Welcome everyone to my first random thoughts of 2011! I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year. We are getting very close to Wrestlemania season and I am very excited to see what WWE puts out there for the buildup to their showcase event. First I must write a few more best of 2010 columns and a review of Goldust’s book.
All of that can wait though, because Sunday calls for musing.
– There has been a lot of debate (mostly fueled by one person) on the blog about John Cena needing to lose. I would say the exact opposite. John Cena should not lose except in a situation where it will be a meaningful win for the person beating him. If he loses to JTG on Monday night, it will do nothing for JTG and make Cena (WWE’s biggest and most important draw) look weak. The main talent does not lose clean except on very special occasions.
– Lots of speculation and questions are swirling around the CM Punk and Nexus situation coming out of Monday night. The Nexus has been so weak ever since Summerslam and I don’t know if a new leader is enough to resurrect them.
– This is actually a major problem in the Raw mid card at this moment. Most of the talent does not have distinct personalities (like Nexus except for David Otunga) or motivations that make us cheer for them or hate them. They just seem to either talk down to the fans or beat up the guy that talks down to the fans.
– Major scare this week with the John Cena injury. It looks like WWE got lucky and Cena should be able to go within a few weeks. I’m sure WWE’s officials were panicking on Tuesday night when it looked possible that Cena would not make Wrestlemania.
– Another major scare in the wrestling world is TNA’s World Champion Jeff Hardy being set to plead guilty to drug procession and trafficking charges in the coming month. It is a plea bargain, so it is likely that he won’t serve time, but what does this say about TNA? This is different than employing a man years removed from prison. TNA continues to turn a blind eye to matters like this (and other drug issues) and it will eventually hurt them.
– Kurt Angle’s impending return didn’t seem to be much of a feature on Impact. Since this is one of two matches the next PPV is built on, one would think they would focus on it pretty heavily. Hopefully it will help the company recover from the creative depths they have been in.
– Mr Anderson’s concussion being a continued plot line on Impact is starting to be off-putting. It’s great that TNA is bring attention to this issue, but the constant promos about if he is ready to compete are not interesting anymore.
– While watching this, is anyone remembering the 1995 angle with Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart where HBK collapsed in the ring?
– I like that Mick Foley wants to be a supporter of wrestlers not getting concussions. I don’t see the need for him to be on TV supporting it and then being involved in a major storyline with Eric Bischoff. Foley should not receive any more TV that could go to younger wrestlers.
– Does anyone else feel like it’s too soon to go back to Motor City Machineguns and Beer Money feuding together? I’m excited about it for the sheer match quality, but I don’t know if it will be as novel as it could be if TNA had waited another six months before giving it to us.
– Smackdown featured a surprisingly good main event with Dolph Ziggler taking on Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston. I don’t know if anyone watched it because it was on New Years Eve, but I managed to flip over there before leaving for a party and wasn’t disappointed.
– It seems like for two years we have all heard (and said) that Kofi Kingston is on the verge of breaking out of the mid card. When do we stop blaming WWE creative for it and wonder if there is something wrong with him? I like Kofi, but if he does not breakthrough this year it may be time to abandon hope.
– Is there anything wrong with being a career mid carder? The person is still living their dream and making a fair amount of money. They may not be the headliner, but they are a big deal.
– What does the future hold for Wade Barrett? This might be the subject of a future blog, but I’ll mention it here. Will he end up on Smackdown as a heel challenger to Edge? The promos from that feud would be excellent. Will he return to The Nexus as a co-leader with CM Punk? This next move for his character is a very important one in his evolving career.
– Does anyone believe that Rob Van Dam is relevant in 2011?
– In case you aren’t following me on Twitter (and you should be) at twitter.com/itswilltime and didn’t already know this, I bought tickets to my first Ring of Honor event on January 28 in Los Angeles. I’m excited to experience a very different atmosphere and see some amazing wrestling.
– I love the fire and motivation that Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas have shown in their match and promos since coming to ROH. Being there to see them live and taking on the Kings of Wrestling will be a privilege.
– I’m also very excited to see El Generico as he is coming off of a red hot year long feud with Kevin Steen and should be very exciting in his ROH World Championship match against Roderick Strong.
– In the next few weeks, I should be posting reviews of some sort on the new Bobby Heenan DVD and Goldust’s book. The Heenan DVD is totally worth buying and I would not say the same about Goldust’s book. Stay tuned for more on those.
– Triple H’s return will most likely be the biggest WWE moment of the year prior to Wrestlemania. The longer we go without hype for it, the more it’s looking like we’ll see him as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble (most likely while Sheamus is in the ring).
– Is it possible that Jerry “The King” Lawler will be The Miz’s opponent at Royal Rumble instead of John Morrison? That program is hotter than it has any right to be at this moment.
– I’m guessing somehow Michael Cole gets involved in Miz vs John Morrison on Monday night and costs Morrison the championship. I’d rather see Miz win cleanly, but if the match is good before that, than I’m fine with that ending.
– WWE is gearing up for a big week of TV with two World Championship matches. Is this so they can begin building for Royal Rumble with people tuning in for the big matches?
– Will WWE turn Raw into must see TV now that Monday Night Football is over?
– Where does Randy Orton fit in right now? Will he fight Nexus along with Cena again? Will he just fade into the background for a little while?
That’s all I’ve got for today kids! Have a fantastic 2011 and make sure to check back Tuesday for my 10 Thoughts on WWE Raw. Also, make sure to follow me on twitter at twitter.com/itswilltime.
