Wrestling media has always been a morass, trying to cull reliable news from three-to-four reliable sources amongst the sea of people jumping on rumors and cutting and pasting from the aforementioned rocks of info. Pro wrestling journalism was never really mainstream, because let's face it, the market on covering a staged sport was only going to appeal to the most hardcore of fans. The Wrestling Observer and the Pro Wrestling Torch really pioneered the area of wrestling journalism (and for their efforts, they're lableled as "dirt sheets"), but as they segued onto the Internet, their work became plagiarized by the various CP sites.
Basically for the last ten or so years, that's been the state of wrestling news. Meltzer, Alvarez, Keller and now Powell report it, and everyone else flocks to it. However, a new phenomenon has sprung up... Twitter.
The social networking platform has the potential to revolutionize the way news is broken if it hasn't already. As you can see on the sidebar, the feds themselves, wrestlers and the news sites all have jumped on the Twitter train. Some of them are really inane (Matt Hardy, looking in your direction), some of them are informative (mostly the Sapolsky/DG and ROH ones) and some are used in the way that you or I would use them (Jericho and Chavo for example). Some guys have used it to break some right-from-the-source news, although for the most part that has been the domain of guys who can afford to break news and leak secrets because of the unionized nature of their profession (i.e. other athletes).
While the ever-looming iron fist of Vince McMahon and other promoters will always hang over the heads of potential leaks, that doesn't mean things won't change and people won't get the huevos to start leaking stuff. Could the rise of secret-identitied Twitter accounts be on their way? Workers at the end of their contracts might start dropping hints or items without the fear of repercussion from bosses who can't do anything to them other then job them out on their last few appearances. Or who knows, maybe wrestlers will finally unionize and the guys themselves can be more transparent about what they share with the masses.
Even if the demand for the backstage dirt on wrestling were higher (it really isn't, as if it were, Meltzer would be a household name for anyone who watches wrestling), getting sources to talk and give credible leads will always be a dicey proposition because of that aforementioned Sword of Damocles hanging overhead. However, if you shove enough microphones in enough people's faces, you'll get answers eventually. Twitter acts as a huge sea of microphones for anyone who wants to sign up for it. The number of wrestling personalities on Twitter may be small comparatively speaking for now, but with the tech-savviness of society growing, future wrestlers may start using it and bringing the business into a state of on-demand newsworthiness.
Banner by Billy Dunlevy
Friday, October 30, 2009
KENTA to GOOO 2 DISABLED LIST~!
Courtesy of F4W Online
GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and ROH guest wrestler supreme KENTA blew out a knee and is gonna be out for a while, which means he won't be appearing at the ROH TV tapings next week. Which means I get gypped out of a Tyler Black/KENTA match. Fack.
GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and ROH guest wrestler supreme KENTA blew out a knee and is gonna be out for a while, which means he won't be appearing at the ROH TV tapings next week. Which means I get gypped out of a Tyler Black/KENTA match. Fack.
It's Always Sunny on Roddy Piper
Last night, the Roddy Piper episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia aired, and as I predicted, it was nothing short of weapons-grade, fine quality awesome. Piper played a destitute local pro wrestler called Da Maniac that The Gang hires to teach them how to work and to face off against them in their ill-conceived card to benefit the troops. And it was hilarious. Although Piper wasn't the best part of the show, he still brought laughs.
The best part of the show? The match at the end featuring recurring character Rickety Cricket dressing up as a terrorist and hamming it up for the crowd. I won't spoil anything else, but if you're a fan of the show, you'll love how everything turns out.
One other thing to note, at the beginning of the episode they showed Dennis watching an old Hulk Hogan/Nikolai Volkoff match on his laptop with the WWE logo on it. I wonder if this is a precursor to them hosting RAW. One can only hope.
The best part of the show? The match at the end featuring recurring character Rickety Cricket dressing up as a terrorist and hamming it up for the crowd. I won't spoil anything else, but if you're a fan of the show, you'll love how everything turns out.
One other thing to note, at the beginning of the episode they showed Dennis watching an old Hulk Hogan/Nikolai Volkoff match on his laptop with the WWE logo on it. I wonder if this is a precursor to them hosting RAW. One can only hope.
Friday Five: In 5 Years...
Future Week themed, for her pleasure...
1. Will TNA be relevant in 5 years?
2. Who will the WWE Champions be in 5 years? (World, WWE, ECW)
3. Will Sting, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Kevin Nash still be wrestling in 5 years?
4. Will ROH still be open in 5 years?
5. Where do you think Shane McMahon will be in 5 years?
1. Will TNA be relevant in 5 years?
2. Who will the WWE Champions be in 5 years? (World, WWE, ECW)
3. Will Sting, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Kevin Nash still be wrestling in 5 years?
4. Will ROH still be open in 5 years?
5. Where do you think Shane McMahon will be in 5 years?
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Best Moves of All-Time, Future Week Edition: The Irish Curse
Sheamus O'Shaunessy has been a revelation since his call-up to the bigs from FCW. He works a slightly stiff, very rugged style that will fit well in the WWE main event scene. I'll be utterly shocked if he's not working in a WrestleMania main event in five years. Part of his charm lies with his finisher. He hasn't used it much lately, but when he does bust it out, it's a sight to be hold. It's a uranage backbreaker, or as it's been branded in the WWE, the Irish Curse:
Indie Wrestling as the New Territory System
The big news of the week so far has been the signing of Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan and Jason Hervey to TNA. Hogan is the biggest name in wrestling history, and Bischoff has a track record of competing with and besting the WWF/E in viewership. It seems like a smart move for a company that is trying so hard to create a real bigtime wrestling competition, although many people are skeptical that retreads like Bischoff and egomaniacs like Hogan could be trusted to do right by the company and what it needs.
Even if TNA gets jump started, the WWE will not be its only competition. There is a vast network of independent wrestling promotions around the country with enough common wrestlers among them that has virtually reestablished the territory system among fans all over North America. Most old school wrestling fans and wrestling historians remember or at least know about the time before Vince McMahon nationalized the WWF, when smaller areas had their own major fed with travelling wrestlers coming through them. The best wrestlers became stars in several territories and built their reputations on individual appearances rather than one, centralized company distributing television featuring them nationally.
If you think about it, the indies of today are doing the exact same thing. Guys aren't just confined to their one corner of the country, and many wrestlers, both on the high end and the lower end, get exposure at several arenas around the country. Real up-and-comers or guys who never even got a shot with the bigger companies for whatever reason too. In the period of time between the WWF going national and the emergence of SMW and later, ECW, indie wrestling was a very depressing place, where local guys didn't have much of a future and shows were booked around whatever former WWF/NWA/WCW/JCP guy was showing up to win in front of the local crowd.
It took two wrestling visionaries, Jim Cornette and Paul Heyman, to use the indie fed as a tool to build stars locally and give fans in the Smoky Mountain or Mid-Atlantic regions an alternative to what they were getting on Monday or Saturday nights on TV. Both companies had great impact on the wrestling world. SMW was very influential in that it gave us wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, Kane, Bob Holly, Chris Candido and Road Dogg. ECW's accomplishments don't need to be mentioned here.
While those indie feds fading into history ended with ECW going national, their model lived on with feds such as NWA Wildside, CZW and eventually, ROH. Slowly but surely, the indie feds in the Aughts built histories and traditions to the point where their stars today are known by a good amount of wrestling fans all across the country, and to the point where now, a guy like Nigel McGuinness gets a boffo main event push right from jump in TNA.
Honestly, I don't see their growth abating. While companies may come and go, there will always be a crop of wrestlers looking to make names for themselves, guys who are too small or not muscular enough to warrant a look from the WWE, guys future endeavored from the WWE who need a place to rehab or continue careers.
Furthermore, with the Internet becoming more and more a part of people's lives, it will become even easier for people get familar with the feds and stars of the indie circuit. That way, when Claudio Castagnoli makes an appearance for F1rst Wrestling in Minnesota, people don't have to rely solely on word of mouth. They can check out Chikara's Podcast-a-Go-Go archives and see clips of Claudio wrestling in Easton and Philadelphia. They can check out Youtube for Claudio footage from feds as diverse as PWG based out of SoCal to FIP based in Florida. They have the ROH Video Wires to see him cut promos. They can follow the man himself on Twitter and get updates from him as to what he's doing, etc. etc. Then, when they see Claudio live at the arena and become fans of his, they start to seek out even more material than they can find online, which leads them to buying DVDs featuring him. Then, they're more aware of other stars, like Chris Hero or Eddie Kingston, which creates demand from the local consumer public to bring them to Minnesota.
This kind of branding creates complete and total awareness amongst the wrestling community, giving fans the resources to check out not only the stars of tomorrow for the WWE, but the guys that are making people talk today. Again, the Internet isn't what it used to be. Back in 1999, it was for a small portion of wrestling fans, but today, I would gamble that most of, if not all, wrestling fans in America have the Internet and can use it to find more than just porn. As we become a more tech-based society and as our hunger for combat sports grows, people will want to find out about what else is out there instead of just what they find on USA, My Network TV or Spike.
(As an aside... there was an interesting note on F4W Online today that showed a decent amount of crossover between people who bought Bragging Rights and UFC 104 among the people they polled... maybe there are more fans of both now than just of either sport in particular)
While the indies won't rise up as this conglomerate to compete with the WWE, there's little doubt in my mind that their growth period is far from finished. As the demand increases for alternatives of wrestling, gate and DVD sales will only rise for the Chikaras and AAWs of the world, among others. While the WWE will almost certainly continue to dominate the pro wrestling market, it's very likely that a thriving territory system like what happened before mass nationalization will spring up and give local markets something else to latch onto when they just want something to do and they're either not feeling the WWE or they're not getting another WWE show for months. While it may not signal another boom period in wrestling, it shows that these are healthy times with a much better outlook than when McMahon bought out all his competition 8 years ago.
Even if TNA gets jump started, the WWE will not be its only competition. There is a vast network of independent wrestling promotions around the country with enough common wrestlers among them that has virtually reestablished the territory system among fans all over North America. Most old school wrestling fans and wrestling historians remember or at least know about the time before Vince McMahon nationalized the WWF, when smaller areas had their own major fed with travelling wrestlers coming through them. The best wrestlers became stars in several territories and built their reputations on individual appearances rather than one, centralized company distributing television featuring them nationally.
If you think about it, the indies of today are doing the exact same thing. Guys aren't just confined to their one corner of the country, and many wrestlers, both on the high end and the lower end, get exposure at several arenas around the country. Real up-and-comers or guys who never even got a shot with the bigger companies for whatever reason too. In the period of time between the WWF going national and the emergence of SMW and later, ECW, indie wrestling was a very depressing place, where local guys didn't have much of a future and shows were booked around whatever former WWF/NWA/WCW/JCP guy was showing up to win in front of the local crowd.
It took two wrestling visionaries, Jim Cornette and Paul Heyman, to use the indie fed as a tool to build stars locally and give fans in the Smoky Mountain or Mid-Atlantic regions an alternative to what they were getting on Monday or Saturday nights on TV. Both companies had great impact on the wrestling world. SMW was very influential in that it gave us wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, Kane, Bob Holly, Chris Candido and Road Dogg. ECW's accomplishments don't need to be mentioned here.
While those indie feds fading into history ended with ECW going national, their model lived on with feds such as NWA Wildside, CZW and eventually, ROH. Slowly but surely, the indie feds in the Aughts built histories and traditions to the point where their stars today are known by a good amount of wrestling fans all across the country, and to the point where now, a guy like Nigel McGuinness gets a boffo main event push right from jump in TNA.
Honestly, I don't see their growth abating. While companies may come and go, there will always be a crop of wrestlers looking to make names for themselves, guys who are too small or not muscular enough to warrant a look from the WWE, guys future endeavored from the WWE who need a place to rehab or continue careers.
Furthermore, with the Internet becoming more and more a part of people's lives, it will become even easier for people get familar with the feds and stars of the indie circuit. That way, when Claudio Castagnoli makes an appearance for F1rst Wrestling in Minnesota, people don't have to rely solely on word of mouth. They can check out Chikara's Podcast-a-Go-Go archives and see clips of Claudio wrestling in Easton and Philadelphia. They can check out Youtube for Claudio footage from feds as diverse as PWG based out of SoCal to FIP based in Florida. They have the ROH Video Wires to see him cut promos. They can follow the man himself on Twitter and get updates from him as to what he's doing, etc. etc. Then, when they see Claudio live at the arena and become fans of his, they start to seek out even more material than they can find online, which leads them to buying DVDs featuring him. Then, they're more aware of other stars, like Chris Hero or Eddie Kingston, which creates demand from the local consumer public to bring them to Minnesota.
This kind of branding creates complete and total awareness amongst the wrestling community, giving fans the resources to check out not only the stars of tomorrow for the WWE, but the guys that are making people talk today. Again, the Internet isn't what it used to be. Back in 1999, it was for a small portion of wrestling fans, but today, I would gamble that most of, if not all, wrestling fans in America have the Internet and can use it to find more than just porn. As we become a more tech-based society and as our hunger for combat sports grows, people will want to find out about what else is out there instead of just what they find on USA, My Network TV or Spike.
(As an aside... there was an interesting note on F4W Online today that showed a decent amount of crossover between people who bought Bragging Rights and UFC 104 among the people they polled... maybe there are more fans of both now than just of either sport in particular)
While the indies won't rise up as this conglomerate to compete with the WWE, there's little doubt in my mind that their growth period is far from finished. As the demand increases for alternatives of wrestling, gate and DVD sales will only rise for the Chikaras and AAWs of the world, among others. While the WWE will almost certainly continue to dominate the pro wrestling market, it's very likely that a thriving territory system like what happened before mass nationalization will spring up and give local markets something else to latch onto when they just want something to do and they're either not feeling the WWE or they're not getting another WWE show for months. While it may not signal another boom period in wrestling, it shows that these are healthy times with a much better outlook than when McMahon bought out all his competition 8 years ago.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Minorities and the Main Event
Professional wrestling has quite a few stereotypes and stigmas attached to it. Many of them are well-known, but there's one that really doesn't get a whole lot of play, and it's that the main event in most major companies has been traditionally white-bread. I could count on both hands the number of non-white World Champions in any of the five really major companies in the last 20 years (just for fun, Ron Simmons, Yokozuna, Booker T, The Rock, Ron Killings, Samoa Joe, Homicide, Eddie Guerrero, Great Khali, Masato Tanaka, Chavo Guerrero, Mark Henry, Takeshi Morishima... okay, I needed more than both hands for that, but not much more...).
Now, I'm not about to go all Al Sharpton on everyone, because it is what it is. Mostly white people get into pro wrestling, or at least they have traditionally. Sure there was a Junkyard Dog here and a Tony Atlas there, but up and down the card, the diversity came from foreign wrestlers if it came at all. Only more recently did more minority talents start to trickle in, but now they seem to be gathered at a force more in tune with what the make up of wrestling fans and even America is. The list of potential breakout stars who aren't white is pretty formidable:
Kofi Kingston, Shelton Benjamin, Kenny King, MVP, R-Truth, Yoshi Tatsu, Sonjay Dutt, Hernandez, D'Angelo Dinero/Elijah Burke, Human Tornado, Bobby Lashley, Ezekiel Jackson, Homicide, Jay Lethal, Cryme Tyme, Primo Colon
There's a good chance that within 5 years, every racial group will be well-represented in the main event in all three of the big companies... okay, in the WWE and the two companies that THINK they're bigger than they are (TNA, ROH). Honestly, I think this is a great step for professional wrestling. Again, I'm not one to play the race card, and I don't think diversity for diversity's sake is anything that needs to be valued. However, I'm not dumb. I know that people like to see people who look like them succeed. So why not court people of all races and ethic persuasions to watch your show by pushing talented people of that race/ethnic persuasion?
While wrestling has been woefully behind the times in this regard, many companies are actually in position to make it happen, and again, (although I hate sounding like a broken record) this will help when it comes time to stay above water when competing with UFC for PPV buys. The WWE has already started with the trend, beginning Kofi Kingston's megapush to the top. Kofi, who before Sunday didn't show much outside of being bland and faking being a Jamaican, busted out huge at Bragging Rights and on RAW and looks to be one of the WWE's go to players for the next few years, along with CM Punk and the aforementioned MVP.
The country is not getting less diverse. In fact, white people may become outnumbered by all minority groups put together in the near future. With the number of minority "blue chippers" waiting in the wings, all the companies see the writing on the wall. While the moment where any given company having more than one minority big-time main eventer is long overdue, the fact that they're getting there signals a sign of the changing times and a welcoming of more minority fans, especially African-Americans, who were even minorities among minorities in American professional wrestling.
And while they're seemingly last to the table for high-level integration, here's hoping that wrestling, and more importantly wrestling fans (keep the snickering to yourself!) become among the first to start looking at wrestlers from a colorblind perspective.
Now, I'm not about to go all Al Sharpton on everyone, because it is what it is. Mostly white people get into pro wrestling, or at least they have traditionally. Sure there was a Junkyard Dog here and a Tony Atlas there, but up and down the card, the diversity came from foreign wrestlers if it came at all. Only more recently did more minority talents start to trickle in, but now they seem to be gathered at a force more in tune with what the make up of wrestling fans and even America is. The list of potential breakout stars who aren't white is pretty formidable:
Kofi Kingston, Shelton Benjamin, Kenny King, MVP, R-Truth, Yoshi Tatsu, Sonjay Dutt, Hernandez, D'Angelo Dinero/Elijah Burke, Human Tornado, Bobby Lashley, Ezekiel Jackson, Homicide, Jay Lethal, Cryme Tyme, Primo Colon
There's a good chance that within 5 years, every racial group will be well-represented in the main event in all three of the big companies... okay, in the WWE and the two companies that THINK they're bigger than they are (TNA, ROH). Honestly, I think this is a great step for professional wrestling. Again, I'm not one to play the race card, and I don't think diversity for diversity's sake is anything that needs to be valued. However, I'm not dumb. I know that people like to see people who look like them succeed. So why not court people of all races and ethic persuasions to watch your show by pushing talented people of that race/ethnic persuasion?
While wrestling has been woefully behind the times in this regard, many companies are actually in position to make it happen, and again, (although I hate sounding like a broken record) this will help when it comes time to stay above water when competing with UFC for PPV buys. The WWE has already started with the trend, beginning Kofi Kingston's megapush to the top. Kofi, who before Sunday didn't show much outside of being bland and faking being a Jamaican, busted out huge at Bragging Rights and on RAW and looks to be one of the WWE's go to players for the next few years, along with CM Punk and the aforementioned MVP.
The country is not getting less diverse. In fact, white people may become outnumbered by all minority groups put together in the near future. With the number of minority "blue chippers" waiting in the wings, all the companies see the writing on the wall. While the moment where any given company having more than one minority big-time main eventer is long overdue, the fact that they're getting there signals a sign of the changing times and a welcoming of more minority fans, especially African-Americans, who were even minorities among minorities in American professional wrestling.
And while they're seemingly last to the table for high-level integration, here's hoping that wrestling, and more importantly wrestling fans (keep the snickering to yourself!) become among the first to start looking at wrestlers from a colorblind perspective.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Quick Hits Go to Hell
- Remember when Kevin Nash blew up at Team 3D for not calling an audible after Bubba botched a move that gave Chris Sabin a concussion? Yeah, well, TNA suspended him for the next show because of it. I see where management is coming from - Nash outbursted while the cameras were rolling - BUT, when a guy's health is at stake, you make a few exceptions. If Nash wasn't the only one with the huevos to stand up for guys' health, this wouldn't be an issue.
- In case you haven't heard yet, Matt Striker has been moved over to Smackdown to reunite with Todd Grisham in JR's stead as our favorite Sooner recovers from another bout with Bell's Palsy. Byron Saxton, FCW's color guy, will be filling in for him as we speak. I'll have a review when I catch it on DVR. Apparently, the guy looks and sounds like The Rock. Hey, there are worse people in the world to imitate... LIKE THIS GUY:
- According to the Torch's Twitter, it sounds like they're doing a three way for the World Championship as well. The winner of a Jericho/Kane match at the Smackdown tapings happening RIGHT NOW will join Taker and Show at Survivor Series. Teasing two tag team breakups at the same PPV? And to think, people are bitching about them running out of ideas *rolls eyes*
- In case you haven't gotten your Hogan fix for today, he appeared on Larry King Live tonight, and in 33 minutes of interview time, he mentioned TNA once. This is getting off to a smashing start, I say old bean.
- In case you haven't heard yet, Matt Striker has been moved over to Smackdown to reunite with Todd Grisham in JR's stead as our favorite Sooner recovers from another bout with Bell's Palsy. Byron Saxton, FCW's color guy, will be filling in for him as we speak. I'll have a review when I catch it on DVR. Apparently, the guy looks and sounds like The Rock. Hey, there are worse people in the world to imitate... LIKE THIS GUY:
- According to the Torch's Twitter, it sounds like they're doing a three way for the World Championship as well. The winner of a Jericho/Kane match at the Smackdown tapings happening RIGHT NOW will join Taker and Show at Survivor Series. Teasing two tag team breakups at the same PPV? And to think, people are bitching about them running out of ideas *rolls eyes*
- In case you haven't gotten your Hogan fix for today, he appeared on Larry King Live tonight, and in 33 minutes of interview time, he mentioned TNA once. This is getting off to a smashing start, I say old bean.
More on Hogan to TNA
Links to all the Torch stories from their Twitter
So, Hogan's in TNA. So is Eric Bischoff. Apparently, Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara still have jobs for now. Also, Kurt Angle apparently pushed for Hogan to come aboard so they can work together. Ric Flair is rumored to be coming aboard as well, since he had that working agreement to wrestle Hogan in Australia. Bischoff ALSO wants to expand TNA's television presence.
...
You let all that digest yet? Good. It's a lot. The balance of power in TNA shifted almost completely in one day, but more questions have probably been generated than have been answered so far. The biggest loser in this deal looks to be Nigel McGuinness so far, because if Hogan came specifically to work with Angle... then whither Nigel? Maybe they'll button that program up neatly at the next PPV before Angle moves on, but that's also really sort of anti what TNA needs right now. UnlessNigel Desmond Wolfe is integrated into that Angle/Hogan program afterwards, it's just the mentality that killed WCW all over again.
Also, opinions seemed to be mixed across the board, but the peeps on the Internet all seem to hate it so far. I'm willing to give it a shot if Hogan is kept in a mostly NPC role on camera and is willing to really work with the younger guys to make TNA a viable competitor. With the things he's said about younger guys in the past, there's a sliver of hope that he gets it now and that he's not really needed in the ring day-to-day to make a company successful.
So, Hogan's in TNA. So is Eric Bischoff. Apparently, Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara still have jobs for now. Also, Kurt Angle apparently pushed for Hogan to come aboard so they can work together. Ric Flair is rumored to be coming aboard as well, since he had that working agreement to wrestle Hogan in Australia. Bischoff ALSO wants to expand TNA's television presence.
...
You let all that digest yet? Good. It's a lot. The balance of power in TNA shifted almost completely in one day, but more questions have probably been generated than have been answered so far. The biggest loser in this deal looks to be Nigel McGuinness so far, because if Hogan came specifically to work with Angle... then whither Nigel? Maybe they'll button that program up neatly at the next PPV before Angle moves on, but that's also really sort of anti what TNA needs right now. Unless
Also, opinions seemed to be mixed across the board, but the peeps on the Internet all seem to hate it so far. I'm willing to give it a shot if Hogan is kept in a mostly NPC role on camera and is willing to really work with the younger guys to make TNA a viable competitor. With the things he's said about younger guys in the past, there's a sliver of hope that he gets it now and that he's not really needed in the ring day-to-day to make a company successful.
Hulkamania to Run Wild on TNA
Dot Net with breaking news
The Legendary Hulk Hogan will announce signing with TNA today at a press conference in NYC. What his role will be is unknown at the time. This puts a lot of things up in the air, like the Hulkamania tour in Australia and even Vince Russo's status as head writer.
Personally, I'm very skeptical about this move. It could pay dividends if Hogan takes what he knows about wrestling and builds an identity for the company, but I have this sinking suspicion that he won't stop the WWE-masquerade parade. I also think that we could be seeing the floodgates open on former WWE guys, including Mr.Kennedy Anderson and Umaga. Of course, that's all speculation on my part, and everything's sketchy until Hogan speaks. Still, the announcement itself is huge news. Huge, huge news.
The Legendary Hulk Hogan will announce signing with TNA today at a press conference in NYC. What his role will be is unknown at the time. This puts a lot of things up in the air, like the Hulkamania tour in Australia and even Vince Russo's status as head writer.
Personally, I'm very skeptical about this move. It could pay dividends if Hogan takes what he knows about wrestling and builds an identity for the company, but I have this sinking suspicion that he won't stop the WWE-masquerade parade. I also think that we could be seeing the floodgates open on former WWE guys, including Mr.
Bryan Danielson and the Redemption of the Benoit Archetype
For years and years, the Internet clamored for a guy who could wrestle to be elevated into the upper echelon of the main event. Many wrestlers took the mantle as the darling of the smark crowd, but none were as much a symbol for our desires as Chris Benoit was. He was a supremely gifted wrestler, one who exemplified being excellent at his craft in the ring, but he had to be. Benoit wasn't the best talker in the world to put it lightly, and as Kevin Nash once called people of his ilk, he was a "vanilla midget".
So Benoit had to compensate, and he did so by taking insane bumps and working such a high-energy, high-impact style that he went batshit crazy and killed two innocent people before taking his own life. Yeah, the steroids and the drugs were a huge factor, but you don't take unprotected chairshots, do flying headbutts off the top rope with very little in the way of self-protection, give out and take sharp-angle neck and head bumps or work as stiff as Benoit did pre-WCW and not have it take a toll on your health.
Benoit's utter self-destruction left a lot of people questioning the archetype he provided, the man whose worth to the wrestling industry was his excellence in the ring and that alone. A guy who couldn't talk (although I always thought Benoit wasn't terrible on the stick) to get himself over meant he had to double it up in the ring, adding the wear and tear, ramping up the damage done to himself on bumps. If you're not over, you're not getting paid, and when you've got to stay in the ring to stay over, well, it's risky. Plain and simple. So now, it doesn't pay not to have any charisma when you're not wrestling.
You would think big-time wrestling promoters don't want to see that ever again, although the same kind of stiff, risky style is still used by everyone that isn't based out of Stamford, CT. Still, you'd think that it would take awhile for WWE fans and Vince McMahon to really get behind someone whose charm is in how well he wrestles. That day, however, may not be too far from now.
Enter the Dragon.
Bryan Danielson, much like Chris Benoit, is mega-over with indie/smark wrestling fans because of his excellence inside the squared circle. Danielson, much like Benoit, isn't known for his prowess on the microphone (however, I do think that Danielson is much better than Benoit in that regard). On the surface, it's easy to equate both of them and be wary of pushing Danielson when he gets to the bigs (which could happen as soon as tonight if my gut feeling as to why Sheamus was shunted over to RAW so hastily is right), especially when he has some of the suplexes and head-strikes that Benoit used.
SO, if Danielson has a lot of the warning signs that Benoit had, why would it be a good idea to push him? How can he redeem the archetype if the warning signs are still there? Three reasons:
1. The WWE style has been toned down over the years
This was something that was in motion before Benoit even jumped ship. Steve Austin and Droz becoming injured due to botched piledrivers set off a chain of safety-heightening moves that are still in place today. The Benoit stuff only accelerated the measures. For a good year and a half, no one used the German suplex, and it's only really trickling back into movesets. Even in the sets of people who do use it, MVP being the most obvious, it's done as more of a flat-back bump rather than a sharp-angle neck bump. Of course, a flat-back bump isn't any less damaging to the body, but I guess being a cripple is preferable in the eyes of Vince than accumulated head trauma causing dementia.
Even though Danielson is connected politically from jump, they aren't going to make special exceptions for him to do the really "dangerous" moves as they were intended to be done. Besides, the charm in most WWF/E matches historically has never been with "movez", but drama, pacing, storytelling and selling. Having trained with William Regal and Shawn Michaels, Danielson has to know this coming in.
2. Danielson has a plethora of mistakes by other people to learn from
All the Benoit stuff serves as a stark reminder of what not to do to one's body. There was never really a high-profile case before Benoit, so now he serves as the warning, the Jacob Marley to the rest of the wrestling world if you will. Plus, if that wasn't enough, years of taking bumps literally killed Mitsuharu Misawa, a huge influential figure in the American indies. And if that wasn't enough, Danielson's own mentors and colleagues can tell him cautionary tales. His best friend in the company, Regal, used to do enough coke to keep him wired for years and has paid hefty prices for it in terms of career. I don't know if Danielson has a history with drugs, and really, I hope he doesn't, but all the history with drugs and with high-impact, low-protection moves documented over the last two decades, Danielson would be stupid to continue down the same path as Benoit.
And I'd like to think AmDrag has a good head on his shoulders.
3. Danielson doesn't need to turn his brain to mush to get over
The third and final reason is that Danielson's far from a one-trick pony. As great as Benoit was, it always felt like he had to fall back on the moves that endangered him the most to pop crowds. While Danielson has those moves in his arsenal too, his big signature moves - the MMA elbows, Cattle Mutilation, triangle choke, crossface chicken wing, various flash pinning combinations - are all pretty low on the self danger scale. In fact, Danielson has made his bones as being a submissions expert, and has a lot of proficiency in chain wrestling. Remember, he was trained by Regal, an expert in European-style catch-as-catch-can wrestling. AmDrag also has trained at the Couture dojo, so he has some MMA stylings in his moveset. Basically, he can make several different styles look so easy to do without hurting himself.
I've detailed plenty of evidence as to why I think Danielson has a good chance to turn out differently, but why is it important? Why do we need to have the Benoit archetype in play? To answer that question, you need to ask yourself how the landscape of major league wrestling has changed in the last decade. It used to be that there was more TV time per roster member for both the major companies. At peak, both the WWF and WCW had 4-6 hours of unique television content to get rosters of 25-35 wrestlers apiece over. There was plenty of time to get everyone their vignettes, promos, segments or whatever as well as letting them wrestle in the ring.
When the WWE bought out WCW and ECW and expanded its roster to about 55-70 wrestlers all told, the amount of TV time didn't really expand with it. There are still six hours of unique television time to get the wrestlers over, but now the number of wrestlers has more than doubled. There isn't enough time to get everyone the promo experience they need, or at least that they would use to get before the expansion of the roster. Some guys will only be used in wrestling matches, and it's important that there are people who will be able to go out and put on an entertaining match without having to be a spot monkey. (Again, nothing wrong with that, but that's a very dangerous style and high-flyers normally have short shelf-lives.)
I don't care how hard the WWE markets to children or how much some people want to admit that they don't dig a good wrestling match, but a large chunk of the fanbase appreciates a well-worked match featuring guys who are excellent at their craft. No, the wrestlers' wrestlers won't bring the fans in, but once John Cena (a great wrestler in his own right) gets a person to sit down and tune into RAW, it's up to guys like Danielson to keep them interested when Cena or Triple H or Shawn Michaels or Chris Jericho or whomever aren't on screen. Wrestling fans are wrestling fans in part because they like good wrestling.
That being said, excellent wrestling, the high end stuff like what Danielson does, won't get over right away. It never does. There was a reason why it took until 2002 for Benoit to really become a major player, and it's not only because of politics. It takes a while for the rest of the crowd to catch up to the smarky crowd/passionate-about-wrestling crowd about the really good wrestlers. The extra hurdle for Danielson, though, is that there's the stigma attached to being a "pure wrestler" with the idea that he'll eventually end up like Benoit or "that dude in Japan who died in the ring".
However, I think Danielson will be able to redeem that archetype. He has charisma, I think even moreso than Benoit did. He has really cool mannerisms in the ring, like yelling at the ref "I HAVE 'TIL FIVE!" on a break. I can really see that getting over. He also has the luxury of being in tight with the Triple H crowd. Again, this isn't snarky... it's a plus when you've got connections to the de facto heir to the throne. He'll get time, and time is what he needs to grow on the crowds. It won't happen in two years, maybe not in three either. We may be waiting until 2015 for Danielson to get his WrestleMania moment, but in that time, there'll be plenty of moments to savor for wrestling fans and plenty of time for people to get to know him.
Most importantly, there'll be plenty of time for the American Dragon to wash the stain of Chris Benoit away from the "technical wrestler archetype" and recreate it in his own image and likeness. Wrestling will be better for it too.
So Benoit had to compensate, and he did so by taking insane bumps and working such a high-energy, high-impact style that he went batshit crazy and killed two innocent people before taking his own life. Yeah, the steroids and the drugs were a huge factor, but you don't take unprotected chairshots, do flying headbutts off the top rope with very little in the way of self-protection, give out and take sharp-angle neck and head bumps or work as stiff as Benoit did pre-WCW and not have it take a toll on your health.
Benoit's utter self-destruction left a lot of people questioning the archetype he provided, the man whose worth to the wrestling industry was his excellence in the ring and that alone. A guy who couldn't talk (although I always thought Benoit wasn't terrible on the stick) to get himself over meant he had to double it up in the ring, adding the wear and tear, ramping up the damage done to himself on bumps. If you're not over, you're not getting paid, and when you've got to stay in the ring to stay over, well, it's risky. Plain and simple. So now, it doesn't pay not to have any charisma when you're not wrestling.
You would think big-time wrestling promoters don't want to see that ever again, although the same kind of stiff, risky style is still used by everyone that isn't based out of Stamford, CT. Still, you'd think that it would take awhile for WWE fans and Vince McMahon to really get behind someone whose charm is in how well he wrestles. That day, however, may not be too far from now.
Enter the Dragon.
Bryan Danielson, much like Chris Benoit, is mega-over with indie/smark wrestling fans because of his excellence inside the squared circle. Danielson, much like Benoit, isn't known for his prowess on the microphone (however, I do think that Danielson is much better than Benoit in that regard). On the surface, it's easy to equate both of them and be wary of pushing Danielson when he gets to the bigs (which could happen as soon as tonight if my gut feeling as to why Sheamus was shunted over to RAW so hastily is right), especially when he has some of the suplexes and head-strikes that Benoit used.
SO, if Danielson has a lot of the warning signs that Benoit had, why would it be a good idea to push him? How can he redeem the archetype if the warning signs are still there? Three reasons:
1. The WWE style has been toned down over the years
This was something that was in motion before Benoit even jumped ship. Steve Austin and Droz becoming injured due to botched piledrivers set off a chain of safety-heightening moves that are still in place today. The Benoit stuff only accelerated the measures. For a good year and a half, no one used the German suplex, and it's only really trickling back into movesets. Even in the sets of people who do use it, MVP being the most obvious, it's done as more of a flat-back bump rather than a sharp-angle neck bump. Of course, a flat-back bump isn't any less damaging to the body, but I guess being a cripple is preferable in the eyes of Vince than accumulated head trauma causing dementia.
Even though Danielson is connected politically from jump, they aren't going to make special exceptions for him to do the really "dangerous" moves as they were intended to be done. Besides, the charm in most WWF/E matches historically has never been with "movez", but drama, pacing, storytelling and selling. Having trained with William Regal and Shawn Michaels, Danielson has to know this coming in.
2. Danielson has a plethora of mistakes by other people to learn from
All the Benoit stuff serves as a stark reminder of what not to do to one's body. There was never really a high-profile case before Benoit, so now he serves as the warning, the Jacob Marley to the rest of the wrestling world if you will. Plus, if that wasn't enough, years of taking bumps literally killed Mitsuharu Misawa, a huge influential figure in the American indies. And if that wasn't enough, Danielson's own mentors and colleagues can tell him cautionary tales. His best friend in the company, Regal, used to do enough coke to keep him wired for years and has paid hefty prices for it in terms of career. I don't know if Danielson has a history with drugs, and really, I hope he doesn't, but all the history with drugs and with high-impact, low-protection moves documented over the last two decades, Danielson would be stupid to continue down the same path as Benoit.
And I'd like to think AmDrag has a good head on his shoulders.
3. Danielson doesn't need to turn his brain to mush to get over
The third and final reason is that Danielson's far from a one-trick pony. As great as Benoit was, it always felt like he had to fall back on the moves that endangered him the most to pop crowds. While Danielson has those moves in his arsenal too, his big signature moves - the MMA elbows, Cattle Mutilation, triangle choke, crossface chicken wing, various flash pinning combinations - are all pretty low on the self danger scale. In fact, Danielson has made his bones as being a submissions expert, and has a lot of proficiency in chain wrestling. Remember, he was trained by Regal, an expert in European-style catch-as-catch-can wrestling. AmDrag also has trained at the Couture dojo, so he has some MMA stylings in his moveset. Basically, he can make several different styles look so easy to do without hurting himself.
I've detailed plenty of evidence as to why I think Danielson has a good chance to turn out differently, but why is it important? Why do we need to have the Benoit archetype in play? To answer that question, you need to ask yourself how the landscape of major league wrestling has changed in the last decade. It used to be that there was more TV time per roster member for both the major companies. At peak, both the WWF and WCW had 4-6 hours of unique television content to get rosters of 25-35 wrestlers apiece over. There was plenty of time to get everyone their vignettes, promos, segments or whatever as well as letting them wrestle in the ring.
When the WWE bought out WCW and ECW and expanded its roster to about 55-70 wrestlers all told, the amount of TV time didn't really expand with it. There are still six hours of unique television time to get the wrestlers over, but now the number of wrestlers has more than doubled. There isn't enough time to get everyone the promo experience they need, or at least that they would use to get before the expansion of the roster. Some guys will only be used in wrestling matches, and it's important that there are people who will be able to go out and put on an entertaining match without having to be a spot monkey. (Again, nothing wrong with that, but that's a very dangerous style and high-flyers normally have short shelf-lives.)
I don't care how hard the WWE markets to children or how much some people want to admit that they don't dig a good wrestling match, but a large chunk of the fanbase appreciates a well-worked match featuring guys who are excellent at their craft. No, the wrestlers' wrestlers won't bring the fans in, but once John Cena (a great wrestler in his own right) gets a person to sit down and tune into RAW, it's up to guys like Danielson to keep them interested when Cena or Triple H or Shawn Michaels or Chris Jericho or whomever aren't on screen. Wrestling fans are wrestling fans in part because they like good wrestling.
That being said, excellent wrestling, the high end stuff like what Danielson does, won't get over right away. It never does. There was a reason why it took until 2002 for Benoit to really become a major player, and it's not only because of politics. It takes a while for the rest of the crowd to catch up to the smarky crowd/passionate-about-wrestling crowd about the really good wrestlers. The extra hurdle for Danielson, though, is that there's the stigma attached to being a "pure wrestler" with the idea that he'll eventually end up like Benoit or "that dude in Japan who died in the ring".
However, I think Danielson will be able to redeem that archetype. He has charisma, I think even moreso than Benoit did. He has really cool mannerisms in the ring, like yelling at the ref "I HAVE 'TIL FIVE!" on a break. I can really see that getting over. He also has the luxury of being in tight with the Triple H crowd. Again, this isn't snarky... it's a plus when you've got connections to the de facto heir to the throne. He'll get time, and time is what he needs to grow on the crowds. It won't happen in two years, maybe not in three either. We may be waiting until 2015 for Danielson to get his WrestleMania moment, but in that time, there'll be plenty of moments to savor for wrestling fans and plenty of time for people to get to know him.
Most importantly, there'll be plenty of time for the American Dragon to wash the stain of Chris Benoit away from the "technical wrestler archetype" and recreate it in his own image and likeness. Wrestling will be better for it too.
Don't Worry About Sheamus or Post-Vince WWE
From Powerslam Magazine by way of the A1W boards
Very eye opening interview excerpt from Triple H in a recent Powerslam Magazine. First thing that jumps out is that Trips seems not to value look and size as much as some others in charge:
Also, for all those (including myself) who were afraid that Sheamus would get lost in the shuffle on RAW, well, that might not be the case:
Very eye opening interview excerpt from Triple H in a recent Powerslam Magazine. First thing that jumps out is that Trips seems not to value look and size as much as some others in charge:
Who do you regard as the next wave of headline-level talent in WWE?Obviously, Bourne, Punk and Kingston do not fit the tall, roided archetype that Trips' father-in-law loves. This is a very good sign for life post-Vince. Even though they aren't my favorite on-screen characters, a lot of what I've heard about Trips and Stephanie McMahon behind the scenes has been favorable. Maybe it'll be better once Vince becomes incontinent.
Well, C.M. Punk is obviously already on his way to becoming a big star. Jack Swagger, I like. Sheamus. Evan Bourne is very good. Kofi Kingston. They are all moving up, but slowly, which is the right way.
Also, for all those (including myself) who were afraid that Sheamus would get lost in the shuffle on RAW, well, that might not be the case:
Finally, are you mentoring any WWE wrestler in particular? And in who, do you see the most of the young Triple H?If he's in with Trips, he's going to get protection. All snarky comments about Trips and his politics aside, this is a shrewd move for Sheamus. Get in on the good side. Also, it shows that Trips values work ethic, which to me is a far, far better thing to be holding dear than look. Give me one Christian over a dozen Chris Masterses any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
The closest to me is probably Sheamus, because we always train together on the road. But I try to watch all the young guys' matches and give them advice, if they want to hear it. If they take advice to heart and really want to improve, them I am wanting to help. As for seeing some of myself in someone? Thats tough. Sheamus just the other day showed up at a show he didn't have to be at. He does whatever he's asked to do without complaining, he goes to every show and is always wanting to work: he does it all, goes above and beyond. That's what I was like.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Instant Feedback: RAW Is Kofi Johnston
Talk about an uneven show.
I think the tone for RAW was set tonight when the self-professed WWE-fan NASCAR drivers called Kofi Kingston Kofi Johnston. From there, it was just a roller-coaster ride of alternating suck and watchability. Basically, anything with the heat-cipher NASCAR idiots was just awful, Hornswoggle getting the cease and desist was lame (the follow up to it was just lamer), and I have to say, them moving Sheamus from ECW to NO heat on RAW was the nadir for me. Sheamus was still growing in ECW and could have benefitted from a top feud with Christian before he left. Now, he's on a show without a midcard and whose top midcard face is moving on to bigger and better things. Actually no, I'm sorry. The nadir was the announcement for Cena's next opponents. Honestly, I thought they were going to change things up, maybe have Mark Henry or MVP battle Cena or even take a shot with Jack SWAGGAH~! I mean, Show/Taker, Batista/ReyRey and some iteration of Jericho/Triple H or even a JeriShow/DX (with Show double dipping) match would have been strong enough to carry Survivor Series and let some new blood permeate the RAW main event, but I guess I was wrong. It's really not worth getting riled up over.
I mean, Sheamus coming to RAW probably means Danielson to ECW is imminent if not tomorrow. Plus, we're getting Kofi/Orton. In the meantime, how awesome was the segment where Kofi totally shitted up Orton's stock car? IF you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know I'm not a huge fan of Kofi, but tonight, he finally was able to talk for an extended amount of time, and you know what? He fucking nailed it. He made that segment and I think the WWE really does have a star on their hands with him. Plus, I loved that Bourne/Miz match. I don't know where they're going with this Swagger/Miz antagonism. Are they turning Miz face? Are they going with the heel/heel feud? Whatever happens, it should be intriguing. Both are among the future of the company, and Miz's catchphrase is surprisingly over. If they actually keep Bourne in that program, I think you have a pretty nice three-way for the US Title for Survivor Series. Plus, Santino is pretty awesome.
I also didn't have much of a problem with the main event since they had to hammer home the "show pride" aspect of last night with a good follow through, especially with the turn that happened. It took the entire RAW roster to take out Show, it's not the end of the world.
Again, a very uneven show, but I'll take uneven if the good parts are really good. Tonight, they were. I fear for the future though. The last thing I want or need is another protracted Trips/Orton feud (which could very well happen if Trips wins the the title at SS) or even a protracted Trips/Cena feud. I don't want to wait until 2010 for someone new to get elevated. I want some fresh matches. Gimme Swagger/Cena, plz.
I think the tone for RAW was set tonight when the self-professed WWE-fan NASCAR drivers called Kofi Kingston Kofi Johnston. From there, it was just a roller-coaster ride of alternating suck and watchability. Basically, anything with the heat-cipher NASCAR idiots was just awful, Hornswoggle getting the cease and desist was lame (the follow up to it was just lamer), and I have to say, them moving Sheamus from ECW to NO heat on RAW was the nadir for me. Sheamus was still growing in ECW and could have benefitted from a top feud with Christian before he left. Now, he's on a show without a midcard and whose top midcard face is moving on to bigger and better things. Actually no, I'm sorry. The nadir was the announcement for Cena's next opponents. Honestly, I thought they were going to change things up, maybe have Mark Henry or MVP battle Cena or even take a shot with Jack SWAGGAH~! I mean, Show/Taker, Batista/ReyRey and some iteration of Jericho/Triple H or even a JeriShow/DX (with Show double dipping) match would have been strong enough to carry Survivor Series and let some new blood permeate the RAW main event, but I guess I was wrong. It's really not worth getting riled up over.
I mean, Sheamus coming to RAW probably means Danielson to ECW is imminent if not tomorrow. Plus, we're getting Kofi/Orton. In the meantime, how awesome was the segment where Kofi totally shitted up Orton's stock car? IF you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know I'm not a huge fan of Kofi, but tonight, he finally was able to talk for an extended amount of time, and you know what? He fucking nailed it. He made that segment and I think the WWE really does have a star on their hands with him. Plus, I loved that Bourne/Miz match. I don't know where they're going with this Swagger/Miz antagonism. Are they turning Miz face? Are they going with the heel/heel feud? Whatever happens, it should be intriguing. Both are among the future of the company, and Miz's catchphrase is surprisingly over. If they actually keep Bourne in that program, I think you have a pretty nice three-way for the US Title for Survivor Series. Plus, Santino is pretty awesome.
I also didn't have much of a problem with the main event since they had to hammer home the "show pride" aspect of last night with a good follow through, especially with the turn that happened. It took the entire RAW roster to take out Show, it's not the end of the world.
Again, a very uneven show, but I'll take uneven if the good parts are really good. Tonight, they were. I fear for the future though. The last thing I want or need is another protracted Trips/Orton feud (which could very well happen if Trips wins the the title at SS) or even a protracted Trips/Cena feud. I don't want to wait until 2010 for someone new to get elevated. I want some fresh matches. Gimme Swagger/Cena, plz.
The Miz and John Morrison - The New Edge and Christian?
The Miz defeated John Morrison cleanly in the curtain-jerker to last night's Bragging Rights PPV. The former tag team partners had a nice little three-week build to their match, a lot of that build being predicated on the team's split being like that of the Rockers, that one of them would end up being like Shawn Michaels while the other would be an abject failure like Marty Janetty. It was neat as a heat-generating device, and hey, we got a Janetty appearance on RAW out of it as well. While it was a great way to get the feud hot in such a short time, any comparisons to the real life Rockers might end at Miz's turn on Morrison at the draft. Of course, Miz didn't throw him through a pane-glass window, but yeah.
The better comparison might be to Edge and Christian, the team that arguably had the most talent out of the booming tag scene in the late '90s/early '00s in the WWF. Edge was always pegged for stardom solo, and Christian was always the sidekick, but in 2000, when they actually let Edge and Christian talk instead of just be gothy-looking background characters who wrestled and didn't do much else, Christian began to shine pretty brightly. He showed he was a better talker than Edge and eventually, as they split up and worked more in solo matches, Christian started to look like the better in-ring worker. Still, even as Christian's innate talents seemed to be greater, Edge got the bigger push, and with that push, he used his own considerable talents (Edge really isn't a slouch either on the mic or in the ring) to become one of the WWE's signature talents in the last five years. I attribute this mainly to Edge having the look that Vince McMahon wants in his big names. While Christian did ascend to main event status in TNA, well, main event status in TNA is like winning the Arena League MVP. I.E. it's not all that special. Being short and skinny didn't do Christian any favors when it came to his push.
Still, while he was never top of the heap, Christian was never, ever really forgotten either. He has been in high-profile matches and feuds and he's always been around gold, be it the Intercontinental Championship, the TNA World Championship or even now, the ECW Championship. He's one of the most beloved wrestlers across the Internet and he's always been varying degrees of over wherever he's gone. It's arguable that as he is right now, he's the most over wrestler in the history of the new ECW, and it's only a matter of time before he gets drafted or traded to a bigger brand to team or even feud with a returning Edge.
In that light, Miz and Morrison do seem to have similarities to the Canadian Blondes, mainly in body type. Morrison, like Edge, has that statuesque build to him. He looks like he should be a main eventer, and ever since he stepped foot in the WWE, they were grooming him for that spotlight. He was a multiple-time Tag Champion as Johnny Nitro and even before forming his tag team with Miz, he held the ECW Championship. After the split, as soon as he was transferred over to Smackdown, he was positioned as a face and put into high-profile matches against foes like Chris Jericho and CM Punk. He has to be considered one of the early favorites to win Money in the Bank at WrestleMania.
Miz, on the other hand, doesn't have the build that Morrison does. He's "husky", to use the term Morrison himself used on their Dirt Sheet segment a few weeks ago. He also has that bug-eyed thing going against him in terms of look. However, there's no doubt that Miz can talk circles around Morrison, and while conventional wrestling logic says that Morrison is the better worker, Miz actually has a much better grasp of the WWE main event style. Morrison is more of a spot monkey. That's not a bad thing; Jeff Hardy made spot-fu main event mainstream and somewhat acceptable to most wrestling snobs who got bored of Randy Orton's chinlock-a-go-go style of heel psychology. I think Morrison does it better than Hardy even... a lot better. That being said, that style of wrestling is more conducive to having a clunker than the grounded, grapple-and-strike based matches that Cena, Orton, Triple H, Undertaker and countless others who've made it to the top of the heap specialize in. Miz has proven that he can not only work well in that style with guys proficient in that style, Cena being the primest example, but he can even carry guys to really good matches, as he showed in the match he won the US Title from Kofi Kingston.
Still, it's as if the WWE does have more faith in Miz than what was initially thought after he was buried in his program with John Cena over the summer. He's come back with a US title win as well as a high-profile clean PPV pinfall over Morrison in a company that doesn't hand out clean heel wins to many people. You could even argue that the fact he was even programmed with Cena was a sign of faith from the WWE. Remember that Christian got a very big push at first, but he never really got fast-tracked to face anyone more than his brother or Chris Jericho, both of whom weren't as huge then as they are now. If Christian had never gone to TNA, I think he'd be a main eventer by now, but he saw the writing on the wall with Cena, Batista, Orton and others being groomed for a faster track than he and left for the other company.
That isn't to say that I think the Miz's career path will identically mirror Christian's. I also don't think that Vince McMahon has the same reservations about pushing Miz as he did and reportedly still does about Christian. However, I don't think there's any doubt that Morrison will be the one who gets on the faster track. For all his flaws, they could do much worse than positioning him as a top face quickly.
But however things turn out, I think it's pretty clear that the Rockers-as-a-model for Mizorrison works only in-character. Both John Morrison and The Miz are going to be mainstays on WWE programming for a long time running unless one or both of them fuck up vis-a-vis the Wellness Program (and Morrison already has one strike against him). While Christian hasn't become the star that his "brother" has, there's no doubt that both he and Edge provide the standard by which all tag teams who break up and see both of their members become successful in singles. In the coming years, the Miz and Morrison may just usurp them though.
The better comparison might be to Edge and Christian, the team that arguably had the most talent out of the booming tag scene in the late '90s/early '00s in the WWF. Edge was always pegged for stardom solo, and Christian was always the sidekick, but in 2000, when they actually let Edge and Christian talk instead of just be gothy-looking background characters who wrestled and didn't do much else, Christian began to shine pretty brightly. He showed he was a better talker than Edge and eventually, as they split up and worked more in solo matches, Christian started to look like the better in-ring worker. Still, even as Christian's innate talents seemed to be greater, Edge got the bigger push, and with that push, he used his own considerable talents (Edge really isn't a slouch either on the mic or in the ring) to become one of the WWE's signature talents in the last five years. I attribute this mainly to Edge having the look that Vince McMahon wants in his big names. While Christian did ascend to main event status in TNA, well, main event status in TNA is like winning the Arena League MVP. I.E. it's not all that special. Being short and skinny didn't do Christian any favors when it came to his push.
Still, while he was never top of the heap, Christian was never, ever really forgotten either. He has been in high-profile matches and feuds and he's always been around gold, be it the Intercontinental Championship, the TNA World Championship or even now, the ECW Championship. He's one of the most beloved wrestlers across the Internet and he's always been varying degrees of over wherever he's gone. It's arguable that as he is right now, he's the most over wrestler in the history of the new ECW, and it's only a matter of time before he gets drafted or traded to a bigger brand to team or even feud with a returning Edge.
In that light, Miz and Morrison do seem to have similarities to the Canadian Blondes, mainly in body type. Morrison, like Edge, has that statuesque build to him. He looks like he should be a main eventer, and ever since he stepped foot in the WWE, they were grooming him for that spotlight. He was a multiple-time Tag Champion as Johnny Nitro and even before forming his tag team with Miz, he held the ECW Championship. After the split, as soon as he was transferred over to Smackdown, he was positioned as a face and put into high-profile matches against foes like Chris Jericho and CM Punk. He has to be considered one of the early favorites to win Money in the Bank at WrestleMania.
Miz, on the other hand, doesn't have the build that Morrison does. He's "husky", to use the term Morrison himself used on their Dirt Sheet segment a few weeks ago. He also has that bug-eyed thing going against him in terms of look. However, there's no doubt that Miz can talk circles around Morrison, and while conventional wrestling logic says that Morrison is the better worker, Miz actually has a much better grasp of the WWE main event style. Morrison is more of a spot monkey. That's not a bad thing; Jeff Hardy made spot-fu main event mainstream and somewhat acceptable to most wrestling snobs who got bored of Randy Orton's chinlock-a-go-go style of heel psychology. I think Morrison does it better than Hardy even... a lot better. That being said, that style of wrestling is more conducive to having a clunker than the grounded, grapple-and-strike based matches that Cena, Orton, Triple H, Undertaker and countless others who've made it to the top of the heap specialize in. Miz has proven that he can not only work well in that style with guys proficient in that style, Cena being the primest example, but he can even carry guys to really good matches, as he showed in the match he won the US Title from Kofi Kingston.
Still, it's as if the WWE does have more faith in Miz than what was initially thought after he was buried in his program with John Cena over the summer. He's come back with a US title win as well as a high-profile clean PPV pinfall over Morrison in a company that doesn't hand out clean heel wins to many people. You could even argue that the fact he was even programmed with Cena was a sign of faith from the WWE. Remember that Christian got a very big push at first, but he never really got fast-tracked to face anyone more than his brother or Chris Jericho, both of whom weren't as huge then as they are now. If Christian had never gone to TNA, I think he'd be a main eventer by now, but he saw the writing on the wall with Cena, Batista, Orton and others being groomed for a faster track than he and left for the other company.
That isn't to say that I think the Miz's career path will identically mirror Christian's. I also don't think that Vince McMahon has the same reservations about pushing Miz as he did and reportedly still does about Christian. However, I don't think there's any doubt that Morrison will be the one who gets on the faster track. For all his flaws, they could do much worse than positioning him as a top face quickly.
But however things turn out, I think it's pretty clear that the Rockers-as-a-model for Mizorrison works only in-character. Both John Morrison and The Miz are going to be mainstays on WWE programming for a long time running unless one or both of them fuck up vis-a-vis the Wellness Program (and Morrison already has one strike against him). While Christian hasn't become the star that his "brother" has, there's no doubt that both he and Edge provide the standard by which all tag teams who break up and see both of their members become successful in singles. In the coming years, the Miz and Morrison may just usurp them though.
TWB Presents: Future Week
Welcome to yet another themed week here on the blog. This week will not be dedicated to any one wrestler, but to the actual future of professional wrestling. I'll be taking a look at what the future might hold for both major promotions as well as the indies. I'll also be singling out certain wrestlers, including two whom I think will become cornerstones for the WWE.
I'll also try to get one or two FtAs up featuring potential future stars. If you have any suggestions, please leave them here.
I'll also try to get one or two FtAs up featuring potential future stars. If you have any suggestions, please leave them here.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday Five: ECW! ECW! ECW!
Five questions about ECW, mostly the old, but some of the new.
1. Why don't more people use Paul Heyman's ECW booking model? (i.e., accentuate strengths, hide weaknesses, establish new stars by using older stars, push the envelope)
2. Favorite old-school ECW match?
3. Would the new ECW benefit from changing its name?
4. Most surprising ECW star that would never have gotten over anywhere else if not for ECW?
5. Was there any wrestling arena, post-regional days, that exemplified its home fed as well as the ECW Arena did?
1. Why don't more people use Paul Heyman's ECW booking model? (i.e., accentuate strengths, hide weaknesses, establish new stars by using older stars, push the envelope)
2. Favorite old-school ECW match?
3. Would the new ECW benefit from changing its name?
4. Most surprising ECW star that would never have gotten over anywhere else if not for ECW?
5. Was there any wrestling arena, post-regional days, that exemplified its home fed as well as the ECW Arena did?
Stephanie McMahon Is Ruthless
Courtesy of F4W Online
Or at the very least more ruthless than Shane was. In the wake of the McMahon son resigning from the company, a lot of speculation has come out as to why he left. The linked article really doesn't provide more than said speculation, but there was an interesting nugget in there from former WWE head of security Jimmy Noonan:
Or at the very least more ruthless than Shane was. In the wake of the McMahon son resigning from the company, a lot of speculation has come out as to why he left. The linked article really doesn't provide more than said speculation, but there was an interesting nugget in there from former WWE head of security Jimmy Noonan:
Jimmy followed up "The Chairman Of The Board" by giving some of his own personal feelings on the McMahons & how the talent over the years have embraced Shane more than his sister: "Shane is loved by everyone in the WWE. He just has a way about him. Everybody is terrified of Stephanie, that's not to say they don't like her. Stephanie, in a lot of ways, has more power in the business than Vince."To use sports terminology, Shane was more of the "player's manager" while Steph has more of a hard-ass personality. Both qualities work in their own way. In light of that quote, I wonder how the mood in the locker room is changing.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Chris Hero Compared to Chris Jericho... and Jericho Agrees!
Article comparing the two
This was actually brought to my attention via Jericho's own Twitter feed. It's a pretty interesting read. There are a lot of similarities between the two, although I do feel that Hero's got a much different personality than early, cocky-tweener Jericho had. Still, it's the differences that make the legacy, and Chris Hero does have a bright future ahead of him. Y'know, unless he fails his physical when the WWE finally offers him his contract.
This was actually brought to my attention via Jericho's own Twitter feed. It's a pretty interesting read. There are a lot of similarities between the two, although I do feel that Hero's got a much different personality than early, cocky-tweener Jericho had. Still, it's the differences that make the legacy, and Chris Hero does have a bright future ahead of him. Y'know, unless he fails his physical when the WWE finally offers him his contract.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Chris Sabin KTFO'd via a Botch from the Dudleys
Dot Net is the news source of the week
Chris Sabin got a concussion after Brother Ray botched a move, yet somehow still finished the match as planned. Earlier reports were saying something like a stinger or broken neck, and while a concussion is no joke, it's a little more treatable than a broken neck.
An interesting note, Kevin Nash blew up backstage at Team 3D for not calling an audible. Good for Big Sexy. Sabin's health should have been at the forefront. The fucked up thing is that there's reportedly no heat on the Dudz, which is a joke. Nash is right. Yet another reason why TNA is bush-league, although the WWE is a little worse. Mickie James actually got heat on her for calling an audible after Gail Kim noticeably got her bell rung. Wrestling promoters are so fucking stupid sometimes.
Chris Sabin got a concussion after Brother Ray botched a move, yet somehow still finished the match as planned. Earlier reports were saying something like a stinger or broken neck, and while a concussion is no joke, it's a little more treatable than a broken neck.
An interesting note, Kevin Nash blew up backstage at Team 3D for not calling an audible. Good for Big Sexy. Sabin's health should have been at the forefront. The fucked up thing is that there's reportedly no heat on the Dudz, which is a joke. Nash is right. Yet another reason why TNA is bush-league, although the WWE is a little worse. Mickie James actually got heat on her for calling an audible after Gail Kim noticeably got her bell rung. Wrestling promoters are so fucking stupid sometimes.
Dot Net Clarifies What I Reported Yesterday Re: Nigel
Via Dot Net
I reported yesterday that Nigel McGuinness' contract was rescinded because the WWE was leary about his injury history. Well, I was right, but not right enough. Nigel failed a pre-screening test. This wasn't due to drugs, but it's a medical test. I'm guessing the WWE knew about the history, but the test showed that the biceps issue would come up again.
I can't fault the WWE for this, BUT I do think it's a bit short-sighted on their part given the proclivity of anyone in the industry to get hurt. Out of all the big name stars on any of their three brands, the only ones I can think of that haven't missed time due to being hurt are Christian and Chris Jericho. Furthermore, Batista and Edge get majorly hurt every other year. I know, I know, they're both draws while Nigel was the king of a molehill, BUT Nigel has potential to be a draw, both domestically but also importantly, internationally (which could be huge if MMA keeps growing here faster than it does worldwide).
Ah, but it's a moot point. After hearing and reading everything about the subject, I think Nigel is better off in TNA anyway if, and this is a huge if, they continue to push him as indicated by the tapings last night.
I reported yesterday that Nigel McGuinness' contract was rescinded because the WWE was leary about his injury history. Well, I was right, but not right enough. Nigel failed a pre-screening test. This wasn't due to drugs, but it's a medical test. I'm guessing the WWE knew about the history, but the test showed that the biceps issue would come up again.
I can't fault the WWE for this, BUT I do think it's a bit short-sighted on their part given the proclivity of anyone in the industry to get hurt. Out of all the big name stars on any of their three brands, the only ones I can think of that haven't missed time due to being hurt are Christian and Chris Jericho. Furthermore, Batista and Edge get majorly hurt every other year. I know, I know, they're both draws while Nigel was the king of a molehill, BUT Nigel has potential to be a draw, both domestically but also importantly, internationally (which could be huge if MMA keeps growing here faster than it does worldwide).
Ah, but it's a moot point. After hearing and reading everything about the subject, I think Nigel is better off in TNA anyway if, and this is a huge if, they continue to push him as indicated by the tapings last night.
The Verdict on Vince Russo
I mentioned on here recently that Triple H may be the most polarizing figure in wrestling among Internet "smarks", but overall, others were way more rift-causing than The Nose. Among them is Vince Russo, one of the chief architects of the the WWF Attitude Era and of WCW's demise, and the current head booker of TNA. Some will tell you that he was the best thing that ever happened to wrestling, some others will say he was the worst and still others will have more of a mixed opinion on him. A lot of the wrestling fans I know hate Russo like I do, but granted, my intellectual circle really doesn't cover the broad range of fans. I'm not sure this blog does, but I do think that the readership has more of a cross-sectional appeal than the message boards I do post at.
So, in an attempt to take the temperature of the wrestling world, I say we decide what place the least qualified man to book himself to win the WCW Championship has in wrestling's history. It's time for Russo to stand trial in the court of public opinion. What say you, World? Vince Russo, yay or nay? Here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
- A driving force in the WWE's transition from cartoony gimmicks to the edgy "Attitude" era
- Has always been a proponent of giving new guys a chance
- One of the better road agent-types when it comes to promos and talking
- Also a good talker himself
Cons:
- Helped drive WCW into the ground with his constant reboots and nonsensical stories
- Has not evolved or changed with the times to the point where he's rehashing 1998 today
- Has little regard for wrestling matches, especially the use of gimmick matches
- Uses the swerve a little heavy-handedly
The ball's in your court.
Nigel McGuinness in TNA: A Point of Resurgence?
When Nigel McGuinness showed up at the Impact Zone last night, tremors of shock and disappointment rocked the Internet and wrestling media. McGuinness had an agreement in principle with the WWE, and him leaving the indies to the WWE rather than TNA was seen as a better move since the WWE is the lesser of the two "mainstream" "evils" (mainstream in quotes for a reason... try and guess... evils in quotes because I'm mocking indie snobs, you see). So when it was reported that TNA swooped in and signed McGuinness because the WWE "was dragging its feet", the reaction was pretty harsh for everyone except the TNA fanboys.
Of course, the premature reporting didn't uncover a big detail of that jump. Then again, even if Nigel's contract wasn't rescinded and he did make the move because he was tired of waiting for the paperwork, would it have been as bad as we were all fearing (myself included here)?
Thar be spoilers after the jump, yarr.... According to spoilers from the most recent TNA tapings, Nigel, newly christened Desmond Wolfe (not Dylan as I had said yesterday) is being immediately thrust into a main event program with Kurt Angle, having attacked him backstage and in the ring with the Tower of London, setting up a PPV match. Not bad for a newly-debuting non-ex-WWE/WCW talent, eh? In addition, the main event for the title was announced as a rehash of the famous X-Division three-way from 9/11/05, the only time the X-Division Championship headlined a PPV (Unbreakable), AJ Styles defending against Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe. Does this mean TNA is finally realizing that it needs to change its identity and get one that's original and fresh rather than a carbon copy of what the WWE's is?
If this is the case, then that makes the Nigel signing look that much smarter for him and in general. Putting the strap on AJ Styles was the beginning. Hernandez's continued push is another really good sign. Matt Morgan... he still sucks, but I'll take his suck over Kevin Nash's suck in the main event. Yeah, Nash re-upped for a year, so he could still loom, but with the jettisoning of Booker T and Scott Steiner, the young guys, the originals and the indie free agents are starting to outnumber the rehashes and making the viable rehashes (Angle specifically) look more like pieces of the puzzle rather than part of the problem. And now Nigel gets a transitioning from indie main eventer to TNA main eventer, one that actually makes sense because of the relative penetration of both markets. For the first time in a long time, I'm excited for TNA.
Of course, TNA has teased this often in the past. Every time they seem to turn the corner, something happens where the rug is violently pulled out from under the fans. With Vince Russo solely at the helm though, I might take a chance. Sure, Russo is shit as an idea man, but he is the guy who kept trying to push new faces in the WWF when he was there. He brought us the New Blood, and although it was a failure, but a good intentioned-failure. He wanted to push the young guys, but he had the fuck-tarded idea to do it with them as the heels. If Russo gets people in his ear that tell him to lean towards the indie mode of match booking and keep the amount of Dusty finishes and nonsensical matches to a minimum, then TNA might have something.
Hell, even if Russo continues to be Russo, it might just be worth it to see TNA building some new stars and giving the people something to talk about. If the base is talking, maybe some of their friends who like the WWE or used to like WCW will come around and watch. Of course, the problem will be with them sticking, and I'm not so sure that Russo's booking formula is conducive for fans to stick around.
That being said, there's hope and excitement in TNA for the first time in a long time, maybe since they signed Angle away from the WWE. I will take a wait and see approach with it, but that's more than I can say from, say, when this was happening on Impact:
Of course, the premature reporting didn't uncover a big detail of that jump. Then again, even if Nigel's contract wasn't rescinded and he did make the move because he was tired of waiting for the paperwork, would it have been as bad as we were all fearing (myself included here)?
Thar be spoilers after the jump, yarr.... According to spoilers from the most recent TNA tapings, Nigel, newly christened Desmond Wolfe (not Dylan as I had said yesterday) is being immediately thrust into a main event program with Kurt Angle, having attacked him backstage and in the ring with the Tower of London, setting up a PPV match. Not bad for a newly-debuting non-ex-WWE/WCW talent, eh? In addition, the main event for the title was announced as a rehash of the famous X-Division three-way from 9/11/05, the only time the X-Division Championship headlined a PPV (Unbreakable), AJ Styles defending against Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe. Does this mean TNA is finally realizing that it needs to change its identity and get one that's original and fresh rather than a carbon copy of what the WWE's is?
If this is the case, then that makes the Nigel signing look that much smarter for him and in general. Putting the strap on AJ Styles was the beginning. Hernandez's continued push is another really good sign. Matt Morgan... he still sucks, but I'll take his suck over Kevin Nash's suck in the main event. Yeah, Nash re-upped for a year, so he could still loom, but with the jettisoning of Booker T and Scott Steiner, the young guys, the originals and the indie free agents are starting to outnumber the rehashes and making the viable rehashes (Angle specifically) look more like pieces of the puzzle rather than part of the problem. And now Nigel gets a transitioning from indie main eventer to TNA main eventer, one that actually makes sense because of the relative penetration of both markets. For the first time in a long time, I'm excited for TNA.
Of course, TNA has teased this often in the past. Every time they seem to turn the corner, something happens where the rug is violently pulled out from under the fans. With Vince Russo solely at the helm though, I might take a chance. Sure, Russo is shit as an idea man, but he is the guy who kept trying to push new faces in the WWF when he was there. He brought us the New Blood, and although it was a failure, but a good intentioned-failure. He wanted to push the young guys, but he had the fuck-tarded idea to do it with them as the heels. If Russo gets people in his ear that tell him to lean towards the indie mode of match booking and keep the amount of Dusty finishes and nonsensical matches to a minimum, then TNA might have something.
Hell, even if Russo continues to be Russo, it might just be worth it to see TNA building some new stars and giving the people something to talk about. If the base is talking, maybe some of their friends who like the WWE or used to like WCW will come around and watch. Of course, the problem will be with them sticking, and I'm not so sure that Russo's booking formula is conducive for fans to stick around.
That being said, there's hope and excitement in TNA for the first time in a long time, maybe since they signed Angle away from the WWE. I will take a wait and see approach with it, but that's more than I can say from, say, when this was happening on Impact:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Retraction: Nigel Didn't Eff His Career Up
A source close to Bryan Danielson, who's close to Nigel McGuinness, just told me that it wasn't "TNA swooping in" after the WWE dragged its feet. It was all the WWE here, retracting the contract because of Nigel's biceps tears, which begs the question, are they fucking blind? Do they do their homework? If the biceps tears were an issue, then why did they offer the contract? I mean, sometimes the way they do business in the front offices in Stamford baffles the hell out of me. It harkens back to the Heyman article where he blasted the WWE and TNA for not having scouts at the first DragonGate USA show. It was a panic move and then they panicked even more when they found out what they should have already found out before offering the fucking contract.
So, Nigel was left with the decision to go for the money or go back to the indies. Since the real good chance at money was ripped from under him, I don't blame him for going for the humiliating labor. At least he'll get paid, y'know, if they don't have him carry Eric Young's bags and at least pay him the scrilla to get humiliated by the main eventers, like one dong-faced former ROH Champion is right now, instead of midcarders.
ETA: Danielson has received his first paycheck, but there are some "complications" that may get him the same treatment. However, everyone involved is optimistic that AmDrag will be wrestling on Tuesday nights within the month.
So, Nigel was left with the decision to go for the money or go back to the indies. Since the real good chance at money was ripped from under him, I don't blame him for going for the humiliating labor. At least he'll get paid, y'know, if they don't have him carry Eric Young's bags and at least pay him the scrilla to get humiliated by the main eventers, like one dong-faced former ROH Champion is right now, instead of midcarders.
ETA: Danielson has received his first paycheck, but there are some "complications" that may get him the same treatment. However, everyone involved is optimistic that AmDrag will be wrestling on Tuesday nights within the month.
More Crappy News
Again, via Dot Net
Jim Ross is going to miss this week's Smackdown taping because he got hit with another round of Bell's Palsy. Just shitty, shitty luck for the HOF announcer. I wish him a speedy recovery.
With Todd Grisham also not attending because he's off celebrating his marriage, this means that they're going to go with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler at the tapings tonight. Pity. I'd hope they'd try out a new combo, maybe Cole with Matt Striker, just to shake things up. I wouldn't be surprised to see an angle though, with Jericho and the Smackdown Seven (a heel heavy squad) looking to bully the RAW announcers on the eve of Bragging Rights.
Jim Ross is going to miss this week's Smackdown taping because he got hit with another round of Bell's Palsy. Just shitty, shitty luck for the HOF announcer. I wish him a speedy recovery.
With Todd Grisham also not attending because he's off celebrating his marriage, this means that they're going to go with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler at the tapings tonight. Pity. I'd hope they'd try out a new combo, maybe Cole with Matt Striker, just to shake things up. I wouldn't be surprised to see an angle though, with Jericho and the Smackdown Seven (a heel heavy squad) looking to bully the RAW announcers on the eve of Bragging Rights.
Nigel McGuinness Effs His Career Up - RETRACT'd!
Via Dot Net
That deal that Nigel McGuinness had with the WWE? It was verbal and not on paper. The WWE dragged its feet, and TNA swooped in. Apparently, Nigel will debut at tonight's tapings. Not listed in the article is that he'll be changing his name to Dylan Wolfe (WHY RUSSO! WHY!).
I know it's less traveling and more exposure right off the bat, but I can't help but thinking in the long run he screwed himself over. Who knows, but when he's carrying Eric Young's (or even worse, Kevin Nash's) bags in a year while Mr.Kennedy Anderson is feuding for the World Championship with Kurt Angle, don't say I didn't tell you so.
Here's hoping that the WWE stops dragging its feet and signs Bryan Danielson before he jumps ship.
ETA: See here for the retraction. Leaving this up for posterity.
That deal that Nigel McGuinness had with the WWE? It was verbal and not on paper. The WWE dragged its feet, and TNA swooped in. Apparently, Nigel will debut at tonight's tapings. Not listed in the article is that he'll be changing his name to Dylan Wolfe (WHY RUSSO! WHY!).
I know it's less traveling and more exposure right off the bat, but I can't help but thinking in the long run he screwed himself over. Who knows, but when he's carrying Eric Young's (or even worse, Kevin Nash's) bags in a year while Mr.
Here's hoping that the WWE stops dragging its feet and signs Bryan Danielson before he jumps ship.
ETA: See here for the retraction. Leaving this up for posterity.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Instant Feedback: The Recap Show
I'll be blunt. This was about as mailed-in a show has ever felt since I've been watching. Too many videos and recaps and other extraneous stuff. Then, the main event is a promo. You start and end the show with promos. Okay, but what about the wrestling?
Well, to their credit, they gave a PPV-quality match between Triple H and John Cena. Problem was that it felt flat, a paint-by-numbers match between two face main eventers. And this was probably the best match on the card, which was disappointing given that RAW has had at least one really good match for the most part in the last few weeks. Oh, and Marty Janetty looked like he shot enough meth to take down a mastodon, but he was over, so good for him.
Actually, I lied. The best match on the card really wasn't even a match as much as it was a segment. Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase, in what was a major teaser for El Hijo del Million Dollar Man to go face, had a match where Orton ordered DiBiase not to attack him. The crowd really got into it, and I have to give major props to the Jacksonville crowd, who got into really everyone and made the show seem a lot better than it was. Anyway, that match was red hot, and it was probably the best thing Orton has done all year outside of punting Vince in the head.
But the show just seemed dominated too much by non-match stuff, non-promo stuff. The promos they did have were good, including the surreal DX/Team RAW promo, but I didn't need to see them open and close the show.
However, of all the videos and extraneous stuff they showed, I have to give them major props for the Captain Lou tribute. Very classy, very heartfelt and very deserving of praise. It's times like this that you really believe Vince is sincere about his otherwise lipservice towards honoring the wrestling of years past.
Well, to their credit, they gave a PPV-quality match between Triple H and John Cena. Problem was that it felt flat, a paint-by-numbers match between two face main eventers. And this was probably the best match on the card, which was disappointing given that RAW has had at least one really good match for the most part in the last few weeks. Oh, and Marty Janetty looked like he shot enough meth to take down a mastodon, but he was over, so good for him.
Actually, I lied. The best match on the card really wasn't even a match as much as it was a segment. Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase, in what was a major teaser for El Hijo del Million Dollar Man to go face, had a match where Orton ordered DiBiase not to attack him. The crowd really got into it, and I have to give major props to the Jacksonville crowd, who got into really everyone and made the show seem a lot better than it was. Anyway, that match was red hot, and it was probably the best thing Orton has done all year outside of punting Vince in the head.
But the show just seemed dominated too much by non-match stuff, non-promo stuff. The promos they did have were good, including the surreal DX/Team RAW promo, but I didn't need to see them open and close the show.
However, of all the videos and extraneous stuff they showed, I have to give them major props for the Captain Lou tribute. Very classy, very heartfelt and very deserving of praise. It's times like this that you really believe Vince is sincere about his otherwise lipservice towards honoring the wrestling of years past.
Missouri Wrestling Revival's "Pro Wrestling Showcase"
Missouri Wrestling Revival, an independant fed that my an old e-wrestling buddy of mine, Josh Ray, is involved with, is putting on a show November 14th at the River's Edge reception center in Granite City, IL. It should be a good show. Mike Sydal (Evan Bourne's younger brother) and the NorthStar Express (Chikara fans will recognize them from both King of Trios and the Young Lions' Cup events) will be appearing on the card. Help support local indie wrestling in the St. Louis area and Josh, who's a really good guy and a veteran of the most recent Gulf War.
Here's the full card, per their press release:
Main Event - Wrestling Revival Cup Match
"The Rebel" Jeremy Wyatt (c) vs. Arya Daivari vs. "The Future" Donovan Ruddick
The NorthStar Express (Darin Corbin and Ryan Cruz) vs. B.A.B.E.WATCH (Brandon Aarons and Brandon Espinosa)
Bayou Outlaws (Aaron Masterson and Mad Dog McDowell) vs. The Kansas City Connection (Mike Sydal and Mark Sterling)
ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Santana G, "Canadian Sex Icon" Ryan Slade, "Unbreakable" Zach Thompson, "6% Body Fat" Rob James, Eric Allen and "Rockstar" Jimmy Rockwell
Here's the full card, per their press release:
Main Event - Wrestling Revival Cup Match
"The Rebel" Jeremy Wyatt (c) vs. Arya Daivari vs. "The Future" Donovan Ruddick
The NorthStar Express (Darin Corbin and Ryan Cruz) vs. B.A.B.E.WATCH (Brandon Aarons and Brandon Espinosa)
Bayou Outlaws (Aaron Masterson and Mad Dog McDowell) vs. The Kansas City Connection (Mike Sydal and Mark Sterling)
ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Santana G, "Canadian Sex Icon" Ryan Slade, "Unbreakable" Zach Thompson, "6% Body Fat" Rob James, Eric Allen and "Rockstar" Jimmy Rockwell
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Joshi Wrestlers Are Insane
That's Kyoko Kimura basically putting her life and limbs in the hands of fate and whatever god she prays to to give fans perhaps the spot of the year. I have no idea how Kayako Haruyama survived. I have no idea how Kimura survived either. Spot of the year? Maybe, maybe not. I tend to the latter, since I don't think wrestlers should risk suicide, but Joshi wrestlers have been historically more insane than their male counterparts. The Burning Hammer, Tiger Driver '91, the Vertebreaker (Kudome Valentine) and the other head dropping moves that we associate with the puro men are often times innovated by women wrestlers. It can be both nerve-wracking but breathtaking how little regard these women have for their bodies.
But hey, if they know what they're doing...
Thanks to KoppoKick for finding this clip!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
What They're Saying About Shane
Pieced from different blogs and news sources around the web:
F4W Online
Jason Powell of Dot Net
Good ol' JR
James Caldwell of the Torch
I'm sure there will be more news coming out in the coming weeks, but it looks like this was a shock to everyone. Still, this is one of the bigger news stories to come out this year, and hopefully, it doesn't take any bad turns.
F4W Online
Everyone in WWE was taken completely off guard and people who worked with him were said to be "shocked and devastated". WWE.com got the word out as quickly as possible this morning because they didn't want the news to break on wrestling websites first. There are a lot of people in WWE nervous about what this means for the future.Nervous for the future? Yikes.
Jason Powell of Dot Net
Shane is a huge fan of UFC and mixed martial arts. He's known for hanging out with various fighters when they are in the New York area. He urged his father to get involved with mixed martial arts to no avail a few years ago, so I guess we can't rule out some type of career in an existing MMA group or even Shane launching his own company.The former is a very intriguing possiblity, moreso than Shane breaking off and starting a pro wrestling company. The latter is what many have speculated all along.
All that noted, my guess remains that Shane is going to be involved in Linda McMahon's U.S. Senate campaign in some capacity. "Unless he's going to fund a vanity venture, all signs point to him helping his mother (with the campaign)," said one former WWE employee. "She needs some backup."
Good ol' JR
This comes as a major surprise to many including me. Shane is a proud, 4th generation wrestling person who has worked with WWE essentially his entire live starting on the ring crew.Reinforcing the shock to WWE employees, and of course, it's always good to hear from JR on matters newsworthy. (It would have been nice to spell his last name correctly though!)
Shane has always been one of the shining stars within the WWE organization and it will be interesting to see what his next business endeavors entail.
James Caldwell of the Torch
Shane has "prodigal son" status if he decides to return to WWE if his venture does not work out. If he doesn't return, his legacy on the executive side will be creativity and innovation.Just in case you thought Shane's contributions to the company were only dancing in the ring.
He helped take one of the worst-looking and slowest-to-load websites in the history of the Internet back in 1997 and turned the website into a sleeker, ahead-of-its-time website. Those of you who lived in AOL chat rooms back in the day know what I'm talking about.
Shane is also credited with the recognizable DX theme music/entrance/vibe that was symbolic of WWE becoming a hip, cool, and happening entertainment entity.
I'm sure there will be more news coming out in the coming weeks, but it looks like this was a shock to everyone. Still, this is one of the bigger news stories to come out this year, and hopefully, it doesn't take any bad turns.
Not-So-Instant Feedback: John Morrison Says What the Fans Are Thinking!
While Smackdown has been the torchbearer for quality in the WWE this year, I have this sinking feeling that it's about to taper off. In fact, it may have already started with last night's show which was a bit on the lackluster side. While ECW introduced new stars that injected energy and excitement into their program, Smackdown's two new debutantes leave a lot to be desired. I am totally not impressed by either Eric Escobar or Drew MacIntyre... and yet they're going to be featured on the Smackdown Seven team at Bragging Rights. Joy. I can't put my finger on why I don't like either guy. They give me a Tyler Reks vibe rather than a Sheamus O'Shaughnessy vibe.
Still, that's not the biggest reason why I think Smackdown could be headed for a tumble, and it's at the top of the card. At the conclusion of Extreme Rules, it looked as if the banner year for Smackdown would get even more awesome. You had the insertion of CM Punk into the main event, feuding with Jeff Hardy, a tailor made feud. Edge was there as a standby, looking as if he'd feud with Chris Jericho at the point where they lost the Tag Team Championships. That would leave Rey Mysterio, Kane and Finlay to work with the up and comers, specifically Dolph Ziggler and John Morrison, easing them into main event spots. But then, it all started to unravel. Edge got hurt, so they put Jericho with Big Show, a move that looked to bolster the profile of the Tag Team Titles on both programs. Then, Jeff Hardy left, and while it was great for the company that he left when he did in terms of PR and public image (i.e. a week before he got busted for drug possession), it was an awful blow to the company from an in-ring and from a star power standpoint.
So, going into panic mode, the WWE had to throw Undertaker into a program with Punk to keep from having to have Punk/Morrison as the title program with no real sure-fire background program to help draw and then brought over Batista from RAW. Then, instead of having a more defined and settled-in draw in Mysterio to help along the maturation of Ziggler and Morrison, ReyRey had to go and get busted for wellness, throwing the midcard into a holding pattern.
SO that's where we are today, and last night's show was an indication into how much the tenor of the show has slowed down with Hardy and Edge not there and with the new blood of MacIntyre and Escobar really not jiving.
However, it wasn't all bad. CM Punk running in at the end of the main event was awesome. Jericho's opening promo was, as always, blistering until Kane came out and kinda brought it down. And the Dirt Sheet was really, really good. Miz and Morrison have really good interplay, and I was impressed that Morrison held his own on the mic. He's had some epic fail moments in the past, but this week, it felt like he was at ease. He also said what a lot of fans were thinking when he compared RAW to SNL and said Smackdown was the "action" show, well at least in reputation.
The only thing I had a problem with was Miz backing down. He's gone from the delusionally cocky heel who in his character's mind mind thought he could take down John Cena, to backing down from the guy he just called Marty Jannetty. I really wish the WWE knew how to book heels more than just as chickenshits, and it seems like they follow that mold with everyone now. CM Punk, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Zack Ryder, William Regal, Jack Swagger... I mean, Big Show (and to a lesser extent, Sheamus) can't be the only heel who gets the fans to boo him because of his dominating intimidation. Miz would work great as a cockroach heel, a guy that keeps running his mouth, whether he gets his ass kicked or not. I don't need to see every heel not named Show get stage fright every time a face not named Rey Mysterio comes around.
Still, while I think Smackdown might be ripe for a fall, it's still watchable and at the very least on par with the strongest RAWs at its weakest points. The culture is just so different and more conducive for a smooth wrestling-style show rather than a variety show like RAW can be some weeks.
Still, that's not the biggest reason why I think Smackdown could be headed for a tumble, and it's at the top of the card. At the conclusion of Extreme Rules, it looked as if the banner year for Smackdown would get even more awesome. You had the insertion of CM Punk into the main event, feuding with Jeff Hardy, a tailor made feud. Edge was there as a standby, looking as if he'd feud with Chris Jericho at the point where they lost the Tag Team Championships. That would leave Rey Mysterio, Kane and Finlay to work with the up and comers, specifically Dolph Ziggler and John Morrison, easing them into main event spots. But then, it all started to unravel. Edge got hurt, so they put Jericho with Big Show, a move that looked to bolster the profile of the Tag Team Titles on both programs. Then, Jeff Hardy left, and while it was great for the company that he left when he did in terms of PR and public image (i.e. a week before he got busted for drug possession), it was an awful blow to the company from an in-ring and from a star power standpoint.
So, going into panic mode, the WWE had to throw Undertaker into a program with Punk to keep from having to have Punk/Morrison as the title program with no real sure-fire background program to help draw and then brought over Batista from RAW. Then, instead of having a more defined and settled-in draw in Mysterio to help along the maturation of Ziggler and Morrison, ReyRey had to go and get busted for wellness, throwing the midcard into a holding pattern.
SO that's where we are today, and last night's show was an indication into how much the tenor of the show has slowed down with Hardy and Edge not there and with the new blood of MacIntyre and Escobar really not jiving.
However, it wasn't all bad. CM Punk running in at the end of the main event was awesome. Jericho's opening promo was, as always, blistering until Kane came out and kinda brought it down. And the Dirt Sheet was really, really good. Miz and Morrison have really good interplay, and I was impressed that Morrison held his own on the mic. He's had some epic fail moments in the past, but this week, it felt like he was at ease. He also said what a lot of fans were thinking when he compared RAW to SNL and said Smackdown was the "action" show, well at least in reputation.
The only thing I had a problem with was Miz backing down. He's gone from the delusionally cocky heel who in his character's mind mind thought he could take down John Cena, to backing down from the guy he just called Marty Jannetty. I really wish the WWE knew how to book heels more than just as chickenshits, and it seems like they follow that mold with everyone now. CM Punk, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Zack Ryder, William Regal, Jack Swagger... I mean, Big Show (and to a lesser extent, Sheamus) can't be the only heel who gets the fans to boo him because of his dominating intimidation. Miz would work great as a cockroach heel, a guy that keeps running his mouth, whether he gets his ass kicked or not. I don't need to see every heel not named Show get stage fright every time a face not named Rey Mysterio comes around.
Still, while I think Smackdown might be ripe for a fall, it's still watchable and at the very least on par with the strongest RAWs at its weakest points. The culture is just so different and more conducive for a smooth wrestling-style show rather than a variety show like RAW can be some weeks.
From the Archives: Chris Hero vs. KENTA, ROH on HDNet, Airdate 10/12
Perhaps the most timely FtA ever!
Here's the much talked-about Chris Hero vs. KENTA encounter from ROH on HDNet from Monday night, and let me say, this is the best TV match I've seen this year since the MVP/Orton encounter back on RAW, before the erstwhile Shane McMahon got his flabby self off TV, and one of the best matches of the year period. The thing I love about ROH is that even if the booking can be screwy at times, the in-ring action is always superb, and that's to be expected with this match. KENTA is among the top 5 in-ring generals in the world right now, and Hero, while not on his level in terms of workrate, does not need to be carried and probably has better ring presence.
This was a match of strikes mostly, "That Young Knockout Kid" with his elbows and KENTA with his legs. I do grow a little tired of Hero's offense consisting of mostly elbows, but it works for him. He throws them credibly, he has a great storyline reason for them (RIP Misawa) and I think the Death Blow (which Dave Prazak calls a rolling elbow to the back of the head... it's when Hero starts out with a neckbreaker set up and levels with the elbow) is one of the most bad-ass finishers in wrestling right now.
Anyway, there are some shenanigans in the match, but I think they work in context with Hero's persona and with his ongoing feud with Eddie Kingston, who makes an appearance towards the end. Hero and Kingston aren't my favorite two indie stars, but there's no denying that both of them have talent and I think that we might be seeing this feud revisited in the future at the next level.
I think it also bears mentioning how much Prazak and Mike Hogewood (SLAP THE PORPOISE~!) improved from the first time I heard them call a match (the Aries/Danielson FtA I posted a few months back). While I still don't buy Prazak as a heel commentator, they're a strong tandem in the booth, and a TV show needs strong announcers if it's going to catch on.
Anyway, here's the match in all its glory. Enjoy!
Part 1:
Part 2:
Here's the much talked-about Chris Hero vs. KENTA encounter from ROH on HDNet from Monday night, and let me say, this is the best TV match I've seen this year since the MVP/Orton encounter back on RAW, before the erstwhile Shane McMahon got his flabby self off TV, and one of the best matches of the year period. The thing I love about ROH is that even if the booking can be screwy at times, the in-ring action is always superb, and that's to be expected with this match. KENTA is among the top 5 in-ring generals in the world right now, and Hero, while not on his level in terms of workrate, does not need to be carried and probably has better ring presence.
This was a match of strikes mostly, "That Young Knockout Kid" with his elbows and KENTA with his legs. I do grow a little tired of Hero's offense consisting of mostly elbows, but it works for him. He throws them credibly, he has a great storyline reason for them (RIP Misawa) and I think the Death Blow (which Dave Prazak calls a rolling elbow to the back of the head... it's when Hero starts out with a neckbreaker set up and levels with the elbow) is one of the most bad-ass finishers in wrestling right now.
Anyway, there are some shenanigans in the match, but I think they work in context with Hero's persona and with his ongoing feud with Eddie Kingston, who makes an appearance towards the end. Hero and Kingston aren't my favorite two indie stars, but there's no denying that both of them have talent and I think that we might be seeing this feud revisited in the future at the next level.
I think it also bears mentioning how much Prazak and Mike Hogewood (SLAP THE PORPOISE~!) improved from the first time I heard them call a match (the Aries/Danielson FtA I posted a few months back). While I still don't buy Prazak as a heel commentator, they're a strong tandem in the booth, and a TV show needs strong announcers if it's going to catch on.
Anyway, here's the match in all its glory. Enjoy!
Part 1:
Part 2:
WCW One Night Stand: Could It Work?
Speculation from the Camel Clutch Blog
It's an interesting piece, and it's fun to play fantasy booker. Despite the fact that I don't think McMahon's ego would allow him to recognize WCW as anything other than the company he beat, I think it might behoove him to do an event such as this instead of *insert gimmmick match name here* PPV.
I also think EG makes a good point in why Vince Russo didn't succeed in WCW. We all like to compare the WWF and WCW as if they were catering to the exact same audience. While wrestling fans are wrestling fans, there's some truth to this statement:
About the only thing I disagree with is the terming of ECW as a mediocre brand - I feel it's the best weekly show in the company right now - but it is an intrguing idea. There are hurdles, big hurdles, to having the names appear. Despite Hogan having his own promotion, you know if the price was right he'd work with Vince again and do a Hogan/Big Show match. Flair would wrestle again, although I'm not so sure it'd be against Sting, but rather against WCW alum Chris Jericho, which would fit right into their storyline leading into WrestleMania 25. Booker T and Scott Steiner are both almost out of their TNA deals and neither one is all that optimistic about resigning.
But after those guys and the WCW alums in the WWE right now, who else would come back? Goldberg and Sting have both been pretty vocal about not wanting to work for Vince McMahon (in Goldberg's case, it's again, with Sting, it's ever). Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Road Warrior Hawk, Brian Pillman and Rick Rude are all dead. Sid, DDP and Road Warrior Animal are decrepit. Lex Luger is a recovering cripple. Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race and Randy Savage very old. Arn Anderson has some health problems. Magnum TA never recovered from the car crash. Steve Austin's and Bret Hart's health problems are well-documented. It would be hard getting a good cross-section of WCW guys with unique enough backgrounds to make a WCW One Night Stand have identity enough that it didn't become just another WWE PPV among 16 on the calendar.
Still, it might be worth a try. With Jericho, Show, Flair, Hogan, Booker, Steiner, Ultimo Dragon, La Parka, Juventud Guerrera, Vader, Ron Simmons (DAMN!), Raven, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Dean Malenko, Kanyon, Finlay, William Regal and a host of others putting together a fun card, it might not be as lacking with some of the other seminal names not being there.
It might be a pipe dream, but it's a fun pipe dream to think about. Although reputedly the Rise and Fall of WCW DVD is reputed to have a lot of revisionist history in it, the same people are saying it's not a total slam-job. If Vince McMahon can realize that the past is the past and that there are paying customers out there who want to help him cash in on the WCW name, then maybe we might have a special card in the works in an age where Vince McMahon doesn't really promote a lot of special cards anymore.
It's an interesting piece, and it's fun to play fantasy booker. Despite the fact that I don't think McMahon's ego would allow him to recognize WCW as anything other than the company he beat, I think it might behoove him to do an event such as this instead of *insert gimmmick match name here* PPV.
I also think EG makes a good point in why Vince Russo didn't succeed in WCW. We all like to compare the WWF and WCW as if they were catering to the exact same audience. While wrestling fans are wrestling fans, there's some truth to this statement:
WCW fans and WWE fans were a totally different breed for many years. WCW fans were more southern and preferred a slower wrestling. In my opinion, this is also one of many reasons that Vince Russo didn’t work in WCW. Russo didn’t understand the WCW culture. How did Kevin Nash go from being a bomb as WWE champion to being a WCW money machine? One of the answers I feel is that WCW fans loved his slow and methodical style which didn’t fly in the WWEWhile I would have used the term "traditional", "slowly-built" or even "conservative" instead of the slow-and-methodical he used, I think there was a definite difference between the mindsets towards wrestling that WCW and WWF fans had. It definitely explains why the WWF had so much success with gaudy gimmicks and flamboyant characters in their Rock 'n Wrestling days, while WCW's forebearers, JCP/NWA, was able to push "plain" wrestlers better.
About the only thing I disagree with is the terming of ECW as a mediocre brand - I feel it's the best weekly show in the company right now - but it is an intrguing idea. There are hurdles, big hurdles, to having the names appear. Despite Hogan having his own promotion, you know if the price was right he'd work with Vince again and do a Hogan/Big Show match. Flair would wrestle again, although I'm not so sure it'd be against Sting, but rather against WCW alum Chris Jericho, which would fit right into their storyline leading into WrestleMania 25. Booker T and Scott Steiner are both almost out of their TNA deals and neither one is all that optimistic about resigning.
But after those guys and the WCW alums in the WWE right now, who else would come back? Goldberg and Sting have both been pretty vocal about not wanting to work for Vince McMahon (in Goldberg's case, it's again, with Sting, it's ever). Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Road Warrior Hawk, Brian Pillman and Rick Rude are all dead. Sid, DDP and Road Warrior Animal are decrepit. Lex Luger is a recovering cripple. Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race and Randy Savage very old. Arn Anderson has some health problems. Magnum TA never recovered from the car crash. Steve Austin's and Bret Hart's health problems are well-documented. It would be hard getting a good cross-section of WCW guys with unique enough backgrounds to make a WCW One Night Stand have identity enough that it didn't become just another WWE PPV among 16 on the calendar.
Still, it might be worth a try. With Jericho, Show, Flair, Hogan, Booker, Steiner, Ultimo Dragon, La Parka, Juventud Guerrera, Vader, Ron Simmons (DAMN!), Raven, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Dean Malenko, Kanyon, Finlay, William Regal and a host of others putting together a fun card, it might not be as lacking with some of the other seminal names not being there.
It might be a pipe dream, but it's a fun pipe dream to think about. Although reputedly the Rise and Fall of WCW DVD is reputed to have a lot of revisionist history in it, the same people are saying it's not a total slam-job. If Vince McMahon can realize that the past is the past and that there are paying customers out there who want to help him cash in on the WCW name, then maybe we might have a special card in the works in an age where Vince McMahon doesn't really promote a lot of special cards anymore.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Friday Five: Favorite Match By So-and-So 1
I'll give you five wrestlers. You give me your five favorite matches by them. First in an occasionally recurring series. If you're not familiar with the wrestler, just skip him and answer the ones you're familiar with:
1. What was your favorite Randy Savage match?
2. What was your favorite Raven match?
3. What was your favorite Sean Waltman match?
4. What was your favorite Claudio Castagnoli match?
5. What was your favorite Toshiaki Kawada match?
1. What was your favorite Randy Savage match?
2. What was your favorite Raven match?
3. What was your favorite Sean Waltman match?
4. What was your favorite Claudio Castagnoli match?
5. What was your favorite Toshiaki Kawada match?
Shane McMahon Resigns from WWE
From the Horse's Mouth
Wow. I don't know if this is a work or not, but if it isn't, then I guess Shane's not as much a carny as the rest of his family. Either that, or he's going to work full-time on his mom's Senate campaign. Or maybe he just wants to spend time with his family, which for him makes sense. He's the son of a billionaire. Either way, whatever works for Shane works for him. Hopefully this means no more Super Shane beating up on Randy Orton and Legacy or other Superstars who shouldn't be selling for him but have to.
Wow. I don't know if this is a work or not, but if it isn't, then I guess Shane's not as much a carny as the rest of his family. Either that, or he's going to work full-time on his mom's Senate campaign. Or maybe he just wants to spend time with his family, which for him makes sense. He's the son of a billionaire. Either way, whatever works for Shane works for him. Hopefully this means no more Super Shane beating up on Randy Orton and Legacy or other Superstars who shouldn't be selling for him but have to.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Roddy Piper to Appear on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Courtesy of F4WOnline
Rowdy Roddy Piper will play a maniacal pro wrestler (reach, ain't it?) on the FX show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The episode airs next Thursday. One of my favorite wrestlers of all-time on my favorite current TV show? FUCK YEAH! If this isn't awesome, I will be disappointed to the degree that I will probably down like 8 cans of wine. No, it can't not be awesome.
Rowdy Roddy Piper will play a maniacal pro wrestler (reach, ain't it?) on the FX show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The episode airs next Thursday. One of my favorite wrestlers of all-time on my favorite current TV show? FUCK YEAH! If this isn't awesome, I will be disappointed to the degree that I will probably down like 8 cans of wine. No, it can't not be awesome.
The Top 25 Hottest Women in Wrestling, According to ME
Here at the blog, we I strive to promote the virtues of equal opportunity in wrestling, that women aren't here for just shaking their asses or giving us HLA, if you know what I mean *wink wink nudge nudge*. However, most of wrestling's audience consists of men, and well, us men like to be tittilated by sexy women. And, as Chyna *shudder* proved and as Gina Carano is proving now, guys like an attractive woman who can kick ass. Yeah, I know, I'm taking liberties calling Chyna attractive, but enough guys were duped enough by the implants and the Playboy spread that they though he was a she. And I know comparing Chyna to Gina Carano is like comparing Dollar Store hamburgers and gubmint cheese to Kobe beef burgers with aged Vermont cheddar, but... well, you get it.
Well, because the wrestling ring has given us so many lovely ladies over the years, why not rank them? Y'know, because I like making lists and shit. Here are, in my sole opinion, the top 25 hottest wrestling women of all-time. Even though the list will be self-contained in this post, I expect it to generate more conversation than all the WotD posts combined, because what's more subjective than attractiveness? NOTHING! Although rest-assured, there will be no Chyna in this list. This is a Chyna-free list! Anyway, onto the goods:
After the jump...
25. Miss Elizabeth
This is more an honorary listing, much like Ric Flair's was in the WotD. Liz never really exuded sexy, instead she was the nice, normal girl who got caught up with the asshole who didn't treat her right (Savage), and the dynamic was a home run. Sucks the way she died though.
24. Beulah McGillicutty
Hot damn, was she a piece. She was a huge part of Tommy Dreamer's success in ECW as well as the company's branding as "extreme", changing wrestling forever.
23. Mickie James
She's a slight butterface, but by God, those are breasts a man can set his watch to. They stand at attention. Plus, it doesn't hurt that she is the best women's wrestler on the WWE roster right now, and she seems like a very fun personality.
22. Lilian Garcia
Lilian was never really promoted with the Divas in the WWE, but she had a definite impact on the company for several years as the ring announcer. With some of the chicks that they paraded in that ring as "sexy" that were just plain dreadful, it only stood to serve how badly they ignored the real hotness standing in there every Monday night.
21. Maria Kanellis
Maria has that sort of innocence about her that makes you feel bad for gawking at her, but then again, with a body like that, you forget your guilt pretty quickly. Of course, she also did Playboy, so how innocent can she be? Eh?
20. Daffney
She defines "goth-hot". It's the WCW-given crazy sexy we all grew to get aroused to as an alternative while the WWF was busy trotting out she-males or petite homewreckers who pretended to be like aforementioned shemales in 1999. Is she an acquired taste? Maybe. Is a lot of her sexy sort of thrust on her by our fantasies of how goth chicks are in the budoir? Maybe. Is it my list and can I put anyone on it that I feel like? Fuck yeah!
19. Missy Hyatt (pre-plastic surgery)
Missy Hyatt didn't always use to be a hideous troll with boobs. In the 80s, she was pretty cute and had a rockin' body. Too bad the years haven't been kind to her at all.
18. Ivory
For awhile, the WWF didn't have this obsession with handing pushes out to blond bimbos exclusively. Take Ivory. She was Mickie James (with a prettier face) before Mickie James was Mickie James. Again, look at the rack, it's breathtaking.
17. Katie Lea
As if there weren't enough reasons to tune into ECW. Even with the facepaint, Katie Lea just looks so God-damned saucy, like she would toss you around and break you before she gave it up. Plus, when she came onto that new female interviewer a few weeks ago, I think my voice changed again. Now I sound like Barry White.
16. Kelly Kelly
She's one of the hottest of the new crop of Divas, although I have to say she's one of the few women whose hotness goes away when she smiles. Give me the pouty face or the evil face any day, Kelly2
15. Molly Holly
She was a chick who had to downplay her inherent sexiness just so she could goober around with Bob and Crash Holly. Then, they made her cut her hair, and she looked good as a short-haired brunette too. Molly might be the most underrated hot wrestling chick ever.
14. Kimona Wanalaya
Y'know, for as hot as guys get for Asian chicks, there really aren't a whole lot to go around in wrestling. Take for example Joshi... all the women who wrestle in Japan are hideous to passable. Gail Kim? She's got a pretty busted face. Ayako Hamada is okay, but too plain for a list like this. That leaves former ECW sexpot Kimona Wanalaya as the lone Asian on this list, but it's definitely not an Affirmative Action deal. The night she danced atop the ECW Arena was among the seminal sexy moments in wrestling history. She can love me very long time, if you know what I mean.
13. Terri Runnells
Remember Shotgun Saturday Night? No? Well, it was an abortion of an idea for a show, but it's most famous for giving us a sideboob shot of Terri Runnels as she distracted one of Goldust's opponents in the ring by taking off her top. Yeah, that alone salvages the abysmal show's cred in my book. Plus, I'm a cigar smoker, so that gives her extra points in my book.
12. Maryse Ouellet
Maryse is F'n supermodel hot, like for real for real. Plus, she has the added bonus that she's always looking like she's too hot for you. Snootiness may not work for everyone, but for Maryse? Hell yeah it does.
11. Beth Phoenix
Beth is everything Chyna wanted to be and then some. Yeah, she has muscles, but unlike some muscly chicks, they don't dominate her feminism. Like her nickname suggests, she's a Glamazon - sexy but tough. Hell, if she dyed her hair black, she'd be a perfect Wonder Woman. The best part about her is that she has personality too. A lot of what made Glamorella great was her facial expressions as Santino was doing crazy shit.
10. SoCal Val
Red hair? Check. Pouty lips? Check. Huge but shapely rack? Check. Yeah, there's no way So Cal Val doesn't make the top 10. Easily the hottest wrestling redhead ever, and really, she gives other celeb redheads a run for their money.
9. Dawn Marie
To be the hottest chick from the original ECW on this list is high praise seeing as EE-SEE-DUB had a lot of hot chicks to pass through its turnstyles. Dawn Marie is the high water mark though, as she not only was hot, but she helped get Lance Storm over too... a major feat. Plus, she's into charitable stuff to help broken-down old wrestlers who can't pay medical bills. Charity is sexy, folks!
8. Woman/Nancy Benoit
Judging from the flier I put out on Twitter (btw, ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME YET?), this will probably be the most controversial choice yet. While the charges levied against Woman are that she was a butterface, well, I just don't see it. She didn't have to look like a doll-faced supermodel because that wasn't her character. Her characters was evil, and like Sienna Miller as Baroness in GI Joe, she made evil look dead fucking sexy.
7. Torrie Wilson
Kidman, you lucky bastard. There are blond wrestling bimbos, and then there's Torrie Wilson. She theoretically fits the mold, but unlike your Major Gunns or Sables, Torrie is actually gorgeous to go along with her well-endowed chest.
6. Stacy Kiebler
While most wrestling women are known for what they've got in front of their bodies, Stacy's got everything in the rear and below. Probably the best legs in wrestling history. Seriously, from when she burst on the scene as Ms. Hancock in late-day WCW, you kinda figured she was too hot for the business and that she wouldn't be long for it. Sure enough, Dancing with the Stars called and now, she's everywhere. But her ass was our ass first, world!
5. Kimberly Page
Okay, how did DDP score Kimberly? Really, I want to know. DDP looks like death warmed over and Kim is... well, she's stunning. Christ, he either had the best personality ever, incriminating pictures or game beyond what anyone outside of The Ladies Man ever had.
4. Velvet Sky
Honestly, if you had to subject yourself to TNA for one reason, it would be Velvet, who is without question the hottest woman in wrestling right now. The best thing is that she isn't some emaciated whorelet, she got meat on dem bones, so not only is she hot, she's a positive body-type role model for young girls everywhere (her character less so, but hey, no one's perfect).
3. Sensational Sherri Martel
Sherri was the original bad girl of wrestling, the original temptress who made evil look so damn good. Forget the bad facepaint, she was sexy to such a scorching degree that for a second, you didn't blame Macho for dumping Liz for him.
2. Trish Stratus
Could she have been the most perfect wrestling woman ever? Well, almost, since she's at #2 and not in the top spot. Still, Trish, whether blonde or brunette, is the epitome of athletic-sexy, a woman who's fit yet still has amazing curves in all the right places. It's always a treat when she stops back on RAW, and even with the current crop of Divas being pretty hot in their own right, she shows them how it's done.
1. Sunny/Tammy Lynn Sytch
No joke. No lie. Was there any woman in the mid '90s that the youth of America wanted to nail more than Sunny? Unless that answer was Pamela Anderson, I'd think not. For a time, Tammy was it, she was the ultimate in wrestling hotness. Perfect body, perfect face, perfect "out of your league" demeanor (putting her with the BodyDonnas was a stroke of genius). Of course, people will point out that she got fat because of whatever, but who cares? Back then, she was the epitome (and she's rebounded nicely and gotten her life back together, which is always good to hear). Tammy Lynn Sytch, I thank you for speeding along my and every other teenage male wrestling fan's puberty along and making us the fine men we are today. I salute you.
Well, because the wrestling ring has given us so many lovely ladies over the years, why not rank them? Y'know, because I like making lists and shit. Here are, in my sole opinion, the top 25 hottest wrestling women of all-time. Even though the list will be self-contained in this post, I expect it to generate more conversation than all the WotD posts combined, because what's more subjective than attractiveness? NOTHING! Although rest-assured, there will be no Chyna in this list. This is a Chyna-free list! Anyway, onto the goods:
After the jump...
25. Miss Elizabeth
This is more an honorary listing, much like Ric Flair's was in the WotD. Liz never really exuded sexy, instead she was the nice, normal girl who got caught up with the asshole who didn't treat her right (Savage), and the dynamic was a home run. Sucks the way she died though.
24. Beulah McGillicutty
Hot damn, was she a piece. She was a huge part of Tommy Dreamer's success in ECW as well as the company's branding as "extreme", changing wrestling forever.
23. Mickie James
She's a slight butterface, but by God, those are breasts a man can set his watch to. They stand at attention. Plus, it doesn't hurt that she is the best women's wrestler on the WWE roster right now, and she seems like a very fun personality.
22. Lilian Garcia
Lilian was never really promoted with the Divas in the WWE, but she had a definite impact on the company for several years as the ring announcer. With some of the chicks that they paraded in that ring as "sexy" that were just plain dreadful, it only stood to serve how badly they ignored the real hotness standing in there every Monday night.
21. Maria Kanellis
Maria has that sort of innocence about her that makes you feel bad for gawking at her, but then again, with a body like that, you forget your guilt pretty quickly. Of course, she also did Playboy, so how innocent can she be? Eh?
20. Daffney
She defines "goth-hot". It's the WCW-given crazy sexy we all grew to get aroused to as an alternative while the WWF was busy trotting out she-males or petite homewreckers who pretended to be like aforementioned shemales in 1999. Is she an acquired taste? Maybe. Is a lot of her sexy sort of thrust on her by our fantasies of how goth chicks are in the budoir? Maybe. Is it my list and can I put anyone on it that I feel like? Fuck yeah!
19. Missy Hyatt (pre-plastic surgery)
Missy Hyatt didn't always use to be a hideous troll with boobs. In the 80s, she was pretty cute and had a rockin' body. Too bad the years haven't been kind to her at all.
18. Ivory
For awhile, the WWF didn't have this obsession with handing pushes out to blond bimbos exclusively. Take Ivory. She was Mickie James (with a prettier face) before Mickie James was Mickie James. Again, look at the rack, it's breathtaking.
17. Katie Lea
As if there weren't enough reasons to tune into ECW. Even with the facepaint, Katie Lea just looks so God-damned saucy, like she would toss you around and break you before she gave it up. Plus, when she came onto that new female interviewer a few weeks ago, I think my voice changed again. Now I sound like Barry White.
16. Kelly Kelly
She's one of the hottest of the new crop of Divas, although I have to say she's one of the few women whose hotness goes away when she smiles. Give me the pouty face or the evil face any day, Kelly2
15. Molly Holly
She was a chick who had to downplay her inherent sexiness just so she could goober around with Bob and Crash Holly. Then, they made her cut her hair, and she looked good as a short-haired brunette too. Molly might be the most underrated hot wrestling chick ever.
14. Kimona Wanalaya
Y'know, for as hot as guys get for Asian chicks, there really aren't a whole lot to go around in wrestling. Take for example Joshi... all the women who wrestle in Japan are hideous to passable. Gail Kim? She's got a pretty busted face. Ayako Hamada is okay, but too plain for a list like this. That leaves former ECW sexpot Kimona Wanalaya as the lone Asian on this list, but it's definitely not an Affirmative Action deal. The night she danced atop the ECW Arena was among the seminal sexy moments in wrestling history. She can love me very long time, if you know what I mean.
13. Terri Runnells
Remember Shotgun Saturday Night? No? Well, it was an abortion of an idea for a show, but it's most famous for giving us a sideboob shot of Terri Runnels as she distracted one of Goldust's opponents in the ring by taking off her top. Yeah, that alone salvages the abysmal show's cred in my book. Plus, I'm a cigar smoker, so that gives her extra points in my book.
12. Maryse Ouellet
Maryse is F'n supermodel hot, like for real for real. Plus, she has the added bonus that she's always looking like she's too hot for you. Snootiness may not work for everyone, but for Maryse? Hell yeah it does.
11. Beth Phoenix
Beth is everything Chyna wanted to be and then some. Yeah, she has muscles, but unlike some muscly chicks, they don't dominate her feminism. Like her nickname suggests, she's a Glamazon - sexy but tough. Hell, if she dyed her hair black, she'd be a perfect Wonder Woman. The best part about her is that she has personality too. A lot of what made Glamorella great was her facial expressions as Santino was doing crazy shit.
10. SoCal Val
Red hair? Check. Pouty lips? Check. Huge but shapely rack? Check. Yeah, there's no way So Cal Val doesn't make the top 10. Easily the hottest wrestling redhead ever, and really, she gives other celeb redheads a run for their money.
9. Dawn Marie
To be the hottest chick from the original ECW on this list is high praise seeing as EE-SEE-DUB had a lot of hot chicks to pass through its turnstyles. Dawn Marie is the high water mark though, as she not only was hot, but she helped get Lance Storm over too... a major feat. Plus, she's into charitable stuff to help broken-down old wrestlers who can't pay medical bills. Charity is sexy, folks!
8. Woman/Nancy Benoit
Judging from the flier I put out on Twitter (btw, ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME YET?), this will probably be the most controversial choice yet. While the charges levied against Woman are that she was a butterface, well, I just don't see it. She didn't have to look like a doll-faced supermodel because that wasn't her character. Her characters was evil, and like Sienna Miller as Baroness in GI Joe, she made evil look dead fucking sexy.
7. Torrie Wilson
Kidman, you lucky bastard. There are blond wrestling bimbos, and then there's Torrie Wilson. She theoretically fits the mold, but unlike your Major Gunns or Sables, Torrie is actually gorgeous to go along with her well-endowed chest.
6. Stacy Kiebler
While most wrestling women are known for what they've got in front of their bodies, Stacy's got everything in the rear and below. Probably the best legs in wrestling history. Seriously, from when she burst on the scene as Ms. Hancock in late-day WCW, you kinda figured she was too hot for the business and that she wouldn't be long for it. Sure enough, Dancing with the Stars called and now, she's everywhere. But her ass was our ass first, world!
5. Kimberly Page
Okay, how did DDP score Kimberly? Really, I want to know. DDP looks like death warmed over and Kim is... well, she's stunning. Christ, he either had the best personality ever, incriminating pictures or game beyond what anyone outside of The Ladies Man ever had.
4. Velvet Sky
Honestly, if you had to subject yourself to TNA for one reason, it would be Velvet, who is without question the hottest woman in wrestling right now. The best thing is that she isn't some emaciated whorelet, she got meat on dem bones, so not only is she hot, she's a positive body-type role model for young girls everywhere (her character less so, but hey, no one's perfect).
3. Sensational Sherri Martel
Sherri was the original bad girl of wrestling, the original temptress who made evil look so damn good. Forget the bad facepaint, she was sexy to such a scorching degree that for a second, you didn't blame Macho for dumping Liz for him.
2. Trish Stratus
Could she have been the most perfect wrestling woman ever? Well, almost, since she's at #2 and not in the top spot. Still, Trish, whether blonde or brunette, is the epitome of athletic-sexy, a woman who's fit yet still has amazing curves in all the right places. It's always a treat when she stops back on RAW, and even with the current crop of Divas being pretty hot in their own right, she shows them how it's done.
1. Sunny/Tammy Lynn Sytch
No joke. No lie. Was there any woman in the mid '90s that the youth of America wanted to nail more than Sunny? Unless that answer was Pamela Anderson, I'd think not. For a time, Tammy was it, she was the ultimate in wrestling hotness. Perfect body, perfect face, perfect "out of your league" demeanor (putting her with the BodyDonnas was a stroke of genius). Of course, people will point out that she got fat because of whatever, but who cares? Back then, she was the epitome (and she's rebounded nicely and gotten her life back together, which is always good to hear). Tammy Lynn Sytch, I thank you for speeding along my and every other teenage male wrestling fan's puberty along and making us the fine men we are today. I salute you.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Jim Ross to Most Likely Stay Put
Courtesy of F4WOnline
Among the nuggets in the linked news dump for today, MeltzVarez reports that Jim Ross expects to get a multi-year extension hammered out to stay with the WWE. This is great news if it comes to fruition, mainly because Ross is the best announcer they have save possibly Matt Striker. In fact, Striker/Ross has to be a possible pairing should Jerry Lawler win the mayor's seat in Memphis, but with him polling at 4%, it's not looking like he's going to win, so it's moot. But yeah, JR in TNA wouldn't sound right at all, and I don't think he'd take the massive paycut to go to ROH, even though I think he and the elder indie fed have mutual admiration for each other.
Read the whole dump though, especially for the words about Lou Albano. For those too young to remember him in a wrestling role, the guy, as described, was one of the biggest reasons why the WWWF/WWF was so huge in the Northeast and then later on, nationwide (especially with the first WrestleMania).
Among the nuggets in the linked news dump for today, MeltzVarez reports that Jim Ross expects to get a multi-year extension hammered out to stay with the WWE. This is great news if it comes to fruition, mainly because Ross is the best announcer they have save possibly Matt Striker. In fact, Striker/Ross has to be a possible pairing should Jerry Lawler win the mayor's seat in Memphis, but with him polling at 4%, it's not looking like he's going to win, so it's moot. But yeah, JR in TNA wouldn't sound right at all, and I don't think he'd take the massive paycut to go to ROH, even though I think he and the elder indie fed have mutual admiration for each other.
Read the whole dump though, especially for the words about Lou Albano. For those too young to remember him in a wrestling role, the guy, as described, was one of the biggest reasons why the WWWF/WWF was so huge in the Northeast and then later on, nationwide (especially with the first WrestleMania).
Wrestler's Rescue - Please Support
I added another url to the Wrestling Links sidebar for the Wrestler's Rescue charity. I've known about it for awhile, but I never got around to adding the link until today, with Capt. Lou's tragic passing. This charity was founded by Dawn Marie and it aims to help retired wrestlers pay medical expenses that they can't afford. As you know, there's no union in wrestling, and promoters never offered health benefits in the past. I'm not sure if this is the case today with the WWE or TNA, but somehow, I highly doubt it.
Wrestling takes an immense physical toll on the body due to the years of taking repeated bumps for 300+ days out of a year, traveling and working hurt, letting medical problems go unattended for months and sometimes years mainly because of the relatively paltry sums that these wrestlers were paid in comparison to the gates taken. If you like watching wrestling, then please at least raise awareness to other wrestling fans about this charity even if you can't afford to give at the moment. It's a very worthy cause, and you can even come out with a good bit of swag as industry personalities like Jim Ross and Mick Foley donate stuff for bid.
Kudos to Dawn Marie for starting this up and to everyone involved. Wrestlers often have a shitty lot in life after they retire, and be it self-inflicted or not, well, mostly everyone deserves a bit of sympathy.
Wrestling takes an immense physical toll on the body due to the years of taking repeated bumps for 300+ days out of a year, traveling and working hurt, letting medical problems go unattended for months and sometimes years mainly because of the relatively paltry sums that these wrestlers were paid in comparison to the gates taken. If you like watching wrestling, then please at least raise awareness to other wrestling fans about this charity even if you can't afford to give at the moment. It's a very worthy cause, and you can even come out with a good bit of swag as industry personalities like Jim Ross and Mick Foley donate stuff for bid.
Kudos to Dawn Marie for starting this up and to everyone involved. Wrestlers often have a shitty lot in life after they retire, and be it self-inflicted or not, well, mostly everyone deserves a bit of sympathy.
RIP Capt. Lou
Courtesy of 411, via PWSpyware
Lou Albano, one of the most colorful wrestling personalities, legendary manager of several tag teams including the Wild Samoans and industry icon, has passed away this morning. My heart goes out to all his survivors. This is a really, really shitty way to kick off the blogging for today. If I didn't trim my goatee last night, I'd be wearing a rubber band in it right now as a tribute.
RIP Capt. Lou. You will be missed :(
Lou Albano, one of the most colorful wrestling personalities, legendary manager of several tag teams including the Wild Samoans and industry icon, has passed away this morning. My heart goes out to all his survivors. This is a really, really shitty way to kick off the blogging for today. If I didn't trim my goatee last night, I'd be wearing a rubber band in it right now as a tribute.
RIP Capt. Lou. You will be missed :(
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Davey Richards Is No Joke
While he's busy taking my insults and holding the fort down until tag partner Eddie Edwards comes back in ROH, Davey Richards is forging on as a solo star elsewhere in the indies, most notably in Dragon Gate USA, where he was the first announced entrant and is arguably the favorite to win the Open the Freedom Gate Championship Tournament in Philly on November 28th (I HAVE MY TICKET~!). We know he has the goods in the ring, but here he shows his promo skills, an important piece of the puzzle if he's going to make the jump to the next level. He talks about why he came to DGUSA and why he attacked Bryan Danielson at the most recent show in Chicago. It's really, really good. Enjoy!
WWE Women's Wrestling Sucks
I wrote on here once that I thought that TNA's Knockouts were overrated and the WWE's Divas were underrated in terms of wrestling ability. Well, after a few months of repeated viewings, I'm ready to say that I'm only half-right. I still find the Knockouts to be overrated, if only because most of the strength of that division comes from the contrast in booking quality between that division (good-to-great) and the rest of TNA (God-awful). Yes, they have some quality workers (Tara, Kong, Cheerleader Melissa, Sarah Stock, Hamada), more than enough to build a division, but it's also very top heavy. After those five, the quality kinda drops off substantially.
Still, a division where the dregs consist of Christy Hemme and Velvet Sky is still far, far better than a division where Michelle McCool can be considered in the top 5. I've seen enough attempts at women's wrestling in the WWE over the last year or so to know that I've seen too much. I guess it's to say that I've had stars in my eyes in regards to the three-way feud with Beth Phoenix, Mickie James and Melina at the end of the last year/beginning of this year. They put on good matches and carried the Women's division on RAW for a good six months. Then the draft happened and they split Melina up from the other two. Then, for some inexplicable reason, they started to downplay Beth and then had Mickie James feud with Maryse Ouellet. Okay, Maryse didn't seem terrible... until she got into a RAW ring and just flat couldn't keep up with Mickie. Of course, Maryse got hurt and they'd been trying to find someone to feud with Mickie ever since. When it was found out that Gail Kim really wasn't all that good and that both Alicia Fox and Rosa Mendes were TERRIBLE, they kinda just gave up, started giving us our dose of Diva wrestling on RAW in clusterfuck matches with no sense of pacing or crisp movement. You see, because the WWE insists on having Divas matches even though most of the women in the company can't wrestle. To add insult to injury, they took the two best wrestlers on the roster and shunted them over to Smackdown this past week, which is good for that division in that they get two really good women wrestlers (Mickie and Beth), but bad for everything else, since RAW will have even more Diva horsecrap to drag it down, and Mickie and Beth will probably end up feuding with Michelle McCool and *ugh* Maria respectively.
I know that it might seem chauvinistic to suggest that the WWE curtails its women's wrestling and actually employs, y'know, valets, but if you can't wrestle, you can't wrestle. Of their Diva's roster, only Mickie, Beth, Melina and Natalya Neidhart actually look credible in the ring. I've heard Katie Lea does too, but I couldn't tell you since she rarely ever wrestles anymore. That's sad. Two of the women who actually can wrestle are relegated to valet duty while the ones who should be valets are Botchamania-ing the joint up in EXTENDED matches. The rest are varying degrees of dogshit. Hell, how embarrassing is it for the division that Maria Menounos can step right into the ring and look as good or better than 2/3 of the other women in the match? Let me repeat this, A TALK SHOW HOST WITH NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE AND A SORE HAMSTRING LOOKED MORE CREDIBLE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE WRESTLERS IN THAT MATCH! If that doesn't set off the warning flare, then nothing will.
The logical answer, of course, would be to consolidate the women who can wrestle, put them on one brand and have them compete in one, unified women's division with one title, preferably the traditional Women's Title and not the pretty butterfly belt that they introduced to appease Taker's fugly-ass cum dumpster. The rest of the women don't have to go, but they can be used in other capacities. The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly and Rosa Mendes would work perfectly as valets. Layla El and Alicia Fox would be the foundation of a pretty good dance troupe, a la the Nitro Girls, if you wanted to have a sort of cheerleader squad. Eve Torres would be awesome as a backstage interviewer, suffice to say better than anyone they have working the mic backstage right now, or hell, why not try her out as a color commentator? I mean, Jim Ross' contract is almost up. Jerry Lawler might end up as mayor of Memphis one of these days. You're going to need another color commentator to fill the role, and Eve has actually been damn impressive in speaking roles. Let her work with JR the week that Todd Grisham gets hitched (may be too late for that one actually) and see how it goes.
Look, I'm not saying that women shouldn't wrestle. TNA has a fine women's division, and from what I hear, SHIMMER is a pretty good promotion regardless of gender. However, I am unabashed in my hatred for bad wrestling. What the WWE is giving us with the Divas right now is bad wrestling. There's still room for the valet and there are many roles that a woman can fill in a wrestling company without being just eye candy. However, there's nothing more degrading than seeing a woman wrestle badly on TV just to say "hey guys, we're not sexist, really!"
Still, a division where the dregs consist of Christy Hemme and Velvet Sky is still far, far better than a division where Michelle McCool can be considered in the top 5. I've seen enough attempts at women's wrestling in the WWE over the last year or so to know that I've seen too much. I guess it's to say that I've had stars in my eyes in regards to the three-way feud with Beth Phoenix, Mickie James and Melina at the end of the last year/beginning of this year. They put on good matches and carried the Women's division on RAW for a good six months. Then the draft happened and they split Melina up from the other two. Then, for some inexplicable reason, they started to downplay Beth and then had Mickie James feud with Maryse Ouellet. Okay, Maryse didn't seem terrible... until she got into a RAW ring and just flat couldn't keep up with Mickie. Of course, Maryse got hurt and they'd been trying to find someone to feud with Mickie ever since. When it was found out that Gail Kim really wasn't all that good and that both Alicia Fox and Rosa Mendes were TERRIBLE, they kinda just gave up, started giving us our dose of Diva wrestling on RAW in clusterfuck matches with no sense of pacing or crisp movement. You see, because the WWE insists on having Divas matches even though most of the women in the company can't wrestle. To add insult to injury, they took the two best wrestlers on the roster and shunted them over to Smackdown this past week, which is good for that division in that they get two really good women wrestlers (Mickie and Beth), but bad for everything else, since RAW will have even more Diva horsecrap to drag it down, and Mickie and Beth will probably end up feuding with Michelle McCool and *ugh* Maria respectively.
I know that it might seem chauvinistic to suggest that the WWE curtails its women's wrestling and actually employs, y'know, valets, but if you can't wrestle, you can't wrestle. Of their Diva's roster, only Mickie, Beth, Melina and Natalya Neidhart actually look credible in the ring. I've heard Katie Lea does too, but I couldn't tell you since she rarely ever wrestles anymore. That's sad. Two of the women who actually can wrestle are relegated to valet duty while the ones who should be valets are Botchamania-ing the joint up in EXTENDED matches. The rest are varying degrees of dogshit. Hell, how embarrassing is it for the division that Maria Menounos can step right into the ring and look as good or better than 2/3 of the other women in the match? Let me repeat this, A TALK SHOW HOST WITH NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE AND A SORE HAMSTRING LOOKED MORE CREDIBLE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE WRESTLERS IN THAT MATCH! If that doesn't set off the warning flare, then nothing will.
The logical answer, of course, would be to consolidate the women who can wrestle, put them on one brand and have them compete in one, unified women's division with one title, preferably the traditional Women's Title and not the pretty butterfly belt that they introduced to appease Taker's fugly-ass cum dumpster. The rest of the women don't have to go, but they can be used in other capacities. The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly and Rosa Mendes would work perfectly as valets. Layla El and Alicia Fox would be the foundation of a pretty good dance troupe, a la the Nitro Girls, if you wanted to have a sort of cheerleader squad. Eve Torres would be awesome as a backstage interviewer, suffice to say better than anyone they have working the mic backstage right now, or hell, why not try her out as a color commentator? I mean, Jim Ross' contract is almost up. Jerry Lawler might end up as mayor of Memphis one of these days. You're going to need another color commentator to fill the role, and Eve has actually been damn impressive in speaking roles. Let her work with JR the week that Todd Grisham gets hitched (may be too late for that one actually) and see how it goes.
Look, I'm not saying that women shouldn't wrestle. TNA has a fine women's division, and from what I hear, SHIMMER is a pretty good promotion regardless of gender. However, I am unabashed in my hatred for bad wrestling. What the WWE is giving us with the Divas right now is bad wrestling. There's still room for the valet and there are many roles that a woman can fill in a wrestling company without being just eye candy. However, there's nothing more degrading than seeing a woman wrestle badly on TV just to say "hey guys, we're not sexist, really!"
Tee-Hee
Line of the morning from Todd Martin of F4W Online:
Orton said prior to the match that he told Snoop Dogg next week will be Cena’s last match on Raw, and Cena will be in one of the biggest matches of his career. Orton was proven to be a liar, as instead Cena will wrestle HHH again next week.This line makes me smile. Like this -> :D
Monday, October 12, 2009
Instant Feedback: GO PHILLIES!
I missed the first hour of RAW while watching the Phils come from behind against the Rockies and advance in the playoffs. What I saw was generally unimpressive to downright dreadful (read, the Divas match... poor Beth). The high-spots on the show were the teasing of Legacy's breakup (they've done that so well actually and surprisingly) and parts of the matches although I didn't like any of the matches on the whole like I did Miz/Kofi from last week or the 8-man from two-weeks-ago on ECW.
Anyway, since this was a half-assed post for a half-assed RAW, here's a big picture of tonight's hero, Ryan Howard. GO PHILS!
Anyway, since this was a half-assed post for a half-assed RAW, here's a big picture of tonight's hero, Ryan Howard. GO PHILS!
WWE Multimania... Featuring a Bloodless WarGames Match?
In the rush to bastardize all its classic non-big 4 pay-per-view names, the WWE has sent out a flier to its fans to vote on a new name for its June PPV, Judgement Day. Other options include the original name, WWE Multimania (lolwut?), WWE Riot Control or WWE WarGames. The last option is sure to arouse all the old WCW marks and classic wrestling fans, harkening back to one of the most classic match set-ups in WCW's and JCP's history.
While a WarGames match in this day and age would sound intriguing and perhaps see a spike in PPV buyrates at a time when people aren't buying PPVs (word on the street is that SummerSlam did ~375K, down from 500K last year), I'm a bit skeptical as to whether they can pull it off for a few reasons.
The first is that WarGames was often a means to an end in a stable war. Some of the best WarGames matches from back in the day involved a makeshift alliance of faces joining together to stop the rampage of a heel stable, most notably the Four Horsemen or the nWo. Of course, not all of them were like this, but for the most part, this was the formula. The biggest problem that I see with the WWE now having one is that there are no real, major stables that warrant having a WarGames match. Of course, there are smaller stables - DX, Legacy, the Hart Dynasty - but they're smallish and two of them really aren't stables as much as they're tag teams. The third, Legacy, was used more as a means of job absorbtion for Randy Orton at first, and now have kinda drifted away from Papa Orton and are more entities unto themselves. The most telling development to happen over the last month was that Orton told Legacy that they had the night off and then he employed JeriShow to be his henchmen rather than the guys he was running around with for the last 6 months.
While I wouldn't shirk away from having a WarGames match without having a real story surrounding a real stable, well, again with the PPV atmosphere supposing to be special, I can't see it doing the trick for me completely if the WarGames participants were a bunch of people from different everlasting-feuds-of-the-half-year being cobbled into the match. Of course, June is still a pretty long ways-away, and they can take the time to build up a stable or two to make a pretty compelling WarGames match, but that would take a pretty hefty shift in the old-school direction when it comes to pushing entities rather than individuals.
The other concern that many have is that in this potential WarGames match, there'd be no blood unless someone got busted open hardway. A lot of what made those old matches great was Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes bleeding like stuck pigs. In today's climate though, the WWE is TV PG, which means no blading altogether. Admittedly, no blood wouldn't ruin the match for me, but for a lot of people, the allure of the match, the intrinsic brutality, it's all lost without blood. I can see where they come from, even if I don't exactly see eye to eye with them on what the match should be. Then again, I'm not an old-school WCW/JCP fan, so WarGames never meant as much to me as the Royal Rumble or Survivor Series did.
Finally, as is the problem with having gimmicked PPVs, it ruins the organic excitement of the event. War Games was often used as the climax to a big feud, or at least the good ones were used as such. It would be great if the WWE booked a big feud to end in such a manner at this PPV, and there's time for that to happen, but the converse also has precedent. CM Punk and Undertaker met for the first time for the World Championship in a submission match. There was no heat on the feud. In fact, Undertaker just showed up and pulled the old Batista routine ("o hai! i can has title shot?") and bam, insta-feud with very little personal heat behind it. Yet, the first match is a submissions match, mainly because the PPV dictated it. Wouldn't you want to build the feud up a little bit before doing that? Yet, having the gimmick match there, and of course, having a PPV happen every three weeks both preclude proper build-up for feuds if the plan is to have the same two people feud for months on end.
So, while I don't discourage optimism for a long-awaited return of WarGames, I'm not exactly on board with the concept either. I think if the WWE really wanted to get my PPV dollar for Multimania or whatever ends up winning the fan-survey, they need to do an earnest shift in the way they book things. Vince McMahon has gone on record saying he's putting out a more sophisticated program. Well Vince, put your money where your mouth is. Book a more sophisticated program with smarter angles, better-built feuds utilizing all tiers on the card. Then, maybe you'll get a bigger paying audience for your June PPV, (and all your PPVs for that matter) whatever it's called.
While a WarGames match in this day and age would sound intriguing and perhaps see a spike in PPV buyrates at a time when people aren't buying PPVs (word on the street is that SummerSlam did ~375K, down from 500K last year), I'm a bit skeptical as to whether they can pull it off for a few reasons.
The first is that WarGames was often a means to an end in a stable war. Some of the best WarGames matches from back in the day involved a makeshift alliance of faces joining together to stop the rampage of a heel stable, most notably the Four Horsemen or the nWo. Of course, not all of them were like this, but for the most part, this was the formula. The biggest problem that I see with the WWE now having one is that there are no real, major stables that warrant having a WarGames match. Of course, there are smaller stables - DX, Legacy, the Hart Dynasty - but they're smallish and two of them really aren't stables as much as they're tag teams. The third, Legacy, was used more as a means of job absorbtion for Randy Orton at first, and now have kinda drifted away from Papa Orton and are more entities unto themselves. The most telling development to happen over the last month was that Orton told Legacy that they had the night off and then he employed JeriShow to be his henchmen rather than the guys he was running around with for the last 6 months.
While I wouldn't shirk away from having a WarGames match without having a real story surrounding a real stable, well, again with the PPV atmosphere supposing to be special, I can't see it doing the trick for me completely if the WarGames participants were a bunch of people from different everlasting-feuds-of-the-half-year being cobbled into the match. Of course, June is still a pretty long ways-away, and they can take the time to build up a stable or two to make a pretty compelling WarGames match, but that would take a pretty hefty shift in the old-school direction when it comes to pushing entities rather than individuals.
The other concern that many have is that in this potential WarGames match, there'd be no blood unless someone got busted open hardway. A lot of what made those old matches great was Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes bleeding like stuck pigs. In today's climate though, the WWE is TV PG, which means no blading altogether. Admittedly, no blood wouldn't ruin the match for me, but for a lot of people, the allure of the match, the intrinsic brutality, it's all lost without blood. I can see where they come from, even if I don't exactly see eye to eye with them on what the match should be. Then again, I'm not an old-school WCW/JCP fan, so WarGames never meant as much to me as the Royal Rumble or Survivor Series did.
Finally, as is the problem with having gimmicked PPVs, it ruins the organic excitement of the event. War Games was often used as the climax to a big feud, or at least the good ones were used as such. It would be great if the WWE booked a big feud to end in such a manner at this PPV, and there's time for that to happen, but the converse also has precedent. CM Punk and Undertaker met for the first time for the World Championship in a submission match. There was no heat on the feud. In fact, Undertaker just showed up and pulled the old Batista routine ("o hai! i can has title shot?") and bam, insta-feud with very little personal heat behind it. Yet, the first match is a submissions match, mainly because the PPV dictated it. Wouldn't you want to build the feud up a little bit before doing that? Yet, having the gimmick match there, and of course, having a PPV happen every three weeks both preclude proper build-up for feuds if the plan is to have the same two people feud for months on end.
So, while I don't discourage optimism for a long-awaited return of WarGames, I'm not exactly on board with the concept either. I think if the WWE really wanted to get my PPV dollar for Multimania or whatever ends up winning the fan-survey, they need to do an earnest shift in the way they book things. Vince McMahon has gone on record saying he's putting out a more sophisticated program. Well Vince, put your money where your mouth is. Book a more sophisticated program with smarter angles, better-built feuds utilizing all tiers on the card. Then, maybe you'll get a bigger paying audience for your June PPV, (and all your PPVs for that matter) whatever it's called.
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