rossshow
10-23-2008, 05:22 PM
Why WrestleMania is better than the World Series (http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/10/why_wrestlemania_is_better_than_the_world_series.h tml)
I’m a pretty big baseball fan, but I just cannot muster any excitement about a Tampa Bay Rays-Philadelphia Phillies World Series. Yes, the Rays going from worst-to-World Series is impressive, but the lack of marquee names, larger-than-life personalities and a compelling story line have made me a world-weary cynic when it comes to this World Series.
If only the World Series could be more like WrestleMania.
By that, of course, I mean scripted. One of the reasons WrestleMania rarely disappoints is because Vince McMahon and his creative team are pulling the strings to insure star-studded matchups and intriguing story lines.
Imagine if instead of Rays-Phils we had a Red Sox-Dodgers World Series. You’d have Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra facing their former team. Just like a popular babyface turning heel, the three ex-Boston fan favorites would become the enemy. Plus, the Red Sox would once again meet ex-Yankee skipper Joe Torre in the postseason.
How about Red Sox-Cubs? The team that finally ended its curse a few years ago versus the team whose curse continues. And how cool would it be for the two Series venues to be Fenway Park and Wrigley Field?
We also missed out on a Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and White Sox, as well as the Battle of Los Angeles between the Dodgers and Angels.
Like I said earlier, the Rays are a nice Cinderella story. They are the baseball equivalent to CM Punk, but I would not want to see Punk wrestle Kane – who, like the Phillies, is good but not great – in the WrestleMania main event.
It’s not just this year’s World Series that doesn’t measure up to the standard of WrestleMania. I will concede that the Series has produced some memorable moments. Over the past two decades we have seen the Mets’ improbable comeback in 1986, Joe Carter’s walkoff homer in 1993 and Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit homer off Dennis Eckersley in 1988. During that same span, however, there were a lot more “Wrestlemania moments,” and, I dare say, a number of them were more spectacular than the aforementioned Series highlights.
Take Gibson’s homer for example. Sure, a hobbled Gibson limping to the plate against the nearly unhittable Eck (best nickname ever) was dramatic, but the Dodger slugger coming through on a bum knee does not compare to the gutsy performance put on at WrestleMania in 1998 by Shawn Michaels, who wrestled in the main event against “Stone Cold” Steve Austin despite suffering from several degenerative discs in his back.
Let’s also not forget what Kurt Angle did in the 2003 WrestleMania main event. He had bone spurs touching his badly bruised spinal cord and problems with four vertebrae and two discs. Doctors recommended that he retire. Instead, Angle wrestled a well-worked, physical match against Brock Lesnar.
And then there's Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling being lauded as a hero in the 2004 Series for pitching well on an injured ankle. A big deal was made over him having a speck of blood on his sock, but if you’re talking about real sanguine drama, nothing beats Austin – who had blood spurting out of a deep gash on his head – refusing to submit while caught in Bret Hart’s Sharpshooter at WrestleMania in 1997.
Now that was a bloody good show. Conversely, this year’s World Series is just anemic.
I’m a pretty big baseball fan, but I just cannot muster any excitement about a Tampa Bay Rays-Philadelphia Phillies World Series. Yes, the Rays going from worst-to-World Series is impressive, but the lack of marquee names, larger-than-life personalities and a compelling story line have made me a world-weary cynic when it comes to this World Series.
If only the World Series could be more like WrestleMania.
By that, of course, I mean scripted. One of the reasons WrestleMania rarely disappoints is because Vince McMahon and his creative team are pulling the strings to insure star-studded matchups and intriguing story lines.
Imagine if instead of Rays-Phils we had a Red Sox-Dodgers World Series. You’d have Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra facing their former team. Just like a popular babyface turning heel, the three ex-Boston fan favorites would become the enemy. Plus, the Red Sox would once again meet ex-Yankee skipper Joe Torre in the postseason.
How about Red Sox-Cubs? The team that finally ended its curse a few years ago versus the team whose curse continues. And how cool would it be for the two Series venues to be Fenway Park and Wrigley Field?
We also missed out on a Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and White Sox, as well as the Battle of Los Angeles between the Dodgers and Angels.
Like I said earlier, the Rays are a nice Cinderella story. They are the baseball equivalent to CM Punk, but I would not want to see Punk wrestle Kane – who, like the Phillies, is good but not great – in the WrestleMania main event.
It’s not just this year’s World Series that doesn’t measure up to the standard of WrestleMania. I will concede that the Series has produced some memorable moments. Over the past two decades we have seen the Mets’ improbable comeback in 1986, Joe Carter’s walkoff homer in 1993 and Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit homer off Dennis Eckersley in 1988. During that same span, however, there were a lot more “Wrestlemania moments,” and, I dare say, a number of them were more spectacular than the aforementioned Series highlights.
Take Gibson’s homer for example. Sure, a hobbled Gibson limping to the plate against the nearly unhittable Eck (best nickname ever) was dramatic, but the Dodger slugger coming through on a bum knee does not compare to the gutsy performance put on at WrestleMania in 1998 by Shawn Michaels, who wrestled in the main event against “Stone Cold” Steve Austin despite suffering from several degenerative discs in his back.
Let’s also not forget what Kurt Angle did in the 2003 WrestleMania main event. He had bone spurs touching his badly bruised spinal cord and problems with four vertebrae and two discs. Doctors recommended that he retire. Instead, Angle wrestled a well-worked, physical match against Brock Lesnar.
And then there's Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling being lauded as a hero in the 2004 Series for pitching well on an injured ankle. A big deal was made over him having a speck of blood on his sock, but if you’re talking about real sanguine drama, nothing beats Austin – who had blood spurting out of a deep gash on his head – refusing to submit while caught in Bret Hart’s Sharpshooter at WrestleMania in 1997.
Now that was a bloody good show. Conversely, this year’s World Series is just anemic.