That being said, let’s start from the beginning. You all know by now that The Kat, Stacy Carter, was released by the World Wrestling Federation last Tuesday afternoon. Upon this announcement, her husband, not to mention the best heel color commentator in the business, Jerry Lawler, walked out of the WWF. Giving Lawler his credit, he did morally do the right thing. He supported his wife, and he didn’t think twice about it. Of course I don’t like his decision, no one does. Jerry Lawler had just taken his commentating job when I started watching the WWF back in 1993, I’m more used to hearing his voice than I am my own family’s voices. The King was always witty and has always had funny comments to throw in at just the right times. I mean, hell...I can think of a few just off the top of my head...
On former WWF valet Sunny:
"It's Sunny, she wants me, I can read her like a book, I prefer the Braille edition!"
"I've said it before, I don't know what the seven wonders of the world are, but Sunny's got two of them!"
"That reminds me of a nightmare I had last night. I dreamt Sunny was my mother, and I was a bottle baby!"
On One of the Godfather’s Hos:
"Is it cold in here? A little nipply isn't it?"
On Mae Young:
"I wanna see puppies, and we get a dog!"
Those are just a few examples of the kind of wit and just funny crap that the King blessed us all with each week. His commentary could turn even the stupidest match into a watch able affair. The King was, and until someone fills his shoes, still is, the funniest and the best commentator around. I could rattle off King quotes all day long. The man is hilarious. I would love to see the King return to the WWF, but I just don’t think it will happen for now. Down the road, you never know. This wasn’t exactly a Bret Hart situation.
That being said, I love the King, and he was a vital part of WWF broadcasts, but I am a firm believer in the fact that no one person makes or breaks a company. Hulk Hogan’s departure didn’t kill the WWF, Bret Hart’s didn’t, and the King’s won’t. In fact, arguments for Hogan and Hart could be made to the tune that maybe the WWF even got better without them. You know, in 1997 when Bret left the Federation, everyone was saying "what’s going to happen? The WWF can’t survive without him, everyone will watch WCW! The WWF is nothing without Bret Hart!" I hear the same sort of sentiments coming out now about the King: "“If the King goes to WCW, I’m watching it instead of WWF." "No one can fill the King’s shoes, no one is as good as him". "The WWF is going to lose it’s ratings without the King." And so on.
Granted, if Lawler does go to WCW, it will help WCW tremendously. WCW desperately needs good commentary, and the King could damn sure provide that. Granted, people will tune in to WCW out of curiosity if news gets out that Lawler has signed with WCW. And granted, at this point in time, no one can live up to the high standards we have all built up for commentary, thanks to the King. However, all of those points have their respective 'buts' as well. The King would help WCW’s announce team, and could even contribute somewhat to the in ring product, but one man alone isn’t going to save that company. It’ll take much more than a commentator to save WCW, and Lawler isn’t going to be WCW’s knight in shining armor. Only Eric Bischoff can save WCW with his decisions, one of which would be whether or not to hire Lawler. As far as the ratings, I think that while people will be curious to see Lawler’s WCW product, the deciding factor in a wrestling program isn’t it’s announce team. It is a key part of the success, but the WWF still has JR, so it’s not like they just suck announcer wise now. The King would help WCW attract viewers, but once again, WCW needs more than just a good announcer to survive, much less take away the WWF’s audience. And as far as no one filling the King’s shoes, that is true, for now. The King is the greatest heel commentator ever, perhaps the greatest commentator period. But, you never know what kind of a commentator Tazz or Paul Heyman or whoever gets chosen could turn in to. The King wasn’t always the best, he had to start somewhere. So to those of you already knocking Tazz and Heyman’s efforts, I say to just be patient.
As far as the Kat goes, I hate to sound like a sexist asshole here, but frankly, between Trish, Lita, Molly, Stephanie, etc., we have enough T&A to not really need the Kat. And you can’t tell me she brought more than that to the table. She barely spoke, and when she did it was simple things that a damn ape (or the Big (sh)HO) could mutter out.
As far as RIW last night is concerned, I thought that Heyman delivered in his commentary as well as could have been expected considering he couldn’t have possibly had much time to prepare for the job he was given. Heyman seemed fairly knowledgeable about WWF happenings, he even delivered a few funny comments, the main one being the Bush comment, which was classic. He was no King, but give him a chance. I mean the guy gave it his all and did a pretty decent job. As far as Smackdown this week, we’ll have to wait and see. I hate Michael Cole, so that makes it harder to gauge whoever he works with.
RIW overall last night was good, although I was hoping for Paul Heyman to make some sort of presence other than announcing. An ECW stable in the WWF would be absolutely awesome. At least ECW could live on to a certain degree. It was good to see Triple H back, and it was just plain good to see Trish. Two parts I wasn’t found of last night, that was the Hardy Girls winning the Tag Team Titles from the Dudleys, and the Big (sh)HO’s match with Al Snow. I realize that Al is supposed to be someone’s bitch because Vince McMahon is trying to feed him to the worst opponents and whatever as punishment for trying to become Commissioner, but my god, we don’t need the Big Ho on TV every week!
In fact, I have yet to find anyone who gets any enjoyment out of seeing Big Ho on television at all. With the impending WWF releases, let’s think less about releasing Gangrel and D’Lo, and think more about releasing the Big Ho. I’m going to make campaign buttons if I have to. SAY NO TO THE BIG SHOW! Wow, he wore the belt around his arm. He’s big, who cares? He sucks! Sorry, I always manage to get off on this subject somehow.
In conclusion, I say this about the whole King/Kat/WWF/Heyman/Tazz/Commentary situation; wait and see. Be patient. The WWF has yet to truly let any of their fans down. Things will work out. Who knows, the King might end up back in the WWF once he calms down. Remember the old saying "Anything can happen in the WWF!"? Keep that in mind. I’m going to miss the King as much as anybody, but never say never. He could come back, and if he doesn’t, you never know, his replacement could eventually outgrow the monstrous shoes he has to fill right now.
Until Next Time...
