ECW 2/26/2008, Cena on The Rock, Vince No-shows Congress & much more

Yesterday, I was bed-ridden with the flu, so much of what I'm about to rant about is old news, but oh well. I'm still sick, but at least today I'm a bit more ambulatory (walking the dog sure seems like manual labor when you have the flu). You may want to pull up a chair and sit down. There's a lot to write about and this is a long entry.

Here we go...

ECW 2/26/2008
I've never really mentioned this before, and I'm not sure why this is, but I think that ECW by far has the best intro of the three WWE shows. Ever since Smackdown! lost the rights to Marilyn Manson's 'Beautiful People', and Raw stopped using 'Across the Nation' (Move to the music... Play that f*cking music... move to the music, yeah...) I've felt ECW's intro was the best, so maybe it's the music. I think the ECW graphics and pyro are better too, though. Anyway...

ECW opened with the match I'd been dreading since it was mentioned on Raw. Kelly Kelly & Kofi Kington vs. Layla & Santino Marella in a mixed tag match. First off, who cares. Secondly, this wasn't supposed to be a tornado tag match, but that's basically what it was. For the most part, there was no tagging in or out. Not a lot to say here, at least, I don't feel like putting much thought into this match, so here are the high and low points (You can decide which are which):

Santino attempting to enter the ring like Layla. I guess the guy needs to do more stretches.

Tazz singing the J. Geils Band's 'Centerfold' (it made me gag)

A nice double drop kick by Kelly & Kofi

The return of Kofi Kingston's 'turnbuckle teabag' (I'm sorry, but this move is way more disgusting than Rikishi's Stinkface)

Kelly Kelly's sloppy, uncoordinated and oversold arsenal. At least she's making Mickie James' skills look good in my eyes. (Vince, if they can't wrestle, don't put them in the ring, dammit! )

Kelly Kelly's lame 'fameasser'

Tazz's comment of Kelly Kelly's 'tremendous athleticism'. She only did a cross body off of the turnbuckle, buddy... and a bad one at that.

Tazz singing 'Peter Cottontail'. Dude, stop singing.

Now that I look at it, with the exception of the drop kick, it's all bad. At least there wasn't the god-awful screeching and screaming that usually happens in Diva-related matches.

Next up, Stevie Richards vs. Mike Knox. If you didn't see it, you really didn't miss anything. Mike Knox worked Stevie Richard's neck the majority of the match (hotshot, knee drop, second rope choking, etc). Mike Knox threw an ugly clothesline, which landed across Richards' face. Knox handed Richards his ass to him the whole match, but then Richards won after only two stinger splashes and a Stevie-T. Kinda lame. Oh, and Stevie, your surgery was on the right side of your throat. You'd think that you'd know that. Next time, you may was to hold that side of your neck while you grimace in pain.

The following match was Tommy Dreamer & Colin Delaney (this week WWE finally signed the little guy) vs. Mike Miz and John Morrison. The star of this match was Tommy Dreamer. I'm glad they are finally giving him a push (thanks once again, internet voters). We got to see Colin Delaney wrestle a bit, but for the most part he still played the part of 'human crash test dummy'. Miz & Morrison pulled off an amazing tag-in double team move on Delaney. I'd try to put it into words, but I couldn't do it justice. Dreamer got the win after a Dreamer DDT, which appears to have set up a re-match next week with the titles on the line.

The main event was CM Punk vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Elijah Burke in a #1 Contenders match, with Chavo Guerrero as a guest commentator (who was horrible on the mic, as usual). I was actually looking forward to this match. The match started with an impressive roundhouse head kick by Shelton Benjamin, knocking Elijah Burke out of the ring. I was glad to see this right out of the gate, as I was expecting them to team up on CM Punk for the first half of the match. Elijah returned the favor by giving Shelton a low bridge when bouncing off of the rope. The show stealing move of the night: Punk and Burke when having a suplex battle across the top rope. Shelton Benjamin run in, jumping over the two and sunset flip-powerbombs CM Punk onto the floor (see video below, 2:19 in).

We knew that Shelton wouldn't win this match, as he qualified for the ladder match at WrestleMania on Friday's Smackdown, but he really should have. A very impressive performance.

Final ECW thoughts: Tazz, what the hell are you wearing? Even Jerry Lawler wouldn't wear a shirt that fugly.


John Cena's interview in The Sun
On Tuesday, the UK Tabloid The Sun posted and article with excepts from an interview they did with John Cena. In the printed article, it seems like The Sun has taken a few liberties with creative quoting that paints John Cena as bashing The Rock for 'turning his back on the business'. The article quotes John Cena as saying:

'What I kind of get peeved about — and this is my Achilles heel — is that I've wanted to do this my whole life.'

'At one point Rock loved wrestling and wanted to do this all his life.'

'So explain to me why he can't come back. Simply put it's because he wants to be an actor and there's nothing wrong with that.'

'He's very good and very successful. Associating with sports entertainment doesn't do much for his acting career — I get it.'

'Just don't f*ck me around and tell me that you love this. That's the only thing that gets me really p*ssed off.'

'Our fan base have so much admiration for him, he's got to respect that. He doesn't give anything back.'

I listened to the interview, and like the CNN steroid interview, what he said was taken out of context and a little bit different without the editing. What was left out of the article on the website was:

'This is my take on The Rock. He’s genuinely a nice guy. I’ve met him. He's a fantastic human being.'

'Like I said, he is a great guy. But I think we all know now that he wants to be an actor. And there’s nothing wrong with that, because he’s truly found another passion. He’s good at acting. His films make money.'

In regard to the Rock coming back, what he really said was:

'Explain to me why he can’t come back for our 15th anniversary show or why he can’t make an appearance at WrestleMania. Simply put, it's because he wants to be an actor. There's nothing wrong with that. He's a very good actor. He's very successful. He's done very well for himself and associating with sports entertainment doesn't do much for his acting career, it only helps out the sports entertainment audience. So I get why he doesn't come back. Just don't f*ck me around and tell me that you love this, when you're just doing this to do something else. That's the only thing that gets me really p*ssed off.'

'He has so much admiration from our audience... to have that much admiration still when he hasn't been around or hasn't been on TV, you've got to respect that from our fan base. He doesn't give anything back... I wish he’d just show up, say hi and leave... Do the eyebrow once and get out of town'

The funny thing is, I more agree with the John Cena misquotes. The Rock was 'The Great One'. He has turned his back on us. His movies aren't that spectacular, and was far more entertaining in the ring. Yes, I know Rock... movies pay more. What can I say? I'm selfish.

Listening to the interview, I have to say that I was peeved at his laughing about what Simon Rothstein and Joel Ross defined what 'proper' wrestling fans were. Not cool John, but I'll get over it. He also spoke about his injury, fans that say he can't wrestle, his time in OVW, Santino Marella, Chris Benoit and more. Given that this is the second misquoted interview with John Cena from a major media source, I can't see that WWE will let him do many more interviews.

If you want to read the article on the Sun: Cena: The Rock P***es Me Off
Whether you are a John Cena fan, or hater, I more recommend listening to the actual interview. I for one, have a bit more respect for John Cena after listening to a non-kayfabe interview. It will open up in iTunes: John Cena's Interview


Floyd Mayweather, Jr vs. Big Show: Floyd's Payday
During the WrestleMania press conference, Floyd Mayweather mentioned that he was getting $20 million dollars for his WrestleMania involvement. Shane McMahon later confirmed this figure. Jim Ross also confirmed the figure in his blog. I for one, find this figure hard to believe. Whether it's $20 million, or $10 thousand, WWE is throwing money away in my opinion. As I've said again and again, we wrestling fans are not going to get behind the guy as a face after he threw legit punches and broke Big Show's nose the night of his big return. That was supposed to be Big Show's moment, and you ruined it, Floyd.



Ohio Valley Wrestling
Last night was the final taping of 'WWE OVW'. Any titles that were held by WWE developmental talents were dropped. In an article posted on the Courier Journal (Louisville, KY) website, OVW says that they will continue the televised promotion, as well as their wrestling school. The Courier Journal quotes OVW office manager as saying:

'The only thing that's changing are the faces. We're still going to go strong.'

For the full article: Ohio Valley Wrestling knocked down, not out


Return of the 'Monday Night War'?
There's been a rumor floating around the internet that TNA, with Jeff Jarrett being the most vocal, wants to move TNA iMPACT to Monday nights to go head to head against WWE Monday Night Raw. While I think WWE definately needs competition to bring the quality way up, I don't see TNA offering competition in any way whatsoever. TNA 's writing team, as well as production values would both need a major tune-up before they take on the Monday night juggernaut. If they are silly enough to make the schedule move before this happens, I predict the death of TNA. The two products aren't even comparable.


Vince McMahon No-showed at Congress Hearing
On Wednesday, Vince McMahon was a no-show at Congress' steroid hearing. Vince cited his attorney's involvement in a lengthy criminal trial in Pittsburgh as the reason. Newsday.com quotes subcommittee chairman Bobby Rush as saying the following in resonse to Vince's abscence:

'Steroid abuse in pro wrestling is probably worse than in any professional sport or amateur sport. And while I recognize that professional wrestling is not actually a sport, it certainly requires a great deal of athletic talent, I want to insure Mr. McMahon that this subcommittee fully intends to deal with the illegal steroid abuse in professional wrestling'

For Pete's sake. This is our tax dollars at work. Don't you politicians have more pressing matters to nitpick? How about Iraq, global warming, unemployment and the price of oil, just to name a few. Sometimes I just don't get our government.

Full article: WWE's McMahon blasted by Congress

and speaking of politcians... (yeah, I know... weird segue)


Lance Storm's Knee Surgery
Lance Storm had knee surgery this week. His latest blog entry really makes me wonder about socialized medicine and universal health care. More importantly, here's to a speedy recovery, Lance. I wish you the best.

For Lance Storm's commentary about his surgery: Knee Surgery


Well, that's all for today, folks. If you made all the way through to the end, congratulations. Come back tomorrow for my ramblings on TNA iMPACT

Weekend Wrap Up: Smackdown 2/22/2008, Oscars & More

So... I haven't posted an Entry in a couple days. Honestly, I just haven't felt like it. That's alright, I'll kill three birds with one stone.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown! 2/22/2008
I didn't write my normal commentary on Smackdown, because, well... I thought it sucked. The only entertaining portion was the Money in the Bank qualifying match between Shelton Benjamin and Jimmy Wang Yang. This match, is exactly what I was talking about in my 'WWE Monday Night Raw, 2/18/2008' entry. As much as I would like to see Jimmy Wang Yang in a ladder match, I knew that Shelton Benjamin would get the win (who has been awesome in past ladder matches, by the way). My whole point here, is they put Shelton in the match with an opponent that made it competitive. It was a fantastic, high flying match. These two guys are great talents.

The only other redeeming quality about Friday's airing was the epiphany I had. If they ever decide to do a re-make of Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein, Festus would be the perfect guy to play Peter Boyle's monster. I also think that it's too bad that Festus isn't hairier. He be the perfect son of George 'The Animal' Steele.

80th Annual Academy Awards. 'The Oscars'
I trudged through this crap last night, basically because there wasn't much else on. I was surprised to see Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as a presenter. I gotta tell you Rock, I know you're living out your whole movie star fantasy, but please come back. Your movies are okay, but they aren't terribly spectacular. You were much more entertaining in the ring. Plus, I gotta say, seeing you in a tuxedo is just plain wrong (yes, more wrong than a T-shirt and stretchy man-panties.

WWE WrestleMania 24 Press Conference
While yes, I live here in Los Angeles, and could easily have gone to the Staples Center to see this live, I chose to sit here and watch the video stream on the internet. Fighting LA traffic all the way into downtown is not my idea of fun. Anyway, here's the recap:

Jonathan Coachman opens the press the press conference to introduce Vince McMahon. Thankfully, Vince walks out normally and doesn't so that awful 'powerwalk'. I guess he reserves that for the entrance ramp. Vince went on to define 'WWE', as if the world doesn't get it. World: Vince calls the WWE the world's greatest export. Wrestling: Here he talks abit about wrestling, but goes on to call WWE 'the only variety show left on television'. Entertainment: Vince claims to 'entertain our audience better than anyone else in the world'. Vince McMahon talks a bit about the first WrestleMania, and references the Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorf, and then elaborates on celebrity involvement. He made it a point to note that for only the second time WrestleMania 24 will be held in an outdoor venue, and that it will 'allow us to do things that we can't do indoors'. Hopefully, he means something besides just more pyro (Rumor has it that this year's WrestleMania will have 10 times more pyro than any prior events). That's cool and all, but I don't buy pay per views to watch fireworks on TV.

Coach then introduces John Cena, who gets a mixed reaction from the crowd, but there certainly seemed to be more 'boos'. Many of the crowd begin to chant 'you suck'. Cena praises and thanks Vince McMahon. He goes on to say that he, 'won't predict a win or loss, but guarantees history will be made'.

Coach then brings out Randy Orton. Randy Orton had a bad wardrobe day. He was wearing jeans with what looked like a tuxedo jacket. Typical Orton dialogue. John Cena giggles like a school girl when the crowd start chanting 'Cena'. Disgusting. Randy Orton wraps things up by saying, 'March 30th, I will not only walk out WWE champion, but no longer will I be known as the Legend Killer. March 30th I will be known as a Legend'

Next out is Triple H. Again, like Orton, typical Triple H ramblings. Hunter seemed to lose his train of thought and called the crowd 'crazy', followed with 'I forgot we were in LA'.
Triple H vows that at WrestleMania the 'King of Kings goes back on his throne'.

Coach re-takes the podium and starts talking about the Diva search. My stomach drops, because I know they are about to announce something stupid for WrestleMania. Candice Michelle and Maria come out to announce the 'first ever Playboy Bunny Mania match'. Whatever the hell that is, you can bet your ass it's gonna suck. Candice announces that it's Maria's birthday, which results in the crowd giving the worst rendition of 'Happy Birthday' that I've ever heard in my life.

The divas are followed by Edge, who basically said the same things he said on Friday Night Smackdown. 'I'm undefeated at WrestleMania too...' Blah, blah, blah...

Coach announces Rey Mysterio. Rey was wearing a god-awful black velvet mask with purple trim. It didn't go particularly well with a pinstripe suit. When Rey took the podium the mics were tall than he and began standing on his tip toes before lower the mic. He talked a bit about his injury and speaks to the crowd in a mix of English and Spanish. This would have been fine, but he never repeated in English what he said in Spanish like Ediie Guerrero used to do. Rey announced that his bicep surgery will be on Wednesday, but that it 'won't effect him helping his boy, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Every time Rey would mention Floyd Mayweather's name, the crowd erupted in boos. Vince, I hope you took note. We, the audience, do not like Floyd Mayweather.

The next bit confused me a little. I'm not sure whey it took a progression of three guys, to announce one guy.

For some reason, Coach brings out Mike Adamle. Mike rattles on about smalls guys being victorious over big guys. When Mike Adamle mentions Floyd Mayweather, the crowd boos. Mike Adamle introduces Shane McMahon.

Shane McMahon takes the podium and talks about WWE and Floyd Mayweather 'joining forces; The crowd boos. He mentions how the world is watching, and third parties such as HBO, Direct TV and Dish Network are nervous about the outcome. Personally, I don't care. After how unprofessional Mayweather was the night of Big Show's return, I hope he gets injured. That's right, I'm wishing ill on another human being. Sue me. For no apparent reason, the crowd starts a 'Cena' chant, followed by a 'Triple H' chant for no apparent reason in the middle of Shane McMahon's speech.

Shane introduces Floyd Mayweather. The fans are not happy to see him and he draw immediate heat from the crowd. The crowd stars chanting 'Yankees Suck' in response to Floyd's outfit. He stood there dumbfounded, saying nothing for roughly 5 minutes. For some reason he pulls a bundle of $100 bills out of his jacket and shows the crowd. He finally speaks... well kinda... he kept repeating 'I got all day'. The guy definitely looked rattled. The fans begin chanting 'you suck', which was followed by a 'de la Hoya' chant, which was followed by a 'Big Show' chant. Flord Mayweather then took Big Show's name placard off the table and ripped it up. For a guy that is supposedly so 'good on the mic' according to some sports writers, Floyd Mayweather is out of his element. He still is standing speechless, removed the bundle of cash and acts as if he is going to throw it into the crowd. He's that desperate, drowning that badly, that he is going to attempt to pay off the crowd. He stands on the table, flashing his money, inciting the crowd. He then jumps down and starts 'listening to the crowd' like Hulk Hogan would do. He ends up tossing money into the non-media section of the audience. After picking up the money, they continue to boo him. Floyd returns to the mic, apparently now ready to speak. He says that he is going to change the name of the WWE to the MME, Money Mayweather Entertainment. He also claims that he 'owns this city now', that he 'runs LA' and also 'runs WWE'. The crowd responds by chanting 'you suck big time'. The brags about his 'lifestyle', his 'money', and 'how good I look'. Boy, you sure do know how to win friends and influence people, Floyd. He says that he'll give people money if they tell him that he's the champ. Paying off the crowd? C'mon. Keep in mind, that this moron is saying all of these things with Shane McMahon directly to his left, champions Orton and Edge behind him, and Vince McMahon just behind the curtain. Finally, (Fi-nal-ly! ) he sits down. This was a fiasco and I want that half hour of my life back. Heh.

Mike Adamle returns to the podium to announce the Big Show. Apparently, Big Show is too big for the internet, because as his music started playing and came through the curtain my video stream disconnected. I wasn't able to rejoin the web feed. Too bad too, I would have liked to have heard the crowd chant Big Show's name and embarrass the little bastard.

I hope Vince took notes. We, the viewing audience, decide who's a heel, and who's a face. You can't force-feed us Floyd Mayweather as a face. We don't care if Rey Mysterio is supposedly his friend, and supposedly training him or not. This storyline needed a change of direction last week. I'd recommend changing it tonight on Raw. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

ECW 2/19/2008: Would you like some Wrestling with your Marketing?

Wow.

You know, for the first time in quite a long while, ECW was good last night. I enjoyed it. In fact, I liked it better than this week's Monday Night Raw.

but... (with me, there's always a 'but'. What can I say? I'm critical) I thought there were bad points too. Here we go...

We opened with an in-ring promo by Ric Flair. I expected this. Ric Flair was noticeably absent from Monday Night Raw after his win over Ken Kennedy at No Way Out... then there was a blurb on Raw about Ric Flair making a 'special appearance' on ECW. Tazz joins Ric Flair and leads things off by discussing Ric Flair's induction to the 2008 WWE Hall of Fame.

Ric Flair took over and his dialogue was predictable, until he said, '...I'm honored to be a part, of ECW'. I think to myself, 'Self, Ric Flair just flubbed his lines. Surely what he meant to say was WWE'. Tazz would say later in the broadcast the Flair was a guest. If Flair has been moved to ECW, that sure blows the whole Flair vs. HBK at Wrestlemania theory. Anyway...

After a cheap San Diego, CA pop, Ric Flair is interrupted/joined by Elijah Burke, who in turn is interrupted/joined by Shelton Benjamin. I think to myself, 'Self, this is excellent. ECW is finally showing talent on the roster other than just Kofi Kingston, John Morrison & Mike Miz, CM Punk and Chavo Guerrero (sorry Chavo, but I can't say that I missed seeing you last night). As expected, Shelton 'the new gold standard' Benjamin, exchanged words with Flair, resulting in Shelton Benjamin and Elijah Burke beating down Flair, who was saved by a run-in by CM Punk, thus setting up the Main Event.
The good: An excellent in-ring promo foreshadowing an exciting main event.
The bad: Not necessarily related to the promo. I'm am most certainly not making any insinuations, implications or allegations here, but this promo made me realize that, here in the middle of Black History Month, there is no African-American talent on Raw. I'm sure that there isn't any intentional segregation going on here, but it's segregation nonetheless. (Please don't sue me Vince. It's only an observation. Heh)

ECW African-American talent: 5 - Big Daddy V, Boogeyman, Elijah Burke, Kofi Kingston, Shelton Benjamin.

Smackdown African-American talent: 4 - Mark Henry, MVP, plus Jonathan Coachman and Theodore Long.

Raw African-American talent: 0 - (Technically, yes, Ron Simmons is on the roster, but his appearances are few and far between. Sorry Ron, sporadic appearances don't count... DAMN!)

Next up, we have a No Way Out-recap video package. Approximate length 1 min 20 sec. (Why am I mentioning this? Read on, I'm leading up to something).

Commercial break.

Video package #2. Big Show/Mayweather promo for next week's Raw. Approximate length 15 sec

Video recap package (of what we just saw) at Flair's promo. Approximate length 30 sec

We return to find a promo with Elijah, Shelton and General Manager Armando Estrada, announcing the Main Event. Shelton Benjamin was much better talking this week, both on the mic and in this promo. I've been down on you the past couple of weeks Shelton. Kudos. The good: Shelton's improvement on the mic. The bad: Armando Estrada as GM

The first match of the night was Kofi Kington vs. Jason Riggs. I'm not sure why it took nearly 20 minutes to get to the first match (sarcasm), but oh well. The good: I am not sure why Kofi is back to wrestling jobbers when he pinned Mike Knox, a legit roster member, last week. At least Jason Riggs (formaerly of OVW) made Kofi look good. Kofi has talent, but Jason Riggs sold Kofi's moves well and made him look even better. Gladly, this week we didn't have to see another 'turnbuckle teabag'. The bad: Joey Stiles did an interview with Kofi after the match, and he was good on the mic, but I was sick of the 'bo! bo! bo!' two weeks ago.

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin video package hyping the new DVD. Approximate length 45 sec

USA Network 'Raw Fan Nation' video package with Layla Milani. Approximate length 25 sec (Can you see where I'm going with this yet?)

Commercial Break.

Wrestlemania 24 video package. Approximate length 30 sec

Vince McMahon/Hornswoggle/Finlay/JBL-rep from Monday Night Raw. Approximate length 3 min 40 sec (plus additional time of Tazz and Joey Stiles discussing it. Just as difficult to watch as when it happened live on Monday)

The following match was Mike Miz (with John Morrison) vs. Colin Delaney (with Tommy Dreamer). I thought to myself, 'Self, good... We'll finally get to see Colin Delaney wrestle instead of just being the human ragdoll.' I mean, seriously, Zack Gowan got to do more stuff than this kid.
The bad: They let him land two punches. That's it...
The good: On the flipside, I was very impressed with Mike Miz as a singles wrestler, and more specifically, a single heel. Mocking Tommy Dreamer by giving Delaney advice while kicking his ass was priceless. I liked him much better alone, than in a tag with Morrisson. His jumping clothesline into the turnbuckle that left him perched on the second rope was awesome, as was the springboard off of Delaney's back, over the rope to hang him up on the second rope. Maybe I've been wrong about you this whole time, Miz...

Video package for the March '08 issue of WWE magazine. Approximate length 25 sec

Commercial break.

Video package recap of Maria's match vs. Beth Phoenix on Monday Night Raw. Approximate length 30 sec

This led to a promo with Kelly Kelly. Honestly, Joey Stiles, I don't care what Kelly thinks about Maria posing in Playboy... and Kelly Kelly, I don't care if posing in Playboy is something that you've always wanted to do. I also don't care if you think that it's (does best valley girl impression) 'so glamourous' and 'so prestigious'. As for your question, what do I think? I think your idea of what sexy is supposed to look like, your posing, your doe eyes and hair stroking make you look like a whore. If you don't want the answer, don't ask the question. Oh, by the way, learn to wrestle. The good: not much. The bad: More WWE T&A garbage

Stevie Richards vs. James Curtis. I'm not sure if Stevie Richards had new entrance music, or if they just cut out the 'I'll show you! You'll see!' intro. Not much to remark on here. I'd just restate what I said in my ECW 2/12/2008 rant. Richards looked okay. Curtis looked okay I guess. The bad: Seemed to be pretty much the same match as Richards' match last week. The Good: Hey, at least we don't have to see him stalk Victoria in drag anymore. Heh.

Oh, Steven Richards video recap at the beginning of the last match about his surgery. Approximate length: 30 sec.

Raw Rebound video package: Big show/Mayweather again. Approximate length: 3 min.
(You know Vince, no matter how much you try to force feed us this crap, Mayweather is not getting over as a face, especially since he threw legit blows and broke Show's nose the night he returned.)

We now see Ric Flair and CM Punk walking to the gorilla position. Flair and Punk trading whooo!'s was classic. Made me smile.

Commercial break.

Video package for Wrestlemania 24. Approximate length: 30 sec.

Main Event. Flair/Punk vs. Burke/Benjamin. This was a great match with lots of action. Even Ric Flair entertained me, which is saying a lot. I think that it was remarkable how quick-paced it was, as matches involving Flair seem to crawl. I had to laugh when Elijah Burke stole Ric Flair's material. The eye gouge to climb the turnbuckle, just to be tossed down by Flair was funny (Batista was using Flair's moves on the 2/15/2008 episode of Smackdown. Is this a trend?). It was even funnier when Flair then climbed the turnbuckle and actually got the attack off on not one, but both of his opponents. The black eye on this match was the botched spot with Shelton Benjamin and CM Punk. It wasn't so much the botched spot, but the fact that they re-did the spot on a live episode. They re-did the move, that wasn't even a pivotal part of the match. (Benjamin picks up Punk into the powerbomb position and runs to the turnbuckle, Punk is supposed to hop off of Benjamin's shoulders but instead falls over the ropes to the floor. It was unclear if Punk didn't make the hop, or Benjamin didn't give him the lift. Flair checks on Punk, picks him up and puts him back in the ring. When they re-did the move, Punk makes the hop and lands a running enzuigiri). Ultimately, Flair gets Burke in a figure four and Burke taps. Shelton Benjamin, Elijah Burke and CM Punk are to be commended. They made Ric Flair look like he was in his prime again. (The good and bad are obvious here)

So what's the moral of this story? This was a good show... but it could have been a great show. I understand the need for recaps to 'catch-up' the viewers that didn't see what happened... and coming from a marketing background, I understand the need to build hype, as well as cross-brand marketing strategies. I know that this has been a part of WWE's marketing strategy formula for decades, and I'm not suggesting that they go away. (Here comes the 'but')

but...

When a show has a hour long timeslot, after commercials there's usually around 40 minutes of 'actual' airtime. Over 12 minutes of 'actual airtime' (over 30%) was eaten up by video packages. Like I said, I don't expect them to go away, but on shorter show, there either needs to be less of them, or shorter ones.

As Queen Gertrude said to Polonius in Hamlet, "More matter, with less art". Or as Lance Storm said, (paraphrasing) "I like a little more sports in my entertainment"

ECW 2/12/2008

Wow. What a mish-mash of stuff last night. I kind of expect mixed results until things get settled down since head writer David Lagana was released at the end of last month.

First things first. Chavo. Man Chavo, you are not good at pantomime. You mic skills aren't the best, but they seem high caliber after watching your performance last night. The overdramatic scratching and sniffing yourself and sneezing was terrible. Speaking of the sneezing... just a tip... if you are going to fake a sneeze, you might not want to say, and I quote, "Ah-choo!" into the mic. I don't know, maybe you haven't noticed, but 'real' sneezes don't sound like "Ah-choo!".
Side Note:
* I forgot to mention it in my commentary of last week's show, but writing team, was it really necessary for Chavo to be saved by SCUBA Divers?! What, we're supposed to think that there were some random SCUBA Divers floating around in the dark?

Last night we saw the return of Stevie Richards. He looked okay considering he's been out on injury for quite a while. I think he would have looked a lot better, but frankly, Rory Fox didn't help. I think you can only get over so much when the guy you're working with isn't selling your offense. This match actually brings me to a related, but unrelated thought. It doesn't happen so much with main eventers, but I have never understood why someone known, and established ring veteran makes their return, they get put in the ring with some random jobber. We remember who Steven Richards is... you don't need to build him up for three weeks. Put him in the ring with another ring vet, give him the win and that's it.
Side note:
*Rory Fox must have taken acting lessons from Chavo. The bewildered look on his face and exuberant shouting didn't help his poor performance.

Kelly Kelly vs. Layla. This wasn't a bad match... it looks like the Divas are having a good week... However, I'm still sick of all the T&A garbage. Whoever is running the control room, or the editing room (or whoever is giving orders to these guys), must be a manga fan. Seriously, there were as many fan-service panty-shots as you would find in an ecchi book. The only thing separating this match from a volume of Ikki Tousen/Battle Vixens was the lack of weaponry and their tops staying on.
Side notes:
* Kelly Kelly's Fame-asser (or whatever she calls it) looked pretty rough.
* With only an hour of airtime, I'd rather have watched some of the under-utilized talent in the back (Shelton Benjamin, Kevin Thorn, Nunzio, Elijah Burke)

Kofi Kingston vs Mike Knox. Finally, we get to see Kofi wrestle someone with a little more talent, and it's about time. Kofi looked really good, and Mike Knox did a good job of selling Kofi's moves. I was disappointed that there wasn't a Kofi/Knox bicycle kick war.
Side note:
* I still hate the double leg drop. (Why in the hell would that hurt someone?! ). Please also lose the 'Turnbuckle Teabag'. Ew. Just... Ew.

John Morrison vs. Tommy Dreamer. Not much to say here, but I'm glad Dreamer got the win.
Side note:
I wish Tommy Dreamer had better finishers

CM Punk vs. Mark Henry. I am still dumbfounded by this one. What heel stays in the rope past the five count, and then lets go when the bell rings? Look, if you wanted CM Punk to give Chavo a GTS (for the second week in a row to the sternum, I might add...), Why not just put them in a match?
Side note:
Chavo should turn again. He's a much better face, than heel.