wrestling / Columns

The Happy-Go-Sucky Wrestling Report: 04.15.09

April 15, 2009 | Posted by Steve Sullivan

Barring any drafting in the 411mania supplemental draft, Wednesday’s seem to be safe with The Happy-Go-Sucky Wrestling Report.

So let me ask you all this, Monday Night Raw is coming live to Louisville next month. The last time I saw Monday Night Raw in person, it was Stone Cold Steve Austin’s last appearance as an active member of the WWE roster, when he was still pulling the “Sheriff Steve” gimmick. Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels were a tag team and a newly drafted Shelton Benjamin defeated Triple H in a big upset. That was March 29, 2004, so over 5 years ago.

So why aren’t I excited about Raw coming back to Kentucky? In fact, the last time I saw Monday Night Raw in Kentucky, Hawk jumped off the Titantron in a suicide attempt and Stone Cold challenged the Rock for the WWE Title. Yeah that was like, 1999 or something like that.

It almost bothers me that I wouldn’t be all excited about Raw coming so close to me. In fact, I haven’t even bought tickets for it yet and I don’t even know if I will! It almost makes me sad that Raw has become that dull to me. And this year’s draft didn’t really help matters with me much. With that being said, let’s talk about the draft. Cue Banner!

News: The WWE Draft took place on Monday.

So is it just me or does it seem like the same 10 guys get drafted every year? Anyway, a few of these moves I predicted but overall, the WWE went with what would be a more predictable draft. I guess I was giving them too much credit for actually WANTING to spice things up on both shows.

Regardless, a few of these moves will get the WWE through Summerslam.

MVP: Drafted from Smackdown to Raw Here’s a question for ya. When was the last time the WWE United States Championship was defended on Monday Night Raw? I might be thinking too hard on it but it seems to me that it’s been a LONG time. For MVP, this could be the beginning of his rise to the top. I say that in hopes that the WWE might book him in matches that will help get him over. Here’s the problem though. Who will MVP get involved in a program with? Looking at the new Raw midcard, the likely United States title picture looks like Matt Hardy, The Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Mike Knox, and William Regal. I loved MVP vs. Matt Hardy a couple years ago and would love to see it again. MVP vs. Kofi Kingston would also be an interesting program but as for the rest, bleh.

Draft Status: Happy

The Big Show: Drafted from Smackdown to Raw As the Big show switches brands for the 176th time, it’s hard to say what his status will be. With Triple H, Orton, Batista, John Cena and Shawn Michaels all on Raw, The Big Show’s chances at the main event are at slim odds. As I mentioned above, The Big Show will likely find himself putting over the midcard guys like MVP and Kofi Kingston. Whereas had he been able to stick around on Smackdown, he might have had the chance to be the #1 or #2 heel in the World Title hunt.

Draft Status: Go Sucky

Melina: Drafted from Raw to Smackdown I had a feeling that the women would be moved around, but had no idea they’d switch the champions out. I figured Maryse was on her way to Raw but I figured that she would have at least dropped the title prior to being drafted. I like Melina and I think she’ll do well no matter where she’s wrestling, but did she really have to take the prestigious Women’s Title to Smackdown while Maryse brings that ugly ass Diva’s title to Raw? Anyway, Melina wrestling the likes of Natalya and Michelle McCool should be fairly interesting at least and gives Smackdown a new face in their division.

Draft Status: Happy

Matt Hardy Drafted From Smackdown to Raw A lot of people feel that Matt Hardy getting drafted to Raw is a bad thing for Matt. I don’t exactly see it that way though. Matt Hardy, who is now officially a crowd hated heel, is on a show that is DOMINATED with faces. Outside of Randy Orton, Raw does not have a heel world title contender. So getting Matt Hardy in a feud with guys like John Cena or Shawn Michaels would be a really big boost to Matt Hardy in the long run. Sure he probably won’t hold gold other than the US title in 2009, but if guys like Cena and Michaels puts him over, he’ll have a chance at being a world title contendor again in 2010. Still though, it would have been nice to see him get involved in a match with Chris Jericho or Christian, but overall, this is a good thing for Matt, despite what others believe.

Draft Status: Happy

HHH: Drafted from Smackdown to Raw I think we all knew this was coming but I, like the hopeful wrestling fan that I am remained in denial. Let’s face it, he had to wrestle SOMEWHERE. He went to Smackdown and beat everyone and that got Smackdown nothing in return. He’s pretty much beat everyone on Raw at some point. He’s going to be somewhere, so he may as well be on Raw. I’m pretty sure no matter where he ended up, we were all going to be disappointed. Although it would have been interesting to see him in ECW.

Draft Status: Go Sucky

CM Punk: Drafted from Raw to Smackdown I called this one and this is probably the BEST draft of the night. Say what you will about C.M. Punk, but as the holder of the Money In The Bank briefcase, he is the future of Smackdown. After the Last Man Standing Match between Cena and Edge, Punk will cash that bad boy in on Edge…again, and start the feud that probably should have been pulled off last year. Punk will become the main face on a face weak Smackdown, which will be good for him…and the kids. Which is what the WWE wants right?

Draft Status: Happy

The Miz: Drafted from ECW to Raw- We all had a feeling that Miz and Morrison were on their way to “breaking up” but I really didn’t expect Miz to be moved to Raw. I thought the WWE might actually push John Morrison into a midcard battle with MVP and let Miz suffer on ECW. Maybe he’ll at least become the newest Raw jobber. And I can only hope this doesn’t mean that he’ll go back to yelling out “Hoo-RAH!”

Draft Status: Go Sucky

Kane: Drafted from Raw to Smackdown- I don’t even know what to say about Kane anymore. It’s hard to believe he’ll ever get pushed again since Kane can’t be Kane anymore. The Kane I used to enjoy watching did all the sick, sadistic stuff that the PG rated Kane can’t do anymore. And I think that’s what kept Kane over after all these years. Still, he’s on the same show as The Undertaker again, and it has been a few years since they wrestled, so maybe they’ll duke it out…again. Chance are, he’ll probably keep putting Rey Mysterio over and chase after the IC title for awhile, which is a shame. I really had my hopes up that he might pull of Money in the Bank.

Draft Status: Go Sucky

Chris Jericho: Drafted from Raw to Smackdown This is another one I knew was coming. It became obvious that Raw’s creative team was out of ideas for the 2008 Superstar of the Year after booking him in that horrid Legends match (even if we did get a good thrill out of Ricky Steamboat!). Jericho now has a fresh start against the like of The Undertaker, Jeff Hardy, C.M. Punk, and Edge, which to me, makes Smackdown possibly easier to write than Raw.

Draft Status: Happy

Vladimir Kozlov: Drafted from Smackdown to ECW I thought they might move him to Raw but moving him to ECW actually makes more sense. Kozlov’s domination of Smackdown ended the minute he got pinned by HBK on Raw. The WWE now has to re-invent the Moscow Mauler in order to keep him relevant. So chances are, he’ll be eating a lot of squash over the next few weeks. Which is good for ECW, who is lacking a powerful heel outside of Mark Henry.

Draft Status: Happy

Maryse: Drafted from Smackdown to Raw She’s too hot to not be seen on the flagship show! Maryse has really improved as a wrestler. I’m excited to see her up against the likes of Micki James and Beth Phoenix on Raw. I just wish she would have left that ugly ass title back on Smackdown!

Draft Status: Happy

Rey Mysterio: Drafted from to Smackdown Similar to Kane and Chris Jericho, it seems like Raw creative just has no idea what to do with Mysterio. On Smackdown though, things will really open up for him. Once his IC title reign is over, I’d love to see a program involving him and either Jeff Hardy, Edge, or Chris Jericho.

Draft Status: Happy

Overall, the draft is vaguely satisfying. But I think there are a few MAJOR draft picks (Big Show, Kane, & The Miz) that really made the overall picture seem grim.

News: The WWE Supplemental Draft will take place today.

With all that being said, the supplemental draft will take place sometime today and more talents will likely see the end of their careers come about in the next year. My top 10 to get drafted are as follows:

William Regal From Raw to ECW Regal’s time in the WWE is on borrowed time. He’s a veteran though, and wrestlers can learn a lot from him so putting him in a similar role over on ECW makes sense. He’ll get more TV time and maybe even an ECW title run at some point on ECW, whereas he will continue to rot away on either Raw or Smackdown.

Jesse & Festus to ECWNow that the tag team titles are unified, the titles will need a home to be defended on and that will likely become ECW. Moving all the tag teams to ECW makes sense to me.

Cryme Tyme From Raw To ECW- For the same exact reason above. Cryme Tyme is a fun tag team that, ironically, is kid friendly. I don’t know why they haven’t been chasing the titles more than they have.

Jimmy Wang Yang From Smackdown To Raw Jimmy hasn’t ever been on Raw if I recall correctly. He’s going nowhere fast and now that there is no Cruiserweight title, Jimmy Wang Yang may as well serve as a nice steaming plate of squash for the Raw guys.

Sim Snuka From Raw To Smackdown He was drafted over to Raw in last year’s supplemental draft and we’ve seen him maybe once or twice since after he teamed up with Orton’s Legacy for all of a couple of weeks. Move him over to Smackdown and let him get into a short program with Jericho to “avenge his father”. Who knows, it might get him over. I doubt it. But it might.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan From Raw To ECW Why not? If ECW is the garden of talent for the WWE to pluck from, why not spread some 100% pure Hacksaw Jim Duggan fertilizer on it? Besides, don’t tell me you wouldn’t mark out if Hacksaw won the ECW title…Tough Guy!

DH Smith From Smackdown to ECW DH Smith apparently has a new look, very similar to that of Tyson Kidd. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see them team up as a very popular duo on ECW similar to that when they were training in FCW and OVW. This could be the beginning of the next great WWE tag team.

Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder From Smackdown to Raw Since they apparently are still employed, they may as well get some use out of them. I’m sure there will be SOME tag team wrestling on Raw every now and then, so they’ll need some jobbers.

Chavo Guerrero From Smackdown to Raw Times are tough and the WWE can’t afford to hire someone to permanently push Vicki Guerrero around in a wheel chair.

Jillian From Raw to Smackdown I just realized that I hadn’t moved any divas yet so I figured I’d move the one you would care least about.

News: WWE Superstars debuts on WGN tomorrow night at 8pm EST.

Happy: I always love it when I get more wrestling on my TV. Especially when it’s on a channel that I can get for free!

What becomes interesting here is the minor feud in the ratings we will see between the WWE and TNA. Will the WWE take viewers away from TNA? Will casual wrestling fans watch 3 HOURS OF WRESTLING during TV’s busiest night? I don’t see Superstars doing any better than what ECW does, probably a lot worse. But that’s still better than TNA. So I’m curious as to whether or not TNA will ever run a 3 hour event and see how they fare against the likes of the WWE.

Other than that, I like the idea that the WWE has added an extra hour of television. There is so much deadweight on all the rosters and an extra hour of TV will hopefully get more wrestlers on TV and get them better paydays.

Go Sucky: Superstars pretty much looks like it will be exactly what it was back in the day, squash matches with an occasional big time main event (This week’s main event is Matt Hardy vs. The Undertaker). With that being said, with all the wrestling that’s on, why do we need another? Is this the WWE’s way of trying to eliminate TNA?

Let’s say said theory is true. And let’s take in the question I asked a moment ago about whether or not people will tune in to watch 3 hours of wrestling. If the answer to that question is no, then one of two things could happen.

First, the WWE may hurt themselves. Wrestling fans who watch wrestling on Thursday are probably already dedicated to watching TNA Impact. If that’s the case, then this show will be doomed from the get go. Why would anyone watch a third rate WWE show for a bunch of squash matches? And you know that is what’s going to happen. Wrestling shows to Vince McMahon are what a goldfish is to a spoiled brat kid. They’re fun to look at for about 15 minutes, but after while, he grows tired of it and neglects it and it eventually dies. This is what I expect to happen within the next year.

Second, the WWE’s fanbase may be too strong for TNA to remain dominant on Thursday. It’s no secret that more people watch WWE. And with the WWE airing its other shows on 3 different networks, they have the advantage in promoting the show.

On top of that, fans will be able to watch WWE Superstars first. That was a brilliant idea by Vince and company to put them on the hour BEFORE Impact. So for the casual wrestling fan who just wants an occasional fix, Superstars may cure that fix before Impact ever gets the chance.

News: JBL has officially joined the Vyper Fight League in Louisville, KY as an announcer.

Happy: As expected, JBL is on his way to spend his time in the Bluegrass State, which couldn’t be cooler. The VFL will be held in the same venue as Ohio Valley Wrestling is and will likely benefit OVW in the long run. With JBL being the main sponsor of both shows, and now involved in the company too, things are looking up for OVW who just a couple of months ago, were on the verge of closing.

In case you’re not quite clear of JBL’s involvement with OVW, JBL’s company Layfield Energy put a bit of money into OVW to help keep them afloat. With that money, they also founded the Vyper Fight League, which of course will be an MMA league. The plan a few weeks ago stated that when JBL was done with his wrestling career, he would consider running things in OVW. It seems to me that JBL may eventually take over function of OVW so that Danny Davis can focus on this new venture. And with JBL being part of the show every time, there will be major draws.

Go Sucky: I can’t help but to feel that Danny Davis and company are making a big mistake with this VFL. To have come THIS close to shutting down, why would you take your eye of the ball and try to focus on a whole separate entity under the same roof. And now, you’re sticking some of that money into something that has nothing to do with training wrestling, which has been your bread and butter for the last decade or so.

I’m no businessman, and Danny Davis has proven me wrong before, so I’m hoping he’ll do the same here.

News: The WWE contacted Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes about being the new Smackdown GM, but they both turned it down.

Happy: I’m glad for a couple reasons here. First off, taking Ric out of his retirement and sticking him under another WWE contract would have taken away what Ric wanted in the first place….freedom. Flair was apparently offered $250,000 to take the role, which is a lot of money, but Flair could probably make a lot more than that taking all the independent bookings he’s been getting and having the ability to meet and greet some of the fans like he’s been doing for the last year. I think Ric Flair is truly happy the way things are now and a WWE contract would have ruined that. So bravo for turning it down Ric!

As for Dusty Rhodes, the dude is a bit old and out of shape to be doing all that traveling, which is why he took the role in FCW in the first place. As entertaining as Dusty would have been, I think we already saw him play that role over in TNA. We don’t need to see it again.

Go Sucky: I have a lot of admiration for both of these guys. They’re both entertaining on the mic and it would have been great to hear from them each and every week. Ric Flair in particular would have fit that GM role very well. But at the same time, I understand there may be temptations to work Flair into a script and that just doesn’t need to happen.

Still, having either of them, or maybe even another legend, like Ricky Steamboat, whom I believe has a new fanbase after Wrestlemania 25 would have been a lot better than getting someone like Tiffany involved as a GM on ECW. With Steamboat, we could have at least saw him wrestle every now and then.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda…

News: Last week, TNA sent out a text message saying it was in talks with a former World Champion from another organization.

Well surprise, surprise, surprise. TNA is ready to push another company’s star again. The rumor going around is Tazz, which would make sense since Tazz is out of his contract. But depending on the terms of Tazz’s contract, as is the usual, there is usually a no compete clause. If TNA is planning to have this world champion at Lockdown, then that might make it a bit tough.

But Tazz, a former ECW World Champion makes sense with Don West’s apparent heel turn. Let Don become a heel manager and put Tazz in the announce booth with Mike Tenay.

However, if that’s not the case, let’s come up with a couple of names that may (or may not) be headed to TNA.

The Sandman Last I heard, The Sandman was retiring from professional wrestling to take care of his girlfriend and child. But TNA’s easy travel schedule may change his mind. Who wouldn’t want to see him join up with Beer Money?

Justin Credible The former ECW World Champion last I heard was working at a Target or an Olive Garden or something. So why not?

Psycho Sid Vicious Justice Sid has been trying to break back into the mainstream wrestling business for a long time now. From what I hear, the guy still has it and has healed from that horrible leg injury well. Why not have him come in and finally get revenge against Scott Steiner after that fateful match? This is my favorite choice by the way.

The Ultimate WarriorIt’s been almost a year since he wrestled Orlando Jordan so his comeback is likely over before it began. But don’t think for one second that The Ultimate Warrior wouldn’t sign a “shoot on Vince and the WWE contract for one night” contract.

Ron Simmons With new and improved “Gosh Darn It!” t-shirt to follow!

Diamond Dallas Page Didn’t we already do this?

Bryan Danielson I’ve heard a few rumors that the American Dragon may be on the move. I’d love to see him go mainstream and would love even more to see him feud with Samoa Joe in TNA.

David Arquette Please. God. No.

Ok that last one made me sick, so I’m just going to stop there.

Vince Russo Ok that does it. Hit the Rapid Fire!

Rapid Fire!

News: Sci-Fi is moving ECW back to the 10pm hour starting May 5th.

Finally! Now I won’t have to hear any complaints when my DVR records ECW instead of freakin’ 90201.

News: The WWE Draft edition of Raw drew a 3.73 cable rating.

That’s a pretty strong number for a 3 hour edition. The highest hour was the second hour with a 4.0 while the lowest hour was, of course, the first hour with a 3.2

News: The 2010 Royal Rumble will be held in Atlanta.

And somewhere, Billionaire Ted is throwing darts at a photo of Eric Bischoff.

News: TNA will have a 1 hour pre-show special prior to Lockdown.

Featuring Eric Young and Danny Bonaduce in a 60 min Iron Match I’m sure…

News: Dixie Carter spoke to Victoria about coming to TNA while Victoria attended an MMA event in Nashville.

Victoria is pursuing a career inside the Octagon right now but I have to say, if she went to TNA, we might actually see the Victoria we SHOULD have seen for the last 5 years or so.

And that’s going to do it for me. Until next week my friends, may your lives be Happy…or Go Sucky!

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Steve Sullivan

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