It seems THQ has gone bankrupt. The company that had recently made it's 14th game in the Smackdown Series [many people, including me, still call it the Smackdown series as it started off being called Smackdown]. The question is, does this worry me? It seems to be worrying a lot of people who are talking about how if another company gets the license they might screw the series up. I say, screw the series up? It's already screwed up. I don't think there is a single game in the series that I would call, brilliant, fantastic, or probably even very good. There might be a few that I would consider pretty decent, and 1 or 2 certainly stand out as being the best of the series and quite enjoyable, but still have a lot of room for improvement.
Truth is I'm not that bothered about it because THQ have had a long time to make a, at least 'close to perfect' game and have still not managed it. When they come up with a mode that might seem interesting, like the GM mode, they just get rid of it after a while. If they continued to make improvements to it then it might actually be a pretty good mode right now. What about the 'free roam' season that looked quite promising in the Smackdown days? That could be great if they had stuck at it, but instead they got tired of previous modes, gave up on them, and made new ones that were intriguing but again, needed improvement. Then after a couple of goes, they gave up on them. Universe is the most recent mode that was getting tweaked. It seems to have improved, from what I read [since I didn't buy the most recent one] but honestly people, it would not surprise me if it gets taken out in the next release, particularly since it is probably going to be done by a different company.
There was just too much wrong with the series as a whole and not enough was being done in areas that needed improvement for a long time. Yes, the commentary still, after so many years, sounds very generic and the gameplay, with the occasional tweak here and there, was pretty much the same for many years during the Smackdown v Raw days.
I don't have any issues with a different company taking charge [as long as EA does not get the license. Would be nice if Rockstar got it, even though they don't do sport]. THQ was never able to fully please fans of the series and while some releases were okay, others were truly horrible and a complete and utter waste of money. The grass is not always going to be greener on the other side, but it might be time to give someone else a chance with this.
Other than that, I would like to inform that this is my last post on this blog. The reason? Quite simple, I am moving on to different topics in the new year, and while I may continue to write about wrestling issues, I hope to find a platform where I get readers. This blog does get views, but I never get any feedback on any of my posts, bringing me to believe that people do not really care enough to give me any feedback, so my time is up.
Monday 31 December 2012
Friday 28 December 2012
3 hours too much
Raw now runs 3 hours and has done for the past few months, as those who watch it might have noticed. There are a couple of big problems with this.
The first is that 3 hours of a wrestling show every week is too much, particularly when it's of the quality that Raw currently is. The quality of Raw has fallen so much that its last Christmas Eve episode actually got the worst rating of a Raw this year. Well obviously, it aired on Christmas Eve, you might tell me. That's true, but it was also the worst rating that Raw has had since 1997. That is a long time. Think of how bad some of the past Raw episodes over the last 15 years were, and now think that this one, at least in the eyes of viewers, was even worse. The ratings are split in to 3, 1 for each hour of the show, so fans might have tuned in, noticed how bad it was, and turned away. I get tired of wrestling during a 3 hour PPV, and during a PPV you actually get to watch some wrestling, rather than silly in ring and backstage skits. 3 hours of what is mostly going to be horrible acting, is too much for me.
The second reason why 3 hours is a bad idea is that it makes the other show, Smackdown, look like a secondary show. Now some might say it feels like a secondary show anyway. Well if it did before, then it certainly does now. With Smackdown not only not being live but being an hour shorter than Raw, it's as if they want to turn it in to what Heat or Velocity used to be. They could make Smackdown 3 hours long, to show that they care about it, but that would cross the line. Can you imagine, 3 hours of Raw and 3 hours of Smackdown, every week? That would be too much to take.
I know I have missed a lot of Raw episodes myself. I just can't take it. The characters and storylines on them are so bad, that it literally is un-watchable. For a wrestling fan like me, what is currently happening is intolerable. I refused to give the WWE any money a long time ago by not buying anything WWE related. Now I am going a step further, I am not watching the product, at least not regularly. I still try to keep up with what is going on, otherwise I would not be able to write about it. I might watch some highlights, if I intend to mention it in my blog, but to watch a show, from start to finish, and not break something near me? It can't be done. Even reading results on the internet makes me cringe. It's that bad. I do suggest the same for you, but it's your choice. I think going on a WWE diet might make you feel a lot better. Stop watching this crap, and if you really miss wrestling, put in some old DVDs or look them up on youtube, they're much more enjoyable than anything now.
The first is that 3 hours of a wrestling show every week is too much, particularly when it's of the quality that Raw currently is. The quality of Raw has fallen so much that its last Christmas Eve episode actually got the worst rating of a Raw this year. Well obviously, it aired on Christmas Eve, you might tell me. That's true, but it was also the worst rating that Raw has had since 1997. That is a long time. Think of how bad some of the past Raw episodes over the last 15 years were, and now think that this one, at least in the eyes of viewers, was even worse. The ratings are split in to 3, 1 for each hour of the show, so fans might have tuned in, noticed how bad it was, and turned away. I get tired of wrestling during a 3 hour PPV, and during a PPV you actually get to watch some wrestling, rather than silly in ring and backstage skits. 3 hours of what is mostly going to be horrible acting, is too much for me.
The second reason why 3 hours is a bad idea is that it makes the other show, Smackdown, look like a secondary show. Now some might say it feels like a secondary show anyway. Well if it did before, then it certainly does now. With Smackdown not only not being live but being an hour shorter than Raw, it's as if they want to turn it in to what Heat or Velocity used to be. They could make Smackdown 3 hours long, to show that they care about it, but that would cross the line. Can you imagine, 3 hours of Raw and 3 hours of Smackdown, every week? That would be too much to take.
I know I have missed a lot of Raw episodes myself. I just can't take it. The characters and storylines on them are so bad, that it literally is un-watchable. For a wrestling fan like me, what is currently happening is intolerable. I refused to give the WWE any money a long time ago by not buying anything WWE related. Now I am going a step further, I am not watching the product, at least not regularly. I still try to keep up with what is going on, otherwise I would not be able to write about it. I might watch some highlights, if I intend to mention it in my blog, but to watch a show, from start to finish, and not break something near me? It can't be done. Even reading results on the internet makes me cringe. It's that bad. I do suggest the same for you, but it's your choice. I think going on a WWE diet might make you feel a lot better. Stop watching this crap, and if you really miss wrestling, put in some old DVDs or look them up on youtube, they're much more enjoyable than anything now.
Sunday 23 December 2012
Christmas gifts for WWE roster [plus a few for TNA wrestlers]
First, please do forgive me if I miss people out. If I do, the chances are, I missed them out on purpose, because I could not care less about them, there were too many people to get through or perhaps I just could not think of a Christmas present to give them [there, I admitted it].
Alberto Del Rio
This one is simple, significance. Not sure if it is possible to give someone the gift of significance, but if so, ADR gets is. This guy is a 2 time champion who won the Royal Rumble and yet it seems like he only goes over people who don't matter in the company. Anytime he fights anyone relevant, he loses, sometimes more than once [I believe he lost to Randy Orton about 3 or 4 times in a row].
Antonio Cesaro
Some hair. No really, I'm not anti bald men, but it would go nicely. He can wrestle and he has an interesting heel character [okay it might not be interesting but it works]. Give him a full head of hair and he's instantly in the world title scene. He's never going to get there as a bald guy, they have one already, Ryback.
Big Show
The Aktins diet book. This guy does not know how to lose weight. How many times has he vanished from TV to lose weight? The first time he did it, he returned even fatter. After his return in 2005 I think he was at his fattest. they had him listed at over 500 pounds. Now he is listed at about 440, but let's face it, he's still a fat pie. Who knows what the World Heavyweight title is doing on him?
Brodus Clay
A different gimmick. Some people might enjoy it but it seems to be leading nowhere. He is never in any significant fueds and you rarely see him on any PPV's, meaning, he's just a joke character and he aint going anywhere significant.
Christian
Good health. The WWE is currently in need of more entertaining wrestlers who can wrestle and talk just as well. Hope you get back from injury ASAP Captain Charisma.
CM Punk
Some faith in God. It's Christmas! It's the season to be happy that Jesus was born. Oh and perhaps some laser treatment too, he's gone overboard with the tatoos [though if I'm going to go there I should start with The Undertaker].
Cody Rhodes
A good wax, right under the nose, to get rid of that leech that seems to be stuck there.
Damien Sandow
Some fans who are on his level. All people do when he talks is boo, but he's so intellectual and talks so much sense, they would be better of listening to some of his wisdom. He needs people on his level.
Daniel Bryan
A trip to the hairdresser to shave off that big old beard. On the other hand he could dye it white and be one of those street Santas, but after Christmas, get rid of it!
David Otunga
A new and improved gimmick [a few wrestlers might get the same present]. All he does right now is pretend to be a lawyer and job to Khali in under a minute.
Drew McIntyre
More air time? Can't remember the last time he was on TV. Is he injured? Perhaps I fell asleep when he was on, that happens a lot with the quality of the shows these days.
Great Khali
A moveset for crying out loud. I know he's massive, but he can't go on just hitting chops and having 1 minute bouts. Give him at least a couple more moves and perhaps a walking stick since he seems to have problems walking.
Hornswoggle
A mini walking stick, he also seems to have problems walking. Get him away from Great Khali as well. I know his leprechaun gimmick was stupid but it's still better than being stuck as Khali's little bitch.
3 Man Band
Coal. They suck. I'd give coal to the writer who made this idea up as well. Separate them and give each of them some gimmicks we can pretend to care about.
John Cena
A rock CD. Perhaps heavy metal. He needs to be told that he doesn't have to dress and act the way he does, there's no need for these subcultures.
JTG
I dunno. Pants that fit?
Kane
A nice retirement. He deserves it, or at least, he does not deserve to constantly be repackaged over and over and over again. They've had him as a monster, they've had him as a goofball [and currently do], they've had him with a mask and sleeves, one sleeve, no sleeves, then a different type of mask, then no mask, now a mask again [why? I don't know]. Just stop!
Kofi Kingston
His birth certificate. I need to find it and get it sent to him. Where is he from? Jamaica or Ghana? I'm not sure he even knows.
Mark Henry
A start in a world's strongest man competition. If he wins, then he can be referred to as the world's strongest man, because right now, he aint.
The Miz
Some time in the ring. Is he a wrestler or a journalist? Why is a former world champion and Wrestlemania main eventer spending his time interviewing people and recapping what's going on in the WWE?
R Truth
Roaddogg. Team up, change your name back to K Kwik and let's continue the tag team that was cut short 12 years ago by Roaddogg's firing for drugs.
Randy Orton
A heel turn [yes another one, but this time, let it stay that way]. He just does not work as a face, he looks too slimy and evil.
Rey Mysterio
I could be cruel here and mention something about his height, but let's just say, a nice long fued with his current tag team partner. Could be epic.
Ryback
A PPV win. Squashing guys in the opener on Raw and Smackdown is one thing, but a PPV win is more important. If he is being pushed as this monster face, he can't go any more PPV's without a win.
Santino Marella
A nice bowl of spaghetti. What? He's from Italy. I said a nice bowl, with some effort put in to it, since it's Christmas.
Sheamus
Some hair dye. I mean it's bad enough he's pale as death, but add to that his red hair and it just spells disaster.
Triple H
His hair back, he just looks weird now and his nose is more noticeable.
Tyson Kidd
A DVD of Hart Dynasty's greatest matches, so he can remember the times when people cared about his character.
The Undertaker
Same as Kane. Retirement. At this stage his career is being needlessly dragged out. He has beaten so many greats and it is getting more and more difficult to find anyone else that people might realistically believe can beat him. He might have a couple more Wrestlemanias in him but I hope he does not outstay his welcome. He has had a great career and there is need to ruin it but having him wrestling matches past his best.
Yoshi Tatsu
A one way ticket to Japan. He is so misused in the WWE [as a squash mascot], get him out of there.
Zack Ryder
His own talk show. Not one on the WWE website, but a proper one, to rival Conan, Kimmel, Leno and the rest. He seems to have enough followers on twitter, so his talk show would have ratings.
Divas
AJ
Something to take her away from WWE television for a long time. She irritates the crap out of me.
Eve
A women's title. If she is going to have a title, it might as well be one that has meaning, not some fluffy 'diva' nonsense.
Kaitlyn
A trip to the hairdresser to shorten that hair. Her long hair keeps on tangling up and getting in the way. Just cut it off [I know it's crap but I couldn't think of anything].
Natalya
Something better to do than being Khali's cheerleader.
That's all the diva's in this company I can be bothered to mention, even the ones I did write about mean very little to wrestling.
TNA
There are a few TNA wrestlers I would like to give gifts as well, though I am not going to go through the entire roster since I don't have the nervous system.
Austin Aries
An attitude adjustment. No not the finishing move, a real one. He annoys me. No not his gimmick, I know he is a heel. He annoys me, as a person.
Christopher Daniels
Retirement. He's looking older and more frail every week, just quit, before you do yourself a serious injury, like you did in that WCW match you had just before the company was bought out.
Eric Young
More time in elementary school. He needs to repeat, and this time, pay attention.
Hulk Hogan
Absolutely nothing. He doesn't need anything, he has too much already [and he still wants more, greedy man]. Plus a written contract that keeps him away from any televised wrestling shows, for any company, now, and to the hour of his death, Amen, brother!
Jeff Hardy
An eye clinic appointment. He seems to have some sort of problem with his eyes, particularly during entrances.
Kurt Angle
Same as Christopher Daniels. Retirement, before his neck gets broken so bad that his head literally falls off during a match. Seriously Kurt, you were a great wrestler, possibly one of the best ever, but retire, before you die in the ring.
Mr Anderson
See Austin Aries
Samoa Joe
Atkins diet [or he can borrow Big Show's] and try outs in Sumo wrestling.
Sting
Retirement, or leave TNA, have a match with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania [that he inevitably loses], then retire.
Divas
Gail Kim
A contract with some other wrestling promotion better than TNA.
Mickie James
Food. Lots of food. I liked her when she had that big ass. Now she just looks like most other diva's. Pretty but boring. I suppose generic is the word.
Tara
Her old name back. Victoria was a decent women's wrestler. Tara is a joke, but TNA has a lot to do with that.
Brooke Hogan
Tape, to put over her mouth + the same contract as Hogan, to avoid any televised wrestling events, but alter it to any televised shows period, wrestling or not.
Miss Tessmacher
A contract with a German promotion. She's got the name for it.
Sorry for those I missed, but this took me ages, I'm done with it. Have a Merry Christmas.
Alberto Del Rio
This one is simple, significance. Not sure if it is possible to give someone the gift of significance, but if so, ADR gets is. This guy is a 2 time champion who won the Royal Rumble and yet it seems like he only goes over people who don't matter in the company. Anytime he fights anyone relevant, he loses, sometimes more than once [I believe he lost to Randy Orton about 3 or 4 times in a row].
Antonio Cesaro
Some hair. No really, I'm not anti bald men, but it would go nicely. He can wrestle and he has an interesting heel character [okay it might not be interesting but it works]. Give him a full head of hair and he's instantly in the world title scene. He's never going to get there as a bald guy, they have one already, Ryback.
Big Show
The Aktins diet book. This guy does not know how to lose weight. How many times has he vanished from TV to lose weight? The first time he did it, he returned even fatter. After his return in 2005 I think he was at his fattest. they had him listed at over 500 pounds. Now he is listed at about 440, but let's face it, he's still a fat pie. Who knows what the World Heavyweight title is doing on him?
Brodus Clay
A different gimmick. Some people might enjoy it but it seems to be leading nowhere. He is never in any significant fueds and you rarely see him on any PPV's, meaning, he's just a joke character and he aint going anywhere significant.
Christian
Good health. The WWE is currently in need of more entertaining wrestlers who can wrestle and talk just as well. Hope you get back from injury ASAP Captain Charisma.
CM Punk
Some faith in God. It's Christmas! It's the season to be happy that Jesus was born. Oh and perhaps some laser treatment too, he's gone overboard with the tatoos [though if I'm going to go there I should start with The Undertaker].
Cody Rhodes
A good wax, right under the nose, to get rid of that leech that seems to be stuck there.
Damien Sandow
Some fans who are on his level. All people do when he talks is boo, but he's so intellectual and talks so much sense, they would be better of listening to some of his wisdom. He needs people on his level.
Daniel Bryan
A trip to the hairdresser to shave off that big old beard. On the other hand he could dye it white and be one of those street Santas, but after Christmas, get rid of it!
David Otunga
A new and improved gimmick [a few wrestlers might get the same present]. All he does right now is pretend to be a lawyer and job to Khali in under a minute.
Drew McIntyre
More air time? Can't remember the last time he was on TV. Is he injured? Perhaps I fell asleep when he was on, that happens a lot with the quality of the shows these days.
Great Khali
A moveset for crying out loud. I know he's massive, but he can't go on just hitting chops and having 1 minute bouts. Give him at least a couple more moves and perhaps a walking stick since he seems to have problems walking.
Hornswoggle
A mini walking stick, he also seems to have problems walking. Get him away from Great Khali as well. I know his leprechaun gimmick was stupid but it's still better than being stuck as Khali's little bitch.
3 Man Band
Coal. They suck. I'd give coal to the writer who made this idea up as well. Separate them and give each of them some gimmicks we can pretend to care about.
John Cena
A rock CD. Perhaps heavy metal. He needs to be told that he doesn't have to dress and act the way he does, there's no need for these subcultures.
JTG
I dunno. Pants that fit?
Kane
A nice retirement. He deserves it, or at least, he does not deserve to constantly be repackaged over and over and over again. They've had him as a monster, they've had him as a goofball [and currently do], they've had him with a mask and sleeves, one sleeve, no sleeves, then a different type of mask, then no mask, now a mask again [why? I don't know]. Just stop!
Kofi Kingston
His birth certificate. I need to find it and get it sent to him. Where is he from? Jamaica or Ghana? I'm not sure he even knows.
Mark Henry
A start in a world's strongest man competition. If he wins, then he can be referred to as the world's strongest man, because right now, he aint.
The Miz
Some time in the ring. Is he a wrestler or a journalist? Why is a former world champion and Wrestlemania main eventer spending his time interviewing people and recapping what's going on in the WWE?
R Truth
Roaddogg. Team up, change your name back to K Kwik and let's continue the tag team that was cut short 12 years ago by Roaddogg's firing for drugs.
Randy Orton
A heel turn [yes another one, but this time, let it stay that way]. He just does not work as a face, he looks too slimy and evil.
Rey Mysterio
I could be cruel here and mention something about his height, but let's just say, a nice long fued with his current tag team partner. Could be epic.
Ryback
A PPV win. Squashing guys in the opener on Raw and Smackdown is one thing, but a PPV win is more important. If he is being pushed as this monster face, he can't go any more PPV's without a win.
Santino Marella
A nice bowl of spaghetti. What? He's from Italy. I said a nice bowl, with some effort put in to it, since it's Christmas.
Sheamus
Some hair dye. I mean it's bad enough he's pale as death, but add to that his red hair and it just spells disaster.
Triple H
His hair back, he just looks weird now and his nose is more noticeable.
Tyson Kidd
A DVD of Hart Dynasty's greatest matches, so he can remember the times when people cared about his character.
The Undertaker
Same as Kane. Retirement. At this stage his career is being needlessly dragged out. He has beaten so many greats and it is getting more and more difficult to find anyone else that people might realistically believe can beat him. He might have a couple more Wrestlemanias in him but I hope he does not outstay his welcome. He has had a great career and there is need to ruin it but having him wrestling matches past his best.
Yoshi Tatsu
A one way ticket to Japan. He is so misused in the WWE [as a squash mascot], get him out of there.
Zack Ryder
His own talk show. Not one on the WWE website, but a proper one, to rival Conan, Kimmel, Leno and the rest. He seems to have enough followers on twitter, so his talk show would have ratings.
Divas
AJ
Something to take her away from WWE television for a long time. She irritates the crap out of me.
Eve
A women's title. If she is going to have a title, it might as well be one that has meaning, not some fluffy 'diva' nonsense.
Kaitlyn
A trip to the hairdresser to shorten that hair. Her long hair keeps on tangling up and getting in the way. Just cut it off [I know it's crap but I couldn't think of anything].
Natalya
Something better to do than being Khali's cheerleader.
That's all the diva's in this company I can be bothered to mention, even the ones I did write about mean very little to wrestling.
TNA
There are a few TNA wrestlers I would like to give gifts as well, though I am not going to go through the entire roster since I don't have the nervous system.
Austin Aries
An attitude adjustment. No not the finishing move, a real one. He annoys me. No not his gimmick, I know he is a heel. He annoys me, as a person.
Christopher Daniels
Retirement. He's looking older and more frail every week, just quit, before you do yourself a serious injury, like you did in that WCW match you had just before the company was bought out.
Eric Young
More time in elementary school. He needs to repeat, and this time, pay attention.
Hulk Hogan
Absolutely nothing. He doesn't need anything, he has too much already [and he still wants more, greedy man]. Plus a written contract that keeps him away from any televised wrestling shows, for any company, now, and to the hour of his death, Amen, brother!
Jeff Hardy
An eye clinic appointment. He seems to have some sort of problem with his eyes, particularly during entrances.
Kurt Angle
Same as Christopher Daniels. Retirement, before his neck gets broken so bad that his head literally falls off during a match. Seriously Kurt, you were a great wrestler, possibly one of the best ever, but retire, before you die in the ring.
Mr Anderson
See Austin Aries
Samoa Joe
Atkins diet [or he can borrow Big Show's] and try outs in Sumo wrestling.
Sting
Retirement, or leave TNA, have a match with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania [that he inevitably loses], then retire.
Divas
Gail Kim
A contract with some other wrestling promotion better than TNA.
Mickie James
Food. Lots of food. I liked her when she had that big ass. Now she just looks like most other diva's. Pretty but boring. I suppose generic is the word.
Tara
Her old name back. Victoria was a decent women's wrestler. Tara is a joke, but TNA has a lot to do with that.
Brooke Hogan
Tape, to put over her mouth + the same contract as Hogan, to avoid any televised wrestling events, but alter it to any televised shows period, wrestling or not.
Miss Tessmacher
A contract with a German promotion. She's got the name for it.
Sorry for those I missed, but this took me ages, I'm done with it. Have a Merry Christmas.
Friday 21 December 2012
Little Holly
Crash Holly
Well I did Hardcore Holly some time ago, so it's time for his 'in ring' cousin, Crash.
Crash Holly, or Mad Mikey, as he was also known [real name, Michael Lockwood]. He began his career in independent feds and briefly wrestled in ECW, before he signed a contract with WWE in 1999. In the WWE he teamed up with Bob Holly to form the Holly's, who were later joined by Molly ['Molly Holly'] to make a trio. Interestingly, while Bob Holly christened himself Hardcore Holly after being a multiple time Hardcore champion, it was Crash who won the Hardcore title an amazing 22 times.
He was released by the WWE in mid 2003 but quickly joined TNA as Mad Mikey.
Where is he now? Lockwood was unfortunately found dead in November of 2003, at Stevie Richards home. There was a half empty bottle of vodka and emptied bottles of prescription drugs by his body. He had recently got divorce papers from his wife and this is thought to be the reason for his recent depression and believed suicide. Lockwood was one of the former ECW wrestlers honored in a video clip at ECW One Night Stand 2005.
Monday 17 December 2012
[TLC PPV] 5 out of 6 aint bad
2 out of 3 aint bad, but mathematically, 5 out of 6 is even better. That's how my predictions went. The only one I missed was The Shield taking the 6 man tag. This meant that only 2 faces got wins in the PPV, out of the 8 matches [2 were added later]. I really think Daniel Bryan, Kane and Ryback would have been the better option to take the win. Some of brutality from The Shield in that match made them look like serious players, so a loss would not really have harmed them much, and Ryback really needed a PPV win. Obviously Ryback was still kept strong, and did not get pinned or anything, but seriously, he needs a win. They can't just keep having him lose matches but either get screwed or not get pinned. After a while it's going to get old and repetitive.
As far as the PPV itself. I have a few questions that will obviously go unanswered, but I still want to ask them.
1/ Why not announce that the winner of the pre show diva battle royal will fight for the title at the PPV? This might get more buys. Okay it's only divas and they can't fight, but there must be some fans of divas that would think 'the diva championship is on the line at the PPV? They'll buy it then.'
2/ Why did AJ attack Vickie if she was about to turn heel and assist Dolph? Vickie wanted to do the same as AJ intended to do, so it made no sense. Why not just let her try to attack Cena? Well of course unless it's because she wanted to be the one who cost him the match, the devious little minx.
3/ Why were 3 man band interviewed by The Miz and why is this former champion and Wrestlemania main eventer spending his time interviewing people and not wrestling?
4/ Why won't Cody shave off that moustache? Striker had the sense to shave his, but then he was only doing it for 'Movember.' Why Cody is doing it I have no clue.
Other than that though, it was actually a pretty decent PPV this time. A lot of the bouts were of a high quality. The storylines might suck, but at least the wrestling aint bad. Long may it continue.
As far as the PPV itself. I have a few questions that will obviously go unanswered, but I still want to ask them.
1/ Why not announce that the winner of the pre show diva battle royal will fight for the title at the PPV? This might get more buys. Okay it's only divas and they can't fight, but there must be some fans of divas that would think 'the diva championship is on the line at the PPV? They'll buy it then.'
2/ Why did AJ attack Vickie if she was about to turn heel and assist Dolph? Vickie wanted to do the same as AJ intended to do, so it made no sense. Why not just let her try to attack Cena? Well of course unless it's because she wanted to be the one who cost him the match, the devious little minx.
3/ Why were 3 man band interviewed by The Miz and why is this former champion and Wrestlemania main eventer spending his time interviewing people and not wrestling?
4/ Why won't Cody shave off that moustache? Striker had the sense to shave his, but then he was only doing it for 'Movember.' Why Cody is doing it I have no clue.
Other than that though, it was actually a pretty decent PPV this time. A lot of the bouts were of a high quality. The storylines might suck, but at least the wrestling aint bad. Long may it continue.
Sunday 16 December 2012
TLC PPV prediction fun
So it's time for another PPV tonight that I still can't believe anyone in their right mind would pay $45 for this online. Seriously? $45 to see an internet stream of a PPV. I find free WWE streams annoying to watch. I would never dream of paying to watch anything on the internet. Honestly. Anyway, to the PPV predictions. Before I do though, the card does look a little, well, little. Only 6 bouts? Then again, Survivor Series had that and then 2 matches were added as a bonus, on the night, so who knows? It might happen again.
First there is a pre show that I might have considered predicting, had it not been a diva battle royal match. Battle royals tend to be short and 'sucky' anyway. Put diva's in it and they're even worse. I'll avoid that one and won't be watching it, even though you can, on youtube, for free.
Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara v Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow [no 1 contender match]
Both are decent tag teams but I feel Rhodes and Sandow are being set up for a fued with Kane and Daniel Bryan. Mysterio and Sin Cara would not match up well with the current tag team champs in terms of style and both teams are faces so it would be difficult to book any sort of fued to build the future title match up.
Predicted winners Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow
Barrett v Kingston[c] [Intercontinental title]
A lot of people seem to be calling for Barrett to be involved in the World title scene, so it would make sense for him to at least get the Intercontinental title for now, if the WWE is thinking of doing that, unless they want to have him in the World title scene much sooner than that, so want to keep the Intercontinental title off him, but I highly doubt that. Despite there being a number of reasons as to why it might be an idea to put the belt on Barrett, Kofi will probably get the win. Why? Well, perhaps his title run is selling merchandise, so the belt must stay where it is.
Predicted winner Kofi Kingston
R Truth v Antonio Cesaro[c] [US title]
Some people like Cesaro as champ. I don't care. I'm neutral to it. Haha, get it? Because Switzerland is often regarded as a neutral country? Ah forget it. What I mean to say is, the whole 'evil foreigner holding the US title belt and disrespecting it' is way past stale now, but the WWE will probably play the angle out for a while yet. R Truth lost at Survivor Series, but there is nothing really to suggest that he is set for a title run.
Predicted winner Cesaro
The Shield v Kane, Daniel Bryan and Ryback [TLC match]
They had to pull the plug on the World title re match, so they made this. It will be interesting to see The Shield in the ring, but does it not seem recently like insignificant and unknown people are being pushed straight in to the main event scene, or at least being involved in it? This was the case with Maddox, the 'screw-job referee,' and now we have 'The Shield.' The Shield at least is somewhat interesting. Or at least, they were built up better. Some opinions flying about the net are, Ryback can't lose another match, but The Shield should not lose their debut match either? What to do? Well I agree, Ryback can not lose another PPV match. He needs to be on the winning side and ideally needs to get the pinfall. The Shield will not lose anything if they lose the match. They could always retain their heat with a post match attack. A stable does not get 'ruined' just by losing a debut match.
Predicted winners Kane, Daniel Bryan and Ryback
Sheamus v Big Show[c] [ Chairs match for the World Heavyweight championship]
If Sheamus was meant to be the champion, they would not have taken the belt off him a couple of months ago. Now unless they did it to up his title reign, it is fairly clear that the Big Show is retaining his belt here, even more so after the recent tweet from Sheamus where he said 'win or lose, he is going to walk out swinging.' Win or lose? That's a banker that he is not going to be winning this one.
Predicted winner Big Show
Ziggler v John Cena [Ladder match for Ziggler's Money in the Bank briefcase]
This one is less predictable. Originally I expected it to be the main event and I expected Ziggler to win it. Now, it is difficult to tell. It will probably still be the main event, but will it be for the World title if Ziggler cashes in his briefcase earlier to avoid having to put it on the line? Will this then give Cena the win and the belt? Do they feel Cena needs the belt to give it more credibility? There are a lot of unanswered questions here, but I'll stick with a Ziggler win, if only because a win gives him a lot and does not hurt Cena's reputation that much, while a loss could spoil his push and would not give Cena much, even if he did win the title. He's won it so many times now, so who cares now?
Predicted winner 'Mr Perfection' Ziggler
That's it for the predictions. I'll get back to you with post PPV reaction and to gloat or cry about my predictions for it.
First there is a pre show that I might have considered predicting, had it not been a diva battle royal match. Battle royals tend to be short and 'sucky' anyway. Put diva's in it and they're even worse. I'll avoid that one and won't be watching it, even though you can, on youtube, for free.
Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara v Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow [no 1 contender match]
Both are decent tag teams but I feel Rhodes and Sandow are being set up for a fued with Kane and Daniel Bryan. Mysterio and Sin Cara would not match up well with the current tag team champs in terms of style and both teams are faces so it would be difficult to book any sort of fued to build the future title match up.
Predicted winners Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow
Barrett v Kingston[c] [Intercontinental title]
A lot of people seem to be calling for Barrett to be involved in the World title scene, so it would make sense for him to at least get the Intercontinental title for now, if the WWE is thinking of doing that, unless they want to have him in the World title scene much sooner than that, so want to keep the Intercontinental title off him, but I highly doubt that. Despite there being a number of reasons as to why it might be an idea to put the belt on Barrett, Kofi will probably get the win. Why? Well, perhaps his title run is selling merchandise, so the belt must stay where it is.
Predicted winner Kofi Kingston
R Truth v Antonio Cesaro[c] [US title]
Some people like Cesaro as champ. I don't care. I'm neutral to it. Haha, get it? Because Switzerland is often regarded as a neutral country? Ah forget it. What I mean to say is, the whole 'evil foreigner holding the US title belt and disrespecting it' is way past stale now, but the WWE will probably play the angle out for a while yet. R Truth lost at Survivor Series, but there is nothing really to suggest that he is set for a title run.
Predicted winner Cesaro
The Shield v Kane, Daniel Bryan and Ryback [TLC match]
They had to pull the plug on the World title re match, so they made this. It will be interesting to see The Shield in the ring, but does it not seem recently like insignificant and unknown people are being pushed straight in to the main event scene, or at least being involved in it? This was the case with Maddox, the 'screw-job referee,' and now we have 'The Shield.' The Shield at least is somewhat interesting. Or at least, they were built up better. Some opinions flying about the net are, Ryback can't lose another match, but The Shield should not lose their debut match either? What to do? Well I agree, Ryback can not lose another PPV match. He needs to be on the winning side and ideally needs to get the pinfall. The Shield will not lose anything if they lose the match. They could always retain their heat with a post match attack. A stable does not get 'ruined' just by losing a debut match.
Predicted winners Kane, Daniel Bryan and Ryback
Sheamus v Big Show[c] [ Chairs match for the World Heavyweight championship]
If Sheamus was meant to be the champion, they would not have taken the belt off him a couple of months ago. Now unless they did it to up his title reign, it is fairly clear that the Big Show is retaining his belt here, even more so after the recent tweet from Sheamus where he said 'win or lose, he is going to walk out swinging.' Win or lose? That's a banker that he is not going to be winning this one.
Predicted winner Big Show
Ziggler v John Cena [Ladder match for Ziggler's Money in the Bank briefcase]
This one is less predictable. Originally I expected it to be the main event and I expected Ziggler to win it. Now, it is difficult to tell. It will probably still be the main event, but will it be for the World title if Ziggler cashes in his briefcase earlier to avoid having to put it on the line? Will this then give Cena the win and the belt? Do they feel Cena needs the belt to give it more credibility? There are a lot of unanswered questions here, but I'll stick with a Ziggler win, if only because a win gives him a lot and does not hurt Cena's reputation that much, while a loss could spoil his push and would not give Cena much, even if he did win the title. He's won it so many times now, so who cares now?
Predicted winner 'Mr Perfection' Ziggler
That's it for the predictions. I'll get back to you with post PPV reaction and to gloat or cry about my predictions for it.
Friday 14 December 2012
Overrated wrestler of the week
Shawn Michaels
This is one choice I found difficult to make. It's probably one of the only wrestlers that I have put here, thinking back and forward if he deserved it. HBK in the overrated wrestlers section, is he out of his mind? Well it may seem that way, but actually no, I'm most certainly not. Once again, as I have said in previous overrated wrestler write ups, I don't dislike Shawn or think he is [or was] a particularly bad wrestler. I think he's overrated. He's overrated because many people say he is one of the, if not the greatest wrestler ever. Absolutely not. Some also say he is the greatest sports entertainer ever. This might be closer to the truth. If not the greatest sports entertainer, then certainly one of them.
It's really simple. Have a look at some of his more recent bouts, before he retired. Have a look at some of the fights he was involved in even earlier. Have a look at some of his matches with Triple H. He must have gone through most of the match stipulations available at that time, with Triple H, and perhaps only the original match at Summerslam was anywhere near a classic. Some of the other ones, with particular emphasis on the Armageddon 2/3 Falls match, were, to put it lightly, a bit of a snooze-fest. How about his match at Wrestlemania 21? Some call this a candidate for one of the greatest matches of the year, yet the first 15 minutes of that [very long] bout were extremely boring. I think Shawn Michaels matches often end well, but they seem to take a while to get in to full swing. Sometimes you'd be better off skipping past the opening few minutes, just watch the last 5, they're often great. I know, if can be said about a lot of wrestling matches, but I think it applies to his most. Have a look at a lot of the PPV singles bouts he was involved in after returning to the promotion in 2002 and you'll see exactly what I mean.
As far as his entrance with his self made theme, his talking on the mic and his general entertaining of people, it's fantastic. The matches themselves though, not really. Don't get me wrong, he has been involved in many good matches, even great ones, but I would not be shortlisting him for any best wrestler ever awards.
Wednesday 12 December 2012
Podcast week 6
Last podcast of the year, discussing the TLC card and possible opponents for The Undertaker at Wrestlemania.
Sunday 9 December 2012
TNA PPV and TLC
So it's time for another TNA PPV. Apologies for not covering TNA much, but let's face it, it's crapper than WCW at it's crappest. TNA is hard to talk about these days because it's difficult to even give IT any constructive criticism. With the WWE, you can, but with TNA, it gets to the point where it's so off base that you don't even know where to begin. I'll be honest with you, I haven't seen any TNA programming in a while [hence I have not written about it], but I doubt it has improved very much in the last few months [since I last saw it]. Bound For Glory was supposed to be TNA's big PPV, built up like TNA's version of Wrestlemania, but a big PPV in front of a few thousand poeple with Austin Aries v Jeff Hardy as your main event is not much of a draw. It's doesn't quite get the casual wrestling fan interested, like John Cena v The Rock might.
Anyway, Bound for Glory has come and gone, let's look at Final Resolution. I won't run through the entire card, but you can find that here [on the official TNA site]. Let's look at some of the more important matches [or at least I say so]. It seems a lot is being made of these Aces and Eights, so the fact that they are going to be fighting Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe makes sense, but the fact that Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco were thrown in to the mix, does not. Angle and Joe are big name guys. Aces and Eights are supposed to be a big threat, going for TNA's top guys. This begs the question, what are Young Bischoff and Brisco doing in the match? Well as far as Bischoff, it's not too difficult to work out how he even got in to TNA. As far as Brisco, Ah! I don't care enough to even talk about it.
The Knockouts Title sees Mickie James take on Tara. I know, I'm mentioning a women's match as one of the main ones. It's not that I think it is one of the main matches, but I see those 2 and know that it's a match we could have just as easily had in the WWE, Mickie James v Victoria, so that makes it slightly more significant [at least to me]. Not only that but the pair of them, particularly Victoria [Tara], are not bad female wrestlers.
There are probably a couple of other bouts that might also catch the eye, but not my eye, so let me move straight on to the main event. Jeff Hardy is defending the World Title v Bobby Roode. What a main event! Last time I checked in at TNA, Bobby Roode was not a main eventer, and that was not so long ago. TNA is not likely to let Jeff drop the belt, it's probably one of the few draws they have. He might be unpredictable and occasionally turn up to a PPV all drugged up and unable to compete, but when he is able, he can still put on a great match. Either way, the main event is far from gripping, as is the card as a whole. Once again, TNA is not able to do what WWE has done in the past, put out a card where, even if I have not watched wrestling for a while, I take one look at it and a level of intrigue set in.
Speaking of the WWE, the TLC card is not far from a car wreck itself. We have already lost one of the 2 World title bouts [why there are still 2 titles I don't know]. It seems Punk is not fit enough to be competing but is fit enough not to be stripped of the title. Of course they need Punk as champion for the big match with Rocky at the Rumble. This leaves one big TLC question that I don't think has been answered yet, what will the main event be? We know what it was supposed to be, but why do I get the feeling that the World Heavyweight title match is not going to headline this PPV? Probably because it's The Big Show v Sheamus. How can that headline a PPV? If not that though, then what will? Surely 4 rookies and a dis-functional tag team will not main event a PPV? Does that mean the TLC match of Ziggler v Cena will? I don't know, perhaps it will be the World Heavyweight title after all. There is not much to choose from. Whatever is chosen, it won't be a jaw dropper, unless some other match is added, bigger than all the others, but that is almost certainly not going to happen with just 1 week to go.
Anyway, Bound for Glory has come and gone, let's look at Final Resolution. I won't run through the entire card, but you can find that here [on the official TNA site]. Let's look at some of the more important matches [or at least I say so]. It seems a lot is being made of these Aces and Eights, so the fact that they are going to be fighting Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe makes sense, but the fact that Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco were thrown in to the mix, does not. Angle and Joe are big name guys. Aces and Eights are supposed to be a big threat, going for TNA's top guys. This begs the question, what are Young Bischoff and Brisco doing in the match? Well as far as Bischoff, it's not too difficult to work out how he even got in to TNA. As far as Brisco, Ah! I don't care enough to even talk about it.
The Knockouts Title sees Mickie James take on Tara. I know, I'm mentioning a women's match as one of the main ones. It's not that I think it is one of the main matches, but I see those 2 and know that it's a match we could have just as easily had in the WWE, Mickie James v Victoria, so that makes it slightly more significant [at least to me]. Not only that but the pair of them, particularly Victoria [Tara], are not bad female wrestlers.
There are probably a couple of other bouts that might also catch the eye, but not my eye, so let me move straight on to the main event. Jeff Hardy is defending the World Title v Bobby Roode. What a main event! Last time I checked in at TNA, Bobby Roode was not a main eventer, and that was not so long ago. TNA is not likely to let Jeff drop the belt, it's probably one of the few draws they have. He might be unpredictable and occasionally turn up to a PPV all drugged up and unable to compete, but when he is able, he can still put on a great match. Either way, the main event is far from gripping, as is the card as a whole. Once again, TNA is not able to do what WWE has done in the past, put out a card where, even if I have not watched wrestling for a while, I take one look at it and a level of intrigue set in.
Speaking of the WWE, the TLC card is not far from a car wreck itself. We have already lost one of the 2 World title bouts [why there are still 2 titles I don't know]. It seems Punk is not fit enough to be competing but is fit enough not to be stripped of the title. Of course they need Punk as champion for the big match with Rocky at the Rumble. This leaves one big TLC question that I don't think has been answered yet, what will the main event be? We know what it was supposed to be, but why do I get the feeling that the World Heavyweight title match is not going to headline this PPV? Probably because it's The Big Show v Sheamus. How can that headline a PPV? If not that though, then what will? Surely 4 rookies and a dis-functional tag team will not main event a PPV? Does that mean the TLC match of Ziggler v Cena will? I don't know, perhaps it will be the World Heavyweight title after all. There is not much to choose from. Whatever is chosen, it won't be a jaw dropper, unless some other match is added, bigger than all the others, but that is almost certainly not going to happen with just 1 week to go.
Wednesday 5 December 2012
The Ultimate wrestler
Ultimate Warrior
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| Yep that's how he looks now |
Yes the ultimate wrestler is the Ultimate Warrior. Okay so that might be going too far. His in ring ability was far from outstanding, but his physique was, and his facepaint wasn't badly done either [contratulations to the make up artist]. After first being interested in and getting in to bodybuilding, he decided to divert his attention to wrestling. After spending some time in various promotions, including teaming with Steve Borden [Sting] in one of them, he was signed by the WWE in 1987. As Intercontinental champion he defeated Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania to be the first wrestler ever hold both the Intercontinental and World championships.
Warrior [a name he legally now holds] left the WWE in 1991 after some contract disagreements but was asked to return in 1992. He did, but was released that same year for disputed reasons. In the years 1992 - 1996 he was semi retired, wrestling occasionally. He made one last return to the WWE in 1996 to squash Hunter Hearst Helmsley [Triple H]. Once again he was released not long after with various stories as to why he was let go.
Warrior's last appearance in the 'big time' was in WCW in 1998. Once again he did not last long [only a few months] before he left. He announced his retirement 1 year later. Where is he now? It's hard to say. One thing is for sure, there is a lot of anamosity between him and the WWE and he is no longer involved in wrestling. A recent rumour said he is in the motoring business now. How true that is , who knows?
Overrated wrestler of the week
The Rock
Yeah that's right, it's time to get controversial. It's obvious to me that many people will disagree with me on this one, but hear me out. I am by no means a hater of The Rock. I don't dislike him for going to Hollywood or not following anyone on twitter [even RVD follows people Dwayne, and he has one of the biggest egos in wrestling]. What gets to me about The Rock is his seeming untouchability [I made that word up]. He can be away from wrestling for years, then make one appearance on Raw and get more cheers and screams than Fonzy. Add to that the fact that he 'aint all that' in the ring and the reasons to be frustrated with his popularity start to increase. Even his mic work since he has become 'Hollywood Rock' has gotten worse, yet the fans still go wild when he speaks. All he has to do is run through some of his catchphrases and he has them eating right out of the palm of his hand.
When I wind back the years and see him during the Attitude Era, I do find him to be one of the coolest and most electrifying men in sports entertainment, but seeing his very sporadic appearances now and noticing that his popularity has not dropped one bit, despite his presence in the WWE being close to non existent, definitely bring the words 'overrated' to my lips.
Josh Mathews, one of the luckiest guys in the WWE
Josh Mathews [real name Josh Matthew Lomberger] was primarily noted by WWE fans on the first Tough Enough, when he made it to the last 3 [in the male category] before eventually losing out to Maven. In the end both he and Chris Nowinski were signed by the WWE anyway. While Nowinski was signed to be a wrestler, the WWE had other ideas for Josh. In 2002 he started appearing in the company as a backstage interview, and the host of a number of shows including Byte This and After Burn. His first taste of announcing was on Velocity, but he has since commentated on Heat, Raw and Smackdown, where he currently sits alongside JBL as the Smackdown commentary team.
What am I getting at? The way I started this makes it sound like another one of my 'where are they now' posts, where I go through the career of a given wrestler. What I'm getting at is that Josh Matthews, indirectly, is one of the most fortunate people in the WWE. Let's face it, as much as he might have desired to be a wrestler, his current job is actually a lot safer and better for his health. Not only that, but he rose to being a WWE announcer in double quick time. If you look at some of the other announcers in the business, they all either had an extensive background in announcing or were former well known wrestlers. Michael Cole had a career in journalism and radio while people like Jerry Lawler, JBL, Booker T and Tazz were former wrestler. Josh was neither of those. He was a young guy who's dream was to be in the WWE. He went from failing to win Tough Enough to commentating on Velocity within a year. It's amazing. This career he has been handed also means he will not have to have any surgery due to a wrestling injury or have any pains thanks to the years of being battered in the ring [even if he has had the occasional match here and there].
That's why I stand by my statement that Josh Mathews, who has had his middle name converted in to his surname and the T taken off it, is one of the luckiest and most fortunate guys in the WWE today.
What am I getting at? The way I started this makes it sound like another one of my 'where are they now' posts, where I go through the career of a given wrestler. What I'm getting at is that Josh Matthews, indirectly, is one of the most fortunate people in the WWE. Let's face it, as much as he might have desired to be a wrestler, his current job is actually a lot safer and better for his health. Not only that, but he rose to being a WWE announcer in double quick time. If you look at some of the other announcers in the business, they all either had an extensive background in announcing or were former well known wrestlers. Michael Cole had a career in journalism and radio while people like Jerry Lawler, JBL, Booker T and Tazz were former wrestler. Josh was neither of those. He was a young guy who's dream was to be in the WWE. He went from failing to win Tough Enough to commentating on Velocity within a year. It's amazing. This career he has been handed also means he will not have to have any surgery due to a wrestling injury or have any pains thanks to the years of being battered in the ring [even if he has had the occasional match here and there].
That's why I stand by my statement that Josh Mathews, who has had his middle name converted in to his surname and the T taken off it, is one of the luckiest and most fortunate guys in the WWE today.
Wednesday 28 November 2012
The Gimmick does the job
Nick Dinsmore
He said all you need is a gimmick to make it in wrestling and he was proof of that. That is not to say that he could not wrestle, but it was true that it was the gimmick that got him far [or further] in the WWE than he would have probably gotten if he just wrestled under his own name.
After starting in the United States Wrestling Association, Nick Dinsmore soon joined OVW. During his time in OVW he made occasional appearances on WWE television, mostly wrestling as a jobber. He got a proper shot on the full WWE roster on April 5th 2004, when he debuted his 'Eugene' character. He had debuted before as Nick Dinsmore but did not get too much air time. On September 1st 2007 he was released from his contract after he failed a second drug test.
Since then he has made appearances in Juggalo Championship Wrestling [JCW], Wrestling Fan Xperience in Canada [WFX] and the World Wrestling Council [WWC] in Puerto Rico, among other independent feds. He even made a brief return to the WWE in 2009, only to be released soon after.
He is currently in charge of the beginner's wrestling course in OVW, where he has won the World Heavyweight title 10 times. As well as wrestling in independent feds as Eugene, U-Gene and under his real name.
The art of the 'face' turn
This topic is about the art of the 'face' turn, only, to be quite honest, there is no art. Let's say the art of the 'face' turn is that there is no art to a 'face' turn, if that makes any sense. Oh just ignore the first couple of sentences. Let's start again. A 'heel' turn is an easy move to make in wrestling. All you need is for a beloved baby-face fan favorite to attack some other baby-face fan favorite, side with a 'heel' or just go out to the ring and start bad mouthing the fans. Done and dusted. A 'face' turn would seem to be a little more difficult. Only, it isn't. For some reason it is just as easy to turn a wrestler from 'heel' to 'face,' as it is 'face' to 'heel.' It's not difficult to get people not to like you but one would think that it would be more difficult to get people who did not like you, to start liking you. At least that's what I thought.
When The Rock made his first face turn back in 1999 [he was a face once before but this was his first turn from heel to face] the fans accepted it. What baffled me was, he didn't need to do much to get the fans on his side. He went out and talked about how he was screwed at Backlash. Then he went on to trash the number one face in the company, Stone Cold Steve Austin, only to call McMahon junior a piece of monkey crap, prompting Shane and the corporation to make their way out, give The Rock a beat down, thus turning him 'face.'
When The Rock made his first face turn back in 1999 [he was a face once before but this was his first turn from heel to face] the fans accepted it. What baffled me was, he didn't need to do much to get the fans on his side. He went out and talked about how he was screwed at Backlash. Then he went on to trash the number one face in the company, Stone Cold Steve Austin, only to call McMahon junior a piece of monkey crap, prompting Shane and the corporation to make their way out, give The Rock a beat down, thus turning him 'face.'
How about Stone Cold Steve Austin after the Survivor Series PPV that saw the Alliance, with him as their leader, defeated? He attacked Kurt Angle [who turned on him to cost the Alliance the match] on Raw, took his title back, and that's it, he was a 'face.' Jerry Lawler said Kurt Angle deserved more respect from the fans during that segment, I agree [for story line purposes]. People just suddenly forgot that Stone Cold had spent the last few months as the leader of a faction that wanted to kill sports entertainment. It just seemed so odd. It was as if, with the click of a finger, he was a 'face' again, with no real effort put in to it. It just seems too easy. All they do is get to together and say 'okay get him to say this or attack this guy, that'll get the fans cheering again.' Easy as 1, 2, 3.
Similar stuff is going on now. Randy Orton is a 'face,' yet whenever he climbs that turnbuckle he just seems to arrogant and 'heelish.' Perhaps that's why people say he works best as a heel. No matter what he does, he just seems so slimy and easy not to like. How about The Miz? He is supposed to be a 'face' as well, yet he too has not done anything to merit being liked yet. I'm not sure if the wrestling fans at the shows are to blame. Why do they go from booing a guy to cheering him, just like that? Why don't they remember all the bad stuff the heels have done. At least an apology from the 'heel' for their previous actions would be nice. Then again, this is wrestling, who needs logic right? If a 'heel' gets cheered just like that then so be it, job done.
Tuesday 27 November 2012
Last week's Smackdown
I've made a decision. I am not going to waste my time and energy giving my ideas of how the WWE should go about their business. Truth is, a company was created and it was created in order to make money. Have they made lots of money? Yes they have. Do some of their shows suck? Yes they do, but, so what, they still make money and that's what matters most to them. Every time the ratings go down drastically and/or the company start to lose money, they do something about it [usually bringing in some 'legend' from the past to get old fans watching again. Or bring in a some celebrity to make a new fan base]. Truth is a lot of fans now like to say what the WWE is doing wrong and they like to tell them what they should have done. Sometimes the right answer is crying out to be given. Sometimes you feel like the truth needs to be said, but at the end of the day this is not our company and the fact that we are interested in it does not suddenly give us a right to say what should be happening and who should or should not be getting a push. I mean it's fun to do. I myself like to play the GM. I like wrestling simulators where you take charge of a promotion and do what you want. It's fun, but ultimately, it's meaningless.
Back to the topic of the blog post, and before I begin I would like to try and follow the rules I outlined above. I am not going to give any hints as to what could or should be done, I am simply going to give a review of the show, and since critical reviews are acceptable, this one might [or definitely will] have some criticism in it.
Let me start by shocking you. Smackdown was not bad last week. It wasn't great or anywhere near as good as many Smackdowns I've seen in the past [most of them from a long time ago] but it was watchable and that is a start. Why was it watchable? Because characters who are unwatchable were not a part of the show. Teddy Long is away and as Vince would say, wherever he is, he can stay there. There were no divas on the show either. No segment, no match. Fantastic news. That always wastes air time. There were flaws of course, like the US champion losing a non title match [why?]. The tag champs losing to the World Heavyweight champ in a 2 on 1. Why even make that match? The only way they could save it was if it ended up in a no contest with a Sheamus interference. Then neither of the champs would have to lose. This way, whatever the story behind it [in this case Kane walked off], the tag champs were defeated by one [very big] man. The opening segment was horrible. It's nice to see Cena on Smackdown, even if just to do a segment, but the story line he is involved in is horrible [but I've said that before]. It was nice to see Ryback have a match on Smackdown again too, even if you knew pretty much exactly how the match would go.
Really now, let's face it, it is almost impossible to have a perfect show these days. There are always going at least to be a couple of bouts that you see and feel the endings made no sense. This Smackdown was about as close to decent as I have seen in a while, and that is quite an achievement but the standards of mainstream wrestling these days.
Back to the topic of the blog post, and before I begin I would like to try and follow the rules I outlined above. I am not going to give any hints as to what could or should be done, I am simply going to give a review of the show, and since critical reviews are acceptable, this one might [or definitely will] have some criticism in it.
Let me start by shocking you. Smackdown was not bad last week. It wasn't great or anywhere near as good as many Smackdowns I've seen in the past [most of them from a long time ago] but it was watchable and that is a start. Why was it watchable? Because characters who are unwatchable were not a part of the show. Teddy Long is away and as Vince would say, wherever he is, he can stay there. There were no divas on the show either. No segment, no match. Fantastic news. That always wastes air time. There were flaws of course, like the US champion losing a non title match [why?]. The tag champs losing to the World Heavyweight champ in a 2 on 1. Why even make that match? The only way they could save it was if it ended up in a no contest with a Sheamus interference. Then neither of the champs would have to lose. This way, whatever the story behind it [in this case Kane walked off], the tag champs were defeated by one [very big] man. The opening segment was horrible. It's nice to see Cena on Smackdown, even if just to do a segment, but the story line he is involved in is horrible [but I've said that before]. It was nice to see Ryback have a match on Smackdown again too, even if you knew pretty much exactly how the match would go.
Really now, let's face it, it is almost impossible to have a perfect show these days. There are always going at least to be a couple of bouts that you see and feel the endings made no sense. This Smackdown was about as close to decent as I have seen in a while, and that is quite an achievement but the standards of mainstream wrestling these days.
Sunday 25 November 2012
Overrated wrestler of the week
Mick Foley
It's not because he's a fat sack of shit or has messy hair. I have nothing against him as a person, it's his reputation. It's simple. He does not deserve it!
Look, I enjoyed his leap off the Cell as much as the next fan, but it was one moment that seemed to define his reputation in the WWE. Again, don't get me wrong, he has had many other great bouts in the WWE and many others in ECW, but that 30 or 40 foot fall off the cell was the moment that made people start saying he was an amazing wrestler and he wasn't! He isn't! If you have the VHS tape of King of the Ring 98, watch that match again, from start to finish. If you don't own it, find it online somewhere and watch it. When you do you'll notice that it wasn't that great a match. It was a stop-start with a few incredible moments in it. Ric Flair was probably a little harsh to call Mick a glorified stuntman [there's a place for Flair in the overrated section waiting], but he certainly is a glorified wrestler.
Truth is, Mick Foley was never in shape. He was probably in his best shape during his brief return in 2005. I mean, he was not in shape, but it was the best shape I ever saw him in. Kind of like Bradshaw who said he was in the best shape of his life when he swapped his gimmick for JBL. Again, he was not in great shape, but yeah, it probably was the best shape of his life.
Mick Foley can entertain an arena full of people with his insane backyard wrestling type Hardcore stuff, but [again, to quote Ric Rlair] he could not wrestle a 1 hour Iron Man match with 4 oxygen tanks strapped to his back. A guy who has never got himself in to shape cannot be called a great wrestler. He can be respected for what he has done and for what he has put his own body through. He can be liked for all of his wacky gimmicks, for his persona and for being a nice guy, but there is that line of greatness that I don't think he has crossed or ever will [since he's pretty much retired now, not that he won't ever have a match again].
Saturday 24 November 2012
What's the point?
After every negative post I make I think to myself, 'you know what, I shouldn't be so negative, after all, I haven't made a post about TNA in a while so there is no need to be so blunt in my posts.' Truth is, I just write about the latest stuff going on, and, unfortunately, it is always something stupid. Take TLC, December's PPV. I don't want to ruin anything for you but if you browse the internet a lot to look at wrestling news, you will probably know this anyway, the card is starting to shape up and some matches are, pretty much, known. Big Show will face Sheamus, Cena will face Ziggler and it seems, even though it was not officially announced yet, that CM Punk will defend his WWE championship against Ryback. I am 95% sure of this because apparently local advertisements in the area the PPV is taking place have announced the match as part of the card.
What am I getting at? Simple. What's the point in having a title match when we already know that The Rock will face Punk at the Rumble? Both men have confirmed it. Punk confirmed it recently during a parade while The Rock has made numerous tweets at Punk, ending it with the hash tag 'Royal Rumble.' Now this could all be done just to make the internet smart asses think they know what is going to happen, then suddenly they throw a curve ball and wham! Ryback wins the title at TLC! However, knowing the way the WWE works [like announcing a Wrestlemania main event 1 year early], that have no problems with there being common knowledge that a big match will take place at a big PPV, so this is not likely to be the case. Going on the assumption that Ryback is going to face Punk, it means that [unless he wins of course] they need to find a way to make him lose, again. He lost in October, he failed to win in November and no matter how you sugar coat the way he lost and will lose, if he doesn't win in December, that's 3 PPV's and a big fat 0 in the wins column. Ryback can go on squashing lower or mid carders in the opening match of a show but if he does not get the big wins, he is going to lose momentum. In all honesty it would not surprise me if Ryback's push soon grinds to a halt. The WWE seem to be concentrating more on maintaining CM Punk's push in the build up to his match with The Rock, so if Ryback has to lose to him to keep this up, he is going to. Don't be surprised if next year you don't see much of Ryback, if any of him.
What am I getting at? Simple. What's the point in having a title match when we already know that The Rock will face Punk at the Rumble? Both men have confirmed it. Punk confirmed it recently during a parade while The Rock has made numerous tweets at Punk, ending it with the hash tag 'Royal Rumble.' Now this could all be done just to make the internet smart asses think they know what is going to happen, then suddenly they throw a curve ball and wham! Ryback wins the title at TLC! However, knowing the way the WWE works [like announcing a Wrestlemania main event 1 year early], that have no problems with there being common knowledge that a big match will take place at a big PPV, so this is not likely to be the case. Going on the assumption that Ryback is going to face Punk, it means that [unless he wins of course] they need to find a way to make him lose, again. He lost in October, he failed to win in November and no matter how you sugar coat the way he lost and will lose, if he doesn't win in December, that's 3 PPV's and a big fat 0 in the wins column. Ryback can go on squashing lower or mid carders in the opening match of a show but if he does not get the big wins, he is going to lose momentum. In all honesty it would not surprise me if Ryback's push soon grinds to a halt. The WWE seem to be concentrating more on maintaining CM Punk's push in the build up to his match with The Rock, so if Ryback has to lose to him to keep this up, he is going to. Don't be surprised if next year you don't see much of Ryback, if any of him.
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Where is the best dropkick in the business now?
Hardcore Holly
Bob Holly, better known as Hardore Holly, a name he adopted during his WWE career, began his career in WWO [World Wrestling Organisation]. He continued to wrestle in NWA and Smokey Mountain Wrestling before he briefly worked in the WWE in 1991 as a jobber. He later returned to WWE in 1994 where he later christened himself Hardcore Holly after entering the race for the Hardcore title in 1999 and winning it 6 times. Holly later teamed up with on screen cousin Crash to form the Holly's. Molly 'Holly' later joined them to make it a 3 man team.
He was involved in an incident while being one of the mentors on Tough Enough III. In one episode he legitimately beat up on of the contestants. This caused a negative reaction and it was surprising that he managed to keep his job, after a number of wrestlers, including the owner's daughter's then partner [now husband] Triple H, said this behaviour was totally unacceptable.
After the brand split Holly was not used as much, constantly being on and off screen, returning for a while, only to later vanish from TV. His big fued was with Brock Lesnar after Lesnar had broken his neck during a match [for real]. It is believed that Hardcore Holly was unhappy having to job to Lesnar, stating he had not 'paid his dues,' so tried to 'sandbag' a powerbomb than ended up with him getting dropped on his neck. He returned a year and a half later to fued with Brock Lesnar for the WWE title that ended with him losing at the Royal Rumble where he tried to 'kayfabe' Lesnar's neck during the match.
Holly was released in January of 2009. Where is he now? Currently working independent circuits where he has also worked in Britain's Varsity Pro Wrestling. He plans to release a book next year entitled 'The Hardcore Truth.'
Tuesday 20 November 2012
Survivor Series aftermath
First a quick look back at how I did with my predictions. 4 out of 6 aint bad, could be better though. I should have remembered that they were giving Dolph a push, I would say that my decision to go for Team Foley had no real logical reasoning behind it, I just went for them since Mick was back and I thought it would make the fans feel good if his team won the match. The other prediction I missed was in a match I care very little about, that would be Kaitlyn v Eve. Again it was just a shot in the dark. I didn't care who won. As for the rest of the card, it went pretty much as I expected. Big Show retained and even though I predicted him to win it, I see his DQ loss being basically the same result. Bottom line is he kept the belt, no matter how. If you want to be picky you could say I missed that one as well, it's up to you.
Just like in October, Punk was expected to win, but the question was, how would he win? How would they make Ryback lose a match but still make him look like a monster, particularly since both matches were no DQ's [both in October and December]? It was intriguing [just a little]. Anyway they went for the old screw job from a 3rd party, twice. How original.
It looks like The Big Show v Sheamus is going to continue in to TLC, since a fued generally tends not to end with a DQ match. They have tried hard to keep Sheamus respectable, meaning even though he lost, he kept his 'heat' by pummeling Big Show after the match.
John Cena looks like he could have a match with Ziggler since I don't see another Punk v Cena match happening. Meanwhile AJ might face Vicky Guerrero [although I would not expect that to happen any earlier than the Royal Rumble or even Wrestlemania].
I'm wondering who Punk is going to face at TLC. I'm worried he might not defend his title since almost nobody with any intelligence seriously believes he is going to lose it before the Royal Rumble anyway. Some think he's going to be fighting Mick Foley, but is Foley in any shape to have a match? If he is, does anyone seriously believe he is going to have a chance to take the title [if it's a title match]? All will be revealed.
Just like in October, Punk was expected to win, but the question was, how would he win? How would they make Ryback lose a match but still make him look like a monster, particularly since both matches were no DQ's [both in October and December]? It was intriguing [just a little]. Anyway they went for the old screw job from a 3rd party, twice. How original.
It looks like The Big Show v Sheamus is going to continue in to TLC, since a fued generally tends not to end with a DQ match. They have tried hard to keep Sheamus respectable, meaning even though he lost, he kept his 'heat' by pummeling Big Show after the match.
John Cena looks like he could have a match with Ziggler since I don't see another Punk v Cena match happening. Meanwhile AJ might face Vicky Guerrero [although I would not expect that to happen any earlier than the Royal Rumble or even Wrestlemania].
I'm wondering who Punk is going to face at TLC. I'm worried he might not defend his title since almost nobody with any intelligence seriously believes he is going to lose it before the Royal Rumble anyway. Some think he's going to be fighting Mick Foley, but is Foley in any shape to have a match? If he is, does anyone seriously believe he is going to have a chance to take the title [if it's a title match]? All will be revealed.
Another podcast
Same podcast, different name. King of Wrestling podcasts is too egomaniacy [yeah it's a word, check the wrestling dictionary].
Sunday 18 November 2012
Survivor Series predictions
Another year, another Survivor series, but before I begin I would like to say that I am glad they decided to take Ryback and Punk out of the Survivor Series match and dump them in to a triple threat match for the title. Let's face it, Punk's title is the only one with any meaning in the WWE right now, so not having it defended at the PPV would be unwise. They have often only had one World title defended at the Surivor Series PPV, with the other champion being involved in the survivor match. The champions team was often also the one that lost, with the champion being pinned last, thus giving him an opportunity to lose the match but not the title.
On to the predictions
3 Man Band v Tyson Kidd and Gabriel
The 3 Man Band has never caught on with me, while Kidd and Gabriel are rather insignificant right now [like much of the roster I suppose]. It depends on how far WWE intends on taking the 3 Man Band. Do they want to push them and make them significant or are they thinking of breaking them up soon? I don't know, but since the stable is so uninteresting, the WWE will probably push them.
[prediction] 3 Man Band
Eve v Kaitlyn
I have never cared about female fueds in wrestling. I don't mind women in wrestling, them certainly have their part to play, but their fueds never grip. The match might not be that bad in itself [by women's standards] but I don't care who wins. Kaitlyn is getting a mini push now, perhaps? Isn't she? Well she has funny hair, that must mean something, right?
[prediction] Kaitlyn
Antonio Cesaro v R Truth [US Title]
The old 'foreigner holding a US title and not respecting it' is a bit played out [for the record I think Lance Storm did it best in WCW]. It's probably not played out to the WWE though and it will last a while yet.
[prediction] Antonio Cesaro
Big Show v Sheamus [World Heavyweight title]
It would make no sense for Big Show to lose, not that it means the WWE wouldn't do it, but it would be really stupid. If they want Sheamus to be champion, why break his reign? They would have just had him keep his title. If he loses again though, it does make him look bad, but makes Big Show look great [not literally]. Big Show has never had the World title for very long in the past, perhaps this time he will.
[prediction] Big Show
John Cena v CM Punk[c] v Ryback [WWE title]
All I can say that I am fairly sure about is that Ryback won't win this. Why would he? If he was going to be the champ they would have put the title on him last month. The question now remains, are they sticking to the original planned story of The Rock fighting Punk at the Rumble for the title or have they changed their mind and decided to put the title on John Cena to perhaps have a Cena v Rock Rumble match, then possbly Punk and The Rock at Wrestlemania? If Punk loses, he just misses his 365 days. Perhaps The Rock will interfere and cost him the match, annoying him greatly taht he missed the 1 year milestone. Or not. I have not heard anything about a possible Rock interference at Survivor Series. Was it so well hidden? Not sure. If Punk wins he is probably going to pin Cena, as it would kill Ryback's heat and push completely if he got pinned.
[prediction] CM Punk
Team Foley v Team Ziggler
Well I did say I was glad that Ryback and Punk were taken out of this and put in to a more significant match but it makes this one even less significant. The question is whether Foley going to get back in the ring and wrestle somebody. If not, then this is pointless. If yes, it has some meaning.
[prediction] Team Foley
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Once again more matches might be added like last month, but then again the Survivor Series match does take a while, so they might not. Either way, looking at the undercard, it has no meaning. At least half the card is okay.
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On to the predictions
3 Man Band v Tyson Kidd and Gabriel
The 3 Man Band has never caught on with me, while Kidd and Gabriel are rather insignificant right now [like much of the roster I suppose]. It depends on how far WWE intends on taking the 3 Man Band. Do they want to push them and make them significant or are they thinking of breaking them up soon? I don't know, but since the stable is so uninteresting, the WWE will probably push them.
[prediction] 3 Man Band
Eve v Kaitlyn
I have never cared about female fueds in wrestling. I don't mind women in wrestling, them certainly have their part to play, but their fueds never grip. The match might not be that bad in itself [by women's standards] but I don't care who wins. Kaitlyn is getting a mini push now, perhaps? Isn't she? Well she has funny hair, that must mean something, right?
[prediction] Kaitlyn
Antonio Cesaro v R Truth [US Title]
The old 'foreigner holding a US title and not respecting it' is a bit played out [for the record I think Lance Storm did it best in WCW]. It's probably not played out to the WWE though and it will last a while yet.
[prediction] Antonio Cesaro
Big Show v Sheamus [World Heavyweight title]
It would make no sense for Big Show to lose, not that it means the WWE wouldn't do it, but it would be really stupid. If they want Sheamus to be champion, why break his reign? They would have just had him keep his title. If he loses again though, it does make him look bad, but makes Big Show look great [not literally]. Big Show has never had the World title for very long in the past, perhaps this time he will.
[prediction] Big Show
John Cena v CM Punk[c] v Ryback [WWE title]
All I can say that I am fairly sure about is that Ryback won't win this. Why would he? If he was going to be the champ they would have put the title on him last month. The question now remains, are they sticking to the original planned story of The Rock fighting Punk at the Rumble for the title or have they changed their mind and decided to put the title on John Cena to perhaps have a Cena v Rock Rumble match, then possbly Punk and The Rock at Wrestlemania? If Punk loses, he just misses his 365 days. Perhaps The Rock will interfere and cost him the match, annoying him greatly taht he missed the 1 year milestone. Or not. I have not heard anything about a possible Rock interference at Survivor Series. Was it so well hidden? Not sure. If Punk wins he is probably going to pin Cena, as it would kill Ryback's heat and push completely if he got pinned.
[prediction] CM Punk
Team Foley v Team Ziggler
Well I did say I was glad that Ryback and Punk were taken out of this and put in to a more significant match but it makes this one even less significant. The question is whether Foley going to get back in the ring and wrestle somebody. If not, then this is pointless. If yes, it has some meaning.
[prediction] Team Foley
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Once again more matches might be added like last month, but then again the Survivor Series match does take a while, so they might not. Either way, looking at the undercard, it has no meaning. At least half the card is okay.
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Friday 16 November 2012
Overrated wrestler of the week
Rob Van Dam
When I first saw Rob Dam Dam wrestle at the Invasion PPV many years ago [that's right I didn't see him earlier as I didn't watch ECW] I was in awe of his capabilities. I went from 'who is this guy' to basically waiting for his appearance every week during the whole Invasion angle. Stone Cold was great, Kurt Angle was great, but RVD was what it was all about back then. I don't think I was the only one either. After his debut he went on to have more matches on TV and the following PPV's. They were all great to watch. He got so popular that he was made part of a triple threat title match at No Mercy just a few months after he had his first match in the company. He lost that triple threat match but continued to have awe inspiring matches, at least when there were Hardcore stipulations.
The problems started when those Hardcore stipulations were taken away. Suddenly more than half of RVD's move set was out of the picture, since a lot of his jaw dropping moves took place out of the ring, on the barrier or among the fans. Now he had to try and have matches where he stayed in the ring. Suddenly his weaknesses were noticeable. That's not to say he went from being great to being bad, but he wasn't as capable in the ring with no weapons, as he was in and out of the ring with weapons. That's why he makes the overrated wrestlers section, not because he's awful [like some of the wrestlers in this section really are] but because he is not quite as great as his reputation suggests that he should be. Paul Heyman even said that when he was in charge of ECW, he took RVD's weaknesses and hid them, accentuating his strengths [that were clearly Hardcore matches]. This means RVD did have weaknesses [since they had to be hidden] and still has them to this day.
Who better than this guy?
Chris Kanyon
[Where are they now?]
This week's 'where are they now' is about former wrestler, Chris Kanyon. He will probably be most remembered for his time in WCW and his stint in the WWE where he debuted during the Invasion angle.
After originally appearing as a jobber in the WWE in 1994, he signed for WCW in 1995 and debuted as Mortis. He was part of the Flock and Jersey triad and went through a Chris 'champagne' Kanyon phase as Mr glitz and glamour. His most memorable fueds were probably with Diamond Dallas Page and his most notable fued with DDP was in 2000 when he would call himself Positively Kanyon, where a blonde wig and name his finisher the 'Kanyon' Cutter, all of these taking a leaf out of DDP's 'play book.'
After the closure of WCW, Kanyon was involved in the Invasion angle. He had enough TV time, getting the US title [although it was handed to him by Booker T who already had the WCW title] and re-packaging himself as the Alliance MVP, but he only wrestled in 1 PPV's during his time there, in a 6 man tag match at Invasion.
After being sidelined with an injury, he made one more appearance in the WWE, being one of the Big Show's supposedly pathetic apology attempts [after Big Show's attack] in the Big Show's fued with the Undertaker. He later wrestled mostly on Velocity for the rest of that year before being released.
It was a shame for the man who Mike Tenay referred to as the 'Innovator of Offense' to be so underused in WWE. To be honest though, during his time in the WWE, he was often fighting injuries. He retired in 2004 after losing a retirement match to....yep, none other than DDP.
Where is he now? Unfortunately Kanyon committed suicide at the age of 40. His brother found him next to a bottle of antidepressants. He had admitted to being a homosexual some time before that. Whether this had any baring on why he did it, I don't know.
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