My Top 10 Favorite Raw Moments

Well folks, tonight's the night. This has been built up for quite a while and I admit that I'm actually looking forward to watching RAW tonight. I'm sure this is one the WWE will be going all out for, and many surprise appearances will be in store. WWE.com has been counting down RAW's greatest moments of the last 15 years. I'd like to share my favorites with you…

10. Intercontinental Title Battle Royal

This was the 20 Man Battle Royal for the vacant Intercontinental Title from 1993. While Bobby Heenan's Bastion Booger jokes would have been reason enough to rank this #10, this would be the shot in the arm of the singles career of Razor Ramon (aka Scott Hall.) He and Rick Martel would co-win this and meet next week for the title with Razor coming out on top. That win was the first of several Intercontinental Title reigns for "Da Bad Guy," and while Scott Hall is nothing short of sad nowadays, he was one of WWE's major players in the early years of the Raw era.

9. ECW Invades (Part 1)

This may not seem like that big of a deal now with ECW as a 3rd Brand, but tuning into Raw during the attitude era and seeing Paul Heyman was a pretty big deal at the time. ECW was invited to show up and give WWE fans a taste of extreme, as ECW stars wrestled each other in 3 matches of the Raw telecast. It was pretty surreal seeing The BWO, Little Guido, Taz, Mikey Whipreck, Tommy Dreamer, and D-Von Dudley on Monday night programming. The highlight of this, of course, was Sabu appearing and jumping off of the RAW letters in the entrance way onto Team Taz. I, for one, was very excited to find out that this angle will be a featured as of the 15th Anniversary Best of Raw DVD coming out later this month.

8. Edge's Birthday

One of my favorite backstage segments EVER… Edge, Christian, Kurt Angle, and Triple H sitting around in a locker room celebrating Edge's birthday. What made this so awesome? Theme music played via kazoo by Christian with Edge covering the vocals. This continued on for a few more weeks with the Canadian duo paying homage to Chris Benoit and Crash Holly using this method. For this initial segment, however, these four played off of each other perfectly, and was one of the early stages of developing Edge & Christian's personalities.

7. Replay of Hart/Smith from In Your House

My memory isn't kicking as to when this actually occurred, but it was sometime between the night after and two weeks after the December 95 In Your House Pay Per View. It was pretty awesome of them to do this, as they aired the WWE Championship Match between Bret Hart and The British Bulldog in its entirety. It doesn't hurt that the match was pretty damn good, too.

6. Mike Awesome wins Hardcore Title

The Hardcore Title, held by Rhyno, was under 24/7 Rules at the time. Rhyno is shown walking backstage when all of a sudden he gets blindsided by Mike Awesome who promptly pins him to win the Hardcore Title. Why was this so important? Mike Awesome was a member of the WCW roster. This Again, my memory isn't the best but I think he laid Rhyno out with a chair then put him through a table. Regardless, this is what kicked off the WCW Invasion, and while that failed in the end, this moment was at least pretty intriguing.

5. DX Parodies The Nation

One of the all time classics. Jason Sensation playing Owen Hart, Triple H as the Crock, and X Pac as Mizark Henry were all very humorous. While this opened up a can of worms to let them think they could recreate the awesomeness of this by doing impersonations of the Corporation and more recently The McMahons again, this was something that I remembered and people were talking about for a very long time.

4. ECW Invades (Part 2)

This almost would have ranked higher on my list had it not turned into "The Alliance" by the end of the show, but the night that Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam debuted on Raw was pretty sweet. Kane & Chris Jericho were facing Lance Storm and Mike Awesome of WCW when they attacked. Members of the Raw roster (The Dudleys, Tazz, Justin Credible, Rhyno, and Raven) came to make the save, only to realize that they were all former ECW wrestlers and lay the boots to Jericho & Kane while Paul Heyman reveals it all as an ECW Invasion. For me, this was one of the most unbelievable moments I had witnessed in wrestling. They were sitting on a gold mine with this, but somehow they managed to screw things up royally. Just like they did again in 2006...

3. Lita & Trish Main Event Raw

These last 3 are kind of feel good moments for me. Lita and Trish Stratus had countless battles between one another and at this point were capable of putting together a pretty kick ass match. The bookers had a pretty good feeling that they would and let them go out there and close out the show in December 2004. The feel good moment stemming from this is the faith in these two to run with the ball. They delivered, and while Lita fucked up her neck in the process, she beat Trish to regain the Womens Title. While Lita winning the title initally from Stephanie McMahon in the Main Event of Raw in 2000 felt pretty good too, this felt a little more special headlining the show considering there was no one in the match named McMahon.

2. Eddie Guererro Tribute

While his death was a tragedy, the Raw where they paid tribute to Eddie was a special night. Seeing Raw stars vs Smackdown stars was a treat, as was Chris Benoit going over cleanly on Triple H. The match that stood out, however, was Shawn Michaels vs Rey Mysterio. They had a great match, and Shawn did the selfless thing by putting Rey over clean. To me, that win helped legitimize Mysterio as being able to hang with Main Eventers on his way to winning The Royal Rumble and eventually the World Title.

1. Mick Foley wins World Title

This was the ultimate feel good moment, as nobody saw it coming, or at least until they posted it on Wwe/f.com and Eric Bischoff blurted it out on Nitro. Foley had already gotten screwed over by the Rock at Survivor Series and Rock Bottom, and got screwed one more time this night by Shane McMahon in a match against Triple H. Frustrated, Foley did the only thing he could... hold Shane McMahon hostage in order to get one more rematch with Rock later that night. After some help from DX, the unthinkable happened, and Mrs. Foley's baby boy was the WWE Champion. Contrary to what Bischoff believed, it did in fact put some asses in seats, and some viewers on the TV.

A lot has happened in the last 15 years, but Monday Night Raw is still around, and will most likely be around another 15 years from now. I'm looking forward to seeing what they end up doing for this, to see will become of the Evolution Reunion, to see if Carlito will win the Intercontinental Title as part of the agreement for him to stick around, to see the return of Sunny, to see what will most likely be the second coming of the Gimmick Battle Royal… WWE can easily bounce back from Thursday's ratings loss with a good number here. There's enough hype surrounding Raw tonight. Here's to hoping they deliver, and here's to hoping for one more feel good moment for Monday Night RAW...

More on This Story...

Armchair Booking The ECW World Title Picture

Are you the kind of person that watches something on WWE or TNA and think you could do it better? Yeah, that's the kind of person I am. The reality is that 90% of us probably couldn't. What makes me think I'm any different? Nothing really. I do have 7 1/2 years experience in the wrestling business as a worker, but very little experience booking (just one show really.) I have contributed ideas for matches, angles, and feuds that have worked out pretty well, so I'd like to think that I have a good mind for booking.

Alot of people were surprised that ECW retained its timeslot for another year, especially given the ratings they have drawn. It is one of the highest rated (if not THE highest rated) program on Sci Fi, but it doesn't compare to the ratings pulled in by Raw or Smackdown. With the same roster as Smackdown basically, there's no reason why ECW shouldn't be able to pull in the same ratings as it's Friday Night Counterpart, especially since Tuesday night is a more convenient night of the week to be watching wrestling (assuming the average wrestling fan has something to do on a Friday night.)

As of last night's ECW/Smackdown tapings, there is no ECW angle leading into the Armageddon PPV that is almost 2 weeks away (yes, it is in Pittsburgh, and no I won't be going unless someone surprises me with tickets as a birthday present.) My take at armchair booking makes things pretty interesting, and carries all the way through Wrestlemania. What I want you to do is read this article now and read it again in April after Wrestlemania is in the books. I want feedback at that time to see if you were happy with the job the WWE has done at that point, or if this is the booking you would have much rather enjoyed. Let's also examine at that time if the ratings have remained steady or have increased, and if you think this fake booking would have made a difference in the numbers.

Next week on ECW, the show begins with CM Punk cutting a promo about not having a challenger lined up for an ECW Title Match at Armageddon. He invites to the ring Tommy Dreamer. He puts over Dreamer for initially winning the Chase to the Title series a few months back and remind us all that he never recieved a title shot for his efforts. Tonight, CM Punk is going to make Tommy's dreams come true and give him what (I think, but could be wrong) would be his first ECW Title shot since the brand relaunched last year. Dreamer accepts. Later in the Main Event, Smackdown Tag Champs John Morrison and Miz are on commentary for the match and get involved at the end, causing the match to end in a no contest.

On Smackdown that Friday (or even ECW next week since I believe they tape Smackdown before ECW airs live) Punk and Dreamer return the favor, involving themselves in a non-title match with Miz & Morrison against any random pair of babyfaces (why not Finlay & Hornswoggle for shits and giggle?) To protect Morrison here, Miz takes the pin. As a result of this, a Tag Team Title Match is set for Armageddon.

At Armageddon, Morrison and Miz retain the Tag Team Titles against Punk and Dreamer. Morrison gets the pin on Punk in this match, and the following week on ECW TV, Morrison gloats about pinning the Champion and uses that to get another rematch for the title. This rematch happens the following week on December 27th. Why December 27th? It's the week of Christmas and ECW airs on Thursday head to head with Impact. One would think they should stack this show up to beat them in the ratings, but I think it would be more beneficial to rely on one match to carry the show, literally.

What I am proposing here is Punk vs Morrison in a 60 Minute Iron Man Match. One match to take place during the entire 60 minute broadcast. I think this would be a good idea to do regardless, and with the Smackdown merger, some ECW talent can just wrestle on the Friday Night broadcast. A match like this is just what the ECW Title needs to build a little prestigue and to be deemed more important than the US or Intercontinental Title. Plus, they'll have a week to advertise the match. I'm sure TNA will be trying to put on a strong show and a strong main event to compete with this, but even fans that are flipping back and forth will most likely want to tune into the last 10 minutes of this to see things really heat up. Now in my booking, Miz gets involved toward the end, followed by Dreamer saving, but both of them staying at ringside for the final few minutes. In the end, Punk retains, and Dreamer helps him celebrate, only to turn on him.

Somewhere before the end of the year finally have Mahoney/Kelly vs Miz/Layla so that feud can finally be blown off. Just please keep the Women's Wrestling to a bare minimum and DO NOT have Kelly attempt another Circus Panda in the corner...

The next week, Dreamer explains his actions via heel promo, basically venting his frustrations about his role in WWECW and saying that he cares more about becoming ECW Champion and challenges Punk to a match. Enter Punk, brawl ensues, and they meet at New Years Revolution with Punk retaining. They have a rematch again at the Royal Rumble, this time in an Extreme Rules Match.

Does the ECW Title feel a little more important yet?

To build for Wrestlemania, Bobby Lashley makes his return in time for the Rumble, but comes up short. Let's say for the sake of argument that a member of the RAW Roster wins the Rumble match itself, leaving the heavily rumored Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out where the winner gets a shot at the other World Title… on Smackdown. Lashley returns to the Blue Brand in an attempt to again become a World Champion, and turning heel in frustration of not winning the Rumble match. While this is all happening, Punk is having a great series of matches with Shelton Benjamin, who has been built up as a credible challenger for the last couple of months. Lashley comes up short yet again and turns to his last option to have a World Title Match for the Granddaddy of them all, targeting CM Punk.

One problem is the ECW brand is built up with a strong assortment of heels that can be Main Eventers, while they still only have one Main Event face in CM Punk. Let's just say that the fans accept Dreamer back as a babyface after his match with Punk at the Rumble, and Elijah Burke has a falling out with Shelton Benjamin that leads to a face turn and a match at Wrestlemania. I don't see ECW getting another match on that show, so let's put them both in the Money In the Bank Ladder Match.

At Wrestlemania, Punk's reign is ended by the only other member of the ECW Roster not named John Morrison who could make a believable Champion for that brand in Bobby Lashley. From there, the summer months can be spent feuding the two together, maybe even switching the title a couple times if needed (ala Angle vs Lesnar.)

There you have it. Will it make the ECW Title feel as important as Big Gold or The Spinner belt? Will it help ECW's ratings go up a whole point? Will it make the ECW Brand as a whole seem like it's not the read headed stepchild of the WWE? Those are all debatable, but tell me come Monday, March 31st if this would have been a better idea.

More on This Story...

A Suitable WWE Alternative: The McMahon Plan to Put TNA Out of Business

CM Punk is a World Heavyweight Champion. Regardless of what brand he is a champion of or the circumstances surrounding his win, at the end of the day CM Punk has a World Heavyweight Title around his waist.

Is that enough to satiate the ever-critical Internet Wrestling Community? Likely not.

Is it enough to get more fans watching the ECW brand? Probably still likely not.

Much like Samoa Joe, CM Punk lost the payoff match that would have made his title reign significant. Due to a wellness policy suspension, he is afforded the luxury of keeping the belt warm for the impending return of John Morrison. This makes him a glorified Ronnie Garvin in the annals of wrestling history.

Punk's title win came at a TV taping, and was spoiled on WWE.com before it aired on the poorly rated ECW on Sci-Fi.

The WWECW experiment has been an interesting one to say the least. Beginning with Rob Van Dam's title run, the brand has experienced nothing but issues. It's hard to determine what WWE's actual plans were for the brand, as additions of RVD, Kurt Angle, and the Big Show imply that they expected the brand to draw on it's own.

All three of those aforementioned wrestlers are gone. Bobby Lashley took the ball, but when he ran with it, he often ended up on the Raw brand. Lashley was removed from ECW and stripped of the World title, but fans kept hope with the announcement that Chris Benoit would be putting on fantastic matches with young athletic workers. We obviously all know how that turned out.

Outside of Morrison and Punk, the supporting cast of ECW wrestlers is a veritable who's who of wrestling jobbers as ECW originals Balls Mahoney, Nunzio, and Tommy Dreamer haven't won a match in recent memory. Wrestlers receiving half-pushes like Stevie Richards, Kevin Thorn, The Miz, and Big Daddy V are hardly anything to get excited about.

This leads to the ECW World Heavyweight title having a feeling of being more on par with Raw's Intercontinental title or Smackdown's United States title.

TNA on the other hand has somehow been able to keep the big belt feel around their World Heavyweight Title. Kurt Angle, Sting, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe and others have all been built to be legit title contenders.

Despite the fact that the logic of having Kurt Angle lose clean to Jay Lethal to return and defeat Abyss is seriously flawed, the belt itself only moderately suffers. The main argument of most wrestling fans would be that Lethal should now be considered the number one contender. I agree, but would rather personally not see Angle squash Black Machismo to get his heat back.

Still, TNA has it's own fatal flaw. TNA's purpose in the wrestling game is to provide an alternative to the WWE. When I started watching wrestling in 1989, the NWA/WCW provided a suitable alternative with a different and often superior in-ring product.

Years later, when WCW acquired Hulk Hogan and other former WWE stars and looked, sounded, and felt more like their competitor, Extreme Championship Wrestling stepped up and truly did something unique in the world of wrestling, blending world class grapplers, unique high flyers, and hardcore wrestling.

Since the original ECW folded, many have come and tried to rekindle the magic. XPW and CZW have appealed to a specific type of fan, but they have been unable to capture the imaginations of America the way ECW did. One might suggest that they're overboard tactics and sort of lower class, if not dirty, feel has a lot to do with their lack of mainstream marketability. If ECW was comparable to edgy magazine Playboy, XPW and CZW are BSDM specialty mags.

Undoubtedly, pro wrestling fans have been looking for something new and different. For some fans, this is found in Ring of Honor. To make another analogy, if WWE were beer, ECW is WWE Lite, and TNA is WWE Ultra Lite. Ring of Honor is Natty Light. Cheaper, but at least it tastes a bit different. Fans are looking for a Miller to compete with their Bud, and have been since the dissolution of WCW and the original ECW years ago.

With TNA shoving VKM, Black Reign, Rhino, Team 3D, and various other WWE rejects down the collective throats of their fans, it has appeared at times that they might get rid of the X Division entirely. Obviously the TNA brass doesn't understand what brought them to the dance.

So why doesn't a millionaire-wrestling mogul like Vince McMahon understand that there is a demographic he is not reaching? After all, there is a great deal more money to be made.

Jim Ross has recently stated in his Barbeque Blog that "ECW is still a work in progress and the final form it eventually takes could be termed as ‘still to be determined.' I am not a major fan of a weekly hardcore or extreme rules match because they cease being special if one sees them every week and these matches increase the odds of a wrestlers getting injured. With the overall lack of quality depth available, injuries should be avoided when they can."

While many fans cannot accept this, I am perfectly fine with it. I grew tired of WWE style hardcore matches, and I detested watching bums attempt to recreate and outdo them on the Indy circuit. I don't want anyone to get seriously injured for my dollar. That is not why I am a wrestling fan.

So what can the WWE do to reinvigorate the ECW brand and provide the alternative that TNA is failing to be, essentially shutting them out of the market entirely?

Well, the first step is to get a deal for ECW to move to a different network. ECW is handcuffed by their Sci-Fi affiliation, as characters like The Boogeyman and Kevin Thorn must be there to grab any type of crossover audience from the network itself.

If ECW could score a deal with FSN, FX, or another network with a more general theme and a larger audience, it would benefit them greatly. I personally am unable to watch ECW on the television in my room, because we only get digital cable on one TV in the household.

The second move would be straight to Thursday nights to compete directly with Total Nonstop Action Impact! What is a bigger slap in the face than to send your third and lesser brand into direct competition with your rival? Writers and wrestlers would both be expected to step up their performance.

The next step is to introduce a Women's Championship to Smackdown. This will undoubtedly be the most controversial point. However, Victoria is on the brand, and she is undoubtedly the most talented wrestling diva in the company. She would like to see a belt there, and I would like to be her unconditional love slave. Therefore, what Victoria wants, Victoria gets.

Plus, this opens up the option of taking the Cruiserweight title off of Smackdown and moving it to ECW. Along with the title, any wrestler from any brand who is considered a cruiserweight should be moved as well. This would place Daivari, Santino Marella, Super Crazy, Funaki, Chavo Guerrero, Shannon Moore, and Jamie Noble all on the ECW brand.

Cruiserweight title matches would be contested under a highflying, hard-hitting cruiserweight style. One huge difference between WWE and TNA is TNA lets their X Division separate itself from the rest of the program, while WWE essentially has smaller guys working a heavyweight style for a cruiserweight title.

Other wrestlers who might be considered for movement to the ECW brand depending on their storyline involvement on their respective brands would be the Hardyz, Rey Mysterio, and Kenny Dykstra. These men would be ECW World Title contenders.

The ECW World Heavyweight title would only be contested under extreme rules, which can mean as much or as little as the performers involved want it to mean. There was a great difference between Jerry Lynn/RVD matches and Tommy Dreamer/Raven matches in the old ECW. Still, it gives wrestlers the option of pushing the envelope in matches where it would be worthwhile to do so, i.e. World Heavyweight title matches.

Now that pay-per-views are tri-branded again, the ECW brand would actually be set apart and provide one or two unique and exciting matches for each.

All members of the ECW roster should wrestle with a hardcore mentality. This does not necessarily mean Extreme Rules. Kurt Angle's intensity upon joining the ECW brand, and Big Show's attempt to work a different style and use a new move set while in ECW were fantastic examples of what I mean. Hardcore doesn't necessarily mean going through a table. It's about wrestlers pushing themselves to the limit.

It's likely that a reworked ECW could destroy TNA's market share, as WWE would provide a suitable alternative themselves. If done correctly and given a more legit feel, it may also attract some of the ever-growing MMA audience.

Without a doubt, it would increase ratings, increase merchandise sales, and give fans a reason to once again chant ECW, ECW, ECW!

More on This Story...

Well, that's retarded...

Believe it or not, Eugene being released from the WWE may just have been the best thing to happen to his career. Why, you say? Well were was his career prior to this? When was the last time Eugene challenged for a singles title? When was the last time he got a PPV Payday? It's sad because Nick Dinsmore was one of the most talented prospects to come out of OVW. Chris Benoit went down to work a match with him, and after Dinsmore held his own and then some with the Rabid Wolverine, Benoit told Danny Davis he was every bit as good as he said he was. The sky was the limit for him, and he eventually got called up for the opportunity of a lifetime…

As Uncle Eric's retarded nephew…

I questioned the logic of this first. In all fairness, this seemed like a logical choice in the beginning. It was something different. It was something fun. It was something the kids could enjoy just as much as adults. But once the new car scent wore off, what else was there to do with him? He couldn't be a main event player or a serious singles champion under this gimmick. He was cursed with the gimmick of a simpleton with no way out. Many had been in this rough of a spot before and survived, but for him there was no going back. He was stuck with "The Eugene Curse."

What's funny is CM Punk almost suffered the same fate under the "Eugene Curse," as he was slated to debut with a gimmick where he was a deaf wrestler. Had this happened, he most likely would not be your ECW Champion today . He'd be pretty hot for about a month or two, then go from jobbing on heat to getting an honorable mention on WWE.com wishing him the best in his future endeavors.

Ironically enough, I essentially was doing the Eugene gimmick in Pro Wrestling Xpress about 6 months before Eugene showed up on WWE TV. Because I wasn't wrestling on a National stage, it just made me look like a copycat. But the difference was I was acting goofy, picking fights with wet floor signs, and carrying around a Bob The Builder backpack because I took too many chairshots and got a concussion every show. I simply stopped taking so many shots to the head and returned to normal. With Mr Dinsmore, it was genetics.

Sure, the Eugene character has filled us with some unforgettable moments over the years. Who could forget WWE Musical Chairs during his brief tenure as General Manager of RAW? Plus, without him we never would have learned that Matt Stryker loves poop.

Luckily for him, the sky is once again the limit. He's a talented performer with name value. He can make a pretty decent living just working the Indies. I just hope that he's smart about it…

What he should do...

- Get involved in the NWA Title Picture. Since the NWA broke away from TNA, they've gotten their hands on two of the biggest named Independent Contractors in Bryan Danielson and Brent Albright to try to get their World Title some credibility. While I'm sure Adam Pearce is talented and worthy of being the NWA's Top Titleholder (although I'm not familiar with his work at all) I don't think he's exactly the household name you want to be promoting as your World Champion. The NWA World Title needs recognizable names to go along with it. Mr. Dinsmore could be one of them.

- Open up a training school. Why the hell not? He was responsible for training so many of the OVW names that went on to the WWE. While some of them may no longer be employed, he's still responsible for training some talented workers.

Here is what he should not do...

- Sign with TNA. Even if they are getting a second hour for Impact, their roster is already overcrowded with former WWE names who have lashed out against their former employer and burned their bridges. The sad part is though, that half of them pretty much recreated their old WWE gimmicks (Team 3D, Platinumdust or whatever he is called) and it just seems like a cheap parody. The last thing we need is a 2nd rate Eugene gimmick. Then again he could join the other half that shoot on their old gimmicks and try to be themselves. This wouldn't be so bad, but he's just going to get lost in the TNA shuffle.

- Work for Ring of Honor… or any other promotion that runs in the Philly area. Those fans are brutal and will completely boo him out of the building. Remember Jeff Hardy's ROH run? Probably not, and there's a reason why.

Regardless of what happens, Nick Dinsmore is out of gimmick purgatory and has a chance to re-establish himself as a legitimate wrestler. Who knows, maybe we'll see him get resigned in the future and become the major player that he was destined to be…

Or he could go back to being Eugene, showing us all what a retard he truly is... More on This Story...

You F*cked Up! You F*cked Up!

We all remember it. That infamous chant is synonymous with the old ECW. Usually it came from the fans whenever a worker would blow a spot, make a move look bad, etc. It's one of the few things that left that can still be associated with the original ECW (and that's not a good thing) as they certainly have been making some very questionable judgement calls as of late.

Here's the million dollar question… Has WWE missed the boat on giving CM Punk the ECW Title? Yes, and here's why…

The internet loves CM Punk. You know it, I know it. But he's more than just the golden boy for the smart marks. While I don't think he's ready to carry the top belt on Raw or Smackdown, he's very well deserving of being called ECW Champion. Should he have beaten John Morrison for the belt last night at Summerslam. Defenitely, and I think they backed themselves into a corner by not doing so. After 3 consecutive PPV Matches, I think it would be a very bad idea if they revisit Punk vs Morrison yet again next month. While Punk has non-title and tag match victories over him, the PPV Title Matches are the ones that count in the long run. The time now is for Morrison to move onto bigger and better things.

The problem is there are no bigger and better things on the ECW Roster…

ECW never full recouporated from the loss of Chris Benoit. Essentially adding Benoit was to make up for the loss of Bobby Lashley… and Rob VanDam… and Sabu… Because they didn't send another guy to ECW that could work as a legit Main Eventer, they were left with 2 guys to carry the brand… Punk and Morrison. While I questioned putting the belt on Morrison initially, I think he's done a great job of carrying the ball (although his mic skills still leave something to be desired.) Now that Punk is 0-3, who else is left to feud with for the belt? Dreamer and Mahoney have been jobbed out too much to be taken seriously as contenders. Boogeyman hasn't gotten far enough in his feud with Big Daddy V to move on to something else. The Miz? Yeah right. The only legitimate choice they have that actually has some momentum going for him is Stevie Richards. Now thinking about it, he was an ECW Title Contender 10 years ago… that seems to be the direction they've been heading as of late so why not?

What will most likely happen is Nitro will continue to work squash matches against Enhancement Talent. That's not the thing you want to be doing with the guy carrying your top belt, plus when WWE PPVs are only featuring one ECW Match, you can't afford for it not to be featuring your only titleholder. He can feud with someone from Smackdown or Raw for the title like they did with Big Show and Lashley. While that does work to an extent because it adds prestige when your champ is getting clean victories over guys like Ric Flair, Kane, and The Undertaker, it also shows what a weak roster you have because there are no legitemate contenders.

Of course, we already know that by now…

My suggestion to ECW is to build up the roster a bit more. Take 2 guys from each existing roster, one that can help the Midcard, and one that can Main Event. Here are my suggestions:

1. Super Crazy - Why wasn't he part of the revived ECW initially? He's an ECW original, he's Super, he's Crazy, and he can pull out a good series of matches with guys like Miz, Nunzio, Punk, and Burke.

2. Matt Hardy - Everyone thinks Hardy's ready for a World Title Run. I don't see him beating The Great Khali anytime soon, so why not test out how he'd do carrying the ball in the land of Extreme?

3. Jeff Hardy - He's been written off TV on Raw, why not have him make his return in ECW? While he shouldn't be one to carry the belt, he can be taken seriously as a contender against Morrison, and we already know they already chemistry together.

4. Kenny Dykstra - While the Spirit Squad was around, he was touted as being the next big thing and a future World Champion. He struck out with his singles run on Raw and isn't doing much better on Smackdown. I think he would be a nice fit in ECW, and they can build him up to move him to another brand like they're currently planning for BDV.

Is it a perfect solution? Not really? Does it help give WWECW the feel of a Philadephia Bingo Hall? Not by a long shot, but if you're touting your top (and only) belt as a World Title, there's a bit more that needs done to make it feel like one. More on This Story...

Daddy Phat Sacks

I didn't watch ECW last night, did you? I can't say I have any reason based in principle. I thought the old ECW was pretty cool, but even if ECW was brought back under Heyman's vision with the original wrestler I wouldn't be interested. Those workers had to constantly top themselves. If ECW was a constant product, I couldn't imagine what those guys would be doing now, and how many of them would not be able to walk anymore.

Still, for those ECW originals that remain, there is still plenty of TV time to job to guys like the Miz. On a brand full of young upstarts and broken down warriors, the biggest story of last nights ECW broadcast was the fact that WWE repackaged Viscera. Wooohooo *sarcasm*

Looking like a cross between Abdullah the Butcher, Rikishi, and Umaga, Big Vis is now known as Big Daddy V. From what I have read, Tazz and Joey Styles were not perceptive enough to indentify Mr. V as former King of the Ring winner and WWE Tag Team Champion Mabel, nor did they see any resemblance to the fat Ministry of Darkness garbage-bag wearing Viscera, nor the Pajama wearing World's Largest Love Machine.

Even when I was five I thought that commentators lost a lot of credibility when they see a wrestler repackaged who obviously looks the same and give no credit to his past. Papa Shango to Kama, let it slide. Dustin Rhodes to Goldust, no reason to mention that. Viscera to Big Daddy V? Come on now, just let the cat out of the bag already. Or perhaps let the elephant out of the room.

V was introduced as the pupil of Matt Striker. You know you are going to have a rough time as a teacher when the first student that walks in the door is a four hundred pound black man in spandex pants, suspenders, and no shirt. Now instead of really bad Striker/Boogeyman matches, we can look forward to insanely bad Boogeyman/Big Daddy V matches. That's ok though, for me-no-watchie ECW.

WWE has so many talents that need an overhaul, the most glaring example in my mind being Val Venis. I will again say what I have been saying for years. He has the look, he has the talent, he has the mic skills. Let him be something. Instead, WWE repackages Snitsky and Viscera, because apparantely they feel that Mark Henry, Umaga, and The Great Khali leaves them a bit short of their monster quota.

Big Daddy V did have a sweet match with Bobby Lashley on Raw before the draft that largely went overlooked by the internet wrestling community. Still, despite that glimmer that he might be interesting, I assume he will do the same lame offense, without that gay humping thing he used to do, coupled with being the guy that everyone has to team up on to throw out of battle royals. The main difference is now people have to touch his fat milky man tits.

How appropriate is it that on each pectoralis, Viscera has a tattoo of the moon and the son respectively. I mean, they are legit about the same size as the sun and the moon. If they produced light and heat, we would have the answer to the energy crisis. If global warming does exist and there is a hole in the ozone, we can all reside safely in the shade provided by Viscera's mammary glands. If you would like to see more of Big Daddy's fat milky man tits, please proceed to: http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/superstars/bigdaddyv/

Tommy Dreamer, Stevie Richards, Nunzio, and Balls Mahoney all jobbed on this show. The Miz however got a win with his cleverly named *more sarcasm* Mizard of Oz neckbreaker. Three words from the pundit? F that guy!

I would like to see Stevie Richards get an opportunity to do more, even if he is jobbing. I heard his match with Punk was good, as were the previous two encounters they had, which I think was the last time Richards got to wrestle on ECW. Apparantely his whole function is to make Punk look good. Too bad too, because there was a time where Big Stevie Cool could have been on the receiving end of that push. That will teach you to go to WCW and let them call you the "King of Swing." Now it's only a matter of time before your face winds up in between Big Daddy V's fat milky man tits.

The only question I have is, if Rikishi's move is the stinkface, what will be the name of Vis' titty smother? Nevermind, I just named it... More on This Story...

Wrestling Reporter's Journal - The Benoit Ending

This is just one of many Chris Benoit editorials you are going to read over the next few days, weeks, months, probably even years.

Because one of the most universally recognized and respected wrestlers in wrestling history has seemingly killed himself and his young family.

Anybody who knows anything about Chris Benoit knows he was a quiet man, but that the words that he did choose to speak had a deep impact because they were always carefully selected. No doubt his actions this past weekend also spoke about as loudly as any promo ever could have.

On a personal level, I'm facing a lot of guilt because I used Benoit and his popularity with the fans as a platform eight years ago to get myself over as a heel writer.

I said at the time he wasn't interesting enough to be a top star and wasn't big enough to carry a company. On both counts, I was obviously lying.

WWE, ECW, and the whole wrestling world have lost one of a dying breed. I feel bad for all of them, even more so now because to take several lives before killing yourself makes you a very pathetic person.

If Chris Benoit never drank and never did drugs as I've heard then I suppose he must have had a lot of emotional trauma. And the real shame is when all this goes away, WWE lost another talented guy who could work anywhere between the opening match and the main event, delivering a match of the night.

A post-humous induction into the WWE Hall of Fame is also a very sad affair because he and Nancy deserved better. And as fans, I believe we all deserved a better ending as well.

I'm drained. Feel free to e-mail me at bradyhicks@gmail.com

More on This Story...

I'm not dead

Man, ECW is still way better than TNA. I don't mean to be the typical antagonist, but I had a hard time watching TNA Thursday night. Here's what I got: Jim Cornette has some announcements that will change the face of wrestling, it involves Samoa Joe, Sting, and Kurt Angle, and they'll wrestle each other tonight? No? I've heard that's the format the TV tends to follow every week. I believe there was seven minutes of combined wrestling time on this show.

I've always been a fan who leans more towards the wrestling side rather than the entertainment side, so ECW's Tuesday night show was a real treat. They had the ECW World Title on a pedestal at ringside, with each participant in the tournament walking by, looking at it, touching it, the entire time the commentators are putting over how important the championship is. I loved it.

Last night, I saw a fantastic Matt Hardy-Finlay match. Is anyone more ready for a main event run than Matt Hardy? I can remember his feud with Rey Mysterio carrying the show a few years back and no one has looked better in recent memory. I thought Jeff's return would hamper Matt, but it really made both of them superstars again. Here's to hoping Matt gets a nice, long main event run. And isn't it perfect timing that Edge is the World Champion on his brand?

Wrestling for me, personally, has been going well. I've opened my own company, Pro Wrestling Dynasty (http://www.myspace.com/pwdynasty) and I've been keeping busy with shows all over Florida and Georgia. You can check out my own MySpace @ myspace.com/daronsmythe.

I miss ya buddy. More on This Story...

It's All About the Wrestling: Mailbag Edition

OK so last week I wrote about the Dudleys and how I thought they were over-rated and how I also wouldn’t be adverse to them leaving TNA to return to WWE because their shtick has gotten old. Evidently people have quite an opinion on the Dudley’s both for and against and since I am feeling extra lazy this Father’s Day evening I am going to share with you a few of my e-mails and maybe a little response here and there.

The first one comes from William and he writes:

“I just got done reading what you had to say about the dudleys on
wrestlinginc.com. And as someone who would normally defend a team like the dudleys, I sadly have to agree with everything you said. I thought that the dudleys and TNA would be fit so when I heard that they where there I was happy as could be, but its just been one disappointment after another with these guys. TNA gives them a lot freedom to say and do as they please and they just blow it. It's just sad. Come up with something new and not play out or go back to WWE, were they like that kind of thing. Oohhh Testify.”

The Dudley's tenure in TNA has been a total waste and while some will place the blame on TNA management the Dudley's are responsible for their in ring performance and it just is not up to snuff. Management and the booking committee can only be held responsible for so much and they certainly can be blamed for the fact that Dudley's have never evolved any further. Sure get the tables is entertaining but I (and more than likely you) have been watching the shtick for the last 10 years or so. It was stale when they left the WWE and it is still stale now.

Our next one comes from Jean and he thinks I am very short-sighted but yet wants to applaud me (oh wait that was just me reading it wrong):

“I am appauled that you would have such short sightedness regarding the Dudleys. They ARE one of the greatest tag teams in pro wrestling today, including the tables segments. If they are successful in coming back to WWE it will be a great day because all of us fans have missed seeing them on WWE. As for TNA, I personally don't think they were given even half a chance to really shine like they did when they were on WWE.”

My eye doctor does tell me I am blind but I don't think it is in regards to the Dudleys but more due to the fact that I actually can't see. Sure I will concede that the Dudleys are one of the greatest tag teams in pro wrestling today but that is because there aren't to many legitimate tag teams, let alone ones with a "legacy" like the Dudleys. I hope for your sake, as a fan of the Dudleys, that if they do end up returning to the WWE that they entertain you guys like never before but TNA has given them every opportunity to entertain me. Their mic skills have always been weak and they have never evolved past punch, punch, kick, kick, whazzup and get the tables. For me I just require a little more.

While Jean may not really want to applaud me Dave here might:

“I am what many would call an old school wrestling fan. Unlike most people I grew up with the likes of the Von Erichs and the NWA. Now I am not trying to be one of those old school guys who is like wrestling today is crap and I watched it when it meant something, more of letting you know that I am not some hack who is saying this, but someone who loves this sport. So well done on the article about the Dudley's. I am so glad that someone else sees this. They are one of the most overated tag teams out there. They have two moves the 3D and tables o and they punch you. Who remembers them at the very first ECW pay per view when they went up against a team that I actually believe is one of the most underatted teams ever the Eliminators? They had about 3 minuets of offense and then they got destroyed. I can not believe that TNA choose this team over the naturals or to break up AMW. This is once again proof to me that TNA is missing the point buy trying to win people over by putting over big names or suppossed big names instead of doing the one thing that I loved about them which was winning us over by wrestling.

That is my rant...thanks for writing the truth!”

It's nice to see an old school wrestling fan who has made the transition to the modern era. Tag team wrestling has been suffering a slow death. When I started watching TNA (about a year ago now) what I enjoyed the most was that TNA had wrestling, and not only did they have wrestling but they had a strong tag division. That division has since been decimated and they seem hell bent on pushing over the Dudleys. The best thing for TNAs tag division would be for the Dudleys to leave and go back to WWE. I know that doesn't make much sense, being as it would further weaken the division but I seriously think TNA should rebuild from the ground up. Keep LAX, the Outlaws, the Steiner Brothers (hoping that Scott can wrestle again), the Bashams, reunite AMW and team up Christian and AJ and I think you would have a really strong tag division.

Buddy chimes in but it seems he just has respect for the Dudley’s as people:

“I can not believe you as a wrestling fan can sit there, and say that Team 3d is overrated. They are one of the best ever. They rank up there with Road Warriors, Tully and Arn, and many others. They helped change the way we looked at tag team wrestling. They are the only team from those triple threat tlc matches to already be an established tag team. EandC, and the Hardys are great, but they needed the dudleys to be where they are. I believe that they are the worst of the three teams but they are great. They do this business because they love it. To many people do it for fame, not them.”

You can't seriously consider the Dudleys in the same league as the Road Warriors. Devon and Bubba Ray can't even hold Hawk and Animal's jock straps. I just got the WWE Ladder match set and watched the early TLC matches (the first three), the Dudleys were the weakest team in the matches. They would punch and kick there way to an advantage, loose said advantage and then reappear later in the match to have Devon headbut someones crotch and then get the tables.

I myself have never actually met either of the Dudleys but I have heard they are really nice guys and I have no doubt that they love what they do but being nice and loving your job don't make you good at it. I feel the Dudleys have become as big as they are due to the weakness of tag wrestling in general over the last 10 years. There just aren't great teams like there used to be.

I do think Buddy eventually came around to my way of thinking, maybe not:

“agree. tag wrestling is weak. it has been weak, but the dudleys made a lot of people famous in ecw. weakest teams in those matches, yes. weakest teams on the dvds, yes, but they have a legacy and we have to respect that.”

Well that about does it for this weeks article. Check back next week when I will take a look at what happened at tonight’s Slammiverary PPV. In the meantime you can send questions, or comments to me at pwp.chirs@gmail.com. More on This Story...

Here's another Draft Lottery, and here's me giving a damn

This just in: As part of the draft lottery next week, WWE will be launching another brand, that will become the company's D Brand. The name? Fourthbrand. Expect Vince McMahon to book himself to become the Undisputed Crunchy Melty Spicy Grilled Champion, just to add another World Title to his resume. In addition, with the lack of success of Saturday Night's Main Event, WWE is going to try to bring back such classics as Shotgun Saturday Night, Sunday Morning Superstars, and Thursday Raw Thursday in an attempt to bring back the ratings.

Let's face it, Wrestling today just isn't what it was 10 years ago. Vince had tried hopelessly over the years to rekindle the magic of the Monday Night Wars, but nothing short of the return of a big name, giving away a huge title or gimmick match on free TV, or constantly showcasing the biggest names on the Fed's payroll has done so yet. Vince's latest answer to this a few years back was the draft lottery. It was a unique concept, and for a while it worked. With a smaller roster to work with, more midcard guys got TV time and pushes. They were running twice the number of house shows to generate some extra cash. When they would hold CoBranded PPVs it meant something huge when guys from Smackdown and Raw were shown backstage in an altercation. But over the years, and the last few months especially, the limits of being on one roster has gone completely out the window. Now WWE is trying to trick us into forgetting this. Perfect example… last night on Raw during the Tag Title Match Ross and Lawler speculate the Hardy's being split up in the upcoming draft… Um, they're already on separate shows.

Is another draft lottery really the answer? All signs point to know. The fact that they requested 3 hours from USA for this just shows that they are trying to do it as a ratings ploy. I would say that it would be a good idea to mix the rosters up a little, give some guys a new chance to shine, start some new angles and feuds, even out the top names between the brands. But will all of this mean anything in the long run? I'm sure they'll try to reinforce the rules for a little while just to get the concept of the draft over, but give it 2 months (3 at the most) we'll be back to seeing ECW guys on Raw, Raw guys on Smackdown, and Smackdown guys on Fourthbrand. Maybe there is no answer. Maybe 10 years from now wrestling will be in a worse state than it is now, or maybe 10 years from now, TNA or some other promotion will step up and give WWE a run for its money so Vince pulls his head out of his ass and steps up the shows. Or maybe 10 years from now WWE will have 7 different brands, one for each night of the week (with an 8th one between Dateline Tuesday and Dateline Katilsday.) Whatever the case, whatever you do, make it consistant, make it mean something, and maybe we'll make it a point to watch.

More on This Story...

ECW: R.I.P !!

Hello again wrestling fans! And welcome to my newest blog. It seems my last post created some static. And all i have to say to that is good! I like that. As I claimed in my last blog, I say exactly whats on my mind and I refuse to sugarcoat anything. And that brings me to this weeks blog.

ECW is dead!! Plain and simple. And I already know what your saying, ECW has been dead for several years! And you are right. Im not talking about the shell of its onself. You know the old company that claimed they were "outlaws" and did things their own way. Remember the great classic matches between Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko? How about Raven vs Tommy Dreamer? How about Shane Douglas raising hell as the ECW World Champion? Dont recall any of that? I'll tell you why!

It seems the norm with any wrestling organization that trys to make it these days. You start out real small, building yourself up. And eventually you will get some bigger name wrestling stars come work for you. Then the fan base comes. Then next thing you know, your one of the "top three" organizations. And then the inevitable happens......Vince McMahon takes notice of you!! Then he starts applying the pressure and slowly bleeds the life out of you! Which is exactly what he did with the "old ECW". Him, aswell as WCW, started taking talent, and from there it was slowly all but over. But everyone knows the story there.

Lets fast forward now to present day. So now in 2007, Vince "owns" ECW! And what has he done with it? Not a thing! Vince could have easily kept ECW a seperate organization from his WWE. Regardless if he owns it or not! Ecw has and always will have one of the best loyal fan based organizations ever! You cant go wrong with ECW. Or can you? Vince sure has proved that you can. Lets see......First mistake. Lets put ECW on the Sci-Fi channel!! Pro wrestling on the Sci-Fi channel??? Makes alot of sense! Second.....lets not let anything real major happen in ECW. I mean think about it, what has happened since they have emerged.........NOTHING!!! Third, lets take Bobby Lashley and force him down the fans throat. Im sorry, but Lashley is not what ECW is all about. But regardless, they give him the push, put the belt on him, and let him run on a huge push! I mean he has beat everyone they put in front of him. Just a short list of competitors he has beaten........Umaga, Bob Holly, Johnny Nitro, Mr. Kennedy, and the list goes on. Pretty impressive list of wrestlers there. So who can stop this guy? Vincent Kennedy McMahon!!! Thats who!

Are you kidding me? Fans you may not realize this, but all this is, is one great big slap in the face to not only you the fans, but Paul Heyman as well! Heyman has to be shaking his head in disbelief right now. And if hes not, he should be! This is just another classic case of Vince wins! Vince obviously could care less about his own ECW company. Its all a big joke to him. He got us again! What a shame. What about the few wrestlers in ECW who could have taken that very strap that Vince wears so proudly, and let them carry the ball. How about CM Punk?? Elijah Burke? Rob Van Dam? Nah, none of those guys can wrestle, right Vince?

So therefore proves my statement.....ECW is dead!! And its a real shame. A real shame!! More on This Story...

PWI Reporter's Notebook

Each week, Pro Wrestling Illustrated senior writer Brady Hicks provides his insights into the world of professional wrestling for you to study. He can be reached by e-mail at bradyhicks@gmail.com. ***

I still have an hour of Raw to watch, an hour of ECW to watch, and last week's entire SmackDown on tape waiting for me. And I really need to get those done before iMPACT tomorrow night, otherwise I'm going to be running out of room on my three VHS tapes. Thank god there's no more Wrestling Society X, right? No - I mean seriously.

Such is the lonely life of a PWI reporter.

It's still not as bad as back in the day when I had 16-1/2 hours to contend with between WWF, WCW, ECW, and local programming that took up hours on end. I mean, have you ever in your entire life HAD to sit through an entire three hour taping of Thunder just in the event that WCW might be planning something original, different, or - at the very least - worthy of writing about?

Didn't think so.

You wrestling fans today have it easy. You complain because you don't like John Cena (the most important champion since The Rock or Steve Austin). You complain because you don't like the particular creative direction that this week's watered down ECW show has taken or you aren't happy that Snitsky is now a monster or you don't even care if Batista learned a new move this week. And does it matter the slightest?

No.

Because Triple-H is no longer raping Katie Vick. Because we don't have to sit through two years of Sting dressing up like the Crow and doing nothing week after week only to come back and appear to conspire with Bret Hart to screw Hulk Hogan out of the title. You don't have the Bushwackers. You don't have preliminary wrestlers main eventing your Saturday Morning Superstars. You don't have Sean Mooney to bitch about.

I think you should all be kissing Vince McMahon's ass for keeping wrestling from returning to what it used to be. I'd take MVP any day of the week over Earthquake's Damian pancakes.

***

To the mailbag Batman:

Tim writes: WWE needs to protect this guy [Lashley] from the wrath of the smarks, cause he's on his way down Batista Boulevard to John Cena Drive.

Dear Tim: And would that be such a bad thing? I hope for Lashley's sake he is one-sixteenth as successful as John Cena or Batista. That would automatically make him more important than Chris Benoit. Wait a minute. He might be more important as we stand now! More on This Story...

I Like TNA

There, I said it, not that I was holding it in.

Every Thursday night, I park myself in front of the television (sometimes at differing times) to watch my favorite hour and only hour of wrestling programming each week. Go on, ridicule me. Mock mercilessly. I'll take it gladly. Because while Impact may not boast "Total Nonstop Action" (despite its name), this is the best wrestling on TV. You will mock me and say WWE puts on a better show but I shall strike you down like the inglorious bastards you are.

TNA is more Extreme than ECW (a brand that is a disgrace to the original name) and implements better storylines into four hours of monthly programming than the entire WWE does in 20. TNA does all that and puts on a better monthly pay-per-view than WWE does. A McMahon vs. Trump feud? This is what Vince feeds his followers? I'll take a Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle feud any day of the week. I'll even add an extra day to the week, just so I can take it again.

By the way, I'm Chris and I'm one of the new writers here. As you may or may not be able to tell, I am slightly slanted towards TNA. This slant mostly came after a couple years of, outside of Wrestlemania, being away from wrestling all together. News hit me that Sting was about to get a push to win the NWA World Title and I sat down to watch the drama unfold. Yes, I am a big Sting fan and you can hold him directly responsible for my renewed interest in Sports Entertainment. Regardless, I started watching TNA religiously at its ever changing date and time. What caught my eye though was the quality of the matches, and I'm not talking Sting's matches here either (I'm such a mark for him that I would watch him wrestle a ham sandwich and would find it entertaining as long as he put said sandwich in the Scorpion Deathlock). No, instead I was introduced to the likes of AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Chris Sabin and Samoa Joe not to mention a host of other X-Division stars. These guys were doing things that I hadn't seen, well some of it since never.

Not only that but TNA had a host of big names stars in addition to Sting, including Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, The Dudleys (under the guise of Team 3-D), The New Age Outlaws (in the guise of the James Gang, since changed to the ridiculous Voodoo Kin Mafia) and Raven (once again being grossly under-used). This was like a dream fed for me, some of the best from WCW and the Attitude Era WWE, the only thing that was missing was Chris Jericho and I would cream my pants.

But enough about the roster because this is about wrestling and TNA did it better than anything I had seen coming out of WWE. It seems sometime around the end of the Monday Night War Vince forgot that one of the W's in WWE was for wrestling. TNA doesn't even have a W and I was getting more wrestling and better quality out those matches than what Vince was producing up the coast.

Let's not even start on the PPV quality. On second thought let's. What TNA really excels at is their PPVs. Given three hours uninterrupted to play with, they make a real wrestling fan like me smile. Sometimes it even brings a tear to my eyes. I watched Genesis on November 13, 2006 and while it didn't quite live up to the two previous TNA PPVs I had watched (No Surrender and Bound for Glory), when compared, head to head, with WWE's November 26, 2006 Survivor Series TNA takes the cake. Nothing on the WWE card compared to Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle. I know, I was there in the Wachovia Center struggling to stay awake with the rest of the crowd. I myself am more pumped up for TNA's Lockdown PPV, taking place in a little over a week, than I was for last Sunday's Wrestlemania. The more I think about Wrestlemania, the more I am disappointed.

Sure TNA needs improvement but some of the fun is seeing what sticks and what doesn't with them. I mean really Elevation X was a complete joke but something the WWE would most likely not even attempt. At least TNA took a chance, something the WWE seems unwilling to do. Cena, Undertaker, Lashley? WWE these are your champions? Christian Cage has more charisma than those three do in his left finger and is arguably a better wrestler than all three.

As I said improvement is needed, as well as a two hour show, but overall TNA gives more in it's limited time than either RAW, Smackdown or ECW. Oh and before you go on about how ECW has the same amount of time TNA does, please know your role and shut your mouth. ECW has the same amount of time to prepare for, at best, a couple of PPV matches not an entire card, so it's nowhere near the same.

Anyway those are my two cents. I like TNA and I'll obnoxiously tell you about it. More on This Story...

Daily Dose of Vitamin Steele

BC Steele entered the world of professional wrestling in July of 2001 as a referee under the name Mark Steele. Having done everything from music, to gopher (go for this, go for that), ring crew, etc… Steele has been around the business learning since 1998. Steele stopped reffing (or in some cases, was FIRED) in October of 2003 to pursue a career on the managerial side of things. Thru his career he has worked with the likes of Psychosis, Juventued Gurrera, Chris Hamrick, Matt Hardy, Rhyno, Nova (Simon Dean – WWE), CM Punk, Christopher Daniels, Low Ki (Senshi – TNA), Dan Severn, the late Shinya Hashimoto, and many more. Steele is never at a loss for words and thus shall be proven here in this column.

#1 - "You ain't in the business, what do you know?"

Let me start off by saying "Yes I realize this isn't a daily column I am writing" but Daily Dose just sounds better. Just read the thing everyday. Also, I am not a literary scholar so I apologize for any errors in grammar or word usage. I thank you for reading this although it should be YOU who thanks me. I take my time to take the thoughts in my head and type them out just for you. Be grateful. My opinions are not those of anyone else's but they probably should be. If you are offended, get over it. If you have something constructive to say (good or bad) then e-mail me. If you don't have my email, check my website. Same goes for if you have an idea of a topic for me to write about.

I was thinking of what I could write for the debut of DDVS. I could write about myself, which I know quite a bit about. It's also my favorite subject. I am great, hell just ask me. I am honest. I am intelligent. I am modest. Ok ok, this column isn't meant to put myself over. It is meant to hopefully entertain and possibly even drum up some intelligent conversation. That is something that can be a rarity among wrestling fans.

For my first go round with this I'm going to talk about a stigma that has bothered me before I got in the business. It bothers me being in it. It will probably bother me till my dying days. I will offer the point and counterpoint. Then, let the intelligent debate begin. There is an opinion of some that people who are not in the business know nothing about it. They feel that not being in the business gives you no right to speak on it.

I agree with this to an extent. There are some people that believe they know what is best for the business. Look no further than the internet. Some of the people that see the fans as "know nothing marks" are people that have an old school mentality. I agree that being in the business definitely changes your views on it and I think some people who insist they know what is best have no clue what is going on. I sometimes see on message boards and things of the like, fans discussing what is best for the promotion, as if they had some financial backing in the company. Or there is my other pet peeve of ripping apart a guy just because he isn't their favorite style of worker. "This guy should go over." "This guy is terrible." "What I wanted to happen, didn't happen and it sucks." What ever happened to simply enjoying a show? Cheer the good guys, boo the bad ones, and just have fun. Why must everything be gone thru with a fine tooth comb? I know of wrestlers who have quit promotions or wrestling all together because of something some smartass fans thought. Let's put aside for a second the fact of fans trying to get over on a message board or worse, on a show. I'll save that for another column. I can understand not enjoying a particular part of a show or wrestler. Fact of the matter is, criticism is one thing. Thinking you are some wrestling genius is another. If you truly feel you can do it better (be it from a wrestling or booking standpoint) then do it you prick.

Now, to flip the coin and offer the other side, which I also understand. I am not a chef. I will probably never cook roasted duck. But if I order it, and it tastes like crap, I do not expect the chef to tell me "You're not a chef. You aren't in the food industry so you don't know what you are talking about." Most people can tell what they like and don't like. It's just a matter of being respectful of how you handle it. I don't like the food. I can politely let someone know. Or I can spit on it and ask the chef why I got served roasted turds. Another argument for this side is the ECW fans. A lot of those fans were creative in their signs, dress, ideas, etc… Stevie Richards even mentions it on the "Rise and Fall of ECW" DVD. So fans CAN be helpful.

Another point is that some people that ARE in the business just don't have a clue. I have worked a show or two with people that are beyond noticeably terrible. Some names, which I shall not include here, think they are the next Thesz or Flair. When in actuality, they are hardly trained, IF at all. People like that support the "if THAT guy is a wrestler, I can be" argument. Not saying I am the best worker ever (if you've seen me wrestle, you can attest I am NOT) or because I am in the business I am better.

Maybe in this day in age (yeah listen to me, the grizzled vet that I am) the fans, marks, smart marks, WHATEVER you want to call them ripping things apart is accepted. Maybe I am just too touchy on things like that. Fact of the matter is, if you have an opinion, that's great. Give it respectfully. Don't bitch and moan and complain and do nothing about it. Speak up. But don't be a dick. If you are a dick, don't be surprised to be called out or, to quote a famous unnamed poet, "don't be surprised if you get punched in your cocksucker". To workers and those in charge I say listen to the fans but also understand what they are saying. Don't think that all of the fans out there are just there to rip everything apart. Understand not EVERY fan thinks they can do it better.

With all of that said, I'd like to change my line from earlier. If you have something to say, I don't care, you aren't a columnist so you can't do it better. Kidding…. No really. Send opinions my way. I now end with a link for the masses. It may be a youtube video. It might be randomness. It may be something useful to your daily life. Today it is a Magnum TA promo athttp://youtube.com/watch?v=nvalrcu1eYU

This has been your Daily Dose (yeah I KNOW) of Vitamin Steele. More on This Story...

I like the new ECW

There, I said it.

Every Tuesday night, I park myself in front of the television to watch my favorite hour of WWE programming each week.

Yes, I realize this is not the same ECW that brought us crucifixion angles, historic title belts being thrown down and naked ladies dancing atop arenas.

I get more action in this one hour of wrestling than from a company that boasts "Total Nonstop Action" in its name. I typically see one or two matches that go ten minutes or longer. I get a nice blend of high flying, hardcore and mat-based wrestling.

I'm witnessing the birth of a future world champion. No, I'm not talking about C.M. Punk (who I'll discuss later) but Elijah Burke, leader of the New Breed. Elijah has it all, the look, the mic skills, the in-ring ability. I see no reason why he won't hold a world championship within the next three to five years.

For years, people have complained that Vince changes talent who already have good gimmicks on the independent circuit. Enter C.M. Punk. I loved the original backstage promos. Here is a man who would describe his lifestyle so intensely, then his music would fire up as he burned a hole in the camera lens with his glare. I thought his character would lend itself more to a feud with say...the Sandman, but I like that they are pushing a wrestler based on his wrestling ability. What's even more amazing is how the crowds have taken to him. How about Survivor Series when "C.M. Punk" chants erupted in the arena, overshadowing a ring that contained Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Edge and Randy Orton.

And finally, I'll discuss the current ECW World Champion, Bobby Lashley. Lashley is an interesting choice to lead the new ECW brand, but I have to say I've enjoyed watching him grow into the role. Lashley is proof that the smiley babyface can still get over, even in 2007. I hope to watch his ring work improve to that of his predecessor, Brock Lesnar. For Lashley to grow in that fashion, he needs to be in the ring with some ring generals on the level of Angle or Taker, much like Lesnar was given during his title run. With the right opponents and angles, Lashley is a megastar waiting in the wings.

There are many other great things about this brand, the vastly underrated Matt Striker, Monty Brown in a WWE ring (where he belongs) and even Extreme Expose (for bathroom breaks).

I like the new ECW and I'm not ashamed to admit it. More on This Story...

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

Welcome to my first column for PWP. I hope you liked the Family Guy reference in the title, expect to see more of those. I am going to apologize in advance now, as my writing skills are comparable to the workrate of Sid Vicious…

A little background on myself: I've spent the past 7 years as an independent wrestler in the West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio areas. Like most guys in the business, I am a wrestling fan myself. That's what gave me the desire to become a wrestler. As lame as this sounds, it was an episode of WCW Monday Nitro where Hulk Hogan, Sting, Randy Savage, and Lex Luger were all cutting a promo about the Upcoming War games that got me hooked. Looking back on it, I guess it was seeing the big stars that first drew my attention to wrestling. I slowly started getting into it by watching Nitro, Saturday Night, and even the weekend's syndicated shows that featured the best curtain jerkers and enhancement talents around. I slowly started getting into the WWF(E) and attended my first house show. I wouldn't order PPVs, but instead watch the static on the screen and listen to the play by play. Then I actually started getting PPVs. I discovered ECW on syndication. I started buying PWI magazines. I got every wrestling video game that Sega Genesis had to offer. I made a wrestling ring out of a cardboard box, pencils, and rubber bands for my action figures until I got actual wrestling figures. I became such a hardcore wrestling fan out of no where in a matter of months.

During this time, I joined my middle school wrestling team because in my mind it would be the closest I'd ever come to becoming a real professional wrestler. I was saddened my first day of practice to see hard mats on the floor instead of a big ring with colorful ropes and turnbuckle pads. I stuck with wrestling throughout high school, and made friends with a man that would later become my Tag Team partner on the indies. We were both on the wrestling team together and when school was over we would rush to the locker rooms, get changed, go in the wrestling room and have pro wrestling matches on those hard, hard mats for nearly 15-20 minutes (with the rest of the team cheering us on and joining in on the fun) before the coaches showed up. I didn't wrestle my senior year, as working a job after school became more of a priority. At that point, I had a good run and I came as close as I thought I was going to of fulfilling my dream. My friend (those who know the least bit about me knows who this person is, but for inconspicuous readers of this column, we'll keep his name disclosed) introduced me to a man who had a ring, was starting his own promotion, and was training anyone who was interested. This was a dream come true for me.

Fast forward to seven years later, and I've wrestled over 300 professional matches, won numerous Singles and Tag Team Titles, wrestled for several different NWA Affiliates, have shared locker rooms and listened to stories from some of wrestling's biggest stars, and have made some of the best friends along the way that anyone could ever ask for. But enough about me, we're here to write a wrestling column.

Now, while I'm not so much the hardcore wrestling fan that I was as a teenager, I still consider myself to be a fan of the sport. You pretty much have to be if you're in the business. Now that I have experience and know the inner workings of a lot of things that go on, watching the stuff that gets put on TV nowadays just makes me lower my head in shame. I think one of my biggest pet peeves is the amount of time that is spent on a wrestling program with no wrestling going on. I'm all for developing characters and all, but there is no need to have your promo go 10-15 minutes long.

The other pet peeve I have is a little more complex, and it deals with titles. There are 3 shows on WWE programming. There is 5 hours of WWE TV per week (not including PPVs and Specials.) There is a total of 9 Championships (and 11 Title Holders) between all of that. That's fine and all, but why weren't there 9 Title matches at Wrestlemania? They did a pretty good job of covering most of this up by having Raw's Tag Team Champions fighting for Raw's Heavyweight Title (notice how they lost the tag belts the very next night on Raw) and having the Intercontinental Champion facing the ECW Champion in a match where shaving someone's head was more important than giving either title credibility with a defense on the "grandest stage of them all." Other Championships (and Champions for that matter) were not so lucky, as The Smackdown Tag team and Cruiserweight Titles weren't even lucky enough to get a pre-PPV match that would show up on the DVD of the event.

My beef isn't so much that there are 9 titles. If you look at it, it seems pretty reasonable in a sense if you think of Raw, Smackdown, and ECW as territories. Raw has a Heavyweight Title, Tag Team Titles, the Intercontinental Title as a midcard singles title, and a Women's Championship. Smackdown is pretty even in comparison with the US Title as their secondary and a Championship for their Crusierweight competitors. ECW seems to be lacking with only a Heavyweight Title. In a way, this is for the best as they only have an hour of TV and a roster half the size of Raw or Smackdown. They don't have any Tag Teams, so what's the sense in having Tag Team Titles? They could bring back the TV Title (or even the old WWE Hardcore Title) but that would just be another title to ignore when it comes time for PPVs.

But if we are comparing the WWE to territories, then there is something pretty big that is missing from the picture. Each territory has their own Heavyweight Champion, but there is no Champion over all of the territories. The sad thing is that they did have this concept before and it was called the Undisputed Champion, but it was abandoned so Triple H could have a World Title of his own. Now do I think that Triple H should be the undisputed Champion over John Cena, The Undertaker, and Bobby Lashley? No. Do I think that Cena, Undertaker, and Lashley should compete in a Title unification? It would be a step in the right direction, but still no. My idea is rather ingenious, and it would truly decide an Undisputed Champion.

The problem with the crowning of an undisputed Champion before, is that it took the top 4 main eventers (2 of which were the WWE and WCW Champions) and put them in a tournament. While my idea does involve a tournament, you can't determine that you're the best of the best by winning a 4 man tournament. Maybe something along the lines of Wrestlemania IV, The Deadly Games Tournament, or even WCW's 32 Man Tournament? Not quite, but you're getting there. By counting how many wrestlers are on the active roster for Raw, Smackdown, and ECW, there is roughly 70 workers. Start out with a 64 man tournament, meaning that you have to win 3 matches to make it to the elite 8. The matches would take place during the 5 hours of TV per week and would take care of your booking for the next month or so and can make for some unique match-ups. Hopefully something like that can create enough interest to increase the ratings. From there once you have the elite 8, we hold something that has not been done in the US (to my knowledge) in a very, very, long time… the dreaded Round Robin Tournament. There is TV for another month, folks. Yes, you'll be giving away PPV quality matches with your top guys on free TV, but if you're doing that already as an attempt to boost ratings and it isn't working, then why not try something new? Have the finals of this take place at a PPV, and here is the most important part of the whole scheme… NO DUSTY FINISHES!!!!!! The best man out of 64 other wrestlers shouldn't be determined because someone distracted the referee or had outside interference. The best should be determined, heel or face, by clean finishes.

Give crash TV a rest, and let's get back to the wrestling. Let's give everyone an opportunity for some TV time, and most importantly make your top belt mean something. Already it would mean something if there was one top belt instead of 3. Will it ever happen? I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning as the news reporter calls my winning lottery numbers, but maybe if we all have enough faith in the great writers and bookers *rolls eyes* then maybe, just maybe, the wrestling world could be a better place. More on This Story...

Lashley Backlash? Will His Biggest Win Become His Biggest Regret?

Reposted from Volume 13 of The Wrestler.

By Brady Hicks

It seemed like the crowning achievement of a very young career. Newest ECW star Bobby Lashley—in his first title match since joining the brand—speared ECW champion The Big Show and made the pin. The fans in attendance at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia, came alive, realizing they had witnessed history. And Lashley, with a smile on his face and a new title belt, looked as if he had just conquered the world.

He finally won a big one: the ECW heavyweight title. And Lashley hadn’t just defeated The Big Show, he had also outlasted four other stars—including Hardcore Holly, C.M. Punk, Test, and Rob Van Dam—in the “Extreme Elimination Chamber” at December to Dismember. To nearly everyone in attendance, it seemed that Lashley had made the right decision leaving Smackdown, where he had been running in place for about a year, never really making a good name for himself, and always coming up short in the few World title opportunities that had been given to him.

“I’ve talked with him about this before. It’s a disagreement we’ve shared for a long time,” said Chris Benoit, who mentored Lashley during his time on Smackdown. “In Lashley, I see youth and determination and a whole lot of strength. But I also see over-anxiousness. Bobby Lashley just loves to jump into the deep end for everything he gets involved in. It’s just his personality. He thinks his time is now and thinks he is invulnerable to all of the shortfalls that have derailed all of those young guns before him. Even though Bobby won the ECW championship right out of the gate, I think it may be too much, too soon for him.”

Many insiders agree with Benoit. They say Lashley is far from fully developed as a wrestler. His inexperience didn’t prevent him from beating some mid-card talent or even lucking his way into a title belt or two by catching opponents by surprise. There is also fear he will start to believe his own hype. “I’ve seen it many times, where a young wrestler develops some sort of a ‘false reality’ as to how good he really is,” said Matt Hardy, another of Lashley’s backstage friends on Smackdown. “I worry for him that by achieving the successes that he has this early in his career, that it could actually harm him in the long run.”

In other sports, they call it “peaking too early.” In wrestling, it has spelled many a long, frustrating period for those who achieved too much, too soon in their careers. For every Tom Brady to step off the bench late in the season and unexpectedly help his team win the Super Bowl, there is a story of an athlete who sets a goal for himself, achieves it early in his career, and founders from that point forward. And many of Lashley’s peers feel his early success in ECW could also potentially signal the end of his effectiveness.

By beating an injured Big Show so easily, Lashley may assume that titles, fame, and marketability are all within his reach. He may assume that these successes are just the beginning for what is to be a long and prolific career.

Lashley’s inexperience continued to be a factor until he switched from Smackdown to ECW. During the King of the Ring tournament, that inexperience caused him to lose his temper against Booker T, who went on to win the crown and cape. It caused him to lose the U.S. title to a physically inferior but more experienced Finlay. And—most recently—it cost him at No Mercy when he seemed more consumed with showing up Batista than actually winning the Smackdown World championship.

Fortunately, there is no solid evidence that Lashley will become the latest victim of his own success. He enjoyed a considerable amount of success before becoming a pro wrestler. When Lashley attended Missouri Valley College, he was able to win national wrestling championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998 after placing fourth in the U.S. during his first try in 1995. Throughout 1997 and 1998, Lashley was the NAIA National Wrestling champion and later became a champion in the U.S. Army.

Even after entering pro wrestling, Lashley pinned former Smackdown World champion John Bradshaw Layfield to win the U.S. title only eight months into his run on Smackdown. Lashley has shown an ability to cope with success in the past, but he has never experienced such high-profile success as his ECW title victory. Will it be too much for the young man?

“One thing’s for sure: You have to admire the kid’s guts,” said Tommy Dreamer. “He set a goal for himself, and he went out and achieved it. And he was able to do so very quickly, too. That doesn’t mean that he’s finished developing as a wrestler. It just means that he was fortunate enough to bring home a title belt in spite of all that he still has to learn.”

Unfortunately for the ECW champion, enjoying success before gaining experience can be a dangerous thing. But, if anyone is up to the task, it just may be Lashley.

More on This Story...

From the Vault: Tag Team Wrestling on Life Support

8/16/06: It's great that WWE is convincing some that they are taking interest in reestablishing tag teams, but they haven't convinced me...

Case in point? The Bashams...

The Bashams were a sweet team, brought in, given the tag gold, then dropped into obscurity. Soon perhaps they will reappear in ECW...

Case in point? La Resistance...

Two different pairs, Rene Dupree and Sylvan Grenier, and Sylvan and Rob Conway, broken up so that the talent can pursue singles aspirations.

I guess once you reach the tag belts, there isn't much more to accomplish as a team...

But the problem is, teams get the tag belts almost immediately upon their formation. There is no chase...

Murdoch and Cade won them almost immediately, then after they lost them were split up. WWE.com did a cool little article about how they realized they were the most successful together when they were paired again, but the initial idea was to push Murdoch towards the IC title.

WWE is very short sighted when it comes to tag teams, which is ridiculous, because they have had plenty of workers who could use the seasoning that tag wrestling for a while would have given.

Gunner Scott and Chris Benoit could have had a long tag title reign. Now Scott is off the main roster. That time with Benoit in tag matches would have given him time to become something.

Bret Hart was on the verge of getting released before he and the Anvil teamed up. How far would Shawn have gone if brought in as a singles wrestler... Probably not very. He needed the time and experience of being a tag wrestler to prepare him. He also needed the heat generated when the team broke up.

Snitsky and Tomko could have been a new team in the vein of the Powers of Pain or Skyscrapers. Now Tomko is gone and Snitsky is with Val Venis. How does that make sense?

Viscera and Charlie Haas? Why, cause Charlie knocked Lillian off the mat?

And still, I prefer these makeshift teams to makeshift star teams. They are trying to find something for these guys to do.

That's much better than Rey & RVD, RVD & Booker, Edge & Benoit, or whoever else winning the tag belts. Only one thing bothers me more than two singles wrestlers coming together to embarass established tag teams.

One single wrestler embarassing established tag teams. The Rock defeating both Dudleyz in a Tables Match?

That type of stuff happens often in the WWE. Had Kane and Big Show stayed together, their dominance would have been a good chance to breed some teams without the belts having to be in the picture. Right now, every time a new team is introduced, they go straight for the champs. They either win them, lose them, and break up, or they lose and dissapear.

The belts are never featured. They don't Main Event free tv, and they seldom make PPV. Despite two real feuds for tag belts, neither one will be decided at Summerslam.

And now they are talking about breaking up the Spirit Squad...

Imagine if the WWE had broken up the New Age Outlaws after their first title reign... After all, they were just two crap guys thrown together. They caught lightning in a bottle once, and if they don't see the same flare, they immediately split the team up and look to do something else.

The WWE is looking for Attitude Vol. 2. This is why John Cena becomes more like Steve Austin, every other babyface champ becomes The Rock, and Tag Teams can't last.

A lot of people shit on the New Legion of Doom, but hell, it got Animal a payday and got Heidenreich something to do that was over. They released Heidenreich and repackaged Animal as the gay biker from the Village People. They could have had a real tag team for KC James and Idol Stevens to go over en route to London and Kendrick.

It's not impressive to dominate the tag division, because every new team that appears does. When there is a tag team feud, all other teams are off TV, much like the Women's and Cruiserweight Divisions.

I thought the reason for breaking up the Mexicools was to move Super Crazy to ECW. I was wrong. There was no reason. So what the hell are the two of them doing? Absolutely nothing.

When writers need filler for their shows, they break up a tag team. However, these tag teams aren't well enough established that their feuds even make a PPV. How did they blow off the Mexicools break up? It certainly wasn't on PPV. It wasn't even an extended feud on TV.

I am certainly not convinced that introducing tag teams renews a commitment to tag team wrestling. If tag team wresting is alive anywhere, it's on TNA.

WWE has so many developmental guys that would benefit from starting in a tag team. They have so many guys with absolutely nothing to do that could be put together in a way that makes sense.

However the only real tag team feud in years has been McMahons vs. DX, neither of which will still be together by this time next year.

WWE is like MTV. Despite what you want to see, they can get over what they want to get over. WWE does not want to get tag team wrestling over. More on This Story...