If you've noticed something different about Cageside Seats the past few weeks it's because we've been going through withdrawals. Indeed, none of us have been getting our weekly dose of The Funkasaurus from Planet Funk who is funky.
And it's all Vince McMahon's fault.
That's according to a report from the Wrestling Observer newsletter (subscription required). Apparently, the big boss wasn't happy with Brodus Clay's work inside the ring and put the kibosh on his appearing on TV.
In a big surprise, Vince McMahon made the call to take Clay off television, feeling his ring work wasn't good enough. This is the guy who made money headlining some of the crappiest main event workers in history. Apparently it was a match with Slater that was taped and pulled from Smackdown that did him in.
This is surprising news that really isn't all that shocking. Not because Clay isn't good in the ring, because he is when given the tools and the right guys to work with, but because McMahon has completely lost touch with what does and doesn't work in the pro wrestling business.
That's not to say I'm the authority on such matters; I'm most certainly not. But lazily booking Clay in squash matches week after week against guys with so little talent they go entire years without winning a match and are typically relegated to NXT, a show that has been running forever with no end in sight because no one cares enough to pull the plug on it, what's to be expected? Is it really fair to think that Clay could become the next great big man if he's constantly booked against complete scrubs?
Of course not. You get what you put in.
The other issue with this is that they jerked Clay around for months because they the creative team couldn't come up with anything for him. They stole his idea and gave it to Mark Henry -- who got over with it in a big way -- before relegating him to a joke on TV each week via John Laurinaitis fake talking to him on the phone and promising that he'll re-debut next week.
Once he finally did make it to TV, he did so with a brand new character that no one knew how to react to ... at first. But he got The Funkasaurus over in a shorter time than anyone could have possibly imagined and did so with charisma, commitment and an awesome attitude.
Now, just when the fans are really starting to buy in to him, you take him off TV because of a bad match on a Smackdown taping -- that never even aired, mind you -- against Heath Slater of all people?
I just don't understand it, Cagesiders. Anyone care to try to make sense of this madness? And have we seen the last of this incarnation of Brodus Clay?