News to Start Your Weekend 12.30.05
Posted by Nick Marsico on 12.30.2005
BLAH BLAH BLAH Year End Awards
Ya know, week in and week out I always come into writing this thing feeling like I have so little to throw out at you, and every week I warn you that you're in for something short and simple, then hit you with generally just the opposite. I guess that just means I'm long winded, I don't know, but it seems that here, just like when I'm writing papers for school, I am able to stretch things out and make it appear as though I have a lot more content than actually exists – sometimes it is done on purpose and sometimes it's just my wizardry and expertise, but that just about always turns out to be the case. In any event, I was fully prepared to begin writing this and once again forewarn you that you were in for about a 2 minute read, but I realized that every time I've said such things thus far I've been full of shit, so I won't say it.
This is the final edition of the News to Start Your Weekend in 2005 and I will be entering my second calendar year with the Friday news here, and, wow, it doesn't seem this long, but my third calendar year writing for 411mania. Of course I was only with the site for the final 3 and a half months of 2004, but that still means I'll have written here in 2004, 2005 and, beginning next Friday, 2006, and I find that to be quite the decent accomplishment, and easily the writing accomplishment that I am most proud of.
Heh, looking back to see what my start date here at 411 was (9.17.04 with the SmackDown! section of Csonka's 3 Rs), I've noticed how great the updated layout of the site looks, and while it looked confusing and weird the first couple times I looked at it, it has really grown on me in just a couple hours, and I love the new archive system, too. Things are looking up for the new year here at 411, and hopefully one of my New Year's Resolutions, getting motivated and actually getting some good things done, will pay off here as well as elsewhere. That remains to be seen. What also remains to be seen, and what will be seen right now, is:
THE NEWS YOU FOOLS, WHAT ELSE?
Time to set the world on fire, native style
Tatanka will return to the road this week as he will team with Shelton Benjamin against Jonathan Coachman and Carlito. Tatanka will return to the road this week as he will team with Shelton Benjamin against Jonathan Coachman and Carlito.
Well this certainly is necessary.
New tag team making rounds?
Mike the Miz and Chris Cage will debut as a team against Gene Snitsky and Tyson Tomko on the RAW shows this week as well.
I've never seen Miz wrestle a match, but I've heard pretty good things. As for Cage, I just got the September, October and November 2005 tapes of OVW TV, and Cage has looked pretty good thus far. I think I have made it clear that I love and currently really miss tag team wrestling, so any sign of hope makes me smile a little bit. I also just read that they're going to be brought up with a "punk/skater" gimmick. Wow. I wonder, as I sit here with 40 Ring of Honor DVDs stacked up to my left, what's wrong with wrestlers being wrestlers? Hell, Bret Hart was a wrestler. Shawn Michaels is a wrestler. Steve Austin was a wrestler. The Rock was a wrestler. Triple H is a wrestler, Chris Benoit is a wrestler, Kurt Angle is a wrestler. Why can't they just be wrestlers with personalities? They don't have to be fucking gimmicks to get over. In fact, I'd wager that much like most gimmicks they've come up with recently, they probably WON'T get over. And if they do, it will be by luck because somebody saw them wrestling, and their in-ring abilities caught on, because god knows their "punk/skater" characters won't be interesting or written well.
Speaking of characters (NOT GIMMICKS) that could work well...
Aaron Stevens will debut his Idol Stevens gimmick on the Smackdown shows this week against Matt Hardy.
I just got my first taste of Stevens this week as well in Ohio Valley, and he looks like a pretty decent wrestler with a fun gimmick, but they're going to have to come up with some good music for him (he uses the Commodores' "Brick House" in OVW) and if they aren't going to bring up Beth Phoenix and Shelly to be with him, they're going to either give him a couple girls or redefine the "Idol" gimmick, because the gimmick basically centers around him being the idol of those two women. According to the SD spoilers, he came out with both of them for his dark match, though, so it could work well.
Noble returns to the road
Jamie Noble will also return to the road this week on Smackdown shows.
I won't give a shit until they put him back on SmackDown!. Velocity is nice and they do some good wrestling there, but he's too fucking good to be off TV.
Rah-Rah etc
The Team Spirit gimmick that will feature Ken Doane and other new talents is apparently Vince McMahon's idea. Elijah Burke was going to be part of the group but asked management to remove him from the idea in favor of something else down the line. Mike Mondo could take his spot.
Yay, GO TEAM GO. I don't understand why they have to bring Doane up so damn soon. The guy is younger than I am, and he only signed with OVW a year and a half ago, right out of high school. He's a decent wrestler, but he's 19 friggin' years old and still green as hell. He's better than Masters, sure, but Masters shouldn't be on television either. It really makes no sense to me. You have plenty of other guys, Vince. There are plenty of other guys who you once established who you are now doing absolutely nothing with. How about, instead of bringing up more green guys who aren't nearly ready for the big time and saddling them with horrific gimmicks to start their careers, you let the guys who have been loyal to you for upwards of 5 years and are proven in-ring and have gotten over in the past with live crowds? Why not, Vince? Let the future BE THE FUTURE. Also, my rant on the Miz/Cage team applies here, and it applies 30 fold.
Booker T injured
According to WWE trainer Larry Heck, Booker T suffered a strained groin muscle during his match Monday night at a SmackDown live event in White Plains. "Normally, this type of injury takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal," said Heck. "But Booker is a wrestler, so he'll probably be ready sooner."
I don't see how much of an effect this should really have on the Best of 7 other than pushing it back a couple weeks. It's not like they probably have anything in mind to happen past this series of matches anyway, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise for them. Apparently something is going to happen on SmackDown! regarding this situation, since Match 5 was supposed to take place at the tapings on Tuesday, but obviously did not.
Throw Joe a bone
The latest on Samoa Joe is that he is still negotiating a new deal with TNA. As reported before, Joe had a deal with TNA that if his stint went well, they would work out a new deal for more money. Most figure he will get a raise but some say TNA is dragging their feet on the issue. Word is that WWE is interested in Joe if he does not work things out with TNA.
I read somewhere that he's looking to make 1200 a week as opposed to the 500 or 700 he currently makes, which would put him above Daniels and Styles as far as pay goes. He's also getting paid less than Jeff Hardy, however, and everybody should be getting paid more than Hardy, including the fans that attend the shows at the iMPACT! Zone. Don't fuck this up, TNA. Give him a little something.
It is unnecessary, Tenay
Mike Tenay is pushing for TNA to add X-Division Tag Team Titles in 2006.
How about you first work on getting a regular tag division going before you try something like this? There's no reason you can't just put together the X Division teams you want for the X Tag Titles and put them in contention for the NWA Tag Belts. As it is there are barely 3 teams in contention anyway (AMW, 3D, Naturals), and this division could use a little bolstering. Now I know probably said I wasn't going to do this anymore, but I feel like I should, just to make myself feel better. How about this for a tag division:
- America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm)
- Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon)
- The Naturals (Andy Douglas & Chase Stevens)
- The James Gang (BG James & Kip James)
- Team Canada (Eric Young & Bobby Roode)
- Diamonds in the Rough (David Young & Elix Skipper)
- The Next Gen (Roderick Strong & Alex Shelley)
That's a good, strong 7 team division, and leaves only 9 guys free in the X Division (not including Shelley & Strong). What's wrong with that? Two (sometimes three) guys feuding for the X Title and the other 7 (or 6) mixing it up in feuds of their own and all looking to get a chance at the title. Then the same goes for the tag division, as you have 2 teams feuding over the World Tag Team Titles and the other 5 facing each other weekly/bi-weekly on iMPACT! hoping to earn themselves a shot at the title, as well as other tag team feuds going on inside the division. Add in the main feud for the NWA Heavyweight belt, the Raven stuff and a grudge match or two up in the heavyweight division, and you have a solid 7 or 8 matches to build for the pay-per-views, all that actually have reasons to happen and outcomes with important implications. It's simple shit, people. It's an easy structure that's guaranteed to work. Adding extra titles just means adding extra clutter, demeaning the importance of other titles, and making feuds less meaningful, because hey, if there's a belt, why not just use it as a crutch instead of actually coming up with something creative?
In WWE.com news, Todd Grisham grows a set
As reported earlier, TNA was mentioned on the latest edition of WWE Byte This. A caller said "TNA is better than WWE" at the end of his call. Host Todd Grisham cut him off and said "then why are you calling our show, retard? Call TNA's show ... if they have one ... which I doubt. I think it airs, uh, Sunday night ... at 4am ... in Japan." The segment has been removed from the archived version of the show.
I've not seen it, and since it has been edited the likelihood of now actually getting the chance to see it is slim and none, but oh well. Just a case of an announcer getting flustered and being unable to react properly and unable to handle or deal with a situation the way it should be dealt with. That WWE, always greatly prepared to showcase its professionalism.
THAT WAS THE NEWS UP THERE
RAW Thoughts
I don't understand how ANYBODY could like what they're doing with Kurt right now. It reeks of desperation, and just bothers the hell out of me. Plus, Kurt looked like he was straining during his promo; he sounded very insincere and it sounded very forced, like what was going on his head was such the strong opposite of what was coming out of his mouth that it made it incredibly hard for him to say. I just don't understand why they have to go this way with Kurt. There's no reason whatsoever to have him turn on the troops and essentially turn on America like he's doing. It's senseless and shows just how afraid they are of the crowd going crazy if he were to take the belt off Cena next Sunday.
The matches were all pretty good. Michaels pulls another really good performance out of his ass and had a damn good short little match with Snitsky, just like he did a couple weeks back with the Big Show. Chavo MADE that match with Masters, but I wish they would have actually booked a finish to it, one, because Chavo coming from out of nowhere to pin Masters with a schoolboy while he was talking would have popped the crowd HUGE, and because it would have helped the crowd know that the Cena/Shelton match wasn't over when Cena tossed Shelton out of the ring after the time expired. Masters really showed his range on the mic tonight, too. Oh wait, no, he still sucks.
Carlito versus Victoria was cute, and the crowd loves Carlito. Meh, so do I, and everybody who doesn't can eat me. I would complain about Kane destroying the Heart Throbs (since I M GHEY 4 THEM OMG), but I have finally given up on my personal quest to hold out hope for a RAW tag team division. Feed tag teams to single wrestlers on RAW as you desire, Vince.
I liked Cena's match, and there's nothing I can really say that hasn't already been said ad nauseum about the crowd as it pertains to the champ. They've largely soured on him, and anybody who disagrees is just outright wrong or deaf, because there are weeks and weeks of video and audio evidence to prove it, and it's also now proven that it's not JUST because he's wrestling Kurt Angle. K? The whole "Shelton's Mama" thing better be absolutely AMAZING, though, and skyrocket Shelton big time, because otherwise it will be one of the biggest wastes in the history of wrestling.
Oh, and Vince, I'm sorry, but you aren't funny. The Torrie segment wasn't funny, and only Striker was funny in that segment. The Conan bit during the Cutting Edge segment was cute and had a couple laughs, but if they pull another Jericho/Flair build from SummerSlam 2002 with this Edge/Flair feud (i.e. they don't let them verbally beat each other down), it will be another miscarriage of justice.
Oh, and First Blood next week LIVE in New Jersey! Woooooo
Quick Thoughts on the Bret Hart DVD
I checked out the first disc of the Bret Hart DVD set on Thursday, and I have just a couple of things I want to note It was a decent feature, but not as good as others I've seen (such as Benoit's), although it is fully possible that a lot of that has to do with the fact that Bret Hart left the WWF almost 5 months before I began watching, so nothing on the disc actually happened during my viewership of the World Wrestling Federation.
I have read comments from a lot of people who said Bret sounded bitter throughout the feature, but I have to disagree. He only seemed bitter and angry while talking about Shawn Michaels. His tone when speaking about Vince came off more as disappointment in McMahon than anything else, but I didn't feel like I detected any bitterness in that area, and trust me, I was looking for it. Otherwise, Bret just sounded like a strong willed guy who often stuck up for himself for the sake of his career as well as in doing what was good for business, at least that is what seems to be in his heart.
The piece on Owen and the tribute to other fallen wrestlers was a really nice touch, and I'll admit I got a little teary-eyed while watching them. It's really sad how these guys had to go so soon, and it has to hurt Bret even more knowing what they all were doing to their bodies and not being able to help.
Also, the rest of the small special features were cute and nice, and even a bit insightful. Who knew that it was Konnan who taught Bret Hart how to do the Sharpshooter? Not me, that's who. Overall, it was a good feature that got into a few things and explained some interesting stuff, and it was an enjoyable way to spend a couple hours.
I am annoyed, however, at the brushing over the Montreal incident. If you're going to bring it up and talk about it at length, then say something new and maybe give your side of the story instead of spending a lot of time just to basically say "we know what we know" and for anybody else to try to have an opinion on it is unfair because they don't know the facts. If you're going to spend so much time on the subject, why not give us a couple facts? Facts, at least, according to each man involved.
WWE Friday Night SmackDown! Preview
Matt Hardy vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield
The Mexicools vs. The Dicks
Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton
Bobby Lashley vs. Sylvan
WWE Tag Team Championship
Champions Batista & Rey Mysterio vs. MNM
Melina also will have a statement in which she claims she will be suing Batista for sexual harassment over what happened a couple weeks ago on SmackDown!.
TNA iMPACT! Preview
8 PM Episode
Rhino vs. A-1
AJ Styles vs. James Storm
Jeff Jarrett & Monty Brown in tag team action
Midnight Episode
Kick off the New Year with Christian Cage
The revealing of the "major announcement" that will change the face of TNA Wrestling
Plus, a championship will be decided in the first match of 2006
YEAR END AWARDS
Quick ‘n dirty so I can get outta here. I did this on RocketBusta Radio which will air this Saturday night at 8 PM EST and be available for download later in the week, so here are my awards, quick and easy, explanations where necessary.
Wrestler of the Year Samoa Joe
From Joe vs. Kobashi, the matches with Jay Lethal and his meteoric rise in TNA Wrestling, Samoa Joe was just the man this year. Granted, I've not seen more than 3 Ring of Honor shows from 2005 yet (don't worry, I have 16 sitting to my left just waiting to be watched), but judging by the little I've seen from him there as well as the great stuff he has done in his short 6 months with TNA, Joe has been outstanding, and is my wrestler of the year. To me, this man can do no wrong.
Tag Team of the Year Not applicable
This is a sad state for tag team wrestling right now. WWE doesn't have it, TNA doesn't have it, and ROH tried to have it, but didn't really follow through. I've only seen 1 match with Whitmer & Jacobs, so I cannot judge only on that (plus it was the match from Joe vs. Kobashi where they lost the titles to Mamaluke & Rinauro, eeew). People are throwing MNM around, but I like to base my votes around actual impact and importance, and MNM barely had a feud, and the tag division is more or less non-existent, so why give them an award they've done so little/been given so little to deserve? Same goes for TNA with the Naturals and AMW. The teams did some good stuff, but nothing major happened and the tag scene was just too boring and lacked diversity, which hurt it when all of the match ups more or less featured AMW, the Naturals, Team Canada and 3LK. That's not the formula for a strong tag team division, no sir.
Match of the Year Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 21
Nothing surpassed it for me. Joe vs. Kobashi was amazing, but I liked Angle versus Michaels more, and I look back on it more fondly. Just to note, my TNA Match of the Year goes to AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe from Sacrifice. The run-in from Daniels hurt it, but I still like it much better than their contest at Turning Point. Other honorable mentions overall go to John Cena vs. JBL (I Quit, Judgment Day), AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (30 Min. Iron Man, Against All Odds), Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi (Joe vs. Kobashi), Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe (Unbreakable). I'm probably missing a couple, but that will do.
Feud of the Year Not applicable
I didn't see much ROH, as I said, so sadly it isn't a factor this year for me. So as far as TNA and WWE go, nothing really special happened, and certainly nothing that I remember vividly or fondly enough to want to say it really stood out as something special. The closest I can think of would be the turn of Batista on Triple H, but once Batista won the title their feud lost just about all its steam and became the model Triple H feud, except this time he didn't win.
Show of the Year TNA Sacrifice, 8.14.05
A lot of people praised Ring of Honor's Manhattan Mayhem show, and while I found it to be really good, I liked Sacrifice a lot more, plus it has my TNA Match of the Year featured on it, and a lot of other good stuff as well. TNA had an outstanding spring and summer as far as pay-per-views went, and this one topped them all. Honorable mentions include ROH Manhattan Mayhem, TNA No Surrender, TNA Sacrifice, TNA Unbreakable My WWE show of the year goes to Judgment Day.
And on the flipside...
Worst Wrestler of the Year Chris Masters
I hate him, I hate him I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him. He just rubs me the wrong way. He stinks in the ring, he is completely devoid of charisma, he can't talk and speaks funny, and his push is undeserved and unnecessary. He's 22 years old and greener than fresh cut sod, and should still be down in OVW working on EVERYTHING, or at least far, far away from any sort of title belt, especially RAW's main title. It makes no sense, I tell ya.
Worst Tag Team of the Year Not applicable
See the reason for the same result above. There were some stinkers, but nobody was actually used in much of a capacity, so it isn't fair to bother.
Worst Match of the Year I honestly don't remember
I may actually have an answer for this one on the radio show, but I really don't give a damn enough to remember it. Just let it suffice for now that there was a shitload of really, really bad wrestling in WWE, and plenty of it in TNA as well.
Worst Show of the Year WWE WrestleMania 21
Now granted there were plenty of shows worse than this one, but WrestleMania is supposed to be the granddaddy of them all, and this one choked big time. Yes, sure, my Match of the Year happened on this card, but aside from that, Money in the Bank, Undertaker vs. Orton and to a lesser extent Eddy versus Rey, nothing else pulled through to make this show any good, or nearly what it should have been. The WWE Championship match was booked in retarded fashion, and the match that would happen on the next SD! only PPV, Judgment Day, should have been the way Cena vs. JBL was booked for WrestleMania. The Sumo match was a joke, but at least it didn't last too long. The show seemed to be going fairly strong in the beginning, but the two title matches at the end dragged it down a lot and brought the show to a screeching halt and really just made this a very, very disappointing WrestleMania overall. It did a great buyrate, but as a solid wrestling card and show it left much to be desired in execution, and that's not how the biggest show of the year should be.
Note: Worst Feud of the Year was omitted due to it being an inside joke not worth telling.
This actually turned out to be shorter than I expected. Well that's the end of that and I'm done for 2005. Come back next Friday for the first column of 2006, and have a Happy New Year, folks.
