TNA star Mick Foley will appear at the Bowie Baysox minor league baseball game this Friday night. The “hardcore legend” will throw out the ceremonial first pitch and also sign autographs and take photos with fans.

I will ask two Foley-related trivia questions – one on Tuesday and the other on Wednesday – and each winner will receive two tickets to the 7:05 p.m. game at Prince George's Stadium in Bowie, Md.

For ticket information, go to baysox.com .

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

For those of you suffering from Mickie James withdrawal since she was let go by WWE last month, you may not be able to watch her in the ring, but you can listen to her sing. James’ debut country music CD, “Strangers and Angels,” was released a couple weeks ago.

I received a copy of the CD recently and have listened to it several times over the past week. I have never been a big fan of country music, but I kept an open mind and was pleasantly surprised. “Strangers and Angels” is definitely not a novelty album recorded by a pro wrestler; it’s a well-produced, solid album that just so happens to have been recorded by a pro wrestler.

James has a decent voice and there are a bunch of catchy songs on the 11-track CD. Much like James’ on-air persona when she was with WWE, she somes across in her songs as spunky, sexy and sassy, but also vulnerable.

James is at her sassiest on “Dumb B*tch,” the hardest-rocking (and therefore my favorite) song on the CD. Other good toe-tappers include the first single, “Are You With Me,” “Make Me Feel Like a Woman,” “Hollywood Movie Moment” and the honky-tonk-esque “I’m No Good at Pretending.” The latter two are among the three songs on “Strangers and Angels” that James co-wrote.

While I’m partial to the faster songs, the title track – a poignant ballad about slowing down and appreciating what we have – has really grown on me as well.

Speaking as a fan of Mickie James the wrestler, I hope we haven’t seen the last of her in the ring. However, you can tell from listening to this CD that she is serious about her singing career, so who knows what the future holds for her?

One thing is for sure: With her debut CD, James shows that her talents go beyond delivering dropkicks and DDTs.

To preview "Strangers and Angels" on iTunes, click here .

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

I had assumed that The Undertaker suffered either a bad nosebleed or at worst a broken nose during his match against Rey Mysterio on Smackdown Friday night, but apparently his injuries are much more serious, and his participation in one of the main events at the Fatal Fourway pay-per-view on June 20 is in jeopardy.

The Undertaker suffered a broken orbital bone and a concussion in addition to a broken nose, according to wrestlingobserver.com. The website said that as of right now there is a 50-50 chance of Undertaker working the fourway match for the world heavyweight title at the show.

Obviously, you can’t have a fourway without four men, so if The Undertaker is unable to go, someone would have to take his place in the match that has champion Jack Swagger, The Big Show and CM Punk as the other competitors. I’m guessing the spot would go to someone such as Kane or Kofi Kingston. Mysterio could be a possibility as well, but he reportedly was planning to take a few weeks off.

In other injury news, Randy Orton, despite his recent shoulder injury, is advertised to wrestle in tonight's main event on Raw in a tag team match pitting Orton and John Cena against Edge and Sheamus. Those four are scheduled to wrestle in the the fouway WWE title match at the pay-per-view.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

CM Punk proved that not only is he better than you, but he’s smarter than you, too, as the question of what he looks liked bald remained unanswered after Friday night’s episode of Smackdown.

Punk, who had his head shaved after losing to Rey Mysterio at last Sunday’s Over the Limit pay-per-view, entered the ring for his match against Kane with a towel covering his head. After a dramatic pause, Punk ripped the towel off to expose his new look – a black mask.

I had considered the possibility of Punk wearing a mask to conceal his bald head, but I discounted the notion because I figured he would appear even creepier and more demented than usual if he was bald. It has been said that Punk’s character is modeled in part after infamous cult leader Charles Manson, and I think Manson became more frightening-looking after he shaved his head.

With that being said, however, I’m not complaining about Punk wearing a mask. By seemingly getting his comeuppance at the pay-per-view but still finding a way to deny the fans the satisfaction of seeing him bald, Punk is able to maintain his heat and perhaps even add to it.

Other thoughts on Friday’s show:

The lineup for the world heavyweight title match at the Fatal Fourway pay-per-view on June 20 is set. It will be champion Jack Swagger, The Big Show, Punk and The Undertaker. Big Show got in by virtue of remaining the No. 1 contender after his disqualification win over Swagger at Over the Limit. Punk and Undertaker won qualifying matches over Kane and Mysterio, respectively. …

The main event between Undertaker and Mysterio was good but not at the level of their match at the Royal Rumble four months ago. Just as in that match, Undertaker suffered a bad nosebleed, most likely from getting nailed in the face by Mysterio’s kneebrace on the 619. By the way, The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Mysterio is going to be taking a few weeks off. ...

The Punk-Kane match wasn’t good, and the finish was botched badly. Punk and Kane just could not pull off the GTS, which was the planned finish. After a very sloppy attempt at it – which the fans booed – Punk made the cover anyway and pinned Kane for the win. Since Smackdown is taped, I wondered why WWE didn’t just have Punk do it a second time and edit out the first one. According to The Wrestling Observer, Punk and Kane actually did try again, but that one was botched, too. After missing on the move twice, perhaps it would have been better for Punk and Kane to call an audible and go with another move to set up the pin. …

Drew Mcintyre pulling yet another letter from Vince McMahon out of his boot and demanding that Smackdown general manager Teddy Long read it out loud was great. The letter stated that Matt Hardy had been suspended for attacking McIntyre at Over the Limit. When Hardy came out to confront McIntyre, Long called in security to hold him back. Long pleaded with Hardy to walk away, saying, “They are going to make me fire you.” As Hardy began to make his way to the back, McIntyre taunted him from the ring. That was good stuff. McIntyre is playing his character well and the “Chosen One” bit is getting him heat, but if he’s ever going to get over as a top-tier guy, he has to be booked as more of a threat in the ring. …

The tag team match in which The Big Show and Kofi Kingston defeated Swagger and McIntyre wasn’t bad. I guess Kingston has forgiven Big Show for turning on him at the Bragging Rights pay-per-view last fall. …

Pairing up Dolph Ziggler with Vickie Guerrero could be interesting. I liked the backstage segment with her coming on to Ziggler and suggesting that she will give him preferential treatment in exchange for, well, you know. Ziggler played it perfectly, as you could see that he wasn’t interested at all in her, but he understood how playing along could help his career. Hopefully, an association with Guerrero will work out better for Ziggler than it did for Eric Escobar (remember him?) …

Poor Christian. He has gone from main-eventing pay-per-views against Kurt Angle in TNA to teaming with a leprechaun in WWE. I could barely stand to watch the tag team match pitting Christian and Hornswoggle against Ziggler and Chavo Guerrero. Let’s just have a nice Christian-Ziggler program and keep Hornswoggle and Guerrero as far away from them as possible. …

I was surprised that MVP was pinned by Luke Gallows, who got the win due to outside interference from the masked man (not Punk, the other masked man). That result doesn’t seem to bode well as far as MVP getting a push, but perhaps it’s just one part of a larger story. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. …

I wish WWE would put an end to the stupid angle with Layla and Michelle McCool both holding WWE women’s title belts and claiming to be co-champions. I wonder if Long will end up making them wrestle each other to determine one champion, leading to Layla doing a babyface turn.

Posted by Baltimore Sun sports at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
        

Jim Ross has worked out a deal to remain with WWE, although not as an announcer, he wrote on his blog Friday night.

“I have worked out what we believe to be a win/win, employee agreement with WWE and will remain with the company that I have been with essentially since 1993,” he wrote. “Going forward, I will be focusing on a variety of talent relations matters, essentially as a consultant, of which will not require weekly travel. I will be visiting [Florida Championship Wrestling] in Tampa on a regular basis to observe the development of the young men and women who, I hope, all want to headline WrestleMania someday. This area of the company has always been of particular interest to me.”

Ross, who has a well-deserved reputation for having a great eye for talent, went on to say that he will not be returning to any weekly WWE programs as a commentator, nor will he be brought in to announce on pay-per-views. “However, being involved with other WWE broadcast products is a possibility. A few opportunities have been discussed.”

I’m guessing those opportunities would include programming on WWE 24/7 and perhaps DVDs, but that is merely speculation on my part.

Ross also said that his deal with WWE allows him to take broadcasting assignments in genres that WWE does not view as competition, including MMA.

Speaking as both a wrestling fan and a Ross fan, I am glad that he has found a role that he is comfortable with in the company that he obviously did not want to leave. It’s no secret that TNA pushed hard to get him, but Ross in TNA just doesn’t seem like a good fit, and I’m not sure where that would have left Mike Tenay, whose work I also enjoy.

To read the entire blog entry, click here .

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

After watching Thursday night’s TNA Impact, I’m wondering if the company should change its name from Total Nonstop Action to Total Nonstop Attitude. Or perhaps even more fitting, Total Nonstop A**hole.

In TNA’s latest effort to go as far as possible in the opposite direction of WWE’s PG-rated programming, one of its top stars – Mr. Anderson – is now repeatedly using the word “a**hole” in his promos. On Thursday’s show, he said it 10 times (yes, I counted). Jeff Hardy also said it once, and the crowd chanted it several times. Anderson even refers to his fans as “Anderson’s A**holes.”

The gimmick started at the Sacrifice pay-per-view a couple weeks ago, but obviously it’s not just for pay-per-view anymore.

The use of profanity on Impact doesn’t offend me – I actually think Anderson’s shtick is pretty funny and was the most entertaining part of the show – and, as I have said in the past, I think TNA doing its version of the “Attitude Era” is a sound strategy as far as attracting wrestling fans looking for an edgier product than what WWE is currently putting out.

My only problem with Anderson using colorful language to help him get over is that his transformation from deplorable heel to cool babyface has happened way too fast. But, in TNA’s defense, perhaps the powers that be felt that, in light of Impact’s ratings woes, the trigger on a potential breakout character had to be pulled sooner than later.

Of course, I’m not fully convinced that Anderson’s babyface turn isn’t a ruse to get Hardy to let his guard down. Then when Anderson turns on him, he can say to Hardy: “Well, I did tell you that I was an a**hole, so what did you expect?”

Other thoughts on Thursday’s show:

With WWE losing several top stars due to retirement, hiatus or injury, the company has to be kicking itself for letting Anderson go. To be fair, however, WWE did have big plans for Anderson, but he did not help his cause by suffering untimely injuries and earning a suspension for violating the Wellness Policy. …

There were two star-studded matchups – Anderson vs. A.J. Styles, and Hardy vs. Desmond Wolfe – on the show. Neither match was anything special, as each one lasted approximately five minutes. Wolfe upset Hardy, and boy did Wolfe need a big win such as that. Hardy wasn’t hurt by losing since Wolf won with the aid of a foreign object. In the other match, Styles defeated Anderson by holding the tights. During the post-match, Styles and Beer Money attacked Anderson, and Hardy made the save. Anderson and Hardy shook hands. Hardy is going to look pretty silly for trusting Anderson if Anderson ends up stabbing him in the back. …

There were a couple quality control issues on the program. Anderson was wearing his wrestling trunks and a T-shirt in the opening segment, but when we saw him speaking to Hulk Hogan backstage later in the show, he was in a suit. That didn’t make sense considering that he had a match coming up. Also, Styles was all huffy backstage saying that he had been looking for Ric Flair all day. The problem was that he and Flair were on stage together two segments earlier. …

There was a hint of dissension between Flair and Styles. It’s too soon for that, but it’s TNA. …

Hogan appeared in just one segment on the show (backstage, not in front of the crowd), and Eric Bischoff wasn’t on at all. At first I thought Bischoff’s absence was because he was selling the knee injury he suffered last week at the hands of Sting, but Styles mentioned early in the show that he had talked to Bischoff backstage. …

Scott Hall continues to make a mockery of the business. During The Band’s three-way match with Team 3D and Ink Inc., Eric Young was the only member of the team to get in the ring, and it was unclear who his partner was because both Hall and Kevin Nash stood on the apron. Hall wore his tag team title belt the entire team and never took off his vest. …

Speaking of treating the business as a joke, Hogan told Anderson that he had heat with “the good guys, the bad guys, the babyfaces and the heels.” Those terms shouldn’t be used within the show. …

When things started to get heated between Brother Ray and Brother Devon, Mike Tenay said that he’s never seen a situation like that with Team 3D. And I think he actually said it was a straight face. …

Matt Morgan was great when he was talking down – both literally and figuratively – to Kurt Angle. I can’t believe the angle with Morgan being a one-man tag team is continuing. Get him in the world title picture, already. …

The Kazarian-Jay Lethal match (won by Kazarian) was nowhere near as good as I expected it to be. Kazarian, by the way, is now a heel and is aligned with Flair. …

I’m begging TNA to stop playing “American Made” for Abyss. It’s so absurd. …

It’s starting to look as if Chelsea is going to turn babyface by befriending Abyss and leaving Wolfe. If the story line does go in that direction, I bet she will ultimately turn on Abyss and go back to Wolfe. …

I’m glad that Roxxi was excited about getting a title shot against TNA Knockouts champion Madison Rayne, but I think she overdid it a bit by saying, “Oh my God!” four times (yes, I counted those, too). …

The segment with Puppet the Psycho Dwarf was beyond awful. First we had to listen to Puppet – who was there to promote a midget wrestling show that will be airing on Spike – on commentary with Tenay and Taz, and then we got to see the little guy (Puppet, not Taz) making out with Lacey Von Erich and rolling around the ring with her. I think at the end of the segment Taz said, “Get a rubber.” Better yet, get the hook. …

It looks as if it’s just a matter of time before Rayne and Velvet Sky kick LVE out of The Beautiful People. That’s going to be tricky because LVE is not much of a worker and she needs to be part of a team to keep from being totally exposed.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

• Thursday’s WWE Superstars was one of the most boring episodes of the show to date. The lone highlight was the main event between Zack Ryder and Evan Bourne, which was a decent match with an unexpected result – Ryder won clean with the Zack Attack after Bourne missed the Shooting Star Press.

• The match between Yoshi Tatsu and Primo – won by Tatsu – was just OK. You have to feel for Primo, whose was about to get a push along with his brother Carlito as a heel tag team that was scheduled for a title program with WWE unified tag team champions The Hart Dynasty. Then, right after the Colon brothers got together, Carlito was released for refusing to go to rehab after a Wellness Policy violation. I just don’t see Primo making it as a singles wrestler. Perhaps WWE can pair him with someone else, but looking at the roster, I don’t see any logical candidates.

• Good lord, I thought the Cody Rhodes-JTG match was never going to end. I’m all for matches that last more than five minutes, but I really didn’t need to see a 15-minute match between these two – and that’s more a knock on JTG than on Rhodes. Rhodes, who got the victory, has been on a roll since getting drafted to Smackdown. Prior to his win over JTG, Rhodes had pinned John Morrison and Chris Masters.

• Alicia Fox not being on the show to accompany Ryder to the ring was a big disappointment.

• The Daniel Bryan-Michael Cole feud on NXT has been getting rave reviews for its intensity and realism, which is why I didn’t care for Cole and Jerry Lawler treating the whole thing like a joke on this show.

• During the Rhodes-JTG match, Todd Grisham said, “Who could forget last year on Raw when Cryme Tyme literally stole the tag team titles from Rhodes and [Ted] DiBiase?” Well, I did, for one.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

This story has been out there for a couple days, but in case anyone missed it, former Puerto Rican wrestling star Carlos Colon said in a newspaper interview that his son Carlito’s Wellness Policy violation and subsequent release from WWE was for painkillers.

Colon, speaking to the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora, also said that Carlito began taking the medication for back pain.

WWE’s policy regarding Wellness Policy failures is to not make the specifics of the violation public.

Carlito’s violation was his first, which carries a 30-day suspension, but he was fired when he refused to attend a rehabilitation facility.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 9:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

• Even though Daniel Bryan is no longer in the competition on WWE NXT, he continues to be the star of the show. In the follow-up to last week’s angle in which Bryan attacked announcer Michael Cole, the two had an even stronger segment on Tuesday night’s episode. It began with Cole threatening to sue Bryan if he did not apologize for the attack. Bryan teased an apology but he and Cole ended up in a very heated verbal exchange that once again got physical. Bryan and Cole were both excellent on the mic and the confrontation had a realistic feel to it. After seeing Cole’s performance, I’m convinced that he should be playing a heel authority figure rather than doing play by play.

• Heath Slater was voted off by the pros. It came down to him and Justin Gabriel, as Wade Barrett and David Otunga remained at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. I think it was the right call. I always saw Slater as being somewhere in the middle of the pack. As for Gabriel, I was high on him when the series first started, but I became less and less impressed with him as it went on. However, he had a good match against Barrett on this show (which Gabriel won, surprisingly), and for the first time in weeks I saw something in him again.

• Cole yelling “Apologize!” as Bryan was being pulled off of him was hilarious. By the way, how inept was Cole’s security? Four guys couldn’t stop Bryan from getting to him?

• Cole said that Bryan’s attack was the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to him. Really? I seem to remember a disturbing scene with Heidenreich and Cole in a closet some years back. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin beat him up pretty good one time, as well.

• When the pros were introduced at the top of the show, I knew there was no way that CM Punk was going to be there. WWE wasn’t about to give away Punk’s first appearance sans hair on NXT.

• The tag team match in which Otunga and R-Truth defeated Slater and Christian wasn’t bad. Otunga is green in the ring for sure, but I don’t think he’s as bad as some make him out to be.

• Why did Matt Striker ask the rookies again who they think should be eliminated? He just asked them that question the night before on Raw. The funny thing is that the guys gave different answers. Gabriel even pointed out that if you ask him the question three times he’ll give you three different answers.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 1:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (39)
        

I have been alerted to the fact that a supposed pro wrestler named Justin "Rated R" Rego is one of the participants on the ABC reality show “The Bachelorette,” which had its season premiere Monday night. One of my co-workers – Sarah Kickler Kelber, who does the Reality Check blog on this site – asked me today if I knew anything about him, so I did a little checking.

Rego, from Toronto, Ontario, apparently is referred to on the show as an “entertainment wrestler.” I’ve never heard that term before, nor have I ever heard of Rego.I did a quick Google search and couldn't find anything about him wrestling for any promotion.

I’m blogging about this for two reasons: One is to ask my Canadian peeps if they know anything about this guy as far as him being a wrestler; and the other is make a shameless attempt at increasing my traffic by putting “The Bachelorette” in a headline.

By the way, I wonder how long it will be before TNA signs this guy to a contract (can anyone say Jenna Morasca?)

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

John Morrison has been battling an ankle injury as of late, pwinsider.com has reported. That would explain why he hasn’t been on Raw the past two weeks.

The severity of the injury and how long he may be out of action are not known at this time.

Morrison joins Randy Orton (separated shoulder) and Ted DiBiase Jr. (concussion) on Raw’s injured list.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

For the most part, Monday night’s episode of Raw was predictable: Bret Hart relinquished the U.S. title that he won on last week’s show and was named the brand’s new general manger; the competitors for the WWE title match at next month’s Fatal Fourway pay-per-view ended up being John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge and Sheamus; and it became official that Batista is gone from WWE for the foreseeable future.

There also were a few surprises, however, including one involving Batista. I figured we had seen the last of him for a while after he took an Attitude Adjustment from Cena off a car and through the stage after their match at Sunday night’s Over the Limit pay-per-view, but he came out during the opening segment Monday and cut a promo.

Batista, who reportedly suffered a lower back injury during his match Sunday, was selling an injury to his left arm (he had it in a sling) and was helped by two referees down the ramp and into the ring, where he sat down in a wheelchair. He demanded a rematch against Cena after he is fully recovered. The ring announcer interrupted Batista to introduce Hart as the new Raw GM. Hart informed Batista that to get his title shot, he would have to beat Orton on this show in a qualifying match for inclusion in the upcoming fourway. When Batista said they he was physically unable to compete, Hart declared Orton the winner by forfeit. Batista threw a tantrum, said that he was quitting WWE and stormed out.

I really liked this segment. Batista cut a good heel promo to ensure that he would not get any sympathy from the fans despite his injuries, and the announcement of Hart as GM got a big pop. Since Hart has decided to remain in WWE, this is the best role for him.

In other unexpected developments, R-Truth defeated The Miz in a match for the vacant U.S. title, and a new tag team laid out The Hart Dynasty.

Other thoughts on Monday’s show:

There is one major logic flaw with Hart getting the GM gig: Why would Vince McMahon give the job to his bitter enemy? To WWE’s credit, it did not ignore the obvious, as Michael Cole posed the question after the announcement. I wonder if WWE will provide an answer at some point. …

The main event – a triple threat match between Cena, Edge and Chris Jericho – was good. The stipulation was that if either Edge or Jericho got the victory, the winner would gain a spot in the fourway match, but if Cena prevailed, neither of them would get in. The match was fast-paced and there were a lot of nice three-way spots and near falls. I had no doubt that Edge was going to win, but I was surprised that he pinned Jericho instead of Cena. A win over Cena would have given Edge some momentum. Plus, it was made clear in commentary that Cena was hurting from his match the previous night against Batista, so he had an out for losing. But I suppose I should never be surprised when Jericho does a job, no matter the circumstances. Cole did make the point that this match showed how Cena doesn’t have to get pinned to lose the title in the fourway. …

The cut on Cena’s forehead that he got during Sunday’s match started bleeding during the triple threat, but the match was not halted so that the wound could be closed. That was a good decision, because there were only about five minutes left in the show and the match was building to the finish. A stoppage at that point would have killed the heat. …

Orton, who suffered a separated shoulder during his match against Edge Sunday, made his only appearance on the show at the very end, when he came out on the stage to stare down his three opponents in the fourway. There has been no word as to whether Orton will be back in the ring before the Fatal Fourway show on June 20. Depending on the severity of his injury, it may not even be a sure thing that he will participate in the fourway match. …

Sheamus defeated Mark Henry in his qualifying match. Talk about a match with a foregone conclusion. …

I’ve been advocating a push for R-Truth for nearly two years, so I was very pleasantly surprised that he defeated The Miz to capture the vacant U.S. title. I hope WWE gives him a legitimate opportunity to get to the next level. As for Miz, he’s at the point now where he doesn’t need a belt to get over. …

The Miz did a horrible job of catching R-Truth when he dove over the top rope. Miz barely got a hand on him, as R-Truth nearly went headfirst onto the floor. R-Truth is very lucky that he wasn’t seriously injured. …

It seemed kind of arbitrary that R-Truth and Miz were put in a match to determine a new U.S. champion. I was expecting there to be a tournament, which could have gotten guys such as John Morrison and Evan Bourne on the show. Speaking of Morison, after the draft last month, I thought for sure he had the No. 3 babyface slot on the current Raw roster (behind Cena and Orton) sewn up, but it appears that R-Truth has passed him. …

The Hart Dynasty scored an impressive win over William Regal and Vladimir Kozlov in a match that didn’t even last two minutes. The story was the post-match, however, as an unknown tag team came out and jumped THD. The two men took out Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith, while a woman who was with them attacked Natalya. The three newcomers hit simultaneous splashes off the top rope. For the record, the team is Jimmy and Jules Uso, who are the twin sons of former WWE star Rikishi; and the woman is Sarona Snuka, the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. …

I was not looking forward to Jon Lovitz as guest host, but to put a twist on something Shawn Michaels said during his last run with DX, God help me, but I laughed at some of that stuff. When The Great Khali and Ranjin Singh came out in coat and tails during the “WWE Superstar Search” segment and sang “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in a recreation of a famous scene from the 1970s move “Young Frankenstein,” I couldn’t help but laugh. Then when Jillian Hall made her way onto the stage and Lovitz – who was the judge of this “talent” contest – hit the buzzer on her before she even opened her mouth, I laughed again.

A segment that was so bad that it was good quickly deteriorated into just plain bad after that, however. Lovitz asked if there was anyone in the crowd who had some type of talent, and he selected a plant in the front row. The guy said his talent was that he can remove his eyeball from the socket – and he did exactly that (it was a glass eye). You can’t make this stuff up. At that point I was ready for the segment to end, but out came Ted DiBiase Jr. and Virgil, and then Santino Marella. There was one more amusing moment, as Marella said that he had learned a nerve-hold from Lovitz. He applied it to Virgil, who hit the mat like he was shot. Then Marella tried it on DiBiase, but it didn’t work, and DiBiase laid him out with Dream Street. …

When DiBiase entered the ring, Lovitz asked several times, “Who is this guy?” Way to bury DiBiase. By the way, DiBiase reportedly suffered a concussion from a hard slap to the head from R-Truth during their match at Over the Limit, which explains why he didn’t wrestle on Raw. …

The four remaining rookies on WWE NXT – Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater – appeared with Josh Matthews in a brief backstage segment. Each rookie was asked who they think should be the next one eliminated. The last time that question was posed to the rookies on NXT, Otunga was ganged up on, but this time Slater was singled out by the other three. …

Cole said that he was going to demand an apology from Daniel Bryan on NXT Tuesday night, and that if Bryan didn’t apologize, Cole was going to sue him. I’m looking forward to seeing how this one plays out. …

Maryse pinned WWE Divas champion Eve in a tag team match, so it looks as if their program will continue. I always root for Maryse to win whenever she wrestles just so I can watch her cover her opponent.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (33)
        

On a night in which WWE champion John Cena made a quitter out of Batista, and CM Punk was shaved bald, WWE’s Over the Limit pay-per-view Sunday was overshadowed by a serious injury to one of the company’s biggest stars.

Randy Orton suffered a separated right shoulder in his match against Edge, wwe.com reported.

It was obvious that Orton was legitimately hurt when he began gingerly holding his dangling right arm immediately after doing the set-up spot for the RKO in which he violently pounds on the mat. Orton and Edge quickly went to an improvised double count-out finish in a match that lasted just under 13 minutes. The scene was reminiscent of Orton’s match against Triple H at the One Night Stand pay-per-view two years ago when Orton suffered a broken collarbone.

Orton’s injury and his abbreviated match with Edge put a damper on the show, and the Jack Swagger-Big Show match that immediately followed took it down another notch. The match – which Big Show won when Swagger, the world heavyweight champion, got himself intentionally disqualified – only went five minutes and was a big disappointment for a pay-per-view world title bout.

The Cena-Batista and Mysterio-Punk matches both delivered and most of the other matches were solid. The only title change among the five championship matches saw Kofi Kingston win the Intercontinental title from Drew McIntyre in the opener. Surprisingly, not a single heel got a victory on the show.

Perhaps due to the Orton-Edge match being shortened, the pay-per-view ended 16 minutes before the top of the hour, which is a good 5-to-10 minutes earlier than usual.

Here is a match-by-match look at the show:

WWE champion John Cena defeated Batista in an I Quit Match (20:30): It was pretty much a sure thing that Cena was going to win; the only question was what he would have to do to get Batista to say those two little words. Despite the predictable result, the match was entertaining. The first key spot occurred at the 6:15 mark, when Batista trapped Cena in what used to be known as The Rings of Saturn (Michael Cole referred to it as “Batista’s new submission maneuver.”) Cena powered out of it and immediately applied the STF. Batista passed out from the pain, so the match continued since he did not say that he quit. Cena revived him by pouring a bottle of water on him, and the match continued. Near the 11-minute mark, Batista power-slammed Cena through the announce table. The bump left Cena bleeding from the forehead and the match was stopped as a medic cleaned him up. After the medic finished, Batista told him to “come back later. He’s going to need you.” That was a great ad-lib.

Cena and Batista proceeded to fight through the crowd and up the arena steps. Batista teased dropping Cena off an elevated section of the concourse level, but Cena escaped and punched Batista, who fell from the section onto a group of security guys. At the 18:30 mark, Batista got in one of the cars that was sitting up on the stage as part of the set and backed it up, apparently crushing Cena up against the wall. A few seconds later, Cena emerged from behind the car none the worse for wear. Matt Striker said that Cena obviously had rolled out of the way. Cena then hit an Attitude Adjustment onto the car. When Batista still refused to quit, Cena said, “I was hoping you would say that.” Cena dragged Batista on top of the car and teased hitting an Attitude Adjustment off of it. As Batista was up on Cena’s shoulders, he said “I quit! I quit!” Cena delivered the move anyway, and Batista went crashing through the stage for the big spot of the night. Apparently this was Batista’s WWE swan song, at least for now. Striker said that “Cena knew he had to get rid of Batista, seemingly forever.” This was a convincing win for Cena, who has defeated Batista on three consecutive pay-per-views. As Cena celebrated his victory on the stage, Sheamus came out from the back and took him out with a bicycle kick to the face.

The Big Show defeated world heavyweight champion Jack Swagger by disqualification (5:05): After the unfortunate conclusion to the Edge-Randy Orton match, the last thing WWE should have done was have the very next match end in groan-worthy fashion. I get it that WWE didn’t want Big Show to get pinned or Swagger to lose the title, but it certainly could have come up with a more satisfying finish than having Swagger hit Big Show in the head with the title belt to intentionally get himself DQ’d after just five minutes of action. It amazes me that WWE didn't change things on the fly after the Edge-Orton match was cut short and at least have Swagger and Big Show go five minutes longer than originally planned. After the match, Swagger attacked Big Show with a chair, but Big Show made a comeback. He nailed Swagger with the chair, chokeslammed him onto it and then knocked him out with a big right hand. Swagger came off looking like anything but a credible champion.

Edge and Randy Orton wrestled no a double-countout (12:49): Just as things were starting to heat up, Orton got hurt, and a match that people had high expectations for came to an abrupt end.

Rey Mysterio defeated CM Punk (13:47): For my money, this was the most compelling match on the card due to the stipulations – Punk’s hair vs. Mysterio joining the Straight Edge Society – and the fact that it was hard to predict who was going to win. The match came to a halt at about the three-minute mark as a medic attended to a huge gash on Punk’s forehead, which appeared to be the result of him taking a header into the barricade. It was reported on pwinsider.com that it took a dozen staples to close the wound. The break in the action actually may have come at an opportune time, as Mysterio appeared to be shaken up after taking a scary-looking bump. Punk had thrown him through the ropes and headfirst into the barber’s chair that was outside the ring. Mysterio hit the chair hard and looked as if he jammed his neck.

After the match resumed, there was some good back-and-forth action and exciting near falls. Mysterio eventually hit the 619, but he missed the springboard splash. Punk made a nonchalant cover by leaning back on top of Mysterio, but Mysterio snatched Punk in a crucifix cradle for the win. Punk freaked out as he realized he was about to get his head shaved. Luke Gallows, Serena and the masked man – all of whom were banned from ringside – came out and ganged up on Mysterio, but Kane of all people made the save. I have no idea what stake Kane has in any of this. Mysterio handcuffed Punk – who was bleeding heavily again – to the ropes and shaved off a good amount of his hair (the rest of it reportedly was shaved off backstage). Punk did a great job of selling the extreme haircut. I’m expecting a clean-shaven Punk to take his evilness to a new level.

Kofi Kingston defeated Intercontinental champion Drew McIntyre to win the title (6:24): This match was not at all what I had envisioned. Not only did Kingston take the title from McIntyre, but he did so rather easily. McIntyre went for the Future Shock DDT, but Kingston countered and hit an impressive-looking SOS for the victory. After the match, McIntyre demanded that Smackdown general manager Teddy Long come out and reverse the decision. Instead of Long appearing, however, Matt Hardy hit the ring and laid out McIntyre with the Twist of Fate. This came off like a burial of McIntyre, so perhaps the rumors of him having heat backstage are not without merit. I still think the guy has a huge upside.

WWE unified tag team champions The Hart Dynasty defeated Chris Jericho and The Miz (10:43): I was convinced that the belts were changing hands here, but THD won clean with The Hart Attack. This was a well-worked match with several decent near falls during the last couple minutes.

WWE Divas champion Eve Torres defeated Maryse (5:03): The Divas take a lot of abuse from Internet critics – most of whom don’t seem willing to even give them a chance – but I thought this was a fun match. Eve has improved a lot, and whatever Maryse lacks in in-ring ability, she compensates for with her facial expressions and mannerisms. Eve got the win after she countered Maryse’s French Kiss DDT, straddled Maryse’s head with her legs and then dropped down, driving Maryse’s face into the mat.

R-Truth defeated Ted DiBiase Jr. (7:46): I’m not surprised that R-Truth won, but I am surprised that Virgil wasn’t a factor in the finish. Either DiBiase was doing a great sell job or he was legitimately stunned by a hard slap to the face early in the match. Eventually, R-Truth hit the Lie Detector for the clean victory. I wouldn’t be surprised if DiBiase blames his loss on Virgil and fires him tonight on Raw.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (34)
        

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

WWE champion John Cena vs. Batista in an I Quit match: Unless WWE is planning a swerve of monumental proportions, this one looks like a no-brainer. Beyond the fact that this very well could be Batista’s last match in WWE for a while, hearing Cena utter the words “I quit” is just inconceivable. The wild card here is Sheamus. He has had a presence throughout the build for this match, so it’s likely that he’ll get involved tonight. I expect Cena to score a decisive win in the final chapter of this feud, and then go on to defend the title against Sheamus, Edge and Randy Orton at next month’s Fatal Fourway pay-per-view.

World heavyweight champion Jack Swagger vs. The Big Show: At this stage of his career, Big Show doesn’t cut it as a world champion, so look for Swagger to leave the ring with his reign intact. Another possible scenario is that Big Show wins the title and then drops it back to Swagger in a rematch on Smackdown this week. Either way, it will be interesting to see what kind of match these two can put together.

Edge vs. Randy Orton: The first match of this program between two of WWE’s top superstars could go either way, but I have a feeling that Orton is coming out on top in this one. This figures to be an excellent match.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio: On a card that appears strong on paper, this match has potential to be the show-stealer. Because of the stipulations – Punk gets his head shaved if he loses, and Mysterio has to join the Straight Edge Society if he loses – this is the most compelling match on the show, in my opinion. At one point I was sure that Punk was going to end up bald – which could actually add a new level of creepiness to his character – but I now think that Punk will prevail thanks to another assist from the mysterious masked man (who most likely will be revealed as Joey Mercury). Instead of Mysterio joining the SES, however, I could see Punk and his followers attacking and injuring him, which would give Mysterio a story line reason to take some time off and get the knee surgery he has been putting off for months.

Intercontinental champion Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston: WWE has done a good job of getting heat on McIntyre over the past few weeks and also putting over the prestige of the title. It’s too soon for McIntyre to get his comeuppance, so look for him to cheat his way to a victory.

WWE unified tag team champions The Hart Dynasty vs. Chris Jericho and The Miz: The whole reason Raw’s Jericho and Miz formed a team was so they could win the championship and appear on Smackdown to exact revenge on Big Show for knocking them both out. I think that’s how it’s going to play out. Plus, there’s a lot of entertainment value in a Jericho/Miz partnership.

WWE Divas champion Eve vs. Maryse: It looks as if WWE is getting behind Eve as one of the centerpieces of the women’s division, so I expect her to win.

Ted DiBiase Jr. vs. R-Truth: I think the key to this match is Virgil. Wait, did I really just write that in 2010? Anyway, I believe the DiBiase/Virgil alliance is going to be extremely short-lived. Virgil, recalling how much of a spoiled brat Junior DiBiase was as a kid during his years working for Ted Sr., turns on him and helps R-Truth win the match. And DiBiase’s search for the “new Virgil” continues.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

• Santino Marella got Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars off to a fun start. Prior to his scheduled match against Vladimir Kozlov, Marella once again attempted to recruit Kozlov to be his tag team partner. Marella was hilarious on the mic, as he tried to sell Kozlov on the idea by – among other things – quoting from “Rocky IV.” The whole time Marella was talking, Kozlov did what he does best – just stand there stone-faced. When Marella was done, he said that after the bell rings, it was up to Kozlov whether they fight or leave the ring together. Kozlov chose the former. He grabbed Marella and landed a few head-butts to the chest – which caused Marella to let out high-pitched screams – and then hit the Iron Curtain for the victory. Most entertaining Kozlov match ever.

• I enjoyed the main event, which saw Christian defeat Dolph Ziggler in a good 10-minute match between two of the most underrated guys in the business.

• In another solid match, Cody Rhodes was impressive in his victory over Chris Masters.

• In a battle of two solid veterans who don’t win very often, Goldust defeated William Regal in what I’d call a mild upset. Goldust suffered a cut near his ear during the match, which resulted in the action being halted temporarily while a medic tended to him. During the stoppage, Regal played to the crowd, which was good thinking on his part. Thanks to him, time didn’t just stand still here like it has in other WWE matches that were interrupted due to a medic treating a competitor’s wound.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

After a string of entertaining episodes of Smackdown, Friday night’s show was a disappointment, especially considering that it was the final Smackdown before Sunday’s Over the Limit pay-per-view. The show wasn’t terrible, but if you didn’t watch it, you certainly didn’t miss anything.

The highlight was a decent non-title match between world heavyweight champion Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston, which Kingston won thanks to a distraction by The Big Show.

I’m not thrilled with Swagger getting pinned yet again (I’ve lost count of how many times he has jobbed since winning the title), but at least he didn’t lose clean, and Big Show costing him the match adds fuel to their feud. Plus, Kingston pinning the world champ gives him momentum heading into his match with Intercontinental champion Drew McIntyre on Sunday.

Other thoughts on Friday’s show:

Swagger interfering in Big Show’s match against McIntyre – which resulted in Big Show winning by disqualification – was predictable, but it made sense since Big Show had done the same thing to him earlier. Swagger attacked Big Show after the match, targeting the big right hand that Big Show uses to deliver the knockout punch. …

The show opened with CM Punk shaving the heads of three male “fans” looking to join the Straight Edge Society. Rey Mysterio eventually came out on the ramp and had a verbal exchange with Punk. This segment was not nearly as heated as other recent ones involving Punk and Mysterio. At the conclusion, Punk, Luke Gallows and Serena attacked the three bald pledges, which didn’t really make sense to me. …

Gallows placing the guys’ hands on their hearts during their induction was a nice touch. …

The tag team match that saw Mysterio and MVP defeat Punk and Gallows was fine but nothing special. …

Clips of The Big Show mocking Swagger’s accomplishments – including imitating Swagger’s toothy grin – were somewhat amusing. …

The Divas tag team match in which LayCool defeated Kelly Kelly and Tiffany was fun to watch. It was fast-paced and all four competitors showed athleticism and put forth good efforts. …

Layla and Michelle McCool were referred to as “self-professed co-WWE women’s champions.” I’m glad WWE is making it clear that it is not officially acknowledging McCool as a champion. I still don’t care for the angle, but at least McCool is not going to be allowed to defend a title she doesn’t hold (at least that’s the impression I got). …

When Christian said that his guest on The Peep Show was going to be someone he has never seen eye to eye with, it was a huge letdown when it turned out to be Hornswoggle. They don’t see eye to eye – get it? Groan. After some lame “comedy” with Christian and Hornswoggle and an appearance by Vickie and Chavo Guerrero, Dolph Ziggler mercifully put an end to the nonsense, as he attacked Christian and laid him out with the Zig-Zag. The only redeeming aspect of this segment is that it was a means to establishing a Christian-Ziggler program, which should be good. …

There were two throwaway matches on this show. One saw JTG defeat Caylen Croft, and the other was a squash victory for the tag team of Vance Archer and Curt Hawkins over two enhancement guys. Archer and Hawkins aren’t bad in the ring, but the big question is if they will ever be able to connect with the audience. …

While Swagger was attacking Big Show, Matt Striker said, “Swags the Dog is barking.” If you have young children or live in Australia, you understood the reference.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

Scott Hall, a member of the TNA world tag team champions, was arrested last week on charges of disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer at a bar in Florida, The Orlando Sentinel reported Friday.

Citing sheriff’s records, the story said that the bartender told a deputy that Hall had been “drinking heavily” and “became aggressive,” pushing a customer and arguing with the female bartender. After the bartender lined up a ride home for Hall, he punched the window of the car and pushed two female patrons near the car, according to the report.

When the deputy arrived, he said that Hall was yelling and cursing and appeared intoxicated, with slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. When Hall was told that he was being taken into custody, he refused to comply and the deputy forcibly put him in handcuffs, according to the documentation.

Hall was taken to the Seminole jail and later was issued a trespass warning that forbid him from ever returning to the bar.

On a side note, Hall, 51, listed his occupation on the booking sheet as “professional wrestler.” Under employer, the word “unemployed” was inserted.

Perhaps Hall is prescient.

Photo from Seminole County Sheriff's Office via Orlando Sentinel

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)
        

My main frustrations with TNA continue to be the creative team’s failure to apply basic booking concepts and take full advantage of having such a talented roster.

Take Thursday night’s Impact, for example. Jeff Hardy versus Sting is something of a dream match – at the very least it’s a compelling match – because they have never faced each other and Sting was one of Hardy’s favorite wrestlers growing up. With Sting now an out-of-control heel and Hardy one of TNA’s top-level babyfaces, this story line basically writes itself. It’s a program that potentially could produce three pay-per-view matches between the two this summer, which just might spike TNA’s poor buy rates.

Instead, the match took place on Impact and did not come off as anything special. What a wasted opportunity. And speaking of wasted opportunities, if TNA is turning Mr. Anderson babyface, it’s way too premature. Like Hardy-Sting, a program between Anderson and TNA world champion Rob Van Dam could headline multiple pay-per-views.

During the Hardy-Sting match, Anderson did a run-in and laid out Sting, allowing Hardy to pick up the victory. So Sting, supposedly a nasty heel, came off as the wronged party. After the match, Sting attacked both Hardy and Anderson with his bat. It’s unclear whether Anderson is legitimately turning babyface or if he is setting up Hardy. Either way, it’s all just too convoluted to have any significant impact.

It seems as if the TNA brain trust believes that ambiguous characters and confusing plot twists are required to make a story compelling, but a simple approach – clearly defined good guys and bad guys with transparent motivations for their actions – is often the best way to captivate viewers.

Other thoughts on Thursday’s show:

I liked the opening segment in which the top 10 contenders were revealed. It’s a unique concept. However, it’s hard to buy Sting and Kurt Angle as the Nos. 1 and 2 contenders, respectively, ahead of Hardy, who was No. 4 (A.J. Styles was No. 3). The rankings are based on online fan voting, win-loss records and career accomplishments. Judging by the order, however, the fan voting didn’t mean much. And what do career accomplishments have to do with who the top contenders are right now? Heck, why not put Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair at the top of the rankings? …

Angle being ranked second was absurd considering that he hasn’t been on TV in a month. Even more absurd was what happened after the rankings were announced. Angle said that he no longer considered himself an elite performer in TNA, a statement that is totally inconsistent with his character. Then he said he was relinquishing his No. 2 ranking and that he needed to earn his spot, which he would do by defeating the nine other contenders, starting at No. 10 and working his way up. Come on, no one would do that willingly. That sounds like something a heel authority figure would do to stick it to a babyface. …

I liked the angle with Sting attacking RVD from the crowd while the latter was slapping hands with fans (although it wasn’t as good as when Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio did a similar angle in WWE last year). …

Desmond Wolfe was really good during the angle in which he was forced to turn Chelsea over to Abyss for 30 days. Abyss, by the way, reportedly received 16 stitches in his arm as the result of Wolfe attacking him with a broken bottle. Someone really needs to save Abyss from himself. It would be one thing if mutilating himself translated into ratings or pay-per-view buys, but it does neither. …

It was nice to see Jay Lethal in a high profile match, as he teamed with RVD to defeat Beer Money. Lethal got the win for his team when he forced Robert Roode to submit to the figure-four leglock. It appears that Lethal has dropped The Black Machismo gimmick. As entertaining as Lethal was doing the Randy Savage imitation, it’s probably the right call if he is ever going to move up the card. Hopefully, Lethal will still break out his Savage and Flair impressions (and whoever else he does) from time to time. …

Lethal did come off looking like a geek, however, when he acted all giddy about RVD being his partner. By the way, why did RVD wrestle in a T-shirt? …

It looks as if Kazarian is going to be aligned with Flair. As long as Kazarian doesn’t bleach his hair and start wearing feathered robes, the association should benefit him. …

I was glad to see the underrated Roxxi back. Her clean victory over TNA Knockouts champion Madison Rayne in a non-title match was portrayed as a big upset, but I don’t see it that way. Sure, Rayne is the champ, but I don’t think most people believe she is championship material. …

The backstage skirmish between Team 3D and Ink Inc. was well done and believable. …

I’ve been an Eric Young supporter ever since he abandoned his comedic gimmick, but his character has been damaged by the frequent turns, especially the most recent one in which he inexplicably joined The Band. Young’s delivery on his promo on this show was fine, but I just don’t care anymore what he has to say. …

I didn’t like the finish to the Orlando Jordan-Rob Terry match. Jordan had a submission hold on Terry’s injured knee, and the referee just stopped the match and awarded it to Jordan even though Terry did not tap out. If TNA didn’t want Terry to lose by submission, it could at least have done the “passed out from the pain” deal. …

After not having a match at the Sacrifice pay-per-view last Sunday, Matt Morgan got about 10 seconds of screen time on this show. Huh?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
        

Even though it was his first Wellness Policy violation, Carlito (Carlos Colon) was released by WWE for his subsequent refusal to attend a rehabilitation facility, the company announced on its Web site.

Under the guidelines of WWE’s program, the penalty for a first offense is a 30-day suspension. Three violations results in termination. In a similar situation to Carlito’s, the late Umaga (Edward Fatu) was released last year for his refusal to go to rehab after his second violation.

Carlito, who had been with WWE since 2004, had the reputation of being a talented performer whose lack of motivation prevented him from rising above the mid-card. He and his brother, Primo, reunited as a heel tag team a couple weeks ago, but it did not seem as if they were in line for a significant push.

Carlito, 31, reportedly asked WWE for his release in 2007 due to frustration over the direction of his character, but was talked into staying. There was speculation around that time that he was bound for TNA.

It wouldn’t surprise anyone if he ended up in TNA now that he is a free agent, although there is talk that TNA will be reducing its talent payroll imminently.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
        

I conducted a phone interview Thursday with Ted DiBiase Jr., who will face R-Truth Sunday as part of WWE’s Over the Limit pay-per-view.

I interviewed your father a couple years ago and he mentioned that he had discouraged you and your brother from following in his footsteps and becoming pro wrestlers. At what point did you know for sure that wrestling was what you wanted to do, and when did your father give his blessing?

Honestly, as far back as I can remember I knew I wanted to wrestle. As I got into my teens, there were a few moments where I really went to my dad saying, “I’m not kidding. I’d really like to give this a shot.” No. No. No. It wasn’t until I was a senior in college when my father got hired back as an agent and part of creative, and he saw then that the business had changed so much after it had gone corporate. It was just a new atmosphere. Guys were making more money and were more successful. They had instilled programs that promote health and wellness. So it was a changed atmosphere and that’s when my dream was revived. I went to him and said, “Look, I’ve got a year left in college, and when I graduate, this is what I want to do.” And I threw in the line, and he’ll tell you all the time, I said, “Dad, you’re my hero and I just want to be like you.” And I meant it, but I knew he couldn’t say no to that, so he finally gave in.

Has sharing a name with a famous wrestler and a great worker like your father been a bit of a blessing and a curse? Being a second- or third-generation wrestler opens doors for you, but on the other hand, it also raises expectations.

Exactly. It’s probably more of a curse than a blessing, especially right at the beginning. You are – you’re under the microscope. Every move you make, everything you say or do will be compared to what your father did, and mine just happened to be a Hall of Famer. The Million Dollar Man was one of the greatest villains ever in this business. So the comparisons and the expectations were very high. But that was a challenge I was willing to take on, and I knew that going in. My dad made that very clear. Even coming from other wrestlers, I think there was an attitude at first of, “Oh, he’s only here because of his father,” and that just motivated me more and gave me more of a drive to succeed on my own and to make a name for myself. I think I’ve done that.

Do you and your father talk much about wrestling? Does he critique your performances or offer suggestions?

Oh, yeah. I always ask my father what he thought because I definitely value any feedback I can get from him and I’m constantly trying to learn. I always want to get better. I think that’s one of the biggest things: never settle and keep pushing to get better. That’s why the guys that are on top are on top, because they never stop learning.

What was it like working closely with Randy Orton? I’m talking backstage, off camera. Was he in any way a mentor to you and Cody Rhodes?

Yeah, absolutely. Gosh, I’m going to say that was one of the defining moments in my career. I was lucky enough to be paired with a veteran who had experience with so many of the top talent that has come through the WWE. Randy has wrestled everyone, from The Rock to Hulk Hogan to all the top guys – Shawn [Michaels] and Hunter [Triple H]. He’s had that experience. He was part of Evolution with Hunter, Batista and Ric Flair – he got to ride with him and pick his brain, and so Cody and myself got to pick Randy’s brain. For two young guys coming up, you couldn’t ask for a better opportunity or a better guy to learn from – in the ring [laughs].

You’re making the transition now from being a member of a tag team to a singles wrestler. Assess how that transition has gone to this point.

I think it’s going great. I’m loving it, now that I’ve just inherited my trust fund from my father. Who wouldn’t want to be me? I’ve got all the money I need and the Million Dollar title, and I’m as happy and cocky as ever [laughs]. No, it’s fun, man. This was a goal for both Cody and I, to go on our own and have successful careers by ourselves. I’m sure somewhere down the road we’ll meet up again. I wish him the best of luck. I know he’s going to do great on Smackdown.

There was a lot of speculation that when Legacy inevitably split up, you would be turned babyface, but obviously that didn’t happen. Was that ever the plan, and if so, do you know why it didn’t end up going down that way?

That’s the funny thing about the rumors and the Internet. There are so many people out there that they just know a hundred percent what’s going to happen, and it’s so funny when they’re wrong [laughs]. I never felt that way. That was just something that kind of had a snowball effect.

Photo courtesy of WWE

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Q&As
        

Let the rumors begin. TNA president Dixie Carter posted the following on Twitter earlier tonight:

“Just left my first music showcase in a while. Wanna guess the artist? Mickie James. Thanks for the invite girl.”

James, who was let go by WWE last month, was performing in Nashville, Tenn., at the release party for her country music CD, “Strangers and Angels.”

Posted by Kevin Eck at 9:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
        

WWE has a feature on its Web site in which it lists the Top 25 Big Men in WWE History. They define a “big man” as standing at least 6 feet 7 or weighing at least 300 pounds (some on the list are both).

I have come up with my own Top 10 list of big men, although I am using different criteria. Mine is about height, not weight, so rotund wrestlers on WWE’s list such as Haystacks Calhoun, Yokozuna and King Kong Bundy are not eligible.

I set a height of 6-6 as the minimum for inclusion on the list. Since the billed heights of wrestlers are routinely exaggerated by a few inches, I made an honest effort to select guys who are legitimately 6-6 or taller.

Like the wwe.com feature, this is a WWE-themed list and reflects only the wrestlers’ accomplishments in the WWWF/WWF/WWE. The rankings are based on star power and impact.

1. Andre The Giant: The first person I think of when someone says “WWE big man” is Andre. He was a special attraction for over a decade and was one of the most recognizable figures in wrestling in the ’70s and ’80s. His epic encounters with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III in 1987 and on “The Main Event” on NBC in 1988 are two of the most famous matches in history.

2. The Undertaker: “The Dead Man” has been one of WWE’s top stars for 20 years and has one of the most successful gimmicks of all time. He has had more opportunity to display his impressive agility and in-ring ability during the second half of his WWE run. His undefeated streak at WrestleMania has become legendary and his matches with Shawn Michaels the past two years are regarded as classics.

3. Killer Kowalski: One of wrestling’s all-time greatest heels moved incredibly well for a big man and had tremendous stamina. He was among Bruno Sammartino’s top rivals during Sammartino’s two WWWF title reigns in the ’60s and ’70s. Kowalski also held the WWWF tag team title in the ’70s along with John Studd as the masked Executioners.

4. Don Leo Jonathan: “The Mormon Giant” is perhaps the most agile big man ever. Like Kowalski, he had a number of classic encounters with Sammartino for the WWWF title, and also challenged Pedro Morales for the belt. In addition, Jonathan engaged in a battle of the big men against Andre The Giant.

5. Ernie Ladd: “The Big Cat” had several successful stints in the WWWF, challenging Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund for the world title in the ’70s. Ladd, who generated a lot of heat in his day, also tangled with Andre The Giant.

6. Kevin Nash (Diesel): His WWF title run in 1994-1995 is the ninth-longest reign in the company’s 47-year history. Although he was never regarded as a good in-ring performer, he did have exceptional matches with the likes of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart during his first stint in WWE, and with Triple H in his second.

7. The Big Show: He has been with WWE for most of the past decade and has worked programs with a number of top stars during that span. He is a multiple-time world champion and has participated in several high-profile matches at WrestleMania.

8. Sid: He held the WWF title on two occasions between late ’96 and early ’97, defeating Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, respectively, for the championship. As Sid Justice, he wrestled in the main event of WrestleMania VIII against Hulk Hogan.

9. John Studd: He is most famous for his Body Slam Challenge and his feud with Andre The Giant, which was capped by a match between the two at the first WrestleMania. Studd also challenged both Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan for the WWF title.

10. Kane: The “brother” of The Undertaker has been a fixture in WWE for the past 13 years. As one of the few remaining holdovers from the Attitude Era, Kane remains popular with fans regardless of whether he works as a babyface or a heel.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
        

Jim Ross addressed his professional future in an entry on his blog late Wednesday night.He reiterated that he is still a WWE employee and will shortly be deciding whether to accept a new role with the company.

Ross hinted that the proposed position would involve scouting and recruiting talent for WWE. That’s something Ross did previously with the company, and he is given credit for putting together the talent roster that helped propel WWE to unprecedented heights during the late 1990s and early part of this decade.

“There is a misconception that I am ‘gone’ from WWE and that is not accurate,” Ross wrote. “I am an employee in good standing, over 17 years, with the company and within a few days my new job description, etc. will be established. At that point I can either commit and go kick a** in a new arena or I can say no thank you.

"I actually do have many interests within the biz that interest me other than announcing although that is my favorite thing to do professionally. Finding another Stone Cold or Rock is intriguing and challenging, for example. I am a major proponent of the developmental system within the business and feel it is the lifeblood for the long term future of wrestling. Even at 58, one finds it hard to leave ‘the nest’ especially if one helps build the nest.”

To read the entire blog entry, click here.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Vote in the poll below and feel free to leave comments.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

• Tuesday’s episode of WWE NXT may have been the best one since the inception of the series. The highlight was a heated angle between Daniel Bryan (that’s the name he was called, so that’s how I’m going to refer to him) and his tormenter, Michael Cole. Bryan and Michael Tarver, who were both eliminated last week by WWE management, were back to deliver farewell promos. Tarver, pretty much like everything he has done on NXT, was unspectacular, but Bryan was very good in delivering a “shoot” promo. He talked about the backstage politics in WWE and how Vince McMahon prefers big guys and only wants to push wrestlers that WWE has created regardless of whether they can actually wrestle. He also said that he doesn’t miss Matt Striker interrupting him all the time, and then he turned his attention to Cole. Bryan said that Cole is just a parrot who repeats what McMahon tells him in his headset. He continued to cut a promo on Cole as he walked down to the announce table to confront him. Cole stood up and Bryan began smacking him around and kicking him before he was pulled off by officials. So now we know that Bryan’s losses and lack of personality and Cole busting on him every week was a work from the start. Time will tell if the approach is successful in getting Bryan over. One thing is for sure: WWE fans have never liked Cole. Roughing him up seems like a sure-fire way to get the fans behind someone.

• Darren Young was eliminated via the pros’ poll, so we’re down to the final four. Wade Barrett and David Otunga remained Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Heath Slater was third and Justin Gabriel was fourth. I’d be surprised of Barrett doesn’t win, as he is more ready for TV than the other three.

• The two matches on the show – Barrett defeated Young, and Gabriel defeated Slater – were nothing special. I’m still not sure if Gabriel is anything more than a guy with a spectacular finishing move and not much else.

• Six of the pros sat on the stage taking notes throughout the show, which I thought added something. R-Truth and Carlito were not there, and their absence was not acknowledged (unless I missed it).

• In a video package, the pros were dead-on in their assessment of Otunga. The consensus was that he had the most charisma and more of a presence than the other rookies, but was the least impressive in the ring.

• Punk was hilarious with his facial expressions during the match between Young (Punk’s rookie) and Barrett. He looked totally uninterested and unimpressed. Punk also was the harshest critic of Otunga.

• Otunga was wearing headphones at the end of the show after the voting results had been announced. That was a nice touch.

• Striker’s frequent interruptions of Bryan throughout the series may have been annoying, but I popped when Striker mercifully cut off Tarver during his long-winded promo Tuesday night.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
        

Due to time constraints and limited access to Ring of Honor programming, I rarely write about ROH, but I was sent this promotional video today for the company’s Death Before Dishonor VIII main event and I thought it was well done and worth posting.

The show, which takes place on June 19 in Toronto, Ontario, and can be watched live on www.gofightlive.tv, is headlined by an ROH title match between champion Tyler Black and Davey Richards.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

On the same episode of Raw in which octogenarian and former astronaut Buzz Aldrin moon-walked (as in Michael Jackson’s moon walk) in the ring, Bret Hart won the U.S. title. I don’t know which was more surreal Monday night.

I suppose it proves that anything really can happen in the WWF, er, WWE.

With Hart, 52, as the U.S. champ and The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith) as the WWE unified tag team champions, the pink and black set hasn’t had this much gold since the early days of the Attitude Era. (I wonder if the recent release of WWE’s “Hart and Soul” DVD has anything to do with it.)

Hart, who hasn’t had a belt around his waist other than the one that holds up his jorts since 2000, defeated The Miz for the title Monday night in a match that predictably was short and loaded with outside interference.

I’m not usually a big fan of putting a belt on non-wrestlers – which “The Hitman” is at this point – because I think it makes the title look like a joke, but at least it wasn’t one of the world titles, and it did make for a feel-good moment.

I’m guessing that Hart relinquishes the title next week on Raw, delivering an emotional promo in which he says that he has lost his smile. Then Shawn Michaels will appear and accuse Hart of being a liar and trying to drop the title without doing a job. Just kidding. I think Hart will give up the title and there will be a tournament to crown a new champion.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Hart ends up becoming Raw general manager, as it was announced Monday that Vickie Guerrero was no longer GM and that the position would be filled on next week’s show. Hart doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave WWE, so it makes sense.

Other thoughts on Monday’s commercial-free show:

Chris Jericho was tremendous on the mic during his exchange with Hart in the opening segment. I know we say that a lot about Jericho, but he was especially good here. Hart, by the way, said “WWF” once when he meant “WWE.” Old habits die hard. I thought Aldrin, Monday’s guest host, was going to make the same slip-up later when he said struggled to get out “WW… E.” …

Aldrin was a little out there at times on the mic, but it actually made him more entertaining. Unfortunately, a large segment of the crowd was disrespectful, booing Aldrin and saying “What?” every time he spoke. Show a little class, people. Perhaps it was a bad idea for WWE to have “an American hero” hosting the show in Canada. …

There were two surprise appearances on the show – by The Undertaker and Virgil. Yes, the real Virgil. Last month when Ted DiBiase Jr. began the search for “his Virgil,” I wrote: “Maybe DiBiase can get the real Virgil – unless TNA has already signed him, that is.” I can’t believe WWE actually did bring in “The Million Dollar Man’s” old bodyguard. I don’t think he’ll be around long. I’m predicting that Virgil turns on DiBiase during his match with R-Truth at the Over the Limit pay-per-view Sunday, and that will be the last we see of him. As for The Undertaker, he made a cameo as Randy Orton’s hand-picked opponent for Edge, but the match never took place. Edge had just wrestled a match against Christian, so he bailed on The Undertaker. …

The Edge-Christian match (won by Edge) was good, especially the last couple minutes. …

I like that Edge selected Jack Swagger to be Orton’s opponent. That gives Swagger credibility, as did Michael Cole referring to him as “the real deal.” I’m also pleased that Swagger didn’t get pinned (he lost by disqualification when Edge interfered). …

The John Cena-Sheamus main event didn’t do much for me, mostly because I don’t really care about Sheamus. I was just waiting for the part when Batista would do his inevitable run-in. I did like the post-match angle with Batista trapping Cena in the old Rings of Saturn submission hold. Cena screaming in pain and Batista telling him to quit was a strong image to end the final Raw before the pay-per-view. …

The clip of Aldrin punching the conspiracy theorist who believed the moon landing was staged was classic. That’s how pro wrestlers used to handle things in the old days when fans got in their faces about wrestling being fake. Wait, does that mean that the moon landing really was a hoax? …

I was happy when Layla won the WWE women’s title instead of Michelle McCool last week on Smackdown. My happiness subsided, however, when each member of LayCool showed up on Raw wearing a championship belt. So there’s one title but two people defending it, each with her own belt? I don’t think even TNA has pulled that one. …

Perhaps if The Miz would have selected better henchmen to watch his back than Vladimir Kozlov – who apparently is a heel after all – and William Regal, he would still be U.S. champion. …

After Hart beat The Miz, Cole suddenly turned into the heel announcer that he plays on WWE NXT. He was bad-mouthing Hart and saying that The Miz was ripped off. …

Jerry Lawler said that he never heard a complaint from Virgil when he was Ted DiBiase Sr.’s “manservant.” Really? I thought they ended up feuding, with Virgil even winning the Million Dollar belt. …

Zack Ryder has the best scam going in WWE. First he gets to hang out with Rosa Mendes, and now he’s paired with Alicia Fox. …

The spoof of the Dos Equis beer commercials (the most interesting man in the world) with Santino Marella was pretty funny. …

Jon Lovitz was announced as next week’s guest host. Ugh. Perhaps it really is time to consider ending the guest host format.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (37)
        

I realized this afternoon that yesterday (May 16) marked the three-year anniversary of Ring Posts. The blog has grown well beyond anything that I envisioned back in 2007, and I’m not saying that to pat myself on the back, but rather to thank everyone reading this who has made that possible.

During my 20-plus year career at The Baltimore Sun, I frequently floated the idea of writing a pro wrestling column, but, not unexpectedly, the powers that be never seriously considered it. The Internet changed that thinking, however.

In my industry, it’s all about the page views now, and specialized blogs have become a commodity. Some people at The Sun had suggested that I write a wrestling blog, but I balked at taking on extra work for no extra money. After a while, I decided to do it because I enjoy writing and I thought it might be fun.

In all honesty, my philosophy when I first started Ring Posts was “you get what you pay for.” I figured I’d write a few blog entries a week, basically whenever I felt like doing so. Ultimately, however, I couldn’t live with putting my name on something that I wasn’t proud of. So I started writing more frequently, and as the audience grew, so did the pressure I put on myself to make it as good as possible.

I also have a bit of a competitive nature, and when the weekly blog metrics reports came out, I began to take pride in seeing Ring Posts consistently in the top three-to-five out of 30-plus blogs on baltimoresun.com.

It’s incredibly gratifying that people actually care what I have to say about a subject that I have been passionate about since I was in the first grade. It still amazes me every time I read a comment from someone from places such as England, Ireland, France and Australia.

It’s a challenge trying to balance writing the blog and watching eight-plus hours of wrestling per week with my duties as an assistant sports editor and family commitments, but Ring Posts remains a labor of love.

Thanks again for making it worthwhile.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (120)
        

Results and thoughts on Sunday night’s TNA Sacrifice pay-per-view:

TNA world champion Rob Van Dam defeated A.J. Styles: RVD going over in his first title defense is clearly the right call. TNA would be wise to keep the belt on him for a while. Most reports described the 25-minute match as very good but not great. It will be interesting to see if RVD moves on to another challenger, and if he does, where Styles goes from here. Following up on their angle on Impact two weeks ago, Ric Flair and Jay Lethal got into it during the match. I hope Lethal gets a push out of this.

Sting defeated Jeff Jarrett: After his ambiguous, borderline-babyface promo on TNA Impact two weeks ago, Sting was all heel here. He viciously attacked Jarrett in the back before the match, bloodying him and attempting to destroy his shoulder. Sting then threw Jarrett into the ring and pinned him in 12 seconds after a Scorpion Death Drop. Sting continued the assault after the match, even knocking Jarrett off a stretcher. It appears that Jarrett is going to be off TV for a while selling the shoulder injury. The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that the match was kept short because it is Sting who actually has a legitimately injured shoulder. I’m very interested to see how TNA follows up on this. Sting still has not explained what may or not be a heel turn.

Jeff Hardy defeated Mr. Anderson: Mr. Anderson has a new name for his followers, and it caught on immediately with the fans, who chanted it during the match. Unfortunately, it cannot be repeated on a family Web site. Here’s a hint: It’s a two-word alliteration that begins with his last name and ends with the word “holes.” Anderson appears to be transforming from a vile heel into a cool heel that people are going to cheer. I think it’s way too soon for that, however. I hope TNA delays the inevitable because there’s a lot more that Anderson can do as a heel (such as working a world title program with RVD), but when it does happen, I think Anderson is going to be the top babyface in the company, surpassing RVD, Hardy, Dinero and everyone else.

Abyss defeated Desmond Wolfe to win Chelsea’s services for 30 days: I don’t think anyone really cares about this story line, although I suppose there is potential for some entertaining segments with Abyss and Chelsea over the next month. Due to the pre-match stipulation (if Wolfe had won, he would have gotten possession of Hulk Hogan’s Hall of Fame ring), the result was pretty obvious.

TNA world tag team champions Kevin Nash and Scott Hall defeated Ink Inc.: Don’t even get me started on this. I suggested last week that The Band should operate under “Freebirds rules” (any two members of the three-man group can defend the titles), and that’s exactly what they’re doing. Unfortunately, Eric Young was the odd man out Sunday night instead of Hall. The big swerve finish was both predictable and an eye-roller. Brother Ray, who earlier backstage had taken offense to a seemingly harmless remark from Team 3D student Jesse Neal, came to the ring, acted as if he was going to nail Nash with a kendo stick, and then hit Neal instead, allowing The Band to get the victory. So now we’re going to get a Team 3D-Ink Inc. feud, which is fine, but I really hope this is going to be one of those deals in which the teacher is showing the student tough love rather than another heel turn for Team 3D. Brother Ray and Brother Devon have gone back and forth way too much as of late. As for The Band, the longer they hold the championship, the more prestige it loses.

TNA Knockouts champion Madison Rayne defeated Tara: I’m glad TNA didn’t attempt as a swerve here. The career of Tara – who reportedly is through with TNA – was on the line, and she put Rayne over clean.

Doug Williams defeated X Division champion Kazarian to win the title: Williams should have never had the title taken from him in the first place – he was stripped of it at last month’s Lockdown pay-per-view because he could not fly out of England due to the volcano – so I’m glad that he got it back.

Global champion Rob Terry defeated Orlando Jordan: The effort is there on the part of both men, but neither guy is over.

The Motor City Machine Guns defeated Team 3D and Beer Money in a match to determine the No. 1 contender to the TNA world tag team title: The hardcore TNA fans have to be pleased with this result. Now TNA just has to follow through and book TMCMG to win the title from The Band.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

• I’ve said several times that WWE Superstars is worth watching because you don’t have to invest a lot of time in it (one hour) or think too much (there is virtually no story line development), and there often are good wrestling matches featuring talent that doesn’t get a significant amount of TV time on Raw or Smackdown. However, if Thursday’s episode is indicative of the direction of the show going forward, I may decide to skip it after all. Two of the four matches were of the squash variety, featuring Vladimir Kozlov and the team of Curt Hawkins (remember him?) and Vance Archer against enhancement talent. In the immortal words of TNA announcer Taz, sitting through that was “not a good way to spend a Thursday night.”

• At least the main event was good, as Dolph Ziggler defeated Chris Masters in a match that went nearly 20 minutes. When given time, Ziggler’s matches are almost always entertaining. Masters has improved a lot, but I don’t see him ever going any higher on the card.

• The Divas tag team match in which Maryse and Jillian Hall defeated The Bella Twins wasn’t bad.

• Kozlov was cheered (not overwhelmingly, but he wasn’t booed) during his quick victory, so I suppose he is a babyface this week. I actually think he has some entertainment value as a comedic babyface.

• I’m willing to bet that a lot of WWE fans thought Hawkins was future-endeavored a long time ago, but he has been on the roster the entire time. Archer, by the way, is growing his hair out, which is a good move. The cookie-cutter “WWE haircut” wasn’t doing him any favors as far as getting his character over.

• During the Ziggler-Masters match, Matt Striker mentioned Chief Jay Strongbow, Ken Patera and Billy Jack Haynes. I think it’s cool when Striker drops names from the past, but it sure does make me feel old that I remember when all of those guys were in their primes.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 1:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Several important questions were answered on Friday night’s Smackdown:

Who won the tournament final to crown a new Intercontinental champion? Answer: Kofi Kingston.

How long would it take before Drew McIntyre’s firing last week was overturned? Answer: He was back on this episode.

Who was the Intercontinental champion at the end of the show? Answer: McIntyre.

In another angle designed to McIntyre over as a heel, Kingston defeated Christian in a good, hard-fought match, but after an elated Kingston was awarded the belt by Smackdown general manager Teddy Long, McIntyre came to the ring with a letter in his hand, which was later revealed to be from Vince McMahon. After McIntyre presented the letter to Long with a smug look on his face, Long told Kingston that he had to relinquish the belt back to McIntyre.

I usually don’t care for angles in which a heel champion loses the title only to have the decision overturned by a corrupt authority figure, but I liked this one because McIntyre was not defeated for the title in the ring. I also liked it because it successfully got a lot of heat on McIntyre and made Kingston a sympathetic figure. It was a good idea not to have McMahon on camera because all of the heat was on McIntyre, who will defend the title against Kingston at the Over the Limit pay-per-view on May 23, WWE announced.

In a nice touch, as a smirking McIntyre walked up the ramp and raised up the belt, the following line from his theme song was playing: “What is yours now is mine.”

Other thoughts on Friday’s show:

Beth Phoenix lost the WWE women’s title to Layla in a handicap match that also involved Michelle McCool. The reason for the title switch is because the knee injury that Phoenix suffered during a match against Rosa Mendes two weeks ago turned out to be more serious than first believed. She has a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), torn meniscus and sprained MCL (medial collateral ligament). She is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday and could be out of action for as long as six months. …

Phoenix losing the two-on-one match was not a surprise, but Layla going over instead of McCool was a pleasant one. Layla has worked hard to improve and she has more personality than McCool in my opinion. I wouldn’t be surprised if Layla turned babyface and feuded with her LayCool partner. McCool celebrated with Layla after her victory, but I don’t see her character being content playing second fiddle. Plus, with Phoenix out and Mickie James having been released, Smackdown is down to just having Kelly Kelly and Tiffany on the babyface Divas side. …

Trivia note: Layla is the second Diva Search winner to capture a title in WWE. Eve, who won the Divas title from Maryse last month, was the first. …

CM Punk and Rey Mysterio had another good match together (Mysterio won by disqualification when the masked man attacked him), but they rightfully didn’t want to give too much away before their match at Over the Limit. They are clearly the top stars on Smackdown at the moment. …

Punk had a great line when he said, “Remember, what doesn’t kill you, makes you better than everyone else.” ...

I concede that the Jack Swagger segment that ended with The Big Show destroying all of his trophies may have gone a bit too long (it went approximately 21 minutes) and it was obvious what was going to happen as soon as it started, but I found it quite entertaining. Swagger has pretty much reverted to his pre-world champion character, which is a good move. He even did the push-ups. I hope fans at least give him a chance to show what he can do as a top guy before they dismiss him. It’s not like it’s his fault that he was booked as a glorified jobber before his recent push. …

When Vickie Guerrero came out to announce that the Phoenix-Mendes match would instead be a handicap match between Phoenix and LayCool, she said that she was the Raw general manager. Didn’t she resign Monday? Not that I’m complaining if she is still in charge. …

Kane versus Chavo Guerrero is a match that I don’t need to see anymore. …

The match in which MVP and JTG defeated The Dudebusters was decent, but I hope the teaming of MVP and JTG was just a one-time thing. It would be nice to see MVP get a singles push (how many times have I written that over the past three years)?.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
        

Not surprisingly, the return of TNA Impact to its old Thursday night time slot led to an increase in the ratings, but not as big of one as may have been expected.

Thursday’s episode did a 0.9 rating, up from the final Monday show on May 3 that did a 0.8. Impact had bottomed out with a 0.5 on the April 26 show that went head-to-head with WWE’s three-hour draft episode of Raw.

Before TNA moved Impact to Mondays on March 8, the show had averaged a 1.2 over the previous eight Thursdays, including a 1.4 on Jan. 28.

If Impact does not get back up over the 1.0 mark in the next couple weeks, that’s obviously a bad sign.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

The angle running throughout Thursday night’s episode of TNA Impact involved an alleged off-camera assault on Chelsea. She identified her attacker as Abyss, who was taken into custody by police.

Of course, it was obvious from the beginning that Abyss was being framed by Chelsea and Desmond Wolfe, and their scheme was exposed in the final segment.

Luckily for Abyss, Lacey Von Erich had to pee really bad.

You see, early in the show, a squirming LVE cut short a Beautiful People promo to run off to the bathroom. At the time it seemed like just another typical segment designed to demonstrate how ditzy LVE is. Little did we know, however, that LVE would hold the key to the whole Chelsea-Abyss incident.

As it turned out, LVE just happened to be in the women’s bathroom when Chelsea and Wolfe were cooking up their nefarious plan, and she secretly shot video of the meeting with her phone. She took the evidence to Hulk Hogan, who had it played on the air.

The angle was a bit campy to begin with, but the involvement of LVE and her “emergency” brought it closer to “Wrestlecrap” level. I’m hoping that there at least was a reason for LVE being written into the story line. Since she aided Abyss and Hogan, perhaps it was the start of a babyface turn for her.

Other thoughts on Thursday’s show:

The Chelsea-Abyss angle reminded me of a similar one on WCW Nitro in 1999 involving Goldberg and Elizabeth. That was the backdrop for one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history – The Fingerpoke of Doom. Elizabeth accusing Goldberg of attacking her was a ruse by the nWo to get Goldberg – who was scheduled that night for a shot at WCW world champion Kevin Nash – out of the building. Hogan took his place in the title match, and he won the championship when Nash took a dive after Hogan lightly poked him in the chest, revealing that Hogan and Nash were in cahoots all along. Now that truly was “Wrestlecrap.” …

The other noteworthy development saw Nash and Scott Hall win the TNA world tag team title from Matt Morgan. After Morgan was laid out in the ring by Samoa Joe, Nash and Hall came out in their street clothes. Nash was carrying the Feast or Fired briefcase he had won at the Final Resolution pay-per-view back in December that allowed him and a partner to get a tag team title shot whenever they wanted. You are a true TNA diehard if you remembered that Nash had possession of the briefcase (even Mike Tenay said on the air that he had forgotten about it). Nash cashed it in and immediately covered Morgan for the win. This stinks on a couple levels. First and foremost, the fact that Hall has a championship belt is a slap in the face to every other wrestler on the roster and an embarrassment for the company. If The Band is going to hold the belts for any length of time, hopefully TNA does the “Freebirds rule” thing, which would allow any of the three members of the group to defend the title. That would get Eric Young in the ring instead of Hall. Secondly, the way it went down made Morgan – who is supposed to be a monster – look weak. He had to lie there for two minutes before Nash pinned him. It would have been better if he had staggered to his feet and then taken a powerbomb from Nash before getting pinned. On the bright side, now that Morgan is done with the one-man tag team gimmick, perhaps Morgan will get the major singles push that he is overdue for. …

It was very good to see one member of The Band missing, and I’m not talking about Sean Waltman. …

It was announced in the opening segment that the main event would be a non-title triple threat match between TNA world champion Rob Van Dam, A.J. Styles and Jeff Hardy. That’s one I was really looking forward to, but, unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations, as it only went about six minutes. …

After the match, Hardy dove off the announce table and hit a Swanton Bomb on Mr. Anderson, who went through a table. The dive was cool but Tenay and Taz played it up like it was the greatest thing ever. The problem was that in paled in comparison to some of the things we have seen Hardy do in WWE, most notably the Swanton he hit on Randy Orton off a scaffold from at least 20 feet in the air two years ago. …

Taz also took the wrong tone in the aftermath of Hardy’s dive onto Anderson, who sold it like he was dead. While officials tended to Anderson, Taz smugly said, “You might want to get a gurney and a paramedic.” It was hard to take the injury angle seriously when he did that. Could you imagine watching an NFL game in which a player was not moving and the announcer said, “You might want to bring out a stretcher and a cart.” …

Shannon Moore’s ear was bleeding badly after one of his piercings was accidentally yanked out during an entertaining four-way tag match that saw him and Jesse Neal defeat Beer Money, Team 3D and The Motor City Machine Guns. I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more often to guys who wear that stuff in the ring. …

The stipulation for the Abyss-Wolfe match at Sunday’s Sacrifice pay-per-view is that Abyss gets possession of Chelsea for 30 days if he wins, while Wolfe gets the Hall of Fame ring that Hogan gave Abyss if he wins. I really hope this is the last match that involves Hogan and Ric Flair’s WWE Hall of Fame rings. No one cares. …

Styles has improved a lot at cutting a heel promo, but it still comes off as a Flair imitation rather than Styles’ own character. …

I like the backstage documentary-style segments, but the one with RVD and Hardy should not have made it on the air. You couldn’t hear them and the closed captioning was hard to read because it was so small. …

What was up with Tara pinning Taylor Wilde after a kick to the stomach that barely connected? …

Why do all wrestling companies love to do the silly angle in which someone steals a belt from a champion and refuses to give it back? This time it’s Doug Williams who is in possession of Kazarian’s TNA X Division belt. Why doesn’t Hogan or Eric Bischoff just order Williams to hand the belt over to Kazarian? …

Wow, Tomko seems to be getting more out of shape by the week. …

Orlando Jordan is trying, but right now the crowd couldn’t care less about him. He has go-away heat. …

After a really good segment with Jay Lethal and Flair to open the show last week, there was zero follow-up. Lethal wasn’t even on the show.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart will be signing autographs at Steel Cage Memorabilia, located in the Plaza Flea Market in Dundalk, Sunday between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

For more information, go to steelcagememorabilia.com.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

• WWE promised on last week’s episode of WWE NXT that one of the rookies would be eliminated on Tuesday night’s show. It turned out that there were three eliminations. Two were predictable – Michael Tarver and Skip Sheffield – but the elimination of early favorite Daniel Bryan was a shock. The explanation for three rookies being sent home instead of one was that the pros eliminated Sheffield, but it was WWE management that got rid of Tarver and Bryan because they both said last week that they deserved to be eliminated.

• I couldn’t believe that Bryan got the boot – especially after he finally won a match the night before on Raw – but it made more sense later in the show. When Bryan was interviewed by Matt Striker after his elimination, he cut a promo in which he basically said that Daniel Bryan was a WWE creation and a loser, but Bryan Danielson is an accomplished wrestler who has held titles all over the world. He even pointed out that he was able to wrestle a competitive match against Batista yet, oddly enough, he lost to other rookies. The insinuation was that he was scripted to fail on NXT, which is an interesting approach for a wrestling show to take. So it looks as if Danielson just might get a push in WWE after all and that there was a method to WWE’s madness in having Bryan look like a geek who was the butt of Michael Cole’s jokes every week. We’ll see how it works out.

• After Bryan’s elimination, Cole – who has been all over him since Day One – surprisingly said that he was dumbfounded and that he was impressed with Bryan’s performance on Raw Monday night. Later in the show, Cole reverted back to his old ways and said that he was sad to see Bryan leave the show because he enjoyed making fun of him every week.

• Now that Bryan is out, it’s almost certainly going to come down to Wade Barrett and David Otunga, and I’m going with Barrett. I don’t see Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater or Darren Young having much of a chance.

• Barrett was impressive in his win over Slater. By the way, as one reader recently pointed out, whatever happened to Barrett getting his own entrance music for winning one of the challenges?

• Sheffield had his best in-ring performance to date in his win over Young – and then he was voted off. He was portrayed as a powerhouse heel rather than a comedic babyface on this show, and I think he has a much better chance of making a mark with the more serious persona. I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the last of him.

• Speaking of getting serious, for Young to be taken seriously he has to lose that goofy hairdo.

• Otunga got a clean win over Gabriel in a match that didn’t stand out either positively or negatively.

• Striker actually wished Tarver the best of luck in his future endeavors.

• Here are the results of the pros’ poll (Tarver and Bryan were eliminated beforehand):

1. Barrett
2. Otunga
3. Gabriel
4. Slater
5. Young
6. Sheffield (eliminated)

Posted by Kevin Eck at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (35)
        

I know there are a lot of fans who don’t care for the guest host concept on Raw, but I have always liked the idea of Raw being more of an entertainment show, while Smackdown focused more on wrestling. I can appreciate both formats.

Monday night’s episode of Raw, however, was just weird. It was fitting that guest host Flavor Flav, the flamboyant rapper/reality star, was there to promote his Twilight Zone-like TV series, because this show was out there. Singer Meat Loaf set the tone by showing up unannounced in the opening segment and getting an RKO from Randy Orton. WWE also showed a commercial promoting the appearance of next week’s guest host, 80-year-old former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who was in his astronaut suit and was whacked in the back with a chair by Mark Henry.

If I didn’t know better, I’d swear the WWE creative team got into Cheech and Chong’s Lucky Charms while writing this show.

The bizarre nature of the episode went beyond the eclectic group of celebrities, however. Vickie Guerrero was named Raw’s “permanent” general manager at the beginning of the show, and then she resigned at the end of it. She and “ex-husband” Edge, by the way, were friendly with each other even though their “marriage” ended with him cutting a nasty, degrading promo on her.

We also saw a match between The Miz and Tyson Kidd that had a totally illogical stipulation; an eight-on-four tag match featuring the odd team of John Morrison, Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu and Santino Marella; and, to top it all off, Daniel Bryan actually won a match.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, WWE tried to promote its Over the Limit pay-per-view, which is less than two weeks away.

Other thoughts on Monday’s show:

I’ll admit it: Meat Loaf is a guilty pleasure of mine. I’ve seen Mr. Loaf in concert several times and through a mutual friend actually attended an Orioles game with him at Camden Yards back in the ’90s. But I have to admit his segment with Orton went on too long before getting to the payoff. I don’t think his performance sold too many copies of his new CD either. …

Speaking of segments that overstayed their welcome, I didn’t think Flavor Flav was ever going to stop talking during his in-ring promo. I never need to hear, “Yeah, boyeeeee!” ever again. …

I was quite disappointed that Guerrero’s stint as Raw GM lasted all of one episode. By the way, when Orton was threatening to do physical harm to her at the end of the show, why didn’t she just fire him on the spot instead of resigning? And why did Edge want her to be seated at ringside, anyway? …

John Cena revealed that his match against Batista at Over the Limit will be an I Quit match. I don’t think there’s much mystery as to who is going to win that one. Didn’t Cena already beat Batista by submission at WrestleMania XXVI? Plus, everyone knows that Cena will never quit (not to mention the fact that Batista is reportedly leaving WWE after the match). …

The last person I expected to see make the save for Cena when he was being beaten down by Batista and Sheamus was Henry. It made sense later in the show when Batista brutalized Henry. I think WWE mentioned once in the past that Henry was one of Cena’s closest friends, but that hasn’t been established well enough to resonate. …

I liked the setup of Batista sitting nonchalantly on a chair in the ring before his match against Henry, and then suddenly attacking Henry with it and stretching him to get over the point that he has a submission move in his arsenal. …

Sheamus’ role at Over the Limit still has not been defined. His involvement in the build for the Cena-Batista match has been intrusive. …

I was looking forward to the Miz-Kidd match and was pretty disappointed that it ended in less than a minute with Kidd winning with a roll-up. Unless one of them went into the match with an injury, the quick finish was ridiculous. Even more absurd was the stipulation for the match, which was that if Kidd won, Miz would have to defend the U.S. title against a member of the Hart family on next week’s show. That’s fine, but the fact that Miz got to pick which Hart family member he would face rather than the Harts picking it made no sense at all. I mean, this was Russo-esque. Why does Miz, the loser of the match, get an advantage? If I were him, I would have chosen to face one of the Hart children. Anyway, he selected Bret Hart, which should be interesting, but why couldn’t WWE just have had the winners choose “The Hitman?” Their reason could have been that Bret has been dying to get his hands on Miz since he has treated him so disrespectfully. …

Also too short was the match in which Chris Jericho defeated David Hart Smith to earn Jericho and Miz a shot at WWE unified tag team champions The Hart Dynasty at Over the Limit. It was good for the few minutes that it lasted. …

Who did Morrison tick off that he had to be on a team that included comedy characters Goldust, Tatsu and Marella in the match that pitted the foursome against the eight NXT rookies? Bryan won the match for his team by pinning Marella, but even in victory – which was his first in WWE after going 0-10 – Bryan came off looking like a dork. Not only did he beat a guy who never wins, but the other rookies hoisted him up on their shoulders like he had just won the world title. …

When Ted DiBiase Jr. came out as Edge’s partner against Orton in a handicap match, it was obvious that he was out there to do the job. …

What happened to William Regal when the Colons did a run-in and attacked his opponent, R-Truth? He just seemed to vanish. …

I liked the video package of Eve doing MMA training as well as the taped segment of Maryse training with an MMA instructor in the ring before the show. It was nice to see WWE putting some effort into getting some of the Divas over. …

Speaking of which, the best that WWE can come up with for Gail Kim is to have her sit at ringside looking pretty during Zack Ryder’s matches? She does it very well, don’t get me wrong, but her talent as a wrestler is being wasted.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (40)
        

Judging by Friday’s night’s Smackdown – the first episode of the program with its new, post-draft roster – it appears that even with most of the top stars on Raw, Smackdown may still be the more entertaining show.

A heated angle with Drew McIntyre and Matt Hardy in the opening segment set the tone for a strong Smackdown. Hardy, who had been beaten down by McIntyre the past two weeks, was in the ring to cut a promo when he was interrupted by McIntyre. The two began brawling, with McIntyre gaining the advantage while officials were holding back Hardy.

McIntyre continued to viciously assault Hardy, which brought out Smackdown general manager Teddy Long. Long suspended McIntyre, then stripped him of the Intercontinental title, but McIntyre would not relent in his attack. Long then told McIntyre that he was fired.

As McIntyre was being escorted to the back and out of the building, he kept screaming that he was “untouchable” because he was Vince McMahon’s “chosen one.”

This was an excellent angle with strong performances by McIntyre, Long and Hardy. McIntyre showed great intensity and Hardy always does well as the underdog babyface who never gives up. Long was very believable as the authority figure making decisions on the spot during a chaotic situation, and then once order was restored, appearing a bit shaken up and indecisive about the fate of the Intercontinental title.

There are several Internet rumors as to why McIntyre was “fired,” but all are merely speculation. If McIntyre was legitimately suspended for disciplinary reasons or a Wellness Policy violation as has been suggested, I think he would have dropped the Intercontinental title to someone clean in the middle of the ring instead of being put over as a sadistic heel who feels that he is above the law.

It will be interesting to see where things go from here. Will this development lead to McMahon’s return as a TV character? The rub from McMahon would certainly benefit McIntyre. WWE could also go the traditional route of having the babyface demand that the heel be reinstated so that he can exact revenge.

Other thoughts on Friday’s show:

After giving it some thought, Long announced that there would be a four-man tournament for the vacant title, with two matches on this episode and the final taking place next week. Both matches – Kofi Kingston over Dolph Ziggler, and Christian over Cody Rhodes – were good, especially the latter. I was hoping for a Christian-Ziggler final, mainly because Ziggler would benefit more by having the belt than either Kingston or Christian (Rhodes isn’t ready for the title yet). Still, Christian-Kingston should be really good. …

A strong verbal exchange between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio led to another match between them being signed for the Over the Limit pay-per-view on May 23. This time, if Mysterio loses, he has to join the Straight Edge Society, and if Punk loses, he will have his head shaved. I have a bad feeling that Punk is losing his hair this time. …

The Jack Swagger-Kane match served its purpose in furthering the program between Swagger and The Big Show, but I don’t see why Swagger couldn’t have pinned Kane instead of it being a disqualification. I suppose I should just be happy that Swagger didn’t get pinned again. At least Swagger, who was disqualified for refusing stop attacking Kane in the corner, was portrayed as someone to be reckoned with. The Big Show also did a nice job of putting Swagger over during commentary. …

The Divas match in which Michelle McCool and Layla defeated Kelly Kelly and Tiffany wasn’t bad. Layla’s “Rude Awakening” looked as if it legitimately jarred Tiffany’s neck. By the way, even if Kelly Kelly and Tiffany never win a match, I think they should be referred to as the Dream Team.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
        

• Finally, the quick hits on WWE Superstars have come back to Ring Posts. I didn’t get around to writing about the show the past two weeks, but the feature is back due to popular demand. OK, that’s a lie. Actually, I didn’t receive a single comment about ignoring Superstars. But since I have some time this week, I figured I’d give WWE’s “D” show some love.

• The “big” news from Thursday’s episode is that Carlito and Primo have reunited. In the middle of a match between the brothers, Carlito stopped wrestling and made a plea to Primo to bury the hatchet and reform their tag team. The fans jeered, but Carlito told Primo to ignore them and join forces with him. Primo accepted Carlito’s offer, thus turning heel. It’s probably better for the Colons to be a unit, because their singles careers were going nowhere. Perhaps a program with WWE unified tag team champions The Hart Dynasty is in their future. I’d like to see that.

• You may have read on the Internet that Beth Phoenix suffered an ankle injury at these tapings during her match against Rosa Mendes. After Phoenix missed a splash in the corner, she fell to the mat and did not get up. The referee was aware that she was hurt and held Mendes back from going on the attack. An audible was called and Phoenix rolled up Mendes for the pin. The injury reportedly is minor, and Phoenix is not expected to miss much time.

• Mendes handled herself very well in her pre-match promo and she showed a good heel presence during the match.

• The Shad Gaspard-JTG match – won by Gaspard – wasn’t bad, but I’m just not into this feud. I’m ready for it to be over and Gaspard to move on to bigger things.

• The Chris Masters-Chavo Guerrero bout – won by Masters – wasn’t bad either, but again, it’s hard for me to be interested in a match between those two.

• The backstage segment with Michelle McCool, Layla and Vickie Guerrero tormenting Kelly Kelly wasn’t good. Smelly Kelly? I know WWE is PG and all, but even elementary school kids could come up with better insults than that.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

• Tuesday night’s WWE NXT was not one of the series’ better episodes. The rookies’ challenge was an obstacle course, which, for some reason, included drinking a large cup of soda. Watching Daniel Bryan and Michael Tarver drink soda for more than 60 seconds did not make for great TV. The challenge was so lackluster that I actually forgot who won (it was Justin Gabriel).

• Bryan, of course, failed miserably in the obstacle course. He was selling his ribs from his match with Batista on Raw, so that was his excuse. If his poor showing in the challenge wasn’t bad enough, he did a job to the previously winless and completely underwhelming Tarver in a match. Yep, one night after being somewhat competitive against Batista, he jobs to Tarver. Daniel is now 0-10 and hasn’t performed well in any of the challenges (although it’s pretty obvious at this point that he is being scripted to fail in those). Still, it’s almost a certainty that he’ll make it to the final four and he may still win the competition, but from a logic standpoint, how can he not be the first one eliminated?

• Wade Barrett has been a standout on NXT, but failing to conquer the monkey bars at the start of the obstacle course was not one of his finer moments. After falling twice, he gave up and walked off.

• The R-Truth/David Otunga match (which was won by R-Truth) was too short to really judge Otunga’s performance.

• The scuffle between Barrett and Darren Young at the end of the show was realistic. I’m not suggesting it was; just saying that it looked good.

• Josh Matthews had the line of the night. When Michael Cole said that Matthews must spend a lot of time at playgrounds, Matthews replied: “Cole, this is Tuesdays, not Mondays. You have me mixed up with your other broadcast partner.”

• The first elimination takes place on next week’s show. The smart money is on Tarver.

• Here are my updated rankings. I based them on the rookies’ potential to make an impact in WWE and did not factor in their win-loss records on NXT:

1. Wade Barrett
2. David Otunga
3. Daniel Bryan
4. Heath Slater
5. Darren Young
6. Justin Gabriel
7. Skip Sheffield
8. Michael Tarver

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
        

For Randy Orton to become the breakout babyface that many expect him to be, he’s going to need a strong heel antagonist to work with. If Monday night’s Raw is any indication, Edge is that guy.

Thanks to Edge’s strong promo and Orton’s facial expressions and body language on the “Cutting Edge” at the end of the show, the crowd was solidly behind Orton even though he never said a single word during the segment.

Edge at first tried to bury the hatchet with Orton and suggested they reform Rated RKO. When Orton wasn’t receptive, Edge’s demeanor changed. He talked about how the crowd never fully accepted him as a babyface (without using those actual words, of course) even though he did everything right after returning from his injury, yet they cheer Orton, who cares about no one but himself. As Edge became more and more agitated, he demanded that Orton say something, but Orton just glared at him.

As the tension built, Orton went for an RKO, but Edge blocked it and kicked Orton in the face. Edge then prepared to hit the Spear, but Orton cut him off in mid-air and landed the RKO to a big pop. Good stuff.

I’m really looking forward to this program. Not only do you have two of the best in the business in Edge and Orton, but it’s a pretty fresh match-up. They haven’t been adversaries in about six years, and they’re both bigger stars now.

Other thoughts on Monday’s show:

It looks as if Chris Jericho and The Miz are forming a tag team. When the two were talking backstage about how each of them got knocked out by The Big Show last week, Miz said that it’s too bad they can’t do anything about it since Big Show is now on Smackdown. That gave Jericho an idea. He and Miz later attacked The Hart Dynasty, which likely sets up a match between THD and Jericho and Miz for the WWE unified tag team title at the Over the Limit pay-per-view on May 23. If Jericho and Miz were to win the title, they would be able to appear on Smackdown and go after Big Show. Jericho and Miz as a tag team, even if it’s just for a few weeks, figures to be incredibly entertaining. …

I’m not sure where Sheamus fits into the next pay-per-view, but the way he confronted Batista and attacked John Cena makes me think that the Cena-Batista WWE title match at Over the Limit is going to end up as a triple threat match. I’d rather see it remain a singles match and be the blow-off to the Cena-Batista program. …

Wade Barrett looked like he belonged in the same ring with Cena before he eventually tapped out to the STF. …

Daniel Bryan also came off well in his match against Batista. It bothered me, though, that Bryan was able to last more than five minutes against Batista and wrestle a somewhat competitive match, yet he was squashed by Skip Sheffield in two minutes last week on NXT. …

The Miz saying that he couldn’t wrestle Batista because he had a doctor’s note, and then producing an envelope that had “DOCTOR’S NOTE” written on it, was pretty funny. …

The John Morrison-Ted DiBiase Jr. match (which Morrison won) was good. …

After defeating Zack Ryder, Mark Henry left arm-in-arm with Gail Kim and Alicia Fox. The return of “Sexual Chocolate?” Nah, not family friendly. …

Speaking of which, how sad was it that Goldust couldn’t even deliver the proper punch line to guest host Wayne Brady due to the PG restrictions? Playing off the Rick James character on “Chapelle’s Show,” Goldust said, “I’m Goldust, witch.” Ugh. …

I'm not real familiar with Brady, who didn’t make a strong impression one way or the other. I was surprised when they said that he hosted “Let’s Make a Deal.” I thought that was Monty Hall. I’m showing my age again, aren’t I?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (34)
        

The big angle advertised for Monday night’s TNA Impact was that Sting was going to break his silence and explain his actions of the past two months in a face-to-face confrontation with Hulk Hogan.

Sting spoke all right, but after listening to his doubletalk, I still have no idea why – or even if – he has turned heel. When questioned by Hogan, Sting cut a babyface promo, saying that his agenda is the same as it’s always been – to give back to the wrestling business and specifically to TNA.

He then said something about how Hogan had a veil of protection over him in the WWF and WCW, but that protection doesn’t exist in TNA. Sting also called Hogan a master chess player.

I’m guessing that Sting was saying that Hogan is the one with his own agenda, and that Sting has been trying to protect the company from him. You’re guess is as good as mine as to how that explains Sting teaming with the heels and attacking the babyfaces over the past two months. Trying to sort it all out just gives me a headache.

This “heel turn” by Sting is starting to remind me of his ill-conceived run with the Main Event Mafia. If Steve Borden really doesn’t want to portray a heel, then TNA should just keep him babyface and stop with all of the ambiguity.

Good storytelling doesn’t have to be complicated. Sting shockingly turned heel last March. OK, you got our attention. Now tell us what his motivation is and let’s move forward with the story line.

Other thoughts on Monday’s show:

TNA isn’t fooling anyone with the spin it put on Impact moving back to Thursdays – the announcers said that the company listened to the fans, who said that they prefer the show on that day – but I don’t blame it for trying. …

The TNA world title match between champion Rob Van Dam and Desmond Wolfe was disappointing, as RVD won clean in about three minutes. I understand that the goal was to give RVD a quality win and set up his match with A.J. Styles at the Sacrifice pay-per-view on May 16, but there’s no reason why the talented Wolfe had to be treated as such an afterthought. …

Jay Lethal is a talented guy and I enjoyed his Ric Flair impersonation. After the angle last week in which Hogan said that he was going to give Flair’s Hall of Fame ring to someone on the roster, I jokingly said to a friend that Hogan should give it to Lethal’s “Black Machismo” character as a rib on Vince McMahon for not putting Randy Savage into the WWE Hall of Fame. …

The opening segment with Lethal and Flair and the subsequent brawl that involved, Styles, Wolfe, Beer Money, Hogan, RVD, Abyss and Team 3D got the show off to a hot start. …

Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy both showed good intensity during their verbal confrontation. Anderson’s mic work has become a weekly highlight of the show, much like CM Punk’s promos on Smackdown. …

Eric Young turning heel and joining The Band was as predictable as it was nonsensical. Trying to keep track of the numerous twists and turns in this story line with Young and Kevin Nash takes way more energy than I’m willing to expend. …

The Orlando Jordan segment was brutal, and I’m not referring to the beat-down of Rob Terry. …

I’m still trying to figure out how being stripped of his X Division title because of an act of God makes Doug Williams anything but a sympathetic figure. …

The Jesse Neal-Shannon Moore tag team has potential, but Ink Inc. is the best name TNA could come up with?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
        

The Monday Night War Part II is over.

TNA has made the call to move Impact from Mondays back to Thursdays, according to a report by prowrestling.net.

There will now be a three-hour block of TNA programming on Thursdays, with the new TNA Reaction show airing at 8 p.m., followed by Impact at 9 p.m.

Since Impact made the move to Mondays on March 8, the ratings for the show have plummeted, bottoming out with a 0.5 rating last week.

I don’t fault TNA for making an attempt to go head-to-head with Raw. Since more people watch wrestling on Mondays than any other night, the thinking was that perhaps TNA could entice fans to flip back and forth between Raw and Impact, thus growing its audience. The ratings showed that the experiment wasn’t working, so cutting its losses and putting Impact back in its old time slot is the smart thing to do.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (52)
        

It was Wrestling Booking 101 on Friday night’s Smackdown. The goal of the show clearly was to put over the talent that had been drafted from Raw Monday, and that made for some interesting match results.

WWE adhered to the time-honored tradition that the person leaving the territory – or in this case, the brand – does the job on the way out. That’s why Smackdown newcomers Kofi Kingston and Cody Rhodes scored clean wins over the Raw-bound Chris Jericho and John Morrison, respectively.

MVP, another new acquisition for Smackdown, had a verbal exchange with CM Punk and then scored the pinfall as he and Rey Mysterio defeated Punk and Luke Gallows. Even Kelly Kelly, who also came over from Raw, got to shine, as she made the pin in the tag team match in which she and Beth Phoenix defeated Michelle McCool and Layla.

WWE also did a good job of establishing the newly acquired Big Show as one of the top babyfaces on Smackdown and getting heel heat on world heavyweight champion Jack Swagger.

As a main-event babyface, Big Show will never be on the level of a John Cena or Triple H – both in terms of charisma and in-ring ability – but he does come across as a likable enough guy and he’s gotten to be pretty good on the mic.

As for Swagger, I don’t agree with the way he was booked leading up to last Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, but I can’t argue with a clean win over Randy Orton at that event and the effort WWE put into getting Swagger’s character over on Friday’s show.

The brief clips throughout the episode of Swagger putting over his achievements were OK, but I thought his in-ring promo in the final segment was a home run. He had me laughing out loud when he started listing all of his accolades beginning from when he was 2 years old. By the time he got to the part about making Eagle Scout at 12, I was in tears from laughing so hard.

The best part about it was that he was really getting under the skin of the fans, who were enthusiastically booing him and just begging for someone to shut him up. Out came The Big Show, who was named the No. 1 contender and will challenge Swagger for the title at the Over the Limit pay-per-view on May 23.

After a brief verbal exchange, Big Show knocked out Swagger, which elicited a big pop. The build to the payoff was well done, as Big Show had knocked out three top heels – The Miz on Raw and both Jericho and Edge on Smackdown – before confronting Swagger, so the fans knew it was coming and they were very much behind Big Show.

Other thoughts on Friday’s show:

It was great to see Swagger bring back the big disingenuous grin to his heel repertoire. …

The confrontation between Edge and Christian was really good. It’s too bad it was just a one-night angle instead of the start of a program between them. By the way, my initial thought that Edge’s spear of Orton at the end of Raw signaled that he had turned heel proved to be correct. …

So much for Jericho’s two-match winning streak. Actually, while I do think that Jericho loses far too frequently, putting over Kingston is the right call. It’s not like Kingston is Heath Slater or JTG. …

The Rhodes-Morrison match was good. Because most of the top heels (Edge, Jericho, Miz and Sheamus) are on Raw, Rhodes may have a better shot of making his presence felt on Smackdown than former tag team partner Ted DiBiase Jr. does on Raw. …

It would be really nice if MVP finally got a significant push. Smooth on the stick and solid in the ring, he is a star waiting to happen. Of course, I’ve been saying that for three years now. …

Drew McIntyre viciously attacked Matt Hardy for the second straight week. Having McIntyre brutalize the popular Hardy is good way to try and get the fans to be less apathetic toward McIntyre. …

The Divas tag team match was enjoyable. Kelly Kelly’s offense looked good. Kelly Kelly looked great. …

Matt Striker gets big points for once again quoting from a Rush song, even if the lyrics he recited from “Red Barchetta” really didn’t make sense in the context of the match. …

Chavo Guerrero actually got some mic time, but then Kane came out and chokeslammed him. Hey, it still beats losing a hundred matches in a row to Hornswoggle.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (40)