Why I Love Wrestling 7.22.07: Mid-Year Review
Posted by Jordan Linkous on 07.22.2007
I take a look at the year so far. Be warned, this column contains spoilers!
Welcome to the latest edition of Why I Love Wrestling. This year has had its ups and downs. There have been plenty of big moments, ranging from injuries to title changes to wrestlers jumping ship and, unfortunately, several deaths. In today's column I will discuss my thoughts on the year as a whole, including who broke out and who will later this year. And videos galore~!
Mid-Year Review
What a crazy year it has been for wrestling so far. There have been several tragedies over the past half-year, and I believe that something needs to happen. Sure everyone is talking about the Chris Benoit tragedy, but what about all the other wrestlers that have died this year? With help from Gary Will's Wrestling History, TWENTY wrestlers have died so far. Some of those are guys that many of us wrestling fans, including myself looked up to. Two of the greatest big men in Mike Awesome and Bam Bam Bigelow passed away this year. One of the greatest valets in wrestling, Sensational Sherri, was taken this year. Bad News Brown, Ernie Ladd, Woman, John Kronus, Arnold Skaaland, and others were all taken. Then we come to Chris Benoit. I have been tiptoeing around this topic for a while, but I guess I will share my thoughts. I first found out when my dad came home from work. He told me that someone in the Benoit family was dead, but not particularly Chris. I went online and was shocked to find out that the whole Benoit family was dead. At first I thought that it was murder and I was appalled. The Raw tribute was a nice way to reflect on Benoit, but then the truth started to come out. I couldn't believe it. Chris, only of my favorite wrestlers that was beloved by all, had snapped and ultimately took his life along with his families. I don't want to say much about Chris as a person, except that he was a great wrestler to watch. It is sad to see this type of event for several reasons. The primary reason is that it is horrible for a father to take the life of his seven-year-old son and his wife. It is unforgivable. It is a shocking and unfortunate window into the life of a professional wrestler. He was presumably driven mad and snapped due to roid rage. It is sad to see the wrestlers come out of the shadows for their time in the light. It is sad to see people like Larry King show no interest and only discuss the topic because it is a big scandal. However, I believe that some good will come of this. I believe that it is necessary for someone to step in here. Some things need to change. Steroids are still a large part of wrestling, whether you want to believe it or not. I know wrestlers have had an enormous amount of pain dealt to their bodies that they still deal with, and I know that life on the road must be hard, but for someone to snap like this, something needs to be done so that hopefully it doesn't ever, ever, happen again. With that being said, I would like to end this by saying that it is never a happy occurrence when anybody dies. It brings people down the cold hard reality of life. Although some of these wrestlers may have done this to themselves, many of them passed on due the amount of stress and pain that they received, and I don't think anyone deserves that. So, to those wrestlers that have passed on, and to anyone for that matter, rest in peace.
Well, that looks like enough sadness for half a year's worth of columns, right? Let's move on to some lighter subjects: wrestlers who made this year more enjoyable. Unfortunately, there wont be any Indy stuff on this list. Now before you say, "But I thought you loved the Indies, Jordan," realize this: all the Indies stuff I see is outdated. I never see any of the current ROH or PWG stuff, but only what I can get on DVD. So, since my DVD collection only contains movies from previous years, there are no Indy wrestlers that have had a role in making this year enjoyable. That being said, we begin.
Matt Hardy
I have said this before but I will say it again: Matt Hardy is one of my favorite wrestlers. This year has been pretty good for him so far. He started out in a hot feud with MNM and really put on some good matches. My favorite match was the Fatal Fourway Ladder Match that featured The Hooliganz and The Bluebloods as well. It was a fantastic match. So fantastic that I have decided to include it in its entirety.
Pretty awesome. Now back to Matt. After his feud with MNM, he became one of eight men to be in Money in The Bank 3, which I also have included for your enjoyment.
Once that was over, he became the Tag Team Champion along with his brother Jeff. They put on several solid matches, feuding with teams like The Worlds Greatest Tag Team and Cade & Murdoch. Once they lost the titles, Matt became a true member of the Blue Team and has been putting on amazing matches, with a push seeming inevitable. The feud would have been perfect, too. Matt vs. Edge for the World Title? Gold I tell ya. But now with Edge on the shelf? Where does Matt go? Only time will tell. But one thing that is obvious is that Matt has had a fantastic year so far and has really been able to shine and display his wrestling talent. Matt is always fun to watch live, and I think the creative team finally got a clue based on how over he is. HE will be The World Heavyweight Champion someday; but when? We're pulling for you Matt!
Samoa Joe
If anyone read last week's column will know that I have no problem professing my man crush for Samoa Joe. All kidding aside, Joe is the man to be in TNA right now, and his Title reign as TNA Champion may not have occurred yet, there is no denying that Samoa Joe is TNA. the fans love him, he puts on great matches with almost anybody, and he has a true love for the business. He is also a major asset to any wrestling company now in the fact that he is a larger athlete with tons of talent and potential that does not use steroids, which, like I said before, is a major issue today. Plus, he is the Samoan Submission Machine! Samoa Joe kills Bitches!
Christian Coalition Promos
This has no true wrestling value, but I'll be damned if the members of Team Cage didn't put on some of the funniest promos this year. I have searched the web and found a few for you guys, so enjoy.
Pure gold. That is all that needs to be said. pure comedy gold.
Predictions (Contains spoilers for the future! At least I think so…)
Samoa Joe: I strongly believe Joe will win the TNA Championship. He will become the face of TNA, or at least more than he is now. He will then go on to have a record breaking title run.
XXX: These guys will become the stable to beat. They will have great matches and dominate the scene. The real question is which stable will step up and challenge Triple X? Team 3D? Seritonin? VKM? THE BRISCOES?!?!? We will see.
Christian Cage: Christian will continue to put on great promos and bring star power to the matches he has. He will be involved with several big storylines, including one featuring a yet to be named ship jumper.
Sting Sting will continue to be a major contender for the TNA Championship before his contract runs out. He will then form a stable with Nash and TAKE OVER. WolfPack 4 Life!
Abyss: Abyss will be intertwined in an Undertaker/Kane/Paul Bearer feud. Abyss will be playing the role of Undertaker while James Mitchell will be Paul Bearer. Depending on whether or not you read the spoilers, but SPOILER ALERT!!!
Ricky Banderas will be playing the role of Kane.
Spoiler ending. This feud, while recycled, will still be interesting. We'll see where it goes. It can't be any worse than Abyss's Mama.
Kurt Angle: Kurt Angle will undoubtedly get a MMA fight against someone. My guess is Chuck Lidell or Tito Ortiz, either on defeating Angle in the first round. As for TNA, Kurt will be feuding with Joe for a while over the title.
Murder City Machine Guns: These guys will become for tag teams what Samoa Joe will be for the TNA Title. If TNA is smart, they will get the titles on these guys and let them have great matches with XXX, LAX, and, of course, THE BRISCOES!
Black Machismo: Machismo will definitely regain the X Division Championship, and will have a great reign. He will continue dropping elbows till the sun goes down.
Vince Russo: Russo will have an altercation with Johnny Ace in an argument as to who can have the worst storylines and who can destroy the most careers.
Matt Hardy: Matt will be the breakout star for Smack down. Matt will eventually win a major singles championship and bring respect to it. He will defend it with honor and put on great matches.
The Great Khali: Khali will work his butt of to try and put on good matches without seriously hurting someone as long as he can before they finally realize that he can't wrestle.
Rey Mysterio: Once Rey comes back, he will have a couple of matches to get his rep up. He will somehow win a title shot and bury Khali in THE GREATEST UNDERDOG MOMENT EVER!
Edge: After Rey has had some more taste of gold, Edge will return. Rey will no longer look like a jobber and he will put up a good fight, but still lose the title to Edge thanks to dirty tactics.
Batista: Batista will realize that he needs someone to watch his back. Once Flair returns, they will form a tag team and rule Smackdown as tag champs. Batista or Flair will eventually turn and they will feud until Batista makes a critical mistake and Batista Bombs Ric Flair, finally ending his illustrious career, and Flair will have to become a road agent.
Kane: Kane, in typical Kane fashion, will have pointless feuds until there are no viable challengers for the title so they call him out of the shadows for a title shot that he will eventually blow. Wait, that's going on right now? Don't worry, it will happen again.
Undertaker: Once Undertaker returns, he will be prime and ready for his Wrestle mania match against Edge in a fight for the wrestlers that haven't suffered a singles lose by being pinned or submitting. Edge will win, of course, and take his spot as THE MAN.
Mark Henry: Mark Henry will set the record for the most babies ever eaten in 5 minutes. He will then be challenged by Big Daddy V.
Jeff Hardy: Jeff will win singles gold like his brother. He will continue to put his body on the line and have fun, interesting ladder matches.
Ken Kennedy: Kennedy will be the breakout star of the Raw and WWE as a whole. He has charisma, talent, and an overall likeability factor. I see this guy winning some high profile matches leading to the inevitable feud with John Cena, and a title run.
King Booker: King Booker will never reach the same popularity level as he previously had with the World Heavyweight title, but he will be involved in an epic feud with Jerry Lawler debating who is the real King.
Shawn Michaels: Shawn Michaels will return after his injury to recreate DX again with Triple H. They will bring in Sean Waltman. The will have good matches and sell a lot of merchandise.
Triple H: After some big wins to regain his adoration, see Shawn Michaels.
Bobby Lashley Bobby Lashley will get a mouthpiece to do all his talking for him. He will take the title only for a short time, then turn completely heel.
John Cena: John Cena will continue to be the companies Superman. He will briefly lose the title to Lashley but regain it later. He will then hold on to it until the money feud with Kennedy at Wrestlemania.
CM Punk: Punk will be the breakout star of ECW. He will win the title and rule to company feuding with Cor Von, Burke, and Nitro. Once he finally loses it, he will reform the Saints.
Elijah Burke Although the ECW Title isn't in his future, he will somehow get the TV Title brought in and he will be hold that title and defend it against people like Dreamer, Balls, and Colt Cabana.
Cor Von: Cor Von will most likely be Burke's body guard until he turns on him and take the TV Title.
Johnny Nitro Along with Punk, Nitro will lead ECW. The company is on his shoulders right now, so look for him to seize the opportunity.
Well, that wraps up my look at the year so far. Make sure to send me any comments, questions, or concerns, and don't forget to check out the other columns.
Stay classy, 411Mania Readers.
