The Rant Of The Week: The Best Is Back

Greetings conversationalists all across the fruited plain it is I your personal Harvester of Sorrow the one and only Phantom Lord and this is the all mighty Rant Of The Week. Lets see, I’m actually doing a column on time for once so you have to figure something has gotten my attention. Bret Hart is coming back and I could not be more ecstatic.

But first we begin with some sad news as it’s being reported that Tommy Dreamer asked for his release from the WWE. Tommy is one of the few wrestlers I will watch when ever he is on and he can hook me into a match better then anyone else. The writing has been on the wall for Tommy for quite a while now. The WWE got rid of everything that made ECW what it was. Tommy was the lone original left and he finally won the ECW Championship and had a good run with it. To this day it still pisses me off that Justin Credible beat Tommy fifteen minutes after he won the title. But I guess something’s had to come to an end even though I hoped Tommy would be there till the bitter end. I guess Tommy finally took Cactus Jack’s advice and called Uncle Eric. Granted it’s fifteen years late but better late then never.

As reported earlier, Tommy Dreamer who re-signed with World Wrestling Entertainment over the summer, asked for his release over the weekend. Regarding his future prospects in the wrestling industry, the former ECW champion "will almost certainly be heading to TNA" according to a reliable source.

As a matter of fact, one WWE source said they expected him to debut on live episode of iMPACT! on January 4, 2010 — although logic would suggest he'd have some sort of no-compete since he asked out of his contract.
Credit to I’m guessing www.F4Wonline.com via WrestlingInc

Tommy had an emotion farewell on ECW last night as he said his goodbyes to the crowd. I give Vince McMahon plenty of hate and most of it is deserved, but apparently the big send off for Tommy was his idea so kudos Vince for that.

Personally I don’t want to see Tommy go to TNA. But if Tommy does go to TNA it’s going to prove one of two things. One TNA really is the new WCW and two it’s becoming the senior circuit. Aside from the fact that TNA can be an easy paycheck for some is there really a reason anyone would want to go there? If he’s going to work with some of the young guys in TNA to help mold and shape them then it can’t hurt. But if he does go and they just throw him into the usual hardcore mix that surrounds Abyss, Tommy if I were you I’d pass. I’ll watch Tommy either way since he’s one of my all time favorites but I just hope if he does go then it doesn’t turn out to be a huge mistake in six months. But hey in this economy if you can get an easy pay check I say go for it.

Speaking of TNA, I see Hulk Hogan and his number one toady and lackey Bubba The Love Sponge are putting on some sort of Welcome Hogan to TNA party in Orlando on January 3rd. I don’t have Sirius XM so I don’t listen to Bubba on Hopalong Howie’s channel (Spread The Virus) but apparently Hogan is always on Bubba’s show. The only thing missing from this party is Hogan being driven down the street while red & yellow ticker tape flows and Billionaire Ted welcomes him to the company. Come to think of it, that is pretty much what they are doing. Honestly I am starting to dread this big Impact on January 4th. Oh sure it’s being teased that Kevin Nash will be reuniting The Outsiders with a soberish Scott Hall and X-Pac, but aside from all of that TNA is really not doing anything of interest to build this show up.

Yeah Hogan is coming to TNA, but is there you know any other reason why I would want to watch this?

Well Hulk Hogan is coming to TNA…

Yeah yeah yeah, I know that part. But will AJ Styles be defending the TNA title against anyone?

Well HULK HOGAN…

I don’t care about Hogan…what else does TNA have in store for January 4th?

…

Exactly. YOU HAVE NOTHING DO YOU. It’s just going to be the usual Impact plus another hour. Also since Impact is being replayed in it’s regular time on Thursday the 7th what exactly is the point of watching this show to begin with on the 4th? Somehow I think TNA and the people at Spike TV didn’t think all of this through.

Now if TNA’s goal was to light a fire under Vince and get him all competitive again they have succeeded big time because on January 4th something a lot of us thought we would never see happen will happen as Bret “The Hitman” Hart makes his return to the WWE. It’s been reported that Bret has signed a talent contract that lasts a couple weeks after Wrestlemania 26. So Bret is coming back and it will all start with him guest hosting RAW on the 4th.

For the longest time we the lowly wrestling fans have been saying we want something…ANYTHING different and now we are getting it. Okay it’s not exactly the different I was hoping for, but I’ll take it. The way I see it, with Bret coming back we can finally get closure to Montreal. For the last twelve damn years it’s been the one thing that just would not go away. Any time the WWE is in Canada they always do something to tease the Canadians about it. They have ripped off the finish more then a few times to “screw” someone over. If this were a movie we would be coming to the final act as Bret finally gets his revenge. The big rumor is all of this is going to lead into some sort of match between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania 26. I’ve always believed Bret could probably wrestle one or two matches if he felt like it (or if the money was right). Well obviously the money is right and the time is right because neither man is getting any younger so it’s now or never if it were to happen.

The only thing I hope is all of Bret’s stuff takes place on Smackdown. Smackdown is the show that Bret will fit into best. Plus there is a hope of some interaction between him and The Hart Dynasty. Bret says the kids don’t live up to the Hart name and they end up beating him up and it will make for some great television. I don’t know if it’s a full-blown rumor, but I read somewhere that the Hart Dynasty would side with Mr. McMahon against Bret leading into Wrestlemania. The only downside to this is who will Bret side with in the feud. Unfortunately for all of us, Degeneration X are the tag team champions so I am hoping the Hart’s finally beat them and take the gold off them so DX is kept far away from Smackdown. Jeri-show could be reunited and turned good but the WWE seems to be banking on Jericho facing Edge at Wrestlemania (if it’s possible). There’s lots of ways you could go with that and still make it work, but with the WWE who the hell knows what they will do. Much like me, the WWE suffers from an undiagnosed version of ADD. It looks good one minute and then the next Vince sours on it and they say the hell with it.

That right there will decide whether this entire thing works. If the ratings are to Vince’s liking you know all the sycophants and lackeys will be in his ear talking about how “oh well see Bret isn’t a draw so lets kill it now before it’s to late”. On RAW this week to say the whole segment with Vince and Shawn came off as a bit awkward would be an understatement. Personally I blame this more on the material they were working with more then anything else. God knows they have to stick to the script but aside from that it just came off so flat in front of the crowd. I don’t know if it was just because it was Hartford but the crowd seemed indifferent to Bret coming back aside from some diehard’s chanting WE WANT BRET.

I can’t believe it’s been twelve years since the whole Montreal thing. Maybe it’s just because I’m getting older, but it seems more like twenty years then just twelve. Back then I didn’t have AOL so I had no idea what was going on aside from what ever tidbits were in the heavily kayfabed Slammer article in the NY Daily News. This also means it’s been twelve years since Bret went to WCW and what should have been a slam dunk for them turned out to be another nail in the coffin. See this is why I get so frustrated watching TNA. It’s because we saw all of this happen twelve years ago in WCW. People like me might have a very short attention span, but we end up compensating with a very long memory. So I remember how badly things were back then and in another ten years God hoping we are all still here I’ll remember all of this to.

It’s not often I give the WWE credit here, but like I said if this is done right Bret’s return can finally be closure on this chapter of wrestling history once and for all.

I’m sorry TNA, but the moment RAW comes on this Monday night I’m turning it on. Bret standing in a WWE ring and his first interaction with Shawn Michaels will be must see television. Personally I would love it if Shawn goes for the handshake of forgiveness and Bret kicks him square in the balls. There are so many things that can be done and I am giddy for the first time in ages waiting for them to happen. While this so called Monday Night War will be short lived, it’s fun to see what will happen on both sides no matter what. For those of us on the Internet it will give us a wealth of material to write about. For bitter wrestling fans it will give us something to watch that isn’t the same old stuff. In the end we really can’t complain (though we’ll find something cause we always do) because for the first time in ages there’s reason to be excited again.

All of this leads into Wrestlemania 26 and the first rumored card has come out and right now it looks pretty damn solid.

According to Bryan Alvarez, the following matches are currently being planned or discussed by WWE for Wrestlemania. It's almost a sure thing that this won't be the final card since plans change on an almost daily basis.

Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker - Of all the rumored matches, this one is the closest to being a sure thing.

Vince McMahon vs. Bret Hart - This has been talked about and it would likely be a street fight-type match where Hart would not have to take any bumps.

Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase - A feud between these two has been expected for months now.

Chris Jericho vs. Edge - Another match that has been planned for months given that Edge is ready to return in time.

Sheamus vs. Triple H - Considering that HHH is involved, it could very well end up being a title match.

One name left out here is John Cena. WWE would love to have him in a match with The Rock, but the chances of that are very slim. Another possibility is Cena vs. Batista in a RAW vs. Smackdown match. Cena/Batista was originally scheduled for last year's Wrestlemania until Batista got injured.
Credit to www.f4wonline.com

If these matches were locked up and chiseled into stone then this would be a Wrestlemania card I would certainly consider ordering. Granted it would be $54.95, but I think I could look past that if these matches were a guarantee. The only question mark really is can Edge come back in time for Wrestlemania. As much fun as Edge/Jericho would be I personally would rather see him miss Wrestlemania if it meant he had more time to heal up. One could wish that Jerishow regain the tag team titles and then Edge comes back and challenges them and when they ask whom his partner is, the music hits and Christian walks out. Edge & Christian vs. Jerishow would be an awesome match but I doubt it would happen for a number of reasons that only make sense to Vince.

The rest of this rumored card as I said does look solid. I’m sure some people will complain about the prospect of Sheamus walking into Wrestlemania as champion but think of it this way. Would you rather see John Cena still as champion? Who cares if Sheamus is under the wing of Triple H. Wrestling much like any business, there will always be some young guy who gets taken in and groomed by the top guy. Sheamus has a lot of potential and I would rather see Triple H groom and mentor him so that in ten years from now Sheamus will be main eventing another Wrestlemania rather then being billed as “former WWE star” at a local VFW hall with a bunch of guys who’s only claim to fame will be having a video clip on Youtube of them doing some insane and stupid spot.

Sheamus is awesome and I can only hope that in 2010 he will continue to be awesome especially when doing that pump kick and kicking Howdy Doody Cena in the face.

In the end that’s all I really want to see. Cena getting beat up and always losing no matter what.

On that note I am done for this week and this year. Before I go I want to send out my condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Death Steve Williams who lost his gallant battle against cancer. A couple of years ago I got to take part in an Internet radio interview with Dr. Death and I asked him about the time he almost murdered Ed Ferrara on Sunday Night Heat and I think something about him being part of the core of Japanese wrestling in the 90’s along with Hansen, Misawa, Kawada, and Kobashi. He was a great wrestler and a greater man. I can only hope he is at peace now in the great arena in the sky.

So until next time have a Happy New Year and here is to a safe 2010. Remember someone has to give you this information and it DAMN well has got to be me.

You can click here to send me any and all feedback at phantomlordnyc@yahoo.com or leave me some feedback in my Live Journal at phantomlord-lop.livejournal.com

The Rant Of The Week: Going Through Changes

Greetings conversationalists all across the fruited plain it is I your personal Harvester of Sorrow, the one and only Phantom Lord and this is my Rant Of The Week. As always I am coming to you from my bunker in the urban cesspool that is Brooklyn, New York and of course everything for the next month is going to be Christmas. I love Christmas, but as long as it’s actually Christmas. Christmas Eve and Christmas are good enough for me. But the month long build up to it where all the lite stations have to go all Christmas music and all the sales and everything else is just too much. Though I did see the video for Bob Dylan’s new song “Must Be Santa” off his new album “Christmas In The Heart”. I have to get this album along with Twisted Sister’s “A Twisted Christmas”. Add this to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas will be my holiday traditions for now and ever. If only they would put out “It’s A Wonderful Life” with the original killing spree ending I would be set.

http://jscrazy.ytmnd.com MERRY CHRISTMAS…MERRY CHRISTMAS MOVIE HOUSE…

So about two weeks ago I just turned the big 29 and it got me thinking about what I’ve seen in these 29 years. I was born at the tail end of the Vince McMahon Sr. era of professional wrestling here in the North East when Bob Backlund was champion. Vince Jr. bought the company and from there everything got bigger or worse depending on your point of view. We had Hulkamania, Rock N’ Wrestling, Wrestlemania, Macho Madness, Piper’s Pit, Saturday Night’s Main Event…and all of this before I was even seven years old. As bad as things might seem right now, I can only imagine the fun it would have been if there were an Internet (well one everyone could go on) during Hogan’s run from 1984 to 1991. You think Cena hate is bad it would have been nothing compared to the hate Hogan is getting.

Of course I also made it through the new generation and the attitude years so I did see my fair share of bad stuff. People think the PG WWE is bad now, it’s nothing compared to the WWF back then. Sure there was some good stuff like now, but most of it was crap. I have seen a lot in these 29 years and now its coming full circle as I have mentioned before. Replace Hogan with Cena and we’re going have probably another good five years of the Cenation. At least on this past Monday on RAW they made a little angle out of John Cena being the perfect corporate puppet and the resentment the WWE locker room has towards him. Well I should say it started the week before when Jesse Venture cut this great promo about how he never got a shot at the title. To bad it was building up Cena/Sheamus (who I will get to shortly) because I’d love to see Cena/Ventura for the hell of it. Of course after last week’s appearance on Opie & Anthony, Ventura vs. Jim Norton would probably draw pretty damn well.

For those who want to see it, here’s the link courtesy of TMZ

http://www.tmz.com/2009/12/02/jesse-ventura-in-heated-stand-off-with-comic/

I think the WWE is doing something almost right for once as they are playing off all the hatred there is for John Cena from the real fan base of the company who are sick of everything Cena. The promo Carlito cut on Cena last week was pretty good even if he did end up looking like an idiot at the end. I mean if someone challenges you to a fight right then and there don’t go to do a catchphrase or your silly little trademark. If Carlito did a double leg on Cena and they started brawling the place probably would have gone nuts. Sure in the end Carlito would have lost, but it would have been better then looking like a bitch cause he had to bite his stupid apple. I like Carlito so it was nice to see him get all fired up like this. When people say there is huge potential for him, showing emotion like this is a part of that. It doesn’t matter how bad the material they work with is, as long as they can convey emotion and make you believe it then it will work. I’ll tell you this much, I believe someone like Carlito getting all fired up more then I do John Cena. When Cena does his whole GRRR I’M JOHN CENA I’M SERIOUS shtick it just comes off so forced.

The WWE skyrocketing Sheamus to the main event at their next throw away PPV is proof of what many others and I have been screaming about for months. The same formula over and over of Cena, Triple H, HBK, and Orton was getting boring. As much as I like Sheamus I think they made a mistake putting him into a main event this soon. The crowd just has no reaction towards him what so ever for the most part. He got a nice bit of heat when he did the old “I’m not gonna fight you now just cause you want to fight” bit but other then that he gets no reaction. I think this an example of something I have been going on about for years now and that’s the fact the WWE doesn’t build up anyone anymore. Well let me rephrase that, they build people up…just not in a way people would care about. See I can remember a time when everyone got a video building up for a month. It didn’t matter who it was or how stupid the gimmick was. You got a video to build you up this way the people in the crowd and at home at least had a clue about you.

Sheamus has everything the WWE look for in a star. He has the build and the look. He can cut a somewhat decent promo. He has the intensity and he doesn’t look like he was cast from the same cookie cutter mold most guys are today. You know the mold I’m talking about. Leather tights, tribal tat’s on the arms, a stupid tattoo on the back, short hair and goatee. It’s a formula for the most part and it’s because of that formula that mainstream wrestling (and I use the term mainstream very loosely) is so boring. Sheamus is at least the exact opposite of that formulated look and that’s a huge plus for him. The only thing that really is a problem for guys like him and others is the WWE it self. The WWE is just not designed anymore to be like the old days to let someone slowly build themselves up. Now a day’s it has to be NOW NOW NOW. I would have preferred a long US Championship run to Sheamus just being thrown to the proverbial fire. Luckily for him it’s a throw away PPV so I’m sure the expectation's are low to begin with. If Sheamus does some how win the WWE Championship the only thing I would suspect is Cena will win it back on Monday night. I don’t expect him to beat Superman Cena though but at the least he should look really dominant before he gets put back in the midcard with guys like The Miz, MVP, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne, a few others who should be moving up the ladder but are firmly beneath the glass ceiling.

Fire up the Drudge Siren…BREAKING NOOZ!!!





Sheamus has done it by gawd. He is the new Dubbya Dubbya Ehh Champion. Superman has been defeated and this is truly a joyous moment in history.

Wait…no it’s not. Sheamus is going to be the Kane the decade with a very short one off title reign. It’s funny though reading reaction on the Internet. If you are someone like me who hates John Cena and everything the WWE tries to do to make him the perfect corporate champion and multi-media main stream star then TLC was an early Christmas present. But for some other’s apparently the WWE pissed on it’s own legacy when Sheamus won the championship. According to some, Sheamus winning the title is the worst thing the WWE has ever done.

You know when I wrote about the 29 years I’ve been here, the WWE has done plenty of horrible stuff in that time frame. Sheamus winning the WWE Championship isn’t even in the top 50 (and I’m being generous there). See it’s funny how people complain oh the WWE won’t push anyone new. It’s always the same old crap over and over and over. Well here someone new was pushed to the moon and now a lot of these same people are complaining. Was it to fast and should they have taken their time with him so when he finally did win the title it meant something? Absolutely. But now that it’s happened am I going to complain? HELL NO.

UPDATE: Sheamus has survived the first hurdle to a championship run as he has surpassed Kane. A lot of us had fears he would be this decade’s Kane in terms of how long he would hold onto the title. I suspect the Sheamus/Cena rematch will now take place on January 4th. Though it is possible it could be the Royal Rumble. John Cena destroyed CM Punk on Raw and then proceeded to do one of his GRRR I’M SERIOUS I’M JOHN CENA I WILL NOT DIE promo’s about how he’ll not lose until he regains the championship. I liked it better when they were doing it with Jack Swagger. But it should be interesting to see what the WWE does on the 4th because there’s all ready a “big” event planned for that night.



Why it’s IMPACT brother. TNA is banking EVERYTHING on this HUGE three hour Impact on a Monday night. No one knows yet what the WWE plans to do for this night. Will they get The Rock to host? Will it be a three hour show of it’s own? Knowing how finicky WWE booking is I bet they probably wouldn’t work on anything till January 1st because Vince had another trademark mood swing and thought everything sucked.

It is funny to see TNA throw all of this effort into this one show because anyone who has watched TNA long enough knows it’s destined to blow up in their face. Now granted TNA has given me many many MANY reasons in the past to doubt them. But there’s one big reason why I am not holding my breath on this one and that’s Hulk Hogan. You can never take Hulk Hogan on his word. I know back when I was little, the Hulkster’s word was gold. You have to realize how much of a carnie Hulk Hogan is. Everything he says is spun for his favor. Hogan can still talk, but if TNA hopes to use him for matches they should probably forget about that now. Just watch some of the video from Hogan’s Australian tour and you’ll see why I hope to God he doesn’t wrestle in any form in TNA. A one off match here and there might be acceptable but after seeing these clips it’s clear he can’t handle one match much less any number of matches.

The big thing TNA is apparently planning is Hogan will lead the younger stars while Mick Foley will stand by the “old guard”. I’m a bit confused as to who the younger stars are and who will be the old guard. Basically it will be the MEM vs. Frontline angle only in reverse. Ah God bless TNA and their Russo booking. I can’t imagine what TNA has planned for the Impact on the 4th other then two hours and 45 mins of them milking the first appearance by Hulk Hogan. Another ten minutes of Hogan lumbering to the ring followed by the obligatory YOU’RE A LEGEND and YOU STILL GOT IT chants by the Impact crowd and we’ll finally get to the promo. Someone will come out to challenge Hogan and he’ll get beat down only to make the comeback and throw the guy out of the ring.


I probably just summed up the entire segment no matter when it happens on the show. Hogan. To Hogan’s credit he claims that he hates wrestling writers and that people should just go off the top of their head promo wise.

In the Toronto Sun, Hogan said the following.

"It's a creative executive position ... Jan. 4, we're going head to head with WWE. We've got to pick a fight. I don't know what's going to happen that night. If we get bodyslammed by WWE, we'll get back and go at them again."

"What we have now is the writers telling the wrestlers what to say and do. I'm coming in to push the writers aside. Sure, they still have to make it flow and block time."

"If the wrestlers need a writer to tell them what to do, they can pack their bags and go north to WWE. Writers don't have a feel and instinct for the business. They've never been in the ring. If I can't make it work, I'll pack my bags and leave."

Impact is going to get killed in the ratings; there is no doubt about that. It is just a matter of how badly Impact gets killed. Will it be them drawing their usual 1.0 number vs. RAW in the mid 3’s or will it be something of a blood bath with Impact drawing under 0.9. I honestly don’t know because at best TV ratings are a funny thing. Luckily for both shows, there is no Monday Night Football on ESPN so basically it will be TNA vs. WWE and the ratings will be solely on who can draw better. I would hope that in the week leading up to this Impact, Hogan hits at least one of the late night talk shows. I doubt he’ll be on any NBC show and Letterman doesn’t have wrestlers on his show so all that’s left is Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson. Hogan needs to do the mother of all carnie pitches if he’s on any show and put over TNA big time so that at least they can say the promoted the hell out of the show.

TNA’s biggest problem has always been they do not know how to advertise anything. How the hell are they expecting to go to war with the WWE if no one outside the core fans they have know who they are? Granted both the WWE and TNA are desperate to get the mainstream viewer. But with a nearly crippled Hulk Hogan and a totally inept production and marketing scheme TNA might as well shoot themselves now and get it over with. TNA needs such a major overhaul production and marketing wise and there might be some hope depending on what role if any that Eric Bischoff and his production company with Jason Hervey has. TNA is banking so much on this show and if things stay the way they are now it’s going to be all for nothing.

Some will say I am being negative. I like to think I am being realistic here. I would love to be wrong and TNA finally lives up to all the potential it’s had for years. It would be great if there were some competition between the WWE and TNA because it would light a fire under Vince’s ass and he would stop coasting like has been for the last decade. Ah well we shall see what happens. I’m not holding my breath but stranger things have happened.

Speaking of reorganizing things, apparently the WWE is not content on having Smackdown and ECW be the best “wrestling” shows so there is talk that in 2010 they will be making big changes to both shows. Mostly by pruning the roster and possibly renaming ECW. I honestly don’t know why they would want to change Smackdown because it’s had a formula that’s worked pretty damn well.

As for ECW, there was this news bit from the Figure 4 Online http://www.f4wonline.com

According to the source, WWE has been on the receiving-end of pressure from SyFy, which is unhappy with ratings for the Tuesday WWE show. From that pressure stems a feeling that WWE should overhaul the program to spark a ratings turnaround. At press time, there was nonetheless no concrete talk that a change was forthcoming. And, even if WWE were to decide the ‘ECW’ initials should be dropped, there is no evidence that WWE is considering changing the format, which currently sees the show serving as a breeding ground for up-and-coming WWE Superstars. Some rumors going around claim that WWE is considering turning the program into another “Superstars” of sorts, but said stories could not be definitively confirmed at press time.

The reason why ECW is tanking in the ratings is pretty simple. The WWE puts no effort into it what so ever. ECW is just there for people to be in a holding patter before the ones with real talent get yanked onto RAW and the other’s get thrown to Smackdown to shine. Why would anyone want to invest into ECW if you know say the next Sheamus is only going to be there for two months or so before he’s called up to the main roster. I love Christian and he has been by far one of the best wrestlers consistently for years, but he and he alone cannot carry a show.

Christian apparently has his detractors including Vince McMahon who feel he is not a major star and I’m sure they all look at ECW’s ratings and say SEE HE CAN’T DRAW. ECW is in the worst time slot possible. It’s up against the powerhouse Tuesday night slot on FX when it’s on against shows like Sons Of Anarchy and Rescue Me. There’s just so many things to watch at that time. For me personally I just record ECW on the DVR and skim through it. Cutting through the commercials and stupid video packages recapping RAW the show sometimes is 35 minutes at best. You can always count on a solid main event on ECW but the rest of the show is filled with guys who no one knows who they are.

Just listen to the crowd when some of these guys come out, it is DEAD. People just sitting in the crowd quietly waiting for the Smackdown taping to start. As for Smackdown, I read a bit of news that the idea to change up Smackdown comes from the fact that the WWE wants Smackdown to be like RAW. They want it in the sense that there is celebrity involvement of some sort. Just something to put more entertainment into the mix because it absolutely kills some people in the WWE to do a “wrestling” show.

The people in charge of the WWE as we know are some of the most insecure people around. They hate it when things they plan out do not go over how they want. The people they push because they have decided these people will be the stars of the show fall flat to silence from the crowds. The people who do get over with out really trying are relegated to comedy spots. Santino Marella is by far one of the most over people in the entire WWE and he does nothing except comedy matches and skits. Vickie Guerrero is by far the most over heel in the company. People really hate her and she doesn’t do much except say EXCUSE ME. So what does she get for her troubles (aside from being shafted on Eddie RIP royalties)? She gets never ending fat jokes because some people in the WWE feel unless you can count the ribs on a woman then they are fat.

These are the same people who have been doing this crap where Michelle McCool calls Mickie James fat. Apparently the Mickie James thing was the WWE’s little way of telling her don’t you dare think of trying to make a career for yourself with out us. You’re no good to us if we don’t have a piece of the action.

For those of you who don’t know, Mickie is recording some demos and songs for a country music career. She’s apparently got some top-notch management and is working with some great songwriters and musicians in Nashville. I would love to hear Mickie sing and if Mickie is half as good as Gretchen Wilson, Mickie could have her self a very good thing. Hopefully in the coming weeks and months some of her vocal ability makes it’s way onto the net and we can all see how she sounds. I just wish she would win back the WWE Women’s championship all ready. McCool is probably the worst champion ever. Technically speaking she’s fine. I mean she’s passable in the ring, plus it’s the WWE so it’s not like you are expecting an All Japan’s women’s contest. But personality wise she is so horrible. She does nothing to get people to want to hate her.

Perhaps if she really became the super bitch that people like to say she is then maybe her title reign wouldn’t be seen as the time when to make a run for the bathroom or concession stands.
I’ve said this before about how she only has her spot because of whom she is with. If it were me I would say run with that. Sure you don’t have to say his name but you can just be like YOU KNOW WHO MY MAN IS. Maybe it could be something like one of those Real Housewife’s shows that people seem to watch (why I don’t know). My point is McCool is horrible character wise and aside from whom her man is can anyone give me a reason why she is the Women’s champion?

On that note I am done for this week. Hopefully I will have one more column before the end of the year so I can at least try to start some sort of streak. I make no bones about it, wrestling at times bores the hell out of me and as such it reflects what I write about. While I am starting to get into MMA…I am not about to turn this into some sort of MMA column. So hopefully 2010 will be a much more entertaining year but like what I said with TNA I’m not holding my breath.

Until next time take care and remember someone has to give you this information and it DAMN well has got to be me.

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The Vin Sanity of Wrestling – The Dirty (half) Dozen…

Ring of Honor has recently hired Jim Cornette, the Louisville Slugger himself, as the new executive producer of their weekly program on HDNet. Cornette is a former promoter, manager, commentator, on-screen authority figure, and booker, and is renowned for his brilliant mind for the business. Any wrestling fan worth his salt will tell you what a profound impact such an experienced veteran can make on a promotion, and nearly immediately, Cornette did exactly that.

TODAY’S ISSUE: ROH’s new “Pick 6” Standings.

To quote the ROH home page, the Austin Aries Lucky Lottery or A-Double, L-Double has been “universally viewed as a farce”, with ROH world champion Aries recently using a likely rigged drawing to select challengers who are not necessarily the top wrestlers in the company, obviously padding his world title run and refusing to face the men who present the toughest threats to his championship. In response, ROH Officials and Jim Cornette have conceived a method to ensure the top challengers earn and receive title matches. Known as the “Pick 6 Contenders Series”, this new format for determining world title challengers is a simple yet effective process. Here’s the deal (again quoting ROHwrestling.com).

“To begin, twelve competitors have been selected by ROH on HDNet Executive Producer Jim Cornette to compete in six singles matches with the winners being seeded by ROH officials from one-to-six. Once the initial ranking is established, the "Pick 6" Contenders Series will function as follows:

- Only wrestlers ranked in the "Pick 6" are eligible to challenge for the ROH World Championship.

- The higher a wrestler is seeded, the more leverage he has in determining the scheduling of championship matches.

- Wrestlers securing victories in "Pick 6" matchups earn a match bonus.

- Once the rankings are set, wrestlers can only enter the "Pick 6" Standings by defeating a ranked wrestler.

- An unranked wrestler that defeats a "Pick 6" Contender assumes that wrestler's spot, and everyone lower slides down one rank. The lower a wrestler is ranked, the more they have to lose.”

This is a brilliant way to make under-card matches seem very important without swapping some meaningless secondary title over and over. The Pick 6 Standings affect the careers of all the singles stars (and plenty of tag team folks as well) who must now keep their eye on that group of six top contenders at all times. Consider that every Ring of Honor DVD release includes matches like Chris Hero versus Kevin Steen, Colt Cabana versus Delirious, and Kenny King versus Davey Richards. Fans can normally look forward to entertaining, hard-fought contests from these preliminary matches before the main event provides the truly important stuff, but now those matches can have world title implications and increase the drama, tension, and urgency amongst the competitors, which results in matches that are more fun to watch for the paying fans. For the purposes of discussion, let’s pretend the current Pick 6 Standings are as follows:

1. Davey Richards
2. Tyler Black
3. Kenny Omega
4. Roderick Strong
5. Chris Hero
6. Claudio Castagnoli

Now we’ll simulate two fictional weekend shows to see how these standings might be affected by match outcomes. Friday night, Strong defeats Black in a 22-minute epic affair allowing Roddy to claim the #2 slot, forcing Black down to #3 and Omega to #4. Hero and Castagnoli remain where they are for the moment, but later on the card Colt Cabana defeats Hero with the Billy Goat’s Curse and steals Hero’s #5 slot. Hero slides down to #6 so Claudio gets bumped from the standings altogether without even wrestling in a singles match this night, instantly sowing the seeds for a storyline issue should ROH officials chose to pursue it (the old motivation of “I’m pissed off because I got screwed, so now I’m going to hurt somebody” always works). Now we have:

1. Davey Richards
2. Roderick Strong
3. Tyler Black
4. Kenny Omega
5. Colt Cabana
6. Chris Hero

The Cabana/Hero and Black/Strong matches have made an immediate impact on the world title picture, and as I mentioned, Castagnoli has an instant issue. Saturday night, Delirious upsets Kenny Omega and steals his #4 position, forcing him to #5 and Cabana down to #6, knocking Hero off the list altogether. Also on the card, Strong and Richards face off in a showdown of the top two contenders, with Strong surviving and taking Richards’ #1 spot. Now the Pick 6 Standings look like this:

1. Roderick Strong
2. Davey Richards
3. Tyler Black
4. Delirious
5. Kenny Omega
6. Colt Cabana

In the above scenario, Roderick Strong had himself one heck of a weekend in defeating two ranked contenders and climbing to the top slot in the pecking order. Therefore he is granted a title opportunity at the next big show in a few weeks, and he can look forward to challenging his former ROH world tag team championship partner with the big belt on the line. But suppose that because Claudio Castagnoli feels cheated as discussed above, he cuts a scathing promo and challenges Strong to a contest with huge implications. Roddy, of course, would never back down from a fight, so now before his world title match against A-Double, Strong puts everything on the line against Claudio. Wouldn’t you like to see that contest? I certainly would.

Chris Hero started the weekend as a ranked title contender and ended it off the list completely, and since Colt Cabana is ultimately the reason for Hero’s misfortune he challenges Boom Boom to a rematch with much more than pride at stake. Can That Young Knockout Kid reclaim his status as one of the chosen few, or will Cabana continue to keep Hero out of the Pick 6? That’s another match that carries huge implications, and is one I’d love to watch. Based solely on the two fictional shows above, you can imagine how many other matches ROH could promote that will resonate with logical rivalries and a grave importance on winners and losers. There are potentially weeks of contests brewing from these minor changes in the Pick 6 Standings, and it gives Ring of Honor a lot of focus and makes matches more career-impacting.

I’m not clear on the fate of a ranked contender who challenges the champ and loses, but I assume this will knock him out of the Pick 6 Standings, advancing everyone else one rung up the ladder and allowing two unranked competitors to battle for the #6 slot. This is the most logical way I can think of to handle those challengers who “had their chance” and lost, leaving room for upward mobility like no other wrestling company does. Another sensible option is for a contender who loses his title match to automatically fall to the #6 slot and bump everybody else up one rung. Otherwise, in order to be dropped out of the hunt altogether a Pick 6 contender would have to lose his title match and then lose enough matches against lower-ranked opponents to get bumped completely out of the six top spots. This would be a significant losing streak for somebody high on the totem pole, and would also guarantee some interesting storyline fodder. Think of MVP’s losing streak in WWE, but apply it to a company that routinely promotes logical storyline with satisfying in-ring action to pay them off.

This is all incredibly clever of ROH because if you think about it, those wrestlers defending their spots in the Pick 6 or trying to break into it aren’t really fighting over anything tangible; everyone on the roster seems to get a title match at one time or another as the months go by (perennial mid-carders BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Rave both had title shots on pay-per-view when ROH was still utilizing that medium). But the Pick 6 makes it seem like they’re fighting for something important, and that makes all the difference. Also, as crazy about statistics as wrestling fans can be, having something relevant to keep track of makes it interesting for us (remember Goldberg’s streak?).

In March of 2005 I wrote a column that was only my fourth of nearly 250 total so far. In that piece I mused about how effective a top 10 ranking system would be in the big two, and when I reviewed it today I was surprised at ho similar my idea was to ROH’s new Pick 6 Standings. At least I’m consistent; I’ve been saying the same sort of things for over four and a half years now.

The bottom line is that this is a great thing for ROH to do. It helps them keep things interesting, and breathes new life into the same old matches. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the Pick 6 Contenders Series as it develops, and to watching the matches that are featured as Ring of Honor’s best battle for their shot at the brass ring.

Vin Sanity is not categorized as a psychological disorder… yet.

p.s. – “Victory is sweetest when you’ve known defeat.” - Malcom Forbes

The Tragedy Called Life

Yesterday, wrestling lost yet another member of the fraternity. Another had met his end, and far too soon. Of course, I mean Eddie Fatu. Eddie was a member of wrestlng's well-known Samoan family, which includes the likes of The Rock, Samu, Afa, and the late Yokozuna. Eddie's passing reminded me, once again, of how I felt when I learned of the deaths of many others I had seen grace my television screen over the years.

Eddie Fatu was discovered by his wife on Thursday evening, passed out in front of their television. He had blood coming from his nose, and was rushed to a Houston area hospital, where doctors determined he may have suffered a heart attack. On Friday, he reportedly suffered a second, and was placed on life support. That did not last, as he was removed and passed into history shortly after. Now, before anyone attempts to demonize Fatu for whatever he was doing that prompted his WWE release this past June, let's remember it's too late to speculate or assume anything, and too insensitive to disgrace the dead.

The fact is, whatever caused Eddie Fatu's untimely end is really of no consequence. Remember Eddie for what he was, not whatever demons may have plagued him. I, for one, was taken aback by his passing. I hope this is the last time I have to read of this type of thing happening.