Jericho steals show but loses match

The WWE bandwagon was back in town for a one-night stand at the Mall of Asia Arena last Friday and as usual, the men and women who make wrestling their living didn’t disappoint. Tickets went for as high as P15,840 and from the looks of things, it didn’t look like there were many left in the booth. Merchandise stands ran out of stuff early even as T-shirts sold for up to P2,000 each. When the show ended, the only item available in the stands was the P700 souvenir program.

Kids weren’t the only giddy fans in the audience. Wrestling is entertainment that cuts through different age groups. Mind you, it’s not a sport, at least not professional wrestling. Because it’s not a sport, professional wrestling isn’t regulated by an anti-drug or anti-doping agency. However, with the high incidence of wrestlers dying due to drug use, WWE chairman Vince McMahon announced a Wellness Policy that required an average of four random drug tests a year with a minimum of two starting in 2006. Since the implementation of the Wellness Policy, over 50 wrestlers have been found positive, including two – Roman Reigns and Luke Gallows – who performed here last Friday.

It’s been an open secret that professional wrestlers take steroids to build up their bodies. Despite the Wellness Policy, several wrestlers have died of a heart attack triggered by drug abuse. The list includes Big Boss Man, Bastion Booger, Sensational Sherri, Paul Bearer and Doink The Clown. Going through the roster of heart attack victims, you find out that Test died at the age of 34, Bam Bam Bigelow at 45, Rick Rude at 40, Art Barr at 28, Eddie Gilbert at 43, Umaga at 34, Mr. Perfect at 44 and Eddie Guerrero at 38.

Mr. Perfect’s father Larry Hennig was also a wrestler and his son Curt Axel was in the Manila cast. Mr. Perfect died in 2003 as his body functions collapsed under a heavy dose of cocaine, steroids and pain-killers. Another Manila performer was WWE women’s champion Charlotte whose 67-year-old father is fabled wrestler Ric Flair. Charlotte’s brother Reid, a budding wrestler, died at the age of 25 in 2013 due to a drug overdose.

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McMahon’s crackdown could be more a publicity stunt than a serious effort to rid the WWE of drugs. There’s a public outcry in the way that professional wrestlers abuse their bodies and the WWE had to do something to quiet the storm. Unfortunately, it pays for professional wrestlers to be big and bulky and many take the short cut to beef up. The short cut may mean a short career and a short life. For what it’s worth, McMahon’s Wellness Policy is a step in the right direction. The WWE must enforce its anti-drug campaign seriously for the welfare and protection of professional wrestlers some of whom think only of making money now even at the expense of their health in the future.

As entertainment, WWE is a class act. The Manila show was well-produced, well-scripted and well-executed. The fans surely got their money’s worth for over three hours at the MOA Arena. They screamed popular WWE chants like “this is awesome,” “fight forever,” “ole ole ole,” “New Day rocks,” “let’s go Cena” and “crossfit Jesus,” turning the MOA Arena into a regular WWE fan house.

There were eight matches in the bill and Chris Jericho had to be the scene stealer despite losing to Roman Reigns. Jericho was a big hit with the fans even if he kept shouting “Shut Up” and shocked the crowd by saying the Philippines stinks and Manila is the anus. Fans yelled “Gago, Gago” and even “Duterte, Duterte” in the wake of Jericho’s tirades. Jericho made fun of it and called himself the world’s greatest “gago.” It seemed like Jericho spent more time bantering than grappling Reigns. There was an amusing issue with Jericho’s scarf which Reigns grabbed and rubbed on his armpit.

When the action began, Jericho and Reigns had their moments. For a while, it looked like Reigns would surrender when Jericho clamped his Walls of Jericho submission hold, a variation of the Boston Crab. Reigns, however, extricated and went on to win with his patented finisher, the Spear.

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Another scene stealer was Neville, the high-flying acrobat who executed a double spin on a jump off the top rope to pin Curtis Axel. Cesaro also brought the house down in the first match, swinging Sheamus around for 10 spins before forcing a submission with the Sharpshooter, Bret Hart’s figure four leglock.

A sad sight was the 47-year-old veteran Goldust, Dustin Runnells in real life and whose father was the late wrestler Dusty Rhodes. Goldust looked puny compared to his opponent 6-8, 385-pound Braun Strowman who’s 14 years younger and 150 pounds heavier. Goldust, who appeared in his traditional golden body-fit costume, was completely overwhelmed and crashed out on a bear hug. The crowd, however, gave him a big round of applause with chants of “Thank You, Goldust.”

Although it wasn’t the main event, the match between John Cena and The Big Show had to be the highlight of the show. Big Show tried to overpower Cena at every turn and seemed on the way to an easy win when he slipped while trying to ride the rope strands. The turnbuckle snapped under his weight and Cena took advantage of a prostrate Big Show. Cena, who threw his cap and “Never Give Up” T-shirt to the cheering crowd before the match, did his trademark “you can’t see me” hand gesture then lifted Big Show for the pin off a body slam.

The mainer was anticlimactic. It was a three-way battle for the WWE Universal Championship with Kevin Owens retaining the belt on a pin over Sami Zayn after a Pump Up Powerbomb. The other contender Seth Rollins thrilled the fans with his athleticism and extraordinary moves. The other title matches saw Charlotte retaining the women’s belt over Sasha Banks and the New Day keeping the tag team crown in a triple threat match over Puerto Rico’s Shining Stars and the Club of Gallows and Karl Anderson. Thanks to Pom Nolasco for providing details of the matches.