Wrestling’s 4R’s Friday Edition 9.19.08: Jericho Survives Punk, HBK Returns, Hardy and Henry Head for a Rematch and More!

Posted by Larry Csonka on 09.19.2008

It’s the Friday edition of the 4R’s, and this week I challenge Jeremy Thomas to a ladder match!

How the 4R's of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R's. The column will run TWO times a week. On Tuesdays I will discuss TNA Impact and WWE Smackdown. Also, if there is a PPV, that will be covered in this column as well. The column will run again on Friday's, covering WWE Raw (with Jeremy Thomas) as well as ECW on Sci-Fi. If there is a PPV that weekend, I will also run the RETRO R's of the show from the year before as well as address some comments when time permits. I will 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, my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.

---

By: Jeremy Thomas

Raw 9.15.08

The Right:

CHRIS JERICHO vs. CM PUNK: Raw started out with a fairly anticipated match right off the bat—a World Heavyweight Title Match, and in a steel cage, nonetheless. Punk came out first, looking pretty damn motivated—say what you want about the Straight-Edge Superstar, but he's got some great expressions and can sell a big-fight feel with them. We got a recap of Orton, Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu taking Punk out at Unforgiven before Jericho came out, which was expected but still good to see to remind anyone who's been away of the storyline leading up to here. Jericho came out with an arm bandage that would make Bob Orton blink, as the announcers sold Jericho as the opportunistic bastard he's playing. One minor quibble with the pre-match announcer work; Cole said that Punk "wasn't able to defend his title" at Unforgiven. I know, I know, it's true. But it's that kind of commentating that subtly pushes their talent down, not builds them up. It would have been just as easy to point that fact out by saying "Punk never lost a World Title Match" or something to that effect, something which makes someone sound impressive; when you say someone couldn't do something, that's pointing out a limitation. It's subtle and for many people, it wouldn't consciously register, but that's the kind of wording that subconsciously people pick up on and make associations with. Of course, this is Michael Cole, so what can we really expect?

They had a nice nose-to-nose, forehead-to-forehead trash-talking moment before the match, to add to that anticipation a little, before the offense began. Punk came out hard and fast, and both men were portrayed nicely in this match, with Punk being the aggressive challenger, fighting like hell to get what was rightfully his while Jericho was playing up the wily opportunist card, including a brilliant little athletic spot early on where he leapt up onto the top rope from a Punk whip into the corner in order to try and escape early on. Another one, where he elbowed his way out of a Go2Sleep attempt, allowed Punk to play up the supposed concussion, a nice way to let Jericho take control without playing off any mistake from Punk and thus building both wrestlers up. They really built this match up nicely and had a lot of points where you legitimately believed he could win, including that awesome spot where he crawled halfway across the ring while in the Walls of Jericho, and was one foot tug away from winning the match. At the same time, Jericho was right on his game and really played the heel champion well; it doesn't hurt at all that these two have great chemistry and timing with each other. It might seem odd that with Punk's supposed concussion Jericho targeted the leg instead of the head, but really, causing concussions is Orton's shtick not Jericho's, and they have to be careful with that anyway after Valde-noit. I may not have liked the end of the match, because I generally hate matches where guys only win because a blunder by the other guy, but that's a minor bitch. This match could have easily main-evented, if not for the need of the storyline to have it first, and it gave us a great way to open the show as well as a match the fans would clearly like to see a rematch for down the road. A stellar effort all around.

CANDICE MICHELLE vs. JILLIAN HALL: Okay, we all know that I can't stand Jillian's singing gimmick and that I hate how it makes her look like a goof. That said, I can at least try to not listen while it happens—but really, ‘E, do we need to string it out as long as it last? I swear they give Jillian more singing time then a lot of matches get some weeks. If you want to play the Brooke Hogan gimmick with her into the ground, at least keep it in small enough doses, and for the sake of all that's holy and good (or even tainted and mediocre), do NOT let her sing all the way through a commercial break! Thankfully, Candice came out looking hot in red, although that cape/dress part of her outfit was just bizarre-looking. Beth Phoenix was right behind her, shadowing her all the way to the ring, and got a little stripper dance from Candice, complete with getting the dress part getting tossed at her. I know Candice has shown some alternative lifestyle tendencies in the past, but I don't think this is going in that direction so it was just kind of weird instead of hot. The match started off pretty nicely with some good action between the two. Candice can sometimes be off her game as a worker, but tonight she was pretty good and Jillian was fairly solid as she usually is. I'm not saying it was a classic or anything and there was too much hair-pulling for my taste, but it was a solid ‘E Women's match for television. In the end, the right person went over in a nice spot where Candice turned a corner splash into a Candy Wrapper, and she got a little momentum against Beth with that dropkick spot. So, while I wasn't big on all the crap that went on before the bell rung, everything afterward did what it needed to do without sucking too much life out of the show.

THE MID-SHOW PROMO HOUR WITH JOHN, RANDY AND DAVE (WITH SPECIAL GUESTS: THE GLAMARELLAS!): Following his squishing of Tommy Dreamer (see below), JBL got a chair. Just like it looked like it was somehow going to get worse for young Thomas, Mr. Mamajuana.com set the chair down, refusing to leave until Mike Adamle named him the number one contender. Bradshaw was in his element here, speaking as opposed to wrestling, and while I've given him some crap for his interviews since joining the R's, he can deliver on the mike and did a pretty good job here. This brought down Randy Orton, and for all of you who love Orton's theme, you'll be happy to know that after several listens outside of the show, it's starting to grow on me. Orton recapped his running down of the Raw champions a few weeks ago, as well as his elimination of Punk from the Championship Scrabble match, before he started in on JBL. Orton delivered another good promo hyping his eventual return to the ring before we had a little unexpected appearance in YOUR Intercontinental Champion, Santino Marella with Beth Phoenix alongside. The most surprising thing about Marella's appearance is that he actually held his own and didn't look bush league on the mike alongside two seasoned vets on the stick. He actually got some good shots on Orton with the injury talk, and had the funniest line of the night when he said his father "did have-a the herpes…but he-a managed it well." Classic! Orton no-sold Santino and started to lay into him, only to be cut off by JBL who delivered an inspired little tirade on Orton. Everything here was golden, and while I don't think JBL should be in the World Title picture anymore due to his ever-deteriorating in-ring skills, they sold up the question of who was going to be the #1 contender pretty well.

But wait, there's more! Big Dave came out after JBL talked about knocking him out with one Clothesline from Hell, determined to share a few thoughts of his own. He played the "Current Events" card, using Barack Obama's lipstick on a pig comment toward Beth before suggesting himself vs. JBL for the shot at Jericho. He had some good interaction with everyone before stumbling his way through shutting JBL up, a sad result of him rushing through his lines at that point. I call it out when the guys who suck on the mike do it, I gotta call it out when the main eventers do, too. It makes Batista look bad and green on the mike, and he's better than that. Adamle showed up to save Batista's rushed lines, giving Big Dave a chance to recover before taking it to JBL. That was rightfully kept short, building anticipation for their upcoming PPV match, and Dave instead got to wipe out Santino. Credit goes to Beth for having the guts to slap Batista, reminding us that she is someone who's not afraid of anyone, which gives her some of her monster rep back. Basically, despite a couple flubs here and there, this was good stuff all around that gave everyone the rub.

JAMIE NOBLE vs. PAUL BURCHILL/As The World Turns, WWE Edition: Following up on Layla's walking out with William Regal last week, Noble was looking a bit down as he made his way to the ring to take his aggression out on Burchill. Okay, so first I have to ask this: who the hell did Paul piss off? Not too long ago, he was seriously contending with Kofi for the Intercontinental Title, and now he's jobbing to a guy who was jobbing to other low-carders not too long ago. Well, at least it got Katie Lea out and on our televisions. Dayum. The match was as good as any one minute fifteen second match can possibly be; I wish they'd have given these two more time, because they could have done something good. Instead, Burchill does back to the showers after taking his three-second tan, leaving Noble celebrating.

Then, of course, out came Layla. …um, was it just me, or did Layla suddenly have a bit of a British accent? If it's not just me, it wasn't a very good one, but oh well. Still sort of nice hinting at what was to come moments later. Layla turned on Jamie, tearing up his white trash ways in exchange for Regal. I love Regal's look when he's in a suit, almost as much as I hate his wrestling gear. Regal got a great line with the "It's not Noble she wanted, it's nobility." This wasn't anything particularly special, but it was perfectly decent stuff and it's really nice to see they're doing some feuds in the undercard, as well as giving Regal and Noble, two guys who could use a break, something to do against each other.

REACH FOR THE STARS, SHAWN!: Jericho and Lance Cade came down for MAIN EVENT INTERVIEW TIME! Well, SmackDown's been running them long enough, I guess it was time for Raw to take a turn. Jericho was great on the mic as always, playing up the crowd as he called out Batista and JBL's names before suggesting that Big Dave take on Bradshaw for the #1 Contendership at No Mercy for the right to face him later that night. Jericho played everything beautifully as the arrogant asshole heel champion and more-or-less threatened Adamle toward taking his idea. Of course, this brought out Adamle, who hid behind his quarterly meetings with the bosses in preventing Jericho from getting to face the winner of JBL vs. Batista at No Mercy. Adamle then brought out Jericho's challenger for No Mercy…Shawn Effing Michaels. Yes, this feud continues! It gave the crowd, who was obviously calling for HBK, what they wanted and allows the greatest thing going in the ‘E to keep on rolling.

Of course, Shawn didn't just come out. After he let his music play a few moments with a little sadistic look on his face, he delivered the kind of promo that's been standard for this feud: awesome. I'm really digging on Michaels getting back into his bad-boy groove and playing the guy who wants to hurt Jericho badly. After laying down the hints, he brought out a visual representation to show Chris what kind of match they were going to have….a Ladder Match.

The following is a visual representation of my thoughts on this match.



Seriously, I'm not sure how much longer they can keep this feud going, but as long as they can, I'll be a happy God-damned camper. While I can't say that a ladder match with Shawn will be anything like the classics he used to have—his age is starting to show—I have no doubt that Chris and Shawn will put on an absolutely amazing match, and for the World Title no less. With Raw ending on Shawn's dead-eye stare and cruel smile, while Chris clutched his title desperately to him, it was the ‘E sending us off from Raw with something to be jazzed about for the first time in a while, and it's a massive improvement over previous weeks. About damned time.

puRgatoRy:

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MASK: Oh, look, it's…the back of someone's head! That's what we were treated to, before the person turned around, revealing himself to be Kane in his old mask. I gotta say, it looks really damned weird for him to be wearing it without the hair, and as much as I thought it might be cool to see the mask come back, I'm thinkin' not so much anymore. Kane gave a suitably creepy and inspired promo, giving his motivations for what he did to Rey in a way that finally made sense. This is all I've been wanting for the length of this feud; I don't mind the idea of Rey Rey and Kane feuding too much, as it gives them both something to do, I just wanted a reason that made sense, and Kane's non-sensical promos and the lack of continuity in the angle haven't cut the mustard in that criteria. The spot tonight, about people pointing at him and repulsed by him, while they love another masked guy like Rey, made sense. See how easy this is, ‘E? We don't need long, convoluted storylines about whether someone's alive or dead, then who it is that's dead…no, wait, he's alive, but then why…? Keep it simple and make it believable, and you'll have an audience that's interested in the feud. This may not have been Kane's best promo work ever, but it was pretty good, and by equating Rey to the rest of us, he was trying to make the little guy someone we related to and cared about more. Building up your opponent while tearing them down is a skill a lot of people never get (see: Warrior, Ultimate and Steiner, Scott), and it's the kind of thing that Kane doesn't get enough credit for. It was a good all-around promo to hype the match and make people care more about it. Sounds like a winner to me.

And then, Evan Bourne came out. Don't get me wrong, I really like Evan, and think he's amazing in the ring. Go figure, right? Unfortunately, his promo work…well, it sucks, and sucks hard. Evan came off as a total chump in his brief appearance here, though he did sell being creeped out by Kane's response of laughter tolerably. It may not have seemed like much to most, but drug down the end of the segment and left a bad last impression, which unfortunately drug it down to the edge of "not quite right." Do us a favor, Evan, and just keep doing Shooting Star Presses until you can get a little better at the mike work game.

MANU & SIMPLY PRICELESS vs. KOFI KINGSTONE, JERRY LAWLER, AND JIM HAAS: Cole officially called our second generation trio "Priceless" for what I believe is the first time they've used the name as group on-screen. Manu really, REALLY looks like Oded Fehr, aka Ardeth Bey from The Mummy and Carlos Olivera from the last two Resident Evil movies. Seriously, it's really kind of eerie. Out next came Kofi, then the King, and then none other than JIM HAAS! This one wasn't quite as funny as JBL, but Haas did play it for all it was worth and busted out several JR catchphrases. The match itself was pretty surprisingly good early on. Kofi was sharp as usual, and it's always amazing to me just how well Lawler can go in the ring when he needs to. Haas was limited some by what he could do thanks to that big fake gut getting in his way, and I wasn't big on him coming over to the announcer's booth to do commentary at one point. It just seemed like he was coming up short with the comedy and throwing out catch phrases with no point to them. Sadly, he'd be better at a script then Friedman and Seltzer, the spoof movie guys. Once the match erupted in chaos, DiBiase got the win on good ol' JH, and Simply Priceless keep on rolling. The right team went over, but the match wasn't great and it was too short to be much of anything.

REY MYSTERIO vs. KANE: As I said elsewhere, I've been hot and cold with the build in this feud due to the convoluted nature of the storyline and lack of continuity, but for better or worse it led to this match. I will say that for a big guy/small guy feud, Kane and Rey Rey work pretty well off each other, and while we saw some pretty standard stuff in the early moments, it played like a classic size differential match. They got some nice offense spots in, like Kane throwing Rey to the outside, where he rolled into a swank counter and taunted Kane out of the ring, then hopped back in for a dropkick as the Big Red Monster tried to enter. It was certainly better than many of the Rey vs. big man matches we've seen before. Now, there were a couple flubs by Mysterio, including where he almost slipped off the top rope, but all in all, this was a serviceable match until the bullshit ending. Seriously, how often do you see wrestlers get DQ'd for ignoring the five count? It seriously sold the match short and provided a cheap-ass way for them to continue the feud. The one good thing that came out of the BS end was Evan Bourne coming out for the save, where we got to see again how well Rey and Evan work together. They're seriously giving Evan a push here by letting him get involved in this feud and even get one over on Kane tonight; I just hope that, as much as I'd love to see him on Raw, they keep Bourne on ECW and let him grow into being a star there. It would have been all good if not for the crap ending, which drags it down in my book.

The wRong:

JBL vs. TOMMY DREAMER: Now, here's the wrong side of the ECW Talent Exchange. While Evan Bourne is benefiting nicely from his Raw exposure—when he keeps his mouth shut, at least—this did Tommy and ECW no favors, and just emphasized how ECW is the bush league of the ‘E compared to Raw and SmackDown. I get that they needed to feed someone to Bradshaw in order to give him some forward momentum toward No Mercy, but really, why an ECW guy? What, were Paul London, Chuck Palumbo and Jim Duggan too busy carrying protecting their gym bags from Orton to show up for a job spot? The man wasn't the worst squash we've seen on Raw lately, but it was nothing great, and JBL's in-ring work looked as off as it's been since returning. Nothing to see here, move along. No, really, move along.

The Ridiculous:

DOLPH WHO?: After the killer World Title match, we had the GM with the Mostest, Mike Adamle, talking with Double-K about how awesome No Mercy is going to be. Yeah, I know, but fuck "K-2," I prefer my name better, even if there are fewer jokes about scaling mountains to be made. They were interrupted by the newest Raw superstar Dolph Ziggler, last seen on ‘E television as Nicky of the Spirit Squad. Ladies and gentlemen, the contest is over. We officially have, single-handedly, the worst name in the history of the WWE. Yes, worse than Bastion Booger, The Missing Link, Frenchy Martin, Siva Afi, Uncle Cletus, Beaver Cleavage…take your pick. The first name of a B-action movie star, combined with the last name that brings to mind images of a salesperson/motivational speaker and Mark Wahlberg as a fictional John Holmes. He also has a really retarded look with the bright red tan, blonde bodybuilder long hair, stupid grin and jacked body. Uh, did someone forget about the Wellness Policy when they thought up Nemeth's gimmick? And then he got another brief moment where Jericho got to no-sell the guy's entrance, a quick bit that reminded me of Braden Walker rubbing elbows with Matt Hardy on ECW. Yeah, the one right before he got shit-canned. You know, right now I think I'd rather be Kenny Dykstra. Eating Pedigrees may not be the best job on SmackDown, but he's got a better shot at making it out of Job-ville then poor Nick—err, Dolph here. Mark my words, Ziggler's going to be jobbing to give Lance Cade wins within a month.

NO HONK-A-METER?!?!: Booo! C'mon, we couldn't give Santino a few moments to bust out the Honk-A-Meter during that interview segment? Fuck you, ‘E. But worry not, faithful readers: I have your weekly Honk-A-Meter dose right here. No need to thank me, just throw money in my general direction:



For those keeping track, this officially makes him a greater Intercontinental Champion then Marc Mero, D'Lo Brown, Albert, and Lance Storm. Up next week: Kurt Angle and Booker T, and tying with the Stone-a Cold! Go Santino!


SHOW RATING: (***) Best Raw in a while. While there were a few problems, the show built really nicely toward No Mercy and delivered with a killer opening match and a great Main Event segment. I'll be pretty well satisfied as long as they can keep this sort of quality going on the Monday show.

---

By: Larry Csonka

ECW 9.16.08:

The Right:

Matt Hardy vs. Mike Knox…did NOT suck!: The opening contest this week was a non-title match between our ECW Champion Matt Hardy vs. Mike Knox. Hardy was on his way to No Mercy to defend his new title against Mark Henry, and both men were slated for action in preparation for the match. I like the idea of both guys still having to work on the way to the title match, because even if the challenges lose, they are still setting up for possible challenges later. They got a nice amount of time, about 9-minutes after the commercial break, and I didn't feel as if it dragged at any point. Hardy looked like the champion and Knox was a game challenger. Surprisingly I really enjoyed this, and ECW continues to deliver solid in ring action and good matches each week. In the end this was a good opener that was fun, gave Hardy a challenge, didn't weaken him and made Knox, who is improving look good in defeat.

Bourne vs. The Miz…or …Carlito wants his hair back!: I will admit that at first when I saw Rocky Ortiz coming to the ring with Bourne instead of Rey Mysterio I was a bit disappointed. I mean, they tagged together and Bourne made the save for Rey the night before, so it would only make sense that Rey return the favor so to speak and make sure he had his back. That being said, when I thought about it, the one thing I did like is that with Bourne being over and getting such a good response of Raw and ECW, they decided to use that and combine it with the wacky charisma of Ricky Ortiz and that isn't a bad thing. While Rey on ECW may have helped the ratings, he has essentially given Bourne his seal of approval, and now they are trying to let Bourne and Ortiz succeed without help. I also liked the match here because it again is continuity, it plays off of last week where Rey and Bourne defeated Miz and Morrison, and then Tuesday night Morrison defeated Bourne with help from Miz. Now we get Bourne with backup vs. Miz, simple and effective.

puRgatoRy:

Mark Henry vs. Finlay, not great, but not horrible…: The main event of the show, which was a bit odd in a way because the Champion was in the opener, was Mark Henry vs. Finlay. Mark Henry has been fun since his arrival on the ECW brand, showing good personality and working hard. Mark Henry will never have a bunch of five star classics, but he has done well and I commend him for that. With Henry headed towards a rematch with Matt Hardy, he needed to be tested like the champion, but it not only had to make him look strong but it couldn't be a bullshit squash of Tommy Dreamer or some shit like that. Which is exactly why a guy like Finlay is so valuable. I have said it time and time again; Finlay is an asset and has been great on the ECW brand thus far. Mike Knox had been coming along well, and after a short program with Finlay looks even more comfortable out there. As far as the formula went this was a great idea in theory, but it lacked a bit in the execution department. It was far from horrible mind you, it was just that it felt a bit too long. They got about 10-minutes, minus the commercial break, and it wasn't bad pacing really, but it just felt a bit too long in the end. The good news is that Henry gets a strong win over a quality opponent and now heads to No Mercy to try and get back the title that he was never pinned for.

The wRong:

The All-American American tells the NWA to fuck off!: Chase Stevens, former NWA Tag Team Champion made an appearance on ECW this week, and unfortunately for him he had to face The All-American American Jack Swagger, who promptly told him and the NWA to go and FUCK OFF! YEAH! TAKE THAT NWA! Brent Albright is NEXT! Anyway, Jack Swagger and Chase Stevens had a match, it barely reached two-minutes in length and it was fine. Stevens sold well, Swagger technically did everything right while sporting his goofy ass grin and won with a sloppy RED, WHITE and BLUE THUNDER BOMB as Matt Striker dubbed it. So while the match is technically fine, I still have a concern similar to last week. Who the hell is The All-American American Jack Swagger? Am I supposed to hate The All-American American Jack Swagger? Should I love his goofy smile? Should I be improved by the one or two tidbits that Matt Striker manages to get out there in 100 seconds? Can't they take the time to hire 4-5 Indy goofs and film The All-American American Jack Swagger tossing them around with amateur throws and shit? Can we get some college or high school footage on this guy? Can they let him have one of those 20-second 1980's Superstars promos during his entrance? Are they capable of doing SOMETHING to make me care about this guy at all? Listen I am not condemning him to failure by any means, but I feel that they need to do SOMETHING to make us care about him and that's why this falls to wrong once again. He has the raw potential and the amateur background. He is currently working with Arn Anderson, which is great for a guy at this or any stage. But I feel that they need to do something to make us care, that's all I ask. Tossing a guy out there for 100 seconds does nothing. At least Kozlov got played up with his Sambo background.

The Ridiculous:

NONE


SHOW RATING: (***) You know it's funny, there was just a news item posted that people in WWE feel that the ECW show is the best in the company because it is not overbooked and everyone is working hard. Welcome to what myself and others have been saying for a while now. While the show rarely is a "blow away or must see" show, it is consistently good and smartly booked. This week was no different, Hardy and Henry both looked good against game challengers on the way to their rematch at the PPV, Bourne continues to shine while Ortiz gets another chance for face time against Miz and Morrison, who are always on their game it seems these days. Jack Swagger looked fine, but they need to get that guy a short feud or some promo time each week, because otherwise he's just a goof out there throwing people around with his goofy ass smile. Good show overall, because it is simple and only focusing on a few main themes.

---

~FEEDBACK BAG~

From JC - I'm not a huge fan of rating systems in general, but I must say that it seems contradictory that you can barely recommend watching something that got 7.3 out of 10.

I'm not convinced the 10-point scale as it stands (especially with decimal suffixes, and a range that stretches only from 6.0 to 9.0 based on previous viewings) is the best way to summarize or encapsulate your feelings in a way that really comes across to fans who are honestly looking to it for guidance.

Larry - The system is staying the same, so if you don't like it I am sorry. THIS year, PPV is overall better than the efforts of last year, which is why we are between 6-9. A 7.3 is a little above average, which is why I won't tell someone that they have to spend $30 on it, I figured that was clear. Thanks for reading and commenting.


From Ian - I like how, when MVP alludes to Jeff's drug problems is a great part of the feud and really helps it to get over, but when Hunter does it he's being evil and trying to bury him.

Larry - I never said that it was a great thing. In one way it is a tool for them to build one hell of a story, but it all depends on the way they do it. I wasn't particularly thrilled with either guy using it against Jeff. And my issue with HHH is that he is making all of his opponents look like shit, that's bad especially since he's the face. Thanks for reading and commenting.


From Michael - This stuff with Triple H "burying" his opponents is getting old. Oh my god he laughed at MVP and called Kendrick a loser. Oh my god I am a retarded wrestling fan, I can't decide who is a loser on my own. Actually no, I, like every other wrestling fan, can make my own mind up. If Triple H called Kendrick a loser or MVP a joke, I'm not going to automatically agree with him. Both guys have been shown to be WWE title contenders, that shows the fans that they matter. The wrestling fans will make up they're minds on MVP or Kendrick based on their promos or their matches and not whether or not Triple H laughs at them in a 2 minute segment.

Larry - Again, it is not that you can't decide on your own, but the thing is that if he CONSTANTLY is making his opponents look like shit, making them look like a loser, then perception becomes reality so to speak. It is never good to put down your opponents in the way he constantly does, because if he wins he just beat a shitty opponent or a loser, and if he loses, he lost to a shitty opponent and loser. Thanks for reading and commenting.


From JT - Could it be that Vince Russo has convinced Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter that the best way to book is to build TV off the PPV's?

In all seriousness, TNA has started to fall short on their PPV's and the impact's are getting better.

Russo is a mark for ratings, not buy rates (see his shoot interview, he talks more about ratings than anything else) and doesn't understand that currently, TNA needs to make their PPV's like their house shows. The house shows are great, deliver great action, and keep the "entertainment" aspects to a bare minimum. That is what TNA should be trying to do.

It's too late to try to win back WCW fans that wanted more wrestling, but there are 30 plus million teenagers out there that could be introduced to great in ring action.

Larry - Likely so because Russo has a hard on for the ratings, which is stupid. I have to repeat that the rating doesn't matter that much, it is CONVERSION from the TV viewer to the PPV buyer that counts. UFC draws ratings between 1.0-1.5 regularly, but they also regularly score 400,000 PPV buys and above. I also agree that less bullshit on PPV is best, and I wish they would go back to that, like they did in 2005 during the no-TV, TV Era. Simple TV, clean stories and everything built nicely towards the PPV's. Thanks for reading and commenting.


From Ryder - I'm crossing my fingers at what could possibly be the...GASP...rebirth of the X Division? Creed, Williams and Bashir all put on a great display at No Surrender. Ok, so let Creed get the big win at BFG and once Dutt and Lethal get through with their stupid feud have Dutt get the belt. Throw in a returning Kaz and you have the makings of a sick X Division again!

Larry - I am not going to hold my breath. Unfortunately the X-Division is becoming like the WWE mid-card divisions, they show a glimpse of hope and get you excited, and they you get let down. There is no doubt that the division is STACKED with talent, but the company actually has to get behind the concept again and stop fucking around. Thanks for reading and commenting.

And I'm out of here!

11