By: David Stephens of Wrestleview.com
Ousta! Welcome back to the only WrestleView column covering topics both nowhere yet everywhere at once. If you are new to the column you are probably going to hate me for the first couple weeks, but then you are going to hit a point where you say ‘oh wait a minute, I think he gets it’. Don’t worry, that’s exactly how it is designed to be. This column is all about gut reactions and traveling thoughts. As the great Andy Kaufman once said: “I just want real reactions. I want people to laugh from the gut, be sad from the gut, or get angry from the gut”.
Are you ready? The stop questioning your heart and join me, because it’s time for “That’s a Wrap”!
Morrison Part
Sometimes being me is very discouraging. I don’t want to go overboard much on the subject of John Morrison, because I think I covered it fairly well last week. However, apparently I was the only person who enjoyed the Triple Threat at Hell-in-a-Cell. So, here is what I said this past week in my RAW Recap:
Right off the bat, I want to say that I enjoyed the PPV. I’m not going to claim it as amazing, because it wasn’t, but I felt as though it was an all around solid PPV. The show started with a bang. I was a bit skeptical about the concept of a triple-threat-submissions-count-anywhere match, yet it worked. This match easily stole the show in my opinion, and for good reason. Morrison, Miz and Bryan pulled off a hell of a match.
The match had everything that I look for in wrestling. It told a story. The progression of Miz and Bryan was done well, especially the tasteful inclusion of Alex Riley. For the first time, Morrison’s involvement actually made sense as well. Honestly, I didn’t “get it” initially. After all, why would Morrison have anything to do with this feud? Was Morrison needed? No, but he felt strongly enough about the Miz constantly degrading him and decided that no existing storyline was going to stand in his way. That actually works for me. It’s a stretch, but I’ll buy it.
The action in the match was great, easily one of my favorite three ways from the WWE in recent memory. There were lots of really eye catching moments, as well as replay worthy spots. Most importantly, it was a fun match that kept me entertained. I don’t know about you, but that’s why I watch wrestling.
What’s in the News?
My opinions are in italics
All news is gathered from WrestleView.com unless otherwise noted
TMZ.com is reporting that former WWE, WCW, and TNA star Sean “X-Pac” Waltman has been ordered to pay a $358 fine for his 9/12 arrest at Newark International Airport for allegedly possessing a rolled joint.
-wow, that turned into one expensive joint
WWE.com has confirmed that actor/comedian Pee-Wee Herman would be an upcoming guest star on Monday Night Raw on November 1 in Long Island, NY.
-I have a really bad track record when it comes to predicting the success of guest stars effectiveness on RAW. Nonetheless, I’m predicting him to be amazingly entertaining
TNA Screening Kurt Angle’s new movie on Oct. 8
-it’s very possible that those may be the only people to see the movie. Ever.
Eric Cohen of About.com has an interview up with TNA star Mick Foley where he talks about his new book “Countdown to Lockdown” and addresses something he talks about in the book saying that TNA has always had a problem converting television viewers to Pay Per View viewers. “I don’t mean to sound like a pessimist about my own company but I’m not sure that is a fixable problem. It could be that Pay-Per-View is not going to be the bread and butter of our wrestling company whereas International expansion and finding a new way to market the guys and the show could be the bread and butter of the company.”
-maybe TNA’s success won’t be on PPV, it will be interesting to see how they try and get around this issue, or what new mediums they explore
Ryan Nemeth who is the younger brother of WWE’s Dolph Ziggler won a contest in OVW called Breakout where he will receive a one year paid scholarship to OVW’s wrestling school.
-I hear that they are bringing him in for a reboot of the Spirit Squad. Possibility called SV2.0.
According to a report by Mike Johnson of PWInsider, WWE will not be holding its annual “Tribute to the Troops” event overseas in the Middle East this year. The belief is that with some live event schedule reshuffling in late November and early December, it will make it impossible for an event to be arranged. Were told WWE is looking into doing something similar domestically at a military base. WWE had held events in the Middle East for the last seven years since 2003.
-I’m kind of bummed about this one. I have looked forward to this show every year
Jeff Hardy’s next court date is scheduled for October 25 reports The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. TNA is holding Impact TV tapings that day in Orlando, so it would have to be assumed he will miss that show and be available for the tapings the following day on October 26.
He sure has a lot of court dates, that tend to switch dates all that time
As noted in various reports and yesterday in Josh Boutwell’s Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly column, Jeff Jarrett was in Mexico this past week meeting with AAA in regards to some talent exchanges. El Zorro was said to have been offered a TNA contract and is expected to start soon with the company, with one rumor having him be involved in a stable with Abyss. Were told TNA President Dixie Carter saw a tape of Zorro and was impressed. Other AAA talents TNA has interest in includes Jack Evans and Extreme Tiger. Jarrett had interest in bringing in some high flying luchadores, while AAA was hopeful to bring in the current TNA World Tag Team Champions The Motor City Machineguns.
-this only means good things for the company. AAA has some absolutely amazing talent, and a fan base that is hard to comprehend for most U.S. wrestling fans. I have a good feeling about this
Sting is expected to be offered his usual $500,000 a year deal and has always worked limited dates for TV tapings and PPV events (he never works house shows), so most feel it will be pretty hard to turn down. He has been bothered all year by a nagging shoulder injury, thus limiting what he can do in the ring. Most feel if he doesn’t re-sign with TNA that he will be invited to be part of next year’s WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011 with Wrestlemania 27 being held in Atlanta and the Hall of Fame carrying on a “past WCW stars” theme. One source close to Sting added however that the WWE Hall of Fame is almost a non-factor to him in his decision to stay or leave TNA and is not someone who cares about the Hall of Fame.
-so yeah, that happened
Mick Foley donated the entire advance for his new book “Countdown to Lockdown”, a reported $100,000, to charity reports The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The two specific charities are RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) and Childfund International. Foley is also working once a week on the phones as a RAINN hotline volunteer.
-’tis an admirable move, Mr. Foley
Matt Hardy issued the following statement on his official Twitter page this weekend:
“In the next 6 months, I’m restarting OMEGA & also opening up an OMEGA wrestling developmental school. Excited about both-its gonna be great!”
OMEGA was the promotion that Hardy started and ran along with his brother Jeff. Friends and wrestling stars like Hurricane Helms and Shannon Moore also competed in the promotion as well.
-you can’t see, but I’m rolling my eyes right now
According to a report by The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Kurt Angle has been discussing more lately about doing only about another year of active wrestling and then moving into acting. Angle recently agreed to terms with TNA on working another year with the company. This is believed to be both Angle and TNA agreeing to an option year because his original deal with the company was a three year contract that ended in late 2009 with two one year options.
-In other words, he WON’T be retiring at Bound for Glory
Merchandise sales for Nexus have been described as poor. WWE reportedly expected the “N” Nexus merchandise to be a big “anti-hero” deal and it didn’t move nearly as much as expected.
-I’m wondering how long it will take for Cena specific Nexus garments
According to reports in the wrestling media, Ring of Honor has decided to cut back on using some talent for both live events and TV tapings for HDNet. Several wrestlers like Necro Butcher and Austin Aries aren’t scheduled to be used for a while.
-Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb. It didn’t work for ECW, it won’t work for ROH. Using cheaper local talent also means a decreased work rate and fan base
Edge has been officially moved to the Smackdown brand as announced by the anonymous Raw GM earlier tonight in Wichita, Kansas.
-and RAW gets in return?
The updated lineup for WWE’s upcoming Raw house show this Friday (October 8) in Anaheim, CA is listing current Smackdown star CM Punk against R-Truth, seeming to hint that Punk could be the Smackdown star traded to Raw in exchange for Edge. WWE could possibly confirm the trade at tonight’s Smackdown tapings in Topeka, KS.
-OH! Good trade!!
Jamie Keyes was the first Diva rookie eliminated from WWE NXT earlier tonight.
-who?
According to a report by Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the storyline of Michael Tarver being dropped from Nexus on Monday Night Raw was due to a groin injury that will keep him out of action for a while.
-ugh, this sucks. Tarver was really shining lately
Michael Cole was pulled off announcing WWE Superstars this week and his replacement is Scott Stanford. According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Standford was recently hired by WWE and does weekend sports for an NBC affiliate in New York.
-Well, he can’t be worse than Adamle…
The current plan is for David Hart Smith to turn heel, with Tyson Kid and Natalya remaining on the babyface side.
-hmm, not sure how I feel about this. I’m one of the few David Hart supporters that exist in the wrestling media, but I’m undecided on the potential of a heel run right now
Syfy is currently paying around $600,000 per week to have WWE Smackdown on the network and the belief is that they were expecting at least a 2.0 rating or higher for that kind of money. While the debut show last week may have underperformed with a 1.7 rating, adding Smackdown to the network will add roughly 0.06 to Syfy’s weekly primetime ratings average and will easily be one of the highest rated shows on the network every week.
-so, let me do some quick math here. $600,000 a week, times 52 weeks = $31.2 million a year. That’s a hefty investment
For the September 23 edition of TNA Impact (which did a 1.0 rating with 1.3 million viewers), if you factor in those who tape or DVR the show and watch it later, the total viewership increases by 11%. This would also mark a 24% increase in Spike’s key male demographics as well.
-basically, TNA is doing ok in the ratings at the moment
According to Jason Powell of Prowrestling.net, former long-time WWE talent and employee Bruce Prichard has now joined TNA’s production staff. Prichard was involved with a TNA meeting held earlier today in Orlando in preparation for tonight’s live Impact on Spike. He was released by WWE in December 2008 and had been off and on with the company for nearly 22 years.
-interesting, very interesting
Ratings
RAW 10/4 – 3.33 ↑
iMpact 9/30– 1.2 ↑
NXT 9/28 – 0.73 ↓
Superstars 9/23 – 0.68 ↓
Smackdown 10/1 – 1.74 ↓
WWE Stock Report
Week Ending Oct. 1 2010
Open: 13.90 ↓
High: 13.98 ↓
Low: 13.65 ↑
Close: 13.97 ↑
Volume: 859,980 ↓
Quick Results
RAW Oct. 4
-Mark Henry & Evan Bourne def. John Cena & Michael Tarver
-Natalya def. Alicia Fox
-U.S. Champion Daniel Bryan def. Sheamus by Disqualification
-The Bella Twins def. “Co-Unified Divas Champions” Lay-Cool
-Wade Barrett won a 20-Man Battle Royal
Superstars Sept. 16th
-The Bella Twins def. Jillian & Alicia Fox
-Kofi Kingston def. Jack Swagger by Disqualification
Smackdown Oct. 1
-MVP vs. Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler (No Contest)
-Natalya, Kelly Kelly & The Bella Twins def. Unified Divas Champion Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse & -Alicia Fox (Eight-Diva Tag Team Match)
-The Nexus def. Big Show (5-on-1 Handicap Match)
-The Undertaker def. CM Punk
-WWE Champion Randy Orton def. WWE Tag Team Champion “Dashing” Cody Rhodes
-John Cena vs. World Heavyweight Champion Kane Lumberjack Match ended in a No Contest
Final Thoughts
-Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words
-More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes
-Only female mosquitoes bite
-In the United States, a pound of potato chips cost two hundred times more than a pound of potatoes
-The symbol on the “pound” key (#) is called an octothorpe
So ‘that’s a wrap’…. Love it? Hate it? Disagree with everything I said? Just want to chat wrestling? I’m always up for reading your thoughts so send them ’em on over.
Look for the newest edition to the WrestleView Radio Network: “The Teacher’s Lounge” featuring Anthony Valvo (From the Desk of Mr. V) and myself this Saturday!
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