Simmons' influence must be rubbing off on the other ESPN.Com writers, as Chris McKendry has written a column comparing the Winter Olympics' figure skating with the "staged exhibitionism" of pro wrestling.
It's actually not a bad piece of writing, and the lady seems to have some basic knowledge of the sport ... There are a couple nice quotes in there too :
"Judging is very subjective. Fixed, some say -- especially after Monday night's fiasco in the pairs. You must remember that reputation counts. As with wrestling, most want the good guy to win. Kwan has given a lot to the sport. The fact she waited the four years since Nagano to compete again for gold will weigh heavily on the nine judges' minds."
"Why does the old wrestler always beat the young guy? Why do the wrestling gods seem to favor those who come up through the lower circuits rather than 'tough enough' competition winners?"
"Kwan is superior artistically. Her jumps, spins and footwork keep pace with her music, and they flow. She doesn't telegraph her moves. In this category, Kwan is most like Jericho ... very smooth. The Undertaker would receive very low artistic scores. He's big and awkward, and his moves are slow."
"A completely unrelated observation: As I watched the past few WWF events ... the New World Order storyline has me convinced wrestling is in serious ratings trouble. Threatening an NWO infusion would be like figure skating staging a Tonya Harding vs. Nancy Kerrigan showdown. Very sad. And a very bad sign."
Thread ahead: One question about the NWO ... Next thread: Are Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton ready for the main stage? Previous thread: Rena Mero, country music video star
I used to watch a couple UPW specials here in LA when they'll occasionally get a shot at late night local station TV on the UHF band, and I must say, their production values and workers are decent.
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