From the Desk of Mr. V #82
August 12, 2010
By: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com
Introduction (By: Rocky Dominguez)
Ladies and Gentlemen Put away your summer shorts and dust off your textbooks as school is back in session with our favorite teacher the Maestro, Anthony J. Valvo!!!!
Take us away, Dean Martin
Back to school in TWO WEEKS!!!! Make the days count students!!
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.
So sit back and grab some iced coffee. Relax as you read the 81st Installment of “From the Desk of Mr. V”.
Quote of the Week
“If your head is wax, don’t walk in the sun.” – Benjamin Franklin
That is pretty obvious, right? Don’t walk in the sun if you head is made of wax! Let’s move on with the lecture for the week.
Teacher’s Lecture
**I will be going really in depth in Ring of Honor. If you don’t follow it, you can easily skip down to my thoughts on Lucky Cannon’s departure from NXT. To those who do in fact follow ROH, enjoy**
1) ROH World Champion Tyler Black signs a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.
My Take: This past week, many news outlets confirmed (WrestleView included) that current ROH Champion Tyler Black signed the deal to compete in FCW. I thought honestly who better to comment on this than the WrestleView recapper for ROH on HDNet.
Many of the readers are wondering, is Tyler Black going to hang in the WWE? Does he have the look, charisma, and attributes in the ring? I will do my best to answer each question
Question #1: Does he have the look?
This one is a very tough question. He get poked fun at for his long neck, but he is listed at 6’1″ and weighs 222 pounds. He is only 24 years old, making him a very young champion in ROH. Here is a roster of guys that had a chance in the WWE after a stop in ROH.
Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) (5’10” 190 pounds) – He may be the best pro wrestler pound for pound, but his size really hampered any chance of a push on NXT. Yes, he did have a nice little feud going with Michael Cole and The Miz, sadly he was overpowered by some taller individuals. Just when he was getting all this momentum, he abruptly got fired because of a tie choke or a little “loogie” at John Cena during the Nexus invasion. I still consider him a tremendous wrestler, but his stay in the WWE in 2010 was short and left many questions unanswered. Still, I won’t be surprised if he comes back to the WWE sometime in late 2010 or even 2011.
Kaval (Low-Ki) (5’8″ 174 pounds) – Kaval had a very long and impressive resume in ROH. He was the first ever ROH Champion. He may have the strong kicks I have seen from anyone in the WWE. But again, he is a bit on the small side to compete with the heavyweights in the WWE. I see some potential after his run in NXT is over, but he would be a secondary WWE Champion (IC or US) at best.
Scotty Goldman (Colt Cabana) (6’1″ 233 pounds) – There is really nothing wrong about Cabana. He was a former ROH Tag Team Champion before he was assigned to OVW for a year or two, and even won the OVW Television Championship. He then debuted on Smackdown and received praise for his “What’s Crackin’ WWE.com Series. Heck, I would have even used his alter ego Matt Classic as a wrestler who could help enhance some up and coming names. He had the personality to be really good with the younger fans and I am sure if he was given proper build up and time he would have been a beloved guy in the mid-card. Honestly the WWE dropped the ball with Cabana. His wrestling is fundamental and is personality is easy-going. However, he showed a mean streak as well when needed to (watch his work vs. Steve Corino and/or Kevin Steen).
Evan Bourne (Matt Sydal) (5’9″ 183 pounds) – After a run in ROH where he won an ROH Tag Team Championship with Christopher Daniels, he signed a developmental deal with the WWE. They gave him the Heavyweight Title in OVW before he was brought into the WWE’s ECW brand. He won some and lost some, but now he is right where he should be in the WWE. He probably will never win a World Title, but a Tag Title or a US Title reign is not out of the question. He gets over with the fans because of his ability to show great quickness. His air attacks are still a thing of beauty, especially his Shooting Star Press. The fans like him not because of his ability to talk (has he talked?), but because of what he does in the ring.
CM Punk (6’3 225 pounds) – If anyone says that the WWE never gives ROH guys a chance, they have a good point. But it is not 100% valid. CM Punk won the ROH Championship and Tag Team there, then went to WWE Developmental and won all he could in OVW. What CM Punk has done may put him among the best wrestlers in the world today. He was not bad as a face and won the WWE Triple Crown as a face wrestler. But since the WWE gave Punk the ball with the Straight Edge Society, he has been one of the most hated wrestlers in the WWE (easily the most hated on the Smackdown brand). He is an all-around superb talent and though he lost his hair vs. Rey Mysterio at least it was against a main event level superstar. Out of any WWE superstar that has at one time competed in ROH, Punk is easily the most successful because of his hard work and his ability to work the mic.
So, Tyler Black is, as I mentioned before, 6’1 and 222 pounds. He has potential in the “appearance” category. Plus, with his age (24) he could spend two or three years in FCW and be a solid talent for the WWE.
Question #2: Does he have the charisma?
Well, based on the way he talks on ROH programming this was a pretty simple answer. Though his talent may be one of the best outside of anyone in WWE or TNA, his charisma is not that great. He can’t cut a promo and it seems like he needs someone in the ring to build him up on promos (examples Austin Aries, Jim Cornett, or even Roderick Strong). In FCW, not only will they train him in the ring, but they will definitely give him the tools to cut a promo. The way Tyler Black talks in FCW and, in a couple years, the WWE will determine what push he will get.
Question #3: What about his in-ring work, is he ready?
Tyler Black, in my opinion, is a pretty well-rounded wrestler. He showed some good power moves, but I think it is because many of his opponents were smaller. I think Black will have to adapt to his ground game or his kicks to take down wrestlers who are much larger, and in the WWE Black will be pretty small. He is good in the air, and I think that work will help him enter the WWE main roster sooner than later. His Superkick is pretty stiff and I am sure FCW will tell him to lighten up on that. In FCW, they will probably make him more basic, but they won’t make him sacrifice everything that made him successful in Ring of Honor.
So the question remains, is this a good signing? Well, only time will tell. The New York Yankees were not built overnight. The WWE realized that their talent in FCW may not be ready for prime time (and from what I watched, only three have a chance to make an impact in the WWE), and signing guys that may be a year or two away is good business.
Weeks ago, the WWE signed Consequences Creed to a developmental deal and I thought it was brilliant. I think the WWE can easily give proper training to Creed and make him a WWE Superstar in due time. The signing of Tyler Black will be very interesting. It will be an adventure for him, as it is almost certain that Black will need to repackage himself.
And even if it takes Tyler Black two years to get promoted to the WWE, remember this. In 2012, Tyler Black will still be well under 30. This is a long-term investment that the WWE hopes to strike gold. Black may be spotty, not sell, and lack mic skills. But these can be corrected. If the WWE (which is rumored) move Black to NXT Season 3, it will be a big mistake. However, if Tyler Black is patient enough to “want this”, he has potential to be an upper-mid card talent and the WWE did the right thing giving him a developmental contract.
2) Who will be the next ROH World Champion?
With Tyler Black signed with the WWE, he will have to drop the ROH Championship. But who will be the next face of ROH? I needed to look at the Pick 6 Contenders Series for the answer, since ROH will certainly pick one of these six.
Roderick Strong – If I did not read that Strong appeared at a recent TNA taping, I would say he was next in line. But with his uncertainty, he probably will not win the ROH World Title in the next few weeks. I would like to see it happen though.
Christopher Daniels – He returned to ROH in April after a very long run in TNA. He is on a quest to be the best wrestler and put on a very good match a couple weeks ago against Black, but he is involved in a storyline with Strong. If I was booking ROH, I would give it to Daniels for the short term and find out who will stay in ROH for the long-term.
Kevin Steen – Steen is a phenomenal wrestler and arguably the best wrestler on the roster. He could be the champion because he had a bloody match with Black a few weeks ago and has a pretty strong ally in Steve Corino. The only downside is that he is still feuding with El Generico and Colt Cabana, and even though this has been an amazing feud it will be tough to build a story for the title in five weeks.
Colt Cabana – He said that he was “made for TV” and is the “Man vs. Food of professional wrestling”. I think he would be a very entertaining ROH World Champion, but sadly I see him being next in line for the ROH Television Championship once his feud with Steen and Corino ends.
Chris Hero – Hero is great with his elbow strikes, but it is doubtful that he will compete for the ROH World Championship because of two reasons. One is that he is one-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions with Claudio Castagnoli. The other is that they are in a very intense feud with The Briscoes.
Davey Richards – I would have no problem with him winning the championship last year. He is a pretty good wrestler, but not a good storyteller. He rarely, if at all, sells a move in the ring. Also, he mentioned that he wanted to leave pro wrestling in order to be a firefighter. Since he will be going to the ROH World Championship next it won’t surprise me if he wins the title. However, Richards would not be the guy I would want as the face of my promotion yet.
3) Lucky Cannon is voted off of NXT.
So, the latest NXT Poll came out and here were the results:
1) Kaval
2) Michael McGillicutty
3) Percy Watson
4) Husky Harris
5) Alex Riley
Ranked sixth was Lucky Cannon. Since he was last, Cannon was eliminated.
Here were my thoughts on Cannon from Mr. V #72 (aka the NXT Season 2 Premiere)
“I was surprised in his match (from FCW) that I did my report on, but I don’t think he has much charisma. Mark Henry can only take him so far. The others head of him are either better in the ring or more charismatic.”
I had Cannon ranked #6 before NXT started and once again I was right. I correctly picked Titus O’Neil #8 and Eli Cottonwood #7, so I have the right to pat myself on the back.
As with Cannon, I was disappointed with his run in NXT. He showed a bit more promise in FCW, but when the big cameras were on him he struggled in the ring. He was good at grounding his opponents with a fireman carry into an armbar, but everything else was inconsistent.
No matter what Cannon tried to do on the mic, he just was not getting over with the crowd. That is what happens when a wrestler is bland. The fans lose interest and turn on a guy quickly. So, the WWE Universe and the Pros got this right. Cannon is not a guy who is ready, but maybe in a year or two he could be a WWE Superstar (unless we get Nexus 2 on Smackdown).
Detentions
Dave Stephens – This is a joke, but if you threaten me with Justin Bieber on The Teacher’s Lounge I will not be a happy camper. BOOOOOOOO!!!
Levi Johnston – Your 15 Minutes of Fame? It’s over! No one cares about you running for Mayor. NO ONE!!
Dixie Carter – Nothing about TNA, but you are in there for a tweet about Desmond Wolfe’s card tricks? Sure, they are good…now give him a push!
Parents that let their kids run a-muck at Wal-Mart – I think we all had that problem once.
TNA – Some say that Hardcore Justice was a great way for these guys to say Thank You. Well, if I really wanted to hear them all say thank you I would shake their hands and give them 15 bucks to sign an autograph. Why would someone spend 35 bucks just for a “thank you”? This is nothing to who performed on the show, just the logic is what was confusing.
Michael Cole – Did anyone see his attire in the first minute of NXT? You know, when he wore The Miz shirt, a plastic title belt, and the powder? Remember my good friend Jose Marrero’s column about the ten rules for wrestling fans? I think Cole broke about five of them.
CNN and any media outlet bashing Linda McMahon – I know WWE was not good TV programming but do what Adam Martin mentioned. GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT!!!
That is truly I have for detentions. If you have a nominee let me know by sending me an e-mail to mistervwv@hotmail.com.
Mr. V’s Weekly Honor Roll for the week of August 2 – August 8, 2010
The column is a bit on the long side, so I will give you my picks for the Honor Roll, how the match ended, and what the grade was in my book.
8/02 – Graded WWE Monday Night Raw Matches
8/03 – Graded WWE NXT Matches
8/04 – Column Writing. After that, I watched ROH on YouTube and recap the show.
8/05 – Graded WWE Superstars and TNA Impact Matches.
8/06 – Graded Smackdown Matches
8/07 – OFF DAY
8/08 – OFF DAY
Distinguished Honors – Randy Orton vs. The Miz, Monday Night Raw, August 2.
How it ended – The Miz tried to attack Orton near the ropes. However, Orton was very cunning and connected with an RKO and pinned The Miz for the victory.
Grade: B+
High Honors – Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Hero, ROH on HDNet, August 2.
How it ended – After Hero grabbed hold of the Loaded Elbow Pad and attempted The Death Blow. However, Mark Briscoe reversed this into the Backslide Pin attempt and got the victory.
Grade: B.
Honors – Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley vs. Robert Roode and James Storm, TNA Impact, August 5.
How it ended – In a match that went back and forth, Shelley hit the Sliced Bread finisher on Storm while Sabin kicked Roode’s legs to avoid grabbing the “X” at the top. Sabin managed to grab the “X” first in the Ultimate X match to win and force a fifth match in the best-of-five series.
Grade: B.
Mr. V’s Grade Book for the past week
A+, A, or A-: None to report.
B+: Randy Orton vs. The Miz (RAW).
B: Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Hero (ROH); John Cena vs. Chris Jericho (RAW); Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. James Storm and Robert Roode (TNA); and Rey Mysterio vs. Drew McIntyre (Smackdown).
B-: Kenny King vs. Delirious (ROH); Jay Briscoe vs. Claudio Castagnoli (ROH); Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder (Superstars); and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston (Smackdown).
C+: Edge vs. Wade Barrett (RAW); The Miz vs. Michael McGillicutty (NXT); Alex Riley vs. Percy Watson (NXT); and Tiffany vs. Layla (Superstars).
C: Jon Davis and Kory Chavis vs. Shawn Daivari and Ernesto Osiris (ROH); Husky Harris vs. Kaval (NXT); Vance Archer and Curt Hawkins vs. Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta (Superstars); Ric Flair vs. Jay Lethal (TNA); Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer vs. Abyss and Raven (TNA); and Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Hardy (Smackdown).
C-: Alicia Fox, Jillian, and Tamina vs. Gail Kim, Natalya, and Eve (RAW); D’Angelo Dinero vs. Orlando Jordan (TNA); and Luke Gallows, CM Punk, and Joey Mercury vs. Chris Masters, JTG, and MVP (Smackdown).
D+, D, or D-: Eddie Edwards vs. Jay Freddie (ROH); Sheamus vs. Goldust (RAW); Great Khali vs. Ted DiBiase, Jr. (RAW); Michael McGillicutty vs. Lucky Cannon (NXT); Taylor Wilde and Hamada vs. Lacey Von Erich and Velvet Sky (TNA); and AJ Styles vs. Rob Terry (TNA).
F or INC: None to report.
Current Predictions from the Faculty Standings
As I mentioned before, last weekend we decided to not provide predictions for TNA’s Hardcore Justice because there was nothing to predict. So the predictions are the same as of WWE’s Money in the Bank.
2010-2011 Season (As of WWE’s Money in the Bank)
1) David Stephens (That’s a Wrap and RAW Recapper)………….57-32 (4-3)
2) Josh Boutwell (Viva La Raza and TNA Recapper)……………….57-32 (4-3)
3) Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings)……………………………………57-32 (4-3)
4) Students of the Week (The Best from Prev. PPV)………………54-35 (5-2)*
5) Daniel Browne (For Queen and Country)……………………………..53-36 (4-3)
6) Matt O’Brien (Notes From The Nosebleeds)…………………………53-36 (5-2)
7) Anthony Valvo (From the Desk of Mr. V/ROH Recaps)……….52-37 (5-2)
8) Doug Lackey (Reality From Ringside)…………………………………..51-38 (6-1)
9) WrestleView Students (The Loyal Readers)………………………..51-38 (4-3)
10) Mike Tedesco (Smackdown and NXT Recapper)…………………42-32 (3-4)
11) Jeff Springer (WWE Superstars Recapper)……………………………38-31 (3-4)
12) Sean Hurley (The Sharpshooter)………………………………………..28-32 (NR)
13) Joe Baiamonte (Baiamonte’s Casa/2009 WV Champ)………24-20 (NR)
Frank Contorno will be the next Student of the Week. Frank’s choices will be ready for SummerSlam 2010.
Mr. V’s Gold Star Segment (Brought to you by JR’s BBQ. Even though the WWE won’t air his voice on the intro, he will never leave the sponsorship of this segment unless someone pays for this spot).
So many Gold Stars, so little time. Here are the wrestlers, companies, teams, and other forms of entertainment that deserve a star this week.
Dolph Ziggler – He worked very hard for this moment, but after over a year of trying to win the Intercontinental Championship he finally earned it on Smackdown. Congratulations, Dolph! Also, did anyone see his karaoke on The George Lopez Show?
Taylor Wilde and Hamada – They are the NEW TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions! I think anyone other than Lacey Von Erich that holds gold is good in this division.
Claudio Castagnoli – He earned one for staying Very European.
Colt Cabana – He recently started on some podcasts that you can find at http://www.welovecolt.com/. It is called “The Art of Wrestling Radio with Colt Cabana” and I found his interviews with Shawn Daivari and CM Punk to be very entertaining and there were a lot of funny spots. If any of my readers have any free time, listen to his interview with Daivari.
The Monday Night Raw Crowd in Sacramento, CA – The Arco Arena is arguably the loudest arena in all of sports. When cameras closest to the ring are shaking you can feel the exuberance from the crowd. It was the most “live” crowd I have heard on Raw in years. To heck with Los Angeles, let Sacramento host SummerSlam!
Tyler Black – Good Luck in the WWE.
Bryan Danielson – Come Back soon…
The Bee Gees – I give them a gold star because if I did not, Hunter Golden may attack.
Tiffany – For carrying Layla in that match on Superstars. Tiffany is doing a good job and if the WWE won’t give her credit, I will.
Tony Atlas – For laughing at all our awful jokes.
Josh Mathews – I love how he puts Michael Cole in his place.
Linda McMahon – She recently won the Senate GOP Primary in the State of Connecticut. Let’s see how she does in November.
Adam Martin – This should have been Monday’s Song of the Night because it is brilliant.
(and YES, I admit I am a Neil Diamond fan!)
To all the readers out there that provided feedback over the summer – Thank you. It’s still not too late to e-mail me with detentions and gold stars.
Also, a very special Gold Star to my mother, who is celebrating a birthday this week. Happy Birthday, Mama V!
Homework Assignment (Assignment starts this week)
Last week, I sent the 2010 Mid-Year ballot out to the columnists and staff of WrestleView.com and it will have categories on them. They will pick who they believe is the best and worst of the Half-Year of 2010.
Remember, since most of us started in February 2009 I like to consider Feb. – August semi-year.
I won’t give you all the topics yet because I have not created a ballot for the students of WrestleView yet. That will occur in the next few days. Stay tuned to WrestleView.com throughout the week for the selections.
Here are some topics to think of while you wait.
2010 Wrestler of the Half-Year
2010 Most Improved
Best PPV of the Half-Year
Best match of the Half-Year
2010 Worst Wrestler of the Half-Year
However, if you want to do your good deed of the week please vote for my friend’s cause at http://www.refresheverything.com/mdcamp. My friend’s name is James Lacerenza and he is attempting to go for $50,000 once more to write off some MD Camp expenses. This is a very noble cause and no one has to pay (except for Pepsi if James does win). Last month he came a bit short in 17th, but should be able to win it this month with your help. So, please help a fellow student out. Vote for James this month (you can vote once every day)!
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!!!!
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If you enjoy Mr. V’s WrestleView columns, then take a look at my work on my other site Examiner.com. Updated weekly.
http://www.examiner.com/x-26526-Pittsburgh-Pro-Wrestling-Examiner
THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE IS NOW AIRING ON SATURDAYS!
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.
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.