Here 'til Sunday (an open letter to mizfan, Smackdown Showcase, and EC)

[lopmystic]

I will be posting dailies here over the next three days (Got a lot to say between now and Elimination Chamber). Tomorrow will cover the first two weeks of the Smackdown Showcase voting, which I am excited about. But tonight I write to a fellow columnist in regards to his latest column which can be read below:

http://www.lordsofpain.net/columns/b...o_The_Miz.html.

mizfan,

I am cold and wet. I drove thirty minutes through rain and flooded back roads to find a quiet place to sit and write. I wanted to be away from the noise, away from all the IWC chatter. Until the day you messaged me about it, I had done everything I could to ignore the Salem Miz Trial of 2012. Despite not reading any columns about it or any news stories, I still knew. I saw what was going on with the Miz in headlines, and I could feel the hostility of a growing communal response against the Miz.

Still, my official introduction into the Miz controversy was through the letter you wrote to your hero (I hope it isn't yet former hero).

Funny or strange but fifteen months ago I wrote an open letter to the very same wrestler. On November 27, 2010 I wrote to the Miz at the height of his popularity with the IWC. I called it a "honeymoon" period. In fact, I said, "I don't mean to be the wet blanket on your fiery streak but one day, sooner or later, the IWC will grow cold towards you and possibly turn on you."

For those of the Christian faith or for fans of Harry Potter, that is called prophecy. Damn good prophecy, if I may, because it's playing out at this very moment. I also said he would be blamed for the ratings and recently I saw a claim that some blame him for the Survivor Series buyrate. Hmmm.

Yet, I understand that your writing to the Miz is different than what I did. You are the mizfan. You made your name off his. You rose like him. In every word you have ever posted in the CF--columns, feedback, tournaments--you have represented him in name and deed. You, mizfan, "invest heavily in your favorites, sharing their highs and lows, their triumphs and their defeats."

May I quote what Miz might say to you after reading that line in context with the rest of your letter?

Really? Really, mizfan? Do you?

I wasn't fully assured, by the end of your letter, if you did support him in the so-called 'lows' he is experiencing.

Earlier today, you brought up how I might understand your plight because my favorite wrestler was Lex Luger.

Please,

mizfan,

allow me to tell you what it was truly like to be a fan of the greatest underachiever of all time during the most impressionable time of my life. Allow me to paint for you how I spent those years in front of a VCR and television, pouring over Great American Bash '88, Starrcade '88, SummerSlam '93, and a host of other would-be-should-be moments in the career of 'the next Hulk Hogan'.

What a misrepresentation the first month of my fandom would be against the backdrop of the rest of my life. In my first month watching wrestling, Lex Luger won the WCW heavyweight title. It was a belt experts had been predicting he'd win for four years, but I didn't know that...yet. It was a belt he only won because the man who wouldn't drop it to him had gone north, but I didn't know that...yet. It was the last world title he'd hold for six years, but I didn't know that...yet. It was the only world title he'd hold for more than a week, but I didn't know that...

You get it.

I discovered Luger's past one VHS find at a time. My older brother and I would drive town-to-town to find independent rental stores who often rented or sold old NWA tapes. How could this be? Lex Luger wrestled Flair in an endless amount of title matches. Remember. I still thought the outcomes were authentic. There was no way in my mind that Luger wouldn't beat Flair. Nevermind that I knew enough to know I saw him win his first world title in 1991. That is what fandom can do: I watched every one of his 80s title matches factually knowing he couldn't win the title but absolutely believing he would (regardless). Inevitably, the horsemen would run in or he'd run out to save Sting or the cage would be raised or the cut on his head would cause an end to the match or his knee would buckle with Flair in the rack.

He never won and it took its toll on me.

When Luger dropped the belt to Sting, I fully believed he would win it back.

Instead, my favorite wrestler retired to host a bodybuilding show.

I still remember when PWI or one of its fellow mags released a magazine with the article, "Give up bodybuilding and wrestle: The fans want Lex Luger not Flex Luger."

I don't know about fans, but I damn sure wanted it.

Nothing made me happier than when Lex Luger returned as the Narcissist. He was undefeated, knocking his opponents out in seconds. I was playing outside with my younger brother when my older brother bounded out the door.

"It's a sham! He's got a plate in his arm!"

"No!"

"Yes he does! They just announced it. He has to wear a pad."

I can't remember if I started crying. God help me I might have. I vowed to never watch wrestling again. That moment outside encapsulated my entire youth. I would read the articles and think he was the next Hulk Hogan. I'd see the buildup and believe it more. I'd watch him head down the sure road of a main event push, and I'd always, always come out a loser.

God knows I counted the days to SummerSlam 1993. I had no doubt in this world he would win the title. My mom told us back then that they didn't carry PPVs where we lived. (I hadn't yet learned she wasn't able to say 'no', so she said things like that.) When WWF programming came on again, I was on the edge of my seat. This was the moment, the restoration, the beginning.

"Lex Luger said he would defeat Yokozuna at SummerSlam and he did exactly what he said."

I start jumping around the room, planning the rest of my life as a winner, an achiever, and a brother who can discuss Lex Luger in the same conversations as my older brother (whose favorite was Hogan) and my younger brother (whose favorite was Flair).

"Unfortunately, he won the bout by countout..."

I crashed, mentally, physically, and emotionally, and it was one of a million times I knew it'd be easier to quit on Luger but didn't.

When I got the internet years later, no wrestler was hated like Lex Luger. I joined an online community that I hadn't known existed and I couldn't be a part of it. I was an outcast because my favorite wrestler was an outcast. Yet, not even the desire to be a part of that community made me waver in what I believed.

From there, I soon learned the secrets.

Dusty Rhodes had wanted Luger to be a world champion but Flair wouldn't drop the belt to Luger. Vince McMahon had been pursuaded not to put the belt on Luger as well. None of this made me regret my fandom.

Only one person could make me regret my fandom for Lex Luger and that was Lex Luger. Years after every defense of Lex Luger, he made me regret every bit of it.

When I saw his shoot interview, I heard (for the first time) the real reason he had never progressed: "I was taught to just go along." He said it over and over and over. He had been taught to show up, do his job exactly as he was told, and that is that.

And that is when it hit me: I had wanted Lex Luger to be more successful than Lex Luger had wanted himself to be. I had cried over his losses. Lex Luger had not. I had fought and argued and prayed and imagined. I had four to six VHS tapes of taped matches and interviews. All his stuff from the 90s. I watched it all, always believing it would come out differently.

And that motherfucker had never once tried to better his legacy.

He didn't get it. He didn't understand wrestling that way.

In that regard, Miz is the anti-Luger. He gives a shit, my friend. He gives a shit more than most.

When I read your letter, I had mixed feelings.

It demonstrated to me that you love the wrestling business. Not "in theory" like I often do today. You are not just a writer. You are a fan with something to lose. That, to me, is terrifying. I can't imagine being a columnist in the days where it hurt me to watch my favorite lose.

In that regard, I get it. I get the letter. I get your response.

It wasn't just IWC chatter for you. It was personal.

At the same time, I wonder if maybe you were too quick to go along with the prosecution of the Miz. What was a personal letter kept getting interrupted by something that had nothing to do with you and the Miz.

You wrote,

"Because they will forget. They will forget everything good you ever did if you keep going this way. Hell, they're already starting to."

My response: Who the fuck cares what they think? I didn't care about they when it was a TNA angle, and I sure as hell don't care what would-be critics have to say about your hero Miz.

I mean, I've read the criticisms now. They are mad because Miz was careless, right? They say, "I've played wrestling games since Royal Rumble on the SNES! Do you know how many Smackdown versus RAW games I've played and I've never been careless with my computer generated opponent!"

One says, "I knew he was getting careless. He hasn't been putting as much gel in his hair!"

You, mizfan, are better than me in that you conversate with all the writers. You read all the readers. That was a lot easier when you were in the CF. If you let the volume of ideas out there--from writers and readers alike--influence you now, you will not be Mr. Bright Side. You will be Mr. All Sides.

You asked the Miz, "Why are you letting it all slip away so easily?" when you should have asked, "Are you letting it slip away so easily?"

When Miz was on top he once said, "When fans think of WWE, I don't want them to think Hulk Hogan or the Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin or John Cena--I want them to think of the Miz. I want to be on every show. When we need a guy to do Conan or Jimmy Kimmel, I want them to call me. I wanna be on the cover of all the video games. I want it all."

That,

my friend,

was the Miz

and

is

still

the

Miz

today.

I told you not that long ago he was on a late-night show, during the time people had started saying he was lazy and didn't care. Just today, it was said he was going to be at a video game awards show.

What does that mean?

HE'S STILL DOING HIS PART.

Note this: 9 out of 10 times you hear the IWC speaking with a collective voice they are speaking the will of WWE. They think they are speaking freely, when they are merely reflecting the great Mother. Always the assumption is WWE is right. Nobody stops to say, What must it be like to go from last WrestleMania to where Miz is today? Might he have a right to be frustrated and in a funk? Yet, he still is out promoting WWE. It's WWE who is not promoting him. They are not promoting him even though he is every bit as good as anyone, including CM Punk. And if you want to talk about people who have changed, imagine if 2012 CM Punk bumped into "I'm taking the belt and leaving" CM Punk.

But that's not an IWC conversation because it is not a narrative from the great Mother.

I honestly believe how I lived my life was negatively affected by my Lex Luger fandom. Beyond isolation, when you watch someone work hard and it seemingly never pays off, it affects what you believe.

Still,

I didn't regret any of it until the moment I realized it was Lex Luger who hadn't wanted it.

That has not been proven concerning Miz. Far from it. He is still living the words I quoted in my column fifteen months ago.

As his supporter, you warned the Miz in your letter. As your friend and a fan of what you have done in the CF, let me warn you as you set out beyond our four walls. I'm not going to tell you not to listen to all voices. You should. I'm not going to tell you not to question. You should. I'm not going to tell you anything.

I'm going to ask you, however, to simply be the one thing that made you who you are, made you a wrestling fan, and carried you from here to there.

Be who you have always been to everyone here.

Be the mizfan.

[mizfan]

A prophecy, you say? How... mystical.

(Damn, that seems less clever now that you've changed your name.)

I have not given up on the Miz. I believe he is fully capable of reclaiming all his former glory and more. Even if he doesn't, I will never stop proclaiming the pure excellence of his peak.

But, while he has not proven himself a failure by any means, he has disappointed his fans. I am not one to jump on a bandwagon, particularly one hitched to the horses of negativity.

But I have seen, with my own eyes, the fire dwindle. I've been watching closely, and I've seen my hero make mistakes he simply would not have made a year ago. Fumbled promos, botched moves... I defended him through all of them, claiming IWC fickleness all the way. But watching Truth's head snap off the floor finally put me in doubt. Not nearly enough to give up... but enough to feel let down.

Your futile pursuit of Luger's elusive final justification is perhaps not the parallel I intended to imply. What I meant to reference is how a single failure or period of failure can erase years of quality work in the minds of the public. You're right that I should not care what "they" think, but unfortunately I have not yet mastered the art of being happy to be right all by myself. I always want to spread truth and logic, even in the face of overpowering ignorance and purposeful blindness. I'm stupid that way.

Still, this has lifted my spirits immensely. It's lonely on the other page and it's getting a little too easy to get swept up in the knee jerk pessimism. When I said I don't have good luck with my favorites, though, I meant it. Let's look at mizfan's top 10:

Bobby Heenan
Charles Robinson
Chris Benoit
Evan Bourne
JBL
Kane
Molly Holly
Mr Fuji
Tajiri
The Miz

What do all of these people have in common? Besides being the most eclectic list of favorites you've ever seen, none were ever likely candidates to be on top for very long. Miz is the closest I've been since JBL ran Smackdown in 04, at which time I also railed futilely against the stupidity of hate. It's tough to watch WWE squander Miz, but much worse to watch Miz squander Miz. He hasn't come near rock bottom, but he's on his way, and it's distressing beyond belief.

But either way, you've reminded me of some very important things:

I am the eternal optimist.

I am Mr. Bright Side.

I'm the goddam mizfan.

And I don't intend to forget it.

[TheMaskedNewton]

I thought you were going to ask Mizfan to change his username as a return favour.....

Lex Luger is a nice, laid back guy. Loved what he said about doing what he was told. With no intentions or aspirations of making a big name for himself. Where do you find such people in today's world? Everything we do is a race, and we want to finish the line first or atleast before our pereceived major competitor. In an era when everyone tried to 'control' their character and hold onto championships even when it was their time to leave the business itself, he didn't lust for the championships and glories. I understand how as a fan it hurt you but try to look at the Bright Side!!! He just wanted to entertain his fans without very much caring for what he was going to get.

[Sunny86]

Change your name to Shanefan, Mizzie. DO IT NOW !

And Shane, this was a work of art. Powerful, powerful stuff. I remember reading a column ages and ages ago about how Glenn Jacobs is Kane's worst enemy, because he never objects to whatever shit he is booked through. This kinda echoed that. I know Newt didn't misunderstand this column, and no explanation is needed, but Shane didn't stop cheering for him, because he thought he wasn't a bad guy or something, but because he wasn't hungry enough. He wasn't passionate enough. He probably cared more for the paycheck than he did for his legacy. No one gets successful on a mega-high level playing the nice guy. At least that's what I felt.

Work of art, Shane-o-mac. Work of art.

[mr chop]

Bobby Heenan
Charles Robinson
Chris Benoit
Evan Bourne
JBL
Kane
Molly Holly
Mr Fuji
Tajiri
The Miz

You have JBL in your top 10, I heart you.