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The Wrasslin’ Countdown 12.15.10: Now On Wednesday!
You’ll have to pardon me if you notice a little irritability in this column. It’s been a rough week of sports for me. First the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys and then the Philadelphia Phillies and Cliff Lee work out an agreement. An agreement that makes me think he was just using my Texas Rangers to get more money from the Yankees.
Lame.
Besides that, it’s been a pretty good week for yours truly. I can’t say the same for the world of professional wrestling. It’s been quiet and that streak of fantastic wrestling shows has come to a screeching halt. It’s not that the program has been awful or anything, just uninspiring. It’s usually quiet around this time but I’ve got enough content to fill out this column for you guys.
December 08 – THE MIZ hosting TMZ? Sounds like good news for the WWE if you’re of the mind that any exposure is good exposure. Not that hosting TMZ is bad exposure. Of course, there are some people that think Miz is nothing but a rich man’s version of David Arquette and this is just pandering to Hollywood. Well, at least the comment section of the Miz to TMZ news-bit exemplifies that. I think this is good for the WWE but not because the Miz is such a big draw. Maybe some kid watches the show and thinks the Miz is awesome or something. Boom. Plus one to the viewer total.
December 09 – How about that Scott Stanford fellow on Superstars? I really dig the chemistry he has with CM Punk and Stanford probably brings out the best in him. The first time I heard Stanford it was the Superstars after Old School Raw and I thought it was Michael Cole making fun of Jim Ross. I wouldn’t mind more Scott Stanford.
December 10 – I didn’t know how to react to that Eagle-Hornswoggle bout. Part of me was cringing while the other was semi-laughing. One thing is for certain, Cole really shines when he’s doing matches like this. He was hilarious on commentary. Like Punk and Stanford, I think Cole excels when he’s with Josh Matthews.
December 11 – On Thursday, my Twitter timeline was bombarded with people talking about the “big” Tara-Mickie James cage match on Impact. I watched Superstars so I would get into the wrestling mood but completely forgot about TNA. I watched the cage match on this day. The atmosphere was really fun but the match just didn’t do it for me. Though, I guess you could say the same of any female wrestling match for me. It was certainly good but not worth the hype.
December 12 – I’m wondering how successful Taz’s “finishing school” for independent wrestlers is going to be. I can’t imagine a ton of people are interested in going to a school to get told what to change to get a try-out with the E. Taz has kind of torn the WWE in various interviews, I wonder if that affects the school as well. This thing could be really successful if TNA gets involved and works with the school, which is something I could definitely see happening.
December 13 – I know it’s a kayfabe award show and none of the voting matters but how did Kane not win Superstar of the Year? The guy beat the Undertaker three different times. Who does that? And didn’t he “kill” Taker off? It seems like they’re wasting that with Kane’s feud with Edge.
December 14 – Read today that the WWE is mentioning Brock Lesnar’s name a ton because Vince McMahon thinks he’ll do something with the ‘E for Wrestlemania. If this is the case, I hope Big Show’s mentioning of Hulk Hogan leads to something. Get out of TNA, Hulk!
• Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness was released Tuesday, December 14.
Judging by his Twitter page and the stuff he’s done over the course of his career, Goldust seems like a swell guy. I can’t believe the WWE made no mention of his book last night. Combine that with the fact that Goldust is currently out for an extended period of time and you may have a recipe for low book sales. I’ll probably purchase the book as soon as I turn in this column so I’ll update you guys with my experience on the book eventually. Seriously though, how bad was the timing of Goldy’s injury? Hopefully they keep him on television or something.
• “It was gr8 seeing the WWE gang @ Tribute show. Got some business done too. Seems there may be a future w/the WWE & yours truly:-)” (Shawn Michaels’ Twitter)
Another week, more news from everyone’s favorite retired superstar (except mine, I love me some Hulk Hogan). It’s unsure what this means, if anything, but like I said last week, any HBK is good HBK. Well, unless you’re Gregory Helms. Shawn Michaels has said time and time again that he was done with wrestling. Even this Monday he said he didn’t miss the wrestling.
Of course, Vince McMahon is a very persuasive person. He has convinced exiled superstars to come back and wrestle in a role they aren’t used to. Money talks, especially in the world of wrestling where the big check isn’t always guaranteed. Check out Christian and Gail Kim for example. Mr. McMahon is reportedly desperate to get a big name to appear at Wrestlemania. No one is going to say that Shawn Michaels is on the same level as Brock Lesnar but he’s a legend and legends have been proven to be worth their weight.
Sadly, I’d bet that this isn’t wrestling related. It’s probably something to do with special merchandise or maybe a guest star role.
• Everyone loved having David Arquette at Raw. Arquette is a real fan, and was completely aware of all the storylines and characters. He spent a lot of time talking everyone in the locker room. (PWInsider)
Some people probably moaned when David Arquette was introduced. Especially considering they called him a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Now, I was a huge WCW fan and actually stopped watching wrestling when it was bought by the WWE but I actually enjoyed seeing Arquette. I guess his presence is kind of like the movie Ready to Rumble. Some people dig it (I fall under that category) and others detest. The only problem I had was with his voice. What was with that? I thought he was just in character and being the heel but as the show went on, it felt like he legitimately had something wrong with his voice.
He isn’t the world’s biggest star but the WWE keeping ties with guys like Arquette can be nothing but positive (unless it leads to a world title run). It might make more celebrities less ashamed to admit to being a fan of professional wrestling.
• Monday’s 3-hour Raw scored a 3.1 rating. (PWInsider)
Well color me shocked. I truly expected Raw’s rating to dip coming off of last week’s 3.1 rating. Instead Raw fared well going up against two semi-high-profile games. I wonder if this has to do more with the lack of excitement in the football games or the Slammy’s. The Ravens went up big on the Texans early and BRETTFAVREBRETTFAVREBRETTFAVRE broke his 297 game streak. The Texans would go on to make the game exciting (Andre Johnson saved me in fantasy football) but that was well after Monday Night Raw ended.
So I’m guess this means we get the Slammy’s again next year. At least we’re done with 3-hour Raws for a while. That was fun for a while, but the second one kind of dragged. It was good television but slow. The Slammy Awards were easily the least of the three 3-hour Raws.
• Hulk Hogan got married to fiancee Jennifer McDaniel. (TMZ)
Not only are they getting married, but they’re getting married under the sun setting! Good for the Hulkster. The SHEETS said Hogan was off of TV to coincide with Dixie Carter’s legal attack on IMMORTAL so he has ample time for family gatherings. I am hoping this turns out awesome for Hogan. I wanted a reality show last week for him but I hope he waits for a while before pursuing that. The last thing he needs is a replay of the Linda Hogan situation. I think this raises Hogan’s morale and that is good news for TNA. I admit that I have a hard time watching without Hogan but the blueprint for success is kind of there. They just need someone to cut down on the BS. I don’t think a happy Hogan does that but it can’t hurt.
• “JustGotThaWorldTitleBackFromSouthwestAirlines…” (Jeff Hardy’s Twitter)
I can’t believe this is anything that was dangerous to TNA’s future. First of all, TNA probably has a duplicate of the title somewhere. I mean, it’s just common sense, right? This is nothing but a fun little story but I am wondering how Southwest Airlines found the title. Did Jeff try to wear it on the plane? Did he try to carry it on? Why isn’t TNA holding the belt? Jeff Hardy has shown in the past to be extremely unreliable. Again, nothing but a fun little story but the news is pretty slim this week. If Shawn Michaels didn’t make that cryptic tweet, you’d be reading me talking about Eric Young…and that news broke four days ago!
Also, why is Jeff Hardy still neglecting his space bar? Idon’tgetwhattheappealiswhenyoutypelikethis. I thought he did it because Twitter only allows so many characters but he does it for nearly every post he makes.
• Len Archibald continues his glimpse into the future with Hitting the Mark.
• Move over, Santa Claus. Aaron Hubbard has his own list and it holds the ten most underachieving wrestlers of the year 2010 in The Contentious Ten .
• David Penzer is auctioning off various items from his personal wrestling collection. Apparently ten percent of the funds are going to cancer research for an 8 year old family friend. The auction link is right here → http://myworld.ebay.com/flawrestlestuff
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1. John Cena – So it was a pretty weak week of wrestling. I can’t recall one thing that stood out but Cena kayfabe got his job back and won Superstar of the Year. I stated above that I wasn’t so sure about Cena getting the award over Kane but Cena is the face of the franchise so whatever. Besides, it’s just the Slammy’s.
2. The WWE Creative Team – For putting Jack Swagger into the Intercontinental Title picture. Nobody needs another Kingston-Ziggler feud and Swagger is an above average wrestler. A triple-threat between these guys would have potential for excitement.
3. Take Your Pick – Like I said, really poor week of wrestling. You could go with Christopher Daniels for winning the Ring of Honor TV title or you could go with Mickie and Tara for main eventing Impact (is that an accomplishment?). Michelle McCool could go here, as could any of the other Slammy winners (especially Michael Cole).
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 31st Birthday, Eric Young! – I know some people think Showtime Eric Young is good at what he does but I’ve never seen it. I like some of the comedy vignettes he does but it isn’t on par with a guy like Santino. He’s capable in the ring and a nice low mid-carder but I wouldn’t pay to see him. He must be doing something right because he’s been with TNA for six years. He had some contract problems with them this year but he looks like he’ll be with Dixie Carter and company for years to come. DON’T FIRE ERIC.
Happy Anniversary, Armageddon 2002! – I can’t say I really remember anything about this pay-per-view because I stopped watching wrestling after my beloved WCW went under. It looks stacked on paper. The review (found HERE) doesn’t exactly set the world on fire but nostalgia would probably help the PPV. Big Dave Batista actually made his PPV debut on this show against Kane, so that’s pretty cool.
I don’t think anyone expected anything would come out of the Major Brothers when they debuted in ECW. Curt Hawkins has pretty much been relegated to WWE Superstar duty but Zack Ryder has been the standout of the duo. He’s been involved in a multitude of entertaining segments on Raw and his Twitter page is even better. I think Twitter was invented so people like Zack Ryder could share their greatness with the rest of the world. I haven’t heard one person say a bad thing about Ryder and he sounds like a legitimate hardcore wrestling fan. Colt Cabana said he had a bunch of WWE junk on his weekly podcast and Ryder is always posting about action figures on his Twitter. I hope we see more of the Guy from the LI in the future because he’s awesome.
Well that’s that. I got mostly positive feedback from the first installment of this column so that was welcomed. It’s a work in progress and I believe it’ll get better each week so if you’ve got any comments or suggestions just shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment. I’ll be back next Wednesday and every Wednesday after that with this thing so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the read.
