I mean what the hell is it? Impossible to describe properly, too much covered by the word. Too many things it could mean; too many ways it can be used.
I approach this topic with heavy thoughts in my head, as I recently heard a good friend and his wife are planning to divorce. She moved to this country with him, and she hasn’t been able to adjust properly to life here. I don’t know the details, but I imagine that the cultural differences were too staggering. The loneliness, the distance from home, the perception of isolation (real or imagined, the effect is the same).
As far as I know, they love each other. But she can’t live here, and he can’t get a good enough job there. That’s tough. There’s no good way for it to happen. It’s one thing if love isn’t there, or if something happens that changes the way people feel. At least then you can say to yourself that you weren’t meant for each other. It’s arguably easier to move on when you know with certainty that it wouldn’t have worked out.
It might be harder when the problem is circumstances. You can get caught in a spiral of thoughts. Was it just the wrong time? If we’d met a year earlier or a year later would it have worked out? Is there anything I could still do? Did I try hard enough? Did I try too hard? Too many questions and none of them with answers, or if there is an answer, it’s not a good one.
Love often just seems co-opted as a way to sell greeting cards. I’m sure everyone’s been depressed and alone on a Valentine’s Day. When you get caught on the dark side of love – the pain – these things seem particularly like a slap in the face. Something that used to make you feel so good is now just poison. Sometimes the highs are better than the lows. Sometimes it’s the other way around. Maybe the best you can hope is to even out.
What’s weird is I’m in a pretty good place these days romantically. Real sweet girl, we have a great time together. But hearing about something like this, I start remembering all the hurt I’ve had. It’s strange looking back on hurt from the place I’m in now. It doesn’t seem real in hindsight. I guess that’s a positive thing. It’s just a shame that when you go through the rollercoaster, sometimes remembering the good times is painful. Other times you might just not be able to remember it.
I guess it’s just life. Ups and downs. The yo-yo, so to speak. Perspective is tough sometimes, but always needed. It’s a dark tunnel sometimes, but there’s light. When it’s bright, watch the shadows. Balance.
If he reads this, you’ll make it through friend. It will get better.
Here we are again. As a disclaimer, I don’t think I got through a single full match of TNA this year. I just find it so hard to like anything about that show.
Most improved wrestler- The Miz
Two years ago when he debuted, Mike The Miz was my least favorite part of Smackdown. Slowly, he grew on me, and was a runner up to last year’s most improved wrestler, his tag partner John Morrison. What’s shocking is that Miz has gotten even better in the year since. His ring work is crisp, his mic work is stellar, he gets great heat from the crowd and his psychology is improving with every match. As loathe as I would have been to admit this two years ago, Miz is going to be a big part of the future of the business. He and Morrison alone have validated the entire concept of Tough Enough (the wrestling reality show from a few years back, which both competed on), retroactively.
No cigar- The Brian Kendrick, Cody Rhodes, Matt Hardy
Most improved wrestler (female)- Kelly Kelly
Last years worst lady wrestler is this year’s most improved. Like Trish and Candace (who’s actually fallen back quite a bit since her injury) before her, Kelly Kelly has worked her ass off and improved dramatically in the past 365. Is she great? Not by a long shot, but who knows? Hopefully she can continue her upward momentum and not get stalled by injury like Candace.
No cigar- Michelle McCool
Funniest- Santino Marella
Not much to say here except that the man is gold with a mic. Great character.
While MNM 2.0 are spectacular as a team this is mostly a reflection of the weakness of tag team wrestling these days. Teams like The Colons, Rhodes/DiBiase and Punk/Kingston were all hit or miss in 2008. The only real competition by a wide margin was TNA’s Beer Money team, who haven’t impressed me as much as some. Hopefully, with the injection of some new teams, Miz and Morrison can continue to bring more prominence to tag team wrestling.
No cigar- Beer Money, Cryme Time
Best Feud- Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
Was there any doubt? For much of this summer Jericho and Michaels carried Raw and made it watchable. The feud was so well developed, so personal and so intense that it surpassed all expectations. Their feud in 2003 was great. This was awesome. Perhaps the best part was how it flowed. The feud developed organically from the Michaels/Flair/Batista storyline, grew legs of its own, and the momentum eventually landed Jericho the World Heavyweight Title. Then, we were treated to a fantastic swan song to this rivalry with a phenomenal ladder match. A feud that saw Michaels go head first through a TV, his wife get punched in the face and Jericho beaten to a bloody pulp en route to a world title win; the best wrestling on TV this year.
No cigar- Edge vs. Undertaker
Best wrestler (female)- Beth Phoenix
Being a muscular female wrestler, Beth Phoenix draws inevitable comparisons to Chyna. That’s unfortunate, because there’s some huge differences. For one, Beth is 1,000 times the wrestler Chyna ever was. I don’t remember Chyna carrying anyone to any kind of a decent match. Beth has done an admirable job carrying many of the “skinny, model” archetype lady wrestlers. Next, in terms of mic skill and charisma, it’s no comparison. Chyna was always the most effective when she didn’t say shit. Beth, as evidenced by her interactions with Santino, is quite good with a mic. Beth’s closest competition was last year’s winner, Awesome Kong. Kong had a good year too from what I’ve heard, but it wasn’t as impressive as The Glamazon’s.
No cigar- Awesome Kong, Mickie James
Best wrestler (male)- Chris Jericho
Jericho was the frigging man this year. When his return in late 2007 stalled out of the blocks, many felt that maybe he shouldn’t have come back. Perhaps he would not significantly add to his legacy (which was definitely impressive beforehand, including the much lauded title of first ever Undisputed Champion, holding both the WWF and WCW World Titles at the same time). This seemed to be the case as his most impressive accomplishment in the first half of ’08 was another Intercontinental Title reign, impressive in that it was his record eigth reign, but not hugely impressive in terms of prestige. What a difference a heel turn can make. By turning heel and inserting himself in the middle of the Shawn Michaels/Batista feud, Jericho started some of the best work of his career. He shed his “party host” Y2J character and became more mature. More seasoned. And most of all, more bitter. Chris Jericho circa 2008 is an incredibly bitter and resentful man.
And you know what? He’s right. Like all the best villains (The Joker being the exception that proves the rule), Chris Jericho feels he is completely justified in all his actions and is convinced that he’s doing the right thing. The fans are hypocrites for cheering Shawn Michaels when he cheats, but booing Jericho when he calls him on it. Hell, I’ve thought as much for years, all the way back to when Hogan would rake eyes and choke people with his ripped up tank top. When Jericho threw Michaels face first threw a television monitor on his interview segment, it was the right thing to do. When he punched Michaels’ wife, it wasn’t his fault: it was Michaels’ fault for getting her involved in the first place.
The best part though is the matches. After solid outings with JBL and a good showing in the Wrestlemania ladder match, Jericho delivered the best matches of the year. Jericho was on fire. His series with Michaels will go down as some of the best ever. My favorite may have been getting a VERY stiff beating from Michaels at Unforgiven, weaseling his way into the Championship Scramble match later in the night and winning the World Title out from under Batista’s nose. He then went on to defend the title against Michaels in an excellent ladder match, losing a tooth in the process. He traded the title with Batista in particularly good matches (particularly for Batista) before dropping it in a good match with Cena. After a year like that with two title runs and all those good matches, Jericho could have an even better 2009 if he maintains his momentum. I’m picking Orton to win the Royal Rumble this weekend, but Jericho has a pretty good shot too.
No cigar- Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Edge
As for the negative side of things, I’ll just throw down a few paragraph. Candace Michelle and Chris “Braden Walker” Harris, based on disappointment alone would be good picks for worst wrestlers of the year. Michelle seemed to be getting better all the time in 2007, she hasn’t been able to get it together since coming back. Weight gain seemed to cause Harris to have terrible matches and an abysmal run in the WWE.
I can’t recall a specific worst match to the year, but there were certainly some stinkers throughout. Worst idea was probably Vince’s “Million $ Mania” which cost him money, made him look silly and old on TV (not the character, mind you, but Vince himself), and it’s only pay off, another hokey death/near death experience, has apparently been left unresolved.
Let’s see how my predictions from last year fared-
-Jeff Hardy will win the world title and will keep the title warm before dropping it back to Orton who will drop it to a returning Cena
I think I should at least get ¾ of point for this one. Hardy did win a world title, and the Cena scenario I laid out did happen, but it was Batista dropping the title to Jericho who lost it to Cena.
-Cena’s “unstoppable good guy” thing will finally get stale enough that he’ll turn into a devious evil bastard
Still waiting on this, though to be fair, time away made Cena seem slightly less stale
-Kennedy will regain his momentum, and will be a world champion by 2009
Kennedy seemed to be doing alright before going out with another injury. Maybe he’ll get things going this year. I like him, but he’s injury prone. If he can stay healthy he’s got a huge upside.
-Ditto for Matt Hardy
Hardy won the ECW World Title at Unforgiven. Swish!
-By mid-year, everyone will be totally sick of Hornswaggle
No, but his presence has been reduced, which was a smart move.
-By mid-year, everyone will be totally sick of handicap matches
As near as I can remember, handicap matches have also been happening less frequently. It’s still overused, but it’s seems more bearable.
-Actually, I’m already sick of handicap matches
If they keep up, I might be in the mood for handicap matches by 2010.
-MVP will win a world title
Wow. Way off. MVP just got his first win in six months. Still, “it’s all part of the plan.” If they can build him back up right (which was the plan, after all) he could find himself in a better position than when he started.
-Tag Team wrestling will, sadly, continue to be neglected.
Not for lack of lack of trying by Miz and Morrison.
-A better wrestling game for the Wii will be released.
Yup, the new Smackdown vs Raw is apparently a huge improvement. I didn’t take any chances though, and got it for the PS2. It’s not without it’s problems, unfortunately, but that’s an article for another day. The less said about the TNA game the better.
-Candice will keep getting better.
Nope.
-Awesome Kong will be…well…awesome.
Seems that way, though she’s out with an injury as well, from what I hear.
-Awesome Kong and the TNA women’s division will be the highlight of the show, while Vince Russo slowly ruins whatever credibility the program may or may not have.
Nope. Again, from what I’ve read, it seems like the women’s division doesn’t seem as sharp as it used to. I’m sure Gail Kim leaving didn’t help that at all either.
-As always, Vince McMahon will weasel out of his trouble with the government and in the coming years, will spin it as himself being a brave, intrepid businessman, standing up to a corrupt government. The DVD should be a hoot.
Vince responded to a congressional hearing with some pretty suspect answers, claiming ignorance about a lot of the problems in the WWE today. Once the heat is off for a while, Vince will got back to talking about being persecuted.
That was 2008. My predictions didn’t exactly have a stunning success rate, so I’ll forgo them for 2009 and instead go with what I hope.
I hope Santino gets good in the ring.
I hope Jericho wins a few more world titles.
I hope Christian has a hell of a run this time.
I hope Regal wins a world title. He deserves it, and he was getting nuclear crowd reactions during his run as King.
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