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GUEST EDITORIAL
By David Maes, Torch reader of Louisville, Colo.

Satisfied, Vince McMahon?

I mean, seriously, are you satisfied with the way you’ve handled yourself this week? I am the first person to understand that what Kroenke Sports and the NBA did was a slap in the face to your organization and their fans – of which I am celebrating my 25th anniversary of being – but there was a much easier way to make things right. And now, you’re in danger of alienating your entire Rocky Mountain fanbase. (And let’s be clear here, people weren’t coming just from Denver to see this event; they were coming from the entire state of Colorado, Wyoming, western Kansas, southwestern Nebraska... I could go on.)

The easiest solution would have been to switch the “Raw” and “Smackdown” events. Sure, fans up here probably wouldn’t have been happy knowing that they wouldn’t get to see John Cena, Batista, and Santino Marella, but the tradeoff of Jeff Hardy, C.M. Punk, and Rey Misterio (who is uber-popular in Hispanic-heavy Denver) would have been satisfying. Besides, half the people who had tickets to the “Raw” event most likely had them for the “Smackdown” taping, too.

But, instead of working an amicable agreement with KSE, you take your ball to Los Angeles. And you plan to use the entire Monday show to mock the city of Denver in general, and the owner of the Nuggets in particular. Hey, when you signed your contracts in August, Kroenke had no idea that a superstar would, for all intents and purposes, fall in his lap and take him to the promised land.

I’m sure you can relate – it happened to you some 25 years ago when a fledgling big man from the AWA (Hulk Hogan) fell into your lap and launched your World Wrestling Federation into the stratosphere. How many NWA, AWA and other small promotions got kicked out of arenas for your product?

So, little kids in Colorado will turn on their TVs Monday and see Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, The Miz, and The Big Show dolled up in Nuggets gear, and they’ll ask their parents why the bad guys are wearing our stuff. Does that mean we’re bad, too? (Oh, nice work on your graphic, by the way, putting Randy Orton in a Nuggets #3 jersey. That’d be Allen Iverson’s number – a player who hasn’t played for us since November.)

Most parents will change the channel to ABC and show their kids that the Nuggets aren’t bad people at all. Hell, if they’re lucky, they’ll stumble onto one of their “NBA Cares” spots.

And what should happen if the Nuggets win the NBA Title? When your so-called "show to make it up to our fans in Denver" – yeah, a house show is a real make-up for a live TV event – will you have your babyfaces trot out in Nuggets gear, as if last Monday never happened? Will your heels wear Lakers unis to get cheap heat, despite the fact that months earlier, they were in Nuggets blue? What sort of convoluted mixed signal will that send to the youngsters that you want to stay with WWE "from the cradle to the grave?"

Unfortunately, I can’t say I won’t stop watching WWE. I own 15 shirts. I have the cap. I spent $350 on a spinner belt – ironically at last year’s Memorial Day show. But I can’t say that I’ll spend my money on a ticket to one of your live shows again. You might get mad if, say, the Avalanche go on a run, or if our indoor lacrosse team, the Mammoth, needs the place. Mind you, I’m not worried. I remember your feud with Zane Brosloff, which cost fans in this area the ability to see live WWE events for 7 years. And I’m positive you’ll have the same attitude now that you’ve had this little dust-up with the Nuggets. How dare we be successful when you had a contract, right?

And, if there’s any sense of decency left in the world, Ring of Honor and TNA will seize on this opportunity to gain some new fans. We’ve got lots of arenas for y’all to play in – I know you might not fill the Pepsi Center, but the Denver Coliseum, Broomfield Events Center, Coors Events Center, and other venues would love your revenue. God knows we might not see WWE after August 9 ever again.

- Dave Maes
WWE Fan since 1984
Louisville, Colo.

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