WRestling’s 3R’s 4.20.07: Black Machismo, Italian Raw, MVP Makes an Impact, Punk Plays Mind Games and More!
Posted by Larry Csonka on 04.20.2007
I think I will pick someone out of the crowd to fill in for me next week, what’s the worst that could happen?
The 3R's of wRestling
Introduction~!
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. It is time again for that walk through the wild world of wrestling TV that we take each and every week. Things suck right about now. Too much work, the wife fell and broke her arm, I got a flat tire on the Csonka-Mobile and am just generally in a bad mood. On other things, I am hooked on some new TV shows: Survivor Man, Man vs. Wild, Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters and some others. Damn fine programming there, check them all out. Well, enough of that I suppose, let's get to work on the column.
How the 3R's of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 3 R's. I will take the 5 main shows (6 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 various 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 or go the wrong way 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, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~!
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, 5th or even a 6th R to the column, so beware of those~! I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether very positive or negative.
iMpact!:
iMpact 4.12.06:
The Right:
15:10 - For WEEKS I have been o a crusade for TNA to start living up to their "WE ARE WRESTLING" mantra, and for weeks I have been discussing the same thing with the same rant, including this key line: "There are 18-20 minutes of commercials per episode of Impact. So hence forth as I have said, I feel that there should be around 15-18-minutes of wrestling action per week, minimum on Impact." BINGO~! There it is and I am a happy man. And the thing was that it didn't hurt the story telling aspect, if anything it slightly helped slow down the frantic pace of the show. Wrestling on a wrestling program, a novel idea. Good work TNA, I took you to task and you finally answered back in a positive way. Really, that is the thing about me, that if I harp on something for being wrong or worse, and if it is fixed and or improves I reward it with praise. That is what I am doing here, they cracked the 15-minute mark for wresting, and it wasn't hard and they still got tons of story and interview time. Just do this more often and stay away from the "Impact Specials" (6-man matches going 2-minutes) and I think they'll be fine, and I will be happier for sure.
Black Machismo - I hate to say this, but after this match I will say that Black Machismo has a real chance of working. And it will work for more than the reason that it gives Lethal a personality, but also because of how he now wrestles. First of all, people actually care about Jay Lethal now. They pop for the music, they pop for his acting like Savage and they stay with him for the whole match now. He isn't faceless anymore. People caring; even if there is a comedy aspect to him, is a good thing. Of course the booking will have to follow up on it, but it is working. Now for his wrestling: what is funny is that when he works an Impact match as Jay Lethal it is mostly Indy-Riffic. But, in 2007 when he wrestles a 90% 1987 Randy Savage match and throws some of his signature stuff in, it is so much better. Why? Because, while he is doing Savage spots, it is simple, which can be VERY effective. Overall this seems to be an early success. As much as I was against going the parody route with him, he did well on Impact and even better at the PPV. I, once again can admit when things work even if I didn't initially support them.
Dissention in the ranks builds to Lethal Lockdown! - I have actually been liking the whole teams cannot trust each other and are out for themselves deal in the whole Lethal Lockdown build. Sometimes it is good not to be all buddy-buddy, as it adds a different element to things. This week started off with team Angle, in their Lockdown shirts questioning Angle about the promised 5th man. Not only did they not trust Angle, but also they thought that perhaps it was a conspiracy theory, as Angles road to the title would be much easier without Joe, Rhino and Sting. Team Cage then got to celebrate, yet bickered as AJ made mention that they had the advantage and should take full advantage of it tonight. Cage then acted as he knew that, and then made fun of Abyss to feel better. And then after the main event, Rhino, Sting and Joe were pissed off that Angle had brought Jarrett back to the TNA fold, leaving you with many questions heading into the PPV, which I again liked.
puRgatory:
Roode vs. Petey/Jackie vs. Gail/Storm vs. Harris/Roode and Brooks vs. Young - So in true PPV hype fashion, they tried to fit a few feuds into a small amount of time to give them a little look of importance for the show. This was Roode and Jackie vs. Gail and Petey. They had a little match that went through a commercial, Roode took out Gail and Petey got beat down the whole match. Gail made her comeback, evened things up but Roode ended up with the roll up win. The heels did the post match beat down, Chris Harris ran out as Storm was already out there and they paired off into the three feuds and then Eric Young stood off with Roode and cleared the ring, which is the 4th feud in this whole thing. But when you look at it, this was one of those Impact special type deals where they lump it all together into one segment to try and give these matches some form of hype, but in the end, you tend not to remember one damn thing that happened during the segment, so you don't care or worse off think the segment was bad. It wasn't horrible, but hell, I had to go back and read what happened because I forgot! And when I am forgetting this shit, you know it is bad.
TAZERED~! - LAX hijacked Brother Runt this week in order to send a message to Ray and Devon. They had his tied up and drug him out to the ring, and Konnan started going off promo wise, which is always a good thing. He said that they wanted to send a message to his brothers and pulled out a piece…his GAT…a nine…well, actually it was a tazer gun, but you get the point. Ray and Devon came out and asked him not to shoot their brother, but Konnan said he would be like the US police forces and shoot first and ask questions later, and tazered young Runt. He did get shot with it, and I really wonder if the crazy bastard took a tazer shot. Anyway, this was more build to the match. They hate each other, they will do anything to fuck with each other and will also do anything to keep the titles. Sure the have the wacky stipulation, but it is a simple and solid build. Of course on the other side of things there are the logistics of this, which make it very dumb. First of all there is the fact that they were going to "Shoot" a man on TV. Then there was the fact that no one thought to cal the police when it appeared that Konnan had a gun. Finally, there was the way it comes off. The appearance of a "gun" on TV really isn't the thing you ant putting out there to the kids. I know other shows involve guns, but this is pro wrestling, I really don't see a need for this kind of bullshit. The Austin/Pillman thing was almost deadly to WWF back in the day, and that was a Russo deal. Also, the midget with a gun in early TNA was also a Russo angle. Knock it off asshole, ok? This is wrestling, not CSI.
The wRong:
NADDA~!
The Ridiculous:
Wait…the faces got the Wargames Advantage? - There are times where I go, "WWE/TNA/WHOEVER could not possible mess this up. And then they prove me wrong and do something stupid like this. And when that happens, I slam by head on the keyboard and shit like this happens: "yhubng." And then I feel like I have a headache. It sucks. It is essentially Wargames, the heels always have the advantage, they get most of the heat, the final face gets a big moment and then you book around that basic concept. It is simple, this should not be fucked up. And if you say, "Well how would you have done it?" I would answer with this. The heels, through the numbers game and distraction, use these nefarious means to steal the win. I also wouldn't have had AJ vs. Joe, but hey, what can you do. And then, the heels would beat down the faces, kick the hell out of them and then celebrate. And THEN the music kicks in, JJ appears and makes the "5" sign, charges the ring and saves the day. And then you can still play with Joe, Rhino and Sting being pissed about it, leading to the PPV. Simple, effective and time tested. Sometimes you really need to sit back, not think too much and go with what has worked for years. Now obviously they went and changed this at the PPV, which was good and also bad. First of all it is good because in this style of match the heels need the advantage for it to work, that's the way things go. But the way they did it at the PPV was dumb. They over turned it because the faces cheated for the win. But they completely forgot the fact that AJ cheated first when he pulled the ref into Joe's knee of doom off the 2nd rope. That was dumb. They never should have had the faces win in the first place just to bait and switch it on the PPV. BLAH.
SmackDown!: By: "The Whole Geoffin Show" Geoff Eubanks
SmackDown 4.13.06
So you know that whole "good news/bad news" deal I've shared with you in the past, as it appears to be a mantra, the road upon which my life is lived…? Last week I made mention of the new sofa/chaise suite I was getting. Well, yes, it arrived…COMPLETELY UNASSEMBLED. This is a pretty good-sized couple slabs o' furniture, friends, and it's quality stuff, too, so it's heavy. I got the sleigh legs and back attached to the chaise and needed a nap. Oh, and my friend who was supposed to come and pick up my old sleeper sofa and love seat with his neighbor ended up balking, so I have all that old shit in my living room, too. Even if I could do it alone, there's not enough space in the living room to assemble the new sofa. The trials of the middle aged…hahaha.
Mick Foley reality show? Two words: Hoo-fuckin-RAW!
The Right
I.Told.You.So – As I said last week, it's pretty much a done deal that MVP will be reliving Chris Benoit of his golden, ten-pound burden sooner rather than later (Backlash…?), and, as such, was extremely pleased the UST change wasn't treated merely as an arbitrary attempt at making something more than it really was simply because it occurred at WM, my absolute fear in that regard.
But, no, that was only the beginning, as the match served as a coming-of-age party of sorts for MVP, who has marks and smarks alike typing single-handedly in wrestling forums across the globe. Considering his highly-touted performances in the old DSW broadcasts, it appears MVP has always had quite a few tricks up his spangley, lavender sleeve, but was encouraged to hold back initially, until his joint feud with Kennedy against THE BROTHERS OF DESTRUCTION, where it could be argued both "rookies" served an on-screen apprenticeship, each having grown as performers (or being then allowed to let a little more steam out of the tank to illustrate the point) as a consequence. With a brief pothole in the Road to WM, since the infamous Inferno match against Kane, we've seen MVP get serious and up his verbal game considerably, which, when coupled with a smattering of "new" moves and a (suddenly) solid command of chain wrestling, I'm warming to MVP myself, my main criticism of him being such a seemingly one-dimensional character and (certainly) in-ring performer. (We will NOT be jumping any bandwagons, however, until he bails that absolutely Ridiculous ring gear. Rumor has it Vince tried to get Adrian Adonis in that get-up back during the "Adorable Adrian" gimmick, but Adonis put down his foot and flat out refused)
Of course, the real test will be how well he performs without the benefit of being paired with a master such as Benoit, the cliché being that Benoit could get three stars wrestling a broomstick. Even Lashley was starting to look good after a few matches with Finlay. However, in tonight's match, I didn't get the feeling that MVP was being led by the hand at all and could see about what all the fuss has been in MVP's regard since that WM contest. Longtime readers will be familiar with my status as a card-carrying Benoit mark, and, considering the fact that he'll be dropping a title to someone for whom I don't necessarily much care, it is this quality of role I feel Benoit and others of his age and experience, wisdom and ability should be assigned. It appears as if there certainly could be big things in store for MVP, and so it makes perfect sense for him to get the ultimate duke in this program, much as it may tug at my heart to admit it. I've said it before and I'll be proud to say it again, I do not mind being wRong at ALL, as long as about what I was incorrect ends up occurring for the greater good. When MVP ascends to "The Next Big Rock" status, kindly send your "I told you so's to my e-mail addy and I'll eat every one of them.
puRgatory
Keep yer goddam hands OFF muh WIFE! – So sayeth H.I. McDunnough in "Raising Arizona", as does Finlay to Kennedy in regard to The Little Bastard (only he didn't phrase it as Michael Cole suggested he did, "Keep your hands off my hornswoggle", because that gives one the connotation that we might be misreading the impetus for this entire program, doesn't it…?).
Before we bring in our friends The Undertaker and Batista, I want to touch on what we saw transpire between Finlay and Mr. Kennedy. I don't buy this new BFF deal between them and it's my contention we'll see a match between these two by Backlash. The fact that Kennedy is playing such a chickenshit heel makes the veteran Finaly suspicious, acquiescing to Kennedy's wishes, following the line of thinking that it's best to keep one's friends close and enemies closer until such time as he can suss out Kennedy's plan (that likely being to double-cross them at his first opportune moment). Bear in mind, we've really seen no interaction between The Little Bastard and Kennedy following the burying of the hatchet between Mr. $ITB and Finlay, so there's the possibility of fireworks there, as well as The Fighting Irishman finding himself at odds with Kennedy over their loss to Taker and Batista here tonight, to say nothing of the fact that Finlay scored a clean pin on Kennedy the SD! before WM, and so would certainly be within his Rights to challenge Kennedy for the briefcase based upon that merit. There are a number of places they can go with this one and virtually any of them will work.
So why, then, stick this in puRgatory? Two reasons: 1) We're starting to cozy up to the whole bait-n-switch thing on SD!, aren't we? The bait-n-switch ploy, much like the handicap match or any other myriad gimmicky angles (over)employed by modern storywriters, can be a useful and exciting tool when utilized sparingly; however, sometimes, as we've seen on Raw and it's parade of handicap matches over the last year or so, an over-utilized gimmick can become more hurtful than helpful; 2) although there's certainly the logic I suggested Finlay was employing with respect to forgiving Kennedy, there was still just that twinge I couldn't shake that bothered me…Finlay loves to fight, Right? Well here was a HELL of a fight in front of him, and he backed down in favor of a handshake. Seems to me that, match outcome notwithstanding, there could have been a contest to open the show, not a :20 extravaganza or anything, just enough to whet our appetites for more, then have Kennedy stick out his hand and complement Finlay on an awesome match, then burying the hatchet between them. Thaddeus Long could still have easily come out to stick them in the main event against Taker and Batista. I dunno, nothing to really soil my unders, just kinda annoying.
Rest in peace or wallow in glares? – You know, I'm really just kinda sitting around waiting for something to happen between Batista and The Undertaker. Does it seem to anyone else that they're like two kids on an elementary school playground pushing each other and butting chests, each daring the other to be the first to throw a real punch so they can get down and fight? I felt the build to WM was flimsy and one-dimensional, although certainly weighty and with far-reaching consequences. It was fairly obvious we'd get a whole rematch deal following WM, but this is where we have the opportunity to thicken the plot, to really allow something to develop. Instead, though, here we are again, back to firing off pissy glances at one another. As I've said in the past, I'm all for a slow-burn boil in such situations, but, honestly. WM is over, the streak is in tact and Big Dave is ten pounds lighter. SOMEONE throw a fucking punch already!
No, instead we got to use Finlay and Kennedy, two of the roster's most valuable in-ring commodities, as little better than pawns and afterthoughts so champ and former champ can play one-ups-manship between each other at the midcard's expense. Funny thing is, the match was kinda dullsville till the heels took over offense. And Mr. Continuity is clicking his tongue over the fact that Big Dave got the clean pin on Kennedy. So, the guy who just lost the WT just pinned Mr. $ITB. That means, since Batista dropped the belt to Taker and Kennedy can't beat Batista, he'd be well served to hang on to that briefcase till someone else manages to defeat Taker…? SD! eventually almost always manages to wind its (sometimes) meandering booking around to the main path again, and I hope this is one of those instances brewing here. Considering that Taker is a historically poor-draw champion, one would think they might be interested in weaving a compelling, engaging story around his newest title reign to keep fishing in the kids…
WWETTT chase, formula #5 – How Ridiculous is it that we have this enormous stopgap in the Deuce & Domino quest to unseat current champions, Brian Kendrick & Paul London? I mean, here's JBL talking them (D&D) up about how they earned a WWETTT shot in just five short weeks on TV, then we get the flashback to London & Kendrick celebrating their PPV victory…TWO MONTHS AGO. And then it all goes into limbo, freeze-dried and dehydrated to sit on the shelf while we work on the "real" stories for WM, then, after all the confetti's been cleared away, we dust this nugget off the shelf and behave as if we're seamlessly picking Right back up from last week.
I'm sticking this into puRgtory, because at least London & Kendrick didn't end up remaining on the shelf and are still carrying the belts proudly, leaving a trail of impressive performances in their wake, notwithstanding the fluctuating levels of talent their opponents may or may not be able to provide. I'd love for this team to reach into the top three longest tag reigns ever in WWE before finally being knocked off, and hopefully not by D&D, because these lumbering fools have no business in WWE, much less being champions. Did you know one of these sweat hogs is actually Jimmy Snuka's SON?! Jesus, if you need another reason not to do coke…Oh, yeah, and the jury's back. Cherry's, uhm, NOT attractive.
Nice bit of work, though, factoring out the legit-injured Ashley via and attack by Jigglin Hall over the whole Timbaland video debacle. It should be mildly interesting to see if anything more develops in this regard now that Ash is out. Yes, I said, MILDLY interesting. Also, kudos to Michael Cole for bringing up a couple times during the match how distracted the champs might be in light of their concern over their fallen manager. It's little touches such as that which keep Mr. Continuity from having to reach shakily for his nerve pills.
So are they gonna hit it or what? – You know, I highly doubt Teddy Long was interested in Kristal for her ability to make stunning greeting cards. Is gonna tap it or what? Could we please run this plot along now? I know, Teddy can't really stand up Right now, but give him a glass of ice water, let him compose himself and let's move this plot along! I still believe that once we turn a corner here in act one, things will liven up considerably, but it just seems like this has been in the same gear for a while now.
The wRong:
Watch your nuts, Kane's OTR again – The reason this is in The wRong and not The Ridiculous is because there's the possibility that we might see something interesting, entertaining and fun out of this new little tirade of Kane's, but if history has taught us anything, it's that we can just as easily expect another bout with necrophilia as an engaging program for The Big Red Monster, with nothing but broken down CW's in his wake, which does absolutely no one any good. Hey, remember that CW division…? Sssshhh…let's just put it out of our minds…
In closing, here's a curiosity. Why are a couple of boring-ass, one-dimensional performers like D&D getting this push in the tag "ranks" while a couple legitimate veterans (who are up there with Benoit and Finlay in terms of value to the company insofar as passing on knowledge to the young guys) in William Regal and Dave Taylor being made to look like butt-chumps (that's Right…butt-chumps) by Kane? In a different world, a better world, those roles are reversed and Regal & Taylor are making London & Kendrick FIGHT for their belts as Kane has already beheaded Joanie Loves Chachi and is drinking a nice Chianti out of Cherry's hollowed-out skull.
The Ridiculous:
Nothing of note…not…really…
Remember people, show Geoff some love by emailing him here: yostankmama@hotmail.com
RAW!:
Raw 4.16.07:
The Right:
Nitro kills Eugene - I loved the fact that Johnny Nitro just came out there and killed Eugene. The Eugene character has been dead for so long, it is useless to keep him around but at least they are jobbing him. And job him the hell out they should, he shouldn't get anything in against someone like Nitro who is being groomed to be a star. So they have this match, Eugene gets in the ring and Nitro kills him, just obliterates him and then debuts the "Rude Awakening" neck breaker as his finisher. Funny, I guess they looked at Nitro's abs and it clicked with someone, like, "Shit, Rick Rude! Let's give him the neck breaker as a finish!" Hey, whatever, it works. Nitro needs to have a nice string of dominating wins to help rebuild himself. He wasn't on WM and wasn't exactly built well before that since they were made afterthoughts on the feud with the Hardys. Melina and he seem to be totally split, Mercury is released so now he needs to step up and the booking needs to get behind him for him to mean anything.
puRgatory:
RKO vs. Cena - While Coach didn't get his way last week, he was able to make his match of RKO vs. John Cena this week on Raw. Leading up to the match Cena was amped up and ready for battle and RKO seemed to bury the hatchet for the night and were willing to team and try and eliminate Cena for the chance at getting the title. So they have the match, and it was ok. Not bad, but nothing great. They beat the hell out of Cena, which the Italian crowd loved as Cena was not their favorite person. They beat him down, and then we got the story of the night, miscommunication. Edge accidentally speared Orton, as Cena moved. HBK who had come to ringside superkicked Edge, as Cena moved. Cena then dropped HBK with the FU and got the pin, surviving the evening. And there again is a problem I have. There is no problem is having Cena lose to the numbers game. Having Orton and Edge beat him down and win through being dick head heels is OK. He doesn't always have to be superman, humanizing him is ok. Hell, HBK could have come out, nailed him and cost him the match, therefore it was 3 on 1. No shame in that. Plus it was another handicap match, which I now loathe.
Hardy vs. Cade - This was good and simple booking. Back to the old school. Two tag teams are about to collide for the titles, and you have the old "Captains Match" basically as a preview and way to build the feud and match, without giving the tag match away. I always love these type of things. This week we saw Lance Cade and Jeff Hardy do battle in the ring, and they had a fine little match. The battled, Matt and Murdoch were at ringside and really didn't have much to do with things, which was good. In the end, Jeff went for his Swanton, ate the knees of Cade who then followed up with a Hansen-Like Lariat for the surprise win, which Cade and Murdoch obviously needed because there was NO reaction to the finish. When I mean no reaction, I mean no reaction. Not a gasp, not heat on the heels, just, "WTF? Those guys won?" And the reason that they got this reaction is because of how the Redneck Whirling Dervish has been booked. Ever since they dropped those titles to Kane and Show they were booked like a complete and total joke. Hopefully they an try and rebuild them so that they mean something, because they have a lot to offer and could be a good short-term nemesis for the Hardy's.
Flair and Carlito vs. TWGTT - The saga of Flair and Carlito continued this week. They had a fine little match with TWGTT, Carlito actually looked motivated and I was fine with everything. Carlito then got caught with the EXPLODER by Shelton, and took the JOBSKI again. He threw a shit fit and left Flair and Torrie alone, and to that I say the next time Carlito throws a shit fit Flair should just bend Torrie over the security wall and lay it to her, all the time going, "WOOOO…WOOOOO…WOOO~!" That would show that young punk. But the problem much like the Hardy's vs. Cade and Murdoch is that when the WGTT won the match, no one really cared. And the reason for that is due to the booking of TWGTT. We touched on this last week, but since they have been put back together they have gotten nothing, the crowds have been given no reason to care about them. So while it is great that they finally got a nice TV win, they need to properly follow up and give the people a reason to care about them, otherwise they will remain the World's Greatest Jobbers.
The wRong:
Santino: New IC Champion - Yeah, didn't like this, not at all. There are just so many problems with it, and I don't care how "happy" the crowd seemed, this wasn't good I feel. First of all Umaga's run as the IC champ was a joke, no defenses and it did nothing for the title. We haven't had a really good IC champion since Orton had that long run back in the Evolution days. Nitro and Hardy had a good feud this year, but too short to really help things. So yeah, Umaga's run was a bust, just a reason for him to have a belt walking into WM, bullshit. Secondly, the way that Umaga has been booked since his debut, they could have really build up to something special after a dominating run. Have a young guy like Kenny or even a Harry Smith get the BIG win off of him, something special. Not what they did here. They have this jabroni come from the crowd, they have Umaga basically kill him and then Bobby comes down, takes him out and helps him pin him. The win looks like shit, it doesn't help this new guy and in the end makes Umaga look THE BITCH. Not the way they should be going with things I feel. I thought that there would be some hope with the angle, that they could play him off as a street fighter or something since he played a Russian Shooter in OVW, but the blew that on ECW.
Masters vs. Crazy: Part 32 - Wow, I am getting sick and tired of seeing all of thee constantly repeated matches on Raw. For a while it was Shelton vs. Carlito, and now it is Crazy vs. Masters. First of all these matches aren't that good. Second of all, these guys are in the same position as they were when they started having TV matches in November. Actually let me take that back, Masters is more of a loser now and Crazy is fatter now. Seriously, Masters has about nothing to offer right now because everyone views him as a goof. Crazy keeps putting on weight and almost broke Masters' face with that standing moonsault. Match was blah, I have no interest in Masters and now have no interest in Crazy. Just blah!
The Ridiculous:
NADDA~!
ECW on Sci-Fi!:
ECW on Sci-Fi!: 4.17.07:
The Right:
Punk and The New Breed - It's interesting how they are playing Punk in his first week in the New Breed. Basically he and Elijah have the same domineering personalities and they are already clashing, with Elijah proclaiming that he is the leader and that Punk should fall in line. RVD came out during the celebration so to speak and told Punk he made the wrong choice and that the Originals would make his life hell. RVD challenged Burke and he hesitated, but then took the match. Later on Burke and Punk had a talk, and said he thought Burke was afraid of RVD. This all continued later as Punk and Matt Striker had a talk, where Punk told Striker that the New Breed needs independent thinkers and integrity. He seemed to win Striker over with this. The next step was giving Thorn and Cor Von a pep talk after their loss. They seemed to appreciate this, but Elijah didn't. He told Punk that he can give all the pep talks he wants, but he is the leader and Punk needed to fall inline. Punk agreed and then said he would have Elijah's back tonight. Elijah and RVD had their match, it was fine and then Punk slid a chair into the ring, but past Elijah, RVD uses it and then wins the match. Is there collusion a foot? Is Punk a mole for the Originals? Is he trying to take over the New Breed? Or is he setting them all up for a fall to debut HIS new group? I am not sure, but it's very interesting and I am actually enjoying it right now.
puRgatory:
RVD vs. Elijah/Dreamer and Sandman vs. Cor Von and Thorn - I actually don't have a lot to say here. I am just sick and tired of every week seeing the same matches with the same guys right now. The story is good, I like the angle changes and turns they have done, but the matches are just so repetitive right now that it makes me want to change the channel because I feel like I have seen this before. ECW is Groundhog Day.
The wRong:
Lashley and Santino - I feel that they really dropped the ball on this one here. Lashley's promo was a Lashley promo. Santino talked in Italian, good for the crowd. But the commentary and angle killed this I think. I really felt that they should have played up that he was a street/shoot fighter, instead they said he was training to become a wrestler. They could have played up that he had 30-days to defend the title, and then they could have had training vignettes with he and Lashley working out and getting pro wrestling training. Then after the 30-days, you give him a goof to defend against, Eugene, Funaki or someone like that. He has some trouble and then still retains. Another 30-days and more training and such, and you see him slowly develop and defeating better opponents until finally he loses to a good upper or mid-card heel like Nitro. It is quite simple really, but they got too cute as he was a training wrestler that JUST happened to be home and JUST happened to be selected. BLAH.
The Ridiculous:
Snitsky - He killed Nunzio, I didn't care and won't ever care.
*Breath*
"I do not now, nor will I ever give a flying fuck about Snitsky. I appreciate the attempted make over, but no about of squashes will make me consider him a threat, or even a good wrestler, and I am not talking about in ring technique per say, the overall package is what I mean. As I wrote last week, maybe if they would have started with him doing squashes at the beginning I could have gotten into this. Or maybe if he had never been brought up to the main roster when he was and he debuted now I could get into the character, but I just can't do it. He doesn't look scary really, just ugly with bad steroid acne. I am not buying him as a threat, I am not buying the character. He is there because he is big, Afa trained him and Vince has his fetish. I expect a world title run for him, joy."
READER RANTS~!
From Jeremy on Lockdown -
My wife and I drove down to St. Louis for TNA Lockdown Sunday night. Your analysis of the show was right-on! I'd say they had about 4,000 - 4,500 in attendance. They had the arena carefully populated so it looked packed on camera. Black Machismo and Samoa Joe got the biggest pops. People are still sick of Jarrett - he came out to almost no reaction. Probably the third biggest pop of the night was when Harley Race was introduced as the keeper of the cage - nice moment for Harley, but, damn, they should have got the guy a chair! The electrified cage match was crap! The gimmick ruined what should have been a nice moment for Team 3D. Scott Steiner got a nice pop when he hit that top rope FrankenSteiner - a well-deserved pop as he showed everyone he can still perform! Once cool thing TNA did before the show was from 6:00-6:30 they sent So Cal Val (with the X-Division belt), Shark Boy and Mr. Backlund around the arena to meet the fans. Val and Shark Boy posed for pictures with people and Backlund went around yelling at fans - it was hilarious! All said, I thought it was a very enjoyable PPV - especially if you were there in person!
From 411's Andy Clark on the Lockdown Cage -
I saw that you had issue with why they changed the cage for the PPV. I was under the impression that it looked like that for the "Electrified cage" dealie. If you notice the "bars" look like cables that would conceivably conduct electricity. I'm with you, I think the other cage looked better (and I don't think it's gone because they used the old cage on Impact a few weeks back) but I'm pretty sure that's what the deal was.
From Ray on the same -
In regards to the Ghetto Cage thing you made, I think I have an explanation of this one. From where I was (4th row) at the show, it looked like they actually went out of their way to do this for the 3D match, giving the cage the appearance of having "wires" which would be electrified and look like an electric fence.
Any finally from Dan on Orton vs. HBK from the previous week, and the answer is "yes" too simple -
Totally agree about the horrible, lame pinfall argument between Michaels and Orton. It was ludicrous. But what was most annoying was that there was an easy way out of this. You will recall that it was Michaels who knocked the referee out. Why not, after Doan has made the three-count have the other ref overrule on the grounds that he was DQing Michaels for knocking him clean out of the ring, thus awarding the match to Randy? Makes much more sense and is completely valid as he had only just come back to consciousness. Or is that too simple?
