Grading the Draft.

Wasn't last night a hoot? Three hours filled with wrestling, draft surprises, free cash, and Vince McMahon being taken out by his "Million Dollar Mania" sign. I'm always a bit hopeful for the draft. It has so much potential, really. Were the WWE to keep the three brands separate, and the draft consistent, it could truly shake things up. But the three brands intermingle whenever it's convenient, and the draft is different every year. Things like that keep this from being the big night that Vince wants it to be. Now that I've got my "internet fan" rant out from under me, let's discuss the picks.

1. RAW:Rey Mysterio
I'm a bit surprised at this one. First off, Rey isn't near the wrestler he used to be. He's had several surgeries over the past few years, and regardless of how determined he is, that's going to slow him down. Secondly, his size will be an issue on RAW when taking on guys like John Cena, Randy Orton, and JBL. There are ways to book around that, and they've done it on Smackdown, but I don't have that much faith in the RAW creative team. Where I do see potential is in a Rey Mysterio heel turn. While I HIGHLY doubt that Rey would turn heel, especially towards the end of his career, he could use the heel turn to justify a slower style that would benefit his bad knees. This would mean, though, that he would be giving up his one advantage against larger opponents, therefore neutralizing him as a threat in the eyes of the fans. I see him coming back for a short time, but not making the impact on RAW that he could have several years ago.

2. Smackdown:Jeff Hardy
Here's an interesting pick. Jeff Hardy to Smackdown. The potential here is for Hardy to hit the Main Event scene with a vengeance. Hardy could feud with Edge for the title and have a great series of matches, as the two wrestler's styles are incredibly compatible. There's also potential with MVP, Kenny Dykstra, Chuck Palumbo and the returning Gregory Helms. This is probably the most sensible pick of the entire night. Hardy's style and attitude make him perfect for Friday nights, and the audience he brings with him only helps as Smackdown moves to a different network. My only regret is that I won't get to see more of Hardy vs. Orton.

3. RAW:CM Punk
Here's the thing: I'm a huge Punk fan. Having said that, I think that him going to RAW is a bum deal. Not that I want him to stay in ECW carrying around that briefcase tagging against Miz and Morrison for another year. I just think that Punk, like Jeff Hardy, would better suited for a year on Smackdown. Not to mention that he holds the Money in the Bank title shot, meaning he could switch brands without a draft pick. Now, having said that, I do think there is potential for Punk on RAW. There are obvious feuds down the road with Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho, Santino, Paul Burchill, and even Randy Orton. Some of those would be great. Punk could help bring out Santino's in ring prowess, he could be taken to the next level by Jericho, and he could have great matches with Burchill or Orton. Punk's true potential comes once he turns heel. (I know, I want everyone to turn heel. I could actually see this happening, though.)
Just imagine CM Punk vs. HBK, CM Punk vs. Hardcore Holly, CM Punk vs. John Cena. That last match has the makings of a WrestleMania moment if you ask me. The diehard internet marks screaming their guts out for their crowned savior against the screaming women and children John Cena bring to the dance. The dueling chants would fill the arena as the two squared off for the WWE Championship. It wouldn't be my favorite WrestleMania moment because of the dueling chants, but it would be awesome.

4. ECW:Matt Hardy, V.1-uhhhh
The second the Hardy's came out as a tag team, I knew two things: 1. I knew they were losing. 2. I knew Matt was going to be drafted. Here's the one thing I didn't know, and that was that Matt would be drafted to ECW. When it happened, though, I wasn't surprised. Matt's got that Hardy fanbase which could help draw people to watch Tuesday nights on Sci-Fi. He's got a little credibility which could help make him ECW Champion. He's also got feud potential against Shelton Benjamin, Chavo Guerrero, and Your Paragon of Virtue Elijah Burke. He could even make legitimate threats out of Mike Knox and Matt Striker. Matt brings another strong face to ECW, which can only help the little brand that can't. Now, if they could make a true main eventer on the show, I might actually watch.

5. Smackdown:Jim Ross
The fact that announcers are available in the draft is ridiculous to me. It only emphasizes how stupid this whole thing is. You never see announcers get drafted in real sports, and that's because the announcers are hired by the networks. This only serves to remind us that wrestling, ahem.. SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT is not like legitimate sports. Having said that, this is just this years "How can we replace JR" move. Sometime in the next year he'll be back on RAW, and Cole will be back on Smackdown.

6. RAW:Michael Cole
I'll add one thing, and that is that Michael Cole being drafted because JR was drafted to Smackdown only proves that this was a rigged draft. It's why doing the draft without GM's making the pick is a stupid idea. This would have made sense if Vickie Guerrero picked JR, and the RAW GM would pick Cole to compensate. Instead we got the WWE Draft "Randomizer" "randomly" picking two announcers back to back. Also, it would have been better had Cole invited JR over instead of instantly assuming that he lost his job. There have been three man teams in the past, after all.

7. RAWBatista
This is one of the moves which EVERYONE called before the draft, along with Umaga to Smackdown. It's a good pick in the sense that he now has the chance to continue the feud with HBK, and possibly even Jericho. After that, there can be more brawls with JBL, and even a feud with Lance Cade. What I really want to see, though, is Batista vs. Santino. That looks to be hilarious.

8. SmackdownUmaga
This is the other move which everyone called, and with good reason. No one on the RAW creative team can do anything with a monster, and Umaga is fresh out of feuds. The idea of him teaming with Snitsky was great, but they'd need a manager to pull it off. Imagine if Mr. Fuji, Capt. Lou, or Freddie Blassie were still around to lead those two. It would be AWESOME. However, we're in the year 2008, and Umaga is going to Smackdown. My hope would be that the Smackdown team could actually use Umaga properly, and allow the Samoan Bull(dog)dozer to actually have a feud and not just be a GM's weapon of choice.

9. RAW:Kane
So the big red machine is heading back to Mondays. I actually think it's a good move for him, but I still don't see anything great happening with Kane. The last year hasn't been good for Kane, and he needs something to freshen him up. His ECW Title run has, sadly, dragged along and brought him down a notch. He needs a fresh feud to bring him back where he belongs. He could make Snitsky seem like a legitimate threat, brawl with JBL, or have it out with Jericho or Batista. Regardless of what he does, it has to be better than his time in ECW.

10. Smackdown:Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssttttteeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr Kennedy!...

Kennedy
A great move. Kennedy has a long awaited feud with Edge that should NOT be ignored. That feud alone is enough to get me to watch Smackdown. A heel Edge working a babyface Kennedy is a dream come true as far as characters go. Much like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kennedy won't be afraid to go far beyond what many normal babyfaces would do to beat Edge, and to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Kennedy could also hold his own against MVP, Finlay, and The Big Show. Dare I say it, I think Kennedy could get a decent match out of The Great Khali. Unless something drastic happens, I can see Mr. Kennedy, World Champion by the next WrestleMania.

11. Smackdown:Triple H
Mr. Kennedy, say hello to something drastic. I believe Paul Heyman told JBL at the original One Night Stand that the only reason he was champ was because HHH didn't work Tuesdays. Well now he does. I have a feeling that the first feud on Smackdown post-Night of Champions will be HHH taking on Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship. I think HHH will drop the WWE Title to Cena, and Edge will retain just so HHH can chase Edge. I don't really see much else for Hunter. He can take on the Big Show, Umaga, MVP, Finlay and Edge. But I can't really see those feuds satisfying him. It's clearly a move to boost Smackdown for the move to MyNetwork. once they get there, though, I don't see him staying much longer.

We have another year until the draft shows up, and a ego building cliffhanger about Vince McMahon to tide us over. Maybe with all this we can let the memories of what else happened about this time last year pass us by. Like many tragedies, we'll never forget what happened to Nancy and Daniel Benoit. Let's try, though, to remember what Nancy did for us, and for the business. What a great manager she was for wrestlers like Kevin Sullivan, The Four Horsemen, Doom, and others.

To tell JJ who you would have drafted, click here.

To talk about the draft with JJ and others, click here.

At least Dibiase knew how to make it interesting...

This past Monday night, I tuned in with piqued curiosity to see exactly how Vince was going to give away one million dollars of his own money. I figured it would be a quick sweepstakes, with a brief segment here or there trying to give away an entire million dollars. What I got was surprisingly different.
From the first moment McMahon came out I was flabbergasted at the amount of time wasted on this publicity stunt. During almost every segment of television time we were treated to Vince slowly and awkwardly dialing telephone numbers, hanging up on people, and asking them for the password. COUNTLESS minutes which could have been devoted to storylines and character development to further improve the quality of the WWE's flagship show was wasted. Not only that, but the time and energy of the live crowd in Oakland also went out the window with these excruciating segments. I can't believe the crowd didn't start chanting boring EVERY time McMahon stepped onto the platform.
If you're going to go through with such an inane idea, why not do it during random segments of the show. Instead of having Vince walk out to the platform, have him in his office backstage. When someone comes to ask him a favor, he can make them call the person on a phone set up in his office. That way you're furthering the storyline, getting on with the publicity stunt, and giving the person winning the money the chance to say something to a superstar they love, hate or don't care about.
Having said that, what was the deal with all those people he called? McMahon's calling to GIVE them free money and they sounded like they could care less. "Hello? This is Bubba from Freebird City. Yes? The password is WWE Universe. I won how much? Ok, thanks. Bye." Wow. Just Wow. Were Vince to call my house, I'd probably have a few things to say other than my name and a password. Before the music started, for sure.
Maybe next week we'll see some of the kinks worked out. Honestly, I'd like to see them do something like this for Smackdown and ECW. But we know that won't happen. A) They're not that important, B) Smackdown is taped. One can wish, though, can't he?

To tell JJ what you'd say to Vince, click here.

To talk about what you would like to have seen instead of McMahon playing phone tag, click here.

Same ole Heartbreak

As I watched RAW Monday night, awaiting Vince McMahon's "big" announcement, I actually saw a good wrestling match. Not totally surprising, as RAW has shown us a lot of good wrestling in the past few weeks, but it was a match that made me think. I'm talking about Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels going one on one in the Main Event. A good match that's part of a good storyline that really got me thinking.
The great thing about Jericho and HBK is that the two really click together. Jericho is admittedly a fan of HBK, and that showed in their match. Almost every time HBK came out ready to do a signature move, Jericho was prepared. HBK didn't really have anything other than his usual repertoire, and it cost him.
Here's my big idea: Make HBK find a new finisher, or some new moves to up his game.
Now, I know that no one in WWE is going to walk up to the guy who's dubbed "Mr. Wrestlemania" and force a new finisher on him, but it is a really logical thing to do. Part of what has kept Undertaker from getting stale is his various trademark maneuvers. He's got the Tombstone, Chokeslam, Last Ride, and now his "choke" maneuver. Not to mention that he's altered his standard offense as his character has changed.
Think about when Jericho came back. Y2J knew better than to teturn without something different, and he brought in the "Codebreaker" to give him an impact move that gave him an entirely new dimension to his matches. Now he doesn't have to work the back for the Walls of Jericho, he can also work the head and neck for the codebreaker. He doesn't have to wait for his opponent to tire out enough to slap on a submission or hit the Lionsault, he can also surprise them at any time with the knees to the face.
I'm not saying that HBK has to stop being the "Showstoppa," just that the show shouldn't stop as much for the Sweet Chin Music or the flying elbow like it once did. Every fan in attendance knows when HBK is going to kick someone, or when he's going to drop the elbow. Now that he's in his forties, many of the wrestlers on the roster grew up watching him. They should be able to anticipate as much as the "thousands in attendance and millions watching at home." All I'm asking is for Shawn himself to realize that and freshen up his in ring act.

To tell JJ that HBK will never change here.

To talk about Y2J vs. HBK, McMahon giving away a Million and more, click here.

(Pictures courtesy of www.onlineworldofwrestling.com)

I CAN see you, but I don't want to.

Last night on RAW, John Cena showed me every reason that us "older" wrestling fans don't like him. (When I say "older" I use quotations because I'm in fact 25, but I'm already way out of the John Cena demographic.) It's not because he's being forced down our throats every week, even though he is. It's not because he used to come out and rap about "Deez Nutz." It's because he doesn't really know what or who he is, or what he's really doing.

When Cena first came out last night, I could have sworn it would be to defend Mickie James and her protests to William Regal. That would have made perfect sense. It would have helped Mickie James out, as fans would see that even Cena respects her, and it would have helped Cena out as he would come to the aid of someone who wasn't getting respect from Regal. Instead, though, we get John Cena escorting Mickie from the ring while he talks with Regal. Which is the wrestling equivalent of saying "get back to the kitchen, woman!" Even after that, we start to think "Oh man, Cena's going to give it to Regal" when what happens? Cena starts to lecture Regal on respect.

Now I know "respect" is just as important to John Cena's gimmick as pretending that starring in the Marine makes him a Marine, but lecturing Regal isn't the way to do it. This isn't World Lecturing Entertainment, it's World WRESTLING Entertainment. What does that mean, children? That means we solve our differences in the ring. This is John Cena's first mistake of the night. Instead of being a wrestler and doing something about Regal making the wrong decisions, Cena wants to talk about it. Can you imagine if Stone Cold just wanted to talk to Mr. McMahon about the bad decisions he made? How about instead of Laying the Smacketh Down, The Rock wanted to Cheweth the Fat with his opponents? To the older fans used to someone who knows that actions speak louder than words, John Cena is a waste of time.

Move on to Main Event, and we'll see another aspect to John Cena that irks the older wrestling fans: his in-ring style. Now, I'm not the kind of guy that believes "work rate" brings the ratings, but Cena is one of the few times where I think that what he does in the ring really hurts him, especially against someone like Randy Orton.

Now, I've watched this match three times just to make sure I wasn't making this up, but Cena's repertoire is, for lack of a better word, sloppy. Randy Orton starts the match looking as if he's mentally prepared. J.R. used that wonderful term "methodical" when describing Orton in ring. That used to mean slow, but with Orton's in ring style it's very accurate. He lays on every headlock, every punch, every back breaker with precision and intent. He wants to work on your head so that concussion kick really takes effect, or for that RKO to deliver a KO. Cena, not so much. If Orton is, as J.R. called him, a viper, then John Cena is a blind gorilla. Cena's every move in that ring looked as if he didn't really have a hold on what he was doing. His ring work looked sloppier than the Goodwin's overalls. Lots of flying through the ring while "holding on" to Orton when it was clear he didn't have a hold at all. Bulldogs, clotheslines, even a cross body that looked horrible in comparison with Orton's precise movements.

Now, I'm not saying Orton is the best in the business, but he looked like a million dollars compared to the Vanilla Gorilla Monday night. If you add that, as well as his confused gimmick, John Cena isn't at all connecting with the older fans. There's an old saying that Jim Cornette is fond of: "You can't polish a turd." Luckily from Cena, he's far from being a turd. But if he is to continue on the course he's on, he will be. The Great Khali has excuses for his lack of in ring prowess, John Cena has none.

To tell JJ that he can't be polished, click here.

To talk about John Cena's performance on RAW, click here.

(John Cena Picture courtesy of www.onlineworldofwrestling.com)

Two sides to every coin...

As I watched the two "weiners" Carlito & Santino last night, I couldn't help but think about my blog entry from last week. Not because they exemplify the things that I pointed out, but because they seem to be different. Carlito and Santino together remind me of what WWE used to be. Now this could be because the people backstage are giving them better stuff to work with. To me, though, this shows the other side of the coin in the creative equation in professional wrestling: what the wrestlers themselves do.
Several months ago, WWE finally dropped OVW from their developmental status and "let go" of Al Snow. This has been something rumored about for what seems like ages, and it finally happened. What amazed me, though, was some of the things supposedly said about OVW in the dirtsheets. There were talents complaining about the treatment, saying that morale was always down because they were constantly being yelled at. What does this have to do with Carlito & Santino? Well, it's pretty simple: There are those that take what they're given and run with it, and those that take what they're given and cry about it.
Carlito & Santino, in ring talent aside, have taken what could have been crappy gimmicks (and have been at times) and made them comedic gold. Santino has not only become a good heel by his asinine actions in the ring, but his butchering of the English language gives you a chance to feel as though you are better than him and thus justifies your booing him. You don't just feel like he's and idiot, you know it. That's not just the creative team at work there, that's Santino. Had he not run with this ball and worked very hard to make Santino come across as idiotic as he does, we would have seen the "We wish him well in his future endeavors" comment a long time ago. Not only has he done himself good, but he's done Carlito good too, almost completely revitalizing the Caribbean character just by giving him someone to play off of. For a brief moment Monday night, I believed that these two could Main Event someday.
Creative gives you something to work off of backstage. Once you're on the floor, though, it's fairly up to you. This is why I don't completely blame creative for Kane's Championship Speech a few weeks ago. Yes, it's their fault for giving him a speech that sounds as bland as anything else they write, but it's also up to him to make that speech fit his character. Creative is never going to give you the perfect promo or vignette for your character, that's why you have to be able to work your character into it. It's a two way door that too many people just don't walk through.
Back to the OVW deal. Why did I include it? To me, it seems that a lot of the people going through OVW were complaining about morale because they weren't getting what they thought was proper treatment. Al Snow being one of the trainers who was credited with this the most. I've seen Al's "Secrets of the Ring" video from ROH. He's not nice about some things, but he's not nice because people are making basic mistakes that they shouldn't be. They complained about his yelling when they should have opened their ears and listened.
I've begun to see that creative isn't always to blame. Sometimes it's the wrestlers themselves who are too timid to suggest something, or maybe they expect everything to come to them perfect and shiny. This is a creative business, built on performers and sometimes their mistakes are the ones we should be criticizing, not just the writers.

To criticize JJ's mistakes, click here.

To talk about how WWE should re-hire Al Snow as a trainer, click here.

(Pictures courtesy of www.onlineworldofwrestling.com)

Too much of a Soap Opera..

Last night as I was watching RAW, I realized just how much change has occurred in WWE since the late 90's and early in this decade. Not just in the presentation of the product, but in the product itself. Long gone are the days when watching WWE felt like watching a bunch of characters enjoying making a name for themselves. There's no unscripted humor, no unscripted interviews, and no unscripted anything, really.

Take the Cryme Tyme vignette last night. JTG and Shad are backstage showing us what they stole from people at Wrestlemania, in a mock shopping channel set up. They've got some soul in a shaker courtesy of "Soul Man" Rocky Johnson, an autographed Playboy from Maria, and panties that belonged to Mae Young. Funny stuff, but it's in no way shape or form connected to ANYTHING else in the show, as it would have been several years ago. Someone would have figured that if they bought that shaker full of Rocky Johnson soul, the might be able to "shake" (pun intended) off a losing streak or somehow improve their game. Maybe Al Snow would have coughed up some cash in order to improve Steve Blackman's hard headed personality. You could have even had someone incredibly gullible pay for it, only to find out later that the shaker had nothing but pepper in it, giving them sneezing fits and costing them a match which would lead to a feud with Cryme Tyme for selling fake products.

Later on in the show, someone like Funaki would have approached Cryme Tyme for the Playboy to see Maria, and then snuck away with Mae Young's panties. If not that, then Maybe someone like Val Venis would have picked up the Playboy, and he and Santino would start a feud as Santino would chastise Venis for looking at Maria naked (great idea for a feud, as Santino and Maria are no longer together, so it makes him even more of a jerk. Venis, being a former porn star, has seen many women naked and probably doesn't think that much of looking in Playboy. The misunderstanding is more than enough to start a decent mid-card feud).

Another thing that really made me consider that WWE has changed was Kane's obviously scripted promo on ECW following Wrestlemania. The man beats 23 other men to earn a title shot, and then beats Chavo in 8 seconds for the ECW title, and comes out cutting a promo that not only sounds like something Randy Orton might say, but is delivered in the way Randy Orton would say it. This is Kane we're talking about. The same Kane who was once a monster that believed he was hideously scarred by a fire that killed his parents. The same Kane that once he started speaking, did so with the sound of violence deep in his heart. The same Kane who now sounds nearly identical to a snotty twenty something who goes around beating up old men and calling himself a "Legend Killer."

What's wrong with this picture?

Now, I realize I may just be looking for things to complain about, but these things may just explain why WWE is getting lower ratings than they were eight to ten years ago. It may explain why there are a lot of guys like me getting their wrestling fix from independent companies like ROH, FIP, Chikara, and NWA's Showcase show on Colours (Which SamoaRowe LOVES to review, by the way). It's not like these things are hard to fix, but they might be a little too hard for some people in high places to admit.

To tell JJ how right or wrong he is, click here.

To talk about WWE's shows, and how they're overly scripted, click here.

End of an Era

You know, I've never known a time in my life during which I could say "I won't see another Ric Flair match." This past week, that changed. I've known Flair was going to retire after WrestleMania for months. The dirt sheets leaked it a long time ago. For some reason, though, I thought to myself that it would be a Terry Funk retirement. In other words, it would be the first of many. In the past few weeks, though, I started to question it. It truly seemed as if Flair was saying goodbye in his actions and attitudes during his moments on camera with WWE.
Then came Monday night. First, the announcement of his farewell address. Then, the montages of some of his "biggest" title wins. Finally, during the main event, Space Mountain himself walks down the aisle and thanks the fans. It was a truly heartwarming event.
I got a sense of dread when Triple H's music hit. I'll admit it. Many of us internet wrestling geeks spend our days typing away at our keyboards (apparently in our mother's basements) spewing vitriol over "The Game." When his music hits, I'm conditioned to be annoyed and prepare myself for long speeches about his greatness. But Monday night, he stepped in and did just the opposite. He reminded us of just how great Flair is. The "wheelin', dealin', jet flyin, limousine ridin' son of a gun" who won 16 world titles and wore the crimson mask countless times just to entertain us. To prove it, he brought out some of the greatest wrestlers in history who sought to tribute Flair.
Much can be said about the order in which these guys came out, but I think it's disrespectful to the man they came out for. Almost everyone on the list is or will be a "Hall of Famer": Blanchard, Dillon, Anderson, Windham, Batista, Steamboat, Race, Valentine, Malenko, Jericho, Cena, Michaels. Not to mention Flair's family and the entire WWE locker room. For the first time I can remember, I finally feel as if WWE has done someone right as they leave the business.
The past few years have thrown me curveballs. I've learned to live in a world without guys like Rick Rude, Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, and Curt Hennig because they were taken before their time. I've had to come to grips with the fact that Bret Hart retired before he was ready to, and that Chris Benoit became a monster before he ended his life. It's great to know that one of the all time greats, if not the greatest, left on his own terms.
Thank you, Mr. Flair. Thank you for everything .
{photos in the post are courtesy of www.obsessedwithwrestling.com)

To talk with JJ and others about the greatness of Flair, click here.

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Perception is reality...

I'm relieved to finally get a chance to hash out something I've been thinking about for the past few weeks, but haven't been able to because of school oriented projects. You see, I'm getting my second bachelor's degree in Political Science, to go with my History degree. This doesn't seem to be a big deal, or have anything to do with wrestling, but I'm gonna tell you something that you might not understand at first, and that a lot of "smarter" people will have issue with: I like politics, and I like wrestling.

Now, you're sitting at your desktop computer, or at Starbucks with your laptop, and you're saying "JJ, so what?" Here's the deal: I like politics for the same reasons I like wrestling. Now, the first thing you're thinking is that politics and wrestling are absolutely nothing alike. Wrestling is a bunch of oiled up, oversized men in spandex beating each other up (no matter how fake you think it is, I know people who can show you the cuts and bruises), and politics is a bunch of stuffed shirts spouting off about issues and taking bribes.

Well, you're right, and you're wrong. See, wrestling is a lot more than just the athletic competition, and politics is a lot more than hot air. They're performances that require you to be participants. Can you imagine a political rally without the crowd seated behind the politician? How about a wrestling show with no crowd? It's done. Watch C-Span at 4 in the morning to see someone making a speech to the janitor so it can be said that they took a stand on an issue, or some of the "infamous" empty arena matches, the most recent being The Rock vs. Mankind during the Super Bowl halftime show. It's a possibility, but I promise you it's not as entertaining.

That's because both wrestling and politics rely on crowd participation. But they don't stop there, they also actively manipulate the crowd as well. You don't believe me? We all know the easy example in wrestling, it's the bad guys. Back in the day, every show had a villain who wouldn't let the fans touch him, followed by the hero who high fived as many fans as possible. Who's going to cheer for the guy who just blew past him, when the other guy took the time to high five you?

Politics is just the same. Except politicians do it politely. How many times have we heard something like this: My opponent is right, we do have a problem. But my opponent hasn't done anything to fix it while he was in office, and that's why you should vote for me.

Sound familiar? You're thought process is probably something like: "There is a problem. And they're right, the opponent hasn't done anything to fix it! I bet they will. Let's get that other one out of office!" Every single political stump speech is nothing but an interview/ promo, every debate a wrestling match, and every election a Wrestlemania.

So why is it that politicians are respected and revered, while wrestlers are looked down on and despised? Oh, that's right, wrestlers condone violence to solve issues. Not like our Presidents, right? I mean, except for Hamilton, who took part in duels. Or any of those Presidents who owned slaves and allowed for their slaves to be beaten. Or those Presidents who sent our soldiers off to war. Or those Presidents who... well, they've all condoned some sort of violence themselves, haven't they? What's worse is that their violence leads to life and death situations, whereas the violence a wrestler condones has only lead to death on a few random occasions.

Oh, but wrestling has too much sexuality! Well, too much for Ms. Lewinsky? Or Thomas Jefferson? Or Strom Thurmond? How about Newt Gingrich? All guilty of adultery. While in office.

So the next time someone starts laughing at you for being a fan of professional wrestling, ask them if they vote. And when you step into that voting booth this November, if you're old enough, don't forget that you're taking part in a high brow act of the low brow art of professional wrestling.

You can tell JJ what you think about politics and wrestling here

Discuss wrestling, but dare not discuss politics here

Congratulations, I think...

It's the talk of the internet wrestling world, mostly because nothing else is going on. That's right ladies and gentlemen, I'm talking about the "Exodus" of workers leaving TNA and heading to New York. There is a "flood" of talent leaving TNA. I use quotations to emphasize my sarcasm, if you didn't know. In reality, there are three talents leaving TNA at the moment: "Wildcat" Chris Harris, Ron "The Truth" Killings, and "Senshi" (Low-Ki). Not exactly an exodus of Biblical proportions, I know, but it's something worth talking about. Especially since these three were pivotal talents for TNA several years ago.
"Wildcat" Chris Harris is signed to a deal to go straight to the main roster(s), according to several sites. I congratulate him on this. Since I first tuned in to TNA long ago, back in the $10 Wednesday PPV days, I always felt that he and James Storm were better suited for the WWE. Their punch and kick focus, with wrestling moves on the side, didn't really fit in with what TNA was becoming known for at the time (X Division action, before it became Nash & 3D burial fodder). I felt that WWE would handle both Harris and Storm a bit better in the booking, and allow their style to grow properly, whereas TNA was bound to book them clumsily and stunt their growth as wrestlers. I feel that the assessment was accurate, even if TNA would ALWAYS give AMW the tag titles when they changed networks. I know if I were in TNA tag division, I would have REALLY resented AMW every time the TV situation changed. Jarrett and Styles, too. After AMW split for the final time, it soon became obvious that TNA had more planned for Storm than for Harris. Sad really, even though I prefer Storm myself, I still say Harris has LOADS of potential. I hope Vince uses it properly.
During his initial time in TNA, Ron "The Truth" Killings quickly established himself as a rising star, partially due to his attitude about being released by WWE. Killings, first as K-Krush, then as "The Truth" and finally as Ron "The Truth" Killings, would capture the NWA title twice, and the NWA Tag Titles as part of the 3 Live Krew. The Krew became one of TNA's most popular acts, despite Killings dancing in the ring before every match. Despite their popularity, the Krew would eventually split, partially due to the arrival of Kip James. Since then, Killings has been on the backburner in TNA, and fairly honest about his unhappiness. He's been one of the few to make allegations of racism, along with his 3LK partner Konnan, and actually left the company before. In fact, the only reason he's been in TNA recently is because they needed a partner for Adam "Pacman" Jones. Which doesn't really help the racism allegations, if you ask me.
The departure of Senshi isn't surprising. Senshi, like Killings, was one of the first stars of TNA. He helped establish the X Division with Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles, and even helped establish the tag team division as one third of XXX (Christopher Daniels and (uggh) Elix Skipper being the other two thirds). Though Ki was already making a name for himself, having won the ECWA Super 8 tournament in 2001, TNA was his first real national exposure outside of a few episodes of Jakked in which he played jobber to Crash Holly, Essa Rios, and the Radicalz (Malenko & Saturn, specifically). (Side note: After seeing one of these episodes, I was sure that WWE would sign Ki. My logic was "He's like a young Rob Van Dam." Shows you what I knew then, huh?) Ki did a great job of establishing the "X Division Style" with Jerry Lynn, and AJ Styles. Ki would make his mark known in early TNA, winning the X Division title and Tag Titles. He hasn't always been TNA oriented, though, as he was gone for nearly two years to work ROH and Japan. Upon resigning, TNA dubbed him "Senshi" and won the X Division Title from Samoa Joe in a 3 way with Sonjay Dutt. After that, Senshi became just another one of the X Division wrestlers. He was supposedly the only one that was willing to take Dixie Carter's offer the day she made it, and has actually gotten more TV time SINCE asking for his release than he did before that. Interesting scenario.
That's 3 talents, all pivotal to the early days of TNA, who are stepping out. This wouldn't be such a big deal if the buyrates were going up, or the ratings were going up, or if the company was successful. But this comes at a time in which TNA is loaded full of talent who had nothing to do with it getting where it is, with most of those talents getting TV time. It's a telling sign that guys who were there at the beginning are wanting out. Especially Harris. But will the WWE, in Killings and Harris' case, or the rest of the wrestling world, in Low Ki's case, make for greener pastures? Either way, good luck guys. You may need it.

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