WRestling’s 3R’s 02.10.06: The Road to WrestleMania is Underway, Randy the Blasphemer, Retro Against all Odds and More!
Posted by Larry Csonka on 02.10.2006
Randy specializes in cheap heat, Impact and Raw start tournaments, we look back at last year’s Against All Odds and much more in this week’s wRestling’s 3R’s!
The 3R's of wRestling!
Hello children, it's Friday and that means it's time to look for what was right, wrong and ridiculous in the world of wrestling. As always along for the ride is Whole F'n Show, Geoff Eubanks! Sit back and relax as we breakdown the week!
Here is a quick explanation of the 3 R's. I will take the 3 main shows (4 if there is a PPV, 5 if I go RetRo) of the week: TNA Impact, WWE Raw, and WWE Smackdown. I then group my feelings on the shows in 3 categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles, Diva searches and so on. This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a "mark" column, nor a "smark" column, I cannot speak for Geoff, but my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad.
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 02.03.06:
Before we get going this week, I want to send my absolute best wishes to Matt Cappotelli. That's such a heartbreaking situation. This kid is young, talented and hungry, and just beginning what could still be a successful career, God willing. I think I can speak for all here at 411 when I offer my deepest and most heartfelt desire to see Matt get through this ordeal with as little misery and inconvenience as is humanly possible and that he be allowed to get right back into the thick of it sooner than soon. Stay strong, dood!
The Right:
First of all – We only have Smiley to deal with in the dipshit department over here on SD!; Larry's got The Spit-&-Swallow Squad and now, Crackhead Jim Dullard to endure over on RAW. You know, I have to admit that the "Hoooooo" thing with Lita is funny…mainly cuz it's TRUE, but that's gonna get old in minute-and-a -half, and yet they're thinking of keeping him and tagging him up with Goldust. Really. I can imagine some noob mark tuning in and go, "Hey, why's Eugene's dad in the ring?" Good luck, Larrold.
Randy the blasphemer – Well, it seems Randy Orton's stepped in it and tracked it in the house with a LOT of people this week! And the outrage is not unjustified. However, let's not jump to conclusions just yet. On a slight tangent, I want to extend my gratitude to everyone and all who e-mailed me this week. Absolutely nothing but intelligent and insightful comments, just the kind I enjoy reading and endeavor to inspire here in the R's. Just such an e-mail from Lev expresses my thoughts on this Randy/Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero situation, so I'll allow his words to speak for me:
Yo, I know what you're gonna put in your Wrong section next week Randy's promo insulting the memory of Eddie.
It's already pissed off the locker room and judging by their reaction, it pissed off the fans too, but before you tear into Randy and the 'E', consider: this is the first time that invoking the name of Eddie to garner heel heat was appropriate. Yes, it was tasteless. Yes, the WWE are exploiting Eddie's name. But still I say it was appropriate. My reasoning?
Simple.
Randy Orton. Who he is. What he wants.
So who is Randy? A young, arrogant, but smart heel that spits in the face of legends and values that deserve respect. What does he want? Rey's 'Mania title shot.
So what does [our] young Randy do. He mocks Rey and insults his fallen amigo, preying on Rey's emotions and sense of honor and duty to defend Eddie's name. He forces Rey to accept his challenge and put his title shot on the line. In other words, he found Rey's weakness and exploited it just like a heel should.
Now, I'm not saying I enjoy hearing Eddie's name being invoked for cheap heat. I'm just saying that in this case, in terms of character, it actually makes perfect sense for Randy to do what he did.
Also, regarding the likelihood that Rey will lose his title shot, I wonder what you think about a Rey V Randy V Angle Triple Threat at 'Mania? This way the Rumble win isn't devalued and the fans stay happy with Rey keeping his Main Event slot. Also, the WWE is happy because they get to push their chosen boy. So tell me this is a bad idea. Remember how awesome HHH V Michaels V Benoit was a couple of years ago? Surely Rey, Randy, and Angle would be a hellava match too!
Thanks, Lev! Cheers, indeed! Now, I sincerely hope everyone reading is familiar with the love and respect I hold for Eddie, and always will, and are likewise familiar with my wishes to see Rey as SD!'s standard-bearer as its WC. However, it's my opinion that Randy is absolutely the most inappropriately appropriate course of action to take. I won't waste time repeating Lev's insightful words, rather, I'll explain that I believe that, had McMahonagement chilled and refrained from using Eddie's name and legacy SO copiously these last few months, this would likely have been less offensive and over-the-top, because now, aside from having the desired effect of its original intent, it 1) has become absolute OVERKILL and 2) gives the tacit implication that Rey can neither get over or hang with the big boys unless he has Eddie trailing him like Peter Pan's shadow, which is garbage. I've been hooting and hollering for weeks now claiming that Rey should have been the one to have "inherited" the WT once Batista was sadly forced to surrender it. Rey has both the Eddie and Batista rub, has remained virtually completely healthy for years, even working a potentially dangerous and non-traditional wrestling style and has managed to transcend both his size and heritage (and by that, I mean that he's no longer viewed as a Mexican wrestler, the same as he's no longer viewed as a CW, either) and is one of, if not THE most over performer on the brand.
As far as I'm concerned, and as much as I may seem to contradict myself with this statement, 1) I'm all over the triple-threat match Lev proposed for WrestleMania and 2) I think Rey should win the WT in Chicago, not Randy. I'll address the first statement first – When the announcement was made that the WT would be defended at WM under triple-threat rules, I heard a LOT of WHINING about the decision, because WM has traditionally been the stage upon which a one-on-one score was settled, usually with the face ending his chase and defeating the heel to win the belt. Well I say fuck tradition and will, like Lev, use the triple-threat match to which we were treated as a result as Exhibit A. That was one of the best triple-threats in WWF/E history, and I'll go so far as to say it was one of the best WM main events ever. It's a proven fact that Kurt Angle and Rey can bring down the house and adding a solid wrestler like Randy will only sweeten the pot. I say, BOOK IT. Let RAW have the traditional one-on-one match and allow SD! to balance the top of the card. And allow Rey to go over.
Look, the manner in which this was set up, ie, Randy desecrating the name and the legacy of Eddie with his awful comments virtually REQUIRES a long and storied program. Simply dropping Eddie's name in the manner in which it was dropped, if it is simply a ploy, as Lev explained, to get Randy into the main event at WM, then, yes, this was disgusting. However, let's say this leads to a heated program between Rey and Orton, with some kind of inconclusive finish at NO WAY OUT, Teddy Long announces that the main event will be a triple-threat at WM with Rey going over (thus allowing Angle some time to hopefully heal up and get back to action), Randy would be even more pissed and this thing could carry on through to SUMMERSLAM. Basically, give this thing some weight, allow Rey and Randy to actually war over the WT and I can see the comments being justified; however, hotshotting it to get Randy to WM is blasphemous, even if it's completely in character. It would be my opinion that Eddie mightn't feel as if his name was used in vain if it meant boosting Rey to WT status.
And while we're on the topic of our Royal Rumble winner – Boy did I fuck up! I spoke ignorantly and was completely devoid of factual matter when I pimped HBK as being the only person to have won the Rumble twice. I was courteously and kindly reminded that I was wRong by Brendan Tihane (cool name, dood!):
I'm sure you've got a million e-mails about this but HBK is far from the only man to win the Rumble twice. Hulk Hogan did it before him in 90 and 91 while Steve Austin outdid them both, winning the 97, 98, and 01 Rumbles for a total of 3 under his belt. Just a slight correction there.
I have to say that for the most part I generally agree with your viewpoint in the 3 R's and think you write a hell of a portion, matching up with Larry's easily. (and although it may seem like a slight that I say you only measure up, it's really not. I think Larry Csonka is one of the best wrestling columnists around right now) Anyway, keep up the good work sir. I'll take my facts and go home.
Thanks, Brendan! For the record, I absolutely welcome constructive criticism and especially people who have a longer memory than I checking my facts for me! And no slight felt here at ALL…Larry really is a HELL of a writer and wrestling mind, so any comparison is welcome and appreciated!
Hopefully, a glimpse into the future – As for the main event tonight, let's hope we saw a pre-view toward the WM triple-threat, as we had Randy and Mark Henry tagging against Rey and Angle. While I'm still uncomfortable with this sudden and unexplained truce existing between the members of the latter team, I still am a big fan of them both and really enjoyed their synergy here tonight. I continue to have nothing bad of note to say about Henry's performance, either here or on the mic, and he continues to be used in a manner befitting a performer of his size. While the team of Henry and Randy felt a bit disjointed, story wise, their pairing worked and I really enjoyed this match, although Angle chasing Daivari out of the arena with Henry following was a bit contrived. I disagree mildly with the decision to have Rey accept Randy's challenge here tonight, because that was the reason for the whole chase through the crowd, that being, they had to get everyone else out and away from ringside. Granted, what we saw tonight was the fact that Randy can, indeed, go over Rey clean…but he SHOULD be able to do so, given the size differential (which is part of the point of having Rey as the WC; his size makes him the potential underdog in virtually any situation, thus allowing virtually anyone to appear to have a chance to take the belt from him). Why not leave everything inconclusive, but somehow giving Rey the moral victory? Hell, why not allow Rey the opportunity to channel Eddie and smash Randy across the noggin with a chair and get himself DQed, then tell Randy he'd have to wait till next week for his answer? I know, it's pretty heelish behavior from a top face, but Rey's never been pushed like this before, even by his fallen friend. Qualms aside, though, I really enjoyed this match and if it's the closest I'm gonna get to my triple-threat, then I'll enjoy it even more.
Somebody up there likes me – Or at least in Connecticut. Benoit and Finlay? LOVE it. Again, looking into my wishlist-slash-crystal ball, I REALLY hope this was a preview toward a future program, because these two could GO if allowed to do so. I like the idea of Booker using Finlay as a means to destruction, as he apparently is still injured (how long is gonna be out, anyway?!), because, well, it makes SENSE. I also really dig the fact that Finlay was allowed to get in Benoit's face and prove that he's not afraid of him. A simple sixty-second promo such as the one we had tonight can go a long way in establishing a character like Finlay, and, as he's one of the brightest of the new faces on the roster (aside from his age, sadly; he's not going to be someone upon whom the company can build a long-term future, but if McMahonagement is going to book short-term till they get the long-term stuff worked out, this is the way to go). The match was a good teaser, as well as a solid extension by which to keep the Benoit/Booker feud over the UST alive as Booker heals. All in all, well done!!!
Somebody up there likes me, part II – Months ago, I was touting still another wish-list/crystal ball match between MNM and THE MEXICOOLS over the WWETTTs, and check out the awesome match got from them tonight! Not a lot to say, because it really speaks for itself and proves that at least PART of the time, I know what I'm talking about…hahaha! Melina's interference at the end of the match which gave MNM the screwy victory certainly allows for more such contests between these two top notch teams and I, for one, am STOKED!
Stand back, Gregory Helms is coming through! – I've pimped being a longtime fan of Joey (Matthews) Mercury from his days in MPW's Backseat Boys, Gregory (Shane) Helms was also one-fourth of that stable, and I love this guy, too (I have a picture of us striking the Hurripose when I met him at a meet-&-greet at the Staples Center at Unforgiven 2003 taped to the top of my computer!), and I'm pleased to see that he's back home on SD! where he belonged all along. I am also pleased to see that he dropped the Hurricane gimmick; not that I disliked it, quite to the contrary, but McMahonagement missed more boats with that character than Jeff Hardy misses flights en route to a TNA PPV and it was just time to start again. Helms is still young and uber-capable in the ring. I wish he could get some of his old moves re-instated, such as The Nightmare On Helms Street and (especially) The Vertibreaker (anyone who didn't see this kid go in WCW really missed out!!!), but that's a pointless dream…still, though…Sugar Shane versus Paul London…? *sniffle* Anyway, there really does seem to be something of a commitment to keeping CW action, at least that which surrounds the CWT, on SD!, and that's a good thing, at least. Helms and NunziGuido can be absolutely wonderful, and hopefully, by the time that winds down, Kid Kash will be able return and challenge…wow, there's some possibilities implicit in that pairing!
Good for you, JBL! – I'd have pulled a Steve Austin if they made me job clean to a character like that on one of the five biggest PPVs of the year and let Smiley have his own segment. Or better yet, bring back Piper and show them eating worms-n-haggis casserole, since they're so tight. So are we now to expect that Lashley and JBL will be feuding since, apparently, Smiley isn't stalking JBL any longer? I'll tell ya what. I'll not give up hope on Lashley just yet, because I think he does have what it takes, and JBL could damn well be the guy to put him over; however, while JBL will handle the mic work, he's not gonna give Lashley much to work with in the ring, so this will be a real test for the real deal to see exactly how ready he is to run in the big time. I'm begging him to prove me wRong, because I really do believe in this guy. BTW, Vince, now would be the PERFECT time to bring Ron Simmons in as his manager…*looks around, whistles innocently*
Only one glimpse of The Boogeyman – ‘Nuff said, true believers.
I tried to keep it secret, but… – I'll allow the report to speak for itself:
After scoring a perfect 30 last night for first place, no chance Stacy Keilber is getting bounced. The Los Angeles Times had a story on her yesterday on what she likes to do on the weekend, favorite restaurants, etc. She noted she has a boyfriend named Geoff in the story.
Larry e-mailed this quote to me, accompanied, in all caps, "I DEMAND SATISFACTION!" I responded, "So does she…and she gets it." Seriously, though, all kidding aside, THIS is the kind of mainstream attention Vince wants…or SHOULD want. Stacy's performances on Dancing with the Stars have been nothing short of astounding. DAMN that girl can dance and look GOOD doing it. The local morning news crew here in LA on Channel 5 absolutely LOVE Stacy and put her over virtually every day. Way to go, Stacy, way to represent!
The wRong:
And THE DICKS make three – Make whatever you want of that statement…hahaha! What I mean is that this is the third team in just a few months who have been split and sacrificed to Lashley. See, this is kinda what I mean…this is time wasted for Lashley that he could be down working with Paul Fucking Heyman and learning and growing instead of running the same old treadmill at the expense of the stillborn tag division. As I said, I'm not completely out of hope, but if he's such a commodity, why hype him and do nothing with him? Think there could be a reason, other than the fact that McMahonagement tend to be dingbats this way…?
I struggled with what to do with this one – So it's Kurt Angle and The Undertaker for the WT, is it? Okay, stop rolling your eyes. Taker's used sparingly lately, has remained in pretty good shape and I can't remember the last time I thought he looked bad in the ring. Angle is just Angle…amazing and virtually flawless. However, flawless doesn't necessarily overcome being flawed. I really am concerned over the status of his neck, and Taker isn't a gold match guaranteed. But that aside, this was such a color-by-numbers promo. Mind you, it wasn't BAD…there's just not much to it, when you take away all the special effects, which might be nice for the hardcore Creatures, the marks and the kids. Nothing REALLY wRong, I just felt a little "meh" is all. Please, if this is your thing, by all means, love this pairing and scream yourself hoarse. It just doesn't do a whole lot for me, personally, and I'm just praying for the health and safety of my Olympic hero.
The Ridiculous:
Okay, push them or don't – Lemme tell ya, as stated above, I certainly do NOT mind having like ten seconds of Smiley on my screen this week, and, although Henry was in the main event, he still had his entrance edited out of the show, which is a bad sign for him. That's one of the signals that your stock is falling, and, by all rights, it should, since the clock is ticking on a contract that will NOT be renewed, but that was my point all along with him, with the both of them. Leading up to ROYAL RUMBLE, these guys were steamrolling over both JBL and Angle, and now Henry's just filling a position in a tag match and how are they capitalizing upon a two-and-a-half minute squash over a character it took two years to build? Sneaking up behind Booker and Sharmell to say, "Boo"? Unless The Boogeyman is going to be included in the Benoit/Booker program (and if he is, you THINK you've seen venom before…), this was a waste and simply an opportunity to get his sexy mug on TV this week. If NOT, and they have nothing planned for him, then what the HELL was that squash at RR? Time will tell, but thus far, this is looking like what I've been saying has finally made sense to McMahonagement…FINALLY.
Sorry, Paul, but Carl Oulette is the only wrestling pirate in MY heart – I'll allow David to comment on this one:
So Smackdown needs a wrestling pirate? WTF. Yet again they have sacrificed promising tag storylines for some shit that's never going to work. Apparently coming up with storylines for Regal and Burchill was too hard and wasn't really adding to the product in any way. I can hear your hopes for the tag division and for Burchill himself being flushed down that toilet right about now. WWE creative needs to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror and give themselves several upper cuts for good measure.
WORD, my brother. Sorry, LA RESISTANCE was worth a two-year run with sporadic title reigns, and they couldn't think of anything for two WRESTLERS like William Regal and Paul Burchill? THAT, friends, is a bad sign, as well, not just for them, but for the company as a whole. If you can't content yourself with simply having a couple guys on your brand who just plain ol' old school wrestle, and one who can talk ¾ of your roster into submission before he even lays a hand on them, start to worry about yourself. Pirate business aside, what little I've seen of Burchill has been amazing; he's technically sound and he's eff-in BRUTAL. I'll give this pirate thing a chance, but knowing SD!, he's gonna come to the ring on a scale replica pirate ship on casters. We should at least have a wealth of jokes to come from it to laugh through the pain…ah, yes, they're forming already…
Finally, to Amber Johnson, I hope your computer gets off the rag!
Remember people, show Geoff some love by emailing him here: yostankmama@hotmail.com
iMpact!:
impact 02.04.06:
The Right:
Tag Team Tournament - With Team 3D facing team Canada, they needed to set up some challengers for AMW. I was very pleased that they went with a small tournament. It is so much better than just saying, "So and so will challenge because we said so." Sabin and Dutt have been impressive as a team, so seeing them in the tournament and getting a win was excellent. The Naturals vs. Strong and Aries was also another great pairing and the team that has been getting the push won, albeit at the expense of the former two-time champions. I'll talk about that on Tuesday. A good start to the tournament and nest week's match should be great.
Rhino, Styles and the LAX all look strong - While Rhino and Styles didn't need the rub so to speak to look stronger, the LAX really did. Rhino looked like the "war machine" that his is and AJ and Lethal were a fun match, making me want to see more of Lethal in the TNA setting. But what happened was that the LAX looked impressive to me. It was quick, decisive and the Steiner-like Doomsday Bulldog looked super impressive. The run in at the end with the James Gang helped add heat to the feud, which they will finally meet at the PPV. Good stuff in essence, but it hurt the rest of the show to be honest with you.
How do you like your press conference, full bodied or chopped? - It was an excellent idea to clip the press conference the way they did. It came off way more interesting than it would have in full form. The best part is that it never gave you a chance to get bored, which means that there was no chance to turn the channel. Smart move and it came off very well.
The wRong:
I know it's wrestling…but come on! - While I like the JJ/Jackie scandal more than most, the end of Impact was just mind numbing. It is one of those deals where you go, "how stupid are all of these people involved?" The end of the show, JJ and associates basically hire Alex Shelley so that he can take his camera and go get dirt on Jackie Gayda, to devalue her position. It's not like they portrayed this so that we had to guess about it, they flat out told us so with a camera crew in their face! Heels are stupid because they always lay out their plan on camera, while the faces are even stupider because they never watch the TV. Imagine if they did, the heels would never get the one up on them. I know all too well that this is a part of wrestling, but man it is just way to obvious. Just one of those gaps in logic that make you scratch your head and just wonder what they were thinking. God bless Eric Young for saving it at the end, damn that man rules.
The Ridiculous:
The *Evil* 5-Match Formula Returns - Oh TNA…you were doing well for the most part. The shows were rushed, but you stuck to 3 and 4 matches and it was working. Back in the FSN days I was always against using more than 4 matches, and had dubbed the "5-Match Formula" to be "Evil." Today I still stand by this. You could have easily have dropped the Rhino and AJ squashes and given that time to the tag tournament matches. It would have been about 5-miniutes more with entrances and all, and those matches would have benefited from a little more time and perhaps seemed more important. Squash matches have their purpose, and the three today did get over the men strong and added a little to the PPV build, but in the end two of them weren't needed. AJ is over, Rhino is over; they didn't need the squashes, toss them on Xplosion.
RAW !:
Raw 02.06.06:
The Right:
The Road to WrestleMania Tournament - I like this. No bullshit in one person saying they want the shot, no lame ass battle royal either; just a solid 8-man tournament with some decent contenders. I was surprised that Kane lost, as he usually gets his once a year push. Carlito losing was also a surprise as I thought RVD would be returned to job town. HHH was predictable, and Show beating Shelton was as well and sets for another rematch with HHH. I am glad they went this route, but I do have a few issues with it. We'll discuss that later.
Carlito vs. RVD - Well this was a pleasant surprise, wasn't it? I will concur with Mr. Dun that RVD is far from 100% right now. I will concede that RVD vs. Masters could be a disaster waiting to happen. But that is next week. This week he and Carlito had a damn fine match. RVD had to step up from last week when he had a death match with Snitsky, and Carlito has a lot to prove overall still. But they went out there and had a really fun match that I enjoyed tremendously. RVD's selling is as strong as ever, especially off of that lung blower, which was a thing of beauty. Also, Carlito's slingshot into a springboard senton was totally swank. Good shit from these guys and to me it was the most fun match of the night.
Vince didn't screw Shawn…eh you know the rest - Thankfully a nice change from the normal Vince/HBK stuff. I hated the, "If you lose tonight, you're fired" deal, because we all know that it meant that HBK was winning. This week was just great; Vince wants to torture him, so he just says, NO TITLE CHANCE FOR YOU! Then for next week, he says HBK has to be there so Vince can retire him and get rid of him. Excellent, a good change and next week should be very interesting.
Mickie is still crazy and Foley IS good~! - Mickie is still crazy and I am still loving her. The best part of any character in believability, and with Mickie you believe that she is in love with Trish, and that she is a psycho. This Monday was another excellent example as she did more storytelling with just looks. After she nailed Trish by accident, you believed that she was sorry. She then was rolled up and defeated, and as Trish and Ashley took a powder, her look was priceless. Backstage when she went to apologize she came off as really believable, because all true psychos know how to hide their insanity. Then came Trish's date. The evil from her eyes as she stared down this man were just beyond excellent. This was just great character work from Miss James, who is becoming a regular fixture in the right section of this column.
Speaking of people making an impact without doing much, Mick Foley returned this week at the end of Raw. Foley will be the special referee for the Cena vs. Edge match next week, which got a great reaction from the crowd. The man didn't even do a damn thing but walk out and the place was electric. Next week should be really interesting, especially if they are going for Edge vs. Foley at WrestleMania. I really want to see exactly how things begin to build.
The wRong:
A thought - Overall I found myself really enjoying RAW this week. There was nothing blow away, no great matches but it was a good show and focused for a change. But I did have a problem, you knew the but was coming didn't you? With so much time between now and WrestleMania, hell Saturday Night's Main Event for that matter, why did they blow the first round of the tournament all in one week? At this rate it will give you three weeks of TV, ending on the 20th. Why not stretch things out a little bit, giving them a foundation for more shows and allowing for longer match times? HHH and Flair got 12:00 that was ok, but had an anticlimactic ending. A few more minutes with a more creative finish, maybe involving Shelton would have been better. RVD and Carlito had a good match, but a few more minutes could have added to the importance I believe. To me it came off as rushed and a waste really, sometimes slowing things down, considering the time frame and all would be for the best.
Ric Flair: Devalued - Ric Flair as the Intercontinental Champion has lost a ton of value over the last few months. The title hasn't been defended, and he has repeatedly lost to Edge and HHH. They are killing off the title yet again, as well as Ric Flair. The 16-time World Champion lost in the first round in 12:00 to HHH; that doesn't sound that bad but when you look over the recent events it is a culmination of events that make him look totally ordinary. To me that is a quite a shame.
The Ridiculous:
A Heart Attack Angle, and… - Wow, a heart attack angle…nice. Another notch in the stupidity belt for creative! And…did you notice when they cut her dress that you could see the fat suit? GREAT JOB GUYS! Just expose the angle whydontcha? This is another lack of continuity. You would think that they would apprise the staff of the fat suit so that they would, I don't know, NOT EXPOSE IT! This was just another silly mistake that should never have been made.
Just One Question… - As much as I like the idea of the tournament, how can they have one to determine a challenger at WrestleMania when the winner of the Rumble has not decided yet. The thing is, Rey can't decide until after No Way Out and there is a chance he'll lose. He or Orton could choose to jump to Raw (unlikely) but the fact remains that the decision hasn't been made thus Raw can't make this tournament yet, technically speaking. This is another example of lack of continuity in the E.
RetRo Against All Odds 2005!:
TNA's Against All Odds: Match Results:
Match #1 – "Primetime" Elix Skipper defeated Petey Williams w/Coach D'Amore @ 7:57 via pin. ***
Match #2 – BG James and Jeff Hammond defeated Kazarian and Michael Shane @ 5:33 via pin. (N-R)
Match #3 – Raven defeated Dustin Rhodes @ 8:18 via pin. *
Elix vs. Petey - I will admit, this was a far from perfect match as both men had a little miscommunication problem, as well as Elix looking a little sluggish. But what the match did accomplish was getting the show off to a hot start. That has been a staple of the TNA PPV's; having a hot start. Elix continues his winning ways and could possibly be on his way to next month's Ultimate X match.
AMW vs. Kash and Hoyt - Kash and Storm had a great reversal/mat sequence to start the match, which seemed to set the tone. Kash is what I like to call a "Bi-Polar" worker. Either he is on and crisp, or he isn't and is horrible. He was on tonight and did him best to help this match be damn good. Hoyt for all of his lack of experience held his own, and really impressed me at times. This was a great match filled with a lot of excellent teamwork. They really just all clicked, and while it wasn't as great as last month's tag match, it was a lot better than I expected considering I wasn't happy with Kash and Hoyt as challengers.
I AM IRON MAN! - The first thing they did right was not go crazy to begin with. They knew they had 30-minutes to build and make a great match. The solid mat work and reversals in the opening minutes, along with the series of quick falls was just breath taking. Also, the little things like trying to get pins while locking in headlocks and arm bars were just a nice old school throw back that isn't utilized enough. Daniels with a relentless attack on the midsection of Styles was constant, and done very well with a nice variety of moves. The next thing is that they didn't use too many falls. 1 a piece during the 30-minutes was just enough to keep things going smooth, as well as keep the fans interested. Also, I am a HUGE mark for stealing each other's moves, so when Daniels stole the ASAI DDT I was so geeked! Then AJ stole the Angel's Wings and I was even more excited! AJ tied it up with just under 6-minutes to go, and then Daniels busted him open and was vicious in his attack. Then with under a minute left, Daniels locked in the KOJI CLUTCH and AJ was literally pouring blood as the time expired. It was announced as a draw, but Daniels demanded sudden death overtime, because he had AJ beat. Dusty said fine and the match was restarted. Daniels looked to have AJ beat and tried a top rope RANA, but AJ tossed him off, delivered a RANA from the top to Daniels, rolled through and got the Styles Clash for the victory.
Nash vs. JJ - I'll admit, I am one of the ones that thought this match would suck and really had no faith. Well, I was wrong. Now it wasn't a classic by any means, but it was booked correctly and both men busted their Asses. Nash brought what he had, and not only did he look pretty good, but he bumped and sold more than he did in his last WWE run all in one night. He really tried to prove people wrong I think, and he did. The run-ins from Gunn and X-Pac served their purpose and were done well. The bottom line is many people hate JJ, but TNA would have been no better off with Nash as champion. Way more entertaining than I expected, the only major gripe (besides Monty not winning the title) was that the match was about 5-minutes too long.
The wRong:
Raven vs. Rhodes - I thought these 2 would work well together, and while I don't feel it was horrible, it was impossible to get into. It just seemed way to slow and repetitive to me. The after match was ok, as Raven went psycho on Rhodes and Reilly with a straightjacket and strap…Yappapi strap match anyone?
Jeff Hardy, Mr. Unprofessional - Wow, that wasn't good. Abyss worked his ass off, but some things you don't do. First off, you don't leave your opponent to lay himself on the table so you can do your spot. Secondly, after you miss a spot and some tables, you DO NOT NO SELL THE FINISH and get all pissed off and destroy shit because your drugged out ass didn't jump far enough to hit the tables! What a little baby, seriously. Just suck it up, you hit a table, lay there and sell it or go the fuck home.
The Ridiculous:
Jeff Hammond - I just don't understand why he gets a PPV match when Sabin and Killings have nothing. James, Kazarian and Shane busted their Asses and they sold like pros for him, but Hammond winning with that ridiculous elbow is horrible. Hopefully Kazarian and Shane will get their due and get a tag title feud soon.
READER RANT TIME~!
From Keith of a few things: Smackdown:
Randy Orton, I can't say that "he " took it too far seeing as how that was the only way Rey would agree to the match. Rey on the other hand made it seemed like Eddie himself sat on the throne of GOD Almighty and orchestrated the match. And I love Eddie, I cried when he passed(especially with the Cash video), the whole thing is wrong is wrong but Randy only worked the angle as best as he could... and need I say it but that was the way to do it. They decided to go this route and at least they followed through. A heel making fans upset... who would've thought
Angle Undertaker was done right. Taker doing the spooky stuff and Angle not backing down...beautiful stuff.
So, we have a cowboy, a zombie, an Olympian, Hollywood rejects, a boogeyman, and now a... bloody Pirate!?!?!? That's exactly why wrestlers need some creative control.
Ya gotta love Finlay
TNA: You know you've made a bad costume design when during the first few minutes of your match the crowd is going "That looks GAY!" Dear GOD Aries, your name is Aries, you know GOD of WAR, use that for goodness sakes.
If you give too many wrestlers creative control, you get WCW…we don't want that.
From Andrew who wants to RANT on the Royal Rumble (yeah, It's a bit late, my bad.): Great columns as always this week man, just read the 3 R's, especially interested this week of course with it being a Big 4 PPV. And my god it was terrible!! I actually went round a friend's house, chipped in £5 and stayed up until 4am to watch it thinking, well its a big 4 pay per view, sure the rumble is the only thing worth watching but it'll be a good match. It sucked. Really really sucked. As if the pathetic foreshadowing and awful acting during the picks wasn't bad enough, as if putting Cole and King instead of Taz and Joey on commentary wasn't bad enough, as if using Eddie to get cheap heat, both face and heel wasn't bad enough, the match wasn't even any good!!
I agree totally that going coast to coast is devalued now. Rey should have been 3 or 4 to win and still preserve Benoit's achievement. More so than that, the order they booked guys in was just awful. Numbers 13-24 were: Booker, Mercury, Tatanka, Nitro, Murdoch, Eugene, Animal, RVD, OJ, Chavo, Hardy, Crazy. 12 guys in a row, and 1 person, just one, who had even been touted as winner in RVD. Awful. It was far too top and bottom loaded (it always seems like that but it seemed particularly bad this year). Plus Tatanka got a hell of a push, what the hell good does that do? I'm glad MNM did some good things and lasted a good length of time since they are up and comers, but two days before they'd jobbed out in a handicap match so at best this was rebuilding. Awful awful awful.
However, with this rant over, don't you feel you've been a little harsh not counting Rey's victory as a "Right". Purely the victory, with the foreshadowing, the method (he was laying down for a lot of the match....) and the Eddie stuff all ignored, is a positive since they let a little 175 pound guy win the Royal Rumble. Anyone who knows and watches wrestling has to be happy about that. I will be EXTREMELY unhappy if the reports that he is expected to job his shot are true. Its one thing for Vince to win the Rumble and not get the shot, but Rey? Disgraceful, if it happens. So I would have thought Rey winning could have been classed as Right (with Reservations). But, hey its your column and we're talking a minor detail. Pretty much the whole rest of the show ranged from wRong to Ridiculous, I think you were pretty Reserved to not pull out the 4th R personally.
All in all a great assessment though, I'm gonna need some convincing to order Mania based on this, we'll see what the card is but if its going to be the lets push the old guys, bury the new guys, same old same old rubbish it will be tempting not to bother. The sooner we can get fully up to date TNA, including live PPVs over here the better.
From John on the Rumble winner and Rd to WM tournament:
I don't mind the Road to WrestleMania tournament, but how do you have the tournament when Rey hasn't even decided which champion he wants to face. Now we know they're no good for consistency but last week there was a poll on wwe.com asking which title we thought.
Rey should go after meaning he was given a choice. If my memory serves me correct, the tournament was announced before the poll question was removed.
Did Rey already announce he was staying with SD! If he did, then why did they have that stupid poll on their website?!!! As I much as I love "The E", I don't know what to say about them sometimes.
Discussed above and agreed.
Thanks for the emails guys, always appreciated!
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!
