crowd.
“I love how the crowd is reacting to our match,” Jordan said to me.
“It’s great to hear the pop’s from them,” I said, “and what should we do now?”
“He is not letting off, ‘R.A.’, he is not letting off!” screamed Erickson.
“I’ll get up,” Jordan said, “taunt the crowd and you come and put me in the
sleeper.”
I blinked once, which means okay in the world of wrestling terminology, or at least in most of the world’s terminology.
So, Jordan got up, taught the crowd, and I caught my breath, and put him into the sleeper hold, like our plan.
When I did, of course, the crowd popped due to me being the home state hero and being a baby face, or a fan favorite, depending on who you talk to likes to indicate a good guy.
Jordan was fading fast from the oxygen being cut to his brain, so out of desperation, he did the famous counter of the sleeper, the back leg low blow, which brought me to the mat. If any man would be hit that hard, they would go down, too.
“Looks like McMoney is in pain, Erickson,” Roger said.
“Like normal, Jordan McCents has to resort to cheating his way out of holds and into the championship title scene,” Erickson said.
Jordan then went to the door, which was the only smart way to get out, to get a ladder and bring it into the ring.
Of course, the typical McCents fashion to buy more time, Jordan was taunting the crowd while getting the ladder. Jordan had to send in two tables to get a ladder. When he did get all of the hardware into the ring, I ran and hit him with a baseball slide to the chest, out the door of the cage, which launched him into the outside cage mesh.
I then got out of the cage, set up a ladder on the outside, and grabbed Jordan and started to climb.
Jordan hit me in the gut a couple of times to get away, and started to climb then inner cage. I caught him up there, and I set him up for the McMoney Cutter. I jumped off, with his head in my armpit, pretty much, and we smashed through some tables, Jordan’s face and head first, and me landing on my back.
The crowd was chanting ‘Holy S***!,’ which means a lot to us, wrestlers, in this business.
That knocked the wind out of me, and I can tell that Jordan is having troubles breathing. I started to panic because I didn’t mean for him to breather difficult to the move, us wrestlers always try to protect each other.
“Shaggy will pull out all the stops, Erickson, to remain the Heavyweight Champ of the World,” Roger said. “I know Shaggy would live up to his word by he will bleed, sweat, and pay the price for being and remaining as the World Heavyweight Champ!”
“I am surprised, Roger,” Chris Erickson said, “that these two men are still alive. This match is living up to the hype; it’s a pure out brawl!”
I crawled towards the steps, which was very difficult for me, due to broken tables, set-up tables, and ladders were in my way.
I was able to get to the stairs, after about a minute, with the crowd being dead silence, to see and hear what I and Jordan’s moves will be next.
“Shaggy will do anything to win,” Erickson said. “Just look at him, he did the McMoney Cutter off of the ladder, outside of the ring, putting his body and health on the line, through tables, just to slow his opponent, Jordan McCents, down!”
“Wait a minute,” Roger Anderson said in amazement, “while Shaggy is trying to set the ladder up in the ring, McCents is moving towards the steps. I can’t believe that his fall caused him to be busted wide open!”
“We can tell that these two men will do anything and everything to be the World Heavyweight Champ!”
I was shocked; too, that Jordan had enough energy to get up from that fall and still want to continue the match.
After seeing him, I started to climb the ladder, to see how far I can get. Well, it wasn’t too far, due to Jordan giving me the chop block to the knee, which made him fall, which he climbed the ladder, and I, off of the ladder.
Then, which is a shocker, Jordan got up before me and instead of climbing the ladder, he put me in the Figure Four Leg Lock.
“I can’t believe, Erickson,” Anderson yelled with excitement, “that McCents would pull off a move that we would expect McMoney to pull off!”
Jordan let go after about two or so minutes, after I tapped out a couple of times, and started to climb the ladder. He was only able to get up about a quarter of the way until I ht him with the low blow, which stopped him right in his tracks.
“Man, this is great,” Anderson said, “that McMoney now pulled a move that McCents uses. It is great seeing two men use each others move to punish one another!”
I went to the other side of the ladder, and started to climb. I got the same distance that Jordan get before; we both started to climb to the top to get the same prize after Jordan seen me start to climb.
As when we got there, we had to jump up to the top of the cage, so we would be hanging there by our hands. We started to kick each other, trying to knock each other down.
We must have been doing that for about 30 seconds, but felt like a couple of hours. But we did what Jordan wanted, he rapped his legs around me, to try to pull me down with his weight, I brought my legs up to his armpits, and dropped down, 25 feet to the mat, in my world famous finisher, the Minnesota Shagg, which is the Boston Crab.
When we landed, Jordan landed on his stomach and face, with me landing on his lower back. When we landed, I heard a snap, which isn’t a good thing you do not want to hear in real life, or in wrestling.
I just pulled his legs back for about 15-20 seconds to sell that it was the Minnesota Shagg that hurt Jordan’s back, not the fall.
I got off, to see how bad it hurt him. When I did look at him, he was knocked out cold due to the fall.
Not to sure how serious on how bad the injury was on him, I started to climb the ladder.
“With that fall, Shaggy should of climbed up and get his title,” Anderson said.
“Hopefully, McCents isn’t too injured from the Minnesota Shagg fall off of the roof,” Erickson said.
I got up to the top of the ladder, I leaped to the roof, which I got there, and grabbed my title, and fell.
“Shaggy McMoney is successful in retaining his title!” Erickson said with excitement.
“Here is your winner, and still the World heavyweight Champion, Shaggy McMoney!” Jim Thunder, the ring announcer said.
“McMoney lived up to his word,” Anderson said, “and he took out McCents in doing so!”
The cameras quit rolling, and the crowd was leaving, I came back and helped the EMT's get Jordan on a stretcher.
When we got to the back, Vince Bischoff, our boss, ran up and said, “What the hell happened?”
“It all went wrong!” I screamed, not knowing what is going to happen.
“I got the news that two little kids did exactly what you two just did, and they died!”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, Shaggy, it did happen, and you know what else, Shaggy, my job is on the line, due to what you two did. And if my job is on the line, Shaggy, so is yours!”
They took Jordan, who is still on the stretcher, knocked out, into the ambulance, and left.
“I’m sorry that we did it,” I said, “but I did try to talk him out of doing this, but he kept on wanting us to do this. Also to that, you did not have any plans on how or what should we do or who should win. I am not saying you, or Jordan should be the whole blame, but it’s not my whole fault!”
Then an officer came up to us, “to tell you, Mr. Bischoff, the kid didn’t die, and the parents will not file charges on you or any of your wrestlers or your company if you send someone to talk to them.”
Mr. Bischoff was happy to hear that.
“Okay, thanks,” Bischoff said. “Now, Shaggy, if Jordan is okay with it, you'll be good to go.”
Then his cell phone rang, “Hello... Yes this is I... Okay, he won’t?... Okay... Okay, thanks for the informing me,” and he hanged up the phone.
“What did they say?” I asked.
“You’re off the hook,” Mr. Bischoff said, “and Shaggy, thanks for the great match.”
So, I left, took a shower, grabbed my bag and my belt, and I left. I went on the plane to where the next show was, which was on national cable television, and Mr. Bischoff called me on my cell phone and said the two kids are in the hospital of the town we are going to be in the next night.
After I got off the plane, took a limo to the hospital, which the kids were at, and I spent the night there.
The nurses woke me up at seven, saying that the two kids are awake now, and I can
go and see them.
So I did. I woke up, and seen the two kids lying in bed, in the same room, watching the news about them, and what caused them to do it, which they then showed the seen of when Jordan and I dropped from the roof into the Minnesota Shagg.
“Hey, it’s Shaggy McMoney!” the first kid said, who did the move to the other kid.
“Why are you here?” asked the second one.
“I am here to talk to the both of you,” I said. “I heard that you two tried what Jordan McCents and I did last night. Well, I am sure that the both of you didn’t know is that I seriously hurt him, and as of right now, I do not know he'll be able to wrestle again. Then I heard the news of two of my fans tried on each other what I did to Jordan, I was shocked.
“I was shocked because I thought that wrestling fans know that we, the wrestlers, go through a lot of training, sacrifices, and pain to become wrestlers.”
“Like what kind of pain do you go though!” asked the first kid.
“Most of the time, I find myself, like you two, in a hospital bed, getting better, in the morning. That’s not all, either, I have to be out on the road four days a week, totaling in at least 250 days a year on the road.”
“So, being a wrestler sucks?”
“No, it doesn’t, if you do not have to hear about this kind of stuff. That is why we have commercials saying, ‘Please don’t try this at home.’ I can’t stress that enough.”
“We’re sorry.”
“I know you, the both of you, are. So, when the both of you get better, and get out of here, tell your friends, ‘Let’s not wrestle,’ because we, the wrestlers are professionals, we know what we’re doing. Will you do that for me?”
“Yes sir.”
“Now, get better, and always remember, McMoneyism is the only way to survive!”
A Match Gone Wrong Terms
• Everything Goes: The Pay-Per-View that Shaggy McMoney won the World Heavyweight Championship from Jordan McCents in a Last Man Standing Match, nine months before this PPV.
• Shoot: A match that is not planned out before, where they do not "Pull" any moves, where they make contact 100% of the time.
• Wrestle Series VIII: The Pay-Per-View that this event, the match, happened at.
• Spots: Certain parts of a match.
• The King's Hardcore Cage Match: A Match that the author, Eric Darsie, made up. The ring has a 15-foot high steel cage, the mesh cage, rapped around with barbed wire. But that isn’t all, the ring is surrounded with the wooded tables, with 10-foot steel ladders under them for we can use to climb up, in the ring, in the center of the barbed wire steel cage, to get and take down the Heavyweight Championship of the World down. All of this is surrounded and is happening in a structure called ‘the Hell In a Cell,’ which will surround the barbed wire cage, the tables and ladders outside the ring, and will hold the title up, which from the ring it is ten more feet taller then the Steel Cage, so 25 feet from the ring.
• The Global Wrestling Federation: Another one of the author's, Eric Darsie, creation, which is representing the current big wrestling company, the World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.™(the WWE™), which is owned by Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
• Pay-Per-View: A 3 hour or so show that you have to pay to see, due to the matches are bigger then the normal matches on cable or regular television.
• Gorilla Position: The place right before coming out onto the stage, where the staff of the theme music, wrestler’s video, and pyro, goes off.
• Sell: To act; to make something seem real.
• Hook It Up: Start the match; start to wrestle.
• Collar-and bone Tie-Up: which is just setting our right arms on each others left shoulders and our left arms touching the opponents’ upper right arms, and we asked how we should start.
• Arm Drag: When you grab your opponent's arm, fall to the ground, and whip him to the mat.
• Belly-to-Belly Overhead Suplex: A move that you throw your opponent, from facing them, over your head, both landing on your backs.
• Bought some time: Wrestling's way for taking the crowd off of his/her opponent, if something serious or whatever happened.
• Turnbuckle: The corner, which is a metal post with small pillows in the corners where the ropes meet it.
• Hurricanrana: When you are up on your opponent's shoulder's, sitting there, you facing one way and they the other way, and you do a backwards roll, which your opponent would land on their head or upper shoulders.
• Blatant Choke: Is just a regular choke, but on the ground.
• Pops: Is when the crowd goes nuts; cheer for their favorite wrestler.
• Baby face: Fan favorite, depending on who you talk to, likes to indicate a good guy.
• Back leg low blow: You raise your leg, backwards, and hit your opponent in the groin.
• Mat: The canvas which covers the ring.
• Baseball slide: A slide that is just like what baseball players do into the plate, but you are in the ring, your opponent is outside, and you run and hit him with the baseball slide.
• McMoney Cutter: Standing up, having the opponents head in your armpit, him/her bending over, you do a 180 degree turn, with your opponents head moving up to the top of your shoulder, you fall to your back, smashing your opponents head into the mat.
• Chop block (to the knee): When someone would drive their shoulder, standing up, into back of their opponents’ knee, while they are also standing up.
• Figure Four Leg Lock: Where you grab one leg, when your opponent is on the mat, on their back, and you walk a circle around the leg, one leg is in-between your opponents legs, with that leg you circled, rapped behind your leg, you bend down, grab the other leg, bend it at the knee, to make a 90 degree angle, put it on their other leg, you put your free leg in the opening of the two legs, fall down and put pressure on his/her legs with yours.
• Tapped out: When you are in a submission hold, and you do not want to say 'I quit', you just hit your hand on the mat three quick times to indicate to the ref, wherever (s) he is, saying that you give up the match and victory to your opponent.
• Low blow: Where, from behind, you hit your opponent, through the legs, in the groin area.
• Minnesota Shagg (Boston Crab): Where your opponent is on his/her back, you go up and put their feet into your armpits and you put your forearms by the back of their knees, and turn them over, to their stomach, and sit down on their lower back, pulling their legs back, which hurts their lower back.
If I Didn't Care (For You)
If I Didn’t Care
Hey everyone. Here's a poem that I wrote for my poetry class that I have this semester. I really like this poem. This poem was inspired by former professional wrestler "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, or "the Genius," to old-school WWF fans. If people don't remember those names, Lanny Poffo is the brother to "the Macho Man" Randy Savage, former 2-time WWF Champion and 4-time WCW Champion, and rap star (who's album I do have, if anyone wants to borrow it or listen to it).
If I didn’t care
More than I can ever say
If I didn’t care
Would I be here?
If I didn’t love,
Why do I still thrill?
And what makes my thoughts
Go round and around
When my blood
Just stays still?
If I didn’t care
Would it all be the same?
Would my every prayer
Be for your best interest?
And could I be sure
If it’s really love?
Could this all be true,
If I didn’t care for you?
If I didn’t care
Would it all be the same?
Would my every prayer
Be for your best interest?
And could I be sure
If it’s really love?
Could this all be true,
If I didn’t care for you?
Hey everyone. Here's a poem that I wrote for my poetry class that I have this semester. I really like this poem. This poem was inspired by former professional wrestler "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, or "the Genius," to old-school WWF fans. If people don't remember those names, Lanny Poffo is the brother to "the Macho Man" Randy Savage, former 2-time WWF Champion and 4-time WCW Champion, and rap star (who's album I do have, if anyone wants to borrow it or listen to it).
If I didn’t care
More than I can ever say
If I didn’t care
Would I be here?
If I didn’t love,
Why do I still thrill?
And what makes my thoughts
Go round and around
When my blood
Just stays still?
If I didn’t care
Would it all be the same?
Would my every prayer
Be for your best interest?
And could I be sure
If it’s really love?
Could this all be true,
If I didn’t care for you?
If I didn’t care
Would it all be the same?
Would my every prayer
Be for your best interest?
And could I be sure
If it’s really love?
Could this all be true,
If I didn’t care for you?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Trials, Emotions, and a Yellow Note Pad
Trials, Emotions, and a Yellow Note Pad
After listening to a sermon by John Piper today after class covering John 6:1-15, I wanted to go and have a quiet time over those fifteen verses, as well as the whole chapter, John 6. The reason why I wanted to do that is because of a few reasons, but they are as follows: idols in my life (professional wrestling, my iPod, podcasts, etc.), sin, being content in sinning, a deceitful mind, anger, philosophy, and other people’s words. Why am I bringing this up, and why am I putting this out there, in the public eye? I hope this may help you guys as well as it helped me, reading John 6, reflecting it with God, and now on my computer screen, being read by you.
But before I go further, directly below is a link to the John Piper sermon I listened to today. I highly suggest you all to take time, download it and listen to it. It helped me out on seeing things not with my own eyes that can be blind, but more with God’s.
“The All-Providing King Who Would Not Be King”—John Piper
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2009/4376_The_AllProviding_King_Who_Would_Not_Be_King/
John 6 discussed several different things. It covers as follows: verses 1 – 15 (“Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand”), verses 16 – 24 (“Jesus Walks on the Water”), verses 25 – 59 (“Jesus the Bred of Life”), and verses 60 – 71 (“Many Disciples Desert Jesus”).
Verse fifteen strike me to be kind of odd. Here it is: “Jesus, knowing that they tended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself (NIV).” Why did this verse strike me as odd? That even Jesus left to go spend time alone with God the father. This pops out to me, asking me this question: Do you take time out for God, alone, away from everything? And in words of Chris Sligh:
Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me
So I can be
Filled with you
Great song. Go out and buy that song, if not the whole album! The song is “Empty Me.” But to the point I was making, we all should go and take time, along with God, for He can help us empty us of ourselves. For He can kill off all the things that isn’t of Him for we all can be filled with Him.
Another passage that spoke to me is this, John 6:43-51: 43"Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. 44"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (NIV)." The reason why this passage spoke to me is Jesus is laying it out on the line that he is the only way to see God, that he is the only way to receive eternal life. Jesus said all he needed to, there’s nothing for me to comment on.
The last section in John 6, verses 60 to 71 spoke to me. Here they are:
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
70Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
Wow. Why just one word? Jesus calls people to come to Him, and only people He calls come. One may ask then, at the end of the book Matthew, why did Jesus call us to “go out and make disciples” if only people who He’s called comes in? To me, I believe it because through going out and sharing the greatest gift we received in the world, why shouldn’t we go and share that with people, especially if people’s eyes aren’t opened yet to the love of Jesus Christ and the gift He’s given us with His death upon the cross.
My ministry outreach…
Or I should say; I feel like the lack-there-of. What do I mean, you may ask? Yes, I am co-leading the men’s bible study in Case Hall on St Cloud State University campus. But to be dead honest with you, I feel like nothing is coming out of it. Yes, I was able to get to know a couple of new freshmen, who I enjoy each time I am able to spend time with them and get to know them. I was able to meet another guy who’s coming back to Christ, which is huge to me that he’s coming to the bible study that I co-lead. That’s really awesome. And the two other guys who come I absolutely love. I’ve known them for years but this year is the first year that I’ve been able to get a better chance to get to know them. Names don’t matter for these five men, but it wouldn’t be hard to figure out whom I am referring to.
But still, I feel like the time I spend for those men, nothing’s coming out of it. Yeah, two freshmen come and three upperclassmen. Shouldn’t it be all about their growth, as well as mine and the other co-leader over numbers? Yes, that is what should be the key, and it is, but the thing that is discouraging is this: feeling unable to connect with those men that God has placed in my hands to help them grow in their faith. I told myself this year that I need to spend time with my men that God gave me over last year when last year I didn’t care outside of twice a week, at bible study and at Cru. And to be honest, I really don’t know what I can do. I’ve prayed about it, I’ve talked to Godly men about this, and I still don’t know what to do. Feelings and emotions sucks. Greatly.
One song that I never really liked at first but grew on me, and each time I hear the song and each time I read the lyrics, God speaks to me through the song. What song am I referring to? “By Your Side” by Tenth Avenue North. Here are the lyrics I like:
Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away
Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run
And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you
The reason why I love this song is because the band reminds me of the promise God made to us through His son and what His son did for us that Friday in the Middle East. That song reminds me that no matter what, no matter if I choose to sin, no matter how I feel, no matter what, God wants me to go to Him for everything. He’s awesome, and it’s neat that He is.
I don’t know. I don’t know if this helped any of you out there. I know it has for me. I am in a better mood after doing this, reviewing scripture, listening to a sermon, and listening to worship music. I don’t know if any of you out there go through the same things I am going through, but if so, I hope somehow that this helps.
After listening to a sermon by John Piper today after class covering John 6:1-15, I wanted to go and have a quiet time over those fifteen verses, as well as the whole chapter, John 6. The reason why I wanted to do that is because of a few reasons, but they are as follows: idols in my life (professional wrestling, my iPod, podcasts, etc.), sin, being content in sinning, a deceitful mind, anger, philosophy, and other people’s words. Why am I bringing this up, and why am I putting this out there, in the public eye? I hope this may help you guys as well as it helped me, reading John 6, reflecting it with God, and now on my computer screen, being read by you.
But before I go further, directly below is a link to the John Piper sermon I listened to today. I highly suggest you all to take time, download it and listen to it. It helped me out on seeing things not with my own eyes that can be blind, but more with God’s.
“The All-Providing King Who Would Not Be King”—John Piper
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2009/4376_The_AllProviding_King_Who_Would_Not_Be_King/
John 6 discussed several different things. It covers as follows: verses 1 – 15 (“Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand”), verses 16 – 24 (“Jesus Walks on the Water”), verses 25 – 59 (“Jesus the Bred of Life”), and verses 60 – 71 (“Many Disciples Desert Jesus”).
Verse fifteen strike me to be kind of odd. Here it is: “Jesus, knowing that they tended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself (NIV).” Why did this verse strike me as odd? That even Jesus left to go spend time alone with God the father. This pops out to me, asking me this question: Do you take time out for God, alone, away from everything? And in words of Chris Sligh:
Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me
So I can be
Filled with you
Great song. Go out and buy that song, if not the whole album! The song is “Empty Me.” But to the point I was making, we all should go and take time, along with God, for He can help us empty us of ourselves. For He can kill off all the things that isn’t of Him for we all can be filled with Him.
Another passage that spoke to me is this, John 6:43-51: 43"Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. 44"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (NIV)." The reason why this passage spoke to me is Jesus is laying it out on the line that he is the only way to see God, that he is the only way to receive eternal life. Jesus said all he needed to, there’s nothing for me to comment on.
The last section in John 6, verses 60 to 71 spoke to me. Here they are:
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
70Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
Wow. Why just one word? Jesus calls people to come to Him, and only people He calls come. One may ask then, at the end of the book Matthew, why did Jesus call us to “go out and make disciples” if only people who He’s called comes in? To me, I believe it because through going out and sharing the greatest gift we received in the world, why shouldn’t we go and share that with people, especially if people’s eyes aren’t opened yet to the love of Jesus Christ and the gift He’s given us with His death upon the cross.
My ministry outreach…
Or I should say; I feel like the lack-there-of. What do I mean, you may ask? Yes, I am co-leading the men’s bible study in Case Hall on St Cloud State University campus. But to be dead honest with you, I feel like nothing is coming out of it. Yes, I was able to get to know a couple of new freshmen, who I enjoy each time I am able to spend time with them and get to know them. I was able to meet another guy who’s coming back to Christ, which is huge to me that he’s coming to the bible study that I co-lead. That’s really awesome. And the two other guys who come I absolutely love. I’ve known them for years but this year is the first year that I’ve been able to get a better chance to get to know them. Names don’t matter for these five men, but it wouldn’t be hard to figure out whom I am referring to.
But still, I feel like the time I spend for those men, nothing’s coming out of it. Yeah, two freshmen come and three upperclassmen. Shouldn’t it be all about their growth, as well as mine and the other co-leader over numbers? Yes, that is what should be the key, and it is, but the thing that is discouraging is this: feeling unable to connect with those men that God has placed in my hands to help them grow in their faith. I told myself this year that I need to spend time with my men that God gave me over last year when last year I didn’t care outside of twice a week, at bible study and at Cru. And to be honest, I really don’t know what I can do. I’ve prayed about it, I’ve talked to Godly men about this, and I still don’t know what to do. Feelings and emotions sucks. Greatly.
One song that I never really liked at first but grew on me, and each time I hear the song and each time I read the lyrics, God speaks to me through the song. What song am I referring to? “By Your Side” by Tenth Avenue North. Here are the lyrics I like:
Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away
Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run
And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you
The reason why I love this song is because the band reminds me of the promise God made to us through His son and what His son did for us that Friday in the Middle East. That song reminds me that no matter what, no matter if I choose to sin, no matter how I feel, no matter what, God wants me to go to Him for everything. He’s awesome, and it’s neat that He is.
I don’t know. I don’t know if this helped any of you out there. I know it has for me. I am in a better mood after doing this, reviewing scripture, listening to a sermon, and listening to worship music. I don’t know if any of you out there go through the same things I am going through, but if so, I hope somehow that this helps.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Last Resort
Last Resort
By Eric Darsie
You said we’ll go
Only as a Last Resort
What the hell happened?
We should have let ‘em do their job!
Chorus A
It ain’t worth billions
Which can be use towards education
Are you feeling okay, Mr. President?
You said it will be our Last Resort
Politicians today use the war of yesterday
To me, that is sad
Why are we in war?
Now the world hates us!
Chorus B
How much is it now?
Who’ll pay for it?
We’re not dumb
Thanks, what a Last Resort
The rumors of the draft
Memories of Vietnam
What the hell?
Do I want to go?
Chorus A
Chorus B
Chorus C
The Last Resort
Where did it go?
I’m not rich
So I gotta go!
My parents aren’t politicians
They work hard for money
I work for monkey nut hair
I’m screwed, I have to go!
Chorus A
Chorus C
Chorus B
Chorus A
Us against the world
It soon will be
I’m not for it
What a Last Resort
By Eric Darsie
You said we’ll go
Only as a Last Resort
What the hell happened?
We should have let ‘em do their job!
Chorus A
It ain’t worth billions
Which can be use towards education
Are you feeling okay, Mr. President?
You said it will be our Last Resort
Politicians today use the war of yesterday
To me, that is sad
Why are we in war?
Now the world hates us!
Chorus B
How much is it now?
Who’ll pay for it?
We’re not dumb
Thanks, what a Last Resort
The rumors of the draft
Memories of Vietnam
What the hell?
Do I want to go?
Chorus A
Chorus B
Chorus C
The Last Resort
Where did it go?
I’m not rich
So I gotta go!
My parents aren’t politicians
They work hard for money
I work for monkey nut hair
I’m screwed, I have to go!
Chorus A
Chorus C
Chorus B
Chorus A
Us against the world
It soon will be
I’m not for it
What a Last Resort
Litter Box
Litter Box
By Eric Darsie
Having to clean the litter box
Really does stink, a lot
Cleaning up cat poop and clumps of pee
I guess I’ll just have to get nasty
Chorus
La-la-la-litter box, why do you do?
Why do you do these things to me?
Why do you make me clean you?
Couldn’t you be a bit like our toilet?
Yes, cats, dogs, and animals alike do need to go
But can’t they go like us,
In our toilets and flush their things down?
It would be a lot cheaper shot to our wallets
Chorus
I know they like my touch and love
They do appreciate when I do clean the litter box
But what a world it would be if, you know,
If our animals were toilet trained
Chorus
By Eric Darsie
Having to clean the litter box
Really does stink, a lot
Cleaning up cat poop and clumps of pee
I guess I’ll just have to get nasty
Chorus
La-la-la-litter box, why do you do?
Why do you do these things to me?
Why do you make me clean you?
Couldn’t you be a bit like our toilet?
Yes, cats, dogs, and animals alike do need to go
But can’t they go like us,
In our toilets and flush their things down?
It would be a lot cheaper shot to our wallets
Chorus
I know they like my touch and love
They do appreciate when I do clean the litter box
But what a world it would be if, you know,
If our animals were toilet trained
Chorus
Facing Goodbye
Facing Goodbye
By Eric Darsie
How can I deal wit this pain
That I’m struggling with inside?
Could this truly be the end
Of our friendship that was deep and close?
[Chorus]
I can’t handle facing goodbye
I never expected us to be such good friends
But we did become just that
And now, it’s over, and its now goodbye
It’s always painful when it all comes down
The world around you never eases up
Only can turn to God to solve the problems
Why, God, why, are we going through this pain?
My decisions that I’ve made got us here
I was once blind but now I see
The sin I was living in, you helped uncover the veil
That was covering my eyes
Chorus
Now it’s time to say goodbye to everyone and everything
There’s no turning back or back-tracking
Ashamed of what choices I’ve made
Only one road I can travel down now
Chorus
By Eric Darsie
How can I deal wit this pain
That I’m struggling with inside?
Could this truly be the end
Of our friendship that was deep and close?
[Chorus]
I can’t handle facing goodbye
I never expected us to be such good friends
But we did become just that
And now, it’s over, and its now goodbye
It’s always painful when it all comes down
The world around you never eases up
Only can turn to God to solve the problems
Why, God, why, are we going through this pain?
My decisions that I’ve made got us here
I was once blind but now I see
The sin I was living in, you helped uncover the veil
That was covering my eyes
Chorus
Now it’s time to say goodbye to everyone and everything
There’s no turning back or back-tracking
Ashamed of what choices I’ve made
Only one road I can travel down now
Chorus
NWA/WCW World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage match--WCW Capital Combat 1990
NWA/WCW World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage match-WCW Capital Combat 1990
By Eric Darsie
The main event of the evening put challenger United States Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger (with his astro-green trunks) taking on National Wrestling Alliance/World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship inside the Steel Cage, in Washington D.C. A normal pay-per-view back then, they did not build up the main event right before the match, so I got a hold of a very good source (thanks Eric Gargiulo!) helped me on knowing what lead up to the pay-per-view.
Lex Luger, to my surprise, was a replacement for Sting, who tore his knee in an angle seven to fourteen days before at the Clash of Champions. The biggest downfall of Sting’s knee being torn is NWA/WCW took a year building the Flair/Sting storyline, and the replacement they had was Luger. The predicament they were in was Luger was a heel, which meant they had to turn him face quickly, for their match at Wrestle War, a month before the match that I watched.
The match at Capital Combat that I watched was a rematch between the two because Ric Flair won by a count-out at Wrestle War 1990, caused by Ole Anderson attacking Sting outside the ring and Luger running out to save his fallen friend.
Looking at the match length at Wrestle War with the “Total Package” Lex Luger and the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, their match at Wrestle War went almost forty minutes. Why that surprises me is that their match at Capital Combat was about half the length of their match at Wrestle War.
Another huge part at Capital Combat was the wild card was Robo Cop. Robo Cop was there to rescue Sting away from World Heavyweight Champion and the IV Horsemen. Why this was a huge part back in the 1990’s was the crossover promotion with having Robo Cop on National Wrestling Alliance/World Championship Wrestling television. This was the same thing for the World Wrestling Federation and Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI, having him face Bam Bam Bigelow.
But anyways, that’s the background of the match, here’s the review of the match:
One of the funniest lines that I heard was when Ric Flair came out, with Woman (Nancy Benoit), Bob Caudle mentioned: “…the wrestler of the decade of the ‘80’s…” That gave me a good laugh, because one it was Ric Flair, and two, it was a great line. When Flair was being introduced, he was introduced as a six-time World Champ. A fact that the next time Flair comes back to WCW within a couple of years; he’ll be an eight-time World Champ.
Something that I did enjoy was the referee was patting down Luger, Flair, and Woman, because ref’s these days simply don’t do that anymore. And it was weird that Woman was left to stay inside the cage during the whole match. That surprised me, and at the end of the match, it still didn’t make much sense to me. But that’s okay.
One thing that we don’t see in the world of professional wrestling anymore was delayed vertical suplexes. Both Luger and Flair gave each other a delayed vertical suplex, and there was a lot of holds and moves in this match, which was something I really enjoyed during the match. Talking about holds, another move that I haven’t seen that often was Luger gave Flair a couple of Military Press Slams.
Another line that I got a good chuckle was when Bob Caudle mentioned “…most dangerous when he’s injured…,” referring to Ric Flair being outside of the ring, right by Woman, taking a break from the action with Luger inside the ring.
Where the hard camera was located, we saw the “Floor C” sign a lot for the crowd. Why I bring that up? I find that interesting that we saw that a couple of times. Good stuff. Also, I noted that I really love Flair matches around this time period, he makes everything look great.
A turning point for the match was when there was a “suplex from Lex,” which hurt his injured right knee. After which, Flair took his time on stomping Luger’s knee, ankle, leg region, setting him up for the patented Figure Four Leg Lock. Go submissions! Flair did a belly-to-back suplex, I almost cried because of all the wrestling moves and holds in this match-up.
During this time, the Horsmen came down to cage side, trying to get inside the cage, not wanting their man to lose the World’s Championship to Luger, and then Sting came down and triple teamed the Horsemen, then Ole “found” where the operating table was to raise the cage for Barry Windham to get in and attack Luger, when he had “the Nature Boy” up in his finisher, the “Torture Rack.”
A great match, I thought, especially coming from a early WCW pay-per-view, but made me realize on why I love the matches of man we know as Ric Flair, the greatest World’s Heavyweight Champion in professional wrestling history.
Another reason why I love Ric Flair was the couple of words that we were able to be graced by him after the match. “You keep your mouth shut!” That he hollered out to a fan. I love that guy. Another line was “…there is only one [referring to the World Heavyweight Championship], and it’s mine!” Ric Flair is full of great one-liners.
But I did enjoy this match, with a lot of wrestling holds and wrestling moves. I do appreciate matches like this and am happy that I do have this match on VHS. But this is Eric Darsie, jamming out to Black Stone Cherry, goodbye!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Moral Right and Wrong: Is There Such An Answer?
Hey everyone...
I'm taking a Metaethics class this semester and we've been talking about moral judgments, is there such, and we've been talking about moral rights and moral wrongs. I would like to get people's thoughts on the following:
-Moral judgments
-Moral right/right
-Moral absolutes
E-mail me at daer0501@stcloudstate.edu, I'll love to hear your responses. I am hoping to get some free time this semester and write something up about it.
Thanks!
I'm taking a Metaethics class this semester and we've been talking about moral judgments, is there such, and we've been talking about moral rights and moral wrongs. I would like to get people's thoughts on the following:
-Moral judgments
-Moral right/right
-Moral absolutes
E-mail me at daer0501@stcloudstate.edu, I'll love to hear your responses. I am hoping to get some free time this semester and write something up about it.
Thanks!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The Montreal Screw Job--12 Years Later
The Montréal Screw Job—12 Years Later
By Eric R. Darsie
November 9th, 1997—Montréal, Quebec, Canada—Survivor Series 1997—WWE Heavyweight Championship match, putting Champion Bret “the Hitman” Hart against Challenger “the Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. A feud that started after Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble match in 1996. Bret Hart won his third World Wrestling Federation Championship from Diesel (Kevin Nash) at the Survivor Series 1995. Now looking at the WWF Championship changed hands six years in a row at the Survivor Series, from years 1994 to 1999.
But going back to what this article is directed towards, let’s go to that cold November night up in Montréal, Quebec, and let’s discuss the main event of that evening, the WWF Championship match with Hart defending the title against Michaels. I have heard many different stories over the past decade and a fifth since the “Screw Job,” so with the little time I have left of my summer before my fourth year of college, I decided to finish reading Bret Hart’s autobiography about his life and career in professional wrestling, look over my notes when I read Shawn Michaels’ autobiography, re-read that section, look into the books of other professional wrestlers, like Mick Foley and Ric Flair, and do a lot of searching on YouTube for clips of different wrestlers talking on this topic.
Before I go in more of this article, I want to put out there that my intent of this article isn’t to make any side of this situation look bad. That isn’t my intent and I’m not on the ‘inside’ of the WWE or the wrestling business. I’ve been a wrestling fan my whole life, since the beginning of 1988. I’ve grown up watching the best and worst of the business in the past twenty years and want to look into some of the biggest events in the sport of professional wrestling.
I also host Monday Night Raw every week during the school year at my apartment. The guys that do come, a good half of them never watched wrestling before the Monday night before the Royal Rumble this year. I am assuming that they may ask what’s up with this whole “Screw Job” thing. So I wanted to try to give a objective view of all sides of the story of what material that’s out there, both men’s books, watching their DVD’s, and watching Vince McMahon’s DVD, as well as review books that I remember reading in the past that talked about the topic, as well as get help from friends who’ve been a part of the business, on looking at the situation differently.
As a last thing, I want to put out there that I always enjoyed the work that all three men put out. I’ve been a “Heartbreak Kid” fan since 1995, and more and more I’ve aged and more and more I’ve been exposed to the business, I’ve fallen in love with “the Hitman’s” work. When it comes to McMahon, I’ve had WWF/WWE in my blood since I was born; I always rooted for the WWE when it was at war with WCW during the “Monday Night War” days. Like stated above, I want to offer a perspective on not trying to bash any side on what their decisions where, because at that time each party made a choice that they thought was best for themselves (or their company—for Vince McMahon’s sake).
I do hope that you’ll enjoy this article that I created so-to-say. It was my pleasure doing the research, for me, re-watching the DVD’s of all three men to try to get a different perspective with a different perspective for me out of the DVD, for the sake of this research article, and I hope it’s an article that you all enjoy and had a great time reading, and I hope it’s a article that you would suggest to your friends to read, if they want to read something about the whole “Montréal Screw Job” or just want to get more knowledgeable about the sport that we know as professional wrestling. Now with me finish going on with what I think I should say for the introduction, let’s get into the article.
The Bret Hart Argument
“I’m the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be!” Was the quote that you heard Bret Hart spew out each and every time he had a chance to talk on television or any media for that matter. One of the greatest in-ring performers, arguably, due to his technical skill and his many World Championship reigns, marks Bret Hart as one of the best. I believe when doing a research article about the whole “Montréal Screwing.
Bret Hart can be compared in the WWF as the 1990’s Hulk Hogan. Why the ‘90’s Hulkster? He can get the crowd into his match at any time he wanted. And in addition, Hart had the torch passed to him by Hulk Hogan when Hogan left the WWF in 1993 for WCW. But let’s dig into some quotes that I was able to dig up for this research article.
“On Sunday morning, I called Vince at home. He was friendly and more than a little quick as far as I was concerned to advise me that I’d done the right thing. He still wanted Shawn to beat me at Survivor Series the following weekend. I cut him off. “I’m sorry Vince. I’ve always done everything you’ve asked, but I can’t do that. I’ll put over anybody you want, but I will not, under any circumstances, put over Shawn Michaels.” (page 447, Chapter 40: ‘Think With Your Head, Not With Your Heart,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
This could sound very selfish, to be dead honest. But one needs to know the history backstage with Hart and Michaels. Those two have been having attitudes, one can say, with one another. Bret went up to Shawn in the back before, I think a couple of months before this happened, and told Shawn in front of all the boys in the locker room and said that he’s willing to do a job for Shawn, and expected Shawn to do the same for him, and Shawn said he won’t. Which explains the quote above.
“ “Come on, Vince. I made myself clear to both you and Shawn in Tulsa. I’ll drop it to Austin or Taker. Hell, I’ll even drop it to Lombardi at the Garden. Vince, you told me I could leave any way I wanted! Remember?” (page 447, Chapter 40: ‘Think With Your Head, Not With Your Heart,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
One big issue for Bret was he had creative control of his last thirty days right before he left the World Wrestling Federation. As you’ll learn soon by his quotes, Bret did mention that he could stay until December, which would be a breach of contract to my understanding, having creative control of more than his last thirty days in the WWF. But to the quote that I put into this article to show the frustration that Bret had with Michaels, and his willingness to drop the belt to anyone else than to the Heartbreak Kid.
“I told him again that I wouldn’t do it. “Everything has been geared toward the Canadian hero winning this match. It’ll kill me off to lose to Shawn in Montréal after everything he’s done. He’s picked his nose on TV with the Canadian flag, and just last week he said that Stu is dead on international TV. I’d lose all my self-respect. If he puts me over, I’ll be happy to put him over. We’ve got over a month until I go to WCW, Vince, surely we can come up with something.” (page 448, Chapter 40: ‘Think With Your Head, Not With Your Heart,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Like said earlier in the article, and in this section to that fact, Hart had creative control for his last thirty days in the World Wrestling Federation, and if he dictated this what he said in this above quote, he would have control of more than thirty days of his last days in the WWF. But it could of drawn more money for Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation if Hart would of won at the Survivor Series, fans knowing full well that he’s going to World Championship Wrestling, and at the next pay-per-view, losing the title to HBK. But at least with HBK winning the title in November, it gave Ken Shamrock a chance to challenge for the World Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Championship. I don’t think Bret thought of that all the way through.
“For the rest of the week we went back and forth. He’d tell me I could win, then he’d tell me I couldn’t. I stood my ground and refused to lose—for the first and only time in my career (page 448, Chapter 40: ‘Think With Your Head, Not With Your Heart,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Bret said that he made his career on never refusing to lose to anyone but once, and that’s to Shawn Michaels at the Survivor Series 1997 in Montréal, Quebec. I understand that he stood his ground and not let McMahon take the advantage of him during his last days in his company, but to me it didn’t sound like Bret tried to take to understand why McMahon went back and forth on wanting Bret to lose to Shawn, then saying he can beat HBK. Bret, but I want to send my congrats to you for standing your ground on not wanting to lose to Michaels, standing firm against the boss during your last days in the company.
“It was November 8, the night before Survivor Series ’97. I was in the dressing room at the Cobo Hall in Detroit. Vince and I were still stalemated. I was worn out with conflicting emotions, grief vying with an adrenaline rush of clarity. I was convinced Vince would ruin me just for the sick pleasure of it. I kept reminding myself that if I’d stayed in the WWF, Shawn and Hunter would have done all they could to drive me out anyway. Jack Lanza pulled me aside to tell me that I was doing the right for the business: “I wouldn’t drop the belt to that little motherfucker either!” I never knew whether Jack meant what he said or was trying to provoke a reactions out of me that would somehow play into his boss’s hands (page 449, Chapter 41: ‘The Montréal Screwjob,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Wouldn’t staying in the WWF show Shawn and Hunter (Triple H) that you are a stronger and a better man than them? If I was on Bret’s end, I would see it that way. If I was on the end of Shawn or Triple H, and someone I was trying to drive out of where I worked didn’t work, I would literally poop my pants and wonder what I had to do just to get under that guy’s skin. I would have a new found respect for that guy and treat him with the respect that he deserved (given that it would be a guy, I wouldn’t try to do that to a woman, by-the-way).
And when it came to Jack Lanza, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was doing what Bret suspected, tried to get a reaction out of Bret to go back to McMahon and tell him out Bret reacted. That, I have more respect for Bret for not losing his edge when Lanza was there and said that he won’t as well drop the belt to Shawn if he’s in Bret’s current situation (at that time, it was current).
“After taking my mic off and changing into my gear, I found Shawn. One last time, I tried to be straight with him. He was visibly nervous and said he wanted no problems with me, that he had no problems doing anything. Pat told me that he thought it would be a halluva spot to let Shawn put me in the sharpshooter and then reverse it on him. It would be a great spot that would set the stage for a fantastic second half (page 451, Chapter 41: ‘The Montréal Screwjob,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
I think it would have added to the whole situation if Bret would have kept the mic on and going when he talked to Shawn one last time. Why would I say that is Bret had the thought that he may be screwed over out of the title.
But if Bret had the suspicion of being screwed over, why would he let Shawn put him in the sharpshooter? To me, that doesn’t make sense. But anyways, Bret couldn’t be mad at anyone when the bell was called, because it was his suggestion on having HBK putting him in the sharpshooter.
“As Shawn turned me onto my stomach, I saw Earl for a split second motioning with his fingers and Vince, strangely, standing at the ring apron wearing an angry scowl. Then he screamed at the bell ringer, Mark Yeaton, “Ring the bell! Ring the fucking bell!” Yeaton, in stunned disbelief, couldn’t bring himself to do it. I frantically tried to reverse the sharpshooter on Shawn as Vince snapped hard at Yeaton—and the bell clanged, over and over (page 452, Chapter 41: ‘The Montréal Screwjob,” from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
What great detail on what happened. Each time I read this, I still can’t believe that this happened the way it did. Earl originally told Bret that he would make sure Bret wouldn’t be screwed over, but Earl did do what McMahon told him to do, and that’s screw Bret over. I guess a valuable lesson learned here, don’t trust anybody in an industry like professional wrestling.
“Taker blew his stack and shouted, “Fuck! I’m gonna bring his ass down here. I want Vince to explain himself to me, you and everyone else!” He kicked the dressing-room door open. As he stomped off down the hall, I could hear angry wrestlers calling out to Taker where he could find Vince (page 454, Chapter 41: ‘The Montréal Screwjob,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
If a guy like the Undertaker was pissed off and was trying to find me, I wouldn’t hide. The Undertaker is a true badass in his own way. The Undertaker gained more respect from me after reading this, how he’s a legend and a leader in the locker room for all the wrestlers. I think Bret caught the emotion of the night with this quote above.
“I always felt they killed The Hitman character that day in Montréal. Every picture and mention of my career quickly vanished from the WWF’s website. Vince McMahon was rewriting history to suit his own purpose, erasing me like I never existed (page 461, Chapter 42: ‘Casualties of War,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Just as they did within a decade with Chris Benoit after the double murder-suicide, they took down all of Bret’s stuff off the website. But later on, Bret’s info went back up on the site; years later after they amended their relationship (somewhat, McMahon and Hart), Hart’s pictures and information went back up on the site. That was a childish act from McMahon and the WWE, but I think the WWE was trying to cover their end, if there was a lawsuit.
“Not surprisingly I’d became an overnight hero of a different sort for having the balls to KO Vince, but I knew he’d be coming after me. He openly challenged me on TV, but at the same time he was still talking about suing me for assault. Neither Shawn nor Hunter had the guts to admit their involvement, but it didn’t matter: The boys had seen the yellow stripes on those two snakes long ago. Soon enough, Taker called to tell me, “I got it right from Vince. That little cunt Shawn, he was in on the whole thing.” (page 461, Chapter 42: ‘Casualties of War,’ from the book Hitman: My Real Life In the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart).”
Personally, I don’t know if that’s something to be bragging about, knocking out a guy whose twenty years older than you and a guy who you considered to be like a father for you. Do I personally believe that McMahon told Undertaker that Shawn and Hunter had some kind of involvement in it? If so, the Undertaker didn’t do anything to HBK or Triple H, because in HBK’s book (which I’ll discuss in the next section), the Dead Man didn’t do anything to Michaels to Helmsley.
When I was doing some research for this article, I found out that the WWE did an interview with Hart and put it up online two years ago for the ten year anniversary for it. Here is a small section that was up on WWE.com.
“I wish things had never changed and that I was still [in WWE],” stated a very frank Hit Man. “I look back on that incident as a bad decision by Vince McMahon and WWE. I think we all can look back and know that there was a better way to do things.”
He continued, “It’s a shame that things happened the way they did, but in the end, I think people have always respected me for being someone who always stood behind his beliefs, and stood up for himself.”
“I take issue with anyone who ever suggests that there was no other choice,” Hart asserted. “But, Vince was under a fair bit of pressure financially back then. I can feel for him a little. I think [McMahon] has told me himself – and I believe him – that he wishes things had been done differently and has regrets about it.
“It should’ve never happened, but it did happen … and I have moved on.”
Do I believe that McMahon regrets “screwing” Bret back in November 1997? Yes, I do in fact, because on many DVD’s about the subject, McMahon said that in many different interviews about it. Am I happy that Bret Hart and Vince McMahon sat down and put a DVD out for Bret? Oh heck yeah I am, because I own it. Am I happy that Bret Hart was willing to sit down with the WWE and do an interview for their website? You darn right I am. Not just because I am able to use them for research, but for everyone to enjoy Bret Hart’s years of hard work. But when it comes to Bret Hart, I feel like I covered as much as I can for his side of the argument.
The Shawn Michaels Argument
“I’m the Showstopper, I’m the Icon, I’m the Main Event!” Exclaimed Shawn Michaels during this time of wrestling history. Shawn Michaels was one cocky son-of-a-gun during this time, but looking at his talent and all the accomplishments that he had during this time, one can’t really blame him. He was the first guy to hold the WWF Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, the WWF Tag Team Championship, and the European Championship (which he currently held walking in and out of the Survivor Series 1997 in Montréal, Quebec). As well as that, in 1994, WrestleMania X, he competed in the first Ladder match against Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Championship. He won the 1995 Royal Rumble match entering number one. He main evented WrestleMania XI. He also won 1996 Royal Rumble match, then walked into WrestleMania XII and defeated Bret Hart in overtime in a 60-minute Iron Man match.
Shawn Michaels was the 1990’s “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, on captivating people’s attentions and his flashy wrestling style. All the ladies wanted to be with him and all the guys wanted to be him. A great way of getting fans into the sport. Shawn Michaels was also one of the first small guys as World Champion, which opened the door for today’s wrestlers. But enough of making the “Heartbreak Kid” into a ‘wrestling god,’ and let’s get into his side of the story.
“From my perspective, I had won the battle with Bret. I was main-eventing Pay-Per-Views while he, as champion, was working Tag Team Matches. My confidence was back. There wasn’t anything that he was going to do or say that I worried about. People had turned on me because they had heard a lot of untrue stories, many of which were made up by Bret. I never once gave my side, because it seemed to transparent to me, and I was taught the guy who is talking the loudest and defending himself the most must be hiding something (page 263-264, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
Not defending himself may have hurt Michaels’ reputation to the boys in the back by Bret Hart’s false stories that he’s putting out there, trying to get under his skin. But looking back at it now, it may have helped HBK afterwards, because if he tried to defend himself before Survivor Series, it would be extremely hard to try to convince the boys in the back after Survivor Series had happened.
“We were in Kansas City—another sellout, by the way—and Hunter and I were doing an in-ring promo. I asked to see footage of my victory from Badd Blood. Instead, video from the “curtain call” came on. This was done to reinforce the insubordinate image of DX. Bret came out and confronted me, calling me a homo and a degenerate. (I believe he meant it.) I responded by saying that the only reason Bret was in the main event of Survivor Series was because he was wrestling me. Bret and I were at it again, only this time, our personal animosity towards each other blended perfectly within the storyline we were conducting (page 264, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
I believe that bringing out their real life hatred out on screen only benefitted their storyline and benefitted the company, for more fans would be willing to order the pay-per-view just to see how the match would turn out. And I’m sure it may be Michaels’ cockiness’ kicking in again with the above quote, saying that he’s the only reason for Bret being in the main event at the Survivor Series.
“At this point, I really didn’t know what the situation with Bret was. My feeling was that Vince wanted to get the title off him. His contract was taxing the company way too much if he wasn’t going to be the man. I didn’t know where Steve Austin was in his talks with Vince. I’m sure they already had an idea of where they were going long-range. The ideal situation for Steve was to win the title from a white-hot heel. Bret certainly wasn’t one. I, on the other hand, was there. It made sense to me that Vince would want to put the title on me and then have Steve beat me (page 264-265, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
What if Stone Cold Steve Austin was in the match as well, the match being a triple threat match; and having Stone Cold beat Shawn Michaels for the title several months early, then dropping it back to HBK at the next pay-per-view, Austin winning the Royal Rumble, then main event WrestleMania XIV. What if that happened? I can see the title match at WrestleMania being bittersweet for Stone Cold Steve Austin and for his fans, winning the WWF Championship twice. Personally (yes, I know I said that I wouldn’t put personal thoughts in this section, but I’m changing just for this paragraph), I would of loved to see that storyline than the one that actually happened.
That’s my personal opinion, and my story, and I’m sticking to it.
“Hunter and I talked when Vince hung up. We both felt that Vince was already thinking about a possible swerve, but he couldn’t ask me to do that. I needed to volunteer (page 266, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
I can see that Vince needed Michaels to volunteer because he would have felt worse if he would have forced HBK to screw over Hart. I think it shows the kind of man Shawn was at that time to volunteer to be the one where most of the heat would go after the bell would ring. Also it could have been a relief to McMahon knowing the fact that other people were thinking of a swerve, we may never know.
“We (Shawn, Vince, Hunter, and Jerry Brisco) couldn’t discuss how it was going to happen because we didn’t know how Bret and I were going to set up the match. Once Bret and I figured out what we were going to do, then, and only then, could Vince and I decide how it would go down (page 267, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
An explanation of the ‘hit’ that was going to go down later at the Survivor Series. And it would have been obvious to Bret if Shawn would be pushy for a certain twist of the match, and know for sure that he’s going to be screwed out of the title.
“ “I don’t want you telling anyone about this,” Vince continued. “And when it happens, you deny you knew anything about it until the end. This is my decision, but I can’t physically do it. I don’t want the heat going on you. Some is going to go on you inevitably because of your history with Bret and because you are the guy doing it, but this is my decision. I don’t want you telling anyone. If anyone asks you, you didn’t know anything about it” (page 267, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
A quote that I felt was needed for this article, and was needed for Shawn Michaels’ section. Why did I feel that way? That McMahon wanted the heat to go on him, not Shawn. Shawn was just doing what he was told to do by his boss, not Michaels forcing this on his boss. I believe that’s why Michaels put that in his book, and that is why I am putting this into my article. And I also believe that’s why McMahon went on Raw eight days later and said “Bret screwed Bret” to get some of the heat off of HBK and onto him. Born the character of Mr. McMahon.
“Sunday felt very strange from the moment I woke up. It was completely different from the other two days I won the championship. Becoming the champion was such a non-issue. I can’t help but to liken what was going on to a Mafia hit, and I was going to be Jack Ruby. Everyone knew it was going to be me (page 268, Chapter 23 “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
Feelings should have been odd because Shawn knew that he had to do what was best for the company, and he knew that the fans all the way to the boys in the back are going to hate him for having to do what he was asked to do, and that’s swerve Bret out of the title. And I feel like Shawn knew the day he woke up that his personal and professional life will be different after that night¸ after his title match with “the Hitman.”
“I guess Bret trusted me after our previous conversation, because unbeknownst to me at the time, he had talked about a swerve happening and had been told by some people not to let me have any false finishes or let me get him in any holds lest we had plans to swerve him. Maybe he just forgot in the moment. I don’t know. He came up with the Sharpshooter and I knew right away, that was it (page 272, Chapter 23, “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
As a shock to me too, I purposely looked in Bret’s book to see if it was his idea, well, it was Pat Patterson’s, but Bret did put his stamp of approval on it, and in turn, was Bret’s idea with Shawn’s logic that he’s using. Bret probably trusted Shawn enough to assume that he wouldn’t screw him over (and Bret also did get Earl Hebner—their ref for the night—to make sure nothing would of happen), I am sure that’s why Bret let Shawn put him in the Sharpshooter.
“As soon as Bret started pulling my leg, the bell rang. I let him pull my leg and did the best I could to carry through with our plans and have him start to reverse the move. I did not know Vince had called for the bell as well. I believe he came down to try and make it as clear as possible that it was his decision to do this and not mine. It was an attempt to deflect heat from me and put it on him, but I did tell Earl to ring the bell. After it rang, I acted like I was mad and didn’t know what was going on (page 276, Chapter 23, “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
After camera angles towards McMahon when the Sharpshooter was applied, you could see McMahon yelling at the time keeper to ring the bell, and McMahon even motioned to him to ring the bell. I also think that McMahon stayed out there after the bell rang to make it seem that he wanted to screw Bret out of the title and it wasn’t Michaels who had this planned from the whole time. Shawn and Earl did what they were called to do, and that’s screw over Bret Hart.
“Bret walked up to Vince and punched him in the face. Vince took what looked like to me the worst dive ever. He crumbled down to the floor, and Shane and the others helped him up. After he was back on his feet, Vince looked at Bret and said, “I owed you that.” He then left the room. I heard a little while later that Bret was so full of pride because of the punch. I don’t think he was aware that Vince knew that he was going to do it and took a dive. Once Vince left the room, Bret took his boots off, put his shoes on, grabbed his bag, and left. While all this was going on, Hunter was out in the hallway getting cussed out by Bret’s wife. They captured that in Bret’s film (page 277, Chapter 23, “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
I completely understand that Vince felt like he owned Bret a knock-out punch. I am sure Vince was thinking something along the lines that he screwed over one of his longest workers in the business on global television, in front of his family and kids, he owned him whatever he had coming to him. A man of honor and respect, I feel that Vince McMahon deserves for that.
The weird thing is: Bret mentioned that after the punch, he walked up and shook HBK’s hand for the match. Shawn never mentioned that the “Hitman” did anything to that matter. Why would Shawn leave that out? Michaels’ book is a WWE book, and Michaels was under a WWE contract when this book was written and published, so putting that in the book could be a threat to his job and Michaels could have been without a job.
“Bret had asked me not to bury him after he left the company. He told me he wouldn’t bury me in WCW. Considering his track record, I didn’t believe him. I told him I wouldn’t, but I did—within the context of a story line. I was doing the DX gimmick and it was part of our new attitude. A week after Montréal, Vince went on television and spoke about how “Bret screwed Bret.” Everyone knew about the swerve, and we were going to try and capitalize on it. We mocked him for thinking he could pull a fast one on us. As a heel, it was natural for me to go out there and gloat. So that’s what I did. On the November 24 edition of Raw, I brought out “Midget Bret,” put him in the Sharpshooter, and ridiculed him, as any heel would. Reality and TV came together, and our ratings jumped. Stone Cold was coming on like gangbusters and the company would ultimately bury WCW. It started the night after Montréal. It ended with Vince taking over WCW in 2001(page 280, Chapter 23, “Montréal,” from the book Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels).”
As a result, Shawn Michaels has always been hated in Montréal ever since Survivor Series 1997. Michaels will never win any award in the country of Canada because of the “screwing” that he did to Bret on that cold November day. But this is Shawn Michaels’ side of the story.
The Vince McMahon—WWE Argument
There isn’t a book out of Vince McMahon written by himself or a biography of him done by doing an interview with him. If there was, I am pretty sure that’s one of few topics people expect McMahon to talk about, and to go deep into it. The only piece of material that is out there of McMahon’s that would come close would be his DVD that he put out, entitled “McMahon.”
After watching it last night (at least the part where they would talk about the whole “Montréal Screwing,”) they didn’t discuss much on what happened. Very similar to in the Shawn Michaels Argument section of this article, McMahon felt like he had to do what he had to do for the best of his company, not to get screwed out from Hart, Eric Bischoff, and World Championship Wrestling, and have his WWF Champion show up on WCW television, on Monday Nitro, and throw the WWF Championship belt into the trash, like what the WWF Women’s Champion did with her belt a year or so of this “screwing” of Bret Hart.
There really isn’t much to say for McMahon’s side of things. He did what he felt like he had to do. He ordered the calling of the bell during the submission of Bret Hart being in the Sharpshooter, to somewhat making it look like he quit, even though watching it he clearly didn’t, and the ref didn’t even get down to ask (poor Earl Hebner). But all-in¬¬¬-all, this is McMahon’s argument. There isn’t anything more I can say about it. He did what was best for his company, in his mind. That’s all.
The Other Wrestlers Argument
Mick Foley talked about the “Montréal Screw Job” in his first book “Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks.” In chapter 36, to be exact, from his book. Heck, Michaels even mentioned in his book that Foley talked about it and that Foley didn’t appreciate what happened, and even walked out (but came back the next day, of course he needed a job) . I believe that Foley came back because he knew that he couldn’t go back and make a living with Extreme Championship Wrestling and knew that World Championship Wrestling wouldn’t take him back.
“No one will ever forget the Survivor Series of November 1997. It was without a doubt the most controversial night in the history of the business, the ramifications of which are still being felt today. It was also a night in which my World Wrestling Federation career nearly ended (page 446, Chapter 36, from the book Have a Nice Day! by Mick Foley).”
To go off what Mick Foley said that it was “...the most controversial night in the history of the business…” I have to agree. Besides the whole New World Order angle in the WCW in 1997 with Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan, this would have to be the biggest angle ever to happen in the business. I feel like that the WWF (now WWE) had to counter the New World Order with something, and McMahon, sadly enough, had to screw over someone of their lively hood (even though Hart was going ‘down south’ to make more money) to get what he needed to survive, as well for his company to survive.
“There was one problem: Bret was still the World Wrestling Federation champion, and no one seemed to quite know how to get the belt off of him. Bret was offered several scenarios, but there was one story line that he was dead set against—he would not lose his title to Shawn Michaels. If Bret got his way, Stone Cold or I would have had the damn belt, and none of the bizarre series of events would have unfolded (page 446, Chapter 36, from the book Have a Nice Day! by Mick Foley).”
I wish Foley would have had more knowledge on what happened backstage, even thought his personal experience with the whole thing was a well-needed opinion in the business. I don’t personally know if that is what Bret wanted, that either Foley or Austin to get the title, because if that was the case, I am sure that McMahon would have put one of those two in, and have that third person win the title off of Bret that night. Like said, if that was Bret’s true motives. And if the whole “Screw Job” never of happened, Foley would have been out of a job, because World Championship Wrestling would of won the Monday Night War and took over the World Wrestling Federation. Foley maybe should of thought of that.
From going from the “Hardcore Legend” Mick Foley to “the Nature Boy” Ric Flair on his thoughts on the whole “Montréal Screw Job” angle.
“Don’t get me wrong—Bret could have a tremendous match when it really counted. But, day to day, I found him to be inflexible. And in 1997, when Bret punched out Vince McMahon over a finish in Montréal, I was appalled. At the time, Hart just signed with WCW. Since he happened to be the World Wrestling Federation champion, he needed to drop the title. Vince wanted Bret to do it at Survivor Series, but Hart wouldn’t. As a so-called Canadian hero—and I really don’t think Bret has anything on Wayne Gretzky—Bret refused to lose in Canada. That would be the equivalent of me saying that I’d never let anyone beat me in North Carolina. Give me a break! (page 223, Chapter 15: ‘The Real World’s Champ,’ from the book To Be the Man by Ric Flair).”
If it was in-fact that Bret didn’t want to lose to Shawn in Canada, Bret needed to lose some of his pride. Even if those two (Bret and Shawn) were in a real life feud and cocked off an attitude towards each other in the locker room backstage, what they did out in the arena with thousands of fans there live and millions watching at home, to me, that’s still no excuse not to drop the title or lose a match to someone, and that’s Ric Flair’s point. In the wrestling business, another point that Flair was getting at, was if you are leaving a company, and if you have a title, or not, your job is to put over whoever the boss has you facing in your last match. Hart refused to do that, and that irate Flair. But in Hart’s defense, when Flair came into the WWF in 1991, Flair refused to drop the NWA/WCW World Heavyweight title to Lex Luger. So, looking at Flair’s history, where could he get off by criticizing Bret Hart?
“Obviously, Vince could see that Hart thought that he was bigger than the World Wrestling Federation, and Vince did what was necessary to protect his company. When Shawn Michaels put the Hitman in a Sharpshooter, McMahon ordered the timekeeper to ring the bell. The match was over, Vince said, and Shawn was the new champion. When people argued that Vince had screwed Bret, McMahon accureately replied, “Bret screwed Bret.” (page 223-224, Chapter 15: ‘The Real World’s Champ,’ from the book To Be the Man by Ric Flair).”
Did Bret Hart really feel like he was bigger than the WWF? I would say, read his book to find out his response and make your own personal judgments. My intent of this article is not to smash anyone, and I want to keep it that way. But that’s the “Nature Boy’s” personal opinion. Did McMahon really screw over Hart, or did “Bret screwed Bret,” like what McMahon “said” a couple of weeks after the whole thing went down? Honestly, I believe McMahon had to do what he had to do. So if you want to look at that “McMahon Screwed Hart,” then that’s your own opinion. If you want to believe that “Bret Screwed Bret,” hey, so be it then. In my opinion, personally and philosophically, I believe that McMahon had to screw Bret because either way, Bret was going to screw McMahon.
“The facts are this: Hogan, for all he did, right and wrong, drew a lot of money. Savage, for all he did, right and wrong, drew a lot of money. Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, and Ric Flair drew big money. Bret Hart did not. Vince had other distractions at the time, but when Bret beat me for the title, the company went to hell for a while (page 224, Chapter 15: ‘The Real World’s Champ,’ from the book To Be the Man by Ric Flair).”
Only thing I am going to say about this comment that Flair put out is: you can go and look at ratings and buy-rates on your own. I am not going to make this article about statistics and such, but I wanted to get other people’s and wrestler’s opinions on this subject. I feel like that Flair had a great opinion defending McMahon and Michaels, and which is why I am putting it in this article. I always love to read it when wrestlers bash other wrestlers, but Flair should personally get his ducks lined up in a row before he bashes anyone else.
The Eric Darsie Opinion
As people who know me on a personal level, they know that I am a Christian. For everyone, a ‘Born-Again Christian.’ I’m not a fan of using that term, but for everyone to know what I am referencing to, I am. Why, you may be asking yourself right now, am I bringing this up in an article about professional wrestling, and about the “Montréal Screw Job?” I want everyone to know where I am at with my personal stance before laying it out there for everyone. You now may be thinking, “Is this guy, Eric Darsie, going to be siding with Shawn Michaels then, how both guys claim to be ‘Born-Again Christians?’” To put any doubts aside, you have to read my personal stance about the whole “Screw Job,” right now!
…The Eric Darsie Opinion of the “Montréal Screw Job” Incident…
I can see, after researching all three sides, on why they did what they did. Would of there been an easier and better way to handle everything, of course there is. Would I of done what each party did in their position if it happened for me, knowing what each party knew? Of course I would have. I wish Michaels never would have cocked off that attitude in the locker room when Hart came up and mentioned to him that he’s willing to drop the World Title strap to him, through all of their history together. I wished Michaels would have taken a moment to think about what Hart said, and should of replied: “Bret, I would do the same thing for you if I were the Champ for you.” Enough said. That would of put a lot of respect for both men in with the guys who seen this go down and for the rest of them who would hear about this in the future. Then I believe if this would of happened, Hart wouldn’t of had a problem with not wanting to drop the belt to Michaels at the Survivor Series ’97. But instead of just throwing everything together, mixing everything as one, and tossing it at the wall, seeing how it will stick, let me give my thoughts on who all three parties acted, reacted, and give my thoughts on what I think they should of done.
…The Eric Darsie Opinion on the Bret Hart Argument…
After reading more and more in Bret’s book (Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling), my viewpoint on the whole thing starting to shift over to siding with ‘the Hitman.’ To be dead honest, in the past twelve years, I’ve always supported what McMahon and Michaels did. Why that is a surprise to me is because I’ve been a huge Shawn Michaels fan since about 1994-1995, and still a huge fan of his, and while working on this article, my viewpoints on this subject changed. Now I have more sympathy for Bret Hart than I ever did before, HBK swore to Hart that he never had anything with this whole thing, which was a lie to Bret and a lie to God, how HBK swore to God in front of Bret that he had no involvement in such “screwing.”
Now being more knowledgeable in the subject of such “Montréal Screwing,” I feel like Bret had the right to drop the title to whom he wanted to, if it’s in his contract. I am happy that Bret was man enough to go to Shawn in the locker room and say that he’s willing to do a job for Shawn (willing to lose to Shawn and make him look great), but in return, Shawn didn’t return the favor. Could this be a pride issue, I do believe that it is. If someone came up to me personally who I’m actually having a feud with, and said what Bret did to Shawn, I would thank them (which Shawn did do) and say that I would do that same thing for them. Bret tried to be professional, and it wasn’t returned, so I do not blame Bret for doing what he did.
Bret Hart, if you ever read this, thank you for sticking up for your morals. Thank you for the memories that you gave all the wrestling fans.
…The Eric Darsie Opinion of the Shawn Michaels Argument…
Do I agree with what Shawn did? Sure. Now wait a second, I first said I agree with Bret, now I’m agreeing with Shawn? Yes, I am. Bret I already went into. Shawn did what he was told to do and what he thought was best for the company. Also, Shawn tried to mend things between Bret and himself. Could it be his Christian beliefs kicking in telling him to go to Bret and ask for forgiveness? I’m sure that it probably played some role. But to me, that also shows the kind of man Shawn is, and the kind of man Shawn once was.
Asking for forgiveness wouldn’t change a thing, and I don’t know if that’s what Bret expects, that he accepting Shawn’s forgiveness and hand in apology is going to change what happened. And to be honest, no one can go back and rewrite history. God had planned what went down, even if you don’t believe in God.
But going back to Shawn Michaels, I don’t think he had really any option of the matter but to do what he did. McMahon needed to get the WWF Championship strap off of Hart, and Michaels was the ordered “hit man,” no pun attended. If there was a different guy, I don’t think the wrestling business would of went down the same road that it did (obviously) and the Casket match at the Royal Rumble with the Undertaker at the Royal Rumble 1998 wouldn’t of happened (maybe the Undertaker purposely hurt Shawn’s back in payback for “screwing” Bret?), and Stone Cold Steve Austin wouldn’t of gotten the torch from Michaels at WrestleMania XIV.
…The Eric Darsie Opinion of the Vince McMahon—WWE Argument…
Mr. McMahon, I am sure you got this asked a lot, but why did you do what you did? Couldn’t you believe that Hart was willing to come back the next night after the Survivor Series? But again, if you didn’t do what you felt is right, do you think Hart would of came back the next night and gave the belt back? If Hart did come back, and gave you the Championship back, do you think you could of beat WCW in the Monday Night War?
Thinking more and more of what happened, Mr. McMahon, I feel like I would have done the same thing if I would have been put in the same situation that you were in. I do remember hearing that somewhere you said that people cannot judge each party because we weren’t in your shoes, but really Vince? Vince, listen to me, listen to a life-long fan. McMahon, after twelve years of thinking, philosophizing about the whole thing, I totally agree with you on what you did.
…The Eric Darsie Opinion on the Whole Event Argument…
Quite honestly, I do wish that this never happened. Yes, this did help the WWF beat WCW in the ratings during the Monday Night War period of professional wrestling history. I can totally understand that Bret having anger towards Shawn and Vince after the whole thing happened and I do understand if there’s still something there from Bret’s end of things, wanting nothing to do with Shawn Michaels, the character or the man, the Vince McMahon and the WWE. But I also understand where Michaels and McMahon had to do what they thought they had to do for the best of the company. For Michaels, it was his job to listen to McMahon, and McMahon, he couldn’t have his top guy walk out with the WWF Championship and walk onto his competition’s television and drop the WWF title into the trash can, like what the Woman’s Champion did (which explains why she never got a job back with the WWE. If you don’t know whom I’m talking about, Google the ‘Monday Night War’ and it should be listed. If not, come and find me, and I’ll let you know who it was).
But this whole thing did happen. What now? I believe that the whole thing helped changed the whole landscape of professional wrestling. I personally believe that if the whole “Montréal Screwing” never happened, the WWF would have been bought by World Championship Wrestling, and wrestling these days would be very different, extremely different than what we know today. And knowing how WCW was ran towards the end of its time around, I do believe the wrestling business would be a lot worse than what we know today (and wrestling today isn’t too well today, to be quite honest with you).
The Conclusion
After looking into the “Montréal Screw Job” and writing about it, researching it, and philosophizing about it, I believe that how the chips were stacked and how things fell, I wouldn’t think things would be the same if things didn’t go the way it did. Did “Bret Screw Bret?” I do believe so. As much as I hate saying it now, but I do believe that. I think Bret should have swallowed his pride, even thought it would have been extremely difficult for a man to do, but I think Bret should have been the bigger man and done that. But what happened did happen, and we can’t go back and change things that happened. I do believe that if this whole event didn’t happen, the business would be extremely different. I do believe that this whole event will always be discussed and debated on who was write, who was wrong, should Bret of lost, should McMahon allow him to come back the next night and surrender the WWF Championship, so-on-and-so-forth.
We all could keep going keep debating on what should have went on, what should have happened. But why keep wasting time on debating it. Why say that? Because it happened and we, or no one for that fact, can change what did happen. All three parties believe that what they did was right, so I believe that we as fans cannot say who was right because of not personally going through what they went thought and making the “right” decisions. Why I put right in quotations because what is right and wrong completely up to each individual person. As a conclusion, the “Montréal Screw Job” came and went, was here and now past. All we can do is talk about it I guess, and watch the hours of footage that’s out about it. But one thing we cannot do is say who was truly right and who was truly wrong. Thank you for your time on reading this article!
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