Time for a Lesson: Why Whining is No Good.

As a teacher of youngsters (yes, friends, I am trusted with the future leaders of the world - be very, very afraid), I have to deal with a lot of childish behavior.  An inability to share, peeking at neighbor’s papers, trying to fool me with seven-year-old stealth, all of it.

Yet there is no single behavior that boils my (and honestly, most people’s) blood than whining.

Every year, right around mid-September, I spend part of each and every work day discussing whining behaviors, and how people hardly ever get what they want from it.  “You need to express your opinions like grown-ups do,” I say, “because when you whine, people immediately stop listening to you.”

And they get it. . . Well, most of them do.  Over the school year, most of my students (who, I remind you, are 6 and 7 years old) will slowly begin expressing themselves in a more adult manner.  The tone of their voice changes, they use better descriptions to express their current emotional state, and best of all, they come up with (in some cases) compelling pieces of evidence to argue their case.

“I don’t want to do this” becomes “Can I please have a bit of a break before I finish my work?”  “This is sooo harddd” becomes “I’m not sure what to do here.  Can you help me?”

I mention this simply because these students of mine. . . Once more, 6 and 7 year old children. . . Seem to have a better grip on this fairly simple life lesson than the vast majority of wrestling fans I’ve seen on Twitter these last few weeks.

Lessons from the Network: RAW and PPV's from early 1993

It’s hard to be a wrestling fan.  

It’s even harder to be a wrestling fan who then has to produce original content about said wrestling.

On behalf of Doc Manson, I apologize to our fans for being absent these last weeks.  I wish I had a hell of an excuse, but I think it just comes down to fatigue.  Tired of writing, tired of editing, tired of having to watch RAW week after week and think of a new angle to blog about.

WWE just isn’t that exciting these days.

Sure, when Brock beat the snot out of Cena, we were jazzed.  This was the beginning of a new era, we thought.  This was going to be special.

What’s happened since?  The Bellas spend each week yelling at each other and crying. . . Dean Ambrose is running around the countryside like Mick Foley after one too many Vaderbombs. . . What’s the main event for Night of Champions?  Cena and Lesnar. . .Again.

So I’ve soured a bit on the current product.  Thankfully, the WWE Network has saved me.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been watching the first year of Monday Night RAW, and the PPV’s to go with it.  Here are, in no particular order, some musings and thoughts on that crazy time in pro wrestling, and if we can take anything from it today.

Substitute Contender: Is It a New Day?

From time to time, The Teacher is absent, the lab is empty, and a substitute takes center stage.  Today, Kyle (@RasslinWithLife) discusses the main event scene.

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"The more things change, the more they stay the same." 

Thats how the old cliche goes and within WWE, it couldn't be more apparent. My hope is to shed light on what is vital to success going forward. One hot-button issue in the company is their inability or flat-out ignorance to build around their top star, John Cena. 

It wasn't that long ago at one of their biggest pay per-views, SummerSlam, we saw resident conqueror and the Cenation patriarch go 1-on-1. Or at least that is what it was advertised as. What we all got at the biggest "Blockbuster of the Summer" was anything but a battle. I think to some degree we all expected a back and forth battle. Instead we witnessed an absolute mauling from the former UFC champ to the walking, talking merchandise king. Now, please don't mistake my playful banter for disrespect. John Cena is a 15-time world champion and has earned his stripes. Sadly for the champion his credentials meant zilch when the bell rang at 'Slam.

The Teacher's Book: What could happen post-Summer Slam?

There are days where it is hard to be a wrestling fan.  If you read the Summer Slam preview Doc Manson and I had late last night, you could tell that for both of us (though Doc is suffering far worse than I), there is a definite vein of pessimism in how we feel about the WWE product.  In our minds, too much has been mis-managed, too many worthy superstars are being ignored, and there is way, way, WAY too much being shoved down our throats.  

Yet, despite the negativity that can drag me down at times, I have hope.  Perhaps its, as @NewAgeInsiders says, just because the relationship I have with WWE is an abusive one.  Or perhaps its because, as an actual classroom teacher, hope is sometimes all you can hold on to in order to maintain your sanity.  But I think there are opportunities abound here for WWE to start heading in a positive direction.  

We all have our ideas on how we’d book it were we a McMahon, so I humbly submit my own thoughts on a few directions WWE could go.

(Disclaimer:  All of this is conjecture, based on the information I have gleaned, rumors floating around, or just my best guess.  This should not be considered to be anything other than a series of thought experiments, and should in no way be considered entirely original thoughts.)

World Title Picture

Tonight, I want to see Brock Lesnar win the title.  I want it to be a competitive match, but mostly controlled by Lesnar, with Cena having to resort to more and more desperate acts to stay in it.  In the end, though, Lesnar’s just too big and too bad.

On RAW, I want Heyman to come out and be presented with the new belt.  Lesnar would be here, says the Advocate, but frankly, there’s just no reason to be.  He dominated Cena, and there is nobody out there who is worthy of a title shot, so Brock’s going on a little vacation.  

Heyman than calls out the WWE roster and says, simply. . . “Impress me”.  He wants to see somebody step up and make themselves worthy of the honor of being next conquered by The Beast.

Number Two Contenders Summer Slam Preview!

Summer Slam is less than 24 hours away, and the Number Two Contenders have you covered.  Doc Manson and The Teacher are here to discuss matches, angles, predictions and more!

The Teacher:  Doc, does it feel to you like this PPV has taken forever to get here?  It seems like these feuds have been building (or in some cases, not building) for months!

Doc Manson: Yeah, the build has been pretty slow for almost the entire card. I’m starting to feel like a broken record, always talking about the same stories and wrestlers. Although, a few of those wrestlers I talk about aren’t even on the SummerSlam card.

T:  I assume you are referring to one of our favorites, Mr. Cesaro, who will be kicking off the card by not wrestling on it.  He and RVD are scheduled to face off in the Pre-Show.  I’d like to say that having two of the better wrestlers in the company going at it before the PPV means that Summer Slam will be stacked with epic encounters top to bottom, but I just think this is more indicative of some of the lack of quality booking for certain talents.

Cesaro has to win, right?  Even if he’s going nowhere.

DM: They can pull the trigger on Cesaro at any time and he will deliver. I don’t think a win or a loss against RVD on the SummerSlam pre-show is going to make much difference in Cesaro’s career.

Guesses on the first match of the night?

State of the WWE: A very early Summer Slam preview

The Teacher:  Doc Manson and I are back once again, friends, only this time, we’re actually going to discuss the art of wrestling, and not just the business of it.

Summer Slam is just a few weeks away, Doc.  Are you excited yet?

Doc Manson: Yes. Absolutely, sort of. What’s on the card again? Aside from Cena v. Lesnar?

T:  Frankly, I don’t think there’s all that much else that’s been decided, besides our main event.

In fact, WWE.com is only reporting 3 matches as of yet.  Cena and Lesnar, Jericho and Bray 2.0, and Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella.

So, I ask you again, Doc.  Are you excited yet?

DM: I had a sudden vision of Bray Wyatt as a cyborg, and I was entertained.

Class is in Session: RAW's Love Letter to the WWE Twitter-verse

Triple H was in rare form last night.

The COO of WWE and leader of The Authority reminded us all why, when he wants to be, he can be one of the more entertaining promo-men in the business.  Last night’s RAW opened with a heavily sarcastic shot at the WWE’s Internet community, specifically the multitude of fans on Twitter.

Now, as someone who has spent far more time than is healthy on Twitter in the last week (the benefits of an actual teacher’s schedule), I can say he was right on the money.  While there are some absolutely stellar wrestling fans out there dedicated to intelligent conversation and articulate, respectful debate (Head over to @The2Contenders and you’ll easily find who I’m talking about), the vast majority of Internet wrestling fans do nothing but whine, complain, and threaten to take their friend Mark and stop watching if WWE doesn’t listen to their demands.

So Triple H started out the show by giving us “smart” fans a verbal shellacking, condemning us for our constant complaining.

The next 3 hours showed that they were listening, however, as last night’s RAW could have been subtitled “A Love Letter to our Twitter fans”.

The Teacher's Lounge: Fantasy Booking the Battleground Main Event

Tonight is Battleground, the PPV lead-in to August’s Summerslam extravaganza.  Our main event this evening is a Fatal Four Way for the WWE title, as John Cena defends against Randy Orton, Kane and Roman Reigns.  If you asked 100 average wrestling fans who they thought was going to win this match, I’d wager at least 85-90% of them would say that John Cena will defend his title.  Between the leaked promotional material for SummerSlam as well as Paul Heyman’s cryptic “Plan C”, all signs are pointing to John Cena and Brock Lesnar for the title next month.

But what if that’s just what WWE wants you to believe?

Perhaps. . . Actually, it’s almost a certainty that I am venturing much too far down the conspiracy theorist road, but let’s go down that road anyway.  Consider it a thought experiment.  Putting on my fantasy booker hat, here are the ways I can see six other wrestlers walking out of Battleground with the WWE title.  As an extra challenge, I’ll even include how I’d follow tonight’s match up at SummerSlam.

Lab Works: The Past and Future of Cesaro

Hey, folks, Doc Manson here. I've been going over my notes, and I'd like to chat for a moment about the Swiss Superman, the King of Swing, and the winner of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestleania 30, Antonio Cesaro.

This guy became something of a fan favorite over the course of the last year, no doubt due to his natural charisma and his amazing feats of strength. The shot of Cesaro lifting Big Show over the top rope at Wrestlemania 30, paying striking visual homage to the Hogan/Andre slam at Wrestlemania III, is a moment with the potential to live in highlight reels for years to come.