wrestling / Columns

The Wrasslin’ Countdown 12.22.10: OH YEAH~! Edition

December 22, 2010 | Posted by Joseph F. Martinez

Welcome guys and gals to the last version of The Wrasslin’ Countdown before Christmas. Maybe you don’t celebrate Christmas and don’t really care. That’s cool. Just the other day Ricky Gervais posted a brilliant article on religion and why it’s silly to judge one by their beliefs so we won’t be doing that here. I’m just here to bring you all the wrestling news from the past couple of days. Unlike last week, I actually have some content to bring you. It seems Santa brought me WRESTLING NEWS for the holidays.

First, it’s time to recap the week in wrestling.

December 15 – Is there any value to pictures of Hulk Hogan’s wedding? Hogan’s star is still bright in the eyes of the Hulkamaniacs (well, at least with me), but I know a ton of people are down on the guy. Bill Simmons has something called the Tyson Zone and the Hulkster went in there a looong time ago. Nothing that would happen to him would shock me so I can’t say this was surprising.

December 16 – Little of note happened on Impact but the stuff with D’Angelo Dinero caught my eye. I’m not one of those guys that’s going to compare Pope to the Rock (he isn’t really close), but he does have potential for good things. Taking a donation and using it at a strip club is a fantastic way of turning him. Let’s just hope he doesn’t disappear for a few weeks. The people behind TNA like to do that sometimes.

December 17Ezekiel Jackson is coming to Smackdown? AWESOME. I really dig watching Jackson wrestle and I think he has a helluva future with the WWE. At 32, he’s not the youngest guy in the world but he’s still young enough to make his way up the ranks.

December 18 – I don’t take wrestling TOO seriously but I know like three or four people whose opinion I truly value when it comes to the pseudo-sport. All of these guys told me to check out the Ring of Honor pay-per-view for the Kevin Steen-El Generico bout. I am a sucker for good production and I find myself devaluing wrestling without top-tier production values but this was some good stuff. I spent some time looking up feud videos on Youtube and watched the show. Great stuff, definitely worth the hype from my buddies.

December 19 – I didn’t think anything would be worse than Rey Mysterio winning the World Heavyweight Title at the TLC pay-per-view but Edge‘s title victory did it. First of all, let’s look at Kane. Kane was a monster, beat Undertaker on multiple PPVs and was on the tear of his career. You’re going to waste all of that for Edge? And then, they make a big deal out of Edge becoming a 10-time World Champion. How sad is that? The Miz Girl said Miz’s title win signaled a downhill trend for the WWE but Edge’s tenth time with the title is even worse.


December 20 – So, John Cena looks like he’s going to feud with CM Punk. This can be really good or really bad. The latter already has an upper-hand since Punk’s return to action probably means he’s done commentating. He showed a ton of signs of greatness and was a fresh breath of air. If we get CM Punk-John Cena from the 2009 Slammy’s, we’re probably in for a lame, one-month feud. I don’t think the WWE would do that to us. We’re more likely to get that CM Punk-John Cena match from the late-2009 Jesse Ventura hosted Raw where it took Cena the Super Attitude Adjustment to vanquish Punk. The stuff on the microphones should be gold and I hope it lasts until Wrestlemania.

Of course, the whole NEXUS angle started when the NXT Season 1 Gang attacked both Punk and Cena on the Viewer’s Choice Raw. Maybe that’ll get some sort of mention or tie-in?

December 21 – Smackdown is in my home city of San Antonio, Texas this week. I entertained the thought of going to the show but ultimately decided against it. Maybe I’ll end up going (this is being written before the show) but I’m leaning 80-20 to stay and just watch Smackdown and football. Besides, two hours of Smackdown and an hour of NXT after seems like a lot of stuff to sit through. I can’t even watch NXT on my computer, I can’t imagine going to the show and losing the always-entertaining Michael Cole serenading my ears with his commentary.



Radar Online has reported that Hulk Hogan checked into a Tampa hospital to have surgery in an attempt to stabilize his back problems, which have worsened recently. “The idea is to look for real solutions because of the ongoing wear and tear,” says their source.

This is really unfortunate. Hopefully some young guy is checking out the Hulk Hogan story and realizing that you can’t stay in the business forever. It’s the same in real sports too. I mean Antoine Walker made $108,142,015 over the course of his NBA career and is still trying to mount a comeback when he’s clearly done being a contributing type of player.

I joked in the TNA Impact review I used to do by saying I wanted to see the Hulkster come back and win the World Heavyweight Title but that’s far from the truth. I fear someday we’re going to read that the Hulkster can’t walk anymore or that he’s extremely limited. I know he’s got a ton of people who don’t like him (I hate the term “haters”) because of accusations and second-hand speak but you can’t help but feel sorry and hope for the best.

The current plan is to ease off of the brand extension through WrestleMania. Smackdown talent will be on Raw and vice versa, and it is expected to be that way more often than in past months until April. (The Wrestling Observer)

There really isn’t anything wrong about this. Maybe you’re one of the few people that still believe in the brand extension but I doubt many of those exist with all of the back and forth action between Raw and Smackdown. Besides, the brand split is primarily for the mid-carders and up-and-comers. Without the brand extension, these guys are screwed. All of the television time would be dedicated to the same 15-20 people.

There won’t be any building new stars on the Road to Wrestlemania and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Wrestlemania needs all the star-power it can get and the answer to the WWE’s problems isn’t in FCW right now.

Many people within the company were discussing John Morison’s performance at the PPV. Many noted that it was a star making performance, but also that it will not matter unless WWE management chooses to actually get behind him with a serious push. (PWInsider)

Perfect timing for a star-making performance from John Morrison. Even Jim Ross said he saw some early Shawn Michaels in Morrison. He said Morrison’s influx of physical manuevers was reminiscent of the Heartbreak Kid’s change early in his career. I didn’t like the Sheamus-Morrison rivalry when it started but it has definitely helped both men boost their careers.

As for the timing, it’s fantastic. The Royal Rumble has been known for putting on title matches that feature people who haven’t broken into the main event (see: Brock Lesnar v. Bob Holly). John Morrison will probably receive his title match there and he could see a high profile Wrestlemania match if he continues his current tear. Of course, I could definitely see Randy Orton interjected into the Miz-Morrison match and they make it a three-way. Either way, it will be entertaining to see two guys in Miz and Morrison who are relatively new to the title scene. They should give it their all and that’ll result in entertainment for all.

Casting for Tough Enough will begin right after the New Year begins. (PWInsider)

I wonder if the newly found confidence in John Morrison is related with the re-birth of Tough Enough? I’m not sure how successful Tough Enough will be. The WWE has already put out some signs that they’ll be getting some FCW talent for this version of the reality TV show. That already gives the show a disadvantage. There’s a certain attractiveness of seeing a bunch of nobodies with little-to-no exposure compete for a WWE contract. I think that goes away if anyone from FCW shows up.

The guys in FCW have already been deemed by the WWE as “good enough” for the show. Why would they hire them in the first place?

Maybe FCW talent would be good for the show though? Out of all the Tough Enough winners, only John Morrison is still with the company. The rest didn’t exactly set the world on fire. The people that applied for the initial installments of Tough Enough had wrestling background but obviously weren’t elite, otherwise they would have already been with the WWE in some developmental fashion. An FCW guy or two won’t bring that trainwreck potential a newbie would bring but he brings some stability and you need that to be successful.

Triple H will have an increased role at TV tapings in the coming weeks, similar to what he did during the overseas tour. It was said to be a less stressful environment with him running the show than with Vince McMahon. (PWInsider)

Every time I see one of the dirtsheets reference Triple H’s creative mind, I get kind of excited for the future of the WWE. Rumors of things like War Games and a more old-school type of show have long been associated with The Game. I think this is good. A lot has been made of Triple H “burying” people but I don’t think it’s half as chronic as the internet makes it out to be. No one would have cared about Brian Kendrick and Paul London no matter what Triple H did.

This also gives Vince McMahon more time for relaxation. He’s getting up there in age and I’m sure can use all the rest he can get. I mean, he has reportedly been intricately involved with the creative process for years. That has to take it’s toll on a guy.

The only negative I can think of is the absence of Triple H from WWE programming. What is Sheamus going to do now that his feud with John Morrison has seemingly died? The Raw face scene is pretty weak right now and the WWE can use all the help it can get. Triple H has been around the block more than once so if anyone can handle it, it’s him but you have to think this hurts his performance a bit. It at least gives more fodder to the IWC to complain anytime H does anything of substance on TV.

Of course, no one really cares what 9/10ths of the IWC has to say about the WWE’s content.

Prior to Raw, Percy Watson defeated Primo in a dark match.

Two words: OH YEAH~!

To be honest with you, I had to Google the NXT Season 2 winner to find out who it was (Kaval). Nobody on the show stood out except Alex Riley (because he was one of the worst wrestlers I’ve ever seen) and Percy SHOWTIME Watson. I don’t know how long he’s been working the house show circuit but this is the first time I’ve seen him on there.

I don’t know the estimated time of arrival for Percy Watson but we will all be better with Watson on our television screens every week. He wasn’t the greatest wrestler from what I saw on WWE NXT but he OOZED charisma. I don’t know why he didn’t win NXT 2 but it was a mistake. I said earlier that the WWE doesn’t really need (or debut) wrestlers during the Road to Wrestlemania but I hope they make an exception for Showtime. He doesn’t need to (and won’t) wrestle on the Big Show but having him on the roster for comedic reasons would bring more good than bad. OH YEAH!

Please get this guy on TV, WWE.


The 411Music Zone has their list of the top fifty albums up over in their corner of the internet. Looks like a solid list so far. For the record, my top three would be Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and, at number one, Janelle Monáe’s The ArchAndroid. Good year of music.

• James Cooke takes a look back at Raw in Positively Raw. I loved that opening segment with the Miz, Alex Riley and Michael Cole.

• I try and catch some AAA wrestling whenever I can. Sadly, that’s not enough but News and Views from South of the Border has some of the news I miss during the week.

And we’ll end halftime of the column with a TWITTER PLUG.

@411mania
@411Wrestling
@411Movies/TV
@411Music
@411Games
@411MMA
@411Boxing
I’m not the greatest tweeter on Earth but you can find me @steamedhams


1. Zack Ryder – The Woo Woo Woo Kid FINALLY won cleanly! I don’t know who keeps track of wins and losses in pro wrestling (mostly because it’s almost useless) but I can’t remember the last time Zack Ryder won a match. Now, he wasn’t fighting Ezekiel Jackson or anyone of substance (he went toe to toe with Darren Young) but still, a win is a win. Ryder is the King of WWE Superstars and one can expect entertainment any time he’s on the screen. More wins for Ryder please.

2. El Generico – I’ve said in the past that I won’t pretend to be an independent wrestling expert so that’s why Ryder is above Generico on this list. I can’t name 5 Generico matches but I do know that the hype videos and the Generico-Steen match were top notch and you could make a case for that being one of the feuds of the year. It was high quality stuff and it has me wanting more.

3. Dolph Ziggler – How about Mr. Ziggles? He looked really good in a match with Cena and guys in his position (aka mid-carders) who stay competitive with Cena are usually in for a bright future. This is written before Smackdown so all of that could be destroyed but this reminds me of that match Cena had with Jack Swagger a few years ago. Swagger was running in place for a while but he eventually emerged as a title contender. Swagger is now back in purgatory but he’s one of those guys that could get some play in both the main event and mid-card.


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 27th Birthday, Luke Gallows! – The guy who was once fake Kane and Festus turns 27 today. The first thing I thought when I read that was “wow, he’s really young.” I can definitely see him back in the WWE some day down the line. People seemed bummed out when he was released, especially CM Punk who went to Twitter to voice his opinion. I never minded Festus/Gallows but the only time he stood out to me was when he fought Vladimir Kozlov one time on Smackdown.

Happy 20th Anniversary, Paul Bearer! – According to his Online World of Wrestling entry and some interviews, Paul Bearer signed a contract to join the WWE on this day in 1990. When one thinks of Paul Bearer, they are reminded of his involvement in the everlasting feud between his two sons, the Undertaker and Kane. I thought his return this year was a cheap way of interjecting nostalgia into the latest installment of the Taker-Kane rivalry but it turned out to be fun. Well, at least until Edge got involved. Bearer was a guy I kind of feared as a child but he seems really cool based on his Twitter page (@wweURNiverse) where he stays in touch with fans and talks about sports, wrestling and life.


Daniel Bryan – TwitterWebsiteE-mail

This is a column on the internet. Daniel Bryan is the WWE’s internet darling. They were probably made for one another. There are two types of people on the internet. Those who like Daniel Bryan and those who troll those who like Daniel Bryan by saying he isn’t that good.

Okay so it isn’t exactly that black and white. There are probably some people out there who think Bryan is a cookie-cutter technical wrestler but he has to have done something right to make it to the WWE. Bryan’s Twitter page is usually entertaining and like many of the people included in my column, he talks to his fans via Twitter.

Even though I like him a ton, I still have no clue why the WWE has his Bragging Rights match with Dolph Ziggler tied with Undertaker-Michaels II in WWE.com’s Top 25 Matches of the Year.

Well, that’s the end. You can go back to buying Christmas presents or doing whatever you were doing before you clicked this column. I hope you enjoyed and I hope you guys have a solid week. I’ll be back next Wednesday with more wrestling news and my views. Hopefully TNA makes some noise because sooner or later there are going to be people accusing me of hating TNA or something.

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Joseph F. Martinez

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