Making Cents...

Now that I'm done with writing papers and taking finals, I'm going to start an occasional theme in my blog, and that's focusing on wrestling as a business. If you're the owner of a small time company, this is aimed at you. It's a way I can give back to the business. Sometimes it will seem like common sense, but I hope to offer up some nuggets here and there.
I'm going to start by talking about advertising. This is the place where I've seen lots of mistakes by promoters of smaller companies. The basic form of advertising in the wrestling business is the flyer/poster. Every time you go to see any of the "bigger" companies, you'll walk out to your car and find it covered in handouts for smaller companies. The last few times I've been to ROH, I've collected flyers for companies like "Fireworks Championship Wrestling." In my opinion, posters and flyers are the best bang for your buck, advertising wise. They're cheap, and they can go just about anywhere. You can put them on drink machines, convenience store windows, grocery store bulletin boards, local sandwich shop windows, etc. You can canvas a large area of people with just a little effort and a little cash.
The other area in which you can expose your product to a large audience with little effort is TV. But I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that advertising your small company on television isn't exactly the best idea. If your ad runs during a wrestling show and features footage from your smaller company shot on a camera bought at Best Buy, how do you think it's going to look compared to the footage of WWE's programming, or even TNA's programming, both shot on professional quality cameras? It makes your company look bad, as it's not on par with the wrestling program it's up against. Fans are going to immediately connect your company with a lower level of quality than what they are used to. Of course, they're going to recognize that if they come to your show, but you can win them over with atmosphere and heart. Not to mention that they've already paid.
To give it a little perspective, lets say you are a fan of Alien with Sigourney Weaver. While watching Alien on cable one day you see a commercial for Hybrid (check here for a review). At first sight, they're both alien movies, they both take place in outer space, and they both have female protagonists. Even though by that definition, they're equal movies, if you were to see an ad for Hybrid while watching Alien, you'd hardly want to check out the movie because Alien is obviously higher quality. This is what happens when you advertise your smaller company during RAW. As with everything, there are exceptions. ECW could advertise during RAW specifically because it had the perfect devil may care attitude about production quality. Beware, though, that attitude like that is rare, and your company is probably not able to reproduce it. Not knocking your product, it's just that ECW is a once in a lifetime kind of deal.
Finally, a great form of advertising that comes dirt cheap is available, and that's the internet. If your company doesn't have a MySpace account, or a FaceBook account, it should. MySpace and FaceBook are great ways to connect with your fans for free, as long as you have internet access. Sending bulletins on MySpace only costs the time in which you take to post it, and can alert anyone interested enough to become a "friend" of what is going on with your company. Having a website is a bit like TV advertising. If you can have one made that looks phenomenal, then do it, but if it looks like your cousin Eddie did it for you ten years ago on Geocities, then don't. It will hurt you much more than it helps.
Remember that advertising is supposed to help your company look better. Make sure to get the best bang for your buck without making your company look cheap and low-profit. When people make the investment to come see your company, they want to believe it's going to be around for the next show.

4 things to help TNA

Somehow, unintentionally, this is becoming a TNA oriented blog. That hasn't been my intention. But, like good ole WCW, TNA gives me so much to say about what they're doing wrong that I can't really help talking about it. I'm going to try and be positive and give TNA 4 solid ideas on improving their show and their ratings.
My first idea is really simple: Re-establish Kurt Angle as a wrestling machine. At this moment in time, the TNA title doesn't really have what we like to call "prestige." It's a vanity plate, basically. It doesn't mean anything. That can change, and it can change quickly by making Kurt a crazed man obsessed with out performing his opponent. It wouldn't take much, either. Just have Kurt take on someone in the next main event, looks like either Petey Williams or Scott Steiner, and nearly lose. Let him win because AJ or Tomko helped him. Then have him determined to prove that he is better than the other wrestler, and take to training behind closed doors. Let Tomko guard the door, while Kurt and AJ (Since he was such a great amateur in Region 3) train. Have AJ scream like he's being stretched by Stu Hart, and even let him get a sprain or "broken bone." For the next PPV, show how much Kurt has improved. Then let him go on a "Killing Spree," choking out or making others tap out with some new MMA style submission holds. Keep this up for months, and you have a credible titleholder and a belt with "prestige."
The next idea is in a similar vein, and that is for TNA to take their time before Booker T gets a title shot. Have Cornette offer Booker a chance at the title, and have Cornette say it's because the management want to increase the buyrate for the next Pay Per View. Then Booker T comments on how he wants to be a champion because he's earned his spot, not because he's a famous name. He wants to respect those who have been in TNA longer than he has and let them have their chance. Then have someone like Robert Roode mock Booker for considering himself famous. Let them feud for a while, and hopefully they are both elevated by the feud, even though Booker T comes out on top. THEN give Booker a title shot. Don't let him win it the first time, though. Make the crowd get on their knees and beg for Booker to win. THEN give it to them. We like it like that.
The third idea is to re-establish the X Division title as a wrestling belt. For too long it's been based around gimmicks. It has been especially bad since the Jackass angles. Let the guys wrestle Jr. Heavyweight matches that blow the socks off of the fans. Have a few TV matches with time limits, and let the guys just get going when the time runs out. Then give them tons of time on the PPV's to just wrestle. The fans will buy the PPV just to see what they can do without a short time limit. Then you've also shown that the guys in the X Division can go just as good as the Heavyweights, just at their own speed and with their own style.
Finally, and this is a good one: Let the fans think Joe is going to leave. This is the hardest to do without hurting the company, but it's a rewarding one. Since Joe did his "shoot" promo Sunday night, let him keep going with the idea that he's unsatisfied. Let him establish that he loves the TNA fans, and that he doesn't want to offend them, but he's losing his passion for wrestling because of guys like Kevin Nash and Team 3D. Have Cornette tell him to "Lead, Follow, or Get out of the way." Joe decides that he really doesn't know what he wants to do, and ask for a few weeks to go home and think it over. Before he leaves, let Booker T say something heartfelt about getting from the business what you want. In the following weeks, continue the Team 3D feud with the X Division. Have 3D boasting that they dominate the midgets in the X Division, and that there isn't anyone who can take the X Division belt from them. Have them set up a match at the PPV with Team 3D vs Any two X Division stars who think they can take the belt. Introduce the first, Eric Young. Already having jumped Lethal, Shelley and Sabin, have 3D ask for his partner. Young says that he couldn't get Lethal, Sabin or Shelley because Team 3D demolished them. So he had to call in a favor. Is it Sharkboy? No. It's Joe. Not the Samoa Joe we've been seeing, but the Samoa Joe that held the ROH title for 2 years. The Joe that held the X Division title for so long. The Joe that doesn't back down from Bubba Ray or Devon. The crowd goes banana!

These aren't guaranteed, but they're worth a shot. It would help establish a few months of television that would actually satisfy every grouping of fan. Now if I could just move to Nashville and get in on the ground level, I'd work my way up.

You can tell JJ how you think TNA could improve here

Discuss TNA and their booking here

Why TNA's women's division is bad business...

This morning, instead of reading for class, I was reading on "Da Board," specifically in the "TNA comments" thread. There was an interesting discussion going on involving DK and SamoaRowe (who also has a blog on "Da Site") about the TNA Women's Division. It's a great discussion which you should get involved with, and it actually inspired me to write an entry for all my fan. While I agree with both of them, I have to agree more with DK. The problem is that at this moment in time, TNA needs to focus on itself as a business. It needs to MAKE money. How do you do this in wrestling? By putting out a product and MAKING names out of your wrestlers. Wrestling is a competition based industry, but it's still an industry.

I think this is a place where wrestling as a whole needs to learn from MMA. Make young stars in the undercard by putting them in quality matches, while you exploit the names of the older fighters to bring people in to watch. This is actually what WCW did right during the nWo era. The problem is, the older guys wouldn't let the younger guys step up to the next level. The fans then start to catch on that the business is a work because guys like Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit weren't getting title shots in spite of the fact that they were more talented than guys like Randy Savage and Kevin Nash. You stop believing that your guys will make it to the top, and you give up on them. I think that Goldberg actually kept WCW afloat for an extra year or two just because he finally broke through.

Now as for TNA, they've botched this repeatedly. Multiple times with Raven, Rhino & especially Samoa Joe. Instead of saying "Hey, lets take this guy or any other star who really established themselves in TNA and make them a new household name" the way WCW did with Sting, Goldberg, DDP or Booker T, they decide "Hey, lets pay big money for a star from WWE or WCW" like Angle, Nash, Steiner, or Christian. They keep trying to import excitement instead of earn it. Sometimes this works (nWo anyone?), but most of the time it won't. Baseball, Football, Basketball and Hockey understand this, and that's why most of them have minor leagues or rely on College Sports. The guys they draft prove themselves at a lower level before becoming a true star. There are exceptions, but it's generally the rule. There are teams, like the Yankees, who don't have to live by this, but unlike TNA, they have actually MADE money.

Until TNA actually learns this and brings in their own excitement and by that make money, they really can't experiment with something like a women's division. Do you think the NBA would have started the WNBA if it didn't have a strong enough financial base to absorb the initial loss of capital that a new league would bring? No. Would Major League Baseball have welcomed the Marlins and Rockies, or the Devil Rays and Diamondbacks had they not had enough of a fanbase to expand to four new cities? No. TNA adding the women's division is like the NHL expanding to new franchises next year, in spite of the fact that the league can barely make it with what they have right now. It's bad business. It's risk that doesn't show any true sign of reward now or in the future.

I know it's true that SHIMMER is actually doing a decent job of putting on Women's based cards, and they are possibly making money, but what TNA doesn't get is that SHIMMER's success will not necessarily translate to TNA's success. That's like Court Bauer or Ron Black starting hardcore wrestling companies MLW & XPW respectively and expecting a rabid chant happy mutant fan base just because ECW had one. TNA's women's product is not SHIMMER's wrestling product, even with the same workers. It's not guaranteed success. Ask Bauer or Black. They'll tell you.

Honestly, until TNA can actually start creating their own stars consistently, I think they're wasting time and money with a women's division. I'm not saying that their female talent aren't good, because they have a better women's division talent wise than WWE. What I'm saying is, from a business perspective it's an investment that is way too much risk for the little reward it brings at the moment. Ironically, though, you could say that about the company as a whole.


You can tell JJ how you think TNA could improve here

Discuss TNA and their women's division here

Some suggestions for TNA

I spent two hours watching Impact this afternoon, and boy are my eyes tired. Okay, that's not the best way to start a blog entry, but it's something. I actually DVR'ed the show this week and made the effort this afternoon to review it, but I found the job near impossible because I wouldn't be able to write anything that would actually be worth reading. Especially since there wasn't that much worth watching.

I'll start with something basic. Build up your champion. TNA failed MISERABLY in that regard in this episode. First off, Kurt's WIFE goes to find out about Scott Hall for him. That's right, his WIFE is doing his dirty work. Not only is his wife doing his dirty work, but she's doing it in segments that make MAD TV look like good acting. Angle now looks as if his wife wears the pants in the relationship, and I'm forced to mention MAD TV in my blog. Thanks a lot, TNA. Then we go to yet MORE backstage segments involving Angle and his wife. Angle's wife propositions Scott Hall. Yeah, right. Then Angle finally gets the marbles to confront Hall, and he gets pinned to the wall by a guy who most casual fans won't remember. This makes me yearn for a Taz-like Champion who kicks tail and takes names. This is TNA, though. The only dominant champ in their history has been Jeff Jarrett. Think about that.

Here's an idea that helped make Nitro and Raw so successful during the Monday Night Wars: Don't run any out of the ring segment over 1 minute. Seriously. This includes the backstage segments, any interviews, and anything that doesn't have wrestling in a ring. Several times during the show I was tempted, nay, encouraged to fast forward my DVR through a segment just to watch some wrestling. Anything non competitive that lasts over a minute encourages people to channel surf and find something MORE interesting on another channel. Not something you want when you're producing a TV show.

One idea that's apparently been pushed by Kurt Angle lately is to make the matches end clean. SEVERAL matches tonight either had screwjobs or run ins. Take it easy. I've heard that they've been better about this lately, but I didn't see it in this episode. Every time I opened my eyes it seemed like someone was running in. AJ Styles, Tomko, 3 different chicks, Black Reign, Team 3D, Tomko AGAIN and Rick Steiner. What a mess. There ARE better ways to book wrestling than the run ins. Seriously, guys.

Finally, I'm going to say one last thing. This has been my greatest complaint about TNA over the past several years, and I'm not about to let up: The commentary is miserable. During the Christian-Kaz match, they talked about the PPV, the Road to Genesis special (Saturday Night on Spike TV), Scott Hall's return, and Sting's partner at the PPV. All that BEFORE the commercial break in the middle of the match. Not halfway through and they already talked about something else. This is unacceptable. You're supposed to sell the action in the ring, and then that action will sell the Pay Per View. No matter how much you remind that there is a Pay Per View this weekend, we're not going to want to purchase it if all you're doing is talking about it.

I'm not saying all this because I don't like TNA. In fact, I want to like TNA more than any other product out there. I just can't get into it because it's so miserable. Just working on these 4 simple things will greatly improve the product, in my opinion. It's just that simple.

You can tell JJ how you think TNA could improve here

Discuss Impact and the Pay Per View here

Storytelling in Smackdown, part deux

Continuing on with what I started last week, I'll take a look today at a match that featured some really good, simple storytelling: Domino vs. MVP.

Now, this match is a continuation of two seperate stories: The conflict between Tag Team partners Matt Hardy & MVP, and their conflict with Deuce & Domino. The conflict between Matt & MVP is a classic: the tag team partners that hate each other. As usual, it's one heel and one face, but the difference here is Matt Hardy. Much like Sting was in WCW, Matt plays the crowd favorite babyface who tries to turn his heel opponent by using positive tactics & re-inforcement. MVP, of course, is the cheating heel who wants nothing but to win. The twist comes as MVP and Hardy were feuding for the United States Title before they were Tag Team partners, and MVP has repeatedly insisted that he was better than Matt.

In their match, their conflict takes a great turn. After MVP "sneezes" and ruins their game of chess, Matt informs MVP that he has a match against Domino, right about... NOW! In the match, Domino starts to get the upper hand on the hardly prepared MVP (Who wrestles most of the match in suit pants and an undershirt) and Matt tries to rally the crowd with a chant of "M-V-P!" The crowd, not liking MVP nor afraid to show it, adds "SUCKS!" to the end of each and everyone of Matt's chants. Matt is doing his best to make sure MVP fights a clean match, and even tries to keep Deuce and Cherry honest, which leads to MVP yelling at Matt to stay out of the match. This distraction leads to Domino getting the school boy roll-up for the pin. Matt & MVP argue in the ring while Deuce & Domino celebrate on the outside. The story of the conflict between Matt & MVP continues, as MVP will most likely blame Matt for the loss. The story between Matt & MVP and Deuce & Domino continues, as Deuce and Domino now have more bragging rights over Matt & MVP in spite of the fact that MVP was distracted when Domino got the pin.

Now, we can complain about the fact that Domino got the pin over the US Champion, but MVP isn't wrestling in his capacity as United States Champion in this story. He's wrestling as Matt's partner . Matt did a wonderful job trying to get the crowd to cheer for MVP, and regardless of where MVP goes from here, it gets over the point that Matt is behind his partner. It makes Matt a better face, gets us to ask "Is MVP gonna start trusting Matt?" and lets us see that Deuce and Domino are sleazy heels by getting a win without "earning" it. All in all, I think that's some incredibly good storytelling by Matt, MVP, Deuce & Domino, and by WWE.

P.S.- I can't help but be amused by Deuce & Domino's characters... They're amusing, to say the least.

You can tell JJ how you find Deuce & Domino entertaining here

Join in on the Friday Night Smackdown! discussion here

Storytelling in Smackdown...

This past Friday, I sat down in my living room and watched Smackdown for the first time in a long time. As I've mentioned before, I have had a lack of interest in televised wrestling since the "Benoit Incident." So for me to be flipping on the TV to the CW (Channel 4 here in East Tennessee) is something of a big deal. It's a means to me slowly getting myself back into the mix.

So what did I think? What's going through the mind of the Mad Scientologist of Pro Wrestling (Is that as bad a joke as I'm starting to think it is???) as he's watching the supposed B-Show of WWE? Well, to be honest, I was entertained. The segments and matches on the "B-Show" did something that I thought WWE was currently incapable of: They told a story, and they did so without being completely outrageous.

Now, before I get lambasted, I want to interject that the story wasn't completely outrageous for Smackdown and its wild assortment of characters. It won't work on a show like Nash Bridges or ER, but for WWE's Friday Night show it's acceptable. I'm going to take a peek this week at how acceptable they really are by reviewing three different segments.

Today, I'll take a look at the Shannon Moore-Jamie Noble match up. Before the matchup, they give us a video that summed up the "animosity" between Noble & the Cruiserweight Champion "Little Bastard" Hornswoggle McMahon. The video itself was a good brief recap of the feud and shows fans, like myself, that Hornswoggle has been tormenting Noble for the past few weeks. The match itself is a Cruiserweight #1 Contender's match between Moore & Noble, which turns out to be fairly competitive. Moore and Noble try to hash it out in the ring, and Noble has the upper hand between the two. Once Moore realizes this, he utilizes the fact that Noble is paranoid about Hornswoggle costing him a match and lies to the ref about seeing the Little Bastard coming out from under the ring. Noble, not about to let Hornswoggle get him again, tries to see for himself and gets rolled up in a school boy pin. Moore wins the match.

What does this match tell us? Well, for one we see that Noble is technician enough that Moore resulted in cheap tactics to win the match. Secondly, we see that Hornswoggle has messed with Jamie Noble enough that Noble can no longer handle it. It puts over both Hornswoggle and Jamie Noble in one segment, proving that Hornswoggle has some credibility as Cruiserweight Champion. Is this credibility related to his in-ring ability? No. That’s a weakness in the feud, and one I’m afraid won’t be fixed. But Hornswoggle wouldn’t be the first person to result to mind games out of the ring to get an upper hand in the ring, would he? Nor would he be the first limited in-ring competitor to hold a title. I mean, at least he’s not David Arquette.

Later this week I’ll take a look at the two other segments I found entertaining on Friday Night: Domino vs. MVP and the Mark Henry-Undertaker segment. I’ll break them down much like this one and try to explain why I think they worked, and what I think needs improvement. Feel free to speak up until then.

You can complain to JJ Dangerously about Noble being misused here

Better yet, join in the Friday Night Smackdown! discussion here

The Golden Arches of Wrestling

It's quick. It's cheesy. It's only momentarily satisfying, but with a slightly greasy, guilty aftertaste. It's the McDonald's of wrestling. McMahon's is shoving drugged, un-human, overly-beefy dandys down our collective throats and calls it Entertainment the same way those Golden Arches shove drugged, overly beefed processed patties and call it nutrition. This "Sports Entertainment" is satisfying for the fans and, like fast food, horribly unhealthy for everyone involved. What used to be revered a sport has been sacrificed at the altar of our short attention span and desire for convenience alongside breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

What am I saying, you ask? Have you not been online all weekend? (I know I haven't, thanks to faulty internet and a trip to my grandparents for a family reunion.) This past weekend three different news organizations have reported almost 20 names of professional wrestlers, all but one a recent WWE star, who have been buying their steroids from an online pharmacy in New York. You don't believe me? Don't be so glib! I'm the "Mad Scientologist of Professional Wrestling," after all. I'll let you see the names, and the articles they came from.

Sports Illustrated lists Chris Benoit(deceased), Eddie Guerrero(deceased), Brian "Crush" Adams(deceased), Sylvain Grenier(released), Chavo Guererro, Shane Helms, Randy Orton, John Hennigan (Johnny Nitro/John Morrison), Ken Anderson (Mr. Kennedy... Kennedy), Sho Funaki, Charlie Haas, Edward Fatu(Umaga), Darren Matthews(William Regal), and Adam Copeland(Edge). Adding to that list, the New York Daily News adds Mike Bucci(Nova/Simon Dean, just released), Robert Huffman(Booker T), and Anthony Carelli(Santino Marella). ESPN also threw in Dave Bautista(Batista), and Chris Mordecki(Chris Masters).

In total, that's 19 different names listed. Nineteen. "But JJ, three of them are dead." That's right. One of them from a steroid related heart condition(Guerrero), and one was prescribed an OVERWHELMING amount of Roids before stunning the world and putting the spotlight on wrestling(Benoit). The other, we don't really know about. What this means is that two years ago, there were at least eighteen guys on the WWE roster on "the juice." There's no real telling how many truly are. Apparently, Batista is adamantly denying his name being in the hat, but how many people look at Batista and think "Wow, what natural size?" What's surprising here isn't just the obivous. It's the names that seem out of place. Who, in their right mind, would think Funaki is using steroids? Smackdown's #1 Announcer needed steroids? REALLY?? Look at who else is named on the list. Umaga?? Regal?? Chavo?? SIMON DEAN?? Looks like we finally figured out the secret to the Simon System, huh?

What kills me isn't that there are so many names listed. It's that a business that once built itself around guys who could go sixty minutes a night and hold their own in a barfight now only ask their wrestlers to go 10 minutes on TV and jack themselves up on steroids to look like they're powerful. Much like what Ray Kroc did with the restaurant, Vince McMahon has now turned what we know and love as Professional Wrestling into a "Fast Food" version called "Sports Entertainment." Instead of Wrestlers, Women Wrestlers, Veterans and Referees we get "Superstars," "Divas," "Legends" and "WWE Officials." The Big Macs, Chicken McNuggets, Quarter Pounders and "Apple Pies" of our sport. The focus is less on the Wrestling and more on the Entertainment in World Wrestling Entertainment.

I'm not saying that Vince should close up shop and live his life in shame. Maybe, though, he should focus more on the Sport and less on the Entertainment. More on the Food and less on the Fast. It will only make things better for us all in the end.

You can "stick it" to JJ Dangerously here.

You can add some "juice" to Da Wrestling Board's conversation on the steroid suspensions here.

It's almost time again...

For more amazing TCW action! You'd think they were paying me with the amount of blog entries I write about them, but they're honestly the only enjoyable wrestling I'm getting my eyes on, as I can't afford to pay for ROH DVD's. That being said, lets take a look at the upcoming TCW show:

As you can see, the Main Event is TCW Champion "Iceman" Jeff Storm & TCW US Champion Exotica with Jeff's Manager The Guardian going up against Former TCW Champion "Perfect Storm" & "Sugar" Shane Hennig with Brett's manager Rebecca Lynn. This match up almost guarantees that Lynn will try some sort of mischief to help her team to win. If I were the Jeff or Exotica, I'd keep my eyes wide open for someone running in from the locker room. As for Brett & Sugar Shane, they better have their working boots on, as both Jeff & Exotica will refuse to lay down for the two disrespectful youngsters.

"Playboy" Jamie Gibson gets his shot at "Hard Body" Alan King after Alan King assaulted Playboy following a tag match last month. As usual, it was Rebecca Lynn's orders that have caused the problem between the two. Of course, Alan King's over-inflated ego and self-image don't help anything. Gibson should have a fun time flinging "Hard Body" around the ring, though as we've learned, Rebecca Lynn's presence can mean foul play at any time. If I were Alan King, I'd be calling in sick. If I were Jamie Gibson, I'd be making sure somebody backstage had my back. Knowing Rebecca Lynn, I'd have backup for my backup.

The Southern Express have issued an open challenge to any team that wants a shot at the tag team gold. This blue collar team have made a quick fan of me, though I still find this to be a risky call. There are plenty of tag teams in the area who have the "guts" to answer this challenge. Whoever accepts has the opportunity to prepare themselves for the rugged rights and lefts of Tommy Fantastic, and the unrelenting offense of Brady Hawks.

There should be lots more action, and yours truly will be there. Hopefully, so will you.


Find out more about TCW on MySpace or on their Yahoo Group

E-mail JJ Dangerously if you've got the cajones

What wrestling really is...

I've read alot online about people losing their desire to watch wrestling since the "Benoit Tragedy." I include myself in that grouping, but I've wondered if the cause was Benoit or just the fact that no one is putting out a halfway decent product anymore. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that both major companies, TNA & WWE, seem to be putting out product solely to make money, not to further the art of professional wrestling. It could even be the overall negative attitude on the sport from the internet. Regardless, I believe Saturday night, I figured out what my issue has been.

How did I find this out? I made the hour drive to Mountain City to check out my local indy, Triton Championship Wrestling. Thanks to the Cruise in that was going on in Downtown Elizabethon, I didn't make it to Mountain City on time and missed the first match between Rick Karoff and Muhhamud Turkih. I hate that I missed it, and apologize to the two for not being able to comment on their match.

I got into the building as introductions were being made for a US Title match between "Sugar" Shane Hennig and US Champion Exotica. Exotica used to work the gay gimmick, and reminded me of Rico without the glitter. As of late, though, he's become quite the serious worker, who's not afraid to remind people who he once was as a way of reminding you how far he's come. "Sugar" Shane is an up and comer who's just starting to make a splash in TCW. He's obviously a fan of Austin Aries (pendulum elbow, anyone?), and that's not going to hurt him as he moves along in his career. The two had a match that started a bit slow, but finished strong. You could see that these two want to please the fans, even if Hennig would rather slap them than shake their hand.

The next match was originally supposed to be the Southern Express defending the tag titles against the Ultimate Males. Before the show though, as my friend Patrick had explained, "Playboy" Jamie Gibson had come out to explain that some personal issues had caused the team to go their separate ways, and that he was looking for a partner, as he still wanted the tag titles. The Southern Express, Brady Hawks & Tommy Fantastic, came out to one of the greatest “pops” of the night, ready to take on Gibson and anybody who dared to join him.

Surprisingly, “Hard Body” Alan King (The only reason he can get away with that name is because he’s pretty much skin and bones) came out with his escort, Miss Rebecca Lynn, and offered to join up with Gibson. Gibson agreed and the match began. The Southern Express came out with their fighting boots on, forcing Gibson and King to regroup several times. Fantastic and Hawks tore up the challengers, especially Alan “I scream like a six year old girl watching Freddy Krueger” King. The Southern Express picked up the win to retain their titles. Following the match, King attacked Gibson with the help of Rebecca Lynn. Lynn claimed it was for Gibson dropping her as his manager for Wicked Wanda. Commissioner Ray came out and scheduled a bout between Gibson & King on September 8.

Following Intermission, we got the two marquee bouts of the evening. The first of the two being the “Extreme Grudge Match” between “The Xtreme One” Mikkie McMasters and “The Outlaw” D.P. Holliday (accompanied by Miss Rebecca Lynn). These two combatants were at one point fan favorites and TCW Tag Team Champions. Once they hit a rough patch, though, Holliday was quick to blame McMasters and his risk taking style for their losses. Holliday tore up McMasters knee and actually put McMasters out of action for a few months. Their Grudge Match symbolized every bith of animosity between the two, as they went as hardcore as TCW could go. McMasters flung himself across and out of the ring, and Holliday brawled with McMasters like Mikkie had kissed his Mom. In the end McMasters picked up the win, much to the delight of all the young ones in the crowd.

Finally, we had the TCW Championship match between TCW Champion “Perfect Storm” Brett Storm and his father “Ice Man” Jeff Storm. These two have gone back and forth for months. Once a team, Brett (Who is managed by Rebecca Lynn. Notice a pattern here?) turned on his father and cost them the TCW Tag Team Titles. Ever since that point, Jeff has been out to teach his son about respect. Brett wouldn’t respond to simple things, so Jeff risked his career by promising to retire if he lost the match. Add on that Jeff’s Manager, Guardian, and the Infamous Miss Lynn were handcuffed together and we got a pretty decent match to look forward too, right?

Well, since the match was no DQ, “Sugar” Shane Hennig decided to interfere. He helped Brett pin Jeff and the match was over. I mean, it is no DQ, right? Well, Commissioner James Ray makes another appearance and tells Brett Storm that he can accept that win, but by doing so he would forfeit the title. So the match restarts. There was constant bickering between Guardian and Rebecca Lynn, as Lynn was always attempting to cheat, there were near falls as Brett would get the upper hand, and there was interference by “Sugar” Shane helping the Champ during a figure four. All this, and Jeff Storm persevered.

Unwilling to sacrifice his career to his disrespectful son, Jeff overcame the odds and finished off both his son and “Sugar” Shane with Death Valley Drivers before picking up the win and the TCW Championship. The crowd erupted with excitement and taunted the losing Storm and his newfound ally as they walked out. It wasn’t long, though, before the two returned to the ring to assault the new Champion in a show of bad sportsmanship. The TCW United States Champion, Exotica, quickly came to the aid of Jeff Storm, and Commissioner James Ray made another bout for September 8th, TCW Champion “Ice Man” Jeff Storm & TCW US Champion Exotica w/ The Guardian vs. “Perfect Storm” Brett Storm & “Sugar” Shane Hennig w/ Miss Rebecca Lynn.

The perfomances of the night were what I've come to expect from TCW. A great bargain, really, as admission for anyone over 12 is just $5. But what really made the night for me happened after the show was over. I, as I usually do (It's a way of saying thanks, as I feel like I'm stealing from them getting good wrestling for only $5), I helped to take down the ring. That's when I got to see what I feel I've forgotten about wrestling lately: Fun. Everyone helping to take the ring down was laughing, joking and enjoying what a good night they'd had. That's when I remembered what being an internet wrestling nerd has led me to forget. Wrestling is all about having fun. It's not about perfect booking, or the right theme music for every wrestler. It's about fun. Fun I'll be having again on September 8th.

Find out more about TCW on MySpace or on their Yahoo Group

E-mail JJ Dangerously if you've got the cajones

Well, we're talking...

I can see it now, clear as day. This past week, those great folks at TNA Management(TM Larry Zybysko) were surfing the web and stumbled across my blog. They see "TNA really hasn’t given me anything worth talking about" and then a conversation follows:

TNA Management 1: This douchebag says that there we haven't given him anything to talk about!

TNA Management 2: Ignore it, it's probably just some retarded teenager in his parent's basement.

TNA Management 3: Isn't that basically what HHH has said in the past?

TNA Management 2: Well, I added the retard part. Besides, we borrow both workers and writing style from WWE,(Badly, might I add) why not our insults as well?

TNA Management 1: Since we actually listen to our fans, we need to do something that will get this guy talking.

TNA Management 3: Didn't he say something about how we should get him talking?

TNA Management 2: I didn't read that part. Let's throw away more money by signing someone famous!

TNA Management 3: Shouldn't we do something to further the state of the business instead? Especially after the shocking tragedy involving the Benoit family. Why don't we offer some health insurance to our workers, since Konnan is on National Television telling the world we wouldn't do that for him. Why not save the money and use it for filming Pay Per Views outside of Orlando?

TNA Management 1: That sounds good, but I'd rather hire a celebrity! We'll get a video that doesn't remotely mention anything about who we are on ESPN! It will be great! Who should we hire? How about David Hasselhoff?

TNA Management 2: We need someone with an edge. How about Dennis Rodman?

TNA Management 3: We've already hired Rodman and it didn't work out.

TNA Management 1: I know! Let's hire someone who frequents strip clubs and has constant run ins with the law!

TNA Management 2: New Jack?

TNA Management 1: No, that Football Player that I heard about. The one who's suspended by the NFL.

TNA Management 3: Which one? There commissioner is cleaning up their image. Something we should be doing.

TNA Management 1: That Pac-Man fellow! It'll be great. We'll have him lead his own stable! There will be a tag team dressed in different color sheets. We'll hire a woman everyone considers decent in the ring accompany him to the ring as "Ms. Pac-Man." Our ratings will sky rocket to 1.19!

TNA Management 2: You're a genius!

TNA Management 3: *Head explodes*

Obviously, that's made up, but the way TNA has been going lately, it wouldn't surprise me if that were more accurate than not. It seems ridiculous to me that TNA would hire a high-risk name like Adam "Pac-Man" Jones during a period of time in which Professional Wrestling is under instense scrutiny.

What clearly drives this decision is money. Not that TNA has that much, but they clearly see this as another opportunity to get their footage on ESPN. Which is ridiculous, as ESPN never identifies the company. They read a line like "Pacman Jones is back in action this week, in the wrestling ring. Pacman took on Jeff Jarrett this past weekend on Pay Per View, and won." Great publicity, right? Because people are really going to look into it more than that.

As far as I'm concerned, it's another stunt that carries TNA in the wrong direction. It will probably end up on a "TNA's Greatest 100 Moments" DVD someday, but that will be the only time anyone ever remembers it.

Talk about TNA signing "Pacman", and his multi colored sheet wearing entourage here.

Movie Review: Transformers

Right off the bat, I’ll admit that I’m a “Transfan.” For you un-initiated people, that means that I’m a Transformers nerd. I grew up on the cartoons like New Englanders grow up on Red Sox games. I pined over the toys in catalogs and at stores. I cried the first dozen or so times I watched Optimus Prime die in the original Transformers movie. I’ve even watched nearly every Transformers cartoon since. I begrudgingly watched Beast Wars, and grew to love it. I sat through the oddly pseudo religious anomaly called Beast Machines. I endured “Robots In Disguise” even though there was just as much screen time for people as there was for Transformers. I even watched Transformers:Armada and gave Transformers:Energon a shot in spite of the oddly stiff computer animated Cybertronians. (If they could make an entirely CGI Beast Wars/Beast Machines, why was it so hard to make someones mouth move properly in ‘Energon?’) All this doesn’t even include the comics.

Having said that, I was willing to accept that Michael Bay’s Transformers was going to be a departure from what I had grown accustomed to. I wasn’t expecting complicated plots or Oscar worthy performances (or directing). I just walked into the theater expecting to see a movie about a race of alien robots reliving the classic good versus evil battle. What I got instead was a mish mash of Men In Black, Independence Day, Malcom in the Middle, and Pearl Harbor. Not even the good parts, either.

The film is rife with bad humor. Almost every character that isn’t white has a racial stereotype connected to it. Shia Lebouf’s character Sam is connected to too many scenes (one of which centers around masturbation) in which his parents remind us that being a teenager is incredibly uncomfortable as if no one knew. John Turturro’s character reminds us that government agents are not only inept, but practically retarded. Not even the Transformers are safe from bad humor, as a Chihuahua “lubricates” Ironhide’s foot, and Bumblebee later “lubricates” Turturro’s character. There’s also a Decepticon CD Player that apparently watched a lot of Robin Williams on Fast Forward. Because that’s what it acted like.

If you think the humor is bad (and I do) you should see the action sequences, or the lack thereof. When you do get to see a fight, it’s usually in slow-motion. Not Matrix-esque bullet time, mind you. It’s good old fashioned Michael Bay “I’m running and shooting at the same time” action. That’s if you get to see it, though. Often in the film, you miss the best action because the camera follows Sam instead of the giant battling robots. It happens early on as Bumblebee and Barricade go at it, and instead we see Sam fighting Frenzy and being saved by his girlfriend. It is most noticeable, though, at the climactic final battles as instead of watching the Transformers duke it out, we see the Military ducking for cover, or instead of watching Optimus Prime and Megatron have at it we follow Sam into a hole in the ground. I’m serious. Be rest assured that you’ll know exactly when the battles over, though. Every time a battle ends, someone stands up dramatically to take a peek at the devastation. That’s just in case you forgot Michael Bay was directing.

What truly amazes me about this film is not that the bad action or the bad humor. It’s that in a movie about 30 foot transforming robots at war most of the time we see the robots they’re standing around like a bunch of high school kids in between class. In plain sight. In some scenes they talk loudly and fall over in suburbia and no one seems to notice. They’re also made to look like idiots who are less intelligent than the “Primitive” humans they’re supposedly protecting. Especially when it’s the human’s that save the day, and not the Autobots. It’s WCW booking in a major motion picture!

Save your money and see another movie. If you’re thinking about spending your hard earned $8 on an action flick, save it for “Live Free & Die Hard.” If you want to spend your cash on a comedy, try “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.” If you want something to take the kids to, try “Harry Potter.” Even if you’re against the “black magic” of Potter, you won’t have to explain to your 7 year old what Masturbation is. Because if you take them to Transformers, you’ll be explaining that and a lot more

Something to talk about....

At some point last week, I looked at my blog and realized that nearly every single post I’ve made has been WWE oriented. Of course, part of that has to do with the Benoit Tragedy, but that’s not all of it. The majority of the reasoning behind it is that TNA really hasn’t given me anything worth talking about.

I mean, I could go on with the stereotypical Internet Wrestling Nerd rants against Jarrett and co. Throw out a few “OMG Russo is teh sXu0rz!!!” or something about how they won’t last another six months. But that would be redundant, right? I’ll just be saying the same thing we’ve all been saying all along. I hate to just re-hash what has already been said.

Here’s the thing, though: I don’t really have much to say about TNA. Not because I don’t care, but because I DO care. I’ve watched TNA since the beginning. My college roommate and I ordered the first TNA Pay Per View at our apartment. Partly because I earned enough in tips delivering Pizza the Friday night before. I didn’t order every one, so I missed such classics as the infamous “Midget in a trash can” incident, but I did get to see some interesting attempts at establishing a company. I was introduced to Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles and Abyss. I re-discovered Ron “K-Krush” Killings, Low-Ki (who blew my mind in a match on a syndicated WWE show), and Jerry Lynn. I supported TNA in spite of cage dancers on the entrance, wrestling Johnsons, and so much more.

I really got excited for TNA when they gave Raven the title. I watched every week when they were on FSN. I taped a lot of it. It was really good, especially compared to today’s shows. Then TNA landed on Spike, and it hasn’t been the same since. There has been some things I’ve enjoyed: Samoa Joe’s run with the X Division belt, Abyss’ feud with Sabu, and Alex Shelley’s commentary on the Paparazzi Productions videos; but for everything I’ve really liked, there have been lots of things that have irritated me: Everything in the Main Event since Kurt Angle has arrived, Team 3D’s feud with the James Gang (Honestly, pretty much anything involving those two teams in TNA. Which is sad, because I do like both of those teams.), and the most annoying thing of all since TNA came to Spike, Sting’s feud with Abyss & James Mitchell.

So maybe I do have something to say about TNA. The problem is, though, is that everything I have to say about TNA involves the past. Their angles now are so hot-shotted that it’s hard to see where they’re going, and if they’ll ever get there. If they don’t, though, we’ve got plenty of memories to talk about.

You can send JJ Dangerously a hate letter here

Where's the Bright Side?

Several weeks ago, my hopes were high as professional wrestling (I dare not call it Sports Entertainment) seemed to be headed for an upswing. There was a massive amount of excitement focused around the WWE draft, there was hope that TNA could maybe turn around (Isn't there always?), and there was the excitement of the upcoming Ring of Honor Pay Per View, Respect is Earned. Sadly, the tragedy (Is there any other appropriate word) of the Benoit family has now placed us in a valley when we were hoping for a peak.

There are people in all forms of media calling for the head of Vince McMahon. They say McMahon encourages steroid use, steroid abuse, and drug abuse among other things. They want Congress to intervene and create a way for the government to regulate drug abuse and steroid use/abuse at wrestling shows. Everyone, from internet bloggers like myself to wrestlers, radio hosts and "wrestling reporters" blame the schedule and lifestyle of WWE for what has happened. It looks as if a dark day has come for Vince McMahon, one he hasn't seen since Hulk Hogan stepped into court so many years ago.

There's a part of me that wants to defend WWE. I mean, wrestling now is SO much better than it used to be, right? Guys like Harley Race and Dory Funk can look at the schedule WWE works and laugh. They wrestled 7 days a week, sometimes twice a day for most of their career. None of them committed an act anything close to what Benoit did. The Ultimate Warrior, of all people, made a point about the use and/or abuse of steroids on FOX News, listing bodybuilders of the late 70's that used steroids and never had problems. Heck, one he listed is the current "Governator" of California. None of them committed an atrocious act like Benoit.

There is one thing I can't defend in this whole debacle, and that is Vince McMahon. For over 23 years, Vince McMahon's company has represented the industry as a whole. Much like MLB, the NFL, the NBA or the NHL, WWE has become synonymous with Professional Wrestling. Even more so than some of those groups. If you think of any major sport, you think of your favorite team in the league. If you ask most anyone outside of the Wrestling bubble about wrestling, they automatically assume you mean WWE. My little brother said it best when asked if he liked wrestling: "Yeah, I like WWE." All this brings one question to mind: What's different about WWE than all of those major corporate entities/legalized monopolies?

The biggest answer, and the one given most often, isn't that wrestling isn't a "real" sport. But I dismiss that. I dismiss it because those guys spend more tim on the road performing than any other sport. Hell, even Broadway shows get a break. What makes the difference to me is the fact that WWE, in spite of the fact that it works with charities like the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the USO, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, and the Starlight Foundation among others, never shows it's positive side. I bet you had no idea that WWE was involved with so many charities, huh? Well, neither did I. I'm sure the non wrestling world doesn't know. To them WWE is the bird flipping, Mr. McMahon butt-kissing, nearly naked women loving predecessor to the retarded reality TV we're so overwhelmed with. But why don't we, the wrestling fans, even know about it? I mean, we spend hours every week with our eyes on the TV screen with not one mention of any of this, barring Mick Foley making a kid GM for a day.
Where are the WWE sponsored Public Service Announcements encouraging people to pay more attention to some of these interests? I'm sure the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation wouldn't mind having a PSA during RAW featuring WWE Champion and fan favorite John Cena encouraging people to donate money or time to help fight a form of cancer that attacks Plasma in your blood. (Don't feel bad, I didn't know what it was either.) I understand that major sports do charitable things all the time without gaining publicity, but pro wrestling NEEDS the positive "karma" of showing that they're more than a way for kids to absorb violence through television. Not just WWE, but professional wrestling as an industry. So what gives?

The honest truth is, only Vince and Linda know why they don't do more. I do know, however, that when wrestling is looked down on by talking heads (and mustaches. I'm looking your way Geraldo) on cable news like the bastard stepchild of American past-times, that there is now only one place to lay the blame. It's not TNA or ROH, both of which are still in their infancy. It's not the now defunct WCW or ECW, as both were absorbed into Vince's empire. In my opinion, it's solely at the feet of Vincent K. McMahon, who built a worldwide conglomerate out of a small company by using the marketing knowledge and skills that would actually save him if he used them for something other than the "almighty dollar."

Don't forget...

We all know what happened. Chris Benoit is dead. He murdered his family, and then took his own life. It's a tragedy, and it's stunned every wrestling fan, from small children who believe wrestling's real, to grown men who understand the complexity of "Sports Entertainment."

What we don't know is why. There are lots of explanations, but we may actually never know. Yes, it's possible that steroids were a factor. It's possible that Benoit was clinically depressed and snapped. We can only guess.

One thing that's not helping is the media attacking the wrestling industry itself. Yes, the industry is hard. Wrestlers spend days on the road, living in motels, taking a beating in the ring. But that's not the only thing we should be talking about right now. What we should also talk about coping. WWE's flagship program, RAW, gets ratings between Mid 3's to high 4's every week. Smackdown gets a broadcast rating between 2 and 4 per week. That's presumably 4-10 million people that watch WWE programming every week. That's just for the two main shows, and just on American soil.

These fans are shocked that a performer that many consider the best at what he does, and one who was perceived as a family man, could murder his family in cold blood. So if you're in the media, and you're reading this, I implore you not to forget that there are possibly millions of people that feel just like I do. They are sad not only that there hero is dead, but that he died after committing such a horrific act.

Draft Thoughts, part 2

Tri-Brand draft part 2: Friday Night Smackdown!

We’re looking at the draft again today, this time we’re looking at RAW’s broadcast network little sister, Smackdown.

Smackdown loses:

The Boogeyman, King Booker & Queen Sharmell, Chris Benoit, Ken Kennedy, Paul London & Brian Kendrick, The Miz, Daivari, William Regal, Jillian Hall

One brands gain is another brands loss. Specifically, Raw’s gain is Smackdown’s loss. The Friday night CW offering loses a large amount of talent in this year’s draft. Whereas I could actually say good things about some of the talent leaving Raw, I can’t say that about Smackdown. The move that will hurt the most is “The fastest rising star in Sports Entertainment” Ken Kennedy. Kennedy is money in the bank, and I’m not talking about his Wrestlemania win. The guy oozes charisma, and is one of the few stars that bleeds desire the way a young Stone Cold Steve Austin once did. That’s not even considering the built in Main Event feud with Edge that was waiting on a silver platter when Kennedy was healed up.
Losing Kennedy was bad enough, but Smackdown also lost 3 strong veterans that helped form the backbone of the brand. King Booker is a powerful loss that helps RAW, but provided plenty of entertainment with his faux British accent. Chris Benoit proved a valuable asset that could help the most mediocre talent look good. William Regal was the consistent heel who could provide any young up and comer someone to play off of. Any company or brand is lucky to have any one of these, and until recently Smackdown was lucky to have all three. With their departure, the job of seasoning the young talent falls more heavily on Finlay, Dave Taylor, and Chavo Guerrero.
Smackdown loses three talented cruiserweights in Paul London, Brian Kendrick, and Daivari. While Daivari has yet to find his place after giving up as the mouthpiece for Muhammed Hassan or the Great Khali, he could more than hold his own in the ring with any other cruiserweights. London & Kendrick, though, are the loss that will be felt the most on Smackdown. They’ve double teamed their way to the top of Smackdown’s tag division. With their departure, along with that of William Regal, Smackdown’s tag team roster basically consists of Deuce & Domino and the newly acquired Major’s Brothers.
Smackdown has also lost many of the characters which separated it from the other brands. With the departure of The Miz and The Boogeyman to ECW on top of Kennedy’s move to RAW, Smackdown seems short on over the top personalities. Throw in the departure of Brooke Hogan wannabe Jillian Hall, and it will be interesting who gets to showcase their character over the next year.

Smackdown gains:

The Great Khali, Torrie Wilson, Chris Masters, Ric Flair, Kenny Dykstra, Hardcore Holly, Brett & Brian Majors, Victoria, Eugene

What does Smackdown get in return for their 3 Upper Mid-card veteran talents? Well, if you ask me, not much. I’m not saying that there isn’t potential with the arrival of Kenny, Chris Masters & Hardcore Holly. I’m just saying it’s not really a fair trade off. If Hardcore Holly continues on the path he was heading down during his stay in ECW, he’s got a chance to fill in as a main event level foil for Batista or Kane, or as an elevater lifting Matt Hardy above mid-card. Masters could have the chance to grow, but there are so many heel talents working Smackdown right now, I don’t see any place for him to truly go. He could feud with Matt Hardy or Kane, and possibly a babyface Hardcore Holly, but I’m just not seeing it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him slapping the Masterlock on a debuting star and starting a feud out that way. As for Dykstra, he’s pretty much in the same boat. Although I’d really enjoy a Dykstra/Hardy feud, but I’m afraid we’ll see a renewal of the Spirit Squad/Eugene feud.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a feud between Batista and the Great Khali. It sounds like a disaster to me, but it’s fairly obvious that WWE would love to see the two big men go at it. Regardless of who Big Dave takes on, expect the Nature Boy to follow him. Flair’s not got much left in the tank in ring, but his managerial career could just be starting.
The Majors Brothers got an interesting start in ECW, but look for them to take on a more serious role in Smackdown’s now damaged tag team scene. If I were in charge, I’d be calling every tag team wrestler in the WWE system looking for some help with that group, but we’re more than likely to see the random pairings than the legit teams right now.
That leaves us with Eugene and Victoria. What I would love to see is Eugene start chasing Hornswaggle around. Something could easily come from that. But don’t expect it, as Finlay is one of the major stepping stones on the Friday night roster. What Eugene needs, though, is a sympathetic member of the Smackdown crew to take him under his wing and work with him. Make a team of the two. The question to ask in that situation is who would be that sympathetic to the mentally handicapped superstar? Victoria? I don’t see her doing much else, outside of the occasional women’s match. But Smackdown’s women’s roster isn’t as strong as Raw’s, and she’ll need something to do.

Smackdown, in my opinion, needs to make sure that next years draft has nothing to do with computers. The randomness of the brand’s acquisitions seems likely to hurt the brand for a while. The way it’s been going, though, I’m sure Smackdown, with what is possibly the best commentary team in wrestling right now, will come out ahead in the end.

Feel free to discuss this post at Da Wrestling Board

Draft thoughts, part 1

With one of the most conversation worthy weeks behind us, I want to take a look at the so-called draft that WWE put out. I’m not even going to mention how I think that having computer generated picks is a mockery and insult to legitimate drafts(Well, I just did), but I will give my opinions and thoughts on the picks that the computer “randomly” generated.

Tri-Brand Draft, part 1-RAW

Out of all the brands, RAW got the best deal coming out of the draft, and that’s no surprise. Let’s take a look at how this worked out for WWE’s flagship show:

RAW Loses (in order):

The Great Khali, Torrie Wilson, Chris Masters, Ric Flair, Kenny Dykstra, Viscera, Victoria, Eugene, Johnny Nitro

Basically, what we have here is RAW losing a limited monster, eye candy (and I use that loosely), a muscle head, an old man, a talented up and comer, the world’s largest lover, one of the best women wrestlers, a mentally challenged character, and a cocky rising star.
Sounds like a mixed bag, huh?

Well, in my opinion losing Khali, Masters, Wilson, Flair, Viscera and Eugene really helps RAW. You lose a monster in Khali, but that opens the door for Umaga to return to form as a smashmouth killing machine. The pre-taping of Smackdown also ensures that Khali won’t pull an Iron Sheik (random f-bombs) as he has done in the past. Masters switching brands only helps him, as he has a fresh group of Cruiserweights to lock into his full-nelson “Master-lock,” and the promise of fresh feuds with guys like Matt Hardy, and possibly Hardcore Holly. Master’s loss, however, make one less heel on RAW for the recently crowned Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella.
Flair leaving is great for RAW, definitively killing the Carlito-Flair feud and any possibility of a re-occurance with either Carlito or Foley. It does hurt the brand, though, as that’s one less wrestler who could make almost anyone look good. Val Venis is probably stoked to have his RAW jobber duty back. The losses of Viscera and Eugene aren’t that pivotal. I will say, however, that I thought Viscera and Val Venis were one of the most under-utilized tag teams in recent years, as I believe they could’ve had quite the impact. Like Torrie Wilson, the switch of Eugene will have basically no effect at all. Eugene has been used in recent months as a dark match crowd warmer, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

RAW gains (in order):

King Booker & Queen Sharmell, Bobby Lashley, Snitsky, Ken Kennedy, Paul London & Brian Kendrick, The Sandman, Daivari, William Regal, Jillian Hall

There are two picks here which make no sense to me, and that’s the Sandman and Daivari. Why anyone would move these two from their previous brands is a loss to me. The Sandman is only with the WWE because of the re-birth of ECW. Though I’m sure he’s loving the larger paychecks, I’m not so sure taking him off the brand serves any real purpose. The Sandman’s best work these days, and honestly ever, is done in “Extreme Rules” matches in which weapons are illegal. Barring the DDT and the Heineken-Rana, he has a very limited moveset without a Singapore Cane. Not to mention his status as an “ECW Original” maintained what little credibility the new ECW had with old-school fans. Daivari, while being a good wrestler, is limited in possibilities on RAW. He’s much better suited on ECW with some smaller roster members, like Little Guido or Matt Striker, or on Smackdown with the Cruiserweights. But it’s likely he was forced to RAW to prevent any question of why he wasn’t translating for the Great Khali. Even though a Khali attack on Daivari could have led to a great face turn and a possible Cruiserweight title reign.
When it comes to the other choices, there is nothing but benefit for RAW. King Booker, when he returns, is a solid heel who could hold his own with Cena both in and out of the ring. Booker’s reactions to Cena’s stale sexual preference jokes might actually freshen up the Champ’s bad jokes. Bobby Lashley has somewhat proven his ability to win over a crowd. The question is whether or not he can do it against a lesser presence than “Evil” McMahon. His arrival on RAW allows him the chance to feud with other young up and comers like Randy Orton, or even the recent acquisitions like Ken Kennedy and William Regal. Kennedy will be a breath of fresh air for the show, as we haven’t seen a true rising star on the show since Cena switched brands and his character fell flat on it’s face. Hopefully, Kennedy will follow a different path. Regal, on the other hand is a versatile wrestler capable of seamless movement throughout the card. I could see him feuding for the IC title, or teaming up with King Booker or even helping Armando Estrada with Umaga.
London and Kendrick are possibly the best of the draw for RAW, as their devil may care style will mesh perfectly with Matt and Jeff Hardy, if WWE continues to ignore that Matt’s actually on Smackdown. Even so, L&K are well suited to work with the RAW tag scene, and the possibility of a feud with the World’s Greatest Tag Team could take both teams to new levels.
This leaves us with Snitsky and Jillian Hall. Snitsky has very little promise, in my opinion, but I could see him feuding with John Cena after a few months of build. Like so many before, I could also see Snitsky feuding for the Intercontinental Title. Honestly, if Santino were to overcome the challenge of Snitsky or Regal it could do wonders for his in-ring credibility. Fans might begin to take him seriously. Jillian Hall, in my opinion, is a waste of airtime, but we may see her latching onto Carlito or another mid-level heel to try and spice up the character. I predict she gets more airtime than she’s worth. Much like Miss Brooks in TNA.

Overall, RAW gets a fair cut from the “computer-generated” draft. They lose some young guns, and a couple of big men. While Snitsky will basically replace Khali, RAW does get some versatility in Regal and Booker and some depth in the middle with London & Kendrick, Lashley & Regal. Not to mention they get the fastest rising star in wrestling today with Ken Kennedy. If the booking is as exciting as the roster, RAW will be quite the show. But that’s a big if.

Feel free to discuss this post at Da Wrestling Board

TCW, Local Wrestling Action

Here's a rundown of what you need to know going into this show:

Jeff Storm and Brett Storm are father and son, and former tag team champions. Their feud began as an act of reconciliation, as Brett offered to help his father regain the tag team titles from Jeff's former partner "Playboy" Jamie Gibson. Gibson won the titles with some help from his current partner in the "Ultimate Males," Stallion. Jeff sought a partner, and Brett surprised everyone by accepting. After several good matches in Johnson City, they had a blowoff match in Mountain City which ended with Brett and manager Rebecca Lynn leaving Jeff Storm high and dry in the ring. Now both Storms are trying to prove themselves top dog in the Storm househould.

"The Carolina Cowboy" Brady Hawks has been trying to beat the Ultimate Males, Stallion and Playboy, for two months now. Two months ago he teamed unsuccessfully with Rick Karloff. Last month he came close as he teamed with Tommy Fantastic in a tag team title match. The two, dubbed "The Southern Express," get another shot this month against the sliest dogs in TCW .

Since returning to TCW, "Hard Body" Allen King (The wrestler with the most ironic name in history) has been pushing every button Commissioner James Ray has. It started when King followed a match with Exotica by choking "The Exotic One" with his wrist tape. Then, when Commissioner Ray came out, Allen King choked him as well. This eventually lead to a chain match between Exotica and Allen King. Exotica won the match, but Allen King didn't learn his lesson. Commissioner Ray decided to up the ante by bringing in none other than "Big" Steve Fury, who won last month by count out. Unsatisfied with that win, Fury demanded a rematch and Commissioner Ray was more than happy to grant it.

The show is several weeks away, but if you're going to be in the Northeast Tennessee/Southwest Virginia/Northwest North Carolina area, I recommend it. There are no pyro set ups, no lighting rigs, no fancy video screens. Just some guys settling their differences in the squared circle.

Find out more about TCW on MySpace or on their Yahoo Group

So it begins....

It's official, I now have a blog. I've fought it for years, but that wonderful website DWS has given me the opportunity to share my thoughts on things.

What a mistake.

Anyway, what you'll see on here is mostly my thoughts on different wrestling shows, including reviews. Not only that, but when I'm motivated you'll see movie reviews and music reviews. But that's when I'm motivated, which isn't likely. But it will happen on occasion. I promise.