Project CF XVII - Meeting Expectations

[James_A]

Mama said Noc you out!

INTRODUCTIONS ARE IN ORDER

Welcome to another edition of Project CF where the host has recently turned 17 and has come back from about a two week break. Midterms are over, school’s been much less stressful now that STAR testing (yeah remember those?) is finally done and over with. And yes I’m well aware that those tests don’t mean jack for my grade but I still want to help my school out okay? Life related things aside, as I’ve mentioned in my previous column, I liked the Draft and thought it balanced RAW and SD! (and even ECW) out pretty well. And from the looks of things the Draftees are making an immediate impact!

*Someone whispers in Jimmy’s ear*

What?!?! The Draftees haven’t actually moved yet? Even after my little break time? This is madness! (Note: It is certainly not Sparta.) Well I’ll be talking about this is not another column since most of you seem to hate my banter. And here I thought my opinions were valued No matter. This column is sure to deliver for the people out there who’ve seen me without my cheap SkittleZ imitation mask on. Yes that’s right it’s a step back into the work that made me (semi?) famous in the first place. Any and all feedback will be responded to for this column. Enjoy!

I haven’t compromised my style. You people misunderstand me. I’ve changed it completely because I’ve matured. I’m not the brash 26-year-old trying to make his way up into the business anymore. Now that I’m already up here, I’m trying to do what’s best for my fans. Professional wrestling as a whole is already looked down upon enough by the general public. Do you really think I want to turn away my younger audience by mentions of masturbation contests and nuts? I’ve already said those outrageous things. I’ve already been edgy. It’s time for me to grow up and become a role model.

Let me give some of you an example of what I mean. I know some of you here like to party, to drink, to get buzzed up on the weekends, and maybe even get a little loose in the clubs if you know what I mean. Some of you have not a care in the world. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing but it’s hard to put things into perspective when you’re like that, which is why I’m providing this analogy for you. Imagine that you meet that one special girl. You think she’s “the one.” You buy her dinner. One thing leads to another and then you get to bed with her. You’ve enjoying the night but can’t help but feel like something was missing. You keep seeing her but can’t help feel something’s wrong. Then a few weeks into seeing her, you figure out that the one night you had sex with her you got her pregnant. Not wanting to lose the bond that you share with her, you stick this thing out with her and decide the both of you are going to raise the baby right.

Here’s where the analogy gets a little tricky. Wrestling is my mistress (as much as some of you might like to crucify me for saying that) and she and I are trying to give birth to a new generation of fans. But you see back when I first met her and was younger, we used to party all the time and just kick it and have fun. Now that there are responsibilities we have to tend to, we can’t do that anymore than a would-be couple with a child on the way could go back to destructive things like drinking and smoking. We can’t be spontaneous and dirty like we used to be. Could we still have fun? Absolutely! It’s just that we have to take a more mature approach to the way we do things now and if that means some of you are gonna hate us, so be it.

Why condemn me for toning down my edginess right when I reached the pinnacle of the public eye? Even if I had not decided to change my ways, I would be spending all of my energy fighting tooth and nail not to compromise my style. Which would you rather have? Me being forced into a position where I have to tone down my character because of cheap PTC-like groups complaining or me gradually shedding the character altogether to save everybody a little bit of time and stress? The worst case scenario for the former is to be dropped out of the WWE just like Muhammed Hassan while the worst case scenario for the latter is pissing off a demographic that WWE hardly aims to please anyway. What would you have done in my shoes?

A whole lot of you are getting mad at me for having “five moves of doom.” It was kind of funny to me at first which is why I decided to start the show “Five Questions with the Champ” as a bit of an inside joke. As time went on it started to get on my nerves a bit (especially when I faced RVD @ One Night Stand) so I expanded my moveset at least somewhat. I go to the top rope a lot more than I used to and I even added a submission move that puts my arm and leg strength to good use. The reason why I haven’t taken my moveset to the level of say a Shawn Michaels is because I want my body to keep at wrestling for a long time to come. I talked to Adam the other day and he seems to agree with me. I’ve already been injured twice during my time at the main event and missed almost a year combined. I’m only 31 and I bet you that if I had risky Shooting Star Presses (Hi Brock!) in my repertoire I’d be missing more action each and every day.

And really what is it all for? Many of you complain that the F-U doesn’t realistically look like a finishing move but hate that I don’t bust out any 619-like moves or any 450 splashes? What does it take to please you guys? Is there really anything more real than punching a guy in the face? Than brawling? Than choking a man out with the help of a ring rope? I consider myself a pretty powerful guy (I did pick Big Show up at Wrestlemania XX and him and Edge up together at Wrestlemania 25) so is it that unbelievable that I can lay out a guy with just a rotation of punches and lariats? Your expectations for me seem pretty unreasonable.

My name is John Cena and I will not meet your expectations.

Ever since I’ve come back I’ve been working my ass off, fighting each and every day through injury and emotional pain in order to prove to everyone that I belong here. I wanted to show that I can work hard and I can be trusted. Now given that I made some bad decisions and got caught for it, I asked God for one final chance at redemption and he gave me that. He was smiling on me as I didn’t get buried by the boss’s son in law (something that tends to happen to other guys) but instead won some favor from him. I think deep down inside he saw a little of him in me. He knew what it was like to be punished for a stupid decision and to pay your dues constantly to convince the higher-ups that you’re even worth something.

He pushed me harder and harder each time. He gave me credibility by scoring some clean wins over him. When I started to look just out of reach for the title, people started to doubt me. Eventually I would be rewarded with that which avoided me all my career effectively silencing all my doubters. Some praise goes out to him but most of it should be going out to you, the fans. A lot of you have supported me time and time again even when I make mistakes. In the end though, you’ve always forgiven me and taken me back as you did with Stone Cold, Eddie Guerrero, Matt, and many others.

However with the way I’ve thrown my body every which way for the last ten years or so, my body’s been nearly crippled. In fact, the previous injuries sustained have caught up with me a while back. Everyone seems to be forgetting about that interview I conducted around a year ago or so when my return was fresh in everyone’s mind. I said that my body felt like Hell and I had numerous injuries all around that I had to fight through every day. I knew my career wouldn’t last forever. I knew that my future had jeopardized my present as weird as it sounds.

It’s like riding the train of success but knowing that you’re going to be getting off at the nearest stop. What can I do? Make the most of it. There’s no other way. To me, giving up is way harder than trying. I have to ride that baby for as long as I can before it stops. Squeeze every last moment to make the people who’ve supported me happy. And when that train passes the tunnel and comes to a halt where you have to say bye to everybody that’s still on that train, you’ll at least know that you were there with them.

The end of that train ride is finally here my friends. I really can’t take anymore of this because at this point, going any further will shorten my life even moreso than it already has. I’m seriously on the verge to being confined to a wheelchair in my later years. I’m only 31 and saying this. 31! John Cena is 31. Randy Orton is 29! I’m only two years older than the youngest superstar to win the World Heavyweight Championship but my body feels as though it’s in its Ric Flair stages. I can’t be mindful about the present anymore because it’s going to affect my future. I’m sorry that some of you have to hear this from me but I just thought you all have the right to know why I’m leaving. I got to the top and got to celebrate with all of you which was a very nice treat but singular moment in time is all you will have to remember me by. For my time has run out.

My name is Jeff Hardy and I went above and beyond your expectations. However, in my current state and condition, I probably cannot meet them any longer.

You people are hypocrites. You’re sycophants and I don’t want any part of you or the backwards expectations you’ve placed on me. You people make me sick to my stomach. You don’t want the truth, none of you. In fact you hate me for telling the truth. Deep down you know what I’m saying is reality yet none of you want to face reality and would just like to keep things the way they are in a nice little box.

You expect me to go out there, smile, make you laugh, pander to you, telling you how good you are and how I couldn’t be here without you. You expect me to tell lies. I made it here by my own hard work and my own determination. What did you do? Did you win Superstar of the Year for 2008? Did you win the World Heavyweight Championship twice in the same year? Did you spend countless nights training with the Hart brothers, working hard become one of the greats in the land of the giants? Didn’t think so.

There’s no hope in curing your hypocrisy. Even when I used to pander to you people, you would only cheer every so often. Your attitude was one of “what have you done for me lately?” Believe me when I say I was doing a lot for you people. I would talk with the media, putting in a good word here and there about World Wrestling Entertainment and its fans every chance I got. I won the Intercontinental Title for the eighth time for you people as well! But what did I get in return? Mixed emotions. People telling me I was holding myself back. People saying that maybe Jericho doesn’t have the drive anymore. If I didn’t have the drive then I really made a poor decision when I decided to come back. You people were the ones holding me back from what I wanted. You never gave me the attention I deserve and only wanted to worship your Cenas, your HBKs, your Ric Flairs. What have I done for you lately? Everything humanly possible. It’s just the fact that no one is recognizing that they haven’t done anything for Jericho lately. And that is why I call you people hypocrites.

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper said to me a couple months back that he thought that “The Wrestler” was about respect and honor for the generation of wrestlers that still think they got “it.” Know what I think? I thought that movie was about how hilariously delusional said wrestlers are. They sit in kindergarten rooms reminiscing about their glory days still convinced that they’re living it. They’re shooting needles into their ass to work at a fraction of the level they worked at, for a match at an obscure promotion that has a fraction of the audience. And for what? More glory, more fuel for their sycophancy fueled by people who will just turn their backs on them if they don’t meet expectations.

The ending of that movie painted a very grim picture that wrestlers everywhere go through troubles, trials, and tribulations but when they look out into the stands, they just see fans who just want to be pleased and want them to put on their little 4 star, 5 star match, or whatever star the Hell you people want. Is that really worth it to sacrifice that much to please an audience that will just forget about you in years to come? Are their expectations worth it? Not to me and it shouldn’t be for people well past their prime who still want their moment in the spotlight. You people think you’re in the know? You don’t know anything about how much wrestlers give up to even meet your horribly unfair expectations. You show up to wrestling events and are watching wrestlers give up their lives and you don’t even know; nor do any of you care. Because if you truly cared, like those sick fans at the end of “The Wrestler”, you’ll tell your Pipers, Flairs, and Steamboats to stop before they ruin their entire lives.

Go ahead and shun me for telling the truth because honestly I don’t care anymore. You are all wallowing in your own self delusions and I have had enough of it. I’m going to stand here and be an honest man in a dishonest world until you all see that I’m right. You expect people like Cena to pander to you even though most of you antagonize him for doing so. You expect people like Jeff Hardy to never give up on himself despite that most of you have given up on him. And you expect people like me to garner you with praise and tickle your ears with lies even though you know it’s not the truth. Like I said, you people are hypocrites.

My name is Chris Jericho and your expectations mean nothing to me.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Ever since I’ve been here I’ve always wanted to go above and beyond people’s expectations. I’m not aiming for glory or for praise but what I am aiming for is the ability to take you in and bring you into my world. I want to be able to do that for you guys but I’m also hoping that one day I’ll be able to do that to a broader audience. I love writing and most importantly I love writing about something that I love: Wrestling. As lame as it may sound, wrestling consoled me during some very tough times in my life. The death of my father, my coming of age, me going place to place to be taken care of, and most recently, conflict that’s been going on in my church. For the longest time I’ve been using wrestling as a coping mechanism because it’s something that helps me escape this tough world of ours. Like Mickey Rourke’s character in “The Wrestler”, no matter how bad things got for him, he always relied on wrestling to pick him up and take him away from the world. Watching and writing about wrestling is something that I love and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. I’m in here for the long haul guys. I’m hoping to surpass some of the expectations you have for me and if I don’t do it with this column, I’ll do it with the next. If I don’t do it with that one I’ll do it with the next and so on and so forth in that fashion.

My name is Jimmy and I’m hoping to meet your expectations.

[Andy_Savana]

Hope I am not starting a I hate the IWC trend. lol.

This was fun to read though. All three of the superstars Jericho, Hardy, and Cena are bad asses. I like Jericho the most because he is freshest and has managed to stay out of the Main Event scene and not get lame yet.

Cena is cool and way more entertaining than when he was feuding with Khali. lolz.

Hardy is funny and I wish he would fight Taker one mo gain.

[TheLipBomb]

James,


Loved it. And I hope that you continue to push thru the hard times. And the great columns.

So in short, My name is TheLipBomb and you exceded my expectations.

Great job.

[The Maz]

Consider expectations met and exceeded here Jimmy. There was nothing wrong with you experimenting and I actually really enjoyed your SkitZ parody but this was a different league. I started out thinking this was good but it slowly got better and better and by the time you got to Jericho it was pretty close on perfect. Great stuff and I would love to see a smarks rebuttle to this in the same format.

[NightofDay]

Wow. This was awesome. I agree that Cena doesn't deserve the hate that he gets. At first I was disgruntled with Jeff's decision to leave so soon after his big title win but with your column and Dr. Monkey's column I'm not so angry now. Excellent column and nice to see you back to your roots so to speak.

[Kano]

Awesome man, pure awesome. I enjoyed it very much everything seemed to flow and it was a good read.

This is Kane and you have exceeded my expectations

[MyLeeCyrus]

Absolutely top-notch mate, very high quality and you gave all three characters their own styles and feels that fit well. No complaints, lots of good stuff, in short:

I like a lot

[Hustle]

My name is Marshal Mathers, I'm an alcoholic.. I have a disease, and they don't know what to call it.. better hide your wallet, cause I'm comin up quick to strip your cash.. bought a ticket to your concert, just to come and whip your ass..


You know, you've really improved tenfold since your arrival at LoP. I'm proud of you, lil homie. Hopefully, the upward climb continues for you.

This was a mighty fine column. Spot-on takes of each man, in my opinion. That Jeff.. I don't even quite know what to say about him. I really can't hate, though, because dude probably does feel like a 60-year-old man.

Nice take on Cena. I think it's pretty clear what my opinion of him is.

You know, 4 out of 5 times, Jericho is 100% correct in the things he says about the fans, as well as about other wrestlers, past and present. He's an AMAZING heel.

Again, really good work here. Keep it up.

[Martin Riggs]

Jimmy, i liked this so much i'm going to use my favourite emoticon:

Just so you know, this was fantastic. Also, you cheeky bastard, this is brilliantly returnable seeing as you have an entire roster of superstars who you could do this for. If you had to, I'd love to see HBK, Edge and Triple H...

Go jimbo!

[Roger Murtaugh]

I for one will never understand people acting as if Cena is the worst wrestler going today. While nobody should ever confuse him for a technician, he's more than an acceptable brawler. To me, it's good to have a wide variety of types of wrestlers and Cena fits in well with that landscape.

Jeff Hardy, I'll be the first to admit that it took a lot for Jeff to win me back over. The end of his first WWE run was pretty crappy and his TNA run was a joke. All you need to do is view the end of the Abyss/Jeff Hardy full metal mayhem match to see what I mean. Jeff blows a spot and then no sells the end so he can throw a mini temper tantrum over said blown spot. Back to my original point though, when Jeff showed back up in WWE I just expected more of the same. Over time he won me back over though but I can't hate the guy for wanted to save his body in his later years.

Jericho is the epitome of someone who has matured his character and taken it a new level. I don't mind it at all and he's easily one of the best heels going today.

As far as column expectations, personally I could care less. Of course I care what people have to say but I don't consciously change my style to appease those people. If that was the case I'd never write a Skip Rogers column. At the end of the day it's me who is stuck having his name on the column so I need to make sure that it meets my expectations over anybody else. You'll never please everybody, so there's no point in trying.

Awesome stuff Jimmy, just don't let the expectations of others talk you out of doing columns you want to do. It'll eventually make you resent column writing.



----------------
Now playing: Zombi - Spirit Warrior
via FoxyTunes

[James_A]

Lets get started on this feedbag...

Andy Savana- I like the IWC. It's where I work and get to show my spiffy columns. However, I do not like how negative the IWC tends to be on just about everything. I try to give the benefit of the doubt to people which is why I wrote this column. I'm also all for another Hardy vs. Taker Ladder Match again. That was one of the best memories I held as child. Thanks Andy.

TheLipBomb- I better have exceeded your expectations because you were one of the four I wrote this for! Lol. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

Mazza- To know that I made it tough for smarks to argue my points is a great feeling. To know that I went above and beyond your expectations Mr. CSI, is even better. Thank you for your praise.

NoD- The last few parodies as I said, were experiments and would not replace my usual stuff. This was just a statement to show you and those three others that I haven't forgotten about you. And yes, I too was mad when I heard that Jeff wasn't signing his offered contracts but I remembered that he was working with injuries here, there, and everywhere. I think we the fans need to cut him some slack for working that hard for two years to entertain us. Thanks for reading.

Kano- This is Jimmy and I'm happy I exceeded your expectations.

MyLeeCyrus- Thanks dude. That's what I was going for and I'm glad you liked it.

Hustle- This did read like an AA meeting lol. Thank you for your awesome words about this column Hust. Right when I saw people spewing their Jeff Hardy hate so soon I wanted to settle those fans down because overall, most of them don't know what he's going through. I mean, best case scenario is that he's perfectly healthy and is just being a douche. Worst case scenario is that he's like Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler." And Jericho does tell the truth. The fans are very unfair at times (the running theme in this column) and even hold double standards for others like Cena and such. And the fact that some demand, demand, demand, but never give back makes them hypocrites. And I personally didn't think "The Wrestler" was about what Piper made it out to be either, which is why he missed the point and got into the ring with Jericho at WM. Dropkick + 55 year old + Grandest stage of them all = Embarrassing botch proving Jericho's point about "legends shouldn't come back."

JohnnyBoomerang- Thanks Johnny but I'm not really a fan of sequels. I'm pretty sure this is a one off for me because if I bring it back, it'll feel a tad repetitive. But thanks for your suggestion and for using your favorite emoticon!

Sr. Money Donkey- It wasn't more of an appeasement column but just one to let those who complained to me know that I haven't forgotten about them. One of those people who complained has been supporting me ever since I debuted so I wanted to let him know that I'm not changing the style that made him a fan of me in the first place. I'm still sort of waiting on him to respond to see how he feels about this showing. But yes I know what you mean about trying to please everybody. One of my favorite writers tried that on the MP and he resented writing and now has not been seen since. Thank you for reading and your comments about meeting expectations.

Keep the feedback coming peeps, because it will all be answered.

[JoeyShinobi]

I'm not going to give you what you want, Jimmy.

I'm not going to sit here and go 'you're awesome, that was incredible' and so forth, for two reasons. First, I know you wrote this to make a point - it had to be good, because 3 or 4 of us said last time we'd prefer you to write like this. You know this is good. Secondly, because although it met expectations...I'm not sure it was better than your 20,000 Leagues Under The Ring column. That's just my opinion, obviously. This was good, this was the Jimmy I wanted to read...now I want more, and you're the only person (seeing as you're Jimmy) who can give me what I want. On your day, you're easily one of my favourite writers, and I'm not just talking about the CF.

You really think Jeff is about to walk out for good? Damn...that sucks.

[TheLipBomb]

DAMN IT, JOEY!


Nothing pleases you does it?



Excuse me, I need to shoot something.

[Leonard]

Hey Jimmy, I thought this was fantastic. Well written, not too drawn out, and it showcased your opinions as well. I agree with the Monkey Doc when I say write what you want. In the end, it's all about what makes you happy about a writer. Anyhow, great job, and I look forward to the next one.

--Leonard

[Stinger]

Expectations met, sir.

Really, great column. You did a good job of channeling the spirit of each of the three individuals. The writing itself was tip top.

I echo what Monkey said, always write what you want to write, however you want to write it. That might not be the best way to start off writing, but once you're established you can do that because you have an audience that has gotten familiar with you and likes you. The key is to always have fun writing, to hell with whether or not anyone else is impressed with it.

I've seen a lot of 16-17 year-old's write columns here, and you definitely have a gift for writing. Great work, friend.

[SkittleZ]

Holy snap, crackle and pop! This shit was gold, homie.

Whenever three very discussed wrestlers can be thrown into a column and it's still an extremely deep and creative read, it displays just how solid of a writer the author is. Obviously, that would be you my friend. This was simply awesome and I felt like each segment got better and better.

I personally think you've reached that level where generating really good ideas comes almost natural to you. It's also apparent that you've hit your stride in a sense as every edition brings better quality. Like a few others CFers, you are right on the brink of Main Page stardom. It's now just a matter of when.

Hearing your passion for wrestling and writing at the end was a tremendous way to cap off the column too. What can I say? You're just so damn pretty.

[James_A]

JoeyShinobi- I'm going to have an arduous task ahead of me trying to top my best column... especially now that I don't have that pressured environment and extreme motivation I had when I had to go one on one with Mavs. It took me about three times for you to tell me you were disappointed with me before I dug deep and pulled 20,000 Leagues out. Let's see if that magic is still there. And I'm humbled to be one of you favorite writers around. And I feel as though Jeff might be done for now. Done for good might be a stretch but there's definitely a possibility that he wants to save his body a few years of his life. Remember that interview where he said he was wrestling with multiple injuries? Yeah, his body must feel like Hell.

TheLipBomb- He's a tough cookie to please I know but he pushes me (as well as others) to succeed and that's definitely something that need to be done around here.

Leonard- I'm glad you enjoyed it Len. You, Monkey, and others have given me something to think about. Thanks for your comments friend!

Stinger- Thank you Stinger! I'm like the Ditto of columnists always willing to take the form of anyone if necessary. Pokemon references aside, I appreciate what you say about me having a gift in writing. It means a lot to me seeing as I'm putting my heart into this. Thanks, friend.

SkittleZ- Dang SkittleZ. Such tremendous praise is highly appreciated. For real man, it's an honor hearing this from all of you guys. Thanks for the encouragement dude. I'm hoping to keep my stride going since this is the most consistent I've been as a writer so far. I meant absolutely everything I said in my closing thoughts so I think it closed the column perfectly since it was spoken from the heart. And as for me being pretty, well, I wonder where you got that idea from.

[BeyondKnight]

Jimmy,

I don't know how I missed this. Appearantly it's been up all week. I blame Joey...


Jim, you are in the minority of writers around here that are able to forge a genuine emotional bond with their audience through their writing. It boggles my mind sometimes when I hear that you are still in high school, because your potential hasn't even been partially tapped yet.

Alot has already been praised and justly so. I am going to hit you with a couple bullet points of what you did right not so much for your benefit, but for others who may read this and could use specifics of exactly why it was so great

• Unique Narrative voice for 3 different authors without being stereotypical or cliche
  
• A overall theme pefectly executed throughout the narrative
  
• Proper use of graphics as an accent to a column, not as the focus
  
• Fully developed ideas and supporting arguements

This is just great work.

~BK