Incredible

This is by far the best work/shoot promo I’ve ever heard.  CM Punk is incredible and it will be a shame if the WWE lets him get away from them.  This is flat out amazing.

And TNA – I know you try to make the “real” things happen.  THIS is how it is done.

C.M. Punk’s “Announcement”

The “buzz” throughout the wrestling world is the reaction to the end of the 6/20 Raw, and the “Nexus” of that buzz is C.M. Punk (pun intended). To set it up: Punk, at the top of Raw, came out to the ring and stated that he is now the#1 Contender to John Cena and the WWE Championship, based on his (Punk’s) win over Cena last week and his win over Rey Mysterio at Capitol Punishment. He staged a “sit-in” in the ring until the Raw GM officially made him top contender. Raw GM told him to leave; Punk made Snow Angels in the ring. GM then told Punk that, due to his “slight disrespect”, he would now have to face Alberto del Rio for the spot. Punk mocked del Rio and the GM; GM then added Mysterio to the match.

We now get to the match:

The announcement afterwards:

Annonucement

A couple of sites have also picked up the story, including one back in April:

Sports Entertainment Scoops

Wrestling News Source

What does this mean for the WWE Title (possibly) and Raw? Well, for starters, it may pretty much kill off the (New) Nexus finally. Who, on Raw, has the mic skills, the heat, and the talent, to lead them? Who could replace C.M. Punk, in general, on the Raw roster? He is/was one of the most well-rounded stars in the WWE, much less the Raw brand. His agility, speed, and ruthlessness made him an excellent match for just about any style of offense an opponent could throw at him. Throw him some cunning and a Master mind-gamesman, and you have a very dangerous man on your hands.

With the WWE Title: would Punk win the title only to lose it that night to the MITB winner (it’s very possible)? Would he win, “retire” as Champion, only to come back at next year’s WM as part of the Main Event (doubtful)? Would he lose to Cena and be humiliated on the way out the door (ala Lita vs. Trish Stratus)?

One thing is for sure: if C.M. Punk leaves, it will be a big blow to the WWE Universe.

Chris Benoit shown in new WCW DVD

WWE’s recent Very Best of WCW Nitro DVD is a must-see for any fan of WCW from 1995 through its demise in 2001.  It features many of the crucial moments of WCW, especially some of the highlights of the nWo (back when it was good) including the backstage attack in which Rey Mysterio got lawn-darted into the production truck.

But what really struck me about it was as I was watching a tag team match between Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, suddenly there was someone I hadn’t seen in a WWE production in four years.

 

The commentary seemed to cut out to avoid his name being used, but there he was right in the ring.  Chris Benoit footage was being shown.  I nodded approvingly – despite the horrors of his final days I still remember the Chris Benoit I had been such a big fan of for over a decade.  It seemed that WWE was finally able to show archive footage of Benoit’s career.  (Also of note, his wife Nancy in her ring persona Woman was in Ric Flair’s corner for that match).

But then I saw something that shocked me.  The Four Horseman reunion of September 1998 was there, uncut, in its entirety.  Arn Anderson saying that Benoit had come to him.  No name missing from the audio.  Then the introductions were there and out came Benoit, front and center with his music playing and everything.  I was amazed and quite pleased.

Benoit will never be in the WWE Hall of Fame.  There will never be a retrospective of his life and career because it cannot be separated from the choices he made at the end of it.  But wrestling history that he was a part of can be used and can be shown without drawing attention to him.  A Wrestlemania box set can have the main event of WrestleMania XX in it.  It happened.  Maybe cut the celebration at the end, but put the match in.  The WrestleMania 2000 match between Benoit, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho?  Let the match be shown.  Don’t call attention to Benoit – don’t let the focus fall solely on him and it can be brought back into the record books.

This DVD set looks to be the first step on being able to preserve wrestling history without the holes caused by the Benoit tragedy.  And I am happy to be able to see that.