While the recent release of the "McMahon" DVD, a lot of former "taboo" things about the inner workings of the WWE have been made public. First and possibly the biggest is the fact that in the DVD they acknowledge that HHH and Stephanie are married, and go in-depth on the relationship the two have and what lead to them eventually getting hitched. For those that follow the sport even somewhat closely, everyone knows that HHH has a say in the product, and that sometimes there are whispers that he is out for himself and to keep himself in a high position as champion or at least as a top flight contender.

More about how Triple H feels about his position backstage has come to light in the current edition of WWE Magazine, which takes a candid look at his "backstage power." Below is part of the interview in the magazine:

"I haven't read a dirt sheet in 10 years. And that's the damn truth. Yes I'm in a top position. Yes I'm married to the boss's daughter. Yes I sit in production meetings. But, at the end of the day, there is only one person with the stroke in this business. And that's Vince McMahon. If he doesn't like something , whether it's my idea or not, it's not going to happen. I want guys like John Cena around. I want to bring new guys up and help make them. People always accuse me of not wanting to drop the belt to a guy. That's complete crap. I didn't drop the belt to RVD because no one asked me to drop it to RVD. I've yet to see Hulk Hogan lose to anybody. He wrestles once every 6 months, and it doesn't matter if you're the biggest name in active competition today, he's not going to lose to you. There was suppose to be a Hogan/Michaels 2, and Hogan was supposed to lose. All of a sudden his knee starting "bugging" him."

Quite a mouthful for someone who clearly has more power backstage then he claims to have. HHH's influence is felt up and down the RAW and other brands rosters, and while he claims that Vince has the final say (that much is true), certian things that HHH feels are important for sure get put into motion. While he has a valid point about Hogan, his mocking of the Hulkster at the recent Summerslam is for sure a sign that he is still somewhat jealous that the wrestling legend gets a much bigger pop then he does.

How quickly does HHH forget that when Hogan was in his true last WWE run that he lost clean matches to Undertaker, Brock Lesner, and Kurt Angle. Two of those three matches were on PPV, and with Lesner and Angle, he even did something that you never saw him do - tap out to Angle and pass out vs Lesner. While that run was going on, HHH was busy on RAW being given, not fought for, but GIVEN the World Heavyweight title in an angle involving Eric Bishoff. Hmmmm.

As far as him not being asked to lose the title to RVD, that is complete crap. RVD was primed for a title run, and the powers backstage, which includes HHH, basically put a stop to the momentum just like that. Why they held RVD back is anyones guess, and as you can see now, he is on the WWE's third ranked brand, trying to fight his way back to being just the ECW champion.

I think that HHH is still one of the top talents in the sport, and that he for sure does deserve some of the things that he has earned due to hard work and dedication to the sport. But as usual in the politics of pro wrestling, let's be careful not to throw stones at glass houses. While HHH has the freedom to make those statements with little consequences to pay, he might want to be careful on what toes he steps on in the process.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

The ECW brand continues to make minor strides, even with the rushed booking of the main event on the Tuesday night show of Paul Heyman vs Sabu. The match was made Monday behind the scenes by Vince McMahon due in part to the fact he felt the show needed a strong main event since ratings for RAW would be weak because it was on Sci-Fi and not in its normal time slot on USA. Heyman-Sabu was supposed to be the ECW version of McMahon-Austin of 8 years ago, and while it wasn't the worst idea or match that ECW has rolled out, the interference from the word go from others made it come across as somewhat weak.

While Heyman himself is supposed to come across as an evil GM that is a coward once confronted, the angle of putting him in a ring is all wrong. He and Sabu had only 2-3 run ins with each other leading up to this "match," while back in the day they would spend weeks, maybe even a month of two with the authority figure vs wrestler going back and forth before they would actually face off. As usual with the WWE and its current products, this was rushed.

The opener with Bob Holly vs RVD was pretty solid, despite the weak DQ finish, which I think most will agree is the weakest part of the entire ECW product. I like Holly in this role, as it was made for him to come across as the tough guy heel that we all know is the best character for him. With the finish this feud could extend another couple of weeks until they finally put the pair in an Extreme Rules Match.

The Matt Striker-Sandman back and forth was probably the weakest part of the show. Does anyone think that after watching Striker get beat on for the last three months on RAW that he could just show up on ECW and take on its toughest character, and leave him bleeding? I have no problem using Striker, and think with some work he can be a decent character, but come on. How about a couple of matches with some of the lower level guys just to get the guy some wins, and some heat, before a feud with Sandman. I guess this also means that we are done with the Sandman-Dreamer vs Knox-Test feud. I still think we could have seen a blowoff Extreme Rules Match between the two teams.

By the way, is there any chance we'll see Shannon Moore in a match anytime before the end of the year? I love the 15 second "look at me, I'm a freak" promos they have been running week after week. Word is Moore bombed at ECW house shows, and they have backed off putting him in a match on TV. If that's the case, why do we see him in these stupid TV promos every week?

So the main event with Heyman-Sabu had its moments, but for the most part did what it was supposed to - protect the evil GM with tons of interference, and have Sabu lose to be able to set up his revenge down the road. With three months to go before the ECW PPV, I find it hard to believe that they are not going to rush the RVD-Big Show rematches at house shows and on TV. If that's the case, they will have to do something special, and I mean REAL special for people to shell out $40 for that show.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

As stated here earlier, I thought the route they were going to go with in the McMahon-DX feud was to add a special stipulation to their upcoming match at "Unforgiven." With that said, never did I see coming a handicap-Hell in a Cell match. What a combo. That is exactly what we are going to get in a few weeks as the ending of RAW saw Shane announce that at Unforgiven, its going to be DX vs the McMahons & Big Show is a Hell in a Cell match. Interesting booking on this one, as Show is the ECW champ, and how they could just use him like that is going to take some explanation. Mind you that in a span of three months, Show will have wrestled on a Smackdown PPV (vs Taker at GAB), SummerSlam (vs Sabu as ECW champ), and now on Unforgiven (w/ McMahons vs DX). I guess they just want the whole "monster" angle to continue. I know that Umaga is slated to take on Kane at the event, but with the using of him in this feud over the last month, I would have guessed for sure he would have been the more logical choice as a partner for the McMahons. Guess not.

Overall it was not a bad show, interesting angle to start with Cena coming out with a 3-year deal to go back to SmackDown if he loses to Edge. Not the first time they have ever done any type of angle like that, but at least its interesting, and puts Cena's back against the wall to win the match, which I think he will. Could Edge have telegraphed the whole TLC angle anymore. Anyone else NOT think he would pull a table out after hitting Cena with a chair and ladder. You also have to love J.R. and Lawler covering for the steroid less Chris Masters saying that he was on break and is back "faster and leaner." Uh, no, he's back smaller and off steroids. You could easily tell the difference when he was posing at the top of the ramp with his titan tron images behind him the difference between what he looked like before he was suspended, and now. He and Cena had a pretty solid match, but you knew to protect the return of Masters it would likely end in a no-contest or DQ, which of course it did.

Interesting the route they are taking with the retiring of Trish Stratus. Most times when a wrestler is stepping away, they do not even acknowledge it, much less make an angle out of it. Her and Lita are set for a final battle at the PPV, and one has to wonder if Trish wins then retires with the belt and they do a mini-womens tourney on RAW the next few weeks after the match. Either that or they could do a stupid women's battle royale for the title like they did a few years back when Gail Kim made her debut and came out of nowhere to win the belt with no buildup or fanfare whatsoever. We all know how that ended up.

Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy was easily the best wrestling match of the night. Orton seems to be refocused after coming back from his little suspension. Hardy looked good in this role, and now the PPV looks like Nitro vs Hardy for the IC, and Carlito vs Orton. Hardy's return is getting over for now, so I guess they feel with an IC title run his popularity will continue. We'll see. The Nitro-Melina act was bad, and the crowd hated it from the start. Funny line was Nitro pointing out that Foley has retired "16 times." I'd have to check but he may be close on that number.

The main event was interesting, as they brought guys from another show over for one night, simply to lose to the hot tag team. They have been doing more of that as of late, bringing guys, and girls even, to other shows in the attempt of a cheap pop for the fans to get over. Last week on ECW it was Torrie, Big Show has been on every show as of late, Taker has been on ECW, as has Candice, Flair, Batista, and others. It has not been as pronounced between RAW and SmackDown, but it may be a trend that continues.

Overall it was a pretty good show, and now things are getting even more clear with two plus weeks to go till the PPV. The PPV should be the end of the DX-McMahon feud, and push the Cena-Edge feud to another level as I think Cena gets the belt by the end of the night and the back and forth between the two continues.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

As I wrote the last blog on the Kurt Angle health situation, I could sense that the whole thing was not going to get settled until Angle gets an extended amount of time off. Friday, the WWE announced that they have released Angle, and in doing so they stated it was a mutal decision along with Angle. I am not surprised at the move, considering the amount of pain that Angle is dealing with, along with the mental battles outside the ring.

Will Angle be back? Someday. I don't have a doubt that Angle is going to go home, get his life together, both mentally and physically, and sometime again be back in a WWE ring. The whole thing with him going to ECW was simply not the answer, and he is way too much of a talent to be wasted on the WWE's third brand. I think that give it 6-8 months, he'll get things together and be back. “I need my body to reheal and rehab, I have done this for too long without a break." Angle told WWE.com. "I haven’t been able to really enjoy my life. I haven’t seen my family, I’ve had problems with medication - I’m just fried physically and mentally.”

Sounds like a broken and beaten man. It is totally understandable considering what he has been through. Again, look for a few months away from the sport, and then he'll be back, and hopefully he'll be back better than ever.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, the latest edition of SmackDown wasn't the worst effort the WWE B crew has put forth as of late, and actually there was a couple of decent highlights. As stated here earlier, the whole Mysterio-Guerrero thing has to last till the No Mercy PPV on October 8th, so they had to throw in the twist of Vicki turning on Mysterio. I have decided that while I totally hate this feud, I will put up with it for another month and two weeks, and hopefully once its done - its done. And with it will go the using of the Eddie Guerrero name every week on just about every show.

The one thing that I liked about the show was the fact they seeemed to be putting forth the effort to try and establish some much needed heels. One is the Miz, who I personally think is going to flop, but you have to say already that you like to hate him, and that it exactly what a heel should make you do - hate him. Also it looks as if Tatanka is going to go the way of bad. His turning on the refs each week is eventually going to mean him taking one out, and thus he will go heel. Another two heels coming in are MVP - Montel Vontavious Porter, and Jimmy “Wayne” Yang. While neither are going to have a huge impact, at least they are not coming in all warm and fuzzy as faces.

I also like the Kennedy-Matt Hardy, as well as the interaction with JBL that Gregory Helms had. I like Helms, and think they should do more with him. He and Hardy had a good match, albeit one with no build up, at the Great American Bash, so maybe this time the two will actually have something to fight about, now that they are getting into it with each other.

The tag fiasco sets up a three-way at NM, and the main event of Batista-Lashely vs Booker and his boys was okay, and Batista got his revenge with getting the pin. Long term, I wouldn't mind seeing Lashley and Batista go at it once Batista gets the title back. Lashely would make a pretty good monster heel if he could get some interview skills.

With No Mercy coming up in seven weeks, the show did what it had to do. On paper right now you have the Batista-Booker rematch, along with the Guerrero-Mysterio blow off as the two main events. Lashley and Finley should be another match, and the three-way tag will be on the card as well. Vito and MVP would make five matches, and the sixth will be Helms and Hardy. They may use Miz and Yang in two more matches with faces to complete the card. Not that good on paper, we'll see what they do to spice it up.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

While I am not going to do a J.R. type rant article, or even Larry King in the USA today with his off the wall thoughts followed by a bunch of dots, there are some things that I have been pondering about that I would like to share about the current state of the WWE. Here goes:

* SmackDown clearly needs an infusion of new talent. The brand is so heads and tails far behind RAW, I can't believe that this is the vision the company had when splitting the talent a few years back. Remember it was that first summer that the SmackDown PPV's were actually BETTER than the RAW PPV's. My how things have changed.

* One way to get a bit of a reaction on SmackDown is to bring back Chris Benoit as a heel when he returns. The heels on SmackDown are so stale right now (Booker, Finely and that's about it), they need some new bad blood in there. Benoit can play off the "I'm tired of getting screwed by being nice" angle, and move right to the top of the roster as a top heel along with Booker.

* Word is that Khali is going to take some time off for injury, then come back as a face. One word - why? While clearly so far away from being a decent wrestler, his look and sheer size makes him a perfect monster heel. As a face, he'll probably be given some goofy gimmick and any heat from his size and look would be totally wasted.

* Is it me or do just about every SmackDown diva bore you to death? Maybe Sable and Chyna are available....just kidding.

* With Jeff Hardy back on RAW, look for an upcoming feud with Johnny Nitro over the IC title. Hardy cannot compete with the heavyweights in the brand, but would be a good fit with the up and coming Nitro, and an IC run for Hardy would not shock me in the least.

* It seems to me that Randy Orton is kind of in a stalemate right now with his character. What legend can they possibly bring in next for him to get over on? They won't bring Hogan back in for a rematch, which is a good thing, and other than him and the Undertaker, Orton has gotten the best of the rest of them, including a beating of Ric Flair on Monday. Seems like he needs to refocus his character in another direction.

* Unforgiven seems to be shaping up as follows: Edge vs Cena in a TLC match, DX vs McMahons with a stipulation thrown in, Lita vs Trish for the womens title, Nitro vs Carlito vs Benjamin vs Hardy in a four-way IC title match, Kane vs Umaga, Highlanders vs Spirit Squad for the tag titles, and another round of Orton vs Flair.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

There is no question that Kurt Angle has given his heart and soul to the world of pro wrestling. From his first pro matches in 1996, to taking to the ring today, Angle has had that mix of heart, intensity, humor, and physical ability that makes him a certain future Hall of Famer. What now though must be said is that Angle is both on the verge physical and mental disaster. Angle's body has been breaking down over the past few years, starting with a neck injury that first occurred when he was wrestling for the US Olympic team. That neck injury should have kept him 100 yards away from a ring as WrestleMania 19 approached. The company was scrambling as Angle was not going to be able to compete in the event in the main event against then babyface Brock Lesner. Ever the pro, Angle somehow, someway, sucked it up and made the match, and made it a good main for the annual megacard. A surgery followed, though not the surgery that would normally put you out for a year. Angle was back by early summer, and again found himself with the belt by July of that year.

Since then, Kurt has been back and forth between shows, and at one point held the World Heavyweight Championship when Batista went on the shelf in December. He defended the title well up until WrestleMania 22 when it was decided to go with the heartfelt storyline of giving it to Rey Mysterio. Since then Angle was shipped to ECW, where he was wrestling as the so-called "wrestling machine," using his amateur background and high intensity to make him almost unbeatable.

Things though in ECW have not gone so smoothly for Angle. First he was "suspended" due to health reasons having to do with nagging injuries, then in one of his first matches back, he did severe damage to his groin area, possibly tearing it, again putting him on the shelf. The storyline of Angle being removed from the 3-way ladder match a few weeks ago on ECW TV was not all that far fetched. The company simply could not stand by anymore and watch Angle put his body through the physical anguish that he was putting it through.

Those behind the scenes are concerned that once again, Angle will convince the company to allow him to come back at less than 100 percent, and again will suffer some injury. At 38 years old and with the amount of physical abuse that he has gone through in both the amateur and pro ranks, one has to wonder how much Kurt has left. On the mental side, Angle is currently going through a divorce from his wife Karen, who has been seen on TV and in specials with Angle a few times. The two have gone back and forth, being apart and then together, recently, and now it is knowledge that Karen is carrying Angle's first son. It just adds more to the pain that Angle is going through physically.

While there is no question that given the chance, Angle would jump back in the ring today, but for his own good the company has to use their best interest and not allow Angle to do just that until he gets a clean bill of health, which may take sometime. While always a fan of Angle, I can say that him getting back to 100 percent, both in and out of the ring, should not only be the companies priority, but Kurt's as well.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments

Summerslam we could have only hoped would have been the end to two feuds that the WWE has slated not only to continue, but to make a major part of the brands next pay-per-views. First the DX-McMahon feud will go on, and that could have been predicted after the first 30 minutes of RAW on Monday night. RAW was another sad plight in DX playing pranks on the two McMahons all night, and the final segment of the show, after the "firing" of Mick Foley, dragged forever. It ended as the pair of Shawn Michaels and HHH put a chain on the back of Vince's limo, pulling off the back tires and sending the car skidding. Gee, wasn't it just about two months ago we had DX setting off some sort of green bomb in another McMahon limo? At least if we have to be subject to more of this way overdone feud, come up with some new skits. It's evident that the company has no other plans for DX to feud with anyone else, so why not continue a way over hyped feud with the owner of the company? It's boring, bad wrestling that needs to get some fresh kick to it. It still makes me chuckle the scene of HHH cupping his ear on Sunday night in Boston trying to get the crowd to cheer louder, like Hulk Hogan, and getting about a fourth of the cheers that Hogan did. It's a sign that the crowd is done with this feud, and look for the hi jinks to get worse as we get ready for yet another match between these four at Unforgiven.

On the Smackdown side, the one feud that we did not want to see continue - will. Not only will it continue, but reports say that it will get worse. Yes, we will have more Chavo Guerrero - Rey Mysterio shoved down our throats for not one, but at least two months. The crowd reaction to this match on Sunday at the PPV spoke volumes as to how people felt about this feud, which we all knew was coming. Face it, we all loved Eddie Guerrero. He was a great person, a great wrestler, and a great family man. Sure he had his issues, but it seemed in the end he had turned his life around. So in death, they have continued not only to shove his name down fans throats, but now is using his family as pawns for upcoming matches. The feud is going to get more ugly, as Vicki Guerrero is slated to turn on Rey, and join up with Chavo in a sort of heel Guerrero team. I am still trying to figure out what motive this woman has to be involved in a story line that basically revolves around her deceased husband. It simply makes no sense, unless there is money problems in the family that is not being discussed. The current story line is to take this thing all the way up to the next Smackdown PPV - No Mercy, on October 8th. Boy, what a train wreck that PPV will already be - Chavo vs Rey and Batista vs Booker as your two biggest matches. Shows where that brand is. I have always felt in the end if the fans hate something bad enough, changes will be made. In this case though, it seems the WWE is hell bent in shoving these two bad feuds in the faces of its fans.

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:20 AM | Permalink | Comments

I liked this show. I think on a small level I am warming up a bit to ECW, and the fact that they are just going an hour I think is a very good thing right now. The insertion of both Hardcore Holly and Matt Striker does not do much for me, but at least they are bodies that can put forth a decent match and get some crowd reaction. Clearly Striker was going nowhere in WWE, and Holly was near death the last time we heard of him, and despite his character, he has always been a team player and should fit well in the ECW locker room.

The opener was okay with the mixed tag, but for the most part the tag fued with Sandman & Dreamer vs Knox and Test should be coming to a close. I still think a main event ECW rules match could be in the card for an upcoming show. The Kevin Thorn vs Balls Mahoney "ECW Rules" match was not all that good..these matches clearly have been toned down. The end seemed to get botched as well.

C.M. Punk is truly a star in the making, and mark it down, he will be on the main shows some day. His match with C.W. Anderson was the highlight of the show. The main with Show and Sabu was a much better match then the SummerSlam botch fest from Sunday night. The ending did what it was supposed to, and continued a fued that the company felt should keep going.

Look for RVD and Holly to start something is the "Obvious Department" after the attack after his match, and Show and Sabu to keep going. The rumors have the 12/2 ECW PPV with a main of Show and RVD for the title, so these feuds should take us through the fall until the PPV.

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

While the WWE is never going to put out a DVD that would do itself a discredit, I would have to say that the newest company release "McMahon" is one of the best DVD's the company has put out in some time. Yes, we know that the DVD was carefully done to put Vince in the best light possible, and many times throughout the 3+ hour DVD many different wrestlers give tedious amounts of praise to their boss. I think the wrestler that seemed to want to give Vince the most credit was John Bradshaw Layfield. Man, how many times can JBL suck up to McMahon for just about everything he's done in the business. Of course if there is one wrestler that ought to suck up to Vince its JBL - as Vince basically made John what he is today as a wrestler. How quickly we forget the APA and what JBL was before he was JBL.

There are some rather touchy subjects that I thought were kind of taboo that the DVD does touch on - albeit sometimes in a rather "best light" approach. First off, the whole HHH-Steph courting/relationship/marriage is talked about at length. It gives the whole history of Steph's interaction with the company on TV, then how the whole relationship developed on and off television. Vince at one point didn't want the relationship to continue, but eventually gave in, and now the two are living happily ever after. The entire McMahon family, which I now count HHH as a part of, are HEAVILY pushed as well in this DVD. A pregnant Steph gets tons of air time, as well as HHH, Shane, and Linda. Of course Linda the least of the four, and that's a good thing.

The XFL is another subject that is hit upon. It gives a swift but interesting 10-minute look at the one year that the league was in existence. One of the better lines is McMahon saying that the league was rather cheap to start up, and that the company didn't suffer because of the failure of the league. I recall the day that the league was announced how the stock of the company dropped like a rock, so you can tell that Vince's claims are false when it came to the league.

The Katie Vick storyline is discussed, with clips of HHH jumping on a corpse, one of the dumbest angles of all time. The storyline of Vince and Linda going back and forth being together and then divorced is on the DVD, and then a five minute segment of Vince making out with just about every Diva is on there and talked about as well.

The WCW buyout was interesting, even with commentary from Jerry Lawler on how he thinks the brand extension is pretty much a bust in so many words. Then of course there's JBL in to make the save and say the move was one of genius. If you want to know which of these two is right, just check the weekly ratings as well as the overall fan interest in SmackDown.


Of course a lot of the DVD highlights Vince becoming active in the ring, and his "in-ring" battles with Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and HHH. I don't have a problem with all the in-ring battles he's had, but the problem is NOTHING is ever going to overtake the Austin feud, which was the first and by far the best.

And yes, there was an incest angle where Vince reportedly pitched having him or then Shane be the father of Steph's baby. Stephanie says in the DVD that she was the one to turn it down, which I know at this point we are all thankful for. Extra clips that are worth watching is the RAW match (Vince's first) with Steve Austin, commentary from HHH on Vince losing and getting all mad, William Regal talking about VInce taking him back after rehab, and a funny story from Big Show about him sleeping on the way to Iraq and Vince slashing his air mattress.

I would make this DVD a buy. It is pretty through on the history of Vince and his coming into power, and if you can make it past the tons of interviews of wrestlers, old and new, kissing his butt, there are some pretty interesting revelations that makes this worth watching. I would rate it a 7 out of 10.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

There were plenty of aspects of RAW that I was not a big fan of on Monday night, but probably the most frustrating thing was to see how the creative totally wasted the comeback of Jeff Hardy to television. As I stated before, the way that it should have went down with Hardy was a solid, singles match against a proven wrestler like Rob Conway. It would have showcased all of Jeff's high flying offense, and yet Conway is a proven enough wrestler that he probably would have made it interesting at least for 4-6 minutes. Instead, what do we get? A hotshot one-night program between Hardy and the WWE Champion Edge. The show started with Edge ranting, and in the middle Jeff comes out, does his dance to the ring, never speaks (on mic at least), and then the two get into it, prompting a match later in the evening. The match between the two was not all that bad, but we all knew that John Cena would be lurking around, and the match would likely end with a no contest.

The focus shifted so fast from Hardy-Edge to suddenly Cena-Edge. Now don't get me wrong, Cena-Edge is the program that the company should be pushing, but my issue is - what happened to Hardy after the match. No reaction, no interview, nothing. It was as if he was there to do two segments, and then he went away. I don't understand in trying to get a push for a returning guy, and then as fast as they can, push him in the background.

I personally don't see Hardy's return as meaning much in the grand scheme of things. He is a high flyer, which does not really fit the RAW brand at all, and with his tendencies to get in trouble, things with him are going to be watched even more closely with the company's new policy's when it comes to rules and substances. If you want to push Hardy, then next week do the things that you should have done this week - give him a match that he can win clean, and then let him speak and do an interview explaining his motives as to why he is back and what he plans on doing in his tenure with the company. It's not that tough. Of course this company sometimes messes up the simplest things, nothing surprises me at this point.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

Ugh. To say that I did not like this show at all is an understatment. Why didn't they just call this show "Sophomore Pranks with DX"? I hated it. I hated the DX stuff, I hated the Foley-Melina stuff, I hated just about all the matches. Maybe I was burned out from SummerSlam, or maybe I am just tired already of the McMahon-DX angle week after week taking up tons of time that could be used to push younger stars.

Why I am on that kick, speaking of younger stars - why the heck am I forced to watch 52-year old Jim Duggan every week? I mean, I like the whole nostaliga thing, but give me a break. What's next - Jerry Lawler as a regular fighting each week. Having the older guys back now and then is actually cool, but having Duggan on RAW and 41-year old Tatanka on Smackdown each week really I don't think fits the product. Let's see some younger guys get a shot, heck knows that both these older guys have had that shot in the past.

Back to RAW, I am not that big of a Jeff Hardy fan, so his comeback meant next to nothing to me. Of course instead of just a normal comeback push with a match against a guy like Rob Conway, they throw him right in with the WWE Champion. Odd booking despite the fact that the two have a history.

Trish vs Victoria was about the best wrestling match on the show, which isn't saying much. Give these two ladies some credit though, as the effort was there in a solid womens match.

On to the DX crap, and that is what it was - crap. I like DX. I really was pumped when they came back, and really was looking forward to the teamming of HHH and Shawn, but this is getting really bad, really quick. Gee, anyone else notice that all the DX symbols were painted exactly the same? I thought that at SummerSlam it was a solid ending to the McMahon-DX fued, but evidently I was totally wrong. Why they would drag this thing out I have no idea. It tells me that creative has no idea what to do with DX, and Vince and Shane still hunger for huge amounts of TV time.

Then there was the butt-kissing club with McMahon and Foley. I predicted on Sunday night post SS that they would use Foley's heroic performance to make him a face again, and I was correct. Having Melina turn on him was not much of a shock, and it gives Foley a way out of the business again for a while till a comeback is called for.

Again, not happy with the show, give me more wrestling, less DX and McMahon and younger pushes.

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

The main event did exactly what it was supposed to do when you really break it down. A: It kept Cena protected as he lost due to cheating. B: It kept the belt on Edge, which I think is good becuase it keeps Cena the hunter - not the hunted. C: It established both guys that showed they could carry a show with other stars like HHH, Michaels, Hogan, Orton, and Batista.

As I said last night, I like the knuckles angle, I liked the whole thing about Lita almost getting him DQ'ed, and I liked that Edge kept playing scared, trying to get Cena counted out. So why keep the belt on Edge? Simple - it makes sense to have Cena continue to try to win it, instead of trying to fight Edge off. These two are having good enough matches by far to keep this thing going.

Now the question is - What's next for these two? Well, the main for next month's Unforgiven in Toronto has reportedly been booked as a TLC match with these two - which makes sense. It would allow Cena to use weapons like Edge last night, yet have Edge in a type of match that basically made him into star.

Mark it down now that with Lita heading out the door according to reports, she will be the one to cost him the belt in some fashion, and in turn will become a face once again as she leaves to pursue acting. A perfect setup for Unforgiven would be a three-way between her, Trish and Mickie James, in which James wins the belt back after Edge does soemthing to mess up the finish and cost Lita the title. At the same time, Trish goes out in her hometown in her final match despite losing - helping James get the belt back.

Then in the main, Lita returns the favor and costs Edge the title, and turns on him and goes out a face as well. It all adds up. No matter what finish they come up with, if the match in Toronto is as good as Boston, it will be one that people can look forward to.

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

King Booker vs. Batista was about the most poorly booked match on the show. Batista is clearly not the same after the injury. Not that he was ever this great technical wrestler, but he seems stiff and just not all the way into it when it comes to the big matches. His main events since the whole face turn before Mania 21 have been a bit lackluster. HHH and him went back and forth and had a few good matches, but since him coming to SmackDown, he has yet to find a good match anywhere on the roster.

This one was no exception. Booker is a solid wrestler, but each guy seemed to want more to simply get back to the hotel then have a great match. The entire finish with Sharmell coming in to interfere and get the DQ was lame, and then Batista couldn't even really redeem himself and get Booker into the Batista Bomb without almost dropping him.

The scary thing is the WWE thinks people are going to shell out $40 for the next SmackDown PPV and this is going to be their headliner. As if the Great American Bash wasn't bad enough, a Batista-Booker main for a PPV is downright scary based on the effort and finish Sunday night.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley was the showstealer of the night, no doubt. I think this match may have set the record for most blood loss without an actual wrestling hold applied.

Flair is turning into a hardcore nut over the past couple months with his last match with Foley, and then the ECW fiasco with Big Show. I know that Flair was always a bleeder, but man, over the past few months he could have filled a few blood banks with as much blood as he has left in the ring.

Both men took some sick bumps, and for the most part the match did what it promised to do - leave someone quitting with a bunch of pain in the process. It also I think made the point of turning Flair from good to bad, and Foley back from bad to good. Foley's act of protecting Melina in order to take the loss was a true act of a face, and something if they want this to continue will have to be talked about.

As for the overall keeping of this fued, it does have merit to keep it going, but I think after last night, it is safe to say that they will probably let it die and if Foley wants to stay in the wrestling picture, he will have to move on to another opponent.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments

I know that I have written a lot leading up to the Hogan-Randy Orton match, and I felt that in the end, the best thing would have been for Randy to get the win due to Hogan's knee injury stopping him from winning the match.

With that said, I am in no way shocked that Hogan won, and no way shocked he won clean. Hogan had call in the finish, and I guess he wanted to look strong and get set for a few months off before he starts to get ready for whoever he can get a match with at WrestleMania.

Orton was protected with the botched finish of Hogan having his foot on the ropes, and he can say on TV that he won the match, and many can't argue. As for Orton, I thought his fear and emotion overall carried the match, as you could tell that Hogan simply did not have any mobility whatsoever.

The crowd was WAY into Hogan from the start. From the intro to the end, I think he safely got the biggest pop of the night, something that you could tell did not sit well with HHH and Michaels during their match with the McMahons. Truth be told, Hogan is still a draw, and for those that love him, he still reminds them of their youth and some of the best times in wrestling.

Hogan will have to get his rest and rehab to get set for March in Detroit. I hope by January they have a plan in place for him to go up against someone, as this fued with Orton was way rushed, and with Mania, they have to be careful not to do that.

All in all, a decent nostaliga match in which Hogan won, as expected, and Orton got over as still a heel that should in a few months be in a title run of some sort with Cena whenever he gets the belt back.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments

I thought that for the most part on Sunday the crowd was very in tune with the show. With that, their reaction to the Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero opener should tell Vince that the whole Eddie angle really needs to go. Since Eddie's untimely death last November, they have done way enough exploiting of his name, character, and whatever else they get their hands on in terms of Eddie. Everyone that knew anything about wrestling knew that this fued was coming, and just about everyone didn't really want to see it.

I thought the crowd booing both men, and then booing Vickie Guerrero as she came to ringside spoke volumes. Even commentary from JBL couldn't save this one. The biggest pop in the match came when Rey's mask came off, but that was unplanned and he quickly rolled out and made amends with it.

It was overall a good wrestling match, but it just made you feel wrong watching it knowing the outcome was going to have to do with a grieving widow. I thought that the end may even be a deal where Vicki turns on Rey, which would only have made the whole situation worse.

Hopefully with Rey leaving to have surgery they will put this fued to an end, and hopfully to the constant using of Eddie's name all over the place. I disagree with people saying that is what Eddie would want. I think that the fans spoke out against it last night, and hopefully Vince and the writers will get the message.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

Here are some quick SummerSlam thoughts as the show ended about 10 minutes ago...I will do a more complete version of this on Monday:

Mystero - Guerrero: Match was good, storyline was bad, and no one wants to see Vicki Guerrero run to ringside and scream at both men. Looks like she hurt her ankle knocking Mystero off the top rope. Match ending was okay, sets up for fued to continue, which I for one do not like.

Show - Sabu: Crowd does not care much for ECW, and it seems each passing week Tazz and Styles do not care either. This match was a mixed bag of table spots and bad wrestling. Show gets the win, I guess they didn't want to just hand Sabu the title. Couple of table spots missed and were botched which I thought the crowed let them off of without totally jumping on them.

Orton - Hogan: As stated here before, Hogan should lose, thus setting up a rematch. Of course he won, which kills this fued and puts him on the shelf for 8 months until WrestleMania in Detroit. Orton did as much as he could, and him losing in this spot does not really hurt him all that much. Still think Hogan could have lost and not looked bad in doing so.

Flair - Foley: The showstealer, the blood and barbed wire was heavy, as were the thumbtacks. No wrestling at all, which was fine. Not a bad match for two older guys who simply do not have it anymore. Flair's win but sicko attack at the end could signal a heel turn, and a turn for Foley and Melina to the good. We shall see, but nevertheless both guys will need serious stiches after this one.

Booker - Batista: This match should not have even taken place. Awful from the word go. Batista wins by DQ, big deal. Crowd also buried this one from the start. Hopefully they can build this thing up and make a good match from it in October or at Survivor Series.

DX - McMahon: Of course Vince and Shane needed help, and I thought the other guys helping them made this more believeable. Ending was okay, and it looked like Shane did hurt his arm going over the top. HHH looked mad that the crowd was not more into them. This DX could come to a fast end if the crowd does not stay behind them.

Cena - Edge: Liked it a lot. Liked the ending, and liked the knuckles angle. The fact that Edge won does not bother me one bit, and I think this back and forth fued will continue through the winter till they decide a challenger for Cena at WM 23.

Not a bad SummerSlam, maybe a little down from what I thought. More on Monday.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

A lot happened in this show, including the very edited ending of a bad feud between Undertaker and Khali, a showdown between Booker and Batista to build heat for Sunday, Kennedy beating the over the hill Tatanka, Finley and Lashley doing battle for the US Title, and much more. So was it a good show? By Smackdown standards a go-home show for the second biggest PPV of the year - it was not bad. Consider this: Smackdown has only TWO matches for this card on Sunday. TWO! That means the rest of the card is all RAW and ECW. Shows where the brand is at. I think removing Taker-Khali off of SS was something they had to do. As I have stated before, I like Khali, be he just has no business on TV in main event spots.

As for the Booker-Batista showdown, PLEASE don't just hand Batista the title back Sunday. Draw out this thing a little, don't just give it away. I think right now people are still getting behind Batista a bit, and if you give him the title, people will get bored with him. Like Cena, make him chase it a bit, and let the people get behind him.

Mystero vs Chavo has the makings of a good match, but I think they are going to force Vicki Guerrero down our throats and in the end, she will do something that will cause Chavo to lose, much like last years SS when she pushed the ladder that led to Eddie losing to Mystero. They would have done better keeping her off of TV. I wonder deep down why she agreed to appear for this fued? What does she have to gain by it, other than lingering pain that Eddie should still be here?

The rest of the night was pretty much filler, all except the Finley - Lashley match, which ended up as the best of the night. I like this 3-way feud, and they will have some pretty good matches down the road. Other than that, Kennedy, Vito, and Terkey all had almost what ammounted to squash matches.

As for Vito, I agree with JBL - what a sick representation of what a man should be. Week after week this guy comes out like a confused soul just trying to win over fans. Here's an idea, lose the dress, go back to being a man, and let's see if your WRESTLING along with your character can win some fans. You can't tell me his character is over, just becuase that tool Michael Cole is told to say it is each week. Ugh.

Till Summerslam -
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

SummerSlam 2006 is just around the corner, and this show is always the second biggest show of the year next to WrestleMania. Back before the days of monthly Pay-Per-Views, you had Mania, Summerslam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble - and that was it. It was a good mix of a big PPV every 4 months, and now with the watered down PPV monthly, those PPV's don't quite seem as important. Despite that, SummerSlam is usually pushed as the second biggest PPV of the year, and the PPV other than Mania that gets the most push and money spent for promotion and radio & TV.

SummerSlam has had some pretty amazing moments over the years, with many good matches and main events, and some not so good. I remember the build up to the first SummerSlam at MSG in 1998, with Hogan and Savage vs Andre and Ted Dibiase. The shock of that first SS was the surprise IC title win of the Ultimate Warrior as he came out for the injured Brutis Beefcake and beat the Honkey Tonk Man, who was the longest regining IC champ in the companys history.

My personal favorite SS was back just a few years ago, in 2000. We were at a time when The Rock was at his peak, and you also had guys like Benoit, Jericho, Edge & Christian and the Hardys fighting night after night in great matches. The main of the night was a really solid 3-way for the title between Rock, HHH and Kurt Angle. The storyline of the match was that Angle was in love with Stephanie, and it was driving a wedge between her and HHH. It was great drama, and the final TV before SS Angle and Steph kissed and it was like the season finale of your favorite TV show. Great stuff.

The match itself ended up being totally screwed up, as it started with Angle & HHH going back and forth, and within minutes you had Angle legit being knocked out with a pedigree that went wrong on the announcers table. That basically made the match HHH vs The Rock, which wasn't bad considering the two went back and forth all summer long. Angle returned at the end, and somehow made some spots in the last mintues of the match that eventually lead to the Rock pinning HHH and keeping the belt. Again, great drama in a day that seems well past.

This years card is shaping up to be a good one, and if Edge and Cena can pull of a showstopper type of match, this could be a card that rivals Mania. I have a feeling that Hogan-Orton will be a train wreck 6-8 minute match with Hogan's knee being as it is. The other match that could steal the show is the Foley-Flair "I Quit" match. I'd also like to see a strong showing between Batista and Booker, but am not going to be shocked if that match is a stinker.

I'll have more extensive thoughts on the card before Sunday, but just wanted to share some thoughts of the SS's gone with the hopes of this one living up to those days of the better ones of the past.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:21 AM | Permalink | Comments

Well, thankfully the 2006 Diva search is over, and with it is the "crowning" of a new diva - that being former Miami Heat dancer Layla El. The show last night on USA was hailed as "The Sexiest Woman on Television" which could be El's forthcoming ring persona, which off the bat I think would make her a heel. Of course all winning Diva's start off as faces, so unless they do some quick turn, which would be tough considering her lack of in-ring and acting ability, they will keep her face for awhile. In the past the Diva winner has been rushed to TV, beaten up in some progam that is so fake it makes wrestling fans cringe, and then eventually the chick usually gets kicked to the curb. Let's hope they don't rush her into a title program like they did with Christy when she dreadfully lost to Trish at WrestleMania 21.

One other interesting note on this show was the thankful fact that they went with Todd Grisham and Ashley over the annoying Miz. Maybe the WWE is starting to realize that it takes more than the ability to act like a moron and shout Hoo-ra to grab a crowds attention. I am frankly embaressed for this twit everytime he hits the screen, and the fact he was born and raised in the same town in Ohio as me makes me sick. Let's hope the WWE gets the message and starts to limit his TV time asap.

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

What a show. The main event was so bad, it was almost good. How could you not love RVD and Sabu just throwing it all out there in the ladder match, despite the fact that the match was totally messed up with botched spots all over the place? Give it to them this way - at least they tried and put their best effort forth, despite the fact it came across pretty messed up on TV. The ending with Sabu getting the contract was different. I guess the outcome was the the one that people wanted from the getgo - a Sabu vs Show title match for SummerSlam.

The one thing I cannot stand about the ECW product as a whole right now is the stupid "Paul Heyman - evil GM" bit. I mean, does this ring a bell - Vince McMahon, Kurt Angle, Steph McMahon, HHH, and Heyman (Smackdown). These were all the last few years of the "Evil GM" on various shows, and I for one, am getting tired of it. It seems like between RVD, Angle and Sabu, they have all been screwed by Heymen in the storylines of this show.

The other stuff was okay...Test and Knox vs Dreamer and Sandman is an upcoming main event on a show, CM Punk seems very over despite not being a drunk or druggie. And the Foley-Flair build up was again, pretty good heading into Sunday. One more TV till SummerSlam, and you can bet it will be mostly Batista-Booker and Mysterio-Guerrero SS build.

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

Well, the night was kind of a mixed bad of decent, bad, and very bad. First, the Edge at Cena's home skit was bad. Bad in terms of we have seen it before, and who are they kidding that a pro wrestler can just enter a home of a rival, then assult that rivals father? If I had someone I didn't like, the last thing I think I could legally do, is enter that persons home, then beat up their dad. Ugh. On the decent side, the McMahon-DX setup, along with the Flair-Foley setup were both well done. The back and forth with Flair-Foley will go down as the best mic stuff for 2006. No doubt. And with DX-McMahon stuff, that also went down pretty well on Monday night as well.

The diva search was crappy, and the water fight was awful, as you could expect. Look for the Heat dancer Layla, to win this thing at this point. I can't believe that they are going to drag out an hour on this thing Wednesday. The very bad - how about Hogan trying to beat up the "fake" Hogan? Could that have been any worse? And is it me or did the whole segment just did not get over at all? The crowd seemed totally dead for this, and this is not the way that they wanted the last segment before the second biggest PPV to go down.

They need strong shows tomorrow and Friday to get people to want to buy this PPV. I also know for a fact there will be a strong radio and TV presence for the WWE this week to try and get people to buy the show. They will push Hogan as the main, but if they are smart, they will throw it on 3rd last behind the two other title matches.

Till ECW...
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

Again, a show that is being used for the sole purpose of building the matches for SummerSlam was not bad, just not all that good. The Booker-Batista match is being very rushed, and I hope that they make Batista's chase for the title a little longer and not just make Bookers regin last a month. I know that the whole Booker thing is a transtion for Batista to get it back, but give me at least a decent storyline before you do it. As for the Guerrero saga, ugh. Using Vicki for this storyline is way beyond anything I want to see at this point, and I have a feeling this one may, and not in a good way, drag on till AFTER Summerslam. I could live with everything else, the tag match with Kendrick and London vs McCool's new team was decent, and Kennedy vs Mystero was okay. Again, just another build up for next weekends PPV with a decent, but not great show.

Till Raw
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

Not the worst DVD that the WWE has ever put out, and frankly, for a rather long show (close to 2.5 hours), it was pretty entertaining. The only thing that I can complain about is they did plenty of manager profiles, but while adding Sunny and Paul E. Dangerously, they for some reason left out Mr. Fuji and Slick. There was plenty of shots of the two, and numerous matches with them involved, but no profiles. Hmmmmm. I liked the profiles on Heenen (my personal favorite), Hart, and Blassie. The sport if you will is so different now then it was then, when managers were a big part of the personality of the wrestler they were with. I couldn't think of The Hart Foundation without Jimmy Hart, or Big John Studd without Bobby "The Brian." I remember going to house shows back in the 80's and being upset when a guy would come out and his manager wasn't with him or her. I was like - "Where the heck is so and so?" Little did I know that there was another show, maybe 2000 miles away, where that certian manager was needed more than the show where I was at.

So all in all, I would recommend a viewing of the DVD. If you were a fan at any point and time in the late 80's or early 90's, you would enjoy this DVD.

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, you had to know that everytime you have the Great Khali involved in a match for a PPV, something is bound to happen. This time, instead of just having a legimate medical condition, the WWE has just decided that he downright sucks enough not to reward him with a huge PPV match against the Taker at Summerslam. Word on the wrestling sites is that the WWE is moving that match to the Smackdown on Tuesday, and the scheduled SS match is scrapped. Why? Because he simply cannot wrestle. Cannot make a match believeable enough to have the fans buy into it. I feel bad frankly for Khali. He is a guy that was rushed into a position that he simply was not ready for. All indications are he is a nice guy backstage and is going to end up getting a raw deal becuase the roster needed a monster. The lesson in all this is simple - leave the guys that need training in OVW...no matter how big and bad they appear to be.

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

Man this "promotion" is a total wreck. Week after week of Sandman giving cane shots, Kelly Kelly getting over more than just about any wrestler, Heyman screwing all the faces in the lockerroom with his enforcers, and then some made up type main event with a combination of Big Show, Angle, RVD, Sabu, and/or some WWE star making a one-night appearance. Let's just say that this whole train wreck has a LONG LONG LONG way to go before it can do its own PPV, which I understand is still the plan for December.

I think the effort is there for the most part, but it just seems like the chemistry and the emotion from the crowd is for the most part - not. They keep trying to recreate the hardcore ECW crowd with shots of fans chanting or wearing the t-shirts, but it just really seems forced. Maybe its the emotion of having to sit through a Smackdown taping along with the ECW taping, or maybe its just that no one really cares about these guys.

Looks like after this show they can go one of two directions for Summerslam - Show vs Sabu & RVD vs Angle - or a fatal four way with all 4 guys. I think they will go with the latter, and save the Sabu vs Show for a later ECW show. Hopefully with the return of RVD the promotion will get some energy. Otherwise I think the clock is ticking as to when this nightmare promotion will end.

Till Smackdown
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments

Not much of a surprise on this one...after Hogan was bouncing around doing media appeareances on Tuesday, you kind of knew he had to go ahead with the SummerSlam match with Orton. Now the biggest question is - will Hogan force McMahon to let him again get over (see last years SS match with Michaels) or will he do the job and comeback for a revenge match at the September PPV? I think I already know the answer, but I also know the way that the company would want it to go, and once again they won't be happy with Hogans demands for a victory.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments

Sorry about how late it took me to get this report up, but the week has been kind of backwords, and I just finally was able to finish RAW last night. As for the show, kind of lackluster and kind of bland. They had a pretty hot show in my opinion last week, even with the silly cigar storyline, but this week took a step backwords. Edge and Lita vs Trish and Carlito was sort of lame, the Vis vs Cena match had a cool ending, but we've seen Cena FU Big Show, so what's the difference? Orton vs Lawler was a total squash in my opinion, and the Foley-Flair promo was a duck considering that Foley went from "not wasting a match" on Flair to an "I Quit" match in a matter of 90 seconds.

As for the McMahon-DX saga, here is my major problem. Just one month ago you had actual wrestlers in the Spirit Squad week after week after week getting killed by DX either with comedy skits or just a in-ring beatdown. The Squad, the tag-champs, never got one bit of an advantage in the "feud" to the point where the SNME match was nothing more than a 6 minute squash. Now a month later, you have a 60-year old and his grey haried son beating on the former unbeatable tag team of Michaels and HHH week after week leading to their SS match. What's wrong with this picture? I just don't think its good business for two "non" wrestlers to get the upper hand week after week on two guys who are supposed to be main cogs in the company. I know that DX will get their revenge at SS...but I hope they don't pull a swerve and let the McMahons win and drag it out to the September PPV. If nothing else, have another team interfere and start a feud with real wrestlers, not the grey haired owner of the company and his son.

As I have stated before, I like the direction they are taking with Umaga. It looks like between Edge, Orton and Umaga, those are going to be the three top heels in the company for sometime to come. I don't know long term what they have for Umaga, but I think an intercontinal title regin could get him more heat, then an eventual program with Cena would be the way to go with the former Three Minute Warning wrestler.

All in all, I hope with Hogan's return next week the mood of the show picks up and the energy and booking is a bit better.

Till the bell rings again
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

So I happen to stumble by Hogan this morning on Regis and Kelly. I don't seek out to watch pro wrestlers on most of these shows, because for the most part its all just fluff, and nothing ever comes out of it anyway. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time for this one, and didn't even know how recent it was, and it turns out it was live and current. Hogan is talking about his show "Hogan Knows Best," which I know is 90 percent scripted, but entertaining anyway. Then he's talking about how people are passing him now at malls and going straight for his wife (I doubt that), and how Brooke-mania (his daughter who is trying to be a pop star like Brittny) is now taking over, again I know this is a total farce, but whatever.

Then they come back from a break and the real fun starts. He starts telling Regis about the current knee injury, and how it happened. The story he gave was exactly what he told WWE.com, so at least he is keeping straight with the story. Then Regis asks about the worst injury he's ever had, and this is REALLY when it gets good. He starts talking about WrestleMania III in Ponatic when he wrestled Andre. Now mind you Andre was WELL past his prime at the time of that match, and Vince had to talk him into doing it because Andre felt he couldn't perform. So Hogan is talking about getting Andre up for the famous slam, and how Andre, (he was about 460 pounds at the time) weighed over 500 pounds - CLOSE TO 700 POUNDS!!!

WHAT!!!????

CLOSE TO 700 POUNDS! Of course Regis and Kelly brought right into this, and I am sure that any wrestling fan that knows the truth had to just bust out laughing at that one. Hogan goes on to say how he tore his entire back on the slam (another false statement, Hogan himself has talked about that match in his book and simply says he tore a hole in his back, not his whole back), and of course the crowd gasps with amazement at the tale that they have no idea is a complete falsehood.

Now I love Hogan and what he has given to the sport and all that, but enough is enough. Let's remember that the entire sport is based on show, and to continue to make up some of these stories TAKES AWAY from his legecy, not adds to it. Unreal.

I have yet to finish RAW, but so far I am about 90 minutes in, and its pretty lackluster. Why are they giving all this time to Trish when she's on her way out? Edge actually has a point though, he's NOT EVEN on the SummerSlam poster, and as WWE champ that is a joke. And why exactly is Trish on the cover of the new WWE Mag? Interesting to note that in three issues they have put a half naked woman (Torrie was the first one) on the cover twice. Only the recently returning Batista was the actual male wrestler to make it on the cover.

I will give some more thoughts later when I finish the show.

Till then,
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

While I have not given up hope they will be able to coax Hogan into playing hurt at the match at SummerSlam, I have to wonder if this is indeed, yet another ploy so he won't have to lose to a younger, more important up and coming star. One of the basic rules of the business is that you always not only work to get yourself over, but your opponent as well. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but if you want an example of trying to use an older guy to try and establish a star, look at Judgement Day and what Undertaker did for Kahli. He not only lost the match, he lost it with a decisive effort from Kahli, even letting himself get pinned with a foot on his chest. Of course before I give too many kudos to Taker, the true rematch will be a SS in a last man standing, and again, if you are looking to build a big star in Kahli, the only way for this match to end is with both men being knocked out and it ruled a draw. That way Taker saves face, and Kahli is still on the fast track to being a major star. As for Hogan, you have to say that the proposal of him losing at SS to Orton, then getting a win back in another PPV to settle the score would not be all that bad. But Hogan being Hogan, it sounds as if he is refusing to do the job, and will simply use the knee injury to sit out the match, just to show others that product suffers without him. He simply has to understand that it is in the best interest of everyone to take a clean loss, like he did to Angle, Rock, and Taker back in his true last WWE run. His career is not going to be tarnished with a loss to a guy who will end up as a multiple WWE champion in Orton. Sack up, take the loss, and look even better in the long run for it.

As for the other SS matches shaping up, I hope they just make the Edge - Cena match a Street fight or something along those lines. Those two will likely go on last, and have to have a great, not just good, match to make the card a good one. Cena will be in his hometown, but I still think that Edge keeps the belt for now. Rumors now have Lita being the next diva gone from WWE, as she wants to be a full-time actress. Fine and dandy, but they should set it up where either she turns on Edge in her last night in the promotion, or costs him the belt with a messed up chair shot or hits him with the belt on accident. Something as a cool way she can go out with, and still have the door open for a return. The diva division is really thining out with Kiebler, Stratus, and now Lita seeming to be gone for good either now or in the near future. I do like the direction they are taking Krystal Marshall. She seems like a decent worker and can get over as a heel..they need 2 or 3 more like her between the two major shows, Raw and Smackdown.

I am in the process of watching one of the newer WWE DVD's - Wrestlings Greatest Managers. It's a long one - three hours, but I will have a review once I am done with it. Watching what I have watched it so far is very good, and makes you miss the days when managers were a big part of the sport, instead of just divas and the occassional manager that does not contribute much.

Till Raw Tonight,
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

Well, seems like the Hulkster doesn't want to lose to Orton at Summerslam. At least that is the feeling that I get after reading the WWE article saying that he is suffering from a knee injury that may keep him out of the match. Sounds like the powers came to him saying that they wanted him to lose, then have a rematch down the road (gee, doesn't this sound like last year), and Hogan said "no." If Hogan is not at SS, it will hurt the card a great deal, and hurt his chances of a major match at Wrestlemania 23 in Detroit.

As for Jeff Hardy's return, this could be a serious spark for a tag team reunion with Matt as the Hardy's could really take over the tag team division for some time to come. There isn't a team out there today in the WWE that could touch the Hardy's when they were on there game. A good signing and a good move to bring him back, let's hope he stays clean.

Word is Trish Stratus is on her way out after her contract is up next month. As far as Diva's go, her and Lita are my personal two favorite for what they do in and out of the ring. They are not just eye candy. She will be missed, but something would not surprise me if she's back down the road.

Till the bell rings again
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments

I actually wasn't sick, like normal, after watching this show. Kennedy vs Batista, Mystero fighting with Guerrero, Booker vs Undertaker...not bad for a show trying to build up its side of a major PPV. As stated before, I could do without the Diva search, but at least it wasn't shoved down our throats all night. As for Batista, the only thing I thought was sad is the fact that now Kennedy's two wins really mean nothing. I hope they don't put him on the back burner, as he still is one of the better heels on the Smackdown side. The Mystero/Guerrero feud is going to be pretty emotional, but as usual, they will use Eddie's name to get heat any way they can, and gee, what was the deal with Vicki being there, and just being able to run to the ring during the whole fight? I am sure she will be there at SummerSlam when those two go at it, which I am sure will be announced next week. The Batista/Booker feud should last awhile, as I expect Booker to actually keep the strap through the summer, just like Edge on the RAW side, and then drop it to the face, in this case Batista, around Survivor Series. Most of the other stuff was simply filler, but man, it never ceses to amaze me the commentary of JBL. Week after week some of the things he comes up with simply makes the show more watchable for me over what Tazz used to say. Monday night is HHH vs Umaga...I like the track they are taking with Umaga.

Till RAW...
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, despite the event being still about 7 months away, I think its always fun to look ahead, WAY ahead to what will be next years big event. Being in Cleveland the trip to Detroit should be a fun one, as we are already booked to head up Friday and stay the entire weekend and return on Monday. Being in Chicago last year was hardcore, and the fans the entire weekend, despite some needing to really get a job, girlfriend and life, were great. This year should be just as good, as they will do a lot to look back at the 20 year Anniversary of WrestleMania III in Ponatic. I was just a youngster at the time of that event, and remember watching it on closed-circut TV. As far as any early match predictions go, you know that they have to do something big with Hogan. It just goes without saying that WM 23 in Detroit without Hogan would be a crime. Some may disagree and say its really time to move on past the Hogan era, but after the reaction he got in Cleveland two weeks ago, he can still make the crowd react. Hogan-Austin? Doubtful. Austin hasn't been in a ring to lace up the boots in a long time, plus he would never job to Hogan. Hogan-Big Show? That would make the most sense considering it would be the closest to Andre that the WWE currently has. How about Hogan-Great Kahli? If Kahli ever got any better in the ring, that could be an Andre-Hogan like match. Other matches that I can acutally see - HHH vs Edge (HHH this time gets the belt back as a face)...Cena vs Umaga (I like the push the former 3 Minute Warning star is getting)...Batista vs Orton (Orton again flip flops to Smackdown as its second biggest star and top heel). It really is so early, but never too early to have some fun and look ahead.

Till the ref counts to three
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

I think it is safe to say that ECW fans are actually some of the most uneducated in the world. Why would you waste time and money to come to a show that you knew was going to have WWE stars, and then halfway through the main event start a chant of "change the channel?" I mean, if you are unhappy with the product, here's an idea - DON'T GO! I am so sick and tired of fans thinking they are cool becuase they try and cheer for the wrong guy, or bad mouth the guy that really is working his tail off in the ring. Go ahead, scream for pot heads like Sabu and RVD..in the end they will be back on the indy scene while hard working guys with character and common sense like Batista and Big Show will still be working main events at TV's and PPV's. Here's another tip...quit trying to sell me on Sandman and Dreamer being able to hang with anyone. Talk about an act past its prime. Spare me.

Till the bell rings
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

An okay show coming off the high of being there last week. I am all into something new, but the whole cigar storyline was sort of lame. As for the McMahon-DX match, how can they play it off into making it a decent match instead of another total squash by DX? It will have to be creative, with some sort of major beatdown going in or an injury to either Michaels or HHH...likely to be the Heartbreak Kid since he will be gone soon anyway with knee surgery. Umaga continues to get a big push, which is good, they need a new star heel to go along with Edge. As far as Cena goes, he continues to be solid week in and week out, and the match with Edge at Summerslam should be the main event without question, despite the fact I think that Edge will keep the belt for now. It's offical, I am tired of the Diva search. Please move on and get it over with. Finally, the Foley-Flair promo was by far the best yet, and hopefully a sign of things to come as they get set for their hardcore match at SS.

See you at Ringside!
Matt

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments