Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Crazy like a silver haired fox

Over at The Steel Cage, Alfonso Castillo has an interesting interview with Kevin Nash. Overall, it's a pretty good read, but Nash makes one particular argument that drives me absolutely crazy. A lot of wrestlers use it, notably Triple H and JBL, and in my mind it makes positively no sense whatsoever. Here's an excerpt:

KN: And I say to myself, “So let me get this right – You’re somebody that can’t boil an egg, and you’re coming to my restaurant and your criticizing my food as a chef?”

AC: I’ve never really bought that argument, because I’ll go to a movie – I can’t make a movie. I can’t act in a movie – but I think I know what I like and I don’t like in a movie. So is that to say that somebody who’s never wrestled can’t be a critic of wrestling?

KN: I’ll tell you something right now. Somebody who’s never been in the ring sure as hell can’t tell me who can work and who can’t work.

AC: You can say what you enjoy. I mean, at the end of the day, the performers are putting on a performance for the spectator, right? So you can say, as the spectator, whether you appreciated their work or not.


When I first started visiting The Steel Cage, I have to admit that I used to say to myself, "Who's this guy?" when Alfonso would post a column. Like many others, I initially began visiting to get interesting, insider stories from former WWE writer Seth Mates. But it didn't take long for me to realize that Alfonso has a pretty solid mind for the business, while Seth is mostly bitter and uninformed.

Point being: I am SO SO SO proud of Alfonso for calling Nash out on his asinine argument. Even his comparison is idiotic. Just because somebody doesn't have the ability to boil an egg, they can't provide insight into what tastes good? That's ridiculous. There isn't a person on earth who doesn't have a food preference -- yet not everybody can cook.

But to the actual argument: Alfonso makes a great point. Ultimately, wrestlers are putting on a performance for the spectator. And in that regard, in many ways, the spectator is the ONLY opinion that matters. Earlier in the interview Nash notes that certain people aren't pushed because the higher ups are smart. If numbers go down when they're on screen, they're not going to get pushed. In other words, if the fans don't dig you, you're not going to make it. Yet these same fans (who haven't stepped in the ring) can't judge your performance?

And finally, consider the source. Can Nash honestly make the argument that he's a great worker? And he's got the nerve to say that guys like Edge and John Cena are injury prone. The guy tore his quad from walking!



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