The Custom Made News Report 02.10.08

Posted by Ryan Byers on 02.10.2008

More on WWE saying goodbye to OVW and the CW, while we say hello to TNA Against All Odds and potential new members of that company's female roster.

Welcome, one and all, to the Custom Made New Report. As always, I'm Ryan, and, as always, I'm getting ready to bring to you the latest in professional wrestling news and notes. We've certainly had a busy week since I talked to you last, and the next two days promise to continue the trend, with a TNA pay per view this evening and a (pre-taped) Monday Night Raw that features, of all things, a cage match between Vince McMahon and a leprechaun. What a world we live in, folks. What a world.

All the Stuff from Stamford

More on Smackdown's Cancellation

Yeah, I used the c-word. You can be more politically correct and say something like "WWE and CW mutually decided to not continue their relationship," but let's just agree to call a spade a spade here.


The Corporate Ministry, which formed on the first episode of Smackdown

As the majority of you know, the CW Network has decided not to pick up WWE's Friday night program Smackdown for another season. This marks the end of a ten year relationship between the wrestling promotion and the network (or its predecessor, UPN). 411's own JP Prag had all of the major details available in his Hamilton Avenue Journal yesterday, and I'm assuming that the majority of you have already read his column (or that you can go do it now). As such, I'm not going to waste time recapitulating what is already easily available elsewhere. We're going to focus on my analysis of the situation as it stands right now.

First of all, I'm glad to see that the online reaction to this story has been fairly reasonable. There aren't any fans running around like Chicken Little screaming about the sky falling as so often happens in these situations. This clearly isn't the end of the world for WWE, and, quite frankly, I'd be amazed if it were even the end of the world for the Smackdown franchise. In 2008, we're living in a world in which it seems that there are just as many television channels as there are human beings, with fledgling cable networks popping up overnight and dish services constantly looking to add more exclusive content to their lineups. What we're dealing with is not an issue of "Will Smackdown get a new deal?" It's an issue of "With whom will Smackdown get a new deal?"

Of course, we don't currently have many details in that regard. However, we do have a little bit of information. First of all, contrary to some speculation that I've seen online, barring a modification of the current contract between WWE and NBC/Universal, we're not going to be seeing SD on a cable network not owned by that particular conglomerate. According to Dave Meltzer, WWE's current deal for Raw and ECW would prevent that from happening, which means that we're not going to see the E's programming return to SpikeTV, nor or we going to see it pop up on any cable stations affiliated with FOX or Time Warner. (And what an irony that last one would be.) The company is contractually allowed to air its programming on any network television station that it chooses, though I can't imagine big boys FOX, ABC, NBC, or CBS touching Smackdown with a ten foot pole given the numbers it normally brings in compared to even the weakest of the major networks' current programming.

The network repeatedly named as the frontrunner to pick up SD is MyNetwork TV, which is reportedly available in just as many homes as the CW, even though nobody I've ever talked to actually watches the thing. (Seriously, with the exception of the IFL, can anybody reading this name one show that airs on MyNetwork?) MNTV's lack of notoriety would certainly be helped by Vince and company, as there is a certain group of wrestling fans who will follow their beloved product to just about any day and to just about any channel. What will be interesting to see is just how much – if any – money that WWE will manage to get out of MyNetwork. When the promotion recently renewed its deal for Monday Night Raw on the USA Network, lower ratings forced them to give up a significant amount of money that they were receiving commercials shown during the program. If they are able to negotiate just the right contract with MNTV, they could make up for some of that lost income, which might just be the silver lining to whatever cloud exists as a result of the cancellation.

It's not just the network that may be changing, though. A change in network could also lead to a change in the evening that the show airs, particularly if a smaller network like MNTV wants to feature SD more prominently than CW had been in recent years. It seems highly unlikely that the show would land on Monday or Tuesday given that WWE wouldn't want to compete with itself . . . and that leaves either Wednesday or Thursday. If Smackdown does wind up in its old timeslot, I think we can all agree one on thing:

TNA is screwed.

Seriously. The one evening on which TNA went head to head with an important, first-run WWE program saw their number get cut almost in half, tumbling from the average 1.1 to an 0.6. That is even more depressing when you consider the fact that the WWE show (Raw) was not airing in its regular timeslot, meaning that many of the show's regular viewers were not tuning in. It would be interesting to see whether TNA and SpikeTV would move the show in response to a prolonged ratings bashing from WWE. On one hand, it could be the only thing that keeps the promotion's numbers and their current levels. On the other hand, it could be viewed as a sign of weakness from a company that is almost delusional about its importance in the wrestling world and hates to admit to any failures. Of course, all of this remains pure speculation, but you can rest assured that, should it happen, this hypothetical "Thursday Night War" would be far more of a "Thursday Night Rout."

All in all, I'd say that this is one of the more interesting stories to come down the pike in pro wrestling over the last couple of years. There are many different ways that this one could go, and it will probably take several months to play out given that Smackdown will apparently remain on CW throughout the rest of the current television season, whatever that means. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on the progression.

An Ode to OVW

Here's another story that's already been reported on heavily, first by Meehan and then by Prag. Of course, I'm talking about WWE ending its relationship with developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling in order to make the recently formed Florida Championship Wrestling in to the sole branch of its system for training tomorrow's stars. Usually I don't like to be this to be the third consecutive news report on the site to go over the same information. However, my opinions on this matter are quite different than those of my colleagues, and I feel that somebody needs to provide a counterpoint to the points that they have already raised.

JP and John both considered the move to be rather sensible, but I cannot say that I agree. Yes, there are more WWE wrestlers and officials living in Florida, so it's easier for them to drop in on a wrestling promotion in that state. Yes, WWE built its Florida territory from the ground up and therefore doesn't have to deal with independent owners of the company. These factors may result in other territories being slightly more convenient than OVW . . . but they're not factors that should be primary concerns in WWE shaping its developmental system. There is only one thing that WWE should be concerned with in shaping its developmental system:

Results.

In axing OVW to make Florida Championship Wrestling its sole farm league, WWE is giving up on a promotion with a track record for producing men and women who learn what they need to learn in order to become top stars on a national stage. John Cena, Dave Batista, and Randy Orton are three of the promotion's biggest current stars, and all of them are Ohio Valley products. The same could have been said for Brock Lesnar if he had remained with the company. Lensar was trained to be a professional wrestler from the ground up in OVW, and the other three men came in with negligibly small levels of experience. In addition to these legitimate main event, money drawing stars, OVW has produced several highly talented bit players to WWE over the years, including the Basham Brothers, Shelton Benjamin, Rico Constantino, Rob Conway, and Victoria, who came to the promotion with similarly low levels of experience. Though recent OVW graduates have displayed less talent than the group that came through the promotion several years ago, the dropoff in quality can be traced almost directly to the point at which WWE cut back significantly on the amount of time that its wrestlers would spend in developmental. It can hardly be considered a failing of OVW itself.)

What produced these results from OVW? Was it Mick Foley popping in every couple of months to give guys a pep talk? No. Was it WWE having carte blanche over how these young wrestlers careers' developed? No. It was the trainers and the system that Ohio Valley had developed, none of which WWE is taking with it to Florida. Danny Davis and Rip Rogers, the two men who have been responsible for the growth of many of today's top wrestling stars, are being left behind in Louisville. Gone also is Al Snow, who has been an integral part of OVW and WWE training over the last several years. Davis isn't just as important as a trainer, though. He's also the man responsible for running the company, and he was able to get the group strong local television even before WWE affiliated itself with the promotion. The popularity of that local television has allowed the company to regularly run at least three shows a week in addition to their television taping, and those shows take place throughout Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. This gives young wrestlers an opportunity to work in front of several different crowds, which is crucial when you're developing a skillset that will hopefully take you to venues throughout the country. WWE is giving this all up for a completely unproven commodity.

Could FCW eventually amass trainers equal in skill level to those in OVW? Could they eventually develop a touring schedule with just as many shows? Of course they could. However, I have a hard time believing that the relatively minor advantages associated with being in Florida justify tossing aside an established system that clearly works for one that might. "But Ryan!" some of you might say. "This is a promotion owned and operated by WWE. Surely with their almost unlimited financial resources they'll be able to set up something comparable to OVW!" To that, I ask you to take a look at Deep South Wrestling. Established in Georgia in 2005 to be a second developmental territory for the E, they had difficulty gaining local television, and, once they did, could not supplement with consistent house shows. Men like "Assassin" Jody Hamilton and Bill "Hugh Morrus" DeMott, who were both talented wrestlers in their day, were inserted as trainers, but numerous insiders such as Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez reported that the company's training sessions and, in fact, the promotion as a whole were "a disaster." FCW currently does have some talented wrestlers at its helm of its classes, including Steve Keirn and Billy Kidman. They have one location in which they regularly run shows, though they have not obtained a television deal and do not run very regularly outside of their primary locale. Whether they take this base and develop it in to something that more closely resembles OVW or something that more closely resembles DSW remains to be seen, but, again, I'm still at a loss to explain why the "sure thing" would be tossed aside for a far more speculative venture.

Some people, particularly the esteemed Mr. Meehan, have attempted to explain the axing of OVW by appealing to the departures of Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley from WWE. I have a hard time buying that one. I doubt it is an actual reason for the change, and, if it is, the thought process underlying it is shaky at best. Nothing about being trained in OVW or coming through a developmental system resulted in Lesnar and Lashley deciding that they wanted to pursue other careers. Their departures had everything to do with the fact that had not worked in an international professional wrestling company before and disliked that environment once they had an opportunity to spend some time within it. Whether they like it or not, WWE is never going to be able to set up a situation in which they can test how wrestlers react to WWE-like conditions, as those conditions do not exist anywhere but in WWE. (The promotion made sure of that when they ran all of their nationally touring competition out of business.) They're going to have to get used to the fact that some people will not adapt well to the company's main roster. Losses from men like Brock and Bobby jumping ship are a cost of doing business in the new world of wrestling that WWE has created, and deciding to cut those losses by cutting developmental does nothing but harms the promotion's future interests. There's nobody left who can produce their next generation of stars for them. WWE has to do it on their own through territories like OVW. Men like Ken Kennedy, Johnny Nitro, and Montel Vontavious Porter are currently on tap to step up when the Triple H's, Undertakers, Shawn Michaelses, and Edges of the world retire. However, limiting developmental now would severely reduce the potential for WWE to have a competent class of wrestlers to fill the roles that MVP, et. al. currently occupy.

At the end of the day, though, WWE isn't going anywhere. They've got enough money in the bank and a profitable enough business model to remain an economic force in the United States long after anybody reading this passes away. If you look at it that way, what they do with developmental is of little consequence. However, some business moves still remain better than others, and I can't call ending the OVW relationship in favor of FCW anything other than risky and ill-advised.

Random Video Interlude

This week we've got an excellent fan-produced music video which contains highlights of one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers of all time, Keiji Mutoh . . . though Keiji gets interrupted by a demonic presence about halfway through the clip.



To view videos that have appeared in previous editions of the Custom Made News Report, be sure to check out my new YouTube page.

The Word from Dixieland

PPV Prevew: TNA Against All Odds

TNA Against All Odds

- This will be the fourth TNA Against All Odds event.
- Against All Odds has played host to eight different championship matches in its history.
- However, there has only been one title change in Against All Odds history.
- This title change took place in 2006, with Christian defeating Jeff Jarrett to win the NWA Heavyweight Title.
- This will be the first time that Against All Odds has not been broadcast from the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida.
- This year's Against All Odds event will be taking place in Greenville, South Carolina.
- Greenville has a strong professional wrestling history, in large part due Jim Crockett Promotions regularly running the city in the 1980's.
- Greenville was one of two cities to host the 1988 Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup, a tag team tournament won by Sting and Lex Luger.
- Greenville has also played host to several NWA Title changes, including Denny Brown defeating Steve Regal (not the current William/Steven Regal) for the Junior Heavyweight Title, Ric Flair defeating Greg Valentine for the US Title, and Sergeant Slaughter defeating Wahoo McDaniel for the US Title.

Payton Banks vs. Traci Brooks

- Assuming that this match takes place before the scheduled Women's Title match, it will mark the first time that two female wrestlers have had a singles match at Against All Odds.
- It will not be the first time that a woman has wrestled on the show, though. That distinction belongs to Christy Hemme, who fought the "Fat Oily Guy" on last year's show.
- Christy Hemme vs. Fat Oily Guy was voted the third worst match of the year in 411's 2007 Year End Awards.
- Obviously, this will be the in-ring debut for both Banks and Brooks at Against All Odds.

James Storm vs. Eric Young

- Eric Young's Against All Odds record is 0-2.
- James Storm's Against All Odds record is 3-0.
- However, it is interesting to note that this is the first time that either man will be wrestling in a singles match at Against All Odds.
- Both of Eric Young's tag team losses came with partner Bobby Roode, while Storm's tag team wins came with partners Chris Harris and Jackie Moore.

Scott Steiner vs. Petey Williams in "case versus case" match

- The winner of this match will receive both an X Division Title shot and a TNA Title shot.
- This will be Scott Steiner's Against All Odds debut.
- Petey Williams' Against All Odds record is a dismal 0-3.
- This makes Petey the only man to have lost on all three prior Against All Odds pay per views.
- Sucks to be Petey.

AJ Styles & Travis Tomko (c) vs. The Road Dogg & "Bullet" Bob Armstrong for the TNA Tag Team Titles

- This will be the first time that the TNA Tag Team Titles have been defended at Against All Odds.
- AJ Styles' Against All Odds record is 2-1.
- However, this will be the first time that Styles has competed in a tag team match at the event.
- The Road Dogg's record at Against All Odds is 2-0.
- Both of Road Dogg's Against All Odds wins came in tag team action.
- This will not be the first time that Road Dogg has teamed with a man who is not a regular member of the TNA roster at Against All Odds. In 2005, he and NASCAR driver Jeff Hammond defeated Frankie Kazarian and Michael Shane.
- This will be Travis Tomko's first time wrestling at Against All Odds.
- This will also be Bob Armstrong's first time wrestling at Against All Odds.
- However, it will not be Armstrong's first time wrestling on a monthly PPV from TNA.
- At Destination X in 2006, Armstrong and the New Age Outlaws defeated LAX in a six man tag match.

Abyss vs. Ricky Banderas in a barbed wire match

- This is only the second barbed wire match in TNA history.
- The first barbed wire match featured Sabu defeating Abyss at Turning Point 2005.
- This match was actually taped in Orlando weeks in advance of the pay per view and will be inserted in to the Against All Odds broadcast.
- The unusual taping was due to the fact that government entities in Greenville first approved TNA holding the match but later changed their minds after the bout had already been advertised.
- Abyss' Against All Odds record is 1-2.
- Two of Abyss' three prior Against All Odds bouts have also been gimmick matches.
- This will be Ricky Banderas' Against All Odds debut.

Booker T. vs. Bobby Roode

- This will be Booker T.'s first match at Against All Odds.
- Bobby Roode's Against All Odds record is 0-2.
- Both of these losses came in Roode's previously discussed tag team matches with partner Eric Young.
- It is interesting to note, however, that Roode was never the individual pinned in those matches.
- Roode also is on a streak of wrestling former WWE employees at Against All Odds. In 2005, one of his opponents was Diamond Dallas Page. In 2006, his opponents were the Dudley Boys.

The Dudley Boys & Johnny Devine vs. The Murder City Machine Guns & Jay Lethal in a street fight

- This will be the third time that a match billed as a "street fight" has taken place at Against All Odds.
- Both of the prior street fights were on last year's card, with LAX defeating the Dudley Boys and Christy Hemme, as previously noted, defeating the Fat Oily Guy.
- Jay Lethal is 1-0 at Against All Odds.
- Alex Shelley is 0-1 at Against All Odds.
- Lethal and Shelley were actually opponents at the 2006 version of the show, with the future Black Machismo defeating Shelley, Petey Williams, and Michael Shane in a four way.
- Chris Sabin is 1-1 at Against All Odds.
- This is the first time that Sabin will be in a non-title match at Against All Odds.
- The Dudley Boys are 1-1 at Against All Odds.
- Johnny Devine has never appeared on an Against All Odds pay per view, but did pick up a tag team victory in a dark match prior to last year's show.
- One of Devine's opponents in that match was Jay Lethal.

Amazing Kong (c) vs. ODB for the TNA Women's Title

- This will be the first time that the TNA Women's Title has been defended at Against All Odds.
- However, this will not be the first time that two women have been involved in a serious match at the show.
- And, no, I'm not talking about Christy Hemme and the Oily Guy again.
- Gail Kim and partner Petey Williams wrestled Jackie Moore and partner James Storm on last year's show.
- This will be the Against All Odds debut for both Amazing Kong and ODB.

Kurt Angle (c) vs. Christian for the TNA Heavyweight Title with Samoa Joe as guest enforcer

- This will be the first time that the TNA Title has been defended at Against All Odds.
- This will be the second straight year that Christian versus Kurt Angle in a title match has headlined Against All Odds.
- In last year's match, Cage pinned Angle to retain his NWA Heavyweight Title.
- This will be the third straight year in which Cage has headlined the event, as he also defeated Jeff Jarrett in 2006 to win the NWA Title.
- As such, Christian's overall record at Against All Odds is 2-0.
- Kurt Angle's overall record at Against All Odds is 0-1.

TNA Scouting Report 2: Electric Boogalou

One of the best received pieces in Custom Made News Report history remains my TNA Scouting Report, which appeared in the August 5, 2007 edition of the column. At the time, rumors were swirling that Total Nonstop Action was looking to acquire several new professional wrestlers, and I compared the names rumored to be under consideration with a list of performers that I thought would be a better fit for the company. Now we find ourselves confronted with rumors that TNA will be launching a one hour show devoted solely to its women's division, which would obviously require the signing of a few new female names. As such, I decided that it was time to bring the scouting report back! We don't have a list of names under consideration by TNA this time around, but we do have five ladies who I think should be signed at all costs in order to make sure that this potential new program is successful.


5.) Serena Deeb

A native of Virginia, Serena pulled up her stakes and moved to Louisville, Kentucky to train with Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2005. In an OVW dominated by WWE contracted talent, she was one of the few wrestlers paying to train at the company's school who earned a regular spot on their weekly television show, and she's been a part of that program ever since. Deeb has not received a WWE developmental deal as of yet, but she has managed to make waves in other ways, including getting a brief run with the OVW Women's Title and earning bookings with both SHIMEMR and Ring of Honor. Serena stands out from many women on the United States independent scene these days due to her style, which has far more of a southern influence than the majority of her contemporaries. While some women attempt to emulate Aja Kong or Bryan Danielson, Deeb appears content to draw her inspiration from the Ric Flairs and Dick Murdochs of the world, and her offense includes armdrags that look like they were taken from Ricky Steamboat and a series of straight right jabs that reminds me of none other than Terry Funk. She tops off that offense with an AWESOME spear that she uses as a finisher. I am not exaggerating when I say that her version of the move looks better than the spears of 90% of the male wrestlers who have performed the maneuver, including a certain reigning World Heavyweight Champion on a certain WWE Smackdown brand. With WWE and OVW ending their relationship, this may be the best possible time for Serena to take a step towards TNA.


4.) Shantelle Taylor

Speaking of WWE developmental, Toronto's Shantelle Taylor recently spent some time there after initially training with Rob Fuego, the man who is responsible for breaking current TNA stars Traci Brooks and Gail Kim in to the wrestling business. Taylor was reportedly close to being called up to the main WWE roster on numerous occasions, most notably in a gimmick in which she was to have worn a mask and full bodysuit and competed against men in the cruiserweight division. That angle may never have materialized on television, but it was given several test runs in dark matches, and the fact that WWE was considering Shantelle for such a position shows just how much confidence they had in her abilities. I have the utmost confidence in those abilities as well, having seen Ms. Taylor in numerous independent appearances that made her look like a world class competitor. Oh, and in case you missed the picture above, she's also damn good looking.


3.) LuFisto

I've mentioned LuFisto a few times before in this column, and there's a reason that I keep coming back to her. It's because she's perhaps one of the most versatile performers in women's wrestling. She's probably most well known for her deathmatch wrestling in companies like CZW, IWA Mid-South, and her home promotion, the International Wrestling Syndicate in Montreal. However, that's not all that she's good for. You want a little hard-hitting strong style? LuFisto can give you that. You want some lucha libre? LuFisto's got some experience in the style from south of the border. (Way south of the border in her case . . . she is Canadian, after all.) She may only stand a diminutive 5'3", but the self-proclaimed "Missionary of Violence" packs so much explosiveness in to that tiny frame that it would be entirely realistic for her to go up against bruisers like the Amazing Kong and ODB.

(No, seriously. Somebody reading this PLEASE book Kong vs. LuFisto. I'll be forever grateful.)


2.) "Dark Angel" Sarah Stock

One of the things that I've tried to do with this list is assemble a group of women that would provide several different styles of wrestling for TNA. Serena's got her Jim Crockett Promotions schtick, LuFisto's good for hard hitting brawls, and Shantelle is your traditional North American wrestler. Our fourth entrant is "Dark Angel" Sarah Stock, who is a lucha libre specialist. Stock, who originally hails from Winnipeg, wrestled throughout that province and the United States beginning 2002 before relocating to Monterrey, Mexico a bit later in the twenty-first century. It was there that Sarah truly found her calling, doing independent shots and the odd AAA show before becoming a fixture on the CMLL roster, where she still competes today. Work visa issues were rumored to have kept Stock out of the United States for several years, but apparently those issues were cleared up last year, when she made her return to the States as a part of SHIMMER. Since that time, she has proven that the last several years in Mexico have not cancelled out her ability to successfully compete in the American style. As a matter of fact, as soon as she joined the roster, it became immediately apparent that she was one of the three most talented women in the company. Similarly, Sarah Stock would far and away be TNA's best female wrestler if signed.


1.) Jazz

And here you thought I was going to stick with women who had not previously received national television exposure in the United States. Jazz has kept a low profile since her most recent WWE release early last year, but she and husband Rodney Mack are still working for various independent promotions across the country and even the world. Her WWE run which began in 2001 is rightly heavily praised. She was awesome, and she doesn't get nearly enough credit for the role that she had in the development of Trish Stratus as a professional wrestler. Yes, Trish worked hard on her own, but it wasn't until she had a series of matches against Jazz that she truly seemed to "get it," much the same way that Sting wrestling against Ric Flair provided an invaluable education to the Stinger and much the same way that MVP's feud with Chris Benoit turned Porter from just another goof to one of the most improved in-ring performers of 2007. My hope is that Jazz would be able to fill a similar role on the TNA roster, having awesome matches against her experienced opponents while simultaneously helping more "green" competitors like Christy Hemme and Talia Madison turn in to serviceable performers.

Wrapping Up

We draw close to the conclusion of another week, gentle readers. Before we go, though, let's hit the usual list of links:

~ I was in the Movie Zone earlier this week, taking a look at the DVD version of the PBS mini-series Pioneers of Television.

~ We move from Movies to Sports. You'll never find me writing there, in part because I know nothing about sports and in part because I couldn't never rival the awesomeness that is Thag the Brute.

~ Back in Wrestling, a few months ago I gave an ultimatum to a particular writer because he had stolen my initials. The ultimatum? Rename yourself or I will forcibly rename you. He ignored me, so I'm going to have to follow through on my threat. Thus, you should all be sure to read this review of ROH's Motor City Madness by Garrison Brooksbank.

~ Elsewhere, the real RB performed his usual duties by reviewing TNA Impact. RATS ON POLES!

That does it for this week. Be sure to head over to my MySpace, where you can add me as a friend to receive a bulletin notification every time that I add new content to 411mania. I'll see you all in seven days.