The Wednesday Wire: 4.18.12: Just Don’t Mention My Kids

Hi everybody! Must be Wednesday! I’ve got your news, I’ve got my views (I could swear that somebody once did a column like that…) and there’s stuff to discuss and stuff I want you to see. And then, once you’re done with me, there’s a ton of other stuff to enjoy right here on 411!

– Stephen Randle’s Wrestling News Experience
– News From Cook’s Corner
– The Wrestling 5&1 with Greg DeMarco
– Gavin Napier is Handicapping the News
– Sean Kelly’s Thursday Sports Entertainment News
– Wrestling’s 4 Rs: TNA LockDown Edition
– Going Broadway with William Renken
– Michael Ornelas’ Contentious Ten: Thrown Together Teams

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The Haikus are back
But they’re really not that good
Who am I kidding?

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News: TNA’s Open Fight Nights, Ambrose To Be A Star (Maybe)

TNA’s New Format: Open Fight Night
Everyone’s pal Eric Bischoff went to Facebook and got all excited that Impact had more viewers than The Ultimate Fighter. When will he realize that UFC does gangbusters on PPV? The only actually interesting part of this story to me is this part of EB’s first message:

“Impact has a larger audience than ever, and is going to have a great season with new elements following Lockdown. Can’t wait!”

New elements, eh? Interesting. Dixie Carter later confirmed that statement on Twitter, and as will be revealed on IMPACT either tomorrow or next Thursday, Hulk Hogan announced the implementation of the once monthly “Open Fight Night”, which consists of 3 judges (including Hulk) watching an outside talent in a match in which he (or she) can earn a spot on the roster if they’re impressive. Those nights will also see wrestlers being able to make challenges to other guys already on the roster, and the person being challenged MUST accept the match, even if it’s for a title. It’s a good concept in theory, but then wouldn’t everybody just immediately run to challenge Bobby Roode? That’s what I would do. We have to watch it play out, of course, but I foresee a humongous amount of gaping plot and logic holes. The TV Title will also be defended every week, which is cool with me.

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Bully Ray: TNA World Champion?
It is being reported that TNA is considering giving BRD a run with their World Title and that they believe he is the best heel in wrestling today. I’m a big fan of Calfzilla and I would love to see him get a run with the belt in the near future. What do you think?

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Sunny: Addicted Again?
Sunny, who appeared to have beated her drug addictions over the past few years, may have relapsed. There’s no full confirmation of this, but she has no-showed and canceled many recent scheduled appearances. Am I the only one who thought she was still hot during the WrestlingVixxxens days?

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Scott Steiner v. Eric Bischoff & Hulk Hogan
Steiner has been going insane on Twitter, bashing Hogan, Bischoff and whomever else sucks, I guess. My only explanation for this is that Kurt Angle hacked Steiner’s Twitter account.

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Kurt Angle: Wasted Olympic Dreams
After injuring his MCL, Kurt Angle had to pull out of the Olympic trials. He told the Associated Press that he feels like the year he spent training was a waste of time. That’s a shame. I don’t agree that it was a waste of time because like he said, he believed that at 43 he had a shot, at worst, to make the team as an alternate. I think he could have. I would have liked to see if he could make it. Would have been interesting and could have gotten TNA some decent press.

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The “End” of An Era? Shockingly Not
Apparently it’s an absolute lock that Undertaker will be wrestling next year at WM 29 and it’s said that… somebody, I guess, thinks he can/should wrestle more since he has a few more matches in him. Really? How about giving TZZM a singles match at the show? Maybe a Tag Title match? How about no matches that last under 30 seconds?

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Dean Ambrose: Mega Push
The word in the sheets is that the Twitter feud between Mick Foley and Dean Ambrose is set to be a big deal. When it finally gets brought to television the idea is to make Ambrose a star right out of the gate. You know… I’ve been saying that ‘Taker should hang it up, but I also said a couple months ago that while I don’t think the “streak” should end, there is only one guy that I believe would really be able to capitalize on it. That man is indeed mister Dean Ambrose. Book it, Gabe! Or Triple H! Or whomever.

The latest on this feud is that Foley is claiming that he refuses to continue it due to Ambrose bringing Mick’s family into it on Twitter, which Foley explicitly asked that he not do. He said that if Mr. Ambrose was unable to respect Foley’s wishes enough to not post something on Twitter, he would feel unsafe working with him in the ring. It makes no sense to say something like that within the confines of a pro wrestling storyline, but it’s possible that it becomes more ammo for Ambrose to use. Maybe Foley means he doesn’t trust that Ambrose would follow the rules of a regular singles match? We will have to wait and see… but hopefully not too long. Based on this Tweet from Ambrose I figure all will be well:

“I never actually insulted Mick’s dumb/blind wife or his traumatized ignorant children who think he’s a good person. #lostgeneration”

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Commentary Discussion: Brock, Miz and A Grain of Salt

From Guest#7363: “I don’t really remember people doing the Yes chant before WrestleMania since I don’t remember Bryan getting much of a reaction. I will admit that it seems like every live Raw, Smackdown or PPV since his debut I do hear a few fans try to start up a Daniel Bryan chant, but unless they are in cities like Chicago or New York it dies as quickly as it starts.

Also I hope you seriously don’t still believe that story about the Miz being blamed for Survivor Series buyrates, that story just sounded fake from the moment it was released. I mean why didn’t they blame R-Truth, he had just gotten busted for violating the wellness policy so he would of made more sense as the guy to blame for the “low” buyrate.”

The “Yes” chant has been popular since mid-late February. Ever since he actually started defining the character, he’s been catching on. He’s been a pretty hated heel for most of 2012 and he only received face-ish reactions after WrestleMania (which have been on and off). There have been “Yes” signs all over the crowd for months and there have been “Daniel Bryan” chants of varying size during any random segment for the entire year as well. You are definitely right that it only really catches on in the big “smark” towns like NYC and Chicago (and Miami, since it was the smark holy land for WM weekend), but Bryan has been very over for some time.

Miz being blamed for the low buyrate is one of the last stories I actually believed coming from the “dirt sheets”. He looked lazy before the show and got a huge de-push afterward. He was certainly in the dog house for some reason, so he probably was a scapegoat for a time. I’m not saying that they actually believed that The Miz was the reason that Survivor Series did disappointing numbers, because that is ridiculous, but he is the guy they decided to punish when the show wasn’t a huge success. That’s how things are done in WWE. Somebody always needs to take the blame, and it’s rarely somebody who deserves it.

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From Guest#2688: “You know what? Brock’s diverticulitis did get him out of shape. It also cost him his UFC career (he was never going to be the same again). That won’t slow him down in wrestling though.”

You’re right, and I think you agree with the meaning of my statement. His illness knocked the shit out of him and ultimately is probably why he left MMA. Just because he can’t compete in a legitimate competitive sport, though, doesn’t mean he can’t be in great shape and work in a cooperative sport like pro wrestling.

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From APrince66: “Brock is beast, and anyone bitching about him being “out of shape” is an idiot. He is currently in better shape than probably 99% of the people talking crap, and in no time he will get back into ring shape.”

Sounds about right. I wouldn’t say he’s in better shape than most of the WWE roster, but he’s definitely right on par with the norm. And as you said, it shouldn’t take him long to get into ring shape. He’s a natural athlete and will be competing at least every month, so he’ll be fine.

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From the mecca: “I would say another good way to rebuild the Miz would be let him run with his mania undefeated streak, get up to 10 or more, and then he will lose it. to an up and comer at the time.”

I wouldn’t go that far. Clearly you’re a bigger Miz fan than I, even though I think the guy is fantastic when he’s motivated.

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From Gary: “If Punk’s huge ego matched his level of wrestling ability he’d be on to something. Instead hes just another unwashed dirt sheet reader(leak?)mark for himself.”

I think you probably meant to say “if his wrestling ability matched his ego”. Otherwise you’re saying that he’s a great wrestler but his ego is small. Just sayin’.

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From Zig Zag Zach: “ZigSwag? I like, I like… I hope the WWE doesn’t make Cena Vs. Lesnar some fake MMA b.s. Sorry if I jinxed it lmao”

We will likely be spared from that unless Kurt Angle comes back and challenges him. Or Ken Shamrock! Brock vs. Shamrock in the Lion’s Den match!

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From Guest#2668: “Nice to see someone finally taking the dirtsheets with a grain of salt. And I agree about The Rock needing to cut promos without kissing people’s asses.”

I should have started listening to the voice of reason a long time ago. So much of the stuff makes no sense at all and “plans changed” is used far too often as an excuse. True story: a friend of mine once reported to one of the sites (can’t remember which) that WWE was going to do a Hell in a Cell match for a feud. The site posted it and then a bunch of other ones picked up the “news”. It circulated for 2 weeks or so. And then they did the Hell in a Cell match.

Granted it wasn’t that tough to figure out (it also may have been an Elimination Chamber match, I don’t fuckin’ know), but he was listed as a “credible source” and without any fact checking (is that even possible?) it was picked up everywhere.

Ya know, this is a good way to find out if that no-door-having son of a gun reads my column. I’m 99% sure I told that story wrong. Maybe he’ll correct me. Eh.

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PPV Quick Review: TNA LockDown

TNA presented their annual all cage match PPV event on Sunday and it went pretty much as most people expected. Team Garrett def. Team Eric when son pinned father after whacking him over the head with a chair. I like that they got this one done right away and it sounded like fun. Now that his daddy is gone, where does Garrett go next? Eric Bischoff is gone, but two men are back as a team, but Samoa Joe & Magnus def. The Motor City Machineguns to retain their Tag Titles. It was an all-out sprint crushed into 11-minutes of action and hopefully there will be more to come from these four men soon. Devon def. Robbie E to hold onto his TV Title. The match was 3 minutes long and the belt is a joke.

The women went at it inside the cage as Gail Kim def. Velvet Sky to retain the Knockouts Title. This is said to be one of Velvet’s best matches ever, and while she isn’t the best wrestler the crowd is always hot for her which helps make up the balance. The undefeated Crimson def. Matt Morgan in the feud that will likely continue to not be over based on the indecisive, somewhat unclean victory by Crimson. Jeff Hardy def. Kurt Angle after jumping off the top of the cage with his Swanton Bomb. Hardy thrives in this type of match and Kurt Angle always seems to amp it up for what is arguably TNA’s second most important PPV every year. These two men would seem to be done with each other now, so who do they tangle with next?

In the main event, the leader of the Selfish Generation defeated the Tennessee Cowboy as Bobby Roode def. James Storm when he took a superkick that knocked him through the cage door. Many people expected this to be the big win for Storm that would lead to a real title reign but it seems that is not yet in the cards. Roode gets another fluke victory and continues to defy the odds. Thankfully there is surely a lot left for these two men to battle over, so if we have to wait until June for Storm to work his way back up to a title shot at Slammiversary, I don’t think it will seem too drawn out or tedious. Maybe Jeff Hardy will get another shot at Roode in May before Storm can finally win back the title in June. We will have to wait and see.

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Discussion Point: Merge The Titles?

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from the mecca, a 411 and WedWi loyal reader and commenter. As I keep pointing out, WrestleMania’s end means a new year for WWE, and they have already begun that year in a big way by bringing back Brock Lesnar, re-debuting A-Train as Lord Tensai and pulling a few guys from FCW up to the main roster. The annual WWE Draft is assumed to be coming soon and it is being rumored that we are nearing spring cleaning time for lower card talent. That all said, here’s an idea from the mecca that we can use as a discussion point this week.

“I had a thought on the brand extension. My 1st idea doesn’t seem too realistic, but if WWE decides to end it, why not combine all the rosters, except the World Champs. The World Champ for RAW stays on RAW and the World Champ for SD stays there, no interaction except on super special occasions. 2nd idea was if it had to end, then at least keep the US Title also and you have the World Title, IC title, then the US on the pecking order. Plus Tag Team and Divas belts that give people more opportunities for gold and more opportunities for WWE to put lower titles on PPV and make them seem important, which makes the midcarders fighting for those titles seem more important.”

Marsico: This is a topic that has received tons and tons of attention over the past 10 years since the brand split occurred. There have been multiple occasions in which it seemed like they might have been close to ending it, but it has yet to truly occur. Granted that for a few years now the split seems to be in name only and it now serves pretty much the sole purpose of house show business, but there is a bigger issue here. My preference differs from the mecca’s thoughts. In short, this is what I would like to see:

– Merge the WWE & World Titles
– Keep the US & IC Titles (use them like the IC & Euro Titles)
– Make the Tag Titles matter

That’s it. In fact, the only real change I would like to see is the World Titles. I think they should keep the WWE Championship and drop the WHC. That will make the WWE Champion the guy. He’s the top champion and the number one guy in the company. Having two men as “World” champions makes it seem much less impressive. There’s no reason to get rid of the brand split as it is. Some guys can be predominantly RAW guys and some can be predominantly on SmackDown, but there’s nothing wrong with them showing up on either/both shows on a regular basis. The WWE Champion can travel with either brand at any time, and to make up for the lack of the main champ on one set of house shows, the IC and Tag Titles can be made more important in order to pick up the slack.

Discussion Point: What would you do with the brand extension? Keep it? Toss it? Something different? Discuss!

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Independent Roundup: Finlay, Chicago, Sami Callihan and More

Brainbusting Onto DVD: El Generico
Ring of Honor released a compilation DVD set for El Generico yesterday. It features 19 of his best ROH matches including v. Claudio Castagnoli from Race to the Top, v. Kota Ibushi from Return Engagement, v. Bryan Danielson from Proving Ground 2009 and v. Christopher Daniels from Best in the World 2011. The set ends with the Daniels match, which was Daniels’ last match in ROH and Generico’s World TV Title victory. Full Match List || Buy Now!

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EVOLVE 12: Finlay v. Jon Davis
EVOLVE will be running their first ever double shot weekend on May 11 and 12 in Charlotte and Concord, NC respectively. The first match announced is for May 11. Finlay got in Jon Davis’ face at EVOLVE 9 in New York City and told him that he had to take his own opportunities. Davis defeated Bobby Fish and Kevin Steen in a three-way at that show. Now he’s going right to the source of his motivation.

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Chicago: The Place to Be Next Weekend
WWE be returning to Chicago for Extreme Rules, but the day before people in the Chi-town area can catch a double header from CHIKARA and Ring of Honor. Some big matches set include, on the CHIKARA show: CHIKARA Grand Champion Eddie Kingston v. Kevin Steen with the title on the line, Sara Del Rey v. El Generico in what is sure to be interesting (and possibly amazing) and on the ROH show: Tag Team Champs Jay & Mark Briscoe v. Jigsaw & Hallowicked with the belts on the line, Jay Lethal, Adam Cole & TJ Perkins v. The Colony in a Lucha Libre rules trios match and a rivalry reborn with Jimmy Jacobs & Kevin Steen v. El Generico & BJ Whitmer.

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Sami Callihan on a Roll: Best of the Best
CZW, which is still somehow alive, ran their 11th Annual Best of the Best tournament on iPPv last weekend (full review by Maffew Gregg). All accounts seem to call this a very good show; the finals (spoiler alert — what, too late?) saw Sami Callihan defeating AR Fox in a battle of two indy standouts.

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Upcoming ROH Matches: ROH World Title, Finlay’s Debut and More
– Davey Richards v. Adam Cole, World Title Match (Dayton, OH 4/29)
– Roderick Strong v. Jay Lethal, 2/3 Falls TV Title Match (Dayton, OH 4/29)
– Davey Richards v. Kevin Steen, World Title Match (Border Wars iPPV Toronto, ON 5/12)
– Roderick Strong v. Fit Finlay (Border Wars iPPV Toronto, ON 5/12)
– Eddie Edwards v. Rhino (Border Wars iPPV Toronto, ON 5/12)

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WWE RAW Supershow: April 16, 2012

CM Punk v. Mark Henry: WWE Title
The first of two matches with no rules for the evening featured CM Punk successfully defeating Mark Henry to retain his WWE Title. It was another very strong match between the two that ended with a huge elbow/chair drop from the top rope in a mixture of Mick Foley and Randy Savage, which may be the first and last time anybody puts those two in the same sentence. Jericho filmed Punk walking in and then out of a pub in London, which surely will lead to further taunting and goading by Y2J.

Brock Lesnar: Not a Superstar
Brock says that Brock will SMASH. Cena says that he will fight. Strong video package promo from Brock followed by a strong in-ring promo from Cena. Next week they’ll be back in the ring together for a contract signing, which pretty much guarantees that somebody’s going to get punched in the face again. Strong build for this match, short notice or not.

Cena v. Tensai: Extreme Rules Warm-up
Do you think this high profile victory, even though he needed outside interference, means that Tensai is going to stop beating up tiny guys every week? That would be cool. Match was fine, but Tensai looked surprisingly unimpressive. That’s a shame. I am glad, by the way, that Laurinitis has shifted his attention far away from CM Punk. I’d rather see him trying to make a younger and less established guy’s life a living hell, because that would actually have the chance to be productive by way of allowing Johnny’s heat to rub off on him. Nobody gets anything out of Big Johnny torturing Cena week-in and week-out.

Everything Else: Ryder, Tag Champs and the Yes Lock
– Really? Kane beats the shit out of Ryder again? Ryder’s push is over, isn’t it? Fuck.
– So they start a simple angle on Twitter with the Tag Champs complain about not getting TV time, then they come out and get squashed by the two biggest men on the roster. Uh…
– At least Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston got to have a good match in the middle of the show. Definitely a good way to spend 10 minutes of TV time. More of this, please. And maybe some direction for Kofi.

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Before I go, I just have one thing to ask:

Get your asses over to Twitter! @nickmarsico #WedWi

At least my pal @ScottOTD shows some love.

Next week: More Twitter love?

Visit TJ Hawke and watch some Free Pro Wrestling! So, so worth it.

– Nicholas A. Marsico