The Wednesday Wire: 12.07.11: Welcome to The First Week of the Last Month of the Year

Posted by Nick Marsico on 12.07.2011

This column's title certainly was wordy. Will I be that wordy inside? What will I discuss? Who will I discuss? #FBK!

It appears that for the most part, everyone agrees that the cream of the crop, as it were, in WWE, are CM Punk, Cody Rhodes and The Zig Zag Man. I certainly would not disagree. I would also toss in Randy Orton, as he has delivered every single time he has gone out into the arena this year. I'd call him the easy shoe-in for most everybody's "Wrestler of the Year" in year-end awards around the 'net and beyond. I would surmise that 2012 will be a very strong year for both Rhodes and TZZM, and I think Zig Zag is going to get the bigger push. More on this later on.

Before we get to comments, I have come to the decision that the Haiku is, unequivocally, by far, the best type of poetry that exists. During my research I also nearly came to the conclusion that Haikus are the number one way to communicate in general, but I am holding back on making that judgment. My focus is still set on ESP. Or carrier pigeons.

I'm hoping to come up with a different and interesting way to present my "Best of 2011" column. If anybody wants to give some input on the situation or even be a part of the column, please feel free to offer your help. I'm sure you're aware by now that reader participation is the law of the land around here.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 28, 2011 and Friday, December 30, 2011. We're going to go out with a bang! **

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Before we start off,
Please give consideration.
Let the people talk!
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** Or a whimper.


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CM Punk Fans speak up:

"CM Punk is the best in the world PERIOD!" - Guest#8044

"CM Punk is the best all around wrestler in wrestling today. he can wrestle, he has great charisma and he can talk and commentate too." - Guest#3168

"CM Punk = Best in the world. WHY? because he JUST IS..." - Guest#7097

"CM Punk > ALL.." - Sergio

Can't say I have a problem agreeing with these gentlefellows.

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Cult hero Still Guest#8287 has a full-column opinion:

"I think you should have BK and FBK as your mascots.

Great picture of Stacy.

I get why DB cashed in, because he wanted revenge on Henry, but I wasn't a big fan of it. I doubt he wins on SD(not over for me yet) but hope he has a good match. I expect he will wait and cash in at WM, I think against Henry. Not sure what will happen at WM(I think DB wins) but that is what I think will happen.

In my opinion, CM Punk is the all around best wrestler today. Dolph is up there along with a guy like AJ Styles but I think Punk is the best combination of mic skills and wrestling skills which makes him the best. Pure wrestling skills alone then I think it's between DB and TZZM with Punk 3rd.

Great and funny column again this week."

FBK is my intern. Unpaid intern. BK only comes around when I need to make FBK feel bad about himself. I think my boy D-Bryan will end up cashing in before WrestleMania, but I think they will have him announce it this time instead of talking an easy opportunity. We just have to wait and see.

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SpankyHamm of ROH and Toy Story fame brings us some good analysis:

"Here's the advantages that TZZM has over many other wrestlers - time and variety.

He gets to wrestle 8-12 minute matches a couple of times a week (Raw and Smackdown). And unlike Punk, you get to see a lot more creativity in his matches (a lot of different moves). Plus, there is a level of uncertainty because you don't know if he is winning or losing.

TNA's best wrestlers rarely get 8 minutes every other week to showcase their wrestling talent. They have 20 wrestlers to feature and only 2 hours to do that with each week, so NOBODY on TNA really gets a chance to show their wrestling ability for more than a couple of weeks."

That's definitely true about The Zig Zag Man. I think he gets the time to wrestle every week because they know he's a workhorse and they know they can rely on him to take up some extra time on the show and make it interesting. He's wrestled twice in one night on 2 or 3 PPVs in a row now, and I was really hoping it would happen again at TLC, but I guess we're going to have to wait a little longer for him to get his WWE Title shot again.

I don't really get much of a chance to watch TNA (nor do I honestly care that much), but from what I've seen that is generally the case. And when they do give guys some time to go out there and wrestle it's usually the same group of guys that includes Angle, AJ, Daniels, and now Roode and Storm as well. Kennedy and Hardy also get time. And it's not like these guys are going out there against a range of talent. They're all fighting each other. Other than them, nobody gets much of a chance to shine in the ring.

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APrince66 checks in:

"Not sure why, but the fat Kidman bits make me laugh. Kudos sir"


Hey, thanks!

He's laughing at you, FBK, not with you.


Oh.

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More "who's the best?" talk, now from Kefko:

"Ziggler, Punk and Cody in no particular order.

Ziggler is just a fucking show-off in the ring. He has the looks, the incredible fucking badass in-ring skill and he can cut fantastic promos. However, the only think I don't really like about him right now is his gimmick. Why the change? The last one was fantastic for him, as was the themesong.

CM Punk, well, because he's the best in the world. Period. He could get a little bit more in shape, but that's it. Oh, and work a little bit more in some of his moves, like the Macho's Elbow.

Cody comes to me like the perfect package: looks, in-ring ability, gimmick, promo-skills, "it" factor. He has all the right tools to be the future in the company. And I love to watch him develop into one."

Yeah, I'm with you on TZZM's gimmick change. The "Show-Off" thing is silly and even Punk pointed out how ridiculous it is. The random headstands would be a lot funnier if it wasn't a cartoonish way to push the gimmick. I think I'll get over it though. The theme song isn't as good now because it seems like all they did was get rid of the "perfection" stuff, which makes it sound incomplete. I assume that it will be remedied sooner than later.

I think Punk's elbow is good enough. The one he did a couple weeks back (on RAW I think...) was pretty epic. He got all sorts of ridiculous hang time with it. I wish I could remember when that was. Any help?

Cody also rules. I hope he gets a chance to be a big, big player. I wonder where the Booker T feud will take him.

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Brad B disagrees with the love for TZZM:

"Where do you people come up with this shit? On what planet does That Spirit Squad Guy "cut fantastic promos?"

I realize that WWE PG FOR KIDZ~!~ is a bag of shit, but damn, expectations have dropped to rock-bottom levels!"

Ouch. So you've told us what you dislike. What do you like?

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Dr. Wiki weighs in:

"The best wrestler for me is one that can entertain me the most. Those three would be Dolph Ziggler, Austin Aries, and Tyson Kidd.

Dolph is just phenomenal from his wrestling abilities to his selling to his promos on Z! True Long Island Story. Ziggler is one of the few guys I actually pay attention to in his matches instead of multitasking during them.

Austin Aries is the guy who in my opinion has the best look as of right now. He is cocky, flamboyant and manly at the same time without making me annoyed with his character. He knows how to create an enjoyable character.

Tyson Kidd on the other hand doesn't have the charisma the other two have but instead he has skills that make anyone look good. He is up there with TZZM and Bryan in being the best all around wrestlers. I always enjoy a good jobber.

FBK Rules"

I definitely agree with you on Kidd. I wish they gave him some more time to wrestle. You'd think that on a show like SmackDown he would fit in somewhere, even if it was just being tossed out there to have good 6-8 minute long matches where he makes the other guy look good and watches the lights at the end. He's more than worth putting on TV.

Aries is one of my favourites of all time, but I haven't seen much of his TNA stuff. Statements like that are getting broken record-like. Now that I'm out of school for a few Niweeks between semesters I'll try to catch up a little better on some of the guys that I like who are currently in TNA. I have to say, though, and it's a damn shame, that ever since the "Twinkies" stuff started in ROH with ref Todd Sinclair during his match against Petey Williams at Glory By Honor VIII in NYC, I've adopted something of a sour view towards A Double. Fucking NYC fans. That match sucked, too. AND it pissed me off because the match ran too long (as did some other matches) and the show was booked to be so damn long that my wife and I had to leave before the two main events (Young Bucks v. Briscoes and Nigel v. Danielson). It was the last show of the Final Countdown Tour that was Bryan Danielson's sendoff to WWE. And I had to miss it because otherwise I would be trapped in the city for 5+ hours overnight. Fuck, man. Fuck.

Anyway... Aries does indeed rule. Maybe if he changes his look and brings back the old Wrestling Machine character (Kurt Angle stole that shit) I'll warm up to him again.

Zig Zag has great timing in ring and out. However, screw #HEEL. How about #FBK? Get it done, people!

#FBK

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The topic according to G-Walla:

"Ziggles and Rhodes are two amazing talents that it's a joy to watch progress. But I think someone that's getting overlooked a lot in the "best" category is A Double himself, Austin Aries. I haven't watched much of his TNA shit, but the man has always seemed golden to me, and I've read nothing but good about his TNA business.

I don't know who I'd label the best, but there's plenty of good wrestlers out there, even in the big 2, it's just they need the chance to showcase it. Of course, a lot of bad ones, too."

I wasn't expecting the Aries love that came out a bit in the comments. Maybe I should try to get back into him. Like you, I've heard only good things about what he's done in TNA. He came around at a bad time in his first run. It was fun, though. I loved the Paparazzi Championship Series, even though it did nothing but damage to everybody that wasn't named Chris Sabin or Alex Shelley. Aries' character is more or less the same now, just toned down on the flamboyance and with his actual wrestling name.

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Guest#4978 has a problem with how injuries are handled:

"Mark Henry came out wearing his wrestling boot on his so-called injured foot & said boot had bandages on it...it was just like in 1986 where Don Muraco said Mr. Fuji couldn't be in his corner against Hulk Hogan because Fuji had come down with the Asian Flu & sure enough there in the locker room still in his tuxedo & tight bowler hat, Mr. Fuji was clutching his head moaning & groaning...people don't normally wear hats when they are sick & people who have foot injuries don't wear boots or shoes covered with bandages. Bad unconvincing writing!"

At least Mister Fuji was hilarious. Remember when he cheated to win the footrace before WrestleMania one year? Yeah!

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Guest#9364 provides his list:

"CM Punk is the best all around, and best promo if rumors are true that he's the only guy that goes off unscripted
Bryan Danielson is the best pure/technical wrestler
AJ Styles is the best high flyer/crusierweight
Davey Richards is the best Strong Style"

But who's better? Punk or Jericho?

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Guest#2637 defends FBK's honor:

"Bust on FBK all you want but remember...he was banging Torrie Wilson. Not just once. Not just for a couple of days. It was for years. When she was still insanely hot.

So FBK will always have the last laugh, double-chinned it may be."

He can't have the last laugh because he WAS with her. He couldn't keep her and then they both went downhill. He got fat and she looks like Jessica Alba if Jessica Alba was old and pale. Plus I bet she dominated Billy so much that it wasn't even worth it for him.


Don't get me wrong, I'd still this that and the other thing yadda, yadda, yadda...

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The latest installment of movie talk with The Great Capt. Smooth:

"Now that Hornswoggle can talk, it would be perfect. He can say what he wants to do. Finally.

As for a title, I'm thinking "Rip Doff". I mean...it has to be stupid, being a dumb action movie.

I'm on board with Hornswoggle. Not sure if I get the title though. Oh, and can 'Swoggle have a group of evil midgets?

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HeartBurnKid has me here:

"Actually, that's why I mentioned torrents instead of legitimate sources. These days, a torrent goes up within an hour of a show's airing; since I live on the west coast, I can usually finish downloading the torrent and start watching the show before it even airs out here. Smackdown even more so; it also happens to air on Friday night in Australia, so, since they're so far ahead of us time-zone-wise, the torrents usually hit the net Friday morning.

Err... not that I've ever downloaded a torrent or endorse downloading torrents, of course. *cough* *cough*

That is a fair point. And I have no idea what you're talking about. Torrents? What's a torrent? My gosh I have never heard of that. Foreign to me. FOREIGN!


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"The next wwe title shot goes to everybody's favourite #HEEL." - The Zig Zag Man

I love that he's finally got "hashtag heel" on TV. I guess it was inevitable with the Twitter binge WWE is currently on. The multiple people coming out and arguing over a title shot deal always works on me and it was fun here. Cena was great, as were the rest of them. I don't love that they ignored Miz' badass killer streak though. All of a sudden he needs to win thanks to a countout that was done to further a differen angle? Come on now. What a bunch of crap.

(Commercial Aside - Did the commercial for The Darkest Hour look like a gritty reboot of Ghostbusters to anybody else?)

"I wonder what Papa Shango is up to lately." - Zack Ryder

That WWE Network promo video was all kinds of awesome. Sign my ass up!

"I love these social experiments, don't you guys? very interesting."

This is by far the best way they have ever acknowledged the mixed reaction that Cena gets every night. They have never really dedicated any real time to the way the crowd feels about him, and now that they're doing it I think they have something really, well, interesting. The premise they're going with, it seems, is that the boos for Cena are coming due to his recent interactions with The Rock, which is silly as hell, but I can look past it because they aren't shoving it down our throats.

Cena v. Ryder was the only match in the TLC qualifying series in which the result wasn't painfully clear. I don't know if anybody truly believed that Ryder could get a legit victory, but I thought they would figure out some way to get it done. Turns out that they did, it just took Cena's giving spirit and broad shoulders. Just awesome all around. The one small problem I did have is the way Cena and Ryder, but especially Cena, reacted when Laurinitis told them they were wrestling each other. It was like somebody shot his puppy. You're not going into a match where the loser is fed to the lions after the match. Why act like you can't wrestle the guy? That was dumb. Other than that, which is already forgotten in the scheme of things, I thought this was fan-freakin'-tastic.

But where does Cena go from here? What's he gonna do at TLC?

"Look, shut up for just a second!" - Jerry Lawler to Michael Cole

Holy shit Kevin Nash in a ladder match! I wonder if anybody's going to get tazed. He hit the worst powerbomb of all time, however. I mean my golly gee that was ugly.

"I dont want you down there, man. You'll probably end up screwing me over or something." - The Zig Zag Man

TZZM was great again tonight. He had Sheamus to tangle with, which is always a good thing as long as you can hang. I honestly think that Sheamus should have been put in the running for Superstar of the Year. Just his in-ring stuff alone deserves to be commended. 2011 was a fantastic year for both men, especially Sheamus, and 2012 will be even better for TZZM. Any idea what's next for Sheamus? He's a man without a path right now. Maybe the Henry/Sheamus rubber match at the Royal Rumble? Please? I'm begging for it.

"If you say because it's your destiny I swear to Jeebus I'm gonna start drinking." - CM Punk

Evan Bourne returns! And talks to CM Punk! The end!

The contract signing was fine enough. I'm glad that Punk pointed out how awful these things are and I applaud his effort to make it interesting. I'm also happy that the show ended with him standing tall. Although maybe it would have been good for Miz to get that treatment to at least let us know that they haven't forgotten about him. WWE.com had a graphic asking who was next for Miz up on the front page all day and most of the way through RAW. And nothing happened. Jerks.


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There are no intentions to actually change the look of the WWE Title belt. WWE dot com just enjoys making us hopeful that things we want are actually going to happen. They never do!

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The rumors are saying that the guy being built up in those creepy videos on RAW, such as the one that interrupted the Pinup Strong promo this week, are for none other than...

The spoiler is elsewhere on this site. There's no concrete evidence that it's true, but I'm interested. What does "Look Within" mean, then? Maybe it's for Brodus Clay. I think they've given up on debuting him for real in 2011.

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The former ECW Arena may be just about finished with pro wrestling events. CHIKARA and CZW are being kicked out, at least in terms of keeping their equipment in the building. The new owner wants to make it a concert venue. Certainly would be a cool venue for a concert, but it was a fantastic building for wrestling. I wish I could have seen more shows there. The EVOLVE/CZW doubleheader will still go on as planned and CZW's owner DJ Hyde will meet with the new Asylum Arena owner about hosting wrestling shows at the venue in the future.

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We may soon have to say goodbye to @crankyvince and @WWE_Creative from the ranks of Twitter. WWE is working to rid the social media website of any impostors, impersonators and any others that may "cause confusion" about the WWE brand. Oh stop it already.

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You can, however, Tweet to Dusty Rhodes! Follow @DustyWWE to see him. I hope he and Jim Ross have hours and hours of Twitter discussions. I would drop everything to sit and watch that happen.

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Former WWE superstar and Killer B's member B. Brian Blair will indeed recover from his recent emergency appendix-related issue of some kind. I think it exploded inside of him. Reports are saying he felt very humbled by the whole ordeal.

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Congratulations are in order for Kia Stevens, better known as Amazing Kong, Awesome Kong or WWE's Kharma. Her now fiance proposed to her over the weekend and gave her a sweet-ass ring that looks like a wrestling ring with a giant diamond inside. Would have been funnier if it was a diamond shaped like DDP inside the ring's ring. I don't think he was going for funny, though.


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I think it's going to be just fine if I stop here. Go to these columns!

News From Cook's Corner!

The Wrestling News Experience!

The Wrestling 6&1 Part 1!

The Wrestling 6&1 Part 2!

Into the Indies!

The Contentious Ten!


Next week: Better writing! Better content! Papa Johns!


#FBK!


-- Nicholas A. Marsico