The writer speculated that the NBC network might turn to the WWE for additional programming to make up for the loss of The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, and others.
At the same time I thought that if this model proved successful, CBS might look into their affiliate network Spike TV about TNA programming.
If the strike lasts as long as projected, the WWE and TNA may receive major outlets for their programming. The question of whether or not the negative stigma related to the Chris Benoit murders and the related steroid probes will prevent networks and advertisers from looking towards professional wrestling is valid.
Let's assume however that the WWE actually does have the opportunity to benefit from added television time. Can WWE bring the goods?
Over the summer, Linda McMahon stated during a conference call that professional wrestling was about to hit another boom period. Since that announcement, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, and Ken Kennedy have returned from injuries.
Also since that time, Rob Van Dam and Booker T have left the company, and Bobby Lashley and John Cena have gone down to injury. So the question is, is the WWE in better or worse position than they were six months ago?
The answer is better, and the reason for that all looms on the horizon. If WWE is able to get three slots of network television time, they have three major events guaranteed to occur. The eagerly anticipated returns of Edge, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho are all slated to occur sometime in the near future, and the timing could not be more perfect.
An interesting proposition would see classic wrestling as an option during this time. This is an interesting concept, indeed. The suggestion of the very best of Raw from the 1990's being available may overshadow today's product, or it could alternatively light a fire under WWE creative and remind the casual fan of what they enjoyed so much in the past.
I must admit I am not always the biggest "Stone Cold" Steve Austin fan. I think he was a better worker before he adopted the Stone Cold persona, and at times his act has grown tired to me. Still, during his confrontation with Santino Marella on Monday Night, all I could feel was magic, and I wished to myself that Austin had the ability to wrestle again.
Some critics are suggesting that Santino Marella's fantastic mic work over the past several weeks was all for naught because of the Austin confrontation. I couldn't disagree more.
Santino Marella has established himself as one of the most entertaining characters on Raw. A beer-spraying hose cannot wash that away. Just the opportunity for Santino to work with Austin elevates him. So what if Austin got a kick-wham-stunner on him. Who hasn't Austin done that too? The point is, Marella got under Austin's skin enough to bring Austin back to a WWE ring to confront him, and when Austin stood face to face with him, he was true to his convictions and never backed down.
Now Marella is positioned fantastically as the perfect antagonist to a returning Chris Jericho, and fans understand that the potential for classic mic work is outstanding. Marella doesn't have the character to be a main event caliber wrestler yet. However, as the green wears off and his comedy runs its course, he is going to be a very hot commodity as a serious title contender.
All Santino's program with Austin did was elevate him to bigger and better things. What if next week Santino was fuming about being embarrassed by Austin the week before? In a fit of rage, Marella announces that he is issuing and open challenge to anyone under a WWE contract for a match at the Survivor Series. All of the sudden, the countdown is on!
Another can't miss storylines for fans old enough to remember the good old days involves the return of "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Since his WWE wrestling debut, fans have clamored for the storyline that sees Flair donning the big gold belt one more time.
While Flair currently seems far from the title picture on any brand, it will not take long to convince fans that Flair is ready and able for one last hurrah. Flair's return should see him gain convincing victories over major superstars and at the same time reestablish the figure-four leglock.
For those worried about Flair going over younger talent who are the future of the company, I would first suggest remembering how many guys Flair has attempted to help put over (although attempts with Kenny Dykstra and Carlito weren't all that successful). In professional wrestling, losing to Ric Flair is certainly not the type of thing that a wrestler will be unable to overcome in the future. If done right, A Flair for the Gold will convince anyone that Flair has the ability simply because of how bad he wants his final day in the sun.
How would I suggest they position Flair for his title shot? The same way they positioned him for the title during his first WWE run. Imagine the underdog Flair defeating 29 younger superstars at the Royal Rumble and choosing his own destiny at WrestleMania.
The current World Heavyweight Title picture is irrelevant, as WrestleMania is months away. Say the Undertaker defeats Batista at the Survivor Series and is positioned for a World Title Match with Edge at the Rumble. This is the perfect time for Batista to cost the Undertaker the belt and turn heel, as his babyface character has grown tired to many anyways. The Rumble can come down to Batista and Flair, who have a hell of a back-story of their own, and Taker can return the favor. Now you have two hot Smackdown main event matches. Perhaps and interesting twist would see Edge recruit his own pseudo-horsemen in the months leading up to WrestleMania. Arn Anderson would insist on helping Flair in his battles, but Flair would insist that this time he has to do it alone, and Arn would be left to struggle with respecting Flair's wishes and being the enforcer. He would reconcile those differences when he meets Flair in the ring to hug him and celebrate his title victory.
Flair would drop the belt the next month, most likely in a return match with Edge, but a unique and incredible WrestleMania moment was made, and Flair can retire with his legacy in tact.
The main problem I see is that outside of these returns, there is not a lot in the immediate future to look forward to on Raw. The Triple H-Umaga program has pretty much run its course twice now, yet it is still going on. The Randy Orton-Shawn Michaels program has no happy ending, as Michaels should not be regaining the belt right now, but he certainly needs to get his heat back from Orton kicking a field goal with his face and putting him out of action. So how does the Raw brand create exciting television outside of the return of Chris Jericho?
Well, one interesting prospect would involve the return of another major attitude-era superstar. If the WWE is looking to recapture the casual fan from the late 1990's, who better to bring back than The Rock. Now I know this seems a bit of a stretch, but with a major writer's strike in Hollywood, Rock's Saturday Night Live appearance has already been cancelled, and plans for any major movies he might have done could be on hold.
I would not suggest that Dwayne Johnson return in an active wrestling role for many reasons. He is not in wrestling shape. The risk of injury is high and unnecessary for him to take. Still, the Rock appearing and electrifying live crowds in a general manager role, bantering with Chris Jericho, Santino Marella, William Regal, Ron Simmons, and others is the recipe for good WWE television. I would think it a lot more doubtful had not the Rock appeared prior to WrestleMania to suggest that Umaga is Samoan for shriveled-up monkey penis.
To follow the momentum of events like Ric Flair, Edge, Chris Jericho, or even the Rock's return, you need to really establish your current and future guys as stars. That means having Cody Rhodes serving as Hardcore Holly's bitch is not going to cut it. That means having Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas jobbing to a makeshift tag team that no one cares about like Super Crazy and Jim Duggan is not going to cut it. That means having Snitsky, as a featured part of Raw, defeating jobbers in 30 seconds with a stupid pumphandle slam is simply not going to cut it.
For the love of God, if the WWE does get this opportunity and intends to take advantage of it CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy, Umaga, Finlay, Matt Hardy, and MVP better come out the other side as huge stars.
If I had it my way, Shelton Benjamin, Lance Cade, Santino Marella, Val Venis, Jamie Noble, Elijah Burke, Beth Phoenix, and Victoria would be right there with them. What is it going to take for the WWE to write some good TV for these guys? With their look, charisma, and ability, it should be easy to get them over. Hell, the fact that they aren't over is blasphemous. Here is an analogy: If I was ever going to get an F in elementary school, I was going to have to try for it. Just showing up writing my name on the paper and taking the test would likely get me a C, even if I hadn't done any work prior. When it comes to these talents, WWE creative is getting an F… in elementary school… because you have to be trying to do THAT badly.
At any hot point in professional wrestling, you have great storylines in the main event and a hot exciting midcard full of guys you can see one day wearing the heavyweight title. Just because John Cena is sitting at home rehabbing a pectoral muscle doesn't mean that his theme music has no resonance in today's WWE landscape. If you work in the WWE offices, give a listen. Your time is up. The time is now!
If done correctly, this could be a hot as hell ECW World Title Match at WrestleMania 24:
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Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Time is Now
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Vote for MISTTTTTTTEEEEEERRRR KENNEDY...
The main event for Cyber Sunday was announced on WWE.com today, and rather than a Randy Orton showdown with either Triple H or HBK with fans picking the stipulations, they can now choose Orton's opponent between Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy, and Ken Kennedy. After last night's Raw, fans should vote for Kennedy, and here is why...
John Cena's injury sure has shaken things up a little bit. Does anyone else think that the current title belt should go back on the shelf for a while? The belt Orton currently holds is in the style of the John Cena spinner belt, but alas it does not spin. Still, it looks like a fly peice of bling bling. Cena himself hasn't done the rap stuff for years. Why should Orton not revert back to the "undisputed" style WWE title? I personally would love to see the winged eagle belt return.
Speaking of belts and birds, how about Beth Phoenix. Without doubt she is something to get excited about. PWP writer Daron Smythe has defeated Beth Phoenix via pinfall, and I've heard that he is arguing that he is next in line for a shot at the Glamazon. Good luck with that buddy. Either way, they are working her gimmick to perfection, and finally there is some good women's wrestling back on Raw. I thought when Trish left and Victoria switched brands that we may never see that again. Stupid ass Diva search...
To the Diva search's credit, I actually do enjoy Maria and Candice. While neither of them won that competition, they are products of it. That makes it about as lucrative as Tough Enough, who's pride and joy is former ECW champion John Morrison.
I would say that right now it appears that in order of in ring ability, Victoria remains tops. Right behind her are Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, and Melina. The next level includes your Jillian Hall's and Candice Michelle's, and at the bottom are Maria, Torrie Wilson, and some other nameless worthless bimbos.
Santino Marella continues to benefit from the upswing of not actually ever wrestling a match. His mic work has been histerical for weeks now. Too bad that after Val Venis won an internet poll stating that fans would rather see him as the World Champion than anyone else on the roster, he is doing job duty yet again.
Still, it was nice to see him receive face time rather than ubershitty wrestling personality Hardcore Holly. What type of world is it where the WWE brass see more value in Holly than Venis? Holly has a stupid face, buckteeth, a dumb redneck accent, nothing interesting to say, and is perhaps the most boring wrestler WWE has had in the past 10 years.
He makes Snitsky look like The Rock by comparison. Oh, that's right. Snitsky returned to Raw last night to face Val Venis. Daron Smythe has also wrestled Snitsky, but I am not sure of the result. I wonder if Snitsky had as much bacne then. It's horrible now, which makes me wonder if he stopped taking whatever he was taking when he got his wellness suspension in the first place. Those white lights during his entrance served to make this dude look extra ugly. Still, they are working his ugliness to perfection. Even his in ring work is ugly, but in a way that works for him.
The Bushwhackers 2.0 actually wrestled on Raw last night which makes a few dudes who saw them on the Ontario indy scene happy. Cousin Robbie and Cousin Rory whoa'd and yay'd their way down to the ring with arms swinging for their contest with London and Kendrick. They even stopped to lick a face along the way. Gross...
Anyways, some smart mark buttholes are begging that WWE takes the "handcuffs" off these two and let them show the world what they can do. I'd argue that just about every single wrestler on the WWE roster has the ability to compete at a higher level than they do on a weekly basis on Raw, but WWE has handcuffs on pretty much everyone.
Now what pisses me off is, these are the same people screaming about how terrible John Cena is. How many freaking t-shirts are the Highlanders ever going to sell? I'll tell you, 3000, because that's how many dudes that like wrestling are named Robbie, and will by a shirt that reads: "I'm Robbie!" It's just assinine to me to give these dudes a free pass, but come down on John Cena every week for two plus years.
Now to the beginnings of the WWE title picture. If you are living behind one of Umaga's ass cheeks or all three of Big Daddy V's breasts, you may have missed that that Randy Orton was awarded the WWE title at No Mercy, Triple H defeated him for it, Triple H defended it against Umaga, and then Triple H lost it back to Orton.
Now, many voted Randy Orton the wrestler of the week for the accomplishment of being the last man standing. I would argue that Triple H defeating Umaga and Orton before losing to Orton is a far more impressive feat. Still, I hate Triple H and everything he stands for.
On Raw, he squared off in a handicapped match against both Orton and Umaga. Finally, under the circumstances that he had wrestled three times the night before and was taking on Raw's two biggest heels, Triple H took a freaking beat down. Umaga got a measure of revenge on Triple H for his heelish and unwarranted sledgehammer attacks from months back. All the while Jim Ross screamed at how unecesseary it was for Umaga to rip Triple H apart with his bare hands. Funny how months ago, he popped a raging bbq sauce boner for Triple H beating the shit out of Umaga with a deadly weapon.
Triple H refused medical attention to walk to the back, because he is so bad ass. Remember, this is the dude that got dropped from a car by a crane and wrestled the next week. Last year, Vince McMahon bludgeoned him with a lead pipe, and while Shawn Michaels lay on the mat out cold, Triple H crawled around and attempted to get back up. The dude is a cyborg.
Anyway, the good thing to come out of the whole beatdown was that Triple H got taken out of the WWE title picture. Who got put in in his place? Skinner. Yes that's right folks, Steve Keirn returned to Raw, and apparantely he has kicked that awful tobacco habit. Wait.. Wha? That was Shawn Michaels? No way...
Ok, apparantely Shawn Michaels returned and not Skinner. Wow, totally fooled me. Anyways, now Michaels, Kennedy, and Jeff Hardy will be contending for our votes to face Orton for John Cena's title (I will refer to it as such until the belt design changes).
Now Kennedy has done relatively nothing good since he got on Raw, which has basically killed all his momentum. He jobbed to Super Crazy, was supposed to have killed Mr. McMahon kayfabe until Chris Benoit killed his family shoot, took a wellness suspension that stopped him from being Mr. Kennedy McMahon which I maintain was a blessing rather than a curse, and now he is losing in non-title matches to the guy with the gayest nickname in wrestlng history.
Somehow this has put him in line for a World title shot. Well, we Ken Kennedy fans will take it, because it's about time we had something to be excited about. The best part, the vote is in our hands. Now, I know Shawn Michaels just came back and we are excited to see him dance around and do his JESUS YEAH! entrance pose, but we KNOW that Shawn Michaels will be in the World Title picture and get his match with Orton. Why not make a statement by voting for Ken Kennedy? Of course, this assuming that all of Cyber Sunday isn't a worked fan vote anyway, which it most likely is.
The Triple H/Umaga match logically will get the fans choose the stipulation vote, as it is the only feud on the Raw brand right now with the steam to warrant it. Quite frankly, no one has enough heat to be with Orton in the Cell, no matter how good the match could be.
If you don't live in Mexico and you buy Lilian Garcia's album, may God have mercy on your soul. Go buy Macho Man's album "Be a Man" instead. At least it has long term comedic value.
If you don't vote for Kennedy for Cyber Sunday, I just don't understand. I have been trying to rally you for weeks. It's time to push the new faces of the WWE. Every single time we refuse to let go of the old, we end up in the same old funk. The business does not have to be cyclical. We could vote for Shawn Michaels and he can retire next year, or we can vote for Mr. Kennedy and build towards our future.
If you don't vote for Mr. Kennedy, you are as stupid as TNA for being in talks with malignant locker room cancer Kid Kash. I mean seriously, the guy has no draw value. If you are going to sign a trouble maker, at least sign a guy like Sid, Scott Hall, or try again with the Macho Man. At least there will be some return for your headaches.
Oh, and by the way TNA, your 2 hour Impact premier was terrible to watch, and I hate you for it, because you made one of my best writers, Chris Scott uninterested in coming to work.
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Thursday, October 04, 2007
Vote For Val - Click Here!
Brian Kendrick 0.13 %
Carlito 0.69 %
Charlie Haas 0.05 %
Cody Rhodes 0.23 %
Daivari 0.79 %
Hacksaw Jim Duggan 0.13 %
Hardcore Holly 0.11 %
Jeff Hardy 3.26 %
King Booker 0.33 %
Lance Cade 0.02 %
Mr. Kennedy 7.26 %
Paul London 0.73 %
Randy Orton 1.94 %
Robbie McAllister 0.02 %
Ron Simmons 0.66 %
Rory McAllister 0.04 %
Santino Marella 0.18 %
Shelton Benjamin 0.58 %
Snitsky 13.76 %
Super Crazy 0.09 %
Trevor Murdoch 5.69 %
Triple H 16.36 %
Umaga 0.28 %
Val Venis 46.52 %
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Thursday, November 02, 2006
From the Vault: Orton's Entitlement?
Randy Orton had some pretty impressive athletecism, but where does that honestly get you? Probably a couple IC title runs. At the time, it was getting Randy Orton chopped in the throat by Bob Holly.
Randy Orton got hurt, and pretty soon WWE offered a place to send you get well wishes. This was a nice throwback to when Earthquake sat on the Hulkster, and we got to wish him well. I got a sweet postcard out of that deal.
Well, I didn't feel for Randy Orton the way I felt about Hulk Hogan. So being in my smarkest smark mode, I send him about the most vile e-mail I've ever sent.
I chastized Orton for having absolutely no personality, yet taking away TV time from Val Venis and Al Snow, guys that could work both in the ring and on the stick that I felt weren't getting their due. That certainly wasn't Orton's fault, but I figured I'd let him be my scapegoat.
However, those Get Well Randy segments are what gave Randy Orton a personality and an identity. Shortly thereafter he was the Intercontinental Champion and thrust into Evolution.
At this point I have done a total 180, and looked at Orton as the future of the company. His good looks, natural charisma, and in ring abilities were sure to take him to the top, right?
Orton eventually dropped his IC title, and they attempted to pull the trigger on a Randy Orton title reign and a babyface turn...
The turn was largely unsuccessful, but it's hard to place the blame on Orton. First off, Orton took the title off of Chris Benoit, who had been an internet darling for 10 years. The IWC wanted to see Benoit with a lengthy reign. Whoever the man was to end it was not going to be popular in their eyes.
In addition, Orton's turn was too fast. Rather than a slow build of Triple H's jealousy, and the interesting character development and situations that would have/could have/should have happened while Triple H took a backseat to someone for the first time in his life were lost.
Batista dropped Orton like a sack of shit, and Orton was our new hero. But the qualities we had grown to like in Orton were gone. This wasn't the spit-in-your-face cocky young upstart that was good enough to back his attitude up...
This was Blandy Orton. So bland that his futile attempt to be The Rock included a horribly unentertaining skit where Orton showed the crowd pictures on easels up by the Titantron.
Within a week the rug was pulled from under him and the momentum was gone. Orton was a shell of former champions and a shell of his former self.
Orton worked as a babyface until it was time to meet the Undertaker, and at the time, it certainly looked as if he would be the man to break the Wrestlemania Streak.
Tired of the Undertaker's schtick, I looked forward to Orton getting the big win. I mean, yeah Foley put him over, but that seemingly comes with the territory nowadays. I'd argue that a win over Foley now doesn't really mean much of anything.
Orton was unable to one up the Undertaker, and got hurt before his inevitable program with Batista could happen.
Orton however has not reached the level of mediocrity that a failed push and two injuries normally gives a WWE superstar.
Knowing that, Orton's ego grew and grew. The office was behind Randy Orton. Randy Orton could do no wrong.
So Randy Orton shit in a diva's bag and Randy Orton smoked pot and Randy Orton was just pretty much the biggest asshole he could be, which shows why he is so successful in his role as an asshole character. The apple does not fall far from the tree.
And like Edge before him who slept with his close friend's longtime girlfriend on the way to becoming the greatest heel in the company, there would be no real punishment for Orton.
A quick suspension moved him back to Raw. Raw is undoubtedly the A show. Now Orton is locked in a program against the greatest professional wrestler of all time. You can argue about Hogan's abilities day and night, but when America thinks Pro Wrestling, America thinks of Hogan.
For whatever reason, Hogan did or didn't tear his meniscus. Maybe we will never know. We do know however that if Orton is able to RKO the Hulkster, he will be one of the very few in the last 20 plus years to obtain a victory over Hogan.
Maybe Hogan wants to be able to say on Regis and Kelly that he had a bum knee. After all, he's Hulk Hogan. He's beaten giants. Is he really slowing down so much that he can't beat Orton? He's supposed to be our hero!
Well, I for one am not 100% for wrestlers returning to put over new talent. I think it's best if they stay away all together. However if they want to pop a buyrate and bring back someone, should the automatically job?
I think we've seen what's happened with Mick Foley, and we can argue no. Up until his program with Flair, Foley's programs haven't been as interesting as they could be, because you know he is going to lose. That's his role. Much like Terry Funk, he lets those who are still wrestling get the victory. That is a good thing, until you are trying to use your name to elevate other talent. How many guys can you lose to, before it stops having meaning.
That's why Hogan is the Holy Grail. Hogan faced Shawn Michaels at last year's Summerslam, and did not put Michaels over. Michaels certainly isn't the next big thing. While he sells t-shirts and draws crowds, he is well past his prime. He can fool you on any given night however and make you think he's in his prime right now.
But the best wrestler of the 80's was not willing to be defeated by the best of the 90's, and the list of the men Hogan has allowed to defeat him has stayed relatively short.
A win for Randy Orton at Summerslam would do wonders for his career and his legend killer character, but what would it do to the WWE as a whole?
Orton has no shame in any of his past actions. He simply serves his time, pays his fines, and continues on without any remorse.
Orton has a lot of growing up to do before he is given a win over Hulk Hogan, clean or otherwise. Yes, Hogan has an ego, but he has 30 years of work that back it up.
What does Orton have right now? Not much. What may he have by fall? A victory over "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan...
So ask yourself, what is really good for business?
What makes Orton extremely talented?
I was watching a WWE blooper real on YouTube that began with him saying Eugene and Regal will meet La Resistance for the World Heavyweight Championship and ended with him botching an RKO on Chris Jericho, to which he ran off the ropes and did the damn thing again.
Orton can't play any character other than the asshole, which he's proven. He was boring when they brought him in and bland when they turned him back to being a babyface.
He was no boost to Smackdown when he was brought over, and he should have been a major star in the absence of a lot of talent. He didn't show anything.
As I said, I was a big Orton supporter, but he's a prick who really hasn't shown anything. Rob Conway could easily be in his spot right now.
Due to Orton's look and lineage, he gets many more opportunities that guys better than him would kill for, and he's lazy with them.
Orton had all the potential to be big money, but I think that opportunity has been squandered.
They can put Orton over til the cows come home, but all they will get is a Heavyweight title run for him 5 years down the road that winds up with him walking out of the company to pursue acting or getting busted for drugs...
Randy Orton is not a sound investment because he has respect only for himself. That flys on WWE TV, but shouldn't fly in the locker room.
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