From the Desk of Mr. V #91
October 14, 2010
By: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com
Introduction
(From: Ricky Langston)
From Fantasy Football to giant Cheeseburgers to The classroom..Mr.V will instruct and educate you on Everything you need to know…now sit down and listen..or end up in detention….Heeeeeeeeeeeereeeeees Toooonnnnyyyyy.
(From: Scottie Poindexter)
Hailing from the City of Champions, the residential mind behind the Steel Curtain, the sensation of the Wrestleview nation, everyone’s favorite teacher, Mr. V. He stands before you in the squared circle to instruct and educate you on the highs and lows of professional wrestling. Now, it’s time to give your undivided attention to the illustrious Pittsburghian, Mr. V!
Thanks Scottie and Ricky. Much appreciated.
Welcome to the latest edition of “From the Desk of Mr. V”. I am Anthony “Mr. V” Valvo, your WrestleView resident teacher with the same material as last time, but different names, matches, and articles.
In this week’s lecture, I will review some good and bad moments from TNA’s Bound for Glory and go over what in the world is going on with the commentary teams in the WWE.
So sit back and grab some iced coffee. Relax as you read the 91st Installment of “From the Desk of Mr. V”.
Countdown to Mr. V #100…63 Days! (I have some ideas for #100. If I get the ok, I think it will benefit all my readers.)
Quote of the Week
This is to those who will soon become a 30 year old individual. I once was a bit depressed with the fact that I am now at that age, but I got literally 100 people who sent me either a Facebook message or an e-mail to wish me a Happy Birthday. So, instead of moping about it, I accepted the role of being a little bit older and hopefully a bit wiser. If I did not thank you for the birthday wishes, I will now.
Thank You.
And now some quotes for the 30-Year-Old
“Everything I know I learned after I was thirty.” – Georges Clemenceau
“At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment.” – Benjamin Franklin
So, overall based on these quotes I will be a man full of wit and that I will learn everything. Let’s the thoughts begin!
Teacher’s Lecture
1) The Very Rare “Mr. V Pay-Per-View Review”
This edition will be TNA’s Bound for Glory, which took place this past Sunday (October 10th). I usually don’t watch PPVs because I would rather save my money than waste 30-45 dollars on a show that I am rolling the dice when it comes to entertainment. However, my friends did stop buy and wanted to enjoy this show so we split the costs (which really helps) and I purchased what I hoped would be a good show.
In case my loyal students wanted to know, the other PPVs that I have purchased were:
WWE’s Elimination Chamber
WrestleMania XXVI
TNA’s Destination X
ROH’s The Big Bang
ROH’s Glory by Honor IX
TNA’s Bound for Glory
Wow, this was my sixth PPV purchase? Ok, so I may have went overboard in 2010. The only PPV that I will probably look into after this will be ROH’s Final Battle 2010 (which I highly recommend, I even helped in getting Adam Martin interested along with David Stephens). But this is about the TNA PPV, so enough stalling.
I graded the show very differently. I decided to break it down in five categories (and I think I will do this with the rest of the shows I watch). I will also provide brief thoughts on each match. The categories were…
1) Entertaining – Was the match entertaining? Did I feel like it was money well spent?
2) Traditional – Was the match traditional, which is my personal favorite.
3) Wrestling Style – Did it meet the styles? If they were high-flyers, did they do enough? If they were submission specialists, did they apply holds? I think my students get the picture
4) Selling – Did they sell the moves well? Sometimes, I feel that it is a lost trait.
5) Crowd Reaction – It may have impressed me, but was the crowd into the match at hand. Usually, if the audience is fired up so is the action inside the ring.
Ok, let’s begin the review
Match #1: The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) def. Generation Me (Max Buck and Jeremy Buck) to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
Finish: The Machine Guns ended this high-octane match with the Skull-and-Bones finisher. Shelly won the match for The Guns via pinfall.
Was it entertaining? I think TNA opened up the show very well. Though there were high spots, I was definitely entertained by their efforts.
Was it traditional? When both teams are flying everywhere and getting the crowd fired up, sometimes a traditional style had to be sacrificed.
Did it match their wrestling styles? Both teams are light and high-flying. So when one watched it, I think it totally met their styles very well.
Did they sell? At the start, I noticed Shelley selling a shoulder and neck (GenMe did “take him out” weeks ago). Other than that, I did not notice any at all.
Was the crowd into the match? For the most part, I thought the crowd was revved up. For the most part, the crowd was in full support of what was going on.
Grade: B-
My thoughts: Yes, it was spotty. But it’s their wrestling style that was truly a treat to watch. It looked like they were literally kicking and killing each other, as I don’t think I saw one move that was inefficient. The Guns were near perfection, while Generation Me proved that they too can hang with some of the best tag teams TNA has to offer. It was very entertaining and a nice way to start the show.
Match #2: Tara def. Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, and Madison Rayne in a Four Corners Match to become the NEW TNA Knockouts Championship. Mickie James was the guest referee.
Finish: Sky almost got the victory, but Tara rolled up Sky (and grabbed the tights) to win the TNA Knockouts Championship.
Was it entertaining? I thought it was somewhat entertaining. All of them did a decent job grabbing the attention of the crowd.
Was it traditional? I thought it was kind of tradition, it was better than 90% of the women’s wrestling matches I have watched at least.
Did it match their wrestling styles? For the time allotted in this match, I thought it did a nice job matching their styles in the ring.
Did they sell? I think at the start it was alright, but near the end they lost that element.
Was the crowd into the match? It is very hard for the crowd to get into a women’s wrestling match on a PPV card. However, all of those involved did their very best.
Grade: C
Thoughts: This was one of the best women’s matches I have seen in 2010. The one knockout that really impressed me was Velvet Sky. It was nice to see her execute her moves very well and she was probably the best selling in this title match. For only a six minute match, each knockout told a story and it made for a very solid early-card contest.
Match #3: Ink Inc. (Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore) def. Orlando Jordan and Eric Young.
Finish: Your guess is as good as mine. I think Moore hit the Moore-gasm on Jordan to won by pinfall.
Was it entertaining? I did not find any of this entertaining.
Was it traditional? Nope, it was pretty much very goofy.
Did it match their wrestling styles? It matched Ink Inc.’s somewhat. Not so much everywhere else.
Did they sell? I think all involved tried their best to sell the offense.
Was the crowd into this match? Only for Eric Young. I don’t think the crowd gave a care about the others in this match.
Grade: D
Thoughts: I was very distracted throughout because of the gimmick Eric Young had. The match really only had one star, and it was obvious. This was just a big mess, but should have not taken place on PPV.
Match #4: Jay Lethal def. Douglas Williams to retain the TNA X Division Championship.
Ending: Instantly after Williams hit a top rope hurricanranna, Lethal rolled up Williams for the pinfall victory.
Was it entertaining? Yes! This had a good flow that was very entertaining in my eyes.
Was it traditional? I think what would surprise most is that despite this being an X Division match; it was very traditional for what it was worth.
Did it match their styles? It met Williams submission style along with technical work from start to end. It met Lethal’s styles as well. It was a perfect blend of technical wrestling vs. “X-Style” wrestling.
Did they sell? Lethal sold well until he rolled from a top rope hurricanranna. I am not going to be strict with that grading. Williams was solid in this category as well.
Was the crowd into the match? I think the crowd was really pumped from the start of the match until Lethal went into the crowd. It fell flat when Shore (why?) entered the ring and took out Lethal.
Grade: B
Thoughts: This match may have been one of the best when it came down to the criteria that I used to “grade” these matches. It obviously had the technical work to go along with the ideas that kept it a solid X Division Match. It was different, but I was pleased with the result. The X Division Title should mean everything to Lethal, as he represents the division well (or what is left of it). Had Williams won this match, it would had been a little disappointing. Shore running into Lethal’s moment was one of the worst booked things I have ever seen.
Match #5: Rob Van Dam defeated Abyss in a Monster’s Ball Match.
Finish: RVD finished off Abyss with a Five-Star Frog Splash.
Was it entertaining? I found this to be entertaining. There many “holy crap” moments (especially when Rob Van Dam landed on the barbed wire board on the back of his head).
Was it traditional? If you like traditional hardcore matches, then it was somewhat good for that genre.
Did it match their styles? I think it did. It matched Abyss’ brawling and hardcore styles with Van Dam’s high-risk, but controlled style.
Did they sell? I think for the most part that when hit with a weapon they sold it as well as they could.
Was the crowd into the match? I thought they were at the start, then it wore down later.
Grade: B-
Thoughts: It was a very low-impact Monster’s Ball. There was a ton of hardcore brawling by Abyss, and that was his specialty. Van Dam meshed very well, and I was surprised to see him at this level once again. I was entertained with this match, the styles worked, there was not too much unnecessary blood, and the crowd appeared to enjoy it.
Match #6: Kevin Nash, Sting, and D’Angelo Dinero def. Samoa Joe and Jeff Jarrett in a 3-on-2 Handicap Match.
Finish: After Jarrett’s heel turn, Joe was attacked by Nash, Sting, and Dinero. Nash ended it with a Jackknife Powerbomb on Joe for the pinfall victory.
Was it entertaining? Maybe for some, but I was actually kind of bored with this match.
Was it traditional? I think so, because I did not notice any attacks outside the ring.
Did it match their styles? Look, Joe and Dinero had to slow it down greatly. I think they did pretty well trying to mesh with their styles.
Did they sell? I think for the most part this element was adequate.
Was the crowd into the match? At times they were, however I expected a bigger reaction when Jarrett left Joe to dry.
Grade: C-
Thoughts: The only saving grace in this match was Joe’s improvement and intensity, even more so after Jarrett turned on him. Joe demonstrated great power and technique. Sting sold a bit of offense, Pope was pretty inconsistent (had to stop his corkscrew corner elbow drop and did it again), and Nash I thought delivered a perfect Jackknife Powerbomb. Jarrett leaving was pretty obvious when one saw what was going on in the ring.
Match #7: EV 2.0 (Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Rhino, Raven, and Stevie Richards) def. Fourtune (AJ Styles, Matt Morgan, Kazarian, Robert Roode, and James Storm) in a Lethal Lockdown Match.
Finish: Tommy Dreamer finished off AJ Styles with a top rope Dreamer Driver onto a chair. Dreamer pinned Styles for the win.
Was it entertaining? Absolutely! All of them demonstrated some great brawling and the bloodshed added a great element to this story.
Was it traditional? Only if you like a hardcore traditional style. As Taz said “Don’t expect armbars and headlocks”.
Did it match their styles? I think it met all of their styles. And those that don’t specialize in hardcore wrestling really adapted nicely.
Did they sell? At times, they sold very well. One that I thought sold well was Stevie Richards (who may have been the only member in EV 2.0 to appear in great shape). Fourtune did a decent job as well.
Was the crowd into the match? From my reaction, they appeared very spirited. Probably the most spirited since the opening match.
Grade: B- (leaned toward a B)
Thoughts: There was lots of bloodshed, and that needed to be done because their feud was so intense since the summer. I felt the passion from all involved, but Raven at times could have shown at times that he wanted to be there. I was not surprised to see Kendrick interfere in someway (he was kind of permitted to join EV 2.0 from Dreamer). In the end, I really hoped that Fourtune went over. EV 2.0 did not need to win, as I was hoping it would be that true farewell for that faction. Maybe it is me, but I thought that Fourtune is the future of this company (or I hoped so). They should have won on TNA’s Biggest PPV event.
Match #8: Jeff Hardy def. Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson to become the NEW TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
The ending: Jeff Hardy clobbered Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson with Hogan’s crutches and pinned Anderson to earn his first TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy turned heel in the process.
Was it entertaining? I thought it was until the end of the show when it was so obvious that I considered calling TNA or Comcast for a partial refund.
Was it traditional? For a 3-Way, it kind of was. However, it was too fast paced in the middle of the match.
Did it match their styles? I thought at times it did match their styles, but again this match felt was too spotty for at least Anderson and Angle.
Did they sell? I think the only time someone sold something was when Angle and Anderson took each other out right after the referee went down.
Was the crowd into the match? I really don’t think they were into it until Hogan hobbled into the ring.
Grade: D (would have probably been a C if not for the ending to this).
Thoughts: I had to watch this a second time because honestly, this finish was not the best way to finish off your best PPV. Had this “them swerve and Jeff Hardy turn” happened at Victory Road or Genesis, I would have not complained too much. But TNA? This is your WrestleMania. And this has been done so many times it has become a cliché. I know it has happened in the WWE (and I have chatted with a few of my readers on this), but for TNA to take this risk was very high. Honestly, it may give them another one week boost in the ratings, but I doubt that.
This was the worst possible way to end Bound for Glory. There was not much of a story in the match until we found out who “they” are. I think the crowd was at times dead, and that can’t be accepted in your main event. I thought Angle wrestled with some immense pain, and Jeff Hardy was not much of a factor until he turned. However, I thought it was a good idea for Jeff Hardy to turn heel, but not in this setting on this PPV. Also, he will soon (maybe, maybe not) go to trial for his drug charges from a year ago. If I am running a pro wrestling company, would I put a title on someone who has a pending trial? Heck No!
I am sorry that I was not brief in this thought, and if I get a nasty e-mail then I will have to take it (haha). But it is things like this that makes me happy to follow ROH a bit more each week. My apologies for the negativity, but I agree with Doug Lackey when it comes to a right to complain if one purchases the PPV (aka I did not use a stream). I paid for this PPV, so I think I have every right to be a bit upset with the marquee match on this card.
TNA, you did well with this PPV…until the booking once again destroyed this for me. Hey, at least my friends and I only wasted a fraction of the PPV cost.
Other PPV Notes
Team 3D announced their retirement, but want to fight the Best Tag Team in pro wrestling one more time. Expect an upcoming match between 3D and The Motor City Machine Guns
“They” were Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, and Jeff Hardy. Though I picked it to be James Mitchell, it did not surprise me that Eric and Hogan centered themselves around another pro wrestling company. I just pray that TNA does not ultimately fail for this, but Dixie Carter seriously needs to re-evaluate her decisions.
Overall Grade for TNA’s Bound for Glory: 2.05. If you follow the Grade Point Average System, it was a C.
Best Match on the PPV: Jay Lethal vs. Douglas Williams
That wraps up my thoughts on Bound for Glory. My comments do not represent all on WrestleView, but I think they will respect my thoughts. I hope my students do as well.
2) What is going on with the Commentary in WWE?
So, when I started working for WrestleView in 2009, the announce teams were as followed:
Raw: Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler
ECW: Todd Grisham and Matt Striker
Superstars: Did not happen yet
Smackdown: Jim Ross and Taz
Now, let’s see what has happened since
The Raw team held strong.
ECW folded with Josh Mathews and Byron Saxton as formidable commentators. When NXT formed Mathews was retained, Cole took over announcing duties for the show, and Saxton went back down to FCW (last I checked, Saxton is doing a great job in FCW)
Smackdown lost Jim Ross (Bell’s Palsy, hope JR gets well) and Taz (who “crossed the line” with TNA). When Taz left, Grisham took over and Striker followed suit when JR could not announce. Now earlier this month, they added Michael Cole in this role as well and we have a three-man announce team.
Superstars still has Lawler, Grisham, and Striker. However, Cole was taken off of Superstars and they added Scott Stanford (who actually did some WWE work in the past and currently does sports for New York).
Now, this little WrestleView nugget got me pondering and I have a thought. Let’s see the news article.
“The addition of Michael Cole to the Smackdown announce team is a result of Vince McMahon’s current unhappiness with Todd Grisham. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter added that McMahon cut one of his “famous Vince promos on an announcer” backstage in front of a lot of people and put Cole on the debut episode of Smackdown on Syfy saying it was an important show and he wasn’t getting the job done. The impression many got was that halfway through the show McMahon became unhappy with Grisham’s commentary and sent Cole out to join them. Cole was again on commentary this week and it is expected to remain a three man team until further notice.” (WrestleView via Wrestling Observer)
My first thought is that I absolutely, 100% feel sorry for Grisham. He has improved leaps and bounds working with Jim Ross and now I honestly feels that the poor guy is being bullied and harassed on television by two guys who pick on him as well as the action at times in the ring. I have no problem with Striker doing this because he was in fact a wrestler for this company. Cole on the other hand? I don’t know. Maybe as I am typing this, Vince McMahon is counting his millions and saying “I got Mr. V where I want him!”. But I think Cole is trying to do his best to just save his own face with the company.
So Grisham did not get “the job done”. I am sorry, but Cole did “not get the job done” for over ten years and now Grisham has to suffer? Give me a f**king break!
However, I still think that Grisham still has the potential to be a great announcer. It is not his fault that Matt Striker talks about 85% of Smackdown while Grisham has limited time to announce a move to build up a match.
Maybe I am a bit over my head. Maybe I should not type this out. But when it comes to play-by-play commentary on any of Vince McMahon’s shows…
…Vince LOVES @$$holes!
Cole is an @$$hole. Striker can, at times, be an @$$hole. Who else wants to be an @$$hole? I just hope that Grisham does not stoop to Cole’s level of announcing. I completely support Grisham and Cole’s replacement on Superstars, Scott Stanford.
I watched Superstars and I have to admit, Stanford was not bad on his debut appearance for the show. It was obvious that he read his notes, but Superstars is a good way to start because many viewers are watching the show.
So, there are my thoughts with the latest on WWE’s Commentary Teams. Just keep it simple, such as my proposal. Vince McMahon, are you reading this? I hope so. I doubt it though. But if anyone wants to show him, here is an idea that will not over saturate us of Michael Cole.
RAW – Michael Cole and Josh Mathews. They are perfect on NXT. Cole does not have to be on every show, so limit his work schedule and have him work with Mathews, who is a great bumper to Cole’s antics. Lawler looks lost anyone on Raw and has not been the same since he could not use “puppies” anymore.
NXT – Byron Saxton and Abraham Washington. If you haven’t listened to them on FCW, you must. If they want to treat NXT like a comedy, then add Washington on color and Saxton can do the play-by-play. I think in all honestly they know more about each wrestler that comes out of FCW and on NXT than anyone.
Smackdown – Todd Grisham and Matt Striker. Keep them on Smackdown. They worked so well on ECW together, and I don’t see a problem with them at all. Keep it simple.
Superstars – Scott Stanford and Jerry Lawler. I just can’t let Lawler go, but when I saw them work together last week I found the team to be very engaging. Stanford did look a bit off his element, but overall he did a great job telling a story about the action in the ring (which is a lost cause). Lawler helped him out along the way and dare I say a good coach to Stanford.
There you have it. I think this would work wonders for those that actually listen to the commentary. I believe that one of the hardest jobs in the WWE is to be a commentator. You have to engage the audience with the action that goes on inside a wrestling ring. Some do it better than others (i.e. Bobby Heenan, Jesse Ventura, and Jim Ross), but the main goal should be “keep the audience interested”.
Detentions
There will be a few detentions this week. Hope you are ready.
Mr. V’s WrestleView Fantasy Football Team – Now 0-5. I have been playing Fantasy Football since 1999 and this is the first time I ever went 0-5. The good news? Ben Roethlisberger will begin the season Sunday…against the Cleveland Browns.
Shore from TNA – It’s not a knock on the real life people portraying this, but to TNA booking. How many people did you see actually respond to their debut. Way to kill a live crowd.
TNA Wrestling – Though I found some good points in the Bound for Glory show, I was very disappointed in the last half hour of the card (see Lecture). Also, their Live Show on Thursday had a good first half, but a lousy second half. As Josh Boutwell said, not a good go-home show.
Michael Cole – I think now he is taking his “annoyingly great heel” role a bit too far. So far that I think he is a lowlight on NXT since the move to WWE.com
Jeff Jarrett – In 2006, I enjoyed TNA. As the founder, you have responsibility to make the product enjoyable for all. But what I saw was not “deception”, but “desperation”. Please, don’t take this the wrong way but please let WCW rest in peace.
Alicia Fox – Though you beat Naomi on NXT Tuesday (10/12), Naomi ran circles around you.
Orlando Jordan and Eric Young – Why were they on a PPV and not guys such as Amazing Red, Desmond Wolfe (hope he is not in bad graces in TNA), or even Magnus? I feel bad for Eric Young having to be in this gimmick and storyline. Remember when he was relevant in World Elite?
Edge – For Spearing the Swagger Soaring Eagle. I was crying from the inside when Edge “flipped the bird”.
Just look at its innocence…
The Eternal Detention Rundown
Praxis and the ETS Series
Teachers that get arrested
Ryan Clark
The Bee and Wasp family
Bubba The Love Sponge
The Pittsburgh Pirates Front Office
“Undefined” Alicia Fox
Quizno’s
5-Hour Energy
Matt Hardy (yes, even YOU “Matthew”!)
Mr. V’s Weekly Honor Roll for the week of October 4, 2010 – October 10, 2010
10/04 – Graded WWE Monday Night Raw Matches
10/05 – Graded WWE NXT Matches
10/06 – Column Writing. After that, I watched ROH on YouTube and recap the show.
10/07 – Graded WWE Superstars and TNA Impact Matches.
10/08 – Graded Smackdown Matches
10/09 – OFF DAY
10/10 – OFF DAY
Is this possible? After weeks of mediocrity, I felt that I was treated to six matches that were “B” worthy. Remember, it is very tough to get an “A” in this grade book. However if my readers watched all the wrestling programs out there this past week, you may have seen a highlight or two. It was a shame that three high quality matches (See the B- section in my book) could not make the cut this week, but their efforts were still rewarded. It was tough, but here is my top three for this week.
Distinguished Honors – Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair, TNA Impact, October 7.
How it ended – The match ended with Ric Flair hitting a top rope (yes, you are reading this correctly) splash onto Mick Foley on a table. Both wrestlers were wobbly and trying to stand up before the ten count in this Last Man Standing Match. It ended when Ric Flair ran out of energy, face flopped into the tacks, and Mick Foley able to stand straight. Foley won this match in a very surprisingly good contest.
Grade: B+ (leaned toward a B)
Why it was distinguished honors-worthy? Why not? It was live and they had very little room for error. In wrestling, even I would like to be surprised (see Masters vs. Archer in my Grade Book). However, this match took the cake. This honestly was years in the making, despite the fact that when you combine their ages they were over 100. It was sad to watch the carnage (tons of blood, would not suggest if you have a weak stomach), but I have to admit. I was highly entertained and I kept my eyes glued to this match. I was impressed to see despite of age, Flair was able to adapt to this hardcore style with Foley. The match actually did tell a story, but I honestly thought this should have been a good PPV match. With a match like this, it is possibly a shame that young wrestlers don’t have this desire to entertain the fans anymore. Though it was sad to see two guys of this caliber wrestle like this, I was impressed that they put their best feet forward in what may be my most unlikely Distinguished Honors match.
Distinguished Honors – Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio, Friday Night Smackdown, October 8.
How it ended – After Rey Mysterio took out Alberto Del Rio’s ring announcer, Mysterio connected with a 619 to his rival. Mysterio then went up top and finished Del Rio off with a corner splash for the pinfall victory.
Grade: B+ (leaned toward a B)
Why it was high honors-worthy? Well, I think before the commercial break, I thought Mysterio was in total control. Del Rio bumped well and told a good story in the ring when in control. Mysterio’s style is mainly high flying, and it paid off when he landed on Del Rio. Del Rio has this blend in which he can adapt to Mysterio’s style. Del Rio started his segment with a terrific top rope enzugiri. Del Rio went right at the arm and he showed that he actually wanted to re-injure Mysterio again. The match was solid and very fluent. The ending was very good as well, even though it may have just slightly hurt Del Rio’s stock. Still, no matter who won this match it was a very well-executed and impressive. This was a strong main event that the fans saw on Syfy (in the U.S. at least).
Honors – Davey Richards vs. El Generico, ROH on HDNet, October 4.
How it ended – Davey Richards rolled through an offensive move by El Generico and turned it into an Ankle Lock. Generico tried to break free, but Richards re-applied the Ankle Lock hold. Richards, noticing that Generico won’t tap out to that hold, turned it into a Cloverleaf. Generico looked around, and knowing that the ropes were not close he decided to tap out.
Grade: B.
Why it was honors-worthy? I did not get why the fans booed this match. Both wrestlers were very good when they wrestled hold for hold to start. What I saw in the first ten minutes of the match were two highly talented wrestlers who used their styles to excellence. Richards was about wearing Generico down with holds and various leg strikes. Generico held his own with his quickness and his high-flying attacks. The ending of the match was very fast. It was spotty, but it was intense and matched their styles with the story in the ring. With Edwards victory, the result in this match proved that The American Wolves (Richards and Edwards) can win without their manager (Shane Hagadorn) whom they are having a heated argument with. The match did flow well, but was a bit spotty and lacked a bit of selling in the end.
Mr. V’s Grade Book for the past week
A+, A, or A-: None to Report.
B+: Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair (TNA) and Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio (Smackdown).
B: Davey Richards vs. El Generico (ROH).
B-: Eddie Edwards vs. Kenny King (ROH); Chris Masters vs. Vance Archer (Superstars); and Dolph Ziggler vs. MVP (Smackdown).
C+: Evan Bourne and Mark Henry vs. John Cena and Michael Tarver (Raw); The 20-Man Battle Royal won by Wade Barrett (Raw); Jimmy and Jey Uso vs. David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd (Superstars); and Edge vs. Jack Swagger (Smackdown).
C: William Regal vs. Darren Young (Superstars) and Velvet Sky and Angelina Love vs. Madison Rayne and Tara (TNA).
C-: Tyler Black vs. Mike Sydal (ROH); Kaitlyn vs. Vickie Guerrero (NXT); The $100,000 Gauntlet Battle Royal won by Kurt Angle (TNA); and Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre vs. Kaval and Kofi Kingston (Smackdown).
D+, D, or D-: Natalya vs. Alicia Fox (Raw); Aksana vs. Maxine (NXT); Orlando Jordan and Eric Young vs. Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore (TNA); and Layla vs. Kelly Kelly (Smackdown).
F or INC: Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus (Raw) and Nikki and Brie Bella vs. Michelle McCool and Layla (Raw).
Current Predictions from the Faculty Standings
2010-2011 Season (TNA’s Bound for Glory 2010)
1) Josh Boutwell (Viva La Raza and TNA Recapper)……………….77-44 (4-4)
2) David Stephens (That’s a Wrap and RAW Recapper)………….76-45 (3-5)
3) Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings)……………………………………71-50 (4-4)
4) Students of the Week (The Best from Prev. PPV)………………71-50 (3-5)*
5) Daniel Browne (For Queen and Country)……………………………..69-52 (4-4)
6) WrestleView Students (The Loyal Readers)………………………..69-52 (4-4)
7) Matt O’Brien (Notes From The Nosebleeds)…………………………68-53 (2-6)
8) Anthony Valvo (From the Desk of Mr. V/ROH Recaps)……….68-53 (4-4)
9) Jeff Springer (WWE Superstars Recapper)……………………………61-41 (5-3)
10) Mike Tedesco (Smackdown and NXT Recapper)…………………53-37 (NR)
11) Doug Lackey (Reality From Ringside)…………………………………..52-42 (NR)
12) Sean Hurley (The Sharpshooter)………………………………………..28-32 (NR)
13) Joe Baiamonte (Baiamonte’s Casa/2009 WV Champ)………24-20 (NR)
14) Enzo Mendicino (WWE NXT Recapper)…………………………………..3-5 (3-5)
The next PPV will be WWE’s Bragging Rights. We have Three NEW Students of the Week thanks to their 5-3 records at TNA’s Bound for Glory. They are Rocky Jr., Ricky Langston, and Paul Meade.
The three previous Students of the Week could not post a winning record this week. Michael Phillips was close at 4-4. Chad Robbins went 3-5 and Grash (Gregory Walek) went 1-7.
I averaged out the Students of the Week; they had an average of 2.67. So I gave them a 3-5 record.
Among the Faculty, Jeff Springer earned the best record for the TNA Bound for Glory PPV. Mr. Springer got a 5-3 record.
Overall, we had 16 “WV Students” and the average amount of wins was 3.68. Based on estimation I gave the WrestleView Students a 4-4 record.
Past Students of the Week: Evan O’Brien, TJ Patton, Ricky Langston, Craig Alan Cope, Paul Lyons, SUPERSTARZZ, Jeremy Samples, Josh Logan, Eric Marin, David Sumroy, Crystal Mai, Michael Phillips, Sean Martin, Sam Newstone, Brian Czygan, Wade Bradford, Austen Allen, Paul Meade, Frank Contorno, Benjamin Phillips, Chad Robbins, and Gregory “Grash” Walek.
Mr. V’s Gold Star Segment
Gold Stars brought to you by: ColtMerch.com! Take a look at Colt Cabana’s merchandise and you won’t be disappointed
Once again, the Gold Stars are very much in demand. Here are the people that earned the stars this week.
The Texas Rangers – Even though they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, it was very classy to start the celebrations with…Ginger Ale! The reason was because their star player Josh Hamilton is battling past demons. The team wanted to include him in the celebrations and started with Ginger Ale! That is a very classy move by this team. Good Luck against the Yankees.
Bobby Cox – The Atlanta Braves manager finally retired after spending a generation behind the bench for Atlanta. Hard to believe that he was the manager for the Braves in 1992 when the Pirates last had a winning season.
Jeff Springer – He got the best record among the WrestleView Staff at 5-3 for Bound for Glory. One can imagine if he was part of the Faculty all year.
Josh Boutwell – He is once again the Dean of WrestleView. I know Dave Stephens will complain, but the stats are the stats and right now Dean Boutwell is the better man.
Rocky Jr, Ricky Langston, and Paul Meade – Out of over 30 surrounding WrestleView in predicting Bound for Glory, they were the only ones outside of Jeff Springer to have a winning prediction record for Bound for Glory. All three went 5-3 and will be the Students of the Week for Bragging Rights.
Grash, Chad Robbins, and Michael Phillips – You almost accomplished history. However, it must wait another time.
To Everyone that completed the Homework Assignment – Thank You. I will be posting them up later this weekend. I would this week, but I have been working a ton and obviously won’t be at 100% had I done so earlier.
Claudio Castagnoli – He earns one for staying “Very European” and becoming the NEW PWG World Champion.
Colt Cabana – For another entertaining podcast. If you haven’t listened, check out “The Art of Wrestling” on www.welovecolt.com.
Scott Stanford – He did a very adequate job on his debut on Superstars. If this is a full time gig for him, I think he has some potential. Hey, he caught Regis Philbin’s attention! Honestly, it is refreshing not to hear Michael Cole’s voice for a show.
Wade Barrett – Man, and I thought Sheamus was the real deal. Barrett found a way to just ignite a crowd on the mic and his work in the ring has improved.
Naomi – For putting Michael Cole in his place on NXT.
Aksana and Goldust – Congrats on your storyline engagement. I wonder who will ruin their ceremony?
Jeff Hardy – He is your new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Yep…a guy who is still awaiting trail is now the unofficial face of TNA.
Jay Lethal and Douglas Williams – If there was in my opinion “The Best match on the Bound for Glory Card”, this will be it. From start to finish, it was very good.
Tara – The new TNA Knockout’s Champion. Hmmmm…I wonder how long that will last.
Motor City Machineguns – For retaining their Tag Team Championship in a highly entertaining match.
Zack Ryder – Who is immensely better than anything on “Shore” or “Jersey Shore”. To the WWE (I hope you are reading), more Zack Ryder! WOO WOO WOO!!
Jim Cornette – I am a fan of his more and more each day. I listened to his interview on the Wrestleview Radio Network and it was honest. I think Cornette only wants to see a successful product and I think that is what I love about this guy.
The Cornette Face – My one friend did the Cornette Face while watching the PPV last Sunday.
In the words of my one friend “If I was Spike TV, I would try and call Ring of Honor.”
Woodsy Owl – Woodsy returns for another week at Adam Martin’s request
Might as well bring one more out from my childhood…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN46Foe-DHA&feature=related
Oh McGruff the Crime Dog should for a team with CM Punk, huh? That would be epic! Oh my, childhood memories.
That is it with Gold Stars. If I forgot anyone or anything, then I am sorry.
Homework Assignment (The Results will be up within the week)
I decided that sometime this weekend I will post all of your rosters and provide small feedback on each one. We will go over a few of them on The Teacher’s Lounge this week, so if you are a VIP member, don’t miss the latest edition on Saturday.
If you still want to complete the assignment, here it is!
Pretend you are the only wrestling organization in town after buying off all the wrestling companies (yes, even Vince McMahon because he won’t live forever). It may take a bit of homework, but here is the question.
Hire 10-15 wrestlers regardless of where they wrestled at. They must be living.
Hire 2-4 women wrestlers as well.
This is due Friday. Thanks to the dozen that send me a roster. I hope I have them still, as I did not print them by accident. I have the e-mails, but may have deleted the Facebook messages by accident. To those that have and want to resent it, you can do so.
Dismissal
Well, that does it for me this week. I thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed this column as much as I typed it out. If you want to get a hold of me during the week, please e-mail me at mistervwv@hotmail.com, teacherslounge@hotmail.com, or by leaving me a message on Facebook. I do get a lot of e-mails and may not reply in a timely fashion, but I will do my best to give you a quicker reply.
Now, students you are allowed to leave the classroom. Please push in your chairs, line up straight, and exit to the closest door around you. Until next week, you are all……DISMISSED!!!!
Look for Mr. V on Facebook under Anthony J. Valvo in the Pittsburgh Network. I noticed a lot of you “like” my columns and to all those, I thank you for reading.
Mr. V FINALLY has Twitter. Follow me and my boring life at http://twitter.com/TheMisterV.
THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE IS NOW AIRING ON SATURDAYS!
Most recent guest: Former WWE and Current Independent Wrestler Aloisia (aka Isis The Amazon)
Dave was on assignment for this interview. So Jose Marrero and I had a very crisp, polite interview with a women’s wrestler who has gotten a lot of publicity over the past few weeks. Aloisia was a class act and we thank her (if she is reading) for being a part of the show this week. Her indie work, time in the WWE, and her future plans were discussed.
But wait class! There are more guests!!
Already on the archives we interviewed Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings), Matt O’Brien (Notes from the Nosebleeds), Crystal Mai from Diva-Dirt.com, and The YouTube Sensation who had choice words to CM Punk, and ROH Wrestler Colt Cabana! For $4.99, you get all of this along with many other hours of content from the other shows on the WrestleView Radio Network.
David Stephens (That’s A Wrap and Raw recapper) and I have a weekly Internet show only on the WrestleView Radio Network. It does cost a bit of money, but we will do our best to make it worth it. If you want to be a part of the Lounge for our “E-mails” section, you may drop us a line at teacherslounge@hotmail.com. To sign up, click here.