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? |
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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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