"Macho Mac" Jeff McGinnis

Being Of Two Minds ...

Respect is not something you see very often in the wrestling business.

I don't mean that it doesn't exist, mind you. To the contrary, I'm sure it does. I'm sure that all the guys we see work with each other night after night have a hell of a lot of respect for each other. Considering how every time they perform they trust each other to perform complex moves and holds that, if not done with care and respect, could be very risky to their health. So I know that the wrestling business is practically built on respect.

What I mean is, we don't get to see it very often. The rules of the game state that while the red light is on and the cameras are rolling, as the real people are turned off and the gimmicks are turned on, and respect is shelved in favor of character and storytelling. And the men who stand in the arena, night after night, find themselves spewing hate-filled venom and vile obscenities toward men who, in reality, they may hold in the highest esteem.

All this is the nature of the beast. It's the way of the business, and I wouldn't change it for the world. It's all part of erecting the wall of fantasy for the audience, allowing them to leave behind their lives for a few hours and become wrapped in fantasy. This is the way of not only wrestling, but theater in general. As a long time actor who loves theater as if it was part of my family, I understand this, and even admire it. It can be a lot harder than it seems to disavow your natural feelings for someone for the sake of great drama.

But wrestling differs from other forms of theater in that, until recently, the curtain NEVER fell for them. As little as three or five years ago, the wrestling business was shielded with the kind of covert secrecy previously only reserved for government operations. And it instructed all involved to maintain the illusion, even when the camera was off and the shows were over. When fans talked with them or they were interviewed, their goal was to let the wall of fantasy continue to overmask their true feelings. Even now, in the age of the "smart" fan, some wrestlers find it difficult letting their guard down outside of the arena. So respect between performers, so prevalent in other forms of entertainment, is rarely seen in wrestling.

Which makes the moments when it does break through all the more effective. Not just respect between combatants, but between combatants and the fans. Who will ever forget the night where Edge and Christian proclaimed their respect toward the Hardy Boys following the Ladder Match - immediately followed by an incredible standing ovation for both teams? It's moments like that, real moments of admiration all around in the wrestling world, that make me glad to be a fan.

Which is why sometimes, just sometimes, I wish the nature of the business could allow mutual admiration to be shown a little more often.

At the Royal Rumble, Hunter Hearst-Helmsley and Cactus Jack put on a match which tore the roof off of the Garden, thrilled millions watching at home, and delivered a slam dunk for the main event of the first big show of the year 2000. Going into the match, both guys had something to prove. HHH has been widely criticized throughout the world during his championship run, by those who claim that he still hasn't proven himself worthy of main event level status. (I'll admit that my voice has been heard among this chorus on several occasions.) A good showing in this match would, perhaps, silence the skeptics. And for Cactus Jack, who's career is apparently winding down toward its end, this match was an attempt to prove what the wrestling world will be losing when he leaves - a man who can take some of the toughest shots in the business, sure. But also a man who can tell a story between the ropes like no other.

And, if I may say so, I think both men proved their points conclusively. HHH, who had already cemented himself in my eyes as a great heel, had now drilled into me without question that he has a ton of wrestling talent as well, and kept up with Jack's trademark brawling very well. And Cactus, through his incredible effort yet again, proved that if he does go out, he's going out on top. Sure, the barbed wire board was rubber tipped and some of the booking seemed cribbed from last year, but winner and loser, both men had my respect that night.

Immediately after, however, the nature of the business dictated that they could not share that respect with each other -- at least, not while the fans were present. HHH gave an interview the next night proclaiming how he'd beaten Jack at his own game. Jack gave an interview on Smack!Down where he lambasted HHH and bragged about how he made him bleed. Stephanie McMahon interjected herself by cutting obnoxious promos wherein she did what she does best - got HHH over and denounced anyone he faced.

All this was damn good storytelling. And all this is the way wrestling works. But deep down inside, I wish, just once, that they would put aside characters for a moment and allow the fans to admire the men who made such an amazing effort, just for their entertainment. To see these two who so brutally tore into each other at the Garden shake hands out of respect. To hear two men who are right now at the top of the game give each other props, rather than tearing each other down.

We hear what HHH & Cactus Jack have to say all the time. For once, I'd like to hear what Paul Levesque and Mick Foley had to say.

That would never happen, of course. The business dictates that to do so would criminally undercut storylines, damage future buyrates, sabotage characters, and so forth. I understand all that, respect the rules, and know that they should not be broken.

But in the din of a wrestling world where guys proclaim little but hatred, and a wrestling fanbase which is far more likely to proclaim that something "sucked" rather than was good, I still wish for a simple expression of esteem every now and again. If not from man to man, then from audience to performers.

And not that they'll ever hear me, but...Helmsley, Foley, I respect you.

"Macho Mac" Jeff McGinnis respects you all, bookermen. Ship him some lovin' at macho_mac@hotmail.com.

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