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.

Solution?

While having a few weeks off, I’ve had the chance to sit back and watch more of TNA and WWE than in the recent past. I’ve noticed that a few superstars that have struggled in the mid-card and lower, such as R-Truth, have stepped their game up (both in-ring and on the mic). There are a few, however, that have gone/are going in the opposite direction and fast. These are stars with big-time name recognition and hype but have done little in the past year or so. Who are they and what can be done to get them higher up the ladder?

1) Ted DiBiase. Think back to the days of Legacy… of the 3, who did you think would be the one who would do very little after the breakup of the group. Raise your hands if you thought it would be Cody Rhodes (*hand is raised*). Instead, it’s been DiBiase. He had a little thing going with Maryse and the Million Dollar Title but has done crap since. The son of the “Million Dollar Man” should be AT LEAST in serious contention for the U.S. Title, if not on the outside of the WWE/World Title pictures, not having the very rare backstage appearance before a commercial break.

2) Drew McIntyre. For nearly a year, he ruled the mid/upper-mid card as the IC Champion, with some VERY good matches against Kofi Kingston and John Morrison, among others. After losing the title, he basically became an afterthought (I still can’t believe he lost CLEANLY to Chris Masters on Superstars a few weeks ago). There is simply TOO MUCH TALENT in McIntyre to not have him causing havoc in the Title pictures.

3) Samoa Joe. He had a nearly 2 year unbeaten streak in ROH. He had another 18-month unbeaten streak in TNA. He (along with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels) was not only the best thing going in the X-Division at the time, but perhaps all of TNA. So what’s happened in the last 6-8 months? Losing to Crimson in under 3 minutes? Walking away from potential fights? Not being mentioned in the TNA World Title picture? Or the X-Division Title picture? Even the TV Title chase??

What can these 3 do to get out of their slides? Well, in Joe’s case, I think one of 2 things can help:

a) He can go completely bad-a$$ heel. I talking about loose-cannon, destroy anything that moves, heel. His target(s) should start with Fourtune and Styles and/or Daniels (re-capturing the “magic”, unless TNA screws it up). If/when that ends, he should turn his rage on the X-Division until he gets the title. Have him hold the belt until someone can finally step up and end his reign of terror. It gets him a belt, gets his “name” back, and he can actually DO something other than lose.

b) He could become the “franchise” of TNA by going after Immortal and taking them out, one by one. Again, this depends on TNA’s writers not screwing things up.

In DiBiase and McIntyre’s case, it may involve Arn Anderson, a few months, and a stable.

Arn could be sitting ringside, watching matches and “taking notes”. Whenever he see DiBiase and McIntyre lose, he gets increasingly frustrated. After a few weeks (say, 3-5), he gets fed up and rips them a new one publically. He decides to take them under his wing to get them to reach “their potential”. As they wrestle with Arn in their corner, the wins start coming… as does a newly found cunning (DiBiase) and ruthlessness (McIntyre). Arn also adds a 3rd star to this stable, based on his notes, to help them along (Daniel Bryan? Justin Gabriel?). Arn, after a while, decides that they “are ready”… and reveals the leader and 4th member (see where this is going now…?). Yes, reviving the 4 Horsemen through McIntyre and DiBiase, while not likely, is not a bad way to jumpstart their careers.

Whatever solution is out there, Samoa Joe, Drew McIntyre, and Ted DiBiase really need to get going.

Dissecting the Wrestlemania XXVII Corpse

…because the 2011 version of Wrestlemania was just like a corpse: dead. Lifeless, semi-dull, bloated- it was not a pretty site to behold, at times. Let’s take this mass of matches apart and see what we find, shall we?

NXT/Smackdown Weekend Review – Mar. 29th & Apr. 1

Pretty quick review this weekend as we head into Wrestlemania.

NXT

Titus O’Neil wins Arm Wrestling Challenge ( redemption points)

Titus O’Neil, Byron Saxton & Conor O’Brian def. Jacob Novak, Darren Young & Lucky Cannon

• A lot of cheating in the Arm Wrestling Challenge
• William Regal doesn’t seem to like JTG. It’s very entertaining.
• Titus O’Neil picked up the pinfall in the 6-Man Tag Match

Smackdown

Kofi Kingston def. (c) Wade Barrett by DQ

Cody Rhodes def. Chris Masters

• Corre interfered in the Intercontinental Championship rematch and ganged up on Kofi afterward
• Santino Marella, Vladimir Kozlov, Kane & The Big Show came down to make the save
• Matt Striker interviewed Cody Rhodes, who was channeling his inner Heath Ledger’s Joker
• Rey Mysterio came out after Rhodes’ victory with “an intentionally exposed knee braced” 619 in mind
• During Wrestlmania Axxess this weekend Corre attacked Kozlov injuring him
• Theodore Long announced that Kofi Kingston will be taking his place in the 8-Man Tag Match

And that’s it! Enjoy Wrestlemania. We here at The 1/8th Nelson will be.

Raw 3/28/11

This episode was full of final confrontations of Wrestlemania opponents before Wrestlemania.  Match results are directly below, details after the break.  I’m holding off on my “Last Word” for now, and saving it for the Wrestlemania preview.

Match Results
Edge & Christian def. Brodus Clay & Alberto Del Rio by pinfall
Santino Marella def. Justin Gabriel by pinfall
Jack Swagger def. Jerry Lawler by DQ
KIng Sheamus & Dolph Ziggler def. Daniel Bryan & John Morrison by pinfall 

Weekend NXT/Smackdown Review – Mar. 22nd & 25th

NXT

Darren Young wins Mic Battle Challenge (4 redemption points)

Titus O’Neil def. Darren Young

Vladimir Kozlov & Conor O’Brian def. JTG & Jacob Novak in Dance Off

Lucky Cannon def. Byron Saxton

• Maryse had no idea who was leading in redemption points at the top of the show confusing Jacob Novak (0 points) for Titus O’Neil (5 points)
• Mic Battle Challenges never go well and this one didn’t disappoint in that regard. Hornswoggle look embarrassed for them.
• Both Pros, Chavo Guerrero & Hornswoggle got involved in their Rookies match but it Titus O’Neil who benefited hitting  Darren Young with his Clash of the Titus. (Side Note To Masked Marvel: It’s a lifting sit-out spinebuster otherwise known as a Sky High)
• The Dance Off was entertaining but that’s about all  to say about it.
• Lucky Cannon & Yoshi Tatsu both received slaps to the face from Maryse early in the night and Cannon received a second from Tatsu afterward.
• Cannon came out the lucky one (see what I did there) by the end of the night defeating Byron Saxton with a Lucky Break then hitting Tatsu with one to close out the show.

Raw 3/21/11

On this episode of Raw, an Intercontinental title match would be set for Wrestlemania.  Michael Cole continues to run his mouth, while secure in his “Cole Mine.”  Kane and The Big Show get some revenge on the tag team champs.  CM Punk tries to play mind games with Randy Orton.  The Miz and John Cena both have surprises and announcements.  Match results are directly below, and full details after the break.

Match Results
King Sheamus def. Evan Bourne by pinfall
Eve def. Maryse by pinfall
Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater def. Vladmir Koslov & Santino Marella by pinfall
Dolph Ziggler, Vicki Guerrero & LayCool def. John Morrison & Trish Stratus by pinfall
Rey Mysterio def. Randy Orton by count-out

Triple H opening.
Triple H came out and talked being old, and how retirement for him may not be very far away.  He goes on to remind everyone that ending the streak would be a career defining moment, larger than all of the championships he’s ever won.  Triple H then asks the Undertaker to show up to Raw next week so he can see him face-to-face one last time before Wrestlemania.  After Triple H finished, Ted DiBiase came out and said that he was upset about being an afterthought for this year’s Wrestlemania after facing Orton last year.  DiBiase says he’s going to take out Triple H so people take notice, but Triple H didn’t like this and attacked him.  Triple H ended the assault by putting DiBiase through the announcer’s table with a Pedigree.

King Sheamus def. Evan Bourne by pinfall.
Pretty quick match.  Bourne missed the Shooting Star Press and then Sheamus hit him with the Brogue Kick and got the pinfall.  Sheamus started talking and Daniel Bryan came out.  Bryan came out and said that he wanted to invoke his rematch clause at Wrestlemania.  Sheamus responded with a Brogue Kick.

Randy Orton backstage.
Randy Orton is greeted backstage by someone who’s name escapes me.  That guy asks Orton about traveling on the road by tour bus, and Orton relates it to that being where he was when he saw the new Nexus form.  And also, that he’s taken out the new Nexus.

Eve def. Maryse by pinfall.
Again, Michael Cole interrupted the match because he had something more important to say.  After Eve picked up the victory, she tried to attack Cole, but was restrained by security.

Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater def. Vladmir Koslov & Santino Marella by pinfall.
Gabriel go the pinfall on Koslov after hitting the 450 Splash.  After the match, the rest of the members of The Corre got into the ring and attacked Santino and Koslov.  Big Show and Kane came out and got revenge on all of the members of Corre for the attack last week.

John Cena via satelite.
Cena said that with The Rock being live on Raw next week, him and The Rock will be face-to-face.  Cena admitted that focusing on The Rock is what is opening him up to the attacks from The Miz.

Michael Cole’s big announcement.
Cole makes fun of Lawler’s father with a photo album given to him by Brian Christopher.  Cole goes on until Lawler can’t stand it anymore.  But when Lawler gets up, he’s attacked by Jack Swagger.

Dolph Ziggler, Vicki Guerrero & LayCool def. John Morrison & Trish Stratus by pinfall.
This started as a singles match between Morrison and Ziggler, but after LayCool and Trish Stratus got involved, the GM made it an intergender handicap match.  After some action, Vicki pulled Trish off the apron, with her crashing onto the floor.  Morrison then missed Starship Pain, and Ziggler hit the ZigZag.  He then tagged in Vicki and she got the pinfall on Morrison.

Rey Mysterio def. Randy Orton by count-out.
This was billed as a Wrestlemania Rewind match.  The original match happened at Wrestlemania 22 and was for the World title.  FYI, the original match also featured Kurt Angle.  As this match was going on, CM Punk came on the screen saying that he was going to go into Orton’s bus and meet his wife.  Orton then went running to the parking lot.  As Orton go there, Punk came up behind him and hit Orton in the knee with a wrench.

The Miz
Alex Riley, after telling everyone that he’s gotten a new job here, introduced The Miz.  The Miz compared people watching him, to people that went through great difficulty to see Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan.  After saying he was the greatest champion ever, he unveiled his title belt.  It’s the spinner, but the W is permanently upside down to be an M.  Cena interrupts the end of The Miz’s celebration.  After saying that in 13 days, he was going to make history.  Then crew members started moving his set, revealing that Cena was actually in the arena.  Cena then came out to the ring.  After avoiding a table being thrown at him, Cena ran into the ring and attacked Miz and Riley.  After a brawl, Miz ran away, leaving Riley to be put into the STF.

Last Word
So it seems like we’re finally going to have a face-to-face confrontation between The Rock and John Cena next week.  To go along with the face-to-face confrontation between Triple H and The Undertaker.  Maybe there’ll be words this time.  I’m not sure exactly what I want from either of them.  I guess I want to see Cena and Rock fight, but without a match, what’s the point.

• While I always like the Money In The Bank matches at Wrestlemania, I always hated that the IC champ would usually be involved in it instead of a title match.  Won’t have that problem this year.
• I think the music they play while promoting Snooki’s appearance annoys me more than her actual appearance.
• I wonder if that was the same woman that played Orton’s wife when Triple H broke into Orton’s house.
• I liked the reveal that Cena wasn’t actually via satellite.  I found the quick removal of the set to be funny.  Also, it was time for Cena to win one of their encounters.
• I also like that Alex Riley has been hired back under a different title.
• Not certain what the “official” end of the Orton/Mysterio match was, but it should be count out.

Not Impressed… So Far

Only 2 weeks away from the grandest spectacle in wrestling. No, I’m not talking about *that promotion with Tazz and Mike Tenay as commentators* (I’m not even mentioning the name until the Nelson’s self-imposed coverage exile is up)… I’m talking about Wrestlemania! There’s only one problem with this year’s version:

I’m not really impressed with the card.