KELLER'S TAKE KELLER'S BLOG: Flair deserves respect tonight, and nothing is better for business than that Nov 26, 2007 - 4:36:47 PM

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By Wade Keller, Torch editor

KELLER'S BLOG: Flair deserves respect tonight, and nothing is better for business than that

Updated Saturday, November 26, 4:30 p.m.

-First, thanks to all of you who sent in your address to receive two free issues of Pro Wrestling Torch. Those who responded quickly over the first few days should have been included in a Wednesday night mailing last week. Those who sent in your address mid-to-late week last week were part of mailings either Friday or today. I look forward to hearing via email from those of you who received your free copies of last week's Torch Newsletter #999 with feedback on what you think - whether you're a first-timer or a former subscriber returning. Our offer for two free issues is closed for now, by the way. We were pretty busy Thanksgiving week entering and processing everyone's requests and doing an additional couple mailings, so we need a breather.

-I'm looking forward to seeing how Ric Flair is utlized tonight. Flair has been through quite a roller coaster the last few months with WWE management over being shown proper respect with how he is portrayed on-air. At one point, although he didn't want to make a public issue of it so he's denied it in mainstream interviews (candor by Flair in mainstream interviews has never been one of priorities), he sent word thorugh is agent to WWE that he was quitting rather than continue to be treated poorly. It still amazes me that he has to work so hard to be treated with respect as an on-air character. There is no one, including Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, or Mick Foley who deserve to be treated as an accomplished legend on the air than Flair. He has put in more great performances in ever facet of this sport in more environments over the course of more years than anyone, yet whether it's Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo, or Vince McMahon - among others in WCW over the years - he seems to be constantly fighting for respect. Fans respect Ric Flair the wrestler and always turn out increased numbers when Flair is portrayed in a respectful, meaningful way on TV. There's no quicker way to turn of fans than to treat him with disrespect. We'll see what tonight is the start of. Hopefully something that we can all remember in a few years as one last great memory of a spectacular, storied career. There are many great storylines that can utilize Flair in a realistic, inspirational role that doesn't ask him to be something he isn't anymore, but draws from the bond Flair has with several generations of fans and his ability to sell tickets on the mic.

Updated Saturday, November 10, 6:54 p.m.

In response to my Keller's Analysis of the WWE News story on the Cena-CNN controversy earlier today, a few readers have written in about my final suggestion:

J. Pagan writes: I have to say first, good article, but I don't think that Cena needs to be tested by any independent company to prove everybody that he's not in steroids. I think that by his actions and his honesty from years that he and other WWE wrestlers had been showing on interviews and outside the shows or PPVs, you can be comfortable in believing what they are saying.

Michael Korklan writes: I agree with most of what you said in your analysis of the CNN news story compared to WWE's unedited footage. However I disagree with what you said at the end - that Cena should allow anyone form the media or government agency like all 50 state athletic commissions to test him any time they want. That is ridiculous. He is a person like you and me and should not have to endure that preposterous invasion of privacy. There is no good reason for John Cena to subject himself to the whim of every journalist journalist out to get a "scoop," especially if only to clear up a poorly-worded statement that was taken out of context in the first place. That is just stupid, sir. Keep up the great work with your website.

Here's the thing. If Cena wants to be believed, if he wants to take that extra step to weed out a larger percentage of sceptics, that's a step he can take. He's not helpless in the face of what he believes is unfair scrutiny and scepticism. And Cena must understand that he's speaking just weeks after Ken Anderson (a/k/a Mr. Ken Kennedy) denied ever taking steroids and then was suspended for receiving shipments from an online pharmacy, which is a banned method of receiving drugs - even with a "doctor's prescription" - according to WWE's policy.

Cena's denials come just months after WWE claimed Benoit could not have been on steroids at the time of the apparent murder-murder-suicide because he passed their steroid tests two months earlier. While an absurd assertion even if WWE's tests were legit and infallible (since Benoit could have, in theory, passed a WWE test and then begun taking steroids again), it was proven to be ridiculous once it came out that Benoit - during almost the entire time of WWE's Wellness Policy - was receiving according to authorities a ten month supply of muscle-enhancing testosterone every 3-4 weeks, which post-mortem tests showed he was taking in large quantities, which WWE's tests either didn't catch or excused for an undisclosed reason.

Then there's the list of all of the wrestlers suspended in September because they were receiving muscle/performance-enhancing drugs banned by WWE's Wellness Policy during an 18 month stretch when they were being tested. How did they use these drugs and not get caught if WWE's tests are so strict?

So in that context - not to mention a very shady, incredulous past 15 year track record for WWE that I've followed and covered extensively - Cena should not be shocked that given his physique and bodybuilding background, he's seen as a potential liar trying to protect his image. Hulk Hogan lied about this 15 years ago and since came out and admitted he did, and told me in a "Torch Talk" interview a few years ago he regrets his decision to lie on the Arsenio Hall Show about his steroid use.

So, in other words, when you know the history of WWE on this subject, it feels like "here we go again." Now, Cena should not be blamed for others' lies over the years - be those of a few weeks ago or more than a decade ago. But he must accept the reality that WWE has a history and there's a pattern that justifies (demands!) media scepticism - and a growing list of wrestlers who died at ages 8-18 years his senior who had the same attitude as him at his current age - that justifies (demands!) media scepticism. A bad decision by CNN's documentary crew does not wipe out entirely, or even partially, the evidence that WWE has been far short of stellar with their testing over the years. It's an unfortunate distraction from a mounting stack of facts that should alarm anyone with the welfare of WWE wrestlers in mind (and teenagers who aspire to be noticed by WWE scouts in a few years).

Consider the contradiction when Vince McMahon said on CNN the "old saying" in wrestling is that your face and personality is what sells tickets, but then explained elsewhere in the documentary that one of the reasons he stopped drug testing in the late '90s was because WCW wasn't testing. My interpretation of that - and I'm not sure how else it could be interpreted - is that WCW had a "competitive advantage" because its wrestlers could use drugs and his were more restricted, which is a way of saying a roster of wrestlers who are taking performance-enhancing drugs helps sell tickets and draw ratings. The notion that fans haven't been conditioned to believe more muscular wrestlers are bigger stars and tougher than their thinner (usually more natural, healthier) counterparts, thanks to 20 years of indoctrination led by Vince McMahon's promoting preferences, is not one I buy into.

But back to Cena. If he submitted to independent, non-WWE-funded testing on a random basis, he'd go a long way toward providing evidence that he's clean. Of course some people, if he passed every test, would assume he was beating them with masking agents. But there'd be a lot fewer critics to deal with. Pointing to WWE's lousy policy - and any objective analysis of it points to it being full of loopholes unlike any in pro or amateur sports - as some sort of proof is weak. Dr. Black is paid by WWE to test. He makes money by keeping them a happy client. There's no truly objective third-party overseeing the testing. Cena's only drug testing is that system. It's just lacking the necessary transparency and objectivity to be anything close to a strong indicator of being truly clean.

Cena can grit his teeth and hope the criticism passes as the mainstream corporate media and Congress move on to new priorities. Or he can step up and offer to be tested by anyone else. If he has nothing to hide, and being perceived by reasonable people as being "likely clean" based on independent random tests is important to him, it's a move he should consider. Of course there will be sceptics still crying foul, but they'd be a shrinking lot and have less credibility. So why not? I'm not asking Cena to make an unprecedented offer; I'm saying he should consider making the same offer that Vince McMahon did15 years ago. Cena should not be required to do it. But if he's clean and wants to weed out as many critics as possible for the sake of his rep and the health of the industry, the move is his to make.

Scan down an inch to previous Keller's Takes to read my October blog entries and other longer Keller's Take editorials.

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