From the Desk of Mr. V #100
December 16, 2010
By: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com
Gregory “Grash” Walek provided a special logo to the column. If it is posted, then great. If not, send me an e-mail and I will show it to you.
Jamel Watson provided the music for the start and finish.
Prelude: “From the Heart of Mr. V”
Before I start this introduction, I have a little story that I would like to share.
When I was a small child in St. Clare of Assisi School in Clairton, PA they had this one tradition. No, it was not “Who can get the most detentions in a school year”, but it was one that I wanted to be a part of since the day I started at that school back in the 80s.
It was that one day out of the school year, the eighth grade students actually got to teach one day of classes. I am not kidding! The teachers handed (and trusted) the students with their lesson plans and the eighth grade students taught the lessons, helped with assignments, and assigned the homework. It was one of the perks of being the oldest and wisest boys and girls in the class.
I wanted to experience it so bad when I was growing up, but instead that was not meant to be because we then moved to Hopewell Township, PA in 1993 when I passed the sixth grade.
As I pondered what I was going to do for Mr. V #100, I thought of those days when I was just a small child. I wanted to stand in front of the audience and be the main lead. I remembered that without students, the teachers would be out of a job. It hit me.
If I did not have the readers that I have now, I probably would have lacked the passion to make it this far. Don’t get me wrong, I love typing this column every week. But the support I get every week from the readers and the supportive staff of WrestleView make it worth it each week. So this column is for the WrestleView Readers. To all my readers, I want to thank you (and this won’t be the last time I do so). It is time that after 99 straight columns (with NO breaks despite a few trips away from the desk), we all see what some students learned since the classroom opened up in February of 2009.
I picked out some of Mr. V’s finest students of the classroom and they were allowed to provide the Introduction, Quote of the Week, The Teacher’s Lecture, Detentions, and Gold Stars. I took care of The Honor Roll, Standings of the Columnists, Assignment, and Dismissal.
So, I got the students responses and they are very good. A+ to those who participated. Now, enjoy the 100th Column of “From the Desk of Mr. V”.
Introduction
The first introduction is from Rocky Dominguez, who originated the Introduction portion of this column.
Ladies and gentlemen introducing the man who’s wrestling knowledge could make Einstein look like a fool the man who’s opinions and thoughts on the world of wrestling are the reason we all choose to come back to school today he’s scoring an ace putting up column 100 the man the legend the king of this place, Anthony J. Valvo!
(Thank you so much, Rocky. Great to see this introduction in my 100th.)
The next introduction comes from WrestleView Smackdown Recapper Mike Tedesco, whose favorite ROH wrestler is Colt Cabana.
It is my honor to introduce to you the man who is, for my money, the best wrestling columnist in the IWC. If you know of a better columnist then please e-mail me so I can kill him and Mr. V can be the best. Ladies and gentlemen, for the 100th time, ANTHONY J. VALVO – MRRRRRRRR. V!
Congrats on getting so far my friend!
(Thanks Mike. Always a fan of your work and so sad that Goose Mahoney is no longer in the WWE still.)
Quote of the Week
The first quote comes from Jamel Watson.
I found this quote on someone’s Facebook status and thought it would be appropriate for the 100th column…
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” Congrats on all the hard work. (Thank you for the congrats, Mr. Watson.)
The next quote comes from Lester Junior.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
And finally, the last quote comes from Ricky Langston.
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
BONUS: CLASSROOM RULES!
I have not done these in a while, but I found out that Wade Bradford worked on some rules and presented them to me in time for the 100th column. Some may be amendments from previous Mr. V rules, but still these rules should be followed at all times. PAY ATTENTION!!!!
Ok, Mr. Bradford the class is quiet. Your rules please.
1) Showing your emotions is more effective if you rarely do it, and it’s meaningless if you blubber like a little girl every time you talk on the mic. Yes, I’m talking to you, Tommy Dreamer. It’s gotten to the point where every time he picks up the mic you expect him to eventually start crying. Not everything you talk about has to have such passion and gravity to it until you break down about the business you’re in. Get good and angry every once in awhile. It’s healthy, and for you it’d be a nice change of pace.
2) Stop paying any attention at all to Matt Hardy on the Internet. Maybe if we all ignore him and his growing Muffin Top of DOOM he’ll just go away. Then again, that’s just wishful thinking. Even if he got zero hits on the Internet every time a thought popped into his head he’d still be posting rants just to hear himself talk. Now I hear he’s got his brother Jeff in on a couple. Well, if the Emo Brothers want to tag team against the world via the web I guess the only thing we can all ask is that Jeff keeps his God-awful title belt (as someone on the internet once called it “Batgirl’s utility belt”) away from the camera. The less we see of that thing the better. (Wade, you are right on with this. For now on, I will call Matt Hardy “The Chiquita Grape Man”.)
3) WWE should stop trying to have a third brand. First it was ECW, then NXT. Both of which no one cares about. The interest of the average wrestling fan can only be stretched so much until we stop caring. As it is, we have all the talent on Raw and Smackdown to follow, and with Superstars (which I’m not counting in this) that takes up a lot of TV time during the week. Now you’re expecting us to try and get emotionally invested in a third roster of wrestlers. It’s too much. NXT’s almost dead, but now I hear they’re bringing back Tough Enough. Stop it, WWE. How about laying off your ambitions of spreading your product thin across all seven days of the week and concentrate on making your two flagship brands better. For all our sakes.
4) Announcers should take it down a couple notches. This, without a doubt, has been the year of the whiny, bickering announcer, and it’s almost ruining the product. From Mike Tenay on Impact ignoring the show to interrogate Taz over and over about things none of us, including Taz, even knew about, to Michael Cole being on both Raw and Smackdown, causing fans all over the world to have a hair-trigger on their remote with his annoyance factor going through the roof. It’s supposed to mainly be about what’s going on in the ring. The announcer’s role is that of a subtle voice, but on each show we’re forced to try to pay attention to what we’re watching as hard as we can instead of the verbal diarrhea that’s spewing into our ears. Everybody calm down. The voices of wrestling need to know when to shut the heck up.
5) If you, as a fan, truly hate something in wrestling and want it to go away, don’t say how much you hate it, meet it with total indifference. This is why Michael Cole is on both Raw and Smackdown. He’s become so hated and is getting so much of a reaction from fans that Vince is now shoving him in your face as much as possible. In the business of wrestling it’s all about getting a reaction out of the fans, good or bad. Yankee games, Miami Heat games, Duke Blue Devil games, they all get great ratings, and a ton of those are from people tuning in hoping to see them get their tails handed to them. Cole has been getting increased heat during this year, and more people want to see him have his head knocked off or see him get fired, something to finally shut him up, and what’s happened towards the end of this year? He’s been put on every WWE show. Vince is shoving him in our faces and in our ears more and more, every chance he gets. So, the real way for wrestling fans to stick it to something they truly hate isn’t with boos or any other kind of intense reaction. That’s exactly what they’re wanting. No, the real enemy of the wrestling world is complete and total indifference. What would really cause Vince to second guess pushing Cole on us the next time he gets an email from the GM: a waterfall of boos, or absolute silence? People sitting on their hands yawning. And that goes for everything else in the wrestling world you hate.
6) The fewer titles you have floating around, the more valuable they are. WWE is realizing this and is currently taking steps to whittle their titles down to their original number of four (WWE, IC, Tag, and Women’s). They already united the Tag and Diva’s titles, and are rumored to merge the US and IC titles sometime soon, as well as the WHC and WWE titles at WrestleMania. TNA needs to take note. The TNA, X, Tag, and Knockouts titles are fine, but do they really need a TV Title? Legends, Global, TV title, whatever you want to call it, all it is a secondary Heavyweight title, which shouldn’t even exist. Every heavyweight in the company should be gunning for only one title, the TNA Title. The TV Title is an afterthought, one that should be discontinued. And is there currently a title in wrestling more worthless than the Knockout Tag Titles? No. Can you even remember who they are, or when the last time they were mentioned on TV, let alone defended, was? Wrestling needs to stop wasting our focus with unnecessary titles and put their energy into glorifying the main ones they have.
(Footnote for Rule #6, since the Knockouts Tag Titles made a rare TV appearance) After I sent out this rule, the Knockouts Tag Titles made a TV appearance and will be featured in the coming weeks due to them being vacated. But you’ll notice that the only time TNA bothers to dust those titles off is when one of the champs has been released from the company.
7) Bring back the lost art of sign-making. Remember back in the Monday Night Wars when the Raw crowd was nothing but a sea of signs? I miss that. I wish we could go back to that kind of crazy wrestling atmosphere with those kinds of wild crowds. I know that in the new kid-friendly WWE you can’t have any lewd or vulgar signs, but from what I remember of those days the signs they had back then (or the ones they had on camera) weren’t perverse, but suggestive at the most. Besides, the dwindling amount of people who bring signs these days seemed to have forgotten their imagination back at home. Seriously, how many times can we see the same signs for “We’ve Cena Nuff” or “I’ll make it Rayne all over Madison”? Get creative, people! Try to make the sign that everybody’s talking about tomorrow. Try to make one that gets on YouTube. Try to be THAT creative. So, if you’re going to a show and thinking about making a sign, and you’ve already seen a particular one on TV, then that sign is off-limits. Be original. Take some pride in yourself and start your own sign craze. All of you. I want to see nothing but signs the next time I turn on Raw.
8) WWE, in the future, you need to know when to stop plugging your movies. It really says something about the movies WWE keeps squatting out when the best acting comes from the announcers each and every week when they have to plug them, saying how great they are. I know you’re trying to make as much money off of them as you can, and plugging them on your own programming is free advertising for them, but do you really need to keep sacrificing a segment of every show to talk about these movies a month after it’s been released? I’ve got news for you. Everybody who’s going to buy your movies have already done so a week after they’re out. After that you’re just preaching to a dried-up market. So, from now on, please spare us the bi-weekly commercial you’ll be giving us the month-and-a-half after your next movie comes out. A week of it, okay, but beyond that what market do you think you’re pandering to? I tune in to watch wrestling, not the television equivalent of a spam email.
(Wade, I cannot thank you enough for these rules. I think we needed more rules this year, but obviously I really did not want to work on any this year. They will be added to my Book of Rules, and all are appreciated.)
Teacher’s Lecture
This week the focus will be on the readers of WrestleView. I think for their support and efforts in reading my long-winded columns (Gold Star to whoever can add up how many words I have typed from #1-99) the readers deserve to have a say in the lecture. So here is what is brewing among my students of WrestleView.com. Excuse me, I am going to step out for a cup of coffee (when I typed brewing, I was reminded that I needed to make some).
The first lecture comes from Andrew Hayman.
Tables Ladders and Chairs – A few years ago that was a stipulation of a match… Well it still is, however it is now a PPV all on its lonesome. Something that I don’t believe is that right thing to do. I don’t really like this thing the WWE has going right now with giving PPV’s a sole stipulation. Mainly because I believe it deters from the feud adding a slight predictability to it. Especially WWE’s Hell in a Cell. I remember as a kid if I heard about there being a Hell in a Cell at a PPV I would beg my dad to buy the PPV for me because of how much an even it was, but now, there is a whole PPV dedicated to it. I just personally think with the PPV layout as it is it takes away some of the drama of the feud.
The second lecture comes from Tito J. Brealey.
Paul Bearer – a WWE/WWF legend in his own right has been degraded continually by Edge in recent weeks only to be “killed off” by Kane. In my opinion, this was a wrong route to go down, I would have preferred Paul Bearer to turn on Kane and cost him the title because of the inadequate rescuing. I am, in a way, glad that the humiliation is over and done with now because it was getting tiresome.
TNA – I know a lot has been said over the past year of Hulk and Eric, my view is: TNA has a big problem with recycling old WWE and WCW storylines, All of the stuff that they are doing with Orlando Jordan is just plain disturbing! And the one thing which really confused me was Turning AJ Styles heel.
In my opinion, I think they should get rid of the Dixie vs Hulk and Eric story line, turn AJ Styles face, and for the love of god BRING BACK THE SIX SIDED RING!!!
TNA was meant to be different!! Don’t go the same way as WCW and try and compete with WWE, I think they should be more like ECW and focus on the unique things going for the company.
Long-Time listener to “The Teacher’s Lounge and President of the WOOWOOWOO Fan Club Ken Konarzewski would like to share a tidbit on one of his friends.
“From the Eyes of a Real Fan”
Over the course of the past month I have noticed that there is a friend of mine who holds the true understanding that the WWE and wrestling is fake; but is still a wrestling fan who believes in a lot of things.
After Wade’s loss to Randy Orton, he wanted to come talk to me to ask me about what I feel and what he feels will happen with Cena being fired. Although majority of the IWC understands this is just a storyline/work of fiction, he really believes that John Cena has been fired and released from the WWE. So I decide to play along as it’s very rare to see someone of his age in belief of what is going on, and ask him what is next for Cena. His first response is that Cena will go to TNA, but most likely work on a movie until he is able to make the move to TNA.
So we discuss what happened the following Monday night, and he talks about The Miz, and how the Miz is total garbage. He then goes on talking about Randy Orton and how Orton will fill the shoes of Cena as the “Superman” role. He feels that Orton should have just gotten himself disqualified during either of the matches and he would still hold the title.
When Miz then fought Jerry Lawler for the title, he feels that the Miz is actually just a piece of crap that needs help from two other people to win a match against 60+ year old Jerry Lawler.
What is so interesting is that before the Internet and before I got into the IWC, I may have felt the same way he did. When people like the Hall/Nash left WWF, I believed that they were invading WCW. When the countdown to the millennium occurred throughout 1999, I had no idea it was going to be Chris Jericho. I was a true mark, and sometimes I miss being one.
I’m posting these stories for you, to maybe catch a glimpse at what a true wrestling mark thinks about, and what we are missing as ‘knowledgeable fans’. Sure to a lot of people this may be funny, but to him it’s real and great.
James Lacerenza also provided a lecture for the 100th column of mine. I for one enjoyed this piece and I think my readers will too.
New Feuds + Celebrities = One Funny WrestleMania (Mr. V made this title, sorry if it is bad, James.)
So did you hear about Vince scrambling to find some new feuds and big celebrities for WrestleMania? I got a great card lined up that’ll really pop those buyrates through the roof. Let’s take a look.
Main event for the WWE Championship – Steel Cage Match
LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh vs. The Miz – Special Referee: Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert
Handicap Grudge Match – Falls Count Anywhere In the World
John and Juan Cena Vs. Kim Jong Il
The Streak Vs. The Streak Vs. The Streak – Triple Threat Match
Undertaker vs. UConn Woman’s Basketball Team vs. Ray Stevens
World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Kane vs. DC Comics Abel
WWE Tag Team Championship Match – Baseball Bat Match
Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Bell and Justin Morneau
Divas Championship Match:
Natalya vs. Celine Dion
US Championship Match – No Disqualification:
Daniel Bryan vs. Michael Cole (Special Referee: Jim Ross)
To Determine The Most Hated Man from Britain:
Wade Barrett (with Nexus) Vs. Simon Cowell (With Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Ellen Degeneres, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Ryan Seacrest)
Intercontinental Championship – Karaoke Contest
Dolph Ziggler vs. “The King of Jell-O Jigglers”, Bill Cosby
Money in The Bank Ladder Match:
Alberto Del Rio Vs. Ted DiBiase Vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley (with Sable) Vs. Ted Turner Vs. Bill Gates Vs. Marc Cuban Vs. Oprah Winfrey
CARD IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE…..A LOT. (Right now, this could be a great card! Seriously, Cole vs. Bryan should be booked!)
This portion of this week’s lecture will be given by Professor Grash.
Wrestling and Social Media in 2010: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Definition of “Social Media”: This is the twitters, Facebooks, YouTubes, twidvids, blogs, vlogs, and other services with wacked out websites URLs that look like someone let their cat across the keyboard to determine the name. If it is accessible from a web browser or your cell phone and it is a means for one person to communicate to multiple then its social media.
Thoughts: We knew that social media was going to play a role in the wrestling media this year. We were told to follow Dixie on Impact. Almost everyone had a Facebook page or twitter account. If they weren’t on them, they got them this year. So the seeds for this year had been planted. What we found out was that in 2010 no one was doing any weeding. So what we got was not what we expected. Here’s the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for 2010.
So for the good… Early this year, we saw Cole turn heel and leave all social media. While this is definitely pulling the plant to get the weeds, this was intentional and one of the most successful uses of social media by not using it. By puling Cole from the net, it helped establish the distain from internet wrestling community when Cole needed to build heat. Cole has used this new heat as one of the main corners on the foundation of his new heel Cole commentary. Calling someone a “Nerd” or telling them to move out of their mom’s basement will never get old.
Over this past year the bad got really bad. Now honestly, People trashing people have been going long before social media. What makes it stand out now is in the speed and ferocity at which social media brings the trash talk to the table. It was one thing to get trashed at a local bar and shoot your mouth off there. It’s another thing when you do it with some you know is tapping you. And doing it as you knowing it will end up on the web. Doing it knowing that what you just said will get picked up ever wrestling news site on the web. Hate WWE? Tweet it. Hate HBK? Make a podcast. Hate CM Punk? Put a video on YouTube as your brother eats fries. You thought this year is bad, just wait for next year. It’s going to get worse. We’re all watching now.
The ugly this year isn’t even the Hardies. As bad as they were, they actually know (or think to know) what they’re doing. It’s not “That Clotheslines” website either. Like Alberto Del Rio, it wasn’t around long enough this year. No, the ugly this year in social media is a blissfully open Pandora’s Box. 2010 was the year when Hogan ran wild on twitter. *sigh* Yes, Hogan. The man who wasn’t even on twitter a year ago. There was the fake account. The one that Eric Bischoff promoted. The account that had the web buzzing about for a few days. Once that debacle had ended, Hulk got himself a validated account. Now normally this is where the story ends. Normally when someone gets burned like this, they’re extremely careful about how they go forward using it. Not Hogan. Not Hogan at all. We got “Hospital Bed” Hogan. We got “Spaced Cadet” Hogan. And the male favorite, “My Girlfriend’s Breast Job is Hot” Hogan. I repeat again, Hogan even wasn’t on twitter at all a year ago.
Now not all social media is bad. Just most of it. And while there is doom and gloom going forward, there is hope in 2011. There will be a tipping point that will separate wresting news organizations. What this tipping point is does not matter. It will be stupid and pathetic. It will make eating grapes look like child’s play. It will force those who care about wrestling news rethink what they are doing. The result will be simple. By the end of next year, the quality of an organization will be marked in how they report on this trash material. Better organizations will act more like The New York Times or The Washington Post and less like TMZ or People Magazine. They will report less of it, call it not news, or flat out ignore it and that’s something we can all look forward to in 2011. (Plus “That Clotheslines” website)
If you have any comments on what The Students lectured about, send them to me at mistervwv@hotmail.com.
Any Questions? (This is by Mr. V)
Though the students are running the classroom today, it is not total anarchy. If there are any questions that I can answer, I will do my best to give you the best observation. Are there any questions?
Yes! Paul Rossi has a question.
Since Slammy Season has passed, I would like to get your thoughts your picks for different Slammy Award catergories and why you chose them. The catergories are: Best Solo Commentator, Best Ring Apparel, Best Finisher, New Sensation to the Squared Circle, Best Submission Expert of 2010, Superstar of the Year, & Diva of the Decade
Well Mr. Rossi, I will do my best to answer them. Now keep in mind that I took a break from wrestling while I was in college (2001-1004), so some of my answer may not be what you would like to see.
Best Solo Commentator – I was confused on this category. I know it does not have to be a “Team”, but I looked at it as which commentator really stood out in 2010. At the mid-way point I would have went with Todd Grisham, but for some reason he regressed the second half of the year and now may only be doing play-by-play on WWE NXT. So right now (with only 2 weeks until my Awards column), the favorite is JOSH MATHEWS. He is the only one to handle Michael Cole’s commentary recently and he has improved a lot since 2009.
Best Ring Apparel – This one is tough because I really don’t look at one’s apparel when they are in the ring. If I had to pick one for best apparel (though I am may be way off) it would be the Manager of ROH’s The Embassy PRINCE NANA. He looks the part when he manages his associates. He looks rich, talks rich, and most importantly, dresses to success.
Best Finisher – I thought about Air Bourne by Evan Bourne, Chaos Theory by Douglas Williams, and even Justin Gabriel’s 450 Splash. But now (and I may change my mind in the next couple weeks) it is very hard to go against RANDY ORTON’S RKO. The guy over this year showed that he can hit it in any way possible.
New Sensation in the Squared Circle – Daniel Bryan would be a good pick, but I have seen him work on HDNet when he wrestled for ROH. TNA had Robbie E., but he did not make that splash when one compares him to WWE’S WADE BARRETT. Sure, many don’t like the Nexus angle. But the only one who really stands out based on his wrestling and his ability to talk in front of the audience is Barrett. I don’t think it is even close.
Best Submission Expert of 2010 – I could go with Davey Richards, but instead I am going to go with DANIEL BRYAN/BRYAN DANIELSON from the WWE (and the Indies for a few times after he used a tie as a weapon). Many wrestlers have one submission move, but Daniel Bryan has at least five to ten that can wear his opponent down.
Superstar of the Year – I think John Cena, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, and many other wrestlers have a chance but I think when it comes from one year to the next it is tough to go against THE MIZ. The Miz won the Tag Titles, US Title, and the WWE Title all in one year. He keeps the crowd against him by the smug attitude and the way he wins his matches. I think when one is the Superstar of the Year they need to have a grand reaction regardless of them being a face or a heel. I think the Miz takes the top spot over all wrestlers this year.
Diva of the Decade – Mickie James is a good choice, don’t get me wrong. I had it as a split between James and another diva. So with that I am going to pick TRISH STRATUS, but it was very close.
Thanks for the question, Mr. Rossi.
If any of my readers have any question that they want answered in my column, please send them to mistervwv@hotmail.com.
Detentions
The Detentions will be presented by the WrestleView Readers. I have no say as to what or who they will place in detention, but my only rule was to not include any of the other students. This is an “Anti-Bullying” Classroom. We can pick on those who are grown adults complaining over why Nexus is over (yes, you Kevin Nash), but not to any of the readers.
So, the WrestleView students made their selections. Here are the people, places, things, and ideas that will be placed in detention this week.
Don McGrath has the first Detention this week.
WWE/Writers – for the “Juan Cena” gimmick then not doing a darn thing with it and letting it fizzle out.
Osaid Ahmad wanted to dish out a couple Detentions as well.
WWE – for not realizing Jeff Hardy can be a super heel.
WWE – for not turning Cena into a super heel.
Tito J Brealey issued out a couple of detentions as well.
WWE Creative – for the way they have done the Paul Bearer abduction story line. (I really did not like it either, but without Undertaker it felt that there was not much to do.)
TNA – for keeping AJ Styles heel.
Lester Junior only has one detention.
Smackdown – for actually broadcasting the Hornswoggle-Soaring Eagle match. Midget vs. mascot? Get real. (Hey, if Chavo is in fact the Eagle we are getting Swoggle vs. Chavo II.)
Chad Robbins has a detention as well.
My old high school principal being arrested – for shoplifting not once, not twice…. but THREE times in a week from the same grocery store… how ironic. (And here I am trying to find a full-time gig as a teacher! C’MON PEOPLE! I have NO record and still can’t get full-time work haha.)
Jamel Watson has a few people (and one company) that shall be placed on notice.
People who forget how to drive in the snow- I live in Michigan where it is hot for only a couple of months, as soon as a little snow gets on the ground it seems that people lose the ability to drive. Remember where you live.
Cecil Newton-You gave birth to one hell of an athlete but because you had to go out and try and get money so he could play he now has a cloud over his stellar season of football.
Alicia Fox-Terrible wrestler, she makes Torrie Wilson look like The Fabolous Moolah.
Burger King-Those stupid BK breakfast commercials have annoyed me for months. (AGREED!)
WWE-For not having more Zack Ryder on RAW, seriously WE NEED MORE RYDER!
TNA-For getting rid of Hamada, putting two awful PPVs in a row with Turning Point and Final Resolution, and for having that stupid character Cookie on iMPACT!! Straighten up TNA!!
The Eternal Detention Rundown
Praxis and the ETS Series
Teachers that get arrested
Ryan Clark
Bubba The Love Sponge
Jeff Hardy
“Undefined” Alicia Fox
Mike Tenay
Matt Hardy (yes, even YOU “Matthew”!)
Mark Cuban and/or HDNet
Hulk Hogan
Mr. V’s Weekly Honor Roll for December 6 – December 12, 2010
12/06 – Graded WWE Monday Night Raw Matches
12/07 – Graded WWE NXT Matches
12/08 – Column Writing. After that, I watched ROH…somehow. I have to do favors.
12/09 – Graded WWE Superstars and TNA Impact Matches.
12/10 – Graded Smackdown Matches
12/11 – OFF DAY
12/12 – OFF DAY
A friend of mine told me to keep this segment simple. So unless my column lacks substance, I will not add a detailed reason as to why I liked each match. But right now, I will give you a simple top three of the matches this past week.
Keep in mind when you read this portion, I go strictly by wrestling and rarely go with storylines. Though it is called “sports entertainment”, they are trained and are famous by wrestling.
The readers will not take part of this portion. If there is one part of my column that I will do every week it is the Honor Roll. This is no knock against anyone who reads my column, I just have what I think is a good formula to sort out what match is “Honors” worthy.
Distinguished Honors – Eddie Edwards vs. Colt Cabana, ROH on HDNet, November 6.
How it ended – The match was for the ROH Television Championship. It was a very traditional style contest between two popular wrestlers in ROH, but in the end Eddie Edwards was able to roll up Colt Cabana with a Bridge Pin to defeat Cabana and retain his championship.
Grade: B (leaned toward a B+).
High Honors – Mickie James vs. Tara, TNA Impact, December 9.
How it ended – This was a very unique main event in which two women wrestlers battled it out inside a Steel Cage, but based on the storyline it had to be done. There were some moments where they struggled, but based on the difficulty on moves it was not too bad. After a back and forth war, Mickie James ended the match with a Seated Senton from the Top of the Cage unto the chest/torso area of Tara go get the pinfall victory.
Grade: B.
Honors – Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler, Friday Night Smackdown, December 10.
How it ended – This actually was a very entertaining back and forth contest and both wrestlers throughout the match demonstrated solid chemistry. After Kofi Kingston connected the Trouble In Paradise kick to Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger ran in and attacked Kingston’s ankle. Ziggler retained his Intercontinental Championship, but Kingston won the match by disqualification.
Grade: B (leaned toward a B-).
Mr. V’s Grade Book for the past week
A+, A, or A-: None to Report.
B+: None to Report.
B: Eddie Edwards vs. Colt Cabana (ROH); Alberto Del Rio and Conor O’Brian vs. Daniel Bryan and Derrick Bateman (NXT); Mickie James vs. Tara (TNA); and Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler (Smackdown).
B-: Davey Richards vs. Erick Stevens (ROH) and Trent Barreta vs. Curt Hawkins (Superstars).
C+: Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. Jimmy and Jey Uso vs. Mark Henry and Yoshi Tatsu vs. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel (RAW) and Rey Mysterio and Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio (Kane did not help at corner for Del Rio) (Smackdown)
C: Natalya vs. Melina (RAW); Johnny Curtis vs. Jacob Novak (NXT); Tyler Reks vs. JTG (Superstars); Velvet Sky and Angelina Love vs. Sarita and Daffney (TNA); Douglas Williams vs. Abyss (TNA); and Jack Swagger vs. Kaval (Smackdown).
C-: Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella vs. Ted DiBiase, Jr. and Maryse (RAW); Tyson Kidd vs. David Hart Smith (RAW); Randy Orton vs. Alex Riley (RAW); Ezekiel Jackson vs. Zack Ryder (Superstars); Eve Torres vs. Alicia Fox (Superstars); Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal vs. Brother Ray and “Brother DeVon (fake) (TNA); Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. Chavo Guerrero and Drew McIntyre (Smackdown) and Natalya vs. Layla (Smackdown).
D+, D, or D-: El Generico vs. Bobby Shields (ROH); Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley vs. Gunner and Murphy (TNA); and Hornswoggle vs. Soaring Eagle (Smackdown)
F or INC: None to Report.
Current Predictions from the Faculty Standings
Here is the latest update. All records and rankings are finalized.
2010-2011 Season (As of TNA’s Final Resolution 2010)
Standings are reset after Royal Rumble 2010. The 2011-2012 Season will begin with TNA’s Against All Odds for those wondering.
1) David Stephens (That’s a Wrap and RAW Recapper)………….94-55 (7-2)
2) Josh Boutwell (Viva La Raza and TNA Recapper)……………….91-58 (5-4)
3) Anthony Valvo (From the Desk of Mr. V)…………………………….87-62 (5-4)
4) Students of the Week (The Best from Prev. PPV)………………86-63 (5-4)
5) WrestleView Students (The Loyal Readers)………………………..86-63 (5-4)
6) Daniel Browne (For Queen and Country)…………………………….86-63 (6-3)
7) Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings)……………………………………85-64 (2-7)
8) Matt O’Brien (Notes From The Nosebleeds)…………………………85-64 (6-3)
9) Jeff Springer (WWE Superstars Recapper)……………………………73-50 (6-3)
10) Mike Tedesco (Friday Night Smackdown Recapper)……………59-43 (0-0)
11) Doug Lackey (Reality From Ringside)…………………………………..52-42 (0-0)
12) Sean Hurley (The Sharpshooter)………………………………………..37-39 (5-4)
13) Joe Baiamonte (Baiamonte’s Casa/2009 WV Champ)………24-20 (0-0)
14) Enzo Mendicino (WWE NXT Recapper)………………………………….21-15 (6-3)
15) Ryan Rivera (ROH on HDNet Recapper)……………………………….16-7 (5-4)
16) Clinton Bowman (Velvet Room Co-Host)……………………………….6-1 (6-1)
17) Nicholas Gray (Velvet Room Co-Host)……………………………………4-5 (4-5)
The next PPV will be WWE’s TLC PPV on December 19, 2010.
Ken Konarzewski and Tim Marshall will be the Students of the Week for WWE’s TLC.
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.
Also, while you are at it check out www.jrsbarbq.com. Jim Ross has some specials on all the BBQ Sauce you need. Look at his blog and maybe buy a product or two. I know I will when shipping is free.
This week, I purchased enough Gold Stars to give to my readers. I may save a few of them for what I thought was good in professional wrestling (or sports), but most of them will be from the “Students of WrestleView.com”. Don’t be too hard on them; just take this column as “entertainment”. If you take it to heart, too bad.
I provided some thoughts in (parentheses).
The following Gold Stars are from Lester Junior.
Anthony J. Valvo – for winning the Brown Division and making the playoffs in Fantasy Football Junkies. You deserve it! (It is a fantasy football league on ESPN in which Mr. Junior runs. I was honored to be a part of it and shocked to win that division. Wish I would have done well in Tom Van Stone’s league, in which I finished in 9th.)
Pee Wee Herman – For Winning his Slammy.
The next batch of Gold Stars is from Don McGrath.
Ruben Amaro GM of the Philadelphia Phillies – for his masterful acquisition of Cliff Lee!! (I could not agree more. It was so sad some Yankee fans may have ruined it by their drunkenness.)
Christian and Edge – for their GM email joke during RAW “and I quote, Michael Cole is still a huge tool!” (Mr. V would have done the same thing.
Randy Orton – for putting David Arquette thru a table!
Ricky Langston has a Gold Star to hand out.
Angry Miz Girl – for winning the reaction of the year Slammy. (Of course she was going to win it. Her look was priceless.)
Osaid Ahmad would like to give out a couple Gold Stars this week.
Shawn Michaels – for staying retired. (I hope so too. He really left on a high note. Not many can say that.)
Nexus – for being one of the highlights of 2010.
Tito J. Brealey has a few Gold Stars that he would like to share.
WWE – for doing “Tribute to the Troops. These men and women deserve more accolades and respect than anyone else in the world so it’s good to take them away from real life for a few hours. (Having a brother and many family and friends that had served in the military I applaud what the WWE does each year.)
Randy Orton – just for RKO-ing Michael Cole.
And finally the man who made it possible Anthony J Valvo to you and me Mr. V – thanks for the opportunity to contribute to the Column that I read every week. Here’s to a 100 more!! (Much thanks, here is to 100 more!)
Lester Junior also has a few Gold Stars that he would like to hand out.
Mickie James and Tara – for the cage match that main evented Impact on 12-9. (I agree, very good job by both Knockouts.)
The state of Alabama – where the 2 most recent Heisman Trophy winners played, plus the reigning National champs and quite possibly the next as well. (The last (and only) member to win it for Pitt was Hopewell High School grad Tony Dorsett. Alabama schools have us beat).
Chase Whitley – who had his baseball jersey retired by my high school alma mater. He is the first pro athlete from my alma mater, a member of the New York Yankee organization. (Ranburne High School, by the way).
Anthony Valvo – for always turning out excellent work on his column, week in and week out. (Thank you very much.)
Atlanta Falcons – for having the best record in the NFL. (tied with the New England Patriots, both good teams.)
“Juan” Cena – for bringing back the old school “Midnight Rider” gimmick to the new school crowd. (Agreed.)
Jamel Watson took the Gold Stars to a whole new level! But all of them are worthy to get a Gold Star.
Anthony J. Valvo- for putting out outstanding columns on WrestleView for 100 weeks. I still remember that first column and I have enjoyed your work every since. I raise my coffee mug in celebration to you!! Congrats on a job well done and I look forward to reading your next 100 columns. (Thank you and for that I raise my stainless steel coffee mug as well.)
Jamel Watson- Me!! I am giving out gold stars so I had to give myself one!!
John Cena- You had one hell of a year! From a hot feud with Batista, good matches with Sheamus, and of course all work with bringing up the Nexus, basically being in charge of putting over Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, David Otunga, Darren Young, Heath Slater, Michael Tarver, Husky Harris, and Michael McGillicutty by yourself. You have cemented yourself as the best in the world with the year you have had, looking forward to the finale of your feud with Barrett and to whatever else the future holds for you.
Wade Barrett- For a guy who was unknown this time last year he has made himself a major star. From that cocky accent and his mannerisms he looks like he belongs in the main event. Big things look to be in store for Mr. Barrett.
Jerry Lawler- You still got it! (a couple weeks too late but still…)
Jay Lethal- I still enjoy watching him impersonating Ric Flair. (One of the Greatest Moments in TNA this year.)
Santino Marella- Best comedy act in WWE and now one half of the Tag Team champions, tea time with Santino was classic!!
Vladimir Kozlov- Has now become a very good comedy act with Santino, HAIL KOZLOV!! (HAIL KOZLOV!)
The Miz- Who would have thought that this reality show reject would go on to have such a successful (so far) career in the WWE. This proves that you shouldn’t be so quick to say whether a guy is going to be a good wrestler or not.
CM Punk- Improving quickly on commentary, looking forward to seeing him back in the ring.
Josh Matthews- This guy has moved up from his days on Velocity, now he is the voice of SD and is the perfect foil to Michael Cole’s heelish ways.
Randy Orton- If every RAW had Orton giving the RKO to Cole ratings would be HUGE!!
The Rock- I felt like giving the jabroni beatin’, pie eatin’, trailblazin’, eyebrow raisin, elbow droppin’, heart stoppin’, people’s champ a big gold star!! (I won’t hold you back either).
Man vs. Food- One of the best shows on television, here’s hoping that Adam Richman guest stars on RAW and has some kind of eating contest with either Mark Henry, Santino, or Husky Harris! (Would be amazing!)
Alberto Del Rio- Not since Brock Lesnar has a guy just come onto the main roster and be a star like Del Rio has, but you already knew that!
Hot Cheetos- Delicious snack food and goes good with anything you are eating.
Carlton Banks- For being the best character on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and being the glue that held that show together! (Note: And Byron Saxton is doing a great job being Carlton on NXT).
Cheesecake- Best dessert on the planet!!
Brisk Strawberry and Melon juice- Easily the most delicious drink I have had ever!!
Psych, Royal Pains, White Collar, and Covert Affairs- Some of my favorite shows on television. My old roommate introduced me to Psych and I have loved that show every since! USA network does a great job with them!!
“Love the way you Lie” by Eminem ft. Rhianna- Love this song, Eminem is the best.
Umaga-RIP, I just watched his LMS match with Cena and it was incredible, this cat is gone way too soon.
The Temptations- Best male vocal group in music history. (Mr. V’s easy-going musical choice, but only behind Dean Martin).
Fully Loaded 2000- Forgotten but great card from 2000. The Rock vs. Chris Benoit was outstanding and the Last Man Standing match between Jericho and HHH stole the show.
The tag team of Booker T and Goldust- this was team was too funny for words, go watch some of their clips and see!! (One Word: Lumberjack!)
WrestleView- Best wrestling site on the web. Started reading this in 2006 and I have enjoyed it ever since. Big shout out to everyone who has a column or a show on this site. All of you do an outstanding job of covering wrestling. Much continued success to all of you!!! (We all thank you.)
Mr. V’s Gold Star goes out to: All of the readers. You all have been supportive since the first week I worked at WrestleView and I can never thank you enough. Also, to Lester Junior, Andrew Hayman, Don McGrath, Ricky Langston, Osaid Ahamd, Jamel Watson, Tito J. Brealey, Ken Kanarzewski, Rocky Dominguez, Chad Robbins, James Lacerenza, Gregory “Grash” Walek, and Wade (Luke) Bradford for making this column easier for me to work on this week. Without them, it would have been just the same old Mr. V column.
A Speech from an Original “From the Desk of Mr. V” student (since #1), Ricky Langston
I have been a LOYAL follower of the Desk since #1…I have seen good ideas, bad ideas, good features, bad features..I have been given gold stars and i have been given detentions. All of these have been steps towards creating (in my opinion) the most entertaining and informative column on the WV network. I am proud to call Mr.V my friend, and will be here until #500 and beyond.
(My thanks to you for reading and being one of the first people to send me a letter. Take care, my friend)
Homework Assignment
Categories will be presented next week (as well as the 2009 Winners)
Coming soon, I will present my 2nd Annual Golden Yardstick Awards. I pick the top three (or worst three) in each category and choose who I think deserves a Golden Yardstick or, worse, the Rotten Apple.
Some of the categories will be announced, as well as last year’s winners over the course of next week. Who do you think deserve the awards? I may put it into consideration. We are definitely doing a “fans choice” this year. I will call the “fans choice” edition the…
THE GOLD RULER/ROTTEN APPLE SLICE AWARDS!
I think we all can have a good bit of fun for this.
Dismissal
Well, I hope that the readers enjoyed the combination of Students and Teacher in the 100th Column of “From the Desk of Mr. V”.
Before I dismiss all of my students, I just want to say that it has been great being part of the WrestleView staff for almost two years and I just hope to get much better throughout the next 100 columns. The tuition is free for reading these columns (but a small $4.99/month fee to hear me). I could not be as successful without any of you, especially the ones that have read my columns, good and bad, since #1. I will never be able to thank you enough.
If you want to get a hold of me during the week, please e-mail me at mistervwv@hotmail.com or at lounge@wrestleview.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!
Jamel Watson has one more song to take us home with.
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 at http://www.twitter.com/TheMisterV. I have been getting better with my tweets recently. I promise once I get to 100 followers I may do a contest every now and then.
THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE IS NOW AIRING ON SATURDAYS!
The Teacher’s Lounge gives the WrestleView Radio Network Audience a complete rundown of the past week’s events in professional wrestling all in a two-hour program. We even have a few games, a detention segment, as well as interviews.
This Week’s Guest: WrestleView Columnist Jose Marrero will join Dave and I for an in-depth preview of Ring of Honor’s Final Battle 2010.
Already on the archives we interviewed Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings), Matt O’Brien (Notes from the Nosebleeds), Crystal Mai from Diva-Dirt.com, Clinton Bowman, Nicholas Gray (Hosts of The WrestleView Velvet Room), The YouTube Sensation who had choice words to CM Punk, ROH Wrestler Colt Cabana, and Former WWE Diva Aloisia! For $4.99 a month, you get all of this along with many other hours of content from the other shows on the WrestleView Radio Network. Soon, we will plan on more guests.
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 lounge@wrestleview.com. To sign up, click here.
WrestleView VIP Membership is a GREAT Stocking Stuffer for your wrestling fan! I did the math, and it is approximately 14 CENTS PER SHOW if you listen to all of them every day!