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.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Lance Storm Weighs in on MMA's Influence on the WWE
Saturday, February 16, 2008
WWE Friday Night Smackdown 2/15/2008
I can summarize last night's episode of Friday Night Smackdown in one word: 'Why?'
While that makes sense to me, it probably doesn't make sense to you, so I'll elaborate. Last night left me asking the question, 'Why?' every five minutes or so. It almost felt like I was watching an episode of TNA iMPACT! (okay, it wasn't that low quality of an experience, but still...)
Here's some bullet points:
* Batista vs. MVP - Why?
- Why was this even a match? Yes, they both are in the Elimination Chamber tomorrow, but other than that, I see no reason to put them together
- Why was MVP's gear 'way gay'? Seriously, with all that purple, black and sequin studs, it looked like he's been shopping at El Dungeon Fabuloso in West Hollywood, Dupont Circle, Haight/Ashbury, the West Village or any other notoriously homosexual neighborhood across America)
- Why was Bastista using Ric Flair's moves? (Leg clip, working the knee, figure four)
- Why is MVP being pushed so hard when Vince has a bodybuilder fetish, and he has a gut like me. Carlito said it best in an old promo with Randy Orton... 'Lovehandles? Dat's not cool'
- Why were a chorus of children (and only children) chanting 'Ba-Tis-Ta'. I swear this was piped in.
...and now a PSA... there are no shortcuts to your goals. A reminder, viewing audience, you've been put on notice too. WWE is going to suspend us all. (Are steroids really that big an issue outside of athletics? I don't think so...
* 8-man tag - Why?
- Why are Jesse and Festus getting such a push? Yeah, Festus was out two weeks but it's not like Triple H came back... not to mention it's the exact same gimmick as before he left.
- Why must Shannon Moore always be: 1) Underused -and- 2) Caught in someone's shadow (Matt Hardy's MF'er, squashed by Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones, Big Show, Brock Lesnar, etc). I'm one of the biggest Jimmy Yang Wang fans there are, but Shannon Moore does cool stuff too.
- Why has the Ryder/Hawkins push that's been building up the past few weeks vanished?
Side note: JYW did one of the prettiest moonsaults I've even seen in this match
Michelle McCool vs. Victoria (Palumbo 'ride in') - Why?
- No comment. Completely pointless and a waste of airtime.
* Undertaker vs. Big Daddy V - Why?
- Why do people like 'Old School', and why would Old School even be painful, and how come Undertaker's opponents don't simply push him off the rope?
- Why must people bleed every time Taker uses his new submission? Triple H received a crushed trachea when RVD frog splashed him in the Elimination Chamber in 2002 and was out for weeks. Miraculously Viscera and Mark Henry reappeared the next week after bleeding from the mouth. (I imagine we'll see Matt Striker on Tuesday, if not tomorrow with Big Daddy V at No Way Out)
- Why do people tap out of Takers new submission instead of using that free arm to just move Undertaker's unsecured left leg?
* Kane & CM Punk vs. Chavo & Shelton Benjamin - Why?
- Why are these teams even together? There is no relationship between Kane and CM Punk, or Chavo and Shelton Benjamin. While it was good to see Shelton on-air, why not just have the CM Punk/Chavo match?
- Why can't Chavo get his part of the GTS right? The move is supposed to end with head/knee contact. Otherwise, it's just a fireman's carry gutbuster, not a GTS.
* Edge, Vickie & Rey - Oh God why?!
- Why is this storyline still going on? The 'Vickie keeps getting hurt' wheelchair gimmick sure is getting old
- Why was this storyline ever approved? Tasteless.
- Why was Edge singing Bryan Adams? WTF?
- Why is the real West Coast Pop not done anymore? A seated senton is not a West Coast Pop
The only entertaining moment of the evening (at least for me), was a seated senton into a lady in a wheel chair. I haven't laughed that hard in a long while, but it wasn't worth wading through an hour and fifty minutes of crap to see it.
So much for keeping it brief. Heh.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Gillette Announces New “Tag Team” partner, WWE® Superstar John Cena
What the Hell? Okay, there's a couple issues that I have with this:
#1: The majority of John Cena's fan base are kids. Seriously, in my opinion, you have to be under 12 years old to like John Cena's current character. Unless somewhere in the country, there is a large colony of 10 year olds with overgrown beards, from a marketing standpoint, this is just silly.
#2: According to the press release, the new razor that Cena will be promoting is called the Gillette Phenom. Um, wouldn't the obvious choice of spokesperson be the Undertaker? I've heard commentators Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, etc. call 'Taker 'The Phenom' more times than I can count. What's the matter Gillette? Don't you want the 'Deadman' as your spokesperson, telling viewers to let their stubble 'Rest... In... Peace...'?
Anyhow, find the press release below... or if you prefer, here's a link to the article on WWE's corporate site: Gillette Announces New "Tag Team" Partner
Gillette Announces New “Tag Team” partner, WWE® Superstar John Cena® News Headline
Multi-talented star will be featured in new Gillette Phenom razor campaign and other promotional initiatives
Boston, MA, February 11, 2008 – Gillette®, part of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), today announced a new relationship with WWE Superstar John Cena to promote its line of premium blades and razors, shave preparations and personal care items. Cena, a native of West Newbury, Massachusetts, will be featured in the advertising campaign for the launch of the new Gillette Fusion Phenom razor, as well as public appearances at mobile marketing events throughout the United States during the summer of 2008.
Cena, who has held the WWE Championship three times, the U. S. Championship three times, and the World Tag Team Championship, is also an actor and musical artist. In 2007, he starred in Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race. He placed second in the speed challenge and first in the accuracy challenge before ultimately losing in the final episode to NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway and placing third overall in the competition.
“John is an incredible talent. His appeal as a sports entertainer, actor and musical artist is perfect for our new razor and personal grooming products campaigns,” said Michelle Potorski, Associate Marketing Director, Gillette North America. “He made a fantastic impression when we worked with him on the television series, and he embodies the qualities we are looking for in a spokesperson, someone who believes that looking good is a critical part of performing at your best.”
Cena will make his debut as a Gillette spokesperson in a television commercial breaking in mid-February. Cena’s work with Gillette will be promoting Male Shaving Category products (including razors, blades, and shave preparations) and Personal Care products (including deodorants, antiperspirants, and body care products).
“I had a great experience working with Gillette on Fast Cars and Superstars and I am exciting about working with such a respected brand,” said Cena. “It’s great to be associated with Gillette. I have been a loyal Gillette man since I started shaving.”
About Procter & Gamble
Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette(R), and Braun(R). The P&G community consists of over 135,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
###
Gillette: Mike Norton +1 617 421 8201 norton.mr@pg.com
Taylor: Rick Liebling +1 212 714 1280 rliebling@taylorpr.com
Sunday, February 10, 2008
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.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
You tapped out! you tapped out!
Posted by Fenn Feb 3 2008 at 12:51:14 PM
As I feared, and I knew better, the Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir match was over in 90 seconds.
Brock came out strong, dumped Frank Mir and started pounding the life out of him with brutal hammerfists. We even saw a beautiful float over. Frank Mir's forehead was busted open within 30 seconds.
Unfortunately, the referee, Steve Mazzagatti (who apparently now thinks it's okay to have a p0rnstar mustache) called a time out in the middle of the pummeling, stood up Brock and took a point from him. While Brock was beating the hell out of Frank Mir, Mir rolls over exposing the back of his head. Brock connects, and they get stood up... a point was taken... no warning. I think that this is complete and utter crap, especially considering that in an earlier bout (Tyson Griffin vs. Gleason Tibau), Tibau was given a warning by the UFC referee for the same offense, even though he (apparently) only speaks Portuguese.
If this hadn't happened... if Brock's momentum wasn't interrupted... I strongly feel he would have won this. I believe the doctor would have stopped the fight due to the cut over Mir's eye. giving Brock the win.
...but no.
They stand up, Brock takes Mir down again. Mir tries for an arm bar (yeah, good luck arm barring arms that big), Mir opts for the leg, which he gets. Brock taps out to a leg bar in the first 90 seconds of the first round. Yes, a rookie mistake, a costly one, but ultimately I believe the interference from the referee cost Brock the match.
Here are the cuts on Frank Mir's face after the fight. Take note that the majority of them are over Frank Mir's eyes. Now imagine them bleeding profusely during the fight. The doctor definitely would have called the match.$45 down the toilet. You're welcome, Dana. Heh.
WWE & TNA Wrestlers in attendance: Kurt Angle, Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin
Saturday, February 2, 2008
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.
