Wrestling Six Packs: Holy Poop! Moments in the Last 2 Years

This topic was provided by reader Niall Harkiss.

A lot of times, the "Holy shit!" moments in wrestling come from something unplanned or unscripted, like Owen Hart's untimely death or the Montreal Screwjob. Still, you do have to hand it to wrestling folks, as sometimes, they can provide a nice swerve, surprise, high spot or electrifying promo that will leave the audience stunned in their seats. There have been a bunch in the last two years. They may not have been ZOMG BASH AT THE BEACH 1996!!, but they've been really good, be it a good swerve or a nice high spot. Last night, the WWE sent a minor shockwave throughout the wrestling world by having Heath Slater pin Sheamus clean as a whistle. Here are six better ones:

1. The Nexus debuts, pouncing on John Cena and the Straight Edge Society

I legitimately felt a chill when I saw this happening. There was a group of us there watching this, and there was stunned silence with a bit of "this is awesome" sprinkled in. Forgive me, but I didn't see Bash at the Beach 1996 live, so I imagine that's what I would have felt had I did. Just utter shock with satisfaction tinged in at the best legit shocking moment in the last two years. The thing to remember was that CM Punk, through some accident of fan voting, was picked to face off against Cena that night instead of the obvious choice of Rey Mysterio. It turns out Punk was the better, more impactful choice that night, getting the angle over in a much huger way than if it was just the two big faces getting beaten down by "yet another heel stable".

2. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels bury the hatchet

While the Nexus' birth gave me chills, six months earlier, seeing the two friends-turned-enemies-turned-friends in the ring gave me butterflies in my stomach. The atmosphere was pregnant with tension as both men said their peace, and when they finally embraced, I as well as the rest of the fans who watched that night had to have felt satisfaction. TNA may have set out (and failed) to make that night memorable, but it was the Hitman and HBK who gave the visual that will live on in wrestling perpetuity.

3. CM Punk cashes in his first Money in the Bank briefcase on Edge

It started out as a non-descript beginning to RAW. Edge came out to gloat that he was bringing the World Championship to Smackdown, and that there was nothing anyone could do about it. Batista came down and beat the shit out of him. Okay, angle set up, Edge will drop the title to Batista later that night before leaving for Smackdown, right? Not exactly. CM Punk came running out of the back with his briefcase won at WrestleMania 24. GOOOO TOOOO SLEEEEP~! and a pinfall later, and CM Punk, that skinny indie star with all the tattoos and piercings, the guy who five years prior was on the undercard in high school gyms with his bleach blond hair and baggy basketball shorts, was one of the two most prestigious Champions in all of wrestling. Pretty cool moment for any smark-ass indie wrestling fan who never thought he'd see the day when a guy who was part of his fandom would cross over to the mainstream of wrestling.

4. Frightmare's ceiling-rana

You didn't think the best "HOLY SHIT!" moments in the last 24 months were confined solely to the WWE, right? Sadly, TNA is run more poorly than a company selling solar-powered flashlights, so we're dipping into the Chikara pool for one of the most jaw-dropping, "holy poop"-inducing (because Chikara's kid friendly, you see) spots ever. This will be the third time I have posted this gif on this blog, but it's so awesome:



5. Sheamus runs roughshod through John Cena under the eye of Jesse Ventura

Kofi Kingston was the one getting pushed pretty hard at the time of the Jessse "The Body" Ventura RAW last year. The Miz and Jack Swagger weren't the darlings they are now, but both had high prospects. Yet, it was Sheamus, the heretofore newbie to RAW, who won the futures battle royale and earned the shot at John Cena at Tables, Ladders and Chairs. If it was shocking that Sheamus won the battle royale, it was absolutely a heart attack that he was able to lay Cena out like nothing. It caused mixed reactions at the time, but it would soon prove to be the right move, as Sheamus has arguably been the WWE's MVP in 2010.

6. "I'm gonna kill you"

So, Batista again, yeah, he was sort of in a holding pattern at the end of 2009. He was at the stage in his career where he was winding down, and where he was getting face pops for just showing up. He got traded to Smackdown to continue his friendship with Rey Mysterio, but after a friendly misunderstanding, there was some tension. You expected them to hug it out and be cool about it, turning their attentions to the dastardly heels like CM Punk and JeriShow, right? Well, no. Batista uttered those four words with a smile on his face and a laugh under his breath before laying into the WWE's favorite main event punching bag, kicking off his WWE swan song and perhaps his finest effort under the Titan banner. It was surreal, but it still elicited the "Holy shit", even if it was more hushed than normal.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

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Jericho Contract Talks at Impasse

Via F4WOnline

According to Bryan Alvarez, Chris Jericho still hasn't signed a new contract with WWE, and the Six Pack Challenge may very well be his final match for the time being. The reason for the impasse is that Jericho wants to work a lighter schedule so he can tour with his band and promote his book. The WWE doesn't want to do this because they don't want to set a precedent for someone not as tenured as the Undertaker. Nope, Jericho, who's pushing 40 and has been with Titan Sports for over a decade, as well as being with companies that Titan purchased for an additional five year prior, isn't tenured enough to get a lighter workload.

Cracka please.

If you ask me, that's a bullshit argument, especially for someone like Jericho who could still give you ten more years of effectiveness in the ring if he's preserved, which the lighter schedule will allow. Hell, they were rumored to have offered the "HBK-Taker" schedule to both Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy, which boggles my mind as to why they wouldn't do it for someone who is requesting it as a measure of self-preservation, not because he did too many fucking drugs in his prior life to NEED that kind of schedule.

You know what? No, I do understand it. Jericho is going out to do his own thing and doing a project in Fozzy that isn't underneath the WWE's media conglomerate. As we've seen with Maria Kanellis' firing, the WWE doesn't look kindly upon people not offering themselves as slave-labor to them, Disney-style. While I can comprehend why they have that mindset, I think it's idiotic because it's wrong. Jericho is in a position through Fozzy and even through Dancing with the Stars, which is something he's said he wants to do, to give the WWE more mainstream exposure, POSITIVE mainstream exposure, which is something you can't say for Angle or especially Hardy, who about a year ago in two weeks got busted with a fucking stash of drugs that would make Sean Waltman envious (YES IT WAS SO GOOD I HAD TO USE IT TWICE IN ONE DAY BITCHES).

Sometimes, I just don't know how they make money or have a monopoly on the wrestling market. Then again, what competition do they have? However, the hot rumor is that if Jericho doesn't re-sign with the WWE, then that new upstart promotion down in Florida run by Sean Davis and the Wilpon family would be in prime position to sign him. That would be pretty interesting now, wouldn't it?

Photo Credit: WWE.com

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The WWE and Dominant Heels: DOES NOT COMPUTE

Last night, Kane stood toe to toe with his brother The Undertaker, just like he did on Smackdown and at SummerSlam. If that seemed odd to you, don't be alarmed. It did to me too. No, it wasn't because Kane has a decade-long history of being a job-boy to his kayfabed older brother, but because it's unbecoming behavior for a heel in today's WWE. The default heel behavior seems to be to duck and run. There are exceptions, Kane obviously and to a point, the Miz recently, but if a heel is facing any kind of adversity, he/she is going to run. We've seen it with Nexus, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Edge and even a guy like Dave Batista before he left the company. While the chicken-shit heel is a staple of wrestling booking and of storytelling, it seems to be an overused mechanism in the WWE today, one that hurts the overall product and leads to predictable booking.

I'm not knocking the chicken-shit heel altogether. It can be effective if the guy playing the character is doing it well. Jericho, for example, is excellent in his role as the holier-than-thou, pompous jerk who runs whenever it's time to walk the talk. However, why is the tough-talking, tough-looking, towering Irish brouged WWE Champion turning tail and running? It's understandable (although humourous and wrong-looking) to see him bolt like Tyson Gay away from the Nexus, but he's also run away from guys like Triple H and John Cena.

A long time ago in wrestling age, but a fairly short time ago in regular years, the WWF didn't really have a problem booking heels as being dominant forces that a true underdog babyface would find great support in toppling. Yokozuna, Undertaker, Kane, Brock Lesnar, hell, even Triple H (which was a big reason why he's earned so much ire from me and a good portion of the Internet, for what it's worth) all were indestructible heel bulldozers at some point in their careers.

In fact, in real sports, the best "heels/heel teams" are ones that are dominant all the time. The New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and University of Miami football teams didn't all get hated because they cheated or ran away from confrontation on the field. They're not liked because they at some point in time won all the time in dominant fashion and were brash and cocky doing it. OF course, those qualities also garnered them a lot of bandwagon fans over the years, especially the brash and cocky part, which could be a big reason why they rarely ever mix winning with boldness. It's a big reason why The Rock got over huge as a face in the past and why they're having a hard time keeping The Miz heel today.

You could argue (and I would agree in part) that wrestling is more storytelling and entertainment than sport anyway, which again doesn't help the argument for the massive amounts of cowardly heels. In comics, movies, TV shows, what have you, there is a diverse cross-section of villainous types. You do have your cowardly archetypes, but some of the best villains, those like Darkseid, Bane, The Smoke Monster/Man in Black and Galactus, are dominant, almost unsurmountable-seeming. The fact that the numbers are skewed so off means that the WWE misses the mark in both emulating successful sports models and entertainment models.

So then, what happens, you take the plucky, underdog face role out of the equation. Just because Michael Cole squeals about John Cena needing to overcome the odds doesn't mean that's the case. Visual evidence always points to the opposite, especially when the ring clears whenever Cena charges in for war. Hell, even when someone does impose a dominant aura, like Big Show, Cena ends up making short work of them anyway, but that's fodder for another post altogether. Hell, even Rey Mysterio has caused people to scatter. LITTLE FUCKING REY MYSTERIO, a guy who should be booked as the ultimate underdog.

There is no way that the only advantages most heels are able to get over their face counterparts should be sneak attacks, cheapshots and numbers advantages. Trust me on this one, the WWE would do better to balance things out and have a little more diversity in their heel characters. Cowards sell, but not as well when they're the overwhelming majority of enemies out there.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

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EPIC BURN

CM Punk has only recently taken to Twitter, but his kayfabe presence has been felt through the official Straight Edge Society feed. I don't know who runs it - it's not Luke Gallows (he has one of his own) nor is it Joey Mercury (the account predates his return to the company). Most likely, it's someone within the company being paid to Tweet, which is an awesome job, by the way.

EDIT: I got clarification from the SES account people themselves saying that they're not under the WWE umbrella but have the support of the WWE Universe, which is still pretty cool.

Anyway, this feed can be annoying at times, but it has its merit, much in the same way that BDK Ring Announcer Jakob Hammermeir's Twitter is awesome - it's fun for fan interaction by way of antagonization and trolling. Still, whoever's behind it comes out with a nice burn every once in awhile. Today, they may have had the most epic burn in the history of pro wrestling's involvement in Twitter. Check this Tweet out:

Today is the birthday of the 'Charismatic Enabler.' I'm sure he will spend the day drinking alcohol & getting high on funny cigarettes. #SES

If you don't know, the "Charismatic Enabler" is the nickname given by Punk to Jeff Hardy last year during their hallmark feud. Hardy has taken his act to TNA, and I'm not the only one who's noticed his on-screen condition not look as clean and sober as it was when he was last in the WWE. Of course, there was that whole arrest for possession of a cache of drugs that would make Sean Waltman green with envy.

I'm sure part of it was a kayfabe jab, but honestly, there's got to be so much truth to that Tweet that it's not even funny. Unless Hardy is still clean and sober but just sleeping in and coming to the Impact Zone every taping tired and worn out. Somehow, I'm not counting on that being truth.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

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Instant Feedback: 900 Lbs. of Horse Manure

If they had spent as much time putting over the talent on the show as they did putting over the fact that RAW now has more episodes combined than Titus, Cop Rock and Shit My Dad Says combined, this would have been a great show. Instead? It was about as self-indulgent, repetitous and bland as you could get for a two hour borefest. There were more Smackdown wrestlers and storylines advanced than there were RAW ones. None of the matches were all that good except for maybe the limited snippet of a match we got between Jack SWAGGAH~! and Evan Bourne (not surprising, but yeah). There was a confusing segment where Nexus was buried and then thanks to KANE'S DEMON MAGIC got Undertaker in a compromising position. And then of course, they broke booking rule #1 in the main event, the Champ doesn't get pinned or submitted cleanly. There were extenuating circumstances, but having Heath Slater pin Sheamus clean like that is almost like having Haku pinning Hulk Hogan in the salad days of the Heenan Family. It was just baffling.

About the only saving graces on the show came from, surprise surprise, Smackdown heels Alberto del Rio, whom I'd be afraid to light a match around for fear he may literally catch fire, and CM Punk, who eviscerated the crowd and cut an awesome promo, which continued into the best segment of the night with Big Show. Everything else was flat and drowned out by Cole and Lawler chirping the company line. Total waste of two hours. And to think, before the night began, I was wondering why it wasn't three hours. I guess I should be thankful.

However, I will give both John Cena and Undertaker their propers here. They both sold Nexus attacks like Champs, with Undertaker failing to complete his sit-up after Wade Barrett's finisher and then the 450 from Justin Gabriel, and then Cena getting pinned clean as a whistle thanks to Gabriel's 450 again. It was only one night, but at this point, I'll take what I can get from both guys.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Green Ant Breaks His Humerus

Straight from Hormiga Verde's Twitter himself

Green Ant, the youngest member of The Colony, was the most major casuality from Chikara's Young Lions Cup, breaking his humerus (aka, the bone between your shoulder and elbow joints) in a match with Keita Yano on Night 3. I'm not sure how the injury happened - maybe someone in attendance can shed some light on how? - but it's a terrible injury nevertheless. Green Ant was really coming into his own this year as a worker and a lovable underdog character, despite being the Colony's resident job boy.

Get well soon!

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

RIP JC Bailey, plus, I'm with Dave Prazak

Former CZW wrestler JC Bailey was found dead this morning at age 26. This is the only news available right now. My condolences go out to his family and friends.

In response to this news, ROH announcer and SHIMMER head guy Dave Prazak Tweeted this:

Can we please go at least a few weeks without waking up to the news of another worker dying?

After losing Lance Cade, Trent Acid, Luna Vachon and Chris Kanyon, among others, in the last few months, as well as scores and scores of other wrestlers way too early over the years, I'd like to shout this sentiment from the rooftops. I know that this is a business where these guys lie in beds they make, but it doesn't make the news any easier to stomach. It's hard being in the wrestling business or even being a fan sometimes. Enough is enough.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Can You See the Real TNA, Doctor?

One of the more disconcerting things about the opening segment of Impact this past Thursday - and believe you me, in a segment that terrible, this is saying a lot - was the standoff between Fortune and Hulk Hogan's TNA Freedom Fighters. During said standoff, you had Hogan, perhaps the most iconic WWF/E wrestler of all-time, touting a stable consisting of Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Ken "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson and Pope D'Angelo "Elijah Burke" Dinero as the "real TNA" over Fortune, whose members included no fewer than four guys (AJ Styles, Beer Money and Douglas Williams, btw... Matt Morgan and Kazarian both had runs in the WWE) who have no more than a series of WWE dark matches under their belts at the very most.

Let that sink in for a second. A group of four guys, three of whom made their names in the WWE, are "the real TNA" over a group of six guys, four of whom having no WWE live camera experience whatsoever and could truly be considered TNA homegrowns. If that doesn't strike you as ass-backwards, then you're probably like Commenter Chunk or the mongoloid TNA fanboy at the Camel Clutch Blog who blasted me for daring to criticizing TNA and not fawning over it. Why a company is seemingly hell-bent on not creating their own stars and their own identity is beyond me, but with TNA, you can't be surprised at the depths of their stupidity. Then again, maybe they do have a point, even if that point is one that they shouldn't be making.

If you think about it, TNA has tried and tried again to recreate lightning in a bottle with old stars from the WWE, WCW or ECW at the expense of the guys who had real potential to become breakout stars. Even as far back as Monty Brown, TNA has never known the true potential of guys that were in front of them, or if they did, they let forces within the company stifle those lights and make sure the established dogs were kept on top. The closest they ever came to breaking out was when Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and Styles main eventing a PPV with an X-Division Title match, and then Joe going on to win the World Championship. That was stifled, however, once TNA signed Angle and had him run roughshod over Joe in the main event.

Now, I'm not one of those people who is going to militantly state that WWE retreads should be coming in and just laying down en masse for TNA originals. You don't make money that way at all. There's no value in bringing in Kurt Angle or Jeff Hardy if all they're going to do is lose, especially if the fans want to see them win. However, you need to be smart in how you book them, and you need to be able to let your homegrown stars stand with those WWE-made wrestlers, not have them always be on a tier below.

Then again, good booking isn't synonymous with TNA, let alone words like "nuanced" or "subtle". I mean, this is a company that is debuting a new tandem of wrestlers that rip off Snooki and The Situation from Jersey Shore and are calling them, are you ready?... The Shore. Brilliant. Still, it's not too much to ask that if you're a wrestling company, you look to build your own identity first and then look to supplement with free agents from the outside.

There's a reason why the Washington Redskins haven't won a Super Bowl in almost 20 years. Their model is to trade draft picks in order to sign expensive and possibly washed-up free agents that other teams developed. If they aren't an a propos comparison to TNA and why they haven't and without a change in attitude never will even compete with the WWE, then I don't know what is.

Photo Credit: TNAWrestling.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Weekend Wrap-Up: Aaweoruaehlkjhasdfasd FRIGHTMARE!

- Big indie weekend, with arguably the biggest event coming in the form of Chikara's annual Young Lions Cup. Blog-fan, indie savant and possible Chikara booker KoppoKick absolutely nailed the tournament, save a couple of prelim matches, as he correctly called the Frightmare over Lince Dorado final. My predictions didn't fare as well, but hey, at least I got both finalists in my favorites list! Anyway, my prohibitive favorite to win, Johnny Gargano, didn't leave the weekend totally empty-handed; he won the Chikara Rumble Countdown Showdown, which is a neat consolation prize. Also, while QuackSaw didn't gain their third point, thanks to Derek Sabato's shenanigans, 3.0 did, beating the Smash Bros. on Saturday and the House of Truth Sunday. My wish to see more of them shall come true! I don't give them much of a chance to beat the $wi$$ Money Holding team of Ares and Claudio Castagnoli (I still think they're gonna swerve the hell out of us and have the team of Quack and STIGMA do it), but at least the match will be super-entertaining.

- ROH ran a couple of shows this weekend too in Richmond and Charlotte. The big news out of there was the finish of Tag Wars 2010, which saw the Kings of Wrestling retain their titles. The other big news was that they heeled Tyler Black in preparation for him bolting to the WWE. He ducked two title matches, needed to use the ropes to defeat Eddie Edwards in Richmond Friday and then lost to Davey Richards in Charlotte Saturday. He says he wants to keep the title with him when he goes to the WWE. Yeah, that's not going to happen.

- Craig "Human Tornado" Williams was released from the hospital Saturday... only to be readmitted after being diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. When it rains, it pours. Holy shit. Keep the prayers and good vibes coming, because he's gonna need 'em.

- Also, apparently, Masked Warriors has been put on hiatus by MTV2. BOO! Hopefully, we do get a second season out of this, because the show was junk-food fun and had some good talents, like El Oriental, RJ Brewer, Lujo Esquire, Mentallo and Mascarita Dorada. Sometimes, life just isn't fair.

- Take this with a grain of salt, but apparently, FCW camera crews have been following a bunch of guys around more intently than some of their other roster members, and the list includes Bo Rotundo (brother of Husky Harris), Xavier Woods (aka Consequences Creed) and Richie Steamboat. There were a bunch of other names listed though, so I doubt you'll see all three for NXT Season 3, especially since it's four men and four women for the next season. Finale is tomorrow night. Pray to whatever god it is you pray to that Kaval is named the winner.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

This Week in DVR: Superstars Lives up to Its Name

I watched what I couldn't watch live on my DVR over the weekend. Here's what stood out:

Matches:

Goldust vs. William Regal on Superstars - This match was pimped to me by Dylan Hales as being a MOTY candidate, perhaps his WWE MOTY. While I couldn't see the uniqueness in it that he did, I thought it was a great match between two veterans who actually got a chance to shine, rather than being served as job fodder for Santino Marella on RAW. There was some really good stiffness, and I really liked Regal's wrist scrapes across Goldust's face. The finish was sick. That knee came out of nowhere and Dustin sold it really well.

Dudebusters vs. Vance Archer and Curt Hawkins on Superstars - This was a surprisingly decent tag match given that 1/4 of the competitors in it were Vance Archer. The tramp-stamped former Lance Hoyt aside, I was really impressed with the Dudebusters in this match. They may have had their best match of tag team cohesion and chemistry that I've seen since they came up. Hawkins was game too. I liked his one counter to a simple running of the ring ropes with a trip out. The funny thing, in FCW, Hawkins was aligned with the Dudebusters. Heh. Anyway, they sold this match as having title implications, and though it'll have less heat than Alaska in February, the Dudebusters and Hart Dynasty could be a fun program.

Chris Masters vs. Drew McIntyre on Superstars - You can see what I thought about this match here. All three matches from Superstars made it to the honor roll this week. It was that strong a show.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me on Impact - For as shitty as TNA's storyline focus has been, they really deserve to get credit for giving the Guns a wide platform to perform and create. I liked their series with Beer Money. I didn't love it, but I liked it. I thought that this match was better than any of the other ones though. There was a lot of crisp offense in this. As blog-fan Andy Kent said on Twitter, there was some "Cirque du Soleil" BS from the Bucks in this match. I agree, sometimes they get too fancy for their own good. However, why I can tolerate it from them is because for the most part, they do the flippy shit away from the target if that makes sense. They don't rely on their opponents to help them hit their offense. Anyway, this was a great spotfest. These two teams seem to be at home against each other.

Kane vs. Rey Mysterio on Smackdown - This was a pretty decent hard-hitting brawl. The finish was a bit sloppy, but there was some nice bumping from Mysterio, especially when Kane threw him out of the ring in slide. Kane's offense looks much more brutal when applied to a guy like Mysterio than a bigger guy. It's not just Mysterio's selling, but Kane doesn't really seem to have the same zip as he does when against, say, Big Show. Again, the finish was kinda sloppy, especially the 619, which wasn't Rey's best. However, I liked the sequence.

Mentallo vs. El Azteco from Masked Warriors - Nice opener and good introduction to Mentallo, who's billed as being from Toronto, Canada. Interesting. Azteco had some nice high-flying stuff, while Mentallo played up the bully aspect while still coming with the agility.

Overall Shows:

NXT - Very weak go-home show going into the finale this coming Tuesday. Seriously, the show is supposed to showcase the rookies, and outside of a strong opening segment where the rookies were able to promo and Kaval confronted Dashing Cody Rhodes. After that, there was a trivia challenge, which was kinda lolwut inducing, and then the main match was... MVP vs. Rhodes? Especially given that we were teased with Rhodes against Kaval, this was a disappointment. The rookies seemed like an afterthought. I mean, Kaval's prize for winning the challenge was a WWE.com feature? Forget that. Hopefully though, the finale will give us a moment as epic as Regal pseudo-shooting on everyone at the last finale.

Superstars - Holy crap, this was definitely the strongest in-ring show of the weekend, and one of the best shows for pure wrestling all year. All three matches were really good and had a lot of drama behind them, even if none of them really had a story between the two parties going in. This is the pinnacle of what Superstars can be, and I'm glad I tuned in this week.

Impact - This show was a mixed-bag. Samoa Joe squashing Orlando Jordan was alright, and as I said, I loved the tag match between the Guns and the Bucks. However, that opening segment was the worst I've seen all year. For one, Dixie Carter is the worst on-screen character since Linda McMahon. I don't know who's worse. Then, Hogan coming out and pimping a group of four WWE ex-pats as "real TNA" over a group of six guys who for the most part have been with TNA for their entire history? Lame. As the dingleberry on the shit sundae, Dixie Carter's husband came rushing out of the crowd... why should I care about him if I don't care about Dixie? Christ. About the only storyline thing that worked for me was the reunion of the Original Beautiful People with Madison Rayne protesting. Everything else was kinda lame. The main event was sloppy too. Fuck, Jeff Hardy's fall from grace has been precipitous. He went from a serviceable spotfest guy to being a strung-out waste. He was totally sandbagging Doug Williams in that match. Frustrating show to watch.

Smackdown - This show was built upon the backs of strong heels. CM Punk, "Dashing" Cody Rhodes and especially Alberto del Rio all turned in strong performances. del Rio's beatdown of Mysterio and then his antics during the squash of the other-named Alex Kozlov was outstanding. I missed his debut last week, and I'm pretty sad about it now after seeing his awesomeness this week. I also love DCR's grooming tips. I'm pretty sad at the dissolution of the SES, but it's at least intriguing. I can't say the same about the main angle with Kane and Undertaker. I think the matches will be good, and I don't mind that they're rekindling the rivalry after years of it being dormant, but I just don't like the angle in which it's being done. It's boring.

Masked Warriors - I just realized this week that Aeroform = PR Powers. Holy crap. Also, a big LOL at them giving Carlito(s) "Burn It to the Ground" as his theme song. Anyway, this was more of the same as it was in weeks past. Lucha Libre USA isn't going to blow you away, but it will provide some good fast-food lucha action with outrageous storylines that always have a sense of humor about them. Take for example the running gag of the backstage announcer, Rebecca Reyes, being married to Pequeño Halloween. It's ludicrous and would be skewered if the WWE or especially TNA pulled it off, but in the context of Lucha Libre USA with the over-the-top comedy, it works. Again, it's not the best, but it's good junk food wrestling TV that's incredibly fun to watch. That being said, the wrestling was okay. The first match was good. RJ Brewer vs. Mascara Purpura was disappointing and disjointed. However, they recovered a little bit with the main event trios match, although I wasn't impressed enough for it to make the honor roll.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

"Yeah We Sold Out... *clap* Every Seat in the Arena"

I don't like Tyler Black. In fact, I've made this point at least once before. I hate his promo skills. I don't like how he can't wrestle a good match without being led by the nose by Bryan Danielson or Nigel McGuinness. I don't like the praise heaped upon him by indie fans who don't share the same ideals as I do when it comes to wrestling analysis. However, there's one thing that I'll never hate on him for, and that's taking the money and running at the first chance he got to sign a WWE developmental deal.

So yeah, what do I see during the live Tweets from the ROH events in Richmond, VA Friday night and Charlotte, NC Saturday? Tyler Black gets greeted with "You sold out!" chants. Really? Well, disillusioned indie wrestling fans, I have two words for you.

Grow up.

That's right. You have no right to chant that at Black, or really anyone who gets the opportunity to make money at a higher level in the WWE or even TNA. Let me let you in on a not-very-well-kept secret. Pro wrestling is a fucked up business. These guys put their well-beings on the line every night, much to the ridicule of the mainstream sporting media for doing a "fake" sport, even though the damage they sustain from bumps, routine to dangerous, is real. Many of these guys bust their asses for pennies in bingo halls and VFWs for the dream of one day making it big in this field they love so much. It's one thing to wrestle for the love of the game and the adulation of the fans, but in wrestling moreso than any other entertainment media, you get as much money as you can.

As much as Black would love to keep wrestling for a couple hundred dollars a night with no certainty as to the solvency of the companies he's working for, a guaranteed paycheck with perhaps the only sure thing in all pro wrestling is something he'd be a fucking idiot to pass up. How dare you belittle him for that? How selfish can you be to demean a man who is pursuing a dream (and really, who gets into pro wrestling because it's something they fell into with the exception of maybe second-and-third generation wrestlers?) because he won't be able to do MOVEZ~! on a regular basis anymore? Fuck that. Why wouldn't Black want to get a steady paycheck?

Look, I get that Tyler Black's fans are bummed that he won't be around to work with more artistic freedom. I get that they're disappointed they won't be able to see him in ROH or AIW anymore. I get that the WWE isn't for everyone, and that Black going there constitutes a departure of the Black they knew from the wrestling industry that they follow. I get that. But if you're truly a fan of Tyler Black, you'd be happy for him that he's making money now, not pissed at him for not conforming to your selfish whims.

In other words, grow up.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Know Your Indie Wrestlers: Aeroform

Who?: Aeroform - Flip Kendrick and Louis Lyndon
Promotions: AIW, EVOLVE, JAPW (alumni), Chikara (guest stars)
Alias: Couldn't find any =[
Current Affiliations: They are affiliated with Johnny Gargano, known unofficially as "Team Oreo"

Height: Kendrick - 5'8" Lyndon - 5'11"
Weight: Kendrick - 170 lbs. Lyndon - 175 lbs.
Hometown: Kendrick: Detroit, MI Lyndon: East Lansing Dojo

After the jump... Wrestling Style: Kendrick is your basic indie junior heavyweight. Lots of high-flying and flips. Lyndon is similar but he has a big martial arts influence in his offense. Very theatrical, like Bruce Leroy from The Last Dragon.

Signature Maneuvers:

Lyndon's Shotei


Top Ten Moves of Flip Kendrick


Titles Held:

AIW Tag Team Championships (current)
JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship (Kendrick)

Promos:

King of Trios promo with Johnny Gargano


Why You Should Know Aeroform: Aeroform is one of the most exciting up-and-coming tag teams on the indie scene right now. They plied their trade in Michigan and the eastern Midwest, and now, they've finally made it to the East Coast via JAPW, EVOLVE and Chikara's King of Trios. Not only do they fly through the air, but they do so with personality, especially Louis Lyndon, who's got the awesome ghetto kung fu thing going for him.

Right now, they're being pushed pretty heavily in the excellent AIW promotion out of Cleveland. AIW is becoming a major player in the indie scene, as they've collected a nice roster of regulars and guests like Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson. Aeroform is a huge part of that, and as AIW grows, Aeroform will get more attention.

So far in their work on the East Coast, they've been impressive. I enjoyed the hell out of them at King of Trios, and they had a really good match with Dark City Fight Club at EVOLVE 1. Not only are they great offensively, but they bump like Champs too, and that's important. They should be a stalwart indie team for years to come.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Human Tornado Hospitalized

According to his own Facebook page, former PWG wrestler Craig "Human Tornado" Williams is hospitalized with blood clots in his lungs. Not very fun. Not a very good day if you're a wrestler either. Here's hoping the Tornado pulls through.

In a related note, he wished me a happy birthday last year. He's certified good people to me.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Chris Masters Is This Year's Mark Henry

Remember back during Chris Masters' first run with the WWE? When they built up the MasterLock, and he was on a fast track to the main event despite the lamentations of the smarks about his non-existent workrate? Yeah, it was a simpler time, back before the days of Twitter and... uh, Twitter. The Wellness Program ended up doing him in, and he was released.

A few years later, a year ago, Masters came back with a second set of strikes, and the Internet groaned. A funny thing happened though. Masters proceeded not to suck in the ring, and he actually has become a serviceable and actively good wrestler in the time since he's been back. Noted troll and fellow blogger Dylan Hales swears he's been the second best wrestler in the WWE this year behind Rey Mysterio. Now, I wouldn't go that far, but he's been very good in the ring.

Now, I know what you're doing, and stop. Get that stupid look off your face. It's the truth. Masters has been a revelation since coming back. My first inkling as to his improved ringwork was in a tag match against DX last fall. I forget who his partner was, but he looked pretty good on offense, very crisp to the point where he looked like Shawn Michaels' equal. Each week on Superstars (since there wasn't a whole lot of time on RAW or Smackdown to have him on, you see), he's proven his mettle against opponents of all shapes and sizes. I think the big turnaround came after he turned face after the Ozzy Osbourne RAW last year. While his boob-shaking was a lone high point in that dismal segment, it gave Masters an opportunity to work face, which played to a surprising strength - his selling and bumping.

For example, take his Superstars match this week against Drew McIntyre, which was a nice cap on a surprisingly epic in-ring show this week that also included a shockingly good Dudebusters/Curt Hawkins and Vance Archer tag as well as a not-so-shockingly awesome opener from Goldust and William Regal. A lot of what made that match as good as it was was Masters selling his leg throughout the match. Scrooge McPoyle is still dry as a desert as a character, but in-ring, he's improved, especially with his offense, developing a nice meanstreak. It helps that he was in there with Masters, who really gets what it takes to be a WWE wrestler. It's the little things, like grabbing his leg after coming up off a powerslam or even the way he goes full-tilt on what might seem like a garden-variety clothesline to the outside, or even his facial expressions, which to me are a big part of how the story of a match unfolds. This match's story was that Drew McIntyre likes to injure people in addition to beating them, and Masters was game enough to make sure that came across.

Much in the same way that 2008 and most of 2009 were venues for Mark Henry to prove me wrong and to win me over in the ring, Chris Masters is doing the same right now. I doubt he'll ever get to the point where Henry was, pinning the WWE Champion cleanly in the main event of RAW or Smackdown, but if he's on Superstars each week, wrestling against guys like McIntyre or Trent Baretta or "Dashing" Cody Rhodes, then it's a reason to tune in.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

It's Not a Rumble!: Young Lions Cup VIII Preview

Chikara's annual rite of passage for its youngest wrestlers and its oldest tradition, the Young Lions Cup, runs this weekend, starting tonight in Reading, PA, actually. You didn't think I'd let a Chikara event pass without giving it a proper once-over, did you? Of course not!

I'm going to break it down to two different sections. The first will preview the 24 competitors in the actual YLC tournament. The second will run down the other matches announced thus far. Without further ado...

After the jump...Young Lions Cup Competitors

I will be splitting these guys into two groups, Guys I Know and Guys I Don't Know. Here goes:

Guys I Know

Sugar Dunkerton, Green Ant, Frightmare, Ophidian, Amasis, Christian Abel, Andy "Right Leg" Ridge, Johnny Gargano, Lince Dorado, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Mike Sydal

All the regular Chikara roster members I've had a lot of exposure to, those being Dunkerton, Green Ant, Frightmare, the Portal, Lince and I guess Johnny Gargano now that he's in FIST. You know what you're going to get from them, but in case you don't know, well, it'll be a lot of fun. My guess is the winner is going to come from that group of wrestlers, although I'm not exactly sure who it's going to be. More on that later, though.

Cole and O'Reilly are both nice up-and-coming prospects that I had the privilege of watching for the first time at DGUSA's Open the Freedom Gate card in a dark match. Cole has gone on to get some acclaim in CZW, which is a shame because I'm really skittish about checking CZW out due to its über-violence. I'm sure my boss at the CCB, Eric Gargiulo will confirm or deny that since he's big into them, but Cole has also found some acclaim wrestling for EVOLVE. O'Reilly has become an almost exclusive EVOLVE wrestler, which is funny given that his mentor, Davey Richards, not only burnt his bridge with Gabe Sapolsky, but found a way to burn the ashes of that bridge as well as burning the water the bridge was crossing. They had a very good match then, and they'll be rematching tomorrow night.

If Sydal's name seems familiar to you, that's because he is the former Matt Sydal's/current Evan Bourne's little brother. I've seen him a couple of times for ROH in jobber/squash situations, and he performed admirably. The same is said for Ridge, who's been part of the ROH prelim/Pro Wrestling RESPECT gang for as long as I've been following ROH. I'm expecting them to be unleashed here whereas in ROH prelim matches they're more constrained. Actually, I lied. Ridge was on Grizzly Redwood's team at A Touch of Class, but I don't recall him doing anything too special. Then again, their match was almost like a prelim match as they were offered up to the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (PRAISE BE TO MANTIS!).

Christian Abel seems like a fish out of water, as he's more a bruiser than a high-flyer, but hey, if there's a maxim in pro wrestling, it's that any good multi-man spotfest type match is usually improved by the presence of a bully. Abel fits that role well, although I'm not entirely sure he'll make it to the 6-man match. He's wrestling Dunkerton tonight, and I think Sugar's gonna take that match if you ask me.

Guys I Don't Know

Akira Tozawa, Brandon Michael Thomas, Josh Pain, Kaio, Chrisjen Hayme, Sindarin, Keita Yano, Dustin Rayz, Obariyon, Skull, Eric Ryan, Cameron Skyy

Some of the names here are familiar, but I've never seen any of these guys in action. BMT was in YLC last year, beating Frightmare in an opening round match. They're rematched this year, which I believe that Frightmare will probably win.

The best thing about YLC is that Chikara reaches out to feds all over the country and world. You don't just get imports from the usual suspects (ROH, Sapolsky feds, PWG), but AIW, Clash, Insanity Pro, Lucha Lords and even Italian Championship Wrestling. One of the many reasons why I think it's the best thing going today. Anyway, rather than speaking on guys that I don't know, I'm going to be very curious checking them out, especially Sindarin, Obariyon and Kaio. This DVD set should be awesome.

PREDICTIONS~!

I think going into full pick 'em mode would just make me look like a dope since I rarely ever get these kinds of things right. I mean, I thought Davey Richards was a lead-pipe lock to win the OtFG Title last year and he lost his prelim match, and I thought it was going to be Team Frightning vs. the BDK in the finals of KOT, and Frightning jobbed out to Team Big Japan in the first round. I will give you whom I think has a great chance of winning though, with a prohibitive favorite:

Lince Dorado - Because the BDK wins everything, you see? No, seriously, he's a favorite because the BDK angle is so big, although I think with the chinks in the armor starting to show, he'll falter in the Final. He'd be a good choice. While the Arena fans hated him for whatever reason, he was always my favorite among the three The Future Is Now guys (before Jigsaw started mentoring the group), and a pretty good spotfest guy without seeming like a choreographer *cough*Helios*cough*.

Green Ant - Greenie's been hard on his luck in singles competition, and the fact that he's up against a DGUSA emissary in the first round, Akira Tozawa, means there's a good chance he's jobbing on Night 1. However, Greenie has been the most improved Chikara wrestler in the ring this year, and he's gotten a strong following. What better coming out party and what better redemption for the Colony after the BDK screwed them out of KOT this year?

Frightmare - Frightmare has been getting a lot of exposure this year. He got a YLC match against Donst, made it to the Rey de Voladores final at KOT and he had that awesome ceiling rana spot on Claudio Castagnoli at Aniversario Elf. Besides, the celebration he'd have with the trophy would be worth the price of admission alone on Sunday.

Ophidian - Nothing against Amasis, but Ophidian seems like the breakout singles star of the team. He's already won Rey de Voladores, which seems like a good indicator of what they think of him. Last year, Player Dos barely lost out on RdV in the finals against Kota Ibushi (who wasn't coming back for YLC) and he got the nod for the YLC tourney. Plus, he's one of the most over guys in the company. Far worse choices than the Venomous and Vile Serpent of the Nile.

However, this guy is my prohibitive favorite:

Johnny Gargano - Okay, Gargano just joined the full-time Chikara roster by booting Gran Akuma out of FIST and taking his spot. What better way to put him over, to put the new-look FIST over and to cement his standing in Chikara than by having him win the YLC tourney? Gargano is one of the indies' rising stars. He's already won the AIW Championship as well as become one of the biggest American names in DGUSA. If I were a betting man, I'd go all in on Gargano taking the trophy home.

Other Announced Matches

Night One
Tursas vs. Grizzly Redwood - FOR THE LULZ~! Man, I wish I could be there tonight just to see this comedy of epic proportions. Here's hoping that The Grizz doesn't get squashed into a flapjack by the end of this one.

Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw vs. Sara del Rey and Daizee Haze - This could be the match of the night and the match of the weekend, pending how YLC unfolds. QuackSaw are 1 point away from being able to challenge for the Campeonatos de Parejas, held by Castagnoli and Ares. How fitting would it be for them to go through the Ladies of the Bruderschaft to get that third point? SDR has been one of the best wrestlers in the world of any gender all year, and Quack is one of the best of all-time. Jig and Haze can hold up their ends as well. This should be a barnburner, provided there are no shenanigans with the booking.

Night Two
3.0 vs. Super Smash Bros. - This is the only non-tourney match announced for Night Two, and it should be a good one. 3.0 is on the full-time Chikara roster, but they seem to make the least appearances out of anyone, and that's a shame. I'd love to see more of these guys, but hopefully, this is the start of them making an extended run. The SSB are always good, and in an aside, I'm glad that they're getting more and more ROH dates, although I'd like to see them be booked a little more strongly than they have been there.

Night Three
The Countdown Showdown! - IT'S NOT A ROYAL RUMBLE! Although it is seemingly modeled after the Rumble match... Thirty men and women will enter at intervals of 30 seconds, but only one will emerge victorious. What will that person win? Err, I don't know yet. However, it is the only other match announced other than the YLC tourney final, so it's a big deal. So far, 18 out of 30 competitors have been announced, which means that only 12 of the 22 competitors in the YLC tournament at most will have spots in there, which means there'll probably be some last-minute matches announced.

Be that as it may, here are the folks announced for the Countdown Showdown thus far:

Eddie Kingston, Jigsaw, Dasher Hatfield (YESYESYESYES), Cheech, Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, UltraMantis Black (PRAISE BE TO MANTIS!), Player Dos, Equinox, Icarus, Vin Gerard, STIGMA, Colin Delaney, Delirious, Sara del Rey, Claudio Castagnoli, Pinkie Sanchez, Brodie Lee

Good lineup so far. I expect to see some of the eliminated in this, as well as Quack, Hallowicked, Ares and maybe... Vökoder????

So, there you have it. Young Lions Cup. I regret I won't be there, but if you're in the tri-state area and want something really awesome to do this weekend, head up to the Goodwill Fire Association Hall on 100 Madison Avenue in Reading, PA and check out at least one of the three nights. I went to Night Three in Philly last year, and it was awesome. This year's card looks like it might blow last year's away, and last year's was pretty good.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

RIP Luna Vachon

Via Ringside XCess

Former WWF wrestler Luna Vachon has passed away today. She was 48. Vachon spent a long time in the WWF as a thorn in the side of Alundra Blayze in the mid-'90s. She also seconded Bam Bam Bigelow for awhile. During the Attitude Era, she led the group The Oddities. Recently, she lost everything in a fire. Terrible, terrible news. I offer my sincerest condolences to her family and friends.

ETA: Via F4W Online

"Tough" Tony Borne, an icon in the Northwest region and father of Matt "Doink" Borne, passed away this morning at age 83. Again, I offer my sincerest condolences to his family and friends.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Friday Five: LUCHA LIBRE~!

Five questions about south of the border!

1. What is your greatest exposure to lucha libre?

2. Do you check out Lucha Libre USA?

3. What's your favorite mask design?

4. Would you like to see more crossover between CMLL/IWRG/AAA and the WWE?

5. Who is your favorite Mexican wrestler of all-time?

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Remember Your Classic Wrestlers: Harley Race

Who?: Harley Race
Promotions: AWA, NWA, WWF, Stampede
Nicknames: King of Wrestling, Handsome, Mad Dog
Classic Affiliations: In the AWA, he tagged with Larry "The Axe" Hennig and formed a successful Champion team. Later in his career, he'd be a successful manager, taking both Lex Luger and Big Van Vader to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Height: 6'1"
Weight: 245 lbs.
From: Kansas City, MO

After the jump...Signature Maneuvers

Top 10 Moves of Harley Race


Classic Feuds:

- Race's first big feud was with Terry Funk in the Funk family territory in Amarillo. This feud would be rekindled throughout both men's careers, as they battled for pride and for titles. Race won his first NWA World Championship from Terry's brother Dory and then again six years later from Terry in Toronto.

- Along with Hennig, Race feuded with Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher extensively for the AWA World Tag Team Championships.

- Race battled Dusty Rhodes several times for the NWA World Championship. The two would have a classic, long-standing feud in the late '70s, which would segue into Race's other major classic feud...

- ...with Ric Flair. Flair won his first World Championship from Rhodes in 1981, and Race soon won it from him. Flair annoyed Race in his quest to get it back so much that Race put a bounty out on Flair to end his career. Bob Orton and Dick Slater followed through on it, causing Flair to apparently retire. However, it was a ruse, and Race passed the torch to Flair in a bloody war at the first Starrcade in 1983.

- Race finally moseyed on over to the WWF in the mid-'80s, and his highest profile feud was against Junkyard Dog, culminating in a match at WrestleMania III, which Race won.

Titles Held:

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (8x)
NWA United States Championship (first holder)
NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (7x)
Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship
1986 WWF King of the Ring
AWA World Tag Team Championships (3x, with Larry "The Axe" Hennig)
Scads and scads of other regional titles

Race was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.

Promos:

Controversial "Guys Like You Carry My Bags" promo against Ron Simmons


Bounty on Ric Flair


Race's Legacy: If Harley Race wasn't the best wrestler of all-time, he's a strong contender to that title. A legendary Champion, Race spent his entire life proving people wrong. When a car accident nearly took his leg and he was told that he would never walk let alone wrestle again before his career even really began? Yeah, he proved everyone wrong. When he was told that he could never make it as a national draw? Yeah, proved 'em wrong again. In addition to his natural talent, the man didn't know how to quit or falter.

He also seemed like a man's man, the paragon of masculinity. He had an aura about him, that no matter what he did, how he had his hair, what kind of ridiculous leisure suit he wore, he did so with dignity, flair and confidence that you couldn't help but respect him, even if he was a heel. That aura never faded, even when he retired, and it was a big reason why he was able to help Vader and Luger get as over as they did.

From his humble beginnings in Missouri to world-wide wrestling superstardom, Harley Race's presence in wrestling history is undeniable and his contributions are immense. Again, there can't be too many people in the sport's history greater than The King of Wrestling, and anyone who wants to make a mark in this business would do well to live up to the standards that Race set in his illustrious career.

Photo Credit: Slam Wrestling

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Cary Silkin's Open Letter to the Fans

Via F4W Online

ROH Owner Cary Silkin posted an open letter to wrestling fans everywhere today. If nothing else, it shows ROH is at least open to listening to the fans. It's also a company-wide thing, since Jim Cornette did something similar months ago. As much as I criticize ROH sometimes, I'm glad that they're around, providing an alternative to the WWE's sports entertainment deal, and I'm even gladder that they listen to their fans and have their ears to the ground to try and get the pulse of the wrestling community.

I also love how Silkin is a fan of the business, and how you rarely if ever see him on camera. I see him all the time at Arena shows in Philly, but he's there just getting the crowd riled up and observing the action. You can tell that he's not just watching to see how his investment is playing out. He seems to be enjoying himself. Hopefully, he gets some good feedback and actually follows through with his promises, because he's in a position where he can really help grow his fanbase, and he needs to remember to keep the tastes of the people who got him there in mind.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Casualities of ECW: A Look at the WWE's Midcard Six Months after Their Midcard Show Went off the Air

The letters "ECW" have been in the wrestling news for a good couple of months now, given all the attention TNA has lavished upon the original entity (although they can't legally string those three letters together without the WWE slapping them with a cease-and-desist). Around this time last year, the other entity that called itself by those letters, the one reviled by fans of the original product, was arguably the best week-in, week-out wrestling show on TV, or at the very least was a hair below Smackdown for that title. Conversely, around six months ago, that program was put on ice for good as it was replaced on SyFy Network by WWE NXT. Back then, I was distraught about losing the program that featured not only the future of the WWE but some measure of the company's past, but was hopeful about what NXT would bring to the table.

Right now... errr, well, yeah, I don't view things through glasses tinted with as much rose coloring. The loss of ECW from the airwaves has left a void in WWE programming and a valuable hour for helping to develop young wrestlers and allowing veterans a stage where they could be the focus of a show without taking time away from the John Cenas and Triple Hs of the world. It's a void that hasn't been filled with NXT completely, and it's sent the guys that it was helping along greatly into a buzzsaw of oblivion for the most part. It's clear to me that the WWE misses ECW more than it will ever let on, despite the fact that they've done a good job in elevating a select few.

The buzzword within WWE right now is "elevation" it seems. Yes, Titan is doing a good job, not great, but good if sometimes inconsistent, in creating new main eventers to help soften the blow of guys like Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Batista and Undertaker all retiring or getting ready to retire. However, it seems like if you're not main event or flirting with the main event right now, there is seemingly no place for you in a storyline. There are matches and maybe one midcard feud here and there, but no longer is there the rich and vibrant midcard that the WWF had up to even 2001. Therein lies a huge problem when it comes to elevating guys such as, say, Jack Swagger.

Swagger could have used a whole ton of seasoning with a few midcard feuds before he won Money in the Bank seemingly out of nowhere. He was given the ball to run with in ECW, and then he got shunted to RAW where after a feud with MVP went south, he wasn't seen nor heard from for months except to embarrassingly job to other guys or to wrestle occasionally on Superstars. What followed? Well, there was a raging debate over paying dues and such that could have been avoided if, y'know, Swagger was doing the jobs he did to Orton and such BEFORE winning Money in the Bank.

The sad part was that Swagger was an awesome heel and character in ECW, where he got to display his talents to a limited-but-still-sizeable audience. Instead of being eased into the bigger crowd, he was stowed away until the WWE was ready to push him in earnest towards the main event. That's not effective booking.

My hope was that once NXT took over for ECW that both RAW and Smackdown would develop vibrant midcards again. The situations have improved slightly, but the fact of the matter is, unless you're a main-eventer, you're there for comedy or you have tits, you're not going to get any meaningful feuds or character build. Sure, you'll get matches each week, and maybe if you're lucky, you'll get some protection, but it always seems to be such a blur because you're not called upon to develop yourself unless you have a main event program or are part of one.

This is terrible news for guys such as Zack Ryder, Yoshi Tatsu, Goldust, William Regal, Christian, Shelton Benjamin (who was future endeavored because without ECW, they had nothing for him), Chris Masters, the Dudebusters or any member of Nexus who isn't Wade Barrett once their angle is completely over and done with. They will always remain fodder instead of having a place to ply their wares.

I mean, take for example Ryder and Tatsu. Both of them were among the most protected wrestlers on any of the three brands in the last six months of ECW. They got to be in angles, or at the very least, were part of ongoing series of matches where they were able to be built up as part of a vibrant brand. Now? They get time on Superstars, but Superstars is watched by fewer people than ECW was. Plus, there's no context, no storyline impact. If they do get bones thrown to them on the big shows, it's to do embarrassing jobs like the one Ryder did for Sheamus in the "main event".

I think the bigger travesty is the veterans not having time to go. On ECW, guys like Goldust and Regal would provide great foils for the younger wrestlers to help them get acclimatized to the WWE style. Obviously, you're not going to dedicate 15 minutes on RAW to a Goldust match anymore or give Goldie any kind of context even in his short squash matches, but on ECW? You could build an angle around a vet like Goldust, and it would produce great matches and give young guys valuable experience with wrestlers who've been to the rodeo before, like one of my favorite feuds from last year, Goldust's feud with Sheamus. You could argue, and I certainly will, that Sheamus has shone as brightly as he has in part because of the experience he had with Goldust.

You don't get that kind of build with NXT at all. Yes, the Nexus, comprised of all NXT Season 1 rookies, is one of the hottest acts in all wrestling right now, but none of that momentum came from anything they did on NXT. The build given to the group would have been effective whether they were NXT rookies, invaders from another company or even disgruntled low-to-midcarders already in the company. They hit a homerun with the Nexus angle that they will never in a million years be able to replicate with the Season 2 rookies even if they tried. This wouldn't have been all that bad if the format of NXT wasn't so demeaning to the rookies themselves. The challenges are stupid for the most part, and the rookies are rarely ever allowed to go over any of the Pros of note, unless you count Carlito or Ryder as big time WWE hotshots. I don't.

My biggest criticism of NXT is that there are rarely any big feuds, any stories that are being told other than "ZOMG WHO WILL BE THE NXT BREAKOUT STAR OF THE WWE~!!!11" each week. They've teased it with Daniel Bryan and David Otunga last year and with Alex Riley and Michael McGillicutty this year, but other than that, you have short-term Pro vs. Rookie feuds, Pro vs. Pro spillover and other WWE angles spilling into the show, like for example when the Nexus came calling during the battle royale a few weeks back. Yeah, guys like Bryan and Kaval, who have name recognition before their WWE tenures, get pops, and guys like Wade Barrett and Alex Riley get some heat from the crowd, but other than that, nothing is really being done to make anyone care about any of these guys during the program. At least in ECW, when you had guys of the same stature, they were given feuds and stories that helped endear them to the crowds or make the crowds boo them.

The real kick in teeth for this entire NXT experiment has been the lack of ratings. NXT has struggled to exceed ECW's ratings, and in fact they've had trouble even replicating them some weeks. So, at the expense of destroying the only prolonged display of midcard angles the WWE had going for it, they got a net return of zero on new viewers gained to that timeslot.

Honestly, if there were a show I'd have looked at knocking off the air in favor of NXT, it would have been Superstars, but even that show has merit. The economy has been flagging to the point where it's hard to sell people on the idea of expanding a brand, but at the same time, pro wrestling has been on somewhat of an uptick in the last couple of years that trying to get airspace for a Wednesday night show has been in the back of McMahon's mind for awhile now. Be that as it may, I feel like the NXT experiment has been a failure to date, and that taking ECW off the air was a bad, bad move. For a company that is trying to build new stars, they fail at grasping the concept of needing to season them. It's not all about look or working ability or promo skill. It's about honing those talents in a way that tunes into what the crowd is feeling. Working in the midcard is the best way to get that seasoning.

We're in an age where most guys can't cut a promo, where guys have no idea what working a good match that tells a story is all about, where it gets so hard to build new stars that promoters rely on tired old characters and gimmicks instead of building new talent. Granted, the WWE misused the ECW brand, but the brand has produced guys who got reactions even if they weren't followed up on (Mark Henry is the biggest example here). However, now that it's gone and they don't seem to want to spend time giving angles to people who aren't ready for the main event so that they CAN get ready for the main event, well, they won't be able to count on this uptick to last for much longer.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

TWIOT: NFL Predictions for 2010

WEIGHT LOSS UPDATE: 290 lbs., down from original weight of 336.4 lbs.

It's the most wonderful time of the year for we the male sports fan. The NFL season is upon us, and the best four months of the sporting calendar are beginning. Yes, it's two weeks before the season starts, but I think now is the perfect time to make predictions. Why? WHY NOT! Here we go!

NFC East
d-1. Dallas Cowboys (11-5)
w-2. New York Giants (10-6)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (9-7)
4. Washington Redskins (6-10)

It was very hard for me to make this prognostication because, really, fuck the Dallas Cowboys and everything they stand for. Be that as it may, I can't see them not winning the division. They've got a stout defense and enough offensive firepower to pull it out. Giants take one of the wild card spots, although that's the pick I'm most wary about. The G-Men didn't exactly come down the stretch guns-blazing... or actually, they did offensively. They just couldn't stop anyone. It was doubly hard for me to slot the Eagles in 3rd place, especially since I think the defense will be improved this year. I'm just very, very worried about our ability to score in the red zone. I like Kevin Kolb, and I think he'll be great between the 20s this year (enough so that I drafted him as my fantasy QB in my main league), but while I don't think we'll be exactly rebuilding this year, I don't see the playoffs, sadly. The Redskins got Donovan McNabb, but really, they have no line and too many personnel issues on defense. I think they're going to stink this year.

NFC North
d-1. Green Bay Packers (11-5)
2. Minnesota Vikings (9-7)
3. Detroit Lions (6-10)
4. Chicago Bears (6-10)

This is the toughest division to call because there's merit for all four teams. I think the surest thing in this division will be the Packers with Aaron Rodgers lighting up scoreboards everywhere he goes. I think they're good enough defensively to keep the division on lockdown. After that, it gets rough. The Vikings are getting a lot older up front, to the point where one of their star DTs Pat Williams was considering retirement. While the Vikes have proven that they can handle the Brett Favre circus, the fact that Favre got battered last year has to be somewhat disconcerting. Add that to the fact that their top 2 receivers, Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin, are both experiencing injury woes, and that might spell a downturn from the 14-4 total record and NFC Title Game appearance they had last year. The Lions and Bears will both be better than advertised, especially on defense. I have them both slotted for 6-10, but I feel like that's an underestimation of record. Again, tough division to call here.

NFC South
d-1. Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
w-2. New Orleans Saints (10-6)
3. Carolina Panthers (7-9)
4. Tampa Bay Buccanneers (3-13)

The Saints won the title last year mainly because their defense finally caught up with their offense, but it really wasn't on account of them stiffening up. They got a lot of turnovers, which is going to help a team's record a whole hell of a lot if they can't stop teams. Not coincidentally, the Saints couldn't exactly stop teams last year, and a lot of times, they had to come back from huge deficits to keep their record going. That's why I don't think they win the South this year. They're still really good, but the Falcons, after taking a step back last year, are ready to move forward and ensure there won't be a repeat winner in this division yet again. I really like their balanced offense, and they've got a nice little defense too. Carolina isn't going to be terrible - they never are - but I don't see a team relying on Matt Moore or Jimmy Clausen at QB challenging either Atlanta or New Orleans. Tampa stinks.

NFC West
d-1. San Francisco 49ers (10-6)
2. Arizona Cardinals (8-8)
3. Seattle Seahawks (7-9)
4. St. Louis Rams (4-12)

This is another hard division to call. I'm going with San Fran here mainly on strength of their defense and running game. Patrick Willis is a beast, and I think this is the year he takes over as one of the best, if not the best, defensive player in the NFL. Still, every time I want to pick San Fran to win anything, they crap the bed. Hopefully, this is the year they reverse that. Arizona took major steps back when they traded Anquan Boldin and saw Kurt Warner retire. Neither Matt Leinart or Derek Anderson have the chops to step in and produce in that offense like Warner, who may very well be a HOFer, could, and when you have an offense predicated on passing as much as the Cards are, that's a problem. Seattle will improve, but they're still short a few guns in this arms race. St. Louis will still be terrible, but they may turn around quicker than you think in the coming years. They've got a few nice pieces on defense, and if Sam Bradford gets some meaningful snaps this year (hint, he will), then it'll help his maturation along a lot.

AFC East
d-1. New York Jets (12-4)
2. New England Patriots (9-7)
3. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
4. Buffalo Bills (5-11)

I liked the Jets a lot more before I heard Darrelle Revis was holding out. He's the best corner in the game, and while I think the Jets have a great complete secondary, you lose out when you've got a player like that holding out of camp. Still, if I have them slotted for 12-4 now, well, yeah, I really liked them a lot before. They'll run game in the regular season. The Pats have too many questions for me to put them in the playoffs this year. Miami has some nice pieces, and I like them adding Brandon Marshall a lot, but I don't know if a team that is relying on Chad Henne at QB will be able to beat out both the Jets and Pats. The Bills are kind of a hot mess, but I think they're stouter defensively than people give them credit for. They'll be bad, but not first-pick-overall bad.

AFC North
d-1. Baltimore Ravens (13-3)
2. Cincinnati Bengals (9-7)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-9)
4. Cleveland Browns (5-11)

The Ravens are a trendy pick to win this division, and why not? While their secondary is questionable at best, it won't matter much since they can pressure the QB as good or better than anyone. They gave 3rd year starter Joe Flacco a lot of weapons on offense as well. Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth give the Ravens their best receiving corps since leaving Cleveland, and Ray Rice is one of the top RBs in the game. The Bengals seemed to improve offensively on paper, but there are a lot of combustible elements in that locker room. I smell a letdown. The Steelers will suffer from not having Ben Roethlisberger for the first 4-6 games of the year. The Browns are a year or two away from even entering any conversation about contention, but they have some nice players (Sheldon Brown, Jerome Harrison, Joshua Cribbs).

AFC South
d-1. Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
w-2. Tennessee Titans (10-6)
3. Houston Texans (8-8)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-13)

The Colts are a safe pick to win the division every year. Duh. I think the Titans are your other playoff team from this division. The Texans are the sexy pick, but Matt Schaub has never stayed healthy, even as a backup in Atlanta, and Houston seems to be struggling with injuries. While I'm not enamored with Vince Young at QB, they gave him enough weapons, and the Titans seem to have a stout enough defense. Jacksonville was banking on getting Tim Tebow to sell tickets, and Tebow is going to be a questionable pro. That should tell you enough about their team. I don't think the Jags will contend again until they move to LA.

AFC West
d-1. San Diego Chargers (10-6)
w-2. Denver Broncos (10-6)
3. Oakland Raiders (6-10)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (4-12)

The Chargers making the playoffs out of this division seems to be a given. Vincent Jackson missing the first four games of the year might be an issue, but I like Philip "Marmalard" Rivers enough that I don't think it'll matter. For some reason, I like the Broncos to get the other wild card spot in the AFC. They have a good enough defense, even though they have questionable playmaking ability on offense now that they traded away Brandon Marshall. Be that as it may, I think they get in. The Raiders will be better than advertised, but I think they're a year away. Jason Campbell is a major upgrade over JaMarcus Russell at QB though, plus they have a nice little defense. The Chiefs have a few pieces, specifically Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones, but I don't think they have the pieces defensively, and I hate Matt Cassell as a starting QB.

Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?

Falcons over Giants
Saints over 49ers
Broncos over Colts
Chargers over Titans

Falcons over Cowboys
Packers over Saints
Chargers over Jets
Ravens over Broncos

Packers over Falcons
Ravens over Chargers

Packers over Ravens

NFL Awards
MVP - Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB
OPOY - Rodgers
DPOY - Patrick Willis, ILB, SF
Coach - John Harbaugh, BAL
OROY - Jermaine Gresham, TE, CIN
DROY - Brandon Graham, DE, PHI (I'm allowed one homer pick, y'know)

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Wrestlespective's 8/25 Power Poll: Sans My Ballot *sad trombone*

Welcome to another edition of the Wrestlespective Power Poll. I know I didn't get time to post this last week when I did submit a ballot, but I didn't want to feel like a complete jerk two weeks in a row and snubbing the awesomely awesome poll completely. This poll is voted on by a who's who of wrestling bloggers, including my blogging Mirko Bro Cop, PizzaBodySlam. Instead of commenting on my ballot (since I didn't get time to submit one this week), I'm going to comment on the top 10 itself as voted by the bloggerati out there:

1. John Cena (Last week: 1) - Last week, I left Cena off my ballot as a protest. This week... well I still wouldn't have ranked him this high at all although he would have made an appearance. Not sure what he did other than get a non-descript DQ loss to The Miz. He didn't really cut a memorable promo, nor did he look all that special in the ring. I dunno, maybe people are excited for Legendary?

2. Randy Orton (3) - A solid choice. Orton was the last one standing as RAW went off the air, and he did his best to make John Morrison look like more than a sloppy pile of dog feces. A bit high for my tastes, but then again, I didn't see Smackdown, Impact, NXT or LLUSA this past week so I don't know who'd I'd have voted ahead of him other than the guy at #5 or maybe DANIEL BRYAN???

3. Sheamus (6) - Okay, I lied. I would have voted for Sheamus over both of the two above. He was clearly the co-best guy on RAW along with #5. Awesome promo to start the show, and I loved his interaction with Zack Ryder at the end.

4. Kane (2) - Kane is still... on fire. Haha, pun intended. I didn't see Smackdown, but I can understand his placement more than, say, Cena's.

5. The Miz (5) - Still awesome. The dude has been on fire with his mic work for the last year, and Monday night was no exception. I really hope that win or lose, Alex Riley gets paired with him because he makes a perfect second for Miz, and that act would be money all the way to the top of the card.

6. Chris Jericho (NR) - He's right about where he needs to be. He had a surprisingly good match with Khali, part of which is credited to Jericho knowing what needed to be done and Khali knowing how to do the best with his limited mobility.

7. Alberto del Rio (NR) - Not surprising here, as I've heard a lot about his debut. A refreshing contrast to the last guy to debut on Smackdown after a series of vignettes hyping him only to fail miserably (looking at you, Kizarny).

8. Edge (NR) - Meh, he was there and really wasn't all that memorable. I might have left him off my ballot completely.

9. Kurt Angle (NR) - So, is there a clause that voters abide by that makes them pick at least one TNA guy a week, no matter how badly the product sucks? Yeah, I didn't watch, but Angle is probably involved in one of the least interesting storylines of all-time due to how predictable it's going to end, and really from my recollection, hasn't worked a great free TV match since... well I can't remember (1/4 against AJ Styles wasn't great, folks).

10. Wade Barrett (8) - Like Edge, he was just there and not all that memorable except to take a beatdown from the rest of his opponents at Night of Champions. I like Barrett, but this week was an off week.

Next week, I'll attempt to submit a ballot and have watched enough wrestling for it to be informed!

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

The Best Moves Ever: Big Show's KTFO Punch

The punch is such a garden variety wrestling move, but the truth of the matter is, a well-landed punch can do a lot more damage, than, say Starship Pain, or even other more-impressive looking moves. The exception to the rule is the Big Show's Knock-the-Fuck-Out punch (the "the-fuck" portion added by me), which looks as impressive as it should. Have you seen the size of Show's ham-hock of a fist? This is one of those kayfabe-protecting moves that makes me jump back and think, "Man, was that real?" for a second.



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Wrestling Six Packs: Best Beards in Wrestling History

Yes, this six pack is about beards, from the thick and lustruous to the scraggily hobo growths. The beard is a very fickle but manly style to sport. Only some men can pull it off. Here are six that I think did or still do it best:

1. Bruiser Brody



The best beard in wrestling history? I think so, and it's at the very least the most recognizeable. There has never been a beard that enhanced someone's character as much as Brody's beard did for the reputedly legit unhinged brawling legend. While he was murdered in Puerto Rico, his beard will forever live on as one of the most iconic facial hairs in history.

2. Mike Knox



A beard so epic IT COULD NOT BE CONTAINED BY THE WWE ANY LONGER! Seriously, look at that thing. It may not be thick or well-groomed, but it's an epic beard whose wild fury deserves, nay, DEMANDS mention on a list such as this. His beard is so epic that there is only a tag dedicated to it, not to the man himself.

3. Grizzly Redwood



Naturally, a wrestling lumberjack such as Grizzly Redwood ought to have a beard, but a beard of this stature on a man of Grizzly's size? It is a life-affirming beard, one that should make all manly men strive to replicate.

4. Harley Race



The man, the myth, the legend, Harley Race wore so many styles of facial hair during his career, but when he rocked the beard, it was the pinnacle of his face-fuzz wearing days. C'mon now, what other facial styling would compliment the white-man afro that Race had rocking back in the day? One of many things King Harley Race did excellently.

5. CM Punk



I firmly believe that Punk didn't come into his own as a world-class wrestling icon until he grew his beard. Clean-shaven, bleach-blond CM Punk didn't have the look to become the complete wrestling god. Clean-shaven, black-haired Punk? Getting better, but still, it was too commonplace and generic, like his face character was. Black-haired, bearded Punk though? Add that in with his chest hair, and it completed the look for the sanctimonious but wizened and charismatic leader of the cult-like Straight Edge Society. As an aside, his hair needs to grow back sooner rather than later, because when it was first shaven, he just looked like one of those Magna-Doodle guys with a beard and no hair, you know, the one where you have the pen and can "draw" hair on a guy with magnetic particles? However, the short-hair/beard look that he presently has is cool, kinda like Travis Bickle with a beard.

6. Ted DiBiase



The last spot was tough because there are so many awesome wrestling beards out there in history, like Brodie Lee, Mark Henry, Randy Savage, Chris Jericho, Arn Anderson, Kenta Kobashi, Necro Butcher, Ballz Mahoney, Mad Dog Vachon and of course, Hulk Hogan Amish Roadkill. However, I had to settle on Ted DiBiase. I mean, the beard was just so well-groomed and perfect, fitting his Million Dollar Man character to a tee. It was the complete opposite of Brody's, but hey, DiBiase's character was the complete opposite of Brody's as well.

Brody and Race Photo Credits: Online World of Wrestling

Knox, Punk and DiBiase Photo Credits: WWE.com

Redwood Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Serena Ninja-Fired by WWE PLUS a Rasche Brown Update

Courtesy of F4W Online

First off, yes, I'm all lagged because I spent 14 hours on the job and on the road combined yesterday, but I swear, there will be bloggings today. Yes, there will be bloggings. Plentiful bloggings, including this week's Six Pack.

Anyway, it turns out that Serena of the SES got fired over the weekend in a story that didn't really break until late Monday/yesterday. The word on the street is that she wasn't "living up to her gimmick" when the cameras weren't rolling and that she was seen outside drinking. ZOMG shock and horror, I know. How dare these people have lives outside the ring. If that's the only reason, it's an asinine firing because everyone knows wrestling is staged and that kayfabe is only alive when the shows are on the air. However, I'm also hearing that "not living up to her gimmick" was code for "being a blithering drunkie", which is a whole lot more understandable on the part of the WWE. No matter who's in the wrong here though, we can all agree that it sucks that she's not employed by the WWE anymore, because she was pretty good at what she did, which was make awesome facial expressions, play the evil valet role pretty well and of course, parade her giant knockers around for all to gawk at.

Also according to the F4W piece, TNA tried out Katie Lea Burchill. Quite frankly, I hope she signs there because fuck, the Knockouts division needs all the help it can get.

Finally, commenter and indie maven KoppoKick checked in on Monday's Rasche Brown post with some info. Here's what he had to say:

SkullKrusher no-showed the ROH show on Friday. His explanation was he was vacationing with his family last week and when he got home all tired he set his alarm to PM instead of AM and missed his Friday morning flight. It's unclear whether he missed a special Saturday flight ROH set up for him, which would mean the company had to eat two plane tickets.

Rasche wanted to make it up to ROH and drive down to Virginia this weekend (where ROH has a show on Friday) and tape what they needed from him that he missed at TV in Philly. It's an admirable gesture, but I'm not sure how feasible it is since I'm not sure the HDNet camera crew was going to be available in Virginia. Rasche's punishment for no showing Philly was being removed from the Plymouth, MA show on 9/10 and the iPPV in NYC the following day. That upset him enough to quit the company. He has also talked about dealing with the effects of concussions since last year.

So there you have it. Hopefully, he's okay re: concussions, but other that, I have no sympathy for him. ROH didn't fire him after they had to eat two plane tickets, one of which was a special one, so for him to quit in response for being removed from two cards seems like an overreaction to me. Then again, I never really liked him all that much anyway, so I'm not all that broken up about this anyway.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!