ShareThisBy ALEX MARVEZ
Scripps Howard News Service
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Unfortunately for World Wrestling Entertainment, the title of its latest motion-picture release was far too fitting.
Widely panned by critics, "The Condemned" also was a box-office flop when debuting in theaters. The action-adventure movie starring "Stone Cold" Steve Austin had a $3.8 million opening last weekend to rank ninth among all releases.
"The Condemned" failed to match the opening box-office gross of two other WWE-produced films released within the past year: "The Marine" starring John Cena ($7 million) and "See No Evil" featuring Glenn "Kane" Jacobs ($4.6 million). Ironically, Austin told the Baltimore Sun that he passed on the lead in "The Marine" because he preferred the script of "The Condemned," which cast him as one of 10 prisoners forced to participate in a fight-to-the-death tournament on a reality television show.
"The Condemned" assuredly would have drawn a larger audience if released during Austin's heyday (late 1990s/early 2000s) as grappling's biggest star. But since being forced from the ring in 2003 because of chronic neck problems, the 42-year-old Austin has only made sporadic WWE appearances while trying to forge an acting career.
Ultimately, WWE will recoup much of the $20 million production cost of "The Condemned" through DVD sales and other distribution avenues. But the movie's poor showing doesn't bode well considering Austin is under contract for two more WWE flicks.
Like the ill-fated XFL and World Bodybuilding Federation, "The Condemned" also represents another failure by WWE owner Vince McMahon to find success in a different entertainment genre. McMahon, though, placated his Great Khali-sized ego by making himself the Extreme Championship Wrestling champion on last Sunday's "Backlash" pay-per-view show.
Because the 61-year-old McMahon is such an amusing on-air performer, what will likely be a short-lived title reign could help regenerate interest in ECW (10 p.m. EDT Tuesdays, Sci Fi Network). The 1.4 rating drawn for the April 24 ECW telecast is half of what the show drew upon its Sci Fi debut last June.
McMahon will defend the ECW title this Tuesday against Rob Van Dam in what could be a harbinger of the latter's WWE future. Van Dam has reportedly refused to sign a contract extension and may be headed to rival Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which makes a loss to McMahon a certainty if "RVD" is on his way out.
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WWE's "Smackdown" roster has reportedly suffered a major blow with champion The Undertaker being diagnosed with a torn biceps. To his credit, The 'Taker gutted his way through a "Last Man Standing" "Backlash" match against Batista, who now appears set to recapture the title he lost last month at Wrestlemania 23.
Two other "Smackdown" headliners, Booker T and Rey Mysterio, are already out of action after undergoing knee surgeries. Bobby Lashley, who lost the ECW title to McMahon, has a rotator cuff injury but isn't expected to need surgery at this time, according to the promotion's Web site.
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Questions and answers
Q: Whatever happened to Tommy "Wildfire" Rich and "Wildcat" Wendell Cooley? _ Gloria Parker, Dothan, Ala.
A: Rich, who had a four-day reign as National Wrestling Alliance champion in 1981, remains active on the Southern independent circuit like his cousin Johnny Rich. The site www.obsessedwithwrestling.com reports that Cooley, a star in Alabama-based Continental Championship Wrestling during the 1980s, now works at a Navy base in his hometown of Milton, Fla.
(More wrestling news can be found at www.wrestlingobserver.com. Questions can be sent to Alex Marvez c/o the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301, or e-mailed to amarvez@sun-sentinel.com. Please include your full name and city of residence. Because of volume, no phone calls will be accepted and letters will not receive a written reply.)
