The Wrestling 5&1 5.4.13: Paige vs. Audrey Marie vs. Emma

Tony Acero is too busy at his wedding* to put this together, so I guess I’ll swoop in like Super Cena and bury this shit real quick-like.

That said, I wrote all 5 points anyway, so let’s kick it old school, shall we?

I like that! I just might have to take this thing back from Acero…

(I’m kidding!)

A recent pair of tweets caused quite the stir, especially when combined with rumors that The Shield will be adding a fourth member.

This possibility actually brings up TWO good questions:
1 – Should The Shield add a fourth member?
2 – Assuming they do, who should it be?

Which is a perfect opportunity to bring back a DeMarco Classic: The 2 Point Perspective!

A fourth member for The Shield?

Well, the easy answer is “Yes, The Shield should most definitely add a fourth member.”

But the larger question is in the arguments. Why?

There are so many reasons not to add a fourth member:

The Shield doesn’t need the addition of a leader.
Nowhere does it say the fourth member has to be a leader. In fact, they don’t have to be inferior, either. The Shield is built on all of the members being at the same level—no leader, no followers. Simply, The Shield.

Adding a fourth member doesn’t need to change that, and I assume it wouldn’t. The fourth member could bring the same level of intensity the group has always had, and they can participate in the beatdowns just like any other member. They’d still stand out—just like the other three members.

The Shield has always been about Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns.
Has it though? To me, The Shield has always been about debuting a new crop of talent—already believed to be three guys who can take the WWE into the next era.

Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns are all unique individuals with diverse skill sets that can really benefit the WWE in the long-run. Each is finding their own way to present themselves while maintaining the integrity of the team—something nearly impossible to do in a generation of wrestling solely built in singles stars.

Under these terms, it’d be stupid not to add a fourth member. All three current members are set-up to have amazing careers, and there is definitely room in the WWE’s future for a fourth.

You Decide: Should the WWE add a fourth member to The Shield?

Before we get to part two…BRING ON THE GIRLS!

Tony and I have both been experiencing some computer issues, but mine seems to have a temporary fix, so we can finally make this official…

With Stacy Keibler settling in at #3, the stage is set for some new blood to take a shot at the hall. Tony has been driving that, as Paige, Audrey Marie and Emma destroyed the competition. Now all three women step into a Triple Threat of their own, with the winner taking both of their wins with them against some stiff competition!

VS

VS

Voting ends Wednesday night,
and you can vote once every 12 hours (for real this time!)

Is Sting “The Guy,” Brother?

In one of its most questionable moves—which is saying a lot for TNA—Sting defeated Matt Morgan in the main event of Thursday’s Impact Wrestling to become the #1 Contender for Bully Ray’s World Heavyweight Championship. What’s more, is he won’t take that shot on a live edition of Impact Wrestling, he’ll take it in the main event of one of TNA’s only four PPVs of 2013—Slammiversary.

Wait…wha?????

Yes, it’s damn true (thank you Kurt Angle). Despite having an amazingly talented and young roster, TNA is carting out Bully Ray vs. Sting in the main event of Slammiversary. No AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, James Storm. Not even Samoa Joe or Christopher Daniels or Frankie Kazarian. Not Matt Morgan.

54-year old Sting.

Pretty impressive for a guy who only re-signs his TNA contract each year because Hulk Hogan and Dixie Carter keep telling him he “still has it” and the locker room loves the guy too much to tell him it’s time to hang up the boots.

What’s worse? Sting is basically fighting for Hulk Hogan, because you know…Hogan’s been good to Sting before!

Before I totally drive this thing home, let’s take a look at the possible outcomes.

Sting wins
Okay, imagine Sting wins. Then what? Aces & Eights is neutered, Bully Ray is a crappy champion who couldn’t be a 54-year old Sting, and we’re left with freaking Sting as our world champion!
Accomplished: Nothing.

Bully Ray wins
Alright, let’s give the win to Bully Ray. Maybe it’s clean—which it should be against 54-year-old Sting. Does that really do anything for Bully?

Maybe it’s due to Aces & Eights interference. Does that really do anything for Bully?
Accomplished: Nothing.

SWERVE! Hogan turns heel on Sting
Finally, we have option three. Which also sucks. Do we need another Hulk Hogan heel turn? The NWO? Immortal? Now Aces & Eights???

Outside of stroking Hulk Hogan’s ego, there is no reason to do that.
Accomplished: Nothing.

So there you have it…three possible outcomes, and each one of them absolutely sucks! Great job, TNA, you’ve booked yourself into a no-win situation at Slammiversary.

And I’m flying to Boston to see it live. Smart move, DeMarco!

You Decide: Is Sting the right pick to face Bully Ray at Slammiversary?

If four, then who?

So if we assume I’m right in the above point (and I am), then we can add a fourth member to The Shield!

Yay! Now…um…who?

Sami Zayn
The former El Generico started all this nonsense when he replied to a Seth Rollins tweet by simply saying “I Believe in The Shield.” That’s it!!! But that’s enough to throw the internet into a tail spin.

When the first reports of Generico’s WWE signing came out (via ProWrestlingPonderings, by the way), I was the first big doubter. I said he was too small, the character would never work, he won’t make it, etc. I was wrong. He’s now unmasked and playing a red-bearded hipster, and the initial reports are great.

But he hasn’t even been in developmental for six months, and he doesn’t really fit the mold. I think the tweet was just some good, clean, Generico fun. Or it was a great way to get people talking. Either way—it worked!

Christian
While there are some roster members that could conceivably join The Shield (Michael McGillicutty, Alex Riley, Curt Hawkins, etc.), I just don’t see Christian working.

First off, he’d immediately be seen as the leader. Even if he didn’t act as the leader, he’s a former multi-time World Champion and a legend likely to end up in the WWE Hall of Fame. Remember, The Shield is about building new stars, not re-elevating old ones.

Second, he doesn’t fit the group. His offense is slow and crowd pleasing, and he doesn’t have the same intensity that Rollins, Reigns & Ambrose have. The only way it works is if The Shield welcomes him as a member only to turn on him in what was a rouse all along.

Kassius Ohno
The name that many members of the Internet Wrestling Community want to see on television sooner rather than later, the former Chris Hero also doesn’t fit in the group. He works better for me on his own, and likely as a face. Plus, as long as he and Wade Barrett share a finisher, he isn’t doing to be on television.

I know most would want to see him reunite with Antonio Cesaro, and I am in that camp. While I think Cesaro will have the better WWE career, he’s doing nothing right now and the tag team division could use the help.

Fine, then! If you’re so smart, Greg, who should be the fourth member?

Glad you asked…

Xavier Woods OR Corey Graves
Two very talented wrestlers in NXT who could really make an impact on television. They’d look the part in The Shield gear walking down the arena stairs, and they have the in-ring ability to hang with Reigns, Ambrose & Rollins. Both men are experienced guys who are ready for TV, and both have promising futures.

They’re not immediately recognizable by the majority of the WWE audience—like the original three. They don’t have another ready-made gimmick—like Kassius Ohno. And they don’t have a WWE history like Christian.

In a sense, either would be perfect!

You Decide: Assuming the WWE adds a fourth member to The Shield, who should it be?

Last week in The Wrestling 5&1…

STFU Donnie
Somebody needs to explain to me what hand ECW had in creating Stone Cold. According to both Austin and Heyman, WCW had fired Austin and Paul called him and said come in for a few shots. Austin said he was still recovering from an injury, but Heyman said just come in and talk. When Austin asked what about, Heyman said whatever he wanted, so Austin cut some funny and bitter promos on his perceived enemies. Then he had a few matches in the company then went to become The Ringmaster in WWE. He was literally there for a cup of coffee.

Legitimate question, actually. I think the reason for the claim that ECW had a hand in creating Stone Cold was the freedom he was given. While the WWE did pigeon hole him into being The Ringmaster, Austin himself knew what he had done in ECW, and was waiting for the chance to make it happen. One wife suggestion over a cold cup of tea and a King of the Ring win later, Austin 3:16 was born.

hombre
Hate to ride bandwagons, but I’ll be damned …. the Emmalution got me too!

There you go, friend.

Bobsky
For all the analysis of ECW inventing extreme and tapping into the subculture, the most successful and memorable feuds and matches could have been held in JCP or Mid South 10-20 years earlier and nobody would have been talking about a revolution. I don’t doubt for a generation of kids raised on Rock and Wrestling that ECW seemed to have invented the wheel, but the wheel had been invented long before. And even if you want to cite New Jack jumping off balconies or the Rottens hitting each other with taped fists covered in broken glass and barbed wire baseball bats or any of the more over the top and dangerous aspects of ECW, they were merely blazing the trail of Fred Blassie and The Sheik. And I think guys maiming each other is something that WWE adopted much to their eventual detriment.

I’m probably gonna get some hate for this, but it’s 100% true. ECW’s hardcore style was born out of lazy booking. The same way that much of what we see today in TNA and the WWE are the result of lazy booking. The JCP and Mid-South feuds and stories you mentioned—along with those in the Pacific Northwest and World Class—was amazing and no one could seem to recreate that. So Paul Heyman and Tod Gordon had to get drastic, and they went extreme. Much of the extreme stuff wasn’t that good (Taipei Death Match? No thanks.) and their best stuff wasn’t extreme at all—it was the modern day indy at it’s best: allowing athletic guys do what they do. That’s where we all fell in love with guys like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and others.

Much of what we saw from The Sandman (outside of the awesome entrance), Raven, Tommy Dreamer, etc. was the result of lazy booking.

Go ahead, hate.

Michael L
In the long run, what made ECW work so well was the sense that just about every wrestler was given the opportunity to do what they did best, whether it be garbage wrestling (Gangsters), psychological warfare (Raven), out and out trash talking (Dudleys), high flying (Mysterio, Super Crazy, Psicosis), or technical wrestling (Malenko, Benoit). And as we’ve found out, sometimes it meant that the wrestler didn’t quite transition into the major feds–particularly someone like Tazz, who was a great ass-kicker in ECW, but didn’t quite work in the WWE. Or Sandman, who had a special charm that worked in the ECW arena and smaller venues, but didn’t quite work as well in the big arenas (not having Enter Sandman as his theme in the WWE didn’t help either).

Letting talent do what they do best did serve ECW well, and it did allow the WWE to grow. That’s something they need to get back to, as their scripting and controlling of current talent is doing nothing for the product.

So while I’m not going to back off of my lazy booking claims, I will recognize that you brought me back to a good point—ECW took the talent they had and put them in the position to succeed. It’s like football coaches: good ones find players that can play in their system (the WWE), great ones build a successful system based on the talents of the players they have (ROH/PWG/Chikara).

And bringing me back to a point I was missing makes you…

Fully Low Ted Bobsky
You’re talking out of your ass. Old school wrestling is Harley Race grabbing a headlock for 10 minutes and Dusty Rhodes shucking and jiving with lame promos. Nothing about ECW was old school and Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff stole almost all of their successful ideas from a small little promotion run out of a bingo hall in Philly because all their ideas were lame and boring and straight from the old school.

Tell me you did not just say that…

I’d respond, but my friend Sully owned your ass…

Sully Fully Low Ted
Do me a favor, go to Youtube tomorrow and watch the following:

Roddy Piper vs Greg Valentine Starrcade 83
Magnum TA vs Tully Blanchard Starrcade 85
Dusty Rhodes vs Tully Blanchard Starrcade 86 and Great American Bash 87
Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk Empty Arena Match
Dusty Rhodes “Hard Times” promo
Freebirds “blind” Junkyard Dog
Eddie Gilbert runs over Jerry Lawler

And then come back and tell me if you still think ECW invented extreme and old school wrestling was just grabbing a headlock and boring promos and angles.

Thank you.

Guest
Anyone else reminded how lame DX was/is? Good god they sucked

What? They are still relevant today, as evidenced by The New Age Outlaws main eventing shows overseas. Everyone focuses on Triple H and Shawn Michaels, but The NAO and even X-Pac provided some of DX’s best moments.

Lame? No.

Anthony
Maxine has the most gorgeous eyes EVER!

Sad
Goddamn I wish Maxine had stuck around.

Indeed.

Indy Spotlight: Championship Wrestling from Hollywood’s Red Carpet Rumble

“Independent wrestling are the roots of our industry. When the roots die, so does the tree.”
– William Moody

William Moody said it best, and this week I bring back another DeMarco tradition—the Indy Spotlight!

On Sunday night, a promotion where Moody spent a lot of time in the later years of his career (and life) puts on the biggest and most important event in their history.

Championship Wrestling from Hollywood presents Red Carpet Rumble

Originally promoted as NWA-Hollywood, Dave Marquez’s Championship Wrestling from Hollywood has become one of the top independent wrestling promotions in the western United States, and are in the discussion when talking about the best in the nation.

Sunday, May 5, the company heads to Anaheim’s Business Expo Center for a huge event. With their recent national television clearance via MavTV, this event has become their most important yet.

Already announced is a Heritage Tag Team Championship Match as Los Banditos defend against former champions The Tribe (The Navajo Warrior and my friend The Hawaiian Lion). All four are great, old school competitors, and their matches have been great thus far. This one should be no different!

CWF-Hollywood Television Champion Tyler Cintron is also announced for an appearance on the show, and you’d have think he’s making the trek down to Anaheim to lace ‘em up and step into the ring!

Finally, you have the Red Carpet Rumble itself, where 30-men will enter the ring for a battle royal. After 28 men are eliminated, the final two will compete in a one-on-one match where the winner will be crowned the brand new CWF-Hollywood Heritage Champion!

The belt has been worn by such great competitors as Sean “X-Pac” Waltman and 5-time NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce.

For more information, head over to HollywoodWrestling.com, their Facebook page and the official Facebook event page. For tickets, hit up the Biz Expo Center page.

It’s going to be an awesome day, and the venue will have frosty cold beverages on hand to take care of your Cinco De Mayo needs. Don’t miss out!

Scarlett Bordeaux takes your calls, plus Cherry Bomb & Pepper Parks in this week’s show!
By Greg DeMarco

The Perfect Ten” Scarlett Bordeaux takes your calls! Plus, Cherry Bomb & Pepper Parks join the show to talk WSU’s Queen & King of the Ring!

Listen live–or archive, here!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smashradionetwork/2013/05/06/greg-demarco-show-wrestling-scarlett-bordeaux-cherry-bomb
(You can also set a listen reminder at the above link!)

Call in: 310-807-5103

Chat: “The Snake Pit” Chat Room

About the show:
After becoming a Tuesday night tradition, The Greg DeMarco Show moves to Sunday nights on The Smash Radio Network! For nearly two years, Greg has been joined by co-host and best friend “The Wrestling Realist” Patrick O’Dowd. With his unique viewpoint on the professional wrestling business, Patrick will take those fans who overact to the events of the past week and welcome them back to earth! Originally built as an extension of their near daily banter, the pair have grown into some of the most respected wrestling analysts on the ‘net.

The GDMS guest list is one of the most impressive in the business, including appearances by TNA talent “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, former WWE Superstar Chris “Masters” Mordetzky, ECW/WWF/WCW legend “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, former 5-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce and many of today’s top independent talent including Ring of Honor World Champion Kevin Steen, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Champion Adam Cole, Dragon Gate USA Open The Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano and independent wrestling’s #1 female star, Rain.

The show also features appearances by The DeMarcettes, the hottest unsigned talents in all of women’s independent wrestling. Buggy Nova, Barbi Hayden, Veda Scott, Terra Calaway, Scarlett Bordeaux, Su Yung, Allie Parker, Cherry Bomb, Jessie Belle, Leah Von Dutch & Niki Nitro entertain fans on a regular basis during The Greg DeMarco Show!

Plus, tune in for the bonus third hour as Tony Acero joins Greg DeMarco and a mystery (female) partner for a huge Smash Radio Network announcement!

Over on the Yes! Yes! Yes! Facebook page, Tony posted this pic for all to comment on…

And the commenter with the most “likes”???

ME!

Greg DeMarco “Caption Contest – The most relevant Michael Tarver has been in years!”

Head on over to the Yes! Yes! Yes! Facebook page and join today to see what Tony, myself and the gang post next!

I stumbled upon Fight Brand over on the Twitter, and it’s a unique and intriguing presentation of a great wrestling product from the Greater Toronto area. “The Beatdown” presents a small snippet of what you can expect at Fight Brand’s live events—which is the focal point of their business. This is smart, and well done.

Song: “Memoirs” by District Down

Details from their YouTube page:

Fight! & Black Belt Cine present :

THE BEATDOWN
Episode 1

Featuring:
#1 Contenders Match for FIGHT! Championship
Brent Banks w/ Kingdom vs. “The Bearded Dragon” Scotty Turner

For more information:

Follow Fight Brand on Twitter: twitter.com/FightBrand
Find Fight Brand on Facebook: facebook.com/FightBrand
Check out the Official Website: www.fightbrand.ca

Still one of the most often requested “And 1” Models of the Week…

Bonus picture?

Okay!

Want to thank me? Well I don’t accept tips, but I do accept Twitter follows:

Hit me up on the Facebooking as well.

And now I thank YOU for letting me enjoy this week’s return to the helm of The Wrestling 5&1. I wouldn’t have a successful (and expanding?) online radio presence or this credibility and following that I do without you—the 411Mania readers.

Thanks.

*it was actually his cousin’s wedding