News From Cook’s Corner 05.17.11

Hi, hello and welcome to News From Cook’s Corner! I’m Steve Cook, and I hope you’re having a fantastic week! Two weeks now until the Second Annual News From Cook’s Corner Hot 100! I’ve gotten some great feedback on some ladies to include, and I want that to keep coming so I don’t miss anybody that definitely should be on the list.

Gotta rush the intro, so let’s get to the Anti-Dashing MaleBag!

If you really believe Angle that TNA beat WWE’s offer…or even that WWE even made him and offer then you sir are very gullible and I have some lovely space on the moon I’d like to sell you. Seriously, all the bad publicity this douche gets now doesn’t get much attention cause its TNA, but if he did the shit he does in WWE, they’d get raked over the coals, on top of the fact that anyone with the least bit of common sense knows he couldn’t even pass the 1st Wellness test to get in the WWE. – Guest#9255

I think some of you misunderstood what I was saying, but it’s ok because I could have made myself more clear. I emphasized “assuming” in the piece because I have a hard time believing most of what Kurt Angle says these days. But a theoretical bidding war between WWE & TNA for Kurt Angle, I think TNA would value him more & WWE wouldn’t be willing to give him the big bucks. Who’s to say he’d even pass a Wellness test at this point? I don’t really buy Kurt’s statement and I doubt that WWE made him an offer, but all I was trying to say is that he’d probably get more out of TNA than he could out of WWE at this point.

They gave DiBiase Maryse, put him up against a Goldust who was very hot at the time and then Bryan, who was on a roll. Nothing. So I wouldn’t blame Maryse on that one, because none of the stuff they have tried for DiBiase worked. I don’t think he has topped out, but he seems like a guy who could really benefit from a meaningful tag team division. WWE really hurts itself by taking away that developmental system, where a guy can grow, get experience, and get over with the audience. – Guest#1599

Teddy’s been wrestling for less than five years and is only twenty-eight years old, so he’s got plenty of time to find his niche in WWE, or somewhere else in pro wrestling if it comes to that. That’s something I think we forget about with the young guys prevalent in WWE these days. The following isn’t a complete list as I‘m sure there‘s somebody I‘m forgetting, but here are some WWE Superstars that haven’t reached 30 yet. It seems that most wrestlers peak physically in their early to mid 30s…of course, many will continue on well past that, and their work will actually improve because they’ll be smarter with what they do and when they do it.

Husky Harris – 23
Trent Barreta – 24
Jinder Mahal – 24
Cody Rhodes – 25
Drew McIntyre – 25
David Hart Smith – 25
JTG – 26
Curt Hawkins – 26
Zack Ryder – 26
Chris Masters – 28
Primo – 28
Sin Cara – 28
Daniel Bryan – 29
Kofi Kingston – 29
Mason Ryan – 29
Jack Swagger – 29

Can you imagine how good Cody’s going to be when he’s 30? Yikes.

Your point is accurate though, as most of these guys end up getting thrown onto the fire before they’re ready and it stunts their development. Larry & I have talked on the pod cast about how the lack of different places for these guys to work has resulted in a lot of the new guys looking the same, doing the same stuff, and most of them not getting over as a result of that. Some guys end up catching on, but guys like Ted need a little more time to find themselves. And like I’ve suggested before, it’s probably not going to be as a Mini-Me version of Ted Sr., which they seemed set on for quite some time.

It’s too bad Morrison got injured and is on the RAW roster. After finishing with Mysterio, Rhodes has no clear program. Morrison would have been perfect, because he has the looks and rock star entrance. Great target, a constant reminder of what Rhodes has lost. The ring work would be fun and potentially each pushes the other up the ladder. – Guest#5403

Cody’s kind of in a weird spot right now…they see that he has something going for him and they‘ve been putting him over & giving him promo time every week since the Mysterio feud ended instead of throwing him off to the side like some feared they would, but it’s not really obvious what he’s going to do next. The World title picture is crowded with Orton, Christian, Sheamus & Mark Henry. Wade Barrett’s the Intercontinental Champion, and lately it seems that the secondary title divisions do more to hurt careers than they do to help. I think Cody’s character functions better with personal grudges than with aspirations towards championships, so he needs somebody to irritate him. Morrison would have been a good choice for that with his looks and whatnot, they seem like they’d gel well in the ring, and maybe working with somebody like Cody would get Morrison going in the promo department.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think the WWE is going for the long term build of an NWO-like angle. This is based on the anonymous GM, Cole’s Role, the Rock’s involvement, and the refusal to let the Nexus/Corre just die. –

I have no idea if you’re on to something here or not, but I can dig it. Remember when Wade Barrett talked during the Nexus days about how they were part of a bigger picture that we couldn’t understand? Either he was just given talking points that they had no intention of following up on, or there really is some grand conspiracy with the Nexus, the Corre, Michael Cole, the Raw General Manager, and maybe even The Rock. The Rock’s had issues with Cole & the GM, and the Corre & Nexus have gone back and forth, but maybe that was just to throw people off the trail. If it results in all of these people coming out and screwing Cena at WrestleMania to give the Rock the WWE title…well, the only flaw is that the people would love it.

I don’t think this will happen, but now I kind of want it to. It would take a whole lot of ret-conning. If Punk isn’t around they can say that he wasn’t involved in the plan and nearly screwed it all up by splitting the Nexus for selfish reasons.

Hey Cook…as always, a great column. I was reading on your comments on Helms, and I am a Helms fan but at the same time it does disturb me that if Helms was drinking and over the legal limit and lost control of his motorcyle, it’s reckless and irresponsible of him to be drinking and driving. I’ve watched tons of his internet shows on H2H and I will admit, he is a HEAVY drinker on that show, but he’s always advocated not to drink and drive on the show in the past and kept his guests from drinking when they have to drive from his house. So I find it hard that he would be drinking and driving at the same time.

What kills me the most is the incredible amount of hate he’s generated here on the 411 comments. People wishing him dead, hurling insults at him, laughing at his situation…it’s like a huge majority of these people want him dead or in major pain. Granted I understand why because of his comments about Shawn Michaels, but even if you don’t like the guy for what he’s said about Shawn in the past, to wish a person either bodily harm or death??? That’s just wrong and sick on so many levels. Why would people be like that? I know, not an easy question to answer. – AGNJoe

Indeed, it’s not an easy question to answer. Even when I was a younger man and more prone to drinking the Haterade, I never wished death or injury on anybody in the wrestling business. Yes, there are people in the biz that aren’t good at their job, do stupid things outside of the ring, are complete asshats, or fit all of the above descriptions. That doesn’t mean I wanted them to get hurt or die. I don’t know how people arrive at that point, and can’t really speculate on that.

Helms does bring some hate on himself. I wouldn’t go as far with it as these folks do, but he has been involved in some questionable shit like the incident with Chris Jericho in Northern Kentucky & Christopher Daniels getting arrested for a DUI while heading home from the Hurricave. I don’t give a hoot what he thinks of Shawn Michaels or anything else, but some people really don’t like it when other people have different opinions. The radio shows don’t help his cause either, as they’ve established him as a guy that likes to drink. A lot. It also doesn’t help that the main guy sticking up for Helms in this situation is Matt Hardy, a guy that has little credibility with people outside of his fanbase & inner circle. Whether Hardy’s telling the truth or not, the general perception is that he’s not. It doesn’t help that most of his great declarations of truth come after a few adult beverages.

(Unrelated, but how funny was it when Hardy was talking about James Storm being an alcoholic on Impact? I nearly spit my Pepsi Max out when I heard it and was waiting for my old buddy Coren to chime in with a “Pot. Kettle. Black.” reference.)

Now, if Velvet Sky was the main voice defending Helms, I think you’d see a lot more sympathy for him. I think the fact she’s trying to support him means something, so I continue to hope that he wasn’t an idiot, and gets well soon.

As a guy from Kentucky, all I can say is that anybody who votes for Williams/Farmer purely based on Farmer’s b-ball past should have their right to vote taken away from them permanently. – Guest#1332

I agree with this 100%. It’s one thing if you’re a conservative guy and you buy into Williams’ rhetoric about evil Obamacare & other problems facing the commonwealth. I don’t agree with it, but everybody has their own political beliefs and I don‘t fault them for sticking by them. If you’re somebody voting based on “Man, 1992 was awesome until that damn Duke game! Unforgettables! Richie Farmer! Git-r-done!”, then you should stay in front of your TV on Election Day and keep watching your Best of Kentucky Basketball videotape while the adults go out and vote.

I also believe that people who voted for McCain/Palin in 2008 because Palin was hot shouldn’t be allowed to vote either. I know people like this.

I knew it!…meaning, of course, the theory that every state has their punching bag. Most of the country makes fun of West Virginia, West Virginians make fun of Kentuckians, and Kentuckians make fun of Tennesseeans.

Wonder who Tennesseeans make fun of.… – CunningLinguist

I‘m pretty sure they make fun of Kentuckians, but I could be wrong. I thought Mississippi was usually the go-to state for inbred/redneck jokes nationwide. It’s tough to tell when you live in the flyover states.

Also, it’s amazing how much more entertaining Zach’s youtube show and Yoshi’s action figure drama is than WWE’s current angles. Put both of those things on the show!

Did Yoshi also find a shit in his bag? No? Then Orton should no longer be a suspect. – Hawkeye

Yeah, I wasn’t joking when I said that Yoshi’s action figure shenanigans were more interesting than anything I saw on Raw. Same thing with Zack Ryder…kid keeps delivering on these YouTube videos. Hopefully his reunion with Curt Hawkins leads to something. Hawkins was very effective in his Gatecrasher tag team with Vance Archer, and Ryder has really found himself while getting over on the Internet with his videos. He was great in ECW too, so I have no idea why they’ve been ignoring him. I’m not sure what chance the Broskis have of taking the Tag Team titles from Kane & Big Show, but they should get more of an opportunity on TV to get themselves over.

That pic makes me think that one of the Bellas should turn heel. If one wore black and the other wore white they could do a “Spy vs. Spy” thing every week. – Karatgold24

Not only does that sound hot, it’d be a good idea for an Internet video series. Pretty soon WWE could have a whole variety show going with the Z True Long Island Story, Bella vs. Bella, and some old favorites like Five Questions With The Champ and Booker T & Goldust At The Movies. Heck, they could bring back The Dirt Sheet, but have Alex Riley dressed up like John Morrison as Miz’s co-host. Different Superstars could host the show every week, or Scott Stanford could sit at a desk and have guests like Vince did on Tuesday Night Titans. I’m not sure who I’d have in the Lord Alfred Hayes role.

You’d think that with Vince’s obsession with not being wrestling that he would have pitched something like this recently. Maybe he’s saving it for when they have their own network.

I’m sure this has been asked before, but who is the girl in the RAW thoughts picture above? – Hopeful

Reby Sky is one of the future Mrs. Steve Cooks…unless Still Guest#8287 or Matt Hardy beats me to the punch. How could I possibly follow either of those acts?

And now, the fake news!

WWE may be trying to get rid of the word “wrestling”, but they’re bringing back one of the things that made wrestling great for so many years…managers! Michael Hayes managed Tyson Kidd on last week’s edition of SuperStars, and more talents are expected to be getting managers in the future. Arn Anderson has been mentioned as a possible manager for somebody, and there are plenty of other people currently under WWE contract that would be good in the role. This is a great move by WWE, as many of their younger talents haven’t developed the adequate speaking skills to cut money-making promos yet. That’s one of the main reasons why most of them haven’t gotten over yet, and having somebody there to talk for them will only help their cause.

Back in the old days the New York circuit was always a strong manager territory. In the 70s & early 80s you had Lou Albano, Fred Blassie & the Grand Wizard managing all the heels that mattered and cutting promos that made people hate them and want to pay money to see them get beat. Once they were phased out & the WWF expanded nationwide, the likes of Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, Mr. Fuji & Slick came in to continue the tradition. Heck, at one point you could say that they had too many managers…remember when Randy Savage was having his managerial sweepstakes and the ring was full of suitors? Part of that was the roster being gigantic enough to support three touring groups, but it was just another sign that the WWF loved their managers.

That changed in the 1990s. There were still guys like Paul Bearer, Ted DiBiase & Jim Cornette hanging around, but the powers that be decided that they’d rather have smoking hot valets like Sunny, Sable & Marlena appearing on TV than managers that could cut promos but wouldn’t sell swimsuit calendars. This led to Lita, Trish Stratus & others being valets until they got bored with that and decided to wrestle. Vickie Guerrero has been a very effective valet, but for the most part the ladies couldn’t really cut the promos necessary to get their men over. Managers reappeared here & there…Paul Heyman was an effective agent for Brock Lesnar, and Paul Bearer returned occasionally to manage Undertaker or Kane, but they’ve largely been extinct in WWE for the past decade. Since then we’ve had a lot of people trying to talk for themselves. Some have succeeded. Some have failed. I’m all for guys like Michael Hayes appearing on TV again to help get the next generation over, and am interested in seeing who else WWE will bring out in this role.

One of the things I love most about Bret Hart being back in the fold instead of being all bitter about the past is that he’s very honest with his opinions about WWE programming. When he sees somebody that he feels should be used more, he says it. After seeing Drew McIntyre losing to Chris Masters on SuperStars, he posted the following on his twitter machine:

I honestly can’t believe that the best way 2 utilize a talent like Drew McIntyre is 2 waste him on Superstars. Who’s genius is that? Idiot!

I’ve gotten some heat on this site before for pimping Drew as one of the up & coming talents on the WWE roster, so it’s nice to know that Bret also sees the potential of the Sinister Scotsman. But in case Bret & others are wondering why Drew hasn’t been doing a whole heck of a lot lately, the rumor around the campfire is that Drew’s storyline with Kelly Kelly was randomly dropped because people within WWE weren’t happy with his wife‘s recent comments to the media. I speculated that Tiffany’s comments could have an ill effect on her husband’s position with WWE, and it appears that’s exactly what happened.

Alberto Del Rio made an interesting statement at a press conference in Mexico during WWE’s tour of his native country last week. He said that his goal is to end The Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak. ADR is probably making stuff up because that happens a lot at Mexican press conferences, but it still bears noting in case Undertaker does end up wrestling at WM 28. Alberto’s one of the few “young guys” that could pose a believable threat to the Deadman and I think it’d be a pretty interesting feud. Unless Triple H really plans on wrestling Undertaker again at WM, I think Del Rio would be the best choice for this role. He’s one of the few guys I’d be ok with ending the streak.

The door is open for a Batista return if he’s interested. The Wrestling Observer reports that most people within WWE expect him back at some point, and even though his MMA dream isn’t dead quite yet, WWE Creative has discussed what he would do if he comes back. Hopefully he’d cut more promos about Cena’s fat girl fans, because that was the greatest thing he ever did. No deal has been agreed upon, but the feeling within WWE is that the Animal will be back sooner rather than later.

An NXT Diva from Season 3 is expected to debut on SmackDown this week. She isn’t the one I would have picked, but I can’t complain too much because she was the second-hottest on the show behind Kaitlyn. Hopefully some more time in FCW has given her a personality.

I think I managed to talk about that without spoiling it, but I could be wrong.

-So when did Raw become the Alex Riley show anyway?

-Riley put together a video with all of Miz’s offensive moves on Cena ever. If they made a video with all of Cena’s offensive moves on Miz ever, there wouldn’t be enough time on this show for it.

-I wonder if Michael Cole even knows who the Spurs are and what sport they play.

-Why do they bother with the GM podium if Cole’s just going to read stuff off his iPad?

-Punk wins and declares that he will do things his own way. The Nexus will prove that it’s the most dominant force that WWE’s ever seen!

-I think Yoshi Tatsu’s action figure has a better chance at proving itself as a dominant force.

-Oh joy, a contract signing! Those always end well.

-Bellas! Kelly!

-Between the commentary for this match and the Jim Rome Show, it seems like all anybody talks about anymore is Twitter.

-Kelly won, but Kharma is afoot.

-Bellas, y’all wanna leave?

-Well, they’ve lost their damn minds.

-Poor Nikki. That was Nikki, right?

-Rey challenges R-Truth, but ADR’s music plays. I think Ricardo called Rey a Chihuahua.

-I don’t like it when these guys talk in Spanish, then English in the same sentence. Too confusing.

-CM Punk mentioned on his twitter the other day that ADR was watching The Godfather Part II. If I didn’t already have a man crush on the guy I would have after reading that.

-Rey wrestles ADR until Truth accuses him of being a thief. Of course, ADR can’t take advantage of the distraction.

-And we get a DQ. Yeehaw.

-We still don’t know what R-Truth’s music is now.

-Man, it seems like nobody wants to wrestle John Cena! Unless Miz gets everybody he talked with to wrestle him in a handicap match. That would not bode well for Mr. Cena.

-You’d think Lawler would know to read the fine print in the contract after 55 years in the business.

-Cole wants a Kiss My Foot match? Has he seen King of the Ring 1995? Lawler’s got some nasty feet.

-Does anybody in pro wrestling wash their feet?

-They’re teasing a Cole/Swagger split again? You know, they could have done this a month ago and saved us a month of this feud.

-Speak into the microphone, Jack!

-I know better than to say “Oh well, it’ll be over Sunday!” by this point. Hopefully the match will be funny while drinking beer.

-I dig me some Rise Against.

-Kane & Big Show vs. Otunga & McGillicutty? Ye Gods.

-Smart of O & M to weaken Big Show’s knee for Sunday, when the Kane Show defends the titles against Punk & Mason Ryan.

-I wonder where Mason Ryan would rank on CM Punk’s list of tag team partners. Probably below Colt Cabana, Kofi Kingston & Ace Steel, but above the other Chick Magnet guy.

-And McGillicutty pins Kane! No, I did not see that one coming. I probably should have because it makes sense booking-wise, but still.

-Jack Swagger in a main event! Craziness! I like it!

-Pretty solid match with Cena & Swagger here. Hopefully the office noticed and will have good things in store for the All-American American.

-Why is the Miz the one teaching Cena about what weapons can be used in an “I Quit” match? Cena’s been in a few of these before.

-It was Miz, with the steel pipe, in the conservatory!

-Cena’s all like “f that homie”.

-OK show. Nothing special, which usually isn’t good heading into a PPV. But it’s Over The Limit, so I don’t think WWE’s too concerned about it.

TNA & Spike TV have mounted a huge ad campaign for the re-branding of Impact Wrestling, with the catchphrase “Wrestling Matters”. It’s a really nice looking campaign, with a neat looking video and some cool videos with wrestlers doing a lot of talk about wrestling because it’s a wrestling show and they are wrestlers that want to wrestle. Wrestle wrestle wrestle. People ask me what I think about it, and it’s really tough for me to say until I see what happens with the actual show. It’s nice to have a new name and a new logo and a new catchphrase, but if you’ve still got the same tired show with the same tired people that doesn’t actually have a whole lot of wrestling…it’s Much Ado About Nothing.

I don’t know why I always quote Shakespeare whenever I talk about this company.

There is word from last night’s tapings that they do have a new set that no longer features the TNA letters. That’s good because it was pretty awkward last week when Foley announced “no more TNA” & TNA was still all over the place.

TNA decided the best way to send the message to WWE wasn’t by signing some great new talent, or making changes to their product to make it more fan-friendly, but to buy several billboards in Stamford, Connecticut. Some people may question why TNA has focused such attention on Stamford, but the latest U.S. Census tells us that Stamford has 122,643 people and is the fourth largest city in Connecticut. 122,643 is just about equivalent to a years’ worth of TNA PPV buys, so if they can get the city of Stamford on board they might double their PPV buyrates. Solid move on TNA’s part.

Plus, it gets people like us talking about them, even if it’s in jest. (Yes, that paragraph was jest.) There’s no such thing as bad publicity…well, unless you’re one of the guys in the next paragraph.

Kurt Angle says that Jeff Hardy has been clean for a month, and that he has learned from his mistakes and won’t do it again. I’d like to believe that. I’d also like to believe that when I wake up tomorrow morning it’ll be on top of one of those money bins like Scrooge McDuck had on Ducktales, and I’ll be swimming around in the coins like he used to do. That’d be really peachy, but it ain’t gonna happen. And I hate to say it, but I’m going to need a lot of convincing that Jeff Hardy is clean, and is in any condition to be in a wrestling ring. I’ve been bitten way too many times on this issue.

Dixie Carter is still doing her job with TNA. This probably shouldn’t be news, but there were lots of reports going around the last few weeks that she wasn’t.

There were rumors going around that The Pope was leaving TNA last week because of a tweet he made stating he was moving on. The original report was that it was in reference to him graduating from college, but some have speculated that it meant he was leaving TNA. Pope was scheduled to do a radio interview after this column was posted to shed some light on the issue, so you probably already know whatever he said.

So last week on the pod cast Larry & myself were very positive about the return of Chris Harris. I’ll admit some personal bias on my part, as both Harris & I are from Northern Kentucky & I remember watching him on NWF’s public access show back in the late 90s-early 00s. He usually wrestled this big dude dressed in blue named Prince Justice that talked a lot. I wonder what happened to that guy. Anyway, it seems that his performance at Sacrifice got some mixed reviews. Is it just me, or did a lot of the hate for Harris come from the fact that he was…

I don’t think the hate for fat wrestlers is very fair. Some of the most interesting wrestlers of all time have had a few extra pounds on the waistline. Here’s a few examples!

Dusty Rhodes – The greatest fat wrestler of all time. Dusty looked like crap most of the time, but he was a hell of a talker and could deliver in the ring. Ric Flair always gave Dusty props for being able to go 60 just like all of his other opponents. The American Dream wouldn’t have been the same if he had the WWE-style physique.

Adrian Adonis – Adrian was considered one of the best workers in the business in the early 1980s by most people in the known. He never had anything resembling a good physique, but he was a fantastic in-ring talent and was part of two classic tag teams with Jesse Ventura and the next man on my list.

Dick Murdoch – Captain Redneck was always a fun wrestler to watch. Your classic fat Texan that would have been right at home in a barroom brawl.

“Playboy” Buddy Rose – The Blow Away diet didn’t exactly do wonders for Buddy, but he was a top talent in Portland for a long time & formed a solid team with Doug Somers in the AWA that gave the Midnight Rockers their big break.

Steve Corino – The Trouble King let himself go during his stint in Japan, but he’s been very entertaining wherever he’s gone. A sick, sinister individual until recently.

Kevin Steen – Mr. Wrestling was fantastic during his run in ROH, and his feud with El Generico last year was amazing. Steen’s sloppy physique added to the filthiness of his character, and took nothing away from his athletic ability.

Just because a wrestler is fat doesn’t automatically make him bad. I know that’s what Vince McMahon has been telling people for decades now, but it’s just not true. Also, just because a writer is fat doesn’t automatically make him bad.

I’m just saying.

Sara Del Rey & Daizee Haze will be two controversial inclusions in the Hot 100 if last year is any indication. I got so much crap for rating Death Rey highly last year, and I didn’t get it. Girl’s attractive. There’s not an abundance of plastic surgery there, and she’s got a nice body. She’ll probably be a bit lower this year since I haven’t seen her in person since…either 08 or 09. I’m not sure. She’s a great talent though, and cute as a button.

Wrestlicious is still alive, as it announced a partnership with Union Square Agency on Monday. According to the press release, USA (haw) “will provide sponsorship sales, television production, syndication, media sales, event extensions, venue selection, strategic partnerships and manage licensing and merchandising”. They say they have a deal with a “Viacom-owned network” to air some shows in 2011. Now they just need to have some shows!

Speaking of promotions that have been quiet for awhile, Lucha Libre USA returns to the Hard Rock Hotel in Albuquerque on May 28. No word on if this will air on TV at any point, but Jay Lethal has been announced as appearing on the show.

I made another 411 on Wrestling appearance last Thursday to talk about Impact & preview Sacrifice. I didn’t interrupt people nearly as much this time and actually had a few funny comments, so you’ll want to check it out. You can either listen to me or your annoying co-workers for an hour & a half…the choice is yours!

I also joined Larry for part of last night’s show to talk some Raw, so check that out as well.

Make sure to check out the next edition of the Sandwich when I make a super-huge announcement regarding the future of that column. I’m pretty excited about it, and I hope you are too!

Ramirez presents the latest lucha news.

Weyer talks about the Christian Effect, not to be confused with the Butterfly Effect. Or is it?

Sarnecky talks about Rock vs. Cena.

Cooke takes a positive look at Raw.

When we last left “The Amazing Adventures of Yoshi Tatsu & His Action Figure”, Yoshi was awaiting the arrival of his new action figure from Mattel. Sure enough, it arrived at the arena in Nashville, and Yoshi was very happy.

@Ray_Makowski I got new mini Yoshi! Thank you very much Ray and MATTEL. I really appreciate it!

The mini-Yoshi adventures have continued, and all is right with the world. However, it seems that not everybody is pleased with this development. Curt Hawkins had a testy response to the accusation that he had committed the heinous deed on Yoshi’s original action figure…

Thanks for all the accusations over this headless @YoshiTatsuWWE action figure but I didn’t do it. Whoever did though is awesome. Victory!

He later declared a thousand dollar bounty on the new Yoshi action figure…Yoshi replied to this by saying he’d do the same to Curt’s action figure if he had one. Ouch. Hawkins accused Ezekiel Jackson of breaking the action figure, but as far as I can tell Big Zeke hasn’t responded. He seems to run in circles where people don’t have action figures. So to the best of my knowledge, the criminal that broke Yoshi’s action figure has yet to reveal himself.

Some people seem to be getting bored with this saga…

Think I’m just about done following Yoshi Tatsu – Derrick Bateman

Jeez Derrick, it’s not like you’ve got anything better to do! Dude has over 2,000 tweets and I think he did 1,000 of them tonight. We’ll keep you posted if anything new develops, but it seems that we may never know who the criminal was. It’s always a shame when a really good angle doesn’t have a good blow off.

Thanks for reading! Join me on Saturday for the Sandwich, and back here next week with more News From Cook’s Corner! Until then…