WRestling’s 3R’s 09.08.06: Kennedy, Raw Rights, Ultimate X Returns, ECW Impresses, Cena is Very Forgiving and More…Kennedy!
Posted by Larry Csonka on 09.08.2006
Do I really need a teaser? You know you’ll read anyway.
The 3R's of wRestling!
Introducción~!
Welcome back kids for another edition of Wrestling's 3R's! As always I am Larry Csonka, along with me is my tag team partner "The Whole Geoffin Show" Geoff Eubanks. First we have some news on this week's column. Geoff had Smackdown preempted for "Apollo 13" this past week, so we made the call to have someone else cover Smackdown and Geoff will cover ECW this week. We ventured out of the Wrestling Zone, over to Sports and covering Smackdown this week will be special guest Taareq Elsokari! Treat Taareq good kids, we appreciate him taking time from his schedule in sports to contribute to the column this week. Also for now I am covering Impact a week behind due to my schedule changing drastically. I'll try to get back to the old format but for now it has to be this way. Sit back and relax as we break down the week that was in wrestling, 3R STYLE~!
Here is a quick explanation of the 3 R's. I will take the 4 main shows (5 if I go RetRo) of the week: TNA Impact, WWE Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi and WWE Smackdown. If we have a PPV, that show will get a special PPV edition of the R's all to its own. 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. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied the very next week. 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. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come. 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. There are also occasions where I will bring out a 4th and even 5th R to the column, so beware of those~!
iMpact!:
iMpact 08.31.06:
The Right:
Short Takes: – The small items that alone don't deserve a right, but together give me an excuse to make one.
LA-Ultimate X: Impact started off rather hot this week as Moody Jack introduced LAX, who made their SWANK entrance to the Impact Zone. Konnan then kicked off thing with a short, but great promo:
KONNAN: Hey…as I said before, you can't stop a revolution! These tag titles are dedicated to the Latino's, legal and illegal as well as our mother's that suffered racial inequality. To the Latino's in the business, Mil Mascaras, Carlos Colon, Pedro Moralez, Tito Santana, and the Guerrero's. We don't need fake applause, TNA, send you best because you can't stop us.
This was a fine promo by Konnan, and no namedropping the "Guerrero's" didn't bother me because it was a short blurb, with other Latino names in tribute so that was all well and good. Christopher Daniels and AJ then appeared on the screen and said that they fell into LAX's trap and lost in their specialty, but now it was time to get even. It was announced at No Surrender that the teams would have another match, this time in the first ever Ultimate X Tag Team Match! Great segment, hot match and the PPV just got a whole lot more interesting.
Setting up Cage vs. Killings: Later in the show Christian Cage gave an interview, once again saying that he had to teach everyone a lesson and that he is the biggest star in TNA, and everyone's meal ticket. This brought out Ron Killings who had issue with this. Killings said Cage ain't man enough to handle Rhino, Sting or him. Cage then said that Killing's won't be the first rapping poser he put in his place. Killings slaps him and they brawled, which leads to a match for the next week.
Raven is Back involved: This week we had the 10,000-thumbtack match, which was another reason for Abyss to kill Runt. It has been obvious for weeks that Raven was inside Runt's head, and but after the match and just about when Abyss was about to punish Runt more, Raven made the save and put Abyss through 2-tables covered in tacks. I think this type of angle is perfect to get Raven involved in. He can cut promos and be in garbage matches, which is perfect for him right now.
JJ's Public Execution: – I thought JJ gave a great promo this week. I actually liked the hokey stuff in the ring added to his deal. The crowd was hot and them chanting "you suck" worked so well. It came off great and that was the point of the segment. I may have issues with the "main event interviews," which I will discuss later but this worked very well. But who didn't love the Commissioner Gordon phone call?
Opening Tag - This week's opening X-Division tag match was a good match. They really need to have at least one good match a week, and this filled the quota very well. All the guys worked well together, and instead of just spots, they actually created a match you could follow from beginning to end. While rushed, and hurt by the commercial, it was a good match and aided in Senshi's persona of being on his own and not needing anyone.
purgatory:
Bobby Roode – While I am a big fan of Bobby Roode, and really like the direction they are going with him I feel that I need to discuss this. Much like Shannon Moore and Renee Dupree in ECW, it is starting to loose its effect. Loose its effect in that it looks cool for a while, but the longer you wait to bring him onto TV the more risk you have that people won't care. Now the advantage the Roode angle has is the whole "Searching for the Right Management" deal. That will buy him some time in my eyes because there is advance there. But, much like Moore and Dupree if something new doesn't happen soon, no one will care and that would be a waste.
The wRong:
Nothing of Note
The Ridiculous:
The main event interviews – It's is only fair that I discuss this for TNA, since I have bitched about it on Raw before. In the last few months I think that TNA has relied way too much on "The Main Event Interview" rather than providing you know, main event matches. If they are going to be different, be that "Alternative" they can't use a tool that WWE uses a lot. It takes away from the matches and a lot of the time, slows down the momentum they build so that when the show is over, I am not nearly as excited as I would have been going out on a hot main event match. This week's segment was good, JJ's promo was good but this is a bigger problem than one week. Occasionally, VERY occasionally I enjoy them. The Jim Cornette ones are a great example but they are, in my opinion, becoming something that they are doing way too much, making the show predictable and not the "must see TV" they need it to be.
SmackDown!: By: Taareq Elsokari
Smackdown 09.01.06:
The Right:
Viva la Rasa - Vicky cut a hell of a promo. She said all the true things that she must be feeling. It was some powerful stuff especially when she said "you all want me to greave for the rest of my life". Then how she goes onto say how she is focusing on herself and will do what she wants to do, you have got to believe that there's got to be some truth to those comments but a lot of "work" which will be discussed a little later. She did a great job of painting this feud as something that's the fault of everyone else and their supposed feelings towards the death of Eddie. She also did a good job of continuing Chavo's statements of how Rey is using Eddie's death to his own advantage. As Mick Foley once said, a great heel always has to believe that what they are doing and saying is true and that they totally believe it, and from this Vicky sure looked and sounded like she meant it.
Unfortunately since Eddie past, every time Rey or Chavo have gotten into the ring they have had Eddie chants directed in their direction and I guess this will be the only way they can get it to stop and let the two move on with their own individual careers.
JBL - It's no secret the best thing about JBL's title run was ability to cut a great promo. Fast forward two years and he has successfully taken his ability to get himself over through a promo to getting people over through his commentary. His commentary during the Helms Hardy match was brilliant as he was able to show how much of a threat both guys are and how Hardy is a "Main event waiting to happen".
Mr. Kennedy, wait for it,………Kennedyyyyyyyyyy - The man is definitely the future of the company. If he can stay healthy, and avoid the problems other have faced with the booking team then he will definitely get that spot he so totally deserves. The set up for this match was quite cool as both men were in full extremes of their character. Finlay was all "I'm gonna whip your ass" and Kennedy was his typical cocky self and bras youngster who thinks he can beat anyone he wants. That was totally brought to face when he said "I've beaten two World Champions" but Finlay replies "you haven't beaten a US Champion". The match itself was very good, the addition of Lashley to make it a triple threat match was a good choice as it plays off his history with Finlay, and I love me some story continuity. This match can only succeed in furthering the education of two men who very well might be the future of the WWE. The match also succeeded in presenting Lashley as a major threat as anytime he was ever taking a beating it was usually due to Finlay attacking from behind or a double team. The finish also showcased the personalities or the characters of both Lashley and Kennedy, as Lashley was painted as a powerhouse and Kennedy was the opportunistic cocky bastard.
King Booker - outside of a few vignettes, I was never a big fan of Booker in the past. But I do have to say since he's started this King gimmick he has been awesome and I have found myself marking out big time for him.
"he could not beat me at the Summerslam Games" that was classic, I actually laughed so hard that I was spewed some Fanta out of my nose.
His delivery is brilliant, his adoption of a Semi-British accent is genius and his look of disgust when he looks at the "peasants" is pure brilliance.
ALL HAIL KING BOOKER.
Tag Team Wrestling on Smackdown - I'm digging the build in the feud between the Hooligans and The Pitbulls. All 4 men can go, all 4 men have great ability and are now finally getting the chance to showcase their talents. JBL did them all a huge favor with his commentary and his attempt to get them over. He talked about how they remind him of great tag teams from the past. He also mentions how Kendrick went to Japan to further his education and again this puts forward their dedication their craft and how good they have now become. The finish of the match wasn't great, but I will explain that later, but at least the Pitbulls were able to get their heat back with the post match beat down.
puRgutory
MVP - he seriously needs to get into the ring soon before people stop giving a crap about him. He's a very good talker and has a presence, which oozes charisma. But if he doesn't get into the ring soon, the fans are just going to stop caring and crap all over him when he finally does get in the ring.
Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms - although this was a good match I cant help but think that this match should have been kept on ice a little longer. These two had a decent match at short notice at the Great American Bash and then a few weeks later (last week in fact) Helms attacks Hardy and costs him the match against Mr. Kennedy (…..Kennedy). Now the wrong is that this feud has only been going on officially for a week and already they have a match. Don't get me wrong, it was a good match, but it should have received some build. Let them cut a few promos on each other, let Hardy interfere in a Helms match and then have a match announced and then BAM!!!! let them fight. It's simple really. The reason I think this fits here is because I loved the match, but I think they blew it way too early.
The wRong
The US Title Triple Threat - this is the same complaint as before. Because, at Summerslam, Kennedy and Finlay are a team and beating on DX and then again on Raw they are brought in together along with Sir Regal to take out DX and then all of a sudden they are at odds and want to take each others head off. Why? And surely this should have at least been announced for at the very least next week. Not a 10 minute build. I hate when they do this crap.
Hooligans and Pitbulls - ok so this was a non-title match and yet the Champions win. If the Champions are going to win then why not make it a title match. Use the non-title match stipulation to actually set up a title match in the future.
The Miz debuts, HOOOOOOOOORAAAAAA - Tatanka? Seriously, Tatanka. What a joke. I love how he started his run to the ring and was out of breath and had to sort of slow it down to pretty much walking pace half way down the isle. The Miz looked, erm, ok in his debut but definitely needs to work on his in ring skills. Also being in there with Tatanka didn't help as at most times Tatanka himself can't have a decent match and to have Miz go out there and debut with that piece of crap was just plain stupid.
The Ridiculous:
How the fuck is Vicky Guerrero a Heel? - first of all, the only good thing I will say is that at least they haven't gone back to the disgusting route of the Rey Orton pre-WrestleMania route. At time during this promo, you could tell Vicky was struggling with some of the stuff she was saying as in she didn't want to say it and for that reason I think this story line is a bad idea. I think had they kept Vicky out of it, even though she cuts great promos, it could of been more acceptable, but once you throw in Vicky into the mix, you cant help but think that this is bad that she is being reminded pretty much everyday of the tragedy that was Eddie's death and also never really getting a chance to get past it. This has got to be the most ridiculous route this could of gone. How can the widow be the heel when she has pretty much painted a picture that is oh so true.
Vito in a dress - this is just so fucking stupid and I'm not going to even try to comment on this.
Jimmy Yang Wang - who the hell comes up with this crap, its ridiculous.
The Roided Animal - seriously how many times does Batista need to botch things before legit injuring King Booker. First he nearly drops The King on his neck at Summerslam and then needs two Spine Busters to finally get Booker through the table. The question needs to be asked, is he trying to hurt Booker? Or is he still partially injured? Or, have his power and strength levels dropped due to Wellness to a point where he can't pick up Booker anymore?
RAW!:
Raw 09.04.06:
The Right:
A BIG RIGHT: Edge v. Cena, Orton vs. Carlito and Trish vs. Lita all get some quality attention – This week on Raw I thought they did a really good job of hyping Unforgiven, and these three matches in particular. They weaved them together and it actually lead to someone else getting the main event slot over DX and the McMahon's. To me that is a HUGE deal because it is about damn time. So let us take a look at the happenings from Raw.
Edge vs. Cena: The show kicked off with Edge in the ring, setting up a table and ladder, for dramatic effect. He sets the stage for the TLC match, reminding us that Cena has never been in one and that he will not only defend his title but send John Cena to Smackdown and be rid of him. As Edge sat atop the ladder, Stone Cold John Tritan John Cena rushed the ring and knocked Edge off the ladder and FU'd him through the table. **Salute**
Lita vs. Trish: Later as Trish was on her way for her "Fare thee well" address, she was stopped by Lita. They got rather catty and it ended in Trish challenging Lita for one last match at the PPV. Lita accepted and they began to brawl.
Orton vs. Carlito: Carlito then came in to pull Trish off of Lita, ruining our fun and that is when Orton came into the picture and we got a bigger brawl, and one less fun because the dudes were there. We want girl on girl please.
The 6-Person Match: Lita then went to Shane McMahon, and after a joke about her being easy Shane made the 6-person main event of Trish, Cena and Carlito vs. Edge, Orton and Lita. It was a hell of a little match here, one I enjoyed and as I said it was nice to see someone else getting the main event slot over DX and the McMahon's. Great stuff overall. One final word of advice to Trish, slapping Orton is a major mistake. You have 2-weeks left, plenty of time for young Randall to shit in your bags.
Short Takes - The small items that alone don't deserve a right, but together give me an excuse to make one.
Kane doesn't appreciate a Flair hater!: At first I was not happy with this segment. I was thinking that we were getting a rehash of the initial Flair/Umaga crap. But then when it was a lead in for Kane to come out and try and get revenge on Umaga, I dug it. Some complained now that Ric Flair has been the background element for the Orton/Carlito feud and the Umaga/Kane feud. GOOD! This is the kind of thing Flair can do while staying alive. I have no problem with him being a background or just a small contributing factor to other feuds at all. I think it is a great use of him instead of pushing him into a meaningless feud. So yeah, I liked this.
Cryme Tyme: I really liked this segment, I laughed a good laugh here. It reminded me of "In Living Color." Half of you probably don't even have a clue what that is. It was a show ran by the Wayns family, Keenan was the head and it had Jim Cary before he was famous. Anyway, great shit that show was. So this reminded me a lot of that show. The obviously white announce guy ruled all kinds of ass as well, especially the line of the night, "Homie thought he was gonna sell a smoothie." In true WWE fashion this will either be genius or it will get rammed down our throat and we will get sick of it, and at that point they'll cross the line and have Vince appear with them and ask, "How my niggaz be?" My only worry is how they are in the ring. What I have seen from Shad Gaspard in OVW has not been pretty. Hopefully he has improved, and as far as The Neighborhoodie goes, I haven't seen much of him. Hopefully they will run these videos a bit so that they can improve and have a solid in ring debut.
Hardy vs. Nitro – I will freely admit that going into this match I was expecting a cluster-fuck of epic proportions. Seriously, no one went into this match expecting a great match. Jeff Hardy is Jeff Hardy and Nitro is still very unproven as far as a singles performer. That all being said this was a damn fun little match and way better than I thought it would be. They had some slight miscommunication issues, but since it was their first time working together I expected that. I was also OK with the finish. The face got what was basically a visual pin on the heel champion and Melina had to save him. They will probably rematch at the PPV and if they can take what they did here and step things up they could end up having a good PPV match.
purgatory:
Super Crazy To Raw – So this week Super Crazy debuted on Raw. I have to admit it was a rather nice surprise as I didn't hear anything about this before the show, and I am always up for a good surprise. I will admit to being afraid when I saw he was facing Masters though, as I figured this would be the, "Hey, let's pretend the debuting guys is cool only to job him" match. Thankfully I was wrong. It was a fine little match here and Crazy got the win so that makes me happy. I think the writing is on the wall for Masters. He had one thing going for him, a freakish physique, and that is now gone. Sure the guy still looks great, but now he's just another guy. I wouldn't be surprised to see him off TV again or released eventually.
Now we move onto the bad parts. Once again we are supposed to believe that Teddy Long is an idiot and lets contracts lapse? Man alive, lets just ass to the Smackdown burial. Speaking of that, you are also taking away a Cruiserweight from Smackdown, further weakening a basically dead division. I said it a while ago, if they aren't going to use the CW title throw the fucker away and use Helms and Hardy in the UST division and let the other guys be tag teams, which they already are doing. And then how is Crazy going to be used on Raw? Will they actually push him, make him a part of the IC Title division? Or will they do the fake push ala Tajiri and then make him total job fodder? I just don't see it working well. I hope I am wrong and they use him well, but honestly I only think he got moved there so he can go on the tour of Mexico and because Raw is on Telemundo. Oh I went there.
Oh the tag team division… Yeah we're going to discuss the tag division again. First of all I would like to commend them this week for doing something different with the tag teams and for it being fun little match. A lot of people shit on Cade and Murdoch, and hell I even made fun of them on Monday saying it was nice that they found the Raw roster. If we remember they were thrust to the top, jobbed to Kane and Show and then forgotten about. That is a shame, but it was nice to see them back on TV.
Anyway they have a #1 contender's match this week on Raw, with the Highlanders vs. Cade and Murdoch vs. Viscera and Haas. The first problem we have here is that Cade and Murdoch/Viscera and Haas get about zero TV time, and the Highlanders are on TV all the time. So we are already knowing who will win. The second problem is that Cade and Murdoch/Viscera and Haas are never on TV and never seem to be winning, so why are they put into a match where they can get a title shot? Oh because there is no tag team division and WWE creative for the most part blows.
The wRong:
Trish vs. Lita – I will say that after this week, my thoughts from last week stand. They totally blew a great stipulation that was given to them by Trish wanting to have a regular life. I really can't believe that they didn't go with the retirement stipulation to add some intrigue to the match. There is an expression I often use with WWE and it is this, sometimes I think WWE hates money.
The Ridiculous:
Announcement: Vince McMahon vs. Triple H main events Madison Square Garden – Um…wow, don't we love ourselves. The PPV and end of this feud can't come soon enough.
That John Cena is a damn forgiving guy - I mean, he tagged with a man that organized his stabbing in a nightclub. John must be very…spiritual. Never mind, I mean for FUCK SAKE can we not have some continuity every once and a while?
ECW on Sci-Fi!: By: "The Whole Geoffin Show" Geoff Eubanks
ECW on Sci-Fi!: 09.05.06:
The Right:
Now THAT'S what I'm TALKIN about! – If I may borrow a quote from the delectable Queen Sharmell. See, it's this kind of match that should be the rule in ECW and not the exception. Mike Knox is still embarrassingly basic in the ring, but this was a shining example of Paul Heyman's in-ring booking at its most effective, i.e., bringing the best of a performer's ability to the fore while sweeping under the rug his weaknesses, in this case, allowing Test to dish out the bulk of the offense while playing upon the big guys' willingness to take some mad bumps from ECW originals, Rob…Van…Dam and Sabu. (BTW, was it just me, or did Styles and Tazz neglect to mention the fact that RVD & Sabu are former ECW TTCs, presumably because we're ignoring the fact that tag team wrestling exists as a division these days…?) This match electrified the crowd, displaying exactly what ECW used to be and could be again, proved that RVD & Sabu are still a hell of a tag team in the ring and not just on the binger, and actually went a LONG way in establishing Test & Knox as worthy of being in the land of the hardcore. WELL DONE!!!
Vampire spit…now THAT'S hardcore! – Was I the only one who caught that spit string trailing between Ariel's well-swabbed cheek and Kevin Thorne's tongue during the tarot cared-reading segment? EW. I swear, the first time Thorne gets busted open in the ring, I'm BEGGING Ariel to jump into the ring and stalk him like Duthty Rhodeth at a Las Vegas all-you-can-eat buffet, pounce on him and start to suck on the wound. She's Hardcore! She's Hardcore! I really love this duo; they have a great look and appear to really be having a ball portraying Extreme Vampires, especially when Ariel pounced on Joey Styles prior to the Balls Mahoney/Stevie Richards match, Thorne holding Styles at her mercy with his cane. At first I really dug this part of the show, till I read that this was very likely Vince McMahon continuing to fuck with Styles, which pisses me off. Vince, believe it or not, there simply are better play-by-play men than you and your vast arsenal of "What a maneuver's and "What's gonna happen NOW?!"s…Fucking DEAL WITH IT and leave Styles alone! At any rate, though, backstage pettiness aside, I thought the attack on Styles really worked in terms of further establishing the vampires as unpredictable and out-of-control characters, which they'll need to be if they want to continue on as main characters in the new ECW.
Speaking of the Balls/Stevie match, it was just fantastic as an old ECW fan to see these two in the ring again…if only it had been for longer and in a match that meant something in and of itself. Now, granted, this was a means toward continuing the program developing between Balls and Thorne, which is good, but it would be nice if this win for Stevie was the harbinger of a push for him, as well. PUSH STEVIE! Also, it's amazing to see the difference in Balls! I mean, really, who cleans up from heroin and then drops weight?!
Now, mind you, it's not so much that I'm climbing the walls looking forward to the ensuing matches between Balls and Thorne, because Balls has never been at the top of anyone's work rate list and mainly gets over by stiffing people's brains in with chair shots (although is underrated as an in-ring performer and has seen his mobility increase as a result of slimming down and cleaning up) and Thorne is certainly no talent about which to jump up and down; what I am excited about is the fact that we're finally seeing some actual stories develop on ECW, obviously a direct result of Sci-Fi extending the TV deal. Hopefully, we're going to start seeing some Heyman-styled character and angle development…
Getting schooled, hardcore style! – I know I'm echoing virtually everyone with this statement, but the fact is, virtually everyone is Right when they say moving Matt Striker to ECW was an inspired maneuver. This is just the kind of character with which Heyman can run to town and make something, whereas Vince would turn into Raw's version of SD!'s Sylvan. For those of you who know your hardcore history, I produce Steve Corino as my Exhibit "A"; Corino came into ECW a "Sean Waltman, the chubby years" fresh off the indie scene and made his name as one of the most hated mouthpieces in the business at the time, wising off to faces from behind the considerable back of Rhino before using MONTHS of heat to step up as a performer in his own Right, changing his look, bleaching his hair and making a commitment like few others to monster blading. To this day, as a result, he's one of the hottest imports in Japan, and with good reason. A program against The Sandman, even in a losing effort, could be the first step toward building Striker into a similar such hardcore icon, one of the first legitimate stars of the new breed of extreme. All in all, this was one HELL of a promo and was, in terms of harkening back to the heyday of ECW, what the opening tag match was to such heyday's in-ring contests.
Girls keep breaking up with Shannon Moore…they say they already have a pussy; they don't need another one – FINALLY something being done with Shannon Moore and CM Punk…and it's fun, interesting and clever…I mean…it makes SENSE! Again, I get the notion that Heyman was holding off on pulling the trigger on anything of this nature until ECW got the go-ahead from Sci-Fi. What the hell is "The Prince Of Punk" doing quoting Justin Timberlake, though?! Wouldn't the "sexy back" line be better suited to Rene Dupree? At any rate, I LOVE this premise and would even go so far as to have Shannon slowly alter his appearance from that which it is now into the sweeping, jaw-length bangs and tight "little sister's jeans" like one of those Emo kids from MySpace who jack off writing suicide notes. This is going to make Punk and be a LOT of fun!
purgatory:
dX is bringing Suck It back – What can I say, if Shannon can go there, I can, too.
I liked as much of our main event tonight as I disliked.
I'll start with the stuff I wasn't nuts about, so as to end on a positive note, since the IWC has so many Pollyannas running amok at the moment:
It's been mentioned, but bears repeating…Heyman's on-screen metamorphosis into Vince McMahon disgusts me, and it's progressing. He's even using the same phraseology! "In the interest of fairness…" Ugh. Fucking REALLY. If Heyman's handing out Dixie cups full of Kool-Aid, Vince has written white Nikes into the dress code. Again, Vince, believe it or not, there simply are better bookers than you and your vast arsenal of "evil owner makes life hell for the faces" angles…fucking DEAL WITH IT and leave Heyman alone!
Longtime readers know how sick I am of all this god dam franchise-jumping. If that which needs to be accomplished cannot be so done within the confines of each brand's own roster, organize another draft and get it the fuck RIGHT this time, or tap out and admit the sweeping failure that has been the brand split and move along (keep your trap shut, LaFave…LOL).
I could conceivably get behind what we saw tonight, though (and not just because I'm an old school dX mark), had it done more for ECW than it did for Raw. Well, okay, who am I kidding? Tonight's main event served to do little more than build another brand's main event, the flagship show of WWE's main event, the "A" show's main event, a main event that doesn't even involve the brand's WWET, a main event that puts over the 60 year-old ‘roided OWNER of the company more than it does its champion. Hell, a main event that puts over the owner's SON more than it puts over the champion. And it's using the ECW champion and main event slot in which to do it! And I'm sorry, when exactly was the last time Raw had the opportunity to get over its own main event? Ah, yes. An entire 24 hours prior. If you don't get the trouble with this, congratulations, your white Nikes are in the mail.
So what worked about the main event? Even though his spectre was all over the show, Vince at LEAST was able to restrain himself from doing that asinine floppy-legged stomp-to-the-ring of his (although I might suggest that, to distract himself from doing so, poor Test & Knox were likely commanded to oil each other down in Vince's dressing room).
It was subtle, but dX checked their attitude at the door, so to speak, with the (hilarious) "Bingo!" comment and were all business tonight, in keeping with the extreme nature of the show, as well as the fact that they were out for revenge; no playing to the "ECW" crowd, no "Suck It!", just a little crotch-choppin and some X pyro to close us out, which I think was the Right way to go all the way around. HBK's slingshot cross body plancha and HHH welcoming Sledgey into the situation worked in ECW, too. (The ONLY way I'd condone another cross-brand situation in this regard is if HHH reached under the ring to grab Sledgey, only to have to fight The Little Bastard for it!)
If nothing else, at least The Big Show was allowed to be as dominant as an extreme giant should have been, even against two top-tiered talents like dX, and, as soon as it appeared that dX might get the upper hand, there was Hardcore Holly (great move bringing him back on ECW!) and *shhhh! The Basham Brothers* pouncing like any good cowardly heel faction. That was a SICK sledge shot to the head by HHH, BTW!
All in all, I feel as if, with the contract extension from Sci-Fi, we're likely to see Heyman work some of his booking magic, which, for those of you who're not familiar with his brand of booking, you're in for a TREAT! (At least till he starts to outshine Vince's CRAP "booking" and has his script shredded in favor of a Vince re-write…and until Heyman does that which Vince has forgotten how to do, create interesting, three-dimensional characters and pulls them from ECW and puts them on Raw so he can convolute and dumb them down…)
The wRong:
Aside from the foregoing, nothing!
The Ridiculous:
(see: wRong)
And elsewhere:
This is from 411's own Hidden Highlights and just about made my week:
J2K is back and finishes us off with a BEAST of an email:
I attended the show live at the Verizon Center. You saw some of my signs on air, too, like the "MISTER / KENNEDY / ...(wait for it)... / ...Kennedy" four-part sign (that's me holding up "MISTER") and a "Great Khali: Nature's Little Oopsie" sign (held up by one of my friends).
AWESOME! For the uninitiated, "Nature's Little Oopsie" is my very own pet name for Khali from Right here in the R's! Thanks, J2K! You fuckin RULE!!! It's a just a damn shame the LAME ASS new network that's "replaced" UPN on my local channel 13 (which is already being panned as "unbelievably bad") has decided to nix SD! and I didn't get to see it, so the highlight of my weekend had to be doing coke on the set of "Entourage" at a mansion in the Sunset hills. Fear not, friends, I managed somehow.
And, finally, I apologize to the following for my negligence last week. I had fully intended to include these e-mails, but my company is being sold at the moment and it's been an absolute MADHOUSE here and I was lucky to get last week's submission off on time.
Manu has some astute comments to share with regard to my hope that this program with Rey Mysterio may end up serving well Chavo Guerrero:
That would be nice, except Chavo is feuding with a mid-carder. What? He's a former champ? The last champ, in fact? How? He's barely won a single match since march! No, I don't believe you. Rey is a former cw champ, former tag champ, but was never THE champ, and therefore, never an upper card guy. At most, Chavo will get to....well, do nothing, after this.
Ouch. Sadly, he's Right.
Remember how, back during the invasion, Rhyno was getting a fairly decent push, up until his neck injury, and then when he came back, he did nothing of importance for the rest of his time? And how Kanyon was getting a decent push, up until his injury, and then he never came back? other than to play the part of boy George, that is. I get almost the same feeling from Kennedy's return. The old Kennedy would've made quick work of Tatanka. The new Kennedy had a match with him that seemed like it went on and on and on and on forever. And he used the tights to win. And his opening gimmick got interrupted by super crazy, which resulted in nothing. and he lost to matt hardy, CLEANLY, and that led to nothing (rematch this week, we'll see what happens), then he BEAT Batista TWICE, only to job to him, and nothing happening. How hard is it to give him something to do???
Agreed! However, in a wacky turn of "Huh?!", Kennedy is now our USC on SD!, a move I applaud in and of itself, but the cynic Vince has created in me tells me this move makes me suspect the need to take the UST out of the Lashley/Finlay situation (as Booker's time as WC is coming to a close) and that the patented SD! Brand Of Booking (a kit that comes with a blindfold and set of darts) decided to drop the belt on Kennedy. GOD I'm hoping he gets a meaningful run out of this championship tenure, but…sorry, I couldn't finish that sentence…I fell out of my chair laughing half way through it.
Dan offers a unique (and I suppose, not an altogether unreasonable) take on everyone's favorite program:
I've been as pissed off as anyone about the use of Eddie in the show for nearly a year now. I never thought I could miss someone who I've never even met as much as I miss Eddie. But I understood the initial push of Rey. Personally, I would have stopped it there - it could have stood as a kind of tribute to Eddie's memory.
Then it all segued into the Rey-Chavo feud. Personally, I think the feud is a good idea, but Eddie's name should have been kept out of it.
BUT!
While we're all saying "stop this Vicki", "McMahon is Satan for doing this to them and to Eddie," can we not consider the feelings of the people who matter most in this - Vicki, Chavo, Rey and Eddie's closest friends and family? Is it not possible that putting these three people together could actually help them? Maybe Rey and Chavo would rather not feud with anyone except for each other right now. Maybe Vicki enjoys acting and being around people who loved Eddie as much as she did. The Guerrero's are a wrestling family, and if pro-wrestling is nothing else, it is something that constantly pushes boundaries and I'm afraid it always has been and always will be distasteful at times. The Guerrero's know this, are used to it and have probably been part of every bizarre angle known to man. It is part of their life. It may disturb us, but I don't think it gives us the right to assume that the three protagonists go home and cry over what they're doing each night. Perhaps they see it as keeping Eddie's name alive? Who knows? We keep saying Vicki should put it to rest, but maybe she has gone some way to doing that, or maybe this is helping her deal with it. I've never understood the point in sad funerals - to me we should celebrate people's lives, that's how I would want people to react when I'm six feet under. Maybe Eddie would be delighted that these three can work together and that his name is still helping to provide for his family.
Again, I say that I am not in favor of this angle, but I am in favor of Rey, Chavito and Vicki working together, working with the people they are closest to. That makes sense to me and I don't think we should judge WWE, McMahon or Vicki too harshly unless we know the full facts. I'm not quite sure how McMahon could FORCE Vicki into this angle, for example, and whatever you say about him, I don't think he WOULD force her into it.
I think Dan brings up quite a good point in that we've all been quite quick to jump and accuse the Guerrero's of being Vince's sell-out pawns when, for all intents and purposes, all three have run support to the program and toward Eddie himself, simply because we know what a dripping crotch Vince can be in the name of getting his own way and doing what he wants. Is Vince the man who lied under oath when defending his name against the Federal government on the issue of steroids and their involvement in his company? Well, he was found innocent, but I'll ask you to come to your own conclusions when looking at his body, although, in fairness, there's TONS of 60 year-old men making the cover of Muscle & Fitness, aren't there? Is Vince the man who bought out his competition and collected the spoils in a "it's not the getting or the utilizing so much as the hoarding" move? Is Vince the man who went to the trouble of creating a DVD solely to bury a man who's already buried himself in The Ultimate Warrior, simply because he could? Is Vince the man who brought us Katie Vick in a HWT program that even involved Sonny boy? The answer is a resounding YES and so, many of us don't have a lot of credit left to give Vince McMahon, the self-proclaimed genius, who has managed to make a couple solid business deals which allowed him to throw enough shit against the wall until something stuck to carry him on and keep the fallacy of his genius alive. I neither doubt nor contest Dan's suggestion that perhaps this is something fun and emotionally productive for Chavo, Vicki and Rey and I hope they enjoy working together, but, and I speak only for myself here, it seems to me that, perhaps, Vicki could have been the guest ring announcer for a Rey and Chavo "Eddie tribute match", similar to the legendary Bret Hart/Chris Benoit "Owen Hart tribute match" and left it at that…?
Finally, not to undermine Dan's eloquent contribution (which, despite my acerbic response, I truly respect), Andy offers the more popular sentiment:
For more than a couple of decades now, I've been a fan of the World Wrestling Federation, now World Wrestling Entertainment. I've followed the highs and lows of the organization, from Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage to Stone Cold & the Rock to John Cena & Batista. In a way, I could be called a super-fan, since I've put together a massive website over the last 10 years, recording the history of sports entertainment.
However, my passion for WWE has been going downhill over the last month, with my fire to continue the
webpage dying off. I didn't fully put together why this was until this past Friday night, when I watched
Vicki Guerrero turn heel and hit Rey Mysterio with a chair. The exploitation of Eddie's memory hit a new
low that I would have never thought possible. I used to have respect for Chavo, Vicki, and, yes, Mysterio.
But for them to go along with this angle is simply disturbing to me. I couldn't watch another minute of
the show, as I was simply too disgusted with this situation.
Thus, I have made a decision. I am no longer watching WWE television. This includes Smackdown, Raw, ECW, even the episodes of Heat on the Internet. Vince McMahon will no longer be getting my money every month (whenever I could afford it) for the pay-per-views. I will not attend any live WWE shows that come to my city. I hope he realizes what a loyal customer he's losing, someone who has given probably too much to them over the years.
I will have to be content with TNA and my RoH tapes for now, because if this is the only way to get it through McMahon's mind that exploiting the memory of a great wrestler is wrong, then that's what I've got to do. Maybe someday, I'll return to watch the "#1" wrestling program. Maybe someday, WWE will get another dollar from me. Maybe someday, Vince will learn that the pocket book shouldn't go ahead of respect.
Right now, I can't say that I'm expecting miracles.
Damn. To quote a great performer…Oh, my brother, TESTIFY!
Remember people, show Geoff some love by emailing him here: yostankmama@hotmail.com
READER RANT TIME!
From Al -
Hi, I love your recaps and 3 R's column but this ONE time I need to complain, or at least comment. I am very happy that you said that Hacksaw Duggan was not in line for any title shots, but mentioning him in the same breath as Foley, Flair, Funk makes me barf. Flair, Funk, Foley can still make a new wrestler if he beats them, Hacksaw was almost always lower mid-card talent, who cares about him? Hacksaw Duggan (IMO) is the WORST wrestler ever to ‘make it' in wrestling. He has no look, no speaking ability, no wrestling skills, cannot sell, and never was anything more than a joke. I have NO IDEA why the WWE employs him, he sucked in 1987! Same goes for Tatanka on SD! Why not hire One Man Gang, Brutus Beefcake, Warrior, and the Bushwhackers while we're at it? There are no decent ‘veterans' they could rehire?
I didn't mention him on the same level, I was making an explanation because I like those other guys and was anticipating a double standard argument.
From Don -
Hi Larry (Go Dolphins!)
I usually don't bother with your articles, because I find you to be extremely negative, but I checked out "Your News, My Views" for 8/29 and found that you felt Edge should have been DQ'ed for what Lita did, because Sharmell did the same thing. However, if you look at the DQ's, Sharmell was DQ'ed for hitting Batista. She actually threw fists. Lita did not actually
get to attack John Cena, so therefore there was no DQ.
Unfortunately, WWE has apparently taken the attitude of "it's all a work, so who cares?" Nonetheless, I usually try to find the link of logic, and if that's the case. I have to go with the point of actually striking the opposing wrestler to be the grounds for a DQ.
-Dan
PS - Would it kill you to say something positive in your articles? If it would, then you should probably find something else to do.
I still contend that the DQ situations were virtually the same, hence my argument. Read the 3Rs of that PPV where I explain it better. And I say plenty of positive things, some only dwell on my negative ones. I also don't use fake positivism to cover up the truth.
From Doug -
I noticed a little trend with your reader response last week, everyone is deciding to quit watching WWE. Well I can't.
I guess it's just easier for me to keep watching because I never watch any of their shows when they're on. I TIVO them all. So on RAW I don't expose myself to things such as the stupidity of their tag matches, a boring Nitro Press Conference (though slow mo is a thing of beauty for Melina's entrance), or another round of McMahon/DX BS. RAW goes by like its nothing, ECW is about 10 minutes long, but still watch most of Smackdown for the pure fact that JBL is an announcing GOD and with the exception of Batista I care about those guys.
I can see though why people would stop watching if the didn't have the luxury of taping the shows. I would stop watching too because I would feel like I was wasting my time as well.
From Keith -
I have to be quick because "who wants to be a superhero" comes on in like ten minutes...
Because of the stupid lions game I hadn't watched SD! in two weeks. So this was the first time I've really heard booker's "accent"...Brilliant! Just because he's better with the gold, booker should win at No mercy.
So apparently I have to watch SD! for good women's wrestling. Now if only they can get the belt on that show.
I know this was last week but the TNA crowd chanting "whose your daddy!" while Douglas rips the naturals a new one is hilarious.
Cena showing sincerity and desperateness is good. These matches are under promoted but the best on the ppv.
Lita's match sucked!!!
Kane not here... continuity.
Hell in a cell, the proverbial HHH feud killer. Who didn't see this coming?
IC title is a joke.
CM Punk needs a feud to make him more interesting
And finally from Nathan -
This is the first show that I've actually had a chance to watch in a while, so I thought it would make a fine choice for a first e-mail.
SmackDown! 8.25.06
Ceremony
Having Booker T bring a sword to knight Finlay and Regal is a nice touch.
I admit that I haven't caught much of the show lately, but did Regal and Finlay work out their problems? Seeing them on the same page was a bit jarring for me as the last show I saw before SummerSlam saw Regal getting hit from behind with the shillelagh by Finlay as he went to attack Lashley.
I liked how Lashley entered with no fanfare and got a quick advantage by using his brain and attacking Finlay when he was the only one in the ring. I felt Batista running down to no music would still have been effective and helps sustain disbelief. Finlay and King Booker acted appropriately with Finlay rushing Lashley when he arrived on the scene and the King booking when Batista arrived.
Matt Hardy v Mr. Kennedy
While I enjoyed the match, I have to wonder - Why you have two guys fighting each other, when both have tremendous upside (in Harry's case, despite the efforts of the writers)?
I liked Gregory Helms on commentary and when the match started, I was wondering what he was doing at ringside. As the match progressed, I sensed that he would cost Matt the match and this prompted another question - Why have these two in a program against each other right now? I have no doubt a feud between them will be entertaining to watch, but why not hold off until Helms is no longer Cruiserweight champion?
The Miz
While I found him entertaining on Real World, etc it seems that he is trying too hard in his segments since coming on SmackDown!, particularly since the Diva Search began. Hopefully he can wrestle, because this week I found him annoying and wished they had given his time to someone else.
Tatanka v Sylvester Terkay
The match was meh, though Tatanka got in a lot of offense, more than I remember anyone else getting from the little I have seen of him. Why are they giving a program to Tatanka (even if it is the refs are out to get me)? Why did they waste the first knockdown of Terkay on a guy with no upside or long term future?
Vicki Guerrero's Apology
I don't care much for the WWE's use of Eddie Guerrero's name since his death, but the outcome of this segment with Vicki siding with Chavo at least makes sense.
What doesn't make sense is why we are having this segment at all - didn't Chavo come out of retirement for one night only?
Rey Mysterio Jr is like Sting 2.0 when it comes to trusting people, especially the Guerrero's.
Paul London v KC James
I don't care at all for James/Stevens and McCool's look. While the match was OK, it wasn't anything great. JBL compared Kendrick and London to the Rockers and his commentary helps put the wrestlers over, IMO, which is always a good thing.
With the return of the Pitbulls, perhaps SD is reviving (temporarily, for the umpteenth time) their tag team division.
Also, James & Stevens should learn something from the Pitbulls and London/Kendrick and get a unified theme to their look. Otherwise, it makes them seem like two guys thrown together instead of a team.
Kristal v Jillian Hall
Why is this match on SD at all, much less in the second hour? The Women's title is on RAW, so other than T&A (which can be done a whole lot better in other ways), women's wrestling serves no purpose. Either move both of these women to RAW or bring the Women's Championship to SD.
Jimmy Wang Yang
Ugh, an Asian redneck - how do the writers get to keep their jobs again?
Vito v Sylvan
Why are these two lower card guys fighting each other when they could be used to get other people (say Matt Hardy, Gregory Helms or Mr. Kennedy) over? Why is this on in the second hour?
Got to give credit to Vito as he is doing the best he can with what he has, but the gimmick sucks.
The only good thing about this match is that it teased the in-ring debut of MVP and helped continue the definition of his gimmick. We can only hope that creative doesn't screw it up once he signs with SD.
Batista/Lashley v King Booker & His Court
OK, let me say that its OK for the faces to lose when they are facing unequal odds, so why is it that they always win? The other major issue I had with this match was the fact that neither Lashley nor Batista is a good candidate to play the face in peril, though Lashley did OK after dominating the early part of the match.
I liked the fact that the heels fought relatively intelligently until the end, using the numbers advantage to get and keep control. I also felt that Booker did a nice job with his refusal to get in the ring when Lashley egged him on and then making an opportunistic tag to get into the match after Lashley had been beaten on.
Oh and the Leprechaun attacking Cole was funny, even if it was unnecessary.
5/10 - Overall, an OK show, a pointless segment (The Miz), match (Kristal v Jillian), and numerous questionable booking decisions keep it from being better.
