News for the Middle of Your Weekend 9.09.06
Posted by Ryan Byers on 09.09.2006
WWE has legal issues, a World Champion works through a major injury, and a look at this weekend's indy cards!
Howdy, folks. I'm Ryan, and I'm filling in for your main man Michael Melchor. Apparently his personal computer has taken a turn for the worse, so god knows how long it will be before he's able to entertain you again. I'm sure you're all hoping that the answer is sooner rather than later . . . though I hope that feeling doesn't increase any after having read my attempt at substituting for him.
NEWS FROM VINCE'S CIRCUS
BBQ = Big Blog Quality
In one of the more interesting recent developments on the internet, Jim Ross now has a blog. He's made just a handful of posts thusfar, half of them being about wrestling and half of them being about football. It actually reads quite a bit like the old "Ross Report" columns from WWE.com, giving little real insight and towing the company line, as you would expect from the voice of World Wrestling Entertainment. However, he does still manage to sneak in a witty line here and there. However, now that Jim Ross is posting his thoughts about wrestling on a website, one has to wonder if Triple H and JBL will start calling him a "puny twelve year old boy living in his mother's basement."
And We Thought the Wellness Policy Would Reduce Everybody's Definition . . .
World Wrestling Entertainment has announced that it will be taping a non-televised Smackdown event in High Definition as a means of testing the format for use on future programming. Personally, I fail to see the big deal. So the picture will be clearer . . . who cares? Good wrestling will still be good wrestling, no matter how many zits you're able to count on Gene Snitsky's back.
Anti-Intellectual Property
WWE has caught a good deal of flack this weekend from old school wrestling fans, as there was recently an incident in which they contacted popular video hosting website YouTube and had some footage of South Eastern Championship Wrestling pulled. The problem? WWE never purchased the rights to SECW's footage. On one hand, this is one incident in a pattern of recent behavior by WWE that has seen them attempt to dominate the distribution of wrestling footage on the internet, whether they actually own it or not. That fact is almost enough to make you sympathetic to the gentleman who posted the video. However, even though WWE got it pulled without owning the footage, there's no indication that the man who posted it had the permission of the REAL owners, so he could easily have been breaking the law no matter whether the reasons for the whistle being blown on him were appropriate.
NEWS FROM JEFF JARRETT'S VANITY PROMOTION
Cheap Plug
Every week, a very handsome, intelligent man reviews TNA Impact for this website. That is all.
Ten Things I Hate About Double J
Do you hate Jeff Jarrett? Sure, everybody does! Do you hate Jeff Jarrett AND have too much time on your hands? In that case, you can enter TNA Wrestling's Why I Hate Jeff Jarrett contest, in which producing a video that spews venom at the NWA Champion can earn you a free trip to the No Surrender pay per view. You'll also be permitted to whip Jarrett at some point . . . no, not in his bedroom, but during his match against Samoa Joe. A lot of people have been giving this contest idea a lot of flack, but it's still worlds better than the WWF choosing its Tough Enough contestants based on two minute videos. Though I personally won't be entering the contest, here are some strategies for anybody who wants to win:
1.) Use a southern accent. If you don't have one, fake it. Jarrett might mistake you for a country music star and attempt to bring to you in to get a rub.
2.) Bribe Jeff by hijacking a shipment of orange pants and having it delivered to his front door.
3.) Demonstrate your whipping techniques in your video. Just make sure that you go light on whatever you're hitting so Jarrett thinks he's in for an easy night by selecting you.
4.) Don't send in a video at all. Based on his past relationships with Sean Waltman and Jeff Hardy, Jarrett likes to reward people who no show.
5.) If all else fails, suck up. State that you hate Jeff Jarrett because he's the greatest wrestler ever . . . better than Ric Flair, better than Lou Thez, better than Karl Gotch. Your hatred stems from the fact that your favorite competitors will never ever be as good as Jeff.
INDY-SENT HEADLINES
BOLA at Ya Boy
Pro Wrestling Guerilla held its annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament last weekend, which I had to the opportunity to preview the last time I did a news report fill-in. There's been surprisingly little coverage of the fall-out on this website, though hardcore PWG mark Bayani did pay a little bit of a lip service to it. Here is a list of highlights from the show:
- Dragon Gate INVADED! Three regular competitors from the Japanese promotion (CIMA, Dragon Kid, and Genki Horiguchi) participated in the tournament, and American indy wrestler Jack Evans also appeared not long after completing several tours with DG. Word is that all of these men put on phenomenal performances that really need to be seen to be believed. If nothing else, their involvement provided a nice change of pace for an indy scene that is getting dangerously close to running out of fresh matchups.
- Dragon and Necro tore down the house. The first round match between Super Dragon and the Necro Butcher is being considered the greatest contest of the entire tournament by many people who attended the three shows. The two men apparently beat the holy hell out of each other including a burning hammer off of the ropes and through the seat of a chair that finished the match. Rarely does one spot justify purchasing a DVD, but this may well be the exception to that rule.
- Richards won at the last minute. Due to injuries suffered in the aforementioned Necro Butcher match, Super Dragon was unable to win the tournament as originally scheduled. Instead, his tag team partner and indy up-and-comer Davey Richards took home the victory, beating CIMA in a singles match the finals. (The match was originally set to be a three-way also including Dragon.) Thought it wasn't the original plan, I've got to say that I think this conclusion was better. Richards, after all, is a guy who still needs a few major performance and wins in order to put him on the level of top tier indy names. You may as well elevate the guy when CIMA, a legitimate superstar in the eyes of PWG fans, is there to do it.
Really, based on the reports, it seems like almost every match on the card could qualify as a highlight, but I don't have the time to run them all down right now. For only $35, Highspots is willing to let you own the entire tournament on three discs. I high suggest picking it up ASAP, though, if you want to wait for me to form more detailed opinions, you can wait for the review that I'm sure I'll do in the not too distant future.
Did He Learn Nothing from Kurt Angle?
According to Ring of Honor's newswire, their World Champion Bryan Danielson has decided to work through the two tears in his shoulder muscles that he suffered two weeks ago in a match against Colt Cabana. He'll be postponing a possible surgery so that he can have a "dream match" against NOAH's top junior heavyweight KENTA on September 16 in Manhattan. This is one of those decisions that has me torn. Part of me respects the lengths that Danielson is willing to go to for his craft, while another part of me realizes that it's incredibly stupid to risk permanent injury for the sake of making a tiny indy payday. Hopefully, after this match, the Dragon will take the sabbatical he needs . . . even though it might necessitate an end to what has been an incredibly entertaining ROH Title reign.
Shows for Fun and Profit!
I'm a huge advocate of independent wrestling. If you've never been to an indy show, you're missing out. They're not major productions like WWE, but indy shows always have a unique air about them and almost always turn out being a fun time even if the wrestling in the ring leaves something to be desired. You owe it to yourself as a fan to at least give them a shot. To that end, I'm going to plug a few of the more interesting events that are taking place this weekend:
- World Women's Wrestling will run on September 10 at 7 PM in Somerville, MA. WWW is almost like a mini-version of SHIMMER, as you'll get to see many of the same stars. The main event pits Nikki Roxx against Tanya Lee and Ariel (not of ECW fame) in a triple threat match. I've never seen Lee, but Roxx is decent and Ariel was very good in the one bout I've seen her in. Indy darling Alere Little Feather will also be appearing.
- TONIGHT in Valdesta, Georgia, Steve Corino's Pro-Wrestling WORLD-1 will hold a card. Though there are no matches announced, Mr. Wrestling II will be appearing to sign autographs and do a Q&A session. On top of that, Ray "Glacier" Lloyd of WCW "fame" will be present, and god only knows what he'll be up to.
- September 10 will also see Maryland Championship Wrestling will be returning to Dundalk, MD. Tito Santana and AJ Styles will both be appearing in unannounced roles on the show, and CZW standouts Ruckus and Adam Flash will also be appearing.
- Speaking of CZW, they'll be at the former ECW Arena tonight with an 8 PM bell time. None of the announced matches look all that interesting to me, though Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli are both billed as appearing on the card. You're never going to go wrong with the Kings of Wrestling.
- Last but certainly not least, Ring of Honor's sister promotion Full Impact Pro will be running a show tonight in Crystal River, Florida. It's the second half of their second anniversary spectacular, which could mean big things. We know for sure that Roderick Strong will be taking on the phenomenal Delirious, and also appearing will be Colt Cabana and the Briscoe Brothers.
That little bit of indy pimping will do it for me this week. Hopefully this report matched Melchor's lofty standards, and, if it didn't . . . blame him.
