Wrestling Six Packs: The Rock's Best Matches

Rock, selling the return of the Hulkster as only he can
Photo Credit: WWE.com

The Rock is known more for his promos than for his wrestling, but really he was great in the ring too. Many people will tell you otherwise, but they're what I like to call haters. Rock was maybe the best wrestler in the company from 2000 on, and he had his moments before then too. Here are six of his best matches.

1. vs. Triple H, Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match, SummerSlam '98

This is an iconic match, before Rock came into his own and before Trips got all overrated and stuff. I've highlighted this match before and featured it on From the Archives. This is where Rocky came of age as a worker, and it's also where Triple H came of age as a character. Good work all around.

2. vs. Chris Jericho, WCW World Championship, No Mercy '01

Jericho was in the midst of a heel transformation into what could have been a main eventer, and if he didn't run into the eater of souls known as Triple H, he might have gotten there. Still, Rock and Steve Austin did their best to put him over. While the Armageddon two-fer for the Undisputed Championship is more famous, I liked this match a lot better. It was in the middle of a pseudo-feud, where Jericho and Rock were just beginning to sour on each other at the tail end of the Invasion, and you could see the hate for each other slowly building and then boiling over at the end of the match. Brilliant story.

3. vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, WrestleMania XIX

For whatever reason, Rocky and Austin were the ultimate foils for each other. This match would be Stone Cold's final match with the company, and he did so finally putting The Rock over at WrestleMania. How 'bout that for doing the ultimate favor for a friend? This was probably their best match, and that's saying something.

4. vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan, WrestleMania X-8

If this isn't the best carry job in history, it's at least in the top five. Hogan came into this match with a reputation for being a broken down cripple, but under the generalship of The Rock, he turned in his finest performance in years. The most amazing thing about this match? The crowd turned on Rocky early on and started cheering Hogan, and rather than go by a preset script, Rock and Hogan, two of the most consummate professionals in wrestling history, flipped the script and switched roels. It was one of the most surreal but one of the most awesome sights I'd ever seen as a fan ever.

5. vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, WWF World Championship, WrestleMania X-7

Going into the match, it felt like it was just another WrestleMania main event between the two that maybe felt like something recycled. It didn't have a whole lot of heat outside of two of the best performers in the company going at it, with the plot of Austin going for the WWF Championship for the first time since coming back from injury. Of course, we all know what happened here. Austin and McMahon formed an unholy and yet ultimately rejected-by-the-fans alliance, and Rocky was Champion no more. While the finish was a bit overdone for me, the two produced a taut match before the shit hit the fan.

6. vs. Mankind, I Quit Match for WWF World Championship, Royal Rumble '99

I featured this one on FtA too! This match will be forever talked about for the right or wrong reasons, but it was memorable. Foley was always one of the most outstanding bumpers in history - you could argue that between this match and the Hell in the Cell against Undertaker, he went TOO far - but it always made for interesting theater. While Rocky hitting Mankind with the chair while handcuffed might be a bit cringe-inducing at least and sickening at worst today, it worked within the context of the feud. A very stiff, very tense brawl.

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!

Oh, That's Where You've Been Hiding, Ted DiBiase

DiBiase
Photo Credit: WWE.com

It was easy to miss last night, what with the hullaballoo surrounding John Cena and the Miz/Lawler TLC match and the King of the Ring tournament all going on, but Ted DiBiase was featured on the show for a hot second. In that truncated segment, he showed more character and fire than he had in over a year, dating back to when his dad hosted RAW.

It was easy to forget about DiBiase; out of the ring, he was treated as a lackey to a punching bag for Randy Orton to a spoiled brat with a terrible theme song and no real story behind him other than playing foil for the A-Team or Goldust. They gave him nothing to work with, and in turn, he came off looking like the bland half of Legacy. Hell, they even changed his theme song from the passable "New Day" to some BS Autotuned garbage that sounds like audio vomit. Meanwhile, Dashing Cody Rhodes, the guy everyone thought was the weak link from Legacy, got a strong character, vignettes every week and a bitchin' theme song. What gave? Did Ted Jr. fall out of favor? Was he really the weak link? DID WIKILEAKS HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS?

I think the answer is no to all those questions (especially the WikiLeaks one). This is yet another case of WWE Creative not being able to find things for more than a few guys to do at a time. It's a tired explanation, but it's true, and that's why it's so sad. Seriously, you can't turn off talent, but you can hid it, and the RAW bookers/writers have done just that. What we saw Monday may be the beginning of something planned for him, seeing as he was holding a replica of the WWE Championship, but it's criminal that a guy the caliber of DiBiase wasn't given anything. But hey, I guess they have to shoehorn in advertisements for other pet projects or only really give one or two feuds/angles at a time some development.

In the ring, he's never really stopped putting it together. Of course, it helps when you're in there with Goldust, Daniel Bryan and Christian all the time, but hey, at least he's carryable, right? Still, once they let his natural talent on the other side of the coin shine through, they'll have a breakout star on their hands.

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!

John Cena Singing Jerry Lawler Happy Birthday After the Cameras Stopped Rolling

In what some people will call further murdering of the "fired" stipulation *wanking motion*, after the RAW cameras went off the air last night, John Cena and a bunch of Divas celebrated Jerry Lawler's 61st birthday by singing him "Happy Birthday" and presenting him a cake, which Cena and Lawler promptly smushed in the heel Divas' faces. Cool stuff.



Thanks to Travis Scott Bowden of Kentucky Fried Wrestling for finding this!

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!

Lex Luger Sighting!

Luger, in video game form
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Via WWE.com

WWE.com did a quickie interview with Lex Luger about his inclusion into Smackdown vs. RAW 2011 via an official download from the company. It was mostly puff questions about the video game where Luger said his dream match nowadays would be against someone like John Cena or Triple H. At the end, he gave an update on his health. Turns out he's getting his life back in order and healing up from his chronic injuries. He's also been getting spiritual guidance from Ted DiBiase, Sr., which means he's probably serious about kicking whatever drugs he used to be on if he wasn't before. Good for Lex.

Even as recently as this year, I kinda held Luger somewhat responsible for Miss Elizabeth's death because I mainly didn't know all the details of the case. Now that I've educated myself, I kinda feel bad for the guy and I'm happy he's getting his life back on track. I still think his run in the WWF as the All-American Superstar was underrated, but hey, can't change the past.

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!

Junk Food Booking

Great match... I don't wanna see it again next week
Photo Credit: WWE.com

For those who've been reading for the last few months, you'd know that I'm on a quest to lose weight. I started out at 336 lbs., but since April, I've dropped 68.5 lbs. This was not by accident. Back when I was a superfatty (before becoming just a fatty, you see), I used to eat at Taco Bell like it was my job. Three times a week at least, maybe more if I was feeling a bit more self-loathing or lazy that day. Yes, it made me feel like twelve lbs. of horse shit in a five lb. bag within a half-hour or so of eating it, but it tasted okay and it was convenient. When I changed my lifestyle, I cut the Taco Bell out of my diet completely, eating mostly home-prepared foods, especially for lunch. I wasn't running to the bathroom an hour after eating anymore. I didn't get stomach cramps. By and large the stuff I was packing had better flavors and were more nutritious for me to boot. I can say, I laid off Taco Bell until about a month or so ago, when on a trip to New England for work, I decided hey, for old time's sake (and because I didn't want to jeopardize missing the beginning of RAW), lemme grab dinner from Taco Bell. I got it, and it was good in a nostalgic sort of way. Also, it didn't send me running to the bathroom either. However, it didn't really have me longing for the days when I ate Taco Bell ad nauseam either.

What does that anecdote have to do with wrestling? Well, if you watched last night's main event to RAW, you might get the idea. Yes, the TLC WWE Championship match between The Miz and Jerry "The King" Lawler last night was what I like to call junk food booking. Let's take it from the top. It was a first-time match between the two opponents and yet they felt the need to make it into a heavily gimmicked match. It featured run ins from a wrestler and an announcer. The heel Champion won by heavy chicanery. On a show that by-and-large featured clean, well-booked finishes, this stood out like a sore thumb. However, it was also one entertaining spectacle of a match.

The problem with junk food booking is, like when junk food food is consumed in excess, really messes with the health of a fed. Case in point, look at the WWF during the Attitude Era or TNA even now. Back then, people got over, but it was on the strength of being great personalities (Rock, Austin, Triple H/DX, McMahon, Foley) given a forum to entertain on the biggest stage. It was also a fresh and exciting concept, but it was one that was ultimately a fad. There were so many talented wrestlers in the WWF who could have gotten over in another era in the past, even if it was just as a midcard attraction, but that never did get their due. Guys like Mark Henry, D'Lo Brown, Val Venis, William Regal and others were given throwaway builds that either had a short-term pop or had none at all, and thus they were tossed to the wayside for varying amounts of times.

In TNA, you can see how well their pseudo-Crash TV style of booking works to get guys over as really no one really garners any true heat (they need to thank God that the Impact Zone is full of Pavlovian dogs/plants that cheer when they want them to cheer) and the ratings and buyrates show no sign of trending upwards for an extended amount of time. They give you stuff like what the WWE gave last night with the main event in every match on every card. That's a recipe for becoming bloated, sickly and just plain unattractive.

While booking super clusterfuck finishes like last night all the time will ruin your fed, having it once in awhile? Yeah, as long as it's entertainingly done, it's alright in moderation. I mean, there was a finish, both guys bumped their asses off (Miz moreso than King, but that's understandable given the ages of the two), there were some huge storyline developments that impact not only the WWE Championship but the state of announcing on RAW and it all felt important, which is something that Vince Russo's scatterbrained clusterfuck booking almost never does. Those are the keys to booking something like that. I think the WWE passed last night with their main event.

I mean yeah, it's great to eat steak and salad and roast chicken all the time, but sometimes, it's that greasy fast food cheeseburger, or in my case, a pile of chalupas from Taco Bell that fit the bill. Last night was one of those occasions. I think it's something that can be let slide for now, as long as the cravings to go back to pigging out every week don't ever come back.

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!

I *Star of David* Colt

The best exposure Colt's ever gotten, and that includes his time as Scotty Goldman

Colt Cabana made a surprise appearance on RAW last night, in t-shirt form. You didn't expect me to ignore that, did you? CM Punk looks out for his friends, it seems, although I wouldn't be surprised if he got heat on him for it. Ah who cares, it's not like anyone who's not an indie fan knows who Colt is anyway. Awesome markout moment.

Screen Cap Credit: Seth Zillman

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!

You Can't See Chris Pronger (or Peter Laviolette)

Now playing enforcer, #54...
Photo Credit: Dan Gross, via Crossing Broad

Via Crossing Broad

While he wasn't blatantly showing fans that it's okay to hop the rail and attack random WWE wrestlers or in the back flaunting his "fired" stipulation, John Cena was hanging out with hockey nobility in this town, Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette and star defenseman and noted tough guy Chris Pronger, who were both in attendance last night. They presented him with a Flyers jersey, which I think is way cooler than his other orange shirt. But then again, I'm an unabashed homer for my Flyers, so yeah.

Since Cena is technically fired, I wonder if he'd like to play in the NHL for awhile. The Flyers do need some help on the blue line, and I'm sure Sidney Crosby will think twice about slew-footing him lest he get an Attitude Adjustment. Hell, now I want to see him on the Flyers because who wouldn't want to see Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin or *insert NHL player here* tap out to the STF? I know I would.

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!

Instant Feedback: Jerry Lawler Still Has It

Wow, if you told me that RAW's main event would feature Miz and Jerry Lawler in a TLC main event with a run in from MICHAEL COLE of all people, and that it'd be a good match? I'd laugh in your face. But that's what happened on RAW tonight. Granted, it wasn't good in the way that the Sheamus/Morrison match was good, or the way that a Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels match in 1996 would be good. It was trashy, clusterfucky fun. It was done as well as an overbooked Russo-esque match could be, but at heart, it still was a clusterfuck. However, just like going to Burger King once in awhile won't kill you, this kind of match is nice to have every once in awhile. And hey, if this were booked in TNA, the match would have ended in a no-contest. Make no mistake about it though, Miz has to go over strong at the PPV.

I think what really sold this match though was the announcing of CM Punk. It's amazing, he's on the job for three weeks, four if you count his spot NXT duty this year, and the guy already laps every announcer they have three times. He combines the reckless disregard for tact that makes Cole great, the peppering in of random old-school facts and wrestling analysis that make Matt Striker great, doesn't have either one of their egregious flaws and he actually has a knack for getting the product over. When you heard him say he had respect for both Lawler and Miz tonight and say Miz was the future of the WWE, you could tell he meant it, and that's HUGE for the product at home. I hope Vince McMahon takes heed and hires more guys like Punk or makes his announcers emulate Punk. OF course, he'll probably just keep Punk (whose Colt Cabana shirt tonight elicited a legit mark out from me, by the way) in the booth, which will come at the expense of him ever being an active wrestler. Six in one hand, half-dozen in the other, but then again, I'd rather see him in the ring.

As for the rest of the show, I liked it. Yes, I had complaints. Yes, I hated that they used the "hey, wrestler gets distracted by the wrestler he's feuding with" finish in the Alberto del Rio/John Morrison match that they use ad nauseam it seems. I don't like that there's not enough emphasis on the mystery GM trying to enforce the stipulation of keeping John Cena at bay, although Cena made some really excellent points in his promo work tonight (more on all that later). However, this really was a strong show. All but one of the tourney matches had clean finishes that for the most part put the loser over, ESPECIALLY in the bookend matches. Daniel Bryan was super-protected, as protected as one can be by losing clean via tap out, and John Morrison, who again had a great match with Sheamus and acquitted himself well by bumping his ass off, looked valiant and like a warrior in his demise. Sheamus winning wouldn't have been my first choice, but he was a very good choice.

And as for the Cena angle? I have to say, I like where they're going with this even if I have some problems with it. Cena playing up the revenge factor like he was a maskless, mysteryless Midnight Rider is something I like a lot, and he's making a ton of sense in how he's evading the stipulation. Remember, the WWE doesn't want him gone. It's Barrett who does and really, everyone in WWE has a reason NOT to like him. I do think it's moving too fast, which has been the MO of this entire feud. I mean seriously, they're shoving in an entire year's worth of storyline material into a few months, and it just kills me here, Smalls. KILLS ME. I also would like to see more muscle from the GM, since he HAS to act in the interest of the stipulation. But you know what? Everything makes sense, and it's been entertaining as hell, so I can't kill them completely.

This marks three solid-to-awesome RAWs in a row for the WWE, coming at a time when they're ususally as stagnant as they'll ever be during the year. I'm very impressed. Hopefully, they keep this streak alive, because I've been really enjoying the hell out of my Monday nights for the last month.

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!

Angry WWE Girl, the Scourge of Carpathia, the Sorrow of Moldavia

This defines awesome and win

I want to shake the hand of whomever made this.

Thanks to Friend of TWB Stan Mikita for finding this

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 Confetti Cannon Just Doesn't Like The Miz

Here's footage of the aforementioned confetti cannon malfunction for The Miz on his appearance early this morning on WMMR's Preston and Steve Show.



I'll e-mail to try and get an isolation of his interview this morning and will post accordingly.

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!

SummerSlam '95: The End of an Era

The nadir of the WWF's mid-90s decline?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

SummerSlam '95 is generally forgotten in the grand scheme of things, and for good reason. There really wasn't a whole lot special about the card to the casual observer looking back at it. It was headlined by one of the worst looking main events in history with one of the worst sub-main matches. Its only saving grace just on first glance was a rematch 16 months later of one of the most famous and highly-regarded wrestling matches in history. Of course, in order, I'm talking about Diesel/Mabel, Undertaker/Kama and Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon. When I popped it in as part of my Black Friday veg-fest, I really wasn't expecting a whole lot and was pleasantly surprised. However, I couldn't help but noticing a lot of funniness with the main event and how it was the dying gasp for an era in the WWF that was epitomized by overly-caricatured wrestlers in gaudy-even-by-wrestling-standards clothing usually in gimmicks that suggested wrestling was a second job.

That main event featuring Diesel defending his WWF Championship against King Mabel was funny for a few reasons. One, it featured for the second time out of three years a challenger who wasn't nearly as over as what dictated for the second biggest PPV of the year. Mabel could go down as one of the three worst Kings of the Ring ever whose only assets were a scary mug and girth on the level of Yokozuna. Two, the other challenger who was about as over as a fart in church, Lex Luger, was pre-eminently involved in the main event angle just by association of his tag partner turning on him and then turning on Diesel a few weeks before the event. Three, none of the three people who factored heavily into that match were anywhere near the same position there a year later. Mabel, in all his purple parachuted-pant glory, was quickly de-pushed after an errant hip press legit injured Diesel's back. Luger was out of the company a week later, showing up on the first ever Monday Nitro and kicking off the Monday Night Wars in earnest. Diesel was gone within six months, signing a WCW contract and kicking off maybe the biggest angle in wrestling history under his real name, Kevin Nash.

I'm not sure if the WWF realized it at the time or not, but that PPV was a crossroads for them. They were tasked with a choice; did they continue down the path, saddling guys like Shane Douglas with a teacher gimmick or Chris Candido with a meathead gym rat gimmick, or did they give guys more natural characters and let them be themselves (even if it was after a few tries)? It took them about six months to a year, but they got on the right path. Yes, they had to take a short term hit, as WCW was using all their old megastars, as well as guys they'd either built themselves or inherited from JCP and, within a year, would have a killer angle that would blow the WWF out of the water. However, they made the right choice and rebuilt, distancing themselves from trash gimmicks such as Sparky Plugg and the Bodydonnas and into grittier, better-realized characters such as The Nation of Domination, Goldust and eventually, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

The next year, the main event featured the athletic babyface who grew out of his early-90s-tastic character into the role of a charismatic fan favorite, Shawn Michaels, against a heel monster who played well in both WCW and Japan, Vader. After that it was the Attitude Era, and they were back on top like they were accustomed to being. They did so thanks to flipping the script and changing the way they did things rather than intensifying what had worked for them in the past but was showing signs of decaying.

This is the biggest lesson that both WWE and TNA can learn from the mid-'90s, TNA moreso since the WWE does have a healthy market share and is still turning profits that would make many other wrestling companies green with envy. You have to have balls enough to flip the script in a way that accentuates the positives of the product. Focusing in on authority figures, battling over control of a company, emphasizing hardcore to the point of nausea... these are things that may have worked before, but now, they're passe. Basically, TNA continues to travel along a path where there are crossroads at every turn. Will they eventually take the right path, or will they refuse to grow a set of balls, fire Bischoff, Hogan and Russo and do something that might pay off for them in a year or two? I guess we just have to wait and see.

Too bad Dixie Carter and her parents don't have the patience that Vince McMahon and his staff did in 1995. Pity too. Wrestling's better when there's competition.

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!

Leslie Nielsen and the Case of The Undertaker

In memory of the passing of the great Leslie Nielsen, I figured what better tribute to the man then to post his trials and travails in the summer of '94, when he was on the hunt for the real Undertaker.



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!

SHIMMER's Aussie Invasion

Madison Eagles, Leader of the Invasion
Photo Credit: SHIMMER Website

Wrestling is a big deal in the Land Down Under. The WWE is huge down there, and they draw pretty well when they tour. The short-lived Hulkamania tour that took place before Hogan went to TNA was exclusively Australian. For as big as it is though, there are scant few Aussie wrestlers who've made it in the big time up here. I mean, the only one I really remember is Nathan Jones, and he blew. Contrast that with the current SHIMMER roster, and you'd think that they go down to Oz to recruit every three months.

Their current Champion, Madison Eagles, is Aussie. No fewer than three other roster members - Kellie Skater, Jessie McKay and Tenille - also hail from the Land Down Under. While four women on the roster may not constitute a majority, well, the fact that there are as many female wrestlers for SHIMMER now as there have been male pro wrestlers who've appeared for (W)WWF/E in its history is just mind-blowing. What's the reasoning for this? Well, I'm not entirely sure, but there are a few things that spring to mind.

One is that women's wrestling is still very much a niche market in America. In the WWE, it's treated as a joke. In TNA, it's gotten some exposure in the past, but with the new regime (Which thinks alot like the WWE), it's slowly becoming more a joke despite it being the highest rated thing on the show. ROH has all of two regular women who appear for the company. With American women not really put in the forefront anywhere major, perhaps the demand for women wrestlers is more global than local. That presents a better opportunity for Aussie gals to make it up here.

Secondly, while the WWE and possibly TNA are huge in Australia, they don't have too much of a fully-formed local or national scene to latch onto for the men, and if the men have trouble finding work, it must be damn near impossible for the women to do so as well. Yes, Japan is closer and joshi feds are more prestigious, but hey, the allure of making it in America, where there's always the chance you get picked up by one of the two feds that get big play on TV at home, might be a little greater than going to Japan to get your head bashed in by women who have to be stiffer than usual in order to get a market share with the much more acclaimed puroresu men. Since SHIMMER does send people to the big companies - Beth Phoenix, Nattie Neidhart, Katie Lea, Madison Rayne, Serena Deeb, Sarita, Amazing Kong and Cheerleader Melissa are all women with WWE/TNA experience who are SHIMMER alumnae - it's definitely a place to get a start.

It's not like SHIMMER isn't grateful for having them though. Eagles is the Champion. Skater not only is getting a decent push in the ring right now, but she's also getting the added exposure of taking over for Portia Perez in the announce position when Perez goes to wrestle. McKay is one of the most over wrestlers on the roster. It's a beneficial relationship for all parties involved. For SHIMMER, it's an extra added bonus of getting exposure in a new market in the global game. For the women, it's not only getting themselves exposure, but bringing more of a spotlight to their home country to get more women and maybe even some men over here.

Whether it's a sign of things to come or just a happy aberration, I can say I'm glad that SHIMMER has dipped into Australia for talent. It's a long-underutilized breeding ground for wrestlers, and maybe this will be the beginning of a long and beautiful partnership between feds Stateside and the wonderful land of Oz.

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: Tryptophan Hangover

SíNation! ­¡ARRIBA!
Photo Credit: Mogle854 on Twitter

For a holiday that used to have such strong wrestling tradition in several regional markets, there was a scant few major wrestling shows this weekend. Yikes.

- Capital City Championship Combat, out of Ottawa, (CANADA?) ran a show Saturday night that featured a bunch of Chikara regulars, including Up in Smoke, Brodie Lee, Max Boyer, 3.0 and the Super Smash Bros. Also on the card were ROH guest star Tyson Dux, the Beef Wellington who I erroneously reported as getting a WWE developmental deal (the CZW one... it was another Beef Wellington who competed mostly for OVW who got the deal) and current (former?) TNA wrestler Kiyoshi. Main event saw Stupefied (aka Player Dos) taking out Dux.

- Lots of Juan Cena news. First, he's got his own Twitter... okay, it's not WWE-approved, but God bless the person who took it upon himself to do this thing. Second, he made his debut last night at a Maryland house show. Hopefully he appears on RAW tonight, but it could also only be a house-show-only thing. Either way, the WWE has my attention.

- The Miz appeared on 93.3 WMMR-Philadelphia this morning on the Preston and Steve Show. I didn't get to catch the whole thing, just the first half of it. They talked to him about becoming WWE Champion and rising up from The Real World to get there. They asked him if he felt responsible for creating "The Situation" because of his self-given nickname dating back to the TRW days, and he said "I hope not". That's the part where I had to get out of the car, but at least it was on a high note. I'll see about getting maybe a podcast link to throw up here later as well as scouring their Youtube page for Miz's intro this morning, which featured a malfunctioning confetti cannon that shot out a tampon-shaped item rather than confetti. Just as a note, Miz appeared on-site at the Plymouth Meeting Metroplex as Preston and Steve's Campout for Hunger is beginning today. It's a food drive to help Philabundance to feed the hungry. It's a super-worthy cause, and if you're in the Philadelphia area, I highly suggest bringing over a donation this year.

- Remember kiddies, RAW is three hours tonight for the King of the Ring. Your participants are Ezekiel "Don't Call Me Ahmed Johnson" Jackson, Daniel Bryan, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Alberto del Rio, Cody Rhodes, Scrooge McPoyle and Sheamus. Make your picks here. I got del Rio over Bryan in the finals, with Triple H possibly coming back and costing Sheamus in an early round. Either way, with KOTR, The Miz as Champion and a possible appearance by the wily Juan Cena, this could be a very interesting RAW tonight.

- On a sad note, actor/comedian Leslie Nielsen died last night in Tampa, FL at the age 84. He succumbed to pneumonia. The guy had an epic career, starting out as a serious actor, but really found his niche as a comedic actor with his brilliant deadpan deliver in the movie Airplane!. He'll be best remembered as Lt. Det. Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun movie series. Of course, wrestling fans will remember him for his crack detective work at SummerSlam '94, investigating the whereabouts of the real Undertaker. RIP Mr. Nielsen. You'll be sorely missed.

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: Adam Cole

Panama's Finest

Who?: Adam Cole
Promotions: ROH, CZW, EVOLVE, DGUSA, Chikara (guest star)
Alias: Panama's Finest
Current Affiliations: Currently teaming with Kyle O'Reilly in the ROH tag team division

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Hometown: Panama City, FL

After the jump... Wrestling Style: Typical American junior heavyweight style

Signature Maneuvers:

Top 10 Moves of Adam Cole


Titles Held:

CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship

Promos:

On his first SOTF


Promo with Tyler Veritas


Why You Should Know Cole: Adam Cole is an indie darling in the making. Just from watching him since his first exposure to me against his future tag partner Kyle O'Reilly back at DGUSA's Open the Freedom Gate, I knew he was going to be something special. That potential has manifested itself, both in EVOLVE and in ROH. The guy can flat out work in a style that translates to all levels, be it in the garbage wrestling environment of CZW all the way up to even the WWE should he make it that far.

He's also got a natural star-look and a good grasp of how to work the mic. Even in his career infancy, he's got a knack to do everything that a well-rounded wrestler can do. Check out his match with Johnny Gargano at EVOLVE 4 and the post-match stuff for a glimpse of what he'll mean to the indie scene before it's all said and done. If you're not impressed, then I don't know what to say.

Keep an eye on Adam Cole. He's got enough of a platform to shine, given that he's featured in now fewer than three major indie feds at the moment. I'm glad they're taking a chance on new blood, because with guys such as Cole, the future is bright.

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: Next Week on Impact... THE GRAND JURY DEBUTS!

These ladies can work, yo

I watched what I couldn't watch live on my DVR this week. Here's what stood out:

Matches

Colt Cabana vs. Erick Stevens on ROH on HDNet - This was a fun if bland match at spots. I'm not particularly thrilled with Stevens, who's okay, but has a bunch of boosters on the Web that overrate him. Also, he looks a lot like Ben Stiller, doesn't he? I thought Cabana carried this match, especially with his pin combinations. The counter out of the Dr. Bomb at the end was super-spiffy if you ask me.

Sara del Rey vs. Daizee Haze on ROH on HDNet - Wow, talk about leading with your best foot forward. If ROH wants to build a women's division, they couldn't have two better women to use as a base. Fantastic match that was built on Daizee bumping like crazy for SDR's rough 'n tumble bully offense. I underestimated Daizee in the past, but I know the score now, and del Rey doesn't have a bad match with anyone. The time limit draw worked to put both women over and was probably the best finish possible for this match, especially if the endgame is a Final Battle match or the introduction of a Women's Title.

Trent Barretta vs. Curt Hawkins on Superstars - Wow, this is the second match between these two that made my MOTYC long-list and the third to reach the honor roll. Mikey Whipwreck is doing something right with these kids up in the NYWC. It started out slowly, but right before the break, with Hawkins throwing Barretta into the guardrail. What we got after the break was a hot match built upon Hawkins not wanting to get shown up by the younger Barretta two weeks in a row. Hawkins winning with something other than the Heat Seeking Elbow was a nice touch too. I liked that neckbreaker-rotation DDT. I may be high, but I think both guys deserve more time on Smackdown, and in particular, I think a properly booked feud between Hawkins and Chris Masters for the IC Title would be neat.

Madison Rayne vs. Sarita on Impact - This was a fun little brawl, although nearly everything surrounding it was wrong. It featured another pointless and abrupt turn with Sarita and Rayne at odds. IT had the Champion lose in a non-title scenario (even if the KO Title is kinda worthless due to other bad booking decisions lately). But the action out of context was pretty nice.

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack SWAGGAH~! on Smackdown - Wow, this was a really fun match, although it had its share of missteps. Both guys looked very strong, even SWAGGAH~! in defeat. I thought the All-American American American American American carried the action early as Kofi got in his own way a few times. Swagger's leg work was really good all throughout the match, and his submission game was on point as usual. Towards the end, Kofi looked a lot better, hitting probably the best Boom! Drop I've ever seen from him. I also liked his counter to the Vader Bomb and he hit one of the best Trouble in Paradise kicks I've seen from him. Good if not great match.

MVP vs. Drew McIntyre on Smackdown - Nice brawl with great psychology. MVP was really awesome selling the arm, especially on doing the everyday things like trying to do a leapfrog out of the corner off a whip. I'm continuing to enjoy McIntyre as a worker, even if he's still dryer than overcooked turkey breast as a character. Really good match.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dashing Cody Rhodes on Smackdown - I thought the finish was a bit overbooked, but the action was good in the ring. A standard Rey match, but the part I enjoyed most was the "NOT IN THE FACE" schtick by Rhodes at the beginning of the match. Good stuff.

Shows

ROH on HDNet - I thought this was a pretty good show. I thought that the women's match should have been the main event, because really, what's a foregone conclusion of Davey Richards over Daivari going to mean in the last slot? I did like the segment between the Kings of Wrestling and the Briscoes too.

Superstars - The show had one good match this week, albeit it was a great match, but after that, it went down steadily. Even though I liked three of the four wrestlers in the tag match, I couldnt' get into it, although I will say I would rather watch Santino's pseudo-comedy/half-serious in-ring work than watch, I dunno, say, Davey Richards and Shingo Takagi or Kota Ibushi kick each other a lot, no sell it, then drop each other on their heads and no sell that too. I've grown tired of seeing handicap matches, especially in feuds that go nowhere. Ultimately forgettable second-half of the show this week, although I did enjoy catching that kid who made the scowl at Miz winning the title make the RAW Rebound. That was pretty nice.

Impact - Wow, so they spent an entire show pimping the return of Dixie Carter just so she could show up in the overrun (THE FUCKING OVERRUN) and advance her feud with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan by slapping them with an injunction? Oh my fucking Lord, I hate Bischoff, I hate that they've turned TNA into a courtroom procedural drama. I hate that they keep doing the same non-finish main events each week. I hate that they have so much potential and just want to flush down the toilet. Fuck this company.

Smackdown - All four KOTR qualifiers were either good matches or in the case of Show/ADR, had very well-done finishes. However, I just can't in good conscience feel good about a show with such a terrible main angle. Let's see, Edge, having kidnapped Paul Bearer, threatens to push him down a flight of stairs while bound up and gagged in a wheelchair? He induces him to shit his pants? And builds a dummy just to run over so he can continue to go back on his promises? AND HE'S THE FACE? Ugh, I want to punch Michael Hayes and all his writers for shoveling this horsecrap as the main angle for Smackdown.

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!

Jeff Jarrett Submits Little Kids

Lost in the legal turmoil and the advancement of that hot angle putting over that young, up-and-coming babyface Dixie Carter against those awesome heels, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan, they had a pretty decent comedy segment featuring Jeff Jarrett putting kids in various submission holds. Would it have been better if it wasn't the devoid-of-personality Jarrett? Probably, but hey, God bless 'em, they tried. I still got a chuckle out of it, and you might too.



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: Ric Flair

The Dirtiest Player in the Game
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Who?: Ric Flair
Promotions: AWA, NWA, WCW, WWF, TNA
Nicknames: Nature Boy, Naitch, The Dirtiest Player in the Game, The Black Scorpion, The Man, Wrestling God, Golden Stallion, The Sixty-Minute Man, Slick Ric, The Limousine-Ridin', Jet-Flyin', Kiss-Stealin, Wheelin', Dealin' Son of a Gun

Classic Affiliations: The Four Motherfucking Horsemen. Duh. Classic lineup was Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard, managed by JJ Dillon. In the WWF, he was managed/seconded by Mr. Perfect. Right now, he heads up Fortune in TNA, but let's not talk about TNA.

Height: 6'1"
Weight: 243 lbs.
From: Charlotte, NC

After the jump...Signature Maneuvers

Figure Four Leglock


Flair Flop


Top Ten Moves of Ric Flair


Classic Feuds:

The man feuded with everyone worth a damn in this business. Harley Race, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes, Magnum TA, Sting, Lex Luger, Randy Savage, Jumbo Tsuruta, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Mr. Wrestling II, Eddie Guerrero, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Terry Funk... yeah, he's been around the world and then some.

Titles Held:

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (10x)
WCW World Heavyweight Championship (8x)
WCW International Heavyweight Championship (2x)
WWF World Heavyweight Championship (2x)
NWA/WCW United States Championship (6x)
WWE Intercontinental Championship
NWA World Tag Team Championship s(3x, 2x with Greg Valentine, 1x with Blackjack Mulligan)
NWA Television Championship
WWE World Tag Team Championships (3x, 2x with Batista, 1x with Roddy Piper)
1992 WWF Royal Rumble Winner
WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008
NWA Hall of Fame Class of 2008
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Class of 1996

Promos:

It's Rolex Time!


A real hard nut to swallow


Nitro Montage


To be the man, you gotta beat the man


Some kinda fine


Giving Ricky Morton a training bra


Flair's Legacy: Forget Ric Flair as you see him now, a doddering old man, ruining his legacy in TNA. Especially if you're a new-school wrestling fan, that Ric Flair is not the Ric Flair that people like me and TWB superfan Barry Clark, Jr. and several others know as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, wrestler of all-time. You could say that Flair is Willie Mays of pro wrestling, a guy who was awesome in his prime, but stuck around too long. No one remembers Mays' years with the Mets, and no one should remember Flair's TNA years if the world was fair. But Mays wasn't pushed as the franchise player of those Mets teams. Flair? Yeah, not so much background activity in TNA.

That being said, in his prime, there was no one who was better at doing his thing. In the 1980s, Flair was to Southern wrestling what Hulk Hogan was to the Northeast. He was an icon, and he made his bones doing things differently than Hogan. He was the villain that you wanted to see beaten, not the conquering hero. He became a favorite of the community that was akin to what the Internet is today, fans who appreciated wrestling acumen and ability on the mic rather than character alignment. He made everyone he was in the ring with look like a million bucks, even after making them look like idiots in pre-match promos. People say Hogan was the reason why pro wrestling took off in the '80s, but without Flair as a counterweight, I don't think it takes off.

Even in the '90s, when Flair went to the WWF and then returned as a background character in WCW, he was still a super-valuable asset, even if he was misused, especially towards the end of WCW's days. Flair, even for being an old guy with manboobs hanging out, was still valuable in the WWE as a member of Evolution. He's been a great performer in four decades. I think you gotta give it up to The Man. WOOOOO!

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!

Hey There, Bryce-y Boy, Flyin' Through the Sky So Fancy Free

WHOAAAAAAAAAAA
Photo Credit: ChikaraPro.com

Bryce Remsburg, never change.

Thanks to TWB superfan KoppoKick for finding this!

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!

I SPIT AT YOU: EVOLVE 4 Review

EPIC WAR

EVOLVE 4 was the first of two that featured Bryan Danielson during his tie-induced exile from WWE. It couldn't have come at a better time, given that EVOLVE needed a hook to get people to do more than just nod at the critical acclaim it was receiving from bloggers and smarks. Thankfully, the hype surrounding AmDrag's EVOLVE debut for the fed that he helped ideate was justified by the results, as this turned out to be a pretty spiffy card.

The DVD started with a quick promo by Danielson that was interrupted by some douchecaptain, I think his name was Sean Davis? Danielson kicked him out of the arena. Graphics ran down the rules and we got to our first match, Jon Moxley against Brodie Lee. Lee was crazy over as a face, which is odd, since I'm used to seeing Lee get his face booed off by Chikara fans. Weird. Anyway, Moxley acted like he was begging off from Lee before the bell, and then as soon as it rang, he charged in and attacked. This was my first experience with Moxley since seeing him in that dark match at Open the Freedom Gate, and he actually looked a million times better than he did against B-Boy on that card. Lee hit a big boot, and Moxley sold it like a gunshot before both men went to the floor. They were throwing big punches, whipping each other into the guardrails and everything. The finish came when Lee said "fuck it" and grabbed a chair. Moxley grabbed one and they both hit the ring. The ref threw the match out IMMEDIATELY before they even could use the chairs, and the announcers sold it like neither guy would ever be back in EVOLVE ever again, which is fair given that the rules were all emphasized before the event began. Moxley ate a chair to the face for his troubles anyway after the decision. Instead of doing the documentary crew that they did the first three shows, they taped a bunch of sit-down interviews the day after and had various guys react, which I thought was cool.

Second match was a four-way, single fall match featuring Drake Younger, Chris Dickinson, Ricochet and Rich Swann. The action was really all over the place early on with this one, very hard to follow at first. The two thinner guys were tossed, and Dickinson and Younger got to tee off on each other. It got pretty stiff, but both guys are known for giving and receiving big strikes. The spot guys got back into the ring, and at one point, they got simultaneously backdropped by Dickinson. Impressive spot. There was a split off into two matches again, with Dickinson reversing an inverted rana from Ricochet into an Alabama Slam. He put the erstwhile Helios in a camel clutch, while meanwhile, Swann had Younger lined up for the standing 450 splash. Younger put his knees up, countering the move, and then hit Swann with the Drake's Landing (Vertebreaker), getting the 1-2-3 while Dickinson still had Ricochet in the camel cluch. Dickinson thought that he had Ricochet knocked out and wasn't happy with the result.

Next up, Mercedes Martinez defended her WSU World Championship against Tina San Antonio, although it was a defense in name only as it was a merciless quash. It set up a post-match segment where Martinez continued to call out Amazing Kong, who appeared on the big screen tearing up and eating a picture of Martinez. I guess that meant she accepted?

Match numbaaaah four featured Johnny Gargano taking on Adam Cole. Gargano sidestepped a collar and elbow early and taunted with some jumping jacks, playing up his "experience" advantage over Cole (despite the fact that Gargano himself is relatively new to the business out of kayfabe). The disrespect abounded even more during the match as Gargano spit in Cole's face, which didn't go over too well. Cole responded with a nice counter off a leapfrog into a Samoan drop. He then countered Gargano on the ropes by knocking him off with a Sick Kick right to the face. Cole was super-impressive in this match, both on offense and in selling. Gargano wasn't bad either. He feigned an Oklahoma Stampede and just tossed Cole face first into the turnbuckle with his Lawn Dart. God, I love that move. They moved into one of those pinfall-counter-paloozas that Eddie Guerrero would have with Chris Jericho or Dean Malenko, and then Gargano went for Hurts Donut, which Cole countered into a roll-up for the surprise win. Really, really good match, one of the best on the card. I haven't really decided if I liked this or the main event better. After the match, Jimmy Jacobs came out presumably to taunt Gargano, with whom he's been feuding, but he started getting really condescending towards Cole, like his win was a fluke, so much so that it induced Cole to chase him out of the ring. In the next-day interview, Cole challenged Jacobs to a match.

Next up, a tag match between Aeroform and two of Quack's brightest students, Hallowicked and Jigsaw, who was rockin' the killer green and gold duds in this match. The match started off as you'd expect one between these two teams, some acrobatics and spot-fu, but it was well-executed at least. These two teams worked really well together. Match ended on a big flurry from the Chikara team, with Jigsaw hitting a double stomp on Flip Kendrick while he was in Hallowicked's fireman's carry. Wicked then hit Go 2 Sleepy Hollow. Kendrick stumbled to his feet and ate a Jigsaw superkick and then a Wicked yakuza kick before succumbing to a pin.

Sixth match featured Arik Cannon taking on Sami Callihan. This was kind of a mixed bag. There was a lot of good stuff mixed in, like Cannon working in with a standing figure 4 into an Indian death lock. There's some standing up for submission wrestling, eh? However, it had a lot of what I don't like about indie wrestling, the preponderance towards no-selling, the rapid fire moves with no context etc. It also dragged on about five more minutes than it should have. It's a shame, too, because I usually like Cannon, but not here. Callihan got the win with the stretch muffler.

After a Gargano promo on Jacobs, it was time for the Osirian Portal's EVOLVE debut against Up in Smoke, aka Cheech and Cloudy. This was a pretty interesting match. At one point, Ophidian had a nice leg-wrap full nelson applied on Cloudy, who was playing the face in peril despite the Portal being clearly the more over team in the match. Ophidian worked the mat really well, maybe the best I've ever seen him. Again, the crowd was not hot for the hot tag to Cheech at all. They were clearly marking for the Portal here. Cheech made a nice pin breakup, shoving Amasis into a nearfall attempt. There was another cool spot where Amasis somehow coaxed Cheech to give Cloudy a headlock and then forced a same-team DDT with a Sick Kick. Ophidian looked to have the match won with the Death Grip cobra clutch on Cheech, but Cloudy knocked Ophidian into the corner with a kick. Up in Smoke won with a top rope Sick Kick into a powerbomb on Ophidian. The post-match promo and the next-day sitdown by Up in Smoke totally contradicted their face-playing during the match, saying they were out to stop all the flippy shit that teams like the Portal and Aeroform were bringing in. I thought that was questionable, seeing that they're pretty flippy themselves. It was a good match though.

The sub-main was Jimmy Jacobs taking on Chuck Taylor in a match for the wins and win streak leadership in EVOLVE. This match didn't really grab me as much as it should have given that it was a Taylor match, but the more I see of Jacobs, the less I like. Jacobs tried to build around the guillotine choke, but Taylor, who was mega over as a face which surprised me, especially given how he was booked in later cards, ended up winning with the Omega Driver. Meh.

Finally, it was time for your MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIINNNN EVENT! Bryan Danielson, who was pelted with ties upon his entry, took on Bobby Fish, who heretofor was winless in EVOLVE. There was an extended feeling out process, a lot hesitant kicks and pulled-up strikes. Fish actually took the early advantage landing the first hard kicks of the match, but Danielson, who was almost unanimously over with the crowd, quickly took control of the match.

This match reminded me a lot of both the TJP/Munenori Sawa and Chris Hero/Ikuto Hidaka matches from prior EVOLVE cards in that it felt like a shoot fight, especially early. A lot of struggling and a very authentic "real" feel. I said it before, and I'll say it again, I love that kind of ethos in a match. If that's Danielson's greatest innovation in wrestling (and he has been working it slowly into his WWE stuff, most notably against Miz and Dolph Ziggler), then he'll go down with the greats as an all-time trendsetter. AmDrag worked rudo really heavily in this match. He had a nose gouge locked in on Fish at one point, he scowled at Fish a lot and he even spit in Fish's face, the third match that had spittle flying in it in the evening.

He also worked the submission game really well too, but duh, if anyone is going to do it, it's definitely going to be Danielson. He had a nice Indian deathlock sequence that he turned around into a pseudo-backslide pin, very cool spot. Fish played his role in the match well, especially on the selling end. My biggest problem with him against Kyle O'Reilly at EVOLVE 1 was his questionable selling, but against Claudio Castagnoli at EVOLVE 2 and here against Danielson, it was top notch. He had some nice offense too, especially with his kicks. He even rolled out of Cattle Mutilation at one point, but Danielson hit him with 20 MMA elbows. Danielson worked the legs the entire match, and that figured into the finish as he tapped Fish with a nice kneebar. After the match, the two shook hands, and then Danielson called out Sawa for the next EVOLVE card.

Like I said with my EVOLVE 2 review, I'm glad that EVOLVE went more into the struggle and sell direction rather than the no-sell, "LETZ HAVE TEH MOST AEWSUM MAIN EVENT EVERRRRR" style that seemed prevelent at the first card. This match had several strong matches, including a great coming out party for Adam Cole and an excellent main event. Again, this is a must buy DVD.

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!

Holy Poop, Dean Malenko Had a Heart Attack?

Photo Credit: Online World of Wrestling

According to the 11/29 issue of the Wrestling Observer newsletter, Dean Malenko suffered a heart attack. He was experiencing chest pains at the 10/26 Smackdown tapings and then went to the hospital to have the arterial blockage taken care of. He just returned to his job as a road agent at Survivor Series. Malenko is only 50. Wow, here's hoping that it was just a minor thing and that Dean-o Machine-o is alright. Dude's way too young to be brushing up with death. Hopefully, he starts taking care of himself. Get completely well soon, Dean!

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!

Berwyn and Their Abundance of Belts: SHIMMER Vol. 30 Review

Alison Danger after her LWS match
Photo Credit: xxQueenofXtremexx of DivaBoard.com

My Black Friday wrestling watch-fest began with a hearty helping of the finest women's wrestling in the country. SHIMMER Vol. 30 picked up where Vol. 29 left off, obviously, and like the card that was taped earlier in that day, it was solid if top-heavy.

First match on the card featured Leva Bates, making her SHIMMER debut, taking on Malia Hosaka, who was billed as a modern day Moolah, but she looked more like Lelani Kai. Hosaka came to the ring first, carrying a cardboard cut out of a lady on a stick as her "manager" and telling the crowd to shut up. Nice. The match began with Hosaka Pearl-Harboring Bates, but the newcomer recovered quite easily early on. There was a lot of ARMBAR! early on as the predominant resting submission hold. This was a very standard, vanilla opening match, with Hosaka getting the win with a Glama-slam variation.

Daizee Haze came up backstage next, cutting a promo about how Jamilia Craft disrespected her by standing up to her after Haze beat the crap out of Masaki Ohata post-match at the last taping. This set up a tag match later, Haze and Tomoka Nakagawa vs. Ohata and Craft. Next match featured Melanie Cruise and Annie Social, big floppin' titties and all, taking on Rachel and Jessica's Excellent Tag Team, Rachel Summerlyn and Jessica James. James was making her SHIMMER debut, although according to color commentator and Canadian Ninja Portia Perez, the Excellent Tag Team had challenged her and Nicole Matthews for the SHIMMER Tag Titles, although it was at a promotion in Texas. Weird. This match was built around the juxtaposition of the tallest SHIMMER wrestler Cruise mismatching on the shortest one, James, with Social and her vicious stylings coming in and ravaging the smaller debutee. James worked smart early on, taking down the taller Cruise by her knees, but it quickly went to the two heels working James into a face in peril situation. The Excellent Ones made a nice comeback, the height of which saw Summerlyn use James as a weapon against Cruise, big swinging her into a kick on the tall, dark and gruesome wrestler, but it didn't really lead to anything, as the heels got the advantage back and won with a double-team uranage/spinebuster variant called the Cruise Control. Okay match, like the opener, very wrestling school paint by numbers.

MsChif and Cheerleader Melissa were shown backstage for a promo where Melissa was about to "break up" with Chif as a tag team to focus on singles wrestling. Sarah Stock interrupted and then Madison Eagles afterwards, hammering home the main event of Chif/Stock and setting up a number one contenders match between Melissa and Eagles. Okay segment. The third match of the taping featured Cat Power taking on LuFisto. Let me tell you, LuFisto is maybe the most supremely entertaining women's wrestler in the world. She may not be the best wrestler (although she's quite good), but her facial expressions, her mannerisms, her taunts and her appeals to her "manager" Peekaboo are just great. This was shown in full detail here, as Power gives LuFisto a lot to work with. Match started out with Power offering up for a test of strength, like the first of several matches on this card that featured one. These ladies love their test of strength. Power had a big height advantage on Fisto, but the short ball of rage known as Super Hardcore Anime had an answer in stepping on Power's foot. Awesome. At one point during the match, Power had Fisto in a submission hold, and Fisto was petitioning for Peekaboo, who's a doll, by the way, to save her. Power had DOUBLE FISHHOOKS locked in at one point, which'd be awesome in and of itself, but it got better as Fisto proclaimed that she smelled like kitty litter. Match ended with Fisto getting a win with the Burning Hammer. Short, almost comedic in tone, but it was still a nice elevation of quality from the first two matches.

Next up, Kellie Skater, one of SHIMMER's Aussie Invaders, wrestled Mercedes Martinez. My interest was piqued a bit for this match, as Skater seems to be one of the wrestlers SHIMMER is going to focus on in the future, and Martinez, who gets exposure here, has been getting the push of her life in EVOLVE. There was a little cat 'n mouse from Skater to start the match, evading a collar and elbow and doing push-ups, which did not amuse the Latina Sensation, who kicked Skater in the ribs. The overarching story of the match was that Skater stood in there with the best that SHIMMER had to offer, and even though she didn't get a lot of marks in the W column, she was building a reputation. That story was told here with Martinez brutalizing Skater and the Rate Tank just getting back up each time. At one point early in the match, Skater took a yakuza kick to the tit. I'm sorry, I don't care how much protection you get or how worked the move is, I would never, EVER wanna take any kind of stiff move like a yakuza kick to my breasts if I were a woman. Skater got some offense in, and in fact, she went chop for chop with Martinez at one point, but Martinez got the win with the fisherman's buster. Good match, even if it was a bit unexciting. IT did tell the story they wanted to tell very well though.

Match five featured Ayumi Kurihara taking on Nikki Roxx. Roxx is an interesting case because she's an okay wrestler, but she moves so awkwardly that it takes away from her a bit, which was evident in this match. I couldn't get into this match, although a lot of that was due to the slow, resthold-y nature of it for most of the beginning of it. IT didn't really pick up until it was too late, and even the exciting stuff was too little. Kurihara's dropkicks are nice, but it wasn't enough. Kurihara won via roll-up.

Finally, time for the first of the big matches on the card, Nakagawa and Haze taking on Craft and Ohata. The two heels went with the Pearl Harbor attack on the faces, with Haze concentrating on showing her pupil Craft respect by slapping her around and yelling at her. Really selling the sizzle, although they did a good job of having Craft come back and get some offense on her mentor. The match was carried by Ohata and Haze though. When Ohata and Nakagawa got into the match, it was Ohata who brought the fury with a flurry of dropkciks to Nakagawa's arm. Although it didn't really figure into the finish, it was an impressive display. The rudos got the win with a snap tiger suplex from Daizee on her pupil. Fun little match, but I was hoping for just a little more.

Match number seven featured one-half of the SHIMMER Tag Champs, Nicole Matthews, taking on "Everybody's Favorite Girlfriend" Jessie McKay. The start to the match was really fun. Matthews slapped McKay across the face and then slid out of the ring to run from her. McKay gave chase until Matthews slid into the ring to try and land a surprise elbow drop. McKay didn't bite and after a second attempt, slid in right behind Matthews and tackled her. Really good opening sequence. The match itself was alright. McKay hit some nice offense, including a cutthroat neckbreaker that looked pretty snazzy, but this was clearly a forum to put Matthews over big, as she won with a pumphandle gutbuster into the Last Rites for the pin.

Next match featured Sara del Rey battling Hiroyo Matsumoto, who was fresh of a flight from Japan having competed the night before across the Pacific. That's pretty impressive if you ask me. This was a really good match. After starting out with what seemed to be a requisite test of strength for this card, del Rey was going for a suplex and Matsumoto just dead-weighted her as a counter. Such a simple move and yet such an impressive way to counter a suplex. del Rey was really on point with her kicks, especially one out of an arm trap. She's such a great worker, like the female Bryan Danielson, in that she never has a bad match with anyone. It helps when she's in there with a competant Joshi wrestler like Matsumoto. One of the best sequences on the card saw Matsumoto going for a Backdrop Driver, only to be countered through into a rollup by del Rey which was further counted by a rollup by Matsumoto. It was something that probably needed a lot of touch to pull off well, but they just made it look so damn easy. del Rey got the win with a piledriver. The match felt like it could have gone five more minutes, but I think it was cut short because Matsumoto was jet-lagged, which is understandable.

Next up, the Last Woman Standing match between Alison Danger and Portia Perez. This one had been simmering for awhile, and it showed, as both women were brutal with each other, really getting into it. Danger didn't even wait for her intro to be finished before she hit the ring, laying right into Perez. The match spilled almost immediately to the outside, where a fan in the crowd offered Danger his belt. Luckily, he still had his pants on. She didn't get much use out of it, as Perez stole the belt off her and used it indiscriminately. It spilled back out to the outside, going all the way over to the merchandise table. Danger grabbed a Canadian Ninja nunchuck and whacked Perez with it, ironically for sure. Portia answered back a little later by propping the ring steps against the guard rail and using them to launch herself five rows into the crowd on Danger. After that, as they matriculated back towards the ring, a fan waved a belt at Perez to use, but pulled it away at the last minute. Some neat cat 'n mouse between Perez and a fan. They got back into the ring and Perez starts insulting Danger, telling her her kid would be a failure. This elicited a spit and a superkick from Danger. At around this point, Perez's partner Matthews came down with a chair, but she was intercepted by Jen Blake. Perez grabbed the chair, but Danger hit the chair out and then hit a Lovelace Choker, aka a neckbreaker on the knee, to the apron. She tossed Perez back in the ring and hit her with an STO and an Old School Expulsion (a nod to her brother, Steve Corino) on the chair. Perez couldn't answer the 10-count, and Danger won the grudge match. This was a tremendous, tremendous brawl. Both women sold the hatred really well, and they pulled out all the stops. It was my favorite match on the card by far.

The sub-main was our Number One Contenders Match between Cheerleader Melissa and Madison Eagles. The big story of the match as put over by Dave Prazak and Kelly Skater in the broadcast booth was that Melissa never got over the hump in her SHIMMER career, this being her seventh or eighth contenders match. There was some nice mat wrestling at the beginning, nice floatovers and pin attempts. While Eagles played the returning face in Vol. 29, she really heeled it up here. She was verbally jabbing Melissa at one point and really begged off and had some nice "OH SHIT!" expressions during Melissa's big spots, including a nice Super Dragon-style curb stomp. Eagles would get the win with a backslide and her feet on the ropes. Not even trying to hide her heel tendencies here. Melissa looked pissed afterwards.

MAIN EVENT time, MsChif defending her SHIMMER Championship against Sarah Stock, who for the uninitiated is Sarita in TNA. Match started off with the pin attempts pretty quick. Chif had Sarah in a nice lucha-style bridge, which she countered with a nice one herself. A lot of pin attempts and a lot of chain wrestling. While Chif was the weak link in the main event of Vol. 29, she was more than game here, and it really enhanced the match since you knew Stock was going to bring it. Stock is so flexible and so agile. At one point, Prazak questioned as to whether Stock had a spine, not because of her cowardice but because of her moves in the ring. This was a real back and forth affair, and Chif played off Stock's flexibility really well. The match moved to the corner at one point, and Chif hit a really impressive swinging neckbreaker from the top INTO A BRIDGE, which blew my mind when I saw it. Stock got back in control and went for her finishing Tiger Driver, but Chif countered it into the Desecrater, her arm-trap DDT. Great main event for a solid card.

Vol. 30 had some really nice top-level matches, starting with Skater/Martinez. I get the feeling that these SHIMMER tapings have a hybrid serialized TV/PPV feel, and while it might make for a slow beginning, it also gets younger wrestlers a forum to go through the motions and get prepared to the more demanding main event-level matches in the future. I have to say, I dig it. Danger/Perez is almost a lock to make my favorite match list, and there were several other entertaining affairs. A must buy.

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!

Bobby Heenan In and Out of a Coma

Keep The Brain in your thoughts
Photo Credit: WWE.com

From Wrestling News Source via Lanny Poffo's Podcast

Not very good news concerning wrestling legend Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. He's been hospitalized in Tampa, FL, reportedly going in and out of a coma. I'm not sure what the reason is, but regardless, it's serious business. Keep Heenan and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Here's hoping he pulls through.

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!

DGUSA Open the United Gate Tournament Format Announced

Via DGUSA.TV

The DGUSA site has announced the format for the tournament to crown DGUSA's first ever Tag Team Champions, aka the Open the United Gate Championships. It will be a round-robin tournament featuring four teams. A win will be worth two points and a draw one. The tourney will take place over their first ever triple shot of cards, 1/28 at The Arena, 1/29 making their debut in New York City and 1/30 at the Ace Arena in Union City. The team with the most points will be the inaugural Champions. If there's a tie after the proceedings in Union City, then there'll be a sudden death tag match. I'm sure teams will be announced soon, but whoever's in the tourney, I think it'll be a treat for the crowds in the three cities.

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!

John Morrison as Marty Jannetty

Jannetty
Photo Credit: Online World of Wrestling

TWB superfan therick711 suggested that in the wake of this celebration of the Miz, that I officially declare John Morrison to be the Marty Jannetty of their tag team. Since I was on this bandwagon from jump, I'll gladly oblige although I still think that they fit more the Edge and Christian mold than Rockers one, I think it's worthwhile to explore the comparison, although not in a way of saying that Morrison will be an abject failure like Jannetty, but in what the WWE might see in Morrison's future. (Yes, I know I whiffed on that thinking that the WWE was going to call Morrison's number faster than Miz's, but hey, I'm not always right, y'know?)

Once upon a time, the Rockers were a team with two budding potential singles stars. Unlike the Hart Foundation, who had one breakout star in Bret Hart and a clear supporting player in Jim Neidhart, both Shawn Michaels and Jannetty had athleticism, good looks and a good sense of how to go in the ring. Michaels got the fire lit under his ass first, but if you remember correctly, Jannetty got a singles push too, at one point even beating Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship. However, what really sabotaged him wasn't lack of faith by WWE or even a lack of initial crowd reaction. The guy loved his drugs.

He could never get a consistent run going because he kept getting fired for various reasons. The first couple of times were due to drugs. The last time before his final regular reappearance in the company was more of a scapegoat situation. In 1990, a jobber named Charles Austin was paralyzed taking the Rocker Dropper wrong. Since taking personal responsibility for not taking the move correctly doesn't pay the bills, Austin sued the WWF, Michaels and Jannetty. The case went to settlement in 1994, and Austin was awarded $26.7 million. Around that time, Jannetty mysteriously disappeared from the company. It was very curious timing, but while everyone admits that it didn't have any bearing on his disappearance, you have to believe someone had to take the fall for the settlement. It wasn't going to be Michaels, who was in the midst of his rise to the top, so why not Jannetty, whose push kept getting started and stopped due to his own personal demons.

When Jannetty came back after everything blew over, but it really wasn't the same. The WWE was in the midst of changing its direction, and guys like Jannetty who weren't established before the new crop of stars came in really didn't have a chance to latch on without a serious reboot. Being given the New Rockers gimmick and teaming with a guy with an out-of-date name (even if it was the more-than-capable Al Snow in the gimmick). His lack of stardom was a mix of his own doing plus very unfortunate circumstances, not really because of his own lack of starpower. If things were different a little, no doubt Jannetty could have been a star.

So yeah, Morrison may get there sooner or later, but the fact that he still has a chance doesn't make him not the Jannetty of the team. He's not the Marty Jannetty that was actualized, but maybe he's the Jannetty who actually cashed in on his potential rather than pissed it away thanks to drugs or circumstance.

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!

GraphJam Tackles Juan Cena!

John Cena may be gone, but the WWE has announced his Mexican cousin, Juan Cena, would be making appearances for him. This opens up wonderful and exciting possibilities to spice up his character. So much so that I had the crack research team over at GraphJam to do a little investigation into some things. Here's what they found, in graph form, about potential racism in doing up this character and then in awesomeness associated with how they'll change Cena's appearance to fit more that of a Mexican counterpart:

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!