Potentially the biggest match in wresting this year is tonight with Kurt Angle taking on Samoa Joe at TNA's Genesis PPV. The fact that I really can't say anything about it shows TNA problem; I have no clue what is going on and for a man that follows this business very closely in terms of backstage goings on and reading show reports it's a really bad thing.
It has the potential to be the hottest TNA angle of all time but it cries the inherent problem of TNA PPVs; they'll be great to watch but nobody will know this because nobody has bought it. If they wanted to capatalise on the signing of Angle this is the time to do it but the 1.0 rating from Thursday's prime time special shows that no person actually knows about TNA. Unfortunatly it's a problem that lies in the hand of TNA themselves.
This match will be great. But who will care?
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Monty Brown Signs With WWE
As expected Monty Brown has signed with WWE. He's a good talker and showed promise in TNA but the fact he was working three dates a month held him back from progressing. On the road with WWE working four times a week with the likes of Finlay, Regal and Benoit will do him the world of good and we could see something out of Monty.
I Went To Smackdown (CAUTION SPOLIERS IF YOU'VE NOT SEEN SMACKDOWN)
And it was a fine fine show. So you can see the show for yourselves; so I'll give you a bit of info about the live show.
Chris Benoit is the best wrestler in the world. The crowd were so into his match and for a guy who doesn't really get any promo time it goes to show what work rate can do for you. Regal is exactly the same. Regal is so good that over half of the crowd booed him (in his home country). Indy guys need to watch him work and see how he sells and builds to his spots.
The crowd were into Big Dave the most out of anybody there and he did the celebration at the end of the show and shook everybody's hands (I gave him a slap on the chest) and the crowd were mad for him. He looked good in the ring and the crowd errupted to the hot tag. This guy is winning the belt at Survivor Series.
Funaki was the first babyace out and got a huge pop and a even a chant. KC James doesn't actually look that bad. Maybe it was just me.
Seeing the Undertaker live was pretty cool. He didn't do the long entrance so I hope he's going back to the more human (and realistic) gimmick.
Mr Kennedy is over huge but his promo on the screen got booed after a couple of minutes because he's so boring when his promos go over the 60 second mark.
Michael Cole got in the ring and got some people to do football chants. This guy is such a goof trying to tell us he was watching the football at the weekend. Don't make me laugh. JBL was well over. I was sat right by him and every so often we got a JBL chant going. I tries to get a Michael Cole chant going but nobody joined in. Surprisingly.
As always I had a great time at the show. The matches certainly anywhere near the ROH level earlier in the year but the atmosphere and the laughs made it a fun show. There's no TV from the UK in April and only three house shows so I think that's it for me until next year but ROH are back in Liverpool soon. Yay.
Chris Benoit is the best wrestler in the world. The crowd were so into his match and for a guy who doesn't really get any promo time it goes to show what work rate can do for you. Regal is exactly the same. Regal is so good that over half of the crowd booed him (in his home country). Indy guys need to watch him work and see how he sells and builds to his spots.
The crowd were into Big Dave the most out of anybody there and he did the celebration at the end of the show and shook everybody's hands (I gave him a slap on the chest) and the crowd were mad for him. He looked good in the ring and the crowd errupted to the hot tag. This guy is winning the belt at Survivor Series.
Funaki was the first babyace out and got a huge pop and a even a chant. KC James doesn't actually look that bad. Maybe it was just me.
Seeing the Undertaker live was pretty cool. He didn't do the long entrance so I hope he's going back to the more human (and realistic) gimmick.
Mr Kennedy is over huge but his promo on the screen got booed after a couple of minutes because he's so boring when his promos go over the 60 second mark.
Michael Cole got in the ring and got some people to do football chants. This guy is such a goof trying to tell us he was watching the football at the weekend. Don't make me laugh. JBL was well over. I was sat right by him and every so often we got a JBL chant going. I tries to get a Michael Cole chant going but nobody joined in. Surprisingly.
As always I had a great time at the show. The matches certainly anywhere near the ROH level earlier in the year but the atmosphere and the laughs made it a fun show. There's no TV from the UK in April and only three house shows so I think that's it for me until next year but ROH are back in Liverpool soon. Yay.
Raw is Boring (Again)
I'm sorry to say it but it totally was. The whole DX thing is really boring me and although their stuff with the bounty was mildly funny (tell that to Chris Masters) it's doing nothing for me in terms of 'wow I can't wait for DX to turn up next week!'
Cena and Umaga wasn't bad for the three minutes it was on but I like the fact they're doing an angle for Survivor Series.
Jeff Hardy won back the IC Title. Most people have moaned that it switched hands but I like it. It's only a secondary title and as long as it's switching on a semi-regular basis most people will remeber there is a belt.
Jerry Lawler is the man at taking the masterlock, it even got over. It's shame three minutes later Masters was destroyed (by Hunter shock horror) and Todd was in the booth for the rest of the night.
Why couldn't Edge and Orton beat Piper and Flair decislvely for the tag belts. Just put Flair in there selling for ten minutes, hot tag to Piper, heels screw the faces and get the tag. Putting the belts on 'Rated RKO' (what a shit name) is a good thing as they obviosuly look better as tag team champs but having them have to beat a guy who won't wrestle for another twelve months (hopefully) and a guy who can be beaten week after week after week but still be over. They're meant to be the top heels; do something to show me you are.
Overall I was glad I had tickets for Smackdown and not this show.
Cena and Umaga wasn't bad for the three minutes it was on but I like the fact they're doing an angle for Survivor Series.
Jeff Hardy won back the IC Title. Most people have moaned that it switched hands but I like it. It's only a secondary title and as long as it's switching on a semi-regular basis most people will remeber there is a belt.
Jerry Lawler is the man at taking the masterlock, it even got over. It's shame three minutes later Masters was destroyed (by Hunter shock horror) and Todd was in the booth for the rest of the night.
Why couldn't Edge and Orton beat Piper and Flair decislvely for the tag belts. Just put Flair in there selling for ten minutes, hot tag to Piper, heels screw the faces and get the tag. Putting the belts on 'Rated RKO' (what a shit name) is a good thing as they obviosuly look better as tag team champs but having them have to beat a guy who won't wrestle for another twelve months (hopefully) and a guy who can be beaten week after week after week but still be over. They're meant to be the top heels; do something to show me you are.
Overall I was glad I had tickets for Smackdown and not this show.
Monday, November 13, 2006
One Year On
I'm sure this isn't the first story you've read regarding the death of Eddie Guerrero twelve months ago. I'm sure it won't be the last and that's a testament to the life of Eddie and his impact on the wrestling world. But what has been the impact of his death on the wrestling world? In storyline terms it has been shitty. In terms of Smackdown it has been shitty. But what about the problem of drugs abuse in wrestling? I want to take a look:
Not long after this tragic event Vince McMahon gathered the roster in the locker room and announced drug testing would begin to take place. The policy wasn't implemented until April of this year, but giving WWE their due it has been very thorough and in my humble opinion has been very successful.
Straight after the announcement we saw a number of guys loose quite a bit of muscle including Chris Masters, Batista, Rey Mysterio and most noticebly Kurt Angle. Six months later after the official testing began we've seen a number of people taken from the road due to the various issues with pills. Joey Matthews and Chris Masters have been to rehab, Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam both recieved 30-day suspensions for their violation of the policy and Super Crazy disappered for a while to. Randy Orton completed an almost 60-day suspension for smoking something other than tabacco. Going by these numbers and the level of guys affected it seems the policy has worked, at least to a degree.
However there has been a few other violations that have seemilngly gone unpunished. Sabu was in the car with RVD when they were both arrested for possesing weed. Only RVD was suspended. Bobby Lashley and the Great Khali were pulled from the Great American Bash pay-per-view in July for elevated liver enzymes, a common side effect from taking steroid pills. They were only pulled on the day of the pay-per-view and this wasn't announced before people bought it. They were also back on the road within a week.
The biggest casualty of the policy has been Kurt Angle. Suspended for thirty and being told to go to rehab wouldn't stop Angle from taking his pain killers. Based on the fact that he may well die very soon WWE released him. Minutes later TNA were on the phone wanting to negotiate. It's that external factor that killed the policy last time round. WCW were simply picking up the firees and putting them on their show; with no drug testing. The fact is this will always be true. Angle certainly isn't making as much money in TNA as he was in WWE but he is Kurt Angle and wants to compete. As long as there is somewhere to compete he will compete. Unfortunalty Eddie's death won't save Angle's life.
For the most part however, I believe that the impementation of the policy has had resounding benefits. Angle is an anomoly, a guy who will work wherever he can work. But most of the roster is smartened up to the fact that WWE will remain for a long time their biggest pay day so sticking to their rules keep the cheques coming in. There will be those who flounder those rules and will continue to get away with it, I'm sure in later life they will feel the affect of this themselves but the drug policy has mostly had great affects on the whole of the roster and if anything good has come from the death of Eddie, this is it.
Not long after this tragic event Vince McMahon gathered the roster in the locker room and announced drug testing would begin to take place. The policy wasn't implemented until April of this year, but giving WWE their due it has been very thorough and in my humble opinion has been very successful.
Straight after the announcement we saw a number of guys loose quite a bit of muscle including Chris Masters, Batista, Rey Mysterio and most noticebly Kurt Angle. Six months later after the official testing began we've seen a number of people taken from the road due to the various issues with pills. Joey Matthews and Chris Masters have been to rehab, Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam both recieved 30-day suspensions for their violation of the policy and Super Crazy disappered for a while to. Randy Orton completed an almost 60-day suspension for smoking something other than tabacco. Going by these numbers and the level of guys affected it seems the policy has worked, at least to a degree.
However there has been a few other violations that have seemilngly gone unpunished. Sabu was in the car with RVD when they were both arrested for possesing weed. Only RVD was suspended. Bobby Lashley and the Great Khali were pulled from the Great American Bash pay-per-view in July for elevated liver enzymes, a common side effect from taking steroid pills. They were only pulled on the day of the pay-per-view and this wasn't announced before people bought it. They were also back on the road within a week.
The biggest casualty of the policy has been Kurt Angle. Suspended for thirty and being told to go to rehab wouldn't stop Angle from taking his pain killers. Based on the fact that he may well die very soon WWE released him. Minutes later TNA were on the phone wanting to negotiate. It's that external factor that killed the policy last time round. WCW were simply picking up the firees and putting them on their show; with no drug testing. The fact is this will always be true. Angle certainly isn't making as much money in TNA as he was in WWE but he is Kurt Angle and wants to compete. As long as there is somewhere to compete he will compete. Unfortunalty Eddie's death won't save Angle's life.
For the most part however, I believe that the impementation of the policy has had resounding benefits. Angle is an anomoly, a guy who will work wherever he can work. But most of the roster is smartened up to the fact that WWE will remain for a long time their biggest pay day so sticking to their rules keep the cheques coming in. There will be those who flounder those rules and will continue to get away with it, I'm sure in later life they will feel the affect of this themselves but the drug policy has mostly had great affects on the whole of the roster and if anything good has come from the death of Eddie, this is it.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Survivor Series Card
If you haven't been on WWE.com and lets face who hasn't they've been announcing matches all week for Survivor Series and so far it's looking pretty damn cool. They've scrapped the triple threat survivor match between Raw, ECW and Smackdown and have mixed the teams up and upto now we have THREE traditional Survicor Series matches.
DX, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy vs Randy Orton, Edge, Mike Knox, Gregory Helms & Johhny Nitro. Punk and the men who said he couldn't work on the same team? One name does not fit here: Mike Knox?
John Cena, Bobby Lashley, Kane, Sabu & Rob Van Dam vs Umaga, Finlay, Big Show, Test & Finlay. This is going to be great.
Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Sergant Slaughter & Dusty Rhodes w/Arn Anderson vs The Spirit Squad w/Mitch. Yay the Spirit Squad are going to get squashed.
Chris Benoit vs Chavo Guerrero. A fine match for the undercard.
The build for the PPV hasn't been existent so far but I guarnatee this PPV will be great. I'll post my prediction nearer to the date.
DX, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy vs Randy Orton, Edge, Mike Knox, Gregory Helms & Johhny Nitro. Punk and the men who said he couldn't work on the same team? One name does not fit here: Mike Knox?
John Cena, Bobby Lashley, Kane, Sabu & Rob Van Dam vs Umaga, Finlay, Big Show, Test & Finlay. This is going to be great.
Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Sergant Slaughter & Dusty Rhodes w/Arn Anderson vs The Spirit Squad w/Mitch. Yay the Spirit Squad are going to get squashed.
Chris Benoit vs Chavo Guerrero. A fine match for the undercard.
The build for the PPV hasn't been existent so far but I guarnatee this PPV will be great. I'll post my prediction nearer to the date.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Cena Is Raw
Nothing was more apparent than statement on Raw this week. When he popped up in Umaga's beating of Maria segment (not a bad little way to get heat I suppose) the crowd went wild and Cena cut an awesome promo which was the highlight of the show.
The rest of the show was hit and miss. From what I remeber the first hour was good, the second bad and the main event was fun for what it was. I wasn't a fan of the fat stripper; that's what you get from beating Vince in the voting Bischoff.
Like I said, the first hour with the Eugene and Hacksaw segment (ratings), the Cena stuff and Hardy vs Nitro along with the opening segment were all fun but the second half with Shelton, Carlito, Masters, Lita and Mickie (the same gimmick on the same show great!) all sucked.
The reason no matches were announced for Survivor Series is because they're doing announcing the matches on the Internet given that 14.4 million (different) people visited for the voting last week. They believe they're owen hype. That's why Raw was all about Bischoff and not promoting Survivor Series. Two weeks to promote but the card is shaping up to be very nice. More about that later.
The rest of the show was hit and miss. From what I remeber the first hour was good, the second bad and the main event was fun for what it was. I wasn't a fan of the fat stripper; that's what you get from beating Vince in the voting Bischoff.
Like I said, the first hour with the Eugene and Hacksaw segment (ratings), the Cena stuff and Hardy vs Nitro along with the opening segment were all fun but the second half with Shelton, Carlito, Masters, Lita and Mickie (the same gimmick on the same show great!) all sucked.
The reason no matches were announced for Survivor Series is because they're doing announcing the matches on the Internet given that 14.4 million (different) people visited for the voting last week. They believe they're owen hype. That's why Raw was all about Bischoff and not promoting Survivor Series. Two weeks to promote but the card is shaping up to be very nice. More about that later.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Cyber Sunday Sucked
I had very little interest in this show going in and usually this leads to a good show (No Way Out, Judgment Day) but this show sucked.
Umaga vs Kane was a match I didn't want to see againand we got it again. A shocklingly high number of people voted for Kane, I don't get it. Their match wasn't terrible but it certainly wasn't worth paying for.
The texas tornado tag match was exactly what you'd expect; a cluster that Cryme Tyme won.
Carlito won the vote (as predicted) and wrestled a shitty match with Jeff Hardy. Carlito wrestled as the heel and didn't do much of the horrible high flying (he looks far better as a heel but still sucks). Hardy went over clean in a competitive match so it looks like Carlito is off to ECW.
Bischoff got voted in in a landslide. This would have been a great moment to see Vince's face. It took Orton and Edge forever to get the heat on DX and Hunter kicking out of an RKO was pointless in a tag match that was fourth on the card. The result finally went thr right way though. Overall n under par performance from the people involved in the match, it was mianly Orton and Hunter who pissed me off so when they pair off I hope Edge goes with Shawn. The sgment where Shawn was superkicking dudes in the hall was the highlight of the whole show.
Lita and Mickie wrestled in the lumberjill match and my god this match fucking blew. Lita won.
Flair and Piper won the tag belts! Yay. The Spirit Squad are splitting up! Roddy Peiper hasn't seen the sun since 1987!
The main event was what you'd expect from a triple threat with the people involved. Booker's title was on the line and he won so I doubt we'll hear about that victory considering they wanted Cena's belt on the line. K-Fed's apperance and interferance made perfect sense and allowed King Booker to become the champion of champions.
Overall it was a boring show with no brightspots except from the DX backstage deal. Faarooq made another appearnce but it has lost all it's comedy value by now. They were pushing that 14 million people voted. 14 million votes were cast, not by 14 million people. I reckon with seven stips to vote on and each person voting for each stip once it gives 2 million. Once people voting twice is taken into account I think a fair estimate is around 1.5 million. Not bad but certainly not great. Story of the show really.
Umaga vs Kane was a match I didn't want to see againand we got it again. A shocklingly high number of people voted for Kane, I don't get it. Their match wasn't terrible but it certainly wasn't worth paying for.
The texas tornado tag match was exactly what you'd expect; a cluster that Cryme Tyme won.
Carlito won the vote (as predicted) and wrestled a shitty match with Jeff Hardy. Carlito wrestled as the heel and didn't do much of the horrible high flying (he looks far better as a heel but still sucks). Hardy went over clean in a competitive match so it looks like Carlito is off to ECW.
Bischoff got voted in in a landslide. This would have been a great moment to see Vince's face. It took Orton and Edge forever to get the heat on DX and Hunter kicking out of an RKO was pointless in a tag match that was fourth on the card. The result finally went thr right way though. Overall n under par performance from the people involved in the match, it was mianly Orton and Hunter who pissed me off so when they pair off I hope Edge goes with Shawn. The sgment where Shawn was superkicking dudes in the hall was the highlight of the whole show.
Lita and Mickie wrestled in the lumberjill match and my god this match fucking blew. Lita won.
Flair and Piper won the tag belts! Yay. The Spirit Squad are splitting up! Roddy Peiper hasn't seen the sun since 1987!
The main event was what you'd expect from a triple threat with the people involved. Booker's title was on the line and he won so I doubt we'll hear about that victory considering they wanted Cena's belt on the line. K-Fed's apperance and interferance made perfect sense and allowed King Booker to become the champion of champions.
Overall it was a boring show with no brightspots except from the DX backstage deal. Faarooq made another appearnce but it has lost all it's comedy value by now. They were pushing that 14 million people voted. 14 million votes were cast, not by 14 million people. I reckon with seven stips to vote on and each person voting for each stip once it gives 2 million. Once people voting twice is taken into account I think a fair estimate is around 1.5 million. Not bad but certainly not great. Story of the show really.
Smackdown Happened on Friday
Considering Michael Cole opened the show with "we're 48 hours removed from Cyber Sunday" boy did Smackdown do a shitty job in promoting the PPV. The key angle in the show was that Big Dave was protecting Booker (and thus the title he wanted back). Apparently guys from ECW and Raw were attempting to take out Booker (I heard no mention of this angle ever before this night) and I believe four goons turned up at the end of the night but I have no clue who they are. The show's clsoing angle with Batista and Finlay made little sense as it was promotion for next week rather than a show on Sunday. Yes it's a Raw PPV but they've been doing a ton of build on Smackdown so why not for one more night?
Michael Cole's commentary is starting to really piss me off. In the London/Kendrick tag match it was obvious someone was in his ear saying "get London and Kendrick over, they're exciting and fun to watch" so Cole said "boy London & Kendrick are fun to watch!"
Tatanka's new look and his reading from a script on his head had to be one of the highlights of this boring show. Then again Jimmy Wang Yang was on the show and that can only be a damn good thing. Cole's continuance is saying that Yang is a red neck is grating me, do you not get the joke?
Michael Cole's commentary is starting to really piss me off. In the London/Kendrick tag match it was obvious someone was in his ear saying "get London and Kendrick over, they're exciting and fun to watch" so Cole said "boy London & Kendrick are fun to watch!"
Tatanka's new look and his reading from a script on his head had to be one of the highlights of this boring show. Then again Jimmy Wang Yang was on the show and that can only be a damn good thing. Cole's continuance is saying that Yang is a red neck is grating me, do you not get the joke?
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Cyber Sunday Preview
Cyber Sunday continues the tradition of bad build for PPVs with me caring about no match but Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes vs a team that didn't even appear on Raw last week.
Women's Championship - Lita vs Mickie James
This has to be a submission match. Has to be. Other than that Lita is probably going over with Mickie winning the title before Lita leaves at the end of November.
Umaga vs Benoit/Sandman/Kane
I hope Benoit gets voted in to see a Benoit match. Sandman winning would be funny as hell as Umaga vs Sandman in an impromptu match would suck so bad it would be great. I don't want to see Kane/Umaga part 34 so don't bother voting for him. Either way Umaga wins.
World Tag Team Championship - Ric Flair & Dusty Rhodes/Roddy Piper/Sergant Slaughter vs Spirit Squad
For comedy and nostalgia value Dusty must win this vote but Piper would be good to. Slaughter I don't really care for. Spirit Squad are splitting and we're going to have new tag belts which thse boys will make seem important because it's Ric motherfucking Flair and Dusty fucking Rhodes.
Intercontiental Championship - Jeff Hardy vs Johnny Nitro/Carlito/Shelton Benjaman
Carlito unfortunatley is winning the vote, Shelton would provide the better match (we've seen Nitro/Hardy a million times) but Hardy has to retain.
DX vs Edge & Randy Orton - Special Referee Vince McMahon/Eric Bischoff/Coach
Vince will be the ref but I want Bischoff hust to piss him off. I beg for the heels to go over and actually make this feud worth while but it seems they're intent on having DX beat everybody so it wouldn't surprise me if they won this one.
Champion of Champions Match for the World Championship/WWE Championship/ECW Championship - King Booker vs John Cena vs Big Show
Booker's title will be on the line and that's great because it basically means Booker has to win and I'm sure they'd rather have Cena or Show win over Booker. Unless they put the belt on Cena for the interpromational angle going into Survivor Series allowing them to have Cena on Smackdown every week.
Apparently there's some four way tag match as well. Cryme Tyme win.
I'm sure when all is said and done this PPV will be decent with a few good matches BUT the key problem is my (and most others) interest in it is absolutley nil.
Women's Championship - Lita vs Mickie James
This has to be a submission match. Has to be. Other than that Lita is probably going over with Mickie winning the title before Lita leaves at the end of November.
Umaga vs Benoit/Sandman/Kane
I hope Benoit gets voted in to see a Benoit match. Sandman winning would be funny as hell as Umaga vs Sandman in an impromptu match would suck so bad it would be great. I don't want to see Kane/Umaga part 34 so don't bother voting for him. Either way Umaga wins.
World Tag Team Championship - Ric Flair & Dusty Rhodes/Roddy Piper/Sergant Slaughter vs Spirit Squad
For comedy and nostalgia value Dusty must win this vote but Piper would be good to. Slaughter I don't really care for. Spirit Squad are splitting and we're going to have new tag belts which thse boys will make seem important because it's Ric motherfucking Flair and Dusty fucking Rhodes.
Intercontiental Championship - Jeff Hardy vs Johnny Nitro/Carlito/Shelton Benjaman
Carlito unfortunatley is winning the vote, Shelton would provide the better match (we've seen Nitro/Hardy a million times) but Hardy has to retain.
DX vs Edge & Randy Orton - Special Referee Vince McMahon/Eric Bischoff/Coach
Vince will be the ref but I want Bischoff hust to piss him off. I beg for the heels to go over and actually make this feud worth while but it seems they're intent on having DX beat everybody so it wouldn't surprise me if they won this one.
Champion of Champions Match for the World Championship/WWE Championship/ECW Championship - King Booker vs John Cena vs Big Show
Booker's title will be on the line and that's great because it basically means Booker has to win and I'm sure they'd rather have Cena or Show win over Booker. Unless they put the belt on Cena for the interpromational angle going into Survivor Series allowing them to have Cena on Smackdown every week.
Apparently there's some four way tag match as well. Cryme Tyme win.
I'm sure when all is said and done this PPV will be decent with a few good matches BUT the key problem is my (and most others) interest in it is absolutley nil.
Raw Sucked
As a go home show for a PPV, a show that is meant to make you fo holy fuck I can't wait for DX to kick those damn dasterdly heels arses Raw freaking blew.
The ideal way to sell a PPV is for the heels (with a two on one advantage with chairs) to beat up the babyface in distress thus we pay to see the babyface(s) get their revange on Sunday. Of course the babyface was Hunter so he gets by the special ref stipulation and thr two on one with wepaons situation so on Sunday you're paying to see him do the same with his buddy HBK. Great job.
So the champions of champions match is Sunday. Raw vs Smackdown vs ECW's world champion, the first time ever they will be taking each other one (well they've been doing stupid interactions for weeks but nevermind). This is a historical moment. One brand could be left with no world champion and one brand could have two world title belts. So how do they promote this match? A stand off every week until you finally can't wait for them to scrap? Or how about killer promos on each other explaining how great and superior they are? Or how about telling stupid jokes and on the final push have one of the guys beat up a former (shitty) announcer. One of those three options stand out as sucking. Guess which one they went with.
Sure as hell I can't wait for Cyber Sunday! The women's submission match is going to be a classic.
The ideal way to sell a PPV is for the heels (with a two on one advantage with chairs) to beat up the babyface in distress thus we pay to see the babyface(s) get their revange on Sunday. Of course the babyface was Hunter so he gets by the special ref stipulation and thr two on one with wepaons situation so on Sunday you're paying to see him do the same with his buddy HBK. Great job.
So the champions of champions match is Sunday. Raw vs Smackdown vs ECW's world champion, the first time ever they will be taking each other one (well they've been doing stupid interactions for weeks but nevermind). This is a historical moment. One brand could be left with no world champion and one brand could have two world title belts. So how do they promote this match? A stand off every week until you finally can't wait for them to scrap? Or how about killer promos on each other explaining how great and superior they are? Or how about telling stupid jokes and on the final push have one of the guys beat up a former (shitty) announcer. One of those three options stand out as sucking. Guess which one they went with.
Sure as hell I can't wait for Cyber Sunday! The women's submission match is going to be a classic.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
KISS TNA
Watching TNA's Bound For Glory Pay-Per-View one thing was clear; Keep It Simple, Stupid.
A card full of gimmick matches blended into one another and the result is the same as it is always; TNA have a huge roster of guys and you got to see every single one of them. However you don't care about any of them.
You don't need a fancy looking video package for every match on the card. When you do play a video package for three matches then they seem important and the crowd will get into them. We don't need a five minute explaination of the Monsters Ball or a throw away four corners tag match. Show us the match, have a good match and warm up the crowd for the reason we paid for the show.
If you're main event is going to be a typical Jeff Jarret vs Sting match in 2006 then don't load your card with spot fests and gimmicks. Everything has been done before the main event so the crowd will be silent in a high-spot free match.
I'm not even going to review every match on the card because in all honestly the THREE hardcore matches wore the crap out of me. I wanted to see men exchanging arm drags not high-spots. The battle royale was fun but shouldn't have been first on the card and no angle was played out after Austin Starr's victory. Monsters Ball was a throw away as was the four-way tag match in which AMW didn't care about. Eric Young vs Larry was what you'd expect but took away from the main event stipulation and Eric Young couldn't beat a man three times his age clean.
Christian vs Rhyno was a street fight which started in the back and ended up an in ring spot fest. Not good. The X-Title match was easily the best match on the card and is an example of what the undercard should be doing in TNA right now. The tag team cage match was very good but isn't a cage match no rules? So why was it a traditonal tag match where foreign objects weren't allowed? The main event sucked up until the last thirty seconds which was awesome. Jarrett clocked Sting with the guitar, the crowd thought they were getting the usual bullshit but Sting roared, the crowd went mad and the deathlock was applied and Sting was the new champion.
Of course the focus was on the fact that Jarrett lost the belt not that Sting had won it. Overall it was disapointing PPV with only two decent macthes all in all. The future looks good (at least next month) with Joe and Angle and Sting and Christian. We'll see if TNA fuck this one up like they did with this PPV.
Verdict: Could have been more.
A card full of gimmick matches blended into one another and the result is the same as it is always; TNA have a huge roster of guys and you got to see every single one of them. However you don't care about any of them.
You don't need a fancy looking video package for every match on the card. When you do play a video package for three matches then they seem important and the crowd will get into them. We don't need a five minute explaination of the Monsters Ball or a throw away four corners tag match. Show us the match, have a good match and warm up the crowd for the reason we paid for the show.
If you're main event is going to be a typical Jeff Jarret vs Sting match in 2006 then don't load your card with spot fests and gimmicks. Everything has been done before the main event so the crowd will be silent in a high-spot free match.
I'm not even going to review every match on the card because in all honestly the THREE hardcore matches wore the crap out of me. I wanted to see men exchanging arm drags not high-spots. The battle royale was fun but shouldn't have been first on the card and no angle was played out after Austin Starr's victory. Monsters Ball was a throw away as was the four-way tag match in which AMW didn't care about. Eric Young vs Larry was what you'd expect but took away from the main event stipulation and Eric Young couldn't beat a man three times his age clean.
Christian vs Rhyno was a street fight which started in the back and ended up an in ring spot fest. Not good. The X-Title match was easily the best match on the card and is an example of what the undercard should be doing in TNA right now. The tag team cage match was very good but isn't a cage match no rules? So why was it a traditonal tag match where foreign objects weren't allowed? The main event sucked up until the last thirty seconds which was awesome. Jarrett clocked Sting with the guitar, the crowd thought they were getting the usual bullshit but Sting roared, the crowd went mad and the deathlock was applied and Sting was the new champion.
Of course the focus was on the fact that Jarrett lost the belt not that Sting had won it. Overall it was disapointing PPV with only two decent macthes all in all. The future looks good (at least next month) with Joe and Angle and Sting and Christian. We'll see if TNA fuck this one up like they did with this PPV.
Verdict: Could have been more.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
TNA Pay-Per-View Tonight
TNA's PPV from outside of the Impact Zone comes tonight and there isn't much of a buzz for the show. I'm predicting the same buyrate as usual. Mainly because of the horrible push to the main event, and the general everybody on TV Impact shows.
Angle debuted on Thursday in the zone and squared off with Joe and bearing in mind Joe is in a completley different match than Angle so this generated no buys. He's a special guest enforcer tonight so I can see Joe making his presence felt in the match, setting up a program with Sting (Sting's winning the belt), winning the belt and setting up the match with Angle.
The story of this whole PPV is not pushing the main event but pushing every single match so nobody cares about any match and therefore the pay-per-view. The Angle situation is somewhat intruiging but not enough to sell the PPV to people outside of the TNA fans. Two hot wrestlers in a match that seems important will sell PPVs (see UFC) not the chance that Kurt Angle might do something.
Angle debuted on Thursday in the zone and squared off with Joe and bearing in mind Joe is in a completley different match than Angle so this generated no buys. He's a special guest enforcer tonight so I can see Joe making his presence felt in the match, setting up a program with Sting (Sting's winning the belt), winning the belt and setting up the match with Angle.
The story of this whole PPV is not pushing the main event but pushing every single match so nobody cares about any match and therefore the pay-per-view. The Angle situation is somewhat intruiging but not enough to sell the PPV to people outside of the TNA fans. Two hot wrestlers in a match that seems important will sell PPVs (see UFC) not the chance that Kurt Angle might do something.
Smackdown Thoughts
This weeks Smackdown seemed to be a huge show on paper but after I'd finished watching it felt somewhat empty. The main event was built as something huge but it was another swerve that takes away from the title match. When Big Dave finally gets his belt back it isn't going to mean as much if we're getting the match virtually every week. I didn't predict a finish with Cena and Big Show at ringside but I didn't think they'd make such a hige deal out of the match only to go the shitty finish. Big Dave looked terrible.
Rey/Chavo was a great match and for a purley selfish reason I was disapointed with Rey loosing as it means he won't be coming to Manchester in a couple of weeks. He does need knee surgery and hasn't had a break for the four years he's been with the company so he deserves it. I'm thinking they might go with Benoit/Chavo for the next month or so or Chavo's victory isn't going to mean anything if they don't do anything with him.
Where was Benoit? Where was Lashley?
I love William Regal. I like Taylor . These two in a tag team will be great. It seems they're sending them the way of Paul London and Spanky which I have no problem with at all.
Kane vs MVP could be the worst feud of the year. That is discounting Kennedy/Undertaker. Taker kills everybody, doesn't give anybody a chance to get over (ask Helms) and ultimatley this isn't doing anything for young Ken Kennedy.
I have no interest in Terkay and the dress wearing freak (he's just a guy who wears a dress - that's it).
Rey/Chavo was a great match and for a purley selfish reason I was disapointed with Rey loosing as it means he won't be coming to Manchester in a couple of weeks. He does need knee surgery and hasn't had a break for the four years he's been with the company so he deserves it. I'm thinking they might go with Benoit/Chavo for the next month or so or Chavo's victory isn't going to mean anything if they don't do anything with him.
Where was Benoit? Where was Lashley?
I love William Regal. I like Taylor . These two in a tag team will be great. It seems they're sending them the way of Paul London and Spanky which I have no problem with at all.
Kane vs MVP could be the worst feud of the year. That is discounting Kennedy/Undertaker. Taker kills everybody, doesn't give anybody a chance to get over (ask Helms) and ultimatley this isn't doing anything for young Ken Kennedy.
I have no interest in Terkay and the dress wearing freak (he's just a guy who wears a dress - that's it).
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Vince's Reaction To Ken vs Tito
OK so Ken/Tito does a fucking ridiculously great rating. Bigger than any Raw main event ever. Bigger than anything on Spike ever. Vince's reaction was hilarious, he asked for his team to come up with ideas for when he signed Shamrock. Fortunatley Paul Heyman was on hand to explain that the rating was so huge because it was a feud that had been built and built, promoted and promoted and people wanted to see them... FIGHT!
Judging by this reaction I thought he might take note but then I saw Raw on Monday and I realised he's Vince McMahon.
Judging by this reaction I thought he might take note but then I saw Raw on Monday and I realised he's Vince McMahon.
Raw Is Random
What a random episode of Raw aired this week. K-Fed, DX, Jackass - bizzare.
The opening segment was great for the time that Orton and Edge were on their own. As soon as Hunter came out and treated us to nob gags and some new gay jokes it went downhill. UFC is doing huge buyrates for all its pay-per-views and how many feuds are based on the fact that one man is saying the other is gay?
The huge announcement for the champions of champions match is that we get to the vote for the winner. Well they're not going to do a title change are they? They need the winner of the voting to be Show or Cena because Booker has no chance going over if the booking is left to the Vince. I think Big Show has started bowling Monday nights since he went to ECW; that shirt was not a shirt worn by a world champion.
Cryme Tyme debuted and beat the competition. It finally looks like the Spirit Squad are breaking up resulting in three of them being released in the next six months and Johnny and Kenny probably heading to Smackdown. Cryme Tyme will be over for a couple of weeks, they'll win the belts and nobody will give a shit afterwards. Their segment with Booker was great although it was mainly Booker.
Why did Jeff have to defend his title in a four way? Isn't that seen as really bad when the champ has to? Masters got pinned. Again.
Carlito was on this show for the sake of being on the show.
K-Fed was damn good. He didn't try and get himself over but got Nitro and Cena over. A good celebrity appearance as opposed to the Jackass boys who wouldn't sell for Umaga. Umaga is going to be so dead if they continue to have him hanging around the lower mid-card. If they're going to push him as an undefeated monster then the main event is the logical place for him. They won't put him in that position though so someday he's going to disappear and never be seen again.
WWE shit all over TNA by getting the Jackass guys. The X-division goofs have been doing the gimmick for months and WWE gets the appearance of the actual goofs.
The women's title tournament continues. YAY!
The main event was a decent for a Raw main event. Orton got injured which is why the match was somewhat short. The problem lies in the fact that Hunter won even after Orton cheated so now we're supposed to pay to see Hunter win again.
Overall a random show that did little to build anything for the future or get you excited about Cyber Sunday but was entertaining overall.
The opening segment was great for the time that Orton and Edge were on their own. As soon as Hunter came out and treated us to nob gags and some new gay jokes it went downhill. UFC is doing huge buyrates for all its pay-per-views and how many feuds are based on the fact that one man is saying the other is gay?
The huge announcement for the champions of champions match is that we get to the vote for the winner. Well they're not going to do a title change are they? They need the winner of the voting to be Show or Cena because Booker has no chance going over if the booking is left to the Vince. I think Big Show has started bowling Monday nights since he went to ECW; that shirt was not a shirt worn by a world champion.
Cryme Tyme debuted and beat the competition. It finally looks like the Spirit Squad are breaking up resulting in three of them being released in the next six months and Johnny and Kenny probably heading to Smackdown. Cryme Tyme will be over for a couple of weeks, they'll win the belts and nobody will give a shit afterwards. Their segment with Booker was great although it was mainly Booker.
Why did Jeff have to defend his title in a four way? Isn't that seen as really bad when the champ has to? Masters got pinned. Again.
Carlito was on this show for the sake of being on the show.
K-Fed was damn good. He didn't try and get himself over but got Nitro and Cena over. A good celebrity appearance as opposed to the Jackass boys who wouldn't sell for Umaga. Umaga is going to be so dead if they continue to have him hanging around the lower mid-card. If they're going to push him as an undefeated monster then the main event is the logical place for him. They won't put him in that position though so someday he's going to disappear and never be seen again.
WWE shit all over TNA by getting the Jackass guys. The X-division goofs have been doing the gimmick for months and WWE gets the appearance of the actual goofs.
The women's title tournament continues. YAY!
The main event was a decent for a Raw main event. Orton got injured which is why the match was somewhat short. The problem lies in the fact that Hunter won even after Orton cheated so now we're supposed to pay to see Hunter win again.
Overall a random show that did little to build anything for the future or get you excited about Cyber Sunday but was entertaining overall.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Jericho to TNA
Well his band Fozzy anyhow. Not live though. A music video. On pay-per-view. This is a huge announcement and huge news for TNA (apparently). Add this to the annoucement that Bobby Roode is announcing his manager on said show I can't wait for the show! What's it called again?
If anybody out there thinks that Jericho is going to TNA then they're kidding themselves. Jericho is a smart guy and knows money lies with WWE. Signing with TNA cuts ties with Vince and for a guy like Jericho that could be carrer suicide. Jericho to TNA? Nuh uh. His music video is the closest TNA are getting to Y2J.
If anybody out there thinks that Jericho is going to TNA then they're kidding themselves. Jericho is a smart guy and knows money lies with WWE. Signing with TNA cuts ties with Vince and for a guy like Jericho that could be carrer suicide. Jericho to TNA? Nuh uh. His music video is the closest TNA are getting to Y2J.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Smackdown Continues a Role of Good Shows
I was actaully interested in watching Smackdown this week and it delivered. Smackdown has (nearly) always been the better show in terms of wrestling with Eddie, Benoit, Rey and Angle all been staples of the show and now with Finaly and Regal in the mix the wrestling can not be faulted.
Watching Chris Benoit pummel the shit out of Mr Kennedy was great.The finish wasn't too bad, Benoit couldn't beat Kennedy clean so this was the next big thing. The difference between Kennedy and Benoit on offence is world apart. One's awesome the other is pretty boring. I don't need to tell who you. Benoit winning the US title is only a good thing, the belt is wasted in the Taker feud so it makes sense to put it on Benoit who always makes it feel like a damn important belt.
Regal vs Vito was a decent match, mainly because William Regal is great. I don't think Regal ever wins but as long as he is on my TV every week I have no problem with this whatsoever and it doesn't take away from his credibility because he is that damn good.
MVP still sucks and putting him with Kane is hardly going to light the world on fire (pardon the pun) but they need something for both guys to do so they've stuck them together. I thought Kane was taking time off but obviously not.
Jamie Noble on TV in singles action is another great novelty. His match with Rey was a good little TV match, these guys can have awesome matches but the point was to put Rey over and they did that here. I thought the idea was for Rey to go off and have his surgery after No Mercy, they could be doing that angle next week with the 'I Quit' match. Rey is advertised for Survivor Series though so you never know.
Jimmy Wang Yang is the man. A decent little six-man here.
The main event was another good TV match. Booker T on commentary still rules. For a TV triple threat there wasn't anyhting else they could have done better or worse so this was a good little match. Batista going over makes sense as Finlay is a heel and Lashley isn't the number one guy at the moment (despite being better than Big Dave who looked a little rough tonight). Cena and Big Show are at Smackdown next week so I predict a no contest in the main event setting up the Cyber Sunday main event. Add the Rey/Chavo match to that and next week should be entertaining.
Watching Chris Benoit pummel the shit out of Mr Kennedy was great.The finish wasn't too bad, Benoit couldn't beat Kennedy clean so this was the next big thing. The difference between Kennedy and Benoit on offence is world apart. One's awesome the other is pretty boring. I don't need to tell who you. Benoit winning the US title is only a good thing, the belt is wasted in the Taker feud so it makes sense to put it on Benoit who always makes it feel like a damn important belt.
Regal vs Vito was a decent match, mainly because William Regal is great. I don't think Regal ever wins but as long as he is on my TV every week I have no problem with this whatsoever and it doesn't take away from his credibility because he is that damn good.
MVP still sucks and putting him with Kane is hardly going to light the world on fire (pardon the pun) but they need something for both guys to do so they've stuck them together. I thought Kane was taking time off but obviously not.
Jamie Noble on TV in singles action is another great novelty. His match with Rey was a good little TV match, these guys can have awesome matches but the point was to put Rey over and they did that here. I thought the idea was for Rey to go off and have his surgery after No Mercy, they could be doing that angle next week with the 'I Quit' match. Rey is advertised for Survivor Series though so you never know.
Jimmy Wang Yang is the man. A decent little six-man here.
The main event was another good TV match. Booker T on commentary still rules. For a TV triple threat there wasn't anyhting else they could have done better or worse so this was a good little match. Batista going over makes sense as Finlay is a heel and Lashley isn't the number one guy at the moment (despite being better than Big Dave who looked a little rough tonight). Cena and Big Show are at Smackdown next week so I predict a no contest in the main event setting up the Cyber Sunday main event. Add the Rey/Chavo match to that and next week should be entertaining.
The Benoit Suprise
All over the world of the wondeful Internet message boards I've been readin how the return of Chris Benoit should have been more hyped. Yes it might have sold some pay-per-views and Benoit could have been out over in such a way that he is next contender to the world title but, isn't it nice to be surprised by something?
As 'inside' fans we know everything that's going on and the majority of the time we find it hard to actually be pleasantly surprised with what goes on in this business. The return of my favourite wrestler Chris Benoit made me happy. It was a nice surprise for those who bought a pay-per-view where the bright spots were few and far between. His return didn't sell any pay-per-views but can't we just be happy for once?
As 'inside' fans we know everything that's going on and the majority of the time we find it hard to actually be pleasantly surprised with what goes on in this business. The return of my favourite wrestler Chris Benoit made me happy. It was a nice surprise for those who bought a pay-per-view where the bright spots were few and far between. His return didn't sell any pay-per-views but can't we just be happy for once?
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
The Biggest Raw Ever
Not quite.
It was a good show with the interpromotional rivalries etc. but it's the story of WWE no building towards anything that highlights the flaws in this show. Just like the WWE vs ECW special a couple of months ago (remember that?) this showhad little promotion. People knew it was on but didn't have much of a reason to watch it outside of the advertised Kane/Umaga match.
The opening segment was good seeing all three champions in the ring but went off on a bit of a tangent talking about the films. Booker T's reference to Ready to Rumble made me smile though. Cena's English accent ruled. These three are going at it in a triple threat at Cyber Sunday. They're desperate to prove that PPV is a hit. They were always told that a Tuesday PPV wouldn't work so last year they stacked the card with the return of Austin and Foley. This year they've moved it and are putting a pretty big match on top.
Kane got beat so is loosing Raw. He was backstage at the Smackdown tapings so work it out.
The backstage interactions between the three GMs was brilliant. Even the Super Crazy segment.
The women's match sucked. This title is doomed. They might as well have a fans vote at the PPV to decide the champion, it would mean more.
DX vs Cade & Murdoch was typical of the whole of DX's run - burying the competition. It looks like they're getting a real feud in Edge & Orton. I predict a tag match followed by two singles matches which I have no problem with at all as Edge and Michaels work very well together. Hunter and Orton have yet to prove themselves but a good angle could change this.
Big Show beat Jeff Hardy. Where was Matt to make the save?
Didn't we see Booker vs RVD like last week? At least the King won.
Chris Benoit is fucking amazing. Poor Shelton.
Bickering between commentary teams can get annoying but when JBL is involved I have no problem with it at all.
The Smackdown six-man made me laugh my head off. Firstly Rey got caught in the apron by Finlay and disappeared and the heels beat him whilst in the apron. That made me laugh for some reason. Secondly Rey got fully dragged under the ring by the midget. Thirdly Cole called the midget the little bastard and JBL commented he may have parents so call him a troll. Classic. The match was good as well. Look like Rey is sticking around until Survivor Series.
Mitch vs Flair was one hell of an awesome segment. I'll always mark for Dibase. When joined by IRS I mark even more.
The main event was actually pretty fun. I don't think anybody expected a clean finish but for what it was it was good.
Overall a thumbs up show. Plenty of build to Cyber Sunday, good backstage segments and good wrestling for TV.
It was a good show with the interpromotional rivalries etc. but it's the story of WWE no building towards anything that highlights the flaws in this show. Just like the WWE vs ECW special a couple of months ago (remember that?) this showhad little promotion. People knew it was on but didn't have much of a reason to watch it outside of the advertised Kane/Umaga match.
The opening segment was good seeing all three champions in the ring but went off on a bit of a tangent talking about the films. Booker T's reference to Ready to Rumble made me smile though. Cena's English accent ruled. These three are going at it in a triple threat at Cyber Sunday. They're desperate to prove that PPV is a hit. They were always told that a Tuesday PPV wouldn't work so last year they stacked the card with the return of Austin and Foley. This year they've moved it and are putting a pretty big match on top.
Kane got beat so is loosing Raw. He was backstage at the Smackdown tapings so work it out.
The backstage interactions between the three GMs was brilliant. Even the Super Crazy segment.
The women's match sucked. This title is doomed. They might as well have a fans vote at the PPV to decide the champion, it would mean more.
DX vs Cade & Murdoch was typical of the whole of DX's run - burying the competition. It looks like they're getting a real feud in Edge & Orton. I predict a tag match followed by two singles matches which I have no problem with at all as Edge and Michaels work very well together. Hunter and Orton have yet to prove themselves but a good angle could change this.
Big Show beat Jeff Hardy. Where was Matt to make the save?
Didn't we see Booker vs RVD like last week? At least the King won.
Chris Benoit is fucking amazing. Poor Shelton.
Bickering between commentary teams can get annoying but when JBL is involved I have no problem with it at all.
The Smackdown six-man made me laugh my head off. Firstly Rey got caught in the apron by Finlay and disappeared and the heels beat him whilst in the apron. That made me laugh for some reason. Secondly Rey got fully dragged under the ring by the midget. Thirdly Cole called the midget the little bastard and JBL commented he may have parents so call him a troll. Classic. The match was good as well. Look like Rey is sticking around until Survivor Series.
Mitch vs Flair was one hell of an awesome segment. I'll always mark for Dibase. When joined by IRS I mark even more.
The main event was actually pretty fun. I don't think anybody expected a clean finish but for what it was it was good.
Overall a thumbs up show. Plenty of build to Cyber Sunday, good backstage segments and good wrestling for TV.
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