The FlipSide News Report 04.15.06
Posted by Ryan K. Boman on 04.15.2006
Your favorite Saturday news reporter is here. Then again...I’m the ONLY Saturday news reporter.
Hi Ya.
I want to apologize to the good people out there for my tardiness. I had to get a hold of Larry (the man, the editor, the legend) and let him know last night that I would be sailing the S.S. FlipSide into port just a wee bit late this week. Hopefully those of you that spend the entire week counting the days until my work arrives here haven't jumped off of any buildings.
You see, my life changed quite a bit a few days ago. Our second daughter was born on Monday, and since then, my wife and I have been re-defining the term "sleep deprivation". Needless to say, he who doesn't sleep tends to not write very fast either. Luckily, thanks to things calming down here a bit, a cup of coffee, and a couple shots of heroin, I have enough energy to deliver the goods. (I'm only kidding about the coffee... that stuff will kill you.)
With that stated, I believe it may be time to get into the wildly successful juggernaut known as the Saturday News Report. Some even refer to it as the ‘FlipSide News Report' in certain circles. It's a pretty good time, my friends, and you're all invited. Let's put on our dancing shoes and jitterbug, shall we?
From the 411 newswire... Edge vs. Cena vs. Triple H dominates the RAW title picture: I think WWE has done a good job playing off the dynamics of this thing. It has literally become an ‘every man for himself' mentality that is reminiscent of some of the stuff they did during the Attitude era. The biggest gift of all is that it is actually making the title seem really important again. Friends become foes and foes become friends in the quest to be the champion. Pretty good job at taking a simple concept and adapting it to their current storyline. I have often been critical of McMahon and Company for OVERbooking. In this case, they have simply let the WWE title be the focal point of the angle— which it should be. The story is compelling because it seems everyone wants that belt, and they are willing to sell their souls for it. Add in the fact that Cena has run hot/cold with the crowd lately, and this thing gets even more compelling. Good booking for a change from the folks in Stamford Connecticut.
WWE Spoils Smackdown for some Fans. For those curious, the story is about Orton's Downward Spiral and subsequent suspension. The story then details that he lost at the Smackdown tapings, and suffered a broken ankle from Kurt Angle. While it was known that Orton would begin suspension today, this still gives away a result from the show with no warning to fans: The Orton situation is a pretty strange one, to be honest. The kid is obviously not happy with his spot in the company, and the powers that be don't seem real thrilled with him lately, either. This may be something we want to keep an eye on, turnbuckle heads.
Vince continues to take on God: Please stop this crap. This is an example of the overbooking of an angle that I talked about above.
It appears that WWE.com has wrapped up the Tim White suicide video series. The latest one on WWE.com has White deciding he wants to live and then shooting Josh Matthews: I wonder how much money WWE sunk into this ‘angle'. Whatever it was, it was way too much. This type of bizarre crap makes me question what is going on in the WWE (un)creative department. Everytime they do something good, they do four more things that are ridiculous Now that this thing has wrapped, I still fail to see the purpose or relevance of the whole story. Children could write this stuff, for crying out loud.
TNA debuts on Thursday Nights: Pretty decent show for their first go-round in the new timeslot. The idea of starting the show with Joe and Daniels already locking horns was pretty classic. The folks at TNA seem to be doing everything in their power to give it the appeal of being the "60 minute adrenaline rush". Overall, I was pretty happy with what they did Thursday. Could have been better, but they are following a formula to sell as much of their product as possible in the one hour they have been given. Memo to Spike TV— TNA could be a mover and shaker if you actually decide to expand the show to two hours.
Ring of Honor has announced that their 5/12 show in Lake Grove, Long Island will be headlined by Christian Cage & a mystery partner vs. Bryan Danielson & a mystery partner. Cage is the NWA Champion while Danielson is the ROH Champion. This will mark the first time the NWA and ROH Champions face each other in the ring: I would honestly welcome a cross-promotion between RoH and TNA right now. Maybe even have Danielson show up on Impact with his belt and challenge Cage, only to wrestle to a terrific draw. I will be the first guy to tell you that I don't know as much about Ring of Honor as I really should, but the little bit that I have seen has been fabulous. I know they haven't really pushed for a big TV deal. Howver, wouldn't it be nice to see another little promotion based in the Philly area push it's way into the limelight? Maybe we could have the ‘Big Three' all over again, eh?
TNA had a good showing on Steven A. Smith's Quite Frankly Wednesday Evening: I didn't get to see this, but I wanted to. Anyone who has it on tape give me a holler. (Don't actually holler, just e-mail me.) It appears that TNA knows what buttons to push when it comes to the "mainstream sports" crowd. They've had Urlacher and the White Sox, and now they've got Steven A. Even Jim Edmonds and David Eckstein of my beloved Cardinals are on board with TNA wrestling as well. Perhaps the athleticism of the so-called ‘spot kateers'of the X division have some of these "legitimate" athletes impressed. Or maybe it is the no-nonsense approach that TNA has taken with their shows. Whatever the case, it seems that the sporting world almost prefers TNA over WWE. Maybe they know something that most fans don't.
ALERT!!! ALERT!!!
There will be no Made-Up News Section this week. To be honest, I'm totally spent and out of good material. And since from your response, I know that the Made-Up section is one of your favorites, I decided to let you take a week and water at the mouth a bit. You know, sort of like that dog that Pavlov had. I believe the dog's name was Butch, actually.
Well, that sorry bastard came back and wrote a column about Cena this week, although it appears that he isn't planning on coming back full time. However, the momentum is mounting, and I believe the voice of the people will be heard. Former music editor and wrestling zone writer Mike Melchor will be back, folks. And I promise you, the fans, that I will shake as many hands and kiss as many babies as I have to in order to get this done. Flood the man's e-mail box and DEMAND his presence back here at 411. I implore you, in the name of journalistic integrity, to get my Brother from Another Mother back here on a regular basis. Only the voice of the people can make it happen.
Gratuitous Reference to a fellow 411 writer...
I am constantly kissing Bayani Domingo's ass here, and for good reason. For one, he does a great job with his Truth B Told column on Fridays. And also, I get a tax break every year for doing it. But in all seriousness, if you haven't checked out his column from yesterday on steroids in wrestling yet, then you should forget the worthless crap you're reading here and click over there right now. For anyone who is a fan, it is worth the read. And, by the way, for you ladies out there— Bayani is a dapper filipino gentleman who enjoys long walks, candlelit dinners, and administering a good, old-fashioned Cleveland Steamer. The guy is a real catch, as well as being an awesome writer.
Wrestling Geek Selection of the Week...
I would be remiss without mentioning my friend Brian Stull. A few weeks back, I wrote a feature column on Brian and his show, "The Stranglehold", which can be heard on WGNU radio (920 AM) here on Tuesday nights in the St. Louis area. Every once in awhile, I will be on with Brian, and he always plugs our site and treats me like a big star (which, for the record, I am). Seriously, the show is outstanding and Brian is one of the true good guys involved with the business. Any of my fellow wrestling geeks out there who would like to check it out can go to www.thestranglehold.com and give it a listen. It's good stuff.
I'm out of here.
I got lots to do today, so I'm going to leave with my usual smidgen of news, mixed in with a whole lot of BS. If you actually want to read good stuff, then there are several other writers at this site who are talented and funny. If you want the kind of crap you just read here, then feel free to come back next Saturday. There will be reindeer games and tomfoolery aplenty. In the meantime, I hope you are all well and that you continue to support our site.
