I've been tossing around the idea of change for awhile.

It's not so much that I've

become bored with the previous format, but more a matter of me having this need to
keep things fresh feeling. Almost after every break I've taken over the years I've tried to
somewhat re-invent myself and this time I wanted to do so yet again. Funny enough the
idea for what has become the catalyst for this rebirth is actually an idea I've had about
six years ago. It took some time to develop in my head and actually convince myself
that it could work. The concept itself was simple enough but what had previously stalled
it so much was that I didn't want it to come off simply as if I was throwing random ideas
at the wall. Hopefully I can avoid that but per the mindset I set forth with my blogs I
don't intend to spend too much time pre-planning each column but rather get back to
my roots of free writing columns and just seeing what happens. My hope is that by
combining two of my passions (music and wrestling) that the passion I have for both will
hopefully translate into a well executed column. If not, well than I can at least say I gave
it a fair shot.

Before we get into this column let me explain how this is going to work. Each column's
title and contents will be inspired by a specific musical album. Said album will have it's
title serve as the title of my column with the track names serving as my section names.
Each section will be guided by the song of the same name. How the sections come
together will differ from each column. Some will be inspired via literal translations of the
lyrics, some will use the lyrics as a metaphorical blueprint, and others will simply use the
actual song itself as inspiration. There will be no pre-planning whatsoever just me sitting
down to write with music blasting through my headphones. I'll listen to a song on repeat
until that particular section is complete and then repeat for the following sections until
the column has been completed. With that said I present to you "Crack the Skye" as
inspired by the Mastodon album of the same name.

Oblivion

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oblivion
Falling from grace cause I've been away too long
Leaving you behind with my lonesome song
Now I'm lost in oblivion

I tried to burrow a hole into the ground

Breaking all the fingers and the nails from my hands
The eyes of a child see no wrong
Ignorant bliss, impending doom
Sometimes I wonder if I truly deserve this position amongst my peers sitting so high
upon this pedestal. Sure, nobody can deny what a huge star I was but was it due to
talent or simply "right time, right place." It's a question that I find myself asking on a
semi-regular basis nowadays but also a question that I'd prefer not to have the true
answer to. I think it's best that I just sit back and enjoy things as they are rather than
they should be. I mean millions of screaming fans and children can't be wrong right?
Sure their views may be skewed by what promoters have forced upon them but it was
me that found new ways to draw them in. I was able to keep the kids coming back and
the parents equally happy with my "say your prayers, eat your vitamins" mantra. Even
when I became a bad guy people loved to hate me just as much as they loved to love
me. It was impossible for anyone to sit back and be indifferent. That should be regarded
as a feat all in itself. How many guys have been just as hated as a heel as they were
over as a face? When was the last time you saw a crowd completely fill the ring with
garbage because they were so disgusted by a heel's actions? I can tell you exactly when;
the height of my heel run.

Yet what do I truly offer the current product? Sure I have the wisdom of being in the
business for so long and for being at the top of the mountain for most of that tenure; but
what knowledge can I offer. Can I show a guy like Samoa Joe how to be a household
name? What exactly did I do to get there? That's the problem I find myself facing. I want
so badly to share with the youth of today the secrets of the trade but when I actually sit
back and think about it; I never really learned a thing. As much as it pains me to do so I
owe my success to Vince and the fact that he pushed me to the moon. How could I not
get over when I would come out and destroy all of the so-called villains in wrestling?
That would be like Superman saving someone and then they punched him in the face,
simply wasn't going to happen. While i can certainly take a share of credit for my
successful heel run, surely it had just as much to do with the shocking nature of
someone considered to be the epitome of a babyface for nearly two decades turning on
his fans. In turn, Superman didn't show up to save the day but rather he finally said to
hell with it and joined the bad guys.

So now I sit here with the "book" in my hands ready to lead my troops into battle, a
battle that I called for, and I'm realizing that maybe I can't live up to my promises. I
have to accept that maybe I don't have the answers for these young guys. I want to
teach them the lost art of wrestling and cutting promos but have come to realize that I
don't even know if I can cut a promo without saying "brother" or "dude". Yet now I'm at
an impasse. I can't fold so easily and openly admit that I don't have what it takes to lead
them to victory. I have to be strong so they'll continue to fight, believing in their hearts
that we can win this thing. Now is probably my last time to prove I can do this, but it
hinges on my ability to truly learn the art that I plan to teach. Otherwise I'm marching
these guys straight to their last stand.

Divinations

Quote:
Originally Posted by Divinations
It's gone away
It's gone away
It's gone for good
Animal spirits come calling me home
Through the tunnels of brilliant light
The magnet of wisdom is pulling
Burrowing faster the fabric of time
Little by little the company me and my father built from the ground up has slipped away
from us. We laid the foundation for what we hoped would be great things to come, but
eventually all things must evolve in order to improve. Unfortunately the steps in one's
evolution aren't always ideal for all involved but are deemed to be a necessary evil.
That's where I find myself right now. We tried creating new things in hopes to creating
an alternative to the stale WWE product that was happy simply staying in cruise control
rather than staying the course it set in it's prime. While they were about entertainment
segments and overly long promos that hyped matches that you had to pay for. We
wanted to create a product that focused more on wrestling, and for awhile we were able
to do just that. Eventually we had no choice but to realize that for every fan who wants
to see a wrestling clinic there is that guy who simply wants to be entertained. Against
what my father had taught me and what I had grown up with it started to become
apparent that we didn't need to make a wrestling show, but rather a standard television
program.

That's when the pendulum started swinging so to speak. My father couldn't stomach the
focus being taken off of wrestling and in a way I couldn't either. The difference between
the two of us, is that I was willing to do whatever it took to make the product a success.
Even if it meant going against what I thought was the right thing to do. So we changed
things up, and even brought in some familiar faces as they were cast aside from WWE.
Our goal was to pull you in with the familiar talent and make you a fan with our
homegrown guys. I'd love to tell you our plan was a success and we grew at an
incredible rate, but that simply isn't true.

I couldn't even stomach our "We are TNA we are wrestling" ads anymore because I knew
how hypocritical they made me. Guys like Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe,
Alex Shelly, Chris Sabin; I wanted that to be our future but week in and week out our
ratings remained the same. I'd like to pretend that the Main Event Mafia wasn't popular
but that just isn't true. Things obviously began to be shaken up and with my father gone
I guess the only logical next step would be the decrease in my role. An old friend in
Russo took over and gave things back to the youth. Problem is, eventually he'll see that
as much as we want those guys to succeed; that's not what the general public wants.
Look no further than the ratings breakdown for our live Impact for proof. AJ Styles and
Kurt Angle put on a hell of a match, yet the fans had turned the channel. What they
wanted was Hogan, the man who claimed to be our savior. I guess I have to put my
faith in the guy as much as it pains me to do so, then again what choice do I have?

Quintessence

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quintessence

The demon skin is covered in fine mist
Opened his hand in my hand
Holding my eyes to the future
 Hovering above myself
Letting loose the guided
Hulk Hogan. A man I thought I'd never end up working with again and after the way one
of our last interactions went down I'm surprised we ever would. After all, my last stunt
landed me in enough hot water that he threw a lawsuit up against me. I don't regret a
thing though. In fact, I look at it much in the way that people viewed the famous
Montreal incident back in 97. While there may not have been a fear of someone walking
out with the belt and heading to another company, the other issue remained the same.
Here we had a guy unwilling to play ball, unwilling to put over a talent simply because he
didn't agree with the decision. Was Jeff Jarrett going over Hulk Hogan the right move
from a company standpoint? Guess we'll never truly know but regardless, it wasn't a
decision that was Hulk's to make or deny. You can argue that he did have creative
control but what kind of shit is that? A provision that allows a worker to veto a direct
order from his superior? You've got to be kidding me. It's things like that keeping fresh
stars from breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling. I wasn't going to let it happen
though and for everybody who sits back and criticizes my decision let me remind you of
this: a new star did indeed break through the glass ceiling that night. Booker T went
from a under appreciated midcard talent to a fresh main eventer.

That's the past though and I don't want to dwell on the past. WCW is dead and we will
not make the same mistakes twice. Even with an ego like mine I know when to admit
I'm wrong and a lot of my WCW decisions weren't the best for the company. Maybe I
tried to be too "smart" for my own good. At least I was out there trying new things
though and not relying on the same old smoke and mirrors act to carry me into the new
century. The face of wrestling was changing and I was out to attempt to evolve with it.
When people compare WCW to TNA I laugh though. WCW in it's last years was a ship
without a captain and just about everybody had bailed out or lost faith in our direction.
When the people who write the checks don't even like the wrestling business then you
know that your days are numbered. Sure it's convenient to blame someone like me, the
truth is simply that no one person killed WCW. That's the biggest difference with TNA
now though while we may still be in our youth in terms of company age; our employees
and even our owners are more passionate than any company I've ever worked for.
Everyone here is hungry to reach the top because most have never been there. That
makes us a serious threat to a company like the WWE.

The catch is that I have to bury the hatchet with a so called enemy and let go of this
grudge that has carried on for years. I'm willing to do so, after all I am truly a changed
person. What I need out of Hulk though is for him to prove that he is willing to make the
necessary sacrifices to take this company to the top. Can he sit back and simply be a
director or will the desire to be the star be too much? Can Hogan be content being
nothing more than an on air talent or will he feel the need to lace up the boots again
consume him? I'm willing to let bygones be bygones for the best of the company, all I
want is one simple thing in return. Prove to me Hulk that you've changed. Prove to me
that everything I think I know about you is false. If you can do that I'm ready and willing
to fall in line and shoot for the stars.

The Czar

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Czar

Don't stay; run away
He has ordered assassination
 Don't stay; run away
The henchmen are gathered and waiting
Don't stay; run away
Am I supposed to fear this so called first shot from Hogan and his cronies? Let's be
realistic here, I run a multi-million dollar organization while they've yet to get their
books out of the red. I sell out arenas all over the world while they give tickets away for
free and can't pack a less then 3,000 set venue. The fact that Hogan had to mention
WWE just proves my point that they have no faith in their own product's ability. Rather
than let the show's content stand on it's own merits they had to already resort to cheap
shots calling this the first shot in a war. They figure that if they called it a war than more
people would tune in expecting a product that could compete with the WWE. What they
got was a glorified Indy fed that you could see the same card in a high school a few
years ago. I believe the expression is "bringing a knife to a gunfight." Well TNA brought
a stick.

I didn't ask to be dragged into this war yet here I am. I tried to take the high road and
ignore them, yet here I am anyway. What's worse is that somehow, somebody will make
it out as if I'm the asshole in all of this. When TNA loses this war I'll be blamed for their
demise, as if I went out of my way to take them down. Quite the opposite, even in the
face of complete disrespect I still take the "no comment" approach. I can't sit here and
do nothing though while I'm being called out directly. When you aim to compete head to
head with my product then I have to fight back. You want to insinuate that you wish to
take apart my livelihood then I have to take offense to that. I know you may not have
said such things directly but let's not sugar coat the facts here, both sides can't win a
war.

I find it funny that guys I put down before have the audacity to challenge me. Jeff
Jarrett, there are such things as "has beens" and then there are "never was"; guess
which you are. Vince Russo is a guy who basically got famous for telling guys to act the
way they are in real life on screen. Talk about a visionary, in terms of original ideas the
guy wouldn't know a good one if it fell into his lap. Then we have Hogan, I can't deny the
money we've made together but there comes a time when you have to admit that your
time is up. Now he thinks he's a promoter and in line to knock down the biggest
wrestling company in the world. To that all I can say is good luck, because you'll need it.

Ghost of Karelia

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Ghost of Karelia

Wrathful ones nine eyes gaze
Holding skulls
Filled and laced
With human blood
The original Monday Night Wars was what many would consider to be the true pinnacle
of wrestling. As a diehard fan of both the product that WCW and the WWE put on at the
time it was a great time to be a fan. The thing is whereas many considered this to be a
war between wrestling companies that simply isn't completely accurate. While on the
surface, less what we saw was two "wrestling" companies going head to head, so in
theory you have to assume that fans of the sport were the true winners. If you really
look back at this time period though you'll notice a strange shift. At the begin of things
WCW was trying to put on a product that mainly focused on wrestling and the general
premise that "anything can happen." Ironically enough, this was Vince McMahon's
moniker during a large period yet it was Eric Bischoff who was trying to make it the most
true. With the sudden acquisition of Lex Luger seemingly out of nowhere and the
eventual entrance of Hall and Nash, whom to most were assumed to still be a part of the
WWE it seemed that such a claim may just be fitting.

On the WWE side of things they were a more of a storyline based company. That's not to
say that WCW didn't feature a lot of story heavy spots, or even that the WWE only
featured stories; it's simply to say that the WWE focused more on this aspect than it's
adversary. This brings me to the correction that this "war" was a battle pitting wrestling
against wrestling. No, it was Sports Entertainment versus Wrestling and for a very long
time wrestling was winning. The problem with that though is that wrestling only appeals
to wrestling fans. Whereas a so-called Sports Entertainment program opens the door for
a more casual audience as well. Bringing in other personalities from the entertainment
industry was a common practice in hopes of reaching out to these fans. It became less
and less about pleasing and retaining your existing wrestling fanbase than it did opening
the door to a potential new audience.

WCW changed their gameplan though. Maybe it was a member of becoming overzealous
or perhaps they simply wanted to completely obliterate the WWE. They decided to not
only try and have the better pure wrestling product, but the best entertainment product
as well. That's when the mighty wall began to crumble and once unbeatable titan would
show it's weaknesses to the world. It wasn't just this though, WCW was a product
destined to fail from day one. While for a long time it had a truly superior roster in terms
of the sheer amount of quality performers over the WWE, they simply refused to build
towards a future. Think back if you will during the time period where WCW was winning
the war and try and recall who WCW established as a new main event player. They had
plenty of midcard talent on the rise but that's where they all stayed, instead of
positioning to eventually have a top spot guys like Benoit, Guerrero, Malenko, Mysterio,
and Jericho were all stuck in the same spot never rising above upper midcard. By the
time they tried to change things Jericho had left and Benoit, Guerrero, Malenko and
Saturn were all ready to leave. This left Booker T, Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner. I can
literally think of three guys who WCW built up before this when they were actually
winning; D.D.P., Goldberg, and the Giant. Everyone else was either a main event player
taken from the WWE or an already established guy. That's 6 new main event faces in the
span of almost 15 years. When you are pushing nearly 10 hours of wrestling a week on
people you simply aren't producing enough of fresh faces to justify it, and keep the show
fresh. It was a formula simply made to eventually blow up in their face; and it did.

Crack the Skye

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crack the Skye

Strike the shepherd
Sheep will scatter
Mountains of despair
I can see the pain
It is written all over your face
Everyone by now obviously knows what the outcome of the WCW vs WWE war had by
now. Sports Entertainment emerged victorious and for a good long while the biggest
audience that ever watched wrestling was watching Vince's product. What's funny to
think about though is the stars that WWE was pushing so hard when they started
swinging the pendulum in their favor. Three of the four biggest stars had actually spent
time in WCW. The Rock being the exception. You had Triple H, whose time may not have
been significant but it's still a fun fact to ponder all the same. It would be the other two
who would have the reason to hold a grudge though, a desire to take their former
employer down in this war.

Cactus Jack literally gave his ear to Eric Bischoff and WCW and took beating after
beating for that company (mostly at the hands of Vader). Whether it was being
powerpombed on concrete (a taboo move during this time), having Vader break his
nose, being knocked loopy by the Nasty Boys and a shovel, or simply just being insane
with his antics; Jack showed loyalty to the company. Perhaps it was a bit of blind loyalty
though as "Uncle Eric" never thought him anymore than a fat slob who didn't mind guys
beating him up to get them over. While Mick Foley definitely wasn't a technician in the
ring, the guy in his prime could brawl his ass off. Never mind the fact that his promos
could sometimes be the stuff of legends. In what had to be the biggest twist of the
whole Monday Night War, the first Raw that beat Nitro featured Mick Foley winning the
World title. Despite the show being taped and despite Bischoff giving away the results,
more people cared to see Foley finally win gold then see what Nitro had to offer that
night.

Steve Austin without a doubt is not only one of my favorite television champions of all
time during his 15 month reign, but also was a member of one of the best tag teams in
the 90's. It's funny how many times Austin would prove his critics in WCW wrong, and
with an impressive resume that featured every belt minus the world and cruiser it's
surprisining the move to a main event position was always thought to be out of his
reach. Instead he was forced into a throwaway midcard tag team facing jobbers on WCW
Saturday night. Him and Pillman turned it into the most exciting thing in the company
and easily turned into the most talked about tag team at the time. When the duo was
inexplicably split up, Austin bounced around for awhile mainly in the U.S. title division
before being squashed by Hacksaw Jim Duggan and giving his walking papers during an
injury. Needless to say he had plenty of ammunition for the war when it started and he
was ready to make Eric's comments about "a bland wrestler in plain black tights never
getting over" come back and bit him in the ass. Boy did it ever, as Stone Cold went on to
become one of the most popular wrestlers of all-time.

The Last Baron

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Last Baron

Faltering footsteps
Dead end path
All that I need is this wise mans staff
Encased in crystal he leads the way
I guess they'd say we could set the world ablaze
I know the cliche says that the fans are the only winners during these "wars" but it's not
true. Competition indeed brings out the best in everyone, but a full fledged fight to the
finish can only have a negative effect. Look at all the casualties that were suffered, the
most obvious being WCW. I loved WCW in it's prime, giving I was a WWE mark since day
one; I held WCW almost as high. I literally grew up watching their program alongside
WWE and now there was only one; a part of my child hood had been destroyed. That's
just the obvious, what about Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels? Vince McMahon put so
much money into trying to defeat WCW that he got into a predicament where he couldn't
afford to cheap both stars. What we got was the infamous Montreal Screwjob and what
would indirectly lead to a bum named Goldberg ending Hart's career in WCW. Then
Michaels' passion for putting on the best performance every night and the weight of
being told he was the guy to carry the company over WCW was too much; as he took
one too many high risk bumps and it cost him four years of his career.

I have no problem with a nice TNA/WWE rivalry but head to head is not what any fan
should want. Sure the WWE doesn't always put on the product that they are capable of
and maybe they do need a slap in the face; but a slap in the face and a "first shots fired"
aren't the same thing. Wanting to be better than the number one promotion in the world
is a natural desire but at what cost will it come. I like TNA as a whole, they still do a lot
of things wrong but they do enough right most times that I do indeed want them to
succeed. The problem is that the time has changed and for a few years TNA tried to win
by showcasing that they had the better wrestling product. However, as I mentioned
before pure wrestling programs are dead. The fanbase exists but not enough to survive
in today's climate, only the diehards still clamor for it. Your average fan would rather see
Stone Cold drink beers and run over top a car with a monster truck then see AJ Styles
and Kurt Angle wrestle for 20-30 minutes. The downside of that is that TNA in it's
current condition has a way's to go in terms of being a good Sports Entertainment show
but is the cost worth it?

TNA has a loyal fanbase that are much like a standard Indy crowd. When you get a
couple of young guys like Shelly and Sabin in the ring doing their thing; we eat it up with
a spoon. That's not what Joe schmo flipping through the channels during commercial
wants to see though. Put those two in a beer truck or have them powerbomb an old lady
through the sound stage and that just might get somebody's attention. I'm not justifying
it or saying it's right, but all of us so called wrestling fans who flooded the IWC giving
sites record traffic and shows record ratings are hypocrites for not seeing the damage we
did. We complain about the WWE's lack of wrestling most times but then sit and watch a
segment like Katie Vick just so we can write a witty negative column about it. It was us
who killed wrestling long ago so doubt trying to sit here and blame Vince McMahon, who
did what he needed to do to survive. Now while companies like TNA try to step up and
deal with the internal struggles of "why aren't we making it" and deals are being made
with devils to try and propel themselves to the next step; they are simply blind to the
truth that we've all known for years. Wrestling is dead, and we can only blame
ourselves. We were the torchbearers and rather than lead the way for a new generation
we opted to take a shorter path, and in the process burnt the bridge behind us; leaving
no way of going back.