Schmozzes & Screwjobs 07.17.07: The Great American Edition

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 07.17.2007

A in-depth look at this Sunday's pay-per-view highlights a column that actually has nothing to do with Schmozzes and/or Screwjobs. I'm allowed an off day from time to time, right?

Wait for it...

This week is going to be another long one, but not as long as I'd have hoped. This week we have more info on the Post Millennium Summerslam Awards, reader feedback, a preview of The Great American Bash… but no new Screwjob, and no Schmozzes this week. And no InVasion analysis either, because I cannot access my email account at the moment to get any more feedback and I don't want this to run late. Anyway, this column is packed enough and I have very little spare time right now. So let's not waste any more time and get right into the action.

The Post-Millennium Summerslam Award Nominees

The Mania Awards went down pretty well and also brought up some really interesting results, so I figured I should bring it back for the second biggest pay-per-view of the year, WWE Summerslam. A few key points before I announce the categories and nominees.

-Why the name change? Apparently 21st century started in 2001, not 2000, and I wanted to include the year 2000, so it all makes sense. I think.

-This one's important, kids. Voting starts in TWO WEEKS, so do not send me emails with your votes. Polls will be included in the column in TWO WEEKS time. It just makes it easier for me to tally the votes. Next week, I will repeat the nominations with any changes that are necessary, and include a brief blurb reminding you what each was all about. Be patient, people!

-After Summerslam 2007, we'll take each winner and put it up against its 2007 counterpart and see if any changes would be made to the voting.

The Nominees:

The Summerslam Theme Song Award Nominees;

Bodies - Drowning Pool (2001)
Fight - Jim Johnston (2002)
St. Anger - Metallica (2003)
Summertime Blues - Rush (2004)
Remedy - Seether (2005)
Get It Poppin' - Fat Joe (2005)
The Enemy - Get It Poppin' (2006)
Cobrastyle - Teddybears (2006)

The Summerslam Breathtaking Spot Award Nominees;

Shane McMahon takes a drop from the tron (2000)
Jeff Hardy puts himself through a table, missing a Swanton from a 20ft ladder (2000)
Bubba Dudley crashes through 4 tables (2000)
Matt Hardy takes a blind dive, backwards off a ladder through 2 tables (2000)
Rob Van Dam misses the Five Star Frog Splash from the ladder (2001)
Shawn Michaels splashes Triple H through the table (2002)
Shawn Michaels elbow drops Triple H from the ladder (2002)
Goldberg spears Chris Jericho through the Elimination Chamber cell (2003)
JBL is chokeslammed through his limo by the Undertaker (2004)
Backdrop from a ladder, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero put their bodies on the line (2005)
Mick Foley slams Ric Flair on thumbtacks (2006)

The Summerslam Opening Match Award Nominees;
Right to Censor vs. Too Cool and Rikishi (2000)
Lance Storm vs. Edge (2001)
Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle (2002)
The Dudley Boyz vs. La Resistance (2003)
The Dudleyz and Spike vs. Billy Kidman, Paul London and Rey Mysterio (2004)
Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan (2005)
Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (2006)

The Summerslam Main Event Award Nominees;
Triple H vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock (2000)
The Rock vs. Booker T (2001)
The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar (2002)
Goldberg vs. Triple H vs. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Kevin Nash vs. Randy Orton (Elimination Chamber) (2003)
Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit (2004)
Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan (2005)
Edge vs. John Cena (2006)

Best Summerslam Build-up Award Nominees;
Tables, Ladders and Chairs I (2000)
2 Out of 3 Falls – Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho (2000)
WWE Championship – The Rock vs. Triple H vs. Kurt Angle (2000)
WWE Championship – Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle (2001)
Non-Sanctioned Match – Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (2002)
WWE Championship – The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar (2002)
WWE Championship – Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle (2003)
Triple H vs. Eugene (2004)
Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan (2005)
WWE Championship – John Cena vs. Chris Jericho (2005)
I Quit Match – Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair (2006)
WWE Championship – John Cena vs. Edge (2006)

Worst Summerslam Match Award Nominees;
Thong Stink Face Match – The Kat vs. Terri (2000)
Undertaker vs. Kane (2000)
Cage Match – Undertaker and Kane vs. DDP and Kanyon (2001)
Ric Flair vs. Chris Jericho (2002)
Shane McMahon vs. Eric Bischoff (2003)
Big Show vs. Sabu (2006)

Mr Summerslam Award Nominees;
*Note: For qualification, each wrestler must have wrestled at 3 post-Millennium Summerslams or more*
Shawn Michaels
The Rock
Triple H
Kurt Angle
Randy Orton
Rob Van Dam
Shane McMahon
Edge
Chris Benoit
Eddie Guerrero

Best Summerslam Match Award Nominees;
2 Out of 3 Falls – Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho (2000)
TLC I – The Hardys vs. The Dudleyz vs. Edge and Christian (2000)
Ladder Match – Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy (2001)
WWE Championship – Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle (2001)
Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (2002)
Chris Benoit vs. Rob Van Dam (2002)
Non-Sanctioned Match – Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (2002)
WWE Championship – Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (2003)
World Championship – Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton (2004)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (2004)
WWE Championship – John Cena vs. Chris Jericho (2005)
I Quit Match – Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley (2006)
WWE Championship – Edge vs. John Cena (2006)

Best Summerslam Award Nominees;
Summerslam 2000
Summerslam 2001
Summerslam 2002
Summerslam 2003
Summerslam 2004
Summerslam 2005
Summerslam 2006

If there are any matches/wrestlers/show etc that you think should be nominated, shoot me an email and let me know before next week so I can decide what needs changing and such.

The Great American Bash 2007 Prediction Center

This coming Sunday WWE will present the 2007 edition of The Great American Bash, headlined by the first ever confrontation between Bobby Lashley and John Cena. 5 Championships will be decided and Raw, SmackDown and ECW will be represented, as is now the norm. So let's take a look at how the card has shaped up and predict some winners, shall we?

WWE United States Championship Match: Montel Vontavious Porter (c) vs. Matt Hardy

Here is a match that I am looking forward to greatly. MVP has been on a roll ever since WrestleMania and his great series of matches with Chris Benoit. Porter did some great mic work on SmackDown last week that got me hyped for this match even more so. Matt Hardy is your guy that you can rely on to produce a great match with just about anybody at the moment. Hardy has been on a role the last few months and has had some tremendous outings with Finlay, Chris Masters, Lance Cade and MVP himself in singles action. With all that being said, I think that this match should be a heavy candidate for Match of the Night.

My only worry is that WWE cuts this match short and it doesn't get time to tell a good story and develop. The match between MVP and Hardy on SmackDown two weeks ago got 19 minutes. Even though there are just 7 seven matches on the card, I would be shocked if this bout got any more than 15 minutes so I'd love to see both guys go balls-to-the-wall for whatever time they get and give us near fall after near fall in an awesome back and forth match-up.

As for who the winner is likely to be, I have to give this one to the reigning US Champion, MVP. While Matt Hardy is producing great match after great match on SmackDown, I do believe that creative has bigger plans for him in the future, in particular a title feud with Edge, even if Matt doesn't get the big gold belt. Additionally, Porter's reign began a mere 2 months ago and he has only beaten Ric Flair with the title on the line, so giving him a few more high-profile victories over top talent will only help to secure his place as champion. The other option is that this feud will continue for a few more months, in which case Porter will either win via nefarious means, or Hardy will take the title and the two will trade it back and forth a couple of times. But in all likelihood, this one goes to MVP because he is straight up ballin'.

Predicted Match Rating: ***?
Predicted Winner: Montel Vontavious Porter

WWE Women's Championship Match – Candice Michelle (c) vs. Melina Perez

As much as I have enjoyed seeing Candice get better and better in the ring, I disagreed with the decision to put the Women's belt on her so soon, and I still do, despite the fact that the Women's title means next to nothing anyway. Melina was developing a nice reign as champion and is by far the most over heel out of all the WWE Divas. When you also factor into this that Mickie James had unfinished business with the former champ, but was happy to step aside to allow Candice countless opportunities, this feud leaves a lot to be desired.

On the other hand, Raw's Women's title picture got a lot more interesting last week on Raw with the redebut of Beth Phoenix. We've seen the odd heel Diva stable in the past, Vince's Devils, or whatever they were called, but two thirds of them couldn't wrestle and the other third didn't wrestle. With this new trio of Phoenix, Melina and Jillian Hall, we may actually see some fairly good women's wrestling provided they spend more time in the ring with Mickie James than Candice Michelle. So I would expect Melina's friends to interfere, bringing out Mickie James to help, and it all resulting in a tussle for the Women's Championship between two Diva stables. Maybe Candice and Mickie will find a new friend somewhere down the road to makes this more interesting.

As far as the winner goes, it could really go either way. While you wouldn't expect the creative team to end Candice's reign so soon after it started, it would really build sympathy for her, and heat for Melina and co if the new trio of Divas managed to take the title from her. With all this in mind I think that the best bet for WWE would be to put the title back on Melina, allow Mickie to become number one contender again and put Candice in the back seat to allow her to improve even more working with Phoenix and Hall. This way, we can get more good wrestling from the Divas while letting others develop at the same time. This may well be the most intriguing Divas storyline since the Mickie/Trish saga if it is worked right.

Predicted Match Rating: ?*
Predicted Winner: Melina regains

Batista vs. The Great Khali

The outcome of this match should be as much as a foregone conclusion as any other on this show. On one side of the ring, you have The Great Khali, one of the biggest superstars to step foot in a WWE ring. Khali is a guy that until Judgment Day in May had never been pinned or made to submit. Then he came across John Cena and from there we knew that things were going to change. Not only did Khali tap out to Cena's STFU at Judgment Day, he also got pinned by the champ at One Night Stand a few weeks later, and again the next night on Raw. But, that does not mean that Khali's stock has dropped in the last few weeks. Losing to the WWE Champion should never do a wrestler any harm, and if it does, you shouldn't be wrestling the WWE Champion in the first place. Khali has a lot going for him; he's 7 foot 4, 400lbs. That's all he will ever need to be a serious threat to anybody.

And then you have Batista; the former 2 time World Heavyweight Champion. While Batista in-ring performance has improved significantly while working with guys like Undertaker and Edge, he still has not been on the winning side of a World Championship match since Royal Rumble and his stock may well have declined with the number of times he has failed to beat those two massive foes. Even when Taker went down with an injury, WWE still refused to put the belt back on him and instead shifted it Edge, whom The Animal has lost to on 3 occasions, the last of which meant that he would never get a World title shot again as long as the Rated R Superstar was champion. However, Batista has remained the most over face on the SmackDown roster which is why the outcome of this match is so predictable.

Batista will win. He needs to begin the rebuilding process so that should he ever get a shot at a World title again which I have no doubt that he will, he will be a credible opponent and threat to the championship. Because of his size, The Great Khali will always be a threat to anyone and thus he will not lose much credibility if he takes a loss to Batista. The only other way that this match could possibly go is a double count out or disqualification resulting in a rematch somewhere down the line, but even if that were to happen then Batista would come out on top in that match. This match will likely be extremely ugly to watch and not pretty by any stretch of the imagination but hopefully crowd response and drama will in some small way, make up for all the negatives.

Predicted Match Rating: *
Predicted Winner: Batista

ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match – Johnny Nitro (c) vs. CM Punk

It has become clear over the last few weeks that the ECW brand is being built around these two potential stars, Nitro and Punk. When Chris Benoit died last month, ECW lost what they hoped would be the man to stabilize the roster and help the younger wrestlers improve in the ring. So Punk, Nitro and the other young talent such as Burke and Cor Von had to carve out their own little niche on Tuesday nights and it has to be said that they seem to be doing a tremendous job of making the show their own. Punk and Nitro have been having stellar contests with various opponents for the past couple of weeks and working together on house shows so both should have something to bring to the table come The Bash.

This match should be better than the contest that we saw at Vengeance: Night of Champions by some margin for a number of reasons. The first being, the crowd and audience at home would have already had a negative mindset toward the match, and the live audience in particular would be less engaged that usual and unhappy about what they were seeing. As we all know, this is because Chris Benoit was originally scheduled to face Punk but was replaced at the last moment due to personal reasons that you may or may not have read about. Furthermore, they would more than likely have had to throw that match together mere hours before they were set to go to the ring. So what we saw was probably vaguely planned and had little structure, which is more than understandable under the circumstances. Finally, the pair have been working together at house shows for the last month or so which means that they will have had time to work out what they can do with each other in the ring, what works and what doesn't and other matters like that. So hopefully, come Sunday we will see the best of what these two have to offer with the ECW Championship on the line.

I would say that now is not the right time to put the ECW gold around the waist of IWC favourite Punk just yet. Don't get me wrong, I think that it should and will happen soon but I'd say it'd be best to give Johnny Nitro's reign a little more length before shifting the championship. Nitro got a huge push when he beat Punk clean at Vengeance, so to protect Punk, Nitro needs to take this one with a little bit of cheating, but without making the champ look worthless. Feet on the ropes or pulling the tights for leverage would work perfectly in this situation. I expect a lot of high impact, unusual and fresh moves in this match that should give us plenty of near falls and more than enough entertainment, but keep the gold off of Punk until Summerslam.

Predicted Match Rating: ***
Predicted Winner: Johnny Nitro retains

Texas Bullrope Match – Randy ‘Legend Killer' Orton vs. Dusty ‘American Dream' Rhodes

If you had asked me two weeks ago if I was looking forward to Orton and Rhodes doing battle at The Bash, then I would have answered with a resounding "no" but the promo on last week's Raw changed my mindset entirely. I still doubt that this will be a great wrestling contest, but I think I will enjoy it nonetheless. It's a good stipulation that will help hide Dusty's rustiness because a lot of the drama will come from trying to touch all 4 corners. Orton has been on a roll as of late and has had some great matches with a lot of people and built a lot of heat for himself along the way, and this will only help further his status as a main eventer. A couple of contradicting rumours are going around; one saying Orton is set to take the title off of Cena at Summerslam, the other saying he will be jobbing to The Game at Summerslam. Whichever (if either) is true, Orton will need to be kept looking strong heading into Summerslam.

An interesting factor in this match will be the participation of Dusty's son Cody, who will inevitably play a major part in this match one way or another. It would create a tremendous feel-good moment if somehow, Cody would interfere and help his dad to victory over the Legend Killer. And while I'd disagree with the logic behind that decision the next morning, I would enjoy seeing Orton get beat by The Dream nonetheless. That's because Orton is a great heel by the way, not because he is a douche bag. Though that may be true as well. The alternative is for Cody to turn on Dusty. Some people have mentioned the idea of a super heel stable featuring second or third generation wrestlers who generally run around being disrespectful and kicking ass. Personally, I love that idea but whom else could they add to it? Teddy Hart, in the long run, is perhaps an option. Carlito is a guy who fit perfectly in there and it would boost his credibility as well. This could be a very promising idea. Whatever stems from this bout, I will enjoy seeing this match.

The winner of this match will depend on where WWE wants to go with Randy Orton after The Bash. If either of the two aforementioned rumours is true, Orton is going over here and Rhodes is going back to wherever he was before Raw two weeks ago. If a super heel stable is in the works, Orton is going to go over to allow them to be looking strong when they start. If Cody is coming up to the main roster soon then I'd see him helping Dusty to victory and his first feud being with Randy. Perhaps we will see a return of ‘Cowboy' Bob Orton and a feud between The Orton's and the Rhodes's. I'm really torn on where I think WWE wants to go with this, but because this is Rhodes' match, at Rhodes' event, I'm picking…

Predicted Match Rating: **?
Predicted Winner: Randy Orton

World Heavyweight Championship Match – Edge (c) vs. Kane

This is the only other match where I feel that there can be no question to the outcome. Kane won the world title back in 1998 when his gimmick was still hugely over, very cool and he was believed by all watching, to be a monster. Even then he only held the gold for about 24 hours. And times have changed. We all know that once every year or so Kane gets a push to the main event and one shot at the world title on pay-per-view, and one has to assume that this is all it is and not a move to but the big gold belt back on the Big Red Machine. Furthermore, I also have to assume that this is purely a transitional program for Edge before he moves onto a feud with the returning Rey Mysterio, a match that would be worthy of main-eventing the upcoming Summerslam pay-per-view.

On the other hand, maybe Kane does have a chance. He's been nothing but loyal to the company since he debuted nearly 10 years ago now and perhaps McMahonagement plans on rewarding him with a title run that lasts longer than his first. While I'm all for rewarding a loyal guy, Edge has been just as loyal and in my mind deserves a long title run after his two WWE Championship reigns were relatively short. Additionally, I don't think WWE would want to cut the legs off their champion who they want to be headlining WrestleMania 24. Perhaps a feud where the title gets switched back and forth a few times is necessary, but Kane is not the man to do it with, if you ask me. And if you're reading this, I take that ass you asking me.

As I've already said, the winner of this match should not be in question, but the quality of the match probably is. These two went one-on-one at Backlash 2004 shortly after Edge came back from his neck injury, which kept him out of the ring for more than a year, and the match sucked ass. One might think that that was due to Edge's ring rust, but their encounter a year later at Vengeance 2005 was also not the greatest of matches, and that was when Edge was on a hell of a role. Hopefully Edge will be able to bring the goods once again, and hopefully Kane will be motivated enough to bring his A-game and we'll get a decent match, though I would not recommend letting it go any more than 15 minutes.

Predicted Match Rating: **
Predicted Winner: Edge holds on to the gold

WWE Championship – John Cena (c) vs. Bobby Lashley

So this is the match that everybody has been waiting to see, or so I have been told. And I'm going to be honest with you; I'm really looking forward to this bout despite my hate for Lashley. It's reasonably likely that that is only because I want to see John Cena make Lashley tap out like a little bitch. Or do I? Perhaps my dislike for Lashley is not as strong as it was when he was feuding with Vince McMahon, or maybe my indifference to Cena holding the championship has begun leaning towards me wanting him to lose it, but I think I might actually be routing for Lashley come Sunday. Whether I like the way it was done or not, Lashley has been built to be one of the faces of the company and a guy's stock definitely rises when you shave the head of the boss at the biggest show of the year. And people still cheer this guy after he speared the beloved Cena when one would have thought they share a similar fan base. Maybe Bobby Lashley winning the WWE Championship at The Bash isn't as unlikely as it may seem.

But is it a good idea to take the title from around Cena's waist? The guy is still the most over guy in the company, shifts more merchandise than anybody not named DX and most importantly (at least in my opinion) is the best worker on the active roster right now. Has he become stale? I don't think so, not yet. You can't really become stale when you are facing anybody and everybody in different match types and still putting on great matches every month. His promo work is still top notch and that's another big advantage he has over his challenger. And if John Cena really is being moulded to be the next Hulk Hogan, wouldn't it be a good idea to give him a reign that lasts for a year +. In a time when yearlong reigns are very rare, holding the title for more than 12 months is certainly a huge achievement and memorable. There are positives and negatives when it comes to taking the WWE Championship off of Cena, but I think it's up to WWE to decide if those positives outweigh those negatives or vice versa.

Would Cena lose much momentum if the title were taken off of him? Probably not, but I don't think it'd be a good idea to have him beaten clean for the championship. And what with Lashley being all tweener and shit, a win for Lashley via nefarious means would not surprise me all that much. But would Lashley lose much momentum if he lost clean? He probably would, because this is his first match with the real big boys. Beating Test doesn't mean shit. But when you're in the ring for the first time with a guy like John Cena, the lights are on bright, as JBL would say, and you have something to prove. So I doubt that Cena will win clean after an FU or make Lashley tap out to the STFU. I'd love to see Cena have to cheat to beat Lashley for a couple of reasons. The first being it puts Lashley over because he couldn't be beaten fairly, a problem that Cena has not had up till now. It also makes sense storyline-wise. Lashley speared Cena when Cena's back was turned a few weeks ago so Cena would have no problem going low to beat a guy that did that to him. And there's not a lot better in wrestling than two guys fighting over a championship, but there personalities are not just black and white. Shades of grey rule, people!

Predicted Match Rating: ****
Predicted Winner: John Cena retains

For further coverage of The Great American Bash, be sure to check out Jeff Small's news report on Thursday for the SmackDown vs. Raw Simulation, 411's Roundtable preview this weekend, and the recap itself Sunday night. And within the hour of the show finishing, I will have 411's Instant Analysis of the show. Next week I will have my thoughts on the show, and we'll see how accurate my predictions were.

Reader Feedback

Here is all of the feedback from last week that did not relate to the InVasion angle, starting with the return of Mr Tuesday Night;

Hey Dan. I took a short break from wrestling but now I'm back, my computers fixed, and I have about three weeks to cover of PPV build.

First of all I hope you enjoyed your break from the wrestling world but it is good to have you back, my friend!

The PPV Pump Up

Victory Road

-3D has as much chance in the Champions match as the National League in the MLB All Star Game.

First of all readers, note that all thoughts on Victory were written before the show. I don't follow baseball at all, but I understand and agree with the sentiment. The Match of Champions is possibly the worst booked main event in the history of TNA.

-I think Wildcat is going to go over Cage so he can continue on his role.

I really hope not, because Christian is the hottest thing in TNA right now and I want him to be kept strong. I do like Chris Harris but I don't want him to be pushed at the expense of Captain Charisma Canadian Rage Christian Cage. If Cage loses Sunday I will be one unhappy peep.

-The Ultimate X match should be a good chaotic match as long as it doesn't get to crazy.

-Judas Mesias will probably debut and interfere in the tag match causing either a dq or a win for Tomko and AJ. Or it could happen after the match.

That seems to be the general consensus. And once again TNA has booked themselves into a corner. Abyss should have a feud lined up with Christian, but he's busy with Harris. So Abyss will have to wait until Cage and Harris are done but by then Mesias will be here and after Abyss. It's all so damn frustrating. I'm sure that sooner or later TNA will just say "fuck it" and throw them all into a Monster's Ball match.

-I say Storm over Rhino via heel tactics.

I agree with this because I do not see this feud ending with just one pay-per-view match, because that's just not how TNA rolls.

-Roode and Brooks over Young and Kim.

I'd like to go over Kim. I'd also like this feud to end. At this point, I really think the first one is more likely.

-Murder City Machine Guns over The Old Guys.

You better be right on this one Dom. The Murder City Machine Guns could be a tremendous edition to TNA's dying tag team division but if they lose in this one then we can forget about any hopes of a revival for tag wrestling in TNA. At the end of 2006, who would have thought that Raw would have a better tag team division than TNA in mid 2007? Oh wait, if we go back to one of my old columns, I did! Hate to say I told you so people…

-Johnny Nitro as ECW Champion. Well what else can ECW be now except a breeding ground for new talent. Hell I love Nitro so why not. Plus he can have a good match with Punk after the first one was shit on due to Benoit's absence.

With Benoit gone, the younger guys really have to drive this show and are doing a good job so far. Nitro has shown in the few weeks he has been ECW Champion that he can have some great matches and in a year or two I see Nitro being ready to main event pay-per-views for other brands. Hopefully he will help to confirm this by putting on a show stealer with Punk at The Bash.

-Cena vs. Lashley. FUCK THAT! I bitterly hate Lashley and histh sthupid listh. GIVE HIM A DAMN MANAGER OR DON'T LET HIM TALK AT ALL!!!

The problem with giving a guy a manger is that they won't get much chance to improve. I would expect and hope that they have guys working with him backstage on a regular basis so that he can improve. And I think he is doing, albeit ever so slightly. If you're going to main event, you have to be able to talk and there is just no way around that.

-Thank God Edge is still the champion. I'm fine with him vs. Kane

It's good to see Edge having a longer reign to really get himself over as the top heel in the company, which he now undoubtedly is. I, too, am OK with him feuding with Kane so long as it is a brief program.

-Khali vs. Batista should suck some major ass. I'm going to call that either this or the Women's Title match the Great American Trash of the Night. Oh yeah and FUCK Candice Michelle as champion.

Batista will need to be on top of his game to get anything passable out of Khali. Hopefully they let it be more of a brawl than in-ring action because they can probably do some pretty cool stuff in the right environment. I really like Miss Michelle so a brief title reign is OK with me, as long as it is brief.

-I don't want Matt Hardy to win the US title I want him to challenge Edge for a long feud and an eventual World Title win.

Amen. I'd much rather see Hardy wrestle for a world title than a US title.

-Rhodes vs. Orton. Well this is just to get Cody over so why not?

Everything about this feud works so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Ya know I actually liked the Invasion angle.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one.

SUPER CRAZY DESERVES HIS TITLE SHOT.

I'd love to see Crazy get a push, but if he fought Cena we all know there'd only be one winner anyway. He's Super, he's Crazy, he's tapping to the STFU!

-Mr. Tuesday Night Dom

Thanks for the email, Dom. Next up is John Reid with his thoughts on the potential roster changes I suggested last week;

think that since creative can't come up with interesting feuds the way they used to, it would be best if they let some of these guys like Masters, Snitsky, and Eugene go. Marella may develop if they do have him feuding with Regal who can teach him a thing or two. He can still be viable in a feud with a monster as a plucky babyface. As for your additions, Burchill is the only one who can come in and make an impact. I hear he may team up with Dave Taylor which will be interesting. If they brought in Christopher Daniels, many of his best moves (BME and the Angels Wings) would be removed and he would have the same bland style as Punk is relegated to now. He may best be served to stay in TNA where he can cut loose, but we shall see.

Marella may have had some potential when he first arrived on the scene, but WWE through that all away with their lazy booking of the guy. The guy has zero charisma anyway. Watch him when he comes to the ring. His interaction with the crowd is that of an Indy wrestler, and not a very good one either. There's a reason he gets no response when he comes out. His in-ring work isn't all that good either. I want Marella to be taken off of my TV and not to appear again unless he gets a new gimmick, new name and improves drastically both in the ring and on the mic. Thanks very much.

To be honest I don't see why Daniels moves would be removed either. For one, they are not moves exclusive to Daniels so it wouldn't be like they are trying to distance him from his TNA styles, because the same or variations of the moves are used all over the world. Secondly, they aren't dangerous moves either. There would be no need to change anything from Daniels move set.

Frenzal who also gave us his thoughts on the InVasion earlier, had some thoughts on the same topic as John;

On your trimming the fat and new blood:

Santino - Horrible. Agree 100%. Good idea, bad execution. Repackage and re-train him.
Snitsky - Big waste of space, how does he still have a job? Agreed again.
Boogeyman - He can't wrestle, and is not entertaining anymore. Agreed.
The Highlanders - I like them and think they could still be good. Remind me of how Cade and Murdoch got treated. Need a better chance.

The problem with the Highlanders now is that you have Cryme Tyme who serve the same purpose as The Highlanders, only they are better at it. Both teams produce decent wrestling and are intended for comedy, but Cryme Tyme is funnier and more fun to watch in the ring.

Eugene - Awful character. I'm just waiting for the day he 'recovers' and totally destroys everyone as Nick Dinsmore. Either that or repackage.
Chris Masters - Seems to get alot of attention for someone destined for lower-card antics at the most. Hard to believe he was in an elimination chamber. Roid freak.

Dudleys - Very stale in TNA and wrestling in general I believe, and I only get their PPVs over in Australia. Just don't excite me like they used to. Could be interesting fueds though.
Gail Kim - I have lost faith in the Women's Division again, but since WWE is the only place where a recognisable one exists, she'd be an asset for sure.
Chris Daniels - Good call, and may even be likely.
Paul Burchill - The C4 is awesome, therefore, Burchill is awesome. Push him, because he's a damn good wrestler too.
Hart Foundation - This seriously needs to happen.

I think your column is great, keep it up :)

Frenzal

And finally Bryan Jones offers his thoughts on my firings;

I liked your column on guys that the WWE should can, but 2 things I must disagree on.

Val Venis. This guy has to go. The fact he is a Vince Russo creation is reason enough, but he is nothing really but a Rick Rude wannabe, and bores me to tears.

I don't think the Highlanders should be fired. They don't suck. Tag Team wrestling in general sucks. Benjamin and Haas could be dominant, but they seem to be a big gay joke, and the tag straps are held by a cowboy and a guy with mutton chop sideburns. The Highlanders may not be great, but at least they have matching ring outfits, which is a lot more than a lot of tag teams can say.

let me know what you think
Jones

Hate to disagree with you here, but Val Venis is a valuable asset. The guy is a solid wrestlers and knows the business well enough that younger guys can benefit from being in the ring with him, even if it is only on Heat.

And I have to disagree on The Highlanders for the reason I mentioned earlier. And if you want a few examples of recent tag teams wearing the same (or at least similar) attire then look no further than; London and Kendrick, The Hardys, Deuce and Domino, The Major Brothers, The World's Greatest Tag Team, Team 3D, Cryme Tyme, The Naturals, AMW, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, La Resistance, Regal and Taylor, MNM… OK so some of the TNA examples may not be around any more but they are all fairly recent.

Taking It Home

That's it for another long week of S&S, thanks all, for coming along for the ride. Next week will see the return of the Screwjob and the Schmozzes for real. I promise. And the InVasion analysis. I've got lots of time off work coming up so that means I'll actually have time to do this stuff. Until then be sure to check in to Small's news report on Thursday and look out for my Instant Analysis of The Great American Bash on Sunday. Until next time…