WWE held their 2008 Draft on Monday night and I was zero and whatever in picking who was to be drafted. I'm ok with that. So, some of the big names changing brands include HHH to Smackdown, Batista to RAW, Matt Hardy to ECW, Umanga to Smackdown, Kennedy to Smackdown and Kate to RAW. The biggest surprise of the night was the announcer swap of Jim Ross to Smackdown and Michael Cole to RAW. I can wrap my brain around the swap because Cole is the person to shoulder the announcing duties of the WWE for the next ten years. Corporate just needs to find the modern day equivalent of Jerry "The King" Lawler to do color commentary. I like having Mick Foley doing the color duties on Smackdown as he is very knowledgeable about the biz and I think Foley and Ross will do well with each other. I just hate not having Good Ole JR on Monday Nights.
HHH going to Smackdown makes sense as Stephanie runs the show and with her about to have a baby, HHH will most likely take over some of the creative duties. Which leads to this Sunday's Night of Champions PPV.
Now that almost every title holder (save Edge) has switched brands, this Sunday's PPV should see oodles of title changes. The marquee match (HHH vs. Cena) will most likely see a title swap and maybe an injury angle on HHH's part as he is expecting a new child (Mozel Tov!). Edge vs. Batista could see a title change as well to get a main title on each show.
The Tag Team Championship (Bob Holly & Cody Rhodes) should change hands to Teddy Jr. and his secret partner (rumored to be the son of Davey Boy Smith). I think the WWE should create a stable of the sons (and daughter) of WWE Legends. Have Randy Orton be the leader and then bring back their parental units (Davey Boy RIP) to battle it out.
-Wrestling Geek
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Thoughts on the 2008 WWE Draft
Here are just a few things that I would like to see with tonight's (June 23) WWE Draft.
1) Cena goes to Smackdown - for some reason, the more charismatic talent excels on Smackdown. The Rock had his heyday on Smackdown and even Cena rose to fame on the Blue Brand. I think he can excel again despite male contingent who insists on boooing him at each venue.
2) Edge goes to RAW - Adam belongs on RAW and this would bring a logical end to La Familia on Smackdown.
3) Michelle McCool goes to RAW - Michelle wants to wrestle, let her. Let her compete for the Women's Championship.
4) John Morrison to Smackdown - I know John and The Miz show up on Smackdown all the time anyway, but John has shown (at least on TV) that he has what it takes to run with the big dogs.
5) Teddy Long to RAW - TL has been on the DL as of late, but give him the GM slot and have him work an angle with the Vicky, the GM of Smackdown, that leads to Summerslam.
I'm sure there will be shocks and surprises at the draft which is why I enjoy watching.
1) Cena goes to Smackdown - for some reason, the more charismatic talent excels on Smackdown. The Rock had his heyday on Smackdown and even Cena rose to fame on the Blue Brand. I think he can excel again despite male contingent who insists on boooing him at each venue.
2) Edge goes to RAW - Adam belongs on RAW and this would bring a logical end to La Familia on Smackdown.
3) Michelle McCool goes to RAW - Michelle wants to wrestle, let her. Let her compete for the Women's Championship.
4) John Morrison to Smackdown - I know John and The Miz show up on Smackdown all the time anyway, but John has shown (at least on TV) that he has what it takes to run with the big dogs.
5) Teddy Long to RAW - TL has been on the DL as of late, but give him the GM slot and have him work an angle with the Vicky, the GM of Smackdown, that leads to Summerslam.
I'm sure there will be shocks and surprises at the draft which is why I enjoy watching.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
2008 King of the Ring Thoughts
On April 21, WWE ran a three hour RAW on USA Network. It was during this show that a new King of the Ring was crowned. At one point, the King of the Ring was a WWE Pay Per View event. For the last couple of years, the WWE has stretched the KotR tournament over a few weeks on RAW. On Monday, they returned to the single night format.
I believe King of the Ring has found its identity on RAW.
Now, to the gripes. It would have been nice to have the KotR determine the #1 contender for a title. It seemed like most of the superstars in the tournament already had storylines going for them. CM Punk was the winner of the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXIV. MVP has a feud with Matt Hardy. Chris Jericho is the Intercontinental Title holder and will be the special referee for the Michaels/Batista match at Backlash. William Regal is the current General Manager of RAW. It would have been nice for some of the talent who didn't have ongoing storylines to participate in the KotR.
William Regal winning the tournament isn't horrible for me. I can see how the new title could play into his role as GM of RAW. I was really pulling for Finlay as this could have been the start of a new angle for him as his WrestleMania XXIV opponent JBL is working the fatal four way at Backlash. We'll see what King Regal does at the PPV.
I believe King of the Ring has found its identity on RAW.
Now, to the gripes. It would have been nice to have the KotR determine the #1 contender for a title. It seemed like most of the superstars in the tournament already had storylines going for them. CM Punk was the winner of the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXIV. MVP has a feud with Matt Hardy. Chris Jericho is the Intercontinental Title holder and will be the special referee for the Michaels/Batista match at Backlash. William Regal is the current General Manager of RAW. It would have been nice for some of the talent who didn't have ongoing storylines to participate in the KotR.
William Regal winning the tournament isn't horrible for me. I can see how the new title could play into his role as GM of RAW. I was really pulling for Finlay as this could have been the start of a new angle for him as his WrestleMania XXIV opponent JBL is working the fatal four way at Backlash. We'll see what King Regal does at the PPV.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Y2J Added to the Mix
The fallout of Rick “Wooooooo” Flair’s retirement story comes to a head at WWE’s Backlash. Scheduled for the show is RAW’s Shawn Michaels versus Smackdown’s Batista. HBK is doing penance for winning his WrestleMania XXIV match with Flair, thus retiring the Nature Boy. WWE began an angle between HBK and Dave “The Animal” Batista the next day. Batista’s beef with Shawn is that the Heart Break Kid should have “thrown the match” so that Rick could continue to be in the ring, performing. Batista is blaming HBK for taking Flair away from him.
This is a very organic way to develop a feud from the retirement angle. I was hoping that this would continue through out the summer and then culminate with the SummerSlam PPV. On the April 14 edition of RAW, the feud took a different turn. Thanks to some pointed jabs at HBK during Chris Jerico’s Highlight Reel (and sweet chin music to Jerico’s jaw), Y2J is now the special guest referee for the match between HBK and Batista. During the match, Shawn will have the upper hand against The Animal. At some point, Jericho will administer the Code Breaker finishing move on HBK, giving the win to Batista.
Here now is the real SummerSlam marquee event… HBK vs. Y2J. Now, will this be a battle for the Intercontinental Title or just a straight grudge match? I will have to go with “grudge” on this one as Shawn is a little above holding the IC Title. But it will be one hell of a match.
This is a very organic way to develop a feud from the retirement angle. I was hoping that this would continue through out the summer and then culminate with the SummerSlam PPV. On the April 14 edition of RAW, the feud took a different turn. Thanks to some pointed jabs at HBK during Chris Jerico’s Highlight Reel (and sweet chin music to Jerico’s jaw), Y2J is now the special guest referee for the match between HBK and Batista. During the match, Shawn will have the upper hand against The Animal. At some point, Jericho will administer the Code Breaker finishing move on HBK, giving the win to Batista.
Here now is the real SummerSlam marquee event… HBK vs. Y2J. Now, will this be a battle for the Intercontinental Title or just a straight grudge match? I will have to go with “grudge” on this one as Shawn is a little above holding the IC Title. But it will be one hell of a match.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
WrestleMania 24 is over, now what?
WrestleMania is in the books for another year. The spectacle of all spectacles is the culmination of storylines and feuds that started with the Royal Rumble or before. The Royal Rumble begins the Road to WrestleMania, No Way Out should continue the WrestleMania storylines, WrestleMania is the biggest event of the year and then Backlash serves as a postscript to the big event.
The week after the Backlash PPV should serve as a fresh start for the company. On each of the three flagship shows (RAW, ECW, Smackdown), the WWE should conduct a weeklong draft. Each show gets five draft picks. The draft picks would come from the two other shows.
I was very against the brand separation when it began a few years ago. Lately, I’ve been seeing lots of WWE superstars crossing over. Is this due to the brand separation not working out or was it because of the lead-up to WrestleMania? Now that the three shows have their own identity, it makes sense that the superstars keep to their own shows. So when a superstar does go on one of the other shows, it means something.
New faces and new storylines would be a great new start for WWE fans.
Monday, March 31, 2008
WrestleMania XXIV Afterthoughts
WrestleMania XXIV has come and gone. It is time for some afterthoughts about the annual PPV.
Best Match: Shawn Michaels d. Rick Flair - This match meant something. This had two veterans of the industry, the emotion and the career ending stipulation. Both combatants hit all of their marks. I thought I was ready for the emotion of this match, I was wrong. This match is one that Flair, HBK and the fans will remember for a long time.
Worst Match: Batista d. Umaga - This was a short, sloppy match. It didn't help that Dave's finisher was botched. You could see his frustration when he left the ring.
Best Bump: Shawn Michaels d. Rick Flair - When HBK jumped off the top turnbuckle and onto the RAW announce table, the table didn't completely break and Shawn took it right in the breadbasket, OUCH!
Best Bump Runner-up: JBL d. Finley - As Finley dives out of the ring, he comes face-to-face with a trashcan lid courtesy of JBL.
Best Moment: Shawn Michaels d. Rick Flair - On that final Sweet Chin Music, the camera had a closeup of HBK's face. It wasn't too hard to read his lips when he said, "I'm sorry" and "I love you" right before he executed his third finisher to Flair, wow!
Best Surprise: BunnyMania Lumberjill Match - when the power went out during the match.
Best Surprise Runner-up: Kane d. Chavo - Three second victory.
WrestleMania Rating: B+
Best Match: Shawn Michaels d. Rick Flair - This match meant something. This had two veterans of the industry, the emotion and the career ending stipulation. Both combatants hit all of their marks. I thought I was ready for the emotion of this match, I was wrong. This match is one that Flair, HBK and the fans will remember for a long time.
Worst Match: Batista d. Umaga - This was a short, sloppy match. It didn't help that Dave's finisher was botched. You could see his frustration when he left the ring.
Best Bump: Shawn Michaels d. Rick Flair - When HBK jumped off the top turnbuckle and onto the RAW announce table, the table didn't completely break and Shawn took it right in the breadbasket, OUCH!
Best Bump Runner-up: JBL d. Finley - As Finley dives out of the ring, he comes face-to-face with a trashcan lid courtesy of JBL.
Best Moment: Shawn Michaels d. Rick Flair - On that final Sweet Chin Music, the camera had a closeup of HBK's face. It wasn't too hard to read his lips when he said, "I'm sorry" and "I love you" right before he executed his third finisher to Flair, wow!
Best Surprise: BunnyMania Lumberjill Match - when the power went out during the match.
Best Surprise Runner-up: Kane d. Chavo - Three second victory.
WrestleMania Rating: B+
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