It was another evening of bad comedy on TNA Impact last night. In fact, for most of the episode – which was titled “Take my Wife … Please” – I felt like I was watching a parody of a wrestling show.

The show was salvaged, however, by the few segments that weren’t designed to be funny.

The emphasis on comedy – which in TNA is hit or miss, and usually the latter – is not helping pay-per-view buy rates or ticket sales, so if I were TNA, I would give serious consideration to cutting back on the funny business.

The highlight of the show was the attack by Robert Roode and Payton Banks on Booker T. and Traci Brooks. The segment, which featured the babyfaces being handcuffed and whipped with belts, got tremendous heat from the crowd and was effective in making you want to see a match between Roode and Booker.

The main event between Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash also was good, surprisingly so considering Nash’s physical limitations at this stage of his career. Angle carried the match, but Nash also put forth a good effort. The heat-getting moment in the bout occurred when Angle threw down his wife, Karen, outside the ring and showed no concern whatsoever for her. To add to the drama, Karen was bleeding from the mouth, and A.J. Styles scooped her up and carried her to the back.

Other than the fact that I thought TNA wasn’t allowed to do man-on-woman violence on television, I thought it was well done. I’m guessing that Karen will eventually turn on Styles and return to her husband’s side, which should mean a big babyface push for Styles.

Some other thoughts from last night’s show:

With just one more episode before the Destination X pay-per-view, only four matches have been announced. ...

TNA decided to open the show with something we have never seen before – the Angles arguing in the back. …

Styles really needs to lose that ridiculous-looking crown. …

The Team 3-D diet skits were nauseatingly unfunny. Ray and Devon were heat magnets, and now they are portrayed as clowns. …

More bad skits are on the way, as Scott Steiner has an initiation planned for Petey Williams. I’m still not certain whether they are heels or babyfaces. By the way, doesn’t it seem like Steiner has been carrying around those briefcases forever? …

I hope they were plants in the audience that were putting money in Sonjay Dutt’s tambourine. If they weren’t, why would anyone want to give away money to a wrestling character? …

Curry Man continues to bring a smile to my face. And Shark Boy continues to take it away. Shark Boy added some new puns to his repertoire – “kick some bass” and “gimme a shell yeah.” Ugh. At one point, Shark Boy clearly tried to get the crowd to do the “what?” bit. There was dead silence. Now that was funny. …

As if Dustin Rhodes needed any further evidence that his career has hit the skids, consider that he used to take stunners from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and now he takes stunners from Shark Boy. …

Call me old-fashioned, but I think ladder matches should be used as the blow-off to an intense feud, not to decide the world drinking championship. …

Rhino delivered an awesome-looking gore to James Storm, but the clothesline Awesome Kong gave ODB looked even more devastating. Speaking of ODB, she has a lot of charisma in the ring, but her promos clearly are a work in progress. ...

Let me get this straight: Eric Young, a babyface, ran away rather than facing his fear. Who does he think he is, Floyd Mayweather?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
                    

Some readers who have listened to the audio of John Cena’s interview with The Sun (U.K.) have commented to me that Cena’s statements about The Rock were not nearly as harsh as they seemed in print. One reader also expressed disappointment in me for not listening to the interview before I reacted to the story.

I just finished listening to the interview, and I do agree that Cena’s comments were not nearly as vitriolic as they appeared. In hindsight, I wish I would have listened to the interview instead of just relying on the printed story. Considering the British tabloid’s reputation for sensationalism, I should have known better. I also should have learned from the incident that occurred last November, when CNN took Cena’s quotes about steroid use out of context.

There are similarities in how The Sun (U.K.) and CNN presented Cena’s quotes, although I think CNN’s actions were more egregious. When CNN asked Cena if he had ever used steroids, the network aired an ambiguous sound bite from Cena that came across like a veiled admission. What CNN failed to do was air Cena’s initial response to the question, which was, “Absolutely not.” CNN completely misrepresented his answer.

The Sun (U.K.) also left out some key elements of Cena’s quotes about The Rock disassociating himself from wrestling. Not only that, but the paper published a story based on one small portion of a 30-minute interview and slapped a sensationalistic headline on it. The headline was “Cena: The Rock p***es me off.” The intro under the headline said: “WWE superstar John Cena has blasted ex-WWE champion The Rock for turning his back on the business.”

Cena’s quotes in the article, which I published yesterday, were mostly accurate, and he did indeed criticize The Rock. But, once again, segments of his statements were left out – segments that would have softened his comments.

Here are some of Cena’s thoughts on The Rock that were on the audio interview, but were conveniently left out of the story:

“He’s genuinely a nice guy. I’ve met him. And a fantastic human being.

“Like I said, he is a great guy. But I think we all know now that he wants to be an actor. And there’s nothing wrong with that, because he’s truly found another passion. He’s good at acting. His films make money.”

Cena also was quoted in the story as saying, “At one point Rock loved wrestling and wanted to do this all his life. So explain to me why he can’t come back.” The Sun (U.K.) ended the quote there, but what Cena actually said was: “So explain to me why he can’t come back for our 15th anniversary show or why he can’t make an appearance at WrestleMania. I wish he’d just show up, say hi and leave. Do the eyebrow once and get out of town.”

The harshest thing Cena said was: “Just don't [expletive] me around and tell me that you love this. That's the only thing that gets me really [ticked] off. Our fan base have so much admiration for him, he's got to respect that. He doesn't give anything back.”

It should be noted, however, that Cena said this in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, so categorizing what he said as “blasting” The Rock was quite a stretch.

I still think Cena’s criticism of The Rock is off base, but he certainly is entitled to his opinion. After being taken out of context for the second time in three months, however, I wouldn’t blame Cena if he decided to start keeping his opinions to himself from now on.

As far as this incident is concerned, I regret if I exacerbated it.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
                    

Unless John Cena is trying to work some kind of angle, then his recent criticism of The Rock is way off base.

In a story in The Sun (U.K.) yesterday, Cena called out The Rock for turning his back on the wrestling business.

“What I kind of get peeved about — and this is my Achilles’ heel — is that I've wanted to do this my whole life. At one point Rock loved wrestling and wanted to do this all his life. So explain to me why he can't come back.

“Simply put it's because he wants to be an actor and there's nothing wrong with that. He's very good and very successful. Associating with sports entertainment doesn't do much for his acting career — I get it.

“Just don't [expletive] me around and tell me that you love this. That's the only thing that gets me really [ticked] off. Our fan base have so much admiration for him, he's got to respect that. He doesn't give anything back.”

First off, The Rock doesn’t have to explain himself to Cena. But that’s not the point. Like a lot of wrestling fans, I miss seeing The Rock in WWE, but I have never felt that he was dissing the industry or the fans.

On the surface, Cena’s comments seem to smack of jealousy, but I really don’t think that’s the case. I just think that Cena’s passion for the business is clouding his judgment. I certainly admire him for that passion, and if he truly is living his dream, I’m happy for him. But I find it hard to believe that Cena wouldn’t choose a movie career over wrestling if he were presented with the lucrative opportunities The Rock has had, even if he has repeatedly said otherwise.

When I interviewed Cena in 2006 prior to the release of his movie debut in The Marine, Cena said: “I really don't ever intend to leave wrestling. Sports entertainment has provided me with a great life and is something that I really do have a lot of passion for. I'm going to go full-steam ahead with sports entertainment and full-steam ahead with Hollywood.”

Of course, The Rock said the same thing at first. But his movie career took off to the point in which he had to choose between wrestling and acting. And, really, that choice was a no-brainer. Do you think that Hulk Hogan would have ever returned full-time to the ring if Mr. Nanny or Suburban Commando had become box office hits?

I believe The Rock when he says he loves wrestling. After all, he did grow up with the business and he was WWE’s first third-generation star. Wrestling, however, wasn’t his dream — playing pro football was. When that didn’t work out, he turned to wrestling and became one of the biggest stars in the history of the industry.

During The Rock’s time in WWE, I never got the impression that he didn’t love what he was doing. His work ethic and positive attitude were beyond reproach.

The Rock has always been very gracious, as well, at least whenever I have interacted with him. The first time I interviewed him was when he was just starting to get over in WWE, and I also talked with him when he was on top of the wrestling business and then after he had become a successful actor. He never changed, and after he became a movie star, he spoke well of wrestling and said he was very proud of what he had accomplished in WWE.

Just because The Rock has moved on doesn’t mean he has sold out or that he is thumbing his nose at wrestling fans. If Cena really can’t see that, then I’m as disappointed in him as he is in The Rock.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
                    

As “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase used to say, “Everybody has a price,” and Floyd Mayweather’s supposedly is $20 million. During a news conference yesterday at Staples Center in Los Angeles, that was the figure the boxing star said — and WWE confirmed — he was getting for his match with The Big Show at WrestleMania XXIV.

I and many other industry observers believe that figure is about as exaggerated as Hulk Hogan’s claim that Andre The Giant weighed 700 pounds when he slammed him at WrestleMania III. Mike Tyson, who had significantly more of a mainstream presence than Mayweather has, was reportedly paid $3.5 for appearing as a special referee at WrestleMania XIV in 1998.

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer said that he has heard that Mayweather was getting either $5 million or $2 million plus a percentage of the profits. That sounds more like it, but, hey, this is pro wrestling, and worked heights, weights and attendance figures just come with the territory.

Moving on to some financial figures that are not exaggerated, 2007 was a very good year for WWE. In fact, it was the company’s best year ever in terms of total revenue.

WWE took in $485.65 million last year. That surpassed the previous high gross of $456.04 million in the 2000-01 fiscal year, according to last week’s Observer. WWE’s 2007 profit of $52.10 million was the third-highest in company history.

It proves that while interest in pro wrestling isn’t nearly as high as it was during the Monday Night War era, the bottom line is that the bottom line is doing quite nicely.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 7:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
                    

WWE issued a news release today announcing that MyNetworkTV will be the new home of Smackdown beginning next fall.

It had been announced earlier this month that the show, which debuted on UPN in 1999 and moved to The CW in September 2006, would be heading to another network.

MyNetworkTV was mentioned early on as a possible destination for Smackdown. Reportedly, NBC Universal, which owns the USA Network and Sci Fi Channel, the homes for Raw and ECW, respectively, had no interest in picking up another WWE program.

Other than MyNetworkTV, the only other network that expressed interest in Smackdown was WGN, which is owned by the Tribune Company, which also owns The Sun. Because MyNetworkTV is seen in more homes than WGN, it appears to be the best option.

Still, when I first heard that MyNetworkTV was in the running, my initial reaction was: What’s MyNetworkTV? And will I still be able to watch Smackdown? I did a little research and was relieved to learn that there is a Baltimore affiliate for the network — WUTB-24.

As I have written before, this seems like a step down for WWE. I went on the network’s Web site and looked at their programs, and I haven’t heard of any of them. Some of the titles included: Whacked Out Videos, Street Patrol and Jail.

The good news for WWE is that its presence on MyNetworkTV will increase the network’s profile and overall ratings. The bad news is that a network such as this doesn’t seem real stable.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
                    

Last night’s episode of Raw had a good mix of wrestling, promos and story line advancement, with a surprising revelation and a couple big announcements, too.

As far as the wrestling part, Jeff Hardy and Chris Jericho delivered a pay-per-view quality match. Even though Hardy lost, it was a back-and-forth contest and had a nice finishing sequence, so the loss shouldn’t hurt him at all. Plus, the stipulation was that Jericho needed to win to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania, so, theoretically, he had much more incentive to win than Hardy.

After a bit of a slow start since his return, Jericho looks to be gaining momentum after scoring clean wins over JBL and Hardy. And speaking of Hardy, when was the last time he had a match that wasn’t good? OK, it was last week, but that was against Snitsky, so that should have an asterisk.

The main event, in which John Cena and Triple H defeated Randy Orton and Mr. Kennedy, also was good. The match was effective in building tension between Cena and Triple H.

Shawn Michaels’ win over Lance Cade was decent, too. I was surprised that Michaels won by disqualification (Trevor Murdoch interfered) rather than by pinfall, but it might have been to set up a tag-team match for next week pitting Cade and Murdoch versus Michaels and Ric Flair.

Other thoughts on last night’s show:

JBL revealed that Hornswoggle was actually Finlay’s son, not Mr. McMahon’s. McMahon seemed shocked by this news, which left me a little confused. I recall McMahon and Finlay discussing some secret that they were both in on last month. I thought the secret might be that Hornswoggle was Finlay’s son, but if that was the secret, McMahon’s reaction last night doesn’t make sense. …

Nearly three hours before Raw aired, a reader who goes by Everett W. posted a comment saying that Batista’s opponent at WrestleMania might be Umaga. I responded that the thought had crossed my mind, as well, but I dismissed it, thinking Umaga would end up in the Money in the Bank match. Well, Everett W. just might be right. It was announced last night that a wrestler of Smackdown general manager Vickie Guerrero’s choosing will face a wrestler of Raw general manager William Regal’s choosing at WrestleMania. Regal picked Umaga, and I’m guessing that Batista will be the Smackdown representative. I don’t think it will be Kane, and there really aren’t too many other choices. No disrespect to Umaga, but Batista has to be a little disappointed with his place on this year’s card. …

It’s official that The Rock will be inducting his father, Rocky Johnson, and grandfather, Peter Maivia, into the WWE Hall of Fame. The presence of The Rock adds even more excitement to what is shaping up to be an incredible weekend in Orlando, Fla., at the end of March. …

The Michaels-Flair match is on for WrestleMania. I liked the way it was set up, with Flair issuing the challenge and telling Michaels that he wanted to have a great match on the biggest stage the night after his Hall of Fame induction. There was just a hint of tension, which I’m assuming will grow between now and WrestleMania. …

In his match against Cade, Michaels got his nose busted yet again. If this keeps up, his nose is going to end up looking like Triple H’s prominent proboscis. …

I was a little surprised that Jim Ross didn’t mention the fact that Cade was trained by Michaels. If WWE ever decides Cade is worthy of a singles push, it could do an angle in which the student turns on the teacher a la Larry Zbyszko and Bruno Sammartino circa 1980. …

The opening three-way promo with Cena, Triple H and Orton was well done, and it was good to see Orton lay out both babyfaces. Orton needs to look strong in the buildup to WrestleMania so he doesn’t become just “the other guy” in a match involving the charismatic Cena and the legendary Triple H. …

I’m not sure what a BunnyMania match is, but it sounds like something that doesn’t fit with Beth Phoenix’s character. The match at WrestleMania pits Phoenix and Melina against Candice Michelle and Maria. I figured it was a sure bet that Phoenix would defend the WWE women’s title at WrestleMania against Michelle, who would be seeking revenge after suffering a broken collarbone and a concussion in a match against Phoenix last fall. It was a given that WWE would get Maria on the card in some form, as the cover girl for the Playboy issue that comes out in March always appears at WrestleMania. But couldn’t WWE just have made her the guest referee or something for a Phoenix-Michelle match? …

It was amusing that the “pee-in-the-tea” incident was referenced in the interaction between Regal and Jericho. …

After hearing Hardy’s entrance music a second time, I definitely think WWE should go back to his old music.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
                    

Regular readers of Ring Posts know that I am not a big Kevin Nash fan. That wasn’t always the case, however, and even now my feelings about him are somewhat complex.

A story in The Wrestling Observer last week forced me to look at Nash in another light. The story showed that, if nothing else, Nash won’t abandon a friend in need.

The Observer reported that Nash recently flew to Texas to check Sean “X-Pac” Waltman into a facility for both rehab and psychiatric care. The story said that Nash also was instrumental in getting Scott Hall to agree to go to rehab after he blew recent opportunities for a comeback in TNA and Puerto Rico.

Shawn Michaels told a similar story about Nash on The Shawn Michaels Story DVD that was released last November. Michaels said that it was Nash who told him several years ago that he was a husband and a father now and that he needed to get help for his drug addiction. Nash also confronted Michaels about his fractured friendship with Triple H, telling him that it was his fault and he needed to repair it.

Nash is to be commended for his loyalty and, as it pertains to Michaels, his brand of tough love. Having worked in WCW as the editor of the company magazine for a year while Nash was there, I also can tell you that he was generally well-liked by most of the wrestlers.

As a matter of fact, I was impressed with Nash as well the first time I ever dealt directly with him. In 1995, when Nash was WWE champion as Diesel, I conducted a phone interview with him for a story in The Sun to promote a WWE house show, and he was very pleasant, articulate and funny.

I liked the Diesel character, too, especially when he became an anti-establishment babyface that was a precursor to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. I continued to be a Nash fan after he went to WCW and formed the nWo with Hall and Hulk Hogan.

My opinion changed, however, when Nash started doing what was best for Nash, not what was best for the company. Nash had become a consummate backstage politician as a member of the infamous Kliq in WWE, but he took it to a whole new level in WCW. Coming up with health issues the night before having to do a job on pay-per-view, stirring up trouble backstage, going into business for himself and basically trying do as little as possible while he collected his big guaranteed paycheck were all part of Nash’s M.O.

He also could be petty and childish, as I found out firsthand in WCW. I’ve written about this before, so I won’t go into all the details, but Nash angrily refused to do an interview with me for the company magazine – you know, the same company that was providing him with that big guaranteed paycheck – for reasons he never made clear (although others told me it was because he disliked the publisher of the magazine and the fact that I was brought in as editor to replace a guy that he was friends with). That incident was disappointing to me, but I got over it, especially because Nash eventually agreed to do the interview when Vince Russo asked him to.

It was clear from his behavior in WCW that Nash – who was in a good financial situation and knew he always would be welcomed back in WWE – couldn’t have cared less whether WCW went out of business or not. I had a tougher time getting over that.

After WCW eventually did go down, Nash returned to WWE and wasted little time becoming a disruptive force. He and Waltman once demanded that a script be changed to their liking (Waltman reportedly threatened to quit on the spot if they didn’t get their way), and Nash also complained to management after The Rock ad-libbed a line in a promo about Nash that Nash didn’t like. That was hilarious coming from Nash, who often said things on the air that he was specifically told not to say.

Nash’s time in TNA has been more of the same. On Impact, he openly jokes about “doing nothing and getting paid,” and on two occasions he suddenly had health problems that prevented him from putting someone over on pay-per-view (funny how that never happens when he’s scripted for a big win). Amazingly, TNA keeps bringing him back and putting him in pay-per-view main events despite the fact that he can do very little in the ring at this point in his career.

I get it that wrestling is a cutthroat industry and wrestlers need to look out for their best interests, but Nash takes it to the extreme and is shameless about it. If I were running a wrestling company, I definitely wouldn’t want Nash in my locker room.

But I also can’t deny that he has another side. He played a huge role in likely saving the lives of three of his friends, and I certainly respect him for that.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
                    

After watching Smackdown last night, it still isn’t clear who Batista will face at WrestleMania XXIV on March 30. Assuming that Shawn Michaels will be wrestling Ric Flair, that leaves Batista and Chris Jericho as the two biggest stars without an opponent for WWE’s marquee show.

I have a feeling that Jericho will end up in the Money in the Bank ladder match, so that leaves only Batista, who I don’t see as a participant in the ladder match. Here are a few possible scenarios for “The Animal” at WrestleMania:

A triple-threat match vs. Edge and The Undertaker for the world heavyweight title: I have seen speculation about this on various Web sites and message boards, but I don’t think it’s happening. For one thing, I don’t see WWE having two triple-threat world titles matches on the same show. Also, unlike John Cena, who lost to Randy Orton at No Way Out on a cheap disqualification, Batista was pinned cleanly by The Undertaker in the elimination chamber match, and thus has no case that he deserves to be in the title match. Finally, Batista, Edge and Undertaker just had a tripe-threat match at Armageddon in December, so it’s already been done. All of the focus of the Smackdown main event at WrestleMania is on Edge and Undertaker.

Teaming with Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show and Shane McMahon: There was talk that the original idea for this angle was to have Mayweather and Rey Mysterio face Show and McMahon, but that had to be scrapped due to Mysterio suffering a torn biceps. As it stands now, Mayweather vs. Show is a one-on-one match, but that could change. If it ends up becoming a tag match, Batista would be a logical choice because he and Mysterio are close friends in the story line. Plus, it could lead to a post-WrestleMania program between Batista and Show.

Facing MVP: This probably is a long shot, but it’s the match I would most like to see Batista in at WrestleMania. These two have wrestled a couple times recently, with Batista winning both matches. On Smackdown last night, MVP got in a lot of offense before Batista finally prevailed. This reminds me somewhat of MVP’s program with Chris Benoit last year, when he lost to Benoit a few times before finally getting that elusive victory over him. MVP was taken a lot more seriously as a result of those matches. Working a high-profile program with Batista would be an even greater boost to MVP’s rising career. If MVP were to lay out Batista in the next couple of weeks, there could be a lot of interest in a match between them at WrestleMania.

MVP’s U.S. title probably wouldn’t be at stake, as it has been established that the U.S. and Intercontinental titles are beneath guys such as Batista, Undertaker, Triple H, Cena and Michaels. The wildcard in this is Matt Hardy. If Hardy is back for WrestleMania, MVP would be his logical opponent. However, if Hardy’s return was held off until after WrestleMania, and if MVP were to upset Batista, or even if he fell just short in a competitive match, it would make the Hardy-MVP program even more meaningful.

A few other thoughts on last night’s Smackdown:

I’m not sure it was wise to have an injured Mysterio wrestle again. Gutting it out for a short world title match on pay-per-view is one thing, but the match with Chavo Guerrero seemed unnecessary. It’s probably past the point of mattering, but the match also further buried the ECW title, as the ECW champion was pinned by a one-armed man.

The post-match attack by Big Show – in Mysterio’s home town – was effective at getting Show a lot of heel heat. Actually, I think it would have been safer for Mysterio if they had just down the beatdown instead of the match. It probably wasn’t a great idea for anyone to be grabbing on Mysterio’s injured arm, but it was obvious that Show was being cautious with it. …

Benjamin and Jimmy Wang Yang had a really good match. Benjamin executed the move of the night when he leaped onto the top rope and hit an overhead suplex on Yang, who landed more than halfway across the ring. Benjamin never ceases to impress me with his athleticism and agility. There’s still something missing in his delivery on the mic, but he definitely deserves a push. As for Yang, he probably never will wrestle in a pay-per-view main event, but he also is very talented and fun to watch. I think Yang should be moved to ECW, where he would instantly become a top contender for the title. …

It’s very strange to have the announce teams for all three WWE shows do the “serious voice” when talking about an angle involving Hornswoggle. He had been depicted as a cartoon character who lived under the ring, and now they are talking about him suffering from “swelling of the brain.” Speaking of which, I'm not so sure I'd be doing angles involving brain injuries at this time. Here’s a thought: When Hornswoggle was cornered in the cage on Raw Monday, why didn’t he just spray paint a black box on the mat and jump into it like he did that time when he “ran through” a wall in front of Carlito? …

It looks like the days of The Great Khali being treated as something special are over. He has now been pinned by Finlay and Kane in consecutive weeks. …

Theodore Long was flirting with Maryse. Didn’t he learn anything from the Kristal Marshall debacle?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
                    

Following up on last week’s funny wedding ceremony, which saw Karen Angle “marry” A.J. Styles, last night’s episode of TNA Impact featured several entertaining vignettes of the new couple on their “honeymoon.”

I’m not sure where TNA is going with this, but if it doesn’t lead to a title program between TNA world champion Kurt Angle and Styles, then it has all been a complete waste of time. Hey, maybe TNA could book a Karen Angle-on-a-pole match. There’s a joke in there somewhere about Karen knowing her way around a pole before she married Kurt, but I digress.

The show did not get off to a promising start, as the Angles were yelling at each other in the opening segment. It would have been fine except for the fact that they are arguing on every other episode. And sometimes they are really mad at each other and sometimes they are pretending to fight so they can swerve people.

Conflict and tension are key ingredients in wrestling, but they don’t have any impact when two people on the same side are constantly at odds. If the Angles got along most of the time, the arguments would mean more and I wouldn’t get a headache trying to figure out the characters’ motives.

Speaking of motives, I didn’t understand why Kurt was jealous over Styles kissing his wife last week. Doesn’t Kurt encourage Karen to seduce other wrestlers – Styles, Tomko, Kevin Nash – whenever he is backed into a corner?

Even if the premise was flawed, the vignettes with Styles and Karen were silly fun. It was a nice touch to have Jeremy Borash as the cameraman (bringing back memories of Alex Shelley’s Paparazzi Productions).

The latest twist in the story line is whether Karen really is starting to fall for Styles after initially making it clear that she was just trying to make Kurt jealous. Something tells me this isn’t going to end well for “Prince A.J.”

Other thoughts on last night’s show:

Kurt Angle and Booker T. had a good TV match, but what was up with Angle’s tube socks? I don’t claim to be on the cutting edge when it comes to the latest fashion trends, so maybe that’s what the kids are wearing these days. …

Next week we will be treated to a match between Angle and Kevin Nash. Hey, wait a minute. I thought Nash would only wrestle if Jim Cornette cut him a check for $100,000. …

To the surprise of no one, Kip James turned on B.G. James and “Bullet” Bob Armstrong. The tip-off that the turn was coming occurred two weeks ago when Kip told B.G. and Armstrong that he was behind them all the way. After the match, an angry Kip cut a promo that might have been the best one I have ever seen from him. …

Why exactly was the 68-year-old Armstrong in the ring, anyway? And why in the world was Tomko selling his weak-looking offense? By the way, the TNA creative team sure has done a nice job of making me not care about Tomko, who was on the verge of becoming a breakout character – if he wasn’t already one – before his nonsensical heel turn. …

I liked the segment in which Jay Lethal was recognized for his accomplishments in TNA. Lethal has gradually climbed the ladder in TNA and he is looking more and more like a star. I also like the story line (so far) with Lethal, SoCal Val and Lethal’s pal Sonjay Dutt, who appears to be jealous of the budding romance between Lethal and Val. Knowing how story lines usually go in TNA, Dutt will turn on Lethal and Val will probably side with Dutt. Swerve! …

Cornette again tried to get Samoa Joe to sign his new contract. For those who missed it, can you guess how it turned out? …

Mike Tenay did a sit-down interview with Rhino, who talked about the risk of wrestling in an Elevation X match against James Storm. For this feud to be taken seriously, I think Storm needs to cut a promo saying that he’s got his focus back after getting sidetracked with the Eric Young foolishness. He should say that Rhino isn’t going to be facing the guy who played silly drinking games, he’s going to be facing the guy who intentionally tried to take out the eye of his former tag-team partner. …

In a fun interview segment, Curry Man’s music played and both he and Crystal started dancing. I thought Curry Man’s moves were great, but even he couldn’t compete with Crystal. Later, Don West said that if anyone doesn’t find Curry Man and Shark Boy entertaining, they must not have a pulse. I guess that means I’m only half-dead. …

The tension between Gail Kim and ODB, the company’s top two female babyfaces, boiled over after a long buildup of one whole week. …

OK, Team 3-D having to do the weigh-in was somewhat amusing last week, but now I’m already tired of it. This time, Brother Ray actually made weight (under 275 pounds). I’m having a tough time suspending my disbelief on that one. I did get a chuckle out of seeing Ray break out his old dancing routine, but I like Team 3-D much more as despicable heels than as comedic heels. …

Did you know that Rellik is Killer spelled backwards? Of course you do, because Tenay tells us every single week.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
                    

It became official on Raw last night that the main event for WrestleMania XXIV on March 30 will be a triple-threat match for the WWE title, as champion Randy Orton defends against Triple H and John Cena. I think this is the best possible main event on the Raw side, as it’s more intriguing than any singles match-up involving these three.

When it had appeared that Cena would not return from his injury in time to be on the WrestleMania card, I was all for Jeff Hardy facing Triple H in the main event, or possibly having a triple-threat match with those two and Orton. But with Cena coming back earlier than expected, WWE had to put him in the main event. After all, Cena is the top star in the company, and I know that fact pains some fans, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

Cena, Orton and Triple H all deserve to be in the main event. Hardy, even though he lost to Orton at the Royal Rumble last month and did not win the elimination chamber match Sunday at No Way Out, still is being given a big push. His time will come after WrestleMania, where I fully expect him to win the Money in the Bank ladder match, which he qualified for last night by defeating Snitsky.

Some thoughts on last night’s show:

There was nothing wrong with the Cena-Orton main event, but the crowd in Anaheim was nowhere near as good as the one in Las Vegas at No Way Out, and it hurt the match. Hopefully, there’s a good explanation for special referee Triple H counting Cena’s pin of Orton in the non-title match, which earned Cena a spot in the WrestleMania main event. As Triple H stated earlier in the show, it doesn’t benefit him to have it be a triple threat. He ended up giving both guys a Pedigree after the match, but I was thinking that he was going to do that during the match, which still could have led to a triple-threat. …

After a tremendous angle with Floyd Mayweather and The Big Show at No Way Out, last night’s segment was awkward and fell a little flat. It was quite a contrast to see Show so relaxed and confident when cutting his promo, while Mayweather seemed nervous and unsure of himself when speaking. It reminded me of when Mike Tyson appeared on Raw 10 years ago and said that he was a big WWE fan and his favorite wrestler was “Cold Stone.”

WWE has to be disappointed with the less-than-enthusiastic reaction Mayweather got from the crowd, as he was greeted with a mixture of boos and indifference. Show challenged Mayweather to a match of some kind, and the boxing star accepted. There has been speculation that it would be a tag-team match pitting Mayweather and Rey Mysterio against Show and Shane McMahon, but it was reported on prowrestling.net that Mysterio is scheduled to undergo surgery on his torn biceps Friday, which would put him out for four to six months. …

I’m not sure if the beatdown of Hornswoggle by JBL and Vince McMahon in a steel cage elicited heel heat or “we really don’t like this angle” heat. Personally, I didn’t care for it. I know that heels are supposed to do vile things, but I did not like the imagery created by two large men brutally assaulting a midget who plays a child-like character. With that being said, I did think that the emotion from Finlay, who was handcuffed and forced to watch the attack, was very good, and JBL is just great at being unlikable. …

By the way, where was Chris Jericho to “save us” during the Hornswoggle beatdown? …

It was a nice touch to have Shawn Michaels make the announcement that Ric Flair would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next month. Although it isn’t official yet, it sure looks like it will be Flair vs. Michaels at WrestleMania. I’m looking forward to the buildup to that one. …

Hardy and Mr. Kennedy both got new entrance music. Kennedy’s was a change for the better, but Hardy’s wasn’t. With Hardy being so hot right now, I don’t think I would tinker with anything involving him. …

WWE conducted a poll asking whether Maria should appear in Playboy, and 94 percent said that she should. You mean 6 percent actually voted no? …

If WWE had asked whether Val Venis could defeat Mr. Kennedy in the Money in the Bank qualifying match, the “no” votes probably would have exceeded 94 percent. …

Going back to Maria, I didn’t like the decision to have her beat Beth Phoenix, even if it was portrayed as a fluke because of the returning Candice Michelle’s distraction. Phoenix has been great as a monster heel, and it should take more than a simple distraction and quick roll-up to defeat her. I would have minded it a lot less if Michelle had actually physically interfered behind the referee’s back to cost Phoenix the match. …

During Paul Burchill’s match, Jim Ross asked Jerry Lawler if he could remember any other brother-sister tandems on Raw. No one said it, but what about Ken and Ryan Shamrock from 10 years ago? I know they weren’t really siblings, but neither are Burchill and Katie Lea. Supposedly, WWE wanted to do an incest story line with the Shamrocks, but – fortunately – it never happed (and let’s hope it doesn’t happen this time, either). Ironically, Ken and Ryan ended up dating in real life. You have to believe Burchill is hoping history repeats itself.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
                    

Now that was a pay-per-view that packed a punch. If you don’t believe me, just ask The Big Show.

At No Way Out last night, WWE delivered two well-booked, exciting elimination chamber matches, a WWE title match with an incredibly hot crowd and an unexpected but very well-executed angle with the returning Big Show and boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather.

No Way Out is traditionally looked at as almost a throwaway pay-per-view because it is sandwiched between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, but I think it actually topped last month’s Rumble, which was a good show. The matches at No Way Out ranged from decent to excellent, and even the Edge-Rey Mysterio match was OK despite Mysterio being limited by working with a torn biceps.

The results last night were mostly predictable, but WWE showed that predictable is not synonymous with boring. In a couple of matches, even though I was convinced I “knew” what was going to happen, the storytelling was so good that I began to wonder before ultimately being proven right. Swerves are definitely a big part of wrestling story lines, but they should only be done occasionally so that they have maximum effect. Logical booking is what pays off at the box office.

While the wrestling world will focus on the chamber matches and the world title bouts, the Show-Mayweather angle is what those outside of wrestling will be talking about. WWE created a SportsCenter moment last night, which presumably will lead to Mayweather being involved in WrestleMania next month. That will generate a ton of mainstream publicity.

Here is a match-by-match look at last night’s show:

John Cena defeated WWE champion Randy Orton by disqualification: I know that Cena and Orton have their share of detractors, especially Cena, but I have never understood it. Cena is a superstar in every sense of the word, and Orton has made incredible strides over the past six months to also become one of the best in the business. In this match, they showed why they deserve their top-tier spots. They took the fans on a proverbial rollercoaster ride and told a great story, not only with the action but also with their facial expressions and presence. The enthusiastic crowd also helped make the match special, as Cena continues to elicit the most spirited responses whether they love him or hate him.

Before Cena suffered a torn pectoral muscle last October, Orton came close but he was never able to defeat him. Then, last week on Raw, Orton looked like he realized that his title reign would be ending at No Way Out, as Cena proved that he was 100-percent healthy. With that back story going in, Orton got to a point in the match last night in which he gave up trying to win and started looking for ways to escape with his title. After failing to get himself intentionally counted out or defeat Cena by countout, Orton slapped the referee to get himself disqualified. Orton comes out of the match with a lot of heat, and Cena comes out as the uncrowned champion. It looks like we are headed to a triple-threat main event at WrestleMania, which I think is the right call.

World heavyweight champion Edge defeated Rey Mysterio: This was understandably kept short because of Mysterio’s injury. Mysterio showed a lot of heart by going through with the match, but I’m not sure it was the wisest decision. My only problem with the match is that the finish – Edge speared Mysterio in mid-air for the pin – was too similar to their finish at the Royal Rumble.

The big news is what happened after the match. Big Show, who physically looked the best he has in years (he said that he has lost 108 pounds), got a good reaction when he made his surprise appearance. He began cutting a babyface promo, which surprised me because WWE needs more heel main-eventers, but then got annoyed because an injured Mysterio was still outside the ring, taking the attention away from him. Big Show went after Mysterio, which got a lot of heat, and then began taunting Mayweather, who was seated at ringside and had been established as Mysterio’s friend earlier in the show. This led to Mayweather hopping the rail and staring down Show in the ring. Show, who towered over Mayweather, got down on his knees to mock him, and Mayweather responded by connecting with three punches – which slow-motion replays showed were not pulled – to Show’s face. Show, bleeding profusely from the nose and mouth, became incensed and chased Mayweather, who took off through the crowd with his entourage. Show deserves a lot of credit for agreeing to take those punches from a man who is regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing.

We all know this was scripted, but it came off very real, much like past angles involving Mike Tyson and Steve Austin, and Lawrence Taylor and Bam Bam Bigelow. Shane McMahon added to the realism by coming out and trying to calm down Show, while the announcers remained silent. This obviously sets up Mayweather to appear at WrestleMania, possibly in a boxing match against Show, who had been training to become a professional boxer during his absence from WWE before ultimately deciding to return to wrestling.

Triple H won the Raw elimination chamber match: This was the match of the night. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho started it and worked well together, which was no surprise. Umaga, who was the one wrestler in this match that I really wasn’t interested in, ended up standing out. In a spot that I don’t recall seeing before, he executed a Samoan Drop with Jericho and Michaels on his shoulders. It took all of the babyfaces hitting their finishers on him to eliminate Umaga. Because the show was running late, Jericho and Michaels – who was a bloody mess – were then eliminated in rapid-fire fashion, leaving Triple H and Jeff Hardy (JBL had been the first one eliminated).

Triple H and Hardy went back and forth, and at one point it actually seemed like Hardy was going to win when he kicked out after a Pedigree and delivered a low blow to Triple H. But Triple H, who also was bleeding at this point, countered Hardy’s Twist of Fate and hit another Pedigree, this time on a steel chair, for the win and the right to be in the Raw main event at WrestleMania. Hardy showed a real aggressive side in the match and once again looked strong in defeat.

The Undertaker won the Smackdown elimination chamber match: With Big Daddy V and The Great Khali among the six competitors in this match, it obviously wasn’t as star-studded as the Raw contest, but it was way better than I expected. The match started slowly, but BDV and Khali didn’t last long and it really picked up after that. MVP took a big bump off the top of the pod and was pinned by Finlay, who was eliminated shortly thereafter by The Undertaker. Undertaker and Batista were the first two in and the last two remaining. In the latest chapter of their classic rivalry, the two bloody superstars took turns kicking out of each other’s finisher before Undertaker hit a Tombstone Piledriver for the win at the 30-minute mark. For the finish, Batista, standing outside the ropes, had Undertaker upside down on his shoulders, but Undertaker shifted his weight, landed inside the ring and placed Batista in position for the Tombstone in one fluid motion.

Undertaker is set to face Edge at WrestleMania, but Batista is left without an obvious opponent. Before the Mayweather angle, I thought it might be Big Show. I suppose Kane is a possibility. On the off chance that Cena isn’t involved in the Raw main event, perhaps we could see a Cena-Batista inter-brand match.

Ric Flair defeated Mr. Kennedy: The basic story was that Kennedy had no respect for Flair and dominated the match, but ultimately might have taken “The Nature Boy” too lightly. Flair got the clean win with the figure-four in what was a decent match. Kennedy is getting better and better at doing subtle things to get heel heat.

ECW champion Chavo Guerrero defeated CM Punk: This was a solid opener, although I was surprised to see Guerrero get the clean pin. I didn’t anticipate a title change, but I did think Guerrero would at least have to cheat to win. I’m not sure what this means for Punk.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
                    

Predictions for tonight's WWE pay-per-view:

WWE champion Randy Orton vs. John Cena: It’s certainly not far-fetched to assume that Cena will win the title tonight and then face Triple H at WrestleMania, but I have a hunch that’s not happening. WWE has done such a good job of building Orton into a credible champion that I just don’t see him dropping the belt anywhere but on the big stage at WrestleMania. I think Orton will retain the title in a disputed finish, leading to a triple-threat match at WrestleMania between Orton, Cena and Triple H.

World heavyweight champion Edge vs. Rey Mysterio: There is some question as to whether Mysterio will be able to wrestle after suffering what was believed to have been a torn biceps during a match in Chile last week. Regardless of Mysterio’s condition, Edge will retain the title.

Raw elimination chamber match (Jeff Hardy, JBL, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels,Triple H, Umaga): There are only two people who have a shot at winning this match — Hardy and Triple H, and I already indicated in my analysis of the Orton-Cena match that I’m going with Triple H. Even though I think Hardy will come up short, I expect him to come out of this match with his momentum in tact.

Smackdown elimination chamber match (Batista, Big Daddy V, Finlay, The Great Khali, MVP, The Undertaker): Most likely it will come down to rivals Batista and The Undertaker, and I would be extremely shocked if The Undertaker doesn’t win.

Ric Flair vs. Mr. Kennedy: I’m looking forward to this match after their verbal confrontation on Raw last week. I expect Kennedy to dominate the match before Flair pulls out the victory and winds up his career at WrestleMania.

ECW champion Chavo Guerrero vs. CM Punk: I think it’s too soon for Guerrero to lose the title, so I anticipate the champion winning in nefarious fashion.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

For those suffering from Stacy Keibler withdrawal, help is on the way.

The former WWE diva and Rosedale resident appears in the current issue of Shape magazine and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

In the “Sexiest Bodies in Hollywood” edition of Shape, Keibler is featured in an eight-page spread for an article titled “Four Weeks to a Better Butt.” In the article and accompanying photos, Keibler goes through the exercise regimen that she used recently to tighten her gluteal muscles. No, I wasn’t aware that her glutes needed tightening, either.

Keibler also appears in a sultry four-page advertisement in the SI swimsuit issue promoting the new line of Axe Skin Contact Shower Products.

And if you want to see even more of Keibler, check out the faux commercial she did on Will Ferrell’s Funny or Die Web site. Go to funnyordie.com and do a search on her name.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Hulk Hogan told The Sun in the U.K. that he and former WCW boss Eric Bischoff are just days away from launching a wrestling company and signing a deal “with one of the TV networks here in America.”

“Once we’ve wrapped the TV up we’ll make the official announcement,” Hogan told the newspaper. “The network want to make a really big deal of it.”

Hogan certainly sounds confident that the deal will get done, and there is evidence to suggest that he isn’t bluffing. Still, you have to take much of what Hogan says with a grain of salt, especially when it comes to this subject.

Hogan has talked several times in the past decade about starting his own wrestling company, but nothing ever came of it, and wrestling pundits speculated that he only made the claims to get Vince McMahon to bring him back to WWE.

I asked Hogan anout the possibility of him owning a wrestling company in an interview I did with him for WCW Magazine in 2000. “That’s been thought of,” he said at the time. “But I don’t think I would take all the money I’ve made and put it into this business, as competitive as it is right now.” He indicated that he would be more willing at some point to join a start-up company with someone else providing the funding. In 2001-2002, Hogan was affiliated with the short-lived XWF before making his return to WWE.

While it would be easy to write off Hogan’s pronouncement as just another ploy designed to cut a deal with McMahon for a spot at WrestleMania, there does seem to be more to it than that.

As part of the ongoing coverage of Hogan’s divorce, it was reported last month that Linda Hogan had accused Hulk of taking a large sum of money and placing it in a Limited Liability Company that only Bischoff had access to. And The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer said on his Web site today that Linda Hogan had told him before the divorce that Hogan and Bischoff would be starting a wrestling company that would do overseas tours with Hogan as the star. According to Meltzer, Hogan and Bischoff have talked for more than a year about starting a company, and have contacted many former WWE and WCW stars.

The problem is that almost all of the top stars are under contract to WWE, TNA or Ring of Honor. “There are a lot of unhappy campers in the WWE and there are also a new breed of wrestlers that Vince McMahon hasn’t explored yet, that we have,” Hogan told The Sun (U.K.). “And I’m in better shape than I have been for about 10 years.”

An event last April at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., that Hogan headlined with Paul Wight (The Big Show), included wrestlers such as Brutus Beefcake, Greg Valentine, Buff Bagwell, The Barbarian, Mr. Hughes, Brian Christopher and Kid Kash, and reportedly drew an estimated crowd of 6,000 in an arena that has a 20,000-seat capacity.

Whether another American wrestling company besides WWE can be profitable remains to be seen, but if Hogan and Bischoff have network backing, they could make a go of it. One thing that is certain is that Hogan is a good businessman, and he wouldn’t enter into any deal that wasn’t a good one for him.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)