411 Fact or Fiction 1.24.08: Cryme Tyme, Cheerleader Melissa, Jeff Hardy and More!

Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.24.2008

Week ONE HUNDRED and SIXTY-TWO features James Thomlison, Randall Harrison and discussion of Global Impact!

Welcome back to another week of 411 Fact or Fiction: Wrestling Edition! This week, two 411 writers go to battle as James (JT~!) Thomlison enters the 411 Arena to do battle with Randall Harrison!

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Let's get to it!

1. Jeff Hardy will win the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble.

Randall Harrison : FICTION. They've done a great job of getting me to buy into the WWE Title match and I give them a ton of credit for that, but it's the Royal Rumble. Sure there have been classic title matches like the Angle/Benoit and Jack/HHH matches, but this is also the place where guys like Hardcore Holly have had WWE Title shots. Jeff is hot right now and I honestly couldn't blame them if they put the title on him because he's popular and he moves a ton of merchandise and at a time when John Cena is still a ways off from returning, it would be a big boost to the bottom line keeping the Hardy fans happy. Sadly, the sledgehammer of reality has to come down and spoil that because they are obviously looking to have Orton carry the title through to WrestleMania and defend it there. They could always do the double-switch with Hardy winning it here and Orton taking it back at No Way Out but honestly, I think Hardy deserves better than that. If the question had simply been if Hardy would win the WWE Title someday, I would have had to say fact because I can see him doing it now that they've shown a willingness to get behind him and push him as a credible title challenger. However, the question was about this Sunday, and as cool as it would be to see Hardy win the big one, it's just not going to happen.

JT~!: FICTION. If we weren't so close to WrestleMania, I might say Hardy had done enough to convince the booking team to give him a shot, but with plans already in place, I just don't see them changing their minds. I mean, he is UBERIFICALLY over, sells a fuck-ton of merchandise, and has been a pretty consistent and reliable worker for the last year. I would also say as I did in Wrestler Of The Week that he has been on such a roll lately, the booking team would be INSANE if they had not revisited the situation at least a time or two since this angle was originally booked three months ago. Despite all of that though, I just don't see them putting a Hardy title run as a higher priority than their current and post WrestleMania plans; even if it were only for three weeks until No Way Out.

Although, once in a while Vince will randomly reward hard work, and this is a rare time where I personally don't feel a three-week run would hurt Jeff at all; maybe they'll prove me wrong!

Score: 1 for 1


2. TNA's Global Impact was a great show.

Randall Harrison : FACT. I enjoyed the SHIT out of this one and with Larry saying that apparently it's going to come out as a DVD release from TNA, I will happily enjoy it again. This was like TNA's kayfabe version of Wrestling With Shadows, in that it kept up the pretenses and storylines, but at the same time delved deeper into the men behind the characters than would EVER be possible on that train wreck of a show that Russo is booking. I was thoroughly entertained through the entire hour with all the documentary pieces and then the Angle/Nagata match was tremendous. I'm not used to seeing wrestling like that from TNA on free TV so it was a welcome change of pace, and the fact that it had that distinctly Japanese feel totally played to my MMA side as an admitted former PRIDE mark. My only quibble was that it would have been even greater had it been a 90-minute special that would have allowed them to show the three matches they covered in the documentary. 45 minutes on the background stuff and 45 minutes on those three matches would have made Randy a VERY happy camper, but as it is, when my only complaint is that the show wasn't longer you've done a hell of a job. Good on you TNA, and let's hope that it's a new beginning that leads to better shows.

JT~!: FICTION. Don't get me a wrong, I enjoyed it and thought it was a really good show that did some really good things for the company. It expanded international awareness of the company, showed a willingness to work with other companies (granted not ALL other companies apparently), put on some good wrestling, and also allowed the audience to see the wrestlers in their non-kayfabe element (in videos that I thought were VERY well done). However, the term "great" was used, and to me a show should only be called "great" if you have missed out on something by not seeing it. That is simply not the case here. Good wrestling, good videos, good PR and advertising for the company, good show, etc; I give them all of that. But I don't think anyone is sitting at home saying to themselves, "I CANNOT BELIEVE I MISSED THAT SHOW", nor do I think six months from now people will be talking about how memorable that one Global Impact show back in January was.

Score: 1 for 2


3. The former members of Cryme Tyme have resurfaced and are currently working in Ohio Valley (Shad Gaspard) and Derby City Wrestling (JTG.) You expect to see Cryme Tyme back with the WWE in 2008.

Randall Harrison : FICTION. They were barely ready for primetime when they debuted and after seeing them actually compete it was clear that they were mostly gimmick and not a lot of "go" in the ring. Then they went and pissed off the company in a move that led to their release. I expect both of them to probably be brought back up to TV at some point as the WWE is not usually willing to let talent just walk away without at least giving them a second chance, but 2008 is pushing it. There was a lot of work to be done on their ring skills and I'm sure that they're going to have to serve a little time in the minors as a penance for their transgressions, so if I had to wager, I'd say that it would more likely be 2009. I realize that I'm seriously opening myself up to being wrong in that there's 11 months left in 2008 but I feel fairly comfortable in the answer because of the reasons I just stated.

JT~!: FACT. Here's the deal; while I enjoyed Cryme Tyme immensely their first time around, and they were the basis of the biggest "absolutely-loved-it-or-completely-loathed-it" issue of Hidden Highlights, I am indifferent on this happening. One thing is for sure though, A. The crowd ate them up, B. WWE is at SOME point in 2008 going to pretend to care about the tag division, and C. WWE ALWAYS needs filler, and these guys address all three interests. I mean, Trips and Shawn buying scalped tickets from them is to this day one of my favorite promos of the last two or three years; granted the wrestling skills need to come up (and I don't get OVW so for all I know it has improved even if minimally). I mean, who on RAW is helping that division right now? The jobbification of the Highlanders? London is injured. You literally have TWO viable options at tag team legitimacy right now, so why not bring them up?

Score: 1 for 3

---SWITCH~!---

4. TNA Impact beating ECW on Sci-Fi in the ratings means absolutely nothing.

JT~!: FACT. Two completely different audiences. Some of us commit to making the effort to follow both, but in the end it is preference. Anytime these two have gone against one another, or one has gone on a day when the other would usually on but wasn't (Monday), or some other random day, neither sides' ratings were particularly affected. People who prefer TNA are going to watch TNA and vice versa for WWE.

Randall Harrison : FICTION. It means something to be sure, just not what everyone expects it to mean. I don't think that it's a situation where TNA put on some blow away show and stole a bunch of viewers from ECW. I think it has more to do with the fact that ECW is so far under what people expect from WWE programming that it makes it to where even a terrible show like Impact can catch and beat them in the ratings. Sure TNA is a bad product right now, but they'll always have their die-hard fans to fall back on. If there's one thing to be known about the average WWE fan it's that they can be viciously fickle. There is no sense of loyalty from the viewers towards the ECW product so there is no built-in fan base that guarantees them at least a certain number in the ratings every week. TNA capitalized on that and were able to top ECW for one week. If it becomes a continued trend then maybe there will be some type of grander meaning to it, but for now it's just an isolated incident that, while a HUGE boost to the morale of the TNA locker room, ultimately means very little in the larger wrestling universe. Now if the UWF on ESPN starts outdrawing ECW; THAT would be an earth-shattering development.

Score: 1 for 4


5. Jim Ross signing on for two more years with WWE is good news for the company.

JT~!: FACT. Of course it is…? JR came in first or second in most circles' 2007 awards for announcing (and if I recall, the same for 2006 and 2005 and so forth and so on). He is the voice of not only RAW but in many, many ways the WWE in general. He also – despite what his blog may insinuate – has input in the back, even if it is from a vocal standpoint only rather than an executive one. He is good for the younger guys, he is good for wrestling in general, and at the end of the day, and to me there is still nobody even CLOSE to calling the big match the way he does. To be horribly cliché' and steal someone else's words, JR has forgotten more about this sport than most of us will ever know in a lifetime. Signing him was absolutely good news for the company.

Randall Harrison : FACT. Good old JR is synonymous with the WWE and with the big matches of the WWE. Think back to almost every big moment in the WWE in the past 15 years and who has been on the call? Jim Ross. For as often as they've tried to move him out of the chair, and as often as Ross makes the odd mistake, he's still the best play-by-play announcer in the game and he gets the emotion and drama of a match over better than anyone in history. That's right I said it, as much as I loved Gordon Solie, Jim Ross sells the drama of a match better than anyone who has ever been behind a microphone to call a wrestling match. It might not be huge in the sense that JR is going to spike a rating, or help with a ton of PPV buys, but when you can keep the guy that has tirelessly put over your product for the past 15 years for a couple more years AND keep the best big-match announcer in the history of wrestling in one fell swoop, I'd say that it's very good news.

Score: 2 for 5


6. TNA adding Melissa Anderson (Cheerleader Melissa) to the Knockout's Roster is a great signing for the company.

JT~!: FACT. Again, how could it not be? There are a lot of issues going on with the booking in TNA. The Knockouts Division is NOT one of them. They made a very serious commitment to establish a legitimate women's division to their product, and that is exactly what they have done up to this point. As for Cheerleader Melissa, the main thing here is that SHE CAN WRESTLE, something that TNA has realized should actually be a pre-requisite for most of their women's roster. A full timer for about four years now, she's been overseas, she's been through the Indies, and some Indy enthusiasts would argue that she is the best female wrestler in North America (save the emails, I said *some*). So to me, I don't see how signing her could be anything other than beneficial for TNA.

Randall Harrison : FACT. I love Cheerleader Melissa. Not to like any type of frightening stalker level or anything, but I love what she does in the ring and I love the respect that she has for the business. It's great to see a company take a women's division seriously and sign talented wrestlers, not just the eye candy and the skanks that will shake their titties at anyone who'll watch. Sure, it's not on the level of TNA signing Brock Lesnar or something like that, but it's another very capable wrestler that they could use to build around when they finally decide to start focusing on being the WRESTLING promotion and not the WWE Jr. promotion. I loved her stuff in SHIMMER and as it stands right now she's slated to be a mouthpiece for Kong first, but I hope that it's only temporary so that she can get in the ring and show her true talents. Congratulations Melissa, you definitely deserve the opportunity you're getting and I'll be looking forward to getting to see you every Thursday night on Spike. Would it be terribly unprofessional of me if I swooned at this point?

Score: 3 for 6


These two finish 3 for 6! Come on back next week for more of 411 Fact or Fiction: Wrestling Edition!