Monday Night RAW: At Least It Wasn’t 3 Hours

I’ve never been waterboarded, but after watching last night’s episode of WWE’s Monday Night Raw I believe I have a round-about understanding of it. From what I gather it makes you believe you’re drowning as you struggle against a water soaked towel that forces liquid down your throat. It is said to be a very traumatic experience. That is what watching RAW was like last night. Every minute I just felt like I was drowning as they shoved a bunch of crap down my throat, and when it was done I knew I had gone through a traumatic experience. In short, people in Gitmo have it better than wrestling fans this week.

Even the CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and AJ storyline that has been so good felt a little off the tracks. The opening was a ten minute segment stretched to 20. The over dramatic pauses and facial expressions from Punk & AJ were almost too much. I found myself yelling at the TV, “Just say it”. I don’t mind the AJ proposal. It fits her crazy chick character. I even liked the Daniel Bryan proposal, because it fits his do anything to become champ character. I didn’t like that CM Punk, Mr. Pipe bombs on the mic, couldn’t tell AJ no for two hours. The man who verbally ripped apart the company a year ago starting the summer of punk gets tongue tied by a wedding proposal from the nut job. It was a good idea for the night, but was poorly executed.

Besides the tag match in the middle of the show, each match was quick. It felt like the old 80’s WWF when you would watch wrestling on Saturday mornings and each match was a star versus a jobber. Unless my memory is faulty I believe Jack Swagger is a former ECW and World champion but now he is a door mat for anyone. For a guy who can bring it in the ring, he really has pissed off the wrong people backstage.

The same goes for Drew McIntyre. He was once Vince McMahon’s golden boy. Then shit hit the fan and he is fodder for the dancing funkasaurus. I knocked Ring of Honor yesterday for looking like a small time carnival act, but when the kids get in the ring to dance with Brodus Clay it looks like an indie moment. I am surprised more fans don’t jump the rail after watching all the kids get in the ring. I guess it sells more T-shirts, or makes kids drag their parents to the events. You know what else does that? Good storylines & great wrestling. I guess taking the easy way is the WWE way.

I get that Heath Slater is living a dream working with all these legends. He is getting tons of TV time each week. People are starting to take notice of his character. He also did just get beat by a man who held the title in the 70’s; that’s four decades ago. He literally got his ass handed to him by his grandpa. Don’t get me wrong. I have tons of respect for Bob Backlund, but was I the only one who saw him coming to the ring in his blue trunks and thought about an old man in his tighty whities screaming for kids to get off his lawn?

Also what does it say about Sin Cara, who just beat Heath Slater, that Grandpa Backlund can beat Slater in twenty seconds, while Sin Cara takes 4-5 minutes. Unless this leads to some kind of resurrection storyline of Slater getting humbled and then building himself back up over a couple of months, then what is the payoff? He is getting noticed, but only as the guy getting beat by people who won’t be back on RAW at any point. Jack Swagger & Drew McIntyre have room on their jobber cycle built for three when you’re done Slater.

You know one thing I did enjoy; the new spark between Vickie Guerrero and Tensai. The tag match was just a showcase to remind people there is a second ladder match this weekend at the PPV. It also helped Tensai get his heat back by crushing both Christian & Kidd. After, when Guerrero was staring down Tensai like a new piece of meat, it clicked. Vickie needs Tensai to freshen her up, and Tensai needs Vickie to get him over. How great of a feud will Tensai and Dolph Ziggler be? They both can go in the ring, and it is the perfect storm to turn Dolph face. This must have been the part where they took the drenched towel off my mouth to let me breathe.

It didn’t last long as the unwritten tag team rules got thrown out the window. I get you want Big Show to be a beast and destroy everyone. I get that John Cena is Superman and he will always come out on top. I get you want the tag match to be a no contest. I don’t get how Big Show pulling John Cena off of Jericho is a DQ. When does breaking up a pin attempt ever lead to a DQ? Now whenever it happens in a tag match I’ll wonder, why isn’t that a DQ? Again it’s logic. It might not get under most people’s skin, but come on creative, stop being lazy. Write a decent finish. Hell, just have Show grab a ladder and destroy everyone during the match. It’s sloppy booking, but it’s at least logical.

Speaking of tag team matches, why don’t the Prime Time Players get a tag title shot at the PPV? Why are Hunico and Camacho getting a shot, even if on the pre-show? I guess being #1 contenders isn’t what it used to be. Does nobody care about being champs anymore? Last week Gail Kim used her lawyers to get out of a title match on TNA, and now AW is letting another tag team wrestle for the gold before his clients. Why even have the belts if they mean so little?

The end of the show tag match, damn there were a lot of hodgepodge tag matches. Like I said last week, it has become the WWE creative crutch. This match was all angle driven. I enjoyed the tip of the cap by Punk and Bryan to Sonnen & Silva. The missed spinning back fist followed up by a Bryan knee to Punk’s chest made me pop. The end was a retread of this storyline. She kisses both men last week, she slaps both men this week.

I for one would have rather seen a double kick to the balls. It would have popped the crowd, and the visual of AJ “yessing” standing over both men as they squirm on the mat grabbing their jewels would have been another strong closing visual. This feud is in cruise control going into the PPV, which should be looked at as a good thing, because this week creative was shooting themselves in the foot left & right. Staying course through choppy booking might be a blessing in disguise.

Finally, and I almost blocked this out, was the whole RAW Anonymous General Manager. Not only did we have to be victims of another show of Michael Cole being more character than announcer, but then the payoff was the drizzling shits. Yes it did put closure on a storyline, but was it needed? It was one of the worst stories in WWE history, and just when we forgot about it, we had to relive it. Then on top of that it ends up being Hornswaggle.

There is nothing redeeming about this at all. It wasted time that could have been put toward the matches that got cut short. It could have been another former RAW GM that people wanted to see. It could have been left in the deep dark forgotten realms of the WWE where things like ICP & Katie Vick live. Jerry Lawler should be ashamed he let himself get involved in this crap. Andy Kaufman is spinning in his grave knowing he is six degrees of separation from this abortion.

If this is what we have in store for us when Monday Night RAW goes to 3 hours then God have mercy on us all. I’ll tune in every week because I still believe that good wrestling will return. I’ll crawl through the miles of crap in hopes that a few moments will shine bright. Yet after shows like this, I struggle to not put the towel over my head & drown myself, because RAW isn’t WAR, its torture.

Is Pro Wrestling’s Third Wheel Going Flat?

Last week I got into a Facebook debate with my longtime friend, and wrestling comrade, Shaffee about the future of Ring of Honor. For those that don’t know, He is the afternoon host on 97.9 WGRD in Grand Rapids, MI. Shaffee and I also got into the wrestling business at the same time working with the PWF in 2000 & later with the Farhat family’s AWWL in 2002.  He’s the former manager of Sabu, and has wrestled for TNA at Bound For Glory against Traci Brooks. I think most of us are more jealous of the latter.  

Shaffee made the statement that Ring of Honor would be out of business by the end of 2012. It’s a bold prediction, but one he backed up. He pointed out that the promotion’s television product has its holes. For instance, the episode he recently watched involved a moment where an ether rag was used to knock out an opponent. The rag made its way into the crowd, and ROH showed fans sniffing the rag & laughing. The crowd knew the rag was a fake, and whatever loose form of kayfabe was shattered not only to the crowd but the audiences watching at home. This was one of many points that Shaffee made. That and RoH referee Todd Sinclair was bigger than most of the wrestlers.

It made me wonder if Ring of Honor, the favorite promotion of “smart” wrestling fans, was going the way of Extreme Championship Wrestling or Smokey Mountain Wrestling. Almost a year ago RoH was purchased by Sinclair Broadcasting Group, and it looked like the promotion was ready to slide into the top three behind WWE & TNA. According to SBG, Ring of Honor would reach almost a quarter of television sets in America. Yet a year later it seems that RoH has lost some of the allure it had going into the deal.

First, the biggest news out of RoH recently has been the talent that is leaving. Kenny King, current RoH tag team champion, showed up on TNA’s Impact Wrestling last week. RoH responded with a press release claiming they had been stabbed in the back by King. Yet, it was RoH who made the bush league decision to put a title on a non-contracted wrestler. Something anyone with any business logic knows is a no-no. Now a new shoot video with Kenny King is making the rounds as he doubts the vision and direction of Ring of Honor.

On top of that is the rumors that RoH poster child Davey Richards is once again talking about retirement. Richards has been talking retirement for years, but it never helps the promotion to be in limbo with one of its top stars. The constant mention of Richards walking away from wrestling can only fuel the flames of Ring of Honor not making it to 2013.

One man shoveling dirt on the grave of RoH is former WCW announcer Mark Madden. The Pittsburgh sports talk radio host has penned a few articles about his perceived problems with Ring of Honor. Madden comments on their attendance numbers being dismal, pointing to RoH drawing less than 500 in Pittsburgh. He is the most vocal of the RoH dissenters that has shed light onto talent issues such as Richards’ perpetual retirement to become a fire fighter.

Mark also points out that Jim Cornette, one of the last hold overs from 80’s territorial wrestling, is running the promotion like a small time regional federation instead of the national entity that it should be. Madden and Shaffee both have pointed to the use of local DJs or Promoters on the RoH TV product that makes Ring of Honor seem more like the small time carnival coming to town than the #3 wrestling promotion in the world. In wrestling perception still counts for something, and Cornette’s direction of the promotion has it being perceived more as a low rent indie fed barely removed from the flea market, and less like the national wrestling promotion reaching millions of viewers weekly.

The final straw might have come when Ring of Honor cancelled their tour of the Carolinas. A traditional wrestling hot bed, the cancelling of the tour might have been out of RoH’s hands but it only stokes the fires of RoH’s doubters. With talent leaving, talent talking retirement, wrestling talking heads taking shots, and cancelled tours, the demise of Ring of Honor might be over exaggerated, but the discussion is still happening. It’s a discussion that can only hurt Ring of Honor. What fan wants to invest time into a promotion that might not be around in a few months, even if it is just rumors?

Speaking of fans, it might be their fans that are doing the most damage. Ring of Honor is the haven for “Smart” fans. The fans who believe they know more about the wrestling business than even the wrestlers or the promoters. A perfect example is the end of the recent Ring of Honor iPPV, “Best in the World”, where Kevin Steen takes a 5 minute shit on the fans. He cuts a promo that would have caused a riot in New York if done fifteen year ago. Instead as he runs down the fans they continue to cheer Steen. They’re smart fans and they’re not going to get tricked into booing for this man because they know better. Only proving they don’t know shit.

What they’re really doing is sending a confusing message to regular wrestling fans trying to watch the RoH product for the first time. Why are these fans cheering a man who is calling them a bunch of names and insulting them to their face? Because new RoH fan, Smart Wrestling fans are the dumbest fans around. They think they know best, which usually means they know nothing. In the end not going along with the show to prove something is only going to prove people like Shaffee & Mark Madden right. That being, Ring of Honor isn’t long for this world.

When your audience won’t let go of the Cult persona, neither can the promotion. This is the smart fans wrestling promotion, and nobody is going to change it. Which means when RoH tries to go national, its fan base can’t adapt to being the #3 wrestling promotion in the world. It’s the basic theory of evolution, when you can’t adapt you die. Smart wrestling fans won’t let RoH adapt. They won’t buy into Kevin Steen as the bastard trying to close down Ring of Honor, in fact they’re helping shut the door.

Ring of Honor has a lot of problems, as any company going from small business to national entity does. The biggest is their fans, and their lack to truly support the product by being wrestling fans again. Their need to prove they are smarter than the average fan only lends to smothering the promotion. It won’t be Kenny King or Davey Richards leaving that kills RoH. It won’t be Mark Madden or Shaffee doubting the promotion that will kill RoH. It won’t even be cancelled dates that does in the promotion. It will be their fans and their inability to be simply fans that will snuff out Ring of Honor. Until the real fans outnumber the smart fans, Ring of Honor will be a small fish in a big pond. And what happens to small fish in big ponds? They get eaten alive.   

Quazi's Crystal Ball: Destination X

Happy Sunday to everyone. Its been a relaxing weekend with a Walking Dead marathon on AMC, and a pretty good UFC card last night. Tonight is the Destination X PPV offered up by TNA. Normally people make predictions of what will happend, this will be predictions on what should happen.

The whole PPV will be built around the X-division title tournament. Since there aren't any announced match-ups then I'll give my view on the four guys who should be the in the Ultimate X final.

Kid Kash - He may rub some people the wrong way, but he always delivers in the ring. Even if he isn't going to win the title, Kid Kash is valuable to any X-division match. Having him in the finals will make the overall card better. I would be very surprised if he won the title, but I would be even more surprised if he wasn't in the finals.

Doug Williams - Probably the most gifted technical wrestler in the X-division. His style is a great change up from most X-division wrestlers. Doug Williams is a great ring general and will help put together a unique finals. Like Kid Kash, having him in the finals, even if he isn't winning it, makes the match better because of his ability to put together great matches in any environment. I would say Williams is a dark horse to win it all.

Sonjay Dutt - I went back and forth with this pick. I think Dutt's new finisher is pretty amazing. I think he wins his semi-finals match just because the finisher will be something cool to see. Dutt also helps push TNAs Indian promotion. Dutt winning the X-title would be the true shocker of the night.

Kenny King - When Kenny King jumped ship from Ring of Honor while still holding the tag belts, it set the internet on fire. He is a hot commodity right now, and TNA needs to capitalize on it. King is gifted in the ring, on the mic, and has an undeniable charisma. Not only should he be in the finals, but Kenny King should walk out of Destination X as the new X-Division champion.

X-Tournament Pick: Kenny King

There are three singles matches on the card that have been announced.

Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle always put on a good show. I would expect no different. Joe is trailing James Storm in the convoluted Bound for Glory series. Samoa Joe is due for a big push, and having him win BFG would mean a great match up at the signature event. Tonight I think starts an undefeated streak for Joe as he blows through the competition, especially since submissions give you 10 points instead of 7 like a pinfall. Math makes my head hurt. Plus who wouldn't want to see Austin Aries or Robert Roode vs. Samoa Joe at Bound for Glory.

Pick: Samoa Joe by Submission

AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels are two of the best wrestlers in the world. They have wrestled in TNA more times than Flair faced Steamboat. Tonight should be another good match up. Too bad they are stuck in a horrible storyline. I am sure Dixie Carter will get involved and so will the Pregnant Crackhead. It will probably ruin a good match. If they decide to keep this thing going, as hinted at by AJ Styles in a recent interview, then that means Daniels should pick up the win. It won't be a clean win, and it will involve some overbooked bullshit, but if this storyline makes any sense then Daniels needs to win over Styles to show he is inside AJ's head. If there is a God, somehow this all ends tonight and both men get away fron this angle like it's a sprinkler spraying acid. If not it could really effect their characters going forward. I mean people still can't forget HHH humping the fake Katie Vick corpse. This whole storyline is AJ and Daniels having a three way with Katie Vick.

Pick: Daniels by underhanded tactics (We all die a little inside)

Finally there is the main event between Robert Roode and Austin Aries. My decision has changed numerous times before writing this. I can make a case for both men on why they should be champion. I think Roode's time has run it's course and AA is white hot right now. TNA needs to strike while the iron is hot, plus AA offers fresh new PPV main events with most of the TNA roster. Roode is an amazing heel and has more to offer in TNA. How much better would the Bound for Glory series be if Roode lost tonight then "injured" somebody like Robbie E to open up a spot in BFG and insert himself into the series? It would make the series more entertaining, and would make a little sense of why Robbie E was in the BFG series in the first place. I think in the end having Roode drop the belt to Austin Aries is better for TNA in the long run.

Pick: Austin Aries by Pinfall

That's my predictions for the night. If they are anything like my picks for UFC last night then prepare for everything to be wrong. I would recommend getting the PPV as it should be full of good matches, and the main event will be worth the price of admission alone. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and prepare for a good RAW tomorrow night.

TNA Impact Wrestling: Rollercoaster Wrasslin’

TNA has been up and down lately; usually in the same episode. Last night was a step in the right direction. The go home show before Destination X put the finishing touches on what should be an entertaining Pay Per View. Also having a current Ring of Honor champion wrestle on the show created a buzz on the internet, and creating a buzz is never a bad thing. It wasn’t all peaches and cream as there were some road bumps, but compared to last week this was a step up.

The best part of the night: there was no Boobs Hogan. The Hulkster’s spawn didn’t make it on TV this week, and that made the episode better. Absence makes the heart grow fonder … of not having her on my TV. Not to say the Knockouts didn’t have their own dumbass moments.

Madison Rayne has been swooning over a mystery man for weeks. This week we found out the payoff for this storyline was elderly referee Earl Hebner. The man who screwed Brett, is now the man who wants to screw Madison. Angles involving refs are moronic, especially ones with this much build. How does this help build characters? Where does it really go from here? Does it help bring in ratings watching grandpa make out with a fake beauty queen? It is wasted television time, and wasted talent. Let your refs call the matches, and let your wrestlers handle the stories. They missed a golden opportunity to elevate two male talents using Madison Rayne as the middle piece of a twisted love triangle.

Here let me book this on the fly for you. Madison falls for guy X, then guy Y thinks it should be him who she goes for. Guy X isn’t as into Madison as Guy Y, but being hard to get makes Madison want Guy X more, which pisses off Guy Y. Guy X and Guy Y fight. Madison, being an egomaniac, loves the attention. Eventually Guy X falls for Madison and defeats Guy Y, leaving the door open for a variety of angles such as Madison not wanting Guy X anymore in favor of Guy Y, Madison screwing both of them over by debuting Guy Z, Madison celebrating that Guy X loves her back, etc. Now we just have Madison & one half of the grumpy old men. This is a prime example of why TNA falls on their face.

Another head scratch moment was when Gail Kim used her lawyers to get her out of a Knockouts Title match this week, and she’s not the champion. So she doesn’t want to wrestle for the title? Who waits a week for their shot at the strap? And why make it next Thursday and not this Sunday at the PPV? The tag match between the Knockouts was good for what it was. They kept Gail and Tessmacher apart during the finish to protect their future match up. I still don’t see why Gail Kim gave up a title shot, especially against somebody like Brooke Tessmacher, who isn’t exactly the most threatening champion in the world.

Speaking of Lawyers, I really dig Joseph Park. Having met Abyss when TNA was running the Nashville fairgrounds on Wednesday nights, it really is cool to see him evolve as an all-around worker. Plus I think Bully Ray is the bee’s knees. His persona, mic work, and physical style make him an asset to the company. Nothing against the two, but I hope this feud ends soon so Bully can make his way into the main event picture against somebody like an Austin Aries. He is that damn good.

The restraining order came off a little low rent. Who goes to jail for life for violating a restraining order? I don’t mind the use of the restraining order to keep “Abyss” out of the match, but put some reality into it. It’s a minor hiccup, and as good as these two are, it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

What does matter in the grand scheme of things is the wrestling. Devon and Crimson had a good match, but it seemed really rushed. It felt like an enhancement match more than a TV title match. Also why does Crimson get a title match when he lost at the last PPV to James Storm? Then again he was undefeated for 18 months so one loss shouldn’t drop you to the bottom of the basement.

Storm vs. Hardy was a really good match that had the crowd going nuts. I can’t deny that both are over like Grover with the fans. I still can’t stand the Bound for Glory series. I have said that it is over booked wrestling, but it does give good matchups every week. Who knows it might actually grow on me, until I am forced to do math, then I will hate it again.

The X-division tournament was two totally different matches. Flip Cassanova & Dumbshit Darsow should never come back to TNA. That was the sloppiest spot fest I have seen since that movie the backyard. Darsow is lucky he only walked away with a broken nose. Flip has a good look but he is dangerous in the ring. He will hurt somebody in a real bad way if he keeps wrestling like that. Just awful stuff.

On the other hand Kenny King delivered on all fronts. In the ring he looked crisp, and light years ahead of the three other x-division workers tonight. Add in the fact that he is one half of the current Ring of Honor tag team champions, and his debut had tons of sizzle. He got to cut a promo after, plus a backstage segment. I’m not a betting man, but I think KK will be in the Ultimate X match finals on Sunday. Hell, I think he is my pick to win it all.

King appearing on the show and the PPV this Sunday won’t help the rumors going around the internet that Ring of Honor is going out of business. Mark Madden, former WCW announcer, has been leading the charge that RoH is on their last leg. The promotion just cancelled a whole run of shows in the Carolinas. Now one of their champions appears on the competitors show only weeks after winning the belt. No matter the truth, this is a dark time for Ring of Honor.

The darkest time is what has happened to AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels … I can’t even talk about this. Pregnancy angles never work in wrestling. Mae Young giving birth to a hand thinks this storyline is stupid. The only excuse for this is if later it comes out the whole storyline was written by a mentally handicapped child as part of a make-a-wish, but that can’t be it because even the mentally handicapped community thinks this angle is retarded.

The exact opposite of Styles & Daniels is the world title match at Destination X. Robert Roode and Austin Aries is going to be so good. They have done a great job of building to this match. Roode abusing Sabin, and kicking a cripple cemented him as king asshole in TNA. It also allowed for Aries to get the upper hand at the end of the show, and not make it feel like AA was dominating the night. The two have been booked to seem neck & neck, which makes Sunday a toss-up. That helps a buy rate, which is the reason TNA is in business.

The shot of Aries and Hogan at the end with both titles raised high is a great closing moment. Hulk Hogan has really embraced this back seat role. It looks like it may not last with the playing cards & sting’s attackers beginning soon. I hope Hogan realizes less is more in the coming weeks. 10 minutes of the Hulkster is good, and 40 minutes of Hulk is bad.

Impact Wrestling was an entertaining show this week with ups and downs like a rollercoaster. In the end I almost a puked a few times, but when it was done I was glad I went along for the ride.

Super Smackdown: Holiday Hiatus

(courtesy of wwe.com)

I hope everyone had a great 4^th of July. We broke in the new grill at the townhouse in the sky with sliders, hot dogs, and grilled pineapple. Then fell into a food coma for the afternoon. God Bless America! When I woke up from my food coma, I watched the Great American Bash edition of Super Smackdown on my DVR. Again another holiday show with all the usual holiday bits.

It seems every holiday the WWE has a feast. At every feast there are three things that will happen. One, somebody will get covered in food. Eve got punched tossed on her nice white dress, so check. There will also be a big dance party after the faces chase of the idiot heel, and Ryder  did that, so check number two.  Finally, a heel will try to be a party pooper that leads to a brawl, that happened, which lead to Eve getting the punched tossed on her. So I guess that was actually two birds with one stone.  All of these fill the requirements for a good fight, a star getting a food bath, and a dance off. I swear when it comes to holiday shows the WWE just has a big mad lib booking sheet that they use.

Most of the matches for the show didn’t do much but place hold the current storylines. Anyone who didn’t think Cody Rhodes & Dolph Ziggler were going to be in the Money In The Bank match at the PPV, I have some nice ocean front property in Kansas to sell you. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes is a good match up; then again Christian is like a leadoff hitter for a baseball team because he is consistent each and every time. I don’t know if Christian will ever be the best wrestler in the WWE, but I do know he will never be in the bottom, which is where your second tier champion should be. 

As far as Alex Riley goes, whose apple jacks did he shit in? It’s no shame in losing to Dolph Ziggler, but Riley went from rising star to basement jobber in the span of a year. Remember last summer he was picking up wins against the Miz after Miz was coming off his Wrestlemania main event win against John Cena. Then again Miz is buried under the basement right now so it could be worse for Alex Riley. I mean he is on TV and not forced to make “The Marine 3: Straight to the DVD Bargain Bin”.

The mixed tag match was a throw away match. They didn’t get the new talent over. Layla picked up the win, but she’s the women’s champ so how does that further any storyline between her and Aksana. If Aksana picked up the win against Layla then you can build off that to a title defense on Smackdown next week or even at the PPV. It’s not like anything is going on in the Diva division right now. Cesaro is a talented wrestler, but you can’t showcase much against Khali. Again it’s another case of at least you’re on television, but who cares.

In the realm of who cares, Michael Cole tried to get himself over, again. I know he is doing a character, and it should be the creative team that gets blamed, but his shtick is tired. He is supposed to be interviewing AJ after her big closing moment to RAW the night before, and instead it turns into this creepy old guy at the bar moment. Why choose Punk or Bryan over you Cole? Have you seen yourself in a singlet? Your body is how Lesbians know they made the right life choice.

Again I will state, the Punk-Bryan-AJ feud is saving the WWE right now. Even a segment that started off dive bombing with Cole, ended up being the highlight of the show. Once they got the dirty old perv out of the ring then it got good. AJ shines as the star of the segment. As Punk left the ring his visible dejection sold home that it looked like his shunning of AJ had cost him the title at the PPV. When she jumped out of the ring and gave him a big smacker after kissing Bryan, it just created more of the wild card feel to AJ. Her allegiance to either man can change on a dime, or in the middle of a three count, which makes you want to see what she’ll do at MITB.

This whole feud is making Money In The Bank worth the price of admission. For one, CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan will be the best wrestling match on the card, and maybe the best on PPV this month, depending on Austin Aries vs. Robert Roode this Sunday. Second, AJ’s role as guest ref adds a new element of surprise to the match that will have people sitting on the edge of their seat to see which way her twisted mind leans. Finally, what is the aftermath of the match? If AJ screws over Punk or Bryan, where does that leave the three? Will they all go their separate ways? All of these three elements add to a match that should be the anchor of the show. Mix in two ladder matches including the All Star WWE Title Contract ladder match, and you have a good reason to drop the forty some dollars to get this PPV. That couldn’t be said about No Way Out, which really was only one good match and a bunch of TV filler.

The battle royal at the end of the show was ok. Since the WWE has a PPV built around a huge battle royal, the free TV battle royals never have a main event feel. It was nice to show off some of the big name  talent without them having to wrestle. Zach Ryder winning at the end was a nice touch as he should make Smackdown entertaining next week when the WWE gets geared up for the PPV that Sunday.

The Great American Bash was a nice show. The WWE banked on the fact that most people wouldn’t watch the show because of the holiday, so they didn’t really break new ground. The Punk-Bryan-AJ segment will give them good footage for a video package on Monday, and Ryder being GM for Smackdown will be good to promote next week. If you missed it then there is no need to go out of your way to catch up. Everything you needed to see will be in a recap on Monday. They partied, they kissed, and they didn’t move the needle in either direction. It was a WWE holiday show by the books, even if those books are paint by number.

It Came From The Indies: Head Drop Productions

I hope you're enjoying your 4^th of July. I would say Independence Day, but if you’re reading this outside of the United States then it’s just the 4^th day of the 7^th month. To all the people in Virginia & Maryland still without power because of the storm last week, I hope the 4^th brings back some normalcy to your lives. A cook out with friends can raise spirits of those waiting until the weekend when the AC comes back on. If you’ve got a friend at work or at the gym that has been suffering through the heat, maybe invite them over for a burger & a beer. It’s what the forefathers would have done, if they had electricity. Then again if they had electricity they might have just sat around watching cable news all day and we would still be a British colony.

One thing electricity has brought us is the world wide web. The internet has done a lot to change the world around us. No longer do you have to hide your porn under your bed, just remember to erase your browser history. You can play video games with people on the other side of the planet. For wrestling fans you can see indie wrestling that wouldn’t have made it into your tape collection.

Years ago to get your indie promotion seen you had to get a deal with a local television station or public access. Studio wrestling was a must for territories in the 70’s and 80’s. Now with the internet, and the ease to do home video, any promotion can have their own online television show.

Head Drop Productions, a Midwest company that covers a variety of indie promotions, is a prime example of this new revolution. The company is headed up by Zach Macomber, a rising star in the Michigan Indie scene as Grizzly House Jones. He has worked for companies like the MMWA, who had TV during 2004, and CIW, a long standing indie promotion in the Midwest. Taking his experience in television & home video he has launched his company to assist Midwest indie wrestling.

Now he has started a video production company that eases the cost of being an online or video presence, yet still providing a high quality product. On HDP's website, http://www.headdropproductions.com/, they feature a variety of wrestling for fans to view. The video catalog is expansive with a great deal of $10 per video going on. The true time killer, and gem of Head Drop Productions, is their Youtube channel.

On Youtube they feature nineteen episodes from two different promotions. The video work is serviceable, and the commentary is entertaining. The action in the ring isn’t on par with Ring of Honor or Dragon Gate USA, but for regional indie wrestling the matches are enjoyable to watch with some crazy characters still learning the ropes in professional wrestling. If the WWE is the major leagues, and ROH is AAA baseball then the promotions featured by Head Drop Productions are the single A teams, which is still professional ball.

For those looking for a good deal on getting their promotion noticed then Head Drop Productions is the way to go. They have the equipment, experience, and passion to deliver a high quality product at an affordable price. Their Youtube channel gives free exposure to companies looking to gain new fans, and the video catalog contains some true indie wrestling hidden gems. I personally recommend anything from CIW with Krimson. That’s some good viewing.

Each week I hope to shed some light on different people making things work on the indie scene. Smaller companies and indie promotions like Head Drop Productions are the life blood of pro wrestling. They employ the thousands of wrestlers on the indie circuit. They help get the word out about the future, or the past, of professional wrestling. They go without much praise from the bigger websites because they aren't the WWE, but without HDP, CIW, or other indie companies then professional wrestling would lose it's roots. And that's what this whole website is about, The Grass Roots of Wrestling.

Monday Night Raw: AJ To The Rescue

(Courtesy of WWE)

The worst part about getting your hopes up is that it hurts more when you’re let down. That was the case with Monday Night Raw, the holiday edition. Last week’s RAW was so good that it had me eagerly awaiting last night’s episode. It has been a long time since I have watched the clock on my cable box waiting for 9 o’clock to swing around. I even watched the last five minutes of NCIS because I didn’t want to miss a moment. Then I was reminded it was a holiday edition of RAW, which traditionally means the company coasts into next week.

That being said the episode wasn’t horrible. It just didn’t seem like a win, but more like a tie. There were some cool moments, but there were a lot of head smack moments. Also there seemed to be a rib by the writers because they were using a lot of cliché indie gimmicks during the show. Then AJ Lee showed up. I’ll get into that later.

It started off with the predictable 20 minutes of talk with John Cena blabbering about motivation. One time I want him to get pissed he got his ass kicked. You look like a moron when you’re talking about how you are now motivated. A chance to win a WWE title match contract wasn’t doing it for him but getting to feel the Big Show’s pimp hand gets Cena’s juices flowing. This is why his character grates on me.

Then Daniel Bryan comes & Yes’s all over the crowd. Who by the way was a bright spot for the show, because the crowd’s energy really helped me make it through the 130 minutes of RAW. CM Punk & Jericho follow to help build heat for the main event. Then Kane comes to remind people he’ll be one of the guys not winning at Money In The Bank. Finally Big Show comes out to motivate John Cena some more. It was a lot shoved into one segment with the purpose of keeping the two big matches for the PPV on the front burner. The hodgepodge tag team match really has become a crutch for WWE creative.

Another crutch is these multi-team 8 man tag matches. The match itself was ok, but AW is a gimmick stealer. Larry Sweeney did the sports agent gimmick way better than AW could dream of. Alexander Cain was even better, and he was a no talent indie hack. Being able to hear AW’s instructions through the arena distracted from what was going on in the ring. Sometimes a good manager is better when not heard or seen. AW seems to be outshining his own team.

In the end AW takes his Prime Time Players and leaves. Cody Rhodes shortly follows. Then Brodus Clay comes out to help four guys beat one David Otunga. Did I miss something, but when does the US Champ, The IC Champ, and the Tag Champs need a fifth guy to beat David Otunga? Good thing it wasn’t Ryback, or they might have needed five more. They are five faces and they gang up on one guy left in the lurch by his teammates. It looks like the anti-bullying campaign is really working in the WWE locker room.

The five on one beat down by the good guys had me so heated that I almost didn’t appreciate Albert Del Rio. He was good before, but he has really turned it up. He has the look and he is great in the ring. The crowd was way into hating ADR and they loved Sin Cara. This made the beat down by ADR come off as a true heel being villainous, not to be confused with four face champs & a dancing funkasaurus running a beat down train on David Otunga. It’s just logic.

Earlier I mentioned that it seemed like the writers were trying to pull a rib on the audience by doing all the cliché indie gimmicks. The first was the bait and switch of Brock Lesnar. Unless I missed something I am pretty sure that they were promoting an appearance by Brock. In fact I think it was in the teaser leading up to the start of the show. Even my wife said, “Oh good Brock is back”. Instead we get Paul Heyman from WWE headquarters. Not to complain because Heyman’s promo was great, but he isn’t Brock Lesnar as promised. Now we get to wait three weeks for Brock to show up. This is no different than when the local indie promotes a WWE star will be showing up and then claims “travel issues” once the show starts. It’s shady, and the WWE should be above the guy running a flea market in Indiana.

The second was the fake Doink the clown. For those that didn’t know that was the Brooklyn Brawler doing the Doink gimmick. This is something that goes on in almost every indie from east coast to west coast. They’ll promote former WWE superstar Doink and then have some local wrestler do the gimmick. Why not just have the Brooklyn Brawler come out and lose to Slater? It wasn’t like the audience remembered who Doink was. The old WWF fans would have enjoyed seeing the original jobber.

Adding to the cliché indie moment was DDP strolling out to give an RKO, I mean Diamond Cutter, to Slater before going back up the ramp. It probably took him longer to cash his check for the night. I assume he does about the same amount of work during his indie appearances like most legends who physically can’t compete anymore, i.e. The Iron “My Leg Looks F*cked Up” Sheik.

Side Note: How Awesome is “No Holds Barred”? It is still one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies of all time. Rip em!

I am glad Tyson Kidd is getting a push. He has tons of talent. He looks to be moving into a feud with Tensai. I’m sorry but the former Prince Albert doesn’t do it for me. His methodic style looks too rigid for my taste. His beat down backstage was good and I hope I am wrong about Albert 2.0. Sabu once told he likes working big guys because it lets you do more because they post really well and they can take more punishment. Hopefully the same holds true for Kidd as he works with Tensai on Smackdown.

Now onto AJ Lee who is amazing. Her character, actions, and whole persona have made her one of the best things in the WWE right now. She stands out from the Divas, and it seems like she can actually wrestle because that shining wizard was one of the better ones. I don’t get why she was in a mixed tag with Sheamus, but I guess her loose tie to Vickie Guerrero from last week and Vickie’s tie to Ziggler, who is kinda feuding with Sheamus, completes the six degrees of separation.

AJ’s backstage stuff was gold. Eating the rose from Bryan. Getting miffed that Punk doesn’t watch her match. Her crazy eyes segment with Eve. All three did a lot to add to her character and her match at the PPV. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are going to tear the house down, but right now nobody knows how that match is going to go because AJ is a real wild card.  It makes you want to order Money In The Bank, which is something a Diva hasn’t done for the WWE in years. Bravo AJ Lee!

The Main Event was a good match. Cena took some great heat from Jericho and Bryan. Before the match when the two had a catch phrase duel, I popped. If Jericho wanted to stay in the WWE, how awesome would a Byran/Jericho tag team be? They could rebuild the whole division by themselves.

In the end Cena and Jericho fight to the back and that leads to one of the coolest closing angle moments in RAW’s history. For weeks AJ has been distracting Kane by skipping to the ring. With Punk and Bryan it doesn’t work because these two are top gun talent. They focus on what goes on between the ropes. AJ then cranks up the crazy by threatening to launch herself from the top rope to a table she set up on the outside. This is enough to get the attention of the two men.

When AJ kissed Punk and then pushed him into Bryan as both men crashed into the table, I knew this was going to be a special moment. The shot of the two men laid out by the pint sized pixie while the crowd chanted along with her was an amazing way to close the show. In short AJ with her segments and this closer probably saved this episode of RAW.

As far as holiday shows go, most of this was true to form coasting. I didn’t even talk Big Show vs. Kane, because it was just plunder for the sake of plunder. The whole Punk-Bryan-AJ feud is carrying the WWE right now and people like John Cena need to either step their game up or get out of the way. For this week its AJ’s crazy world, and we’re just living in it. And that’s not a bad thing.