Dr. Gonzo

Acerbic Treats 09.23.03: Time for round Two

RAW 9/29

THE HIGHLIGHTS

1. Christian & RVD: Put on a good match, and set up their next one, a ladder match no doubt. Big ups to RVD for taking a ladder shot clean to the head without blocking. Also, sweet Frog Splash by Christian onto RVD. If Christian implements top rope maneuvers to his repertoire, he could be amazing to watch.

2. Evolution Beatdown: Now this I can get into. I have been begging for a while for Evolution to just start kicking the shit out of people via stable beatdowns, to make themselves look like a threat. Since they don't do that, they never really seem like an actual faction but more like a group of singles wrestlers. I could do without the interview time afterwards, however. I have a feeling everything Trips said was shoot.

3. Women's Match: Shit, I am shocked as you are. This was a really good match, and the crowd was hot for it. It actually looked like a match instead of a collection of big tits and botched moves. Big ups to the women involved.

4. Ric Flair: The fucking man. I enjoy watching him do anything on WWE television. If I had a vote for RAW World Champ, I would have to go with Jericho or Flair, easily.

5. The Rock: As much as I absolutely hate him as a face, I wouldn't mind seeing him in the wrestling ring right now. I kinda miss the bastard. This interview made me realize how much of a goober the Rock can be sometimes, though.

THE LOWLIGHTS

1. Lillian Garcia: Can Lillian a.k.a. Geriatric Hillary Duff (as my friend would say) complete one sentence without stumbling over herself, and sounding completely unprofessional? It makes me yearn for the days of Jeff Jarrett to put her in her place, and makes me miss Howard Finkle that much more.

2. Return of JR and King: Wow, that took all of an hour for them to return, seeing as JR and Coach will fight each other next week, and the outcome is without question.

3. Kane and Shane: Hmm, this was a good angle, only I liked it better the first time when it involved Austin and McMahon. Hell I liked it more when it involved Foley and McMahon. They really need to get rid of those lame screams while someone is getting beaten up in public. They only add humor to the moment.

MATCH OF THE NIGHT (tie)

Goldberg vs. His locker room door: In a classic brawl, the door took Goldberg to the limit, before Goldberg tried again, and managed to open it. Just remember these simple rules: grasp, turn and push. ***

Lita & Trish vs. Molly & Gail Kim: The crowd was so hot for this match Gail Kim, and Trish's bad dropkick couldn't even silence them. In fact the match was pretty damn good to boot. Nice job by all the ladies, by churning out one of best women's matches in recent memory. **3/4

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UNCLE MOE'S FAMILY MAILBAG

I received this e-mail regarding my first column from Charles Hayes that really got my mind going on the topic of Stevie Richards. He raised a lot of good points so I thought I would post it as it leads to the next part of my column.

"I agree with absolutely everything you said. I mean everything. But I'd just like to stress how happy I am to see that finally, somebody noticed this besides me! I, like you, believe that Stevie Richards deserves a push. And apparently, to everybody else, who always seems to be talking about how this guy or that guy is being held back despite his obvious talent, don't see the obvious talent in Stevie Richards! I swear, I read more than one websites' comments on the Steiner vs. Richards match (and this goes for almost any Richards match for that matter), and they never EVER mention Richards as somebody with potential or anything!!! And that angers me to no end to see that, on the subject of that match, they simply say "Oh no, not Test vs. Steiner again. This was a useless match to set this up, and it's obvious Steiner's getting better, but he still sucks". Excuse me? I can't recall a single Richards match I've seen that didn't entertain me or connect with me on some level or another if I was paying attention...and that includes the complete destruction of Richards matches. And to add to that, the guy obviously thinks up creative reversals and spots as well, which one can tell if they follow his matches for awhile, watching the matches where he actually gets to wrestle. But like I said, the guy always seems to connect if you're paying attention! And yet Mark Henry can do one slam and pin Goldust, a former Intercontinental Champion? Goldust takes about one move and loses the match, why?! Because they're busy pushing Henry for the four-thousandth time, when he shouldn't have been pushed to begin with, while people who actually seem to understand the psychology of matches and want to entertain the fans, like Richards (and Jericho sometimes, even), are left on the sidelines or thrown into random matches simply to push people. Goldberg beats Richards without a single recognizable offensive move from Richards, Richards gets time in tag matches to get his ass kicked and barely get in moves...I mean, the guy sells well, he has one of, it not the best superkick that I've ever seen, and he's got a great character if they'd just exploit it, and yet they instead decide to push Lawler as if we're all from Memphis or something and think he's some sort of wrestling God. Honestly, I like Al Snow more than I like Jerry Lawler, and I really don't like Al Snow all that much, if at all. As for Rico, you at least get the "Oh, he's playing up his gimmick and it's hilarious!" comments sometimes, and with Dreamer, you get "He's so underutilized" and things like that, but with Richards, it's always nothing! It's always like he's almost not there or not necessary, but he's often the highlight of the show, in one way or another! Which, depending on how you look at the current Raw product, could be a good thing or a bad thing! But really, your point about Richards deserving a push is so valid, that it makes me remember why I watch the WWE...because of the people like Richards. Not HHH or Goldberg, the guys who plow through opponents like they're nothing, but the guys who continuously put forth 100% to get done whatever they must to put the match over! Not just themselves! And as for Jericho deserving the belt, I hate to say it, but that's probably why he doesn't have it! The guy's entertaining from every side, and just because he's the best on the show...he doesn't get the belt because he doesn't need it to be over. Sad but, I believe, true. Meanwhile, Triple H hogs the belt to the point that, whenever he's without it, he's going to almost have to look like a total and complete loser. He's really kind of jinxed himself with that whole "big long title reign despite not really being able to cleanly pin anybody worth mentioning in a well-built up match". Because now, when the title goes bye-bye, all he has to fall back on is his obvious backstage political ties and his massive ego...and that's all he'll have to kill the Raw brand with...I mean to utilize *cough*BULLSHIT*cough* to get the World Title back! Wow! What a talent! Having sex with the boss's daughter! If only every WWE wrestler could do that, but, of course, if you look at it as Jericho would, you'd say "almost every WWE wrestler HAS done that". Anyway, Jericho is the best and that's why he's not Champ, Stevie's a true classic, as anybody who saw him and Dreamer's Singapore Cane match from last year SHOULD probably be able to tell you (as I don't believe creating a great Singapore cane match happens very often at all), and both men deserve more attention from the WWE, and will probably receive less attention. Boy, thinking about it...those are the reasons the WWE sucks right now...the logical, yet unfair politics. Anyway, just wanted you to know that I agree with everything you said...which is kind of creepy to me...thinking somebody else was thinking 100% of what I was, and that's including the Smackdown and TNA stuff, and I too think Stevie is...just...WAY better than he's booked to be."

As I am sure that there are not many people nowadays who respect Richards as much as they should, I thought I would give a retrospective on Stevie's career, as well as some main points that I feel encapsulate the man's character best, and why I feel he is so damn great.

Stevie started wrestling for ECW (Eastern Championship Wrestling) in their first ever match, and then returned a bit later to wrestle in Heatwave '94. For that year he was basically stuck in purgatory, until the debut of Raven in 1995, who helped him defeat Hack Myers. Raven became a flunky of Raven, trying to impress him whenever he could, which led to Stevie bringing in Beulah McGillicutty (a former Raven fling at summer camp) as Raven's valet. Looking to gain the respect of his mentor, he started dressing like Raven, complete with jean shorts and flannel shirt. On June 30, 1995 Stevie tasted his first championship, as he and Raven defeated the Pitbulls for the tag team championship. After a few title defenses, a female fan was known to have a crush on Stevie. The fan turned out to be none other than Francine. During a match between her and Beulah, Raven ordered Stevie to Steviekick Francine. He agreed and cost Francine the match. Francine, out for revenge, commandeered the team of Pitbull #1 and #2 to take down Raven and Stevie and managed to take the belts from them. Stevie and Raven eventually regained the titles from that very same team.

In 1995, Stevie pulled a fan from ringside to be his lackey. That fan ended up being the Blue one, the Blue Meanie. All the while, Stevie and the Blue Meanie were wrestling in SCW (Steel City Wrestling) and managed to capture their tag titles. Back in ECW, Stevie and Meanie created the Blue World Order with Big Stevie Cool, Da Blue Guy, and Hollywood Nova(later the Blue Nova). Stevie feuded a bit with Raven, and others, until Raven left for WCW in 1997, and Stevie followed, becoming part of the Flock. After being underutilized in WCW, Richards returned to ECW, and other Indy promotions capturing the NWA title, and the APWF (Allied Powers Wrestling Federation) title. He was then signed by the WWF, along with the Blue Meanie, where he was non existent until he was stuck in the horrendous RTC gimmick, while the Blue Meanie became a lackey for Goldust, before being released. After an injury sidelined him, the WWF scrapped the RTC gimmick, and Stevie returned to attack the Undertaker, and release Kronik upon him, and the rest of the WWF viewing world (don't blame him for that though). He managed to win the Hardcore title, before being lost in the mix, and shipped off to "Stevie Night Heat" where his teaming with Victoria has been a highlight of that show.

While some have not had the pleasure of seeing Stevie work in a ring with a decent gimmick, I must say, in ECW, and currently, he was one of the most interesting, and enjoyable characters around, as well as having a solid in ring style. His Steviekick has been dubbed by some (including myself) as one of the best, if not THE best kick in the business. While he was straddled with a weak gimmick, Stevie did what ANY great wrestler does: he embraced it, and ran. He decided that he will use his monumental charisma to try and get this gimmick over, and although it doesn't always work, he tries his damn best. His current gimmick is solid proof of that. Stuck on Sunday Night Heat with Victoria, they both have taken their respective gimmicks and shown that they will live it while on the screen. He has taken the curse of being banished to SNH, and made it his own show. He and Victoria show, every time they step foot in front of an audience, that they are consummate professionals, who work their gimmicks so well, that they cannot help but be over, if only they received pushes. I remember near the end of Victoria's push, she was getting cheered quite a bit from the fans. Stevie, like Victoria, works his ass off in the ring, and it shows. He is a fantastic wrestle, and despite being off television for a while, he returned absolutely ripped and in the best shape of his career, and proven that bulking up won't slow him down. The main problem with Stevie is probably his size, and the stigma of being brandished with the RTC gimmick, as I imagine the WWE saw that the faction bombed and probably blamed the wrestlers involved for it. Just look at all of who was involved with it. None of those wrestlers have survived.

Unfortunately, a few days ago, Stephanie found out about the pseudo push Stevie was getting on HEAT, and decided to ax it, paving the way for her and Trips' fetus to become the number one babyface on the show, whenever she decides to squeeze one out.

All I can say to Stevie is hang in there. You have your loyal followers, and if the WWE can't respect your talent, I hope you will get a job working for TNA, where I am sure you could be a superstar. I respect Stevie for being a professional, and being one of the best workers who like so many, is not getting the push he deserves.

I would enjoy hearing all of your thoughts on RAW, and Stevie Richards as well. You love him? Hate him? Don't care about him? Let me know.