Opinion: Donald Trump and Wrestling - A Match Made in Heaven or Hell?

I can envisage a future where our world has been devastated and is almost beyond recognition: a few lone survivors hunt for scraps on a desolate Earth that has been ripped apart by warring superpowers. Most of civilisation as we know it has long since passed, decimated by The Greatest War of them all, the inevitable end result of the insatiable greed of nations governed by increasingly ruthless, bloody-minded demagogues. The only remnant of this era of distrust and fury are huge, golden statues, memorials to the cult of personality that led humanity down this dark path. In this bleak future, I see myself, tired and fraught, leading my children through the overgrown wilderness once known as New York. In the centre of the marshland, where the contaminated air is at its thickest, stands the golden statue of one Donald Trump, one of the agitators accused of stoking the fires of hate that caused the world to burn. My son looks at me: curious, confused, afraid.

“Dad, who is that man?”

Reflecting on the complex turmoil of years past, I wonder how to answer him. I pause and respond.

“He managed Bobby Lashley at Wrestlemania 23. He shaved Vince McMahon’s head and then Stone Cold beat him up”.

Seeing that this is a wrestling blog and Trump is as controversial and divisive a figure as they come, political chatter shall be kept to a minimum (although I’ll go on record and say that I wouldn’t have voted for him myself). What will be considered here is Trump’s long standing links with the wrestling industry. When the relationship began in the 1980s, it was as a business venture on Trump’s part: hosting the much sought after Wrestlemania events at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City in 1988 and 1989 (the only time that consecutive Mania’s have been held in the same city) was seen as quite the coup for the savvy operator. In the coming years, Trump was often seen at ringside at various Manias (I’m not sure if he made it to many house shows) with his appearance at WrestleMania XX being a prime example of ironic foreshadowing. Whilst being interviewed by a former governor in Jesse “The Body” Ventura, the topic of politics came up. Jesse asked Trump if he would support Ventura’s own candidacy and stated that it may be time “to put a wrestler in the White House”. As Trump smiled (and maybe formed an idea in his mind), Jerry Lawler questioned whether we would ever see the New York mogul run for President. Hey America, between WWE and The Simpsons (see episode: Bart to the Future), President Trump really should come as no surprise…

Trump’s legacy in wrestling will always be tied to The Battle of the Billionaires. Playing the babyface to Vince McMahon’s classic heel, Trump made his presence felt on WWE television, questioning the direction and quality of the product following the infamous Donald Trump vs Rosie O’Donnell skit on Monday Night RAW (truly one of the worst segments in the history of the flagship show). As McMahon bristled at the sight of his rival, Trump dropped money on the audience (this could prove a crowd pleasing move worth revisiting when the presidency gets tough). Weeks later, Trump returned to RAW and challenged Vince to a fight; despite being a former WWE champion who had beaten The Undertaker, Triple H and Steve Austin, Vince thought better of tangling with The Donald (sorry...Mr President) and instead suggested that they find surrogates to fight for them. With the added wager of hair vs hair, the main attraction of WrestleMania 23 was set. 

Trump was to give the rub to heavily pushed young star Bobby Lashley (although the rub was somewhat undermined by Trump referring to him as Bobby Lindsey in interviews) while Vince led "The Samoan Bulldozer" Umaga into battle. The match was okay, Vince had his head shaved in a memorable angle and Austin hit Trump with the worst stunner in history. Pause and reflect on that: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin has stone cold stunnered the President of the United States. The PPV buy rate was the best in WWE history at that time and Trump more than contributed to this. The character he cultivated in The Apprentice bore more than a passing resemblance to Mr. McMahon (they even shared the same catchphrase) and could be viewed as an equal: his composure on the mic and overly confident demeanour complemented Vince’s own style. Indeed, this run is probably justification enough for Trump to be considered worthy of his place in the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame.

I was at the Garden the night that Trump was inducted. Whereas live crowds in 2007 had tended to cheer Donald (as they did during his brief return in 2009), by 2013 the tide had turned. Trump was booed viciously and I remember remarking to my brother that no-one on the roster had that level of heat. That is why Trump is so pro wrestling: he conjures strong reactions wherever he goes, reactions he often manipulates artfully. Like a political John Cena, you can either love him or hate him: to some he is a babyface, the people’s champion ready to save the working man from the cruelty of modern life; to others he is the ultimate heel, a conniving and corrupt individual of limited morality, consumed by greed and lust. However you feel, you do feel something: there are no shades of grey here. And that is wrestling at its most effective: Trump is a showman who knows what his audience wants and how to give it to them. He has Hulk Hogan levels of skill in reading a crowd and providing them with the perfect response at that precise moment: be it working them into a frenzy of hate and leading them in unified chants; tenderly raising a child in the air for a cheap pop; or showing rare humility as he did in his acceptance speech late last night. He even knows how to execute a turn: he switched from Republican to Democrat in 2001 and turned back again in 2009. Gotta keep that gimmick fresh.

So now that the resident of the White House follows Vince McMahon on Twitter, can we expect to see politics and wrestling combine in the future? We can be sure that Trump will not go near a ring during his presidency and probably wouldn’t even return after his term is up. Trump is now too famous, too prestigious a catch for wrestling and for many, that, understandably, will be seen as no great loss. But Trump is already a part of WWE history. When you re-watch WrestleManias he is, as Vince attested in his HOF induction, ingrained in the fabric of many shows: the arena might be his own; he might be sitting front and centre at ringside; he might even be blowing Austin’s signature move. In the years to come, Donald Trump may well alter the course of American and World history, adding to his already complex and infamous legacy: he surely will be a topic in political studies for generations. But when the day eventually comes when my son asks me who he this man is, my response will start with Bobby Lashley.

Words - Sean Taylor-Richardson (@GrownManCenaFan)

Images & Editing - James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)

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WWE It's Good to Be King - The Jerry Lawler Story DVD Review

WWE's It's Good to Be King - The Jerry Lawler Story is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all other good home video stores. The three disc set features a documentary looking Jerry Lawler's life, as well as over twenty matches from The King's career, ranging from 1981 to 2011, alongside a number of non-wrestling segments in various forms. The set includes matches against the likes of The Undertaker, Curt Hennig, Bret Hart, Terry Funk, Ric Flair and more.

Disc One

The main feature of this set is the documentary that covers the first disc and comes in at just under an hour and a half. Following Lawler's entire life, the feature is impressive in the amount of ground it manages to cover in such a short amount of time, keeping a quick pace throughout, especially as Lawler moves throughout the different territories. The interview with the man himself, allows for some good insight into a number of his most famous moments in wrestling, with stories of how he broke into the business being particularly fascinating. 

All the major points that you'd expect to be included are there from Lawler's feud with Andy Kaufman (including footage from the pairs appearance on The David Letterman Show), to his arrival in the WWF and feud with Bret Hart, his departure from WWF in 2001, as well as his infamous heart attack during a live Monday Night RAW (including never before seen footage, which isn't comfortable viewing) Plenty of other aspects of Lawler's life are covered rounded off the documentary that gives a nice picture of Lawler's life at a distance. The King's interview comes across as honest, with Lawler not worried about saying how he feels, whilst also never afraid to point out his own errors throughout his career.

A number of different personalities are also interviewed, including some of Lawler's biggest rivals and allies, as well as those who knew him in his youth and his current girlfriend. Anytime Vince McMahon appear on these sets is a real treat these days, and his insight on Lawler's career, especially his match with Supestar Billy Graham and Lawler's 2001 departure are invaluable here. Both former Mid-Sothern promoter (and TNA co-founder) Jerry Jarrett and announcer Lance Russel make their debuts on a Home Video release, both providing a satisfying look at The King's time in the Mid-Southern promotion. It's clear that a lot of effort has gone into putting together these interviews to provide as wide a look at Lawler's life as possible and it pays off.

My only real complaint is that the documentary is just a little short, and whilst the brevity allows the documentary to keep up a cracking pace, at times it would have been nice to see things delve a little deeper. Especially when it came to Lawler's time before WWE, as Lawler spends time in an era and promotions that very rarely get a look in in today's WWE landscape. There's space to expand, and more areas of Lawler's life to be explored that perhaps an extra half hour or forty five minutes would have allowed.

Disc Two

The first match is a real treat, as Lawler takes on Terry Funk in an Empty Arena match from CWA (April 1981) and whilst the footage isn't great, it's a curious brawl and completely fascinating for any modern day fan. Lawler's first bout with Andy Kaufman (also from CWA in April 1982) doesn't have a lot of wrestling content with plenty of stalling, but a red hot crowd laps it up. The lengthy time that Kaufman sends on the mat following the mat works as a nice contrast to the modern day pacing of wrestling, but perhaps takes up a little too much time for a Home video release. The crowd continues to play a major factor in a Loser Leaves Town Match with Bill "Superstar" Dundee (CWA, June 1983) being loud throughout and pushing the match along nicely. The match itself is good ol' fashioned brawl, with a sound structure that plays the crowd well, leading to an electric finish. 

With the best footage of the set so far, an AWA World Heavyweight Championship clash with "Cool" Curt Hennig (AWA Championship Wrestling, March 1988) is another brawling effort. For me, the match was a little long for the shitty finish that it is given. As the wrestling landscape continued to change, The King's match with Kerry von Erich over the AWA and WCCW World Heavyweight Championship (WCCW, September 1988) is an acceptable inclusion for it's historical significance alone. Lawler shines as a heel here and whilst von Erich no selling a piledriver had me shaking my head, the angle that follows the contest is a terrific piece of booking. 

A handful of WWF segments follow, including Lawler's debut for the company, but it's his interview with ukulele playing nuisance Tiny Tim (WWF Monday Night RAW, July 1993) is a particular highlight, for unexplainable reasons. Owen Hart provides a decent opponent for Lawler (WWF Wrestling Challenge, July 1993), although the bout is a little short on wrestling content. The inclusion of a Bret Hart and Bam Bam Bigelow collision (WWF Monday Night RAW, July 1993) may look odd at first, but does include Lawler's infamous tirade on Stu and Helen Hart at ringside, which genuinely hilarious. A segment involving The King and a fake "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (WWF Monday Night RAW, June 1994) doesn't quite hit the spot on a Home video release on it's own right.

However, the segment does work as a nice lead in to Lawler's bout with Piper himself (WWF King of the Ring, June 1994), with the bout having a true big fight feel. The match didn't do a whole deal for me, going much longer than it needed too, with one good false finish the shining light in between a corny story. Almost certainly included for the name value is a Casket match with The Undertaker (WWF, 1994), that whilst promising a strong narrative early on fails to deliver.

Disc Three

If your a fan of celebrity appearances than William Shatner's turn on the King's Court (WWF Monday Night RAW, January 1995) will be right up your ally, but it wasn't my cup of tea. The Kiss My Foot match with Bret "Hitman" Hart (WWF King of the Ring, June 1995)  is one of the strongest matches on the set, in front of a great crowd, that's into everything that either man does in the match. A solid end to the feud that is helped by the previous segment inclusions on the set which add nice context to the match, allowing the viewer to be almost as into the finish as the Baltimore Crowd. A match in which Lawler does his own commentary opposite Al Jackson (WWF Supestars, March 1996) is much better than it deserves to be, with Lawler's heel gimmick shining. 

Some may get a kick out of the infamous bout with Jake "The Snake" Roberts (WWF SummerSlam, August 1996), but the focus on Roberts' real life alcoholism really didn't sit well with me. Part of WWF's ECW Invasion storyline see's a superb back and forth segment between Lawler and Paul E. Dangerously (WWF RAW is WAR, March 1997) with the pair both breaking into almost shoot territory at points. A surprisingly enjoyable tag match, with "Mr. Monday Night" Rob Van Dam opposite The Headbangers (WWF Shotgun Saturday Night, June 1997), mainly because of Van Dam's involvement, although the close is disappointing.

A bout with Tommy Dreamer (ECW Hardcore Heaven, August 1997) is a hell of a lot of fun, even if Lawler bleeding buckets is a bit too much. Shit loads of ridiculous false finishes, tonnes of surprise appearances and Lawler taking to the ECW style better than he should have been able to in 1997 make this a great watch. Included simply because of The King teaming with his son, "Too Sexy" Brian Lawler, a match opposite Flash Funk and Scott Taylor (WWF Shotgun Saturday Night, October 1997) is an absolute mess of a match. The same can be said for a contest with Tazz (WWF SummerSlam, August 2000), which whilst the crowd is, for some reason, into proceedings is a bit ol' shitfest. 

A "Legends Match" with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (WWE Monday Night RAW, November 2004) is everything that you would want it to be at the time, with a superb finish. Lawler's Hall of Fame induction (March 2007) is included in full, with William Shatner on hand to do the inducting. The crowd is disrespectful throughout, which makes for frustrating viewing at times, as does Shatner's piss poor induction speech. Lawler looks at home with his speech, with some genuinely funny jokes and stories, although there is some cross-over, content wise, with the documentary on Disc One.

Remembered for being much, much better than it should have been, a TLC bout for the WWE Championship with The Miz (WWE Monday Night RAW, November 2010) makes good use of the toys available with Miz and Alex Riley both putting in a lot of work. The story of the bout works well, with Lawler receiving his first WWE title match, with Lawler doing a great job as the nostalgic favourite. The final match on the set see's The King opposite Michael Cole (WWE WrestleMania 27, April 2011) in a match that doesn't deserve to Lawler's only match at The Show of Shows. On the upside, seeing Lawler's face on his entrance and whilst delivering a Bret's Rope Fist Drop, is an absolute picture and it's so clear how much being able to perform on that show meant to him. The after match antics involving "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Booker T and Jack Swagger is much much more entertaining than the match itself.

Finally...

I'd recommend the documentary portion of this DVD to anyone who considers themselves a wrestling fan, and especially anyone interested in learning more about wrestling history from the pre-Sport Entertainment era. 

The matches however are a different kettle of fish. It's a shame that the first match available comes 12 years into Lawler's career, but with the quality of the footage of that match, it's not surprising that earlier footage either doesn't exist or isn't of a high enough quality to include on a home video release. There's some good matches on here (Bret Hart, The Miz) and some significant and curious bouts also (Terry Funk, Kerry von Erich, Tommy Dreamer) which make for great viewing. Then there's some horrendous matches that don't reflect greatly on Lawler or WWE (Jake Roberts) and some that are just plain shite (Flash Funk and Scott Taylor). If I wasn't reviewing this set then the skip button would have come in handy a few times.

If your a documentary guy then the documentary justifies the price tag, if you're after matches there might be just enough to make this a worthwhile purchase, but be prepared to sit through some bouts that don't quite cut the mustard.

WWE Battleground Kick-Off Review

We're going to try a different format for these show reviews and see how it works out. If it doesn't work we'll flip back to the “Match of the Day” format, but for now we'll simply be running through each show and giving thoughts.

So, Battleground Kick-Off started with Josh Matthews welcoming us to the 1^st Niagra Centre in Buffalo, New York, USA. Matthews was the host of the specialist panel for tonight's Kick Off show, which featured an underwhelming collection of panelists, with The Miz, Titus O'Neil and Tensai all on hand. They ran through a collection of bouts including Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship, The Rhodes Family vs. Tag Team Champions The Shield and Rob Van Dam going after Alberto Del Rio's World Heavyweight Championship in a Battleground Hardcore Match. This panel was painfully awkward, with only Tensai seemingly knowing what he was talking about, with a lot of hesitation and confusion from both Miz and O'Neil. They finished up this segment, by really pushing the idea that Damien Sandow could cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase tonight to become World Heavyweight Champion, but after the booking he's received over the last few months, I'm wondering why I'm supposed to care if this happens. They quickly skimmed over the random bout that was occuring on the show, with Sandow facing Dolph Ziggler, despite the two having very little interaction on television, like ever!

We then head to Renee Young, in the “Social Media Lounge”, which is essentially a sofa and a television. Young capably leads us through how to use a hashtag on Twitter, before talking about how both Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella could walk out of Battleground with gold (or a butterfly atleast) around their wastes. I'm not a massive fan of them using Brie as part of Bryan's storyline, for a number of reasons, firstly because Brie can't act to save her life, secondly it shows that WWE don't really know what their audience likes, and placing a popular character like Daniel Bryan, with a shall we say not so popular character like Brie Bella, just doesn't work. Yes, I know they are a real life couple, and that WWE wants to promote Total Divas more, but I'm not sure if theres much crossover between the viewers of Total Divas and WWE's other programming. The segments finished with Young introducing a WWE.com poll to find out who was WWE's best power couple, with the options being Triple H & Stephanie McMahon, Edge & Lita, Randy Savage & Miss Elizabeth and King Booker & Queen Sharmell. I find it's best not to think too much into these selections.

Josh Matthews then moved discussion onto the CM Punk vs Ryback later on, with them showing a replay of last weeks tremendous Raw segment where Paul Heyman “proposed” to Ryback, followed up by an attack from Punk. Matthews went onto interview Heyman who was accompanied by Ryback, with Heyman once again giving a top quality promo, attempting to portray Ryback as an underdog, claiming that Punk was a bully and that the WWE fans had been brainwashed to follow him. It was short, but sweet and gave a good idea of what to expect later on when Ryback got in the ring with Punk.

Dolph Ziggler 

vs. 

World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Winner 

Damien Sandow 

(10 minutes, 22 seconds)

It was then time to head down to ringside, where our commentary team for the evening would be Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL. They briefly talk about Rob Van Dam and Alberto Del Rio's World Heavyweight Championship bout later on, before seguing onto the idea that Damien Sandow could cash in his briefcase tonight, they're really pushing that idea tonight after weeks of ignoring the fact. Out comes Damien Sandow, mic in hand and cuts the kind of promo we've come to expect from the Intellectual Saviour of the Masses. Sandow quoted Benjamin Franklin, before moving onto to talk more about potentially cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, personally I would've preferred to hear him talk more about his opponent, rather than everyone continue to sign post a cash in, the promo only proved that this match was entirely pointless.

I can't say I was particularly enamoured with this contest, Sandow and Ziggler just didn't seem to connect in the ring, in what was there first singles match together. The early part of the match especially just didn't seem to flow correctly, with a slow motion replay of a Sandow clothesline that obviously didn't connect and a botched swinging neckbreaker from Sandow not helping the situation. This bout needed some kind of story to draw me into the match straight away, seeing as it had no storyline heading in, and it just wasn't present. The bout did pick up towards the end, when the action gathered some pace, with a succession of pin variations getting near falls for both men. I thought the finish was also strong, when a remnant of a story appear with both men tweaking their knees, before Ziggler slipping out of a powerslam attempt by Sandow, landing a kick to the knee before hitting a Zig Zag to pick up a pinfall victory. Personally, I think Sandow was the one most in need of a victory here, as he's been made to look pretty rubbish since winning the briefcase, and at the most will not make a realistic World Heavyweight Champion, and the loss wouldn't exactly harm Ziggler who is already over with the audience.

After a replay of The Shield's attack on the Rhodes Family on last week's episode of Raw, which was oddly for WWE pretty poorly edited together, we headed back to Josh Matthews for the opinions of the panel. Once again, it was a pretty cringeworthy experience, with Miz and especially O'Neil completely butchering what they had to say, luckily Tensai kept his words short, wishing the Rhodes Family good luck. It seemed a strange decision to have an all face panel, especially with Triple H in charge of WWE, it would have given more balance to the panel.

Then we moved on to the always exciting “Social Media Lounge” where Renee Young read the most generic tweet I have ever heard about Daniel Bryan. She was then interupted by Los Matadores miniature bull, El Torito, who ran around the lounge and appeared to be making sexual advances on Young. It was a little bizarre, and I really want to hate Torito, but this was pretty funny, with Young doing a good job of awkward confusion, although she may have just been awkwardly confused. The segment finished with a reveal of the results of the WWE.com vote for WWE's best power couple, with Edge & Lita winning with 43%, Triple H & Stephanie McMahon coming second with 30%, Randy Savage & Miss Elizabeth in third with 23% and King Booker & Queen Sharmell bringing up the rear with 5%, like I said before it's best not to think about these too much, it's just a bit of fun.

They finished up the show by replaying Randy Orton's attack on Daniel Bryan from last week's Raw, where Brie Bella looked on, with each of the panel giving their opinions on who would pick up the victory, with Tensai even donning a fake beard and failing at getting the crowd to chant “YES!” which is quite an achievement in today's WWE.

Overall, I didn't think Battleground Kick-Off was much good, a difficult bout between Dolph Ziggler and Damien Sandow and a biased and un prepared panel didn't exactly make me want to watch Battleground anymore, although they did do a good job of promoting that the first match would see Rob Van Dam face Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship.