wrestling / Columns

The Wednesday Wrestling Week That Was 10.03.12: Issue #5

October 3, 2012 | Posted by Sam Smith

Wrestler? I hardly knew her!

Welcome again, one and all, to another thrilling installment of the only wrestling column on the net written by me, The Wednesday Wrestling Week That Was! Hosted this week by the newest two additions to my work desk –

finnandjake

I’m Sam Smith, reminding you all to follow me on Twitter for more junk of this caliber. We are into month 2 of this esteemed column now, and it’s only getting worse from here. BUCKLE IN CHAPS.

Hogans!

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– The story of the week concerns the mass exodus of WWE Divas from the company they once called home. News broke on Friday that Kelly Kelly, once primed by the WWE to be their next Trish Stratus, had left the company and was being wished well in her future endeavors. Soon after this, K2 had this to say on Twitter –

Had an amazing 6 years with wwe made great friends and have the most loyal and amazing fans in the world thanks for the never ending support. Have exciting things in the works can’t wait to share them with you stay tune.

Kelly hadn’t been full time with WWE for a while, taking a hiatus in May. Her departure was apparently a mutual decision, with the whole thing being left on relatively good terms. Kelly has been pursuing modelling and acting work outside of the wrestling world, and didn’t have time to wrestle on top of that. This may have been brewing for a while, but it is still a surprise to see her leave so abruptly. It is also slightly telling of the state of the Divas decision in WWE these days.

News is still circulating that Beth Phoenix is also on the verge of leaving WWE. Beth herself has denied these rumours, but hey, sometimes wrestlers say things that aren’t true. With the sheer amount of sources claiming Beth is on the way out, I believe it myself.

Plus, development Diva Raquel Diaz, aka Shaul Guerrero, daughter of Eddie and Vickie, had her profile taken off the WWE NXT site last week. News initially broke that Guerrero had asked for a release from her contract, but a conflicting piece yesterday said she was still employed and had gone home to take a break, with WWE hoping she will return in time. Either way, it is clear Guerrero has some problems with WWE and her place in it.

Three women from vastly different backgrounds, all unsatisfied with their jobs in WWE. Interesting. Kelly Kelly did not grow up dreaming of being a wrestler, and for her I imagine she saw her time in WWE as a step to further her career – after all, she is still only 25. Her departure is easily understandable.

Beth Phoenix, on the other hand, has clearly always been a wrestling fan, and joined wrestling school as soon as she left high-school. Rumors circulating indicate Beth is unhappy with how she and the rest of the Divas have been booked recently, and whilst there is no proof this is the case, I certainly wouldn’t be surprised. When someone who dreamed of wrestling in the WWE is considering leaving, you can imagine it’s for a pretty good reason.

The Divas division in WWE is undoubtedly broken, but with so many departures, repairing it may be an issue. The problem is not helped by the fact that a great many of the women currently on the main roster are models who found their way into WWE through circumstance, rather than working toward it as a wrestler. The company has a few talented female wrestlers in developmental, and with Sara Del Ray training them, they are getting a good education. Women’s wrestling has never been a priority in most promotions, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a good, compelling part of the product. Remember Trish and Lita?

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Pretty much my puberty, right there.

12 Rounds: Reloaded, starring Randy “don’t do drugs” Orton will be a straight-to-DVD release. Is this news?

– Daniel Bryan is no longer a vegan after developing a soy allergy. As someone who is deathly allergic to nuts and fairly allergic to a whole bunch of other things, I sympathize. What pisses me off is militant vegans who have been slamming him for dropping his diet.

Militancy is never a good thing, regardless of the cause. As I mentioned in a previous column, I’m straight-edge. Do I go around knocking drinks out of peoples hands and whining at them? Of course not. Whether I agree with you or not, if you push your beliefs and lifestyles on other people, you are a prick. Stop it. But enough of my ranting, what does CM Punk think?

punkunimpressed

Exactly.

– Triple H is apparently responsible for the new attention being given to the tag team division in WWE. Thanks Trips! The guy is also said to have big plans for the Divas division, going forward. Well, speak of the devil.

– TNA have changed their policy on contracted talent appearing on DVDs of independent shows. For the last eight years, the company has allowed indy promotions to sell DVDs featuring TNA talent as long as the promotion was selling it directly, and not through third parties.

This is apparently no longer the case, and TNA will no longer be allowing their talent to appear on any independent DVDs sold, regardless of how. I’m assuming they will still be able to work untaped shows, but this is still going to have a big impact on TNA talent being booked by smaller promotions. I can’t imagine some of the lesser-used TNA talent who rely on indy bookings to get by are too happy with this.

– Is the new WWE Attitude Era DVD coming out or not? Apparently so, according to the most recent news, but it sounds like it’s going to be mainly PG-rated material. A PG-rated DVD. Of the fucking Attitude Era. Thanks, Linda!

– Following John Cena’s divorce and recent injuries, talk has picked up backstage about finding the next “top guy” for WWE. The general feeling is that the guy for Cena to pass the torch to should be in his mid-20s right now, so he has plenty of time ahead of him. Many believe Vince will hand-pick this next star.

As to who it could be? Who knows. There aren’t that many WWE wrestlers still in their 20s, and of those that are, not all of them scream “top guy.” Cody Rhodes comes to mind. He’s got the talent and charisma, but I’m not sure if he is the kind of guy to be the top face of the company. Then again, I’m sure there are plenty of guys down in developmental who would love to be considered. Watch this space!

– On a similar note, many in WWE believe that Cena’s time off for his elbow surgery is a blessing in disguise. Cena is beat up after years of non-stop working, and a bit of time off to recover will do him some good. Whether you like Cena the character or not, you have to respect Cena the man. The guy is relentlessly driven, and clearly lives to wrestle. I imagine he is desperate to get back on the road, but as stated, a few weeks off should do him good.

– Ric Flair is dating again. Is again the right word? I’m not sure Ric Flair ever stopped dating. And that includes all those times he was married.

– WWE is currently debating the location of Wrestlemania 30, with the top locations in contention being Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York. Whilst tenth-anniversary ‘Manias have traditionally been held at MSG, Wrestlemania 29 is in the same area. Also, WWE would have to charge obscene amounts of money for tickets in order to make back the profit lost from not holding the event in a larger stadium.Whilst it would be nice to honor tradition and have WM30 in MSG, I can totally understand the reasoning behind not doing so.

– Natalie Osman, better known as Buggy Nova on the indies and Skyler Moon in WWE developmental has reportedly check into rehab due to substance dependency. Osman signed a WWE developmental contract a few months ago but had her profile taken off the NXT website last month. I know Buggy has her fans here on 411, so for her sake and theirs, I wish her a speedy recovery.

– WWE are likely to offer Brock Lesnar another contract after WrestleMania 29, in part due to SummerSlam this year having it’s best buyrate since 2008. This isn’t particularly surprising. Use him right and Brock Lesnar is money.

– WWE Main Event debuts tonight, with a main event of Champion vs. Champion, CM Punk vs. Sheamus. Expect the match quality on this show to go down drastically with time.

– Zack Ryder isn’t allowed to use his finisher on Saturday Morning Slam, as it targets the head/neck area. Man, this is stupid. Why is fake violence against that particular area of the body so much worse than everything else? Whatever. Stupid reason, but Zack Ryder’s finisher is kinda lame. If he ends up with a new one because of this, cool.

– The Survivor Series poster has been revealed – take a look.

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The Miz is in an odd spot at the moment. He is definitely in a better position than he was before his little break, and feels almost ready to break back into the main event. He just needs that little something to make him really matter. It’s eluded him thus far, and I’m really not sure what it is.

– Word is John Laurinitis isn’t expected back on TV any time soon. Praise be to Hulk Hogan.

– And finally, Big Dave Batista’s original opponent for his upcoming MMA debut dropped out due to a probation violation, but a replacement has been found. Thought you got off the hook, eh Dave?

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A really long opening segment

Apparently this segment ran about seven minutes too long, and I figured as much watching it. I was expecting about half the roster to come out by the end of it.

Rey Cara vs. Primepico

Rey and Sin Cara need a team name. How about “Mexicans with Masks.” Or “Before and After (a seven-course buffet)”

Antonio Cesaro vs. Brodus Clay

Ok, that Gotch neutralizer was pretty impressive.

So, is Brodus a jobber now? Cause mans just got squashed, you get me?

The Miz vs Zack Ryder

Nothing to see here. Moving on.

The World Heavyweight Championship Debate

Well this was pure fucking torture. Next.

Tensai vs. Ryback – ROUND 2

BOOOOOOTCH

So, was that Ryback getting tired, or Albert sandbagging him? The first, probably, but as an unashamed Ryback fanboy, I refuse to believe it.

I guess this brings us to

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No.

Divas stuff I skipped again

I am part of the problem, not the solution.

Santino Marella vs. The J.O.B. Squad 2012

I’m thinking Drew needs a full repackaging at this point to relevant again. That “chosen one” shtick has kinda run itself out.

Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow

It’s matches like this that benefit from the extra time a three-hour Raw affords them. A decent match by Raw standards. Sandow had a great showing – keeping up with Sheamus for the most part should solidify him in the eyes of many. As JR said, a career-making match.

JR Appreciation Night

This might not end well.

Decent promo from JR, talking about the legends. Although, if CM Punk hasn’t earned the mantle of best in the world by now, what does the guy need to do? Cure cancer?

OH SNAP HERE COMES RYBACK. DON’T DROP ANYONE RYBACK.

Well, it didn’t end in JR kissing anyone’s ass, so probably one of his more successful hometown outings.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston

I’m guessing we are gonna have this tag team tournament match on Friday, which Kofi and Truth will lose, after which the two can go their own ways and Kofi can maybe start getting that rumoured push. That would be nice.

Team Friendship vs. CM Dolph

Wow, D-Bry and Kane won by pinning Punk. Not the result I would have guessed.

Not a great Raw this week. Too much boring crap that didn’t really achieve anything. The Sheamus/Sandow match was good, at least.

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We have a fancy new comment system here on 411. It’s pretty nifty! The downside to this is that all previous comments are gone, and that includes the comments on last week’s column that I was about to include here. Hmmm.

Ah well, nothing for it but to carry on with this week. Seeing as it dominated the news section, lets talk about womens wrestling – What can WWE do to improve the Divas division?

One thing I think is important is for WWE to stop hiring attractive models and later teaching them to wrestle, and instead hire actual female wrestlers – women who love the sport and have previous experience. It seems like the company may already be starting to do this, with Sara Del Ray and Buggy both recently joining, and it is, in my eyes, a step in the right direction.

So, let me know in the comments below – What can WWE do to improve the Divas division? If you don’t know or don’t care, leave me a comment anyway telling me how stupid I am. Please.

That’ll do it for this week. I’ll leave you all with another reminder to follow me on Twitter, and a video that has nothing to do with wrestling! See you next week, friends.

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