The Bell To Bell News Report 01.25.09

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 01.25.2009

A look back at the last seven days in wrestling sees WWE build to the Royal Rumble and TNA looking to expand into Europe and Japan.

Good morning all and welcome to another edition of the Bell To Bell News Report. Your usual host Randy Harrison is out today, but he's left you in the very capable hands of yours truly. This week has seen plenty of news as we head to the Royal Rumble in WWEland and TNA looks to expand through Europe and Japan. Onto the news!

Sunday

The Stories

- Although Sunday is usually a very quiet day when it comes to rasslin' news, last week saw a somewhat intriguing story breaking regarding Randy Orton. It was reported that Orton got into an altercation with a fan at a house show over the weekend, and, so the story goes, ended up shoving the guardrail into the fan's legs following some trash talk between Orton and the fan in question. Now, we could talk for hours about a fan's right to taunt the wrestlers, and the extent to which wrestlers should be allowed to retaliate, but the fact of the matter is, if this was practically anyone else in the company, this would likely not have even been reported or at the very least wouldn't be as newsworthy as this was considered to be. Orton's had a number of discipline issues in the past and a lot of fans tend to get upset about the fact that he seems to get away with it a lot. That may be the case, but when you're one of the top guys in the company, there tends to be a little scope when it comes to admonishing bad behaviour. But as I say, this whole issue was blown way out of proportion from what I've read. By all accounts the fan was not heard and was laughing and joking again moments later. He even got his hat back.

Monday


The Show



Raw Results:

- Randy Orton def. Kane, Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in an over-the-top-rope challenge (last eliminating Kane).
- Beth Phoenix def. Kelly Kelly (pinfall, Glam Slam)
- CM Punk def. William Regal in a No Disqualification Match to become the new Intercontinental Champion (pinfall, Go2Sleep)
- Rey Mysterio def. Mike Knox (DQ, Knox ignored referee's 5-count)
- Cryme Tyme def. The Miz and John Morrison (pinfall, Shad on Morrison, STO)
- Melina def. Jillian Hall (pinfall, sunset flip)

Raw was very much a hard-sell for the Royal Rumble this week, and while those shows can tend to be really uneventful and monotonous, I have to say that this week's Raw was very much the opposite as it provided some really good wrestling and saw the advancement of some great angles, as well as the return of Mr. McMahon, segment which concluded with "the punt heard around the world."

First off, WWE did an excellent job of selling the Rumble this Sunday. The show kicked off with an Over-The-Top Challenge that gave the commentators the chance to talk about the Rumble whilst showcasing some of the talent that would be involved in the Rumble itself. There were three whole segments surrounding Beth Phoenix and her challenger for the Women's Championship, Melina, which obviously was a good way of promoting their match-up at the Rumble, although one could argue that no one is buying tonight's pay-per-view for that particular match. Then of course, there was the contract signing for the World Heavyweight Championship match between JBL and John Cena. Although I missed the beginning of this segment, I have to say that Shawn's promo was fantastic and did a great job of adding intrigue to the title match. Cena's response was great as well, even if it didn't quite top Shawn's remarks. Then things got physical, allowing JBL to lay out Cena to close the segment. I really liked that Shawn never struck Cena because it leaves the question about what Shawn will do at the Rumble if given the chance to take Cena out. At first, I wasn't pleased with the HBK angle nor JBL getting a title shot at the Rumble, but the way this angle has panned out, and this segment in particular, has me very much looking forward to another JBL/Cena encounter.

The show wasn't perfect however, as I thought the Mysterio/Knox match was a major letdown. This feud has been pretty uneventful but I had hopes that they could pull off a good match together; Knox is a good big guy and Mysterio is still tremendously capable. This would have been the perfect time to blow this feud off in my opinion, with Rey going over and looking like a strong contender going into the Rumble. Instead, we got a lame DQ finish and it seems as if this feud will go on, but I question just where it can actually go from here. I also didn't like the tag match between Cryme Tyme and Miz and Morrison, simply because it was ridiculously short. On the other hand, it was good to see someone out there who actually wanted a title shot and earning it, but it does no good to have the matches go just a few minutes, if that. The Raw booking crew should take a look at this week's SmackDown to get a few tips on how to utilize tag teams.

The highlights of the show were the closing segment and the Intercontinental Championship match. William Regal has done a great job of making the Intercontinental Championship seem important as it's been showcased a lot lately, and I think now was the right time to pull the trigger on a title switch. The match itself was really good; the finishing sequence in particular was pretty great. I loved Punk shrugging off Regal's able to hit the Go2Sleep, as it was a title match so Punk was showing that little extra bit of desire to put over the importance on the title to him. Doing the switch in Punk's hometown of Chicago was a great move, as the huge reaction and celebration made Punk and the title look like a million bucks. I wouldn't mind these two trading the title back and forth for a while because at the moment Raw's mid-card isn't up to much, although the likes of Kofi Kingston, Mysterio, Kane and maybe Mike Knox could be a good basis for a solid mid-card.

Then we come to the closing segment. Nothing could have made me look forward to Mr. McMahon making his return. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that he's the best heel of the last 10-15 years, and I appreciate that he gets heat whether he's a heel or face, but he hasn't done anything even slightly entertaining or original in years. That changed Monday night. Some people didn't like "burial" of Chris Jericho, but I enjoyed it; it was a nice way of bringing closure to Jericho's relentless attack on the fans and in essence, a great "passing of the torch" from Jericho to Orton as the top heel on Raw. Then we come to the Randy Orton portion of the segment, with Orton running down Stephanie only for it to backfire on him as Vince demanded an apology. The simple fact that Orton didn't back down to Vince made him look like a huge idck and a star at the same time, but by dropping him with a slap and then punting him in the head, Orton becomes the most intriguing guy in the business. It's clear that they have big plans for him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he walks out of tonight's pay-per-view as the Royal Rumble winner. I have to give big credit to Orton for all of his facial expressions and mannerisms on Monday night, as they sold his dilemma perfectly. For a long time, Shawn Michaels has been the king of that kind of acting, but Randy Orton may not be that far behind.

The Stories

- Plenty of big TNA news broke Monday morning. Mick Foley said that week that he was planning on wrestling just a couple of times a year for TNA, which should come as no surprise. Foley is best used sparingly in the ring, as he has shown that he can put over any young guy in the right circumstance (think Randy Orton, Edge). Which brings me to Foley's next statement, and that's that the plan was for him to wrestle Kurt Angle sometime in the future. Now, if Foley is only going to be working a couple of times a year, would it not make more sense for him to be working with younger guys who would need a rub, not the likes of Kurt Angle who are already at the top and won't benefit any more by beating Mick Foley. TNA's only defense here would be if they could obtain a much higher buyrate than their usual for a pay-per-view headlined by Foley/Angle. Foley also commented that he wasn't looking forward to the Angle match, because he doesn't think he can keep up with Angle and deliver. The fact is, Angle's something of a miracle worker, one of the very best in the world; he can have a good match with just about anybody. Mick Foley, under the right circumstances, can have a great match as well. If this match has some kind of hardcore gimmick, it wouldn't at all surprise if we have a Match of the Year Candidate on our hands. I don't think Mick has anything to worry about in terms of how good the match will be.

- The other TNA story to come out on Monday was regarding the relationship between TNA and New Japan. New Japan is looking to work on their relationship with TNA so that they can work matches in the states and have them broadcast in Japan. Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito are currently learning English so that they can come to the US for an extended stay. The goal would be for them to feud over the IWGP JR. tag titles with The Machine Guns, while New Japan also hopes Team 3D will defend their newly won IWGP tag titles in TNA. I would say that an improved relationship between TNA and New Japan would be a win/win situation, but TNA has failed to make use of anything New Japan has given them. On the other hand, TNA's increased presence in Japan will only mean more exposure and thus more money for the company and that's never a bad thing.

- Over in WWE, it appears as if DH Smith will soon be joining The legacy. Smith is a good worker and a perfect fit for the Legacy. I always like my stables to have four members, so Smith will round out the group nicely, adding a nice bit of side and strength to the stable. Manu and Snuka really didn't fit in at all, as neither had the same look or charisma that Orton, Rhodes and DiBiase seem to carry. Smith is somewhat lacking when it comes to charisma, but he'll fit in perfectly in an enforcer type role. I fully expect The Legacy to dominate Monday Night Raw in the coming months, and I very much look forward to it.

- The other big story that broke Monday was that of the contract status of Rey Mysterio. After months of negotiation between Mysterio and John Laurinaitis, all sides have seemingly agreed on a three-year deal with potential for a further two-year extension. This is great news, because Rey is still very good in the ring and can work with just about anyone. People say he's not as good as he once was, but that's obvious, and he's still better than at least half of the Raw roster. Rey is pretty underappreciated these days, but I'm glad he's re-signed. I also hope he can stay injury free, especially over the next few months, because the guy had to be gutted about missing the last two WrestleManias. In other Rey news, it seems as if the plan for Low Ki, now known as Kawal, is for him to feud with Mysterio. The thinking is he can be a heel rival closer to Rey's size, which would make for a nice change from Rey battling bigger guys. I have no problems with these plans, because I've no doubt that they could produce some kick ass matches. There is also talk of Low Ki working under a mask, to fit into the whole Mysterio-rival deal. WWE loves to debut guys the week after WrestleMania (Goldberg, Lesnar, Umaga, Khali etc) so look for Kawal to show up shortly after Mania 25.


Tuesday


The Show

ECW Results:

Ricky Ortiz def. Adam Evans (pinfall, Big O)
Boogeyman def. Paul Burchill (DQ, Katie Lea interference)
John Morrison def. The Miz, Finlay and Mark Henry in a Fatal Four Way (pinfall on Miz, Celtic Cross by Finlay)

Unfortunately I have yet to catch ECW this week, but I do still have a few comments I'd like to make on the show. The opening segment sounds pretty great, and it's certainly good hype for the Royal Rumble and the ECW Championship match between Jack Swagger and Matt Hardy. No doubt, Swagger has been highly entertaining in the last few months, and Matt Hardy is extremely capable, and I look forward to their rematch tonight. The main event was a good idea in theory, but by all accounts it wasn't that good a match. On the other hand, Morrison went over, which I like. The show also featured tons of hype for the Rumble in terms of video packages, interviews and commentary, but I really could do without another pointless Ricky Ortiz match and a lame DQ in a Boogeyman/Burchill match.

The Stories

- Tuesday was very much a slow news day, but one interesting story was that, in winning the Intercontinental Championship the night before on Raw, CM Punk had earned a new record. After winning the World and Tag Team Championships in 2008, and beating Regal on Monday, Punk became the fastest man to earn WWE's Triple Crown, doing it in just 203 days. This sparked a lengthy debate about whether anyone actually cares about awards such as the Triple Crown and Grand Slam, and the truth is, in short, no, they probably don't. But it's interesting to see just how successful CM Punk has been in his less-than three-year career in WWE. As well as his three aforementioned title runs, Punk is also a former ECW Champion and Money in the Bank holder. And while he may not be in the main event right now, he's one of the most over guys on Raw and as far as I'm concerned, is a great advert for anybody on the indy circuit wondering whether they can make it in the E. Punk doesn't really fit into the usual mould reserved for WWE's stars, but there's no doubt he's made a name for himself based more or less solely off of his own talents.

- TNA issued an update on the current status of Kevin Nash this Tuesday, stating that Nash was at home resting with his family and that he may or may not be at the Impact tapings this coming week. The full statement is below;

"Kevin Nash is now back home with his family in Florida after leaving the hospital last Thursday. The TNA superstar is tentatively scheduled to be at the TNA "iMPACT!" tapings in Orlando this coming Monday, January 26/27. However, this could change depending on his condition. TNAwrestling.com will update fans on Nash later this week."

Wednesday


The Stories


- Monday's WWE Raw scored a massive 3.9 rating, up from a 3.5 from the week before. This is obviously great news for WWE as just a few weeks ago, it wasn't uncommon for them to be struggling to hit the 3.0 mark. The steep rise in the rating is internally believed to be due to the return of Vince McMahon, but either way WWE is surely pleased with such a good rating heading into a big pay-per-view and will look to maintain such high ratings in the coming weeks and ideally through the WrestleMania period.

- The major news coming from the TNA camp is the proposal of bringing a pay-per-view to the UK later this year. Mick Foley and JB announced at TNA's live show in Birmingham, England on Wednesday night (for which I was in attendance) that TNA were holding discussions to bring a PPV to the UK, and AJ Styles closed the show by saying he'd see [the fans] at the pay-per-view. As I mentioned in my report of the Birmingham show, the NIA arena would be a great place to hold a pay-per-view. Birmingham is the most central of England's biggest cities and is thus likely to attract a bigger crowd, and the NIA wouldn't be that hard to sell out, as its capacity is no more than 10,000. The big problem would be determining a suitable time to hold the pay-per-view. Airing the show on tape-delay in the US could result in fewer buys if spoilers get out quick enough and people don't like what they read. TNA could put the show on live in the afternoon (US time) but that too could effect buys. Perhaps the most viable option is some form of compromise, holding the show later at night in the UK and showing it live, albeit an hour or two earlier than usual, in the US. Regardless, TNA would be wise to exploit this market while it's so hot.

- Elsewhere in TNA, a tentative match list has been announced for the upcoming Jeff Jarrett DVD;

World Title Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. Ron Killings (11/20/02)
Jeff Jarrett & The Road Warriors vs. Triple X & Vince Russo (1/15/03)
Jeff Jarrett & Sting vs. AJ Styles & Sean Waltman (6/18/03)
World Title Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. AJ Styles (2/19/03)
World Title Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. Raven (4/30/03)
2004 King Of The Mountain Match (6/2/04)
World Title Ladder Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. Jeff Hardy (Victory Road 2004)
World Title Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown (12/3/04)
World Title Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash (Against All Odds 2005)
Lockdown 2006: Lethal Lockdown Match
King of the Mountain Match (Slammiversary 2006)
Fan's Revenge Strap Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoa Joe (No Surrender 2006)
Lockdown 2007: Lethal Lockdown Match
World Title Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting (Bound For Glory 2006)
Jeff Jarrett vs. Robert Roode (Sacrifice 2007)
Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle (Bound For Glory 2008)
Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle (Genesis 2009)
Plus, rare complete matches from Jarrett's early years in the sport

Now, there's been length debate about whether or nor Jeff Jarrett's TNA career is one worthy of a 4-disc set, and most are of the opinion that it's not, but I have to strongly disagree. First of all, Jarrett isn't going to be wrestling much longer, certainly not on a regular basis, so now is as good a time as any to do it. Secondly, Jeff Jarrett IS TNA. There are some pretty great matches there, and while they may not all be winners, there's still plenty there to make the DVD worth a purchase. Plus, we're talking at least a whole disc worth of interviews about the creation of TNA, Jarrett's life and career and the like. That's got to be worth a look. I don't expect this DVD to be on the level of some of WWE's superstar packages, but I'd be shocked if it wasn't at least worth the asking price.



Thursday


The Show



Impact Results:

Alex Shelley def. Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin and Sheik Abdul Bashir in a Fatal Four Way to retain the X Division Championship (pinfall on Dutt, roll up)
ODB def. Sojournor Bolt (DQ, Kong interference)
Scott Steiner and Booker T def. Petey Williams and Eric Young in an Elimination Tag Team Match (pinfall, Booker on Williams, Axe Kick)
Beer Money def. Matt Morgan and Abyss in a First Blood Match (blood spillage, chair shot to Abyss from Morgan)
Kurt Angel def. AJ Styles in a Tables Match (table breakage, Angle Slam)

At the time of writing, TNA Impact has yet to air here in the UK, so I don't have any thoughts to offer regarding the quality of the show. Although, what's with all the gimmicks? Is this a pay-per-view?


The Stories

- Several of WWE's pay-per-view buyrates for 2008 were revealed on Thursday. No Mercy drew 250,000 buys, Cyber Sunday drew 160,000 and Survivor Series 325,000, all figures down from the same pay-per-views from 2007. It's not a huge surprise that the No Mercy buyrate was down, as there was a ton of intrigue going into No Mercy 2007 as John Cena had been forced out with injury and so there was no WWE Champion at the time. No Mercy this year was headlined by Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho in a Ladder match and Triple H and Jeff Hardy colliding for the WWE Championship, so perhaps WWE would have hoped for closer to 300,000 buys for that one. Cyber Sunday in 2008 was headlined by Batista and Chris Jericho, with Steve Austin as the referee, and Triple H vs. Hardy once again. Again, it's no surprise that the buyrate was down on the previous year, as that show was headlined by Batista vs. Undertaker, with Steve Austin as referee again. Survivor Series 2008 was headlined by the return of John Cena, battling Chris Jericho for the World Championship, and a triple threat for the WWE Championship. The show's buyrate was pretty good but again down on the 2007 equivilent. That said, Survivor Series 2007 was headlined by a Hell in the Cell match between Batista and Taker so it's not a huge surprise the buyrate was down. Overall, I don't think WWE will be too disappointed with these numbers despite them being down on the previous year. There are no disastrous numbers here, and WWE is still doing well.

- In other big news, The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke scored two big Oscar nominations this week. Rourke was nominated for Best Actor in Leading Role while Marisa Tomei was nominated for Best Actress in Supporting Role. The film has been ridiculously well received by fans and critics and even WWE has start to get behind the film despite initial discontent towards the film. While we're on the subject of The Wrestler, what the hell is up with my local cinema not showing this film? It's being heralded as one of the best films of the year yet it's not showing in my home town? What the fuck is with that shit?


Friday


The Show



SmackDown Results:

Undertaker def. Shelton Benjamin (submission, Hell's Gate)
The Great Khali def. Chavo Guerrero (pinfall, Punjabi Plunge)
Michelle McCool and Natalya Neidhart def. The Bella Twins (DQ, Maria interference)
Edge def. Matt Hardy in a No Disqualification Match (pinfall, Spear)
John Morrison and The Miz def. The Colons in a Champions vs. Champions Match (pinfall, Miz on Carlito, roll up)
Vladimir Kozlov and Big Show def. Triple H in a Handicap Match (Kozlov on Triple H, urange)

Much like Raw this week, SmackDown was a combination of some really good wrestling (perhaps moreso than Raw) and a hard-sell for the Royal Rumble (maybe less so). In terms of wrestling, we had a fantastic rematch between The Undertaker and Shelton Benjamin, a fun No DQ match between Edge and Matt Hardy, and a highly entertaining tag encounter between both sets of tag champions. The No DQ match was set up when Edge cut a promo regarding Jeff Hardy's pyro "accident" from last week where Edge claimed he had nothing to do with the incident. This was a strong promo by Edge and the chaos of Matt chasing Edge off through the crowd made for a fun start to the show and a good way to sell the angle and the Rumble title match. Jeff Hardy's pre-taped interview later in the show was his best promo since his darker edge began to develop, and did a great job of hyping the WWE Championship match. The No DQ match itself was pretty good, if below these two's usual standards, but it was a solid bout and helped promote two of the title matches at the Rumble. In more Rumble hype, Triple H met Vladimir Kozlov in the main event, which was then turned into a handicap match also featuring Big Show. These are the three of the big contenders in tonight's Rumble so this was good hype for the pay-per-view, and the match was pretty good too. It's worth noting that the match had the right outcome too, with Triple H succumbing to the power of Kozlov and Show. Unfortunately, it might be the case that Triple H only looked weak on Friday to set up a big Rumble win tonight. I'm not alone in hoping that's not the case, I'm sure. Similarly, Taker/Benjamin was used as Rumble hype but also gave us a rematch to the great encounter these two had a couple of weeks back. I missed the middle portion of this one, but from what I saw it may have been even better than their first match. People are saying Shelton and Taker are going to end up feuding around Mania. It won't happen. Rest assured, Shelton's being used here as a viable way to get Taker on TV to help sell the pay-per-view, and there is no way WWE plans on putting Shelton over Taker any time soon, and rightfully so.

Elsewhere on the show, we got the return of Diva's Champion Maryse as she watched on from ringside as Michelle McCool and Natalya Neidhart took on the Bella Twins. However, the match was short-lived as Maria made her return to seek revenge on Michelle, only to be taken out once again by McCool. Michelle has become infinitely more entertaining since her heel turn and in Maryse the Diva's division has a good champion, so all those who are looking to write off SmackDown's ladies, they may have a while longer to wait because as far as I'm concerned, this Diva's Championship thing has been anything but a failure, hideous as the title belt is. That wasn't the only tag match we got on the show though, as we had a special Champions vs. Champions match; WWE Tag Team Champs Primo and Carlito took on World Tag Team Champs and 2-time Slammy Award winners Miz and Morrison. This was a great showcase for the tag division as the match got plenty of time and all four busted their asses to produce a tremendous match. It got particularly great down the stretch, and Morrison busted out his 450 sell of the monkey flip, which is always mark-out-worthy. All in all, SmackDown is rolling now, much like Raw, and this show was no exception.

The Stories

- Back over in TNA land, morale is said to be up as a result of a hugely successful UK tour with shows in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, London and Dublin. The fans were said to have been extremely appreciative and respectful towards the crew and while a few workers are carrying knocks, all in all the company has benefited greatly from the UK tour. As mentioned earlier, it's looking likely that a pay-per-view will be brought to the UK later this year.

Saturday


The Stories

- AC/DC at WrestleMania 25, baby! AC/DC will be providing the official theme song for WrestleMania 25, although there is no word on what the song will be other, other than it is likely going to be taken from the band's new album Black Ice. The band will also be performing the song live at WrestleMania. Beats the hell out of Rev Theory, although I would have had no problem with hearing a live version of "Voices."

*

That brings our news report to a close. I would have liked to have previewed tonight's Royal Rumble, but time constraints and all that. Instead, I'll leave you with 411's Roundtable Preview. Enjoy the Rumble, and indeed the rest of your weekend! Randy Harrison's back next week.