http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/ Ring Posts is a Baltimore Sun blog about wrestling en Copyright 2008 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:03:41 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Pro Wrestling Illustrated. In the era of insider Web sites and newsletters, the mostly kayfabe magazine is still around and still relevant. A subscriber to several of the family of magazines that came to be known as “Apter mags” (named after famous wrestling writer Bill Apter) when I was a teenager, I still get the PWI Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts every year, as well as the PWI 500 and year-end awards issues. The PWI 500, which is out on newsstands, is always fun to read. For the uninitiated, the magazine ranks the top 500 stars in wrestling. The rankings are based on how wrestlers fared over the past year (basically last summer to this summer). Randy Orton beat out Kurt Angle for the top spot in the 500. Rounding out the top 10 are Triple H, Samoa Joe, Edge, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Nigel McGuinness (Ring of Honor), John Cena and Shinsuke Nakamura (New Japan Pro Wrestling). In the spirit of the PWI 500, I decided to come up with my own rankings. Of course, I wouldn’t dream of attempting to compile a list as comprehensive as PWI’s. The best I can muster is a top 20. I based my list on the same criteria used by PWI: overall accomplishments during the past year, titles won, quality of opposition, quantity and quality of promotions worked, overall talent and spot on the card (in addition, PWI said it also took into consideration “other factors,” but there were no specifics). I also took durability into account. You will notice that my list is comprised entirely of WWE and TNA talent. That’s where “quality of opposition” and “quality of promotion” come into play. There is a clear pecking order in wrestling: WWE is No. 1, TNA is No. 2 and Ring of Honor is No. 3. So in my estimation, ranking ROH champion McGuinness ahead of Cena is ludicrous. Like previous ROH champions Samoa Joe and CM Punk, McGuinness might end up being a star in a big promotion someday, but right now he isn’t even on the radar of casual fans. I didn’t consider Japanese or Mexican promotions because I don’t really watch tapes of international promotions. Just so everyone is clear, this is a kayfabe list, meaning that the rankings are based on wins and losses as if wrestling was legitimate competition and not scripted entertainment. Here is The Ring Posts 20 (let the arguments begin): 1. TRIPLE H 2. THE UNDERTAKER 3. RANDY ORTON 4. EDGE 5. BATISTA 6. JOHN CENA 7. SHAWN MICHAELS 8. SAMOA JOE 9. KURT ANGLE 10. JEFF HARDY 11. CHRIS JERICHO 12. JBL 13. CHRISTIAN CAGE 14. BOOKER T. 15. TOMKO 16. A.J. STYLES 17. STING 18. CM PUNK 19. KANE 20. UMAGA ]]> http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/the_pwi_500_and_the_ring_posts_20.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/the_pwi_500_and_the_ring_posts_20.html Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:03:41 -0500 Watching TNA Impact last week, I wasn’t sure if Sting just wasn’t very good at cutting a heel promo, or if he wasn’t really trying to cut a heel promo. After seeing last night’s show, I think it’s the latter, but I can’t say that with any certainty. I think a dumbfounded Kevin Nash spoke for all us when he said, “What the hell is going on here?” right before the show went off the air. For the second week in a row, the final segment of the program was a Sting promo. The first thing Sting said was that he was pleasantly surprised the fans didn’t boo him last week. He thanked the people and said there would be no Sting without them. Before long, grumpy Samoa Joe came out to interrupt the lovefest. TNA’s supposed top babyface was greeted with mild boos. After some smack talk and Sting offering Joe a free shot with his bat, Nash showed up to play peacemaker. Oh, by the way, Nash and Joe weren’t getting along this week. Suddenly, Sting hit Joe with the bat and landed the Scorpion Deathdrop. That makes two weeks in a row that Sting has cheap-shotted a top babyface. That seems like a pretty heelish thing to do, except the fans are cheering him (which he encouraged this week) and booing the faces. It’s looking more and more like the plan is not for Sting to do a full heel turn. As I said last week, the story line could be that he is trying to toughen up the current generation of babyfaces and teach them about respect. A key point is that there is no real evidence that Sting has aligned himself with any of the heels. I’ll continue to take a wait-and-see attitude with the angle, but right now it doesn’t seem to be benefiting Joe and A.J. Styles. Perhaps when Jeff Jarrett arrives on the scene, things will become clearer. Or more confusing. Other thoughts on last night’s show: I’m not sure, but I think TNA has a videogame coming out soon. … Anti-American heels have been around forever in wrestling, and most of the time I don’t find the characters offensive. With Sheik Abdul Bashir, however, I think TNA crossed the line (no pun intended). Specifically, it’s his entrance that I have a problem with. Right before his music starts, there is the sound of airplanes descending. Whoever came up with that idea should be ashamed of themselves, and whoever signed off on it should be fired. Next Thursday is 9/11. I hope TNA has the decency and common sense to keep Bashir off the show. … I did like the angle with Bashir and referee Shane Sewell. I’m guessing that the majority of fans had no idea that Sewell has been wrestling for years (as Glamour Boy Shane in Puerto Rico), so when he took off his shirt and fought back against Bashir, he got a big pop from the crowd. … Styles and Christian Cage had a good match, but what else would you expect with these two? Frank Trigg’s interference cost Styles the match, setting up the inevitable showdown between them. I’m looking forward to seeing what Trigg can do in the ring. … Styles showed a lot of fire when cutting a promo on Sting, but when he started talking about having a wife and kids, I got confused. You mean he didn’t really have a schoolboy crush on Karen Angle? … Here’s something else I’m confused by: Why are Booker T. and Sharmell so chummy with Kurt Angle? Didn’t Angle try to force himself on her a few years ago? I guess since it occurred in WWE it’s OK to pretend it never happened, but I seem to remember it being referenced in TNA when Booker and Sharmell first arrived. Oh well, forgive and forget, I always say. … So I’m enjoying a promo by Beer Money Inc. and then the Prince Justice Brotherhood goes and interrupts them. Talk about a buzzkill. … I know it was juvenile, but the skit with ODB doing her business in the men’s bathroom made me laugh. The best part was a horrified Lauren telling ODB that she didn't wash her hands. ... It sure did take Awesome Kong a long time to make the save for Raisha Saed. Maybe Kong ate some of the same beans that did in ODB. … The Awesome Bomb on a chair that Roxxi took sure couldn’t have felt too good. … By the way, did you know that TNA has a videogame coming out soon? http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/face_it_stings_no_heel.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/face_it_stings_no_heel.html Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:44:29 -0500 Several people have asked me if there is any truth to the rumor that Kevin Nash is heading back to WWE after his contract with TNA expires in October. I don’t know how much interest WWE has in him, but Nash has said privately that he is planning to go to WWE and wrestle for another year or two before retiring, according to an industry source. It is no secret that Nash is close friends with Triple H and Shawn Michaels, and he has always been on good terms with Vince McMahon, regardless of whether he was working for WWE or the competition. Nash reportedly was backstage at WrestleMania XXIV last March in Orlando, Fla., even though WWE had banned its talent from fraternizing with TNA talent that weekend. At the time, Jim Ross wrote on his blog that “Kev is still a part of the WWE family and, in my eyes, always will be.” If he does return to WWE, the 49-year-old Nash, who has undergone numerous surgeries (including procedures on his knees and neck) over the years, almost certainly would be unable to work anywhere near a full schedule. During his last run in WWE (2002 to 2004), Nash spent more time on the injured list than he did in the ring. The easier schedule in TNA is one of the main reasons that the company has been a good fit for Nash. When I asked him about his physical condition during a backstage interview before an Impact taping in March, he said: “The schedule is light enough where, even though after three days I feel like hell, I’ve usually got like 13 or 14 days to get my body back. If I was working house shows, I couldn’t do it.” There has been speculation that Nash could return as Michaels’ bodyguard, which was his original role in WWE in 1993. I don’t see that happening, though, as babyfaces usually don’t have bodyguards, and it’s highly unlikely that Michaels would turn heel. Hey, if the rumors of Sid Vicious coming to WWE are true, perhaps we could revisit the epic Diesel-Psycho Sid feud. Or not. At this point in Nash’s career, I actually think he would be more valuable to WWE outside the ring than in it. Funny and articulate, Nash would probably make a good color commentator. He also has worked on the creative side in the past, so I could see him eventually transitioning into a job as a writer or producer. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/kevin_nash_returning_to_wwe.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/kevin_nash_returning_to_wwe.html Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:15:54 -0500 I'm sure everyone in WWE is breathing a sigh of relief after a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed that Shawn Michaels' triceps injury is not as serious as first believed. Michaels suffered a small tear of his left triceps and is medically cleared for his match against Chris Jericho at the Unforgiven pay-per-view Sunday. Michaels had said that he was doing the match regardless of the severity of the injury. Had the triceps been fully torn, Michaels was looking at surgery and missing four to six months. Now, his time away should be minimal. WWE has had a run of bad luck with injuries to top stars over the past year and a half, so it's nice to see that the most recent ones have not been as bad as they could have been. Last week, John Cena underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk and is expected back in two to four months. Had he required neck fusion surgery, which was a possibility, he would have been out for about a year. The manner in which Michaels' injury occurred was especially frustrating. He still wrestles a high-risk style at 43, yet it was a freak accident (he slipped out of the ring lunging at Jericho) that caused the injury. Other notes: A statement announcing that Mick Foley has signed with TNA is expected to be released shortly. As I have said before, I think this is a good move by TNA, especially in the short term. I thought last night's ECW was a mixed bag. I liked the eight-man tag match, which was highlighted by an unbelievable shooting star press by Evan Bourne. The Dirt Sheet fell flat for me again, however. The bit in which John Morrison and The Miz portrayed Finlay's brothers was almost as bad as the Prince Justice Brotherhood skits on TNA Impact. Almost. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/the_good_news_on_shawn_michaels.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/the_good_news_on_shawn_michaels.html Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:50:16 -0500 At first glance, last night’s Raw was a good show. There was an awesome final segment, a major star made a special appearance and the program never dragged. But the episode also accentuated the depressing reality of the injury situation on Raw. On the go-home show for Sunday’s Unforgiven pay-per-view, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho closed the program by signing the contract for their match. We’ve all seen these contract signing segments many times before, but the intense performances of Michaels and Jericho put this one at another level. The entire time that they sat across the table from one another, Michaels started intently at Jericho, while Jericho never looked directly at Michaels until right at the end. The verbal confrontation briefly turned physical, as Michaels thwarted a sneak attack by Lance Cade. While Jericho stood outside the ring, Michaels lunged at him and landed awkwardly on the floor. Obviously, that was how Michaels suffered a torn triceps. That one slip by Michaels in the closing seconds of what has been a tremendous build-up has put Sunday’s match in jeopardy and could put Michaels out of action for four to six months. We should know more about Michaels’ prognosis soon, although Michaels reportedly is vowing that he will wrestle at Unforgiven. At the beginning of the show, Randy Orton, who is out of action with a broken collarbone, made an appearance. It was great to see Orton back on television and he cut a good promo, but he is not expected to be healthy enough to get back in the ring for at least a couple months. To further illustrate how Raw’s star power has been diminished by injuries, there was a tease that John Cena was going to be on the show. It turned out to be Charlie Haas doing a Cena impersonation. Cena, who underwent surgery last week to repair a herniated disk, is a quick healer, but not that quick. With Cena, Orton and now Michaels on the sideline, it will be up to guys such as CM Punk, Batista, Jericho and others to carry the show until they come back. Other thoughts on last night’s show: It almost seemed at first as if Orton was cutting a babyface promo. He was cheered for ripping Beth Phoenix, Santino Marella and the team of Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes. The cheers quickly turned to jeers, however, when Orton began bad-mouthing Punk. Punk, who now is getting a superstar-level reaction from the crowd, more than held his own in the verbal confrontation with Orton. The segment successfully planted the seed for a future program between the two. … There also seemed to be a foreshadowing of an alliance between Orton and DiBiase and Rhodes. As I have said in the past, I think it would be a good fit. … Haas is still a loser, but at least he is an entertaining loser now. I can’t wait to see who he impersonates next. Hopefully, he will expand his repertoire to include some WWE Hall of Famers. … What is the only thing worse than seeing The Miz on Raw? Seeing The Miz on Raw in two segments. … I understand the reasons behind Candice Michelle pinning Phoenix in a tag team match. WWE wanted to play up Michelle’s return and set up a program between her and Phoenix. That’s fine, but then why have Phoenix get pinned last week by Kelly Kelly? The women’s champ shouldn’t lose back-to-back matches. And shouldn’t Kelly’s win last week have earned her a shot at the title? … William Regal deserves better than to be jobbing to Jamie Noble. I know that Noble is a good worker, but Regal should be a little higher on the card. And I’m just not that interested in Noble’s story line with Layla. … You have to love Santino Marella’s Honk-O-Meter. Maybe The Honky Tonk Man will show up on Raw at some point and smash a guitar over Marella’s head. At the very least, Haas could dress up as Honky and confront Marella. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/a_bittersweet_episode_of_raw.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/a_bittersweet_episode_of_raw.html Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:37:37 -0500 It's starting to get crowded again on the shelf in WWE. Shawn Michaels, who suffered a torn triceps during an angle with Chris Jericho last night at the Raw taping, joins John Cena (herniated disk) and Randy Orton (broken collarbone) on the list of injured Raw stars. Michaels, who was scheduled to be examined by a doctor yesterday, said last night that he still was going to wrestle Jericho at the Unforgiven pay-per-view on Sunday, according to The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer. The Undertaker (last year) and Rey Mysterio (last February) both wrestled one match after suffering torn biceps . It would be a devastating blow for WWE if Michaels were to miss Sunday's show and be out for an extended period of time. Not only because it is another significant hit to the Raw roster, but because the Michaels-Jericho program has had such an excellent buildup. On the Smackdown side, Edge reportedly is taking a few weeks off because he is banged up, and Mr. Kennedy is out with a dislocated shoulder. WWE had an even worse outbreak of injuries to main-event level stars last year. At one point, six wrestlers were sidelined, including Michaels, Triple H and The Undertaker. Then, just as the roster was beginning to get back to full strength, Edge and Cena suffered injuries that kept them out for months. WWE does such a good job of branding itself that the company is bigger than any star, but its resiliency will once again be put to the test. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/shawn_michaels_injury.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/09/shawn_michaels_injury.html Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:12:10 -0500 When I first started watching pro wrestling as a first-grader in the early 1970s, there were various types of bad guys (we didn’t call them heels back then). There were black-hat wearing cowboys, flamboyant pretty boys, post-World War II German and Japanese wrestlers and an assortment of rugged-looking guys with snarling faces. But there was only one Killer Kowalski. Walter Kowalski, who died yesterday at 81 from the effects of a massive heart attack, portrayed one of wrestling’s all-time great villains during a career that spanned 30 years. I still remember the first time I saw Kowalski wrestle in person at the Baltimore Civic Center. I was either 6 or 7, and my parents and I were seated about five rows from the ring. Kowalski’s opponent that night was Tony Garea. With his chiseled features and wavy hair, Garea was the epitome of a white meat babyface. He also was my mother’s favorite wrestler. In contrast, Kowalski looked as if he had just stepped out of a nightmare. At 6 feet 7 and 275 pounds, he was Frankenstein’s monster in wrestling tights. Unlike the fictional character, however, Kowalski was anything but stiff and plodding. Typically, he would hunch over menacingly, curl his hands into claws out in front of his chest and then pounce on his helpless prey. Before Garea knew what was happening, Kowalski was all over him. I was close enough to the action to hear Kowalski growling as he viciously stomped his helpless opponent. At one point, Garea screamed out in pain as Kowalski applied his infamous stomach claw hold. I believed it was all real, and I was terrified that Kowalski was going to come into the crowd and make me his next victim. In other words, Kowalski did his job extremely well. In real life, Walter was no Killer. In fact, he had a reputation for being one of the industry’s true gentlemen. Jim Ross wrote on his blog yesterday that Kowalski “had a heart of gold” and “was always considered too nice a guy by many promoters to be a wrestling bad guy.” My condolences go out to Kowalski’s family and friends. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/remembering_killer_kowalski_1.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/remembering_killer_kowalski_1.html Sun, 31 Aug 2008 06:38:44 -0500 The Art of War and talked about the fine line between genius and insanity. This was the first time that I saw a touch of Brian Pillman in Kendrick. … Hardy took a nasty spill, landing on his head and neck, during his match against MVP. I’ve seen him have bad landings like that before, and it always amazes me that he hasn’t suffered a serious injury. Jim Ross called him “The Rubberband Man.” … I don’t understand the purpose of having The Great Khali attack Triple H after his match with Benjamin. Khali isn’t in the Scramble, so it’s not like it’s going to help sell the pay-per-view. Perhaps it was done to make Triple H seem banged up heading into Unforgiven, theoretically increasing the likelihood that he will lose the WWE title. … I think R-Truth is going to get over in WWE, but his debut could have been booked better. I see now why Vince McMahon reportedly was furious with how this match was laid out. Kenny Dykstra, who the fans consider a joke at this point, got in far too much offense against a guy that figures to be getting a big push. … Victoria has been reduced to putting over women making their debut, as she jobbed to Brie Bella last night. For those who don’t know, I won’t give it away, but there is something unique about Bella’s gimmick that warrants a push. … Maryse, who teamed with Natalya to defeat Michelle McCool and Maria, is starting to look more comfortable in the ring and she’s getting better at being a heel. McCool, by the way, should either carry the belt to the ring or gain about 20 pounds so that it fits around her waist. … I like Jesse and Festus, but I really don’t need to see them wrestle Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder anymore. Of course, the sole purpose of this match was for The Big Show to come out and destroy everyone. Hopefully, WWE is planning on doing something meaningful with him soon. ]]> http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/its_all_about_the_wrestling_on_smackdown.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/its_all_about_the_wrestling_on_smackdown.html Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:30:41 -0500 Sting finally broke his silence last night on TNA Impact, but his promo left me more confused than ever. If that was supposed to be a heel promo, then Sting isn’t very good at being bad. The fans at the Impact Zone sure didn’t see Sting as a villain. They cheered everything he said, even when he ran down TNA’s top babyfaces, Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles. I guess that’s what happens when you book your top babyfaces to be whiners. I can’t blame the fans for not booing Sting. With the exception of him praising Booker T. and Kurt Angle, who are both heels, he didn’t say or do anything overtly heelish. He also made Styles look foolish (what a surprise). Earlier in the show, Styles said that he was “going to stick my fist down Sting’s throat,” but it turned out to be tough talk that he couldn’t back up. Sting handed Styles his bat, turned his back and offered him a free shot (this was lifted right from WCW in 1997). Styles spun Sting around and went to clobber him, but Sting beat him to the punch and laid him out with the Scorpion Deathdrop. Yet another inept moment for a TNA babyface. Sting was passionate when criticizing the young guys in his promo, but he might have been too fired up. Rather than talking as fast as he did and cutting a “Sting promo,” he should have changed his normal cadence and spoken more deliberately – just like Chris Jericho has done during his recent transformation. A hint of bitterness in his voice would have helped as well. The other key missing ingredient was that Sting showed no contempt for the fans. With Jericho’s turn, as well as Bret Hart’s from a decade ago, they basically told the truth, but they came off as sanctimonious, and, more importantly, they called out the fans for cheering people whom they considered morally corrupt. If Sting had criticized the fans for supporting the guys he referred to as “spoiled brats" and said that the fans were to blame for his attacks on Joe and Styles, the crowd's cheers most likely would have turned to jeers. Then again, there is the possibility that Sting didn’t go that far because the plan isn’t for him to be a full-fledged heel. He said in his promo that he was going to play the role of a parent by straightening out the young guys and teaching them respect. The story line could be that he is showing them “tough love." I’d rather TNA just keep it simple and make it clear that Sting is a bad guy now. Judging by the reaction from the crowd last night, having him be a tweener won’t do guys like Joe and Styles any favors. Other thoughts from last night’s show: Something significant needs to happen soon with the Kevin Nash-Samoa Joe storyline. The friends one week, not friends the next week bit has gotten really old. After talking to Nash last Saturday at the Maryland Championship Wrestling show, I get the impression that he feels the same way. Sometimes I have no idea why they are even mad at each other. For example, Nash was totally unprovoked when he slapped Joe during Nash's match with Angle last night. Joe, who was doing commentary, was actually speaking well of Nash before that. ... The Karen Angle interview segment with Abyss was really bad and seemed like it was never going to end. Abyss is a complete ripoff of Mankind, right down to pulling out his hair. The problem is, Chris Parks as a performer is no Mick Foley. Now that Foley has reportedly signed with TNA, I would assume that his first angle would be with Abyss. .. It was unintentionally funny when Mike Tenay, right aftter witnessing such a bizarre segment, said matter-of-factly, "Some interesting comments from Abyss." ... It was SoCal Val, however, who had the line of the night. When announcing that she was going to hang her engagement ring above the wrestling ring during a Jay Lethal-Sonjay Dutt match, and the first person to grab the ring gets to be with her, she said, "I know it sounds ridiculous." You think? She also had the fakest-looking black eye I have ever seen. ... Jeff Jarrett's name was finally mentioned on the broadcast. The video package was very well done. I just hope TNA doesn't pull one of its infamous swerves and have Jarrett come back and turn on Joe or Styles. ... I like the way Sojourner Bolt was introduced. Rather than defeating a lesser opponent in her debut, she was competitive in a loss to Awesome Kong. Not getting squashed by Kong is more impressive than defeating an inferior opponent in my opinion. ... ODB showed a lot of fire in her attack on Kong, and Kong's facial expressions were awesome during the beatdown. It looks as if Gail Kim's departure is going to move ODB up in the pecking order. I thought ODB's promo was pretty entertaining as well, and I loved the shirt. ... The tag match between The Beautiful People and Roxxi and Taylor Wilde was a little sloppy in places. The match wasn't that bad, but the TNA women have set a pretty high standard. ... TNA really needs to get Kip James away from The Beautiful People. He could be used better and they don't need him as part of their act. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/so_is_sting_a_heel_or_not.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/so_is_sting_a_heel_or_not.html Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:24:18 -0500 ]]> http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/kevin_nash_video_interview_part_ii.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/kevin_nash_video_interview_part_ii.html Video interviews Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:52:39 -0500 ]]> http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/kevin_nash_video_interview.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/kevin_nash_video_interview.html Video interviews Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:43:45 -0500 It was great to see that John Cena's surgery to repair a herniated disk yesterday was successful. It has been reported that he is expected to return in two to four months. Fortunately for Cena, he did not have to undergo fusion surgery, which requires significantly more recovery time. Cena's surgeon removed a disk fragment on Cena's spinal cord that was weakening the nerve leading to his right arm, wwe.com reported. Cena made it clear in an interview on the Web site that he wants to get back in the ring as soon as possible. Hopefully, he won't try to come back before he is ready. If the timetable for Cena's return proves accurate, he and Randy Orton, who reportedly is out with a broken collarbone, would likely be coming back around the same time. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/john_cenas_surgery.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/john_cenas_surgery.html Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:42:34 -0500 ECW got off to a promising start last night with a good Matt Hardy-John Morrison match, but then things went south in a hurry. Hardy’s hard-fought victory over Morrison was one of four qualifying matches to determine Mark Henry’s challengers in the ECW Championship Scramble at the Unforgiven pay-per-view a week from this Sunday. It was a little disappointing that Hardy and Morrison were matched against each other, because I would like to have seen them both in the Scramble. But, in the immortal words of Chris Jericho, the worst was yet to come. Next up was Evan Bourne against The Miz. This one is a no-brainer, I thought to myself. Bourne has been on a roll and he is getting over. The Miz, on the other hand, well, he’s The Miz. The next thing I knew, I was looking at one of the most frightening and disturbing scenes to ever appear on the Sci Fi Channel: The Miz, arms raised in victory, making bug eyes and yelling, “Hoo-rah!” So Bourne’s first pinfall loss (which was clean, by the way) is to The Miz, who will wrestle on the pay-per-view while his much-more talented tag team partner watches the show on his plasma TV at The Palace of Wisdom. That travesty was followed by a Chavo Guerrero-Tommy Dreamer match. I mean no disrespect to these two veterans, but they are both played out. Dreamer is a glorified jobber at this point and Guerrero hasn’t exactly been wracking up the victories since that nine-second loss to Kane at WrestleMania XXIV. Guerrero won, which I suppose is the lesser of two evils. The final match of the evening pitted Finlay against Mike Knox. I have nothing against Finlay, but he is two months shy of his 50th birthday, and at this point in his career he should be putting over younger guys who have an upside. Knox has had more of a presence since he changed his look and adopted a more aggressive style. Why not give him an opportunity? Isn’t ECW supposed to be the brand that pushes the younger guys? If I were booking the Scramble, I would have had Hardy, Morrison, Bourne and Knox in there with Henry. That way there would be a good mix of high flyers and big men, and you would have the brand’s two biggest stars (Hardy and Henry) in there with three guys on the rise. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/ecws_scrambled_mess.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/ecws_scrambled_mess.html Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:42:11 -0500 Hours before Raw went on the air last night, reports that John Cena had suffered a neck injury were all over the Internet. WWE later stated that Cena needs surgery to repair a herniated disk and “will be out of action indefinitely.” With Cena out, it was announced that Rey Mysterio would take his place in the Championship Scramble for the world heavyweight title at the Unforgiven pay-per-view on Sept. 7, joining champion CM Punk, Batista, JBL and Kane. Because Mysterio’s in-ring style is so different from Cena’s, his presence changes the complexion of the match. Undoubtedly, there will be more high spots and, at times, a quicker pace. Plus, Mysterio has a personal issue with Kane. Cena’s injury, coupled with Randy Orton reportedly being out another three months, leaves Raw without two of its top stars. This is Cena’s second major injury in the past 10 months. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle in October and returned ahead of schedule at The Royal Rumble in January. The specifics of Cena’s injury are unclear at this point, but neck problems in wrestling can often be the result of a cumulative effect rather than one incident. On Raw it was portrayed that Cena got hurt during his match with Batista at SummerSlam on Aug. 17. In an interview on Raw, Batista put over Cena’s toughness and wished him well. You can never take things at face value in wrestling story lines, so it’s possible that Batista’s reaction was planting the seeds for a feud with Cena when he comes back. Other thoughts on last night’s show: Was it my imagination, or did I actually hear people cheer the fact that Cena was injured? … As expected, Shawn Michaels announced that he was coming back to get revenge on Chris Jericho at Unforgiven. Also as expected, the verbal confrontation between these two was tremendous. As soon as Jericho’s face came up on the Titantron, he got major heat from the crowd. And speaking of Jericho’s face, his sour expression during the segment was awesome. I am really looking forward to seeing them go at it, but I think the story line could have been even more compelling if WWE had pushed back their match until No Mercy in October. Cena’s injury gave WWE a perfect opportunity to place Jericho in the Championship Scramble. It could have set up a scenario in which Jericho appears to have the title won, but Michaels – who would have been off TV since SummerSlam – shows up out of nowhere and costs him the match. … The opening match between Punk and JBL was very good. I especially liked the near fall on the Clothesline from Hell. Fans are clearly starting to believe in Punk. As for JBL, people have been very critical of his in-ring performances, but he held up his end last night. He admittedly had ring rust and was out of shape (not to mention banged up) when he first returned, but he has gradually gotten better. … When Raw general manager Mike Adamle announced that Cena’s replacement in the Scramble was a former world champion, I thought for a second that he was going to say it was Sid Vicious. … The Batista-Kane main event was a little slow-moving, but that’s to be expected when these two wrestle each other. The match was effective in helping the build for the pay-per-view. … Kane cut a good promo, but it would have been even better if there was more of a story behind his program with Mysterio. … I liked the Kelly Kelly-Beth Phoenix match. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are going to say how much of a travesty it is that Kelly got the pin, but I’m not one of them. Kelly is getting better every week, and the way she won – with a rollup after Santino Marella inadvertently distracted Phoenix – was believable because the match had been competitive up to that point. The bloody nose Phoenix suffered during the match, while an accident, also helped convey that Kelly is tougher than she looks. Of course, the main reason for Kelly’s win was to add a twist to the Glamarella story line. When Phoenix started punching Marella, at first I thought: “Dissension already? Who booked this, Vince Russo?” Then I remembered that Russo doesn’t work for WWE. It became clear that the couple would reconcile before the end of the show, and the angle was just establishing how quirky and dysfunctional they are. … It’s nice that the announcers finally are putting over Marella as a threat in the ring despite his goofy personality. … I won’t go so far as to say that Adamle is doing a good job in his role as GM, but his delivery and facial expressions during backstage segments are getting better. … I don’t want to judge Primo Colon too harshly after just one match, but with his non-descript look and 1970s-era babyface mannerisms, he’s going to have a difficult time getting over. I guess with his brother Carlito being on Smackdown (he is still with the company, isn’t he?), there’s little chance of a brother vs. brother feud. … Charlie Haas was pretty funny wrestling and cutting a promo as “Charlito.” Maybe Haas’ new gimmick will be doing impersonations, sort of like The Big Show did years ago. At this point, Haas should try anything. … Why were the fans chanting “USA” when Hacksaw Jim Duggan and partner Jerry Lawler were wrestling Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes? Are Mississippi and Georgia no longer part of the U.S.? … Just when I was starting to warm up to Cryme Tyme (who will no longer get the rub from Cena), they go and ruin it by bringing back the “Money, money, yeah, yeah” catch phrase. The crowd was into it at first last night, but JTG and Shad Gaspard kept repeating the phrase long after the fans stopped playing along. I think that was one of the most annoying segments I have seen since Sharmell and William Regal repeated “All Hail King Booker” about a thousand times. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/cena_injury_opens_scramble_spot_for_mysterio.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/cena_injury_opens_scramble_spot_for_mysterio.html Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:51:06 -0500 A sold-out crowd of more than 700 people crammed into the cozy New Green Room in Dundalk Saturday night for the Maryland Championship Wrestling show, and most of them were there for one reason. Here’s a hint: It wasn’t to see the inexperienced referee who officiated the MCW cruiserweight title match. Obviously, it was to get an up close and personal look at Kevin Nash. The former WWE and WCW world champion and current TNA star wrestled in a six-man tag match and also took pictures with fans and signed autographs at the event. Both in and out of the ring, Nash seemed to enjoy being at the show and interacting with fans. So what was Nash like backstage? If you’re expecting to hear that he was aloof or standoffish, you’re going to be disappointed. Not surprisingly, Nash was the center of attention in the back, and he was as pleasant there as he was in front of the fans. Whether it was sitting down for an interview with me, taping a public service announcement, signing memorabilia or posing for pictures with the MCW crew and winners of our trivia contest, he did so without complaint. The video interview that I did with Nash should be up in the next few days. He talked about walking out of the Impact taping several weeks ago, his story line with Samoa Joe, the overall creative direction of TNA and more. In the ring, Nash – who teamed with Corporal Punishment (MCW owner Dan McDevitt) and Adam Flash against The Bruiser and The Ghetto Mafia – delivered some of his signature moves and got the biggest pop of the night when he delivered a jackknife powerbomb to MCW referee Chris Clow for his questionable officiating. Other notes on the show: I’ve only known Clow for a short time, but he is the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back. And I mean that literally. There were no extra referee shirts there, so Clow let me borrow his for the one match I officiated. Luckily for me, Clow doesn’t sweat that much. Unfortunately for him, I do, and he had to work another match after mine. … I was impressed with Eric Cobian, a powerhouse who squashed Steve Desire in 47 seconds. This guy looks as if he could be Batista’s younger brother. In fact, he told me that he often gets mistaken for the WWE superstar. Coincidentally, Cobian and Batista were both trained by Afa Anoai at the Wild Samoan wrestling school in Allentown, Pa., and the two briefly crossed paths there. Cobian, who has been on the independent scene off and on since 2000 (he stepped away for a few years due to a family situation), said TNA has shown some interest in him. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him wrestling on television for somebody in the future. … Next to Nash, it was four newcomers who attracted the most attention backstage. It probably had something to do with the fact that they were young women in bikinis. I didn’t catch their names, but they were on hand to participate in a bikini contest. Before the show, they all posed for pictures with Nash. As gracious with his time as he was with everyone, Nash seemed to be especially accommodating with them. … I refereed the MCW cruiserweight title match between champion Josh Daniels and Rhett Titus, which had the unenviable task of following the bikini contest. Both guys worked hard and they had a good, physical match, yet some fans felt the need to start a “boring” chant. I believe that fans have the right to express themselves, but fans at independent shows often seem to revel in being disrespectful. I just don’t get that. … Speaking of fans expressing themselves, McDevitt got on the mic after the six-man tag match and blasted those who posted on MCW’s message board that Nash wouldn’t draw. … The one drawback to being backstage is that I end up missing a lot of the show. I’m especially disappointed that I didn’t get to see the match that pitted Joey Matthews and Christian York against Derek Frazier and Ruckus. I guess I’ll have to wait for the DVD. … Matthews (formerly known as MNM’s Joey Mercury in WWE) cut a heel promo ripping on Baltimore and declaring that he and York are going to WWE in December. Keep in mind that heels usually don’t tell the truth. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/an_inside_look_at_kevin_nashs_mcw_appearance.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/08/an_inside_look_at_kevin_nashs_mcw_appearance.html Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:44:35 -0500