It
may sound absurd, or more accurately perhaps, pretentious, but
I pretty much know every year going into the Gooker Award voting
who is going to win. Yes, it's been up for you, my fellow Crappers,
to decide the past few years. And while there have been some
suprises here and there, as a rule of thumb...I pretty much
know. When you write about this stuff week after week for seven
plus years, you tend to get a good feel for these things. And
this year was absolutely no different.
After
all, did what else combined all the bad wrestling, missed opportunities,
and flat out rampant stupidity that the story of Vince McMahon's
illegitimate son storyline did? It was an angle that not only
made no sense, but one that saw viewers flee from their televisions
in droves.
That,
friends, is what the Gooker is all about.
Ironically,
the entire storyline started with another storyline that would
have no doubt been in the running for this year's "Worst
of the Worst" award had a real life tragedy not gotten
in the way. Maybe you've blocked that one from your memory.
If so, I can't blame you. But I also can't let you get off the
hook that easily, so here is a two-frame animated GIF to bring
it all back for you:

Certainly,
"Vince McMahon Gets Blown to Smithereens" could certainly
have been followed by a colon and then the words "2007
Gooker Award Winner". But when Chris Benoit went insane
and killed his family, WWE had the good sense to drop the storyline
cold. Likewise, we here at the Crap decided that there was no
way we could in good conscience have that in the voting when
it ended prematurely due to such a horrific event.
Nevertheless,
leave it to the crack WWE creative team to come up with something
else that would wind up winning, also involving no less than
Vince McMahon himself. And in a weird twist of fate, it even
wound up starting the same way.
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Yes,
once more Vince was getting into his white stretch limo,
looking for all the world like the exact same one that
had sent him to kingdom come just months earlier. Maybe
I'm just superstitious, but I think I would have chartered
a different vehicle.
A
VW bus I'm thinking. Maybe that's just because I can't
imagine any true WWE fan not be riveted to the screen
watching Vince tool around town in a chartreusse microbus.
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Regardless,
soon enough Vinny Mac was once again headed for certain
doom. But this time, it wasn't an explosion. It was a
paternity suit!
The
catch? The mother wasn't forthcoming with information,
namely who the child was! |
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Each
week, Vince would get a clue as to who the child was.
So apparently the mom was either the Riddler or a Scooby
Doo Villian.
Note
to Vince: if this ever happens in the future, I'd suggest
dumping Jerry McDevitt in favor of Encycolpedia Brown.
One
week he was told "things were looking up." The
next week we learned that Vince Jr. was in fact a WWE
superstar. |
The
mind reeled at the possibilities. Perhaps a Highlander,
like Rory McMahon? Super Crazy McMahon? Maybe he had sex
with Bob Orton and sired Randy Orton!
Week
after week this went on, and all I could think of was
just how much fun this was going to be.
After
all, what if Vince's son was... |
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...the
Boogeyman?!
As
Coach noted, he did
have Vince's eyes.  |
Of
course, with the good came the bad, as we'd get constant
updates about all the women Vince had slept with over
the years, ranging
boinking some broad on an iceberg to shooting his load
on Mount Rushmore. 
Somehow,
I will never be able to watch North by Northwest the same again. |
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Still,
that was Eddie Murphy in his prime compared to an Evening
at the Improve with Triple H, who introduced us to his
guesses as to who the mother might be. These ranged from
a fat woman (because, if there's one thing WWE has taught
over the years, FAT PEOPLE ARE FUNNY)... |
...and
Frank, a transvestite (ditto). |
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Naturally,
this was also a grand excuse to bring out every McMahon
under the sun, from Linda to Skippy to Nipple H.
You
know, when I look most forward to seeing Robo-Linda, that's
a bad sign. |
Still,
there was hope for the angle, as the big tease was that
it was going to be Mr. Kennedy.
Indeed, that's where everything was headed, and it made
perfect sense; this was the guy WWE wanted to shoot to
the moon, and what better way than by making him the son
of the biggest name in business?
Now
while I don't care for the guy personally (just like WWE,
I don't like liars), hey...why not make a new main eventer?
After all, I can only see so much Hunter, Randy Orton,
and Batista.
Naturally, since that made so much sense and could have
lead to matches people might pay to see, it wasn't him.
(And
save the emails about him being suspended so it couldn't
be him - they could have simply built the angle for a
few more weeks and had an even bigger pay-off.) |
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No,
instead we got one final tease for the reveal. Once more,
all the WWE stars gathered around the ring. I still held
out hope for Big Daddy V McMahon. So the lawyer came out,
and explained that instead of telling Vince flat out who
Vince's son was, he would tell him who he was NOT.
So
we learned that... |
1)
Vince's son was not Extreme (damn, I was hoping for Balls
MacHoney)... |
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2)
He had a "fondness for gold". Thus, he was a
champion. Or a former champion. I think that maybe two
people left.
Sadly,
though, this meant that my dreams of "Hacksaw"
Jim McMahon were also dashed. |
3)
He was white.
Aww,
crap...that means Mark Henry would not be the World's
Strongest McMahon! |
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4)
He had blonde hair.
Sorry
Kane, you are therefore NOT the Big Red McMahon. Which
is really a shame, as I'd have loved to have them attempt
to explain the already inexplicable Kane family storyline
by muddling it further. |
5)
He was not a tag team wrestler. No Trevor Murdock McMahon.
Good
Lord, is this guy about done yet? My jokes keep getting
worse as this thing drags on! |
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So
we wound up with the final three of Triple H, JBL, and...THE
SANDMAN.
My
God, YES! The SandMcMahon!
I've
said it so many times over the years that it's lost some
of its lustre, but I can say, without hyperbole, that
the term "license to print money" has never
been more appropos. |
Sadly,
both JBL and Sandman were nixed, leaving us with just
Hunter and Vince in the ring together. Ick.
"But
wait!" cried the attorney. Apparently Vince's son
liked to play games, yes, but these games would be tiddlywinks
and marbles. You see, Vince's little bastard wasn't Hunter,
but rather... |
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...the
Little Bastard himself, Hornswaggle! |
And
thus, we didn't get a new main eventer, but rather more
comedy!
Wait,
scratch that. We got more BAD comedy, usually revolved
around the fact that Vince viewed his new son as a two-year
old. See, because he's small. No matter that he had, you
know, a BEARD. If you're under five feet tall, by golly,
you must be a toddler!
Anyway,
we got antics like William Regal babysitting and losing
him. And where did Regal look for Little Mac? Why under
the couch cushions, of course.
So
now Hornswaggle had reverted to being a child, but had
somehow apparently morphed into a nickle.
Or
perhaps a shilling. He is Irish, after all. |
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Later,
it would be Coach's turn to watch the little tyke, who
proceeded to take off on a tricycle. Like any good babysitter,
Coach gave chase on a bicycle.
Had
he used a unicycle, I probably would not have even had
this up for the award this year.
Sound
cartoonish? Ya ain't seen nothin' yet. |
After
all, who could forget when Horny trapped Coach under the
ring and proceeded to blow him up with a giant TNT plunger? |
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Or
the time when Carlio trapped Horny using the lure of FREE
ICE CREAM SANDWICHES? |
Ok,
I must go into more detail on this one, as it may be the
the single most idiotic scene ever witnessed on television.
See,
Carlito had the little guy trapped against a brick wall.
There was nowhere for Little Mac to go. |
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Undeterred,
Horny reached into his coat and pulled out a...can of
spray paint? |
He
spun around, and began to spray the wall (yes, with the
paint, you pervs).
Soon
enough, he had painted what appeared to be a door. Or
maybe a headstone. Hard to say. |
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Around
and around Carlito he ran, all the while accompanied by cartoony
sound effects. 
Into
the wall he ran and poof! He was gone! |
Much
like those watching at home, Carlito stood in disbelief.
Unlike anyone at home, however, he then proceeded to run
into the wall himself. |
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And
yeah, you pretty much can guess the result. |
Amazingly
enough, this angle didn't end there. No no - it continues to
this day. And while I may have broken a rule here or there by
putting it up for nomination for 2007 (as it has not yet concluded),
I flat out don't care.
After all, has there ever been a better contender to win back-to-back
Gooker awards?
- Boogeyman (singing
- YES SINGING!): "The Cat's in the Cradle and the Silver
Spoon / Little Boy Blue and the Man in the Moon / When You Coming
Home Dad / I Don't Know When / But We'll Get Together Then,
Dad!"
Boogeyman
(screaming): "HAHAHA! I'm the Boogeyman! And I'm coming
to GETCHA!"
Coach:
"He does appear to have your eyes."
- Vince
McMahon: "The challenge was to do it in every state in
the Union...I remember that one time in a cornfield in Nebraska.
And then there was...on Mount Rushmore. Better than that, it
was on an iceberg in Alaska. I mean, it's been a lot."
- Cartoon car sounds
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