The Happy-Go-Sucky Wrestling Report: 10.15.08

You know this whole 700 billion buyout thing is driving everyone crazy. But did you know that if they took that 700 billion dollars and split it evenly among every US adult 18 years and up that we’d all receive about $45,000? Do you know how many wrestling pay-per-views I could buy????

About 3!

Anyway, speaking of PPV’s, TNA’s Bound for Glory was from all accounts I’ve read fairly successful, and they continue to dominate the news headlines. With all this attention, why the heck aren’t they getting any better?

News: Sting wins the TNA World Title at Bound For Glory…again.

Happy: I can’t help as a lifelong wrestling fan to get excited when guys like Sting are still able to come out on top and grab World Titles. I didn’t buy Bound for Glory this year, but I have in the past and typically, it’s a pretty good showcase. From what I read, there were several MOTY candidates.

Sting coming out on top in the main event is a fresh start to a stale TNA World Title picture. Honestly, I had really hoped that Samoa Joe’s World Title reign would be the answer to the TNA’s ratings puzzle. And I still think that his next reign can be, but it has to be booked better. Samoa Joe’s character and the storylines he’s been involved in since becoming TNA World Title have been, to say the least confusing.

Taking the title off Samoa Joe is a great chance to let TNA re-create his character. Do they want him to be a face? Or do they want him to be a heel? Do they want him to be a badass? Or a tough guy? Whatever they decide on, they can’t let him rotate personalities every other week.

Sting on top and Kevin Nash’s turn on Samoa Joe also resets the Veterans vs. Rookies war. Joe can remain in the World Title hunt while guys like AJ Styles can also get involved. In fact, how long as it been since AJ Styles held a singles title in TNA? I know he had the tag title run with Tomko, but I guess his last single’s title run was as X Division Champion several years ago when TNA was still on Fox Sports Net. I’m thinking it’s about that time….

Go Sucky: I’m not going to ask why they would allow a 50 year old man beat and punk out their top talent. We all know that the answer is all Vinnie-Ru. But why is that every time that Bound for Glory comes around, Sting comes out on top with the gold? It was really cool 3 years ago. Sting vs. Jarrett and Sting won the title for the first time during his comeback year. But seemingly year after year, Sting wins the gold, loses it a month later, disappears for a few months, comes back, wrestles, leaves again, comes back and returns just in time for Bound for Glory. This sounds like someone else who wears all black and is undefeated at a certain major Pay-per-view. Anyone come to mind?

News: Karen Angle & Johnny Devine have been released from TNA.

I was getting really irritated with the family drama that TNA put Kurt and Karen through. Sure it was all fun and games but it was getting annoying. Sometimes I felt like I was watching Maury Povich or a high quality episode of Jerry Springer.

Regardless, Kurt and Karen seem to be headed toward a real life divorce, which if you’ve ever had the enjoyment of being in business or being a co-worker to an ex wife or girlfriend, you know that your work production goes down south. The stress that is involved with professional wrestling, mixed together with a nasty divorce with children involved is not healthy for anyone. One also has to wonder if this stress may have possibly lead to Kurt Angle saying some of the backhanded comments in the Sun.

What truly makes this story shady is the fact that TNA claims they let Karen go because of the animosity between the two. The two allowed TNA to basically ruin their marriage, yet when it came down to Karen’s release, they did not confront Kurt about it. Sure it’s a nasty divorce, but I doubt that Kurt wanted Karen to lose her job with the company.

As for Johnny Devine, Devine asked for his release. And I think that was probably a good move for him. It’s tough for some people to walk away, but Devine is leaving because he feel he’s not improving. That’s a good company move that allows plenty of space for a return to the company in the future if he asks.

And just when I was hoping for a Robbie McCallister vs. Johnny Devine Bound For Glory main event next year. Shucks!

News: WWE has released Lance Cade.

Ok I can honestly say I nor anyone else probably saw that one coming. I really thought the WWE had big plans for Cade here. He’d put in a LOT of time as a tag team wrestler and spent a lot of time in development. Cade seemed poised for a rise to the top under Chris Jericho and getting involved with Shawn Michaels. Heck, he even PINNED Shawn Michaels just a couple of weeks ago. What happened here? We’ll hopefully find out soon. Stay tuned to 411mania for all the details!

News: It was reported last week that Vince McMahon wants better acting from the wrestlers. On top of that, McMahon wants a more realistic style in the ring. Norman Smiley, who is now working as a trainer in FCW was told he was brought in because of his background in the more realistic Japanese style. WWE is not looking to work a UWFI style, but they don’t want blows and moves that look like they miss and are then sold. They want to tighten up the overall in ring product.

Happy: This is good on many levels. First off, pro wrestling has nearly become a joke due to the lack of concentration on some performers. How many times have you watched someone sell a punch that was never thrown? Things have seemingly been sloppy in the WWE late. I’m talking 1970’s sloppy. But even still, the early days of wrestling were FIGHTS. How many Jerry Lawler matches did you watch where guys flipped around on the top ropes in comparison to how many punches were thrown? Matches back in the day were almost brawls. Guys were knocked out due to a knockout punch and a body slam rather than some fancy, body contorting maneuver.

I guess the first sign of this new “Real Wrestling” initiative that Vince is taking was the Big Show vs. Taker at No Mercy. Big Show knocked him out via MMA punches. I’ve not been an avid viewer of Japenese style wrestling, but if it cleans up the sloppy moves I’ve seen lately, I’m all for it.

And I think as long as Beth Phoenix doesn’t try to body slam Johnny Knoxville anymore, we’ll be in good shape.

Go Sucky: I don’t think becoming more realistic is the best approach for the WWE. At first ,wrestling was a fake boxing rip off. Guys pretending to punch each other and knock each other out to a fixed decision. Now they want to rip off Mixed Martial Arts. Why can’t wrestling just be wrestling? Wrestling is different because of the fun moves that performers take. Sure they miss. Sometimes more than they should, but that’s due to the fact that they are either not working on a healthy body or because their development has been poor as of late. Maybe they should consider different training staff members, which they have with the Big Wiggle. But maybe more changes need to be made.

News: TNA is considering adding another title.

Happy: I read this in Larry’s column yesterday and this was the first I had heard of it. I know awhile back that TNA had been considering adding TNA X-Division Tag Team Titles but decided against it. Shortly after they shot that down, TNA’s X-Division began to become a second thought.

TNA’s roster continues to grow older and older with more and more veterans. It would seem that most of these veterans are being promised main event status and all of them receiving World Title shots. So by adding a new title, it gives the younger guys in TNA a chance to get over without being in the World Title or X Division picture. Or better yet, it would give the guys in the all but forgotten X Division a chance to showcase what they have on a “tweener” level between Heavyweights and X Division wrestlers.

Larry yesterday mentioned the return of the Television Title. That was a title I was and still am a huge fan of. I’m really shocked that the WWE never brought this title back from the dead from WCW or ECW. OVW still uses a TV Title and that title has always been a huge success for guys who aren’t quite ready for the main event to get the hang of being in the spotlight and understanding the pressures of being a champion.

On top of that, with a TV title, TNA actually is FORCED to add some consistency to their show. TV Champions have to defend their titles each week and there is rarely any exceptions. That gives whoever is champ a chance to WRESTLE each and every week and get over with the TNA fans as a familiar face and a fighting champion.

Go Sucky: TNA can barely keep up with ANY of their titles right now. The last time a title was being well represented on television, it was the TNA Knockouts Title. Even that title confuses me now. I often forget who’s the X Division Champion. The tag team titles are doing better but I doubt they’ll ever do as great as they did when TNA first came around. And of course the World Title picture has become nearly stale and predictable and full of has-beens and Samoa Joe.

So to add another title in the mix would just be ANOTHER title hunt that would get confusing or lost in the shuffle. And with another title hunt to worry about, another title division, likely the X Division would become more and more irrelevant.

News: The Boogeyman returned on Monday Night Raw.

Happy: The Boogeyman is one of my favorite characters. He has been and likely always will be. Even though the guy can’t wrestle, he’s entertaining as all heck. I could probably do without the worms but hey, it’s funny and unique, and I’ll take it.

Go Sucky: Boogey is getting up there in age, I believe he’s in his mid 40’s now. So what use is he going to be other than to give the kids a thrill? And aren’t kids supposed to be AFRAID of the Boogeyman, not grown adults wearing string thongs?

****DOUBLE SPOILER ALERT****

News: TNA is advertising that Mick Foley will “say goodbye” to TNA on Impact this week, claiming he was only signed for one PPV. This is obviously a storyline. It’s expected that Foley’s “goodbye” segment on Impact this week will lead to him facing Kurt Angle in the ring.

Happy: I like a good Mick Foley match every now and then. The key emphasis there is every now and then. I’m glad to see that potentially, key word there being potentially, that Foley feels good enough to get back in the ring and try something different. Foley vs. Angle will be interesting and may entice a couple of long time WWE fans who remembers the two from their WWE days to see them face off again in TNA.

Of all the guys that TNA has signed away from the WWE, Foley is the most entertaining and if a veteran is going to take up TV time from an up and comer, I’d rather it be him than Cute Kip.

Go Sucky: Foley is under a 6 month contract in TNA and that contract does not necessarily state he’ll wrestle. Of course I can’t really see Foley being any use to TNA unless he’s in the ring or in the broadcast booth, so I imagine we’ll see him wrestle at some point. But why Kurt Angle? Why do something that’s already been done? Let’s see Foley don the mask and put Mankind vs. Abyss. Or Foley vs. Samoa Joe or AJ Styles. Something we’ve never seen and will likely never see again. That’s called using your talents wisely.

Although with Vince Russo booking, we may very well be forced to watch Mr. Socko vs. Curry Man in a dance off. So maybe this whole Foley thing wasn’t a good idea after all.

News: Gerweck.net is reporting that the WWE is looking to have John Cena return to action at Survivor Series.

Happy: Raw’s main event is starting to get stale and now that guys like C.M. Punk are apparently being sent to tag team purgatory and Lance Cade isn’t even employed anymore, the main event is getting kind of bleh. HBK and Jericho have been feuding forever now. Batista hovers back and forth between #1 contender and midcarder. JBL shows up when he’s asked to. Kane and Rey Mysterio are involved in a dull mid card battle. So a fresh John Cena coming back to take on Chris Jericho, a man he had many fantastic feuds with and was the man who “retired” Chris Jericho a few years ago returns for his chance to be The Champ again. Did you know that it’s been over a year now since John Cena has been champ now? And did you know the world hasn’t exploded yet either!

Go Sucky: How on earth does this guy keep getting better so far ahead of his timeline. It doesn’t seem natural. Coming back early from injuries like this makes him a liability, but then again, I’m not a doctor, so who am I to judge. Regardless, I’d love to see Cena come back and be heel, but if he comes back and does the same ole stale face Cena we’ve all come to hate, then it’s just going to make an already stale WWE main event picture turn moldy.

****END DOUBLE SPOILER ALERT****

Rapid Fire

News: Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling debuts this Saturday at 8PM ET on CMT. The show is a reality show about celebrities being trained by Brutus Beefcake and Brian Knobbs. The celebs will then wrestle and be judged by Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Jimmy Hart.

…..And NEWWWWWWW CCW Heavyweight Champion…..BROOKE HOGAN!!!!!

News: The 3-disc WWE Starrcade DVD set is scheduled to be released on January 13th, 2009.

OK so it won’t be here in time for Christmas but if you need a holiday as an excuse to buy something, Happy Martin Luther King Day!

News: Dolph Ziggler (Nick Nemeth) has been suspended for 30 days due to Wellness.

Hi I’m Dolph Ziggler. Bye I was Dolph Ziggler.

News: November 3rd and December 8th’s Raws will be 3 hours long.

The 3 hour episodes usually involve a former wrestler coming back, usually Stone Cold Steve Austin. I wonder if one or both of these shows will be part of a lead up to Stone Cold’s possible Wrestlemania 25 match.

News: Smackdown scored a 2.1 rating on their 2nd My Network TV broadcast.

And I’m still bitter. Even if they are doing better.

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