Kurt Angle Website Update: Karen Angle

As I mentioned on February 14th, Kurt Angle's website has had a major overhaul. At the time, Karen Angle's section of the website was still under construction.

I've just checked, and the Karen Angle side is now live (It appears to be her MySpace. She has Forrest Griffin as a friend... no fair! )

Anyway, to have a look: Kurt & Karen Angle



On an unrelated side note, I'll be posting my commentary about the 2/22/2008 airing of WWE Friday Night Smackdown!, basically when I get to it.

Lance Storm Weighs in on MMA's Influence on the WWE

I'm a huge fan of Lance Storm's blog (obviously, otherwise I wouldn't link to it).

He and I have seen eye to eye on a wide array of topics, and typically, he has always been able to put his thoughts into words much better than I can. I've e-mailed him a couple of times voicing agreement to his opinions. I've never received a response, and honestly I didn't expect one. I'm sure he's got a lot more important things to do besides writing back to marks all day. Anyway, today is a prime example.

Today Lance Storm has posted a commentary on MMA's influence on the WWE, directed primarily at the character direction of Undertaker. I highly recommend giving it a read (and his other articles too). Lance addresses 'Taker's new submission, the Gogoplata (yes, I finally figured out what it was called. I found it on Wiki a couple days ago), and how it relates to the world of professional wrestling. Lance brought up a good point, which I was stunned that I didn't realize, about the position of Gogoplata (and Undertaker's triangle choke, for that matter). I wish I hadn't wiped those episodes of Smackdown off of the DVR, because I'm pretty sure when Undertaker had it applied on Big Daddy V, and Mark Henry, his shoulders were on the mat for three seconds.

Enough of my rambling... take a few minutes and head over to Lance Storm's site. You can find his latest article here: Adapting MMA

Side note: Not that you're reading this, but we miss watching you on TV, Lance. You were one of the most brilliant yet underrated (& under appreciated) technicians in professional wrestling. Hopefully, we'll see you again.

WWE No Way Out 2/17/2008: Fenn's Fiasco, PPV Peril

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll remember that I mentioned that in my TNA: Cross the Line post on 2/15, I mentioned that my cable had been out for 24 hours. If you aren't a regular reader, now you know.

Anyway, I ended up getting the cable to work by connecting the co/ax directly to the TV... however my cable box has been non functional (no DVR, no PPV, etc), until finally, FINALLY Charter Cable replaced my box this morning, 5 days later. I called and reported the problem 5 separate times... was lied to and BS'ed about what the problem was (and obviously, they did nothing to fix the problem. I used the chat feature on their website twice with the same result. Over the past week I visited the local office three times before they gave me a replacement box, this morning. Obviously, I'm not talking about No Way Out Yet... I'm ranting about Charter Cable, because quite frankly, I'm pissed. How can it take a a company 10 separate times of the same customer reporting the same problem before they 'decide' to help that customer. The only thing that stopped me from saying to Charter, 'YOU'RE FIRRRRRRRRRED' is that Direct TV was not able to set up a dish the way my apartment is situated. You'll be happy to know, that Charter Cable did join Fenn's 'Kiss My Ass' club. If you haven't caught my drift... don't use Charter Cable.

So I had a dilemma... pay the same price to watch No Way Out on the internet as I would to watch it on TV (and have the ability to record it), or go to a WWE 'Blast Area'. So with the option to not be able to record it and watch on a tiny screen (with questionable streaming quality), and the option to not be able to record it and watch on a gi-normous screen, I opted for the Blast Area. I checked the WWE website and found that Yankee Doodle's in Woodland Hills, CA is a WWE Blast Area. We arrived around 4:30... staked out our seats, and ordered some ($40 worth of awful) munchies. Yankee Doodle's was showing the WWE Preview show... it's 3 minutes to 5, and on the TV's we see Yankee Doodle's ordering the PPV (Yes, they actually waited until the very last minute to order it). Everyone in the place starts clapping, until... a big screen pops up that reads, 'INSUFFICIENT CREDIT'. Yankee Doodle's claimed that it was an issue with Direct TV, but it seemed to me that they didn't pay their bill. We watched them attempt to order the PPV over... and over... and over... eventually they stop trying. They tell us that it should be up around 6-ish. In an attempt to entertain us, Yankee Doodles put on the All Star game, only to turn it off 5 minutes later... then turn it on, and off... (you get the idea). Remarkably the crowd (about 50 other people) were surprisingly patient. We ate our crappy, overpriced appetizers... we were ignored by the waitress... we weren't given one refill on our drinks... It sucked.

It was about 6:15 when employees were seen scrambling behind the bar. The TVs blinked to life, just in time to see the Mae Young Wrestlemania 24 commercial. We missed the ECW match, as well as the entire Smackdown! Elimination Chamber match. Yankee Doodle's, you can join the 'Kiss Fenn's Ass' club, too. You'll never, eeeeeever see another dollar from me, Junior. Assclowns...

By this point, if you care about No Way Out, you either watched it live, read results today, or watched on You Tube (like I had to do today to see the Smackdown chamber match). I'm not gonna give the usual full rundown (but that's what I always say, isn't it?)

CM Punk vs. Chavo: I didn't watch it. Honestly, I don't care. Chavo sucks as a heel. I understand Chavo won clean. Who cares.

Smackdown Elimination Chamber: I read on a few sites today that this was a great match, so I dug it up on You Tube. I thought that this match was pretty lame, especially the entrant order. In my opinion, Finlay and MVP (who shouldn't have even been in the thing) should have started the match. I felt that the 'action' was slow. Is it just me, or did they unlock Big Daddy V when Khali's light went on? Nice job. The outcome of this match was pretty apparent from the start, as is the winner of the belt at Wrestlemania. Bah.

This is where the PPV started at the sports bar. I didn't time them, but they all seemed to be short matches.

Kennedy vs. Flair: I liked this match. I love this rivalry, and hope it continues. It's the first time Ric Flair has entertained me since his match with Vince McMahon at the Royal Rumble in 2002. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I would love to see Mr. Kennedy retire Ric Flair at Wrestlemania, and have Ric Flair become Kennedy's valet. The two work great together. I would hate it if Kevin Eck (Ring Posts) is right and it's Ric Flair vs. HBK at Wrestlemania. It's bad enough to see one guy doing the same, tired crap he's done for decades, without it being two of them.

Edge vs. Rey Mysterio: With Rey's injury, this match was understandably short. I shudder of the thought of Edge vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Even if it becomes a triple threat, Edge really should not be in the main event. I hope and pray they strip him of the belt and Undertaker faces someone else... anyone else.

Big Show's return: I'm pretty sure this was a worked shoot gone wrong. Floyd Mayweather Jr's blows were legit. If Big Show's nose isn't broken, I'd be very surprised. Didn't anyone work with this guy and teach him how to throw stage punches? I felt bad for Big Show. What a s***ty way to have to make a comeback. I'm still not convinced Shane McMahon showing up and trying to calm Big Show was part of the shoot. If I were Big Show, doing an 'I'm back' promo, and someone pulled that, I would have gone after the guy, for real.

John Cena vs. Randy Orton: Man Cena, you are falling into the classification of 'guy I hate to watch'. Same, tired crap... over, and over, and over... have you been hanging out with Flair and HBK? Please learn from their mistakes... learn some more stuff. Your FU is a fireman's carry body slam. Jumping shoulder blocks are boring. Five knuckle shuffle, the most useless signature move, EVER. Spinout powerbomb... boring execution. Why don't you use the Freestyle or Throwback anymore? At least those were stylish. Randy's slap to the ref was priceless. I laughed my ass off. You deserved to be robbed. The more I watch you, the more I find myself starting to agree with the marks that say, 'you can't wrestle'. Watching Khali is more entertaining than watching you. When I started this blog, I promised myself that I'd never put the following video on my blog, but oh well. Deal with it.

Raw Elimination Chamber: Great match, great moves, great performances by everyone. I was especially impressed with Umaga. Speaking of which, the chain of finishers leading to his elimination was awesome. I feel that this match was over too quickly. Given that No Way Out ran the full three hour slot, unfortunately it seemed rushed like they ran out of time. Jeff Hardy was robbed again. I want you to have the belt, but... 1) Triple H, is that damn good. If we compare his performance at the house show on the 16th with yours, he blew your doors off. The crowd exploded when you came out and you seemed like to didn't care, or want to be there. You have to shine off-camera too, Jeff. 2) You're facing nepotism

So that's my No Way Out 2008 rant. Am I bitter? Hell yes.

Eminem Wrestling Rumor False, Habbo No Way Out & More

Well, as I suspected, the whole 'Eminem wrestling in the WWE' rumor has been proved false... Totally bogus. If you didn't know, yesterday Media Take Out reported that Eminem had signed a deal with the WWE.

The Celebrity Truth has posted an article addressing the rumor. Celebrity Truth spoke to Eminem's publicist, Dennis Dennehy, who said, 'Eminem has no interest whatsoever in becoming a wrestler. This ‘source’ is making stuff up.'

To read the full article: Exclusive: No Pro Wrestling Career For Eminem

On a side note, today is a busy day for me... lots of errands and a WWE Raw Live! house show at the Staples Center tonight. I'll write more about Friday Night Smackdown, the house show and other stuff tomorrow... Oh, also... the top 20 Elimination Chamber rooms have been posted on Habbo. Voting on the top 20 ends tomorrow, Sunday, Feb 17th.

Check out the top 20 rooms and cast your vote here: Habbo No Way Out top 20

Related links:
Habbo No Way Out main competition
Habbo No Way Out side competition
Habbo No Way Out group page

WWE Friday Night Smackdown! 2/8/08

This is late, but better late than never...

Smackdown began with the 6 Elimination Chamber entrants trading words in the ring. Typical WWE fare... Batista starts by being interviewed by Michael Cole, then superstar after superstar interrupts until everyone is in the ring. This match at the upcoming No Way Out PPV confuses me a bit... Batista, Khali, Big Daddy V and Undertaker all make sense. I'm still confused as to why MVP and Finlay are in this match. I don't think anyone can take the idea of either MVP or Finlay winning that match seriously, so why bother putting them in it? If it were me booking the match, I would have included Kane, and re-introduced Big Show (The internet rumor mill suggested that Big Show would be unveiled at the Royal Rumble, but that never happened). I mean, if you are going to have a match filled with giants, make them all giants. Don't get me wrong, as Batista said, there will be a ton of men in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber... but I think my version would be far better.

Next up we saw Kane vs. Shelton Benjamin. I'm not sure what it is, but Shelton Benjamin's mic skills have waned. He used to be quite good on the mic, particularly during the Shelton Benjamin/Triple H feud. My gut tells me that he's really quite a humble guy, and it's hard for him to play the part of the conceited 'gold standard' of ECW. This was an entertaining match. SB did an impressive flying neck breaker off the turnbuckle... it put John Cena's 'throwback' to shame.

After commercial, we were served another bland episode of 'Chuck Palumbo fights with Jamie Noble over Michelle McCool'. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised by this match, It was actually a good, quick-paced match... but of course, that would soon be ruined. After the Chuck pinned Noble... this whole episode... dragged on... forever. Seriously, all the oversold (Chuck, you're not a good actor) street fight garbage lasted longer than the wrestling match (Trust me, I timed it). You know, I think my biggest gripe with this whole story line is, how are we supposed to believe the new. 'American Bad Ass Rip-off' Chuck Palumbo (see Exhibit A), when all that we can remember is the 'ambiguously gay Billy & Chuck', Chuck Palumbo (see Exhibit B)












Seriously... I think this is why, at least in my mind, he never got over in the 'new' version of the F.B.I. stable.

Jamie & Festus vs. Deuce & Domino: Ugh... please don't waste my time.

Cutting Edge with Vickie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio. I am more sick of this storyline than other. Seriously, it's really in poor taste. After the whole Matt Hardy/Lita/Edge fiasco, I don't put anything past Edge, but I am astounded that Vickie, Rey & Chavo would agree to have anything to do with this storyline, especially in light of Eddie Guerrero's death. Yes, I know Eddie would want the show to go on, but I hardly think that he's condone this nonsense. Plus, Vickie is the worst on the mic than anyone. ...and I repeat what I said in a previous entry, put away and forget the 'GM in a wheelchair' storyline. It's lame, and we're really sick of seeing it.

Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins got over on Jimmy Yang Wang and Shannon Moore again. Should be any day now before they are given the tag titles.

The Main Event presented the Elimination Chamber entrants in a 3-on-3 tag. Seriously, did you guys really need to come back from commercial to show the 6 entrances, just to go back to commercial when they're over? On a side note, I still chuckle when I think about the Royal Rumble... I think the real reason Undertaker was the first in the ring was due to the length of his entrance. If he was anywhere but #1, the next three guys would have made it to the ring before he even got there. Heh.

Anyhow, when we returned from commercial I was pleasantly surprised at the speed of this match considering the size of the men in it. Things wrapped up with Batista, Undertaker and Finlay in the middle of the ring staring down each other. I could help but laugh... Finlay, seriously, you have no chance... You and MVP shouldn't be in the chamber at No Way Out.

Smackdown! Leaving the CW?

Yesterday, the WWE the CW Network announced that the 2008 season of Smackdown! will be the last season on the CW.

Actually, I found this shocking. Smackdown! has been on the UPN, and then the CW for ten years... and just last November, Smackdown! was #1 with viewers 34 and under.

Where does Smackdown! go from here? I seriously can't see one of the major networks giving Smackdown a primetime time slot. Sure, there are infrequent Saturday Night's Main Event airings on NBC, so there is some kind of relationship there, but after the failure of the XFL on NBC, I don't know if they'll give Vince another primetime slot. My only thought, is the soon to be doomed 'My TV' network. I haven't watched this channel ever since the WB network turned into My TV... does anyone?

I suppose there's always USA or another slot on Sci Fi, but I really think that Smackdown should be kept on a national network. Let's face it: A good share of Sports Entertainment viewers are 'less affluent'. Does the WWE really want to lose these viewers? Sure, all less affluent viewers wouldn't be lost... but I know from experience, I've been worse off in my life. When money is tight, cable is one of the expenses that get cut.

Heaven forbid that Smackdown! gets relegated to the internet like Velocity (cancelled) and Heat (uploaded on Fridays). Does anyone even watch the webcast?

WWE Smackdown! 2/1/08

Posted by Fenn Feb 2 2008 at 12:25:23 PM

I don't have a whole lot to comment on from last night's show, with the exception that it was announced that at No Way Out there will be two Elimination Chamber matches. Other than the lame 'Brothers of Destruction' reunion (was a pretty dull match, especially for a main event), that's the only thing worth talking about. T.Lo also announced there will be a Mysterio vs Edge rematch at No Way Out, but seriously, who cares? (I don't even feel the need to comment on last night's Edge/Chavo vs. Mysterio/CM Punk match)

No Way Out is shaping up to be quite the Pay Per View. So far we have two chamber matches (Smackdown: Batista, Undertaker, Big Daddy V, Khali, Finlay and MVP. Raw: Triple H, Jeff Hardy, HBK, Y2J, JBL & Umaga)), Rey Mysterio vs. Edge, John Cena vs Randy Orton and Mr. Kennedy vs. Ric Flair. My guess is that they'll have to go and ruin things by also throwing in some lame Diva T&A match.

Smackdown has certainly gone downhill... not as bad as ECW, but still down hill. No one cares about the Chuck Palumbo storyline. Honestly, I can't look at that guy without remembering him prancing around in pigtails with Billy Gunn and Rico. Not to mention, he can't pull off the biker character which is an obvious rip-off of Taker's American Bad Ass.

We also don't care about Deuce & Domino. Seriously, 50's greasers are the best gimmick you can come up with?

On second thought, there was something else besides the No Way out announcement. I always enjoy watch the Jimmy Yang Wang matches... James Yun does some amazing things... I just wish his character was a little better. Ryder and Hawkins got over Shannon Moore/Yang Wang last night which makes sense... Edge & Chavo have gold... it makes sense that the rest of the stable have gold too. I suspect that this was a push for Ryder/Hawkins to win tag belts.