For Lack of a More Creative Title: My Thoughts on Survivor Series

I went to a local sports bar last Sunday to check out Survivor Series. This was the first Pay Per View I had actually watched since Wrestlemania, not counting a couple of post-WM PPVs that they showed on WWE 24/7. My expectations going into the show were pretty low and there wasn't really one match that I felt that I was really watching the PPV for (the last time that happened was the advertised Punk/Benoit match, and we all know how THAT turned out.) Regardless, I was looking forward to it because it was Survivor Series, and because it was one of the "Big Four" Events of the year.

Three hours later, I would be very surprised at how much I enjoyed it, considering how disappointed I was with some of the previous PPVs I saw. As the show opened, I groaned at the fact that the ECW Title match was starting off the show… again. However, by the time it had ended I was more appreciative of the match that just took place, and even more appreciative of the decision to have it start the show. I was reminded at that time of a booking philosophy that a good friend of mine had... put the best match on paper (with the babyface going over) as the opener, regardless of its importance, to get the crowd hot and set the tone for the rest of the show. It certainly worked here, especially since a lot of people were expecting Punk to drop the belt back to Morrison. On a side note, with Punk surviving this match, the ECW/SD merger, and Morrison/Miz now Smackdown's Tag Champs, this should be a great opportunity for Punk to start a fresh new title program with someone from the Smackdown brand. My initial thought of a perfect candidate for this was Finlay, but later in the night those thoughts would seem to be fizzled out…

Next up was the Womens tag match. I won't complain because this was actually one match I had on my Survivor Series wishlist. Not because I was interested in seeing eye candy or because I thought it would be a blockbuster match, but because it made more sense booking-wise at this event than a Singles Match for the Womens Title. I don't think they could have done a better job with this (again, booking-wise) as each girl got to do their thing, it helped put over Mickie on her way to challenging Beth Phoenix for the Womens Title, and it didn't hurt Phoenix's credibility as Champion. It didn't drag out too long and it wasn't too short to lose it's meaning. I should mention, however, that Melina falling off of the ring apron during her entrance caused the bar to explode for their 2nd biggest pop of the night.

*Note* Apparently there was a nip slip courtesy of Michelle McCool in this match that I totally missed. Damnit...

The Tag Team Title Match was what it was. I would have rather seen Cade and Murdoch vs London and Kendrick, but this was something fresh that they hadn't put on a PPV already. The match was fine, but I don't Trevor Murdoch's version of the Code Red should be done by someone the size of Trevor Murdoch. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't look right. Trevor, either please go back to your trusty old Bulldog or just let Cade do his sweet sitout spinebuster (Note: I'm totally stealling that move.)

If anything, this is what I was anticipating the most… the Traditional Survivor Series Match. Why they couldn't give some other deserving babyface a PPV Payday by subbing them in place of Matt Hardy was beyond me. The match was pretty entertaining overall and I was actually quite surprised by the outcome. Perhaps this is the first step towards pushing Jeff Hardy as a legitimate Main Eventer and World Title Contender. Triple H's save for Hardy the next night on Raw helped solidify the fact that they're taking a step in the right direction by having one of the top stars giving a younger guy the rub.

I wasn't expecting much with Hornswoggle/The Great Khali, as I knew it was going to be a throwaway match. I actually found it pretty entertaining, and was rather surprised by the Finlay run in/save. I must admit, I think Finlay would make a pretty badass babyface. If anyone can carry Khali to a good match, it just might be him. I'm interested to see how this one develops.

Orton/Michaels was terrific. They told a great story with the stipulations, and the bar I was in ERUPTED when Michaels locked on that Crippler Crossface. I'm not sure if enough time has passed in the WWE's eyes, but maybe this will be the start of not trying to rewrite history by not mentioning He Who Shall Not Be Named.

Undertaker/Batista was good, but by that time I was burned out from sitting through a 3 hour Football game and 3 hour Wrestling show, and I just didn't care. The booking of the finish was pretty nice, with Edge getting involved, although I found it kind of odd that he singled out the Undertaker and NOT Batista. Perhaps laying them both out and letting the match go to a non-finish would have been the best thing to do given the match that's booked for Smackdown this week, but then again, what MORE could he have done to Batista at that point?

Now a week out of the PPV, there are several interesting storylines developed to carry us over until the Royal Rumble when the push for Wrestlemania really begins. On Raw there's the Hardy/HHH relationship and Y2J/Orton to look forward to. On Smackdown, there's the continued push of Jaime Noble and an interesting Main Event scene involving Batista, Edge, and The Undertaker. In the land of Extreme, you have the newly drafted Shelton Benjamin and repackaged Kevin Thorn as possible feuds for CM Punk. Things are starting to look positive for WWE, as they're freshening up their product a bit and making things appealing again. More on This Story...

Scorekeeping: Lockdown

Welcome to what I hope to have as a monthly feature here on PWP, entitled Scorekeeping. What Scorekeeping will be is a review of TNA's monthly pay-per-view on a match by match basis. If in the event I happen to see a WWE PPV during that month, Scorekeeping will be head-to-head between TNA and WWE. This month, the inaugural edition of Scorekeeping happens to be one of those special months as April hosted the Granddaddy of Them All Wrestlemania.

WWE's Wrestlemania 23 took place on April 1st and immediately after seeing it I thought it was a poor April Fool's Joke that had cost me $50. It just didn't feel like Wrestlemania to me. TNA's Lockdown took place this past Sunday night, April 15th and was a giant opportunity to out-perform WWE, not in terms of sales but at least in terms of actual quality considering how un-Wrestlemania like Wrestlemania actually was.

So let's get to it. Please not that the matches are not presented in the exact order (although they are pretty close) they appeared on the PPV.

Openers: Money in the Bank vs. X-Division Escape

Money in the Bank is almost always a good time and with performs such as Edge and the Hardy Boyz involved this was the perfect way to start Wrestlemania. The finish was a little off for me but overall it did its job and got everyone into the show. B+

The X-Division is TNA's backbone. They have built a federation using the insane stunts and high powered performances of the X-Division wrestlers. So what isn't to like when you stick five guys in a steel cage and tell them to go at it with the winner gaining or retaining the X-Division Title? It was missing a few things that could have made it better but just like the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania, it did its job and got everyone into the show. B

Mid-Card: The Great Khali / Kane vs. Senshi / Austin Starr

Khali and Kane. Two monster behemoths with whom no one wants to play. Despite their size the two put on a decent match, just not Wrestlemania quality. C+

As with all the Lockdown matches, Senshi vs. Austin Starr was in the Six Sides of Steel. I have not been a big fan of Austin Starr but he put on a great performance for this match putting over Senshi. B

Mid-Card: Chris Benoit / MVP vs. Robert Roode / Petey Williams

Benoit is one of the best technical wrestlers still wrestling today, unfortunately he has terrible mic skills and no one has ever really been able to use him well, except maybe when he was part of the Horsemen. MVP looks like a deranged Power Ranger, so I fully expected Benoit to rip him apart. Good match but nothing I will remember. B

Robert Roode's new Million Dollar Man type gimmick is tiring and I have never really liked him in the ring but I really like Petey Williams as an in-ring performer. Surprisingly Roode put on a very good performance and got the win, nothing special but entertaining. B

Mid-Card: Undertaker / Batista vs. Christopher Daniels / Jerry Lynn

The Undertaker has never lost at Wrestlemania so the outcome here was not in question. What was in question was if Batista and Undertaker could put on an entertaining match to get to the ending everyone knew was coming. The answer was yes. B

Christopher Daniels vanished for a couple months before emerging with a new tattoo. While he was gone Jerry Lynn made a case for geriatrics wrestling. Upon his return Daniels singled out Lynn as his first target for cleansing. The storyline going in was trash but with these two performers you were not going to get a stinker. B

Mid-Card: ECW Originals / New Breed vs. Team 3D / LAX

Taking the original stars of the ECW and pitting them against the new "stars", and I use the term loosely, of the ECW seemed like too much roster, not enough space for everyone. It turned out RVD is out of the doghouse though (afraid he might jump ship Vince?) as he gets the win in a short yet entertaining match. B

The Dudley's Legacy against LAX's tag titles. In the culmination of a almost four months of feuding Team 3D met LAX in the "electrified" steel cage. I guess dimming the lights blue and having an annoying hum radiate throughout the arena makes the cage electrified. Whatever. Take out the "electrification" of the match and it actually is pretty good, with some great action in the cage, but the terrible handling of the gimmick brings this down a notch. C+

Super Gimmick: McMahon / Trump vs. The Blindfold Match

When I heard the big gimmick match for Wrestlemania was going to be a hair match involving Vince and the Donald I cringed. On paper it was a disaster. In practice Vince put on the second best performance of the show, even with Trump's terrible punches. Shane hitting the dropkick from the other side of the ring was just icing on the cake. B+

James Storm hits Chris Harris in the face with a beer bottle, supposedly blinding him in one eye. Harris wants revenge and months after America's Most Wanted had broken up the two come face-to-face in a grudge match. To make it even both combatants must wear an execution bag over their head (Hey I thought this was a blindfold match), that hardly ever stays on. Regardless it is the worst match I've seen since returning to wrestling, the crowd hated it, I hated it and I think even Storm and Harris hated it. F

Girls, Girls, Girls: Melina / Ashley vs. Gail Kim / Jackie Moore

The WWE has the women to do it but for some reason cannot put together a decent women's match for Wrestlemania. Instead we get a Lumber Jill match involving Ashley and Melina and the rest of the WWE tramp patrol. At least it was short. D+

TNA does not have the women to have a decent division but they do have two that can put on a hell of a match when given the opportunity. Gail Kim flying off the top of the cage just proves that these ladies are more than able to get the job done. Before they go full steam ahead into women's wrestling though they need to expand to two hours of television time. B

Main Event: John Cena / The Heart Break Kid vs. Lethal Lockdown

I've never liked John Cena. To me he signifies everything that is wrong with Vince's approach to his stars. HBK on the other hand has been a favorite of mine since he was part of The Rockers. I so thought HBK was going to get the win and maybe a nice farewell tour before he retired but instead Cena got the win. Surprisingly though this was actually a very good match, not great but very good. Cena failed to sell his leg injury (did he get a cortisone shot mid match?) but overall he worked real well with Michaels. B

The Lethal Lockdown. Two teams, 10 men, one cage. The build-up to this match was done very well and despite my distaste for Jeff Jarrett this (see Two Words, One Man) match still held my attention. All night, all eyes were on Jarrett to see if he could be trusted and it turns out he can be. Lethal Lockdown is exactly why I like TNA. The top ten stars for the company in an extreme cage match. I wasn't thrilled with the ending, despite being a huge Sting fan, but overall Lethal Lockdown shined as the match of the night. B+

Totals: Using a 4.0 Grade Point Average scale, the WWE's Wrestlemania comes in with a 2.88 GPA while TNA's Lockdown nabs a 2.63 GPA. Considering Wrestlemania is the WWE's flagship PPV, TNA should be proud that they put on an entertaining show that only cost their fans $30 (as compared to Wrestlemania's $50 price tag). TNA still has a good amount to improve on but they are steadily improving and Vince might want to keep watch a little bit more, improving his product along the way.

Check back next month when I will score TNA's Sacrifice PPV and feel free to send your comments and questions to me at pwp.chris@gmail.com

More on This Story...

Carlito's Way

It's been said time and time again that one bad apple can spoil a whole bunch. Initially groomed as a future world champion, second generation superstar Carlito was given the US title in his debut match on Smackdown and the Intercontinental title in his debut match on Raw.

Carlito's unique look and character, accompanied with his incredible push made fans like Carlito. Funny how when McMahon shoves a babyface down your throat you get pissed, but giving a heel the world in a day makes you love him more and more. Examples? How about Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, and Randy Orton, all heel debuts, all unbelievable pushes, all got huge pops.

However, since Carlito has been turned babyface, he's been a shell of his former self. The WWE has realized this and pulled back on Carlito's meteoric rise to main event status. Well, that's if you consider pairings with Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson punishments. Poor Carlito. Leading up to Wrestlemania, one interviewer got a hold of Carlito, and the caribbean lost his cool.

WWE had been building a program with Carlito and Ric Flair for a short time. This would be the second program between the two, as their first run in came in August of 2005 and had to do with respect. This time, Carlito and Flair's confrontation had to do with passion for the business, and Flair's promo appeared to be a shoot. Everyone saw the writing in the sky, knowing that a Flair/Carlito showdown was destined to take place at the showcase of the immortals, WrestleMania.

The next week, Flair defeated Carlito with an inside cradle, but the two took a different path. With the WWE writers completely overwhelmed with the total awesomeness of tag team fallout angles, they placed Flair and Carlito together, while at the same time doing similar storylines with Cena and Michaels and Rated RKO.

Fans waited for WWE to pull the trigger before Mania. Flair and Carlito were pitted against one another twice in Money in the Bank qualifying matches, the second having a three way that saw Carlito drill Flair with the backcracker, leading to a Randy Orton victory. They were even the last two in the ring during a last chance battle royal, until Edge returned from faking an injury to reclaim his MITB spot.

Wrestlemania arrived, and the WWE had still not definatively driven Carlito and Flair apart. Neither man had a spot on Wrestlemania, and while 16 time World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair, current Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero, and WWE Tag Team Champions London and Kendrick took the news with a grain of salt, Carlito was not so "cool."

"I'm out of WrestleMania. Apparently, they had to make space for Kane VS. Khali and Melina VS. Ashley."

Now, I am certainly not going to tell you that Khali has more in ring skill than Carlito, nor will I tell you that I would rather see Khali/Kane than Carlito/Flair. What I will say is that Khali, based on size alone is an attraction, similarly to how Flair based on reputation alone is an attraction. Kane is a fantastic worker for a man his size, he has always been unselfish when it comes to politics, he always works hard, and he is more than deserving of a spot at WrestleMania, despite being paired with such a difficult opponent to work with. Carlito, on the other hand, half-assed all year until Wrestlemania rolled around, and now he just expects a spot to be waiting for him. In my opinion, he isn't entitled to shit.

Also, while I may never go on record to say that Kane is a better worker than Carlito, I will say that being a good worker doesn't mean doing flippies and springboards. Big men have a place in wrestling too, and Kane is one of the best of all time.

During this same interview, Carlito was asked what it would take for him to make it to Wrestlemania.

"How can I be at WrestleMania? If I politic and kiss ass, I should make it." Carlito then went on to say, "I'm not going to cry or be bitter, there's always next year. I don't want to get fired. But they're showing disrespect by not having Ric Flair at WrestleMania and even more disrespect by not having Carlito there."

Yes folks, you read right. He used the words EVEN MORE when describing respect in relation to himself over "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. And Carlito still wasn't finished.

"I absolutely hate being a babyface more than anything else."

Company all-stars for the year 2006 that were left off Mania included Gregory Helms and Mickie James, neither of which publicly had any comments about the booking of Wrestlemania. Why? Because they handled themselves with the class you'd expect from a professional. If anyone had any justification to say anything, it would have been Ric Flair, but the "Nature Boy" has always carried himself a cut above the rest.

What could Carlito have remotely hoped to accomplish with his tirade? Did he believe it would get him on to Wrestlemania? What would letting Carlito on the show after his little tantrum tell other roster memebers who worked hard all year and also been left off? That acting like a four year old is how to get things done in the WWE?

As a second generation superstar who was perhaps given too much too soon, Carlito feels that he is entitled to all the things that fans once saw in his future. However, the truth of the matter is, Carlito has to earn his spot.

I think if you watched this year's Hall of Fame inductions and heard Dusty Rhodes talk about passion, giving fans their money, driving around for shitty paydays, and working 1 hr matches 7 nights a week, you will know exactly what I am talking about.

Still when WrestleMania rolled around, Carlito was given a dark match, teaming with Flair to face the makeshift team of Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms. Now, while not the four star classic that Wrestlemania IX's dark match of El Matador vs. Papa Shango was (sarcasm folks), it is likely to be recorded as a part of Wrestlemania history, show up on the DVD of the event, and count towards Carlito's overall win/loss record at the PPV, which now stands at 1 and 1.

His local Puerto Rican wrestling community has condemned him for making the jump to the WWE to begin with. Since his father Carlos Colón is a legendary wrestling promoter, many fans and insiders believed that it was only natural for Carlito to take the family business from his father one day. When Carlito chose to go to the WWE, he was not only criticized by the locals, he was also labeled as someone who had "sold out" Puerto Rican wrestling tradition for the "flash and flair" of the WWE. Why am I mentioning this?

Because Carlito had quite the outspoken response to that too. "I didn't care about what they thought. I've always dreamed of working for the WWE when I was young, and I took that chance when it came."

In the week following Wrestlemania, Carlito seemingly contradicts that statement in the May issue of WWE magazine. In an interview, Carlito speaks of being with his father as a child, and how he was never truly all that passionate about pro-wrestling to begin with.

We all would have figured that Carlito's comments were a one way ticket to the WWE doghouse. This past week on Raw, Carlito walked out on Ric Flair after their team had lost a number one contender match to Cade and Murdoch, which seems to be the next peice of the puzzle in the eventually heel turn of Carlito.

It just goes to show, no matter what he may say, things always go down Carlito's way. The question is, is that cool? More on This Story...