WRestling’s 3R’s 12.30.05: Sabin and Abyss impress, Vince is crazy and more!
Posted by Larry Csonka on 12.30.2005
The final 3R’s of 2005!
The 3R's of wRestling!
HOLY SHIT A NEW 411! That's right kids, 411 is all ready for 2006 with a brand new design! This thing has been in the works for a long while now and it is finally ALIVE! There is the new "The 411" section, where you can get to know us much better and it had blogs included for us, so we can just vent and such.
The video review section now has a new nifty system where we can be unified in format and scoring. We are fitting more info on the pages and in a great thing for most, we have sped up the site.
But the BIG news is that something that has been being worked on for almost one-year will come to life very soon. Something I started last year, but we had to delay due to various reasons. My friends, we will be debuting the 411Mania Wrestling Hall of Fame. This is my baby, and I will have more of an explanation this Tuesday on the News Column.
Well, enough chit chat my babies, let's get to work.
SmackDown!:
Here is my protégé, the man that always shares a piece of his mind and is known as the Whole F'n Show, he is Geoff Eubanks!
Smackdown:
And now, a message from young Geoffrey - Greetings from beautiful, wet and COLD Seattle! This city ROCKS and i certainly hope to be living here sooner than later. I had this big thing started out about how I'd wish for this and that in WWE, specifically the end of the brand split and had started off figuring out who would stay and go and what to do with those who stayed, but it was waaaaaay too large an undertaking for this column right now. so for now, I'll simply say thank you for reading every week, and I look forward to spending the new year with you, giving you "my take on" (HAHAHA!) SD! Each week and that I hope you all have a great New Year's. See ya here next week!
Remember people, show Geoff some love by emailing him here: yostankmama@hotmail.com
iMpact!:
iMpact 12.24.05:
The Right:
Sabin vs. Abyss - This was the MOTN on Impact. Chris Sabin just continues to impress me by working very good and clean matches with anyone on that roster. He wet out there this week and put on a great show with Abyss, who also did a damn fine job. Abyss seems to be getting his "monster's edge" back as he was just taking anything Sabin tossed his way. I loved that Sabin attacked the stitched up arm of Abyss as well. CONTINUITY. The ending was cool, with Sabin hitting another springboard, only to eat the Black Hole Slam. A lot of good work from both men, and a damn fine little TV match to watch.
Promo's to the point and looking on - Once again if you only have one hour of TNA, you have to make great use of that time ad this week's promo's did tat I feel. The opening bit with Cage and Santa was a hokey, but they had Cage play on the fact that he wants a title shot and that he thinks JJ is a joke and we all know it. The mocking of JJ's pants and former catchphrase were really funny and the crowd responded to the segment.
Next Christopher Daniels got to talk about his upcoming match with Joe. Short and to the point he said that Joe would have to rip his heart out to stop him and that he was taking what was dear to Joe, the X title and his streak. Daniels was great as he truly had a look of revenge on his face and in his voice.
Then we had Douglas interviewing Kip, BG and Bullet Bob. Bob is so simple in his execution, and trying to get the point across that if they could be united, they would rule TNA. I also liked that HE would talk to Killings to smooth things over. I liked even more when Killings said he was not disrespecting Bob, but talking was over and he was done. Simple, but it is all very effective.
In the looking on department we had another visit from both Shannon Moore and Dave Hebner. Moore could be another solid edition to the X-Division, but how does the man keep getting into the building? The Hebner deal took a little turn this week as he had on a "TNA" shirt. Tenay and West were surprised and played it up well, wondering if he was in fact a part of TNA management now. Lots of short bursts that helped the show flow well, and added some dimension and build.
The wRong:
The Final Beat Down - Was there NO ONE that could help Cage? Seriously, that is my only issued with beat downs like this. When you pretape, people know that certain people are there The crowd seemed a bit bored by it and was waiting for some big run in that never came. Just some poor planning. They could have had one or 2 guys come to help only for the numbers to get the better of the. I think that would have worked better I my opinion.
The Ridiculous:
Nothing of note
RAW !:
Raw 12.26.05:
The Right:
Building the Chamber - This is necessity. They have to build to this Chamber and make it seem VERY important. They have 6-men tied up in the match, so the under-card will be light. The beat the clock deal is effective because people will tune in the entire episode because it creates interest, and this is important. If they can keep the momentum, they could make this come off more impressive than it really is.
HHH and Show make the deal, and I think Trish and Mickey did as well - I am loving the HHH vs. Big Show feud. It started so simply, which is the best part. No stealing girlfriends, no spilt coffee; just a pissed off giant and one cocky son of a bitch. This is a good feud for HHH, as he needs to re-create himself a bit on his own. He doesn't have back up as Show said, and he needs to prove himself on his own. I really enjoyed the contract signing, including the pen to the eye and the sledgehammer attack. It was a good job and added to the drama. Will Show's hand be ok or not?
Trish and Mickey also built to their match again this week. The best part is that they "COULD" turn either of them and it would work. They still need to add to the division, but this is a well designed feud and it is keeping me interested.
Shelton vs. Cena - I would be in error if I didn't discuss this great little match here. While it wasn't long, they worked very hard and played the crowd like true vets. As they began and went back and forth the crowd grew VERY hot and a duel chant erupted. As they continued to gain the heat, they did an old timer move and hit the mat for a rest hold basically, and the crowd kept chanting away so they stayed there for a bit. These 2 guys are very young in their careers but realized what was happening and played off of it the way they should have. This is the little shit you can't be taught, you just have to feel it. They did so and it was good sayeth me. Great job guys, seriously great.
The wRong:
HOW they built the Chamber - While the beat the clock was cool last year, there are issues with it this year. First off they didn't explain it like last year. Last year if a Chamber set wrestler lost the stip was he would be replaced. Obviously this isn't so this year as Masters didn't finish his match and Angle lost due to a count out. The other thing is that you are basically guaranteed really short matches, which for the most part will have no drama and see to bury other members of the roster (wait until the ridiculous!)
The GM position - So we sit through some very lame GM stuff again. I ask this question, "What about Shane?" He was there the week before Eric got fired, they all but set up Shane would be back the following week and then NOTHING. They haven't mentioned him at all. Hell, Eddie Guerrero gets mentioned more on WWE TV than Shane and he was on 4-weeks ago! It is just poor planning, explain why Shane isn't GM when he looked to be taking the job. Just tell us so we can move on with this "process."
Angle's "announcement" - Or lack there of. He is angry at us. Yay. Good work dude. I have this all worked out, follow me here. They want Kurt to get heat so they run the anti-America gimmick for the most part. Angle will stay angry and denounce America for the most part.
Steve Austin left again.
Hogan has no Wm opponent and a show to promote.
Hey brother, time to show Kurt a lesson in loving America and also get my win back.
Hogan beats Angle at WM, Angle sees the light, turns face and viola I win.
The Ridiculous:
Vince McMahon is going Insane - It is official, he is a lunatic. For weeks I have been joking about "Vince is mad at us" with what he says and does, and I think it is official that he is nuts. Just the little things he is saying, the angles and all. Did you see him while he watched the footage of the Montreal Screw Job, it was like he was getting off on it. Asking Todd if he could take Bret. That isn't "Mr. McMahon the character," it is what he has become. The main event masturbation segment was just that. Basically this is what it boils down to. Vince wants one more epic match, and he can't do it with Bret. HBK feels bad about shit because he went all Christian. So Vince will make HBK the face and they will build to a match at WM XXII. I also know that he will do his best to get Hart on board for GM or a special ref deal. That's Vince's way. Throw enough zero's at the Hitman and he will be on board. Gavin will have something to add to this later on in the Reader Rant section.
And now another episode of, "LET'S PISS ON TAG TEAM wReSTLING!" - 30-FUCKING SECONDS! Just insert any of my 43 rants of the WWE pissing on tag team wrestling HERE and move on with life. Oh yeah, and FUCK YOU CREATIVE. If only you guys knew what the hell you were doing. You have so much talent in that company but not a damn cue how to book and execute for them.
Reader Rant Time:
This week I want to give 411's "ASK 411" writer Gavin some time. Since Gav does ASK 411, he usually doesn't get to chime in with an opinion on he every day goings on in the world of wrestling. I decided after an email he send me to post that here, as he talks about any possible pay off with Bret Hart - Just a thought here...people keep saying that there's no payoff to a Bret comeback, but I'm not sure that's entirely true, especially with the booking hints they dropped on Monday night, boss. Hear me out.
Part 1 - The Raw GM situation. At first, everyone was fairly sure that Bischoff was going to take some time off and come back quickly. However, reports are now that nobody would be surprised if he actually gets released. Now, there's always the possibility that Angle wins the Elimination Chamber and Bisch gets his job back for actually dethroning Cena, and since McMahon can't find a suitable replacement. But if Cena retains...well...
Part 2 - The HBK/Vince situation. Looks like we're heading towards Vince vs. Shawn at Wrestlemania. And why not? They can tie up HBK vs. Shelton at the Rumble or in February, leaving a marquee match for both guys at Wrestlemania. Vince has shown that he can keep up with most people, and if Flair can get a good match out of Vince at this advanced age, I'm sure Shawn can.
Part 3 - Name dropping. They've been teasing Bret more and more over the last year. I don't really care if all reports indicate that Bret isn't coming back. In fact, that's probably the best sign they need.
1 + 2 + 3 = Hitman. They'll need a big name to be the GM if Bischoff doesn't come back. Nobody wants Shane or Steph or Linda. Austin has (I think) finally severed all ties. I don't look for Cornette, Heyman, or Dusty to do the role on camera. Jim Ross? Perhaps. But since Bret can't wrestle, and his return is about eight years in the making...I'm sure he'd get a reaction and could play the part.
How does that work for HBK vs. Vince? Well, in a position of authority, Bret will have the chance to get "revenge" on both parties that screwed him over. How? By making them beat the hell out of each other at Wrestlemania. They can't get a Bret vs. HBK match to pay the biggest angle in history off, but they can get Bret to manipulate the two into bludgeoning each other for his own enjoyment. From there, either HBK can apologize and help Bret work against Vince, Bret can turn heel and work with Vince, or Vince and Shawn can align against who/whatever Bret throws at them. The possibilities are endless.
Of course, this is putting a lot of faith in a company whose creative team is stealing ideas from the worst cast ever of Saturday Night Live.
Just thought I'd pass those thoughts along. Have a good one.
Thanks dude! Great thoughts as always.
Thanks for joining me, as well as my tag team partner Geoff (yostankmama@hotmail.com) this week. Please keep the feedback coming and tell us what you like, what you didn't and feel free to give us some of your 3 R's. Seriously, we want to hear what YOU HAVE TO SAY! I will gladly post them in the next edition. Until next week, for Geoff I am Larry Csonka and we are out!
