Wow. What a day! You know, I had this edition of the news and views done at around noon today, then I went on a break, came back a few hours later and saw the most number of WWE releases in a day that I can ever remember. I'm still surprised by it all. I have plenty to talk about with regards to the releases, as well as Brock FREAKIN' Lesnar coming back to WWE. Not so much in the Q&A part, but plenty as far as a Raw recap goes, the news and the three count section. Let's get to it with Raw.
Raw Recap for 07/04/05
This was written before the releases, so you know. I'm gonna be brief with this, which has been the norm of late.
Carlito interviews Hogan. This was fun. I like Carlito a lot, as you probably know, while I'm not too enthused about Hogan comeback #1,471 as you may also know. Angle coming out was cool too, as he confronted Hogan and sadly resorted to his pervert gimmick again. So much for the three I's huh? Anyway, the brawl ensues, Michaels comes out and we got ourselves a predictable tag match for later on. If you didn't know who was taking the loss in this match then you need to watch more wrestling.
Kane and Show beat Snitsky and Edge. Horrible match. Just brutal. Watching Snitsky try to work on Show's leg was fugly (that's fucking ugly). Then to have Show no sell it at the end made it all the more painful. Meanwhile, Edge is on the losing team again. Keep putting babyfaces over because that'll sure make the heels look good. I don't understand how or why Edge has the legs cut out from under him.
Viscera beat the Heart Throbs via DQ in a match that was actually worse than the one before it. Nobody cares about Viscera. Horrible match and angle. It's amazing that they have time for this on the show, yet nothing for a talent like Shelton Benjamin.
Second best part of the show was next as Chavo Guerrero denounced his Hispanic heritage and wants to be known as Kerwin White. Oh god, this was so funny. His face is so cheesy, his look is even worse and it just screams funny to me. I like it. This was followed by some cheesy thing involving Rosey, Hurricane and Stacy where Rosey got his hand lit on fire accidentally. See, that WASN'T funny. Then more comedy as John Cena consoled dumb Maria. Talk about your hits and misses.
Good promo from Cena as a guest on Jericho's Highlight Reel. I think this was WWE's way of really pushing Jericho as a heel since it didn't take perfectly before. Cena's the best promo on Raw, and arguably as good as anybody on Smackdown, although Eddie's in a zone now so I'm not comfortable saying he's the best for sure. This was alright. Nothing epic since it seems like it has been done before, but I like both characters and I'm looking forward to a singles match in the future. Would have been nice if Cena ripped on the Y2J nickname since it makes very little sense considering the whole Y2K thing was a big joke. Oh well.
Diva Search. How long did that take? 20-25 minutes? My fave is Ashley. Why? Look at her. Leyla, the Toronto girl, had her boob pop out so she should last a while. If I was 13 years old this would be a huge highlight. Since I'm in my 20s, I'll just say she had a nice rack and move on. Other than that, nothing of note here. I'd say overall the women are hotter this time around, but that doesn't mean I love it.
Rene Dupree pinned Val Venis with his feet on the ropes. Welcome back to Raw, Dupree. You get to win a match like every other heel with feet on the ropes. How original. That is BY FAR the most overdone finish in WWE.
We end this atrocious show with a predictable tag match that saw Michaels get beat on for a while, then Hogan got the hot tag and did the by the book finish ending with Carlito getting pinned. Shocking, no? Post match, the faces celebrate until Michaels decides he's sick of the old guy getting the glory, so he superkicks him hard in a shocking end. I love it. Best part of the show, easy. No doubt.
Final Thoughts
This was a bad show for about two hours and five minutes. That superkick at the end has led to people overrating this show tremendously. There were no matches above two stars, the promos were okay, but they didn't advance that much. At least Michaels as a heel is going to be very fresh since he hasn't been in that role as an active wrestler for about seven years now. Only bright light, along with Kerwin F'N White, on a mediocre show. I didn't miss HHH that much, but for those of you that think Raw's better without him on the show I think this was a nice wakeup call.
Match Results
Kane & Show over Edge & Snitsky - 1/4* (Horrible match.)
Viscera vs. Heart Throbs - -* (Negative stars because it sucked so much.)
Dupree over Venis - 1/4* (Boring.)
Hogan & Michaels over Carlito & Angle - *1/2 (It's a Hogan match.)
2.75
The News
- Brock Lesnar is expected to officially sign with WWE on Thursday. He's likely going to debut on Smackdown, but that's not a given according to Dave Meltzer. He's re-signed, though. I'm excited. I'd suggest keeping your eye on WWE.com and maybe even Smackdown to see if they mention it at all.
- The release of several WWE superstars is obviously a big topic. Thoughts on each:
Dudley Boyz: They were getting paid a lot of money to sit on the sidelines doing nothing for almost a year. Their contracts were up soon, I doubt they'd take much of a pay cut, so it's a business decision. Had to be done.
Charlie Haas: Congrats on the wedding, you're cut! I think WWE never understood how to use Haas. It's a shame.
Jackie Gayda: Same as Charlie, congrats on the marriage, see ya later! She shouldn't have won that Tough Enough. Was never a good wrestler and seemed like a deer in headlights on camera.
Dawn Marie: She's pregnant, so how much use would they get out of her? This could be really bad for public relations, though. It's like
Mark Jindrak: Never really panned out. Had a nice look to him, but he never seemed to "get it" in the ring.
Maven: I always thought he was better than how WWE used him.
Shannon Moore: Never was used right in WWE. Could have been part of a strong tag team.
Marty Jannetty: They signed him after his two TV matches, then they had no storyline for him. Way to sign the guy, WWE.
James Yun (Akio): Good wrestler, but they'd never use him right.
David Heath (Gangrel): They re-hired him, then never figured out how to use him again.
Billy Kidman: Too many injuries and going on the HHH diet (ie. getting big muscles) did him no good. WWE needs to realize not everybody is better with bigger arms.
Kevin Fertig (Mordecai): Was never that good.
Spike Dudley: Always a solid performer, but I think they went as far as they could (or wanted to) with that character.
Matt Morgan: Big guy, dumb gimmick and he was just average as a worker.
Kenzo Suzuki: I never thought highly of him. Still don't know why he was hired in the first place. Guess Hiroko is gone too.
Joy Giovanni: She's hot, but what did she really have to offer?
In all cases, none of the people that got released were used prominently, so business wise you have to think they are good choices.
- I listened to Wade Keller's PWTorch Audio Update from tonight, writing some notes on all the firings. I figured I'd share them with you. If you're sick of this stuff, I'm sorry. I just assumed it's the topic of the day, so might as well share it.
Some are notes, some are opinions of his, I'm guessing.
Matt Morgan - Morgan was shocked by it, apparently. Management didn't feel like he ever "got it" in the ring.
Charlie Haas & Jackie Gayda Haas - Apparently Jackie had a big mouth, often complaining about how much she was used in angles, so she was expendable. Charlie may have been a casualty of that.
Marty Jannetty - He ended up in jail due to a domestic abuse, so that turned them off from really using him.
Mark Jindrak - One of the most noted partiers with Orton, but they didn't feel he had the talent and knowledge that Orton had, so they cut him loose.
Maven - They felt they invested time in him, but much like a Jindrak he didn't work out.
Shannon Moore - Most people thought he'd be gone a while before.
Akio - Similar to Shannon.
Gangrel - Nothing for him.
Bubba and D-Von - Apparently there was something in the past about Bubba pissing Steph off once with a comment that could have resulted in WWE not renewing them. This happened apparently before they were told last year that they would be sent home for a while.
Spike - They felt they got all they could out of him.
Mordecai - Some in management disliked him because he was "outspoken in a way WWE did not like."
Dawn Marie - Five months pregnant. She said publicly to people backstage that WWE would take care of her during her pregnancy, get paid her downside guarantee (under six figures) and then she just got released. They told her they were a family organization that would encourage her to have her family.
Kidman - He would have been released sooner if he wasn't married to Torrie. Some thing Torrie might quit because of this, which wouldn't upset management. Torrie is a noted complainer also, apparently, with her head getting big due to the Playboy exposure.
Just a note: When you get released, you get three months of severance pay. In other words, a quarter of your annual salary. A common downside guarantee is like $60,000, so that's $15,000 in severance.
That's it. That Dawn Marie firing is really bush league. Wow. The rest? I sort of understand.
- Latest rumor from PWInsider about HHH says that The Game may be off TV for a couple months because he needs a break and is looking at possible movie roles. The rumored Raw title match at Summerslam is Cena vs. Edge, which would then mean Cena vs. HHH would happen after that at some point.
There's probably other minor stuff, but really, who cares about the minor stuff with all of these things going on.
The Three Count
1. With the lottery over and done with, I'd say that Raw has the advantage on Smackdown now, but it's not as bad as people seem to think. I think Raw's the better show because it's got Angle and Shawn Michaels, the two guys who I think have been WWE's MVPs this year. With that said, Smackdown still has Eddie vs. Rey going strong, a fresh act in Batista feuding with JBL and Randy Orton coming back soon, probably to feud with Undertaker. I think both shows are fresh because of the lottery. It was a good idea, it was well done and looking back I think it's going to be remembered fondly as something that was necessary in order to help WWE business. Don't be shocked if WWE rides a hot streak towards the end of the year and makes a big jump in terms of ratings, revenue and buyrates come next year.
2. I'm excited about Lesnar coming in. Obviously we'll know more in the coming days and weeks, but I'm really excited about this. I'd love if they announced that he's back, that he's a free agent and then have him appear on both shows for a few weeks. Tease his decision, then put him on Smackdown because they could use his boost more than Raw. There's a lot of potential in a Lesnar/Batista feud.
3. Before WrestleMania during all the interviews that the wrestlers did, Ric Flair something about his dream Four Horsemen would be HHH, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle and himself. I remember reading it, thinking nothing of it and then harkening back to it after Michaels kicked Hogan in the head on Raw. Now the more I think about it, the more I'd absolutely love it!
There's obviously pros and cons to it. I'd rather not get into it, but I'll say that as an idea there's a lot I like about it. If it happens, I'll be here to say I told you so. If it never happens, well, at least it was fun to think about, right?
Reader Questions & Comments
Reader comments will be in yellow, while mine will be in white.
Yo,
Do you think John Cena's current Spinner WWE "champ" belt will be used as the belt from now on or it's a one off just like Stone Cold's smoking skull belt? Do you think it' at all disrespectful to the championship? Also what championship belt in any company or division is your favorite, including past belts?
- Adam
I think Cena's belt will be a one off thing like Austin's belt was. I think it only fits his gimmick and will be something for people to remember for when Cena is/was the champion. If he loses that belt I imagine they'll bring back the regular WWE title for the new champion. I don't think it's disrespectful. Vince McMahon owns the thing. If he wants to do it, it's up to him. It's just marketing. I'm sure that belt is selling well since all Cena merchandise does well, so it's a clever move in my opinion.
My favorite belt ever, in terms of a look, is probably the Intercontinental Title when it had the white background. I just liked it because it made the belt stand out even more than the regular belts that traditionally had the black background on them. I also like the NWA/WCW/World Title belt that Batista has now. It's huge, it's historic and I like everything about it.
Do you think Christian will ever be used as a main event guy or will he be happy to keep his Upper-Mid card Heel status?
AND.......Who do you think will benefit from being moved in the lottery that hasn't moved yet?
Cheers
Andy
I'm not sure if Christian will be a main eventer. Now that he's on SD it might happen since the roster is lesser at the top of the card. I'd love to see it, but if he never becomes a main eventer that's alright because he's very entertaining in that role.
I think guys like Rob Conway and Doug Basham will benefit from the lottery. At least I hope. Now they're both probably going to be singles acts, so hopefully they're able to become stars. I've read plenty about both of them from OVW, and all indications seem to tell me that if these guys ever get a shot that they're going to be great. I'm looking forward to it.
Hey, how long do you think it will take before 2 or 3 of the "Mexicools" are in basically in the same spot as Akio? I like all of them, but their mic skills are awful, and I think that will hurt them w/ the WWE, push wise. I still don't really see that the cruiserweight division is going to take off, really ever, even though it's the most entertaining "wrestling", not "wrestling entertainment."
Matt Cracraft
I hear ya about the Mexicools. All of them have talent, but so do guys like Akio and Moore who do nothing on SD. I am optimistic only because they had to have hired these guys for a reason, with some sort of idea in mind. I think the best case scenario would be to have Juvi be in the cruiser division while Crazy & Psicosis wrestle primarily as a tag team to hopefully help out that waning division. I see what you're saying and I wouldn't be shocked to see these guys become more guys for us to complain about that are underused, but I hope that they do get a shot to do something.
That's it for this week. I'll go back to five or more next time.
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Read the blog. Have a great week. I should be back on the weekend with Matt Seagull for a For Love or Money column, and then next week for another News and Views.
Smell ya later,
John C. - oratoryjohn@gmail.com
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