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Sept. 11: A day to recount pain, pride (9/11) 
10:54 PM CDT on Thursday, September 11, 2003 

 The Shakedown sits down Thursday mornings to write what The Shakedown
readers see Friday. It was pretty tough to do that this week.

Thursday marked the second anniversary of tragedies in New York,
Washington and Pennsylvania. Just like most, The Shakedown had ties to
the affected areas. And, as an American, the sting is still present in
some way every day.

This isn't going to be a long reflection on what happened that day.
But anyone who has the freedom to express their thoughts in a public
forum like this needs to mention the anniversary and honor it in some
way. This freedom is allowed because we have brave souls protecting it
every day.

The Shakedown gets e-mail each week from military personnel, several
of whom are fighting the good fight in hostile areas. Not long after
the U.S. deployed troops to Afghanistan, The Shakedown got an e-mail
from a reader stationed in San Diego who mentioned he was going to be
away for a while in enemy territory. In the reply, The Shakedown asked
if an APB could be put on for supplies, etc. A few days later, The
Shakedown received a short response:

"Shakedown, just send more enemies." 

Each one of us, and especially those who enjoy the freedom to write
and express opinions in a public way, must remember Sept. 11. We live
in a special time and a very special place.

REMEMBERING THAT DAY 

Fixated on trying to get any sort of information from friends and
family in New York and D.C. that day, The Shakedown ran across an
unexpected e-mail the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001.

The E had Smackdown tapings scheduled that night in the Compaq Center
in Houston. Now, the company was facing a tough decision. Does the
show go on amid a national tragedy? What's the correct move?

In the e-mail, an E official explained that the company was canceling
the show and wasn't sure when they would go back on. Two days later,
the company put on a heartfelt show in one of the first public
gatherings since the attacks.

The interviews were sincere and the matches a much-needed break from
the news coverage and sadness we were feeling as a nation.

That was a tough spot for the E, but it made the right call. The E
deserved respect for making a difficult choice then and still should
be commended for doing the right thing.

ON THE TEXAS TRAIL 

Big-time Texas week on the E's Byte This! Internet show. Houston's
Booker T was on Thursday night discussing his back injury. The Book
Man said he could return as early as two weeks. ... Silsbee's Mark
Henry was also on the show. ... San Antonio's Steve Austin's biography
is available for presale on Amazon.com. The Rattlesnake will be doing
a book tour once the book hits in November. Right in time to fill all
your wrestling holiday needs.

IN BOX 

Q: Shakedown, you recently said you didn't think Randy Orton was
ready. When is a guy like that really "ready"?
Shawn, Abilene, Texas 

A: Shawn, there isn't a magic formula in which the company suddenly
says "Yeah, this dude can carry the gold." In some cases, the company
just has to hand the belt over and see what happens. That happened
with The Rock and Brock Lesnar. With The Rock, it happened in a
different wrestling time, and the success was phenomenal. Lesnar has
had good success as well, but, obviously, nothing like The Rock has
had.

Rock was probably more "ready" than Lesnar at the time, because Rock,
like Orton, had been part of a group (Nation of Domination) and was
just starting to feel his way around the group and the ring when he
was given the opportunity.

Rock started his run with a nice feud against The Nation that put him
in the fans' minds. After engraining himself in the E card, he got a
title run, and we've been smelling what's been cooking ever since.
Orton is going to follow a similar path. He's not going to have a
Rock-like career. Few ever have. However, he's likely to start feuding
with Evolution late this year or early next.

By that time, he'll have been in the E more than two years. With his
talent, there's no reason to say he won't be ready by then.

PINPOINTS 

Mick Foley said this week on a New York radio show that he was hurt by
Hulk Hogan's recent derogatory comments about Foley's writing career.
Maybe Hogan should check the book sales. That's a No. 1 best-selling
author you're talking about, brother. Foley's novel, Tietam Brown ,
hasn't exactly threatened Tom Clancy's next meal, but it's much closer
to a true story than that junk Hogan put out in a book that's
currently making a nice The Shakedown foot rest. ... Spike Dudley took
a massive head bump Monday when he wasn't dropped in the right place
in a Dudley's match against La Resistance. The Human Lawn Dart somehow
suffered no major injuries. ... Triple H recently threw his bachelor
party with all E wrestlers invited. He and Stephanie McMahon will
marry in October. ... Another E house show has been cancelled. The
Oct. 4 show in Johnstown, Pa., is the victim this time. ... Macho Man
Randy Savage's CD is out. Brother was even on MTV promoting it last
week. The Shakedown will eventually take a listen. After, of course,
getting over the feeling of wanting to snap into a Slim Jim before
downloading. ... The Rock will be on the Oct. 4 season premier of
Saturday Night Live. ... Sting is back wrestling with NWA: TNA,
available on pay-per-view on Wednesday nights. ... Hogan will be
wrestling a match in Japan on Oct. 13. ... Tickets for next March's
WrestleMania XX in Madison Square Garden go on sale Sept. 27. If
you're into wasting coin, ringside comfort goes for $754.50. But hey,
Lillian Garcia may look your way!


--- Internet Rex 2.29