Let the new War begin.

The battle lines have been drawn, and the time for talking is over.  The new Monday Night Wars are about to begin.  This is the first week of head to head competition between the WWE and TNA.  So what all is the same, and what is different this time around?  Well, the first and most obvious of course is, this is TNA, not WCW.  Yet oddly enough, it kind of “Feels” like WCW.  I see Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, 6-Pac, and the rumour mill has  it that Sting will show up.  And of course we also have Ric Flair.  Then again, It also feels a bit like ECW, with Taz around, and Team 3D, Rhino, and if all goes according to plan, Rob Van Dam.  But this definitely is neither of those two.  It may have some of the old talent, and even some of the attitude, but with fresh talent on the roster, and a different set of people running things behind the scenes, I think this group will succeed, where others have failed.  And what exactly will measure this success?  When WCW went up against the WWE, the goal was simple.  Put them out of business.  That was a bad idea, and they ended up going under in the process.  I think in the case of TNA the goal and the measure of success will be much easier.  Get higher ratings than we ever did on Thursdays, thus making our company look better, and in turn, Spike T.V. will have even more confidence in us, and we can grow, and attract even better talent.  For them, an epic failure would be if their ratings either do not go up, or even worse, they go down.  If that is the case, then eventually they would just get moved back to their original date and time, but still continue to put out a show, and hopefully do better later on.  Now on the WWE side of things, it would be a tad different.  Vince and company have clearly stated over and over that they do not view TNA as a threat.  But a curious thing has been happening lately.  When TNA did its big 3 hour special. They got Bret Hart on the show.  Now on the eve of head to head competition, they book a decent guest host, and “the boss” himself is set to step into the ring with John Cena.  There are also little things, like creating a rip off, of the beautiful people. (Michelle McCool and Layla….aka…Simply Brainless….er…Flawless)   These things sound like the actions of a company that actually is, looking over its shoulder.  But are they a threat?  No.  TNA is not going to put the WWE out of business.  And for all their cheap shots, that isn’t what they are trying to do.  They do want to steal some of the WWE’s audience, thats for sure.  And that in turn would hurt the WWE, and its bottom line.  But not to the point that they would be in fear of shutting down.  It would just be more of an annoyance.  But the thing it will most certainly do, that is what we all hope for, is that it will force the WWE to stop being so damn boring.  The thing we all loved about the Monday Night Wars, was that the competition made each company step up its game, and deliver some of the best shows we have ever seen.  So in all, this new “War” will mean only one thing.  A better product for us, the fans.  And quite frankly, we are long overdo.

Will RVD make an Impact?

We have all heard the rumours, and RVD himself has all but comfirmed it. It looks as though when Impact goes live on Monday, kicking off the new Monday Night Wars, that Rob Van Dam will make his debut with TNA.  But what does this mean for the company?  Just how big is RVD choosing to be with TNA?  Well, the simple fact that he had the option of going back to his former home, the WWE, and decided not to should just about say it all.  Really though, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering where RVD gained his popularity.  As one of (if not the biggest) star to come out of the original ECW, he knows all about being a part of a small company, trying to make a name for itself.  That ECW (the non WWE owned version)  took risks, and did things that were amazing, and at times downright scary.  And RVD had it all. The looks, the charisma, and the talent.  So naturally when it went under, the WWE snapped him up.  Then pretty much had no idea how to use him properly.  With the exception of giving him his Title shot at the first One Night Stand PPV against John Cena, which tore the house down.  But after that, he just sort of drifted until parting ways with the company.  Fast forward to today, and he is about to rejoin some of his old ECW running buddies in what can be loosely described as a hybrid of EWC and WCW in some ways.  It will seem like familiar territory, and in my opinion, RVD should fit in like a glove.  This will certainly be a big moment for TNA, and a big loss for the WWE.  I for one am looking forward to Mr Monday Night, locking horns with some of the best new talent in wrestling today.  Let the Wars begin.

Should TNA try to sign Maria?

Recently both TNA and WWE have released one of their female stars.  In the case of TNA, it was Awesome Kong.  This in my opinion is a big loss, since Kong was such an important part of making the knockout division what it is.  And on the WWE side, they released Maria Kanellis.  Honestly I was a bit shocked when I heard of this.  Maria is one of the most popular Diva’s, she is still very young, and with all her mainstream attention right now I would have never guessed that the WWE would let her go.  But they did.  And that brings me to the question at hand.  Should TNA try to lure Maria to their side of the Wrestling fence?  In her statement, Maria talked about pursuing other ventures, but I’m sure at some point she would like to be a part of the Wrestling business again.  Now this is a very hard thing for me to say, because I have been a big fan of Maria’s over the years, but in my opinion TNA should NOT try to sign her.  Lets face it, the Knockout division is for women who can actually Wrestle. (with the exception of Lacey Von Erich)  And Maria, try as she might, just can’t do it.  So if she wasn’t a part of the Knockout division, what would be left for her?backstage interviewer?  Nope, they already have Christy Hemme for that.  Valet?  I guess but that would only go so far.  I suppose there could be something for her to do as just an on camera personality.  It worked for Sharmell, and Karen Angle for a while.  But really, they don’t need Maria.  Don’t get me wrong, if they were to sign her, I would be happy to see her on Impact every week.  But I think TNA’s money could be better spent picking up somebody more talented.

Wrestlemania 26, Starting to take shape

The Elimination Chamber is over, and new Champions have been crowned.  And with that, we are now seeing Wrestlemania 26 begin to take shape.  The two main events are in place.  Batista will take on John Cena, and Edge will face Chris Jericho.  I have to admit, I’m a little surprised, yet relieved to see that HHH didn’t get himself put into the main event.  So how do these two Championship matches stack up?  I think the better of the two will be Edge vs Jericho.  Both of these guys have tremendous skill, and are very capable of putting on a good show, while telling a great story in the ring.  The built in story line that occured because of the injury to Edge just made it that much easier.  I don’t think this one will end the show, but it could very well steal it.  Then we have John Cena vs Batista.  I was lucky enough to go to Wrestlemania 23 in Detroit, and witnessed first hand the kind of energy that flows through an arena when Cena comes in.  Despite the mixed reactions he gets, he is still incredibly popular.  Batista being the bad guy in this one should mean more of a favourable response for Cena, but who knows for sure?  Either way, this one will most likely be the main event of the night.  Both of these guys are scary strong, but not the greatest Wrestlers.  I can see this being one of those, Cena takes a huge beating, yet comes out on top, type of matches.  What could be a good main event, but I don’t see it, will be the third match that has been announced thus far.  Sean Michaels vs The Undertaker…part 2.   Why on Earth they decided to try and replicate the great match they had last year is beyond me, but there it is.  This to me is like the feeling you get after you watch a really good movie, and knowing they will do a cheesy, money grab sequel that will never live up to the original.  I really hope I am wrong, but I have a feeling I won’t be.  The added stipulation that Michaels retires should he lose, does add to the drama, but thats about it.  The last thing that has been revealed so far, are some of the participants in the Money In The Bank, ladder match.  As of this post, we have Kane, Christian, Dolph Ziggler,  and Shelton Benjamin.  The ladder match was rumoured to not be happening at this years Wrestlemania, so I’m very happy to see that one being wrong.  And the field looks like Its shaping up rather well.  In fact, this years Wrestlemania in general is looking pretty good.  Lets see what they do to round out the rest of it though.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2010, Review

Welcome to the last stop on the Road To Wrestlemania.

     I haven’t always been a fan of the Elimination Chamber concept.  Mostly because I felt that the WWE should have adopted the War Games style match instead.  But over time I have come to appreciate this unique match, and now it is the theme for an entire Pay Per View.  And being the last PPV before Wrestlemania, It’s importance is even greater.  I must say that I was expecting some surprised for this years edition, and I wasn’t let down.  Of course I won’t spoil those surprises, but I will say that the one at the end of the Smackdown, Chamber match was a good one.  Of course in hindsight I should have seen it coming.  First up though was the Raw, Chamber match.  This group had some interesting things going for it, story wise.  With guys like Randy Orton, and Ted Dibiase in there, who could work together.  And of course HHH, John Cena, and Sheamus, who all have their own issues as of late.  And last but not least, the high flying Kofi Kingston.  All the right elements were in this one, and It certainly delivered.  And as I said earlier, there was a nice surprise for the ending.  The Chamber match was followed by the Intercontinental Championship match between Drew McIntyre and Kane.  For me This McIntyre character is decent, but he has a long way to go to be as good as they are building him up to be.  Kane is always Kane.  Slow, methodical, and usually boring.  He is made out to be a monster, so It makes the other person look better if he can beat him.  This was a good match to head to the concession stand during.  Now, what could follow such a snorefest?  How about a Diva match.  What was supposed to be Gail Kim vs Maryse for the vacant Barbie Belt…aka, the Diva’s Championship. Turned into a tag match pitting Kim and Maryse vs Team Lametool. aka, Michelle McCool and Layla.  This being the work of the shrieking banshee known as Vickie Guerero.  As you can imagine this wasn’t too much of a match. Thankfully It was over fairly quickly and we moved on.  Next up was MVP facing The Miz for the United States Championship.  As much as I don’t care for MVP, I have to admit that this time out, he looked good.  This was a much better match than I expected, but of course had a typical sort of ending.  Either way, It was a good one to see.  Last of course was the second Chamber match.  This one didn’t seem to have as much in the way of storyline as the Raw, Chamber match did.  But it had some really good talent, that put on an excellent show.  How could you really go wrong with Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, R-Truth, C.M. Punk, Chris Jericho and The Undertaker?  Well, I guess one way, was to let C.M. Punk get his hands on a Mic.  But aside from that, this was a solid Chamber match, with that ending that again, I should have seen coming, but didn’t.

     So there you have it.  I would say that if you haven’t seen this PPV yet, then you need to check it out.  The stage is now set, so let the final push for Wrestlemania begin.

Who is the real Mr Wrestlemania? (re-post)

About a year ago I did a post regarding the match between Sean Michaels and The Undertaker.  Now that we know that they will have their rematch, I thought It would be interesting to re-post this article, since it did have some interesting stats.  Enjoy.

So, for the last few weeks, In the build up to Wrestlemania 25, Sean Michaels has been taunting The Undertaker. And as per usual he is refering to himself as Mr Wrestlemania. I don’t really have a problem with that, but It did get me to wondering just how legitimate that claim was?
So after a little digging I came up with some interesting numbers and tidbits. Now, we all know that The Undertaker is undefeated going into this and he is currently 16-0. That right there could be his reason to lay clain to the “Mr Wrestlemania” title, but lets dig a little deeper.
The top 5 Win, Loss records for for wrestlers who have competed at 9 or more Wrestlemania’s is.
1) The Undertaker. 16-0
2) Hulk Hogan. 8-3-1
3) Bret Hart. 7-6
4) Randy Savage. 7-4
5) Sean Michaels. 6-7-2
So just going by Win, Loss records alone, not only doe’s Sean fall short, but he has lost more than he has won.
A few other big names who have been in less than 9 Wrestlemania’s, but are worth mentioning are.
7 matches…Steve Austin. 5-2
8 matches…Owen Hart. 5-2-1
8 matches…The Rock. 4-4
Now lets look at another interesting stat. Who has had more World Title victories at Wrestlemania? It is actually a 3 way tie, with all 3 men having won, you guessed it, 3 times. Those men are.
1) The Undertaker
2) Hulk Hogan
3) Steve Austin
But you may ask yourself this. Numbers aside, who has had more of those Wrestlemania moments? Who stole the show? And who really was, the main event, and the show stopper? Well here are two final stats for you to consider. The person who has headlined Wrestlemania the most in one of the main events is Hulk Hogan, with 8 main events. BUT!!! of all the matches that Sean Michaels has had, and despite his win, loss record, the last 5 Wrestlemania matches that Michaels has been in have won Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s match of the year award.
So there you have it. Personally I think that Taker is the man, and that Hogan has a big claim to that Title of “Mr Wrestlemania” Especially since it was built around him for years. But after doing my homework, I have to give Sean his due. He also has the right to use that moniker. But I’ll leave you all to make up your own minds on this one.

TNA. Against All Odds 2010 Review. (Spoilers)

First off I have to say that I don’t usually post spoilers with my reviews, but because of the nature of this particular Pay Per View;  the eight man tournament, I felt it was necessary.  Secondly, I have to say that thus far I have noticed an improvement in the quality of the last two PPVs.    So let us get on with the mathces.  The first out of the gate was The Pope vs Desmond Wolfe.  These two have had at it a couple of times, and just like their prior matches this one was good.  Naturally because this was a tournament, we couldn’t expect the first round match ups to be very long, but for the time they had they put on a good show.  And you always see something original out of Wolfe.  But this time out, The Pope got the win, and advanced.  Next up was the Tag Team Champions going head to head.  Hernandez vs Matt Morgan.  On paper this looked like it would be very interesting.  Unfortunatley it was not .  Morgan is capable of pulling off a good match, but sometimes he is only as good as his opponet.  And Hernandez is still just too green.  They lumbered around the ring, and did their thing, but in the end Morgan got the victory, and at the same time he managed to screw Hernandez over a bit, thus planting the seed for their eventual demise (in my opinion)  The third first round match was Mr Anderson vs Kurt Angle.   This was certainly one of those matches that I wish had more time.  It was very good, but if it was a main event, it could have been excellent.  Angle still has lots of go left in him, and Anderson just has that ability to get the crowd going, while still putting on a great match.  After this one was done, I just could not help asking myself, why in the hell did the WWE ever let Anderson go? And yes, somehow Anderson was able to beat Kurt Angle .  Now on to the last of the first round matches.  This one featured Mick Foley vs Abyss.  The stipulations for this match were simple. It was no DQ.  And as an added bonus, both men were told that if the barbed wire bat was not used, that Abyss would be unmasked on Impact.  Now, these days, Foley has no business in a ring, and it shows.  Mercifully this one was short, and the use of thumbtacks made it a fun ending.  But despite Abyss getting the win, the bat was never used.  I guess the mask is coming off soon.  Now, as for the rest of the tournament, I will keep the other rounds winners a secret.  But your second round matchups were The Pope vs Matt Morgan, and Mr Anderson vs Abyss.  I can’t give everything away.  But I will say that I did not really expect how things eventually turned out.  But for sure the final match was a winner.  In fact, it was the final match of the card.    That had more to do with giving the men a break between rounds, but I honestly thought It was better than the World Title match between A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe.  I’ll get to them in a second, but I do want to mention the one low part of the night.  Team 3D vs The Nasty Boys.  I understand that The Nastys are Hogans boys and all, but they really are not very good.  In fact It’s almost painful to watch them lumber around the ring.  Team 3D after all these years can still get the crowd going, and put on a good match, but even they had trouble making these two stiffs look good.  And with the surprise appearance of The Nasty Boys manager at the end of the match, It looks like they will be sticking around.  But lets move on to the World Title Match.  Samoa Joe has finally rid himself of the face paint, and the whole Nation Of Violence thing, and is looking like the Joe of old.  Just a wrecking machine.  On the other hand, we now have A.J., who came out in a Ric Flair type robe, that made him look like a blue chicken, and blonde highlights in his hair.  Thankfully the changes in the looks did not affect his Wrestling ability.  As you would expect, these two had a great match.  With Flair at ringside, you have to expect some kind of funny business now and again, but for the most part it was just a solid effort from two very good Wrestlers.  So, in my opinion I would have to say that this was yet another good PPV from the Hogan/Bischoff team.  very few weak matches, and some twists you might not expect.  The only thing missing was an X-Division match, but thats for two reasons. 1) the tournament, but more importantly 2)  Destination X, is going to be an all X-Division Pay Per View.  Now THAT should be something to see.

DX. Why They Need To Split Up.

I guess I could make this a very short post and sum this up with just one sentence.  They need to split up because quite frankly, people are sick of them.  But that would be too easy.  It would also not be completely true.  They are still very popular, and they sell enough merchandise to fund a small nation.  Which is probably why they have been together for this latest run, for far too long.  You know It’s getting bad when Joey Styles complains that he’s sick of you.  But let us get to the real reason that DX needs to split.  They have been teasing it for weeks now.  It’s because Shawn Michaels and HHH need to have a match at Wrestlemania.  Michaels obsession with The Undertaker, and getting a rematch has been a nice distraction.  And Hunter pretty much just wants to win another championship.  But with the Elimination Chamber Pay Per View looming, and Wrestlemania right after that, both of these men need to find themselves in matches.  This animosity between the two of them can’t just be for nothing.  They need to have a real reason to hate each other.  Hunter put the offer out there.  He wins the Title at the Chamber, and gives Shawn a shot at it.  But that would just be too nice and honest.  We want these two at each others throats.  Because we all know that when friends wrestle they can have a good match, but when enemies meet, they tear the house down.  But for this to happen, DX has to fall apart.  It has been building for weeks, and we all see it coming.  The big question right now is HOW is it going to happen?  I personally don’t care how these two split up, but it should be interesting to see.  More importantly, I want to see them rip each other to pieces at Wrestlemania.  Now that would be fun to watch.

Survivor Series….Is Dead !

After more than 20 years of tradition the Survivor Series is no more. Vince McMahon has said that it will be scrapped in 2010, and has become obsolete.  He was quoted as saying ” It worked many, many years ago. It was one of the original four, but it’s outlasted its usage.”  The Title will be gone, and it is now one of the Pay Per Views that they are going to re-brand.  Which of course means that they will come up with some new “Themed” PPV instead.  I have to say, I’m sad to see the Survivor Series go.  But at the same time, the spirit of the event hasn’t really been the same for quite some time.  Sure, they have had a few “traditional” 5 person team, elimination matches.  But I’m afraid on this one, McMahon is right.  The concept worked years ago, but today….not so much.  Of course I would have prefered for them to simply tinker with the PPV itself, and keep the name.  This could have been a perfect chance to introduce the “War Games” style of match.  But since that is very similar in nature to the Elimination Chamber,I seriously doubt the WWE will ever use that concept.  So, now we are down from the original 4, to the original 3.  Naturally Wrestlemania is safe, and so is the Royal Rumble.  But what about SummerSlam?  I would think that they would leave that one alone, especially since this last years was so good.  But then again, this is Vince McMahon we are talking about.  Either way, the Survivor Series is dead.  Lets remember the good times, and hope that what they replace it with isn’t too lame.

A.J. Styles, is NOT the next Ric Flair.

For weeks now we have seen the transformation of A.J. Styles, from the most popular and talented Wrestler in TNA; to being Ric Flairs student and a wannabe playboy.  The thing is, I do like the pairing up of the two.  You have Flair, who is always a draw, and almost always entertaining.  And you have A.J., who is the most talented guy in the company.  But the two personalities don’t mix.  The idea of turning A.J. into a heel isn’t so bad itself.  That can be done rather easily.  It’s this whole notion that A.J. can turn himself into the next “Nature Boy” that just does not feel right.  There are rumours that the powers that be, want to totally re-package Styles to the point of having him dye his hair blonde.  To me,  this is totally ridiculous.  The thing that Styles has going for him right now, is the fact that he really does live up to the moniker “phenomenal”  Watching his last few matches, he has gone the route of the cowardly champion.  Taking short cuts, using outside interference, etc..  It hasn’t been much so far, but as this Styles/Flair alliance goes on, I can see it becoming a regular thing.  Because thats how Flair used to operate.  And if you are going to be taught by Flair, and act like Flair, and hell even LOOK like Flair, then I guess you have to Wrestle like him too.  Which is a shame.  I would rather see this partnership cover just a few things.  There is nothing wrong with acting like Flair to a degree.  Wearing the suits, and having the women around outside of the ring is just fine.  Doing the whole Stylin and Profilin thing would actually work well for A.J.  But once you get to the ring, the old A.J. needs to step up, and win the matches the way he always used to.  No running, no cheating,  just showing off that amazing talent, and being better than the other guy.  I have heard this rumour being thrown around, that they would like Flair to remake a version of the Four Horsemen, with A.J. as the Champ, and Flair in the role that J.J. Dillon had.  Now that would definitely be something that could have some very good long term benefits.  I think a perfect fit for a group like that would be, Beer Money, and Matt Morgan.  But that is thinking too far ahead, and It’s still just a rumour.  Back to the point at hand.  As it stands right now, things have not gone too far with A.J. being molded into the next “Nature Boy”  But they need to be careful not to overdo it.  TNA has a very good thing in Styles.  As the old saying goes, If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  And Please…..No Blonde hair Dye….