wrestling / Columns

Your News, My Views 2.12.08

February 12, 2008 | Posted by Larry Csonka



Mickie James welcomes you…

Introduction…and Things I want to talk about~!

  • Welcome to the Tuesday news adventure, the one stop shop for all of the wrestling news, scuttlebutt, tidbits and rumors that you crave…Your News, My Views! I am your host Larry Csonka and it is time again to do what I do best, so sit back and relax.
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    Today in Wrestling History:

  • 1978 – Ted DiBiase defeated Dick Slater for the Missouri State Heavyweight title
  • 1985 – Jesse Barr defeated Brian Blair for the Florida State Heavyweight title
  • 1990 – Rex King & Steve Doll defeated Robert Fuller & Brian Lee for the USWA Tag Team title
  • 2000 – Don & Ron Harris defeated Big Vito & Johnny the Bull for the WCW Tag Team title
  • 2000 – The Haas Brothers defeated Johnny Kashmere & Robby Mireno, The Thrill Kill Kult, & The Hit Squad in a four way match for the Combat Zone Wrestling Tag Team Titles

    Births and Deaths:

  • 1960 – Born – One Man Gang
  • 1973 – Born – Ron Killings

    ~The CW Breaks WWE’s Heart~


    The romance is dead… We all know that the wrestling industry leads to one of two roads. Financial prosperity or financial ruin. There is never a middle ground, people don’t tend to break even and leave happy. To make money you have to brand a product, put on good shows and continue to grow and reinvent yourself. Live gates make you money, merchandize makes you money, but the one thing every wrestling promotion strives for is that nice lucrative TV deal. Because in wrestling TV is life, TV leads to PPV and PPV is where you can make a killing. Look at the Royal Rumble, they did a live gate of $1.3-Million and will likely do 400,000+ PPV buys. Add in the merchandizing and DVD sales they’ll do and it’s a license to print money. TV is the key to this. TV is the platform that allows them to hype these shows, these live events, these DVDs, this merchandise. But after 10-years on both UPN and The CW, Smackdown is going to be without a home at the end of the 2007-08 broadcast season. Let’s hear the official word:

    After a successful decade of “SmackDown” on both UPN and The CW, World Wrestling Entertainment and The CW have agreed to conclude our partnership. Since The CW’s exclusive negotiation period ran out as of last Thursday, January 31, we have been contacted and have been in negotiations with other networks. “WWE SmackDown” will continue to air on The CW until the conclusion of the 2007-08 broadcast season. We are grateful to Les Moonves, Dawn Ostroff, and their entire organization for bringing “WWE SmackDown” to millions of viewers for so many years.

    They have 6-7 months before the deal is over, and they now have to find a new home for their other two-hour show. In all honesty the CW has wanted to distance itself from wrestling for a while, starting with when Smackdown was moved to Fridays. This was a move to show WWE that they weren’t concerned with making the show a top priority. There was the drama over the Muhammad Hassan angle, as well as cold feet after the Benoit tragedy. A lot of people felt that this would happen sooner than later, while many others are puzzled by the move due to Smackdown drawing consistent ratings. The Smackdown 18-34 rating this season had decreased to a 1.4, making Smackdown was only the seventh highest-rated show on the network in prime time. The other thing that didn’t play into WWE’s favor was the lack of crossover viewership for other TV shows on the CW. Basically they feel that WWE fans tune in, watch Smackdown and tune out. Thee is truth to that, because I never watch the CW unless it is for Smackdown. The facts are this, sometime in late September to October Smackdown will be finished on the CW Network and they are now looking for a new home. The $64 question is, where will they go? Let’s discuss that, shall we?

    From a legal standpoint WWE can do one of three things, as it pertains to getting on a new station. First of all they an can go anywhere on network TV. This is because of their NBC Universal deal. On cable, they can only go to stations under the NBC Universal umbrella, like USA, Sci-Fi and other channels they run. Spike, TBS, TNT, FX and other similar channels are contractually prohibited due to the deal with NBC Universal. The second option that WWE has is “pay-TV.” These would be channels like HBO and Showtime. In the short, there is no way HBO will would bring WWE on board. During wrestling’s hot period HBO actually talked about it. They felt wrestling would be good for ratings at the time. They eventually decided against in that direction, basically because they considered it, “low-rent programming.” Also as we saw with the UFC negotiations, HBO would want a lot of control over the product, which Vince would never agree with. Showtime is the other possibility, but the truth of the matter is that it is in so few homes that it would really hurt the brand, and most feel buyrates. The only positive thing regarding Showtime is that they are very easy to work with and allow a lot of freedom as compared to HBO.

    In reality, most feel that MyNetworkTV, which is in basically the same number of homes as CW, is the best bet right now. MyNetworkTV has stayed afloat, even losing channels with the CW merger with the WB, but they don’t have any programming that they are known for. Many feel that they desperately need a show that will draw ratings or that they won’t be around that much longer. There is speculation that if WWE signs with MyNetworkTV that they would move the show back to Thursday nights. Thursday night is the biggest night of the week for TV, and this would place the new “crown jewel” of the network on the prime night of TV. If this were to be the case, I would think that this would be bad for TNA. We all know that when Raw went head to head it beat down Impact, which dropped to a 0.6 rating. I would expect Smackdown to stay in the 8-10 timeslot there, which means one hour against TNA. Even going one-hour head to head could be disastrous for TNA.

    But there is also a chance that the show could join the NBC Universal family, which would place all three WWE shows under that umbrella. I think that we can rule out CNBC and MSNBC with ease, and with the writers strike coming to en end, NBC itself. But there are five other options that are available to discuss. They are:

    The USA Network: I think the easy choice to look at first is the USA Network. WWE has had a long relationship with the network and the Raw ratings help make the network one of the top rated cable networks each week, sometimes making them #1. The USA Network reaches approximately 90-million households, which would give the show a string reach, the same as Raw. You would think that Smackdown being added to the network (they would be getting roughly 3.0’s or so after the conversion from network ratings) would help solidify them as a top network. Most Friday nights USA shows movies, and while they would lose some ad revenue, they would be gaining the ratings. Bonnie Hammer is still at the helm there and loves the WWE programming, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see her try and land Smackdown.

    SCI-FI: Next we’ll discuss the Sci-Fi Network. The Sci-Fi Network has a similar reach, pertaining to households reached as the USA Network does. We all know that ECW runs on the Sci-Fi Network, so there is already a synergy there. But there is the problem that Bonnie Hammer no longer is in charge of the Sci-Fi Network, and she was the reason ECW got the deal there. The Sci-Fi Network higher ups don’t particularly want ECW on the network, and with Hammer out of the fold, I would expect this to be the last year of ECW on the network, as they want to explore more original programming, which they have had great ratings success with. Not to mention the ad revenues they pulled in. This is very unlikely in my opinion.

    BRAVO: Our third choice is that of the Bravo Network. The Bravo Network reaches 75-Million Homes, and while it is a drop from network exposure and both USA and Sci-Fi, it is still a viable option. The WWE divas recently were on Project Runway, and the show did an excellent rating, much higher than usual. That is a possible partnership that both NBC Universal and WWE could look to expose. The one problem that may keep this deal from happening is the fact that Smackdown isn’t exactly something that meshes with the Bravo Network’s programming. But this is a solid choice, if there is nothing else available.

    TRIO: Option #4 under the NBC Universal umbrella would be the Trio Network. The Trio Network prides itself on being a “pop-culture” network that reaches 20-million households. And that is the big problem, if they wouldn’t want to go to Showtime due to lack of households, I can’t see them taking a deal to be on the Trio Network unless it was a last resort.

    MUN2: And now we come to our final option, the MUN2 Network. The MUN2 Network is a Hispanic network, pronounced “MOON DOS” and reaches roughly 17-million households. Much like the Trios Network, I cannot see them taking a deal here due to such a low reach. The only reason for taking the deal for this channel, besides it being a last resort, is that Smackdown draws a very high Hispanic demographic, which means that Smackdown could really thrive here.

    So there we have it. All we know is that Snmackdown on the CW will end, and that the show will go somewhere else. Every thing else is speculation right now, and I hope that you enjoyed this look as where the show could possibly go.


    Is it hot in here, or is it just Csonka?

    …AND I’M BAAAAAAACK!…

    WWE/ECW news, notes and happenings to the EXTREME:


    Your News: WWE has ended their relationship with OVW. WWE’s Ty Bailey and John Laurinaitis announced the decision to developmental talent at a meeting this morning. All the remaining OVW wrestlers will now shift to Florida Championship Wrestling which is now WWE’s only remaining developmental territory. Laurinaitis said that WWE wanted all their developmental talent in one place, and that it didn’t make sense to have a territory in Kentucky when so many WWE talents live in Florida and can easily work with development talent in FCW. Tom Prichard, Steve Keirn, former WWE star Billy Kidman will all be trainers in FCW. FCW will also run its first TV taping this month.

    My Views: And I feel that this is a horrible idea. I think that the excuse to consolidate due to so many talents living in or near Florida is also a piss poor excuse. OVW has been rumored to be in trouble for well over a year. WWE has not been happy with what they are getting, of course that may be because they are constantly pulling people out of the developmental system before they are ready. The thing is that OVW has been far from a failure.

    If you look in the history of OVW, over the past 7-years OVW has trained over well over 30-superstars for the WWE. This includes many current and past WWE Champions, people such as Batista, John Cena, Victoria, Doug and Danny Basham, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, Rob Conway, Eugene, Sylvan Grenier, Bobby Lashley, and Lance Cade. Obviously Batista, Cena, and Orton have been the big successes. Brock was as well, but since he left didn’t have the lasting effect. Lashley was on his way since he had the rocket strapped to his ass, but we all know what happened there. When OVW was allowed to do their job, when WWE was sending talent down there to work with these guys and when OVW wasn’t plucked like a piece of fruit that wasn’t ripen yet, they did their job.

    The parting of the ways with OVW is a bad move in my eyes. WWE should be expanding their training grounds, not reducing them. I have said for years that WWE should have a multi-tiered developmental system. Five places, two training and three ran like companies, running small loops and taping TV shows. They had OVW, the shut down Deep South and they are now going to have just FCW. It makes no sense.

    Another thing that was a problem is that WWE was the one that stopped sending talent. When OVW was at it’s peak, it was because WWE was cycling talent in and out of the system. One week Val Venis and Chris Jericho would spend a few days down there, the next week the APA, another week Eddie Guerrero, and another week the Hardy’s. They were always sending people there, cycling them off of the road for a few days to give them some rest, but having them work with the OVW guys and doing OVW TV. Developmental guys constantly facing developmental guys does no good in the long run, which is why when they did Six Flags shows they always had an OVW guy like Rob Conway face a WWE guy like Chris Benoit. And don’t get pissy about the name usage. That is why the system was working so well.

    Now though they don’t do that, they have a roster full of AGENTS that could be helping there. Instead of sending Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham or Dean Malenko down to OVW what did they get? TONY ATLAS. Yeah, that sure did a lot of good, didn’t it. I feel that they have no clue how to run a proper developmental anymore. They are down to one school with one main teacher, which means that all of the students coming from the system will be exactly the same, and that’s exactly what they want, but the thing is when everyone is the same, it doesn’t work. Something is only as big as something else is small. I don’t want a bunch of jacked up juice monkey’s all doing the Wrestling School 101 Repertoire, showing no charisma, using the big boot and a variation of a pump handle slam or powerbomb as a finisher. I also don’t want a bunch of average style guys on the roster using the Wrestling School 101 Repertoire, showing no charisma and using a variation of a neck breaker, last rites, roll of the dice or playmaker for a finisher. But I feel that is what will happen.

    Another casualty in this is Al Snow. I know a lot of people like to mock Al and like to think he sucks and doesn’t know shit. While I agree that he sucked in OVW as a commentator, Al was a great guy to have down there and training guys. Al knows a ton about the business, check out his Secrets of the Ring DVD and you’ll see what I am saying there. Plus he was still working shows and was able to get in the ring with these guys, work with them and teach by example, not just by word. That is very important. In the end his replacement is essentially Billy Kidman. Billy Kidman. No wonder he has been hanging out down in FCW and kissing Keirn’s ass. That’s a downgrade in my book kids. Bottom line, I do not like where developmental is heading.

    But the good news for OVW is that they are not dead. Danny Davis is a smart man and is positioned to keep running both OVW and Derby City Wrestling. You see, Davis also runs/owns Derby City Wrestling and much of that talent could be used in the new OVW. OVW currently has live events scheduled through the end of March, and they plan to continue with their weekly TV tapings since they still have their TV Deal. Derby City also has a local TV deal. Danny Davis owns the building and all of the TV equipment, so WWE pulling out of OVW isn’t a huge blow like when they ended Deep South Wrestling. They built the building when they started up Deep South and supplied everything, which is why Hamilton was “S.O.L” when they decided to end things. Davis also has an advantage that can help him continue to draw crowds on the spot shows and the Six Flags gigs. Davis still has very string ties with former WWE wrestlers like Idol Stevens, Nick Dinsmore, Doug Basham, Damaja and Rob Conway. They are all looking for bookings, and Davis could possibly book them to work the TV or the big shows. I hope that Derby City and OVW continue to run for a long time.

    Your News: Michael Hayes is now the key creative influence for the ECW Brand. Dusty Rhodes and Ed Koskey will do the main writing, but key ideas and the lead will come from Hayes. All three men will then take their plans to Stephanie and Vince McMahon for approval. While it looked as it Rhodes would be the lead of the ECW Brand, he requested that he not be placed in charge.

    My Views: On one hand I am very disappointed that Dusty turned down the job of ECW Head Creative Guru. But I commend him in that he decided that he didn’t want to deal with being in charge at his age. The short of the story is that Rhodes feels that he functions better as part of a team, and at the age of 62 didn’t want the workload and frustrations that come along with the lead creative role. This is also odd in that we see so many times the ego running wild and people wanting control but in this situation he voluntarily took the step back. While I was disappointed that Dusty was not getting the lead role, I was happy that he would be a part of the team and that Michael Hayes would be taking the lead. With ECW and Smackdown being basically merged and sharing talent, the head of the Smackdown brand should be in charge or have a major role in the ECW side of things. I actually expect things to be smoother now with Hayes in charge of both brands and Rhodes working under him. They worked well together in the past, and it should again here. I am good with the move.

    Your News: As has been reported, Bobby Lashley and WWE officially parted ways last week. There are no details on the terms of his release, but it is being reported that Lashley made over $1-Million dollars last year.

    My Views: We all know that Lashley apparently hated the road, was upset with Krystal’s release, his WrestleMania payoff and possible racial tension backstage. But the dude pulled in over $1-Million dollars last year. That’s a nice little chunk of change to be sure. To be making over $1-Million dollars that early in a career is insane, so whether you agree with his decision or not, you have to respect the fact that he stuck to his guns and walked away. Not that many people would.

    Your News: There is a lot of discussion as to who is going into the Hall of Fame this year at WrestleMania. Ric Flair and Mae Young both seem to be locks, but there is a lot of discussion as to the rest of the Hall. Policy is that they try to only induct one deceased member, because they do not want the evening to be a downer. Dusty Rhodes and Jim Ross are pushing big time for Gordon Solie, especially since they are going to be in Florida. If Dwayne Johnson’s schedule opens up, they want him there to presumably induct his father Rocky Johnson and Grandfather “The High Chief” Peter Maivia, who passed away in 1982.

    My Views: Ric Flair is expected at this point. I also understand Mae Young. For years she was one of the top five ladies in the business. While she was never really affiliated with WWF/E at the time, she is getting in due to her credentials, loyalty to the company and friendship with Moolah. Gordon Solie is someone else that should be in. Depending on who you talk to he is the best or one of the best announcers ever to work in the business. The fact that they are in Florida does make it the perfect time, but the fact is that they have been passing over him for years and if Dwayne Johnson’s schedule opens up they will induct Rocky Johnson and “The High Chief” Peter Maivia and Solie will have to wait again for recognition. I really feel that they should have themed the Hall this year around Flair, his friends and enemies, which Solie would have been able to fit into. Oh well, it will be interesting to see who we get overall.

    Your News: The listed price for this year’s WrestleMania PPV is $54.95.

    My Views: Dear lord! It seems every time I turn around PPV prices are jumping up. Last year if I recall correctly the show was $49.95, so this is a $5 jump. The HD price is supposedly $64.95, the usual $10 jump for the HD broadcast. Have fun with that HD Junkies.

    Your News: Vince McMahon has been training very hard lately, as most expect him to have a match at WrestleMania. It seems very likely that they are heading towards a Vince vs. Finlay match. Foley’s name has been bantered around, but there has been no build in that direction.

    My Views: With the way the angle has been building and the teases of “the agreement” between Vince and Finlay, this makes sense. Vince always works out hard when he is going to have a match, and while the “match” may not be great, Vince does his best to be entertaining. I would expect a brawl if it is just these two, but there have also been rumors of Vince and Shane vs. Finlay and Hornswoggle. I think that the tag would end up being better, as Shane is willing to do about anything while Vince will take his punishment. Finlay would be a great anchor to work with and the kids love Hornswoggle. It isn’t exactly what I would put on WrestleMania, but it could be fun.

    Your News: Project Runway with the Divas scored a huge 3.0 rating

    My Views: Project Runway averages right around 2.5-Million viewers per episode. With the 3.0 rating, Project Runway scored nearly 3.4-Million viewers for the Divas episode. That is a huge growth for an episode and had to make the executives at NBC Universal very happy. This is good news for Project Runway as well as WWE.

    Your News: The reason Triple H missed RAW on Monday is because his brother-in-law, Gordon B. Ouellette, passed away at the age of 41. Gordon was married to Triple H’s sister, Lynn Levesque.

    My Views: Truly sad news when a family member passes. You have to respect HHH for putting family first in this situation and attending to his family during this difficult time. Not only did he miss Raw, but the following taping for last night’s show. For many it may be an easy decision, but one has to wonder what his thought process was. I mean, missing two huge shows had to hurt someone as dedicated as HHH when you think about it. But in the end he made the right decision and I applaud that. I hope that he and his family get through this time with as much ease as possible.

    Your News: Here are some updated WWE DVD sales figures:
    **John Cena: My Life – 55,470
    **Rey Mysterio: Biggest Little Man – 33,093
    **The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class – 16,504

    My Views: For the most part I don’t think that any of these numbers are that much of a surprise. I expected Cena to be leading the way and leading the way by a significant margin over Rey. That isn’t a knock on Rey, but overall Cena is a machine when it comes to selling merchandize. Rey does very well, and seeing him right behind Cena makes sense. Internally WWE didn’t expect The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class to be a huge seller. World Class obviously a nostalgia DVD, but with the WWE machine behind it has had some success and they are pleased with it. In the end it is just more money for the WWE.

    Your News: The Royal Rumble drew a gate of $1.3-million dollars, which is one of the larger non-WrestleMania gates the company has drew in North America.

    My Views: As I have mentioned, the WWE is a big old money making machine kids. The company has to be very pleased with this as while this was a big PPV, I don’t think that most anticipated such a huge gate. Once again the power of branding and the WWE’s popularity leads to more money.

    Your News: The Gymini were at yesterday’s Florida Championship Wrestling event. It is not sure if they have been invited to work the territory or if this was an audition where they may get another chance through developmental.

    My Views: The Shane Twins as they are better known were a team that many felt had a lot of potential, but never reached it. They were big dudes that could fly when they wanted too, or they could be the powerful brutes that toss you around; in short they were pretty versatile. They worked for DiBiase’s WXO promotion and were slated to be a big part of the XWF tag team division, but that of course fell apart. They were then picked up by TNA and were tossed into the horrible Johnson’s gimmick, which didn’t last long and they then made NWA Florida their home. Then in 2005 they were signed by WWE, a three-year deal and were dubbed the Regulators. They worked that gimmick for months, until they were given the “Gymini” gimmick. After a short and uneventful run on Smackdown, they were exiled to Deep South Wrestling. They were eventually released in January of 2007. Their names came up recently as they had auditioned for American Gladiators, but didn’t make the cut. While some think that they maybe brought back, I highly doubt it. The brothers are 40-years old now, and aren’t getting any younger. WWE just released 6-people and are consolidating developmental, which means they are going through who they have and more releases will come. I highly doubt that the twins will find their way back into the WWE family.



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    411 PODCASTS~!


  • Larry is back as a solo act (due to a family emergency) for the latest podcast adventure as he breaks down the TNA Against All Odds PPV. He’ll discuss a solid under-card, Black Machismo’s latest push and why TNA can’t afford to mess it up and as well as why people will either hate or love the Barded Wire Massacre. From there he moves onto Angle and Cage delivering big time yet again, but the booking letting them down with the same finish we’ve seen for nearly 6-years. But in the end it was a good rebound PPV for TNA! Plus I give out prizes and details on the next contest! DOWNLOAD THE BREAKDOWN HERE!
  • TNA’s Monthly Conference Call with Karen Angle is also featured. In this near 50-minute interview Karen praises the TNA Knockouts, working with AJ Styles, as well as how the move to TNA has helped Kurt’s health, their family and marriage. She also praises Dixie Carter, TNA’s growth, competing with WWE and tells Brock Lesnar to watch his ass! Check out that podcast on the player or DOWNLOAD THE KAREN ANGLE CALL HERE!
  • We also went on the road and on this show break down our recent trip to see the UWF. The UWF is what actually started the Larry and the Wife Podcast idea, even though it took a while for it to get into full swing. We’ll discuss the greatness of Daffney, Scotty II Hotty, James Storm and JOEY SILVIA! We then move onto discussion of mullets, Kevin Nash doing the least work for the most money, the hotness of Velvet Sky and present proof that kayfabe is not dead. DOWNLOAD ON THE ROAD HERE!

    TNA stories, scuttlebutt and rumors:


    Your News: At Monday’s Impact tapings (last night), NASCAR drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Reed Sorenson will have a match taped that will air on Thursday’s show. Hermie Sadler and Jimmy Spencer will be handling the announcing for the match.

    My Views: Oh lord, not the NASCAR shit again. Back when Hermie Sadler popped back up I KNEW they were going to do this, but people tried to give it a pass. So now they are bringing in Juan Pablo Montoya and Reed Sorenson, two guys who I know nothing about and care nothing about. But the funny thing is that I don’t actually have an objection to them using NASCAR dudes. NASCAR does huge ratings, and it isn’t that bad an idea. The BIGGEST problem here is that they are looking to tape this on Monday, and run it Thursday. When is there time to do proper promotion of this? THAT is my problem. They are taking TV time away from people that need it to run a match with no promotion, no hype and that will in the end of the day have no effect on the ratings or PPV buys.

    WAIT! It has been announced that the proposed match HAS been cancelled. Instead, Sorenson will manage Chris Sabin, while Montoya will manage Homicide, in a three-way with Jimmy Rave. It is still too much NASCAR for my tastes, but the good news is that it can’t get any worse.

    Your News: Johnny Fairplay was on the Ron & Fez Radio Show last week and said he would be signing a new contract with TNA on Monday.

    My Views: WHAT? Ok, deep breaths. Why in the hell would they bring him back in to the promotion, when his first run did nothing but cost them money? The thing is that in all actuality he would make a great asshole manager. But the wants way too money that they will pay him, and he tries to be the show when he is out there, which helps no one. And again, you have to ask, “How would Johnny Fairplay help PPV Buyrates?” This is an important question because he will be demanding a high salary. I just don’t see how this will help the show or the promotion. Ok, we’re done. The good news is that it can’t get any worse.

    Your News: TNA sent out a mobile alert saying that Kurt Angle filmed an episode of Mindfreak with Criss Angel in Las Vegas over the weekend. Angel is also expected to appear on Impact in the future.

    My Views: All right, all right, remain calm Larry. This isn’t all so bad. Angle getting time on Pros vs. Joes as well as a show like Mindfreak is good attention for the promotion. As for Criss Angel appearing on Impact, I figure it will be a small time, once off appearance in return for Angle appearing on his show. Ok, it isn’t that bad and we’re done with the stupidity. I mean seriously, it can’t get any worse than this stuff.

    Your News: Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling is offering its first-ever Head Coaching job to Bob Knight, the all-time winningest Division I men’s basketball coach known as much for his coaching genius as his fiery temper, who resigned Monday in the middle of the season as the Texas Tech coach.

    “TNA Wrestling was shocked, like the rest of the sports world, to hear Coach Knight resigned,” said Jeff Jarrett, co-founder of TNA Wrestling, who was a high school and junior college basketball player in Tennessee before becoming a professional wrestler. “Coach Knight is a sports icon and we’d be thrilled and honored to have him join the ranks, to further build TNA Wrestling into a national power, much like he did for Texas Tech.”

    My Views: What the hell is this, Star Search? Yes Bobby Knight is a name, but this is BEGGING for 30-seconds on Sports Center. If the shit with the Titans did nothing for business, if Brian Urlacher did nothing for business, if all of the controversy surrounding Pacman Jones did nothing for business, then why would this do anything for business? I thought you were the alternative, I thought that you wanted to reinvent wrestling? We are wrestling huh? Please TNA, show me how you are different from the WWE shows, ENLIGHTEN ME! Show me where all of this wrestling is, ENLIGHTEN ME! Show me this wrestling reinvented, ENLIGHTEN ME! I have said this time and time again, TNA has an extremely talented roster, and they can put on great shows because the PPV’s and some episodes of Impact have showed us that. Please give us some that wrestling and show us that you can be as good as your potential says you can be. Please, I beg of you TNA, please.


    AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

    Your News: Right now Vince Russo is responsible for 90% or so of the TV writing, with Dutch Mantel working on other aspects of the show as well as the women’s division.

    My Views: Is that really news? I mean, Marlena the Rat on a Pole? Seriously, really? Really?

    Your News: Velvet Sky currently has her photo in promotional material for a PPV entitled “Wet Wrestling: Naughty School Girl Food Fight.” This was filmed in 2006.

    My Views: Man the TNA chicks are really into some funky shit, aren’t they? The funniest thing about these chicks is that they preach that they are in the business because they love it and they bash the Diva Search contestants for how they get into the business and their backgrounds. Yet most of these chicks have done some sketchy modeling of videos. I really don’t care, but it is funny when you put it into perspective that way.

    Your News: While there have been mentions of the women possibly getting their own show, nothing is for sure. They have done the best quarter hour numbers on most shows, but many fear that there isn’t enough depth to carry a show of their own.

    My Views: I can understand this. Are they just a successful cog in the machine, or could they sustain an hour on their own? This is a serious concern and one I am glad that they are looking into. Although I still think that if they expanded the roster with the right ladies and kept D’Amore in charge that they could have a rather successful show, even though people think women’s wrestling can’t sell. I say it can’t sell because people have been conditioned that it is glorified soft-core porn with occasional wrestling. I think if given time and booked properly that a show could succeed.

    Your News: Many in TNA are anxious to see the Against All Odds buyrate, since the company has been doing record viewership for the last few weeks.

    My Views: And in a way they should be curious. Most weeks Impact averages 1.4-million viewers. They had spikes of 1.6 and 1.7-million viewers during that time, so with an average 250,000 extra viewers there could be a reasonable expectation that they will get some extra buys. “Reasonable.” But the go home show dropped back to the normal range, which is never a good thing. Last year TNA averaged 27,000 buys per PPV, which is we use the 1.4-million viewers mark, was a 1.9% conversion rate. If we use the 1.9% conversion rate, and the 250,000 added viewers, in theory they could expect 4,750 extra buys, taking their average buys into account, Against All Odds could 31,750 buys for the show. That would be a growth of 17.6% in PPV buys, which would be great news until you realize that they would still only be doing 31,750 buys for the show. I hope for the best, I really do but when you consider that this isn’t the strongest of cards and the fact that the go home dropped in ratings, I don’t expect much of a change from the normal.

    Your News: Here are some updated TNA DVD sales figures:
    * TNA Year One – 6,557 copies sold
    * TNA Bound for Glory 2007 – 6,557 copies sold
    * TNA Genesis 2007 – 1,715 copies sold

    My Views: There is no painting a pretty picture, these are not great numbers. While I don’t think anyone would think that they would get WWE like numbers, you would at least think that they could at least break into the 10,000 range with the names they have and the fact that 1.4-million people watch the show. If you remember from the WWE news section, the lowest selling WWE DVD was The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class, which has sold 16,504 copies. World Class obviously a nostalgia DVD, but with the WWE machine behind it has had some success. The three TNA DVD’s, combined, have sold 14,829. A Year One retrospective, their biggest PPV of the year and its follow up show can’t combine to make up the numbers of the World Class DVD. That is not a good thing, and just more evidence that either many wrestling fans don’t know that TNA exists, their promotion (advertising) is failing to cause interest or that the shows don’t create enough interest to make people spend money. I think it is a combination of all three.

    Your News: Jim Cornette announced after the Against All Odds PPV that TNA is bringing back the World X Cup.

    My Views: I have very mixed feelings on bringing back the World X Cup. In 2004 when they were running the Super X-Cups and then in May of 04 the World X-Cup, which rocks your face, they were a really good idea and did good business. But when they worked the last one, they had trouble lining up talent and when they did get the talent, they split the deal up over a bunch of shows leading to the finals on PPV. Which weren’t the finals because we got a tie, and they concluded it on free TV. Overall the last World X-Cup was the definition of, “EPIC FAIL.”

    The good news is that right now they do have a nice relationship with New Japan. They already have Curry Man and have used Tiger Mask. They add in one to two more, depending on the size of teams and they are good to go, maybe Minoru and Wataru. Team TNA is easy to field, Machismo could anchor the team with Dutt since they team a lot, and I go with Sabin and Shelley to round them out, since the tournament usually features tag bouts and they would work out great. They still have good ties in Mexico, and there is a lot of Independent talent there too. Shocker has worked well with many of the guys already, LA PARK, Alex Kozlov and Santo would be excellent. And just for this, I would have D’Amore back on screen to reform Team Canada for the Tournament. Petey, Devine, Young and someone like Tyson Dux again.

    But they have to be serious about this. In 2004 this was a hell of a 2-hour PPV, and also did better buys than the average weekly show. If they are going to do this, I WISH that they would dedicate most of a PPV to it. They could have a Tag and Women’s Title defense as well on the show and truly put on something different. But I just don’t see that happening and feel that out of fear, they will stick to the status quo and put on a half assed effort. And I hate that because as I have said, they have all of the talent in the world, but instead of being different like they say they are, they end up being the WWE’s 4th bastard brand, it’s like they are the Go Bots of wrestling.



    ~The HOTTNESS of Rebecca Knox~


    I love this woman…

    Independent News


    Your News: ROH has pushed back their next PPV taping one day, to 3/16 in Philadelphia, PA (at 5PM). The change was because ROH is now running shows on 3/14 and 3/15 in Dover, New Jersey where parts of the Darren Aronofsky film, The Wrestler, will be shot.

    My Views: Many people are NOT happy with this change. Mainly there are people that are driving a long way for a Saturday show, and will be driving a long way back into Sunday. Now that they have moved the show, many people are looking to selling their tickets due to work on Monday. I think ROH greatly underestimated how upset some of their fans would be here. While having the opportunity to wok with the Darren Aronofsky film the Wrestler may benefit them financially in the short term, as you would image they are making some money off of this, changes like this can alienate the fan base, and that is something that no company can afford to do.

    Your News: The reason that ROH PPV was pulled from Canada is that the buyrates have been described as “non-existent.” One major cable provider reported that one of the PPV’s only did “three dozen buys” through out the country.

    My Views: Seriously, 36 buys? Who was 37?

    Man, try not to buy any ROH on the way to the parking lot.

    Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t an indication of the quality here, this comes down to lack of promotion. Word of mouth and the Internet only do so much, that’s a problem TNA has as well. You have to actually put something into the promotion of the product. You just can’t hope that people find you and like you. As mentioned TNA has this problem at times as well. They have done as low as numbers in the hundreds in Canada. The only people selling any PPV up there is WWE and UFC. Why? Because they are branded products with marketable names that promote the hell out of anything that they do. They make it all seem important and make you feel like an outsider if you happen to miss the show. While I am not in the boat that thinks ROH is about to fold, and while I do not think they are losing their asses I do think that the people that say the PPV venture is going well and or not losing money need to rethink that stance. The other thing that is an issue is that after asking around, the price of the PPV in Canada is $25. I have paid either $15 or $10, depending for the shows, and I feel that at those prices they are more than worth it. But if people aren’t willing to spend $30 for TNA PPV’s with NAMES they have known for years, then they aren’t going to buy an ROH PPV. And I know I am going to get the “TNA SUCKS, ROH RULEZ” comments, but if the average person see a poster with Morishima and the Briscoes on a show for $15-30 and then see beside it a poster with Kurt Angle, Sting and Booker T on a show for $30 they are more likely to buy the show with the established names that they know. That’s just a fact.

    I hate to do this, because I have loved the shows thus far, but there is only one way to sum up this news:

    NO BUYS!

    Your News: Now that he is finished with TNA, Raven is looking to open up a wrestling school with Johnny Swinger.

    My Views: This actually comes as no surprise to me. If you have been a reader of mine for a while you will know my love of the “Secrets of the Ring” series that Raven shot for ROH. In this series Raven walks you though the essentials of being a face, heel, how to sell, how to engage the crowd, how to structure matches and many other things any wrestler should know. They are a collection any wrestler, aspiring wrestler or fan that wants to really know about the business should own. Raven has a real mind for the business and it shines through this series. So the fact that he wants to open a wrestling school is no surprise to me. I really think he is a guy that has a lot to offer. He isn’t some guy that trained for a year and wants to open up a school. This is a guy that worked the territories, was huge in ECW, booked in ECW, had a good run in WCW, was in WWE in many capacities and worked TNA. I feel that this would be a great school. Also over the years he has been very complimentary of Swinger, who at one time helped with the students in OVW. They are good friends and would work well together. I wish him and Swinger all of the luck in the world.

    Your News: Chris Mordetsky’s (Masters) 90-day WWE no compete clause has expired, meaning he is now free to work anywhere. Interestingly enough American Gladiators are currently in talks with Mordetsky, Matt Morgan and women’s MMA fighter Erin Toughill about potentially joining the show as gladiators.

    My Views: And the Mordetsky to TNA rumors begin…NOW! I hope for him that he decides to take the Tomko route and works a lot in Japan. It has one a world of good for Tomko and Albert, and could do a lot for him. The American Gladiators deal is also interesting. They are already set for a second season and there are rumors that they will do some kind of touring, so they would have to expand the Gladiators roster. Mordetsky definitely has the look for it, and may easily land the role. As for Morgan, this may be good for him and TNA is TNA can get some mentions on air that he is a TNA wrestler. Gina Carano has done media appearances and has got to drop the Elite XC name, and if Morgan could do the same, that could be nice for TNA. Morgan is a physical freak and I would think that they would want a guy of his size. Erin Toughill is a 30-year old boxing and MMA practitioner, and is 7-2-1 in MMA, while going 8-2-2 in boxing. She’s a looker like Carano, and with her athletic background and good looks, is a perfect fit for the show.

    Your News: After his recent troubles, Scott Hall has checked into rehab. He is actually in the same facility as Jake Roberts is in. Ron Simmons is also in the same facility, which is why he has seemingly disappeared from WWE TV.

    My Views: Well I think that this is good news for Hall. He has realized that he has a problem and is looking for help, which is a good thing. I believe that he has taken WWE up on their rehab deal. Roberts did take WWE up on their deal and is 9-weeks into his 14-week stint, and is reportedly doing well. Ron Simmons also took WWE up on the offer, which I feel is good. I think we can all agree that we wish these men well in their recoveries.

    Your News: Larry Zbyszko has been named the new AWA World Champion. Masato Tanaka was the champion, but when the AWA and Zero-One Max had business disputes, he was stripped of the title. The angle is that Zbyszko’s manager, Mister Saint Laurent protested that Zbyszko never lost the title in 1991, and therefore was entitled to be renamed the champion.

    My Views: So let me get this straight, it is 2008 and Larry Zbyszko is the AWA Champion.

    And he is also the reigning and “defending” NWA Western States Heritage Champion. How crazy is that? Granted it isn’t like the AWA means anything these days, but the fact that Larry Zbyszko is the AWA Champion again just blows my mind. I guess he needs the cash to pay for that hair restoration surgery.


  • For more interesting information on wrestling and reviews, check out Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly Online as well as Mike Campbell over at SPLASH MOUNTAIN!

    And I’m out of here!




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