http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/9617/
One of wrestling greatest performers of all time, Mitsuharu Misawa died in the ring Saturday 06/13/09. F4wonline.com is reporting this news, and any facts I give would just be rehashing. Please go to the link to read about a wrestler who didn't just have matches. He had epics. Please go to Youtube and search out one match from this guy so that you can see someone who had a skill and in ring psychology that was second to none. Even though his matches may not translate well to WWE audiences please try to give this sample a try:
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Umaga Released for Drug Test Violations
http://www.wwe.com/inside/industrynews/10492878
The WWE released Umaga after his second wellness policy violation. I find it interested that no WWE performer has ever gotten to three failures. I wonder if there is a loophole that if someone like Chris Master (who had two failures before his release) gets a clean slate when he resigns with the company.
Umaga's failure also shows a fundamental problem with the WWE claiming that they want a clean enviornment. Bruce Mitchell of Pwtorch.com summed it up quite well with his Mitchell Short column (http://www.pwtorch.com/members/artman/publish/Mitchell_s_Take_41/article_34037.shtml). In this article he says, "Umaga gets injured months ago and spends several months rehabilitating. He returns on a Smackdown before Wrestlemania, his shoulders noticeably thinner and his gut, conversely, noticably larger.
Umaga disappears again.
Umaga returns after Wrestlemania, looking much more like the Samoan Monster fans and management have come to expect. He's put into a program with top-of-the-mid-carder C.M. Punk. His character is even expanded in a new way."
The scenario could play out like this: Umaga gets off steroids, works a Smackdown taping, and without even being told, knows something is up because he isn't booked on the shows for 2 weeks straight. He shows up at the building for Smackdown, and just sits there the whole show. Eventually, he figures out what's up. He's probably paranoid about his look if he's gotten off performance enhancing drugs. He decides he needs to bulk up. He comes to Smackdown one day and management notices that his body has improved, and he get put right back on television.
Like I said, the WWE can send that message without even saying a word. It's a shame, but like Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer says, the only way you can convince guys to get off steroids is if they get punished creatively for being a user.
The WWE released Umaga after his second wellness policy violation. I find it interested that no WWE performer has ever gotten to three failures. I wonder if there is a loophole that if someone like Chris Master (who had two failures before his release) gets a clean slate when he resigns with the company.
Umaga's failure also shows a fundamental problem with the WWE claiming that they want a clean enviornment. Bruce Mitchell of Pwtorch.com summed it up quite well with his Mitchell Short column (http://www.pwtorch.com/members/artman/publish/Mitchell_s_Take_41/article_34037.shtml). In this article he says, "Umaga gets injured months ago and spends several months rehabilitating. He returns on a Smackdown before Wrestlemania, his shoulders noticeably thinner and his gut, conversely, noticably larger.
Umaga disappears again.
Umaga returns after Wrestlemania, looking much more like the Samoan Monster fans and management have come to expect. He's put into a program with top-of-the-mid-carder C.M. Punk. His character is even expanded in a new way."
The scenario could play out like this: Umaga gets off steroids, works a Smackdown taping, and without even being told, knows something is up because he isn't booked on the shows for 2 weeks straight. He shows up at the building for Smackdown, and just sits there the whole show. Eventually, he figures out what's up. He's probably paranoid about his look if he's gotten off performance enhancing drugs. He decides he needs to bulk up. He comes to Smackdown one day and management notices that his body has improved, and he get put right back on television.
Like I said, the WWE can send that message without even saying a word. It's a shame, but like Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer says, the only way you can convince guys to get off steroids is if they get punished creatively for being a user.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Raw Report for 06/08/09
Raw was in Lafayette, LA
Segment 1: Batista comes out to celebrate his title win over Randy Orton from Extreme Rules, but Legacy attack him and Orton breaks his arm. Everyone knows Batista needs surgery on a torn bicep, so an injury angle was guaranteed. I feel they gave Batista the title to keep him strong for when he came back. Batista has such a storied history of losing title matches that they couldn't have him losing again. In a way it's a testament to Batista being someone that they will use whenever they need a main event, but it also shows the lack of depth in the WWE top tier.
Segment 2: Kofi Kingston beat William Regal in a quick match. Regal cut a promo on how Kofi is a horrible US champion because he is Jamaican. He also talks about how he could bring class to this country if he became US champion. I honestly cannot think of a time when I ever connected the US title to patriotism. I also think it's dumb for Regal to cut this promo because he has no reason to care about the fans opinion of the title. It was just kind of silly. Match was okay, but short. I would say the WWE is trying to push Kofi, but he'll just lose the title in a couple of months, then they'll give someone else a bunch of wins over midcarders too. The same thing happened to MVP 2 months ago.
Randy Orton gets interviewed by Josh Matthews and says he gets a title rematch tonight or Batista has to forfeit the WWE title. This is more silliness because Orton just crippled the guy. I understand the babyface needs to have his back against the wall, but it's so unfair that they might as well just strip Batista and give Orton the title if they can get away with what they are doing now. I think it can also cheapen the title because the matches aren't contested to see who is the better wrestler.
Segment 3: Maryse defeated Kelly Kelly. I honestly don't care much for Kelly's work, and I'm always very nervous for her. She just looks very sloppy in the ring. We've been hearing this for years, so I guess that's just her style. Mickie James did commentary which was super dull. I remember back in the old days when the Rock would do commentary and he would get himself over. Everytime someone does commentary now, it seems like they don't really have a lot to say. I think this is because they're so heavily scripted, but when they do commentary, they have to do their own thing without a hard script.
Miz and Maryse meet up backstage and Miz flirts. I think it's entertaining, but I don't think it makes people take the Miz seriously when he's too busy trying to get laid before his matches. Stuff like this also makes me nervous because I would like to see the Miz get somewhere, but I fear he has a squash match coming up soon this summer.
Segment 4: Santino, Goldust, and Festus beat Chavo Guerrero, The Brian Kendrick, and Jamie Noble. This was a comedy match, and not too interesting. Santino is pretty funny when he's amazed at the power of his punches. His babyface act is just as entertaining as his heel act, but the company seems interested in giving him some in ring credibility. I kind of feel bad for Jamie Noble because he's a world class wrestler who's a nobody on Raw. Then again, a paycheck is a paycheck.
Segment 5: The Miz vs. John Cena. The match never happened as the Big Show came out and destroyed John Cena. Show had Cena in his submission move, and I knew Miz was going to break it up because the WWE doesn't usually do exact reruns of angles. Miz hit Show with a chair a bunch of times, then hit Cena. I actually think it was smart to get out of this match because the first thing I thought when Big Show came out was, "dammit, I don't want him to ruin this match." Now that the WWE has the fans into this program between the Miz and John Cena, then maybe they can make some money off on it on PPV. I think the real trick is finding a way for the Miz to mean something after this feud and not have him turn into a midcarder again.
Segment 6: MVP beat Matt Hardy. I am hoping Hardy can lose the cast soon so he can start having normal matches again. He's only going to cool off if he's doing jobs, not matter what his excuse. This is the problem with the WWE midcard treadmill. Everyone is jobbing to everyone else, and no one is looking like the alpha male.
Segment 7: Vickie Guerrero comes out and quits the WWE (in storyline and real life). Edge comes out and humiliates her and says a bunch of mean things. All of the insults focused on her looks and weight. Wade Keller of Pwtorch.com was spot on when he said there was no value to this segment. Edge shouldn't be turning babyface by this, yet he was ripping her to shreds about stuff that shouldn't be important in our value system. I guess they just wanted to tie up loose ends. One thing to consider though: when WWE has a sponsor or license that they want, and a top female in that company sees something like this, it's no wonder they can't get any traction. Even other forms of entertainment that use female sexuality don't necessarily humiliate the females that they deem unattractive. You don't see Playboy running a top ten list on the ugliest chicks that sent them 8x10s.
Segment 8: Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes beat The Colons in a non-title match. Legacy get a tag title match as a result of this. The Colons don't have a chance of beating Randy Orton's chosen ones, so they might as well have just given them the titles there. I have no idea what Carlito or Primo do after they lose the titles as there are no other teams on Raw.
Segment 9: Randy Orton calls out Batista, but Triple H comes out instead. He beats up all of Legacy, pedigrees Orton on a steel chair, and I guess the never ending feud continues. I understand Triple H is a huge star, but it looks silly watching these guys in their 20s having to slow down so this less mobile gentleman can hit them with weapons.
It was an okay show, and they built well. My main problem with Raw is that I'm not really into any of the top guys besides Orton. Raw can hype feuds all they want, but I don't have high hopes for them once the matches start.
Segment 1: Batista comes out to celebrate his title win over Randy Orton from Extreme Rules, but Legacy attack him and Orton breaks his arm. Everyone knows Batista needs surgery on a torn bicep, so an injury angle was guaranteed. I feel they gave Batista the title to keep him strong for when he came back. Batista has such a storied history of losing title matches that they couldn't have him losing again. In a way it's a testament to Batista being someone that they will use whenever they need a main event, but it also shows the lack of depth in the WWE top tier.
Segment 2: Kofi Kingston beat William Regal in a quick match. Regal cut a promo on how Kofi is a horrible US champion because he is Jamaican. He also talks about how he could bring class to this country if he became US champion. I honestly cannot think of a time when I ever connected the US title to patriotism. I also think it's dumb for Regal to cut this promo because he has no reason to care about the fans opinion of the title. It was just kind of silly. Match was okay, but short. I would say the WWE is trying to push Kofi, but he'll just lose the title in a couple of months, then they'll give someone else a bunch of wins over midcarders too. The same thing happened to MVP 2 months ago.
Randy Orton gets interviewed by Josh Matthews and says he gets a title rematch tonight or Batista has to forfeit the WWE title. This is more silliness because Orton just crippled the guy. I understand the babyface needs to have his back against the wall, but it's so unfair that they might as well just strip Batista and give Orton the title if they can get away with what they are doing now. I think it can also cheapen the title because the matches aren't contested to see who is the better wrestler.
Segment 3: Maryse defeated Kelly Kelly. I honestly don't care much for Kelly's work, and I'm always very nervous for her. She just looks very sloppy in the ring. We've been hearing this for years, so I guess that's just her style. Mickie James did commentary which was super dull. I remember back in the old days when the Rock would do commentary and he would get himself over. Everytime someone does commentary now, it seems like they don't really have a lot to say. I think this is because they're so heavily scripted, but when they do commentary, they have to do their own thing without a hard script.
Miz and Maryse meet up backstage and Miz flirts. I think it's entertaining, but I don't think it makes people take the Miz seriously when he's too busy trying to get laid before his matches. Stuff like this also makes me nervous because I would like to see the Miz get somewhere, but I fear he has a squash match coming up soon this summer.
Segment 4: Santino, Goldust, and Festus beat Chavo Guerrero, The Brian Kendrick, and Jamie Noble. This was a comedy match, and not too interesting. Santino is pretty funny when he's amazed at the power of his punches. His babyface act is just as entertaining as his heel act, but the company seems interested in giving him some in ring credibility. I kind of feel bad for Jamie Noble because he's a world class wrestler who's a nobody on Raw. Then again, a paycheck is a paycheck.
Segment 5: The Miz vs. John Cena. The match never happened as the Big Show came out and destroyed John Cena. Show had Cena in his submission move, and I knew Miz was going to break it up because the WWE doesn't usually do exact reruns of angles. Miz hit Show with a chair a bunch of times, then hit Cena. I actually think it was smart to get out of this match because the first thing I thought when Big Show came out was, "dammit, I don't want him to ruin this match." Now that the WWE has the fans into this program between the Miz and John Cena, then maybe they can make some money off on it on PPV. I think the real trick is finding a way for the Miz to mean something after this feud and not have him turn into a midcarder again.
Segment 6: MVP beat Matt Hardy. I am hoping Hardy can lose the cast soon so he can start having normal matches again. He's only going to cool off if he's doing jobs, not matter what his excuse. This is the problem with the WWE midcard treadmill. Everyone is jobbing to everyone else, and no one is looking like the alpha male.
Segment 7: Vickie Guerrero comes out and quits the WWE (in storyline and real life). Edge comes out and humiliates her and says a bunch of mean things. All of the insults focused on her looks and weight. Wade Keller of Pwtorch.com was spot on when he said there was no value to this segment. Edge shouldn't be turning babyface by this, yet he was ripping her to shreds about stuff that shouldn't be important in our value system. I guess they just wanted to tie up loose ends. One thing to consider though: when WWE has a sponsor or license that they want, and a top female in that company sees something like this, it's no wonder they can't get any traction. Even other forms of entertainment that use female sexuality don't necessarily humiliate the females that they deem unattractive. You don't see Playboy running a top ten list on the ugliest chicks that sent them 8x10s.
Segment 8: Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes beat The Colons in a non-title match. Legacy get a tag title match as a result of this. The Colons don't have a chance of beating Randy Orton's chosen ones, so they might as well have just given them the titles there. I have no idea what Carlito or Primo do after they lose the titles as there are no other teams on Raw.
Segment 9: Randy Orton calls out Batista, but Triple H comes out instead. He beats up all of Legacy, pedigrees Orton on a steel chair, and I guess the never ending feud continues. I understand Triple H is a huge star, but it looks silly watching these guys in their 20s having to slow down so this less mobile gentleman can hit them with weapons.
It was an okay show, and they built well. My main problem with Raw is that I'm not really into any of the top guys besides Orton. Raw can hype feuds all they want, but I don't have high hopes for them once the matches start.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
