MAILBAG: Is Bret Hart The Greatest Champion Of All Time?

SEScoops Mailbag for September 15th

(please submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)

Q: Just a quick question I can’t seem to find an answer to. Why are CM Punk and Triple H having a match at Night of Champions? I thought that was the night the every match was supposed to be a championship match? Isn’t that the meaning of the whole PPV or am I just missing something? – Phil M.

A: Night of Champions is the night that ALL titles in WWE are defended. Nowhere in there does it say you can’t have additional matches on the PPV that are not contested for a championship. Ironically, CM Punk was involved in the only non-title match on the show last year against Big Show. But it is a bit ridiculous that the match being promoted as the real main event (and may well go on last) is, in fact, not for a title.

Q: I was watching the DX One Last Stand DVD and I couldn’t believe Matt Striker was commentating on a PPV! Why was he taken off the [announce] team? – Jean Luca

A: At this year’s Royal Rumble when Booker T and Kevin Nash each made their surprise returns, Matt Striker openly talked about “marking out” on commentary. Not long after that, his stint as an announcer came to an end. Hell, I marked out a bit myself seeing Nash in his old Diesel gear, but I sure as hell wouldn’t say that on the air. Vince McMahon apparently felt the same way.

Q: I have always wondered what is wrong with TNA. Why do they have lower ratings than WWE? I thought people don’t like the fact that WWE is PG and that could be an advantage for TNA, but it’s not the case. If you were ever given the chance to change one or two things in TNA, what would you change to improve the show and its ratings? – John

A: What a loaded question. Here’s the thing, it’s not as though TNA’s business was lighting the world on fire prior to the arrival of Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Ric Flair and the like. They weren’t. But, with Hogan and Bischoff’s deals coming to an end soon, their possible departure illustrates something that anyone with half a brain could have figured out from the beginning. They’ve actually made the TNA product weaker and in the end, may have had a hand in killing it much as they did with WCW. Getting rid of them, and frankly anyone else who embarrasses the company (I’m looking at you Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy) is the first step. The other step is to change creative from the very top, which means getting rid of Vince Russo. They can take Impact on the road to the biggest arenas in the world and it won’t change a damn thing. Part of the reason Hogan and Bischoff have been abject failures in their role is their inability to force Russo out of the company. I thought for sure they would at least be able to accomplish that much upon their arrival. For whatever reason, Dixie Carter remains fiercely loyal to the man and refuses to get rid of him. Until that happens, NOTHING (and I do mean nothing) will change. There’s no point in mentioning anything else. It’s a pointless exercise unless they get rid of the man who writes their TV shows. You never hear about how awful TNA house shows are, only the TV show. I’m actually getting angry sitting here writing this, knowing that Dixie Carter actually thinks there is no other human being alive on planet earth capable of writing Impact besides Vince Russo. It astounds me.

Q: I know you don’t want another incarnation of the nWo (believe me, after nWo 2000, no one does), but if there is a chance the nWo does reform with Kevin Nash and/or Triple H, which superstars would you like to see in it? My choices would be Miz, R-Truth, Christian, Alberto Del Rio, maybe Randy Orton or John Cena. – Frank the Tank

A: People don’t seem to understand the reason the nWo hasn’t worked since the late 90’s is because back then, they were a threat. Their whole existence was predicated upon them being a group of outlaws who used to work “up north” whose mission was to take down an entire organization. People believed it and they thought it was cool. When WWE revived the group in 2002, they were just another faction (and a retread, at that). The letters don’t mean anything anymore. You may as well put those guys in a faction and give it a completely different name because otherwise, it’s doomed to failure. It can never compare to the original. Now, even if you did that, I don’t like the idea of Miz being in a group unless he leads. He should not be playing second fiddle to anyone in a group given his mic skills and the fact that he’s already headlined a WrestleMania as champion. R-Truth is fine, I guess, but certainly not in another “nWo” because if you put him in there, it just becomes a comedy stable. Christian has been made to look weak and whiny coming off his feud with Orton, so ditto on him. Alberto is currently the WWE champion and, even without the title, he doesn’t need to be part of a faction. Randy Orton already lead one faction and what an epic fail that turned out to be. As for John Cena, unless he goes heel (he’s not), I say no thank you.

Q: On 7/15/02 when Eric Bischoff debuted in WWE as the GM of Raw, during his first speech he said that if there was one talent he would have loved having in WCW, one that would have made WCW a success, it was Triple H. What was behind those lines? Was Bischoff really interested in Triple H back then? If so, why didn’t they use him when he was in WCW under the name Terra Ryzing? – Ravi T.

A: During the Monday Night Wars, if you were a star (even a mid-card guy), then you were in high demand. People were jumping ship all the time. I’m sure Bischoff would have loved to snatch Triple H away from Vince during the DX days. But did he ever covet him so much that he thought he alone could take WCW to even greater heights? I never heard that and, frankly, I find it laughable. He was a great worker, but no matter how hard they pushed him, he never had the success or popularity that Hogan, Goldberg, Austin or Rock enjoyed at the time. It’s all revisionist history on WWE’s part. As for why Bischoff never used him to his full potential while he was in WCW, it wouldn’t have been the first time Uncle Eric dropped the ball on someone. I seem to recall him firing a certain foul-mouthed Texan who went on to become one of the biggest stars in the history of the business. While you’re at it, you can ask Chris Jericho and Bret Hart about that, too.

Q: I was wondering if you agree with me that Bret Hart was arguably the greatest pro wrestling champion ever? I base this on the fact that he was never cleanly beaten for any of his World titles. The first time he lost due to interference from Mr.Fuji, the second his MOTHER threw in the towel, the third was bogus because [Gorilla] Monsoon “restarted” the match after the time limit, the fourth time Austin interfered and we all know how McMahon screwed him in ’97. Both of his World titles in WCW were vacated due to injury. Not to mention all the Tag titles, IC and U.S. victories, it seems like all of the other so called “great world champions” had clean losses. What do you think? – txtnt622@aol.com

A: Depends on your criteria for greatest pro wrestling champion of all time. That could mean many things. Are we talking about the one who drew the most money? Then it most assuredly is NOT Bret Hart (that’s actually a great question and my guess would be either Sammartino, Hogan or Austin). Is it the champion with the greatest number of victories? The one who sold the most merchandise? Drew the highest ratings? If you want to want to say Bret was the best because he never cleanly lost the title, that’s fine so long as you understand that wrestling is a work, so that’s not a very valid way of determining who is the greatest. However, I would say that Bret is the all-time champion of chest bumps into the corner. Nobody took them better than he did and nobody ever will.

Q: What are your thoughts on some WWE stars saying bad things about the company they work for on Twitter? – Brandon

A: It’s refreshing to see some real honesty every now and then. It will also be a further drain on our economy when they begin collecting their unemployment checks.

Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!