The "Tribute" Magazine and That Nathan Jones- He's Going Places...

Well, I swore the last one would be the last until someone pointed out to me a couple other topics that made waves in the UT forums where he's not looked upon as a god among men (read: if he fucks up, he's roasted). So I figured I better get them in here in my farewell. And those topics are his "Tribute" magazine and Nathan "I took so many 'roids I lactated" Jones.

The "Tribute Magazine":

I've been waiting years to see one of those because, dammit, Taker's put in so many friggin' years that he was worth a magazine that was his very own. It came out and I bought it. Overall, it wasn't bad but I would have made a few changes.

I would have gone over more of the past than the present. I know they did quite a bit but I think each Undertaker era could have had a little bit more coverage. I also would have liked some information from Calaway/Vince about how those particular UT incarnations came into being. One of the strongpoints of the character was the metamorphosis without losing the key elements (mystery, power, darkness).

There are pictures aplenty of the various Undertakers we've seen thoughout the last decade but I would have enjoyed some of those "never-before-seen" photos to be backstage photos of him during his kayfabe days. I think it would have been cool to see the man behind the character peeking through in the era where you never saw anything but The Undertaker.

Outside of that, the other portion of this has to go to a couple comments he made in the magazine. And I'll be citing them so you can check them out yourself to save myself any of those, "taker never said that. u r puting words into his mouth" e-mails. Also, I will make this clear- he's entitled to his opinions because they're like assholes- everyone has one.

Page 50: About the 'net fans: "...they don't sign my paycheck."

My Response: It sounds like he's trying really hard to dismiss the 'net fans and their opinions because they have been less than kind to him these past years. Now that he's not their paragon of professionalism and hard work (Kurt's taken that title), he decides to mouth off. But a couple years back, when the 'net scene was really hopping, he never said a word because the smarts/smarks/whatever had nothing bad to say about him.

Also, in essence, we do sign your paycheck. Actually, if it weren't for us (and the other marks out there) you wouldn't have a paycheck. Even though he probably never considered it (or did and ignored it, to try and be spiteful), it's like biting the hand that feeds you when you dismiss the 'net fans because we have put money into that company of yours...money that is used in that paycheck.

Page 50 About who he listens to: "I worry about what the guys in the locker room say, what the real fans, that pay their hard-earned money for our shows say, and what Vince McMahon says."

My Response: I feel he's contradicting himself here, regarding the fans. I'd say 'net fans are real fans and they pay their hard-earned money as much as the other guy for WWF...sorry, E programming. It's just that with 'net fans on a whole, they have an outlet to express their displeasure, which rubs him (and most of the WWF) the wrong way. Plus, it sounds like the criticism bothers him, even though he says it doesn't. If it doesn't and the 'net fans are such peons not be bothered with, why try to strike back?

 

Page 76: About Sara: "I know a lot of fans didn't appreciate her being with Undertaker, because he had been a loner for so long. I think they took it awkwardly."

My Response: Hmm, taking it "awkwardly" was just the tip of the iceberg, buddy. The thing it boiled down to is the fact this was a political pull for Sara to make the jumpoff into something she hoped would pan out to bigger things. Yeah, you can read the WWF propaganda and tell me, "no way- the wwe asked sara and taker to do the story" but I find it fishy that they planned on such a big angle and told Calaway, "Hey- we can use your wife to be the cornerstone of the feud. She has never been on TV and isn't trained but that's OK." And for such a big role in a big angle, she bombed. Couldn't act, couldn't wrestle, couldn't talk on TV- these things don't make a WWF star. Fans ('net fans, many Undertaker fans) also didn't like the fact that someone who was as emotionally scarred as UT would take up with a wife and become some Regular Joe Suburban, which was totally out of character for the character. And not only that, but DDP was pinned by the wife and was run into a ditch he never crawled out of.

Also, I don't think fans would have really minded if he had a female valet. However, it would have been needed to be done right because the UT never got close to anyone, except PB and we all know how screwed up that relationship was.

And seeing both of the interviews in their entirety, I'd say he surfs the 'net more than he lets on, or gets updates from people about what's being said on it about him. However, he really needs to lighten up and stop being such a puppet for the WWF with the whole "Internet fans are bad" thing.

Nathan Jones:

He only gets a little bit here since I've cooled down now and to be honest with you, I forget a good bit of what I watched with him. That's for the best, mind you, because I do remember it sucked.

Every time I would see that dynamic duo (Jones and Taker), all I could think is Taker really has a thing for untalented, sloped-foreheaded, valets. For a time, Taker was supposedly his "trainer," the guy who got him in the show. I guess it was also a way for Taker to improve his badass credibility by hanging out with a guy who was a criminal. Anyway, they tried everything to get him over, to no avail. And it really went downhill when people realized Jones wasn't what they built him up to be and was a no-talent guy, who was hired due to Vince's perpetual hard-on for big guys, even if they can't wrestle. That formula might have worked in the 80's but not today, where fans are smarter and expect more, such as being able to put on a decent match.

Nathan is currently not on the show and even though I don't watch the whole thing anymore, it still makes me feel better. At least he's not out there, trying to wrestle, and ends up hurting somebody. One of the things in wrestling is you have to protect yourself and the person you work with. Jones, lacking skill, isn't proficient in either of these.