The Crystal Ball 4.16.06: Gunner Scott, Women's Wrestling, Backlash
Posted by Steve Sullivan on 04.16.2006
Who is Gunner Scott? Women Actually Wrestle? What's going on here?
You know what's amazing? VCR's. You know what else is amazing? Daylight Savings. You know what's the greatest thing ever? Forgetting to reset your VCR time because of Daylight Savings.
Before I start this very happy and very pleased column, allow me to vent for just a moment everything that I missed out on during the last week of wrestling.
Ken Doane & Mike Mondo Win The World Tag Team Titles
Brent Albright Debuts As Gunner Scott and Defeats Booker T
All of Last Week's OVW TV Show (Hence no TV Report this week)
If you are an avid reader of this column, and I asked you, if there are two wrestlers who I talk about more than any other, what are their names?
Ken Doane and Brent Albright! Er excuse me. Kenny and Gunner Scott!
Regardless, it's funny because I actually had to write my column a little earlier than normal last week because I had plans to go out on the night that I usually spend writing this little piece of heaven. In last week's column I had expressed how much I was hoping to see Estrada pull out Brent Albright instead of Umanga. And what do you know! Albright debuted on WWE TV under his new persona Gunner Scott that same day my column was posted! Maybe I should start hoping more often!
One of the many speculations that I have been approached with is the question, is this a long term project for Brent Albright. A lot of people were concerned that this was a one time deal with Brent. Kind of like a squash match gone wrong or something. Let me be the one to tell you, THIS IS PERMANENT.
While I'm not sure of his role, Brent did contact me the night following Smackdown and told me he was very pleased with the spot he had been given and thanked me as well as all of you for all the support he was given along the way. This is a permanent role for him and he obviously couldn't tell me what they have planned for him. But what I can do is speculate, because that's fun.
There is a lot of speculation that Albright will join up with Chris Benoit. I can see a very good angle with this, especially if it results in Benoit and Albright getting into a program at some point. Albright has at times been a complete mirror of Benoit in OVW. The top rope head drop. Submission and Tap Out moves such as the Sharpshooter and the Crowbar. A Submission Match between these two would be absolutely incredible!
A lot of people believe that Benoit should turn heel on Scott at some point during this "mentorship" so to speak. I say the other way around. This is probably going to generate a little stir among readers but I will put this in bold to make sure you read it.
Chris Benoit failed as a heel.
And the reason he failed is that he has never really been able to get on the mic the way a heel should be able to get on the mic. How many heel champions in the past 5 years can you recall that had terrible mic skills? While I will admit that Benoit's mic skills improved slightly during his run in 2004, I don't think he would be the right move to turn heel at this point in his career.
Albright however has made the perfect transition from face to heel in OVW. In fact, what the WWE has in mind may have already been happening right in front of our eyes during the great feud between Albright and C.M. Punk. Both men are submission artists. Both like to win matches by the tap out. Both were competing to see who could make who tap out first before Albright turned on Punk during a tap competition. Could this be something we will see on Smackdown? I sure as hell hope so!
Other speculation is that Harry Smith, son of the late Davey Boy Smith will also be getting a mentorship under Benoit. I really think the WWE has a golden idea if I think they are going where I hope they are going. Chris Benoit, teamed up with Harry Smith and Gunner Scott. Together they form: Team Tap!
Sounds fun to me anyway.
X Division Women In OVW
That's right. That's one thing TNA does not have. Women's Wrestling. What's even more, is they don't have Extreme Women's Wrestling. Women's wrestling had not been OVW's top priority over the last few months, but over the last couple of weeks, Women's Wrestling has become top-notch. Beth Phoenix, who I believe is also the cousin to Brent Albright, has become the Ultimate Women's Wrestler.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Beth Phoenix took on former 3 some partner Shelley in a grudge match. The match saw Phoenix in some new leather attire and sporting a thong outside her tights similar to the way Lita used to. Not only did Phoenix change her attire, she completely changed her attitude! In the match, Phoenix managed to hit the Cradle Shot. A near exact replica of Former TNA X Division Champion Chris Sabin.
So I was already impressed to see a woman pull that move off. Extreme women's wrestling? Impossible! Does the WWE have something under its sleeves that TNA is blind to? While TNA is a great product, women other than Gail Kim and Jackie Gayda just don't exist! Ok Traci Brooks but she doesn't count because she's too busy bouncing Bentley. Try sayin' that 3 times fast.
But just when I was thinking, well maybe that was just a fluke, Trinity appeared on my screen and challenged Phoenix to a match. Trinity has shown a lot of talent during her days in TNA. She likes the flying body press. (Insert perverted joke here) But she wasn't impressive enough to convince me she's better than Beth Phoenix.
During her match with Trinity, Beth Phoenix once again hit the Cradle Shot to win. Not just A cradle shot. Not just a normal cradle shot. A cradle shot…..off the middle rope!!! My jaw dropped! It looks like the WWE may be ready to up the ante a bit on its women division. If you're Torrie Wilson, Maria, or Candice Michelle, you might not be seen wrestling much in the future. A Women's Division of Trish Stratus, Mickie James, Victoria, Trinity, and Beth Phoenix gives the division 5 spectacular women's wrestlers and all but Phoenix has already proven themselves on a national level. And not only will the division get better, it will be more exciting as long as these girls keep pulling off the moves they are pulling off now.
Backlash Comes To Lexington
It's another Backlash watch this week as I continue to watch for God. Also this week, WWE Superstars will be coming to Lexington for the Backlash Press Conference which I will hopefully be a media member of. So if you have any LEGITIMATE questions you may like to hear asked at the press conference, feel free to email me.
I did get an email last week from a fan who may be coming down to Lexington to see Backlash, and if you are coming to Backlash, you may want to pay attention to this email!
Steve,
I go to Marshall U. and my roomate and I were thinking to go to
Backlash. If we go though we actually want to see the matches. Could
you feel me in on what would be good seats in the arena.
Thanks
Mike
At this point, I don't know what kind of seating is left. Wrestling sells pretty good here in Lexington for house shows and the last time a live event was here was in 1996 when Raw came here and D-X still existed. My suggestion is to get a seating chart. The best tickets are double digit sections. If you get a section with 3 digits, you will be in the upper part of the arena and you'll almost need binoculars to see.
Here are some of the better lower arena levels.
Section 29-32
Section 12-15
Those are front and center. If you have to go upper arena, try to pick these sections.
Section 230-232
Section 212-215
I hope this helps anyone who plans at being at Rupp Arena this month. It's going to be an exciting card. The card is actually looking similar to what I had predicted for Wrestlemania right before the Royal Rumble!
By the way, can I just say. I freakin' told you so. For the 2nd week in a row! I told you it was time to turn Kane evil again in time for the release of his movie coming up next month. Sure enough on Raw, Kane's hearing voices again and chokeslams his partner. I can't wait to see Kane…be Kane….in Lexington!
One other bit of information this week, we've got new champions in OVW. In a 6 man, Title vs. Title vs. Partnership Match, Roadkill and Kasey James defeated Ken Doane & Mike Mondo and Deuce Shade and Dice Domino. The pin came on Deuce Shade which resulted in the OVW Southern Tag Team Titles going to Roadkill and James.
Roadkill- A 300 something top rope flying Amish chicken plucker.
Kasey James- Famous for pulling out a "Rolecks" of his tights and handing it to Brent Albright
And then there is their normal partner:
Elijah Burke- King Of The Afro
Are we working a new Oddities Gimmick? Who knows.
That's it for this week. Check in next week as I'll have all the highlights (hopefully) from the WWE Backlash Press Conference and anything fun that may happen in OVW or OVW alum.
