By David G. Firestone
So I’m back from winter break. Santa dropped a new laptop and some parking meters down the chimney this year. I’ve been following a few stories, and I’m going to discuss them. Since the various filings about the NASCAR anti-trust are in legal terms, which are hogwash to me, I’ll hold off on talking about them until later.
Let’s talk about IndyCar, specifically the race at Thermal. The 2024 edition was a shit show, and that’s putting it nicely. The prize money didn’t materialize as hoped, so it was only a $500,000 race as opposed to a $1 million race. Ticket sales were abysmal, due to high ticket prices, and general apathy about IndyCar. The race itself didn’t go over well, with teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans all talking about how bad it was
So you are IndyCar, and you are planning a new season for 2025. You have a deal with Thermal for a 2025 race, what do you do? Well, IndyCar literally didn’t learn a single lesson, and is planning the same event, but in a different year. At the time of writing, it’s back to a $1 million race, no points, just money.
What the fuck? Last year’s event was a certified dud. Nobody liked it. It simply didn’t work. If at first you don’t succeed…WHY? WHY AGAIN? Sure, it failed in every way it could, and yet doing the exact same race in 2025 will somehow yield different results…how does that work?
I’m going to give IndyCar an idea that could save the race. This could be a million dollar idea. Here goes: Take the Thermal race, make it an all-star race, and gimmick the hell out of it. It goes something like this: Every driver who won a race in 2024, and all former champions are locked in. The drivers on the outside will race in a series of heat races, and the winners get into the main event. Qualifying is also done through heat races. The races are a series of races, with new tires and fuel added at the end of each stage.
Sound familiar? This is how the Busch Clash and All-Star races are held in NASCAR. Every all-star game is a gimmick at this point, so why shouldn’t IndyCar follow suit? The marketing writes itself: “The best of the best in IndyCar racing at the most exclusive race track in the United States with a million dollars up for grabs.” Seriously, that would work wonders to get people in the door, and watching on TV?
When Roger Penske took over IndyCar, lots of people, myself included, were optimistic that IndyCar would change for the better. Sadly, it’s become clear that this is another case of “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” IndyCar continues to stagnate, and, unless some new things are tried, it will continue to stagnate. Sadly, I fail to see any change on the horizon, and I hold out little hope.
Now we move on to wrestling, because a couple of things happened while I was away. First off, WWE revived Saturday Night’s Main Event. The big theme with this version is nostalgia. It was meant to bring back memories of some of the best events of year’s past. It sounds cool on the outside, but it does raise some issues.
First off, nostalgia in sports is a double-edged sword. I’m not saying that it’s truly a bad thing, but in sports where their best years are behind them, all it does is to bring back memories of how much better things were. NASCAR has had this problem for years. They aren’t good at marketing and making stars, so throwbacks and nostalgia serves to remind fans how good things to be.
Pro wrestling is even worse. Wrestling constantly moves forward, not backward. What was good in 1984, and 1994, doesn’t really fly as well in 2024. But the other issue is much more prevalent in 2024.
Wrestling is coming to terms with the fact that many of the wrestlers were very problematic, be it behind the scenes, or after their careers ended. For example, this most recent Saturday’s Night Main Event featured Jessie “The Body” Ventura. Ventura is a notable personality, and was the governor of Minnesota. He is also a right-wing crackpot conspiracy theorist.
Of the other commentators, most are dead, or are so problematic that WWE can’t bring them back. Hulk Hogan is so problematic, WWE can’t bring him back, as is the case with Vince McMahon. It’s amazing how awful these legends are. This is not limited to WWE, as even wrestlers who weren’t in WWE are now being seen as the horrible people that they are.
WWE didn’t do themselves any favors, given all the lawsuits they are currently facing due to actions of their staff and leadership. Focusing on the present is a much better strategy than focusing on the past, as far as wrestling is concerned.
Now we move on to a big wrestling story, this one from TNA Wrestling. At Final Resolution at Center Stage in Atlanta, The System, a team consisting of Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards, faced The Hardys, Matt and Jeff for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, with the Hardys retaining the championship.
During the event, an incident between Edwards and a fan occurred. I will take this description of the event from Cageside Seats:
“Edwards competed alongside Brian Myers in a tables match against the Hardys at Final Resolution (Dec. 13, 2024). The crowd was hostile toward the System and vocalized several chants with curse words. One fan in particular must have muttered something uncouth, then he flipped the bird. Edwards took exception and knocked the fan’s beverage out of his hand. The fan reacted with a slap across the cheek. Edwards retaliated with a much crisper slap to the face. Officials intervened to make sure the incident didn’t go any further, and security escorted the fan out of the building.
This fan didn’t appear to be a plant for story-line purposes. After the knucklehead move, the fan didn’t put up any resistance in his forced departure from ringside. Edwards brushed it off and carried on with the match.”
Look, I get that heels are supposed to get heat with the crowd. I get that heels should be seen as the evil bad guys. However, under no circumstances should the heel physically confront a fan unless in self-defense. If a fan jumps the rail, then the wrestler can defend themselves. In this case, words being exchanged is NOT a reason for either party to slap the other.
This could have severe repercussions for TNA. Lawsuits could be filed against Eddie Edwards, TNA, and more critically, the venue. Venues do NOT like having to deal with lawsuits from fans over incidents like this, and I’m willing to bet that this will cause issues with TNA and Center Stage.
I’m not defending Edwards, and I’m not defending the fan, both parties are equally guilty. I’m saying that this whole thing was handled badly by everyone involved. You are allowed to cheer and boo as you please, but do NOT physically involve yourself with the wrestlers, you will get arrested, and may get beaten. Alternatively, any wrestler who physically assaults a fan could open the door to a lot of legal issues. It’s just not worth it.
This has been an issue in wrestling for decades, and recent events are compounding the issue. I really don’t agree with any attack, but stupid people do stupid shit.
With that, I finish this week’s episode, and I will continue with news stories next week.
Sources Cited:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Resolution_(2024)
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