What's old is new again

While watching RAW the past few weeks I noticed that RAW has rehashed a couple of ideas from the past as of late. Any wrestling fan worth a lick knows what I'm talking about here and is probably just as excited as I am that it is happening.

The first being the return of the cast! According to Matt Hardy his hand is broken and now he has to wear an arm cast whenever he wrestles, usually in protest. When he cuts promos he'll whine and complain how painful it is to wrestle and how no one in management will listen to his complaints. Naturally the fans berate him because they don't believe his hand is really injured. Why would they? It seems to be just fine when he uses it to clobber his opponents over the head with it. This gimmick works on a lot of levels and it really makes the person perpetrating it look like a scumbag because he is feigning an injury, whining and then cheating. Boo that man! He is dishonest!

For those not in the know this idea was made famous by Cowboy Bob Orton and it worked very well for the now Hall of Famer. It's simple enough and it works like a charm with the right person, in this case Matt Hardy. Kudos to the creative department for bringing this idea back into fray.

The second rehash is in action every time The Miz hits the ring. The Miz has been coming out and calling out John Cena. Insulting his in ring talent, hometown and his not so successful movie career. Overall I think it's been hilarious as The Miz has been taking some pretty low blows at Cena. That type of attitude is something that has been missing since...well the Attitude Era! Anyways, The Miz will spew of all of his insults when John Cena is unable to come out and actually defend himself, conveniently enough. When Cena does not appear The Miz declares himself the winner and has been keeping a tally of his "victories" since. The crowd boos because The Miz is insulting a man while he isn't even around to defend himself, which of course The Miz knows. It's a cowardly move and of course the crowd eats it up. Eventually Cena will get his hands on him and leave him looking like he was on the ass end of an ass whuppin'. It's nature people, it makes sense.

Where have you seen this before? If you look back you will see an almost exact scenario between Chris Jericho and Goldberg back in WCW. Chris Jericho would run his mouth when Goldberg wasn't around racking up "victories" along the way. Eventually Goldberg caught up to him and speared the bejeezus out of him. It was a satisfying TV moment for all involved. It was the storyline that got me back into wrestling when I was younger as a matter of fact. I suggest reading Jericho's book if you want to read about the behind the scenes of that particular storyline.

What am I getting at here? You don't always need to do something new for every storyline. There are a plethora of gimmicks and stories from the past that can be told again by new talent. These two examples show how you can use past ideas to bring something fresh to the show. I'm all about moving forward and not focusing on the past constantly but why not take proven gimmicks and tweaking them to work for today? It makes sense to me.

What's in a Finisher?

What the hell is going on with finishers nowadays? Why is it that no one can use a flying elbow or a perfectplex? These are legitimate finishers which when used properly could easily signal the end of the match with little setup. Not these 30 second convoluted train wrecks I see being performed as of late.

New wrestling talent seems to be on a kick lately of trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the finishing maneuver. I'm not sure if they are trying to hard to invent a new move to cement their legacy with a timeless maneuver or if these older finishers are just off limits to them. Either way something has to give here because the majority of these finishers require too much setup with a little or no payoff.

A prime example of this is MVP's Playmaker. The picture to your right shows how the move begins. Right off the bat this thing looks awkward. It requires several seconds for MVP to place his opponent in this position and on top of that you will notice his opponent will actually hold his leg in order to help him keep his balance! Why would your opponent help you to knock them unconscious? To finish the move MVP falls forward and no matter the angle you see it from you are never quite sure what this move actually does to his opponent. Perhaps the sheer embarrassment of being looked in this awkward yoga position causes his opponent to lose consciousness, who's to say really. I'm a big fan of MVP but I think he needs a simpler finishing maneuver that actually looks like it does something.

If you look back on popular finishing maneuvers you will find that they really are simple. Sweet chin music is a kick to the face, the choke slam is well...a choke slam,the million dollar dream was a sleeper hold and the perfectplex was just a fisherman's suplex. It's easy to understand what is going on when these moves occur and you can use them at any point during the match. What makes them special is the person performing these moves. For example, a regular flying elbow does not mean much, but if the Macho Man drops a flying elbow you know that was a significant piece of offense. It's a simple maneuver but with the proper build up and delivery it becomes something more.

I feel as though new talent is letting the finishers define them as opposed to making them work for them. If it is the case where the WWE is not letting them use older moves because they feel as though retired wrestlers have some type of entitlement to them then I suggest management needs to move on from this stance. The WWE has a wealth of young talent right now on the verge of becoming big names, with the right finishers a good majority of them could cross that threshold.

Your thoughts are welcome on this matter.

WGN America

"We need to find a new network to air WWE Superstars!"

"How about WGN America?"

"I have never heard of that station before!"

"They're a Chicago based TV station!"

"Wow! What channel can I watch them on?"

"Well if you have cable you probably can't, BUT! If you have Dish Network or Direct TV it will be located in upper 300's of channels."

"Well what shows do they air?"

"They air reruns of Alf and Moesha!"

"So we're going to make a new wrestling show and then put it on a network that mainly airs reruns of old sitcoms and has a limited viewing audience?"

"That is what I'm suggesting, yes."

"If they were going to redefine "success" in the dictionary they would cite this programming choice as THE example. Let's do this!"

"Agreed!"

Thoughts on the Draft

Well the WWE certainly made some interesting decisions for the draft this year. I'll detail my thoughts and what transpired on the draft aired on TV and the supplemental draft which occurred on WWE.com.

I don't really understand why HBK, HHH, Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, and the Big Show all need to be on RAW. The main event part of RAW roster is now bloated in my opinion, complete with two world champions. This does make it a really difficult time for anyone who is in the mid card area to try and move up the ranks. I hope that guys like MVP, Matt Hardy and The Miz do not get buried during this time as they have all had good years and I would hate to see there futures cut short due to this.

Having The Miz attack Morrison was foolish to me. They already wrestled on every show anyways despite the fact they were ECW guys so why not let them just stay friends but be on separate brands? They work well together and they could always help each other out in the singles careers by randomly getting involved in matches to help the other cheat. You get to keep The Dirt Sheet and you get them building their own careers, win/win in my book.

While having The Miz attack Morrison was foolish in my book nothing was as foolish as splitting Hornswaggle and Finlay. Am I to believe that the WWE has plans for Hornswaggle, the leprechaun midget is you are unfamiliar, to be a singles wrestler? I'll have to wait and see I guess but it has left me scratching my head.

Smackdown has the potential to be a solid wrestling show now. This is assuming that they stop having it be a 2 hour recap for RAW as it has been lately.

ECW lost some good talent which has helped make it a quality show as of late. I hope that their new talent initiative will bring in some fresh faces who can capture the recent magic the show has had.

Overall the draft has left me a little confused. I am thinking things will be clearer once Backlash comes to a close at the end of this month but for the moment I'm left wondering who thought the majority of these moves were a good decision for the future.

Bring back the Anaconda Vice!

Take a good look at this photo! This is what is missing from CM Punk!

When CM Punk debuted in the WWE on ECW he was intense, passionate and brutal. Every match saw different moves applied, a lot of screaming and his submission finisher the Anaconda Vice. The vice had similar setup to the Rock Bottom but once he brought his opponent down to the mat he locked them up in what you see pictured to the left. This move really showed you what CM Punk was all about. He was intense, unorthodox, techincally sound and tough. Combine the above with a heavy metal entrance theme and a bunch of tattoos and it is no wonder as to why the fans embraced him. They embraced him so much it became a no brainer to put him on RAW.

Since being on RAW it seems that Punk has lost what made him connect with the fans so much in the first place. He moves have become formulaic, you know what you are getting in every match now. Not like before where you were not sure what was going to happen. You might get a scream out of him but he seems to have quieted down. I'd like to say we still get to see the Anaconda Vice but we don't. Instead we get the GTS, a fireman's carry which ends with a knee to the skull. It isn't a bad move but with John Cena on the same show you can not help but reminded of the FU. I don't want to be reminded of Cena, I want to see the bad ass, straight edge guy, covered in tattoos I saw busting skulls on ECW!

This guy is a talented wrestler but I feel like the WWE is letting him rest on his laurels as of late. Sure people are wearing his shirts and cheering for him now but if he doesn't change then I do not see this lasting forever. If you don't believe me then you should note the boos he received last Sunday when he won the money in the bank ladder match. He is a great talent to have but the WWE doesn't seem to want to explore his potential as a character and as a wrestler. We want to see the guy we thought was cool in the first place.

What can be done to help this? Let him do what he does so well and be a talented wrestler with diverse move set. Let him have long matches and meaningful feuds. Let him scream and yell and go crazy. Let him cut promos. Let him get in some faces and start fights. He can still be face but just let him have his edge back. More importantly let him have the Anaconda Vice back!

Wrestlemania Results

Well I didn't fare to well with my predictions this time around. Let's take a look and see how everything turned out.

25 Diva Battle Royal: (Wrong)

I had a hard time figuring out who was even in this match and I did not envy the announce team while this mess took place. Santina Marella was crowned the first ever Ms. Wrestlemania, winning the hearts of millions.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: (Wrong)

CM Punk? Seriously? I would hope the WWE took note that when Christian, MVP and Shelton Benjamin were climbing the ladders the place was losing it. CM Punk wins and I hear boos and see garbage tossed into the ring. There was a lot of cool moves in this, especially from Kingston and Benjamin, and I think it would have been a real standout with a better choice of a winner.

This match also featured my favorite move of the night. It came after the botched sunset flip power bomb with Benjamin and MVP. Benjamin the picks up MVP like he is going to power bomb him and simply throws him over the top rope into a wall. That is what I like to call bad ass.

Chris Jericho Vs. Jimmy Snuka, Ricky Steamboat and Roddy Piper: (Wrong)

I'm not sure what the bigger surprise was, Chris Jericho winning or Ricky Steamboat's performance! This was a great match and watching Jericho wrestle Steamboat one on one was awesome. The interaction between those two was more entertaining than the main events we saw tonight, amazing. You also got to see Flair mix it up in the ring and Mickey Rourke too!

Shawn Michaels Vs. The Undertaker: (Correct)

This was an awesome match and love it or hate it the streak lives on. This was by far the best match of the night for me and judging by the crowd in Austin I don't think I am alone in that. I would like to give props to the cameraman who was crushed by the Undertaker during this match. Whoever he is, he took one of the hardest bumps of the night.

Jeff Hardy Vs. Matt Hardy (Extreme Rules): (Wrong)

Matt ditched the Hardy Boyz look and wins! So much for my Jeff Hardy guess. All in all it was a cool match with some pretty nasty bumps and high spots. Jeff's coccyx probably exploded after missing that leapfrog dropkick off of the ladder. Matt's twist of fate with the chair at the end was brutal too! I also think this was the first Wrestlemania where someone was hit with a shop vac, I could be wrong though.

JBL Vs. Rey Mysterio (Intercontinental Title): (Correct)

Rey Mysterio comes out as The Joker and beats JBL so quickly he gets upset and quits. It was an odd match but at least I guessed it correctly.


The Miz & Morrison Vs. The Colons (Tag Team Unification): (Wrong)

The Colons beat The Miz and Morrison and become the unified tag champs. Somewhere a child cries and wonders if god really exists.

Edge (c) Vs. Big Show Vs. John Cena (World Heavyweight Championship): (Correct)

First off, John Cena's introduction was lame as lame can be. The WWE continues to bury their heads in the sand by putting the belt back on Cena, ignoring the boos and garbage thrown in the ring as he holds the belt high.

HHH (c) Vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship): (Wrong)

This match was a big let down for me. The crowd was not into it and they seemed to be more distracted with something happening in the crowd behind the announce tables. It was oddly paced and did anyone think the finish of this match was anticlimactic like I did? I think the WWE missed a real opportunity by not putting the belt on Orton.

If you are keeping score that means I went 3/9 with my predictions. Not my best outing but better luck next time I suppose. I enjoyed watching the whole show but was disappointed with the main events. The draft and Backlash are coming up soon so hopefully some of these "wrongs" can be righted then, fingers are crossed.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts on the show as well.

Thoughts on the Week 3/30 -4/4

I had a few ideas for some articles this week but really I am so overwhelmed with excitement for Wrestlemania I thought I would just touch on some things that caught my eye this past week.

- Randy Orton has really become an amazing in ring talent. The promo he cut on RAW this past Monday was excellent. He has great mic skills but he also uses body language perfectly to put emphasis on his words. The similarities between his current run now and that of HHH's back in 1999 are remarkable. It is only fitting that he should be going up against HHH tomorrow night for the WWE title. It only seems right that the torch be passed to Orton at this time.

- The new Legacy shirt is alright but did they only print two of them? How come Dibiase doesn't get one? I understand that the economy is in turmoil right now but get the kid a fucking shirt for crying out loud.

- Santino's Mankini...












AMAZING!!

- Enjoyed the main event on ECW this week mainly because of John Morrison. For those who missed it the Bella Twins fought each other with Miz and Morrison in one corner while The Colons were in the other. Morrison spent the match texting on his cell phone and when he looked up to see what was going on he asked the Miz what color tights their Bella was wearing. The Miz responded with red so Morrison yelled "Go red!" and went back to texting.

- The US Title rematch between MVP and Shelton Benjamin was a good outing in my opinion. There is some good chemistry between these two in the ring and during promos. MVP received another check in the "W" column which I would think signifies the end of this feud. I still think it is a fair bet that Benjamin is the winner of the Money in the Bank match tomorrow night.

- Earlier today I heard a radio DJ say that he thinks Ken Kennedy will show up and win the Money in the Bank match. I would love to see that happen! I would love to see Ken Kennedy come back period for that matter!

- Is it not odd that when they show the commercial for the hall of fame and they mention the future they show a picture of Jack Swagger? I think it is odd because he hasn't been on television in about a month and he is the ECW champion. Wrestlemania is a four hour program and we could not give this kid a five minute match? He was obviously bumped for that member of the Pussycat Dolls.

- I also want you all to take note that on Smackdown this week Ezekiel Jackson had his own match against Jeff Hardy. THE Brian Kendrick has a new jacket (pictured to the right) too and it actually sucks more than the last one.

That's all for right now! Everyone enjoy Wrestlemania tomorrow night and I am sure I will have plenty to talk about next week!