Another Three From the List

Last week WWE released Super Crazy, Paul London, and Chuck Palumbo. I may be mistaken, but I don't think London or Palumbo had been on television since the draft back in June. Super Crazy had been bouncing back and forth between ECW and Smackdown having random matches with no consistent feud or storyline.

Super Crazy was always fun to watch. Without a cruiserweight division on Smackdown he was a little lost. Palumbo was never all that interesting. The biker gimmick never really did anything for me, even though I'll admit I didn't watch too much Smackdown when that version of Palumbo was a regular feature on it. I didn't see much potential in either of them beyond the midcard. I guess both guys fit nicely into the role of "established jobber", someone who is recognizable that a new face in the company can beat on their way to a push. Guys like Tommy Dreamer, Snitsky, and Val Venis.

As for Paul London, here's what I wrote about him in the original list post:

"Something should be done with Paul London. He's too talented and too fun to watch to let him go to waste. He could be placed in the current program with Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. Like Lance Cade, London is a product of Michaels' Texas Wrestling Academy. Chris Jericho & Lance Cade vs. Shawn Michaels & Paul London...I'd pay to see that. A solo London probably wouldn't be much more than a jobber, and I can see a guy as talented as he is asking for his release to head to TNA or back to Ring of Honor."

I wrote that back in July, after which London lost a match to Chris Jericho and hasn't been seen since. I figured he was talented enough to work in at least the upper midcard as a singles competitor if pushed properly. Obviously that didn't happen. I didn't expect it of his former tag team partner Brian Kendrick, who went on to become the phenomenon known as The Brian Kendrick. As I said, I wouldn't be suprised to seel London show up somewhere else very soon. Where ever he ends up, I'm sure he'll land on his feet...or his face.

SvR 2009 Roster Leaked

Fans of IGN's annual Smackdown countdown may have been disappointed this year when it was announced that rather than announcing the whole roster and ticking them off the list, the countdown would proceed without the roster, with no indication as to how many superstars would be in the game. With a new Legends of WrestleMania title to launch early next year, there was speculation as whether Legends would even be in the game, as many seem to be willing to give them up in exchange for a more complete current roster.

Well, as should be a shocker to no one, the rendered images that show up on the match-up screen have leaked onto the Internet, and they seem to reveal the game's 63-man roster. The images match those that have already appeared on IGN's countdown, so the whole thing looks legit, and rather than a denial, THQ issued a statement reminding that nothing's for sure until it is revealed on IGN. So take that as you will.

Anyway, the revealed roster is thus (spoilers, of course):
RAW SUPERSTARS
Batista
Chris Jericho
Chuck Palumbo
CM Punk
Cody Rhodes
Hardcore Holly
JBL
John Cena
JTG
Kane
Kofi Kingston
Lance Cade
Paul London
Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio
Santino Marella
Shad Gaspard
Shawn Michaels
Snitsky
William Regal

SMACKDOWN SUPERSTARS
Big Show
Brian Kendrick
Carlito
Curt Hawkins
Edge
Festus
Jeff Hardy
Jesse
Jimmy Wang Yang
Mr. Kennedy
MVP
Shelton Benjamin
The Great Khali
Triple H
Umaga
Undertaker
Zack Ryder

ECW SUPERSTARS
Boogeyman
Chavo Guerrero
Elijah Burke
Finlay
Hornswoggle
John Morrison
Mark Henry
Matt Hardy
The Miz
Tommy Dreamer

RAW DIVAS
Beth Phoenix
Candice Michelle
Jillian Hall
Kelly Kelly
Layla
Melina
Mickie James

SMACKDOWN DIVAS
Maria
Michelle McCool
Victoria

NON-ACTIVE SUPERSTARS
Tazz
Vince McMahon

NO LONGER EMPLOYED SUPERSTARS
Ashley
Big Daddy V
Ric Flair
Trevor Murdoch

Will there be more? Downloadable, perhaps? THQ's not telling. Next entry, I'll be crunching some numbers with the Smackdown video game series.

TNA hawking for WWE

Did you know that some guys in TNA used to work for the WWE? Well, if you didn't, they'll sure let you know. When DX made its high-profile return, former members BG and Kip James, formerly Road Dogg and Billy Gunn, went ape-shit over the whole thing and changed their tag team name from the James Gang (which fit) to the Voodoo Kin Mafia (VKM - Vincent Kennedy McMahon - get it?). Mick Foley made his debut and talked about how awesome the people Kurt Angle used to wrestle against are. It's always WWE this, WWE that.

TNA, after all this time, is still lacking its own identity. I know I can't get through a TNA post without mentioning WCW, but this is why. Once the nWo storyline was milked to death (three times) - WCW has absolutely nothing, so it tried to emulate the WWF. ECW mentioned both companies quite often, but that WAS its identity. It was the one company that didn't want to be like either of the other two.

TNA is not doing that. It's quite obvious that TNA badly wants to be the WWE. They need to focus on refining TNA and worry a whole lot less about whatever they're trying to accomplish here.

What if Smackdown moved back to Thursday? I'm just saying.

Five things about Impact

Despite their claims, TNA is not active competition to the WWE. It's a fact. Are they growing? Slowly, but yes. However, watching an episode of any WWE show (even ECW) then hitting up Impact will immediately showcase an inferior product. I have been watching Impact more regularly lately, and I've gathered five things (in random order) that makes the experience somewhat difficult for me.

1) Crowd reaction
Now I realize this is hardly TNA's fault, but the crowd reaction really does seem to hurt the product. The smallest aerial spot will ignite a 'TNA!' chant, and well-known names will be cheered simply for name recognition. I'm pretty sure that of Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, Booker T, Kevin Nash, Sting, AJ Styles, Scott Steiner, Tomko, and Samoa Joe, there should be one heel, but you can't tell from the crowd. Everyone gets cheered. Of course, I remember the days in which WCW piped in 'Goldberg' chants, so I guess this may be the lesser of two evils.

2) Inconsistency
The problem with my inconsistent viewership of Impact is that I am constantly wondering who's on which side of what. The Team Angle/Christian Coalition thing had me scratching my head, Tomko's allegiance baffled me, and just what is up with Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe? Sting is supposed to be this holier-than-thou bitter veteran, yet still high fives the fans on his way to and from the ring. Everyone loves the swerve, but you really need to keep some kind of consistency if you're going to make them mean something.

3) Gimmicks
First and foremost, leave Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt out of this category. They have both taken what could be awful gimmicks and have run with them. I'm talking about Shiek Abdul Bashir (Shawn Davari) who is holding the X Division Title as his hostage (yes, Mike Tenay really said that). I'm talking about Christopher Daniels being 'fired' and returning as the masked Curry Man. I'm talking about the imminent arrival of Suicide, a character based on the amnesia-based video game character. There seem to be a million bad gimmicks out there, and TNA is slowly but surely trying to go through them all. At least Matt Morgan isn't stuttering. That's a plus.

4) Don West
As the voice of the product, a commentator's voice is the most-heard noise on a show. You'd think that with responsibility, one would find a set of somewhat pleasant voices to be heard for the product. WWE has its teams of Jim Ross, Tazz, Matt Striker, Todd Grisham, Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole, none of whom are hard on the ears. TNA has its longtime team of Mike Tenay and Don West. While Mike Tenay is certainly a capable commentator (as well as a walking encyclopedia of wrestling knowledge), Don West yells. And yells. And yells. I would probably be welcoming on TNA programming if West wasn't screaming at me for both hours. TNA also falls into the old WCW trap of having two play-by-play guys and no color commentators. Surely there's someone who can provide analysis - maybe someone like Scott D'Amore or James Mitchell or even Raven to take the spot. Just please, PLEASE, get rid of West.

5) Crazy-ass matches
If you think about it from a business standpoint, the weekly, free TV shows are there to allow a storyline to unfold and build to a turning point/climactic moment at a PPV, in which the viewer has to pay. It is at these PPVs that the highest quality matches should be on display. This includes gimmick matches, that don't (or shouldn't) appear regularly. Such is not the case with TNA, though. Every episode of Impact usually has at least one crazy stipulation match, be it a object-on-a-pole or a ladder match, or some hard-to-define stipulation that TNA is so renowned for. Most of these matches would likely be heavy PPV draws had the fans not become so used to them from episodes of Impact. WCW did the same thing in its closing days, desperate to get a quick ratings jump. So put on quality matches on Impact, and save the special stuff for the PPVs. If you can even get storylines going consistently, you might get a better fanbase.

So there you go - five things that make watching Impact a chore for me most weeks. There's potential there, which is why I tune in at least every other week. it just needs a lot of fine-tuning to make it.

TNA Impact (the game)

One of the joys of your masked hero hitting a birthday is that some things he wasn't expecting to get end up obtainable. With an increase of cash in the wallet and a trip to Best Buy, I came home the owner of Midway's mildly anticipated TNA Impact for my PS3. As Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 doesn't come out for another two months, I hoped that this game would cover my wrestling game jitters that usually pop up this time of the year.

If you've seen the commercials (and if you ever watch Impact, I can't imagine that you haven't), you know that the game is pretty. But the question is - how is the rest of it? I can say with confidence that it isn't bad. In fact, in the one day that I've owned it, I've had a pretty good time with it.

Before I get into it, let me just say that there are two great systems of wrestling games out there - the Smackdown system and the No Mercy system. Impact is not either of those, and I'm going to try to limit the comparisons to them as best I can. Fortunately, though, Impact is also no WCW Mayhem or Nitro.

The game is the first installment of what could very well be a strong franchise for TNA games. While the game lacks a certain polish and is limited in features, it provides solid groundwork that can be built greatly upon. After all, before there was No Mercy there was WCW vs. the World (go pick that one up for PS1 and enjoy). Impact balances between its strengths and weaknesses, and in the end, I think it leans into the good. So let's take a look at the game's strengths.

As said before, the game is pretty. The characters are beautifully rendered and each move with nice animation. The only animation I found myself questioning was Rhino's charge to the ring, which made him look like he had a stick jammed somewhere uncomfortable. AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal (in his Black Machismo attire) look especially excellent. The moves flow beautifully, and with a system that allows multiple reverses, the animation is near seamless. The Orlando Impact Zone looks exactly as it should and the crowd is fine.

I'm about 20% into the story mode and the voice-over work I've heard is excellent. Of course, besides generic characters, I've only heard James Storm, Kevin Nash and Jay Lethal, but all their lines are well done. The game's tutorial videos are voiced over by Lethal, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles, and the only one that was rough to listen to was Styles, but that wasn't because of the voice acting. That's how he actually talks.

The story mode, thus far, has also been enjoyable. Of course, the basic premise is pretty cheesy (involving amnesia of all things) but it's easy to dismiss that aspect and think of it as a guy working his way up the ranks. In fact, why they didn't just take it that direction is beyond me. Anyway, the early stages have your character outside of the company fighting independent wrestlers (created wrestlers, much like in Day of Reckoning) which is a nice touch. Also nice (and frustrating) is that when you finally fight a TNA wrestler, they are substantially tougher than the indie guys. From what I've played, I can say that there have been better story modes (Here Comes the Pain) as well as worse (Wrestlemania XIX).

The game control itself is pretty solid, though does have a bit of a learning curve. Your four face buttons are punch, kick, grapple and action (roll out of the ring, climb turnbuckle), with the two top buttons for strong attacks and reverses, then the triggers being used for running and...uh...I honestly can't remember what the other one does. The strong button is more of a modifier button to be used in combination with the others. With the grapple button, it allows a tie-up, which can be pulled into a submission using the action button. This also will perform the finisher, if the IMPACT meter for your character fills. All finishers (that I have seen thus far) are done from a front grapple. Overall, it's a lot of combinations, but once you get down what you're doing, it's good fun.

The downside to the controls is that it seems that each control has one move associated to it, which severely limits your character's repertoire. My created guy will use tons of neckbreakers and DDTs before I have done enough damage to get the pin. Each character shares certain moves, which limits the individuality, save taunts and finishers. My biggest complaint, though, is the control for kicking out of a pin attempt - as in I can't kick out of pin attempts. If someone tries to pin me, I'm done. Every time. I'm working on it.

Other standard wrestling game features appear, but are limited in their expanse. The create-a-wrestler is quite disappointing, especially since the story mode requires that you use a created character. The only bio information for your character is the name - things like hometown, weight and height are missing. The costume selection is extremely limited and the colors range from bland to ugly. The face customization isn't too bad but the inability to adjust the scale of any of the body is greatly missed. In fact, two of the three available body sizes seem to make your character look out of shape. The 'athletic' build in particular has a bit of a gut and slight love handles. There is no cruiserweight-style body for those lucha-libre fans. The move selection, at my point, is horribly limited as all but the default moves must be unlocked by getting style points in matches. If nothing else, if gives a reason to keep playing exhibition matches after the story's done.

The other thing lacking here is game modes. While TNA prides itself on its ridiculous amount of stipulation matches, the game only has one-on-one, free-for-all (fatal four way), tag match and the Ultimate X Match (with 2 or 3 participants). No Six Sides of Steel, King of the Mountain, or even standard battle royal. Hopefully in future installments the other TNA staples will be added to the mix.

Finally, the roster. Of the characters initially available, most all of TNA is represented. Main eventers like Sting, Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe, Booker T, and AJ Styles are present, as are the X-Divisioners like Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Shark Boy and Jay Lethal. I haven't unlocked them yet, but I know Kevin Nash is in the game and Petey Williams' finisher is unlockable, so I figure he is too. Brother Devon is initially playable, but Brother Ray isn't so I assume he too is unlockable. Even the rank and file is represented with the likes of James Storm, Robert Roode and Scott Steiner. It's really a good representation of TNA's talent. However, the biggest hole in the roster is the lack of the Knockouts. With the division really becoming the shining point of TNA, the lack of the likes of Gail Kim, Awesome Kong and even ODB is damaging.

Overall, I have to say I enjoy the game and even with what it's lacking, there's a lot to be enjoyed. In future installments, I hope to see defendable titles, better move sets, an expanded create-a-wrestler and others, but for what this one is, I'm not disappointed (as my expectations were pretty low to begin with). If nothing else, the bonus features on my PS3 copy gives five matches (two of which are recent exclusives) with past and present TNA talent including Jeff Jarrett, Brian Christopher (Grand Master Sexay), Scott Hall, Ron Killings (R-Truth), six current X-Divisioners in a six-man free-for-all and the entire Knockouts roster in a gauntlet match.

Not a bad buy, if you have the money to spend. If not, then save it and wait for Smackdown.

If It's On a Wrestling News Site, It Must Be True

There are rumors going around the internets that MVP has a good deal of backstage heat for some reason or another. Given the previous stories we've all heard about backstage heat, especially all those about CM Punk and the track record they've had, my pick to win the WWE Championship scramble at Unforgiven this Sunday is...

An ongoing "thing" is born

I try to be polite when talking about the form of entertainment I oh, so enjoy. Since the mid-90s, these performers have given me countless hours (really, I don't want to count them) of entertainment, and I appreciate that. I really do.

But sometimes as I watch, something so ridiculous, so bone-headed, so just 'WTF' happens that I have to scratch my head and question the thought process that allowed it to happen. Fortunately for me, I have found what will throw up a flag anytime I comment on such a moment:

Shame on you if you don't know who this guy is. If you see him pop up, you know that I've seen something that I think is, for lack of a better term, flipping loopy.

Championship scramble - bit of a mess?

The owner of this blog, myself and several others make it something of a habit to get the WWE PPVs every month (only when there's a twofer in a month will we skip one), so it is quite likely that we will be sitting down for Unforgiven in about a week and a half. Looking towards that, it's probably best that I start getting excited about the newfangled 'Championship Scramble' matches. Apparently WWE has so much confidence in them, it's giving us three of them - one for each brand's title. Now I may be wrong, but it seems like the novelty may have worn thin by the time we get to the third match (likely the one for CM Punk's World Heavyweight title).

The Championship Scramble - an 'Adamle Original' from Raw GM Mike Adamle - is a 20 minute, five man match in which two participants begin with a new one entering the ring every five minutes. Any time a pinfall or submission is scored, that person becomes something of an unofficial, interim champion (pretty much 'it') until another is scored. When the 20 minutes are up, the person who is 'it' becomes the champion. And no, that will not inflate any of the title histories. WWE has gone out of their way to make sure everyone knows that only the winner will be officially champion.

So when Adamle announced the match, he gave the opponents for CM Punk, and it read like a usual suspects list: John Cena, Batista, Kane and JBL. Nothing really new there - the Raw upper card and usual contenders. Then, John Cena went down with an injury and the spot became the return match for Rey Mysterio - who is off-camera in the makings of a feud with Kane. The change has put Batista in something of a spot as he becomes the only person who does not have an ongoing feud (though they've used his past friendship with Mysterio to build some tension between him and Kane). The original would have had JBL vs. Punk, Cena vs. Batista, and Kane with the tension of a returning Mysterio. Personally, I would have given Chris Jericho the open spot and had Batista vs. Kane with Jericho having the tension of Shawn Michaels, taking the feud into No Mercy. But who am I to second guess?

So with Raw's big match set, Smackdown quickly announced that they too would have a Championship Scramble. Once the qualifying matches were done, Triple H's opponents were set as Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Hardy, MVP and The Brian Kendrick. To me, this is the more exciting match as you have younger talent with flashier styles. It's also exciting to see the likes of Benjamin and Kendrick in a title match. Both have been shining for quite some time and this is really a chance for them to show that they belong in the next level. Of course, much to my chagrin, this setup pretty much assures that Triple H will leave still champion. I'm not by any means a Triple H hater - on the contrary, I think he's one of the best (if not the best) talents in the company -but can you really see any of the others taking the title at this point? And no, I don't think Jeff Hardy has proved himself again yet - missing WrestleMania because of a drug suspension is going to take a while.

Finally, last night ECW announced that they too would have a Scramble, and this time it seemed like they just drew names out of a hat for the shot at Mark Henry. Matt Hardy was a given, of course, but the other three were the Miz, Chavo Guerrero and Finlay. The Miz I'm fine with - he's really come a long way since in his eight month tag title reign, but it seems like a crime to not include his partner John Morrison, who is the stronger talent of the two. Chavo Guerrero has been embroiled in a Smackdown storyline for months and seems out of place compared to the man he beat to get in - Tommy Dreamer - who would have a better reason to go after Mark Henry, aside from the ECW Championship. As for Finlay, he's been feuding with Mike Knox - a feud that I hope wasn't ended when Finlay got into this match. If I had to pick anyone from the roster to fill Finlay's spot, I'd say toss in one of the new talents - Evan Bourne or Ricky Ortiz - or someone the fans can get behind like Super Crazy.

So of the three matches, the one that's balanced and exciting is also predictable, and the others just aren't getting my interest going. Will they be good? I hope so. I'm cutting in a part of the PPV cost, after all.

Another Seven Bite the Dust

WWE has released six more names as of yesterday.

Shannon Moore and Domino were on my list. Nunzio should have been, but I forgot about him.

Braden Walker used to be "Wildcat" Chris Harris in TNA. Aside from Monty Brown, Harris was the only "home grown" TNA star to jump ship to WWE. After signing his contract back in January, he was invisible for six months until popping up in ECW. He was released after just two televised matches.

James Curtis was a jobber in ECW, but back when he was KC James he was one of Michelle McCool's "Teacher's Pets" along with Idol Stevens. After that tag team went nowhere, he went back to OVW. He eventually found his way to ECW, where he never won a match.

The story going around was that Big Daddy V was sent home and told to lose some weight. Apparently, WWE saw being a 900+ lb. bucket of jiggly man goo in suspenders as not healthy. I'm guessing the efforts to trim up didn't go so well. Along with Trevor Murdoch, he was a wasted draft pick as he got released before even making an appearance on the show he was drafted to.

And finally, famous referee Nick Patrick got the sack as well. I have no idea why, but I can't say as I remember seeing him on television recently.

Just a Thought...

One champion (CM Punk) and five challengers (JBL, Batista, Cena, Kane, Jericho).

If it weren't for the fact that they've already had two of them this year, I'd say we've got the makings of an Elimination Chamber on our hands.

Better judgment says they won't go for it, but you never know.

UPDATE: On second thought, I just learned that there's going to be a Hell In A Cell match at Summerslam. Given that both structures would have to hang over the ring, it's logistically impossible for both to happen on the same night.

Brian Kendrick's New Fashion Statement

Hell yes. Look at that sweet jacket. You know you want one just like it.

Lack of veterans may hurt DiBiase and Rhodes

I probably wasn't the only one who saw Cody Rhodes' betrayal of Hardcore Holly coming, but thus far it seems to have been the spark he needed to start shining. He and Ted DiBiase (the new one) are custom made for the roles they now have: cocky sons of well-established and successful veterans of yesteryear ready to make their impact, but not really interested in putting the build-up work in. That's a great angle for them.

But there's a problem here. For the "cut in the pecking order line" upstart gimmick to work, you need some established "paid their dues" veterans to offend, and hopefully ones that can afford a loss or two to build the new talent, yet with enough push to make it matter. Hardcore Holly was the perfect choice to start this thing, and if he comes back to take his revenge, you've got the start of something good. Unfortunately, past Holly, the Raw brand (and the entire WWE, for that matter) is lacking on mid-carders with any momentum that could challenge.

The Raw veterans that could believably feud (and lose) to Rhodes and Holly consist of Holly, Val Venis, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and William Regal. Val Venis has lacked any kind of push since his days as Chief Morley back during the Bischoff administration, Hacksaw Jim Duggan is a nostalgic gimmick machine and William Regal is out on drug-suspension and might end up on a different show when he returns (remember, he was fired from Raw by Mr. Kennedy who is now on Smackdown). None of these have any clout to push Rhodes and DiBiase up a level. The other veterans, like Chris Jericho, JBL, Shawn Michaels and Kane are too high up on the card to have a feud with the two in such a way - and are already involved in their own feuds.

Stretching out to the entire roster, candidates for such a feud would include Smackdown's Big Daddy V and Funaki and ECW's Chavo Guerrero, Finlay, Mark Henry, Nunzio and Stevie Richards, Super Crazy and Tommy Dreamer. In that list, the only ones freed up for such a push would be Super Crazy and Nunzio, and if you beat either of them, so what? Everyone else does too.

Perhaps Rhodes and DiBiase will continue their push, but unless someone comes along that can help elevate them, they'll start to fizzle and end up on Heat with no one but Hacksaw and Pez Whatley tributes to beat.

Wait, there is no Heat anymore?

Bret Hart hates writers, loves self

Bret Hart was a victim of wrestling - there is no doubt about that. Having been unceremoniously booted from the WWF, to losing his brother to a tragic in-ring accident, to having his storied career ended by a boot to the face by the likes of Goldberg (I really need to go into the symbolism there), to finally being released by WCW, a company that was wasting money on the likes of Norman Smiley and Brian Knobbs - Bret Hart had good reason to be bitter. But if time heals all wounds, someone obviously forgot to tell Bret, because bitter is all he seems to be these days.

I can't say I often catch what Bret Hart says or writes, but this first came to my attention when he refused to show up at WrestleMania XXII with the other Hall of Fame inductees of 2006. It obviously was what the fans wanted - and eight years after the infamous Montreal Incident, surely one more appearance couldn't have hurt anything. But no, it was not to be. Eventually (about a day later) I forgot about it and moved on.

Today, I caught wind of Hart's induction speech into a Hall of Fame (doesn't say which one) in which he lashes out at a wrestling book writer and decides to take his ball and go home when the writer refuses to leave. Really - he did that.

I loved Bret Hart in his heyday. I could watch his matches all day. Unfortunately, since his departure from the industry, he has seemed to become a mound of self-pity - and that's a real shame. Instead of doing his all to help improve the industry he gave so much for (and in turn, trying to prevent repeats of all the ills that occurred to him) he sits and grumbles. Now, perhaps I'm wrong and I have this way off-base...but that's what it seems to me.

Of course, Bret's comments are completely off-base, they're just badly aimed. If you're going to complain about outsiders writing about wrestling, then don't target the one's who spend great amounts of time researching to produce a well-thought out book. Aim more for the "news sites" who spread rumors, gossip, speculate and complain without a shred of presented evidence - all the meanwhile thinking of themselves as "experts". If that doesn't work for you, hit up the bloggers (like the two here) who have nothing better to do than occasionally share thoughts on something that is obviously enjoyable enough to write about.

But pick better battles, Bret. All you look like now is a pouting has-been - and that's not what you deserve at all.

First Murdoch, and now...

Just heard about this on WWE.com...

On the Bubble

With Trevor Murdoch, being released on Thursday (who was on the list I compiled for this article before that, just so you know) after getting drafted to Smackdown, it seems WWE is beginning the bit of house cleaning that seems to happen after every draft. If you recall 2007, just among the 25 superstars who changed shows in the draft nine of them are no longer with the company. So here's a list of guys (and one girl) I think are on the bubble and could be getting "wished the best of luck in their future endeavors" in the near future.

Injuries, Steroids, & Suspensions, Oh My!

Since the Benoit tragedy last year, the WWE has really stepped up its enforcement of the wellness policy. Management doesn't play around with those who violate it. And being injured for an excessive amount of time doesn't help either.

Ashley Massaro – Since winning the Diva Search in 2005, Ashley hasn’t done much of anything. In fact, I’d wager that she’s spent more time injured than active. She’s been with the company for three years and still doesn’t know how to wrestle. And even if she learned, she’s far too injury prone to push.

Boogeyman – Injured for at least six months now, already fired once and just not good in the ring. The guy has an interesting presence and is weird as hell, so he could kept around for backstage segments. But there’s only so many times that The Boogeyman can show up, do something bat-shit crazy, and fade away.

Jimmy Wang Yang – Suspended since June 9, Jimmy Wang Yang was a very unlikely violation of the wellness policy. But with that on his record and no more cruiserweight division, Yang’s prospects don’t look good.

William Regal & Jeff Hardy – With two strikes against the Wellness policy on them, you’d think these guys would not be so stupid as to get a third. But most people thought they’d be smart enough to avoid a second strike. That obviously wasn’t the case.

Tag Team Turmoil

With Cryme Tyme and Jesse & Festus being the only real tag teams currently active in the WWE at the moment (and by that I mean introduced and pushed as a tag team) it doesn't look good for the only other real tag team left. And what happens to the teams that have split thanks to the draft?

The Highlanders – The Highlanders made a small impression when they debuted on Raw then quickly faded away to Heat. Then they turned heel for no good reason and didn’t even get a storyline to go with it. Rory’s been injured since late last year and Robbie’s been pretty much off the radar since then.

Brian Kendrick – I can’t for the life of me figure out why they split up Paul London & Brian Kendrick. Kendrick got shipped off to Smackdown and I just don’t see what’s there for him to do. There’s no more Cruiserweight title to go after, I honestly think Kendrick’s too small to be considered a threat to anyone on his own.

Domino – The lesser half of Deuce & Domino, here’s another guy that got left out in the cold thanks to the draft. The tag team had broken up the week before the draft, but now Domino doesn’t have the opportunity to feud with his former partner. The greaser gimmick only really worked as part of a team and now that Domino’s all by his lonesome I don’t see a bright future for him.

No More Heat

The elimination of Heat removes an opportunity to showcase the undercard. That doesn't bode well for guys like Charlie Haas, Snitsky, Shannon Moore, Jamie Noble, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and Super Crazy. Barring any sort of push they might get I really don't see these guys appearing on any of the three main shows as anything more than jobbers. Any one of them could go at any time.

The "Never Gonna Get Fired" Club

At one point, Billy Gunn, Scotty 2 Hotty, Val Venis, Funaki, and Hardcore Holly compromised what I liked to call the "Never Gonna Get Fired" Club. These guys had been around for years and never got much further than the midcard. For whatever reason, although in some cases these guys remained pretty popular, they never went anywhere. Gunn got the axe in 2004, followed by Scotty in 2007. I wouldn't think Hardcore Holly would get released anytime soon, as he was Tag Team champion only a week ago, but Venis and Funaki have nothing going for them and, frankly, haven't for years. So, never say never.

On the Fence

These are a few guys I see as at a turning point in their careers. With the right opportunity they could be huge stars. If they stay in the rut they've been in they don't have much of a future ahead of them.

Chuck Palumbo - Already released once before, Palumbo came back to a bit of success on Smackdown recently. The move to Raw in the draft could mean big things for him, but it could be bad news if he gets lost in the shuffle.

Deuce - As the adopted son of Jimmy Snuka, Deuce is a natural fit to join Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes. But if he's left alone with his greaser gimmick, I don't think he'll be around for too long.

Kenny Dykstra - Most people know Kenny Dykstra as a former male cheerleader or "that guy with the headband." If you saw any of his work in OVW as a heel, you know Kenny has the potential to be big. He just needs an opportunity.

Carlito - Another second generation star, Carlito's been pushed in fits and starts since his debut. They'll put him in a high profile feud, even give him a title, then back off for a while. He's capable of having a great match on any give night, he just needs a push that isn't going to dissolve after a month or so.

Paul London - Something should be done with Paul London. He's too talented and too fun to watch to let him go to waste. He could be placed in the current program with Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. Like Lance Cade, London is a product of Michaels Texas wrestling Academy. Chris Jericho & Lance Cade vs. Shawn Michaels & Paul London...I'd pay to see that. A solo London probably wouldn't be much more than a jobber, and I can see a guy as talented as he is asking for his release to head to TNA or back to Ring of Honor.

DH Smith - Son of the legendary Davey Boy Smith, DH got derailed very early on with he was suspended for a Wellness Policy violation less than two weeks after his WWE television debut. He seemed destined to join up with Ted DiBiase Jr. on Raw, but got sent over to Smackdown in the draft. I don't know what he'll do over there, but this one's kind of iffy as we haven't seen much of DH Smith.

Elijah Burke - Even in the star anemic ECW, the amazingly talented Elijah Burke hasn't been getting pushed. I'm begging WWE to push this guy and not let him fall through the cracks.

Well, there you have it. 23 names who's days with the WWE might be numbered. I guess only time will tell.

Masked Marvel vs. the Internet

Wrestling is doomed. What, hadn't you heard? The product is so awful, the backstage management is so bad, the talent is so misused, that professional wrestling will cease to exist quite likely within the next year.

Okay, I don't really buy it either.

If you're a fan of wrestling "news" sites online, however, you're quite likely ready for the apocalypse in the world of sports entertainment. They've been preaching it ever since the fall of WCW in 2001. Books have been written about it. Yet, somehow, the product still moves forward and is still seemingly quite successful.

Congratulations, you have just learned one of my many issues with wrestling "analysts", "reporters" and their websites. Over the course of the future (how's that for broad?) I will be taking a look at the things I hear yelled over and over again and make a passioned plea to just shut up and enjoy the show. As a preview, I will give three points that will soon be covered:

• So-called "experts" are just ordinary fans with fancy titles they gave themselves. The people who are ruining the business are the people they personally would boo at shows, and the people who are being held back are the ones they would cheer. It's just a mix of the common crowd reaction and a unyielding urge to bitch to as many people will listen.
• Triple H is the ultimate scapegoat for everything, period. If something happens that doesn't go over, it's because Triple H did it. If something is well received, then someone finally went over Triple H's head. Give Trips some credit for how good he really is - not what you assume he's doing backstage.
• When talent sabotage themselves (Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam) it's not a glass ceiling holding them down - it's the worry that a similar mistake will happen again. Or it's Triple H.

So sit back and enjoy as I fight off the Internet in a fight so massive that I wear a mask to keep my actual life separate from it.

CM Punk and the Case of the Mysterious Backstage Heat

Ever since CM Punk signed his WWE contract way back in 2005 there have veritable cornucopia of ever so reliable internet rumors going around that Punk had some "heat" backstage. For those of you who might not know, saying someone has heat on them is a fancy way of saying that people don't like them. In Punk's case it was the higher ups like Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, Michael Hayes, Raw head writer Brian Gerwitz, and even the lord almighty himself, Triple H. Rumors were swirling that Punk had a bad attitude and rubbed people the wrong way.

As with anything read on a wrestling "news" site, I took it with a grain of salt. But was there any truth to it? Let's take a look back at CM Punk's WWE career and see what effect, if any, this backstage heat has had...

September 26, 2005: CM Punk makes his OVW debut.

November 9, 2005: Punk defeats Ken Doane for the OVW Television championship

April 2, 2006: Punk makes his WrestleMania debut as one of the old timey gangsters during John Cena's entrance.

May 3, 2006: CM Punk defeats Brent Albright in a strap match for the OVW Heavyweight championship.

July 28, 2006: OVW Champion CM Punk teams with Seth Skyfire to defeat Shad Gaspard & The Neighborhoodie (better known today as Cryme Tyme) for the OVW Southern Tag Team championships. This makes Punk one of only four men in the company's history to capture the OVW Triple Crown (Heavyweight, Television, and Tag titles).

August 1, 2006: Punk defeats former ECW champion Justin Credible in his WWE television debut on ECW. He would go on to be undefeated in singles competition for more than six months until losing to Hardcore Holly on January 9, 2007.

November 26, 2006: At the Survivor Series, Punk teams with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Matt & Jeff Hardy to take on the team of Edge, Randy Orton, Johnny Nitro, Mike Knox, and Gregory Helms. During Triple H's usual DX introduction the crowd is chanting so loudly for Punk that even he has to stop and acknowledge it. Punk's team went on to win the match without losing any falls. It was the first 5 on 5 match won with a clean sweep in the history of the Survivor Series.

Summer, 2007: With ECW champion Bobby Lashley over on Raw feuding with Vince McMahon, CM Punk is made the focal point of ECW. He is simultaneously courted by rival factions The ECW Originals and The New Breed.

September 1, 2007: CM Punk defeats John Morrison to for the ECW championship. Punk would hold the title for five months before losing it to Chavo Guerrero.

March 30, 2008: Punk defeats six other superstars to win the Money In the Bank match at WrestleMania XXIV. One of the most high profile matches of the year, it entitles Punk to a shot at any of the three world championships at any time during the next year.

April 21, 2008: CM Punk competes in the 2008 King of the Ring tournament. Punk defeats Matt Hardy in round one and Chris Jericho in round two but ultimately loses to William Regal in the final.

June 30, 2008: CM punk cashes in his Money In the Bank title shot and defeats Edge for the World Heavyweight championship.

And that just about catches us up. Seems Punk's made out pretty well since he came to WWE. Even ignoring all the other accomplishments, winning two world championships inside of two years pretty damn impressive. It took Triple H more than four years to win his first. There are guys who've been with the company for over a decade who haven't accomplished half of what Punk has. If Punk got backstage heat for simply rubbing people the wrong way and still had the career he's had, Val Venis must've raped someone's mother.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, there are still conspiracy theorists who believe that the people who run WWE have it out for Punk. These people have let it so invade their thought process that they can't enjoy when something good happens to CM Punk because they're sure something bad will soon follow. "Yeah, Punk won Money In the Bank, but I'm sure he'll be the first guy to cash it in and lose." "It's great that Punk won the World title, but he'll just lose it soon." With that attitude, it's impossible to enjoy anything. To paraphrase the late Mitch Hedberg, it's like refusing to eat an apple because you know eventually it will be just a core.

Reading internet rumors is fine. Believing them also fine, just as long as you know not everything can be taken at face value. But when what you're reading on a news site goes directly against what you're seeing on WWE television, it's time to give it up.