Prediction: somewhere down the line there's a McIntyre vs. Morrison hair vs. hair match. McIntyre would like meaner and tougher with a shorter haircut anyway.

Why Sheamus and not Mike Knox? You really disappoint me Kevin.

This has been bothering me for some time now- isn't a closed fist illegal?

Also, i had a thought watching SD. Lots of fans lament the loss of managers in professional wrestling but watching Vicki cut her promo on Escobar it came to me. They haven't gone away, their titles have just changed. They've become the on-air GM's, Executive Shareholders, etc. They're almost always a heel or a face, have certain wrestlers that are closer to them than others on the roster, and cut promos that forward the programs of those wrestlers and their opponents. There may not be as many as there were in the past but I think that fits the classic definition of manager".
Just a thought. let me know if you disagree.

The McIntyre-Morrison match was good, but we have seen much better from the current Intercontinental Champion.

Agree with you about Knox. I think they are missing the boat on that guy.

Shad getting knocked out with one punch was hilarious. One of the funniest things I've seen in wrestling in a while.

I saw on WWE.com that Morrison will be defending the IC title against McIntyre. I thought the match on tv was good but with more time it could be great.

If Vickie ends up managing the Hart Dynasty (including Natalya), do you think that would finally get them some good heat?

It was a good match between McIntyre and Morrison, yes. I can't remember having seen the steel ring frame itself used like it was in that match to set up the finisher.

The most shocking thing might not have been the fact Batista ran out to nail the Undertaker during his slooooowwwww limp to the ring, but the fact the lights came back on during the beatdown without the Undertaker's prompting first.

I like the idea of Punk being a cult leader of a stable. Hell, have him "save" Jesse as well.

I thought Smackdown was pretty entertaining and I liked the setup for Batista and Taker at TLC. At first I was skeptical about another match betwwen the two but I'm coming around to the new Batista character, it really seems to have given him new life. I think that picking McIntyre to have a program with Morrison instead of Ziggler was the right decision. But I do believe that Morrison played a big role in making Drew look good. Kev do you think that if Morrison works on his mic skills that he could be a potential WHC?

RESPONSE FROM KE: I do think that Morrison is a future world champ , but only if he improves on the mic.

Hey Kevin,

Did you happen to catch WWE Superstars this past week? Paul Burchill appeared with a mask and attacked the Hurricane which was a very cool addition to their storyline. I hope Katie Lee will appear with tights or something :)

RESPONSE FROM KE: Yes, I did.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2009/12/quick_hits_on_wwe_superstars_19.html

What about a match at TLC pitting Punk & Gallows against Hardy & Truth? Might have the potential to steal the show. There is definitely a story there, especially considering the last matches Punk had against both Hardy and Truth ended with the Artist Formerly Known As Festus interferring. The match could even end with a new convert to Punk's cult. Anybody have any ideas who would fit in well? And please don't say Jesse...

Have to disagree with you on Escobar Kev, I'm seeing something in him as a face. Lose the monk haircut and he might have something. wwe must have something planned for a turn this quickly.

I thought it was wrong to have him lose though. Having him 'upset' vickie every week in promos and matches would get him over more until she has a henchman like Mcyintre give Esocbar a beating.

I laughed when Striker said 'Imagine Jericho Codebreaking Triple H through a table'... Wouldn't HE go through it first?

Drew Mcintyre for me lacks the "it" factor. That squeaky high voice of his is annoying much like Bobby Lashley's and takes away from his character. Overall a decent Smackdown, but Batista as a heel is more a poodle than an animal.

McIntyre does lack the "it factor". Steel ring frame thing was a new one on me. I guess if Miz grew on us he can too. I hope they add Ziggler to the mix. If ECW does not shut down, Zigg would work well there.

Love the Punk cult thing!

Escobar and Vicki were good together. He does not seem to work well as a "face".

The match could even end with a new convert to Punk's cult. Anybody have any ideas who would fit in well?

__________________________________

Rey Mysterio. I am not kidding. Rey could bitterly explain himself like this: for years, he got his tail handed to him by men twice his size, so he had to pop pills in order to keep the little children amused night after night, but his body couldn't take the "small dog with a big heart" philosophy anymore, so he has decided to take care of himself from now on. If he has to take short cuts in the ring in order to preserve his health, so be it. Punk would get heat for being behind this.

What was it like interviewing Vince? Have you done that before? Were you nervous? Does he have an intimidating presence? Just wondered if he's anything like his on-air personality. Thanks.

RESPONSE ROM KE: I have interviewed him before over the phone.This was first face to face (except for a 5-min radio interview I did with him 10 years ago). Was I nervous? No. I've been doing this for a long time. He definitely has a presence about him, but he wasn't intimidating in this setting. I was asking him about Tribute to the Troops, so it's not like I was asking hin controversial questions.

i really would like to get behind Escobar - he has a good look for that kind of sleezy heel, but loved to be hated.
however he has been extremly bland in ring.

kane is a character i cannot stand anymore. i think since he will never go back to being a monster, they should just call him Glen Jacobs and give him some sought of persona, since he is a deserving heavyweight title performer.

when is JR coming back? commentry is so boring and puke-worthy these days. no one yells or gets excited anymore, its just recited promotional garbage (these two are good, but not for anything higher than ecw)

wow is it just me or is there some announcing heat between matt striker and todd grisham. just watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdoEf2ehvy4
4:08 - 4:19, basically the point where jtg's last maneuver before they both tag their partner's in for the finish.
4:56 - 5:22, when they are talking about big show's devastating punch.

definitely seems like there's some heat.

@TheMM- How about this? At the TLC match you propose, Matt Hardy is revealed as the new convert for CM Punk. Hardy turning on R-Truth (his partner) during a Ladder Match on the PPV by giving him a Side Effect off the ladder would make a great replay moment.

Matt's perfect for this role considering his own brother has been destroyed by the same vices Punk rails against. Matt can also reference Umaga's death as a factor in his decision making because he doesn't want Jeff to have the same (twist of) fate.

This would also give Smackdown a new tag team (Gallows/Hardy) to give Gallows even more of a rub. Punk then has interesting henchmen as he goes after the World title.

It might work.

I know WWE is trying to push talent but throwing these guys like Shaemus & Mcintyre & Ziggler etc in the title pic so fast without atl east a good 6 months of build up like in the old days is why people aren't getting into these new guys Vince has always tryed to force feed us stars when is he ever gonna learn it does work it didn't work with Cena, Orton, The Rock it took them about at least a year to recover and gain the fans respect.

eric escobar looks like a broke ass razor ramon....and is it just me or does his accent slip in and out sometimes....he better do something quite impressive quick.

morrisons mic skills have somehow gotten worse ever since he went face, has he really gotten that bad or just his material? he still has some decent moments in my opinion but nothing like when he and the miz were together.

I though Escobar looked better in-ring than he has previously.

I would be down with a McIntyre/Morrisson feud; really exciting match potential there.

I agree Knox is too good to be overlooked... I'd like to see him as prominent as Kane is (and Kane less prominent).

The sad news of Fatu's passing did add a weird weight to watching CM Punk and Gallows on (pre-taped and thus entirely coincidental) Smackdown talking about pain pill addiction... kind of weirded me out since that was what Umaga was fired over.

idk... heel Punk is awesome (and I always liked Festus) but the thing is, a lot of what Punk says is actually RIGHT...

Hey Kev,
I was wondering why so many people dislike Mysterio. Is it something that he has done in particular to set fans off? I understand that Survivor Series was in Batista's home town so he had a hard time generating heat, but why were people so eager to see Rey beat down? I've just started noticing this trend when I am reading articles by you or other columnists that talk about the large booings that Mysterio recieves sometimes and how a large portion of the crowd gets behind the heel. In my opinion Rey is one of the most solid performers out there and deserves a lot of respect. So I guess my question is, Why is Rey Mysterio disliked by a large portion of fans?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Honestly, I don't know why a segment of the fan base dislikes Mysterio so vehemently.

Hahaha... Escobar does look like a broke Razor Ramon... I'm also lovin The Macho Punk, CM Savage... Oh I'm sorry, he just kinda reminds me of a young randy with that beard and his ring attire. I'm glad they've moved on from Morrison and Ziggler. I'm hoping Morrison shuts McIntyre up. I'm tired of hearing that Squeeky-Raspy Scottish accent.

Why is Mysterio disliked? That's easy. Even the dumbest wrestling fan can't buy into this 150 pound guy beating super-heavyweights. It's insulting. He should be in a light heavyweight division or he shouldn't be wrestling.

Its taken me a while to realise that there is going to be just ONE actual TLC match at this PPV?????
Ladder match, fair enough.
Tables match, fair enough.
But a CHAIR match? What is that?
Morrison Macintyre looks good anyway, but imagine that in a proper TLC setting.

Is this PG WWE gone mad?

McIntyre needs to do something about his hair. I'm fine with the long hair, but a little gel or something is needed. About 1/2 through his match it breaks out into some kind of unruley mess.

I'm actually liking Mike Knox and would love to see him get a bit of a push. The big guy seem to be able to move around and has a much better aura then Shamus. We still have yet to see the Pale Force actually wrestle a match since moving up to RAW.

The thing about Morrison's mic skills is that he is only going to be as good as what the writers feed him.

He's been at this for a while now, and he has yet to drop that nervousness that he obviously has. He's just reciting things as opposed to truly saying them.

He worked well with the Miz, who is a natural on the mic. He also had a lot of good material on the Dirt Sheet.