wrestling / Columns
The Wrasslin’ Countdown 12.05.10: The Debut Edition
Welcome guys and gals to the first ever edition of The Wrasslin’ Countdown. If you recognize my name, it’s because I used to be the live Impact recapper for this website. I had a ton of fun doing that and I’d love to do it again but my schedule doesn’t really allow it. So, I decided to do a news report. I’ve heard that these are fun to write and I think I have a format that’ll bring said fun. I’ve also been raring to get back into professional wrestling like I was when I would review Impact and this column will help me do that. This isn’t an outlet for me to act super smarky or like I’m better than you because I write a column on the internet so you shouldn’t expect any of that. I just felt like writing again so here I am. Enough about me, no one came in here to read about that. You’re here for news of the week so let’s get it going.
November 28 – Technically, not that wrestling related but this is the day I got this gig. I didn’t really have a wrestling thought here and there wasn’t a show.
November 29 – I went into the finals of the King of the Ring expecting very little because the John Morrison/Sheamus combination never really interested me. What occurred was a very good wrestling match, perhaps the best of Sheamus’ WWE career. I hope they didn’t give the former WWE Champion the crown only to have Triple H come along and kill this momentum. Save that for Wrestlemania. What happened to that reported de-push?
November 30 – It was on this date that we learned everybody’s favorite announcer was going to be a Pro for Season Four of WWE NXT. I was excited! I love Michael Cole and am a certified Cole Miner. Sadly, NXT ended with Kaitlyn winning and a Pro lineup of Ted Dibiase, Chris Masters, Alberto Del Rio, Daniel Bryan and R-Truth. Lame.
December 1 – So in an interview with GeekWeek.com, Mick Foley said he’d be done with TNA when his contract expired. To me, this benefits both parties. TNA losing another older wrestler that isn’t Hulk Hogan is great and the Mickster can do other things with his life. The TNA run, like most of Foley’s career, has been pretty boring to me but I’m sure there are people with different opinions. Both TNA and Foley will be okay without one another.
December 2 – How far had Montel Vontavious Porter fallen? I remember when I dug the hell out of him and he was on the cusp of the main event. He went through that losing streak and then the face turn and came out bland. Good for him though. He wanted to work overseas and the WWE granted his wish. That is how you work, Matt Hardy. Not once did MVP make a big fuss over Vince McMahon and company mis-using him. I wish him nothing but success in his future. If I had to bet money on his new name, I’d put it on VIP.
December 3 – How about that Kofi Kingston-Jack Swagger match from Friday Night Smackdown? Out of everybody I know that likes wrestling, I am the lowest on Kofi Kingston. I’ve never been emotionally invested into anything he’s done but this match was good. I do not look forward to Kingston’s feud with Dolph Ziggler. I feel like I’ve seen those guys wrestle a million times before. Hopefully the title shot Kofi won leads to just a few matches.
December 4 – The big news on Twitter was the one year anniversary of Umaga’s death. It is hard to believe that he passed away a year ago due to his personal demons but it’s true. The best wrestling match I ever witnessed live was that John Cena-Umaga Last Man Standing Match at the 2007 Royal Rumble. That was some great stuff from two guys who at the time hadn’t really produced the great stuff. He eventually went on to lose to guys like Jeff Hardy and CM Punk but he was a solid wrestler to have.
• Randy Orton had an MRI done on his neck this week to determine why it’s been giving him problems. As reported earlier it’s the reason he wasn’t on Raw and was pulled from on house shows. (PWInsider)
I was pretty upset with how the John Cena storyline turned out but this news kind of softened that blow. If Randy Orton is questionable, the WWE is right to do what they’re doing with Cena. If I remember correctly, Orton has been dealing with neck issues since August. Add in the fact that he has been injury prone over the span of his career and you’ve got a legitimate problem. It’s especially bad considering how little Raw has in terms of main event babyfaces. John Cena’s “firing” prevents him from doing anything besides dealing with the Nexus so he’s not a huge factor. You still have the Miz, Sheamus and eventually Ezekiel Jackson all without main event faces to feud against. None of these guys are that established so having a guy like John Morrison step up and feud won’t give the rivalries any major importance in the eyes of the WWE Universe. Hopefully Orton will be okay to go and the WWE will be ready for the Road to Wrestlemania.
• The flyer for this year’s Tribute To The Troops says that the taping will take place December 11th, and it’s free and open to the public. The flyer advertises the previously reported celebrities as well as an appearance by Shawn Michaels. (PWInsider)
AWESOME. If you’re going to be there of course. Shawn Michaels went on Twitter and said he would only be there to visit and pay respects to the troops. So, it’s still is pretty awesome. I’m glad Shawn Michaels is still being used by the WWE in special cases like this because it leaves the window open for possible one-night returns…and what’s wrong with that? I don’t really care whether or not he wrestles but having him around and being Shawn Michaels is pretty sweet. Plus, we’re from the same place! How can I not dig him?
• Just before WWE’s Hell In A Cell pay-per-view event, WWE’s creative team were reportedly told to develop a new idea for a ‘gimmicked’ cage match. Company officials feel the Hell in a Cell match has run its course and a new type of cage match is needed to draw increased revenue for future pay-per-view events. (The Wrestling Observer)
I’m not the most creative person on the internet so I’m here wondering what else can they add? I think this could end up with us getting another Elimination Chamber but we’re more likely to get an electric steel cage or something extremely stupid. The Hell in a Cell isn’t the reason for declining buy-rates and I find it hard to believe an intelligent person would place the blame on it. We’ve got more options, higher pay-per-view prices and content some would argue is down at the moment. All of these things have more to do with lower buy-rates than the Cell.
• Hulk Hogan posted the following on his Twitter, stating that he is considering a return to reality TV. “It would be me, Jennifer and what’s really going on with my new life and my relationship with my kids. The shoot version.”
This might test your definition of news but it sure is news to Hulkamaniacs like myself. There was no way I was going to go the whole column without mentioning the greatest wrestler of all the times. Hulk Hogan coming back to reality TV would be good news. It was exciting to peek behind the scenes of Hogan’s late WWE run. I also enjoyed seeing him and Knobbs do everyday things. I don’t think this would be a ratings beast but it would have it’s audience and a second-tier television channel would be better with this show than without.
• “You’ll be seeing some names coming over here. It’s a much more at ease crew at TNA. I’m so much happier here. We get to showcase what we were prevented up north.” Tara on TNA (Fanhouse)
Are we seriously doing this again? Didn’t TNA learn that adding more talent is not necessary to expand their fanbase? I remember in January when I covered TNA for this website how cool it was to see Scott Hall, Ric Flair and all of the seemingly random debuts but how many guys are still with the company? How many guys have had to leave because of “hot acquisitions?” I really hope that Tara is speaking her own mind and this isn’t the official stance of the company. Is it okay every now and then to go out and get a Matt Hardy? Yes, but in no way should it be happening at a quick rate. Come on, Tara.
• The December 2nd episode pf TNA Impact scored a 1.0 rating with 1,386,000 viewers. Reaction did a 0.62 rating with 780,000 viewers. (PWInsider)
Much was made about TNA’s .85 rating on Thanksgiving but that was silly. In the past it was believed that TNA had this hardcore fanbase that would tune in no matter what but that’s pretty insane. I think the bounce-back shows that Impact’s Thanksgiving performance had no meaning on the state of the franchise. They changed a lot of things this year but they are still maintaining their 1.0-1.2 ratings. You could argue that they wanted more when they brought in Hogan but at least they haven’t taken any steps back. A 1.0 rating up against Prince James’ return to Cleveland and a semi-important football game? TNA should be okay with that.
• Get ready for tonight’s big TNA pay-per-view with 411’s Roundtable PPV Review.
• See what went right and wrong with Raw and NXT in this week’s version of the 4R’s.
• And finally, Obi Justice (what a name!) takes a look at how we got to Final Resolution’s main event with The Grand Stage.
@411Wrestling
@411Movies/TV
@411Music
@411Games
@411MMA
@411Boxing
I’m not the greatest tweeter on Earth but you can find me @steamedhams
1. Jerry “The King” Lawler – I know he’s a WWE Hall of Famer and he’s wrestled longer than I’ve been alive but I was blown away by his performance. Lawler got me to want him to win and while I question the decision of having a non-wrestler appear better than the WWE Champion, I had fun.
2. Kaitlyn – The Winner of the third season of NXT. I didn’t really pay too much attention to the series this season because no one really interested me. I saw the first episode on Sci-Fi and it was apparent to me that Naomi was the best of the bunch. Maybe that changed between episode one and the final show but it doesn’t really matter since Naomi will probably be a Diva sometime soon. At least AJ didn’t win. Her internet fanbase is really annoying.
9001. The Miz – Really?! REALLY?! The World Champion of the flagship show needs a kayfabe rookie that lost a contest to a guy who can’t even beat Chavo Guerrero and an announcer to beat a 61 year old non-wrestler? It was good television but it makes the Miz look really bad. I’m rooting for the guy but this isn’t the way I’d go if I were trying to get Miz over as a legitimate champion.
If the popular ESPN program “Pardon the Interruption” taught us anything, it’s that there’s always time to get happy. This segment is dedicated to birthdays, anniversaries, departures and the like.
Happy 70th Birthday, Adrian Street! – The professional wrestling circuit is one filled with crazy characters but I don’t think any of them can top the “Exotic” Adrian Street. Back when I wrote Wrestling Deja Vu, I dedicated a column to him that I really enjoyed. Do yourself a favor and check out the column for more information. At least Google the guy.
Happy Anniversary “The Trial of Eric Bischoff!” – In 2005, Vince McMahon had a problem with the way Eric Bischoff ran Raw and decided it was time to step back and figure out the future of Raw’s General Manager. What occurred was a series of segments that resulted in Eric Bischoff getting Attitude Adjusted (or FU’d if the name change bothers you that much) by John Cena and placed into a garbage truck.
Colt Cabana had been a staple of the independent scene for years before he was signed by the WWE in 2007. His run there didn’t really pan out as many people hoped but he still got to television as Scotty Goldman. He’s back in the independents now and has a kick-ass podcast that everybody should be listening to. He’s an able wrestler, great talker and extremely funny. All of these things make that podcast extra-fun. His Twitter page is also an entertaining read if you have the time to go through that and you can probably see him wrestling if you live up north.
Well, there you have it. The first edition of The Wrasslin’ Countdown is in the books. It may have been a little WWE-heavy but that’s how it’ll go for the first few times. I’m not really too tuned into the other organizations but one of the reasons I took on this column was to get into that stuff. So expect more from TNA, Ring of Honor and the other promotions that entertain around the world as time goes by. You can reach me by e-mailing me HERE or by commenting this article. Suggestions and comments are more than welcomed. I’ll probably read all of it before I start the next edition of TWC. Have a good one until then!
Oh, and don’t forget to be here tonight for some live TNA Final Resolution coverage! I’ll pay attention for this column and I hope to see more of this!
