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KELLER'S TAKE
KELLER SHORT: A message to Michael Scherer of TIME - you are not the center of the universe, and the big story is not the breaking news of how pro wrestling shows are produced Jan 7, 2009 - 9:18:16 PM
I'd like to tell Michael Scherer of TIME Magazine that the most fascinating aspect of Stephanie McMahon's testimony was not the detailed run through how a WWE TV show is produced. It was not new information. It has been detailed in dozens of books, and prior to that hundreds of newsletters such as Pro Wrestling Torch, and many interviews including the pioneering "Torch Talk" series which was the first ongoing series of insider interviews that revealed the inner-workings of the business dating back to the late-'80s.
I don't blame Michael Scherer for not having read Pro Wrestling Torch over the years, or sat down to read one of the dozens of pro wrestling books the detailed, often from a first-hand perspective, more detailed accounts than Stephanie's, but I do blame him for being self-centered enough to think that because he had never heard such "fascinating" detail into how pro wrestling operates, then it must've never been stated before.
It didn't take a Congressional Oversight Committee to reveal how pro wrestling shows are scripted and product. It's sad that a journalist of his standing would look past the swiss cheese, insincere aspects of the steroid policies in this industry over the years that have, without question in my opinion, led to deaths and say what was more fascinating is that Stephanie talked about how a TV show is produced, revealing nothing that wasn't reported and chronicled 20 years ago.
It was hard enough to listen to members of the oversight committee sound like fanboys sitting down with their favorite magician telling stories of how tricks are done, but I forgave them since a lot of that background on how the industry works is necessary understanding the nature of how wrestlers indeed compete for spots on the roster, and how appearance is part of that formula of success, even if match outcomes are predetermined. A writer for TIME should not have looked past the heart of the story and turned into a fanboy himself. It was a fascinating story, but not new information. But even if it had been new information, it wasn't the important story. Michael Scherer just made Vince McMahon's day with that response. It's like arriving a crash scene and seeing a reporter marvel at the cool car that was in the wreck.
Wade Keller of PWTorch.com - you are not the center of the universe. Try
running one of your "on going reviews" through a spell check before taking
on Time magazine.
FlipFlop
08 Jan 2009, 01:50
I come to this website hoping for cutting-edge analysis and non-biased
commentary, if such a thing even exists in this form of entertainment. I
have come to realize that, based on your reaction and paltry analogies, you
have even less journalistic integrity than the aforementioned Michael
Scherer.
This may ruin any credibility my previous statement established, but I'm
hammered, and you come off as a douche.
WhataJoke
08 Jan 2009, 02:47
Let me get this straight? Keller rips someone for acting as if they are the
center of the universe and at the same time shamelessly plugs his
newsletter and his "pioneering" Torch Talks? Wow.
Doesn't Keller get on Mick Foley for making things that aren't about him,
about him?????????
BwanaBob
08 Jan 2009, 03:00
With a little more effort and skill, Wade, you could have made your envy of
Michael Scherer a bit *less* obvious. I think that a guy who writes for
Time Magazine is closer to the 'center of the universe' than a guy who
writes about pro wrestling.
Did it occur to you that the average reader of Time is *not* familiar with
the inner workings of pro wrestling? How many readers of Time do you think
visit wrestling Web sites or read wrestling books or watch wrestling DVDs?
It sounds to me that Michael Scherer knows his audience pretty well. And
that sometimes you don't.
Gerard
08 Jan 2009, 03:14
how long til this comment option (with the exception of "Under the
Microscope" is the most entertaining aspect of the site) gets pulled? i
mean considering it serves as a plateau to bash him ninety nine percent of
time it is a wonder how any man's pride and ego can get take such a bashing
in his own "territory" so to speak.
BwanaBob
08 Jan 2009, 03:59
If he pulled the comment option, it would kinda prove what many of us are
writing, don't you think? I give him credit for publishing his readers'
comments, good and bad.
I don't think expressing a critical opinion is necessarily 'bashing', by
the way. It comes with the territory of being a public figure, whether you
happen to be Wade Keller or George W. Bush. (No offense intended to either
party!)
Rayaz
08 Jan 2009, 04:29
This is just "vintage" Wade Keller at his best
Fanboy235
08 Jan 2009, 04:57
Wade,
only about 0.1% of the people regularly watching WWETV visit wrestling
websites and are smart enough to know (more or less) how this business
works. And for the rest of millions of viewers Steph publicly describing
business inner workings under testimony FOR THE FIRST TIME IN F'N HISTORY
IS THE BIG STORY!
p.s. your newsletters suck anyways, they were always inferior to
Meltzer's;)
Agreed!
08 Jan 2009, 05:56
I agree, never been a big fan of Keller.
I couldn't even read his ECW play-by-play results when he did it because
he'd spend about the entire match play-by-play typing how Mike Adamle sucks
and hardly any detail on the match. Sure, we know Adamle sucks, tell us
something we don't know.
Parks is even better.
nomark
08 Jan 2009, 06:16
Whether or not Time readers know how a wrestling television show is
produced is irrelevant. What Scherer should have written about is that
wrestlers are dying and/or living messed up lives because of the corporate
culture that dominates the business. That's the point of what Keller wrote,
and its an important point. If you, as wrestling fans, don't agree with
it, you're part of the problem too!
Keller telling another writer that he's not the center of the universe is
like Idi Amin telling Saddam Hussein that he's too hard on his citizens.
And I'm willing to bet the majority if TIME readers have no f*cking clue
how a wrestling show is produced.
Scherer can be a pompous ass, but he's small beans next to Wade Keller, the
absolute king of doucebaggery.
povo
08 Jan 2009, 07:57
Seriously Wade, maybe you should sit the next few plays out. You are not
the beacon of morality you seem to think you are. You are a wrestling
reporter, stop your delusions of grandeur... no one is buying it.
Sim Snuka XXXVI
08 Jan 2009, 08:06
Little tip Wade, if you want a rebuttal to be taken seriously, try writing
it without the blatant self promotion. Your opinion is lost between the
attempts to pat yourself on the back throughout the first two paragraphs.
An editorial is not the place for that, not if you want people to really
consider how you feel.
the truth
08 Jan 2009, 11:51
I think its great that the media is fascinated with the backstage stuff.The
magic.As a FAN im relieved theyre not focused on the steroids.The reason
Keller you are upset is because theyre not hating on vince or the wwe.Get
over it.WWE will not go away.Wrestling will never be regional again.And
vince will always be your pimp daddy.Now go make some money.
IronMikeSharpe
08 Jan 2009, 12:03
Jeez Keller take a freaking vacation or something if this gets you so upset
Rachel
08 Jan 2009, 13:43
I am really surprised at the heat Keller is taking for this article.
Personally out of everyone that reports Pro Wrestling on the internet I
like hearing it come from Keller. Wade, your awesome, let these haters be
your motivators...You Rock!
BwanaBob
09 Jan 2009, 02:47
I don't like Keller's attitude, sometimes, but I do like his reporting. He
writes well. You can write well and still think you're better than others.
To be honest, I don't much care about anything except the wrestling
reports, the history, and the news. I'm no more outraged by wrestlers
taking steroids and dying young than I am by actors taking recreational
drugs and dying young. Lifestyle choice. I'll bet they have contempt for
moralists like Keller and that makes it even more pointless (and laughable)
when he beats that drum. Give it up. The 'boys' are men and they make their
own choices. Now write me up some spoilers, dude...
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AND NEW FOR 2009! Monthly "Vintage Audio Torch Talks." We are releasing for the first time ever audio versions of our text Torch Talk updates, the historical first series of insider interviews ever. Wade Keller's newsmaking in-depth interviews with wrestling's biggest names are now being made available exclusively to VIP members. But you must be a member each month, as these are not archived, so they are replaced with a new one each month! This debuted in January 2009 with a 68 minute interview with the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Who's next? Hulk Hogan? Eric Bischoff? The Rock? Goldberg? Jeff Hardy?
UPDATE: 
